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[ [ "SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR MAINTAINING THE HEALTH OF CAPTIVE FISH IN A MOBILE ENVIRONMENT", "A system for maintaining the health of captive fish in a mobile environment, comprising a live well for containing fish in a fluid medium, a plurality of thermoelectric coolers affixed to the live well, and a live well controller for controlling a direct current applied to the thermoelectric coolers, and a method for maintaining a consistent temperature comprising the steps of setting an initial temperature, applying a current to thermoelectric coolers, reading a new temperature, and adjusting the current based at least in part on the new temperature reading." ], [ "1.A system for maintaining the health of captive fish in a mobile environment, comprising: a live well; a fluid medium; a plurality of thermoelectric coolers; and a live well controller; wherein the live well is a container that holds the fluid medium; wherein the thermoelectric coolers are affixed to the live well and receive a direct electric current; and wherein the live well controller controls the direct electric current and thereby controls water temperature in the live well.", "2.The system of claim 1, wherein the thermoelectric coolers are integral to the design of the live well.", "3.The system of claim 1, wherein the thermoelectric coolers are removably affixed to the live well.", "4.The system of claim 1, wherein the live well is affixed to the hull of a boat.", "5.The system of claim 1, further comprising an internal sensor, wherein the internal sensor reads the fluid conditions of the fluid medium within the live well.", "6.The system of claim 5, wherein the live well controller receives sensor data from the internal sensor, and alters the direct electric current based at least in part on the sensor data.", "7.The system of claim 5, wherein the internal sensor is a thermometer.", "8.The system of claim 5, wherein the internal sensor is a pH sensor.", "9.The system of claim 5, further comprising an external sensor, wherein the external sensor reads the fluid conditions of an environment external to the live well.", "10.The system of claim 9, wherein the live well controller receives sensor data from the external sensor, and alters the direct electric current based at least in part on the sensor data.", "11.The system of claim 9, wherein the external sensor is a thermometer.", "12.The system of claim 9, wherein the external sensor is a pH sensor.", "13.The system of claim 9, wherein the external environment is a body of water.", "14.The system of claim 9, wherein the live well controller continuously receives input data from the internal and external sensors, and further wherein the live well controller automatically alters the direct current based at least in part on received input data.", "15.The system of claim 9, wherein the live well controller stores received sensor data in a memory and alters the direct current based at least in part on stored sensor data.", "16.The system of claim 1, wherein the live well controller communicates via a data communication network.", "17.The system of claim 16, wherein the live well controller receives input data from a network-connected input source.", "18.The system of claim 16, wherein the live well controller alters the direct current based at least in part on the input data.", "19.The system of claim 16, wherein the input source is a software application.", "20.The system of claim 16, wherein the input source is a computing device." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION <EOH>" ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION <EOH>Accordingly, the inventor has conceived and reduced to practice, in a preferred embodiment of the invention, a system and method for maintaining the health of fish in a mobile captive environment (such as a fishing vessel), without the use of ice or the risks of clogging, and that may be used to maintain an ideal temperature with minimal fluctuation.", "According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, a system for healthy containment of live fish comprising a live well for containing live fish in a fluid medium (such as lake water from the habitat where the fish were found), a plurality of thermoelectric coolers connected to a direct current (DC) source (such as a battery, generator, or other suitable source of direct electric current), and a thermostatically-controlled rheostat that may automatically vary current to the thermoelectric coolers according to a predefined or configurable setting, is disclosed.", "According to the embodiment, a plurality of thermoelectric coolers may be placed in the fluid medium containing live fish, and a rheostat may be used such that a user (i.e., a fisherman) may select a desired temperature or range and the rheostat will automatically vary the current flow to the thermoelectric coolers based on thermostat feedback from the fluid medium, such that a consistent temperature is maintained automatically.", "This invention introduces the technology of thermoelectric coolers to the fishing industry.", "Thermoelectric coolers utilize the Peltier Effect to create a heat pump.", "The thermoelectric cooler utilizes a DC current to cause electrons to flow between a heat source and a heat sink.", "The direction of the current flow determines which side of the thermoelectric cooler will act as heat sink (i.e., extracts heat from its surface environment), and which side will act as heat source (i.e., inject heat into its surface environment).", "That is, reversal of polarity will cause heat to flow in the opposite direction.", "Thus we have cooling side and a heating side whose positions can be reversed through a change of direction of the DC current.", "The thermoelectric cooler can also vary the temperature of the heat source and heat sink through varying the strength of the voltage being used.", "The stronger the current, the higher the temperature differential between the two sides of the thermoelectric cooler.", "Through the introduction of thermoelectric coolers to the live well, the temperature of the water in the tank can be varied by changes to the direction of current and strength of current flowing through the thermoelectric cooler.", "As the thermoelectric cooler has no moving parts and no tubes, there is no possibility of clogging or damage from the circulating water.", "As live wells are made in differing sizes, the number of thermoelectric coolers introduced to a given tank can be matched to the water volume and speed with which temperature changes are desired.", "Introduction of a thermostatically-controlled rheostat along with the thermoelectric cooler would allow the fisherman to select the desired temperature of the holding tank and let the rheostat vary the current going to the thermoelectric cooler in order to vary the water temperature.", "Utilizing thermoelectric coolers in the holding tank eliminates the need for ice and the cost of replenishment that it brings.", "The thermoelectric coolers also address the need for a system that has as few moving parts as possible.", "Moving parts break.", "Thermoelectric coolers have no moving parts thus there is nothing to break down during use.", "Lastly, the small amount of electrical current needed to power the thermoelectric coolers can be supplied by batteries; themselves recharged via solar panels or other recharging methods if necessary.", "In another embodiment of the invention, an additional thermostat may be utilized that is placed in surrounding lake water (i.e., outside of a fishing vessel or on the exterior of the hull below the waterline so it remains submerged), such that no manual input is needed and the rheostat uses the external thermostat as feedback to control the temperature of the fluid medium in the live well, such that the temperature consistently matches that of the surrounding lake (i.e., the natural habitat of the fish in containment, which it may be reasonably assumed is an ideal environment to maintain their health).", "In another preferred embodiment of the invention, a method for maintaining the health of live fish in containment, comprising the steps of selecting a temperature setting, optionally retrieving an initial temperature setting from a thermostat, applying a direct current to a thermoelectric cooler, receiving thermostat feedback on the results of the cooler operation, and adjusting the current based at least in part on the feedback, is disclosed.", "According to the embodiment, operation may continue in a looping fashion such that the current is continuously manipulated to maintain temperature based on feedback from a plurality of thermostats, and an initial setting may be either manually input by a user or retrieved from a thermostat (such as a thermostat placed on the outside of a vessel), interchangeably.", "In another preferred embodiment of the invention, a system for healthy containment of live fish comprising a live well for containing live fish in a fluid medium (such as lake water from the habitat where the fish were found), a plurality of thermoelectric coolers connected to a direct current (DC) source (such as a battery, generator, or other suitable source of direct electric current), and a thermostatically-controlled rheostat that may automatically vary current to the thermoelectric coolers according to a predefined or configurable setting, is disclosed.", "According to the embodiment, a live well controller may perform functions similar to a rheostat as described previously, as well as provide additional control and monitoring by communicating with any of a plurality of connected hardware devices in a live well arrangement, such as temperature sensors, pH sensors, salinity sensors, heat exchangers, individual thermoelectric coolers, or any other such devices that may be utilized as a component of or accessory to a live well.", "Further according to the embodiment, a live well controller may communicate via a data communication network such as the Internet or similar packet-based network, and may receive input data from network-connected devices such as software products or services (for example, various cloud-based services) or mobile computing devices such as a personal computer or smartphone.", "A network-connected live well controller may also provide live well data to network-connected devices, such as for monitoring of live well conditions, sensor values, or device operation." ], [ "CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "15/644,075, entitled “SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR MAINTAINING THE HEALTH OF CAPTIVE FISH IN A MOBILE ENVIRONMENT”, filed on Jul.", "7, 2017, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "14/289,578, entitled “SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR MAINTAINING THE HEALTH OF CAPTIVE FISH IN A MOBILE ENVIRONMENT”, filed on May 28, 2014, now issued as U.S. Pat.", "No.", "9,801,361 on May 28, 2014, which claims benefit of, and priority to, U.S. provisional patent application 61/828,080, entitled “METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR HEALTHY CONTAINMENT OF LIVE FISH”, filed on May 28, 2013, the entire specification of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.", "BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Art The disclosure relates to the field of fishing equipment, and more particularly to the field of maintaining the health of live fish in a captive, mobile environment.", "Discussion of the State of the Art The sport of fishing involves a number of technologies designed to keep fish healthy until needed.", "In most cases, the equipment utilized for live bait is often the same equipment utilized for the holding of caught fish though the actual containment areas will be separated from one another.", "The technology in use today for preserving the health of fish while fishing commonly involves the use of a tank or live well of some sort through which water is re-circulated, the temperature is modulated as necessary and oxygenation of the water occurs through the introduction of fresh water or aeration of the tank water.", "All three of these things (water temperature, oxygenation and water cleanliness), work together to help keep the contained fish healthy.", "Re-circulation of water through the live well helps to maintain the proper level of oxygen.", "Water being returned to the live well via the re-circulation pump is gently sprayed into the tank thus allowing the returning water to absorb oxygen prior to landing in the live well.", "This re-circulation process also brings about the need for temperature modulation.", "Water in any kind of live well will change temperature through simple absorption of the heat or cold in the environment.", "Aeration of the re-circulated water being returned to the live well will lower the temperature of the water.", "The ideal design of a live well is for the water temp in the tank to match as closely as possible, the water temperature in the fish's natural habitat.", "Re-circulating the live well water provides the opportunity to expose the water to chilled pipes or warmed pipes and is frequently the method of varying the temperature of the water.", "Thus we have a system in which all three requirements must be a part of any live well for fish.", "The challenge is finding a way to deliver each of the three requirements in which meeting any one of the requirements has a minimum impact on the other two requirements.", "Today, the common method for varying the temperature of the water in the live well is to introduce cooler water from melting ice.", "While this does indeed lower the water temperature, the amount of ice needed for a full day of fishing on a lake is more than most boats can carry thus fishing boats must return to the docks to replenish ice stores on a regular basis.", "The round trip from the fishing spot to the docks and back costs a significant amount of money in terms of fishing time lost, gas to transit back and forth and increased boat weight.", "The issue of oxygenation of the live well's water is often addressed through the frequency of water circulation.", "The most common method of oxygenation of the water is to spray the water back into the live well.", "Spraying has no mechanical parts beyond the circulation pump and is not prone to failure.", "Spraying does alter the water temperature and depending upon the difference between the ambient air and the desired temperature of the water, additional water cooling may be needed to counter the effects of heat being absorbed by the water from the ambient air.", "The common method for addressing the rising temperature of the water in the live well is to add ice water to the tank.", "As described earlier, using ice to cool the water only works when you have ice available.", "There are a variety of ways in which these three requirements have been addressed.", "For example, the use of a radiator through which the water in the live well is passed in order to lower the temperature.", "While this approach has merit, it relies on filtered water to prevent the clogging of the tiny capillaries located in the radiator.", "Lake water and organic fish material are likely to bring about such a clogging of the radiator over time.", "In addition, a radiator is good for cooling but has no ability to heat water should that be necessary.", "A similar problem is found when looking at approaches involving a recirculating water system that combines aeration along with cooling to help create a healthful tank environment.", "This approach also has merit but relies heavily on a tank of ice in order to have cooled coils over which the tank water can pass in order to be cooled.", "This brings the general problem of ice consumption into the picture thus solving the temperature problem but not addressing the ice problem.", "What is needed is a means of addressing all three of the requirements without the use of ice, without mechanical circulation systems that can clog and without having wide swings in water temperature that affect the health of the fish.", "Such a system ought to be able to be delivered in a variety of forms including being fitted into existing holding tanks in boats, incorporated into new holding tanks in boats and as a stand-alone holding tank that has no reliance on a boat's fittings.", "SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, the inventor has conceived and reduced to practice, in a preferred embodiment of the invention, a system and method for maintaining the health of fish in a mobile captive environment (such as a fishing vessel), without the use of ice or the risks of clogging, and that may be used to maintain an ideal temperature with minimal fluctuation.", "According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, a system for healthy containment of live fish comprising a live well for containing live fish in a fluid medium (such as lake water from the habitat where the fish were found), a plurality of thermoelectric coolers connected to a direct current (DC) source (such as a battery, generator, or other suitable source of direct electric current), and a thermostatically-controlled rheostat that may automatically vary current to the thermoelectric coolers according to a predefined or configurable setting, is disclosed.", "According to the embodiment, a plurality of thermoelectric coolers may be placed in the fluid medium containing live fish, and a rheostat may be used such that a user (i.e., a fisherman) may select a desired temperature or range and the rheostat will automatically vary the current flow to the thermoelectric coolers based on thermostat feedback from the fluid medium, such that a consistent temperature is maintained automatically.", "This invention introduces the technology of thermoelectric coolers to the fishing industry.", "Thermoelectric coolers utilize the Peltier Effect to create a heat pump.", "The thermoelectric cooler utilizes a DC current to cause electrons to flow between a heat source and a heat sink.", "The direction of the current flow determines which side of the thermoelectric cooler will act as heat sink (i.e., extracts heat from its surface environment), and which side will act as heat source (i.e., inject heat into its surface environment).", "That is, reversal of polarity will cause heat to flow in the opposite direction.", "Thus we have cooling side and a heating side whose positions can be reversed through a change of direction of the DC current.", "The thermoelectric cooler can also vary the temperature of the heat source and heat sink through varying the strength of the voltage being used.", "The stronger the current, the higher the temperature differential between the two sides of the thermoelectric cooler.", "Through the introduction of thermoelectric coolers to the live well, the temperature of the water in the tank can be varied by changes to the direction of current and strength of current flowing through the thermoelectric cooler.", "As the thermoelectric cooler has no moving parts and no tubes, there is no possibility of clogging or damage from the circulating water.", "As live wells are made in differing sizes, the number of thermoelectric coolers introduced to a given tank can be matched to the water volume and speed with which temperature changes are desired.", "Introduction of a thermostatically-controlled rheostat along with the thermoelectric cooler would allow the fisherman to select the desired temperature of the holding tank and let the rheostat vary the current going to the thermoelectric cooler in order to vary the water temperature.", "Utilizing thermoelectric coolers in the holding tank eliminates the need for ice and the cost of replenishment that it brings.", "The thermoelectric coolers also address the need for a system that has as few moving parts as possible.", "Moving parts break.", "Thermoelectric coolers have no moving parts thus there is nothing to break down during use.", "Lastly, the small amount of electrical current needed to power the thermoelectric coolers can be supplied by batteries; themselves recharged via solar panels or other recharging methods if necessary.", "In another embodiment of the invention, an additional thermostat may be utilized that is placed in surrounding lake water (i.e., outside of a fishing vessel or on the exterior of the hull below the waterline so it remains submerged), such that no manual input is needed and the rheostat uses the external thermostat as feedback to control the temperature of the fluid medium in the live well, such that the temperature consistently matches that of the surrounding lake (i.e., the natural habitat of the fish in containment, which it may be reasonably assumed is an ideal environment to maintain their health).", "In another preferred embodiment of the invention, a method for maintaining the health of live fish in containment, comprising the steps of selecting a temperature setting, optionally retrieving an initial temperature setting from a thermostat, applying a direct current to a thermoelectric cooler, receiving thermostat feedback on the results of the cooler operation, and adjusting the current based at least in part on the feedback, is disclosed.", "According to the embodiment, operation may continue in a looping fashion such that the current is continuously manipulated to maintain temperature based on feedback from a plurality of thermostats, and an initial setting may be either manually input by a user or retrieved from a thermostat (such as a thermostat placed on the outside of a vessel), interchangeably.", "In another preferred embodiment of the invention, a system for healthy containment of live fish comprising a live well for containing live fish in a fluid medium (such as lake water from the habitat where the fish were found), a plurality of thermoelectric coolers connected to a direct current (DC) source (such as a battery, generator, or other suitable source of direct electric current), and a thermostatically-controlled rheostat that may automatically vary current to the thermoelectric coolers according to a predefined or configurable setting, is disclosed.", "According to the embodiment, a live well controller may perform functions similar to a rheostat as described previously, as well as provide additional control and monitoring by communicating with any of a plurality of connected hardware devices in a live well arrangement, such as temperature sensors, pH sensors, salinity sensors, heat exchangers, individual thermoelectric coolers, or any other such devices that may be utilized as a component of or accessory to a live well.", "Further according to the embodiment, a live well controller may communicate via a data communication network such as the Internet or similar packet-based network, and may receive input data from network-connected devices such as software products or services (for example, various cloud-based services) or mobile computing devices such as a personal computer or smartphone.", "A network-connected live well controller may also provide live well data to network-connected devices, such as for monitoring of live well conditions, sensor values, or device operation.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES The accompanying drawings illustrate several embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention according to the embodiments.", "It will be appreciated by one skilled in the art that the particular embodiments illustrated in the drawings are merely exemplary, and are not to be considered as limiting of the scope of the invention or the claims herein in any way.", "FIG.", "1 is a side-view illustration of a live well.", "FIG.", "2 is a front view illustration of a heat exchanger tank with multiple thermoelectric coolers installed in the walls of the tank.", "FIG.", "3 is a depiction of the thermometric rheostat that monitors the water temperature in the live well and varies the water temperature via control of the current going to the thermoelectric coolers and the speed of the re-circulation pumps.", "FIG.", "4 is a method flow diagram illustrating an exemplary method for maintaining the health of captive fish in a mobile environment, according to a preferred embodiment of the invention.", "FIG.", "5 is an illustration of an arrangement of a live well utilizing a network-connected live well controller, according to a preferred embodiment of the invention.", "FIG.", "6 is an illustration of an exemplary software user interface operating on a mobile device for interaction with a network-connected live well controller, according to an embodiment of the invention.", "FIG.", "7 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary hardware architecture of a computing device used in an embodiment of the invention.", "FIG.", "8 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary logical architecture for a client device, according to an embodiment of the invention.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION The inventor has conceived, and reduced to practice, a system and method for maintaining the health of captive fish in a mobile environment.", "One or more different inventions may be described in the present application.", "Further, for one or more of the inventions described herein, numerous alternative embodiments may be described; it should be appreciated that these are presented for illustrative purposes only and are not limiting of the inventions contained herein or the claims presented herein in any way.", "One or more of the inventions may be widely applicable to numerous embodiments, as may be readily apparent from the disclosure.", "In general, embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice one or more of the inventions, and it should be appreciated that other embodiments may be utilized and that structural, logical, software, electrical and other changes may be made without departing from the scope of the particular inventions.", "Accordingly, one skilled in the art will recognize that one or more of the inventions may be practiced with various modifications and alterations.", "Particular features of one or more of the inventions described herein may be described with reference to one or more particular embodiments or figures that form a part of the present disclosure, and in which are shown, by way of illustration, specific embodiments of one or more of the inventions.", "It should be appreciated, however, that such features are not limited to usage in the one or more particular embodiments or figures with reference to which they are described.", "The present disclosure is neither a literal description of all embodiments of one or more of the inventions nor a listing of features of one or more of the inventions that must be present in all embodiments.", "Headings of sections provided in this patent application and the title of this patent application are for convenience only, and are not to be taken as limiting the disclosure in any way.", "Devices that are in communication with each other need not be in continuous communication with each other, unless expressly specified otherwise.", "In addition, devices that are in communication with each other may communicate directly or indirectly through one or more communication means or intermediaries, logical or physical.", "A description of an embodiment with several components in communication with each other does not imply that all such components are required.", "To the contrary, a variety of optional components may be described to illustrate a wide variety of possible embodiments of one or more of the inventions and in order to more fully illustrate one or more aspects of the inventions.", "Similarly, although process steps, method steps, algorithms or the like may be described in a sequential order, such processes, methods and algorithms may generally be configured to work in alternate orders, unless specifically stated to the contrary.", "In other words, any sequence or order of steps that may be described in this patent application does not, in and of itself, indicate a requirement that the steps be performed in that order.", "The steps of described processes may be performed in any order practical.", "Further, some steps may be performed simultaneously despite being described or implied as occurring non-simultaneously (e.g., because one step is described after the other step).", "Moreover, the illustration of a process by its depiction in a drawing does not imply that the illustrated process is exclusive of other variations and modifications thereto, does not imply that the illustrated process or any of its steps are necessary to one or more of the invention(s), and does not imply that the illustrated process is preferred.", "Also, steps are generally described once per embodiment, but this does not mean they must occur once, or that they may only occur once each time a process, method, or algorithm is carried out or executed.", "Some steps may be omitted in some embodiments or some occurrences, or some steps may be executed more than once in a given embodiment or occurrence.", "When a single device or article is described herein, it will be readily apparent that more than one device or article may be used in place of a single device or article.", "Similarly, where more than one device or article is described herein, it will be readily apparent that a single device or article may be used in place of the more than one device or article.", "The functionality or the features of a device may be alternatively embodied by one or more other devices that are not explicitly described as having such functionality or features.", "Thus, other embodiments of one or more of the inventions need not include the device itself.", "Techniques and mechanisms described or referenced herein will sometimes be described in singular form for clarity.", "However, it should be appreciated that particular embodiments may include multiple iterations of a technique or multiple instantiations of a mechanism unless noted otherwise.", "Process descriptions or blocks in figures should be understood as representing modules, segments, or portions of code which include one or more executable instructions for implementing specific logical functions or steps in the process.", "Alternate implementations are included within the scope of embodiments of the present invention in which, for example, functions may be executed out of order from that shown or discussed, including substantially concurrently or in reverse order, depending on the functionality involved, as would be understood by those having ordinary skill in the art.", "Hardware Architecture Generally, the techniques disclosed herein may be implemented on hardware or a combination of software and hardware.", "For example, they may be implemented in an operating system kernel, in a separate user process, in a library package bound into network applications, on a specially constructed machine, on an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or on a network interface card.", "Software/hardware hybrid implementations of at least some of the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented on a programmable network-resident machine (which should be understood to include intermittently connected network-aware machines) selectively activated or reconfigured by a computer program stored in memory.", "Such network devices may have multiple network interfaces that may be configured or designed to utilize different types of network communication protocols.", "A general architecture for some of these machines may be described herein in order to illustrate one or more exemplary means by which a given unit of functionality may be implemented.", "According to specific embodiments, at least some of the features or functionalities of the various embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented on one or more general-purpose computers associated with one or more networks, such as for example an end-user computer system, a client computer, a network server or other server system, a mobile computing device (e.g., tablet computing device, mobile phone, smartphone, laptop, or other appropriate computing device), a consumer electronic device, a music player, or any other suitable electronic device, router, switch, or other suitable device, or any combination thereof.", "In at least some embodiments, at least some of the features or functionalities of the various embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented in one or more virtualized computing environments (e.g., network computing clouds, virtual machines hosted on one or more physical computing machines, or other appropriate virtual environments).", "Referring now to FIG.", "7, there is shown a block diagram depicting an exemplary computing device 700 suitable for implementing at least a portion of the features or functionalities disclosed herein.", "Computing device 700 may be, for example, any one of the computing machines listed in the previous paragraph, or indeed any other electronic device capable of executing software- or hardware-based instructions according to one or more programs stored in memory.", "Computing device 700 may be adapted to communicate with a plurality of other computing devices, such as clients or servers, over communications networks such as a wide area network a metropolitan area network, a local area network, a wireless network, the Internet, or any other network, using known protocols for such communication, whether wireless or wired.", "In one embodiment, computing device 700 includes one or more central processing units (CPU) 702, one or more interfaces 710, and one or more busses 706 (such as a peripheral component interconnect (PCI) bus).", "When acting under the control of appropriate software or firmware, CPU 702 may be responsible for implementing specific functions associated with the functions of a specifically configured computing device or machine.", "For example, in at least one embodiment, a computing device 700 may be configured or designed to function as a server system utilizing CPU 702, local memory 701 and/or remote memory 720, and interface(s) 710.In at least one embodiment, CPU 702 may be caused to perform one or more of the different types of functions and/or operations under the control of software modules or components, which for example, may include an operating system and any appropriate applications software, drivers, and the like.", "CPU 702 may include one or more processors 703 such as, for example, a processor from one of the Intel, ARM, Qualcomm, and AMD families of microprocessors.", "In some embodiments, processors 703 may include specially designed hardware such as application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), electrically erasable programmable read-only memories (EEPROMs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), and so forth, for controlling operations of computing device 700.In a specific embodiment, a local memory 701 (such as non-volatile random access memory (RAM) and/or read-only memory (ROM), including for example one or more levels of cached memory) may also form part of CPU 702.However, there are many different ways in which memory may be coupled to system 700.Memory 701 may be used for a variety of purposes such as, for example, caching and/or storing data, programming instructions, and the like.", "It should be further appreciated that CPU 702 may be one of a variety of system-on-a-chip (SOC) type hardware that may include additional hardware such as memory or graphics processing chips, such as a Qualcomm SNAPDRAGON™ or Samsung EXYNOS™ CPU as are becoming increasingly common in the art, such as for use in mobile devices or integrated devices.", "As used herein, the term “processor” is not limited merely to those integrated circuits referred to in the art as a processor, a mobile processor, or a microprocessor, but broadly refers to a microcontroller, a microcomputer, a programmable logic controller, an application-specific integrated circuit, and any other programmable circuit.", "In one embodiment, interfaces 710 are provided as network interface cards (NICs).", "Generally, NICs control the sending and receiving of data packets over a computer network; other types of interfaces 710 may for example support other peripherals used with computing device 700.Among the interfaces that may be provided are Ethernet interfaces, frame relay interfaces, cable interfaces, DSL interfaces, token ring interfaces, graphics interfaces, and the like.", "In addition, various types of interfaces may be provided such as, for example, universal serial bus (USB), Serial, Ethernet, FIREWIRE™, THUNDERBOLT™, PCI, parallel, radio frequency (RF), BLUETOOTH™, near-field communications (e.g., using near-field magnetics), 802.11 (WiFi), frame relay, TCP/IP, ISDN, fast Ethernet interfaces, Gigabit Ethernet interfaces, Serial ATA (SATA) or external SATA (ESATA) interfaces, high-definition multimedia interface (HDMI), digital visual interface (DVI), analog or digital audio interfaces, asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) interfaces, high-speed serial interface (HSSI) interfaces, Point of Sale (POS) interfaces, fiber data distributed interfaces (FDDIs), and the like.", "Generally, such interfaces 710 may include physical ports appropriate for communication with appropriate media.", "In some cases, they may also include an independent processor (such as a dedicated audio or video processor, as is common in the art for high-fidelity AN hardware interfaces) and, in some instances, volatile and/or non-volatile memory (e.g., RAM).", "Although the system shown in FIG.", "7 illustrates one specific architecture for a computing device 700 for implementing one or more of the inventions described herein, it is by no means the only device architecture on which at least a portion of the features and techniques described herein may be implemented.", "For example, architectures having one or any number of processors 703 may be used, and such processors 703 may be present in a single device or distributed among any number of devices.", "In one embodiment, a single processor 703 handles communications as well as routing computations, while in other embodiments a separate dedicated communications processor may be provided.", "In various embodiments, different types of features or functionalities may be implemented in a system according to the invention that includes a client device (such as a tablet device or smartphone running client software) and server systems (such as a server system described in more detail below).", "Regardless of network device configuration, the system of the present invention may employ one or more memories or memory modules (such as, for example, remote memory block 720 and local memory 701) configured to store data, program instructions for the general-purpose network operations, or other information relating to the functionality of the embodiments described herein (or any combinations of the above).", "Program instructions may control execution of or comprise an operating system and/or one or more applications, for example.", "Memory 720 or memories 701, 720 may also be configured to store data structures, configuration data, encryption data, historical system operations information, or any other specific or generic non-program information described herein.", "Because such information and program instructions may be employed to implement one or more systems or methods described herein, at least some network device embodiments may include nontransitory machine-readable storage media, which, for example, may be configured or designed to store program instructions, state information, and the like for performing various operations described herein.", "Examples of such nontransitory machine-readable storage media include, but are not limited to, magnetic media such as hard disks, floppy disks, and magnetic tape; optical media such as CD-ROM disks; magneto-optical media such as optical disks, and hardware devices that are specially configured to store and perform program instructions, such as read-only memory devices (ROM), flash memory (as is common in mobile devices and integrated systems), solid state drives (SSD) and “hybrid SSD” storage drives that may combine physical components of solid state and hard disk drives in a single hardware device (as are becoming increasingly common in the art with regard to personal computers), memristor memory, random access memory (RAM), and the like.", "It should be appreciated that such storage means may be integral and non-removable (such as RAM hardware modules that may be soldered onto a motherboard or otherwise integrated into an electronic device), or they may be removable such as swappable flash memory modules (such as “thumb drives” or other removable media designed for rapidly exchanging physical storage devices), “hot-swappable” hard disk drives or solid state drives, removable optical storage discs, or other such removable media, and that such integral and removable storage media may be utilized interchangeably.", "Examples of program instructions include both object code, such as may be produced by a compiler, machine code, such as may be produced by an assembler or a linker, byte code, such as may be generated by for example a Java™ compiler and may be executed using a Java virtual machine or equivalent, or files containing higher level code that may be executed by the computer using an interpreter (for example, scripts written in Python, Perl, Ruby, Groovy, or any other scripting language).", "In some embodiments, systems according to the present invention may be implemented on a standalone computing system.", "Referring now to FIG.", "8, there is shown a block diagram depicting a typical exemplary architecture of one or more embodiments or components thereof on a standalone computing system.", "Computing device 800 includes processors 810 that may run software that carry out one or more functions or applications of embodiments of the invention, such as for example a client application 830.Processors 810 may carry out computing instructions under control of an operating system 820 such as, for example, a version of Microsoft's WINDOWS™ operating system, Apple's Mac OS/X or iOS operating systems, some variety of the Linux operating system, Google's ANDROID™ operating system, or the like.", "In many cases, one or more shared services 825 may be operable in system 800, and may be useful for providing common services to client applications 830.Services 825 may for example be WINDOWS™ services, user-space common services in a Linux environment, or any other type of common service architecture used with operating system 810.Input devices 870 may be of any type suitable for receiving user input, including for example a keyboard, touchscreen, microphone (for example, for voice input), mouse, touchpad, trackball, or any combination thereof.", "Output devices 860 may be of any type suitable for providing output to one or more users, whether remote or local to system 800, and may include for example one or more screens for visual output, speakers, printers, or any combination thereof.", "Memory 840 may be random-access memory having any structure and architecture known in the art, for use by processors 810, for example to run software.", "Storage devices 850 may be any magnetic, optical, mechanical, memristor, or electrical storage device for storage of data in digital form (such as those described above, referring to FIG.", "7).", "Examples of storage devices 850 include flash memory, magnetic hard drive, CD-ROM, and/or the like.", "FIG.", "1 is a side-view illustration of a live well 100.The live well 100 is a tank in which fish may be placed.", "Its size and shape will reflect the installation location be it fishing vessel or portable (such as hand-carried) form.", "The live well may be filled with water 101 that may be treated to match the fish's natural habitat, salt water or fresh water.", "A hose may be connected to the live well 104 to allow water to be drawn from the live well and sent through a heat exchanger (as illustrated below, referring to FIG.", "2) before being returned to the tank via the return feed hose 102.The temperature of the water in the live well may be continually measured by a temperature sensor 103.FIG.", "2 is a front view illustration of a heat exchanger tank 200 with multiple thermoelectric coolers installed in the walls of the tank.", "The heat exchanger 200 may receive water drawn from a live well 100 through an input tube 205.This water passes through the heat exchanger and may be returned to the live well 100 via the output tube 206.Water flowing through the heat exchanger 200 may pass over a plurality of thermoelectric coolers 208.The size of the live well and the temperature difference between the live well and the ambient temperature may determine how many thermoelectric coolers will be installed into the heat exchanger.", "The thermoelectric coolers 208 may be electrically connected to a power cable 207 through which DC current is supplied from a source (such as a battery, engine, generator, or other appropriate source of direct electrical current).", "Varying the polarity (that is, the direction in which a current flows) of the DC current along with the voltage and amperage may allow the thermoelectric coolers to warm or cool the water as it passes by.", "The external sides of the thermoelectric coolers 208 may be exposed to body of water where fishing is occurring.", "The allows the large body of water to act as a heat sink for one side of the thermoelectric coolers, drawing heat away from the live well and fish within.", "The temperature of the water flowing out of the heat exchanger may be continually measured by a temperature sensor 210 located within the heat exchanger.", "Monitoring the temperature of the water exiting the heat exchanger during re-circulation allows for various rates of temperature change in the live well.", "Small differences between the temperature in the live well versus the heat exchanger temperature would bring about a very gradual change in the live well water temperature.", "Larger differences would bring about more rapid changes in the live well water temperature.", "Various embodiments of manual override options to the thermoelectric rheostat would provide the flexibility to introduce personal preferences into the live well temperature management process.", "The heat exchanger may be suspended from a fishing boat via mounting loops 211 or similar means of mounting or suspension.", "A plurality of bumpers 212 may be installed on the outside of the heat exchanger in order to ensure a sufficient gap exists between the heat exchanger 200 and the side of a fishing boat where the heat exchanger is suspended.", "The electrical current used to operate the thermoelectric coolers and the wire carrying the temperature information from the temperature sensor 210 may be brought together at a termination point 213.This termination point should ideally be watertight, thus the connection will be sealed prior to initial usage.", "FIG.", "3 is a depiction of a thermometric rheostat 300 that may monitor the water temperature in a live well 100 and may vary the water temperature via control of a current going to thermoelectric coolers 108 and may also vary the speed of re-circulation pumps (not shown).", "The temperature sensor 103 from a live well and the temperature sensor 210 from the heat exchanger may be connected to a thermometric rheostat 300 using connectors 308 & 309.The purpose of the thermoelectric rheostat may be to evaluate the temperature of the water in the live well and activate the re-circulation pumps and the heat exchanger to raise or lower the water temperature appropriately.", "The DC current may enter the thermoelectric rheostat at the positive and negative connectors 302 and 303.A re-circulation pump may be connected to terminals 304 & 305.The thermoelectric coolers may connect to the rheostat via terminals 307 & 306.A dial 301 on the front of the thermometric rheostat 300 may be used to set the desired temperature of the live well water manually if desired.", "In normal operation, a temperature sensor 103 may provide signaling to a thermostatically controlled rheostat 300 indicating the current temperature in a live well 100.The rheostat 300 may interpret the signaling and determine the difference between the live well temperature and a target temperature.", "If it is determined that the water in the live well needs to be heated, a direct current of the appropriate polarity may be sent to thermoelectric coolers 208 and a circulation pump may be engaged.", "When the target temperature in the live well has been reached, the power may be shut off to both the re-circulation pump and the thermoelectric coolers.", "If the water in the live well needs to be cooled, the same process occurs with the exception that the polarity of the direct current going to the thermoelectric coolers 208 will be reversed, such that heat flows in the opposite direction (from the exterior environment into the live well, rather than drawn away from the live well and dissipated).", "It may also be possible to set the thermoelectric rheostat to continually run the re-circulation pumps and only activate the thermoelectric coolers as the temperature sensors indicate a need, thus maintaining a continuous flow or circulation of water as may be desirable, while maintaining a consistent temperature rather than heating or cooling simultaneously to the circulation operation.", "Detailed Description of Exemplary Embodiments FIG.", "4 is a method flow diagram illustrating an exemplary method for maintaining the health of captive fish in a mobile environment, according to a preferred embodiment of the invention.", "In an initial step 401, a temperature setting may be selected either manually such as by setting a dial or digital temperature selector, or automatically such as by optionally retrieving an initial temperature setting from a thermostat in an optional step 402.In a next step 403 a direct current may be applied to a thermoelectric cooler, such as a Peltier module.", "In a next step 404, feedback may be received from a thermostat such as to report on the results of the thermoelectric cooler operation (i.e., to indicate a temperature increase or decrease according to the operation mode of the cooler).", "In a final step 405, the current may then be adjusted (such as by varying the voltage or amperage, or reversing the current flow or polarity) based at least in part on the feedback, such as to alter the temperature further in an intelligent manner.", "According to the embodiment, operation may continue in a looping fashion such that the current is continuously manipulated to maintain temperature based on feedback from a plurality of thermostats, and an initial setting may be either manually input by a user or retrieved from a thermostat (such as a thermostat placed on the outside of a vessel), interchangeably.", "FIG.", "5 is an illustration of an arrangement of a live well 100 utilizing a network-connected live well controller 501, according to a preferred embodiment of the invention.", "According to the embodiment, a live well controller 501 may be connected to, and in communication with, components of a live well 100, such as by a direct wired connection or through a networked or wireless connection communicating over airwaves (such as using WiFi or BLUETOOTH™, for example).", "Components of a live well 100 may include, but are not limited to, a plurality of temperature sensors 103, heat exchangers 200, or individual thermoelectric coolers 208, all of which are described above in greater detail with regard to their functionality (referring to FIGS.", "1-3), but generally according to the embodiment a temperature sensor 103 may monitor a temperature of water (or other fluid) inside or outside a live well, a cooler 208 may apply thermoelectric heating or cooling techniques to alter a temperature of a fluid within a live well, and a heat exchanger 200 may comprise a number of thermoelectric coolers 208 and may direct the operation of such coolers 208 to regulate a temperature of a fluid being conducted through the heat exchanger 200.A live well controller 501 may communicate with such live well components, such as to receive information (for example, temperature readings from a temperature sensor 103) or to provide instruction for operation (for example, to provide a target temperature to a heat exchanger 200), such that a live well controller 501 may be used to interactively direct the operation of various live well components individually or in combination.", "In this manner, a controller 501 may provide similar functionality as that of a rheostat (described above, referring to FIG.", "3), adjusting and regulating the operation of live well components to alter or maintain temperature of a contained fluid.", "Additionally, a live well controller 501 may provide further control beyond that of a rheostat, by utilizing additional sensors or other hardware components according to a particular arrangement of a live well 100; for example, salinity sensors may be utilized to monitor the salinity of seawater within a live well 100, or pH sensors to monitor acidity.", "In this manner it can be appreciated that the use of a controller according to the embodiment may provide increased feedback and control over a live well 100 that would not otherwise be possible in rheostat-based configurations or through manual control of live well components.", "According to the embodiment, a live well controller 501 may communicate via a network 502 such as the Internet or a local area network (LAN), using any of a variety of suitable communication hardware or protocols such as (for example, but not limited to) WiFi, BLUETOOTH™, satellite, or cellular communication means.", "In this manner a live well controller 501 may connect to a variety of network-connected products or services, such as a plurality of cloud-based services 504, for example including data storage services (such as DROPBOX™ or GOOGLE DRIVE™), monitoring or automation services such as IFTTT™, or communication services such as email or short message service (SMS) notification systems.", "In this manner the functionality of a live well controller 501 may be further extended through interaction or integration with various external or third-party services, and also through the use of communication services such as SMS the operation of a live well controller 501 (and thus, the operation of a live well 100) may be more closely monitored by a user (for example, if a defined metric such as acidity or temperature exceeds a specified value or range, a notification or message could be sent to alert the user to take action).", "A live well controller 501 may also communicate with a user device 503, such as a smartphone or personal computer, for example to present data for user review or to receive user input to facilitate a degree of manual control.", "For example, a user may use a smartphone operating a software application that provides a reporting or interaction user interface, where they may review various input data from a live well 100 as collected and presented by a live well controller 501, such as the temperature, salinity, acidity, or fill level of a contained fluid within a live well 100.The user may also be presented with a variety of interactive interface elements or other suitable means for interaction, to configure or control the operation of a live well controller 501 manually, such as to define a preferred temperature range or set a fill level to maintain during operation, or to configure various notification alerts, or “trigger” values that should alert the user; for example, to alert the user immediately if a fluid temperature exceeds a certain value or if acidity varies beyond a target range.", "Various specific exemplary functions of such a software application are described below in greater detail, referring to FIG.", "6.A further function of a live well controller may be the storage and reference of historical sensor or other data, for example to track conditions in a body of water over a period of several days or from one season or year to the next.", "Such historical data may then be used to more accurately control conditions within a live well, for example by making predictions based on historical trends and adjusting conditions in anticipation of environment changes in order to minimize any discrepancies between a contained fluid within a live well and an external environment.", "In this manner, the use of a network-connected live well controller 501 may provide enhanced operation of a live well 100 through the use of network-enabled functions and automated behaviors, enabling a user to configure a live well with a fine level of control and then rely on a live well controller 501 to maintain a set configuration.", "Additionally, through the use of connected sensors and other live well hardware components (as described above), adaptive or learning behavior may be provided by a live well controller 501, wherein live well components (such as temperature sensors 103, heat exchangers 200, or other hardware devices) may be directed, controlled, or adjusted by a live well controller 501 based at least in part on received input data, and optionally based at least in part on configured parameters received from a user via a user device 503 such as defined temperature or acidity ranges (for example).", "It should be appreciated that various arrangements may use additional or alternate live well components or data parameters, thereby providing a variety of functionalities according to a particular arrangement or desired purpose (such as maintaining an ideal water environment within a live well 100 for the healthy containment of live fish).", "Additionally, it should be appreciated that various enhanced functions provided by a network-connected live well controller 501 may be utilized regardless of network connectivity; for example, in an arrangement for containment of live fish while fishing out on a body of water such as a lake, a user may connect to a live well controller 501 with a mobile device 503 and configure parameters or behaviors for operation.", "Then, while fishing on the body of water, network signal may be inconsistent, weak, or unavailable; in the case that a network connection is not available, a live well controller 501 may continue to operate according to a user's configuration settings, and may optionally maintain a LAN connection to the user's device 503 such as via BLUETOOTH™ or WiFi, for example to send the user notifications according to a particular configuration.", "In this manner a live well controller 501 and user device 503 may interact with one another regardless of the state of an external network connection, and when an external connection becomes available, a connection may be re-established to any configured cloud services 504 and any additional or enhanced functionality may then be utilized while a connection remains active.", "If an external connection is lost, operation may continue according to a “last known state”, or a set of configuration settings that were in use when a connection was lost.", "In this manner, operation may continue without interruption, and as network connections become available configuration settings such as behaviors or parameter values or ranges may be updated when possible, but in the absence of a network connection functionality is not lost.", "FIG.", "6 is an illustration of an exemplary software user interface 610 operating on a mobile device 600 for interaction with a network-connected live well controller, according to an embodiment of the invention.", "According to the embodiment, a user interface 610 may comprise interactive controls such as buttons, drop-down menus, lists, text boxes, or other interactive indicia for a user to (for example) configure desired values 611 for various measurable characteristics according to an arrangement of a live well (as described above, referring to FIG.", "5), or to configure notifications or alerts 612 such as based on changes in monitored values.", "In an exemplary arrangement shown, controls 613 may be presented for a user to increase or decrease a desired metric value such as a temperature or pH level of a fluid within a live well (such as water being maintained in a specific manner for the healthy accommodation of fish, for example).", "By varying these values a user may be given control over the desired environment within a live well, according to the nature of a particular arrangement; for example, in an arrangement utilizing salinity sensors and means to add or remove dissolved salts from a contained fluid, controls may be given to alter a target salinity level within a live well.", "Additional controls 614 may be provided to choose whether or not to employ adaptive behavior, or automatic adjustments to target values based on sensor measurements.", "For example, in an arrangement of a live well for accommodating fish in an optimal environment within a live well while fishing, water may be drawn from a lake (or other body of water) to fill a live well.", "This water may vary significantly from water in other areas where fish may be caught, and it may be generally assumed that the water conditions where the fish were found are a desirable environment for the fish.", "Utilizing adaptive behavior, a live well controller may collect sensor data from the water outside a live well and adjust the conditions of the water inside the live well accordingly, to more closely match the surroundings and thereby provide a suitable environment for any fish that may be caught in that area.", "Without this adaptive behavior, water conditions within a live well may not be as precisely matched to those outside, and the quality of the water environment (and thus potentially the health of any contained fish) may be decreased.", "Further according to the embodiment, controls 612 for configuring alerts and notifications may be provided so that a user may choose how they wish to be alerted to changes in conditions within a live well.", "Various configurations and combinations may be setup by a user using interactive indicia such as drop-down menus 615 with multiple options, for example to select what metric is being configured for notification according to a particular rule or condition.", "Additional menus 616 may be provided to configure the logic of a rule (such as “alert if the temperature exceeds this specific value”, or “alert if the pH is outside of this range”), and an input box 617 or similar user input means may be provided for a user to set a particular value or range of values for a given condition, such that upon meeting all the specified conditions of a particular rule, a notification may be sent.", "In this manner it may be appreciated that a wide degree of control and customizability may be granted to a user, so that they may configure the performance of and level of interaction with a live well according to their particular needs or preferences.", "The skilled person will be aware of a range of possible modifications of the various embodiments described above.", "Accordingly, the present invention is defined by the claims and their equivalents." ] ]
Patent_15872919
[ [ "MAGNETORESISTANCE EFFECT ELEMENT AND MAGNETIC MEMORY", "A magnetoresistance effect element includes first and second magnetic layers having a perpendicular magnetization direction, and a first non-magnetic layer disposed adjacent to the first magnetic layer and on a side opposite to a side on which the second magnetic layer is disposed.", "An interfacial perpendicular magnetic anisotropy exists at an interface between the first magnetic layer and the first non-magnetic layer, and the anisotropy causes the first magnetic layer to have a magnetization direction perpendicular to the surface if the layers.", "The second magnetic layer has a saturation magnetization lower than that of the first magnetic layer, and an interfacial magnetic anisotropy energy density (Ki) at the interface between the first magnetic layer and the first non-magnetic layer is greater than that of an interface between the first non-magnetic layer and second magnetic layers if being disposed adjacent each other." ], [ "1.A magnetoresistance effect element, comprising: a first magnetic layer having a magnetization direction perpendicular to a surface of the first magnetic layer, the first magnetic layer containing at least one 3d ferromagnetic transition metal element; a first non-magnetic layer adjacent to the first magnetic layer, a perpendicular magnetic anisotropy with an interfacial magnetic anisotropy energy density (Ki) existing at an interface between the first magnetic layer and the first non-magnetic layer, said perpendicular magnetic anisotropy causing the first magnetic layer to have the magnetization direction perpendicular to the in-plane direction; and a second magnetic layer disposed adjacent to the first magnetic layer on a side opposite to the first non-magnetic layer, the second magnetic layer having a magnetization direction parallel to the magnetization direction of the first magnetic layer, the second magnetic layer containing at least one 3d ferromagnetic transition metal element, and having a saturation magnetization (Ms) lower than a saturation magnetization (Ms) of the first magnetic layer, an interfacial magnetic anisotropy energy density (Ki) at the interface between the first magnetic layer and the first non-magnetic layer being greater than an interfacial magnetic anisotropy energy density (Ki) at an interface between one layer, a material of which is the same as a material of the first non-magnetic layer, and another layer, a material of which is the same as a material of the second magnetic layer.", "2.The magnetoresistance effect element according to claim 1, wherein the second magnetic layer has a thickness greater than that of the first magnetic layer.", "3.The magnetoresistance effect element according to claim 1, wherein an atomic fraction of the at least one 3d ferromagnetic transition metal element of the second magnetic layer is smaller than that of the first magnetic layer.", "4.The magnetoresistance effect element according to claim 1, wherein the second magnetic layer has a boron composition greater than that of the first magnetic layer.", "5.The magnetoresistance effect element according to claim 1, wherein each of the first and second magnetic layers contains a non-magnetic element, and the second magnetic layer has a non-magnetic element composition greater than that of the first magnetic layer.", "6.The magnetoresistance effect element according to claim 1, further comprising: a third magnetic layer disposed adjacent to the second magnetic layer on a side opposite to the first magnetic layer, the third magnetic layer having a magnetization direction parallel to the magnetization direction of the first magnetic layer, the third magnetic layer containing at least one 3d ferromagnetic transition metal element; and a second non-magnetic layer disposed adjacent to the third magnetic layer on a side opposite to the second magnetic layer, wherein the third magnetic layer increases an interfacial magnetic anisotropy energy density (Ki) at an interface with the second non-magnetic layer.", "7.The magnetoresistance effect element according to claim 6, wherein the second magnetic layer is thicker than each of the first and third magnetic layers.", "8.The magnetoresistance effect element according to claim 6, wherein an atomic fraction of the at least one 3d ferromagnetic transition metal element of the second magnetic layer is smaller than that of each of the first and third magnetic layers.", "9.The magnetoresistance effect element according to claim 6, wherein the second magnetic layer has a boron composition greater than any boron compositions of the first and third magnetic layers .", "10.The magnetoresistance effect element according to claim 6, wherein the first, second and third magnetic layers each contain at least one non-magnetic element, and the second magnetic layer has a non-magnetic element composition greater than any non-magnetic element compositions of the first and third magnetic layers.", "11.The magnetoresistance effect element according to claim 6, wherein the second magnetic layer has a multi-layer structure including fourth and fifth magnetic layers and a third non-magnetic layer disposed between the fourth and fifth magnetic layers, and the fourth and fifth magnetic layers each contain at least one 3d ferromagnetic transition metal element.", "12.The magnetoresistance effect element according to claim 11, wherein a combined thickness of the fourth and fifth magnetic layers is equal to or greater than a combined thickness of the first and third magnetic layers.", "13.The magnetoresistance effect element according to claim 11, wherein an atomic fraction of the at least one 3d ferromagnetic transition metal element of each of the fourth and fifth magnetic layers is smaller than any atomic fraction of the at least one 3d ferromagnetic transition metal element of each of the first and third magnetic layers.", "14.The magnetoresistance effect element according to claim 11, wherein the fourth and fifth magnetic layers each have a boron composition greater than any boron composition of each of the first and third magnetic layers.", "15.The magnetoresistance effect element according to claim 11, wherein the fourth and fifth magnetic layers each contain at least one non-magnetic element, and the fourth and fifth magnetic layers each have a non-magnetic element composition greater than any non-magnetic element composition of each of the first and third magnetic layers.", "16.The magnetoresistance effect element according to claim 11, wherein the third non-magnetic layer has a thickness that is no greater than 1 nm.", "17.The magnetoresistance effect element according to claim 1, further comprising: a second non-magnetic layer disposed on one side of the second magnetic layer opposite to another side on which the first magnetic layer is disposed; and two reference layers, each of which is disposed on either one side of the first magnetic layer opposite to another side on which the first magnetic layer is disposed or one side of the second non-magnetic layer opposite to another side on which the second magnetic layer is disposed.", "18.The magnetoresistance effect element according to claim 17, wherein one of the two reference layers is an anti-parallel coupling reference layer.", "19.The magnetoresistance effect element according to claim 17, further comprising a first recording layer including the first and second magnetic layers, a third reference layer disposed on one side of the first recording layer opposite to another side on which the first reference layer is disposed, a second recording layer disposed on one side of the third reference layer opposite to another side on which the first magnetic layer is disposed.", "20.A magnetic memory including, as a memory cell, the magnetoresistance effect element according to claim 1.21.The magnetoresistance effect element according to claim 1, wherein the at least one 3d ferromagnetic transition metal element in each of the first and second magnetic layers includes one of Co, Fe, Ni, or Mn.", "22.The magnetoresistance effect element according to claim 5, wherein the at least one non-magnetic element in each of the first and second magnetic layers includes one of V, Ti, Cr, Zr, Nb, Mo, Hf, Ta, W, Si, Al, B, Pd, or Pt.", "23.The magnetoresistance effect element according to claim 10, wherein the at least one non-magnetic element in each of the first to third magnetic layers includes one of V, Ti, Cr, Zr, Nb, Mo, Hf, Ta, W, Si, Al, B, Pd, or Pt.", "24.The magnetoresistance effect element according to claim 11, wherein the at least one 3d ferromagnetic transition metal element in each of the fourth and fifth magnetic layers includes one of Co, Fe, Ni, or Mn.", "25.The magnetoresistance effect element according to claim 16, wherein the at least one non-magnetic element in each of the fourth and fifth magnetic layers includes one of V, Ti, Cr, Zr, Nb, Mo, Hf, Ta, W, Si, Al, B, Pd, or Pt." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION <EOH>" ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION <EOH>In order to realize a highly-integrated large-capacity magnetic memory, it is necessary to have non-volatility that allows the recorded bit information to be stored for 10 years.", "This requires the magnetic layer used for the recording layer to have the thermal stability index of at least 70.In the perpendicular magnetic anisotropy magnetoresistance effect element according to Non-patent Document 4, when the junction size diameter of the recording layer is 40 nm, the thermal stability index is about 40, which means that the thermal stability index is no greater than 70.In the perpendicular magnetic anisotropy magnetoresistance effect element according to Non-patent Document 5, when the junction size diameter of the recording layer is between 40 nm and 49 nm, the thermal stability index is at least 80, but when the junction size diameter is 29 nm, the thermal stability index is about 59, which means that the thermal stability index is no greater than 70.In the perpendicular magnetic anisotropy magnetoresistance effect element using the antiparallel coupling reference layer according to Non-patent Document 7, when the junction size diameter of the recording layer is between 30 nm and 39 nm, the thermal stability index is at least 90, but when the junction size diameter is 20 nm, the thermal stability index is about 58, which means that the thermal stability index is no greater than 70.In order to achieve a large capacity magnetic memory that is highly integrated by microfabrication, it was necessary to further improve the thermal stability of the recording layer with a very small junction size.", "Also, among the characteristics (high tunnel magnetic resistance (TMR) ratio, low writing current I C0 , and high thermal stability) required for the interface between a magnetic layer and a non-magnetic layer of a perpendicular magnetic anisotropic magnetoresistance effect element that is used for a large capacity magnetic memory that is highly integrated by microfabrication, the writing current I C0 is determined by the damping constant α, and therefore, it was necessary to keep the damping constant α no greater than 0.01.The present invention was made in view of those challenges, and is aiming at providing a magnetoresistance effect element and magnetic memory having a thermal stability index of at least 70 even with a very small function size.", "The present invention is also aiming at providing a magnetoresistance effect element and magnetic memory having a damping constant α being 0.01 or less, and an interfacial magnetic anisotropy energy density 2.6 mJ/m 2 or more even with a very small junction size.", "In order to achieve a high thermal stability in a magnetoresistance effect element, the inventors of the present invention have conducted a study based on the following principle.", "That is, in the thermal stability index E/k B T of a ferromagnetic layer that functions as the recording layer, which determines the storing capability for bit information of a magnetoresistance effect element, the energy barrier E is represented by the product of the effective magnetic anisotropy energy density K ea and the volume V (area S x recording layer thickness t) of the recording layer.", "In the coordinates with the x axis and y axis being in the plane and the z axis being in the perpendicular direction to the plane, the product of the effective magnetic anisotropy energy density K eff and the recording layer thickness t is represented with Formula 1 below.", "K eff  t = K i - [ ( N z - N x )  M s 2 2   μ 0 + K b ]  t Formula   1 In Formula 1, K b is the bulk magnetic anisotropy energy density due to the crystal magnetic anisotropy and magnetoelastic effect, Nz and Nx are the antimagnetic field coefficients of the z axis and x axis respectively, M s is the saturation magnetization of the recording layer, μ 0 is the permeability of vacuum, and K i is the interfacial magnetic anisotropy energy density.", "N x is equal to the demagnetizing field coefficient N y of the y axis.", "N z and N x are difficult to obtain strictly when the recording layer is a circular cylinder, and can be obtained by numerical calculation using an ellipse approximation.", "When K eff t is positive, it becomes the easy magnetization axis in the direction perpendicular to the plane.", "As described in Non-patent Document 7, in the CoFe (B)/MgO junction, the interfacial magnetic anisotropy energy density K i is induced at the interface between CoFeB and MgO, thereby obtaining the perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (K eff >0).", "However, when CoFeB is used as a ferromagnetic layer in contact with MgO to obtain the interfacial magnetic anisotropy energy density K i , the interfacial magnetic anisotropy energy density K i will be lower as compared to when CoFe that does not contain B is used.", "When CoFe not containing B is in contact with MgO, a higher interfacial magnetic anisotropy energy density K i can be obtained, but since CoFe has a higher saturation magnetization Ms than that of CoFeB, the demagnetizing field (−(Nz-Nx)Ms/2∞0) is larger, and because the in-plane magnetic anisotropy is (K eff <0), the perpendicular magnetic anisotropy cannot be obtained.", "As for the writing current I C0 of the spin injection magnetization reversal and the thermal stability index Δ(=E/k B T) in the perpendicular magnetic anisotropic magnetic tunnel junction (p-MTJ), the relationship of the following formula is known.", "I C0 = 4  α  ek B  T ℏ   P   Δ = 4  α  e ℏ   P  K eff  tS [ Formula   2 ] Δ = K eff  tS k B  T [ Formula   3 ] α is the damping constant, e is the elementary charge, h is the Dirac constant, P is the spin polarizability, and S is the junction area.", "In order to keep the thermal stability index Δ high and the writing current I C0 low, it is necessary to form the recording layer with high K eff t and low damping constant α.", "The dumping constant α and K eff t has the following relationship (Table 1) TABLE 1 K eff t (Product of Effective Magnetic Anisotropy Energy Density and Recording Layer Thickness) K b (Bulk Magnetic Anisotropy Energy K i Density) (Interfacial K magnetic Crystal Magnetic K anisotropy -((Nz-Nx) Anisotropy Magnetoelastic energy density) Ms 2 /2μ 0 )t Energy Density Energy Density α (Damping Correlated No correlation Correlated with — Constant) between Ms the same material (saturation base magnetization) and α (damping constant) when the material base is changed.", "Furthermore, in order to satisfy a high tunnel magnetic resistance (TMR) ratio at the same time, it is preferable that the barrier layer in the MTJ (magnetic tunnel junction) be made of MgO.", "In order to achieve high K eff t while keeping the damping constant α at a low level, it is necessary to lower the saturation magnetization Ms so that the interfacial magnetic anisotropy energy density K i at the interface between CoFe(B) and MgO is not reduced.", "The inventors of the present invention have arrived at the magnetoresistance effect element and magnetic memory including a recording layer with reduced Ms so that the interfacial magnetic anisotropy energy density K, is not reduced.", "That is, in the recording layer of the magnetoresistance effect element of the present invention, parts in contact with a non-magnetic layer are made of a magnetic material that achieves a high interfacial magnetic anisotropy energy density K i to keep the damping constant α at a low level, and parts not in contact with a non-magnetic layer are made of a material with low saturation magnetization Ms so as to increase K eff t. According to the magnetoresistance effect element and the magnetic memory of the present invention, it is possible to provide a magnetoresistance effect element and a magnetic memory that has a recording layer with a low damping constant α and high thermal stability even with a very small junction size.", "FIG.", "2A shows the dependency of the saturation magnetization M s of a CoFe (B)/MgO multilayer film on B (0 to 25 at %) composition.", "This B composition is the target composition, and the composition of B in the film varies from 0 to 33 at %.", "As the B composition decreases, the saturation magnetization M s increases.", "FIG.", "2B shows the B composition dependency of the interfacial magnetic anisotropy energy density K i generated at the interface between CoFe (B) and MgO on the B composition, and the interfacial magnetic anisotropy energy densityK i increases as the B composition decreases.", "As a result, K eff t i.e., Δ(=K eff tS/k B T) is determined by the trade-off relationship between K i and diamagnetic field (−Ms 2 /2μ 0 ).", "In the magnetization measurement, the blanket film is measured, and therefore, the diamagnetic field coefficient is Nz−Nx=1.According to Non-Patent Document 4, the interfacial magnetic anisotropy energy density K i at a CoFeB/MgO single interface is 1.3 mJ/m 2 , and by having a double CoFeB—MgO interface, the interfacial magnetic anisotropy energy density K i is ideally 2K i =2.6 mJ/m 2 , which is two-fold of the single interface.", "On the other hand, according to S. Ikeda, R. Koizumi, H. Sato, M. Yamanouchi, K. Miura, K. Mizunuma, H. D. Gan, F. Matsukura , and H. Ohno, “Boron Composition Dependence of Magnetic Anisotropy and Tunnel Magnetoresistance in MgO/CoFe(B) Based Stack Structures”, IEEE Trans.", "Magn., 2012, 48, 3829 (Non-patent Document 8), the interfacial magnetic anisotropy energy density K i at a CoFeB/MgO single interface is 1.8 mJ/m 2 , and by having a double interface, the interfacial magnetic anisotropy energy density K i is ideally 2K i =3.6 mJ/m 2 .", "FIG.", "3 shows the thermal stability index E/k B T (=Δ) calculated with Formula 1 and Formula 2 when the CoFe/MgO double interface structure is employed, and the overall saturation magnetization Ms was changed by inserting CoFeB in the middle.", "The overall thickness of the recording layer of CoFe and CoFeB was 2.6 nm.", "With the MgO/CoFe/CoFeB/CoFe/MgO structure, it is possible to achieve higher E/k B T than the conventional MgO/CoFe/Ta/CoFe/MgO structure described in Non-patent Documents 5 to 7.As shown in Table 2, when the saturation magnetization Ms of the MgO/CoFe/CoFeB/CoFe/MgO recording layer is set to 1.5 T, the thermal stability index of over 100 is achieved with the 20 nm-diameter MTJ (magnetic tunnel junction).", "The saturation magnetization Ms of the MgO/CoFe/CoFeB/CoFe/MgO structure can be adjusted by changing the composition and thickness of CoFe and CoFeB.", "TABLE 2 F S t* T Ms Ki 2Ki (Nz − Nx)*Ms2/2u0 Kb (nm) (m2) (nm) kB (K) (T) (J/m{circumflex over ( )}2) (J/m{circumflex over ( )}2) Nz Nx (J/m{circumflex over ( )}3) (J/m{circumflex over ( )}3) Delta 20 3.14E−16 2.60E−09 1.381E−23 300 1 1.80E−03 3.60E−03 8.25E−01 8.70E−02 287768 0 216 20 3.14E−16 2.60E−09 1.381E−23 300 1.5 1.80E−03 3.60E−03 8.25E−01 8.70E−02 647478 0 145 20 3.14E−16 2.60E−09 1.381E−23 300 1 1.30E−03 2.60E−03 8.25E−01 8.70E−02 287768 0 140 20 3.14E−16 2.60E−09 1.381E−23 300 1.5 1.30E−03 2.60E−03 8.25E−01 8.70E−02 647478 0 70 In Non-patent Document 8, the saturation magnetization Ms of CoFe is 2.3 T, and the saturation magnetization Ms of CoFeB after upon film formation is 0.5 T. When CoFe with the saturation magnetization Ms being no greater than 2.3 T and CoFeB with the saturation magnetization Ms being no greater than 0.5 T are used, in order to keep the overall saturation magnetization Ms of the recording layer at 1.5 T or smaller, the film thickness ratio tCoFeB/tCoFe between CoFeB and CoFe need to be 1.5 or greater.", "Needless to say, CoFe does not include B and therefore, the atomic fractions of CoFe are higher than those of CoFeB.", "For example, the ratio of CoFe atomic fractions between (CoFe) 67 B 33 and CoFe is 67/100=0.67, which is less than 1.Alternatively, when Fe with the saturation magnetization Ms being no greater than 2.2 T and FeV with the saturation magnetization Ms being no greater than 1.5 T are used, in order to keep the overall saturation magnetization Ms of the recording layer at 1.5 T or smaller, the film thickness ratio tFeV/tFe between FeV and Fe need to be 1.5 or greater.", "Needless to say, Fe does not include V and therefore, the atomic fraction of Fe is higher than that of FeV.", "For example, the ratio of Fe atomic fraction between Fe 80 V 20 and Fe is 80/100=0.8, which is less than 1.Thus, in the structure shown in FIG.", "1A having an interface between one non-magnetic layer and one magnetic layer, by forming the first magnetic layer ( 25 ), which increases the interfacial magnetic anisotropy energy density K i , on the first non-magnetic layer ( 13 ), and forming the second magnetic layer ( 12 ), which has low saturation magnetization Ms, on the first magnetic layer ( 25 ), it is possible to provide a magnetoresistance effect element that can achieve high thermal stability while suppressing the writing current I C0 with a very small element size.", "Also, when there are two interfaces, as shown in FIG.", "1B , by inserting the first magnetic layer ( 25 ) and the third magnetic layer ( 17 ) that can increase the interfacial magnetic anisotropy energy density K i between the second magnetic layer ( 12 ) with low saturation magnetization Ms and the first non-magnetic layer ( 13 ) and between the second magnetic layer ( 12 ) and with low saturation magnetization Ms and the second non-magnetic layer ( 18 ), respectively, it is possible to provide a magnetoresistance effect element that can achieve a high thermal stability while suppressing the writing current I C0 with a very small element size.", "In order to maintain consistency between FIG.", "1 and FIG.", "4 , the ordinal numbers such as “first, second, .", ".", ".", "” are commonly used.", "The magnetoresistance effect element of the present invention shown in FIG.", "1A has the following features: The magnetoresistance effect element has a multi-layer structure made of a first non-magnetic layer ( 13 ), a first magnetic layer ( 25 ) and a second magnetic layer ( 12 ).", "The first magnetic layer ( 25 ) is formed on the first non-magnetic layer ( 13 ) and has the function of increasing the interface magnetic anisotropy energy density (K i ) at the interface with the first non-magnetic layer ( 13 ), and the second magnetic layer ( 12 ) has a lower saturation magnetization than that of the first magnetic layer ( 25 ).", "Specifically, as shown in FIG.", "1A , the first magnetic layer ( 25 ) is formed between the first non-magnetic layer ( 13 ) and the second magnetic layer ( 12 ).", "More specifically, the magnetoresistance effect element includes a first magnetic layer having a magnetization direction perpendicular to a surface of the first magnetic layer (hereinafter, a direction parallel to the surface of layers is also referred to as “an in-plane direction”), a first non-magnetic layer adjacent to the first magnetic layer, and a second magnetic layer disposed adjacent to the first magnetic layer on a side opposite to the first non-magnetic layer.", "In other words, the first magnetic layer has a first (main) surface (upper surface) and a second (main) surface (lower surface), and the second magnetic layer is disposed on the first surface and the first non-magnetic layer is disposed on the second surface.", "The magnetization direction of each of the first and second magnetic layers is perpendicular to the first and second surface of the first magnetic layers, and is parallel to a direction in which the first non-magnetic layer, the first magnetic layer and the second magnetic layer are stacked.", "The first magnetic layer contains at least one 3d ferromagnetic transition metal element such as Co, Fe, Ni, or Mn.", "The second magnetic layer contains at least one 3 d ferromagnetic transition metal element such as Co, Fe, Ni, or Mn, and having a saturation magnetization (Ms) lower than a saturation magnetization (Ms) of the first magnetic layer.", "As explained above, the second magnetic layer has a magnetization direction parallel to the magnetization direction of the first magnetic layer.", "Further, an interfacial perpendicular magnetic anisotropy exists at an interface between the first magnetic layer and the first non-magnetic layer, and the interfacial perpendicular magnetic anisotropy causes the first magnetic layer to have the magnetization direction perpendicular to the in-plane direction.", "An interfacial magnetic anisotropy energy density (K i ) at the interface between the first magnetic layer and the first non-magnetic layer is greater than an interfacial magnetic anisotropy energy density (K i ) at an interface between a first layer, a material of which is the same as a material of the first non-magnetic layer, and a second layer, a material of which is the same as a material of the second magnetic layer.", "In other words, the interfacial magnetic anisotropy energy density (Ki) at the interface between the first magnetic layer and the first non-magnetic layer is greater than an interfacial magnetic anisotropy energy density (K i ) at an interface between the non-first magnetic layer and the second magnetic layer if the first non-magnetic layer and the second magnetic layer are disposed adjacent each other.", "In the magnetoresistance effect element, a ratio of a thickness of the second magnetic layer ( 12 ) to a thickness of the first magnetic layer ( 25 ) is at least one.", "In the magnetoresistance effect element, a ratio of the sum of an atomic fraction of each magnetic element of the second magnetic layer ( 12 ) to the sum of an atomic fraction of each magnetic element of the first magnetic layer ( 25 ) is smaller than one.", "To explain in further detail, the sum of the atomic fraction (at %) of each magnetic element is the total of the atomic fraction of the magnetic element contained in the metal composition relative to the entire metal composition.", "In the example above, the ratio of the magnetic element contained in the second magnetic layer ( 12 ) is smaller than that of the magnetic element contained in the first magnetic layer ( 25 ).", "In the magnetoresistance effect element, the magnetic element contains at least one of Co, Fe, and Ni.", "In the magnetoresistance effect element, the first magnetic layer ( 25 ) does not include a non-magnetic element such as V, Ti, Cr, Zr, Nb, Mo, Hf, Ta, W, Si, Al, B, Pd, or Pt and the second magnetic layer ( 12 ) includes a non-magnetic element such as V, Ti, Cr, Zr, Nb, Mo, Hf, Ta, W, Si, Al, B, Pd, and Pt, or both the first and second magnetic layers ( 25 , 12 ) include a non-magnetic element such as V, Ti, Cr, Zr, Nb, Mo, Hf, Ta, W, Si, Al, B, Pd, and Pt, and the ratio of the non-magnetic element composition, such as V, Ti, Cr, Zr, Nb, Mo, Hf, Ta, W, Si, Al, B, Pd, and Pt, in the first magnetic layer ( 25 ) to the non-magnetic element composition, such as V, Ti, Cr, Zr, Nb, Mo, Hf, Ta, W, Si, Al, B, Pd, and Pt, in the second magnetic layer ( 12 ) is smaller than 1.For example, in the magnetoresistance effect element, the first magnetic layer ( 25 ) does not include boron (B) but the second magnetic layer ( 12 ) includes boron (B), or the ratio of the boron (B) composition of the first magnetic layer ( 25 ) to the boron (B) composition of the second magnetic layer ( 12 ) is smaller than 1.Alternatively, in the magnetoresistance effect element, the first magnetic layer ( 25 ) does not include vanadium (V) but the second magnetic layer ( 12 ) includes vanadium (V), or the ratio of the vanadium (V) composition of the first magnetic layer ( 25 ) to the vanadium (V) composition of the second magnetic layer ( 12 ) is smaller than 1.It is preferable that the first magnetic layer( 25 ) and the second magnetic layer ( 12 ) be made of a material that contains at least one 3d ferromagnetic transition metal such as Co, Fe, Ni, and Mn.", "The magnetoresistance effect element including two non-magnetic layers as shown in FIG.", "1B has the following features.", "In a magnetoresistance effect element having a recording layer ( 19 ) between the first non-magnetic layer ( 13 ) and the second non-magnetic layer ( 18 ), the recording layer ( 19 ) has a multilayer structure made of the first magnetic layer ( 25 ), the third magnetic layer ( 17 ), and the second magnetic layer ( 12 ), the first magnetic layer ( 25 ) having the function of increasing interfacial magnetic anisotropy energy density (K i ) with the first non-magnetic layer ( 13 ) and the second non-magnetic layer ( 18 ), the second magnetic layer ( 12 ) having lower saturation magnetization (Ms) than those of the first magnetic layer ( 25 ) and the third magnetic layer ( 17 ).", "Specifically, as shown in FIG.", "1B , the second magnetic layer ( 12 ) is formed between the first magnetic layer ( 25 ) and the third magnetic layer ( 17 ).", "In the magnetoresistance effect element, a ratio of the thickness of the second magnetic layer ( 12 ) to the thickness of the first magnetic layer ( 25 ) is at least one, and a ratio of the thickness of the second magnetic layer ( 12 ) to the thickness of the third magnetic layer ( 17 ) is at least one.", "In the magnetoresistance effect element, the ratio of the sum of the atomic fractions of the magnetic elements in the second magnetic layer ( 12 ) to the sum of the atomic fractions of the magnetic elements in the first magnetic layer ( 25 ) is smaller than 1, and the ratio of the sum of the atomic fractions of the magnetic elements in the second magnetic layer ( 12 ) to the sum of the atomic fractions of the magnetic elements in the third magnetic layer ( 17 ) is smaller than 1 In the magnetoresistance effect element, the magnetic element contains at least one of Co, Fe, and Ni.", "In the magnetoresistance effect element, the first magnetic layer ( 25 ) and the third magnetic layer ( 17 ) do not include a non-magnetic element such as V, Ti, Cr, Zr, Nb, Mo, Hf, Ta, W, Si, Al, B, Pd, or Pt and the second magnetic layer ( 12 ) includes a non-magnetic element such as V, Ti, Cr, Zr, Nb, Mo, Hf, Ta, W, Si, Al, B, Pd, and Pt, or the first, second, and third magnetic layers ( 25 , 12 , 17 ) include a non-magnetic element such as V, Ti, Cr, Zr, Nb, Mo, Hf, Ta, W, Si, Al, B, Pd, and Pt, and the ratio of the non-magnetic element composition, such as V, Ti, Cr, Zr, Nb, Mo, Hf, Ta, W, Si, Al, B, Pd, and Pt, in the first magnetic layer ( 25 ) to the non-magnetic element composition, such as V, Ti, Cr, Zr, Nb, Mo, Hf, Ta, W, Si, Al, B, Pd, and Pt, in the second magnetic layer ( 12 ) is smaller than 1, and the ratio of the non-magnetic element composition, such as V, Ti, Cr, Zr, Nb, Mo, Hf, Ta, W, Si, Al, B, Pd, and Pt, in the third magnetic layer ( 17 ) to the non-magnetic element composition, such as V, Ti, Cr, Zr, Nb, Mo, Hf, Ta, W, Si, Al, B, Pd, and Pt, in the second magnetic layer ( 12 ) is smaller than 1.For example, in the magnetoresistance effect element, the third magnetic layer ( 25 ) and the first magnetic layer ( 17 ) do not contain B and the second magnetic layer ( 12 ) contains B, or the ratio of the composition of boron B in the first magnetic layer ( 25 ) to the composition of boron B in the second magnetic layer ( 12 ) is smaller than 1, and the ratio of the composition of boron B in the third magnetic layer ( 17 ) to the composition of boron B in the second magnetic layer ( 12 ) is smaller than 1.In another example, in the magnetoresistance effect element, the third magnetic layer ( 25 ) and the first magnetic layer ( 17 ) do not contain vanadium (V) and the second magnetic layer ( 12 ) contains vanadium (V), or the ratio of the composition of vanadium (V) in the first magnetic layer ( 25 ) to the composition of vanadium (V) in the second magnetic layer ( 12 ) is smaller than 1, and the ratio of the composition of vanadium (V) in the third magnetic layer ( 17 ) to the composition of vanadium (V) in the second magnetic layer ( 12 ) is smaller than 1.The first non-magnetic layer ( 13 ) and the second non-magnetic layer ( 18 ) are preferably made of a material that exhibits a large magnetoresistance change rate in combination with the material of the first magnetic layer ( 25 ) and the third magnetic layer ( 17 ) such as a material containing a compound that includes oxygen, examples of which include MgO, Al 2 O 3 , SiO 2 , TiO, and Hf 2 O.", "One of the first non-magnetic layer ( 13 ) and the second non-magnetic layer ( 18 ) may be made of a material that contains one of Ta, W, Hf, Zr, Nb, Mo, Ti, V, and Cr.", "It is preferable that the first magnetic layer ( 25 ), the second magnetic layer ( 12 ), and the third magnetic layer ( 17 ) be made of a material that contains at least one 3d ferromagnetic transition metal such as Co, Fe, Ni, and Mn.", "The interface of a compound containing oxygen such as MgO, Al 2 O 3 ,SiO 2 , TiO, and Hf 2 O constituting the first non-magnetic layer ( 13 ) and the second non-magnetic layer ( 18 ) is in the ( 001 ) orientation, and is more susceptible to the lattice matching at the interface with the material of the first magnetic layer ( 25 ) and the third magnetic layer ( 17 ) in which the composition ratio of the non-magnetic element, such as Cr, Zr, Nb, Mo, Hf, Ta, W, Si, Al, B, Pd, and Pt, is lower.", "This makes it possible to increase the interfacial magnetic anisotropy energy densityK i .", "A magnetic memory according to the present invention includes: a plurality of source lines arranged in parallel with each other; a plurality of word lines arranged in parallel with each other in a direction that intersects with the source lines; a plurality of bit lines arranged in parallel with the source lines; a select transistor having the gate electrode electrically connected to one of the word lines and the source electrode electrically connected to one of the source lines; and the magnetoresistance effect element according to the present invention, the magnetoresistance effect element being configured such that one of the first magnetic layer or the second magnetic layer is electrically connected to the drain electrode of the select transistor and the other is electrically connected to one of the bit lines, and the magnetic memory is configured such that an electric current can be applied to the magnetoresistance effect element along the thickness direction.", "Because the magnetic memory according to the present invention is equipped with the magnetoresistance effect element according to the present invention, it is possible to obtain the thermal stability index of 70 or greater.", "According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a magnetoresistance effect element and a magnetic memory with a low damping constant α and high thermal stability even with a very small junction size." ], [ "CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation application under 35 U.S.C.", "120 of International Application PCT/JP2016/70850 having the International Filing Date of Jul.", "14, 2016, and claims the priority of Japanese Patent Application No.", "JP 2015-155481, filed on Jul.", "16, 2015.The identified applications are fully incorporated herein by reference.", "BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Technical Field The present invention relates to a magnetoresistance effect element and a magnetic memory.", "Background Arts As shown in FIG.", "14, in a conventional magnetic random access memory (MRAM) having a magnetoresistance effect element, a magnetic memory cell (105) has the structure in which a magnetoresistance effect element (110) and a select transistor (109) are electrically connected to each other in series.", "In the select transistor 109, the source electrode is electrically connected to a source line (102), the drain electrode is electrically connected to a bit line (104) via the magnetoresistance effect element (110), and the gate electrode is electrically connected to a word line (103).", "The magnetoresistance effect element (110) generally has a three-layer structure in which a first non-magnetic layer (113) is sandwiched between a sixth magnetic layer (111) (reference layer) and a first magnetic layer (112).", "The resistance value of the magnetoresistance effect element (110) decreases when the magnetization of the sixth magnetic layer (111) (reference layer) is parallel to the magnetization of the first magnetic layer (112), and increases when the magnetization of the sixth magnetic layer (111) (reference layer) is anti-parallel to the magnetization of the first magnetic layer (112).", "In the memory cell of MRAM, those two resistance states are assigned to “0” and “1” of the bit information respectively.", "Due to the higher integration of the MRAM, the magnetoresistance effect element (110) has been increasingly made compact.", "The sixth magnetic layer (111) (reference layer) and the first magnetic layer (112) of the magnetoresistance effect element (110) are both susceptible to thermal disturbance of magnetization during microfabrication, which possibly causes loss of bit information.", "In order to keep the bit information even with microfabrication, the first magnetic layer (112), which is the recording layer, needs to have the thermal stability index (E/kB T) of 70 or higher, and the sixth magnetic layer (111), which is the reference layer, needs to have the thermal stability index (E/kB T) that is greater than that of the first magnetic layer (112).", "Here, E is the energy barrier required for the magnetization reversal, and is the product of the volume V and the magnetic anisotropy energy density Keff of the sixth magnetic layer (111) (reference layer) or the first magnetic layer (112) (E=KeffV).", "kB is the Boltzmann constant, and T is the absolute temperature.", "In order to achieve a high thermal stability index E/kB T, it is necessary to increase the effective magnetic anisotropy energy density Keff of the sixth magnetic layer (111) (reference layer) or the first magnetic layer (112).", "From this perspective, a perpendicular magnetic anisotropy magnetoresistance effect element in which the sixth magnetic layer (111) (reference layer) or the first magnetic layer (112) has the perpendicular magnetization easy axis is drawing attention.", "For such a perpendicular magnetic anisotropy electrode, a rare earth group amorphous alloy, an L10-ordered (Co, Fe) -Pt alloy, a Co/(Pd, Pt) multilayer film, and the like have been studied (see N. Nishimura, T. Hirai, A. Koganei, T. Ikeda, K. Okano, Y. Sekiguchi, and Y. Osada, “Magnetic tunnel junction device with perpendicular magnetization films for high-density magnetic random access memory”, J. Appl.", "Phys.", "2002, 91, 5246 (Non-patent Document 1), G. Kim, Y. Sakuraba, M. Oogane, Y. Ando and T. Miyazaki, “Tunneling magnetoresistance of magnetic tunnel junctions using perpendicular magnetization L10-CoPt electrodes”, Appl.", "Phys.", "Lett.", "2008, 92, 172502 (Non-patent Document 2), or K. Mizunuma, S. Ikeda, J. H. Park, H. Yamamoto, H. D. Gan, K. Miura, H. Hasegawa, J. Hayakawa, F. Matsukura and H. Ohno, “MgO barrier-perpendicular magnetic tunnel junctions with CoFe/Pd multilayers and ferromagnetic insertion layers”, Appl.", "Phys.", "Lett.", "2009, 95, 232516 (Non-patent Document 3), for example).", "The inventors of the present invention and the like have discovered that a CoFeB/MgO multi-layer structure exhibits the perpendicular magnetic anisotropy due to reduction of the film thickness of CoFeB (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Publication No.", "2011-258596, for example), and by applying this CoFeB/MgO multiplayer structure to the perpendicular magnetic anisotropic magnetoresistance effect element, E/kB T≈40 is obtained with the junction size diameter being 40 nm in the first magnetic layer (112), which is the recording layer (see Ikeda, K. Miura, H. Yamamoto, K. Mizunuma, H. D. Gan, M. Endo, S. Kanai, F. Matsukura, and H. Ohno, “A perpendicular-anisotropy CoFeB—MgO magnetic tunnel junction”, Nature Mater., 2010, 9, 721 (Non-patent Document 4), for example.", "Furthermore, by employing the double CoFeb/MgO interface recording layer structure, and making the magnetic layer that functions as the recording layer thicker so that the thermal stability is improved, E/kB T of 80 or higher is achieved when the junction size diameter is between 40 to 49 nm, and E/kB T≈59 is achieved when the junction size diameter is 29 nm (see H. Sato, M. Yamanouchi, S. Ikeda, S. Fukami, F. Matsukura, and H. Ohno, “MgO/CoFeB/Ta/CoFeB/MgO recording structure in magnetic tunnel junctions with perpendicular easy axis”, IEEE Trans.", "Magn., 2013, 49, 4437 (Non-patent Document 6), for example).", "Here, the junction size of the magnetic layer is the length of the longest straight line on the junction surface where the magnetic layer makes contact with an adjacent non-magnetic layer or electrode.", "In Non-patent Documents 4 and 5, the magnetic layer forms the cylindrical shape, and the junction surface is in a circle shape, and therefore, the junction size is the diameter of the junction surface.", "The junction size when the junction surface is in a circular shape is referred to as the junction size diameter.", "As shown in FIG.", "15A, the perpendicular magnetic anisotropic magnetoresistance effect element of Non-patent Document 4 has the basic structure in which the sixth magnetic layer (111) (reference layer), the first magnetic layer (112), and the first non-magnetic layer (113) interposed therebetween forms the three-layer structure, and a lower non-magnetic electrode (114) and an upper non-magnetic electrode (115) are connected to the three-layer structure.", "Also, as shown in FIG.", "15B, in the perpendicular magnetic anisotropic magnetoresistance effect element described in H. Sato, M. Yamanouchi, S. Ikeda, S. Fukami, F. Matsukura, and H. Ohno, “Perpendicular-anisotropy CoFeB—MgO magnetic tunnel junctions with a MgO/CoFeB/Ta/CoFeB/MgO recording structure”, Appl.", "Phys.", "Lett.", "2012, 101, 022414 (Non-patent Document 5), a non-magnetic layer (113), the first magnetic layer (112), the third non-magnetic layer (116), the third magnetic layer (117), and the second non-magnetic layer (118) are stacked in this order, forming a five-layer structure.", "The interface magnetic anisotropy occurs between the third magnetic layer (117) and the second non-magnetic layer (118).", "Non-patent Document 5 states that the thermal stability can be improved with this five-layer structure.", "The first magnetic layer (112) and the third magnetic layer (117) forms magnetic coupling through the third non-magnetic layer (116), and functions as the recording layer (119).", "In FIG.", "15C, the leakage flux from the sixth magnetic layer (111) (reference layer) affects the recording layer (119), and lowers the thermal stability of the anti-parallel magnetization array of the sixth magnetic layer (111) (reference layer) and the recording layer (119).", "In order to solve this problem, the perpendicular magnetic anisotropic magnetoresistance effect element according to H. Sato, T. Yamamoto, M. Yamanouchi, S. Ikeda, S. Fukami, K.Kinoshita, F. Matsukura, N. Kasai, and H. Ohno, “Comprehensive study of CoFeB—MgO magnetic tunnel junction characteristics with single- and double-interface scaling down to 1× nm”, Tech.", "Dig.-Int.", "Electron Devices Meet.", "2013, 3.2.1 (Non-patent Document 7) has the first reference layer (124) in which the sixth magnetic layer (111) (reference layer) and the seventh magnetic layer (120) forms ferromagnetic coupling through the fourth non-magnetic layer (121), and the part with the ferromagnetic coupling and the eighth magnetic layer (122) are arranged to be anti-parallel through the fifth non-magnetic layer (123).", "With this antiparallel coupling reference layer, the leakage flux acting on the first recording layer (119) from the first reference layer (124) can be reduced, and the thermal stability of the antiparallel magnetic array of the sixth magnetic layer (111) (reference layer) and the first recording layer (119) can be improved.", "SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to realize a highly-integrated large-capacity magnetic memory, it is necessary to have non-volatility that allows the recorded bit information to be stored for 10 years.", "This requires the magnetic layer used for the recording layer to have the thermal stability index of at least 70.In the perpendicular magnetic anisotropy magnetoresistance effect element according to Non-patent Document 4, when the junction size diameter of the recording layer is 40 nm, the thermal stability index is about 40, which means that the thermal stability index is no greater than 70.In the perpendicular magnetic anisotropy magnetoresistance effect element according to Non-patent Document 5, when the junction size diameter of the recording layer is between 40 nm and 49 nm, the thermal stability index is at least 80, but when the junction size diameter is 29 nm, the thermal stability index is about 59, which means that the thermal stability index is no greater than 70.In the perpendicular magnetic anisotropy magnetoresistance effect element using the antiparallel coupling reference layer according to Non-patent Document 7, when the junction size diameter of the recording layer is between 30 nm and 39 nm, the thermal stability index is at least 90, but when the junction size diameter is 20 nm, the thermal stability index is about 58, which means that the thermal stability index is no greater than 70.In order to achieve a large capacity magnetic memory that is highly integrated by microfabrication, it was necessary to further improve the thermal stability of the recording layer with a very small junction size.", "Also, among the characteristics (high tunnel magnetic resistance (TMR) ratio, low writing current IC0, and high thermal stability) required for the interface between a magnetic layer and a non-magnetic layer of a perpendicular magnetic anisotropic magnetoresistance effect element that is used for a large capacity magnetic memory that is highly integrated by microfabrication, the writing current IC0 is determined by the damping constant α, and therefore, it was necessary to keep the damping constant α no greater than 0.01.The present invention was made in view of those challenges, and is aiming at providing a magnetoresistance effect element and magnetic memory having a thermal stability index of at least 70 even with a very small function size.", "The present invention is also aiming at providing a magnetoresistance effect element and magnetic memory having a damping constant α being 0.01 or less, and an interfacial magnetic anisotropy energy density 2.6 mJ/m2 or more even with a very small junction size.", "In order to achieve a high thermal stability in a magnetoresistance effect element, the inventors of the present invention have conducted a study based on the following principle.", "That is, in the thermal stability index E/kB T of a ferromagnetic layer that functions as the recording layer, which determines the storing capability for bit information of a magnetoresistance effect element, the energy barrier E is represented by the product of the effective magnetic anisotropy energy density Kea and the volume V (area S x recording layer thickness t) of the recording layer.", "In the coordinates with the x axis and y axis being in the plane and the z axis being in the perpendicular direction to the plane, the product of the effective magnetic anisotropy energy density Keff and the recording layer thickness t is represented with Formula 1 below.", "K eff  t = K i - [ ( N z - N x )  M s 2 2   μ 0 + K b ]  t Formula   1 In Formula 1, Kb is the bulk magnetic anisotropy energy density due to the crystal magnetic anisotropy and magnetoelastic effect, Nz and Nx are the antimagnetic field coefficients of the z axis and x axis respectively, Ms is the saturation magnetization of the recording layer, μ0 is the permeability of vacuum, and Ki is the interfacial magnetic anisotropy energy density.", "Nx is equal to the demagnetizing field coefficient Ny of the y axis.", "Nz and Nx are difficult to obtain strictly when the recording layer is a circular cylinder, and can be obtained by numerical calculation using an ellipse approximation.", "When Kefft is positive, it becomes the easy magnetization axis in the direction perpendicular to the plane.", "As described in Non-patent Document 7, in the CoFe (B)/MgO junction, the interfacial magnetic anisotropy energy density Ki is induced at the interface between CoFeB and MgO, thereby obtaining the perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (Keff>0).", "However, when CoFeB is used as a ferromagnetic layer in contact with MgO to obtain the interfacial magnetic anisotropy energy density Ki, the interfacial magnetic anisotropy energy density Ki will be lower as compared to when CoFe that does not contain B is used.", "When CoFe not containing B is in contact with MgO, a higher interfacial magnetic anisotropy energy density Ki can be obtained, but since CoFe has a higher saturation magnetization Ms than that of CoFeB, the demagnetizing field (−(Nz-Nx)Ms/2∞0) is larger, and because the in-plane magnetic anisotropy is (Keff<0), the perpendicular magnetic anisotropy cannot be obtained.", "As for the writing current IC0 of the spin injection magnetization reversal and the thermal stability index Δ(=E/kB T) in the perpendicular magnetic anisotropic magnetic tunnel junction (p-MTJ), the relationship of the following formula is known.", "I C0 = 4  α  ek B  T ℏ   P   Δ = 4  α  e ℏ   P  K eff  tS [ Formula   2 ] Δ = K eff  tS k B  T [ Formula   3 ] α is the damping constant, e is the elementary charge, h is the Dirac constant, P is the spin polarizability, and S is the junction area.", "In order to keep the thermal stability index Δ high and the writing current IC0 low, it is necessary to form the recording layer with high Kefft and low damping constant α.", "The dumping constant α and Kefft has the following relationship (Table 1) TABLE 1 Kefft (Product of Effective Magnetic Anisotropy Energy Density and Recording Layer Thickness) Kb (Bulk Magnetic Anisotropy Energy Ki Density) (Interfacial K magnetic Crystal Magnetic K anisotropy -((Nz-Nx) Anisotropy Magnetoelastic energy density) Ms2/2μ0)t Energy Density Energy Density α (Damping Correlated No correlation Correlated with — Constant) between Ms the same material (saturation base magnetization) and α (damping constant) when the material base is changed.", "Furthermore, in order to satisfy a high tunnel magnetic resistance (TMR) ratio at the same time, it is preferable that the barrier layer in the MTJ (magnetic tunnel junction) be made of MgO.", "In order to achieve high Kefft while keeping the damping constant α at a low level, it is necessary to lower the saturation magnetization Ms so that the interfacial magnetic anisotropy energy density Ki at the interface between CoFe(B) and MgO is not reduced.", "The inventors of the present invention have arrived at the magnetoresistance effect element and magnetic memory including a recording layer with reduced Ms so that the interfacial magnetic anisotropy energy density K, is not reduced.", "That is, in the recording layer of the magnetoresistance effect element of the present invention, parts in contact with a non-magnetic layer are made of a magnetic material that achieves a high interfacial magnetic anisotropy energy density Ki to keep the damping constant α at a low level, and parts not in contact with a non-magnetic layer are made of a material with low saturation magnetization Ms so as to increase Kefft.", "According to the magnetoresistance effect element and the magnetic memory of the present invention, it is possible to provide a magnetoresistance effect element and a magnetic memory that has a recording layer with a low damping constant α and high thermal stability even with a very small junction size.", "FIG.", "2A shows the dependency of the saturation magnetization Ms of a CoFe (B)/MgO multilayer film on B (0 to 25 at %) composition.", "This B composition is the target composition, and the composition of B in the film varies from 0 to 33 at %.", "As the B composition decreases, the saturation magnetization Ms increases.", "FIG.", "2B shows the B composition dependency of the interfacial magnetic anisotropy energy density Ki generated at the interface between CoFe (B) and MgO on the B composition, and the interfacial magnetic anisotropy energy densityKi increases as the B composition decreases.", "As a result, Kefft i.e., Δ(=KefftS/kB T) is determined by the trade-off relationship between Ki and diamagnetic field (−Ms2/2μ0).", "In the magnetization measurement, the blanket film is measured, and therefore, the diamagnetic field coefficient is Nz−Nx=1.According to Non-Patent Document 4, the interfacial magnetic anisotropy energy density Ki at a CoFeB/MgO single interface is 1.3 mJ/m2, and by having a double CoFeB—MgO interface, the interfacial magnetic anisotropy energy density Ki is ideally 2Ki=2.6 mJ/m2, which is two-fold of the single interface.", "On the other hand, according to S. Ikeda, R. Koizumi, H. Sato, M. Yamanouchi, K. Miura, K. Mizunuma, H. D. Gan, F. Matsukura , and H. Ohno, “Boron Composition Dependence of Magnetic Anisotropy and Tunnel Magnetoresistance in MgO/CoFe(B) Based Stack Structures”, IEEE Trans.", "Magn., 2012, 48, 3829 (Non-patent Document 8), the interfacial magnetic anisotropy energy density Ki at a CoFeB/MgO single interface is 1.8 mJ/m2, and by having a double interface, the interfacial magnetic anisotropy energy density Ki is ideally 2Ki=3.6 mJ/m2.FIG.", "3 shows the thermal stability index E/kB T (=Δ) calculated with Formula 1 and Formula 2 when the CoFe/MgO double interface structure is employed, and the overall saturation magnetization Ms was changed by inserting CoFeB in the middle.", "The overall thickness of the recording layer of CoFe and CoFeB was 2.6 nm.", "With the MgO/CoFe/CoFeB/CoFe/MgO structure, it is possible to achieve higher E/kB T than the conventional MgO/CoFe/Ta/CoFe/MgO structure described in Non-patent Documents 5 to 7.As shown in Table 2, when the saturation magnetization Ms of the MgO/CoFe/CoFeB/CoFe/MgO recording layer is set to 1.5 T, the thermal stability index of over 100 is achieved with the 20 nm-diameter MTJ (magnetic tunnel junction).", "The saturation magnetization Ms of the MgO/CoFe/CoFeB/CoFe/MgO structure can be adjusted by changing the composition and thickness of CoFe and CoFeB.", "TABLE 2 F S t* T Ms Ki 2Ki (Nz − Nx)*Ms2/2u0 Kb (nm) (m2) (nm) kB (K) (T) (J/m{circumflex over ( )}2) (J/m{circumflex over ( )}2) Nz Nx (J/m{circumflex over ( )}3) (J/m{circumflex over ( )}3) Delta 20 3.14E−16 2.60E−09 1.381E−23 300 1 1.80E−03 3.60E−03 8.25E−01 8.70E−02 287768 0 216 20 3.14E−16 2.60E−09 1.381E−23 300 1.5 1.80E−03 3.60E−03 8.25E−01 8.70E−02 647478 0 145 20 3.14E−16 2.60E−09 1.381E−23 300 1 1.30E−03 2.60E−03 8.25E−01 8.70E−02 287768 0 140 20 3.14E−16 2.60E−09 1.381E−23 300 1.5 1.30E−03 2.60E−03 8.25E−01 8.70E−02 647478 0 70 In Non-patent Document 8, the saturation magnetization Ms of CoFe is 2.3 T, and the saturation magnetization Ms of CoFeB after upon film formation is 0.5 T. When CoFe with the saturation magnetization Ms being no greater than 2.3 T and CoFeB with the saturation magnetization Ms being no greater than 0.5 T are used, in order to keep the overall saturation magnetization Ms of the recording layer at 1.5 T or smaller, the film thickness ratio tCoFeB/tCoFe between CoFeB and CoFe need to be 1.5 or greater.", "Needless to say, CoFe does not include B and therefore, the atomic fractions of CoFe are higher than those of CoFeB.", "For example, the ratio of CoFe atomic fractions between (CoFe)67B33 and CoFe is 67/100=0.67, which is less than 1.Alternatively, when Fe with the saturation magnetization Ms being no greater than 2.2 T and FeV with the saturation magnetization Ms being no greater than 1.5 T are used, in order to keep the overall saturation magnetization Ms of the recording layer at 1.5 T or smaller, the film thickness ratio tFeV/tFe between FeV and Fe need to be 1.5 or greater.", "Needless to say, Fe does not include V and therefore, the atomic fraction of Fe is higher than that of FeV.", "For example, the ratio of Fe atomic fraction between Fe80V20 and Fe is 80/100=0.8, which is less than 1.Thus, in the structure shown in FIG.", "1A having an interface between one non-magnetic layer and one magnetic layer, by forming the first magnetic layer (25), which increases the interfacial magnetic anisotropy energy density Ki, on the first non-magnetic layer (13), and forming the second magnetic layer (12), which has low saturation magnetization Ms, on the first magnetic layer (25), it is possible to provide a magnetoresistance effect element that can achieve high thermal stability while suppressing the writing current IC0 with a very small element size.", "Also, when there are two interfaces, as shown in FIG.", "1B, by inserting the first magnetic layer (25) and the third magnetic layer (17) that can increase the interfacial magnetic anisotropy energy density Ki between the second magnetic layer (12) with low saturation magnetization Ms and the first non-magnetic layer (13) and between the second magnetic layer (12) and with low saturation magnetization Ms and the second non-magnetic layer (18), respectively, it is possible to provide a magnetoresistance effect element that can achieve a high thermal stability while suppressing the writing current IC0 with a very small element size.", "In order to maintain consistency between FIG.", "1 and FIG.", "4, the ordinal numbers such as “first, second, .", ".", ".", "” are commonly used.", "The magnetoresistance effect element of the present invention shown in FIG.", "1A has the following features: The magnetoresistance effect element has a multi-layer structure made of a first non-magnetic layer (13), a first magnetic layer (25) and a second magnetic layer (12).", "The first magnetic layer (25) is formed on the first non-magnetic layer (13) and has the function of increasing the interface magnetic anisotropy energy density (Ki) at the interface with the first non-magnetic layer (13), and the second magnetic layer (12) has a lower saturation magnetization than that of the first magnetic layer (25).", "Specifically, as shown in FIG.", "1A, the first magnetic layer (25) is formed between the first non-magnetic layer (13) and the second magnetic layer (12).", "More specifically, the magnetoresistance effect element includes a first magnetic layer having a magnetization direction perpendicular to a surface of the first magnetic layer (hereinafter, a direction parallel to the surface of layers is also referred to as “an in-plane direction”), a first non-magnetic layer adjacent to the first magnetic layer, and a second magnetic layer disposed adjacent to the first magnetic layer on a side opposite to the first non-magnetic layer.", "In other words, the first magnetic layer has a first (main) surface (upper surface) and a second (main) surface (lower surface), and the second magnetic layer is disposed on the first surface and the first non-magnetic layer is disposed on the second surface.", "The magnetization direction of each of the first and second magnetic layers is perpendicular to the first and second surface of the first magnetic layers, and is parallel to a direction in which the first non-magnetic layer, the first magnetic layer and the second magnetic layer are stacked.", "The first magnetic layer contains at least one 3d ferromagnetic transition metal element such as Co, Fe, Ni, or Mn.", "The second magnetic layer contains at least one 3d ferromagnetic transition metal element such as Co, Fe, Ni, or Mn, and having a saturation magnetization (Ms) lower than a saturation magnetization (Ms) of the first magnetic layer.", "As explained above, the second magnetic layer has a magnetization direction parallel to the magnetization direction of the first magnetic layer.", "Further, an interfacial perpendicular magnetic anisotropy exists at an interface between the first magnetic layer and the first non-magnetic layer, and the interfacial perpendicular magnetic anisotropy causes the first magnetic layer to have the magnetization direction perpendicular to the in-plane direction.", "An interfacial magnetic anisotropy energy density (Ki) at the interface between the first magnetic layer and the first non-magnetic layer is greater than an interfacial magnetic anisotropy energy density (Ki) at an interface between a first layer, a material of which is the same as a material of the first non-magnetic layer, and a second layer, a material of which is the same as a material of the second magnetic layer.", "In other words, the interfacial magnetic anisotropy energy density (Ki) at the interface between the first magnetic layer and the first non-magnetic layer is greater than an interfacial magnetic anisotropy energy density (Ki) at an interface between the non-first magnetic layer and the second magnetic layer if the first non-magnetic layer and the second magnetic layer are disposed adjacent each other.", "In the magnetoresistance effect element, a ratio of a thickness of the second magnetic layer (12) to a thickness of the first magnetic layer (25) is at least one.", "In the magnetoresistance effect element, a ratio of the sum of an atomic fraction of each magnetic element of the second magnetic layer (12) to the sum of an atomic fraction of each magnetic element of the first magnetic layer (25) is smaller than one.", "To explain in further detail, the sum of the atomic fraction (at %) of each magnetic element is the total of the atomic fraction of the magnetic element contained in the metal composition relative to the entire metal composition.", "In the example above, the ratio of the magnetic element contained in the second magnetic layer (12) is smaller than that of the magnetic element contained in the first magnetic layer (25).", "In the magnetoresistance effect element, the magnetic element contains at least one of Co, Fe, and Ni.", "In the magnetoresistance effect element, the first magnetic layer (25) does not include a non-magnetic element such as V, Ti, Cr, Zr, Nb, Mo, Hf, Ta, W, Si, Al, B, Pd, or Pt and the second magnetic layer (12) includes a non-magnetic element such as V, Ti, Cr, Zr, Nb, Mo, Hf, Ta, W, Si, Al, B, Pd, and Pt, or both the first and second magnetic layers (25, 12) include a non-magnetic element such as V, Ti, Cr, Zr, Nb, Mo, Hf, Ta, W, Si, Al, B, Pd, and Pt, and the ratio of the non-magnetic element composition, such as V, Ti, Cr, Zr, Nb, Mo, Hf, Ta, W, Si, Al, B, Pd, and Pt, in the first magnetic layer (25) to the non-magnetic element composition, such as V, Ti, Cr, Zr, Nb, Mo, Hf, Ta, W, Si, Al, B, Pd, and Pt, in the second magnetic layer (12) is smaller than 1.For example, in the magnetoresistance effect element, the first magnetic layer (25) does not include boron (B) but the second magnetic layer (12) includes boron (B), or the ratio of the boron (B) composition of the first magnetic layer (25) to the boron (B) composition of the second magnetic layer (12) is smaller than 1.Alternatively, in the magnetoresistance effect element, the first magnetic layer (25) does not include vanadium (V) but the second magnetic layer (12) includes vanadium (V), or the ratio of the vanadium (V) composition of the first magnetic layer (25) to the vanadium (V) composition of the second magnetic layer (12) is smaller than 1.It is preferable that the first magnetic layer(25) and the second magnetic layer (12) be made of a material that contains at least one 3d ferromagnetic transition metal such as Co, Fe, Ni, and Mn.", "The magnetoresistance effect element including two non-magnetic layers as shown in FIG.", "1B has the following features.", "In a magnetoresistance effect element having a recording layer (19) between the first non-magnetic layer (13) and the second non-magnetic layer (18), the recording layer (19) has a multilayer structure made of the first magnetic layer (25), the third magnetic layer (17), and the second magnetic layer (12), the first magnetic layer (25) having the function of increasing interfacial magnetic anisotropy energy density (Ki) with the first non-magnetic layer (13) and the second non-magnetic layer (18), the second magnetic layer (12) having lower saturation magnetization (Ms) than those of the first magnetic layer (25) and the third magnetic layer (17).", "Specifically, as shown in FIG.", "1B, the second magnetic layer (12) is formed between the first magnetic layer (25) and the third magnetic layer (17).", "In the magnetoresistance effect element, a ratio of the thickness of the second magnetic layer (12) to the thickness of the first magnetic layer (25) is at least one, and a ratio of the thickness of the second magnetic layer (12) to the thickness of the third magnetic layer (17) is at least one.", "In the magnetoresistance effect element, the ratio of the sum of the atomic fractions of the magnetic elements in the second magnetic layer (12) to the sum of the atomic fractions of the magnetic elements in the first magnetic layer (25) is smaller than 1, and the ratio of the sum of the atomic fractions of the magnetic elements in the second magnetic layer (12) to the sum of the atomic fractions of the magnetic elements in the third magnetic layer (17) is smaller than 1 In the magnetoresistance effect element, the magnetic element contains at least one of Co, Fe, and Ni.", "In the magnetoresistance effect element, the first magnetic layer (25) and the third magnetic layer (17) do not include a non-magnetic element such as V, Ti, Cr, Zr, Nb, Mo, Hf, Ta, W, Si, Al, B, Pd, or Pt and the second magnetic layer (12) includes a non-magnetic element such as V, Ti, Cr, Zr, Nb, Mo, Hf, Ta, W, Si, Al, B, Pd, and Pt, or the first, second, and third magnetic layers (25, 12, 17) include a non-magnetic element such as V, Ti, Cr, Zr, Nb, Mo, Hf, Ta, W, Si, Al, B, Pd, and Pt, and the ratio of the non-magnetic element composition, such as V, Ti, Cr, Zr, Nb, Mo, Hf, Ta, W, Si, Al, B, Pd, and Pt, in the first magnetic layer (25) to the non-magnetic element composition, such as V, Ti, Cr, Zr, Nb, Mo, Hf, Ta, W, Si, Al, B, Pd, and Pt, in the second magnetic layer (12) is smaller than 1, and the ratio of the non-magnetic element composition, such as V, Ti, Cr, Zr, Nb, Mo, Hf, Ta, W, Si, Al, B, Pd, and Pt, in the third magnetic layer (17) to the non-magnetic element composition, such as V, Ti, Cr, Zr, Nb, Mo, Hf, Ta, W, Si, Al, B, Pd, and Pt, in the second magnetic layer (12) is smaller than 1.For example, in the magnetoresistance effect element, the third magnetic layer (25) and the first magnetic layer (17) do not contain B and the second magnetic layer (12) contains B, or the ratio of the composition of boron B in the first magnetic layer (25) to the composition of boron B in the second magnetic layer (12) is smaller than 1, and the ratio of the composition of boron B in the third magnetic layer (17) to the composition of boron B in the second magnetic layer (12) is smaller than 1.In another example, in the magnetoresistance effect element, the third magnetic layer (25) and the first magnetic layer (17) do not contain vanadium (V) and the second magnetic layer (12) contains vanadium (V), or the ratio of the composition of vanadium (V) in the first magnetic layer (25) to the composition of vanadium (V) in the second magnetic layer (12) is smaller than 1, and the ratio of the composition of vanadium (V) in the third magnetic layer (17) to the composition of vanadium (V) in the second magnetic layer (12) is smaller than 1.The first non-magnetic layer (13) and the second non-magnetic layer (18) are preferably made of a material that exhibits a large magnetoresistance change rate in combination with the material of the first magnetic layer (25) and the third magnetic layer (17) such as a material containing a compound that includes oxygen, examples of which include MgO, Al2O3, SiO2, TiO, and Hf2O.", "One of the first non-magnetic layer (13) and the second non-magnetic layer (18) may be made of a material that contains one of Ta, W, Hf, Zr, Nb, Mo, Ti, V, and Cr.", "It is preferable that the first magnetic layer (25), the second magnetic layer (12), and the third magnetic layer (17) be made of a material that contains at least one 3d ferromagnetic transition metal such as Co, Fe, Ni, and Mn.", "The interface of a compound containing oxygen such as MgO, Al2O3,SiO2, TiO, and Hf2O constituting the first non-magnetic layer (13) and the second non-magnetic layer (18) is in the (001) orientation, and is more susceptible to the lattice matching at the interface with the material of the first magnetic layer (25) and the third magnetic layer (17) in which the composition ratio of the non-magnetic element, such as Cr, Zr, Nb, Mo, Hf, Ta, W, Si, Al, B, Pd, and Pt, is lower.", "This makes it possible to increase the interfacial magnetic anisotropy energy densityKi.", "A magnetic memory according to the present invention includes: a plurality of source lines arranged in parallel with each other; a plurality of word lines arranged in parallel with each other in a direction that intersects with the source lines; a plurality of bit lines arranged in parallel with the source lines; a select transistor having the gate electrode electrically connected to one of the word lines and the source electrode electrically connected to one of the source lines; and the magnetoresistance effect element according to the present invention, the magnetoresistance effect element being configured such that one of the first magnetic layer or the second magnetic layer is electrically connected to the drain electrode of the select transistor and the other is electrically connected to one of the bit lines, and the magnetic memory is configured such that an electric current can be applied to the magnetoresistance effect element along the thickness direction.", "Because the magnetic memory according to the present invention is equipped with the magnetoresistance effect element according to the present invention, it is possible to obtain the thermal stability index of 70 or greater.", "According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a magnetoresistance effect element and a magnetic memory with a low damping constant α and high thermal stability even with a very small junction size.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIGS.", "1A and 1B are perpendicular cross-sectional views showing a recording layer of a magnetoresistance effect element of an embodiment of the present invention.", "FIG.", "2A is a graph showing the Ms-B ratio characteristics of the magnetoresistance effect element, and FIG.", "2B is a graph showing the Ki-B ratio characteristics of the magnetoresistance effect element.", "FIG.", "3 is a graph showing a relationship between the thermal stability index E/kBT and the saturation magnetization Ms.", "FIG.", "4 is a perpendicular cross-sectional view showing Embodiments 1 and 2 of the magnetoresistance effect element of the present invention.", "FIG.", "5 is the first graph by simulation showing the relationship between the thermal stability and the interfacial magnetic anisotropy energy densityKi characteristics of the magnetoresistance effect element of an embodiment of the present invention.", "FIGS.", "6A and 6B are the second graphs by simulation showing the relationship between the thermal stability and the interfacial magnetic anisotropy energy densityKi characteristics of the magnetoresistance effect element of an embodiment of the present invention.", "FIG.", "7 is a perpendicular cross-sectional view showing Embodiment 3 of the magnetoresistance effect element of the present invention.", "FIG.", "8 is a perpendicular cross-sectional view showing Embodiment 4 of the magnetoresistance effect element of the present invention.", "FIG.", "9 is a perpendicular cross-sectional view showing Embodiment 5 of the magnetoresistance effect element of the present invention.", "FIG.", "10 is a perpendicular cross-sectional view showing Embodiment 6 of the magnetoresistance effect element of the present invention.", "FIG.", "11 is a perpendicular cross-sectional view showing Embodiment 7 of the magnetoresistance effect element of the present invention.", "FIG.", "12 is a circuit block diagram showing the magnetic memory of an embodiment of the present invention.", "FIG.", "13A is a graph showing the relationship between the Fe layer thickness and the interfacial magnetic anisotropy energy densityKi characteristics, and FIG.", "13B is a graph showing the relationship between the Fe layer thickness and the damping constant α characteristics of the magnetoresistance effect element of Embodiment 2 of the present invention.", "FIG.", "14 is a circuit diagram showing a magnetic memory cell of a magnetic memory having a conventional magnetoresistance effect element.", "FIG.", "15A is a perpendicular cross-sectional view of a conventional perpendicular magnetic anisotropy magnetoresistance effect element, FIG.", "15B is a perpendicular cross-sectional view of another conventional perpendicular magnetic anisotropy magnetoresistance effect element, and FIG.", "15C is a perpendicular cross-sectional view of yet another conventional perpendicular magnetic anisotropy magnetoresistance effect element.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Below, embodiments of the present invention will be explained with reference to the figures.", "Embodiment 1 FIG.", "4 shows a magnetoresistance effect element having a structure including two non-magnetic layers as an embodiment of the present invention.", "As shown in FIG.", "4, the magnetoresistance effect element (10) has a multilayer structure made of a lower non-magnetic electrode (14), a first reference layer (24), a first non-magnetic layer (13), a first recording layer (19), a second non-magnetic layer (18), and an upper non-magnetic electrode (15).", "The first non-magnetic layer (13) is a barrier layer (tunnel junction layer) of the magnetoresistance effect element, and the second non-magnetic layer (18) is a protective layer.", "The first reference layer (24) has a multilayer structure made of an eighth magnetic layer (22), a fifth non-magnetic layer (23), a seventh magnetic layer (20), a fourth non-magnetic layer (21), and a sixth magnetic layer (11).", "The first recording layer (19) has a multilayer structure made of a first magnetic layer (25), a second magnetic layer (12), and a third magnetic layer (17).", "(Lower Non-Magnetic Electrode 14) The lower non-magnetic electrode (14) is connected to an end surface of the eighth magnetic layer (22), which is opposite to the end surface in contact with the fifth non-magnetic layer (23).", "Specifically, the lower non-magnetic electrode (14) has a multilayer structure of Sub/Ta(5 nm)/Ru(5 nm)/Ta(10 nm)/Pt(5 nm).", "(Seventh Magnetic Layer 20, Eighth Magnetic Layer 22).", "The seventh magnetic layer (20) and the eighth magnetic layer (22) are made of a material that contains at least one 3d ferromagnetic transition metal such as Co, Fe, Ni, and Mn.", "The seventh magnetic layer (20) and the eighth magnetic layer (22) may be made of an alloy film or multilayer film having the perpendicular magnetization easy axis, or may be made of an alloy film or multilayer film given the perpendicular magnetization easy axis from the shape magnetic anisotropy by making the film thickness of each film larger than the junction size.", "In a specific example, the eighth magnetic layer 22 is [Co (0.5 nm)/Pt(0.3 nm)]×6.5 layers, and the seventh magnetic layer 20 is [Co (0.5 nm)/Pt(0.3 nm)]×2.5 layers.", "(Fifth Non-Magnetic Layer 23) The fifth non-magnetic layer 23 is made of a material that includes one of Ru, Rh, Jr, Cr, and Cu.", "If the magnetization of the seventh magnetic layer 20 and the magnetization of the eighth magnetic layer 22 are anti-parallel, the fifth non-magnetic layer 23 does not need to be made of such a material.", "In a specific example, the fifth non-magnetic layer 23 is made of Ru (0.4 nm).", "(Fourth Non-Magnetic Layer 21) The fourth non-magnetic layer 21 is magnetically coupled with the adjacent seventh magnetic layer (20) and sixth magnetic layer (11), and is made of a material including at least one of Ta, W, Hf, Zr, Nb, Mo, Ti, V, and Cr.", "However, the fourth non-magnetic layer 21 does not need to be made of such a material if the fourth non-magnetic layer 21 can form magnetic coupling between the seventh magnetic layer (20) and the sixth magnetic layer (11).", "In a specific example, the fourth non-magnetic layer 21 is made of Ta (0.3 nm).", "(Sixth Magnetic Layer 11) The sixth magnetic layer (11) is made of a material that contains at least one 3d ferromagnetic transition metal such as Co, Fe, Ni, and Mn.", "In a specific example, the sixth magnetic layer (11) is made of CoFeB (1.2 nm).", "(First Non-Magnetic Layer 13, Second Non-Magnetic Layer 18) Respective end faces of the first non-magnetic layer 13 are in contact with the sixth magnetic layer (11) and the first magnetic layer (25).", "Respective end faces of the second non-magnetic layer (18) are in contact with the third magnetic layer (17) and the upper non-magnetic layer (15).", "The first non-magnetic layer (13) and the second non-magnetic layer (18) are made of a material having a compound containing oxygen such as MgO, Al2O3,SiO2, TiO, and Hf2O so that a larger magnetoresistance change rate is obtained when combined with the material of the sixth magnetic layer (11) and the first magnetic layer (25).", "In a specific example, the first non-magnetic layer (13) and the second non-magnetic layer (18) are made of MgO (1.2 nm).", "Alternatively, the first non-magnetic layer (13) may be made of MgO (1.2 nm) and the second non-magnetic layer (18) may be made of MgO (1.0 nm) with different film thicknesses.", "(Third Magnetic Layer 17, First Magnetic Layer 25).", "It is preferable that the third magnetic layer (17) and the first magnetic layer (25) be made of a material that contains at least one 3d ferromagnetic transition metal such as Co, Fe, Ni, and Mn.", "The third magnetic layer (17) and the first magnetic layer (25) do not contain B and the second magnetic layer (12) contains B, or the ratio of the composition of boron B in the third magnetic layer (17) to the composition of boron B in the second magnetic layer (12) is smaller than 1, and the ratio of the composition of boron B in the first magnetic layer (25) to the composition of boron B in the second magnetic layer (12) is smaller than 1.In a specific example, the third magnetic layer (17) and the first magnetic layer (25) are each made of CoFe (0.4 nm to 1 nm).", "(Second Magnetic Layer 12) The second magnetic layer (12) is made of a material that contains at least one 3d ferromagnetic transition metal such as Co, Fe, Ni, and Mn.", "In order to increase Kefft, the material with low saturation magnetization Ms is to be used except for the interface portion.", "In a specific example, the second magnetic layer (12) is made of CoFeB (0.4 nm to 5 nm).", "It is also possible to make CoFeB thicker than 5 nm.", "(Upper Non-Magnetic Electrode 15) The upper non-magnetic electrode (15) is connected to an end face of the second non-magnetic layer (18), which is opposite to the end face in contact with the first recording layer (19).", "In a specific example, the upper non-magnetic electrode (15) is made of Ta (5 nm).", "Alternatively, the upper non-magnetic electrode (15) may be made of Ta (5 nm)/Ru (5 nm), Ru (1 to 5 nm), Pt (1 to 5 nm), CoFeB (0.2 to 1.5 nm)/Ta (5 nm) or the like.", "Next, the characteristics of the magnetoresistance effect element of Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be explained.", "FIG.", "5 shows the thermal stability index E/kB T calculated with Formula 1 and Formula 2 based on the junction size of MgO/CoFe/CoFeB/CoFe/MgO (total film thickness of the recording layer CoFe/CoFeB/CoFe is 2.6 nm, and 2Ki=3.6 mJ/m2) for the first non-magnetic layer (13)/the first magnetic layer (25)/the second magnetic layer (12)/the third magnetic layer (17)/the second non-magnetic layer (18) in the multilayer structure of FIG.", "4.The respective thicknesses of CoFe and CoFeB are set to 0.4 nm and 1.8 nm so that the saturation magnetization Ms of the recording layer is 1 T. By making the thickness ratio of CoFeB/CoFe constant, the saturation magnetization Ms of the overall recording layer can be made constant.", "In the example described above, the thickness ratio of CoFeB to CoFe is 4.5, and the total thickness of the recording layer is 2.6 nm, but it is also possible to make the total thickness of the recording layer greater than 2.6 nm while keeping the thickness ratio of CoFeB to CoFe of 4.5.As shown in FIG.", "5, the MgO/CoFe/CoFeB/CoFe/MgO, in which the recording layer is sandwiched by MgO layers, can achieve a higher E/kB T than that of Non-patent Document 7 and the calculation result using 2Ki=2.6 mJ/m2, which is expected with the double interface CoFeB/MgO.", "Furthermore, MgO/CoFe/CoFeB/CoFe/MgO, in which the recording layer is sandwiched between MgO layers, utilizes the interfacial magnetic anisotropy energy density Ki only to raise Kefft, and therefore, by designing the thickness and composition of the intermediate CoFeB part with low saturation magnetization Ms such that it will not cause an increase in damping constant α, the writing current IC0, can be suppressed.", "As described above, the magnetoresistance effect element having the structure of FIG.", "4 can achieve high thermal stability while suppressing the writing current IC0 with a very small element size.", "FIG.", "6A and FIG.", "6B respectively show the thermal stability index calculated using Formula 1 and Formula 3 for the total thickness t of the recording layer of 20 nm diameter.", "The demagnetizing field is corrected by ellipsoid approximation.", "FIG.", "6A is the thermal stability index when the saturation magnetization Ms of the recording layer is varied from 1.0 to 1.5 T at 2K,=2.6 mJ/m2, which ideally occurs at the double CoFeB/MgO interface.", "FIG.", "6B is the thermal stability index when the saturation magnetization Ms of the CoFe/CoFeB/CoFe recording layer is varied from 1.0 to 1.5 T at 2Ki=3.6 mJ/m2 with the double CoFeB/MgO interface.", "In FIGS.", "6A and 6B, as the total film thickness of the recording layer increases, the thermal stability index temporarily decreases due to the decreasing effect of the interface magnetic anisotropy Ki/t.", "However, when the recording layer thickness exceeds a certain thickness, the thermal stability index starts increasing with the effect of decreasing demagnetizing field (−(Nz-Nx)Ms 2/20).", "If the saturation magnetization Ms is the same, the greater the interfacial magnetic anisotropy energy density Ki is, the higher the thermal stability index is.", "Also the lower the saturation magnetization Ms of the overall recording layer is, or in other words, the lower the saturation magnetization of the intermediate CoFeB layer of the CoFe/CoFeB/CoFe recording layer is, the higher the thermal stability index is.", "Therefore, by using the structure in which the CoFe/CoFeB/CoFe recording layer is sandwiched between the MgO layers, the thermal stability index can be improved as compared with the conventional recording layer.", "In FIG.", "4, a magnetoresistance effect element having no first magnetic layer or third magnetic layer can likewise obtain high thermal stability while suppressing the writing current IC0 with a very small element size.", "Embodiment 2 With respect to the first non-magnetic layer (13)/the first magnetic layer (25)/the second magnetic layer (12)/the third magnetic layer (17)/the second non-magnetic layer (18) of the multilayer structure of FIG.", "4, the following materials, thicknesses, and B composition were specifically employed: the thickness of CoFeB of the first magnetic layer (25) and the third magnetic layer (17) is 0.4 nm, the thickness of CoFeB of the second magnetic layer (12) is 1.8 nm, the B composition of the first magnetic layer (25) and the third magnetic layer (17) is Co24Fe71B5 (5/100=0.05), the B composition of the second magnetic layer (12) is Co16Fe49B35 (35/100=0.35), and the ratio of the B composition of the first magnetic layer (25) and the third magnetic layer (17) to the B composition of the second magnetic layer (12) is 0.05/0.35=0.14.The ratio of the thickness of CoFeB of the second magnetic layer (12) to the thickness of CoFeB of the first magnetic layer (25) and the third magnetic layer (17) is 4.5, and the total thickness of the recording layer is 2.6 nm.", "Furthermore, MgO/CoFeB/CoFeB/CoFeB/MgO, in which the recording layer is sandwiched between MgO layers, utilizes the interfacial magnetic anisotropy energy densityKi only to raise Kefft, and therefore, by designing the thickness and composition of the intermediate CoFeB part of the first, second, and third magnetic layers, which has low saturation magnetization Ms, such that it will not cause an increase in damping constant α, the writing current IC0 can be suppressed.", "Also the lower the saturation magnetization Ms of the overall recording layer is, or in other words, the lower the saturation magnetization of the intermediate CoFeB layer of the MgO/CoFeB/CoFeB/CoFeB/MgO is, the higher the thermal stability index is.", "Therefore, by using the structure in which the CoFeB/CoFeB/CoFeB recording layer is sandwiched between the MgO layers, the thermal stability index can be improved as compared with the conventional recording layer.", "In FIG.", "4, a magnetoresistance effect element having no first magnetic layer or third magnetic layer can likewise obtain high thermal stability while suppressing the write current IC0 with a very small element size.", "Embodiment 3 FIG.", "7 shows Embodiment 3 of the magnetoresistance effect element of the present invention.", "In Embodiment 3, the second magnetic layer (12) is made of the fourth magnetic layer (12-1) and the fifth magnetic layer (12-2), and the third non-magnetic layer (16) is interposed between the fourth magnetic layer (12-1) and the fifth magnetic layer (12-2) to control the B concentration.", "The third non-magnetic layer (16) is provided to control the concentration of B.", "In Embodiment 3, the third non-magnetic layer (16) functions as the area to block the diffusion of B from the fourth magnetic layer (12-1) and the fifth magnetic layer (12-2), and has the function of controlling the B concentration in the fourth magnetic layer (12-1) and the fifth magnetic layer (12-2).", "If the third non-magnetic layer (16) is Ta, for example, it is preferable that the thickness thereof be lnm or smaller.", "As a result, the B concentration of the first magnetic layer (25) and the third magnetic layer (17) is lowered, which allows the interfacial magnetic anisotropy energy densityKi to be high at the interface with the first non-magnetic layer (13) and the second non-magnetic layer (18), and allows areas other than the interface regions to have lower Ms. With respect to the first non-magnetic layer (13)/the first magnetic layer (25)/the fourth magnetic layer (12-1)/the third non-magnetic layer (16)/the fifth magnetic layer (12-2)/the third magnetic layer (17)/the second non-magnetic layer (18) of the multilayer structure of FIG.", "7, the following materials, thicknesses, and B composition were specifically employed: the thickness of CoFeB of the first magnetic layer (25) and the third magnetic layer (17) is 0.4 nm, the thickness of CoFeB of the fourth magnetic layer (12-1) and the fifth magnetic layer (12-2) is 0.9 nm, the thickness of the third non-magnetic layer (16) is 0.5 nm, the B composition of the first magnetic layer (25) and the third magnetic layer (17) is Co24Fe71B5 (5/100=0.05), and the B composition of the fourth magnetic layer (12-1) and the fifth magnetic layer(12-2) is Co16Fe49B35 (35/100=0.35).", "The total thickness of the recording layer is 3.1 nm.", "Furthermore, MgO/CoFeB/CoFeB/Ta/CoFeB/CoFeB/MgO, in which the recording layer is sandwiched between MgO layers, utilizes the interfacial magnetic anisotropy energy density Ki only to raise Kefft, and therefore, by designing the thickness and composition of the intermediate magnetic layer of the first, third, fourth, and fifth magnetic layers with low saturation magnetization Ms, such that it will not cause an increase in damping constant α, the writing current IC0 can be suppressed.", "Also the lower the saturation magnetization Ms of the overall recording layer is, or in other words, the lower the saturation magnetization of the recording layer CoFeB/CoFeB/Ta/CoFeB/CoFeB of MgO/CoFeB/CoFeB/Ta/CoFeB/CoFeB/MgO is, the higher the thermal stability index is.", "Therefore, by using the structure in which the CoFeB/CoFeB/Ta/CoFeB/CoFeB recording layer is sandwiched between the MgO layers, the thermal stability index can be improved as compared with the conventional recording layer.", "Embodiment 4 FIG.", "8 shows Embodiment 4 of the magnetoresistance effect element of the present invention.", "Embodiment 4 differs from Embodiments 1 and 2 in having the second reference layer (32).", "The second reference layer (32) has the function of an anti-parallel coupling reference layer.", "In the second reference layer (32), the magnetization directions of the respective magnetic layers are opposite to those of the first reference layer 24.This is effective to improve the spin injection efficiency and reduce the writing current IC0.Embodiment 5 FIG.", "9 shows Embodiment 5 of the magnetoresistance effect element of the present invention.", "Embodiment 5 also has the second reference layer (32) like Embodiment 4, but differs from Embodiment 4 in that the second reference layer is not an antiparallel coupling layer.", "Embodiment 6 FIG.", "10 shows Embodiment 6 of the magnetoresistance effect element of the present invention.", "Embodiment 6 has the multilayer structure in which the second magnetic layer (12) and the third magnetic layer (17) are in direct contact as in Embodiments 1 and 2 of the present invention, and also includes the second reference layer (32) as in Embodiment 5.Depending on whether it is necessary to control the concentration of B or not, the third non-magnetic layer (16) may be omitted.", "Embodiment 7 FIG.", "11 shows Embodiment 7 of the magnetoresistance effect element of the present invention.", "Embodiment 7 has a multilayer structure including two recording layers of the first recording layer (19) and a second recording layer (34), and three reference layers of the first reference layer (24), the second reference layer (32), and the third reference layer (33).", "With Embodiment 7, it is possible to provide the multi-value function using those three reference layers.", "Modification Example of Embodiment 1 Next, the characteristics of the magnetoresistance effect element of a modification example of Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be explained.", "The characteristics required for the junction interface between the magnetic layer and the nonmagnetic layer of the perpendicular magnetic anisotropic magnetoresistance effect element applied to the magnetic memory of the present invention are the high tunnel magnetoresistance (TMR) ratio, the low writing current IC0, and high thermal stability.", "The writing current IC0 is determined by the damping constant α, and it is preferable that the damping constant α be 0.01 or smaller, or it is more preferable that the damping constant α be 0.005 or smaller.", "Further, for example, at the junction surface of the magnetoresistance effect element having the junction size diameter of 20 nm, the interfacial magnetic anisotropy energy density K, is required to be 2.6 mJ/m2 or more.", "In FIG.", "4, the first non-magnetic layer (13) and the second non-magnetic layer (18) are made of MgO (1.2 nm), and the third magnetic layer (17) and the first magnetic layer (25) are made of Fe (0.4 nm to 1 nm).", "The second magnetic layer (12) is made of FeV (0.01 nm to 0.4 nm).", "FIG.", "13A shows the interfacial magnetic anisotropy energy density Ki characteristics for the Fe layer thickness when MgO/Fe/FeV/Fe/MgO (junction size diameter of the recording layer Fe/FeV/Fe is 20 nm) were used as the specific materials of the first non-magnetic layer (13)/the first magnetic layer (25)/the second magnetic layer (12)/the third magnetic layer (17)/the second non-magnetic layer(18) in the multilayer structure of FIG.", "4.As shown in FIG.", "13A, as the Fe layer thickness increases, the interfacial magnetic anisotropy energy density K, linearly increases.", "FIG.", "13B shows the damping constant α characteristics for the Fe thickness.", "As shown in FIG.", "13B, as the Fe layer thickness increases, the damping constant α slightly increases, but the value thereof stays under 0.005.which is the required value of the damping constant α at the junction interface of the junction size diameter 20 nm.", "As described above, the magnetoresistance effect element of the modification example of Embodiment 1 having the structure shown in FIG.", "4 can keep the value of the damping constant α under a certain level, thereby making it possible to suppress the writing current IC0 with a very small element size.", "Embodiments 2 to 7 may also be modified in a manner similar to the modification example of Embodiment 1 by applying Fe and FeV to the recording layer.", "Modification Example of Embodiment 2 Next, the characteristics of the magnetoresistance effect element of a modification example of Embodiment 2 of the present invention will be explained.", "In FIG.", "4, MgO was used for the first non-magnetic layer (13) and the second non-magnetic layer (18), and FeV was used for the third magnetic layer (17) and the first magnetic layer (25).", "The second magnetic layer (12) is made of FeV having a higher V composition than FeV used for the third magnetic layer (17) and the first magnetic layer (25).", "As the Fe layer thickness increases, the interfacial magnetic anisotropy energy density Ki linearly increases.", "Also, as the Fe layer thickness increases, the damping constant α slightly increases, but the value thereof stays under 0.005.which is the required value of the damping constant α at the junction interface of the junction size diameter 20 nm.", "As described above, the magnetoresistance effect element of the modification example of Embodiment 2 having the structure shown in FIG.", "4 can keep the value of the damping constant α under a certain level, thereby making it possible to suppress the writing current IC0 even with a very small element size.", "Embodiments 2 to 7 may also be modified in a manner similar to the modification example of Embodiment 2 by applying FeV to the recording layer.", "The respective embodiments and modification examples described above may further modified.", "For example, by making the ratio of the non-magnetic element composition, such as Ti, Cr, Zr, Nb, Mo, Hf, Ta, W, Si, Al, Pd, and Pt, in the first magnetic layer (25) to the non-magnetic element composition, such as Ti, Cr, Zr, Nb, Mo, Hf, Ta, W, Si, Al, Pd, and Pt, in the second magnetic layer (12) smaller than 1, and by making the ratio of the non-magnetic element composition, such as Ti, Cr, Zr, Nb, Mo, Hf, Ta, W, Si, Al, Pd, and Pt, in the third magnetic layer (17) to the non-magnetic element composition, such as Ti, Cr, Zr, Nb, Mo, Hf, Ta, W, Si, Al, Pd, and Pt, in the second magnetic layer (12) smaller than 1, the value of the damping constant α can be kept under a certain level, which makes it possible to suppress the writing current IC0 even with a very small element size.", "Furthermore, it is also possible to keep the value of the damping constant α under a certain level, which makes it possible to suppress the writing current IC0 even with a very small element size, by forming Fe(V) on the CoFe(B) material or laminating different non-magnetic elements or different magnetic elements.", "Specific examples of the multilayer structure include MgO/FeB/FeV/FeB/MgO, MgO/Fe95B5/FeV/Fe90B10/MgO, MgO/Co24Fe71B5/FeV/Co22Fe68B10/MgO, MgO/Co47Fe48B5/FeV/Co22Fe68B10/MgO, MgO/FeB/FeV/FeTa/MgO, and MgO/(Co)FeB/FeV/(Co)FeM/MgO (M includes at least Ti, Cr, Zr, Nb, Mo, Hf, Ta, W, Si, Al, Pd, and Pt, and two or more types of elements may be mixed).", "Magnetic Memory 1 in Embodiment of the Present Invention FIG.", "12 shows a magnetic memory (MRAM) as an embodiment of the present invention.", "As shown in FIG.", "12, the magnetic memory (1) includes a plurality of source lines (2), a plurality of word lines 3, a plurality of bit lines (4), and a plurality of memory cells (5).", "The respective source lines (2) are arranged in parallel with each other.", "The respective word lines (3) are arranged in parallel with each other in the direction intersecting with the source lines (2).", "The respective bit lines (4) are arranged in parallel with each other so as to be in parallel with the respective source lines (2).", "The respective source lines (2) and the respective bit lines (4) are alternately arranged in parallel with each other in the lateral direction.", "One end of each source line (2) and each bit line (4) is electrically connected to a write driver (6) and a sense amplifier (7) for voltage application.", "One end of each word line (3) is electrically connected to a word driver (8).", "Each memory cell (5) is disposed at each intersection of the bit lines (4) and the word lines (3).", "Each memory cell (5) includes a select transistor (9) and a magnetoresistance effect element (10).", "In the select transistor (9), the gate electrode is electrically connected to the word line (3), and the source electrode is electrically connected to the source line (2) via a wiring layer.", "In the magnetoresistance effect element (10), one of the sixth magnetic layer (11) and the second magnetic layer (12) is electrically connected to the drain electrode of the select transistor (9) via a lower non-magnetic electrode (14) or an upper non-magnetic electrode (15), and the other is electrically connected to the bit line (4).", "The magnetoresistance effect element (10) is one of those shown in FIGS.", "1, 4, or 6 to 11.The magnetic memory (1) is configured so as to be able to apply a current to the magnetoresistance effect element (10) along the thickness direction.", "Next, the operation will be explained.", "In an operation to write “1,” the write driver (6) applies a voltage on the source lines (2), and the word driver (8) applies a voltage on the word lines (3), thereby causing a current to flow from the source line (2) to the bit line (4) via the magnetoresistance effect element (10).", "This makes the magnetization direction of the second magnetic layer (12), which is the recording layer of the magnetoresistance effect element (10) having a free magnetization direction, antiparallel to the magnetization direction of the sixth magnetic layer (11), which is the reference layer having a fixed magnetization direction.", "As a result, the magnetoresistance effect element (10) enters a high resistance state, and the magnetoresistance effect element (10) holds the information “1.” On the other hand, in an operation to write “0,” the write driver (6) applies a voltage on the bit line (4), and the word driver (8) applies a voltage on the word lines (3), thereby causing a current to flow from the bit line (4) to the source line (2) via the magnetoresistance effect element (10).", "This makes the magnetization direction of the second magnetic layer (12), which is the recording layer of the magnetoresistance effect element (10) having a free magnetization direction, parallel to the magnetization direction of the sixth magnetic layer (11), which is the reference layer having a fixed magnetization direction.", "As a result, the magnetoresistance effect element (10) enters a low resistance state, and the magnetoresistance effect element (10) holds the information “0.” In order to read out the information, the sense amplifier (7) reads out a difference in signals due to the change in resistance.", "By such a memory array, it is possible to achieve a magnetic memory having the magnetoresistance effect element 10 with a larger magnetoresistance change rate, a smaller write current, and a higher thermal stability than that of the conventional structure." ] ]
Patent_15872922
[ [ "PREDICTIVE ENCODING METHOD, PREDICTIVE ENCODING DEVICE, AND PREDICTIVE ENCODING PROGRAM OF MOTION VECTOR, AND, PREDICTIVE DECODING METHOD, PREDICTIVE DECODING DEVICE, AND PREDICTIVE DECODING PROGRAM OF MOTION VECTOR", "A predictive coding system can encode motion vectors by determining a motion vector of a target partition in a frame picture of an encoding target; determining a first motion vector predictor candidate from a motion vector or motion vectors of one or more partitions belonging to a left-neighboring region to the target partition; determining a second motion vector predictor candidate from a motion vector or motion vectors of one or more partitions belonging to an above-neighboring region to the target partition; selecting an optimum motion vector predictor and outputting motion vector predictor indication information to specify the selected optimum motion vector predictor, the optimum motion vector predictor selected based on comparison between one or more motion vector predictor candidates including the first motion vector predictor candidate and the second motion vector predictor candidate, and the motion vector of the target partition; and encoding the motion vector predictor indication information." ], [ "1.-28.", "(canceled) 29.A method for predictively decoding a motion vector used in motion compensated prediction to restore a video sequence consisting of a temporal sequence of a plurality of frame pictures, comprising: a step of determining a first motion vector predictor candidate that satisfies a first predetermined criterion used in determination of motion vector predictor candidates, from a motion vector of one or more partitions belonging to a left-neighboring region located on a left side of a target partition in a frame picture of a decoding target; a step of determining a second motion vector predictor candidate satisfying a second predetermined criterion used in determination of motion vector predictor candidates, from a motion vector of one or more partitions belonging to an above-neighboring region located above the target partition; a step of decoding encoded data to restore motion vector predictor indication information specifying a motion vector predictor for the target partition; and a step of selecting the motion vector predictor specified by the motion vector predictor indication information, from one or more motion vector predictor candidates including at least the first motion vector predictor candidate and the second motion vector predictor candidate; wherein the step of determining the first motion vector predictor candidate comprises: scanning a plurality of partitions included in the left-neighboring region, in an upward direction from a bottom of the left-neighboring region, thus determining, a motion vector satisfying the first predetermined criterion used in determination of motion vector predictor candidates, as the first motion vector predictor candidate, from the motion vector of said one or more partitions included in the left-neighboring region, determining both an i-th partition and the target partition have a same reference picture list identification number and reference picture identification number, after confirming the i-th partition is present in a scan order in the left-neighboring region and said i-th partition has a motion vector, and selecting the motion vector of the i-th partition as the first motion vector predictor candidate, based on determining both the i-th partition and the target partition have the same reference picture list identification number and reference picture identification number.", "30.A device for predictively decoding a motion vector used in motion compensated prediction to restore a video sequence consisting of a temporal sequence of a plurality of frame pictures, comprising: a first motion vector predictor candidate determination unit adapted to determine a first motion vector predictor candidate satisfying a first predetermined criterion used in determination of motion vector predictor candidates from a motion vector of one or more partitions belonging to a left-neighboring region located on a left side of a target partition in a frame picture of a decoding target; a second motion vector predictor candidate determination unit adapted to determine a second motion vector predictor candidate satisfying a second predetermined criterion used in determination of motion vector predictor candidates from a motion vector of one or more partitions belonging to an above-neighboring region located above the target partition; a decoding unit adapted to decode encoded data to restore motion vector predictor indication information specifying a motion vector predictor for the target partition; and motion vector predictor determination unit adapted to select the motion vector predictor specified by the motion vector predictor indication information, from one or more motion vector predictor candidates including at least the first motion vector predictor candidate and the second motion vector predictor candidate, wherein the first motion vector predictor candidate determination unit is adapted to scan one or more partitions included in the left-neighboring region, in an upward direction from a bottom of the left-neighboring region, to determine a motion vector satisfying the first predetermined criterion used in determination of motion vector predictor candidates, as the first motion vector predictor candidate, from the motion vector of said one or more partitions included in the left-neighboring region, and to determine both a i-th partition and the target partition have a same reference picture list identification number and reference picture identification number, in response to the i-th partition being present in a scan order in the left-neighboring region and said i-th partition having a motion vector, and the first motion vector predictor candidate determination unit further adapted to select the motion vector of the i-th partition as the first motion vector predictor candidate, in response to the determination that both the i-th partition and the target partition have the same reference picture list identification number and reference picture identification number." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND ART <EOH>Motion compensated prediction technology is occasionally used in video encoding and video decoding.", "In the motion compensation technology, a frame of a processing target in a video sequence is divided into a plurality of partitions.", "These partitions are sequentially selected as a partition of a processing target (target partition).", "A motion vector is then determined for the target partition.", "In the motion compensated prediction technology, a motion vector predictor is determined using motion vectors of neighboring partitions to the target partition and the motion vector of the target partition is predictively encoded or predictively decoded in some cases." ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY OF INVENTION <EOH>One aspect of a predictive coding system relates to a predictive encoding technology of motion vectors.", "An embodiment of the predictive coding system may perform a predictive encoding method of motion vectors for predictively encoding a motion vector used in motion compensated prediction of a video sequence consisting of a temporal sequence of frame pictures.", "The method comprising: (a) a step of determining a motion vector of a target partition in a frame picture of an encoding target in the video sequence; (b) a step of determining a first motion vector predictor candidate satisfying one or more predetermined criterion used for determination of motion vector predictor candidates, from a motion vector or motion vectors of one or more partitions belonging to a left-neighboring region located on the left side of the target partition; (c) a step of determining a second motion vector predictor candidate satisfying one or more predetermined criterion used for determination of motion vector predictor candidates, from a motion vector or motion vectors of one or more partitions belonging to an above-neighboring region located above the target partition; (d) a step of selecting an optimum motion vector predictor and outputting motion vector predictor indication information to specify the selected optimum motion vector predictor, the optimum motion vector predictor selected based on comparison between one or more motion vector predictor candidates including the first motion vector predictor candidate and the second motion vector predictor candidate, and the motion vector of the target partition; and (e) a step of encoding the motion vector predictor indication information.", "As used herein, the terms “above”, “below”, “left”, and “right” should be construed as describing a positional relationship between described objects or subject matter that is not limited to the directional meaning of these terms, and should not be construed as limiting orientation of the objects or subject matter with respect to any other reference.", "The predictive coding system may also include a predictive encoding device of motion vectors, which is a device for predictively encoding a motion vector used in motion compensated prediction of a video sequence consisting of a temporal sequence of frame pictures.", "The predictive encoding device can include motion detection means which determines a motion vector of a target partition in a frame picture of an encoding target in the video sequence; first motion vector predictor candidate determination means which determines a first motion vector predictor candidate satisfying one or more predetermined criterion used for determination of motion vector predictor candidates from a motion vector, or motion vectors, of one or more partitions belonging to a left-neighboring region located on the left side of the target partition; second motion vector predictor candidate determination means which determines a second motion vector predictor candidate satisfying one or more predetermined criterion used for determination of motion vector predictor candidates from a motion vector, or motion vectors, of one or more partitions belonging to an above-neighboring region located above the target partition; motion vector predictor determination means, which selects an optimum motion vector predictor based on comparison between the motion vector of the target partition and one or more motion vector predictor candidates.", "The one or more motion vector predictor candidates including at least one of the first motion vector predictor candidate, or the second motion vector predictor candidate.", "The motion vector predictor determination means outputs motion vector predictor indication information to specify the optimum motion vector predictor selected; and encoding means which encodes the motion vector predictor indication information.", "An embodiment of the predictive coding system includes a predictive encoding program of motion vectors stored in a non-transitory computer readable storage media, which is executable by a processor to predictively encode a motion vector used in motion compensated prediction of a video sequence consisting of a temporal sequence of frame pictures.", "The program stored in the computer readable storage media executable by a processor to function as at least part of: the motion detection means, the first motion vector predictor candidate determination means, the second motion vector predictor candidate determination means, the motion vector predictor determination means, and the encoding means described above.", "In the predictive encoding technology of motion vectors described above, the motion vector predictor candidates are narrowed down, and thereafter the motion vector predictor is determined based on the comparison between the motion vector of the target partition and the motion vector predictor candidates.", "Therefore, the predictive coding system may reduce the computational complexity necessary for the determination of the motion vector predictor.", "In an embodiment of the predictive coding system, the predictive encoding technology may be configured as follows: a predicted signal of a pixel signal of a target partition is generated by referring to a reference frame with a frame identifier, such as a number, specified by a reference picture list identification and a reference picture identification; a first motion vector predictor candidate is determined from motion vectors of partitions in a left-neighboring region having a reference picture list identification and/or a reference picture identification coincident with the reference picture list identification and/or the reference picture identification for the target partition; the second motion vector predictor candidate is determined from motion vectors of partitions in an above-neighboring region having a reference picture list identification and/or a reference picture identification coincident with the reference picture list identification and/or the reference picture identification for the target partition.", "In an embodiment of the predictive coding system, the motion vector predictor indication information may be encoded into encoded data of a bit count according to the number of motion vector predictor candidates.", "For example, the motion vector predictor indication information may be encoded into encoded data of a minimum bit count according to the number of motion vector predictor candidates.", "This embodiment may reduce the bit count of encoded data of the motion vector predictor indication information.", "In an embodiment of the predictive coding system, a left-neighboring region may include a neighboring partition located below and on the left side of a target partition.", "The below-left-neighboring partition is a partition including neighboring pixels existing below and on the left side of a bottom left pixel in the target partition.", "In this embodiment, the below-left-neighboring partition is included in the left-neighboring region, and the motion vector of the below-left-neighboring partition is not defined as an independent motion vector predictor candidate when the first motion vector predictor candidate is determined from the left-neighboring region.", "This embodiment may reduce the number of motion vector predictor candidates.", "As a result, a bit count of encoded data of the motion vector predictor indication information may be reduced.", "In an embodiment of the predictive coding system, an above-neighboring region may include a neighboring partition located above and on the right side of a target partition.", "The above-right-neighboring partition is a partition that includes neighboring pixels existing above and on the right side of a top right pixel in the target partition.", "In this embodiment, the above-right-neighboring partition is included in the above-neighboring region, and a motion vector of the above-right-neighboring partition is not defined as an independent motion vector predictor candidate when the second motion vector predictor candidate is determined from the above-neighboring region.", "This embodiment may reduce the number of motion vector predictor candidates.", "As a result, a bit count of encoded data of the motion vector predictor indication information may be reduced.", "In an embodiment of the predictive coding system, either a left-neighboring region or an above-neighboring region may include a neighboring partition located above and on the left side of a target partition.", "The above-left-neighboring partition is a partition that includes neighboring pixels existing above and on the left side of a top left pixel in the target partition.", "In this embodiment, a motion vector of the above-left-neighboring partition is not defined as an independent motion vector predictor candidate, and a motion vector predictor candidate is determined while the above-left-neighboring partition is included in the left-neighboring region or in the above-neighboring region.", "This embodiment may reduce the number of motion vector predictor candidates.", "As a result, a bit count of encoded data of the motion vector predictor indication information may be reduced.", "In an embodiment of the predictive coding system, a predictive encoding technology may be configured as follows: one or more partitions in a left-neighboring region are scanned in an upward direction from a bottom of the left-neighboring region, whereby a motion vector satisfying one or more predetermined criterion is determined as the first motion vector predictor candidate from motion vectors of the one or more partitions.", "The predetermined criterion can be used in determination of motion vector predictor candidates.", "A subsequent scan in the left-neighboring region may be terminated upon detection of the motion vector satisfying the predetermined criterion used in determination of motion vector predictor candidates.", "According to knowledge gained by the inventors based on research on a large number of video sequences, a partition, from among the partitions in the left-neighboring region, with a motion vector having a small difference from the motion vector of the target partition tends to exist on the lower side in the left-neighboring region.", "Therefore, the first motion vector predictor candidate with a small difference from the motion vector of the target partition can be efficiently determined by scanning the left-neighboring region in the foregoing scan order.", "In an embodiment of the predictive coding system, the predictive encoding technology may be configured as follows: one or more partitions in an above-neighboring region are scanned in a leftward direction from right to left, whereby a motion vector satisfying one or more predetermined criterion used in determination of motion vector predictor candidates is determined as a second motion vector predictor candidate from motion vectors of the one or more partitions.", "The subsequent scan in the above-neighboring region may be terminated upon detection of the motion vector satisfying the predetermined criterion used in determination of motion vector predictor candidates.", "According to the knowledge gained by the inventors based on research on a large number of video sequences, a partition with a motion vector having a small difference from the motion vector of the target partition among the partitions in the above-neighboring region tends to exist on the right side in the above-neighboring region.", "Therefore, the second motion vector predictor candidate with a small difference from the motion vector of the target partition can be efficiently determined by scanning the above-neighboring region in the foregoing scan order.", "In an embodiment of the predictive coding system, the predictive encoding technology may be configured as follows: it comprises determining first scan direction indication information indicative of a direction of scanning one or more partitions included in a left-neighboring region, in order to determine a first motion vector predictor candidate; determining second scan direction indication information indicative of a direction of scanning one or more partitions included in an above-neighboring region, in order to determine a second motion vector predictor candidate; and further encoding the first scan direction indication information and the second scan direction indication information.", "In this embodiment, the scans are carried out in both the upward and downward directions in the left-neighboring region to select a motion vector satisfying one or more predetermined criterion used in determination of motion vector predictor candidates.", "An optimum motion vector from among the motion vectors selected in the upward and downward directions is defined as the first motion vector predictor candidate, and information indicative of the direction of the scan in which the first motion vector predictor candidate is acquired is defined as the first scan direction indication information.", "Furthermore, the scans are carried out in both the leftward and rightward directions in the above-neighboring region to select the motion vector satisfying the one or more predetermined criterion used in determination of motion vector predictor candidates.", "The optimum motion vector, from among the motion vectors selected in the leftward and rightward directions, is defined as the second motion vector predictor candidate and information indicative of the direction of the scan in which the second motion vector predictor candidate is acquired is defined as the second scan direction indication information.", "This embodiment permits achievement of further improvement in encoding efficiency by determination of the first motion vector predictor candidate and the second motion vector predictor candidate.", "In an embodiment of the predictive coding system, the number of one or more motion vector predictor candidates may be not more than a predetermined number, such as three.", "This embodiment may further reduce the bit count of encoded data of the motion vector predictor indication information.", "In an embodiment of the predictive coding system, an optimum motion vector predictor may be used as a motion vector of a target partition, without encoding a residual signal between the motion vector of the target partition and the optimum motion vector predictor.", "This embodiment may further improve the encoding efficiency because the residual signal of the motion vector is not encoded.", "Another aspect of the of the predictive coding system relates to a predictive decoding technology of motion vectors.", "The predictive coding system may also perform a method for predictively decoding a motion vector used in motion compensated prediction to restore a video sequence consisting of a temporal sequence of frame pictures.", "The method comprising: (a) a step of determining a first motion vector predictor candidate that satisfies one or more predetermined criterion used in determination of motion vector predictor candidates.", "The first motion vector predictor candidate from a motion vector or motion vectors of one or more partitions included in a left-neighboring region located on the left side of a target partition in a frame picture of a decoding target; (b) a step of determining a second motion vector predictor candidate that satisfies one or more predetermined criterion used in determination of motion vector predictor candidate.", "The second motion vector predictor candidate determined from a motion vector or motion vectors of one or more partitions included in an above-neighboring region located above the target partition; (c) a step of decoding encoded data to restore motion vector predictor indication information specifying an optimum motion vector predictor for the target partition; and (d) a step of selecting the optimum motion vector predictor specified by the motion vector predictor indication information, from one or more motion vector predictor candidates, the one or more motion vector predictor candidates including at least the first motion vector predictor candidate and the second motion vector predictor candidate.", "The predictive coding system may also include a device for predictively decoding a motion vector used in motion compensated prediction to restore a video sequence consisting of a temporal sequence of frame pictures.", "The device comprising: first motion vector predictor candidate determination means, which determines a first motion vector predictor candidate that satisfies one or more predetermined criterion used in determination of motion vector predictor candidates from a motion vector or motion vectors of one or more partitions belonging to a left-neighboring region located on the left side of a target partition in a frame picture of a decoding target; second motion vector predictor candidate determination means, which determines a second motion vector predictor candidate that satisfies one or more predetermined criterion used in determination of motion vector predictor candidates from a motion vector or motion vectors of one or more partitions belonging to an above-neighboring region located above the target partition; decoding means which decodes encoded data to restore motion vector predictor indication information to specify an optimum motion vector predictor for the target partition; and optimum motion vector predictor determination means which selects the optimum motion vector predictor specified by the motion vector predictor indication information.", "The optimum motion vector predictor can be selected from one or more motion vector predictor candidates including at least the first motion vector predictor candidate and the second motion vector predictor candidate.", "An embodiment of the predictive coding system includes a program for predictively decoding a motion vector.", "The program is stored in a non-transitory computer readable storage media, and is executable by a processor to predictively decode a motion vector used in motion compensated prediction to restore a video sequence consisting of a temporal sequence of frame pictures.", "The program stored in the computer readable storage media is executable by a processor to function as at least part of: the first motion vector predictor candidate determination means, the second motion vector predictor candidate determination means, the decoding means, and the optimum motion vector predictor determination means described above.", "In the predictive decoding technology of motion vectors described above, the motion vector predictor candidates are narrowed down and thereafter the motion vector predictor is determined based on the comparison between the motion vector of the target partition and the motion vector predictor candidates.", "Therefore, the predictive coding system may reduce the computational complexity necessary for the determination of the motion vector predictor.", "In an embodiment of the predictive coding system, the predictive decoding technology may be configured as follows: a predicted signal of a picture signal of a target partition is generated by referring to a reference frame with a frame number specified by a reference picture list identification and a reference picture identification; a first motion vector predictor candidate is determined from motion vectors of partitions in the left-neighboring region having a reference picture list identification and/or a reference picture identification identical to the reference picture list identification and/or the reference picture identification for the target partition; a second motion vector predictor candidate is determined from motion vectors of partitions in the above-neighboring region having a reference picture list identification and/or a reference picture identification identical to the reference picture list identification and/or the reference picture identification for the target partition.", "In an embodiment of the predictive coding system, a bit count of encoded data of motion vector predictor indication information may be a bit count according to the number of motion vector predictor candidates.", "For example, the bit count of encoded data of the motion vector predictor indication information may be a minimum bit count according to the number of motion vector predictor candidates.", "This embodiment may reduce the bit count of the encoded data of the motion vector predictor indication information.", "In an embodiment of the predictive coding system, a left-neighboring region may include a neighboring partition located below and on the left side of a target partition.", "In this embodiment, a motion vector of the below-left-neighboring partition is not defined as an independent motion vector predictor candidate and the below-left-neighboring partition is included in the left-neighboring region; then a first motion vector predictor candidate is determined from the left-neighboring region.", "This embodiment may reduce the number of motion vector predictor candidates.", "As a result, it may reduce the bit count of encoded data of the motion vector predictor indication information and reduce the computational complexity of the decoding process to restore the motion vector predictor indication information from the encoded data.", "In an embodiment of the predictive coding system, an above-neighboring region may include a neighboring partition located above and on the right side of a target partition.", "In this embodiment, a motion vector of the above-right-neighboring partition is not defined as an independent motion vector predictor candidate and the above-right-neighboring partition is included in the above-neighboring region; then a second motion vector predictor candidate is determined from the above-neighboring region.", "This embodiment may reduce the number of motion vector predictor candidates.", "As a result, it may reduce the bit count of encoded data of the motion vector predictor indication information and reduce the computational complexity of the decoding process to restore the motion vector predictor indication information from the encoded data.", "In an embodiment of the predictive coding system, either a left-neighboring region or a above-neighboring region may include a neighboring partition located above and on the left side of a target partition.", "In this embodiment, a motion vector of the above-left-neighboring partition is not defined as an independent motion vector predictor candidate and the above-left-neighboring partition is included in the left-neighboring region or in the above-neighboring region; then the motion vector predictor candidate is determined therefrom.", "This embodiment may reduce the number of motion vector predictor candidates.", "As a result, the bit count of encoded data of the motion vector predictor indication information may be reduced, and the computational complexity of the decoding process to restore the motion vector predictor indication information from the encoded data may also be reduced.", "In an embodiment of the predictive coding system, the predictive decoding technology may be configured as follows: one or more partitions in a left-neighboring region are scanned in an upward direction from a bottom of the left-neighboring region, whereby a motion vector satisfying a predetermined criterion used in determination of motion vector predictor candidates is determined as the first motion vector predictor candidate from motion vectors of the one or more partitions.", "A subsequent scan in the left-neighboring region may be terminated upon detection of the motion vector satisfying the predetermined criterion of determination of motion vector predictor candidates.", "The first motion vector predictor candidate with a small error from the motion vector of the target partition can be efficiently determined by scanning the left-neighboring region in the foregoing scan order.", "In an embodiment of the predictive coding system, the predictive decoding technology may be configured as follows: one or more partitions in the above-neighboring region are scanned in a direction from right to left, whereby a motion vector satisfying the predetermined criterion used in determination of motion vector predictor candidates is determined as a second motion vector predictor candidate from motion vectors of the one or more partitions.", "The subsequent scan in the above-neighboring region may be terminated upon detection of the motion vector satisfying the predetermined criterion used in determination of motion vector predictor candidates.", "The second motion vector predictor candidate with a small error from the motion vector of the target partition can be efficiently determined by scanning the above-neighboring region in the foregoing scan order.", "In an embodiment of the predictive coding system, the predictive decoding technology may be configured to include: decoding encoded data to restore first scan direction indication information to specify a direction of scanning of one or more partitions in a left-neighboring region and second scan direction indication information to specify a direction of scanning of one or more partitions in an above-neighboring region; scanning the one or more partitions in the left-neighboring region in the direction specified by the first scan direction indication information to determine the first motion vector predictor candidate; and scanning the one or more partitions in the above-neighboring region in the direction specified by the second scan direction indication information to determine the second motion vector predictor candidate.", "This embodiment may determine the first motion vector predictor candidate and the second motion vector predictor candidate with smaller errors from the motion vector of the target partition.", "In an embodiment of the predictive coding system, the number of one or more motion vector predictor candidates may not be more than a predetermined number, such as three.", "This embodiment may further reduce the bit count of the motion vector predictor indication information.", "In an embodiment of the predictive coding system, the optimum motion vector predictor may be used as a motion vector of a target partition.", "This embodiment may reduce a data volume of encoded data because a residual signal of the motion vector is not encoded.", "As described above, the aspects and the embodiments of the predictive coding system provide the predictive encoding method, predictive encoding device, and predictive encoding program of motion vectors and the predictive decoding method, predictive decoding device, and predictive decoding program of motion vectors capable of reducing the computational complexity necessary for the determination of motion vector predictors.", "Other systems, methods, features and advantages will be, or will become, apparent to one with skill in the art upon examination of the following figures and detailed description.", "It is intended that all such additional systems, methods, features and advantages be included within this description, be within the scope of the invention, and be protected by the following claims." ], [ "This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "15/374,929, filed Dec. 9, 2016, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "13/936,005 filed Jul.", "5, 2013, which is a continuation of PCT/JP2011/079540, filed Dec. 20, 2011, which claims the benefit of the filing date pursuant to 35 U.S.C.", "§119(e) of JP2011-002205, filed Jan. 7, 2011, all of which are incorporated herein by reference.", "TECHNICAL FIELD Embodiments of the present invention relate to a predictive encoding method, a predictive encoding device, and a predictive encoding program of motion vector and to a predictive decoding method, a predictive decoding device, and a predictive decoding program of motion vector.", "BACKGROUND ART Motion compensated prediction technology is occasionally used in video encoding and video decoding.", "In the motion compensation technology, a frame of a processing target in a video sequence is divided into a plurality of partitions.", "These partitions are sequentially selected as a partition of a processing target (target partition).", "A motion vector is then determined for the target partition.", "In the motion compensated prediction technology, a motion vector predictor is determined using motion vectors of neighboring partitions to the target partition and the motion vector of the target partition is predictively encoded or predictively decoded in some cases.", "SUMMARY OF INVENTION One aspect of a predictive coding system relates to a predictive encoding technology of motion vectors.", "An embodiment of the predictive coding system may perform a predictive encoding method of motion vectors for predictively encoding a motion vector used in motion compensated prediction of a video sequence consisting of a temporal sequence of frame pictures.", "The method comprising: (a) a step of determining a motion vector of a target partition in a frame picture of an encoding target in the video sequence; (b) a step of determining a first motion vector predictor candidate satisfying one or more predetermined criterion used for determination of motion vector predictor candidates, from a motion vector or motion vectors of one or more partitions belonging to a left-neighboring region located on the left side of the target partition; (c) a step of determining a second motion vector predictor candidate satisfying one or more predetermined criterion used for determination of motion vector predictor candidates, from a motion vector or motion vectors of one or more partitions belonging to an above-neighboring region located above the target partition; (d) a step of selecting an optimum motion vector predictor and outputting motion vector predictor indication information to specify the selected optimum motion vector predictor, the optimum motion vector predictor selected based on comparison between one or more motion vector predictor candidates including the first motion vector predictor candidate and the second motion vector predictor candidate, and the motion vector of the target partition; and (e) a step of encoding the motion vector predictor indication information.", "As used herein, the terms “above”, “below”, “left”, and “right” should be construed as describing a positional relationship between described objects or subject matter that is not limited to the directional meaning of these terms, and should not be construed as limiting orientation of the objects or subject matter with respect to any other reference.", "The predictive coding system may also include a predictive encoding device of motion vectors, which is a device for predictively encoding a motion vector used in motion compensated prediction of a video sequence consisting of a temporal sequence of frame pictures.", "The predictive encoding device can include motion detection means which determines a motion vector of a target partition in a frame picture of an encoding target in the video sequence; first motion vector predictor candidate determination means which determines a first motion vector predictor candidate satisfying one or more predetermined criterion used for determination of motion vector predictor candidates from a motion vector, or motion vectors, of one or more partitions belonging to a left-neighboring region located on the left side of the target partition; second motion vector predictor candidate determination means which determines a second motion vector predictor candidate satisfying one or more predetermined criterion used for determination of motion vector predictor candidates from a motion vector, or motion vectors, of one or more partitions belonging to an above-neighboring region located above the target partition; motion vector predictor determination means, which selects an optimum motion vector predictor based on comparison between the motion vector of the target partition and one or more motion vector predictor candidates.", "The one or more motion vector predictor candidates including at least one of the first motion vector predictor candidate, or the second motion vector predictor candidate.", "The motion vector predictor determination means outputs motion vector predictor indication information to specify the optimum motion vector predictor selected; and encoding means which encodes the motion vector predictor indication information.", "An embodiment of the predictive coding system includes a predictive encoding program of motion vectors stored in a non-transitory computer readable storage media, which is executable by a processor to predictively encode a motion vector used in motion compensated prediction of a video sequence consisting of a temporal sequence of frame pictures.", "The program stored in the computer readable storage media executable by a processor to function as at least part of: the motion detection means, the first motion vector predictor candidate determination means, the second motion vector predictor candidate determination means, the motion vector predictor determination means, and the encoding means described above.", "In the predictive encoding technology of motion vectors described above, the motion vector predictor candidates are narrowed down, and thereafter the motion vector predictor is determined based on the comparison between the motion vector of the target partition and the motion vector predictor candidates.", "Therefore, the predictive coding system may reduce the computational complexity necessary for the determination of the motion vector predictor.", "In an embodiment of the predictive coding system, the predictive encoding technology may be configured as follows: a predicted signal of a pixel signal of a target partition is generated by referring to a reference frame with a frame identifier, such as a number, specified by a reference picture list identification and a reference picture identification; a first motion vector predictor candidate is determined from motion vectors of partitions in a left-neighboring region having a reference picture list identification and/or a reference picture identification coincident with the reference picture list identification and/or the reference picture identification for the target partition; the second motion vector predictor candidate is determined from motion vectors of partitions in an above-neighboring region having a reference picture list identification and/or a reference picture identification coincident with the reference picture list identification and/or the reference picture identification for the target partition.", "In an embodiment of the predictive coding system, the motion vector predictor indication information may be encoded into encoded data of a bit count according to the number of motion vector predictor candidates.", "For example, the motion vector predictor indication information may be encoded into encoded data of a minimum bit count according to the number of motion vector predictor candidates.", "This embodiment may reduce the bit count of encoded data of the motion vector predictor indication information.", "In an embodiment of the predictive coding system, a left-neighboring region may include a neighboring partition located below and on the left side of a target partition.", "The below-left-neighboring partition is a partition including neighboring pixels existing below and on the left side of a bottom left pixel in the target partition.", "In this embodiment, the below-left-neighboring partition is included in the left-neighboring region, and the motion vector of the below-left-neighboring partition is not defined as an independent motion vector predictor candidate when the first motion vector predictor candidate is determined from the left-neighboring region.", "This embodiment may reduce the number of motion vector predictor candidates.", "As a result, a bit count of encoded data of the motion vector predictor indication information may be reduced.", "In an embodiment of the predictive coding system, an above-neighboring region may include a neighboring partition located above and on the right side of a target partition.", "The above-right-neighboring partition is a partition that includes neighboring pixels existing above and on the right side of a top right pixel in the target partition.", "In this embodiment, the above-right-neighboring partition is included in the above-neighboring region, and a motion vector of the above-right-neighboring partition is not defined as an independent motion vector predictor candidate when the second motion vector predictor candidate is determined from the above-neighboring region.", "This embodiment may reduce the number of motion vector predictor candidates.", "As a result, a bit count of encoded data of the motion vector predictor indication information may be reduced.", "In an embodiment of the predictive coding system, either a left-neighboring region or an above-neighboring region may include a neighboring partition located above and on the left side of a target partition.", "The above-left-neighboring partition is a partition that includes neighboring pixels existing above and on the left side of a top left pixel in the target partition.", "In this embodiment, a motion vector of the above-left-neighboring partition is not defined as an independent motion vector predictor candidate, and a motion vector predictor candidate is determined while the above-left-neighboring partition is included in the left-neighboring region or in the above-neighboring region.", "This embodiment may reduce the number of motion vector predictor candidates.", "As a result, a bit count of encoded data of the motion vector predictor indication information may be reduced.", "In an embodiment of the predictive coding system, a predictive encoding technology may be configured as follows: one or more partitions in a left-neighboring region are scanned in an upward direction from a bottom of the left-neighboring region, whereby a motion vector satisfying one or more predetermined criterion is determined as the first motion vector predictor candidate from motion vectors of the one or more partitions.", "The predetermined criterion can be used in determination of motion vector predictor candidates.", "A subsequent scan in the left-neighboring region may be terminated upon detection of the motion vector satisfying the predetermined criterion used in determination of motion vector predictor candidates.", "According to knowledge gained by the inventors based on research on a large number of video sequences, a partition, from among the partitions in the left-neighboring region, with a motion vector having a small difference from the motion vector of the target partition tends to exist on the lower side in the left-neighboring region.", "Therefore, the first motion vector predictor candidate with a small difference from the motion vector of the target partition can be efficiently determined by scanning the left-neighboring region in the foregoing scan order.", "In an embodiment of the predictive coding system, the predictive encoding technology may be configured as follows: one or more partitions in an above-neighboring region are scanned in a leftward direction from right to left, whereby a motion vector satisfying one or more predetermined criterion used in determination of motion vector predictor candidates is determined as a second motion vector predictor candidate from motion vectors of the one or more partitions.", "The subsequent scan in the above-neighboring region may be terminated upon detection of the motion vector satisfying the predetermined criterion used in determination of motion vector predictor candidates.", "According to the knowledge gained by the inventors based on research on a large number of video sequences, a partition with a motion vector having a small difference from the motion vector of the target partition among the partitions in the above-neighboring region tends to exist on the right side in the above-neighboring region.", "Therefore, the second motion vector predictor candidate with a small difference from the motion vector of the target partition can be efficiently determined by scanning the above-neighboring region in the foregoing scan order.", "In an embodiment of the predictive coding system, the predictive encoding technology may be configured as follows: it comprises determining first scan direction indication information indicative of a direction of scanning one or more partitions included in a left-neighboring region, in order to determine a first motion vector predictor candidate; determining second scan direction indication information indicative of a direction of scanning one or more partitions included in an above-neighboring region, in order to determine a second motion vector predictor candidate; and further encoding the first scan direction indication information and the second scan direction indication information.", "In this embodiment, the scans are carried out in both the upward and downward directions in the left-neighboring region to select a motion vector satisfying one or more predetermined criterion used in determination of motion vector predictor candidates.", "An optimum motion vector from among the motion vectors selected in the upward and downward directions is defined as the first motion vector predictor candidate, and information indicative of the direction of the scan in which the first motion vector predictor candidate is acquired is defined as the first scan direction indication information.", "Furthermore, the scans are carried out in both the leftward and rightward directions in the above-neighboring region to select the motion vector satisfying the one or more predetermined criterion used in determination of motion vector predictor candidates.", "The optimum motion vector, from among the motion vectors selected in the leftward and rightward directions, is defined as the second motion vector predictor candidate and information indicative of the direction of the scan in which the second motion vector predictor candidate is acquired is defined as the second scan direction indication information.", "This embodiment permits achievement of further improvement in encoding efficiency by determination of the first motion vector predictor candidate and the second motion vector predictor candidate.", "In an embodiment of the predictive coding system, the number of one or more motion vector predictor candidates may be not more than a predetermined number, such as three.", "This embodiment may further reduce the bit count of encoded data of the motion vector predictor indication information.", "In an embodiment of the predictive coding system, an optimum motion vector predictor may be used as a motion vector of a target partition, without encoding a residual signal between the motion vector of the target partition and the optimum motion vector predictor.", "This embodiment may further improve the encoding efficiency because the residual signal of the motion vector is not encoded.", "Another aspect of the of the predictive coding system relates to a predictive decoding technology of motion vectors.", "The predictive coding system may also perform a method for predictively decoding a motion vector used in motion compensated prediction to restore a video sequence consisting of a temporal sequence of frame pictures.", "The method comprising: (a) a step of determining a first motion vector predictor candidate that satisfies one or more predetermined criterion used in determination of motion vector predictor candidates.", "The first motion vector predictor candidate from a motion vector or motion vectors of one or more partitions included in a left-neighboring region located on the left side of a target partition in a frame picture of a decoding target; (b) a step of determining a second motion vector predictor candidate that satisfies one or more predetermined criterion used in determination of motion vector predictor candidate.", "The second motion vector predictor candidate determined from a motion vector or motion vectors of one or more partitions included in an above-neighboring region located above the target partition; (c) a step of decoding encoded data to restore motion vector predictor indication information specifying an optimum motion vector predictor for the target partition; and (d) a step of selecting the optimum motion vector predictor specified by the motion vector predictor indication information, from one or more motion vector predictor candidates, the one or more motion vector predictor candidates including at least the first motion vector predictor candidate and the second motion vector predictor candidate.", "The predictive coding system may also include a device for predictively decoding a motion vector used in motion compensated prediction to restore a video sequence consisting of a temporal sequence of frame pictures.", "The device comprising: first motion vector predictor candidate determination means, which determines a first motion vector predictor candidate that satisfies one or more predetermined criterion used in determination of motion vector predictor candidates from a motion vector or motion vectors of one or more partitions belonging to a left-neighboring region located on the left side of a target partition in a frame picture of a decoding target; second motion vector predictor candidate determination means, which determines a second motion vector predictor candidate that satisfies one or more predetermined criterion used in determination of motion vector predictor candidates from a motion vector or motion vectors of one or more partitions belonging to an above-neighboring region located above the target partition; decoding means which decodes encoded data to restore motion vector predictor indication information to specify an optimum motion vector predictor for the target partition; and optimum motion vector predictor determination means which selects the optimum motion vector predictor specified by the motion vector predictor indication information.", "The optimum motion vector predictor can be selected from one or more motion vector predictor candidates including at least the first motion vector predictor candidate and the second motion vector predictor candidate.", "An embodiment of the predictive coding system includes a program for predictively decoding a motion vector.", "The program is stored in a non-transitory computer readable storage media, and is executable by a processor to predictively decode a motion vector used in motion compensated prediction to restore a video sequence consisting of a temporal sequence of frame pictures.", "The program stored in the computer readable storage media is executable by a processor to function as at least part of: the first motion vector predictor candidate determination means, the second motion vector predictor candidate determination means, the decoding means, and the optimum motion vector predictor determination means described above.", "In the predictive decoding technology of motion vectors described above, the motion vector predictor candidates are narrowed down and thereafter the motion vector predictor is determined based on the comparison between the motion vector of the target partition and the motion vector predictor candidates.", "Therefore, the predictive coding system may reduce the computational complexity necessary for the determination of the motion vector predictor.", "In an embodiment of the predictive coding system, the predictive decoding technology may be configured as follows: a predicted signal of a picture signal of a target partition is generated by referring to a reference frame with a frame number specified by a reference picture list identification and a reference picture identification; a first motion vector predictor candidate is determined from motion vectors of partitions in the left-neighboring region having a reference picture list identification and/or a reference picture identification identical to the reference picture list identification and/or the reference picture identification for the target partition; a second motion vector predictor candidate is determined from motion vectors of partitions in the above-neighboring region having a reference picture list identification and/or a reference picture identification identical to the reference picture list identification and/or the reference picture identification for the target partition.", "In an embodiment of the predictive coding system, a bit count of encoded data of motion vector predictor indication information may be a bit count according to the number of motion vector predictor candidates.", "For example, the bit count of encoded data of the motion vector predictor indication information may be a minimum bit count according to the number of motion vector predictor candidates.", "This embodiment may reduce the bit count of the encoded data of the motion vector predictor indication information.", "In an embodiment of the predictive coding system, a left-neighboring region may include a neighboring partition located below and on the left side of a target partition.", "In this embodiment, a motion vector of the below-left-neighboring partition is not defined as an independent motion vector predictor candidate and the below-left-neighboring partition is included in the left-neighboring region; then a first motion vector predictor candidate is determined from the left-neighboring region.", "This embodiment may reduce the number of motion vector predictor candidates.", "As a result, it may reduce the bit count of encoded data of the motion vector predictor indication information and reduce the computational complexity of the decoding process to restore the motion vector predictor indication information from the encoded data.", "In an embodiment of the predictive coding system, an above-neighboring region may include a neighboring partition located above and on the right side of a target partition.", "In this embodiment, a motion vector of the above-right-neighboring partition is not defined as an independent motion vector predictor candidate and the above-right-neighboring partition is included in the above-neighboring region; then a second motion vector predictor candidate is determined from the above-neighboring region.", "This embodiment may reduce the number of motion vector predictor candidates.", "As a result, it may reduce the bit count of encoded data of the motion vector predictor indication information and reduce the computational complexity of the decoding process to restore the motion vector predictor indication information from the encoded data.", "In an embodiment of the predictive coding system, either a left-neighboring region or a above-neighboring region may include a neighboring partition located above and on the left side of a target partition.", "In this embodiment, a motion vector of the above-left-neighboring partition is not defined as an independent motion vector predictor candidate and the above-left-neighboring partition is included in the left-neighboring region or in the above-neighboring region; then the motion vector predictor candidate is determined therefrom.", "This embodiment may reduce the number of motion vector predictor candidates.", "As a result, the bit count of encoded data of the motion vector predictor indication information may be reduced, and the computational complexity of the decoding process to restore the motion vector predictor indication information from the encoded data may also be reduced.", "In an embodiment of the predictive coding system, the predictive decoding technology may be configured as follows: one or more partitions in a left-neighboring region are scanned in an upward direction from a bottom of the left-neighboring region, whereby a motion vector satisfying a predetermined criterion used in determination of motion vector predictor candidates is determined as the first motion vector predictor candidate from motion vectors of the one or more partitions.", "A subsequent scan in the left-neighboring region may be terminated upon detection of the motion vector satisfying the predetermined criterion of determination of motion vector predictor candidates.", "The first motion vector predictor candidate with a small error from the motion vector of the target partition can be efficiently determined by scanning the left-neighboring region in the foregoing scan order.", "In an embodiment of the predictive coding system, the predictive decoding technology may be configured as follows: one or more partitions in the above-neighboring region are scanned in a direction from right to left, whereby a motion vector satisfying the predetermined criterion used in determination of motion vector predictor candidates is determined as a second motion vector predictor candidate from motion vectors of the one or more partitions.", "The subsequent scan in the above-neighboring region may be terminated upon detection of the motion vector satisfying the predetermined criterion used in determination of motion vector predictor candidates.", "The second motion vector predictor candidate with a small error from the motion vector of the target partition can be efficiently determined by scanning the above-neighboring region in the foregoing scan order.", "In an embodiment of the predictive coding system, the predictive decoding technology may be configured to include: decoding encoded data to restore first scan direction indication information to specify a direction of scanning of one or more partitions in a left-neighboring region and second scan direction indication information to specify a direction of scanning of one or more partitions in an above-neighboring region; scanning the one or more partitions in the left-neighboring region in the direction specified by the first scan direction indication information to determine the first motion vector predictor candidate; and scanning the one or more partitions in the above-neighboring region in the direction specified by the second scan direction indication information to determine the second motion vector predictor candidate.", "This embodiment may determine the first motion vector predictor candidate and the second motion vector predictor candidate with smaller errors from the motion vector of the target partition.", "In an embodiment of the predictive coding system, the number of one or more motion vector predictor candidates may not be more than a predetermined number, such as three.", "This embodiment may further reduce the bit count of the motion vector predictor indication information.", "In an embodiment of the predictive coding system, the optimum motion vector predictor may be used as a motion vector of a target partition.", "This embodiment may reduce a data volume of encoded data because a residual signal of the motion vector is not encoded.", "As described above, the aspects and the embodiments of the predictive coding system provide the predictive encoding method, predictive encoding device, and predictive encoding program of motion vectors and the predictive decoding method, predictive decoding device, and predictive decoding program of motion vectors capable of reducing the computational complexity necessary for the determination of motion vector predictors.", "Other systems, methods, features and advantages will be, or will become, apparent to one with skill in the art upon examination of the following figures and detailed description.", "It is intended that all such additional systems, methods, features and advantages be included within this description, be within the scope of the invention, and be protected by the following claims.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS The predictive coding system, may be better understood with reference to the following drawings and description.", "The components in the figures are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating the principles of the system.", "Moreover, in the figures, like referenced numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the different views.", "FIG.", "1A is a drawing illustrating an example of rectangular neighboring partitions used in motion compensated prediction.", "FIG.", "1B is a drawing illustrating an example of rectangular neighboring partitions used in motion compensated prediction.", "FIG.", "2 is a drawing showing an example configuration of a video encoding device according to an embodiment.", "FIG.", "3 is a flowchart showing an embodiment of an example of predictive encoding method of motion vectors.", "FIG.", "4 is a drawing illustrating an example of rectangular neighboring partitions used in motion compensated prediction.", "FIG.", "5 is a flowchart showing a first embodiment of an example process of step S302 in FIG.", "3.FIG.", "6 is a flowchart showing a first embodiment of an example process of step S303 in FIG.", "3.FIG.", "7 is a drawing showing an example configuration of a video decoding device according to an embodiment.", "FIG.", "8 is a flowchart showing an embodiment of an example of a predictive decoding method of motion vector.", "FIG.", "9 is a flowchart showing an example of a determination process of motion vector predictor candidates in a predictive encoding method of motion vector in a second embodiment.", "FIG.", "10 is a flowchart showing an example of a predictive decoding method of motion vector in the second embodiment.", "FIG.", "11 is a drawing showing an example configuration of a video encoding program according to one embodiment.", "FIG.", "12 is a drawing showing an example configuration of a video decoding program according to one embodiment.", "FIG.", "13 is a drawing showing an example of a hardware configuration of a computer according to one embodiment.", "FIG.", "14 is a perspective view showing an example of a computer according to one embodiment.", "DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS FIGS.", "1A and 1B are drawings to illustrate an example of rectangular neighboring partitions used in the motion compensated prediction.", "In FIG.", "1A, the shape of target partition BT is identical to the shape of neighboring partitions BL, BA, and BRA.", "The left-neighboring partition BL includes a neighboring pixel existing on the left side of the top left pixel in the target partition BT; the above-neighboring partition BA includes a neighboring pixel existing above the top left pixel in the target partition BT; the above-right-neighboring partition BRA includes a neighboring pixel existing above and on the right side of the top right pixel in the target partition BT.", "A motion vector predictor having median values of horizontal components and vertical components of motion vectors of the left-neighboring partition BL, the above-neighboring partition BA, and the above-right-neighboring partition BRA may be employed in some examples, such as in H.264/AVC.", "On the other hand, FIG.", "1B illustrates an example where there are a plurality of neighboring partitions having respective shapes different from the shape of the target partition BT.", "The plurality of neighboring partitions in FIG.", "1B include neighboring partitions BL1, BL2, BA1, BA2, BD, and BE, in addition to the left-neighboring partition BL, the above-neighboring partition BA, and the above-right-neighboring partition BRA.", "The plurality of neighboring partitions may be scanned in a predetermined spatial order to specify a neighboring partition with the best spatial similarity to a pixel signal of the target partition, and a motion vector of the neighboring partition thus specified is used as a motion vector predictor, such as, for example, as described in PCT Application Laid-open No.", "2010-515399.The spatial similarity to be used is the sum of absolute differences (SAD) between the pixel signal of the target partition and the pixel signal of the neighboring partition, which is, for example, similar to PCT Application Laid-open No.", "2010-515399.In some examples, such as in PCT Application Laid-open No.", "2010-515399 spatial similarity can be calculated while scanning the plurality of neighboring partitions in a predetermined order, which requires a considerable number of calculations for determination of the motion vector predictor.", "In the predictive coding system, on the other hand, computational complexity, and correspondingly the number of calculations are reduced.", "FIG.", "2 is a drawing showing an example configuration of a video encoding device according one embodiment of the predictive coding system.", "The video encoding device 20 shown in FIG.", "2 is an example of a device that predictively encodes a motion vector and may be a computing device or computer, including for example software, hardware, or a combination of hardware and software, as described later, capable of performing the described functionality.", "The video encoding device 20 may be one or more separate systems or devices included in the predictive coding system, or may be combined with other systems or devices within the predictive coding system.", "In other examples, fewer or additional blocks may be used to illustrate the functionality of the video encoding device 20.A video sequence input into the video encoding device 20 is composed of a temporal sequence of frame pictures.", "A frame picture signal targeted for encoding will be referred to hereinafter as “current frame.” In the video encoding device 20, a current frame is divided into rectangular partitions of variable size and the processing described below is carried out in each of partition units.", "The video encoding device 20 can use any one of an inter-frame prediction mode and a plurality of intra-frame prediction modes, switching the prediction mode for each partition within the current frame.", "For example, the video encoding device 20 selects a prediction mode with a high, or optimized, encoding efficiency among the inter-frame prediction mode and the intra-frame prediction modes, for each partition.", "The “inter-frame prediction mode” as discussed herein is a mode in which a motion vector is detected with reference to a plurality of previously-encoded frame picture signals (reference frame picture signals) that are different in time from a frame picture signal, in order to perform motion-compensated inter-frame prediction.", "The “intra-frame prediction mode” as discussed herein is a mode in which spatial prediction is carried out using pixel values of neighborhood regions previously encoded on the same frame.", "In the “inter-frame prediction mode,” respective processes of motion detection, motion prediction, and motion compensation are carried out for each of sub-partitions, for example, obtained by further dividing a partition of N×N pixels in an optional size (such as (N/2) pixels×N lines or (N/4) pixels×(N/4) lines).", "As shown in the example of FIG.", "2, the video encoding device 20 can be provided with an input unit 201, a motion detection unit 202, a motion vector predictor candidate determination unit 203, a motion vector predictor determination unit 204, a motion vector difference unit 205, a motion compensation unit 206, a memory 207, a spatial prediction unit 208, a prediction method determination unit 209, a subtraction unit 210, a transform unit 211, a quantization unit 212, an entropy encoding unit 213, an inverse quantization unit 214, an inverse transform unit 215, and an addition unit 216.Each “unit” described herein, is hardware, or a combination of hardware and software.", "For example, each unit may include and/or initiate execution of an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), a circuit, a digital logic circuit, an analog circuit, a combination of discrete circuits, gates, or any other type of hardware, or combination thereof.", "Accordingly, as used herein, execution of a “unit” by a processor can also refer to logic based processing by the unit that is initiated directly or indirectly by a processor to complete a process or obtain a result.", "Alternatively or in addition, each “unit” can include memory hardware, such as at least a portion of a memory, for example, that includes instructions executable with a processor to implement one or more of the features of the unit.", "When any one of the units includes instructions stored in memory and executable with the processor, the unit may or may not include the processor.", "In some examples, each unit may include only memory storing instructions executable with a processor to implement the features of the corresponding unit without the unit including any other hardware.", "Because each unit includes at least some hardware, even when the hardware includes software, each unit may be interchangeably referred to as a hardware unit, such as the input hardware unit 201, or the motion detection hardware unit 202, for example.", "The input unit 201 receives an input video signal as a video signal input from the outside and decomposes the video signal into frame picture signals.", "The input unit 201 outputs each frame picture signal through line L201a and through line L201b to the subtraction unit 210 and to the motion detection unit 202.The memory 207 is a part that stores frame picture signals having been encoded in the past, information (motion vectors, reference picture list identifications, reference picture identifications) and other data used in the prediction thereof.", "The motion detection unit 202 performs detection of motion vector.", "More specifically, the motion detection unit 202 searches a reference frame picture signal input via line L207a from the memory 207, for a picture signal pattern similar to a picture signal pattern of a target partition in the current frame input via line L201a.", "The motion detection unit 202 searches in a predetermined search range in the reference frame.", "The motion detection unit 202 detects a motion vector representing a spatial displacement quantity between the target partition and the picture signal pattern obtained by the search, and a reference picture list identification and a reference picture identification for specifying a frame number of the reference frame used.", "The detected motion vector, reference picture list identification, and reference picture identification are output via line L202a to the motion compensation unit 206 and via line L202c to the motion vector difference unit 205.Furthermore, the motion detection unit 202 outputs the detected reference picture list identification and reference picture identification via line L202b to the motion vector predictor candidate determination unit 203.In the video encoding device 20, frame numbers to specify respective reference frame picture signals can be managed in the form of lists.", "A frame number is specified using a reference picture list identification (Reference Picture List) to specify a list, and, a reference picture identification (Reference Index) as an index of the frame number in the list.", "This technology is well-known technology in H.264/AVC and others.", "The motion vector predictor candidate determination unit 203 determines motion vector predictor candidates using motion vectors of previously-encoded neighboring partitions input via line L207b.", "The details about the determination of motion vector predictor candidates will be described later.", "The motion vector predictor candidate determination unit 203 outputs the determined motion vector predictor candidates via line L203 to the motion vector predictor determination unit 204.The motion vector predictor determination unit 204 determines an optimum motion vector predictor (motion vector predictor values) from the motion vector predictor candidates input via line L203.More specifically, the motion vector predictor determination unit 204 determines a motion vector predictor candidate with the smallest difference from the motion vector of the target partition input via line L202c, as an optimum motion vector predictor MVPopt, out of the motion vector predictor candidates.", "The determined optimum motion vector predictor MVPopt is fed via line L204a to the motion vector difference unit 205.Furthermore, the number of motion vector predictor candidates and motion vector predictor indication information to specify the optimum motion vector predictor MVPopt out of the motion vector predictor candidates are fed via line L204b to the entropy encoding unit 213.In the present embodiment the motion vector predictor candidate with the smallest difference from the motion vector of the target partition is selected as the optimum motion vector predictor MVPopt.", "Alternatively the motion vector predictor determination unit 204 may select as the optimum motion vector predictor MVPopt a motion vector predictor candidate with the smallest number of bits assigned to a calculated motion vector difference.", "In the present embodiment the optimum motion vector predictor is determined after the motion detection of the target partition.", "Alternatively, the optimum motion vector predictor may be detected before the motion detection.", "Specifically, as indicated by the formula (1) below, the optimum motion vector predictor may be calculated based on the sum of absolute differences (SADpmv) between the predicted picture signal in execution of the motion compensation using each of the actually-calculated motion vector predictor candidates, and the target picture signal and a cost function using the bit count (Rpmv) in encoding of the motion vector predictor candidate and λ as a weight for the bit count.", "In this case, the picture signal of the target partition is input through line L201a and each reference frame picture signal is input through line L207a to the motion vector predictor determination unit 204 in FIG.", "2.CostpmvSADpmv+λRpmv (1) The motion vector difference unit 205 calculates motion vector difference values which are difference information between the motion vector input via line L202c and the optimum motion vector predictor input via line L204a.", "The motion vector difference unit 205 transmits a signal including the calculated motion vector difference values, and the reference picture list identification and reference picture identification, as prediction information via line L205a to the entropy encoding unit 213.Furthermore, the motion vector difference unit 205 transmits a signal including the motion vector, and the reference picture list identification and reference picture identification, via line L205b to the memory 207.The motion compensation unit 206 generates a predicted picture signal of the target partition, referring to the reference frame picture signal of the frame number specified by the reference picture list identification and the reference picture identification received from the motion detection unit 202 and using the motion vector received from the motion detection unit 202.This predicted picture signal is output to the prediction method determination unit 209.The spatial prediction unit 208 generates a predicted picture signal, referring to picture signals (reference frame picture signals) of previously-encoded neighboring regions input via line L207a.", "The spatial prediction unit 208 outputs the generated predicted picture signal to the prediction method determination unit 209.The prediction method determination unit 209 compares the predicted picture signals received from the motion compensation unit 206 and the spatial prediction unit 208, to select either one of the predicted picture signals, and outputs the selected predicted picture signal to the subtraction unit 210.The prediction method determination unit 209 outputs prediction mode information indicative of a prediction method used for the generation of the selected predicted picture signal, via line L209b to the entropy encoding unit 213.The subtraction unit 210 generates a difference value (prediction residual signal) between the frame picture signal input via line L201b and the predicted picture signal input via line L209a and outputs the prediction residual signal to the transform unit 211.The transform unit 211 performs a transform, such as an orthogonal transform, of the prediction residual signal input via line L210, to generate transform coefficients, such as orthogonal transform coefficients, and outputs the orthogonal transform coefficients to the quantization unit 212.The quantization unit 212 quantizes the orthogonal transform coefficients input via line L211, to generate quantized orthogonal transform coefficients, and transmits the quantized orthogonal transform coefficients to the entropy encoding unit 213 and the inverse quantization unit 212.The entropy encoding unit 213 performs entropy encoding of the quantized orthogonal transform coefficients input via line L212, the prediction mode information received from the prediction method determination unit 209, the prediction information transmitted from the motion vector difference unit 205, and the motion vector predictor indication information output from the motion vector predictor determination unit 204, multiplexes generated encoded data into a compressed stream, and transmits the compressed stream to the outside.", "The inverse quantization unit 214 performs inverse quantization of the quantized orthogonal transform coefficients input via line L212, to generate orthogonal transform coefficients, and transmits the orthogonal transform coefficients to the inverse orthogonal transform unit 215.Then the inverse orthogonal transform unit 215 applies an inverse orthogonal transform to the orthogonal transform coefficients input via line L214, to generate a prediction residual signal, and transmits the prediction residual signal to the addition unit 216.The addition unit 216 performs addition of the prediction residual signal input via line L215 and the predicted picture signal input via line L209a, to generate a frame picture signal, and transmits the frame picture signal to the memory 207.This frame picture signal is stored in the memory 207 and is used as a reference frame picture signal in the subsequent encoding process.", "In the memory 207, the motion vector, the reference picture list identification, the reference picture identification, etc.", "input via line L205b are also stored in association with the reference frame picture signal.", "Next, one embodiment of a predictive encoding method of motion vector applicable in the video encoding device 20 will be described below.", "First, partitions adjacent to a target partition will be described with reference to FIG.", "1B.", "Partitions BL, BL1, and BL2 are partitions in contact with a left boundary of the target partition BT.", "Partition BD is a partition including neighboring pixels existing below and on the left side of the bottom left pixel in the target region BT.", "Partition BE is a partition including neighboring pixels existing above and on the left side of the top left pixel in the target partition BT.", "Partitions BA, BA1, and BA2 are partitions in contact with an upper boundary of the target partition BT.", "Partition BRA is a partition including neighboring pixels existing above and on the right side of the top right pixel in the target partition BT.", "The partitions neighboring the target partition may be partitions of the same size as the target partition BT, as shown in FIG.", "1A.", "Next, reference is made to the example of FIG.", "3.FIG.", "3 is a flowchart showing one embodiment of the predictive encoding method of motion vector performed by the predictive coding system.", "As shown in FIG.", "3, in the predictive encoding method of motion vector according to the embodiment, first, the reference picture list identification and reference picture identification are input into the motion vector predictor candidate determination unit 203 (step S301).", "Next, the motion vector predictor candidate determination unit 203 determines a motion vector predictor candidate MVP1 from a motion vector or motion vectors of one or more partitions included in the left-neighboring region located to the left of the target partition BT (step S302).", "The details about the determination method of the motion vector predictor candidate MVP1 will be described later.", "Next, the motion vector predictor candidate determination unit 203 determines a motion vector predictor candidate MVP2 from a motion vector or motion vectors of one or more partitions included in the above-neighboring region located above the target partition BT (step S303).", "The details about the determination method of the motion vector predictor candidate MVP2 will be described later.", "Next, the motion vector predictor candidate determination unit 203 determines a motion vector predictor candidate MVP3 (step S304).", "In the present embodiment, a motion vector of a partition existing in the reference frame and at a position substantially spatially identical to the target partition is determined as the motion vector predictor candidate MVP3.The motion vector predictor candidate MVP3 may be a motion vector of another partition spatially adjacent to the target partition, instead of the motion vector of the partition at the same position as the target partition in the reference frame.", "It is also possible to use average values or the like calculated based on the motion vector predictor candidate MVP1 and the motion vector predictor candidate MVP2, as the motion vector predictor candidate MVP3.The number of motion vector predictor candidates may be three or more.", "In this case, a plurality of motion vector predictor candidates may be determined by different methods from each of the left-neighboring region and the above-neighboring region.", "More specifically, a plurality of motion vector predictor candidates may be determined by searching partitions of each of the regions in a plurality of different scan directions, in each of the left-neighboring region and the above-neighboring region.", "It is also possible to use a motion vector of another neighboring region as a motion vector predictor candidate.", "Referring back to FIG.", "3, the motion vector predictor candidate determination unit 203 then determines only non-identical motion vector predictor candidates from among the motion vector predictor candidate MVP1, the motion vector predictor candidate MVP2, and the motion vector predictor candidate MVP3, as final motion vector predictor candidates (step S305).", "As a specific example, where the motion vector predictor candidate MVP1 is identical to the motion vector predictor candidate MVP3, only MVP1 and MVP2 are selected as motion vector predictor candidates.", "If there is no motion vector predictor candidates determined to satisfy the conditions in steps S302 to S304, a zero motion vector is defined as a motion vector predictor candidate.", "Then the motion vector predictor determination unit 204 determines the optimum motion vector predictor, as described above, out of the motion vector predictor candidates determined by the motion vector predictor candidate determination unit 203 (step S306).", "Then the encoding unit 213 encodes the motion vector predictor indication information to specify which motion vector predictor candidate is the optimum motion vector predictor (step S307).", "In one embodiment, the motion vector predictor indication information can be encoded into encoded data of a bit count according to the number of motion vector predictor candidates selected by the motion vector predictor determination unit 204.For example, when the number of motion vector predictor candidates is a first predetermined number, such as 0 or 1, the motion vector predictor indication information is neither encoded nor transmitted.", "When the number of motion vector predictor candidates is a second predetermined number, such as 2 or 3, the motion vector predictor indication information is encoded in two bits at most.", "The motion vector predictor indication information may be encoded based on an encoding table, such as a fixed encoding table irrespective of the number of motion vector predictor candidates.", "In this case, the motion vector predictor indication information may be encoded using an example encoding table below.", "TABLE 1 Encoding Table Bit value Optimum motion vector predictor 0 motion vector predictor candidate 1 (MVP1) 10 motion vector predictor candidate 2 (MVP2) 11 motion vector predictor candidate 3 (MVP3) In one embodiment, the order in which the motion vector predictor candidate MVP1, the motion vector predictor candidate MVP2, and the motion vector predictor candidate MVP3 are determined may be changed.", "For example, a process may be used in which the target partition is divided into a plurality of sub-partitions and the encoding process is carried out for each of the sub-partitions.", "Specifically, when the target partition is divided into upper and lower sub-partitions, and the lower sub-partition can be used as a target partition, or when the target partition is divided into left and right sub-partitions, and the left sub-partition can be used as a target partition,—the motion vector predictor candidates can be determined in an order of the left-neighboring region, the above-neighboring region, and another region (such as a partition in a reference frame at the same position as the target partition).", "On the other hand, when the target partition is divided into upper and lower sub-partitions, and the upper sub-partition can be used as a target partition, or the target partition is divided into left and right sub-partitions, and the right sub-partition can be used as a target partition, the motion vector predictor candidates can be determined in an order of the above-neighboring region, the left-neighboring region, and another region (such as a partition in a reference frame at the same position as the target partition), for these target partitions.", "A first embodiment of the determination process of motion vector predictor candidate according to one embodiment will be described below in detail.", "First, the first embodiment of the process of step S302 in FIG.", "3 will be described with reference to the examples of FIGS.", "1B, 4, and 5.It is assumed herein, as shown in FIG.", "1B, that the left-neighboring region is composed of the below-left-neighboring partition BD to the target partition and the left-neighboring partitions BL, BL1, and BL2 to the target partition.", "It is also assumed that the partitions in the left-neighboring region are scanned in increasing order of index i shown in (a) of FIG.", "4.Namely, the partitions in the left-neighboring region are assumed to be scanned in order from bottom to top.", "The below-left-neighboring partition BD may be excluded from the left-neighboring region.", "Furthermore, a partition further below the below left-neighboring partition BD may be included in the left-neighboring region.", "Furthermore, the partition BE or a partition located above the partition BE may be included in the left-neighboring region.", "Furthermore, a partition located on the left side of the target partition and at a predetermined distance from the target partition may be included in the left-neighboring region.", "Referring back to (a) of FIG.", "4 and FIG.", "5, in the process of step S302, first, the motion vector predictor candidate determination unit 203 sets 0 in index i (step S501).", "The motion vector predictor candidate determination unit 203 increases the index i by an increment of 1 in the subsequent step S502.Next, the motion vector predictor candidate determination unit 203 determines whether there is the i-th partition in the scan order in the left-neighboring region and whether the partition has a motion vector (step S503).", "If there is the i-th partition in the left-neighboring region and if the partition has a motion vector, the motion vector predictor candidate determination unit 203 determines, in the subsequent step S504, whether the i-th partition and the target partition have the same reference picture list identification and reference picture identification.", "When the determination condition in step S504 is satisfied, the motion vector predictor candidate determination unit 203 determines the motion vector of the i-th partition as motion vector predictor candidate MVP1 in the subsequent step S505 and then outputs the motion vector predictor candidate MVP1 in the subsequent step S506, followed by termination of processing.", "On the other hand, when the determination condition in step S503 is not satisfied or when the determination condition in step S504 is not satisfied, the processing transfers to step S507.In step S507, the motion vector predictor candidate determination unit 203 determines whether the index i is over the number N of partitions in the left-neighboring region.", "When the determination condition in step S507 is not satisfied, the motion vector predictor candidate determination unit 203 carries on the processing from step S502.On the other hand, when the determination condition in step S507 is satisfied, the motion vector predictor candidate determination unit 203 terminates the processing.", "The partitions in the left-neighboring region are scanned in order from the bottom of the left-neighboring region in the embodiment shown in (a) of FIG.", "4, but in one embodiment, as shown in (c) of FIG.", "4, they may be scanned in order from the top of the left-neighboring region.", "In another embodiment, either of the scan order shown in (a) of FIG.", "4 and the scan order shown in (c) of FIG.", "4 may be adaptively selected.", "For example, the scan order may be determined based on a relation of motion vectors of neighboring partitions.", "Specifically, it is possible to adopt a method of comparing an absolute difference α between the motion vector of the partition BL and the motion vector of the partition BA with an absolute difference β between the motion vector of the partition BRA and the motion vector of the partition BD in FIG.", "1B, and selecting the scan order in (c) of FIG.", "4 if the absolute difference α is smaller than the absolute difference β.", "In the opposite case, on the other hand, the scan order in (a) of FIG.", "4 may be selected.", "In an embodiment, step S502 may be configured to increase the index i by an increment of two or more, thereby decimating the partitions to be scanned.", "The first embodiment of the process of step S303 in FIG.", "3 will be described below in detail with reference to the examples of FIGS.", "1B, 4, and 6.It is assumed herein, as shown in FIG.", "1B, that the above-neighboring region is composed of the above-left-neighboring partition BE to the target partition and the above-neighboring partition BA, BA1, and BA2 to the target partition.", "It is also assumed that the partitions in the above-neighboring region are scanned in increasing order of index j shown in (a) of FIG.", "4.Namely, the partitions in the above-neighboring region are assumed to be scanned in order from right to left.", "The above-left-neighboring partition BE may be excluded from the above-neighboring region.", "Furthermore, a partition further left to the above-left-neighboring partition BE may be included in the above-neighboring region.", "Furthermore, a partition located above the target partition and at a predetermined distance from the target partition may be included in the above-neighboring region.", "Referring back to (a) of FIG.", "4 and FIG.", "6, in the process of step S303, first, the motion vector predictor candidate determination unit 203 sets 0 in the index j (step S601).", "The motion vector predictor candidate determination unit 203 increases the index j by an increment of 1 in the subsequent step S602.Next, the motion vector predictor candidate determination unit 203 determines whether there is the j-th partition in the scan order in the above-neighboring region and whether the partition has a motion vector (step S603).", "When there is the j-th partition in the above-neighboring region and when the partition has a motion vector, the motion vector predictor candidate determination unit 203 determines, in the subsequent step S604, whether the j-th partition and the target partition have the same reference picture list identification and reference picture identification.", "When the determination condition in step S604 is satisfied, the motion vector predictor candidate determination unit 203 determines, in the subsequent step S605, whether the motion vector of the j-th partition is identical to the motion vector predictor candidate MVP1.When the motion vector of the j-th partition is different from the motion vector predictor candidate MVP1, the motion vector predictor candidate determination unit 203 determines in the subsequent step S606 that the motion vector of the j-th partition is the motion vector predictor candidate MVP2, and then outputs the motion vector predictor candidate MVP2 in the subsequent step 5607, followed by termination of processing.", "On the other hand, when the determination condition in step S603 is not satisfied, when the determination condition in step S604 is not satisfied, or when the determination condition in step S605 is satisfied, the processing transfers to step S608.In step S608, the motion vector predictor candidate determination unit 203 determines whether the index j is over the number M of partitions in the above-neighboring region.", "When the determination condition in step S608 is not satisfied, the motion vector predictor candidate determination unit 203 carries on the processing from step S602.On the other hand, when the determination condition in step S608 is satisfied, the motion vector predictor candidate determination unit 203 terminates the processing.", "The partitions in the above-neighboring region are scanned in order from right to left in the embodiment shown in (a) of FIG.", "4, but the partitions may be scanned in order from left to right, as shown in (c) of FIG.", "4, in one embodiment.", "In another embodiment, either of the scan order shown in the example (a) of FIG.", "4 or the scan order shown in the example (c) of FIG.", "4 may be adaptively selected.", "For example, the scan order may be determined based on a relation of motion vectors of neighboring partitions.", "Specifically, it is possible to adopt a method of comparing an absolute difference α between the motion vector of the partition BL and the motion vector of the partition BA with an absolute difference β between the motion vector of the partition BRA and the motion vector of the partition BD in FIG.", "1B, and selecting the scan order in (c) of FIG.", "4 if the absolute difference α is smaller than the absolute difference β.", "In the opposite case, on the other hand, the scan order in (a) of FIG.", "4 may be selected.", "The partition BE is included in the above-neighboring region in the above-described embodiment, but the partition BE may be included in the left-neighboring region.", "It is also possible to define the partition BE as a region independent of the above-neighboring region and the left-neighboring region, and treat the motion vector of the partition BE as another motion vector predictor candidate.", "The foregoing embodiment employs both of the reference picture list identification and the reference picture identification as a determination condition for selecting the motion vector of the partition in the neighboring region as a motion vector predictor candidate, but the predictive coding system is not limited to this.", "For example, either of the reference picture list identification or the reference picture identification may be used for the determination condition.", "When the reference picture identification is not used, scaling of motion vectors of partitions in the neighboring region may be implemented according to a distance between the reference frame and the target frame.", "It is also possible to use information of another intra-frame prediction.", "Specifically, the size of the target partition and the sizes of the neighboring partitions may be added as one in the aforementioned determination condition.", "Specifically, when the size of the target partition is N×N pixels, a determination condition may be that the size of a partition in the neighboring region is N×N pixels, or a determination condition may be that the size of a partition is from N/2×N/2 pixels to 2N×2N pixels.", "In the foregoing embodiment the calculation of the motion vector predictor candidate MVP2 in the above-neighboring region is performed after the calculation of the motion vector predictor candidate MVP1 in the left-neighboring region, but the predictive coding system is not limited to this.", "The motion vector predictor candidate MVP2 in the above-neighboring region may be determined prior to the determination of the motion vector predictor candidate MVP1 in the left-neighboring region.", "In this case, a process of determining whether a motion vector of a partition in the left-neighboring region is identical to the motion vector predictor candidate MVP2 in the above-neighboring region can be carried out in the process of determining the motion vector predictor candidate MVP1 in the left-neighboring region.", "In the above embodiment it is determined in step S605, whether the motion vector of the j-th partition in the above-neighboring region is identical to the motion vector predictor candidate MVP1 in the left-neighboring region, but this determination may be omitted.", "In this case, the process of step S606 can be directly performed when the determination condition in step S604 is satisfied.", "In one embodiment, the step S602 may be configured to increase the index j by an increment of two or more, thereby decimating the partitions to be scanned.", "The below will describe a video decoding device which decodes a compressed stream generated by the video encoding device 20, to restore a video sequence.", "FIG.", "7 is a drawing showing an example configuration of the video decoding device according to one embodiment.", "The video decoding device 30 shown in FIG.", "7 is an example of a device that predictively decodes a motion vector.", "video decoding device 30 may be a computing device or computer, including for example software, hardware, or a combination of hardware and software, as described later, capable of performing the described functionality.", "The video decoding device 30 may be one or more separate systems or devices included in the predictive coding system, or may be combined with other systems or devices within the predictive coding system.", "In other examples, fewer or additional blocks may be used to illustrate the functionality of the video decoding device 30.As shown in FIG.", "7, the video decoding device 30 can be provided with an entropy decoding unit 301, a motion vector predictor candidate determination unit 302, a motion vector predictor determination unit 303, a motion vector addition unit 304, a motion compensation unit 305, a frame memory 306, a spatial prediction unit 307, a prediction method determination unit 308, an inverse quantization unit 309, an inverse orthogonal transform unit 310, and an addition unit 311.The entropy decoding unit 301 receives a compressed stream, then detects a synchronization word indicative of the beginning of each frame in the compressed stream, and thereafter restores the prediction mode information and the quantized orthogonal transform coefficients from encoded data in the compressed stream, in each of divided partition units.", "When the prediction mode specified by the prediction mode information is “inter-frame prediction mode,” the entropy decoding unit 301 decodes the encoded data in the compressed stream to also restore the motion vector difference, reference picture list identification, and reference picture identification.", "The entropy decoding unit 301 transmits the restored quantized orthogonal transform coefficients via line L301a to the inverse quantization unit 309.The entropy decoding unit 301 transmits the prediction mode information, the reference picture list identification, and the reference picture identification via line L301b to the motion vector predictor candidate determination unit 302.Furthermore, the entropy decoding unit 301 transmits the restored motion vector difference via line L301d to the motion vector addition unit 304.The entropy decoding unit 301 transmits the restored prediction mode information via line L301e to the prediction method determination unit 308.When the prediction mode specified by the received prediction mode information is “inter-frame prediction mode,” the motion vector predictor candidate determination unit 302 determines motion vector predictor candidates from motion vectors of previously-decoded neighboring partitions.", "Since the processing about the determination of motion vector predictor candidates carried out by the motion vector predictor candidate determination unit 302 is the same as the processing described above as to the motion vector predictor candidate determination unit 203, the description thereof is omitted herein.", "This motion vector predictor candidate determination unit 302 outputs the determined motion vector predictor candidates via line L302b to the motion vector predictor determination unit 303.Furthermore, the motion vector predictor candidate determination unit 302 outputs the number of motion vector predictor candidates via line L302a to the entropy decoding unit 301.The entropy decoding unit 301, when receiving the number of motion vector predictor candidates via line L302a, decodes the encoded data in the compressed stream according to the number of motion vector predictor candidates, to restore the motion vector predictor indication information.", "The entropy decoding unit 301 transmits the restored motion vector predictor indication information to the motion vector predictor determination unit 303.For example, when the number of motion vector predictor candidates is 0 or 1, no motion vector predictor indication information is transmitted and therefore the restoring process is not carried out.", "When the number of motion vector predictor candidates is 2 or 3, the encoded data of two bits at most is entropy-decoded to restore the motion vector predictor indication information.", "The entropy decoding unit 301 is configured to restore the motion vector predictor indication information by decoding the encoded data according to the number of motion vector predictor candidates selected by the motion vector predictor candidate determination unit 302, but the predictive coding system is not limited to this.", "For example, the motion vector predictor indication information may be restored using the fixed encoding table of Table 1 described above, independent of the number of motion vector predictor candidates.", "It should be noted that the setting of the fixed encoding table is not limited to this example.", "The motion vector predictor indication information may be restored prior to the calculation of motion vector predictor candidates.", "The motion vector predictor determination unit 303 determines the optimum motion vector predictor (MVPopt) on the basis of the motion vector predictor indication information input via line L301 c, out of the motion vector predictor candidates input via line L302b.", "The determined optimum motion vector predictor (MVPopt) is transmitted via line L303 to the motion vector addition unit 304.The motion vector addition unit 304 performs addition of the motion vector difference transmitted from the entropy decoding unit 301 and the optimum motion vector predictor (MVPopt) transmitted from the motion vector predictor determination unit 303, to restore the motion vector.", "The motion vector addition unit 304 transmits a signal including the restored motion vector via line L304 to the motion compensation unit 305.The motion compensation unit 305 selects the reference frame picture signal in the memory 306 on the basis of the motion vector transmitted from the motion vector addition unit 304 and the prediction mode information, the reference picture list identification, and the reference picture identification transmitted via line L301 d from the entropy decoding unit 301, and generates a predicted picture signal, using the selected reference frame picture signal.", "The motion compensation unit 305 transmits the predicted picture signal via line L305a to the prediction method determination unit 308.Furthermore, the motion compensation unit 305 outputs the prediction mode information, reference picture list identification, and reference picture identification used in generation of the predicted picture signal via line L305b to the frame memory 306.There are the previously-decoded frame picture signals, prediction mode information, reference picture list identifications, and reference picture identifications stored in the memory 306.When the prediction mode specified by the prediction mode information input via line L301e is “intra-frame prediction mode,” the spatial prediction unit 307 generates a predicted picture signal with reference to the picture signals (reference frame picture signals) of previously-decoded neighboring partitions and transmits the predicted picture signal to the prediction method determination unit 308.The prediction method determination unit 308 selects either of the predicted picture signal generated by the inter-frame prediction or the predicted picture signal generated by the intra-frame prediction, based on the prediction mode transmitted from the entropy decoding unit 301, and transmits the selected predicted picture signal via line L308 to the addition unit 311.The inverse quantization unit 309 performs inverse quantization of the quantized orthogonal transform coefficients transmitted from the entropy decoding unit 301, to restore orthogonal transform coefficients.", "The inverse quantization unit 309 transmits the restored orthogonal transform coefficients via line L309 to the inverse orthogonal transform unit 310.The inverse orthogonal transform unit 310 applies an inverse orthogonal transform to the received orthogonal transform coefficients to restore a prediction residual signal.", "The inverse orthogonal transform unit 310 transmits the restored prediction residual signal via line L310 to the addition unit 311.The addition unit 311 performs addition of the predicted picture signal transmitted from the prediction method determination unit 308 and the prediction residual signal transmitted from the inverse orthogonal transform unit 310, to restore a frame picture signal.", "The restored frame picture signal is output at predetermined display timing to a display device (not shown), whereby the input video signal (dynamic image signal) can be reproduced.", "Since the frame picture signal is used in the subsequent decoding process, it is stored as a reference frame picture signal into the memory 306.The frame picture signal herein can be the same value as the frame picture signal with the same number in the video encoding device 20.The information about the motion vector and the reference frame number is also simultaneously stored in association with the reference frame picture signal.", "Next, one embodiment of a predictive decoding method of motion vectors used in the video decoding device 30 will be described below with reference to FIG.", "8.FIG.", "8 is a flowchart showing an example embodiment of the predictive decoding method of motion vectors.", "In the predictive decoding method of motion vector predictors according to one embodiment, as shown in the example of FIG.", "8, the reference picture list identification and reference picture identification are first input into the motion vector predictor candidate determination unit 302 (step S801).", "Next, the motion vector predictor candidate determination unit 302 determines a motion vector predictor candidate, MVP1, from a motion vector or motion vectors of one or more partitions included in a left-neighboring region located to the left of a target partition BT (step S302).", "Next, the motion vector predictor candidate determination unit 302 determines a motion vector predictor candidate, MVP2, from a motion vector or motion vectors of one or more partitions included in the above-neighboring region located above the target partition BT (step S303).", "Next, the motion vector predictor candidate determination unit 302 determines a motion vector predictor candidate MVP3 (step S304).", "The processes of steps S302 to S304 in FIG.", "8 are the same as the processes of steps S302 to S304 in FIG.", "3.In step S805, the motion vector predictor candidate determination unit 302 then defines as motion vector predictor candidates only non-identical motion vector predictor candidates from among the motion vector predictor candidate MVP1, the motion vector predictor candidate MVP2, and the motion vector predictor candidate MVP3.As a specific example, where the motion vector predictor candidate MVP1 is identical to the motion vector predictor candidate MVP3, only the motion vector predictor candidate MVP1 and the motion vector predictor candidate MVP2 are selected as motion vector predictor candidates.", "When the processing up to step S805 results in determining no effective motion vector predictor candidates, a zero motion vector is defined as a motion vector predictor candidate.", "In step S806, as described above, the decoding unit 301 restores the motion vector predictor indication information on the basis of the number of motion vector predictor candidates.", "Next, in step S807, the motion vector predictor determination unit 303 selects the optimum motion vector predictor out of the motion vector predictor candidates, based on the motion vector predictor indication information.", "Next, a second embodiment of the predictive encoding method of motion vectors will be described below.", "FIG.", "9 is a flowchart showing an example of the determination process of motion vector predictor candidates in the predictive encoding method of motion vectors in the second embodiment.", "In the predictive encoding method of motion vectors according to the second embodiment, the flow shown in FIG.", "9 is used instead of steps S302 to S304 in FIG.", "3.In the present embodiment, in step S901 the motion vector predictor candidate determination unit 203 first scans the partitions in the left-neighboring region located to the left of the target partition in a downward direction to determine a motion vector predictor candidate MVPa from the motion vectors of these partitions.", "In step S901, the motion vector predictor candidate determination unit 203 can detect the motion vector predictor candidate MVPa by carrying out the determination method of the motion vector predictor candidate MVP1 (step S302) described in the first embodiment, according to the scan order of the left-neighboring region shown in (c) of FIG.", "4.For determining the motion vector predictor candidate MVPa, the motion vector predictor candidate determination unit 203 can use the input reference picture list identification and reference picture identification, as in the first embodiment.", "Next, in step S902 the motion vector predictor candidate determination unit 203 scans the partitions in a left-neighboring region located to the left of the target partition in an upward direction to determine a motion vector predictor candidate MVPb from the motion vectors of these partitions.", "In step S902, the motion vector predictor candidate determination unit 203 can detect the motion vector predictor candidate MVPb by carrying out the determination method of the motion vector predictor candidate MVP1 (step S302) described in the first embodiment, according to the scan order of the left-neighboring region shown in (a) of FIG.", "4.For determining the motion vector predictor candidate MVPb, the motion vector predictor candidate determination unit 203 can use the reference picture list identification and reference picture identification.", "Next, in step S903 the motion vector predictor candidate determination unit 203 selects a motion vector predictor candidate MVPX in the left-neighboring region from the motion vector predictor candidate MVPa and the motion vector predictor candidate MVPb.", "Furthermore, the motion vector predictor candidate determination unit 203 generates scan direction indication information indicative of a scan direction X used for determination of the selected motion vector predictor candidate.", "Specifically, the motion vector predictor candidate determination unit 203 determines as the motion vector predictor candidate MVPX, a motion vector predictor candidate with the smallest error from the motion vector predictor of the target partition, out of motion vector predictor candidate MVPa and motion vector predictor candidate MVPb.", "Furthermore, when the motion vector predictor candidate MVPa is selected as the motion vector predictor candidate MVPX, the motion vector predictor candidate determination unit 203 generates the scan direction indication information indicative of a direction such as the downward direction; whereas when the motion vector predictor candidate MVPb is selected, it generates the scan direction indication information indicative of another direction such as the upward direction.", "Next, in step S904 the motion vector predictor candidate determination unit 203 scans the partitions in the above-neighboring region to the target partition in a rightward direction to determine a motion vector predictor candidate MVPc from the motion vectors of these partitions.", "In step S904 the motion vector predictor candidate determination unit 203 can detect the motion vector predictor candidate MVPc by carrying out the determination method of the motion vector predictor candidate MVP2 (step S303) described in the first embodiment, according to the scan order of the above-neighboring region shown in (c) of FIG.", "4.For determining the motion vector predictor candidate MVPc, the motion vector predictor candidate determination unit 203 can use the input reference picture list identification and reference picture identification, as in the first embodiment.", "Next, in step S905 the motion vector predictor candidate determination unit 203 scans the partitions in the above-neighboring region to the target partition in a leftward direction to determine a motion vector predictor candidate MVPd from motion vectors of these partitions.", "In step S905, the motion vector predictor candidate determination unit 203 can detect the motion vector predictor candidate MVPd by carrying out the determination method (step S303) of the motion vector predictor candidate MVP2 described in the first embodiment, according to the scan order of the above-neighboring region shown in (a) of FIG.", "4.For determining the motion vector predictor candidate MVPd, the motion vector predictor candidate determination unit 203 can also use the reference picture list identification and reference picture identification.", "Next, in step S906 the motion vector predictor candidate determination unit 203 selects a motion vector predictor candidate MVPY in the above-neighboring region from the motion vector predictor candidate MVPc and the motion vector predictor candidate MVPd.", "The motion vector predictor candidate determination unit 203 generates the scan direction indication information indicative of the scan direction Y used for determination of the selected motion vector predictor candidate.", "For example, the motion vector predictor candidate determination unit 203 can determine a motion vector predictor candidate with the smallest error from the motion vector predictor of the target partition, out of the motion vector predictor candidate MVPc and the motion vector predictor candidate MVPd, as the motion vector predictor candidate MVPY.", "When the motion vector predictor candidate MVPc is selected as the motion vector predictor candidate MVPY, the motion vector predictor candidate determination unit 203 generates the scan direction indication information indicative of the rightward direction; when the motion vector predictor candidate MVPd is selected, it generates the scan direction indication information indicative of the leftward direction.", "Next, in step S907 the motion vector predictor candidate determination unit 203 acquires a motion vector predictor candidate MVPZ of a partition in a reference frame at a position spatially identical to the target partition, in the same manner as the process of step S304.The process in this step S907 may be the same as the aforementioned modification form of the process of step S304 in the first embodiment.", "Next, in step S908 the motion vector predictor candidate determination unit 203 defines only non-identical motion vector predictor candidates out of the motion vector predictor candidate MVPX, the motion vector predictor candidate MVPY, and the motion vector predictor candidate MVPZ, as motion vector predictor candidates.", "Then the motion vector predictor candidate determination unit 203 outputs the motion vector predictor candidates, the number of motion vector predictor candidates, and the scan direction indication information.", "As a specific example, where the motion vector predictor candidate MVPX is identical to the motion vector predictor candidate MVPZ, only the motion vector predictor candidate MVPX and the motion vector predictor candidate MVPY are selected as motion vector predictor candidates.", "If no effective motion vector predictor candidate is determined in steps S901 to S907, a zero motion vector is defined as a motion vector predictor candidate.", "Thereafter, the same processing as in step S306 in the first embodiment is carried out in the second embodiment.", "Finally, in step S307 the encoding unit 213 encodes the motion vector predictor indication information to specify which motion vector predictor candidate is the optimum motion vector predictor.", "In the second embodiment the encoding unit 213 also encodes the scan direction indication information in step S307.In the second embodiment, the partitions constituting the left-neighboring region and the partitions constituting the above-neighboring region may be modified as described above in the first embodiment.", "The number of motion vector predictors may also be changed as described above in the first embodiment.", "As described above in the first embodiment, the determination order of the motion vector predictor candidates MVPX, MVPY, and MVPZ may be changed based on the mode of division of the target partition into sub-partitions and the positions of the sub-partitions.", "A predictive decoding method of motion vectors according to the second embodiment will be described below.", "FIG.", "10 is a flowchart showing an example of the predictive decoding method of motion vectors according to the second embodiment.", "The predictive decoding method shown in FIG.", "10 is a method of predicting a motion vector from encoded data generated by the predictive encoding method of motion vectors according to the second embodiment.", "In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG.", "10, in step S1001 the motion vector predictor candidate determination unit 302 first receives input of the restored reference picture list identification, reference picture identification, and scan direction indication information (scan direction X, scan direction Y).", "Next, in step S1002 the motion vector predictor candidate determination unit 302 determines a motion vector predictor candidate MVPX in the left-neighboring region, according to the reference picture list identification, the reference picture identification, and the scan direction indication information to specify the scan direction X.", "The motion vector predictor candidate MVPX is determined by the same process as the determination of the motion vector predictor candidate MVP1 in the first embodiment, by sequentially scanning the partitions in the left-neighboring region in the scan direction X specified by the scan direction indication information.", "Next, in step S1003, the motion vector predictor candidate determination unit 302 determines a motion vector predictor candidate MVPY in the above-neighboring region, according to the reference picture list identification, the reference picture identification, and the scan direction indication information to specify the scan direction Y.", "The motion vector predictor candidate MVPY is determined by the same process as the determination of the motion vector predictor candidate MVP2 in the first embodiment, by sequentially scanning the partitions in the above-neighboring region in the scan direction Y specified by the scan direction indication information.", "Next, in step S1004 the motion vector predictor candidate determination unit 302 determines a motion vector predictor candidate MVPZ of a partition in a reference frame spatially substantially identical to the target partition.", "The process of step S1004 is the same as the process of step 304.Next, in step S1005 the motion vector predictor candidate determination unit 302 defines only non-identical motion vector predictor candidates, out of the motion vector predictor candidate MVPX, the motion vector predictor candidate MVPY, and the motion vector predictor candidate MVPZ, as motion vector predictor candidates.", "As a specific example, where the motion vector predictor candidate MVPX is identical to the motion vector predictor candidate MVPZ, only the motion vector predictor candidate MVPX and the motion vector predictor candidate MVPY are selected as motion vector predictor candidates.", "If no effective motion vector predictor candidates are determined by the processing up to step S1005, a zero motion vector is defined as a motion vector predictor candidate.", "Next, in step S1006 the decoding unit 301 restores the motion vector predictor indication information on the basis of the number of motion vector predictor candidates.", "In step S1007, the motion vector predictor determination unit 303 then selects the optimum motion vector predictor from among the motion vector predictor candidates, based on the motion vector predictor indication information.", "In the second embodiment, the determination order of the motion vector predictor candidates MVPX, MVPY, and MVPZ may also be changed based on the mode of division of the target partition into sub-partitions and the positions of the sub-partitions, as described above in the first embodiment.", "The video encoding device 20 and video decoding device 30 described above are configured to narrow down candidates for a motion vector predictor and then detect the optimum motion vector predictor from the resulting motion vector predictor candidates.", "Therefore, it is possible to reduce the computational complexity necessary for the determination of the optimum motion vector predictor.", "Furthermore, the motion vector predictor indication information to specify the optimum motion vector predictor can be encoded in a smaller bit count.", "The video encoding device 20 and the video decoding device 30 using the predictive encoding and predictive decoding of the second embodiment are able to determine the motion vector predictor candidates with a smaller error from the motion vector of the target partition.", "The below will describe a video encoding program 1000 for causing a computer to function as the video encoding device 20, and a video decoding program 1100 for causing a computer to function as the aforementioned video decoding device 30.FIG.", "11 is a drawing showing a configuration of an example of the video encoding program according to at least one embodiment.", "FIG.", "12 is a drawing showing a configuration of an example of the video decoding program according to at least one embodiment.", "FIG.", "13 is a drawing showing an example hardware configuration of a computer according to at least one embodiment.", "FIG.", "14 is a perspective view showing an example of a computer according to at least one embodiment.", "At least part of the video encoding program 1000 shown in FIG.", "11 can be provided as stored in a recording medium SM.", "Furthermore, at least part of the video decoding program 1100 shown in FIG.", "12 can also be provided as stored in a recording medium SM.", "Examples of such recording media SM applicable herein include recording media such as the floppy disk, CD-ROM, DVD, or ROM, semiconductor memories, or the like.", "As shown in FIG.", "13, a computer C10 can be provided with a reading device C12 such as a floppy disk drive unit, a CD-ROM drive unit, or a DVD drive unit, a communication port such as a universal serial bus port (USB), Bluetooth port, an infrared communication port, or any other type of communication port that allows communication with an external device, such as another computer or memory device.", "The computer 30 may also include a working memory C14 that may include an operating system, a memory C16 that stores data, such as at least part of a program such as a program stored in a recording medium SM.", "In addition, the working memory C14 and/or the memory C16 may include the memory 207 and the memory 306.The working memory C14 and memory C16 may be one or more non-transitory computer readable storage medium, and can include a solid-state memory such as a memory card or other package that houses one or more non-volatile memories, such as read-only memories.", "Further, the computer readable medium can include a random access memory or other volatile re-writable memory.", "Additionally or alternatively, the computer-readable medium can include a magneto-optical or optical medium, such as a disk or tapes or any other non-transitory information storage medium to capture carrier wave signals such as a signal communicated over a transmission medium.", "A digital file attachment to an e-mail, stored in a storage medium, or other self-contained information archive or set of archives may be considered a non-transitory distribution medium that is a tangible computer readable storage medium.", "Accordingly, the embodiments are considered to include any one or more of a computer-readable storage medium or a non-transitory distribution storage medium and other equivalents and successor information storage media, in which data or instructions may be stored.", "In addition, the computer C10 may have a user interface that includes a monitor unit C18 such as a display, a mouse C20 and a keyboard C22 as input devices, a touch screen display, a microphone for receipt of voice commands, a sensor, or any other mechanism or device that allows a user to interface with the computer C10.In addition, the computer C10 may include a communication device C24 for transmission/reception of data and others, and a central processing unit (CPU) C26, or processor, to control execution of the program.", "The processor C26 may be one or more one or more general processors, digital signal processors, application specific integrated circuits, field programmable gate arrays, digital circuits, analog circuits, combinations thereof, and/or other now known or later developed devices for analyzing and processing data.", "In an example, when the recording medium SM is put into the reading device C12, the computer C10 becomes accessible to the video encoding program 1000 stored in the recording medium SM, through the reading device C12 and becomes able to operate as the video encoding device 20, based on the program 1000.In an example, when the recording medium SM is put into the reading device C12, the computer C10 becomes accessible to the video decoding program 1100 stored in the recording medium SM, through the reading device C12 and becomes able to operate as the video decoding device 30, based on the program 1100.As shown in the example of FIG.", "11, the video encoding program 1000 is provided with a main module 1001 to generally control the processing, an input module 1002, a motion detection module 1003, a motion vector predictor candidate determination module 1004, a motion vector predictor determination module 1005, a motion vector difference module 1006, a motion compensation module 1007, a spatial prediction module 1008, a prediction method determination module 1009, a subtraction module 1010, an orthogonal transform module 1011, a quantization module 1012, an entropy encoding module 1013, an inverse quantization module 1014, an inverse orthogonal transform module 1015, and an addition module 1016.The functions that the input module 1002, the motion detection module 1003, the motion vector predictor candidate determination module 1004, the motion vector predictor determination module 1005, the motion vector difference module 1006, the motion compensation module 1007, the spatial prediction module 1008, the prediction method determination module 1009, the subtraction module 1010, the orthogonal transform module 1011, the quantization module 1012, the entropy encoding module 1013, the inverse quantization module 1014, the inverse orthogonal transform module 1015, and the addition module 1016 causes a computer, or processor to implement at least some of the functions of the aforementioned input unit 201, motion detection unit 202, motion vector predictor candidate determination unit 203, motion vector predictor determination unit 204, motion vector difference unit 205, motion compensation unit 206, spatial prediction unit 208, prediction method determination unit 209, subtraction unit 210, orthogonal transform unit 211, quantization unit 212, entropy encoding unit 213, inverse quantization unit 214, inverse orthogonal transform unit 215, and addition unit 216, respectively.", "As shown in the example of FIG.", "12, the video decoding program 1100 is provided with a main module 1101 to generally control the processing, an entropy decoding module 1102, a motion vector predictor candidate determination module 1103, a motion vector predictor determination module 1104, a motion vector addition module 1105, a motion compensation module 1106, a spatial prediction module 1107, a prediction method determination module 1108, an inverse quantization module 1109, an inverse orthogonal transform module 1110, and an addition module 1111.The functions that the entropy decoding module 1102, motion vector predictor candidate determination module 1103, motion vector predictor determination module 1104, motion vector addition module 1105, motion compensation module 1106, spatial prediction module 1107, prediction method determination module 1108, inverse quantization module 1109, inverse orthogonal transform module 1110, and addition module 1111 causes a computer or processor to implement at least some of the functions of the aforementioned entropy decoding unit 301, motion vector predictor candidate determination unit 302, motion vector predictor determination unit 303, motion vector addition unit 304, motion compensation unit 305, spatial prediction unit 307, prediction method determination unit 308, inverse quantization unit 309, inverse orthogonal transform unit 310, and addition unit 311, respectively.", "The previous discussion describes various embodiments of the predictive coding system, but the predictive coding system can be modified in many ways without being limited to the above embodiments.", "For example, in the above embodiments the encoded data of the motion vector difference is the difference between the motion vector of the target partition and the motion vector predictor (optimum motion vector predictor), which is transmitted from the encoding device to the decoding device, but the optimum motion vector predictor may be adopted as the motion vector of the target partition, without transmitting the encoded data of the motion vector difference from the encoding device to the decoding device.", "The motion vector predictor candidate MVPX may be determined as follows: predicted picture signals can be created using the motion vector predictor candidates MVPa and MVPb and the motion vector predictor candidate MVPX to be adopted is a motion vector predictor candidate to make smaller the sum of absolute differences (SAD) between the predicted picture signal and the picture signal of the target partition, out of the motion vector predictor candidates MVPa and MVPb.", "The motion vector predictor candidate MVPY may be determined as follows: predicted picture signals are created using the motion vector predictor candidates MVPc and MVPd and the motion vector predictor candidate MVPY to be adopted is a motion vector predictor candidate to make smaller the sum of absolute differences (SAD) between the predicted picture signal and the picture signal of the target partition, out of the motion vector predictor candidates MVPc and PMCd.", "Furthermore, the sum of absolute transformed differences (SATD) or the sum of square differences (SSD) may be used instead of SAD.", "REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 20 video encoding device; 30 video decoding device; 201 input unit; 202 detection unit; 203 motion vector predictor candidate determination unit; 204 motion vector predictor determination unit; 205 motion vector difference unit; 206 motion compensation unit; 207 memory; 208 spatial prediction unit; 209 prediction method determination unit; 210 subtraction unit; 211 transform unit; 212 quantization unit; 213 entropy encoding unit; 214 inverse quantization unit; 215 inverse transform unit; 216 addition unit; 301 entropy decoding unit; 302 motion vector predictor candidate determination unit; 303 motion vector predictor determination unit; 304 motion vector addition unit; 305 motion compensation unit; 306 frame memory; 307 spatial prediction unit; 308 prediction method determination unit; 309 inverse quantization unit; 310 inverse orthogonal transform unit; 311 addition unit." ] ]
Patent_15872932
[ [ "PORTABLE VIDEO COMMUNICATION SYSTEM", "A method and device for adapting a display image on a hand-held portable wireless display and digital capture device.", "The device includes a camera for capturing a digital video and/or still image of a user, means for adjusting the captured digital image in response to poor image capture angle of said image capture device so as to create a modified captured digital image; and means for transmitting said modified captured digital image over a wireless communication network to a second hand-held portable wireless display and digital capture device." ], [ "1.A method of operating a hand-held portable wireless digital capture device, comprising: capturing, using a first image capture component of the digital capture device, first digital video images; capturing, using a second image capture component of the digital capture device, second digital video images; for at least one of the first digital video images and the second digital video images: determining that at least some captured images are of poor quality caused, at least in part, by jitter or unstable motion of the digital capture device by performing at least one or both of an analysis of the digital images being captured and detecting motion of the digital capture device; automatically adjusting one or more digital images of the captured images that were determined to be of poor quality due to jitter or unstable motion of the digital capture device to produce adjusted digital images; and transmitting the first digital video images and the second digital video images from the digital capture device over a wireless communication network to a second device, wherein either or both of the first digital video images and the second digital video images are transmitted as adjusted digital images according to which one or both of the first digital video images and the second digital video images were determined to have at least some captured images of poor quality.", "2.The method of claim 1, wherein automatically adjusting the one or more digital images of the captured images that were determined to be of poor quality caused, at least in part, by jitter or unstable motion of the digital capture device comprises adjusting an allowed image capture area of the digital image to remove at least a portion of a background of the digital image.", "3.The method of claim 2, further comprising storing the removed portion of the background of the digital image.", "4.The method of claim 1, wherein automatically adjusting the digital images that were determined to be of poor quality caused, at least in part, by jitter or unstable motion of the digital capture device comprises detecting a face area, representing an image of a face, in the captured image and adjusting the digital images to include the detected face area.", "5.The method of claim 1, wherein automatically adjusting the digital images that were determined to be of poor quality caused, at least in part, by jitter or unstable motion of the digital capture device comprises compensating for poor image capture conditions of the captured digital image.", "6.The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the first digital video images and the second digital video images comprise a still digital image.", "7.A hand-held portable wireless digital capture device, comprising: a first capture device configured to capture digital video; a second capture device configured to capture digital video; a processor operatively coupled to the first capture device and to the second capture device, and configured to detect motion of the apparatus that affects quality of digital images being captured by either or both of the first capture device and the second capture device and to detect jitter by an analysis of digital video being captured and automatically adjust captured digital images from either or both of the first capture device and the second capture device in response to determining that at least some captured images are of poor quality; a transceiver operatively coupled to the processor and configured to transmit the adjusted captured digital images over a wireless communication network to a second device, and to receive from the second device over the wireless communication network an instruction to adjust a viewing angle of at least one of the first and second capture devices.", "8.The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the processor is further configured to adjust an allowed image capture area of the digital images such that at least a portion of a background of the digital images from at least one of the first capture device and the second capture device is removed from the digital images.", "9.The apparatus of claim 7, wherein automatically adjusting the digital images in response to the detected motion and the detected jitter comprises detecting a face area, representing an image of a face, in the captured images and adjusting the captured digital images to include the detected face area.", "10.The apparatus of claim 7, wherein automatically adjusting the digital images in response to the detected motion and the detected jitter comprises compensating for poor image capture conditions of the captured digital images.", "11.The apparatus of claim 10, wherein poor image capture conditions include one of poor capture angle, low light, motion of the digital capture device, and motion in the scene or in bright and dark areas.", "12.A system comprising: a first digital capture device configured to capture, using a first image capture component of the first digital capture device, first digital video images, and, using a second image capture component of the first digital capture device, second digital video images, the first digital capture device including: a display, one or more processors, the one or more processors configured to detect motion of the first digital capture device that affects quality of digital images being captured by at least one of the first image capture component and the second image capture component and to detect jitter by an analysis of the digital images being captured by the at least one of the first image capture component and the second image capture component and automatically adjust the digital video images captured by the at least one of the first image capture component and the second image capture component in response to the detected motion and the detected jitter, and a transceiver operatively coupled to the one or more processors to transmit, to a second digital capture device over a wireless communication network, the first digital video images and the second digital video images, wherein the one or more processors operate according to stored instructions to transmit, using the transceiver, either or both of the first digital video images and the second digital video images as adjusted digital images according to which one or both of the first digital video images and the second digital video images were determined to have at least some captured images of poor quality; and the second device including a display to present both of the first digital video images and the second digital video images received from the first digital capture device over the wireless communication network in a split screen view.", "13.The system of claim 12, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to adjust an allowed image capture area of at least one of the first digital video images and the second digital video images such that at least a portion of a background of the at least one of the first digital video images and the second digital video images is removed therefrom.", "14.The system of claim 12, wherein automatically adjusting the digital video images captured by the at least one of the first image capture component and the second image capture component in response to the detected motion and the detected jitter comprises compensating for poor image capture conditions of the digital video images captured by the at least one of the first image capture component and the second image capture component.", "15.The system of claim 12, wherein the one or more processors further operate according to stored instructions to adjust a viewing angle of at least one of the first and second image capture components according to an instruction received from the second device over the wireless communication network.", "16.The system of claim 15, wherein the second device includes a user interface and control processor configured to receive a user input representing the instruction to adjust the viewing angle of at least one of the first and second image capture components of the first digital capture device and to provide the instruction to the first digital capture device over the wireless communication network." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND <EOH>Two-way video systems are available that include a display and camera in each of two locations connected by a communication channel that allows communication of video images and audio between two different sites.", "Originally, such systems relied on a setup at each site of a video monitor to display a remote scene and a separate video camera, located on or near the edge of the video monitor, to capture a local scene, along with microphones to capture the audio and speakers to present the audio thereby providing a two-way video and audio telecommunication system between two locations.", "Conventional systems are typically large, fixed in location, have a restricted ability to cope with changes in scene focus, and do not necessarily provide natural communication.", "Moreover, conventional designs do not take advantage of available, portable display and capture systems such as are found in cellular telephones and similar hand-held devices.", "Referring to FIG.", "1 , there is illustrated a typical prior art conventional two-way video communication system wherein a first user 20 a at a first location views a first display device 14 a .", "A first image capture device 10 a , which can be a digital camera, captures an image of the first viewer 20 a .", "If the image is a still digital image, it can be stored in a first still image memory 30 a for retrieval.", "A still image retrieved from first still image memory 30 a or video 4841-6861-0104.1 images captured directly from the first image capture device 10 a will then be transmitted using a first communication channel 60 to a second display 14 b where a second user 20 b can view the captured image(s) on a display 14 b .", "Similarly, a second image capture device 10 b , which can be a digital camera, captures an image of second viewer 20 b at a second location remote from the first location.", "The captured image data is transmitted through a second communication channel 62 to the first display 14 a for viewing by first viewer 20 a .", "The captured image data can also be stored in a second still image memory 30 b for retrieval.", "The first communication channel 60 may be the same as the second communication channel 62 .", "Although such two-way video communication systems have been produced and used for high-end teleconferencing and other two-way video communications applications, there are some significant practical drawbacks for incorporation in a portable and hand-held video communication systems.", "Expanding the usability and quality of such portable video communication systems has been the focus of much recent research, with a number of proposed solutions directed at making it easier to provide two-way video communication.", "However, numerous problems continue to exist that are peculiar to the hand-held environment, such as image quality, ease of use, security, and privacy, that have not yet been adequately addressed.", "One relevant problem for hand-held communication devices, are their inability to compensate for observer motion or vibration, poor image capture angles, and changes in the field of view.", "U.S. Pat.", "No.", "7,058,433 entitled “Mechanism for Ergonomic Integration of a Digital Camera into a Mobile Phone” to Carpenter, discloses a pivot provided between the display and the camera sections of an imaging device so that the camera can be better set up for capture during video communication.", "U.S. Patent Application Publication 2006/0148517, entitled “Video Conference Feature for a Mobile Communication Terminal” by Yu, discloses a display is that can be tipped up and the image inverted for better viewing during video communication.", "However, neither Carpenter nor Yu address the problem of poor capture angle produced by the low hand position (see FIG.", "12 ) that is commonly used by people when looking at the handheld display of a mobile phone camera or other portable imaging and display device.", "U.S. Patent Application Publication No.", "2004/0070666 entitled “Method and Apparatus for Transmitting a Video Image”, by Bober, discloses use of face detection for locating the first participant's face in the captured image and cropping the captured image prior to transmission to the second participant to help keep the face centered in the image as viewed by the second participant.", "This approach does not address poor capture angle or image shake produced by hand jitter as is commonly encountered when the portable imaging and display device is operated with one hand while the user is in motion.", "Additionally the method disclosed by Bober does not suggest alteration of the background to improve privacy or reduce data transmission rate.", "Privacy issues are particularly relevant for a portable imaging device as it is being transported from one environment to another.", "U.S. Patent Application No.", "2004/0257431 entitled “Video Conferencing Apparatus and Method”, Girish discloses an iris shaped cover for the imaging device to provide visual confirmation that the video capture capability is disabled.", "Similarly, Girish discloses a light to indicate that video capture and audio capture are enabled.", "However, this approach does not provide a sufficiently versatile approach wherein the user would like to show his face during video communication without showing the background from the environment or would like to select a different background that is more suitable for the recipient of the image.", "The combination of image capture, image processing and wireless communication capabilities in a hand-held communication device such as a cellular phone with an embedded camera make it uniquely suited for use as a portable security system based on imaging and audio.", "Face recognition algorithms based on image comparison with sophisticated image processing systems is taught by P. Viola, M. J. Jones, “Robust Real-Time Face Detection,” International Journal of Computer Vision, Vol.", "57, No.", "2, May 2004, pp.", "137-154.A good article describing face recognition techniques for video imaging is contained in the article by G. Aggarwal, A. Chowdhury, R. Chellappa, “A System Identification Approach for Video-Based Face Recognition”, Proc.", "of the International Conference on Pattern Recognition, 23-26 Aug. 2004, Cambridge, UK.", "Further, the use of biometric information in a dedicated security system is well known in the art as well, U.S. Pat.", "No.", "6,853,739 to Kyle discloses a system that is based on the use of captured biometric information (face, fingerprint, hand, iris) that is compared against a database of many individual sets of biometric information, including face recognition, to verify the identity of an user from a group of individuals.", "The system as disclosed by Kyle utilizes a remote central processing unit on a computer network to perform the data analysis for comparison of the captured biometric information to the many individual sets of biometric information from the group of individuals.", "Thus, the system as described by Kyle is a dedicated security system where the biometric capture device must be setup to communicate with a central processing unit wherein the captured biometric information is compared to the database with an algorithm to make a decision regarding the identity of the user.", "Similarly, Akiyama in U.S. Pat.", "No.", "6,724,919, discloses a method for a system that uses a face identification algorithm on a computer system to verify the identity of the user and if a new user is detected, then a preset process is executed to change the computer setup to that desired by the new user.", "Thereby, Akiyama teaches the use of a face identification system to improve the operation of the computer alone and does not anticipate a portable personal security system.", "While both Kyle and Akiyama disclose useful techniques for verification of the identity of a user, neither Kyle nor Akiyama teach simplified techniques that would be implementable in a hand-held communication device.", "In addition, Kyle and Akiyama do not teach the use of a portable imaging and display device as a versatile, self-contained personal security system.", "Portable imaging and display devices or systems require special solutions due to their small size, limited capabilities, inherent problems, and high mobility.", "Conventional solutions do not address the problems of vibration and capture angle induced by one-handed operation of a portable imaging device nor do these solutions adequately address the problems of privacy, background suitability, or security for effective communication.", "In addition, a portable personal security system wherein the user identification can be verified and the identification information can be wirelessly communicated to other devices is not disclosed." ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION <EOH>The present disclosure aims to provide improved apparatus for video communication with a portable video system that provides improved video quality and is suitable for use in portable devices.", "In accordance with one aspect of the disclosure there is provided a hand-held portable wireless display and digital capture device, comprising: a) a digital image capture device for capturing digital video and/or still images; b) a device for transmitting and receiving wireless communication of digital video and/or still images over a communication network; and c) an image compensating device for compensating for poor image capture conditions of a digital image captured by the image capture device so as to create a modified image for transmission over the communication network.", "In accordance with another aspect of the present disclosure there is provided a method for adapting a display image on a hand-held portable wireless display and digital capture device, comprising the steps of: a) capturing a digital video and/or still image of a user; b) adjusting the captured digital image in response to poor image capture conditions in an image captured by the image capture device so as to create a modified captured digital image: and c) transmitting the modified captured digital image over a wireless communication network to a second hand-held portable wireless display and digital capture device.", "In accordance with yet another aspect of the present disclosure there is provided a method for adapting a displayed image on a hand-held portable wireless display and digital capture device for receiving and transmitting digital images over a communication network, comprising the steps of: a) capturing a digital image of a user with the hand-held portable wireless display and digital capture device; b) adjusting the background of the digital image of the user so as to create a modified captured digital image that is to be transmitted; and c) transmitting the modified captured image over a wireless communication network to a second hand-held portable wireless display and digital capture device.", "In accordance with yet still another aspect of the present disclosure there is provided a method for adapting a displayed image on a hand-held portable wireless display and digital capture device for receiving and transmitting digital images over a communication network, comprising the steps of: a) capturing a digital video and/or still image by the a hand-held portable wireless display and digital capture device; b) controlling what image is captured by the hand-held portable wireless display and digital capture device from instruction received from a second hand-held portable wireless display and digital capture device over the wireless communication network; and c) transmitting the captured image from the hand-held portable wireless display and digital capture device over a wireless communication network to the second hand-held portable wireless display and digital capture device.", "In still another aspect of the present disclosure there is provided a method for adapting a displayed image on a hand-held portable wireless display and digital capture device, comprising the steps of: a) capturing a digital video and/or still image by the a hand-held portable wireless display and digital capture device; b) detecting motion of the a hand-held portable wireless display and digital capture device that affect the quality of the digital image being captured and automatically adjusting the captured digital image in response to the detected motion; and c) transmitting the adjusted captured digital image from the a hand-held portable wireless display and digital capture device over a wireless communication network to a second hand-held portable wireless display and digital capture device.", "The present disclosure is directed to solving and/or minimizing the problems associated with the prior art, it being understood that the present disclosure may provide additional benefits not enumerated herein." ], [ "CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a Continuation of U.S. application Ser.", "No.", "15/271,839, filed Sep. 21, 2016, which is a Continuation of U.S. application Ser.", "No.", "14/486,254, filed Sep. 15, 2014, now U.S. Pat.", "No.", "9,462,222, which is a Continuation of U.S. application Ser.", "No.", "13/315,737, filed Dec. 9, 2011, now U.S. Pat.", "No.", "8,842,155, which is a Divisional of U.S. application Ser.", "No.", "11/755,192, filed May 30, 2007, now U.S. Pat.", "No.", "8,174,555,all of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.", "FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present disclosure generally relates to two-way video communication systems and more particularly relates to a portable two-way video communication system that is adapted to hand-held video communication devices.", "BACKGROUND Two-way video systems are available that include a display and camera in each of two locations connected by a communication channel that allows communication of video images and audio between two different sites.", "Originally, such systems relied on a setup at each site of a video monitor to display a remote scene and a separate video camera, located on or near the edge of the video monitor, to capture a local scene, along with microphones to capture the audio and speakers to present the audio thereby providing a two-way video and audio telecommunication system between two locations.", "Conventional systems are typically large, fixed in location, have a restricted ability to cope with changes in scene focus, and do not necessarily provide natural communication.", "Moreover, conventional designs do not take advantage of available, portable display and capture systems such as are found in cellular telephones and similar hand-held devices.", "Referring to FIG.", "1, there is illustrated a typical prior art conventional two-way video communication system wherein a first user 20a at a first location views a first display device 14a.", "A first image capture device 10a, which can be a digital camera, captures an image of the first viewer 20a.", "If the image is a still digital image, it can be stored in a first still image memory 30a for retrieval.", "A still image retrieved from first still image memory 30a or video 4841-6861-0104.1 images captured directly from the first image capture device 10a will then be transmitted using a first communication channel 60 to a second display 14b where a second user 20b can view the captured image(s) on a display 14b.", "Similarly, a second image capture device 10b, which can be a digital camera, captures an image of second viewer 20b at a second location remote from the first location.", "The captured image data is transmitted through a second communication channel 62 to the first display 14a for viewing by first viewer 20a.", "The captured image data can also be stored in a second still image memory 30b for retrieval.", "The first communication channel 60 may be the same as the second communication channel 62.Although such two-way video communication systems have been produced and used for high-end teleconferencing and other two-way video communications applications, there are some significant practical drawbacks for incorporation in a portable and hand-held video communication systems.", "Expanding the usability and quality of such portable video communication systems has been the focus of much recent research, with a number of proposed solutions directed at making it easier to provide two-way video communication.", "However, numerous problems continue to exist that are peculiar to the hand-held environment, such as image quality, ease of use, security, and privacy, that have not yet been adequately addressed.", "One relevant problem for hand-held communication devices, are their inability to compensate for observer motion or vibration, poor image capture angles, and changes in the field of view.", "U.S. Pat.", "No.", "7,058,433 entitled “Mechanism for Ergonomic Integration of a Digital Camera into a Mobile Phone” to Carpenter, discloses a pivot provided between the display and the camera sections of an imaging device so that the camera can be better set up for capture during video communication.", "U.S. Patent Application Publication 2006/0148517, entitled “Video Conference Feature for a Mobile Communication Terminal” by Yu, discloses a display is that can be tipped up and the image inverted for better viewing during video communication.", "However, neither Carpenter nor Yu address the problem of poor capture angle produced by the low hand position (see FIG.", "12) that is commonly used by people when looking at the handheld display of a mobile phone camera or other portable imaging and display device.", "U.S. Patent Application Publication No.", "2004/0070666 entitled “Method and Apparatus for Transmitting a Video Image”, by Bober, discloses use of face detection for locating the first participant's face in the captured image and cropping the captured image prior to transmission to the second participant to help keep the face centered in the image as viewed by the second participant.", "This approach does not address poor capture angle or image shake produced by hand jitter as is commonly encountered when the portable imaging and display device is operated with one hand while the user is in motion.", "Additionally the method disclosed by Bober does not suggest alteration of the background to improve privacy or reduce data transmission rate.", "Privacy issues are particularly relevant for a portable imaging device as it is being transported from one environment to another.", "U.S. Patent Application No.", "2004/0257431 entitled “Video Conferencing Apparatus and Method”, Girish discloses an iris shaped cover for the imaging device to provide visual confirmation that the video capture capability is disabled.", "Similarly, Girish discloses a light to indicate that video capture and audio capture are enabled.", "However, this approach does not provide a sufficiently versatile approach wherein the user would like to show his face during video communication without showing the background from the environment or would like to select a different background that is more suitable for the recipient of the image.", "The combination of image capture, image processing and wireless communication capabilities in a hand-held communication device such as a cellular phone with an embedded camera make it uniquely suited for use as a portable security system based on imaging and audio.", "Face recognition algorithms based on image comparison with sophisticated image processing systems is taught by P. Viola, M. J. Jones, “Robust Real-Time Face Detection,” International Journal of Computer Vision, Vol.", "57, No.", "2, May 2004, pp.", "137-154.A good article describing face recognition techniques for video imaging is contained in the article by G. Aggarwal, A. Chowdhury, R. Chellappa, “A System Identification Approach for Video-Based Face Recognition”, Proc.", "of the International Conference on Pattern Recognition, 23-26 Aug. 2004, Cambridge, UK.", "Further, the use of biometric information in a dedicated security system is well known in the art as well, U.S. Pat.", "No.", "6,853,739 to Kyle discloses a system that is based on the use of captured biometric information (face, fingerprint, hand, iris) that is compared against a database of many individual sets of biometric information, including face recognition, to verify the identity of an user from a group of individuals.", "The system as disclosed by Kyle utilizes a remote central processing unit on a computer network to perform the data analysis for comparison of the captured biometric information to the many individual sets of biometric information from the group of individuals.", "Thus, the system as described by Kyle is a dedicated security system where the biometric capture device must be setup to communicate with a central processing unit wherein the captured biometric information is compared to the database with an algorithm to make a decision regarding the identity of the user.", "Similarly, Akiyama in U.S. Pat.", "No.", "6,724,919, discloses a method for a system that uses a face identification algorithm on a computer system to verify the identity of the user and if a new user is detected, then a preset process is executed to change the computer setup to that desired by the new user.", "Thereby, Akiyama teaches the use of a face identification system to improve the operation of the computer alone and does not anticipate a portable personal security system.", "While both Kyle and Akiyama disclose useful techniques for verification of the identity of a user, neither Kyle nor Akiyama teach simplified techniques that would be implementable in a hand-held communication device.", "In addition, Kyle and Akiyama do not teach the use of a portable imaging and display device as a versatile, self-contained personal security system.", "Portable imaging and display devices or systems require special solutions due to their small size, limited capabilities, inherent problems, and high mobility.", "Conventional solutions do not address the problems of vibration and capture angle induced by one-handed operation of a portable imaging device nor do these solutions adequately address the problems of privacy, background suitability, or security for effective communication.", "In addition, a portable personal security system wherein the user identification can be verified and the identification information can be wirelessly communicated to other devices is not disclosed.", "SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present disclosure aims to provide improved apparatus for video communication with a portable video system that provides improved video quality and is suitable for use in portable devices.", "In accordance with one aspect of the disclosure there is provided a hand-held portable wireless display and digital capture device, comprising: a) a digital image capture device for capturing digital video and/or still images; b) a device for transmitting and receiving wireless communication of digital video and/or still images over a communication network; and c) an image compensating device for compensating for poor image capture conditions of a digital image captured by the image capture device so as to create a modified image for transmission over the communication network.", "In accordance with another aspect of the present disclosure there is provided a method for adapting a display image on a hand-held portable wireless display and digital capture device, comprising the steps of: a) capturing a digital video and/or still image of a user; b) adjusting the captured digital image in response to poor image capture conditions in an image captured by the image capture device so as to create a modified captured digital image: and c) transmitting the modified captured digital image over a wireless communication network to a second hand-held portable wireless display and digital capture device.", "In accordance with yet another aspect of the present disclosure there is provided a method for adapting a displayed image on a hand-held portable wireless display and digital capture device for receiving and transmitting digital images over a communication network, comprising the steps of: a) capturing a digital image of a user with the hand-held portable wireless display and digital capture device; b) adjusting the background of the digital image of the user so as to create a modified captured digital image that is to be transmitted; and c) transmitting the modified captured image over a wireless communication network to a second hand-held portable wireless display and digital capture device.", "In accordance with yet still another aspect of the present disclosure there is provided a method for adapting a displayed image on a hand-held portable wireless display and digital capture device for receiving and transmitting digital images over a communication network, comprising the steps of: a) capturing a digital video and/or still image by the a hand-held portable wireless display and digital capture device; b) controlling what image is captured by the hand-held portable wireless display and digital capture device from instruction received from a second hand-held portable wireless display and digital capture device over the wireless communication network; and c) transmitting the captured image from the hand-held portable wireless display and digital capture device over a wireless communication network to the second hand-held portable wireless display and digital capture device.", "In still another aspect of the present disclosure there is provided a method for adapting a displayed image on a hand-held portable wireless display and digital capture device, comprising the steps of: a) capturing a digital video and/or still image by the a hand-held portable wireless display and digital capture device; b) detecting motion of the a hand-held portable wireless display and digital capture device that affect the quality of the digital image being captured and automatically adjusting the captured digital image in response to the detected motion; and c) transmitting the adjusted captured digital image from the a hand-held portable wireless display and digital capture device over a wireless communication network to a second hand-held portable wireless display and digital capture device.", "The present disclosure is directed to solving and/or minimizing the problems associated with the prior art, it being understood that the present disclosure may provide additional benefits not enumerated herein.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the detailed description of the disclosure presented below, reference is made to the accompanying drawings in which: FIG.", "1 is a diagrammatic representation of a conventional telecommunication system; FIG.", "2 is a diagrammatic representation of a hand-held communication system according to the present disclosure; FIG.", "3A is a plan view of a portable communication device made in accordance with the present disclosure used in the system of FIG.", "2; FIG.", "3B is a plan view of a modified portable communication hand-held device made in accordance with present disclosure have directable image capture lens; FIGS.", "4A and 4B are diagrammatic representations illustrating use of a pointer in a system according to the present disclosure; FIG.", "5 is a diagrammatic representation showing another embodiment of a hand-held communication device made in accordance with the present disclosure that uses directable capture that is controlled remotely by another participant; FIG.", "6 is a diagrammatic representation showing use of a portable communications device made in accordance with the present disclosure in a teleconferencing application; FIGS.", "7A and 7B show an exemplary sequence of images to be viewed by a recipient illustrating background removal; FIG.", "8 shows a display of a hand-held device made in accordance of a recipient illustrating background removal; FIG.", "9 shows a display with a window that shows the image as transmitted from the transmitting hand-held communication made in accordance with the present disclosure; FIG.", "10 shows on-screen user controls of a hand-held device made in accordance with the present disclosure; FIG.", "11 shows a privacy option for a hand-held communication device made in accordance with the present disclosure; FIG.", "12 shows a user using a personal communications device made in accordance with the present disclosure while walking; FIG.", "13A shows image distortion created by a poor capture angle; FIG.", "13B shows a corrected image of distorted image of FIG.", "13A.", "FIG.", "14 shows a previously stored image of a face with some typical stored physical features; FIG.", "15A shows a captured image illustrating poor capture angle; and FIG.", "15B shows replacement of a portion of the captured image of FIG.", "15A using a portion of a stored image.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION Referring to FIG.", "2 there is illustrated a two-way communication system 110 for hand-held portable devices for wireless communication between a user 80a using a hand-held portable wireless display and digital capture device 100 made in accordance with the present disclosure at a first site 112 and a user 80b at a second site 114 remote from the first site using a second hand-held portable wireless display and digital capture device 100 made in accordance with the present disclosure.", "In the embodiment illustrated in FIG.", "2, hand-held portable wireless display and digital capture device 100 comprises a cell phone, however, the present disclosure is not so limited.", "Hand-held portable wireless display and digital capture device 100 may comprise any hand-held device capable of wireless communication that can capture and display images, for example but not limited to digital cameras and personal digital assistants (PDAs).", "The hand-held portable wireless display and digital capture device 100 wireless connection is not limited to cell phone technology, any appropriate wireless technology may be employed, for example but not limited to, WiFi, Bluetooth, or radio.", "The dashed line shows some of the components provided as part of each hand-held portable wireless display and digital capture device 100.A wireless network 94 connects the two sites 112 and 114.Hand-held portable wireless display and digital capture device 100 comprises a display 5 with one or more digital image capture devices 40 for capturing video and still images.", "A control logic processor (CPU) 116 is also provided that coordinates control of an image processor 120 and a controller 122 that provides display driver and image capture control functions.", "Controller 122 can provide commands to digital image capture device 40 (for example, a digital camera), for controlling view angle, focus, or other characteristics.", "Storage device 30 is provided for storage of digital image data captured by hand-held portable wireless display and digital capture device 100.A communication control apparatus 124 acts as interface to a communication channel, such as a wireless or wired network channel, for transferring image and other data from one site to the other.", "In the embodiment shown in FIG.", "2, each user 80a, 80b is visible on display 5 to the user at the other site, enhancing human interaction and improving communication capability.", "Image processing electronics 120 provide a number of functions for facilitating two-way communication, including improving the quality of image capture, improving the quality of images displayed at local display 5, and handling the data for remote communication.", "In the scope of the disclosure, poor image capture conditions are sensed, such as poor capture angle, low light, motion of the camera, motion in the scene or bright and dark areas, the captured images are then modified before being transmitted from the first digital capture device 100 to a second digital device.", "It is noted that FIG.", "2 shows a general arrangement of components that serve this particular embodiment; a number of variations can be envisioned, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the two-way communication arts.", "Digital image capture device 40 and display 5 are both integrated into each hand-held portable display and digital capture device 100.Other components for site 112 or 114, such as image processor 120, controller 122, CPU 116, and communication control 124 can also be integrated into hand-held portable wireless display and digital capture device 100.Audio capture and producing components 130 and other support components are provided, as is well known to those skilled in the audio/video communications arts.", "It is to be understood that the particular hardware is not limited to that illustrated in FIG.", "2 but can vary significantly.", "For instance, image capture device 40 can be separable from the hand-held portable wireless display and digital capture device 100 in some embodiments or the image capture device 40 may be integrated behind display 5 as described in commonly assigned U.S. Pat.", "No.", "7,714,923 incorporated by reference herein.", "By integrating the image capture device into the display, the overall size of the imaging capture and display device can be reduced and the eye contact between the participants in the video communication can be improved.", "Referring to FIG.", "3A, there is illustrated a hand-held portable wireless display and digital capture device 100 of FIG.", "2.Hand-held portable wireless display and digital capture device 100 has a display 5 for displaying an image received or captured by device 100 and a digital image capture device 40 (see FIG.", "2) having a lens for capturing an image.", "The lens of digital image capture device 40 can be pointed at the user or any other scene desired by the user.", "Hand-held portable wireless display and digital capture device 100 also has a microphone 45, speaker 46 and user controls 142 all integrated into a single compact device for capturing audio, playing audio and for controlling operation of the hand-held portable wireless display and digital capture device 100, respectively.", "In an alternate embodiment, not illustrated, the hand-held portable wireless display and digital capture device 100 has two image capture devices 40 wherein the lens of one image capture device 40 is pointed at the user of the device and the other lens is pointed away from the user to the surrounding environment.", "Both images could be displayed to the receiver in a split screen mode, for example.", "It is obvious that more than two cameras could be included to provide close-up (for example for thumbprint security purposes) or zoom capability other view angles, etc.", "In the embodiment illustrated in FIGS.", "3a and 3b, hand-held portable wireless display and digital capture device 100 comprises a first body section 134 that is rotatably mounted to a second body section 136 by a hinge 48.It is to be understood that other forms are possible without a hinge 48 or with the controls 142 built into the display wherein the display is a touchscreen.", "Alternately, the image capture device 40 can be used to detect gestures of the viewer 80a to provide control inputs to the hand-held portable wireless display and digital capture device 100 that are similar to those inputs provided through the control 142.FIG.", "3B shows a modified hand-held portable wireless display and digital capture device 100 made in accordance with the present disclosure, like numerals indicating like parts and operation as previous discussed.", "In this embodiment of a hand-held portable wireless display and digital capture device 100 the image capture device 40 (or the lens of the image capture device 40) is placed in a swivel mount 47 that can be moved in section 134.A drive motor, not shown, may be provided so the image capture device 40 in swivel mount 47 can be directed by a user.", "The swivel mount 47 can be operated or controlled manually by the user 80a, or remotely by a second user 80b or automatically by another device, such as a computer that is in communication with device 100.User/Operator Interface As previously discussed, user interface 142 provides for user input.", "During video communication, it is anticipated that the users 80a and 80b upon viewing the image on the display 5 will want to change the area being viewed or zoom in on a portion of the image.", "This can be accomplished by several different methods within the scope of the disclosure.", "There are several ways the users 80a and 80b can control or change the area being viewed.", "The users 80a and 80b can input the desired change in area to be viewed through user controls 142 (such as buttons, a mouse, a slider or a thumb wheel), through a touch screen, through gestures that are captured by the image capture device 40 and interpreted by the image processor 120, or through eye tracking.", "All of these techniques are well known and may be employed in the present disclosure.", "Referring to FIGS.", "4A and 4B there is illustrated diagrammatic representations illustrating use of a pointer in a system according to the present disclosure.", "Here, user 80a is provided with a pointer apparatus 28 that can be used to point to a location of interest on a display, shown as location B in FIG.", "4A.", "For ease of explanation and understanding, the display 5 is illustrated much larger than actual size with respect to user 86a.", "A separate prompt detection is provided for detection of the location of interest.", "In the embodiment illustrated, the display 5 is a touch screen capable of detecting a pointer, such as a pencil, pen, optical pointer such as a laser pointer, or other device, or a finger in contact with a touchscreen display 5.Based on the prompt provided by pointer 28 position, prompt detection apparatus 126 works in conjunction with control logic processor 116 to provide instructions over network 94 to the image capture apparatus at second site 114.As shown in FIG.", "4B, the image capture device 40 at remote site 114 responds to the prompt from pointer apparatus 28 by adjusting its view angle toward corresponding position B′.", "This allows remote control of viewing by a user 80b with respect to a scene at the remote location.", "Other means for remote controlling of pointer apparatus 28 include, for example, a cursor manipulating device such as a joystick, trackball, or mouse, a remote control device, or some other mechanism for pointing to a portion of a displayed image on display 5.A touchscreen overlay can be used for receiving the viewer prompt.", "In the embodiment illustrated, the position of pointer apparatus 28 on display 5 is detected by the image capture device that is integrated into the display, reducing the overall space required for the user interface on portable display and digital capture apparatus 100.Still other types of prompts can include audible prompts.", "Algorithms that monitor the audio signal generated at first site 112 may detect these prompts.", "For example, a click or clapping sound, voice volume, voice pattern, key word, or other audible indicator serves as a prompt.", "Yet other methods of prompting may be based on analysis of physical posture, head movement, hand signals or gestures, motion, or facial expressions, for example.", "In this way, remote controlling instructions may be obtained by analyzing images received from the second device over the wireless communication network.", "Advantages of the apparatus and method of the present disclosure for two-way video communication can be readily appreciated.", "For example, with reference to FIG.", "5, user 80a at first site 112 using a portable communication device 140 can enjoy a wide range of visibility for communicating with viewer 80b at second site 114, including not only changing view angle, but also using zoom in, zoom out, focus adjustment, image cropping, freezing the image, or providing a measure of defocus outside of an area of interest, among other imaging functions.", "In addition, other features such as changing lighting levels, increasing or decreasing volume, or altering audio bass/treble tone sensitivity can also be obtained using this type of prompt/response sequence.", "Also as previously discussed, it is possible to provide remote control of the field of view contained in the image portable communication device with directable capture 141, wherein for example, the image capture device 40 may be installed in a swivel mount 47 so the image capture device 40 (or the lens of the image capture device is directable.", "Those skilled in the art will recognize that the portable communication device with directable capture could also include a directable pointer such as laser pointer to aid in the level of communication possible between user 80a and 80b.", "As shown in the teleconference application of FIG.", "6, user 80a at first site 112 can interact with multiple users 80b at second site 114, zooming in or out and panning as needed in order to address other individuals singly or collectively.", "Alternately, user 80a may have multiple displays 5 digital capture apparatus 100, making it possible to view, at one time, scene content from multiple capture devices 40 at second site 114.Privacy Methods to restrict image capture are particularly important for a portable imaging and display device where in certain cases it will be desirable to eliminate portions of the image captured at site 114 by the second hand-held portable wireless display and digital capture device 100 prior to transmission of an image to the first hand-held portable wireless display and digital capture device 100 at site 112.For example, if user 80b were in a location or circumstances not favorable for unconstrained image capture, such as a locker room or other environment where privacy concerns exist, the allowed image capture area can be constrained or the background image surrounding the image of user 80b can be replaced to form a modified image which is then transmitted to the first hand-held portable wireless display and digital capture device 100 at site 112.FIGS.", "7A and 7B show one example of background replacement.", "In one privacy embodiment, the image capture area is constrained to just the face of the user and/or participant 146 and the background image is replaced by a uniform neutral background 144, such as a gray color, leaving only the first participant's face 146 in the modified image transmitted to the second hand-held portable wireless display and digital capture device 100, as shown in FIG.", "8.In this case, the face of the participant is detected and preserved in the modified image while all other detail in the modified image is replaced by a uniform neutral color.", "Face detection is well known to those skilled in the art (face recognition software can be obtained from Visionics Corporation, Jersey City, N.J. and is described in U.S. Pat.", "No.", "6,111,517) either by skin color, a change in contrast, by identification of eyes and mouth or by the general face shape.", "In another privacy embodiment, the background image is replaced with a different background image to give the illusion that the first participant is located at a different location.", "In this case, the face is detected (and in an alternate embodiment, the body of the user is detected as well) and all other detail is replaced by a different image to form a modified image wherein the background image is obtained from a previously stored image on the hand-held portable wireless display and digital capture device 100 or as captured by another image capture device 40 or as obtained from an external source.", "In accordance with the present disclosure, any type image may be used; for example, but not by way of limitation, a still image or a video image may be used for the background image.", "However, considering the limited space for image storage 30 and the limited image processing capability that is typical of a hand-held portable wireless display and digital capture device 100, the disclosure envisions that a still image would be used for the background as selected from a library of images in the storage 30 or as captured of the local environment at the beginning of the communication session or captured of the local environment when requested by one of the participants.", "A further advantage of using a still image as the background in the modified image is that the data transmission rate is reduced since the still image only needs to be transmitted once.", "In this case, the background image is transmitted from the first device to the second device and stored on the second device, the face image would then be continuously transmitted from the first device to the second device during the communication session and the modified image showing the face image over the background image would be continuously constructed within the second device and displayed on the second device.", "Alternately or in addition thereto, by using a still image to reduce the transmitted data rate of the background, a higher resolution image of the first user 80a face can be transmitted from the first device to the second device without encountering bandwidth limitations.", "An image or video already resident on the receiving device can also be used as a background, thus eliminating the need for transmitting that portion of the image altogether.", "In a further privacy embodiment of the present disclosure, as shown in FIG.", "9, a portion of the display may be used in a split screen configuration to enable the first user to view a verification image composed from the modified image being transmitted to the second user, within a window 148 that forms a portion of the displayed image.", "The verification image enables the first user to visually verify what the modified image being transmitted to the second participant looks like in terms of image content such as face location, background, zoom, brightness, pointing and privacy features.", "Those skilled in the art will recognize that alternately, the verification image from the first site 112 can be displayed on the display 5 in an alternating fashion with the image received from the second site 114 during the communication session.", "The verification image can be displayed in an alternating fashion automatically or when requested by the user.", "FIG.", "10 shows on-screen controls 168 for accepting user commands for privacy settings in one embodiment.", "In a still further privacy embodiment, an opaque screen is provided to cover the image capture device in a way that makes it easy for the first participant and others in the area to verify that the image capture has been disabled.", "FIG.", "11 shows an embodiment in which second user 80b at site 114 is able to disable image capture using a screen cover 166 that displays at remote site 112.As shown in FIG.", "11, cover 166 obscures image capture device 40.In the more general case, any number of methods for disabling either or both display and image capture functions at a site or portions of the site can be provided, including the use of opaque covers, a rotating image capture device 47 with a position wherein the lens of the image capture device 40 is blocked or software controls.", "Alternatively, the sending hand-held portable display and digital capture device 100 may simply disengage the image capture device 40.Image Stabilization As shown in FIG.", "12, in typical use, viewer 80a may be walking or otherwise moving about while holding the portable communication device 140 in one hand, causing an amount of jitter, among other problems, with the images obtained from hand-held portable wireless display and digital capture device 100.As a result, a video image captured from hand-held portable wireless display and digital capture device 100 appears to be “jumpy” or otherwise unsteady.", "To help compensate for this type of condition, the present disclosure provides optional image stabilization that can be applied to the captured image during video communication.", "Jitter can be detected in a number of ways, either by analysis of successive captured video image frames or using a sensor integrated into hand-held portable wireless display and digital capture device 100.A variety of techniques for image stabilization may be employed as known by those skilled in the art, such as optical image stabilization performed by optical components themselves, or digital image stabilization, which is performed during image processing immediately after capture.", "Jitter can be sensed by an accelerometer, a gyroscope or by analyzing a series of digital images.", "One suitable embodiment for digital image stabilization is that described by Deever in United States patent publication No.", "2006/0274156.Image Distortion Compensation Referring to FIG.", "12, there is illustrated an user 80 using a personal communications device 10 made in accordance with the present disclosure with the user using a hand-held portable image capture and display device 100 while walking.", "In the embodiment illustrated the hand-held portable wireless display and digital capture device 100 comprises a cellular phone.", "The common technique for using a cell phone is to hold it in one hand at a low angle while walking.", "Since the lens of image capture device 40 is adjacent to (or integrated into) the display, the low angle results in a poor image capture angle which produces a distorted image of the user's face from below.", "FIG.", "13A illustrates this poor image capture angle problem.", "FIG.", "13A shows the captured image resulting from the poor image capture angle and FIG.", "13B illustrates an undistorted image.", "Various methods can be used to compensate for the poor image capture angle to produce an improved image that appears to have been captured from a better image capture angle that is more directly in front of the user.", "In a first image compensation method, the compensated image is produced using angular calculations.", "The angular orientation of the capture apparatus can be sensed by a tilt angle sensor (not shown) as is well known in the art (as describe in an article on Tilt Sensors by Michael Puccio, “Electrolytic Tilt Sensors and Inclinometers”, Sensor Technology and Design, September 2004) and used to determine the capture angle 152.Alternately, the tilt angle can be determined by the relative size and shape of the nose 150, including but not limited to the width, length, nostrils and septum, of the person in the image.", "Nose 150 size and shape is a sensitive indicator for determining the capture angle 152 as can be readily seen in FIGS.", "13A and 13B.", "A captured image of a user can be compared to a stored image of the user that has been captured with a good capture angle or can be compared to a database of normal faces to determine the capture angle 152 based on relative size and shape of the nose 150.Wherein capture angle 152 is defined as the angle between the pointing direction of the digital capture device 100 and the pointing direction of the user's face and a good capture angle is defined as less than 10 degrees.", "In one approach, the relative length of the nose D3 is compared to the distance between the eyes D1 (or alternately the width of the face) in the image, using digital image processing, or as compared to a stored image with a good capture angle is used to provide a measure of capture angle 152 (see FIG.", "14).", "In another approach, the size of the nostrils seen in the captured image compared, using digital image processing, to a stored image with a good capture angle (see FIGS.", "13A and 13B) is used to provide a measure of capture angle 152.After the capture angle 152 has been measured, in a first image compensation method, the captured image is stretched accordingly in one or more directions to compensate for a poor capture angle and produce an image that is more like an image that has been captured from a good capture angle.", "The stretch directions include longitudinal, transverse and skewed, wherein the bottom of the image is stretched laterally more at the top than at the bottom.", "The improved image may use a database of face dimensions to guide the image compensation process.", "The database of face dimensions can be obtained from a database of normal faces.", "The database of normal faces would include data on relative dimensions between identified features on the participant's face 164 as shown in FIG.", "14, such as the distance D1 between the eyes and the distance D2 between the eyes and the mouth or the distance D3 between the eyes and the nose or the distance D4 between the nose and one eye or the distance D5 that is the width of the nose, for example.", "The relative dimensions of the image captured from a poor angle would then be adjusted vertically and horizontally to create a compensated image with relative dimensions that match the database of normal faces.", "In a second image compensation method, a compensated image is produced by adjusting the image captured from a poor image capture angle to match the relative dimensions of a previously captured and stored benchmark image of the user.", "As shown by FIG.", "14, there is illustrated an image of an user 80b that was captured from a good capture angle and the various measurements such as D1, D2, D3, D4 and D5 as previously discussed, that can be obtained and stored from such an image.", "Other relative dimensions other than or in addition to D1, D2, D3, D4 and D5 such as nose 150 relative size and shape may be used for comparing a captured image with stored benchmark image and then compensating the captured image.", "In a third image compensation method, a compensated image is obtained by adjusting the image captured from a poor capture angle to match the relative dimensions of a previously captured and stored benchmark image (either a still image or a video) of the participant that was captured from a better image capture angle and then one or more portions 96 of the captured image are replaced by a corresponding portion of the previously captured and stored benchmark image (FIG.", "14) to form a modified compensated image as shown by FIG.", "15b.", "As shown in FIGS.", "15a and 15b, one or more portions of details that are missing or blurred or otherwise distorted are replaced thereby producing an improved image of the face.", "As illustrated by FIG.", "15a distorted portion 96 of the nose and mouth area of viewer 80b results from poor camera angle.", "Portion 96 is replaced from the stored image data (FIG.", "14) for that user or other identified participant.", "In a further image compensation method, a previously captured or constructed three dimensional model of the participant's face is used in conjunction with the image captured from a poor capture angle in order to produce an image of the face which has been rotated to correct for the poor image capture angle.", "With three-dimensional modeling, the shape of the face can be determined from the three dimensional model and the colors of the face such as skin tone and other characteristics can be determined from the image captured from a poor image capture angle.", "An exemplary method for obtaining a three dimensional model of an imaged scene is described by Yahav in U.S. Pat.", "No.", "6,100,517.In a still further image correction method, a previously captured image of a user 80b that has been captured with a good image capture angle is used as a base image for an avatar.", "The facial movement of the avatar is provided by facial changes in the captured video image from the poor image captured angle.", "The avatar then provides an improved image which appears to have been captured from a good image capture angle.", "Those skilled in the art will recognize that still other image compensation can include rotation of the image, cropping, gain adjustments for bright areas or dark areas or automatic contrast or brightness adjustment, for example.", "Security and Identification The use of biometric information to verify the identity of a person is well known in the art.", "As previously stated, both Kyle and Akiyama disclose systems which gather biometric information such as face, thumbprint and voice to verify the identity of an user by comparing the captured information to a database.", "The disclosure described herein teaches the use of a hand-held portable wireless display and digital capture device in a self-contained system to form a portable personal security device which can be used to verify the identity of the user and wirelessly transmit security information to other devices to control access to the other devices.", "The disclosure teaches the use of several improvements to biometric capture and comparison that enable more gross features to be used for verification of identity to simplify the signal processing required and together or individually make the verification of the user more suited to implementation in a hand-held portable wireless display and capture device.", "In the first security embodiment, a database of previously captured security images of approved users is compared to the image of the current user of the imaging and display device.", "If the face of the current user does not match any of the previously captured security previously captured security images of approved users, a security alarm is then activated.", "Communication can be terminated, redirected, or monitored when a security alarm has been activated.", "While face recognition using a remote central processing unit is well known in the art, the disclosure further teaches that users could choose to include exaggerated facial expressions (such as sticking their tongue out, opening their mouth wide or winking) to personalize their security images and further enhance the degree of security.", "In this way, when the user begins operation of the hand-held portable wireless display and digital capture device 100, the user would have to provide the same exaggerated facial expression during capture of the security image to match the previously captured security images of security approved users and initiate operation.", "The addition of an exaggerated facial expression simplifies the verification of the user since more gross facial features are easier to identify when using a simplified image processor as is common in hand-held devices.", "In a second security embodiment, the user places a thumb or other finger over the image capture device 40 of portable communication device 140 so that an image of a portion of the fingerprint of the user can be captured as a fingerprint image.", "The fingerprint image is stored and compared against a database of previously captured fingerprint images of approved users of the portable communication device 140.If the fingerprint image does not match any of the previously captured fingerprint images in a security approved database of fingerprint images, a security alarm is activated and the communication device can be disabled, redirected, or monitored.", "Fingerprint images based security is particularly well suited in portable communication devices 140 that have an image capture device 40 that is built into the display 5 as an integrated image capture and display device.", "To enable the image capture device to be used to capture an image of a thumbprint on the lens cover, the disclosure teaches the use of a focusing system with extended focal range to provide for short focal range imaging of the thumbprint on to a lens or onto a lens cover glass.", "In a third security embodiment, the microphone 45 on the hand-held portable wireless display and digital capture device 100 is used to capture a spoken phrase which is compared against a previously spoken security phrase to verify the identity of the user based on the spoken phrase and the voice characteristics of the operator/user.", "The disclosure teaches that the spoken phrase be chosen by the user to personalize the security phrase and also simplify the level of signal processing required to verify the user.", "In a preferred embodiment, one or more of the security embodiments are used together to further verify the identity of the user.", "As an example, the image of the user may be compared to the previously captured security images and the user would then have to speak a phrase, which is then compared to the security phrase for the phrase and voice characteristics.", "Only if the user is positively identified against the security image and the security phrase would the user be approved to initiate operation.", "Security related identification of the user can also be used to condition operation characteristics of hand-held portable wireless display and digital capture device 100.In one embodiment, a profile of operational preferences is provided to control logic, so that hand-held portable wireless display and digital capture device 100 responds according to the preferences of a specific user.", "Those skilled in the art will recognize that the security features in the portable device can be used to verify that the user is approved for operation of a hand-held portable wireless display and digital capture device 100 and to verify that the user is approved for use of any other devices that are linked to the hand-held portable wireless display and digital capture device 100.In this way, the hand-held portable wireless display and digital capture device 100 can be used as a versatile portable security verification system to provide security features associated with the identification of the user for other devices that are linked to a portable device either through wireless systems, infrared systems, radio systems or telephone systems.", "Wherein the other devices that benefit from a portable personal security system where access is controlled based on the identity of the user include but are not limited to: home, office, automotive, boats, banks, electronic purchasing systems and secure installations.", "In these cases, the portable communication device is used to verify the identity of the user and then transmit information to the linked device, which then operates in a manner consistent with the known identity of the user.", "This approval process includes but is not limited to: granting the approved limit of operation of the linked device; granting approval to make financial transactions; granting access to secure information; granting physical access to a site; allowing operation of a vehicle, etc.", "As an example, the hand-held portable wireless display and digital capture device 100 could be used to open a car door wherein the hand-held portable wireless display and digital capture device 100 first captures an image of the user to verify the identity of the user.", "Then provided the user has been approved to open the car door, the hand-held portable wireless display and digital capture device 100 wirelessly transmits an encrypted access code to the car to open the door.", "In this case, the encrypted access code is the same as is provided by an electronic key, as is commonly provided with current cars, with the added benefit that the identity of the user is verified before the car door can be opened.", "In regard to the use of the hand-held portable wireless display and digital capture device 100 for a personal portable security system, it is important to note that the hand-held portable wireless display and digital capture device 100 can be setup to provide secure access to many different personal items or personal spaces where controlled access is desired.", "In the event that the portable device is lost or stolen, the security aspects incorporated within the portable device make it very difficult for another person to operate the hand-held portable wireless display and digital capture device 100 to gain access to personal items or personal spaces which have been setup for the personal portable security system.", "In addition, the transmitted information from the hand-held portable wireless display and digital capture device 100 to the linked device can include a set of information associated with the verification of the user which is then stored with the linked device as a record of past users of the linked device, wherein the set of information includes at least one of the following: image, thumbprint or voice.", "In this way, a record of the past users is stored with the device as a record of access that can be checked at a later date.", "Compatibility It is instructive to note that the present disclosure does not require that all control functions be initiated at the first site 112 or at the second site 114.Instead, control functions can be initiated from any site, including a third networked site, for example.", "Consequently, when the hand-held portable wireless display and digital capture device 100 is used to communicate with a more sophisticated device, inputs for capabilities that go beyond those of the hand-held portable wireless display and digital capture device 100 are possible to take advantage of different types of image capture capabilities, different digital image processing capabilities, different audio capabilities, different digital signal processors, different transmission and receiving capabilities, and different display capabilities.", "For example, in a portable imaging and display device 140, the display and the image capture resolution may be limited and the digital signal processor may be too limited to allow detection of hand gestures or body movements, while functions such as audio command capabilities and motion detection may be more readily available for a user interface.", "In contrast, a large wall mounted video communication unit such as the display and digital capture apparatus 100 shown in FIG.", "6 can have a high resolution display and a high resolution image capture device with a powerful digital signal processor so that a user interface with inputs such as hand gestures, audio commands, and body movements is possible.", "In one embodiment of the disclosure, portable communication device 140 adapts the imaging priority protocol to enable two way video communications between the different types of devices.", "Those skilled in the art will recognize that two way communication system 110 of the present disclosure can also include other forms of media during the two way communication such as still images, text, spreadsheets, audio recordings and other forms of images that could be shared during a conversation between two or more people.", "The disclosure has been described in detail with particular reference to certain preferred embodiments thereof, but it will be understood that variations and modifications can be effected within the scope of the disclosure.", "It should be understood that the various drawing and Figs.", "provided within this disclosure are intended to be illustrative of the disclosure and are not intended to show proper scale.", "PARTS LIST 5 Display 10a, 10b.", "Image capture device 14a, 14b.", "Display 20a, 20b.", "User 28.Pointer apparatus 30a, 30b.", "Memory 40.Image capture device 45.Microphone 46.Speaker 47.Swivel mount for image capture device 48.Hinge 80a, 80b.", "User 60, 62.Communication channel 94.Network 96.Distorted portion 100.Display and digital capture apparatus 110.Two-way communication system 112, 114.Site 120.Image processor 122.Controller 124.Communication control apparatus 126.Prompt detection apparatus 130 Audio components for capture and broadcast 140.Portable communication device 141.Portable communication device with directable capture 142.Controls 144.Background 146.Face 148.Window 150.Nose 164.Measurements 166.Screen cover 168.Controls" ] ]
Patent_15872933
[ [ "LIVE VIDEO STREAM WITH INTERACTIVE SHOPPING INTERFACE", "Disclosed are various embodiments for providing a live video stream with an interactive shopping interface.", "A live video stream and item information are obtained from another computing device.", "The item information indicates one or more items being featured in the live video stream.", "A user interface is rendered upon a display.", "The user interface includes the live video stream and a timeline interface indicating the items being featured during various segments in the live video stream." ], [ "1.A system, comprising: at least one first computing device; and at least one application executable in the at least one first computing device, wherein, when executed, the at least one application causes the at least one first computing device to at least: receive a live video stream from at least one second computing device, the live video stream featuring a host verbally discussing a plurality of items in a plurality of segments; receive information associated with the plurality of items; generate a timeline user interface depicting a respective subset of items discussed during individual segments of the plurality of segments; and cause to be rendered the live video stream and the timeline user interface.", "2.The system of claim 1, wherein, when executed, the at least one application causes the at least one computing device to at least receive user interface code from the at least one second computing device, the user interface code being configured to generate the timeline user interface.", "3.The system of claim 1, wherein the timeline user interface further comprises at least one selectable item component associated with individual items in the respective subset of items for the individual segments.", "4.The system of claim 1, wherein the timeline user interface depicts a first subset of items previously discussed by the host in a prior segment and a second subset of items that are to be discussed by the host in a future segment.", "5.The system of claim 1, wherein, when executed, the at least one application causes the at least one first computing device to at least: receive an input in association with the timeline user interface; and adjust a viewport of the timeline user interface to show a different portion of the timeline user interface corresponding to other segments of the live video stream.", "6.The system of claim 5, wherein the input comprises at least one of a scrolling input, a swiping input, or a selection input.", "7.A method, comprising: obtaining, via a first computing device, a live video stream from a second computing device, the live video stream featuring an individual discussing a plurality of items available for purchase via an electronic commerce system; obtaining, via the first computing device, information detailing when individual items of the plurality of items are discussed by the individual; generating, via the first computing device, a timeline user interface configured to depict at least one selectable item component for individual segments of a plurality of segments that have been shown in the live video stream, the at least one selectable item component corresponding to a respective subset of items that were featured in the individual segments; and rendering, via the first computing device, a primary user interface upon a display, the primary user interface including the live video stream and the timeline user interface.", "8.The method of claim 7, further comprising rendering, via the first computing device, an invitation to cast a vote in the primary user interface.", "9.The method of claim 7, further comprising: receiving, via the first computing device, a user gesture relative to the timeline user interface; and adjusting, via the first computing device, a viewport to show a different portion of the timeline user interface.", "10.The method of claim 7, further comprising updating, via the first computing device, the timeline user interface to include another selectable item component that corresponds to another item featured in a current segment of the live video stream.", "11.The method of claim 7, further comprising: receiving, via the first computing device, a user selection of a particular selectable item component of the at least one selectable item component; and performing, via the first computing device, at least one interactive action relative to a corresponding item.", "12.The method of claim 11, wherein the at least one interactive action comprises at least one of: initiating an order of the corresponding item, adding the corresponding item to a shopping cart, or causing an item detail page to be rendered upon the display.", "13.The method of claim 7, further comprising receiving, via the first computing device, user interface code from the second computing device, wherein the timeline user interface is generated via the user interface code.", "14.A non-transitory computer-readable medium embodying a program executable in a first computing device, wherein, when executed, the program causes the first computing device to at least: receive a live video stream from at least one second computing device, the live video stream featuring at least one individual discussing a plurality of items over a period of time; generate a first user interface including at least one selectable item component corresponding to a subset of the plurality of items discussed during at least a portion of the period of time; and cause to be rendered a second user interface upon a display of the first computing device, the second user interface including the first user interface in a first region and the live video stream in a second region.", "15.The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 14, wherein the second user interface further comprises a third region including a chat interface configured to facilitate interactive communication among one or more viewers of the live video stream.", "16.The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 14, wherein, when executed, the program further causes the first computing device to at least: receive a user selection of a particular selectable item component of the at least one selectable item component; and initiate performance of at least one interactive action relative to a corresponding item.", "17.The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 14, wherein, when executed, the program further causes the at least one computing device to at least: receive a user input relative to the first user interface; and adjust a viewport to show a different portion of the first user interface in response to the user input.", "18.The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 17, wherein the user input comprises at least one of a scrolling input, a swiping input, or a selection input.", "19.The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 14, wherein, when executed, the program causes the first computing device to at least receive user interface code from the at least one second computing device, the user interface code being configured to generate the first user interface.", "20.The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 14, wherein the first user interface depicts a first subset of items previously discussed by the at least one individual in the live video stream during a first portion of the period of time and a second subset of items that are to be discussed by the at least one individual during a second portion of the period of time." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND <EOH>Historically, shopping is an activity that has involved a customer visiting a number of brick-and-mortar retail stores, browsing through inventory, selecting products of interest, and checking out to complete a purchase.", "Mail order companies introduced catalog-based shopping, whereby a customer peruses a printed catalog, views a catalog listing, and then places an order for a product via letter or telephone.", "The ordered product is delivered to the customer's premise a few days later.", "Although convenient, catalog-based shopping has inherent disadvantages, such as a lack of photo views of a product.", "High printing costs limited the number of photos of a product, particularly with respect to different angles or product variations.", "During the early 1980s, home shopping channels on cable television were introduced.", "The home shopping channels offered television programming that described products for sale that could be ordered by phone.", "Viewers would regularly tune-in to see products that were displayed and talked about by live hosts.", "Enthusiastic personalities often developed a loyal following, and the shopping channels would give many hosts creative freedom in merchandising products.", "Home shopping channels became less relevant with the introduction of Internet-based retailing in the late 1990s.", "Web sites offered photos and information about products without limit, greatly improving upon the previous analogue of printed catalogs.", "Product videos and animations could be provided, with 360 degree views of products.", "The online catalogs could be searched, and offerings of many competing retailers could be found instantly.", "As compared with home shopping television channels, online retailers may lack the human component that motivates people to purchase.", "Sites such as YOUTUBE that offer user-created videos have become hugely popular with the “Millennial” generation.", "In fact, “how-to” videos have become an important driver of purchasing decisions among Millennials.", "For example, a person may create a video showing others how to use a particular product.", "During the video, the person may express opinions regarding the product.", "Viewers may then be motivated to purchase the product after viewing the video." ], [ "<SOH> BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS <EOH>Many aspects of the present disclosure can be better understood with reference to the following drawings.", "The components in the drawings are not necessarily to scale, with emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the disclosure.", "Moreover, in the drawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several views.", "FIG.", "1 is a pictorial diagram of an example user interface rendered according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "2 is a schematic block diagram of a networked environment according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.", "FIGS.", "3A-3D are pictorial diagrams of example user interfaces rendered by a client device in the networked environment of FIG.", "2 according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "4 is a flowchart illustrating one example of functionality implemented executed in a computing environment in the networked environment of FIG.", "2 according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.", "FIGS.", "5-6B are flowcharts illustrating examples of functionality implemented as portions of a content access application executed in a client device in the networked environment of FIG.", "2 according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "7 is a flowchart illustrating one example of functionality implemented executed in a computing environment in the networked environment of FIG.", "2 according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "8 is a schematic block diagram that provides one example illustration of a computing environment employed in the networked environment of FIG.", "2 according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.", "detailed-description description=\"Detailed Description\" end=\"lead\"?" ], [ "CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a divisional of co-pending U.S. utility application entitled, “Live Video Stream with Interactive Shopping Interface,” having application Ser.", "No.", "14/751,810, filed Jun.", "26, 2015, which is entirely incorporated herein by reference.", "BACKGROUND Historically, shopping is an activity that has involved a customer visiting a number of brick-and-mortar retail stores, browsing through inventory, selecting products of interest, and checking out to complete a purchase.", "Mail order companies introduced catalog-based shopping, whereby a customer peruses a printed catalog, views a catalog listing, and then places an order for a product via letter or telephone.", "The ordered product is delivered to the customer's premise a few days later.", "Although convenient, catalog-based shopping has inherent disadvantages, such as a lack of photo views of a product.", "High printing costs limited the number of photos of a product, particularly with respect to different angles or product variations.", "During the early 1980s, home shopping channels on cable television were introduced.", "The home shopping channels offered television programming that described products for sale that could be ordered by phone.", "Viewers would regularly tune-in to see products that were displayed and talked about by live hosts.", "Enthusiastic personalities often developed a loyal following, and the shopping channels would give many hosts creative freedom in merchandising products.", "Home shopping channels became less relevant with the introduction of Internet-based retailing in the late 1990s.", "Web sites offered photos and information about products without limit, greatly improving upon the previous analogue of printed catalogs.", "Product videos and animations could be provided, with 360 degree views of products.", "The online catalogs could be searched, and offerings of many competing retailers could be found instantly.", "As compared with home shopping television channels, online retailers may lack the human component that motivates people to purchase.", "Sites such as YOUTUBE that offer user-created videos have become hugely popular with the “Millennial” generation.", "In fact, “how-to” videos have become an important driver of purchasing decisions among Millennials.", "For example, a person may create a video showing others how to use a particular product.", "During the video, the person may express opinions regarding the product.", "Viewers may then be motivated to purchase the product after viewing the video.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Many aspects of the present disclosure can be better understood with reference to the following drawings.", "The components in the drawings are not necessarily to scale, with emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the disclosure.", "Moreover, in the drawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several views.", "FIG.", "1 is a pictorial diagram of an example user interface rendered according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "2 is a schematic block diagram of a networked environment according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.", "FIGS.", "3A-3D are pictorial diagrams of example user interfaces rendered by a client device in the networked environment of FIG.", "2 according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "4 is a flowchart illustrating one example of functionality implemented executed in a computing environment in the networked environment of FIG.", "2 according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.", "FIGS.", "5-6B are flowcharts illustrating examples of functionality implemented as portions of a content access application executed in a client device in the networked environment of FIG.", "2 according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "7 is a flowchart illustrating one example of functionality implemented executed in a computing environment in the networked environment of FIG.", "2 according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "8 is a schematic block diagram that provides one example illustration of a computing environment employed in the networked environment of FIG.", "2 according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION The present disclosure relates to providing an interactive shopping experience in conjunction with live video streams that discuss items offered for order.", "Traditional home shopping channels, despite having energetic personalities and loyal viewers, have not adapted well to the online arena.", "When a show host mentions a particular product, a viewer may then need to open a browser window or mobile application and search for the product.", "It may be difficult for the viewer to remember details of the product that would enable formulation of a good search query.", "Moreover, the search engine used by the viewer may provide relevant advertising that directs the viewer's attention away from the site of the home shopping channel.", "For example, the search engine may promote competing offers for the product.", "Approaches may be used to market items in connection with prerecorded video shorts.", "For example, the Video Player Ad-Serving Interface Definition (VPAID) provides an application programming interface (API) for serving advertisements in conjunction with playback of digital video content.", "The Video Ad-Serving Template (VAST) is another technology that provides an advertisement response format that enables video advertisements to be served by compatible video players.", "VPAID and VAST are standards promulgated by the Interactive Advertising Bureau.", "Various embodiments of the present disclosure introduce approaches for serving interactive content in conjunction with live video streams, such as live shopping programs that discuss items available for order or pre-order via an electronic commerce system or electronic marketplace.", "User interfaces are disclosed that facilitate presentation of orderable items alongside a live video stream.", "Some user interfaces may include a chat functionality for viewers to communicate with the program host and/or other viewers.", "Orderable items may be injected into the chat functionality as desired by the program host.", "In addition to orderable items, program hosts may inject other interactive actions into the user interfaces, such as viewer voting actions and others.", "Some user interfaces may incorporate overlays on top of the live video stream, where the overlays enable an interactive action.", "Furthermore, various embodiments are disclosed for synchronizing interactive content with the live video stream, with the understanding that the live video stream may be subject to some level of delay by the time at which it is rendered by a client device.", "Various approaches relevant to interactive shopping interfaces are described in U.S. Patent Application entitled “SYNCHRONIZING INTERACTIVE CONTENT WITH A LIVE VIDEO STREAM,” filed on even date herewith under Attorney Docket No.", "170116-1970, and U.S. Patent Application entitled “ELECTRONIC COMMERCE FUNCTIONALITY IN VIDEO OVERLAYS,” filed on even date herewith under Attorney Docket No.", "170117-1180, which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.", "Referring now to FIG.", "1, shown is a pictorial diagram of an example user interface 100 rendered according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.", "The user interface 100 corresponds to an interactive shopping interface, including a player interface 102 that is rendering a live video stream 103.The live video stream shows one or more hosts discussing a sequence of items that are featured within the program.", "The items are offered for ordering via an associated electronic commerce system.", "The player interface 102 may include various player controls 106 that may allow a viewer to jump to an earlier point in the live video stream, pause the live video stream, stop the live video stream, adjust the volume of the live video stream, and so on.", "One or more graphical overlays 109 may be superimposed over a portion of the frame of the live video stream, where a selection of a graphical overlay 109 may cause an interactive action relative to one or more items to be performed.", "The user interface 100 may also include a shopping interface 112.The shopping interface 112 may be rendered as a panel (as shown in FIG.", "1) or may be rendered as an overlay on top of a portion of the live video stream.", "Alternatively, the shopping interface 112 may be rendered upon another display or in another window.", "The shopping interface 112 includes information about items currently being discussed within a segment of the live video stream.", "This information may include an item image, an item title, an item price, a quantity remaining indication, and/or other information.", "For each item, a selectable item component may be provided (e.g., a button, link, item image, or infographic) such that when the selectable item component is selected, an interactive action relative to the item is performed.", "Such an interactive action may include adding the item to a shopping cart, initiating an order or purchase of the item, viewing an item detail page with more information about the item, casting a vote in respect to the item, saving the item for future reference, causing another image or video of the item to be rendered, or other actions.", "Where multiple versions of the item are offered, the interactive action may be with respect to a preselected one of the versions.", "In some cases, a user may select a version in the item detail page.", "Additionally, the shopping interface 112 may include a time limit for current offers, a selectable component to show all items discussed in the live video stream, and so on.", "As the live video stream progresses, the content of the shopping interface 112 may be updated.", "A live video stream according to some approaches may be divided into segments, and the shopping interface 112 may include items featured or discussed in a current segment.", "In one embodiment, the shopping interface 112 may comprise a “shoveler” component configured to display information regarding only a subset of the items within a viewport.", "However, the user may scroll or otherwise manipulate the viewport to see information regarding previously discussed items, or items that may be discussed in the future.", "In some cases, this viewport may update automatically to show different items as they are featured in the live video stream.", "The user interface 100 may also include a chat interface 115 configured to facilitate interactive communication among viewers of the live video stream and hosts and producers of the live video stream.", "Messages sent through the chat interface 115 may be propagated to all other users.", "The messages may be subject to moderation by a producer.", "In one embodiment, the host or producer may cause item information to be pushed into the chat interface 115, where selection of a component of the item information may result in adding the item to a shopping cart, initiating an order or purchase of the item, viewing an item detail page with more information about the item, casting a vote in respect to the item, or other actions.", "Further, social network integrations 118 may be provided to promote the currently featured item(s) and/or the live video stream via social networks, email, and/or other forms of communication.", "For example, a user may share a currently discussed item or the live video stream via a social network.", "A subscribe function may allow a user to keep up with items discussed via the live video stream and/or future programs of the live video stream.", "For instance, upon selecting a subscribe component, a user may opt into emails announcing live video streams.", "Many variations on the user interface 100 are contemplated herein, including more simplified user interfaces 100 for devices having smaller displays.", "For smaller display devices, it may be that only the live video stream 103 and the shopping interface 112 are rendered simultaneously on the screen.", "In the following discussion, a general description of the system and its components is provided, followed by a discussion of the operation of the same.", "With reference to FIG.", "2, shown is a networked environment 200 according to various embodiments.", "The networked environment 200 includes a computing environment 203 and a plurality of client devices 206a .", ".", ".", "206N, which are in data communication with each other via a network 209.The network 209 includes, for example, the Internet, intranets, extranets, wide area networks (WANs), local area networks (LANs), wired networks, wireless networks, cable networks, satellite networks, or other suitable networks, etc., or any combination of two or more such networks.", "The computing environment 203 may comprise, for example, a server computer or any other system providing computing capability.", "Alternatively, the computing environment 203 may employ a plurality of computing devices that may be arranged, for example, in one or more server banks or computer banks or other arrangements.", "Such computing devices may be located in a single installation or may be distributed among many different geographical locations.", "For example, the computing environment 203 may include a plurality of computing devices that together may comprise a hosted computing resource, a grid computing resource, and/or any other distributed computing arrangement.", "In some cases, the computing environment 203 may correspond to an elastic computing resource where the allotted capacity of processing, network, storage, or other computing-related resources may vary over time.", "Various applications and/or other functionality may be executed in the computing environment 203 according to various embodiments.", "Also, various data is stored in a data store 212 that is accessible to the computing environment 203.The data store 212 may be representative of a plurality of data stores 212 as can be appreciated.", "The data stored in the data store 212, for example, is associated with the operation of the various applications and/or functional entities described below.", "The components executed in the computing environment 203, for example, include a live video source 215, a video mixer 216, a plurality of video encoders 218, an interactive shopping interface application 221, a live video stream management application 224, a media server 227, an electronic commerce system 230, an advertising system 232, and other applications, services, processes, systems, engines, or functionality not discussed in detail herein.", "The live video source 215 obtains live video feed from a video mixer and/or one or more cameras.", "The live video feed may be in an uncompressed or compressed format.", "The live video source 215 supplies the live video feed to a video mixer 216, which then provides a video feed to a plurality of video encoders 218.The video mixer 216 may combine the output of the live video source 215 with one or more live video feeds originating in client devices 206.For example, the video mixer 216 may combine a video feed of a program host with a video feed of a customer.", "The video encoders 218 compress the live video feed using one or more codecs (e.g., Moving Pictures Experts Group (MPEG)-2, MPEG-4, High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC), and/or other formats) in order to reduce the bitrate of the live video feed for multiple quality levels.", "The video encoders 218 may generate multiple versions of a live video stream (e.g., 8K, 4K, 1024p, 480i, etc.)", "that can be received by client devices 206 having differing available network bandwidths.", "The video encoders 218 may encode the live video feed into chunks or segments.", "These segments may be of a fixed length (e.g., ten seconds).", "In some cases, the video encoders 218 may produce multiple different views of the live video stream 103, such as a view of a customer being interviewed and a view of the host doing the interview.", "The interactive shopping interface application 221 is executed to generate an interactive shopping interface to accompany a live video stream.", "To this end, the interactive shopping interface application 221 may determine items featured in the live video stream and then generate various metadata to be sent to the client devices 206.The metadata instructs the client devices 206 to render user interface components that facilitate an interactive shopping experience.", "The interactive shopping interface application 221 may also be configured to provide chat functionality that enables communication among multiple viewers of the live video stream.", "The live video stream management application 224 is executed to control the presentation of the live video stream to the client devices 206.To this end, the live video stream management application 224 may generate manifests that point the client devices 206 to specific segment versions for the live video stream.", "The media server 227 is configured to send video data and interface data created by the interactive shopping interface application 221 and the live video stream management application 224 to the client devices 206.For example, the media server 227 may comprise a commercially available hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) server.", "The media server 227 may serve data via HTTP, real-time transfer protocol (RTP), real-time streaming protocol (RTSP), or other protocols.", "The electronic commerce system 230 is executed in order to facilitate the online order of items over the network 209 through an electronic marketplace in which one or more sellers participate.", "The electronic marketplace may be operated by a proprietor who may also be a seller.", "The electronic commerce system 230 also performs various backend functions associated with the online presence of a seller in order to facilitate the online order of items.", "For example, the electronic commerce system 230 may generate network content such as web pages, mobile application data, or other forms of content that are provided to client devices 206 for the purposes of selecting items for purchase, rental, download, lease, or other forms of consumption.", "The advertising system 232 may link to the electronic commerce system 230 to provide advertising to be included within item detail pages, search result pages, category pages, and/or other content served by the electronic commerce system 230.The advertising system 232 in some embodiments may also provide advertising to be injected into the live video stream 103 or the shopping interface 112.The data stored in the data store 212 includes, for example, an item catalog 233 storing item data 236, video segment manifests 239, video segments 242, segment metadata 245, electronic marketplace data 248, user data 251, interactive shopping interface configuration data 254, user interface code 257, and potentially other data.", "The item catalog 233 includes data regarding items offered for order through the electronic commerce system 230.Such items may include products, goods, services, digital content, and/or other items.", "The item data 236 may include titles, descriptions, weights, prices, quantities available, export restrictions, customer reviews, customer ratings, images, videos, version information, availability information, shipping information, and/or other data.", "The video segments 242 correspond to segments of the live video stream that are served to client devices 206.Multiple versions of each segment may be encoded using different bitrates or codecs.", "The segment metadata 245 corresponds to a sequence of items featured during a video segment 242 or discussed by one or more hosts during the video segment 242.In some cases, the video segment 242 may be different from a “shopping segment” used to group items in interactive shopping interfaces.", "In particular, a “shopping segment” may correspond to multiple video segments 242.A producer or host may generate the segment metadata 245 in advance or in real-time while the live video stream is created.", "The video segment manifests 239 may include locator information (e.g., uniform resource locators (URLs)) indicating where specific versions of video segments 242 may be obtained.", "In one embodiment, the video segment manifests 239 may be used to implement the HTTP Live Streaming (HLS) protocol.", "Further, the video segment manifests 239 may encode the segment metadata 245 associated with the particular video segment 242.The electronic marketplace data 248 includes data relating to offers of items for order or preorder via an electronic marketplace implemented by the electronic commerce system 230.The user data 251 may include personal information of a user such as account information, order history, browse history via the electronic commerce system 230, items seen via the interactive shopping interface, video segments 242 viewed, chat history, and/or other data.", "The interactive shopping interface configuration data 254 configures the operation of the interactive shopping interface application 221.For instance, the interactive shopping interface configuration data 254 may include layout parameters, available options, and so on, to control the appearance of the interactive shopping interface.", "The user interface code 257 is used to implement the interactive shopping interface.", "To this end, the user interface code 257 may include code executable on the client device 206.The user interface code 257 may include hypertext markup language (HTML) data, JavaScript data, dynamic HTML (DHTML) data, video player code, and other data.", "The client devices 206 may comprise, for example, a processor-based system such as a computer system.", "Such a computer system may be embodied in the form of a desktop computer, a laptop computer, personal digital assistants, cellular telephones, smartphones, set-top boxes, music players, web pads, tablet computer systems, game consoles, electronic book readers, or other devices with like capability.", "The client devices 206 may include a display 260a .", ".", ".", "260N.", "The displays 260 may comprise, for example, one or more devices such as liquid crystal display (LCD) displays, gas plasma-based flat panel displays, organic light emitting diode (OLED) displays, electrophoretic ink (E ink) displays, LCD projectors, or other types of display devices, etc.", "The client devices 206 may also include one or more capture devices 261a .", ".", ".", "261N such as image cameras, video cameras, microphones, three-dimensional video capture devices, and other capture devices.", "The client devices 206 may be configured to execute various applications such as a content access application 263a .", ".", ".", "263N and/or other applications.", "The content access application 263 may be executed in a client device 206, for example, to access network content served up by the computing environment 203 and/or other servers, thereby rendering a user interface 100 (FIG.", "1) on the display 260.To this end, the content access application 263 may comprise a dedicated application as with client device 206N, or the content access application 263 may be executed in a browser 266, as is the case with client device 206a.", "The client devices 206 may be configured to execute applications beyond the content access application 263 and the browser 266 such as, for example, email applications, social networking applications, word processors, spreadsheets, and/or other applications.", "Next, a general description of the operation of the various components of the networked environment 200 is provided.", "To begin, a user launches a content access application 263 and accesses a uniform resource locator (URL) associated with a live video stream with an interactive shopping interface.", "Various user interface code 257 may be sent to the client device 206 for client-side execution.", "A live video stream 103 (FIG.", "1) begins playing via a player interface of the content access application 263.The live video stream 103 depicts one or more hosts discussing a sequence of items.", "In advance or during the production of the live video stream 103, the hosts or producers of the live video stream 103 may create a sequence of items corresponding to the items to be discussed or featured.", "As the live video stream 103 progresses, the hosts or producers may select via a user interface which items are being discussed.", "The interactive shopping interface application 221 is thereby able to determine which items are discussed or featured at any given time.", "The hosts or producers may also manage the live video stream 103 via the live video stream management application 224.Approaches for managing live video streams with interactive shopping interfaces are discussed in U.S. Patent Application entitled “BROADCASTER TOOLS FOR INTERACTIVE SHOPPING INTERFACES,” filed on even date herewith under Attorney Docket No.", "170117-1150, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.", "While the live video stream 103 is being streamed to the client device 206 by the media server 227, information indicating the featured or discussed items is also sent to the client device 206 by the media server 227, either through a push or pull arrangement.", "The content access application 263 is configured to render an interactive shopping interface that presents information about the currently featured items.", "The interactive shopping interface may include selectable item components, corresponding to the items, that perform an interactive function or action, such as adding the item to a shopping list or cart via the electronic commerce system 230, initiating an order of an item via the electronic commerce system 230, causing an item detail page to be rendered, casting a vote in regard to an item, and so on.", "The content access application 263 is configured to maintain synchronization of the items shown in the interactive shopping interface with respect to the progress of the live video stream 103.In addition, an item history or timeline user interface may show previously discussed items or items to be discussed in the future.", "The items in the timeline user interface may be grouped by video segment 242.A chat interface may enable communication among viewers of the live video stream 103 and potentially show hosts or producers.", "A voice chat subsystem and video chat subsystem may enable communication with users at client devices 206 by way of voice and/or video.", "A host or producer, through broadcaster tool interfaces, may cause selectable graphical overlays to be rendered over the live video stream 103.Selection of the selectable graphical overlays may cause an interactive function to be performed.", "Hosts or producers may also cause item information to be pushed to the client devices 206 within chat interfaces.", "Hosts or producers may also update other metadata such as time remaining, items ordered, pricing, viewer polls, and so on.", "In one embodiment, commands originating from a client device 206 (e.g., a smartwatch, a verbally activated fixed microphone client) may be synchronized with the items that are currently being featured.", "Accordingly, a simple voice command (e.g., “buy this product”) may cause an interactive function (e.g., initiating a purchase) to be performed with respect to a currently featured product.", "That is to say, once a user gives the command, the command may be returned to the computing environment 203.The computing environment 203 may determine that the same user who gave the command is also currently consuming a live video stream 103 by way of another client device 206.The computing environment 203 may then determine which item is currently being featured and then perform the interactive function with respect to that item.", "Several examples of user interfaces will next be discussed.", "Although the examples herein involve a single display 260, it is understood that elements may be split across multiple displays 260, which may be coupled to the same client device 206 or a different client device 206.For example, a user may watch the live video stream 103 on a living room television and then follow along with the items discussed on a smartphone display.", "A user may transfer elements between multiple displays 260 and client devices 206.However, as described, the interactive shopping interface will be synchronized with the current state of the live video stream 103.To this end, timecode and/or other data may be exchanged between client devices 206 to maintain proper synchronization.", "Various approaches to using multiple displays 260 to present information regarding a video stream are described in U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "14/034,055 entitled “PLAYBACK OF CONTENT USING MULTIPLE DEVICES” and filed on Sep. 23, 2013, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.", "Referring next to FIG.", "3A, shown is a pictorial diagram of an example user interface 300a rendered according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.", "The user interface 300a depicts a live video stream 103 that is maximized to provide more of an immersive user experience.", "The user interface 300a may fill a window of a browser 266 (FIG.", "2) or a display 260 (FIG.", "2) of a client device 206 (FIG.", "2).", "Various controls 303 may be rendered over a portion of the live video stream 103 as an overlay.", "User selection of the controls 303 may pause the live video stream 103, cause a chat interface to be rendered, cause an interactive shopping interface to be rendered, cause a history interface to be rendered, cause show notes to be rendered, adjust the volume of the audio of the live video stream 103, cause information about persons appearing or discussed in the live video stream 103 to be rendered, or perform other functions.", "In one embodiment, the controls 303 may be hidden after a period of user inactivity (e.g., a lack of keyboard input, touchscreen input, or mouse movement).", "An item history interface may display a listing of video programming previously watched via the media server 227 (FIG.", "2), and may provide the ability to roll back in time.", "Turning now to FIG.", "3B, shown is a pictorial diagram of another example user interface 300b rendered according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.", "The user interface 300b shows an example of a chat interface 306 rendered as an overlay on the live video stream 103 in response to the selection of a chat control 303.The chat interface 306 may facilitate communication among multiple users watching the live video stream 103 and may also include interaction with hosts, producers, interview guests, or other users associated with the live video stream 103.The chat interface 306 may provide users the ability to submit text comments, video comments, and/or audio comments.", "Communications may be directed to all users, a subset of users, or directly to hosts and/or producers of the live video stream 103.Communications via the chat interface 306 may be subject to the approval of a moderator.", "Selected “favorite” communications may be featured or given prominence in the chat interface 306 (“Our Favorite Responses”).", "In some cases, communications from social networks may be featured in the chat interface 306.For example, a user may send a message via a social network that is associated with the current program of the live video stream 103 by way of a hashtag or other tag.", "A producer may use a broadcaster management interface to select appropriate ones of these messages to be featured in the chat interface 306.In one scenario, a client device 206 may correspond to a fixed microphone client device 206 that continuously listens for wake words or other predefined verbal content.", "A user may say something relevant to the current live video stream 103, which may be recognized through a voice recognition system and then transmitted to a show producer.", "The show producer may then choose to feature the comment via the chat interface 306.In some cases, the sentiment of the user may be determined using voice recognition in connection with a fixed microphone client device 206 and tallied to provide to the producer or other end users via the chat interface 306 the general feeling of users towards currently featured items.", "For example, statistics may be gathered and presented as to whether users are feeling positive or negative towards a product currently being discussed in the live video stream 103.The chat interface 306 may also include a viewport where current communications from users are displayed.", "A host or producer may have the ability to inject selectable item components and/or other information about items that are currently being discussed or otherwise featured in the live video stream 103.Such components or information may be injected within the chat interface 306, such as in the current communications viewport.", "Moving on to FIG.", "3C, shown is a pictorial diagram of another example user interface 300c rendered according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.", "The user interface 300c shows an example of an interactive shopping interface 309 rendered as an overlay on the live video stream 103 in response to the selection of a shopping control 303.In this example, the interactive shopping interface 309 includes a timeline that divides the live video stream 103 into segments, including past and/or future segments.", "Associated with each segment is a list of items that were featured or discussed in the particular segment.", "In some cases, the items may include items that were shown but not discussed or explicitly featured (e.g., a coffee mug sitting on the show host's desk, or an article of clothing worn by a host but not explicitly mentioned, etc.).", "Also, the items may include other items from the item catalog 233 that are related to items that are featured or discussed (e.g., accessory items, similar items, items often purchased together or as alternatives, etc.).", "Each item can be represented by a selectable item component or indicia, which in this case may be an item thumbnail image.", "The interactive shopping interface 309 may include a viewport, where the user can manipulate the viewport (e.g., by scrolling or swiping) in order to see items associated with other segments on the timeline.", "The items that are shown may be those items that were featured or discussed in every segment of the live video stream 103.Alternatively, the list of items may be personalized based on what segments the user actually streamed.", "The interactive shopping interface 309 may be dynamically updated to include new items for current and/or future segments.", "Also, what is displayed in the viewport may be dynamically adjusted to show what items are currently being discussed or featured in a current segment.", "Selection of the selectable item components may cause an interactive function or action to be performed (e.g., viewing an item detail page, adding the item to a shopping list or cart, initiating an order of the item, casting a vote with respect to the item, etc.).", "Although the interfaces shown in FIGS.", "3A-3C include overlays, in other examples what is shown in the overlays may be rendered in distinct user interface panels or on different displays 260 as compared to the live video stream 103.In some embodiments, the interactive shopping interface 309 may also present items submitted by users as being relevant to the items that are discussed or featured.", "For instance, if a show is currently discussing one type of black pants available for purchase, a user may tag another type of black pants that is potentially relevant or comparable.", "The other type of black pants may also be offered by the electronic commerce system 230.The users may submit the related items by way of a social network, for example, by associating a particular hashtag with an item detail page link or item description.", "The tagged items, potentially subject to moderator approval, may then be populated in the interactive shopping interfaces 309 of other users for rendering as selectable item components.", "In other examples, a localized search component may be rendered in the user interface 300d.", "This could be a form field that is configured to receive a search query.", "The search query could be evaluated against the titles and descriptions for all items presented via the interactive shopping interface 309.In some cases, the search query could be evaluated against the verbal dialogue or visual text previously presented in the live video stream 103.Turning now to FIG.", "3D, shown is a pictorial diagram of another example user interface 300d rendered according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.", "In the user interface 300d, a selectable graphical overlay 312a is rendered on top of the live video stream 103.In this example, the selectable graphical overlay 312 corresponds to a rectangle that is superimposed over a graphical position of a corresponding item in the frame of the live video stream 103.The item here is a necklace, and the rectangle is shown relative to the necklace being worn by a person in the live video stream 103.Another selectable graphical overlay 312b is also shown superimposed over the live video stream 103.The selectable graphical overlay 312b corresponds to a box labeled “Amazing find of the day.” Both selectable graphical overlays 312a and 312b, when selected, may cause an interactive action to be performed relative to a corresponding item (e.g., viewing an item detail page, adding the item to a shopping list or cart, initiating an order of the item, casting a vote with respect to the item, etc.).", "In addition, an interactive shopping interface 315 is included in the user interface 300d.", "For example, the interactive shopping interface 315 may include selectable item components that correspond to items currently featured or discussed in the live video stream 103.Item titles, item images, item prices, and/or other item information may be provided.", "The selectable item components may be selectable by way of a button or link that when selected causes an interactive action to be performed relative to the item.", "Referring next to FIG.", "4, shown is a flowchart that provides one example of the operation of a portion of the computing environment 203 according to various embodiments.", "Portions of the flowchart of FIG.", "4 may be performed by a media server 227 (FIG.", "2), a live video source 215 (FIG.", "2), a video encoder 218 (FIG.", "2), an interactive shopping interface application 221 (FIG.", "2), and/or a live video stream management application 224 (FIG.", "2) in some embodiments.", "It is understood that the flowchart of FIG.", "4 provides merely an example of the many different types of functional arrangements that may be employed to implement the operation of the portion of the computing environment 203 as described herein.", "As an alternative, the flowchart of FIG.", "4 may be viewed as depicting an example of elements of a method implemented in the computing environment 203 according to one or more embodiments.", "Beginning with box 401, the media server 227 sends user interface code 257 (FIG.", "2) to a client device 206 (FIG.", "2) in response to a request.", "For example, the client device 206 may open a connection to a specific uniform resource locator (URL) over the network 209 (FIG.", "2), where the URL corresponds to a live video stream having an interactive shopping interface.", "In box 403, the live video source 215 obtains a live video stream.", "In box 406, the live video source 215 generates a video segment 242 (FIG.", "2) of the live video stream.", "For example, the video segment 242 may corresponds to ten seconds of video stored within a buffer.", "In box 409, one or more video encoders 218 encode the video segment 242.In box 412, the interactive shopping interface application 221 determines one or more items featured in the video segment 242.For example, the interactive shopping interface application 221 may receive a list of a sequence of items specified by a host or producer of the live video stream.", "The interactive shopping interface application 221 may then generate segment metadata 245 (FIG.", "2) indicating items featured or discussed in the video segment 242.In box 415, the live video stream management application 224 may generate a video segment manifest 239 (FIG.", "2), including multiple URLs corresponding to different encoded versions of the video segment 242.In generating the video segment manifest 239, the segment metadata 245 may be included to provide a time-based association of items with the video segment 242.In box 418, the media server 227 sends the video segment manifest 239 to the client device 206 via the network 209.For example, the client device 206 may poll the media server 227 for a video segment manifest 239.Alternatively, the media server 227 may push the video segment manifest 239 to the client device 206.Subsequently, a request for an encoded video segment 242 is received from the client device 206 in box 421.The media server 227 sends the encoded video segment 242 to the client device 206 in box 424.In box 427, the media server 227 receives a request for information about an item from the client device 206.For example, user interface code 257 now executed by the client device 206 may know from the video segment manifest 239 that a particular item (as identified by an item identifier) is associated with a video segment 242.The user interface code 257 may request additional item data 236 (e.g., title, price, image, ordering links, etc.)", "in order to render selectable item components or other item information in a user interface.", "In box 430, the media server 227 sends the requested item information to the client device 206.In box 433, the media server 227 determines whether the live video stream has finished.", "If the live video stream has not finished, the flowchart returns to box 406, and another video segment 242 is captured by the live video source 215.If the live video stream has finished, the process proceeds to completion.", "Moving on to FIG.", "5, shown is a flowchart that provides one example of the operation of a portion of the content access application 263 according to various embodiments.", "It is understood that the flowchart of FIG.", "5 provides merely an example of the many different types of functional arrangements that may be employed to implement the operation of the portion of the content access application 263 as described herein.", "As an alternative, the flowchart of FIG.", "5 may be viewed as depicting an example of elements of a method implemented in the client device 206 according to one or more embodiments.", "Beginning with box 503, the content access application 263 sends a request to access content to the media server 227 (FIG.", "2) via the network 209 (FIG.", "2).", "In box 506, the content access application 263 receives the user interface code 257 (FIG.", "2) from the media server 227.In box 509, the content access application 263 executes the user interface code 257.In box 512, the content access application 263 obtains a video segment manifest 239 (FIG.", "2) from the media server 227.From the video segment manifest 239, the content access application 263 is able to obtain a video segment 242 (FIG.", "2) in box 515.In this respect, the content access application 263 may determine the available bandwidth via the network 209 or other configured parameters in order to determine a version of the video segment 242 that is to be requested (e.g., HD, SD, low quality, etc.).", "In box 518, the content access application 263 renders the video segment 242 upon a display 260 (FIG.", "2).", "In box 521, the content access application 263 obtains item information corresponding to items featured in the video segment 242.For example, the video segment manifest 239 may include segment metadata 245 that indicates the featured items.", "Alternatively, a separate channel may transmit the featured items from the media server 227 to the content access application 263 via a push or pull arrangement.", "In box 524, the content access application 263 synchronizes an interactive shopping interface rendered upon the display 260 based at least in part on the received item information.", "In one embodiment, a latency observed at the client device 206 may be used to delay presentation of information about featured items, where the latency is caused by encoding delays, network buffering delays, rendering delays, and so on.", "For example, the content access application 263 may receive an indication that item X is discussed at 2:34 pm and 0 seconds.", "However, due to the various delays in transmitting the live video stream, the corresponding video where item X is discussed may not be rendered until 2:34 pm and 20 seconds.", "Accordingly, to maintain synchronization, the interactive shopping interface may not be updated to show information about item X until 2:34 pm and 20 seconds based at least in part on a calculated latency (i.e., 20 seconds).", "Also, in one embodiment, the segment metadata 245 may indicate an expiration time or a length of time that an item is to be featured.", "At the end of this period, the interactive shopping interface may be updated by the content access application 263 to remove, hide, or reclassify renderings of expired items.", "In box 527, the content access application 263 determines whether another video segment 242 of the live video stream is available.", "If another video segment 242 is available, the content access application 263 returns to box 512 and obtains another video segment manifest 239.Otherwise, the operation of the portion of the content access application 263 ends.", "Continuing now to FIG.", "6A, shown is a flowchart that provides one example of the operation of another portion of the content access application 263 according to various embodiments.", "It is understood that the flowchart of FIG.", "6A provides merely an example of the many different types of functional arrangements that may be employed to implement the operation of the portion of the content access application 263 as described herein.", "As an alternative, the flowchart of FIG.", "6A may be viewed as depicting an example of elements of a method implemented in the client device 206 according to one or more embodiments.", "Beginning with box 603, the content access application 263 receives a user selection of a selectable item component rendered in an interactive shopping interface.", "For instance, the user may select an image of an item or may click a button associated with an item (e.g., labeled “shop now”).", "Alternatively, the selectable item component may correspond to a selectable graphical overlay as in FIG.", "3D.", "In box 606, the content access application 263 determines the interactive action to be performed with respect to the selectable item component and the item.", "As non-limiting examples, interactive actions may include adding the item to a shopping list or cart, viewing an item detail page, initiating an order of the item via the electronic commerce system 230 (FIG.", "2), casting a vote in regard to the item, and so on.", "In box 609, the content access application 263 performs the interactive action.", "In some scenarios, the interactive action may be an electronic commerce action, and the content access application 263 may invoke a uniform resource locator (URL) corresponding to the electronic commerce system 230 to perform the interactive action.", "Thereafter, the operation of the content access application 263 ends.", "Referring next to FIG.", "6B, shown is a flowchart that provides one example of the operation of another portion of the content access application 263 according to various embodiments.", "It is understood that the flowchart of FIG.", "6B provides merely an example of the many different types of functional arrangements that may be employed to implement the operation of the portion of the content access application 263 as described herein.", "As an alternative, the flowchart of FIG.", "6B may be viewed as depicting an example of elements of a method implemented in the client device 206 according to one or more embodiments.", "Beginning with box 612, the content access application 263 obtains a live video stream 103 (FIG.", "1) from a media server 227 (FIG.", "2) via a network 209 (FIG.", "2).", "In some cases, the content access application 263 may also obtain user interface code 257 (FIG.", "2) from the media server 227 that include video player code and other code to render an interactive shopping interface.", "In box 615, the content access application 263 obtains information indicating a sequence of items discussed or otherwise featured in the live video stream 103.For example, the information may be included within a video segment manifest 239 (FIG.", "2) used to obtain a current video segment 242 (FIG.", "2).", "As an alternative, the information may be obtained separately via a poll arrangement on a periodic basis or via a push arrangement from the media server 227.In box 618, the content access application 263 generates a timeline user interface showing the items featured in each video segment 242 of the live video stream 103.For purposes of the timeline user interface, the segments used in some instances may correspond to larger shopping segments that span multiple video segments 242.The video segments 242 may include past, current, and future segments.", "To this end, the content access application 263 may receive data encoding the timeline user interface from the media server 227.Alternatively, user interface code 257 (FIG.", "2) executed in the client device 206 may create the timeline user interface.", "In box 621, the content access application 263 renders a user interface on the display 260 (FIG.", "2), where the user interface includes the live video stream 103 and a timeline user interface.", "In the timeline user interface, the sequence of items discussed may be individually grouped for each segment as in the example of FIG.", "3C.", "In box 624, the content access application 263 receives a user gesture relative to the timeline user interface.", "The user gesture may be a scrolling gesture, a swiping gesture, a selection gesture, or other gesture.", "In box 627, the content access application 263 adjusts a viewport of the timeline user interface to show a different portion of the timeline user interface corresponding to other video segments 242 of the live video stream 103.Thereafter, the operation of the portion of the content access application 263 ends.", "Moving on to FIG.", "7, shown is a flowchart that provides one example of the operation of a portion of the computing environment 203 according to various embodiments.", "Portions of the flowchart of FIG.", "7 may be performed by a media server 227 (FIG.", "2), an interactive shopping interface application 221 (FIG.", "2), and/or a live video stream management application 224 (FIG.", "2) in some embodiments.", "It is understood that the flowchart of FIG.", "7 provides merely an example of the many different types of functional arrangements that may be employed to implement the operation of the portion of the computing environment 203 as described herein.", "As an alternative, the flowchart of FIG.", "7 may be viewed as depicting an example of elements of a method implemented in the computing environment 203 according to one or more embodiments.", "Beginning with box 703, the interactive shopping interface application 221 receives an indication that an item is featured in a live video stream 103 (FIG.", "1).", "In box 703, the interactive shopping interface application 221 determines a graphical position of the item in one or more frames of the live video stream 103.The graphical position may correspond to the relative position of the item within a window or a screen.", "For example, a producer or host user may supply coordinates corresponding to an approximate graphical position of the item.", "Alternatively, an automated image recognition system may recognize the item within the live video stream 103 and extract an approximate graphical position.", "Where the featured item has multiple versions or variants, the interactive shopping interface application 221 may identify the particular version being discussed in the live video stream 103.In box 709, the interactive shopping interface application 221 generates data encoding a selectable graphical overlay with respect to the featured item.", "For example, the data may include Video Player Ad-Serving Interface Definition (VPAID) data.", "In box 712, the media server 227 sends the data encoding the selectable graphical overlay to the client device 206 (FIG.", "2).", "In one embodiment, the data encoding the selectable graphical overlay may be sent within the segment metadata 245.The selectable graphical overlay may include a component (e.g., a drop-down box) configured to facilitate selection from a plurality of versions of the item.", "The particular version depicted or discussed in the live video stream may be selected by default.", "In box 715, the media server 227 receives data indicating a user selection of the selectable graphical overlay from the client device 206.In box 718, the media server 227 determines an interactive function associated with the user selection.", "In this regard, the media server 227 may identify a selected version of the item, where multiple versions of the item may be selected.", "The interactive function may correspond to adding the item to a shopping list or cart, initiating an order of the item through the electronic commerce system 230 (FIG.", "2), viewing the item detail page for the item, casting a vote with respect to the item, or other functions.", "In box 721, the media server 227 performs the interactive function.", "Thereafter, the process proceeds to completion.", "With reference to FIG.", "8, shown is a schematic block diagram of the computing environment 203 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.", "The computing environment 203 includes one or more computing devices 800.Each computing device 800 includes at least one processor circuit, for example, having a processor 803 and a memory 806, both of which are coupled to a local interface 809.To this end, each computing device 800 may comprise, for example, at least one server computer or like device.", "The local interface 809 may comprise, for example, a data bus with an accompanying address/control bus or other bus structure as can be appreciated.", "Stored in the memory 806 are both data and several components that are executable by the processor 803.In particular, stored in the memory 806 and executable by the processor 803 are the live video source 215, the mixer 216, the plurality of video encoders 218, the interactive shopping interface application 221, the live video stream management application 224, the media server 227, the electronic commerce system 230, the advertising system 232, and potentially other applications.", "Also stored in the memory 806 may be a data store 212 and other data.", "In addition, an operating system may be stored in the memory 806 and executable by the processor 803.It is understood that there may be other applications that are stored in the memory 806 and are executable by the processor 803 as can be appreciated.", "Where any component discussed herein is implemented in the form of software, any one of a number of programming languages may be employed such as, for example, C, C++, C#, Objective C, Java®, JavaScript®, Perl, PHP, Visual Basic®, Python®, Ruby, Flash®, or other programming languages.", "A number of software components are stored in the memory 806 and are executable by the processor 803.In this respect, the term “executable” means a program file that is in a form that can ultimately be run by the processor 803.Examples of executable programs may be, for example, a compiled program that can be translated into machine code in a format that can be loaded into a random access portion of the memory 806 and run by the processor 803, source code that may be expressed in proper format such as object code that is capable of being loaded into a random access portion of the memory 806 and executed by the processor 803, or source code that may be interpreted by another executable program to generate instructions in a random access portion of the memory 806 to be executed by the processor 803, etc.", "An executable program may be stored in any portion or component of the memory 806 including, for example, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), hard drive, solid-state drive, USB flash drive, memory card, optical disc such as compact disc (CD) or digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk, magnetic tape, or other memory components.", "The memory 806 is defined herein as including both volatile and nonvolatile memory and data storage components.", "Volatile components are those that do not retain data values upon loss of power.", "Nonvolatile components are those that retain data upon a loss of power.", "Thus, the memory 806 may comprise, for example, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), hard disk drives, solid-state drives, USB flash drives, memory cards accessed via a memory card reader, floppy disks accessed via an associated floppy disk drive, optical discs accessed via an optical disc drive, magnetic tapes accessed via an appropriate tape drive, and/or other memory components, or a combination of any two or more of these memory components.", "In addition, the RAM may comprise, for example, static random access memory (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), or magnetic random access memory (MRAM) and other such devices.", "The ROM may comprise, for example, a programmable read-only memory (PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or other like memory device.", "Also, the processor 803 may represent multiple processors 803 and/or multiple processor cores and the memory 806 may represent multiple memories 806 that operate in parallel processing circuits, respectively.", "In such a case, the local interface 809 may be an appropriate network that facilitates communication between any two of the multiple processors 803, between any processor 803 and any of the memories 806, or between any two of the memories 806, etc.", "The local interface 809 may comprise additional systems designed to coordinate this communication, including, for example, performing load balancing.", "The processor 803 may be of electrical or of some other available construction.", "Although the live video source 215, the mixer 216, the plurality of video encoders 218, the interactive shopping interface application 221, the live video stream management application 224, the media server 227, the electronic commerce system 230, the advertising system 232, and other various systems described herein may be embodied in software or code executed by general purpose hardware as discussed above, as an alternative the same may also be embodied in dedicated hardware or a combination of software/general purpose hardware and dedicated hardware.", "If embodied in dedicated hardware, each can be implemented as a circuit or state machine that employs any one of or a combination of a number of technologies.", "These technologies may include, but are not limited to, discrete logic circuits having logic gates for implementing various logic functions upon an application of one or more data signals, application specific integrated circuits (ASICs) having appropriate logic gates, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), or other components, etc.", "Such technologies are generally well known by those skilled in the art and, consequently, are not described in detail herein.", "The flowcharts of FIGS.", "4-7 show the functionality and operation of an implementation of portions of the interactive shopping interface application 221, the live video stream management application 224, the media server 227, and/or the content access application 263.If embodied in software, each block may represent a module, segment, or portion of code that comprises program instructions to implement the specified logical function(s).", "The program instructions may be embodied in the form of source code that comprises human-readable statements written in a programming language or machine code that comprises numerical instructions recognizable by a suitable execution system such as a processor 803 in a computer system or other system.", "The machine code may be converted from the source code, etc.", "If embodied in hardware, each block may represent a circuit or a number of interconnected circuits to implement the specified logical function(s).", "Although the flowcharts of FIGS.", "4-7 show a specific order of execution, it is understood that the order of execution may differ from that which is depicted.", "For example, the order of execution of two or more blocks may be scrambled relative to the order shown.", "Also, two or more blocks shown in succession in FIGS.", "4-7 may be executed concurrently or with partial concurrence.", "Further, in some embodiments, one or more of the blocks shown in FIGS.", "4-7 may be skipped or omitted.", "In addition, any number of counters, state variables, warning semaphores, or messages might be added to the logical flow described herein, for purposes of enhanced utility, accounting, performance measurement, or providing troubleshooting aids, etc.", "It is understood that all such variations are within the scope of the present disclosure.", "Also, any logic or application described herein, including the live video source 215, the mixer 216, the plurality of video encoders 218, the interactive shopping interface application 221, the live video stream management application 224, the media server 227, the advertising system 232, and the electronic commerce system 230, that comprises software or code can be embodied in any non-transitory computer-readable medium for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system such as, for example, a processor 803 in a computer system or other system.", "In this sense, the logic may comprise, for example, statements including instructions and declarations that can be fetched from the computer-readable medium and executed by the instruction execution system.", "In the context of the present disclosure, a “computer-readable medium” can be any medium that can contain, store, or maintain the logic or application described herein for use by or in connection with the instruction execution system.", "The computer-readable medium can comprise any one of many physical media such as, for example, magnetic, optical, or semiconductor media.", "More specific examples of a suitable computer-readable medium would include, but are not limited to, magnetic tapes, magnetic floppy diskettes, magnetic hard drives, memory cards, solid-state drives, USB flash drives, or optical discs.", "Also, the computer-readable medium may be a random access memory (RAM) including, for example, static random access memory (SRAM) and dynamic random access memory (DRAM), or magnetic random access memory (MRAM).", "In addition, the computer-readable medium may be a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or other type of memory device.", "Further, any logic or application described herein, including the live video source 215, the mixer 216, the plurality of video encoders 218, the interactive shopping interface application 221, the live video stream management application 224, the media server 227, the advertising system 232, and the electronic commerce system 230, may be implemented and structured in a variety of ways.", "For example, one or more applications described may be implemented as modules or components of a single application.", "Further, one or more applications described herein may be executed in shared or separate computing devices or a combination thereof.", "For example, a plurality of the applications described herein may execute in the same computing device 800 or in multiple computing devices in the same computing environment 203.Additionally, it is understood that terms such as “application,” “service,” “system,” “engine,” “module,” and so on may be interchangeable and are not intended to be limiting.", "Disjunctive language such as the phrase “at least one of X, Y, or Z,” unless specifically stated otherwise, is otherwise understood with the context as used in general to present that an item, term, etc., may be either X, Y, or Z, or any combination thereof (e.g., X, Y, and/or Z).", "Thus, such disjunctive language is not generally intended to, and should not, imply that certain embodiments require at least one of X, at least one of Y, or at least one of Z to each be present.", "It should be emphasized that the above-described embodiments of the present disclosure are merely possible examples of implementations set forth for a clear understanding of the principles of the disclosure.", "Many variations and modifications may be made to the above-described embodiment(s) without departing substantially from the spirit and principles of the disclosure.", "All such modifications and variations are intended to be included herein within the scope of this disclosure and protected by the following claims." ] ]
Patent_15872936
[ [ "Thread to Compress Connector", "A cable connector connects a coaxial cable to an interface port by an outer conductor engager, a body and a coupler.", "The coupler draws the body over a plurality of resilient fingers of the outer conductor engager to urge the fingers into electrical contact with a peripheral outer surface of a stripped/prepared end of a coaxial cable." ], [ "1.A cable connector, comprising: an outer conductor engager configured to receive an end of a coaxial cable and to be in electrical communication with an outer conductor of the received coaxial cable; a body configured to circumscribe the received coaxial cable; a coupler configured to move the body axially relative to the outer conductor engager such that a tapered inner surface of the body engages the outer conductor engager; and a compression ring disposed rearward of the tapered inner surface along an axial direction, wherein the compression ring is configured to urge the outer conductor engager against the outer conductor when the body is moved axially relative to the outer conductor engager by the coupler.", "2.The cable connector of claim 1, wherein the body includes an annular ring portion defining an inward-facing lip, the tapered inner surface, and the compression ring.", "3.The cable connector of claim 2, wherein the outer conductor engager includes a plurality of resilient fingers configured to be in electrical communication with the outer conductor of the received coaxial cable, each resilient finger having a first outward-facing barb and an outward-facing tapered surface, and wherein the inward-facing lip of the body is configured to engage the first outward-facing barb of each resilient finger before the body is moved axially relative to the outer conductor engager by the coupler.", "4.The cable connector of claim 1, wherein the coupler includes a threaded portion configured to be threadedly engaged with the interface port and to be fastened to the interface port by relative rotation, the interface port being configured to be drawn toward the outer conductor engager by the fastening such that a face surface of the interface port is configured to engage a front face surface of the outer conductor engager.", "5.The cable connector of claim 4, wherein the outer conductor engager has an outer surface that tapers rearwardly along the axial direction, and wherein, after the interface port engages a front face surface of the outer conductor engager, the interface port is configured to force the outer conductor engager axially relative to the body when further fastened, thereby causing the tapered inner surface of the body to engage the tapered outer surface of the outer conductor engager.", "6.The cable connector of claim 2, wherein the body includes a second inward-facing annular lip having a rearward-facing stop surface configured to abutingly receive a forward stop surface along an outer jacket of the received coaxial cable, wherein the outer conductor engager includes a rearward-facing stop surface configured to abutingly receive a forward edge surface of the outer conductor and an insulator of the received coaxial cable, and wherein the forward edge surface of the coaxial cable is configured to be moved rearward with the outer conductor engager relative to the body as the outer conductor engager is moved relative to the body.", "7.The cable connector of claim 6, wherein the forward stop surface along the outer jacket of the coaxial cable is configured to move rearward with the outer conductor engager out of abutment with the rearward-facing stop surface of the second inward-facing annular lip of the body, wherein the outer conductor engager includes a second outward-facing barb having a forward-facing surface, the second outward-facing barb being at an opposite axial side of the first outward-facing barb relative to the tapered outer surface of the outer conductor engager, wherein the forward-facing surface of the second outward-facing barb is configured to engage a rearward-facing surface of the inward-facing lip of the body when the coupler is fully tightened against the interface port, and wherein the body is configured to be axially retained by the second barb of the outer conductor engager in a fully installed state of the connector.", "8.A cable connector, comprising: an outer conductor engager configured to receive an end of a coaxial cable and to be in electrical communication with an outer conductor of the received coaxial cable; a body configured to circumscribe the coaxial cable and to engage the outer conductor engager when the body is disposed in a first axial position; a coupler configured to move the body axially relative to the outer conductor engager such that an inner surface of the body engages the outer conductor engager; and a compression ring disposed rearward of a forward end of the body along an axial direction, the compression ring being configured to have an inner surface having a diameter that is smaller than a diameter of an inner surface of the forward end of the body, wherein the compression ring is configured to urge the outer conductor engager against the outer conductor when the body is moved axially relative to the outer conductor engager by the coupler to a second axial position.", "9.The cable connector of claim 8, wherein the body includes an annular ring portion defining an inward-facing lip at the forward end of the body, a tapered inner surface, and the compression ring.", "10.The cable connector of claim 9, wherein the outer conductor engager includes a plurality of resilient fingers configured to be in electrical communication with the outer conductor of the received coaxial cable, each resilient finger having a first outward-facing barb and an outward-facing tapered surface, and wherein the inward-facing lip of the body is configured to engage the first outward-facing barb of each resilient finger when the body is disposed in the first axial position.", "11.The cable connector of claim 9, wherein the coupler includes a threaded portion configured to be threadedly engaged with the interface port and to be fastened to the interface port by relative rotation, the interface port being configured to be drawn toward the outer conductor engager by the fastening such that a face surface of the interface port is configured to engage a front face surface of the outer conductor engager.", "12.The cable connector of claim 11, wherein the outer conductor engager has an outer surface that tapers rearwardly along the axial direction, and wherein, after the interface port engages a front face surface of the outer conductor engager, the interface port is configured to force the outer conductor engager axially relative to the body when further fastened, thereby causing the tapered inner surface of the body to engage the tapered outer surface of the outer conductor engager.", "13.The cable connector of claim 9, wherein the body includes a second inward-facing annular lip having a rearward-facing stop surface configured to abutingly receive a forward stop surface along an outer jacket of the received coaxial cable, wherein the outer conductor engager includes a rearward-facing stop surface configured to abutingly receive a forward edge surface of the outer conductor and an insulator of the received coaxial cable, and wherein the forward edge surface of the coaxial cable is configured to be moved rearward with the outer conductor engager relative to the body as the outer conductor engager is moved relative to the body.", "14.The cable connector of claim 13, wherein the outer conductor engager has an outer surface that tapers rearwardly along the axial direction, wherein the forward stop surface along the outer jacket of the coaxial cable is configured to move rearward with the outer conductor engager out of abutment with the rearward-facing stop surface of the second inward-facing annular lip of the body, wherein the outer conductor engager includes a second outward-facing barb having a forward-facing surface, the second outward-facing barb being at an opposite axial side of the first outward-facing barb relative to the tapered outer surface of the outer conductor engager, wherein, the forward-facing surface of the second outward-facing barb is configured to engage a rearward-facing surface of the inward-facing lip of the body when the coupler is fully tightened against the interface port, and wherein the body is configured to be axially retained by the second barb of the outer conductor engager in a fully installed state of the connector.", "15.A cable connector, comprising an outer conductor engager having an outer surface that tapers rearwardly along an axial direction, the outer conductor engager being configured to receive an end of a coaxial cable and to be in electrical communication with an outer conductor of the received coaxial cable; a body configured to circumscribe the coaxial cable, the body being configured to engage the outer conductor engager when the body is disposed in a first axial position; a coupler configured to move the body axially relative to the outer conductor engager such that a surface of the body engages the tapered outer surface of the outer conductor engager; and a compression ring disposed rearward of a forward end of the body along the axis, the compression ring being configured to have an inner surface having a diameter that is smaller than a largest diameter of the tapered outer surface of the outer conductor engager, wherein the compression ring is configured to engage the tapered outer surface of the outer conductor engager and urge the outer conductor engager against the outer conductor when the body is moved axially relative to the outer conductor engager by the coupler to a second axial position.", "16.The cable connector of claim 15, wherein the body includes an annular ring portion defining an inward-facing lip at the forward end of the body, a tapered inner surface, and the compression ring.", "17.The cable connector of claim 16, wherein the outer conductor engager includes a plurality of resilient fingers configured to be in electrical communication with the outer conductor of the received coaxial cable, each resilient finger having a first outward-facing barb and an outward-facing tapered surface, and wherein the inward-facing lip of the body is configured to engage the first outward-facing barb of each resilient finger when the body is disposed in the first axial position.", "18.The cable connector of claim 16, wherein the coupler includes a threaded portion configured to be threadedly engaged with the interface port and to be fastened to the interface port by relative rotation, the interface port being configured to be drawn toward the outer conductor engager by the fastening such that a face surface of the interface port is configured to engage a front face surface of the outer conductor engager.", "19.The cable connector of claim 18, wherein, after the interface port engages a front face surface of the outer conductor engager, the interface port is configured to force the outer conductor engager axially relative to the body when further fastened, thereby causing the tapered inner surface of the body to engage the tapered outer surface of the outer conductor engager.", "20.The cable connector of claim 16, wherein the body includes a second inward-facing annular lip having a rearward-facing stop surface configured to abutingly receive a forward stop surface along an outer jacket of the received coaxial cable, wherein the outer conductor engager includes a rearward-facing stop surface configured to abutingly receive a forward edge surface of the outer conductor and an insulator of the received coaxial cable, and wherein the forward edge surface of the coaxial cable is configured to be moved rearward with the outer conductor engager relative to the body as the outer conductor engager is moved relative to the body.", "21.The cable connector of claim 20, wherein the forward stop surface along the outer jacket of the coaxial cable is configured to move rearward with the outer conductor engager out of abutment with the rearward-facing stop surface of the second inward-facing annular lip of the body, wherein the outer conductor engager includes a second outward-facing barb having a forward-facing surface, the second outward-facing barb being at an opposite axial side of the first outward-facing barb relative to the tapered outer surface of the outer conductor engager, wherein the forward-facing surface of the second outward-facing barb is configured to engage a rearward-facing surface of the inward-facing lip of the body when the coupler is fully tightened against the interface port, and wherein the body is configured to be axially retained by the second barb of the outer conductor engager in a fully installed state of the connector." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND <EOH>A coaxial cable is prepared for connection to another cable, or to another RF device, by a coaxial cable connector.", "Preparation typically requires the use of several specialized tools including a stripping tool and a compression tool.", "The stripping tool removes a portion of the compliant outer jacket to expose a signal-carrying inner conductor and an outer grounding, or braided, conductor of the cable.", "The compression tool, on the other hand, inserts a grounding/retention post into the prepared end of the cable to effect an electrical and mechanical connection between the cable and an outer body or housing of the cable connector.", "The step of stripping the outer jacket to expose the braided conductor includes a step of folding back the braided conductor upon the end portion of the outer jacket.", "This step facilitates insertion of the grounding/retention post between the braided conductor and a foil-covered dielectric core of the coaxial cable.", "While facilitating insertion of the grounding/retention post, this step can be particularly complex and laborious inasmuch as the braided wires of the outer conductor must be individually/collectively lifted from the underlying foil layer and fanned-back over the outer jacket.", "When lifting the braided wires, the ends thereof can be a source of injury to the installer/preparer.", "Furthermore, the underlying foil layer can be lifted from the underlying dielectric core and become a source of snagging when the grounding/retention post receives the foil-covered dielectric core.", "The step of compressing/inserting the grounding/retention post into the prepared end of the coaxial cable also requires a holding fixture to align the prepared end of the cable while a driver compresses a barbed annular sleeve of the grounding/retention post into/beneath the braided conductor of the cable.", "As such, the outer jacket may be compressed between the barbed annular sleeve and a fixed-diameter outer housing of the cable connector.", "Compression of the outer jacket causes the barbed annular sleeve to engage the braided conductor of the cable, thereby retaining the grounding/retention post of the connector to the coaxial cable.", "In addition to the cost associated with each preparation step, the stripping and compression tools add undue fiscal burdens, particularly in cost-sensitive markets.", "That is, the additional cost associated with a particular preparation tool can be the difference between whether a customer selects one connector rather than another.", "Hence, the requirement for a particular preparation tool, and the fiscal consequences thereof, can be a market discriminator for a manufacturer/producer of coaxial cable connectors.", "Accordingly, there is a need to overcome, or otherwise lessen the effects of, the disadvantages and shortcomings described above." ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY <EOH>According to various aspects of the disclosure, a cable connector includes an outer conductor engager configured to receive an end of a coaxial cable.", "The outer conductor engager has a plurality of resilient fingers configured to be in electrical communication with an outer peripheral surface of an outer conductor of the received coaxial cable, and each resilient finger has a first outward-facing barb and an outward-facing tapered surface.", "The cable connector includes a body having an annular ring portion coaxially aligned with the outer conductor engager along an axis.", "The annular ring is configured to circumscribe the coaxial cable and defines an inward-facing lip, a tapered inner surface, and a compression ring.", "The compression ring is disposed at an opposite axial side of the tapered inner surface relative to the inward-facing lip, and the inward-facing lip of the body engages the first outward-facing barb of each resilient finger when the body is disposed in a first axial position in a pre-installed state.", "The cable connector also includes a coupler rotatably mounted relative to the annular ring of the body.", "The coupler is operative to move the body axially relative to the outer conductor engager such that the tapered inner surface of the body engages the tapered outer surface of the outer conductor engager, and the compression ring of the body urges the tapered outer surface of each resilient finger against the peripheral outer surface of the outer conductor when the body is moved axially relative to the outer conductor engager by the coupler to a second axial position in an installed state.", "In accordance with some aspects of the disclosure, a method of installing a connector includes providing a connector, inserting an end of a coaxial cable into an outer conductor engager, and fastening the coupler to an interface port.", "The connector includes an outer conductor engager having a plurality of resilient fingers in electrical communication with an outer peripheral surface of an outer conductor of the coaxial cable.", "Each resilient finger has a first outward-facing barb and an outward-facing tapered surface.", "A body of the connector includes an annular ring portion coaxially aligned with the outer conductor engager along an axis, the annular ring portion defining an inward-facing lip, a tapered inner surface, and a compression ring.", "The compression ring is disposed at an opposite axial side of the tapered inner surface relative to the inward-facing lip, and the inward-facing lip of the body engages the first outward-facing barb of each resilient finger when the body is disposed in a first axial position in a pre-installed state.", "A coupler is rotatably mounted relative to the annular ring of the body.", "Inserting the end of the coaxial cable into the outer conductor engager places a plurality of resilient fingers of the outer conductor engager in electrical communication with an outer peripheral surface of the outer conductor of the coaxial cable, and the body circumscribes the coaxial cable.", "Fastening the coupler to an interface port causes the body to move axially relative to the outer conductor engager such that the tapered inner surface of the body engages the tapered outer surface of the outer conductor engager.", "When the body is moved axially relative to the outer conductor engager, the compression ring of the body urges the tapered outer surface of each resilient finger against the peripheral outer surface of the outer conductor to a second axial position in an installed state.", "In some aspects, a cable connector includes an outer conductor engager, a body, and a coupler.", "The outer conductor engager is configured to receive an end of a coaxial cable.", "The outer conductor engager has a plurality of resilient fingers configured to be in electrical communication with an outer peripheral surface of an outer conductor of the received coaxial cable, and each resilient finger has a first outward-facing barb, a second outward-facing bard, and an outward-facing tapered surface.", "The outward-facing tapered surface is at an opposite side of the first outward-facing barb relative to the second outward-facing barb.", "The body includes an annular ring portion coaxially aligned with the outer conductor engager along an axis.", "The annular ring is configured to circumscribe the coaxial cable and defines an inward-facing lip, a tapered inner surface, and a compression ring.", "The compression ring is disposed at an opposite axial side of the tapered inner surface relative to the inward-facing lip, and the inward-facing lip of the body engages the first outward-facing barb of each resilient finger when the body is disposed in a first axial position in a pre-installed state.", "The coupler is rotatably mounted relative to the annular ring of the body.", "When the coupler is threadably fastened to an interface port, the coupler is operative to move the body axially relative to the outer conductor engager such that the tapered inner surface of the body engages the tapered outer surface of the outer conductor engager and the received coaxial cable moves with the outer conductor engager relative to the body.", "The compression ring of the body is configured to urge the tapered outer surface of each resilient finger against the peripheral outer surface of the outer conductor when the body is moved axially relative to the outer conductor engager by the coupler to a second axial position in an installed state.", "The inward-facing lip of the body engages the second outward-facing barb of each resilient finger when the body is disposed in a second axial position in the installed state." ], [ "CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser.", "No.", "15/276,783, filed Sep. 26, 2016, pending, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser.", "No.", "14/826,068, filed on Aug. 13, 2015, now U.S. Pat.", "No.", "9,455,508, which is a non-provisional application that claims the benefits of priority of U.S. provisional application No.", "62/036,782, filed on Aug. 13, 2014, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.", "BACKGROUND A coaxial cable is prepared for connection to another cable, or to another RF device, by a coaxial cable connector.", "Preparation typically requires the use of several specialized tools including a stripping tool and a compression tool.", "The stripping tool removes a portion of the compliant outer jacket to expose a signal-carrying inner conductor and an outer grounding, or braided, conductor of the cable.", "The compression tool, on the other hand, inserts a grounding/retention post into the prepared end of the cable to effect an electrical and mechanical connection between the cable and an outer body or housing of the cable connector.", "The step of stripping the outer jacket to expose the braided conductor includes a step of folding back the braided conductor upon the end portion of the outer jacket.", "This step facilitates insertion of the grounding/retention post between the braided conductor and a foil-covered dielectric core of the coaxial cable.", "While facilitating insertion of the grounding/retention post, this step can be particularly complex and laborious inasmuch as the braided wires of the outer conductor must be individually/collectively lifted from the underlying foil layer and fanned-back over the outer jacket.", "When lifting the braided wires, the ends thereof can be a source of injury to the installer/preparer.", "Furthermore, the underlying foil layer can be lifted from the underlying dielectric core and become a source of snagging when the grounding/retention post receives the foil-covered dielectric core.", "The step of compressing/inserting the grounding/retention post into the prepared end of the coaxial cable also requires a holding fixture to align the prepared end of the cable while a driver compresses a barbed annular sleeve of the grounding/retention post into/beneath the braided conductor of the cable.", "As such, the outer jacket may be compressed between the barbed annular sleeve and a fixed-diameter outer housing of the cable connector.", "Compression of the outer jacket causes the barbed annular sleeve to engage the braided conductor of the cable, thereby retaining the grounding/retention post of the connector to the coaxial cable.", "In addition to the cost associated with each preparation step, the stripping and compression tools add undue fiscal burdens, particularly in cost-sensitive markets.", "That is, the additional cost associated with a particular preparation tool can be the difference between whether a customer selects one connector rather than another.", "Hence, the requirement for a particular preparation tool, and the fiscal consequences thereof, can be a market discriminator for a manufacturer/producer of coaxial cable connectors.", "Accordingly, there is a need to overcome, or otherwise lessen the effects of, the disadvantages and shortcomings described above.", "SUMMARY According to various aspects of the disclosure, a cable connector includes an outer conductor engager configured to receive an end of a coaxial cable.", "The outer conductor engager has a plurality of resilient fingers configured to be in electrical communication with an outer peripheral surface of an outer conductor of the received coaxial cable, and each resilient finger has a first outward-facing barb and an outward-facing tapered surface.", "The cable connector includes a body having an annular ring portion coaxially aligned with the outer conductor engager along an axis.", "The annular ring is configured to circumscribe the coaxial cable and defines an inward-facing lip, a tapered inner surface, and a compression ring.", "The compression ring is disposed at an opposite axial side of the tapered inner surface relative to the inward-facing lip, and the inward-facing lip of the body engages the first outward-facing barb of each resilient finger when the body is disposed in a first axial position in a pre-installed state.", "The cable connector also includes a coupler rotatably mounted relative to the annular ring of the body.", "The coupler is operative to move the body axially relative to the outer conductor engager such that the tapered inner surface of the body engages the tapered outer surface of the outer conductor engager, and the compression ring of the body urges the tapered outer surface of each resilient finger against the peripheral outer surface of the outer conductor when the body is moved axially relative to the outer conductor engager by the coupler to a second axial position in an installed state.", "In accordance with some aspects of the disclosure, a method of installing a connector includes providing a connector, inserting an end of a coaxial cable into an outer conductor engager, and fastening the coupler to an interface port.", "The connector includes an outer conductor engager having a plurality of resilient fingers in electrical communication with an outer peripheral surface of an outer conductor of the coaxial cable.", "Each resilient finger has a first outward-facing barb and an outward-facing tapered surface.", "A body of the connector includes an annular ring portion coaxially aligned with the outer conductor engager along an axis, the annular ring portion defining an inward-facing lip, a tapered inner surface, and a compression ring.", "The compression ring is disposed at an opposite axial side of the tapered inner surface relative to the inward-facing lip, and the inward-facing lip of the body engages the first outward-facing barb of each resilient finger when the body is disposed in a first axial position in a pre-installed state.", "A coupler is rotatably mounted relative to the annular ring of the body.", "Inserting the end of the coaxial cable into the outer conductor engager places a plurality of resilient fingers of the outer conductor engager in electrical communication with an outer peripheral surface of the outer conductor of the coaxial cable, and the body circumscribes the coaxial cable.", "Fastening the coupler to an interface port causes the body to move axially relative to the outer conductor engager such that the tapered inner surface of the body engages the tapered outer surface of the outer conductor engager.", "When the body is moved axially relative to the outer conductor engager, the compression ring of the body urges the tapered outer surface of each resilient finger against the peripheral outer surface of the outer conductor to a second axial position in an installed state.", "In some aspects, a cable connector includes an outer conductor engager, a body, and a coupler.", "The outer conductor engager is configured to receive an end of a coaxial cable.", "The outer conductor engager has a plurality of resilient fingers configured to be in electrical communication with an outer peripheral surface of an outer conductor of the received coaxial cable, and each resilient finger has a first outward-facing barb, a second outward-facing bard, and an outward-facing tapered surface.", "The outward-facing tapered surface is at an opposite side of the first outward-facing barb relative to the second outward-facing barb.", "The body includes an annular ring portion coaxially aligned with the outer conductor engager along an axis.", "The annular ring is configured to circumscribe the coaxial cable and defines an inward-facing lip, a tapered inner surface, and a compression ring.", "The compression ring is disposed at an opposite axial side of the tapered inner surface relative to the inward-facing lip, and the inward-facing lip of the body engages the first outward-facing barb of each resilient finger when the body is disposed in a first axial position in a pre-installed state.", "The coupler is rotatably mounted relative to the annular ring of the body.", "When the coupler is threadably fastened to an interface port, the coupler is operative to move the body axially relative to the outer conductor engager such that the tapered inner surface of the body engages the tapered outer surface of the outer conductor engager and the received coaxial cable moves with the outer conductor engager relative to the body.", "The compression ring of the body is configured to urge the tapered outer surface of each resilient finger against the peripheral outer surface of the outer conductor when the body is moved axially relative to the outer conductor engager by the coupler to a second axial position in an installed state.", "The inward-facing lip of the body engages the second outward-facing barb of each resilient finger when the body is disposed in a second axial position in the installed state.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Features and advantages of the present disclosure are described in, and will be apparent from, the following Brief Description of the Drawings and Detailed Description.", "FIG.", "1 is a schematic view of an exemplary network environment in accordance with various aspects of the disclosure.", "FIG.", "2 is a perspective view of an exemplary interface port in accordance with various aspects of the disclosure.", "FIG.", "3 is a perspective view of an exemplary coaxial cable in accordance with various aspects of the disclosure.", "FIG.", "4 is a cross-sectional view of the exemplary coaxial cable of FIG.", "3.FIG.", "5 is a perspective view of an exemplary prepared end of the exemplary coaxial cable of FIG.", "3.FIG.", "6 is a top view of one embodiment of a coaxial cable jumper or cable assembly which is configured to be operatively coupled to the multichannel data network.", "FIG.", "7 is an isometric view of an exemplary thread to compress connector disposed in combination with a coaxial cable.", "FIG.", "8 is a cross-sectional view taken substantially along line 8-8 of FIG.", "7.FIG.", "9 is an isolated, isometric view of the outer conductor engager including a plurality of resilient fingers projecting axially away from an interface port in a rearward direction.", "FIG.", "10 is an isometric view of the outer conductor engager of the connector of FIG.", "7 disposed in combination with a prepared end of a coaxial cable.", "FIG.", "11 is a cross-sectional view of the cable connector of FIG.", "7 in a partially-installed state.", "FIG.", "12 is a cross-sectional view of the cable connector of FIG.", "7 in a fully-installed state.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION Referring to FIG.", "1, cable connectors 2 and 3 enable the exchange of data signals between a broadband network or multichannel data network 5, and various devices within a home, building, venue or other environment 6.For example, the environment's devices can include: (a) a point of entry (“PoE”) filter 8 operatively coupled to an outdoor cable junction device 10; (b) one or more signal splitters within a service panel 12 which distributes the data service to interface ports 14 of various rooms or parts of the environment 6; (c) a modem 16 which modulates radio frequency (“RF”) signals to generate digital signals to operate a wireless router 18; (d) an Internet accessible device, such as a mobile phone or computer 20, wirelessly coupled to the wireless router 18; and (e) a set-top unit 22 coupled to a television (“TV”) 24.In one embodiment, the set-top unit 22, typically supplied by the data provider (e.g., the cable TV company), includes a TV tuner and a digital adapter for High Definition TV.", "In some embodiments, the multichannel data network 5 includes a telecommunications, cable/satellite TV (“CATV”) network operable to process and distribute different RF signals or channels of signals for a variety of services, including, but not limited to, TV, Internet and voice communication by phone.", "For TV service, each unique radio frequency or channel is associated with a different TV channel.", "The set-top unit 22 converts the radio frequencies to a digital format for delivery to the TV.", "Through the data network 5, the service provider can distribute a variety of types of data, including, but not limited to, TV programs including on-demand videos, Internet service including wireless or WiFi Internet service, voice data distributed through digital phone service or Voice Over Internet Protocol (“VoIP”) phone service, Internet Protocol TV (“IPTV”) data streams, multimedia content, audio data, music, radio and other types of data.", "In some embodiments, the multichannel data network 5 is operatively coupled to a multimedia home entertainment network serving the environment 6.In one example, such multimedia home entertainment network is the Multimedia over Coax Alliance (“MoCA”) network.", "The MoCA network increases the freedom of access to the data network 5 at various rooms and locations within the environment 6.The MoCA network, in one embodiment, operates on cables 4 within the environment 6 at frequencies in the range of 1125 MHz to 1675 MHz.", "MoCA compatible devices can form a private network inside the environment 6.As described above, the data service provider uses coaxial cables 29 and 4 to distribute the data to the environment 6.The environment 6 has an array of coaxial cables 4 at different locations.", "The connectors 2 are attachable to the coaxial cables 4.The cables 4, through use of the connectors 2, are connectable to various communication interfaces within the environment 6, such as the female interface ports 14 illustrated in FIGS.", "1-2.In the examples shown, female interface ports 14 are incorporated into: (a) a signal splitter within an outdoor cable service or distribution box 32 which distributes data service to multiple homes or environments 6 close to each other; (b) a signal splitter within the outdoor cable junction box or cable junction device 10 which distributes the data service into the environment 6; (c) the set-top unit 22; (d) the TV 24; (e) wall-mounted jacks, such as a wall plate; and (f) the router 18.In one embodiment, each of the female interface ports 14 includes a stud or jack, such as the cylindrical stud 34 illustrated in FIG.", "2.The stud 34 has: (a) an inner, cylindrical wall 36 defining a central hole configured to receive an electrical contact, wire, pin, conductor (not shown) positioned within the central hole; (b) a conductive, threaded outer surface 38; (c) a conical conductive region 41 having conductive contact sections 43 and 45; and (d) a dielectric or insulation material 47.In some embodiments, stud 34 is shaped and sized to be compatible with the F-type coaxial connection standard.", "It should be understood that, depending upon the embodiment, stud 34 could have a smooth outer surface.", "The stud 34 can be operatively coupled to, or incorporated into, a device 40 which can include, for example, a cable splitter of a distribution box 32, outdoor cable junction box 10 or service panel 12; a set-top unit 22; a TV 24; a wall plate; a modem 16; a router 18; or the junction device 33.During installation, the installer couples a cable 4 to an interface port 14 by screwing or pushing the connector 2 onto the female interface port 34.Once installed, the connector 2 receives the female interface port 34.The connector 2 establishes an electrical connection between the cable 4 and the electrical contact of the female interface port 34.Referring to FIGS.", "3-5, the coaxial cable 4 extends along a cable axis or a longitudinal axis 42.In one embodiment, the cable 4 includes: (a) an elongated center conductor or inner conductor 44; (b) an elongated insulator 46 coaxially surrounding the inner conductor 44; (c) an elongated, conductive foil layer 48 coaxially surrounding the insulator 46; (d) an elongated outer conductor 50 coaxially surrounding the foil layer 48; and (e) an elongated sheath, sleeve or jacket 52 coaxially surrounding the outer conductor 50.The inner conductor 44 is operable to carry data signals to and from the data network 5.Depending upon the embodiment, the inner conductor 44 can be a strand, a solid wire or a hollow, tubular wire.", "The inner conductor 44 is, in one embodiment, constructed of a conductive material suitable for data transmission, such as a metal or alloy including copper, including, but not limited, to copper-clad aluminum (“CCA”), copper-clad steel (“CCS”) or silver-coated copper-clad steel (“SCCCS”).", "The insulator 46, in some embodiments, is a dielectric having a tubular shape.", "In one embodiment, the insulator 46 is radially compressible along a radius or radial line 54, and the insulator 46 is axially flexible along the longitudinal axis 42.Depending upon the embodiment, the insulator 46 can be a suitable polymer, such as polyethylene (“PE”) or a fluoropolymer, in solid or foam form.", "In the embodiment illustrated in FIG.", "3, the outer conductor 50 includes a conductive RF shield or electromagnetic radiation shield.", "In such embodiment, the outer conductor 50 includes a conductive screen, mesh or braid or otherwise has a perforated configuration defining a matrix, grid or array of openings.", "In one such embodiment, the braided outer conductor 50 has an aluminum material or a suitable combination of aluminum and polyester.", "Depending upon the embodiment, cable 4 can include multiple, overlapping layers of braided outer conductors 50, such as a dual-shield configuration, tri-shield configuration or quad-shield configuration.", "In one embodiment, the connector 2 electrically grounds the outer conductor 50 of the coaxial cable 4.The conductive foil layer 48, in one embodiment, is an additional, tubular conductor which provides additional shielding of the magnetic fields.", "In one embodiment, the jacket 52 has a protective characteristic, guarding the cable's internal components from damage.", "The jacket 52 also has an electrical insulation characteristic.", "Referring to FIG.", "5, in one embodiment an installer or preparer prepares a terminal end 56 of the cable 4 so that it can be mechanically connected to the connector 2.To do so, the preparer removes or strips away differently sized portions of the jacket 52, outer conductor 50, foil 48 and insulator 46 so as to expose the side walls of the jacket 52, outer conductor 50, foil layer 48 and insulator 46 in a stepped or staggered fashion.", "In the example shown in FIG.", "5, the prepared end 56 has a two step-shaped configuration.", "In some embodiments, the prepared end has a three step-shaped configuration (not shown), where the insulator 46 extends beyond an end of the foil 48 and outer conductor 50.At this point, the cable 4 is ready to be connected to the connector 2.Depending upon the embodiment, the components of the cable 4 can be constructed of various materials which have some degree of elasticity or flexibility.", "The elasticity enables the cable 4 to flex or bend in accordance with broadband communications standards, installation methods or installation equipment.", "Also, the radial thicknesses of the cable 4, the inner conductor 44, the insulator 46, the conductive foil layer 48, the outer conductor 50 and the jacket 52 can vary based upon parameters corresponding to broadband communication standards or installation equipment.", "In one embodiment illustrated in FIG.", "6, a cable jumper or cable assembly 64 includes a combination of the connector 2 and the cable 4 attached to the connector 2.In this embodiment, the connector 2 includes a connector body or connector housing 66 and a fastener or coupler 68, such as a threaded nut, which is rotatably coupled to the connector housing 66.The cable assembly 64 has, in one embodiment, connectors 2 on both of its ends 70.In some embodiments, the cable assembly 64 may have a connector 2 on one end and either no connector or a different connector at the other end.", "Preassembled cable jumpers or cable assemblies 64 can facilitate the installation of cables 4 for various purposes.", "The cable connector of the present disclosure provides a reliable electrical ground, a secure axial connection and a watertight seal across leakage-prone interfaces of the coaxial cable connector.", "The cable connector comprises an outer conductor engager or post, a housing or body, and a coupler or threaded nut to engage an interface port.", "The outer conductor engager includes an aperture for receiving the outer braided conductor of a prepared coaxial cable, i.e., an end which has been stripped of its outer jacket similar to that shown in FIG.", "5, and a plurality of resilient fingers projecting axially away from the interface port.", "The body receives and engages the resilient fingers of the outer conductor engage to align the body with the outer conductor engager in a pre-installed state.", "During installation, the body is bearing-mounted to the coupler and translates axially relative to the outer conductor engager as the coupler engages the interface port.", "The body is configured such that axial translation effects radial displacement of the resilient fingers against an outer peripheral surface of the braided conductor.", "In an installed state, the resilient fingers effect a reliable electrical ground from the outer conductor to the interface port through the outer conductor engager.", "Furthermore, the resilient fingers effect a secure mechanical connection between the coaxial cable and the connector as a barbed edge of each resilient finger retards the axial motion of the coaxial cable relative to the outer conductor engager.", "Finally, a watertight seal is produced at the mating interfaces between the outer conductor engager, the body, and the coupler.", "More specifically, the body and the coupler produce watertight seals with the outer conductor engager as each moves from a partially-installed state to a fully-installed state.", "According to the disclosure, the aforementioned connectors 2 may be configured as coaxial cable connector 100, as illustrated in FIGS.", "7-12.For the purposes of establishing a directional frame of reference, the forward and rearward directions relative to the connector 100 are given by arrows F and R, respectively, in FIGS.", "8 and 10-12.When the connector 100 is installed on an interface port 14, a forward end, portion, or direction is proximal to, or toward, the interface port 14, and a rearward end, portion, or direction is distal, or away, from the interface port 14.For purposes of this disclosure, with reference to the connector 100, a pre-installed or uninstalled state or configuration refers to the connector 100 before it is coupled with the coaxial cable 4 and the interface port 14.A partially-installed state refers to the connector 100 when it is coupled with the coaxial cable 4, but not with the interface port 14.An installed or fully-installed state refers to the connector 100 when it is coupled with the coaxial cable 4 and the interface port 14.Referring now to FIGS.", "7-12, the coaxial cable connector 100 includes an outer conductor engager or post 102, a body or housing 104, and a threaded coupler 106.The outer conductor engager 102 includes a radially-inward projecting flange 114 having a forward-facing front face surface 112 for electrically engaging a face surface of an interface port 14 (described in more detail below).", "The flange 114 also defines a rearward-facing stop surface 116 for engaging an edge 118 of a coaxial cable 4.The outer conductor engager 102 defines an aperture 110 for accepting a portion of the coaxial cable 4.The connector 100 also includes a sealing member 190, for example, a ring-shaped seal, extending around an outer periphery of the flange 114 and being disposed within the threaded coupler 106.The outer conductor engager 102 includes a plurality of resilient fingers 120 for engaging a peripheral outer surface 126 of the braided outer conductor 50 of the coaxial cable 4.In the described embodiment, each resilient finger 120 includes an inward-facing barb 130 and a first outward-facing barb 132 at the rearward end of the outer conductor engager 102, i.e., the end which is distal, or away, from the front face surface 112 of the outer conductor engager 102.Each resilient finger 120 also includes an outward-facing tapered surface 136 disposed rearward of the first outward-facing barb 132 and a second outward-facing barb 134 disposed forward of the first outward-facing barb 132.In the described embodiment, the inward-facing barbs 130 are structured and arranged to electrically engage the outer or external peripheral surface 126 of the braided conductor 50 of the coaxial cable 4 in the partially-installed and fully-installed states.", "Alternatively, if the braid is folded back, as required by a conventional connector, the inward facing barbs 130 can also make contact with the foil.", "The inward-facing barbs 130 also facilitate electrical grounding and retention of the coaxial cable 4 when a radial load displaces a resilient finger 120 against the braided outer conductor 50 of the coaxial cable 4, for example, in the installed state, as discussed in more detail below.", "It should be appreciated that in alternative embodiments, a radial bore in the outer conductor engager 102 can replace the barbs 130.In such an alternative embodiment, the bore is configured to close radially to electrically engage the outer conductor 50.The body 104 includes a conductive annular fitting 140 defining an aperture 144 for receiving a portion of the coaxial cable 4.The annular fitting 140 includes a forward annular ring portion 146 configured to rotatably engage the threaded coupler 106 and a rearward annular ring portion 148 configured to engage a weather protecting boot 150.The forward annular ring portion 146 includes a bi-directional flange having a first inward-facing lip 152 and an outward-facing lip 154.The forward annular ring portion 146 also includes a compression ring 160 disposed rearward of the bi-directional flange and a tapered inner surface 164 extending rearward from the bi-directional flange to the compression ring 160.In the pre-installed and partially-installed states, the tapered inner surface 164 is disposed in axial and radial proximity with the outward-facing tapered surfaces 136 of the resilient fingers 120.In some aspects, the resilient fingers 120 may not be radially deflected in the pre-installed and partially-installed states by the relative positioning between the tapered inner surface 164 and the outward-facing tapered surfaces 136.In other aspects, the resilient fingers 120 may be radially deflected in the pre-installed and partially-installed states by the relative positioning between the tapered inner surface 164 and the outward-facing tapered surfaces 136.The rearward annular ring 148 of the body 104 includes a second inward-facing annular lip 168 configured to engage a forward stop surface 170 along the outer jacket 52 of the coaxial cable 4.Furthermore, the rearward annular ring 148 includes a pair of outward-facing barbs 172 (see, e.g, FIGS.", "11 and 12) for engaging the weather protecting boot 150 to form a watertight seal against the outer surface of the compliant outer jacket 52 of the coaxial cable 4.The threaded coupler 106 includes a threaded portion 107 at its forward end for threadably engaging the threaded outer surface 38 of the interface port 14.A rearward end of the threaded coupler 106 is bearing-mounted to the forward annular ring 146 of the body 104 such that the coupler 106 is rotatable relative to the body 104.Referring to FIGS.", "11 and 12, the threaded coupler 106 includes a bearing surface 176 that engages a bearing surface 174 of the body 104.The bearing surfaces 174, 176 are aligned along a plane P, orthogonal to an elongate axis 100A of the cable connector 100.As shown in FIG.", "11, when the connector is in the pre-installed and partially-installed states, the first inward-facing lip 152 of the body 104 is between the first and second outward-facing barbs 132, 134 of each resilient finger 120.The first inward-facing lip 152 includes a rearward-facing surface 153 that engages forward-facing surfaces 133 of the first outward-facing barbs 132 of each resilient finger 120 to align the outer conductor engager 102 with the body 104 in the pre-installed and partially-installed states.", "This structural connection maintains alignment of the body 104 relative to the outer conductor engager 102 during shipment and handling of the cable connector 100.The second outward-facing barbs 134 of each resilient finger 120 also include forward-facing surfaces 135, as will be discussed in more detail below.", "In the partially-installed state, the coaxial cable 4 is inserted into the connector 100.For example, the inner conductor 44, the insulator 46, and the outer conductor 50 are inserted through the aperture 144 of the body 104 and into the aperture 110 of the outer conductor engager 102.Particularly, the coaxial cable 4 is inserted into the connector 100 until the forward stop surface 170 along the outer jacket 52 of the coaxial cable 4 abuts a rearward-facing stop surface of the second inward-facing annular lip 168 of the body 104 and the forward edge surface 118 of the insulator 46 and outer conductor 50 abut the rearward-facing stop surface 116 of the outer conductor engager 102.The inner conductor 44 extends through the apertures 110, 144 and extends beyond the front face surface 112 of the outer conductor engager 102.During installation of the connector 100 to an interface port 14, the coupler 106 threadably engages the interface port 14.As the coupler 106 is fastened to the interface port 14, for example, by rotating the coupler 106 relative to the interface port 14, the interface port 14 is drawn toward the outer conductor engager 102 such that a face surface 180 of the interface port 14 engages the front face surface 112 of the outer conductor engager 102.As the threaded coupler 106 is further fastened to the interface port 14, for example, by further relative rotation, the interface port 14 forces the outer conductor engager 102 axially into the forward annular ring 146 of the body 104.Additionally, because of the abutting relationship between the forward edge surface 118 of the insulator 46 and outer conductor 50 abut the rearward-facing stop surface 116 of the outer conductor engager 102, as the outer conductor engager 102 is moved rearward relative to the body 104, the forward edge surface 118 of the coaxial cable 4 is also moved rearward relative to the body 104.As a result, the forward stop surface 170 along the outer jacket 52 of the coaxial cable 4 moves rearward with the outer conductor engager 102 out of abutment with the rearward-facing stop surface of the second inward-facing annular lip 168 of the body 104.More specifically, as the threaded coupler 106 is further fastened to the interface port 14, relative axial motion between the body 104 and the outer conductor engager 102 causes the tapered outer surface 136 of the outer conductor engager 102 to engage a tapered inner surface 164 of the body 104.As the fastening continues, the resilient fingers 120 are urged radially inward, or compressed, against the braided outer conductor 50 of the coaxial cable 4 as the outer conductor engager 102 continues to move axially relative to the outer body 104.Radial displacement of the resilient fingers 120 urges the inward-facing barbs 130 of each of the resilient fingers 120 against the braided outer conductor 50 of the coaxial cable 4.Further rotation of the coupler 106 causes the inward-facing barbed edge 130 to become axially aligned with the compression ring surface 160 along the axis 100A and causes the second outward-facing barb 134 of the outer conductor engager 102 to move rearward relative to the inward-facing lip 152 along axis 100A.", "Furthermore, when the coupler 106 is fully tightened against the interface port 14, the outer conductor engager 102 is disposed rearward relative to the inward-facing lip 152 along the axis.", "Thus, in the fully installed state of the connector 100, the forward-facing surface 135 of the second outward-facing barbed edge 134 of the outer conductor engager 102 engages the rearward-facing surface 153 of the inward-facing lip 152 of the body 104, and the body 104 is axially retained by the barbed edge 134 of the outer conductor engager 102.Additionally, in the fully installed state, the forward edge surface 118 of the insulator 46 and outer conductor 50 abut the rearward-facing stop surface 116 of the outer conductor engager 102, while the forward stop surface 170 along the outer jacket 52 of the coaxial cable 4 is spaced rearward from the rearward-facing stop surface of the second inward-facing annular lip 168 of the body 104.In addition to providing an electrical ground and mechanical connection against the peripheral external surface 126 of the braided outer conductor 50 in the installed state, the coaxial cable connector 100 provides a plurality of watertight seals across interfaces between the outer conductor engager 102, the body 104, and the threaded coupler 106.For example, as the interface port 14 engages the front face of the outer conductor engager 102, a/ portion of the face surface 180 deforms the ring-shaped seal 190 such that seals are formed at the interfaces of the interface port 14, the outer conductor engager 102, and the threaded coupler 106.Additionally, as the rearward-facing surface 153 of the inward-facing lip 152 engages the forward-facing surface 135 of second outward-facing barbed edge 134, a seal is formed between the outer conductor engager 102 and the body 104.Another seal is formed between the rearward annular ring 148, the weather protecting boot 150, and the outer jacket 52 of the coaxial cable 4, as the barbs of the annular ring create pressure points that provide a seal between the body 104 and the boot 150, and the boot 150 has an opening sized slightly smaller relative to the outer jacket 52 to provide a seal.", "The embodiment of the present disclosure provides an apparatus and method for producing a reliable electrical ground, a secure mechanical connection, and a plurality of watertight seals to protect a coaxial cable connector.", "The apparatus and method eliminates the need to fold the outer conductor over the compliant outer jacket 52 of the coaxial cable 4.Furthermore the apparatus and method employs the interface port 14 as the device for compressing the outer conductor engager 102 into the body 104.As a consequence, the apparatus and method eliminates the requirement for a compression tool.", "Additional embodiments include any one of the embodiments described above, where one or more of its components, functionalities or structures is interchanged with, replaced by or augmented by one or more of the components, functionalities or structures of a different embodiment described above.", "It should be understood that various changes and modifications to the embodiments described herein will be apparent to those skilled in the art.", "Such changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure and without diminishing its intended advantages.", "It is therefore intended that such changes and modifications be covered by the appended claims.", "Although several embodiments of the disclosure have been disclosed in the foregoing specification, it is understood by those skilled in the art that many modifications and other embodiments of the disclosure will come to mind to which the disclosure pertains, having the benefit of the teaching presented in the foregoing description and associated drawings.", "It is thus understood that the disclosure is not limited to the specific embodiments disclosed herein above, and that many modifications and other embodiments are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims.", "Moreover, although specific terms are employed herein, as well as in the claims which follow, they are used only in a generic and descriptive sense, and not for the purposes of limiting the present disclosure, nor the claims which follow." ] ]
Patent_15872940
[ [ "ELECTRONIC CIGARETTE, ATOMIZER AND CONTROL METHOD THEREOF", "An electronic cigarette, an atomizer and control method thereof are provided.", "The atomizer includes a housing defining a gas passage and an accommodation space communicated with the gas passage, an atomizing unit arranged in the accommodation space and configured to generate aerosol passing through the gas passage for user, a detecting unit arranged in the gas passage and configured to detect a gas flow quantity in the gas passage and a control unit electrically connected to the detecting unit and configured to adjust an atomizing quantity of the atomizer according to the gas flow quantity detected by the detecting unit." ], [ "1.An atomizer, comprising: a housing, defining a gas passage and an accommodation space communicated with the gas passage; an atomizing unit, arranged in the accommodation space and configured to generate aerosol passing through the gas passage for user; a detecting unit, arranged in the gas passage and configured to detect a gas flow quantity in the gas passage; and a control unit, electrically connected to the detecting unit and configured to adjust an atomizing quantity of the atomizer according to the gas flow quantity detected by the detecting unit.", "2.The atomizer of claim 1, wherein the detecting unit is a gas pressure detecting unit configured to detect a gas pressure in the gas passage and calculate the gas flow quantity according to the gas pressure.", "3.The atomizer of claim 1, wherein the detecting unit is a rate detecting unit configured to detect a gas flow rate and calculate the gas flow quantity according to the gas flow rate.", "4.The atomizer of claim 1, further comprising a storage unit configured to store a preset mapping table between the gas flow quantity and the atomizing quantity; wherein the control unit is further configured to: find a corresponding atomizing quantity in the preset mapping table according to the gas flow quantity detected by the detecting unit; and adjust the atomizing quantity to the corresponding atomizing quantity.", "5.The atomizer of claim 1, wherein the control unit is further configured to calculate a target atomizing quantity according to the gas flow quantity and adjust the atomizing quantity of the atomizer to the target atomizing quantity.", "6.The atomizer of claim 1, further comprising a storage unit configured to store a preset mapping table between the gas flow quantity and the atomizing quantity; wherein the control unit is further configured to: find a corresponding atomizing quantity in the preset mapping table according to the gas flow quantity detected by the detecting unit; calculate a target atomizing quantity according to the gas flow quantity detected by the detecting unit; calibrate the target atomizing quantity according to the corresponding atomizing quantity to obtain a calibrated atomizing quantity; and adjust the atomizing quantity of the atomizer to the calibrated atomizing quantity.", "7.The atomizer of claim 1, wherein the atomizing unit further comprises a power supply and an atomizing core electrically connected to power supply, the control unit is electrically connected to the power supply and configured to adjust the atomizing quantity of the atomizer via adjusting an output power of the power supply.", "8.The atomizer of claim 1, further comprising a throttle control unit arranged in the gas passage and electrically connected to the control unit, wherein the control unit is further configured to adjust the atomizing quantity of the atomizer via controlling a gas flux of the throttle control unit.", "9.The atomizer of claim 8, wherein the throttle control unit is arranged in a parting of the gas passage and the accommodation space.", "10.The atomizer of claim 9, wherein the gas flux of the throttle control unit is controlled via changing an internal diameter of the throttle control unit by the control unit.", "11.The atomizer of claim 1, further comprising a throttle control unit arranged in the gas passage and electrically connected to the control unit; wherein the atomizing unit further comprises a power supply and an atomizing core electrically connected to power supply; the control unit is electrically connected to the power supply and configured to adjust the atomizing quantity of the atomizer via adjusting an output power of the power supply and a gas flux of the throttle control unit.", "12.The atomizer of claim 11, wherein the throttle control unit is arranged in a parting of the gas passage and the accommodation space.", "13.The atomizer of claim 12, wherein the gas flux of the throttle control unit is controlled via changing an internal diameter of the throttle control unit by the control unit.", "14.A control method of an atomizer, comprising: detecting a gas flow quantity in a gas passage of the atomizer; and adjusting an atomizing quantity of the atomizer according to the detected gas flow quantity.", "15.The control method of claim 14, wherein the detecting gas flow quantity in the gas passage of the atomizer comprises: detecting a gas pressure in the gas passage; and calculating the gas flow quantity according to the gas pressure.", "16.The control method of claim 14, wherein the detecting gas flow quantity in the gas passage of the atomizer comprises: detecting a gas flow rate in the gas passage; and calculating the gas flow quantity according to the gas flow rate.", "17.The control method of claim 14, wherein the adjusting the atomizing quantity of the atomizer according to the detected gas flow quantity further comprises: finding a corresponding atomizing quantity in a preset mapping table between the gas flow quantity and the atomizing quantity according to the detected gas flow quantity; and adjusting the atomizing quantity to the corresponding atomizing quantity.", "18.The control method of claim 14, wherein the adjusting the atomizing quantity of the atomizer according to the detected gas flow quantity further comprises: calculating a target atomizing quantity according to the gas flow quantity; and adjusting the atomizing quantity of the atomizer to the target atomizing quantity.", "19.The control method of claim 14, wherein the adjusting the atomizing quantity of the atomizer according to the detected gas flow quantity further comprises: finding a corresponding atomizing quantity in a preset mapping table between the gas flow quantity and the atomizing quantity according to the detected gas flow quantity; calculating a target atomizing quantity according to the detected gas flow quantity; calibrating the target atomizing quantity according to the corresponding atomizing quantity to obtain a calibrated atomizing quantity; and adjusting the atomizing quantity of the atomizer to the calibrated atomizing quantity.", "20.An electronic cigarette, comprising an atomizer, wherein the atomizer comprises: a housing, defining a gas passage and an accommodation space communicated with the gas passage; an atomizing unit, arranged in the accommodation space and configured to generate aerosol passing through the gas passage for user; a detecting unit, arranged in the gas passage and configured to detect a gas flow quantity in the gas passage; and a control unit, connected to the detecting unit and configured to adjust an atomizing quantity of the atomizer according to the gas flow quantity detected by the detecting unit." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND <EOH>As an aerosol generator, electronic cigarettes atomize tobacco liquid to form aerosol for user.", "When the tobacco liquid is made, tar and other harmful substances are removed, which would eliminate the harm to human.", "How to use an electronic cigarette correctly is a difficult problem for ordinary consumers.", "When the electronic cigarette is used under an excessive power, the atomizing quantity would be excessive, which is not only harmful to human, but also easy to damage an atomizer of the electronic cigarette.", "While the electronic cigarette is used under a too small power, it would not satisfy users' requirement.", "At present, a temperature control electronic cigarette could realize the purpose of healthy smoking by controlling the temperature of the heating body in the electronic cigarette.", "However, the temperature control electronic cigarette has disadvantages of having a complex temperature control system, needing certain requirements for the heating body, and having low temperature control precision.", "Therefore, it is necessary to provide an atomizer and a control method for controlling the atomizer to solve the technical problems mentioned above." ], [ "<SOH> BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS <EOH>FIG.", "1 is a schematic diagram of an atomizer according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "2 is a module diagram of the atomizer in FIG.", "1 .", "FIG.", "3 is a schematic diagram of an atomizer according to another exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "4 is a cross-sectional view of an atomizer according to still another exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "5 is a flow chart diagram of a control method of an atomizer according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "6 is a schematic diagram of an electronic cigarette according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.", "detailed-description description=\"Detailed Description\" end=\"lead\"?" ], [ "CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No.", "201710034320.2 filed on Jan. 17, 2017, which are hereby incorporated by reference herein as if set forth in its entirety.", "TECHNICAL FIELD The present disclosure generally relates to electronic cigarettes, and more particular relates to an electronic cigarette, an atomizer and a method for controlling the atomizer.", "BACKGROUND As an aerosol generator, electronic cigarettes atomize tobacco liquid to form aerosol for user.", "When the tobacco liquid is made, tar and other harmful substances are removed, which would eliminate the harm to human.", "How to use an electronic cigarette correctly is a difficult problem for ordinary consumers.", "When the electronic cigarette is used under an excessive power, the atomizing quantity would be excessive, which is not only harmful to human, but also easy to damage an atomizer of the electronic cigarette.", "While the electronic cigarette is used under a too small power, it would not satisfy users' requirement.", "At present, a temperature control electronic cigarette could realize the purpose of healthy smoking by controlling the temperature of the heating body in the electronic cigarette.", "However, the temperature control electronic cigarette has disadvantages of having a complex temperature control system, needing certain requirements for the heating body, and having low temperature control precision.", "Therefore, it is necessary to provide an atomizer and a control method for controlling the atomizer to solve the technical problems mentioned above.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG.", "1 is a schematic diagram of an atomizer according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "2 is a module diagram of the atomizer in FIG.", "1.FIG.", "3 is a schematic diagram of an atomizer according to another exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "4 is a cross-sectional view of an atomizer according to still another exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "5 is a flow chart diagram of a control method of an atomizer according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "6 is a schematic diagram of an electronic cigarette according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION For a thorough understanding of the present disclosure, numerous specific details are set forth in the following description for purposes of illustration but not of limitation, such as particularities of system structures, interfaces, techniques, et cetera.", "However, it should be appreciated by those of skill in the art that, in absence of these specific details, the present disclosure may also be carried out through other implementations.", "In other instances, a detailed description of well-known devices, circuits, and methods is omitted, so as to avoid unnecessary details from hindering the description of the disclosure.", "Referring to FIGS.", "1 and 2, FIG.", "1 is a schematic diagram of an atomizer according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "2 is a module diagram of the atomizer in FIG.", "1.In this embodiment, the atomizer may include a housing 11, an atomizing unit 12, a detecting unit 13 and a control unit 14.The housing 11 may define a gas passage 15 and an accommodation space 16 communicated with the gas passage 15.The atomizing unit 12 may be arranged in the accommodation space 16 and configured to generate aerosol passing through the gas passage 15 for user.", "The detecting unit 13 may be arranged in the gas passage 15 and configured to detect a gas flow quantity in the gas passage 15.The detecting unit 13 may be arranged in any position in the gas passage 15, for example, the detecting unit 13 may be fixed on an inner wall of the gas passage 15 defined by the housing 11.In other embodiments, the detecting unit 13 may be arranged in the gas passage 15 in other manners.", "In this embodiment, the detecting unit 13 may be a rate detecting unit configured to detect a gas flow rate in the gas passage 15 and calculate the gas flow quantity according to the gas flow rate.", "For instance, in an embodiment, the gas flow quantity Q could be calculated according to a cross section area S of a position of the gas passage 15 at which the detecting unit 13 is located, the fluid Bernoulli equation and the detected gas flow rate v. For example, in an ideal modeling, Q=v×S.", "The cross section area S of a position of the gas passage 15 at which the detecting unit 13 is located may be a pre-measured parameter.", "In other embodiments, the detecting unit 13 may be a gas pressure detecting unit configured to detect a gas pressure in the gas passage 15 and calculate the gas flow quantity according to the gas pressure.", "Particularly, the gas flow quantity could be calculated according to gas pressure, and parameters of the position of the gas passage 15 at which the detecting unit 13 is located.", "For example, the gas flow quantity Q may be calculated according to gas density r, the cross section area S of the position of the gas passage 15 at which the detecting unit 13 is located, the gas pressure P of the position at which the detecting unit 13 is located and the fluid Bernoulli equation.", "For example, in an ideal modeling, Q=S2×√{square root over (2P/r)}.", "The cross section area S of the position of the gas passage 15 at which the detecting unit 13 is located may be a pre measured parameter.", "The gas density r may be a known parameter.", "Without doubt, the gas flow quantity may be detected by other methods in other embodiments.", "The control unit 14 may be electrically connected to the detecting unit 13 and the atomizing unit 12 and configured to adjust an atomizing quantity of the atomizer according to the gas flow quantity detected by the detecting unit 13.Specifically, the atomizer may further include a storage unit 17 configured to store a preset mapping table between the gas flow quantity and the atomizing quantity.", "The control unit 14 may be electrically connected to the storage unit 17 and configured to find a corresponding atomizing quantity in the preset mapping table according to the gas flow quantity detected by the detecting unit 13 and adjust the atomizing quantity of the atomizer to the corresponding atomizing quantity.", "In other embodiments, the atomizer may not include the storage unit 17.The control unit 14 may calculate a target atomizing quantity according to the detected gas flow quantity and adjust the atomizing quantity of the atomizer to the target atomizing quantity.", "In other embodiments, the control unit 14 may calibrate the target atomizing quantity according to the corresponding atomizing quantity to obtain a calibrated atomizing quantity and adjust the atomizing quantity of the atomizer to the calibrated atomizing quantity.", "Specifically, the atomizing unit 12 may include an atomizing core 121 and a power supply 122 supplying power to the atomizing core 121.The control unit 14 may be electrically connected to the power supply 122 and adjust the atomizing quantity of the atomizing unit 12 via adjusting an output power of the power supply 122, so as to realize the purpose of adjusting the atomizing quantity of the atomizer.", "According to the above methods, when the atomizing quantity of the atomizer is adjusted via adjusting the output power of the power supply 122, there may be several cases as follows: In the first case, the control unit 14 may calculate a target output power of the power supply 122 according to the detected gas flow quantity, and then adjust the output power of the power supply 122 to the target output power of the power supply 122 so as to adjust the atomizing quantity of the atomizer.", "In the second case, the mapping table between the gas flow quantity and the atomizing quantity may be replaced with a mapping table between the gas flow quantity and the output power of the power supply 122.The control unit 14 may find a corresponding output power in the mapping table between the gas flow quantity and the output power of the power supply according the gas flow quantity detected by the detecting unit 13, and adjust the output power of the power supply 122 to the corresponding output power so as to adjust the atomizing quantity of the atomizer.", "In the third case, the control unit 14 may calibrate the target output power according to the corresponding output power to obtain a calibrated output power, and then adjust the output power of the power supply 122 to the calibrated output power so as to adjust the atomizing quantity of the atomizer to the calibrated atomizing quantity.", "In other embodiments, the atomizing quantity may be adjusted by other methods.", "Referring to FIG.", "3, an atomizer according to another exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure is depicted.", "In this embodiment, the atomizer may further include a throttle control unit 18 electrically connected to the control unit 14.The throttle control unit 18 may be arranged in the gas passage 15.The control unit 14 may control the atomizing quantity of the atomizer via controlling a gas flux of the throttle control unit 18.In this embodiment, the throttle control unit 18 may be arranged in a parting of the gas passage 15 and the accommodation space 16.Of course, in other embodiments, the throttle control unit 18 may be arranged in any position in the gas passage 15.The gas flux of the throttle control unit 18 may be controlled by the control unit 14, specifically, via changing an internal diameter of the throttle control unit 18 by the control unit 14.In some embodiments, the throttle control unit 18 may be an electronic control gas valve.", "In other embodiments, the control unit 14 may adjust the atomizing quantity of the atomizer by adjusting the output power of the power supply as well as adjusting the gas flux of the throttle control unit.", "Specifically, the atomizer may further include other parts, such as, a reservoir for storing tobacco liquid.", "The atomizer 12 may atomize the tobacco liquid absorbed from the reservoir to form aerosol which may pass through the gas passage 15 for user.", "Please referring to FIG.", "4, a cross-sectional view of an atomizer according to still another exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure is depicted.", "In this embodiment, the atomizer may include a housing 21, an atomizing unit (not labeled), a detecting unit 23 and a control unit (not labeled).", "The electrically connections of the control unit, the atomizing unit and the detecting unit 23 are similar to the previous embodiments, which is not recited herein.", "The housing 21 may define a gas passage 25 and an accommodation space 26 communicated with the gas passage 25.The atomizing unit may be arranged in the accommodation space 26 and configured to generate aerosol passing through the gas passage 25 for user.", "The detecting unit 23 may be arranged in the gas passage 25 and configured to detect a gas flow quantity in the gas passage 25.The detecting unit 23 may be arranged in any position in the gas passage 25, for example, the detecting unit 23 may be fixed on an inner wall of the gas passage 25 defined by the housing 21.In other embodiments, the detecting unit 23 may be arranged in the gas passage 25 in other manners.", "The ways how to detect the gas flow quantity by the detecting unit 23 are similar to those of the detecting unit in the embodiments mentioned above, which are not recited herein.", "The control unit is electrically connected to the detecting unit 23 and the atomizing unit, and is configured to adjust an atomizing quantity of the atomizer according to the gas flow quantity detected by the detecting unit 23.The ways that the control unit adjusts the atomizing quantity of the atomizer may be similar to those of the previous embodiments, and are not recited herein.", "Particularly, the atomizing unit may include an atomizing core 221 and a power supply (not labeled) providing power to the atomizing core 221.The control unit may be electrically connected to the power supply and adjust the output power of the power supply to adjust the atomizing quantity of the atomizing unit, so as to adjust the atomizing quantity of the atomizer.", "In other embodiments, the atomizing quantity of the atomizer could be adjusted via controlling the throttle control unit, which could be referred to the previous embodiments.", "In this embodiment, the housing 21 may include a first sub-housing 211 and a second sub-housing 212.The gas passage 25 may include a gas inlet channel 251 and an aerosol outlet channel 252.The accommodation space 26 may include a first sub-accommodation space 261 and a second sub-accommodation space 262.The first sub-housing 211 may define the aerosol outlet channel 252 and the first sub-accommodation space 261 communicated with the aerosol outlet channel 252.The second sub-housing 212 may define the second sub-accommodation space 262 and the gas inlet channel 251 communicated with the first sub-accommodation space 261.The first sub-accommodation space 261 may accommodate the atomizing core 221.The second sub-accommodation space 262 may accommodate the power supply.", "The power supply may include a battery or a battery group and an output power regulation module.", "The control unit may be electrically connected to the output power regulation module to adjust the output power of the power supply.", "In this embodiment, the detecting unit 23 may be arranged in the gas inlet channel 251 to improve the stability of detecting the gas flow quantity of the detection unit 23.The detecting unit 23 may be fixed on the inner wall of the gas inlet channel 251.It should be understood that, the detecting unit 23 may also be arranged in the aerosol outlet channel 252 or any position in the gas passage 25.In other embodiments, there may be a plurality of detecting units 23 arranged in different positions of the passage 25 respectively, for example, one detecting unit 23 may be arranged in the aerosol outlet channel 252, another one may be arranged in the gas inlet channel 251, and so on.", "The control unit may receive the gas flow quantity detected by the plurality of detection units 23 and then calculate an average value, so as to avoid the inaccuracy of the detection data caused by the difference and instability of detecting the gas flow quantity of the plurality of detection units 23 in the aerosol outlet channel 252 and the gas inlet channel 251.Referring to FIG.", "5, a flow chart diagram of a control method of an atomizer according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure is depicted.", "In this embodiment, the control method of the atomizer may include: S11: detecting a gas flow quantity in a gas passage of the atomizer.", "In an embodiment, the block S11 may further include: detecting gas flow rate in the gas passage; and calculating the gas flow quantity according to the gas flow rate.", "For instance, in an embodiment, the gas flow quantity Q could be calculated according to a cross section area S of the gas passage 15 at which the detecting unit 13 is located, the fluid Bernoulli equation and the detected gas flow rate v. For example, in an ideal modeling, Q=v×S.", "The cross section area S of the gas passage 15 at which the detecting unit 13 is located may be a pre-measured parameter.", "In another embodiment, the block S11 may further include: detecting gas pressure in the gas passage and calculating the gas flow quantity according to the gas pressure.", "Specifically, the gas flow quantity Q may be calculated according to gas density r, the cross section area S of the gas passage 15 at which the detecting unit 13 is located, the gas pressure P of the position at which the detecting unit 13 is located and the fluid Bernoulli equation.", "For example, in an ideal modeling, Q=S2×√{square root over (2P/r)}.", "In other embodiments, the gas flow quantity may be detected via other ways.", "S12: adjusting an atomizing quantity of the atomizer according to the detected gas flow quantity.", "In this embodiment, the block S12 may include: finding a corresponding atomizing quantity in a preset mapping table between the gas flow quantity and the atomizing quantity according to the detected gas flow quantity, and adjusting the atomizing quantity to the corresponding atomizing quantity.", "The atomizing quantity may be adjusted to the corresponding atomizing quantity via adjusting the output power of the atomizing unit.", "In one embodiment, the preset mapping table between the gas flow quantity and the atomizing quantity may be replaced with a preset mapping table between the gas flow quantity and the output power of the atomizing unit.", "The block S12 may include: finding a corresponding output power in the preset mapping table according to the detected gas flow quantity and adjusting the output power of the atomizing unit to the corresponding output power.", "In another embodiment, the block S12 may further include: calculating a target output power of the atomizing unit according to the detected gas flow quantity, and adjusting the output power of the atomizing unit to the target output power, so as to adjust the atomizing quantity of the atomizer.", "In other embodiments, the block S12 may further include: calibrating the target atomizing quantity according to the atomizing quantity to obtain a calibrated atomizing quantity, and adjusting the atomizing quantity to the calibrated atomizing quantity.", "In other embodiments, the block S12 may further include: adjusting the atomizing quantity of the atomizer via adjusting the output power of the atomizing unit as well as the gas flux of the throttle control unit 18.Referring to FIG.", "6, an electronic cigarette according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure is depicted.", "The electronic cigarette 30 of the present disclosure may include an atomizer 40, the atomizer 40 may be the atomizer in any embodiment mentioned above.", "In the present disclosure, a detecting unit is arranged in the gas passage to detect the gas flow quantity, and then the control unit adjusts the atomizing quantity of the atomizer according to the gas flow quantity detected by the detecting unit, which could guide the user to smoke via using the electronic cigarette in a healthier way.", "The above description depicts merely some exemplary embodiments of the disclosure, but is not meant to limit the scope of the disclosure.", "Any equivalent structure or flow transformations made to the disclosure, or any direct or indirect applications of the disclosure on other related fields, shall all be covered within the protection of the disclosure." ] ]
Patent_15872942
[ [ "METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR RESOURCE CONFIGURATION AND BASE STATION", "The present document provides a method, an apparatus and a base station for resource configuration.", "The method includes: performing, when resources for a first type of channel allocated to a first terminal and resources for a second type of channel allocated to a second terminal satisfy a specified condition, a time-domain position of a first resource among the resources for the second type of channel is postponed.", "In one aspect, the problem of avoiding collision occurring between channel resources configured for different terminals in the related art can be solved, thereby avoiding collisions of channel resources and improving the communication efficiency." ], [ "1.A method for resource configuration, comprising: performing a mapping of resource elements for a transmission on a Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH); and postponing, when the mapping of resource elements includes a resource element that overlaps with one or more configured resources mapped for a transmission on a Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH), a portion of the transmission on the PUSCH until a unit in time domain not overlapping with the one or more configured resources mapped for the transmission on the PRACH.", "2.The method of claim 1, wherein the unit in time domain is a first slot not overlapping with the one or more configured resources mapped for the transmission on the PRACH.", "3.The method of claim 1, wherein the unit in time domain is an integer number of milliseconds after the one or more configured resources mapped for the transmission on the PRACH.", "4.The method of claim 1, further comprising: inserting, when a length of the transmission on the PRACH is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, a transmission gap after the one or more configured resources mapped for the transmission on the PRACH.", "5.The method of claim 4, wherein the unit in time domain includes a first slot in the transmission gap.", "6.The method of claim 1, further comprising: inserting, when a length of the transmission on the PUSCH is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, a transmission gap after the mapping of resource elements for the transmission on the PUSCH.", "7.An apparatus for resource configuration, comprising: a processor configured to (1) perform a mapping of resource elements for a transmission on a Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH); and (2) postpone, when the mapping of resource elements includes a resource element that overlaps with one or more configured resources mapped for a transmission on a Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH), a portion of the transmission on the PUSCH until a unit in time domain not overlapping with the one or more configured resources mapped for transmission on the PRACH; and a transmitter configured to perform the transmission on the PUSCH.", "8.The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the unit in time domain is a first slot not overlapping with the one or more configured resources mapped for the transmission on the PRACH.", "9.The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the unit in time domain is an integer number of milliseconds after the one or more configured resources mapped for the transmission on the PRACH.", "10.The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the processor is further configured to insert, when a length of the transmission on the PRACH is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, a transmission gap after the one or more configured resources mapped for the transmission on the PRACH.", "11.The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the unit in time domain includes a first slot in the transmission gap.", "12.The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the processor is further configured to insert, when a length of the transmission on the PUSCH is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, a transmission gap after the mapping of resource elements for the transmission on the PUSCH.", "13.A non-transitory computer readable medium having code stored thereon, the code when executed by a processor, causing the processor to implement a method that comprises: performing a mapping of resource elements for a transmission on a Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH); and postponing, when the mapping of resource elements includes a resource element that overlaps with one or more configured resources mapped for a transmission on a Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH), a portion of the transmission on the PUSCH until a unit in time domain not overlapping with the one or more configured resources mapped for the transmission on the PRACH.", "14.The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 13, wherein the unit in time domain is a first slot not overlapping with the one or more configured resources mapped for the transmission on the PRACH.", "15.The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 13, wherein the unit in time domain is an integer number of milliseconds after the one or more configured resources mapped for the transmission on the PRACH.", "16.The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 13, wherein the method further comprises: inserting, when a length of the transmission on the PRACH is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, a transmission gap after the one or more resources mapped for the transmission on the PRACH.", "17.The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 16, wherein the unit in time domain includes a first slot in the transmission gap.", "18.The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 13, wherein the method further comprises: inserting, when a length of the transmission on the PUSCH is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, a transmission gap after the mapping of resource elements for the transmission on the PUSCH." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND <EOH>User Equipment (UE) (MTC UE) for Machine Type Communication (MTC) also referred to as Machine to Machine (M2M) user communication device, is currently a main form of application of Internet of Things (IoT).", "In the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Technical Report (TR) 45.820 V200, several techniques suitable for Cellular IoT are disclosed, among which a NB-IoT technique is a most attractive one.", "Considering that a huge number of user communication devices will be supported in the IoT, a lot of types of terminals shall be supported, such as a terminal that only supports single sub-carrier baseband processing capability and a terminal that supports multiple sub-carrier baseband processing capability.", "If physical channel resources configured for different terminals come into collision, the NB-IoT implementations need a feasible solution to address the collision issue.", "In the related art, there is currently no feasible solution to the problem associated with avoiding the collision between channel resources configured for different terminals." ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY <EOH>The embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method and an apparatus for resource configuration and a base station, capable of solving at least the problem associated with collision between channel resources configured for different terminals in the related art.", "According to an aspect of the embodiments of the present disclosure, a method for resource configuration is provided.", "The method includes: postponing a time-domain position of a first resource among resources for a second type of channel allocated to a second terminal, wherein the resources for the second type of channel and resources for a first type of channel allocated to a first terminal satisfy a specified condition.", "Optionally, the first type of channel includes a random access channel; and/or the second type of channel comprises one of: an uplink data channel, an uplink traffic channel, an uplink control channel, a channel carrying a Hybrid Automatic Repeat reQuest (HARQ) response message, and a sounding channel.", "Optionally, a transmission gap, Gap1, for the first type of channel is configured in transmission on the first type of channel when the first type of channel is a random access channel.", "A number, R1, of repetitive transmissions of a random access signal transmitted on the random access channel is configured to be larger than or equal to a first threshold, R1set.", "Optionally, R1set has a value determined by at least one of the following: using a default configuration for R1set; using a default configuration for R1set and selecting the value of R1set from a set of values of R1; configuring the value of R1set via signaling; configuring the value of R1set via signaling and selecting the value of R1set from a set of values of R1; setting R1set as a maximum integer satisfying a condition that T_Unit1*R1set is smaller than or equal to a second threshold T1set, where T_Unit1 is a time length corresponding to one transmission of the random access signal, wherein a default configuration is used for T1set; or T1set has a value configured via signaling; and selecting the value of R1set from the set of values of R1, and setting R1set as a maximum value in the set of values of R1 that satisfies a condition that T_Unit1*R1set is smaller than or equal to T1set, where T_Unit1 is a time length corresponding to one transmission of the random access signal, wherein a default configuration is used for T1set; or T1set has a value configured via signaling.", "Optionally, the specified condition comprises at least one of: the resources for the first type of channel and the resources for the second type of channel having an overlapping area; time-domain positions at which the resources for the first type of channel are located and time-domain positions at which the resources for the second type of channel are located overlapping or partially overlapping, and a frequency-domain position at which the resources for the first type of channel are located being contained in a frequency-domain position at which the resources for the second type of channel are located; the time-domain positions at which the resources for the first type of channel are located and the time-domain positions at which the resources for the second type of channel are located overlapping or partially overlapping, and a gap between the frequency-domain position at which the resources for the first type of channel are located being contained in the frequency-domain position at which the resources for the second type of channel are located being smaller than or equal to A Hz, where A is larger than 0; a ratio of an overlapping portion between the resources for the first type of channel and the resources for the second type of channel to a frequency-domain bandwidth of the second type of channel being larger than or equal to c %, where c % has a value configured by default or via signaling; and a ratio of a length of a time-domain overlapping area between the resources for the first type of channel and the resources for the second type of channel to a time-domain length of the resources for the second type of channel being larger than or equal to d %; wherein the length of the time-domain overlapping area equals to a number, W1, of a first metric unit; or the length of the time-domain overlapping area equals to a number, W2, of a time-domain length of resources occupied by one transmission of the second type of channel, each of W1 and W2 is an integer larger than 0, and d is larger than 0.Optionally, A is a number, m, of a sub-carrier spacing, S1, of the first type of channel, where m is larger than 0.Optionally, m is configured to be 1 or 2 by default; or m has a value configured via signaling and selected from {0, 1, 2, 3}, or from {0, 1, 2, 4}, or from {1, 2, 3, 4}.", "Optionally, S1=3.75 kHz.", "Optionally, A is a number, n, of a sub-carrier spacing S2 of the second type of channel, where n is larger than 0.Optionally, n is configured to be 1 or 2 by default; or n has a value configured via signaling and selected from {0, 1, 2, 3}, or from {0, 1, 2, 4}, or from {1, 2, 3, 4}.", "Optionally, S2=3.75 kHz.", "Optionally, n is configured to be 1 or 2 by default; or n has a value configured via signaling and selected from {0, 1}, or from {1, 2}.", "Optionally, S2=15 kHz.", "Optionally, the delay process is performed on the time-domain position at which the first resource among the resources for the second type of channel is located by: setting start time of a postponed time-domain position at which the first resource among the resources for the second type of channel is located to be Start2, and Start2=m+k, where m is a first metric unit at which end time, End1, of transmission of the first type of channel is located or an index of the first metric unit, and k is an integer.", "Optionally, when the first type of channel is a random access channel, the end time End1 of transmission of the first type of channel is located is at least one of time at which transmission of a random access signal on the random access channel ends; time at which Guard Time (GT) ends; time at which the last one of a plurality of GTs ends when the plurality of GTs is configured in transmission of the random access channel; time at which a transmission gap ends when the transmission gap is configured in transmission of the random access channel; time at which the transmission of the random access signal on the random access channel ends when the transmission gap is configured in transmission of the random access channel; time at which the GT ends when the transmission gap is configured in transmission of the random access channel; time at which the last GT ends when the transmission gap is configured in transmission of the random access channel; time at which the last one of a plurality of transmission gaps ends when the plurality of transmission gaps is configured in transmission of the random access channel; time at which the transmission of the random access signal on the random access channel ends when a plurality of transmission gaps is configured in transmission of the random access channel; time at which the GT ends when a plurality of transmission gaps is configured in transmission of the random access channel; and time at which the last GT ends when a plurality of transmission gaps is configured in transmission of the random access channel.", "Optionally, the end time End1 of transmission of the first type of channel is located is determined based on start time, Start1, of the transmission of the first type of channel and a time length, T_Length1, of the transmission of the first type of channel.", "Optionally, the time length T_Length1 of the transmission of the first type of channel is determined based on at least one of: a time length, T_Unit1, of an elementary unit for the transmission of the first type of channel; a number, R1, of repetitive transmissions of the elementary unit for the transmission of the first type of channel; and Guard Time, GT1, for the transmission of the first type of channel.", "Optionally, the time length T_Length1 of the transmission of the first type of channel is determined based on at least one of: T_Length1=T_Unit1*R1; and T_Length1=T_Unit1*R1+GT.", "Optionally, T_Length1 is determined based on at least one of: 1) T_Length1=T_Unit1*R1, when R1 is smaller than or equal to R1set or T_Unit1*R1 is smaller than or equal to T1set; or T_Length1=T_Unit1*R1+GT; 2) T_Length1=Σ j=1 j=Num (T_Unit1×R1_subset j +GT1 j +Gap1 j ), when R1 is larger than or equal to R1set or T_Unit1*R1 is larger than or equal to T1set, where Num=R1/R1set, R1_subset j =R1set, j=1˜Num, and Gap1 j =Gap1; and 3) T_Length1=Σ j=1 j=Num (T_Unit1×R1_subset j +Gap1 j ) when R1 is larger than or equal to R1set, or T_Unit1*R1 is larger than or equal to T1set, where Num=R1/R1set, R1_subset j =R1set, and j=1˜Num; Gap1 j =Gap1, j=1˜Num, or Gap1 j =GT1, j=Num.", "Optionally, T_Length1 is further determined based on: 4) T_Length1=Σ j=1 j=Num (T_Unit1×R1_subset j +GT1 j +Gap1 j ), when R1 is larger than or equal to R1set, or T_Unit1*R1 is larger than or equal to T1set, where Num=┌R1/R1set┐, R1_subset j =R1set, and j=1˜Num−1; or R1_subset j =R1˜R1set*(Num−1), and j=Num.", "Optionally, when R1 is not divisible by R1set:Gap1 j =Gap1, and j=1˜Num−1; or Gap1 j =0, and j=Num.", "Optionally, when R1_subset j is smaller than R1set, Gap1 j =0, and j=Num.", "Optionally, when R1_subset j is smaller than or equal to e×R1set, Gap1 j =0, and j=Num, where e is a constant.", "Optionally, 0<e<1, or 0≤e≤1.Optionally, the first resources comprise a number, N−j, of resource units from a resource unit RU(j) having an index of j to a resource unit RU(N−1) having an index of N−1, wherein the resources for the second type of channel consist of N RUs having respective indices of 0˜N−1.Optionally, RU(j) is the first RU or a RU having a minimum index among RUs satisfying the specified condition.", "Optionally, the RU has a time-domain length that is a number, P, of a first metric unit, or a time-dome length of resources occupied by one transmission of the second type of channel, where P is a positive integer.", "Optionally, P has a value that is one of 1 ms, 2 ms, 4 ms, 8 ms, 16 ms, and 32 ms. Optionally, P=32 ms when a frequency-domain sub-carrier spacing allocated for the second type of channel is 3.75 kHz; P=8 ms when the frequency-domain sub-carrier spacing allocated for the second type of channel is 15 kHz; P=32 ms when the frequency-domain sub-carrier spacing allocated for the second type of channel is 3.75 kHz and the second type of channel is transmitted over one signal carrier; P=8 ms when the frequency-domain sub-carrier spacing allocated for the second type of channel is 15 kHz and the second type of channel is transmitted over one signal carrier; P=1 ms, 2 ms, or 4 ms when the frequency-domain sub-carrier spacing allocated for the second type of channel is 15 kHz and the second type of channel is transmitted over a plurality of carriers; P=8 ms when the frequency-domain sub-carrier spacing allocated for the second type of channel is 3.75 kHz and the second type of channel is transmitted over one signal carrier; and P=2 ms, when the frequency-domain sub-carrier spacing allocated for the second type of channel is 15 kHz and the second type of channel is transmitted over one signal carrier.", "Optionally, the RU has a frequency-domain length of a number, Q, of sub-carriers or sub-channels.", "Optionally, Q has a value that is at least one of 1, 3, 6, 9 and 12.Optionally, Q has a value that equals to a number of sub-carriers or the sub-channels allocated for the second type of channel.", "Optionally, when a transmission gap of the second type of channel is to be configured for transmission of the second type of channel, the N RUs constituting the resources for the second type of channel comprises the RU occupied by the transmission gap of the second type of channel.", "Optionally, RU(j) comprises: the first RU that satisfies the specified condition and is not the RU occupied by the transmission gap of the second type of channel; and the RU having a minimum index that satisfies the specified condition and is not the RU occupied by the transmission gap of the second type of channel.", "Optionally, RU(j) is the first RU or the RU having a minimum index among RUs satisfying the specified condition when a transmission gap of the first type of channel is to be configured for transmission of the first type of channel, wherein the resources for the first type of channel do not include resources occupied by the transmission gap of the first type of channel.", "Optionally, the method further includes: refraining from postponing transmission of the second type of channel when RU(j) is not present.", "Optionally, the delay process is performed on the time-domain position at which the first resource among the resources for the second type of channel is located by: setting start time of a postponed time-domain position at which the first resource among the resources for the second type of channel is located to be Start2, and Start2=m+k, when the transmission gap Gap1 is configured in the first type of channel, where m is a first metric unit at which start time of the first transmission gap Gap1 after end time, End2, of the resources for the second type of channel is located, or an index of the first metric unit, and k is larger than or equal to 0; or setting start time of a postponed time-domain position at which the first resource among the resources for the second type of channel is located to be Start2, and Start2=m+k, when the transmission gap Gap1 is configured in the first type of channel, where m is a first metric unit at which start time of the first transmission gap Gap1 after end time of the resource unit RU(j) is located, or an index of the first metric unit, and k is larger than or equal to 0.Optionally, when the resources for the first type of channel and the resources for the second type of channel partially overlap, one of data, traffic, information, and signal carried on the second type of channel is transmitted over resources for the second type of channel that do not overlap the resources for the first type of channel.", "Optionally, when a ratio of an overlapping portion between a frequency-domain bandwidth occupied by the second type of channel and frequency-domain resources for the first type of channel to a frequency-domain bandwidth configured to the second type of channel is smaller than or equal to c1%, one of data, traffic, information, and signal carried on the second type of channel is transmitted over resources for the second type of channel that do not overlap the resources for the first type of channel, where c1 is larger than or equal to 0.Optionally, when the specified condition is satisfied and a ratio of a length of a time-domain overlapping area between the resources for the first type of channel and the resources for the second type of channel to a time-domain length of the resources for the second type of channel is smaller than or equal to d %, transmission of the second type of channel is not postponed, where d is larger than or equal to 0.Optionally, the length of the time-domain overlapping area equals to a number, W1, of a first metric unit; or the length of the time-domain overlapping area equals to a number, W2, of a time-domain length of resources occupied by one transmission of the second type of channel.", "Optionally, when the specified condition is satisfied and a level index of the second terminal is larger than or equal to a predetermined level index, transmission of the second type of channel is not postponed, wherein the predetermined level index is configured by default or via signaling.", "Optionally, when the specified condition is satisfied and a number of repetitive transmissions of the second type of channel is larger than or equal to a predetermined value, transmission of the second type of channel is not postponed, wherein the predetermined value is configured by default or via signaling.", "Optionally, the second type of channel is a channel carrying a Hybrid Automatic Repeat reQuest (HARQ) response message.", "Optionally, the first terminal comprises one or more terminals when the first type of channel is a random access channel.", "Optionally, when the first terminal includes a plurality of terminals, the plurality of terminals satisfies one of the following: the plurality of terminals having a same coverage enhancement level; the plurality of terminals having a same level of repetitive transmission of a random access signal; and the plurality of terminals having a same number of repetitive transmissions of the random access signal.", "According to another aspect of the embodiments of the present disclosure, an apparatus for resource configuration is provided.", "The apparatus includes: a postponing module configured to perform, when resources for a first type of channel allocated to a first terminal and resources for a second type of channel allocated to a second terminal satisfy a specified condition, a delay process on a time-domain position at which a first resource among the resources for the second type of channel is located.", "Optionally, the first type of channel comprises a random access channel; and/or the second type of channel comprises one of: an uplink data channel, an uplink traffic channel, an uplink control channel, a channel carrying a Hybrid Automatic Repeat reQuest (HARQ) response message, and a sounding channel.", "Optionally, the specified condition comprises at least one of: the resources for the first type of channel and the resources for the second type of channel having an overlapping area; time-domain positions at which the resources for the first type of channel are located and time-domain positions at which the resources for the second type of channel are located overlapping or partially overlapping, and a frequency-domain position at which the resources for the first type of channel are located being contained in a frequency-domain position at which the resources for the second type of channel are located; the time-domain positions at which the resources for the first type of channel are located and the time-domain positions at which the resources for the second type of channel are located overlapping or partially overlapping, and a gap between the frequency-domain position at which the resources for the first type of channel are located being contained in the frequency-domain position at which the resources for the second type of channel are located being smaller than or equal to A Hz, where A is larger than 0; a ratio of an overlapping portion between the resources for the first type of channel and the resources for the second type of channel to a frequency-domain bandwidth of the second type of channel being larger than or equal to c %, where c % has a value configured by default or via signaling; and a ratio of a length of a time-domain overlapping area between the resources for the first type of channel and the resources for the second type of channel to a time-domain length of the resources for the second type of channel being larger than or equal to d %; wherein the length of the time-domain overlapping area equals to a number, W1, of a first metric unit; or the length of the time-domain overlapping area equals to a number, W2, of a time-domain length of resources occupied by one transmission of the second type of channel, each of W1 and W2 is an integer larger than 0, and d is larger than 0.According to another aspect of the embodiments of the present disclosure, a base station is provided.", "The base station includes any of the apparatus for resource configuration as provided above.", "According to yet another aspect of the embodiments of the present disclosure, a storage medium is provided.", "The storage medium is configured to store program code for performing the following steps of: performing, when resources for a first type of channel allocated to a first terminal and resources for a second type of channel allocated to a second terminal satisfy a specified condition, a delay process on a time-domain position at which a first resource among the resources for the second type of channel is located.", "With the embodiments of the present disclosure, when resources for a first type of channel and resources for a second type of channel of different terminals satisfy a specified condition, a delay process is performed on a time-domain position at which a first resource among the resources for the second type of channel is located.", "This can avoid performing simultaneous processing on resources configured for different terminals.", "In this way, the problem associated with avoiding collision occurred between channel resources configured for different terminals in the related art can be solved, thereby avoiding collisions of channel resources and improving the communication efficiency." ], [ "CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This patent document is a continuation of and claims priority to International Patent Application No.", "PCT/CN2017/084008, filed on May 11, 2017, which claims the benefit of priority of Chinese Patent Application No.", "201610322408.X, filed on May 13, 2016.The entire contents of the before-mentioned patent applications are incorporated by reference as part of the disclosure of this document.", "TECHNICAL FIELD The present disclosure relates to communication technology, and more particularly, to a method and an apparatus for resource configuration, and to a base station.", "BACKGROUND User Equipment (UE) (MTC UE) for Machine Type Communication (MTC) also referred to as Machine to Machine (M2M) user communication device, is currently a main form of application of Internet of Things (IoT).", "In the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Technical Report (TR) 45.820 V200, several techniques suitable for Cellular IoT are disclosed, among which a NB-IoT technique is a most attractive one.", "Considering that a huge number of user communication devices will be supported in the IoT, a lot of types of terminals shall be supported, such as a terminal that only supports single sub-carrier baseband processing capability and a terminal that supports multiple sub-carrier baseband processing capability.", "If physical channel resources configured for different terminals come into collision, the NB-IoT implementations need a feasible solution to address the collision issue.", "In the related art, there is currently no feasible solution to the problem associated with avoiding the collision between channel resources configured for different terminals.", "SUMMARY The embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method and an apparatus for resource configuration and a base station, capable of solving at least the problem associated with collision between channel resources configured for different terminals in the related art.", "According to an aspect of the embodiments of the present disclosure, a method for resource configuration is provided.", "The method includes: postponing a time-domain position of a first resource among resources for a second type of channel allocated to a second terminal, wherein the resources for the second type of channel and resources for a first type of channel allocated to a first terminal satisfy a specified condition.", "Optionally, the first type of channel includes a random access channel; and/or the second type of channel comprises one of: an uplink data channel, an uplink traffic channel, an uplink control channel, a channel carrying a Hybrid Automatic Repeat reQuest (HARQ) response message, and a sounding channel.", "Optionally, a transmission gap, Gap1, for the first type of channel is configured in transmission on the first type of channel when the first type of channel is a random access channel.", "A number, R1, of repetitive transmissions of a random access signal transmitted on the random access channel is configured to be larger than or equal to a first threshold, R1set.", "Optionally, R1set has a value determined by at least one of the following: using a default configuration for R1set; using a default configuration for R1set and selecting the value of R1set from a set of values of R1; configuring the value of R1set via signaling; configuring the value of R1set via signaling and selecting the value of R1set from a set of values of R1; setting R1set as a maximum integer satisfying a condition that T_Unit1*R1set is smaller than or equal to a second threshold T1set, where T_Unit1 is a time length corresponding to one transmission of the random access signal, wherein a default configuration is used for T1set; or T1set has a value configured via signaling; and selecting the value of R1set from the set of values of R1, and setting R1set as a maximum value in the set of values of R1 that satisfies a condition that T_Unit1*R1set is smaller than or equal to T1set, where T_Unit1 is a time length corresponding to one transmission of the random access signal, wherein a default configuration is used for T1set; or T1set has a value configured via signaling.", "Optionally, the specified condition comprises at least one of: the resources for the first type of channel and the resources for the second type of channel having an overlapping area; time-domain positions at which the resources for the first type of channel are located and time-domain positions at which the resources for the second type of channel are located overlapping or partially overlapping, and a frequency-domain position at which the resources for the first type of channel are located being contained in a frequency-domain position at which the resources for the second type of channel are located; the time-domain positions at which the resources for the first type of channel are located and the time-domain positions at which the resources for the second type of channel are located overlapping or partially overlapping, and a gap between the frequency-domain position at which the resources for the first type of channel are located being contained in the frequency-domain position at which the resources for the second type of channel are located being smaller than or equal to A Hz, where A is larger than 0; a ratio of an overlapping portion between the resources for the first type of channel and the resources for the second type of channel to a frequency-domain bandwidth of the second type of channel being larger than or equal to c %, where c % has a value configured by default or via signaling; and a ratio of a length of a time-domain overlapping area between the resources for the first type of channel and the resources for the second type of channel to a time-domain length of the resources for the second type of channel being larger than or equal to d %; wherein the length of the time-domain overlapping area equals to a number, W1, of a first metric unit; or the length of the time-domain overlapping area equals to a number, W2, of a time-domain length of resources occupied by one transmission of the second type of channel, each of W1 and W2 is an integer larger than 0, and d is larger than 0.Optionally, A is a number, m, of a sub-carrier spacing, S1, of the first type of channel, where m is larger than 0.Optionally, m is configured to be 1 or 2 by default; or m has a value configured via signaling and selected from {0, 1, 2, 3}, or from {0, 1, 2, 4}, or from {1, 2, 3, 4}.", "Optionally, S1=3.75 kHz.", "Optionally, A is a number, n, of a sub-carrier spacing S2 of the second type of channel, where n is larger than 0.Optionally, n is configured to be 1 or 2 by default; or n has a value configured via signaling and selected from {0, 1, 2, 3}, or from {0, 1, 2, 4}, or from {1, 2, 3, 4}.", "Optionally, S2=3.75 kHz.", "Optionally, n is configured to be 1 or 2 by default; or n has a value configured via signaling and selected from {0, 1}, or from {1, 2}.", "Optionally, S2=15 kHz.", "Optionally, the delay process is performed on the time-domain position at which the first resource among the resources for the second type of channel is located by: setting start time of a postponed time-domain position at which the first resource among the resources for the second type of channel is located to be Start2, and Start2=m+k, where m is a first metric unit at which end time, End1, of transmission of the first type of channel is located or an index of the first metric unit, and k is an integer.", "Optionally, when the first type of channel is a random access channel, the end time End1 of transmission of the first type of channel is located is at least one of time at which transmission of a random access signal on the random access channel ends; time at which Guard Time (GT) ends; time at which the last one of a plurality of GTs ends when the plurality of GTs is configured in transmission of the random access channel; time at which a transmission gap ends when the transmission gap is configured in transmission of the random access channel; time at which the transmission of the random access signal on the random access channel ends when the transmission gap is configured in transmission of the random access channel; time at which the GT ends when the transmission gap is configured in transmission of the random access channel; time at which the last GT ends when the transmission gap is configured in transmission of the random access channel; time at which the last one of a plurality of transmission gaps ends when the plurality of transmission gaps is configured in transmission of the random access channel; time at which the transmission of the random access signal on the random access channel ends when a plurality of transmission gaps is configured in transmission of the random access channel; time at which the GT ends when a plurality of transmission gaps is configured in transmission of the random access channel; and time at which the last GT ends when a plurality of transmission gaps is configured in transmission of the random access channel.", "Optionally, the end time End1 of transmission of the first type of channel is located is determined based on start time, Start1, of the transmission of the first type of channel and a time length, T_Length1, of the transmission of the first type of channel.", "Optionally, the time length T_Length1 of the transmission of the first type of channel is determined based on at least one of: a time length, T_Unit1, of an elementary unit for the transmission of the first type of channel; a number, R1, of repetitive transmissions of the elementary unit for the transmission of the first type of channel; and Guard Time, GT1, for the transmission of the first type of channel.", "Optionally, the time length T_Length1 of the transmission of the first type of channel is determined based on at least one of: T_Length1=T_Unit1*R1; and T_Length1=T_Unit1*R1+GT.", "Optionally, T_Length1 is determined based on at least one of: 1) T_Length1=T_Unit1*R1, when R1 is smaller than or equal to R1set or T_Unit1*R1 is smaller than or equal to T1set; or T_Length1=T_Unit1*R1+GT; 2) T_Length1=Σj=1j=Num (T_Unit1×R1_subsetj+GT1j+Gap1j), when R1 is larger than or equal to R1set or T_Unit1*R1 is larger than or equal to T1set, where Num=R1/R1set, R1_subsetj=R1set, j=1˜Num, and Gap1j=Gap1; and 3) T_Length1=Σj=1j=Num (T_Unit1×R1_subsetj+Gap1j) when R1 is larger than or equal to R1set, or T_Unit1*R1 is larger than or equal to T1set, where Num=R1/R1set, R1_subsetj=R1set, and j=1˜Num; Gap1j=Gap1, j=1˜Num, or Gap1j=GT1, j=Num.", "Optionally, T_Length1 is further determined based on: 4) T_Length1=Σj=1j=Num (T_Unit1×R1_subsetj+GT1j+Gap1j), when R1 is larger than or equal to R1set, or T_Unit1*R1 is larger than or equal to T1set, where Num=┌R1/R1set┐, R1_subsetj=R1set, and j=1˜Num−1; or R1_subsetj=R1˜R1set*(Num−1), and j=Num.", "Optionally, when R1 is not divisible by R1set:Gap1j=Gap1, and j=1˜Num−1; or Gap1j=0, and j=Num.", "Optionally, when R1_subsetj is smaller than R1set, Gap1j=0, and j=Num.", "Optionally, when R1_subsetj is smaller than or equal to e×R1set, Gap1j=0, and j=Num, where e is a constant.", "Optionally, 0<e<1, or 0≤e≤1.Optionally, the first resources comprise a number, N−j, of resource units from a resource unit RU(j) having an index of j to a resource unit RU(N−1) having an index of N−1, wherein the resources for the second type of channel consist of N RUs having respective indices of 0˜N−1.Optionally, RU(j) is the first RU or a RU having a minimum index among RUs satisfying the specified condition.", "Optionally, the RU has a time-domain length that is a number, P, of a first metric unit, or a time-dome length of resources occupied by one transmission of the second type of channel, where P is a positive integer.", "Optionally, P has a value that is one of 1 ms, 2 ms, 4 ms, 8 ms, 16 ms, and 32 ms. Optionally, P=32 ms when a frequency-domain sub-carrier spacing allocated for the second type of channel is 3.75 kHz; P=8 ms when the frequency-domain sub-carrier spacing allocated for the second type of channel is 15 kHz; P=32 ms when the frequency-domain sub-carrier spacing allocated for the second type of channel is 3.75 kHz and the second type of channel is transmitted over one signal carrier; P=8 ms when the frequency-domain sub-carrier spacing allocated for the second type of channel is 15 kHz and the second type of channel is transmitted over one signal carrier; P=1 ms, 2 ms, or 4 ms when the frequency-domain sub-carrier spacing allocated for the second type of channel is 15 kHz and the second type of channel is transmitted over a plurality of carriers; P=8 ms when the frequency-domain sub-carrier spacing allocated for the second type of channel is 3.75 kHz and the second type of channel is transmitted over one signal carrier; and P=2 ms, when the frequency-domain sub-carrier spacing allocated for the second type of channel is 15 kHz and the second type of channel is transmitted over one signal carrier.", "Optionally, the RU has a frequency-domain length of a number, Q, of sub-carriers or sub-channels.", "Optionally, Q has a value that is at least one of 1, 3, 6, 9 and 12.Optionally, Q has a value that equals to a number of sub-carriers or the sub-channels allocated for the second type of channel.", "Optionally, when a transmission gap of the second type of channel is to be configured for transmission of the second type of channel, the N RUs constituting the resources for the second type of channel comprises the RU occupied by the transmission gap of the second type of channel.", "Optionally, RU(j) comprises: the first RU that satisfies the specified condition and is not the RU occupied by the transmission gap of the second type of channel; and the RU having a minimum index that satisfies the specified condition and is not the RU occupied by the transmission gap of the second type of channel.", "Optionally, RU(j) is the first RU or the RU having a minimum index among RUs satisfying the specified condition when a transmission gap of the first type of channel is to be configured for transmission of the first type of channel, wherein the resources for the first type of channel do not include resources occupied by the transmission gap of the first type of channel.", "Optionally, the method further includes: refraining from postponing transmission of the second type of channel when RU(j) is not present.", "Optionally, the delay process is performed on the time-domain position at which the first resource among the resources for the second type of channel is located by: setting start time of a postponed time-domain position at which the first resource among the resources for the second type of channel is located to be Start2, and Start2=m+k, when the transmission gap Gap1 is configured in the first type of channel, where m is a first metric unit at which start time of the first transmission gap Gap1 after end time, End2, of the resources for the second type of channel is located, or an index of the first metric unit, and k is larger than or equal to 0; or setting start time of a postponed time-domain position at which the first resource among the resources for the second type of channel is located to be Start2, and Start2=m+k, when the transmission gap Gap1 is configured in the first type of channel, where m is a first metric unit at which start time of the first transmission gap Gap1 after end time of the resource unit RU(j) is located, or an index of the first metric unit, and k is larger than or equal to 0.Optionally, when the resources for the first type of channel and the resources for the second type of channel partially overlap, one of data, traffic, information, and signal carried on the second type of channel is transmitted over resources for the second type of channel that do not overlap the resources for the first type of channel.", "Optionally, when a ratio of an overlapping portion between a frequency-domain bandwidth occupied by the second type of channel and frequency-domain resources for the first type of channel to a frequency-domain bandwidth configured to the second type of channel is smaller than or equal to c1%, one of data, traffic, information, and signal carried on the second type of channel is transmitted over resources for the second type of channel that do not overlap the resources for the first type of channel, where c1 is larger than or equal to 0.Optionally, when the specified condition is satisfied and a ratio of a length of a time-domain overlapping area between the resources for the first type of channel and the resources for the second type of channel to a time-domain length of the resources for the second type of channel is smaller than or equal to d %, transmission of the second type of channel is not postponed, where d is larger than or equal to 0.Optionally, the length of the time-domain overlapping area equals to a number, W1, of a first metric unit; or the length of the time-domain overlapping area equals to a number, W2, of a time-domain length of resources occupied by one transmission of the second type of channel.", "Optionally, when the specified condition is satisfied and a level index of the second terminal is larger than or equal to a predetermined level index, transmission of the second type of channel is not postponed, wherein the predetermined level index is configured by default or via signaling.", "Optionally, when the specified condition is satisfied and a number of repetitive transmissions of the second type of channel is larger than or equal to a predetermined value, transmission of the second type of channel is not postponed, wherein the predetermined value is configured by default or via signaling.", "Optionally, the second type of channel is a channel carrying a Hybrid Automatic Repeat reQuest (HARQ) response message.", "Optionally, the first terminal comprises one or more terminals when the first type of channel is a random access channel.", "Optionally, when the first terminal includes a plurality of terminals, the plurality of terminals satisfies one of the following: the plurality of terminals having a same coverage enhancement level; the plurality of terminals having a same level of repetitive transmission of a random access signal; and the plurality of terminals having a same number of repetitive transmissions of the random access signal.", "According to another aspect of the embodiments of the present disclosure, an apparatus for resource configuration is provided.", "The apparatus includes: a postponing module configured to perform, when resources for a first type of channel allocated to a first terminal and resources for a second type of channel allocated to a second terminal satisfy a specified condition, a delay process on a time-domain position at which a first resource among the resources for the second type of channel is located.", "Optionally, the first type of channel comprises a random access channel; and/or the second type of channel comprises one of: an uplink data channel, an uplink traffic channel, an uplink control channel, a channel carrying a Hybrid Automatic Repeat reQuest (HARQ) response message, and a sounding channel.", "Optionally, the specified condition comprises at least one of: the resources for the first type of channel and the resources for the second type of channel having an overlapping area; time-domain positions at which the resources for the first type of channel are located and time-domain positions at which the resources for the second type of channel are located overlapping or partially overlapping, and a frequency-domain position at which the resources for the first type of channel are located being contained in a frequency-domain position at which the resources for the second type of channel are located; the time-domain positions at which the resources for the first type of channel are located and the time-domain positions at which the resources for the second type of channel are located overlapping or partially overlapping, and a gap between the frequency-domain position at which the resources for the first type of channel are located being contained in the frequency-domain position at which the resources for the second type of channel are located being smaller than or equal to A Hz, where A is larger than 0; a ratio of an overlapping portion between the resources for the first type of channel and the resources for the second type of channel to a frequency-domain bandwidth of the second type of channel being larger than or equal to c %, where c % has a value configured by default or via signaling; and a ratio of a length of a time-domain overlapping area between the resources for the first type of channel and the resources for the second type of channel to a time-domain length of the resources for the second type of channel being larger than or equal to d %; wherein the length of the time-domain overlapping area equals to a number, W1, of a first metric unit; or the length of the time-domain overlapping area equals to a number, W2, of a time-domain length of resources occupied by one transmission of the second type of channel, each of W1 and W2 is an integer larger than 0, and d is larger than 0.According to another aspect of the embodiments of the present disclosure, a base station is provided.", "The base station includes any of the apparatus for resource configuration as provided above.", "According to yet another aspect of the embodiments of the present disclosure, a storage medium is provided.", "The storage medium is configured to store program code for performing the following steps of: performing, when resources for a first type of channel allocated to a first terminal and resources for a second type of channel allocated to a second terminal satisfy a specified condition, a delay process on a time-domain position at which a first resource among the resources for the second type of channel is located.", "With the embodiments of the present disclosure, when resources for a first type of channel and resources for a second type of channel of different terminals satisfy a specified condition, a delay process is performed on a time-domain position at which a first resource among the resources for the second type of channel is located.", "This can avoid performing simultaneous processing on resources configured for different terminals.", "In this way, the problem associated with avoiding collision occurred between channel resources configured for different terminals in the related art can be solved, thereby avoiding collisions of channel resources and improving the communication efficiency.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The present disclosure can be further understood with reference to the figures described below, which constitute a part of the present disclosure.", "The illustrative embodiments of the present disclosure and descriptions thereof are provided for explaining, rather than limiting, the present disclosure.", "In the figures: FIG.", "1 is a block diagram showing a hardware structure according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "2 is a flowchart illustrating a method for resource configuration according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "3 is a block diagram showing a structure of an apparatus for resource configuration according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "4 is diagram 1 showing a structure of transmission of preamble elementary units according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "5 is diagram 1 showing a structure of 64 repetitive transmissions of preamble elementary units according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "6 is diagram 2 showing a structure of 64 repetitive transmissions of preamble elementary units according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "7 is diagram 3 showing a structure of 64 repetitive transmissions of preamble elementary units according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "8 is diagram 4 showing a structure of 64 repetitive transmissions of preamble elementary units according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "9 is diagram 5 showing a structure of 64 repetitive transmissions of preamble elementary units according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "10 is diagram 1 showing positions of PUSCH transmission according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "11 is diagram 1 showing postponed PUSCH transmission according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "12 is diagram 2 showing positions of PUSCH transmission according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "13 is diagram 2 showing postponed PUSCH transmission according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "14 is diagram 3 showing positions of PUSCH transmission according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "15 is diagram 3 showing postponed PUSCH transmission according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "16 is diagram 6 showing a structure of 64 repetitive transmissions of preamble elementary units according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "17 is diagram 4 showing positions of PUSCH transmission according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "18 is diagram 4 showing postponed PUSCH transmission according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "19 is diagram 7 showing a structure of 64 repetitive transmissions of preamble elementary units according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "20 is diagram 5 showing positions of PUSCH transmission according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "21 is diagram 5 showing postponed PUSCH transmission according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "22 is diagram 2 showing a structure of transmission of preamble elementary units according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "23 is diagram 8 showing a structure of 64 repetitive transmissions of preamble elementary units according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "24 is diagram 1 showing a slot structure according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "25 is diagram 1 showing a structure of transmission of PUSCH according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "26 is diagram 1 showing resources occupied by PUSCH and PARCH transmissions according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "27 is diagram 6 showing postponed PUSCH transmission according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "28 is diagram 1 showing postponed transmission of slot99˜slot128 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "29 is diagram 3 showing a structure of transmission of preamble elementary units according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "30 is diagram 9 showing a structure of 64 repetitive transmissions of preamble elementary units according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "31 is diagram 2 showing a slot structure according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "32 is diagram 2 showing a structure of transmission of PUSCH according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "33 is diagram 2 showing resources occupied by PUSCH and PARCH transmissions according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "34 is diagram 7 showing postponed PUSCH transmission according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "35 is diagram 2 showing postponed transmission of slot99˜slot128 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "36 is diagram 4 showing a structure of transmission of preamble elementary units according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "37 is diagram 10 showing a structure of 64 repetitive transmissions of preamble elementary units according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "38 is diagram 3 showing a slot structure according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "39 is diagram 3 showing a structure of transmission of PUSCH according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "40 is diagram 3 showing resources occupied by PUSCH and PARCH transmissions according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "41 is a diagram showing overlapping between slot99 and PRACH resources according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "42 is diagram 8 showing postponed PUSCH transmission according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "43 is diagram 5 showing a structure of transmission of preamble elementary units according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "44 is diagram 1 showing a structure of 16 repetitive transmissions of preamble elementary units according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "45 is a diagram showing positions of resources for PUSCH transmission when a modulation and coding scheme for data carried in PUSCH is QPSK1/2 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "46 is diagram 6 showing a structure of transmission of preamble elementary units according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "47 is diagram 2 showing a structure of 16 repetitive transmissions of preamble elementary units according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "48 is diagram 7 showing a structure of transmission of preamble elementary units according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "49 is diagram 11 showing a structure of 64 repetitive transmissions of preamble elementary units according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "50 is diagram 4 showing a slot structure according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "51 is diagram 4 showing a structure of transmission of PUSCH according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "52 is diagram 4 showing resources occupied by PUSCH and PARCH transmissions according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "53 is diagram 9 showing postponed PUSCH transmission according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "54 is diagram 8 showing a structure of transmission of preamble elementary units according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "55 is diagram 12 showing a structure of 64 repetitive transmissions of preamble elementary units according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS In the following, the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the figures, taken in conjunction with the embodiments.", "The embodiments, and the features thereof, can be combined with each other, provided that they do not conflict.", "It is to be noted that, the terms such as “first”, “second” and so on in the description, claims and figures are used for distinguishing among similar objects and do not necessarily imply any particularly order or sequence.", "Embodiment 1 The method provided according to Embodiment 1 of the present disclosure can be performed in a computing device, a computer terminal or a similar computing device.", "When the method is performed in a computing device for example, FIG.", "1 is a block diagram showing a hardware structure of a computing device in which a method for resource configuration can be applied according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.", "As shown in FIG.", "1, the computing device 10 can include: one or more processors 102 (only one is shown, which includes, but not limited to, a processing device like a microprocessor such as MCU or a programmable logic device such as FPGA), a memory 104 for storing data, and a transmission device 106 for providing communication functions.", "Those ordinarily skilled in the art can understand that the structure shown in FIG.", "1 is illustrative only, and the structure of the above electronic device is not limited thereto.", "For example, the computing device 10 can include more or less components than those shown in FIG.", "1, or have a different configuration from that shown in FIG.", "1.The memory 104 can store software programs and modules of software application, e.g., program instructions/modules associated with the method for resource configuration according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.", "The processor 102 performs various functional applications and data processing operations, i.e., performing the above method, by executing the software programs and modules stored in the memory 104.The memory 104 can include a random cache or non-volatile memory such as one or more magnetic storage devices, flash memories or other non-volatile solid-state memories.", "In some examples, the memory 104 can further include one or more memories which are remote from the processor 102 and can be connected to the computing device 10 via a network.", "Examples of such network include, but not limited to, Internet, an intranet of an enterprise, a Local Area Network (LAN), a mobile communication network, and any combination thereof.", "The transmission device 106 can transmit or receive data via a network.", "The network can be e.g., a wireless network provided by a communication provider of the computing device 10.In an example, the transmission device 106 includes a network adaptor, or Network Interface Controller (NIC), which can be connected to other network devices via a base station for communication with Internet.", "In an example, the transmission device 106 can be a Radio Frequency (RF) module for communicating with Internet wirelessly.", "In this embodiment, a method for resource configuration is provided.", "FIG.", "2 is a first flowchart illustrating a method for resource configuration according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.", "As shown in FIG.", "2, the process flow includes the following steps.", "At step S202, it is determined that resources for a first type of channel allocated to a first terminal and resources for a second type of channel allocated to a second terminal satisfy a specified condition.", "At step S204, if the specified condition is satisfied, a time-domain position of a first resource among the resources for the second type of channel is postponed.", "With the above steps, if resources for a first type of channel and resources for a second type of channel of different terminals satisfy a specified condition, a time-domain position of a first resource among the resources for the second type of channel is postponed, thereby avoiding performing simultaneous processing on resources configured for different terminals.", "In this way, the problem associated with avoiding collision occurred between channel resources configured for different terminals in the related art can be solved, thereby avoiding collisions of channel resources and improving the communication efficiency.", "It should be noted that step S202 is optional.", "That is, it is not necessary to perform this step every time, and it is possible to determine that the specified condition is satisfied in advance and then just perform step S204 every time.", "Optionally, the above steps can be performed by, but not limited to, a base station, a terminal, etc.", "Optionally, in this embodiment, the first type of channel can include a random access channel.", "Furthermore, optionally, in this embodiment, the second type of channel can include one of: an uplink data channel, an uplink traffic channel, an uplink control channel, a channel carrying a Hybrid Automatic Repeat reQuest (HARM) response message, and a sounding channel.", "In an embodiment of the present disclosure, when the first type of channel is a random access channel and a number, R1, of repetitive transmissions of a random access signal transmitted on the random access channel is larger than or equal to a first threshold, R1set, a transmission gap, Gap1, for the first type of channel is configured in transmission of the first type of channel.", "In an embodiment of the present disclosure, R1set can have a value determined by at least one of the following manners.", "Manner 1 A default configuration is used for R1set.", "Manner 2 A default configuration is used for R1set and the value of R1set is from a set of values of R1.Manner 3 The value of R1set is configured via signaling.", "Manner 4 The value of R1set is configured via signaling and the value of R1set is selected from a set of values of R1.Manner 5 R1set is set as a maximum integer satisfying a condition that T_Unit1*R1set is smaller than or equal to a second threshold T1set.", "In this manner, T_Unit1 is a time length corresponding to one transmission of the random access signal, and a default configuration is used for T1set; or T1set has a value configured via signaling.", "Manner 6 The value of R1set is selected from the set of values of R1, and R1set is set as a maximum integer in the set of values of R1 that satisfies a condition that T_Unit1*R1set is smaller than or equal to T1set.", "In this manner, T_Unit1 is a time length corresponding to one transmission of the random access signal, and a default configuration is used for T1set; or T1set has a value configured via signaling.", "In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the specified condition comprises at least one of the following conditions.", "1.The resources for the first type of channel and the resources for the second type of channel have an overlapping area.", "In specific, the resources for the first type of channel and the resources for the second type of channel include two dimensions, i.e., time domain and frequency domain.", "The overlapping area includes all or a part of the resources for the first type of channel, and/or all or a part of the resources for the second type of channel.", "2.Time-domain positions at which the resources for the first type of channel are located and time-domain positions at which the resources for the second type of channel are located overlapping or partially overlapping, and a frequency-domain position at which the resources for the first type of channel are located is contained in a frequency-domain position at which the resources for the second type of channel are located.", "3.The time-domain positions at which the resources for the first type of channel are located and the time-domain positions at which the resources for the second type of channel are located overlapping or partially overlapping, and a gap between the frequency-domain position at which the resources for the first type of channel are located and the frequency-domain position at which the resources for the second type of channel are located is smaller than or equal to A Hz.", "A is larger than 0.4.A ratio of an overlapping portion between the resources for the first type of channel and the resources for the second type of channel to a frequency-domain bandwidth of the second type of channel is larger than or equal to c %.", "c % has a value configured by default or via signaling.", "5.A ratio of a length of a time-domain overlapping area between the resources for the first type of channel and the resources for the second type of channel to a time-domain length of the resources for the second type of channel is larger than or equal to d %.", "The length of the time-domain overlapping area equals to a number, W1, of a first metric unit; or the length of the time-domain overlapping area equals to a number, W2, of a time-domain length of resources occupied by one transmission of the second type of channel.", "Each of W1 and W2 is an integer larger than 0, and d is larger than 0.In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the second type of channel can support one or multiple repetitive transmissions.", "In an embodiment of the present disclosure, A is multiplication of a sub-carrier spacing, S1, of the first type of channel by a factor m, where m is larger than 0.Optionally, when A is multiplication of a sub-carrier spacing, S1, of the first type of channel by a factor m. m can be configured to be 1 or 2 by default, or m can have a value configured via signaling and selected from {0, 1, 2, 3}, or from {0, 1, 2, 4}, or from {1, 2, 3, 4}.In this case, optionally, S1=3.75 kHz.", "In an embodiment of the present disclosure, A is multiplication of a sub-carrier spacing, S2, of the second type of channel by a factor n, where n is larger than 0.Optionally, when A is multiplication of a sub-carrier spacing, S2, of the second type of channel by a factor n. n can be configured to be 1 or 2 by default, or n can have a value configured via signaling and selected from {0, 1, 2, 3}, or from {0, 1, 2, 4}, or from {1, 2, 3, 4}.", "In this case, optionally, S2=3.75 kHz.", "Optionally, when A is multiplication of a sub-carrier spacing S2 of the second type of channel by a factor n, n can be configured to be 1 or 2 by default; or n has a value configured via signaling and selected from {0, 1}, or from {1, 2}.In this case, optionally, S2=15 kHz.", "In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the postponing a time-domain position of a first resource among resources for a second type of channel is according to the following: setting start time of a postpone time-domain position of the first resource among the resources for the second type of channel as Start2, and Start2=m+k, wherein m is a first metric unit at which end time, End1, of transmission of the first type of channel is located or an index of the first metric unit, and k is an integer.", "In this embodiment, End1 can be a decimal, i.e., cannot be an integer number of the first metric unit.", "The first metric unit can be second (s), millisecond (ms), subframe, frame, slot, or other time unit.", "When the sub-carrier spacing of the second type of channel is 15 kHz, a slot has a length of 1 ms.", "When the sub-carrier spacing of the second type of channel is 15 kHz, a slot has a length of 2 ms.", "In an embodiment of the present disclosure, when the first type of channel is a random access channel, the end time End1 of transmission of the first type of channel can be at least one of the following: 1.The time at which transmission of a random access signal on the random access channel ends; 2.The time at which Guard Time (GT) ends; 3.time at which the last one of a plurality of GTs ends when the plurality of GTs is configured in transmission of the random access channel; 4.time at which a transmission gap ends when the transmission gap is configured in transmission of the random access channel; 5.time at which the transmission of the random access signal on the random access channel ends when the transmission gap is configured in transmission of the random access channel; 6.time at which the GT ends when the transmission gap is configured in transmission of the random access channel; 7.time at which the last GT ends when the transmission gap is configured in transmission of the random access channel; 8.time at which the last one of a plurality of transmission gaps ends when the plurality of transmission gaps is configured in transmission of the random access channel; 9.time at which the transmission of the random access signal on the random access channel ends when a plurality of transmission gaps is configured in transmission of the random access channel; 10.time at which the GT ends when a plurality of transmission gaps is configured in transmission of the random access channel; and 11.time at which the last GT ends when a plurality of transmission gaps is configured in transmission of the random access channel.", "Similarly, in this embodiment, End1 can be a decimal, i.e., cannot be an integer number of the first metric unit.", "In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the end time End1 of transmission of the first type of channel is determined based on start time, Start1, of the transmission of the first type of channel and a time length, T_Length1, of the transmission of the first type of channel.", "Optionally, in this embodiment, End1=Start1+T_Length1.In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the time length T_Length1 of the transmission of the first type of channel is determined based on at least one of: a time length, T_Unit1, of an elementary unit for the transmission of the first type of channel; a number, R1, of repetitive transmissions of the elementary unit for the transmission of the first type of channel; and Guard Time, GT1, for the transmission of the first type of channel.", "In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the time length T_Length1 of the transmission of the first type of channel is determined based on at least one of: T_Length1=T_Unit1*R1; and T_Length1=T_Unit1*R1+GT.", "That is, the time length T_Length1 of the transmission of the first type of channel can be determined based on T_Length1=T_Unit1*R1 or T_Length1=T_Unit1*R1+GT.", "In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the time length T_Length1 of the transmission of the first type of channel is determined based on at least one of: a time length, T_Unit1, of an elementary unit for the transmission of the first type of channel; a number, R1, of repetitive transmissions of the elementary unit for the transmission of the first type of channel; and Guard Time, GT1, for the transmission of the first type of channel.", "In an embodiment of the present disclosure, T_Length1 is determined based on at least one of the following manner.", "1) T_Length1=T_Unit1*R1, when R1 is smaller than or equal to R1set or T_Unit1*R1 is smaller than or equal to T1set; or T_Length1=T_Unit1*R1+GT.", "R1 has a value configured by the base station via signaling.", "R1set can have a value determined by at least one of: using a default configuration for R1set; using a default configuration for R1set and selecting the value of R1set from a set of values of R1; configuring the value of R1set via signaling; configuring the value of R1set via signaling and selecting the value of R1set from a set of values of R1; setting R1set as a maximum integer satisfying a condition that T_Unit1*R1set is smaller than or equal to T1set; and selecting the value of R1set from the set of values of R1, and setting R1set as a maximum value in the set of values of R1 that satisfies a condition that T_Unit1*R1set is smaller than or equal to T1set.", "A default configuration is used for T1set; or T1set has a value configured via signaling.", "2) T_Length=Σj=1j=Num (T_Unit1×R1_subsetj+GT1j+Gap1j), when R1 is larger than or equal to R1set or T_Unit1*R1 is larger than or equal to T1set, where Num=R1/R1set, R1_subsetj=R1set, j=1˜Num, and Gap1=Gap1.R1 has a value configured by the base station via signaling.", "R1set can have a value determined by at least one of: using a default configuration for R1set; using a default configuration for R1set and selecting the value of R1set from a set of values of R1; configuring the value of R1set via signaling; configuring the value of R1set via signaling and selecting the value of R1set from a set of values of R1; setting R1set as a maximum integer satisfying a condition that T_Unit1*R1set is smaller than or equal to T1set; and selecting the value of R1set from the set of values of R1, and setting R1set as a maximum value in the set of values of R1 that satisfies a condition that T_Unit1*R1set is smaller than or equal to T1set.", "A default configuration is used for T1set; or T1set has a value configured via signaling.", "Optionally, in an embodiment of the present disclosure, Gap1=0 and j=Num.", "3) T_Length1=Σj=1j=Num (T_Unit1×R1_subsetj+Gap1j) when R1 is larger than or equal to R1set, or T_Unit1*R1 is larger than or equal to T1set, where Num=R1/R1set, R1_subsetj=R1set, and j=1˜Num.", "R1 has a value configured by the base station via signaling.", "R1set can have a value determined by at least one of: using a default configuration for R1set; using a default configuration for R1set and selecting the value of R1set from a set of values of R1; configuring the value of R1set via signaling; configuring the value of R1set via signaling and selecting the value of R1set from a set of values of R1; setting R1set as a maximum integer satisfying a condition that T_Unit1*R1set is smaller than or equal to T1set; and selecting the value of R1set from the set of values of R1, and setting R1set as a maximum value in the set of values of R1 that satisfies a condition that T_Unit1*R1set is smaller than or equal to T1set.", "A default configuration is used for T1set; or T1set has a value configured via signaling.", "Optionally, in an embodiment of the present disclosure, Gap1j=GT1 and j=Num, or Gap1j=Gap1, j=1˜Num.", "4) T_Length1=Σj=1j=Num (T_Unit1×R1_subsetj+GT1j+Gap1j), when R1 is larger than or equal to R1set, or T_Unit1*R1 is larger than or equal to T1set, where Num=┌R1/R1set┐, R1_subsetj=R1set, and j=1˜Num−1; or R1_subsetj=R1−R1set*(Num−1), and j=Num.", "R1 has a value configured by the base station via signaling.", "R1set can have a value determined by at least one of: using a default configuration for R1set; using a default configuration for R1set and selecting the value of R1set from a set of values of R1; configuring the value of R1set via signaling; configuring the value of R1set via signaling and selecting the value of R1set from a set of values of R1; setting R1set as a maximum integer satisfying a condition that T_Unit1*R1set is smaller than or equal to T1set; and selecting the value of R1set from the set of values of R1, and setting R1set as a maximum value in the set of values of R1 that satisfies a condition that T_Unit1*R1set is smaller than or equal to T1set.", "A default configuration is used for T1set; or T1set has a value configured via signaling.", "Optionally, in an embodiment of the present disclosure, when R1 is not divisible by R1set:Gap1j=Gap1, and j=1˜Num−1; or Gap1j=0, and j=Num.", "In an embodiment of the present disclosure, when R1_subsetj is smaller than R1set, Gap1j=0, and j=Num.", "In an embodiment of the present disclosure, when R1_subsetj is smaller than or equal to e×R1set, Gap1j=0, and j=Num, where e is a constant.", "In an embodiment of the present disclosure, 0<e<1, or 0≤e≤1.For example, e can be selected from {0/8, 1/8, 2/8, 3/8, 4/8, 5/8, 6/8, 7/8, 1}.", "In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the time-domain position of the first resource among the resources for the second type of channel is to be postponed.", "In this case, the first resources includes a number, N−j, of resource units from a resource unit RU(j) having an index of j to a resource unit RU(N−1) having an index of N−1, wherein the resources for the second type of channel consist of N RUs having respective indices of 0˜N−1.In an embodiment of the present disclosure, RU(j) is the first RU or a RU having a minimum index among RUs satisfying the specified condition.", "In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the RU has a time-domain length that is a number, P, of a first metric unit, or a time-dome length of resources occupied by one transmission of the second type of channel, where P is a positive integer.", "It should be noted that the second type of channel can support one or multiple repetitive transmissions.", "In an embodiment of the present disclosure, P has a value that is one of 1 ms, 2 ms, 4 ms, 8 ms, 16 ms, and 32 ms.", "In an embodiment of the present disclosure, P=32 ms when a frequency-domain sub-carrier spacing allocated for the second type of channel is 3.75 kHz; P=8 ms when the frequency-domain sub-carrier spacing allocated for the second type of channel is 15 kHz; P=32 ms when the frequency-domain sub-carrier spacing allocated for the second type of channel is 3.75 kHz and the second type of channel is transmitted over one signal carrier; P=8 ms when the frequency-domain sub-carrier spacing allocated for the second type of channel is 15 kHz and the second type of channel is transmitted over one signal carrier; P=1 ms, 2 ms, or 4 ms when the frequency-domain sub-carrier spacing allocated for the second type of channel is 15 kHz and the second type of channel is transmitted over a plurality of carriers; P=8 ms when the frequency-domain sub-carrier spacing allocated for the second type of channel is 3.75 kHz and the second type of channel is transmitted over one signal carrier; and P=2 ms, when the frequency-domain sub-carrier spacing allocated for the second type of channel is 15 kHz and the second type of channel is transmitted over one signal carrier.", "In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the RU has a frequency-domain length of a number, Q, of sub-carriers or sub-channels.", "The length of frequency-domain for RU is multiplication of the sub-carriers or sub-channels by a fact Q.", "In an embodiment of the present disclosure, Q has a value that is at least one of 1, 3, 6, 9 and 12.In an embodiment of the present disclosure, Q has a value that equals to a number of sub-carriers or the sub-channels allocated for the second type of channel.", "In an embodiment of the present disclosure, when a transmission gap of the second type of channel is to be configured for transmission of the second type of channel, the N RUs constituting the resources for the second type of channel comprises the RU occupied by the transmission gap of the second type of channel.", "In an embodiment of the present disclosure, RU(j) comprises: the first RU that satisfies the specified condition and is not the RU occupied by the transmission gap of the second type of channel; and the RU having a minimum index that satisfies the specified condition and is not the RU occupied by the transmission gap of the second type of channel.", "In an embodiment of the present disclosure, RU(j) is the first RU or the RU having a minimum index among RUs satisfying the specified condition when a transmission gap of the first type of channel is to be configured for transmission of the first type of channel, wherein the resources for the first type of channel do not include resources occupied by the transmission gap of the first type of channel.", "In an embodiment of the present disclosure, when RU(j) is not present, transmission of the second type of channel does not need to be postponed.", "In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the time-domain position of the first resource among the resources for the second type of channel is postponed according to the following manner: setting start time of a postponed time-domain position of the first resource among the resources for the second type of channel to be Start2, and Start2=m+k, when the transmission gap Gap1 is configured in the first type of channel, where m is a first metric unit at which start time of the first transmission gap Gap1 is located, and Gap1 is after end time, End2, of the resources for the second type of channel, or m is an index of the first metric unit, and k is larger than or equal to 0; or setting start time of a postponed time-domain position of the first resource among the resources for the second type of channel to be Start2, and Start2=m+k, according to the transmission gap Gap1 is configured in the first type of channel, where m is a first metric unit at which start time of the first transmission gap Gap1 is located, wherein Gap1 is after end time of the resource unit RU(j), or m is an index of the first metric unit, and k is larger than or equal to 0.It should be noted that resources for the second type of channel are those resources without any postponing operation.", "In an embodiment of the present disclosure, when the resources for the first type of channel and the resources for the second type of channel partially overlap, one of data, traffic, information, and signal carried on the second type of channel is transmitted over resources for the second type of channel that do not overlap the resources for the first type of channel.", "In an embodiment of the present disclosure, when a ratio of an overlapping portion between a frequency-domain bandwidth occupied by the second type of channel and frequency-domain resources for the first type of channel to a frequency-domain bandwidth configured to the second type of channel is smaller than or equal to c1%, one of data, traffic, information, and signal carried on the second type of channel is transmitted over resources for the second type of channel that do not overlap the resources for the first type of channel, where c1 is larger than or equal to 0.In an embodiment of the present disclosure, if the specified condition is satisfied and a ratio of a length of a time-domain overlapping area between the resources for the first type of channel and the resources for the second type of channel to a time-domain length of the resources for the second type of channel is smaller than or equal to d %, transmission of the second type of channel is not postponed, where d is larger than or equal to 0.In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the length of the time-domain overlapping area equals to a number, W1, of a first metric unit; or the length of the time-domain overlapping area equals to a number, W2, of a time-domain length of resources occupied by one transmission of the second type of channel.", "It should be noted that the second type of channel can support one or multiple repetitive transmissions.", "In an embodiment of the present disclosure, if the specified condition is satisfied and a level index of the second terminal is larger than or equal to a predetermined level index, transmission of the second type of channel is not postponed, wherein the predetermined level index is configured by default or via signaling.", "Second terminals can be allocated to one or more sets.", "Second terminals belonging to different sets can send out different numbers of repetitive transmissions.", "Alternatively, the second terminal can belong to one or more sets, and when belonging to different sets, have different target coverage enhancement values (or target coverage enhancement intervals) corresponding to different numbers of repetitive transmissions for the second type of channel.", "In an embodiment of the present disclosure, if the specified condition is satisfied and a number of repetitive transmissions of the second type of channel is larger than or equal to a predetermined value, transmission of the second type of channel is not postponed, wherein the predetermined value is configured by default or via signaling.", "In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the second type of channel is a channel carrying a Hybrid Automatic Repeat reQuest(HARQ) response message.", "In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the first terminal comprises one or more terminals when the first type of channel is a random access channel.", "In an embodiment of the present disclosure, when the first terminal comprises a plurality of terminals, the plurality of terminals satisfies one of the following: the plurality of terminals having a same coverage enhancement level; the plurality of terminals having a same level of repetitive transmission of a random access signal; and the plurality of terminals having a same number of repetitive transmissions of the random access signal.", "With the description of the above embodiments, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the method according to the above embodiments can be realized by means of software plus the necessary general hardware platform, and of course can be implemented via hardware, but in many cases the former is the better implementation.", "Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the present disclosure, in essence or in terms of parts contributing to the prior art, can be embodied in the form of a software product, which is stored in a storage medium (e.g., ROM/RAM, disc, CD-ROM) and includes a number of instructions for enabling a terminal device (which can be a mobile phone, a computer, a server, or a network device, etc.)", "to perform the method described in the various embodiments of the present disclosure.", "Embodiment 2 According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, an apparatus for resource configuration is also provided.", "The apparatus can implement the above embodiments and preferably embodiments and details thereof will be omitted here.", "As used herein after, the term “module” can be software, hardware, or a combination thereof, capable of performing a predetermined function.", "While the apparatuses as described in the following embodiments are preferably implemented in software, it can be contemplated that they can also be implemented in hardware or a combination of software and hardware.", "FIG.", "3 is a block diagram showing a structure of an apparatus for resource configuration according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.", "As shown in FIG.", "3, the apparatus includes: a determining module 31 configured to determine whether resources for a first type of channel allocated to a first terminal and resources for a second type of channel allocated to a second terminal satisfy a specified condition; and a postponing module 33, connected to the determining module 31 and configured to, according to the specified condition is satisfied, postpone a time-domain position of a first resource among the resources for the second type of channel.", "With the above module, if resources for a first type of channel and resources for a second type of channel of different terminals satisfy a specified condition, a time-domain position of a first resource among the resources for the second type of channel is postponed.", "This can avoid performing simultaneous processing on resources allocated to different terminals.", "In this way, the problem of collision occurred between channel resources allocated to different terminals in the related art can be avoided, thereby avoiding collisions of channel resources and improving the communication efficiency.", "It should be noted that the determining module 31 is optional.", "That is, it is not necessary to invoke this module every time.", "Instead, it is possible to determine that the specified condition is satisfied before simply invoking the postponing module 33 every time.", "Optionally, in this embodiment, the first type of channel comprises a random access channel.", "Optionally, the second type of channel comprises one of: an uplink data channel, an uplink traffic channel, an uplink control channel, a channel carrying a Hybrid Automatic Repeat reQuest (HARQ) response message, and a sounding channel.", "In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the specified condition comprises at least one of: the resources for the first type of channel and the resources for the second type of channel having an overlapping area; time-domain positions at which the resources for the first type of channel are located and time-domain positions at which the resources for the second type of channel are located overlapping or partially overlapping, and a frequency-domain position at which the resources for the first type of channel are located being contained in a frequency-domain position at which the resources for the second type of channel are located; the time-domain positions at which the resources for the first type of channel are located and the time-domain positions at which the resources for the second type of channel are located overlapping or partially overlapping, and a gap between the frequency-domain position at which the resources for the first type of channel are located being contained in the frequency-domain position at which the resources for the second type of channel are located being smaller than or equal to A Hz, where A is larger than 0; a ratio of an overlapping portion between the resources for the first type of channel and the resources for the second type of channel to a frequency-domain bandwidth of the second type of channel being larger than or equal to c %, where c % has a value configured by default or via signaling; and a ratio of a length of a time-domain overlapping area between the resources for the first type of channel and the resources for the second type of channel to a time-domain length of the resources for the second type of channel being larger than or equal to d %; wherein the length of the time-domain overlapping area equals to a number, W1, of a first metric unit; or the length of the time-domain overlapping area equals to a number, W2, of a time-domain length of resources occupied by one transmission of the second type of channel, each of W1 and W2 is an integer larger than 0, and d is larger than 0.Embodiment 3 According to this embodiment, a base station is provided.", "The base station includes any of the apparatus for resource configuration as provided in the above embodiments.", "Embodiment 4 In the NB-IoT system, the uplink system bandwidth is 180 kHz.", "As shown in FIG.", "4, in this embodiment, the uplink bandwidth occupied by a random access channel (PRACH) configured by the base station is 45 kHz, a PRACH sub-carrier spacing Δf is 3.75 kHz, and a total of 12 PRACH sub-carriers are configured, i.e., Subcarrier0˜Subcarrier11.Group1˜Group4 are defined as elementary units that form a random access signal (Preamble).", "Group1˜Group4 are transmitted over different sub-carriers Each Group includes one cyclic prefix (CP) and five Preamble symbols, and one Preamble symbol has a time-domain symbol length of T k = 1 Δ   f = 0.2667   ms .", "When CP has a length of 0.2667 ms, each Group has a length of 0.2667+0.2667*5=1.6 ms, and Unit has a length of 1.6*4=6.4 ms.", "When CP has a length of 0.0667 ms, each Group has a length of 0.0667+0.2667*5=1.4 ms, and Unit has a length of 1.4*4=5.6 ms.", "In this embodiment, CP has a length of 0.2667 ms, and then Unit has a length of 6.4 ms. Indices of sub-carriers corresponding to Group2, Group3 and Group4 can be determined based on an index of a sub-carrier corresponding to Group1.When a terminal selects Subcarrier 0 for transmitting Group1, Group2 is transmitted over Subcarrier1, Group3 is transmitted over Subcarrier7, and Group4 is transmitted over Subcarrier6, as shown in FIG.", "4.A time length T_Unit1 of elementary units of preamble for a random access signal is 6.4 ms.", "In this embodiment, a preamble for random access signal transmitted in PRACH can have a transmission period of 1280 ms, and a start position offset of transmitting the preamble is 128 ms. A number, R1, of repetitive transmissions of elementary units of transmitting the preamble is selected from {1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128}.", "In this embodiment, R1=64.Guard Time, GT1, for transmitting the preamble is 1.2 ms, i.e., GT1=1.2 ms.", "In this embodiment, 64 repetitive transmissions of elementary units of transmitting the preamble have a total length of 409.6 ms.", "When the number of repetitive transmissions of elementary units of transmitting the preamble is larger than R1set, after R1set transmissions of elementary units of Preamble are completed, it is needed to introduce a transmission gap, Gap1, for Preamble.", "During Gap1, Preamble is not transmitted.", "In this embodiment, R1set=32, Gap1=20 ms, and then a structure of the 64 repetitive transmissions of elementary units of Preamble is illustrated in FIG.", "5.A time length, T_Length1, of the 64 repetitive transmissions of elementary units of Preamble can be calculated as the following formula: T_Length1=Σj=1j=Num(T_Unit1×R1_subsetj+GT1j+Gap1j), where Num=R1/R1set=64/32=2; R1_subsetj=R1set, where j=1˜Num; and Gap1j=Gap1, where j=1˜Num.", "In addition to this embodiment, FIG.", "6 shows a structure of 64 repetitive transmissions of elementary units of Preamble.", "A time length, T_Length1, of the 64 repetitive transmissions of elementary units of Preamble can be calculated as the following formula: T_Length1=Σj=1j=Num(T_Unit1×R1_subsetj+GT1j+Gap1j), where Num=R1/R1set=64/32=2; R1_subsetj=R1set, where j=1˜Num; Gap1j=Gap1, where j=1˜Num−1; and Gap=0, where j=Num.", "Embodiment 5 In the NB-IoT system, the uplink system bandwidth is 180 kHz.", "As shown in FIG.", "7, in this embodiment, the uplink bandwidth occupied by a random access channel (PRACH) configured by the base station is 45 kHz, a PRACH sub-carrier spacing is 3.75 kHz, and a total of 12 PRACH sub-carriers are configured.", "A random access signal (Preamble) transmitted in PRACH can have a transmission period of 1280 ms. A start position offset of transmitting the preamble is 128 ms. A time length T_Unit1 of elementary units of transmitting the preamble is 6.4 ms. A number, R1, of repetitive transmissions of elementary units of transmitting the preamble is selected from {1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128}.", "In this embodiment, R1=64.In this embodiment, 64 repetitive transmissions of elementary units of transmitting the preamble have a total length of 409.6 ms.", "When the number of repetitive transmissions of elementary units of transmitting the preamble is larger than R1set, after R1set transmissions of elementary units of Preamble are completed, it is needed to introduce a transmission gap, Gap1, for Preamble.", "During Gap1, Preamble is not transmitted.", "In this embodiment, R1set=32, Gap1=20.2 ms, and then a structure of the 64 repetitive transmissions of elementary units of Preamble is illustrated in FIG.", "7.A time length, T_Length1, of the 64 repetitive transmissions of elementary units of Preamble can be calculated as the following formula: T_Length1=Σj=1j=Num(T_Unit1×R1_subsetj+Gap1j), where Num=R1/R1set=64/32=2; R1_subsetj=R1set, where j=1˜Num; Gap1j=Gap1, where j=1˜Num.", "In addition to this embodiment, FIG.", "8 shows a structure of 64 repetitive transmissions of elementary units of Preamble.", "A time length, T_Length1, of the 64 repetitive transmissions of elementary units of Preamble can be calculated as the following formula: T_Length1=Σj=1j=Num(T_Unit1×R1_subsetj+Gap1j), where Num=R1/R1set=64/32=2; R1_subsetj=R1set, where j=1˜Num; Gap1j=Gap1, where j=1˜Num−1; and Gap1j=GT, where j=Num.", "In this embodiment, GT=0.2667 ms or 1.2 ms. Embodiment 6 In the NB-IoT system, the uplink system bandwidth is 180 kHz.", "As shown in FIG.", "9, in this embodiment, the uplink bandwidth occupied by a random access channel (PRACH) configured by the base station is 45 kHz, a PRACH sub-carrier spacing is 3.75 kHz, and a total of 12 PRACH sub-carriers are configured.", "A random access signal (Preamble) transmitted in PRACH can have a transmission period of 1280 ms. A start position offset of transmitting the preamble is 128 ms. A time length T_Unit1 of elementary units of transmitting the preamble is 6.4 ms. A number, R1, of repetitive transmissions of elementary units of transmitting the preamble is selected from {1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128}.", "In this embodiment, R1=64.In this embodiment, 64 repetitive transmissions of elementary units of transmitting the preamble have a total length of 409.6 ms.", "When the number of repetitive transmissions of elementary units of transmitting the preamble is larger than R1set, after R1set transmissions of elementary units of Preamble are completed, it is needed to introduce a transmission gap, Gap1, for Preamble.", "During Gap1, Preamble is not transmitted.", "In this embodiment, R1set=30, and then a structure of the 64 repetitive transmissions of elementary units of Preamble is illustrated in FIG.", "9.A time length, T_Length1, of the 64 repetitive transmissions of elementary units of Preamble can be calculated as the following formula: T_Length1=Σj=1j=Num(T_Unit1×R1_subsetj+GT1j+Gap1j), where Num=┌R1/R1set┐=64/30=3; R1_subsetj=R1set, where j=1˜Num−1; R1_subsetj=R1−R1set*(Num−1), where j=Num; and when R1 is not divisible by R1set:Gap1j=Gap1=20 ms, and j=1˜Num−1; or Gap1j=GT=0.4 ms, and j=Num.", "Embodiment 7 In the NB-IoT system, the uplink system bandwidth is 180 kHz.", "As shown in FIG.", "10, in this embodiment, the uplink bandwidth occupied by a random access channel (PRACH) configured by the base station is 45 kHz, a PRACH sub-carrier spacing is 3.75 kHz, and a total of 12 PRACH sub-carriers are configured.", "A random access signal (Preamble) transmitted in PRACH can have a transmission period of 640 ms. A start position offset of transmitting the preamble is 32 ms. A time length T_Unit1 of elementary units of a random access signal (Preamble) is 6.4 ms. Then, 32 repetitive transmissions of elementary units of transmitting the preamble have a total length of 204.8 ms. Guard Time, GT, is 0.2667 ms, i.e., GT=0.2667 ms.", "In this embodiment, uplink traffic channel (PUSCH) configured for a terminal by the base station is transmitted by using a single sub-carrier.", "A sub-carrier spacing is 3.75 kHz.", "Resources for PUSCH allocated to the terminal by the base station include 8 units.", "Each unit has a size of one sub-carrier*32 ms. PUSCH allocated to the terminal by the base station occupies 8 units, i.e., Unit1-Unit8.Positions of PUSCH transmission is shown in FIG.", "10.Since Unit7 and Unit8 in the resources for PUSCH and resources for PRACH overlap, transmission of Unit7 and Unit8 is to be postponed.", "FIG.", "11 shows the postponed PUSCH transmission.", "Start time of the postponed transmission of Unit7 and Unit8 is Start2, which is the first timing having an integer number of milliseconds after a time length, T_Length1, of PRACH·T_Length1=PRACH (204.8 ms)+GT (0.2667 ms).", "Embodiment 8 In the NB-IoT system, the uplink system bandwidth is 180 kHz.", "As shown in FIG.", "12, in this embodiment, the uplink bandwidth occupied by a random access channel (PRACH) configured by the base station is 45 kHz, a PRACH sub-carrier spacing is 3.75 kHz, and a total of 12 PRACH sub-carriers are configured.", "A random access signal (Preamble) transmitted in PRACH can have a transmission period of 640 ms. A start position offset of transmitting the preamble is 32 ms. A time length T_Unit1 of elementary units of a random access signal (Preamble) is 6.4 ms. Then, 32 repetitive transmissions of elementary units of transmitting the preamble have a total length of 204.8 ms. Guard Time, GT, is 1.2 ms, i.e., GT=1.2 ms.", "In this embodiment, uplink traffic channel (PUSCH) configured for a terminal by the base station is transmitted by using a single sub-carrier.", "A sub-carrier spacing is 3.75 kHz.", "Resources for PUSCH allocated to the terminal by the base station include 8 units.", "Each unit has a size of one sub-carrier*32 ms. PUSCH allocated to the terminal by the base station occupies 8 units, i.e., Unit1-Unit8.Positions of PUSCH transmission is shown in FIG.", "12.Since Unit6, Unit7 and Unit8 in the resources for PUSCH and resources for PRACH overlap, transmission of Unit6, Unit7 and Unit8 is to be postponed.", "FIG.", "13 shows the postponed PUSCH transmission.", "Start time of the postponed transmission of Unit6, Unit7 and Unit8 is Start2, which is the first timing having an integer number of milliseconds after a time length, T_Length1, of PRACH·T_Length1=PRACH (204.8 ms)+GT (1.2 ms).", "Embodiment 9 In the NB-IoT system, the uplink system bandwidth is 180 kHz.", "As shown in FIG.", "14, in this embodiment, the uplink bandwidth occupied by a random access channel (PRACH) configured by the base station is 45 kHz, a PRACH sub-carrier spacing 3.75 kHz, and a total of 12 PRACH sub-carriers are configured.", "A random access signal (Preamble) transmitted in PRACH can have a transmission period of 640 ms. A start position offset of transmitting the preamble is 32 ms. A time length T_Unit1 of elementary units of a random access signal (Preamble) is 6.4 ms. Then, 32 repetitive transmissions of elementary units of transmitting the preamble have a total length of 204.8 ms.", "In this embodiment, uplink traffic channel (PUSCH) configured for a terminal by the base station is transmitted by using a single sub-carrier.", "A sub-carrier spacing is 3.75 kHz.", "Resources for PUSCH allocated to the terminal by the base station include 8 units.", "Each unit has a size of one sub-carrier*32 ms. PUSCH allocated to the terminal by the base station occupies 8 units, i.e., Unit1-Unit8.The Positions of PUSCH transmission is shown in FIG.", "14.Since Unit6, Unit7 and Unit8 in the resources for PUSCH and resources for PRACH overlap, transmission of Unit6, Unit7 and Unit8 is to be postponed.", "FIG.", "15 shows the postponed PUSCH transmission.", "Start time of the postponed transmission of Unit6, Unit7 and Unit8 is Start2, which is the first timing having an integer number of milliseconds after a time length, T_Length1, of PRACH·T_Length1=PRACH (204.8 ms).", "Embodiment 10 In the NB-IoT system, the uplink system bandwidth is 180 kHz.", "As shown in FIG.", "16, in this embodiment, the uplink bandwidth occupied by a random access channel (PRACH) configured by the base station is 45 kHz, a PRACH sub-carrier spacing is 3.75 kHz, and a total of 12 PRACH sub-carriers are configured.", "A random access signal (Preamble) transmitted in PRACH can have a transmission period of 1280 ms. A start position offset of transmitting the preamble is 128 ms. A time length T_Unit1 of elementary units for transmitting the preamble is 6.4 ms. A number, R1, of repetitive transmissions of elementary units of transmitting the preamble is selected from {1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128}.", "In this embodiment, R1=64.the times, R, Guard Time, GT, for transmitting the preamble is 1.2 ms, i.e., GT=1.2 ms.", "In this embodiment, 64 repetitive transmissions of elementary units of transmitting the preamble have a total length of 409.6 ms.", "When the number of repetitive transmissions of elementary units of transmitting the preamble is larger than R1set, after R1set transmissions of elementary units of Preamble are completed, it is needed to introduce a transmission gap, Gap1, for Preamble.", "During Gap1, Preamble is not transmitted.", "In this embodiment, R1set=32, Gap1=20 ms, and then a structure of the 64 repetitive transmissions of elementary units of Preamble is illustrated in FIG.", "16.A time length, T_Length1, of the 64 repetitive transmissions of elementary units of Preamble can be calculated as the following formula: T_Length1=Σj=1j=Num(T_Unit1×R1_subsetj+GT1j+Gap1j), where Num=R1/R1set=64/32=2; R1_subsetj=R1set, where j=1˜Num; and Gap1j=Gap1, where j=1˜Num.", "In this embodiment, the uplink traffic channel (PUSCH) configured for a terminal by the base station is transmitted by using a single sub-carrier.", "A sub-carrier spacing is 3.75 kHz.", "Resources for PUSCH allocated to the terminal by the base station include 32 units.", "Each unit has a size of one sub-carrier*2 ms. PUSCH allocated to the terminal by the base station occupies 32 units, i.e., Unit1-Unit32.Positions of PUSCH transmission is shown in FIG.", "17.Since Unit30-Unit32 in the resources for PUSCH and resources for PRACH overlap, transmission of Unit30-Unit32 is to be postponed.", "FIG.", "18 shows the postponed PUSCH transmission.", "Start time of the postponed transmission of Unit30-Unit32 is Start2, which is the first timing having an integer number of milliseconds after a time length, T_Length1, of PRACH.", "Embodiment 11 In the NB-IoT system, the uplink system bandwidth is 180 kHz.", "As shown in FIG.", "19, in this embodiment, the uplink bandwidth occupied by a random access channel (PRACH) configured by the base station is 45 kHz, a PRACH sub-carrier spacing is 3.75 kHz, and a total of 12 PRACH sub-carriers are configured.", "A random access signal (Preamble) transmitted in PRACH can have a transmission period of 1280 ms. A start position offset of transmitting the preamble is 128 ms. CP of Preamble has a length of 0.2667 ms, and a time length T_Unit1 of elementary units of transmitting the preamble is 6.4 ms. A number, R1, of repetitive transmissions of elementary units of transmitting the preamble is selected from {1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128}.", "In this embodiment, R1=64.Guard Time, GT1, for transmitting the preamble is 1.2 ms, i.e., GT1=1.2 ms.", "In this embodiment, 64 repetitive transmissions of elementary units of transmitting the preamble have a total length of 409.6 ms.", "When the number of repetitive transmissions of elementary units of transmitting the preamble is larger than R1set, after R1set transmissions of elementary units of Preamble are completed, it is needed to introduce a transmission gap, Gap1, for Preamble.", "During Gap1, Preamble is not transmitted.", "In this embodiment, R1set=32, Gap1=20 ms, and then a structure of the 64 repetitive transmissions of elementary units of Preamble is illustrated in FIG.", "19.A time length, T_Length1, of the 64 repetitive transmissions of elementary units of Preamble can be calculated as the following formula: T_Length1=Σj=1j=Num(T_Unit1×R1_subsetj+GT1j+Gap1j), where Num=R1/R1set=64/32=2; R1_subsetj=R1set, where j=1˜Num; and Gap1j=Gap1, where j=1˜Num.", "In this embodiment, uplink traffic channel (PUSCH) configured for a terminal by the base station is transmitted by using a single sub-carrier.", "A sub-carrier spacing is 3.75 kHz.", "Resources for PUSCH allocated to the terminal by the base station include 32 units.", "Each unit has a size of one sub-carrier*2 ms. PUSCH allocated to the terminal by the base station occupies 32 units, i.e., Unit1-Unit32.Positions of PUSCH transmission is shown in FIG.", "20.Since Unit30-Unit32 in the resources for PUSCH and resources for PRACH overlap, transmission of Unit30-Unit32 is to be postponed.", "FIG.", "21 shows the postponed PUSCH transmission.", "Start time of the postponed transmission of Unit30-Unit32 is Start2, which is the first timing having an integer number of milliseconds after the last GT.", "Embodiment 12 In the NB-IoT system, the uplink system bandwidth is 180 kHz.", "As shown in FIG.", "22, in this embodiment, the uplink bandwidth occupied by a random access channel (PRACH) configured by the base station is 45 kHz., a PRACH sub-carrier spacing Δf is 3.75 kHz, and a total of 12 PRACH sub-carriers are configured, i.e., Subcarrier0˜Subcarrier11.The Group1˜Group4are defined as elementary units that form a preamble of random access signal.", "Group1˜Group4are transmitted over different sub-carriers Each Group includes one cyclic prefix (CP) and five Preamble symbols, and one Preamble symbol has a time-domain symbol length of T k = 1 Δ   f = 0.2667   ms .", "When CP has a length of 0.2667 ms, each Group has a length of 0.2667+0.2667*5=1.6 ms, and Unit has a length of 1.6*4=6.4 ms.", "When CP has a length of 0.0667 ms, each Group has a length of 0.0667+0.2667*5=1.4 ms, and Unit has a length of 1.4*4=5.6 ms.", "In this embodiment, CP has a length of 0.2667 ms, and then Unit has a length of 6.4 ms. Indices of sub-carriers corresponding to Group2, Group3 and Group4 can be determined based on an index of a sub-carrier corresponding to Group1.When a terminal selects Subcarrier0 for transmitting Group1, Group2 is transmitted over Subcarrier1, Group3 is transmitted over Subcarrier7, and Group4 is transmitted over Subcarrier6, as shown in FIG.", "22.A time length T_Unit1 of elementary units of a random access signal (Preamble) is 6.4 ms. A random access signal (Preamble) transmitted in PRACH can have a transmission period of 1280 ms. A start position offset of transmitting the preamble is 128 ms. A number, R1, of repetitive transmissions of elementary units of transmitting the preamble is selected from {1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128}.", "In this embodiment, R1=64.Guard Time, GT1, for transmitting the preamble is 1.2 ms, i.e., GT1=1.2 ms.", "In this embodiment, 64 repetitive transmissions of elementary units of transmitting the preamble have a total length of 409.6 ms.", "When the number of repetitive transmissions of elementary units of transmitting the preamble is larger than R1set, after R1set transmissions of elementary units of Preamble are completed, it is needed to introduce a transmission gap, Gap1, for Preamble.", "During Gap1, Preamble is not transmitted.", "In this embodiment, R1set=32, Gap1=20 ms, and then a structure of the 64 repetitive transmissions of elementary units of Preamble is illustrated in FIG.", "23.A time length, T_Length1, of the 64 repetitive transmissions of elementary units of Preamble can be calculated as the following formula: T_Length1=Σj=1j=Num(T_Unit1×R1_subsetj+GT1j+Gap1j), where Num=R1/R1set=64/32=2; R1_subsetj=R1set, where j=1˜Num; and Gap1j=Gap1, where j=1˜Num.", "When a time length of transmission of the uplink traffic channel (PUSCH) is larger than or equal to X slots, it is needed to introduce a transmission gap, Gap2, of PUSCH.", "Gap2 has a length of Y slots.", "During Gap2, PUSCH is not transmitted.", "When a sub-carrier spacing used by PUSCH is 3.75 kHz, a slot has a length of 2 ms.", "FIG.", "24 shows a slot structure.", "As shown, one slot contains 7 symbols (symbol0-symbol6) and one guard time GTs.", "In this embodiment, X=100 and Y=10.The uplink traffic channel (PUSCH) configured for a terminal by the base station is transmitted by using a single sub-carrier.", "A sub-carrier spacing is 3.75 kHz.", "The uplink traffic channel (PUSCH) configured for a terminal by the base station is transmitted can occupy one resource unit (RU).", "Each RU has a size of one sub-carrier*32 ms. That is, a time-domain length of RU is 16slots.", "In this embodiment, PUSCH requires 8 repetitive transmissions, that is, a time-domain length of PUSCH transmission is 16*8=128slots.", "In this embodiment, since the time-domain length of PUSCH transmission is larger than X=100slots, it is needed to introduce a transmission gap, Gap2, of PUSCH.", "Gap2 has a length of Y=10slots.", "FIG.", "25 shows a structure of PUSCH transmission.", "In this embodiment, resources occupied by PUSCH and PARCH transmissions are illustrated in FIG.", "26.Since slot99-slot128 in the resources for PUSCH and resources for PRACH overlap, transmission of slot99-slot128 is to be postponed.", "FIG.", "27 shows the postponed PUSCH transmission.", "Start time of the postponed transmission of slot99-slot128 is Start2, where Start2=m+k, m is an index of a slot in which the last PRACH gap ends, and k=1.That is, Start2 is start time of the first slot after the last PRACH gap.", "In addition to this embodiment, FIG.", "28 shows postponed transmission of slot99-slot128.As shown, start time of the postponed transmission of slot99-slot128 is Start2, which is start time of the first slot after the last GT.", "Embodiment 13 In the NB-IoT system, the uplink system bandwidth is 180 kHz.", "As shown in FIG.", "29, in this embodiment, the uplink bandwidth occupied by a random access channel (PRACH) configured by the base station is 45 kHz, a PRACH sub-carrier spacing Δf is 3.75 kHz, and a total of 12 PRACH sub-carriers are configured, i.e., Subcarrier0˜Subcarrier11.Group1˜Group4are defined as elementary units that form a random access signal (Preamble).", "Group1˜Group4 are transmitted over different sub-carriers Each Group includes one cyclic prefix (CP) and five Preamble symbols, and one Preamble symbol has a time-domain symbol length of T k = 1 Δ   f = 0.2667   ms .", "When CP has a length of 0.2667 ms, each Group has a length of 0.2667+0.2667*5=1.6 ms, and Unit has a length of 1.6*4=6.4 ms.", "When CP has a length of 0.0667 ms, each Group has a length of 0.0667+0.2667*5=1.4 ms, and Unit has a length of 1.4*4=5.6 ms.", "In this embodiment, CP has a length of 0.2667 ms, and then Unit has a length of 6.4 ms. Indices of sub-carriers corresponding to Group2, Group3 and Group4 can be determined based on an index of a sub-carrier corresponding to Group1.When a terminal selects Subcarrier0 for transmitting Group1, Group2 is transmitted over Subcarrier1, Group3 is transmitted over Subcarrier7, and Group4 is transmitted over Subcarrier6, as shown in FIG.", "29.A time length T_Unit1 of elementary units of a random access signal (Preamble) is 6.4 ms. A random access signal (Preamble) transmitted in PRACH can have a transmission period of 1280 ms. A start position offset of transmitting the preamble is 128 ms. A number, R1, of repetitive transmissions of elementary units of transmitting the preamble is selected from {1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128}.", "In this embodiment, R1=64.Guard Time, GT1, for transmitting the preamble is 1.2 ms, i.e., GT1=1.2 ms.", "In this embodiment, 64 repetitive transmissions of elementary units of transmitting the preamble have a total length of 409.6 ms.", "When the number of repetitive transmissions of elementary units of transmitting the preamble is larger than R1set, after R1set transmissions of elementary units of Preamble are completed, it is needed to introduce a transmission gap, Gap1, for Preamble.", "During Gap1, Preamble is not transmitted.", "In this embodiment, R1set=32, Gap1=40 ms, and then a structure of the 64 repetitive transmissions of elementary units of Preamble is illustrated in FIG.", "30.A time length, T_Length1, of the 64 repetitive transmissions of elementary units of Preamble can be calculated as the following formula: T_Length1=Σj=1j=Num(T_Unit1×R1_subsetj+GT1j+Gap1j), where Num=R1/R1set=64/32=2; R1_subsetj=R1set, where j=1˜Num; and Gap1j=Gap1, where j=1˜Num.", "When a time length of transmission of the uplink traffic channel (PUSCH) is larger than or equal to X slots, it is needed to introduce a transmission gap, Gap2, of PUSCH.", "Gap2 has a length of Y slots.", "During Gap2, PUSCH is not transmitted.", "When a sub-carrier spacing used by PUSCH is 15 kHz, a slot has a length of 1 ms.", "FIG.", "31 shows a slot structure.", "As shown, one slot contains 14 symbols (symbol0-symbol13).", "In this embodiment, X=100 and Y=20.The physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) configured for a terminal by the base station is transmitted by using a single sub-carrier.", "A sub-carrier spacing is 15 kHz.", "The physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) configured for a terminal by the base station is transmitted can occupy one resource unit (RU).", "Each RU has a size of one sub-carrier*8 ms. That is, a time-domain length of RU is 8slots.", "In this embodiment, PUSCH requires 16repetitive transmissions, that is, a time-domain length of PUSCH transmission is 8*16=128slots.", "In this embodiment, since the time-domain length of PUSCH transmission is larger than X=100 slots, it is needed to introduce a transmission gap, Gap2, of PUSCH.", "Gap2 has a length of Y=20 slots.", "FIG.", "32 shows a structure of PUSCH transmission.", "In this embodiment, resources occupied by PUSCH and PARCH transmissions are illustrated in FIG.", "33.Since slot101-slot128 in the resources for PUSCH and resources for PRACH overlap, transmission of slot101-slot128 is to be postponed.", "FIG.", "34 shows the postponed PUSCH transmission.", "Start time of the postponed transmission of slot101-slot128 is Start2, which is the first timing having an integer number of milliseconds after the last GT or is start time of the first slot after the last GT.", "In addition to this embodiment, FIG.", "35 shows postponed transmission of slot101-slot128.As shown, start time of the postponed transmission of slot101-slot128 is Start2, which is the first timing having an integer number of milliseconds after the first GT or is start time of the first slot after the first GT.", "Embodiment 14 In the NB-IoT system, the uplink system bandwidth is 180 kHz.", "As shown in FIG.", "36, in this embodiment, the uplink bandwidth occupied by a random access channel (PRACH) configured by the base station is 45 kHz, a PRACH sub-carrier spacing Δf is 3.75 kHz, and a total of 12 PRACH sub-carriers are configured, i.e., Subcarrier0˜Subcarrier11.Group1˜Group4 are defined as elementary units that form a random access signal (Preamble).", "Group1˜Group4 are transmitted over different sub-carriers Each Group includes one cyclic prefix (CP) and five Preamble symbols, and one Preamble symbol has a time-domain symbol length of T k = 1 Δ   f = 0.2667   ms .", "When CP has a length of 0.2667 ms, each Group has a length of 0.2667+0.2667*5=1.6 ms, and Unit has a length of 1.6*4=6.4 ms.", "When CP has a length of 0.0667 ms, each Group has a length of 0.0667+0.2667*5=1.4 ms, and Unit has a length of 1.4*4=5.6 ms.", "In this embodiment, CP has a length of 0.2667 ms, and then Unit has a length of 6.4 ms. Indices of sub-carriers corresponding to Group2, Group3 and Group4 can be determined based on an index of a sub-carrier corresponding to Group1.When a terminal selects Subcarrier0 for transmitting Group1, Group2 is transmitted over Subcarrier1, Group3 is transmitted over Subcarrier7, and Group4 is transmitted over Subcarrier6, as shown in FIG.", "36.A time length T_Unit1 of elementary units of a random access signal (Preamble) is 6.4 ms. A random access signal (Preamble) transmitted in PRACH can have a transmission period of 1280 ms. A start position offset of transmitting the preamble is 128 ms. A number, R1, of repetitive transmissions of elementary units of transmitting the preamble is selected from {1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128}.", "In this embodiment, R1=64.Guard Time, GT1, for transmitting the preamble is 1.2 ms, i.e., GT1=1.2 ms.", "In this embodiment, 64 repetitive transmissions of elementary units of transmitting the preamble have a total length of 409.6 ms.", "When the number of repetitive transmissions of elementary units of transmitting the preamble is larger than R1set, after R1set transmissions of elementary units of Preamble are completed, it is needed to introduce a transmission gap, Gap1, for Preamble.", "During Gap1, Preamble is not transmitted.", "In this embodiment, R1set=32, Gap1=20 ms, and then a structure of the 64 repetitive transmissions of elementary units of Preamble is illustrated in FIG.", "37.A time length, T_Length1, of the 64 repetitive transmissions of elementary units of Preamble can be calculated as the following formula: T_Length1=Σj=1j=Num(T_Unit1×R1_subsetj+GT1j+Gap1j), where Num=R1/R1set=64/32=2; R1_subsetj=R1set, where j=1˜Num; and Gap1j=Gap1, where j=1˜Num.", "When a time length of transmission of the uplink physical shared channel (PUSCH) is larger than or equal to X slots, it is needed to introduce a transmission gap, Gap2, of PUSCH.", "Gap2 has a length of Y slots.", "During Gap2, PUSCH is not transmitted.", "When a sub-carrier spacing used by PUSCH is 3.75 kHz, a slot has a length of 2 ms.", "FIG.", "38 shows a slot structure.", "As shown, one slot contains 7 symbols (symbol0-symbol6).", "In this embodiment, X=100 and Y=10.The uplink physical shared channel (PUSCH) configured for a terminal by the base station is transmitted by using a single sub-carrier.", "A sub-carrier spacing is 3.75 kHz.", "The uplink physical shared channel (PUSCH) configured for a terminal by the base station is transmitted can occupy one resource unit (RU).", "Each RU has a size of one sub-carrier*32 ms. That is, a time-domain length of RU is 8slots.", "In this embodiment, PUSCH requires 8repetitive transmissions, that is, a time-domain length of PUSCH transmission is 16*8=128slots.", "In this embodiment, since the time-domain length of PUSCH transmission is larger than X=100slots, it is needed to introduce a transmission gap, Gap2, of PUSCH.", "Gap2 has a length of Y=10slots.", "FIG.", "39 shows a structure of PUSCH transmission.", "In this embodiment, resources occupied by PUSCH and PARCH transmissions are illustrated in FIG.", "40.Since slot100-slot128 in the resources for PUSCH and resources for PRACH overlap and half of slot99 and resources for PRACH overlap, as illustrated in FIG.", "41, transmission of the second half of slot99 and slot100-slot128 is to be postponed.", "FIG.", "42 shows the postponed PUSCH transmission.", "Start time of the postponed transmission of the second half of slot99 and slot100-slot128 is Start2, which is the first timing having an integer number of milliseconds after the last PRACH Gap.", "In FIG.", "42, Slot A has the same structure as that of the first 1 ms of slot99 as shown in FIG.", "41, and symbol 3 is not transmitted.", "In FIG.", "42, Slot B has the same structure as that of the second 1 ms of slot99 as shown in FIG.", "41, and symbol 3 is not transmitted.", "Embodiment 15 When resources for PUSCH and resources for PRACH do not overlap, but a gap between the frequency-domain position at which the resources for PUSCH are located and the frequency-domain position at which the resources for PRACH are located is smaller than (or smaller than or equal to) A Hz, it is needed to postpone transmission of the resources for PUSCH at the same time-domain position as the resources for PRACH.", "The solution for postponing the transmission can be the same as those described in Embodiments 7-14.A is a number, n, of a sub-carrier spacing, S1, of PRACH, where n is configured to be 1 or 2 by defaultor n has a value configured via signaling and selected from {10, 1, 2, 3}, or from {0, 1, 2, 4}, or from {1, 2, 3, 4}.", "In this embodiment, S1=3.75 kHz.", "In addition to this embodiment, A can be a number, n, of a sub-carrier spacing, S2, of PUSCH, where n is configured to be 1 or 2 by defaultor n has a value configured via signaling and selected from {0, 1, 2, 3}, or from {0, 1, 2, 4}, or from {1, 2, 3, 4}.", "In this embodiment, S2=3.75 kHz.", "In addition to this embodiment, A can be a number, n, of a sub-carrier spacing, S2, of PUSCH, where n is configured to be 1 or 2 by defaultor n has a value configured via signaling and selected from {0, 1}, or from {1, 2}.", "In this embodiment, S2=15 kHz.", "Embodiment 16 When resources for PUSCH and resources for PRACH partially overlap, it is needed to postpone transmission of the resources for PUSCH having the same time-domain positions as those of the resources for PRACH.", "The postponing is the same as those of Embodiments 7-14.Embodiment 17 In the NB-IoT system, the uplink system bandwidth is 180 kHz.", "As shown in FIG.", "43, in this embodiment, the uplink bandwidth occupied by a random access channel (PRACH) configured by the base station is 45 kHz, a PRACH sub-carrier spacing Δf is 3.75 kHz, and a total of 12 PRACH sub-carriers are configured, i.e., Subcarrier0˜Subcarrier11.Group1˜Group4 are defined as elementary units that form a random access signal (Preamble).", "Group1˜Group4are transmitted over different sub-carriers Each Group includes one cyclic prefix (CP) and five Preamble symbols, and one Preamble symbol has a time-domain symbol length of T k = 1 Δ   f = 0.2667   ms .", "When CP has a length of 0.2667 ms, each Group has a length of 0.2667+0.2667*5=1.6 ms, and Unit has a length of 1.6*4=6.4 ms.", "When CP has a length of 0.0667 ms, each Group has a length of 0.0667+0.2667*5=1.4 ms, and Unit has a length of 1.4*4=5.6 ms.", "In this embodiment, CP has a length of 0.2667 ms, and then Unit has a length of 6.4 ms. Indices of sub-carriers corresponding to Group2, Group3 and Group4 can be determined based on an index of a sub-carrier corresponding to Group1.When a terminal selects Subcarrier0 for transmitting Group1, Group2 is transmitted over Subcarrier1, Group3 is transmitted over Subcarrier7, and Group4 is transmitted over Subcarrier6, as shown in FIG.", "43.A time length T_Unit1 of elementary units of a random access signal (Preamble) is 6.4 ms. A random access signal (Preamble) transmitted in PRACH can have a transmission period of 1280 ms. A start position offset of transmitting the preamble is 128 ms. A number, R1, of repetitive transmissions of elementary units of transmitting the preamble is selected from {1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128}.", "In this embodiment, R1=16.Guard Time, GT1, for transmitting the preamble is 0.6 ms, i.e., GT1=0.6 ms.", "In this embodiment, 16 repetitive transmissions of elementary units of transmitting the preamble have a total length of 102.4 ms, and a structure thereof is illustrated in FIG.", "44.FIG.", "45 shows positions of resources for PUSCH transmission when a modulation and coding scheme for data carried in PUSCH is QPSK1/2.As shown, the resources for PUSCH and the resources for PRACH partially overlap.", "In this embodiment, the portion of the resources for PUSCH that does not overlap the resources for PRACH can be used for transmission of the data carried in PUSCH.", "Due to the reduced amount of available resources for PUSCH, rate matching is required to adjust the modulation and coding scheme of PUSCH for the data to be carried.", "In this embodiment, the modulation and coding scheme can be adjusted to be QPSK3/4.Embodiment 18 In the NB-IoT system, the uplink system bandwidth is 180 kHz.", "As shown in FIG.", "46, in this embodiment, the uplink bandwidth occupied by a random access channel (PRACH) configured by the base station is 45 kHz, a PRACH sub-carrier spacing Δf is 3.75 kHz, and a total of 12 PRACH sub-carriers are configured, i.e., Subcarrier0˜Subcarrier11.Group1˜Group4 are defined as elementary units that form a random access signal (Preamble).", "Group1˜Group4 are transmitted over different sub-carriers Each Group includes one cyclic prefix (CP) and five Preamble symbols, and one Preamble symbol has a time-domain symbol length of T k = 1 Δ   f = 0.2667   ms .", "When CP has a length of 0.2667 ms, each Group has a length of 0.2667+0.2667*5=1.6 ms, and Unit has a length of 1.6*4=6.4 ms.", "When CP has a length of 0.0667 ms, each Group has a length of 0.0667+0.2667*5=1.4 ms, and Unit has a length of 1.4*4=5.6 ms.", "In this embodiment, CP has a length of 0.2667 ms, and then Unit has a length of 6.4 ms. Indices of sub-carriers corresponding to Group2, Group3 and Group4 can be determined based on an index of a sub-carrier corresponding to Group1.When a terminal selects Subcarrier0 for transmitting Group1, Group2 is transmitted over Subcarrier1, Group3 is transmitted over Subcarrier7, and Group4 is transmitted over Subcarrier6, as shown in FIG.", "46.A time length T_Unit1 of elementary units of a random access signal (Preamble) is 6.4 ms. A random access signal (Preamble) transmitted in PRACH can have a transmission period of 1280 ms. A start position offset of transmitting the preamble is 128 ms. A number, R1, of repetitive transmissions of elementary units of transmitting the preamble is selected from {1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128}.", "In this embodiment, R1=16.Guard Time, GT1, for transmitting the preamble is 0.6 ms, i.e., GT1=0.6 ms.", "In this embodiment, 16 repetitive transmissions of elementary units of transmitting the preamble have a total length of 102.4 ms, and a structure thereof is illustrated in FIG.", "47.When the modulation and coding scheme for the data carried in PUSCH is QPSK1/2, the resources for PUSCH occupy N RUs each having a size of 3sub-carriers*4 ms, with a sub-carrier spacing of 15 kHz.", "When the ratio of the overlapping portion between the frequency-domain bandwidth for PUSCH and the frequency-domain resources for PRACH to the frequency-domain bandwidth of the PUSCH is smaller than or equal to c %, the portion of the resources for PUSCH that does not overlap the resources for PRACH can be used for transmission of the data carried in PUSCH.", "Due to the reduced amount of available resources for PUSCH, rate matching is required to adjust the modulation and coding scheme of PUSCH for the data to be carried.", "In this embodiment, the modulation and coding scheme can be adjusted to be QPSK3/4.When the modulation and coding scheme for the data carried in PUSCH is QPSK1/2, the resources for PUSCH occupy N RUs each having a size of 3 sub-carriers*4 ms, with a sub-carrier spacing of 15 kHz.", "When the ratio of the overlapping portion between the frequency-domain bandwidth for PUSCH and the frequency-domain resources for PRACH to the frequency-domain bandwidth of the PUSCH is larger than c %, it is needed to postpone transmission of the resources for PUSCH at the same time-domain position as the resources for PRACH (over all the frequency-domain resources for PUSCH).", "The solution for postponing the transmission can be the same as those described in Embodiments 7-14.Embodiment 19 In the NB-IoT system, the uplink system bandwidth is 180 kHz.", "As shown in FIG.", "48, in this embodiment, the uplink bandwidth occupied by a random access channel (PRACH) configured by the base station is 45 kHz, a PRACH sub-carrier spacing Δf is 3.75 kHz, and a total of 12 PRACH sub-carriers are configured, i.e., Subcarrier0˜Subcarrier11.Group1˜Group4 are defined as elementary units that form a random access signal (Preamble).", "Group1˜Group4are transmitted over different sub-carriers Each Group includes one cyclic prefix (CP) and five Preamble symbols, and one Preamble symbol has a time-domain symbol length of T k = 1 Δ   f = 0.2667   ms .", "When CP has a length of 0.2667 ms, each Group has a length of 0.2667+0.2667*5=1.6 ms, and Unit has a length of 1.6*4=6.4 ms.", "When CP has a length of 0.0667 ms, each Group has a length of 0.0667+0.2667*5=1.4 ms, and Unit has a length of 1.4*4=5.6 ms.", "In this embodiment, CP has a length of 0.2667 ms, and then Unit has a length of 6.4 ms. Indices of sub-carriers corresponding to Group2, Group3 and Group4 can be determined based on an index of a sub-carrier corresponding to Group1.When a terminal selects Subcarrier0 for transmitting Group1, Group2 is transmitted over Subcarrier1, Group3 is transmitted over Subcarrier7, and Group4 is transmitted over Subcarrier6, as shown in FIG.", "48.A time length T_Unit1 of elementary units of a random access signal (Preamble) is 6.4 ms. A random access signal (Preamble) transmitted in PRACH can have a transmission period of 1280 ms. A start position offset of transmitting the preamble is 128 ms. A number, R1, of repetitive transmissions of elementary units of transmitting the preamble is selected from {1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128}.", "In this embodiment, R1=64.Guard Time, GT1, for transmitting the preamble is 1.2 ms, i.e., GT1=1.2 ms.", "In this embodiment, 64 repetitive transmissions of elementary units of transmitting the preamble have a total length of 409.6 ms.", "When the number of repetitive transmissions of elementary units of transmitting the preamble is larger than R1set, after R1set transmissions of elementary units of Preamble are completed, it is needed to introduce a transmission gap, Gap1, for Preamble.", "During Gap1, Preamble is not transmitted.", "In this embodiment, R1set=32, Gap1=20 ms, and then a structure of the 64 repetitive transmissions of elementary units of Preamble is illustrated in FIG.", "49.A time length, T_Length1, of the 64 repetitive transmissions of elementary units of Preamble can be calculated as the following formula: T_Length1=Σj=1j=Num(T_Unit1×R1_subsetj+GT1j+Gap1j), where Num=R1/R1set=64/32=2; R1_subsetj=R1set, where j=1˜Num; and Gap1j=Gap1, where j=1˜Num.", "When a time length of transmission of the uplink traffic channel (PUSCH) is larger than or equal to X slots, it is needed to introduce a transmission gap, Gap2, of PUSCH.", "Gap2 has a length of Y slots.", "During Gap2, PUSCH is not transmitted.", "When a sub-carrier spacing used by PUSCH is 3.75 kHz, a slot has a length of 2 ms.", "FIG.", "50 shows a slot structure.", "As shown, one slot contains 7 symbols (symbol0-symbol6).", "In this embodiment, X=100 and Y=10.The uplink traffic channel (PUSCH) configured for a terminal by the base station is transmitted by using a single sub-carrier.", "A sub-carrier spacing is 3.75 kHz.", "The uplink traffic channel (PUSCH) configured for a terminal by the base station is transmitted can occupy one resource unit (RU).", "Each RU has a size of one sub-carrier*32 ms. That is, a time-domain length of RU is 16slots.", "In this embodiment, PUSCH requires 8repetitive transmissions, that is, a time-domain length of PUSCH transmission is 16*8=128slots.", "In this embodiment, since the time-domain length of PUSCH transmission is larger than X=100slots, it is needed to introduce a transmission gap, Gap2, of PUSCH.", "Gap2 has a length of Y=10slots.", "FIG.", "51 shows a structure of PUSCH transmission.", "In this embodiment, resources occupied by PUSCH and PARCH transmissions are illustrated in FIG.", "52.Since slot99-slot128 in the resources for PUSCH and resources for PRACH overlap, it is needed to postpone transmission of slot99-slot128.FIG.", "53 shows the postponed PUSCH transmission.", "The start time of the postponed transmission of slot99-slot128 is Start2-1, which is the start time of the first slot in the first PRACH gap after slot99, the start time of the first complete millisecond in the first PRACH gap after slot99, the start time of the first slot after the end time of the first GT after slot99, or the start time of the first complete millisecond after the end time of the first GT after slot99.In this embodiment, only 2 slots, i.e., slot99 and slot100, can be transmitted in the first PRACH gap since Start2-1.Thus, the start time of the postponed transmission of slot101-slot128 is Start2-2, which is the start time of the first slot in the second PRACH gap after slot99, the start time of the first complete millisecond in the second PRACH gap after slot99, the start time of the first slot after the end time of the second GT after slot99, or the start time of the first complete millisecond after the end time of the second GT after slot99.Embodiment 20 In the NB-IoT system, the uplink system bandwidth is 180 kHz.", "As shown in FIG.", "54, in this embodiment, the uplink bandwidth occupied by a random access channel (PRACH) configured by the base station is 45 kHz, a PRACH sub-carrier spacing Δf is 3.75 kHz, and a total of 12 PRACH sub-carriers are configured, i.e., Subcarrier0˜Subcarrier11.Group1˜Group4 are defined as elementary units that form a random access signal (Preamble).", "Group1˜Group4 are transmitted over different sub-carriers Each Group includes one cyclic prefix (CP) and five Preamble symbols, and one Preamble symbol has a time-domain symbol length of T k = 1 Δ   f = 0.2667   ms .", "When CP has a length of 0.2667 ms, each Group has a length of 0.2667+0.2667*5=1.6 ms, and Unit has a length of 1.6*4=6.4 ms.", "When CP has a length of 0.0667 ms, each Group has a length of 0.0667+0.2667*5=1.4 ms, and Unit has a length of 1.4*4=5.6 ms.", "In this embodiment, CP has a length of 0.2667 ms, and then Unit has a length of 6.4 ms. Indices of sub-carriers corresponding to Group2, Group3 and Group4 can be determined based on an index of a sub-carrier corresponding to Group1.When a terminal selects Subcarrier0 for transmitting Group1, Group2 is transmitted over Subcarrier1, Group3 is transmitted over Subcarrier7, and Group4 is transmitted over Subcarrier6, as shown in FIG.", "54.A time length T_Unit1 of elementary units of a random access signal (Preamble) is 6.4 ms. A random access signal (Preamble) transmitted in PRACH can have a transmission period of 1280 ms. A start position offset of transmitting the preamble is 128 ms. A number, R1, of repetitive transmissions of elementary units of transmitting the preamble is selected from {1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128}.", "In this embodiment, R1=64.Guard Time, GT1, for transmitting the preamble is 1.2 ms, i.e., GT1=1.2 ms.", "In this embodiment, 64 repetitive transmissions of elementary units of transmitting the preamble have a total length of 409.6 ms.", "When the number of repetitive transmissions of elementary units of transmitting the preamble is larger than R1set, after R1set transmissions of elementary units of Preamble are completed, it is needed to introduce a transmission gap, Gap1, for Preamble.", "During Gap1, Preamble is not transmitted.", "In this embodiment, R1set=32, Gap1=20 ms, and then a structure of the 64 repetitive transmissions of elementary units of Preamble is illustrated in FIG.", "55.A time length, T_Length1, of the 64 repetitive transmissions of elementary units of Preamble can be calculated as the following formula: T_Length1=Σj=1j=Num(T_Unit1×R1_subsetj+GT1j+Gap1j), where Num=R1/R1set=64/32=2; R1_subsetj=R1set, where j=1˜Num; and Gap1j=Gap1, where j=1˜Num.", "In this embodiment, after the terminal has transmitted the random access signal over the random access channel, it will detect a Random Access Response (RAR) message, as shown in FIG.", "55, where “RAR Detection Time Window” is the position at which the base station transmits the RAR message or control information for scheduling the RAR message.", "Here, there is a gap of k ms between the start position of the “RAR Detection Time Window” and the end position of the resources for PRACH.", "When the transmission gap 1 is configured at the end of the PRACH, the k ms refers to a gap between the start position of the “RAR Detection Time Window” and the transmission gap 1 configured at the end of the PRACH.", "Embodiment 21 According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a storage medium is also provided.", "The storage medium is configured to store program code for performing the following steps of: performing, when resources for a first type of channel allocated to a first terminal and resources for a second type of channel allocated to a second terminal satisfy a specified condition, a postpone process on a time-domain position at which a first resource among the resources for the second type of channel is located.", "Alternatively, in the present embodiment, the above-described storage medium can include, but not limited to, a USB disk, a Read-Only Memory (ROM), a Random Access Memory (RAM), a mobile hard disk, a magnetic Disc or CD-ROM and other media that can store program code.", "Optionally, in the present embodiment, the processor executes the method steps of the above embodiments in accordance with the program code stored in the storage medium.", "It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the above-described modules or steps of the present disclosure can be implemented by means of a general purpose computing device, and can be placed at a single computing device or distributed over a network of multiple computing devices.", "Optionally, they can be implemented by means of program code executable by the computing device, so that they can be stored in a storage device and executed by a computing device, and in some cases, they can be performed in a different order from the steps shown or described here, or they can be made separately into individual integrated circuit modules, or can be implemented by making multiple modules or steps therein into a single integrated circuit module.", "Thus, the present disclosure is not limited to any particular hardware, software, and the combination thereof.", "The foregoing is merely illustrative of the preferred embodiments of the present disclosure and is not intended to limit the present disclosure.", "Various changes and modifications can be made by those skilled in the art.", "Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, and the like within the spirit and principles of the disclosure are intended to be included within the scope of the present disclosure.", "INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, when resources for a first type of channel and resources for a second type of channel of different terminals satisfy a specified condition, a postpone process is performed on a time-domain position at which a first resource among the resources for the second type of channel is located.", "This can avoid performing simultaneous processing on resources configured for different terminals.", "In this way, the problem associated with avoiding collision occurred between channel resources configured for different terminals in the related art can be solved, thereby avoiding collisions of channel resources and improving the communication efficiency." ] ]
Patent_15872944
[ [ "ELECTROLYTIC CAPACITOR", "An electrolytic capacitor includes: an anode body having a dielectric layer; a solid electrolyte layer in contact with the dielectric layer; and an electrolytic solution.", "The electrolytic solution contains a solvent and a solute.", "The solvent contains a glycol compound.", "The solute contains a carboxylic acid component and a base component.", "A ratio of the carboxylic acid component in the solute is 200 parts by mass or more with respect to 100 parts by mass of the base component." ], [ "1.An electrolytic capacitor comprising: an anode body having a dielectric layer; a solid electrolyte layer in contact with the dielectric layer of the anode body; and an electrolytic solution, wherein: the electrolytic solution contains a solvent and a solute, the solvent contains a glycol compound, the solute contains a carboxylic acid component and a base component, a ratio of the carboxylic acid component in the solute is 200 parts by mass or more with respect to 100 parts by mass of the base component.", "2.The electrolytic capacitor according to claim 1, wherein the electrolytic solution has a pH of 4 or less.", "3.The electrolytic capacitor according to claim 1, wherein a proportion of the glycol compound contained in the solvent is 50% by mass or more.", "4.The electrolytic capacitor according to claim 1, wherein the glycol compound contains ethylene glycol.", "5.The electrolytic capacitor according to claim 1, wherein a proportion of the solute contained in the electrolytic solution ranges from 2% by mass to 30% by mass, inclusive.", "6.The electrolytic capacitor according to claim 1, wherein a part of the carboxylic acid component is derived from a salt of the carboxylic acid component and the base component.", "7.The electrolytic capacitor according to claim 1, wherein the base component is at least one selected from the group consisting of a primary amine, a secondary amine, and a tertiary amine.", "8.The electrolytic capacitor according to claim 1, wherein the solute further contains a first aromatic compound containing two or more hydroxyl groups.", "9.The electrolytic capacitor according to claim 8, wherein the first aromatic compound is at least one selected from the group consisting of catechol and pyrogallol.", "10.The electrolytic capacitor according to claim 1, wherein the carboxylic acid component contains a second aromatic compound containing two or more carboxyl groups.", "11.The electrolytic capacitor according to claim 10, wherein the second aromatic compound is at least one selected from the group consisting of o-phthalic acid and pyromellitic acid.", "12.The electrolytic capacitor according to claim 1, wherein the solid electrolyte layer is formed by impregnating the dielectric layer with a polymer dispersion containing a liquid component and a conductive polymer dispersed in the liquid component, forming a film that covers at least a part of the dielectric layer, and then volatilizing the liquid component from the film." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND <EOH>" ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY <EOH>An electrolytic capacitor according to the present disclosure includes an anode body having a dielectric layer; a solid electrolyte layer in contact with the dielectric layer of the anode body; and an electrolytic solution.", "The electrolytic solution contains a solvent and a solute.", "The solvent contains a glycol compound, and the solute contains a carboxylic acid component and a base component.", "A ratio of the carboxylic acid component in the solute is 200 parts by mass or more with respect to 100 parts by mass of the base component.", "According to the present disclosure, an electrolytic capacitor having excellent withstand voltage characteristics and heat resistance, and low ESR can be provided." ], [ "RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation of the PCT International Application No.", "PCT/JP2016/003443 filed on Jul.", "25, 2016, which claims the benefit of foreign priority of Japanese patent application No.", "2015-149120 filed on Jul.", "29, 2015, the contents all of which are incorporated herein by reference.", "BACKGROUND 1.Technical Field The present disclosure relates to an electrolytic capacitor including a solid electrolyte layer and an electrolytic solution.", "2.Description of the Related Art As small-sized, large capacitance, and low ESR (Equivalent Series Resistance) capacitors, promising candidates are electrolytic capacitors including an anode body on which a dielectric layer is formed, a solid electrolyte layer formed so as to cover at least a part of the dielectric layer, and an electrolytic solution.", "For the solid electrolyte layer, a n-conjugated conductive polymer is used.", "From a viewpoint of improving withstand voltage characteristics of the electrolytic capacitor, it has been proposed that a solvent containing ethylene glycol and γ-butyrolactone is used as an electrolytic solution (see PCT International Publication No.", "WO 2014/021333).", "In addition, it has been proposed that an antioxidant is added to an electrolytic solution for increasing a sparking voltage (see Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication No.", "2006-114540).", "SUMMARY An electrolytic capacitor according to the present disclosure includes an anode body having a dielectric layer; a solid electrolyte layer in contact with the dielectric layer of the anode body; and an electrolytic solution.", "The electrolytic solution contains a solvent and a solute.", "The solvent contains a glycol compound, and the solute contains a carboxylic acid component and a base component.", "A ratio of the carboxylic acid component in the solute is 200 parts by mass or more with respect to 100 parts by mass of the base component.", "According to the present disclosure, an electrolytic capacitor having excellent withstand voltage characteristics and heat resistance, and low ESR can be provided.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS FIG.", "1 is a schematic sectional view illustrating an electrolytic capacitor according to one exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure; and FIG.", "2 is a schematic view for explaining a configuration of a capacitor element according to the present exemplary embodiment.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENT Prior to describing an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, problems in a conventional electrolytic capacitor are described.", "The electrolytic capacitor is required to have low ESR, a heat resistance and so on in addition to withstand voltage characteristics.", "From a viewpoint of improving voltage resistance and heat resistance, it is preferable that a solute of an electrolytic solution contains an acid, and that a glycol compound is used as a solvent of the electrolytic solution.", "However, when a glycol compound is used as the solvent, ESR tends to sharply increase after an elapse of a certain time under a long-term load test conducted at 100° C. or higher although low ESR is exhibited in an initial stage.", "In view of the above-described problems, the present disclosure provides an electrolytic capacitor which can have excellent withstand voltage characteristics and heat resistance, and can maintain low ESR.", "The electrolytic capacitor according to the present disclosure includes an anode body having a dielectric layer; a solid electrolyte layer in contact with the dielectric layer; and an electrolytic solution.", "The electrolytic solution contains a solvent and a solute.", "The solvent contains a glycol compound.", "The solute contains a carboxylic acid component and a base component.", "A ratio of the carboxylic acid component in the solute is 200 parts by mass or more with respect to 100 parts by mass of the base component.", "When the solvent contains the glycol compound, orientation or crystallinity of a conductive polymer included in the solid electrolyte layer is improved.", "According to this, conductivity of the solid electrolyte layer is increased and thus ESR of the electrolytic capacitor is reduced.", "Further, contact property between the solid electrolyte layer and the dielectric layer is improved, and thus withstand voltage characteristics are also improved.", "The conductive polymer is considered to be swollen by the glycol compound.", "A swollen conductive polymer is likely to cause rearrangement, so that orientation or crystallinity of the conductive polymer is considered to be improved.", "In addition, it is considered that the electrolytic solution is easily held between the dielectric layer and the solid electrolyte layer, and moderate insulation quality is easily maintained by the held electrolytic solution.", "When the solute contains the carboxylic acid component at a ratio of 200 parts by mass or more with respect to 100 parts by mass of the base component, ESR of the electrolytic capacitor can be kept low not only in an initial stage but also for a long period of time.", "It is considered that deterioration of conductivity of the solid electrolyte layer is suppressed by excessively containing the carboxylic acid component in the electrolytic solution.", "One of causes for deterioration of the solid electrolyte layer is considered to be dedoping of a dopant from the conductive polymer.", "According to the above-described configuration, improvement of heat resistance or ripple resistance of the electrolytic capacitor can also be expected.", "This is because the glycol compound hardly volatilizes to outside from the electrolytic capacitor.", "It is considered that the glycol compound hardly passes through a sealed portion of the electrolytic capacitor, at which the electrolytic solution volatilizes.", "A ratio of the carboxylic acid component may be 200 parts by mass or more, and is preferably 400 parts by mass or more, more preferably 600 parts by mass or more, still more preferably 900 parts by mass or more, with respect to 100 parts by mass of the base component.", "Accordingly, an effect of suppressing degradation of conductivity of the solid electrolyte layer is gradually enhanced.", "On the other hand, when the ratio of the carboxylic acid component is excessively large, it would be difficult to dissociate the carboxylic acid component.", "Therefore the ratio of the carboxylic acid component is preferably 4500 parts by mass or less with respect to 100 parts by mass of the base component.", "pH of the electrolytic solution is preferably 4 or less, more preferably 3.8 or less, still more preferably 3.6 or less.", "When pH of the electrolytic solution is 4 or less, deterioration of the conductive polymer is further suppressed.", "It is normally considered that an anode body is corroded when pH of an electrolytic solution is 4 or less.", "However, when the above-mentioned electrolytic solution is used, corrosion of the anode body is suppressed.", "On the other hand, pH of the electrolytic solution is more preferably 2.0 or more.", "A proportion of the glycol compound contained in the solvent is preferably 50% by mass or more, more preferably 60% by mass or more, still more preferably 70% by mass or more.", "When the electrolytic solution contains the glycol compound as a main solvent, an effect of reducing ESR of the electrolytic capacitor and an effect of improving heat resistance are enhanced.", "The solvent may contain, for example, a sulfone compound, a lactone compound, a carbonate compound, a monohydric or tri-or-more-hydric alcohol, or the like in addition to the glycol compound.", "As the sulfone compound, sulfolane, dimethyl sulfoxide, diethyl sulfoxide, or the like can be used.", "As the lactone compound, γ-butyrolactone, γ-valerolactone, or the like can be used.", "As the carbonate compound, dimethyl carbonate (DMC), diethyl carbonate (DEC), ethyl methyl carbonate (EMC), ethylene carbonate (EC), propylene carbonate (PC), fluoroethylene carbonate (FEC), or the like can be used.", "As the alcohol, for example, glycerin can be used.", "These compounds may be used alone or in combination of a plurality of compounds.", "Preferably, the glycol compound contains at least ethylene glycol.", "In addition, when the solvent contains a plurality of glycol compounds, it is preferable that ethylene glycol is a main component of the glycol compound.", "Ethylene glycol has low viscosity among glycol compounds, so that an excessive carboxylic acid component is easily dissolved.", "Further, ethylene glycol has high heat conductivity, and thus ethylene glycol is excellent for heat dissipation when a ripple current has occurred.", "Accordingly, ethylene glycol has a large effect of improving the heat resistance.", "A proportion of ethylene glycol in the glycol compound is preferably 30% by mass or more, more preferably 50% by mass or more.", "And ethylene glycol may constitute 100% by mass in the glycol compound.", "The glycol compound may contain, for example, diethylene glycol, triethylene glycol, propylene glycol, polyethylene glycol each of which has an average molecular weight ranging approximately from 190 to 400, inclusive, in addition to ethylene glycol.", "For example, 3% by mass or more and 25% by mass or less of the solvent may be constituted by polyethylene glycol that has an average molecular weight ranging from 200 to 300, inclusive.", "Accordingly, heat resistance of the electrolytic capacitor can be further improved.", "A part of the carboxylic acid component may be derived from a salt of the carboxylic acid component and the base component.", "That is, a salt of the carboxylic acid component and the base component may be used as a part of the solute.", "By using such a salt, an effect of improving a degree of dissociation of the carboxylic acid component is obtained.", "For example, it is preferable that 10% by mass or more and 50% by mass or less of the carboxylic acid component is derived from a salt of the carboxylic acid component and the base component.", "The base component is preferably at least one selected from the group consisting of a primary amine, a secondary amine, and a tertiary amine.", "By using an amine component, particularly primary to tertiary amine, an effect of stabilizing ESR for a long period of time is enhanced.", "A quaternary amine may be used, but in view of suppressing a sub-reaction as much as possible, primary to tertiary amines, which are moderately basic, are preferable.", "As each of the amines, it is possible to use an aliphatic amine, an aromatic amine, and a heterocyclic amine.", "However, an aliphatic amine that has a molecular weight ranging from 72 to 102, inclusive, is preferable because such an aliphatic amine has a high degree of dissociation.", "Examples of the primary to tertiary amine include methyl amine, dimethyl amine, trimethyl amine, ethyl amine, diethyl amine, triethyl amine, ethylene diamine, N,N-diisopropylethyl amine, tetramethylethylene diamine, hexamethylene diamine, spermidine, spermine, amantadine, aniline, phenethylamine, toluidine, pyrrolidine, piperidine, piperazine, morpholine, imidazole, pyridine, pyridazine, pyrimidine, pyrazine, and 4-dimethylaminopyridine.", "These amines may be used alone or in combination of two or more polyanions.", "Among these amines, particularly preferred are tertiary amines such as triethyl amine and monoethyldimethyl amine.", "The solute may further contain an aromatic compound having two or more hydroxyl groups (first aromatic compound).", "The hydroxyl group of the first aromatic compound has an effect of stabilizing the conductive polymer by supplementing an action of the carboxylic acid component.", "Such a stabilizing effect may be associated with the fact that the hydroxyl group of the first aromatic compound is weakly acidic.", "In addition, the hydroxyl group of the first aromatic compound is stable, so that a sub-reaction such as an esterification reaction hardly proceeds.", "The hydroxyl group of the first aromatic compound exhibits an effect of stabilizing the conductive polymer over a long period of time.", "An aromatic ring of the first aromatic compound is preferably a C6 benzene ring or a C10 naphthalene ring in view of suppressing an increase in viscosity of the electrolytic solution.", "In addition, it is preferable that the first aromatic compound has two or more phenolic hydroxyl groups bonded directly to the aromatic ring in view of securing long-term stability.", "Among these compounds, divalent phenolic compound to tetravalent phenolic compound are preferable.", "More specifically, it is more preferable that at least one selected from the group consisting of catechol and pyrogallol is used as the first aromatic compound.", "Especially, pyrogallol is preferable because it is moderately acidic, and it is preferable that 90% by mass or more of the first aromatic compound is constituted by pyrogallol.", "Preferably, the carboxylic acid component includes an aromatic compound having two or more carboxyl groups (second aromatic compound).", "The carboxyl group of the second aromatic compound is stable, so that a sub-reaction hardly proceeds.", "The hydroxyl group of the first aromatic compound exhibits an effect of stabilizing the conductive polymer over a long period of time.", "The second aromatic compound is moderately acidic in the electrolytic solution, so that the anode body is less likely damaged by corrosion.", "An aromatic ring of the second aromatic compound is preferably a C6 benzene ring or a C10 naphthalene ring in view of suppressing an increase in viscosity of the electrolytic solution.", "In addition, the second aromatic compound is preferably divalent carboxylic acid to tetravalent carboxylic acid because it is moderately acidic.", "More preferably, the second aromatic compound has at least two carboxyl groups bonded directly to an ortho-position of the aromatic ring because the carboxyl group is easily stabilized.", "More specifically, it is more preferable that at least one selected from the group consisting of o-phthalic acid and pyromellitic acid is used as the second aromatic compound.", "Especially, in view of exhibiting an effect of stabilizing the conductive polymer over a longer period of time, o-phthalic acid is preferable because the carboxyl group is easily stabilized.", "And it is preferable that 90% by mass of the second aromatic compound is constituted by o-phthalic acid.", "A proportion of the solute contained in the electrolytic solution preferably ranges from 2% by mass to 30% by mass, inclusive, more preferably from 10% by mass to 30% by mass, inclusive, still more preferably from 15% by mass to 30% by mass, inclusive.", "This makes it possible to include an excessive carbonic acid component while moderately including a base component effective for dissociation of the carboxylic acid component.", "When the proportion of the solute is in the above-mentioned range, an increase in viscosity of the electrolytic solution is small, and reduction of a voltage is hardly occurred.", "For example, a total proportion of the carboxylic acid component (or second aromatic compound), the base component, and the first aromatic compound preferably ranges from 2% by mass to 30% by mass, inclusive, more preferably from 10% by mass to 30% by mass, inclusive, still more preferably from 15% by mass to 30% by mass, inclusive, in the electrolytic solution.", "In view of further improving heat resistance of the electrolytic capacitor, and further suppressing deterioration of the solid electrolyte layer, a proportion of the first aromatic compound having two or more hydroxyl groups preferably ranges from 0.3% by mass to 70% by mass, inclusive, more preferably from 3% by mass to 40% by mass, inclusive, still more preferably from 3% by mass to 25% by mass, inclusive, in the total of the solute.", "In view of further suppressing deterioration of the solid electrolyte layer, a proportion of the second aromatic compound having two or more carboxyl groups preferably ranges from 3% by mass to 99% by mass, inclusive, more preferably from 50% by mass to 95% by mass, inclusive, still more preferably from 70% by mass to 95% by mass, inclusive, in the total of the solute.", "The solid electrolyte layer may be formed by a method for applying a solution containing, for example, a monomer, a dopant, and an oxidant to the dielectric layer to cause chemical polymerization or electrolytic polymerization on the dielectric layer.", "The solid electrolyte layer is preferably formed by a method for applying the conductive polymer to the dielectric layer in terms of the fact that excellent withstand voltage characteristics can be expected.", "That is, the solid electrolyte layer is preferably formed by impregnating the dielectric layer with a polymer dispersion containing a liquid component and the conductive polymer dispersed in the liquid component, forming a film that covers at least a part of the dielectric layer, and then volatilizing the liquid component from the film.", "The electrolytic solution described above is particularly effective for suppressing deterioration of the conductive polymer contained in the polymer dispersion, and is also effective for improving the orientation of the conductive polymer.", "A concentration of the conductive polymer contained in the polymer dispersion preferably ranges from 0.5% by mass to 10% by mass, inclusive.", "For example, an average particle diameter D50 of the conductive polymer preferably ranges from 0.01 μm to 0.5 μm, inclusive.", "Here, the average particle diameter D50 is a median diameter in a volume particle size distribution obtained by a particle size distribution measuring apparatus according to dynamic light scattering.", "The polymer dispersion having such a concentration is suitable for forming a solid electrolyte layer having an appropriate thickness and is easily impregnated into the dielectric layer.", "The conductive polymer included in the solid electrolyte layer is preferably, for example, polypyrrole, polythiophene, or polyaniline.", "These conductive polymers may be used alone or in combination of two or more conductive polymers, or may be a copolymer of two or more monomers.", "The solid electrolyte layer including such a conductive polymer can be expected to further improve the withstand voltage characteristics.", "In the present specification, polypyrrole, polythiophene, polyaniline, or the like means a polymer having, as a basic skeleton, polypyrrole, polythiophene, polyaniline, or the like, respectively.", "Therefore, polypyrrole, polythiophene, polyaniline, or the like also include derivatives of polypyrrole, polythiophene, polyaniline, or the like, respectively.", "For example, polythiophene includes poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) or the like.", "A weight average molecular weight of the conductive polymer is not particularly limited and ranges, for example, from 1000 to 100000, inclusive.", "A dopant may be added to the conductive polymer.", "That is, the solid electrolyte layer may contain a dopant, and in view of suppressing the dedoping of a dopant from the conductive polymer, it is preferable that the solid electrolyte layer contains a polymer dopant.", "Examples of the polymer dopant include a polyanion of, for example, polyvinylsulfonic acid, polystyrenesulfonic acid, polyallylsulfonic acid, polyacrylsulfonic acid, polymethacrylsulfonic acid, poly(2-acrylamido-2-methylpropanesulfonic acid), polyisoprenesulfonic acid, and polyacrylic acid.", "These polyanions may be used alone or in combination of two or more polyanions.", "These polymer dopants may be a homopolymer or a copolymer of two or more monomers.", "Especially, polystyrenesulfonic acid (PSS) is preferable.", "A weight average molecular weight of the dopant is not particularly limited and preferably ranges, for example, from 1000 to 100000, inclusive, in terms of facilitating formation of a homogeneous solid electrolyte layer.", "Hereinafter, the present disclosure is more specifically described with reference to the exemplary embodiment.", "The exemplary embodiment described below, however, is not to limit the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "1 is a schematic sectional view illustrating the electrolytic capacitor according to the present exemplary embodiment, and FIG.", "2 is a schematic view obtained by developing a part of a capacitor element of the electrolytic capacitor.", "The electrolytic capacitor includes, for example, capacitor element 10, bottomed case 11 that houses capacitor element 10, sealing member 12 that seals an opening of bottomed case 11, base plate 13 that covers sealing member 12, lead wires 14A, 14B that are lead out from sealing member 12 and penetrate base plate 13, lead tabs 15A, 15B that connect the lead wires to electrodes of capacitor element 10, respectively, and an electrolytic solution (not shown).", "Bottomed case 11 is, at a part near an opening end, processed inward by drawing, and is, at the opening end, curled to swage sealing member 12.Sealing member 12 is formed of an elastic material containing a rubber component.", "As the rubber component, there can be used a butyl rubber (IIR), a nitrile rubber (NBR), an ethylene propylene rubber, an ethylene propylene diene rubber (EPDM), a chloroprene rubber (CR), an isoprene rubber (IR), a Hypalon (trademark) rubber, a silicone rubber, and a fluorine-containing rubber.", "Sealing member 12 may contain fillers such as carbon black and silica.", "In design of the electrolytic solution, it is necessary to consider volatilization of the electrolytic solution to outside through sealing member 12 that forms a sealed portion.", "In this respect, the electrolytic solution according to the present exemplary embodiment contains the glycol compound, and therefore hardly passes through the sealed portion even at a high temperature.", "Accordingly, an electrolytic capacitor having excellent heat resistance is obtained.", "Capacitor element 10 is formed of a wound body as illustrated in FIG.", "2.The wound body is a semi-manufactured product of capacitor element 10 and refers to a capacitor element in which a solid electrolyte layer has not yet been formed between anode body 21 on a surface of which a dielectric layer is provided and cathode body 22.The wound body includes anode body 21 connected to lead tab 15A, cathode body 22 connected to lead tab 15B, and separator 23.Anode body 21 and cathode body 22 are wound with separator 23 interposed between anode body 21 and cathode body 22.An outermost periphery of the wound body is fixed with fastening tape 24.FIG.", "2 shows partially developed wound body before the outermost periphery of the wound body is fixed.", "Anode body 21 includes a metal foil whose surface is roughened so as to have projections and recesses, and the dielectric layer is formed on the metal foil having the projections and recesses.", "The conductive polymer is attached to at least a part of a surface of the dielectric layer to form the solid electrolyte layer.", "The solid electrolyte layer may cover at least a part of a surface of cathode body 22 and/or at least a part of a surface of separator 23.Capacitor element 10 in which the solid electrolyte layer has been formed is housed in an outer case together with the electrolytic solution.", "<<Method for Producing Electrolytic Capacitor>> Hereinafter, described are steps of one exemplary method for producing the electrolytic capacitor according to the present exemplary embodiment.", "(i) Step of preparing anode body 21 having dielectric layer First, a metal foil as a raw material for anode body 21 is prepared.", "A type of the metal is not particularly limited, but it is preferred to use a valve metal such as aluminum, tantalum, or niobium, or an alloy including a valve metal, from the viewpoint of facilitating formation of the dielectric layer.", "Next, a surface of the metal foil is roughened.", "By the roughening, a plurality of projections and recesses are formed on the surface of the metal foil.", "The roughening is preferably performed by etching the metal foil.", "The etching may be performed by, for example, a direct-current electrolytic method or an alternating-current electrolytic method.", "Next, a dielectric layer is formed on the roughened surface of the metal foil.", "A method for forming the dielectric layer is not particularly limited, and the dielectric layer can be formed by subjecting the metal foil to an anodizing treatment.", "The anodizing treatment is performed by, for example, immersing the metal foil in an anodizing solution such as an ammonium adipate solution followed by a heat treatment.", "The anodizing treatment may also be performed by applying a voltage to the metal foil that has been immersed in the anodizing solution.", "Normally, a large foil of, for example, a valve metal (metal foil) is subjected to the roughening treatment and the anodizing treatment from the viewpoint of mass productivity.", "In this case, the treated foil is cut into a desired size to prepare anode body 21.", "(ii) Step of Preparing Cathode Body 22 A metal foil can be used for cathode body 22 as with the anode body.", "A type of the metal is not particularly limited, but it is preferred to use a valve metal such as aluminum, tantalum, or niobium, or an alloy including a valve metal.", "A surface of cathode body 22 may also be roughened as necessary.", "(iii) Manufacturing of Wound Body Next, anode body 21 and cathode body 22 are used to manufacture a wound body.", "First, anode body 21 and cathode body 22 are wound with separator 23 interposed between anode body 21 and cathode body 22.At this time, winding can be conducted while lead tabs 15A, 15B are rolled in anode body 21, cathode body 22, and separator 23, to cause lead tabs 15A, 15B to stand up from the wound body as illustrated in FIG.", "2.As a material for separator 23, a nonwoven fabric can be used that includes, as a main component, for example, synthetic cellulose, polyethylene terephthalate, a vinylon, or an aramid fiber.", "A material for lead tabs 15A, 15B is not also particularly limited as long as the material is a conductive material.", "A material for lead wires 14A, 14B connected to lead tabs 15A, 15B, respectively, is not also particularly limited as long as the material is a conductive material.", "Next, fastening tape 24 is disposed on an outer surface of cathode body 22 positioned at an outermost layer of wound anode body 21, cathode body 22, and separator 23, to fix an end of cathode body 22 with fastening tape 24.When anode body 21 is prepared by cutting a large metal foil, the wound body may further be subjected to an anodizing treatment in order to provide a dielectric layer on a cutting surface of anode body 21.", "(iv) Step of Forming Capacitor Element 10 Next, the dielectric layer is impregnated with a polymer dispersion to form a film covering at least a part of the dielectric layer.", "The polymer dispersion contains a liquid component and a conductive polymer dispersed in the liquid component.", "The polymer dispersion may be a solution obtained by dissolving the conductive polymer in the liquid component, or a dispersion liquid obtained by dispersing particles of the conductive polymer in the liquid component.", "Next, the formed film is dried to volatilize the liquid component from the film, forming a dense solid electrolyte layer covering at least a part of the dielectric layer.", "The polymer dispersion is uniformly distributed in the liquid component to easily form a uniform solid electrolyte layer.", "Thus, capacitor element 10 can be obtained.", "The polymer dispersion can be obtained by, for example, a method for dispersing the conductive polymer in the liquid component.", "Or the polymer dispersion can also be obtained by a method for polymerizing a precursor monomer in the liquid component and generating particles of the conductive polymer.", "Preferable examples of the polymer dispersion include poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) doped with polystyrenesulfonic acid (PSS), i.e., PEDOT/PSS.", "An antioxidant for the conductive polymer may be added.", "However, it is unnecessary to use an antioxidant because PEDOT/PSS little oxidizes.", "The liquid component may be water, a mixture of water and a nonaqueous solvent, or a nonaqueous solvent.", "The nonaqueous solvent is not particularly limited, and a protic solvent and an aprotic solvent can be used, for example.", "Examples of the protic solvent include alcohols such as methanol, ethanol, propanol, butanol, ethylene glycol, and propylene glycol, formaldehyde, and ethers such as 1,4-dioxane.", "Examples of the aprotic solvent include amides such as N-methylacetamide, N, N-dimethylformamide, and N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone, esters such as methyl acetate, and ketones such as methyl ethyl ketone.", "The method for applying the polymer dispersion to a surface of the dielectric layer is preferably a method for immersing the wound body in the polymer dispersion housed in a container because the method is simple.", "An immersion period depends on a size of the wound body, but ranges, for example, from 1 second to 5 hours, inclusive, preferably from 1 minute to 30 minutes, inclusive.", "In addition, impregnation is preferably performed under a reduced pressure, in a pressure of an atmosphere ranging, for example, from 10 kPa to 100 kPa, inclusive, preferably from 40 kPa to 100 kPa, inclusive.", "Further, ultrasonic vibration may be applied to the wound body or the polymer dispersion while the wound body is immersed in the polymer dispersion.", "The drying after picking the wound body up from the polymer dispersion is performed at a temperature ranging preferably from 50° C. to 300° C., inclusive, more preferably from 100° C. to 200° C., inclusive, for example.", "The step of applying the polymer dispersion to the surface of the dielectric layer and the step of drying the wound body may be repeated two or more times.", "These steps can be performed a plurality of times to increase coverage of the solid electrolyte layer on the dielectric layer.", "In the formation, the solid electrolyte layer may be formed on not only a surface of the dielectric layer but also surfaces of cathode body 22 and separator 23.As described above, the solid electrolyte layer is formed between anode body 21 and cathode body 22 to manufacture capacitor element 10.The solid electrolyte layer formed on the surface of the dielectric layer virtually functions as a cathode material.", "(v) Step of Impregnating Capacitor Element 10 with Electrolytic Solution Next, capacitor element 10 is impregnated with an electrolytic solution.", "This provides an electrolytic capacitor excellent in a repairing function of a dielectric layer.", "A method for impregnating capacitor element 10 with an electrolytic solution is not particularly limited.", "For example, a method for immersing capacitor element 10 in the electrolytic solution housed in a container is simple and preferred.", "An immersion period depends on a size of capacitor element 10, and ranges, for example, from 1 second to 5 minutes, inclusive.", "Impregnation is preferably performed under a reduced pressure, in a pressure of an atmosphere ranging, for example, from 10 kPa to 100 kPa, inclusive, preferably from 40 kPa to 100 kPa, inclusive.", "(iv) Step of Encapsulating Capacitor Element Next, capacitor element 10 is encapsulated.", "Specifically, first, capacitor element 10 is housed in bottomed case 11 so that lead wires 14A, 14B are positioned on an open upper surface of bottomed case 11.As a material for bottomed case 11, there can be used metals such as aluminum, stainless steel, copper, iron and brass, or alloys of these metals.", "Next, sealing member 12 formed so as to allow lead wires 14A, 14B to penetrate the sealing member is disposed above capacitor element 10 to encapsulate capacitor element 10 in bottomed case 11.Next, bottomed case 11 is, at a part near an opening end, processed by transverse drawing, and is, at the opening end, curled to swage sealing member 12.Then, base plate 13 is disposed on a curled part of the bottomed case to complete the electrolytic capacitor as illustrated in FIG.", "1.Then, an aging treatment may be performed while a rated voltage is applied.", "In the exemplary embodiment described above, a wound electrolytic capacitor has been described.", "The application range of the present disclosure, however, is not limited to the wound electrolytic capacitor and can also be applied to other electrolytic capacitors such as a chip electrolytic capacitor including a metal sintered body as an anode body, and a laminated electrolytic capacitor including a metal plate as an anode body.", "EXAMPLES Hereinafter, the present disclosure is described in more detail with reference to examples.", "The present disclosure, however, is not limited to the examples.", "Example 1 In the present example, a wound electrolytic capacitor (Φ 10.0 mm×L (length) 10.0 mm) having a rated voltage of 80 V and a rated electrostatic capacity of 38 μF was manufactured.", "Hereinafter, a specific method for producing the electrolytic capacitor is described.", "(Preparation of Anode Body) A 100-μm-thick aluminum foil was subjected to etching to roughen a surface of the aluminum foil.", "Then, a dielectric layer was formed on the surface of the aluminum foil by an anodizing treatment.", "The anodizing treatment was performed by immersing the aluminum foil in an ammonium adipate solution and applying a voltage of 150 V to the aluminum foil.", "Then, the aluminum foil was cut into a size of 6 mm (length)×120 mm (width) to prepare an anode body.", "(Preparation of Cathode Body) A 50-μm-thick aluminum foil was subjected to etching to roughen a surface of the aluminum foil.", "Then, the aluminum foil was cut into a size of 6 mm (length)×120 mm (width) to prepare a cathode body.", "(Manufacturing of Wound Body) An anode lead tab and a cathode lead tab were connected to the anode body and the cathode body, respectively, and the anode body and the cathode body were wound with a separator interposed between the anode body and the cathode body while the lead tabs were rolled in the anode body, the cathode body, and the separator.", "Ends of the lead tabs protruding from the wound body were connected to an anode lead wire and a cathode lead wire, respectively.", "Then, the manufactured wound body was subjected to an anodizing treatment again to form a dielectric layer at a cutting end of the anode body.", "Next, an end of an outer surface of the wound body was fixed with a fastening tape to complete the wound body.", "(Preparation of Polymer Dispersion) A mixed solution was prepared by dissolving 3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene and a polymer dopant, i.e., polystyrenesulfonic acid (PSS, weight average molecular weight 100000) in ion-exchanged water (liquid component).", "While the mixed solution was stirred, iron (III) sulfate (oxidant) that had been dissolved in ion-exchanged water was added to the mixed solution to cause a polymerization reaction.", "After the reaction, a resultant reaction solution was dialyzed to remove unreacted monomers and an excessive oxidant, so that a polymer dispersion was obtained that contained about 5% by mass of polyethylene dioxythiophene doped with PSS (PEDOT/PSS).", "(Formation of Solid Electrolyte Layer) The wound body was immersed in the polymer dispersion housed in a predetermined container in a reduced-pressure atmosphere (40 kPa) for 5 minutes, and then the wound body was picked up from the polymer dispersion.", "Next, the wound body that had been impregnated with the polymer dispersion was dried in a drying furnace at 150° C. for 20 minutes to form a solid electrolyte layer covering at least a part of the dielectric layer.", "(Impregnation with Electrolytic Solution) An electrolytic solution containing ethylene glycol (EG) and polyethylene glycol (PEG) with an average molecular weight of about 300 as glycol compounds, which has a composition as shown in Table A below, was prepared.", "And then a capacitor element was immersed in the electrolytic solution in a reduced-pressure atmosphere (40 kPa) for 5 minutes.", "A part of the carboxylic acid component and the base component (triethylamine) were added as triethylamine phthalate (salt).", "TABLE A Solvent component Proportion in solvent EG 80% by mass PEG 20% by mass Total of solvent component 100% by mass Proportion of glycol compound in whole solvent 100% by mass Proportion of EG in glycol compound 80% by mass Proportion of PEG in glycol compound 20% by mass Proportion of solute contained in Solute component electrolytic solution Triethylamine 1.1% by mass o-phthalic acid (second aromatic compound) 13.9% by mass Pyrogallol (first aromatic compound) 3% by mass Total of solute component 18% by mass Proportion of base component in whole solute 6.1% by mass Proportion of first aromatic compound 16.7% by mass in whole solute Proportion of second aromatic compound 77.2% by mass in whole solute Ratio of carboxylic acid component with respect 1266 parts by mass to 100 parts by mass of base component pH of electrolytic solution 3.50 (Encapsulation of Capacitor Element) The capacitor element that had been impregnated with the electrolytic solution was encapsulated to complete an electrolytic capacitor.", "Specifically, the capacitor element was housed in a bottomed case so that lead wires were positioned on an opening side of the bottomed case.", "And then a sealing member (an elastic material including a butyl rubber as a rubber component) that was formed so as to allow the lead wires to penetrate the sealing member was disposed above the capacitor element, so that the capacitor element was encapsulated in the bottomed case.", "The bottomed case was, at a part near an opening end, processed by drawing and was further curled at the opening end, and a base plate was disposed on a curled part to complete electrolytic capacitor (A1) as shown in FIG.", "1.Thereafter, an aging treatment was performed at 130° C. for 2 hours while a rated voltage was applied.", "Example 2 Except that an electrolytic solution having a composition as shown in Table B below was used, the same procedure as in Example 1 was carried out to prepare electrolytic capacitor A2, and perform evaluation.", "TABLE B Solvent component Proportion in solvent EG 80% by mass PEG 20% by mass Total of solvent component 100% by mass Proportion of glycol compound in whole solvent 100% by mass Proportion of EG in glycol compound 80% by mass Proportion of PEG in glycol compound 20% by mass Proportion of solute contained in Solute component electrolytic solution Triethylamine 1.9% by mass o-phthalic acid (second aromatic compound) 13.1% by mass Pyrogallol (first aromatic compound) 3% by mass Total of solute component 18% by mass Proportion of base component in whole solute 10.6% by mass Proportion of first aromatic compound 16.7% by mass in whole solute Proportion of second aromatic compound 72.7% by mass in whole solute Ratio of carboxylic acid component with respect 686 parts by mass to 100 parts by mass of base component pH of electrolytic solution 3.59 Example 3 Except that an electrolytic solution having a composition as shown in Table C below was used, the same procedure as in Example 1 was carried out to prepare electrolytic capacitor A3, and perform evaluation.", "TABLE C Solvent component Proportion in solvent EG 60% by mass PEG 20% by mass Glycerin 20% by mass Total of solvent component 100% by mass Proportion of glycol compound in whole solvent 80% by mass Proportion of EG in glycol compound 75% by mass Proportion of PEG in glycol compound 25% by mass Proportion of solute contained in Solute component electrolytic solution Triethylamine 3% by mass o-phthalic acid (second aromatic compound) 12% by mass Pyrogallol (first aromatic compound) 3% by mass Total of solute component 18% by mass Proportion of base component to whole solute 16.7% by mass Proportion of first aromatic compound 16.6% by mass in whole solute Proportion of second aromatic compound 66.7% by mass in whole solute Ratio of carboxylic acid component with respect 399 parts by mass to 100 parts by mass of base component pH of electrolytic solution 3.68 Comparative Example 1 Except that an electrolytic solution having a composition as shown in Table D below was used, the same procedure as in Example 1 was carried out to prepare electrolytic capacitor B1, and perform evaluation.", "TABLE D Solvent component Proportion in solvent EG 60% by mass PEG 20% by mass Glycerin 20% by mass Total of solvent component 100% by mass Proportion of glycol compound in whole solvent 80% by mass Proportion of EG in glycol compound 75% by mass Proportion of PEG in glycol compound 25% by mass Proportion of solute contained in Solute component electrolytic solution Triethylamine 5.3% by mass o-phthalic acid (second aromatic compound) 9.7% by mass Pyrogallol (first aromatic compound) 3% by mass Total of solute component 18% by mass Proportion of base component in whole solute 29.4% by mass Proportion of first aromatic compound 16.6% by mass in whole solute Proportion of second aromatic compound 54% by mass in whole solute Ratio of carboxylic acid component with respect 184 parts by mass to 100 parts by mass of base component pH of electrolytic solution 4.1 Evaluation Electrostatic capacity, ESR, and a breakdown voltage (BDV) were measured for the resultant electrolytic capacitor.", "The breakdown voltage (BDV) was defined as a voltage measured when the voltage was applied at an increasing rate of 1.0 V/s and an excess current of 0.5 A flowed.", "Further, in order to evaluate long term reliability, the electrolytic capacitor was retained at 125° C. for 5000 hours while a rated voltage was applied, and an increase rate in ESR (ΔESR) was evaluated.", "The increase rate ΔESR was represented by a ratio (X/X0) of a value of ESR (X) after retention for 5000 hours to an initial value (X0).", "Table 1 shows evaluation results.", "TABLE 1 Electrolytic Electrostatic capacitor Capacity (μF) ESR (mΩ) BDV (V) X/Xo A1 32.2 15 149 1.5 A2 32.5 17 148 2.5 A3 32.3 17 148 2.8 B1 32.1 18 148 278.0 Example 4 Except that an electrolytic solution having a composition as shown in Table E below was used, the same procedure as in Example 1 was carried out to prepare electrolytic capacitor A4, and perform evaluation.", "TABLE E Solvent component Proportion in solvent EG 30% by mass PEG 20% by mass Glycerin 50% by mass Total of solvent component 100% by mass Proportion of glycol compound in whole solvent 50% by mass Proportion of EG in glycol compound 60% by mass Proportion of PEG in glycol compound 40% by mass Proportion of solute contained in Solute component electrolytic solution Triethylamine 1.1% by mass o-phthalic acid (second aromatic compound) 13.9% by mass Pyrogallol (first aromatic compound) 3% by mass Total of solute component 18% by mass Proportion of base component in whole solute 6.1% by mass Proportion of first aromatic compound 16.7% by mass in whole solute Proportion of second aromatic compound 77.2% by mass in whole solute Ratio of carboxylic acid component with respect 1266 parts by mass to 100 parts by mass of base component pH of electrolytic solution 3.51 Example 5 Except that an electrolytic solution having a composition as shown in Table F below was used, the same procedure as in Example 1 was carried out to prepare electrolytic capacitor A5, and perform evaluation.", "TABLE F Solvent component Proportion in solvent EG 30% by mass PEG 20% by mass Glycerin 50% by mass Total of solvent component 100% by mass Proportion of glycol compound in whole solvent 50% by mass Proportion of EG in glycol compound 60% by mass Proportion of PEG in glycol compound 40% by mass Proportion of solute contained in Solute component electrolytic solution Triethylamine 1.1% by mass o-phthalic acid (second aromatic compound) 13.9% by mass Pyrogallol (first aromatic compound) 0% by mass Total of solute component 15% by mass Proportion of base component in whole solute 7.3% by mass Proportion of first aromatic compound 0% by mass in whole solute Proportion of second aromatic compound 92.7% by mass in whole solute Ratio of carboxylic acid component with respect 1270 parts by mass to 100 parts by mass of base component pH of electrolytic solution 3.48 Example 6 Except that an electrolytic solution having a composition as shown in Table G below was used, the same procedure as in Example 1 was carried out to prepare electrolytic capacitor A6, and perform evaluation.", "A part of the carboxylic acid component (pyromellitic acid) and the base component (triethylamine) were added as ditriethylamine pyromellitate (salt).", "TABLE G Solvent component Proportion in solvent EG 30% by mass PEG 20% by mass Glycerin 50% by mass Total of solvent component 100% by mass Proportion of glycol compound in whole solvent 50% by mass Proportion of EG in glycol compound 60% by mass Proportion of PEG in glycol compound 40% by mass Proportion of solute contained in Solute component electrolytic solution Triethylamine 1.1% by mass Pyromellitic acid (second aromatic compound) 13.9% by mass Pyrogallol (first aromatic compound) 0% by mass Total of solute component 15% by mass Proportion of base component in whole solute 7.3% by mass Proportion of first aromatic compound 0% by mass in whole solute Proportion of second aromatic compound 92.7% by mass in whole solute Ratio of carboxylic acid component with respect 1270 parts by mass to 100 parts by mass of base component pH of electrolytic solution 3.63 Example 7 Except that an electrolytic solution having a composition as shown in Table H below was used, the same procedure as in Example 1 was carried out to prepare electrolytic capacitor A7, and perform evaluation.", "TABLE H Solvent component Proportion in solvent EG 80% by mass PEG 0% by mass Glycerin 20% by mass Total of solvent component 100% by mass Proportion of glycol compound in whole solvent 80% by mass Proportion of EG in glycol compound 100% by mass Proportion of PEG in glycol compound 0% by mass Proportion of solute contained in Solute component electrolytic solution Triethylamine 1.1% by mass o-phthalic acid (second aromatic compound) 13.9% by mass Pyrogallol (first aromatic compound) 3% by mass Total of solute component 18% by mass Proportion of base component in whole solute 6.1% by mass Proportion of first aromatic compound 16.7% by mass in whole solute Proportion of second aromatic compound 77.2% by mass in whole solute Ratio of carboxylic acid component with respect 1266 parts by mass to 100 parts by mass of base component pH of electrolytic solution 3.60 Example 8 Except that an electrolytic solution having a composition as shown in Table I below was used, the same procedure as in Example 1 was carried out to prepare electrolytic capacitor A8, and perform evaluation.", "TABLE I Solvent component Proportion in solvent EG 80% by mass PEG 20% by mass Total of solvent component 100% by mass Proportion of glycol compound in whole solvent 100% by mass Proportion of EG in glycol compound 80% by mass Proportion of PEG in glycol compound 20% by mass Proportion of solute contained in Solute component electrolytic solution Triethylamine 0.15% by mass o-phthalic acid (second aromatic compound) 1.25% by mass Pyrogallol (first aromatic compound) 0.6% by mass Total of solute component 2.0% by mass Proportion of base component in whole solute 7.5% by mass Proportion of first aromatic compound 30.0% by mass in whole solute Proportion of second aromatic compound 62.5% by mass in whole solute Ratio of carboxylic acid component with respect 833 parts by mass to 100 parts by mass of base component pH of electrolytic solution 3.71 Example 9 Except that an electrolytic solution having a composition as shown in Table J below was used, the same procedure as in Example 1 was carried out to prepare electrolytic capacitor A9, and perform evaluation.", "TABLE J Solvent component Proportion in solvent EG 80% by mass PEG 20% by mass Total of solvent component 100% by mass Proportion of glycol compound in whole solvent 100% by mass Proportion of EG in glycol compound 80% by mass Proportion of PEG in glycol compound 20% by mass Proportion of solute contained in Solute component electrolytic solution Triethylamine 1.83% by mass o-phthalic acid (second aromatic compound) 23.17% by mass Pyrogallol (first aromatic compound) 5% by mass Total of solute component 30% by mass Proportion of base component in whole solute 6.1% by mass Proportion of first aromatic compound 16.7% by mass in whole solute Proportion of second aromatic compound 77.2% by mass in whole solute Ratio of carboxylic acid component with respect 1266 parts by mass to 100 parts by mass of base component pH of electrolytic solution 3.48 Table 2 shows evaluation results in Examples 4 to 9.TABLE 2 Electrolytic Electrostatic capacitor Capacity (μF) ESR (mΩ) BDV (V) X/Xo A4 32.3 15 149 1.7 A5 31.8 16 149 2.1 A6 32.0 15 148 1.9 A7 31.9 16 149 2.0 A8 30.8 19 148 2.5 A9 31.2 18 149 2.3 The present disclosure can be utilized for an electrolytic capacitor that includes a solid electrolyte layer covering at least a part of a dielectric layer, and an electrolytic solution." ] ]
Patent_15872948
[ [ "SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR TRANSPORTATION", "Systems and methods for transportation includes a car sharing network that invites ride-sharers to join the network; a computer receiving a trip request from one or more riders including a module for: matching, by the computer, the trip request to one or more routes having a common route and satisfying a cost-effective navigation route; dispatching, by a computer, an autonomous vehicle to pick up the rider(s) along the cost-effective route; recommending an item or event of interest to the rider(s); and changing the route to accommodate the item or event." ], [ "1.A system, comprising: a car sharing network that invites ride-sharers to join the network; a computer receiving a trip request from one or more riders including a module for: matching, by the computer, the trip request to one or more routes having at least a common route and satisfying a cost-effective route; dispatching, by a computer, an autonomous vehicle to pick up the rider(s) along the cost-effective route; recommending an item of interest to the rider(s); and changing the route to accommodate the recommendation.", "2.The system of claim 1, wherein the computer receives an on-demand requests to deliver an item, wherein the matching module determines a match between the package and at least one rider, and to generate a carpool proposal directed at a vehicle driver to pool the rider and the package.", "3.The system of claim 1, wherein the computer retrieves a social network profile from the rider and recommends one or more items of interests for the rider.", "4.The system of claim 1, wherein the item is at least one of a food product, a perishable, a consumable, a household item, a commodity, a beverage, a fruit, a bread, a meat, a paper product, a tool, a medicine, a plastic product, and a health related product.", "5.The system of claim 1, comprising geo-fencing the item in an area that encompasses a neighborhood community in a threshold geographical radius from a user who creates the group.", "6.The system of claim 5, wherein the geo-fencing is constrained to a street, a neighborhood, a city, and a county.", "7.The system of claim 1, wherein the benefit includes one of: a discount and a reward.", "8.The system of claim 1, comprising a bidding system coupled to the providers of the items with a time constrained auction system.", "9.The system of claim 1 wherein each member commits to procuring items when a winning provider is identified.", "10.The system of claim 9 further comprising identifying the winning provider through at least one of an open auction system, a closed auction system, a dutch auction system, a reverse auction system, and a first to commit to a service level identified in the item group system.", "11.The system of claim 9 further comprising providing a voting interface to members of the item group such that the winning provider is determined based on the set of providers.", "12.The system of claim 1, wherein the computer compares a delivery location to existing delivery locations for a same day delivery route, and provides potential delivery times to the group.", "13.The system of claim 1, comprising code for correlating the possible delivery times with predetermined delivery windows, presenting to the customer potential delivery windows for the order, and receiving from the customer a selection of a delivery window.", "14.The system of claim 1, comprising code for identifying, by a computer, a first set of points reachable from a planned navigation route with a cost less than a first threshold cost; identifying, by the computer, a second set of points reachable from each point in the second set with a cost less than a second threshold cost.", "15.The system of claim 1, wherein the computer determines that the rider comprises an elder person and adds a predetermined time buffer to deliver items to the rider.", "16.The system of claim 1, wherein the computer determines rider identity using one of: a camera, a body signature, and a microphone, and wherein the computer provides access to the vehicle.", "17.The system of claim 1, wherein the computer determines user activity and turns on a vehicular device in support of the user activity.", "18.The system of claim 1, wherein the computer recommends destination options based on rider interest and displays available items near the options.", "19.The system of claim 1, wherein the computer determines credit rating for the rider based on rider start and destination locations.", "20.The system of claim 1, wherein the computer determines credit rating for the rider based on rider activity." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND <EOH>In the last few decades, the number of vehicles used by drivers is continuously increasing, and traffic congestion became a common phenomenon and an urban problem.", "Due to traffic congestion, many drivers spend a significant amount of time, sometimes over one hour, in order to travel by car over a relatively short route.", "This may result in, for example, a waste of precious time that the driver needs to spend in his vehicle, instead of at home or at work, as well as significant frustration by the driver.", "Furthermore, a longer travel time typically corresponds to a higher utilization of fuel by the vehicle, which in turn corresponds to higher fuel expenses for the driver.", "Additionally, heavy traffic contributes to an increase in pollution, thereby creating a possible health hazard in some urban areas as well as an environmental problem.", "Carpooling has been used without significant impact.", "The other alternative is taxi and public transportation.", "However, the use of public transportation can be inconvenient if on-demand is needed for a meeting.", "Taxi is expensive and still requires the user to wait for the pick-up.", "Travelers are bypassing the taxi queue with greater frequency, choosing instead ride-sharing services like Lyft or Uber.", "While taxis, limousines and airport shuttles still dominate the ground transportation business, ride-sharing services are rapidly on the rise among business travelers." ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY <EOH>In one aspect, systems and methods relating to one or more ride-sharing vehicles, each having a driver mobile device in the vehicle to receive a ride-sharing request from one or more riders.", "The system includes a server coupled to the mobile device, wherein the server receives a group purchase of rides, the server determining first and second riders interested in purchasing rides and establishing a customer-defined group identity with the first and second rider being group members receiving a benefit, and wherein the one or more ride-sharing vehicles provides one or more rides by the first and second customer using the group identity.", "In another aspect, a system includes a ride-sharing computer to receive an on-demand ride-sharing request from a rider and an on-demand request to deliver a package, a travel matching module to determine a match between the package and at least one rider, and to generate a carpool proposal directed at a vehicle driver to pool the rider and the package, and a ride-sharing vehicle and with a mobile device coupled to the computer, wherein driver picks up the rider and package based on the carpool proposal.", "In another aspect, a system includes one or more ride-sharing vehicles, each having a driver mobile device in the vehicle to receive a ride-sharing request from one or more riders; and a server coupled to the mobile device, wherein the server receives a group purchase of rides, the server determining first and second riders interested in purchasing rides and establishing a customer-defined group identity with the first and second rider being group members receiving a benefit, and wherein the one or more ride-sharing vehicles provides one or more rides by the first and second customer using the group identity.", "In a further aspect, a system includes a ride-sharing computer to receive an on-demand requests to deliver the items, wherein the computer includes a travel matching module to determine a match between the package and at least one rider, and to generate a carpool proposal directed at a vehicle driver to pool the rider and the package; and a local demand aggregation network comprising a computer for inviting a set of neighboring users as a group; purchasing with at least a benefit a plurality of items desired by the group from providers of the items; and contacting the ride-sharing computer to deliver items packed in one or more packages; a ride-sharing vehicle and with a mobile device coupled to the computer, wherein driver picks up the rider and package based on the carpool proposal.", "In another aspect, a ride-sharing vehicle includes a mobile device to receive a ride-sharing request from a rider, wherein the mobile device retrieves a social network profile from the rider and identifies one or more interests from the rider; and one or more customizable devices in the vehicle configured by the mobile device to match the rider's one or more interests.", "In yet another aspect, a system includes a ride-sharing computer to receive an on-demand ride-sharing request from a rider and an on-demand request to deliver a package; a rider with one or more rider vehicle types; a ride-sharing vehicle and with a mobile device coupled to the computer; a rider computer configured to receive a route start point and a route end point; retrieve data relating to a vehicle type for possible use on the route; retrieve data including at least one attribute of each of one or more possible route waypoints; wherein the rider computer determine a cost based one or more route parameters, and wherein the ride-sharing vehicle is selected if it meets a least-cost determination.", "In yet another aspect, a ride service network includes computer readable code for storing calendars for a plurality of riders; aggregating vehicle capacity and determining vehicle schedule availability; determining if a selected driver has an open time slot for the user; and scheduling an appointment time; a mobile device to receive a ride-sharing request from a rider, and a ride-sharing vehicle and including the mobile device coupled to the ride service network to pick up the rider.", "In another aspect, a mobile device is used to transmit a ride-sharing request from a rider requiring first and second travel segments with first and second starting points and a destination, and a first vehicle proximal to the first starting point, the first vehicle responding to the request, the first vehicle automatically requesting a second vehicle proximal to the second starting point to pick up the rider to deliver to the destination.", "In another aspect, a method to provide security for a car driver includes receiving a ride-sharing request from a rider and picking up the rider in a ride-sharing vehicle; retrieving a social network profile from the rider; identifying one or more characteristics of the rider; verifying an identity of the rider based on the characteristics; and providing access to the ride-sharing vehicle upon authenticating the rider.", "In yet another aspect, a method to generate credit rating on a person includes receiving a ride-sharing request from a person and picking up the person in a ride-sharing vehicle; retrieving a social network profile from the person; identifying one or more characteristics of the person; generating a credit score for the rider based on the characteristics; and rating the credit score based on a plurality of ride-sharing evaluation of the person from ride-sharing drivers.", "In another aspect, systems and methods are disclosed for financing for members of a group by selecting a group of members in a social network; rating each member based on the driver's evaluation and based on social network information to be able to make at least a predetermined monthly payment; forming a social contract with each member to make the predetermined monthly payment to a common fund over a specified term in exchange for receiving an award in a contracted amount at some point during the term; receiving payments from the group of members; and on a monthly basis, identifying at least one member who is eligible to receive an award, and distributing the award to that member.", "The system includes a method for transparency on surge pricing.", "The data on number and location of drivers and riders in real time and an auction is done using an optimal market-clearing model.", "The rider indicates how much they are willing to pay, and the service provides an estimate of how much of a wait that will give riders, according to how many higher-paying riders are ahead of them.", "The system gives the rider a choice—wait for an available car, with a predicted queuing time, or bid a surge price to jump the queue.", "Then it is a true auction with transparency.", "Riders could even bid below the normal price, if anyone's available off-peak.", "The system allows the user to make a reservation hours or days in advance, and let drivers commit to pick up a reservation.", "Riders have a time and price guarantee, while the ride-sharing service has a valuable signal in advance on demand.", "And the driver gets predictability.", "The system provides an opt-in to sync with smart phone calendar and let people choose at the beginning of the day or week which meetings they'd like to advance book trips for.", "The system can sync with TripIt to figure out when they might need airport rides.", "With the traffic data, the system could even propose pick up times based on expected travel time, with a user-adjustable cushion.", "The system also enables the service to provide “Everyone's private driver” as riders can request specific drivers in advance.", "Riders add drivers to a favorites list/folder on the Uber App.", "If the driver is not available, riders can then choose other drivers on their favorites lists or choose any available drivers that is in the area that are not on their favorites list.", "The system allows a driver opt-in to a shift, and while they're working, the app tells them immediately what their next pickup is after they've done a drop-off.", "Passengers aren't left waiting as long for a match in-app—the system can match them with a driver on his or her way to a nearby destination, and bake in the time for the dropoff—and the system avoids the driver having to operate their phone to pick out a person while driving around aimlessly.", "The system allows a rider to give some indication of his/her personality type/preference for a preferred level of interaction ensures that riders and drivers alike are more likely to have a positive experience on a given ride.", "The level of interaction is probably the easiest customization here with the biggest impact, but even things like pulling your favorite music from Facebook and playing a Pandora station based on it would be pretty easy and a pretty cool experience to hop into a car that's playing one of your favorite songs when the rider gets in.", "The system also provides local event recommendations to tourists or for a night out.", "The local recommendations are divided between place recommendations (Yelp, foursquare, 7×7, Thrillist) and event recommendations (Upout, Nudge, YPlan, Sosh, funcheapSF, SF Station, Do415).", "In one embodiment, the application can be opened with a header says “Looking for something to do tonight?”, and when the rider selects it there's a curated list of a couple things, along with discounts offered by those institutions on your ride there.", "Vendors could price it dynamically to bring more people there earlier in the night versus later, offer extra perks for bringing friends, or pair the ride with a free drink upon arrival.", "Advantages may include one or more of the following.", "The car sharing/riding system improves utilization of a car, which sits idle an average of 22 hours per day while costing owners loan/lease payments, maintenance, parking and insurance The system turns an underutilized, expensive possession into an asset that has a real economic and environmental impact in the community.", "Each shared vehicle removes approximately 15 personally owned vehicles from the road.", "(There are 1 billion cars on the road worldwide and 1 car for every 1.3 people in the US.)", "Manufacturing a new car takes a lot of resources so abstaining from buying one can save from 6-35+ tons of CO2 emissions.", "Sharing leads to more money reinvested in the local economy, decreased pollution-induced illnesses and improved community health." ], [ "The present invention relates to transportation.", "BACKGROUND In the last few decades, the number of vehicles used by drivers is continuously increasing, and traffic congestion became a common phenomenon and an urban problem.", "Due to traffic congestion, many drivers spend a significant amount of time, sometimes over one hour, in order to travel by car over a relatively short route.", "This may result in, for example, a waste of precious time that the driver needs to spend in his vehicle, instead of at home or at work, as well as significant frustration by the driver.", "Furthermore, a longer travel time typically corresponds to a higher utilization of fuel by the vehicle, which in turn corresponds to higher fuel expenses for the driver.", "Additionally, heavy traffic contributes to an increase in pollution, thereby creating a possible health hazard in some urban areas as well as an environmental problem.", "Carpooling has been used without significant impact.", "The other alternative is taxi and public transportation.", "However, the use of public transportation can be inconvenient if on-demand is needed for a meeting.", "Taxi is expensive and still requires the user to wait for the pick-up.", "Travelers are bypassing the taxi queue with greater frequency, choosing instead ride-sharing services like Lyft or Uber.", "While taxis, limousines and airport shuttles still dominate the ground transportation business, ride-sharing services are rapidly on the rise among business travelers.", "SUMMARY In one aspect, systems and methods relating to one or more ride-sharing vehicles, each having a driver mobile device in the vehicle to receive a ride-sharing request from one or more riders.", "The system includes a server coupled to the mobile device, wherein the server receives a group purchase of rides, the server determining first and second riders interested in purchasing rides and establishing a customer-defined group identity with the first and second rider being group members receiving a benefit, and wherein the one or more ride-sharing vehicles provides one or more rides by the first and second customer using the group identity.", "In another aspect, a system includes a ride-sharing computer to receive an on-demand ride-sharing request from a rider and an on-demand request to deliver a package, a travel matching module to determine a match between the package and at least one rider, and to generate a carpool proposal directed at a vehicle driver to pool the rider and the package, and a ride-sharing vehicle and with a mobile device coupled to the computer, wherein driver picks up the rider and package based on the carpool proposal.", "In another aspect, a system includes one or more ride-sharing vehicles, each having a driver mobile device in the vehicle to receive a ride-sharing request from one or more riders; and a server coupled to the mobile device, wherein the server receives a group purchase of rides, the server determining first and second riders interested in purchasing rides and establishing a customer-defined group identity with the first and second rider being group members receiving a benefit, and wherein the one or more ride-sharing vehicles provides one or more rides by the first and second customer using the group identity.", "In a further aspect, a system includes a ride-sharing computer to receive an on-demand requests to deliver the items, wherein the computer includes a travel matching module to determine a match between the package and at least one rider, and to generate a carpool proposal directed at a vehicle driver to pool the rider and the package; and a local demand aggregation network comprising a computer for inviting a set of neighboring users as a group; purchasing with at least a benefit a plurality of items desired by the group from providers of the items; and contacting the ride-sharing computer to deliver items packed in one or more packages; a ride-sharing vehicle and with a mobile device coupled to the computer, wherein driver picks up the rider and package based on the carpool proposal.", "In another aspect, a ride-sharing vehicle includes a mobile device to receive a ride-sharing request from a rider, wherein the mobile device retrieves a social network profile from the rider and identifies one or more interests from the rider; and one or more customizable devices in the vehicle configured by the mobile device to match the rider's one or more interests.", "In yet another aspect, a system includes a ride-sharing computer to receive an on-demand ride-sharing request from a rider and an on-demand request to deliver a package; a rider with one or more rider vehicle types; a ride-sharing vehicle and with a mobile device coupled to the computer; a rider computer configured to receive a route start point and a route end point; retrieve data relating to a vehicle type for possible use on the route; retrieve data including at least one attribute of each of one or more possible route waypoints; wherein the rider computer determine a cost based one or more route parameters, and wherein the ride-sharing vehicle is selected if it meets a least-cost determination.", "In yet another aspect, a ride service network includes computer readable code for storing calendars for a plurality of riders; aggregating vehicle capacity and determining vehicle schedule availability; determining if a selected driver has an open time slot for the user; and scheduling an appointment time; a mobile device to receive a ride-sharing request from a rider, and a ride-sharing vehicle and including the mobile device coupled to the ride service network to pick up the rider.", "In another aspect, a mobile device is used to transmit a ride-sharing request from a rider requiring first and second travel segments with first and second starting points and a destination, and a first vehicle proximal to the first starting point, the first vehicle responding to the request, the first vehicle automatically requesting a second vehicle proximal to the second starting point to pick up the rider to deliver to the destination.", "In another aspect, a method to provide security for a car driver includes receiving a ride-sharing request from a rider and picking up the rider in a ride-sharing vehicle; retrieving a social network profile from the rider; identifying one or more characteristics of the rider; verifying an identity of the rider based on the characteristics; and providing access to the ride-sharing vehicle upon authenticating the rider.", "In yet another aspect, a method to generate credit rating on a person includes receiving a ride-sharing request from a person and picking up the person in a ride-sharing vehicle; retrieving a social network profile from the person; identifying one or more characteristics of the person; generating a credit score for the rider based on the characteristics; and rating the credit score based on a plurality of ride-sharing evaluation of the person from ride-sharing drivers.", "In another aspect, systems and methods are disclosed for financing for members of a group by selecting a group of members in a social network; rating each member based on the driver's evaluation and based on social network information to be able to make at least a predetermined monthly payment; forming a social contract with each member to make the predetermined monthly payment to a common fund over a specified term in exchange for receiving an award in a contracted amount at some point during the term; receiving payments from the group of members; and on a monthly basis, identifying at least one member who is eligible to receive an award, and distributing the award to that member.", "The system includes a method for transparency on surge pricing.", "The data on number and location of drivers and riders in real time and an auction is done using an optimal market-clearing model.", "The rider indicates how much they are willing to pay, and the service provides an estimate of how much of a wait that will give riders, according to how many higher-paying riders are ahead of them.", "The system gives the rider a choice—wait for an available car, with a predicted queuing time, or bid a surge price to jump the queue.", "Then it is a true auction with transparency.", "Riders could even bid below the normal price, if anyone's available off-peak.", "The system allows the user to make a reservation hours or days in advance, and let drivers commit to pick up a reservation.", "Riders have a time and price guarantee, while the ride-sharing service has a valuable signal in advance on demand.", "And the driver gets predictability.", "The system provides an opt-in to sync with smart phone calendar and let people choose at the beginning of the day or week which meetings they'd like to advance book trips for.", "The system can sync with TripIt to figure out when they might need airport rides.", "With the traffic data, the system could even propose pick up times based on expected travel time, with a user-adjustable cushion.", "The system also enables the service to provide “Everyone's private driver” as riders can request specific drivers in advance.", "Riders add drivers to a favorites list/folder on the Uber App.", "If the driver is not available, riders can then choose other drivers on their favorites lists or choose any available drivers that is in the area that are not on their favorites list.", "The system allows a driver opt-in to a shift, and while they're working, the app tells them immediately what their next pickup is after they've done a drop-off.", "Passengers aren't left waiting as long for a match in-app—the system can match them with a driver on his or her way to a nearby destination, and bake in the time for the dropoff—and the system avoids the driver having to operate their phone to pick out a person while driving around aimlessly.", "The system allows a rider to give some indication of his/her personality type/preference for a preferred level of interaction ensures that riders and drivers alike are more likely to have a positive experience on a given ride.", "The level of interaction is probably the easiest customization here with the biggest impact, but even things like pulling your favorite music from Facebook and playing a Pandora station based on it would be pretty easy and a pretty cool experience to hop into a car that's playing one of your favorite songs when the rider gets in.", "The system also provides local event recommendations to tourists or for a night out.", "The local recommendations are divided between place recommendations (Yelp, foursquare, 7×7, Thrillist) and event recommendations (Upout, Nudge, YPlan, Sosh, funcheapSF, SF Station, Do415).", "In one embodiment, the application can be opened with a header says “Looking for something to do tonight?”, and when the rider selects it there's a curated list of a couple things, along with discounts offered by those institutions on your ride there.", "Vendors could price it dynamically to bring more people there earlier in the night versus later, offer extra perks for bringing friends, or pair the ride with a free drink upon arrival.", "Advantages may include one or more of the following.", "The car sharing/riding system improves utilization of a car, which sits idle an average of 22 hours per day while costing owners loan/lease payments, maintenance, parking and insurance The system turns an underutilized, expensive possession into an asset that has a real economic and environmental impact in the community.", "Each shared vehicle removes approximately 15 personally owned vehicles from the road.", "(There are 1 billion cars on the road worldwide and 1 car for every 1.3 people in the US.)", "Manufacturing a new car takes a lot of resources so abstaining from buying one can save from 6-35+ tons of CO2 emissions.", "Sharing leads to more money reinvested in the local economy, decreased pollution-induced illnesses and improved community health.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS FIG.", "1A is a schematic diagram of a route planned by an exemplary transportation system that handles car-renting and/or ride-sharing service and that can perform expedited local delivery of goods/services in addition to people.", "FIG.", "1B shows an exemplary drone carrier portion of a ride-sharing vehicle.", "FIG.", "1C shows an exemplary parallel drone delivery and ride-sharing process.", "FIG.", "2A shows an exemplary user interface for renting/borrowing cars in a shared economy.", "FIG.", "2B show an exemplary process for crowd-lending a car/vehicle.", "FIG.", "2C shows the availability of ride-sharing vehicles such as Lyft or Uber near a user's pick up location, while FIG.", "2D shows a driver's progress toward the rider and the estimated time of arrival.", "FIG.", "3 illustrates an example transportation service system.", "FIG.", "4 shows an exemplary system to customize a car to suit a rider's preference using flexible displays positioned in the vehicle cabin.", "FIG.", "5A-5D shows an exemplary scheduling architecture.", "FIGS.", "6A-6B show an exemplary architecture for the on-demand ride-sharing scheduling platform to deliver customers for businesses.", "FIG.", "7 shows exemplary systems for capturing navigation data and using such data for smart vehicles.", "FIG.", "8 is a sequence diagram illustrates generally operations performed by the system.", "FIG.", "9 is a diagram illustrates generally, an overview of a recommender system that may allow drivers to obtain action recommendations based on the driver behavior parameters, according to embodiments disclosed herein.", "FIG.", "10 is a diagram illustrates generally, an overview of preferences matching by the server, according to embodiments disclosed herein.", "FIG.", "11 is a flow chart illustrates generally, a method for selectively providing insurance information to a service provider, according to embodiments as disclosed herein.", "FIG.", "12 is a diagram illustrates generally, an exemplary system that customizes insurance rates to correspond to behavior driver, according to embodiments as disclosed herein.", "FIG.", "13 is a diagram illustrates generally an insurance rate adjustment component that further includes an analyzer component, according to embodiments as disclosed herein.", "FIG.", "14 illustrates generally, a method for customizing insurance rates of a driver, according to embodiments as described herein.", "FIG.", "15A illustrates generally, a method for presenting information related to a real-time insurance rate, according to embodiments as described herein, while FIG.", "15B shows an exemplary email sent to drivers to provide feedback.", "FIG.", "16 is diagram illustrates generally, a method for installation of a real-time insurance system, according to embodiments disclosed herein.", "FIG.", "17 is a diagram illustrates generally, a method for gathering information from an on-board monitoring system employed in a real-time insurance system, according to embodiments as disclosed herein.", "FIG.", "18 is a diagram illustrates generally, a method mounting cameras to capture traffic information, according to embodiments as disclosed herein.", "FIG.", "19 is a diagram illustrates generally, a method mounting cameras to capture driver behavior, according to embodiments as disclosed herein.", "FIG.", "20 is a diagram illustrates generally, a first vehicle program communicating with a second vehicle program through an Inter-Vehicle Communication, according to embodiments as disclosed herein.", "DESCRIPTION As described herein, “ride-sharing” refers to “an arrangement in which a passenger travels in a private vehicle driven by its owner, for free or for a fee, especially as arranged by means of a website or app.” Further, “car-sharing” refers to “an arrangement in which a passenger borrows a vehicle belonging to another person and drives the vehicle for a predetermined period and returning the vehicle, for free or for a fee, especially as arranged by means of a website or app.” Further, a “user,” “rider”, or a “customer” refer to individuals that are requesting or ordering an on-demand service.", "Also, services that “let people use smartphone apps to book and pay for a private car service” are to be called “ride-sharing” or “ride-booking services.” Also as described herein, a “driver”, “provider,” or a “service provider” refer to individuals or entities that can provide the requested service.", "As an example, a user can request an on-demand service (e.g., car/taxi service, food delivery, messenger service, telegram service, or provide a product) using the system, and a service provider can communicate with the system and/or the user to arrange to perform the service.", "As used herein, the term “package” is not limited to a parcel, but means any type of good or service being delivered or dispatched by a carrier or ride-sharing service provider.", "In one embodiment, the package can be a child that needs signed documentation to ensure safe handling of the child.", "In addition, a “credit score” refers to a rating or expression of a person's creditworthiness that is used by lenders to access the likelihood that a person will repay his or her debts.", "In addition, as described herein, “customer devices” and “provider devices” refer to computing devices that can correspond to desktop computers, cellular or smartphones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), laptop computers, tablet devices, television (IP Television), etc., that can provide network connectivity and processing resources for enabling a user to communicate with a system over a network.", "A transportation environment is shown in FIG.", "1A where the system can transport people as well as goods/services.", "People can be riders, while goods may be items/packages consigned by a store, and services can be providing or transporting a pet to a veterinarian, for example.", "In FIG.", "1A, the system can treat the rider and the goods/services (collectively passengers) in a route planned by a system 100 (FIG.", "3) where a first passenger with an pick-up point (1) and a drop-off point (2), a second passenger with an pick-up point (3) and a drop-off point (4) and a third passenger with an pick-up point (5) and a drop-off point (6), and a route (10) is a union of three optimal routes for the first, second and third passenger from pick-up point (1), (3) and (5) to drop-off points (2), (4) and (6), respectively.", "The process can identify carpooling possibility by matching sub-segments where people can be picked up and dropped off.", "Appropriate vehicles are selected that carry passengers with vacancies and have routes such that each route contains the starting point of the optimal route and coincides with every point in the optimal route until the end point of the route, carry passengers without vacancy and have routes with end points near the starting point of the optimal route; or are idle and have positions near the starting point of the optimal route such that user passenger parameters such as number of passengers and vehicle type preferences transmitted by the rider or consignor can be satisfied.", "Ideally, the riders would not be aware that they are part of a package delivery system, so the system minimizes stops where people have to wait in one embodiment.", "In another embodiment, when a vehicle is proximal to a package delivery point, a drone is launched to drop off the package at the delivery point and then fly back to the vehicle under the watch of the driver to conform to applicable drone flight regulations.", "All this is done with minimal disruptions to the human driver and rider(s).", "FIG.", "1B shows an exemplary drone carrier that also performs ride-sharing.", "Each vehicle has a landing area where the drone can take off and land.", "The drone uses a coordinated control strategy with the car computer for autonomous docking.", "Converging on a pre-set location, the drone vehicle communicates its position to a decentralized controller on the car.", "This controller accounts for nonlinearities in the vehicles' paths, catering for various factors, such as strong winds and time delays from Wi-Fi or radio signals.", "Local controllers to feedback linearize the models can be used, and a joint decentralized controller is used to coordinate a rendezvous for the two vehicles.", "The effects of time delays on closed loop stability are examined using a Retarded Functional Differential Equation formulation of the problem, and delay margins are determined for particular closed loop setups.", "FIG.", "1C shows an exemplary drone deliver process as managed by a driver of a ride-sharing vehicle.", "The process includes: Identify all packages and rides to be handled by car Each package contains a drop coordinate for drone destination Optimize paths for car pooling and delivery segments Group package pickup and rider pickup for optimum path plan Deliver riders first if possible to minimize inconvenience When near the drop coordinate, open drone carrier and launch drone Car continues on path and sends current GPS coordinate to drone Drone flies to drop coordinate, delivers package and flies back to car Drone lands in carrier and door is closed to secure drone while riders are delivered In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, an entire hierarchical spectrum of multi-autonomous control modes are made available to the driver as a system operator.", "The driver is illustratively able to efficiently and smoothly change control modes mid-mission as desired.", "The driver can do much more than simply change, edit or adjust waypoints on a waypoint-following mission.", "A driver can interrupt a waypoint-following mission to guide the vehicle manually, or partially manually (e.g., remote directional commands), or based on sensor/remote line-of-sight command control.", "In accordance with one embodiment, the control system is configured to optionally transition back to an interrupted mission (e.g., back to an original waypoint-following mission).", "It should be noted that the “operator” is not necessarily human.", "For example, the driver could be an automated decision-making source.", "The spectrum of control modes available to the driver illustratively corresponds to the particular functional sub-components incorporated into a variable autonomy control system architecture.", "In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, in addition to numerous specific control modes that will be described within the present description, a spectrum of additional control modes are conceivable.", "The control systems of the present invention can be easily configured to support (including conflict and transition support that enables the driver to switch back and forth between modes) basically any control mode or module.", "Examples of such control modes include: 1.Driver inputs a planned route and then the control system autonomously chooses a vehicle (e.g., one of several available vehicles) and automatically guides the vehicle along the planned route .", ".", ".", "or driver designates a moving ground target and then the control system autonomously chooses a vehicle and automatically guides the vehicle to track the ground target 2.Driver provides a planned route for a specific vehicle before the vehicle is launched .", ".", ".", "the vehicle follows the pre-planned route 3.Same as #2 but driver is allowed to change to a different planned route post launch (e.g., ability to change missions) 4.Control based on a vector-based decision process (e.g., vehicle will head in a predetermined direction at speed x, altitude y, etc.", ".", ".", ".", "then turn based on new vector input information 5.Remote Directional Control (RDC) control (e.g., flying directionally such as with a multi-directional joystick input mechanism .", ".", ".", "with autonomous safety nets that do not let the driver aerodynamically stall, over-steer, overbank, or otherwise compromise flight of the vehicle) 6.Full Manual Control (remote commands which directly reach the control surfaces un-compensated or conditioned) Accordingly, the control systems enable an driver to move in and out of a range of different control modes selected from a broad control spectrum including everything from automated mission planning to direct control, with many available modes in between.", "Modes other than the six listed above are certainly within the scope of the present invention.", "Software products for automatic route planning are commercially available and can be implemented in the context of the described control system and architecture.", "For example, OR Concepts Applied (ORCA) of Whittier, Calif provides at least one software product for route planning such as their “ORCA Planning & Utility System” (OPUS).", "This is but one example of a software component that can be utilized to extend the functionality of the broader control system.", "The system planning ride-share routes for vehicles plans a route for each vehicle such that the planned route is a union of the original route of the chosen vehicle, the optimal route and, if the vehicle is carrying passengers without vacancy or is idle, a route connects the end point of the original route and the starting point of the optimal route.", "Information such as boarding time, boarding position, number of vacancies, vehicle license number, transportation fee, etc.", "to the passenger internet devices and the planned carpool route, passenger pick-up points, drop-off points and parameters are sent to the vehicle.", "Other features of the system can include one or more of the following.", "The system provides transparent bidding for vehicles, car rental/borrowing, rideshare matching, and/or package delivery.", "The system can also support delivery of Item Lending, or in case of a Group Purchase, the Delivery with Ride-sharing.", "The system can open up access to the mass to provide a virtual business fleet for businesses that want to pamper customers/clients with custom pick-up and delivery services.", "The environment of the vehicle cab can be changed to provide a Customizable Taxi or Ride-Sharing Environment.", "The system can provide On Demand ride sharing and for large events such as a concert, can provide Scheduled request for delivery.", "The system can provide automated buffering of vehicles for expected large events.", "Rider sharing can be done with multiple modes of transportation, for example, borrowed car services and services in the shared economy.", "The system enables rapid security checking, and can apply the driver as a human assessment in conjunction with a credit rating of people being driven and the credit rating with personal assessment by one or more drivers.", "The system can use peer-to-peer wireless systems to automatically discover riders with same shared interests.", "Ride share Protection for People and Asset is provided and such systems can allow discrete dating that is safe and lasts as long as desired.", "The system can be used for financing purchases of vehicle by being part of driver pool.", "In some implementations, a ride-sharing system includes an on-demand service application, a map component, a map database, and a location determination.", "The components of system 100 can combine to provide user interface features that are specific to user selections, user locality, and/or real-time conditions to enable a user to request on-demand services.", "The on-demand service application can correspond to a program that is downloaded onto a smartphone, portable computer device (e.g., tablet or other ego-aware device).", "In one implementation, a user can download and install the on-demand service application on his or her computing device and register the computing device with an on-demand service system of the entity.", "The application manager can receive user input, location information 147 and other information (such as user information and/or historical information) to configure content that is to be provided by the UI component 120.For example, the UI component can cause various user interface features to be output to a display of the computing device.", "Some of the user interface features can be region-specific (e.g., based on the current location of the computing device) to display information that is particular to the region.", "The user interface features can also provide dynamically adjusted content based on user selections provided via the user input.", "The location determination can determine the location of the computing device in different ways.", "In one example, the location determination can receive global positioning system (GPS) data from location-based/geo-aware resources of the computing device.", "In addition, the location determination can also receive GPS data from other applications or programs that operate on the computing device.", "As an addition or alternative, the on-demand service application can determine the user's current location or pickup location (i) by using location data provided by the on-demand service system, (ii) by using user location input provided by the user (via a user input), and/or (iii) by using user info and/or historical info stored in one or more user databases.", "The on-demand service application can provide location information to the on-demand service system so that the on-demand service system can arrange for a service to be provided to a user (e.g., arrange a transport service or an entertainment provider service).", "Based on the user-specified region, the on-demand service system 170 can provide information about available service providers (e.g., drivers, or mariachi bands) that can perform the on-demand service in that region.", "For example, for a transport service, a transport on-demand service system 170 can maintain information about the number of available vehicles, the number of available drivers, which drivers are currently performing a transport service, which drivers are ready to pick up users, the current location of the vehicles, the direction and destination of the vehicles in motion, etc., in order to properly arrange the transport service between users and drivers.", "In another example, for a food service, a food on-demand service system 170 can maintain information about the different food trucks that are available, where the food trucks are, how long a food truck will be at a particular location, what type of foods are being served, etc.", "Because services can vary between regions, such as cities, the application manager can cause only information pertinent to the user's specific region to be provided as part of the user interface.", "Using the information maintained about the services and the service providers, the on-demand service system can provide relevant information to the on-demand service application.", "Service information can correspond to information about the particular on-demand service that can be arranged by the on-demand service system (e.g., food services, delivery services, transport services, telegram or entertainment services).", "Service information can include information about costs for the service, available service options (e.g., types of food available, types of entertainment, delivery options), or other details (e.g., available times, specials, etc.).", "Provider information can correspond to information about the available service providers themselves, such as profile information about the providers, the current location or movement of the delivery vehicles, transport vehicles, food trucks, etc., or the types of vehicles.", "After the user confirms the request for the on-demand service, the on-demand service application can provide the service request to the on-demand service system via the service interface.", "In some examples, the service request can include the service location specified by the user (e.g., the location where the user would like the service to be performed or provided), the user's account information, the selected service option, any specific notes or requests to the service provider, and/or other information provided by the user.", "Based on the received service request, the on-demand service system can arrange the service between the user and an available service provider that is qualified and capable of providing the on-demand service.", "The on-demand service system can provide additional provider information to the on-demand service application, such as the particular service provider who will be fulfilling the service, the service provider's ratings, etc., so that this information can be provided to the user on a user interface.", "FIG.", "2A shows an exemplary user interface for renting/borrowing cars in the shared economy.", "The UI shows cars available for rental (A) and motorbikes available for rental (triangle).", "The system of FIG.", "2 differs from that of FIG.", "2B or 2C in that the vehicles are stationary and it is the user that is walking toward the vehicle to pick the vehicle up.", "In contrast, in FIGS.", "2B-2C, the rider is stationary and the ride-sharing vehicles come to them.", "The system shows Uber/Lyft vehicles on the map so that the user can decide on renting or ride-sharing.", "In FIG.", "2B, the process for crowd-lending a car/vehicle is as follows: Owner registers vehicle (40) If not smart car, install Immobilizer hardware (42) If the vehicle needs to be located due to an emergency, the system can access its coordinates (44) Owner can designate a boundary for the vehicle (44) Renter registers and credit worthiness is assessed and periodically updated (48) Renters use a mobile app or call a Call Center to access the rented vehicle during a reservation (50) After credit approval and rental check out, navigation software sends GPS location and walking instruction to renter to access vehicle (52) Renters who go beyond boundary area will receive alerts (54) If the vehicle is stolen, or taken outside of a designated area, the system has the ability to notify the authorities of the vehicle's location and immobilize it (56) When activated, the immobilizer can alters a static code in a key fob and recognized by an RFID loop around the lock barrel and checked against the vehicle's engine control unit (ECU) for a match.", "If the code is unrecognized, the ECU will not allow fuel to flow and ignition to take place.", "They can use rolling codes or advanced cryptography to defeat copying of the code from the key or ECU.", "The microcircuit inside the key is activated by a small electromagnetic field which induces current to flow inside the key body, which in turn broadcasts a unique binary code which is read by the automobile's ECU.", "When the ECU determines that the coded key is both current and valid, the ECU activates the fuel-injection sequence and the car is drivable.", "Otherwise the car is disabled.", "As an overview of the embodiments that are described more particularly with reference to the FIG.", "2B, consider the following scenario that utilizes the car rental checkout service.", "A customer is directed to walk to a specific GPS coordinate by the mobile application on the customer's phone and communicating with a car rental checkout service.", "It may also be that the customer has an itinerary already that indicates a GPS location or where the customer's car is located.", "The car rental checkout service instructs the customer to frame the VIN on the car in a receptacle displayed by the mobile app.", "Alternatively, a text message sent by the car rental checkout service tells the customer to active the customer's bar code scanner on phone and to the scan the VIN.", "It may also be that a picture is taken if the phone does not have a native bar code scanner.", "At this time, the mobile app on the phone or the car rental checkout service recognizes either the barcode or characters that comprise the VIN, and records that the customer is taking possession of this car particular car with this VIN.", "Here, the mobile app can send the VIN to the car rental checkout service or the customer can be instructed to send an image of the VIN to a particular number monitored by the car rental checkout service.", "The car rental checkout service then remotely unlocks the car through OnStar® or similar auto management infrastructure based on verification of the reservation.", "Next, the customer is instructed (via the mobile app or text messages sent by the car rental checkout service) to perform a walk-around of the car with the camera of the phone framing the car as a 360-degree video or a as series of still images.", "The app or car rental checkout service stores the images, location and time as a video record of any pre-existing damage to the car.", "In the case of the app storing, the app sends to the car rental checkout service on behalf of the customer.", "Without the app, the customer is instructed to send to a number monitored by the car rental checkout service or instructed to upload to a predefined site monitored by the car rental checkout service.", "Next the customer is instructed (via text messages or the app in communication with the car rental checkout service) to start the car and frame the dash-board in the app provided receptacle (or using the phone's camera application).", "The mobile app or the car rental checkout service recognizes the car's fuel gauge and odometer readings through optical recognition software and notes these values along with the location and time of the photo and confirms the value with the customer.", "In the case where there is no mobile app, the car rental checkout service instructs the customer via a text message to send the image of the gauges via a text to a phone number monitored by the car rental checkout service or to upload the image of the gauges to a site monitored by the car rental checkout service.", "For added security, the customer may also be asked to enter, via an app or via a text message sent, the license number of the customer.", "The car rental checkout service records the images or video to establish a record for the car rental transaction between the car rental owner and the customer.", "If a mobile app exists, it may automatically retain the images for the customer on the wireless portable device as well should a dispute about preexisting damage arise when the customer checks the car back in after the car rental period.", "Alternatively, the customer can be informed via a text message to the wireless portable device to retain the images or video for the customers on records should a later dispute arise.", "The car rental checkout service sends the record to a car rental management system to obtain confirmation details for a confirmation permitting the customer to exit the car rental facility with the car.", "The car rental checkout service sends to the wireless portable device a confirmation that indicates that the customer can now drive the car to complete the car rental checkout transaction.", "Thus, an entirely unmanned car rental can be facilitated using the techniques described herein.", "One example of a ride-sharing service is Uber or Lyft, where pickups are made on demand and drivers arrive within minutes.", "The drive can also be scheduled in advance to facilitate group events.", "As shown in FIGS.", "2C-2D, the Uber app will show the rider approximately how far away the closest driver is so the rider can request his/her pickup at a time that fits his/her schedule.", "The fare is calculated based on distance and time.", "For Uber, a typical driver cycle after pick-up: 1) drive passenger to destination; 2) drop-off, mark as dropped off in app; 3) drive around, wait for ride request; 4) opt-in to select that person for pickup; 5) go pick them up, and then back to step 1.While drivers prefer to have a passenger in their car for the highest percentage of their time on the road, and steps 3 and 4 hinder that ability.", "The vast majority of services that Uber and Lyft and others provide mimics a traditional taxi or driver service.", "For car-pooling using ride service, a rider map database is searched for potential matches to the route and other criteria submitted by the rider.", "The software may begin the searching process by finding riders who travel the same or nearly the same route.", "In one embodiment this is accomplished by comparing the route nodes and vertices of one rider to those of another rider route to find compatible riders.", "For example, a first rider route having ten road segments is compared to a second subscriber route having nine road segments.", "Upon comparison of these two routes it is found that eight of the segments are common.", "In this example, the second subscriber would be added to the list of potential subscribers to be sent to the subscriber seeking a carpooler.", "In one embodiment, the percentage of nodes that are in common with the subscriber's route may be a parameter taken into account when compiling the list of potential ride sharers.", "For example, a first rider may be willing to accept a list of riders that have routes with eight of ten matching segments but a second rider may only accept a list of ride sharers having all ten matching nodes.", "After a list is generated containing riders with the same or similar routes, the system may next compare the preferences of the subscribers to generate the list to be sent to a particular subscriber.", "The list may include those other subscribers that do not fit a subscribers profile completely but may be within a certain degree of variance.", "Upon the completion of the searching, the list of ride sharers are sequenced and the paths generated and transmitted to the driver of the ride-sharing vehicle.", "The driver may then retrieve the transmitted list or may be notified by electronic mail or may be notified by an audible message sent to the vehicle and broadcast via the mobile device so for pick-up of the riders.", "In some embodiments, a customer can transmit a request for transport from a given customer geographic location.", "A service may handle the request by selecting a party to provide transport to the customer.", "According to some embodiments, the pairing of the party to the customer requesting the transport is performed programmatically and/or automatically, based on parameters such as the location of the driver (or a vehicle of the transport party).", "According to embodiments, individual drivers may be selected as respondents to a customer request, whom in turn have the option to accept the assignment.", "Once a driver is selected and has accepted the assignment, information about the driver (e.g.", "the location of the driver when the fare was accepted, a picture of the driver, his rating etc.)", "may be communicated to a device of the rider.", "The driver may also be provided information about the rider (e.g.", "the picture of the rider, the rider's safety rating, the rider location or pickup location).", "Additionally, some embodiments provide that the customer is provided updates as to the location of the vehicle of the driver en route to the customer.", "The updates may be provided in real-time or near-real time, to reflect the progression of the driver towards the customer.", "Rideshare Device An overview of a transportation system 100 is shown in FIG.", "3.The passenger can be a biological entity (human or animal) or can be an object or consignment.", "In one embodiment, ride-sharing can be used and the rideshare can include a transaction between a driver 102 and a passenger 104 that results in the transportation of the rideshare participants 102, 104 to a destination 106 along a route 108.In another embodiment, the passenger can rent a local vehicle (car sharing) after entering into a transaction with the car owner that results in the transportation of the passenger to the destination 106 along the route 108.The driver 102 provides transportation using a vehicle such as an automobile 110.Other forms of transportation may be provided, such as airplanes, trains or vans.", "Each participant 102, 104 (or animal/object owner) has available to him or her a rideshare device 112, 114.The rideshare device 112, 114 has communication capabilities and a location determining capabilities.", "Moreover, each participant 102, 104 has access to a plurality of modes of transportation.", "For example, the participant 102, 104 can have motorcycle, bike, owned car, borrowed car, boat, plane, glider, among others.", "Each of the mode of transportation can have its own costs and requirements.", "The system 100 can optimize the cost and recommend a combination of modes to best reach a destination.", "For example, in the city, Uber or Lyft may be the most convenient and cost-effective.", "However, if the rider wants to go to a remote area for sight seeing, Uber or Lyft may not be cost-effective and a combination of ridesharing with borrowing a vehicle to drive to remote areas may be effective.", "The borrowing of the vehicle may be from a conventional car rental company, or may be from the crowd.", "One such service is ZipCar where the user can book a Zipcar for a couple hours or the whole day.", "When the time is almost up, the rider can return the car to the same reserved parking spot.", "The rider can also borrow car from the local population.", "To ensure that riders come back with the car, the system can do a preliminary charge to the rider's credit card account to ensure fund availability.", "The system also checks the rider's credit worthiness as described below.", "The rideshare device 112, 114 communicates with a location broadcast station 120 and a communication broadcast station 130.Commonly, the location broadcast station 120 is a satellite, such as a global positioning system.", "Examples of communication broadcast stations 130 include cellular towers, WI-MAX broadcasters, WiFi broadcasters, walkie-talkie and other forms of radio communication.", "The location broadcast station 120 and the communication broadcast station 130 may be combined into any convenient form, satellite or terrestrial.", "The participant device 112, 114 includes, or has access to, a location system such as GPS or other locating strategies.", "Similarly, a cellular telephone, or similar device, can be located by triangulating communication signals 132, 134 originating from the device 112, 114 received at a plurality of broadcast stations 130.A rideshare system 160 interfaces with the rideshare devices 112, 114 through the communication broadcast station 130.The rideshare system 160 arranges and administers a rideshare transaction between a driver 102 and a passenger 104.The rideshare transaction occurs along a route 108 starting at an origin 105 and concluding at a destination 106.As discussed below, the rideshare system 160 determines a driver location 170 using the location capabilities of the driver device 114.The driver location 170 may be the origin 105 or any point along the route 108 as the vehicle 110 is in transit.", "A pickup location 172 is determined from the location capabilities of the passenger device 112.The application 172 need not be the actual location of the passenger device 112, for instance a safer nearby pickup location may be specified by the rideshare system 160.Safety functions provided by the rideshare system 160 include the monitoring of a trip location 174 as the passenger 104 shares the transport 110 with the driver 102.The rideshare system 160 may be used in a number of transportation contexts and locations.", "For example, the rideshare system 160 may support commuting in different metropolitan areas within the same or different countries.", "A rideshare support system provides a localization module that may provide directions and instructions translated for, or otherwise tailored to, a particular location.", "A map module provides transportation maps, for example roadmaps of the transportation coverage area administered by the rideshare system.", "Navigation systems support provides navigation functions such as driving directions and may be interfaced with location determining systems such as GPS or the location determining functions of the participant devices 112, 114.In another embodiment, cars from locals can be borrowed or rented for a fee.", "In this system, smart cars are used as rental vehicles with keyless entry, and secure vehicle monitoring and operation solution.", "The system has GPS tracking, remote immobilization, keyless operation, geo-fencing.", "There is no need to hand over the keys.", "Renters can use a mobile app or call a Call Center to access the rented vehicle during a reservation.", "The navigation software will help get renters to the destination.", "If the vehicle needs to be located due to an emergency, the system can access its coordinates.", "The car owner can designate a boundary for the vehicle.", "Renters who go beyond this area will receive alerts.", "If the vehicle is stolen, or taken outside of a designated area, the system has the ability to notify the authorities of the vehicle's location and immobilize it.", "Transparent Bidding In one embodiment, each member knows the others' bids as transparency is an important feature of the system.", "The system shows only the current winning bid and number of bids so far and ending time.", "Moreover, it also should allow members for bid at the last seconds.", "Biddings can be Closed bidding vs. Open bidding.", "In Closed Bidding, the members should send a bid message to the organizer who will announce the winning bid number, but that takes away the competition for money in the Open Bidding process that will benefit all members.", "Open Bidding will drive the winning bid down and the winner will be the person who needs the ride the most in the bidding cycle, and that person is willing to pay the highest.", "Carpooling Matching System To decrease cost and save the environment, carpooling can be done.", "A carpool match transaction system generally includes functions for matching participants 102, 104 in a rideshare transaction.", "A rideshare security module tracks and monitors the participants 102, 104 during the rideshare transaction.", "The carpool match transaction system may utilize the participant devices 112, 114 to arrange a rideshare transaction and also to track and monitor participant security via the carpool security module.", "In a ride-share embodiment, an accounting system provides functions for the monetary and non-monetary administration of the rideshare system, for example, tracking and accounting for: rideshare transactions; financial negotiations for rideshare between participants 102, 104; fees and commissions that may be taken by the rideshare system 160; revenues generated by the rideshare revenue business methods; expense allocations; and, rideshare participation incentives.", "Rideshare revenue business methods provide profit and financing alternatives for the rideshare system.", "Participants 102, 104 can also be matched by a social network component using social network information maintained by either the rideshare matching transaction system or third party social network systems.", "For example, a driver 102 may wish to only be matched to passengers 104 identified as friends (first degree relationships) or friends of friends (second degree relationships).", "A participation-scoring component may maintain information documenting the participation of the participants 102, 104.The participation information may include such values as the number of successful rideshare transactions that the participant has participated in, feedback scores from other participants that have participated in rideshare transactions with the subject participant or recommendations from other rideshare participants.", "The shared interest-scoring component determines and compares either or both biographic or behavioral information.", "Examples of biographic information might include gender, age, hobby, profession and music preferences.", "Examples of behavioral information might include smoking or non-smoking preferences.", "The participant match component 330 may utilize information other than that directly associated with a participant.", "For example, a vehicle information component may obtain and utilize information pertaining to the characteristics of the vehicle 110, such as vehicle size, number of available seats, insurance safety ratings and the like.", "Vehicle maintenance and safety inspections are other examples of information associated with the vehicle 110 that may inform a participant 104 directly, or the participant match component 330 automatically, to arrange a rideshare match transaction.", "The participant match component also provides for a preferences component, which may require, or give preference to, certain participants or classes of participants.", "For example, priority may be given to corporate sponsored users, participants with nearby home or work locations, participants with good participant ratings, or participants with certain group associations.", "The carpool match component includes systems and methods for the transportation specifics of the rideshare transaction.", "A route match component determines a route 108 that corresponds to a location 170, a proposed pickup location 172 and a destination 106.To coordinate a route 108 that meets the criterion of the ride location 170, the pickup location 172 and the destination 106, the route match component may determine a suitable route with a route-planning component.", "A pickup and drop-off alternatives component may suggest an alternative pickup or drop-off location that complies with route planning objectives, such as choosing routes with consideration for the safety of the participants, as is discussed in more detail below.", "The ride match component may also undertake the negotiation of elements that the participants may be flexible with, for example negotiating the time of pickup using a time negotiation component.", "The carpool matching transaction system may also include a financial negotiations component, whereby the participants negotiate compensation for the rideshare transaction.", "For example, a ride auction component may administer bidding between one or more passengers 104 for a seat in a vehicle 110 along a particular route 108.The carpool matching transaction system may also take into account rideshare participation incentives administered by a rideshare participation incentives component.", "Package Delivery Service The system can provide one-hour package delivery in conjunction with a ride-sharing service.", "For example, if the system has picked up a rider already and now receives an instruction to pick up and deliver a package, the system allows the route planning user/driver to designate detour data to pick up the extra rider (in case the driver was assigned to pick up/deliver the package) or vice versa.", "In this case, the route planning apparatus will add road path data corresponding to the driver detour data for all desired routes to be calculated between any start and destination locations for routes to handle the package and the rider.", "Also the system can treat package delivery as though the package is another car pool passenger using the ride-sharing service such as Uber or Lyft.", "In carpooling embodiments, frequently travelled locations (e.g., origins and destinations) or routes (e.g., road segments) may be derived by collecting GPS points from the community members' smart phone devices.", "A route analysis module analyzes each travel record, and identifies the relevant starting and ending points of the travel, as well as departure and arrival times; the identified data is then allocated to the profile of the relevant user.", "The accumulation of similar close-by geographical locations is analyzed and associated with potential daily routine visit places or possible common routes (e.g., home to work in the morning; work to home in the evening; home to beach on Saturday morning; beach to home on Saturday afternoon).", "Optionally, the user may be prompted to confirm a hypothesis about the various locations, time of travel, or other attributes (e.g., weekly frequency) of an identified route.", "In some embodiments, the method may include, for example, determining a first travel pattern associated with the first user and a second travel pattern associated with the second user, determining a match between the first and second travel patterns and generating a carpool proposal directed at the first and second users.", "Note that the user can be a rider or a package to be delivered.", "In some embodiments, the information provided to carpool participants may further include, for example, potential cost saving (e.g., gas expenses, car-related expenses, public transportation expenses, parking expenses, transportation tolls, road tolls, bridge tolls, tunnel tolls, ferry tolls, highway tolls, or the like), estimated time saving (e.g., based on typical velocity of cars in a HOV lane versus a non-HOV lane), as well as other suitable information which may promote the service and/or provide benefit to the user.", "These information items may be calculated by a benefits calculation module, which may optionally utilize manually-updated or automatically-updated information (e.g., gas prices).", "One embodiment allows one hour delivery of purchases.", "Another embodiment allows same day delivery of purchases.", "In these embodiments, a store or consignor has packages to be delivered at a particular time as ordered by a customer or consignee.", "The delivery time may impact the delivery cost.", "For example, during non-peak traffic, the cost can be less.", "During peak traffic or inconvenient time such as mid-night, the delivery cost can be increased.", "The delivery cost is provided to the store based on the customer selection as part of the check-out by the customer.", "At a high level, the customization or the personalization of the delivery experience may require or involve the coordination between the: (1) ride-sharing carrier and the consignee, (2) consignor and the ride-sharing carrier, and (3) consignor and the consignee.", "Communication between the carrier and the consignee may facilitate delivery by the entities agreeing on a time and/or place to accomplish delivery.", "In the second scenario, the consignor may request the carrier to alter the delivery address for the package.", "And, in the third scenario, the consignor and the consignee may agree between themselves to modify aspects affecting delivery of the package and inform the carrier of the change (which then may involve the first or second scenarios).", "Thus, in many instances, communication in one of the aforementioned scenarios (e.g., between the consignor and the consignee) may be followed by another instance of coordination (e.g., involving the consignor and the carrier).", "For example, a consignee may notify the consignor of a change of address after the consignor has already shipped the package, but before delivery has been accomplished.", "The consignor may then communicate the new address to the carrier.", "As it will be seen, the first two instances of coordination involve the carrier in some form and impact how or when the carrier accomplishes delivery of the package.", "In many cases, the impacts to the carrier are highly dependent on the particular facts surrounding the package delivery.", "For example, a consignor contracting for the delivery of a package may require a signature by the consignee, and only the consignee.", "This may preclude a request by the consignee to deliver the package to a neighbor instead.", "Of course, if the consignee communicates with the consignor, the consignor may in turn authorize the carrier to deliver the package without a signature of the recipient, effectively waiving the signature requirement.", "Because various communications and combinations of coordination are possible, only some examples are provided to illustrate various embodiments of the invention.", "At a high level, the communication between the carrier and the consignee typically involves the exchange of information to coordinate, or personalize, the package's delivery.", "Typically, although not required, the consignee is aware of an impending package delivery.", "This may occur via several ways.", "In one common embodiment, the carrier may notify the consignee of an impending delivery.", "This can occur via an email notification, although other forms are possible, including other forms of electronic messaging (e.g., short message service, automated voice telephone calls, facsimile messages, hosted web site messaging, instant messaging, etc.).", "In other embodiments, the consignor may notify the consignee that a package has been shipped.", "This is quite common in situations in which the consignor is a merchant from whom the consignee has ordered an item and the consignor provides notification when the package has actually been handed off to the carrier.", "Typically, the consignor will also provide the consignee with a tracking number of the delivery.", "In other embodiments, the consignee may be expecting a package based on other facts (e.g., the consignee ordered merchandise and was expecting delivery).", "In this case, the consignee may proactively access a package tracking web site operated by the carrier to ascertain the status of the package delivery.", "Typically, once the consignee is aware of an impending delivery, the consignee can initiate a request for personalizing the delivery of the package.", "The consignee may communicate the request in different ways, including electronic messaging, such as via email or web-site access, via telephone, or other forms.", "The request typically provides information to the carrier that the delivery personnel use in the delivery of the package.", "Such information may include identification of the package (e.g., via a tracking number), requests regarding when the package should be delivered on the day of delivery, where it should be placed at the delivery address, or other special handling information.", "Although personalized delivery information is often provided after the consignee is aware of the existence of a package that will be delivered, this information can be also provided earlier.", "Specifically, a consignee could indicate delivery preferences or instructions prior to a package being shipped to the consignee.", "For example, personalized delivery information can be provided by the consignee as standing instructions or preferences for delivery of a package.", "Thus, the delivery preference is to be applied to all future deliveries, even if there is currently no package scheduled for delivery to the consignee.", "In other embodiments, the delivery information may be provided after the initial delivery attempt.", "While the carrier may prefer to receive such information prior to an initial delivery attempt, embodiments of the present invention contemplate indication of delivery preferences by a consignee before and/or after an initial delivery attempt.", "Similarly, a consignor can provide personalized delivery information to the carrier.", "In some embodiments, the indication of such information may be made by the consignor contemporaneously with the indication of other related package delivery information.", "A typical circumstance is a customer ordering information from a merchant using web-access, and when placing the order the customer (which typically is the consignee) requests that the items be placed at a certain location upon delivery (e.g., the back door).", "Upon shipping the package, the merchant may indicate to the carrier the destination address with special instructions regarding the delivery, including placement at the back door.", "This information could be included with other shipping information provided by the consignor to the carrier via a shipping system.", "Such shipping systems allow a consignor to prepare packages for shipping.", "In another embodiment, the customer may notify the merchant of the special delivery instructions, after the package has been shipped.", "In that case, the consignor (the merchant) may communicate the special delivery instructions to the carrier by referencing the package or the consignee.", "Alternatively, and as discussed above, the consignee could indicate such directly to the carrier after learning of the impending delivery.", "In other embodiments, the consignor-provided personalized delivery information could originate from the consignor itself, rather than from the consignee.", "For example, the consignee may know that it is shipping goods which could be damaged if wet, and thus provide delivery instructions indicating that if the package is left at the consignee's delivery address without the consignee being present, the package is to be wrapped or covered in plastic.", "As another example, the consignor may require that all consignees provide “live” or in-person signatures for release of a package, and would provide this information as a standing delivery preference to the carrier.", "The communication between the consignor and the consignee, by itself, does not involve the carrier and does not directly impact the delivery of the package.", "However, a typical result of this communication is that the consignor or consignee will then communicate personalized delivery information to the carrier regarding the package delivery.", "It is possible that one party may expect the other to contact the carrier, or may facilitate the communication so as to ensure the communication is as seamless as possible.", "For example, a consignor may communicate with a consignee and learn that the consignee will not be able to receive the package.", "The consignor may provide the consignee with a web-address of the carrier and the tracking number of the package as well as instructions of how to inform the carrier of this situation.", "Thus, the consignor facilitates the consignee in indicating his personalized delivery information to the carrier.", "Alternatively, the consignor could inform the carrier of the situation directly, after which the carrier can contact the consignee and inform him that his delivery preferences have been communicated.", "The consignor may have obtained the email address of the consignee (such as at the time the consignee placed the order with the consignor), and may provide this to the carrier for purposes of allowing the carrier to communicate shipping status information to the consignee.", "Upon receiving payment for the order, the store, restaurant, or vendor computer sends the customer address to the rider hailing server to analyze package delivery locations and deliver routes, determine when a ride-sharing vehicle may be able to combine its trip serving riders and in the same trip deliver the package to the customer location, and match the delivery time.", "Preferably, the rider is delivered to his/her destination without knowing that there is a package to be delivered in the same trip to minimize inconvenience to the rider.", "Based on these considerations, the rider hailing server selects one of the drivers, and informs the store and/or the customer of the delivery vehicle and time.", "The rider sharing server may build delivery routes corresponding to customer delivery locations based off of traffic patterns and road types and based off of existing and potential customer orders and rider orders to create efficient delivery routes.", "For each predetermined delivery route start time, the ride hailing server may have a predetermined cutoff time when orders may no longer be placed for delivery by that delivery vehicle.", "A time period such as an hour may be provided between the cutoff time for a delivery route/vehicle and the start of that delivery route.", "The store computer may add additional information for each delivery order.", "The store server may add a delivery time window, an order identification number, customer information, customer address, customer specific instructions, past customer complaints, etc.", "to the delivery location information.", "The store server may thus create an information rich delivery route which may then be provided to the driver for delivery in the time window and in the manner desired by the customers.", "In one example, a store may include an order fulfillment computer and one or more mobile devices.", "The order fulfillment computer may streamline the collection of items from the store.", "The order fulfillment computer may include a layout of the store indicating which types of items are found on the various isles in the store.", "The order fulfillment computer may store information regarding where different commodity groups or product types are located throughout the store.", "The order fulfillment computer may store a product picking route which directs a store employee through the store in a predetermined manner.", "The order fulfillment computer may receive a customer order and arrange the items on the customer order so that the items are encountered sequentially in the store as a store employee follows a predetermined picking route through the store.", "The order fulfillment computer may receive a number of customer orders associated with a delivery route and may combine items from all of the orders into a single pick list, allowing a store employee to follow a pick route a single time through the store to collect all items for all of the orders.", "The order fulfillment computer may divide the items into a few different groups.", "For example, the order fulfillment computer may divide the order items into a group of frozen items, a group of refrigerated items, and a group of non-cooled items.", "In one embodiment of the present invention a vehicle route planning system is provided.", "The system includes a map database which stores fixed road path data corresponding to the roadways which exist at least between start and destination locations.", "The map database stores the map data along with various facilities including gas stations, restaurants, hotels and shops, which is accompanied with the map data.", "The map data includes a road network for representing the road of the map as a line.", "The intersection is defined as a node.", "The road is divided by the nodes into multiple sections.", "A section between two nodes is defined as a link.", "Thus, the map data includes link data for presenting a link and node data for presenting a node.", "The link data includes a link identifier of each link as an identifier of the link, a link length, position data of a starting point (i.e., one node) of each link and an end point (i.e., the other node) of each link, an angle (i.e., a direction) data, a width of a road, a type of a road and the like.", "The link ID is specific to a corresponding link.", "The position data of each node includes a longitude and a latitude of the node.", "Further, the link data includes information for displaying (i.e., reproducing) the link on the map.", "The driver may have a number of delivery packages to select from, and the system presents the driver with a list of vendors, stores restaurants within a given distance (which may be radial, driving time, or driving distance .", ".", ".", ").", "For each package not along the driver's route, user interface module displays two distances: the distance down the route to a point from which the driver would deviate toward the package pick-up (the “along-route distance” to the “route departure point”), and the distance by which the pick-up is off the route (the “off-route distance”).", "Alternatively, the driver can configure system to display the estimated time off-route caused by the deviation based on information stored in database about the detour to pick up the package, including for example the estimated speed along the off-route portion.", "In this example, the delay is about two minutes.", "The driver decides that the two minutes is an acceptable time, and therefore deviates to pick up the package.", "Preferably, the ride-sharing vehicle combines a trip serving riders and also deliver the package to the customer location with the targeted delivery time without delaying the rider for the package delivery in the same trip to minimize inconvenience to the rider.", "This is done by determining if the package can be delivered after the rider has been dropped off.", "If this is not possible, the system would rejected the current rider request or the current delivery request to avoid time conflict.", "In one embodiment, if there is a time conflict, the system flags a second driver to pick up the package for delivery, while allowing the rider to travel to the destination in the most convenient manner.", "Dating/Socializing The system can be used for safe on-line dating and then in person meeting.", "The members of a dating site can socialize with each other using a dating site, for example.", "The dating site can provide profiles of members for on-line dating including pictures and a social networking profile.", "The system can track the member, mutual friends and friends of friends the member have in common with his/her potential matches.", "The system can present a plurality of images, each viewable by swiping through the images of potential matches, adding more context and an extra degree of connection to every swipe.", "The method includes receiving a requesting member to request a date with a requested member with a meeting date, place, and time; and if the requested member accepts the date request from said requesting member, generating an on-demand ride-sharing request for both members to share a ride-sharing vehicle with a mobile device.", "For security, the system can check out the social connections of the members and determine unusual or signs of social disconnect and provide such information to the other member.", "For example, if one of the members have been writing anti-social messages, the other member would get these messages to make a decision.", "Also, if the member claims a particular social status but his or her financials do not support such status, the system would flag this.", "The financials can be estimated as detailed below, and additionally the drivers can provide evaluations of the rider/member and such information can be presented to the other member either for free or for a fee.", "When users register to become members of online dating communities, they are prompted to enter detailed personal information.", "The relevant information that will be needed for the ‘set up a date’ methodology is their real name and user name to reduce the likelihood that a member would contact another member for a date with fraudulent or inappropriate intentions.", "Once a member has registered, they can browse the online dating application to view other members.", "These members will be labeled under their usernames.", "When the user finds a member he/she is interested in, he/she may contact the member.", "Once the two members communicate, one member may choose to request a date.", "While the members may do so in a traditional manner via telephone call or email, the ‘set up a date’ process herein described offers a safe alternative that will allow members to request and accept dates while maintaining a sense of security regarding their personal safety.", "When a member wishes to set up a date with another member, he/she will click on the “request a date” button on that member's page.", "The requesting member will then be prompted to enter the information including their username, their real name, a meeting time and a meeting place.", "The username and real name must match with the information entered during the registration.", "This will prevent a person from requesting a date under another member's username or real name.", "When a member makes a date request, a record will be kept showing when the request was made, to whom it was made, when it was made, the details of the request, and whether the date was accepted or denied.", "When a member receives a date request, the dating history record will be updated to show who the request was from, the details of the request, and whether the request was accepted or declined.", "All of the above referenced information will be automatically input in to the dating history record when requests are made, accepted, or declined.", "As such, members will not be able to edit their own dating history record.", "Members will also not be able to view the dating history records of other members.", "To provide another level of security and further ensure that members have peace of mind when using the set up a date methodology, members may choose to have an emergency contact designated.", "This emergency contact may or may not be the local authorities.", "Members may also choose to designate a close friend, relative, employer, or neighbor.", "Members who have chosen to designate an emergency contact will be required to update their dating history after the member has gone out on a date to show that the member has returned home from the date safely.", "This will then be reflected in their dating history record.", "After a set number of days after a date, if the member has not updated their dating history, his/her emergency contact will be notified.", "This notification may be made by an automated message or by a phone call from an administrator.", "If the member has safely returned, he/she can change the dating history after being contacted by their emergency contact.", "Under the unfortunate circumstance that the member has not returned, the emergency contact will be able to take the necessary steps in the best interest of the member.", "The process of having an emergency contact will give members a sense of safety as they use the set up date methodology.", "Due to the social network, daters are motivated to behave and additionally, the other dating member can check on the social connections and ratings of the borrower.", "Due the network, daters would not want to be embarrassed by their friends if too many dates complain on their page, so the mechanism keeps abusers in check in the same way that credit rating and lending are described below.", "Item Lending In another scenario, instead of delivering purchased items, the system can deliver items loaned by user.", "For example, the user may have items to lend and may also wish to borrow non-monetary items.", "A loan-matching infrastructure is provided to identify another user with complementary lendable items and borrowing desires.", "The item lending can be done based on the credit history of the user, as detailed below.", "Once the borrower has been vetted, the ride-sharing service can pick up and deliver the loaned items.", "The item lending matching may introduce users that are in the same social network but not yet connected to one another in that social network, or it may serve to strengthen the relationship between users who are already connected.", "As a further scenario, the architecture may enable a user with a lendable item to broadcast and/or narrowcast the availability of the item to just friends or to many other users.", "One of multiple users that respond to the broadcast/narrowcast may be selected based on speed of response, lending metric, social network relationship, and the like.", "For items that are able to be lent only a limited number of times, this technique of soliciting many responses may assist the user in deciding which user or users are allowed to borrow the item.", "The lender can check on the social connections and ratings of the borrower.", "Due the network, borrowers would not want to be embarrassed by their friends if the lender complains, so the mechanism keeps thieves in check in the same way that credit rating and lending are described below.", "Group Purchase/Delivery with Ride-Sharing In one embodiment, individual riders can dynamically form buying blocs and thereby avail themselves of various benefits or incentives for purchasing as a group that would not be available for the individual alone.", "In one illustrated example, the system contacts a first rider who interested in going to a particular place or event.", "The first rider then forwards the destination to one or more additional riders.", "A relationship is maintained between the riders in that members of the group benefit from the purchases of other riders and avail themselves of the greater buying group reward.", "The system can be used to bring riders to local events such as meet-up groups, for example.", "For example, Bob can form a group to promote start-up entrepreneurs in San Francisco.", "He can send emails to his group members indicating a time to meet and a reduced fee ride-sharing service fees if a sufficient number of group members are going to that particular meet-up.", "The reduced fees can be the result of the volume of ride-sharing riders, and can also be from the efficiency of carpooling and picking up members who are close to each other in a few vehicles.", "By way of example, Bob is a frequent purchaser of sandwiches at a local eatery.", "Bob knows that he can either order his dinner on-line by himself, or he can order his food in a bloc and take advantage of incentives that the restaurant might be willing to offer for group purchases.", "In order to find others interested in buying food from the restaurant or other restaurants from the same complex, Bob could log on to a web site, social network similar, e.g., to facebook.com, and invite others to join him in purchasing food from the restaurant.", "Alternately, he could enable a signal on his desktop that would search out and alert other possible participants about the purchase.", "In this scenario, Bob logs on and conveys his interest in buying a sandwich to others, and discovers that Jim and Cheryl are also interested in buying a cake from the same restaurant.", "If they all agree to purchase from the restaurant, e.g., then they can place their orders with restaurant as a group.", "Of course, the restaurant would have to have provided some incentive for purchasing as a group.", "This incentive could be in the form of a reduced price on the purchase, a reduced price on a future purchase, coupons, additional products/services, or even a point system in which the purchaser acquires points that can be used on goods and services.", "Any form of incentive could be utilized, and the provision of incentives is primarily an accounting issue.", "The group purchase would not have to be implemented as a simultaneous purchase.", "The “group” purchase could be performed within some defined time period.", "For example, for sandwich purchases, the purchases could be considered as a “group” purchase if made within three hours of each other, whereas for electronic purchases, the “group” purchases could be performed within a week, and automobile purchases could be performed within two months.", "Some mechanism would have to be used for identifying purchasers as belonging to a particular buying group.", "This could be implemented by assigning each group a unique identifier that is used in common by each member of the group when making the purchase.", "It could also be accomplished by the signaling mechanism, where authorization to make the purchase is delegated to the signal mechanism by each group member or member group (a participant can be an individual or a pre-defined group of individuals) and an authorized “bloc manager” can authorize purchases to be made by group members to take advantage of an opportunity.", "This can be accomplished electronically by the signal mechanisms on each participant's desktop.", "In the above scenario and according to one embodiment, Bob, Jim, and Cheryl have all agreed to purchase from the restaurant and are therefore all given a group identifier to use when making their purchases.", "They are all aware of the need to purchase a pizza within some arbitrary time limit, e.g., three hours, in order to take advantage of the group incentives offered by the restaurant.", "This concept could be further extended in that Bob, as the initiator of the buying group, could be provided additional incentive.", "In this scenario, Bob could get $1.00 off of his next ride as the group initiator, whereas the other members in the next level downstream in the hierarchy get $0.75 off of theirs.", "Thus, Bob initiates the formation of the group and receives a higher incentive.", "However, Cheryl then further gets her friends Sally and Bill to join the group, giving her an additional incentive as well.", "This hierarchical structure form of incentives that cascade down into various tiers could serve as the basis for aggregating large blocs of purchasers based on collective incentives for all of the group members to get others to join.", "This organization would also encourage a person to be the first to form a buying bloc, since the incentives are greatest for those who join early on, thereby rewarding the frequency and immediacy of a call to action for a sale.", "However, there is still a substantial incentive for the late-joiners, given that the larger numbers infer greater rewards.", "The concept could be implemented for contacts between friends (e.g., X e-mails a friend inviting him to join X in a trip), but could also be implemented anonymously.", "For example, the web site could have a lounge area that people make themselves available in.", "These people could preregister certain interests, either specifically, such as pizza, DVD players, etc., or generally, such as food, electronics, etc.", "Thus, based on the preregistered interests, these individuals can be specifically targeted by those interested.", "The method may further include placing in the item group at least one of a good (e.g., a food product, a perishable, a consumable, a household item, a commodity, a beverage, a fruit, a bread, a meat, a paper product, a tool, a medicine, a plastic product, a health related product, etc.)", "and a service (e.g., car-wash services, cleaning services, food services, and/or other residential services), and generating a frequency data indicating a periodicity at which each item in the item group is demanded by the registered user.", "The system may include geo-fencing (e.g., a street, a neighborhood, a city, and a county) the item group in an area that encompasses a neighborhood community in a threshold geographical radius from the registered user who creates the item group.", "Also, the method may include listing the item group as one of a set of buying groups separately represented from a set of social groups in a geo-spatial social network embodying the set of buying groups and the set of social groups.", "The method may further include creating a bidding system among the set of providers of the items of the item group in which the set of providers have a time constrained auction system to provide commitments of price, schedule, and/or delivery of items of the item groups to the registered user and/or the at least one of the neighboring users geo-spatially proximate to the registered user.", "In addition, the system may include providing a voting interface to members of the item group such that the winning provider may be determined based on a voted one or more of the set of providers.", "The method may further include automatically providing a fulfillment and tracking engine to members of the item group and to the winning provider, such that the parties see a delivery status of items of the item group through the geo-spatial network.", "Additionally, the fulfillment may be provided to at least one of a central depot in a neighborhood location convenient to members of the item group and/or to individual residences of members of the item group Vendors can place a bid of providing goods and/or services to a neighborhood buying consortia of a geo-spatial social network, debiting accounts of the members of the neighborhood buying consortia based on a contract formed when the bid forms the contract with members of the neighborhood buying consortia, and automatically generating a route to deliver the goods and/or services to members of the neighborhood buying consortia.", "The ride-sharing system can provide delivery services between a set of providers and a set of members of the shopping group, and an advertising module to pre-qualify the shopping group to the set of providers based on at least one of an income, a frequency, a cost, and a location of the members of the shopping group.", "Customizable Taxi or Ride-Sharing Environment The vehicle can be customized for the rider's enjoyment.", "For example, the color can be adjusted using flexible displays.", "Systems and methods of this disclosure allow a user to set or change the outer appearance of an interior of a vehicle such as a car, a taxi, or electronically customizable article (e.g., a handbag).", "In one aspect, a method to customize a ride includes receiving a ride-sharing request from a rider and picking up the rider in a ride-sharing vehicle; retrieving a social network profile from the rider; identifying one or more interests from the rider; and customizing the ride-sharing vehicle to match the rider's one or more interests.", "Implementations of the electronically customizable articles can include an electronic visual display such as a flat panel display to display a user-selected or created color, design, pattern, image, slideshow, video, or other electronic visual display on the exterior of the article.", "The customization can be based on preferences set in the rider's mobile device or stored on a cloud such as Facebook, Box, Gmail, or OneDrive, among others.", "In some implementations, the electronic visual display can be a flexible digital display canvas.", "In some implementations, the electronic visual display can be a touch screen.", "In one embodiment, the entire rear passenger area of the ride-sharing vehicle can be customized to the rider's preference.", "The side doors can incorporate flexible displays thereon, and the back of the seat in front of the rider can also have flexible display or screen to receive projections thereon.", "Mover, the windows of the vehicle can have flexible displays that can be rolled down to block sunlight and to adjust the color and ambience of the cab cabin.", "In some implementations, the hardware and software for the graphical user interface are configured to permit the user to manipulate images through, for example, color, color depth, brightening and contrast adjustments, special effects, multiple image merging, softening options, sharpening abilities, image enhancing, image rotating, selective color changing, options of adding and removing elements, cropping, size and orientation adjustments (e.g.", "landscape or portrait format) and image layering.", "The electronic visual display on the electronically customizable article may be user-created, downloaded from a remote server, transferred from a local computing device or portable storage media, ordered, or a pre-existing image stored locally (e.g., in the electronically customizable articles) or remotely, for example.", "In some implementations, the user-selected or created display can include a color, a design, an image, a pattern, a slideshow, a video, media content, or any other electronic visual display.", "In some implementations, the user-selected or created display can include a specific color such as a PMS, Hex, CMYK, or RGB color, or any other color.", "In some implementations, the user-selected or created display can include one or images such as a jpeg, bmp, eps, psd, gif, pdf, raw, and/or tiff image.", "In some implementations, the user can select the view (e.g., landscape or portrait) for a display.", "In some implementations a time and/or date, email, or text message notification can be displayed on the electronic visual display.", "Display options also may consist of a user selected real time news feed, a social media feed, or other informative feeds such as stock market data.", "In some implementations, the electronically customizable article can display a media/video clip.", "In some implementations, the electronically customizable article can display video during real-time or near real-time video capture based on the videos/presentations that the rider has previously watched and paused prior to getting into the vehicle.", "In some implementations, the electronically customizable article can display live video images, still images, and video playback.", "In some implementations, the electronically customizable article can include a built in camera to capture and/or record the video or still images.", "In some implementations, the video or still images can be transferred to the electronically customizable article.", "In some implementations, the electronically customizable article can include video-teleconferencing abilities including Skype, FaceTime and video chat capabilities so that the rider can resume his/her conferencing.", "In some implementations, the electronically customizable article can support and download various game systems e.g.", "Java games.", "In some implementation, the electronically customizable article can include pre-downloaded games.", "In some implementations, the displays in the cabin can be configured to connect with a mobile device via Bluetooth connectivity, for example, to display visual notification of incoming calls, text messages, calendar dates, email messages or voicemail messages.", "In some implementations, through the use of computer or mobile applications or other wireless communication operating system, selected retail information can be relayed to the electronically customizable article in visual and or audible notifications of information such sales, coupons and rebates dependent on the location of the device in the vicinity of the retail store with GPS use.", "In some implementations, the cabin displays can be used for advertisement purposes.", "In other embodiments, the ads can be used to pull in groups to increase their buying power to reduce per person cost when buying in bulk, and the vehicle can deliver the product or the rider to the store to pick up, among others.", "In some implementations, the electronically customizable article includes E-Reader capabilities for E-Books, magazines, newspapers and other reading articles on a possible fee basis.", "Text and images can be displayed in formats such as, but not limited to or required to include PDF, TXT, CHM, DOC, EXEL, EPUB, RTEF, and PUB.", "In some implementations, the electronically customizable article can be configured to adjust the text size.", "In some implementations, the electronically customizable article can be configured to vocalize the text via an audio narrator feature.", "In some implementations, the electronically customizable article may be configured to play and display various music systems e.g., mp3 player or media player.", "In some implementations, the electronically customizable article may include incorporate sound sensors that can activate visual simulation of displayed images or colors with sound e.g., displayed color changes with received sound frequencies.", "In some implementations, the electronically customizable article may serve as an alert system for incoming calls, text messages, emails, calendar events, alarm clock alerts, traffic alerts, car and home alarm system alerts and other alerts.", "FIG.", "3 is an interior side view of two left side doors 18 and 20 of a vehicle having a rear door window 14 and a front door window 16 in the preferred embodiment of the present invention.", "Each door has a handle 22 and 24.Positioned above the door frame of each door is a customizable flexible display 10 or 12, each of which can change color or image as desired and can also act as window shade or privacy screen.", "The window flexible displays are retractable rolled sheets of material for use in blocking the sun from the interior of the vehicle.", "The display can be flexible organic light emitting diode (FOLED) which is a type of organic light-emitting diode (OLED) incorporating a flexible plastic substrate on which the electroluminescent organic semiconductor is deposited.", "This enables the device to be bent or rolled while still operating.", "As illustrated in the embodiment of FIG.", "3, the window shades are retracted to the rolled (retracted/up) position.", "The window shades are positioned to be clear of the opening of the doors.", "The window shades are preferably constructed of a non-transparent flexible material preventing the penetration of sunlight through an extended shade.", "In an alternate embodiment of the present invention, the window shade may be constructed of a transparent tinted material.", "However, any flexible material may be utilized, such as fabric, plastic, or any synthetic material.", "In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the window shades are similar to retractable window shades utilized in a home, where the shades are pulled downwardly to an extended position to cover the windows.", "In the retracted position, the shade is rolled back to the up position.", "On each side of each window shade and extending horizontally downwardly the full length of the extended window shade may be optionally located wires 26, 28, and 30.The wires guide the shade to the down position.", "In alternate embodiments of the present invention, any number of wires or other guidance devices may be utilized which provides guidance for extending the window shades.", "The window display panels are pulled downwardly to the bottom of each vehicle window 14 and 16.Preferably, the window displays are connected to each other on common sides by connectors 19.The connectors may be constructed of any material, such as wire or fabric.", "The connectors may also be positioned in any manner to allow the wires to guide the window displays to and from the retracted and extended positions.", "Therefore, when one window display is pulled downwardly, the other window shade is also forced downwardly.", "In an alternate embodiment of the present invention, the window shade may be pulled down by a motor 60 which moves the wire 28 down when actuated.", "In such an embodiment, a bottom portion of each window display may be attached to one of the wires (i.e., wire 28).", "The motor may drive the wire upwardly or downwardly, thus driving the window displays to the extended or retracted position.", "When the motor is utilized, the wire 28 is preferably affixed to a pulley system to allow the wire to move along a vertical axis.", "A motorized pulley system is well known to those skilled in the art of mechanized devices.", "In addition, the motor may be actuated via a remote control unit, preferably associated with remote keying systems well known in vehicle entry devices.", "Security Checking The danger of a ride-sharing or taxi driver is a turnoff for drivers, in particular women drivers.", "Taxi drivers are more likely to be assaulted or robbed than other types of workers.", "The Occupational Safety and Health Administration says that taxi drivers are 20 times more likely to be murdered on the job than other workers.", "Thus, security is important.", "Security is provided by a camera and additionally by a social reputation module of the rider or the driver.", "The system uses a social reputation module to determine if the rider or driver has a problematic social history.", "The system also checks if the rider has poor finances that can lead to non-payment.", "This can be checked in part through a credit history.", "One embodiment uses a money graph derived from the rider's social network to determine whether the rider can pose a danger to the driver (and vice versa).", "Another embodiment uses the social network information and the driver's collective evaluation of the rider and the location he/she travels to as a basis for determining a credit history.", "This is a very cost effective way of rating a person's financial worthiness, particularly for developing economies that do not have a ready credit history database.", "In effect, the drivers provide boots-on-the-ground evaluation of the credit-worthiness of the riders because the drivers can see with their own eyes the actual conditions that the riders live in.", "The sources of information required to compute social reputation may include major social and professional networks, social bookmarking sites, blogs, location based social networks and may include other sources of information when deemed relevant.", "The information collected from the different data sources can include the user or member's biographic information, behavioral Information, the nature of his/her connections, their network activity, professional background, area(s) of expertise in addition to other contents and achievements information on social networks.", "All this information is then processed to compute the social reputation.", "The social reputation module relies on the following three main scoring criteria related to the demographic, behavioral, Psychographic traits of the user or member to come up with a score called Social reputation: 1—Authenticity: which is assessed based on biographic, and behavioral information about the user.", "This criterion is used by the system to measure the user's or member's credibility with regard to his/her biographical data and social network activities referred to as behavioral authenticity.", "2—Connections: this criterion looks at both passive and active aspects of users' connections.", "It expresses the nature of the user's or member's connections in major social networks: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Orkut to differentiate between users or members with stagnating, passive, connections and active socially engaged users or members.", "The system uses this differentiation to detect people with good social reputation.", "3—Expertise (knowledge): users are evaluated as consumers, and/or as professional.", "The Social reputation application gives credit to users or members depending on their level of expertise and how they use it.", "This criterion differentiates between the skills that users or members may master thanks to their academic or professional background and the ones that they have acquired by using different social networks such as Facebook and Twitter.", "The social reputation of a user or a member is calculated using a nonlinear combination of the three sub criteria scores defined by the social reputation scoring system.", "The sub criteria (authenticity, connections, expertise) scores are obtained using different nonlinear combinations of the coefficient factors of data falling under each category.", "To determine social reputation, information such as name is collected from a specific source, usually one of the major social networks: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or Orkut but could also come from others such as Jaiku, MySpace and so on.", "In this case, name is assigned a coefficient factor that is used along with other coefficient factors (location, address, gender .", ".", ". )", "to compute the biographical score (E) of the user or member.", "The same method is applied to get the behavioral authenticity score (F) for data under this category: academic background, connections, endorsements and so on.", "(E) and (F) are then used by the system to obtain the authenticity score of the user or member (A).", "Following the same technique, the system works out the user's or member's connections' score (C) and Expertise score (E).", "Finally, (A), (C) and (E) are involved in the final social reputation score of the user or member.", "For example, the user's or member's academic background is verified through his/her LinkedIn account and is used in both biographical authenticity and field expertise.", "The high level equation to compute the social reputation includes four sub scores and several coefficients all based on the information described above and are explained below: The Base Score quantifies basic information about the user or member; The Activity Score reflects a weighted average of the level of the user's or member's activity in major social networks such as Facebook, Myspace and Orkut and is also based on their twitter activity.", "The Credit Score is weighted by the following coefficients: Account verification coefficient (AVC) which reflect how credible is the user's or member's basic information through verification via at least one of his social network accounts Wealth Qualification Coefficient (WQC) reflects user or member wealth Job Coefficient (JC) reflects type of work and length of employment.", "If the user is an executive or in a high paying position the JC is higher.", "JC also increases with steady employment duration.", "The Other Basics Score quantifies basic information other than the one taken into account in the base score, such as relationship status The user's or member's Social reputation grows over time (by paying on time, growing his/her connections across the social web, number of invitations he made to the RCA site, tweeting or posting his Social reputation .", ".", ".", ").", "As the score increases the user or member gets access each time to higher levels of influence on the Social reputation score.", "Social reputation may also decrease overtime if the user's or member's activity on social networks decreases over time.", "The structure of the Social reputation measurement system presented herein is modular in nature and is prone to including new modules to account for other emerging components of the social media landscape that may become relevant to assessing individual's Social reputation.", "Credit Rating In one embodiment, each ride sharing driver rates the passenger based on a personal discussion of the passenger and the start/destination of the rider and supplement the credit rating information with an in person review of the rider's dress style, communication skills.", "The system also compares the virtual networking rating or social reputation of the rider against reality.", "The result is an enhanced near real time assessment of the rider's credit-worthiness based on his/her social connection and social reputation scores.", "In another embodiment, the data may be extracted from the database to be transformed, aggregated, and combined into standardized records for each rider.", "The step of transforming the data may include custom transformations to mine for further data.", "The data in the file records may be used as input to descriptive and predictive models to determine how likely borrowers are to repay debt.", "The models may also be used to predict a likelihood of fraud or other behaviors.", "In a preferred embodiment, the models may be used to affect credit scores of other individuals in a user's online social network.", "Payment behavior is modeled on social reputation data and personal information to predict repayment of loans.", "Prior lending repayment performance is also used for additional predictive power.", "Using a credit model that is built from developed datasets, determination of credit worthiness can then be performed by using a cluster analysis algorithm to identify evidence in the data to measure social status and reputation.", "The algorithm used is driven by a lending transaction objective.", "This in turn permits the distance metrics that are used in the cluster analysis to be calibrated in the context of the stated lending transaction objective.", "In other words, the invention generates clusters that are more closely aligned with the borrower's case and is therefore a semi-supervised segmentation as opposed to a completely unsupervised segmentation.", "The predictive credit model approach described above regarding social status, reputation, endorsements and personal data may be applied to other characteristics that may influence credit worthiness, for example, friendship, affiliates, attitude, habits, purchasing trends, travel patterns, long term goals, extracurricular involvement, and stability.", "Affiliates may include neighbors, classmates, educators, colleagues, and employers.", "Attitude may reflect specific endorsements or even a more general holistic view of the borrower held by friends, family and affiliates.", "Purchasing trends may be a repeat expenses resulting from day-to-day habitual activities.", "Travel patterns may vary from day-to-day habitual activities such as a daily commute for school or work to extended trips for personal reasons.", "Long term goals may be an ambition toward a future accomplishment or acquisition.", "For example, buying more land to expand a farm may be a long term goal.", "Another long term goal could be completing a higher level of education or vocational training program.", "Extracurricular activities may be more broadly reflective of hobbies or obligations and can be readily affected by lifestyle and life-stage factors.", "Stability of an individual can be reflected in the duration of time in which said individual has lived in a specific location.", "If a borrower has indicated that he has lived with his parents his entire life and his parents have lived in the same house for 30 years, that indicates more stability than if the parents have been moving to eight different towns in the past five years.", "Even though there is a perceived stability with having lived with his parents his entire life, the high frequency of moving relative to a short period of time indicates less stability.", "Stability, or lack thereof, can also be reflected in the pace at which the borrower's lifestyle changes.", "If the borrower changes friends and/or extracurricular activities frequently, there is a higher correlation to instability than a borrower who has a routine and steady social pattern with friends.", "The stored queries are enabled using capabilities of a database management system and a structured query language.", "A file of the borrower data needed for borrower analytics is created for each new lending request.", "The borrower data may be extracted by running one or more queries against the stored queries in the database.", "The model may dynamically calculate additional variables using predetermined transformations, including custom transformations of an underlying behavior.", "If additional variables are created, the model may be modified to include the additional variables.", "The model is often a dynamic view of the customer record that changes whenever any update is made to the database.", "The definition of the model provides documentation of each data element available for use in models and analytics.", "It should be appreciated that the architecture by which the predictive model imputes with considers that: age drives obligations; extracurricular activities drives purchasing trends and travel patterns; attitudes toward the borrower by their friends, family and affiliates impacts social standing; habits affect long term goals; life-stage and lifestyle affect travel patterns; education affects long term goals; long term goals affects purchasing trends; social standing reflect life-stage and lifestyle; and so forth.", "After aggregated data is gathered from the online social footprint for the identified individuals to one record per individual, ratios based on derived variables are created.", "The “promising” (those who pay) correspond to individuals who have negligible debt, positive social standing reflected about them in their online social footprint and no conflicts or negative events in their online social footprint.", "The “troubled” (those who do not pay within a predetermined time duration (performance window)) correspond to individuals who are the opposite.", "They have measurable debt, questionable social standing reflected about them in their online social footprint and some conflicts or negative events in their online social footprint.", "Credit attributes are appended to each borrower record.", "Preliminary data analysis for basic checks and data validity may be performed.", "The predictive credit model can test and verify both the personal information provided by the user as well as the results from the modeling performed using extracted data gathered from the online social footprint.", "In contrast to a typical static credit model where the models and the data variables are held constant, the credit model of the present invention may be dynamically retrained prior to use in order to capture the latest information available.", "The information the borrower provides about himself is corroborated so that latest and correct information is associated with the borrower.", "For instance, as part of the traditional loan approval process personal data such as education can be verified with the institutions the borrower attended for school as indicated by the borrower.", "Similarly, a phone number can be verified in a telephone directory.", "However, by using the social graph the information a borrower provides about himself can be corroborated by probability.", "If the borrower indicates that he works at the Petron Corporation, then there is a high probability that others who work at the Petron Corporation are in his social graph.", "If there is no one in his social graph that works at the Petron Corporation, then the credit scoring process would flag his profile for a more intensive review and scrutiny at the expense of receiving a strong credit worthiness score.", "In an alternate example, if the borrower has indicated he is a physician however he writes at a level of a person who is nearly illiterate as evidenced by his text in his social footprint, then his profile would similarly be flagged as suspicious and undergo further scrutiny.", "By way of a geospacial example, if the borrower states he is a resident of Oaxaco, Mexico for his entire life, however none of his family, friends, colleagues are in Oaxaco, Mexico and the Tijuana, Mexico is frequently referenced in his social footprint, then his profile would be flagged as suspicious with unverifiable personal data.", "With another embodiment of the invention, a credit model using data gathered from the online social footprint can identify and rank all future debts on a likelihood of payment during collections process in conjunction to the credit scores.", "Credit scores generated by the credit model will be used to rank credit worthiness.", "For instance, a higher score implies that creditor is more likely to pay compared to creditor with a lower score.", "On the basis of credit scores, differentiated lending treatments can be designed and optimized over time for each risk score cluster of the credit model.", "In another embodiment, treatment actions based on the determined treatment type can also be determined as a function of the credit model.", "With an embodiment of the invention, predictive modeling is performed using more than 1,000 variables gathered from the online social footprint, to include machine footprint variables such as browser settings, and network fingerprints such as IP address or connection type, credit variables and identified attributes that are predictive in explaining payment behavior.", "Automated final model equations (scoring expressions) are generated that are used to score individuals who have outstanding debts to find individuals who are most likely to pay owed amounts.", "With an embodiment of the invention, a scoring expression is a statistical regression equation determined by the statistical tool.", "The regression equation typically includes only the relevant variables from more than 1,000 mined variables, it is therefore possible that an embodiment only uses one or two key variables.", "In another embodiment of the invention, a process for configuring a plurality of score clusters in a credit model.", "In the process, data gathered from the online social footprint data as previously discussed is analyzed to configure a plurality of score clusters or segments in accordance with desired statistical characteristics.", "The tree based algorithm finds the top variable which divides the borrowers into segments with similar percentage of “promising” and “troubled.” These segments can be defined by risk acceptance criteria.", "A risk acceptance criterion, for example, can be a debt to income ratio at a specified level.", "An individual with a greater amount of debt than the amount of income has a debt to income ratio greater than 1.0.A minimum risk acceptance criterion would be a debt to income ratio of less than 1.0.In a preferred embodiment, a risk acceptance criteria for the techniques described herein is the user presenting activity on at least one social network.", "Put simply, a user must have a social footprint on the social graph.", "How the user scores according to the risk acceptance criteria can then be supplied to the algorithm to determine the credit worthiness.", "The algorithm can incorporate weighting factors that give more importance or less importance to various risk acceptance criteria.", "The creation and implementation of the algorithm is commonly understood by one of ordinary skill.", "FIGS.", "6A-6B show an exemplary architecture for the on-demand ride-sharing scheduling platform 190 to deliver customers for businesses.", "The platform 190 provides a one-stop scheduling system for end-users to make appointments and connect with service providers of multiple industries who sign up with the system to be automatically picked up by ride-sharing drivers and delivered on time to the appointment.", "The scheduling platform 190 serves a variety of business verticals such as health vertical 182, beauty vertical 184, fitness vertical 186, food vertical 188, children activity vertical 190, restaurants, clubs and bars, among others.", "For these verticals, the system provides a web-based and mobile scheduling software for connecting multiple industries' scheduling onto one platform.", "Industries include: 1.Health—Doctors, Dentists, Vetenarians, Hospitals, Other Specialists 2.Beauty—Spa, Nail Salon, Hair Salon 3.Fitness—Gyms, Specialized fitness centers, Sport classes, freelance fitness/sport coaches 4.Children's activity centers—Academic, Child Development, Sport, Art, Music, Dance 5.Restaurants 6.Others—Professional services, freelance/self-employed consultants, among others.", "The system minimizes the hassle of booking appointments through an array of channels with no consistencies or simplicity: phone, online, booking sites, individual company websites.", "Back and forth email chains between friends on suggestion, deciding and booking group events and activities are minimized.", "The system reduces error arising when the user forgets to put the scheduled appointment onto calendar (iPhone, Outlook, Google).", "The system reduces the time and effort required to find a service provider with walk-in availability given an impromptu desire.", "Additionally, the inefficiency of manual scheduling of appointments and staff availability is avoided.", "A user can sign-up with the system easily and free of charge or download through an app directly on iPhone or Android-operated phones.", "For convenience, the system allows the use of Facebook sign-in information.", "Once the user is signed-in, the user can search for a specific company or by certain criteria (type of service, closest date of availability, etc), and schedule the appointment.", "The appointment will also integrate with the user's choice of major calendar tool such as iPhone's calendar, Outlook, Google Calendar.", "For any alteration or cancellation of appointments booked through the system, a URL allows the user to be directed to the platform to do so.", "Reminders are sent to the user based on his choice of contact channel, and provide an opportunity to cancel the booking instead of “no-show” at last minute.", "Business vendors who sign up for the system's scheduling services are empowered to use many functionalities that improve customer experiences, employee and customer scheduling efficiencies, and increase revenue by maximizing capacity utilization and engaging customers.", "The business vendor inputs its operating hours, maximum capacity for each hour (depending on industry, maximum capacity may be further itemized by employee or by table, etc), duration for each type of services.", "It is anticipated that these inputs are only required to be updated once in a while.", "The system allows the company administrator to manually input a customer booking in the event the customer phones or walk in person.", "As such, once the master schedule inputs are completed, the company is able to view its appointment book on a real-time updated basis.", "There are fewer occurrences of writing down the wrong time, name or phone number of customers.", "Business vendors also have the choice of putting a “book now” button (powered by the instant platform) on their company websites.", "Once a customer presses on the “book now” button, he is able to schedule an appointment with that business vendor on an interface powered by the instant.", "Even if the business vendor chooses not to have its business listed on the platform visible to all users, the business vendor's customers can still schedule appointment with this vendor by pressing on the “book now” button.", "For businesses who want more control over appointments, they can opt to have the ability to reject or decline an appointment.", "After opting for such flexibility and if business vendor does not respond to the appointment request in time (specified by the business vendor), the appointment will be deemed as accepted.", "The system provides customized services which are locally optimized to suit an individual user's requirements and yet which globally optimize the utilization of the system resources supporting such customized services for each individual seeking customized services.", "With the system, users will get the simplicity and convenience of scheduling appointments within one platform instead of having to go into multiple websites or applications.", "Once appointments are made, users will also easily integrate the appointment details within the users' existing calendar tools (such as iCal).", "In addition to scheduling appointment for an individual user's own purpose, the platform also allows users to coordinate events with their friends and make the appointment directly on the system (after the venue, date and time are voted on and chosen on the system).", "The system provides a holistic scheduling platform that allows businesses from all industries to sign-up and customers 120 or 130 can schedule appointments with these businesses or vendors 140 through the system's website 122 as detailed below.", "Mobile users 130 can access the system though a mobile application 134 such as an Android or iPhone application.", "The mobile app provides a better user experience than mobile websites are capable of.", "Users can also access the system through a vendor website through a “Book Now” widget 132.The “Book Now” widget is a button displayed on the vendor's web site for a user creates an appointment using the system.", "When the user clicks the “Book Now” button on the vendor's site, an appointment can be created with a link back to the vendor's website.", "One embodiment uses the Open Graph protocol to specify information about the vendor entity.", "When the vendor includes Open Graph tags on its Web page, the page becomes equivalent to a system's page.", "This means when a user clicks the “Book Now” button on the vendor's page, a connection is made between the vendor's page and the user.", "The vendor page will appear in the “Likes and Interests” section of the user's profile, and the vendor has the ability to publish updates to the user.", "The vendor page will show up in same places that the system's pages show up around the site (e.g.", "search), and you can target ads to people who like your content.", "There are two “Book Now” button implementations: XFBML and Iframe.", "The XFBML (also available in HTML5-compliant markup) version is more versatile, but requires use of the JavaScript SDK.", "The XFBML dynamically re-sizes its height according to whether there are profile pictures to display, gives the vendor the ability (through the Javascript library) to listen for like events so that you know in real time when a user clicks the “Book Now” button, and it always gives the user the ability to add an optional comment to the book now function.", "If users do add a comment, the story published back to the vendor is given more prominence.", "Vendors 140 can access the system through an administrative console.", "In these verticals, for the business vendors who sign-up with the platform 100, they have the flexibility and choice to do the following: 1.Input all or some of the business' operating hours and schedule availability, so that users can automatically schedule appointment anytime, anywhere.", "2.Opt for ability to decline or reject appointments.", "3.Opt for the business not to be displayed on the list of business vendors, while that business' customers can still schedule online appointments automatically through a “book button” that is supplied by the system for display on the business' website.", "The system performs aggregation of different variables and inputs for different industries in order to solve for the same thing: schedule availability.", "Whilst to the user, the platform gives them the same convenience of finding the schedule availability so they can book any vendors.", "Next, exemplary operations within three industries: (a) health & beauty, (b) kids activities and (c) restaurants industries, are discussed.", "For health & beauty, the key variable inputs that solve for schedule availability or the vendor in this industry aggregates the vendor's staff's own individual schedule and service duration.", "The ratio of staff to customer is generally 1:1.Assume a vendor in this industry has 3 staffs who perform services.", "For timeslot 9-10 am, Staff A has been booked but Staff B and Staff C have not been booked.", "Then there exists 2 remaining available booking slots for 9 am.", "For restaurants, the key variable inputs that solve for schedule availability is defined by table.", "The vendor names each table and defines it by seating capacity and maximum time limit allowed for that table per each booking.", "For children activities, the key variable inputs that solve for schedule availability consists of seat capacity per course, duration of course, frequency of course (per a multitude level of units such as daily, weekly, biweekly, month and also for each of these, a subset of occurrence frequency exists such as occurring 2 days per week or 1 day per week, for example).", "In one embodiment, the specific variables and inputs for exemplary industry-flows in calculating total availability (by date or by staff or by earliest availability).", "The system will deduct the online bookings made by users and manual bookings input by vendors to constantly arrive at “remaining schedule availability” real-time.", "1.Health & Beauty Variables and Inputs Total number of staff (service providers) Each staff's availability on each day and time Each staff's list of services provided (i.e.", "each staff is tagged with all the services she/he can provide) Define and listing of each service Duration of each service 2.Restaurants Variables and Inputs Name each table and its seating capacity Maximum time capacity allowed for each table's booking Define each shift (breakfast, brunch, etc) duration and the tables allotted for each shift Block any tables as desired by vendors for any one or more shifts for one or more days, recurring or not 3.Kids Activities Variables and Inputs Name each course, seating capacity for that course and all instructors who teach that course Input duration of each course (1 month, 2 month, Continuous, etc) Input course occurrence frequency (daily, weekly, biweekly, monthly) Input course occurrence day(s) (Mon, Tues, Wed, Thurs, Fri, Sat, Sun) Input course timing for each occurrence day(s) Web user 120 and mobile user 130 can use the system to book appointments on the scheduling platform 100.The ride-sharing and ordering process handles three possible usage scenario: 1) through the system's web site, 2) through a “Book Now” button 132, or 3) through a mobile application.", "In one usage scenario, the rider visits the system's web site.", "The rider or user may browse or search the interface for a driver to suit their needs.", "In a mobile usage scenario, the user is directed to search for service providers from a mobile application.", "In one usage scenario, the user clicks on a “Book Now” button at a vendor's web site.", "The user is immediately transferred to an interface on the system's web site where the user can search for a date and time for a suitable appointment.", "Once a desired service is found, the user is presented with times and dates of available appointments.", "Once the desired time and date are chosen, the user is asked to log in to the system using an account.", "If the user does not yet have an account, he/she will create a user account.", "If the user account already exists, the user will simply log in.", "In another embodiment, the user logs in to an account previous to reserving a time and date.", "Once logged in, the appointment is scheduled with the user and driver.", "In some instances, approval for the appointment is not required.", "If this is the case, the appointment is automatically saved to the calendar of the user for later viewing or reminder.", "A notification email is also sent to the user.", "In another instance, approval is required by the vendor.", "In this case, the appointment is placed on the approval queue of the vendor.", "One example use scenario is described next.", "In one embodiment with the Uber system, a web user visits uber.com and search for a vendor or service provider.", "Once the desired provider is found, the user can then search for a time and date to reserve an appointment with the vendor.", "If the user does not already have a user account, he will be asked to create one.", "The user then logs in to schedule the appointment with the vendor.", "If approval is required by the vendor, then the appointment is placed on an approval queue (240).", "If not, the date and time are saved to a user's calendar, and an email confirming the appointment is sent to the user.", "From the vendor's view point, the provider visits a web site and creates an account and then logs in.", "Once signed in, the provider profile can be created or reviewed.", "In the event of a new business profile, the vendor will also have to upload its existing schedule data onto the platform.", "From this point, the vendor can also input manually booked reservations into the platform and update the schedule database.", "In exemplary capacity utilization maximization process, the system takes user inputs from the web site, “Book Now” widget, and the mobile app, among others.", "The system also monitors the service provider calendar for open time slots.", "Such information is stored in an available slot database in the scheduling software.", "In this example, the system knows the user's interest and the user's open time slots.", "The system also knows the service provider's total capacity and open time slots.", "By having both information, the system can optimize the calendars of both the user and service provider.", "For example, the system can recommend a different date that fits best with the user's travel path and the capacity of the service provider.", "In another example, the system can automatically recommend a different location of the selected service provider that fits better due to open time slots at the different location.", "Other optimizations can be done as well.", "The system takes into consideration a total capacity limit, which is the total number of customers that can be served by a given service over a given time period.", "The total capacity may vary based on the size of the staff currently on duty, etc.", "The process can use linear scheduling and non-linear scheduling techniques.", "In one illustrative embodiment, the capacity utilization is based on not only a maximum total capacity over a given time period, but also a number of appointments which can be started at any given time.", "In one embodiment, a database structure is used to represent both maximum capacity and start time capacities to allow efficiency in searching for open appointment times and scheduling requested appointments.", "In another embodiment, the system utilizes various artificial intelligence (AI) based methodologies as well as a commercially available expert system shell.", "In another embodiment, the system can offer discounts to riders to visit the business if the booking for that business is below a threshold.", "In this manner, the business can run dynamic sales as needed.", "FIG.", "7 shows an exemplary system for crowd-sourcing navigation data.", "The system includes a crowdsourcing server in communication with a plurality of vehicles 1 .", ".", ".", "n. The vehicles in FIG.", "7 performs peer-to-peer discovery and crowd-sourced navigation as shown in FIG.", "9B.", "The system receives proximity services for a group of vehicles traveling a predetermined route using peer-to-peer discovery, receives crowdsourcing data from said plurality of vehicles, sharing crowdsourcing data to the group of vehicles (or a subsequent group of vehicles) traveling the route of interest.", "Such information can be used in providing navigation guidance to the vehicle traveling the route using the crowdsourced data.", "In one aspect, the vehicles traveling the same route can be determined using a vehicle to vehicle communication protocol that facilitate identifying peers based upon encoded signals during peer discovery in a peer to peer network.", "The system can be WiFi or cellular based such as the Proximity Services via LTE Device Broadcast, among others.", "In one embodiment, the identification of peers based upon encoded signals during peer discovery in a peer to peer network can be done.", "For example, direct signaling that partitions a time-frequency resource into a number of segments can be utilized to communicate an identifier within a peer discovery interval; thus, a particular segment selected for transmission can signal a portion of the identifier, while a remainder can be signaled based upon tones communicated within the selected segment.", "Moreover, a subset of symbols within the resource can be reserved (e.g., unused) to enable identifying and/or correcting timing offset.", "Further, signaling can be effectuated over a plurality of peer discovery intervals such that partial identifiers communicated during each of the peer discovery intervals can be linked (e.g., based upon overlapping bits and/or bloom filter information).", "The method can include transmitting a first partial identifier during a first peer discovery interval.", "Also, the method can comprise transmitting a second partial identifier during a second peer discovery interval.", "Further, the method can include generating bloom filter information based upon the combination of the first partial identifier and the second partial identifier.", "Moreover, the method can comprise transmitting the bloom filter information to enable a peer to link the first partial identifier and the second partial identifier.", "Another embodiment communicates using LTE Direct, a device-to-device technology that enables discovering thousands of devices and their services in the proximity of ˜500 m, in a privacy sensitive and battery efficient way.", "This allows the discovery to be “Always ON” and autonomous, without drastically affecting the device battery life.", "LTE Direct uses radio signals—called ‘expressions’—which can be private and discreet (targeted securely for certain audiences only) or public (transmitted so that any application can receive them).", "Public expressions are a common language available to any application to discover each other, and this is the door to consumer utility and adoption.", "Public expressions exponentially expand the field of value.", "For example, vehicles that share same driving segments can broadcast expressions indicating their path(s).", "The system detects vehicles in the same segment as part of the proximity services for capturing and sharing crowd-sourced navigation data.", "Public expressions combine all applications—all value—into one single network, thereby expanding the utility of the system.", "The crowdsourcing data includes vehicle performance information and GPS locations of a vehicle; and wherein the vehicle data includes odometer information, speedometer information, fuel consumption information, steering information.", "The data includes information relating to closing of a lane using the crowdsourcing data; predicting an avoidance maneuver using the crowdsourcing data; predicting a congestion with respect to a segment of the route of the at least one vehicle using the crowdsourcing data; and predicting traffic light patterns using the crowdsourcing data.", "The system can determine the presence of obstacles in a road lane by monitoring a pattern of vehicle avoidance of a particular location of the lane.", "The obstacles can be rocks or debris on the lane, closure of a lane, inoperative vehicles on the lane, or vehicles suffering from an accident, among others.", "The vehicular avoidance information can be sent to vehicles that are planning to use that particular road section to optimize The system can detect closing of a lane by monitoring changes of vehicle direction at a location on the route of the at least one vehicle; and determining a lane is closed in response to a number of changes of vehicle direction being larger than a predetermined threshold value.", "The system can share prior vehicle's avoidance maneuver by monitoring change of vehicle direction and distance traveled at a close vicinity of a location on the route of a lead vehicle; and determining an avoidance maneuver in response to a ratio of change of vehicle direction and distance traveled being less than a predetermined threshold value.", "The system can determine a route based at least in part on an amount of time predicted for travelling from a starting location to a destination location of the route using the crowdsourcing data; and determining a route based at least in part on a predicted fuel consumption of the route using the crowdsourcing data.", "The determining information corresponding to a route of interest to at least one vehicle further can include monitoring a distance traveled by the at least one vehicle after reaching a destination, and predicting availability of parking spaces at the destination based at least in part on the distance traveled; and monitoring an amount of time traveled by the at least one vehicle after reaching a destination, and predicting availability of parking spaces at the destination based at least in part on the amount of time traveled.", "The determining information corresponding to a route of interest to at least one vehicle further comprises: measuring a time taken to travel a predefined percent of the route until the at least one vehicle comes to a halt at a predetermined location; and predicting an average amount of time used to find parking at the predetermined location using the time taken to travel a predefined percent of the route.", "The determining information corresponding to a route of interest to at least one vehicle further comprises at least one of: determining popularity of a fueling station along the route; determining type of fuel sold at the fueling station along the route; determining popularity of a business along the route; and determining popularity of a rest area along the route.", "FIG.", "8 is a sequence diagram illustrates generally, operations performed by the system according to embodiments described herein.", "In an embodiment, at 4402, the driver monitoring unit 104 can be configured to monitor the behavior of the driver.", "The system can be configured to include the driver monitoring unit 4104 installed in the vehicle 102 to monitor the behavior parameters of the driver while the vehicle 4102 is being driven.", "The vehicle 4102 can include cameras, gyroscope, magnetometer, accelerometer, and other sensors installed thereon to monitor the behavior parameter of the driver.", "In an embodiment, the cameras or sensors may be placed at any place in the vehicle, such as for example at four corners of the front windshield, in a way that it can directly capture the behavior parameters of the driver.", "For example, based on the driver gestures, the cameras can detect finger position to detect that driver is pointing at a particular object or vehicle and searches the internet for the vehicle.", "Further, in an embodiment, a flexible display film adhesively secured on the front windshield.", "The display can be used controlled by a computer to display info in a discrete way that may not take driver's eyes off the road and opposing vehicles.", "In an embodiment, at 4404, the driver monitoring unit 4102 can be configured to transmit the behavior parameters of the driver to the server 4106.In an embodiment, the driver behavior parameters described herein can include for example, but not limited to, vehicle speed, vehicle accelerations, driver location, seatbelt use, wireless device use, turn signal use, driver aggression, detection of CO2 vapor, detection of alcohol, driver seating position, time, and the like.", "In an embodiment, at 4406, the server 4106 can be configured to transmit the driver behavior parameters to one or more insurance providers.", "In an embodiment, at 4408, the server 4106 can be configured to analyze the driver behavior parameters and adjust the insurance rates for the driver.", "For example, if the driver is driving roughly by drinking alcohol then the insurance rate may get decreased.", "In an embodiment, at 4410, the server 4106 can be configured to match the driver behavior preferences with similar or substantially similar preferences of other drivers.", "The server 4104 can be configured to generate action recommendations best matching the behavior of the driver.", "In an embodiment at 4412, the server 4106 can be configured to provide the generated recommendations to the driver.", "Based on the driver behavior parameters the sever 4106 provides feedback and recommendations to the driver, such as to improve the driving skills.", "Further, in an embodiment, a flexible display film adhesively secured on the front windshield.", "The display can be used controlled by a computer to display info in a discrete way that may not take driver's eyes off the road and opposing vehicles.", "In an embodiment, at 4414, the server 4106 can be configured to frequently monitor the behavior parameters associated with the driver.", "Any changes in the behavior parameters can affect the overall system performance and the driver experience.", "The server 4106 can be configured to frequently monitor and dynamically update the insurance rate and action recommendations, which in turn helps the driver for effectively improving the driving skills.", "FIG.", "9 is a diagram 4500 illustrates generally, an overview of a recommender system that may allow drivers to obtain action recommendations based on the driver behavior parameters, according to embodiments disclosed herein.", "In an embodiment, the driver behavior parameters can be used to provide customized recommendations to drivers by comparing the driver behavior parameters with other drivers who has similar or substantially similar behavior parameters.", "Unlike conventional system, the server 106 can be configured to adaptively generate action recommendations for the driver based on the behavior parameters.", "The server 106 can be configured to match the behavior parameters of the drivers to similar behavior parameters of the one or more drivers, such as to provide personalized action recommendations to the driver.", "In an embodiment, the recommendations can be filtered in advance of display.", "In an embodiment, filtered recommendations may be derived from the sources such as for example, but not limited to, those sources that have added the data within a specified time, from those sources that share specific similarities with the sources, those sources that have been preselected by the driver as relevant, those sources that are selected as friends or friends of friends, and the like, those sources that are determined to provide valuable reviews/ratings or are specifically declared to be experts within the system or by the driver, or those users that have entered at least a minimum amount of data into the system.", "FIG.", "10 is a diagram 4600 illustrates generally, an overview of preferences matching by the server 4106, according to embodiments disclosed herein.", "The FIG.", "10 outlines recommender functionality in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.", "The system 4100 can monitor the driver behavior and uses the behavior data to match with the behavior data of other sources and provide action recommendations to the driver.", "For example, if the driver behavior parameter indicates that the user is driving very fast (such as 70 kmph) in school zone where the speed limits should be more than 30 kmph then the system can be configured to execute one or more rules and provide suggestions to the driver to slow down the speed.", "In an embodiment, the activity recommendation rules may be established in the recommendation system.", "Such rules derived from, for example, but not limited to, automatic generation machine learning, automatic generation using a generic algorithm, automatic generation using a neutral network, automatic generation using a rule inference system, data mining, generation using a preset list of recommendations, and/or a driver behavior.", "In an embodiment, the sever 106 can be configured to receive the recommendation rules such as unidirectional rules, bidirectional rules, generalized rules including multi-way rules, rules among items, rules among sets, rules among collections, rules with weight factors, rules with priorities, un-weighted and un-prioritized rules, and the like.", "FIG.", "11 is a flow chart illustrates generally, a method 4700 for selectively providing insurance information to a service provider, according to embodiments as disclosed herein.", "At step 4702, the driver behavior is monitored.", "The behavior data can include external parameters and/or internal parameters.", "In an embodiment, the driver behavior data/parameters described herein can include for example, but not limited to, vehicle speed, vehicle accelerations, driver location, seatbelt use, wireless device use, turn signal use, driver aggression, detection of ethanol vapor, driver seating position, time, and the like.", "In an embodiment, the behavior data can be over a period of hours, days, weeks, and so forth.", "In an embodiment, the behavior data gathering can be continuous, at predefined intervals, or at random intervals.", "In accordance with some aspects, data can be gathered while a vehicle is in operation and at other times (e.g., at two a.m. to determine where the vehicle is parked overnight).", "In an embodiment, a change to an insurance premium and/or an insurance coverage is prepared, at 4704.The change is based on one or more of the driver behavior data, wherein each item of driver behavior data can have a different weight assigned.", "For example, data gathered related to weather conditions might be given less weight than data gathered related to user distractions (e.g., passengers, use of a mobile device while vehicle is in operation, and so forth).", "In another example, excessive speed might be assigned a higher weight than data related to safety performance of the vehicle.", "As such, data with a higher weight can be given more consideration than data with a lower weight (e.g., data assigned a higher weight can have a greater impact on the cost of insurance).", "Thus, if the user is traveling at (or below) the speed limit and speed is assigned a greater weight, then the safe speed will tend to decrease (or remain constant) the cost of insurance.", "In an embodiment, the driver is notified of the change, at 4706.The notification can be in any perceivable format.", "In an example, the notification is provided as a dashboard-mounted display.", "In another example, presenting the change can include displaying the modified cost of the insurance policy in a dashboard-mounted display and/or a heads-up display.", "In an embodiment, a service provider is notified of the change, at 708.At substantially the same time as notifying the service provider (or trusted third party) of the change, parameters taken into consideration (and associated weight) can also be provided.", "In such a manner, the service provider (or third party) can selectively further modify the cost of insurance, which can be communicated to the user though the vehicle display or through other means.", "The service provider (or third party) might be provided the change information less often than the insurance cost change information is provided to the user.", "For example, the user can be provided the insurance cost change information dynamically and almost instantaneously with detection of one or more parameters that can influence the insurance cost.", "However, the insurance provider (or third party) might only be notified of the change after a specified interval (or based on other intervals).", "For example, insurance cost changes might be accumulated over a period of time (e.g., two weeks) and an average of the insurance cost changes might be supplied to insurance provider.", "In such a manner, the user has time to adjust parameters that tend to increase (or decrease) the cost of insurance, which allows the user to have more control over the cost of insurance.", "In an embodiment, vertical market specialization for insurance is provided where markets are defined based on granular aspects of coverage and presented to one or more insurance subsystems to obtain quotes for a coverage premium.", "Such specialization allows insurance companies to compete in more specific areas of insurance coverage, which allows for more accurate premium rates focused on the specific areas or one or more related scenarios.", "In addition, the granular aspects of coverage can be provided to one or more advertising systems in exchange for further lowered rates, if desired.", "According to an example, an insurance market can be defined based on granular information received regarding an item, a related person, use of the item, etc.", "Based on the market, premium quotes can be obtained from one or more insurance subsystems related to one or more insurance brokers.", "In addition, rates can be decreased where the granular information can be provided to an advertising system, in one example.", "In this regard, targeted advertisements can additionally be presented to system related to requesting the insurance coverage.", "Policies can be automatically selected based on preferences, manually selected using an interface, and/or the like.", "FIG.", "12 is a diagram 4800 illustrates generally, an exemplary system that customizes insurance rates to correspond to behavior driver, according to embodiments as disclosed herein.", "In an embodiment, the server 4106 can be configured to maintain a database component 4802 including data related to different driver behaviors.", "Such leveraging from data banks enables insurance providers to bid in real time, and hence an owner and/or user of a vehicle can benefit from competition among various insurance providers, to obtain optimum rates.", "The server includes a rate adjustment component 4804 that in real time can determine the various rates from a plurality of insurance providers 4110 (1 to N, where N is an integer).", "In one particular aspect, a retrieval agent (not shown) associated with the rate adjustment component 4804 can pull insurance data from the insurance providers based on the contextual data supplied thereto.", "For example, such contextual data can be data records related to driver behavior, the vehicle 4102 (such as auto shop service records, current service status for the car, and the like), data related to the individual driver (such as health records, criminal records, shopping habits, and the like), data related to the environment (road condition, humidity, temperature, and the like) and data related to real time driving (frequency of braking, accelerating, intensity of such actions, and the like).", "The retrieval agent (not shown) can pull data from the insurance providers 4110 and further publish such data to enable a rich interaction between the users on a display or a within a written communication environment.", "The retrieval agent can further generate an instance for a connection with the insurance providers.", "Accordingly, a connection instance can be employed by the rate adjustment component 4804 to store connection information such as the state of data conveyance, the data being conveyed, connection ID and the like.", "Such information can additionally be employed to monitor progress of data transfer to the written communication environment or display, for example.", "Accordingly drivers/owners of motor vehicles can pull or receive data from the insurance providers 4110, wherein received data can be posted (e.g., displayed on a monitor) and the connection instance can be concurrently updated to reflect any successful and/or failed data retrievals.", "Thus, at any given moment the connection instance can include the most up-to-date version of data transferred between the motor vehicle and the insurance providers.", "In an embodiment, a switching component 4806 can be configured to automatically switch user/driver to an insurance provider/company that bids the best rate.", "Such switching component 4806 can employ interrupts both in hardware and/or software to conclude the switching from one insurance provider to another insurance provider.", "For example, the interrupt can convey receipt of a more optimal insurance rate or completion of a pull request to the insurance providers 4110 or that a configuration has changed.", "In one particular aspect, once an interrupt occurs, an operating system analyzes the state of the system and performs an action in accordance with the interrupt, such as a change of insurance provider, for example Such interrupts can be in form of asynchronous external events to the processor that can alter normal program flow.", "Moreover, the interrupts can usually require immediate attention from a processor(s) associated with the system.", "In one aspect, when an interrupt is detected, the system often interrupts all processing to attend to the interrupt, wherein the system can further save state of the processor and instruction pointers on related stacks.", "According to a further aspect, the switching component 4804 can employ an interrupt dispatch table in memory, which can be accessed by the processor to identify a function that is to be called in response to a particular interrupt.", "For example, a function can accept a policy from an insurance provider, cancel an existing policy, and/or clear the interrupt for a variety of other reasons.", "The function can execute processes such as clearing the state of the interrupt, calling a driver function to check the state of an insurance policy and clearing, setting a bit, and the like.", "FIG.", "13 is a diagram 4900 illustrates generally, the switching component 806 that further includes an analyzer component 4902, which further employs threshold ranges and/or value(s) (e.g., pricing ranges for insurance policies, terms of the insurance policy, and the like) according to a further aspect of the present invention.", "The analyzer component 4902 can be configured to compare a received value for insurance coverage to the predetermined thresholds, which can be designated by an owner/driver.", "Accordingly, the analyzer component 902 can determine if the received insurance coverage policies are within the desired range as specified by a user an “accept” or “reject”, and/or further create a hierarchy from “low” to “high” based on criteria designated by the user (e.g., price of the insurance policy, terms of the insurance policy, and the like).", "According to a further aspect, the analyzer component 4902 can further interact with a rule engine component 4904.For example, a rule can be applied to define and/or implement a desired evaluation method for an insurance policy.", "It is to be appreciated that the rule-based implementation can automatically and/or dynamically define and implement an evaluation scheme of the insurance policies provided.", "Accordingly, the rule-based implementation can evaluate an insurance policy by employing a predefined and/or programmed rule(s) based upon any desired criteria (e.g., criteria affecting an insurance policy such as duration of the policy, number of drivers covered, type of risks covered, and the like.).", "In a related example, a user can establish a rule that can implement an evaluation based upon a preferred hierarchy (e.g., weight) of criteria that affects the insurance policy.", "For example, the rule can be constructed to evaluate the criteria based upon predetermined thresholds, wherein if such criteria does not comply with set thresholds, the system can further evaluate another criteria or attribute(s) to validate the status (e.g., “accept” or “reject” the insurance bid and operate the switching component based thereon).", "It is to be appreciated that any of the attributes utilized in accordance with the subject invention can be programmed into a rule-based implementation scheme.", "FIG.", "14 illustrates generally, a method 5000 for customizing insurance rates of a driver, according to embodiments as described herein.", "The methodology 5000 of customizing insurance rates according to a further aspect of the subject innovation.", "While the exemplary method is illustrated and described herein as a series of blocks representative of various events and/or acts, the subject innovation is not limited by the illustrated ordering of such blocks.", "For instance, some acts or events may occur in different orders and/or concurrently with other acts or events, apart from the ordering illustrated herein, in accordance with the innovation.", "In addition, not all illustrated blocks, events or acts, may be required to implement a methodology in accordance with the subject innovation.", "Moreover, it will be appreciated that the exemplary method and other methods according to the innovation may be implemented in association with the method illustrated and described herein, as well as in association with other systems and apparatus not illustrated or described.", "Initially and at 5002 contextual data from various data banks can be accessed by the insurance providers or supplied thereto.", "As explained earlier, the data banks can include data pertaining to the motor vehicle (e.g., maintenance history, current vehicle conditions, and the like), data related to the driver (e.g., via health insurance records, police records, internet records, and the like), and data related to operating environment (e.g., weather, geographical location, and the like.)", "Moreover, the real-time contextual driving data can include both an intensity portion and a frequency portion, which represent severity and regularity of driving episodes (e.g., slamming the brakes, gradual/sudden deceleration, velocity variances, and the like).", "Subsequently and at 5004, such data can be analyzed by the insurance providers as to customize an insurance rate based thereon at 5006.In an embodiment, insurance rate can be calculated in real-time and as such can more accurately reflect appropriate coverage for a situation of a driver.", "A plurality of different factors can influence a likelihood of the driver being involved in an accident, having a vehicle stolen, and the like.", "For example, if the driver is travelling through bad weather, then risk can be higher and a rate can be increased in real-time as weather conditions change-conversely, if there is relatively little traffic surrounding the driver's vehicle, then the rate can be lowered.", "An algorithm or complex model can be used to calculate the insurance rates and can be disclosed to the driver through the display.", "In an embodiment, the rate adjustment component 804 can be configured to evaluate the insurance rate information against current vehicle operation by the driver.", "Specifically, the evaluation can compare the current operation against insurance rate information to determine if an appropriate rate is being used, if the rate should be changed, what the change should be, etc.", "For instance, different aspects of vehicle operation can be taken into account such as for example, but not limited to, weather and how a driver reacts, speed (of a vehicle), traffic and how the driver reacts, and noise {e.g., radio level), and the like.", "Subsequently, the customized insurance rate can then be sent from an insurance provider to an owner/driver of the vehicle (e.g., in form of an insurance bid) at 5008.For example, the insurance rate can be determined and represented upon the driver via the display or controller in the vehicle.", "A processor that executes the computer executable components stored on a storage medium can be employed.", "In an embodiment, the monitoring unit can communicate with an insurance company {e.g., continuous communication) and obtain an insurance rate directly.", "The system can be configured to customize the insurance based on the obtained insurance rates and present to the driver and make appropriate modification to the display automatically.", "FIG.", "15 illustrates generally, a method 5100 for presenting information related to a real-time insurance rate, according to embodiments as described herein.", "In an embodiment, at 5102, Metadata can be collected pertaining to real-time operation of a vehicle and at least a portion of the metadata can be evaluated, as shown at 5104.The metadata described herein can include driver behavior data, contextual information, driver history, and real-time driving information that relates to operation of a driver and vehicle, and the like.", "Based upon a result of the evaluation, there can be calculation a real-time insurance rate, such as shown at 5106.In an embodiment, at 5108, determination can be made on how to present the calculated rate.", "For example, the determination can be if the rate should be shown on a center console or a heads-up display.", "A determination can also be made on how to display data (e.g., if a numerical rate should be disclosed or a color element should be lit).", "Additionally, a determination can be made on other data to disclose, such as safety, environment impact, cost of operating vehicle, a target speed, group rank, and the like.", "The determined rate and other determined data can be presented through a display, such as shown at 5110.Thus, the determined rate is presented upon a display viewable to the driver of the vehicle.", "In an embodiment, at 5112, the method 5100 includes determining if feedback should be presented to the user.", "The feedback can be supplied in real-time as well as be a collective summary presented after a driving session is complete.", "If no feedback should be presented, then the method 5100 can end at 5114.In one instance, if there is a new driver attempting to obtain a full drivers license (e.g., teenage driver) or newer driver, then the check 5112 can determine feedback should be automatically provided.", "In another embodiment, an operator can be solicited on if feedback should be presented depending on a response the method 5100 can end or continue.", "Operation of the vehicle and driver can be evaluated at 5116, which can occur though different embodiments.", "As a user operates a vehicle, metadata can be collected and evaluated in real-time.", "In an alternative embodiment, data can be collected, but evaluation does not occur until the check 5112 determines feedback should be presented.", "At 5118, there can be determining feedback for suggesting future driving actions for the operator to perform in future driving to lower the insurance rate.", "The method 5100 can include presenting the feedback (e.g., through the display, through a printout, transferring feedback as part of e-mail or a text message, etc.)", "at 5120.The feedback can be directly related to a driving session as well as is an aggregate analysis of overall driving performance (e.g., over multiple driving sessions).", "FIG.", "16 is diagram illustrates generally, a method 5200 for installation of a real-time insurance system, according to embodiments disclosed herein.", "In an embodiment, at 5202, an on-board monitoring system (such as driver monitoring unit) 4102 is installed in a vehicle to facilitate the collection of real-time data from the vehicle and forwarding of the real-time data to an insurance provider.", "At 5204, the on-board monitoring system can be associated with the on-board data/diagnostic control units and system(s) incorporated into the vehicle.", "The on-board data/diagnostic control units and system(s) can include the vehicles engine control unit/module (ECU/ECM), transmission control unit (TCU), power train control unit (PCU), on-board diagnostics (OBD), sensors and processors associated with the transmission system, and other aspects of the vehicle allowing the on-board monitoring system to gather sufficient data from the vehicle for a determination of how the vehicle is being driven to be made.", "The on-board monitoring system can be communicatively coupled by hard wiring to the on-board diagnostic system(s) or the systems can be communicatively associated using wireless technologies.", "In an embodiment, at 5206, a mobile device (e.g., a cell phone) can be associated with the onboard monitoring system where the mobile device can facilitate communication between the on-board monitoring systems with a remote insurance provider system.", "The mobile device provides identification information to the on-board monitoring system to be processed by the on-board monitoring system or forwarded an insurance provider system to enable identification of the driver.", "In an embodiment, at 5208, communications are established between the on-board monitoring system and the mobile device with the remote insurance provider system.", "In one embodiment it is envisaged that the on-board monitoring system and the insurance provider system are owned and operated by the same insurance company.", "However, the system could be less restricted whereby the insurance provider system is accessible by a plurality of insurance companies with the operator of the on-board monitoring system, e.g., the driver of the vehicle to which the on-board monitoring system is attached, choosing from the plurality of insurance providers available for their particular base coverage.", "In such an embodiment, upon startup of the system the insurance provider system can default to the insurance company providing the base coverage and the operator can select from other insurance companies as they require.", "Over time, as usage of the on-board monitoring system continues, at 5210, there is a likelihood that various aspects of the system might need to be updated or replaced, e.g., software update, hardware updates, etc., where the updates might be required for an individual insurance company system or to allow the on-board monitoring system to function with one or more other insurance company systems.", "Hardware updates may involve replacement of a piece of hardware with another, while software updates can be conducted by connecting the mobile device and/or the on-board monitoring system to the internet and downloading the software from a company website hosted thereon.", "Alternatively, the software upgrade can be transmitted to the mobile device or the on-board monitoring system by wireless means.", "As a further alternative the updates can be conferred to the mobile device or the on-board monitoring system by means of a plug-in module or the like, which can be left attached to the respective device or the software can be downloaded there from.", "FIG.", "17 is a diagram illustrates generally, a method for gathering information from an on-board monitoring system employed in a real-time insurance system, according to embodiments as disclosed herein.", "In an embodiment, at 5302, monitoring of the driver and the vehicle they are operating is commenced.", "Monitoring can employ components of an on-board monitoring system, mobile device components, e.g., cell phone system, or any other system components associated with monitoring the vehicle as it is being driven.", "Such components can include a global positioning system (GPS) to determine the location of the vehicle at any given time, such a GPS can be located in a cell phone, as part of the on-board monitoring system, or an external system coupled to the monitoring system/cell phone—such an external system being an OEM or after sales GPS associated with the vehicle to be/being driven.", "A video data stream can be gathered from a video camera coupled to the on-board monitoring system recording the road conditions, etc.", "throughout the journey.", "Information can also be gathered from monitoring/control system(s) that are integral to the vehicle, e.g., the vehicle's engine control unit/module (ECU/ECM) that monitors various sensors located throughout the engine, fuel and exhaust systems, etc.", "In an embodiment, at 5304, the dynamically gathered data (or driver behavior data) is transmitted to an insurance evaluation system.", "In an embodiment, at 5306, the gathered data is analyzed.", "Such analysis can involve identifying the route taken by the driver, the speed driven, time of day the journey was undertaken, weather conditions during the journey, other road traffic, did the user use their cell phone during the journey?, and the like.", "In an embodiment, at 5308, the gathered data is assessed from which an insurance rate(s) can be determined.", "For example, if the driver drove above the speed limit then an appropriate determination could be to increase the insurance premium.", "In an embodiment, at 5310, the driver can be informed of the newly determined insurance rate.", "Any suitable device can be employed such as informing the user by cell phone, a display device associated with the on-board monitoring system, or another device associated with the vehicle.", "The information can be conveyed in a variety of ways, including a text message, a verbal message, graphical presentation, change of light emitting diodes (LED's) on a display unit, a HUD, etc.", "At 5312, the driver can continue to drive the vehicle whereby the method can return to 5302 where the data gathering is commenced once more.", "Alternatively, in an embodiment, at 5312, the driver may complete their journey and data gathering and analysis is completed.", "In an embodiment, at 5314 the driver can be presented with new insurance rates based upon the data gathered while they were driving the vehicle.", "The new insurance rates can be delivered and presented to the driver by any suitable means, for example the new insurance rates and any pertinent information can be forwarded and presented to the driver via a HUD employed as part of the real time data gathering system.", "By employing a HUD instantaneous notifications regarding a change in the driver's insurance policy can be presented while mitigating driver distractions {e.g., line of sight remains substantially unchanged).", "Alternatively, the on-board monitoring system can be used, or a remote computer/presentation device coupled to the real time data gathering system where the information is forwarded to the driver via, e.g., email.", "In another embodiment, the driver can access a website, hosted by a respective insurance company, where the driver can view their respective rates/gathered information/analysis system, etc.", "Further, traditional means of communication such as a letter can be used to forward the insurance information to the driver.", "FIG.", "18 is a diagram illustrates generally, a method 5400 mounting cameras to capture traffic information, according to embodiments as disclosed herein.", "In an embodiment, at 5402, the method 5400 includes mounting cameras on the car to monitor the traffic information.", "For example, the car may include cameras mounted to capture views in the rearward, downward, and the like directions, on the upper surface at the leading end of the front portion thereof.", "The position for mounting the cameras is not limited to the left side, right side, upper surface, front side, back side, and the like.", "For example, if the car has a left side steering wheel, the camera may be mounted on a right upper surface at a leading end of the front portion of the car.", "The cameras may have an angle of view of about 60, 90, 180, and 360 degree.", "With the construction, since the camera is mounted for a view in the rearward and downward directions on the front portion of the car, it can capture a wide area of the surface of the road in the vicinity of the driver's car, and an area in the vicinity of the left front wheel.", "Furthermore, the camera can also capture a part of the body of the car in the vicinity of the front wheel.", "Thereby, the relation between the car and the surface of the road can be recorded.", "In an example, the cameras can be configured to capture images of the road views including potential collision events such as how close car is following car in front, how often brake is used in period of time, hard brakes count more to reduce driver rating, how frequently does car come close to objects and obstructions (such as trees, cars on the other direction and cars in same direction) while moving.", "In an embodiment, at 5404, the method 5400 includes receiving the recorded information from the camera and use image processing techniques to process the information.", "For example, the system uses image processing techniques to determine potential collision events such as how close car is following car in front, how often brake is used in period of time, hard brakes count more to reduce driver rating, how frequently does car come close to objects and obstructions (such as trees, cars on the other direction and cars in same direction) while moving.", "FIG.", "19 is a diagram illustrates generally, a method 5500 mounting cameras to capture driver behavior, according to embodiments as disclosed herein.", "In an embodiment, at 5502, the method 5500 includes mounting cameras on the car to monitor the driver behavior.", "The position for mounting the cameras is not limited to the left side, right side, upper surface, front side, back side, and the like.", "The cameras may have an angle of view of about 60, 90, 180, and 360 degree.", "For example, the camera can capture driver behavior such as for example, but not limited to, images of texting and use of phone while driving, speech of driver shouting or cursing at other drivers or other occupants, indications of intoxication, sleepiness, alcohol level, mood, aggressiveness, and the like.", "In an embodiment, at 5504, the method 5500 includes receiving the recorded information from the camera and use image processing techniques and voice reorganization techniques to process the information.", "For example, the system uses image processing techniques to determine the driver activity such as whether the driver is using mobile phone while driving.", "In another example, the system uses voice recognition techniques to determine the use voice, text, aggressiveness, and the like.", "In an embodiment, the item-centric approach determines that many drivers having similar behavior and the driver who performs activity-A will also perform activity-B.", "This has proven to be fairly effective.", "On the other hand, many insurance providers interact with drivers online/offline.", "Such interaction can produce a stream of contextual information that recommendation engines can use.", "Early systems were batch oriented and computed recommendations in advance for each driver.", "Thus, they could not always react to a driver's most recent behavior.", "Recommendation engines work by trying to establish a statistical relationship between drivers and activities associated with there behavior.", "The system establishes these relationships via information about driver's behavior from vehicle owner, monitoring devices, sensors, and the like.", "In an embodiment, the recommender systems collect data via APIs, insurance application, insurance databases, and the like sources.", "The insurance sources can be available through social networks, ad hoc and marketing networks, and other external sources.", "For example, data can be obtained from insurance sites, insurance providers, driver insurance history, and search engines.", "All this enables recommendation engines to take a more holistic view of the driver.", "The recommendation engine can recommend different insurance products that save money for the driver, or alternatively can even recommend different insurance companies to save money.", "Using greater amounts of data lets the engines find connections that might otherwise go unnoticed, which yields better suggestions.", "This also sometimes requires recommendation systems to use complex big-data analysis techniques.", "Online public profiles and preference listings on social networking sites such as Facebook add useful data.", "Most recommendation engines use complex algorithms to analyze driver behavior and suggest recommended activities that employ personalized collaborative filtering, which use multiple agents or data sources to identify behavior patterns and draw conclusions.", "This approach helps determine that numerous drivers who have same or similar type of behavior in the past may have to perform one or more similar activities in the future.", "Many systems use expert adaptive approaches.", "These techniques create new sets of suggestions, analyze their performance, and adjust the recommendation pattern for similar behavior of drivers.", "This lets systems adapt quickly to new trends and behaviors.", "Rules-based systems enable businesses to establish rules that optimize recommendation performance.", "FIG.", "20 is a diagram 5600 illustrates generally, a first vehicle program communicating with a second vehicle program through an Inter-Vehicle networking, according to embodiments as disclosed herein.", "In an embodiment, the system develops inter-vehicular networking, computing, transceivers, and sensing technologies in the vehicles.", "Such vehicles have embedded computers, GPS receivers, short-range wireless network interfaces, and potentially access to in-car sensors and the Internet.", "Furthermore, they can interact with road-side wireless sensor networks and sensors embedded in other vehicles.", "These capabilities can be leveraged into distributed computing and sensing applications over vehicular networks for safer driving, dynamic route planning, mobile sensing, or in-vehicle entertainment.", "The system can include vehicular-specific network protocols, middleware platforms, and security mechanisms to process the data.", "As shown in FIG.", "14, a first driver operating a vehicle observes a second driver operating a vehicle within his visual range and wants to send a message to the second driver.", "The vehicle can include identifying information that is visually ascertainable such as the model, vehicle color, number of doors, license plate number and state.", "The vehicle may include additional information that is only ascertainable from up close or at certain angles, or via certain technologies, such as a roof top identification number, vehicle identification number, taxi badge number, Bluetooth, or RFID code, and the like.", "In an embodiment, a sender having access to the vehicle monitoring device and viewing a second vehicle desires to contact the driver of the second vehicle.", "In one embodiment, in case of an accident as detected by an accelerometer or airbag deployment, both vehicles automatically exchange insurance information and the drivers simply confirm and signs to accept.", "In another embodiment, in case of a hit-and-run, the vehicle computer would automatically capture insurance information from the other vehicle and store all parameters arising from the accident for accident investigator's review.", "In another embodiment, if one vehicle detects that the other vehicle has a low insurance rating, the vehicle automatically enters a defensive driving mode around that vehicle.", "As best shown in FIG.", "16, the sender initiates communication via a telephone or handheld computer or vehicle monitoring device and accesses the interface to the inter-vehicle networking service and database.", "The sender can select “send message” from the graphical or audio menu to send message or directly communicate with the driver of the second vehicle.", "For example, the sender can directly communicate with the driver using the inter-vehicle networking or the sender can choose from a table of messages that can be sent to the driver using the inter-vehicle networking.", "For example, the message can take the form of voice, audio, video, or other data which can be converted to a digital signal and sent to any communications terminal.", "The inter-vehicle networking database receives the message or encrypted message and reconstructs the message, including the address information.", "The inter-vehicle networking then separates out the address information including such as for example, but not limited to, license plate number, vehicle identification number, and the like.", "In an embodiment, the message may include a return address for the sender, so that a reply can be returned merely by hitting the “reply to” or “call back” button on the message.", "One skilled in the art would also recognize that the message could be sent anonymously or by a non-returnable address.", "Alternatively, the message could be a general broadcast sent by a police officer or other official sending a warning message to speeders or an informational message such as “road closed ahead” or other message.", "In this case, the transceiver can be a WiMAX system.", "In another embodiment, the transceiver can be a meshed 802 protocol network configuration with a constantly morphing mobile mesh network that helps drivers avoid accidents, identify traffic jams miles before they encounter them, and act as a relay point for Internet access.", "In one embodiment, the mesh network can be the ZigBee mesh network.", "In another embodiment, the mesh network can be a modified Wi-Fi protocol called 802.11p standard for allowing data exchange between moving vehicles in the 5.9 GHz band.", "802.11p operates in the 5.835-5.925 GHz range, divided into 7 channels of 10 MHz each.", "The standard defines mechanisms that allow IEEE 802.11™ technology to be used in high speed radio environments typical of cars and trucks.", "In these environments, the 802.11p enhancements to the previous standards enable robust and reliable car-to-car and car-to-curb communications by addressing challenges such as extreme Doppler shifts, rapidly changing multipath conditions, and the need to quickly establish a link and exchange data in very short times (less than 100 ms).", "Further enhancements are defined to support other higher layer protocols that are designed for the vehicular environment, such as the set of IEEE 1609™ standards for Wireless Access in Vehicular Environments (WAVE).", "802.11p supports Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) applications such as cooperative safety, traffic and accident control, intersection collision avoidance, and emergency warning.", "One variation of 802.11p is called the Dedicated Short Range Communications (DSRC), a U.S. Department of Transportation project as well as the name of the 5.9 GHz frequency band allocated for the ITS communications.", "More information on the 802.11p standard can be obtained from the IEEE.", "DSRC itself is not a mesh.", "It's a broadcast, so it only reaches vehicles within range.", "Meshing requires a lot more sophistication.", "There's a routing aspect to it, relaying messages to other nodes.", "DSRC is much simpler.", "One embodiment uses high-powered, heavily encrypted Wi-Fi that establishes point-to-point connections between cars within a half-mile radius.", "Those connections are used to communicate vital information between vehicles, either triggering alerts to the driver or interpreted by the vehicle's computer.", "An intelligent car slamming on its brakes could communicate to all of the vehicles behind it that it's coming to rapid halt, giving the driver that much more warning that he too needs to hit the brakes.", "But because these cars are networked—the car in front of one vehicle is connected to the car in front it and so forth—in a distributed mesh, an intelligent vehicle can know if cars miles down the road are slamming on their brakes, alerting the driver to potential traffic jams.", "Given enough vehicles with the technology, individual cars become nodes in a constantly changing, self-aware network that can not only monitor what's going on in the immediate vicinity, but across a citywide traffic grid.", "In one embodiment, the processor receives travel routes and sensor data from adjacent vehicles, such information is then used for preparing vehicular brakes for a detected turn or an anticipated turn from adjacent vehicles.", "The travel routes can be transmitted over a vehicular Wi-Fi system that sends protected information to nearby vehicles equipped with Wi-Fi or Bluetooth or ZigBee nodes.", "In one embodiment, a mesh-network is formed with Wi-Fi transceivers, wherein each vehicle is given a temporary ID in each vehicular block, similar to a cellular block where vehicles can join or leave the vehicular block.", "Once the vehicle joins a group, travel routes and sensor data is transferred among vehicles in a group.", "Once travel routes are shared, the processor can determine potential or desired actions from the adjacent vehicles and adjust appropriately.", "For example, if the car in front of the vehicle is about to make a turn, the system prepares the brakes and gently tugs the driver's seat belt to give the drive notice that the car in front is about to slow down.", "In another example, if the processor detects that the driver is about to make a lane change to the left based on sensor data and acceleration pedal actuation, but if the processor detects that the vehicle behind in the desired lane is also speeding up, the system can warn the driver and disengage the lane change to avoid the accident.", "Thus, the processor receives travel routes and sensor data from adjacent vehicles and notifying the driver of a detected turn or an anticipated turn from adjacent vehicles.", "The processor receives travel routes and sensor data from adjacent vehicles and optimizes group vehicular speed to improve fuel efficiency.", "The processor receives travel routes and sensor data from adjacent vehicles and sequences red light(s) to optimize fuel efficiency.", "The processor notifies the driver of driving behaviors from other drivers at a predetermined location.", "The processor switches turn signals and brakes using a predetermined protocol to reduce insurance premium for the driver.", "The processor warns the driver to avoid driving in a predetermined pattern, driving during a predetermined time, driving in a predetermined area, or parking in a predetermined area to reduce insurance premium for the driver.", "The processor sends driver behavior data to an insurer, including at least one of: vehicle speed, vehicle accelerations, vehicle location, seatbelt use, wireless device use, turn signal use, detection of ethanol vapor, driver seating position, and time.", "The various systems described above may be used by the computer to operate the vehicle and maneuver from one location to another.", "For example, a user may enter destination information into the navigation system, either manually or audibly.", "The vehicle may determine its location to a few inches based on a combination of the GPS receiver data, the sensor data, as well as the detailed map information.", "In response, the navigation system may generate a route between the present location of the vehicle and the destination.", "When the driver is ready to relinquish some level of control to the autonomous driving computer, the user may activate the computer.", "The computer may be activated, for example, by pressing a button or by manipulating a lever such as gear shifter.", "Rather than taking control immediately, the computer may scan the surroundings and determine whether there are any obstacles or objects in the immediate vicinity which may prohibit or reduce the ability of the vehicle to avoid a collision.", "In this regard, the computer may require that the driver continue controlling the vehicle manually or with some level of control (such as the steering or acceleration) before entering into a fully autonomous mode.", "Once the vehicle is able to maneuver safely without the assistance of the driver, the vehicle may become fully autonomous and continue to the destination.", "The driver may continue to assist the vehicle by controlling, for example, steering or whether the vehicle changes lanes, or the driver may take control of the vehicle immediately in the event of an emergency.", "The vehicle may continuously use the sensor data to identify objects, such as traffic signals, people, other vehicles, and other objects, in order to maneuver the vehicle to the destination and reduce the likelihood of a collision.", "The vehicle may use the map data to determine where traffic signals or other objects should appear and take actions, for example, by signaling turns or changing lanes.", "Once the vehicle has arrived at the destination, the vehicle may provide audible or visual cues to the driver.", "For example, by displaying “You have arrived” on one or more of the electronic displays.", "The vehicle may be only partially autonomous.", "For example, the driver may select to control one or more of the following: steering, acceleration, braking, and emergency braking.", "The vehicle may also have one or more user interfaces that allow the driver to reflect the driver's driving a style.", "For example, the vehicle may include a dial which controls the level of risk or aggressiveness with which a driver would like the computer to use when controlling the vehicle.", "For example, a more aggressive driver may want to change lanes more often to pass cars, drive in the left lane on a highway, maneuver the vehicle closer to the surrounding vehicles, and drive faster than less aggressive drivers.", "A less aggressive driver may prefer for the vehicle to take more conservative actions, such as somewhat at or below the speed limit, avoiding congested highways, or avoiding populated areas in order to increase the level of safety.", "By manipulating the dial, the thresholds used by the computer to calculate whether to pass another car, drive closer to other vehicles, increase speed and the like may change.", "In other words, changing the dial may affect a number of different settings used by the computer during its decision making processes.", "A driver may also be permitted, via the user interface, to change individual settings that relate to the driver's preferences.", "In one embodiment, insurance rates for the driver or vehicle may be based on the style of the driving selected by the driver.", "Aggressiveness settings may also be modified to reflect the type of vehicle and its passengers and cargo.", "For example, if an autonomous truck is transporting dangerous cargo (e.g., chemicals or flammable liquids), its aggressiveness settings may be less aggressive than a car carrying a single driver—even if the aggressive dials of both such a truck and car are set to “high.” Moreover, trucks traveling across long distances over narrow, unpaved, rugged or icy terrain or vehicles may be placed in a more conservative mode in order reduce the likelihood of a collision or other incident.", "In another example, the vehicle may include sport and non-sport modes which the user may select or deselect in order to change the aggressiveness of the ride.", "By way of example, while in “sport mode”, the vehicle may navigate through turns at the maximum speed that is safe, whereas in “non-sport mode”, the vehicle may navigate through turns at the maximum speed which results in g-forces that are relatively imperceptible by the passengers in the car.", "The vehicle's characteristics may also be adjusted based on whether the driver or the computer is in control of the vehicle.", "For example, when a person is driving manually the suspension may be made fairly stiff so that the person may “feel” the road and thus drive more responsively or comfortably, while, when the computer is driving, the suspension may be made such softer so as to save energy and make for a more comfortable ride for passengers.", "The system may be implemented in hardware, firmware or software, or a combination of the three.", "Preferably the invention is implemented in a computer program executed on a programmable computer having a processor, a data storage system, volatile and non-volatile memory and/or storage elements, at least one input device and at least one output device.", "Each computer program is tangibly stored in a machine-readable storage media or device (e.g., program memory or magnetic disk) readable by a general or special purpose programmable computer, for configuring and controlling operation of a computer when the storage media or device is read by the computer to perform the procedures described herein.", "The inventive system may also be considered to be embodied in a computer-readable storage medium, configured with a computer program, where the storage medium so configured causes a computer to operate in a specific and predefined manner to perform the functions described herein.", "The system has been described herein in considerable detail in order to comply with the patent statutes and to provide those skilled in the art with the information needed to apply the novel principles and to construct and use such specialized components as are required.", "However, it is to be understood that the invention can be carried out by specifically different equipment and devices, and that various modifications, both as to the equipment details and operating procedures, can be accomplished without departing from the scope of the invention itself." ] ]
Patent_15872950
[ [ "HIGH DENSITY COMMUNICATIONS DEVICE", "A communications device comprises at least eight first plate communication interfaces disposed along one length of one side of the housing.", "At least six second plate communication interfaces are disposed along the length of the second side of the housing, wherein the at least six second plate communication interfaces comprise at least six universal serial bus (USB) ports.", "At least one circuit board is disposed in the housing and electrically connected to the first and second plate communication interfaces." ], [ "1.A communications device comprising: a housing comprising, a base plate comprising, first and second edges, the first and second edges are parallel, and third and fourth edges, the third and fourth edges are parallel and perpendicular to the first and second edges, a first plate disposed along the first edge, the first plate comprises at least 8 first plate communication interfaces, a second plate disposed along the second edge, the second plate comprises at least 6 second plate communication interfaces, wherein the at least 6 second plate communication interfaces comprise at least 6 universal serial bus (USB) ports; and at least one circuit board disposed on the base plate, wherein the circuit board is electrically coupled to the first and second plate communication interfaces.", "2.The communication device of claim 1 is configured as a communication infrastructure management device.", "3.The communication device of claim 1 wherein the first plate comprises at least two first adjacent rows of at least 16 first plate communication interfaces disposed along a length of the first plate.", "4.The communication device of claim 3 wherein the first and second plate communication interfaces comprise: one or more null-modem serial ports; one or more data Communications Equipment (DCE) serial ports; one or more data Terminal Equipment (DTE) serial ports; one or more Cisco pinout serial ports; one or more Cyclades pinout serial ports; one or more straight-through serial ports; one or more cross-over serial ports; one or more RJ45 ports; one or more RS-232 serial ports; one or more RS-485 serial ports; one or more universal serial bus (USB) ports; one or more serial ports; one or more Local Area Network (LAN) ports; one or more Wide Area Network Area (WAN) ports; one or more Wi-Fi wireless Network ports; or a combination thereof.", "5.The communication device of claim 1 wherein the at least 8 first plate interfaces comprise at least 8 universal serial bus (USB) ports.", "6.The communication device of claim 1 wherein: the first plate comprises at least two adjacent rows of at least 16 first plate communication interfaces along a length of the first plate; and the second plate comprises at least two adjacent rows of at least 16 second plate communication interfaces along the length of the second plate.", "7.The communication device of claim 6 wherein the first and second plate interfaces comprise: one or more null-modem serial ports; one or more data Communications Equipment (DCE) serial ports; one or more data Terminal Equipment (DTE) serial ports; one or more Cisco pinout serial ports; one or more Cyclades pinout serial ports; one or more straight-through serial ports; one or more cross-over serial ports; one or more RJ45 ports; one or more RS-232 serial ports; one or more RS-485 serial ports; one or more universal serial bus (USB) ports; one or more serial ports; one or more Local Area Network (LAN) ports; one or more Wide Area Network Area (WAN) ports; one or more Wi-Fi wireless Network ports; or a combination thereof.", "8.The communication device of claim 1 wherein the circuit board comprises a carrier input/output (I/O) board with an I/O interface, the I/O interface is configured to logically map I/O signals received from the first and second plate communication interfaces when external devices are coupled thereto.", "9.The communication device of claim 1 wherein circuit board comprises an infrastructure management unit, the infrastructure management unit is configured to discover, cluster, index, create exchange index table, search and take action on at least one external device coupled to the communication device.", "10.The communication device of claim 9 wherein the infrastructure management unit comprise a configuration and management engine with a user interface to facilitate configuring and managing external devices coupled to the communication device using a configuration service.", "11.The communication device of claim 10 comprises a discovery engine for discovering external devices coupled to the communication device using a discovery service.", "12.The communications device of claim 11 further comprising: a memory module for storing information of the communications device identified by the discovery engine; and wherein the information in the memory module is used by the configuration and management engine to configure and manage the external devices.", "13.A communication infrastructure management device comprising: a housing comprising, a base plate comprising, first and second edges, the first and second edges are parallel, and third and fourth edges, the third and fourth edges are parallel and perpendicular to the first and second edges, a first plate disposed along the first edge, the first plate comprises at least 8 first plate communication interfaces, a second plate disposed along the second edge, the second plate comprises at least 6 second plate communication interfaces, wherein the at least 6 second plate communication interfaces comprise at least 6 universal serial bus (USB) ports; at least one circuit board disposed on the base plate, wherein the circuit is electrically coupled to the first and second plate communication interfaces for discovering, configuring and managing external devices coupled to the communication device through the first and second plate communication interfaces; and wherein the communication infrastructure management device is configured to manage external devices connected to the communication management device through the first and second plate communication interfaces.", "14.The communication infrastructure management device of claim 13 wherein the first plate comprises at least two first adjacent rows of at least 16 first plate communication interfaces disposed along a length of the first plate.", "15.The communication infrastructure management device of claim 13 wherein the first and second plate communication interfaces comprise: one or more null-modem serial ports; one or more data Communications Equipment (DCE) serial ports; one or more data Terminal Equipment (DTE) serial ports; one or more Cisco pinout serial ports; one or more Cyclades pinout serial ports; one or more straight-through serial ports; one or more cross-over serial ports; one or more RJ45 ports; one or more RS-232 serial ports; one or more RS-485 serial ports; one or more universal serial bus (USB) ports; one or more serial ports; one or more Local Area Network (LAN) ports; one or more Wide Area Network Area (WAN) ports; one or more Wi-Fi wireless Network ports; or a combination thereof.", "16.The communication infrastructure management device of claim 13 wherein the at least 8 first plate communication interfaces comprise at least 8 universal serial bus (USB) ports.", "17.The communication infrastructure management device of claim 13 wherein: the first plate comprises at least two adjacent rows of at least 16 first plate communication interfaces along a length of the first plate; and the second plate comprises at least two adjacent rows of at least 16 second plate communication interfaces along the length of the second plate.", "18.The communication infrastructure management device of claim 13 wherein the circuit board comprises a carrier input/output (I/O) board with an I/O interface, the I/O interface is configured to logically map I/O signals received from the first and second plate communication interfaces when external devices are coupled thereto.", "19.The communication infrastructure management of claim 13 wherein the circuit board comprises an infrastructure management unit, the infrastructure management unit is configured to discover, cluster, index, create exchange index table, search and take action on at least one external device coupled to the communication device.", "20.The communication infrastructure management of claim 19 wherein the infrastructure management unit comprise a configuration and management engine with a user interface to facilitate configuring and managing external devices coupled to the communication device using a configuration service." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND <EOH>In data centers, the concentration of Information Technology (“IT”) devices (e.g.", "virtual instantiated in combination with physical computing hardware and software in combination with physical devices such as: compute nodes, networking nodes, storage nodes, power nodes, and/or cooling nodes) may create a data center environment with significant overhead in tracking, configuring, clustering and managing IT device state(s).", "Some of the various techniques to work in such a cluttered environment may require a combination of device search tools, multiple IT device concentrator hardware units, management tools and/or many more additional supporting tools.", "Additionally, various IT devices, such as IT devices by various vendors, may have different communication interfaces, network protocols, user interfaces and APIs, which may increase the difficulty of communicating with IT device(s).", "When information about the IT device(s) is known, action(s) may be required over the IT device(s) distributed on a cluster of IT devices in order to enforce compliance and/or security needs on the data center." ], [ "<SOH> BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS <EOH>FIG.", "1 is an example of a housing with 96 communication interfaces according to some of the various embodiments of the present invention.", "FIG.", "2 is an example block diagram of an infrastructure management device showing example components that may be involved in a device communication over the communications interface where the infrastructure management may configure, discover, cluster, index, exchange index table, search or take action on at least one IT device in a data center according to some aspects of various embodiments of the present invention.", "FIG.", "3 is an example flow diagram illustrating one of the various techniques for the discovering and/or configuring of an IT device communicating with the infrastructure management system according to some of the various embodiments of the present invention.", "FIG.", "4 is an example flow diagram illustrating one of the various techniques for the clustering and/or searching of an IT device communicating with the infrastructure management system according to some of the various embodiments of the present invention.", "FIG.", "5 is an example block diagram of an infrastructure management device according to some aspects of various embodiments of the present invention.", "FIG.", "6 is an example flow diagram of configuring, discovering, indexing, clustering, and/or taking action(s) according to some aspects of various embodiments of the present invention.", "FIG.", "7 illustrates an example of a suitable computing system environment on which aspects of some embodiments may be implemented.", "FIG.", "8 is an example of a housing with 80 communication interfaces according to some of the various embodiments of the present invention.", "detailed-description description=\"Detailed Description\" end=\"lead\"?" ], [ "CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation of prior application Ser.", "No.", "15/862,582, filed on Jan. 4, 2018, which is a continuation of prior application Ser.", "No.", "15/372,134, filed Dec. 7, 2016, which is a continuation of prior application Ser.", "No.", "15/063,838, filed Mar.", "8, 2016, which claims the benefit of U.S.", "Provisional Application No.", "62/130,491, filed Mar.", "9, 2015, entitled “High Serial Port Count Infrastructure Management Device,” and U.S.", "Provisional Application No.", "62/144,870, filed Apr.", "8, 2015, entitled “High Serial Port Count Infrastructure Management Device,” which are all hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.", "BACKGROUND In data centers, the concentration of Information Technology (“IT”) devices (e.g.", "virtual instantiated in combination with physical computing hardware and software in combination with physical devices such as: compute nodes, networking nodes, storage nodes, power nodes, and/or cooling nodes) may create a data center environment with significant overhead in tracking, configuring, clustering and managing IT device state(s).", "Some of the various techniques to work in such a cluttered environment may require a combination of device search tools, multiple IT device concentrator hardware units, management tools and/or many more additional supporting tools.", "Additionally, various IT devices, such as IT devices by various vendors, may have different communication interfaces, network protocols, user interfaces and APIs, which may increase the difficulty of communicating with IT device(s).", "When information about the IT device(s) is known, action(s) may be required over the IT device(s) distributed on a cluster of IT devices in order to enforce compliance and/or security needs on the data center.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG.", "1 is an example of a housing with 96 communication interfaces according to some of the various embodiments of the present invention.", "FIG.", "2 is an example block diagram of an infrastructure management device showing example components that may be involved in a device communication over the communications interface where the infrastructure management may configure, discover, cluster, index, exchange index table, search or take action on at least one IT device in a data center according to some aspects of various embodiments of the present invention.", "FIG.", "3 is an example flow diagram illustrating one of the various techniques for the discovering and/or configuring of an IT device communicating with the infrastructure management system according to some of the various embodiments of the present invention.", "FIG.", "4 is an example flow diagram illustrating one of the various techniques for the clustering and/or searching of an IT device communicating with the infrastructure management system according to some of the various embodiments of the present invention.", "FIG.", "5 is an example block diagram of an infrastructure management device according to some aspects of various embodiments of the present invention.", "FIG.", "6 is an example flow diagram of configuring, discovering, indexing, clustering, and/or taking action(s) according to some aspects of various embodiments of the present invention.", "FIG.", "7 illustrates an example of a suitable computing system environment on which aspects of some embodiments may be implemented.", "FIG.", "8 is an example of a housing with 80 communication interfaces according to some of the various embodiments of the present invention.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION Some of the various embodiments of the present invention relate to infrastructure management systems, and more particularly to a data center infrastructure management device(s) configured to process network communication of data center component(s).", "Various embodiments relate to a data center infrastructure configured to process network communication from data center component(s) (e.g.", "IT devices) and employ the device information to determine an action to be performed on data center component(s) in an infrastructure management system.", "A device is a machine and/or component that may attach to a computer and/or computer network.", "Examples of devices include disk drives, printers, displays, mice, and modems.", "These particular devices may fall into a category of peripheral devices separate from a main computing device.", "Other example devices may be non-peripheral devices such as IT devices.", "Many devices, whether peripheral or not, may employ a program called a device driver that may act as a translator, converting general commands from an application into specific commands that the device understands.", "An IT device is an “Information Technology” device related to computing technology, comprising, but not limited to: data center devices, networking devices, hardware devices, software operating in combination with a hardware IT device, Internet devices, and/or the like.", "Some IT devices may employ virtual devices operating on specially configured hardware.", "Additional examples of IT devices include servers, compute nodes, routers, switches, firewalls, load balancers, networking nodes, storage nodes, power nodes, cooling nodes, storage appliances, power appliances, cooling appliances, network appliances, virtual appliances, virtual machines, system hardware with network access, hosted module within a system, combinations thereof, and/or the like.", "A virtual device may employ a software virtual device driver operating on a hardware computing device configured to emulate hardware and/or other devices so that multiple applications may, for example, access hardware interrupt channels, hardware resources and memory without causing conflicts.", "Computer hardware may require communication and control processes for devices and/or hardware components to access each other in a controlled manner.", "These processes may be defined as device drivers, which may comprise code that an application may employ to access hardware and/or external software resources.", "Some example virtual devices may be configured for use in multitasking operating systems.", "In such an example, a device driver may be controlled by an operating system's virtual device driver manager and shared by applications running within that kernel.", "A virtual device driver may pass interrupt and memory requests through the kernel, which in turn may allocate resources as required.", "An agent may comprise a computer program that acts for a user or other program in a relationship of agency, which derives from the Latin agere (to do): an agreement to act on one's behalf.", "Such “action on behalf of” implies the authority to decide which, if any, action is appropriate.", "Some agents may comprise, but are not limited to: intelligent agents (in particular exhibiting some aspect of artificial intelligence, such as learning and reasoning), autonomous agents (capable of modifying the way in which the agent achieves objectives), distributed agents (being executed on physically distinct computers), multi-agent systems (distributed agents that do not have the capabilities to achieve an objective alone and thus must communicate), mobile agents (agents that can relocate their execution onto different processors), and/or the like.", "Some of the various embodiments may communicate with virtual (in combination with configured hardware) and/or physical IT devices such as compute nodes, networking nodes, storage nodes, power nodes, cooling nodes, other IT devices, combinations thereof, and/or the like.", "An infrastructure management system may automatically perform an action on IT device(s)—based at least in part, by an IT device information.", "The nature of the interaction between infrastructure management system(s) and IT device(s) may be regulated by the type of device itself to dictate network protocols natively supported by the IT device(s).", "The type of IT device(s) may also be used to identify a class or type of action that may apply for IT device(s) available in a network.", "FIG.", "1 and FIG.", "8 each illustrate an example housing with communication interfaces according to some of the various embodiments of the present invention.", "FIG.", "8 illustrates an example housing with 80 communication interfaces.", "FIG.", "1 illustrates an example housing with 96 communication interfaces.", "A housing may be employed, for example, by an infrastructure management device or other device with communication interfaces according to some of the various embodiments of the present invention.", "With reference to FIG.", "1, the housing height 110 may comprise of a one Rack-Unit (1 U) height mounted horizontally to the rack, or a less than one Rack-Unit (<1 U) height mounted horizontally to the rack, or a zero Rack-Unit (0 U) height mounted vertically to the rack.", "The housing may be configured to enclose at least one communications interface, one or more processors and a non-transitory tangible machine readable medium.", "The communication interfaces (illustrated in this example embodiment as interface-1 111 to communication interface-48 112 and communication interface-49 113 to communication interface-96 114) may be distributed in any number on both sides of the infrastructure management device according to the space availability on the housing and where at least one communication interface may comprise at least 60 serial port interfaces.", "The communications interface 111, 112, 113, 114 may comprise at least one of the following: a serial port, an RS-232 serial, an RS-485 serial, a Local Area Network (LAN), a Wide Area Network Area (WAN), a Virtual Private Network (VPN), a Wi-Fi wireless Network, a USB port, Bluetooth™, a combination of the above and/or the like.", "The carrier I/O board 115 may be employed to hold the CPU board 120, the I/O interface 130, and additional peripheral controller(s) related to the I/O interface units.", "CPU board 120 may comprise processing unit(s), system memory and common peripherals.", "I/O interface 130 may be configured to perform a logical mapping between the I/O signals from the carrier I/O board 115 and the communication interface units 111, 112, 113 and 114.Examples of I/O signal logical mapping may comprise (but not limited to) at least some of the follow: a null-modem serial port, a DCE serial port, a DTE serial port, a Cisco pinout serial port, a Cyclades pinout serial port, a straight-through serial port, a cross-over serial port, a rolled RJ45 port, an RS-232 serial port, an RS-485 serial port, a Local Area Network (LAN), a Wide Area Network Area (WAN), a Virtual Private Network (VPN), a Wi-Fi wireless Network, an USB port, Bluetooth™, a combination of the above and/or the like.", "With reference to FIG.", "8, the housing height may comprise of a one Rack-Unit (1 U) height mounted horizontally to the rack, or a less than one Rack-Unit (<1 U) height mounted horizontally to the rack, or a zero Rack-Unit (0 U) height mounted vertically to the rack.", "The housing may be configured to enclose, for example, a carrier I/O boards 810, a CPU board 820, and communications interfaces (for example: 811 .", ".", ".", "812 and 813 .", ".", ".", "814) facing opposite sides of the housing respectively.", "The communication interfaces (illustrated in this example embodiment as RJ45 interface-1 811 to RJ45 communication interface-48 812 and USB communication interface-49 813 to USB communication interface-80 814) may be distributed in various quantities on both sides of the housing and where at least one communication interface may comprise, for example, at least 60 serial port interfaces.", "The communications interfaces 811, 812, 813, 814 may comprise at least one of the following: a serial port, an RS-232 serial, an RS-485 serial, a Local Area Network (LAN), a Wide Area Network Area (WAN), a Virtual Private Network (VPN), a Wi-Fi wireless Network, a USB port, Bluetooth™, an RJ45 port, a combination of the above and/or the like.", "The carrier I/O board 815 may be employed to hold the CPU board 820, an I/O interface, and additional peripheral controller(s) related to the I/O interface units.", "CPU board 820 may comprise processing unit(s), system memory and common peripherals.", "The board(s) may be configured to perform a logical mapping between the communication interface connectors (for example 811 .", ".", ".", "812, and 813 .", ".", ".", "814.Examples of I/O signal logical mapping may comprise (but not limited to) at least some of the follow: a null-modem serial port, a DCE serial port, a DTE serial port, a Cisco pinout serial port, a Cyclades pinout serial port, a straight-through serial port, a cross-over serial port, an RJ45 port, an RS-232 serial port, an RS-485 serial port, a Local Area Network (LAN), a Wide Area Network Area (WAN), a Virtual Private Network (VPN), a Wi-Fi wireless Network, an USB port, Bluetooth™, a combination of the above and/or the like.", "FIG.", "2 is an example block diagram of an infrastructure management device according to some aspects of various embodiments.", "FIG.", "2 illustrates example components that may be involved in device communication over communications interface(s) where the infrastructure management may configure, discover, cluster, index, exchange index table, search and/or take action on at least one IT device in a data center.", "The infrastructure management device-1 200 may interact with IT devices 211, 212 .", ".", ".", "213 and/or with other IM (Infrastructure Management) devices 214, 215 .", ".", ".", "216 via communication interfaces 290.The infrastructure management devices 200, 214, 215 .", ".", ".", "216 may comprise a housing, at least 60 serial port interfaces, and at least one of the following: system hardware with network access, a server, a compute node, a router, a switch, a firewall, a load balancer, a networking node, a storage node, a power node, a network appliance, a virtual appliance, a hosted module within a system, a combination thereof, and/or the like.", "The IT devices 211, 212 .", ".", ".", "213 may comprise, for example, a server, a compute node, a router, a switch, a firewall, a load balancer, a networking node, a storage node, a power node, a cooling node, a storage appliance, a power appliance, a cooling appliance, a network appliance, a virtual appliance, a virtual machine, system hardware with network access, a hosted module within a system, a combination thereof, and/or the like.", "Providers 220 may comprise modules configured to understand the communication protocols capabilities of the IT devices 211, 212 .", ".", ".", "213 and/or IM devices 214, 215 .", ".", ".", "216 and may employ these capabilities to interact with such devices via the communications interface(s) 290.The providers 220 may also interact with virtualization engine 260, discovery engine 261, configuration/management engine 262, clustering engine 263 and/or action engine 264 on the infrastructure management device-1 200.Providers 220 and engine modules 260, 261, 262, 263 and/or 264 may interact via provider interface(s) 221, 222, 223, 224 and/or 225 respectively.", "A first plate 891 may be disposed along the first edge 881 with a height less than or equal to a housing height 899.A second plate 892 may be disposed along the second edge 882 with a height less than or equal to the housing height 899.A third plate 893 may be disposed along the third edge 883 with a height less than or equal to the housing height 899.A fourth plate 894 may be disposed along the fourth edge 884 with a height less than or equal to the housing height 899.The brackets 871 and 872 may be employed to horizontally mounting the housing to a rack.", "Brackets 871 and 872 may also be employed to vertically mount the housing to a rack.", "Configuration/management engine 262 may provide an interface to configure and/or manage infrastructure management device-1 200 via configuration service 233.The interface may comprise a user interface which may be available via, for example, a command line interface (CLI), a web interface, programmatically via an application programmable interface (API), a combination thereof, and/or the like.", "The configuration may comprise at least one of the following: IT device information, discovery enablement information, clustering enablement information, a combination thereof, and/or the like.", "The IT device information may comprise at least one of the following: a universally unique identifier, a virtual machine name, a hypervisor IP address, an alias IP address, a group/community identifier, a port identifier, a port range identifier, a serial port range, a serial port identifier, a serial port name, an IT device name, a power status, an action, a list of actions, a command, a hostname, an icon, an internet protocol Address, a protocol type, a service processor type, a media access control address (MAC) Address, a hierarchical organization, a connection status, a configuration parameter, a user defined field and value, a map address location, a group IT device parameters, a group of users' parameters, an IT device access rights parameter, a notification parameter, a data logging parameter, an alert parameters, an IT device initial status, a combination thereof, and/or the like.", "The discovery enablement information may comprise at least one of the following: a configuration parameter, a multitude of parameters, an action, a multitude of actions, and an IT device state.", "The clustering enablement information device may comprise at least one of the following: a configuration parameter, a multitude of parameters, an action, a multitude of actions, an IT device state, a combination thereof, and/or the like.", "The configuration-management engine 262 may be connected, for example, via bus 271 to a non-volatile memory 280 in order to store, read or update the configuration information required by the system.", "The non-volatile memory 280 may comprise at least one of the following: an in-memory data store, an on-disk data store, a local data store, a remote data store, a distributed data store, a replicated data store, a combination of the above, a combination thereof, and/or the like.", "Continuing on example FIG.", "2 and according to some of the various embodiments, discovery engine 261 may be employed for discovering of IT devices which may be interconnected via communication interface 290.IT devices 211, 212 .", ".", ".", "213 may request connection and/or configuration via communication interface 290 once they are powered on and/or from time to time (e.g.", "a periodic basis).", "The identification of the IT devices 211, 212, 213 may be collected by the discovery service 232.Alternatively, discovery service 232 may also discover the IT device identification by polling for information from time to time (e.g.", "on a periodic basis).", "In this example scenario, polled IT device(s) may also comprise a concentrator of additional child IT device(s) and the information collected from the polled IT device(s) may contain a collection of IT device information identification from the children IT device(s).", "This mechanism may provide a bulk discovery process.", "For example (but not limited to), console server IT devices from multiple vendors may provide information on IT device(s) connected via their serial ports.", "Similarly, a virtual machine hypervisor may provide information on virtual machines running on that system.", "Examples of IT device identification may comprise, but are not limited to: universally unique identifier (UUID), VM name, group/community information, IP address, media access control address (MAC address), hostname, serial port range, combinations thereof, and/or the like.", "IT device identification may be sent via 231 to discovery processing 240 and may be evaluated by discovery processing 240 against discovery rules 241 in the system.", "Discovery rules 241 may employ a combination of logic of parameters, such as, for example, AND/OR logic.", "Matching criteria may be based on partial parameters and/or full parameters inspected against the IT device identification.", "A discovery action, (such as, but not limited to an update of existing IT device, add new IT device, a combination thereof, and/or the like) may be taken in combination with, for example, upon a successful match between one or more of the discovery rules 241 and IT device identification.", "Examples of discovery actions sent via bus 271 to a non-volatile memory 280 may comprise, but are not limited to: clone configuration from an existing device, update configuration if an IT device already exists and if changes are required, deny clone, (which means no response may be given to the IT device from the system—this allows supporting multiple discovery systems in the same network), a combination thereof, and/or the like.", "A discovery action may also get information from a non-volatile memory 280 via bus 271 in order to perform a discovery service 232.Additionally, non-volatile memory 280 may hold, for example, IT device data for a newly added IT device, changes or updates on existing IT device(s), information on existing IT device(s) that may be used on cloning process or discovery process, combinations thereof, and/or the like.", "Continuing on FIG.", "2 and according to some of the various embodiments, index and search engine 281 may employ index service 283 to index IT device information that may be retrieved from non-volatile memory 280 via bus 271 and store the indexing into non-volatile IT device index 282.Index service 283 indexing may comprise: collecting at least one IT device information for at least one of at least one IT device from the infrastructure management device, processing at least one IT device information for at least one of at least one IT device from the infrastructure management device, organizing at least one IT device information for at least one of at least one IT device from the infrastructure management device, updating the IT device index of the infrastructure management device, a combination thereof, and/or the like.", "The IT device index 282 may comprise at least one of the following: an in-memory data store, an on-disk data store, a local data store, a remote data store, a distributed data store, a replicated data store, a combination of the above, and/or the like.", "Continuing on FIG.", "2 and according to some of the various embodiments, clustering engine 263 may employ clustering service 234 to cluster the infrastructure management device-1 200 with at least one other infrastructure management device 214, 215 .", ".", ".", "216 when enabled by the clustering enablement information.", "The clustering service 234 may comprise (but not limited), at least one of the following: configuring one of the clustered infrastructure management devices to name and maintain a list of a multitude of infrastructure manager devices communicatively connected, configuring one of the clustered infrastructure management devices to define at least one credential for a multitude of infrastructure manager devices communicatively connected on at least one named list, configuring one of the clustered infrastructure management devices to define at least one SSL (Secure Socket Layer) certificate for the clustered infrastructure management devices communicatively connected on at least one named list, configuring one of the clustered infrastructure management devices to request a list of the clustered infrastructure management devices communicatively connected on at least one named list, configuring one of the clustered infrastructure management devices to interact to at least one of the clustered infrastructure management devices communicatively connected on at least one named list, providing at least one IT device information of the clustered infrastructure management devices communicatively connected on at least one named list, exchanging at least one IT device index 282 of the clustered infrastructure management devices communicatively connected on at least one named list, a combination thereof, and/or the like.", "Continuing on FIG.", "2 and according to some of the various embodiments, search module 291 may search IT device index 282 information via bus 271 for a list of IT device information based on criteria applied to IT device index.", "The searching may further comprise conducting a natural language search with at least one of the following: a tabular representation of the search result, a Web representation of the search results, an organizational tree representation of the search results, a graphical node representation of the search results, a geographic map representation of the search results, a command-line (CLI) representation of the search results, a combination thereof, and/or the like.", "The criteria may comprise at least one of the following: a query parameter, a source document index, a source field, a number of matching results to return, a sorting order, a Boolean logic, a filter, a range, a logical condition, an aggregation, a relevance, a combination of the above, and/or the like.", "Continuing on FIG.", "2 and according to some of the various embodiments, the action engine 264 may employ the action service 235 to perform at least one the following: executing at least one user defined command on at least one of the at least one IT device over at least one of the at least one communications interface, executing at least one user defined script on at least one of the at least one IT device over at least one of the at least one communications interface, executing at least one user defined program on at least one of the at least one IT device over at least one of the at least one communications interface, executing at least one user defined command on at least one of the at least one IT device locally, executing at least one user defined script on at least one of the at least one IT device locally, executing at least one user defined program on at least one of the at least one IT device locally, executing at least one user defined command on at least one of the at least one other infrastructure management device over the network, executing at least one user defined script on at least one of the at least one other infrastructure management device over the network, executing at least one user defined program on at least one of the at least one other infrastructure management device over the network, executing at least one user defined command on the infrastructure management device locally, executing at least one user defined script the infrastructure management device locally, executing at least one user defined program on the at least one infrastructure management device locally, performing a serial console connection over at least one of the at least one communications interface, performing a serial virtual machine console connection over at least one of the at least one communications interface, performing a SOL (Serial-Over-Lan) console connection over at least one of the at least one communications interface, performing a KVM (Keyboard-Video-Mouse) console connection over at least one of the at least one communications interface, performing a MKS (Mouse-Keyboard-Screen) virtual machine console connection over at least one of the at least one communications interface, performing a power command on at least one of the at least one IT device over at least one of the at least one communications interface, establishing a TCI/IP tunnel between the user's workstation and the infrastructure management device, performing access rights control on commands, performing data log collection on an IT device data session, performing alert and notification based on configuration and data log collection from at least one of the at least one IT device, performing authentication and authorization to a user based on at least on one of the following: command, user group and IT device, a combination thereof, and/or the like.", "With respect to an action performed by action service 235, for example, a pre-defined command like “power off” may be executed as part of a set of actions taken by a system administrator accessing an infrastructure management device in response to an IT device search result based on a search criteria applied across the IT device index 282.Since the IT device index 282 from single clustered infrastructure management device(s) may have been previously exchanged by the clustering service 234, the search may be performed over a local copy of the IT device index 282 and cover multiple clustered infrastructure management devices.", "Providers 220 and communication interface(s) 290 may provide a means to communicate with the IT device in order to carry out the execution of the command “power off” on the IT device regardless of the IT device type enrolled in the infrastructure management device.", "In another example, the IT device may report a firmware version state like “firmware version 1.2,” which may require a complex set of actions performed by a user defined command such as “firmware upgrade” implemented via a custom script residing on one or more of the IT device(s) in the network.", "The custom script may make use of abstraction provided by provider(s) 220 and communication interface(s) 290 in order to carry out multiple actions such as, for example, upgrading firmware on the IT device follow by a “power reboot.” Continuing on FIG.", "2 and according to some of the various embodiments, the virtualization engine 260 may employ container service 230 which may host, configure and managed virtualized process(es) and environment(s) on the infrastructure management device.", "Example of virtualized process(es) and environment(s) may comprise, but are not limited to: dockerized applications, docker hypervisor, docker containers, virtual machine hypervisors, kernel-based virtual machines, virtual applications, virtual machines, virtual appliances, storage hypervisors, platform virtualization software, data mining applications, data collector applications, dash board applications, report applications, combinations thereof, and/or the like.", "For example, a standard dockerized splunk application could be hosted, configured, managed and executed by virtualized engine 260 and may crunch data available on the infrastructure management device in order to provide visualization of information.", "Also illustrated on FIG.", "2 and according to some of the various embodiments, session viewer 270 may provide a proxy viewer (e.g.", "an HTML5 proxy viewer) of the native user interface of at least one of the IT devices 211, 212, 213 connected to infrastructure management device-1 200.This process may provide a means to interact with an IT device UI (User Interface), without requiring additional application(s) be installed at end user workstation(s) and/or without requiring direct communication between an end user's workstation and an IT device.", "For example, an HTML5 proxy for a native user interface may include: a console viewer, remote console viewer, a remote SSH (Secure Shell) viewer, a TELNET view, a KVM (Keyboard-Video-Mouse) viewer, a virtual KVM (Keyboard-Video-Mouse) viewer, an MKS (Mouse-Keyboard-Screen) viewer, a virtual MKS (Mouse-Keyboard-Screen) viewer, a RDP (Remote-Desktop-Protocol) viewer, an VNC (Virtual-Network-Computing) viewer, a WEB viewer, combinations thereof, and/or the like.", "According to an additional example, a user accessing the infrastructure management device-1 200 may launch an MKS viewer to an IT Device that actually is a virtual machine running on a VMware EXSi server, without requiring direct network access to the virtual machine itself.", "When the MKS viewer is requested by the user, the infrastructure management device-1 200 may start an authorized and authenticated session with the virtual machine using a VMware application installed directly on the infrastructure management device-1 200 and the MKS viewer may forward the mouse, keyboard and screen interactions to an HTML 5 javascript running on a user's workstation browser.", "In this example, no application may be installed on the user's workstation and the HTML 5 javascript may be rendered directly from the infrastructure management device to the user's browser offering the same user experience on different browser applications, workstations, mobile devices, combinations thereof, and/or the like.", "FIG.", "3 is an example flow diagram illustrating one of the various techniques for the discovering and/or configuring an IT device communicating with the infrastructure management system according to some of the various embodiments of the present invention.", "The discovery engine 310 may request, via 311, configuration information from a non-volatile data store 320.A typical response may comprise information about the discovery rules and discovery service, which may be provided by the data store 320 to the discovery engine 310 via 321.Discovery engine 310 may employ this information to initiate an interaction with IT device/IM device 330 via 312.Discovery engine 310 may also wait for an interaction initiated by the IT device/IM device 330 via 331.Discovery engine 310 may discover a new IT device/IM device 330 and/or may discover a new information about an existing IT device/IM device 330.The new device and/or the information update may be sent to data store 320 via 313 and the data store may reply with a notification status via 323.The communication via 313 may be executed in bulk and/or batch.", "The information entered into data store 320 may trigger via 322, a call to index service 350 inside index and search engine 340, which may cause an update via 351 to the index table 360.Once the information has being processed by the index service 350, it may send a notification status via 352 to data store 320.In another independent flow at FIG.", "3 and according to some of the various embodiments, configuration engine 370 may send, via 371, configuration information to data store 320 and the data store may reply with a notification status via 325.The communication via 371 may be executed in bulk and/or batch.", "The information entered into data store 320 may trigger, via 324, a call to index service 350 inside index and search engine 340, which may cause an update via 353 to the index table 360.Once information has been processed by the index service 350, the index service 350 may send a notification status via 354 to data store 320.FIG.", "4 is an additional example flow diagram illustrating one of the various techniques for the clustering and/or searching of an IT device communicating with the infrastructure management system according to some of the various embodiments of the present invention.", "Clustering engine 410 may request, via 411, configuration information from a non-volatile data store 420.A typical response may comprise information about this and other infrastructure management devices which may be configured to connect to the common secured cluster community via a communications interface.", "The configuration information may be provided by data store 420 to clustering engine 410 via 421.The clustering engine 410 may employ this information via 412 to initiate a new connection and/or keep a periodic interaction with at least one infrastructure management device at IT device/IM device 430.Response 431 may be employed to track the status and/or information of the clustering connection.", "This status/information of the clustering connection may be sent, via 413, to data store 420 and may be stored for future reference.", "The data store 420 may reply with a notification status via 423.The information entered into data store 420 may trigger, via 422, a call to index service 450 inside index and search engine 440, which may cause an update, via 451, to index table 460.Once information has been processed by index service 450, index service 450 may send a notification status, via 452, to data store 420.Alternatively, clustering engine 410 may share its local IT device index information, via 412, with other infrastructure management devices at IT Device/IM Device 430 that may be part of the clustering connection.", "Other infrastructure management devices may send their individual IT device index information, via 431, so that each infrastructure management device may have IT device index information of each other available locally.", "In another independent flow at FIG.", "4 and according to some of the various embodiments, search 480 may send search requests 481, which may use natural language search queries and/or other query formats and criteria, to index table 460 inside index and search engine 440.The search queries may be performed over locally available IT device index table 460.Search result 453 may be provided to search 480.Search 480 may employ the search result to request one or multiple actions 482 to action engine 470.The action commands 471 may be performed over IT devices/IM devices 430 and their action results 432 may be sent to action engine 470.The action engine 470 may also report action results 472 back to search 480.FIG.", "5 is an example block diagram of an infrastructure management device according to some aspects of various embodiments of the present invention.", "FIG.", "6 is an example flow diagram of configuring, discovering, indexing, clustering, and/or taking action(s) according to some aspects of various embodiments of the present invention.", "Some of the various embodiments may comprise an infrastructure management device 500.The infrastructure management device 500 may comprise at least one processor 501, memory 502, communication interface(s) 520 and other supporting hardware (e.g.", "electronic communications busses, controllers, non-transitory tangible machine readable medium readers, combinations thereof, and/or the like).", "Memory 502 may comprise a non-transitory tangible machine readable medium.", "The non-transitory tangible machine readable medium may comprise instructions configured to cause at least one processor 501 of the one or more processors to perform a process of configuring, discovering when enabled by the discovery enablement information, indexing IT device information into an IT device index, clustering the infrastructure management device when enabled by the clustering enablement information, exchanging IT device index information with other infrastructure management devices being clustered, searching IT device index information for a list of IT device information based on criteria and performing an action on IT device(s), determined at least in part, by IT device information.", "The communication interface(s) 520 may be configured to communicate with a multitude of IT devices/IM devices (511, 512 .", ".", ".", "519) over a network 590.The communications interfaces (520) may comprise, but not limited to, at least one of the following: at least 60 serial port interfaces, an RS-232 serial port, an RS-485 serial port, a Local Area Network (LAN), a Wide Area Network Area (WAN), a Virtual Private Network (VPN), a Wi-Fi wireless Network, an USB port, Bluetooth™, a combination of the above, and/or the like.", "The communication interface(s) 520 may further comprise a housing which may comprise at least one of the following: a one Rack-Unit (1 U) height mounted horizontally to the rack, a less than one Rack-Unit (<1 U) height mounted horizontally to the rack, and zero Rack-Unit (0 U) height mounted vertically to the rack, and/or the like.", "The network 590 may comprise, but is not limited to: the Internet, an intranet, a connection to the Internet, a private cloud, interconnected data centers, a multi-nodal network, two or more computing devices connected using a Virtual Private Network (VPN), an on-premise network, an RS-232 serial network, an RS-485 serial network, a local area network (LAN), a wide area network Area (WAN), a Wi-Fi wireless network, an USB port, a Bluetooth™, a combination thereof, and/or the like.", "The infrastructure management device 500 may comprise a multitude of infrastructure management devices 500 configured to cooperatively operate together.", "Examples of an infrastructure management device 500 may comprise, but are not limited to: a housing, at least 60 serial port interfaces, and at least one of the following: a system hardware with network access, a server, a compute node, a router, a switch, a firewall, a load balancer, a networking node, a storage node, a power node, a network appliance, a virtual appliance, a hosted module within a system, a combination thereof, and/or the like.", "According to some of the various embodiments, IT device(s) (511, 512 .", ".", ".", "519) may comprise at least one of the following: a server, a compute node, a router, a switch, a firewall, a load balancer, a networking node, a storage node, a power node, a cooling node, a storage appliance, a power appliance, a cooling appliance, a network appliance, a virtual appliance, a virtual machine, system hardware with network access, a hosted module within a system, a combination thereof, and/or the like.", "IT device(s) (511,512 .", ".", ".", "519) communicatively connected over communication interface(s) 520 may be configured at block 610.This configuration may be performed by, for example, a configuration module 530.The configuration may configure the IT device information, the discovery enablement, and clustering enablement 535.The configuration of IT device(s) information may be performed in numerous ways according to various embodiments.", "For example, an IT device information may be configured by making changes to a universally unique identifier, a virtual machine name, a hypervisor IP address, an alias IP address, a group or community identifier, a port identifier, a port range identifier, a serial port range, a serial port identifier, a serial port name, an IT device name, a power status, an action, a list of actions, a command, a hostname, an icon, an internet protocol address, a protocol type, a service processor type, a media access control address (MAC), a hierarchical organization, a connection status, a configuration parameter, a user defined field and value, a map address location, a group IT device parameters, a group of users' parameters, an IT device access rights parameter, a notification parameter, a data logging parameter, an alert parameters, an IT device initial status, a combination of the above, and/or the like.", "In a second example, a discovery enablement information may be configured by making changes to a configuration parameter, a multitude of parameters, an action, a multitude of actions, an IT device state, a combination of the above, and/or the like.", "In a third example, a clustering enablement information may be configured by making changes to a configuration parameter, a multitude of parameters, an action, a multitude of actions, an IT device state, a combination of the above, and/or the like.", "IT device(s) (511,512 .", ".", ".", "519) communicatively connected over communication interface(s) 520 may be discovered at block 620 when enabled by the discovery enablement information.", "This discovery may be performed by, for example, a discovery module 540.Discovering may define classes of communication methods, protocols and process used to discover the IT device information 545 of IT devices connected over a communication interface.", "Discovering may also, according to some of the various embodiments, be employed to identify possible mechanisms to interact back with IT device(s).", "Discovering may comprise determining if another of the multitude of IT devices (511, 512 .", ".", ".", "519) operates using a similar protocol.", "A protocol may comprise a system of digital rules for the exchange of data within or between computers.", "The rules may define format(s) for exchanging messages where some messages are configured to elicit a response from a range of possible responses pre-determined for that particular situation.", "A protocol may define the syntax, semantics, and synchronization of communication.", "Some specified behaviors may be independent of how an interface is implemented.", "A protocol may be implemented as hardware, software, or both.", "Some of the various communications protocols may be implemented according to one or more technical standards from organizations such as, but not limited to, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), and the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF).", "Discovering, according to some of the various embodiments, may further comprise determining if another of the multitude of IT devices (511, 512 .", ".", ".", "519) operates using a similar communication profile.", "Yet other discovering may comprise determining if another of the multitude of IT devices are the same class of IT device.", "Additionally, for example, IT device information may be discovered by interacting with at least one IT device connected to the serial port interface, listening to a communication from the at least one IT device, listening to an DHCP request from the at least one IT device, interacting with a communications processor associated with at least one IT device, interacting with a communications processor disposed within at least one IT device, interacting with a virtual machine hypervisor, interacting with a console server, interacting with a terminal server, interacting with an agent, interacting with a Configuration Management Database system, interacting with a data store system, interacting with another infrastructure management device, a combination of the above, and/or the like.", "IT device information of IT devices may be indexed into an IT device index at block 630.This indexing may be performed by, for example, an index module 550.The indexing of IT device information may be performed in numerous ways according to various embodiments.", "For example, indexing may be performed by collecting at least one IT device information for at least one of at least one IT device from the infrastructure management device, processing at least one IT device information for at least one of at least one IT device from the infrastructure management device, organizing at least one IT device information for at least one of at least one IT device from the infrastructure management device, updating the IT device index of the infrastructure management device, a combination of the above, and/or the like.", "In a second example, indexing may be performed by collecting at least one IT device information for at least one of at least one IT device from at least one of the at least one other infrastructure management device, processing at least one IT device information for at least one of at least one IT device from at least one of the at least one other infrastructure management device, organizing at least one IT device information for at least one of at least one IT device from at least one of the at least one other infrastructure management device, updating the IT device index of at least one of the at least one other infrastructure management device, a combination of the above, and/or the like.", "The result of the indexing may be stored into the IT device index 555.The IT device index may be performed in numerous ways according to various embodiments.", "For example, an IT device index may be performed by an in-memory data store, an on-disk data store, a local data store, a remote data store, a distributed data store, a replicated data store, a combination of the above, and/or the like.", "Clustering infrastructure management devices and exchanging IT device index information with other infrastructure management devices(s) may be performed at block 640.This clustering may be performed by, for example, a cluster module 560.The clustering of infrastructure management devices may be performed in numerous ways according to various embodiments.", "For example, a clustering may be performed by configuring one of the clustered infrastructure management devices to name and maintain a list of a multitude of infrastructure manager devices communicatively connected, configuring one of the clustered infrastructure management devices to define at least one credential for a multitude of infrastructure manager devices communicatively connected on at least one named list, configuring one of the clustered infrastructure management devices to define at least one SSL (Secure Socket Layer) certificate for the clustered infrastructure management devices communicatively connected on at least one named list, configuring one of the clustered infrastructure management devices to request a list of the clustered infrastructure management devices communicatively connected on at least one named list, configuring one of the clustered infrastructure management devices to interact to at least one of the clustered infrastructure management devices communicatively connected on at least one named list, providing at least one IT device information of the clustered infrastructure management devices communicatively connected on at least one named list, exchanging at least one IT device index of the clustered infrastructure management devices communicatively connected on at least one named list, a combination of the above, and/or the like.", "As a result of the clustering, the exchanged IT device index(es) 565 may be available on at least one infrastructure management device communicatively connected.", "Searching IT device index information for a list of IT device information based on criteria applied to the IT device index may be performed at block 650.This searching may be performed by, for example, a search module 570.The searching of IT device index information may be performed in numerous ways according to various embodiments.", "For example, a searching may be performed by conducting a natural language search which may return searched IT device(s) 575 in a tabular representation of the search result, a Web representation of the search results, an organizational tree representation of the search results, a graphical node representation of the search results, a geographic map representation of the search results, a command-line (CLI) representation of the search results, a combination of the above, and/or the like.", "Additionally, according to a further example, a criteria applied to the IT device index may be a query parameter, a source document index, a source field, a number of matching results to return, a sorting order, a Boolean logic, a filter, a range, a logical condition, an aggregation, a relevance, a combination of the above, and/or the like.", "Performing at least one action from possible actions on IT device(s), determined at least in part, by IT device information may be performed at block 660.This action may be performed by, for example, an action module 580.An IT device action(s) 585 may be an operation executed based on the searched IT devices.", "The IT device action(s) may be performed in numerous ways according to various embodiments.", "For example, an IT device action(s) may be performed by: executing at least one user defined command on at least one of the at least one IT device over at least one of the at least one communications interface, executing at least one user defined script on at least one of the at least one IT device over at least one of the at least one communications interface, executing at least one user defined program on at least one of the at least one IT device over at least one of the at least one communications interface, executing at least one user defined command on at least one of the at least one IT device locally, executing at least one user defined script on at least one of the at least one IT device locally, executing at least one user defined program on at least one of the at least one IT device locally, executing at least one user defined command on at least one of the at least one other infrastructure management device over the network, executing at least one user defined script on at least one of the at least one other infrastructure management device over the network, executing at least one user defined program on at least one of the at least one other infrastructure management device over the network, executing at least one user defined command on the infrastructure management device locally, executing at least one user defined script the infrastructure management device locally, executing at least one user defined program on the at least one infrastructure management device locally, performing a serial console connection over at least one of the at least one communications interface, performing a serial virtual machine console connection over at least one of the at least one communications interface, performing a SOL (Serial-Over-Lan) console connection over at least one of the at least one communications interface, performing a KVM (Keyboard-Video-Mouse) console connection over at least one of the at least one communications interface, performing a MKS(Mouse-Keyboard-Screen) virtual machine console connection over at least one of the at least one communications interface, performing a power command on at least one of the at least one IT device over at least one of the at least one communications interface, establishing a TCI/IP tunnel between the user's workstation and the infrastructure management device, performing access rights control on commands, performing data log collection on an IT device data session, performing alert and notification based on configuration and data log collection from at least one of the at least one IT device, performing authentication and authorization to a user based on at least on one of the following: command, user group and IT device, a combination of the above, and/or the like.", "In a second example, an IT device action(s) may be performed by: communicating with at least one of the at least one IT device order to verify a device IT state, communicating with at least one of the at least one IT device order to cause a change of the device IT state, a combination of the above, and/or the like.", "For further clarification, an IT device state may comprise of the following: an IT device power state, an IT device console session state, an IT device login credential state, an IT device configuration state, an IT device Operating System (OS) state, an IT device firmware state, an IT device hosted application state, a combination of the above, and/or the like.", "FIG.", "7 illustrates an example of a suitable computing system environment 700 on which aspects of some embodiments may be implemented.", "The computing system environment 700 is only one example of a suitable computing environment and is not intended to suggest any limitation as to the scope of use or functionality of the claimed subject matter.", "Neither should the computing environment 700 be interpreted as having any dependency or requirement relating to any one or combination of components illustrated in the exemplary operating environment 700.Embodiments are operational with numerous other general purpose or special purpose computing system environments or configurations.", "Examples of well-known computing systems, environments, and/or configurations that may be suitable for use with various embodiments include, but are not limited to, embedded computing systems, personal computers, server computers, hand-held or laptop devices, multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based systems, set top boxes, programmable consumer electronics, network PCs, minicomputers, mainframe computers, cloud services, telephony systems, distributed computing environments that include any of the above systems or devices, and the like.", "Embodiments may be described in the general context of computer-executable instructions, such as program modules, being executed by computing capable devices.", "Generally, program modules include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, etc.", "that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types.", "Some embodiments may be designed to be practiced in distributed computing environments where tasks are performed by remote processing devices that are linked through a communications network.", "In a distributed computing environment, program modules may be located in both local and remote computer storage media including memory storage devices.", "With reference to FIG.", "7, an example system for implementing some embodiments includes a computing device 710.Components of computer 710 may include, but are not limited to, a processing unit 720, a system memory 730, and a system bus 721 that couples various system components including the system memory to the processing unit 720.Computer 710 typically includes a variety of computer readable media.", "Computer readable media can be any available media that can be accessed by computer 710 and includes both volatile and nonvolatile media, and removable and non-removable media.", "By way of example, and not limitation, computer readable media may comprise computer storage media and communication media.", "Computer storage media includes both volatile and nonvolatile, and removable and non-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storage of information such as computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data.", "Computer storage media includes, but is not limited to, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory or other memory technology, compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), digital versatile disks (DVD) or other optical disk storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium which can be used to store the desired information and which can be accessed by computer 710.Communication media typically embodies computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data in a modulated data signal such as a carrier wave or other transport mechanism and includes any information delivery media.", "The term “modulated data signal” means a signal that has one or more of its characteristics set or changed in such a manner as to encode information in the signal.", "By way of example, and not limitation, communication media includes wired media such as a wired network or direct-wired connection, and wireless media such as acoustic, radio frequency (RF), infrared and other wireless media.", "Combinations of any of the above should also be included within the scope of computer readable media.", "The system memory 730 includes computer storage media in the form of volatile and/or nonvolatile memory such as ROM 731 and RAM 732.A basic input/output system 733 (BIOS), containing the basic routines that help to transfer information between elements within computer 710, such as during start-up, is typically stored in ROM 731.RAM 732 typically contains data and/or program modules that are immediately accessible to and/or presently being operated on by processing unit 720.By way of example, and not limitation, FIG.", "7 illustrates operating system 734, application programs 735, other program modules 736, and program data 737.The computer 710 may also include other removable/non-removable volatile/nonvolatile computer storage media.", "By way of example only, FIG.", "7 illustrates a hard disk drive 741 that reads from or writes to non-removable, nonvolatile magnetic media, a magnetic disk drive 751 that reads from or writes to a removable, nonvolatile magnetic disk 752, a flash drive reader 757 that reads flash drive 758, and an optical disk drive 755 that reads from or writes to a removable, nonvolatile optical disk 756 such as a CD ROM or other optical media.", "Other removable/non-removable, volatile/nonvolatile computer storage media that can be used in the exemplary operating environment include, but are not limited to, magnetic tape cassettes, flash memory cards, digital versatile disks, digital video tape, solid state RAM, solid state ROM, and the like.", "The hard disk drive 741 is typically connected to the system bus 721 through a non-removable memory interface such as interface 740, and magnetic disk drive 751 and optical disk drive 755 are typically connected to the system bus 721 by a removable memory interface, such as interface 750.The drives and their associated computer storage media discussed above and illustrated in FIG.", "7 provide storage of computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules and other data for the computer 710.In FIG.", "7, for example, hard disk drive 741 is illustrated as storing operating system 744, application programs 745, program data 747, and other program modules 746.Additionally, for example, non-volatile memory may include instructions to, for example, discover and configure IT device(s), the creation of device neutral user interface command(s), combinations thereof, and/or the like.", "A user may enter commands and information into the computer 710 through input devices such as a keyboard 762, a microphone 763, a camera 764, a touch screen 767, console 777 and a pointing device 761, such as a mouse, trackball or touch pad.", "These and other input devices are often connected to the processing unit 720 through a user input interface 760 that is coupled to the system bus, but may be connected by other interface and bus structures, such as a parallel port, game port or a universal serial bus (USB).", "A monitor 791 or other type of display device may also connected to the system bus 721 via an interface, such as a video interface 790.Other devices, such as, for example, speakers 797 and printer 796 may be connected to the system via peripheral interface 795.The computer 710 may also include other input/output devices such as serial ports 779, USB port(s) 768, sensors 778 and actuator(s) 776 that may be used to interact with IT devices.", "These and other input/output devices are often connected to the processing unit 720 through an Input/Output Interface (I/O I/F) 769 coupled to the system bus, but may also be connected by other interface and bus structures.", "Examples of the serial communication interfaces may comprise, but are not limited to: RS-232 serial port(s), and RS-485 serial port(s).", "Serial ports 779 may be implemented in many physical formats, such as, for example DB9, DB25, RJ11, RJ45, and twisted pair (like RS-422).", "The computer 710 may be operated in a networked environment using logical connections to one or more remote computers, such as a remote computer 780.The remote computer 780 may be a personal computer, a hand-held device, a server, a router, a network PC, a peer device or other common network node, and typically includes many or all of the elements described above relative to the computer 710.The logical connections depicted in FIG.", "7 include a local area network (LAN) 771 and a wide area network (WAN) 773, but may also include other networks.", "Such networking environments are commonplace in offices, enterprise-wide computer networks, intranets and the Internet.", "When used in a LAN networking environment, the computer 710 is connected to the LAN 771 through a network interface or adapter 770.When used in a WAN networking environment, the computer 710 typically includes a modem 772 or other means for establishing communications over the WAN 773, such as the Internet.", "The modem 772, which may be internal or external, may be connected to the system bus 721 via the user input interface 760, or other appropriate mechanism.", "The modem 772 may be wired or wireless.", "Examples of wireless devices may comprise, but are limited to: Wi-Fi and Bluetooth™.", "In a networked environment, program modules depicted relative to the computer 710, or portions thereof, may be stored in the remote memory storage device.", "By way of example, and not limitation, FIG.", "7 illustrates remote application programs 785 as residing on remote computer 780.It will be appreciated that the network connections shown are exemplary and other means of establishing a communications link between the computers may be used.", "Additionally, for example, LAN 771 and WAN 773 may provide a network interface to communicate with other distributed infrastructure management device(s), with IT device(s) (e.g.", "network disk drive 788), with users remotely accessing the User Input Interface 760, Input/Output Interface 769, combinations thereof, and/or the like.", "Although the subject matter has been described in language specific to structural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the subject matter defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above.", "Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.", "In this specification, “a” and “an” and similar phrases are to be interpreted as “at least one” and “one or more.” References to “an” embodiment in this disclosure are not necessarily to the same embodiment.", "Many of the elements described in the disclosed embodiments may be implemented as modules.", "A module is defined here as an isolatable element that performs a defined function and has a defined interface to other elements.", "The modules described in this disclosure may be implemented in hardware, a combination of hardware and software, firmware, wetware (i.e.", "hardware with a biological element) or a combination thereof, all of which are behaviorally equivalent.", "For example, modules may be implemented using computer hardware in combination with software routine(s) written in a computer language (Java, HTML, XML, PHP, Python, ActionScript, JavaScript, Ruby, Prolog, SQL, VBScript, Visual Basic, Perl, C, C++, Objective-C or the like).", "Additionally, it may be possible to implement modules using physical hardware that incorporates discrete or programmable analog, digital and/or quantum hardware.", "Examples of programmable hardware include: computers, microcontrollers, microprocessors, application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), and complex programmable logic devices (CPLDs).", "Computers, microcontrollers and microprocessors are programmed using languages such as assembly, C, C++ or the like.", "FPGAs, ASICs and CPLDs are often programmed using hardware description languages (HDL) such as VHSIC hardware description language (VHDL) or Verilog that configure connections between internal hardware modules with lesser functionality on a programmable device.", "Finally, it needs to be emphasized that the above mentioned technologies may be used in combination to achieve the result of a functional module.", "Some embodiments may employ processing hardware.", "Processing hardware may include one or more processors, computer equipment, embedded systems, machines a combination thereof, and/or the like.", "The processing hardware may be configured to execute instructions.", "The instructions may be stored on a machine-readable medium.", "According to some embodiments, the machine-readable medium (e.g.", "automated data medium) may be a medium configured to store data in a machine-readable format that may be accessed by an automated sensing device.", "Examples of machine-readable media include: magnetic disks, cards, tapes, and drums, flash memory, memory cards, electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), solid state drives, optical disks, barcodes, magnetic ink characters, a combination thereof, and/or the like.", "While various embodiments have been described above, it should be understood that they have been presented by way of example, and not limitation.", "It will be apparent to persons skilled in the relevant art(s) that various changes in form and detail can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope.", "In fact, after reading the above description, it will be apparent to one skilled in the relevant art(s) how to implement alternative embodiments.", "Thus, the present embodiments should not be limited by any of the above described exemplary embodiments.", "In particular, it should be noted that, for example purposes, the presently described embodiments are discussed with respect to a data center.", "However, one skilled in the art will recognize that embodiments may be employed to other collections of IT devices over, for example, a distributed network not confined by a single data center, a small collection of IT devices in an Intranet, combinations thereof, and/or the like.", "In addition, it should be understood that any figures that highlight any functionality and/or advantages, are presented for example purposes only.", "The disclosed architecture is sufficiently flexible and configurable, such that it may be utilized in ways other than that shown.", "For example, the steps listed in any flowchart may be re-ordered or only optionally used in some embodiments.", "Further, the purpose of the Abstract of the Disclosure is to enable the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the public generally, and especially the scientists, engineers and practitioners in the art who are not familiar with patent or legal terms or phraseology, to determine quickly from a cursory inspection the nature and essence of the technical disclosure of the application.", "The Abstract of the Disclosure is not intended to be limiting as to the scope in any way.", "Finally, it is the applicant's intent that only claims that include the express language “means for” or “step for” be interpreted under 35 U.S.C.", "112.Claims that do not expressly include the phrase “means for” or “step for” are not to be interpreted under 35 U.S.C.", "112." ] ]
Patent_15872952
[ [ "AUTONOMOUS MOBILE ROBOT AND MOVEMENT CONTROL METHOD", "A controller of a mobile object causes the mobile object to move by a first control amount corresponding to a first velocity absolute value and a first velocity direction.", "If the controller detects that first information indicating a first velocity of a first communication-partner mobile object is ceased to be received, the controller decides on a second control amount by which the mobile object is to be moved based on the first information that has already been received, the second control amount corresponding to a second velocity absolute value and a second velocity direction.", "The controller decides on, based on the first control amount and the second control amount, a third control amount corresponding to a third velocity absolute value and a third velocity direction, and causes the mobile object to move by switching from the first control amount to the third control amount." ], [ "1.An autonomous mobile robot that autonomously moves while communicating with a communication-partner autonomous mobile robot, comprising: a driver that drives the autonomous mobile robot; a controller that outputs a first control command to the driver, the first control command causing the autonomous mobile robot to move by a first control amount corresponding to any one of a set of a first movement distance and a first movement direction, a set of a first velocity absolute value and a first velocity direction, and a set of a first acceleration absolute value and a first acceleration direction; and a communicator that receives, from a first communication-partner autonomous mobile robot that is different from the autonomous mobile robot and forms a network together with the autonomous mobile robot, first information indicating any one of a first position, a first velocity, and a first acceleration of the first communication-partner autonomous mobile robot, wherein if the controller detects that the first information is ceased to be received by the communicator, the controller decides on a second control amount by which the autonomous mobile robot is to be moved based on the first information that has already been received, the second control amount corresponding to any one of a set of a second movement distance and a second movement direction, a set of a second velocity absolute value and a second velocity direction, and a set of a second acceleration absolute value and a second acceleration direction, the controller decides on, based on the first control amount and the second control amount, a third control amount corresponding to any one of a set of a third movement distance and a third movement direction, a set of a third velocity absolute value and a third velocity direction, and a set of a third acceleration absolute value and a third acceleration direction, and the controller generates a second control command and outputs the second control command to the driver, the second control command causing the autonomous mobile robot to move by switching from the first control amount to the third control amount.", "2.The autonomous mobile robot according to claim 1, wherein the first communication-partner autonomous mobile robot includes a plurality of first communication-partner autonomous mobile robots, and the communicator receives the first information from each of the plurality of first communication-partner autonomous mobile robots.", "3.The autonomous mobile robot according to claim 1, wherein the communicator further receives, from a second communication-partner autonomous mobile robot that is different from the autonomous mobile robot and the first communication-partner autonomous mobile robot and forms the network together with the autonomous mobile robot, second information indicating any one of a second position, a second velocity, and a second acceleration of the second communication-partner autonomous mobile robot, and if the controller detects that the first information is ceased to be received by the communicator, the controller decides on, based on the second information, the second control amount.", "4.The autonomous mobile robot according to claim 3, wherein the second communication-partner autonomous mobile robot includes a plurality of second communication-partner autonomous mobile robots, and the communicator receives the second information from each of the plurality of second communication-partner autonomous mobile robots.", "5.The autonomous mobile robot according to claim 1, wherein the controller obtains third information indicating a current position of the autonomous mobile robot, the controller calculates, based on the first information and the third information, a distance between the autonomous mobile robot and the first communication-partner autonomous mobile robot, and the controller decides on, based on the distance, the second control amount.", "6.The autonomous mobile robot according to claim 5, wherein the controller decreases the second movement distance, the second velocity absolute value, or the second acceleration absolute value as the distance decreases.", "7.The autonomous mobile robot according to claim 5, wherein the controller decreases the second movement distance, the second velocity absolute value, or the second acceleration absolute value as the distance increases.", "8.The autonomous mobile robot according to claim 1, wherein if the controller detects that the first information is ceased to be received by the communicator, the controller outputs a third control command to the driver after a predetermined time period elapses from when the second control command is output to the driver, the third control command causing the autonomous mobile robot to move by switching from the third control amount to the first control amount.", "9.The autonomous mobile robot according to claim 1, wherein the first information includes the first position, and if the controller detects that the first information is ceased to be received by the communicator, the controller determines whether or not a distance between the first position and a third position is equal to or less than a predetermined value, the third position being a position of the autonomous mobile robot after the second control command is output to the driver, and if the controller determines that the distance is equal to or less than the predetermined value, the controller outputs a third control command to the driver, the third control command causing the autonomous mobile robot to move by switching from the third control amount to the first control amount.", "10.The autonomous mobile robot according to claim 9, further comprising: a memory, wherein the communicator further receives, from a second communication-partner autonomous mobile robot that is different from the autonomous mobile robot and the first communication-partner autonomous mobile robot and forms the network together with the autonomous mobile robot, second information indicating any one of a second position, a second velocity, and a second acceleration of the second communication-partner autonomous mobile robot, the memory stores fourth information including the first information and the second information, and the controller updates the fourth information stored in the memory by deleting the first information from the fourth information after outputting the third control command to the driver.", "11.The autonomous mobile robot according to claim 10, wherein the controller causes the communicator to transmit the fourth information to the second communication-partner autonomous mobile robot after updating the fourth information.", "12.The autonomous mobile robot according to claim 1, wherein if the controller detects that the first information is ceased to be received by the communicator and then detects that the first information is restarted to be received by the communicator, the controller outputs a third control command to the driver, the third control command causing the autonomous mobile robot to move by switching from the third control amount to the first control amount.", "13.The autonomous mobile robot according to claim 12, wherein the first communication-partner autonomous mobile robot includes a plurality of first communication-partner autonomous mobile robots, and the communicator receives the first information again from each of the plurality of first communication-partner autonomous mobile robots.", "14.The autonomous mobile robot according to claim 3, further comprising: a memory that stores fourth information including the first information and the second information, wherein after the second communication-partner autonomous mobile robot updates fifth information that includes information indicating the autonomous mobile robot and information indicating a third communication-partner autonomous mobile robot by deleting the information indicating the third communication-partner autonomous mobile robot from the fifth information, the second communication-partner autonomous mobile robot transmits the fifth information to the autonomous mobile robot, the communicator receives the fifth information from the second communication-partner autonomous mobile robot, and the controller updates the fourth information stored in the memory to the fifth information.", "15.The autonomous mobile robot according to claim 14, wherein the third communication-partner autonomous mobile robot is the first communication-partner autonomous mobile robot.", "16.The autonomous mobile robot according to claim 1, wherein the communicator further receives, from a second communication-partner autonomous mobile robot that is different from the autonomous mobile robot and the first communication-partner autonomous mobile robot and forms the network together with the autonomous mobile robot, second information indicating any one of a second position, a second velocity, and a second acceleration of the second communication-partner autonomous mobile robot, the controller decides on, based on the second information, a fourth control amount corresponding to any one of a set of a fourth movement distance and a fourth movement direction, a set of a fourth velocity absolute value and a fourth velocity direction, and a set of a fourth acceleration absolute value and a fourth acceleration direction, and the controller updates, based on the fourth control amount, the first control amount.", "17.The autonomous mobile robot according to claim 16, wherein the second information includes the second position, and the controller decides on, based on a distance calculated from a current position of the autonomous mobile robot and the second position, the fourth control amount.", "18.The autonomous mobile robot according to claim 17, wherein the controller decreases the fourth movement distance, the fourth velocity absolute value, or the fourth acceleration absolute value as the distance decreases.", "19.The autonomous mobile robot according to claim 17, wherein the controller increases the fourth movement distance, the fourth velocity absolute value, or the fourth acceleration absolute value as the distance decreases.", "20.The autonomous mobile robot according to claim 1, further comprising: a memory that stores a movement path of the autonomous mobile robot, wherein the controller decides on, based on a fourth control amount corresponding to any one of a set of a fourth movement distance and a fourth movement direction, a set of a fourth velocity absolute value and a fourth velocity direction, and a set of a fourth acceleration absolute value and a fourth acceleration direction, the first control amount, the fourth movement distance, the fourth velocity absolute value, or the fourth acceleration absolute value is a predetermined value, and the fourth movement direction, the fourth velocity direction, or the fourth acceleration direction is opposite to a movement direction specified by the movement path.", "21.A movement control method for an autonomous mobile robot that autonomously moves while communicating with a communication-partner autonomous mobile robot, comprising: outputting a first control command that causes the autonomous mobile robot to move by a first control amount corresponding to any one of a set of a first movement distance and a first movement direction, a set of a first velocity absolute value and a first velocity direction, and a set of a first acceleration absolute value and a first acceleration direction; receiving, from a first communication-partner autonomous mobile robot that is different from the autonomous mobile robot and forms a network together with the autonomous mobile robot, first information indicating any one of a first position, a first velocity, and a first acceleration of the first communication-partner autonomous mobile robot; if a detection is made that the first information is ceased to be received, deciding on a second control amount by which the autonomous mobile robot is to be moved based on the first information that has already been received, the second control amount corresponding to any one of a set of a second movement distance and a second movement direction, a set of a second velocity absolute value and a second velocity direction, and a set of a second acceleration absolute value and a second acceleration direction; deciding on, based on the first control amount and the second control amount, a third control amount corresponding to any one of a set of a third movement distance and a third movement direction, a set of a third velocity absolute value and a third velocity direction, and a set of a third acceleration absolute value and a third acceleration direction; and generating and outputting a second control command that causes the autonomous mobile robot to move by switching from the first control amount to the third control amount." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND <EOH>" ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY <EOH>In the configuration according to the related art, however, a mobile object that moves to restore communication and a mobile object that does not move to restore communication do not cooperate with each other, and thus communication is not restored.", "Furthermore, another communication cutoff may occur.", "In one general aspect, the techniques disclosed here feature an autonomous mobile robot that autonomously moves while communicating with a communication-partner autonomous mobile robot.", "The autonomous mobile robot includes a driver that drives the autonomous mobile robot; a controller that outputs a first control command to the driver, the first control command causing the autonomous mobile robot to move by a first control amount corresponding to any one of a set of a first movement distance and a first movement direction, a set of a first velocity absolute value and a first velocity direction, and a set of a first acceleration absolute value and a first acceleration direction; and a communicator that receives, from a first communication-partner autonomous mobile robot that is different from the autonomous mobile robot and forms a network together with the autonomous mobile robot, first information indicating any one of a first position, a first velocity, and a first acceleration of the first communication-partner autonomous mobile robot.", "If the controller detects that the first information is ceased to be received by the communicator, the controller decides on a second control amount by which the autonomous mobile robot is to be moved based on the first information that has already been received, the second control amount corresponding to any one of a set of a second movement distance and a second movement direction, a set of a second velocity absolute value and a second velocity direction, and a set of a second acceleration absolute value and a second acceleration direction.", "The controller decides on, based on the first control amount and the second control amount, a third control amount corresponding to any one of a set of a third movement distance and a third movement direction, a set of a third velocity absolute value and a third velocity direction, and a set of a third acceleration absolute value and a third acceleration direction.", "The controller generates a second control command and outputs the second control command to the driver, the second control command causing the autonomous mobile robot to move by switching from the first control amount to the third control amount.", "These general and specific aspects may be implemented using a system, a method, and a computer program, and any combination of systems, methods, and computer programs.", "According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, an autonomous mobile robot and a communication-partner autonomous mobile robot eventually move in cooperation with each other, and accordingly both restoration of communication between the robots and a movement of the autonomous mobile robot for an original purpose can be achieved.", "Additional benefits and advantages of the disclosed embodiments will become apparent from the specification and drawings.", "The benefits and/or advantages may be individually obtained by the various embodiments and features of the specification and drawings, which need not all be provided in order to obtain one or more of such benefits and/or advantages." ], [ "BACKGROUND 1.Technical Field The present disclosure relates to an autonomous mobile robot that autonomously moves and a movement control method for controlling a movement of the autonomous mobile robot.", "2.Description of the Related Art As the related art regarding a method for controlling movements of a plurality of mobile objects that form an ad hoc network when the communication between some or all of the mobile objects is cut off, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No.", "2004-165964 (hereinafter referred to as PTL 1) discloses the following technique.", "That is, if the communication between an ad hoc network and a mobile object belonging to a mobile object group is cut off, the mobile object moves in a reverse direction, in a direction toward another mobile object that the mobile object was communicating with before the cutoff, in a direction toward the center of the entire mobile object group, or in a direction toward a position where the mobile object is estimated to be able to restore communication on the basis of change in positions of nodes other than the mobile object before the cutoff.", "PTL 1 also discloses a technique in which, if the communication between an ad hoc network and a mobile object belonging to a mobile object group is cut off, all mobile objects belonging to the mobile object group move toward the center of the entire group.", "PTL 1 further discloses a technique in which, if the communication between an ad hoc network and a mobile object belonging to a mobile object group is cut off, another mobile object capable of moving to a position where the mobile object was located before the cutoff (cutoff position) is selected from the mobile object group, and the selected mobile object moves toward the cutoff position.", "SUMMARY In the configuration according to the related art, however, a mobile object that moves to restore communication and a mobile object that does not move to restore communication do not cooperate with each other, and thus communication is not restored.", "Furthermore, another communication cutoff may occur.", "In one general aspect, the techniques disclosed here feature an autonomous mobile robot that autonomously moves while communicating with a communication-partner autonomous mobile robot.", "The autonomous mobile robot includes a driver that drives the autonomous mobile robot; a controller that outputs a first control command to the driver, the first control command causing the autonomous mobile robot to move by a first control amount corresponding to any one of a set of a first movement distance and a first movement direction, a set of a first velocity absolute value and a first velocity direction, and a set of a first acceleration absolute value and a first acceleration direction; and a communicator that receives, from a first communication-partner autonomous mobile robot that is different from the autonomous mobile robot and forms a network together with the autonomous mobile robot, first information indicating any one of a first position, a first velocity, and a first acceleration of the first communication-partner autonomous mobile robot.", "If the controller detects that the first information is ceased to be received by the communicator, the controller decides on a second control amount by which the autonomous mobile robot is to be moved based on the first information that has already been received, the second control amount corresponding to any one of a set of a second movement distance and a second movement direction, a set of a second velocity absolute value and a second velocity direction, and a set of a second acceleration absolute value and a second acceleration direction.", "The controller decides on, based on the first control amount and the second control amount, a third control amount corresponding to any one of a set of a third movement distance and a third movement direction, a set of a third velocity absolute value and a third velocity direction, and a set of a third acceleration absolute value and a third acceleration direction.", "The controller generates a second control command and outputs the second control command to the driver, the second control command causing the autonomous mobile robot to move by switching from the first control amount to the third control amount.", "These general and specific aspects may be implemented using a system, a method, and a computer program, and any combination of systems, methods, and computer programs.", "According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, an autonomous mobile robot and a communication-partner autonomous mobile robot eventually move in cooperation with each other, and accordingly both restoration of communication between the robots and a movement of the autonomous mobile robot for an original purpose can be achieved.", "Additional benefits and advantages of the disclosed embodiments will become apparent from the specification and drawings.", "The benefits and/or advantages may be individually obtained by the various embodiments and features of the specification and drawings, which need not all be provided in order to obtain one or more of such benefits and/or advantages.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG.", "1 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of an overall ad hoc network formed of a plurality of mobile objects; FIG.", "2 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of an overall ad hoc network group formed of a plurality of mobile objects in a case where one mobile object fails in the ad hoc network; FIG.", "3 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of an overall ad hoc network group formed of a plurality of mobile objects in a case where direct communication between first and second mobile objects and a third mobile object is cut off; FIG.", "4 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of an overall ad hoc network group formed of a plurality of mobile objects in a case where a first mobile object becomes too far from a second mobile object and direct communication between the first mobile object and the second mobile object is cut off; FIG.", "5 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of an overall ad hoc network group formed of a plurality of mobile objects in a case where a fourth technique disclosed in PTL 1 is applied in an ad hoc network group; FIG.", "6 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an overall ad hoc network formed of a plurality of mobile objects according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG.", "7 illustrates an overview of a mobile object according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG.", "8 is a block diagram illustrating the functional configuration of the mobile object according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG.", "9 is a diagram illustrating an example of information stored in a storage unit of the mobile object according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG.", "10 is a diagram illustrating an example of own-mobile-object information stored in the storage unit of the mobile object according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG.", "11 is a diagram illustrating an example of other-mobile-object information stored in the storage unit of the mobile object according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG.", "12 is a flowchart illustrating an overall operation of movement control of the mobile object according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG.", "13 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of a basic movement vector group according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG.", "14 is a conceptual diagram illustrating mobile objects belonging to a known group and mobile objects belonging to an unknown group in a case where one mobile object fails in the first embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG.", "15 is a conceptual diagram illustrating mobile objects belonging to a known group and mobile objects belonging to an unknown group in a case where one mobile object fails in the first embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG.", "16 is a diagram illustrating an example of a method for deciding on a target position and the target position decided on by using the method in each mobile object in a case where one mobile object fails in the first embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG.", "17 is a diagram illustrating an example of a method for deciding on a target position and the target position decided on by using the method in each mobile object in a case where one mobile object fails in the first embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG.", "18 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of communication restoration vectors of mobile objects in a case where one mobile object fails in the first embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG.", "19 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of communication restoration vectors of mobile objects in a case where one mobile object fails in the first embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG.", "20 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of a method for deciding on an actual movement vector in a mobile object in a case where one mobile object fails in the first embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG.", "21 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of actual movement vectors of mobile objects in a case where one mobile object fails in the first embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG.", "22 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of communication restoration vectors of mobile objects in the situation illustrated in FIG.", "3 in the first embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG.", "23 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of a communication restoration vector of a mobile object in the situation illustrated in FIG.", "3 in the first embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG.", "24 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of communication restoration vectors of mobile objects in the situation illustrated in FIG.", "3 in the first embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG.", "25 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of actual movement vectors of mobile objects in the situation illustrated in FIG.", "3 in the first embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG.", "26 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of communication restoration vectors that are decided on by mobile objects in the situation illustrated in FIG.", "4 in the first embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG.", "27 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of a communication restoration vector that is decided on by mobile object in the situation illustrated in FIG.", "4 in the first embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG.", "28 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of actual movement vectors of mobile objects in the situation illustrated in FIG.", "4 in the first embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG.", "29 is a flowchart illustrating an overall operation of movement control of a mobile object according to a second embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG.", "30 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of communication restoration vectors of mobile objects in a case where one mobile object fails in the second embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG.", "31 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of communication restoration vectors of mobile objects in a case where one mobile object fails in the second embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG.", "32 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of a method for deciding on an actual movement vector in a mobile object in a case where one mobile object fails in the second embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG.", "33 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of actual movement vectors of mobile objects in a case where one mobile object fails in the second embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG.", "34 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of communication restoration vectors of mobile objects in the situation illustrated in FIG.", "3 in the second embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG.", "35 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of a communication restoration vector of a mobile object in the situation illustrated in FIG.", "3 in the second embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG.", "36 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of communication restoration vectors of mobile objects in the situation illustrated in FIG.", "3 in the second embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG.", "37 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of actual movement vectors of mobile objects in the situation illustrated in FIG.", "3 in the second embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG.", "38 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of communication restoration vectors that are decided on by mobile objects in the situation illustrated in FIG.", "4 in the second embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG.", "39 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of a communication restoration vector that is decided on by a mobile object in the situation illustrated in FIG.", "4 in the second embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG.", "40 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of actual movement vectors of mobile objects in the situation illustrated in FIG.", "4 in the second embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG.", "41 is a diagram illustrating an example of information stored in the storage unit of the mobile object according to a third embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG.", "42 is a diagram illustrating an example of own-mobile-object information stored in the storage unit of the mobile object according to the third embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG.", "43 is a diagram illustrating an example of other-mobile-object information stored in the storage unit of the mobile object according to the third embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG.", "44 is a first flowchart illustrating an overall operation of movement control of the mobile object according to the third embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG.", "45 is a second flowchart illustrating the overall operation of movement control of the mobile object according to the third embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG.", "46 is a conceptual diagram for describing a method for deciding on a repulsion vector, an approach vector, and a communication maintaining movement vector in a mobile object in a case where one mobile object fails in the third embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG.", "47 is a conceptual diagram for describing a method for deciding on a repulsion vector, an approach vector, and a communication maintaining movement vector in a mobile object in a case where one mobile object fails in the third embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG.", "48 is a conceptual diagram for describing a method for deciding on a repulsion vector, an approach vector, and a communication maintaining movement vector in a mobile object in a case where one mobile object fails in the third embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG.", "49 is a conceptual diagram for describing a method for deciding on a repulsion vector, an approach vector, and a communication maintaining movement vector in a mobile object in a case where one mobile object fails in the third embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG.", "50 is a conceptual diagram for describing a method for deciding on a repulsion vector, an approach vector, and a communication maintaining movement vector in a mobile object in a case where one mobile object fails in the third embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG.", "51 is a conceptual diagram for describing a method for deciding on a repulsion vector, an approach vector, and a communication maintaining movement vector in a mobile object in a case where one mobile object fails in the third embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG.", "52 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of a second basic movement vector group in the third embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG.", "53 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of communication restoration vectors of mobile objects in a case where one mobile object fails in the third embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG.", "54 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of communication restoration vectors of mobile objects in a case where one mobile object fails in the third embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG.", "55 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of a method for deciding on an actual movement vector in a mobile object in a case where one mobile object fails in the third embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG.", "56 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of actual movement vectors of mobile objects in a case where one mobile object fails in the third embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG.", "57 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of communication restoration vectors of mobile objects in the situation illustrated in FIG.", "3 in the third embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG.", "58 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of a communication restoration vector of a mobile object in the situation illustrated in FIG.", "3 in the third embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG.", "59 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of communication restoration vectors of mobile objects in the situation illustrated in FIG.", "3 in the third embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG.", "60 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of actual movement vectors of mobile objects in the situation illustrated in FIG.", "3 in the third embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG.", "61 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of communication restoration vectors that are decided on by mobile objects in the situation illustrated in FIG.", "4 in the third embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG.", "62 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of a communication restoration vector of a mobile object in the situation illustrated in FIG.", "4 in the third embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG.", "63 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of actual movement vectors of mobile objects in the situation illustrated in FIG.", "4 in the third embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG.", "64 is a diagram illustrating an example of information stored in the storage unit of the mobile object according to a fourth embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG.", "65 is a diagram illustrating an example of own-mobile-object information stored in the storage unit of the mobile object according to the fourth embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG.", "66 is a flowchart illustrating an overall operation of movement control of the mobile object according to the fourth embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG.", "67 is a conceptual diagram for describing a method for deciding on a communication maintaining movement vector in a mobile object in a case where one mobile object fails in the fourth embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG.", "68 is a conceptual diagram for describing a method for deciding on a communication maintaining movement vector in a mobile object in a case where one mobile object fails in the fourth embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG.", "69 is a conceptual diagram for describing a method for deciding on a communication maintaining movement vector in a mobile object in a case where one mobile object fails in the fourth embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG.", "70 is a conceptual diagram for describing a method for deciding on a communication maintaining movement vector in a mobile object in a case where one mobile object fails in the fourth embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG.", "71 is a conceptual diagram for describing a method for deciding on a communication maintaining movement vector in a mobile object in a case where one mobile object fails in the fourth embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG.", "72 is a conceptual diagram for describing a method for deciding on a communication maintaining movement vector in a mobile object in a case where one mobile object fails in the fourth embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG.", "73 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of a second basic movement vector group in the fourth embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG.", "74 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of communication restoration vectors of mobile objects in a case where one mobile object fails in the fourth embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG.", "75 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of communication restoration vectors of mobile objects in a case where one mobile object fails in the fourth embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG.", "76 is a conceptual diagram for describing a method for deciding on an actual movement vector in a mobile object in a case where one mobile object fails in the fourth embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG.", "77 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of actual movement vectors of mobile objects in a case where one mobile object fails in the fourth embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG.", "78 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of communication restoration vectors of mobile objects in the situation illustrated in FIG.", "3 in the fourth embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG.", "79 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of a communication restoration vector of a mobile object in the situation illustrated in FIG.", "3 in the fourth embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG.", "80 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of communication restoration vectors of mobile objects in the situation illustrated in FIG.", "3 in the fourth embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG.", "81 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of actual movement vectors of mobile objects in the situation illustrated in FIG.", "3 in the fourth embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG.", "82 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of communication restoration vectors that are decided on by mobile objects in the situation illustrated in FIG.", "4 in the fourth embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG.", "83 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of a communication restoration vector of a mobile object in the situation illustrated in FIG.", "4 in the fourth embodiment of the present disclosure; and FIG.", "84 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of actual movement vectors of mobile objects in the situation illustrated in FIG.", "4 in the fourth embodiment of the present disclosure.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION Underlying Knowledge Forming Basis of the Present Disclosure There is a technique related to an ad hoc network in which a plurality of mobile objects, each having a communication function, communicate with each other directly or indirectly via communication between other mobile objects (see, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No.", "2004-165964, hereinafter referred to as PTL 1).", "In an ad hoc network formed of a plurality of mobile objects, if one or some of the mobile objects fail or become too far from another mobile object, the communication between some or all of the mobile objects in the ad hoc network may be cut off, and the ad hoc network may be fractured.", "PTL 1 discloses a technique for restoring the fractured ad hoc network in such a case.", "Specifically, PTL 1 discloses a first technique in which, if the communication between an ad hoc network and a mobile object belonging to a mobile object group is cut off, the mobile object moves in a reverse direction, in a direction toward another mobile object that the mobile object was communicating with before the cutoff, in a direction toward the center of the entire mobile object group, or in a direction toward a position where the mobile object is estimated to be able to restore communication on the basis of change in positions of nodes other than the mobile object before the cutoff.", "However, the first technique disclosed in PTL 1 is applicable only to a case where the communication between the ad hoc network and only one mobile object is cut off.", "The first technique does not have any suggestions about a case where the communication between the ad hoc network and two or more mobile objects is cut off, and is not applicable as is to the case.", "For example, the situation illustrated in FIG.", "1 is assumed.", "FIG.", "1 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of an overall ad hoc network formed of a plurality of mobile objects.", "In FIG.", "1, an ad hoc network 2 is formed of mobile objects 201 to 207, each having a communication function.", "A solid line between circles that represent mobile objects indicates that the mobile objects are capable of directly communicating with each other.", "In the figures illustrating an ad hoc network, a circle represents a mobile object, and a solid line between circles indicates that the mobile objects represented by the circles are capable of directly communicating with each other.", "The mobile objects 201 and 202 are capable of directly communicating with each other, the mobile objects 202 and 203 are capable of directly communicating with each other, the mobile objects 202 and 204 are capable of directly communicating with each other, the mobile objects 203 and 204 are capable of directly communicating with each other, the mobile objects 204 and 205 are capable of directly communicating with each other, the mobile objects 205 and 206 are capable of directly communicating with each other, and the mobile objects 206 and 207 are capable of directly communicating with each other.", "The mobile objects 201 to 207 are each capable of relaying communication between other mobile objects.", "Thus, for example, the mobile objects 201 and 207 are capable of indirectly communicating with each other via relayed communication along a path including the mobile objects 202, 204, 205, and 206 or a path including the mobile objects 202, 203, 204, 205, and 206.FIG.", "2 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of an overall ad hoc network group formed of a plurality of mobile objects in a case where the mobile object 205 in the ad hoc network 2 illustrated in FIG.", "1 fails.", "In FIG.", "2, the same elements as those in FIG.", "1 are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will not be given.", "If the mobile object 205 fails in the ad hoc network 2, the direct communication between the mobile objects 205 and 204 and the direct communication between the mobile objects 205 and 206 are cut off, and accordingly the ad hoc network 2 changes to an ad hoc network group 3.In the ad hoc network group 3, when viewed from each of the mobile objects 201 to 204, the communication (through the ad hoc network) with each of the mobile objects 205 to 207 is cut off, and when viewed from each of the mobile objects 205 to 207, the communication (through the ad hoc network) with each of the mobile objects 201 to 204 is cut off.", "In this case, when viewed from each mobile object, there are two or more mobile objects disconnected from the ad hoc network to which the mobile object belongs, and thus the above-described first technique disclosed in PTL 1 is not applicable.", "Another case is assumed in which the mobile objects 201 to 204 move to the left in FIG.", "1 and the mobile objects 206 and 207 move to the right in FIG.", "1 in the ad hoc network 2, so that the mobile objects 204 and 206 become too far from the mobile object 205 and become incapable of directly communicating with the mobile object 205.FIG.", "3 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of an overall ad hoc network group formed of a plurality of mobile objects in a case where the mobile objects 201 to 204 move to the left in FIG.", "1 and the mobile objects 206 and 207 move to the right in FIG.", "1 in the ad hoc network 2, so that the mobile objects 204 and 206 become too far from the mobile object 205 and become incapable of directly communicating with the mobile object 205.In FIG.", "3, the same elements as those in FIG.", "1 are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will not be given.", "In the ad hoc network 2, if the mobile objects 201 to 204 move to the left in FIG.", "1 and the mobile objects 206 and 207 move to the right in FIG.", "1 and if the mobile objects 204 and 206 become too far from the mobile object 205 and become incapable of directly communicating with the mobile object 205, the ad hoc network 2 changes to an ad hoc network group 4.In FIG.", "3, an empty arrow roughly indicates a movement direction of each mobile object.", "In the figures, such an empty arrow is used to roughly indicate a movement direction of a mobile object.", "In the ad hoc network group 4, the mobile object 205 is capable of detecting that the mobile object 205 has been disconnected from the ad hoc network.", "However, even if the mobile object 205 moves by applying the first technique disclosed in PTL 1, the direct communication with a mobile object belonging to one of a group of the mobile objects 201 to 204 and a group of the mobile objects 206 and 207 is restored at best and it is impossible to restore the direct communication with a mobile object belonging to the other group, as long as the group of the mobile objects 201 to 204 and the group of the mobile objects 206 and 207 continue to move away from each other.", "Another case is assumed in which the mobile objects 201 to 206 move in a lower-left direction in FIG.", "1 in the ad hoc network 2, so that the mobile object 206 becomes too far from the mobile object 207 and becomes incapable of directly communicating with the mobile object 207.FIG.", "4 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of an overall ad hoc network group formed of a plurality of mobile objects in a case where the mobile objects 201 to 206 move in a lower-left direction in FIG.", "1 in the ad hoc network 2, so that the mobile object 206 becomes too far from the mobile object 207 and becomes incapable of directly communicating with the mobile object 207.In FIG.", "4, the same elements as those in FIG.", "1 are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will not be given.", "In the ad hoc network 2, if the mobile objects 201 to 206 move in a lower-left direction in FIG.", "1 and if the mobile object 206 becomes too far from the mobile object 207 and becomes incapable of directly communicating with the mobile object 207, the ad hoc network 2 changes to an ad hoc network group 5.In the ad hoc network group 5, the mobile object 207 is capable of detecting that the mobile object 207 has been disconnected from the ad hoc network.", "However, even if the mobile object 207 moves by applying the first technique disclosed in PTL 1, the direct communication with the mobile objects 201 to 206 is unlikely to be restored because the mobile objects 201 to 206 do not necessarily exist in the movement direction of the mobile object 207.Even if the mobile objects 201 to 206 exist in the movement direction of the mobile object 207, the mobile objects 201 to 206 continue to move away from the mobile object 207, and thus the mobile object 207 is unlikely to catch up with the mobile objects 201 to 206 and is unlikely to restore the direct communication with the mobile objects 201 to 206.Hereinafter, these issues will be discussed with reference to FIG.", "4.FIG.", "4 illustrates a movement path 501, which is a path along which the mobile object 207 moves while the situation in FIG.", "1 changes to the situation in FIG.", "4.FIG.", "4 also illustrates a movement path 502, which is a path along which the mobile object 206, which was communicating with the mobile object 207 until just a short while ago, actually moves while the situation in FIG.", "1 changes to the situation in FIG.", "4.Now, a description will be given of, in the first technique disclosed in PTL 1, the case of using a technique in which, if the communication between an ad hoc network and a mobile object is cut off, the mobile object moves in a reverse direction.", "If the communication between the ad hoc network and the mobile object 207 that is moving to the right in FIG.", "4 is cut off, the mobile object 207 starts moving to the left in FIG.", "4 to restore the communication.", "However, the mobile objects 201 to 206 do not exist in the movement direction, that is, the mobile objects 201 to 206 continue to move in a lower-left direction in FIG.", "4, and thus the mobile object 207 is incapable of approaching the mobile objects 201 to 206 and is incapable of restoring the direct communication therewith.", "Even if the mobile objects 201 to 206 exist in the movement direction of the mobile object 207, the mobile object 207 is incapable of catching up with the mobile objects 201 to 206 and is incapable of restoring the direct communication therewith because the mobile objects 201 to 206 continue to move away from the mobile object 207.Next, a description will be given of, in the first technique disclosed in PTL 1, the case of using a technique in which, if the communication between an ad hoc network and a mobile object is cut off, the mobile object moves in a direction toward another mobile object that the mobile object was communicating with before the cutoff.", "If the communication between the ad hoc network and the mobile object 207 that is communicating with the mobile object 206 is cut off, the mobile object 207 moves toward the position of the mobile object 206.Here, it is assumed that the mobile object 206 moves along the actual movement path 502 and that the mobile object 206 is at a position 503 in FIG.", "4 at the point of time when the direct communication between the mobile objects 207 and 206 is cut off.", "In this case, the mobile object 207 starts moving toward the position 503.However, the mobile objects 201 to 206 do not exist in the movement direction, that is, the mobile objects 201 to 206 continue to move in a lower-left direction in FIG.", "4, and thus the mobile object 207 is incapable of approaching the mobile objects 201 to 206 and is incapable of restoring the direct communication therewith.", "Even if the mobile objects 201 to 206 exist in the movement direction of the mobile object 207, the mobile object 207 is incapable of catching up with the mobile objects 201 to 206 and is incapable of restoring the direct communication therewith because the mobile objects 201 to 206 continue to move away from the mobile object 207.Next, a description will be given of, in the first technique disclosed in PTL 1, the case of using a technique in which, if the communication between an ad hoc network and a mobile object is cut off, the mobile object moves in a direction toward the center of an entire mobile object group.", "Here, it is assumed that the center of the entire mobile object group is at a center position 504 in FIG.", "4 at the point of time when the direct communication between the mobile objects 207 and 206 is cut off.", "In this case, the mobile object 207 disconnected from the ad hoc network starts moving toward the center position 504.However, the mobile objects 201 to 206 do not exist in the movement direction, that is, the mobile objects 201 to 206 continue to move in a lower-left direction in FIG.", "4, and thus the mobile object 207 is incapable of approaching the mobile objects 201 to 206 and is incapable of restoring the direct communication therewith.", "Even if the mobile objects 201 to 206 exist in the movement direction of the mobile object 207, the mobile object 207 is incapable of catching up with the mobile objects 201 to 206 and is incapable of restoring the direct communication therewith because the mobile objects 201 to 206 continue to move away from the mobile object 207.Next, a description will be given of, in the first technique disclosed in PTL 1, the case of using a technique in which, if the communication between an ad hoc network and a mobile object is cut off, the mobile object moves in a direction toward a position where the mobile object is estimated to be able to restore the communication on the basis of change in positions of nodes other than the mobile object before the cutoff.", "The mobile object 207 disconnected from the ad hoc network first decides on a predicted position that is based on change in positions of nodes other than the mobile object 207 before the cutoff.", "Here, the mobile object 207 estimates a current position of the mobile object 206 on the basis of change in the position of the mobile object 206 that was communicating with the mobile object 207 until just a short while ago, and decides on the estimated current position as a position where the communication can be restored.", "At the point of time when the direct communication between the mobile objects 207 and 206 is cut off, the mobile object 206 has reached the position 503 after moving along the actual movement path 502.Thus, the mobile object 207 estimates that the mobile object 206 is currently at a predicted position 506 in FIG.", "4, which is on a line extending from the position 503 and which is based on change in positions of nodes other than the mobile object 207 just before the cutoff.", "In this case, the mobile object 207 starts moving toward the predicted position 506.However, the mobile objects 201 to 206 do not exist in the movement direction, that is, the mobile objects 201 to 206 continue to move in a lower-left direction in FIG.", "4, and thus the mobile object 207 is incapable of approaching the mobile objects 201 to 206 and is incapable of restoring the direct communication therewith.", "Even if the mobile objects 201 to 206 exist in the movement direction of the mobile object 207, the mobile object 207 is incapable of catching up with the mobile objects 201 to 206 and is incapable of restoring the direct communication therewith because the mobile objects 201 to 206 continue to move away from the mobile object 207.Accordingly, PTL 1 discloses a second technique in which, if the communication between an ad hoc network and a mobile object belonging to a mobile object group is cut off, movements of all the other mobile objects that form the ad hoc network are stopped while the mobile object moves in a reverse direction, in a direction toward another mobile object that the mobile object was communicating with before the cutoff, in a direction toward the center of the mobile object group, or in a direction toward a position where the mobile object is estimated to be able to restore communication on the basis of change in positions of nodes other than the mobile object before the cutoff.", "However, if the second technique disclosed in PTL 1 is applied, the mobile object disconnected from the ad hoc network moves to restore communication whereas all the other mobile objects that form the ad hoc network keep stopped until the communication between the ad hoc network and the disconnected mobile object is restored, and thus all the mobile objects are incapable of moving for an original purpose until the communication is restored.", "In addition, PTL 1 discloses a third technique in which, if the communication between an ad hoc network and a mobile object belonging to a mobile object group is cut off, all mobile objects belonging to the mobile object group move toward the center of the group.", "However, if the third technique disclosed in PTL 1 is applied, the region over which the mobile object group is deployed becomes smaller and all the mobile objects are incapable of moving for an original purpose until the communication is restored.", "Furthermore, after the communication is restored, the mobile objects need to move again for the original purpose from the positions at the point of time when the communication is restored.", "In addition, PTL 1 discloses a fourth technique in which, if the communication between an ad hoc network and a mobile object belonging to a mobile object group is cut off, the mobile object stops, one mobile object capable of moving to a position where the mobile object was located before the cutoff (cutoff position) is selected from the mobile object group, and the selected mobile object moves toward the cutoff position.", "However, if the fourth technique disclosed in PTL 1 is applied, when the selected mobile object moves toward the cutoff position, the communication between the selected mobile object and the mobile objects other than the mobile object disconnected from the ad hoc network is cut off.", "Accordingly, the ad hoc network may secondarily be fractured.", "Hereinafter, these issues will be discussed with reference to FIG.", "5.FIG.", "5 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of an overall ad hoc network group formed of a plurality of mobile objects in a case where the fourth technique disclosed in PTL 1 is applied.", "In FIG.", "5, the same elements as those in FIG.", "1 are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will not be given.", "If the fourth technique disclosed in PTL 1 is applied to the ad hoc network group 5 illustrated in FIG.", "4, the ad hoc network group 5 is changed to an ad hoc network group 23 illustrated in FIG.", "5.This change will be described below.", "If the fourth technique disclosed in PTL 1 is applied to the ad hoc network group 23, the mobile object 207 stops upon the communication with the ad hoc network being cut off.", "Here, it is assumed that the mobile object 206, which communicates with the mobile object 207 until just before the cutoff, is selected as a mobile object capable of moving to a cutoff position 2301.The mobile object 206 moves toward the cutoff position 2301 to attempt to restore the communication.", "However, the movement of the mobile object 206 toward the cutoff position 2301 causes the mobile objects 205 and 206 to become too far from each other.", "Accordingly, the communication between the mobile objects 205 and 206 is cut off and the ad hoc network is secondarily fractured.", "In this case, even if the mobile object 206 moves to restore the communication between the mobile objects 206 and 207, the communication between the mobile objects 205 and 206 is not restored and the communication in the overall ad hoc network is not restored because the mobile objects 205 and 206 move away from each other.", "(1) An autonomous mobile robot according to an aspect of the present disclosure is an autonomous mobile robot that autonomously moves while communicating with a communication-partner autonomous mobile robot, including: a driver that drives the autonomous mobile robot; a controller that outputs a first control command to the driver, the first control command causing the autonomous mobile robot to move by a first control amount corresponding to any one of a set of a first movement distance and a first movement direction, a set of a first velocity absolute value and a first velocity direction, and a set of a first acceleration absolute value and a first acceleration direction; and a communicator that receives, from a first communication-partner autonomous mobile robot that is different from the autonomous mobile robot and forms a network together with the autonomous mobile robot, first information indicating any one of a first position, a first velocity, and a first acceleration of the first communication-partner autonomous mobile robot.", "If the controller detects that the first information is ceased to be received by the communicator, the controller decides on a second control amount by which the autonomous mobile robot is to be moved based on the first information that has already been received, the second control amount corresponding to any one of a set of a second movement distance and a second movement direction, a set of a second velocity absolute value and a second velocity direction, and a set of a second acceleration absolute value and a second acceleration direction.", "The controller decides on, based on the first control amount and the second control amount, a third control amount corresponding to any one of a set of a third movement distance and a third movement direction, a set of a third velocity absolute value and a third velocity direction, and a set of a third acceleration absolute value and a third acceleration direction.", "The controller generates a second control command and outputs the second control command to the driver, the second control command causing the autonomous mobile robot to move by switching from the first control amount to the third control amount.", "With this configuration, the first control command, which causes the autonomous mobile robot to move by the first control amount corresponding to any one of the set of the first movement distance and the first movement direction, the set of the first velocity absolute value and the first velocity direction, and the set of the first acceleration absolute value and the first acceleration direction, is output to the driver.", "The first information, which indicates any one of the first position, the first velocity, and the first acceleration of the first communication-partner autonomous mobile robot, is received from the first communication-partner autonomous mobile robot that is different from the autonomous mobile robot and forms a network together with the autonomous mobile robot.", "If it is detected that the first information is ceased to be received, the second control amount by which the autonomous mobile robot is to be moved based on the first information that has already been received is decided on, the second control amount corresponding to any one of the set of the second movement distance and the second movement direction, the set of the second velocity absolute value and the second velocity direction, and the set of the second acceleration absolute value and the second acceleration direction.", "Based on the first control amount and the second control amount, the third control amount corresponding to any one of the set of the third movement distance and the third movement direction, the set of the third velocity absolute value and the third velocity direction, and the set of the third acceleration absolute value and the third acceleration direction is decided on.", "The second control command, which causes the autonomous mobile robot to move by switching from the first control amount to the third control amount, is generated and output to the driver.", "Accordingly, in a case where the first control amount is a control amount for controlling a movement for an original purpose of the autonomous mobile robot and in a case where the second control amount is a control amount for controlling a movement for restoring communication with the first communication-partner autonomous mobile robot, the third control amount is decided on based on the first control amount and the second control amount.", "Thus, as a result of moving the autonomous mobile robot by switching from the first control amount to the third control amount, both a movement for an original purpose of the autonomous mobile robot and a movement for restoring communication with the first communication-partner autonomous mobile robot can be performed.", "Furthermore, in a case where there are a plurality of autonomous mobile robots and in a case where the ratio of the first control amount to the second control amount for deciding on the third control amount varies in the individual autonomous mobile robots, there are an autonomous mobile robot in which the ratio of a movement for an original purpose of the autonomous mobile robot is large and an autonomous mobile robot in which the ratio of a movement for restoring communication with the first communication-partner autonomous mobile robot is large.", "As the overall movements of all the plurality of autonomous mobile robots, an autonomous mobile robot that gives priority to a movement for an original purpose of the autonomous mobile robot and an autonomous mobile robot that gives priority to a movement for restoring communication with the first communication-partner autonomous mobile robot share roles.", "As a result, the autonomous mobile robots move in cooperation with each other, and both a movement for an original purpose of the autonomous mobile robot and a movement for restoring communication with the first communication-partner autonomous mobile robot can be performed.", "Accordingly, a further effect can be obtained in addition to an effect in a case where there is one autonomous mobile robot.", "(2) In the foregoing autonomous mobile robot, the first communication-partner autonomous mobile robot may include a plurality of first communication-partner autonomous mobile robots, and the communicator may receive the first information from each of the plurality of first communication-partner autonomous mobile robots.", "With this configuration, the first information is received from each of the plurality of first communication-partner autonomous mobile robots.", "Thus, the autonomous mobile robot and the plurality of first communication-partner autonomous mobile robots can be moved in cooperation with each other, and both restoration of communication with the plurality of first communication-partner autonomous mobile robots and a movement for an original purpose of the autonomous mobile robot can be achieved.", "(3) In the foregoing autonomous mobile robot, the communicator may further receive, from a second communication-partner autonomous mobile robot that is different from the autonomous mobile robot and the first communication-partner autonomous mobile robot and forms the network together with the autonomous mobile robot, second information indicating any one of a second position, a second velocity, and a second acceleration of the second communication-partner autonomous mobile robot, and if the controller detects that the first information is ceased to be received by the communicator, the controller may decide on, based on the second information, the second control amount.", "With this configuration, the second information, which indicates any one of the second position, the second velocity, and the second acceleration of the second communication-partner autonomous mobile robot, is received from the second communication-partner autonomous mobile robot that is different from the autonomous mobile robot and the first communication-partner autonomous mobile robot and forms the network together with the autonomous mobile robot.", "If it is detected that the first information is ceased to be received, the second control amount is decided on based on the second information.", "Thus, if it is detected that the first information is ceased to be received from the first communication-partner autonomous mobile robot, the second control amount is decided on based on the second information received from the second communication-partner autonomous mobile robot.", "Thus, the autonomous mobile robot and the second communication-partner autonomous mobile robot can be moved in cooperation with each other, and both restoration of communication with the first communication-partner autonomous mobile robot and a movement for an original purpose of the autonomous mobile robot and the second communication-partner autonomous mobile robot can be achieved.", "(4) In the foregoing autonomous mobile robot, the second communication-partner autonomous mobile robot may include a plurality of second communication-partner autonomous mobile robots, and the communicator may receive the second information from each of the plurality of second communication-partner autonomous mobile robots.", "With this configuration, the second information is received from each of the plurality of second communication-partner autonomous mobile robots.", "Thus, the autonomous mobile robot and the plurality of second communication-partner autonomous mobile robots can be moved in cooperation with each other, and both restoration of communication with the plurality of second communication-partner autonomous mobile robots and a movement for an original purpose of the autonomous mobile robot and the plurality of second communication-partner autonomous mobile robots can be achieved.", "(5) In the foregoing autonomous mobile robot, the controller may obtain third information indicating a current position of the autonomous mobile robot, the controller may calculate, based on the first information and the third information, a distance between the autonomous mobile robot and the first communication-partner autonomous mobile robot, and the controller may decide on, based on the distance, the second control amount.", "With this configuration, the third information indicating the current position of the autonomous mobile robot is obtained.", "The distance between the autonomous mobile robot and the first communication-partner autonomous mobile robot is calculated based on the first information and the third information.", "The second control amount is decided on based on the distance.", "Accordingly, the second control amount is decided on based on the distance between the autonomous mobile robot and the first communication-partner autonomous mobile robot, and thus both restoration of communication and an original purpose can be achieved more efficiently.", "In particular, if there are a plurality of autonomous mobile robots, the ratio of a movement for an original purpose of each autonomous mobile robot to a movement for restoring communication with the first communication-partner autonomous mobile robot is decided on based on the distance between each autonomous mobile robot and the first communication-partner autonomous mobile robot.", "Thus, role sharing between an autonomous mobile robot that gives priority to a movement for an original purpose of the autonomous mobile robot and an autonomous mobile robot that gives priority to a movement for restoring communication with the first communication-partner autonomous mobile robot is more efficiently decided on.", "As the overall movements of all the plurality of autonomous mobile robots, both a movement for an original purpose of the autonomous mobile robot and a movement for restoring communication with the first communication-partner autonomous mobile robot can be performed more efficiently.", "(6) In the foregoing autonomous mobile robot, the controller may decrease the second movement distance, the second velocity absolute value, or the second acceleration absolute value as the distance decreases.", "With this configuration, as a result of increasing the second movement distance, the second velocity absolute value, or the second acceleration absolute value as the distance between the autonomous mobile robot and the first communication-partner autonomous mobile robot increases, priority is given to restoration of communication with the first communication-partner autonomous mobile robot, and thus communication can be restored more quickly.", "(7) In the foregoing autonomous mobile robot, the controller may decrease the second movement distance, the second velocity absolute value, or the second acceleration absolute value as the distance increases.", "With this configuration, as a result of decreasing the second movement distance, the second velocity absolute value, or the second acceleration absolute value as the distance between the autonomous mobile robot and the first communication-partner autonomous mobile robot increases, priority is given to a movement in a case where the communication with the first communication-partner autonomous mobile robot is not cut off, and thus restoration of communication and an original purpose can be achieved more efficiently.", "In particular, if there are a plurality of autonomous mobile robots, as the distance between each autonomous mobile robot and the first communication-partner autonomous mobile robot increases, the ratio of a movement for an original purpose of the autonomous mobile robot increases.", "Thus, role sharing between an autonomous mobile robot that gives priority to a movement for an original purpose of the autonomous mobile robot and an autonomous mobile robot that gives priority to a movement for restoring communication with the first communication-partner autonomous mobile robot is more efficiently decided on.", "As the overall movements of all the plurality of autonomous mobile robots, both a movement for an original purpose of the autonomous mobile robot and a movement for restoring communication with the first communication-partner autonomous mobile robot can be performed more efficiently.", "(8) In the foregoing autonomous mobile robot, if the controller detects that the first information is ceased to be received by the communicator, the controller may output a third control command to the driver after a predetermined time period elapses from when the second control command is output to the driver, the third control command causing the autonomous mobile robot to move by switching from the third control amount to the first control amount.", "With this configuration, if it is detected that the first information is ceased to be received, the third control command that causes the autonomous mobile robot to move by switching from the third control amount to the first control amount is output to the driver after the predetermined time period elapses from when the second control command is output to the driver.", "Thus, if communication is not restored after the predetermined time period elapses from a movement for restoring communication, the movement for restoring communication can be stopped, and a situation can be prevented from occurring where a movement for restoring communication is endlessly performed.", "(9) In the foregoing autonomous mobile robot, the first information may include the first position, and if the controller detects that the first information is ceased to be received by the communicator, the controller may determine whether or not a distance between the first position and a third position is equal to or less than a predetermined value, the third position being a position of the autonomous mobile robot after the second control command is output to the driver, and if the controller determines that the distance is equal to or less than the predetermined value, the controller may output a third control command to the driver, the third control command causing the autonomous mobile robot to move by switching from the third control amount to the first control amount.", "With this configuration, the first information includes the first position.", "If it is detected that the first information is ceased to be received, it is determined whether or not the distance between the first position and the third position, which is the position of the autonomous mobile robot after the second control command is output to the driver, is equal to or less than the predetermined value.", "If it is determined that the distance is equal to or less than the predetermined value, the third control command that causes the autonomous mobile robot to move by switching from the third control amount to the first control amount is output to the driver.", "Thus, after a movement for restoring communication is performed, if the communication is not restored even if the distance between the autonomous mobile robot and the communication-partner autonomous mobile robot becomes equal to or less than the predetermined value, the movement for restoring communication can be stopped, and a situation can be prevented from occurring where a movement for restoring communication is endlessly performed.", "(10) In the foregoing autonomous mobile robot, the autonomous mobile robot may further include a memory, the communicator may further receive, from a second communication-partner autonomous mobile robot that is different from the autonomous mobile robot and the first communication-partner autonomous mobile robot and forms the network together with the autonomous mobile robot, second information indicating any one of a second position, a second velocity, and a second acceleration of the second communication-partner autonomous mobile robot, the memory may store fourth information including the first information and the second information, and the controller may update the fourth information stored in the memory by deleting the first information from the fourth information after outputting the third control command to the driver.", "With this configuration, the second information indicating any one of the second position, the second velocity, and the second acceleration of the second communication-partner autonomous mobile robot is received from the second communication-partner autonomous mobile robot that is different from the autonomous mobile robot and the first communication-partner autonomous mobile robot and forms the network together with the autonomous mobile robot.", "The memory included in the autonomous mobile robot stores the fourth information including the first information and the second information.", "The fourth information stored in the memory is updated by deleting the first information from the fourth information after the third control command is output to the driver.", "Accordingly, after the third control command is output to the driver, the fourth information stored in the memory is updated by deleting the first information from the fourth information.", "Thus, a situation can be prevented from occurring where stop and restart of a movement for restoring communication is endlessly repeated by restarting a movement for restoring communication with the first communication-partner autonomous mobile robot for which restoration of communication has failed.", "(11) In the foregoing autonomous mobile robot, the controller may cause the communicator to transmit the fourth information to the second communication-partner autonomous mobile robot after updating the fourth information.", "With this configuration, since the fourth information is transmitted to the second communication-partner autonomous mobile robot after the fourth information is updated, a situation can be prevented from occurring where stop and restart of a movement for restoring communication is endlessly repeated also in the second communication-partner autonomous mobile robot.", "(12) In the foregoing autonomous mobile robot, if the controller detects that the first information is ceased to be received by the communicator and then detects that the first information is restarted to be received by the communicator, the controller may output a third control command to the driver, the third control command causing the autonomous mobile robot to move by switching from the third control amount to the first control amount.", "With this configuration, if it is detected that the first information is ceased to be received and then it is detected that the first information is restarted to be received, the third control command that causes the autonomous mobile robot to move by switching from the third control amount to the first control amount is output to the driver.", "Accordingly, if communication is restored by performing a movement for restoring communication, the movement for restoring communication can be stopped, and a situation can be prevented from occurring where a movement for restoring communication is endlessly performed.", "(13) In the foregoing autonomous mobile robot, the first communication-partner autonomous mobile robot may include a plurality of first communication-partner autonomous mobile robots, and the communicator may receive the first information again from each of the plurality of first communication-partner autonomous mobile robots.", "With this configuration, if it is detected that the first information is ceased to be received and then it is detected that the first information is restarted to be received from each of the plurality of first communication-partner autonomous mobile robots, the third control command that causes the autonomous mobile robot to move by switching from the third control amount to the first control amount is output to the driver.", "Accordingly, if communication with the plurality of first communication-partner autonomous mobile robots is restored by performing a movement for restoring communication, the movement for restoring communication can be stopped, and a situation can be prevented from occurring where a movement for restoring communication is endlessly performed.", "(14) In the foregoing autonomous mobile robot, the autonomous mobile may further include a memory that stores fourth information including the first information and the second information, after the second communication-partner autonomous mobile robot updates fifth information that includes information indicating the autonomous mobile robot and information indicating a third communication-partner autonomous mobile robot by deleting the information indicating the third communication-partner autonomous mobile robot from the fifth information, the second communication-partner autonomous mobile robot may transmit the fifth information to the autonomous mobile robot, the communicator may receive the fifth information from the second communication-partner autonomous mobile robot, and the controller may update the fourth information stored in the memory to the fifth information.", "With this configuration, the autonomous mobile robot further includes the memory that stores the fourth information including the first information and the second information.", "After the second communication-partner autonomous mobile robot updates fifth information that includes the information indicating the autonomous mobile robot and the information indicating the third communication-partner autonomous mobile robot by deleting the information indicating the third communication-partner autonomous mobile robot from the fifth information, the second communication-partner autonomous mobile robot transmits the fifth information to the autonomous mobile robot.", "In the autonomous mobile robot, the fifth information is received from the second communication-partner autonomous mobile robot.", "The fourth information stored in the memory is updated to the fifth information.", "Accordingly, if the information indicating the third communication-partner autonomous mobile robot is deleted from the fifth information that includes the information indicating the autonomous mobile robot and the information indicating the third communication-partner autonomous mobile robot in the second communication-partner autonomous mobile robot, the fifth information is transmitted to the autonomous mobile robot, and the fourth information stored in the memory of the autonomous mobile robot is updated to the fifth information.", "Thus, a determination result in the second communication-partner autonomous mobile robot can be reflected in the autonomous mobile robot.", "(15) In the foregoing autonomous mobile robot, the third communication-partner autonomous mobile robot may be the first communication-partner autonomous mobile robot.", "With this configuration, if the information indicating the first communication-partner autonomous mobile robot is deleted from the fifth information that includes the information indicating the autonomous mobile robot and the information indicating the first communication-partner autonomous mobile robot in the second communication-partner autonomous mobile robot, the fifth information is transmitted to the autonomous mobile robot, and the fourth information stored in the memory of the autonomous mobile robot is updated to the fifth information.", "Thus, a determination result in the second communication-partner autonomous mobile robot can be reflected in the autonomous mobile robot, and a situation can be prevented from occurring where the autonomous mobile robot performs a movement for restoring communication with the first communication-partner autonomous mobile robot for which restoration of communication has failed.", "(16) In the foregoing autonomous mobile robot, the communicator may further receive, from a second communication-partner autonomous mobile robot that is different from the autonomous mobile robot and the first communication-partner autonomous mobile robot and forms the network together with the autonomous mobile robot, second information indicating any one of a second position, a second velocity, and a second acceleration of the second communication-partner autonomous mobile robot, the controller may decide on, based on the second information, a fourth control amount corresponding to any one of a set of a fourth movement distance and a fourth movement direction, a set of a fourth velocity absolute value and a fourth velocity direction, and a set of a fourth acceleration absolute value and a fourth acceleration direction, and the controller may update, based on the fourth control amount, the first control amount.", "With this configuration, the second information indicating any one of the second position, the second velocity, and the second acceleration of the second communication-partner autonomous mobile robot is received from the second communication-partner autonomous mobile robot that is different from the autonomous mobile robot and the first communication-partner autonomous mobile robot and forms the network together with the autonomous mobile robot.", "The fourth control amount corresponding to any one of the set of the fourth movement distance and the fourth movement direction, the set of the fourth velocity absolute value and the fourth velocity direction, and the set of the fourth acceleration absolute value and the fourth acceleration direction is decided on based on the second information.", "The first control amount is updated based on the fourth control amount.", "Accordingly, the fourth control amount corresponding to any one of the set of the fourth movement distance and the fourth movement direction, the set of the fourth velocity absolute value and the fourth velocity direction, and the set of the fourth acceleration absolute value and the fourth acceleration direction is decided on based on the second information indicating any one of the second position, the second velocity, and the second acceleration of the second communication-partner autonomous mobile robot, and the first control amount can be updated based on the fourth control amount.", "(17) In the foregoing autonomous mobile robot, the second information may include the second position, and the controller may decides on, based on a distance calculated from a current position of the autonomous mobile robot and the second position, the fourth control amount.", "With this configuration, the second information includes the second position.", "The fourth control amount is decided on based on the distance calculated from the current position of the autonomous mobile robot and the second position.", "Thus, the fourth control amount can be decided on based on the distance between the autonomous mobile robot and the second communication-partner autonomous mobile robot.", "(18) In the foregoing autonomous mobile robot, the controller may decrease the fourth movement distance, the fourth velocity absolute value, or the fourth acceleration absolute value as the distance decreases.", "With this configuration, as a result of decreasing the fourth movement distance, the fourth velocity absolute value, or the fourth acceleration absolute value as the distance between the autonomous mobile robot and the second communication-partner autonomous mobile robot decreases, the communication with the second communication-partner autonomous mobile robot can be appropriately maintained.", "(19) In the foregoing autonomous mobile robot, the controller may increase the fourth movement distance, the fourth velocity absolute value, or the fourth acceleration absolute value as the distance decreases.", "With this configuration, as a result of increasing the fourth movement distance, the fourth velocity absolute value, or the fourth acceleration absolute value as the distance between the autonomous mobile robot and the second communication-partner autonomous mobile robot decreases, control can be performed so that the communication with the second communication-partner autonomous mobile robot is not cut off.", "(20) In the foregoing autonomous mobile robot, the autonomous mobile robot may further include a memory that stores a movement path of the autonomous mobile robot, the controller may decide on, based on a fourth control amount corresponding to any one of a set of a fourth movement distance and a fourth movement direction, a set of a fourth velocity absolute value and a fourth velocity direction, and a set of a fourth acceleration absolute value and a fourth acceleration direction, the first control amount, the fourth movement distance, the fourth velocity absolute value, or the fourth acceleration absolute value may be a predetermined value, and the fourth movement direction, the fourth velocity direction, or the fourth acceleration direction may be opposite to a movement direction specified by the movement path.", "With this configuration, the autonomous mobile robot further includes the memory that stores the movement path of the autonomous mobile robot.", "The first control amount is decided on based on the fourth control amount corresponding to any one of the set of the fourth movement distance and the fourth movement direction, the set of the fourth velocity absolute value and the fourth velocity direction, and the set of the fourth acceleration absolute value and the fourth acceleration direction.", "The fourth movement distance, the fourth velocity absolute value, or the fourth acceleration absolute value is the predetermined value.", "The fourth movement direction, the fourth velocity direction, or the fourth acceleration direction is opposite to the movement direction specified by the movement path.", "Accordingly, as a result of moving in the direction opposite to the movement direction specified by the movement path, the autonomous mobile robot can return to a position before the communication cutoff, and the communication can be quickly restored.", "(21) A movement control method according to another aspect of the present disclosure is a movement control method for an autonomous mobile robot that autonomously moves while communicating with a communication-partner autonomous mobile robot, including: outputting a first control command that causes the autonomous mobile robot to move by a first control amount corresponding to any one of a set of a first movement distance and a first movement direction, a set of a first velocity absolute value and a first velocity direction, and a set of a first acceleration absolute value and a first acceleration direction; receiving, from a first communication-partner autonomous mobile robot that is different from the autonomous mobile robot and forms a network together with the autonomous mobile robot, first information indicating any one of a first position, a first velocity, and a first acceleration of the first communication-partner autonomous mobile robot; if a detection is made that the first information is ceased to be received, deciding on a second control amount by which the autonomous mobile robot is to be moved based on the first information that has already been received, the second control amount corresponding to any one of a set of a second movement distance and a second movement direction, a set of a second velocity absolute value and a second velocity direction, and a set of a second acceleration absolute value and a second acceleration direction; deciding on, based on the first control amount and the second control amount, a third control amount corresponding to any one of a set of a third movement distance and a third movement direction, a set of a third velocity absolute value and a third velocity direction, and a set of a third acceleration absolute value and a third acceleration direction; and generating and outputting a second control command that causes the autonomous mobile robot to move by switching from the first control amount to the third control amount.", "With this configuration, the first control command, which causes the autonomous mobile robot to move by the first control amount corresponding to any one of the set of the first movement distance and the first movement direction, the set of the first velocity absolute value and the first velocity direction, and the set of the first acceleration absolute value and the first acceleration direction, is output to the driver.", "The first information, which indicates any one of the first position, the first velocity, and the first acceleration of the first communication-partner autonomous mobile robot, is received from the first communication-partner autonomous mobile robot that is different from the autonomous mobile robot and forms a network together with the autonomous mobile robot.", "If it is detected that the first information is ceased to be received, the second control amount by which the autonomous mobile robot is to be moved based on the first information that has already been received is decided on, the second control amount corresponding to any one of the set of the second movement distance and the second movement direction, the set of the second velocity absolute value and the second velocity direction, and the set of the second acceleration absolute value and the second acceleration direction.", "Based on the first control amount and the second control amount, the third control amount corresponding to any one of the set of the third movement distance and the third movement direction, the set of the third velocity absolute value and the third velocity direction, and the set of the third acceleration absolute value and the third acceleration direction is decided on.", "The second control command, which causes the autonomous mobile robot to move by switching from the first control amount to the third control amount, is generated and output to the driver.", "Accordingly, in a case where the first control amount is a control amount for controlling a movement for an original purpose of the autonomous mobile robot and in a case where the second control amount is a control amount for controlling a movement for restoring communication with the first communication-partner autonomous mobile robot, the third control amount is decided on based on the first control amount and the second control amount.", "Thus, as a result of moving the autonomous mobile robot by switching from the first control amount to the third control amount, both a movement for an original purpose of the autonomous mobile robot and a movement for restoring communication with the first communication-partner autonomous mobile robot can be performed.", "Furthermore, in a case where there are a plurality of autonomous mobile robots and in a case where the ratio of the first control amount to the second control amount for deciding on the third control amount varies in the individual autonomous mobile robots, there are an autonomous mobile robot in which the ratio of a movement for an original purpose of the autonomous mobile robot is large and an autonomous mobile robot in which the ratio of a movement for restoring communication with the first communication-partner autonomous mobile robot is large.", "As the overall movements of all the plurality of autonomous mobile robots, an autonomous mobile robot that gives priority to a movement for an original purpose of the autonomous mobile robot and an autonomous mobile robot that gives priority to a movement for restoring communication with the first communication-partner autonomous mobile robot share roles.", "As a result, the autonomous mobile robots move in cooperation with each other, and both a movement for an original purpose of the autonomous mobile robot and a movement for restoring communication with the first communication-partner autonomous mobile robot can be performed.", "Accordingly, a further effect can be obtained in addition to an effect in a case where there is one autonomous mobile robot.", "Each of the embodiments described below is a specific example of the present disclosure.", "The values, shapes, elements, steps, and order of the steps described in the following embodiments are merely examples and do not limit the present disclosure.", "Among the elements described in the following embodiments, an element that is not described in an independent claim defining the broadest concept will be described as an optional element.", "In all the embodiments, any selective configurations can be combined.", "First Embodiment FIG.", "6 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an overall ad hoc network formed of a plurality of mobile objects according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure.", "In FIG.", "6, an ad hoc network 1 is formed of mobile objects 101 to 107, each having a communication function.", "A solid line between circles that represent mobile objects indicates that the mobile objects are capable of directly communicating with each other.", "In the figures illustrating an ad hoc network, a circle represents a mobile object, and a solid line between circles indicates that the mobile objects represented by the circles are capable of directly communicating with each other.", "The mobile objects 101 and 102 are capable of directly communicating with each other, the mobile objects 102 and 103 are capable of directly communicating with each other, the mobile objects 102 and 104 are capable of directly communicating with each other, the mobile objects 103 and 104 are capable of directly communicating with each other, the mobile objects 104 and 105 are capable of directly communicating with each other, the mobile objects 105 and 106 are capable of directly communicating with each other, and the mobile objects 106 and 107 are capable of directly communicating with each other.", "The mobile objects 101 to 107 are each capable of relaying communication between other mobile objects.", "Thus, for example, the mobile objects 101 and 107 are capable of indirectly communicating with each other via relayed communication along a path including the mobile objects 102, 104, 105, and 106 or a path including the mobile objects 102, 103, 104, 105, and 106.The mobile objects 101 to 107 move in arbitrary directions.", "In FIG.", "6, empty arrows indicate movement directions of the individual mobile objects.", "In the figures, such an empty arrow is used to indicate a movement direction of a mobile object.", "FIG.", "6 illustrates a horizontal two-dimensional plane viewed in a direction opposite to the direction of gravity.", "In FIG.", "6, the right side corresponds to the direction of east, the left side corresponds to the direction of west, the upper side corresponds to the direction of north, and the lower side corresponds to the direction of south.", "In the figures, a plan view illustrating mobile objects that form an ad hoc network illustrates a horizontal two-dimensional plane viewed in a direction opposite to the direction of gravity, in which the right side corresponds to the direction of east, the left side corresponds to the direction of west, the upper side corresponds to the direction of north, and the lower side corresponds to the direction of south unless otherwise noted.", "Although FIG.", "6 illustrates an example in which the mobile objects move on a two-dimensional plane for simplicity, the present disclosure is not limited to the movements of mobile objects on a two-dimensional plane, and is also applicable to the movements of mobile objects in a three-dimensional space.", "Specific examples of a mobile object having a communication function include a drone (unmanned flying object) having a communication function, an autonomous robot having a communication function, a vehicle having a communication function and driven by a human, a cleaning robot having a communication function, and a human carrying a communication device.", "Hereinafter, the functional configurations and overall operations of the mobile objects 101 to 107 will be described in detail.", "The description will be given mainly of the functional configuration and overall operation of the mobile object 101, and the description of the functional configurations and overall operations of the mobile objects 102 to 107 that are the same as those of the mobile object 101 will not be given.", "FIG.", "7 illustrates an overview of the mobile object 101 according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure, and FIG.", "8 is a block diagram illustrating the functional configuration of the mobile object 101 according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure.", "In FIG.", "8, the same elements as those in FIG.", "6 are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will not be given.", "As illustrated in FIG.", "7, the mobile object (autonomous mobile robot) 101 includes a main body A1 and movement control units 605 that generate a propulsive force of the mobile object 101.The movement control units 605 are attached to ends of supporting portions A2 that extend in four directions from the main body A1.A position detection unit 604 is attached on an upper side of the main body A1.The main body A1 includes a communication unit 601, a control unit 602, and a storage unit 603 therein.", "As illustrated in FIG.", "8, the mobile object 101 includes the communication unit 601, the control unit 602, the storage unit 603, the position detection unit 604, and the movement control units 605.The communication unit 601 communicates with another mobile object (communication-partner autonomous mobile robot) by using a communication technology such as Wi-Fi and transmits/receives information.", "Also, the communication unit 601 relays communication between other mobile objects.", "The control unit 602 controls the communication unit 601, the storage unit 603, the position detection unit 604, and the movement control units 605.The storage unit 603 stores own-mobile-object information, which is information about the own mobile object, and other-mobile-object information, which is information about one or more other mobile objects received from the other mobile objects.", "The details of the information stored in the storage unit 603 will be described below with reference to FIGS.", "9, 10, and 11.The position detection unit 604 detects a current position of the own mobile object.", "The position detection unit 604 measures a position of the own mobile object by using, for example, the Global Positioning System (GPS).", "The movement control units 605 control the movement of the own mobile object in response to an instruction from the control unit 602.Specifically, each movement control unit 605 includes a propeller and a motor for rotating the propeller.", "In FIG.", "7, the mobile object 101 includes four movement control units 605, but the number of movement control units 605 is not limited to four.", "For example, the mobile object 101 may include five or more movement control units 605.The control unit 602 appropriately controls the rotation rates of the propellers of the movement control units 605, thereby controlling the movement direction or flying state of the mobile object 101.The movement control units 605 drive the mobile object 101.The control unit 602 outputs a first control command to the movement control units 605.The first control command causes the mobile object 101 to move by a first control amount (basic movement vector group information) corresponding to any one of a set of a first movement distance and a first movement direction, a set of a first velocity absolute value and a first velocity direction, and a set of a first acceleration absolute value and a first acceleration direction.", "The communication unit 601 receives, from a first communication-partner mobile object (for example, the mobile object 105) that is different from the mobile object 101 and forms a network together with the mobile object 101, first information indicating any one of a first position, a first velocity, and a first acceleration of the mobile object 105.If the control unit 602 detects that the first information is ceased to be received by the communication unit 601, the control unit 602 decides on a second control amount (communication restoration vector information) by which the mobile object 101 is to be moved based on the first information that has already been received.", "The second control amount corresponds to any one of a set of a second movement distance and a second movement direction, a set of a second velocity absolute value and a second velocity direction, and a set of a second acceleration absolute value and a second acceleration direction.", "The control unit 602 decides on, based on the first control amount and the second control amount, a third control amount (actual movement vector information) corresponding to any one of a set of a third movement distance and a third movement direction, a set of a third velocity absolute value and a third velocity direction, and a set of a third acceleration absolute value and a third acceleration direction.", "The control unit 602 generates a second control command and outputs the second control command to the movement control units 605.The second control command causes the mobile object 101 to move by switching from the first control amount to the third control amount.", "The communication unit 601 may receive the first information from each of a plurality of mobile objects (for example, the mobile objects 105, 106, and 107).", "The communication unit 601 further receives, from a second communication-partner mobile object (for example, the mobile object 102) that is different from the mobile objects 101 and 105 and forms the network together with the mobile object 101, second information indicating any one of a second position, a second velocity, and a second acceleration of the mobile object 102.If the control unit 602 detects that the first information is ceased to be received by the communication unit 601, the control unit 602 decides on, based on the second information, the second control amount.", "The communication unit 601 may receive the second information from each of a plurality of mobile objects (for example, the mobile objects 102, 103, and 104).", "FIG.", "9 is a diagram illustrating an example of information stored in the storage unit 603 of the mobile object 101 according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure.", "In FIG.", "9, the same elements as those in FIGS.", "6 and 8 are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will not be given.", "The storage unit 603 stores own-mobile-object information 701, which is information about the mobile object 101, and other-mobile-object information 702, which is information about one or more other mobile objects.", "The own-mobile-object information 701 includes mobile object identification information for uniquely identifying the own mobile object; position information indicating the position of the own mobile object, which is detected by the position detection unit 604; known group information including mobile object identification information of the own mobile object and one or more other mobile objects that the own mobile object is capable of communicating with through an ad hoc network; unknown group information including mobile object identification information of one or more other mobile objects that the own mobile object is incapable of communicating with through the ad hoc network; target position information, which is position information indicating a target position to which the own mobile object moves to restore communication if there is an unknown group; basic movement vector group information, which is information about a basic movement vector group including one or more movement vectors for controlling a movement if there is no unknown group; communication restoration vector information, which is information about a communication restoration vector indicating a movement vector for moving toward a target position; and actual movement vector information, which is information about an actual movement vector defining an actual movement.", "The other-mobile-object information 702 includes mobile object identification information for uniquely identifying one or more other mobile objects; and position information indicating the positions of the one or more other mobile objects.", "FIG.", "10 is a diagram illustrating an example of the own-mobile-object information 701 stored in the storage unit 603 of the mobile object 101 according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure.", "In FIG.", "10, the same elements as those in FIGS.", "6 and 9 are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will not be given.", "In the mobile object 101, the storage unit 603 stores the own-mobile-object information 701 in the form illustrated in FIG.", "10, for example.", "The own-mobile-object information 701 includes mobile object identification information for uniquely identifying the own mobile object; position information indicating the position of the own mobile object, which is detected by the position detection unit 604; known group information including mobile object identification information of the own mobile object and one or more other mobile objects that the own mobile object is capable of communicating with through an ad hoc network; unknown group information including mobile object identification information of one or more other mobile objects that the own mobile object is incapable of communicating with through the ad hoc network; target position information, which is position information indicating a target position to which the own mobile object moves to restore communication if there is an unknown group; basic movement vector group information, which is information about a basic movement vector group including one or more movement vectors for controlling a movement if there is no unknown group; communication restoration vector information, which is information about a communication restoration vector indicating a movement vector for moving toward a target position; and actual movement vector information, which is information about an actual movement vector defining an actual movement.", "Here, a movement vector is a vector for controlling a movement of a mobile object, and typically represents a displacement, velocity, or acceleration of a movement.", "The own-mobile-object information 701 illustrated in FIG.", "10 indicates that the value of the own mobile object identification information is “mobile object 101”, the value of the own position information is “34° 41′37.0″ north latitude, 135° 30′7.1″ east longitude, 2 m above sea level”, the value of the known group information is “mobile object 101, mobile object 102, mobile object 103, and mobile object 104”, the value of the unknown group information is “mobile object 105, mobile object 106, and mobile object 107”, the value of the target position information is “34° 41′37.6″ north latitude, 135° 30′9.1″ east longitude, 2 m above sea level”, the value of the main basic movement vector information in the basic movement vector group information is “(−5 m/s, −2 m/s, 0 m/s)”, the value of the obstacle avoidance basic movement vector information in the basic movement vector group information is “(0 m/s, 5 m/s, 0 m/s)”, the value of the communication restoration vector information is “(10 m/s, 2 m/s, 0 m/s)”, and the value of the actual movement vector information is “(7.5 m/s, 6 m/s, 0 m/s)”.", "In FIG.", "10, the position information is represented by a latitude, a longitude, and an altitude above sea level.", "Of course, the position information may be represented by using another method.", "For example, the position information may be represented by using an orthogonal coordinate system formed of an x-axis, a y-axis, and a z-axis.", "In this case, for example, a specific position is regarded as an origin, a positive direction along the x-axis corresponds to the direction of east, a positive direction along the y-axis corresponds to the direction of north, and a positive direction along the z-axis corresponds to a direction opposite to the direction of gravity.", "In this specification, the position information is represented by a latitude, a longitude, and an altitude above sea level, unless otherwise noted.", "A movement vector (control amount) corresponds to any one of a set of a movement distance and a movement direction, a set of a velocity absolute value and a velocity direction, and a set of an acceleration absolute value and an acceleration direction.", "In FIG.", "10, a movement vector is represented by velocity, that is, represented in the unit of velocity per second (m/s) by using an orthogonal coordinate system formed of an x-axis, a y-axis, and a z-axis.", "A positive direction along the x-axis corresponds to the direction of east, a positive direction along the y-axis corresponds to the direction of north, and a positive direction along the z-axis corresponds to a direction opposite to the direction of gravity.", "Of course, a movement vector may be represented by displacement or acceleration or may be represented by using another method.", "For example, a movement vector may be represented by a difference in latitude, a difference in longitude, and a difference in altitude above sea level per unit time.", "In this specification, unless otherwise noted, a movement vector is represented by velocity in the unit of velocity per second (m/s) by using an orthogonal coordinate system formed of an x-axis, a y-axis, and a z-axis, in which a positive direction along the x-axis corresponds to the direction of east, a positive direction along the y-axis corresponds to the direction of north, and a positive direction along the z-axis corresponds to a direction opposite to the direction of gravity.", "In FIG.", "10, the basic movement vector group information is represented by a set of main basic movement vector information and obstacle avoidance basic movement vector information.", "That is, a basic movement vector group is a set of a main basic movement vector and an obstacle avoidance basic movement vector.", "Here, the main basic movement vector is a movement vector representing a movement of a mobile object for achieving an original purpose.", "The obstacle avoidance basic movement vector is a movement vector representing a movement of a mobile object for avoiding an obstacle near the mobile object.", "The number of movement vectors included in the basic movement vector group and the movements represented by the movement vectors have variations, which is not related to the gist of the present disclosure.", "In this specification, unless otherwise noted, a basic movement vector group is a set of a main basic movement vector and an obstacle avoidance basic movement vector described herein.", "FIG.", "11 is a diagram illustrating an example of the other-mobile-object information 702 stored in the storage unit 603 of the mobile object 101 according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure.", "In FIG.", "11, the same elements as those in FIGS.", "6 and 9 are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will not be given.", "In the mobile object 101, the storage unit 603 stores the other-mobile-object information 702 in the form illustrated in FIG.", "11, for example.", "The other-mobile-object information 702 includes mobile object identification information for uniquely identifying one or more other mobile objects and position information of the one or more other mobile objects received from the other mobile objects.", "The other-mobile-object information 702 illustrated in FIG.", "11 indicates that the value of the mobile object identification information of the mobile object 102 is “mobile object 102” and that the value of the position information of the mobile object 102 is “34° 41′37.5″ north latitude, 135° 30′7.6″ east longitude, 2 m above sea level”.", "The mobile object identification information and the position information of the mobile objects 103 to 107 are similar thereto.", "The control unit 602 generates a control command for causing the mobile object 101 to move by using the basic movement vector group, and outputs the control command to the movement control units 605.The movement control units 605 cause the mobile object 101 to actually move in accordance with the control command.", "FIG.", "12 is a flowchart illustrating an overall operation of movement control of the mobile object 101 according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure.", "First, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 101 attempts to communicate with the mobile objects 102 to 107 through the ad hoc network.", "In accordance with whether or not the communication therewith can be performed, the control unit 602 specifies a known group, which is a group of mobile objects that the mobile object 101 is capable of communicating with through the ad hoc network, and an unknown group, which is a group of mobile objects that the mobile object 101 is incapable of communicating with through the ad hoc network (step S1001).", "Subsequently, the control unit 602 updates the known group information, which includes mobile object identification information of all the mobile objects belonging to the known group, and the unknown group information, which includes mobile object identification information of all the mobile objects belonging to the unknown group, in the own-mobile-object information 701.Subsequently, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 101 updates the position information of the known group (step S1002).", "At this time, the position detection unit 604 detects the position of the own mobile object and updates the position information in the own-mobile-object information 701.The communication unit 601 requests, through the ad hoc network, all the mobile objects belonging to the known group to transmit mobile object identification information and position information and receives the mobile object identification information and the position information from the mobile objects belonging to the known group.", "Subsequently, the control unit 602 updates the position information in the other-mobile-object information 702.Subsequently, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 101 decides on a basic movement vector group including one or more movement vectors for controlling a movement if there is no unknown group (step S1003).", "The control unit 602 creates basic movement vector group information, which is information about the basic movement vector group, and updates the basic movement vector group information in the own-mobile-object information 701.FIG.", "13 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of a basic movement vector group according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure.", "In FIG.", "13, the same elements as those in FIG.", "6 are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will not be given.", "In the situation illustrated in FIG.", "13, it is the best for the mobile object 101 to move in the direction of west at 5 m/s and in the direction of south at 2 m/s to achieve an original purpose if there is no restriction.", "In this case, a main basic movement vector 1101 is (−5 m/s, −2 m/s, 0 m/s).", "However, there is an obstacle to the west of the mobile object 101.Thus, the mobile object 101 needs to move while avoiding the obstacle.", "It is assumed that an operation of moving northward at a velocity of 5 m/s is necessary to avoid the obstacle.", "In this case, an obstacle avoidance basic movement vector 1102 is (0 m/s, 5 m/s, 0 m/s).", "Subsequently, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 101 determines whether or not there is a mobile object belonging to an unknown group (step S1004).", "If it is determined in step S1004 that there is no mobile object belonging to an unknown group (NO in step S1004), the control unit 602 of the mobile object 101 sets the magnitude of a communication restoration vector to 0 (step S1010), and then the process proceeds to step S1008, which will be described below.", "For example, in the situation illustrated in FIG.", "13, there is no unknown group and all the mobile objects 101 to 107 belong to a known group.", "Thus, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 101 sets the magnitude of a communication restoration vector to 0, and then the process proceeds to step S1008, which will be described below.", "On the other hand, if it is determined in step S1004 that there is a mobile object belonging to an unknown group (YES in step S1004), the control unit 602 performs the process in steps S1005 to S1007.If it is determined in step S1004 that there is a mobile object belonging to an unknown group, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 101 obtains, from the other-mobile-object information 702, the position information of all the mobile objects belonging to the unknown group (step S1005).", "FIG.", "14 is a conceptual diagram illustrating the mobile objects 101 to 104 belonging to a known group and the mobile objects 105 to 107 belonging to an unknown group in a case where one mobile object (the mobile object 105) fails in the first embodiment of the present disclosure.", "In FIG.", "14, the same elements as those in FIG.", "6 are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will not be given.", "As illustrated in FIG.", "14, the failure of the mobile object 105 causes the direct communication between the mobile objects 104 and 105 to be cut off, and thus the communication through the ad hoc network between each of the mobile objects 101 to 104 and the mobile objects 106 and 107 as well as the mobile object 105 is cut off.", "Accordingly, the mobile objects belonging to a known group 1201 are the mobile objects 101 to 104 and the mobile objects belonging to an unknown group 1202 are the mobile objects 105 to 107.FIG.", "15 is a conceptual diagram illustrating the mobile objects 106 and 107 belonging to a known group and the mobile objects 101 to 105 belonging to an unknown group in a case where one mobile object (the mobile object 105) fails in the first embodiment of the present disclosure.", "In FIG.", "15, the same elements as those in FIG.", "6 are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will not be given.", "As illustrated in FIG.", "15, the failure of the mobile object 105 causes the direct communication between the mobile objects 106 and 105 to be cut off, and thus the communication through the ad hoc network between each of the mobile objects 106 and 107 and the mobile objects 101 to 104 as well as the mobile object 105 is cut off.", "Accordingly, the mobile objects belonging to a known group 1301 are the mobile objects 106 and 107 and the mobile objects belonging to an unknown group 1302 are the mobile objects 101 to 105.Subsequently, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 101 decides on one or more target positions on the basis of the position information of the mobile objects belonging to the unknown group obtained in step S1005 (step S1006).", "The target position is, for example, a center position of all the mobile objects belonging to the unknown group or a position nearest to the own mobile object among the positions of all the mobile objects belonging to the unknown group.", "FIG.", "16 is a diagram illustrating an example of a method for deciding on a target position and the target position decided on by using the method in each of the mobile objects 101 to 104 in a case where one mobile object (the mobile object 105) fails in the first embodiment of the present disclosure.", "In FIG.", "16, the same elements as those in FIGS.", "6 and 14 are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will not be given.", "It is assumed that the mobile objects 105 to 107 are at the positions described in the other-mobile-object information 702 illustrated in FIG.", "11.For example, in the case of deciding on the center position of all the mobile objects belonging to the unknown group as a target position, the target position of each of the mobile objects 101 to 104 is a target position 1401 illustrated in FIG.", "16.The value of the target position 1401 is “34° 41′37.6″ north latitude, 135° 30′9.1″ east longitude, 2 m above sea level”.", "In the case of deciding on the position of the mobile object nearest to the own mobile object among the positions of all the mobile objects belonging to the unknown group as a target position, the target position of each of the mobile objects 101 to 104 is a target position 1402 illustrated in FIG.", "16, that is, the position of the mobile object 105.The value of the target position 1402 is “34° 41′37.5″ north latitude, 135° 30′8.6″ east longitude, 2 m above sea level”.", "FIG.", "17 is a diagram illustrating an example of a method for deciding on a target position and the target position decided on by using the method in each of the mobile objects 106 and 107 in a case where one mobile object (the mobile object 105) fails in the first embodiment of the present disclosure.", "In FIG.", "17, the same elements as those in FIGS.", "6 and 15 are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will not be given.", "It is assumed that the mobile objects 101 to 105 are at the positions described in the other-mobile-object information 702 illustrated in FIG.", "11.For example, in the case of deciding on the center position of all the mobile objects belonging to the unknown group as a target position, the target position of each of the mobile objects 106 and 107 is a target position 1501 illustrated in FIG.", "17.The value of the target position 1501 is “34° 41′37.48″ north latitude, 135° 30′7.82″ east longitude, 2 m above sea level”.", "In the case of deciding on the position of the mobile object nearest to the own mobile object among the positions of all the mobile objects belonging to the unknown group as a target position, the target position of each of the mobile objects 106 and 107 is a target position 1502 illustrated in FIG.", "17, that is, the position of the mobile object 105.The value of the target position 1502 is “34° 41′37.5″ north latitude, 135° 30′8.6″ east longitude, 2 m above sea level”.", "Subsequently, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 101 obtains, from the position information in the own-mobile-object information 701 and the position information in the other-mobile-object information 702, component group position information indicating the latest positions of individual mobile objects belonging to a component group including all mobile objects that form the ad hoc network.", "On the basis of the component group position information, the control unit 602 decides on a communication restoration vector, which is a movement vector for moving toward the target position (step S1007).", "Subsequently, the control unit 602 creates communication restoration vector information, which is information about the communication restoration vector, and updates the communication restoration vector information in the own-mobile-object information 701.For example, if there are one or more mobile objects that are at a distance equal to or less than a predetermined value from the own mobile object, a communication restoration vector having a direction toward the target position and having a predetermined magnitude is decided on as a communication restoration vector of only one mobile object among the own mobile object and the one or more mobile objects, whereas a communication restoration vector having a magnitude of 0 is decided on as communication restoration vectors of the other mobile objects.", "Now, an example of a communication restoration vector will be described.", "In the following description, if each of the mobile objects 101 to 107 decides on a center position of all the mobile objects belonging to the unknown group as a target position and if there are one or more mobile objects that are at a distance equal to or less than a predetermined value from the own mobile object, only one mobile object among the own mobile object and the one or more mobile objects decides on a communication restoration vector having a direction toward the target position and having a predetermined magnitude, whereas the other mobile objects decide on a communication restoration vector having a magnitude of 0.FIG.", "18 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of communication restoration vectors of the mobile objects 101 to 104 in a case where one mobile object (the mobile object 105) fails in the first embodiment of the present disclosure.", "In FIG.", "18, the same elements as those in FIGS.", "6, 14, and 16 are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will not be given.", "The control unit 602 of the mobile object 101 determines, on the basis of the component group position information, whether or not there are one or more mobile objects that are at a predetermined distance or less from the own mobile object.", "In FIG.", "18, the positions that are at the predetermined distance or less from the mobile objects 101 to 104 are surrounded by dotted-line determination circles.", "There is no mobile object within the determination circle of the mobile object 101, and thus the control unit 602 of the mobile object 101 decides on, as its communication restoration vector, a communication restoration vector 1601 (10 m/s, 2 m/s, 0 m/s) having a direction toward the target position 1401 and having a predetermined magnitude.", "Also, the control unit 602 of each of the mobile objects 102 and 103 determines, on the basis of the component group position information, whether or not there are one or more mobile objects that are at a predetermined distance or less from the own mobile object.", "There is the mobile object 103 within the determination circle of the mobile object 102 and there is the mobile object 102 within the determination circle of the mobile object 103.Thus, the mobile objects 102 and 103 communicate with each other and it is determined that only the mobile object 103 moves toward the target position 1401.The control unit 602 of the mobile object 102 decides on, as its communication restoration vector, a communication restoration vector 1602 having a magnitude of 0.The control unit 602 of the mobile object 103 decides on, as its communication restoration vector, a communication restoration vector 1603 (10.1 m/s, 1 m/s, 0 m/s) having a direction toward the target position 1401 and having a predetermined magnitude.", "Also, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 104 determines, on the basis of the component group position information, whether or not there are one or more mobile objects that are at a predetermined distance or less from the own mobile object.", "There is no mobile object within the determination circle of the mobile object 104, and thus the control unit 602 of the mobile object 104 decides on, as its communication restoration vector, a communication restoration vector 1604 (10 m/s, −2 m/s, 0 m/s) having a direction toward the target position 1401 and having a predetermined magnitude.", "FIG.", "19 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of communication restoration vectors of the mobile objects 106 and 107 in a case where one mobile object (the mobile object 105) fails in the first embodiment of the present disclosure.", "In FIG.", "19, the same elements as those in FIGS.", "6, 15, and 17 are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will not be given.", "The control unit 602 of the mobile object 106 determines, on the basis of the component group position information, whether or not there are one or more mobile objects that are at a predetermined distance or less from the own mobile object.", "In FIG.", "19, the positions that are at the predetermined distance or less from the mobile objects 106 and 107 are surrounded by dotted-line determination circles.", "There is no mobile object within the determination circle of the mobile object 106, and thus the control unit 602 of the mobile object 106 decides on, as its communication restoration vector, a communication restoration vector 1706 (−10 m/s, −2 m/s, 0 m/s) having a direction toward the target position 1501 and having a predetermined magnitude.", "Also, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 107 determines, on the basis of the component group position information, whether or not there are one or more mobile objects that are at a predetermined distance or less from the own mobile object.", "There is no mobile object within the determination circle of the mobile object 107, and thus the control unit 602 of the mobile object 107 decides on, as its communication restoration vector, a communication restoration vector 1707 (−10.1 m/s, 1 m/s, 0 m/s) having a direction toward the target position 1501 and having a predetermined magnitude.", "Subsequently, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 101 calculates the sum of movement vectors obtained by multiplying all the movement vectors belonging to the basic movement vector group and the communication restoration vector by a value other than 0, and decides on a movement vector obtained through the calculation as an actual movement vector (step S1008).", "Subsequently, the control unit 602 creates actual movement vector information, which is information about the actual movement vector, and updates the actual movement vector information in the own-mobile-object information 701.FIG.", "20 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of a method for deciding on an actual movement vector in the mobile object 101 in a case where one mobile object (the mobile object 105) fails in the first embodiment of the present disclosure.", "In FIG.", "20, the same elements as those in FIGS.", "6, 13, 14, 16, and 18 are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will not be given.", "To increase the ratio of a movement for avoiding an obstacle, the control unit 602 multiplies the main basic movement vector belonging to the basic movement vector group by 0.5, multiplies the obstacle avoidance basic movement vector belonging to the basic movement vector group by 1, and multiplies the communication restoration vector by 1, and then calculates the sum of the movement vectors as calculation results.", "The value by which each movement vector belonging to the basic movement vector group is multiplied may be a constant or may be a value that is dynamically decided on at the time of performing an actual process.", "Referring to FIG.", "20, as described above, in this example, the main basic movement vector 1101 of the mobile object 101 is (−5 m/s, −2 m/s, 0 m/s), the obstacle avoidance basic movement vector 1102 is (0 m/s, 5 m/s, 0 m/s), and the communication restoration vector 1601 is (10 m/s, 2 m/s, 0 m/s).", "Thus, the movement vector as a calculation result is (7.5 m/s, 6 m/s, 0 m/s).", "The control unit 602 of the mobile object 101 decides on the movement vector (7.5 m/s, 6 m/s, 0 m/s) obtained through the calculation as an actual movement vector 1801.If the mobile object 105 does not fail and if there is no mobile object belonging to an unknown group, the mobile object 101 moves in accordance with an actual movement vector (−2.5 m/s, 4 m/s, 0 m/s) that is obtained by adding a vector obtained by multiplying the main basic movement vector 1101 (−5 m/s, −2 m/s, 0 m/s) by 0.5, a vector obtained by multiplying the obstacle avoidance basic movement vector 1102 (0 m/s, 5 m/s, 0 m/s) by 1, and a vector obtained by multiplying the communication restoration vector having a magnitude of 0 and decided on in step S1010 by 1.Accordingly, as illustrated in FIG.", "13, the mobile object 101 moves substantially north-northwestward while avoiding the obstacle.", "However, if the mobile object 105 fails and if a mobile object belonging to an unknown group emerges, the mobile object 101 moves substantially northeastward in accordance with the actual movement vector 1801 (7.5 m/s, 6 m/s, 0 m/s) to attempt to restore communication, as illustrated in FIG.", "20.The actual movement vectors of the mobile objects 102 to 104, 106, and 107 are decided on similarly to the case of the mobile object 101.FIG.", "21 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of actual movement vectors of the mobile objects 101 to 104, 106, and 107 in a case where one mobile object (the mobile object 105) fails in the first embodiment of the present disclosure.", "In FIG.", "21, the same elements as those in FIGS.", "6 and 20 are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will not be given.", "Here, among the movement vectors belonging to the basic movement vector groups of the mobile objects 102 to 104, the value of the main basic movement vector is (−10 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s) and the value of the obstacle avoidance basic movement vector is (0 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s).", "Among the movement vectors belonging to the basic movement vector groups of the mobile objects 106 and 107, the value of the main basic movement vector is (10 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s) and the value of the obstacle avoidance basic movement vector is (0 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s).", "Here, the control unit 602 decides on, as an actual movement vector, the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the main basic movement vector by 0.5, a movement vector obtained by multiplying the obstacle avoidance basic movement vector by 1, and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication restoration vector by 1.If the mobile object 105 does not fail and if there is no mobile object belonging to an unknown group, the mobile object 103 moves westward in accordance with the actual movement vector (−5 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s) as illustrated in FIG.", "13.However, if the mobile object 105 fails and if a mobile object belonging to an unknown group emerges, the mobile object 103 moves substantially east-northeastward in accordance with an actual movement vector 2703 (5.1 m/s, 1 m/s, 0 m/s) to attempt to restore communication, as illustrated in FIG.", "21.If the mobile object 105 does not fail and if there is no mobile object belonging to an unknown group, the mobile object 104 moves westward in accordance with the actual movement vector (−5 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s) as illustrated in FIG.", "13.However, if the mobile object 105 fails and if a mobile object belonging to an unknown group emerges, the mobile object 104 moves substantially east-southeastward in accordance with an actual movement vector 2704 (5 m/s, −2 m/s, 0 m/s) to attempt to restore communication, as illustrated in FIG.", "21.On the other hand, the mobile object 102, which has the communication restoration vector 1602 having a magnitude of 0, moves westward in accordance with an actual movement vector 2702 (−5 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s) to implement an original purpose, as illustrated in FIG.", "21, even if the mobile object 105 fails and if a mobile object belonging to an unknown group emerges, as in the case where the mobile object 105 does not fail and there is no mobile object belonging to an unknown group.", "In this way, the mobile objects 101, 103, and 104 mainly perform a communication restoration operation whereas the mobile object 102 moves in the same way as in the case where there is no unknown group, and accordingly both restoration of communication and an original purpose can be achieved by the entire component group.", "At the point of time when the communication restoration operation starts, the distance between the mobile objects 102 and 103 is equal to or less than the radius of the determination circle illustrated in FIG.", "18, and thus the direct communication between the mobile objects 102 and 103 is unlikely to be immediately cut off.", "The same applies to the mobile objects 106 and 107 that are incapable of communicating with the mobile objects 101 to 104 due to the failure of the mobile object 105.If the mobile object 105 does not fail and if there is no mobile object belonging to an unknown group, the mobile object 106 moves eastward in accordance with the actual movement vector (5 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s) as illustrated in FIG.", "13.However, if the mobile object 105 fails and if a mobile object belonging to an unknown group emerges, the mobile object 106 moves substantially west-southwestward in accordance with an actual movement vector 2706 (−5 m/s, −2 m/s, 0 m/s) to attempt to restore communication, as illustrated in FIG.", "21.If the mobile object 105 does not fail and if there is no mobile object belonging to an unknown group, the mobile object 107 moves eastward in accordance with the actual movement vector (5 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s) as illustrated in FIG.", "13.However, if the mobile object 105 fails and if a mobile object belonging to an unknown group emerges, the mobile object 107 moves substantially west-northwestward in accordance with an actual movement vector 2707 (−5.1 m/s, 1 m/s, 0 m/s) to attempt to restore communication, as illustrated in FIG.", "21.As a result, the mobile objects 101, 103, 104, 106, and 107 move to get together, and thus restoration of communication is performed more efficiently.", "Subsequently, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 101 obtains the actual movement vector information from the own-mobile-object information 701 and actually moves the mobile object 101 in accordance with the actual movement vector 1801 that has been obtained (step S1009).", "The control unit 602 generates a control command that causes the mobile object 101 to move in accordance with the actual movement vector 1801 and outputs the control command to the movement control units 605.The movement control units 605 actually cause the mobile object 101 to move in accordance with the control command.", "Hereinafter, a description will be given of, by using specific examples, the issues that are not overcome by the techniques disclosed in PTL 1 and that are overcome by the first embodiment of the present disclosure.", "As described above, the first technique disclosed in PTL 1 is not applicable as is if there are two or more mobile objects disconnected from the ad hoc network when viewed from any mobile object, as in the example illustrated in FIG.", "2.In contrast, in the first embodiment of the present disclosure, an attempt can be made to restore communication even if there are two or more mobile objects disconnected from the ad hoc network when viewed from any mobile object, as in the example illustrated in FIG.", "21.In this case, that is, in the case where there are two or more mobile objects disconnected from the ad hoc network when viewed from any mobile object, some or all of the mobile objects belonging to the component group move to get together and thus an attempt to restore communication can be made.", "In the example illustrated in FIG.", "21, the mobile objects 101, 103, 104, 106, and 107 move to get together and accordingly an attempt to restore communication can be made.", "The second technique disclosed in PTL 1 has an issue that all mobile objects are incapable of moving for an original purpose until communication is restored.", "In contrast, in the first embodiment of the present disclosure, the mobile object 102 is capable of moving mainly for an original purpose in the example illustrated in FIG.", "21, for example, and the foregoing issue can be overcome.", "The third technique disclosed in PTL 1 has an issue that a region over which a mobile object group is deployed gradually becomes smaller and all mobile objects are incapable of moving for an original purpose until communication is restored.", "Furthermore, after the communication is restored, the mobile objects need to move again for the original purpose from the positions at the point of time when the communication is restored.", "In contrast, in the first embodiment of the present disclosure, the mobile object 102 is capable of moving mainly for an original purpose in the example illustrated in FIG.", "21, for example, and the foregoing issue can be overcome.", "The fourth technique disclosed in PTL 1 has an issue that, if a selected mobile object moves toward a cutoff position, the communication between the selected mobile object and a mobile object other than a mobile object disconnected from the ad hoc network is cut off, and accordingly the ad hoc network may be secondarily fractured.", "In contrast, in the first embodiment of the present disclosure, the mobile objects 101, 103, 104, 106, and 107 move to get together to attempt to restore communication, and the distance between the mobile object 103, which is one of mobile objects that attempt to restore communication, and the mobile object 102, which moves mainly for an original purpose, is equal to or less than the radius of the determination circle illustrated in FIG.", "18 in the example illustrated in FIG.", "21, for example.", "Thus, the direct communication between the mobile objects 102 and 103 is unlikely to be immediately cut off, and the foregoing issue can be overcome.", "As described above, in the first technique disclosed in PTL 1, if some or all of the mobile objects move to get away from each other as in the example illustrated in FIG.", "3, communication can be restored only partially at best.", "In the example illustrated in FIG.", "3, if the group of the mobile objects 201 to 204 and the group of the mobile objects 206 and 207 continue to move to get away from each other, the direct communication with a mobile object belonging to one of the group of the mobile objects 201 to 204 and the group of the mobile objects 206 and 207 is restored at best, and it is impossible to restore the direct communication with a mobile object belonging to the other group.", "In contrast, in the first embodiment of the present disclosure, an attempt to restore communication can be made even if some mobile objects move to get away from each other as in the example illustrated in FIG.", "3.This will be described below.", "To increase the ratio of a movement for avoiding an obstacle, the control unit 602 multiplies the main basic movement vector belonging to the basic movement vector group by 0.5, multiplies the obstacle avoidance basic movement vector belonging to the basic movement vector group by 1, and multiplies the communication restoration vector by 1, and then calculates the sum of the movement vectors as calculation results.", "Here, among the movement vectors belonging to the basic movement vector groups of the mobile objects 202 to 204, the value of the main basic movement vector is (−10 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s) and the value of the obstacle avoidance basic movement vector is (0 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s).", "Among the movement vectors belonging to the basic movement vector groups of the mobile objects 206 and 207, the value of the main basic movement vector is (10 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s) and the value of the obstacle avoidance basic movement vector is (0 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s).", "Here, the control unit 602 decides on, as an actual movement vector, the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the main basic movement vector by 0.5, a movement vector obtained by multiplying the obstacle avoidance basic movement vector by 1, and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication restoration vector by 1.FIG.", "22 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of communication restoration vectors of the mobile objects 201 to 204 in the situation illustrated in FIG.", "3 in the first embodiment of the present disclosure.", "In FIG.", "22, the same elements as those in FIG.", "1 are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will not be given.", "As illustrated in FIG.", "22, for each of the mobile objects 201 to 204, the mobile objects belonging to a known group 1901 are the mobile objects 201 to 204, and the mobile objects belonging to an unknown group 1902 are the mobile objects 205 to 207.The control unit 602 of the mobile object 201 determines, on the basis of the component group position information, whether or not there are one or more mobile objects that are at a predetermined distance or less from the own mobile object.", "In FIG.", "22, the positions that are at the predetermined distance or less from the mobile objects 201 to 204 are surrounded by dotted-line determination circles.", "There is no mobile object within the determination circle of the mobile object 201, and thus the control unit 602 of the mobile object 201 decides on, as its communication restoration vector, a communication restoration vector 1921 having a direction toward a target position 1911 that is at the center of all the mobile objects belonging to the unknown group and having a predetermined magnitude.", "Also, the control unit 602 of each of the mobile objects 202 and 203 determines, on the basis of the component group position information, whether or not there are one or more mobile objects that are at a predetermined distance or less from the own mobile object.", "There is the mobile object 203 within the determination circle of the mobile object 202 and there is the mobile object 202 within the determination circle of the mobile object 203.Thus, the mobile objects 202 and 203 communicate with each other and it is determined that only the mobile object 203 moves toward the target position 1911.The control unit 602 of the mobile object 202 decides on, as its communication restoration vector, a communication restoration vector 1922 having a magnitude of 0.The control unit 602 of the mobile object 203 decides on, as its communication restoration vector, a communication restoration vector 1923 having a direction toward the target position 1911 and having a predetermined magnitude.", "Also, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 204 determines, on the basis of the component group position information, whether or not there are one or more mobile objects that are at a predetermined distance or less from the own mobile object.", "There is no mobile object within the determination circle of the mobile object 204, and thus the control unit 602 of the mobile object 204 decides on, as its communication restoration vector, a communication restoration vector 1924 having a direction toward the target position 1911 and having a predetermined magnitude.", "FIG.", "23 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of a communication restoration vector of the mobile object 205 in the situation illustrated in FIG.", "3 in the first embodiment of the present disclosure.", "In FIG.", "23, the same elements as those in FIG.", "1 are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will not be given.", "As illustrated in FIG.", "23, for the mobile object 205, the mobile object belonging to a known group 2001 is the mobile object 205, and the mobile objects belonging to an unknown group 2002 are the mobile objects 201 to 204, 206, and 207.The control unit 602 of the mobile object 205 determines, on the basis of the component group position information, whether or not there are one or more mobile objects that are at a predetermined distance or less from the own mobile object.", "In FIG.", "23, the positions that are at the predetermined distance or less from the mobile object 205 are surrounded by a dotted-line determination circle.", "There is no mobile object within the determination circle of the mobile object 205, and thus the control unit 602 of the mobile object 205 decides on, as its communication restoration vector, a communication restoration vector 2025 having a direction toward a target position 2011 that is at the center of all the mobile objects belonging to the unknown group and having a predetermined magnitude.", "FIG.", "24 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of communication restoration vectors of the mobile objects 206 and 207 in the situation illustrated in FIG.", "3 in the first embodiment of the present disclosure.", "In FIG.", "24, the same elements as those in FIG.", "1 are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will not be given.", "As illustrated in FIG.", "24, for each of the mobile objects 206 and 207, the mobile objects belonging to a known group 2101 are the mobile objects 206 and 207, and the mobile objects belonging to an unknown group 2102 are the mobile objects 201 to 205.The control unit 602 of the mobile object 206 determines, on the basis of the component group position information, whether or not there are one or more mobile objects that are at a predetermined distance or less from the own mobile object.", "In FIG.", "24, the positions that are at the predetermined distance or less from the mobile objects 206 and 207 are surrounded by dotted-line determination circles.", "There is no mobile object within the determination circle of the mobile object 206, and thus the control unit 602 of the mobile object 206 decides on, as its communication restoration vector, a communication restoration vector 2126 having a direction toward a target position 2111 that is at the center of all the mobile objects belonging to the unknown group and having a predetermined magnitude.", "Also, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 207 determines, on the basis of the component group position information, whether or not there are one or more mobile objects that are at a predetermined distance or less from the own mobile object.", "There is no mobile object within the determination circle of the mobile object 207, and thus the control unit 602 of the mobile object 207 decides on, as its communication restoration vector, a communication restoration vector 2127 having a direction toward the target position 2111 and having a predetermined magnitude.", "FIG.", "25 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of actual movement vectors of the mobile objects 201 to 207 in the situation illustrated in FIG.", "3 in the first embodiment of the present disclosure.", "In FIG.", "25, the same elements as those in FIG.", "1 are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will not be given.", "The mobile object 201 decides on a basic movement vector group for moving westward, and if the mobile object 205 does not become too far from another mobile object and if there is no mobile object belonging to an unknown group, the mobile object 201 decides on an actual movement vector for moving westward, as illustrated in FIG.", "3.However, if the mobile object 205 becomes too far from another mobile object and if a mobile object belonging to an unknown group emerges, the mobile object 201 moves substantially east-northeastward in accordance with an actual movement vector 2201, which is calculated on the basis of the communication restoration vector 1921 in addition to the basic movement vector group, so as to attempt to restore communication, as illustrated in FIG.", "25.The mobile object 203 decides on a basic movement vector group for moving westward, and if the mobile object 205 does not become too far from another mobile object and if there is no mobile object belonging to an unknown group, the mobile object 203 decides on an actual movement vector for moving westward, as illustrated in FIG.", "3.However, if the mobile object 205 becomes too far from another mobile object and if a mobile object belonging to an unknown group emerges, the mobile object 203 moves substantially east-northeastward in accordance with an actual movement vector 2203, which is calculated on the basis of the communication restoration vector 1923 in addition to the basic movement vector group, so as to attempt to restore communication, as illustrated in FIG.", "25.The mobile object 204 decides on a basic movement vector group for moving westward, and if the mobile object 205 does not become too far from another mobile object and if there is no mobile object belonging to an unknown group, the mobile object 204 decides on an actual movement vector for moving westward, as illustrated in FIG.", "3.However, if the mobile object 205 becomes too far from another mobile object and if a mobile object belonging to an unknown group emerges, the mobile object 204 moves substantially east-southeastward in accordance with an actual movement vector 2204, which is calculated on the basis of the communication restoration vector 1924 in addition to the basic movement vector group, so as to attempt to restore communication, as illustrated in FIG.", "25.The mobile object 205 decides on a basic movement vector group for hardly moving, and if the mobile object 205 does not become too far from another mobile object and if there is no mobile object belonging to an unknown group, the mobile object 205 decides on an actual movement vector for stopping at the position, as illustrated in FIG.", "3.However, if the mobile object 205 becomes too far from another mobile object and if a mobile object belonging to an unknown group emerges, the mobile object 205 moves substantially west-northwestward in accordance with an actual movement vector 2205, which is calculated on the basis of the communication restoration vector 2025 in addition to the basic movement vector group, so as to attempt to restore communication, as illustrated in FIG.", "25.The mobile object 206 decides on a basic movement vector group for moving eastward, and if the mobile object 205 does not become too far from another mobile object and if there is no mobile object belonging to an unknown group, the mobile object 206 decides on an actual movement vector for moving eastward, as illustrated in FIG.", "3.However, if the mobile object 205 becomes too far from another mobile object and if a mobile object belonging to an unknown group emerges, the mobile object 206 moves substantially west-southwestward in accordance with an actual movement vector 2206, which is calculated on the basis of the communication restoration vector 2126 in addition to the basic movement vector group, so as to attempt to restore communication, as illustrated in FIG.", "25.The mobile object 207 decides on a basic movement vector group for moving eastward, and if the mobile object 205 does not become too far from another mobile object and if there is no mobile object belonging to an unknown group, the mobile object 207 decides on an actual movement vector for moving eastward, as illustrated in FIG.", "3.However, if the mobile object 205 becomes too far from another mobile object and if a mobile object belonging to an unknown group emerges, the mobile object 207 moves substantially westward in accordance with an actual movement vector 2207, which is calculated on the basis of the communication restoration vector 2127 in addition to the basic movement vector group, so as to attempt to restore communication, as illustrated in FIG.", "25.On the other hand, the mobile object 202 decides on a basic movement vector group for moving westward, and if the mobile object 205 does not become too far from another mobile object and if there is no mobile object belonging to an unknown group, the mobile object 202 decides on an actual movement vector for moving westward, as illustrated in FIG.", "3.However, since the mobile object 202 has the communication restoration vector 1922 having a magnitude of 0, the mobile object 202 moves substantially westward in accordance with an actual movement vector 2202, which is calculated on the basis of the communication restoration vector 1922 having a magnitude of 0 in addition to the basic movement vector group, even if the mobile object 205 becomes too far from another mobile object and even if a mobile object belonging to an unknown group emerges, as in the case where the mobile object 205 does not become too far from another mobile object and there is no mobile object belonging to an unknown group, and is capable of implementing an original purpose, as illustrated in FIG.", "25.In this way, the mobile objects 201 and 203 to 207 mainly perform a communication restoration operation whereas the mobile object 202 moves in the same way as in the case where there is no unknown group, and accordingly both restoration of communication and an original purpose can be achieved by the entire component group.", "At the point of time when the communication restoration operation starts, the distance between the mobile objects 202 and 203 is equal to or less than the radius of the determination circle illustrated in FIG.", "22, and thus the direct communication between the mobile objects 202 and 203 is unlikely to be immediately cut off.", "The second technique disclosed in PTL 1 has an issue that all mobile objects are incapable of moving for an original purpose until communication is restored.", "In contrast, in the first embodiment of the present disclosure, the mobile object 202 is capable of moving mainly for an original purpose in the example illustrated in FIG.", "25, for example, and the foregoing issue can be overcome.", "The third technique disclosed in PTL 1 has an issue that a region over which a mobile object group is deployed gradually becomes smaller and all mobile objects are incapable of moving for an original purpose until communication is restored.", "Furthermore, after the communication is restored, the mobile objects need to move again for the original purpose from the positions at the point of time when the communication is restored.", "In contrast, in the first embodiment of the present disclosure, the mobile object 202 is capable of moving mainly for an original purpose in the example illustrated in FIG.", "25, for example, and the foregoing issue can be overcome.", "The fourth technique disclosed in PTL 1 has an issue that, if a selected mobile object moves toward a cutoff position, the communication between the selected mobile object and a mobile object other than a mobile object disconnected from the ad hoc network is cut off, and accordingly the ad hoc network may be secondarily fractured.", "In contrast, in the first embodiment of the present disclosure, the mobile objects 201 and 203 to 207 move to get together to efficiently restore communication, and the distance between the mobile object 203, which is one of mobile objects that attempt to restore communication, and the mobile object 202, which moves mainly for an original purpose, is equal to or less than the radius of the determination circle illustrated in FIG.", "22 in the example illustrated in FIG.", "25, for example.", "Thus, the direct communication between the mobile objects 202 and 203 is unlikely to be immediately cut off, and the foregoing issue can be overcome.", "As described above, in the first technique disclosed in PTL 1, if a mobile object disconnected from the ad hoc network moves to restore communication with the ad hoc network but there is no mobile object in the movement direction or if a mobile object moves in a direction of getting away from the mobile object disconnected from the ad hoc network, it is impossible to restore communication, as in the example illustrated in FIG.", "4.In the example illustrated in FIG.", "4, the mobile objects 201 to 206 do not exist in the direction in which the mobile object 207, which has been disconnected from the ad hoc network, moves to restore communication, and the mobile objects 201 to 206 continue to move in a lower-left direction in FIG.", "4.Thus, the mobile object 207 is incapable of approaching the mobile objects 201 to 206 and restoring the direct communication therewith even if the first technique disclosed in PTL 1 is used.", "Furthermore, even if the mobile objects 201 to 206 exist in the direction in which the mobile object 207 moves, the mobile object 207 is incapable of catching up with the mobile objects 201 to 206 and restoring the direct communication with the mobile objects 201 to 206 because the mobile objects 201 to 206 continue to move in a direction of getting away from the mobile object 207.In contrast, in the first embodiment of the present disclosure, even if a mobile object disconnected from the ad hoc network moves to restore communication with the ad hoc network but there is no mobile object in the movement direction or even if a mobile object moves in a direction of getting away from the mobile object disconnected from the ad hoc network, as in the example illustrated in FIG.", "4, an attempt to restore communication can be made.", "This will be described below.", "FIG.", "26 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of communication restoration vectors that are decided on by the mobile objects 201 to 206 in the situation illustrated in FIG.", "4 in the first embodiment of the present disclosure.", "In FIG.", "26, the same elements as those in FIGS.", "1 and 4 are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will not be given.", "As illustrated in FIG.", "26, for each of the mobile objects 201 to 206, the mobile objects belonging to a known group 2401 are the mobile objects 201 to 206, and the mobile object belonging to an unknown group 2402 is the mobile object 207.The control unit 602 of the mobile object 201 determines, on the basis of the component group position information, whether or not there are one or more mobile objects that are at a predetermined distance or less from the own mobile object.", "In FIG.", "26, the positions that are at the predetermined distance or less from the mobile objects 201 to 206 are surrounded by dotted-line determination circles.", "There is no mobile object within the determination circle of the mobile object 201, and thus the control unit 602 of the mobile object 201 decides on, as its communication restoration vector, a communication restoration vector 2421 having a direction toward a target position 2411 that is at the center of all the mobile objects belonging to the unknown group 2402 and having a predetermined magnitude.", "Also, the control unit 602 of each of the mobile objects 202 and 203 determines, on the basis of the component group position information, whether or not there are one or more mobile objects that are at a predetermined distance or less from the own mobile object.", "There is the mobile object 203 within the determination circle of the mobile object 202 and there is the mobile object 202 within the determination circle of the mobile object 203.Thus, the mobile objects 202 and 203 communicate with each other and it is determined that only the mobile object 203 moves toward the target position 2411.The control unit 602 of the mobile object 202 decides on, as its communication restoration vector, a communication restoration vector 2422 having a magnitude of 0.The control unit 602 of the mobile object 203 decides on, as its communication restoration vector, a communication restoration vector 2423 having a direction toward the target position 2411 and having a predetermined magnitude.", "Also, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 204 determines, on the basis of the component group position information, whether or not there are one or more mobile objects that are at a predetermined distance or less from the own mobile object.", "There is no mobile object within the determination circle of the mobile object 204, and thus the control unit 602 of the mobile object 204 decides on, as its communication restoration vector, a communication restoration vector 2424 having a direction toward the target position 2411 and having a predetermined magnitude.", "Also, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 205 determines, on the basis of the component group position information, whether or not there are one or more mobile objects that are at a predetermined distance or less from the own mobile object.", "There is no mobile object within the determination circle of the mobile object 205, and thus the control unit 602 of the mobile object 205 decides on, as its communication restoration vector, a communication restoration vector 2425 having a direction toward the target position 2411 and having a predetermined magnitude.", "Also, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 206 determines, on the basis of the component group position information, whether or not there are one or more mobile objects that are at a predetermined distance or less from the own mobile object.", "There is no mobile object within the determination circle of the mobile object 206, and thus the control unit 602 of the mobile object 206 decides on, as its communication restoration vector, a communication restoration vector 2426 having a direction toward the target position 2411 and having a predetermined magnitude.", "FIG.", "27 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of a communication restoration vector that is decided on by the mobile object 207 in the situation illustrated in FIG.", "4 in the first embodiment of the present disclosure.", "In FIG.", "27, the same elements as those in FIGS.", "1 and 4 are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will not be given.", "As illustrated in FIG.", "27, for the mobile object 207, the mobile object belonging to a known group 2501 is the mobile object 207, and the mobile objects belonging to an unknown group 2502 are the mobile objects 201 to 206.The control unit 602 of the mobile object 207 determines, on the basis of the component group position information, whether or not there are one or more mobile objects that are at a predetermined distance or less from the own mobile object.", "In FIG.", "27, the positions that are at the predetermined distance or less from the mobile object 207 are surrounded by a dotted-line determination circle.", "There is no mobile object within the determination circle of the mobile object 207, and thus the control unit 602 of the mobile object 207 decides on, as its communication restoration vector, a communication restoration vector 2527 having a direction toward a target position 2511 that is at the center of all the mobile objects belonging to the unknown group 2502 and having a predetermined magnitude.", "FIG.", "28 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of actual movement vectors of the mobile objects 201 to 207 in the situation illustrated in FIG.", "4 in the first embodiment of the present disclosure.", "In FIG.", "28, the same elements as those in FIGS.", "1 and 4 are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will not be given.", "The mobile object 201 decides on a basic movement vector group for moving substantially south-southwestward, and if the mobile object 207 does not become too far from another mobile object and if there is no mobile object belonging to an unknown group, the mobile object 201 decides on an actual movement vector for moving substantially south-southwestward, as illustrated in FIG.", "4.However, if the mobile object 207 becomes too far from another mobile object and if a mobile object belonging to an unknown group emerges, the mobile object 201 moves substantially eastward in accordance with an actual movement vector 2601, which is calculated on the basis of the communication restoration vector 2421 in addition to the basic movement vector group, so as to attempt to restore communication, as illustrated in FIG.", "28.The mobile object 203 decides on a basic movement vector group for moving substantially south-southwestward, and if the mobile object 207 does not become too far from another mobile object and if there is no mobile object belonging to an unknown group, the mobile object 203 decides on an actual movement vector for moving substantially south-southwestward, as illustrated in FIG.", "4.However, if the mobile object 207 becomes too far from another mobile object and if a mobile object belonging to an unknown group emerges, the mobile object 203 moves substantially eastward in accordance with an actual movement vector 2603, which is calculated on the basis of the communication restoration vector 2423 in addition to the basic movement vector group, so as to attempt to restore communication, as illustrated in FIG.", "28.The mobile object 204 decides on a basic movement vector group for moving substantially south-southwestward, and if the mobile object 207 does not become too far from another mobile object and if there is no mobile object belonging to an unknown group, the mobile object 204 decides on an actual movement vector for moving substantially south-southwestward, as illustrated in FIG.", "4.However, if the mobile object 207 becomes too far from another mobile object and if a mobile object belonging to an unknown group emerges, the mobile object 204 moves substantially eastward in accordance with an actual movement vector 2604, which is calculated on the basis of the communication restoration vector 2424 in addition to the basic movement vector group, so as to attempt to restore communication, as illustrated in FIG.", "28.The mobile object 205 decides on a basic movement vector group for moving substantially south-southwestward, and if the mobile object 207 does not become too far from another mobile object and if there is no mobile object belonging to an unknown group, the mobile object 205 decides on an actual movement vector for moving substantially south-southwestward, as illustrated in FIG.", "4.However, if the mobile object 207 becomes too far from another mobile object and if a mobile object belonging to an unknown group emerges, the mobile object 205 moves substantially east-northeastward in accordance with an actual movement vector 2605, which is calculated on the basis of the communication restoration vector 2425 in addition to the basic movement vector group, so as to attempt to restore communication, as illustrated in FIG.", "28.The mobile object 206 decides on a basic movement vector group for moving substantially south-southwestward, and if the mobile object 207 does not become too far from another mobile object and if there is no mobile object belonging to an unknown group, the mobile object 206 decides on an actual movement vector for moving substantially south-southwestward, as illustrated in FIG.", "4.However, if the mobile object 207 becomes too far from another mobile object and if a mobile object belonging to an unknown group emerges, the mobile object 206 moves substantially east-northeastward in accordance with an actual movement vector 2606, which is calculated on the basis of the communication restoration vector 2426 in addition to the basic movement vector group, so as to attempt to restore communication, as illustrated in FIG.", "28.The mobile object 207 decides on a basic movement vector group for moving substantially eastward, and if the mobile object 207 does not become too far from another mobile object and if there is no mobile object belonging to an unknown group, the mobile object 207 decides on an actual movement vector for moving substantially eastward, as illustrated in FIG.", "4.However, if the mobile object 207 becomes too far from another mobile object and if a mobile object belonging to an unknown group emerges, the mobile object 207 moves substantially south-southwestward in accordance with an actual movement vector 2607, which is calculated on the basis of the communication restoration vector 2527 in addition to the basic movement vector group, so as to attempt to restore communication, as illustrated in FIG.", "28.On the other hand, the mobile object 202 decides on a basic movement vector group for moving substantially south-southwestward, and if the mobile object 207 does not become too far from another mobile object and if there is no mobile object belonging to an unknown group, the mobile object 202 decides on an actual movement vector for moving substantially south-southwestward, as illustrated in FIG.", "4.However, since the mobile object 202 has the communication restoration vector 2422 having a magnitude of 0, the mobile object 202 moves substantially south-southwestward in accordance with an actual movement vector 2602, which is calculated on the basis of the communication restoration vector 2422 having a magnitude of 0 in addition to the basic movement vector group, even if the mobile object 207 becomes too far from another mobile object and even if a mobile object belonging to an unknown group emerges, as in the case where the mobile object 207 does not become too far from another mobile object and there is no mobile object belonging to an unknown group, and is capable of implementing an original purpose, as illustrated in FIG.", "28.In this way, the mobile objects 201 and 203 to 207 mainly perform a communication restoration operation whereas the mobile object 202 moves in the same way as in the case where there is no unknown group, and accordingly both restoration of communication and an original purpose can be achieved by the entire component group.", "At the point of time when the communication restoration operation starts, the distance between the mobile objects 202 and 203 is equal to or less than the radius of the determination circle illustrated in FIG.", "26, and thus the direct communication between the mobile objects 202 and 203 is unlikely to be immediately cut off.", "The second technique disclosed in PTL 1 has an issue that all mobile objects are incapable of moving for an original purpose until communication is restored.", "In contrast, in the first embodiment of the present disclosure, the mobile object 202 is capable of moving mainly for an original purpose in the example illustrated in FIG.", "28, for example, and the foregoing issue can be overcome.", "The third technique disclosed in PTL 1 has an issue that a region over which a mobile object group is deployed gradually becomes smaller and all mobile objects are incapable of moving for an original purpose until communication is restored.", "Furthermore, after the communication is restored, the mobile objects need to move again for the original purpose from the positions at the point of time when the communication is restored.", "In contrast, in the first embodiment of the present disclosure, the mobile object 202 is capable of moving mainly for an original purpose in the example illustrated in FIG.", "28, for example, and the foregoing issue can be overcome.", "The fourth technique disclosed in PTL 1 has an issue that, if a selected mobile object moves toward a cutoff position, the communication between the selected mobile object and a mobile object other than a mobile object disconnected from the ad hoc network is cut off, and accordingly the ad hoc network may be secondarily fractured.", "In contrast, in the first embodiment of the present disclosure, the mobile objects 201 and 203 to 207 move to get together to efficiently restore communication, and the distance between the mobile object 203, which is one of mobile objects that attempt to restore communication, and the mobile object 202, which moves mainly for an original purpose, is equal to or less than the radius of the determination circle illustrated in FIG.", "26 in the example illustrated in FIG.", "28, for example.", "Thus, the direct communication between the mobile objects 202 and 203 is unlikely to be immediately cut off, and the foregoing issue can be overcome.", "In the first embodiment of the present disclosure, a target position is decided on in step S1006 every time before a communication restoration vector is decided on in step S1007, as long as there is a mobile object belonging to an unknown group.", "Alternatively, in a second configuration of the first embodiment, a target position may be decided on only if a mobile object belonging to the unknown group is changed.", "In the second configuration of the first embodiment, a target position is decided on only if a mobile object belonging to the unknown group is changed, and thus the processing efficiency can be enhanced.", "In the first embodiment of the present disclosure, it is determined in step S1004 whether or not there is a mobile object belonging to an unknown group, and if there is a mobile object belonging to an unknown group, steps S1005 to S1007 are performed to decide on a communication restoration vector having a magnitude that is not 0.Alternatively, in a third configuration of the first embodiment, the time when step S1005 is performed for the first time may be stored, and if a restoration period longer than 0 elapses from the time, the magnitude of the communication restoration vector may be set to 0 (step S1010) and the process may proceed to step S1008 without performing steps S1005 to S1007 even if there is a mobile object belonging to the unknown group.", "The value of the restoration period may be a constant or may be a value that is dynamically decided on when an actual process is performed.", "That is, if the control unit 602 detects that the first information is ceased to be received by the communication unit 601, the control unit 602 may output a third control command to the movement control units 605 after a predetermined time period elapses from when the second control command is output to the movement control units 605.The third control command causes the mobile object 101 to move by switching from the third control amount to the first control amount.", "In the third configuration of the first embodiment, if restoration of communication is not completed within the restoration period, the operation for restoration is stopped.", "Thus, a situation can be prevented from occurring where a communication restoration operation is endlessly performed.", "In the third configuration of the first embodiment, the time when step S1005 is performed for the first time may be reset at an appropriate timing after the restoration period elapses, so that the process in steps S1005 to S1007 can be performed again.", "The appropriate timing may be, for example, when a mobile object belonging to the unknown group is changed or when a predetermined period further elapses (a fourth configuration of the first embodiment).", "In the fourth configuration of the first embodiment, if a predetermined condition is satisfied after the restoration period elapses, the communication restoration operation can be retried.", "In the first embodiment of the present disclosure, it is determined in step S1004 whether or not there is a mobile object belonging to an unknown group, and if there is a mobile object belonging to an unknown group, steps S1005 to S1007 are performed to decide on a communication restoration vector having a magnitude that is not 0.In a fifth configuration of the first embodiment, if a mobile object reaches a position where the distance to a target position is equal to or less than a movement stop determination distance, the magnitude of the communication restoration vector may be set to 0 (step S1010) and the process may proceed to step S1008 without performing steps S1005 to S1007, even if there is a mobile object belonging to an unknown group.", "The value of the movement stop determination distance may be a constant or may be a value that is dynamically decided on when an actual process is performed.", "That is, if the control unit 602 detects that the first information is ceased to be received by the communication unit 601, the control unit 602 may determine whether or not the distance between the first position and a third position, which is a position of the mobile object 101 after the second control command is output to the movement control units 605, is equal to or less than a predetermined value.", "If the distance is equal to or less than the predetermined value, the control unit 602 may output, to the movement control units 605, the third control command that causes the mobile object 101 to move by switching from the third control amount to the first control amount.", "In the fifth configuration of the first embodiment, if restoration of communication is not completed even if the mobile object reaches the position where the distance to the target position is equal to or less than the movement stop determination distance, the operation for restoration is stopped.", "Thus, a situation can be prevented from occurring where a communication restoration operation is endlessly performed.", "In the fifth configuration of the first embodiment, after the mobile object reaches the position where the distance to the target position is equal to or less than the movement stop determination distance, the magnitude of the communication restoration vector may be set to 0 (step S1010) and the process may proceed to step S1008 without performing steps S1005 to S1007, until a mobile object belonging to the unknown group is changed (a sixth configuration of the first embodiment).", "In the sixth configuration of the first embodiment, if the mobile object reaches the position where the distance to the target position is equal to or less than the movement stop determination distance and then moves away to a position where the distance to the target position exceeds the movement stop determination distance, a communication restoration operation may be started again, so that a situation can be prevented from occurring where a communication restoration operation and a movement for an original purpose are alternately repeated.", "In the first embodiment of the present disclosure, it is determined in step S1004 whether or not there is a mobile object belonging to an unknown group, and if there is a mobile object belonging to an unknown group, steps S1005 to S1007 are performed to decide on a communication restoration vector having a magnitude that is not 0.In a seventh configuration of the first embodiment, a second movement stop determination distance is calculated by multiplying the distance from a specific position to a target position by a movement stop determination coefficient.", "If the mobile object reaches a position where the distance to the target position is equal to or less than the second movement stop determination distance, the magnitude of the communication restoration vector may be set to 0 (step S1010) and the process may proceed to step S1008 without performing steps S1005 to S1007, even if there is a mobile object belonging to the unknown group.", "The value of the second movement stop determination coefficient may be a constant or may be a value that is dynamically decided on when an actual process is performed.", "In the seventh configuration of the first embodiment, if restoration of communication is not completed even if the mobile object reaches the position where the distance to the target position is equal to or less than the second movement stop determination distance, the operation for restoration is stopped.", "Thus, a situation can be prevented from occurring where a communication restoration operation is endlessly performed.", "In the seventh configuration of the first embodiment, after the mobile object reaches the position where the distance to the target position is equal to or less than the second movement stop determination distance, the magnitude of the communication restoration vector may be set to 0 (step S1010) and the process may proceed to step S1008 without performing steps S1005 to S1007, until a mobile object belonging to the unknown group is changed (an eighth configuration of the first embodiment).", "In the eighth configuration of the first embodiment, if the mobile object reaches the position where the distance to the target position is equal to or less than the second movement stop determination distance and then moves away to a position where the distance to the target position exceeds the second movement stop determination distance, a communication restoration operation may be started again, so that a situation can be prevented from occurring where a communication restoration operation and a movement for an original purpose are alternately repeated.", "In the first embodiment of the present disclosure, it is determined in step S1004 whether or not there is a mobile object belonging to an unknown group, and if there is a mobile object belonging to an unknown group, steps S1005 to S1007 are performed to decide on a communication restoration vector having a magnitude that is not 0.In a ninth configuration of the first embodiment, when the mobile object reaches the target position, the magnitude of the communication restoration vector may be set to 0 (step S1010) and the process may proceed to step S1008 without performing steps S1005 to S1007, even if there is a mobile object belonging to the unknown group.", "In the ninth configuration of the first embodiment, if restoration of communication is not completed even if the mobile object reaches the target position, the operation for restoration is stopped.", "Thus, a situation can be prevented from occurring where a communication restoration operation is endlessly performed.", "In the ninth configuration of the first embodiment, after the mobile object reaches the target position, the magnitude of the communication restoration vector may be set to 0 (step S1010) and the process may proceed to step S1008 without performing steps S1005 to S1007, until a mobile object belonging to the unknown group is changed (a tenth configuration of the first embodiment).", "In the tenth configuration of the first embodiment, if the mobile object reaches the target position and then moves away from the target position, a communication restoration operation may be started again, so that a situation can be prevented from occurring where a communication restoration operation and a movement for an original purpose are alternately repeated.", "In the third to tenth configurations of the first embodiment of the present disclosure, at the time of performing step S1004, in order to stop a communication restoration operation when the conditions described above regarding the individual configurations are satisfied, the magnitude of the communication restoration vector may be set to 0 (step S1010), and when the process proceeds to step S1008 without performing steps S1005 to S1007, the mobile objects belonging to the known group may be specified again as a component group, thereby dividing the ad hoc network (an eleventh configuration of the first embodiment).", "The communication unit 601 may further receive, from a second communication-partner mobile object (for example, the mobile object 102) that is different from the mobile objects 101 and 105 and forms the network together with the mobile object 101, second information indicating any one of a second position, a second velocity, and a second acceleration of the mobile object 102.The storage unit 603 may store fourth information (other-mobile-object information 702) including the first information and the second information.", "The control unit 602 may update the fourth information stored in the storage unit 603 by deleting the first information from the fourth information after outputting the third control command to the movement control units 605.In the eleventh configuration of the first embodiment, each mobile object belonging to the known group is capable of avoiding endless repetition of stop and restart of a communication restoration operation by restarting the communication restoration operation for the unknown group for which restoration of communication has failed.", "In the third to tenth configurations of the first embodiment of the present disclosure, at the time of performing step S1004, in order to stop a communication restoration operation when the conditions described above regarding the individual configurations are satisfied, the magnitude of the communication restoration vector may be set to 0 (step S1010), and when the process proceeds to step S1008 without performing steps S1005 to S1007, a division notification indicating that the ad hoc network is to be divided may be transmitted to all the mobile objects belonging to the known group other than the own mobile object (a twelfth configuration of the first embodiment).", "When a division notification is received from another mobile object, the magnitude of the communication restoration vector may be set to 0 (step S1010), and the process may proceed to step S1008 without performing steps S1005 to S1007 even if there is a mobile object belonging to the unknown group in step S1004.Accordingly, the communication restoration operation is stopped and the mobile objects belonging to the known group at the time are specified again as a component group, thereby dividing the ad hoc network.", "In the twelfth configuration of the first embodiment, each mobile object belonging to the known group is capable of specifying the same component group and is also capable of avoiding endless repetition of stop and restart of a communication restoration operation by restarting the communication restoration operation for the unknown group for which restoration of communication has failed.", "In the third to tenth configurations of the first embodiment of the present disclosure, at the time of performing step S1004, in order to stop a communication restoration operation when the conditions described above regarding the individual configurations are satisfied, the magnitude of the communication restoration vector may be set to 0 (step S1010), and when the process proceeds to step S1008 without performing steps S1005 to S1007, known group information specifying the mobile objects belonging to the known group may be transmitted to all the mobile objects belonging to the known group other than the own mobile object (a thirteenth configuration of the first embodiment).", "When known group information is received from another mobile object, the magnitude of the communication restoration vector may be set to 0 (step S1010), and the process may proceed to step S1008 without performing steps S1005 to S1007 even if there is a mobile object belonging to the unknown group in step S1004.Accordingly, the communication restoration operation is stopped and the mobile objects specified by the known group information are specified again as a component group, thereby dividing the ad hoc network.", "The control unit 602 may cause the communication unit 601 to transmit the fourth information (other-mobile-object information 702) to the second communication-partner mobile object (for example, the mobile object 102) after updating the fourth information.", "The storage unit 603 may store the fourth information including the first information and the second information.", "After the second communication-partner mobile object (for example, the mobile object 102) updates fifth information (the other-mobile-object information stored in the mobile object 102) including information indicating the mobile object 101 and information indicating a third communication-partner mobile object (for example, any one of the mobile objects 105, 106, and 107) by deleting the information indicating the third communication-partner mobile object from the fifth information, the second communication-partner mobile object may transmit the fifth information to the mobile object 101.The communication unit 601 of the mobile object 101 may receive the fifth information from the second communication-partner mobile object.", "The control unit 602 may update the fourth information stored in the storage unit 603 to the fifth information.", "In the thirteenth configuration of the first embodiment, each mobile object belonging to the known group is capable of reliably specifying the same component group without being affected by a time lag in communication and is also capable of avoiding endless repetition of stop and restart of a communication restoration operation by restarting the communication restoration operation for the unknown group for which restoration of communication has failed.", "After the mobile object 101 actually moves in accordance with the actual movement vector 1801 in step S1009, the mobile object 101 restarts an original movement upon communication with the mobile object 105 being restarted.", "That is, the control unit 602 generates a control command for moving the mobile object 101 in accordance with a basic movement vector group and outputs the control command to the movement control units 605.The movement control units 605 cause the mobile object 101 to actually move in accordance with the control command.", "That is, if the control unit 602 detects that the first information is ceased to be received by the communication unit 601 and then detects that the first information is restarted to be received by the communication unit 601, the control unit 602 may output the third control command to the movement control units 605, the third control command causing the mobile object 101 to move by switching from the third control amount to the first control amount.", "After the mobile object 101 actually moves in accordance with the actual movement vector 1801 in step S1009, the mobile object 101 restarts an original movement upon communication with all the mobile objects 105, 106, and 107 being restarted.", "That is, the control unit 602 generates a control command for moving the mobile object 101 in accordance with a basic movement vector group and outputs the control command to the movement control units 605.The movement control units 605 cause the mobile object 101 to actually move in accordance with the control command.", "That is, the communication unit 601 may receive the first information again from a plurality of first communication-partner mobile objects (for example, the mobile objects 105, 106, and 107).", "If the control unit 602 detects that a plurality of pieces of first information are ceased to be received by the communication unit 601 and then detects that a plurality of pieces of first information are restarted to be received by the communication unit 601, the control unit 602 may output the third control command to the movement control units 605, the third control command causing the mobile object 101 to move by switching from the third control amount to the first control amount.", "Second Embodiment The conceptual diagram illustrating an overall ad hoc network formed of a plurality of mobile objects according to a second embodiment of the present disclosure is the same as FIG.", "6, and thus the description thereof will not be given.", "The block diagram illustrating the functional configuration of the mobile object 101 according to the second embodiment of the present disclosure is the same as FIG.", "8, and thus the description thereof will not be given.", "The diagram illustrating the information stored in the storage unit 603 of the mobile object 101 according to the second embodiment of the present disclosure is the same as FIG.", "9, and thus the description thereof will not be given.", "The diagram illustrating an example of the own-mobile-object information 701 stored in the storage unit 603 of the mobile object 101 according to the second embodiment of the present disclosure is the same as FIG.", "10, and thus the description thereof will not be given.", "The diagram illustrating an example of the other-mobile-object information 702 stored in the storage unit 603 of the mobile object 101 according to the second embodiment of the present disclosure is the same as FIG.", "11, and thus the description thereof will not be given.", "FIG.", "29 is a flowchart illustrating an overall operation of movement control of the mobile object 101 according to the second embodiment of the present disclosure.", "In FIG.", "29, the same steps as those in FIG.", "12 are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will not be given.", "In the second embodiment of the present disclosure, if it is determined in step S1004 that there is a mobile object belonging to an unknown group, the process in steps S1005 to S2807 is performed.", "After deciding on a target position in step S1006, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 101 calculates the distance from the target position to the position of the own mobile object (step S2811).", "The conceptual diagram of an example of a basic movement vector group is the same as FIG.", "13, and thus the description thereof will not be given.", "The conceptual diagram illustrating a known group and an unknown group in each of the mobile objects 101 to 104 in a case where the mobile object 105 fails is the same as FIG.", "14, and thus the description thereof will not be given.", "The conceptual diagram illustrating a known group and an unknown group in each of the mobile objects 106 and 107 in a case where the mobile object 105 fails is the same as FIG.", "15, and thus the description thereof will not be given.", "The diagram illustrating an example of a method for deciding on a target position in each of the mobile objects 101 to 104 and the target position decided on by using the method in a case where the mobile object 105 fails is the same as FIG.", "16.It is assumed that the mobile objects 105 to 107 are at the positions described in the other-mobile-object information 702 illustrated in FIG.", "11.In each of the mobile objects 101 to 104, for example, in the case of deciding on the center position of all the mobile objects belonging to the unknown group as a target position, the target position is the target position 1401 illustrated in FIG.", "16.The value of the target position 1401 is “34° 41′37.6″ north latitude, 135° 30′9.1″ east longitude, 2 m above sea level”.", "In this case, the distances from the target position 1401 to the mobile objects 101 to 104 are 53.3 m, 37.6 m, 35.5 m, and 27.9 m, respectively.", "In the case of deciding on the position nearest to the own mobile object among the positions of all the mobile objects belonging to the unknown group as a target position, the target position is the target position 1402 illustrated in FIG.", "16, that is, the position of the mobile object 105.The value of the target position 1402 is “34° 41′37.5″ north latitude, 135° 30′8.6″ east longitude, 2 m above sea level”.", "In this case, the distances from the target position 1402 to the mobile objects 101 to 104 are 40.6 m, 25.0 m, 22.7 m, and 19.9 m, respectively.", "Here, approximate values are calculated in an abbreviated manner under the assumption that the distance corresponding to one second in latitude is 31 m and the distance corresponding to one second in longitude is 25 m. However, the method for calculating a distance on the basis of a difference in latitude and longitude is not related to the gist of the present disclosure.", "In this specification, unless otherwise noted, a distance is calculated on the basis of a difference in latitude and longitude by using the simple method described herein.", "The diagram illustrating an example of a method for deciding on a target position in each of the mobile objects 106 and 107 and the target position decided on by using the method in a case where the mobile object 105 fails is the same as FIG.", "17.It is assumed that the mobile objects 101 to 105 are at the positions described in the other-mobile-object information 702 illustrated in FIG.", "11.In each of the mobile objects 106 and 107, for example, in the case of deciding on the center position of all the mobile objects belonging to the unknown group as a target position, the target position is the target position 1501 illustrated in FIG.", "17.The value of the target position 1501 is “34° 41′37.48″ north latitude, 135° 30′7.82″ east longitude, 2 m above sea level”.", "In this case, the distances from the target position 1501 to the mobile objects 106 and 107 are 33.5 m and 44.5 m, respectively.", "In the case of deciding on the position nearest to the own mobile object among the positions of all the mobile objects belonging to the unknown group as a target position, the target position is the target position 1502 illustrated in FIG.", "17, that is, the position of the mobile object 105.The value of the target position 1502 is “34° 41′37.5″ north latitude, 135° 30′8.6″ east longitude, 2 m above sea level”.", "In this case, the distances from the target position 1502 to the mobile objects 106 and 107 are 15.6 m and 25.0 m, respectively.", "Subsequently, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 101 decides on a communication restoration vector, which is a movement vector for moving toward the target position, in accordance with the distance from the target position to the position of the own mobile object (step S2807).", "Subsequently, the control unit 602 creates communication restoration vector information, which is information about the communication restoration vector, and updates the communication restoration vector information in the own-mobile-object information 701.That is, the control unit 602 obtains third information indicating the current position of the mobile object 101, calculates the distance between the mobile object 101 and the first communication-partner mobile object (for example, the mobile object 105) on the basis of the first information and the third information, and decides on the second control amount (communication restoration vector) on the basis of the distance.", "The direction of the communication restoration vector may be the direction of the target position, and the magnitude of the communication restoration vector may be a value inversely proportional to the distance from the target position to the position of the own mobile object.", "That is, the control unit 602 may decrease the second movement distance, the second velocity absolute value, or the second acceleration absolute value as the distance decreases.", "Alternatively, the control unit 602 may decrease the second movement distance, the second velocity absolute value, or the second acceleration absolute value as the distance increases.", "Now, a description will be given of an example of a communication restoration vector in a case where each of the mobile objects 101 to 107 decides on, as a target position, a position nearest to the own mobile object among the positions of all the mobile objects belonging to the unknown group, and decides on a communication restoration vector having a direction toward the target position and having a magnitude which is a value inversely proportional to the cube of the distance from the target position to the position of the own mobile object.", "Here, a value obtained by dividing a constant 80.000 by the cube of the distance from the target position to the position of the own mobile object is regarded as the magnitude of the communication restoration vector.", "FIG.", "30 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of communication restoration vectors of the mobile objects 101 to 104 in a case where one mobile object (the mobile object 105) fails in the second embodiment of the present disclosure.", "In FIG.", "30, the same elements as those in FIGS.", "6, 14, and 16 are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will not be given.", "As described above, the distances from the target position 1402 to the mobile objects 101 to 104 are 40.6 m, 25.0 m, 22.7 m, and 19.9 m, respectively.", "Thus, the communication restoration vectors of the mobile objects 101 to 104 have magnitudes of 1.2 m/s, 5.1 m/s, 6.8 m/s, and 10.2 m/s, respectively, and have directions toward the target position 1402.That is, a communication restoration vector 2901 of the mobile object 101 is (1.2 m/s, 0.2 m/s, 0 m/s), a communication restoration vector 2902 of the mobile object 102 is (5.1 m/s, −0.6 m/s, 0 m/s), a communication restoration vector 2903 of the mobile object 103 is (6.8 m/s, 0.6 m/s, 0 m), and a communication restoration vector 2904 of the mobile object 104 is (7.3 m/s, −7.3 m/s, 0 m/s).", "FIG.", "31 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of communication restoration vectors of the mobile objects 106 and 107 in a case where one mobile object (the mobile object 105) fails in the second embodiment of the present disclosure.", "In FIG.", "31, the same elements as those in FIGS.", "6, 15, and 17 are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will not be given.", "As described above, the distances from the target position 1502 to the mobile objects 106 and 107 are 15.6 m and 25.0 m, respectively.", "Thus, the communication restoration vectors of the mobile objects 106 and 107 have magnitudes of 21.1 m/s and 5.1 m/s, respectively, and have directions toward the target position 1502.That is, a communication restoration vector 3006 of the mobile object 106 is (−16.9 m/s, −12.7 m/s, 0 m/s), and a communication restoration vector 3007 of the mobile object 107 is (−5.1 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s).", "Subsequently, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 101 calculates the sum of movement vectors that are obtained by multiplying all the movement vectors belonging to the basic movement vector group and the communication restoration vector by a value other than 0, and decides on a movement vector obtained through the calculation as an actual movement vector (step S1008).", "Subsequently, the control unit 602 creates actual movement vector information, which is information about the actual movement vector, and updates the actual movement vector information in the own-mobile-object information 701.FIG.", "32 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of a method for deciding on an actual movement vector in the mobile object 101 in a case where one mobile object (the mobile object 105) fails in the second embodiment of the present disclosure.", "In FIG.", "32, the same elements as those in FIGS.", "6, 14, 16, and 30 are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will not be given.", "To increase the ratio of a movement for avoiding an obstacle, the control unit 602 multiplies the main basic movement vector belonging to the basic movement vector group by 0.5, multiplies the obstacle avoidance basic movement vector belonging to the basic movement vector group by 1, and multiplies the communication restoration vector by 1, and then calculates the sum of the movement vectors as calculation results.", "The value by which each movement vector belonging to the basic movement vector group is multiplied may be a constant or may be a value that is dynamically decided on at the time of performing an actual process.", "In the example illustrated in FIG.", "32, the main basic movement vector 1101 of the mobile object 101 is (−5 m/s, −2 m/s, 0 m/s), the obstacle avoidance basic movement vector 1102 is (0 m/s, 5 m/s, 0 m/s), and the communication restoration vector 2901 is (10 m/s, 2 m/s, 0 m/s).", "Thus, the movement vector as a calculation result is (−1.3 m/s, 4.2 m/s, 0 m/s).", "The control unit 602 of the mobile object 101 decides on the movement vector (−1.3 m/s, 4.2 m/s, 0 m/s) obtained through the calculation as an actual movement vector 3101.If the mobile object 105 does not fail and if there is no mobile object belonging to an unknown group, the mobile object 101 moves in accordance with an actual movement vector (−2.5 m/s, 4 m/s, 0 m/s) that is obtained by adding a vector obtained by multiplying the main basic movement vector 1101 (−5 m/s, −2 m/s, 0 m/s) by 0.5, a vector obtained by multiplying the obstacle avoidance basic movement vector 1102 (0 m/s, 5 m/s, 0 m/s) by 1, and a vector obtained by multiplying the communication restoration vector having a magnitude of 0 and decided on in step S1010 by 1.Accordingly, as illustrated in FIG.", "13, the mobile object 101 moves substantially north-northwestward while avoiding the obstacle.", "However, if the mobile object 105 fails and if a mobile object belonging to an unknown group emerges, the mobile object 101 moves substantially north-northwestward in accordance with the actual movement vector 3101 (−1.3 m/s, 4.2 m/s, 0 m/s), as illustrated in FIG.", "32.Since the mobile object 101 is farther from the target position 1402 than the mobile objects 102 to 104 are, the mobile object 101 is capable of substantially implementing an original purpose although it has some ratio of a movement for attempting to restore communication.", "The actual movement vectors of the mobile objects 102 to 104, 106, and 107 are decided on similarly to the actual movement vector of the mobile object 101.FIG.", "33 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of actual movement vectors of the mobile objects 101 to 104, 106, and 107 in a case where one mobile object (the mobile object 105) fails in the second embodiment of the present disclosure.", "In FIG.", "33, the same elements as those in FIGS.", "6 and 32 are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will not be given.", "Here, among the movement vectors belonging to the basic movement vector groups of the mobile objects 102 to 104, the value of the main basic movement vector is (−10 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s) and the value of the obstacle avoidance basic movement vector is (0 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s).", "Among the movement vectors belonging to the basic movement vector groups of the mobile objects 106 and 107, the value of the main basic movement vector is (10 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s) and the value of the obstacle avoidance basic movement vector is (0 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s).", "Here, the control unit 602 decides on, as an actual movement vector, the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the main basic movement vector by 0.5, a movement vector obtained by multiplying the obstacle avoidance basic movement vector by 1, and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication restoration vector by 1.If the mobile object 105 does not fail and if there is no mobile object belonging to an unknown group, the mobile object 102 moves westward in accordance with the actual movement vector (−5 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s) as illustrated in FIG.", "13.However, if the mobile object 105 fails and if a mobile object belonging to an unknown group emerges, the mobile object 102 moves substantially south-southeastward in accordance with an actual movement vector 3202 (0.1 m/s, −0.6 m/s, 0 m/s), as illustrated in FIG.", "33.If the mobile object 105 does not fail and if there is no mobile object belonging to an unknown group, the mobile object 103 moves westward in accordance with the actual movement vector (−5 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s) as illustrated in FIG.", "13.However, if the mobile object 105 fails and if a mobile object belonging to an unknown group emerges, the mobile object 103 moves substantially east-northeastward in accordance with an actual movement vector 3203 (1.8 m/s, 0.6 m/s, 0 m/s), as illustrated in FIG.", "33.If the mobile object 105 does not fail and if there is no mobile object belonging to an unknown group, the mobile object 104 moves westward in accordance with the actual movement vector (−5 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s) as illustrated in FIG.", "13.However, if the mobile object 105 fails and if a mobile object belonging to an unknown group emerges, the mobile object 104 moves substantially south-southeastward in accordance with an actual movement vector 3204 (2.3 m/s, −7.3 m/s, 0 m/s), as illustrated in FIG.", "33.The mobile object 104, which is nearer to the target position 1402 than the mobile objects 102 and 103 are, moves faster than the mobile objects 102 and 103 to the position where restoration of communication is expected, and mainly performs a communication restoration operation.", "The mobile objects 102 and 103, which are farther from the target position 1402 than the mobile object 104 is, move slower than the mobile object 104 to the positions where restoration of communication is expected, and are thus capable of implementing an original purpose while preventing cutoff of the direct communication with the mobile object 104, which may be caused by becoming too far from the mobile object 104.The mobile object 101, which is farther from the target position 1402 than the mobile objects 102 and 103 are, is capable of substantially implementing an original purpose although it has some ratio of a movement for attempting to restore communication.", "The same applies to the mobile objects 106 and 107, which are incapable of communicating with the mobile objects 101 to 104 due to the failure of the mobile object 105.If the mobile object 105 does not fail and if there is no mobile object belonging to an unknown group, the mobile object 106 moves eastward in accordance with the actual movement vector (5 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s) as illustrated in FIG.", "13.However, if the mobile object 105 fails and if a mobile object belonging to an unknown group emerges, the mobile object 106 moves substantially southwestward in accordance with an actual movement vector 3206 (−11.9 m/s, −12.7 m/s, 0 m/s), as illustrated in FIG.", "33.If the mobile object 105 does not fail and if there is no mobile object belonging to an unknown group, the mobile object 107 moves eastward in accordance with the actual movement vector (5 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s) as illustrated in FIG.", "13.However, if the mobile object 105 fails and if a mobile object belonging to an unknown group emerges, the mobile object 107 moves substantially westward in accordance with an actual movement vector 3207 (−0.1 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s), as illustrated in FIG.", "33.The mobile object 106, which is nearer to the target position 1502 than the mobile object 107 is, moves faster than the mobile object 107 to the position where restoration of communication is expected, and mainly performs a communication restoration operation.", "The mobile object 107, which is farther from the target position 1502 than the mobile object 106 is, moves slower than the mobile object 106 to the position where restoration of communication is expected, and is thus capable of implementing an original purpose while preventing cutoff of the direct communication with the mobile object 106, which may be caused by becoming too far from the mobile object 106.As a result, the mobile objects 102 to 107 move to get together, and thus restoration of communication is performed more efficiently.", "Subsequently, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 101 obtains the actual movement vector information from the own-mobile-object information 701 and actually moves the mobile object 101 in accordance with the actual movement vector 1801 that has been obtained (step S1009).", "The control unit 602 generates a control command that causes the mobile object 101 to move in accordance with the actual movement vector 1801 and outputs the control command to the movement control units 605.The movement control units 605 actually cause the mobile object 101 to move in accordance with the control command.", "Hereinafter, a description will be given of, by using specific examples, the issues that are not overcome by the techniques disclosed in PTL 1 and that are overcome by the second embodiment of the present disclosure.", "As described above, the first technique disclosed in PTL 1 is not applicable as is if there are two or more mobile objects disconnected from the ad hoc network when viewed from any mobile object, as in the example illustrated in FIG.", "2.In contrast, in the second embodiment of the present disclosure, an attempt can be made to restore communication even if there are two or more mobile objects disconnected from the ad hoc network when viewed from any mobile object, as in the example illustrated in FIG.", "33.In this case, that is, in the case where there are two or more mobile objects disconnected from the ad hoc network when viewed from any mobile object, some or all of the mobile objects belonging to the component group move to get together and thus an attempt to restore communication can be made.", "In the example illustrated in FIG.", "33, the mobile objects 102 to 104, 106, and 107 move to get together and accordingly an attempt to restore communication can be made.", "The second technique disclosed in PTL 1 has an issue that all mobile objects are incapable of moving for an original purpose until communication is restored.", "In contrast, in the second embodiment of the present disclosure, the mobile object 101 is capable of moving mainly for an original purpose in the example illustrated in FIG.", "33, for example, and the foregoing issue can be overcome.", "The third technique disclosed in PTL 1 has an issue that a region over which a mobile object group is deployed gradually becomes smaller and all mobile objects are incapable of moving for an original purpose until communication is restored.", "Furthermore, after the communication is restored, the mobile objects need to move again for the original purpose from the positions at the point of time when the communication is restored.", "In contrast, in the second embodiment of the present disclosure, the mobile object 101 is capable of moving mainly for an original purpose in the example illustrated in FIG.", "33, for example, and the foregoing issue can be overcome.", "The fourth technique disclosed in PTL 1 has an issue that, if a selected mobile object moves toward a cutoff position, the communication between the selected mobile object and a mobile object other than a mobile object disconnected from the ad hoc network is cut off, and accordingly the ad hoc network may be secondarily fractured.", "In contrast, in the second embodiment of the present disclosure, the mobile objects 102 to 104, 106, and 107 move to get together to attempt to restore communication, and the mobile object 101, which is the farthest from the target position 1402, is capable of moving mainly for an original purpose, in the example illustrated in FIG.", "33, for example.", "The movement velocity of each of the mobile objects 101 to 104 is decided on in accordance with a communication restoration vector that has a value inversely proportional to the cube of the distance from the target position 1402 to the mobile object.", "The distance from the target position 1402 decreases in the order of the mobile object 101, the mobile object 102, the mobile object 103, and the mobile object 104.Thus, the mobile object 101 is capable of moving mainly for an original purpose, the mobile object 102 moves toward a position where restoration of communication is expected at a velocity lower than that of the mobile object 103, the mobile object 103 moves toward a position where restoration of communication is expected at a velocity lower than that of the mobile object 104, and the mobile object 104 moves toward a position where restoration of communication is expected at a velocity higher than that of the mobile objects 102 and 103, and mainly performs a communication restoration operation.", "Accordingly, a relative velocity at which the mobile objects 101 to 104 get away from each other can be suppressed to a small value, and thus the direct communications between the mobile objects 101 and 102, between the mobile objects 102 and 103, between the mobile objects 102 and 104, and between the mobile objects 103 and 104 are unlikely to be immediately cut off.", "The movement velocity of each of the mobile objects 106 and 107 is decided on in accordance with a communication restoration vector that has a value inversely proportional to the cube of the distance from the target position 1502 to the mobile object.", "The distance from the target position 1502 decreases in the order of the mobile object 107 and the mobile object 106.Thus, the mobile object 107 moves toward a position where restoration of communication is expected at a velocity lower than that of the mobile object 106, and the mobile object 106 moves toward a position where restoration of communication is expected at a velocity higher than that of the mobile object 107, and mainly performs a communication restoration operation.", "Accordingly, a relative velocity at which the mobile objects 106 and 107 get away from each other can be suppressed to a small value, and thus the direct communication between the mobile objects 106 and 107 is unlikely to be immediately cut off.", "Therefore, it can be understood that the issue of the fourth technique disclosed in PTL 1 is overcome.", "As described above, in the first technique disclosed in PTL 1, if some or all of the mobile objects move to get away from each other as in the example illustrated in FIG.", "3, communication can be restored only partially at best.", "In the example illustrated in FIG.", "3, if the group of the mobile objects 201 to 204 and the group of the mobile objects 206 and 207 continue to move to get away from each other, the direct communication with a mobile object belonging to one of the group of the mobile objects 201 to 204 and the group of the mobile objects 206 and 207 is restored at best, and it is impossible to restore the direct communication with a mobile object belonging to the other group.", "In contrast, in the second embodiment of the present disclosure, an attempt to restore communication can be made even if some mobile objects move to get away from each other as in the example illustrated in FIG.", "3.This will be described below.", "Here, each of the mobile objects 201 to 207 decides on, as a target position, the position nearest to the own mobile object among the positions of all the mobile objects belonging to the unknown group, and also decides on a communication restoration vector having a direction toward the target position and having a magnitude that is a value inversely proportional to the cube of the distance from the target position to the own mobile object.", "To increase the ratio of a movement for avoiding an obstacle, the control unit 602 of each of the mobile objects 201 to 207 multiplies the main basic movement vector belonging to the basic movement vector group by 0.5, multiplies the obstacle avoidance basic movement vector belonging to the basic movement vector group by 1, and multiplies the communication restoration vector by 1, and then calculates the sum of the movement vectors as calculation results.", "Here, among the movement vectors belonging to the basic movement vector groups of the mobile objects 202 to 204, the value of the main basic movement vector is (−10 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s) and the value of the obstacle avoidance basic movement vector is (0 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s).", "Among the movement vectors belonging to the basic movement vector groups of the mobile objects 206 and 207, the value of the main basic movement vector is (10 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s) and the value of the obstacle avoidance basic movement vector is (0 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s).", "Here, the control unit 602 of each of the mobile objects 201 to 207 decides on, as an actual movement vector, the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the main basic movement vector by 0.5, a movement vector obtained by multiplying the obstacle avoidance basic movement vector by 1, and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication restoration vector by 1.FIG.", "34 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of communication restoration vectors of the mobile objects 201 to 204 in the situation illustrated in FIG.", "3 in the second embodiment of the present disclosure.", "In FIG.", "34, the same elements as those in FIG.", "1 are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will not be given.", "As illustrated in FIG.", "34, for each of the mobile objects 201 to 204, the mobile objects belonging to a known group 3301 are the mobile objects 201 to 204, and the mobile objects belonging to an unknown group 3302 are the mobile objects 205 to 207.The control units 602 of the mobile objects 201 to 204 respectively decide on communication restoration vectors 3321 to 3324, each having a direction toward a target position 3311 and having a magnitude that is a value inversely proportional to the cube of the distance from the target position 3311 to the own mobile object.", "FIG.", "35 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of a communication restoration vector of the mobile object 205 in the situation illustrated in FIG.", "3 in the second embodiment of the present disclosure.", "In FIG.", "35, the same elements as those in FIG.", "1 are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will not be given.", "As illustrated in FIG.", "35, for the mobile object 205, the mobile object belonging to a known group 3401 is the mobile object 205, and the mobile objects belonging to an unknown group 3402 are the mobile objects 201 to 204, 206, and 207.The control unit 602 of the mobile object 205 decides on a communication restoration vector 3425 having a direction toward a target position 3411 and having a magnitude that is a value inversely proportional to the cube of the distance from the target position 3411 to the own mobile object.", "FIG.", "36 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of communication restoration vectors of the mobile objects 206 and 207 in the situation illustrated in FIG.", "3 in the second embodiment of the present disclosure.", "In FIG.", "36, the same elements as those in FIG.", "1 are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will not be given.", "As illustrated in FIG.", "36, for each of the mobile objects 206 and 207, the mobile objects belonging to a known group 3501 are the mobile objects 206 and 207, and the mobile objects belonging to an unknown group 3502 are the mobile objects 201 to 205.The control units 602 of the mobile objects 206 and 207 respectively decide on communication restoration vectors 3526 and 3527, each having a direction toward a target position 3511 and having a magnitude that is a value inversely proportional to the cube of the distance from the target position 3511 to the own mobile object.", "FIG.", "37 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of actual movement vectors of the mobile objects 201 to 207 in the situation illustrated in FIG.", "3 in the second embodiment of the present disclosure.", "In FIG.", "37, the same elements as those in FIG.", "1 are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will not be given.", "The mobile object 201 decides on a basic movement vector group for moving westward, and if the mobile object 205 does not become too far from another mobile object and if there is no mobile object belonging to an unknown group, the mobile object 201 decides on an actual movement vector for moving westward, as illustrated in FIG.", "3.However, if the mobile object 205 becomes too far from another mobile object and if a mobile object belonging to an unknown group emerges, the mobile object 201 moves substantially westward in accordance with an actual movement vector 3601, which is calculated on the basis of the communication restoration vector 3321 in addition to the basic movement vector group, as illustrated in FIG.", "37.Since the mobile object 201 is farther from the target position 3311 than the mobile objects 202 to 204 are, the mobile object 201 is capable of substantially implementing an original purpose although it has some ratio of a movement for attempting to restore communication.", "The mobile object 202 decides on a basic movement vector group for moving westward, and if the mobile object 205 does not become too far from another mobile object and if there is no mobile object belonging to an unknown group, the mobile object 202 decides on an actual movement vector for moving westward, as illustrated in FIG.", "3.However, if the mobile object 205 becomes too far from another mobile object and if a mobile object belonging to an unknown group emerges, the mobile object 202 moves substantially westward in accordance with an actual movement vector 3602, which is calculated on the basis of the communication restoration vector 3322 in addition to the basic movement vector group, as illustrated in FIG.", "37.Since the mobile object 202 is nearer to the target position 3311 than the mobile object 201 is, the mobile object 202 is capable of implementing an original purpose although it has a larger ratio of a movement for attempting to restore communication than the mobile object 201.The mobile object 203 decides on a basic movement vector group for moving westward, and if the mobile object 205 does not become too far from another mobile object and if there is no mobile object belonging to an unknown group, the mobile object 203 decides on an actual movement vector for moving westward, as illustrated in FIG.", "3.However, if the mobile object 205 becomes too far from another mobile object and if a mobile object belonging to an unknown group emerges, the mobile object 203 moves substantially northeastward in accordance with an actual movement vector 3603, which is calculated on the basis of the communication restoration vector 3323 in addition to the basic movement vector group, as illustrated in FIG.", "37.Since the mobile object 203 is farther from the target position 3311 than the mobile object 204 is, the mobile object 203 attempts to restore communication although it has a smaller ratio of a movement for attempting to restore communication than the mobile object 204.The mobile object 204 decides on a basic movement vector group for moving westward, and if the mobile object 205 does not become too far from another mobile object and if there is no mobile object belonging to an unknown group, the mobile object 204 decides on an actual movement vector for moving westward, as illustrated in FIG.", "3.However, if the mobile object 205 becomes too far from another mobile object and if a mobile object belonging to an unknown group emerges, the mobile object 204 moves substantially east-southeastward in accordance with an actual movement vector 3604, which is calculated on the basis of the communication restoration vector 3324 in addition to the basic movement vector group, so as to mainly attempt to restore communication, as illustrated in FIG.", "37.The mobile object 205 decides on a basic movement vector group for hardly moving, and if the mobile object 205 does not become too far from another mobile object and if there is no mobile object belonging to an unknown group, the mobile object 205 decides on an actual movement vector for stopping at the position, as illustrated in FIG.", "3.However, if the mobile object 205 becomes too far from another mobile object and if a mobile object belonging to an unknown group emerges, the mobile object 205 moves substantially east-northeastward in accordance with an actual movement vector 3605, which is calculated on the basis of the communication restoration vector 3425 in addition to the basic movement vector group, so as to mainly attempt to restore communication, as illustrated in FIG.", "37.The mobile object 206 decides on a basic movement vector group for moving eastward, and if the mobile object 205 does not become too far from another mobile object and if there is no mobile object belonging to an unknown group, the mobile object 206 decides on an actual movement vector for moving eastward, as illustrated in FIG.", "3.However, if the mobile object 205 becomes too far from another mobile object and if a mobile object belonging to an unknown group emerges, the mobile object 206 moves substantially southwestward in accordance with an actual movement vector 3606, which is calculated on the basis of the communication restoration vector 3526 in addition to the basic movement vector group, so as to mainly attempt to restore communication, as illustrated in FIG.", "37.The mobile object 207 decides on a basic movement vector group for moving eastward, and if the mobile object 205 does not become too far from another mobile object and if there is no mobile object belonging to an unknown group, the mobile object 207 decides on an actual movement vector for moving eastward, as illustrated in FIG.", "3.However, if the mobile object 205 becomes too far from another mobile object and if a mobile object belonging to an unknown group emerges, the mobile object 207 moves substantially eastward in accordance with an actual movement vector 3607, which is calculated on the basis of the communication restoration vector 3527 in addition to the basic movement vector group, as illustrated in FIG.", "37.Since the mobile object 207 is farther from the target position 3311 than the mobile object 206 is, the mobile object 207 is capable of implementing an original purpose although it has a ratio of a movement for attempting to restore communication.", "In this way, the mobile objects 203 to 206 mainly perform a communication restoration operation whereas the mobile objects 201, 202, and 207 move in the same manner as in a case where there is no unknown group, and accordingly both restoration of communication and an original purpose can be achieved by the entire component group.", "The movement velocity of each of the mobile objects 201 to 204 is decided on in accordance with a communication restoration vector that has a value inversely proportional to the cube of the distance from the target position 3311 to the mobile object.", "The distance from the target position 3311 decreases in the order of the mobile object 201, the mobile object 202, the mobile object 203, and the mobile object 204.Thus, the mobile object 201 is capable of moving mainly for an original purpose.", "The mobile object 202 moves for an original purpose although it has a larger ratio of a movement for attempting to restore communication than the mobile object 201.The mobile object 203 moves toward a position where restoration of communication is expected at a velocity lower than that of the mobile object 204.The mobile object 204 moves toward a position where restoration of communication is expected at a velocity higher than that of the mobile object 203, and mainly performs a communication restoration operation.", "Accordingly, a relative velocity at which the mobile objects 201 to 204 get away from each other can be suppressed to a small value, and thus the direct communications between the mobile objects 201 and 202, between the mobile objects 202 and 203, between the mobile objects 202 and 204, and between the mobile objects 203 and 204 are unlikely to be immediately cut off.", "The movement velocity of each of the mobile objects 206 and 207 is decided on in accordance with a communication restoration vector that has a value inversely proportional to the cube of the distance from the target position 3511 to the mobile object.", "The distance from the target position 3511 decreases in the order of the mobile object 207 and the mobile object 206.Thus, the mobile object 207 has a ratio of a movement for attempting to restore communication although it moves for an original purpose.", "The mobile object 206 moves toward a position where restoration of communication is expected, and mainly performs a communication restoration operation.", "Accordingly, a relative velocity at which the mobile objects 206 and 207 get away from each other can be suppressed to a small value, and thus the direct communication between the mobile objects 206 and 207 is unlikely to be immediately cut off.", "The second technique disclosed in PTL 1 has an issue that all mobile objects are incapable of moving for an original purpose until communication is restored.", "In contrast, in the second embodiment of the present disclosure, the mobile objects 201, 202, and 207 are capable of moving for an original purpose in the example illustrated in FIG.", "37, for example, and the foregoing issue can be overcome.", "The third technique disclosed in PTL 1 has an issue that a region over which a mobile object group is deployed gradually becomes smaller and all mobile objects are incapable of moving for an original purpose until communication is restored.", "Furthermore, after the communication is restored, the mobile objects need to move again for the original purpose from the positions at the point of time when the communication is restored.", "In contrast, in the second embodiment of the present disclosure, the mobile objects 201, 202, and 207 are capable of moving for an original purpose in the example illustrated in FIG.", "37, for example, and the foregoing issue can be overcome.", "The fourth technique disclosed in PTL 1 has an issue that, if a selected mobile object moves toward a cutoff position, the communication between the selected mobile object and a mobile object other than a mobile object disconnected from the ad hoc network is cut off, and accordingly the ad hoc network may be secondarily fractured.", "In contrast, in the second embodiment of the present disclosure, the mobile objects 203 to 206 move to get together to attempt to restore communication, and the mobile objects 201, 202, and 207, which are far from the target position 3311, are capable of moving for an original purpose, in the example illustrated in FIG.", "37, for example.", "The movement velocity of each of the mobile objects 201 to 204 is decided on in accordance with a communication restoration vector that has a value inversely proportional to the cube of the distance from the target position 3311 to the mobile object.", "The distance from the target position 3311 decreases in the order of the mobile object 201, the mobile object 202, the mobile object 203, and the mobile object 204.Thus, the mobile object 201 is capable of moving mainly for an original purpose.", "The mobile object 202 moves for an original purpose although it has a larger ratio of a movement for attempting to restore communication than the mobile object 201.The mobile object 203 moves toward a position where restoration of communication is expected at a velocity lower than that of the mobile object 204.The mobile object 204 moves toward a position where restoration of communication is expected at a velocity higher than that of the mobile object 203, and mainly performs a communication restoration operation.", "Accordingly, a relative velocity at which the mobile objects 201 to 204 get away from each other can be suppressed to a small value, and thus the direct communications between the mobile objects 201 and 202, between the mobile objects 202 and 203, between the mobile objects 202 and 204, and between the mobile objects 203 and 204 are unlikely to be immediately cut off.", "The movement velocity of each of the mobile objects 206 and 207 is decided on in accordance with a communication restoration vector that has a value inversely proportional to the cube of the distance from the target position 3511 to the mobile object.", "The distance from the target position 3511 decreases in the order of the mobile object 207 and the mobile object 206.Thus, the mobile object 207 has a ratio of a movement for attempting to restore communication although it moves for an original purpose.", "The mobile object 206 moves toward a position where restoration of communication is expected and mainly performs a communication restoration operation.", "Accordingly, a relative velocity at which the mobile objects 206 and 207 get away from each other can be suppressed to a small value, and thus the direct communication between the mobile objects 206 and 207 is unlikely to be immediately cut off.", "Therefore, it can be understood that the issue of the fourth technique disclosed in PTL 1 is overcome.", "As described above, in the first technique disclosed in PTL 1, if a mobile object disconnected from the ad hoc network moves to restore communication with the ad hoc network but there is no mobile object in the movement direction or if a mobile object moves in a direction of getting away from the mobile object disconnected from the ad hoc network, it is impossible to restore communication, as in the example illustrated in FIG.", "4.In the example illustrated in FIG.", "4, the mobile objects 201 to 206 do not exist in the direction in which the mobile object 207, which has been disconnected from the ad hoc network, moves to restore communication, and the mobile objects 201 to 206 continue to move in a lower-left direction in FIG.", "4.Thus, the mobile object 207 is incapable of approaching the mobile objects 201 to 206 and restoring the direct communication therewith even if the first technique disclosed in PTL 1 is used.", "Furthermore, even if the mobile objects 201 to 206 exist in the direction in which the mobile object 207 moves, the mobile object 207 is incapable of catching up with the mobile objects 201 to 206 and restoring the direct communication with the mobile objects 201 to 206 because the mobile objects 201 to 206 continue to move in a direction of getting away from the mobile object 207.In contrast, in the second embodiment of the present disclosure, even if a mobile object disconnected from the ad hoc network moves to restore communication with the ad hoc network but there is no mobile object in the movement direction or even if a mobile object moves in a direction of getting away from the mobile object disconnected from the ad hoc network, as in the example illustrated in FIG.", "4, an attempt to restore communication can be made.", "This will be described below.", "Here, the control unit 602 of each of the mobile objects 201 to 207 decides on, as a target position, the position nearest to the own mobile object among the positions of all the mobile objects belonging to the unknown group, and also decides on a communication restoration vector having a direction toward the target position and having a magnitude that is a value inversely proportional to the cube of the distance from the target position to the own mobile object.", "FIG.", "38 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of communication restoration vectors that are decided on by the mobile objects 201 to 206 in the situation illustrated in FIG.", "4 in the second embodiment of the present disclosure.", "In FIG.", "38, the same elements as those in FIGS.", "1 and 4 are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will not be given.", "As illustrated in FIG.", "38, for each of the mobile objects 201 to 206, the mobile objects belonging to a known group 3701 are the mobile objects 201 to 206, and the mobile object belonging to an unknown group 3702 is the mobile object 207.The control units 602 of the mobile objects 201 to 206 respectively decide on communication restoration vectors 3721 to 3726, each having a direction toward a target position 3711 and having a magnitude that is a value inversely proportional to the cube of the distance from the target position 3711 to the own mobile object.", "FIG.", "39 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of a communication restoration vector that is decided on by the mobile object 207 in the situation illustrated in FIG.", "4 in the second embodiment of the present disclosure.", "In FIG.", "39, the same elements as those in FIGS.", "1 and 4 are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will not be given.", "As illustrated in FIG.", "39, for the mobile object 207, the mobile object belonging to a known group 3801 is the mobile object 207, and the mobile objects belonging to an unknown group 3802 are the mobile objects 201 to 206.The control unit 602 of the mobile object 207 decides on a communication restoration vector 3827 having a direction toward a target position 3811 and having a magnitude that is a value inversely proportional to the cube of the distance from the target position 3811 to the own mobile object.", "FIG.", "40 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of actual movement vectors of the mobile objects 201 to 207 in the situation illustrated in FIG.", "4 in the second embodiment of the present disclosure.", "In FIG.", "40, the same elements as those in FIGS.", "1 and 4 are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will not be given.", "The mobile object 201 decides on a basic movement vector group for moving substantially south-southwestward, and if the mobile object 207 does not become too far from another mobile object and if there is no mobile object belonging to an unknown group, the mobile object 201 decides on an actual movement vector for moving substantially south-southwestward, as illustrated in FIG.", "4.However, if the mobile object 207 becomes too far from another mobile object and if a mobile object belonging to an unknown group emerges, the mobile object 201 moves substantially south-southwestward in accordance with an actual movement vector 3901, which is calculated on the basis of the communication restoration vector 3721 in addition to the basic movement vector group, as illustrated in FIG.", "40.The mobile object 201 is farther from the target position 3711 than the mobile objects 202 to 206 are, and is thus capable of substantially implementing an original purpose although it has some ratio of a movement for attempting to restore communication.", "The mobile object 202 decides on a basic movement vector group for moving substantially south-southwestward, and if the mobile object 207 does not become too far from another mobile object and if there is no mobile object belonging to an unknown group, the mobile object 202 decides on an actual movement vector for moving substantially south-southwestward, as illustrated in FIG.", "4.However, if the mobile object 207 becomes too far from another mobile object and if a mobile object belonging to an unknown group emerges, the mobile object 202 moves substantially south-southwestward in accordance with an actual movement vector 3902, which is calculated on the basis of the communication restoration vector 3722 in addition to the basic movement vector group, as illustrated in FIG.", "40.The mobile object 202 is nearer to the target position 3711 than the mobile object 201 is, and is thus capable of implementing an original purpose although it has a larger ratio of a movement for attempting to restore communication than the mobile object 201.The mobile object 203 decides on a basic movement vector group for moving substantially south-southwestward, and if the mobile object 207 does not become too far from another mobile object and if there is no mobile object belonging to an unknown group, the mobile object 203 decides on an actual movement vector for moving substantially south-southwestward, as illustrated in FIG.", "4.However, if the mobile object 207 becomes too far from another mobile object and if a mobile object belonging to an unknown group emerges, the mobile object 203 moves substantially south-southwestward in accordance with an actual movement vector 3903, which is calculated on the basis of the communication restoration vector 3723 in addition to the basic movement vector group, as illustrated in FIG.", "40.The mobile object 203 is nearer to the target position 3711 than the mobile object 202 is, and is thus capable of implementing an original purpose although it has a larger ratio of a movement for attempting to restore communication than the mobile object 202.The mobile object 204 decides on a basic movement vector group for moving substantially south-southwestward, and if the mobile object 207 does not become too far from another mobile object and if there is no mobile object belonging to an unknown group, the mobile object 204 decides on an actual movement vector for moving substantially south-southwestward, as illustrated in FIG.", "4.However, if the mobile object 207 becomes too far from another mobile object and if a mobile object belonging to an unknown group emerges, the mobile object 204 moves substantially east-southeastward in accordance with an actual movement vector 3904, which is calculated on the basis of the communication restoration vector 3724 in addition to the basic movement vector group, as illustrated in FIG.", "40.The mobile object 204 is farther from the target position 3711 than the mobile object 205 is, and thus attempts to restore communication although it has a smaller ratio of a movement for attempting to restore communication than the mobile object 205.The mobile object 205 decides on a basic movement vector group for moving substantially south-southwestward, and if the mobile object 207 does not become too far from another mobile object and if there is no mobile object belonging to an unknown group, the mobile object 205 decides on an actual movement vector for moving substantially south-southwestward, as illustrated in FIG.", "4.However, if the mobile object 207 becomes too far from another mobile object and if a mobile object belonging to an unknown group emerges, the mobile object 205 moves substantially northeastward in accordance with an actual movement vector 3905, which is calculated on the basis of the communication restoration vector 3725 in addition to the basic movement vector group, as illustrated in FIG.", "40.The mobile object 205 is farther from the target position 3711 than the mobile object 206 is, and thus attempts to restore communication although it has a smaller ratio of a movement for attempting to restore communication than the mobile object 206.The mobile object 206 decides on a basic movement vector group for moving substantially south-southwestward, and if the mobile object 207 does not become too far from another mobile object and if there is no mobile object belonging to an unknown group, the mobile object 206 decides on an actual movement vector for moving substantially south-southwestward, as illustrated in FIG.", "4.However, if the mobile object 207 becomes too far from another mobile object and if a mobile object belonging to an unknown group emerges, the mobile object 206 moves substantially northeastward in accordance with an actual movement vector 3906, which is calculated on the basis of the communication restoration vector 3726 in addition to the basic movement vector group, so as to mainly attempt to restore communication, as illustrated in FIG.", "40.The mobile object 207 decides on a basic movement vector group for moving substantially eastward, and if the mobile object 207 does not become too far from another mobile object and if there is no mobile object belonging to an unknown group, the mobile object 207 decides on an actual movement vector for moving substantially eastward, as illustrated in FIG.", "4.However, if the mobile object 207 becomes too far from another mobile object and if a mobile object belonging to an unknown group emerges, the mobile object 207 moves substantially south-southwestward in accordance with an actual movement vector 3907, which is calculated on the basis of the communication restoration vector 3827 in addition to the basic movement vector group, so as to mainly attempt to restore communication, as illustrated in FIG.", "40.In this way, the mobile objects 204 to 207 mainly perform a communication restoration operation whereas the mobile objects 201 to 203 move in the same manner as in a case where there is no unknown group, and accordingly both restoration of communication and an original purpose can be achieved by the entire component group.", "The movement velocity of each of the mobile objects 201 to 206 is decided on in accordance with a communication restoration vector that has a value inversely proportional to the cube of the distance from the target position 3711 to the mobile object.", "The distance from the target position 3711 decreases in the order of the mobile object 201, the mobile object 202, the mobile object 203, the mobile object 204, the mobile object 205, and the mobile object 206.Thus, the mobile object 201 is capable of moving mainly for an original purpose.", "The mobile object 202 moves for an original purpose although it has a larger ratio of a movement for attempting to restore communication than the mobile object 201.The mobile object 203 moves for an original purpose although it has a larger ratio of a movement for attempting to restore communication than the mobile object 202.The mobile object 204 moves toward a position where restoration of communication is expected at a velocity lower than that of the mobile object 205.The mobile object 205 moves toward a position where restoration of communication is expected at a velocity lower than that of the mobile object 206.The mobile object 206 moves toward a position where restoration of communication is expected at a velocity higher than that of the mobile object 205, and mainly performs a communication restoration operation.", "Accordingly, a relative velocity at which the mobile objects 201 to 206 get away from each other can be suppressed to a small value, and thus the direct communications between the mobile objects 201 and 202, between the mobile objects 202 and 203, between the mobile objects 202 and 204, between the mobile objects 203 and 204, between the mobile objects 204 and 205, and between the mobile objects 205 and 206 are unlikely to be immediately cut off.", "The second technique disclosed in PTL 1 has an issue that all mobile objects are incapable of moving for an original purpose until communication is restored.", "In contrast, in the second embodiment of the present disclosure, the mobile objects 201 to 203 are capable of moving for an original purpose in the example illustrated in FIG.", "40, for example, and the foregoing issue can be overcome.", "The third technique disclosed in PTL 1 has an issue that a region over which a mobile object group is deployed gradually becomes smaller and all mobile objects are incapable of moving for an original purpose until communication is restored.", "Furthermore, after the communication is restored, the mobile objects need to move again for the original purpose from the positions at the point of time when the communication is restored.", "In contrast, in the second embodiment of the present disclosure, the mobile objects 201 to 203 are capable of moving for an original purpose in the example illustrated in FIG.", "40, for example, and the foregoing issue can be overcome.", "The fourth technique disclosed in PTL 1 has an issue that, if a selected mobile object moves toward a cutoff position, the communication between the selected mobile object and a mobile object other than a mobile object disconnected from the ad hoc network is cut off, and accordingly the ad hoc network may be secondarily fractured.", "In contrast, in the second embodiment of the present disclosure, the mobile objects 204 to 207 move to get together to attempt to restore communication, and the mobile objects 201 to 203, which are far from the target position 3711, are capable of moving for an original purpose, in the example illustrated in FIG.", "40, for example.", "The movement velocity of each of the mobile objects 201 to 206 is decided on in accordance with a communication restoration vector that has a value inversely proportional to the cube of the distance from the target position 3711 to the mobile object.", "The distance from the target position 3711 decreases in the order of the mobile object 201, the mobile object 202, the mobile object 203, the mobile object 204, the mobile object 205, and the mobile object 206.Thus, the mobile object 201 is capable of moving mainly for an original purpose.", "The mobile object 202 moves for an original purpose although it has a larger ratio of a movement for attempting to restore communication than the mobile object 201.The mobile object 203 moves for an original purpose although it has a larger ratio of a movement for attempting to restore communication than the mobile object 202.The mobile object 204 moves toward a position where restoration of communication is expected at a velocity lower than that of the mobile object 205.The mobile object 205 moves toward a position where restoration of communication is expected at a velocity lower than that of the mobile object 206.The mobile object 206 moves toward a position where restoration of communication is expected at a velocity higher than that of the mobile object 205, and mainly performs a communication restoration operation.", "Accordingly, a relative velocity at which the mobile objects 201 to 206 get away from each other can be suppressed to a small value, and thus the direct communications between the mobile objects 201 and 202, between the mobile objects 202 and 203, between the mobile objects 202 and 204, between the mobile objects 203 and 204, between the mobile objects 204 and 205, and between the mobile objects 205 and 206 are unlikely to be immediately cut off.", "Therefore, it can be understood that the issue of the fourth technique disclosed in PTL 1 is overcome.", "In the second embodiment of the present disclosure, a target position is decided on in step S1006 every time before a communication restoration vector is decided on in step S2807, as long as there is a mobile object belonging to an unknown group.", "Alternatively, in a second configuration of the second embodiment, a target position may be decided on only if a mobile object belonging to the unknown group is changed.", "In the second configuration of the second embodiment, a target position is decided on only if a mobile object belonging to the unknown group is changed, and thus the processing efficiency can be enhanced.", "In the second embodiment of the present disclosure, it is determined in step S1004 whether or not there is a mobile object belonging to an unknown group, and if there is a mobile object belonging to an unknown group, steps S1005 to S2807 are performed to decide on a communication restoration vector having a magnitude that is not 0.Alternatively, in a third configuration of the second embodiment, the time when step S1005 is performed for the first time may be stored, and if a restoration period longer than 0 elapses from the time, the magnitude of the communication restoration vector may be set to 0 (step S1010) and the process may proceed to step S1008 without performing steps S1005 to S2807 even if there is a mobile object belonging to the unknown group.", "The value of the restoration period may be a constant or may be a value that is dynamically decided on when an actual process is performed.", "In the third configuration of the second embodiment, if restoration of communication is not completed within the restoration period, the operation for restoration is stopped.", "Thus, a situation can be prevented from occurring where a communication restoration operation is endlessly performed.", "In the third configuration of the second embodiment, the time when step S1005 is performed for the first time may be reset at an appropriate timing after the restoration period elapses, so that the process in steps S1005 to S2807 can be performed again.", "The appropriate timing may be, for example, when a mobile object belonging to the unknown group is changed or when a predetermined period further elapses (a fourth configuration of the second embodiment).", "In the fourth configuration of the second embodiment, if a predetermined condition is satisfied after the restoration period elapses, the communication restoration operation can be retried.", "In the second embodiment of the present disclosure, it is determined in step S1004 whether or not there is a mobile object belonging to an unknown group, and if there is a mobile object belonging to an unknown group, steps S1005 to S2807 are performed to decide on a communication restoration vector having a magnitude that is not 0.In a fifth configuration of the second embodiment, if a mobile object reaches a position where the distance to a target position is equal to or less than a movement stop determination distance, the magnitude of the communication restoration vector may be set to 0 (step S1010) and the process may proceed to step S1008 without performing steps S1005 to S2807, even if there is a mobile object belonging to an unknown group.", "The value of the movement stop determination distance may be a constant or may be a value that is dynamically decided on when an actual process is performed.", "In the fifth configuration of the second embodiment, if restoration of communication is not completed even if the mobile object reaches the position where the distance to the target position is equal to or less than the movement stop determination distance, the operation for restoration is stopped.", "Thus, a situation can be prevented from occurring where a communication restoration operation is endlessly performed.", "In the fifth configuration of the second embodiment, after the mobile object reaches the position where the distance to the target position is equal to or less than the movement stop determination distance, the magnitude of the communication restoration vector may be set to 0 (step S1010) and the process may proceed to step S1008 without performing steps S1005 to S2807, until a mobile object belonging to the unknown group is changed (a sixth configuration of the second embodiment).", "In the sixth configuration of the second embodiment, if the mobile object reaches the position where the distance to the target position is equal to or less than the movement stop determination distance and then moves away to a position where the distance to the target position exceeds the movement stop determination distance, a communication restoration operation may be started again, so that a situation can be prevented from occurring where a communication restoration operation and a movement for an original purpose are alternately repeated.", "In the second embodiment of the present disclosure, it is determined in step S1004 whether or not there is a mobile object belonging to an unknown group, and if there is a mobile object belonging to an unknown group, steps S1005 to S2807 are performed to decide on a communication restoration vector having a magnitude that is not 0.In a seventh configuration of the second embodiment, a second movement stop determination distance is calculated by multiplying the distance from a specific position to a target position by a movement stop determination coefficient.", "If the mobile object reaches a position where the distance to the target position is equal to or less than the second movement stop determination distance, the magnitude of the communication restoration vector may be set to 0 (step S1010) and the process may proceed to step S1008 without performing steps S1005 to S2807, even if there is a mobile object belonging to the unknown group.", "The value of the second movement stop determination coefficient may be a constant or may be a value that is dynamically decided on when an actual process is performed.", "In the seventh configuration of the second embodiment, if restoration of communication is not completed even if the mobile object reaches the position where the distance to the target position is equal to or less than the second movement stop determination distance, the operation for restoration is stopped.", "Thus, a situation can be prevented from occurring where a communication restoration operation is endlessly performed.", "In the seventh configuration of the second embodiment, after the mobile object reaches the position where the distance to the target position is equal to or less than the second movement stop determination distance, the magnitude of the communication restoration vector may be set to 0 (step S1010) and the process may proceed to step S1008 without performing steps S1005 to S2807, until a mobile object belonging to the unknown group is changed (an eighth configuration of the second embodiment).", "In the eighth configuration of the second embodiment, if the mobile object reaches the position where the distance to the target position is equal to or less than the second movement stop determination distance and then moves away to a position where the distance to the target position exceeds the second movement stop determination distance, a communication restoration operation may be started again, so that a situation can be prevented from occurring where a communication restoration operation and a movement for an original purpose are alternately repeated.", "In the second embodiment of the present disclosure, it is determined in step S1004 whether or not there is a mobile object belonging to an unknown group, and if there is a mobile object belonging to an unknown group, steps S1005 to S2807 are performed to decide on a communication restoration vector having a magnitude that is not 0.In a ninth configuration of the second embodiment, when the mobile object reaches the target position, the magnitude of the communication restoration vector may be set to 0 (step S1010) and the process may proceed to step S1008 without performing steps S1005 to S2807, even if there is a mobile object belonging to the unknown group.", "In the ninth configuration of the second embodiment, if restoration of communication is not completed even if the mobile object reaches the target position, the operation for restoration is stopped.", "Thus, a situation can be prevented from occurring where a communication restoration operation is endlessly performed.", "In the ninth configuration of the second embodiment, after the mobile object reaches the target position, the magnitude of the communication restoration vector may be set to 0 (step S1010) and the process may proceed to step S1008 without performing steps S1005 to S2807, until a mobile object belonging to the unknown group is changed (a tenth configuration of the second embodiment).", "In the tenth configuration of the second embodiment, if the mobile object reaches the target position and then moves away from the target position, a communication restoration operation may be started again, so that a situation can be prevented from occurring where a communication restoration operation and a movement for an original purpose are alternately repeated.", "In the third to tenth configurations of the second embodiment of the present disclosure, at the time of performing step S1004, in order to stop a communication restoration operation when the conditions described above regarding the individual configurations are satisfied, the magnitude of the communication restoration vector may be set to 0 (step S1010), and when the process proceeds to step S1008 without performing steps S1005 to S2807, the mobile objects belonging to the known group may be specified again as a component group, thereby dividing the ad hoc network (an eleventh configuration of the second embodiment).", "In the eleventh configuration of the second embodiment, each mobile object belonging to the known group is capable of avoiding endless repetition of stop and restart of a communication restoration operation by restarting the communication restoration operation for the unknown group for which restoration of communication has failed.", "In the third to tenth configurations of the second embodiment of the present disclosure, at the time of performing step S1004, in order to stop a communication restoration operation when the conditions described above regarding the individual configurations are satisfied, the magnitude of the communication restoration vector may be set to 0 (step S1010), and when the process proceeds to step S1008 without performing steps S1005 to S2807, a division notification indicating that the ad hoc network is to be divided may be transmitted to all the mobile objects belonging to the known group other than the own mobile object (a twelfth configuration of the second embodiment).", "When a division notification is received from another mobile object, the magnitude of the communication restoration vector may be set to 0 (step S1010), and the process may proceed to step S1008 without performing steps S1005 to S2807 even if there is a mobile object belonging to the unknown group in step S1004.Accordingly, the communication restoration operation is stopped and the mobile objects belonging to the known group at the time are specified again as a component group, thereby dividing the ad hoc network.", "In the twelfth configuration of the second embodiment, each mobile object belonging to the known group is capable of specifying the same component group and is also capable of avoiding endless repetition of stop and restart of a communication restoration operation by restarting the communication restoration operation for the unknown group for which restoration of communication has failed.", "In the third to tenth configurations of the second embodiment of the present disclosure, at the time of performing step S1004, in order to stop a communication restoration operation when the conditions described above regarding the individual configurations are satisfied, the magnitude of the communication restoration vector may be set to 0 (step S1010), and when the process proceeds to step S1008 without performing steps S1005 to S2807, known group information specifying the mobile objects belonging to the known group may be transmitted to all the mobile objects belonging to the known group other than the own mobile object (a thirteenth configuration of the second embodiment).", "When known group information is received from another mobile object, the magnitude of the communication restoration vector may be set to 0 (step S1010), and the process may proceed to step S1008 without performing steps S1005 to S2807 even if there is a mobile object belonging to the unknown group in step S1004.Accordingly, the communication restoration operation is stopped and the mobile objects specified by the known group information are specified again as a component group, thereby dividing the ad hoc network.", "In the thirteenth configuration of the second embodiment, each mobile object belonging to the known group is capable of reliably specifying the same component group without being affected by a time lag in communication and is also capable of avoiding endless repetition of stop and restart of a communication restoration operation by restarting the communication restoration operation for the unknown group for which restoration of communication has failed.", "Third Embodiment The conceptual diagram illustrating an overall ad hoc network formed of a plurality of mobile objects according to a third embodiment of the present disclosure is the same as FIG.", "6, and thus the description thereof will not be given.", "The block diagram illustrating the functional configuration of the mobile object 101 according to the third embodiment of the present disclosure is the same as FIG.", "8, and thus the description thereof will not be given.", "However, the details of the information stored in the storage unit 603 are different from those in FIGS.", "9, 10, and 11, and thus will be described with reference to FIGS.", "41, 42, and 43.FIG.", "41 is a diagram illustrating an example of the information stored in the storage unit 603 of the mobile object 101 according to the third embodiment of the present disclosure.", "In FIG.", "41, the same elements as those in FIGS.", "6 and 8 are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will not be given.", "The storage unit 603 stores own-mobile-object information 5801, which is information about the mobile object 101, and other-mobile-object information 5802, which is information about one or more other mobile objects.", "The own-mobile-object information 5801 includes mobile object identification information for uniquely identifying the own mobile object; position information indicating the position of the own mobile object, which is detected by the position detection unit 604; direct communication group information including mobile object identification information of one or more other mobile objects belonging to a direct communication group that the own mobile object is capable of directly communicating with; known group information including mobile object identification information of the own mobile object and one or more other mobile objects that the own mobile object is capable of communicating with through an ad hoc network; unknown group information including mobile object identification information of one or more other mobile objects that the own mobile object is incapable of communicating with through the ad hoc network; target position information, which is position information indicating a target position to which the own mobile object moves to restore communication if there is an unknown group; communication maintaining movement vector information, which is information about a communication maintaining movement vector indicating a movement vector for maintaining direct communication with some or all of mobile objects included in a direct communication group; second basic movement vector group information, which is information about a second basic movement vector group including one or more movement vectors for controlling a movement if direct communication is not maintained; basic movement vector group information, which is information about a basic movement vector group including one or more movement vectors for controlling a movement if there is no unknown group; communication restoration vector information, which is information about a communication restoration vector indicating a movement vector for moving toward a target position; and actual movement vector information, which is information about an actual movement vector defining an actual movement.", "The other-mobile-object information 5802 includes mobile object identification information for uniquely identifying one or more other mobile objects; position information indicating the positions of the one or more other mobile objects; approach vector information, which is information about an approach vector that is decided on for each of one or more mobile objects belonging to a direct communication group and that indicates a movement vector for moving toward the mobile object; and repulsion vector information, which is information about a repulsion vector that is decided on for each of one or more mobile objects belonging to a direct communication group and that indicates a movement vector for moving to get away from the mobile object.", "The communication unit 601 further receives, from a second communication-partner mobile object (for example, the mobile object 102) that is different from the mobile object 101 and the first communication-partner mobile object (for example, the mobile object 105) and forms the network together with the mobile object 101, second information indicating any one of a second position, a second velocity, and a second acceleration of the mobile object 102.On the basis of the second information, the control unit 602 decides on a fourth control amount (second basic movement vector group information) corresponding to any one of a set of a fourth movement distance and a fourth movement direction, a set of a fourth velocity absolute value and a fourth velocity direction, or a set of a fourth acceleration absolute value and a fourth acceleration direction.", "The control unit 602 updates the first control amount (basic movement vector group information) on the basis of the fourth control amount.", "The control unit 602 decides on the fourth control amount (second basic movement vector group information) on the basis of a distance calculated from the current position of the mobile object 101 and the second position of the second communication-partner mobile object (for example, the mobile object 102).", "FIG.", "42 is a diagram illustrating an example of the own-mobile-object information 5801 stored in the storage unit 603 of the mobile object 101 according to the third embodiment of the present disclosure.", "In FIG.", "42, the same elements as those in FIGS.", "6 and 41 are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will not be given.", "In FIG.", "42, the description will not be given of the same information as that included in the own-mobile-object information 701 illustrated in FIG.", "10.In the mobile object 101, the storage unit 603 stores the own-mobile-object information 5801 in the form illustrated in FIG.", "42, for example.", "The own-mobile-object information 5801 includes mobile object identification information for uniquely identifying the own mobile object; position information indicating the position of the own mobile object, which is detected by the position detection unit 604; direct communication group information including mobile object identification information of one or more other mobile objects belonging to a direct communication group that the own mobile object is capable of directly communicating with; known group information including mobile object identification information of the own mobile object and one or more other mobile objects that the own mobile object is capable of communicating with through an ad hoc network; unknown group information including mobile object identification information of one or more other mobile objects that the own mobile object is incapable of communicating with through the ad hoc network; target position information, which is position information indicating a target position to which the own mobile object moves to restore communication if there is an unknown group; communication maintaining movement vector information, which is information about a communication maintaining movement vector indicating a movement vector for maintaining direct communication with some or all of mobile objects included in a direct communication group; second basic movement vector group information, which is information about a second basic movement vector group including one or more movement vectors for controlling a movement if direct communication is not maintained; basic movement vector group information, which is information about a basic movement vector group including one or more movement vectors for controlling a movement if there is no unknown group; communication restoration vector information, which is information about a communication restoration vector indicating a movement vector for moving toward a target position; and actual movement vector information, which is information about an actual movement vector defining an actual movement.", "The own-mobile-object information 5801 illustrated in FIG.", "42 indicates that the value of the own mobile object identification information is “mobile object 101”, the value of the own position information is “34° 41′37.0″ north latitude, 135° 30′7.1″ east longitude, 2 m above sea level”, the value of the known group information is “mobile object 101, mobile object 102, mobile object 103, and mobile object 104”, the value of the unknown group information is “mobile object 105, mobile object 106, and mobile object 107”, the value of the target position information is “34° 41′37.6″ north latitude, 135° 30′9.1″ east longitude, 2 m above sea level”, the value of the communication maintaining movement vector information is “(1 m/s, 1 m/s, 0 m/s)”, the value of the second main basic movement vector information in the second basic movement vector group information is “(−5 m/s, −2 m/s, 0 m/s)”, the value of the second obstacle avoidance basic movement vector information in the second basic movement vector group information is “(0 m/s, 5 m/s, 0 m/s)”, the value of the main basic movement vector information in the basic movement vector group information is “(−4.5 m/s, −1.5 m/s, 0 m/s)”, the value of the obstacle avoidance basic movement vector information in the basic movement vector group information is “(0.5 m/s, 5.5 m/s, 0 m/s)”, the value of the communication restoration vector information is “(0 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s)”, and the value of the actual movement vector information is “(−1.75 m/s, 4.75 m/s, 0 m/s)”.", "In FIG.", "42, the second basic movement vector group information is represented by a set of second main basic movement vector information and second obstacle avoidance basic movement vector information.", "That is, a second basic movement vector group is a set of a second main basic movement vector and a second obstacle avoidance basic movement vector.", "Here, the second main basic movement vector is a movement vector representing a movement of a mobile object for achieving an original purpose in the case of not making an attempt to maintain direct communication.", "The second obstacle avoidance basic movement vector is a movement vector representing a movement of a mobile object for avoiding an obstacle near the mobile object in the case of not making an attempt to maintain direct communication.", "The number of movement vectors included in the second basic movement vector group and the movements represented by the movement vectors have variations, which is not related to the gist of the present disclosure.", "In this specification, unless otherwise noted, a second basic movement vector group is a set of a second main basic movement vector and a second obstacle avoidance basic movement vector described herein.", "FIG.", "43 is a diagram illustrating an example of the other-mobile-object information 5802 stored in the storage unit 603 of the mobile object 101 according to the third embodiment of the present disclosure.", "In FIG.", "43, the same elements as those in FIGS.", "6 and 41 are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will not be given.", "Also, in FIG.", "43, the same information as that included in the other-mobile-object information 702 illustrated in FIG.", "11 will not be described.", "In the mobile object 101, the storage unit 603 stores the other-mobile-object information 5802 in the form illustrated in FIG.", "43, for example.", "The other-mobile-object information 5802 includes mobile object identification information for uniquely identifying one or more other mobile objects; position information indicating the positions of the one or more other mobile objects and received from the one or more other mobile objects; approach vector information, which is information about an approach vector that is decided on for each of one or more mobile objects belonging to a direct communication group and that indicates a movement vector for moving toward the mobile object; and repulsion vector information, which is information about a repulsion vector that is decided on for each of one or more mobile objects belonging to a direct communication group and that indicates a movement vector for moving to get away from the mobile object.", "The other-mobile-object information 5802 illustrated in FIG.", "43 indicates that the value of the mobile object identification information of the mobile object 102 is “mobile object 102”, the value of the position information of the mobile object 102 is “34° 41′37.5″ north latitude, 135° 30′7.6″ east longitude, 2 m above sea level”, the value of the approach vector information is “the number of approach vectors is 1 and the value of the approach vector is (3 m/s, 3 m/s, 0 m/s)”, and the value of the repulsion vector information is “the number of repulsion vectors is 1 and the value of the repulsion vector is (−2 m/s, −2 m/s, 0 m/s)”.", "The same applies to the mobile object identification information, position information, approach vector information, and repulsion vector information of the mobile objects 103 to 107.FIG.", "44 is a first flowchart illustrating an overall operation of movement control of the mobile object 101 according to the third embodiment of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "45 is a second flowchart illustrating the overall operation of movement control of the mobile object 101 according to the third embodiment of the present disclosure.", "The operations performed in steps S6101 to S6109 are the same regardless of whether there is a mobile object belonging to an unknown group.", "Thus, a description will be given below under the assumption that the mobile object 105 fails, unless otherwise noted.", "The conceptual diagram of an example of a basic movement vector group is the same as FIG.", "13, and thus the description thereof will not be given.", "The conceptual diagram illustrating a known group and an unknown group in each of the mobile objects 101 to 104 in a case where the mobile object 105 fails is the same as FIG.", "14, and thus the description thereof will not be given.", "The conceptual diagram illustrating a known group and an unknown group in each of the mobile objects 106 and 107 in a case where the mobile object 105 fails is the same as FIG.", "15, and thus the description thereof will not be given.", "First, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 101 attempts to communicate with the mobile objects 102 to 107 and specifies, as a direct communication group, one or more of the mobile objects 102 to 107 with which direct communication has succeeded (step S6101).", "Subsequently, the control unit 602 updates the direct communication group information including the mobile object identification information of all the mobile objects belonging to the direct communication group in the own-mobile-object information 5801.As illustrated in FIGS.", "6, 13, 14, and 15, the mobile object 101 is capable of directly communicating with only the mobile object 102 in both cases where the mobile object 105 fails and where the mobile object 105 does not fail.", "Thus, the control unit 602 specifies only the mobile object 102 as a direct communication group and updates the direct communication group information in the own-mobile-object information 5801.Subsequently, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 101 calculates the distance from the position of each mobile object belonging to the direct communication group to the position of the own mobile object (step S6102).", "It is assumed that the mobile objects 105 to 107 are at the positions described in the other-mobile-object information 5802 illustrated in FIG.", "43 at the point of time when the mobile object 105 fails.", "Since only the mobile object 102 belongs to the direct communication group of the mobile object 101, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 101 calculates the distance from the position of the mobile object 102 to the position of the own mobile object.", "The distance between the mobile objects 101 and 102 is 19.9 m. Subsequently, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 101 decides on a repulsion vector for each mobile object belonging to the direct communication group (step S6103).", "Here, the control unit 602 decides on, for each mobile object belonging to the direct communication group, a movement vector as a repulsion vector having a predetermined magnitude and having a direction opposite to the direction toward the mobile object, regardless of the distance from the position of the mobile object to the own mobile object.", "It is assumed that the magnitude of the repulsion vector is 2.8 m/s.", "FIG.", "46 is a conceptual diagram for describing a method for deciding on a repulsion vector, an approach vector, and a communication maintaining movement vector in the mobile object 101 in a case where one mobile object (the mobile object 105) fails in the third embodiment of the present disclosure.", "In FIG.", "46, the same elements as those in FIGS.", "6 and 14 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will not be given.", "As illustrated in FIG.", "46, only the mobile object 102 belongs to the direct communication group of the mobile object 101.Thus, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 101 decides on, as a repulsion vector 4221 for the mobile object 102, a movement vector having a magnitude of 2.8 m/s and having a direction opposite to the direction toward the mobile object 102.In this case, the repulsion vector 4221 is (−2 m/s, −2 m/s, 0 m/s).", "The repulsion vectors of the mobile objects 102 to 104, 106, and 107 are decided on similarly to the repulsion vector of the mobile object 101.FIG.", "47 is a conceptual diagram for describing a method for deciding on a repulsion vector, an approach vector, and a communication maintaining movement vector in the mobile object 102 in a case where one mobile object (the mobile object 105) fails in the third embodiment of the present disclosure.", "In FIG.", "47, the same elements as those in FIGS.", "6 and 14 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will not be given.", "As illustrated in FIG.", "47, the mobile objects 101, 103, and 104 belong to the direct communication group of the mobile object 102.Thus, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 102 decides on, as a repulsion vector 4312 for the mobile object 101, a movement vector having a magnitude of 2.8 m/s and having a direction opposite to the direction toward the mobile object 101.The control unit 602 of the mobile object 102 decides on, as a repulsion vector 4332 for the mobile object 103, a movement vector having a magnitude of 2.8 m/s and having a direction opposite to the direction toward the mobile object 103.The control unit 602 of the mobile object 102 decides on, as a repulsion vector 4342 for the mobile object 104, a movement vector having a magnitude of 2.8 m/s and having a direction opposite to the direction toward the mobile object 104.FIG.", "48 is a conceptual diagram for describing a method for deciding on a repulsion vector, an approach vector, and a communication maintaining movement vector in the mobile object 103 in a case where one mobile object (the mobile object 105) fails in the third embodiment of the present disclosure.", "In FIG.", "48, the same elements as those in FIGS.", "6 and 14 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will not be given.", "As illustrated in FIG.", "48, the mobile objects 102 and 104 belong to the direct communication group of the mobile object 103.Thus, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 103 decides on, as a repulsion vector 4423 for the mobile object 102, a movement vector having a magnitude of 2.8 m/s and having a direction opposite to the direction toward the mobile object 102.The control unit 602 of the mobile object 103 decides on, as a repulsion vector 4443 for the mobile object 104, a movement vector having a magnitude of 2.8 m/s and having a direction opposite to the direction toward the mobile object 104.FIG.", "49 is a conceptual diagram for describing a method for deciding on a repulsion vector, an approach vector, and a communication maintaining movement vector in the mobile object 104 in a case where one mobile object (the mobile object 105) fails in the third embodiment of the present disclosure.", "In FIG.", "49, the same elements as those in FIGS.", "6 and 14 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will not be given.", "As illustrated in FIG.", "49, the mobile objects 102 and 103 belong to the direct communication group of the mobile object 104.Thus, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 104 decides on, as a repulsion vector 4524 for the mobile object 102, a movement vector having a magnitude of 2.8 m/s and having a direction opposite to the direction toward the mobile object 102.The control unit 602 of the mobile object 104 decides on, as a repulsion vector 4534 for the mobile object 103, a movement vector having a magnitude of 2.8 m/s and having a direction opposite to the direction toward the mobile object 103.FIG.", "50 is a conceptual diagram for describing a method for deciding on a repulsion vector, an approach vector, and a communication maintaining movement vector in the mobile object 106 in a case where one mobile object (the mobile object 105) fails in the third embodiment of the present disclosure.", "In FIG.", "50, the same elements as those in FIGS.", "6 and 14 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will not be given.", "As illustrated in FIG.", "50, only the mobile object 107 belongs to the direct communication group of the mobile object 106.Thus, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 106 decides on, as a repulsion vector 4676 for the mobile object 107, a movement vector having a magnitude of 2.8 m/s and having a direction opposite to the direction toward the mobile object 107.FIG.", "51 is a conceptual diagram for describing a method for deciding on a repulsion vector, an approach vector, and a communication maintaining movement vector in the mobile object 107 in a case where one mobile object (the mobile object 105) fails in the third embodiment of the present disclosure.", "In FIG.", "51, the same elements as those in FIGS.", "6 and 14 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will not be given.", "As illustrated in FIG.", "51, only the mobile object 106 belongs to the direct communication group of the mobile object 107.Thus, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 107 decides on, as a repulsion vector 4767 for the mobile object 106, a movement vector having a magnitude of 2.8 m/s and having a direction opposite to the direction toward the mobile object 106.Subsequently, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 101 decides on an approach vector for each mobile object belonging to the direct communication group (step S6104).", "Here, the control unit 602 decides on, for each mobile object belonging to the direct communication group, a movement vector as an approach vector having a magnitude proportional to the square of the distance from the position of the mobile object to the position of the own mobile object and having a direction toward the mobile object.", "It is assumed that the magnitude proportional to the square of the distance 19.9 m from the position of the mobile object 102 to the position of the mobile object 101 is 4.2 m/s.", "That is, the magnitude of the approach vector decided on by the control unit 602 increases as the distance between mobile objects increases.", "The control unit 602 may decrease a movement distance (fourth movement distance), a velocity absolute value (fourth velocity absolute value), or an acceleration absolute value (fourth acceleration absolute value) as the distance calculated from the current position of the mobile object 101 and the position of the mobile object 102 decreases.", "As illustrated in FIG.", "46, only the mobile object 102 belongs to the direct communication group of the mobile object 101.Thus, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 101 decides on, as an approach vector 4212 for the mobile object 102, a movement vector having a magnitude of 4.2 m/s that is proportional to the square of the distance 19.9 m from the position of the mobile object 102 to the position of the own mobile object and having a direction toward the mobile object 102.In this case, the approach vector 4212 is (3 m/s, 3 m/s, 0 m/s).", "The approach vectors of the mobile objects 102 to 104, 106, and 107 are decided on similarly to the approach vector of the mobile object 101.As illustrated in FIG.", "47, the mobile objects 101, 103, and 104 belong to the direct communication group of the mobile object 102.Thus, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 102 decides on, as an approach vector 4321 for the mobile object 101, a movement vector having a magnitude proportional to the square of the distance from the position of the mobile object 101 to the position of the own mobile object and having a direction toward the mobile object 101.The control unit 602 of the mobile object 102 decides on, as an approach vector 4323 for the mobile object 103, a movement vector having a magnitude proportional to the square of the distance from the position of the mobile object 103 to the position of the own mobile object and having a direction toward the mobile object 103.The control unit 602 of the mobile object 102 decides on, as an approach vector 4324 for the mobile object 104, a movement vector having a magnitude proportional to the square of the distance from the position of the mobile object 104 to the position of the own mobile object and having a direction toward the mobile object 104.As illustrated in FIG.", "48, the mobile objects 102 and 104 belong to the direct communication group of the mobile object 103.Thus, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 103 decides on, as an approach vector 4432 for the mobile object 102, a movement vector having a magnitude proportional to the square of the distance from the position of the mobile object 102 to the position of the own mobile object and having a direction toward the mobile object 102.The control unit 602 of the mobile object 103 decides on, as an approach vector 4434 for the mobile object 104, a movement vector having a magnitude proportional to the square of the distance from the position of the mobile object 104 to the position of the own mobile object and having a direction toward the mobile object 104.As illustrated in FIG.", "49, the mobile objects 102 and 103 belong to the direct communication group of the mobile object 104.Thus, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 104 decides on, as an approach vector 4542 for the mobile object 102, a movement vector having a magnitude proportional to the square of the distance from the position of the mobile object 102 to the position of the own mobile object and having a direction toward the mobile object 102.The control unit 602 of the mobile object 104 decides on, as an approach vector 4543 for the mobile object 103, a movement vector having a magnitude proportional to the square of the distance from the position of the mobile object 103 to the position of the own mobile object and having a direction toward the mobile object 103.As illustrated in FIG.", "50, only the mobile object 107 belongs to the direct communication group of the mobile object 106.Thus, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 106 decides on, as an approach vector 4667 for the mobile object 107, a movement vector having a magnitude proportional to the square of the distance from the position of the mobile object 107 to the position of the own mobile object and having a direction toward the mobile object 107.As illustrated in FIG.", "51, only the mobile object 106 belongs to the direct communication group of the mobile object 107.Thus, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 107 decides on, as an approach vector 4776 for the mobile object 106, a movement vector having a magnitude proportional to the square of the distance from the position of the mobile object 106 to the position of the own mobile object and having a direction toward the mobile object 106.The control unit 602 of the mobile object 101 may decides on, for each mobile object belonging to the direct communication group, a movement vector as an approach vector having a magnitude inversely proportional to the square of the distance from the position of the mobile object to the position of the own mobile object and having a direction toward the mobile object.", "That is, the control unit 602 may increase a movement distance (fourth movement distance), a velocity absolute value (fourth velocity absolute value), or an acceleration absolute value (fourth acceleration absolute value) as the distance calculated from the current position of the mobile object 101 and the position of the mobile object 102 decreases.", "Subsequently, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 101 calculates the sum of movement vectors that are obtained by multiplying the individual repulsion vectors and the individual approach vectors by a value other than 0, and decides on a movement vector obtained through the calculation as a communication maintaining movement vector (step S6105).", "Subsequently, the control unit 602 creates communication maintaining movement vector information, which is information about the communication maintaining movement vector, and updates the communication maintaining movement vector information in the own-mobile-object information 5801.Here, the control unit 602 multiplies the individual repulsion vectors and the individual approach vectors by 1 and then calculates the sum of all the movement vectors.", "The values by which the individual repulsion vectors and the individual approach vectors are multiplied may be a constant or may be a value that is dynamically decided on when an actual process is performed.", "As illustrated in FIG.", "46, only the mobile object 102 belongs to the direct communication group of the mobile object 101.Thus, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 101 decides on, as a communication maintaining movement vector 4201, the sum (1 m/s, 1 m/s, 0 m/s) of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the repulsion vector 4221 (−2 m/s, −2 m/s, 0 m/s) for the mobile object 102 by 1 and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the approach vector 4212 (3 m/s, 3 m/s, 0 m/s) for the mobile object 102 by 1.The communication maintaining movement vectors of the mobile objects 102 to 104, 106, and 107 are decided on similarly to the communication maintaining movement vector of the mobile object 101.As illustrated in FIG.", "47, the mobile objects 101, 103, and 104 belong to the direct communication group of the mobile object 102.Thus, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 102 decides on, as a communication maintaining movement vector 4302, the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the repulsion vector 4312 for the mobile object 101 by 1, a movement vector obtained by multiplying the repulsion vector 4332 for the mobile object 103 by 1, a movement vector obtained by multiplying the repulsion vector 4342 for the mobile object 104 by 1, a movement vector obtained by multiplying the approach vector 4321 for the mobile object 101 by 1, a movement vector obtained by multiplying the approach vector 4323 for the mobile object 103 by 1, and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the approach vector 4324 for the mobile object 104 by 1.As illustrated in FIG.", "48, the mobile objects 102 and 104 belong to the direct communication group of the mobile object 103.Thus, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 103 decides on, as a communication maintaining movement vector 4403, the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the repulsion vector 4423 for the mobile object 102 by 1, a movement vector obtained by multiplying the repulsion vector 4443 for the mobile object 104 by 1, a movement vector obtained by multiplying the approach vector 4432 for the mobile object 102 by 1, and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the approach vector 4434 for the mobile object 104 by 1.As illustrated in FIG.", "49, the mobile objects 102 and 103 belong to the direct communication group of the mobile object 104.Thus, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 104 decides on, as a communication maintaining movement vector 4504, the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the repulsion vector 4524 for the mobile object 102 by 1, a movement vector obtained by multiplying the repulsion vector 4534 for the mobile object 103 by 1, a movement vector obtained by multiplying the approach vector 4542 for the mobile object 102 by 1, and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the approach vector 4543 for the mobile object 103 by 1.As illustrated in FIG.", "50, only the mobile object 107 belongs to the direct communication group of the mobile object 106.Thus, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 106 decides on, as a communication maintaining movement vector 4606, the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the repulsion vector 4676 for the mobile object 107 by 1 and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the approach vector 4667 for the mobile object 107 by 1.As illustrated in FIG.", "51, only the mobile object 106 belongs to the direct communication group of the mobile object 107.Thus, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 107 decides on, as a communication maintaining movement vector 4707, the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the repulsion vector 4767 for the mobile object 106 by 1 and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the approach vector 4776 for the mobile object 106 by 1.Subsequently, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 101 decides on a second basic movement vector group including one or more movement vectors for controlling a movement in the case of not attempting to maintain direct communication (step S6106).", "Subsequently, the control unit 602 creates second basic movement vector group information, which is information about the second basic movement vector group, and updates the second basic movement vector group information in the own-mobile-object information 5801.FIG.", "52 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of a second basic movement vector group in the third embodiment of the present disclosure.", "In FIG.", "52, the same elements as those in FIGS.", "6, 14, 16, and 46 are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will not be given.", "In the situation illustrated in FIG.", "52, it is the best for the mobile object 101 to move in accordance with a movement vector including a movement component of 5 m/s in the direction of west and a movement component of 2 m/s in the direction of south to achieve an original purpose if no attempt is made to maintain direct communication and if there is no restriction.", "In this case, a second main basic movement vector 4811 is (−5 m/s, −2 m/s, 0 m/s).", "However, there is an obstacle to the west of the mobile object 101.Thus, the mobile object 101 needs to move while avoiding the obstacle.", "Thus, if no attempt is made to maintain direct communication, the mobile object 101 needs to move in accordance with a movement vector including a movement component of 5 m/s in the direction of north to avoid the obstacle.", "In this case, a second obstacle avoidance basic movement vector 4812 is (0 m/s, 5 m/s, 0 m/s).", "Subsequently, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 101 attempts to communicate with the mobile objects 102 to 107 through the ad hoc network.", "In accordance with whether or not the communication therewith can be performed, the control unit 602 specifies a known group, which is a group of mobile objects that the mobile object 101 is capable of communicating with through the ad hoc network, and an unknown group, which is a group of mobile objects that the mobile object 101 is incapable of communicating with through the ad hoc network (step S6107).", "Subsequently, the control unit 602 updates the known group information, which includes mobile object identification information of all the mobile objects belonging to the known group, and the unknown group information, which includes mobile object identification information of all the mobile objects belonging to the unknown group, in the own-mobile-object information 5801.Subsequently, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 101 updates the position information of the known group (step S6108).", "At this time, the position detection unit 604 detects the position of the own mobile object and updates the position information in the own-mobile-object information 5801.Furthermore, the communication unit 601 requests, through the ad hoc network, all the mobile objects belonging to the known group to transmit mobile object identification information and position information and receives the mobile object identification information and the position information from the mobile objects belonging to the known group.", "Subsequently, the control unit 602 updates the position information in the other-mobile-object information 5802.Subsequently, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 101 calculates the sum of movement vectors that are obtained by multiplying individual movement vectors belonging to the second basic movement vector group and the communication maintaining movement vector by a value other than 0, and decides on a movement vector group obtained through the calculation as a basic movement vector group (step S6109).", "Subsequently, the control unit 602 creates basic movement vector group information, which is information about the basic movement vector group, and updates the basic movement vector information in the own-mobile-object information 5801.Here, the control unit 602 multiplies the second main basic movement vector belonging to the second basic movement vector group by 1 and multiplies the communication maintaining movement vector by 0.5, which is a value obtained by dividing 1 by the number of movement vectors belonging to the second basic movement vector group, and decides on the sum of the two movement vectors obtained through the calculation as a main basic movement vector.", "Also, the control unit 602 multiplies the second obstacle avoidance basic movement vector by 1 and multiplies the communication maintaining movement vector by 0.5, which is a value obtained by dividing 1 by the number of movement vectors belonging to the second basic movement vector group, and decides on the sum of the two movement vectors obtained through the calculation as an obstacle avoidance basic movement vector.", "The value by which each movement vector belonging to the second basic movement vector group is multiplied may be a constant or may be a value that is dynamically decided on when an actual process is performed.", "As illustrated in FIG.", "52 and as described above, in this example, the second main basic movement vector 4811 of the mobile object 101 is (−5 m/s, −2 m/s, 0 m/s) and the communication maintaining movement vector 4201 is (1 m/s, 1 m/s, 0 m/s), and thus the movement vector as a calculation result is (−4.5 m/s, −1.5 m/s, 0 m/s).", "Thus, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 101 decides on the movement vector as a calculation result (−4.5 m/s, −1.5 m/s, 0 m/s) as a main basic movement vector 4801 in the basic movement vector group.", "Also, in this example, the second obstacle avoidance basic movement vector 4812 of the mobile object 101 is (0 m/s, 5 m/s, 0 m/s) and the communication maintaining movement vector 4201 is (1 m/s, 1 m/s, 0 m/s), and thus the movement vector as a calculation result is (0.5 m/s, 5.5 m/s, 0 m/s).", "Thus, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 101 decides on the movement vector as a calculation result (0.5 m/s, 5.5 m/s, 0 m/s) as an obstacle avoidance basic movement vector 4802 in the basic movement vector group.", "Subsequently, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 101 determines whether or not there is a mobile object belonging to an unknown group (step S6110).", "If it is determined in step S6110 that there is no mobile object belonging to an unknown group (NO in step S6110), the control unit 602 of the mobile object 101 sets the magnitude of the communication restoration vector to 0 (step S6117) and the process proceeds to step S6115, which will be described below.", "For example, in the situation illustrated in FIG.", "13, there is no unknown group and all the mobile objects 101 to 107 belong to a known group.", "Thus, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 101 sets the magnitude of the communication restoration vector to 0, and then the process proceeds to step S6115, which will be described below.", "On the other hand, if it is determined in step S6110 that there is a mobile object belonging to an unknown group (YES in step S6110), the control unit 602 performs the process in steps S6111 to S6114.If it is determined in step S6110 that there is a mobile object belonging to an unknown group, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 101 obtains, from the other-mobile-object information 5802, the position information of all the mobile objects belonging to the unknown group (step S6111).", "The conceptual diagram illustrating the mobile objects 101 to 104 belonging to the known group and the mobile objects 105 to 107 belonging to the unknown group in a case where one mobile object (the mobile object 105) fails in the third embodiment of the present disclosure is the same as FIG.", "14, and thus the description thereof will not be given.", "The conceptual diagram illustrating the mobile objects 106 and 107 belonging to the known group and the mobile objects 101 to 104 belonging to the unknown group in a case where one mobile object (the mobile object 105) fails in the third embodiment of the present disclosure is the same as FIG.", "15, and thus the description thereof will not be given.", "Subsequently, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 101 decides on one or more target positions on the basis of the position information of the mobile objects belonging to the unknown group obtained in step S6111 (step S6112).", "The target position is, for example, a center position of all the mobile objects belonging to the unknown group or a position nearest to the own mobile object among the positions of all the mobile objects belonging to the unknown group.", "Subsequently, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 101 calculates the distance from the target position to the position of the own mobile object (step S6113).", "The diagram illustrating an example of a method for deciding on a target position and the target position decided on by using the method in each of the mobile objects 101 to 104 in a case where one mobile object (the mobile object 105) fails in the third embodiment of the present disclosure is the same as FIG.", "16.It is assumed that the mobile objects 105 to 107 are at the positions described in the other-mobile-object information 5802 illustrated in FIG.", "43.For example, in the case of deciding on the center position of all the mobile objects belonging to the unknown group as a target position, the target position of each of the mobile objects 101 to 104 is the target position 1401 illustrated in FIG.", "16.The value of the target position 1401 is “34° 41′37.6″ north latitude, 135° 30′9.1″ east longitude, 2 m above sea level”.", "In this case, the distances from the target position 1401 to the mobile objects 101 to 104 are 53.3 m, 37.6 m, 35.5 m, and 27.9 m, respectively.", "In the case of deciding on the position nearest to the own mobile object among the positions of all the mobile objects belonging to the unknown group as a target position, the target position of each of the mobile objects 101 to 104 is the target position 1402 illustrated in FIG.", "16, that is, the position of the mobile object 105.The value of the target position 1402 is “34° 41′37.5″ north latitude, 135° 30′8.6″ east longitude, 2 m above sea level”.", "In this case, the distances from the target position 1402 to the mobile objects 101 to 104 are 40.6 m, 25.0 m, 22.7 m, and 19.9 m, respectively.", "Here, approximate values are calculated in an abbreviated manner under the assumption that the distance corresponding to one second in latitude is 31 m and the distance corresponding to one second in longitude is 25 m. However, the method for calculating a distance on the basis of a difference in latitude and longitude is not related to the gist of the present disclosure.", "In this specification, unless otherwise noted, a distance is calculated on the basis of a difference in latitude and longitude by using the simple method described herein.", "The diagram illustrating an example of a method for deciding on a target position and the target position decided on by using the method in each of the mobile objects 106 and 107 in a case where one mobile object (the mobile object 105) fails in the third embodiment of the present disclosure is the same as FIG.", "17.It is assumed that the mobile objects 101 to 105 are at the positions described in the other-mobile-object information 5802 illustrated in FIG.", "43.For example, in the case of deciding on the center position of all the mobile objects belonging to the unknown group as a target position, the target position of each of the mobile objects 106 and 107 is the target position 1501 illustrated in FIG.", "17.The value of the target position 1501 is “34° 41′37.48″ north latitude, 135° 30′7.82″ east longitude, 2 m above sea level”.", "In this case, the distances from the target position 1501 to the mobile objects 106 and 107 are 33.5 m and 44.5 m, respectively.", "In the case of deciding on the position nearest to the own mobile object among the positions of all the mobile objects belonging to the unknown group as a target position, the target position of each of the mobile objects 106 and 107 is the target position 1502 illustrated in FIG.", "17, that is, the position of the mobile object 105.The value of the target position 1502 is “34° 41′37.5″ north latitude, 135° 30′8.6″ east longitude, 2 m above sea level”.", "In this case, the distances from the target position 1502 to the mobile objects 106 and 107 are 15.6 m and 25.0 m, respectively.", "Subsequently, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 101 decides on a communication restoration vector, which is a movement vector for moving toward the target position, in accordance with the distance from the target position to the position of the own mobile object (step S6114).", "Subsequently, the control unit 602 creates communication restoration vector information, which is information about the communication restoration vector, and updates the communication restoration vector information in the own-mobile-object information 5801.Now, an example of a communication restoration vector will be described.", "The control unit 602 of each of the mobile objects 101 to 107 decides on, as a target position, the position nearest to the own mobile object among the positions of all the mobile objects belonging to the unknown group.", "If the own mobile object is the nearest to the target position among the mobile objects belonging to the known group, the control unit 602 decides on a communication restoration vector having a direction toward the target position and having a magnitude of 6.4 m/s.", "If the own mobile object is not the nearest to the target position, the control unit 602 decides on a communication restoration vector having a magnitude of 0.FIG.", "53 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of communication restoration vectors of the mobile objects 101 to 104 in a case where one mobile object (the mobile object 105) fails in the third embodiment of the present disclosure.", "In FIG.", "53, the same elements as those in FIGS.", "6, 14, and 16 are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will not be given.", "As described above, the distances from the target position 1402 to the mobile objects 101 to 104 are 40.6 m, 25.0 m, 22.7 m, and 19.9 m, respectively.", "Thus, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 104 that is the nearest to the target position 1402 decides on, as a communication restoration vector 4004, a communication restoration vector (5 m/s, −4 m/s, 0 m/s) having a direction toward the target position and having a magnitude of 6.4 m/s.", "Also, the control units 602 of the mobile objects 101 to 103 decide on communication restoration vectors 4001 to 4003 having a magnitude of 0, respectively.", "FIG.", "54 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of communication restoration vectors of the mobile objects 106 and 107 in a case where one mobile object (the mobile object 105) fails in the third embodiment of the present disclosure.", "In FIG.", "54, the same elements as those in FIGS.", "6, 15, and 17 are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will not be given.", "As described above, the distances from the target position 1502 to the mobile objects 106 and 107 are 15.6 m and 25.0 m, respectively.", "Thus, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 106 that is the nearest to the target position 1502 decides on, as a communication restoration vector 4106, a communication restoration vector (−5 m/s, −4 m/s, 0 m/s) having a direction toward the target position and having a magnitude of 6.4 m/s.", "Also, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 107 decides on a communication restoration vector 4107 having a magnitude of 0.Subsequently, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 101 calculates the sum of movement vectors obtained by multiplying all the movement vectors belonging to the basic movement vector group and the communication restoration vector by a value other than 0, and decides on a movement vector obtained through the calculation as an actual movement vector (step S6115).", "Subsequently, the control unit 602 creates actual movement vector information, which is information about the actual movement vector, and updates the actual movement vector information in the own-mobile-object information 5801.FIG.", "55 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of a method for deciding on an actual movement vector in the mobile object 101 in a case where one mobile object (the mobile object 105) fails in the third embodiment of the present disclosure.", "In FIG.", "55, the same elements as those in FIGS.", "6, 14, 16, 52, and 53 are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will not be given.", "To increase the ratio of a movement for avoiding an obstacle, the control unit 602 multiplies the main basic movement vector belonging to the basic movement vector group by 0.5, multiplies the obstacle avoidance basic movement vector belonging to the basic movement vector group by 1, and multiplies the communication restoration vector by 1, and then calculates the sum of the movement vectors as calculation results.", "The value by which each movement vector belonging to the basic movement vector group is multiplied may be a constant or may be a value that is dynamically decided on at the time of performing an actual process.", "In the example illustrated in FIG.", "55, the main basic movement vector 4801 of the mobile object 101 is (−4.5 m/s, −1.5 m/s, 0 m/s), the obstacle avoidance basic movement vector 4802 is (0.5 m/s, 5.5 m/s, 0 m/s), and the communication restoration vector 4001 is (0 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s).", "Thus, the movement vector as a calculation result is (−1.75 m/s, 4.75 m/s, 0 m/s).", "The control unit 602 of the mobile object 101 decides on the movement vector (−1.75 m/s, 4.75 m/s, 0 m/s) obtained through the calculation as an actual movement vector 4901.If the mobile object 105 fails, the magnitude of the communication restoration vector 4001 is 0.Thus, even if the mobile object 105 fails and even if a mobile object belonging to an unknown group emerges, the mobile object 101 moves substantially north-northwestward in accordance with the actual movement vector 4901 (−1.75 m/s, 4.75 m/s, 0 m/s) as illustrated in FIG.", "55, as in the case where the mobile object 105 does not fail and there is no mobile object belonging to an unknown group.", "Since the distance between the mobile object 101 and the mobile object 102 belonging to the direct communication group of the mobile object 101 is shorter than the distance between the mobile object 102 and the mobile object 104, the ratio of a movement for maintaining direct communication is smaller than that of the mobile object 102, and an original purpose can be substantially implemented.", "The basic movement vector groups and the actual movement vectors of the mobile objects 102 to 104, 106, and 107 are decided on similarly to the basic movement vector group and the actual movement vector of the mobile object 101.FIG.", "56 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of actual movement vectors of the mobile objects 101 to 104, 106, and 107 in a case where one mobile object (the mobile object 105) fails in the third embodiment of the present disclosure.", "In FIG.", "56, the same elements as those in FIGS.", "6 and 55 are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will not be given.", "Here, among the movement vectors belonging to the second basic movement vector groups of the mobile objects 102 to 104, the value of the second main basic movement vector is (−10 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s) and the value of the second obstacle avoidance basic movement vector is (0 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s).", "Among the movement vectors belonging to the second basic movement vector groups of the mobile objects 106 and 107, the value of the second main basic movement vector is (10 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s) and the value of the second obstacle avoidance basic movement vector is (0 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s).", "Here, the control unit 602 multiplies the second main basic movement vector belonging to the second basic movement vector group by 1 and multiplies the communication maintaining movement vector by 0.5, which is a value obtained by dividing 1 by the number of movement vectors belonging to the second basic movement vector group, and decides on the sum of the movement vectors obtained through the calculation as a main basic movement vector.", "Also, the control unit 602 multiplies the second obstacle avoidance basic movement vector by 1 and multiplies the communication maintaining movement vector by 0.5, which is a value obtained by dividing 1 by the number of movement vectors belonging to the second basic movement vector group, and decides on the sum of the movement vectors obtained through the calculation as an obstacle avoidance basic movement vector.", "Here, if the magnitude of the communication restoration vector is 0, the control unit 602 decides on, as an actual movement vector, the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the main basic movement vector by 0.5, a movement vector obtained by multiplying the obstacle avoidance basic movement vector by 1, and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication restoration vector by 1.If the magnitude of the communication restoration vector is not 0, the control unit 602 decides on, as an actual movement vector, the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the main basic movement vector by 0.05, a movement vector obtained by multiplying the obstacle avoidance basic movement vector by 0.1, and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication restoration vector by 1.The main basic movement vector of the mobile object 102 is the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the second main basic movement vector (−10 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s) by 1 and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication maintaining movement vector 4302 illustrated in FIG.", "47 by 0.5.The obstacle avoidance basic movement vector of the mobile object 102 is the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the second obstacle avoidance basic movement vector (0 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s) by 1 and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication maintaining movement vector 4302 illustrated in FIG.", "47 by 0.5.Since the magnitude of the communication restoration vector 4002 is 0, an actual movement vector 5002 of the mobile object 102 is the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the main basic movement vector by 0.5, a movement vector obtained by multiplying the obstacle avoidance basic movement vector by 1, and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication restoration vector by 1, as illustrated in FIG.", "56.If the mobile object 105 fails, the magnitude of the communication restoration vector 4002 is 0.Thus, even if the mobile object 105 fails and even if a mobile object belonging to an unknown group emerges, the mobile object 102 moves substantially east-northeastward in accordance with the actual movement vector 5002 as illustrated in FIG.", "56, as in the case where the mobile object 105 does not fail and there is no mobile object belonging to an unknown group.", "Since the distance between the mobile object 102 and the mobile object 104 belonging to the direct communication group of the mobile object 102 is shorter than the distance between the mobile object 101 and the mobile object 102, the ratio of a movement for maintaining direct communication is larger in the mobile object 104 than in the mobile object 101, and the ratio of a movement for maintaining direct communication is larger than that for implementing an original purpose.", "The main basic movement vector of the mobile object 103 is the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the second main basic movement vector (−10 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s) by 1 and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication maintaining movement vector 4403 illustrated in FIG.", "48 by 0.5.The obstacle avoidance basic movement vector of the mobile object 103 is the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the second obstacle avoidance basic movement vector (0 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s) by 1 and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication maintaining movement vector 4403 illustrated in FIG.", "48 by 0.5.Since the magnitude of the communication restoration vector 4003 is 0, an actual movement vector 5003 of the mobile object 103 is the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the main basic movement vector by 0.5, a movement vector obtained by multiplying the obstacle avoidance basic movement vector by 1, and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication restoration vector by 1, as illustrated in FIG.", "56.If the mobile object 105 fails, the magnitude of the communication restoration vector 4003 is 0.Thus, even if the mobile object 105 fails and even if a mobile object belonging to an unknown group emerges, the mobile object 103 moves substantially northeastward in accordance with the actual movement vector 5003 as illustrated in FIG.", "56, as in the case where the mobile object 105 does not fail and there is no mobile object belonging to an unknown group.", "Since the distance between the mobile object 103 and the mobile object 104 belonging to the direct communication group of the mobile object 103 is shorter than the distance between the mobile object 101 and the mobile object 102, the ratio of a movement for maintaining direct communication is larger in the mobile object 104 than in the mobile object 101, and the ratio of a movement for maintaining direct communication is larger than that for implementing an original purpose.", "The main basic movement vector of the mobile object 104 is the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the second main basic movement vector (−10 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s) by 1 and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication maintaining movement vector 4504 illustrated in FIG.", "49 by 0.5.The obstacle avoidance basic movement vector of the mobile object 104 is the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the second obstacle avoidance basic movement vector (0 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s) by 1 and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication maintaining movement vector 4504 illustrated in FIG.", "49 by 0.5.If the mobile object 105 does not fail and if there is no mobile object belonging to an unknown group, the magnitude of the communication restoration vector is 0.Thus, an actual movement vector 5004 of the mobile object 104 is the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the main basic movement vector by 0.5 and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the obstacle avoidance basic movement vector by 1, and the mobile object 104 moves substantially southwestward.", "However, if the mobile object 105 fails and if a mobile object belonging to an unknown group emerges, the actual movement vector 5004 of the mobile object 104 is the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the main basic movement vector by 0.05, a movement vector obtained by multiplying the obstacle avoidance basic movement vector by 0.1, and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication restoration vector 4004 (5 m/s, −4 m/s, 0 m/s) by 1, and the mobile object 104 moves substantially southeastward and mainly performs a communication restoration operation, as illustrated in FIG.", "56.The main basic movement vector of the mobile object 106 is the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the second main basic movement vector (10 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s) by 1 and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication maintaining movement vector 4606 illustrated in FIG.", "50 by 0.5.The obstacle avoidance basic movement vector of the mobile object 106 is the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the second obstacle avoidance basic movement vector (0 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s) by 1 and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication maintaining movement vector 4606 illustrated in FIG.", "50 by 0.5.If the mobile object 105 does not fail and if there is no mobile object belonging to an unknown group, the magnitude of the communication restoration vector is 0.Thus, an actual movement vector 5006 of the mobile object 106 is the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the main basic movement vector by 0.5 and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the obstacle avoidance basic movement vector by 1, and the mobile object 106 moves substantially east-southeastward.", "However, if the mobile object 105 fails and if a mobile object belonging to an unknown group emerges, the actual movement vector 5006 of the mobile object 106 is the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the main basic movement vector by 0.05, a movement vector obtained by multiplying the obstacle avoidance basic movement vector by 0.1, and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication restoration vector 4106 (5 m/s, −4 m/s, 0 m/s) by 1, and the mobile object 106 moves substantially southwestward and mainly performs a communication restoration operation, as illustrated in FIG.", "56.The main basic movement vector of the mobile object 107 is the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the second main basic movement vector (10 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s) by 1 and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication maintaining movement vector 4707 illustrated in FIG.", "51 by 0.5.The obstacle avoidance basic movement vector of the mobile object 107 is the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the second obstacle avoidance basic movement vector (0 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s) by 1 and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication maintaining movement vector 4707 illustrated in FIG.", "51 by 0.5.Since the magnitude of a communication restoration vector 4007 is 0, an actual movement vector 5007 of the mobile object 107 is the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the main basic movement vector by 0.5, a movement vector obtained by multiplying the obstacle avoidance basic movement vector by 1, and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication restoration vector by 1, as illustrated in FIG.", "56.If the mobile object 105 fails, the magnitude of the communication restoration vector 4007 is 0.Thus, even if the mobile object 105 fails and even if a mobile object belonging to an unknown group emerges, the mobile object 107 moves substantially north-northwestward in accordance with the actual movement vector 5007 as illustrated in FIG.", "56, as in the case where the mobile object 105 does not fail and there is no mobile object belonging to an unknown group.", "Since the distance between the mobile object 107 and the mobile object 106 belonging to the direct communication group of the mobile object 107 is shorter than the distance between the mobile object 101 and the mobile object 102, the ratio of a movement for maintaining direct communication is larger in the mobile object 106 than in the mobile object 101, and the ratio of a movement for maintaining direct communication is larger than that for implementing an original purpose.", "As a result, the mobile objects 102 to 107 move to get together, and thus an attempt to restore communication can be made.", "Furthermore, the mobile object 101 is capable of substantially implementing an original purpose and is also capable of maintaining the direct communication with the mobile object 102.In this way, the mobile objects 102 to 107 mainly perform a communication restoration operation whereas the mobile object 101 substantially implements an original purpose.", "Accordingly, both restoration of communication and an original purpose can be achieved by the entire component group.", "Subsequently, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 101 obtains the actual movement vector information from the own-mobile-object information 5801 and actually causes the mobile object 101 to move in accordance with an actual movement vector 5701 that has been obtained (step S6116).", "Hereinafter, a description will be given of, by using specific examples, the issues that are not overcome by the techniques disclosed in PTL 1 and that are overcome by the third embodiment of the present disclosure.", "As described above, the first technique disclosed in PTL 1 is not applicable as is if there are two or more mobile objects disconnected from the ad hoc network when viewed from any mobile object, as in the example illustrated in FIG.", "2.In contrast, in the third embodiment of the present disclosure, an attempt can be made to restore communication even if there are two or more mobile objects disconnected from the ad hoc network when viewed from any mobile object, as in the example illustrated in FIG.", "56.In this case, that is, in the case where there are two or more mobile objects belonging to an unknown group when viewed from any mobile object, some or all of the mobile objects belonging to the component group move to get together and thus an attempt to restore communication can be made.", "In the example illustrated in FIG.", "56, the mobile objects 102 to 104, 106, and 107 move to get together and accordingly an attempt to restore communication can be made.", "The second technique disclosed in PTL 1 has an issue that all mobile objects are incapable of moving for an original purpose until communication is restored.", "In contrast, in the third embodiment of the present disclosure, the mobile object 101 is capable of moving mainly for an original purpose in the example illustrated in FIG.", "56, for example, and the foregoing issue can be overcome.", "The third technique disclosed in PTL 1 has an issue that a region over which a mobile object group is deployed gradually becomes smaller and all mobile objects are incapable of moving for an original purpose until communication is restored.", "Furthermore, after the communication is restored, the mobile objects need to move again for the original purpose from the positions at the point of time when the communication is restored.", "In contrast, in the third embodiment of the present disclosure, the mobile object 101 is capable of moving mainly for an original purpose in the example illustrated in FIG.", "56, for example, and the foregoing issue can be overcome.", "The fourth technique disclosed in PTL 1 has an issue that, if a selected mobile object moves toward a cutoff position, the communication between the selected mobile object and a mobile object other than a mobile object disconnected from the ad hoc network is cut off, and accordingly the ad hoc network may be secondarily fractured.", "In contrast, in the third embodiment of the present disclosure, the mobile objects 102 to 104, 106, and 107 move to get together to attempt to restore communication, and all of the mobile objects 101 to 104, 106, and 107 are capable of maintaining the direct communication between the mobile objects due to an effect of communication maintaining movement vectors in the example illustrated in FIG.", "56, for example.", "Accordingly, the foregoing issue can be overcome.", "As described above, in the first technique disclosed in PTL 1, if some or all of the mobile objects move to get away from each other as in the example illustrated in FIG.", "3, communication can be restored only partially at best.", "In the example illustrated in FIG.", "3, if the group of the mobile objects 201 to 204 and the group of the mobile objects 206 and 207 continue to move to get away from each other, the direct communication with a mobile object belonging to one of the group of the mobile objects 201 to 204 and the group of the mobile objects 206 and 207 is restored at best, and it is impossible to restore the direct communication with a mobile object belonging to the other group.", "In contrast, in the third embodiment of the present disclosure, an attempt to restore communication can be made even if some mobile objects move to get away from each other as in the example illustrated in FIG.", "3.This will be described below.", "Here, each of the mobile objects 201 to 207 decides on, as a target position, the position nearest to the own mobile object among the positions of all the mobile objects belonging to the unknown group, and also decides on a communication restoration vector having a direction toward the target position and having a magnitude of 6.4 m/s if the own mobile object is the nearest to the target position among the mobile objects belonging to the known group.", "Each of the mobile objects 201 to 207 decides on a communication restoration vector having a magnitude of 0 if the own mobile object is not the nearest to the target position among the positions of all the mobile objects belonging to the unknown group.", "Here, the control unit 602 of each of the mobile objects 201 to 207 decides on, for each mobile object belonging to the direct communication group, a movement vector as a repulsion vector having a predetermined magnitude and having a direction opposite to the direction toward the mobile object, regardless of the distance from the position of the mobile object to the own mobile object.", "It is assumed that the magnitude of the repulsion vector is 2.8 m/s.", "Here, the control unit 602 of each of the mobile objects 201 to 207 decides on, for each mobile object belonging to the direct communication group, a movement vector as an approach vector having a magnitude proportional to the square of the distance from the position of the mobile object to the position of the own mobile object and having a direction toward the mobile object.", "That is, the magnitude of the approach vector decided on by the control unit 602 increases as the distance between mobile objects increases.", "Here, the control unit 602 of each of the mobile objects 201 to 207 multiplies the individual repulsion vectors and the individual approach vectors by 1 and then calculates the sum of the movement vectors, thereby deciding on a movement vector obtained through the calculation as a communication maintaining movement vector.", "Here, the control unit 602 of each of the mobile objects 201 to 207 multiplies the second main basic movement vector belonging to the second basic movement vector group by 1, multiplies the communication maintaining movement vector by 0.5, which is a value obtained by dividing 1 by the number of movement vectors belonging to the second basic movement vector group, calculates the sum of the movement vectors as calculation results, and decides on the sum as a main basic movement vector.", "Also, the control unit 602 of each of the mobile objects 201 to 207 multiplies the second obstacle avoidance basic movement vector by 1, multiplies the communication maintaining movement vector by 0.5, which is a value obtained by dividing 1 by the number of movement vectors belonging to the second basic movement vector group, calculates the sum of the movement vectors as calculation results, and decides on the sum as an obstacle avoidance basic movement vector.", "To increase the ratio of a movement for avoiding an obstacle, the control unit 602 of each of the mobile objects 201 to 207 multiplies the main basic movement vector belonging to the basic movement vector group by 0.5, multiplies the obstacle avoidance basic movement vector belonging to the basic movement vector group by 1, and multiplies the communication restoration vector by 1, and then calculates the sum of the movement vectors as calculation results.", "Here, among the movement vectors belonging to the second basic movement vector groups of the mobile objects 201 to 204, the value of the second main basic movement vector is (−10 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s) and the value of the second obstacle avoidance basic movement vector is (0 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s).", "Among the movement vectors belonging to the second basic movement vector group of the mobile object 205, the value of the second main basic movement vector is (0 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s) and the value of the second obstacle avoidance basic movement vector is (0 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s).", "Among the movement vectors belonging to the second basic movement vector groups of the mobile objects 206 and 207, the value of the second main basic movement vector is (10 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s) and the value of the second obstacle avoidance basic movement vector is (0 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s).", "Here, if the magnitude of the communication restoration vector is 0, the control unit 602 of each of the mobile objects 201 to 207 decides on, as an actual movement vector, the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the main basic movement vector by 0.5, a movement vector obtained by multiplying the obstacle avoidance basic movement vector by 1, and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication restoration vector by 1.If the magnitude of the communication restoration vector is not 0, the control unit 602 of each of the mobile objects 201 to 207 decides on, as an actual movement vector, the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the main basic movement vector by 0.05, a movement vector obtained by multiplying the obstacle avoidance basic movement vector by 0.1, and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication restoration vector by 1.FIG.", "57 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of communication restoration vectors of the mobile objects 201 to 204 in the situation illustrated in FIG.", "3 in the third embodiment of the present disclosure.", "In FIG.", "57, the same elements as those in FIG.", "1 are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will not be given.", "As illustrated in FIG.", "57, for each of the mobile objects 201 to 204, the mobile objects belonging to a known group 5101 are the mobile objects 201 to 204, and the mobile objects belonging to an unknown group 5102 are the mobile objects 205 to 207.The control unit 602 of each of the mobile objects 201 to 204 decides on, as a target position 5111, the position of the mobile object 205, which is the nearest to the own mobile object among the positions of all the mobile objects belonging to the unknown group 5102.The control unit 602 of the mobile object 204, which is the nearest to the target position 5111, decides on a communication restoration vector 5124 having a direction toward the target position and having a magnitude of 6.4 m/s.", "The control units 602 of the mobile objects 201 to 203 decide on communication restoration vectors 5121 to 5123 having a magnitude of 0, respectively.", "FIG.", "58 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of a communication restoration vector of the mobile object 205 in the situation illustrated in FIG.", "3 in the third embodiment of the present disclosure.", "In FIG.", "58, the same elements as those in FIG.", "1 are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will not be given.", "As illustrated in FIG.", "58, for the mobile object 205, the mobile object belonging to a known group 5201 is the mobile object 205, and the mobile objects belonging to an unknown group 5202 are the mobile objects 201 to 204, 206, and 207.The control unit 602 of the mobile object 205 decides on, as a target position 5211, the position of the mobile object 206, which is the nearest to the own mobile object among the positions of all the mobile objects belonging to the unknown group 5202.The mobile object 205 is the nearest to the target position 5211, and thus the control unit 602 of the mobile object 205 decides on a communication restoration vector 5225 having a direction toward the target position and having a magnitude of 6.4 m/s.", "FIG.", "59 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of communication restoration vectors of the mobile objects 206 and 207 in the situation illustrated in FIG.", "3 in the third embodiment of the present disclosure.", "In FIG.", "59, the same elements as those in FIG.", "1 are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will not be given.", "As illustrated in FIG.", "59, for each of the mobile objects 206 and 207, the mobile objects belonging to a known group 5301 are the mobile objects 206 and 207, and the mobile objects belonging to an unknown group 5302 are the mobile objects 201 to 205.The control unit 602 of each of the mobile objects 206 and 207 decides on, as a target position 5311, the position of the mobile object 205, which is the nearest to the own mobile object among the positions of all the mobile objects belonging to the unknown group 5302.The control unit 602 of the mobile object 206, which is the nearest to the target position 5311, decides on a communication restoration vector 5326 having a direction toward the target position and having a magnitude of 6.4 m/s.", "The control unit 602 of the mobile object 207 decides on a communication restoration vector 5327 having a magnitude of 0.FIG.", "60 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of actual movement vectors of the mobile objects 201 to 207 in the situation illustrated in FIG.", "3 in the third embodiment of the present disclosure.", "In FIG.", "60, the same elements as those in FIG.", "1 are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will not be given.", "Only the mobile object 202 belongs to the direct communication group of the mobile object 201.Thus, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 201 decides on, as a repulsion vector for the mobile object 202, a movement vector having a magnitude of 2.8 m/s and having a direction opposite to the direction toward the mobile object 202.Also, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 201 decides on, as an approach vector for the mobile object 202, a movement vector having a magnitude of 4.2 m/s that is proportional to the square of the distance 19.9 m from the position of the mobile object 202 to the position of the own mobile object and having a direction toward the mobile object 202.Also, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 201 decides on, as a communication maintaining movement vector, the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the repulsion vector for the mobile object 202 by 1 and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the approach vector for the mobile object 202 by 1.Subsequently, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 201 calculates the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the second main basic movement vector (−10 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s) by 1 and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication maintaining movement vector by 0.5, and decides on the sum as a main basic movement vector.", "Also, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 201 calculates the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the second obstacle avoidance basic movement vector (0 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s) by 1 and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication maintaining movement vector by 0.5, and decides on the sum as an obstacle avoidance basic movement vector.", "Since the magnitude of the communication restoration vector 5121 is 0, an actual movement vector 5401 of the mobile object 201 is the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the main basic movement vector by 0.5, a movement vector obtained by multiplying the obstacle avoidance basic movement vector by 1, and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication restoration vector by 1.If the mobile object 205 fails, the magnitude of the communication restoration vector 5121 is 0.Thus, even if the mobile object 205 fails and even if a mobile object belonging to an unknown group emerges, the mobile object 201 moves substantially northwestward in accordance with the actual movement vector 5401 as illustrated in FIG.", "60, as in the case where the mobile object 205 does not fail and there is no mobile object belonging to an unknown group.", "Since the distance between the mobile object 201 and the mobile object 202 belonging to the direct communication group of the mobile object 201 is shorter than the distance between the mobile object 202 and the mobile object 204, the ratio of a movement for maintaining direct communication is smaller in the mobile object 201 than in the mobile object 202, and an original purpose can be substantially implemented.", "The mobile objects 201, 203, and 204 belong to the direct communication group of the mobile object 202.Thus, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 202 decides on, as a repulsion vector for the mobile object 201, a movement vector having a magnitude of 2.8 m/s and having a direction opposite to the direction toward the mobile object 201.The control unit 602 of the mobile object 202 decides on, as an approach vector for the mobile object 201, a movement vector having a magnitude proportional to the square of the distance from the position of the mobile object 201 to the position of the own mobile object and having a direction toward the mobile object 201.The control unit 602 of the mobile object 202 decides on, as a repulsion vector for the mobile object 203, a movement vector having a magnitude of 2.8 m/s and having a direction opposite to the direction toward the mobile object 203.The control unit 602 of the mobile object 202 decides on, as an approach vector for the mobile object 203, a movement vector having a magnitude proportional to the square of the distance from the position of the mobile object 203 to the position of the own mobile object and having a direction toward the mobile object 203.The control unit 602 of the mobile object 202 decides on, as a repulsion vector for the mobile object 204, a movement vector having a magnitude of 2.8 m/s and having a direction opposite to the direction toward the mobile object 204.The control unit 602 of the mobile object 202 decides on, as an approach vector for the mobile object 204, a movement vector having a magnitude proportional to the square of the distance from the position of the mobile object 204 to the position of the own mobile object and having a direction toward the mobile object 204.Subsequently, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 202 decides on, as a communication maintaining movement vector, the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the repulsion vector for the mobile object 201 by 1, a movement vector obtained by multiplying the repulsion vector for the mobile object 203 by 1, a movement vector obtained by multiplying the repulsion vector for the mobile object 204 by 1, a movement vector obtained by multiplying the approach vector for the mobile object 201 by 1, a movement vector obtained by multiplying the approach vector for the mobile object 203 by 1, and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the approach vector for the mobile object 204 by 1.Subsequently, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 202 calculates the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the second main basic movement vector (−10 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s) by 1 and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication maintaining movement vector by 0.5, and decides on the sum as a main basic movement vector.", "Also, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 202 calculates the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the second obstacle avoidance basic movement vector (0 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s) by 1 and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication maintaining movement vector by 0.5, and decides on the sum as an obstacle avoidance basic movement vector.", "Since the magnitude of the communication restoration vector 5122 is 0, an actual movement vector 5402 of the mobile object 202 is the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the main basic movement vector by 0.5, a movement vector obtained by multiplying the obstacle avoidance basic movement vector by 1, and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication restoration vector by 1.If the mobile object 205 fails, the magnitude of the communication restoration vector 5122 is 0.Thus, even if the mobile object 205 fails and even if a mobile object belonging to an unknown group emerges, the mobile object 202 moves substantially east-northeastward in accordance with the actual movement vector 5402 as illustrated in FIG.", "60, as in the case where the mobile object 205 does not fail and there is no mobile object belonging to an unknown group.", "Since the distance between the mobile object 202 and the mobile object 204 belonging to the direct communication group of the mobile object 202 is shorter than the distance between the mobile object 201 and the mobile object 202, the ratio of a movement for maintaining direct communication is larger in the mobile object 202 than in the mobile object 201, and the ratio of a movement for maintaining direct communication is larger than that for implementing an original purpose.", "The mobile objects 202 and 204 belong to the direct communication group of the mobile object 203.Thus, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 203 decides on, as a repulsion vector for the mobile object 202, a movement vector having a magnitude of 2.8 m/s and having a direction opposite to the direction toward the mobile object 202.The control unit 602 of the mobile object 203 decides on, as an approach vector for the mobile object 202, a movement vector having a magnitude proportional to the square of the distance from the position of the mobile object 202 to the position of the own mobile object and having a direction toward the mobile object 202.The control unit 602 of the mobile object 203 decides on, as a repulsion vector for the mobile object 204, a movement vector having a magnitude of 2.8 m/s and having a direction opposite to the direction toward the mobile object 204.The control unit 602 of the mobile object 203 decides on, as an approach vector for the mobile object 204, a movement vector having a magnitude proportional to the square of the distance from the position of the mobile object 204 to the position of the own mobile object and having a direction toward the mobile object 204.Subsequently, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 203 decides on, as a communication maintaining movement vector, the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the repulsion vector for the mobile object 202 by 1, a movement vector obtained by multiplying the repulsion vector for the mobile object 204 by 1, a movement vector obtained by multiplying the approach vector for the mobile object 202 by 1, and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the approach vector for the mobile object 204 by 1.Subsequently, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 203 calculates the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the second main basic movement vector (−10 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s) by 1 and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication maintaining movement vector by 0.5, and decides on the sum as a main basic movement vector.", "Also, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 203 calculates the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the second obstacle avoidance basic movement vector (0 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s) by 1 and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication maintaining movement vector by 0.5, and decides on the sum as an obstacle avoidance basic movement vector.", "Since the magnitude of the communication restoration vector 5123 is 0, an actual movement vector 5403 of the mobile object 203 is the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the main basic movement vector by 0.5, a movement vector obtained by multiplying the obstacle avoidance basic movement vector by 1, and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication restoration vector by 1.If the mobile object 205 fails, the magnitude of the communication restoration vector 5123 is 0.Thus, even if the mobile object 205 fails and even if a mobile object belonging to an unknown group emerges, the mobile object 203 moves substantially northeastward in accordance with the actual movement vector 5403 as illustrated in FIG.", "60, as in the case where the mobile object 205 does not fail and there is no mobile object belonging to an unknown group.", "Since the distance between the mobile object 203 and the mobile object 204 belonging to the direct communication group of the mobile object 203 is shorter than the distance between the mobile object 201 and the mobile object 202, the ratio of a movement for maintaining direct communication is larger in the mobile object 203 than in the mobile object 201, and the ratio of a movement for maintaining direct communication is larger than that for implementing an original purpose.", "The mobile objects 202 and 203 belong to the direct communication group of the mobile object 204.Thus, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 204 decides on, as a repulsion vector for the mobile object 202, a movement vector having a magnitude of 2.8 m/s and having a direction opposite to the direction toward the mobile object 202.The control unit 602 of the mobile object 204 decides on, as an approach vector for the mobile object 202, a movement vector having a magnitude proportional to the square of the distance from the position of the mobile object 202 to the position of the own mobile object and having a direction toward the mobile object 202.The control unit 602 of the mobile object 204 decides on, as a repulsion vector for the mobile object 203, a movement vector having a magnitude of 2.8 m/s and having a direction opposite to the direction toward the mobile object 203.The control unit 602 of the mobile object 204 decides on, as an approach vector for the mobile object 203, a movement vector having a magnitude proportional to the square of the distance from the position of the mobile object 203 to the position of the own mobile object and having a direction toward the mobile object 203.Subsequently, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 204 decides on, as a communication maintaining movement vector, the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the repulsion vector for the mobile object 202 by 1, a movement vector obtained by multiplying the repulsion vector for the mobile object 203 by 1, a movement vector obtained by multiplying the approach vector for the mobile object 202 by 1, and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the approach vector for the mobile object 203 by 1.Subsequently, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 204 calculates the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the second main basic movement vector (−10 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s) by 1 and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication maintaining movement vector by 0.5, and decides on the sum as a main basic movement vector.", "Also, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 204 calculates the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the second obstacle avoidance basic movement vector (0 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s) by 1 and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication maintaining movement vector by 0.5, and decides on the sum as an obstacle avoidance basic movement vector.", "If the mobile object 205 does not fail and if there is no mobile object belonging to an unknown group, the magnitude of the communication restoration vector is 0.Thus, an actual movement vector of the mobile object 204 is the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the main basic movement vector by 0.5 and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the obstacle avoidance basic movement vector by 1, and the mobile object 204 moves substantially southwestward.", "However, if the mobile object 205 fails and if a mobile object belonging to an unknown group emerges, an actual movement vector 5404 of the mobile object 204 is the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the main basic movement vector by 0.05, a movement vector obtained by multiplying the obstacle avoidance basic movement vector by 0.1, and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication restoration vector 5124 by 1, and the mobile object 204 moves substantially east-southeastward and mainly performs a communication restoration operation, as illustrated in FIG.", "60.There is no mobile object belonging to the direct communication group of the mobile object 205.Thus, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 205 decides on a repulsion vector having a magnitude of 0 and an approach vector having a magnitude of 0.The control unit 602 of the mobile object 205 calculates the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the repulsion vector having a magnitude of 0 by 1 and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the approach vector having a magnitude of 0 by 1, and decides on a communication maintaining movement vector having a magnitude of 0.Subsequently, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 205 calculates the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the second main basic movement vector (0 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s) by 1 and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication maintaining movement vector by 0.5, and decides on the sum as a main basic movement vector.", "Also, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 205 calculates the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the second obstacle avoidance basic movement vector (0 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s) by 1 and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication maintaining movement vector by 0.5, and decides on the sum as an obstacle avoidance basic movement vector.", "If the mobile object 205 does not fail and if there is no mobile object belonging to an unknown group, the magnitude of the communication restoration vector is 0.Thus, an actual movement vector of the mobile object 205 is the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the main basic movement vector by 0.5 and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the obstacle avoidance basic movement vector by 1, and the mobile object 205 stops at the position.", "However, if the mobile object 205 fails and if a mobile object belonging to an unknown group emerges, an actual movement vector 5405 of the mobile object 205 is the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the main basic movement vector by 0.05, a movement vector obtained by multiplying the obstacle avoidance basic movement vector by 0.1, and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication restoration vector 5225 by 1, and the mobile object 205 moves substantially east-northeastward and mainly performs a communication restoration operation, as illustrated in FIG.", "60.Only the mobile object 207 belongs to the direct communication group of the mobile object 206.Thus, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 206 decides on, as a repulsion vector for the mobile object 207, a movement vector having a magnitude of 2.8 m/s and having a direction opposite to the direction toward the mobile object 207.Also, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 206 decides on, as an approach vector for the mobile object 207, a movement vector having a magnitude proportional to the square of the distance from the position of the mobile object 207 to the position of the own mobile object and having a direction toward the mobile object 207.Also, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 206 decides on, as a communication maintaining movement vector, the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the repulsion vector for the mobile object 207 by 1 and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the approach vector for the mobile object 207 by 1.Subsequently, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 206 calculates the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the second main basic movement vector (10 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s) by 1 and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication maintaining movement vector by 0.5, and decides on the sum as a main basic movement vector.", "Also, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 206 calculates the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the second obstacle avoidance basic movement vector (0 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s) by 1 and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication maintaining movement vector by 0.5, and decides on the sum as an obstacle avoidance basic movement vector.", "If the mobile object 205 does not fail and if there is no mobile object belonging to an unknown group, the magnitude of the communication restoration vector is 0.Thus, an actual movement vector of the mobile object 206 is the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the main basic movement vector by 0.5 and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the obstacle avoidance basic movement vector by 1, and the mobile object 206 moves substantially southeastward.", "However, if the mobile object 205 fails and if a mobile object belonging to an unknown group emerges, an actual movement vector 5406 of the mobile object 206 is the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the main basic movement vector by 0.05, a movement vector obtained by multiplying the obstacle avoidance basic movement vector by 0.1, and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication restoration vector 5326 by 1, and the mobile object 206 moves substantially west-southwestward and mainly performs a communication restoration operation, as illustrated in FIG.", "60.Only the mobile object 206 belongs to the direct communication group of the mobile object 207.Thus, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 207 decides on, as a repulsion vector for the mobile object 206, a movement vector having a magnitude of 2.8 m/s and having a direction opposite to the direction toward the mobile object 206.Also, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 207 decides on, as an approach vector for the mobile object 206, a movement vector having a magnitude proportional to the square of the distance from the position of the mobile object 206 to the position of the own mobile object and having a direction toward the mobile object 206.Also, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 207 decides on, as a communication maintaining movement vector, the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the repulsion vector for the mobile object 206 by 1 and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the approach vector for the mobile object 206 by 1.Subsequently, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 207 calculates the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the second main basic movement vector (10 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s) by 1 and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication maintaining movement vector by 0.5, and decides on the sum as a main basic movement vector.", "Also, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 207 calculates the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the second obstacle avoidance basic movement vector (0 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s) by 1 and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication maintaining movement vector by 0.5, and decides on the sum as an obstacle avoidance basic movement vector.", "Since the magnitude of a communication restoration vector 5127 is 0, an actual movement vector 5407 of the mobile object 207 is the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the main basic movement vector by 0.5, a movement vector obtained by multiplying the obstacle avoidance basic movement vector by 1, and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication restoration vector by 1.If the mobile object 205 fails, the magnitude of the communication restoration vector 5127 is 0.Thus, even if the mobile object 205 fails and even if a mobile object belonging to an unknown group emerges, the mobile object 207 moves substantially north-northwestward in accordance with the actual movement vector 5407 as illustrated in FIG.", "60, as in the case where the mobile object 205 does not fail and there is no mobile object belonging to an unknown group.", "Since the distance between the mobile object 207 and the mobile object 206 belonging to the direct communication group of the mobile object 207 is shorter than the distance between the mobile object 201 and the mobile object 202, the ratio of a movement for maintaining direct communication is larger in the mobile object 207 than in the mobile object 201, and the ratio of a movement for maintaining direct communication is larger than that for implementing an original purpose.", "In this way, the mobile objects 202 to 207 move to get together, and thus an attempt to restore communication can be made.", "Furthermore, all of the mobile objects 201 to 207 are capable of maintaining the direct communication between the mobile objects due to an effect of communication maintaining movement vectors.", "Even if some mobile objects move to get away from each other as in the example illustrated in FIG.", "3, an attempt to restore communication can be made.", "The second technique disclosed in PTL 1 has an issue that all mobile objects are incapable of moving for an original purpose until communication is restored.", "In contrast, in the third embodiment of the present disclosure, the mobile object 201 is capable of moving mainly for an original purpose in the example illustrated in FIG.", "60, for example, and the foregoing issue can be overcome.", "The third technique disclosed in PTL 1 has an issue that a region over which a mobile object group is deployed gradually becomes smaller and all mobile objects are incapable of moving for an original purpose until communication is restored.", "Furthermore, after the communication is restored, the mobile objects need to move again for the original purpose from the positions at the point of time when the communication is restored.", "In contrast, in the third embodiment of the present disclosure, the mobile object 201 is capable of moving mainly for an original purpose in the example illustrated in FIG.", "60, for example, and the foregoing issue can be overcome.", "The fourth technique disclosed in PTL 1 has an issue that, if a selected mobile object moves toward a cutoff position, the communication between the selected mobile object and a mobile object other than a mobile object disconnected from the ad hoc network is cut off, and accordingly the ad hoc network may be secondarily fractured.", "In contrast, in the third embodiment of the present disclosure, the mobile objects 202 to 207 move to get together to attempt to restore communication, and all of the mobile objects 201 to 207 are capable of maintaining the direct communication between the mobile objects due to an effect of communication maintaining movement vectors in the example illustrated in FIG.", "60, for example.", "Accordingly, the foregoing issue can be overcome.", "As described above, in the first technique disclosed in PTL 1, if a mobile object disconnected from the ad hoc network moves to restore communication with the ad hoc network but there is no mobile object in the movement direction or if a mobile object moves in a direction of getting away from the mobile object disconnected from the ad hoc network, it is impossible to restore communication, as in the example illustrated in FIG.", "4.In the example illustrated in FIG.", "4, the mobile objects 201 to 206 do not exist in the direction in which the mobile object 207, which has been disconnected from the ad hoc network, moves to restore communication, and the mobile objects 201 to 206 continue to move in a lower-left direction in FIG.", "4.Thus, the mobile object 207 is incapable of approaching the mobile objects 201 to 206 and restoring the direct communication therewith even if the first technique disclosed in PTL 1 is used.", "Furthermore, even if the mobile objects 201 to 206 exist in the direction in which the mobile object 207 moves, the mobile object 207 is incapable of catching up with the mobile objects 201 to 206 and restoring the direct communication with the mobile objects 201 to 206 because the mobile objects 201 to 206 continue to move in a direction of getting away from the mobile object 207.In contrast, in the third embodiment of the present disclosure, even if a mobile object disconnected from the ad hoc network moves to restore communication with the ad hoc network but there is no mobile object in the movement direction or even if a mobile object moves in a direction of getting away from the mobile object disconnected from the ad hoc network, as in the example illustrated in FIG.", "4, an attempt to restore communication can be made.", "This will be described below.", "Here, the control unit 602 of each of the mobile objects 201 to 207 decides on, as a target position, the position nearest to the own mobile object among the positions of all the mobile objects belonging to the unknown group.", "Also, the control unit 602 of each of the mobile objects 201 to 207 decides on a communication restoration vector having a direction toward the target position and having a magnitude of 6.4 m/s if the own mobile object is the nearest to the target position among the mobile objects belonging to the known group, and decides on a communication restoration vector having a magnitude of 0 if the own mobile object is not the nearest to the target position.", "Here, the control unit 602 of each of the mobile objects 201 to 207 decides on, for each mobile object belonging to the direct communication group, a movement vector as a repulsion vector having a predetermined magnitude and having a direction opposite to the direction toward the mobile object, regardless of the distance from the position of the mobile object to the own mobile object.", "It is assumed that the magnitude of the repulsion vector is 2.8 m/s.", "Here, the control unit 602 of each of the mobile objects 201 to 207 decides on, for each mobile object belonging to the direct communication group, a movement vector as an approach vector having a magnitude proportional to the square of the distance from the position of the mobile object to the position of the own mobile object and having a direction toward the mobile object.", "That is, the magnitude of the approach vector decided on by the control unit 602 of each of the mobile objects 201 to 207 increases as the distance between mobile objects increases.", "Here, the control unit 602 of each of the mobile objects 201 to 207 calculates the sum of movement vectors obtained by multiplying the individual repulsion vectors by 1 and multiplying the individual approach vectors by 1, and decides on a movement vector obtained through the calculation as a communication maintaining movement vector.", "Here, the control unit 602 of each of the mobile objects 201 to 207 multiplies the second main basic movement vector belonging to the second basic movement vector group by 1, multiplies the communication maintaining movement vector by 0.5, which is a value obtained by dividing 1 by the number of movement vectors belonging to the second basic movement vector group, calculates the sum of the movement vectors as calculation results, and decides on the sum as a main basic movement vector.", "Also, the control unit 602 of each of the mobile objects 201 to 207 multiplies the second obstacle avoidance basic movement vector belonging to the second basic movement vector group by 1, multiplies the communication maintaining movement vector by 0.5, which is a value obtained by dividing 1 by the number of movement vectors belonging to the second basic movement vector group, calculates the sum of the movement vectors as calculation results, and decides on the sum as an obstacle avoidance basic movement vector.", "To increase the ratio of a movement for avoiding an obstacle, the control unit 602 of each of the mobile objects 201 to 207 multiplies the main basic movement vector belonging to the basic movement vector group by 0.5, multiplies the obstacle avoidance basic movement vector belonging to the basic movement vector group by 1, and multiplies the communication restoration vector by 1, and then calculates the sum of the movement vectors as calculation results.", "Here, among the movement vectors belonging to the second basic movement vector groups of the mobile objects 201 to 206, the value of the second main basic movement vector is (−6 m/s, −8 m/s, 0 m/s) and the value of the second obstacle avoidance basic movement vector is (0 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s).", "Among the movement vectors belonging to the second basic movement vector group of the mobile object 205, the value of the second main basic movement vector is (0 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s) and the value of the second obstacle avoidance basic movement vector is (0 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s).", "Among the movement vectors belonging to the second basic movement vector group of the mobile object 207, the value of the second main basic movement vector is (10 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s) and the value of the second obstacle avoidance basic movement vector is (0 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s).", "Here, if the magnitude of the communication restoration vector is 0, the control unit 602 of each of the mobile objects 201 to 207 decides on, as an actual movement vector, the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the main basic movement vector by 0.5, a movement vector obtained by multiplying the obstacle avoidance basic movement vector by 1, and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication restoration vector by 1.If the magnitude of the communication restoration vector is not 0, the control unit 602 of each of the mobile objects 201 to 207 decides on, as an actual movement vector, the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the main basic movement vector by 0.05, a movement vector obtained by multiplying the obstacle avoidance basic movement vector by 0.1, and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication restoration vector by 1.FIG.", "61 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of communication restoration vectors that are decided on by the mobile objects 201 to 206 in the situation illustrated in FIG.", "4 in the third embodiment of the present disclosure.", "In FIG.", "61, the same elements as those in FIGS.", "1 and 4 are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will not be given.", "As illustrated in FIG.", "61, for each of the mobile objects 201 to 206, the mobile objects belonging to a known group 5501 are the mobile objects 201 to 206, and the mobile object belonging to an unknown group 5502 is the mobile object 207.The control unit 602 of each of the mobile objects 201 to 206 decides on, as a target position 5511, the position of the mobile object 207, which is the nearest to the own mobile object among the positions of all the mobile objects belonging to the unknown group 5502.The control unit 602 of the mobile object 206, which is the nearest to the target position 5511, decides on a communication restoration vector 5526 having a direction toward the target position and having a magnitude of 6.4 m/s.", "The control units 602 of the mobile objects 201 to 205 decide on communication restoration vectors 5521 to 5525 having a magnitude of 0, respectively.", "FIG.", "62 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of a communication restoration vector of the mobile object 207 in the situation illustrated in FIG.", "4 in the third embodiment of the present disclosure.", "In FIG.", "62, the same elements as those in FIGS.", "1 and 4 are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will not be given.", "As illustrated in FIG.", "62, for the mobile object 207, the mobile object belonging to a known group 5601 is the mobile object 207, and the mobile objects belonging to an unknown group 5602 are the mobile objects 201 to 206.The control unit 602 of the mobile object 207 decides on, as a target position 5611, the position 503 immediately before the communication cutoff of the mobile object 206, which is the nearest to the own mobile object among the positions of all the mobile objects belonging to the unknown group 5602.The mobile object 207 is the nearest to the target position 5611, and thus the control unit 602 of the mobile object 207 decides on a communication restoration vector 5627 having a direction toward the target position and having a magnitude of 6.4 m/s.", "FIG.", "63 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of actual movement vectors of the mobile objects 201 to 207 in the situation illustrated in FIG.", "4 in the third embodiment of the present disclosure.", "In FIG.", "63, the same elements as those in FIGS.", "1 and 4 are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will not be given.", "Only the mobile object 202 belongs to the direct communication group of the mobile object 201.Thus, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 201 decides on, as a repulsion vector for the mobile object 202, a movement vector having a magnitude of 2.8 m/s and having a direction opposite to the direction toward the mobile object 202.Also, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 201 decides on, as an approach vector for the mobile object 202, a movement vector having a magnitude of 4.2 m/s that is proportional to the square of the distance 19.9 m from the position of the mobile object 202 to the position of the own mobile object and having a direction toward the mobile object 202.Also, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 201 decides on, as a communication maintaining movement vector, the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the repulsion vector for the mobile object 202 by 1 and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the approach vector for the mobile object 202 by 1.Subsequently, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 201 calculates the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the second main basic movement vector (−6 m/s, −8 m/s, 0 m/s) by 1 and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication maintaining movement vector by 0.5, and decides on the sum as a main basic movement vector.", "Also, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 201 calculates the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the second obstacle avoidance basic movement vector (0 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s) by 1 and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication maintaining movement vector by 0.5, and decides on the sum as an obstacle avoidance basic movement vector.", "Since the magnitude of the communication restoration vector 5521 is 0, the actual movement vector 5701 of the mobile object 201 is the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the main basic movement vector by 0.5, a movement vector obtained by multiplying the obstacle avoidance basic movement vector by 1, and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication restoration vector by 1.If the mobile object 205 fails, the magnitude of the communication restoration vector 5521 is 0.Thus, even if the mobile object 205 fails and even if a mobile object belonging to an unknown group emerges, the mobile object 201 slowly moves substantially north-northwestward in accordance with the actual movement vector 5701 as illustrated in FIG.", "63, as in the case where the mobile object 205 does not fail and there is no mobile object belonging to an unknown group.", "Since the distance between the mobile object 201 and the mobile object 202 belonging to the direct communication group of the mobile object 201 is shorter than the distance between the mobile object 202 and the mobile object 204, the ratio of a movement for maintaining direct communication is smaller in the mobile object 201 than in the mobile object 202, and an original purpose can be implemented although the ratio thereof is small.", "The mobile objects 201, 203, and 204 belong to the direct communication group of the mobile object 202.Thus, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 202 decides on, as a repulsion vector for the mobile object 201, a movement vector having a magnitude of 2.8 m/s and having a direction opposite to the direction toward the mobile object 201.The control unit 602 of the mobile object 202 decides on, as an approach vector for the mobile object 201, a movement vector having a magnitude proportional to the square of the distance from the position of the mobile object 201 to the position of the own mobile object and having a direction toward the mobile object 201.The control unit 602 of the mobile object 202 decides on, as a repulsion vector for the mobile object 203, a movement vector having a magnitude of 2.8 m/s and having a direction opposite to the direction toward the mobile object 203.The control unit 602 of the mobile object 202 decides on, as an approach vector for the mobile object 203, a movement vector having a magnitude proportional to the square of the distance from the position of the mobile object 203 to the position of the own mobile object and having a direction toward the mobile object 203.The control unit 602 of the mobile object 202 decides on, as a repulsion vector for the mobile object 204, a movement vector having a magnitude of 2.8 m/s and having a direction opposite to the direction toward the mobile object 204.The control unit 602 of the mobile object 202 decides on, as an approach vector for the mobile object 204, a movement vector having a magnitude proportional to the square of the distance from the position of the mobile object 204 to the position of the own mobile object and having a direction toward the mobile object 204.Subsequently, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 202 decides on, as a communication maintaining movement vector, the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the repulsion vector for the mobile object 201 by 1, a movement vector obtained by multiplying the repulsion vector for the mobile object 203 by 1, a movement vector obtained by multiplying the repulsion vector for the mobile object 204 by 1, a movement vector obtained by multiplying the approach vector for the mobile object 201 by 1, a movement vector obtained by multiplying the approach vector for the mobile object 203 by 1, and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the approach vector for the mobile object 204 by 1.Subsequently, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 202 calculates the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the second main basic movement vector (−6 m/s, −8 m/s, 0 m/s) by 1 and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication maintaining movement vector by 0.5, and decides on the sum as a main basic movement vector.", "Also, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 202 calculates the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the second obstacle avoidance basic movement vector (0 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s) by 1 and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication maintaining movement vector by 0.5, and decides on the sum as an obstacle avoidance basic movement vector.", "Since the magnitude of the communication restoration vector 5522 is 0, an actual movement vector 5702 of the mobile object 202 is the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the main basic movement vector by 0.5, a movement vector obtained by multiplying the obstacle avoidance basic movement vector by 1, and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication restoration vector by 1.If the mobile object 205 fails, the magnitude of the communication restoration vector 5522 is 0.Thus, even if the mobile object 205 fails and even if a mobile object belonging to an unknown group emerges, the mobile object 202 moves substantially east-northeastward in accordance with the actual movement vector 5702 as illustrated in FIG.", "63, as in the case where the mobile object 205 does not fail and there is no mobile object belonging to an unknown group.", "Since the distance between the mobile object 202 and the mobile object 204 belonging to the direct communication group of the mobile object 202 is shorter than the distance between the mobile object 201 and the mobile object 202, the ratio of a movement for maintaining direct communication is larger in the mobile object 202 than in the mobile object 201, and the ratio of a movement for maintaining direct communication is larger than that for implementing an original purpose.", "The mobile objects 202 and 204 belong to the direct communication group of the mobile object 203.Thus, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 203 decides on, as a repulsion vector for the mobile object 202, a movement vector having a magnitude of 2.8 m/s and having a direction opposite to the direction toward the mobile object 202.The control unit 602 of the mobile object 203 decides on, as an approach vector for the mobile object 202, a movement vector having a magnitude proportional to the square of the distance from the position of the mobile object 202 to the position of the own mobile object and having a direction toward the mobile object 202.The control unit 602 of the mobile object 203 decides on, as a repulsion vector for the mobile object 204, a movement vector having a magnitude of 2.8 m/s and having a direction opposite to the direction toward the mobile object 204.The control unit 602 of the mobile object 203 decides on, as an approach vector for the mobile object 204, a movement vector having a magnitude proportional to the square of the distance from the position of the mobile object 204 to the position of the own mobile object and having a direction toward the mobile object 204.Subsequently, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 203 decides on, as a communication maintaining movement vector, the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the repulsion vector for the mobile object 202 by 1, a movement vector obtained by multiplying the repulsion vector for the mobile object 204 by 1, a movement vector obtained by multiplying the approach vector for the mobile object 202 by 1, and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the approach vector for the mobile object 204 by 1.Subsequently, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 203 calculates the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the second main basic movement vector (−6 m/s, −8 m/s, 0 m/s) by 1 and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication maintaining movement vector by 0.5, and decides on the sum as a main basic movement vector.", "Also, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 203 calculates the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the second obstacle avoidance basic movement vector (0 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s) by 1 and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication maintaining movement vector by 0.5, and decides on the sum as an obstacle avoidance basic movement vector.", "Since the magnitude of the communication restoration vector 5523 is 0, an actual movement vector 5703 of the mobile object 203 is the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the main basic movement vector by 0.5, a movement vector obtained by multiplying the obstacle avoidance basic movement vector by 1, and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication restoration vector by 1.If the mobile object 205 fails, the magnitude of the communication restoration vector 5523 is 0.Thus, even if the mobile object 205 fails and even if a mobile object belonging to an unknown group emerges, the mobile object 203 moves substantially northeastward in accordance with the actual movement vector 5703 as illustrated in FIG.", "63, as in the case where the mobile object 205 does not fail and there is no mobile object belonging to an unknown group.", "Since the distance between the mobile object 203 and the mobile object 204 belonging to the direct communication group of the mobile object 203 is shorter than the distance between the mobile object 201 and the mobile object 202, the ratio of a movement for maintaining direct communication is larger in the mobile object 203 than in the mobile object 201, and the ratio of a movement for maintaining direct communication is larger than that for implementing an original purpose.", "The mobile objects 202 and 203 belong to the direct communication group of the mobile object 204.Thus, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 204 decides on, as a repulsion vector for the mobile object 202, a movement vector having a magnitude of 2.8 m/s and having a direction opposite to the direction toward the mobile object 202.The control unit 602 of the mobile object 204 decides on, as an approach vector for the mobile object 202, a movement vector having a magnitude proportional to the square of the distance from the position of the mobile object 202 to the position of the own mobile object and having a direction toward the mobile object 202.The control unit 602 of the mobile object 204 decides on, as a repulsion vector for the mobile object 203, a movement vector having a magnitude of 2.8 m/s and having a direction opposite to the direction toward the mobile object 203.The control unit 602 of the mobile object 204 decides on, as an approach vector for the mobile object 203, a movement vector having a magnitude proportional to the square of the distance from the position of the mobile object 203 to the position of the own mobile object and having a direction toward the mobile object 203.Subsequently, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 204 decides on, as a communication maintaining movement vector, the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the repulsion vector for the mobile object 202 by 1, a movement vector obtained by multiplying the repulsion vector for the mobile object 203 by 1, a movement vector obtained by multiplying the approach vector for the mobile object 202 by 1, and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the approach vector for the mobile object 203 by 1.Subsequently, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 204 calculates the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the second main basic movement vector (−6 m/s, −8 m/s, 0 m/s) by 1 and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication maintaining movement vector by 0.5, and decides on the sum as a main basic movement vector.", "Also, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 204 calculates the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the second obstacle avoidance basic movement vector (0 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s) by 1 and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication maintaining movement vector by 0.5, and decides on the sum as an obstacle avoidance basic movement vector.", "Since the magnitude of the communication restoration vector 5524 is 0, an actual movement vector 5704 of the mobile object 204 is the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the main basic movement vector by 0.5, a movement vector obtained by multiplying the obstacle avoidance basic movement vector by 1, and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication restoration vector by 1.If the mobile object 205 fails, the magnitude of the communication restoration vector 5524 is 0.Thus, even if the mobile object 205 fails and even if a mobile object belonging to an unknown group emerges, the mobile object 204 moves substantially south-southwestward in accordance with the actual movement vector 5704 as illustrated in FIG.", "63, as in the case where the mobile object 205 does not fail and there is no mobile object belonging to an unknown group.", "Since the actual movement vector 5704 is directed south-southwestward due to an effect of the approach vectors for the mobile objects 202 and 203 belonging to the direct communication group and this direction substantially matches the direction of the second main basic movement vector, the mobile object 204 is capable of substantially implementing an original purpose.", "Only the mobile object 204 belongs to the direct communication group of the mobile object 205.Thus, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 205 decides on, as a repulsion vector for the mobile object 204, a movement vector having a magnitude of 2.8 m/s and having a direction opposite to the direction toward the mobile object 204.Also, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 205 decides on, as an approach vector for the mobile object 204, a movement vector having a magnitude proportional to the square of the distance from the position of the mobile object 204 to the position of the own mobile object and having a direction toward the mobile object 204.Also, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 205 decides on, as a communication maintaining movement vector, the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the repulsion vector for the mobile object 204 by 1 and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the approach vector for the mobile object 204 by 1.Subsequently, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 205 calculates the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the second main basic movement vector (−6 m/s, −8 m/s, 0 m/s) by 1 and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication maintaining movement vector by 0.5, and decides on the sum as a main basic movement vector.", "Also, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 205 calculates the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the second obstacle avoidance basic movement vector (0 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s) by 1 and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication maintaining movement vector by 0.5, and decides on the sum as an obstacle avoidance basic movement vector.", "If the mobile object 205 fails, the magnitude of the communication restoration vector 5525 is 0.Thus, even if the mobile object 205 fails and even if a mobile object belonging to an unknown group emerges, the mobile object 205 moves substantially north-northwestward in accordance with an actual movement vector 5705 as illustrated in FIG.", "63, as in the case where the mobile object 205 does not fail and there is no mobile object belonging to an unknown group.", "Since the distance between the mobile object 205 and the mobile object 204 belonging to the direct communication group of the mobile object 205 is shorter than the distance between the mobile object 201 and the mobile object 202, the ratio of a movement for maintaining direct communication is larger in the mobile object 205 than in the mobile object 201, and the ratio of a movement for maintaining direct communication is larger than that for implementing an original purpose.", "Only the mobile object 205 belongs to the direct communication group of the mobile object 206.Thus, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 206 decides on, as a repulsion vector for the mobile object 205, a movement vector having a magnitude of 2.8 m/s and having a direction opposite to the direction toward the mobile object 205.Also, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 206 decides on, as an approach vector for the mobile object 205, a movement vector having a magnitude proportional to the square of the distance from the position of the mobile object 205 to the position of the own mobile object and having a direction toward the mobile object 205.Also, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 206 decides on, as a communication maintaining movement vector, the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the repulsion vector for the mobile object 205 by 1 and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the approach vector for the mobile object 205 by 1.Subsequently, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 206 calculates the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the second main basic movement vector (−6 m/s, −8 m/s, 0 m/s) by 1 and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication maintaining movement vector by 0.5, and decides on the sum as a main basic movement vector.", "Also, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 206 calculates the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the second obstacle avoidance basic movement vector (0 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s) by 1 and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication maintaining movement vector by 0.5, and decides on the sum as an obstacle avoidance basic movement vector.", "If the mobile object 205 does not fail and if there is no mobile object belonging to an unknown group, the magnitude of the communication restoration vector is 0.Thus, an actual movement vector of the mobile object 206 is the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the main basic movement vector by 0.5 and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the obstacle avoidance basic movement vector by 1, and the mobile object 206 moves substantially southwestward.", "However, if the mobile object 205 fails and if a mobile object belonging to an unknown group emerges, an actual movement vector 5706 of the mobile object 206 is the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the main basic movement vector by 0.05, a movement vector obtained by multiplying the obstacle avoidance basic movement vector by 0.1, and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication restoration vector 5526 by 1, and the mobile object 206 moves substantially northeastward and mainly performs a communication restoration operation, as illustrated in FIG.", "63.There is no mobile object belonging to the direct communication group of the mobile object 207.Thus, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 207 decides on a repulsion vector having a magnitude of 0 and an approach vector having a magnitude of 0.The control unit 602 of the mobile object 207 calculates the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the repulsion vector having a magnitude of 0 by 1 and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the approach vector having a magnitude of 0 by 1, and decides on a communication maintaining movement vector having a magnitude of 0.Subsequently, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 207 calculates the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the second main basic movement vector (10 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s) by 1 and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication maintaining movement vector by 0.5, and decides on the sum as a main basic movement vector.", "Also, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 207 calculates the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the second obstacle avoidance basic movement vector (0 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s) by 1 and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication maintaining movement vector by 0.5, and decides on the sum as an obstacle avoidance basic movement vector.", "If the mobile object 205 does not fail and if there is no mobile object belonging to an unknown group, the magnitude of the communication restoration vector is 0.Thus, an actual movement vector of the mobile object 207 is the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the main basic movement vector by 0.5 and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the obstacle avoidance basic movement vector by 1, and the mobile object 207 moves substantially eastward.", "However, if the mobile object 205 fails and if a mobile object belonging to an unknown group emerges, an actual movement vector 5707 of the mobile object 207 is the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the main basic movement vector by 0.05, a movement vector obtained by multiplying the obstacle avoidance basic movement vector by 0.1, and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication restoration vector 5627 by 1, and the mobile object 207 moves substantially west-northwestward and mainly performs a communication restoration operation, as illustrated in FIG.", "63.In this way, the mobile objects 202, 203, and 205 to 207 move to get together, and thus an attempt to restore communication can be made.", "Furthermore, all the mobile objects 201 to 207 are capable of maintaining direct communication with one another due to an effect of communication maintaining movement vectors.", "Even if a mobile object disconnected from the ad hoc network moves to restore communication with the ad hoc network but there is no mobile object in the movement direction or even if a mobile object moves in a direction of getting away from the mobile object disconnected from the ad hoc network, as in the example illustrated in FIG.", "4, an attempt to restore communication can be made.", "The second technique disclosed in PTL 1 has an issue that all mobile objects are incapable of moving for an original purpose until communication is restored.", "In contrast, in the third embodiment of the present disclosure, the mobile objects 201 and 204 are capable of moving for an original purpose in the example illustrated in FIG.", "63, for example, and the foregoing issue can be overcome.", "The third technique disclosed in PTL 1 has an issue that a region over which a mobile object group is deployed gradually becomes smaller and all mobile objects are incapable of moving for an original purpose until communication is restored.", "Furthermore, after the communication is restored, the mobile objects need to move again for the original purpose from the positions at the point of time when the communication is restored.", "In contrast, in the third embodiment of the present disclosure, the mobile objects 201 and 204 are capable of moving mainly for an original purpose in the example illustrated in FIG.", "63, for example, and the foregoing issue can be overcome.", "The fourth technique disclosed in PTL 1 has an issue that, if a selected mobile object moves toward a cutoff position, the communication between the selected mobile object and a mobile object other than a mobile object disconnected from the ad hoc network is cut off, and accordingly the ad hoc network may be secondarily fractured.", "In contrast, in the third embodiment of the present disclosure, the mobile objects 202, 203, and 205 to 207 move to get together to attempt to restore communication, and all of the mobile objects 201 to 207 are capable of maintaining the direct communication between the mobile objects due to an effect of communication maintaining movement vectors in the example illustrated in FIG.", "63, for example.", "Accordingly, the foregoing issue can be overcome.", "The storage unit 603 of the mobile object 101 may store the movement path 502 of the mobile object 101.The control unit 602 may decide on the first control amount (basic movement vector group information) on the basis of the fourth control amount (communication maintaining movement vector information) corresponding to any one of a set of a fourth movement distance and a fourth movement direction, a set of a fourth velocity absolute value and a fourth velocity direction, and a set of a fourth acceleration absolute value and a fourth acceleration direction.", "The fourth movement distance, the fourth velocity absolute value, or the fourth acceleration absolute value may be a predetermined value.", "The fourth movement direction, the fourth velocity direction, or the fourth acceleration direction may be a direction opposite to the movement direction specified by the movement path 502.In the third embodiment of the present disclosure, a target position is decided on in step S6112 every time before a communication restoration vector is decided on in step S6114, as long as there is a mobile object belonging to an unknown group.", "Alternatively, in a second configuration of the third embodiment, a target position may be decided on only if a mobile object belonging to the unknown group is changed.", "In the second configuration of the third embodiment, a target position is decided on only if a mobile object belonging to the unknown group is changed, and thus the processing efficiency can be enhanced.", "In the third embodiment of the present disclosure, it is determined in step S6110 whether or not there is a mobile object belonging to an unknown group, and if there is a mobile object belonging to an unknown group, steps S6111 to S6114 are performed to decide on a communication restoration vector having a magnitude that is not 0.Alternatively, in a third configuration of the third embodiment, the time when step S6111 is performed for the first time may be stored, and if a restoration period longer than 0 elapses from the time, the magnitude of the communication restoration vector may be set to 0 (step S6117) and the process may proceed to step S6115 without performing steps S6111 to S6114 even if there is a mobile object belonging to the unknown group.", "The value of the restoration period may be a constant or may be a value that is dynamically decided on when an actual process is performed.", "In the third configuration of the third embodiment, if restoration of communication is not completed within the restoration period, the operation for restoration is stopped.", "Thus, a situation can be prevented from occurring where a communication restoration operation is endlessly performed.", "In the third configuration of the third embodiment, the time when step S6111 is performed for the first time may be reset at an appropriate timing after the restoration period elapses, so that the process in steps S6111 to S6114 can be performed again.", "The appropriate timing may be, for example, when a mobile object belonging to the unknown group is changed or when a predetermined period further elapses (a fourth configuration of the third embodiment).", "In the fourth configuration of the third embodiment, if a predetermined condition is satisfied after the restoration period elapses, the communication restoration operation can be retried.", "In the third embodiment of the present disclosure, it is determined in step S6110 whether or not there is a mobile object belonging to an unknown group, and if there is a mobile object belonging to an unknown group, steps S6111 to S6114 are performed to decide on a communication restoration vector having a magnitude that is not 0.In a fifth configuration of the third embodiment, if a mobile object reaches a position where the distance to a target position is equal to or less than a movement stop determination distance, the magnitude of the communication restoration vector may be set to 0 (step S6117) and the process may proceed to step S6115 without performing steps S6111 to S6114, even if there is a mobile object belonging to an unknown group.", "The value of the movement stop determination distance may be a constant or may be a value that is dynamically decided on when an actual process is performed.", "In the fifth configuration of the third embodiment, if restoration of communication is not completed even if the mobile object reaches the position where the distance to the target position is equal to or less than the movement stop determination distance, the operation for restoration is stopped.", "Thus, a situation can be prevented from occurring where a communication restoration operation is endlessly performed.", "In the fifth configuration of the third embodiment, after the mobile object reaches the position where the distance to the target position is equal to or less than the movement stop determination distance, the magnitude of the communication restoration vector may be set to 0 (step S6117) and the process may proceed to step S6115 without performing steps S6111 to S6114, until a mobile object belonging to the unknown group is changed (a sixth configuration of the third embodiment).", "In the sixth configuration of the third embodiment, if the mobile object reaches the position where the distance to the target position is equal to or less than the movement stop determination distance and then moves away to a position where the distance to the target position exceeds the movement stop determination distance, a communication restoration operation may be started again, so that a situation can be prevented from occurring where a communication restoration operation and a movement for an original purpose are alternately repeated.", "In the third embodiment of the present disclosure, it is determined in step S6110 whether or not there is a mobile object belonging to an unknown group, and if there is a mobile object belonging to an unknown group, steps S6111 to S6114 are performed to decide on a communication restoration vector having a magnitude that is not 0.In a seventh configuration of the third embodiment, a second movement stop determination distance is calculated by multiplying the distance from a specific position to a target position by a movement stop determination coefficient.", "If the mobile object reaches a position where the distance to the target position is equal to or less than the second movement stop determination distance, the magnitude of the communication restoration vector may be set to 0 (step S6117) and the process may proceed to step S6115 without performing steps S6111 to S6114, even if there is a mobile object belonging to the unknown group.", "The value of the second movement stop determination coefficient may be a constant or may be a value that is dynamically decided on when an actual process is performed.", "In the seventh configuration of the third embodiment, if restoration of communication is not completed even if the mobile object reaches the position where the distance to the target position is equal to or less than the second movement stop determination distance, the operation for restoration is stopped.", "Thus, a situation can be prevented from occurring where a communication restoration operation is endlessly performed.", "In the seventh configuration of the third embodiment, after the mobile object reaches the position where the distance to the target position is equal to or less than the second movement stop determination distance, the magnitude of the communication restoration vector may be set to 0 (step S6117) and the process may proceed to step S6115 without performing steps S6111 to S6114, until a mobile object belonging to the unknown group is changed (an eighth configuration of the third embodiment).", "In the eighth configuration of the third embodiment, if the mobile object reaches the position where the distance to the target position is equal to or less than the second movement stop determination distance and then moves away to a position where the distance to the target position exceeds the second movement stop determination distance, a communication restoration operation may be started again, so that a situation can be prevented from occurring where a communication restoration operation and a movement for an original purpose are alternately repeated.", "In the third embodiment of the present disclosure, it is determined in step S6110 whether or not there is a mobile object belonging to an unknown group, and if there is a mobile object belonging to an unknown group, steps S6111 to S6114 are performed to decide on a communication restoration vector having a magnitude that is not 0.In a ninth configuration of the third embodiment, when the mobile object reaches the target position, the magnitude of the communication restoration vector may be set to 0 (step S6117) and the process may proceed to step S6115 without performing steps S6111 to S6114, even if there is a mobile object belonging to the unknown group.", "In the ninth configuration of the third embodiment, if restoration of communication is not completed even if the mobile object reaches the target position, the operation for restoration is stopped.", "Thus, a situation can be prevented from occurring where a communication restoration operation is endlessly performed.", "In the ninth configuration of the third embodiment, after the mobile object reaches the target position, the magnitude of the communication restoration vector may be set to 0 (step S6117) and the process may proceed to step S6115 without performing steps S6111 to S6114, until a mobile object belonging to the unknown group is changed (a tenth configuration of the third embodiment).", "In the tenth configuration of the third embodiment, if the mobile object reaches the target position and then moves away from the target position, a communication restoration operation may be started again, so that a situation can be prevented from occurring where a communication restoration operation and a movement for an original purpose are alternately repeated.", "In the third to tenth configurations of the third embodiment of the present disclosure, at the time of performing step S6110, in order to stop a communication restoration operation when the conditions described above regarding the individual configurations are satisfied, the magnitude of the communication restoration vector may be set to 0 (step S6117), and when the process proceeds to step S6115 without performing steps S6111 to S6114, the mobile objects belonging to the known group may be specified again as a component group, thereby dividing the ad hoc network (an eleventh configuration of the third embodiment).", "In the eleventh configuration of the third embodiment, each mobile object belonging to the known group is capable of avoiding endless repetition of stop and restart of a communication restoration operation by restarting the communication restoration operation for the unknown group for which restoration of communication has failed.", "In the third to tenth configurations of the third embodiment of the present disclosure, at the time of performing step S6110, in order to stop a communication restoration operation when the conditions described above regarding the individual configurations are satisfied, the magnitude of the communication restoration vector may be set to 0 (step S6117), and when the process proceeds to step S6115 without performing steps S6111 to S6114, a division notification indicating that the ad hoc network is to be divided may be transmitted to all the mobile objects belonging to the known group other than the own mobile object (a twelfth configuration of the third embodiment).", "When a division notification is received from another mobile object, the magnitude of the communication restoration vector may be set to 0 (step S6117), and the process may proceed to step S6115 without performing steps S6111 to S6114 even if there is a mobile object belonging to the unknown group in step S6110.Accordingly, the communication restoration operation is stopped and the mobile objects belonging to the known group at the time are specified again as a component group, thereby dividing the ad hoc network.", "In the twelfth configuration of the third embodiment, each mobile object belonging to the known group is capable of specifying the same component group and is also capable of avoiding endless repetition of stop and restart of a communication restoration operation by restarting the communication restoration operation for the unknown group for which restoration of communication has failed.", "In the third to tenth configurations of the third embodiment of the present disclosure, at the time of performing step S6110, in order to stop a communication restoration operation when the conditions described above regarding the individual configurations are satisfied, the magnitude of the communication restoration vector may be set to 0 (step S6117), and when the process proceeds to step S6115 without performing steps S6111 to S6114, known group information specifying the mobile objects belonging to the known group may be transmitted to all the mobile objects belonging to the known group other than the own mobile object (a thirteenth configuration of the third embodiment).", "When known group information is received from another mobile object, the magnitude of the communication restoration vector may be set to 0 (step S6117), and the process may proceed to step S6115 without performing steps S6111 to S6114 even if there is a mobile object belonging to the unknown group in step S6110.Accordingly, the communication restoration operation is stopped and the mobile objects specified by the known group information are specified again as a component group, thereby dividing the ad hoc network.", "In the thirteenth configuration of the third embodiment, each mobile object belonging to the known group is capable of reliably specifying the same component group without being affected by a time lag in communication and is also capable of avoiding endless repetition of stop and restart of a communication restoration operation by restarting the communication restoration operation for the unknown group for which restoration of communication has failed.", "Fourth Embodiment The conceptual diagram illustrating an overall ad hoc network formed of a plurality of mobile objects according to a fourth embodiment of the present disclosure is the same as FIG.", "6, and thus the description thereof will not be given.", "The block diagram illustrating the functional configuration of the mobile object 101 according to the fourth embodiment of the present disclosure is the same as FIG.", "8, and thus the description thereof will not be given.", "However, the own-mobile-object information stored in the storage unit 603 of the mobile object 101 is different from that in FIGS.", "9 and 10, and thus will be described with reference to FIGS.", "64 and 65.The other-mobile-object information 702 stored in the storage unit 603 of the mobile object 101 is the same as that in FIG.", "11 and thus the description thereof will not be given.", "FIG.", "64 is a diagram illustrating an example of the information stored in the storage unit 603 of the mobile object 101 according to the fourth embodiment of the present disclosure.", "In FIG.", "64, the same elements as those in FIGS.", "6, 8, and 9 are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will not be given.", "The storage unit 603 stores the own-mobile-object information 5801, which is information about the mobile object 101, and the other-mobile-object information 702, which is information about one or more other mobile objects.", "The own-mobile-object information 5801 includes mobile object identification information for uniquely identifying the own mobile object; position information indicating the position of the own mobile object, which is detected by the position detection unit 604; direct communication group information including mobile object identification information of one or more other mobile objects belonging to a direct communication group that the own mobile object is capable of directly communicating with; known group information including mobile object identification information of the own mobile object and one or more other mobile objects that the own mobile object is capable of communicating with through an ad hoc network; unknown group information including mobile object identification information of one or more other mobile objects that the own mobile object is incapable of communicating with through the ad hoc network; target position information, which is position information indicating a target position to which the own mobile object moves to restore communication if there is an unknown group; communication maintaining movement vector information, which is information about a communication maintaining movement vector indicating a movement vector for maintaining direct communication with some or all of mobile objects included in a direct communication group; second basic movement vector group information, which is information about a second basic movement vector group including one or more movement vectors for controlling a movement if direct communication is not maintained; basic movement vector group information, which is information about a basic movement vector group including one or more movement vectors for controlling a movement if there is no unknown group; communication restoration vector information, which is information about a communication restoration vector indicating a movement vector for moving toward a target position; and actual movement vector information, which is information about an actual movement vector defining an actual movement.", "FIG.", "65 is a diagram illustrating an example of the own-mobile-object information 5801 stored in the storage unit 603 of the mobile object 101 according to the fourth embodiment of the present disclosure.", "In FIG.", "65, the same elements as those in FIGS.", "6 and 64 are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will not be given.", "In FIG.", "65, the description will not be given of the same information as that included in the own-mobile-object information 701 illustrated in FIG.", "10.In the mobile object 101, the storage unit 603 stores the own-mobile-object information 5801 in the form illustrated in FIG.", "65, for example.", "The own-mobile-object information 5801 includes mobile object identification information for uniquely identifying the own mobile object; position information indicating the position of the own mobile object, which is detected by the position detection unit 604; direct communication group information including mobile object identification information of one or more other mobile objects belonging to a direct communication group that the own mobile object is capable of directly communicating with; known group information including mobile object identification information of the own mobile object and one or more other mobile objects that the own mobile object is capable of communicating with through an ad hoc network; unknown group information including mobile object identification information of one or more other mobile objects that the own mobile object is incapable of communicating with through the ad hoc network; target position information, which is position information indicating a target position to which the own mobile object moves to restore communication if there is an unknown group; communication maintaining movement vector information, which is information about a communication maintaining movement vector indicating a movement vector for maintaining direct communication with some or all of mobile objects included in a direct communication group; second basic movement vector group information, which is information about a second basic movement vector group including one or more movement vectors for controlling a movement if direct communication is not maintained; basic movement vector group information, which is information about a basic movement vector group including one or more movement vectors for controlling a movement if there is no unknown group; communication restoration vector information, which is information about a communication restoration vector indicating a movement vector for moving toward a target position; and actual movement vector information, which is information about an actual movement vector defining an actual movement.", "The own-mobile-object information 5801 illustrated in FIG.", "65 indicates that the value of the own mobile object identification information is “mobile object 101”, the value of the own position information is “34° 41′37.0″ north latitude, 135° 30′7.1″ east longitude, 2 m above sea level”, the value of the known group information is “mobile object 101, mobile object 102, mobile object 103, and mobile object 104”, the value of the unknown group information is “mobile object 105, mobile object 106, and mobile object 107”, the value of the target position information is “34° 41′37.6″ north latitude, 135° 30′9.1″ east longitude, 2 m above sea level”, the value of the communication maintaining movement vector information is “(1 m/s, 1 m/s, 0 m/s)”, the value of the second main basic movement vector information in the second basic movement vector group information is “(−5 m/s, −2 m/s, 0 m/s)”, the value of the second obstacle avoidance basic movement vector information in the second basic movement vector group information is “(0 m/s, 5 m/s, 0 m/s)”, the value of the main basic movement vector information in the basic movement vector group information is “(−4.5 m/s, −1.5 m/s, 0 m/s)”, the value of the obstacle avoidance basic movement vector information in the basic movement vector group information is “(0.5 m/s, 5.5 m/s, 0 m/s)”, the value of the communication restoration vector information is “(0 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s)”, and the value of the actual movement vector information is “(−1.75 m/s, 4.75 m/s, 0 m/s)”.", "In FIG.", "65, the second basic movement vector group information is represented by a set of second main basic movement vector information and second obstacle avoidance basic movement vector information.", "That is, a second basic movement vector group is a set of a second main basic movement vector and a second obstacle avoidance basic movement vector.", "Here, the second main basic movement vector is a movement vector representing a movement of a mobile object for achieving an original purpose in the case of not making an attempt to maintain direct communication.", "The second obstacle avoidance basic movement vector is a movement vector representing a movement of a mobile object for avoiding an obstacle near the mobile object in the case of not making an attempt to maintain direct communication.", "The number of movement vectors included in the second basic movement vector group and the movements represented by the movement vectors have variations, which is not related to the gist of the present disclosure.", "In this specification, unless otherwise noted, a second basic movement vector group is a set of a second main basic movement vector and a second obstacle avoidance basic movement vector described herein.", "FIG.", "66 is a flowchart illustrating an overall operation of movement control of the mobile object 101 according to the fourth embodiment of the present disclosure.", "The operations performed in steps S6101 to S6109 are the same regardless of whether there is a mobile object belonging to an unknown group.", "Thus, a description will be given below under the assumption that the mobile object 105 fails, unless otherwise noted.", "The conceptual diagram of an example of a basic movement vector group is the same as FIG.", "13, and thus the description thereof will not be given.", "The conceptual diagram illustrating a known group and an unknown group in each of the mobile objects 101 to 104 in a case where the mobile object 105 fails is the same as FIG.", "14, and thus the description thereof will not be given.", "The conceptual diagram illustrating a known group and an unknown group in each of the mobile objects 106 and 107 in a case where the mobile object 105 fails is the same as FIG.", "15, and thus the description thereof will not be given.", "First, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 101 attempts to communicate with the mobile objects 102 to 107 and specifies, as a direct communication group, one or more of the mobile objects 102 to 107 with which direct communication has succeeded (step S6101).", "Subsequently, the control unit 602 updates the direct communication group information including the mobile object identification information of all the mobile objects belonging to the direct communication group in the own-mobile-object information 5801.As illustrated in FIGS.", "6, 13, 14, and 15, the mobile object 101 is capable of directly communicating with only the mobile object 102 in both cases where the mobile object 105 fails and where the mobile object 105 does not fail.", "Thus, the control unit 602 specifies only the mobile object 102 as a direct communication group and updates the direct communication group information in the own-mobile-object information 5801.Subsequently, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 101 calculates the distance from the position of each mobile object belonging to the direct communication group to the position of the own mobile object (step S6102).", "It is assumed that the mobile objects 105 to 107 are at the positions described in the other-mobile-object information 702 illustrated in FIG.", "11 at the point of time when the mobile object 105 fails.", "Since only the mobile object 102 belongs to the direct communication group of the mobile object 101, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 101 calculates the distance from the position of the mobile object 102 to the position of the own mobile object.", "The distance between the mobile objects 101 and 102 is 19.9 m. Subsequently, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 101 decides on a communication maintaining movement vector for each mobile object belonging to the direct communication group (step S6105).", "Here, the control unit 602 decides on, as a communication maintaining movement vector, a movement vector having a predetermined magnitude and having a direction toward the center position of all the mobile objects belonging to the direct communication group.", "It is assumed that the magnitude of the communication maintaining movement vector is 2.8 m/s.", "FIG.", "67 is a conceptual diagram for describing a method for deciding on a communication maintaining movement vector in the mobile object 101 in a case where one mobile object (the mobile object 105) fails in the fourth embodiment of the present disclosure.", "In FIG.", "67, the same elements as those in FIGS.", "6 and 14 are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will not be given.", "As illustrated in FIG.", "67, only the mobile object 102 belongs to the direct communication group of the mobile object 101.Thus, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 101 decides on, as the communication maintaining movement vector 4201, a movement vector having a magnitude of 2.8 m/s and having a direction toward a center position 4210 of all the mobile objects belonging to the direct communication group.", "Since only the mobile object 102 belongs to the direct communication group, the center position 4210 of all the mobile objects belonging to the direct communication group is the position of the mobile object 102.In this case, the communication maintaining movement vector 4201 is (2 m/s, 2 m/s, 0 m/s).", "The communication maintaining movement vectors of the mobile objects 102 to 104, 106, and 107 are decided on similarly to the communication maintaining movement vector of the mobile object 101.FIG.", "68 is a conceptual diagram for describing a method for deciding on a communication maintaining movement vector in the mobile object 102 in a case where one mobile object (the mobile object 105) fails in the fourth embodiment of the present disclosure.", "In FIG.", "68, the same elements as those in FIGS.", "6 and 14 are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will not be given.", "As illustrated in FIG.", "68, the mobile objects 101, 103, and 104 belong to the direct communication group of the mobile object 102.Thus, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 102 decides on, as the communication maintaining movement vector 4302, a movement vector having a magnitude of 2.8 m/s and having a direction toward a center position 4310 of the mobile objects 101, 103, and 104.FIG.", "69 is a conceptual diagram for describing a method for deciding on a communication maintaining movement vector in the mobile object 103 in a case where one mobile object (the mobile object 105) fails in the fourth embodiment of the present disclosure.", "In FIG.", "69, the same elements as those in FIGS.", "6 and 14 are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will not be given.", "As illustrated in FIG.", "69, the mobile objects 102 and 104 belong to the direct communication group of the mobile object 103.Thus, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 103 decides on, as the communication maintaining movement vector 4403, a movement vector having a magnitude of 2.8 m/s and having a direction toward a center position 4410 of the mobile objects 102 and 104.FIG.", "70 is a conceptual diagram for describing a method for deciding on a communication maintaining movement vector in the mobile object 104 in a case where one mobile object (the mobile object 105) fails in the fourth embodiment of the present disclosure.", "In FIG.", "70, the same elements as those in FIGS.", "6 and 14 are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will not be given.", "As illustrated in FIG.", "70, the mobile objects 102 and 103 belong to the direct communication group of the mobile object 104.Thus, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 104 decides on, as the communication maintaining movement vector 4504, a movement vector having a magnitude of 2.8 m/s and having a direction toward a center position 4510 of the mobile objects 102 and 103.FIG.", "71 is a conceptual diagram for describing a method for deciding on a communication maintaining movement vector in the mobile object 106 in a case where one mobile object (the mobile object 105) fails in the fourth embodiment of the present disclosure.", "In FIG.", "71, the same elements as those in FIGS.", "6 and 14 are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will not be given.", "As illustrated in FIG.", "71, only the mobile object 107 belongs to the direct communication group of the mobile object 106.Thus, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 106 decides on, as the communication maintaining movement vector 4606, a movement vector having a magnitude of 2.8 m/s and having a direction toward a center position 4610 of all the mobile objects belonging to the direct communication group.", "Since only the mobile object 107 belongs to the direct communication group, the center position 4610 of all the mobile objects belonging to the direct communication group is the position of the mobile object 107.FIG.", "72 is a conceptual diagram for describing a method for deciding on a communication maintaining movement vector in the mobile object 107 in a case where one mobile object (the mobile object 105) fails in the fourth embodiment of the present disclosure.", "In FIG.", "72, the same elements as those in FIGS.", "6 and 14 are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will not be given.", "As illustrated in FIG.", "72, only the mobile object 106 belongs to the direct communication group of the mobile object 107.Thus, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 107 decides on, as the communication maintaining movement vector 4707, a movement vector having a magnitude of 2.8 m/s and having a direction toward a center position 4710 of all the mobile objects belonging to the direct communication group.", "Since only the mobile object 106 belongs to the direct communication group, the center position 4710 of all the mobile objects belonging to the direct communication group is the position of the mobile object 106.Subsequently, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 101 decides on a second basic movement vector group including one or more movement vectors for controlling a movement in the case of not attempting to maintain direct communication (step S6106).", "Subsequently, the control unit 602 creates second basic movement vector group information, which is information about the second basic movement vector group, and updates the second basic movement vector group information in the own-mobile-object information 5801.FIG.", "73 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of a second basic movement vector group in the fourth embodiment of the present disclosure.", "In FIG.", "73, the same elements as those in FIGS.", "6, 14, 16, and 67 are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will not be given.", "In the situation illustrated in FIG.", "73, it is the best for the mobile object 101 to move in accordance with a movement vector including a movement component of 5 m/s in the direction of west and a movement component of 2 m/s in the direction of south to achieve an original purpose if no attempt is made to maintain direct communication and if there is no restriction.", "In this case, the second main basic movement vector 4811 is (−5 m/s, −2 m/s, 0 m/s).", "However, there is an obstacle to the west of the mobile object 101.Thus, the mobile object 101 needs to move while avoiding the obstacle.", "Thus, if no attempt is made to maintain direct communication, the mobile object 101 needs to move in accordance with a movement vector including a movement component of 5 m/s in the direction of north to avoid the obstacle.", "In this case, the second obstacle avoidance basic movement vector 4812 is (0 m/s, 5 m/s, 0 m/s).", "Subsequently, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 101 attempts to communicate with the mobile objects 102 to 107 through the ad hoc network.", "In accordance with whether or not the communication therewith can be performed, the control unit 602 specifies a known group, which is a group of mobile objects that the mobile object 101 is capable of communicating with through the ad hoc network, and an unknown group, which is a group of mobile objects that the mobile object 101 is incapable of communicating with through the ad hoc network (step S6107).", "Subsequently, the control unit 602 updates the known group information, which includes mobile object identification information of all the mobile objects belonging to the known group, and the unknown group information, which includes mobile object identification information of all the mobile objects belonging to the unknown group, in the own-mobile-object information 5801.Subsequently, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 101 updates the position information of the known group (step S6108).", "At this time, the position detection unit 604 detects the position of the own mobile object and updates the position information in the own-mobile-object information 5801.Furthermore, the communication unit 601 requests, through the ad hoc network, all the mobile objects belonging to the known group to transmit mobile object identification information and position information and receives the mobile object identification information and the position information from the mobile objects belonging to the known group.", "Subsequently, the control unit 602 updates the position information in the other-mobile-object information 702.Subsequently, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 101 calculates the sum of movement vectors that are obtained by multiplying individual movement vectors belonging to the second basic movement vector group and the communication maintaining movement vector by a value other than 0, and decides on a movement vector group obtained through the calculation as a basic movement vector group (step S6109).", "Subsequently, the control unit 602 creates basic movement vector group information, which is information about the basic movement vector group, and updates the basic movement vector information in the own-mobile-object information 5801.Here, the control unit 602 multiplies the second main basic movement vector belonging to the second basic movement vector group by 1 and multiplies the communication maintaining movement vector by 0.5, which is a value obtained by dividing 1 by the number of movement vectors belonging to the second basic movement vector group, and decides on the sum of the two movement vectors obtained through the calculation as a main basic movement vector.", "Also, the control unit 602 multiplies the second obstacle avoidance basic movement vector by 1 and multiplies the communication maintaining movement vector by 0.5, which is a value obtained by dividing 1 by the number of movement vectors belonging to the second basic movement vector group, and decides on the sum of the two movement vectors obtained through the calculation as an obstacle avoidance basic movement vector.", "The value by which each movement vector belonging to the second basic movement vector group is multiplied may be a constant or may be a value that is dynamically decided on when an actual process is performed.", "As illustrated in FIG.", "73 and as described above, in this example, the second main basic movement vector 4811 of the mobile object 101 is (−5 m/s, −2 m/s, 0 m/s) and the communication maintaining movement vector 4201 is (2 m/s, 2 m/s, 0 m/s), and thus the movement vector as a calculation result is (−4 m/s, −1 m/s, 0 m/s).", "Thus, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 101 decides on the movement vector as a calculation result (−4 m/s, −1 m/s, 0 m/s) as the main basic movement vector 4801 in the basic movement vector group.", "Also, in this example, the second obstacle avoidance basic movement vector 4812 of the mobile object 101 is (0 m/s, 5 m/s, 0 m/s) and the communication maintaining movement vector 4201 is (2 m/s, 2 m/s, 0 m/s), and thus the movement vector as a calculation result is (1 m/s, 6 m/s, 0 m/s).", "Thus, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 101 decides on the movement vector as a calculation result (1 m/s, 6 m/s, 0 m/s) as the obstacle avoidance basic movement vector 4802 in the basic movement vector group.", "Subsequently, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 101 determines whether or not there is a mobile object belonging to an unknown group (step S6110).", "If it is determined in step S6110 that there is no mobile object belonging to an unknown group (NO in step S6110), the control unit 602 of the mobile object 101 sets the magnitude of the communication restoration vector to 0 (step S6117) and the process proceeds to step S6115, which will be described below.", "For example, in the situation illustrated in FIG.", "13, there is no unknown group and all the mobile objects 101 to 107 belong to the known group.", "Thus, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 101 sets the magnitude of the communication restoration vector to 0, and then the process proceeds to step S6115, which will be described below.", "On the other hand, if it is determined in step S6110 that there is a mobile object belonging to an unknown group (YES in step S6110), the control unit 602 performs the process in steps S6111 to S6114.If it is determined in step S6110 that there is a mobile object belonging to an unknown group, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 101 obtains, from the other-mobile-object information 702, the position information of all the mobile objects belonging to the unknown group (step S6111).", "The conceptual diagram illustrating the mobile objects 101 to 104 belonging to the known group and the mobile objects 105 to 107 belonging to the unknown group in a case where one mobile object (the mobile object 105) fails in the fourth embodiment of the present disclosure is the same as FIG.", "14, and thus the description thereof will not be given.", "The conceptual diagram illustrating the mobile objects 106 and 107 belonging to the known group and the mobile objects 101 to 104 belonging to the unknown group in a case where one mobile object (the mobile object 105) fails in the fourth embodiment of the present disclosure is the same as FIG.", "15, and thus the description thereof will not be given.", "Subsequently, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 101 decides on one or more target positions on the basis of the position information of the mobile objects belonging to the unknown group obtained in step S6111 (step S6112).", "The target position is, for example, a center position of all the mobile objects belonging to the unknown group or a position nearest to the own mobile object among the positions of all the mobile objects belonging to the unknown group.", "Subsequently, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 101 calculates the distance from the target position to the position of the own mobile object (step S6113).", "The diagram illustrating an example of a method for deciding on a target position and the target position decided on by using the method in each of the mobile objects 101 to 104 in a case where one mobile object (the mobile object 105) fails in the fourth embodiment of the present disclosure is the same as FIG.", "16.It is assumed that the mobile objects 105 to 107 are at the positions described in the other-mobile-object information 702 illustrated in FIG.", "11.For example, in the case of deciding on the center position of all the mobile objects belonging to the unknown group as a target position, the target position of each of the mobile objects 101 to 104 is the target position 1401 illustrated in FIG.", "16.The value of the target position 1401 is “34° 41′37.6″ north latitude, 135° 30′9.1″ east longitude, 2 m above sea level”.", "In this case, the distances from the target position 1401 to the mobile objects 101 to 104 are 53.3 m, 37.6 m, 35.5 m, and 27.9 m, respectively.", "In the case of deciding on the position nearest to the own mobile object among the positions of all the mobile objects belonging to the unknown group as a target position, the target position of each of the mobile objects 101 to 104 is the target position 1402 illustrated in FIG.", "16, that is, the position of the mobile object 105.The value of the target position 1402 is “34° 41′37.5″ north latitude, 135° 30′8.6″ east longitude, 2 m above sea level”.", "In this case, the distances from the target position 1402 to the mobile objects 101 to 104 are 40.6 m, 25.0 m, 22.7 m, and 19.9 m, respectively.", "Here, approximate values are calculated in an abbreviated manner under the assumption that the distance corresponding to one second in latitude is 31 m and the distance corresponding to one second in longitude is 25 m. However, the method for calculating a distance on the basis of a difference in latitude and longitude is not related to the gist of the present disclosure.", "In this specification, unless otherwise noted, a distance is calculated on the basis of a difference in latitude and longitude by using the simple method described herein.", "The diagram illustrating an example of a method for deciding on a target position and the target position decided on by using the method in each of the mobile objects 106 and 107 in a case where one mobile object (the mobile object 105) fails in the fourth embodiment of the present disclosure is the same as FIG.", "17.It is assumed that the mobile objects 101 to 105 are at the positions described in the other-mobile-object information 702 illustrated in FIG.", "11.For example, in the case of deciding on the center position of all the mobile objects belonging to the unknown group as a target position, the target position of each of the mobile objects 106 and 107 is the target position 1501 illustrated in FIG.", "17.The value of the target position 1501 is “34° 41′37.48″ north latitude, 135° 30′7.82″ east longitude, 2 m above sea level”.", "In this case, the distances from the target position 1501 to the mobile objects 106 and 107 are 33.5 m and 44.5 m, respectively.", "In the case of deciding on the position nearest to the own mobile object among the positions of all the mobile objects belonging to the unknown group as a target position, the target position of each of the mobile objects 106 and 107 is the target position 1502 illustrated in FIG.", "17, that is, the position of the mobile object 105.The value of the target position 1502 is “34° 41′37.5″ north latitude, 135° 30′8.6″ east longitude, 2 m above sea level”.", "In this case, the distances from the target position 1502 to the mobile objects 106 and 107 are 15.6 m and 25.0 m, respectively.", "Subsequently, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 101 decides on a communication restoration vector, which is a movement vector for moving toward the target position, in accordance with the distance from the target position to the position of the own mobile object (step S6114).", "Subsequently, the control unit 602 creates communication restoration vector information, which is information about the communication restoration vector, and updates the communication restoration vector information in the own-mobile-object information 5801.Now, an example of a communication restoration vector will be described.", "The control unit 602 of each of the mobile objects 101 to 107 decides on, as a target position, the position nearest to the own mobile object among the positions of all the mobile objects belonging to the unknown group.", "If the own mobile object is the nearest to the target position among the mobile objects belonging to the known group, the control unit 602 decides on a communication restoration vector having a direction toward the target position and having a magnitude of 6.4 m/s.", "If the own mobile object is not the nearest to the target position, the control unit 602 decides on a communication restoration vector having a magnitude of 0.FIG.", "74 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of communication restoration vectors of the mobile objects 101 to 104 in a case where one mobile object (the mobile object 105) fails in the fourth embodiment of the present disclosure.", "In FIG.", "74, the same elements as those in FIGS.", "6, 14, and 16 are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will not be given.", "As described above, the distances from the target position 1402 to the mobile objects 101 to 104 are 40.6 m, 25.0 m, 22.7 m, and 19.9 m, respectively.", "Thus, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 104 that is the nearest to the target position 1402 decides on, as the communication restoration vector 4004, a communication restoration vector (5 m/s, −4 m/s, 0 m/s) having a direction toward the target position and having a magnitude of 6.4 m/s.", "Also, the control units 602 of the mobile objects 101 to 103 decide on the communication restoration vectors 4001 to 4003 having a magnitude of 0, respectively.", "FIG.", "75 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of communication restoration vectors of the mobile objects 106 and 107 in a case where one mobile object (the mobile object 105) fails in the fourth embodiment of the present disclosure.", "In FIG.", "75, the same elements as those in FIGS.", "6, 15, and 17 are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will not be given.", "As described above, the distances from the target position 1502 to the mobile objects 106 and 107 are 15.6 m and 25.0 m, respectively.", "Thus, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 106 that is the nearest to the target position 1502 decides on, as the communication restoration vector 4106, a communication restoration vector (−5 m/s, −4 m/s, 0 m/s) having a direction toward the target position and having a magnitude of 6.4 m/s.", "Also, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 107 decides on the communication restoration vector 4107 having a magnitude of 0.Subsequently, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 101 calculates the sum of movement vectors obtained by multiplying all the movement vectors belonging to the basic movement vector group and the communication restoration vector by a value other than 0, and decides on a movement vector obtained through the calculation as an actual movement vector (step S6115).", "Subsequently, the control unit 602 creates actual movement vector information, which is information about the actual movement vector, and updates the actual movement vector information in the own-mobile-object information 5801.FIG.", "76 is a conceptual diagram for describing a method for deciding on an actual movement vector in the mobile object 101 in a case where one mobile object (the mobile object 105) fails in the fourth embodiment of the present disclosure.", "In FIG.", "76, the same elements as those in FIGS.", "6, 14, 16, 73, and 74 are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will not be given.", "To increase the ratio of a movement for avoiding an obstacle, the control unit 602 multiplies the main basic movement vector belonging to the basic movement vector group by 0.5, multiplies the obstacle avoidance basic movement vector belonging to the basic movement vector group by 1, and multiplies the communication restoration vector by 1, and then calculates the sum of the movement vectors as calculation results.", "The value by which each movement vector belonging to the basic movement vector group is multiplied may be a constant or may be a value that is dynamically decided on at the time of performing an actual process.", "In the example illustrated in FIG.", "76, the main basic movement vector 4801 of the mobile object 101 is (−4 m/s, −1 m/s, 0 m/s), the obstacle avoidance basic movement vector 4802 is (1 m/s, 6 m/s, 0 m/s), and the communication restoration vector 4001 is (0 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s).", "Thus, the movement vector as a calculation result is (−3 m/s, 5 m/s, 0 m/s).", "The control unit 602 of the mobile object 101 decides on the movement vector (−3 m/s, 5 m/s, 0 m/s) obtained through the calculation as the actual movement vector 4901.If the mobile object 105 fails, the magnitude of the communication restoration vector 4001 is 0.Thus, even if the mobile object 105 fails and even if a mobile object belonging to an unknown group emerges, the mobile object 101 moves substantially north-northwestward in accordance with the actual movement vector 4901 (−3 m/s, 5 m/s, 0 m/s) as illustrated in FIG.", "76, as in the case where the mobile object 105 does not fail and there is no mobile object belonging to an unknown group.", "Thus, an obstacle can be appropriately avoided.", "In addition, direct communication can be maintained and an original purpose can be implemented in a balanced manner.", "The basic movement vector groups and the actual movement vectors of the mobile objects 102 to 104, 106, and 107 are decided on similarly to the basic movement vector group and the actual movement vector of the mobile object 101.FIG.", "77 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of actual movement vectors of the mobile objects 101 to 104, 106, and 107 in a case where one mobile object (the mobile object 105) fails in the fourth embodiment of the present disclosure.", "In FIG.", "77, the same elements as those in FIGS.", "6 and 76 are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will not be given.", "Here, among the movement vectors belonging to the second basic movement vector groups of the mobile objects 102 to 104, the value of the second main basic movement vector is (−10 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s) and the value of the second obstacle avoidance basic movement vector is (0 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s).", "Among the movement vectors belonging to the second basic movement vector groups of the mobile objects 106 and 107, the value of the second main basic movement vector is (10 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s) and the value of the second obstacle avoidance basic movement vector is (0 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s).", "Here, the control unit 602 multiplies the second main basic movement vector belonging to the second basic movement vector group by 1 and multiplies the communication maintaining movement vector by 0.5, which is a value obtained by dividing 1 by the number of movement vectors belonging to the second basic movement vector group, and decides on the sum of the movement vectors obtained through the calculation as a main basic movement vector.", "Also, the control unit 602 multiplies the second obstacle avoidance basic movement vector by 1 and multiplies the communication maintaining movement vector by 0.5, which is a value obtained by dividing 1 by the number of movement vectors belonging to the second basic movement vector group, and decides on the sum of the movement vectors obtained through the calculation as an obstacle avoidance basic movement vector.", "Here, if the magnitude of the communication restoration vector is 0, the control unit 602 decides on, as an actual movement vector, the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the main basic movement vector by 0.5, a movement vector obtained by multiplying the obstacle avoidance basic movement vector by 1, and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication restoration vector by 1.If the magnitude of the communication restoration vector is not 0, the control unit 602 decides on, as an actual movement vector, the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the main basic movement vector by 0.05, a movement vector obtained by multiplying the obstacle avoidance basic movement vector by 0.1, and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication restoration vector by 1.The main basic movement vector of the mobile object 102 is the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the second main basic movement vector (−10 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s) by 1 and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication maintaining movement vector 4302 illustrated in FIG.", "68 by 0.5.The obstacle avoidance basic movement vector of the mobile object 102 is the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the second obstacle avoidance basic movement vector (0 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s) by 1 and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication maintaining movement vector 4302 illustrated in FIG.", "68 by 0.5.Since the magnitude of the communication restoration vector 4002 is 0, the actual movement vector 5002 of the mobile object 102 is the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the main basic movement vector by 0.5, a movement vector obtained by multiplying the obstacle avoidance basic movement vector by 1, and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication restoration vector by 1, as illustrated in FIG.", "77.If the mobile object 105 fails, the magnitude of the communication restoration vector 4002 is 0.Thus, even if the mobile object 105 fails and even if a mobile object belonging to an unknown group emerges, the mobile object 102 moves substantially west-southwestward in accordance with the actual movement vector 5002 as illustrated in FIG.", "77, as in the case where the mobile object 105 does not fail and there is no mobile object belonging to an unknown group.", "Thus, direct communication can be maintained and an original purpose can be implemented in a balanced manner.", "The main basic movement vector of the mobile object 103 is the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the second main basic movement vector (−10 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s) by 1 and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication maintaining movement vector 4403 illustrated in FIG.", "69 by 0.5.The obstacle avoidance basic movement vector of the mobile object 103 is the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the second obstacle avoidance basic movement vector (0 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s) by 1 and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication maintaining movement vector 4403 illustrated in FIG.", "69 by 0.5.Since the magnitude of the communication restoration vector 4003 is 0, the actual movement vector 5003 of the mobile object 103 is the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the main basic movement vector by 0.5, a movement vector obtained by multiplying the obstacle avoidance basic movement vector by 1, and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication restoration vector by 1, as illustrated in FIG.", "77.If the mobile object 105 fails, the magnitude of the communication restoration vector 4003 is 0.Thus, even if the mobile object 105 fails and even if a mobile object belonging to an unknown group emerges, the mobile object 103 moves substantially west-northwestward in accordance with the actual movement vector 5003 as illustrated in FIG.", "77, as in the case where the mobile object 105 does not fail and there is no mobile object belonging to an unknown group.", "Thus, direct communication can be maintained and an original purpose can be implemented in a balanced manner.", "The main basic movement vector of the mobile object 104 is the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the second main basic movement vector (−10 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s) by 1 and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication maintaining movement vector 4504 illustrated in FIG.", "70 by 0.5.The obstacle avoidance basic movement vector of the mobile object 104 is the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the second obstacle avoidance basic movement vector (0 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s) by 1 and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication maintaining movement vector 4504 illustrated in FIG.", "70 by 0.5.If the mobile object 105 does not fail and if there is no mobile object belonging to an unknown group, the magnitude of the communication restoration vector is 0.Thus, the actual movement vector 5004 of the mobile object 104 is the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the main basic movement vector by 0.5 and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the obstacle avoidance basic movement vector by 1, and the mobile object 104 moves substantially west-southwestward.", "However, if the mobile object 105 fails and if a mobile object belonging to an unknown group emerges, the actual movement vector 5004 of the mobile object 104 is the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the main basic movement vector by 0.05, a movement vector obtained by multiplying the obstacle avoidance basic movement vector by 0.1, and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication restoration vector 4004 (5 m/s, −4 m/s, 0 m/s) by 1, and the mobile object 104 moves substantially east-southeastward and mainly performs a communication restoration operation, as illustrated in FIG.", "77.The main basic movement vector of the mobile object 106 is the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the second main basic movement vector (10 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s) by 1 and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication maintaining movement vector 4606 illustrated in FIG.", "71 by 0.5.The obstacle avoidance basic movement vector of the mobile object 106 is the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the second obstacle avoidance basic movement vector (0 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s) by 1 and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication maintaining movement vector 4606 illustrated in FIG.", "71 by 0.5.If the mobile object 105 does not fail and if there is no mobile object belonging to an unknown group, the magnitude of the communication restoration vector is 0.Thus, the actual movement vector 5006 of the mobile object 106 is the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the main basic movement vector by 0.5 and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the obstacle avoidance basic movement vector by 1, and the mobile object 106 moves substantially east-southeastward.", "However, if the mobile object 105 fails and if a mobile object belonging to an unknown group emerges, the actual movement vector 5006 of the mobile object 106 is the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the main basic movement vector by 0.05, a movement vector obtained by multiplying the obstacle avoidance basic movement vector by 0.1, and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication restoration vector 4106 (5 m/s, −4 m/s, 0 m/s) by 1, and the mobile object 106 moves substantially west-southwestward and mainly performs a communication restoration operation, as illustrated in FIG.", "77.The main basic movement vector of the mobile object 107 is the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the second main basic movement vector (10 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s) by 1 and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication maintaining movement vector 4707 illustrated in FIG.", "72 by 0.5.The obstacle avoidance basic movement vector of the mobile object 107 is the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the second obstacle avoidance basic movement vector (0 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s) by 1 and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication maintaining movement vector 4707 illustrated in FIG.", "72 by 0.5.Since the magnitude of the communication restoration vector 4007 is 0, the actual movement vector 5007 of the mobile object 107 is the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the main basic movement vector by 0.5, a movement vector obtained by multiplying the obstacle avoidance basic movement vector by 1, and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication restoration vector by 1, as illustrated in FIG.", "77.If the mobile object 105 fails, the magnitude of the communication restoration vector 4007 is 0.Thus, even if the mobile object 105 fails and even if a mobile object belonging to an unknown group emerges, the mobile object 107 moves substantially east-northeastward in accordance with the actual movement vector 5007 as illustrated in FIG.", "77, as in the case where the mobile object 105 does not fail and there is no mobile object belonging to an unknown group.", "Thus, direct communication can be maintained and an original purpose can be implemented in a balanced manner.", "As a result, each of the mobile objects 101 to 104, 106, and 107 moves to maintain direct communication and the mobile objects 104 and 106 move to get together, and thus an attempt to restore communication can be made.", "Furthermore, the mobile objects 101 to 103 and 107 maintain direct communication and implement an original purpose in a balanced manner, and the mobile objects 104 and 106 mainly perform a communication restoration operation.", "Accordingly, both restoration of communication and an original purpose can be achieved by the entire component group.", "Subsequently, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 101 obtains the actual movement vector information from the own-mobile-object information 5801 and actually causes the mobile object 101 to move in accordance with the actual movement vector 5701 that has been obtained (step S6116).", "Hereinafter, a description will be given of, by using specific examples, the issues that are not overcome by the techniques disclosed in PTL 1 and that are overcome by the fourth embodiment of the present disclosure.", "As described above, the first technique disclosed in PTL 1 is not applicable as is if there are two or more mobile objects disconnected from the ad hoc network when viewed from any mobile object, as in the example illustrated in FIG.", "2.In contrast, in the fourth embodiment of the present disclosure, an attempt can be made to restore communication even if there are two or more mobile objects disconnected from the ad hoc network when viewed from any mobile object, as in the example illustrated in FIG.", "77.In this case, that is, in the case where there are two or more mobile objects belonging to an unknown group when viewed from any mobile object, all the mobile objects belonging to the component group move to maintain direct communication, and some or all of the mobile objects belonging to the component group move to get together.", "Thus, an attempt to restore communication can be made.", "In the example illustrated in FIG.", "77, each of the mobile objects 101 to 104, 106, and 107 moves to maintain direct communication, and the mobile objects 104 and 106 move to get together.", "Accordingly, an attempt to restore communication can be made.", "The second technique disclosed in PTL 1 has an issue that all mobile objects are incapable of moving for an original purpose until communication is restored.", "In contrast, in the fourth embodiment of the present disclosure, the mobile objects 101 to 103 and 107 are capable of maintaining direct communication and implementing an original purpose in a balanced manner in the example illustrated in FIG.", "77, for example, and the foregoing issue can be overcome.", "The third technique disclosed in PTL 1 has an issue that a region over which a mobile object group is deployed gradually becomes smaller and all mobile objects are incapable of moving for an original purpose until communication is restored.", "Furthermore, after the communication is restored, the mobile objects need to move again for the original purpose from the positions at the point of time when the communication is restored.", "In contrast, in the fourth embodiment of the present disclosure, the mobile objects 101 to 103 and 107 are capable of maintaining direct communication and implementing an original purpose in a balanced manner in the example illustrated in FIG.", "77, for example, and the foregoing issue can be overcome.", "The fourth technique disclosed in PTL 1 has an issue that, if a selected mobile object moves toward a cutoff position, the communication between the selected mobile object and a mobile object other than a mobile object disconnected from the ad hoc network is cut off, and accordingly the ad hoc network may be secondarily fractured.", "In contrast, in the fourth embodiment of the present disclosure, the mobile objects 104 and 106 move to get together to attempt to restore communication, and the mobile objects 101 to 104, 106, and 107 move to maintain direct communication in the example illustrated in FIG.", "77, for example.", "Accordingly, direct communication between mobile objects can be maintained and the foregoing issue can be overcome.", "As described above, in the first technique disclosed in PTL 1, if some or all of the mobile objects move to get away from each other as in the example illustrated in FIG.", "3, communication can be restored only partially at best.", "In the example illustrated in FIG.", "3, if the group of the mobile objects 201 to 204 and the group of the mobile objects 206 and 207 continue to move to get away from each other, the direct communication with a mobile object belonging to one of the group of the mobile objects 201 to 204 and the group of the mobile objects 206 and 207 is restored at best, and it is impossible to restore the direct communication with a mobile object belonging to the other group.", "In contrast, in the fourth embodiment of the present disclosure, an attempt to restore communication can be made even if some mobile objects move to get away from each other as in the example illustrated in FIG.", "3.This will be described below.", "Here, each of the mobile objects 201 to 207 decides on, as a target position, the position nearest to the own mobile object among the positions of all the mobile objects belonging to the unknown group, and also decides on a communication restoration vector having a direction toward the target position and having a magnitude of 6.4 m/s if the own mobile object is the nearest to the target position among the mobile objects belonging to the known group.", "Each of the mobile objects 201 to 207 decides on a communication restoration vector having a magnitude of 0 if the own mobile object is not the nearest to the target position among the positions of all the mobile objects belonging to the unknown group.", "Here, the control unit 602 of each of the mobile objects 201 to 207 decides on, as a communication maintaining movement vector, a movement vector having a predetermined magnitude and having a direction toward the center position of all the mobile objects belonging to the direct communication group.", "It is assumed that the magnitude of the communication maintaining movement vector is 2.8 m/s.", "Here, the control unit 602 of each of the mobile objects 201 to 207 multiplies the second main basic movement vector belonging to the second basic movement vector group by 1, multiplies the communication maintaining movement vector by 0.5, which is a value obtained by dividing 1 by the number of movement vectors belonging to the second basic movement vector group, calculates the sum of the movement vectors as calculation results, and decides on the sum as a main basic movement vector.", "Also, the control unit 602 of each of the mobile objects 201 to 207 multiplies the second obstacle avoidance basic movement vector by 1, multiplies the communication maintaining movement vector by 0.5, which is a value obtained by dividing 1 by the number of movement vectors belonging to the second basic movement vector group, calculates the sum of the movement vectors as calculation results, and decides on the sum as an obstacle avoidance basic movement vector.", "To increase the ratio of a movement for avoiding an obstacle, the control unit 602 of each of the mobile objects 201 to 207 multiplies the main basic movement vector belonging to the basic movement vector group by 0.5, multiplies the obstacle avoidance basic movement vector belonging to the basic movement vector group by 1, and multiplies the communication restoration vector by 1, and then calculates the sum of the movement vectors as calculation results.", "Here, among the movement vectors belonging to the second basic movement vector groups of the mobile objects 201 to 204, the value of the second main basic movement vector is (−10 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s) and the value of the second obstacle avoidance basic movement vector is (0 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s).", "Among the movement vectors belonging to the second basic movement vector group of the mobile object 205, the value of the second main basic movement vector is (0 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s) and the value of the second obstacle avoidance basic movement vector is (0 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s).", "Among the movement vectors belonging to the second basic movement vector groups of the mobile objects 206 and 207, the value of the second main basic movement vector is (10 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s) and the value of the second obstacle avoidance basic movement vector is (0 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s).", "Here, if the magnitude of the communication restoration vector is 0, the control unit 602 of each of the mobile objects 201 to 207 decides on, as an actual movement vector, the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the main basic movement vector by 0.5, a movement vector obtained by multiplying the obstacle avoidance basic movement vector by 1, and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication restoration vector by 1.If the magnitude of the communication restoration vector is not 0, the control unit 602 of each of the mobile objects 201 to 207 decides on, as an actual movement vector, the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the main basic movement vector by 0.05, a movement vector obtained by multiplying the obstacle avoidance basic movement vector by 0.1, and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication restoration vector by 1.FIG.", "78 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of communication restoration vectors of the mobile objects 201 to 204 in the situation illustrated in FIG.", "3 in the fourth embodiment of the present disclosure.", "In FIG.", "78, the same elements as those in FIG.", "1 are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will not be given.", "As illustrated in FIG.", "78, for each of the mobile objects 201 to 204, the mobile objects belonging to the known group 5101 are the mobile objects 201 to 204, and the mobile objects belonging to the unknown group 5102 are the mobile objects 205 to 207.The control unit 602 of each of the mobile objects 201 to 204 decides on, as the target position 5111, the position of the mobile object 205, which is the nearest to the own mobile object among the positions of all the mobile objects belonging to the unknown group 5102.The control unit 602 of the mobile object 204, which is the nearest to the target position 5111, decides on the communication restoration vector 5124 having a direction toward the target position and having a magnitude of 6.4 m/s.", "The control units 602 of the mobile objects 201 to 203 decide on the communication restoration vectors 5121 to 5123 having a magnitude of 0, respectively.", "FIG.", "79 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of a communication restoration vector of the mobile object 205 in the situation illustrated in FIG.", "3 in the fourth embodiment of the present disclosure.", "In FIG.", "79, the same elements as those in FIG.", "1 are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will not be given.", "As illustrated in FIG.", "79, for the mobile object 205, the mobile object belonging to the known group 5201 is the mobile object 205, and the mobile objects belonging to the unknown group 5202 are the mobile objects 201 to 204, 206, and 207.The control unit 602 of the mobile object 205 decides on, as the target position 5211, the position of the mobile object 206, which is the nearest to the own mobile object among the positions of all the mobile objects belonging to the unknown group 5202.The mobile object 205 is the nearest to the target position 5211, and thus the control unit 602 of the mobile object 205 decides on the communication restoration vector 5225 having a direction toward the target position 5211 and having a magnitude of 6.4 m/s.", "FIG.", "80 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of communication restoration vectors of the mobile objects 206 and 207 in the situation illustrated in FIG.", "3 in the fourth embodiment of the present disclosure.", "In FIG.", "80, the same elements as those in FIG.", "1 are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will not be given.", "As illustrated in FIG.", "80, for each of the mobile objects 206 and 207, the mobile objects belonging to the known group 5301 are the mobile objects 206 and 207, and the mobile objects belonging to the unknown group 5302 are the mobile objects 201 to 205.The control unit 602 of each of the mobile objects 206 and 207 decides on, as the target position 5311, the position of the mobile object 205, which is the nearest to the own mobile object among the positions of all the mobile objects belonging to the unknown group 5302.The control unit 602 of the mobile object 206, which is the nearest to the target position 5311, decides on the communication restoration vector 5326 having a direction toward the target position and having a magnitude of 6.4 m/s.", "The control unit 602 of the mobile object 207 decides on the communication restoration vector 5327 having a magnitude of 0.FIG.", "81 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of actual movement vectors of the mobile objects 201 to 207 in the situation illustrated in FIG.", "3 in the fourth embodiment of the present disclosure.", "In FIG.", "81, the same elements as those in FIG.", "1 are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will not be given.", "Only the mobile object 202 belongs to the direct communication group of the mobile object 201.Thus, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 201 decides on, as a communication maintaining movement vector, a movement vector having a magnitude of 2.8 m/s and having a direction toward the center position of all the mobile objects belonging to the direct communication group (the position of the mobile object 202).", "Subsequently, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 201 calculates the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the second main basic movement vector (−10 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s) by 1 and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication maintaining movement vector by 0.5, and decides on the sum as a main basic movement vector.", "Also, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 201 calculates the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the second obstacle avoidance basic movement vector (0 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s) by 1 and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication maintaining movement vector by 0.5, and decides on the sum as an obstacle avoidance basic movement vector.", "Since the magnitude of the communication restoration vector 5121 is 0, the actual movement vector 5401 of the mobile object 201 is the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the main basic movement vector by 0.5, a movement vector obtained by multiplying the obstacle avoidance basic movement vector by 1, and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication restoration vector by 1.If the mobile object 205 fails, the magnitude of the communication restoration vector 5121 is 0.Thus, even if the mobile object 205 fails and even if a mobile object belonging to an unknown group emerges, the mobile object 201 moves substantially west-northwestward in accordance with the actual movement vector 5401 as illustrated in FIG.", "81, as in the case where the mobile object 205 does not fail and there is no mobile object belonging to an unknown group.", "Thus, direct communication can be maintained and an original purpose can be implemented in a balanced manner.", "The mobile objects 201, 203, and 204 belong to the direct communication group of the mobile object 202.Thus, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 202 decides on, as a communication maintaining movement vector, a movement vector having a magnitude of 2.8 m/s and having a direction toward the center position of the mobile objects 201, 203, and 204.Subsequently, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 202 calculates the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the second main basic movement vector (−10 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s) by 1 and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication maintaining movement vector by 0.5, and decides on the sum as a main basic movement vector.", "Also, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 202 calculates the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the second obstacle avoidance basic movement vector (0 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s) by 1 and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication maintaining movement vector by 0.5, and decides on the sum as an obstacle avoidance basic movement vector.", "Since the magnitude of the communication restoration vector 5122 is 0, the actual movement vector 5402 of the mobile object 202 is the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the main basic movement vector by 0.5, a movement vector obtained by multiplying the obstacle avoidance basic movement vector by 1, and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication restoration vector by 1.If the mobile object 205 fails, the magnitude of the communication restoration vector 5122 is 0.Thus, even if the mobile object 205 fails and even if a mobile object belonging to an unknown group emerges, the mobile object 202 moves substantially west-southwestward in accordance with the actual movement vector 5402 as illustrated in FIG.", "81, as in the case where the mobile object 205 does not fail and there is no mobile object belonging to an unknown group.", "Thus, direct communication can be maintained and an original purpose can be implemented in a balanced manner.", "The mobile objects 202 and 204 belong to the direct communication group of the mobile object 203.Thus, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 203 decides on, as a communication maintaining movement vector, a movement vector having a magnitude of 2.8 m/s and having a direction toward the center position of the mobile objects 202 and 204.Subsequently, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 203 calculates the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the second main basic movement vector (−10 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s) by 1 and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication maintaining movement vector by 0.5, and decides on the sum as a main basic movement vector.", "Also, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 203 calculates the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the second obstacle avoidance basic movement vector (0 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s) by 1 and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication maintaining movement vector by 0.5, and decides on the sum as an obstacle avoidance basic movement vector.", "Since the magnitude of the communication restoration vector 5123 is 0, the actual movement vector 5403 of the mobile object 203 is the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the main basic movement vector by 0.5, a movement vector obtained by multiplying the obstacle avoidance basic movement vector by 1, and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication restoration vector by 1.If the mobile object 205 fails, the magnitude of the communication restoration vector 5123 is 0.Thus, even if the mobile object 205 fails and even if a mobile object belonging to an unknown group emerges, the mobile object 203 moves substantially west-northwestward in accordance with the actual movement vector 5403 as illustrated in FIG.", "81, as in the case where the mobile object 205 does not fail and there is no mobile object belonging to an unknown group.", "Thus, direct communication can be maintained and an original purpose can be implemented in a balanced manner.", "The mobile objects 202 and 203 belong to the direct communication group of the mobile object 204.Thus, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 204 decides on, as a communication maintaining movement vector, a movement vector having a magnitude of 2.8 m/s and having a direction toward the center position of the mobile objects 202 and 203.Subsequently, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 204 calculates the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the second main basic movement vector (−10 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s) by 1 and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication maintaining movement vector by 0.5, and decides on the sum as a main basic movement vector.", "Also, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 204 calculates the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the second obstacle avoidance basic movement vector (0 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s) by 1 and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication maintaining movement vector by 0.5, and decides on the sum as an obstacle avoidance basic movement vector.", "If the mobile object 205 does not fail and if there is no mobile object belonging to an unknown group, the magnitude of the communication restoration vector is 0.Thus, an actual movement vector of the mobile object 204 is the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the main basic movement vector by 0.5 and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the obstacle avoidance basic movement vector by 1, and the mobile object 204 moves substantially west-southwestward.", "However, if the mobile object 205 fails and if a mobile object belonging to an unknown group emerges, the actual movement vector 5404 of the mobile object 204 is the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the main basic movement vector by 0.05, a movement vector obtained by multiplying the obstacle avoidance basic movement vector by 0.1, and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication restoration vector 5124 by 1, and the mobile object 204 moves substantially east-southeastward and mainly performs a communication restoration operation, as illustrated in FIG.", "81.There is no mobile object belonging to the direct communication group of the mobile object 205.Thus, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 205 decides on a communication maintaining movement vector having a magnitude of 0.Subsequently, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 205 calculates the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the second main basic movement vector (0 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s) by 1 and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication maintaining movement vector by 0.5, and decides on the sum as a main basic movement vector.", "Also, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 205 calculates the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the second obstacle avoidance basic movement vector (0 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s) by 1 and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication maintaining movement vector by 0.5, and decides on the sum as an obstacle avoidance basic movement vector.", "If the mobile object 205 does not fail and if there is no mobile object belonging to an unknown group, the magnitude of the communication restoration vector is 0.Thus, an actual movement vector of the mobile object 205 is the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the main basic movement vector by 0.5 and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the obstacle avoidance basic movement vector by 1, and the mobile object 205 stops at the position.", "However, if the mobile object 205 fails and if a mobile object belonging to an unknown group emerges, the actual movement vector 5405 of the mobile object 205 is the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the main basic movement vector by 0.05, a movement vector obtained by multiplying the obstacle avoidance basic movement vector by 0.1, and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication restoration vector 5225 by 1, and the mobile object 205 moves substantially east-northeastward and mainly performs a communication restoration operation, as illustrated in FIG.", "81.Only the mobile object 207 belongs to the direct communication group of the mobile object 206.Thus, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 206 decides on, as a communication maintaining movement vector, a movement vector having a magnitude of 2.8 m/s and having a direction toward the center position of all the mobile objects belonging to the direct communication group (the position of the mobile object 207).", "Subsequently, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 206 calculates the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the second main basic movement vector (10 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s) by 1 and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication maintaining movement vector by 0.5, and decides on the sum as a main basic movement vector.", "Also, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 206 calculates the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the second obstacle avoidance basic movement vector (0 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s) by 1 and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication maintaining movement vector by 0.5, and decides on the sum as an obstacle avoidance basic movement vector.", "If the mobile object 205 does not fail and if there is no mobile object belonging to an unknown group, the magnitude of the communication restoration vector is 0.Thus, an actual movement vector of the mobile object 206 is the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the main basic movement vector by 0.5 and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the obstacle avoidance basic movement vector by 1, and the mobile object 206 moves substantially east-southeastward.", "However, if the mobile object 205 fails and if a mobile object belonging to an unknown group emerges, the actual movement vector 5406 of the mobile object 206 is the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the main basic movement vector by 0.05, a movement vector obtained by multiplying the obstacle avoidance basic movement vector by 0.1, and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication restoration vector 5326 by 1, and the mobile object 206 moves substantially west-southwestward and mainly performs a communication restoration operation, as illustrated in FIG.", "81.Only the mobile object 206 belongs to the direct communication group of the mobile object 207.Thus, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 207 decides on, as a communication maintaining movement vector, a movement vector having a magnitude of 2.8 m/s and having a direction toward the center position of all the mobile objects belonging to the direct communication group (the position of the mobile object 206).", "Subsequently, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 207 calculates the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the second main basic movement vector (10 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s) by 1 and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication maintaining movement vector by 0.5, and decides on the sum as a main basic movement vector.", "Also, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 207 calculates the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the second obstacle avoidance basic movement vector (0 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s) by 1 and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication maintaining movement vector by 0.5, and decides on the sum as an obstacle avoidance basic movement vector.", "Since the magnitude of the communication restoration vector 5127 is 0, the actual movement vector 5407 of the mobile object 207 is the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the main basic movement vector by 0.5, a movement vector obtained by multiplying the obstacle avoidance basic movement vector by 1, and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication restoration vector by 1.If the mobile object 205 fails, the magnitude of the communication restoration vector 5127 is 0.Thus, even if the mobile object 205 fails and even if a mobile object belonging to an unknown group emerges, the mobile object 207 moves substantially east-northeastward in accordance with the actual movement vector 5407 as illustrated in FIG.", "81, as in the case where the mobile object 205 does not fail and there is no mobile object belonging to an unknown group.", "Thus, direct communication can be maintained and an original purpose can be implemented in a balanced manner.", "In this way, each of the mobile objects 201 to 204, 206, and 207 moves to maintain direct communication, and the mobile objects 204 to 206 move to get together, and thus an attempt to restore communication can be made even if some mobile objects move to get away from each other as in the example illustrated in FIG.", "3.The second technique disclosed in PTL 1 has an issue that all mobile objects are incapable of moving for an original purpose until communication is restored.", "In contrast, in the fourth embodiment of the present disclosure, the mobile objects 201 to 203 and 207 are capable of maintaining direct communication and implementing an original purpose in a balanced manner in the example illustrated in FIG.", "81, for example, and the foregoing issue can be overcome.", "The third technique disclosed in PTL 1 has an issue that a region over which a mobile object group is deployed gradually becomes smaller and all mobile objects are incapable of moving for an original purpose until communication is restored.", "Furthermore, after the communication is restored, the mobile objects need to move again for the original purpose from the positions at the point of time when the communication is restored.", "In contrast, in the fourth embodiment of the present disclosure, the mobile objects 201 to 203 and 207 are capable of maintaining direct communication and implementing an original purpose in a balanced manner in the example illustrated in FIG.", "81, for example, and the foregoing issue can be overcome.", "The fourth technique disclosed in PTL 1 has an issue that, if a selected mobile object moves toward a cutoff position, the communication between the selected mobile object and a mobile object other than a mobile object disconnected from the ad hoc network is cut off, and accordingly the ad hoc network may be secondarily fractured.", "In contrast, in the fourth embodiment of the present disclosure, the mobile objects 204 to 206 move to get together to attempt to restore communication and each of the mobile objects 201 to 204, 206, and 207 moves to maintain direct communication in the example illustrated in FIG.", "81, for example.", "Accordingly, the foregoing issue can be overcome.", "As described above, in the first technique disclosed in PTL 1, if a mobile object disconnected from the ad hoc network moves to restore communication with the ad hoc network but there is no mobile object in the movement direction or if a mobile object moves in a direction of getting away from the mobile object disconnected from the ad hoc network, it is impossible to restore communication, as in the example illustrated in FIG.", "4.In the example illustrated in FIG.", "4, the mobile objects 201 to 206 do not exist in the direction in which the mobile object 207, which has been disconnected from the ad hoc network, moves to restore communication, and the mobile objects 201 to 206 continue to move in a lower-left direction in FIG.", "4.Thus, the mobile object 207 is incapable of approaching the mobile objects 201 to 206 and restoring the direct communication therewith even if the first technique disclosed in PTL 1 is used.", "Furthermore, even if the mobile objects 201 to 206 exist in the direction in which the mobile object 207 moves, the mobile object 207 is incapable of catching up with the mobile objects 201 to 206 and restoring the direct communication with the mobile objects 201 to 206 because the mobile objects 201 to 206 continue to move in a direction of getting away from the mobile object 207.In contrast, in the fourth embodiment of the present disclosure, even if a mobile object disconnected from the ad hoc network moves to restore communication with the ad hoc network but there is no mobile object in the movement direction or even if a mobile object moves in a direction of getting away from the mobile object disconnected from the ad hoc network, as in the example illustrated in FIG.", "4, an attempt to restore communication can be made.", "This will be described below.", "Here, the control unit 602 of each of the mobile objects 201 to 207 decides on, as a target position, the position nearest to the own mobile object among the positions of all the mobile objects belonging to the unknown group.", "Also, the control unit 602 of each of the mobile objects 201 to 207 decides on a communication restoration vector having a direction toward the target position and having a magnitude of 6.4 m/s if the own mobile object is the nearest to the target position among the mobile objects belonging to the known group, and decides on a communication restoration vector having a magnitude of 0 if the own mobile object is not the nearest to the target position.", "Here, the control unit 602 of each of the mobile objects 201 to 207 decides on, as a communication maintaining movement vector, a movement vector having a predetermined magnitude and having a direction toward the center position of all the mobile objects belonging to the direct communication group.", "It is assumed that the magnitude of the communication maintaining movement vector is 2.8 m/s.", "Here, the control unit 602 of each of the mobile objects 201 to 207 multiplies the second main basic movement vector belonging to the second basic movement vector group by 1, multiplies the communication maintaining movement vector by 0.5, which is a value obtained by dividing 1 by the number of movement vectors belonging to the second basic movement vector group, calculates the sum of the movement vectors as calculation results, and decides on the sum as a main basic movement vector.", "Also, the control unit 602 of each of the mobile objects 201 to 207 multiplies the second obstacle avoidance basic movement vector belonging to the second basic movement vector group by 1, multiplies the communication maintaining movement vector by 0.5, which is a value obtained by dividing 1 by the number of movement vectors belonging to the second basic movement vector group, calculates the sum of the movement vectors as calculation results, and decides on the sum as an obstacle avoidance basic movement vector.", "To increase the ratio of a movement for avoiding an obstacle, the control unit 602 of each of the mobile objects 201 to 207 multiplies the main basic movement vector belonging to the basic movement vector group by 0.5, multiplies the obstacle avoidance basic movement vector belonging to the basic movement vector group by 1, and multiplies the communication restoration vector by 1, and then calculates the sum of the movement vectors as calculation results.", "Here, among the movement vectors belonging to the second basic movement vector groups of the mobile objects 201 to 206, the value of the second main basic movement vector is (−6 m/s, −8 m/s, 0 m/s) and the value of the second obstacle avoidance basic movement vector is (0 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s).", "Among the movement vectors belonging to the second basic movement vector group of the mobile object 205, the value of the second main basic movement vector is (0 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s) and the value of the second obstacle avoidance basic movement vector is (0 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s).", "Among the movement vectors belonging to the second basic movement vector group of the mobile object 207, the value of the second main basic movement vector is (10 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s) and the value of the second obstacle avoidance basic movement vector is (0 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s).", "Here, if the magnitude of the communication restoration vector is 0, the control unit 602 of each of the mobile objects 201 to 207 decides on, as an actual movement vector, the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the main basic movement vector by 0.5, a movement vector obtained by multiplying the obstacle avoidance basic movement vector by 1, and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication restoration vector by 1.If the magnitude of the communication restoration vector is not 0, the control unit 602 of each of the mobile objects 201 to 207 decides on, as an actual movement vector, the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the main basic movement vector by 0.05, a movement vector obtained by multiplying the obstacle avoidance basic movement vector by 0.1, and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication restoration vector by 1.FIG.", "82 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of communication restoration vectors that are decided on by the mobile objects 201 to 206 in the situation illustrated in FIG.", "4 in the fourth embodiment of the present disclosure.", "In FIG.", "82, the same elements as those in FIGS.", "1 and 4 are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will not be given.", "As illustrated in FIG.", "82, for each of the mobile objects 201 to 206, the mobile objects belonging to the known group 5501 are the mobile objects 201 to 206, and the mobile object belonging to the unknown group 5502 is the mobile object 207.The control unit 602 of each of the mobile objects 201 to 206 decides on, as the target position 5511, the position of the mobile object 207, which is the nearest to the own mobile object among the positions of all the mobile objects belonging to the unknown group 5502.The control unit 602 of the mobile object 206, which is the nearest to the target position 5511, decides on the communication restoration vector 5526 having a direction toward the target position and having a magnitude of 6.4 m/s.", "The control units 602 of the mobile objects 201 to 205 decide on the communication restoration vectors 5521 to 5525 having a magnitude of 0, respectively.", "FIG.", "83 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of a communication restoration vector of the mobile object 207 in the situation illustrated in FIG.", "4 in the fourth embodiment of the present disclosure.", "In FIG.", "83, the same elements as those in FIGS.", "1 and 4 are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will not be given.", "As illustrated in FIG.", "83, for the mobile object 207, the mobile object belonging to the known group 5601 is the mobile object 207, and the mobile objects belonging to the unknown group 5602 are the mobile objects 201 to 206.The control unit 602 of the mobile object 207 decides on, as the target position 5611, the position 503 immediately before the communication cutoff of the mobile object 206, which is the nearest to the own mobile object among the positions of all the mobile objects belonging to the unknown group 5602.The mobile object 207 is the nearest to the target position 5611, and thus the control unit 602 of the mobile object 207 decides on the communication restoration vector 5627 having a direction toward the target position and having a magnitude of 6.4 m/s.", "FIG.", "84 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of actual movement vectors of the mobile objects 201 to 207 in the situation illustrated in FIG.", "4 in the fourth embodiment of the present disclosure.", "In FIG.", "84, the same elements as those in FIGS.", "1 and 4 are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will not be given.", "Only the mobile object 202 belongs to the direct communication group of the mobile object 201.Thus, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 201 decides on, as a communication maintaining movement vector, a movement vector having a magnitude of 2.8 m/s and having a direction toward the center position of all the mobile objects belonging to the direct communication group (the position of the mobile object 202).", "Subsequently, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 201 calculates the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the second main basic movement vector (−6 m/s, −8 m/s, 0 m/s) by 1 and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication maintaining movement vector by 0.5, and decides on the sum as a main basic movement vector.", "Also, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 201 calculates the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the second obstacle avoidance basic movement vector (0 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s) by 1 and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication maintaining movement vector by 0.5, and decides on the sum as an obstacle avoidance basic movement vector.", "Since the magnitude of the communication restoration vector 5521 is 0, the actual movement vector 5701 of the mobile object 201 is the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the main basic movement vector by 0.5, a movement vector obtained by multiplying the obstacle avoidance basic movement vector by 1, and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication restoration vector by 1.If the mobile object 205 fails, the magnitude of the communication restoration vector 5521 is 0.Thus, even if the mobile object 205 fails and even if a mobile object belonging to an unknown group emerges, the mobile object 201 moves substantially southwestward in accordance with the actual movement vector 5701 as illustrated in FIG.", "84, as in the case where the mobile object 205 does not fail and there is no mobile object belonging to an unknown group.", "Thus, direct communication can be maintained and an original purpose can be implemented in a balanced manner.", "The mobile objects 201, 203, and 204 belong to the direct communication group of the mobile object 202.Thus, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 202 decides on, as a communication maintaining movement vector, a movement vector having a magnitude of 2.8 m/s and having a direction toward the center position of the mobile objects 201, 203, and 204.Subsequently, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 202 calculates the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the second main basic movement vector (−6 m/s, −8 m/s, 0 m/s) by 1 and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication maintaining movement vector by 0.5, and decides on the sum as a main basic movement vector.", "Also, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 202 calculates the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the second obstacle avoidance basic movement vector (0 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s) by 1 and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication maintaining movement vector by 0.5, and decides on the sum as an obstacle avoidance basic movement vector.", "Since the magnitude of the communication restoration vector 5522 is 0, the actual movement vector 5702 of the mobile object 202 is the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the main basic movement vector by 0.5, a movement vector obtained by multiplying the obstacle avoidance basic movement vector by 1, and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication restoration vector by 1.If the mobile object 205 fails, the magnitude of the communication restoration vector 5522 is 0.Thus, even if the mobile object 205 fails and even if a mobile object belonging to an unknown group emerges, the mobile object 202 moves substantially south-southwestward in accordance with the actual movement vector 5702 as illustrated in FIG.", "84, as in the case where the mobile object 205 does not fail and there is no mobile object belonging to an unknown group.", "Thus, direct communication can be maintained and an original purpose can be implemented in a balanced manner.", "The mobile objects 202 and 204 belong to the direct communication group of the mobile object 203.Thus, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 203 decides on, as a communication maintaining movement vector, a movement vector having a magnitude of 2.8 m/s and having a direction toward the center position of the mobile objects 202 and 204.Subsequently, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 203 calculates the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the second main basic movement vector (−6 m/s, −8 m/s, 0 m/s) by 1 and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication maintaining movement vector by 0.5, and decides on the sum as a main basic movement vector.", "Also, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 203 calculates the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the second obstacle avoidance basic movement vector (0 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s) by 1 and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication maintaining movement vector by 0.5, and decides on the sum as an obstacle avoidance basic movement vector.", "Since the magnitude of the communication restoration vector 5523 is 0, the actual movement vector 5703 of the mobile object 203 is the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the main basic movement vector by 0.5, a movement vector obtained by multiplying the obstacle avoidance basic movement vector by 1, and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication restoration vector by 1.If the mobile object 205 fails, the magnitude of the communication restoration vector 5523 is 0.Thus, even if the mobile object 205 fails and even if a mobile object belonging to an unknown group emerges, the mobile object 203 moves substantially southwestward in accordance with the actual movement vector 5703 as illustrated in FIG.", "84, as in the case where the mobile object 205 does not fail and there is no mobile object belonging to an unknown group.", "Thus, direct communication can be maintained and an original purpose can be implemented in a balanced manner.", "The mobile objects 202 and 203 belong to the direct communication group of the mobile object 204.Thus, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 204 decides on, as a communication maintaining movement vector, a movement vector having a magnitude of 2.8 m/s and having a direction toward the center position of the mobile objects 202 and 203.Subsequently, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 204 calculates the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the second main basic movement vector (−6 m/s, −8 m/s, 0 m/s) by 1 and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication maintaining movement vector by 0.5, and decides on the sum as a main basic movement vector.", "Also, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 204 calculates the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the second obstacle avoidance basic movement vector (0 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s) by 1 and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication maintaining movement vector by 0.5, and decides on the sum as an obstacle avoidance basic movement vector.", "Since the magnitude of the communication restoration vector 5524 is 0, the actual movement vector 5704 of the mobile object 204 is the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the main basic movement vector by 0.5, a movement vector obtained by multiplying the obstacle avoidance basic movement vector by 1, and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication restoration vector by 1.If the mobile object 205 fails, the magnitude of the communication restoration vector 5524 is 0.Thus, even if the mobile object 205 fails and even if a mobile object belonging to an unknown group emerges, the mobile object 204 moves substantially southwestward in accordance with the actual movement vector 5704 as illustrated in FIG.", "84, as in the case where the mobile object 205 does not fail and there is no mobile object belonging to an unknown group.", "Thus, direct communication can be maintained and an original purpose can be implemented in a balanced manner.", "Only the mobile object 204 belongs to the direct communication group of the mobile object 205.Thus, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 205 decides on, as a communication maintaining movement vector, a movement vector having a magnitude of 2.8 m/s and having a direction toward the center position of all the mobile objects belonging to the direct communication group (the position of the mobile object 204).", "Subsequently, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 205 calculates the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the second main basic movement vector (−6 m/s, −8 m/s, 0 m/s) by 1 and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication maintaining movement vector by 0.5, and decides on the sum as a main basic movement vector.", "Also, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 205 calculates the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the second obstacle avoidance basic movement vector (0 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s) by 1 and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication maintaining movement vector by 0.5, and decides on the sum as an obstacle avoidance basic movement vector.", "If the mobile object 205 fails, the magnitude of the communication restoration vector 5525 is 0.Thus, even if the mobile object 205 fails and even if a mobile object belonging to an unknown group emerges, the mobile object 205 moves substantially west-southwestward in accordance with the actual movement vector 5705 as illustrated in FIG.", "84, as in the case where the mobile object 205 does not fail and there is no mobile object belonging to an unknown group.", "Thus, direct communication can be maintained and an original purpose can be implemented in a balanced manner.", "Only the mobile object 205 belongs to the direct communication group of the mobile object 206.Thus, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 206 decides on, as a communication maintaining movement vector, a movement vector having a magnitude of 2.8 m/s and having a direction toward the center position of all the mobile objects belonging to the direct communication group (the position of the mobile object 205).", "Subsequently, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 206 calculates the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the second main basic movement vector (−6 m/s, −8 m/s, 0 m/s) by 1 and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication maintaining movement vector by 0.5, and decides on the sum as a main basic movement vector.", "Also, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 206 calculates the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the second obstacle avoidance basic movement vector (0 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s) by 1 and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication maintaining movement vector by 0.5, and decides on the sum as an obstacle avoidance basic movement vector.", "If the mobile object 205 does not fail and if there is no mobile object belonging to an unknown group, the magnitude of the communication restoration vector is 0.Thus, an actual movement vector of the mobile object 206 is the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the main basic movement vector by 0.5 and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the obstacle avoidance basic movement vector by 1, and the mobile object 206 moves substantially west-southwestward.", "However, if the mobile object 205 fails and if a mobile object belonging to an unknown group emerges, the actual movement vector 5706 of the mobile object 206 is the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the main basic movement vector by 0.05, a movement vector obtained by multiplying the obstacle avoidance basic movement vector by 0.1, and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication restoration vector 5526 by 1, and the mobile object 206 moves substantially northeastward and mainly performs a communication restoration operation, as illustrated in FIG.", "84.There is no mobile object belonging to the direct communication group of the mobile object 207.Thus, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 207 decides on a communication maintaining movement vector having a magnitude of 0.Subsequently, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 207 calculates the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the second main basic movement vector (10 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s) by 1 and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication maintaining movement vector by 0.5, and decides on the sum as a main basic movement vector.", "Also, the control unit 602 of the mobile object 207 calculates the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the second obstacle avoidance basic movement vector (0 m/s, 0 m/s, 0 m/s) by 1 and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication maintaining movement vector by 0.5, and decides on the sum as an obstacle avoidance basic movement vector.", "If the mobile object 205 does not fail and if there is no mobile object belonging to an unknown group, the magnitude of the communication restoration vector is 0.Thus, an actual movement vector of the mobile object 207 is the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the main basic movement vector by 0.5 and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the obstacle avoidance basic movement vector by 1, and the mobile object 207 moves substantially eastward.", "However, if the mobile object 205 fails and if a mobile object belonging to an unknown group emerges, the actual movement vector 5707 of the mobile object 207 is the sum of a movement vector obtained by multiplying the main basic movement vector by 0.05, a movement vector obtained by multiplying the obstacle avoidance basic movement vector by 0.1, and a movement vector obtained by multiplying the communication restoration vector 5627 by 1, and the mobile object 207 moves substantially westward and mainly performs a communication restoration operation, as illustrated in FIG.", "84.In this way, the mobile objects 201 to 205 move to maintain direct communication and the mobile objects 206 and 207 move to get together.", "Thus, even if a mobile object disconnected from the ad hoc network moves to restore communication with the ad hoc network but there is no mobile object in the movement direction or even if a mobile object moves in a direction of getting away from the mobile object disconnected from the ad hoc network, as in the example illustrated in FIG.", "4, an attempt to restore communication can be made.", "The second technique disclosed in PTL 1 has an issue that all mobile objects are incapable of moving for an original purpose until communication is restored.", "In contrast, in the fourth embodiment of the present disclosure, the mobile objects 201 to 205 are capable of maintaining direct communication and implementing an original purpose in a balanced manner in the example illustrated in FIG.", "84, for example, and the foregoing issue can be overcome.", "The third technique disclosed in PTL 1 has an issue that a region over which a mobile object group is deployed gradually becomes smaller and all mobile objects are incapable of moving for an original purpose until communication is restored.", "Furthermore, after the communication is restored, the mobile objects need to move again for the original purpose from the positions at the point of time when the communication is restored.", "In contrast, in the fourth embodiment of the present disclosure, the mobile objects 201 to 205 are capable of maintaining direct communication and implementing an original purpose in a balanced manner in the example illustrated in FIG.", "84, for example, and the foregoing issue can be overcome.", "The fourth technique disclosed in PTL 1 has an issue that, if a selected mobile object moves toward a cutoff position, the communication between the selected mobile object and a mobile object other than a mobile object disconnected from the ad hoc network is cut off, and accordingly the ad hoc network may be secondarily fractured.", "In contrast, in the fourth embodiment of the present disclosure, the mobile objects 206 and 207 move to get together to attempt to restore communication, and the mobile objects 201 to 205 move to maintain direct communication in the example illustrated in FIG.", "84, for example.", "Accordingly, the foregoing issue can be overcome.", "In the fourth embodiment of the present disclosure, a target position is decided on in step S6112 every time before a communication restoration vector is decided on in step S6114, as long as there is a mobile object belonging to an unknown group.", "Alternatively, in a second configuration of the fourth embodiment, a target position may be decided on only if a mobile object belonging to the unknown group is changed.", "In the second configuration of the fourth embodiment, a target position is decided on only if a mobile object belonging to the unknown group is changed, and thus the processing efficiency can be enhanced.", "In the fourth embodiment of the present disclosure, it is determined in step S6110 whether or not there is a mobile object belonging to an unknown group, and if there is a mobile object belonging to an unknown group, steps S6111 to S6114 are performed to decide on a communication restoration vector having a magnitude that is not 0.Alternatively, in a third configuration of the fourth embodiment, the time when step S6111 is performed for the first time may be stored, and if a restoration period longer than 0 elapses from the time, the magnitude of the communication restoration vector may be set to 0 (step S6117) and the process may proceed to step S6115 without performing steps S6111 to S6114 even if there is a mobile object belonging to the unknown group.", "The value of the restoration period may be a constant or may be a value that is dynamically decided on when an actual process is performed.", "In the third configuration of the fourth embodiment, if restoration of communication is not completed within the restoration period, the operation for restoration is stopped.", "Thus, a situation can be prevented from occurring where a communication restoration operation is endlessly performed.", "In the third configuration of the fourth embodiment, the time when step S6111 is performed for the first time may be reset at an appropriate timing after the restoration period elapses, so that the process in steps S6111 to S6114 can be performed again.", "The appropriate timing may be, for example, when a mobile object belonging to the unknown group is changed or when a predetermined period further elapses (a fourth configuration of the fourth embodiment).", "In the fourth configuration of the fourth embodiment, if a predetermined condition is satisfied after the restoration period elapses, the communication restoration operation can be retried.", "In the fourth embodiment of the present disclosure, it is determined in step S6110 whether or not there is a mobile object belonging to an unknown group, and if there is a mobile object belonging to an unknown group, steps S6111 to S6114 are performed to decide on a communication restoration vector having a magnitude that is not 0.In a fifth configuration of the fourth embodiment, if a mobile object reaches a position where the distance to a target position is equal to or less than a movement stop determination distance, the magnitude of the communication restoration vector may be set to 0 (step S6117) and the process may proceed to step S6115 without performing steps S6111 to S6114, even if there is a mobile object belonging to an unknown group.", "The value of the movement stop determination distance may be a constant or may be a value that is dynamically decided on when an actual process is performed.", "In the fifth configuration of the fourth embodiment, if restoration of communication is not completed even if the mobile object reaches the position where the distance to the target position is equal to or less than the movement stop determination distance, the operation for restoration is stopped.", "Thus, a situation can be prevented from occurring where a communication restoration operation is endlessly performed.", "In the fifth configuration of the fourth embodiment, after the mobile object reaches the position where the distance to the target position is equal to or less than the movement stop determination distance, the magnitude of the communication restoration vector may be set to 0 (step S6117) and the process may proceed to step S6115 without performing steps S6111 to S6114, until a mobile object belonging to the unknown group is changed (a sixth configuration of the fourth embodiment).", "In the sixth configuration of the fourth embodiment, if the mobile object reaches the position where the distance to the target position is equal to or less than the movement stop determination distance and then moves away to a position where the distance to the target position exceeds the movement stop determination distance, a communication restoration operation may be started again, so that a situation can be prevented from occurring where a communication restoration operation and a movement for an original purpose are alternately repeated.", "In the fourth embodiment of the present disclosure, it is determined in step S6110 whether or not there is a mobile object belonging to an unknown group, and if there is a mobile object belonging to an unknown group, steps S6111 to S6114 are performed to decide on a communication restoration vector having a magnitude that is not 0.In a seventh configuration of the fourth embodiment, a second movement stop determination distance is calculated by multiplying the distance from a specific position to a target position by a movement stop determination coefficient.", "If the mobile object reaches a position where the distance to the target position is equal to or less than the second movement stop determination distance, the magnitude of the communication restoration vector may be set to 0 (step S6117) and the process may proceed to step S6115 without performing steps S6111 to S6114, even if there is a mobile object belonging to the unknown group.", "The value of the second movement stop determination coefficient may be a constant or may be a value that is dynamically decided on when an actual process is performed.", "In the seventh configuration of the fourth embodiment, if restoration of communication is not completed even if the mobile object reaches the position where the distance to the target position is equal to or less than the second movement stop determination distance, the operation for restoration is stopped.", "Thus, a situation can be prevented from occurring where a communication restoration operation is endlessly performed.", "In the seventh configuration of the fourth embodiment, after the mobile object reaches the position where the distance to the target position is equal to or less than the second movement stop determination distance, the magnitude of the communication restoration vector may be set to 0 (step S6117) and the process may proceed to step S6115 without performing steps S6111 to S6114, until a mobile object belonging to the unknown group is changed (an eighth configuration of the fourth embodiment).", "In the eighth configuration of the fourth embodiment, if the mobile object reaches the position where the distance to the target position is equal to or less than the second movement stop determination distance and then moves away to a position where the distance to the target position exceeds the second movement stop determination distance, a communication restoration operation may be started again, so that a situation can be prevented from occurring where a communication restoration operation and a movement for an original purpose are alternately repeated.", "In the fourth embodiment of the present disclosure, it is determined in step S6110 whether or not there is a mobile object belonging to an unknown group, and if there is a mobile object belonging to an unknown group, steps S6111 to S6114 are performed to decide on a communication restoration vector having a magnitude that is not 0.In a ninth configuration of the fourth embodiment, when the mobile object reaches the target position, the magnitude of the communication restoration vector may be set to 0 (step S6117) and the process may proceed to step S6115 without performing steps S6111 to S6114, even if there is a mobile object belonging to the unknown group.", "In the ninth configuration of the fourth embodiment, if restoration of communication is not completed even if the mobile object reaches the target position, the operation for restoration is stopped.", "Thus, a situation can be prevented from occurring where a communication restoration operation is endlessly performed.", "In the ninth configuration of the fourth embodiment, after the mobile object reaches the target position, the magnitude of the communication restoration vector may be set to 0 (step S6117) and the process may proceed to step S6115 without performing steps S6111 to S6114, until a mobile object belonging to the unknown group is changed (a tenth configuration of the fourth embodiment).", "In the tenth configuration of the fourth embodiment, if the mobile object reaches the target position and then moves away from the target position, a communication restoration operation may be started again, so that a situation can be prevented from occurring where a communication restoration operation and a movement for an original purpose are alternately repeated.", "In the third to tenth configurations of the fourth embodiment of the present disclosure, at the time of performing step S6110, in order to stop a communication restoration operation when the conditions described above regarding the individual configurations are satisfied, the magnitude of the communication restoration vector may be set to 0 (step S6117), and when the process proceeds to step S6115 without performing steps S6111 to S6114, the mobile objects belonging to the known group may be specified again as a component group, thereby dividing the ad hoc network (an eleventh configuration of the fourth embodiment).", "In the eleventh configuration of the fourth embodiment, each mobile object belonging to the known group is capable of avoiding endless repetition of stop and restart of a communication restoration operation by restarting the communication restoration operation for the unknown group for which restoration of communication has failed.", "In the third to tenth configurations of the fourth embodiment of the present disclosure, at the time of performing step S6110, in order to stop a communication restoration operation when the conditions described above regarding the individual configurations are satisfied, the magnitude of the communication restoration vector may be set to 0 (step S6117), and when the process proceeds to step S6115 without performing steps S6111 to S6114, a division notification indicating that the ad hoc network is to be divided may be transmitted to all the mobile objects belonging to the known group other than the own mobile object (a twelfth configuration of the fourth embodiment).", "When a division notification is received from another mobile object, the magnitude of the communication restoration vector may be set to 0 (step S6117), and the process may proceed to step S6115 without performing steps S6111 to S6114 even if there is a mobile object belonging to the unknown group in step S6110.Accordingly, the communication restoration operation is stopped and the mobile objects belonging to the known group at the time are specified again as a component group, thereby dividing the ad hoc network.", "In the twelfth configuration of the fourth embodiment, each mobile object belonging to the known group is capable of specifying the same component group and is also capable of avoiding endless repetition of stop and restart of a communication restoration operation by restarting the communication restoration operation for the unknown group for which restoration of communication has failed.", "In the third to tenth configurations of the fourth embodiment of the present disclosure, at the time of performing step S6110, in order to stop a communication restoration operation when the conditions described above regarding the individual configurations are satisfied, the magnitude of the communication restoration vector may be set to 0 (step S6117), and when the process proceeds to step S6115 without performing steps S6111 to S6114, known group information specifying the mobile objects belonging to the known group may be transmitted to all the mobile objects belonging to the known group other than the own mobile object (a thirteenth configuration of the fourth embodiment).", "When known group information is received from another mobile object, the magnitude of the communication restoration vector may be set to 0 (step S6117), and the process may proceed to step S6115 without performing steps S6111 to S6114 even if there is a mobile object belonging to the unknown group in step S6110.Accordingly, the communication restoration operation is stopped and the mobile objects specified by the known group information are specified again as a component group, thereby dividing the ad hoc network.", "In the thirteenth configuration of the fourth embodiment, each mobile object belonging to the known group is capable of reliably specifying the same component group without being affected by a time lag in communication and is also capable of avoiding endless repetition of stop and restart of a communication restoration operation by restarting the communication restoration operation for the unknown group for which restoration of communication has failed.", "In the present disclosure, all or some of the units, apparatuses, members, or portions, or all or some of functional blocks in the block diagrams in the drawings may be implemented by one or a plurality of electronic circuits including a semiconductor device, a semiconductor integrated circuit (IC), or a large scale integration (LSI).", "The LSI or IC may be integrated into a single chip or may be formed by combining a plurality of chips.", "For example, functional blocks other than a storage element may be integrated into a single chip.", "Although the LSI or IC is used here, an integrated circuit having another degree of integration may be used, for example, a system LSI, a very large scale integration (VLSI), or an ultra large scale integration (ULSI).", "A field programmable gate array (FPGA), which is programmed after manufacturing of the LSI, or a reconfigurable logic device, which is capable of reconfiguring the connection relationship in the LSI or setting up circuit sections in the LSI, can also be used for the same purpose.", "Furthermore, the functions or operations of all or some of the units, apparatuses, members, or portions can be implemented by software processing.", "In this case, software is recorded on one or a plurality of non-transitory recording media, such as a ROM, an optical disc, or a hard disk drive.", "When the software is executed by a processor, a function specified by the software is executed by the processor and a peripheral device.", "A system or apparatus may include one or a plurality of non-transitory recording media including the software recorded thereon, a processor, and a necessary hardware device, for example, an interface.", "An autonomous mobile robot and a movement control method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure are useful as an autonomous mobile robot and a movement control method for the autonomous mobile robot in which the autonomous mobile robot and a communication-partner autonomous mobile robot eventually move in cooperation with each other, both restoration of communication with the communication-partner autonomous mobile robot and a movement of the autonomous mobile robot for an original purpose can be achieved, and the autonomous mobile robot autonomously moves." ] ]
Patent_15872953
[ [ "Systems And Methods For Enhancing The Visibility Of Medical Items", "Systems and methods make medical items more visible during a medical procedure.", "An example medical item includes an absorbent material adapted to absorb fluid during a medical procedure, the absorbent material having an outer surface that reflects one or more first wavelengths of light to provide the absorbent material with one or more first colors.", "The medical item may include one or more enhancing materials disposed on at least one portion of the outer surface of the absorbent material, the one or more enhancing materials reflecting or emitting one or more second wavelengths to provide the enhancing materials with one or more second colors.", "Alternatively, an enhancing device is coupled to the absorbent material, the enhancing device reflecting or emitting one or more second wavelengths, the one or more second wavelengths being different from the one or more first wavelengths of the absorbent material." ], [ "1-20.", "(canceled) 21.A medical item, comprising: a mass of absorbent material having a shape, the mass of absorbent material being adapted to absorb fluid during a medical procedure; a bead having a plurality of sides, each of the plurality of sides having a label disposed thereon, the label being configured to identify the medical item as a particular one of a set of medical items; and a tether coupling the bead to the mass of absorbent material.", "22.The medical item of claim 21, wherein the plurality of sides includes six sides.", "23.The medical item of claim 22, wherein the label includes a number from a set of numbers, each of the numbers in the set of numbers corresponding to a single one of the medical items in the set of medical items.", "24.The medical item of claim 21, wherein the bead includes acrylic configured to repel fluid, thereby aiding in making the bead visible during use of the medical item during a surgical procedure.", "25.The medical item of claim 21, wherein the mass of absorbent material is a sponge.", "26.The medical item of claim 21, wherein the mass of absorbent material is a towel.", "27.The medical item of claim 21, wherein the tether includes a reflective material.", "28.The medical item of claim 21, wherein the tether is configured to reflect or emit one or more wavelengths of light to provide the tether one or more colors.", "29.The medical item of claim 28, wherein the one or more wavelengths are between approximately 485 nm to approximately 590 nm.", "30.The medical item of claim 29, wherein the mass of absorbent material has an outer surface that reflects one or more second wavelengths of light to provide the mass of absorbent material one or more second colors that are different than the one or more colors of the tether.", "31.The medical item of claim 21, further comprising a pair of separate and distinct strips of enhancing material coupled to the mass of absorbent material, the pair of separate and distinct strips of enhancing material reflecting or emitting one or more wavelengths to provide the pair of separate and distinct strips of enhancing material with one or more colors, the one or more wavelengths being between approximately 485 nm to approximately 590 nm.", "32.The medical item of claim 31, wherein the pair of separate and distinct strips of enhancing material includes silicone and is configured to repel the fluid such that the pair of separate and distinct strips of enhancing material continues to reflect or emit the one or more colors when the pair of separate and distinct strips of enhancing material is exposed to fluid." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND <EOH>Surgical procedures involve the use of many instruments and supplies.", "Despite existing protocols that are supposed to account for medical items before, during, and after each surgical procedure, surgical teams still lose track of medical items used during the procedure and leave medical items in the patient after the procedure is complete.", "Foreign objects that remain in the body after surgery may cause considerable post-operative pain, injure other anatomic structures, and/or cause infection or other foreign body reactions.", "Studies and government data indicate that a surgical instrument is inadvertently left in a patient between 4,500 and 6,000 times a year in the United States alone.", "Medical items are left behind in about 1 out of every 5,500 procedures, according to a 2014 study published by the Journal of the American College of Surgeons.", "Sponges, difficult to detect once saturated with blood, account for more than two-thirds of such incidents.", "Due to the risks of such complications and associated financial/malpractice liabilities, most medical facilities must employ extensive positive control protocols to account for all medical items in the surgical environment before the patient is closed.", "These processes must account for all items that are used by the surgical team, including all surgical instruments, scalpels, knives, other hardware, containers, and absorbent items, such as sponges and towels.", "The location of each article that enters the surgical field must be positively controlled before, during, and after the medical procedure.", "In a typical surgical procedure, 20 to 300 medical items are used.", "In some surgical procedures, however, up to 600 medical items may be used, thus complicating the task of accounting for each medical items and increasing the risk of misplacing a medical item.", "When the surgeon closes up the patient, the surgical team must positively identify the location of each item used during the surgical procedure.", "If a particular medical item cannot be accounted for, a search for the item is required, resulting in costly delays.", "Additional equipment, such as x-ray machines, may be required to x-ray the patient to determine if the medical item remains in the patient.", "Even when x-ray equipment is used, medical items can be missed in the x-ray photograph.", "If the medical item indeed remains in the patient, the patient must be reopened to retrieve the medical item.", "During this search, the patient must remain under anesthesia, extending beyond the planned duration for the medical procedure.", "The occasion for search and the need for x-ray equipment translate to extra costs to patients and insurance companies.", "Furthermore, such incidents require the submission of time-consuming incident reports by members of the surgical team and costly administrative review." ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY <EOH>Aspects of the present invention provide systems and methods to make medical items more visible in or around a surgical environment, which may include the patient, the area around the patient, the operating table, supply tables, the operating room, etc.", "The enhanced visibility makes it easier to account for medical items so that they are not misplaced or left in the patient.", "The systems and methods described herein reduce the time, expense, and risk associated with accounting for all medical items used in any type of medical procedure, such as surgery.", "In one embodiment, a medical item includes an absorbent material, the absorbent material being adapted to absorb fluid during a medical procedure, the absorbent material having an outer surface that reflects one or more first wavelengths of light to provide the absorbent material one or more first colors.", "The medical item also includes one or more enhancing materials disposed on at least one portion of the outer surface of the absorbent material, the one or more enhancing materials reflecting or emitting one or more second wavelengths to provide the enhancing materials with one or more second colors, the one or more second wavelengths being different from the one or more first wavelengths of the absorbent material.", "In some cases, the one or more enhancing materials may repel the fluid, such that the one or more enhancing materials continue to reflect or emit the one or more second colors when the one or more enhancing materials are exposed to the fluid.", "For example, the one or enhancing materials may include silicone, the silicone repelling the fluid.", "The silicone may be applied to the absorbent material in a pattern with openings through which the fluid can pass to be absorbed by the absorbent material.", "In other cases, the one or more enhancing materials may include one or more strips that are applied to the outer surface of the absorbent material.", "The one or more strips may include a non-linear shape disposed along an edge of the absorbent material.", "In yet other cases, the one or more enhancing materials may include a fluorescent, luminescent, photo-luminescent, or phosphorescent material.", "In further cases, the one or more enhancing materials include a reflective metallic material.", "In yet further cases, the one or more second wavelengths may be between approximately 485 nm to approximately 590 nm.", "In yet other cases, the one or more second wavelengths provide infrared light.", "In some cases, the one or more enhancing materials may include a mesh material that encloses the absorbent material, the mesh including openings that through which the fluid can pass to be absorbed by the absorbent material.", "In other cases, the one or more enhancing materials are applied to the absorbent material as a frame structure disposed along edges of the absorbent material.", "In another embodiment, a medical item includes an absorbent material, the absorbent material being adapted to absorb fluid during a medical procedure, the absorbent material having an outer surface that reflects one or more first wavelengths of light to provide the absorbent material one or more first colors.", "The medical item includes an enhancing device coupled to the absorbent material, the enhancing device reflecting or emitting one or more second wavelengths, the one or more second wavelengths being different from the one or more first wavelengths of the absorbent material.", "In some cases, the enhancing device includes a light device that includes a light source emitting the one or more second wavelengths.", "The light device may further include a liquid-tight housing including the light source, a battery, and a switch electrically coupled together in a circuit, the switch being selectively operable to deliver power from the battery to the light source and activate the light source to emit the one or more second wavelengths.", "The light device may emit pulsed light.", "In other cases, the one or more second wavelengths are not in the visible spectrum and can only be seen through a camera or viewer.", "For example, the one or more second wavelengths may provide infrared light.", "In yet other cases, the enhancing device may include a bead with a label uniquely assigned to the surgical item.", "In further cases, the enhancing device may include a tether that extends from the absorbent material." ], [ "CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims priority to U.S.", "Provisional Patent Application No.", "61/859,183, filed Jul.", "27, 2013, and U.S.", "Provisional Patent Application No.", "61/969,258, filed Mar.", "23, 2014, the contents of these applications being incorporated entirely herein by reference.", "FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates generally to medical items, and more particularly, to systems and methods for enhancing the visibility of medical items, such as surgical sponges, towels, and instruments, during a medical procedure, such as surgery.", "BACKGROUND Surgical procedures involve the use of many instruments and supplies.", "Despite existing protocols that are supposed to account for medical items before, during, and after each surgical procedure, surgical teams still lose track of medical items used during the procedure and leave medical items in the patient after the procedure is complete.", "Foreign objects that remain in the body after surgery may cause considerable post-operative pain, injure other anatomic structures, and/or cause infection or other foreign body reactions.", "Studies and government data indicate that a surgical instrument is inadvertently left in a patient between 4,500 and 6,000 times a year in the United States alone.", "Medical items are left behind in about 1 out of every 5,500 procedures, according to a 2014 study published by the Journal of the American College of Surgeons.", "Sponges, difficult to detect once saturated with blood, account for more than two-thirds of such incidents.", "Due to the risks of such complications and associated financial/malpractice liabilities, most medical facilities must employ extensive positive control protocols to account for all medical items in the surgical environment before the patient is closed.", "These processes must account for all items that are used by the surgical team, including all surgical instruments, scalpels, knives, other hardware, containers, and absorbent items, such as sponges and towels.", "The location of each article that enters the surgical field must be positively controlled before, during, and after the medical procedure.", "In a typical surgical procedure, 20 to 300 medical items are used.", "In some surgical procedures, however, up to 600 medical items may be used, thus complicating the task of accounting for each medical items and increasing the risk of misplacing a medical item.", "When the surgeon closes up the patient, the surgical team must positively identify the location of each item used during the surgical procedure.", "If a particular medical item cannot be accounted for, a search for the item is required, resulting in costly delays.", "Additional equipment, such as x-ray machines, may be required to x-ray the patient to determine if the medical item remains in the patient.", "Even when x-ray equipment is used, medical items can be missed in the x-ray photograph.", "If the medical item indeed remains in the patient, the patient must be reopened to retrieve the medical item.", "During this search, the patient must remain under anesthesia, extending beyond the planned duration for the medical procedure.", "The occasion for search and the need for x-ray equipment translate to extra costs to patients and insurance companies.", "Furthermore, such incidents require the submission of time-consuming incident reports by members of the surgical team and costly administrative review.", "SUMMARY Aspects of the present invention provide systems and methods to make medical items more visible in or around a surgical environment, which may include the patient, the area around the patient, the operating table, supply tables, the operating room, etc.", "The enhanced visibility makes it easier to account for medical items so that they are not misplaced or left in the patient.", "The systems and methods described herein reduce the time, expense, and risk associated with accounting for all medical items used in any type of medical procedure, such as surgery.", "In one embodiment, a medical item includes an absorbent material, the absorbent material being adapted to absorb fluid during a medical procedure, the absorbent material having an outer surface that reflects one or more first wavelengths of light to provide the absorbent material one or more first colors.", "The medical item also includes one or more enhancing materials disposed on at least one portion of the outer surface of the absorbent material, the one or more enhancing materials reflecting or emitting one or more second wavelengths to provide the enhancing materials with one or more second colors, the one or more second wavelengths being different from the one or more first wavelengths of the absorbent material.", "In some cases, the one or more enhancing materials may repel the fluid, such that the one or more enhancing materials continue to reflect or emit the one or more second colors when the one or more enhancing materials are exposed to the fluid.", "For example, the one or enhancing materials may include silicone, the silicone repelling the fluid.", "The silicone may be applied to the absorbent material in a pattern with openings through which the fluid can pass to be absorbed by the absorbent material.", "In other cases, the one or more enhancing materials may include one or more strips that are applied to the outer surface of the absorbent material.", "The one or more strips may include a non-linear shape disposed along an edge of the absorbent material.", "In yet other cases, the one or more enhancing materials may include a fluorescent, luminescent, photo-luminescent, or phosphorescent material.", "In further cases, the one or more enhancing materials include a reflective metallic material.", "In yet further cases, the one or more second wavelengths may be between approximately 485 nm to approximately 590 nm.", "In yet other cases, the one or more second wavelengths provide infrared light.", "In some cases, the one or more enhancing materials may include a mesh material that encloses the absorbent material, the mesh including openings that through which the fluid can pass to be absorbed by the absorbent material.", "In other cases, the one or more enhancing materials are applied to the absorbent material as a frame structure disposed along edges of the absorbent material.", "In another embodiment, a medical item includes an absorbent material, the absorbent material being adapted to absorb fluid during a medical procedure, the absorbent material having an outer surface that reflects one or more first wavelengths of light to provide the absorbent material one or more first colors.", "The medical item includes an enhancing device coupled to the absorbent material, the enhancing device reflecting or emitting one or more second wavelengths, the one or more second wavelengths being different from the one or more first wavelengths of the absorbent material.", "In some cases, the enhancing device includes a light device that includes a light source emitting the one or more second wavelengths.", "The light device may further include a liquid-tight housing including the light source, a battery, and a switch electrically coupled together in a circuit, the switch being selectively operable to deliver power from the battery to the light source and activate the light source to emit the one or more second wavelengths.", "The light device may emit pulsed light.", "In other cases, the one or more second wavelengths are not in the visible spectrum and can only be seen through a camera or viewer.", "For example, the one or more second wavelengths may provide infrared light.", "In yet other cases, the enhancing device may include a bead with a label uniquely assigned to the surgical item.", "In further cases, the enhancing device may include a tether that extends from the absorbent material.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG.", "1 illustrates an example sponge/towel with a highly visible colored surface, according to aspects of the present invention.", "FIG.", "2 illustrates an example sponge/towel with highly visible colored strips, according to aspects of the present invention.", "FIG.", "3 illustrates an example sponge/towel with highly visible colored strips with distinguishable structural features, according to aspects of the present invention.", "FIG.", "4 illustrates an example sponge/towel coupled to highly visible beads with a tether, according to aspects of the present invention.", "FIG.", "5 illustrates an example sponge/towel with a highly visible a foam-based structure disposed along the periphery of the sponge/towel, according to aspects of the present invention.", "FIG.", "6 illustrates an example sponge/towel with a silicone (or similar) material applied to the outer surface of the sponge/towel in a visually distinctive pattern, according to aspects of the present invention.", "FIG.", "7 illustrates an example sponge/towel with a silicone (or similar) material applied to the outer surface of the sponge/towel in another visually distinctive pattern, according to aspects of the present invention.", "FIG.", "8 illustrates an example sponge/towel enclosed in a highly visible plastic mesh, according to aspects of the present invention FIG.", "9 is an example sponge/towel with a highly visible tether, according to aspects of the present invention.", "FIG.", "10 illustrates an example sponge/towel with a light device that makes the sponge/towel easy to locate, according to aspects of the present invention.", "FIG.", "11 illustrates a circuit diagram of the light device of FIG.", "10.FIG.", "12 illustrates other example medical items, each with a light device that makes the medical item easy to locate, according to aspects of the present invention.", "FIG.", "13 illustrates an example tray for storing and tracking medical items, according to aspects of the present invention.", "While the invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, a specific embodiment thereof has been shown by way of example in the drawings and will herein be described in detail.", "It should be understood, however, that it is not intended to limit the invention to the particular forms disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit of the invention.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION Aspects of the present invention provide systems and methods to make medical items more visible in or around a surgical environment, which may include the patient, the area around the patient, the operating table, supply tables, the operating room, etc.", "The enhanced visibility makes it easier to account for medical items so that they are not misplaced or left in the patient.", "The systems and methods described herein reduce the time, expense, and risk associated with accounting for all medical items used in any type of medical procedure, such as surgery.", "In some embodiments, the medical items include highly visible colors (e.g., bright colors), patterns, labels (e.g., alphanumeric labels), images, shapes, structures, and/or materials (e.g., light-emitting material).", "Such highly visible features can be provided on any aspect of the medical items and are distinguishable from the other colors, shapes, patterns, etc., seen within the typical surgical environment.", "For example, the colors or patterns chosen for the highly visible features do not typically appear in nature.", "In some cases, the highly visible features can be detected by the naked eye, i.e., the features emit or reflect light in the visible spectrum (wavelengths from approximately 390 nm to approximately 700 nm).", "In other cases, the highly visible features can be detected when exposed to a particular light source, such as infrared light.", "In other embodiments, silicone material or the like may be applied to the medical items to repel any fluid, such as blood, and prevent the highly visible features from being soaked with fluid that may obscure their visibility.", "Absorbent medical items, such as sponges, towels, pads, cotton balls, drapes and gauze, are difficult to detect once saturated with blood.", "As such, the systems and methods described herein are particularly advantageous when applied to absorbent medical items.", "In further embodiments, an extra structure formed from foam, plastic, etc., is applied or coupled to the medical items to provide highly visible colors, patterns, labels, images, shapes, etc.", "In yet other embodiments, the medical items include a light source that makes the medical items more visible.", "The light source may be combined with other highly visible colors (e.g., bright colors), patterns, labels, images, shapes, structures, and/or materials.", "The light source may emit a continuous light or a pulsed/strobe light.", "In some cases, the light source may be visible to the naked eye.", "In other cases, the light source may emit a light (e.g., an infrared light) that is only visible with a camera or viewer, so that the light source does not interfere with the surgical procedure.", "In general, embodiments enhance the visibility of medical items without affecting their functionality.", "For example, silicone material may be selectively applied to a sponge or towel to repel any fluid, e.g., blood, from the highly visible features, e.g., areas of highly visible color, while allowing the rest of the sponge or towel to absorb fluid as required.", "In addition, it is understood that the embodiments are formed from any combination of materials that are non-toxic, non-abrasive, and safe/suitable for use during a surgical procedure.", "FIG.", "1 illustrates an example sponge/towel 10 that includes one or more layers of absorbent material 12, e.g., a gauze-like or open-mesh fabric, such as woven cotton, or a nonwoven material.", "Although the sponge/towel 10 shown in FIG.", "1 and other example embodiments described herein may be generally rectangular, it understood that the medical items according to aspects of the present invention may have any desired shape, e.g., circular, square, ovoid, etc.", "In contrast to the conventional white or near-white sponge/towel 1 also shown in FIG.", "1, the sponge/towel 10 has a highly visible colored surface 14.The colored surface 14 may have one or more bright colors.", "Some bright colors are provided, for example, by light having any subset of wavelengths between approximately 485 nm (blue-green) to approximately 590 nm (yellow-orange).", "The colored surface 14 allows a surgical team to locate the sponge/towel 10 more easily, because the sponge/towel 10 does not blend visibly against the features/parts of the human body or other aspects of the surgical environment.", "In some embodiments, the absorbent material 12 is dyed with the highly visible color to provide the colored surface 14.In other embodiments, the absorbent material 12 is coated or otherwise covered with a material having a highly visible color to provide the colored surface 14.In general, the highly visible colors may be applied to the absorbent material 12 utilizing any variety of processes, including, but not limited to, spraying, immersion, painting, roll coating, flow coating, etc.", "Furthermore, it is understood that different types of materials may employed to produce the highly visible colors.", "FIG.", "2 shows an example surgical sponge/towel 20 that includes one or more layers of absorbent material 22, e.g., a gauze-like or open-mesh fabric, such as woven cotton, or a nonwoven material.", "The sponge/towel 20 includes an elongated radio-opaque filament 24 disposed within the one or more layers of absorbent material 22.The filament 24 may be formed from a thermoplastic polymeric material containing a radio-opaque material, such as barium sulfate, so that the sponge/towel 20 can also be detected on an x-ray photograph if necessary.", "The sponge/towel 20 also includes two colored strips 26, 28, which may be secured to outer portions of the absorbent material 22, for example, by adhesive, stitching, or ultrasonic welding.", "The colored strips 26, 28 may, for example, be formed from material that is similar to sail cloth or medical tape.", "The colored strips 26, 28 are highly visible to the naked eye particularly during a surgical procedure.", "The colored strips 26, 28 may have bright colors that stand out particularly in contrast to the color of the absorbent material 22.The colored strips 26, 28 may be the same or different colors.", "For example, the strip 26 may be bright blue and the strip 28 may be bright green.", "Any one of the colored strips 26, 28 may also include a radio-opaque material, such as barium sulfate, such that it may be detected on an x-ray photograph.", "The colored strips 26, 28 also include an outer surface that repels fluid, such as blood, and prevents the colored strips 26, 28 from being soaked with fluid that may obscure their visibility.", "For example, the colored strips 26, 28 may have an outer surface formed from silicone.", "Silicones are inert, synthetic compounds.", "Silicones are polymers that include silicon together with carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and sometimes other elements.", "Typically rubber-like, silicones exhibit many useful characteristics, including low thermal conductivity, low chemical reactivity, low toxicity, and thermal stability.", "Silicones can repel water and form watertight seals.", "They do not stick to many substrates.", "They do not support microbiological growth.", "In addition, they have high gas permeability.", "At room temperature (25° C.), the permeability of silicone for such gases as oxygen is approximately 400 times that of butyl rubber, making silicone useful for medical applications in which increased aeration is desired.", "In other embodiments, the colored strips 26, 28 may not completely repel fluid, but at least reduces the effect that any absorbed fluid may have on the visibility of the colored strips 26, 28, e.g., allows the fluid to be spread over the entire area of the colored strips 26, 28.Although the colored strips 26, 28 may repel fluid, the absorbent material 22 retains its ability to absorb blood and other fluids during surgery.", "In other words, aspects of the present invention of not affect the function of the medical items whose visibility they enhance.", "Additionally, any one of the colored strips 26, 28 may include a light-emitting material.", "As used herein, light-emitting materials refer to any combination of fluorescent, luminescent, photo-luminescent, and/or phosphorescent materials.", "For example, the colored strips 26, 28 may include strontium aluminate as a photo-luminescent material.", "Strontium aluminate is available as a solid odorless, nonflammable, pale yellow powder, heavier than water.", "It is chemically and biologically inert.", "Strontium aluminate produces visible light in a narrow band of wavelengths, thereby limiting the number of colors that can readily be produced.", "Combining pigment with the strontium aluminate allows the photo-luminescent material to excite the pigment.", "As such, the combination produces light in a wavelength that does not correspond to the wavelength of the strontium aluminate, and instead produces light in a color closer to that of the pigment.", "The strontium aluminate and the pigment are held in suspension in a carrier.", "In one embodiment, the carrier is a plastisol, or a suspension of PVC particles in a plasticizer.", "Holding the mixture of the strontium aluminate and the pigment in the carrier allows for an even mixture of the components.", "The photo-luminescent material may be held in the carrier at a ratio from about 10% to about 60% strontium aluminate by weight with the balance being pigment and plastisol.", "This mixture can be applied to the colored strips 26, 28.When activated with a suitable dopant (e.g.", "europium (labeled SrAl2O4:Eu)), it acts as a photo-luminescent phosphor with long persistence of phosphorescence.", "This material may be mixed into silicone to provide a visible product under bright light, day conditions.", "While phosphorescent materials may also be light reflectors, they also act as a source of light.", "Phosphorescent materials typically operate by absorbing a range of radiation wavelengths, converting this radiation to radiation in the visible spectrum and emitting it as light, visible to the eye.", "Phosphorescent materials are those materials that are capable of producing radiation in the visible spectrum for a period of time after the initial absorption of radiation has stopped.", "In other embodiments, the colored strips 26, 28 may include such phosphorescent materials.", "Any portion of the sponge/towel 20 may include a light-emitting material.", "As shown in FIG.", "2, a light-emitting material 29 is provided along the colored strip 26, e.g., as an ornamental design or image, to makes the sponge/towel 20 further visible.", "The light-emitting material 29 may be coated or otherwise applied to the colored strip 26.Alternatively, the light-emitting material 29 may be attached as a separate structure to the colored strip 26.In some embodiments, the colored strips 26, 28 may include photo-luminescent materials that emit infrared light.", "It should be further understood that the descriptions of the light emitting materials and the structure of the surgical sponges and towels are presented as examples only, and that a wide variety of materials may be used to produce the desired light-emitting characteristics that enhance the visibility of the medical items, e.g.", "the sponge/towel 10.Furthermore, any one of the colored strips 26, 28 may include a highly reflective material, such as a metallic material, that effectively reflects light to make the sponge/towel more visible.", "FIG.", "3 shows an example sponge/towel 30 with highly visible structural features.", "Like the sponges/towels above, the sponge/towel 30 includes one or more layers of absorbent material 32 as well as an elongated radio-opaque filament 34 that can be seen in an x-ray photograph.", "The sponge/towel 30 also includes colored strips 36, 38 with highly visible teeth 37, 39, respectively.", "To define opposing edges of the sponge/towel 30, the colored strips 36, 38 may be secured to the absorbent material 32, for example, by adhesive, stitching, or ultrasonic welding.", "The colored strips 36, 38 may, for example, be formed from material that is similar to sail cloth or medical tape.", "The colored strips 36, 38 may have bright light colors that stand out particularly from the color of the absorbent material 32.In addition, the colored strips 36, 38 may include an outer surface that repels fluid, such as blood, and prevents the colored strips 36, 38 from being soaked with the fluid which may obscure their visibility.", "As shown in FIG.", "3, the teeth 37, 39 may be defined, for example, by pointed triangles cut at approximately 90-degrees.", "In combination with the color of the strips 36, 38, the respective teeth 37, 39 provide a distinctive shape that makes the sponge/towel 30 more visible.", "The shape shown in FIG.", "3 is provided as an example; it is understood that other shapes, e.g., other jagged edges, non-jagged edges, curves, etc., may be implemented.", "FIG.", "4 shows an example surgical sponge/towel 40 with a structure to enhance its visibility.", "In particular, the surgical sponge/towel 40 includes a bead 42 with an identifying label 43.The bead 42 may be coupled securely to the sponge/towel 40 by sewing, crimping, riveting, gluing, or other type of fastening.", "For example, the bead 42 may be coupled to the sponge/towel 20 shown in FIG.", "2 in place of the light-emitting material 29.Alternatively, the bead 42 may be placed on a tether 44 coupled securely to the sponge/towel 40.The tether 44 may be formed from a highly visible material (e.g., bright colors, highly reflective material, light-emitting coating, etc.).", "The label 43 provides a number that uniquely identifies the sponge/towel 40.For example, the sponge/towel 40 may be a member of a set of sponges/towels that are labeled with numbers in a particular range.", "The label 43 may be visibly shown from each face of the bead 42.The label 43 facilitates in the accounting of medical items during surgery.", "If a set of sponges/towels labeled with numbers in a particular range, e.g., 1 to 20, are employed during surgery, the surgical team can easily determine that one of the sponges/towels is missing if a sponge/towel with a number in the range, e.g.", "8, is not present at the time of accounting.", "In addition to providing identifying labels, the beads can have a variety of other highly visible characteristics, e.g., bright colors, highly reflective material, light-emitting coating, etc.", "The bead 43 may be formed from a material, such as acrylic, which repels fluid and ensures that the bead 43 remains highly visible.", "Furthermore, the sponge/towel 40 can have other highly visible characteristics, such as colored strips as described above.", "FIG.", "5 illustrates an example sponge/towel 50 coupled to a foam-based structure 56 that makes the sponge/towel 50 highly visible.", "Like the sponges/towels above, the sponge/towel 50 includes one or more layers of absorbent material 52 as well as an elongated radio-opaque filament 54 that can be seen in an x-ray photograph.", "The foam-based structure 56 may be coupled to the sponge/towel 50 according to any technique, including, but not limited to, adhesive bonding, sewing, mechanical fastening, or thermal bonding.", "The foam-based structure 56 may be formed from quantum foam, polyurethane foam (foam rubber), extruded polystyrene (XPS) foam, polystyrene, phenolic foam, or any other similarly suitable foam.", "As shown in FIG.", "5, the foam-based structure 56 fits around the periphery of and frames the sponge/towel 50 at its outer edges.", "The foam-based structure 56 may have bright colors, highly reflective material, light-emitting coating, etc., that stand out particularly from the color of the absorbent material 56.FIG.", "6 illustrates an example sponge/towel 60 with a silicone (or similar) material 66 applied to its outer surface according to a visually distinctive pattern 67.Like the sponges/towels above, the sponge/towel 60 includes one or more layers of absorbent material 62 as well as an elongated radio-opaque filament 64 that can be seen in an x-ray photograph.", "The silicone material 66 is applied to the outer surface of the sponge/towel 60 with a striped pattern 67.The striped pattern 67 provides openings to allow fluid, such as blood, to be absorbed by the absorbent material 62.The silicone 66 may be colored so that the striped pattern 67 may include a highly visible color.", "Accordingly, the striped pattern 67 is visually distinctive and makes the sponge/towel 60 easier to identify during surgery.", "In addition, the silicone advantageously repels fluid and ensures that the striped pattern 67 remains highly visible.", "In alternative embodiments, rather than bonding the silicone 66 to the absorbent material 62, the silicone 66 may form an enclosure into which the absorbent material 62 can be placed.", "FIG.", "7 illustrates an example sponge/towel 70 with a silicone material (or similar material) 76 applied to its outer surface according to another visually distinctive pattern 77.Although the sponge/towel 70 is similar to the sponge/towel 60 in FIG.", "5, the silicone material 76 defines a pattern 77 with circular openings.", "The circular openings to allow fluid, such as blood, to be absorbed by the absorbent material 72.The silicone 76 may be colored so that the areas around the circular openings may have a highly visible color.", "Accordingly, the pattern 77 is visually distinctive and makes the sponge/towel 70 easier to identify during surgery.", "In addition, the silicone advantageously repels fluid and ensures that the pattern 77 remains highly visible.", "In alternative embodiments, rather than bonding the silicone 76 to the absorbent material 72, the silicone 76 may form an enclosure into which the absorbent material 72 can be placed.", "FIG.", "8 illustrates an example sponge/towel 80 with a mesh 86.Like the sponges/towels above, the sponge/towel 80 includes one or more layers of absorbent material 82 as well as an elongated radio-opaque filament 84 that can be seen in an x-ray photograph.", "A thin (e.g., approximately 0.5 mm to approximately 1 mm) plastic mesh material 86 encloses the sponge/towel 80.The mesh 86 may be formed from synthetic or semi-synthetic organic solids that are moldable.", "For example, the mesh 86 may be formed from plastic.", "Mesh openings 87 in the mesh 86 allow fluid, such as blood, to be absorbed by the absorbent material 82.The plastic forming the mesh 86 may be colored so that the mesh 86 may have a highly visible color.", "Accordingly, the sponge/towel 80 is easier to identify during surgery.", "In addition, the plastic advantageously repels fluid and ensures that the mesh 86 remains highly visible.", "FIG.", "9 illustrates an example sponge/towel 90 with a tether 96.Like the sponges/towels above, the sponge/towel 90 includes one or more layers of absorbent material 92 as well as an elongated radio-opaque filament 94 that can be seen in an x-ray photograph.", "The tether 96 is coupled to the absorbent material 92 to make it more visible and easily retrievable.", "The tether 96 is formed from a thin (e.g., approximately 0.5 mm to approximately 1 mm) plastic mesh material 97.The plastic forming the tether 96 may be colored so that the tether 96 has a highly visible color.", "Accordingly, the sponge/towel 90 is easier to identify during surgery.", "In addition, the plastic advantageously repels fluid and ensures that the tether 96 remains highly visible.", "FIG.", "10 illustrates an example sponge/towel 100 with a light device 106.Like the sponges/towels above, the sponge/towel 100 includes one or more layers of absorbent material 102.The light device 104 includes a water-tight housing 105 that contains a light source 106 and a power source 107 (e.g., a lithium battery cell).", "The light source 106 is operated/activated by a switch 108.The light device 104 is coupled to the absorbent material 102 according to any suitable technique 103 (e.g., sewing, adhesive, mechanical fastener, hook and loop fastener, etc.).", "The light source 106 is activated before it is introduced into the surgical environment, thereby making the sponge/towel 100 more visible and easier to identify during surgery.", "FIG.", "11 illustrates an electrical circuit diagram for the light device 104.In some embodiments, the light source 106 emits an infrared light, rather than visible light which may interfere with the ability to conduct the surgical procedure.", "As such, an infrared camera/viewer 110 as shown in FIG.", "10 may be required to see the light source 106 and locate the sponge/towel 100 through a display 102.Accordingly, before the surgical team begins closure, the surgical team scans the surgical field with the infrared camera/viewer 110.Infrared light is electromagnetic radiation with longer wavelengths than those of visible light, extending from the nominal red edge of the visible spectrum at 700 nanometers (nm) to 1 mm.", "This range of wavelengths corresponds to a frequency range of approximately 430 THz down to 300 GHz.", "In further embodiments, the light source 106 may emit a pulsed light, e.g., with an interval setting of 0.5 seconds ON and 1 second OFF.", "As such, the light device 104 may provide an infrared strobe/beacon that is highly visible through the camera/viewer 110.The infrared camera/viewer 110 may use an infrared sensor operating at ambient temperature, or a sensor stabilized at a temperature close to ambient using small temperature control elements.", "Modern uncooled infrared detectors use sensors that work by the change of resistance, voltage or current when heated by infrared radiation.", "These changes are then measured and compared to the values at the operating temperature of the sensor.", "Uncooled infrared sensors can be stabilized to an operating temperature to reduce image noise, but they are not cooled to low temperatures and do not require bulky, expensive cryogenic coolers.", "This makes infrared cameras/viewers smaller and less costly.", "Active infrared vision combines infrared illumination of spectral range 1 nm-1 mm (just below the visible spectrum of the human eye) with cameras sensitive to this light.", "The resulting scene, which is dark to a human observer, appears as an image on a display device.", "Because active infrared vision systems can incorporate illuminators that produce high levels of infrared light, the resulting images are typically higher resolution than other night vision technologies.", "In addition to sponges/towels, it is understood that aspects of the present invention can be employed with other types of medical items, including, but not limited to, instruments, tools, knives, scalpels, other hardware, containers, etc.", "For example, a photo-luminescent material (e.g., emitting light with visible and/or infrared wavelengths) may be applied to these other medical items.", "In an example application, a photo-luminescent material emitting light with infrared wavelengths may be applied to a bandage used in battlefield medicine, where the bandage can be easily identified by an appropriate viewer but may be camouflaged and less detectable to the naked eye, particularly of opposing soldiers.", "As shown in FIG.", "12, for example, other example medical items 120, such as forceps, scalpels, knives, etc., are combined with light devices 124.Like the light device 104 described above, the light devices 124 include a liquid-tight housing that contains a light source and a power source and are operated/activated by a switch.", "The light devices 124 are coupled to the medical items 120 according to any suitable technique (e.g., sewing, adhesive, mechanical fastener, hook and loop fastener, etc.).", "The light sources 124 make the medical items 120 more visible and easier to identify during surgery.", "In addition to employing the systems and methods above to make individual surgical instruments more visible, FIG.", "13 illustrates an example tray 130 that helps the surgical team to account for medical items before the patient is closed.", "The tray 130 receives individual medical items, e.g., sponges or towels, into respective receptacles 132, which may be recesses that keep the medical items in place.", "Each receptacle 132 is colored, e.g., with a fluorescent color, and is labeled with a number 133.The color of the receptacle 132 allows the surgical team to determine more easily that a medical item is disposed in the receptacle 132, particularly after the medical item has been used and is possibly soaked with blood and fluid.", "Furthermore, the numbers 133 in the receptacles 132 facilitate counting of the medical items.", "In addition to providing an approach that collects and accounts for surgical instruments after a surgical procedure, the tray 130 may also be used to organize medical items before the surgical procedure.", "In some embodiments, the numbers 133 (or other labels) may correspond uniquely with respective numbers (or labels) that have been assigned and attached to the medical items, as described above.", "To illustrate the advantages of the systems and methods disclosed herein, a laparoscopic gall bladder surgery (cholecystectomy) is described.", "This surgical procedure removes the gallbladder and gallstones through several small incisions in the abdomen.", "This surgical procedure typically lasts for approximately one hour, from first incision to wound closure.", "Pre-and post-operative preparations generally require an additional one-hour.", "Thus, the patient/insurance company is typically charged for approximately two hours of surgery time.", "However, if the surgical team cannot locate one of the surgical sponges used in the procedure, the surgical team must search the surgical field, supply tables, surrounding floor, etc.", "According to conventional protocols, a portable x-ray is employed if the surgical team cannot locate the sponge after a thorough search.", "The patient is kept under general anesthesia on the operating table until the x-ray is taken, processed, and interpreted.", "If no evidence of the sponge is located in the x-ray photograph, it is presumed that the sponge was misplaced outside the patient, and the patient is transferred from the operating room.", "If the sponge is located in the x-ray photograph, the patient is re-examined, or re-opened, to search for the sponge.", "The initial search may last approximately 15 to 20 minutes, with the x-ray adding at least another 30 minutes, for a total of 45-50 minutes of additional anesthesia and patient time in the operating room.", "Therefore, the anesthesia exposure time and corresponding risks increase, as does the time-based charges for anesthesia care and operating room time.", "If the gall bladder surgery, however, is performed, for example, with a colored sponge with an infrared light device described above, a missing sponge can be efficiently and rapidly.", "At most, an infrared camera/viewer is required to examine the surgical area.", "The infrared signal from the light device makes the missing sponge highly visible in any operating room environment.", "By using this system, the search for the missing sponge can be reduced to less than one minute, resulting in considerable savings and less risk associated with extended exposure to anesthesia.", "While the present invention has been described with reference to one or more particular embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that many changes may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.", "Each of these embodiments and obvious variations thereof is contemplated as falling within the spirit and scope of the invention.", "It is also contemplated that additional embodiments according to aspects of the present invention may combine any number of features from any of the embodiments described herein." ] ]
Patent_15872955
[ [ "HIGH EFFICIENCY FLUID HEATING SYSTEM EXHAUST MANIFOLD", "A fluid heating system including: a pressure vessel shell com including prising a first inlet; a heat exchanger disposed in the pressure vessel shell, the heat exchanger including a second inlet and a second outlet, wherein the second inlet of the heat exchanger is connected to the first inlet of the pressure vessel shell; and an exhaust manifold disposed in the pressure vessel shell, the exhaust manifold including a third inlet and a third outlet, wherein the third inlet of the exhaust manifold is connected to the second outlet of the heat exchanger, wherein the third outlet of the exhaust manifold is outside of the pressure vessel shell, and wherein the exhaust manifold penetrates the pressure vessel shell." ], [ "1.A fluid heating system comprising: a pressure vessel shell comprising a first inlet; a heat exchanger disposed in the pressure vessel shell, the heat exchanger comprising a second inlet and a second outlet, wherein the second inlet of the heat exchanger is connected to the first inlet of the pressure vessel shell; and an exhaust manifold disposed in the pressure vessel shell, the exhaust manifold comprising a third inlet and a third outlet, wherein the third inlet of the exhaust manifold is connected to the second outlet of the heat exchanger, wherein the third outlet of the exhaust manifold is outside of the pressure vessel shell, and wherein the exhaust manifold penetrates the pressure vessel shell.", "2.A fluid heating system comprising: a pressure vessel shell comprising a first inlet; a heat exchanger disposed in the pressure vessel shell, the heat exchanger comprising a second inlet and a second outlet, wherein the second inlet of the heat exchanger is connected to the first inlet of the pressure vessel shell; an exhaust manifold disposed in the pressure vessel shell, the exhaust manifold comprising a third inlet and a third outlet, wherein the third inlet of the exhaust manifold is connected to the second outlet of the heat exchanger; and a conduit, which connects the third outlet of the exhaust manifold to an outside of the pressure vessel shell, and wherein the conduit penetrates the pressure vessel shell.", "3.The fluid heating system of any of claims 1 and 2, wherein the pressure vessel shell is configured to contain a production fluid such that an outer surface of the exhaust manifold is contacted by the production fluid.", "4.The fluid heating system of any of claims 1 to 3, wherein the exhaust manifold comprises a first portion, which is disposed inside the pressure vessel shell, and a second portion, which is disposed outside of the pressure vessel shell, and wherein the pressure vessel shell is configured to contain a production fluid such that an entirety of an outer surface of the first portion of the exhaust manifold is contacted by the production fluid.", "5.The fluid heating system of any of claims 1 to 4, wherein the exhaust manifold penetrates a side of the pressure vessel shell.", "6.The fluid heating system of any of claims 1 to 5, wherein the side of the pressure vessel shell is orthogonal to the third inlet of the exhaust manifold.", "7.The fluid heating system of any of claims 1 to 6, wherein the third outlet of the exhaust manifold is parallel to the third inlet of the exhaust manifold.", "8.The fluid heating system of any of claims 1 to 7, wherein the first portion and the second portion of the exhaust manifold each comprise a bend.", "9.The fluid heating system of any of claims 1 to 8, wherein the exhaust manifold penetrates an end of the pressure vessel shell.", "10.The fluid heating system of any of claims 1 to 9, wherein the end of the pressure vessel shell is opposite the first inlet of the pressure vessel shell.", "11.The fluid heating system of any of claims 1 to 10, wherein a surface area of the first portion of the exhaust manifold is greater than a surface area of the second portion of the exhaust manifold.", "12.The fluid heating system of any of claims 1 to 11, wherein the exhaust manifold further comprises a drain, which is disposed on the second portion of the exhaust manifold.", "13.The fluid heating system of any of claims 1 to 12, wherein an entirety of the first portion of the exhaust manifold is disposed entirely in the pressure vessel shell.", "14.The fluid heating system of any of claims 1 to 13, further comprising a production fluid which is disposed in the pressure vessel shell and which contacts an outside of the first portion exhaust manifold, and a thermal transfer fluid which is disposed in the exhaust manifold, wherein the production fluid and the thermal transfer fluid each independently comprise a liquid, a gas, or a combination thereof.", "15.A method of heat transfer, the method comprising: providing a fluid heating system comprising a pressure vessel shell comprising a first inlet, a heat exchanger disposed in the pressure vessel shell, the heat exchanger comprising a second inlet and a second outlet, wherein the second inlet of the heat exchanger is connected to the first inlet of the pressure vessel shell, and an exhaust manifold disposed in the pressure vessel shell, the exhaust manifold comprising a third inlet and a third outlet, wherein the third inlet of the exhaust manifold is connected to the second outlet of the heat exchanger, wherein the third outlet of the exhaust manifold is outside of the pressure vessel shell, and wherein the exhaust manifold penetrates the pressure vessel shell; and disposing a thermal transfer fluid in the heat exchanger and exhaust manifold and a production fluid in the pressure vessel shell to transfer heat from the thermal transfer fluid to the production fluid.", "16.The method of claim 15, wherein the method further comprises directing a production fluid through the first inlet to provide a flow of the production fluid through the pressure vessel shell, and directing a thermal transfer fluid from the second inlet to the third outlet to provide a flow of the thermal transfer fluid through the heat exchanger and the exhaust manifold." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND <EOH>" ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY <EOH>Disclosed herein is a heating system with a high efficiency exhaust manifold.", "Also disclosed are methods of manufacturing the heating system incorporating a high efficiency exhaust manifold.", "The above described and other features are exemplified by the following figures and detailed description.", "Disclosed is a fluid heating system comprising: a pressure vessel shell comprising a first inlet; a heat exchanger disposed in the pressure vessel shell, the heat exchanger comprising a second inlet and a second outlet, wherein the second inlet of the heat exchanger is connected to the first inlet of the pressure vessel shell; and an exhaust manifold disposed in the pressure vessel shell, the exhaust manifold comprising a third inlet and a third outlet, wherein the third inlet of the exhaust manifold is connected to the second outlet of the heat exchanger, wherein the third outlet of the exhaust manifold is outside of the pressure vessel shell, and wherein the exhaust manifold penetrates the pressure vessel shell.", "Also disclosed is a fluid heating system comprising: a pressure vessel shell comprising a first inlet; a heat exchanger disposed in the pressure vessel shell, the heat exchanger comprising a second inlet and a second outlet, wherein the second inlet of the heat exchanger is connected to the first inlet of the pressure vessel shell; an exhaust manifold disposed in the pressure vessel shell, the exhaust manifold comprising a third inlet and a third outlet, wherein the third inlet of the exhaust manifold is connected to the second outlet of the heat exchanger; and a conduit, which connects the third outlet of the exhaust manifold to an outside of the pressure vessel shell, and wherein the conduit penetrates the pressure vessel shell.", "Also disclosed is a method of heat transfer, the method comprising: providing a fluid heating system comprising a pressure vessel shell comprising a first inlet, a heat exchanger disposed in the pressure vessel shell, the heat exchanger comprising a second inlet and a second outlet, wherein the second inlet of the heat exchanger is connected to the first inlet of the pressure vessel shell, and an exhaust manifold disposed in the pressure vessel shell, the exhaust manifold comprising a third inlet and a third outlet, wherein the third inlet of the exhaust manifold is connected to the second outlet of the heat exchanger, wherein the third outlet of the exhaust manifold is outside of the pressure vessel shell, and wherein the exhaust manifold penetrates the pressure vessel shell; and disposing a thermal transfer fluid in the heat exchanger and exhaust manifold and a production fluid in the pressure vessel shell to transfer heat from the thermal transfer fluid to the production fluid.", "Also disclosed is a method of heat transfer, the method comprising: providing a fluid heating system comprising a pressure vessel shell comprising a first inlet, a heat exchanger disposed in the pressure vessel shell, the heat exchanger comprising a second inlet and a second outlet, wherein the second inlet of the heat exchanger is connected to the first inlet of the pressure vessel shell, an exhaust manifold disposed in the pressure vessel shell, the exhaust manifold comprising a third inlet and a third outlet, wherein the third inlet of the exhaust manifold is connected to the second outlet of the heat exchanger, and a conduit, which connects the third outlet of the exhaust manifold to an outside of the pressure vessel shell, and wherein the conduit penetrates the pressure vessel shell; disposing a thermal transfer fluid in the heat exchanger and exhaust manifold and a production fluid in the pressure vessel shell to transfer heat from the thermal transfer fluid to the production fluid.", "Also disclosed is a fluid heating system comprising: a pressure vessel shell comprising a first inlet and first outlet, a cylindrical shell, a first top head and a first bottom head, wherein the cylindrical shell is disposed between the first top head and the first bottom head, and wherein the first inlet and the first outlet are each independently on the cylindrical shell, the first top head, or the first bottom head; a heat exchanger disposed in the pressure vessel shell; an outlet member connecting the second outlet to an exhaust flue which is disposed on an outside of the pressure vessel shell; a conduit, which penetrates the pressure vessel shell, wherein a first end of the conduit is connected to the second inlet and wherein a second end of the conduit is on the outside of the pressure vessel shell." ], [ "CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This application is a continuation in part (CIP) of PCT Application No.", "PCT/US2016/042035, filed on Jul.", "13, 2016, which claims the benefit of U.S.", "Provisional Patent Application Ser.", "No.", "62/231,662 filed Jul.", "13, 2015, and, each of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety to the extent permitted by applicable law.", "BACKGROUND (1) Field This application relates to a fluid heating system, methods of manufacture thereof, methods of using a high efficiency exhaust manifold, and methods of fluid heating.", "(2) Description of the Related Art Fluid heating systems are used to provide a heated production fluid for a variety of commercial, industrial, and domestic applications such as hydronic, steam, and thermal fluid boilers, for example.", "Because of the desire for improved energy efficiency, compactness, reliability, and cost reduction, there remains a need for improved fluid heating systems, as well as improved methods of manufacture thereof.", "Thermal energy loss, which results in a decrease in overall system thermal efficiency, is present through a variety of pathways in fluid heating systems, and is present both in systems that incorporate tube-and shell heat exchangers and those that employ alternative heat exchanger designs, including tubeless heat exchangers.", "This is particularly true of fluid heating systems for the production of hot water, steam, and thermal fluid for hot liquid or steam for ambient temperature regulation, hot water consumption, or commercial and industrial process applications.", "Thus there remains a need for an improved fluid heating system having improved thermal efficiency.", "SUMMARY Disclosed herein is a heating system with a high efficiency exhaust manifold.", "Also disclosed are methods of manufacturing the heating system incorporating a high efficiency exhaust manifold.", "The above described and other features are exemplified by the following figures and detailed description.", "Disclosed is a fluid heating system comprising: a pressure vessel shell comprising a first inlet; a heat exchanger disposed in the pressure vessel shell, the heat exchanger comprising a second inlet and a second outlet, wherein the second inlet of the heat exchanger is connected to the first inlet of the pressure vessel shell; and an exhaust manifold disposed in the pressure vessel shell, the exhaust manifold comprising a third inlet and a third outlet, wherein the third inlet of the exhaust manifold is connected to the second outlet of the heat exchanger, wherein the third outlet of the exhaust manifold is outside of the pressure vessel shell, and wherein the exhaust manifold penetrates the pressure vessel shell.", "Also disclosed is a fluid heating system comprising: a pressure vessel shell comprising a first inlet; a heat exchanger disposed in the pressure vessel shell, the heat exchanger comprising a second inlet and a second outlet, wherein the second inlet of the heat exchanger is connected to the first inlet of the pressure vessel shell; an exhaust manifold disposed in the pressure vessel shell, the exhaust manifold comprising a third inlet and a third outlet, wherein the third inlet of the exhaust manifold is connected to the second outlet of the heat exchanger; and a conduit, which connects the third outlet of the exhaust manifold to an outside of the pressure vessel shell, and wherein the conduit penetrates the pressure vessel shell.", "Also disclosed is a method of heat transfer, the method comprising: providing a fluid heating system comprising a pressure vessel shell comprising a first inlet, a heat exchanger disposed in the pressure vessel shell, the heat exchanger comprising a second inlet and a second outlet, wherein the second inlet of the heat exchanger is connected to the first inlet of the pressure vessel shell, and an exhaust manifold disposed in the pressure vessel shell, the exhaust manifold comprising a third inlet and a third outlet, wherein the third inlet of the exhaust manifold is connected to the second outlet of the heat exchanger, wherein the third outlet of the exhaust manifold is outside of the pressure vessel shell, and wherein the exhaust manifold penetrates the pressure vessel shell; and disposing a thermal transfer fluid in the heat exchanger and exhaust manifold and a production fluid in the pressure vessel shell to transfer heat from the thermal transfer fluid to the production fluid.", "Also disclosed is a method of heat transfer, the method comprising: providing a fluid heating system comprising a pressure vessel shell comprising a first inlet, a heat exchanger disposed in the pressure vessel shell, the heat exchanger comprising a second inlet and a second outlet, wherein the second inlet of the heat exchanger is connected to the first inlet of the pressure vessel shell, an exhaust manifold disposed in the pressure vessel shell, the exhaust manifold comprising a third inlet and a third outlet, wherein the third inlet of the exhaust manifold is connected to the second outlet of the heat exchanger, and a conduit, which connects the third outlet of the exhaust manifold to an outside of the pressure vessel shell, and wherein the conduit penetrates the pressure vessel shell; disposing a thermal transfer fluid in the heat exchanger and exhaust manifold and a production fluid in the pressure vessel shell to transfer heat from the thermal transfer fluid to the production fluid.", "Also disclosed is a fluid heating system comprising: a pressure vessel shell comprising a first inlet and first outlet, a cylindrical shell, a first top head and a first bottom head, wherein the cylindrical shell is disposed between the first top head and the first bottom head, and wherein the first inlet and the first outlet are each independently on the cylindrical shell, the first top head, or the first bottom head; a heat exchanger disposed in the pressure vessel shell; an outlet member connecting the second outlet to an exhaust flue which is disposed on an outside of the pressure vessel shell; a conduit, which penetrates the pressure vessel shell, wherein a first end of the conduit is connected to the second inlet and wherein a second end of the conduit is on the outside of the pressure vessel shell.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Referring to the figures, which are exemplary embodiments, and wherein the like elements are numbered alike.", "FIG.", "1 shows a cross-sectional diagram of an embodiment of a fuel-fired, fire-tube fluid heating system in the vertical orientation in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "2A shows a cross-section diagram of an embodiment of a fuel-fired, fire-tube fluid heating system in the horizontal orientation in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "2B shows a cutaway diagram of an embodiment of an exhaust gas manifold in a fuel-fired, fire-tube fluid heating system in the horizontal orientation in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "2C shows a cross-section diagram of an embodiment of the exhaust gas manifold of the embodiment in a fuel-fired, fire-tube fluid heating system in the horizontal orientation in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "3A shows a cutaway diagram of simulated results showing the velocity (meters/second) of the gas flow streamlines in the exhaust gas manifold in the case of a 6 million BTU/hour hydronic fuel-fired, fire-tube fluid heating system in the horizontal orientation in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "3B shows a cutaway diagram of simulated results showing a contour plot of the temperature distribution (degrees Fahrenheit) in the exhaust gas manifold in the case of a 6 million BTU/hour fuel-fired, fire-tube hydronic fluid heating system in the horizontal orientation in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "4A shows a cutaway diagram of an embodiment of a fuel-fired, fire-tube fluid heating system in the vertical orientation in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "4B shows a cross-sectional diagram showing details of an embodiment of the exhaust gas manifold in a fuel-fired, fire-tube fluid heating system in the vertical orientation in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "5A shows a cutaway diagram for simulated results showing the velocity (meters/second) of the gas flow streamlines in the exhaust gas manifold in the case of a 3 million BTU/hour fuel-fired, fire-tube hydronic fluid heating system in the vertical orientation in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "5B shows a cutaway diagram for simulated results showing a contour plot of the temperature distribution (degrees Fahrenheit) in the exhaust gas manifold in the case of a 3 million BTU/hour fuel-fired, fire-tube hydronic fluid heating system in the vertical orientation in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "6 shows a cutaway diagram of an embodiment of a fuel-fired, fire-tube fluid heating system in the vertical orientation incorporating a compliant element in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION As further discussed herein, the Applicants have discovered that fluid heating systems that use an exhaust manifold external to a pressure vessel can suffer substantially to energy losses to the ambient air.", "Disclosed is an improved fluid heating system which provides improved efficiency by exposing part or all of the exterior surfaces of an exhaust gas manifold to production fluid.", "Since the interior wall of the exhaust manifold is exposed to combustion gases exiting the heat exchanger and at least a portion of the exterior surface of the exhaust gas manifold is exposed to the production fluid, the temperature differential promotes the transfer of thermal energy.", "The transfer of thermal energy to the production fluid improves the thermal efficiency of the fluid heating system.", "Thus, the exhaust manifold becomes a heat exchanging manifold.", "Energy losses due to energy transfer from the exhaust manifold can occur in multitubular fluid firetube heating systems and boilers.", "A preferred embodiment can comprise a shell and tube heat exchanger, where heat from a thermal transfer fluid located in a tube is transferred to a production fluid located in the pressure vessel shell.", "The heating fluid can be heated in a furnace, from the combustion of a fuel and optionally in the presence of air, steam, or water.", "The heated heating fluid can travel from the furnace through a tube to an exhaust gas manifold, which is located at a distal end of the tube.", "An upper tube sheet can be located between the furnace and the tube and a lower tube sheet can be located at an opposite distal end of the tube and between the tube and the exhaust gas manifold.", "The pressure vessel shell can be fixedly attached to one or more of the furnace, the upper tube sheet, the lower tube sheet, or the exhaust gas manifold.", "The heat exchanger, and optionally one or both of the furnace and the exhaust gas manifold, can be disposed within the pressure vessel shell.", "The fluid heating system may be used to exchange heat between any suitable fluids, e.g., a first fluid and the second fluid, wherein the first and second fluids may each independently be a gas or a liquid.", "Thus the disclosed fluid heating system may be used as a gas-liquid, liquid-liquid, or gas-gas heat exchanger.", "In a preferred embodiment the first fluid, which is directed through the heat exchanger core, is a thermal transfer fluid, and may be a combustion gas, e.g., a gas produced by fuel fired combustor, and may comprise water, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, or combination thereof.", "Also, the second fluid, which is directed through the pressure vessel and contacts an entire outer surface of the heat exchanger core, is a production fluid and may comprise water, steam, oil, a thermal fluid (e.g., a thermal oil), or combination thereof.", "The thermal fluid may comprise water, a C2 to C30 glycol such as ethylene glycol, a unsubstituted or substituted C1 to C30 hydrocarbon such as mineral oil or a halogenated C1 to C30 hydrocarbon wherein the halogenated hydrocarbon may optionally be further substituted, a molten salt such as a molten salt comprising potassium nitrate, sodium nitrate, lithium nitrate, or a combination thereof, a silicone, or a combination thereof.", "Representative halogenated hydrocarbons include 1,1,1,2-tetrafluoroethane, pentafluoroethane, difluoroethane, 1,3,3,3-tetrafluoropropene, and 2,3,3,3-tetrafluoropropene, e.g., chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) such as a halogenated fluorocarbon (HFC), a halogenated chlorofluorocarbon (HCFC), a perfluorocarbon (PFC), or a combination thereof.", "The hydrocarbon may be a substituted or unsubstituted aliphatic hydrocarbon, a substituted or unsubstituted alicyclic hydrocarbon, or a combination thereof.", "Commercially available examples include Therminol® VP-1, (Solutia Inc.), Diphyl® DT (Bayer A. G.), Dowtherm® A (Dow Chemical) and Therm® S300 (Nippon Steel).", "The thermal fluid can be formulated from an alkaline organic compound, an inorganic compound, or a combination thereof.", "Also, the thermal fluid may be used in a diluted form, for example with a concentration ranging from 3 weight percent to 10 weight percent, wherein the concentration is determined based on a weight percent of the non-water contents of the thermal transfer fluid in a total content of the thermal transfer fluid.", "An embodiment in which the thermal transfer fluid is a combustion gas and comprises liquid water, steam, or a combination thereof and the production fluid comprises liquid water, steam, a thermal fluid, or a combination thereof is specifically mentioned.", "The thermal transfer fluid may be a product of combustion from a hydrocarbon fuel such as natural gas, propane, or diesel, for example.", "Disclosed in FIG.", "1 is an embodiment of a fluid heating system with a high efficiency exhaust manifold.", "Disclosed in FIG.", "1 is an exhaust manifold 166 contained within the pressure vessel 150.A heat exchanger 156, which can be a multitubular heat exchanger, for example as can be used in a multitubular fluid firetube heating system is disposed in the pressure vessel 150.Ambient air is forced under pressure by a blower, through a conduit into the combustion furnace 146.In the furnace, a sustained combustion of a combination of fuel and air is maintained, releasing heat energy and combustion gases that travel through the furnace 146, the top tube sheet 152 and into a heat exchanger 156.In an embodiment, and as shown in FIG.", "1, the heat exchanger 156 can comprise a plurality of heat exchanger tubes.", "After traversing the heat exchanger tubes, the hot combustion gases pass through the lower tube sheet 158 and into the exhaust manifold 166 to be conveyed out of the fluid heating system by the exhaust flue (not shown).", "The exhaust manifold may comprise a first portion 163, which is inside the pressure vessel, and a second portion 162, which is outside the pressure vessel, and the exhaust manifold penetrates the pressure vessel.", "In an embodiment, as shown in FIG.", "1, the exhaust manifold penetrates a side 153 of the pressure vessel.", "It is desirable to provide greater bulk heat transfer using less heat transfer surface area contained in a smaller volume.", "The overall heat transfer equation for a heat exchanger is described by the equation Q=UAΔTLM where Q is the heat transfer rate, U is the overall heat transfer coefficient, A is the heat transfer area, and ΔTLM is the log-mean temperature difference of the fluids on opposite surfaces of the heat exchanger surfaces.", "Enhancement of the heat duty of a heat exchanger can be accomplished by increasing the surface area, A; that is, increasing the heat transfer by modifying the geometry of the flow path involve modifying the length of heat exchanger tubes, introducing bends in the flow path, or finding ways to increase the effective surface area per length, such as finned or pinned tube.", "Alternatively, modification of the turbulent heat transfer boundary layer provides another approach to heat exchanger compactification (hence, fluid heating system compactification) and involves increasing the bulk flow rate and reducing the heat exchanger energy transfer surface area.", "However, the techniques for achieving fluid heating system compactification result in shorter combustion gas paths through the heat exchanger and consequently reduce the opportunity for energy recovery from the gas flow before it reaches the exhaust manifold.", "As a result, means for increasing high overall system thermal efficiency by recovering energy stored in the combustion gas along the exhaust path, in addition to increasing bulk heat transfer in the heat exchanger, are desirable.", "Exposing the exterior surface of the exhaust gas manifold to production fluid—either directly or indirectly—provides a means for heat recovery in the manifold.", "FIG.", "1 shows the exhaust gas manifold 166 contained within the pressure vessel 150 and between the bottom head 168 and the bottom tube sheet 158.The interior surface of the exhaust manifold is exposed to hot combustion exhaust gas, while the exterior surface of the first portion of the exhaust manifold is exposed to production fluid entering the pressure vessel in the inlet port 170 and exiting through the exit port 136.As a result, the wall of the first portion of the exhaust manifold supports a temperature differential that promotes energy exchange on all or part of its interior surface when the production fluid temperature is below the dewpoint of the exhaust gas flow.", "A feature of a energy efficient exhaust manifold is that by partially or wholly enclosing the manifold inside the pressure vessel containing the production fluid, the heat transfer surface area may be increased resulting in an increase in the thermal energy transferred to the production fluid and a concurrent increase in overall system efficiency.", "A second feature is that this increase in thermal efficiency may be achieved while maintaining a reduced unit footprint or other measure of physical compactness.", "A third feature is that in certain embodiments the geometrically arranged so that the heat exchanger is not rigidly attached to the pressure vessel along its length.", "For example, in FIG.", "1 the top head 152, heat exchanger tubes 156 and bottom head 158 of the heat exchanger are not rigidly attached to the pressure vessel 150 inner surfaces, allowing thermal expansion of these structures without excessive mechanical stress.", "Efficient recovery of energy in the exhaust combustion gas can be achieved in any suitable fluid heating system configuration incorporating an exhaust manifold proximal to a production fluid pressure vessel, and at any suitable orientation.", "To simplify the presentation, embodiments are shown for fuel-fired, firetube fluid heating systems using tube-and-shell heat exchanger designs.", "The configuration is not limited to tube-and-shell heat exchanger designs, and thus the configuration selected for description should not be construed as limiting, and adaptation to alternative configurations including firetube systems in any suitable orientation, so long as the gaseous heat transfer (e.g., combustion gas) and production fluids are maintained at significantly different temperatures, and the heat transfer fluid is collected in an exhaust manifold proximal to the production fluid, can be done without undue experimentation.", "FIG.", "2A illustrates an embodiment of a fuel-fired firetube fluid heating system using a heat exchanger of the tube-and-shell type design in the horizontal orientation.", "Combustion gas 250 enters the heat exchanger tubes 210 from the furnace 224 through the upper tubesheet.", "The hot combustion gas 250 passes through the heat exchanger tubes 210 and enter the exhaust manifold 222.As shown in FIG.", "2A, in this embodiment the exhaust manifold 222 is contained entirely within the pressure vessel shell 220.A conduit 218 penetrates the pressure vessel shell 220 and connects the outlet 252 of the exhaust manifold 222 to an outside of the pressure vessel shell 220 so that the combustion gases 250 may pass from the heat exchanger 210, through the exhaust manifold 222, and through the conduit 218 to the outside of the pressure vessel shell 220.Production fluid 260 enters the inlet port 212 and is directed out of the pressure vessel through the exit conduit 202.Thus, for what follows, we define a heat exchange manifold to be the structure that conveys thermal transfer fluid from the heat exchanger to the conduit where it penetrates the pressure vessel at the exit port 280 such that the outer surface of the structure is in contact with production fluid.", "The exit port may be defined by an opening created in the pressure 286 wherein the penetrating conduit may be disposed, for example, by a weld at the exit port 280 point of penetration.", "Hence the heat exchange manifold possesses the properties that it conveys thermal transfer fluid from the heat exchanger to the conduit that directs it to an outside of the pressure vessel, its outer surfaces are exposed to productions fluid so heat transfer occurs from the thermal transfer fluid to the production fluid, and it is contained within the pressure vessel.", "The heat exchange manifold is the structure contained within the pressure vessel 220, which may consist of the manifold cavity 222 and any piping that connects the cavity to the heat exchange manifold exit port 280 where it penetrates the pressure vessel 220 such that the outer surfaces are at least partially exposed to production fluid.", "FIG.", "2B further illustrates the relevant geometry near the exhaust port using a cutaway diagram.", "The pressure vessel has been extended to encapsulate the primary volume of the exhaust manifold.", "That is, the pressure vessel encloses the heat exchange manifold.", "The exterior surface of the manifold wall 234 forms part of the inner pressure vessel and production fluid occupies the space 220 between the outer pressure vessel shell extension 236 and the manifold wall 234.As a result, the exhaust manifold 222 in this embodiment is fully-wetted and pressure retaining.", "In this embodiment, the pressure vessel extension is sealed to the manifold at a (for example, welded) joint 280 either directly or incorporating the surface of the exhaust gas exhaust port, as shown.", "However, the terminus of the pressure vessel extension housing 270 all or part of the manifold need not be rigidly attached (or pinned) to the manifold 222, and is desirably capable of withstanding the fluid pressure capability of all components of the pressure vessel in compliance with national safety standards.", "So, for example, the terminus 280 of the pressure vessel extension 270 may be made free-floating by incorporating a flexible joint between the extension and the exhaust manifold to add mechanical compliance to the structure.", "FIG.", "2C shows a cross-section of an embodiment highlighting the continuity of production fluid in the pressure vessel 288 and the cavity created by the pressure vessel extension 270 encapsulating the exhaust manifold 268.Production fluid 272 contacts the outer surface of the manifold wall and hot combustion gas exiting the heat exchanger tubes through the lower tubesheet contact of the inner surface of the manifold wall.", "The temperature difference across the manifold wall promotes energy exchange where the heat released is transferred by conduction to the production fluid, which can be disposed in the region 372 between the exhaust manifold and the pressure vessel shell.", "The shape of the heat exchange manifold may be selected by those skilled in the art to achieve system requirement for capacity, flow characteristics, and geometry as required by the design, and alternatives shapes are possible and contemplated.", "(For example, the shape of the connection to the conduit 282 and position of the exit port 281.)", "An example implementation in a 6 million BTU/Hr horizontal fuel-fired firetube fluid heating system using a heat exchanger of the tube-and-shell type design in the horizontal orientation was analyzed using a validated computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model for a 6 million BTU/hr case.", "For this simulation, the geometry of the exhaust gas manifold was modeled with appropriate boundary conditions on the inner surfaces of the manifold walls.", "A steady-state fluid flow solution was obtained by numerical simulation using temperature and velocity boundary conditions known from both numerical simulations of heat exchanger designs corresponding to the same design case and physical measurements.", "For the simulation, the inlet temperature (at lower tubesheet) is 145° F., the Inlet velocity (at lower tubesheet) is 18.26 m/s, the manifold surface area (total) is 1.413 m2, the manifold volume is 65.384 liters and the manifold heat transfer surface area is 0.926 m2.FIG.", "3A shows the gas flow streamline velocity profile for the simulated exhaust manifold.", "The flowfield is compressed and nearly laminar at the exhaust gas exit.", "FIG.", "3B shows the temperature distribution profile corresponding to the same steady-state solution.", "As this prophetic example calculation shows, the flow streamlines transition smoothly from the bottom head of the heat exchanger 158 to the end of the conduit 252 without trapped (stationary) flow regions that can lead to heat buildup with smooth acceleration of the flow through the heat exchange manifold.", "Using these simulation results, the condensate production and corresponding improvement in energy efficiency due to heat recovery can be calculated using computer computational fluid dynamics techniques.", "The resulting manifold outlet conditions produced in the simulated example are 129° F. for the outlet temperature and 17° F. for the outlet temperature difference from nominal.", "Moreover, the condensate production rate for simulation is 7 lb/hr, corresponding to an energy recovery rate that produces an increase in total efficiency of 0.37%, calculated as the difference between the efficiency with condensate recovery and the efficiency without condensate recovery.", "Further analysis of the simulated case indicate that this 0.37% energy efficiency improvement is comprised of two components: Approximately 0.22% efficiency improvement is due to latent heat recovery, while the remaining 0.15% is due to sensible heat transfer.", "FIG.", "4A illustrates another embodiment for a fuel-fired firetube fluid heating system configuration using a heat exchanger of the tube-and-shell type design in the vertical orientation.", "Combustion gas enters the heat exchanger tubes 400 from the furnace through the upper tubesheet (not shown).", "The hot combustion gas passes through the heat exchanger tubes, enters the exhaust manifold 408 through inlet 406 and is directed through the an outlet 422 of the exhaust manifold.", "No external collector volume (e.g., “smoke box”) is used to convey the exhaust gases to the flue.", "Production fluid enters the inlet port (not shown), guided through a series of baffles 404 until it is directed out of the pressure vessel through the exit port (not shown).", "In the embodiment of FIG.", "4A, the pressure vessel has been extended to encapsulate the primary volume of the exhaust manifold.", "The exterior surface of the manifold wall 412 forms part of the inner pressure vessel and a production fluid can be disposed to occupy the space 414 between the outer pressure vessel extension 410 and the manifold wall.", "In this embodiment, the pressure vessel extension is sealed to the manifold at a (typically, welded) joint either directly 416 or incorporating the surface of the exhaust gas exhaust port.", "FIG.", "4B shows a cross-section of the embodiment highlighting the continuity of production fluid in the pressure vessel 434 and the cavity created by the pressure vessel extension 442 encapsulating the exhaust manifold 446.Production fluid disposing the space 444 between the exhaust manifold and the pressure vessel shell contacts on the outer surface of the manifold wall, while hot combustion gas exiting the heat exchanger tubes through the lower tubesheet impinges of the inner surface of the manifold wall.", "The temperature difference across the manifold wall promotes energy recovery where the heat released is transferred by conduction to the production fluid.", "In this embodiment a drain 450 is used to flush the accumulated condensate and impurities out of the exhaust manifold in the case of hydronic applications where the production fluid is water.", "In the hydronic case, condensate absorbs CO2, and becomes mildly acidic (carbonic acid).", "Also, the rate of condensate removal directly influences the rate of condensate formation; the film of condensate acts as a thermal insulation layer, slowing the formation of additional condensate.", "So effective engineered solutions for drainage can have an effect on efficiency.", "The design of the exhaust manifold can enhance energy recovery from the combustion gas flow through increased impingement.", "Where the gas flow exiting the heat exchanger can be sharply turned, combustion gas impinging on the inner surfaces (e.g., bottom wall) of the manifold increases the efficiency of heat conduction.", "Moreover, surface treatments and structural enhancements may be incorporated into both the inner and outer surfaces of the exhaust manifold wall to enhance energy transfer and, in the hydronic case, promote the flushing of condensate.", "For example, the inner (interior) surface of the exhaust manifold may be decorated with ridges or corrugations—or any suitable structure—to increase the surface area and fluid flow turbulence for both heat transfer and condensate formation.", "Furthermore, these surface structures can be designed to form channels designed to efficiently direct condensate to the drain for expulsion, in the case of hydronic fluid heating systems.", "Moreover, the outer (exterior) surface of the exhaust manifold may be decorated with corrugations, ridges, fms or vanes—or any equivalent structure—to increase the surface area for heat transfer to the production fluid.", "An example implementation in a fired firetube fluid heating system using a heat exchanger of the tube-and-shell type design in the horizontal orientation was analyzed using a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model for a 3 million BTU/hr case.", "For this simulation, the geometry of the exhaust gas manifold was modeled with appropriate boundary conditions on the inner surfaces of the manifold walls.", "A steady-state fluid flow solution was obtained by numerical simulation using temperature and velocity boundary conditions known from both numerical simulations of heat exchanger designs corresponding to the same design case and physical measurements.", "In the simulated example, the inlet temperature (at lower tubesheet) is 145° F., the inlet velocity (at lower tubesheet) is 15.04 m/s, the manifold surface area (total) is 0.783 m2, the manifold volume is 44.114 liters and the manifold heat transfer surface area 0.751 m2.FIG.", "5A shows the gas flow streamline velocity profile 502 for the simulated exhaust manifold.", "The flow field is compressed and nearly laminar at the exhaust gas exit.", "FIG.", "5B shows the temperature distribution profile corresponding to the same steady-state solution.", "The 3 million BTU/Hr example shows higher efficiency gain than the 6 million BUT/Hr case due to higher impingement of the flow on the manifold surface.", "Since the flow is turned 90 degrees in this configuration, the flow impinges directly (and hard) on manifold bottom to be turned 90 degrees.", "Using these simulation results, the condensate production and corresponding improvement in energy efficiency due to heat recovery can be estimated.", "The significant outlet temperature drop (16° F.) is due to sensible heat recovery, highlighting the fact that the present invention has utility for applications other than hydronic fluid heating systems.", "The simulated manifold outlet conditions produced are 129° F. for the outlet temperature and 16 ° F. for the outlet temperature difference from nominal.", "The resulting condensate production rate for simulation is 3 lb/hr, corresponding to an energy recovery rate that produces an increase in total efficiency of 0.5%.", "Further analysis of the simulated case indicate that this 0.5% energy efficiency improvement is comprised of two components: Approximately 0.3% efficiency improvement is due to latent heat recovery, while the remaining 0.2% is due to sensible heat transfer.", "The thermal efficiency gains illustrated in the above embodiments are realized by partially or completely encapsulating the exhaust manifold into the production fluid pressure vessel and utilizing the resulting temperature difference across the manifold wall to promote energy recovery.", "In the foregoing embodiment, the pressure vessel extension can be joined to the manifold or the exhaust port by a rigid joint (e.g., weld).", "In the embodiment shown in FIG.", "6, since the manifold is contained within the pressure vessel and the heat exchanger bottom head 602 is not rigidly attached to the pressure vessel 624, thermal stress that results from the expansion of the heat exchanger can be designed to occur at a specific location on the pressure vessel surface where it can be effectively relieved.", "For example, the pressure vessel extension can be arranged to terminate on the exhaust manifold and/or combustion gas exhaust port where stress can be relieved using an expansion joint.", "Hot combustion gases flow through the heat exchanger tubes 600, past the lower tube sheet 602, into the exhaust gas manifold 606 and are directed laterally through the outlet of the exhaust manifold 612.Two compressive seal expansion joints are attached to the exterior pressure vessel surface of the exhaust port; the inner 622 and outer 618 compressive seal expansion joints are separated by a floating pipe segment 620.The compressive seals are secured using retaining ring housings.", "The combination of the pressure vessel flange 610, the floating pipe section, the combustion gas exhaust port flange 616 and the exhaust conduit where it exits the exhaust port flange forms part of the exterior pressure vessel as a continuation of the pressure vessel shell 624.Production fluid, under pressure, occupies the space 608 between the articulated assembly and the exhaust gas manifold.", "The temperature difference across the exhaust manifold wall due to the production fluid and the manifold gas flow results in recovered energy that is transferred into the production fluid contributing to an increase in the overall system thermal efficiency.", "Thus, the heat exchange manifold is mechanically decoupled from the shell through a compliant member.", "Other techniques for introducing the decoupling and compliance may be used, such as described in U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "15/217,243 and PCT Application PCT/US2016/043861.The various components of the exhaust manifold and pressure vessel can each independently comprise any suitable material.", "Use of a metal is specifically mentioned.", "Representative metals include iron, aluminum, magnesium, titanium, nickel, cobalt, zinc, silver, copper, and an alloy comprising at least one of the foregoing.", "Representative metals include carbon steel, mild steel, cast iron, wrought iron, a stainless steel such as a 300 series stainless steel or a 400 series stainless steel, e.g., 304, 316, or 439 stainless steel, Monel, Inconel, bronze, and brass.", "Specifically mentioned is an embodiment in which the exhaust manifold and the pressure vessel each comprise steel, specifically stainless steel.", "The fluid heating system may comprise a pressure vessel shell, a heat exchanger, an upper tube sheet, a lower tube sheet, and an exhaust manifold, and the pressure vessel shell, heat exchanger, the upper tube sheet, the lower tube sheet, and the exhaust manifold can each independently comprise any suitable material.", "Use of a steel, such as mild steel or stainless steel this mentioned.", "While not wanting to be bound by theory, it is understood that use of stainless steel in the dynamic components can help to keep the components below their respective fatigue limits, potentially eliminating fatigue failure as a failure mechanism, and promote efficient heat exchange.", "The disclosed compliant heating can provide one for more of the following benefits.", "First, mechanical stress that arises due to the differential thermal expansion of some of the components can be localized to one or more specific locations of the compressive seal expansion joint.", "Second, the compressive seal expansion joint can be located on an external component of the compliant heating system, such as a pressure vessel shell or on a conduit allowing for easy access for inspection and/or service.", "Third, in the disclosed configuration, the compressive seal expansion joint can be inspected and/or serviced without welding or specialized techniques or tooling.", "An example of a compliant heating system is a boiler, for example, for the production of hot thermal fluids (such as steam, hot water, non-water based fluids, or a combination comprising one or more of the foregoing).", "The hot thermal fluids can be used for ambient temperature regulation or water heating.", "The compliant heating system can be used for domestic, commercial, or industrial applications.", "In the compliant heating system, the thermally-induced mechanical stress can be localized to replaceable, compliant elements on the exterior pressure vessel to provide improved reliability.", "The disclosed system can alternately comprise, consist of, or consist essentially of, any appropriate components herein disclosed.", "The disclosed system can additionally be substantially free of any components or materials used in the prior art that are not necessary to the achievement of the function and/or objectives of the present disclosure.", "The terms “a” and “an” do not denote a limitation of quantity, but rather denote the presence of at least one of the referenced item.", "The term “or” means “and/or” unless clearly indicated otherwise by context.", "Reference throughout the specification to “an embodiment”, “another embodiment”, “some embodiments”, and so forth, means that a particular element (e.g., feature, structure, step, or characteristic) described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment described herein, and may or may not be present in other embodiments.", "In addition, it is to be understood that the described elements may be combined in any suitable manner in the various embodiments.", "“Optional” or “optionally” means that the subsequently described event or circumstance may or may not occur, and that the description includes instances where the event occurs and instances where it does not.", "The terms “first,” “second,” and the like, “primary,” “secondary,” and the like, as used herein do not denote any order, quantity, or importance, but rather are used to distinguish one element from another.", "The terms “front”, “back”, “bottom”, and/or “top” are used herein, unless otherwise noted, merely for convenience of description, and are not limited to any one position or spatial orientation.", "The endpoints of all ranges directed to the same component or property are inclusive of the endpoints, are independently combinable, and include all intermediate points.", "For example, ranges of “up to 25 N/m, or more specifically 5 to 20 N/m” are inclusive of the endpoints and all intermediate values of the ranges of “5 to 25 N/m,” such as 10 to 23 N/m.", "Unless defined otherwise, technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as is commonly understood by one of skill in the art to which this invention belongs.", "All cited patents, patent applications, and other references are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.", "However, if a term in the present application contradicts or conflicts with a term in the incorporated reference, the term from the present application takes precedence over the conflicting term from the incorporated reference.", "Disclosed is a fluid heating system comprising: a pressure vessel shell comprising a first inlet; a heat exchanger disposed in the pressure vessel shell, the heat exchanger comprising a second inlet and a second outlet, wherein the second inlet of the heat exchanger is connected to the first inlet of the pressure vessel shell; and an exhaust manifold disposed in the pressure vessel shell, the exhaust manifold comprising a third inlet and a third outlet, wherein the third inlet of the exhaust manifold is connected to the second outlet of the heat exchanger, wherein the third outlet of the exhaust manifold is outside of the pressure vessel shell, and wherein the exhaust manifold penetrates the pressure vessel shell.", "Also disclosed is a fluid heating system comprising: a pressure vessel shell comprising a first inlet; a heat exchanger disposed in the pressure vessel shell, the heat exchanger comprising a second inlet and a second outlet, wherein the second inlet of the heat exchanger is connected to the first inlet of the pressure vessel shell; an exhaust manifold disposed in the pressure vessel shell, the exhaust manifold comprising a third inlet and a third outlet, wherein the third inlet of the exhaust manifold is connected to the second outlet of the heat exchanger; and a conduit, which connects the third outlet of the exhaust manifold to an outside of the pressure vessel shell, and wherein the conduit penetrates the pressure vessel shell.", "Also disclosed is a method of heat transfer, the method comprising: providing a fluid heating system comprising a pressure vessel shell comprising a first inlet, a heat exchanger disposed in the pressure vessel shell, the heat exchanger comprising a second inlet and a second outlet, wherein the second inlet of the heat exchanger is connected to the first inlet of the pressure vessel shell, and an exhaust manifold disposed in the pressure vessel shell, the exhaust manifold comprising a third inlet and a third outlet, wherein the third inlet of the exhaust manifold is connected to the second outlet of the heat exchanger, wherein the third outlet of the exhaust manifold is outside of the pressure vessel shell, and wherein the exhaust manifold penetrates the pressure vessel shell; and disposing a thermal transfer fluid in the heat exchanger and exhaust manifold and a production fluid in the pressure vessel shell to transfer heat from the thermal transfer fluid to the production fluid.", "Also disclosed is a method of heat transfer, the method comprising: providing a fluid heating system comprising a pressure vessel shell comprising a first inlet, a heat exchanger disposed in the pressure vessel shell, the heat exchanger comprising a second inlet and a second outlet, wherein the second inlet of the heat exchanger is connected to the first inlet of the pressure vessel shell, an exhaust manifold disposed in the pressure vessel shell, the exhaust manifold comprising a third inlet and a third outlet, wherein the third inlet of the exhaust manifold is connected to the second outlet of the heat exchanger, and a conduit, which connects the third outlet of the exhaust manifold to an outside of the pressure vessel shell, and wherein the conduit penetrates the pressure vessel shell; disposing a thermal transfer fluid in the heat exchanger and exhaust manifold and a production fluid in the pressure vessel shell to transfer heat from the thermal transfer fluid to the production fluid.", "Also disclosed is a method of manufacturing a fluid heating system, the method comprising: providing a pressure vessel shell comprising a first inlet; disposing a heat exchanger in the pressure vessel shell, the heat exchanger comprising a second inlet and a second outlet; and disposing an exhaust manifold in the pressure vessel shell, the exhaust manifold comprising a third inlet and a third outlet to provide the fluid heating system.", "Also disclosed is a method of manufacturing a fluid heating system, the method comprising: providing a pressure vessel shell comprising a first inlet; disposing a heat exchanger in the pressure vessel shell, the heat exchanger comprising a second inlet and a second outlet; disposing an exhaust manifold in the pressure vessel shell, the exhaust manifold comprising a third inlet and a third outlet; connecting the second inlet of the heat exchanger to a conduit, which penetrates an the pressure vessel shell; connecting the second outlet of the heat exchanger to a first end of a conduit, and a second end of the conduit to the exhaust manifold to provide the fluid heating system.", "Also disclosed is a fluid heating system comprising: a pressure vessel shell comprising a first inlet and first outlet, a cylindrical shell, a first top head and a first bottom head, wherein the cylindrical shell is disposed between the first top head and the first bottom head, and wherein the first inlet and the first outlet are each independently on the cylindrical shell, the first top head, or the first bottom head; a heat exchanger disposed in the pressure vessel shell; an outlet member connecting the second outlet to an exhaust flue which is disposed on an outside of the pressure vessel shell; a conduit, which penetrates the pressure vessel shell, wherein a first end of the conduit is connected to the second inlet and wherein a second end of the conduit is on the outside of the pressure vessel shell.", "Also disclosed is a method of manufacturing a fluid heating system, the method comprising: providing a pressure vessel shell comprising a first inlet; disposing a heat exchanger in the pressure vessel shell, the heat exchanger comprising a second inlet and a second outlet; and disposing an exhaust manifold in the pressure vessel shell, the exhaust manifold comprising a third inlet and a third outlet to provide the fluid heating system.", "Also disclosed is a method of manufacturing a fluid heating system, the method comprising: providing a pressure vessel shell comprising a first inlet; disposing a heat exchanger in the pressure vessel shell, the heat exchanger comprising a second inlet and a second outlet; disposing an exhaust manifold in the pressure vessel shell, the exhaust manifold comprising a third inlet and a third outlet; connecting the second inlet of the heat exchanger to a conduit, which penetrates an the pressure vessel shell; connecting the second outlet of the heat exchanger to a first end of a conduit, and a second end of the conduit to the exhaust manifold to provide the fluid heating system.", "Also disclosed is a fluid heating system embodiment comprising: a pressure vessel shell comprising a first inlet and first outlet, a cylindrical shell, a first top head and a first bottom head, wherein the cylindrical shell is disposed between the first top head and the first bottom head, and wherein the first inlet and the first outlet are each independently on the cylindrical shell, the first top head, or the first bottom head; a heat exchanger disposed in the pressure vessel shell; an outlet member connecting the second outlet to an exhaust flue which is disposed on an outside of the pressure vessel shell; a conduit, which penetrates the pressure vessel shell, wherein a first end of the conduit is connected to the second inlet and wherein a second end of the conduit is on the outside of the pressure vessel shell.", "A method of heat transfer, the method comprising: providing a fluid heating system comprising a pressure vessel shell comprising a first inlet, a heat exchanger disposed in the pressure vessel shell, the heat exchanger comprising a second inlet and a second outlet, wherein the second inlet of the heat exchanger is connected to the first inlet of the pressure vessel shell, an exhaust manifold disposed in the pressure vessel shell, the exhaust manifold comprising a third inlet and a third outlet, wherein the third inlet of the exhaust manifold is connected to the second outlet of the heat exchanger, and a conduit, which connects the third outlet of the exhaust manifold to an outside of the pressure vessel shell, and wherein the conduit penetrates the pressure vessel shell; disposing a thermal transfer fluid in the heat exchanger and exhaust manifold and a production fluid in the pressure vessel shell to transfer heat from the thermal transfer fluid to the production fluid.", "This method of heat transfer may further comprise directing a production fluid through the first inlet to provide a flow of the production fluid through the pressure vessel shell, and directing a thermal transfer fluid from the second inlet to the third outlet to provide a flow of the thermal transfer fluid through the heat exchanger and the exhaust manifold.", "In the foregoing embodiments, the pressure vessel shell may be configured to contain a production fluid such that an outer surface of the exhaust manifold is contacted by the production fluid; and/or the exhaust manifold may comprises a first portion, which is disposed inside the pressure vessel shell, and a second portion, which is disposed outside of the pressure vessel shell, and the pressure vessel shell may be configured to contain a production fluid such that an entirety of an outer surface of the first portion of the exhaust manifold is contacted by the production fluid; and/or the exhaust manifold may penetrate a side of the pressure vessel shell; and/or the side of the pressure vessel shell may be orthogonal to the third inlet of the exhaust manifold; and/or the third outlet of the exhaust manifold may be parallel to the third inlet of the exhaust manifold; and/or the first portion and the second portion of the exhaust manifold may each comprise a bend; and/or the exhaust manifold may penetrate an end of the pressure vessel shell; and/or the end of the pressure vessel shell may be opposite the first inlet of the pressure vessel shell; and/or a surface area of the first portion of the exhaust manifold may be greater than a surface area of the second portion of the exhaust manifold; and/or the exhaust manifold may further comprises a drain, which is disposed on the second portion of the exhaust manifold; and/or an entirety of the first portion of the exhaust manifold may be disposed entirely in the pressure vessel shell; and/or a fluid heating system may further comprise a production fluid which is disposed in the pressure vessel shell and which contacts an outside of the first portion exhaust manifold, and a thermal transfer fluid which is disposed in the exhaust manifold, wherein the production fluid and the thermal transfer fluid each independently comprise a liquid, a gas, or a combination thereof; and/or the production fluid and the thermal transfer fluid may each independently comprise water, a substituted or unsubstituted C1 to C30 hydrocarbon, air, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, or a combination thereof; and/or the production fluid may comprise liquid water, steam, a thermal fluid, a glycol, or a combination thereof; and/or the method may further comprise directing a production fluid through the first inlet to provide a flow of the production fluid through the pressure vessel shell, and directing a thermal transfer fluid from the second inlet to the third outlet to provide a flow of the thermal transfer fluid through the heat exchanger and the exhaust manifold." ] ]
Patent_15872957
[ [ "FACILITATION OF WIRELESS NETWORK SESSION CONTINUITY", "Internet protocol session continuity can be achieved via an access point registration process.", "Mobile devices near an access point device that has registered with a base station device can offload wireless communication from the base station device to the access point device.", "The access point device can be a known access point device that can be secured and subject to session continuity policies of a service provider.", "The session continuity policies can be stored at a content handover processor, which can oversee the handover processes between the base station device and the mobile device." ], [ "1.A method, comprising: receiving, by a wireless network device comprising a processor, first signal data related to a communication of a first mobile device with a base station device; receiving, by the wireless network device, second signal data related to a second mobile device communication with an access point device; receiving, by the wireless network device, a request from the first mobile device to access the access point device; and based on whether a condition has been determined to have been satisfied, sending, by the wireless network device to the first mobile device, connectivity data relating to information about a connection with the first mobile device.", "2.The method of claim 1, further comprising: based on the condition being determined to have been satisfied, facilitating, by the wireless network device, the access to the access point device by the first mobile device.", "3.The method of claim 2, wherein satisfaction of the condition comprises a speed of the first mobile device being at least a defined speed.", "4.The method of claim 1, wherein the connectivity data comprises an indication that the access to the access point device has been granted.", "5.The method of claim 1, wherein the connectivity data comprises an indication that the access to the access point device has been denied based on the condition being determined not to have been satisfied.", "6.The method of claim 2, wherein the condition is a first condition, and further comprising: in response to a second condition being determined to have been satisfied, terminating, by the wireless network device, the access to the access point device.", "7.The method of claim 1, wherein the connectivity data comprises session continuity data related to the first mobile device transitioning from a licensed spectrum to an unlicensed spectrum.", "8.A system, comprising: a processor; and a memory that stores executable instructions that, when executed by the processor, facilitate performance of operations, comprising: receiving first mobile device data related to a first communication of a first mobile device with a base station device; receiving access point device data related to an access point device of a network and second mobile device data related to a second communication of a second mobile device with the access point device; continuing the second communication with the access point device based on a condition being determined to have been satisfied; and linking a licensed radio frequency domain to an unlicensed radio frequency domain.", "9.The system of claim 8, wherein the condition comprises an analysis of whether a speed of the first mobile device is at least a defined speed.", "10.The system of claim 8, wherein the operations further comprise: generating a priority data structure associated with a priority of the access point device.", "11.The system of claim 8, wherein the condition is related to a priority associated with the access point device.", "12.The system of claim 11, wherein the priority is based on an availability of the access point device in relation to other access point devices.", "13.The system of claim 8, wherein the operations further comprise: receiving cellular network data in response to the continuing the second communication with the access point device.", "14.The system of claim 13, wherein the cellular network data comprises internet protocol socket data.", "15.The system of claim 8, wherein the operations further comprise: receiving time data related to the access point device, and wherein the time data is associated with adjusting the first mobile device data and the second mobile device data to be in synchronization.", "16.A machine-readable storage medium, comprising executable instructions that, when executed by a processor, facilitate performance of operations, comprising: receiving first network data related to a base station device releasing a first communication with a mobile device; receiving access point device data related to an access point device of a network; receiving second network data related to the access point device that is establishing a second communication with the mobile device; monitoring the second communication for a change in data throughput; and in response to the monitoring, linking a licensed radio frequency network to an unlicensed radio frequency network.", "17.The machine-readable storage medium of claim 16, wherein the access point device is a first access point device, wherein the access point device data is first access point device data, and wherein the operations further comprise: registering a second access point device by sending second access point device data to the base station device.", "18.The machine-readable storage medium of claim 16, wherein the operations further comprise: in response to the establishing the second communication with the mobile device, requesting cellular network data.", "19.The machine-readable storage medium of claim 18, wherein the cellular network data comprises connection data related to a wireless connection between the base station device and the mobile device.", "20.The machine-readable storage medium of claim 16, wherein the operations further comprise: in response to the change in the data throughput, terminating the second communication with the mobile device." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND <EOH>Mobile data offloading is the use of complementary network technologies for delivering data originally targeted for cellular networks.", "Rules triggering the mobile offloading action can be set by either an end-user (mobile subscriber) or an operator.", "The code operating on the rules can reside in an end-user device, in a server, or can be divided between the two.", "End users can do data offloading for data service cost control and the availability of higher bandwidth.", "Operators can do it to ease congestion of cellular networks.", "Example complementary network technologies used for mobile data offloading are wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi), femtocell and integrated mobile broadcast.", "The increasing need for offloading solutions is caused by the explosion of Internet data traffic, especially the growing portion of traffic going through mobile networks.", "This has been enabled by smartphone devices possessing Wi-Fi capabilities together with large screens and different Internet applications, from browsers to video and audio streaming applications.", "In addition to smart phones, laptops with 3G access capabilities are also seen as a major source of mobile data traffic.", "Additionally, Wi-Fi is typically much less costly to build than cellular networks.", "The above-described background relating to a network traffic offloading is merely intended to provide a contextual overview of some current issues, and is not intended to be exhaustive.", "Other contextual information may become further apparent upon review of the following detailed description." ], [ "<SOH> BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS <EOH>Non-limiting and non-exhaustive embodiments of the subject disclosure are described with reference to the following figures, wherein like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the various views unless otherwise specified.", "FIG.", "1 illustrates an example wireless network comprising access point devices registered to respective base station devices according to one or more embodiments.", "FIG.", "2 illustrates an example wireless network wherein several access point devices have registered with a base station device according to one or more embodiments.", "FIG.", "3 illustrates example base station device components according to one or more embodiments.", "FIG.", "4 illustrates example access point device components according to one or more embodiments.", "FIG.", "5 illustrates an example flow diagram of a priority-based access point device selection process according to one or more embodiments.", "FIG.", "6 illustrates an example schematic system block diagram for wireless network traffic session continuity according to one or more embodiments.", "FIG.", "7 illustrates an example schematic system block diagram for wireless network traffic session continuity and facilitation of access to the access point device according to one or more embodiments.", "FIG.", "8 illustrates an example schematic system block diagram for wireless network traffic session continuity based on a condition being satisfied according to one or more embodiments.", "FIG.", "9 illustrates an example schematic system block diagram for wireless network session continuity by releasing communication with a base station device and establishing communication with an access point device according to one or more embodiments.", "FIG.", "10 illustrates an example schematic system block diagram for wireless network session continuity by releasing communication with a base station device, establishing communication with an access point device, and registering the access point device with the based station device according to one or more embodiments.", "FIG.", "11 illustrates an example block diagram of an example mobile handset operable to engage in a system architecture that facilitates secure wireless communication according to one or more embodiments described herein.", "FIG.", "12 illustrates an example block diagram of an example computer operable to engage in a system architecture that facilitates secure wireless communication according to one or more embodiments described herein.", "detailed-description description=\"Detailed Description\" end=\"lead\"?" ], [ "RELATED APPLICATION This patent application is a continuation of, and claims priority to, U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "14/747,429, filed Jun.", "23, 2015, and entitled, “FACILITATION OF WIRELESS NETWORK SESSION CONTINUITY,” the entirety of which application is hereby incorporated by reference herein.", "TECHNICAL FIELD This disclosure relates generally to facilitating mobile session continuity of licensed wireless network traffic from a base station device to an access point device, via the proposed session continued process, to be converted to a Wi-Fi access point device but maintain the same user session seamlessly to the same user access device over an unlicensed radio band.", "More specifically, this disclosure relates to a security registration process between the base station device and the access point device to facilitate the wireless network traffic-session continuity.", "BACKGROUND Mobile data offloading is the use of complementary network technologies for delivering data originally targeted for cellular networks.", "Rules triggering the mobile offloading action can be set by either an end-user (mobile subscriber) or an operator.", "The code operating on the rules can reside in an end-user device, in a server, or can be divided between the two.", "End users can do data offloading for data service cost control and the availability of higher bandwidth.", "Operators can do it to ease congestion of cellular networks.", "Example complementary network technologies used for mobile data offloading are wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi), femtocell and integrated mobile broadcast.", "The increasing need for offloading solutions is caused by the explosion of Internet data traffic, especially the growing portion of traffic going through mobile networks.", "This has been enabled by smartphone devices possessing Wi-Fi capabilities together with large screens and different Internet applications, from browsers to video and audio streaming applications.", "In addition to smart phones, laptops with 3G access capabilities are also seen as a major source of mobile data traffic.", "Additionally, Wi-Fi is typically much less costly to build than cellular networks.", "The above-described background relating to a network traffic offloading is merely intended to provide a contextual overview of some current issues, and is not intended to be exhaustive.", "Other contextual information may become further apparent upon review of the following detailed description.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Non-limiting and non-exhaustive embodiments of the subject disclosure are described with reference to the following figures, wherein like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the various views unless otherwise specified.", "FIG.", "1 illustrates an example wireless network comprising access point devices registered to respective base station devices according to one or more embodiments.", "FIG.", "2 illustrates an example wireless network wherein several access point devices have registered with a base station device according to one or more embodiments.", "FIG.", "3 illustrates example base station device components according to one or more embodiments.", "FIG.", "4 illustrates example access point device components according to one or more embodiments.", "FIG.", "5 illustrates an example flow diagram of a priority-based access point device selection process according to one or more embodiments.", "FIG.", "6 illustrates an example schematic system block diagram for wireless network traffic session continuity according to one or more embodiments.", "FIG.", "7 illustrates an example schematic system block diagram for wireless network traffic session continuity and facilitation of access to the access point device according to one or more embodiments.", "FIG.", "8 illustrates an example schematic system block diagram for wireless network traffic session continuity based on a condition being satisfied according to one or more embodiments.", "FIG.", "9 illustrates an example schematic system block diagram for wireless network session continuity by releasing communication with a base station device and establishing communication with an access point device according to one or more embodiments.", "FIG.", "10 illustrates an example schematic system block diagram for wireless network session continuity by releasing communication with a base station device, establishing communication with an access point device, and registering the access point device with the based station device according to one or more embodiments.", "FIG.", "11 illustrates an example block diagram of an example mobile handset operable to engage in a system architecture that facilitates secure wireless communication according to one or more embodiments described herein.", "FIG.", "12 illustrates an example block diagram of an example computer operable to engage in a system architecture that facilitates secure wireless communication according to one or more embodiments described herein.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth to provide a thorough understanding of various embodiments.", "One skilled in the relevant art will recognize, however, that the techniques described herein can be practiced without one or more of the specific details, or with other methods, components, materials, etc.", "In other instances, well-known structures, materials, or operations are not shown or described in detail to avoid obscuring certain aspects.", "Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment,” or “an embodiment,” means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment.", "Thus, the appearances of the phrase “in one embodiment,” “in one aspect,” or “in an embodiment,” in various places throughout this specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment.", "Furthermore, the particular features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments.", "As utilized herein, terms “component,” “system,” “interface,” and the like are intended to refer to a computer-related entity, hardware, software (e.g., in execution), and/or firmware.", "For example, a component can be a processor, a process running on a processor, an object, an executable, a program, a storage device, and/or a computer.", "By way of illustration, an application running on a server and the server can be a component.", "One or more components can reside within a process, and a component can be localized on one computer and/or distributed between two or more computers.", "Further, these components can execute from various computer readable media having various data structures stored thereon.", "The components can communicate via local and/or remote processes such as in accordance with a signal having one or more data packets (e.g., data from one component interacting with another component in a local system, distributed system, and/or across a network, e.g., the Internet, a local area network, a wide area network, etc.", "with other systems via the signal).", "As another example, a component can be an apparatus with specific functionality provided by mechanical parts operated by electric or electronic circuitry; the electric or electronic circuitry can be operated by a software application or a firmware application executed by one or more processors; the one or more processors can be internal or external to the apparatus and can execute at least a part of the software or firmware application.", "As yet another example, a component can be an apparatus that provides specific functionality through electronic components without mechanical parts; the electronic components can include one or more processors therein to execute software and/or firmware that confer(s), at least in part, the functionality of the electronic components.", "In an aspect, a component can emulate an electronic component via a virtual machine, e.g., within a cloud computing system.", "The words “exemplary” and/or “demonstrative” are used herein to mean serving as an example, instance, or illustration.", "For the avoidance of doubt, the subject matter disclosed herein is not limited by such examples.", "In addition, any aspect or design described herein as “exemplary” and/or “demonstrative” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other aspects or designs, nor is it meant to preclude equivalent exemplary structures and techniques known to those of ordinary skill in the art.", "Furthermore, to the extent that the terms “includes,” “has,” “contains,” and other similar words are used in either the detailed description or the claims, such terms are intended to be inclusive—in a manner similar to the term “comprising” as an open transition word—without precluding any additional or other elements.", "As used herein, the term “infer” or “inference” refers generally to the process of reasoning about, or inferring states of, the system, environment, user, and/or intent from a set of observations as captured via events and/or data.", "Captured data and events can include user data, device data, environment data, data from sensors, sensor data, application data, implicit data, explicit data, etc.", "Inference can be employed to identify a specific context or action, or can generate a probability distribution over states of interest based on a consideration of data and events, for example.", "Inference can also refer to techniques employed for composing higher-level events from a set of events and/or data.", "Such inference results in the construction of new events or actions from a set of observed events and/or stored event data, whether the events are correlated in close temporal proximity, and whether the events and data come from one or several event and data sources.", "Various classification schemes and/or systems (e.g., support vector machines, neural networks, expert systems, Bayesian belief networks, fuzzy logic, and data fusion engines) can be employed in connection with performing automatic and/or inferred action in connection with the disclosed subject matter.", "In addition, the disclosed subject matter can be implemented as a method, apparatus, or article of manufacture using standard programming and/or engineering techniques to produce software, firmware, hardware, or any combination thereof to control a computer to implement the disclosed subject matter.", "The term “article of manufacture” as used herein is intended to encompass a computer program accessible from any computer-readable device, computer-readable carrier, or computer-readable media.", "For example, computer-readable media can include, but are not limited to, a magnetic storage device, e.g., hard disk; floppy disk; magnetic strip(s); an optical disk (e.g., compact disk (CD), a digital video disc (DVD), a Blu-ray Disc™ (BD)); a smart card; a flash memory device (e.g., card, stick, key drive); and/or a virtual device that emulates a storage device and/or any of the above computer-readable media.", "As an overview of the various embodiments presented herein, to correct for the above-identified deficiencies and other drawbacks of traditional cellular mobility management, various embodiments are described herein to facilitate a seamless handoff of communication between mobile devices and network devices.", "For simplicity of explanation, the methods (or algorithms) are depicted and described as a series of acts.", "It is to be understood and appreciated that the various embodiments are not limited by the acts illustrated and/or by the order of acts.", "For example, acts can occur in various orders and/or concurrently, and with other acts not presented or described herein.", "Furthermore, not all illustrated acts may be required to implement the methods.", "In addition, the methods could alternatively be represented as a series of interrelated states via a state diagram or events.", "Additionally, the methods described hereafter are capable of being stored on an article of manufacture (e.g., a computer readable storage medium) to facilitate transporting and transferring such methodologies to computers.", "The term article of manufacture, as used herein, is intended to encompass a computer program accessible from any computer-readable device, carrier, or media, including a non-transitory computer readable storage medium.", "Described herein are systems, methods, articles of manufacture, and other embodiments or implementations that can facilitate wireless network traffic session continuity.", "Facilitating wireless network traffic session continuity can be implemented in connection with any type of device with a connection to the communications network such as: a mobile handset, a computer, a handheld device, or the like.", "Mobile data traffic has been grown over recent years and will continue to grow.", "Traffic from mobile streaming content delivery accounts for over fifty percent of the total mobile data traffic in recent years.", "However, these market trends can be mitigated by managing existing radio resources by maximizing spectral efficiency such as: the implementation of multiple-input and multiple-output (MIMO), carrier aggregation (CA), and/or adaptive beamforming targeting for a better quality of experience (QoE) to mobile data users.", "Beyond the spectral efficiency, raising radio data capacity directly can depend on the quantity of available spectrum resources.", "Service providers have been exploring opportunities to acquire more radio frequency (RF) spectrum.", "Cellular spectral efficiency resources of available RF spectrum are sparse.", "Therefore, demand for acquiring more RF access spectrum has become can be a bottleneck to future mobile radio developments.", "One solution to increase cellular spectral efficiency can be to share mobile access from a licensed access to an unlicensed spectrum.", "For example, long term evolution (LTE) or license assisted access (LAA) development over a service provider's Wi-Fi network can be used to increase spectral efficiency.", "It should be noted that, although LTE is used as an example wireless communication standard throughout this disclosure, other standards for wireless communication, either known or unknown, can be used to facilitate the processes herewith.", "For instance, a similar interoperability radio access technology (RAT) process can be extended to all mobile networks including, but not limited to, 2G/3G/4G networks.", "There are many 3rd party Wi-Fi access points deployed in the field.", "Leveraging use of these Wi-Fi access points can be used to gain access to their coverage area for the session continuity of licensed access in a secure and stable environment.", "One challenge in exploiting Wi-Fi coverage, with 3rd party Wi-Fi access points being widely distributed within the LTE coverage, is that they are not presently compatible with LTE networks.", "Therefore, the LTE network cannot connect to the Wi-Fi access points due to compatibility concerns.", "However, this problem can be addressed by facilitating a compatible connection to the 3rd party Wi-Fi access points and open a mutually beneficial interoperable bridge between the LTE network and Wi-Fi access points.", "Once the bridging connection is created for LTE and Wi-Fi networking, session continuity between licensed LTE and unlicensed Wi-Fi mobile access can be developed to facilitate smooth and secure interoperability.", "There are two objectives of this disclosure.", "The first objective is to open a mutually incentivized channel between an LTE service provider and owners of 3rd party Wi-Fi access points so that the 3rd party Wi-Fi access points can be motivated to register with the LTE network.", "Thereafter, the second objective of this disclosure is for the LTE service provider to be able to connect to the 3rd party Wi-Fi access points after the Wi-Fi access points have been reconfigured to meet the LTE security and QoE requirements.", "Mobile user equipment (UE) can interoperate between LTE networks and Wi-Fi access points in the following manner.", "The UE can initiate a mobile session on the LTE network.", "When the UE reaches a Wi-Fi coverage area generated by a Wi-Fi access point device, an auto-detect and reconnect process can be initiated on the UE.", "Once the UE access to the Wi-Fi access point device is complete, the UE current LTE data session can be stopped, and a new data session can be switched to the local 3rd party Wi-Fi access point device.", "This process of session continuity can release LTE spectrum for highly mobile access users and allow the user data access experience to continue on the local Wi-Fi access point device.", "However, this type of session continuity does not require the LTE network to learn the existence of 3rd party Wi-Fi access points device.", "Thus, the aforementioned session continuity can negatively impact QoE by randomly stopping a mobile streaming session, particularly in a mixed Wi-Fi and LTE coverage area such as in the office building, mall, or other public areas.", "In order to provide a continuously smooth session for mobile streaming service delivery and session continuity, the LTE network can be aware of the existence of the 3rd party Wi-Fi access point devices, and the 3rd party Wi-Fi access point devices can be pre-loaded with software packages under an interoperability agreement with the LTE service providers in terms of guaranteed consumer QoE and access security.", "When a mobile UE accesses a mobile streaming service, an anchor point can be created in the LTE network that can track its traffic flow whether it is on the LTE network or has a session continued connection to a 3rd party Wi-Fi access point device.", "As long as the connection is active, the mobile session billing can be continued since the user is not aware of the access connection and the LTE network still has to protect its access QoE.", "The proposed session continuity process can be monitored and managed by a network anchor, which is different from a conventional mobility anchor.", "The conventional mobility anchor can only work on licensed spectrum access, whereas the newly proposed session continued network anchor can operate across licensed and unlicensed RF domains.", "It can link the licensed and unlicensed RF domains while sitting at the side of a licensed network.", "The deployment of this anchor management function to support the session continuity can comprise an unlicensed owner agreement and software update in an unlicensed access point.", "Targeted mobile content delivery can be either real-time event broadcasting or near real-time television recording, which can be different from mobile data access.", "Many local stores provide free Wi-Fi access to their customers.", "This type of free Wi-Fi offering can continue even after the Wi-Fi access point has been configured for LTE interoperability.", "To attract local Wi-Fi access point owners to register their Wi-Fi access point devices to the LTE network and sign an agreement for QoE and access security with an LTE service provider, the LTE service provider can incentivize the local Wi-Fi access point owners for the mobile streaming session access carried by the local Wi-Fi owner's access point device.", "Incentives can be monetary, coupons, discounts, etc.", "In addition, the LTE network provider can reduce a churn rate by providing mobile users with a better LTE streaming experience.", "Whenever the mobile streaming content on the LTE network is session continued to the local Wi-Fi access point device, the user can have a better RF connection experience with improved streaming quality.", "In this architecture, both the Wi-Fi and cellular radios can transmit and receive independently but simultaneously from both their network access points, including the cellular tower antenna and the mobile devices.", "The RF connection in the LTE network can be managed by a radio resource control (RRC) component, and the RF connection of Wi-Fi access network can be managed by a radio resource management (RRM) component.", "The RRM is a system level control of co-channel interference and other radio transmission characteristics in wireless communication systems (cellular networks, wireless networks and broadcasting systems).", "RRM can comprise strategies and algorithms for controlling parameters such as transmit power, user allocation, beamforming, data rates, handover criteria, modulation schema, error coding schemes, etc.", "The RRM can be used to utilize limited radio-frequency spectrum resources and radio network infrastructure as efficiently as possible.", "Functions of the RRC can comprise connection establishment and release functions, broadcast of system information, radio bearer establishment reconfiguration and release, RRC connection mobility procedures, paging notification and release and outer loop power control.", "By means of signaling functions, the RRC can configure user and control planes according to a network status and allow for RRM strategies to be implemented.", "Operation of the RRC can be guided by a state machine, which defines specific states that a mobile device may be present in.", "The different states in the state machine can have different radio resources associated with them.", "These are the resources that the mobile device may use when it is present in a specific state.", "Since different amounts of resources are available at different states, the quality of the service that the user experiences and the energy consumption of the mobile device can be influenced by this state machine.", "A content handoff processor (CHP) can be implemented in an LTE backhaul network.", "For example, the local Wi-Fi access point devices under a cellular tower A coverage can register at the CHP through the cellular tower A and all the local Wi-Fi access point devices under a cellular tower B coverage can register at the CHP through the cellular tower B so that under each LTE cellular tower, there is a neighbor list of available Wi-Fi access points.", "The CHP can assign access for each local Wi-Fi access point device per the cellular network policy, and the mobile devices can follow this priority list.", "Access priority can be conditioned upon access point device radio frequency signal quality, access point device packet data speed, speed of the mobile device, geographical location, etc.", "Further, one CHP can cover multiple cellular towers.", "If a 3rd party Wi-Fi access point device chooses not to register on a cellular network, it can keep its privacy and there will be no cellular session continuity camping on that access point device.", "For example, while a UE device is connected to the LTE network through a cellular tower A and detects the existence of a stable connection through a registered local Wi-Fi access point device on the cellular tower A, the mobile device can send a Wi-Fi access request to the CHP pending a permission setting.", "The CHP can estimate the UE's speed through cellular tower A coverage and if the UE's speed is high, the CHP can reject the access request.", "The mobile device can then remain on cellular access and not switch to the Wi-Fi access point device.", "In yet another example, the CHP can approve the session-continued Wi-Fi access if a UE's speed is low.", "The UE device can follow a Wi-Fi device priority list based on its available Wi-Fi access associated with its registered cellular tower.", "Once the UE device connects to the targeted Wi-Fi access point device, the UE device can request cellular session data/information from the cellular network.", "The cellular data/information can include, but is not limited to: internet protocol (IP) socket data, connection port data of a serving gateway (S-GW), and/or connection port data of a packet data network gateway (P-GW).", "The cellular data/information can then be passed to the Wi-Fi RRM via Wi-Fi access.", "Wi-Fi access content can pass through an LTE network security process for non-trusted wireless access.", "The Wi-Fi RRM can contact the LTE RRC to timely match the two IP sessions through the P-GW.", "The RCC can also adjust the Wi-Fi access timing to so that the content of data flowing from two IP sessions (one is from the LTE network device and the other is from the local Wi-Fi access point device) are in sync.", "The Wi-Fi access point device can then take over and the RF access to the LTE network can be released.", "However, the original LTE anchor point can still track the continued mobile session.", "In this manner, a session continued inter-radio access from cellular to Wi-Fi proceeds.", "Although this process can UE device initiated, the process can still be under the LTE network assistance and control.", "Wi-Fi registration to the CHP can be local and can be updated frequently and/or periodically.", "Mobile UE device power consumption can be minimized by the LTE network maintaining the session continuity support processes.", "The aforementioned processes, which are managed under the control of the service provider to facilitate session continuity to local Wi-Fi networks, can be varied and distinguished by the service provider, by a business strategy, and/or by a local CHP set-up.", "The benefits for the LTE service provider can comprise reducing the churn rate by providing a better mobile QoE for mobile streaming services with more LTE traffic offloaded to the Wi-Fi network.", "The benefit for the local Wi-Fi access network operator can comprise paid consumer mobile streaming traffic in addition to their free Wi-Fi access strategy.", "As mentioned above, the process can be reversely implemented so that when the mobile device is leaving the Wi-Fi coverage area, it can reattach to the LTE network.", "The process can support seamless session continuity for voice over LTE (VoLTE), voice over IP (VoIP), and/or IP voice services such as voice over Wi-Fi (VoWi-Fi) connection.", "It can also support session continuity for mobile streaming content delivery.□ The process can cover 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) or non-3GPP accesses, and also cover trusted and non-trusted accesses.□ In the case of the non-trusted access, a security process is required prior to the handoff of the IP data session.", "The session continued transactions can be IP data content matching centric.", "The features of this process can comprise a hard RF handoff following a matching of packet data content in an IP-based session.", "□IP security can be added to all non-3GPP data access.", "The registered Wi-Fi access point devices can become a part of an enhanced broadband mobile □deployment strategy for session continuity, which can be initiation by the UE device but supported and controlled by the network.", "In one embodiment, described herein is a method comprising receiving signal data related to a mobile device communication with a base station device and receiving registration data related to registration with an access point device.", "Thereafter, a request to access the access point device is received from the mobile device, and sending connectivity data based on whether a condition is satisfied.", "According to another embodiment, a system can facilitate, the receiving of mobile device data related to a communication of a mobile device with a base station device, and facilitate receiving access point device data related to an access point device of a network.", "The system can also facilitate receiving other mobile device data related to another communication of the mobile device with the access point device and continuing of the other communication with the access point device based on a condition being determined to have been satisfied.", "According to yet another embodiment, described herein is a computer readable medium that can perform the operations comprising receiving first network data related to a first communication of a mobile device with a base station device, receiving second network data related to the base station releasing the first communication with the mobile device, and receiving access point device data related to an access point device of a network.", "The computer readable medium can also perform the operations comprising receiving third network data related to the access point device establishing a second communication with the mobile device, and monitoring the second communication for a change in data throughput.", "These and other embodiments or implementations are described in more detail below with reference to the drawings.", "Referring now to FIG.", "1, illustrated is an example wireless network comprising access point devices registered to respective base station devices according to one or more embodiments.", "A wireless network, as represented in FIG.", "1, can comprise several base stations 102 110 114.Each base station 102 110 114 can comprise a geographic area 100 108 114 serviced by that particular base station 102 110 114.For instance, the base station 102 can comprise the geographic area 100, the base station 110 can comprise the geographic area 108, and the base station 116 can comprise the geographic area 114.It should also be noted that geographic areas 100 108 114 can also overlap each other based on the proximity of each base station 102 110 114.Each base station 102 110 114 can comprise an access point device 104 112 118 within its respective geographic area 100 108 114.For example, the base station 102 can comprise the access point device 104 because it is located within the geographic area 100, the base station 110 can comprise the access point device 112 because it is located within the geographic area 108, and the base station 116 can comprise the access point device 118 because it is located within the geographic area 114.Each access point device 104 112 118 can register with each base station 102 110 114 via a content handoff processor (CHP) that can be implemented in a backhaul network.", "The access point devices 104 112 118 can be reconfigured to meet specific security and QoE requirements.", "For example, the access point device 104 can register with base station 102 via a CHP associated with base station 102.The registration process can ensure that the access point device 104 is secure and abides by policies set by a wireless service provider.", "After the access point device 104 has registered with the base station 102 via the CHP, a mobile device 106, which was in communication with the wireless network base station 102 can initiate a session continuity process to the access point device 104.When the mobile device 106 reaches the geographic area 100 generated by the access point device 104, an auto-detect and reconnect process can be initiated on the mobile device 106.Once the mobile device 106 access to the access point device 104 is complete, the mobile device 106 current data session with the base station 102 can be terminated, and a new data session can be switched to the access point device 104.The access point device 104 registration process can also comprise a neighbor list of available access point devices within the geographic area 100, which are also available for the mobile device 106 to utilize for the session continuity process.", "The CHP can assign access priority for each local access point device per a cellular network policy.", "Referring now to FIG.", "2, illustrated is an example wireless network wherein several access point devices have registered with a base station device according to one or more embodiments.", "A base station 210 can comprise an access point devices 202 204 206 208 within its respective geographic area 200.As represented in FIG.", "2, the base station 210 can comprise the access point devices 202 204 206 208 because they are located within the geographic area 200.Each access point device 202 204 206 208 can register with the base station 210 via a CHP that can be implemented in a backhaul network.", "The access point devices 202 204 206 208 can be reconfigured to meet specific security and QoE requirements.", "For example, the access point device 202 can register with the base station 210 via a CHP associated with the base station 210.The registration process can ensure that the access point device 202 is secure and abides by policies set by a wireless service provider.", "After the access point device 202 has registered with the base station 210 via the CHP, a mobile device 212, which was in communication with the wireless network base station 210 can initiate a session continuity process to the access point device 202.When the mobile device 212 is within range of the access point device 202, an auto-detect and reconnect process can be initiated on the mobile device 212.Once the mobile device 212 access to the access point device 202 is complete, the mobile device 212 current data session with the base station 210 can be terminated, and a new data session can be switched to the access point device 202.The access point device 202 registration process can also comprise a neighbor list of available access point devices 204 206 208 within the geographic area 200, which are also available for the mobile device 212 to utilize for the session continuity process.", "The CHP can assign access priority for each local access point device per a cellular network policy.", "After the access point devices 202 204 206 208 have registered with the base station 210 via the CHP, a priority can be assigned to each access point device 202 204 206 208.For example, although the mobile device 212 may be in closer proximity to the access point device 202, the CHP may direct the mobile device to 210 to offload data to the access point device 206 based on a priority assigned wherein the access point device 206 has a higher priority than the access point device 202.The CHP can also dictate that a data session between the access point device 202 and the mobile device 212 be transferred to the access point device 206 as the mobile device transitions throughout the geographic area 200.Referring now to FIG.", "3, illustrated are example base station device components according to one or more embodiments.", "The base station device 300 can comprise a radio resource control component 302 and a content handoff processor (CHP) component 304 in conjunction with a backhaul network.", "The base station device 300 cellular radios can transmit and receive signals independently and simultaneously via a cellular tower antenna.", "Thus, the RF connection in the wireless network can be managed by the radio resource control (RRC) component 302.Functions of the RRC can comprise connection establishment and release functions, broadcast of system information, radio bearer establishment reconfiguration and release, RRC connection mobility procedures, paging notification and release and outer loop power control.", "The CHP can be implemented in a backhaul network associated with a base station device.", "Access point devices can register for base station devices via the CHP 304 through the cellular tower antenna.", "The CHP can also assign a priority for each access point device based on a cellular network policy.", "Further, one CHP can cover multiple base station devices.", "The CHP can estimate a mobile device's speed through cellular tower coverage and if the mobile device's speed is high, the CHP can reject an access request.", "The mobile device can then remain on cellular access and not switch to the access point device.", "The CHP can also approve session continuity to an access point device if a mobile device's speed is low or some other condition, such as priority, is satisfied.", "Referring now to FIG.", "4, illustrated are example access point device components according to one or more embodiments.", "An access point device 400 can be any device, which can serve as an access point to a wireless network including, but not limited to, a Wi-Fi access point device.", "The access point device 400 can comprise a radio resource management (RRM) component 402 and a radio frequency connection (RFC) component 404.The RRM component 402 can comprise strategies and algorithms for controlling parameters such as: transmit power, user allocation, beamforming, data rates, handover criteria, modulation schema, error coding schemes, etc., whereas the RFC component 404 can control the data transmission between a mobile device and the access point device 400.Referring now to FIG.", "5, illustrated is an example flow diagram of a priority-based access point device selection process according to one or more embodiments.", "At element 500 an access point device A and an access point device B can register with a base station of a wireless network via a CHP.", "Each access point device can register with the CHP, which can be implemented in a backhaul network.", "The access point devices can be reconfigured to meet specific security and QoE requirements as set forth by policies set by a wireless service provider.", "After the access point devices have registered with the CHP, at elements 502 and 504 the CHP can determine whether access point device A has priority or whether access point device B has priority, respectively.", "The determination of priority can be based on speed, data throughput, geographic location, etc.", "If it is determined that access point device A has priority at element 502, then a request for a mobile device to connect with access point device A is sent at element 506.The CHP then has the opportunity to accept or reject the request at element 510.If it is determined that access point device B has priority at element 504, then a request for a mobile device to connect with access point device B is sent at element 508.Alternatively, the CHP then has the opportunity to accept or reject the request at element 510.Referring now to FIG.", "6, illustrated is an example schematic system block diagram for wireless network traffic session continuity according to one or more embodiments.", "At element 600, a wireless network device comprising a processor, can receive signal data related to a mobile device communication with a base station device.", "The mobile device communication with the base station device can comprise packet data or voice data.", "At element 602 registration data related to registration with an access point device can be received.", "Each access point device can register with a CHP, which can be implemented in a backhaul network.", "The access point devices can then be reconfigured to meet specific security and QoE requirements as set forth by policies set by a wireless service provider.", "Other signal data related to another mobile device communication with the access point device can be received at element 604.The other signal data can comprise an attempt by the mobile device to initiate communication with the access point device.", "The wireless network device can then receive a request from the mobile device to access the access point device at element 606, and based on whether a condition is satisfied, sending connectivity data relating to information about a connection with the mobile device at element 608.For instance, the wireless network device can send information to the access point device or the mobile device.", "The information can comprise an indication that the condition was satisfied, an indication that the condition was not satisfied, and/or an indication of what the condition is.", "Referring now to FIG.", "7, illustrated is an example schematic system block diagram for wireless network traffic session continuity and facilitation of access to the access point device according to one or more embodiments.", "At element 700, a wireless network device comprising a processor, can receive signal data related to a mobile device communication with a base station device.", "The mobile device communication with the base station device can comprise packet data or voice data.", "At element 702 registration data related to registration with an access point device can be received.", "Each access point device can register with a CHP, which can be implemented in a backhaul network.", "The access point devices can then be reconfigured to meet specific security and QoE requirements as set forth by policies set by a wireless service provider.", "Other signal data related to another mobile device communication with the access point device can be received at element 704.The other signal data can comprise an attempt by the mobile device to initiate communication with the access point device.", "The wireless network device can then receive a request from the mobile device to access the access point device at element 706, and based on whether a condition is satisfied, sending connectivity data relating to information about a connection with the mobile device at element 708.For instance, the wireless network device can send information to the access point device or the mobile device.", "The information can comprise an indication that the condition was satisfied, an indication that the condition was not satisfied, and/or an indication of what the condition is.", "Furthermore, the wireless network device can facilitate access to the access point device by the mobile device based on the condition of element 708 being determined to have been satisfied at element 710.Referring now to FIG.", "8, illustrated is an example schematic system block diagram for wireless network traffic session continuity based on a condition being satisfied according to one or more embodiments.", "At element 800 mobile device data related to a communication of a mobile device with a base station device can be received.", "The mobile device communication with the base station device can comprise packet data or voice data.", "Access point device data related to an access point device of a network can be received at element 802.The access point device data can comprise geographic location data and/or registration data.", "Each access point device can register with a CHP, which can be implemented in a backhaul network.", "The access point devices can then be reconfigured to meet specific security and QoE requirements as set forth by policies set by a wireless service provider.", "At element 804, the system can receive other mobile device data related to another communication of the mobile device with the access point device.", "The other mobile device data can comprise an attempt by the mobile device to initiate communication with the access point device.", "The communication with the access point device at element 804 can be continued at element 806 based on a condition being determined to have been satisfied.", "The condition can be related to a speed of the mobile device, a throughput of data from the mobile device to the access point device, the geographic location of the access point device, a priority-based system, etc.", "At element 808, the system can link a licensed radio frequency domain to an unlicensed radio frequency domain Referring now to FIG.", "9, illustrated is an example schematic system block diagram for wireless network traffic session continuity by releasing communication with a base station device and establishing communication with an access point device according to one or more embodiments.", "At element 900, first network data related to a first communication of a mobile device with a base station device can be received.", "The mobile device communication with the base station device can comprise packet data or voice data.", "At element 902, second network data related to the base station releasing the first communication with the mobile device can be received.", "The base station can release communication with the mobile device based on an indication that a registered access point device can overtake communication with the mobile device.", "Each access point device can register with a CHP, which can be implemented in a backhaul network.", "The access point devices can then be reconfigured to meet specific security and QoE requirements as set forth by policies set by a wireless service provider.", "Access point device data related to an access point device of a network can then be received at element 904.At element 906, third network data related to the access point device establishing a second communication with the mobile device can be received.", "Once the CHP has made a determination that a specific access point device can maintain communication with the mobile device data related to a connection of the mobile device to the access point device can be received by the system.", "The system can also monitor the second communication for a change in data throughput at element 908.The monitoring can be used to determine if the system ever needs to offload data to another access point device based on a defined priority scheme.", "At element 910, a licensed radio frequency network can be linked to an unlicensed radio frequency network.", "Referring now to FIG.", "10, illustrated is an example schematic system block diagram for wireless network traffic session continuity by releasing communication with a base station device, establishing communication with an access point device, and registering the access point device with the based station device according to one or more embodiments.", "At element 1000, first network data related to a first communication of a mobile device with a base station device can be received.", "The mobile device communication with the base station device can comprise packet data or voice data.", "At element 1002, second network data related to the base station releasing the first communication with the mobile device can be received.", "The base station can release communication with the mobile device based on an indication that a registered access point device can overtake communication with the mobile device.", "Each access point device can register with a CHP, which can be implemented in a backhaul network.", "The access point devices can then be reconfigured to meet specific security and QoE requirements as set forth by policies set by a wireless service provider.", "Access point device data related to an access point device of a network can then be received at element 1004.At element 1006, third network data related to the access point device establishing a second communication with the mobile device can be received.", "Once the CHP has made a determination that a specific access point device can maintain communication with the mobile device data related to a connection of the mobile device to the access point device can be received by the system.", "The system can also monitor the second communication for a change in data throughput at element 1008.The monitoring can be used to determine if the system ever needs to offload data to another access point device based on a defined priority scheme.", "At element 1010, a licensed radio frequency network can be linked to an unlicensed radio frequency network.", "Furthermore, at element 1012, another access point device can be registered by sending other access point device data to the base station device.", "Referring now to FIG.", "11, illustrated is a schematic block diagram of an exemplary end-user device such as a mobile device 1100 capable of connecting to a network in accordance with some embodiments described herein.", "Although a mobile handset 1100 is illustrated herein, it will be understood that other devices can be a mobile device, and that the mobile handset 1100 is merely illustrated to provide context for the embodiments of the various embodiments described herein.", "The following discussion is intended to provide a brief, general description of an example of a suitable environment 1100 in which the various embodiments can be implemented.", "While the description includes a general context of computer-executable instructions embodied on a computer readable storage medium, those skilled in the art will recognize that the innovation also can be implemented in combination with other program modules and/or as a combination of hardware and software.", "Generally, applications (e.g., program modules) can include routines, programs, components, data structures, etc., that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types.", "Moreover, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the methods described herein can be practiced with other system configurations, including single-processor or multiprocessor systems, minicomputers, mainframe computers, as well as personal computers, hand-held computing devices, microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics, and the like, each of which can be operatively coupled to one or more associated devices.", "A computing device can typically include a variety of computer-readable media.", "Computer readable media can be any available media that can be accessed by the computer and includes both volatile and non-volatile media, removable and non-removable media.", "By way of example and not limitation, computer-readable media can comprise computer storage media and communication media.", "Computer storage media can include volatile and/or non-volatile media, removable and/or non-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storage of information, such as computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data.", "Computer storage media can include, but is not limited to, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memory technology, CD ROM, digital video disk (DVD) or other optical disk storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium which can be used to store the desired information and which can be accessed by the computer.", "Communication media typically embodies computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data in a modulated data signal such as a carrier wave or other transport mechanism, and includes any information delivery media.", "The term “modulated data signal” means a signal that has one or more of its characteristics set or changed in such a manner as to encode information in the signal.", "By way of example, and not limitation, communication media includes wired media such as a wired network or direct-wired connection, and wireless media such as acoustic, RF, infrared and other wireless media.", "Combinations of the any of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.", "The handset 1100 includes a processor 1102 for controlling and processing all onboard operations and functions.", "A memory 1104 interfaces to the processor 1102 for storage of data and one or more applications 1106 (e.g., a video player software, user feedback component software, etc.).", "Other applications can include voice recognition of predetermined voice commands that facilitate initiation of the user feedback signals.", "The applications 1106 can be stored in the memory 1104 and/or in a firmware 1108, and executed by the processor 1102 from either or both the memory 1104 or/and the firmware 1108.The firmware 1108 can also store startup code for execution in initializing the handset 1100.A communications component 1110 interfaces to the processor 1102 to facilitate wired/wireless communication with external systems, e.g., cellular networks, VoIP networks, and so on.", "Here, the communications component 1110 can also include a suitable cellular transceiver 1111 (e.g., a GSM transceiver) and/or an unlicensed transceiver 1113 (e.g., Wi-Fi, WiMax) for corresponding signal communications.", "The handset 1100 can be a device such as a cellular telephone, a PDA with mobile communications capabilities, and messaging-centric devices.", "The communications component 1110 also facilitates communications reception from terrestrial radio networks (e.g., broadcast), digital satellite radio networks, and Internet-based radio services networks.", "The handset 1100 includes a display 1112 for displaying text, images, video, telephony functions (e.g., a Caller ID function), setup functions, and for user input.", "For example, the display 1112 can also be referred to as a “screen” that can accommodate the presentation of multimedia content (e.g., music metadata, messages, wallpaper, graphics, etc.).", "The display 1112 can also display videos and can facilitate the generation, editing and sharing of video quotes.", "A serial I/O interface 1114 is provided in communication with the processor 1102 to facilitate wired and/or wireless serial communications (e.g., USB, and/or IEEE 1394) through a hardwire connection, and other serial input devices (e.g., a keyboard, keypad, and mouse).", "This supports updating and troubleshooting the handset 1100, for example.", "Audio capabilities are provided with an audio I/O component 1116, which can include a speaker for the output of audio signals related to, for example, indication that the user pressed the proper key or key combination to initiate the user feedback signal.", "The audio I/O component 1116 also facilitates the input of audio signals through a microphone to record data and/or telephony voice data, and for inputting voice signals for telephone conversations.", "The handset 1100 can include a slot interface 1118 for accommodating a SIC (Subscriber Identity Component) in the form factor of a card Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) or universal SIM 1120, and interfacing the SIM card 1120 with the processor 1102.However, it is to be appreciated that the SIM card 1120 can be manufactured into the handset 1100, and updated by downloading data and software.", "The handset 1100 can process IP data traffic through the communication component 1110 to accommodate IP traffic from an IP network such as, for example, the Internet, a corporate intranet, a home network, a person area network, etc., through an ISP or broadband cable provider.", "Thus, VoIP traffic can be utilized by the handset 800 and IP-based multimedia content can be received in either an encoded or decoded format.", "A video processing component 1122 (e.g., a camera) can be provided for decoding encoded multimedia content.", "The video processing component 1122 can aid in facilitating the generation, editing and sharing of video quotes.", "The handset 1100 also includes a power source 1124 in the form of batteries and/or an AC power subsystem, which power source 1124 can interface to an external power system or charging equipment (not shown) by a power I/O component 1126.The handset 1100 can also include a video component 1130 for processing video content received and, for recording and transmitting video content.", "For example, the video component 1130 can facilitate the generation, editing and sharing of video quotes.", "A location tracking component 1132 facilitates geographically locating the handset 1100.As described hereinabove, this can occur when the user initiates the feedback signal automatically or manually.", "A user input component 1134 facilitates the user initiating the quality feedback signal.", "The user input component 1134 can also facilitate the generation, editing and sharing of video quotes.", "The user input component 1134 can include such conventional input device technologies such as a keypad, keyboard, mouse, stylus pen, and/or touch screen, for example.", "Referring again to the applications 1106, a hysteresis component 1136 facilitates the analysis and processing of hysteresis data, which is utilized to determine when to associate with the access point.", "A software trigger component 1138 can be provided that facilitates triggering of the hysteresis component 1138 when the Wi-Fi transceiver 1113 detects the beacon of the access point.", "A SIP client 1140 enables the handset 1100 to support SIP protocols and register the subscriber with the SIP registrar server.", "The applications 1106 can also include a client 1142 that provides at least the capability of discovery, play and store of multimedia content, for example, music.", "The handset 1100, as indicated above related to the communications component 810, includes an indoor network radio transceiver 1113 (e.g., Wi-Fi transceiver).", "This function supports the indoor radio link, such as IEEE 802.11, for the dual-mode GSM handset 1100.The handset 1100 can accommodate at least satellite radio services through a handset that can combine wireless voice and digital radio chipsets into a single handheld device.", "Referring now to FIG.", "12, there is illustrated a block diagram of a computer 1200 operable to execute a system architecture that facilitates establishing a transaction between an entity and a third party.", "The computer 1200 can provide networking and communication capabilities between a wired or wireless communication network and a server and/or communication device.", "In order to provide additional context for various aspects thereof, FIG.", "12 and the following discussion are intended to provide a brief, general description of a suitable computing environment in which the various aspects of the innovation can be implemented to facilitate the establishment of a transaction between an entity and a third party.", "While the description above is in the general context of computer-executable instructions that can run on one or more computers, those skilled in the art will recognize that the innovation also can be implemented in combination with other program modules and/or as a combination of hardware and software.", "Generally, program modules include routines, programs, components, data structures, etc., that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types.", "Moreover, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the inventive methods can be practiced with other computer system configurations, including single-processor or multiprocessor computer systems, minicomputers, mainframe computers, as well as personal computers, hand-held computing devices, microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics, and the like, each of which can be operatively coupled to one or more associated devices.", "The illustrated aspects of the innovation can also be practiced in distributed computing environments where certain tasks are performed by remote processing devices that are linked through a communications network.", "In a distributed computing environment, program modules can be located in both local and remote memory storage devices.", "Computing devices typically include a variety of media, which can include computer-readable storage media or communications media, which two terms are used herein differently from one another as follows.", "Computer-readable storage media can be any available storage media that can be accessed by the computer and includes both volatile and nonvolatile media, removable and non-removable media.", "By way of example, and not limitation, computer-readable storage media can be implemented in connection with any method or technology for storage of information such as computer-readable instructions, program modules, structured data, or unstructured data.", "Computer-readable storage media can include, but are not limited to, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memory technology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disk (DVD) or other optical disk storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or other tangible and/or non-transitory media which can be used to store desired information.", "Computer-readable storage media can be accessed by one or more local or remote computing devices, e.g., via access requests, queries or other data retrieval protocols, for a variety of operations with respect to the information stored by the medium.", "Communications media can embody computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other structured or unstructured data in a data signal such as a modulated data signal, e.g., a carrier wave or other transport mechanism, and includes any information delivery or transport media.", "The term “modulated data signal” or signals refers to a signal that has one or more of its characteristics set or changed in such a manner as to encode information in one or more signals.", "By way of example, and not limitation, communication media include wired media, such as a wired network or direct-wired connection, and wireless media such as acoustic, RF, infrared and other wireless media.", "With reference to FIG.", "12, implementing various aspects described herein with regards to the end-user device can include a computer 1200, the computer 1200 including a processing unit 1204, a system memory 1206 and a system bus 1208.The system bus 1208 couples system components including, but not limited to, the system memory 1206 to the processing unit 1204.The processing unit 1204 can be any of various commercially available processors.", "Dual microprocessors and other multi processor architectures can also be employed as the processing unit 1204.The system bus 1208 can be any of several types of bus structure that can further interconnect to a memory bus (with or without a memory controller), a peripheral bus, and a local bus using any of a variety of commercially available bus architectures.", "The system memory 1206 includes read-only memory (ROM) 1210 and random access memory (RAM) 1212.A basic input/output system (BIOS) is stored in a non-volatile memory 1210 such as ROM, EPROM, EEPROM, which BIOS contains the basic routines that help to transfer information between elements within the computer 1200, such as during start-up.", "The RAM 1212 can also include a high-speed RAM such as static RAM for caching data.", "The computer 1200 further includes an internal hard disk drive (HDD) 1214 (e.g., EIDE, SATA), which internal hard disk drive 1214 can also be configured for external use in a suitable chassis (not shown), a magnetic floppy disk drive (FDD) 1216, (e.g., to read from or write to a removable diskette 1218) and an optical disk drive 1220, (e.g., reading a CD-ROM disk 1222 or, to read from or write to other high capacity optical media such as the DVD).", "The hard disk drive 1214, magnetic disk drive 1216 and optical disk drive 1211 can be connected to the system bus 1208 by a hard disk drive interface 1224, a magnetic disk drive interface 1226 and an optical drive interface 1228, respectively.", "The interface 1224 for external drive implementations includes at least one or both of Universal Serial Bus (USB) and IEEE 1294 interface technologies.", "Other external drive connection technologies are within contemplation of the subject innovation.", "The drives and their associated computer-readable media provide nonvolatile storage of data, data structures, computer-executable instructions, and so forth.", "For the computer 1200 the drives and media accommodate the storage of any data in a suitable digital format.", "Although the description of computer-readable media above refers to a HDD, a removable magnetic diskette, and a removable optical media such as a CD or DVD, it should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that other types of media which are readable by a computer 1200, such as zip drives, magnetic cassettes, flash memory cards, cartridges, and the like, can also be used in the exemplary operating environment, and further, that any such media can contain computer-executable instructions for performing the methods of the disclosed innovation.", "A number of program modules can be stored in the drives and RAM 1212, including an operating system 1230, one or more application programs 1232, other program modules 1234 and program data 1236.All or portions of the operating system, applications, modules, and/or data can also be cached in the RAM 1212.It is to be appreciated that the innovation can be implemented with various commercially available operating systems or combinations of operating systems.", "A user can enter commands and information into the computer 1200 through one or more wired/wireless input devices, e.g., a keyboard 1238 and a pointing device, such as a mouse 1240.Other input devices (not shown) may include a microphone, an IR remote control, a joystick, a game pad, a stylus pen, touch screen, or the like.", "These and other input devices are often connected to the processing unit 1204 through an input device interface 1242 that is coupled to the system bus 1208, but can be connected by other interfaces, such as a parallel port, an IEEE 2394 serial port, a game port, a USB port, an IR interface, etc.", "A monitor 1244 or other type of display device is also connected to the system bus 1208 through an interface, such as a video adapter 1246.In addition to the monitor 1244, a computer 1200 typically includes other peripheral output devices (not shown), such as speakers, printers, etc.", "The computer 1200 can operate in a networked environment using logical connections by wired and/or wireless communications to one or more remote computers, such as a remote computer(s) 1248.The remote computer(s) 1248 can be a workstation, a server computer, a router, a personal computer, portable computer, microprocessor-based entertainment device, a peer device or other common network node, and typically includes many or all of the elements described relative to the computer, although, for purposes of brevity, only a memory/storage device 1250 is illustrated.", "The logical connections depicted include wired/wireless connectivity to a local area network (LAN) 1252 and/or larger networks, e.g., a wide area network (WAN) 1254.Such LAN and WAN networking environments are commonplace in offices and companies, and facilitate enterprise-wide computer networks, such as intranets, all of which may connect to a global communications network, e.g., the Internet.", "When used in a LAN networking environment, the computer 1200 is connected to the local network 1252 through a wired and/or wireless communication network interface or adapter 1256.The adapter 1256 may facilitate wired or wireless communication to the LAN 1252, which may also include a wireless access point disposed thereon for communicating with the wireless adapter 1256.When used in a WAN networking environment, the computer 1200 can include a modem 1258, or is connected to a communications server on the WAN 1254, or has other means for establishing communications over the WAN 1254, such as by way of the Internet.", "The modem 1258, which can be internal or external and a wired or wireless device, is connected to the system bus 1208 through the serial port interface 1242.In a networked environment, program modules depicted relative to the computer, or portions thereof, can be stored in the remote memory/storage device 1250.It will be appreciated that the network connections shown are exemplary and other means of establishing a communications link between the computers can be used.", "The computer is operable to communicate with any wireless devices or entities operatively disposed in wireless communication, e.g., a printer, scanner, desktop and/or portable computer, portable data assistant, communications satellite, any piece of equipment or location associated with a wirelessly detectable tag (e.g., a kiosk, news stand, restroom), and telephone.", "This includes at least Wi-Fi and Bluetooth™ wireless technologies.", "Thus, the communication can be a predefined structure as with a conventional network or simply an ad hoc communication between at least two devices.", "Wi-Fi, or Wireless Fidelity, allows connection to the Internet from a couch at home, a bed in a hotel room, or a conference room at work, without wires.", "Wi-Fi is a wireless technology similar to that used in a cell phone that enables such devices, e.g., computers, to send and receive data indoors and out; anywhere within the range of a base station.", "Wi-Fi networks use radio technologies called IEEE 802.11 (a, b, g, etc.)", "to provide secure, reliable, fast wireless connectivity.", "A Wi-Fi network can be used to connect computers to each other, to the Internet, and to wired networks (which use IEEE 802.3 or Ethernet).", "Wi-Fi networks operate in the unlicensed 2.4 and 5 GHz radio bands, at an 11 Mbps (802.11a) or 54 Mbps (802.11b) data rate, for example, or with products that contain both bands (dual band), so the networks can provide real-world performance similar to the basic 10BaseT wired Ethernet networks used in many offices.", "The above description of illustrated embodiments of the subject disclosure, including what is described in the Abstract, is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosed embodiments to the precise forms disclosed.", "While specific embodiments and examples are described herein for illustrative purposes, various modifications are possible that are considered within the scope of such embodiments and examples, as those skilled in the relevant art can recognize.", "In this regard, while the subject matter has been described herein in connection with various embodiments and corresponding FIGs, where applicable, it is to be understood that other similar embodiments can be used or modifications and additions can be made to the described embodiments for performing the same, similar, alternative, or substitute function of the disclosed subject matter without deviating therefrom.", "Therefore, the disclosed subject matter should not be limited to any single embodiment described herein, but rather should be construed in breadth and scope in accordance with the appended claims below." ] ]
Patent_15872968
[ [ "NETWORK TRAFFIC ACCELERATOR", "A system for improving network data communications performance between end-user devices and content origin servers.", "A plurality of accelerators are distributed across a network and communicate with end-user devices and content origin servers.", "Software development kits installed on end-user devices monitor control channel data traffic between the end-user devices and accelerators.", "Various data traffic efficiency approaches are implemented by the software development kits on the end-user devices and the plurality of accelerators resulting in improved data communications links between the end-user devices and the content origin servers." ], [ "1.A method, comprising: determining that a first proxy server, among a plurality of proxy servers, is closest to a particular content origin server than other proxy servers in the plurality of proxy servers; receiving, by a second proxy server, among the plurality of proxy servers, a request from a user device for content from the particular content origin server, the second proxy server is in a geographical area different than the first proxy server; establishing, by the first proxy server, a connection with the particular content origin server; creating a persistent connection between the first proxy server and the second proxy server, wherein communications between the user device and the particular content origin server are routed through the persistent connection; wherein the method is performed by one or more computing devices.", "2.The method of claim 1, wherein the first proxy server is selected using a geo-IP mapping of an IP address of the particular content origin server.", "3.The method of claim 1, wherein the first proxy server is selected using a latency measurement between the first proxy server and the particular content origin server.", "4.The method of claim 1, further comprising: selecting a peer proxy server among the plurality of proxy servers by using a geo-IP mapping of an IP address of the particular content origin server; routing the request from the user device to the particular content origin server via a connection between the second proxy server and the peer proxy server; wherein the determining that the first proxy server is closest to the particular content origin server further comprises: determining that the first proxy server is closer to the particular content origin server than other proxy servers among the plurality of proxy servers using a latency measurement; wherein the communications between the user device and the particular content origin server are routed through the persistent connection.", "5.The method of claim 1, further comprising: assigning an expiration time to the persistent connection.", "6.The method of claim 1, further comprising: assigning an expiration time to the persistent connection; upon reaching the expiration time of the persistent connection, determining whether a third proxy server is closer to the particular content origin server than the first proxy server.", "7.The method of claim 1, further comprising: assigning an expiration time to the persistent connection; upon reaching the expiration time of the persistent connection, discontinuing the persistent connection between the second proxy server and the first proxy server based on a determination that no outstanding requests exist from the user device to the particular content origin server.", "8.The method of claim 1, further comprising: wherein the second proxy server sends a URL to the first proxy server; extracting, by the first proxy server, an address of the particular content origin server from the URL, the first proxy server uses the address to establish the connection with the particular content origin server.", "9.The method of claim 1, further comprising: recording, by the second proxy server, a range of sequence numbers contained in each segment of data being transmitted to the first proxy server and a timestamp associated with each segment; receiving, by the second proxy server, an indication from the first proxy server indicating that a portion of or all of a segment was not received; recording, by the second proxy server, a timestamp associated with the indication; retransmitting, by the second proxy server, the portion of or all of the segment that was not received; upon receiving, by the second proxy server, a subsequent indication that the portion of or all of the segment was received by the first proxy server: determining, by the second proxy server, a number of segments that were lost using the sequence numbers and recorded timestamps; and calculating, by the second proxy server, a loss rate using a total number of segments transmitted and the number of segments that were lost.", "10.One or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media, storing instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, cause performance of, comprising: determining that a first proxy server, among a plurality of proxy servers, is closest to a particular content origin server than other proxy servers in the plurality of proxy servers; receiving, by a second proxy server, among the plurality of proxy servers, a request from a user device for content from the particular content origin server, the second proxy server is in a geographical area different than the first proxy server; establishing, by the first proxy server, a connection with the particular content origin server; creating a persistent connection between the first proxy server and the second proxy server, wherein communications between the user device and the particular content origin server are routed through the persistent connection.", "11.The one or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media of claim 10, wherein the first proxy server is selected using a geo-IP mapping of an IP address of the particular content origin server.", "12.The one or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media of claim 10, wherein the first proxy server is selected using a latency measurement between the first proxy server and the particular content origin server.", "13.The one or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media of claim 10, wherein the instructions which, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause performance of: selecting a peer proxy server among the plurality of proxy servers by using a geo-IP mapping of an IP address of the particular content origin server; routing the request from the user device to the particular content origin server via a connection between the second proxy server and the peer proxy server; wherein the determining that the first proxy server is closest to the particular content origin server further comprises: determining that the first proxy server is closer to the particular content origin server than other proxy servers among the plurality of proxy servers using a latency measurement; wherein the communications between the user device and the particular content origin server are routed through the persistent connection.", "14.The one or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media of claim 10, wherein the instructions which, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause performance of: assigning an expiration time to the persistent connection.", "15.The one or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media of claim 10, wherein the instructions which, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause performance of: assigning an expiration time to the persistent connection; upon reaching the expiration time of the persistent connection, determining whether a third proxy server is closer to the particular content origin server than the first proxy server.", "16.A system, comprising: a first proxy server among a plurality of proxy servers; a second proxy server among the plurality of proxy servers; a proxy server location device, that determines that a first proxy server is closest to a particular content origin server than other proxy servers in the plurality of proxy servers; a communications device at the second proxy server that receives a request from a user device for content from the particular content origin server, the second proxy server is in a geographical area different than the first proxy server; a communications device at the first proxy server that establishes a connection with the particular content origin server; wherein the communications device at the first proxy server creates a persistent connection between the first proxy server and the second proxy server, wherein communications between the user device and the particular content origin server are routed through the persistent connection.", "17.The system of claim 16, wherein the first proxy server is selected using a geo-IP mapping of an IP address of the particular content origin server.", "18.The system of claim 16, wherein the first proxy server is selected using a latency measurement between the first proxy server and the particular content origin server.", "19.The system of claim 16, wherein the communications device at the first proxy server assigns an expiration time to the persistent connection.", "20.The system of claim 16, wherein the communications device at the first proxy server assigns an expiration time to the persistent connection, and wherein upon reaching the expiration time of the persistent connection, the proxy server location device determines whether a third proxy server is closer to the particular content origin server than the first proxy server." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND <EOH>In order to accelerate network traffic, it may be necessary to download all data through a proxy so that certain optimizations may be deployed at the proxy.", "Given the diversity in content, it quickly becomes unsustainable to expect the proxy to have an understanding of the nature of the content in order to apply optimizations.", "Sometimes this is due to new protocols and formats becoming popular, sometimes it is the cost of terminating connections such as with encrypted data.", "For example, to accelerate HTTPS traffic the service provider may not want to terminate the connection and decrypt the content, but instead may wish to operate in a content agnostic manner.", "The approaches described in this section are approaches that could be pursued, but not necessarily approaches that have been previously conceived or pursued.", "Therefore, unless otherwise indicated, it should not be assumed that any of the approaches described in this section qualify as prior art merely by virtue of their inclusion in this section.", "Similarly, issues identified with respect to one or more approaches should not assume to have been recognized in any prior art on the basis of this section, unless otherwise indicated." ], [ "<SOH> BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS <EOH>The present invention is illustrated by way of example, and not by way of limitation, in the figures of the accompanying drawings and in which like reference numerals refer to similar elements and in which: FIG.", "1 illustrates a block diagram of an end user device communicating with a content origin via a proxy/accelerator, according to an embodiment of the invention; FIG.", "2 illustrates a block diagram of peer proxy/accelerators, according to an embodiment of the invention; FIG.", "3 illustrates a flow chart of an embodiment of the invention; and FIG.", "4 illustrates an example hardware platform on which a computer or a computing device as described herein may be implemented.", "detailed-description description=\"Detailed Description\" end=\"lead\"?" ], [ "PRIORITY CLAIM This application claims benefit as a Continuation of U.S. application Ser.", "No.", "14/970,510, filed Dec. 15, 2015, which claims benefit of U.S.", "Provisional Application Ser.", "No.", "62/092,209, filed on Dec. 15, 2014, the entire contents of the aforementioned are hereby incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein, under 35 U.S.C.", "§ 120.The applicant(s) hereby rescind any disclaimer of claim scope in the parent application(s) or the prosecution history thereof and advise the USPTO that the claims in this application may be broader than any claim in the parent application(s).", "TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates generally to network communications, and in particular, to acceleration of network traffic.", "BACKGROUND In order to accelerate network traffic, it may be necessary to download all data through a proxy so that certain optimizations may be deployed at the proxy.", "Given the diversity in content, it quickly becomes unsustainable to expect the proxy to have an understanding of the nature of the content in order to apply optimizations.", "Sometimes this is due to new protocols and formats becoming popular, sometimes it is the cost of terminating connections such as with encrypted data.", "For example, to accelerate HTTPS traffic the service provider may not want to terminate the connection and decrypt the content, but instead may wish to operate in a content agnostic manner.", "The approaches described in this section are approaches that could be pursued, but not necessarily approaches that have been previously conceived or pursued.", "Therefore, unless otherwise indicated, it should not be assumed that any of the approaches described in this section qualify as prior art merely by virtue of their inclusion in this section.", "Similarly, issues identified with respect to one or more approaches should not assume to have been recognized in any prior art on the basis of this section, unless otherwise indicated.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS The present invention is illustrated by way of example, and not by way of limitation, in the figures of the accompanying drawings and in which like reference numerals refer to similar elements and in which: FIG.", "1 illustrates a block diagram of an end user device communicating with a content origin via a proxy/accelerator, according to an embodiment of the invention; FIG.", "2 illustrates a block diagram of peer proxy/accelerators, according to an embodiment of the invention; FIG.", "3 illustrates a flow chart of an embodiment of the invention; and FIG.", "4 illustrates an example hardware platform on which a computer or a computing device as described herein may be implemented.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION In the following description, for the purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention.", "It will be apparent, however, that the present invention may be practiced without these specific details.", "In other instances, well-known structures and devices are not described in exhaustive detail, in order to avoid unnecessarily occluding, obscuring, or obfuscating the present invention.", "Example embodiments are described herein according to the following outline: 1.GENERAL OVERVIEW 2.ENHANCEMENTS TO TRADITIONAL TRANSPORT LAYERS FOR IMPROVED PERFORMANCE 2.1.EFFICIENT MECHANISM FOR RETRIEVING CONTENT THROUGH A PROXY 2.1.1 ADVANTAGES 2.2.RECEIVE WINDOW LIMITS 2.2.1 LIMITATIONS 2.2.2 SOLUTIONS 2.3.MITIGATING NOISE OR LOSSES IN TCP ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 2.3.1 PROBLEM 2.3.2 SOLUTION 3.BUNDLED TRANSPORT LAYER: A NEW TRANSPORT MECHANISM 3.1.PROBLEMS WITH TCP 3.2.DESIGN OF A BUNDLED TRANSPORT LAYER 3.3.ADVANTAGES OF BTL 3.4.UPLOAD OPTIMIZATION WITH BTL 4.AN OVERLAY NETWORK TO DISCOVER A CLOSER PEER TO REACH AN ORIGIN IN A DIFFERENT GEOGRAPHY 4.1.DISCOVERING THE ACCELERATOR CLOSEST TO A CONTENT ORIGIN 4.2.MANAGING THE INTER-ACCELERATOR CONNECTION LIFECYCLE 5.ESTIMATING LOSS PROBABILITY WITH TCP TRAFFIC 5.1.PROBLEM 5.2.SOLUTION 6.IMPLEMENTATION MECHANISMS—HARDWARE OVERVIEW 7.EQUIVALENTS, EXTENSIONS, ALTERNATIVES AND MISCELLANEOUS 1.General Overview This overview presents a basic description of some aspects of an embodiment of the present invention.", "It should be noted that this overview is not an extensive or exhaustive summary of aspects of the embodiment.", "Moreover, it should be noted that this overview is not intended to be understood as identifying any particularly significant aspects or elements of the embodiment, nor as delineating any scope of the embodiment in particular, nor the invention in general.", "This overview merely presents some concepts that relate to the example embodiment in a condensed and simplified format, and should be understood as merely a conceptual prelude to a more detailed description of example embodiments that follows below.", "The HTTP standard provides a method called “CONNECT” that supports specifying a proxy such that the proxy does not need to read or interpret the contents of the actual traffic.", "The end system issues a CONNECT method and specifies the final destination for this HTTP/HTTPS session.", "The proxy makes a separate connection to the host specified by the CONNECT method and responds with a success notification.", "Thereon any data sent by the end system is just passed through to the final destination.", "Any response from the final destination is relayed back to the end system.", "The problem with this model is that successful completion of a CONNECT method is a required step for the application traffic to begin.", "That means that the application waits for an additional round trip time before initiating the actual traffic.", "This additional latency is a source of inefficiency and reduces the utility of the CONNECT approach.", "A set of scenarios that commonly impact performance are listed below.", "Unique new solutions for tackling these issues are discussed in detail herein.", "These scenarios include: When traffic has to be steered through a proxy server and the payload is opaque to the proxy, popular techniques incur a latency penalty.", "When there are many TCP stacks, the default behavior may cause the stack to advertise a lower than desirable limit for receive windows.", "The data throughput achieved by the transport stack may be adversely impacted when acknowledgements are either lost or delayed.", "Various modifications to preferred embodiments and the generic principles and features described herein will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art.", "Thus, the disclosure is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown, but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and features described herein.", "2.Enhancements to Traditional Transport Layers for Improved Performance 2.1 Efficient Mechanism for Retrieving Content Through a Proxy In an embodiment, to enable the use of the CONNECT style proxy without the added cost of latency, the embodiment removes the lock-step nature of the existing mechanism.", "By making an optimistic assumption that a proxy is able to successfully relay traffic most of the time, the need to wait for a positive response is eliminated.", "In its place, error handling is enhanced to deal with the less likely scenario where the proxy in fact fails to perform as expected.", "However completely eliminating the CONNECT request is sometimes not desirable.", "On many operating systems, CONNECT is supported by the HTTP stack implementations provided by the OS vendor.", "Ability to reuse the HTTP stack functionality may sometimes be tied to using CONNECT to achieve proxy based communication.", "The embodiment allows using CONNECT along with a proprietary mechanism such that the latency penalty is eliminated while still allowing reuse of existing stacks.", "Referring to FIG.", "1, in an embodiment, the end system component (e.g., a mobile handset software development kit (SDK), etc.)", "in the end device 101 (e.g., mobile handset, smartphone, tablet, personal computer, network-connected appliance, etc.)", "and the proxy 104 (e.g., an accelerator, accelerator proxy, accelerator server, content accelerator, proxy server, etc.)", "establish a channel of communication called the control channel across access network 103.This may be separate from the channel used for actual data traffic.", "When the application 102 on the handset makes a request for some arbitrary content to be retrieved by the SDK: The SDK sends a message over the control channel specifying a mapping between destination port and a host name.", "The destination port may be selected from a pre-determined pool of ports that is mutually agreed upon between the handset and the accelerator.", "The ADD command serves the purpose of a CONNECT request except that it is sent on a separate channel.", "The mapping instructs the accelerator to expect a data channel connection on the specified destination port and that it should relay that traffic to the specified host name The SDK records the destination port specified in the ADD command in a table that maps it to the host name.", "The SDK creates a listen socket at an arbitrary port number on the handset.", "The local host and this port number are specified as the proxy to the OS HTTP stack so that any CONNECT request that is originated by the OS is in fact destined to this local socket.", "When the application's request is passed on to the OS stack, a CONNECT is issued.", "This is received by the SDK created listener on the local host.", "The SDK accepts the connection, creates a connected socket and responds with a success message immediately.", "The association between this connection and the accelerator port number specified in mapping Table 1 example may be achieved in one of two ways.", "One, the listen port on which proxy requests are received may be associated with an accelerator destination port ahead of time.", "Two, the SDK retrieves the host name from the CONNECT headers and associates the connected socket with the accelerator destination port number from the mapping table specified in Table 1.TABLE 1 Sample mapping table Accelerator IP address Destination port Origin name 50.130.209.10 31560 sub1.origin1.com 50.130.209.10 31561 sub2.origin2.com The OS then issues the actual request to retrieve application data.", "This data makes its way to the connected socket that is serviced by the SDK listener.", "The application data arrives at the connected socket.", "The SDK listener retrieves this data and relays it to the accelerator on a connection to the destination port specified in Table 1.Response data arrives from the accelerator to the SDK.", "The accelerator port is mapped back to the connected socket using data represented in Table 1.The response data is then relayed back to the application over this connected socket.", "2.1.1 Advantages When an application requests data for a connection with a proxy, the CONNECT latency is virtually eliminated since the response is generated locally almost instantaneously compared to the time it takes to go over the network.", "Existing facilities for protocol stacks are reused and no details on the nature of the actual application traffic is needed.", "2.2 Receive Window Limits 2.2.1 Limitations TCP sessions advertise a receive window to signify the maximum amount of data that can be received in a round trip time (RTT).", "On certain systems this value is held to a limit that is much smaller than bandwidth-delay product of the underlying network.", "Although TCP has built-in mechanisms to grow this value as the session progresses, the growth does not benefit small file transfers.", "2.2.2 Solutions There are several possible solutions to this problem: Using APIs provided by the operating system to set the receive window to an appropriate value.", "Using server side techniques to help the window grow faster.", "With server-side techniques, the following are examples of what could achieve an accelerated growth of the receive window: If the host system advances the window based on packet arrivals, the server can split the packets appropriately to achieve a faster window growth.", "In this method, the advertised segment size is untouched while the initial window's worth of data is delivered in a greater number of packets.", "The increased number of packets is determined based on the acceleration goal.", "If the host system is known to advance the window by a certain function of the received bytes and other TCP session parameters such as the advertised segment size, the server side could wait an appropriate amount of time to allow the network to drain the initial window's worth of data and pre-transmit some more data in anticipation of the acknowledgements.", "This is done with care to detect any impending congestion in the network so that appropriate actions can be quickly taken to conform to the “packet conservation principle” of TCP.", "2.3 Mitigating Noise or Losses in TCP Acknowledgements 2.3.1 Problem TCP relies on acknowledgements from the sender to determine how fast to transmit to the recipient.", "Sometimes the ACKs are either lost in the network or they may be regulated by an entity in the upstream path.", "In both these cases, TCP may fail to achieve the best possible transmission rates.", "2.3.2 Solution In an embodiment, the end system component (SDK) can establish a control channel connection with the accelerator.", "This connection may be separate from the ones that receive application data.", "The following sequence of events describe the embodiment: 1.The application requests an object.", "The SDK may then place the request on a TCP connection.", "2.As data is received the SDK monitors the receive rate and the time delay between successive read events from the operating system stack.", "The SDK monitors these measurements to detect issues with earlier ACKs sent to the accelerator.", "If it determines that ACKs may not be reaching the accelerator as expected, it notifies the accelerator via the OOB-ACK (out of band acknowledgement) command on the control channel.", "In many scenarios the OOB-ACK packet itself may not be impacted by the network characteristics that affect the original ACK stream.", "The way issues are detected may take several forms: a.", "The SDK may rely on a threshold for the minimum received rate and maximum time delay between successive read events.", "If either or both thresholds are breached a loss may have occurred.", "b.", "The SDK may rely on data about past performance as it relates to real-time operating conditions and may arrive at a threshold for minimum received rate and maximum time delay between read events.", "3.On receiving the OOB-ACK command, the accelerator reassesses its state variables for the relevant connection: a.", "It may readjust the estimate of the downstream bandwidth and appropriately transmit additional data.", "b.", "It may trigger early loss detection logic where information from any earlier SACKs may be used to determine the need for targeted retransmissions.", "c. In some scenarios the estimated downstream bandwidth may be such that the sender needs to take an optimistic view of what the receive window limit should be and sends more than the permissible amount of bytes out under the assumption that the end system/network can take that amount.", "3 Bundled Transport Layer: A New Transport Mechanism 3.1 Problems with TCP TCP has several fundamental limitations when there is a lot of variability in the access network and client environment: Head of line blocking in the presence of losses.", "In the event of a loss, the TCP stack in the OS kernel holds up bytes corresponding to subsequent sequence numbers until it has all the bytes in the expected order.", "For the application this manifests as ‘head-of-line’ blocking.", "Limited utility of error correction schemes.", "This follows from the head of line blocking property.", "For highly lossy networks, error correction can be a useful strategy.", "However, unless error correction is implemented in the OS kernel, there is a likelihood that the bytes carrying error correction information may be held up in TCP buffers leaving the application fewer scenarios in which to use this information for recovery.", "Limitations of existing windowing mechanisms.", "TCP performs an optimal bandwidth search for every connection from scratch and it is possible that the achieved bandwidth on a connection is not optimal.", "Relying solely on a single TCP connection's estimate of the network bandwidth is thus limiting the achievable TCP window size in various scenarios.", "Some times this is also made worse by bad default parameter settings on endpoint stacks.", "3.2 Design of a Bundled Transport Layer In an embodiment, a new transport layer called Bundled Transport Layer (BTL) is implemented.", "The embodiment employs multiple TCP protocol compliant connections as a single unit or “bundle.” The algorithms associated with BTL are responsible for determining how data is mapped to individual TCP connections.", "The highlights of the BTL are: A BTL bundle features more than one BTL connection over which application data may be striped (distributed).", "BTL decouples the application layer request from the underlying transport connection.", "Instead each request is now associated with a BTL that in turn may opt to break up data among constituent connections.", "Application object boundaries are tracked within a BTL connection using a framing mechanism (which could be a standards-based framing such as HTTP/2.0, etc.).", "The framing mechanism has to identify the application request and a sequence number for the byte chunk to help with reassembly.", "There may be several strategies to decide on how data gets mapped to BTL connections.", "One example is to continue mapping all data to a single BTL connection until such a point where a BTL endpoint detects a stalled window (e.g., due to a loss).", "At that point the BTL endpoint begins mapping subsequent data bytes onto a different BTL connection that may be deemed unaffected by this event.", "A second example is to equally divide data bytes among multiple BTL connections in order to achieve a larger effective window.", "The specific striping algorithm picked may be dependent on the optimization goal.", "3.3 Advantages of BTL Mitigating head of line blocking.", "Since the BTL endpoint may switch to an alternate BTL connection in the event of a stalled window, there is now a way to work around head of line blocking.", "This is effective in scenarios where the loss probability is such that it is unlikely to affect multiple constituents of a BTL bundle simultaneously.", "This is also useful in scenarios where the upstream feedback is noisy and causes slow growth in TCP windows—the BTL bundle as a whole may be able to achieve a higher cumulative window.", "Faster recovery from losses due to either striping or error correction.", "One of the BTL connections may be dedicated for error correction information.", "If the probability of loss is such that not all constituents of a BTL bundle are affected at the same time, this can help recover from losses with nearly zero impact to total download times.", "Error correction in the user-space.", "Irrespective of support for error correction in the kernel TCP stack, BTL allows a user-space implementation of such mechanisms.", "Better solutions to receive window limitations.", "When receive windows are artificially limited by unsuitable default settings, BTL bundle provides a protocol compliant workaround to achieving optimal bandwidth.", "3.4 Upload Optimization with BTL Upload from mobile.", "The mobile SDK can send data on BTL connections in proportion to the throughput achieved by each of the connections—data would be sent at the rate that has been calculated for the connections.", "Receiver Optimizations.", "The receiving stack can process out of order data from a BTL connection and tie it together with other data from all BTL connections allowing loss latency to be masked or reduced.", "Error correction by receiving stack.", "If FEC is enabled on the BTL connections the receiving stack can reconstruct missing data and reduce latency; this can come at a cost of using increased bandwidth.", "4.An Overlay Network to Discover a Closer Peer to Reach an Origin in a Different Geography When the content origin server is in a different geography from the accelerator that is closest to the handset, additional latencies can be incurred in setting up/tearing down the connection between the accelerator 104 and the content origin server 105.This is different from the latencies incurred when they are co-located or in proximity since the latencies have the potential to crowd out any gains added by acceleration on the last mile.", "If the content origin can maintain a persistent connection, this cost is incurred only on connection setup and is amortized over several requests.", "But considering that content origins are optimized to quickly clean out connections, this is not the norm.", "An embodiment implements a component to manage this geographically spread out persistent connection.", "The ideal candidate is the accelerator that is closest to the origin since that saves from introducing yet another type of server in the cloud.", "The nature of this persistent connection between the accelerators may change with the traffic the system is trying to optimize.", "It could be a long-haul optimized transport (e.g., suitably tuned TCP or UDP variant) with an optional layer on top to manage request pipelining (e.g., WebSockets or SPDY).", "Since there are many accelerators distributed across geographies, a set of such connections between them can be termed an overlay network that is dynamically formed according to needs of devices, such as mobile handsets, etc.", "If there are enough diverse requests, it could end up being a full mesh, or if there is a particular popular origin, it could become a hub and spoke model.", "But the manifested structure is not pre-determined.", "There are two tasks associated with this approach: a) Discovering the accelerator closest to a content origin.", "b) Managing the inter-accelerator connection lifecycle between accelerators.", "4.1 Discovering the Accelerator Closest to a Content Origin A correct answer to the question of which accelerator is “closest” to a content origin involves solving a routing problem periodically.", "A simple metric for proximity is the round-trip latency.", "A distance vector table can be constructed to accurately reflect which accelerators are closest to the origin in question.", "Since the origin itself is a moving target, this needs to run periodically for accuracy.", "Moreover, this is a distributed exercise involving a routing protocol running on each accelerator.", "While this is feasible, there is a simpler approach if accuracy is traded off for ease of implementation.", "Referring to FIG.", "2, in an embodiment, a near-stateless and distributed approach would be to arbitrarily select a peer accelerator (e.g., 201n) to form the overlay connection.", "The selection could be completely random or could be an informed guess using geo-IP mapping of the origin IP address.", "Until the discovery process is deemed to have arrived at an answer, subsequent requests are shuttled to other peer accelerators (e.g., 201a).", "When there is a statistical evidence of one accelerator being closer by way of latency compared to others, the process is temporarily called off.", "The mapping to that peer accelerator is then assigned an expiry period.", "At the end of the expiry period, the discovery starts again.", "The advantages with the expiry are: a) The origin 105 may now be closer to a different accelerator.", "Given there is some stability to geo-IP mapping, it may not be clear how often this may happen.", "b) If there are no outstanding requests, there is no reason to maintain an active connection.", "c) Changes in accelerator or origin round trip time due to network failure or routing anomaly.", "4.2 Managing the Inter-Accelerator Connection Lifecycle During the discovery process, and after it, accelerators (104, 201a-201n) need to communicate with each other and convey traffic.", "The accelerator that initiates the connection acts as a handset and initiates a service discovery message to obtain a session ID that is associated with subsequent requests.", "The expiry semantics for the session ID are the same as with a handset session.", "For HTTP requests, just as a handset encodes URLs when it sends it out to the accelerator, the overlay initiator 104 encodes the URLs for the overlay peer 201a.", "The overlay peer 201a extracts the origin and connects to it.", "For HTTPS requests, on receipt of a VTP request, the overlay initiator 104 issues another VTP request to the overlay peer 201a.", "The VTP mapping at the overlay initiator maps the VTP destination port to the overlay peer's IP address and VTP port.", "For each data path packet destined to the VTP port at the overlay initiator, the IP address and port are translated to the VTP port allocated by the overlay peer.", "5 Estimating Loss Probability with Tcp Traffic 5.1 Problem Since TCP is a reliable transport, the bytes received cannot be used as a mechanism to estimate loss rates.", "The ACK stream needs to be examined as a hint to detect loss events.", "In response to duplicate ACKs, TCP may retransmit bytes, but the amount of retransmissions is only a proportional indicator of the loss rates.", "It does not necessarily give a good estimate of the actual loss rate.", "5.2 Solution TCP headers have an optional timestamp field.", "A receiver echoes the timestamp on the segment received as part of the ACK for that segment.", "Referring to FIG.", "3, in an embodiment, the following set of steps use this timestamp mechanism to calculate an upper-bound on the actual loss rate during a connection's lifetime.", "1.The sender records the timestamp corresponding to the range of sequence numbers contained in a segment that is being transmitted 301.The same timestamp is then applied to the TCP option included with the segment.", "2.The receiver may or may not have to do any special processing.", "A standard TCP stack echoes the timestamp on the received segment as part of the ACK packet generated.", "3.When there is a loss or reordering in the path going from the sender to the receiver, duplicate ACKs are generated with the appropriate SACK (selective ACK) information indicating which blocks of bytes were actually received.", "4.In response to a SACK 304, the sender retransmits a segment and again records the timestamp associated with this sequence number range 305.If the sequence number range is identical to the one recorded in (1), the timestamp is just appended to the record.", "If it is different, a separate record is created and linked to the record created in (1).", "5.At some point, the receiver receives the bytes that were lost.", "This triggers a SACK informing the sender that the window has to be updated 306.6.The sender uses the timestamp on this ACK to determine which set of bytes actually made it to the receiver: a.", "The original segment that transmitted, in which case no losses are considered to have occurred 302, 303.b.", "A subsequent retransmission and in this case the number of preceding segments that were retransmitted for this range of sequence numbers.", "7.At the end of the connection, the sender sums up the number of segments that were lost as per 6(b) 307.This number is divided by the total number of segments transmitted in the connection to get an estimate of the loss rate.", "Reports may be generated by a central administration server, by the sender, by a proxy/accelerator, etc., using the resulting loss rates.", "In an embodiment, the sender may forward the estimated loss rates or the stored records for the segments to the central administration server.", "The central administration server may monitor traffic across a plurality of proxy/accelerators or geographic areas and can provide administrators or users with statistical information/reports that can be used to apply traffic management rules to certain areas of the networks.", "Additionally, or alternatively, estimated loss rates may be used as a feedback mechanism to identify problem pathways between the sender and receiver and/or improve the quality of connection pathways between the sender and receiver.", "Embodiments include an apparatus comprising a processor and configured to perform any one of the foregoing methods.", "Embodiments include a computer readable storage medium, storing software instructions, which when executed by one or more processors cause performance of any one of the foregoing methods.", "Note that, although separate embodiments are discussed herein, any combination of embodiments and/or partial embodiments discussed herein may be combined to form further embodiments.", "6.Implementation Mechanisms—Hardware Overview According to one embodiment, the techniques described herein are implemented by one or more special-purpose computing devices.", "The special-purpose computing devices may be hard-wired to perform the techniques, or may include digital electronic devices such as one or more application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) or field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) that are persistently programmed to perform the techniques, or may include one or more general purpose hardware processors programmed to perform the techniques pursuant to program instructions in firmware, memory, other storage, or a combination.", "Such special-purpose computing devices may also combine custom hard-wired logic, ASICs, or FPGAs with custom programming to accomplish the techniques.", "The special-purpose computing devices may be desktop computer systems, portable computer systems, handheld devices, networking devices or any other device that incorporates hard-wired and/or program logic to implement the techniques.", "For example, FIG.", "4 is a block diagram that illustrates a computer system 400 upon which an embodiment of the invention may be implemented.", "Computer system 400 includes a bus 402 or other communication mechanism for communicating information, and a hardware processor 404 coupled with bus 402 for processing information.", "Hardware processor 404 may be, for example, a general purpose microprocessor.", "Computer system 400 also includes a main memory 406, such as a random access memory (RAM) or other dynamic storage device, coupled to bus 402 for storing information and instructions to be executed by processor 404.Main memory 406 also may be used for storing temporary variables or other intermediate information during execution of instructions to be executed by processor 404.Such instructions, when stored in non-transitory storage media accessible to processor 404, render computer system 400 into a special-purpose machine that is device-specific to perform the operations specified in the instructions.", "Computer system 400 further includes a read only memory (ROM) 408 or other static storage device coupled to bus 402 for storing static information and instructions for processor 404.A storage device 410, such as a magnetic disk or optical disk, is provided and coupled to bus 402 for storing information and instructions.", "Computer system 400 may be coupled via bus 402 to a display 412, such as a liquid crystal display (LCD), for displaying information to a computer user.", "An input device 414, including alphanumeric and other keys, is coupled to bus 402 for communicating information and command selections to processor 404.Another type of user input device is cursor control 416, such as a mouse, a trackball, or cursor direction keys for communicating direction information and command selections to processor 404 and for controlling cursor movement on display 412.This input device typically has two degrees of freedom in two axes, a first axis (e.g., x) and a second axis (e.g., y), that allows the device to specify positions in a plane.", "Computer system 400 may implement the techniques described herein using device-specific hard-wired logic, one or more ASICs or FPGAs, firmware and/or program logic which in combination with the computer system causes or programs computer system 400 to be a special-purpose machine.", "According to one embodiment, the techniques herein are performed by computer system 400 in response to processor 404 executing one or more sequences of one or more instructions contained in main memory 406.Such instructions may be read into main memory 406 from another storage medium, such as storage device 410.Execution of the sequences of instructions contained in main memory 406 causes processor 404 to perform the process steps described herein.", "In alternative embodiments, hard-wired circuitry may be used in place of or in combination with software instructions.", "The term “storage media” as used herein refers to any non-transitory media that store data and/or instructions that cause a machine to operation in a specific fashion.", "Such storage media may comprise non-volatile media and/or volatile media.", "Non-volatile media includes, for example, optical or magnetic disks, such as storage device 410.Volatile media includes dynamic memory, such as main memory 406.Common forms of storage media include, for example, a floppy disk, a flexible disk, hard disk, solid state drive, magnetic tape, or any other magnetic data storage medium, a CD-ROM, any other optical data storage medium, any physical medium with patterns of holes, a RAM, a PROM, and EPROM, a FLASH-EPROM, NVRAM, any other memory chip or cartridge.", "Storage media is distinct from but may be used in conjunction with transmission media.", "Transmission media participates in transferring information between storage media.", "For example, transmission media includes coaxial cables, copper wire and fiber optics, including the wires that comprise bus 402.Transmission media can also take the form of acoustic or light waves, such as those generated during radio-wave and infra-red data communications.", "Various forms of media may be involved in carrying one or more sequences of one or more instructions to processor 404 for execution.", "For example, the instructions may initially be carried on a magnetic disk or solid state drive of a remote computer.", "The remote computer can load the instructions into its dynamic memory and send the instructions over a telephone line using a modem.", "A modem local to computer system 400 can receive the data on the telephone line and use an infra-red transmitter to convert the data to an infra-red signal.", "An infra-red detector can receive the data carried in the infra-red signal and appropriate circuitry can place the data on bus 402.Bus 402 carries the data to main memory 406, from which processor 404 retrieves and executes the instructions.", "The instructions received by main memory 406 may optionally be stored on storage device 410 either before or after execution by processor 404.Computer system 400 also includes a communication interface 418 coupled to bus 402.Communication interface 418 provides a two-way data communication coupling to a network link 420 that is connected to a local network 422.For example, communication interface 418 may be an integrated services digital network (ISDN) card, cable modem, satellite modem, or a modem to provide a data communication connection to a corresponding type of telephone line.", "As another example, communication interface 418 may be a local area network (LAN) card to provide a data communication connection to a compatible LAN.", "Wireless links may also be implemented.", "In any such implementation, communication interface 418 sends and receives electrical, electromagnetic or optical signals that carry digital data streams representing various types of information.", "Network link 420 typically provides data communication through one or more networks to other data devices.", "For example, network link 420 may provide a connection through local network 422 to a host computer 424 or to data equipment operated by an Internet Service Provider (ISP) 426.ISP 426 in turn provides data communication services through the world wide packet data communication network now commonly referred to as the “Internet” 428.Local network 422 and Internet 428 both use electrical, electromagnetic or optical signals that carry digital data streams.", "The signals through the various networks and the signals on network link 420 and through communication interface 418, which carry the digital data to and from computer system 400, are example forms of transmission media.", "Computer system 400 can send messages and receive data, including program code, through the network(s), network link 420 and communication interface 418.In the Internet example, a server 430 might transmit a requested code for an application program through Internet 428, ISP 426, local network 422 and communication interface 418.The received code may be executed by processor 404 as it is received, and/or stored in storage device 410, or other non-volatile storage for later execution.", "7.Equivalents, Extensions, Alternatives and Miscellaneous In the foregoing specification, embodiments of the invention have been described with reference to numerous specific details that may vary from implementation to implementation.", "Thus, the sole and exclusive indicator of what is the invention, and is intended by the applicants to be the invention, is the set of claims that issue from this application, in the specific form in which such claims issue, including any subsequent correction.", "Any definitions expressly set forth herein for terms contained in such claims shall govern the meaning of such terms as used in the claims.", "Hence, no limitation, element, property, feature, advantage or attribute that is not expressly recited in a claim should limit the scope of such claim in any way.", "The specification and drawings are, accordingly, to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense." ] ]
Patent_15872971
[ [ "MIRROR ARRANGEMENT FOR LITHOGRAPHY EXPOSURE APPARATUS AND OPTICAL SYSTEM COMPRISING MIRROR ARRANGEMENT", "Mirror elements (2a, 2b) include a substrate (4a, 4b) and a multilayer arrangement (5a, 5b).", "The multilayer arrangement includes a reflective layer system (6a, 6b) having a radiation entrance surface (7a, 7b) and a piezoelectric layer (8a, 8b) arranged between the radiation entrance surface and the substrate.", "Each mirror element includes an electrode arrangement (9a, 9b, 9c) associated with the piezoelectric layer.", "A layer thickness (tp) of the piezoelectric layer is controlled by the electric field generated.", "An interconnection arrangement (10) electrically interconnects adjacent electrodes of adjacent electrode arrangements.", "According to one formulation, the interconnection arrangement generates an electric field in a gap region (11) between the adjacent electrodes.", "According to another, an electric resistance (Ri) of the interconnection arrangement in the gap region is greater than an electric resistance (Rw) of the adjacent electrodes and less than an electric resistance (Rl) of the piezoelectric layers of adjacent electrode arrangements." ], [ "1.A mirror arrangement for a lithography exposure apparatus comprising: a plurality of mirror elements adjacently arranged and jointly forming a mirror surface of the mirror arrangement, wherein each of the mirror elements comprises a respective substrate and a respective multilayer arrangement on the respective substrate, wherein the respective multilayer arrangements include respective reflective layer systems having respective radiation entrance surfaces forming respective portions of the mirror surface and respective piezoelectric layers are arranged between the radiation entrance surfaces and the respective substrates, wherein each of the mirror elements comprises a respective electrode arrangement associated with the respective piezoelectric layers configured to generate an electric field, wherein layer thicknesses of the piezoelectric layers are controlled by the electric field, wherein an interconnection arrangement electrically interconnects adjacent first and second electrodes of adjacent electrode arrangements, such that an interconnection electric field is generated in a gap region between the first and second electrodes, and wherein the interconnection electric field generates a continuous transition between a first electric field at the first electrode and a second electric field at the second electrode.", "2.A mirror arrangement for a lithography exposure system comprising: a plurality of mirror elements adjacently arranged and jointly forming a mirror surface of the mirror arrangement, wherein each of the mirror elements comprises a respective substrate and a respective multilayer arrangement on the respective substrate, wherein the respective multilayer arrangements include respective reflective layer systems having respective radiation entrance surfaces forming respective portions of the mirror surface and respective piezoelectric layers are arranged between the radiation entrance surfaces and the respective substrates, wherein each of the mirror elements comprises a respective electrode arrangement associated with the respective piezoelectric layers configured to generate an electric field, wherein layer thicknesses of the piezoelectric layers are controlled by the electric field, wherein an interconnection arrangement electrically interconnects adjacent first and second electrodes of adjacent electrode arrangements, and wherein an electric resistance of the interconnection arrangement in a gap region between the first and second electrodes is greater than an electric resistance of the first and second electrodes and less than an electric resistance of the piezoelectric layers of the adjacent electrode arrangements with the first and second electrodes.", "3.The mirror arrangement according to claim 1, wherein an electric resistance of the interconnection arrangement in the gap region between the first and second electrodes is greater than an electric resistance of the first and second electrodes and less than an electric resistance of the piezoelectric layers of the adjacent electrode arrangements with the first and second electrodes.", "4.The mirror arrangement according to claim 2, wherein the electric resistance of the interconnection arrangement in the gap region between the first and second electrodes is in a range from 1 kiloohm to 10 megaohm.", "5.The mirror arrangement according to claim 2, wherein the interconnection arrangement comprises a semiconductor material.", "6.The mirror arrangement according to claim 2, wherein the electric resistance of the first and second electrodes is less than or equal to 1 kiloohm.", "7.The mirror arrangement according to claim 2, wherein the electric resistance of the piezoelectric layers of the adjacent electrode arrangements with the first and second electrodes is greater than or equal to 10 megaohm.", "8.The mirror arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the interconnection arrangement comprises a common interconnection layer interconnecting multiple ones or all of the mirror elements.", "9.The mirror arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the piezoelectric layers of multiple ones or all of the mirror elements form a common piezoelectric layer.", "10.The mirror arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the reflective layer systems of multiple ones or all of the mirror elements form a common reflective layer system.", "11.The mirror arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the reflective layer system is configured to reflect electromagnetic radiation in a wavelength range below 300 nanometers.", "12.The mirror arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the reflective layer system comprises a plurality of layer pairs having alternating layers of a high refractive index layer material and a low refractive index layer material.", "13.The mirror arrangement according to claim 1, wherein a thickness of a given interconnection layer of the interconnection arrangement is in a range from 50 nanometers to 500 nanometers.", "14.The mirror arrangement according to claim 1, wherein a maximum electrode diameter of the first and second electrodes is in a range from 0.5 to 50 millimeters.", "15.The mirror arrangement according to claim 1, wherein a width of the gap region between the first and second electrodes is in a range from 10 μm to 1 millimeters.", "16.The mirror arrangement according to claim 1, wherein a number of the mirror elements over a diameter of a used area of the mirror arrangement is in a range from 20 to 200.17.An optical system comprising at least one mirror arrangement according to claim 1.18.The optical system according to claim 17, configured as a projection objective of a lithography exposure apparatus.", "19.The mirror arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the respective substrates of multiple ones or all of the mirror elements form a common substrate.", "20.An optical system comprising at least one mirror arrangement according to claim 2." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND <EOH>Nowadays predominantly lithographic exposure methods are used for producing semiconductor components, e.g.", "computer chips, and other finely structured components.", "In this case, use is made of masks (reticles) or other patterning devices which carry or form the pattern of a structure to be imaged, e.g.", "a line pattern of a layer of a semiconductor component.", "The pattern is positioned in a lithography exposure apparatus between an illumination system and a projection objective in the region of an object plane of the projection objective and illuminated with an illumination radiation provided by the illumination system.", "The radiation altered by the pattern passes as projection radiation through the projection objective, which images the pattern onto a substrate to be exposed.", "A surface of the substrate is positioned in an image plane of the projection objective, which is optically conjugated to the object plane.", "In general, the substrate surface is coated with a radiation-sensitive layer (resist).", "In order to be able to produce even finer structures, various approaches are pursued.", "By way of example, the resolution capability of a projection objective can be increased by enlarging the image-side numerical aperture of the projection objective.", "Another approach consists in employing shorter wavelengths of the electromagnetic radiation.", "For example, optical systems have been developed which use electromagnetic radiation from the extreme ultraviolet range (EUV), in particular having operating wavelengths in the range of between 5 nanometer (nm) and 30 nm.", "Radiation from the EUV range cannot be focused or guided with the aid of refractive optical elements, since the short wavelengths are absorbed by the known optical materials that are transparent at longer wavelengths.", "Therefore, mirror systems are used for EUV lithography.", "Not only in optical systems used for EUV lithography, but also in optical systems for lithography using light from the deep ultraviolet range (DUV, operating wavelength below 300 nm) or vacuum ultraviolet range (VUV, operating wavelength below 200 nm) mirrors are applied.", "In order to ensure a best possible quality of the lithographic imaging, it is generally endeavored to produce a well defined intensity distribution in the illumination field illuminated by the illumination system and to image the pattern of the mask with as little as possible aberrations into the image field.", "These requirements not only have to be met by an optical system at the time of its delivery, but have to be maintained over the entire lifetime of the optical system without significant change.", "While in the former case possible deviations are substantially based on design residues and manufacturing faults, changes over the lifetime are often substantially caused by ageing phenomena.", "One source for deviations is a possible deviation of a mirror surface shape from the specified surface shape, possibly causing relative phase changes within light reflected by the mirror.", "Many modern lithography processes use resolution enhancing techniques, such as double exposure, multiple exposure or spacering.", "These techniques allow generating fine structures through a sequence of subsequent exposure steps.", "These techniques require that structures generated in subsequent steps should be superimposed with high superimposition accuracy of successive exposures.", "As a consequence, requirements based on exact lateral image positioning are increased when compared to single exposure techniques.", "Further, exact positioning of a focus plane becomes more difficult as the image side numerical aperture NA is increased and wavelengths are reduced.", "For example, the range of depth of focus is proportional to the wavelength and inversely proportional to the square of the image side numerical aperture.", "EUV wavelengths at numerical apertures NA larger than 0.4 or wavelengths in the deep ultraviolet range at numerical apertures above 1.1, for example, will reduce the range of depth of focus to values which may be less than 70 nm, for example.", "As a consequence, the axial position of the focus plane needs to be controlled very precisely.", "Further, telecentricity effects may influence the exact positioning of an image relative to the desired image position.", "Telecentricity may cause the image position to be inclined relative to the propagation direction of the radiation.", "Therefore, a change in axial position of the exposure area may cause a lateral displacement of the actual image from the desired image position, thereby influencing the lateral superimposition accuracy in a negative way.", "In summary, the position of focus in axial as well as lateral position should be controlled very carefully.", "Further, it should be considered that a real substrate surface, usually coated with a light sensitive coating, may not necessarily be a planar surface, but instead may deviate from planarity.", "This may require adjustment of focus position between exposure steps or even during a single scanning exposure operation.", "Further, it would be desirable to be able to control precisely not only the position of focus, but also other factors influencing image quality, such as the imaging scale or aberrations like distortion.", "Higher aberrations may be caused by heating of optical elements, which may cause variation of refractive index and/or deformation of optical surfaces.", "Gravitational forces may also influence the optical effect of optical elements in that these optical surfaces may be deformed due to gravity.", "Further, aging processes cannot be excluded, which may contribute to aberrations.", "Dynamic manipulator systems are frequently employed to account for time-dependent influences on the quality of the lithographic process.", "WO 2012/126954 A1 discloses a mirror arrangement for correcting the illumination intensity distribution and the illumination angle distribution in the illumination field of an EUV illumination system.", "The mirror arrangement comprises a plurality of mirror elements forming a mirror surface, wherein each mirror element has a substrate, on which is applied a multilayer arrangement having a reflective effect with respect to radiation from the EUV range.", "Each multilayer arrangement includes a piezoelectric layer having a thickness which can be controlled by an electric field generated by an associated electrode arrangement.", "It is thereby possible for the piezoelectric layers of the mirror elements to be controlled independently of one another and thus to be adjusted with regard to their layer thicknesses individually.", "As a consequence thereof, the reflection properties of the mirror arrangement can be influenced locally differently over the mirror surface, allowing the correction of the illumination intensity distribution and the illumination angle distribution." ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY <EOH>A problem addressed by the invention is that of providing a mirror arrangement and an optical system equipped therewith which can be used in a lithography exposure apparatus, wherein the mirror arrangement is improved with respect to the prior art and has improved optical properties e.g.", "for an improved wavefront correction.", "For solving this problem, the invention provides mirror arrangements and optical systems as claimed in the independent claims.", "Advantageous developments are specified in the dependent claims.", "The wording of all the claims is incorporated by reference into the present description.", "The mirror arrangement has a plurality of mirror elements adjacently arranged and jointly forming a mirror surface of the mirror arrangement.", "Mirror elements can be, in particular laterally, adjacently arranged for example in rows and columns in a manner substantially filling an area of the mirror surface or completely filling the surface area, or else mutually at a distance from one another.", "The mirror elements may be mirror elements that can be mounted separately from one another and, if appropriate, in a manner separated by interspaces on a carrier structure.", "The mirror surface may be completely flat (plane mirror) or curved (e.g.", "convex mirror, concave mirror, cylindrical mirror or general aspherical shape).", "The mirror elements may be mounted on the carrier structure such that a desired form of the mirror surface is obtained.", "Each mirror element comprises a substrate and a multilayer arrangement on the substrate.", "The multilayer arrangement includes a reflective layer system having a radiation entrance surface, wherein the radiation entrance surface forms a portion of the mirror surface.", "The reflective layer system comprises one or more reflective layers causing a reflective effect with respect to electromagnetic radiation.", "Additionally, the reflective layer system may comprise a protection layer on top of the one or more reflective layers.", "A surface of the topmost layer of the reflective layer system forms the radiation entrance surface.", "Hence, each mirror element comprises a layer structure including layers essentially parallel to the radiation entrance surface.", "Furthermore, the multilayer arrangement of each mirror element includes a piezoelectric layer which is arranged between the radiation entrance surface and the substrate.", "Each mirror element comprises an electrode arrangement associated with the piezoelectric layer for generating an electric field, wherein a layer thickness of the piezoelectric layer, in a vertical direction normal to the layers, can be controlled by the electric field.", "The electric field may be generated by applying an electrical voltage to the electrode arrangement.", "Each electrode arrangement can be driven independently of other electrode arrangements as necessary.", "It is thereby possible for the piezoelectric layers of the mirror elements to be controlled independently of one another and thus to be adjusted with regard to their layer thicknesses.", "As a consequence thereof, the reflection properties of the mirror arrangement can be influenced locally differently over the mirror surface, allowing to compensate undesired deviations or changes of the mirror surface.", "An electrode of the electrode arrangement may be in touching contact with the piezoelectric layer.", "It is also possible to arrange one or a plurality of electrodes at a distance from the piezoelectric layer to be influenced, as long as the electric field can permeate the material-filled or material-free interspace to reach the piezoelectric layer.", "Consequently, one or a plurality of layers of the multilayer arrangement, in particular one or more of the reflective layers of the reflective layer system, may be situated between an electrode and the associated piezoelectric layer.", "There are various possibilities for arranging the piezoelectric layer with respect to the one or more reflective layers of the reflective layer system.", "For example, the piezoelectric layer may be arranged between the reflective layer system and the substrate.", "In this case, the reflective layer system can be raised or lowered with the aid of the piezoelectric layer with respect to the substrate as a whole.", "By changing relative heights of the reflective layer systems of the adjacently arranged mirror elements a possible unflatness of the mirror surface can be compensated and a spatially resolving phase correction of the wavefront of impinging radiation is possible.", "In this case, the lateral resolution (spatial resolution) of the correction is dependent on the lateral dimensions of the radiation entrance surfaces of the individual mirror elements.", "According to one formulation of the claimed invention the mirror arrangement comprises an interconnection arrangement electrically interconnecting adjacent first and second electrodes of adjacent electrode arrangements.", "The first electrode is separated from an adjacent electrode, the second electrode, in a lateral direction by a gap region at least on one side of the piezoelectric layer.", "Because of the gap between the first and second electrodes, there is no short circuit between the first and second electrodes and hence the adjacent electrode arrangements can be driven independently of one another.", "According to one formulation the interconnection arrangement generates an interconnection electric field in the gap region between the first and second electrodes.", "The interconnection electric field generates a continuous transition between a first electric field at the first electrode and a second electric field at the second electrode.", "According to another formulation an electric resistance of the interconnection arrangement in the gap region between the first and second electrodes is greater than an electric resistance of the first and second electrodes and less than an electric resistance of the piezoelectric layers of the adjacent electrode arrangements comprising the first and second electrodes.", "The electric resistance of the first and second electrodes may include possible electric resistances of lead-in connection wires connecting the first and second electrodes with corresponding voltage sources and/or current sources.", "Since the electric resistance of the interconnection arrangement, also denoted as an “interconnection resistance”, is greater than the electric resistance of the first and second electrodes, also denoted as an “electrode resistance”, there will be no short circuit between the first and second electrodes.", "The first and second electrode arrangements can be driven independently of one another.", "Since the interconnection resistance is less than the electric resistance of the piezoelectric layer, also denoted as a “piezoelectric resistance”, of the adjacent electrode arrangements comprising the first and second electrodes, electric charge provided by the first and second electrodes can accumulate in the interconnection arrangement and will not instantly drain off by leakage through the piezoelectric layers of the adjacent electrode arrangements.", "When charge is accumulated, the interconnection electric field mentioned above builts up.", "Advantageously, the continuous or smooth transition of electric field strength in the piezoelectric material in the gap region from the first electric field, which ends at a boundary of the first electrode, to the second electric field, which starts at a boundary of the second electrode, reduces a risk of material fatigue and cracking of the components of the mirror elements, in particular the piezoelectric layers.", "The mirror elements may be arranged in a manner completely filling the area of the mirror surface of the mirror arrangement, wherein lateral boundaries of adjacent mirror elements touch each other.", "In particular, adjacent piezoelectric layers may touch each other.", "In this case, the first and second electrodes may not completely cover the corresponding piezoelectric layers in a lateral direction, such that a gap is present between the first and second electrodes so that the first and second electrodes do not touch each other.", "Otherwise a short circuit may result between them, preventing driving the first and second electrode arrangements independently of one another.", "Uncovered parts of the piezoelectric layers were not deformed in conventional mirrors, usually resulting in sharp kinks, steps or trenches in parts of the reflective layer systems above the uncovered parts of the piezoelectric layers.", "Such kinks, steps or trenches in the reflective layer systems may negatively influence a desired wavefront correction.", "As opposed to that, the interconnection arrangement covers at least the parts of the piezoelectric layers not being covered by the first and second electrodes, and the interconnection electric field generated by the interconnection arrangement causes a deformation of these parts of the piezoelectric layers.", "Thereby, sources for wavefront errors caused by discrete first and second electrodes, such as sharp kinks, steps or trenches in the reflective layer systems and the mirror surface, are reduced.", "An additional advantage of the interconnection arrangement is that it works as a shield for the piezoelectric layers against electric fields, e.g.", "caused by the lead-in connection wires, from above or below the interconnection arrangement.", "Therefore it eliminates crosstalk introduced from such electric fields.", "In an embodiment of the invention the electric resistance of the interconnection arrangement in the gap region between the first and second electrodes is in the range from 1 kiloohm (kΩ) to 10 megaohm (MΩ), preferably in the range from 10 kΩ to 1 MΩ.", "According to another formulation the electrical conductivity of the interconnection arrangement in the gap region between the first and second electrodes may be in a range from 200 to 1 S/m, particularly in a range from 100 to 1 S/m.", "If the interconnection resistance is too high (or the electrical conductivity too low), a time constant for accumulating charge in the interconnection arrangement may be too high.", "On the other hand, if the interconnection resistance is too low (or the electrical conductivity too high, an electric current flow that is used to maintain the applied electric voltages may cause resistive heating.", "In an embodiment of the invention the interconnection arrangement comprises a semiconductor material.", "Typically, the electrode arrangements comprise a metal material.", "The metal material has a lower specific electric resistivity than the semiconductor material and the semiconductor material has a lower specific electric resistivity than a piezoelectric material.", "Hence, the interconnection resistance can be higher than the electrode resistance and lower than the piezoelectric resistance.", "The semiconductor material may be based on silicon or may essentially consist of silicon only.", "The semiconductor material may be doped, wherein doping allows an adjustment of the resistivity, respectively the resistance, of the interconnection arrangement.", "The semiconductor material may be based on materials other than Silicon.", "For example, the semiconductor material may be selected from a group consisting of: LaNiO 3 ; SrRuO 3 ; SrVO 3 ; LaCoO 3 ; SrCoO 3 ; LaMnO 3 ; Sr 0.7 Ce 0.3 MnO 3 ; La 2 Ce 2 O 7 ; LaVO 3 ; LaCrO 3 ; LaFeO 3 ; LaTiO 3 ; LaCuO 3 ; La(Mn 0.5 Co 0.5 )O 3 ; LaCu 0.4 (Mn 0.5 Co 0.5 ) 0.6 O 3 ; La 0.7 Sr 0.3 FeO 3 ; La 0.7 Sr 0.3 MnO 3 ; SrFeO 3 ; BaMnO 3 ; SrMnO 3 ; Ba 0.5 Sr 0.5 MnO 3 ; BaRuO 3 ; BaTiO 3 ; CaMnO 3 ; Ce 0.8 Y 0.2 O 1.9 ; MgO; NdNiO 3 ; Y stabilized ZrO 2 ; ZnFeO 3 ; CaRuO 3 ; CaTiO 3 ; TiO 2 ; La 0.6 Sr 0.4 Fe 0.8 Co 0.203 ; La 0.85 Sr 0.15 MnO 3 Normally the resistance of the semiconductor material will strongly depend on temperature, while the resistance of the metal material will be less dependent on temperature.", "Hence, a resistance measurement of the interconnection arrangement comprising the semiconductor material can be used to determine a local temperature distribution within the mirror arrangement, which may be caused by absorption of impinging radiation within the mirror arrangement.", "Measuring the temperature distribution provides an estimation of a source for wavefront errors and thus may be used as a feedback-signal for the mirror arrangement, i.e.", "the individual adjustment of the particular electrical voltages applied to the corresponding electrode arrangements.", "In an embodiment of the invention the electric resistance of the first and second electrodes is less than or equal to 1 kΩ, preferably below 100Ω.", "Hence, there should be no significant voltage drop along the first and second electrodes, in particular along their lead-in connection wires.", "In an embodiment of the invention the electric resistance of the piezoelectric layers of the adjacent electrode arrangements with the first and second electrodes is greater than or equal to 10 MΩ, preferably greater than 100 MΩ.", "Hence, leakage currents through the piezoelectric layers possibly leading to a reduction of electric charge accumulated in the interconnection arrangement can be suppressed.", "The interconnection arrangement may comprise interconnection layers interconnecting the first and second electrodes by extending from the boundaries of the first electrodes to the boundaries of the second electrodes.", "In some embodiments of the invention several parts of the mirror arrangement extend over multiple or all mirror elements, which may simplify fabrication of the mirror arrangement, in particular of the mirror elements.", "For example, the interconnection arrangement may comprise a common interconnection layer interconnecting multiple or all mirror elements.", "The common interconnection layer may not only interconnect the first and second electrodes, but it may extend beyond the boundaries of the first and second electrodes below or above them.", "Preferably, the common interconnection layer is a continuous layer without any gap, preferably covering an area as large as the mirror surface area.", "Hence, the common interconnection layer does not have to be structured at all during fabrication, e.g.", "by a lithography process.", "It is also possible, that the piezoelectric layers of multiple or all mirror elements form a common piezoelectric layer and/or the reflective layer systems of multiple or all mirror elements form a common reflective layer system.", "The common piezoelectric layer without any gap can be continuously deformed and may or may not have discontinuities like kinks, steps or trenches.", "Similarly, a common reflective layer system without any gap can be continuously deformed and may or may not have discontinuities like kinks, steps or trenches, especially when being deformed by the common piezoelectric layer.", "The electrodes of the electrode arrangements of multiple or all of mirror elements opposite to the first and second electrodes may form a common electrode.", "Hence, not all electrodes need to be connected by individual lead-in connection wires to corresponding voltage sources and/or current sources, but only one common individual lead-in connection wire might be sufficient.", "Furthermore, only the first and the second electrodes have to be structured with gaps in between them.", "The substrates of multiple or all mirror elements may form a common substrate.", "Thereby, the fabrication of the mirror arrangement, in particular of the layers mentioned above in this paragraph, may take place on the common substrate.", "Then only the common substrate needs to be mounted on the carrier structure.", "In an embodiment of the invention the reflective layer system is adapted for reflecting electromagnetic radiation in a wavelength range below 300 nm, preferably below 200 nm, in particular below 20 nm.", "A wavelength below 300 nm, like the 248 nm wavelength of a KrF excimer laser, is in the DUV regime.", "A wavelength below 200 nm, like the 193 nm wavelength of a ArF excimer laser, is in the VUV regime.", "A wavelength below 20 nm, like the 13.5 nm wavelength e.g.", "of a gas discharge produced plasma or of a laser-produced plasma, is in the EUV regime.", "By being adapted to these short wavelength ranges, the mirror arrangement may be applied in a lithography exposure apparatus for very fine structures.", "A dielectric enhanced aluminum mirror layer, for example, can reflect electromagnetic radiation from the DUV regime or the VUV regime.", "In an embodiment of the invention the reflective layer system comprises a plurality of layer pairs having alternating layers of a high refractive index layer material and a (relative thereto) low refractive index layer material.", "Such layer pairs are also referred to as a “double layer” or “bilayer”.", "A layer arrangement having a large number of layer pairs acts in the manner of a “Distributed Bragg Reflector”.", "In this case, e.g.", "for EUV radiation, the reflective layer system simulates a crystal whose lattice planes leading to Bragg reflection are formed by the layers of the material having the lower real part of the refractive index.", "The optimum period thickness of the layer pairs is determined by the Bragg equation for a predetermined wavelength and for a predetermined angle of incidence (range).", "For EUV radiation the optimum period thickness is generally between 1 nm and 10 nm.", "A layer pair can also have, in addition to the two layers composed of relatively high refractive index and relatively low refractive index material, respectively, one or a plurality of further layers, for example an interposed barrier layer for reducing interdiffusion between adjacent layers.", "In this case, the piezoelectric layer may be positioned between a first group of layer pairs remote from the substrate and a second group of layer pairs near the substrate.", "Via the interposed piezoelectric layer, the distance between the layer groups (measured perpendicularly to the radiation entrance surface) can be altered by applying an external voltage.", "The interposed piezoelectric layer introduces an optical path length difference or a phase shift between the portions of radiation reflected at the first layer group and the portions of radiation reflected at the second layer group.", "By applying the external voltage, it is possible for the extent of the phase shift to be varied in a continuously variable manner, thereby changing the reflectivity of the corresponding mirror element.", "The piezoelectric layer integrated between the first and second layer groups acts in the manner of an integrated Fabry-Perot interferometer (etalons) with an electrically adjustable distance between its interfaces having a reflective effect.", "A multilayer arrangement can also have more than one piezoelectric layer which is arranged between two adjacent layer groups having a plurality of layer pairs and which serves for the controllable phase shift between the reflected portions of radiation of these layer groups.", "By way of example, two or three of such piezoelectric layers can be provided, between which layer groups having a plurality of layer pairs are then likewise situated.", "The multilayer arrangement may have a plurality of piezoelectric layers, such that a variation of the period thickness within the reflective layer system is possible.", "Since, for a given operating wavelength and a given angle of incidence, only specific layer periods lead to full constructive interference and hence to a maximum degree of reflection, by varying the period thickness it is possible to alter the reflectivity of the reflective layer system of the mirror element at the operating wavelength in a continuously variable manner.", "Furthermore, the phase of the reflected radiation is influenced, such that a spatially resolving wavefront influencing is also possible.", "For further possibilities concerning layer structures of multilayer arrangements, in particular the reflective layer system and the piezoelectric layer, reference is made to the content of WO 2012/126954 A1.The respective disclosure is incorporated herein by reference.", "In an embodiment of the invention a thickness of an interconnection layer of the interconnection arrangement is in the range from 50 nm to 200 nm or even up to 500 nm.", "Typically the piezoelectric layer will have a surface roughness, which may affect an interconnection layer with a thickness below 50 nm, such that the interconnection layer is not continuous, but has gaps.", "A thickness in the claimed range may reduce problems originating from surface roughness.", "In an embodiment of the invention a maximum electrode diameter of the first and second electrodes, measured parallel to the mirror surface, is in a range from 0.5 mm to 50 mm, particularly in the range from 2 mm to 20 millimeter.", "A definition of the maximum electrode diameter depends on the form of the first and second electrodes in a plane parallel to the mirror surface.", "In the case of an electrode with the form of a circle, the diameter may be a diameter of the circle.", "In the case of a polygonal electrode form, in particular a quadrilateral or hexagonal shape, the diameter may be a longest diagonal in the polygon.", "Alternatively or in addition, a width of the gap region between the first and second electrodes may be in a range from 10 mm to 1 mm.", "The width of the gap region may be determined as the shortest distance of a boundary of the first electrode to an opposite boundary of the second electrode.", "For the maximum electrode diameter and the width of the gap region, respectively, in the claimed ranges it is possible to approximate the form of the mirror surface to a desired form of the mirror surface, while not having too many electrodes and thereby too many mirror elements, respectively.", "A number of the mirror elements may be approximately 200 or less.", "In particular a number of mirror elements over a diameter of a useful area of the mirror arrangement, e.g.", "the mirror surface, may be in the range from 50 to 180, preferably in the range from 100 to 150, for example.", "The invention also relates to an optical system comprising at least one mirror arrangement.", "The optical system can be a projection objective of a lithography exposure apparatus The mirror arrangement may be arranged in a region of a pupil plane of the projection objective, that is to say in the region of a plane which is situated in the manner Fourier-transformed with respect to the plane of the object surface and the image surface.", "Other potentially useful positions for a mirror arrangement may be positioned close to a field surface, such as the object surface, the image surface or, if available, a position where a real intermediate image is formed.", "Two or more mirror arrangements may be provided, preferably at optically different positions.", "These and further features emerge not only from the claims but also from the description and the drawings, wherein the individual features can be realized in each case by themselves or as a plurality in the form of sub combinations in an embodiment of the invention and in other fields and can constitute advantageous and inherently protectable embodiments.", "Exemplary embodiments are illustrated in the drawings and are explained in greater detail below." ], [ "This is a Continuation of International Application PCT/EP2016/065772, which has an international filing date of Jul.", "5, 2016, and which claims the priority of the German patent application 10 2015 213 275.7, filed on Jul.", "15, 2015.The disclosures of both applications are incorporated herein by reference.", "FIELD OF THE INVENTION The invention relates to a mirror arrangement for a lithography exposure apparatus and to an optical system comprising such a mirror arrangement.", "BACKGROUND Nowadays predominantly lithographic exposure methods are used for producing semiconductor components, e.g.", "computer chips, and other finely structured components.", "In this case, use is made of masks (reticles) or other patterning devices which carry or form the pattern of a structure to be imaged, e.g.", "a line pattern of a layer of a semiconductor component.", "The pattern is positioned in a lithography exposure apparatus between an illumination system and a projection objective in the region of an object plane of the projection objective and illuminated with an illumination radiation provided by the illumination system.", "The radiation altered by the pattern passes as projection radiation through the projection objective, which images the pattern onto a substrate to be exposed.", "A surface of the substrate is positioned in an image plane of the projection objective, which is optically conjugated to the object plane.", "In general, the substrate surface is coated with a radiation-sensitive layer (resist).", "In order to be able to produce even finer structures, various approaches are pursued.", "By way of example, the resolution capability of a projection objective can be increased by enlarging the image-side numerical aperture of the projection objective.", "Another approach consists in employing shorter wavelengths of the electromagnetic radiation.", "For example, optical systems have been developed which use electromagnetic radiation from the extreme ultraviolet range (EUV), in particular having operating wavelengths in the range of between 5 nanometer (nm) and 30 nm.", "Radiation from the EUV range cannot be focused or guided with the aid of refractive optical elements, since the short wavelengths are absorbed by the known optical materials that are transparent at longer wavelengths.", "Therefore, mirror systems are used for EUV lithography.", "Not only in optical systems used for EUV lithography, but also in optical systems for lithography using light from the deep ultraviolet range (DUV, operating wavelength below 300 nm) or vacuum ultraviolet range (VUV, operating wavelength below 200 nm) mirrors are applied.", "In order to ensure a best possible quality of the lithographic imaging, it is generally endeavored to produce a well defined intensity distribution in the illumination field illuminated by the illumination system and to image the pattern of the mask with as little as possible aberrations into the image field.", "These requirements not only have to be met by an optical system at the time of its delivery, but have to be maintained over the entire lifetime of the optical system without significant change.", "While in the former case possible deviations are substantially based on design residues and manufacturing faults, changes over the lifetime are often substantially caused by ageing phenomena.", "One source for deviations is a possible deviation of a mirror surface shape from the specified surface shape, possibly causing relative phase changes within light reflected by the mirror.", "Many modern lithography processes use resolution enhancing techniques, such as double exposure, multiple exposure or spacering.", "These techniques allow generating fine structures through a sequence of subsequent exposure steps.", "These techniques require that structures generated in subsequent steps should be superimposed with high superimposition accuracy of successive exposures.", "As a consequence, requirements based on exact lateral image positioning are increased when compared to single exposure techniques.", "Further, exact positioning of a focus plane becomes more difficult as the image side numerical aperture NA is increased and wavelengths are reduced.", "For example, the range of depth of focus is proportional to the wavelength and inversely proportional to the square of the image side numerical aperture.", "EUV wavelengths at numerical apertures NA larger than 0.4 or wavelengths in the deep ultraviolet range at numerical apertures above 1.1, for example, will reduce the range of depth of focus to values which may be less than 70 nm, for example.", "As a consequence, the axial position of the focus plane needs to be controlled very precisely.", "Further, telecentricity effects may influence the exact positioning of an image relative to the desired image position.", "Telecentricity may cause the image position to be inclined relative to the propagation direction of the radiation.", "Therefore, a change in axial position of the exposure area may cause a lateral displacement of the actual image from the desired image position, thereby influencing the lateral superimposition accuracy in a negative way.", "In summary, the position of focus in axial as well as lateral position should be controlled very carefully.", "Further, it should be considered that a real substrate surface, usually coated with a light sensitive coating, may not necessarily be a planar surface, but instead may deviate from planarity.", "This may require adjustment of focus position between exposure steps or even during a single scanning exposure operation.", "Further, it would be desirable to be able to control precisely not only the position of focus, but also other factors influencing image quality, such as the imaging scale or aberrations like distortion.", "Higher aberrations may be caused by heating of optical elements, which may cause variation of refractive index and/or deformation of optical surfaces.", "Gravitational forces may also influence the optical effect of optical elements in that these optical surfaces may be deformed due to gravity.", "Further, aging processes cannot be excluded, which may contribute to aberrations.", "Dynamic manipulator systems are frequently employed to account for time-dependent influences on the quality of the lithographic process.", "WO 2012/126954 A1 discloses a mirror arrangement for correcting the illumination intensity distribution and the illumination angle distribution in the illumination field of an EUV illumination system.", "The mirror arrangement comprises a plurality of mirror elements forming a mirror surface, wherein each mirror element has a substrate, on which is applied a multilayer arrangement having a reflective effect with respect to radiation from the EUV range.", "Each multilayer arrangement includes a piezoelectric layer having a thickness which can be controlled by an electric field generated by an associated electrode arrangement.", "It is thereby possible for the piezoelectric layers of the mirror elements to be controlled independently of one another and thus to be adjusted with regard to their layer thicknesses individually.", "As a consequence thereof, the reflection properties of the mirror arrangement can be influenced locally differently over the mirror surface, allowing the correction of the illumination intensity distribution and the illumination angle distribution.", "SUMMARY A problem addressed by the invention is that of providing a mirror arrangement and an optical system equipped therewith which can be used in a lithography exposure apparatus, wherein the mirror arrangement is improved with respect to the prior art and has improved optical properties e.g.", "for an improved wavefront correction.", "For solving this problem, the invention provides mirror arrangements and optical systems as claimed in the independent claims.", "Advantageous developments are specified in the dependent claims.", "The wording of all the claims is incorporated by reference into the present description.", "The mirror arrangement has a plurality of mirror elements adjacently arranged and jointly forming a mirror surface of the mirror arrangement.", "Mirror elements can be, in particular laterally, adjacently arranged for example in rows and columns in a manner substantially filling an area of the mirror surface or completely filling the surface area, or else mutually at a distance from one another.", "The mirror elements may be mirror elements that can be mounted separately from one another and, if appropriate, in a manner separated by interspaces on a carrier structure.", "The mirror surface may be completely flat (plane mirror) or curved (e.g.", "convex mirror, concave mirror, cylindrical mirror or general aspherical shape).", "The mirror elements may be mounted on the carrier structure such that a desired form of the mirror surface is obtained.", "Each mirror element comprises a substrate and a multilayer arrangement on the substrate.", "The multilayer arrangement includes a reflective layer system having a radiation entrance surface, wherein the radiation entrance surface forms a portion of the mirror surface.", "The reflective layer system comprises one or more reflective layers causing a reflective effect with respect to electromagnetic radiation.", "Additionally, the reflective layer system may comprise a protection layer on top of the one or more reflective layers.", "A surface of the topmost layer of the reflective layer system forms the radiation entrance surface.", "Hence, each mirror element comprises a layer structure including layers essentially parallel to the radiation entrance surface.", "Furthermore, the multilayer arrangement of each mirror element includes a piezoelectric layer which is arranged between the radiation entrance surface and the substrate.", "Each mirror element comprises an electrode arrangement associated with the piezoelectric layer for generating an electric field, wherein a layer thickness of the piezoelectric layer, in a vertical direction normal to the layers, can be controlled by the electric field.", "The electric field may be generated by applying an electrical voltage to the electrode arrangement.", "Each electrode arrangement can be driven independently of other electrode arrangements as necessary.", "It is thereby possible for the piezoelectric layers of the mirror elements to be controlled independently of one another and thus to be adjusted with regard to their layer thicknesses.", "As a consequence thereof, the reflection properties of the mirror arrangement can be influenced locally differently over the mirror surface, allowing to compensate undesired deviations or changes of the mirror surface.", "An electrode of the electrode arrangement may be in touching contact with the piezoelectric layer.", "It is also possible to arrange one or a plurality of electrodes at a distance from the piezoelectric layer to be influenced, as long as the electric field can permeate the material-filled or material-free interspace to reach the piezoelectric layer.", "Consequently, one or a plurality of layers of the multilayer arrangement, in particular one or more of the reflective layers of the reflective layer system, may be situated between an electrode and the associated piezoelectric layer.", "There are various possibilities for arranging the piezoelectric layer with respect to the one or more reflective layers of the reflective layer system.", "For example, the piezoelectric layer may be arranged between the reflective layer system and the substrate.", "In this case, the reflective layer system can be raised or lowered with the aid of the piezoelectric layer with respect to the substrate as a whole.", "By changing relative heights of the reflective layer systems of the adjacently arranged mirror elements a possible unflatness of the mirror surface can be compensated and a spatially resolving phase correction of the wavefront of impinging radiation is possible.", "In this case, the lateral resolution (spatial resolution) of the correction is dependent on the lateral dimensions of the radiation entrance surfaces of the individual mirror elements.", "According to one formulation of the claimed invention the mirror arrangement comprises an interconnection arrangement electrically interconnecting adjacent first and second electrodes of adjacent electrode arrangements.", "The first electrode is separated from an adjacent electrode, the second electrode, in a lateral direction by a gap region at least on one side of the piezoelectric layer.", "Because of the gap between the first and second electrodes, there is no short circuit between the first and second electrodes and hence the adjacent electrode arrangements can be driven independently of one another.", "According to one formulation the interconnection arrangement generates an interconnection electric field in the gap region between the first and second electrodes.", "The interconnection electric field generates a continuous transition between a first electric field at the first electrode and a second electric field at the second electrode.", "According to another formulation an electric resistance of the interconnection arrangement in the gap region between the first and second electrodes is greater than an electric resistance of the first and second electrodes and less than an electric resistance of the piezoelectric layers of the adjacent electrode arrangements comprising the first and second electrodes.", "The electric resistance of the first and second electrodes may include possible electric resistances of lead-in connection wires connecting the first and second electrodes with corresponding voltage sources and/or current sources.", "Since the electric resistance of the interconnection arrangement, also denoted as an “interconnection resistance”, is greater than the electric resistance of the first and second electrodes, also denoted as an “electrode resistance”, there will be no short circuit between the first and second electrodes.", "The first and second electrode arrangements can be driven independently of one another.", "Since the interconnection resistance is less than the electric resistance of the piezoelectric layer, also denoted as a “piezoelectric resistance”, of the adjacent electrode arrangements comprising the first and second electrodes, electric charge provided by the first and second electrodes can accumulate in the interconnection arrangement and will not instantly drain off by leakage through the piezoelectric layers of the adjacent electrode arrangements.", "When charge is accumulated, the interconnection electric field mentioned above builts up.", "Advantageously, the continuous or smooth transition of electric field strength in the piezoelectric material in the gap region from the first electric field, which ends at a boundary of the first electrode, to the second electric field, which starts at a boundary of the second electrode, reduces a risk of material fatigue and cracking of the components of the mirror elements, in particular the piezoelectric layers.", "The mirror elements may be arranged in a manner completely filling the area of the mirror surface of the mirror arrangement, wherein lateral boundaries of adjacent mirror elements touch each other.", "In particular, adjacent piezoelectric layers may touch each other.", "In this case, the first and second electrodes may not completely cover the corresponding piezoelectric layers in a lateral direction, such that a gap is present between the first and second electrodes so that the first and second electrodes do not touch each other.", "Otherwise a short circuit may result between them, preventing driving the first and second electrode arrangements independently of one another.", "Uncovered parts of the piezoelectric layers were not deformed in conventional mirrors, usually resulting in sharp kinks, steps or trenches in parts of the reflective layer systems above the uncovered parts of the piezoelectric layers.", "Such kinks, steps or trenches in the reflective layer systems may negatively influence a desired wavefront correction.", "As opposed to that, the interconnection arrangement covers at least the parts of the piezoelectric layers not being covered by the first and second electrodes, and the interconnection electric field generated by the interconnection arrangement causes a deformation of these parts of the piezoelectric layers.", "Thereby, sources for wavefront errors caused by discrete first and second electrodes, such as sharp kinks, steps or trenches in the reflective layer systems and the mirror surface, are reduced.", "An additional advantage of the interconnection arrangement is that it works as a shield for the piezoelectric layers against electric fields, e.g.", "caused by the lead-in connection wires, from above or below the interconnection arrangement.", "Therefore it eliminates crosstalk introduced from such electric fields.", "In an embodiment of the invention the electric resistance of the interconnection arrangement in the gap region between the first and second electrodes is in the range from 1 kiloohm (kΩ) to 10 megaohm (MΩ), preferably in the range from 10 kΩ to 1 MΩ.", "According to another formulation the electrical conductivity of the interconnection arrangement in the gap region between the first and second electrodes may be in a range from 200 to 1 S/m, particularly in a range from 100 to 1 S/m.", "If the interconnection resistance is too high (or the electrical conductivity too low), a time constant for accumulating charge in the interconnection arrangement may be too high.", "On the other hand, if the interconnection resistance is too low (or the electrical conductivity too high, an electric current flow that is used to maintain the applied electric voltages may cause resistive heating.", "In an embodiment of the invention the interconnection arrangement comprises a semiconductor material.", "Typically, the electrode arrangements comprise a metal material.", "The metal material has a lower specific electric resistivity than the semiconductor material and the semiconductor material has a lower specific electric resistivity than a piezoelectric material.", "Hence, the interconnection resistance can be higher than the electrode resistance and lower than the piezoelectric resistance.", "The semiconductor material may be based on silicon or may essentially consist of silicon only.", "The semiconductor material may be doped, wherein doping allows an adjustment of the resistivity, respectively the resistance, of the interconnection arrangement.", "The semiconductor material may be based on materials other than Silicon.", "For example, the semiconductor material may be selected from a group consisting of: LaNiO3; SrRuO3; SrVO3; LaCoO3; SrCoO3; LaMnO3; Sr0.7Ce0.3MnO3; La2Ce2O7; LaVO3; LaCrO3; LaFeO3; LaTiO3; LaCuO3; La(Mn0.5Co0.5)O3; LaCu0.4(Mn0.5Co0.5)0.6O3; La0.7Sr0.3FeO3; La0.7Sr0.3MnO3; SrFeO3; BaMnO3; SrMnO3; Ba0.5Sr0.5MnO3; BaRuO3; BaTiO3; CaMnO3; Ce0.8Y0.2O1.9; MgO; NdNiO3; Y stabilized ZrO2; ZnFeO3; CaRuO3; CaTiO3; TiO2; La0.6Sr0.4Fe0.8Co0.203; La0.85Sr0.15MnO3 Normally the resistance of the semiconductor material will strongly depend on temperature, while the resistance of the metal material will be less dependent on temperature.", "Hence, a resistance measurement of the interconnection arrangement comprising the semiconductor material can be used to determine a local temperature distribution within the mirror arrangement, which may be caused by absorption of impinging radiation within the mirror arrangement.", "Measuring the temperature distribution provides an estimation of a source for wavefront errors and thus may be used as a feedback-signal for the mirror arrangement, i.e.", "the individual adjustment of the particular electrical voltages applied to the corresponding electrode arrangements.", "In an embodiment of the invention the electric resistance of the first and second electrodes is less than or equal to 1 kΩ, preferably below 100Ω.", "Hence, there should be no significant voltage drop along the first and second electrodes, in particular along their lead-in connection wires.", "In an embodiment of the invention the electric resistance of the piezoelectric layers of the adjacent electrode arrangements with the first and second electrodes is greater than or equal to 10 MΩ, preferably greater than 100 MΩ.", "Hence, leakage currents through the piezoelectric layers possibly leading to a reduction of electric charge accumulated in the interconnection arrangement can be suppressed.", "The interconnection arrangement may comprise interconnection layers interconnecting the first and second electrodes by extending from the boundaries of the first electrodes to the boundaries of the second electrodes.", "In some embodiments of the invention several parts of the mirror arrangement extend over multiple or all mirror elements, which may simplify fabrication of the mirror arrangement, in particular of the mirror elements.", "For example, the interconnection arrangement may comprise a common interconnection layer interconnecting multiple or all mirror elements.", "The common interconnection layer may not only interconnect the first and second electrodes, but it may extend beyond the boundaries of the first and second electrodes below or above them.", "Preferably, the common interconnection layer is a continuous layer without any gap, preferably covering an area as large as the mirror surface area.", "Hence, the common interconnection layer does not have to be structured at all during fabrication, e.g.", "by a lithography process.", "It is also possible, that the piezoelectric layers of multiple or all mirror elements form a common piezoelectric layer and/or the reflective layer systems of multiple or all mirror elements form a common reflective layer system.", "The common piezoelectric layer without any gap can be continuously deformed and may or may not have discontinuities like kinks, steps or trenches.", "Similarly, a common reflective layer system without any gap can be continuously deformed and may or may not have discontinuities like kinks, steps or trenches, especially when being deformed by the common piezoelectric layer.", "The electrodes of the electrode arrangements of multiple or all of mirror elements opposite to the first and second electrodes may form a common electrode.", "Hence, not all electrodes need to be connected by individual lead-in connection wires to corresponding voltage sources and/or current sources, but only one common individual lead-in connection wire might be sufficient.", "Furthermore, only the first and the second electrodes have to be structured with gaps in between them.", "The substrates of multiple or all mirror elements may form a common substrate.", "Thereby, the fabrication of the mirror arrangement, in particular of the layers mentioned above in this paragraph, may take place on the common substrate.", "Then only the common substrate needs to be mounted on the carrier structure.", "In an embodiment of the invention the reflective layer system is adapted for reflecting electromagnetic radiation in a wavelength range below 300 nm, preferably below 200 nm, in particular below 20 nm.", "A wavelength below 300 nm, like the 248 nm wavelength of a KrF excimer laser, is in the DUV regime.", "A wavelength below 200 nm, like the 193 nm wavelength of a ArF excimer laser, is in the VUV regime.", "A wavelength below 20 nm, like the 13.5 nm wavelength e.g.", "of a gas discharge produced plasma or of a laser-produced plasma, is in the EUV regime.", "By being adapted to these short wavelength ranges, the mirror arrangement may be applied in a lithography exposure apparatus for very fine structures.", "A dielectric enhanced aluminum mirror layer, for example, can reflect electromagnetic radiation from the DUV regime or the VUV regime.", "In an embodiment of the invention the reflective layer system comprises a plurality of layer pairs having alternating layers of a high refractive index layer material and a (relative thereto) low refractive index layer material.", "Such layer pairs are also referred to as a “double layer” or “bilayer”.", "A layer arrangement having a large number of layer pairs acts in the manner of a “Distributed Bragg Reflector”.", "In this case, e.g.", "for EUV radiation, the reflective layer system simulates a crystal whose lattice planes leading to Bragg reflection are formed by the layers of the material having the lower real part of the refractive index.", "The optimum period thickness of the layer pairs is determined by the Bragg equation for a predetermined wavelength and for a predetermined angle of incidence (range).", "For EUV radiation the optimum period thickness is generally between 1 nm and 10 nm.", "A layer pair can also have, in addition to the two layers composed of relatively high refractive index and relatively low refractive index material, respectively, one or a plurality of further layers, for example an interposed barrier layer for reducing interdiffusion between adjacent layers.", "In this case, the piezoelectric layer may be positioned between a first group of layer pairs remote from the substrate and a second group of layer pairs near the substrate.", "Via the interposed piezoelectric layer, the distance between the layer groups (measured perpendicularly to the radiation entrance surface) can be altered by applying an external voltage.", "The interposed piezoelectric layer introduces an optical path length difference or a phase shift between the portions of radiation reflected at the first layer group and the portions of radiation reflected at the second layer group.", "By applying the external voltage, it is possible for the extent of the phase shift to be varied in a continuously variable manner, thereby changing the reflectivity of the corresponding mirror element.", "The piezoelectric layer integrated between the first and second layer groups acts in the manner of an integrated Fabry-Perot interferometer (etalons) with an electrically adjustable distance between its interfaces having a reflective effect.", "A multilayer arrangement can also have more than one piezoelectric layer which is arranged between two adjacent layer groups having a plurality of layer pairs and which serves for the controllable phase shift between the reflected portions of radiation of these layer groups.", "By way of example, two or three of such piezoelectric layers can be provided, between which layer groups having a plurality of layer pairs are then likewise situated.", "The multilayer arrangement may have a plurality of piezoelectric layers, such that a variation of the period thickness within the reflective layer system is possible.", "Since, for a given operating wavelength and a given angle of incidence, only specific layer periods lead to full constructive interference and hence to a maximum degree of reflection, by varying the period thickness it is possible to alter the reflectivity of the reflective layer system of the mirror element at the operating wavelength in a continuously variable manner.", "Furthermore, the phase of the reflected radiation is influenced, such that a spatially resolving wavefront influencing is also possible.", "For further possibilities concerning layer structures of multilayer arrangements, in particular the reflective layer system and the piezoelectric layer, reference is made to the content of WO 2012/126954 A1.The respective disclosure is incorporated herein by reference.", "In an embodiment of the invention a thickness of an interconnection layer of the interconnection arrangement is in the range from 50 nm to 200 nm or even up to 500 nm.", "Typically the piezoelectric layer will have a surface roughness, which may affect an interconnection layer with a thickness below 50 nm, such that the interconnection layer is not continuous, but has gaps.", "A thickness in the claimed range may reduce problems originating from surface roughness.", "In an embodiment of the invention a maximum electrode diameter of the first and second electrodes, measured parallel to the mirror surface, is in a range from 0.5 mm to 50 mm, particularly in the range from 2 mm to 20 millimeter.", "A definition of the maximum electrode diameter depends on the form of the first and second electrodes in a plane parallel to the mirror surface.", "In the case of an electrode with the form of a circle, the diameter may be a diameter of the circle.", "In the case of a polygonal electrode form, in particular a quadrilateral or hexagonal shape, the diameter may be a longest diagonal in the polygon.", "Alternatively or in addition, a width of the gap region between the first and second electrodes may be in a range from 10 mm to 1 mm.", "The width of the gap region may be determined as the shortest distance of a boundary of the first electrode to an opposite boundary of the second electrode.", "For the maximum electrode diameter and the width of the gap region, respectively, in the claimed ranges it is possible to approximate the form of the mirror surface to a desired form of the mirror surface, while not having too many electrodes and thereby too many mirror elements, respectively.", "A number of the mirror elements may be approximately 200 or less.", "In particular a number of mirror elements over a diameter of a useful area of the mirror arrangement, e.g.", "the mirror surface, may be in the range from 50 to 180, preferably in the range from 100 to 150, for example.", "The invention also relates to an optical system comprising at least one mirror arrangement.", "The optical system can be a projection objective of a lithography exposure apparatus The mirror arrangement may be arranged in a region of a pupil plane of the projection objective, that is to say in the region of a plane which is situated in the manner Fourier-transformed with respect to the plane of the object surface and the image surface.", "Other potentially useful positions for a mirror arrangement may be positioned close to a field surface, such as the object surface, the image surface or, if available, a position where a real intermediate image is formed.", "Two or more mirror arrangements may be provided, preferably at optically different positions.", "These and further features emerge not only from the claims but also from the description and the drawings, wherein the individual features can be realized in each case by themselves or as a plurality in the form of sub combinations in an embodiment of the invention and in other fields and can constitute advantageous and inherently protectable embodiments.", "Exemplary embodiments are illustrated in the drawings and are explained in greater detail below.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG.", "1 shows schematically a longitudinal cut through a partial section of an embodiment of a mirror arrangement; FIG.", "2 shows schematically a cross section through a partial section of a mirror arrangement at a height corresponding to the top of first and second electrodes in FIG.", "1; FIG.", "3 shows a height profile along the line AA′ in FIG.", "2 for a reference mirror arrangement without an interconnection arrangement; FIG.", "4 shows an equivalent circuit diagram of the electrical components of the mirror arrangement of FIG.", "1 with an interconnection arrangement according to an embodiment; FIG.", "5 shows a height profile along the line AA′ in FIG.", "2 for a mirror arrangement with an interconnection arrangement according to an embodiment; FIG.", "6 shows a projection objective of a lithography exposure apparatus comprising embodiments of mirror arrangements.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION FIG.", "1 shows a partial section of a mirror arrangement 1, which has a plurality of mirror elements 2a, 2b.", "As shown in the cross section of a mirror arrangement in FIG.", "2, the plurality of mirror elements 2a, 2b may be adjacently arranged in a hexagonal manner Each mirror element 2a, 2b can be designated as an individual mirror and has a hexagonal cross section.", "The mirror arrangement 1 of FIG.", "1 comprises a common substrate 4 as a mechanical support.", "The term “common substrate” as used herein means that one single substrate is common to a plurality or all mirror elements so that the mirror elements share the common substrate.", "The substrate 4 could be laterally subdivided in individual substrates 4a, 4b of the individual mirror elements 2a, 2b as indicated in FIG.", "1.The common substrate 4 provides stiffness against bending by stresses in layers deposited on the common substrate 4.After finishing the mirror arrangement 1 only the common substrate 4 has to be mounted on a carrier structure not shown.", "The common substrate 4 may be a ultra-low expansion substrate, for example, consisting of an amorphous material like glass having a ultra-low expansion coefficient and a thickness of approximately 50 mm (millimeter) in a vertical z direction.", "On a surface of the common substrate 4 multilayer arrangements 5a, 5b of the individual mirror elements 2a, 2b are processed by suitable coating technology, whereby in the case of the example several layers of the multilayer arrangements of the individual mirror elements 2a, 2b form common layers, i.e.", "layers extending across a plurality of adjacent mirror elements.", "For producing some or all of the individual layers, it is possible to use e.g.", "magnetron sputtering, electron beam sputtering or ion beam sputtering or gas flow sputtering.", "If a crystalline layer structure is desired, it is also possible to effect coating through pulsed layer deposition (PLD), for example.", "A first common adhesion layer 14 is deposited on the surface of the common substrate.", "The first common adhesion layer 14 provides transition from the common substrate 4 to crystalline layers above.", "It may, for example, consist of TiO2 and have a thickness of approximately 10 nm (nanometer) to 20 nm in the vertical z direction.", "On the common adhesion layer 14, a common electrode 9c is deposited, for example by PLD.", "The common electrode 9c may, for example, consist of Pt and have a thickness from 50 nm to 100 nm in the vertical z direction.", "Alternatively, for example, some other electrically conductive material, such as Al or Cr, can be used.", "In the case of the example, the common electrode 9c is electrically connected to one pole of a settable DC voltage source, e.g.", "to earth ground, not shown.", "A second common adhesion layer 15 is deposited on top of the common electrode 9c.", "The second common adhesion layer 15 forms a conductive layer on which typical piezoelectric materials can be grown, which likewise form a crystalline layer.", "It may, for example, consist of LaNiO3 and have a thickness from 20 nm to 50 nm in the vertical z direction.", "On a surface of the second common adhesion layer 15 a common piezoelectric layer 8 is grown, for example by PLD.", "The term “common piezoelectric layer” as used herein means that one single piezoelectric layer is common to a plurality or all mirror elements so that the mirror elements share the common piezoelectric layer.", "The piezoelectric layer 8 could be laterally subdivided in individual piezoelectric layers 8a, 8b of the individual mirror elements 2a, 2b as indicated in FIG.", "1.The common piezoelectric layer 8 can consist of a material having a perovskite structure which exhibits a relatively strong piezoelectric effect.", "In particular, the piezoelectric layer material can be selected from the group consisting of: Ba(Sr,Zr)TiO3, Bi(Al,Fe)O3, (Bi,Ga)O3, (Bi,Sc)O3, CdS, (Li,Na, K)(Nb,Ta)O3, Pb(Cd,Co,Fe,In,Mg,Ni,Sc,Yb,Zn,Zr) (Nb,W,Ta,Ti)O3, ZnO, ZnS, AlSCN or may contain at least one material of this group in combination with at least one other material.", "In this case, the notation (A,B) denotes that an element or ion of the type A or an element or ion of type B can be present in a specific lattice position of the crystal structure.", "For example, PbZrTiO3 may be selected as the piezoelectric material.", "The common piezoelectric layer 8 may, for example, have a thickness tp from 1 μm to 4 μm (micrometer) in the vertical z direction.", "Piezoelectric constants (d33) in the range of 65-250 μm/V are known for typical piezoelectric layer materials.", "An interconnection arrangement in form of a common interconnection layer 10 is deposited directly on a surface of the common piezoelectric layer 8.The common interconnection layer 10 can, for example, consist of a semiconductor material.", "The semiconductor material may be based on silicon or may essentially consist of silicon only.", "The semiconductor material may be doped, wherein doping allows an adjustment of a electrical conductivity, respectively a resistance, of the common interconnection layer 10.A thickness ti of the common interconnection layer 10 is, for example, in the range from 50 nm to 200 nm.", "A thickness in the mentioned range may reduce problems originating from a surface roughness of the common piezoelectric layer 8.A structured third adhesion layer 16 is deposited on the common interconnection layer 10.The third adhesion layer 16 is structured using lithography processes into bonding pads 16a, 16b of the individual mirror elements 2a, 2b, such that they are arranged only underneath intended electrodes.", "The third adhesion layer 16 may, for example, consist of LaNiO3 and have a thickness from 20 nm to 50 nm in the vertical z direction.", "A third adhesion layer may or may not be present.", "Other structuring techniques, such as deposition through a mask or laser ablation may be used to make structured layers.", "On top of the adhesion pads 16a, 16b each individual mirror element 2a, 2b comprises structured electrodes 9a, 9b, also denoted here as first and second electrodes.", "The first and second electrodes 9a, 9b may be applied by PLD and are structured using lithography processes.", "The first and second electrodes 9a, 9b may, for example, consist of similar materials and have a similar thickness as the common electrode 9c.", "The first electrode 9a and an opposite lateral section of the common electrode 9c below the first electrode 9a form a first electrode arrangement.", "Correspondingly, the second electrode 9b and the part of the common electrode 9c situated on the opposite side (beyond the piezoelectric layer 8) form a second electrode arrangement.", "The first and second electrodes 9a, 9b do not completely cover the corresponding individual piezoelectric layers 8a, 8b in a lateral direction, as visible in FIG.", "2 as well.", "A gap or a gap region 11 is present between the first and second electrodes so that the first and second electrodes do not touch each other.", "Otherwise a short circuit may result between them, preventing driving the first and second electrode arrangements independently of one another.", "Depending on the arrangement and/or the form of the mirror elements 2a, 2b a cross section of the first and second electrodes 9a, 9b in a lateral plane may be formed.", "In the case of the example, the first and second electrodes 9a, 9b have a hexagonal cross sectional shape, as shown in FIG.", "2.A maximum electrode diameter D of the first and second electrodes 9a, 9b, a longest diagonal in the hexagons, is approximately 5 millimeter in the case of the example.", "A width W of the gap region 11 between the first and second electrodes, the shortest distance of a boundary of the first electrode 9a to an opposite boundary of the second electrode 9b, is approximately 20 millimeter in the case of the example.", "An isolator and spacer layer 17 is deposited laterally beside the adhesion pads 16a, 16b and the first and second electrodes 9a, 9b.", "The isolator and spacer layer 17 electrically insulates the first and second electrodes 9a, 9b and the adhesion pads 16a, 16b, respectively, from one another.", "The isolator and spacer layer 17 may, for example, consist of SiO2 and be as high as the adhesion pads 16a, 16b plus the first and second electrodes 9a, 9b.", "Each of the first and second electrodes 9a, 9b is connected to the other pole of the DC voltage source via a separate structured lead-in connection wire 18a, 18b.", "The structured wires 18a, 18b may, for example, consist of similar materials and have a thickness similar to the one of the common electrode 9c.", "The structured wires 18a, 18b are isolated by the isolator and spacer layer 17 from the common interconnection layer 10 and the common piezoelectric layer 8, respectively.", "The structured wires 18a, 18b may cross other first and second electrodes, whereby there may be an extra isolator layer in between in order to avoid short circuits.", "A common smoothing layer 19 is deposited on top of the structured wires 18a, 18b and the isolator and spacer layer 17.This layer can be polished smooth with an ion beam before the next layer is applied to obtain a sub-nm RMS-flatness (root mean square).", "The common smoothing layer 19 may, for example, consist of SiO2 and may have a thickness from 2 μm to 10 μm in the vertical z direction.", "A common shielding layer 20 is deposited on the common smoothing layer 19, for example, by PLD.", "The common shielding layer 20 provides electrical shielding between the first and second electrodes 9a, 9b with the wires 18a, 18b and layers deposited on the common smoothing layer 19.Further, the smoothing layer is prevented from getting attacked by EUV photons, whereby degradation is suppressed.", "In some cases, the common shielding layer 20 may be omitted.", "A common reflective layer system 6 is deposited on top of the common shielding layer 20.The term “common reflective layer system” as used herein means that one single reflective layer system is common to a plurality or all mirror elements so that the mirror elements share the common reflective layer system.", "The reflective layer system 6 could be laterally subdivided in individual reflective layer systems 6a, 6b of the individual mirror elements 2a, 2b as indicated in FIG.", "1.The common reflective layer system 6 comprises a plurality of layer pairs having alternating layers 12, 13 of a high refractive index layer material (also called “spacer”) and a (relative thereto) low refractive index layer material (also called “absorber”).", "Such layer pairs are also referred to as a “double layer” or “bilayer”.", "The reflective layer system 6 acts in the manner of a “Distributed Bragg Reflector”.", "In the exemplary embodiment, the common reflective layer system 6 is adapted for reflecting EUV radiation in the range from 5 nm to 30 nm.", "Thin layers 12 comprising Mo as absorber material are applied alternately with relative “thicker” layers 13 comprising Si as spacer material.", "A layer pair can also contain at least one further layer, in particular an interposed barrier layer, which can consist e.g.", "of C, B4C, SixNy, SiC or a composition comprising one of said materials and is intended to prevent interdiffusion at the interface.", "It is thereby possible to ensure permanently sharply defined interfaces even under prolonged radiation loading.", "The common reflective layer system 6 comprises, for example, 50 layer pairs with a total thickness of approximately 350 nm, such that the periodic stack reflects radiation incident from a common radiation entrance surface 7 of the common reflective layer system 6.Additionally, the period of the layer pairs is chosen in a manner dependent on the angle-of-incidence range that occurs and the operating wavelength such that maximum or almost maximum reflectivity occurs in accordance with the Bragg equation.", "The term “common radiation entrance surface” as used herein means that one single radiation entrance surface is common to a plurality or all mirror elements so that the mirror elements share the common radiation entrance surface.", "The radiation entrance surface 7 could be laterally subdivided in individual radiation entrance surfaces 7a, 7b of the individual mirror elements 2a, 2b as indicated in FIG.", "1.The common radiation entrance surface 7 and the individual radiation entrance surfaces 7a, 7b jointly, respectively, form a mirror surface 3 of the mirror arrangement 1.Hence, each mirror element 2a, 2b comprises a layer structure including layers essentially parallel to the radiation entrance surfaces 7a, 7b.", "For a given electrode diameter D and the width W of the gap region, respectively, it is possible to approximate the form of the mirror surface 3 to a desired form of the mirror surface, while not having too many electrodes 9a, 9b and thereby too many mirror elements 2a, 2b, respectively.", "In particular a number of mirror elements 2a, 2b over a diameter of a useful area of the mirror arrangement 1 like the mirror surface 3, e.g.", "in FIG.", "2 further along the line AA′ to the right and to the left, may be in the range from 20 to 200, for example.", "The layer construction of the multilayer arrangements 5a, 5b of the individual mirror elements 2a, 2b, is designed such that the mirror arrangement 1 as a whole can be used as a wavefront correction device that is effective in a spatially resolving fashion.", "The first and second electrodes 9a, 9b are connected via the wires 18a, 18b to the switchable DC voltage source, via which, as necessary, a DC voltage Va, Vb of predeterminable magnitude up to several Volts can be applied between the first electrode 9a and the common electrode 9c and/or the second electrode 9b and the common electrode 9c.", "A voltage difference Va−Vb between adjacent first and second electrodes 9a, 9b may be up to several Volts.", "In general, there is a separate switchable or continuously variably settable DC voltage source for each of the first and second electrodes 9a, 9b.", "Hence, each of the first and second electrodes 9a, 9b can be put at a suitable potential relative to the common electrode 9c independently of the other electrodes.", "Thereby, individual piezoelectric layers 8a, 8b or layer portions are permeated locally by individual first and second electric fields below the first and/or second electrodes 9a, 9b and their layer thicknesses tp in the vertical z direction changes locally in a manner dependent on the applied voltages; the individual piezoelectric layers 8a, 8b of the mirror elements 2a, 2b are adjusted with regard to their layer thicknesses individually.", "Hence, a layer thickness profile extending in the x-direction may be produced.", "This makes use of the inverse piezoelectric effect, in which the common piezoelectric layer 8 locally deforms reversibly under the action of local electric fields.", "In this case, a crystalline material of the piezoelectric layer, e.g.", "Pb(Zr,Ti)O3, does not undergo a phase transformation, rather a reversible displacement of positive and negative charge centroids within the crystal structure of the piezoelectric layer material merely takes place.", "The setting range (tuning range) is primarily determined by the elasticity and the yield stress of the piezoelectric layer material.", "When the yield stress (σy) is exceeded, an irreversible deformation of the layer material commences.", "The yield stress is linked to the elasticity (described by the modulus of elasticity E, also called Young's modulus) of the material and the dimensional change or deformation of the material, for which the strain e serves as a normalized measure.", "The relationship between the dimensional change (strain) of the layer thickness which is possible without plastic deformation of the material (εmax=Δtp/tp), the yield stress and the modulus of elasticity is given by εmax=σy/E.", "In this case, tp is the initial layer thickness and Δtp is the change in layer thickness.", "The yield stress for piezoelectric materials is typically between 1% and 5% and is approximately 4.8% for BaTiO3 (R. F. Cook, C. J. Fairbanks, B. R. Lawn and Y.-W. Mai “Crack Resistance by Interfacial Bridging: Its Role in Determining Strength Characteristics,” J.", "Mater Res., 2, 345-356 (1987)).", "If the intention is then to provide location-dependent (spatially resolved) wavefront correction over the entire mirror surface 3, electrical voltages Va, Vb of different magnitudes can be applied to the piezoelectric layers 8a, 8b of the individual mirror elements 2a, 2b, such that different layer thicknesses of the piezoelectric layers 8a, 8b below the first and/or second electrodes 9a, 9b are established within the individual mirror elements 2a, 2b.", "In this case, the individual reflective layer systems 6a, 6b with their radiation entrance surfaces 7a, 7b can be locally raised or lowered above the first and second electrodes 9a, 9b with the aid of the piezoelectric layers 8a, 8b with respect to the individual substrates 4a, 4b and the common substrate 4, respectively.", "By changing relative heights of the reflective layer systems 6a, 6b of the adjacently arranged mirror elements 2a, 2b a possible unflatness or other undesired deviations of the mirror surface 3 can be compensated and a spatially resolving phase correction of the wavefront of impinging radiation is possible.", "In this case, the lateral resolution (spatial resolution) of the correction is dependent on the lateral dimensions of the radiation entrance surfaces 7a, 7b of the individual mirror elements 2a, 2b.", "Without the common interconnection layer 10 parts of the piezoelectric layers 8a, 8b below the gap 11 would not be permeated by electric fields during operation and hence would not be deformed.", "FIG.", "3 shows a z height profile in arbitrary units (a.u.)", "along the line AA′ in FIG.", "2 at the top of first and second electrodes 9a, 9b for a mirror arrangement without an interconnection arrangement.", "In the gap regions 11, where the piezoelectric layers 8a, 8b are not deformed, the z height of the isolator and spacer layer 17 remains on a constant level, which is z=0 in the case of the example.", "Beside the gap regions 11 the z height of the first and second electrodes 9a, 9b is altered by the externally controlled deformation of the corresponding piezoelectric layers 8a, 8b.", "Hence, there are sharp kinks, steps and trenches along the height profile.", "Correspondingly, the common reflective layer system 6 and the mirror surface 3, respectively, above the first and second electrodes 9a, 9b and the isolator and spacer layer 17 may exhibit sharp kinks, steps and trenches.", "Such kinks, steps or trenches in the common reflective layer system 6 and the mirror surface 3, respectively, may cause wavefront distortions of the reflected light.", "As opposed to that, a mirror arrangement according to the embodiment comprises an interconnection arrangement, as is the case of the example of FIG.", "1 in the form of the common interconnection layer 10.It covers the parts of the piezoelectric layers 8a, 8b not being covered by the first and second electrodes 9a, 9b in the gap region 11.FIG.", "4 shows an equivalent circuit diagram of the electrical components of the mirror arrangement of FIG.", "1 with an interconnection arrangement as described.", "An electric resistance of the interconnection arrangement 10 in the gap region 11 between the first and second electrodes 9a, 9b of FIG.", "1, also denoted as an “interconnection resistance” Ri, is greater than an electric resistance of the first electrode 9a plus its lead-in connection wire 18a, also denoted as an “electrode resistance” Rw, and greater than an electric resistance Rw of the second electrode 9b plus its lead-in connection wire 18b.", "In addition, the interconnection resistance Ri is less than the electric resistances of the piezoelectric layers 8a, 8b of the adjacent electrode arrangements comprising the first and second electrodes 9a, 9b, also denoted as “piezoelectric resistances” Rl.", "Typically, the metal material of the electrodes 9a, 9b, 9c and the lead-in wires 18a, 18b has a lower specific electric resistivity than the semiconductor material of the common interconnection layer 10 and the semiconductor material has a lower specific electric resistivity than a piezoelectric material of the piezoelectric layers 8a, 8b.", "Hence, the interconnection resistance Ri can be higher than the electrode resistance Rw and lower than the piezoelectric resistance Rl as desired.", "Since the interconnection resistance Ri is greater than the electrode resistances Rw, there will be no short circuit between the first and second electrodes 9a, 9b.", "The first and second electrode arrangements can still be driven independently of one another and hence be kept at a suitable potential.", "Since the interconnection resistance Ri is less than the piezoelectric resistances Rl, electric charge provided by the first and second electrodes 9a, 9b can accumulate in the interconnection arrangement 10 and will not instantly drain off by leakage through the piezoelectric layers 8a, 8b.", "The electrode resistance Rw may be less than or equal to 100 ohm (Ω) in the case of the example.", "Hence, there should be no significant voltage drop along the first and second electrodes 9a, 9b, in particular along their lead-in connection wires 18a, 18b.", "The interconnection resistance Ri may be in the range from 10 kiloohm (kΩ) to 1 megaohm (MΩ) in the case of the example.", "If the interconnection resistance is too high, a time constant τc for accumulating charge in the common interconnection layer 10 in the gap region 11 may be too high.", "The time constant τc can be estimated as τc=Cg×Ri/2, giving τc from 2.5 milliseconds to 0.25 seconds with Cg=0.5 micro Farad being the capacitance of the piezoelectric layers 8a, 8b in the gap region 11.This time constant is presently considered to be sufficiently low for the desired use of the mirror arrangement 1 as a wavefront correction device, whereby an adjustment of the applied voltages Va, Vb can be done, for example, after each wafer swap, typically every 20 seconds.", "Cp is the capacitance of the piezoelectric layers 8a, 8b below the first and second electrodes 9a, 9b, which may have a value comparable to the capacitance Cg.", "On the other hand, if the interconnection resistance Ri is too low, an electric current flow through the interconnection layer 10 between the first and second electrodes 9a, 9b caused by the applied electric voltages at the first and second 9a, 9b may cause undesired resistive heating.", "For a voltage difference Va-Vb of 2 V between the first and second electrodes 9a, 9b the resistive heat generation P is with P=(Va−Vb)2/Ri in the range of 4 to 400 μW (microWatts), which is presently considered to be sufficiently low for the desired use of the mirror arrangement 1.Corresponding to the dimensions of the gap region 11 a specific electric resistivity of the interconnection arrangement may be in a range of ρi=Ri×ti×W/D giving a value in the range from 5×10−4 Ωm to 2×10−1 Ωm, which is typical for semiconductor materials.", "The piezoelectric resistances Rl may be greater than or equal to 100 MΩ in the case of the example.", "Hence, leakage currents through the piezoelectric layers 8a, 8b possibly leading to a reduction of electric charge accumulated in the interconnection arrangement 10 can be suppressed.", "When the first and/or second electrodes 9a, 9b are put at suitable voltages or potentials Va, Vb, there is a continuous or smooth potential or voltage transition in the common interconnection layer 10 in the gap region 11 from Va at a right boundary of the first electrode 9a in FIG.", "1 to Vb at a left boundary of the second electrode 9b.", "Charge is accumulated in the common interconnection layer 10 causing an interconnection electric field to build up in the gap region 11 vertically in between the interconnection layer 10 in the gap region 11 and the common electrode 9c below.", "The interconnection electric field generates a continuous lateral transition between the first electric field at or below the first electrode 9a and the second electric field at or below the second electrode 9b.", "FIG.", "5 shows a z height profile in arbitrary units (a.u.)", "along the line AA′ in FIG.", "2 at the top of first and second electrodes 9a, 9b for a mirror arrangement with an interconnection arrangement according to an embodiment.", "The interconnection electric field generated by the interconnection arrangement permeates the piezoelectric layers 8a, 8b in the gap region 11.Thereby, a continuous or smooth deformation of the parts of the piezoelectric layers 8a, 8b in the gap regions 11 is caused.", "Overall, the common piezoelectric layer 8 is continuously deformed without any gap and its thickness profile does not have any discontinuities like steps or trenches.", "Correspondingly, the z height of the top of the electrodes and the isolator and spacer layer 17 is only rising from left to right in FIG.", "5.Correspondingly, the common reflective layer system 6 is continuously deformed without any gap and does not have any discontinuities like steps or trenches.", "It is only rising from left to right in z height.", "Thereby, sources for wavefront errors caused by discrete first and second electrodes 9a, 9b, such as sharp kinks, steps or trenches in the reflective layer systems 6a, 6b and the mirror surface 3, are reduced.", "The mirror arrangement 1 is improved with respect to the prior art and has improved optical properties e.g.", "for an improved wavefront correction.", "Additionally, a risk of material fatigue and cracking of the components of the mirror elements 2a, 2b is reduced.", "An additional advantage of the interconnection arrangement in form of the common interconnection layer 10 is that it may work as a shield for the piezoelectric layers 8a, 8b, especially in the gap region 11, against electric fields, e.g.", "caused by the lead-in connection wires 18a, 18b, from above the interconnection arrangement in the case of the example.", "Therefore it eliminates crosstalk that is introduced from such electric fields.", "Normally the resistance of the semiconductor material of the interconnection arrangement 10 will strongly depend on temperature, while the resistance of the metal material of the electrodes 9a, 9b will be less dependent on temperature.", "Hence, a resistance measurement of the interconnection arrangement comprising the semiconductor material can be used to determine a local temperature distribution within the mirror arrangement 1, which may be caused by absorption of impinging radiation within the mirror arrangement 1.The resistance measurement can be performed by measuring a current flow Ii from the first electrode 9a through the interconnection arrangement 10 to the second electrode 9b and can be calculated to Ri by Ri=(Va−Vb)/Ii.", "Measuring the temperature distribution provides an estimation of a source for wavefront errors and thus may be used as a feedback-signal for the mirror arrangement 1, i.e.", "the individual adjustment of the particular electrical voltages Va, Vb applied to the corresponding electrode arrangements 9a, 9b, 9c.", "Mirror arrangements which, with the aid of piezoelectric layers, enable a spatially resolving setting of the wavefront profile over the mirror surface of the mirror arrangement can be used for various tasks, for example in optical systems.", "Possible uses in the context of a projection objective for a lithography exposure apparatus are presented hereinafter.", "FIG.", "6 shows optical components of a lithography exposure apparatus WSC for exposing a radiation-sensitive substrate SUB arranged in the region of an image plane IS of a projection objective PO with at least one image of a pattern of a reflective patterning device or mask M arranged in the region of an object plane OS of the projection objective PO.", "The apparatus WSC is operated with radiation from a primary radiation source RS.", "An illumination system ILL serves for receiving the radiation from the primary radiation source RS and for shaping illumination radiation directed onto the pattern.", "The projection objective PO serves for imaging the structure of the pattern onto the light-sensitive substrate SUB.", "In the application field of EUV lithography the primary radiation source RS can be, inter alia, a laser plasma source or a gas discharge plasma source or a synchrotron-based radiation source.", "Such radiation sources generate a radiation RAD in the EUV range, in particular having wavelengths of between 4 nm and 30 nm.", "In order that the illumination system ILL and the projection objective PO can operate in this wavelength range, they are constructed with components that are reflective to EUV radiation.", "The radiation RAD emerging from the radiation source RS is collected with a collector COL and directed into the illumination system ILL.", "In this case, the radiation passes through an intermediate focal plane, in which devices for separating undesired radiation portions can be provided.", "The illumination system ILL shapes the radiation RAD and thus illuminates an illumination field situated in the object plane OS of the projection objective PO or in the vicinity thereof.", "In this case, the form and size of the illumination field determine the form and size of the effectively used object field in the object plane IS.", "A reflective reticle M or some other reflective patterning device is arranged in the object plane OS during operation of the apparatus WSC.", "The projection objective PO has six mirrors M1 to M6 having curved mirror surfaces arranged along a common optical axis AX.", "The projection objective images the pattern of the mask, on a reducing scale, into the image plane, in which the substrate to be exposed, e.g.", "a semiconductor wafer, is arranged.", "The projection radiation PR passing from the mask M to the substrate is successively reflected at the six mirrors (first mirror M1 to sixth mirror M6).", "The image field IF, which is optically conjugate with respect to the object field OF, lies in the image plane.", "A real intermediate image IMI optically conjugate with respect to the object field and image field is formed optically between fourth mirror M4 and fifth mirror M5 geometrically near the edge of sixth mirror M6.A first pupil surface P1 exists where a chief ray crosses the optical axis AX near or at second mirror M2.A second pupil surface P2 exists geometrically about halfway between fifth and sixth mirrors M5 and M6.All of the mirrors are covered with multilayer reflection coatings which have a reflective effect for EUV radiation and which can contain e.g.", "Mo/Si layer pairs (bilayer).", "A device (reticle stage) for holding and manipulating the mask M (reticle) is arranged such that the pattern arranged on the mask lies in the object plane OS of the projection objective PO, which is also designated here as the reticle plane.", "The mask is movable in this plane for scanner operation in a scanning direction (y-direction) perpendicularly to the reference axis AX of the projection lens (z-direction) with the aid of a scan drive.", "The substrate SUB to be exposed is held by a device (wafer stage) comprising a scanner drive in order to move the substrate synchronously with the mask M perpendicularly to the reference axis AX in a scanning direction (y-direction).", "Depending on the design of the projection lens PO, these movements of mask and substrate can be effected in a manner parallel or antiparallel with respect to one another.", "The wafer stage and the reticle stage are part of a scanner device controlled with a scan control device, which, in the embodiment, is integrated into the central control device of the projection exposure apparatus.", "All optical components of the projection exposure apparatus WSC are accommodated in an evacuatable housing.", "The projection exposure apparatus is operated under vacuum.", "EUV projection exposure apparatuses having a similar basic construction are known e.g.", "from WO 2009/100856 A1.A projection objective having a similar basic construction is disclosed in EP 1178356 A2 (FIG.", "4).", "The disclosures of said documents are incorporated by reference into the content of this description.", "One or more of the first to sixth mirror M1 to M6 may comprise a mirror arrangement according to an embodiment described in this application.", "A mirror arrangement may provide different useful functionalities depending on the type of mirror and the position of the mirror along the optical path.", "For example, second mirror M2 is a concave mirror positioned very near or at the first pupil surface P1 optically conjugate to a pupil surface of the illumination system ILL.", "Therefore, the spatial intensity distribution of radiation on this mirror will be determined by the type of illumination settings provided by the illumination system.", "For example, when a dipole setting is used, radiation impinging on the second mirror M2 will be concentrated in two diametrically opposite areas corresponding to the poles of the illumination setting, thereby causing uneven radiation load on the second mirror.", "This may cause uneven heating of the mirror, thereby causing uneven deformation and associated aberrations.", "The reflective mirror surface of the mirror arrangement may then be controlled such that effects of uneven radiation load may be at least partly compensated, thereby reducing imaging errors otherwise present in the system.", "Although sixth mirror M6 is not positioned exactly in a pupil surface, the position is relatively close to the pupil surface, whereby an uneven radiation load may result in specific illumination settings.", "As in the second mirror, an adaptable mirror arrangement may at least partly compensate for aberrations which would otherwise be generated.", "Further, a large portion of sixth mirror M6 is optically used in operation.", "Specifically, sixth mirror is the mirror having the largest optically used area of all mirrors.", "A large mirror may be particular sensitive to influences of gravity on the mirror shape.", "Those influences can be compensated by controlling the overall surface shape of the mirror arrangement accordingly.", "As another example, fifth mirror M5 (geometrically closest to the image surface) is a convex mirror positioned so that a large range of angles of incidence of the EUV radiation is present on the mirror surface.", "Also, the largest angles of incidence may occur on this mirror.", "Under these conditions, the reflectivity behavior of this mirror is particularly sensitive to small imperfections in the layer structure of the multilayer system.", "When fifth mirror is designed as a mirror arrangement according to an embodiment, it is possible to counteract at least partly problems resulting from small imperfections in layer structure.", "As another example, the optically used concave reflective surface of fourth mirror M4 is positioned optically close to a field surface, specifically to the field surface where the intermediate image IMI is formed.", "Controlling the surface shape of a mirror close to the field surface may be utilized to compensate for field dependent aberrations.", "Third mirror M3 has a convex reflective surface arranged optically in an intermediate range neither very close to a field surface nor very close to a pupil surface.", "Mirrors in such intermediary positions may also be provided with mirror arrangements according to an embodiment.", "When the problem of wavefront correction is considered, it may also be emphasized that a typical EUV projection objective, typically has a relative small number of optical surfaces actually contributing to image formation, for example four, six or eight mirrors.", "Therefore, there is only a limited number of degrees of freedom for influencing the wavefront through wavefront correcting manipulators.", "It may therefore be useful to provide more than one mirror of a projection objective with a mirror arrangement according to an embodiment of the present application.", "For example, at least one mirror close to a pupil surface, at least one mirror close to a field surface and at least one mirror at an intermediate position may be designed as a mirror arrangement according to an embodiment of the invention, so that multiple degrees of freedom for a wavefront correction are provided.", "As mentioned above, use of a mirror arrangement according to embodiments of the invention is not limited to optical systems for EUV lithography.", "For example, a mirror arrangement according to an embodiment may be utilized as a curved mirror in a catadioptric projection objective designed for wavelengths in the deep ultraviolet range, for example at about 248 nm or at about 193 nm.", "For example, the smooth continuous mirror surface of a mirror arrangement may have an overall concave shape so that an active concave mirror capable of adapting the surface shape of the concave mirror may be provided.", "Some possible uses of mirror arrangements in a projection objective of a lithography exposure apparatus have been explained on the basis of the exemplary embodiments.", "Alternatively or additionally, provision can also be made for making at least one mirror of the illumination system ILL in accordance with an embodiment of a mirror arrangement.", "Mirrors described in WO 2012/126954 A1 may be designed according to an embodiment of the present application The total mirror surface of a mirror arrangement can be flat in the manner of a plane mirror.", "It is also possible to design a mirror arrangement in a convexly or concavely curved mirror surface.", "In the examples, the individual radiation entrance surfaces are plane surfaces in each case.", "This is not mandatory, however.", "Individual or all of the individual radiation entrance surfaces of the mirror elements can also be convexly or concavely curved.", "Additionally, individual mirror elements may be mounted on a carrier structure such that a desired form of the mirror surface is obtained.", "The shape of the individual mirror elements can be adapted to the desired application.", "The layer construction of the multilayer arrangement in the region of the successive layer pairs can be adapted to the application striven for.", "In the exemplary embodiment, the piezoelectric layer is arranged between the plurality of layer pairs of the reflective layer system and the substrate, comparable to the example of FIG.", "9 of WO 2012/126954 A1.The layer construction of the multilayer arrangements of the individual mirror elements is designed such that the mirror arrangement as a whole can be used as a wavefront correction device that is effective in a spatially resolving fashion, without different spatial distributions of the reflectivity arising for different operating modes.", "Alternatively, the piezoelectric layer may be positioned between a first group of layer pairs remote from the substrate and a second group of layer pairs near the substrate, comparable to the example of FIG.", "1 of WO 2012/126954 A1.Correspondingly, the interconnection arrangement may be positioned in order to be able to provide the interconnection field to the piezoelectric layer.", "With the interposed piezoelectric layer, the distance between the layer groups (measured perpendicularly to the radiation entrance surface) can be altered by applying an external voltage.", "The interposed piezoelectric layer introduces an optical path length difference or a phase shift between the portions of radiation reflected at the first layer group and the portions of radiation reflected at the second layer group.", "By applying the external voltage, it is possible for the extent of the phase shift to be varied in a continuously variable manner, thereby changing the reflectivity of the corresponding mirror element.", "The piezoelectric layer integrated between the first and second layer groups acts in the manner of an integrated Fabry-Perot interferometer (etalons) with an electrically adjustable distance between its interfaces having a reflective effect.", "In multilayer arrangements having a piezoelectric layer and an interconnection arrangements positioned between a first group of layer pairs remote from the substrate and a second group of layer pairs near the substrate, consideration should be given particularly to ensuring that the interconnection arrangement material has low absorptions for the used radiation.", "A multilayer arrangement can also have more than one piezoelectric layer which is arranged between two adjacent layer groups having a plurality of layer pairs and which serves for the controllable phase shift between the reflected portions of radiation of these layer groups.", "By way of example, two or three of such piezoelectric layers can be provided, between which layer groups having a plurality of layer pairs are then likewise situated, comparable to the example of FIG.", "8 of WO 2012/126954 A1.Correspondingly, the multilayer arrangement can have more than one interconnection arrangements in order to be able to provide each piezoelectric layer with an interconnection field.", "The multilayer arrangement may have a plurality of piezoelectric layers, such that a variation of the period thickness within the reflective layer system is possible.", "Since, for a given operating wavelength and a given angle of incidence, only specific layer periods lead to full constructive interference and hence to a maximum degree of reflection, by varying the period thickness it is possible to alter the reflectivity of the reflective layer system of the mirror element at the operating wavelength in a continuously variable manner.", "Furthermore, the phase of the reflected radiation is influenced, such that a spatially resolving wavefront influencing is also possible.", "If high maximum reflectivities are required for a relatively small angle-of-incidence range, then a fully periodic sequence of layer pairs can be advantageous.", "If, by contrast, a broadband configuration in the angle space and/or a spectral broadband configuration are/is desired, layer pairs with different periods can also be combined (cf.", "e.g.", "DE 101 55 711 B4 or WO 2010/118928 A1).", "In order to reduce the dependence of the reflectivity on the angle of incidence, the layer arrangement can, in principle, also be constructed in other ways.", "In particular, different material pairings can be provided for the layer pairs of a multilayer arrangement.", "In this configuration, by applying an electric field to the piezoelectric layers, it is possible to produce an, if appropriate continuously variable, variation of the layer period within the multilayer arrangement.", "The detuning or changing of the layer period can also be used to adapt the reflectivity to a central wavelength possibly deviating from the desired value, such that e.g.", "a compensation of variations of the source spectrum or of the spectral transmission of the overall optical system can be carried out.", "Alternatively or additionally, adaption to desirably or undesirably altered angles of incidence on the mirror is also possible.", "For further possibilities concerning layer structures of multilayer arrangements, in particular the reflective layer system and the piezoelectric layer, reference is made to the content of WO 2012/126954 A1.The respective disclosure is incorporated herein by reference.", "Embodiments of the invention can be used not just in optical systems for lithography.", "By way of example, use in the field of X-ray microscopy is possible, particularly in the field of EUV mask metrology.", "Embodiments could be used in systems for monitoring EUV aerial images, e.g.", "as disclosed in the international publications WO 2011/012267 A1 and WO 2011/012266 A1.Applications in EUV system metrology are likewise conceivable.", "Applications in the field of EUV astronomy and for optical assemblies in synchrotron systems are furthermore conceivable.", "In the exemplary embodiment, the reflective layer system is adapted for reflecting EUV radiation.", "Alternatively or in addition, the reflective layer system may be adapted for reflecting DUV or VUV electromagnetic radiation.", "Alternatively to the plurality of layer pairs the reflective layer system may comprise a dielectric enhanced aluminum mirror layer for this purpose.", "In the case of the example several layers or components of the multilayer arrangements of the individual mirror elements form common layers or components.", "In particular, the substrates of the individual mirror elements form a common substrate.", "Additionally, the individual mirror elements share a common electrode opposite to the first and second electrodes, a common piezoelectric layer and a common reflective layer system.", "Alternatively, the mirror elements may be separated, i.e.", "have separated substrates, separate electrodes on both opposite sides of the piezoelectric layers, separated piezoelectric layers and/or separated reflective layer systems.", "The mirror elements may be mirror elements that can be mounted separately from one another and, if appropriate, in a manner separated by interspaces on a carrier structure.", "In the case of separated electrodes on both opposite sides of the piezoelectric layers there will be gap regions on both sides.", "Hence, the interconnection arrangement can comprise interconnection layers on both opposite sides of the piezoelectric layers in order to provide them with interconnection fields.", "Alternative to the shown common interconnection layer extending beyond the boundaries of the first and second electrodes above them, the interconnection arrangement may comprise interconnection layers interconnecting the first and second electrodes by starting from the boundaries of the first electrodes and ending at the boundaries of the second electrodes." ] ]
Patent_15872974
[ [ "ANCHORS INCLUDING RIGID BODIES DEFINING FULL LENGTH SLOTS FOR USE WITH IMPLANTABLE MEDICAL LEADS", "Anchors for use with implantable medical leads include an elastic body containing one or more rigid bodies that have longitudinal free edges.", "The longitudinal free edges run from end to end to define full length slots.", "Partial length slots may also be included within the one or more rigid bodies.", "The full length and partial length slots allow for deflection of the rigid bodies against the body of an implantable medical lead to hold the anchor in place on the lead.", "The full length slots allow a blade to pass through and cut a slit in the elastic body which allows the anchor to be removed from the lead." ], [ "1.A method of anchoring an implantable medical lead, comprising: sliding an anchor installation tool having a shaft with an end affixed directly to a larger diameter cylindrical handle with the handle being in a fixed position relative to the shaft onto a free end of the medical lead and along a lead body of the medical lead until reaching a desired location on the lead body, where the shaft and handle have parallel longitudinal axes, with an anchor disposed on the shaft of the anchor installation tool, the anchor including an elastic body defining a passageway and including a deflectable rigid body within the passageway of the elastic body, the rigid body defining at least a portion of a lead passageway extending from a first end of the rigid body to a second end of the rigid body, the rigid body having a longitudinal free edge extending from the first end to the second end, the shaft of the anchor installation tool being present within the lead passageway; and forcing the anchor off of the shaft of the anchor installation tool and onto the lead such that the rigid body contacts the lead such that the anchor is held in position on the lead.", "2.The method of claim 1, wherein upon forcing the anchor off of the anchor installation tool, the elastic body contacts the lead.", "3.The method of claim 1, wherein the elastic body deflects the rigid body to affect the contact of the rigid body with the lead.", "4.The method of claim 1, further comprising removing the anchor by cutting a slit through the elastic body of the anchor adjacent to the longitudinal free edge.", "5.The method of claim 4, wherein the elastic body is transparent at least in an area adjacent the longitudinal free edge of the rigid body, the method further comprising viewing the adjacent longitudinal free edge through the transparent elastic body to align a cutting tool to be adjacent and parallel to the longitudinal free edge when removing the anchor.", "6.The method of claim 4, wherein a stripe is present on the elastic body adjacent the longitudinal free edge of the rigid body, the method further comprising aligning a cutting tool relative the stripe when removing the anchor.", "7.The method of claim 1, wherein the rigid body further comprises a second longitudinal free edge extending from the first end to the second end.", "8.The method of claim 7, wherein the longitudinal free edge is circumferentially spaced from the second longitudinal free edge to form a slot in the rigid body that extends from the first end to the second end.", "9.The method of claim 1, further comprising a second deflectable rigid body within the passageway of the elastic body, the second rigid body defining at least a portion of the lead passageway extending from a first end of the second rigid body to a second end of the second rigid body, the second rigid body having a longitudinal free edge extending from the first end to the second end of the second rigid body.", "10.The method of claim 9, wherein the longitudinal free edge of the rigid body is circumferentially spaced from the longitudinal free edge of the second rigid body to form a slot that extends from the first end of the rigid body and the first end of the second rigid body to the second end of the rigid body and the second end of the second rigid body.", "11.The method of claim 1, wherein the lead passageway is defined by an inner surface of the rigid body that includes ridges that are angled relative to a longitudinal axis of the lead passageway, and wherein the ridges grip the lead once the anchor is forced onto the lead.", "12.The method of claim 1, wherein the rigid body has a greater radial thickness at the first end than at the second end, wherein the elastic body includes a plurality of protrusions on an exterior surface, and wherein the elastic body includes tapered first and second ends." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND <EOH>Implantable medical devices that produce stimulation signals and/or that sense physiological signals utilize implantable medical leads to carry electrical signals.", "The implantable medical leads include electrodes on a distal end that interface with the bodily tissue.", "Electrical conductors within the medical lead electrically connect the electrodes on the distal end with electrical contacts on the proximal end that engage electrical connectors of the medical device.", "The medical lead is implanted within the body with the distal end being routed to the appropriate site to stimulate and/or sense.", "The proximal end of the lead remains nearby the incision site where the medical device is also implanted and sutured to tissue.", "To ensure that the lead is also held in place, an anchor is installed on the lead, and the anchor is then sutured to tissue.", "Conventionally, anchors were designed to slide over the lead body and then be held tightly to the lead body by the suture.", "This conventional approach relied on the pressure from the suture to prevent movement of the anchor along the lead body which could be subject to reliability issues due to inadequate suturing and/or the inability of the anchor to grip the lead body even when sutured tightly.", "Other conventional anchors provide a rigid but deflectable insert within an elastic body where the insert makes direct contact with the lead rather than the anchor body.", "Suturing the anchor causes the deflectable insert to deflect against the lead body and provide additional grip against the lead body.", "The insert includes partial length slots that allow for the deflection.", "While this approach may grip the lead better than conventional anchors that lack the insert, this approach may be vulnerable to inadequate suturing and also requires that a free end of the lead be available to remove the anchor upon removing the suturing." ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY <EOH>Embodiments address issues such as these and others by providing anchors that include one or more rigid bodies.", "The one or more rigid bodies provide longitudinal free edges that create one or more slots that extend from one end of the rigid body to the other end.", "The anchor includes an elastic body that the rigid body lies within, and the elastic body may also contact the lead body for additional grip.", "The anchor may be removed by slitting the elastic body at the slot of the rigid body that extends from end to end.", "Embodiments provide an anchor for an implantable medical lead that includes an elastic body defining a passageway.", "The anchor further includes a deflectable rigid body within the passageway of the elastic body, the rigid body defining at least a portion of a lead passageway extending from a first end of the rigid body to a second end of the rigid body, the rigid body having a longitudinal free edge extending from the first end to the second end.", "Embodiments provide a method of anchoring an implantable medical lead that involves sliding an anchor installation tool onto a free end of the medical lead and along the lead body until reaching a desired location on the lead body, with an anchor disposed on the anchor installation tool.", "The anchor includes an elastic body defining a passageway and including a deflectable rigid body within the passageway of the elastic body, the rigid body defining at least a portion of a lead passageway extending from a first end of the rigid body to a second end of the rigid body, the rigid body having a longitudinal free edge extending from the first end to the second end, the anchor installation tool being present within the lead passageway.", "The method further involves forcing the anchor off of the anchor installation tool and onto the lead such that the rigid body contacts the lead such that the anchor is held in position on the lead.", "Embodiments provide a method of removing an anchor from an implantable medical lead, where the anchor includes an elastic body defining a passageway and includes a deflectable rigid body within the passageway of the elastic body.", "The rigid body defines at least a portion of a lead passageway extending from a first end of the rigid body to a second end of the rigid body, and the rigid body has a longitudinal free edge extending from the first end to the second end with the lead being present within the lead passageway.", "The method involves removing the anchor by cutting a slit through the elastic body of the anchor adjacent to the longitudinal free edge." ], [ "This application claims the benefit of U.S.", "Provisional Application Ser.", "No.", "61/436,990, which was filed on Jan. 27, 2011, and is entitled “Anchors including Rigid Bodies Defining Full Length Slots for Use With Implantable Medical Leads”, by Olson et al., and is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.", "TECHNICAL FIELD Embodiments are related to anchors for implantable medical leads.", "More particularly, embodiments are related to anchors that include a slotted insert.", "BACKGROUND Implantable medical devices that produce stimulation signals and/or that sense physiological signals utilize implantable medical leads to carry electrical signals.", "The implantable medical leads include electrodes on a distal end that interface with the bodily tissue.", "Electrical conductors within the medical lead electrically connect the electrodes on the distal end with electrical contacts on the proximal end that engage electrical connectors of the medical device.", "The medical lead is implanted within the body with the distal end being routed to the appropriate site to stimulate and/or sense.", "The proximal end of the lead remains nearby the incision site where the medical device is also implanted and sutured to tissue.", "To ensure that the lead is also held in place, an anchor is installed on the lead, and the anchor is then sutured to tissue.", "Conventionally, anchors were designed to slide over the lead body and then be held tightly to the lead body by the suture.", "This conventional approach relied on the pressure from the suture to prevent movement of the anchor along the lead body which could be subject to reliability issues due to inadequate suturing and/or the inability of the anchor to grip the lead body even when sutured tightly.", "Other conventional anchors provide a rigid but deflectable insert within an elastic body where the insert makes direct contact with the lead rather than the anchor body.", "Suturing the anchor causes the deflectable insert to deflect against the lead body and provide additional grip against the lead body.", "The insert includes partial length slots that allow for the deflection.", "While this approach may grip the lead better than conventional anchors that lack the insert, this approach may be vulnerable to inadequate suturing and also requires that a free end of the lead be available to remove the anchor upon removing the suturing.", "SUMMARY Embodiments address issues such as these and others by providing anchors that include one or more rigid bodies.", "The one or more rigid bodies provide longitudinal free edges that create one or more slots that extend from one end of the rigid body to the other end.", "The anchor includes an elastic body that the rigid body lies within, and the elastic body may also contact the lead body for additional grip.", "The anchor may be removed by slitting the elastic body at the slot of the rigid body that extends from end to end.", "Embodiments provide an anchor for an implantable medical lead that includes an elastic body defining a passageway.", "The anchor further includes a deflectable rigid body within the passageway of the elastic body, the rigid body defining at least a portion of a lead passageway extending from a first end of the rigid body to a second end of the rigid body, the rigid body having a longitudinal free edge extending from the first end to the second end.", "Embodiments provide a method of anchoring an implantable medical lead that involves sliding an anchor installation tool onto a free end of the medical lead and along the lead body until reaching a desired location on the lead body, with an anchor disposed on the anchor installation tool.", "The anchor includes an elastic body defining a passageway and including a deflectable rigid body within the passageway of the elastic body, the rigid body defining at least a portion of a lead passageway extending from a first end of the rigid body to a second end of the rigid body, the rigid body having a longitudinal free edge extending from the first end to the second end, the anchor installation tool being present within the lead passageway.", "The method further involves forcing the anchor off of the anchor installation tool and onto the lead such that the rigid body contacts the lead such that the anchor is held in position on the lead.", "Embodiments provide a method of removing an anchor from an implantable medical lead, where the anchor includes an elastic body defining a passageway and includes a deflectable rigid body within the passageway of the elastic body.", "The rigid body defines at least a portion of a lead passageway extending from a first end of the rigid body to a second end of the rigid body, and the rigid body has a longitudinal free edge extending from the first end to the second end with the lead being present within the lead passageway.", "The method involves removing the anchor by cutting a slit through the elastic body of the anchor adjacent to the longitudinal free edge.", "DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG.", "1 shows a perspective view of one example of an anchor that includes a rigid body insert.", "FIG.", "2 shows a cross-sectional view of the anchor example showing the presence of at least one rigid body having a longitudinal free edge.", "FIG.", "3 shows a perspective view of one example of at least one rigid body that has a longitudinal free edge.", "FIG.", "4 shows a side view of at least one rigid body example having at least one longitudinal free edge.", "FIG.", "5 shows an end view of an example of a single rigid body where longitudinal free edges create a slot.", "FIG.", "6 shows an end view of an example of two rigid bodies where each rigid body provides a longitudinal free edge such that two slots are provided.", "FIG.", "7 shows an end view of an example of four rigid bodies where each rigid body provides a longitudinal free edge such that four slots are provided.", "FIG.", "8 shows a first stage of installing an example of the anchor including the rigid body with a longitudinal free edge.", "FIG.", "9 shows a second stage of installing an example of the anchor including the rigid body with a longitudinal free edge.", "FIG.", "10 shows a third stage of installing an example of the anchor including the rigid body with a longitudinal free edge.", "FIG.", "11 shows removal of an example of the anchor including the rigid body with a longitudinal free edge.", "FIG.", "12 shows an example of an anchor including the rigid body with the longitudinal free edge and DETAILED DESCRIPTION Embodiments provide anchors for implantable medical leads that include a deflectable rigid body within an elastic body.", "The rigid body includes a longitudinal free edge which aids in allowing deflection of the rigid body and also creates a place where a blade may pass through the elastic body to cut a slit through the elastic body to allow for removal of the anchor from the lead.", "FIG.", "1 shows an example of an anchor 100.The anchor 100 includes an elastic body 103 that has a first end 102 and a second end 104.The elastic body 103 may be constructed of various elastic materials such as silicone rubber or other polymers with silicone end groups.", "The elastic body 103 defines a passageway 106 that a medical lead may pass through.", "In this particular example, the passageway 106 of the elastic body 103 may be sized such that the elastic body 103 contacts the lead to provide additional grip for holding the anchor 100 in a fixed position on the lead.", "Additionally, in this example the ends 102, 104 taper to smaller diameters.", "The anchor 100 may include additional external features.", "For instance, this example provides a collection of protrusions 108 that are distributed about a central section of the elastic body 103 between the two tapered ends 102, 104.These protrusions may provide additional resistance against the tissue within the patient to assist in reducing movement of the lead within the patient.", "FIG.", "2 shows a cross-section of this example of the anchor 100.Here the presence of at least one rigid body 110 can be seen positioned within the passageway 106 of the elastic body 103.The elastic body 103 may be molded over the rigid body 110.Furthermore, the elastic body 103 may be molded such that the elastic body 103 exerts a compression force against the rigid body 110 to deflect the rigid body 110 against a lead when the anchor is installed.", "Additionally or alternatively, the rigid body 110 itself may be biased to a diameter smaller than the lead body so as to deflect against the lead when installed, particularly where there is a single rigid body 110 that is present.", "The installation is discussed in more detail below with reference to FIGS.", "8-10.The rigid body 110 may be constructed of various materials such as titanium, tungsten, stainless steel, tantalum, polyether ether ketone, MP35N® alloy, urethane, epoxy, sulfone, nylon and the like.", "Where a single rigid body 110 is present, the rigid body 110 may have two circumferentially spaced longitudinal free ends 118 and 120 that extend from one end 124 to another end 126 of the rigid body.", "These longitudinal free ends 118 and 120 represent a circumferential break through the rigid body into a lead passageway 114 defined by the rigid body 110.Accordingly, these longitudinal free ends 118 and 120 define a slot 116 that extends from the exterior of the rigid body 110 to the interior lead passageway 114.In this particular example, the rigid body 110 has an inner surface that includes ridges 122 that are at an angle relative to the longitudinal axis of the lead passageway 114.These ridges 122 may contact the lead body and provide a source of increased friction that resists movement of the anchor 100 in the longitudinal direction.", "The diameter of the passageway 106 at the ends 102 and 104 of the elastic body 103 can be seen to be similar to the diameter of the lead passageway 114 defined by the rigid body 110 as the lead will pass through both the passageway 106 and the lead passageway 114.The elastic body 103 of this example is sized to contact the lead at the ends 102, 104 where the rigid body 110 is not present.", "In this particular example, the rigid body 110 includes an area 112 having a larger outer diameter and thus a larger radial thickness.", "In this example, the larger diameter area 112 is located, at the end 124.This larger diameter area 112 creates additional interference between the elastic body 103 and the rigid body 110 so as to better hold the elastic body 103 in place relative to the rigid body 110 which ultimately assists in holding the anchor 100 as a whole in place relative to the lead.", "As discussed below, the rigid body 110 may be the only rigid body present to define the lead passageway 114 or may be accompanied by one or more additional rigid bodies.", "FIGS.", "3 and 4 show additional views of one example of the rigid body 110.In this example, the rigid body 110 includes the longitudinal free edges 118 and 120 that run from end 124 to end 126 to define the full length slot 116.However, to aid in deflection, the rigid body 110 also includes one or more partial length slots 117.In this case, the slot 117 stops at the larger area 112 rather than continuing to the end 124.It will be appreciated that the partial length slot could terminate at other locations along the length of the rigid body 110 such as nearby the opposite end 126.The full length slot 116, as well as the partial length slots 117, allows the rigid body to be deflected.", "For instance, it may be desirable that the elastic body 103 deflects the rigid body 110 so as to force the rigid body 110 against the lead for increased friction and stability.", "Where a single rigid body is present that encircles the lead passageway 114 of FIG.", "2, the partial length slots 117 may aid in removing the anchor from the lead by allowing it to be deflected outward after the elastic body 103 has been cut where the elastic body is present at the slot 116 by a user pulling the slot 116 to a more open position such that the lead can escape.", "FIG.", "3 may also represent two rigid bodies where a slot 180 degrees from the slot 116 is also a full length slot.", "In that case, two full length slots 116 as well as one or more partial length slots 117 may be present to allow the rigid bodies to be deflected by the elastic body 103.Also in the case of multiple rigid bodies defining the lead passageway 114, upon cutting the elastic body 103 where the elastic body 103 is present at the slot 116, the separate rigid bodies naturally separate as the elastic body 103 separates at the slit so that the lead can escape.", "FIGS.", "5-7 illustrate end views of various examples of one or more rigid bodies that may be present within the elastic body 103.FIG.", "5 shows the example of a single rigid body 110 having two longitudinal free edges 118 and 120 that are circumferentially spaced from one another.", "In this example, the single rigid body 110 surrounds the lead passageway 114 except for the area of the slot 116.It will be appreciated that when a single rigid body 110 is present, the rigid body 110 may surround the lead passageway 114 by lesser amounts than is shown in FIG.", "5.For example, the rigid body 110 may only encircle the lead passageway by 180 degrees or by only 90 degrees or to various other degrees.", "In each of these cases, the rigid body 110 may still contact the lead body within the lead passageway 114 to provide additional resistance.", "When the elastic body 103 is slit in the area of the slot 116, the rigid body 110 may be pulled open to widen the slot 116 and allow the lead body to escape by lateral movement of the lead or the anchor.", "In the example of FIG.", "5, the single rigid body 110 also includes at least one partial length slot 128 defined by longitudinal free edges 130 and 132.However, as this is a partial length slot, these longitudinal free edges 130, 132 do not extend completely from end to end of the rigid body 110.FIG.", "6 shows an example of two distinct rigid bodies 140, 142 forming a structure 110′ that may be present within the elastic body 103 so as to encircle the lead passageway 114.The rigid body 140 includes the longitudinal free edges 118 and 134 that extend from end to end while the rigid body 142 includes the longitudinal free edges 120′ and 136 that extend from end to end.", "Thus, the rigid body 140 and 142 having adjacent longitudinal free edges that are circumferentially spaced and cooperate to create the full length slots 116 and 138.These two rigid bodies 140, 142 may be deflected toward the lead body by the elastic body 103 to create increased resistance.", "Furthermore, upon the elastic body 103 being slit in the area of either the slot 116 or the slot 138, the opposite slot allows the two rigid bodies 140, 142 to naturally deflect outward away from the lead body to allow the lead body to escape by lateral movement of the lead or the anchor.", "FIG.", "7 shows an example of four distinct rigid bodies 148, 150, 152, and 154 forming a structure 110″ that may be present within the elastic body 103 so as to encircle the lead passageway 114.Each of the rigid bodies 148, 150 152, and 154 provide longitudinal free edges that extend from end to end so as to create four full length slots 116, 138, 144, and 146.For instance, the longitudinal free edge 118 of the rigid body 148 is circumferentially spaced from the longitudinal free edge 120″ of the rigid body 150 so as to define the slot 116.These four rigid bodies 148, 150, 152, and 154 may be deflected toward the lead body by the elastic body 103 to create increased resistance.", "Furthermore, upon the elastic body 103 being slit in the area of any of the slots 116, 118, 144, or 146, the opposite slot allows the four rigid bodies 148, 150, 152, and 154 to naturally deflect outward away from the lead body to allow the lead body to escape by lateral movement of the lead or the anchor.", "FIGS.", "8-10 illustrate one example of an installation process for the anchor 100.In FIG.", "8, a first phase of the installation process shows a first configuration of the anchor 100a.", "Here, the anchor 100a is installed on a shaft 204 of an installation tool 200.Typically, the shaft 204 is constructed of a metal or other rigid material that the insert, will not overly grip such that the anchor 100a can be moved along the shaft 204.The tool 200 also includes a handle 202 mounted to the shaft and a lead passageway 206 that passes through the handle 202 and the shaft 204.The tool 200 with the anchor 100a thereon is installed onto the lead 300 by passing the lead 300 through the lead passageway.", "Upon reaching a point where the anchor is to be located, the user forces the anchor 100a to begin to slide off of the shaft 204 such as by gripping the anchor to move it.", "FIG.", "9 shows a second stage of installation and a second configuration of the anchor 100b.", "Here, a first end of the anchor 100b is now off of the shaft 204 and in position on the lead 300.The first end of the anchor 100b may be gripping the lead 300.FIG.", "10 shows a third stage of installation and a third configuration of the anchor 100c.", "Here, the anchor 100c has been completely forced off of the shaft 204 and is entirely located on the lead 300 at the intended location.", "At this point, the one or more rigid bodies 110 within the anchor 100c are gripping the lead 300.Furthermore, the ends of the elastic body 103 of the anchor 100c may also be gripping the lead 300.The clinician may then suture the anchor 100c to the adjacent body tissue while relying on the anchor 100c to maintain its position on the lead 300.In some cases, there may be a need to remove the anchor from the lead 300, such as where the lead 300 needs to be removed or where the lead 300 needs to have freedom of movement while being disconnected from on medical device and then reconnected to another.", "In such a case, rather than attempting to slide the anchor 100c off of a free end of the lead after having removed the sutures, the anchor 100c may be cut free from the lead.", "The anchor 100c may be cut free from the lead 300 by one of various methods.", "For instance, a surgeon may cut through the elastic body by cutting along the slot 116 which is adjacent to the longitudinal free edges 118, 120.To do so, the surgeon may use a cutting tool such as a scalpel and carefully cut a slit through the elastic body 103 by passing the blade along the slot 116 or other slot that may be present while trying to avoid cutting into the lead 300.Where the anchor 100c includes one rigid body 110, such as is shown in FIG.", "5, where only a single full length slot is present, the surgeon may use this technique because as the anchor 100c is cut, the single rigid body 110 may prevent the anchor from opening to the extent anything such as a cutting tool that is wider than the slot 116 would pass through.", "With a scalpel, there is no tool portion other than the blade that passes through the slot 116 so there is no interference issue.", "In this case, once the elastic body has been cut from end to end, the surgeon may then pry open the rigid body so that the slot 116 becomes wide enough to allow the lead 300 to pass through the widened slot 116 by lateral movement of the lead 300.For embodiments where the anchor 100c includes a single rigid body that creates a relatively wide slot or includes multiple rigid bodies and hence multiple full length slots, cutting the elastic body along one of the full length slots such as slot 116 allows the multiple rigid bodies to separate along with the elastic body such that the slot 116 widens where the elastic body has been cut.", "Therefore, a cutting tool such as an anchor removal tool 400 like that shown in FIG.", "11 may be used.", "Some examples of cutting tools are further shown and described in the appendix A included herewith.", "As shown in FIG.", "11, the anchor removal tool 400 of this example includes a body 402 forming a handle that may be grasped by the user.", "The tool 400 includes features to aid in gripping the handle 402, such as protrusions 416 and indentations 414 and 419.The tool 400 includes a guide portion 410 having a lead passageway that the lead 300 is introduced into and passes through as the tool 400 is forced to slide along the lead 300 to cut a slit through the elastic body 103 of the anchor 100d shown in a partially cut configuration.", "To place the lead 300 into the lead passageway of the guide portion 410, the lead may be inserted by passing a free end of the lead 300 axially into the front of the guide portion 410.Alternatively, to avoid using and end of the lead 300 which may not be readily available, the handle 402 may have a moving part such as a second half connected via a hinge 402 that opens the guide portion 410 longitudinally so that the lead 300 may be inserted by laterally moving the lead into the lead passageway of the open guide portion 410 at any point along the lead 300.The guide portion 410 may then be closed to contain the lead 300.Details of opening and closing the guide portion 410 are discussed in more detail in the provisional U.S.", "Provisional Patent Application No.", "61/436,986, filed on Jan. 27, 2011, entitled “Tools and Methods for Removing Anchors from Medical Leads” and also in co-pending U.S. patent application Ser.", "Number 13/356,050, filed Jan. 23, 2012, entitled “Tools and Methods for Removing Anchors from Medical Leads”, each of which is incorporated by reference in its entirety as if re-written herein.", "Once the lead 300 is within the guide portion 410, the tool 400 is forced to slide along the lead 300 and contact the anchor 100d.", "A blade 408 of the tool 400 that forms a plane that intersects with the guide portion 410 contacts the anchor 100d and cuts through the elastic body.", "The blade 408 is steered through a slot, such as slot 116, formed by the rigid bodies as it cuts through the elastic body 103.As the elastic body 103 is cut, the cut portion 101 of the elastic body 103 begins to fall away from the lead, particularly where there are multiple rigid bodies.", "Once the tool 400 has cut all the way through the elastic body 103 from end to end of the anchor 100d, the anchor 100d is free from the lead 300.To the extent the anchor 100d is sutured during the use of the tool 400, the cutting tool 400 may also cut through the sutures.", "FIG.", "12 shows additional features of an anchor 100′ that may be included to aid in the removal of the anchor 100′.", "In order to cut through the anchor 100′ to remove it, the blade passes through one of the full length slots such as slot 116 so that the rigid body 110 does not block the blade.", "In order to steer the blade through the slot, without visual aids the clinician may begin cutting until encountering the rigid body, then try to steer the blade to either side of the anchor 100 to try to eventually get the blade into a slot.", "However, the anchor 100′ may include an elastic body 103′ that is transparent, while the rigid body 110 is opaque, such that the clinician can see the slot 116 and can steer the blade directly into the slot.", "Additionally or alternatively, the anchor 100′ may include a stripe 156 that is visible and that is present on the elastic body 103′ and in alignment with the slot.", "Thus, the clinician can steer the blade along the stripe 156 so as to pass the, blade through the slot 106 to successfully cut through and remove the anchor 100′.", "Additional features may also be provided in one or more embodiments.", "For instance, to further assist the user in guiding the blade into the slot 116, as an alternative to or in addition to the stripe 156 and/or transparent elastic body 103′, the longitudinal free edges of the rigid body 110 that define the slot 116 may have angled ends 158.These angled ends 158, which may be at either end or at both ends of the rigid body 110, may provide a funnel-like feature that assists in guiding a cutting blade into the slot 116 when the cutting blade is not already aligned with the slot 116.Other additional features that may be provided in one or more embodiments include stabilizing features such as barbs 160 that may be formed, machine, or attached to the rigid body 110.These stabilizing features extend upward into the elastic body 103′ to further maintain the position of each rigid body 110 that may be present relative to the elastic body 103′ and relative to other rigid bodies that may be present within the elastic body 103′.", "Additionally or alternatively, the rigid body 110 may include cross-holes 162, shown in phantom as they are otherwise hidden in this view, which allows the elastic material of the body 103′ to infiltrate the cross-holes 162 and further stabilize the rigid body pieces 110.Also, the flange 112 is shown on both ends of this example to further assist in stabilizing the rigid body 110 within the elastic body 103′ but may alternatively be at one end or the other or may be omitted.", "While embodiments have been particularly shown and described, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various other changes in the form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention." ] ]
Patent_15872975
[ [ "METHOD, APPARATUS, AND SYSTEM FOR CHANNEL ACCESS IN UNLICENSED BAND", "Disclosed are a method, an apparatus, and a system for adjusting a contention window size for performing channel access.", "In detail, the method includes: receiving a plurality of hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgement (HARQ-ACK) responses for downlink channel(s) of the specific cell; generating a random number N (N≥0) in a contention window size; and performing the downlink transmission in the specific cell after standing by for N slots while the specific cell is idle, wherein when a ratio of negative acknowledgement (NACK) among the plurality of HARQ-ACK responses is equal to or more than a reference value, the contention window size becomes larger than a previous value, and when the ratio of the NACK among the plurality of HARQ-ACK responses is less than the reference value, the contention window size is reset to a minimum value." ], [ "1.A method for performing downlink transmission in a specific cell by an apparatus in a cellular wireless communication system, the method comprising: receiving hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgement (HARQ-ACK) feedback for downlink channel transmission(s) of the specific cell, wherein the downlink channel transmission(s) are included in one or more adjacent subframes on the specific cell which are most recently transmitted before the downlink transmission; determining a contention window based on HARQ-ACK value(s) of HARQ-ACK feedback corresponding to downlink channel transmission(s) in reference subframe(s) among the one or more adjacent subframes, wherein when a ratio of negative acknowledgement (NACK) of the HARQ-ACK value(s) is equal to or more than a reference value, the contention window is increased to a next higher allowed value, and when the ratio of the NACK of the HARQ-ACK value(s) is less than the reference value, the contention window is reset to a minimum value, generating a random number N (N≥0) in the determined contention window; and performing the downlink transmission in the specific cell after sensing a channel on the specific cell at least for N slots while the channel on the specific cell is idle.", "2.The method of claim 1, wherein the reference subframe(s) at least include a first one subframe for which HARQ-ACK feedback is available among the one or more adjacent subframes.", "3.The method of claim 2, wherein when the first one subframe is a partial subframe, the reference subframe(s) include first two subframes for which HARQ-ACK feedback is available among the one or more adjacent subframes.", "4.The method of claim 3, wherein the partial subframe starts in a second slot in a subframe.", "5.The method of claim 1, wherein when the HARQ-ACK value(s) includes discontinuous transmission (DTX), whether the DTX is considered for determining the contention window depends on whether the downlink channel transmission(s) are assigned by a control channel transmitted on the same specific cell or by a control channel transmitted on another cell.", "6.The method of claim 5, wherein when the downlink channel transmission(s) are assigned by a control channel transmitted on the same specific cell, the DTX is counted as NACK.", "7.The method of claim 5, wherein when the downlink channel transmission(s) are assigned by a control channel transmitted on the another cell, the DTX is ignored for determining the contention window.", "8.The method of claim 1, wherein the specific cell is an unlicensed cell and the HARQ-ACK feedback is received from a plurality of user equipments through a licensed cell.", "9.An apparatus used in a cellular wireless communication system, the apparatus comprising: a wireless communication module; and a processor, wherein the processor is configured to receive hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgement (HARQ-ACK) feedback for downlink channel transmission(s) of a specific cell, wherein the downlink channel transmission(s) are included in one or more adjacent subframes on the specific cell which are most recently transmitted before the downlink transmission, determine a contention window based on HARQ-ACK value(s) of HARQ-ACK feedback corresponding to downlink channel transmission(s) in reference subframe(s) among the one or more adjacent subframes, wherein when a ratio of negative acknowledgement (NACK) of the HARQ-ACK value(s) is equal to or more than a reference value, the contention window is increased to a next higher allowed value, and when the ratio of the NACK of the HARQ-ACK value(s) is less than the reference value, the contention window is reset to a minimum value, generate a random number N (N≥0) in the determined contention window, and perform the downlink transmission in the specific cell after sensing a channel on the specific cell at least for N slots while the channel on the specific cell is idle.", "10.The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the reference subframe(s) at least include a first one subframe for which HARQ-ACK feedback is available among the one or more adjacent subframes.", "11.The apparatus of claim 10, wherein when the first one subframe is a partial subframe, the reference subframe(s) include first two subframes for which HARQ-ACK feedback is available among the one or more adjacent subframes.", "12.The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the partial subframe starts in a second slot in a subframe.", "13.The apparatus of claim 9, wherein when the HARQ-ACK value(s) includes discontinuous transmission (DTX), whether the DTX is considered for determining the contention window depends on whether the downlink channel transmission(s) are assigned by a control channel transmitted on the same specific cell or by a control channel transmitted on another cell.", "14.The apparatus of claim 13, wherein when the downlink channel transmission(s) are assigned by a control channel transmitted on the same specific cell, the DTX is counted as NACK.", "15.The apparatus of claim 13, wherein when the downlink channel transmission(s) are assigned by a control channel transmitted on the another cell, the DTX is ignored for determining the contention window.", "16.The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the specific cell is an unlicensed cell and the HARQ-ACK feedback is received from a plurality of user equipments through a licensed cell." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND ART <EOH>In recent years, with an explosive increase of mobile traffic due to the spread of smart devices, it has been difficult to cope with data usage which increases for providing a cellular communication service only by a conventional licensed frequency spectrum or LTE-licensed frequency band.", "In such a situation, a scheme that uses an unlicensed (alternatively, unauthorized, non-licensed, or license unnecessary) frequency spectrum or LTE-Unlicensed frequency band (e.g., 2.4 GHz band, 5 GHz band, or the like) for providing the cellular communication service has been devised as a solution for a spectrum shortage problem.", "However, unlike the licensed band in which a communication service provider secures an exclusive frequency use right through a procedure such as auction, or the like, in the unlicensed band, multiple communication facilities can be used simultaneously without limit when only a predetermined level of adjacent band protection regulation is observed.", "As a result, when the unlicensed band is used in the cellular communication service, it is difficult to guarantee communication quality at a level provided in the licensed band and an interference problem with a conventional wireless communication device (e.g., wireless LAN device) using the unlicensed band may occur.", "Therefore, a research into a coexistence scheme with the conventional unlicensed band device and a scheme for efficiently sharing a radio channel needs to be preferentially made in order to settle an LTE technology in the unlicensed band.", "That is, a robust coexistence mechanism (RCM) needs to be developed in order to prevent a device using the LTE technology in the unlicensed band from influencing the conventional unlicensed band device." ], [ "CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "15/444,239, filed on Feb. 27, 2017, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "15/051,683, filed on Feb. 24, 2016, which claims priority to and the benefit of Korean Patent Application No.", "10-2015-0129981 filed in the Korean Intellectual Property Office on Sep. 14, 2015, and Korean Patent Application No.", "10-2015-0148370 filed in the Korean Intellectual Property Office on Oct. 23, 2015, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.", "TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a wireless communication system.", "Particularly, the present invention relates to a method, an apparatus, and a system for performing channel access in an unlicensed band.", "BACKGROUND ART In recent years, with an explosive increase of mobile traffic due to the spread of smart devices, it has been difficult to cope with data usage which increases for providing a cellular communication service only by a conventional licensed frequency spectrum or LTE-licensed frequency band.", "In such a situation, a scheme that uses an unlicensed (alternatively, unauthorized, non-licensed, or license unnecessary) frequency spectrum or LTE-Unlicensed frequency band (e.g., 2.4 GHz band, 5 GHz band, or the like) for providing the cellular communication service has been devised as a solution for a spectrum shortage problem.", "However, unlike the licensed band in which a communication service provider secures an exclusive frequency use right through a procedure such as auction, or the like, in the unlicensed band, multiple communication facilities can be used simultaneously without limit when only a predetermined level of adjacent band protection regulation is observed.", "As a result, when the unlicensed band is used in the cellular communication service, it is difficult to guarantee communication quality at a level provided in the licensed band and an interference problem with a conventional wireless communication device (e.g., wireless LAN device) using the unlicensed band may occur.", "Therefore, a research into a coexistence scheme with the conventional unlicensed band device and a scheme for efficiently sharing a radio channel needs to be preferentially made in order to settle an LTE technology in the unlicensed band.", "That is, a robust coexistence mechanism (RCM) needs to be developed in order to prevent a device using the LTE technology in the unlicensed band from influencing the conventional unlicensed band device.", "DISCLOSURE Technical Problem The present invention has been made in an effort to provide a method for efficiently transmitting a signal in a wireless communication system, in particular, a cellular wireless communication system and an apparatus therefor.", "Further, the present invention has been made in an effort to provide a method for efficiently transmitting a signal in a specific frequency band (e.g., unlicensed band) and an apparatus therefor.", "Technical objects desired to be achieved in the present invention are not limited to the aforementioned objects, and other technical objects not described above will be apparently understood by those skilled in the art from the following disclosure.", "Technical Solution An exemplary embodiment of the present invention provides a method for performing downlink transmission in a specific cell by a base station in a cellular wireless communication system, the method including: receiving a plurality of hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgement (HARQ-ACK) responses for downlink channel(s) of the specific cell; generating a random number N (N≥0) in a contention window size; and performing the downlink transmission in the specific cell after standing by for N slots while the specific cell is idle, wherein when a ratio of negative acknowledgement (NACK) among the plurality of HARQ-ACK responses is equal to or more than a reference value, the contention window size becomes larger than a previous value, and when the ratio of the NACK among the plurality of HARQ-ACK responses is less than the reference value, the contention window size is reset to a minimum value.", "Another exemplary embodiment of the present invention provides a base station used in a cellular wireless communication system, the base station including: a wireless communication module; and a processor, wherein the processor is configured to receive a plurality of hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgement (HARQ-ACK) responses for downlink channel(s) of the specific cell, generate a random number N (N≥0) in a contention window size, and perform the downlink transmission in the specific cell after standing by for N slots while the specific cell is idle, when a ratio of negative acknowledgement (NACK) among the plurality of HARQ-ACK responses is equal to or more than a reference value, the contention window size becomes larger than a previous value, and when the ratio of the NACK among the plurality of HARQ-ACK responses is less than the reference value, the contention window size is reset to a minimum value.", "When the plurality of HARQ-ACK responses includes discontinuous transmission (DTX), the ratio of the NACK may additionally include a ratio of the DTX.", "The downlink channel(s) may be included in a plurality of adjacent subframes on the specific cell which are most recently present before the downlink transmission.", "All of the downlink channel(s) may be included in first one subframe among the plurality of adjacent subframes on the specific cell.", "All of the downlink channel(s) may be included in first two subframes among the plurality of adjacent subframes and 1st subframe of the first two subframes may be a partial subframe.", "The specific cell may be an unlicensed cell and the plurality of HARQ-ACK responses may be received from a plurality of user equipments through a licensed cell.", "In the case of the reference value, 0<reference value<1 or 0%<reference value<100%.", "Yet another exemplary embodiment of the present invention provides a method for performing downlink transmission in a specific cell by a base station in a cellular wireless communication system, the method including: receiving a plurality of hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgement (HARQ-ACK) responses for downlink channel(s) of the specific cell; verifying whether the specific cell is idle for a random time in a contention window when the specific cell is idle for a predetermined time; and performing the downlink transmission in the specific cell when the specific cell is idle for the random time in the contention window, wherein when a ratio of negative acknowledgement (NACK) among the plurality of HARQ-ACK responses is equal to or more than a reference value, the contention window size becomes larger than a previous value, and when the ratio of the NACK among the plurality of HARQ-ACK responses is less than the reference value, the contention window size is set to a minimum value.", "Still yet another exemplary embodiment of the present invention provides a base station used in a cellular wireless communication system, the base station including: a wireless communication module; and a processor, wherein the processor is configured to receive a plurality of hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgement (HARQ-ACK) responses for downlink channel(s) of the specific cell, verify whether the specific cell is idle for a random time in a contention window when the specific cell is idle for a predetermined time; and perform the downlink transmission in the specific cell when the specific cell is idle for the random time in the contention window, wherein when a ratio of negative acknowledgement (NACK) among the plurality of HARQ-ACK responses is equal to or more than a reference value, the contention window size becomes larger than a previous value, and when the ratio of the NACK among the plurality of HARQ-ACK responses is less than the reference value, the contention window size is set to a minimum value.", "When the plurality of HARQ-ACK responses includes discontinuous transmission (DTX), the ratio of the NACK may additionally include a ratio of the DTX.", "The downlink channel(s) may be included in a plurality of adjacent subframes on the specific cell which are most recently present before the downlink transmission.", "All of the downlink channel(s) may be included in first one subframe among the plurality of adjacent subframes on the specific cell.", "All of the downlink channel(s) may be included in first two subframes among the plurality of adjacent subframes and 1st subframe of the first two subframes may be a partial subframe.", "The contention window may be constituted by a plurality of slots, the random time in the contention window may correspond to N slots, and N slots may be randomly generated in the contention window size.", "In the case of the reference value, 0<reference value<1 or 0%<reference value<100%.", "The specific cell may be an unlicensed cell and the plurality of HARQ-ACK responses may be received from a plurality of user equipments through a licensed cell.", "Advantageous Effects According to exemplary embodiments of the present invention, provided are a method for efficiently transmitting a signal in a wireless communication system, in particular, a cellular wireless communication system and an apparatus therefor.", "Further, provided are a method for efficiently transmitting a signal in a specific frequency band (e.g., unlicensed band) and an apparatus therefor.", "Effects to be acquired in the present invention are not limited to the aforementioned effects, and other effects not described above will be apparently understood by those skilled in the art from the following disclosure.", "DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS In order to help understand the present invention, the accompanying drawings which are included as a part of the Detailed Description provide embodiments of the present invention and describe the technical matters of the present invention together with the detailed description.", "FIG.", "1 illustrates physical channels used in a 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP) system and a general signal transmitting method using the physical channels.", "FIGS.", "2A and 2B illustrate one example of a radio frame structure used in a wireless communication system.", "FIG.", "3 illustrates one example of a downlink (DL)/uplink (UL) slot structure in the wireless communication system.", "FIG.", "4 illustrates a structure of a downlink subframe.", "FIG.", "5 illustrates a structure of an uplink subframe.", "FIGS.", "6A and 6B illustrate a diagram for describing single carrier communication and multi-carrier communication.", "FIG.", "7 illustrates an example in which a cross carrier scheduling technique is applied.", "FIG.", "8 illustrates an acknowledgement/negative acknowledgement (ACK/NACK (A/N)) transmitting process in a single cell situation.", "FIG.", "9 illustrates a licensed assisted access (LAA) service environment.", "FIG.", "10 illustrates a layout scenario of a user equipment and a base station in an LAA service environment.", "FIG.", "11 illustrates a communication scheme that operates in an unlicensed band in the related art.", "FIGS.", "12 and 13 illustrate a listen-before-talk (LBT) process for DL transmission.", "FIGS.", "14A and 14B illustrate DL transmission in an unlicensed band.", "FIGS.", "15 to 17B illustrate a DL transmission processing an unlicensed band according to the present invention.", "FIG.", "18 illustrates configurations of a user equipment and a base station according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.", "BEST MODE Terms used in the specification adopt general terms which are currently widely used as possible by considering functions in the present invention, but the terms may be changed depending on an intention of those skilled in the art, customs, and emergence of new technology.", "Further, in a specific case, there is a term arbitrarily selected by an applicant and in this case, a meaning thereof will be described in a corresponding description part of the invention.", "Accordingly, it intends to be revealed that a term used in the specification should be analyzed based on not just a name of the term but a substantial meaning of the term and contents throughout the specification.", "Throughout this specification and the claims that follow, when it is described that an element is “coupled” to another element, the element may be “directly coupled” to the other element or “electrically coupled” to the other element through a third element.", "Further, unless explicitly described to the contrary, the word “comprise” and variations such as “comprises” or “comprising”, will be understood to imply the inclusion of stated elements but not the exclusion of any other elements.", "Moreover, limitations such as “equal to or more than” or “equal to or less than” based on a specific threshold may be appropriately substituted with “more than” or “less than”, respectively in some exemplary embodiments.", "The following technology may be used in various wireless access systems, such as code division multiple access (CDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA), single carrier-FDMA (SC-FDMA), and the like.", "The CDMA may be implemented by a radio technology such as universal terrestrial radio access (UTRA) or CDMA2000.The TDMA may be implemented by a radio technology such as global system for mobile communications (GSM)/general packet radio service (GPRS)/enhanced data rates for GSM evolution (EDGE).", "The OFDMA may be implemented by a radio technology such as IEEE 802.11(Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16(WiMAX), IEEE 802-20, evolved UTRA (E-UTRA), and the like.", "The UTRA is a part of a universal mobile telecommunication system (UMTS).", "3rd generation partnership project (3GPP) long term evolution (LTE) is a part of an evolved UMTS (E-UMTS) using evolved-UMTS terrestrial radio access (E-UTRA) and LTE-advanced (A) is an evolved version of the 3GPP LTE.", "3GPP LTE/LTE-A is primarily described for clear description, but technical spirit of the present invention is not limited thereto.", "FIG.", "1 illustrates physical channels used in a 3GPP system and a general signal transmitting method using the physical channels.", "A user equipment receives information from a base station through downlink (DL) and the user equipment transmits information through uplink (UL) to the base station.", "The information transmitted/received between the base station and the user equipment includes data and various control information and various physical channels exist according to a type/purpose of the information transmitted/received between the base station and the user equipment.", "When a power of the user equipment is turned on or the user equipment newly enters a cell, the user equipment performs an initial cell search operation including synchronization with the base station, and the like (S301).", "To this end, the user equipment receives a primary synchronization channel (P-SCH) and a secondary synchronization channel (S-SCH) from the base station to synchronize with the base station and obtain information including a cell ID, and the like.", "Thereafter, the user equipment receives a physical broadcast channel from the base station to obtain intra-cell broadcast information.", "The user equipment receives a downlink reference signal (DL RS) in an initial cell search step to verify a downlink channel state.", "The user equipment that completes initial cell search receives a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) and a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) depending on information loaded on the PDCCH to obtain more detailed system information (S302).", "When there is no radio resource for initially accessing the base station or signal transmission, the user equipment may perform a random access procedure (RACH procedure) to the base station (S303 to S306).", "To this end, the user equipment may transmit a preamble through a physical random access channel (PRACH) (S303) and receive a response message to the preamble through the PDCCH and the PDSCH corresponding thereto (S304).", "In the case of a contention based RACH, a contention resolution procedure may be additionally performed.", "Thereafter, the user equipment may receive the PDCCH/PDSCH (S307) and transmit a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH)/physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) (S308) as a general procedure.", "The user equipment receives downlink control information (DCI) through the PDCCH.", "The DCI includes control information such as resource allocation information to the user equipment and a format varies depending on a use purpose.", "The control information which the user equipment transmits to the base station is designated as uplink control information (UCI).", "The UCI includes an acknowledgement/negative acknowledgement (ACK/NACK), a channel quality indicator (CQI), a precoding matrix index (PMI), a rank indicator (RI), and the like.", "The UCI may be transmitted through the PUSCH and/or PUCCH.", "FIGS.", "2A and 2B illustrate one example of a radio frame structure used in a wireless communication system.", "FIG.", "2A illustrates a frame structure for frequency division duplex (FDD) and FIG.", "2B illustrates a frame structure for time division duplex (TDD).", "Referring to FIGS.", "2A and 2B, a radio frame may have a length of 10 ms (307200 Ts) and be constituted by 10 subframes (SFs).", "Ts represents a sampling time and is expressed as Ts=1/(2048*15 kHz).", "Each subframe may have a length of 1 ms and be constituted by 2 slots.", "Each slot has a length of 0.5 ms. A time for transmitting one subframe is defined as a transmission time interval (TTI).", "A time resource may be distinguished by radio frame numbers/indexes, subframe numbers/indexes #0 to #9, and slot numbers/indexes #0 to #19.The radio frame may be configured differently according to a duplex mode.", "In an FDD mode, downlink transmission and uplink transmission are distinguished by a frequency and the radio frame includes only one of a downlink subframe and an uplink subframe with respect to a specific frequency band.", "In a TDD mode, the downlink transmission and the uplink transmission are distinguished by a time and the radio frame includes both the downlink subframe and the uplink subframe with respect to a specific frequency band.", "FIG.", "3 illustrates a structure of a downlink/uplink slot.", "Referring to FIG.", "3, the slot includes a plurality of orthogonal frequency divisional multiplexing (OFDM) symbols in a time domain and a plurality of resource blocks (RBs) in a frequency domain.", "The OFDM symbol also means one symbol period.", "The OFDM symbol may be called an OFDMA symbol, a single carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) symbol, or the like according to a multi-access scheme.", "The number of OFDM symbols included in one slot may be variously modified according to the length of a cyclic prefix (CP).", "For example, in the case of a normal CP, one slot includes 7 OFDM symbols and in the case of an extended CP, one slot includes 6 OFDM symbols.", "The RB is defined as NDDL/ULsymb (e.g., 7) continuous OFDM symbols in the time domain and NRBsc (e.g., 12) continuous subcarriers in the frequency domain.", "A resource constituted by one OFDM symbol and one subcarrier is referred to as a resource element (RE) or a tone.", "One RB is constituted by NDL/ULsymb*NRBsc resource elements.", "The resource of the slot may be expressed as a resource grid constituted by NDL/ULRB*NRBsc subcarriers and NDL/ULsymb OFDM symbols.", "Each RE in the resource grid is uniquely defined by an index pair (k, 1) for each slot.", "k represents an index given with 0 to NDL/ULRB*NRBsc−1 in the frequency domain and I represents an index given with 0 to NDL/ULsymb−1 in the time domain.", "Herein, NDLRB represents the number of resource blocks (RBs) in the downlink slot and NULRB represents the number of RBs in the UL slot.", "NDLRB and NULRB depend on a DL transmission bandwidth and a UL transmission bandwidth, respectively.", "NDLsymb represents the number of symbols in the downlink slot and NULsymb represents the number of symbols in the UL slot.", "NRBsc represents the number of subcarriers constituting one RB.", "One resource grid is provided per antenna port.", "FIG.", "4 illustrates a structure of a downlink subframe.", "Referring to FIG.", "4, the subframe may be constituted by 14 OFDM symbols.", "First 1 to 3 (alternatively, 2 to 4) OFDM symbols are used as a control region and the remaining 13 to 11 (alternatively, 12 to 10) OFDM symbols are used as a data region according to subframe setting.", "R1 to R4 represent reference signals for antenna ports 0 to 3.Control channels allocated to the control region include a physical control format indicator channel (PCFICH), a physical hybrid-ARQ indicator channel (PHICH), a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), and the like.", "Data channels allocated to the data region include the PDSCH, and the like.", "When an enhanced PDCCH (EPDCCH) is set, the PDSCH and the EPDCCH are multiplexed by frequency division multiplexing (FDM) in the data region.", "The PDCCH as the physical downlink control channel is allocated to first n OFDM symbols of the subframe.", "n as an integer of 1 (alternatively, 2) or more is indicated by the PCFICH.", "The PDCCH announces information associated with resource allocation of a paging channel (PCH) and a downlink-shared channel (DL-SCH) as transmission channels, an uplink scheduling grant, HARQ information, and the like to each user equipment or user equipment group.", "Data (that is, transport block) of the PCH and the DL-SCH are transmitted through the PDSCH.", "Each of the base station and the user equipment generally transmit and receive data through the PDSCH except for specific control information or specific service data.", "Information indicating to which user equipment (one or a plurality of user equipments) the data of the PDSCH is transmitted, information indicating how the user equipments receive and decode the PDSCH data, and the like are transmitted while being included in the PDCCH/EPDCCH.", "For example, it is assumed that the PDCCH/EPDCCH is CRC-masked with a radio network temporary identity (RNTI) called “A” and information regarding data transmitted by using a radio resource (e.g., frequency location) called “B” and a DCI format called “C”, that is, transmission format information (e.g., transport block size, modulation scheme, coding information, and the like) is transmitted through a specific subframe.", "In this case, a user equipment in the cell monitors the PDCCH/EPDCCH by using the RNTI information thereof and when one or more user equipments having the “A” RNTI are provided, the user equipments receive the PDCCH/EPDCCH and receive the PDSCH indicated by “B” and “C” through information on the received PDCCH/EPDCCH.", "FIG.", "5 illustrates a structure of an uplink subframe.", "Referring to FIG.", "5, the subframe may be divided into the control region and the data region in the frequency domain.", "The PUCCH is allocated to the control region and carries the UCI.", "The PUSCH is allocated to the data region and carries user data.", "The PUCCH may be used to transmit the following control information.", "Scheduling Request (SR): Information used to request a UL-SCH resource.", "The SR is transmitted by using an on-off keying (OOK) scheme.", "HARQ-ACK: Response to the PDCCH and/or response to a downlink data packet (e.g., codeword) on the PDSCH.", "The codeword is an encoded format of the transport block.", "The HARQ-ACK indicates whether the PDCCH or PDSCH is successfully received.", "The HARQ-ACK response includes a positive ACK (simply, ACK), a negative ACK (NACK), discontinuous transmission (DTX), or the NACK/DTX.", "The DTX represents a case in which the user equipment misses the PDCCH (alternatively, semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) PDSCH) and the NACK/DTX means the NACK or DTX.", "The HARQ-ACK is mixedly used with the HARQ-ACK/NACK and the ACK/NACK.", "Channel State Information (CSI): Feed-back information regarding the downlink channel.", "Multiple input multiple output (MIMO) related feed-back information includes the RI and the PMI.", "Table 1 shows the relationship between a PUCCH format and the UCI.", "TABLE 1 PUCCH Format Uplink control information (UCI) Format 1 Scheduling request (SR) (non-modulated waveform) Format 1a 1-bit HARQ ACK/NACK (SR existence/non-existence) Format 1b 2-bit HARQ ACK/NACK (SR existence/non-existence) Format 2 CSI (20 coded bits) Format 2 CSI and 1 or 2-bit HARQ ACK/NACK (20 bits) (corresponding to only extended CP) Format 2a CSI and 1-bit HARQ ACK/NACK (20 + 1 coded bits) Format 2b CSI and 2-bit HARQ ACK/NACK (20 + 2 coded bits) Format 3 HARQ ACK/NACK + SR (48 coded bits) (LTE-A) Hereinafter, carrier aggregation will be described.", "The carrier aggregation means a method in which the wireless communication system uses a plurality of frequency blocks as one large logical frequency band in order to use a wider frequency band.", "When a whole system band is extended by the carrier aggregation, a frequency band used for communication with each user equipment is defined by a component carrier (CC) unit.", "FIGS.", "6A and 6B illustrate a diagram for describing single carrier communication and multi-carrier communication.", "FIG.", "6A illustrates a subframe structure of a single carrier and FIG.", "6B illustrates a subframe structure of multi-carriers which are carrier-aggregated.", "Referring to FIG.", "6A, in a single carrier system, the base station and the user equipment perform data communication through one DL band and one UL band corresponding thereto.", "The DL/UL band is divided into a plurality of orthogonal subcarriers and each frequency band operates at one carrier frequency.", "In the FDD, the DL and UL bands operate at different carrier frequencies, respectively and in the TDD, the DL and UL bands operate at the same carrier frequency.", "The carrier frequency means a center frequency of the frequency band.", "Referring to FIG.", "6B, the carrier aggregation is distinguished from an OFDM system that performs DL/UL communication in a base frequency band divided into a plurality of subcarriers by using one carrier frequency, in that the carrier aggregation performs DL/UL communication by using a plurality of carrier frequencies.", "Referring to FIG.", "6B, three 20 MHz CCs are gathered in each of the UL and the DL to support a bandwidth of 60 MHz.", "The CCs may be adjacent to each other or non-adjacent to each other in the frequency domain.", "For convenience, FIG.", "6B illustrates a case in which a bandwidth of a UL CC and a bandwidth of a DL CC are the same as each other and symmetric to each other, but the bandwidths of the respective CCs may be independently decided.", "Further, asymmetric carrier aggregation in which the number of UL CCs and the number of DL CCs are different from each other is also available.", "The DL/UL CC(s) are independently allocated/configured for each user equipment and the DL/UL CC(s) allocated/configured to the user equipment are designated as serving UL/DL CC(s) of the corresponding user equipment.", "The base station may activate some or all of serving CCs of the user equipment or deactivate some CCs.", "When the base station allocates the CC(s) to the user equipment, if the CC allocation to the user equipment is wholly reconfigured or if the user equipment does not hand over, at least one specific CC among the CC(s) configured with respect to the corresponding user equipment is not deactivated.", "A specific CC which is always activated is referred to as a primary CC (PCC) and a CC which the base station may arbitrarily activate/deactivate is referred to as a secondary CC (SCC).", "The PCC and the SCC may be distinguished based on the control information.", "For example, specific control information may be set to be transmitted/received only through a specific CC and the specific CC may be referred to as the PCC and remaining CC(s) may be referred to as SCC(s).", "The PUCCH is transmitted only on the PCC.", "In 3GPP, a concept of the cell is used in order to manage the radio resource.", "The cell is defined as a combination of the DL resource and the UL resource, that is, a combination of the DL CC and the UL CC.", "The cell may be configured by the DL resource only or the combination of the DL resource and the UL resource.", "When the carrier aggregation is supported, a linkage between the carrier frequency of the DL resource (alternatively, DL CC) and the carrier frequency of the UL resource (alternatively, UL CC) may be indicated by system information.", "For example, the combination of the DL resource and the UL resource may be indicated by a system information block type 2 (SIB2) linkage.", "The carrier frequency means a center frequency of each cell or CC.", "A cell corresponding to the PCC is referred to as the primary cell (PCell) and a cell corresponding to the SCC is referred to as the secondary cell (SCell).", "A carrier corresponding to the PCell is a DL PCC in the downlink and a carrier corresponding to the PCell is a UL PCC in the uplink.", "Similarly, a carrier corresponding to the SCell is a DL SCC in the downlink and a carrier corresponding to the SCell is a UL SCC in the uplink.", "According to a user equipment capability, the serving cell(s) may be constituted by one PCell and 0 or more SCells.", "For a user equipment which is in an RRC_CONNECTED state, but does not have any configuration for the carrier aggregation or does not support the carrier aggregation, only one serving cell constituted by only the PCell is present.", "FIG.", "7 illustrates an example in which cross carrier scheduling is applied.", "When the cross carrier scheduling is configured, a control channel transmitted through a first CC may schedule a data channel transmitted through the first CC or a second CC by using a carrier indicator field (CIF).", "The CIF is included in the DCI.", "In other words, a scheduling cell is configured, and a DL grant/UL grant transmitted in a PDCCH area of the scheduling cell schedules the PDSCH/PUSCH of a scheduled cell.", "That is, a search space for a plurality of component carriers is present in the PDCCH area of the scheduling cell.", "The PCell may be basically the scheduling cell and a specific SCell may be designated as the scheduling cell by an upper layer.", "In FIG.", "7, it is assumed that three DL CCs are aggregated.", "Herein, DL component carrier #0 is assumed as the DL PCC (alternatively, PCell) and DL component carrier #1 and DL component carrier #2 are assumed as the DL SCC (alternatively, SCell).", "Further, it is assumed that the DL PCC is set as a PDCCH monitoring CC.", "When the CIF is disabled, the respective DL CCs may transmit only the PDCCH that schedules the PDSCH thereof without the CIF according to an LTE PDCCH rule (non-cross carrier scheduling or self-carrier scheduling).", "On the contrary, when the CIF is enabled by UE-specific (alternatively, UE-group-specific or cell-specific) upper layer signaling, a specific CC (e.g., DL PCC) may transmit the PDCCH scheduling the PDSCH of DL CC A and the PDCCH scheduling the PDSCH of another CC by using the CIF (cross-carrier scheduling).", "On the contrary, in another DL CC, the PDCCH is not transmitted.", "FIG.", "8 illustrates an ACK/NACK (A/N) transmitting process in a single cell situation.", "The ACK/NACK is fed back to (i) the PDSCH scheduled by the PDCCH, (ii) the PDSCH (that is, SPS PDSCH) without the PDCCH corresponding to the PDSCH, and (iii) the PDCCH indicating SPS release.", "In FIG.", "8, a process of transmitting the ACK/NACK to (i) the PDSCH is illustrated.", "The PDCCH includes the EPDCCH.", "Referring to FIG.", "8, the user equipment receives the PDCCH (alternatively, EPDCCH) in subframe #n-k (S802) and receive the PDSCH indicated by the PDCCH in the same subframe (S804).", "The PDCCH transmits the scheduling information (that is, DL grant) and the PDSCH transmits one or a plurality of (e.g., two) transport blocks (TBs) (alternatively, codeword (CW)) according to a transmission mode.", "Thereafter, the user equipment may transmit the ACK/NACK for the PDSCH (that is, transport block) in subframe #n (S806).", "ACK/NACK 1 bit may be transmitted in response to a single transport block and ACK/NACK 2 bits may be transmitted in response to two transport blocks.", "The ACK/NACK is basically transmitted through the PUCCH, but when the PUSCH is transmitted in subframe #n, the ACK/NACK may be transmitted through the PUSCH.", "k represents a time interval between the DL subframe and the UL subframe.", "In the FDD, k=4 and in the TDD, k may be given by a downlink association set index (DASD.", "The ACK/NACK means the HARQ-ACK.", "The HARQ-ACK response includes ACK, NACK, DTX, and NACK/DTX.", "When a plurality of cells are configured for the user equipment, ACK/NACK information may be transmitted by using PUCCH format 3 or a channel selection scheme based on PUCCH format 1b.", "An ACK/NACK payload for PUCCH format 3 is configured for each cell and thereafter, concatenated according to a cell index order.", "The ACK/NACK payload is configured with respect to all cells configured to the user equipment regardless of actual data transmission in each cell.", "Each bit in the ACK/NACK payload indicates HARQ-ACK feed-back for the corresponding transport block (alternatively, codeword).", "The HARQ/ACK feed-back indicates ACK or NACK, and DTX is processed as the NACK.", "The NACK and the DTX have the same HARQ-ACK feed-back value.", "If necessary, the base station may distinguish the NACK and the DTX by using information on the control channel which the base station transmits to the user equipment.", "The channel selection scheme based on the PUCCH format 1b may be set for transmitting the ACK/NACK when two cells are aggregated.", "In the channel selection scheme based on the PUCCH format 1b, ACK/NACK responses to the plurality of transport blocks (alternatively, codewords) are identified by a combination of a PUCCH resource index and a bit value.", "Table 2 shows mapping between HARQ-ACK(j) and the transport block (TB) of each cell in the channel selection scheme based on the PUCCH format 1b.", "Tables 3 to 5 show mapping of ACK, NACK, DTX, and NACK/DTX when A=2 to 4, respectively.", "The user equipment selects one PUCCH resource corresponding to an HARQ-ACK set from A PUCCH resources and transmits a 2-bit value corresponding to the HARQ-ACK set by using the selected PUCCH resource.", "The DTX is transmitted singly or as the NACK/DTX.", "When the NACK/DTX is transmitted, if necessary, the base station may distinguish the NACK and the DTX by using the information on the control channel which the base station transmits to the user equipment.", "TABLE 2 HARQ-ACK(j) A HARQ-ACK(0) HARQ-ACK(1) HARQ-ACK(2) HARQ-ACK(3) 2 TB1 PRIMARY CELL TB1 SECONDARY CELL NA NA 3 TB1 SERVING CELL1 TB2 SERVING CELL1 TB1 SERVING CELL2 NA 4 TB1 PRIMARY CELL TB2 PRIMARY CELL TB1 SECONDARY CELL TB2 SECONDARY CELL TABLE 3 HARQ-ACK(0) HARQ-ACK(1) nPUCCH(1) b(0)b(1) ACK ACK nPUCCH,1(1) 1, 1 ACK NACK/DTX nPUCCH,0(1) 1, 1 NACK/DTX ACK nPUCCH,1(1) 0, 0 NACK NACK/DTX nPUCCH,0(1) 0, 0 DTX NACK/DTX NO TRANSMISSION TABLE 4 HARQ- HARQ- ACK(0) ACK(1) HARQ-ACK(2) nPUCCH(1) b(0)b(1) ACK ACK ACK nPUCCH,1(1) 1, 1 ACK NACK/DTX ACK nPUCCH,1(1) 1, 0 NACK/DTX ACK ACK nPUCCH,1(1) 0, 1 NACK/DTX NACK/DTX ACK nPUCCH,2(1) 1, 1 ACK ACK NACK/DTX nPUCCH,0(1) 1, 1 ACK NACK/DTX NACK/DTX nPUCCH,0(1) 1, 0 NACK/DTX ACK NACK/DTX nPUCCH,0(1) 0, 1 NACK/DTX NACK/DTX NACK nPUCCH,2(1) 0, 0 NACK NACK/DTX DTX nPUCCH,0(1) 0, 0 NACK/DTX NACK DTX nPUCCH,0(1) 0, 0 DTX DTX DTX NO TRANSMISSION TABLE 5 HARQ-ACK(0) HARQ-ACK(1) HARQ-ACK(2) HARQ-ACK(3) nPUCCH(1) b(0)b(1) ACK ACK ACK ACK nPUCCH,1(1) 1, 1 ACK NACK/DTX ACK ACK nPUCCH,2(1) 0, 1 NACK/DTX ACK ACK ACK nPUCCH,1(1) 0, 1 NACK/DTX NACK/DTX ACK ACK nPUCCH,3(1) 1, 1 ACK ACK ACK NACK/DTX nPUCCH,1(1) 1, 0 ACK NACK/DTX ACK NACK/DTX nPUCCH,2(1) 0, 0 NACK/DTX ACK ACK NACK/DTX nPUCCH,1(1) 0, 0 NACK/DTX NACK/DTX ACK NACK/DTX nPUCCH,3(1) 1, 0 ACK ACK NACK/DTX ACK nPUCCH,2(1) 1, 1 ACK NACK/DTX NACK/DTX ACK nPUCCH,2(1) 1, 0 NACK/DTX ACK NACK/DTX ACK nPUCCH,3(1) 0, 1 NACK/DTX NACK/DTX NACK/DTX ACK nPUCCH,3(1) 0, 0 ACK ACK NACK/DTX NACK/DTX nPUCCH,0(1) 1, 1 ACK NACK/DTX NACK/DTX NACK/DTX nPUCCH,0(1) 1, 0 NACK/DTX ACK NACK/DTX NACK/DTX nPUCCH,0(1) 0, 1 NACK/DTX NACK NACK/DTX NACK/DTX nPUCCH,0(1) 0, 0 NACK NACK/DTX NACK/DTX NACK/DTX nPUCCH,0(1) 0, 0 DTX DTX NACK/DTX NACK/DTX NO TRANSMISSION Example: CWS Adjustment Scheme for Random Back-Off in Unlicensed Band FIG.", "9 illustrates a licensed assisted access (LAA) service environment.", "Referring to FIG.", "9, a service environment may be provided to a user, in the service environment, an LTE technology (11) in a conventional licensed band and LTE-unlicensed (LTE-U) or LAA which is an LTE technology (12) in an unlicensed band, which has been actively discussed may be connected to each other.", "For example, the LTE technology (11) in the licensed band and the LTE technology (12) in the unlicensed band in the LAA environment may be integrated by using a technology such as carrier aggregation, or the like, which may contribute to extension of a network capacity.", "Further, in an asymmetric traffic structure in which the amount of downlink data is more than that of uplink data, the LAA may provide an optimized LTE service according to various requirements or environments.", "For convenience, the LTE technology in the licensed (alternatively, authorized or permitted) band is referred to as LTE-licensed (LTE-L) and the LTE technology in the unlicensed (alternatively, unauthorized, non-licensed, license-unnecessary) band is referred to as LTE-unlicensed (LTE-U) or LAA.", "FIG.", "10 illustrates a layout scenario of a user equipment and a base station in an LAA service environment.", "A frequency band targeted by the LAA service environment has a short wireless communication reach distance due to a high-frequency characteristic.", "By considering this, the layout scenario of the user equipment and the base station in an environment in which the conventional LTE-L service and the LAA service coexist may be an overlay model and a co-located model.", "In the overlay model, a macro base station may perform wireless communication with an X UE and an X′ UE in a macro area (32) by using a licensed carrier and be connected with multiple radio remote heads (RRHs) through an X2 interface.", "Each RRH may perform wireless communication with an X UE or an X′ UE in a predetermined area (31) by using an unlicensed carrier.", "The frequency bands of the macro base station and the RRH are different from each other not to interfere with each other, but data needs to be rapidly exchanged between the macro base station and the RRH through the X2 interface in order to use the LAA service as an auxiliary downlink channel of the LTE-L service through the carrier aggregation.", "In the co-located model, a pico/femto base station may perform the wireless communication with a Y UE by using both the licensed carrier and the unlicensed carrier.", "However, it may be limited that the pico/femto base station uses both the LTE-L service and the LAA service to downlink transmission.", "A coverage (33) of the LTE-L service and a coverage (34) of the LAA service may be different according to the frequency band, transmission power, and the like.", "When LTE communication is performed in the unlicensed band, conventional equipments (e.g., wireless LAN (Wi-Fi) equipments) which perform communication in the corresponding unlicensed band may not demodulate an LTE-U message or data and determine the LTE-U message or data as a kind of energy to perform an interference avoidance operation by an energy detection technique.", "That is, when energy corresponding to the LTE-U message or data is lower than −62 dBm or certain energy detection (ED) threshold value, the wireless LAN equipments may perform communication by disregarding the corresponding message or data.", "As a result, that user equipment which performs the LTE communication in the unlicensed band may be frequently interfered by the wireless LAN equipments.", "Therefore, a specific frequency band needs to be allocated or reserved for a specific time in order to effectively implement an LTE-U technology/service.", "However, since peripheral equipments which perform communication through the unlicensed band attempt access based on the energy detection technique, there is a problem in that an efficient LTE-U service is difficult.", "Therefore, a research into a coexistence scheme with the conventional unlicensed band device and a scheme for efficiently sharing a radio channel needs to be preferentially made in order to settle the LTE-U technology.", "That is, a robust coexistence mechanism in which the LTE-U device does not influence the conventional unlicensed band device needs to be developed.", "FIG.", "11 illustrates a communication scheme (e.g., wireless LAN) that operates in an unlicensed band in the related art.", "Since most devices that operate in the unlicensed band operate based on listen-before-talk (LBT), a clear channel assessment (CCA) technique that senses a channel before data transmission is performed.", "Referring to FIG.", "11, a wireless LAN device (e.g., AP or STA) checks whether the channel is busy by performing carrier sensing before transmitting data.", "When a predetermined strength or more of radio signal is sensed in a channel to transmit data, it is determined that the corresponding channel is busy and the wireless LAN device delays the access to the corresponding channel.", "Such a process is referred to as clear channel evaluation and a signal level to decide whether the signal is sensed is referred to as a CCA threshold.", "Meanwhile, when the radio signal is not sensed in the corresponding channel or a radio signal having a strength smaller than the CCA threshold is sensed, it is determined that the channel is idle.", "When it is determined that the channel is idle, a terminal having data to be transmitted performs a back-off procedure after a defer period (e.g., arbitration interframe space (AIFS), PCF IFS (PIFS), or the like).", "The defer period means a minimum time when the terminal needs to wait after the channel is idle.", "The back-off procedure allows the terminal to further wait for a predetermined time after the defer period.", "For example, the terminal stands by while decreasing a slot time for slot times corresponding to a random number allocated to the terminal in the contention window (CW) during the channel is in an idle state, and a terminal that completely exhausts the slot time may attempt to access the corresponding channel.", "When the terminal successfully accesses the channel, the terminal may transmit data through the channel.", "When the data is successfully transmitted, a CW size (CWS) is reset to an initial value (CWmin).", "On the contrary, when the data is unsuccessfully transmitted, the CWS increases twice.", "As a result, the terminal is allocated with a new random number within a range which is twice larger than a previous random number range to perform the back-off procedure in a next CW.", "In the wireless LAN, only an ACK is defined as receiving response information to the data transmission.", "Therefore, when the ACK is received with respect to the data transmission, the CWS is reset to the initial value and when feed-back information is not received with respect to the data transmission, the CWS increases twice.", "As described above, since most communications in the unlicensed band in the related art operate based on the LBT, the LTE also considers the LBT in the LAA for coexistence with the conventional device.", "In detail, in the LTE, the channel access method on the unlicensed band may be divided into 4 following categories according to the presence/an application scheme of the LBT.", "Category 1: No LBT An LBT procedure by a Tx entity is not performed.", "Category 2: LBT without random back-off A time interval in which the channel needs to be sensed in an idle state before the Tx entity performs a transmission on the channel is decided.", "The random back-off is not performed.", "Category 3: LBT with random back-off with a CW of fixed size LBT method that performs random back-off by using a CW of a fixed size.", "The Tx entity has a random number N in the CW and the CW size is defined by a minimum/maximum value of N. The CW size is fixed.", "The random number N is used to decide the time interval in which the channel needs to be sensed in an idle state before the Tx entity performs a transmission on the channel.", "Category 4: LBT with random back-off with a CW of variable size LBT method that performs the random back-off by using a CW of a variable size.", "The Tx entity has the random number N in the CW and the CW size is defined by the minimum/maximum value of N. The Tx entity may change the CW size at the time of generating the random number N. The random number N is used to decide the time interval in which the channel needs to be sensed in an idle state before the Tx entity performs a transmission on the channel.", "FIGS.", "12 and 13 illustrate a DL transmission process based on the category 4 LBT.", "The category 4 LBT may be used to guarantee fair channel access with Wi-Fi.", "Referring to FIGS.", "12 and 13, the LBT process includes initial CCA (ICCA) and extended CCA (ECCA).", "In the ICCA, the random back-off is not performed and in the ECCA, the random back-off is performed by using the CW of the variable size.", "The ICCA is applied to the case in which the channel is idle when signal transmission is required and the ECCA is applied to the case in which the channel is busy when the signal transmission is required or DL transmission is performed just before.", "Referring to FIG.", "12, a signal transmitting process may be performed as follows.", "Initial CCA S1202: The base station verifies that the channel is idle.", "S1204: The base station verifies whether the signal transmission is required.", "When the signal transmission is not required, the process returns to S1202 and when the signal transmission is required, the process proceeds to S1206.S1206: The base station verifies whether the channel is idle for an ICCA defer period (BCCA).", "The ICCA defer period is configurable.", "As an implementation example, the ICCA defer period may be constituted by an interval of 16 μs and n consecutive CCA slots.", "Herein, n may be a positive integer and one CCA slot interval may be 9 μs.", "The number of CCA slots may be configured differently according to a QoS class.", "The ICCA defer period may be set to an appropriate value by considering a defer period (e.g., DIFS or AIFS) of Wi-Fi.", "For example, the ICCA defer period may be 34 us.", "When the channel is idle for the ICCA defer period, the base station may perform the signal transmitting process (S1208).", "When it is determined that the channel is busy during the ICCA defer period, the process proceeds to S1212 (ECCA).", "S1208: The base station may perform the signal transmitting process.", "When the signal transmission is not performed, the process proceeds to S1202 (ICCA) and when the signal transmission is performed, the process proceeds to S1210.Even in the case where a back-off counter N reaches 0 in S1218 and S1208 is performed, when the signal transmission is not performed, the process proceeds to S1202 (ICCA) and when the signal transmission is performed, the process proceeds to S1210.S1210: When additional signal transmission is not required, the process proceeds to S1202 (ICCA) and when the additional signal transmission is required, the process proceeds to S1212 (ECCA).", "Extended CCA S1212: The base station generates the random number N in the CW.", "N is used as a counter during the back-off process and generated from [0, q−1].", "The CW may be constituted by q ECCA slots and an ECCA slot size may be 9 μs or 10 μs.", "The CW size (CWS) may be defined as q and be variable in S1214.Thereafter, the base station proceeds to S1216.S1214: The base station may update the CWS.", "The CWS q may be updated to a value between X and Y.", "The X and Y values are configurable parameters.", "CWS update/adjustment may be performed whenever N is generated (dynamic back-off) and semi-statically performed at a predetermined time interval (semi-static back-off).", "The CWS may be updated/adjusted based on exponential back-off or binary back-off.", "That is, the CWS may be updated/adjusted in the form of the square of 2 or the multiple of 2.In association with PDSCH transmission, the CWS may be updated/adjusted based on feed-back/report (e.g., HARQ ACK/NACK) of the user equipment or updated/adjusted based on base station sensing.", "S1216: The base station verifies whether the channel is idle for an ECCA defer period (DeCCA).", "The ECCA defer period is configurable.", "As an implementation example, the ECCA defer period may be constituted by an interval of 16 μs and n consecutive CCA slots.", "Herein, n may be a positive integer and one CCA slot interval may be 9 μs.", "The number of CCA slots may be configured differently according to the QoS class.", "The ECCA defer period may be set to the appropriate value by considering the defer period (e.g., DIFS or AIFS) of Wi-Fi.", "For example, the ECCA defer period may be 34 us.", "When the channel is idle for the ECCA defer period, the base station proceeds to S1218.When it is determined that the channel is busy during the ECCA defer period, the base station repeats S1216.S1218: The base station verifies whether N is 0.When N is 0, the base station may perform the signal transmitting process (S1208).", "In this case, (N=0), the base station may not immediately perform transmission and performs CCA check for at least one slot to continue the ECCA process.", "When N is not 0 (that is,N>0), the process proceeds to S1220.S1220: The base station senses the channel during one ECCA slot interval (T).", "The ECCA slot size may be 9 μs or 10 μs and an actual sensing time may be at least 4 μs.", "S1222: When it is determined that the channel is idle, the process proceeds to S1224.When it is determined that the channel is busy, the process returns to S1216.That is, one ECCA defer period is applied again after the channel is idle and N is not counted during the ECCA defer period.", "S1224: N is decreased by 1 (ECCA countdown).", "FIG.", "13 is substantially the same as/similar to the transmitting process of FIG.", "12 and is different from FIG.", "12 according to an implementation scheme.", "Therefore, detailed matters may be described with reference to contents of FIG.", "12.S1302: The base station verifies whether the signal transmission is required.", "When the signal transmission is not required, S1302 is repeated and when the signal transmission is required, the process proceeds to S1304.S1304: The base station verifies whether the slot is idle.", "When the slot is idle, the process proceeds to S1306 and when the slot is busy, the process proceeds to S1312 (ECCA).", "The slot may correspond to the CCA slot in FIG.", "12.S1306: The base station verifies whether the channel is idle for a defer period (D).", "D may correspond to the ICCA defer period in FIG.", "12.When the channel is idle for the defer period, the base station may perform the signal transmitting process (S1308).", "When it is determined that the channel is busy during the defer period, the process proceeds to S1304.S1308: The base station may perform the signal transmitting process if necessary.", "S1310: When the signal transmission is not performed, the process proceeds to S1302 (ICCA) and when the signal transmission is performed, the process proceeds to S1312 (ECCA).", "Even in the case where the back-off counter N reaches 0 in S1318 and S1308 is performed, when the signal transmission is not performed, the process proceeds to S1302 (ICCA) and when the signal transmission is performed, the process proceeds to S1312 (ECCA).", "Extended CCA S1312: The base station generates the random number N in the CW.", "N is used as the counter during the back-off process and generated from [0, q−1].", "The CW size (CWS) may be defined as q and be variable in S1314.Thereafter, the base station proceeds to S1316.S1314: The base station may update the CWS.", "The CWS q may be updated to the value between X and Y.", "The X and Y values are configurable parameters.", "CWS update/adjustment may be performed whenever N is generated (dynamic back-off) and semi-statically performed at a predetermined time interval (semi-static back-off).", "The CWS may be updated/adjusted based on exponential back-off or binary back-off.", "That is, the CWS may be updated/adjusted in the form of the square of 2 or the multiple of 2.In association with PDSCH transmission, the CWS may be updated/adjusted based on feed-back/report (e.g., HARQ ACK/NACK) of the user equipment or updated/adjusted based on base station sensing.", "S1316: The base station verifies whether the channel is idle for the defer period (D).", "D may correspond to the ECCA defer period in FIG.", "12.D in S1306 and D in S1316 may be the same as each other.", "When the channel is idle for the defer period, the base station proceeds to S1318.When it is determined that the channel is busy during the defer period, the base station repeats S1316.S1318: The base station verifies whether N is 0.When N is 0, the base station may perform the signal transmitting process (S1308).", "In this case, (N=0), the base station may not immediately perform transmission and performs CCA check during at least one slot to continue the ECCA process.", "When N is not 0 (that is,N>0), the process proceeds to S1320.S1320: The base station selects one of an operation of decreasing N by 1 (ECCA count-down) and an operation of not decreasing N (self-defer).", "The self-defer operation may be performed according to implementation/selection of the base station and the base station does not perform sensing for energy detection and not perform even ECCA countdown in the self-defer.", "S1322: The base station may select one of the operation not performing sensing for energy detection and the energy detecting operation.", "When the sensing for the energy detection is not performed, the process proceeds to S1324.When the energy detecting operation is performed, if an energy level is equal to or lower than an energy detection threshold (that is, idle), the process proceeds to S1324.If the energy level is higher than the energy detection threshold (that is, busy), the process returns to S1316.That is, one defer period is applied again after the channel is idle and N is not counted during the defer period.", "S1324: The process proceeds to S1318.FIGS.", "14A and 14B illustrate an example in which a base station performs DL transmission in an unlicensed band.", "The base station may aggregate cells (for convenience, LTE-L cell) of one or more licensed bands and cells (for convenience, LTE-U cell) of one or more unlicensed bands.", "In FIGS.", "14A and 14B, a case in which one LTE-L cell and one LTE-U cell are aggregated for communication with the user equipment is assumed.", "The LTE-L cell may be the PCell and the LTE-U cell may be the SCell.", "In the LTE-L cell, the base station may exclusively use the frequency resource and perform an operation depending on LTE in the related art.", "Therefore, all of the radio frames may be constituted by regular subframes (rSF) having a length of 1 ms (see FIGS.", "2A and 2B) and the DL transmission (e.g., PDCCH and PDSCH) may be performed every subframe (see FIG.", "1).", "Meanwhile, in the LTE-U cell, the DL transmission is performed based on the LBT for coexistence with the conventional device (e.g., Wi-Fi device).", "Further, a specific frequency band needs to be allocated or reserved for a specific time in order to effectively implement the LTE-U technology/service.", "Therefore, in the LTE-U cell, the DL transmission may be performed through a set of one or more consecutive subframes (DL transmission burst) after the LBT.", "The DL transmission burst may start as the regular subframe (rSF) or a partial subframe (pSF) according to an LBT situation.", "pSF may be a part of the subframe and may include a second slot of the subframe.", "Further, the DL transmission burst may end as rSF or pSF.", "Hereinafter, a method for adaptively adjusting the CWS in channel access in the unlicensed band will be proposed.", "The CWS may be adjusted based on user equipment (UE) feed-back and the UE feedback used for the CWS adjustment may include an HARQ-ACK response and a CQI/PMI/RI.", "The present invention proposes a method for adaptively controlling the CWS based on the HARQ-ACK response.", "The HARQ-ACK response includes ACK, NACK, and DTX.", "For reference, as described with reference to FIG.", "11, even in Wi-Fi, the CWS is adjusted based on the ACK.", "When the ACK is fed back, the CWS is reset to the minimum value (CWmin) and when the ACK is not fed back, the CWS increases.", "However, since the Wi-Fi is a peer-to-peer (1:1) system, while a cellular system (e.g., LTE) is a multi-access system, it is inefficient to apply a Wi-Fi method as it is and a CWS adjusting method considering multiple-access is required.", "First, terms are defined as described below in order to describe the present invention.", "Set of HARQ-ACK feedback values (HARQ-ACK feedback set): It means HARQ-ACK feedback value(s) used for updating/adjusting the CWS.", "The HARQ-ACK feedback set corresponds to HARQ-ACK feedback value(s) that is decoded and usable at a time when the CWS is decided.", "The HARQ-ACK feedback set includes HARQ-ACK feedback value(s) for one or more DL (channel) transmission (e.g., PDSCH) on the unlicensed band (e.g., LTE-U cell).", "The HARQ-ACK feedback set may include HARQ-ACK feedback value(s) for the DL (channel) transmission (e.g., PDSCH), for example, a plurality of HARQ-ACK feedback values fed back from a plurality of user equipments.", "The HARQ-ACK feedback value may represent receiving response information for the transport block or PDSCH, and represent ACK, NACK, DTX, and NACK/DTX.", "According to a context, the HARQ-ACK feedback value may be used mixedly with the HARQ-ACK value/bit/response/information, and the like.", "Reference window: It means a time interval at which the DL transmission (e.g., PDSCH) corresponding to the HARQ/ACK feedback set is performed in the unlicensed band (e.g., LTE-U cell).", "The reference window may be defined by the unit of SF.", "The reference window will be described/proposed below in more detail.", "In the LTE, according to the HARQ-ACK feedback scheme or a PUCCH format, an HARQ-ACK value may represent only ACK and NACK or further represent DTX.", "For example, when PUCCH format 3 is configured as the HARQ-ACK feedback method, the HARQ-ACK value may represent only ACK and NACK.", "On the contrary, when a channel selection scheme using PUCCH format 1b is configured as the HARQ-ACK feedback method, the HARQ-ACK value may represent ACK, NACK, DTX, and NACK/DTX.", "Therefore, in the present invention, a case in which only ACK and e NACK are considered as the HARQ-ACK response, and a case in which the DTX is further considered as the HARQ-ACK response are separately described.", "Basic matters are common to each other.", "Case 1, the Case of Considering Only ACK and NACK in Response to HARQ-ACK HARQ-ACK The following methods may be considered as a method of adjusting the CWS based on the HARQ-ACK feedback set.", "Options 1 to 3 and Alts 1 to 3 may be combined.", "Option 1: If HARQ-ACK feedback values for the reference window all are determined as the NACK, the CWS is increased, and if not (that is, if at least one ACK is present), the CWS may be reset to a minimum value.", "Option 2: If at least one of the HARQ-ACK feedback values for the reference window is determined as the NACK, the CWS is increased, and if not (that is, if all of the values are the ACKs), the CWS may be reset to a minimum value.", "Option 3: If among the HARQ-ACK feedback values for the reference window, the NACK is determined as at least Z % (O<Z<100), the CWS is increased, and if not, the CWS may be reset to a minimum value.", "As an example, Z may be 50 or 80.That is, if the ratio (hereinafter, referred to as Y %) of the NACK in the HARQ-ACK feedback is equal to or more than a reference value, the CWS is increased, and when the ratio of NACK is less than the reference value, the CWS may be reset to the minimum value.", "The reference value may be 0<reference value<1, or 0%<reference value<100% according to a unit.", "Equally, if among the HARQ-ACK feedback values for the reference window, the ACK is determined as a value less than P % (X=100−Z), the CWS is increased, and if not, the CWS may be reset to a minimum value.", "As an example, P may be 20 or 50.When the CWS is increased, the CWS may be increased two times, increased exponentially between a minimum value CW_min and a maximum value CW_max, or increased to the maximum value.", "Additionally, when at least one of the following conditions is satisfied, the CWS may be reset to CW_min.", "Alt 1: A case where the maximum CWS, CW_max is used for K continuous ECCAs.", "Herein, K is fixed to one of 1, 2, and 3, or may be selected within {1, .", ".", ".", ", 8} by the base station.", "Alt 2: A case where there is no DL transmission by the base station for at least T period.", "T is a pre-determined value or a configurable value.", "Alt 3: A case where the maximum HARQ retransmission is used in K continuous ECCAs.", "Herein, K is fixed to one of 1, 2, and 3, or may be selected within {1, .", ".", ".", ", 8} by the base station.", "The reference window may be (1) a single subframe, (2) multi (for example, two) subframes, or (3) all subframes where the HARQ-ACK feedback is usable, in the last DL transmission burst (that is, the latest DL transmission burst on the unlicensed band).", "Herein, the (1) single subframe may be the first or last subframe of the last DL transmission burst.", "The single subframe may be a regular subframe rSF or a partial subframe pSF.", "However, in the partial subframe, the number of user equipments which may be served by the base station is limited.", "Accordingly, when the first or last subframe of the last DL transmission burst is the partial subframe, the base station may efficiently adjust the CWS according to channel collision or interference by defining a HARQ-ACK feedback set based on the HARQ-ACK feedback value of the user equipment(s) corresponding to the regular subframe.", "For example, when the first or last subframe of the last DL transmission burst is the partial subframe, the reference window may be the multiple subframes.", "Herein, the (2) multi subframes may be a first multiple subframe or the last multiple subframe in the last DL transmission burst.", "For example, when the number of multiple subframes is two, the multiple subframes may be first two subframes of the last DL transmission burst, that is, (1st subframe) the partial subframe or the regular subframe and (2nd subframe) the regular subframe.", "Further, the multiple subframes may be the last two subframes, that is, (1st subframe) the regular subframe and (2nd subframe) the partial subframe or the regular subframe.", "Case 2-1: Case of Additionally Considering DTX as HARQ-ACK Response Hereinafter, a method of adjusting the CWS by considering ACK, NACK, and DTX, as the HARQ-ACK response transmitted from the user equipment, will be described.", "In self-carrier scheduling, that is, in the case where the DL transmission (for example, the PDSCH) for the carrier in the unlicensed band is performed through a control channel (for example, (E)PDCCH) transmitted on the same unlicensed band carrier, the HARQ feedback which may be transmitted by the user equipment with respect to the DL transmission of the unlicensed band may include ACK, NACK, DTX and NACK/DTX.", "Herein, since the DTX corresponds to a case where the DL transmission is unsuccessful by a hidden node and the like in the unlicensed band carrier, the DTX may be used for CWS adjustment together with the NACK.", "Further, the DTX is one of methods in which the user equipment notifies a case where the user equipment may not decode the corresponding control channel to the base station even though the base station transmits the control channel (for example, the (E)PDCCH) including scheduling information to the user equipment.", "The DTX may be determined only by the HARQ-ACK feedback value or determined by considering the HARQ-ACK feedback value and an actual scheduling situation.", "For convenience, a self-carrier scheduling operation is assumed.", "The following methods may be considered as a method of adjusting the CWS based on the HARQ-ACK feedback set.", "Methods A-1 to A-4 and methods B-1 to B-3 may be combined.", "Method A-1: In the case where all of the HARQ-ACK feedback values for the reference window are NACK, all of the HARQ-ACK feedback values are determined as DTX, or all of the HARQ-ACK feedback values are NACK/DTX, the CWS is increased, and if not (that is, if at least one ACK is present), the CWS may be reset to a minimum value.", "Method A-2: If at least one of the HARQ-ACK feedback values for the reference window is determined as the NACK, the DTX or the NACK/DTX, the CWS is increased, and if not (that is, if all of the values are the ACKs), the CWS may be reset to a minimum value.", "Method A-3: If among the HARQ-ACK feedback values for the reference window, NACK or DTX is determined as at least Z % (0<Z<100), the CWS is increased, and if not, the CWS may be reset to a minimum value.", "As an example, Z may be 50 or 80.Herein, the NACK or the DTX of at least Z % means that either the NACK or the DTX is added, i.e., a sum of NACK, DTX and NACK/DTX, to become at least Z %.", "That is, NACK/DTX and DTX may be treated equally with NACK.", "Accordingly, if a ratio (hereinafter, referred to as Y %) of NACK or DTX in the HARQ-ACK feedback is equal to or more than a reference value, the CWS is increased, and when the ratio of NACK or DTX is less than the reference value, the CWS may be reset to the minimum value.", "The reference value may be 0<reference value<1, or 0%<reference value<100% according to a unit.", "Equally, if among the HARQ-ACK feedback values for the reference window, the ACK is determined as a value less than P % (X=100−Z), the CWS is increased, and if not, the CWS may be reset to a minimum value.", "As an example, P may be 20 or 50.Method A-4: In the case where all of the HARQ-ACK feedback values for the reference window are determined as the DTX, the base station increases the CWS by considering that all of the control channels PDCCH/EPDCCH are not received by the user equipment or the decoding of both the PDCCH and the EPDCCH is unsuccessful by interference of other nodes, and if not (that is, in the case where all of the HARQ-ACK feedback values are not determined as the DTX), the CWS may be adjusted according to the methods A-1 to A-3.When the CWS is increased, the CWS may be increased two times, increased exponentially between a minimum value CW_min and a maximum value CW_max, or increased to the maximum value.", "Additionally, when at least one of the following conditions is satisfied, the CWS may be reset to CW_min.", "Method B-1: A case where the maximum CWS CW_max is used for K continuous ECCAs.", "Herein, K is fixed to one of 1, 2, and 3, or may be selected within {1, .", ".", ".", ", 8} by the base station.", "Method B-2: A case where there is no DL transmission by the base station for at least T period.", "T is a pre-determined value or a configurable value.", "Method B-3: A case where the maximum HARQ retransmission is used within K continuous ECCAs.", "Herein, K is fixed to one of 1, 2, and 3, or may be selected within {1, .", ".", ".", ", 8} by the base station.", "The reference window may be (1) a single subframe, (2) multi (for example, two) subframes, or (3) all subframes where the HARQ-ACK feedback is usable in the last DL transmission burst (that is, the latest DL transmission burst on the unlicensed band).", "The detailed contents may refer to the contents described in Case 1.Case 2-2: Case of Additionally Considering DTX as HARQ-ACK Response Hereinafter, another example of the method of adjusting the CWS by considering ACK, NACK, and DTX, as the HARQ-ACK response transmitted from the user equipment, will be described.", "In self-carrier scheduling, that is, in the case where the DL transmission (for example, the PDSCH) for the carrier in the unlicensed band is performed through a control channel (for example, (E)PDCCH) transmitted on the same unlicensed band carrier, the HARQ feedback which may be transmitted by the user equipment with respect to the DL transmission in the unlicensed band may include ACK, NACK, DTX and NACK/DTX.", "Herein, since the DTX corresponds to a case where the DL transmission is unsuccessful by a hidden node and the like in the unlicensed band carrier, the DTX may be used for CWS adjustment together with the NACK.", "Further, the DTX disclosed herein is one of methods in which the user equipment notifies a case where the user equipment does not decode the corresponding control channel to the base station even though the base station transmits the control channel (for example, the (E)PDCCH) including scheduling information to the user equipment.", "The DTX may be determined only by the HARQ-ACK feedback value or determined by considering the HARQ-ACK feedback value and an actual scheduling situation.", "For convenience, a self-carrier scheduling operation is assumed.", "The following methods may be considered as a method of adjusting the CWS based on the HARQ-ACK feedback set.", "Methods C-1 and C-2 and methods D-1 to D-3 may be combined.", "Method C-1: In the case where there is the DTX in the HARQ-ACK feedback values for the reference window, a weight value may be applied to the DTX when calculating Y % based on the NACK or the DTX, as the HARQ-ACK feedback, according to the method A-3 of the present invention.", "In the case where the base station may distinguish the NACK and the DTX and in the case where the user equipment feedbacks the DTX even though the base station transmits a PDSCH related with a control channel PDCCH/EPDCCH, the base station may know that the corresponding user equipment does not receive the control channel PDCCH/EPDCCH.", "In this case, the base station may recognize that there is a possibility that an interference or hidden node and the like occurs in the corresponding channel.", "Accordingly, when receiving the DTX from the user equipment, the base station may calculate Y % by applying the weight value to the DTX in order to more positively solve the problem generated by the interference or hidden node on the channel.", "Further, when the NACK/DTX is included in the HARQ-ACK feedback values within the reference window, the base station may apply the methods of the present invention by considering the NACK/DTX as the NACK.", "Unlike this, when the user equipment feedbacks the NACK/DTX to the base station, it is meaningful that the user equipment notifies to the base station that the HARQ-ACK feedback values may be the DTX.", "Accordingly, when the NACK/DTX is fed back from the user equipment, the base station may calculate Y % by applying the weight value to the NACK/DTX in the HARQ-ACK feedback set.", "Values considered as the HARQ-ACK feedback may be ACK, NACK, NACK/DTX, and DTX.", "As described in the present invention, Y % for adjusting the CWS may be calculated by considering different weight values for the NACK, the NACK/DTX, and the DTX except for the ACK.", "Equation 1 represents one example of the method C-1.The method may be similarly expressed by another equation and is not limited by the following Equation.", "Y %={W_A*Pr(A)+W_B*Pr(B)+W_C*Pr(C)}*100, [Equation 1] Herein, Pr(A) represents a probability of the NACK in the reference window, that is, Pr(A)=the number of NACKs/the total number of usable HARQ-ACK feedbacks in the reference window.", "Herein, Pr(B) represents a probability of the NACK/DTX in the reference window, that is, Pr(B)=the number of NACK/DTXs/the total number of usable HARQ-ACK feedbacks in the reference window.", "Herein, Pr(C) represents a probability of the NACK/DTX in the reference window, that is, Pr(C)=the number of DTXs/the total number of usable HARQ-ACK feedbacks in the reference window.", "W_A means a weight value for the NACK, W_B means a weight value for the NACK/DTX, and W_C means a weight value for the DTX.", "First, W_A=W_B=W_C is a case where the NACK, the NACK/DTX, and the DTX are calculated with the same weight value in the HARQ-ACK feedback set when calculating Y %.", "W_A<W_B=W_C is a case where the NACK/DTX and the DTX are calculated with a larger weight value than that of the NACK and the NACK/DTX and the DTX are calculated with the same weight value in the HARQ-ACK feedback set when calculating Y %.", "W_A=W_B<W_C is a case where the NACK and the NACK/DTX are calculated with the same weight value and the DTX is calculated with a larger weight value in the HARQ-ACK feedback set when calculating Y %.", "W_A<W_B=W_C is a case where the NACK/DTX is calculated with a larger weight value than the NACK and the DTX is calculated with a larger weight value than the NACK/DTX in the HARQ-ACK feedback set when calculating Y %.", "When the calculated Y % is at least Z %, the CWS is increased, and if not, the CWS may be reset to a minimum value.", "Herein, Z % is a reference value which may be set in the base station (for example, 0<Z<100).", "For example, Z may be 50 or 80.Method C-2: When there is at least one DTX feedback for the reference window, the CWS may be increased.", "The method is a method of overriding to the option-3 or the method A-3.If not (that is, No DTX), the CWS may be adjusted according to the option-3 or the method A-3.Since the DTX represents that the user equipment does not receive the control channel PDCCH/EPDCCH on the unlicensed band due to the interference or hidden node in the same channel, the base station may increase the CWS as the method for solving the problem.", "When the CWS is increased, the CWS may be increased two times, increased exponentially between a minimum value CW_min and a maximum value CW_max, or increased to the maximum value.", "Additionally, when at least one of the following conditions is satisfied, the CWS may be reset to CW_min.", "Method D-1: A case where the maximum CWS CW_max is used for K continuous ECCAs.", "Herein, K is fixed to one of 1, 2, and 3, or may be selected within {1, .", ".", ".", ", 8} by the base station.", "Method D-2: A case where there is no DL transmission by the base station for at least T period.", "T is a pre-determined value or a settable value.", "Method D-3: A case where the maximum HARQ retransmission is used in K continuous ECCAs.", "Herein, K is fixed to one of 1, 2, and 3, or may be selected within {1, .", ".", ".", ", 8} by the base station.", "The reference window may be (1) a single subframe, (2) multi (for example, two) subframes, or (3) all subframes where the HARQ-ACK feedback is usable in the last DL transmission burst (that is, the latest DL transmission burst on the unlicensed band).", "The detailed contents may refer to the contents described in Case 1.Cases 2-1 and 2-2 may be differently applied as described below according to whether the scheduling cell is a LTE-L cell or a LTE-U cell in the cross-carrier scheduling.", "In the case where the DL transmission transmitted in the unlicensed carrier is cross-carrier scheduled from a different unlicensed band (that is, an unlicensed carrier, an unlicensed band cell, and an LTE-U cell), the CWS may be adjusted by using the same method as the self-carrier scheduling.", "The reason is that since the control channels (e.g., the PDCCH/EPDDCH) are transmitted in the unlicensed carrier, the determination of the base station based on the HARQ-ACK response(s) (ACK, NACK, DTX and NACK/DTX) may be equally performed with the case of the self-carrier scheduling.", "In the case where the DL transmission transmitted in the unlicensed carrier is cross-carrier scheduled from a licensed band (that is, a licensed carrier, a licensed band cell, and an LTE-L cell), the PDCCH/EPDCCH which are the control channels scheduling the DL transmission is transmitted in the licensed band.", "In this case, since the DTX feedback is used to determine a decoding situation of the user equipment for the control channel transmitted on the licensed band, it doesn't help adaptively adjusting the CWS for channel access in the unlicensed band.", "Accordingly, in the cross-carrier scheduling from the licensed band, the method of adjusting the CWS considering the DTX is set not to be used, and the CWS may be adjusted by considering only the ACK and the NACK as the HARQ-ACK response(s) for the DL transmission (for example, PDSCH) on the unlicensed band.", "Or the CWS may be adjusted by considering only the ACK, the NACK and the NACK/DTX as the HARQ-ACK response(s) for the DL transmission (for example, PDSCH) on the unlicensed band.", "For example, the DTX as the HARQ-ARQ response due to the cross-carrier scheduling from the licensed band may be excluded in the process of applying the cases 1, 2-1, and 2-2.In detail, in the option 3 and the method A-3, the DTX as the HARQ-ARQ response due to the cross-carrier scheduling from the licensed band may be excluded when calculating Z %.", "That is, in the HARQ-ACK feedback set, only the ACK and the NACK are selected to calculate Z % or only the ACK, the NACK and the NACK/DTX are selected to calculate Z %.", "FIGS.", "15 to 17B illustrate a signal transmitting process according to an example of the present invention.", "FIG.", "15 illustrates a method for adjusting a CWS according to case 1 and FIGS.", "16A to 17B illustrate a reference window for generating an HARQ-ACK feedback set.", "Cases 2-1 and 2-2 may be similarly performed.", "Referring to FIG.", "15, the base station may transmit an n-th DL transmission burst in the unlicensed band (e.g., LTE-U cell) (S1502) and thereafter, transmit an (n+1)-th DL transmission burst based on the ECCA when additional DL transmission is required (S1512).", "In detail, the base station additionally performs the random back-off in the CW when the channel in the unlicensed band is idle during the ECCA defer period (S1510).", "The base station may generate a random number N in the CW (e.g., [0, q−1]) (S1508) and perform the back-off as long as slots corresponding to the random number N (S1510).", "In the present invention, the CWS is adaptively varied based on the HARQ-ACK feedback values from user equipments (S1506).", "The HARQ-ACK feedback values used for adjusting the CWS include HARQ-ACK feedback values for a most recent DL transmission burst (n-th DL transmission burst).", "The HARQ-ACK feedback values used for adjusting the CWS include HARQ-ACK feedback values for the DL transmission on the reference window in the DL transmission burst (S1504).", "When case 1 is applied, the CWS may be adjusted as follows based on the HARQ-ACK feedback values.", "Cases 2-1 and 2-2 may be similarly applied.", "Option 1: When all of the HARQ-ACK feedback values for the reference window are NACK, the CWS is increased and if not, the CWS is reset to the minimum value.", "Option 2: When at least one of the HARQ-ACK feedback values for the reference window is the NACK, the CWS is increased and if not, the CWS is reset to the minimum value.", "Option 3: When the NACK among the HARQ-ACK feedback values for the reference window is at least Z % (0<Z<100), the CWS is increased and when the NACK is not at least Z %, the CWS is reset to the minimum value.", "When the CWS is increased, the CWS may be increased twice, exponentially increased between the minimum value (CW_min) and a maximum value (CW_max), or increased to the maximum value.", "Referring to FIGS.", "16A to 17B, the reference window may be constituted by start subframe(s) (FIGS.", "16A and 16B) and last subframe(s) (FIGS.", "17A and 17B) of the most recent DL transmission burst (n-th DL transmission burst).", "When the reference window is positioned at the start of the DL transmission burst, the reference window may be constituted by (i) one regular subframe and (ii) one partial subframe and one regular subframe.", "Further, when the reference window is positioned at the end of the DL transmission burst, the reference window may be constituted by (i) one regular subframe and (ii) one regular subframe and one sub subframe.", "In the present invention, it is assumed that the HARQ-ACK response transmitted from the user equipment is transmitted through the PUCCH or PUSCH on the PCell in the licensed band.", "When uplink transmission on the unlicensed band is permitted, the present invention may be applied even to the case in which the HARQ-ACK response is transmitted through the PUCCH or PUSCH on the unlicensed band.", "FIG.", "18 illustrates configurations of a user equipment and a base station according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.", "In the present invention, the user equipment may be implemented by various types of wireless communication devices or computing devices of which portability and mobility are guaranteed.", "The user equipment (UE) may be referred to as terminal, a station (STA), a mobile subscriber (MS), and the like.", "In the present invention, the base station may control and take charge of cells (e.g., a macro cell, a femto cell, a pico cell, and the like) corresponding to service areas and perform functions including signal transmission, channel designation, channel monitoring, self diagnosis, relay, and the like.", "The base station may be referred to as an evolved NodeB (eNB), an access point (AP), and the like.", "Referring to FIG.", "18, the user equipment 100 may include a processor 110, a communication module 120, a memory 130, a user interface unit 140, and a display unit 150.The processor 110 may execute various commands or programs according to the present invention and process data in the user equipment 100.Further, the processor 100 may control all operations of the respective units of the user equipment 100 and control data transmission/reception among the units.", "For example, the processor 110 may receive a DL signal in an LTE-U cell in an LAA environment and transmit an HARQ-ACK response thereto to the base station.", "The communication module 120 may be an integrated module that performs mobile communication using a mobile communication network and wireless LAN access using a wireless LAN.", "To this end, the communication module 120 may include a plurality of network interface cards such as cellular communication interface cards 121 and 122 and a wireless LAN interface card 123 in an internal or external type.", "In FIG.", "18, the communication module 120 is illustrated as the integrated module, but the respective network interface cards may be independently disposed according to a circuit configuration or a purpose unlike FIG.", "18.The cellular communication interface card 121 transmits/receives a radio signal to/from at least one of a base station 200, an external device, and a server by using the mobile communication network and provides a cellular communication service at a first frequency band based on a command of the processor 110.The cellular communication interface card 121 may include at least one NIC module using an LTE-licensed frequency band.", "The cellular communication interface card 122 transmits/receives the radio signal to/from at least one of the base station 200, the external device, and the server by using the mobile communication network and provides the cellular communication service at a second frequency band based on the command of the processor 110.The cellular communication interface card 122 may include at least one NIC module using an LTE-unlicensed frequency band.", "For example, the LTE-unlicensed frequency band may be a band of 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz.", "The wireless LAN interface card 123 transmits/receives the radio signal to/from at least one of the base station 200, the external device, and the server through wireless LAN access and provides a wireless LAN service at the second frequency band based on the command of the processor 110.The wireless LAN interface card 123 may include at least one NIC module using a wireless LAN frequency band.", "For example, the wireless LAN frequency band may be an unlicensed radio band such as the band of 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz.", "The memory 130 stores a control program used in the user equipment 100 and various resulting data.", "The control program may include a program required for the user equipment 100 to perform wireless communication with at least one of the base station 200, the external device, and the server.", "The user interface 140 includes various types of input/output means provided in the user equipment 100.The display unit 150 outputs various images on a display screen.", "Further, the base station 200 according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention may include a processor 210, a communication module 220, and a memory 230.The processor 210 may execute various commands or programs according to the present invention and process data in the base station 200.Further, the processor 210 may control all operations of the respective units of the base station 200 and control data transmission/reception among the units.", "For example, the processor 210 may perform DL transmission based on LBT in an LAA environment.", "In detail, the processor 210 may perform the DL transmission, verification of an HARQ-ACK feedback set, CWS adjustment, and the like according to cases 1, 2-1, and 2-2.The communication module 220 may be an integrated module that performs the mobile communication using the mobile communication network and the wireless LAN access using the wireless LAN like the communication module 120 of the user equipment 100.To this end, the communication module 120 may include a plurality of network interface cards such as cellular communication interface cards 221 and 222 and a wireless LAN interface card 223 in the internal or external type.", "In FIG.", "18, the communication module 220 is illustrated as the integrated module, but the respective network interface cards may be independently disposed according to the circuit configuration or the purpose unlike FIG.", "18.The cellular communication interface card 221 transmits/receives the radio signal to/from at least one of the user equipment 100, the external device, and the server by using the mobile communication network and provides the cellular communication service at the first frequency band based on a command of the processor 210.The cellular communication interface card 221 may include at least one NIC module using the LTE-licensed frequency band.", "The cellular communication interface card 222 transmits/receives the radio signal to/from at least one of the user equipment 100, the external device, and the server by using the mobile communication network and provides the cellular communication service at the second frequency band based on the command of the processor 210.The cellular communication interface card 222 may include at least one NIC module using the LTE-unlicensed frequency band.", "The LTE-unlicensed frequency band may be the band of 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz.", "The wireless LAN interface card 223 transmits/receives the radio signal to/from at least one of the user equipment 100, the external device, and the server through the wireless LAN access and provides the wireless LAN service at the second frequency band based on the command of the processor 210.The wireless LAN interface card 223 may include at least one NIC module using the wireless LAN frequency band.", "For example, the wireless LAN frequency band may be the unlicensed radio band such as the band of 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz.", "In FIG.", "18, blocks of the user equipment and the base station logically divide and illustrate elements of the device.", "The elements of the device may be mounted as one chip or a plurality of chips according to design of the device.", "Further, some components of the user equipment 100, that is to say, the user interface 140 and the display unit 150 may be selectively provided in the user equipment 100.Further, some components of the base station 200, that is to say, the wireless LAN interface 223, and the like may be selectively provided in the base station 200.The user interface 140 and the display unit 150 may be additionally provided in the base station 200 as necessary.", "The method and the system of the present invention are described in association with the specific embodiments, but some or all of the components and operations of the present invention may be implemented by using a computer system having a universal hardware architecture.", "The description of the present invention is used for illustration and those skilled in the art will understand that the present invention can be easily modified to other detailed forms without changing the technical spirit or an essential feature thereof.", "Therefore, the aforementioned exemplary embodiments are all illustrative in all aspects and are not limited.", "For example, each component described as a single type may be implemented to be distributed and similarly, components described to be distributed may also be implemented in a combined form.", "The scope of the present invention is represented by the claims to be described below rather than the detailed description, and it is to be interpreted that the meaning and scope of the claims and all the changes or modified forms derived from the equivalents thereof come within the scope of the present invention.", "INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention is usable in various communication devices (e.g., a station or access point using unlicensed band communication, a station or a base station using cellular communication, or the like) used in a wireless communication system." ] ]
Patent_15872978
[ [ "Audio Settings Of Multiple Speakers in a Playback Device", "Techniques described herein may involve dynamically adjusting the equalization of multiple speakers in a playback device.", "An example implementation involves a playback device emitting, via a first speaker, a first audio signal and emitting, via a second speaker, a second audio signal.", "The playback device may detect, via a microphone, an audio signal representing (i) at least a portion of the first audio signal and (ii) at least a portion of the second audio signal.", "The implementation may further involve the playback device determining one or more reflection characteristics based on the detected audio signal.", "The example implementation may also involve identifying a first audio setting and a second audio setting based on one or more reflection characteristics and applying (i) the first audio setting to playback of media content via the first speaker and (ii) the second audio setting to playback of media content via the second speaker." ], [ "1.-20.", "(canceled) 21.A playback device comprising: a housing; a transducer in the housing; a microphone in the housing; a processor; and memory storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the playback device to perform functions for dynamically adjusting audio played back via the playback device in an operating environment, the functions comprising: recording, via the microphone, audio data, wherein the recording the audio data comprises recording (i) data indicative of sound emitted via the transducer and (ii) data indicative of a reflection of the emitted sound; determining, in the recorded audio data, a feature of the operating environment based on the recorded audio data; identifying a first audio setting corresponding to the determined feature of the operating environment; and applying the first audio setting to playback of media content via the transducer.", "22.The playback device of claim 21, wherein the transducer is a first transducer, the playback device further comprising: a second transducer in the housing, wherein the functions further comprise: emitting, via the first transducer, a first audio signal; emitting, via the second transducer, a second audio signal, wherein recording the audio data further comprises detecting an audio signal representing at least a portion of the first audio signal and at least a portion of the second audio signal; identifying a second audio setting corresponding to the determined feature of the operating environment; and applying the second audio setting to the playback of the media content via the second transducer.", "23.The playback device of claim 22, wherein determining a feature of the operating environment based on the recorded audio data comprises determining a first reflection characteristic based on a first portion of the detected audio signal representing the portion of the first audio signal, and further comprises determining a second reflection characteristic based on a second portion of the detected audio signal representing the portion of the second audio signal, and wherein identifying the first audio setting and the second audio setting corresponding to the determined feature of the operating environment comprises identifying the first audio setting based on the first reflection characteristic and the second audio setting based on the second reflection characteristic.", "24.The playback device of claim 22, wherein determining the feature of the operating environment based on the recorded audio data further comprises: determining (i) time-of-flight for the first audio signal to reflect back to the microphone and (ii) time-of-flight for the second audio signal to reflect back to the microphone.", "25.The playback device of claim 22, wherein determining the feature of the operating environment based on the recorded audio data further comprises: determining (i) a response of the operating environment to the first audio signal and (ii) a response of the operating environment to the second audio signal.", "26.The playback device of claim 25, wherein identifying the first audio setting and the second audio setting based on the feature of the operating environment comprises: determining (i) a first difference between the determined response of the operating environment to the first audio signal and a desired response of the first transducer and (ii) determining a second difference between the determined response of the operating environment to the second audio signal and a desired response of the second transducer; determining, as the first audio setting, a first equalization configured to offset at least a portion of the first difference; and determining, as the second audio setting, a second equalization configured to offset at least a portion of the second difference.", "27.The playback device of claim 21, wherein the transducer is a first transducer, and wherein the media content comprises stereo media content, the playback device further comprising: a second transducer in the housing, wherein the instructions further comprise instructions for playing back a left channel of the stereo media content via the first transducer, and playing back a right channel of the stereo media content via the second transducer.", "28.The playback device of claim 21, wherein the transducer is a first transducer, and wherein the media content comprises surround media content, the playback device further comprising: a second transducer in the housing, wherein the instructions further comprise instructions for playing back first and second channels of the surround sound media content via the first transducer and the second transducer, respectively.", "29.A method of adjusting audio played back via a playback device in an operating environment, the method comprising: recording, via a microphone in a housing of the playback device, audio data, wherein recording the audio data comprises (i) recording data indicative of sound emitted via a transducer in the housing and (ii) data indicative of a reflection of the emitted sound; determining a feature of the operating environment based on the recorded audio data; identifying a first audio setting corresponding to the determined feature of the operating environment; and applying the first audio setting to playback of media content via the transducer.", "30.The method of claim 29, wherein the transducer is a first transducer, the method further comprising: emitting, via the first transducer, a first audio signal; emitting, via a second transducer in the housing, a second audio signal, wherein recording the audio data further comprises detecting an audio signal representing at least a portion of the first audio signal and at least a portion of the second audio signal; identifying a second audio setting corresponding to the determined feature of the operating environment; and applying the second audio setting to the playback of the media content via the second transducer.", "31.The method of claim 30, wherein determining a feature of the operating environment based on the recorded audio data comprises determining a first reflection characteristic based on a first portion of the detected audio signal representing the portion of the first audio signal, and further comprises determining a second reflection characteristic based on a second portion of the detected audio signal representing the portion of the second audio signal, and wherein identifying the first audio setting and the second audio setting corresponding to the determined feature of the operating environment comprises identifying the first audio setting based on the first reflection characteristic and the second audio setting based on the second reflection characteristic.", "32.The method of claim 30, wherein determining the feature of the operating environment based on the recorded audio data further comprises: determining (i) time-of-flight for the first audio signal to reflect back to the microphone and (ii) time-of-flight for the second audio signal to reflect back to the microphone.", "33.The method of claim 30, wherein determining the feature of the operating environment based on the recorded audio data further comprises: determining (i) a response of the operating environment to the first audio signal and (ii) a response of the operating environment to the second audio signal.", "34.The method of claim 33, wherein identifying the first audio setting and the second audio setting based on the feature of the operating environment comprises: determining (i) a first difference between the determined response of the operating environment to the first audio signal and a desired response of the first transducer and (ii) determining a second difference between the determined response of the operating environment to the second audio signal and a desired response of the second transducer; determining, as the first audio setting, a first equalization configured to offset at least a portion of the first difference; and determining, as the second audio setting, a second equalization configured to offset at least a portion of the second difference.", "35.A tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions executable by a processor to cause a playback device to perform operations for dynamically adjusting audio played back via the playback device in an operating environment, the operations comprising: recording, via a microphone of the playback device, audio data, wherein recording the audio data comprises (i) recording data indicative of sound emitted via a transducer in a housing of the playback device and (ii) data indicative of a reflection of the emitted sound; determining a feature of the operating environment based on the recorded audio data; identifying a first audio setting corresponding to the determined feature of the operating environment; and applying the first audio setting to playback of media content via the transducer.", "36.The computer-readable medium of claim 35, wherein the transducer is a first transducer of the playback device, the instructions further including instructions for: emitting, via the first transducer, a first audio signal; emitting, via a second transducer of the playback device, a second audio signal, wherein recording the audio data further comprises detecting an audio signal representing at least a portion of the first audio signal and at least a portion of the second audio signal; identifying a second audio setting corresponding to the determined feature of the operating environment; and applying the second audio setting to the playback of the media content via the second transducer.", "37.The computer-readable medium of claim 36, wherein determining a feature of the operating environment based on the recorded audio data comprises determining a first reflection characteristic based on a first portion of the detected audio signal representing the portion of the first audio signal, and further comprises determining a second reflection characteristic based on a second portion of the detected audio signal representing the portion of the second audio signal, and wherein identifying the first audio setting and the second audio setting corresponding to the determined feature of the operating environment comprises identifying the first audio setting based on the first reflection characteristic and the second audio setting based on the second reflection characteristic.", "38.The computer-readable medium of claim 36, wherein determining the feature of the operating environment based on the recorded audio data further comprises: determining (i) time-of-flight for the first audio signal to reflect back to the microphone and (ii) time-of-flight for the second audio signal to reflect back to the microphone.", "39.The computer-readable medium of claim 36, wherein determining the feature of the operating environment based on the recorded audio data further comprises: determining (i) a response of the operating environment to the first audio signal and (ii) a response of the operating environment to the second audio signal.", "40.The computer-readable medium of claim 39, wherein identifying the first audio setting and the second audio setting based on the feature of the operating environment comprises: determining (i) a first difference between the determined response of the operating environment to the first audio signal and a desired response of the first transducer and (ii) determining a second difference between the determined response of the operating environment to the second audio signal and a desired response of the second transducer; determining, as the first audio setting, a first equalization configured to offset at least a portion of the first difference; and determining, as the second audio setting, a second equalization configured to offset at least a portion of the second difference." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND <EOH>Options for accessing and listening to digital audio in an out-loud setting were limited until in 2003, when SONOS, Inc. filed for one of its first patent applications, entitled “Method for Synchronizing Audio Playback between Multiple Networked Devices,” and began offering a media playback system for sale in 2005.The Sonos Wireless HiFi System enables people to experience music from many sources via one or more networked playback devices.", "Through a software control application installed on a smartphone, tablet, or computer, one can play what he or she wants in any room that has a networked playback device.", "Additionally, using the controller, for example, different songs can be streamed to each room with a playback device, rooms can be grouped together for synchronous playback, or the same song can be heard in all rooms synchronously.", "Given the ever growing interest in digital media, there continues to be a need to develop consumer-accessible technologies to further enhance the listening experience." ], [ "<SOH> BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS <EOH>Features, aspects, and advantages of the presently disclosed technology may be better understood with regard to the following description, appended claims, and accompanying drawings where: FIG.", "1 shows an example media playback system configuration in which certain embodiments may be practiced; FIG.", "2 shows a functional block diagram of an example playback device; FIG.", "3 shows a functional block diagram of an example control device; FIG.", "4 shows an example controller interface; FIG.", "5 shows an example flow diagram for dynamically adjusting the equalization of a playback device based on the environment in which the playback device is operating; FIG.", "6 shows another example media playback system configuration in which certain embodiments may be practiced; and FIG.", "7 shows illustrative frequency responses of the playback device.", "FIGS.", "8A, 8B, and 8C show example impulse responses of a playback device.", "detailed-description description=\"Detailed Description\" end=\"lead\"?", "The drawings are for the purpose of illustrating example embodiments, but it is understood that the inventions are not limited to the arrangements and instrumentality shown in the drawings." ], [ "CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser.", "No.", "15/207,682 filed on Jul.", "12, 2016, and currently pending; U.S. application Ser.", "No.", "15/207,682 is a continuation of U.S. application Ser.", "No.", "14/681,465 filed on Apr.", "8, 2015, and issued as U.S. Pat.", "No.", "9,419,575 on Aug. 16, 2016; U.S. application Ser.", "No.", "14/681,465 is a continuation of U.S. application Ser.", "No.", "14/216,036 filed on Mar.", "17, 2014, and issued as U.S. Pat.", "No.", "9,219,460 on Dec. 22, 2015.The entire contents of U.S. application Ser.", "Nos.", "15/207,682; 14/681,465; and 14/216,036 are incorporated herein by reference.", "FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE The disclosure is related to consumer goods and, more particularly, to methods, systems, products, features, services, and other elements directed to media playback or some aspect thereof.", "BACKGROUND Options for accessing and listening to digital audio in an out-loud setting were limited until in 2003, when SONOS, Inc. filed for one of its first patent applications, entitled “Method for Synchronizing Audio Playback between Multiple Networked Devices,” and began offering a media playback system for sale in 2005.The Sonos Wireless HiFi System enables people to experience music from many sources via one or more networked playback devices.", "Through a software control application installed on a smartphone, tablet, or computer, one can play what he or she wants in any room that has a networked playback device.", "Additionally, using the controller, for example, different songs can be streamed to each room with a playback device, rooms can be grouped together for synchronous playback, or the same song can be heard in all rooms synchronously.", "Given the ever growing interest in digital media, there continues to be a need to develop consumer-accessible technologies to further enhance the listening experience.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Features, aspects, and advantages of the presently disclosed technology may be better understood with regard to the following description, appended claims, and accompanying drawings where: FIG.", "1 shows an example media playback system configuration in which certain embodiments may be practiced; FIG.", "2 shows a functional block diagram of an example playback device; FIG.", "3 shows a functional block diagram of an example control device; FIG.", "4 shows an example controller interface; FIG.", "5 shows an example flow diagram for dynamically adjusting the equalization of a playback device based on the environment in which the playback device is operating; FIG.", "6 shows another example media playback system configuration in which certain embodiments may be practiced; and FIG.", "7 shows illustrative frequency responses of the playback device.", "FIGS.", "8A, 8B, and 8C show example impulse responses of a playback device.", "The drawings are for the purpose of illustrating example embodiments, but it is understood that the inventions are not limited to the arrangements and instrumentality shown in the drawings.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION I. Overview Embodiments described herein involve dynamically adjusting the equalization of a playback device based on the environment in which the playback device is operating.", "While a playback device may be factory configured to perform advantageously in a typical operating environment, the factory configuration may not be ideal for all environments.", "Therefore, adjusting the equalization of the playback device based on the current operating environment may improve the listening experience for some listeners.", "Consider that, as one example, a playback device may be configured to perform advantageously in a small room, but nonetheless may come to be positioned outdoors.", "When operating outdoors, boosting the bass levels of the playback may result in an improved listening experience for some users.", "Other such examples may exist as well.", "Some audio playback systems implement a manual approach for adjustment of equalization based on environment.", "Under this approach, a microphone is cabled to a given component of an audio system, such as an amplifier or an audio-video receiver.", "A user is then expected to position the microphone in a position in which the user would typically listen to the audio system.", "The given component of the audio system then drives audio output to one or more speakers.", "Then, the speaker output is detected by the microphone.", "Playback of the audio component is then adjusted based on the speaker output detected by the microphone.", "Such a manual approach has several disadvantages.", "First, the adjustment process is often overlooked by the user because, for example, the user may be required to initiate the adjustment and position the microphone.", "Second, the adjustment process requires a separate microphone, which may not be included with any of the components of the audio system.", "Third, the manual approach does not lend itself to frequent adjustment when one or more of the speakers may be re-positioned in different locations throughout a home or outdoors.", "Therefore, an improved, dynamic approach to adjustment based on environment is desired.", "Described herein are example methods and systems for dynamically adjusting equalization of a playback device based on the environment in which the playback device is operating.", "An example playback device may include a speaker, a microphone, and a processor.", "The playback device may emit an audio signal, such as a pulse, from the speaker.", "As the audio signal propagates, the signal may encounter various objects, such as walls and furniture, throughout the environment.", "When an object is encountered, the object may variably reflect or absorb portions of the audio signal.", "For instance, when the audio signal encounters an interior wall, a portion of the audio signal may be reflected by the interior wall.", "The portion of the audio signal may then encounter other objects that variably reflect or absorb some of the portion in turn.", "At some point, a portion of the reflected audio signal may reflect back toward the playback device from which the audio signal was emitted.", "The microphone of the playback device may then detect at least a portion of the reflected audio signal.", "In response to detecting the reflected audio signal, the playback device may determine one or more reflection characteristics based on the reflected audio signal.", "For example, the playback device may determine an amount of time from when the playback device emitted the first audio signal to when the playback device detected the reflected audio signal.", "The amount of time may indicate the nature of the environment.", "For instance, a relatively short amount of time may indicate that the playback device is in a small room while a relatively amount of time may indicate that the playback device is in a large room.", "Alternatively, the playback device may determine the sound pressure level of the second audio signal.", "A relatively low sound pressure level may indicate that there is relatively more absorptive material in the environment as compared with a relatively higher sound pressure level.", "Or the relatively low sound pressure level may indicate that the first audio signal travelled a relatively longer distance before reflecting.", "Other reflection characteristics may exist, as may many other examples of indications regarding the nature of the environment.", "The playback device may then adjust an equalization setting of the playback device based on the one or more reflection characteristics.", "Further, two or more reflection characteristics may be used in combination.", "For instance, a relatively long amount of time and a relatively low sound pressure level may indicate that the playback device is either presumed to be outside or in a very large room.", "In either case, the playback device may adjust the equalization setting based on that environment.", "In the above instance, where the playback device is either outside or in a very large room, the bass frequencies of the playback device may be increased, which may, to some listeners, improve enjoyment of the audio played by the playback device in the more spacious environment.", "In contrast, where the reflection characteristics indicate that the playback device is in a small room, the bass frequencies of the playback device may be decreased, which may improve enjoyment of the audio played by the playback device in the small room.", "Once the equalization setting is adjusted, the playback device may then play an audio track according to the equalization setting.", "As indicated above, the present application involves dynamically adjusting the equalization of a playback device based on the environment in which the playback device is operating.", "In one aspect, a method is provided.", "The method involves emitting, by a playback device, a first audio signal, detecting, by the playback device, a second audio signal, where at least a portion of the second audio signal is a reflection of the first audio signal, in response to the detecting, determining one or more reflection characteristics, where each of the one or more reflection characteristics are based on at least the second audio signal, adjusting an equalization setting of the playback device based on the one or more reflection characteristics; and causing an audio track to play according to the adjusted equalization setting.", "In another aspect, a second method is provided.", "The second method is operable in a media playback system comprising a plurality of playback devices, where each playback device comprises a respective microphone and a respective speaker.", "The second method involves receiving an indication of a first audio signal, detecting, by a microphone of the first playback device, a second audio signal, where at least a portion of the second audio signal is indicative of the first audio signal, in response to the detecting, determining a first reflection characteristic based on the second audio signal, adjusting an equalization setting of the first playback device based on at least the first reflection characteristic, and sending to a second media playback device an indication of the first reflection characteristic.", "In another aspect, a device is provided.", "The device includes a speaker, a microphone that is physically coupled to the speaker, a processor, a network interface, a data storage, and a program logic stored in the data storage.", "The program logic is executable by the processor to emit a first audio signal from the speaker, detect, via the microphone, a second audio signal, wherein at least a portion of the second audio signal is a reflection of the first audio signal, in response to the detecting, determine a first reflection characteristic based on at least the second audio signal, adjust an equalization setting of the playback device based on at least the first reflection characteristic, and play, via the speaker, an audio track according to the equalization setting.", "In yet another aspect, a non-transitory computer readable memory is provided.", "The non-transitory computer readable memory has stored thereon instructions executable by a computing device to cause the computing device to perform functions.", "The functions include emitting, by a playback device, a first audio signal, detecting, by the playback device, a second audio signal, wherein at least a portion of the second audio signal is a reflection of the first audio signal, in response to the detecting, determining one or more reflection characteristics, wherein each of the one or more reflection characteristics are based on at least the second audio signal, adjusting an equalization setting of the playback device based on the one or more reflection characteristics; and causing an audio track to play according to the adjusted equalization setting.", "It will be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that this disclosure includes numerous other embodiments.", "II.", "Example Operating Environment FIG.", "1 shows an example configuration of a media playback system 100 in which one or more embodiments disclosed herein may be practiced or implemented.", "The media playback system 100 as shown is associated with an example home environment having several rooms and spaces, such as for example, a master bedroom, an office, a dining room, and a living room.", "As shown in the example of FIG.", "1, the media playback system 100 includes playback devices 102-124, control devices 126 and 128, and a wired or wireless network router 130.Further discussions relating to the different components of the example media playback system 100 and how the different components may interact to provide a user with a media experience may be found in the following sections.", "While discussions herein may generally refer to the example media playback system 100, technologies described herein are not limited to applications within, among other things, the home environment as shown in FIG.", "1.For instance, the technologies described herein may be useful in environments where multi-zone audio may be desired, such as, for example, a commercial setting like a restaurant, mall or airport, a vehicle like a sports utility vehicle (SUV), bus or car, a ship or boat, an airplane, and so on.", "a.", "Example Playback Devices FIG.", "2 shows a functional block diagram of an example playback device 200 that may be configured to be one or more of the playback devices 102-124 of the media playback system 100 of FIG.", "1.The playback device 200 may include a processor 202, software components 204, memory 206, audio processing components 208, audio amplifier(s) 210, speaker(s) 212, a network interface 214 including wireless interface(s) 216 and wired interface(s) 218 and a microphone 220.In one case, the playback device 200 may not include the speaker(s) 212, but rather a speaker interface for connecting the playback device 200 to external speakers.", "In another case, the playback device 200 may include neither the speaker(s) 212 nor the audio amplifier(s) 210, but rather an audio interface for connecting the playback device 200 to an external audio amplifier or audio-visual receiver.", "In one example, the processor 202 may be a clock-driven computing component configured to process input data according to instructions stored in the memory 206.The memory 206 may be a tangible computer-readable medium configured to store instructions executable by the processor 202.For instance, the memory 206 may be data storage that can be loaded with one or more of the software components 204 executable by the processor 202 to achieve certain functions.", "In one example, the functions may involve the playback device 200 retrieving audio data from an audio source or another playback device.", "In another example, the functions may involve the playback device 200 sending audio data to another device or playback device on a network.", "In yet another example, the functions may involve pairing of the playback device 200 with one or more playback devices to create a multi-channel audio environment.", "Certain functions may involve the playback device 200 synchronizing playback of audio content with one or more other playback devices.", "During synchronous playback, a listener will preferably not be able to perceive time-delay differences between playback of the audio content by the playback device 200 and the one or more other playback devices.", "U.S. Pat.", "No.", "8,234,395 entitled, “System and method for synchronizing operations among a plurality of independently clocked digital data processing devices,” which is hereby incorporated by reference, provides in more detail some examples for audio playback synchronization among playback devices.", "The memory 206 may further be configured to store data associated with the playback device 200, such as one or more zones and/or zone groups the playback device 200 is a part of, audio sources accessible by the playback device 200, or a playback queue that the playback device 200 (or some other playback device) may be associated with.", "The data may be stored as one or more state variables that are periodically updated and used to describe the state of the playback device 200.The memory 206 may also include the data associated with the state of the other devices of the media system, and shared from time to time among the devices so that one or more of the devices have the most recent data associated with the system.", "Other embodiments are also possible.", "The audio processing components 208 may include one or more digital-to-analog converters (DAC), an audio preprocessing component, an audio enhancement component or a digital signal processor (DSP), and so on.", "In one embodiment, one or more of the audio processing components 208 may be a subcomponent of the processor 202.In one example, audio content may be processed and/or intentionally altered by the audio processing components 208 to produce audio signals.", "The produced audio signals may then be provided to the audio amplifier(s) 210 for amplification and playback through speaker(s) 212.Particularly, the audio amplifier(s) 210 may include devices configured to amplify audio signals to a level for driving one or more of the speakers 212.The speaker(s) 212 may include an individual transducer (e.g., a “driver”) or a complete speaker system involving an enclosure with one or more drivers.", "A particular driver of the speaker(s) 212 may include, for example, a subwoofer (e.g., for low frequencies), a mid-range driver (e.g., for middle frequencies), and/or a tweeter (e.g., for high frequencies).", "In some cases, each transducer in the one or more speakers 212 may be driven by an individual corresponding audio amplifier of the audio amplifier(s) 210.In addition to producing analog signals for playback by the playback device 200, the audio processing components 208 may be configured to process audio content to be sent to one or more other playback devices for playback.", "Audio content to be processed and/or played back by the playback device 200 may be received from an external source, such as via an audio line-in input connection (e.g., an auto-detecting 3.5 mm audio line-in connection) or the network interface 214.The network interface 214 may be configured to facilitate a data flow between the playback device 200 and one or more other devices on a data network.", "As such, the playback device 200 may be configured to receive audio content over the data network from one or more other playback devices in communication with the playback device 200, network devices within a local area network, or audio content sources over a wide area network such as the Internet.", "In one example, the audio content and other signals transmitted and received by the playback device 200 may be transmitted in the form of digital packet data containing an Internet Protocol (IP)-based source address and IP-based destination addresses.", "In such a case, the network interface 214 may be configured to parse the digital packet data such that the data destined for the playback device 200 is properly received and processed by the playback device 200.As shown, the network interface 214 may include wireless interface(s) 216 and wired interface(s) 218.The wireless interface(s) 216 may provide network interface functions for the playback device 200 to wirelessly communicate with other devices (e.g., other playback device(s), speaker(s), receiver(s), network device(s), control device(s) within a data network the playback device 200 is associated with) in accordance with a communication protocol (e.g., any wireless standard including IEEE 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n, 802.11ac, 802.15, 4G mobile communication standard, and so on).", "The wired interface(s) 218 may provide network interface functions for the playback device 200 to communicate over a wired connection with other devices in accordance with a communication protocol (e.g., IEEE 802.3).", "While the network interface 214 shown in FIG.", "2 includes both wireless interface(s) 216 and wired interface(s) 218, the network interface 214 may in some embodiments include only wireless interface(s) or only wired interface(s).", "The microphone 220 may be arranged to detect sound in the environment of the playback device 200.For instance, the microphone may be mounted on an exterior wall of a housing of the playback device.", "The microphone may be any type of microphone now known or later developed such as a condenser microphone, electret condenser microphone, or a dynamic microphone.", "The microphone may be sensitive to a portion of the frequency range of the speaker(s) 220.One or more of the speaker(s) 220 may operate in reverse as the microphone 220.In one example, the playback device 200 and one other playback device may be paired to play two separate audio components of audio content.", "For instance, playback device 200 may be configured to play a left channel audio component, while the other playback device may be configured to play a right channel audio component, thereby producing or enhancing a stereo effect of the audio content.", "The paired playback devices (also referred to as “bonded playback devices”) may further play audio content in synchrony with other playback devices.", "In another example, the playback device 200 may be sonically consolidated with one or more other playback devices to form a single, consolidated playback device.", "A consolidated playback device may be configured to process and reproduce sound differently than an unconsolidated playback device or playback devices that are paired, because a consolidated playback device may have additional speaker drivers through which audio content may be rendered.", "For instance, if the playback device 200 is a playback device designed to render low frequency range audio content (i.e.", "a subwoofer), the playback device 200 may be consolidated with a playback device designed to render full frequency range audio content.", "In such a case, the full frequency range playback device, when consolidated with the low frequency playback device 200, may be configured to render only the mid and high frequency components of audio content, while the low frequency range playback device 200 renders the low frequency component of the audio content.", "The consolidated playback device may further be paired with a single playback device or yet another consolidated playback device.", "By way of illustration, SONOS, Inc. presently offers (or has offered) for sale certain playback devices including a “PLAY:1,” “PLAY:3,” “PLAY:5,” “PLAYBAR,” “CONNECT:AMP,” “CONNECT,” and “SUB.” Any other past, present, and/or future playback devices may additionally or alternatively be used to implement the playback devices of example embodiments disclosed herein.", "Additionally, it is understood that a playback device is not limited to the example illustrated in FIG.", "2 or to the SONOS product offerings.", "For example, a playback device may include a wired or wireless headphone.", "In another example, a playback device may include or interact with a docking station for personal mobile media playback devices.", "In yet another example, a playback device may be integral to another device or component such as a television, a lighting fixture, or some other device for indoor or outdoor use.", "b.", "Example Playback Zone Configurations Referring back to the media playback system 100 of FIG.", "1, the environment may have one or more playback zones, each with one or more playback devices.", "The media playback system 100 may be established with one or more playback zones, after which one or more zones may be added, or removed to arrive at the example configuration shown in FIG.", "1.Each zone may be given a name according to a different room or space such as an office, bathroom, master bedroom, bedroom, kitchen, dining room, living room, and/or balcony.", "In one case, a single playback zone may include multiple rooms or spaces.", "In another case, a single room or space may include multiple playback zones.", "As shown in FIG.", "1, the balcony, dining room, kitchen, bathroom, office, and bedroom zones each have one playback device, while the living room and master bedroom zones each have multiple playback devices.", "In the living room zone, playback devices 104, 106, 108, and 110 may be configured to play audio content in synchrony as individual playback devices, as one or more bonded playback devices, as one or more consolidated playback devices, or any combination thereof.", "Similarly, in the case of the master bedroom, playback devices 122 and 124 may be configured to play audio content in synchrony as individual playback devices, as a bonded playback device, or as a consolidated playback device.", "In one example, one or more playback zones in the environment of FIG.", "1 may each be playing different audio content.", "For instance, the user may be grilling in the balcony zone and listening to hip hop music being played by the playback device 102 while another user may be preparing food in the kitchen zone and listening to classical music being played by the playback device 114.In another example, a playback zone may play the same audio content in synchrony with another playback zone.", "For instance, the user may be in the office zone where the playback device 118 is playing the same rock music that is being playing by playback device 102 in the balcony zone.", "In such a case, playback devices 102 and 118 may be playing the rock music in synchrony such that the user may seamlessly (or at least substantially seamlessly) enjoy the audio content that is being played out-loud while moving between different playback zones.", "Synchronization among playback zones may be achieved in a manner similar to that of synchronization among playback devices, as described in previously referenced U.S. Pat.", "No.", "8,234,395.As suggested above, the zone configurations of the media playback system 100 may be dynamically modified, and in some embodiments, the media playback system 100 supports numerous configurations.", "For instance, if a user physically moves one or more playback devices to or from a zone, the media playback system 100 may be reconfigured to accommodate the change(s).", "For instance, if the user physically moves the playback device 102 from the balcony zone to the office zone, the office zone may now include both the playback device 118 and the playback device 102.The playback device 102 may be paired or grouped with the office zone and/or renamed if so desired via a control device such as the control devices 126 and 128.On the other hand, if the one or more playback devices are moved to a particular area in the home environment that is not already a playback zone, a new playback zone may be created for the particular area.", "Further, different playback zones of the media playback system 100 may be dynamically combined into zone groups or split up into individual playback zones.", "For instance, the dining room zone and the kitchen zone 114 may be combined into a zone group for a dinner party such that playback devices 112 and 114 may render audio content in synchrony.", "On the other hand, the living room zone may be split into a television zone including playback device 104, and a listening zone including playback devices 106, 108, and 110, if the user wishes to listen to music in the living room space while another user wishes to watch television.", "c. Example Control Devices FIG.", "3 shows a functional block diagram of an example control device 300 that may be configured to be one or both of the control devices 126 and 128 of the media playback system 100.As shown, the control device 300 may include a processor 302, memory 304, a network interface 306, and a user interface 308.In one example, the control device 300 may be a dedicated controller for the media playback system 100.In another example, the control device 300 may be a network device on which media playback system controller application software may be installed, such as for example, an iPhone™, iPad™ or any other smart phone, tablet or network device (e.g., a networked computer such as a PC or Mac™).", "The processor 302 may be configured to perform functions relevant to facilitating user access, control, and configuration of the media playback system 100.The memory 304 may be configured to store instructions executable by the processor 302 to perform those functions.", "The memory 304 may also be configured to store the media playback system controller application software and other data associated with the media playback system 100 and the user.", "In one example, the network interface 306 may be based on an industry standard (e.g., infrared, radio, wired standards including IEEE 802.3, wireless standards including IEEE 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n, 802.11ac, 802.15, 4G mobile communication standard, and so on).", "The network interface 306 may provide a means for the control device 300 to communicate with other devices in the media playback system 100.In one example, data and information (e.g., such as a state variable) may be communicated between control device 300 and other devices via the network interface 306.For instance, playback zone and zone group configurations in the media playback system 100 may be received by the control device 300 from a playback device or another network device, or transmitted by the control device 300 to another playback device or network device via the network interface 306.In some cases, the other network device may be another control device.", "Playback device control commands such as volume control and audio playback control may also be communicated from the control device 300 to a playback device via the network interface 306.As suggested above, changes to configurations of the media playback system 100 may also be performed by a user using the control device 300.The configuration changes may include adding/removing one or more playback devices to/from a zone, adding/removing one or more zones to/from a zone group, forming a bonded or consolidated player, separating one or more playback devices from a bonded or consolidated player, among others.", "Accordingly, the control device 300 may sometimes be referred to as a controller, whether the control device 300 is a dedicated controller or a network device on which media playback system controller application software is installed.", "The user interface 308 of the control device 300 may be configured to facilitate user access and control of the media playback system 100, by providing a controller interface such as the controller interface 400 shown in FIG.", "4.The controller interface 400 includes a playback control region 410, a playback zone region 420, a playback status region 430, a playback queue region 440, and an audio content sources region 450.The user interface 400 as shown is just one example of a user interface that may be provided on a network device such as the control device 300 of FIG.", "3 (and/or the control devices 126 and 128 of FIG.", "1) and accessed by users to control a media playback system such as the media playback system 100.Other user interfaces of varying formats, styles, and interactive sequences may alternatively be implemented on one or more network devices to provide comparable control access to a media playback system.", "The playback control region 410 may include selectable (e.g., by way of touch or by using a cursor) icons to cause playback devices in a selected playback zone or zone group to play or pause, fast forward, rewind, skip to next, skip to previous, enter/exit shuffle mode, enter/exit repeat mode, enter/exit cross fade mode.", "The playback control region 410 may also include selectable icons to modify equalization settings, and playback volume, among other possibilities.", "The playback zone region 420 may include representations of playback zones within the media playback system 100.In some embodiments, the graphical representations of playback zones may be selectable to bring up additional selectable icons to manage or configure the playback zones in the media playback system, such as a creation of bonded zones, creation of zone groups, separation of zone groups, and renaming of zone groups, among other possibilities.", "For example, as shown, a “group” icon may be provided within each of the graphical representations of playback zones.", "The “group” icon provided within a graphical representation of a particular zone may be selectable to bring up options to select one or more other zones in the media playback system to be grouped with the particular zone.", "Once grouped, playback devices in the zones that have been grouped with the particular zone will be configured to play audio content in synchrony with the playback device(s) in the particular zone.", "Analogously, a “group” icon may be provided within a graphical representation of a zone group.", "In this case, the “group” icon may be selectable to bring up options to deselect one or more zones in the zone group to be removed from the zone group.", "Other interactions and implementations for grouping and ungrouping zones via a user interface such as the user interface 400 are also possible.", "The representations of playback zones in the playback zone region 420 may be dynamically updated as playback zone or zone group configurations are modified.", "The playback status region 430 may include graphical representations of audio content that is presently being played, previously played, or scheduled to play next in the selected playback zone or zone group.", "The selected playback zone or zone group may be visually distinguished on the user interface, such as within the playback zone region 420 and/or the playback status region 430.The graphical representations may include track title, artist name, album name, album year, track length, and other relevant information that may be useful for the user to know when controlling the media playback system via the user interface 400.The playback queue region 440 may include graphical representations of audio content in a playback queue associated with the selected playback zone or zone group.", "In some embodiments, each playback zone or zone group may be associated with a playback queue containing information corresponding to zero or more audio items for playback by the playback zone or zone group.", "For instance, each audio item in the playback queue may comprise a uniform resource identifier (URI), a uniform resource locator (URL) or some other identifier that may be used by a playback device in the playback zone or zone group to find and/or retrieve the audio item from a local audio content source or a networked audio content source, possibly for playback by the playback device.", "In one example, a playlist may be added to a playback queue, in which case information corresponding to each audio item in the playlist may be added to the playback queue.", "In another example, audio items in a playback queue may be saved as a playlist.", "In a further example, a playback queue may be empty, or populated but “not in use” when the playback zone or zone group is playing continuously streaming audio content, such as Internet radio that may continue to play until otherwise stopped, rather than discrete audio items that have playback durations.", "In an alternative embodiment, a playback queue can include Internet radio and/or other streaming audio content items and be “in use” when the playback zone or zone group is playing those items.", "Other examples are also possible.", "When playback zones or zone groups are “grouped” or “ungrouped,” playback queues associated with the affected playback zones or zone groups may be cleared or re-associated.", "For example, if a first playback zone including a first playback queue is grouped with a second playback zone including a second playback queue, the established zone group may have an associated playback queue that is initially empty, that contains audio items from the first playback queue (such as if the second playback zone was added to the first playback zone), that contains audio items from the second playback queue (such as if the first playback zone was added to the second playback zone), or a combination of audio items from both the first and second playback queues.", "Subsequently, if the established zone group is ungrouped, the resulting first playback zone may be re-associated with the previous first playback queue, or be associated with a new playback queue that is empty or contains audio items from the playback queue associated with the established zone group before the established zone group was ungrouped.", "Similarly, the resulting second playback zone may be re-associated with the previous second playback queue, or be associated with a new playback queue that is empty, or contains audio items from the playback queue associated with the established zone group before the established zone group was ungrouped.", "Other examples are also possible.", "Referring back to the user interface 400 of FIG.", "4, the graphical representations of audio content in the playback queue region 440 may include track titles, artist names, track lengths, and other relevant information associated with the audio content in the playback queue.", "In one example, graphical representations of audio content may be selectable to bring up additional selectable icons to manage and/or manipulate the playback queue and/or audio content represented in the playback queue.", "For instance, a represented audio content may be removed from the playback queue, moved to a different position within the playback queue, or selected to be played immediately, or after any currently playing audio content, among other possibilities.", "A playback queue associated with a playback zone or zone group may be stored in a memory on one or more playback devices in the playback zone or zone group, on a playback device that is not in the playback zone or zone group, and/or some other designated device.", "The audio content sources region 450 may include graphical representations of selectable audio content sources from which audio content may be retrieved and played by the selected playback zone or zone group.", "Discussions pertaining to audio content sources may be found in the following section.", "d. Example Audio Content Sources As indicated previously, one or more playback devices in a zone or zone group may be configured to retrieve for playback audio content (e.g.", "according to a corresponding URI or URL for the audio content) from a variety of available audio content sources.", "In one example, audio content may be retrieved by a playback device directly from a corresponding audio content source (e.g., a line-in connection).", "In another example, audio content may be provided to a playback device over a network via one or more other playback devices or network devices.", "Example audio content sources may include a memory of one or more playback devices in a media playback system such as the media playback system 100 of FIG.", "1, local music libraries on one or more network devices (such as a control device, a network-enabled personal computer, or a networked-attached storage (NAS), for example), streaming audio services providing audio content via the Internet (e.g., the cloud), or audio sources connected to the media playback system via a line-in input connection on a playback device or network devise, among other possibilities.", "In some embodiments, audio content sources may be regularly added or removed from a media playback system such as the media playback system 100 of FIG.", "1.In one example, an indexing of audio items may be performed whenever one or more audio content sources are added, removed or updated.", "Indexing of audio items may involve scanning for identifiable audio items in all folders/directory shared over a network accessible by playback devices in the media playback system, and generating or updating an audio content database containing metadata (e.g., title, artist, album, track length, among others) and other associated information, such as a URI or URL for each identifiable audio item found.", "Other examples for managing and maintaining audio content sources may also be possible.", "The above discussions relating to playback devices, controller devices, playback zone configurations, and media content sources provide only some examples of operating environments within which functions and methods described below may be implemented.", "Other operating environments and configurations of media playback systems, playback devices, and network devices not explicitly described herein may also be applicable and suitable for implementation of the functions and methods.", "III.", "Example Method for Adjusting Equalization Based on Environment As discussed above, embodiments described herein may involve dynamically adjusting the equalization of a playback device based on the environment in which the playback device is operating.", "Method 500 shown in FIG.", "5 presents an embodiment of a method that can be implemented within an operating environment involving, for example, the media playback system 100 of FIG.", "1, one or more of the playback device 200 of FIG.", "2, and one or more of the control device 300 of FIG.", "3.Method 500 may include one or more operations, functions, or actions as illustrated by one or more of blocks 502-510.Although the blocks are illustrated in sequential order, these blocks may also be performed in parallel, and/or in a different order than those described herein.", "Also, the various blocks may be combined into fewer blocks, divided into additional blocks, and/or removed based upon the desired implementation.", "In addition, for the method 500 and other processes and methods disclosed herein, the flowchart shows functionality and operation of one possible implementation of present embodiments.", "In this regard, each block may represent a module, a segment, or a portion of program code, which includes one or more instructions executable by a processor for implementing specific logical functions or steps in the process.", "The program code may be stored on any type of computer readable medium, for example, such as a storage device including a disk or hard drive.", "The computer readable medium may include non-transitory computer readable medium, for example, such as computer-readable media that stores data for short periods of time like register memory, processor cache and Random Access Memory (RAM).", "The computer readable medium may also include non-transitory media, such as secondary or persistent long term storage, like read only memory (ROM), optical or magnetic disks, compact-disc read only memory (CD-ROM), for example.", "The computer readable media may also be any other volatile or non-volatile storage systems.", "The computer readable medium may be considered a computer readable storage medium, for example, or a tangible storage device.", "In addition, for the method 500 and other processes and methods disclosed herein, each block in FIG.", "5 may represent circuitry that is wired to perform the specific logical functions in the process.", "a. Emitting a First Audio Signal from a Playback Device.", "At block 502, the playback device emits a first audio signal from the playback device.", "For instance, playback device 200 of FIG.", "2 may output the first audio signal from speaker(s) 212.The first audio signal may take a variety of different forms.", "For instance, the first audio signal may include a pulse.", "Such a pulse may be a recording of a brief audio pulse that approximates an audio impulse signal.", "Some examples include recordings of an electric spark, a starter pistol shot, or the bursting of a balloon.", "In some examples, the first audio signal may include a signal that varies over frequency, such as a logarithmic chirp, a sine sweep, a pink noise signal, or a maximum length sequence.", "Such signals may be chosen for relatively broader-range coverage of the frequency spectrum or for other reasons.", "The first audio signal may involve other types of audio signals as well.", "The first audio signal may have a particular waveform.", "For instance, the waveform may correspond to any of these example audio signals described above, such as, an electric spark, a starter pistol shot, or the bursting of a balloon.", "Such a waveform may be represented digitally, such as in an array of data points (i.e.", "samples) representing the changes in sound pressure over time.", "The waveform of the first audio signal may be referred to as the first waveform.", "The playback device may store the first audio signal as a recording.", "Then, when emitting the first audio signal, the playback device may playback the recording.", "The recording may take a variety of audio file formats, such as a waveform audio file format (WAV) or an MPEG-2 audio layer III (MP3), among other examples.", "Alternatively, the playback device may dynamically generate the first audio signal.", "For instance, the playback device may generate a signal that varies over frequency according to a mathematical equation.", "Other examples are possible as well.", "The playback device may emit the first audio signal at a particular sound pressure level (i.e.", "magnitude).", "The particular sound pressure level may reflect the peak magnitude of the first audio signal.", "For instance, the playback device may emit a pulse signal having a peak magnitude of 60 dB (with reference to 20 μPa).", "The sound pressure level may be configurable.", "For instance, user input to playback device 200 (or a controller thereof, such as network device 300) may configure the sound pressure of the first audio signal at a particular sound pressure level.", "Alternatively, the sound pressure level may be pre-determined.", "The playback device may emit the first audio signal in response to a trigger.", "Further, the trigger may cause the playback device to carry out additional functions of the present method.", "For instance, user input to playback device 200 (or a controller thereof, such as network device 300) may trigger playback device 200 to carry out the present method to adjust the equalization of the playback device.", "As another example, movement of the playback device (i.e.", "a change of positioning or in location) may trigger the playback device 200 to carry out the present method.", "The playback device may detect such a movement via an accelerometer.", "Other types of triggers are possible as well.", "As described above, the playback device may be arranged as part of a media playback system that may include a plurality of playback devices.", "Each playback device of the media playback system may emit a respective first audio signal.", "Further, each playback device may perform one or more of the functions described below.", "For instance, each playback device may emit a respective first audio signal, detect a respective second audio signal, determine one or more respective reflection characteristics, adjust an equalization setting, and cause an audio track to play.", "In one instance, a media playback system may include a first playback device and a second playback device.", "The first playback device may emit the first audio signal and then detect the second audio signal (as discussed below).", "In addition, the second playback device may emit a third audio signal.", "The third audio signal may take a variety of forms, including, for instance, any of the example audio signals described above in relation to the first audio signal.", "In some embodiments, the second playback device may emit the third audio signal in response to receiving an instruction, from the first playback device, to emit the third audio signal.", "Alternatively, the second playback device may receive the instruction from a controller.", "Other examples are possible as well.", "b. Detecting, by the Playback Device, a Second Audio Signal.", "At block 504, the playback device detects, by a microphone, a second audio signal.", "A portion of the second audio signal may be a reflection of the first audio signal.", "For instance, playback device 200 may emit the first audio signal, the first audio signal may reflect off of one or more objects (collectively these reflections may be referred to as reverberation), and microphone 220 may detect these reflections as the second audio signal.", "Another portion of the second audio signal may be a direct propagation of the first audio signal.", "The microphone may be communicatively coupled to the processor.", "For instance, microphone 220 may be coupled to an analog input of processor 202 of playback device 200.Alternatively, microphone 220 may be coupled to an analog-to-digital converter that is coupled, in turn, to processor 202.Other arrangements are possible as well.", "Detecting the second audio signal may involve recording the second audio signal.", "For instance, processor 202 may record the second audio signal and then store the second audio signal in memory 206.Processor 202 may begin recording when the speaker emits the first audio signal.", "Alternatively, processor 202 may begin recording before or after the speaker emits the first audio signal such that reflections of the first audio signal may be detected by the microphone.", "The recording may be represented digitally, such as in an array of data points (i.e.", "samples) representing the changes in sound pressure over time.", "Further, the second audio signal may have a waveform that may be referred to as the second waveform.", "In some circumstances, the second audio signal may include environmental noise.", "In some circumstances, significant environmental noise within the second audio signal may interfere with or otherwise affect determining the one or more reflection characteristics.", "For instance, environmental noise may mask or degrade the first audio signal, which may cause the playback device to determine one or more reflection characteristics that may not accurately reflect the environment because of the degradation caused by the environmental noise.", "Further, in some circumstances, an aspect of the environmental noise may be incorrectly detected as the first audio signal.", "While the second audio signal may include, as one portion, some background noise, the intention is that at least a portion of the second audio signal is the reflection of the first audio signal.", "Accordingly, to reduce the possible effects of environmental noise, detecting the second audio signal may involve determining that the portion of the second audio signal is the reflection of the first audio signal based on the first waveform and the second waveform.", "For instance, the processor 202 may determine a difference between the first waveform and the second waveform by comparing the two waveforms.", "The playback device may then determine that the difference is less than a threshold which may indicate that the portion of the second audio signal is the reflection of the first audio signal.", "The threshold may be set such that a particular degree of similarity between the first waveform and the second waveform indicates that the portion of the second audio signal is a reflection of the first audio signal.", "Alternatively, several characteristics of the first waveform, such as the magnitude and duration, may be predetermined.", "The playback device may determine the same characteristics of the second waveform and compare the characteristics to determine that the portion of the second audio signal is the reflection of the first audio signal.", "As another example, the playback device may perform a deconvolution determination using the first audio signal and the second audio signal.", "Some embodiments may involve repeating the process described herein to reduce any effect caused by noise in a particular iteration.", "The processor may determine the sound pressure level (i.e.", "magnitude) of the second audio signal.", "The sound pressure level of the second audio signal may be determined at each point along the waveform of the second audio signal or the sound pressure level may be determined at a subset of points, such as at the point having peak magnitude.", "For instance, the processor may determine that the second audio signal has a peak magnitude of 50 dB.", "In some embodiments, the speaker and microphone may be physically coupled.", "For instance, a housing may contain both the speaker and the microphone.", "Further, the housing may additionally contain one or more other components of the playback device, such as a processor, a memory, a network interface, an audio amplifier(s), and/or various audio processing components.", "Therefore, in one embodiment, playback device 200 may include, within the same housing, processor 202, software components 204, memory 206, audio processing components 208, audio amplifier(s) 210, speaker(s) 212, a network interface 214 including wireless interface(s) 216 and wired interface(s) 218 and a microphone 220.The housing may be a speaker cabinet.", "Other arrangements are possible as well.", "As noted above, in some embodiments, the playback device may be arranged as part of a media playback system that includes two or more playback devices.", "In such embodiments, the playback device may detect audio signals emitted by other playback devices (as an alternative to or in addition to detecting the second audio signal).", "Referring to the example media playback system above that includes the first playback device and the second playback device, after the second playback device emits a third audio signal, the first playback device may detect the third audio signal and/or reflections thereof as a fourth audio signal.", "In some embodiments, the first playback device may then determine that at least a portion of the fourth audio signal is the third audio signal (or a reflection thereof) using, for example, any of the techniques described above.", "Detecting audio signals emitted by other playback devices may include functions similar to those of detecting the second audio signal.", "Further, devices within the media playback system may exchange messages to coordinate the functions described herein.", "For instance, as noted above, a first playback device may trigger a second playback device to emit a third audio signal.", "As another example, the second playback device may send an indication of the third audio signal to the first playback device.", "The indication may assist the first playback device in determining that a portion of the fourth audio signal is the third audio signal (or a reflection thereof), for example.", "Alternatively, receiving the indication may trigger the first playback device to start listening for an audio signal from the second playback device.", "In some embodiments, the first media playback may detect a plurality of audio signals.", "For instance, the plurality of audio signals may include a reflection of a signal emitted by the first playback device.", "The plurality of audio signals may also include signals (or reflections thereof) emitted by other playback devices within the media playback system.", "Other examples are possible as well.", "c. Determining One or More Reflection Characteristics.", "At block 506, the playback device determines one or more reflection characteristics.", "Each of the one or more reflection characteristics may indicate an aspect of the environment surrounding the playback device.", "For instance, one reflection characteristic may indicate that the playback device is inside, or that the playback device is outside.", "The reflection characteristic may also indicate a relative size of the room that the playback device is currently located within.", "Another reflection characteristic may indicate the amount of sound absorbing material in the environment.", "A third reflection characteristic may indicate one or more resonant frequencies of the environment.", "Many examples are possible.", "In some embodiments, each of the one or more reflection characteristics may be based on at least the second audio signal.", "For instance, the processor 202 may determine one or more reflection characteristics based on the recording of the second audio signal.", "The one or more reflection characteristics may be further based on the first audio signal such as in a comparison of the second audio signal to the first audio signal.", "One of the one or more reflection characteristics may be an amount of time elapsed from emitting the first audio signal to detecting the second audio signal.", "For instance, the processor 202 may assign to the first audio signal a first timestamp at the time of emitting the first audio signal and may further assign to the second audio signal a second time stamp at the time of detecting the second audio signal.", "The processor 202 may then determine a difference between the second time stamp and the first time stamp.", "Since each of the first audio signal and the second audio signal may be emitted and detected, respectively, over a duration of time, the time stamp may be assigned to a particular point in each of the first audio signal and the second audio signal.", "For instance, the time stamp may be assigned to the respective peaks of the first and second audio signals.", "The reflection characteristic may be a qualitative characteristic.", "For instance, the qualitative characteristic may describe different types of operating environments, such as a “small room,” a “large room,” or “outdoors.” The qualitative characteristic may be based upon a quantitative value, such as an amount of time elapsed from emitting the first signal to detecting the second audio signal.", "For example, the playback device may determine the qualitative characteristic (e.g.", "“small room,” “large room,” or “outdoors”) based on a range of values for the amount of time elapsed from emitting the first signal.", "For example, an amount of time elapsed from emitting the first signal to detecting the second audio signal of 15-20 milliseconds (ms) may indicate a “small room,” 20-30 ms may indicate a “large room,” and an amount of time greater than 30 ms may indicate “outdoors.” The qualitative characteristics may describe additional features of the room.", "For instance, the qualitative characteristic may describe a number of objects within the room.", "Alternatively, the qualitative characteristic may further describe the shape of the room.", "For example, a qualitative characteristic may indicate “high ceilings” in a “small room” or that the room is relatively much longer than it is wide (i.e.", "the room is long and narrow).", "One or more of the reflection characteristics may relate to a frequency response of a system that includes the playback device and the environment surrounding the playback device.", "Such a frequency response may be determined based on the emitted first audio signal and detected second audio signal.", "In particular, the first audio signal (i.e.", "the stimulus) may excite the system.", "The detected second audio signal then represents the response of the system in the time domain.", "The playback device may then determine the frequency response by transforming the time domain response to the frequency domain, such as by determining a Laplace transform on the second audio signal, or the portion thereof that is a reflection of the first audio signal.", "In some embodiments, determining the Laplace transform may involve determining, by the processor 202, a fast Fourier transform (FFT), such as when the second audio signal is represented as discrete data points.", "While the FFT is provided by way of example, alternative transformations, such as a Hilbert transform, may be determined as well.", "The determined frequency response of the system may indicate aspects of the environment.", "For instance, the processor 202 may determine that the bass frequencies within the frequency response are attenuated relative to the mid and/or treble frequencies, which may indicate that the playback device is outdoors.", "As another example, the processor 202 may determine that the frequency response has one or more resonant frequencies (which may be caused by the room or objects therein), which may be indicated by one or more peaks and/or one or more valleys.", "In addition, the number of peaks and valleys may indicate a degree of irregularity of the environment (i.e.", "a number of objects within the environment and/or an irregularity of the arrangement of the walls).", "Within examples, one of the one or more reflection characteristics may relate to a variance between the frequency response of the system and an “ideal” frequency response of the playback device.", "For instance, the reflection characteristic may be a difference between the “ideal” frequency response and the frequency response of the system.", "In some embodiments, the reflection characteristic may be a difference between the ideal frequency response and the current frequency response at a particular frequency range, such as bass, mid, or treble frequencies.", "Determining the difference between the “ideal” frequency response and the current frequency response may involve, for each frequency response, integrating the respective frequency response over frequency for a portion of the frequency range.", "For instance, the processor 202 may integrate each frequency response over bass frequencies (e.g.", "16 to 512 Hz).", "The processor 202 may then determine a difference between the integrated frequencies.", "The “ideal” frequency response may be a frequency response of the playback device in a particular configuration.", "Further, the ideal frequency response may not be truly ideal, but rather an approximation of a playback device that is operating as designed.", "For instance, the “ideal” frequency response may be a frequency response of the playback device as determined in open space.", "Alternatively, the “ideal” frequency response may be a frequency response determined in an anechoic chamber.", "Further, the “ideal” frequency response of the playback device may be an approximation of a factory configured frequency response.", "For instance, the “ideal” frequency response may be a typical or average frequency response of playback devices of a particular type produced by a manufacturer.", "In another embodiment, the playback device may determine the “ideal” frequency response as an aspect of a set-up procedure.", "For example, during the set-up procedure, a user of the playback device may be instructed to place the playback device in a particular arrangement so that the playback device may determine a frequency response.", "The particular arrangement may be, for instance, in the center of a room, among other examples.", "FIG.", "7 shows an illustrative plot of a frequency response of a playback device in a small room.", "Frequency response 702 shows the frequency response without an adjusted equalization setting.", "In a small room, the frequency response tends to have more peaks and valleys at bass frequencies, as shown, because bass frequencies may resonate more in a smaller room.", "Frequency response 704 shows the frequency response after an equalization setting for the small room has been applied.", "Compared to frequency response 702, the peaks and valleys are attenuated in frequency response 704, as shown.", "One or more of the reflection characteristics may relate to an impulse response.", "For instance, an impulse response may indicate one or more reflections of the first audio signal.", "The impulse response may also indicate characteristics of the reflections, such as an amount of time elapsed between two reflections.", "FIGS.", "8A-8C show example impulse responses of a playback device.", "FIG.", "8A shows an example impulse response of a playback device in (relatively) open space.", "After the initial excitation, the impulse response does not show a reflection, which may indicate that the playback device is outdoors, for example.", "FIG.", "8B shows another example impulse response of a playback device that is near a wall.", "As shown in FIG.", "8B, this impulse response includes a reflection of the impulse (near 8.6 ms), which may indicate the presence of a wall.", "FIG.", "8C shows yet another example impulse response of a playback device.", "As shown in FIG.", "8C, the impulse response includes two similar reflections of the impulse (near 8.6 ms and 12 ms).", "Such similarity may indicate that the two similar reflections are each off of the same wall.", "As noted above, in some examples, the first media playback may detect a plurality of audio signals including audio signals emitted by the first media playback and/or audio signals emitted by other playback devices within the media playback system.", "In some embodiments, the playback device may determine one or more reflection characteristics for each of the detected audio signals (or a portion thereof).", "Alternatively, a reflection characteristic may be based on two or more audio signals in the plurality of detected audio signals.", "Other examples are possible as well.", "Referring back to the example media playback system that include the first playback device and the second playback device, after detecting the fourth audio signal, the first playback device may then determine one or more reflection characteristics based on the fourth audio signal.", "Determining the one or more reflection characteristics based on the fourth audio signal may involve, for instance, any of the techniques described above for determining one or more reflection characteristics based on the second audio signal as discussed above.", "While characteristics of detected audio signals have been referred to herein as reflection characteristics, in some embodiments, the audio signals may be detected before a reflection occurs.", "For instance, as noted above, an audio signal may propagate directly, such as from a first playback device to a second playback device.", "d. Adjusting an Equalization Setting of the Playback Device Based on the One or More Reflection Characteristics.", "At block 508, the playback device adjusts an equalization setting of the playback device based on the one or more reflection characteristics.", "For instance, one or more of the audio processing components 208 may be configured to alter the frequency response of the playback device.", "Specifically, the one or more audio components 208 may include one or more filters.", "When audio content passes through the one or more filters, the amplitude of certain frequencies (or frequency ranges) may be increased.", "The amplitude of other frequencies (or frequency ranges) may be decreased.", "Alternatively, the processor 202 may be configured to alter the frequency response of the playback device.", "The processor 202 may, for example, apply digital signal processing, such as a digital filter, to audio content.", "As noted above, one of the one or more reflections characteristics may indicate a frequency or frequency range.", "The playback device may adjust an equalization setting based on the frequency or frequency range.", "For instance, if the reflection characteristic indicates bass frequencies are attenuated, the equalization setting may boost bass frequencies (as noted above, 16-512 Hz).", "Alternatively, if a particular frequency, such as (2 kHz) is a peak or a valley, the equalization may responsively attenuate or boost that frequency.", "Adjusting the equalization setting may involve disabling a speaker of the playback device.", "For instance, the processor 202 may disable the a speaker 212 when the one or more reflection characteristics indicate that the listening experience may be improved by disabling the speaker.", "For example, an object in close proximity to the front of the speaker may cause distortion, such as muffling, of audio outputted by the speaker.", "Due to the distortion, the listening experience may be improved by disabling the speaker.", "In such a circumstance, one or more particular reflection characteristics may indicate that the first audio signal reflected off a close object, such as an object within 10 centimeters of the playback device.", "Alternatively, the one or more particular reflection characteristics may indicate that the frequency response of the playback device is distorted by the object.", "Within examples, adjusting the equalization setting may involve selecting a particular equalization preset from a plurality of equalization presets based on at least one of the one or more reflection characteristics.", "Some of the equalization presets may be pre-determined.", "For example, each of the plurality of equalization presets may be a respective bass gain setting.", "For instance, a “small room” equalization preset may be pre-determined to attenuate bass frequencies.", "As another example, an “outdoors” equalization preset may be pre-determined to boost bass frequencies.", "The playback device may then adjust the equalization setting according to the selected particular equalization preset.", "e. Causing an Audio Track to Play According to the Adjusted Equalization Setting.", "In some embodiments, the playback device may perform block 510.At block 510, the playback device may cause an audio track to play according to the adjusted equalization setting.", "For instance, the playback device may provide the audio track to the audio processing components 208, which may be adjusted based on the equalization setting.", "The audio processing components 208 may alter frequency components of the audio track according to the equalization setting.", "The audio amplifier 210 may then amplify the signal which may cause the speaker(s) 212 to emit the audio track.", "f. Sending to a Second Media Playback Device an Indication of the Reflection Characteristic In some embodiments, the playback device may perform block 512.At block 512, the playback device may send to a second media playback device an indication of the reflection characteristic.", "Playback devices of the media playback system may share their one or more respective reflection characteristics with the other playback devices in the media playback system.", "In some configurations, a particular playback device may share its one or more reflection characteristics with all of the playback devices in the media playback system.", "In other configurations, the particular playback device may share with a subset of playback devices.", "For example, the particular playback device may be grouped into a zone with three other playback devices, and the particular playback device may share its one or more reflection characteristics with the three other playback devices in its zone.", "For instance, referring to FIG.", "1, playback device 104 may send a particular reflection characteristic to playback devices 106, 108, and 110 that are grouped with playback device 104 into a zone.", "In turn, each of playback devices 106, 108, and 110 may receive the particular reflection characteristic.", "Playback devices 106, 108, and 110 may then send a respective particular reflection characteristic to playback device 104 and to each of the other playback devices in the zone.", "Each of the playback devices may send and/or receive reflection characteristics via a respective network interface, such as network interface 214 in FIG.", "2.In some circumstances, the playback device may adjust the equalization setting based on determined reflection characteristics from other playback devices within the media playback system.", "For instance, a particular playback device may adjust its equalization setting based on reflection characteristics from other playback devices grouped with the particular playback device in a zone.", "Basing the equalization setting on reflection characteristics from other playback devices may result in an equalization setting that is more appropriate for the environment.", "For example, FIG.", "6 shows an example configuration of a media playback system 100 that includes playback devices 602 and 604 that are grouped into a zone.", "Playback devices 602 and 604 may each emit a respective first audio signal, detect a respective second audio signal, and then determine a respective reflection characteristic that indicates the size of the room.", "Further, playback devices 602 and 604 may exchange respective reflection characteristics by sending and receiving the reflection characteristics over respective network interfaces.", "The reflection characteristic determined by playback device 602 may indicate a smaller room than the reflection characteristic determined by playback device 604 because of the relative difference in how far the each emitted first audio signal travels before coming into contact with a respective wall that reflects the first audio signal, as shown.", "If playback devices 602 and 604 each base their respective equalization setting on their own respective reflection characteristic, then playback device 602 may adjust the equalization to a setting that is appropriate for a small room, while playback device 604 may adjust the equalization to a setting that is appropriate for a large room.", "In some circumstances, this difference in relative configurations may result in a mismatch in the frequency responses between playback device 602 and 604, which may worsen the listening experience for some users (yet, in other circumstances, this difference may be minor and may not have a significant impact on the listening experiences of users).", "However, as noted above, playback devices 602 and 604 may adjust the equalization setting based on determined reflection characteristics from one another.", "For instance, playback devices 602 and 604 may each average their determined reflection characteristic with the determined reflection characteristic of the other playback device.", "In this manner, the resulting adjusted equalization setting for each of playback devices 602 and 604 may be somewhere between that of a large room and a small room.", "Within examples, each playback device of a media playback system may share its adjusted equalization setting with the other playback devices in the media playback system, such as by sending the adjusted equalization setting to other playback devices in the media playback system.", "In turn, one or more of the other playback devices may adjust their equalization setting based on the received equalization settings.", "For instance, a first playback device and a second playback device that are grouped into a zone may each send to one another their respective adjusted equalization setting.", "Then, each of the first and second playback devices may adjust their respective equalization setting based on the received equalization setting.", "For example, the first playback device may determine that a particular one of the two adjusted equalization settings from either the first playback device or the second playback device is preferable for the environment.", "The first playback device may then (i) adjust its equalization setting based on the particular one of the two adjusted equalization settings and/or (ii) instruct the second playback device to adjust its equalization setting based on the particular one of the two adjusted equalization settings.", "IV.", "Conclusion The description above discloses, among other things, various example systems, methods, apparatus, and articles of manufacture including, among other components, firmware and/or software executed on hardware.", "It is understood that such examples are merely illustrative and should not be considered as limiting.", "For example, it is contemplated that any or all of the firmware, hardware, and/or software aspects or components can be embodied exclusively in hardware, exclusively in software, exclusively in firmware, or in any combination of hardware, software, and/or firmware.", "Accordingly, the examples provided are not the only way(s) to implement such systems, methods, apparatus, and/or articles of manufacture.", "As indicated above, the present application involves dynamically adjusting the equalization of a playback device based on the environment in which the playback device is operating.", "In one aspect, a method is provided.", "The method involves emitting, by a playback device, a first audio signal, detecting, by the playback device, a second audio signal, wherein at least a portion of the second audio signal is a reflection of the first audio signal, in response to the detecting, determining one or more reflection characteristics, wherein each of the one or more reflection characteristics are based on at least the second audio signal, adjusting an equalization setting of the playback device based on the one or more reflection characteristics; and causing an audio track to play according to the adjusted equalization setting.", "In another aspect, a second method is provided.", "The second method is operable in a media playback system comprising a plurality of playback devices, wherein each playback device comprises a respective microphone and a respective speaker.", "The second method involves receiving an indication of a first audio signal, detecting, by a microphone of the first playback device, a second audio signal, wherein at least a portion of the second audio signal is indicative of the first audio signal, in response to the detecting, determining a first reflection characteristic based on the second audio signal, adjusting an equalization setting of the first playback device based on at least the first reflection characteristic, and sending to a second media playback device an indication of the first reflection characteristic.", "In another aspect, a device is provided.", "The device includes a speaker, a microphone that is physically coupled to the speaker, a processor, a network interface, a data storage, and a program logic stored in the data storage.", "The program logic is executable by the processor to emit a first audio signal from the speaker, detect, via the microphone, a second audio signal, wherein at least a portion of the second audio signal is a reflection of the first audio signal, in response to the detecting, determine a first reflection characteristic based on at least the second audio signal, adjust an equalization setting of the playback device based on at least the first reflection characteristic, and play, via the speaker, an audio track according to the equalization setting.", "In yet another aspect, a non-transitory computer readable memory is provided.", "The non-transitory computer readable memory has stored thereon instructions executable by a computing device to cause the computing device to perform functions.", "The functions include emitting, by a playback device, a first audio signal, detecting, by the playback device, a second audio signal, wherein at least a portion of the second audio signal is a reflection of the first audio signal, in response to the detecting, determining one or more reflection characteristics, wherein each of the one or more reflection characteristics are based on at least the second audio signal, adjusting an equalization setting of the playback device based on the one or more reflection characteristics; and causing an audio track to play according to the adjusted equalization setting.", "Additionally, references herein to “embodiment” means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment can be included in at least one example embodiment of an invention.", "The appearances of this phrase in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment, nor are separate or alternative embodiments mutually exclusive of other embodiments.", "As such, the embodiments described herein, explicitly and implicitly understood by one skilled in the art, can be combined with other embodiments.", "The specification is presented largely in terms of illustrative environments, systems, procedures, steps, logic blocks, processing, and other symbolic representations that directly or indirectly resemble the operations of data processing devices coupled to networks.", "These process descriptions and representations are typically used by those skilled in the art to most effectively convey the substance of their work to others skilled in the art.", "Numerous specific details are set forth to provide a thorough understanding of the present disclosure.", "However, it is understood to those skilled in the art that certain embodiments of the present disclosure can be practiced without certain, specific details.", "In other instances, well known methods, procedures, components, and circuitry have not been described in detail to avoid unnecessarily obscuring aspects of the embodiments.", "Accordingly, the scope of the present disclosure is defined by the appended claims rather than the forgoing description of embodiments.", "When any of the appended claims are read to cover a purely software and/or firmware implementation, at least one of the elements in at least one example is hereby expressly defined to include a tangible, non-transitory medium such as a memory, DVD, CD, Blu-ray, and so on, storing the software and/or firmware." ] ]
Patent_15872979
[ [ "Configuring a New Playback Device for a Bonded Zone", "Systems, methods, apparatus, and articles of manufacture to facilitate configuration and naming of a multimedia playback device on a local playback network are disclosed.", "An example method includes identifying and analyzing local network topology to identify playback device(s) connected to the network at location(s).", "The example method includes analyzing a playback device to be added and comparing the playback device to be added to the playback device(s) already connected to the network.", "The example method includes displaying available option(s) to name the playback device to be added based on the analysis of the network, the already connected playback device(s) and the playback device to be added to the network.", "The example method includes naming the playback device to be added based on a selected available option." ], [ "1.A computing device comprising: one or more processors; and memory having stored thereon instructions executable by the one or more processors to cause the computing device to perform functions comprising: receiving from a first playback device that is not configured for a multimedia playback system, a message indicating (i) the first playback device is available to join the multimedia playback system and (ii) one or more characteristics of the first playback device; receiving information indicating (i) a playback zone in the multimedia playback system, (ii) a second playback device in the playback zone, and (iii) one or more characteristics of the second playback device; based on the one or more characteristics of the first playback device and the one or more characteristics of the second playback device, determining that the first playback device is compatible to join the playback zone as a part of a bonded zone with the second playback device; displaying on a user interface, a graphical representation selectable to configure the first playback device for the multimedia playback system as a part of the bonded zone with the second playback device; and based on a selection of the graphical representation, configuring the first playback device and the second playback device as a bonded zone in the multimedia playback system.", "2.The computing device of claim 1, wherein the functions further comprise: receiving via the user interface, an input to cause the bonded zone to playback audio content; and transmitting to at least one of the first playback device and second playback device, a message indicating a uniform resource locator corresponding to the audio content to cause the first playback device and second playback device to playback the audio content as a bonded zone.", "3.The computing device of claim 1, wherein configuring the first playback device and the second playback device as a bonded zone comprises: configuring the first playback device to playback one of a left or right channel component of audio content; and configuring the second playback device to playback the other of the left or right channel component of audio content.", "4.The computing device of claim 1, wherein configuring the first playback device and the second playback device as a bonded zone comprises: configuring the first playback device to playback a first frequency range of audio content; and configuring the second playback device to playback a second frequency range of audio content, wherein the second frequency range of audio content is different from the first frequency range of audio content.", "5.The computing device of claim 1, wherein the functions further comprise: receiving information indicating (i) a third playback device in the playback zone with the second playback device, and (ii) one or more characteristics of the third playback device; wherein determining that the first playback device is compatible to join the playback zone as a part of a bonded zone with the second playback device further comprises: determining that the first playback device is compatible to join the playback zone as a part of a bonded zone with the second playback device and third device based on (i) the one or more characteristics of the first playback device, (ii) the one or more characteristics of the second playback device, and (iii) the one or more characteristics of the third device.", "6.The computing device of claim 1, wherein the information indicating the playback zone in the multimedia playback system further indicates a name of the playback zone, and wherein configuring the first playback device and the second playback device as a bonded zone in the multimedia playback system comprises: naming the bonded zone based on the name of the playback zone.", "7.The computing device of claim 1, wherein configuring the first playback device and the second playback device as a bonded zone in the multimedia playback system comprises: configuring the first playback device and second playback device to adjust volume levels together in response to commands to adjust volume levels of the bonded zone.", "8.The computing device of claim 1, wherein the graphical representation is a first graphical representation, and wherein the functions further comprise: displaying on a user interface, a second graphical representation selectable to configure the first playback device for a new playback zone in the multimedia playback system.", "9.A tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon instructions executable by a computing device to perform functions comprising: receiving from a first playback device that is not configured for a multimedia playback system, a message indicating (i) the first playback device is available to join the multimedia playback system and (ii) one or more characteristics of the first playback device; receiving information indicating (i) a playback zone in the multimedia playback system, (ii) a second playback device in the playback zone, and (iii) one or more characteristics of the second playback device; based on the one or more characteristics of the first playback device and the one or more characteristics of the second playback device, determining that the first playback device is compatible to join the playback zone as a part of a bonded zone with the second playback device; displaying on a user interface, a graphical representation selectable to configure the first playback device for the multimedia playback system as a part of the bonded zone with the second playback device; and based on a selection of the graphical representation, configuring the first playback device and the second playback device as a bonded zone in the multimedia playback system.", "10.The tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 9, wherein the functions further comprise: receiving via the user interface, an input to cause the bonded zone to playback audio content; and transmitting to at least one of the first playback device and second playback device, a message indicating a uniform resource locator corresponding to the audio content to cause the first playback device and second playback device to playback the audio content as a bonded zone.", "11.The tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 9, wherein configuring the first playback device and the second playback device as a bonded zone comprises: configuring the first playback device to playback one of a left or right channel component of audio content; and configuring the second playback device to playback the other of the left or right channel component of audio content.", "12.The tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 9, wherein configuring the first playback device and the second playback device as a bonded zone comprises: configuring the first playback device to playback a first frequency range of audio content; and configuring the second playback device to playback a second frequency range of audio content, wherein the second frequency range of audio content is different from the first frequency range of audio content.", "13.The tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 9, wherein the functions further comprise: receiving information indicating (i) a third playback device in the playback zone with the second playback device, and (ii) one or more characteristics of the third playback device; wherein determining that the first playback device is compatible to join the playback zone as a part of a bonded zone with the second playback device further comprises: determining that the first playback device is compatible to join the playback zone as a part of a bonded zone with the second playback device and third device based on (i) the one or more characteristics of the first playback device, (ii) the one or more characteristics of the second playback device, and (iii) the one or more characteristics of the third device.", "14.The tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 9, wherein the information indicating the playback zone in the multimedia playback system further indicates a name of the playback zone, and wherein configuring the first playback device and the second playback device as a bonded zone in the multimedia playback system comprises: naming the bonded zone based on the name of the playback zone.", "15.The tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 9, wherein configuring the first playback device and the second playback device as a bonded zone in the multimedia playback system comprises: configuring the first playback device and second playback device to adjust volume levels together in response to commands to adjust volume levels of the bonded zone.", "16.The tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 9, wherein the graphical representation is a first graphical representation, and wherein the functions further comprise: displaying on a user interface, a second graphical representation selectable to configure the first playback device for a new playback zone in the multimedia playback system.", "17.A method comprising: receiving by a computing device from a first playback device that is not configured for a multimedia playback system, a message indicating (i) the first playback device is available to join the multimedia playback system and (ii) one or more characteristics of the first playback device; receiving by the computing device, information indicating (i) a playback zone in the multimedia playback system, (ii) a second playback device in the playback zone, and (iii) one or more characteristics of the second playback device; based on the one or more characteristics of the first playback device and the one or more characteristics of the second playback device, determining by the computing device that the first playback device is compatible to join the playback zone as a part of a bonded zone with the second playback device; displaying by the computing device on a user interface, a graphical representation selectable to configure the first playback device for the multimedia playback system as a part of the bonded zone with the second playback device; and based on a selection of the graphical representation, configuring by the computing device, the first playback device and the second playback device as a bonded zone in the multimedia playback system.", "18.The method of claim 17, wherein configuring the first playback device and the second playback device as a bonded zone comprises: configuring by the computing device, the first playback device to playback one of a left or right channel component of audio content; and configuring by the computing device, the second playback device to playback the other of the left or right channel component of audio content.", "19.The method of claim 17, wherein configuring the first playback device and the second playback device as a bonded zone comprises: configuring, by the computing device, the first playback device to playback a first frequency range of audio content; and configuring, by the computing device, the second playback device to playback a second frequency range of audio content, wherein the second frequency range of audio content is different from the first frequency range of audio content.", "20.The method of claim 17, wherein the information indicating the playback zone in the multimedia playback system further indicates a name of the playback zone, and wherein configuring the first playback device and the second playback device as a bonded zone in the multimedia playback system comprises: naming, by the computing device, the bonded zone based on the name of the playback zone." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND <EOH>Technological advancements have increased the accessibility of music content, as well as other types of media, such as television content, movies, and interactive content.", "For example, a user can access audio, video, or both audio and video content over the Internet through an online store, an Internet radio station, an online music service, an online movie service, and the like, in addition to the more traditional avenues of accessing audio and video content.", "Demand for such audio and video content continues to surge.", "Given the high demand, technology used to access and play such content has likewise improved.", "Local playback networks can be configured with one or more playback devices to access and play such audio and video content." ], [ "<SOH> BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS <EOH>Features, aspects, and advantages of the presently disclosed technology are better understood with regard to the following description, appended claims, and accompanying drawings where: FIG.", "1 shows an illustration of an example system in which embodiments of the methods and apparatus disclosed herein can be implemented; FIG.", "2A shows an illustration of an example zone player having a built-in amplifier and speakers; FIG.", "2B shows an illustration of an example zone player having a built-in amplifier and connected to external speakers; FIG.", "2C shows an illustration of an example zone player connected to an A/V receiver and speakers; FIG.", "3 shows an illustration of an example controller; FIG.", "4 shows an internal functional block diagram of an example zone player; FIG.", "5 shows an internal functional block diagram of an example controller; FIG.", "6 shows an example ad-hoc playback network; and FIGS.", "7-9 show flow diagrams of example methods to identify or name a playback device in a playback network.", "detailed-description description=\"Detailed Description\" end=\"lead\"?", "In addition, the drawings are for the purpose of illustrating example embodiments, but it is understood that the present disclosure is not limited to the arrangements and instrumentality shown in the drawings." ], [ "CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS The present application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser.", "No.", "15/090,153, filed on Apr.", "4, 2016, and currently pending, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser.", "No.", "13/341,245 filed Dec. 30, 2011, and issued as U.S. Pat.", "No.", "9,344,292.The entire contents of the Ser.", "Nos.", "15/090,153 and 13/341,245 applications are incorporated herein by reference.", "FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE The disclosure is related to consumer electronics and, more particularly, to identifying one or more devices on a playback data network.", "BACKGROUND Technological advancements have increased the accessibility of music content, as well as other types of media, such as television content, movies, and interactive content.", "For example, a user can access audio, video, or both audio and video content over the Internet through an online store, an Internet radio station, an online music service, an online movie service, and the like, in addition to the more traditional avenues of accessing audio and video content.", "Demand for such audio and video content continues to surge.", "Given the high demand, technology used to access and play such content has likewise improved.", "Local playback networks can be configured with one or more playback devices to access and play such audio and video content.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Features, aspects, and advantages of the presently disclosed technology are better understood with regard to the following description, appended claims, and accompanying drawings where: FIG.", "1 shows an illustration of an example system in which embodiments of the methods and apparatus disclosed herein can be implemented; FIG.", "2A shows an illustration of an example zone player having a built-in amplifier and speakers; FIG.", "2B shows an illustration of an example zone player having a built-in amplifier and connected to external speakers; FIG.", "2C shows an illustration of an example zone player connected to an A/V receiver and speakers; FIG.", "3 shows an illustration of an example controller; FIG.", "4 shows an internal functional block diagram of an example zone player; FIG.", "5 shows an internal functional block diagram of an example controller; FIG.", "6 shows an example ad-hoc playback network; and FIGS.", "7-9 show flow diagrams of example methods to identify or name a playback device in a playback network.", "In addition, the drawings are for the purpose of illustrating example embodiments, but it is understood that the present disclosure is not limited to the arrangements and instrumentality shown in the drawings.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION I. Overview Wired or wireless networks can be used to connect one or more multimedia playback devices for a home or other location playback network (e.g., a home music system).", "Certain examples provide automatic configuration of parameters of a playback device to be coupled to a network with reduced or minimum human intervention.", "For example, a wired and/or wireless ad-hoc network is established to facilitate communications among a group of devices.", "Devices and/or groups of devices (also referred to herein as zones) can be associated with a name, identifier, group of names, group identifier, and so on.", "Certain embodiments provide simplicity, modularity, and control of a multimedia playback network.", "Certain embodiments provide various options for a user to add and/or name a new player and/or zone to a multimedia playback system regardless of a number of different configuration options that exist due to the flexible/modular nature of the multimedia system.", "In certain examples, a user can start with one device and expand via one or more configuration options.", "In certain examples, playback devices can be paired to each other, grouped, and/or added to a zone.", "Such a zone having more than one player may be referred to as a bonded zone.", "In certain embodiments, certain input made by the user and/or the environment in which the playback device resides helps drill down the name and/or use of the player and/or zone.", "Although the following discloses example systems, methods, apparatus, and articles of manufacture including, among other components, firmware and/or software executed on hardware, it should be noted that such systems, methods, apparatus, and/or articles of manufacture are merely illustrative and should not be considered as limiting.", "For example, it is contemplated that any or all of these firmware, hardware, and/or software components could be embodied exclusively in hardware, exclusively in software, exclusively in firmware, or in any combination of hardware, software, and/or firmware.", "Accordingly, while the following describes example systems, methods, apparatus, and/or articles of manufacture, the examples provided are not the only way(s) to implement such systems, methods, apparatus, and/or articles of manufacture.", "When any of the appended claims are read to cover a purely software and/or firmware implementation, at least one of the elements in at least one example is hereby expressly defined to include a tangible medium such as a memory, DVD, CD, Blu-ray, and so on, storing the software and/or firmware.", "Reference herein to “embodiment” means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment can be included in at least one example embodiment of the invention.", "The appearances of this phrase in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment, nor are separate or alternative embodiments mutually exclusive of other embodiments.", "As such, the embodiments described herein, explicitly and implicitly understood by one skilled in the art, can be combined with other embodiments.", "Certain embodiments provide a method to identify a device connected to a playback network.", "The example method includes identifying and analyzing a local playback network topology to identify one or more playback devices connected to the network at one or more locations.", "The example method includes analyzing a playback device to be added to the network and comparing the playback device to be added to the one or more playback devices already connected to the network.", "The example method includes displaying one or more available options to name the playback device to be added based on the analysis of the network, the one or more already connected playback devices and the playback device to be added to the network.", "The example method includes naming the playback device to be added to the network based on a selected available option.", "The example method includes facilitating configuration of playback devices and the local playback network based on the name of the playback device being added to the network.", "Certain embodiments provide a computer readable storage medium including instructions for execution by a processor, the instructions, when executed, cause the processor to implement a method to identify a device connected to a playback network.", "The example method includes identifying and analyzing a local playback network topology to identify one or more playback devices connected to the network at one or more locations.", "The example method includes analyzing a playback device to be added to the network and comparing the playback device to be added to the one or more playback devices already connected to the network.", "The example method includes displaying one or more available options to name the playback device to be added based on the analysis of the network, the one or more already connected playback devices and the playback device to be added to the network.", "The example method includes naming the playback device to be added to the network based on a selected available option.", "The example method includes facilitating configuration of playback devices and the local playback network based on the name of the playback device being added to the network.", "Certain embodiments provide a system to configure one or more devices on a local playback network.", "The example system includes a processor and a memory, the memory storing instructions to be executed by the processor.", "The processor is configured to identify and analyze a local playback network topology to identify one or more playback devices connected to the network at one or more locations; and analyze a playback device to be added to the network and compare the playback device to be added to the one or more playback devices already connected to the network.", "The processor is configured to generate a user interface configured to display one or more available options to name the playback device to be added based on the analysis of the network, the one or more already connected playback devices and the playback device to be added to the network; facilitate naming of the playback device to be added to the network based on a selected available option; and facilitate configuration of playback devices and the local playback network based on the name of the playback device being added to the network.", "II.", "Example Environment Referring now to the drawings, in which like numerals can refer to like parts throughout the figures, FIG.", "1 shows an example system configuration 100 in which one or more of the method and/or apparatus disclosed herein can be practiced or implemented.", "By way of illustration, the system configuration 100 represents a home with multiple zones.", "Each zone, for example, represents a different room or space, such as an office, bathroom, bedroom, kitchen, dining room, family room, home theater room, utility or laundry room, and patio.", "While not shown here, a single zone can cover more than one room or space.", "One or more of zone players 102-124 are shown in each respective zone.", "A zone player 102-124, also referred to as a playback device, multimedia unit, speaker, and so on, provides audio, video, and/or audiovisual output.", "A controller 130 (e.g., shown in the kitchen for purposes of illustration) provides control to the system configuration 100.The system configuration 100 illustrates an example whole house audio system, though it is understood that the technology described herein is not limited to its particular place of application or to an expansive system like a whole house audio system 100 of FIG.", "1.FIGS.", "2A, 2B, and 2C show example illustrations of zone players 200-204.The zone players 200-204 of FIGS.", "2A, 2B, and 2C, respectively, can correspond to any of the zone players 102-124 of FIG.", "1.While certain embodiments provide multiple zone players, an audio output can be generated using only a single zone player.", "FIG.", "2A illustrates a zone player 200 including sound producing equipment 208 capable of generating sound or an audio output corresponding to a signal received (e.g., wirelessly and/or via a wired interface).", "The sound producing equipment 208 of the zone player 200 of FIG.", "2A includes a built-in amplifier (not shown in this illustration) and speakers (e.g., a tweeter, a mid-range driver, and/or a subwoofer.", "In certain embodiments, the zone player 200 of FIG.", "2A can be configured to play stereophonic audio or monaural audio.", "In some embodiments, the zone player 200 of FIG.", "2A can be configured as a component in a combination of zone players to play stereophonic audio, monaural audio, and/or surround audio.", "As described in greater detail below, in some embodiments, the example zone player 200 of FIG.", "2A can also transmit a second signal to, for example, other zone player(s) in the same or different zone(s), speaker(s), receiver(s), and so on.", "Transmission of the second signal can be part of, for example, a system in which multiple zone players, speakers, receivers, and so on, form a network to, for example, present media content in a synchronization or distributed manner.", "The example zone player 202 of FIG.", "2B includes a built-in amplifier (not shown in this illustration) to power a set of detached speakers 210.The speakers 210 of FIG.", "2B can include, for example, any type of loudspeaker.", "The zone player 202 of FIG.", "2B can communicate a signal corresponding to audio content to the detached speakers 210 via wired and/or wireless channels.", "Instead of receiving and generating audio content as in FIG.", "2A, the zone player 202 of FIG.", "2B receives the audio content and transmits the same (e.g., after processing the received signal) to the detached speakers 210.Similar to the example zone player 200 of FIG.", "2A, in some embodiments the zone player 202 can transmit a second signal to, for example, other zone player(s) in the same or different zone(s), speaker(s), receiver(s), and so on.", "The example zone player 204 of FIG.", "2C does not include an amplifier, but allows a receiver 214, or another audio and/or video type device with built-in amplification, to connect to a data network 128 of FIG.", "1 and to play audio received over the data network 128 via the receiver 214 and a set of detached speakers 216.In addition to the wired couplings shown in FIG.", "2C, the detached speakers 216 can receive audio content via a wireless communication channel between the detached speakers 216 and, for example, the zone player 204 and/or the receiver 214.In some embodiments the zone player 202 can transmit a second signal to, for example, other zone player(s) in the same or different zone(s), speaker(s), receiver(s), and so on.", "Example zone players include a “Sonos® S5,” “Sonos Play:5,” “Sonos Play:3,” “ZonePlayer 120,” and “ZonePlayer 90,” which are offered by Sonos, Inc. of Santa Barbara, Calif. Any other past, present, and/or future zone players can additionally or alternatively be used to implement the zone players of example embodiments disclosed herein.", "A zone player can also be referred to herein as a playback device, and a zone player is not limited to the particular examples illustrated in FIGS.", "2A, 2B, and 2C.", "For example, a zone player can include a wired or wireless headphone.", "In other examples, a zone player might include a subwoofer.", "In yet other examples, a zone player can include a sound bar.", "In an example, a zone player can include or interact with a docking station for an Apple iPod™ or similar device.", "In some embodiments, a zone player can relay one or more signals received from, for example, a first zone player to another playback device.", "In some embodiments, a zone player can receive a first signal and generate an output corresponding to the first signal and, simultaneously or separately, can receive a second signal and transmit or relay the second signal to another zone player(s), speaker(s), receiver(s), and so on.", "Thus, an example zone player described herein can act as a playback device and, at the same time, operate as a hub in a network of zone players.", "In such instances, media content corresponding to the first signal can be different from the media content corresponding to the second signal.", "FIG.", "3 shows an example illustration of a wireless controller 300 in a docking station 302.The controller 300 can correspond to the controlling device 130 of FIG.", "1.The controller 300 is provided with a touch screen 304 that allows a user to interact with the controller 300, for example, to retrieve and navigate a playlist of audio items, control operations of one or more zone players, and provide overall control of the system configuration 100.In certain embodiments, any number of controllers can be used to control the system configuration 100.In certain embodiments, there can be a limit on the number of controllers that can control the system configuration 100.The controllers might be wireless like wireless controller 300 or wired to the data network 128.Furthermore, an application running on any network-enabled portable devices, such as an iPhone™, iPad™, Android™ powered phone, or any other smart phone or network-enabled device can be used as a controller by connecting to the data network 128.An application running on a laptop or desktop PC or Mac can also be used as a controller.", "Example controllers include a “Sonos® Controller 200,” “Sonos® Controller for iPhone,” “Sonos® Controller for iPad,” “Sonos® Controller for Android, “Sonos® Controller for Mac or PC,” which are offered by Sonos, Inc. of Santa Barbara, Calif.", "The flexibility of such an application and its ability to be ported to a new type of portable device is advantageous.", "Referring back to the system configuration 100 of FIG.", "1, a particular zone can contain one or more zone players.", "For example, the family room of FIG.", "1 contains two zone players 106 and 108, while the kitchen is shown with one zone player 102.Zones can be dynamically configured by positioning a zone player in a room or space and assigning via the controller 130 the zone player to a new or existing zone.", "As such, zones can be created, combined with another zone, removed, and given a specific name (e.g., “Kitchen”), if so programmed.", "The zone players 102 to 124 are coupled directly or indirectly to a data network, such as the data network 128 shown in FIG.", "1.The data network 128 is represented by an octagon in the figure to stand out from other components shown in the figure.", "While the data network 128 is shown in a single location, it is understood that such a network can be distributed in and around the system configuration 100.Particularly, the data network 128 can be a wired network, a wireless network, or a combination of both.", "In some embodiments, one or more of the zone players 102-124 are wirelessly coupled to the data network 128 based on a proprietary mesh network.", "In some embodiments, one or more of the zone players 102-124 are wirelessly coupled to the data network 128 using a non-mesh topology.", "In some embodiments, one or more of the zone players 102-124 are coupled via a wire to the data network 128 using Ethernet or similar technology.", "In addition to the one or more zone players 102-124 connecting to the data network 128, the data network 128 can further allow access to a wide area network, such as the Internet.", "In certain embodiments, the data network 128 can be created by connecting any of the zone players 102-124, or some other connecting device, to a broadband router.", "Other zone players 102-124 can then be added wired or wirelessly to the data network 128.For example, a zone player (e.g., any of zone players 102-124) can be added to the system configuration 100 by simply pressing a button on the zone player itself, which enables a connection to be made to the data network 128.The broadband router can be connected to an Internet Service Provider (ISP), for example.", "The broadband router can be used to form another data network within the system configuration 100, which can be used in other applications (e.g., web surfing).", "The data network 128 can also be used in other applications, if so programmed.", "Further, in certain embodiments, the data network 128 is the same network used for other applications in the household.", "In certain embodiments, each zone can play from the same audio source as another zone or each zone can play from a different audio source.", "For example, someone can be grilling on the patio and listening to jazz music via zone player 124, while someone is preparing food in the kitchen and listening to classical music via zone player 102.Further, someone can be in the office listening to the same jazz music via zone player 110 that is playing on the patio via zone player 124.In some embodiments, the jazz music played via zone players 110 and 124 is played in synchrony.", "Synchronizing playback amongst zones allows for someone to pass through zones while seamlessly listening to the audio.", "Further, zones can be put into a “party mode” such that all associated zones will play audio in synchrony.", "In certain embodiments, a zone contains two or more zone players.", "For example, the family room contains two zone players 106 and 108, and the home theater room contains at least zone players 116, 118, and 120.A zone can be configured to contain as many zone players as desired, and for example, the home theater room might contain additional zone players to play audio from a 5.1 channel or greater audio source (e.g., a movie encoded with 5.1 or greater audio channels).", "If a zone contains two or more zone players, such as the two zone players 106 and 108 in the family room, then the two zone players 106 and 108 can be configured to play the same audio source in synchrony, or the two zone players 106 and 108 can be paired to play two separate sounds in left and right channels, for example.", "In other words, the stereo effects of a sound can be reproduced or enhanced through the two zone players 106 and 108, one for the left sound and the other for the right sound.", "In certain embodiments, paired zone players can play audio in synchrony with other zone players.", "In certain embodiments, three or more zone players can be configured to play various channels of audio that is encoded with three channels or more sound.", "For example, the home theater room shows zone players 116, 118, and 120.If the sound is encoded as 2.1 channel audio, then the zone player 116 can be configured to play left channel audio, the zone player 118 can be configured to play right channel audio, and the zone player 120 can be configured to play bass frequencies.", "Other configurations are possible and depend on the number of zone players and the type of audio.", "Further, a particular zone can be configured to play a 5.1 channel audio in one instance, such as when playing audio from a movie, and then dynamically switch to play stereo, such as when playing audio from a two channel source.", "In certain embodiments, two or more zone players can be sonically consolidated to form a single, consolidated zone player.", "A consolidated zone player (though made up of multiple, separate devices) can be configured to process and reproduce sound differently than an unconsolidated zone player or zone players that are paired, because a consolidated zone player will have additional speaker drivers from which sound can be passed.", "The consolidated zone player can further be paired with a single zone player or yet another consolidated zone player.", "Each playback device of a consolidated playback device is preferably set in a consolidated mode.", "According to some embodiments, one can continue to do any of: group, consolidate, and pair zone players, for example, until a desired configuration is complete.", "The actions of grouping, consolidation, and pairing are preferably performed through a control interface, such as using controller 130, and not by physically connecting and re-connecting speaker wire, for example, to individual, discrete speakers to create different configurations.", "As such, certain embodiments described herein provide a more flexible and dynamic platform through which sound reproduction can be offered to the end-user.", "Sources of audio content to be played by zone players 102-124 are numerous.", "Music from a personal library stored on a computer or networked-attached storage (NAS) can be accessed via the data network 128 and played.", "Internet radio stations, shows, and podcasts can be accessed via the data network 128.Music services that let a user stream and download music and audio content can be accessed via the data network 128.Further, music can be obtained from traditional sources, such as a turntable or CD player, via a line-in connection to a zone player, for example.", "Audio content can also be accessed through AirPlay™ wireless technology by Apple, Inc., for example.", "Audio content received from one or more sources can be shared amongst the zone players 102 to 124 via the data network 128 and/or the controller 130.The above-disclosed sources of audio content are referred to herein as network-based audio information sources.", "However, network-based audio information sources are not limited thereto.", "The example home theater zone players 116, 118, 120 are coupled to an audio information source such as a television 132.In some examples, the television 132 is used as a source of audio for the home theater zone players 116, 118, 120, while in other examples audio information from the television 132 can be shared with any of the zone players 102-124 in the audio system 100.III.", "Example Playback Device Referring now to FIG.", "4, there is shown an example functional block diagram of a zone player 400 in accordance with an embodiment.", "The zone player 400 of FIG.", "4 includes a network interface 402, a processor 408, a memory 410, an audio processing component 412, a module 414, an audio amplifier 416, and a speaker unit 418 coupled to the audio amplifier 416.FIG.", "2A shows an example illustration of such a zone player.", "Other types of zone players can not include the speaker unit 418 (e.g., such as shown in FIG.", "2B) or the audio amplifier 416 (e.g., such as shown in FIG.", "2C).", "Further, it is contemplated that the zone player 400 can be integrated into another component.", "For example, the zone player 400 could be constructed as part of a lamp for indoor or outdoor use.", "Referring back to FIG.", "4, the network interface 402 facilitates a data flow between zone players and other devices on a data network (e.g., the data network 128 of FIG.", "1) and the zone player 400.In some embodiments, the network interface 402 can manage the assembling of an audio source or file into smaller packets that are to be transmitted over the data network or reassembles received packets into the original source or file.", "In some embodiments, the network interface 402 can further handle the address part of each packet so that it gets to the right destination or intercepts packets destined for the zone player 400.Accordingly, in certain embodiments, each of the packets includes an Internet Protocol (IP)-based source address as well as an IP-based destination address.", "In some embodiments, the network interface 402 can include one or both of a wireless interface 404 and a wired interface 406.The wireless interface 404, also referred to as an RF interface, provides network interface functions for the zone player 400 to wirelessly communicate with other devices (e.g., other zone player(s), speaker(s), receiver(s), component(s) associated with the data network 128, and so on) in accordance with a communication protocol (e.g., any of the wireless standards IEEE 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n, or 802.15).", "To receive wireless signals and to provide the wireless signals to the wireless interface 404 and to transmit wireless signals, the zone player 400 of FIG.", "4 includes one or more antennas 420.The wired interface 406 provides network interface functions for the zone player 400 to communicate over a wire with other devices in accordance with a communication protocol (e.g., IEEE 802.3).", "In some embodiments, a zone player includes both of the interfaces 404 and 406.In some embodiments, a zone player 400 includes only the wireless interface 404 or the wired interface 406.In some embodiments, the processor 408 is a clock-driven electronic device that is configured to process input data according to instructions stored in memory 410.The memory 410 is data storage that can be loaded with one or more software modules 414, which can be executed by the processor 408 to achieve certain tasks.", "In the illustrated embodiment, the memory 410 is a tangible machine readable medium storing instructions that can be executed by the processor 408.In some embodiments, a task might be for the zone player 400 to retrieve audio data from another zone player or a device on a network.", "In some embodiments, a task might be for the zone player 400 to send audio data to another zone player or device on a network.", "In some embodiments, a task might be for the zone player 400 to synchronize playback of audio with one or more additional zone players.", "In some embodiments, a task might be to pair the zone player 400 with one or more zone players to create a multi-channel audio environment.", "Additional or alternative tasks can be achieved via the one or more software modules 414 and the processor 408.The audio processing component 412 can include one or more digital-to-analog converters (DAC), an audio preprocessing component, an audio enhancement component or a digital signal processor, and so on.", "In certain embodiments, the audio that is retrieved via the network interface 402 is processed and/or intentionally altered by the audio processing component 412.Further, the audio processing component 412 can produce analog audio signals.", "The processed analog audio signals are then provided to the audio amplifier 416 for play back through speakers 418.In addition, the audio processing component 412 can include necessary circuitry to process analog or digital signals as inputs to play from zone player 400, send to another zone player on a network, or both play and send to another zone player on the network.", "An example input includes a line-in connection (e.g., an auto-detecting 3.5 mm audio line-in connection).", "The audio amplifier 416 is a device that amplifies audio signals to a level for driving one or more speakers 418.The one or more speakers 418 can include an individual transducer (e.g., a “driver”) or a complete speaker system that includes an enclosure including one or more drivers.", "A particular driver can be a subwoofer (for low frequencies), a mid-range driver (middle frequencies), and a tweeter (high frequencies), for example.", "An enclosure can be sealed or ported, for example.", "A zone player 400 can also be referred to herein as a playback device.", "An example playback device includes a Sonos® Play:5, which is manufactured by Sonos, Inc. of Santa Barbara, Calif.", "The Play:5 is an example zone player with a built-in amplifier and speakers.", "In particular, the Play:5 is a five-driver speaker system that includes two tweeters, two mid-range drivers, and one subwoofer.", "When playing audio content via the Play:5, the left audio data of a track is sent out of the left tweeter and left mid-range driver, the right audio data of a track is sent out of the right tweeter and the right mid-range driver, and mono bass is sent out of the subwoofer.", "Further, both mid-range drivers and both tweeters have the same equalization (or substantially the same equalization).", "That is, they are both sent the same frequencies, just from different channels of audio.", "Audio from Internet radio stations, online music and video services, downloaded music, analog audio inputs, television, DVD, and so on, can be played from a Sonos® Play:5.While the Play:5 is an example of a zone player with speakers, it is understood that a zone player with speakers is not limited to one with a certain number of speakers (e.g., five speakers as in the Play:5), but rather can contain one or more speakers.", "Further, a zone player can be part of another device, which might even serve a purpose different than audio (e.g., a lamp).", "IV.", "Example Controller Referring now to FIG.", "5, there is shown an example controller 500, which can correspond to the controlling device 130 in FIG.", "1.The controller 500 can be used to facilitate the control of multi-media applications, automation and others in a system.", "In particular, the controller 500 is configured to facilitate a selection of a plurality of audio sources available on the network and enable control of one or more zone players (e.g., the zone players 102-124 in FIG.", "1) through a wireless network interface 508.According to one embodiment, the wireless communications is based on an industry standard (e.g., infrared, radio, wireless standards IEEE 802.11a, 802.11b 802.11g, 802.11n, or 802.15).", "Further, when a particular audio is being accessed via the controller 500 or being played via a zone player, a picture (e.g., album art) or any other data, associated with the audio source can be transmitted from a zone player or other electronic device to the controller 500 for display.", "The controller 500 is provided with a screen 502 and an input interface 514 that allows a user to interact with the controller 500, for example, to navigate a playlist of many multimedia items and to control operations of one or more zone players.", "The screen 502 on the controller 500 can be an LCD screen, for example.", "The screen 500 communicates with and is commanded by a screen driver 504 that is controlled by a microcontroller (e.g., a processor) 506.The memory 510 can be loaded with one or more application modules 512 that can be executed by the microcontroller 506 with or without a user input via the user interface 514 to achieve certain tasks.", "In some embodiments, an application module 512 is configured to facilitate grouping a number of selected zone players into a zone group and synchronizing the zone players for audio play back.", "In some embodiments, an application module 512 is configured to control the audio sounds (e.g., volume) of the zone players in a zone group.", "In operation, when the microcontroller 506 executes one or more of the application modules 512, the screen driver 504 generates control signals to drive the screen 502 to display an application specific user interface accordingly.", "The controller 500 includes a network interface 508 that facilitates wireless communication with a zone player.", "In some embodiments, the commands such as volume control and audio playback synchronization are sent via the network interface 508.In some embodiments, a saved zone group configuration is transmitted between a zone player and a controller via the network interface 508.The controller 500 can control one or more zone players, such as 102-124 of FIG.", "1.There can be more than one controller for a particular system.", "Further, a controller can be integrated into a zone player.", "It should be noted that other network-enabled devices such as an iPhone iPad or any other smart phone or network-enabled device (e.g., a networked computer such as a PC or Mac®) can also be used as a controller to interact or control zone players in a particular environment.", "In some embodiments, a software application or upgrade can be downloaded onto a network enabled device to perform the functions described herein.", "In certain embodiments, a user can create a zone group including at least two zone players from the controller 500.The zone players in the zone group can play audio in a synchronized fashion, such that all of the zone players in the zone group play back an identical audio source or a list of identical audio sources in a synchronized manner such that no (or substantially no) audible delays or hiccups could be heard.", "Similarly, in some embodiments, when a user increases the audio volume of the group from the controller 500, the signals or data of increasing the audio volume for the group are sent to one of the zone players and causes other zone players in the group to be increased together in volume.", "A user via the controller 500 can group zone players into a zone group by activating a “Link Zones” or “Add Zone” soft button, or de-grouping a zone group by activating an “Unlink Zones” or “Drop Zone” button.", "For example, one mechanism for ‘joining’ zone players together for audio play back is to link a number of zone players together to form a group.", "To link a number of zone players together, a user can manually link each zone player or room one after the other.", "For example, assume that there is a multi-zone system that includes the following zones: Bathroom, Bedroom, Den, Dining Room, Family Room, and Foyer.", "In certain embodiments, a user can link any number of the six zone players, for example, by starting with a single zone and then manually linking each zone to that zone.", "In certain embodiments, a set of zones can be dynamically linked together using a command to create a zone scene or theme (subsequent to first creating the zone scene).", "For instance, a “Morning” zone scene command can link the Bedroom, Office, and Kitchen zones together in one action.", "Without this single command, the user would need to manually and individually link each zone.", "The single command might include a mouse click, a double mouse click, a button press, a gesture, or some other programmed action.", "Other kinds of zone scenes can be programmed.", "In certain embodiments, a zone scene can be triggered based on time (e.g., an alarm clock function).", "For instance, a zone scene can be set to apply at 8:00 am.", "The system can link appropriate zones automatically, set specific music to play, and then stop the music after a defined duration.", "Although any particular zone can be triggered to an “On” or “Off” state based on time, for example, a zone scene enables any zone(s) linked to the scene to play a predefined audio (e.g., a favorable song, a predefined playlist) at a specific time and/or for a specific duration.", "If, for any reason, the scheduled music failed to be played (e.g., an empty playlist, no connection to a share, failed Universal Plug and Play (UPnP), no Internet connection for an Internet Radio station, and so on), a backup buzzer can be programmed to sound.", "The buzzer can include a sound file that is stored in a zone player, for example.", "V. Example Ad-Hoc Network Certain particular examples will now be provided in connection with FIGS.", "6-8B to describe, for purposes of illustration only, certain base systems and methods to provide and facilitate connection to a playback network.", "FIG.", "6 shows that there are three zone players 602, 604 and 606 and a controller 608 that form a network branch that is also referred to as an Ad-Hoc network 610.The network 610 may be wireless, wired, or a combination of wired and wireless.", "In general, an Ad-Hoc (or “spontaneous”) network is a local area network or other small network in which there is no one access point for all traffic.", "With an established Ad-Hoc network 610, the devices 602, 604, 606 and 608 can all communicate with each other in a “peer-to-peer” style of communication, for example.", "Furthermore, devices may come/and go from the network 610, and the network 610 will automatically reconfigure itself without needing the user to reconfigure the network 610.Using the Ad-Hoc network 610, the devices 602, 604, 606, and 608 can share or exchange one or more audio sources and be grouped to play the same or different audio sources.", "For example, the devices 602 and 604 are grouped to playback one piece of music, and at the same time, the device 606 plays back another piece of music.", "In other words, the devices 602, 604, 606 and 608, as shown in FIG.", "6, form a HOUSEHOLD that distributes audio and/or reproduces sound.", "As used herein, the term HOUSEHOLD (provided in uppercase letters to disambiguate from the user's domicile) is used to represent a collection of networked devices that are cooperating to provide an application or service.", "An instance of a HOUSEHOLD is identified with a household 10 (or household identifier).", "In certain embodiments, a household identifier (HHID) is a short string or an identifier that is computer-generated to help ensure that it is unique.", "Accordingly, the network 610 can be characterized by a unique HHID and a unique set of configuration variables or parameters, such as channels (e.g., respective frequency bands), SSID (a sequence of alphanumeric characters as a name of a wireless network), and WEP keys (wired equivalent privacy or other security keys).", "In certain embodiments, SSID is set to be the same as HHID.", "In certain embodiments, each HOUSEHOLD includes two types of network nodes: a control point (CP) and a zone player (ZP).", "The control point controls an overall network setup process and sequencing, including an automatic generation of required network parameters (e.g., WEP keys).", "In an embodiment, the CP also provides the user with a HOUSEHOLD configuration user interface.", "The CP function can be provided by a computer running a CP application module, or by a handheld controller (e.g., the controller 308) also running a CP application module, for example.", "The zone player is any other device on the network that is placed to participate in the automatic configuration process.", "The ZP, as a notation used herein, includes the controller 308 or a computing device, for example.", "In certain embodiments, configuration of a HOUSEHOLD involves multiple CPs and ZPs that rendezvous and establish a known configuration such that they can use a standard networking protocol (e.g., IP over Wired or Wireless Ethernet) for communication.", "In an embodiment, two types of networks/protocols are employed: Ethernet 802.3 and Wireless 802.11g.", "Interconnections between a CP and a ZP can use either of the networks/protocols.", "A device in the system as a member of a HOUSEHOLD can connect to both networks simultaneously.", "In an environment that has both networks in use, it is assumed that at least one device in a system is connected to both as a bridging device, thus providing bridging services between wired/wireless networks for others.", "The zone player 606 in FIG.", "6 is shown to be connected to both networks, for example.", "The connectivity to the network 612 is based on Ethernet while the connectivity to other devices 602, 604 and 608 is based on Wireless.", "It is understood, however, that in some embodiments each zone player 606, 604, 602 may access the Internet when retrieving media from the cloud (e.g., Internet) via the bridging device.", "For example, zone player 602 may contain a uniform resource locator (URL) that specifies an address to a particular audio track in the cloud.", "Using the URL, the zone player 602 may retrieve the audio track from the cloud, and ultimately play the audio out of one or more zone players.", "VI.", "Example Player/Zone Naming and Configuration Certain embodiments provide simplicity, modularity, and control of a multimedia playback network.", "Certain embodiments provide various options for a user to add and/or name a new player and/or zone to a multimedia playback system regardless of a number of different configuration options that exist due to the flexible/modular nature of the multimedia system.", "In certain examples, a user can start with one device and expand via one or more configuration options.", "In certain examples, playback devices can be paired to each other, grouped, and/or added to a zone.", "Such a zone having more than one player may be referred to as a bonded zone.", "In certain embodiments, certain input made by the user and/or the environment in which the playback device resides helps drill down the name and/or use of the player and/or zone.", "Certain embodiments provide an audio system including playback devices that can be paired with one another to form a stereo pair or a home theater pairing.", "Playback devices can be grouped to form larger components of speakers.", "Playback devices can be added to a zone and play the same as another player in the zone (such as one or more of zones 102-124 illustrated in FIG.", "1).", "A playback device (also referred to as a player) can be a subwoofer, and so on.", "Given this complex environment, there is no simple control mechanism to add a playback device to the system.", "When a playback device is added to a system, the user is provided with a choice of in which room to use the playback device.", "All available preset or “canned” room names are listed, but any names that currently in use to identify a room, zone, and so on, are replaced by similar names with numerical identifiers (e.g., Living Room 2), for example.", "In some embodiments, a list or set of available options for zone placement and/or zone name can be navigated (e.g., drilled down) and explored based on one or more criterion including a zone chosen, a type of playback device added, and what playback device(s) exist in that zone.", "For example, if an unused room name is selected, the new playback device is to be added as a standalone room.", "If a room name that is already being used by some other component(s) with which the new player cannot be integrated is selected, the new playback device is added as a standalone room with a numerical identifier (e.g., Living Room 2).", "For a wireless speaker device (e.g., a Sonos™ PLAY:1 or PLAY:3), for example, if a room is selected that corresponds to a home theater with no surround speakers (or with one surround speaker that matches the newly added player), the user has an option to set up the newly added player in the home theater.", "If the user declines that option, the newly added player is added as a standalone room with a numerical identifier (e.g., Living Room 2).", "For a wireless speaker device (e.g., a Sonos™ PLAY:1, PLAY:3 ,or PLAY:5), for example, if the user selects a room that corresponds to a single player that matches the newly added player, the user has an option to set up a stereo pair.", "If the user declines that option, the newly added player is added as a standalone room with a numerical identifier (e.g., Living Room 2).", "In certain embodiments, when a playback speaker device is added to the system (e.g., plugged in), the system recognizes what the speaker is (e.g., Play:1, Play:3, Play:5 and so on).", "Because the system can recognize what the player is, that information along with what room choice the user first chooses informs a subsequent workflow.", "In some embodiments, options zone placement/zone name can be drilled down or otherwise navigated by a user based on what compatible players are within earshot of the new player.", "For example, if a playback device is plugged in to a wall outlet for power, the system can then determine where the player resides in the household or area.", "If no existing players are within ear shot (e.g., approximately twenty feet), then the system can continue as discussed above (e.g., as a standalone room, standalone room with numerical identifier, home theater, stereo pair, and so on).", "However, if an existing player is within ear shot, then the system can drill down based on that information.", "For example, in a home theater context, if a sound bar has been added to the living room and now a speaker playback device (e.g., a Sonos™ Play:1) is added, the system can determine that the speaker device is within ear shot of the sound bar and is also compatible with the sound bar.", "Therefore, the interface can ask if the speaker device will be in the Living room and/or can ask if the speaker device will be a surround speaker to the sound bar and so on until the player is successfully added to the system.", "The iterative query process can simply and quickly allow the set up of the new player to the existing playback system.", "In certain embodiments, the system can determine whether a player is within ear shot based on network latency (e.g., ping players and look at response times to determine players that are close enough).", "The system can include a microphone that can also be used to send and receive audible or inaudible signals, infrared (IR), cameras, and so on.", "Certain embodiments prioritize or otherwise reorder options to place more likely room names/zones to the top of the list.", "For example, if a subwoofer is plugged in and is close to a speaker device (e.g., Sonos™ Play:3) stereo pair, then it is likely that the subwoofer will be paired with the stereo pair speakers.", "The room name where the stereo pair speakers reside can be listed at the top of the list versus asking the user if the subwoofer will be paired with the stereo pair speakers.", "In certain embodiments, the user is not asked for a location of a new playback device because location identification can be done automatically depending on pairing, for example.", "For instance, a subwoofer is added and paired to an existing speaker device (e.g., Sonos™ Play:3) stereo pair, and the subwoofer is auto added to the room with which the stereo pair speakers are already associated.", "In some embodiments, available options for zone placement can be drilled down or otherwise navigated based on what player is added and what compatible players already exist in the household.", "For example, a list of options may start with a zone that is a likely choice (e.g., a subwoofer is likely to join a satellite, a satellite is likely to join a soundbar, and so on).", "For example, if a player is a wireless speaker device (a Sonos™ Play:1, for example), which is typically a satellite speaker and a user plugs in the speaker device to get power, then the system may determine that a sound bar also exists in the household (in the Living room, for example).", "Then, the system can start with the Living Room (e.g., the system can ask the user if the Play:1™ is to be added as a satellite in the Living Room), or the Living Room option may be put on top of a list of rooms to select.", "In this embodiment, the system helps drill down where to place the player based on what the player is and based on what the user already has (e.g., not necessarily whether the player is within ear shot).", "In certain embodiments, if a user selects to pair the new player to an existing player, then the room is auto-populated with the name of as the same room in which the existing player is located.", "There is no need to enter the room name twice.", "In certain embodiments, the system can automatically identify a room name for a location of an added device (e.g., according to one or more examples described above.", "In certain embodiments, a user can override an automated system determination of location name.", "FIG.", "7 shows a flow diagram of a method 700 to identify or name a playback device in a playback network.", "At block 710, a set of available options for zone placement or zone name are displayed for user navigation.", "For example, a list of available zone (e.g., room) names is provided for a user to scroll through and select.", "At block 720, the set of options may be tailored based on one or more criterion including zone selected, type of playback device added, existing device(s) in the selected zone, and so on.", "In certain embodiments, the playback device may be automatically identified and used to tailor options for selection.", "At block 730, a new playback device can be added as a standalone zone (e.g., room).", "For example, if an unused room name is selected, a new zone player can be added as a standalone room.", "Alternatively, at block 740, a new playback device can be added as a standalone room with a numerical identifier.", "For example, if a selected room name is already in use but the added device is not integrated with existing component(s), then the device can be added as a Room Name Number (e.g., Living Room 2).", "FIG.", "8 shows a flow diagram of a method 800 to identify or name a playback device in a playback network.", "At block 810, a local network is analyzed to identify playback devices within a certain range of a new playback device location.", "For example, the local network is analyzed to identify existing devices on the network that are within earshot of the new device to be added.", "At block 820, if an existing device is within range of the new device, then, at block 830, compatibility of the new device with the existing device is determined.", "If the new device is compatible with the existing device, the new device location name can correspond to the existing device name (e.g., either exactly or Living Room 2 where the original device is Living Room 1, and so on).", "At block 840, if no existing devices are within range of the new device, then naming with respect to the new device continues as described above with respect to FIG.", "7.FIG.", "9 shows a flow diagram of a method 900 to identify or name a playback device in a playback network.", "At block 910, a playback network topology is retrieved to identify whether a new device is being paired with an existing device on the local playback network.", "At block 920, if the new device is being paired with an existing device, then the new device is named automatically based on the name of the existing device (and/or existing device location or zone).", "At block 930, if the new device is not being paired with an existing device, then likely names are automatically provided based on a type of device being added and existing compatible device(s) already on the local playback network.", "Options and/or a selected name can be auto-populated based on existing device(s) in the same location, for example.", "At block 940, a user can override an automatic or default selected name, for example.", "Various inventions have been described in sufficient detail with a certain degree of particularity.", "It is understood to those skilled in the art that the present disclosure of embodiments has been made by way of examples only and that numerous changes in the arrangement and combination of parts can be resorted without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure as claimed.", "While the embodiments discussed herein can appear to include some limitations as to the presentation of the information units, in terms of the format and arrangement, the embodiments have applicability well beyond such embodiment, which can be appreciated by those skilled in the art.", "Accordingly, the scope of the present disclosure is defined by the appended claims rather than the forgoing description of embodiments." ] ]
Patent_15872983
[ [ "CARD TRAY, METHOD FOR PREPARING CARD TRAY, AND MOBILE TERMINAL", "A card tray for holding a card in a mobile terminal, a method for preparing the card tray, and a mobile terminal are disclosed.", "The card tray includes a card tray base, a first insulation layer disposed on the card tray base, and a second insulation layer covering the first insulation layer.", "Hardness of the first insulation layer is higher than hardness of the second insulation layer.", "When inserting a card to a mobile terminal, burrs or sharp parts on the card may pierce the second insulation layer, whereas the first insulation layer can block the burrs or the sharp parts, preventing an insulation coating on the card tray base from being scratched." ], [ "1.A card tray, comprising: a card tray base, a first insulation layer at least partially disposed on the card tray base, and a second insulation layer disposed on the first insulation layer, wherein hardness of the first insulation layer is higher than hardness of the second insulation layer.", "2.The card tray according to claim 1, wherein the first insulation layer is an insulation coating comprising a diamond-like carbon material.", "3.The card tray according to claim 1, wherein the first insulation layer comprises a metallic base layer disposed on the card tray base, an intermediate layer disposed on the metallic base layer, and an insulation coating disposed on the intermediate layer, wherein the intermediate layer is a mixed layer of a metal and a chemical compound of the metal, and the insulation coating is a mixed layer of the metal, the chemical compound of the metal, and a diamond-like carbon material.", "4.The card tray according to claim 3, wherein in the insulation coating, content of the metal and the chemical compound of the metal is higher in a position closer to the intermediate layer, and content of the diamond-like carbon material is higher in a position farther away from the intermediate layer.", "5.The card tray according to claim 3, wherein the chemical compound of the metal in the intermediate layer and the insulation coating is a metal oxide, a metal nitride, a metal carbide, a metal sulfide, a metal boride, a metal oxynitride, a metal carbonitride, or a metal carbon oxynitride.", "6.The card tray according to claim 1, wherein the card tray base is made of one of the following: a metal material, a metal alloy material, a metal base composite material, or an inorganic non-metal material.", "7.The card tray according to claim 1, wherein a thickness of the first insulation layer is between 0.3 micrometer and 7 micrometers.", "8.The card tray according to claim 7, wherein a thickness of the second insulation layer is between 3 micrometers and 100 micrometers.", "9.The card tray according to claim 1, wherein a thickness of the first insulation layer is between 0.3 micrometer and 3 micrometers.", "10.The card tray according to claim 9, wherein a thickness of the second insulation layer is between 10 micrometers and 25 micrometers.", "11.The card tray according to claim 1, wherein the second insulation layer is a polymer coating.", "12.The card tray according to claim 11, wherein the polymer coating is one of the following: a polytetrafluorethylene coating, a paint coating, or an ink coating.", "13.A method for preparing a card tray, comprising: forming a first insulation layer on a card tray base; and forming a second insulation layer on the formed first insulation layer, wherein hardness of the first insulation layer is higher than hardness of the second insulation layer.", "14.The method according to claim 13, wherein forming the first insulation layer on the card tray base comprises: forming a metallic base layer on the card tray base; forming an intermediate layer on the metallic base layer; and forming an insulation coating on the intermediate layer, wherein the intermediate layer is a mixed layer of a metal and a chemical compound of the metal, and the insulation coating is a mixed layer of the metal, the chemical compound of the metal, and a diamond-like carbon material.", "15.The method according to claim 14, wherein the intermediate layer is formed by a physical vapor deposition process, and forming the intermediate layer comprises: as a thickness of the intermediate layer increases, decreasing content of the metal in the intermediate layer gradually, and increasing content of the chemical compound of the metal in the intermediate layer gradually.", "16.The method according to claim 15, wherein the insulation coating is formed by a physical vapor deposition process, and forming the insulation coating comprises: as a thickness of the insulation coating increases, decreasing content of the metal and the chemical compound of the metal in the insulation coating gradually, and increasing content of the diamond-like carbon material in the insulation coating gradually, until a diamond-like carbon film is formed.", "17.The method according to claim 13, further comprising: before forming the first insulation layer on the card tray base, performing ion cleaning on the card tray base under vacuum.", "18.The method according to claim 17, further comprising: after forming the second insulation layer on the first insulation layer, baking the card tray at an elevated temperature.", "19.The method according to claim 17, wherein a thickness of the formed first insulation layer is between 0.3 micrometer and 7 micrometers, and a thickness of the formed second insulation layer is between 3 micrometers and 100 micrometers.", "20.A mobile terminal, comprising a mobile terminal body and a card tray mounted at least partially inside the mobile terminal body for holding a card, wherein the card tray comprises: a card tray base; a first insulation layer at least partially disposed on the card tray base; and a second insulation layer at least partially disposed on the first insulation layer, wherein hardness of the first insulation layer is higher than hardness of the second insulation layer." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND <EOH>Nowadays, smartphone technologies are developing rapidly.", "One of causes that may affect signals of a smartphone is that if surface insulation coating of a card tray (or referred to as a card slot) is damaged, the card tray becomes electrically conductive.", "As a result, communication signals of the mobile phone are affected, leading to poor signal quality or even that the mobile phone cannot recognize a subscriber identity module (SIM) card." ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY <EOH>The present application provides a card tray, a method for preparing a card tray, and a mobile terminal to improve an insulation effect of the card tray and improve an effect of recognizing a card by the mobile terminal.", "According to a first aspect, a card tray is provided, where the card tray includes a card tray base, a first insulation layer disposed on the card tray base, and a second insulation layer covering the first insulation layer, where hardness of the first insulation layer is higher than that of the second insulation layer.", "With reference to the first aspect, in a first possible implementation, the first insulation layer is an insulation coating including a diamond-like carbon material.", "With reference to the first aspect or the first possible implementation of the first aspect, in a second possible implementation, the first insulation layer includes a metal base layer disposed on the card tray base, an intermediate layer disposed on the metal base layer, and an insulation coating disposed on the intermediate layer, where the intermediate layer is a mixed layer of a metal and a chemical compound of the metal, and the insulation coating is a mixed layer of a metal, a chemical compound of the metal, and a diamond-like carbon material.", "With reference to the second possible implementation of the first aspect, in a third possible implementation, in the insulation coating, content of the metal and the chemical compound of the metal is higher in a position closer to the intermediate layer; and content of the diamond-like carbon material is higher in a position farther away from the intermediate layer.", "With reference to the second possible implementation of the first aspect, in a fourth possible implementation, the chemical compound of the metal in the mixed layer of the metal and the chemical compound of the metal may be a metal oxide, a metal nitride, a metal carbide, a metal sulfide, a metal boride, a metal oxynitride, a metal carbonitride, or a metal carbon oxynitride.", "With reference to the first aspect, in a fifth possible implementation, a material of the card tray base includes at least one of the following materials: a metal material, a metal alloy material, a metal base composite material, or an inorganic non-metal material.", "With reference to the first aspect, in a sixth possible implementation, a thickness of the first insulation layer is between 0.3 micrometer and 7 micrometers.", "With reference to the sixth possible implementation of the first aspect, in a seventh possible implementation, a thickness of the second insulation layer is between 3 micrometers and 100 micrometers.", "With reference to the first aspect, in an eighth possible implementation, a thickness of the first insulation layer is between 0.3 micrometer and 3 micrometers.", "With reference to the eighth possible implementation of the first aspect, in a ninth possible implementation, a thickness of the second insulation layer is between 10 micrometers and 25 micrometers.", "With reference to the first aspect, the first possible implementation of the first aspect, the second possible implementation of the first aspect, the third possible implementation of the first aspect, the fourth possible implementation of the first aspect, the fifth possible implementation of the first aspect, the sixth possible implementation of the first aspect, the seventh possible implementation of the first aspect, the eighth possible implementation of the first aspect, or the ninth possible implementation of the first aspect, in a tenth possible implementation, the second insulation layer is a polymer coating.", "With reference to the tenth possible implementation of the first aspect, in an eleventh possible implementation, a material of the second insulation layer includes at least one of the following materials: a polytetrafluorethylene coating, a paint coating, or an ink coating.", "According to a second aspect, a method for preparing a card tray is provided, where the method includes the following steps: forming a first insulation layer on a card tray base; and forming a second insulation layer on the formed first insulation layer, where hardness of the formed first insulation layer is higher than that of the second insulation layer.", "With reference to the second aspect, in a first possible implementation, the forming a first insulation layer on a card tray base specifically includes: forming a metal base layer on the card tray base; forming an intermediate layer on the metal base layer; and forming an insulation coating on the intermediate layer, where the intermediate layer is a mixed layer of a metal and a chemical compound of the metal, and the insulation coating is a mixed layer of a metal, a chemical compound of the metal, and a diamond-like carbon material.", "With reference to the first possible implementation of the second aspect, in a second possible implementation, as a thickness of the intermediate layer increases, content of the metal in the intermediate layer decreases gradually, and as the thickness of the intermediate layer increases, content of the chemical compound of the metal in the intermediate layer increases gradually.", "With reference to the second possible implementation of the second aspect, in a third possible implementation, as a thickness of the insulation coating increases, content of the metal and the chemical compound of the metal in the insulation coating decreases gradually, and as the thickness of the insulation coating increases, content of a diamond-like carbon film in the insulation coating increases gradually.", "With reference to the first aspect, the first possible implementation of the second aspect, the second possible implementation of the second aspect, or the third possible implementation of the second aspect, in a fourth possible implementation, the method further includes: before the forming a first insulation layer on a card tray base, performing ion cleaning on the card tray base in a vacuum state.", "With reference to the fourth possible implementation of the second aspect, in a fifth possible implementation, the method further includes: after the forming a second insulation layer on the formed first insulation layer, baking the second insulation layer at a high temperature.", "With reference to the fourth possible implementation of the second aspect, in a sixth possible implementation, a thickness of the formed first insulation layer is between 0.3 micrometer and 7 micrometers, and a thickness of the formed second insulation layer is between 3 micrometers and 100 micrometers.", "According to a third aspect, a mobile terminal is provided, where the mobile terminal includes a mobile terminal body, a card tray disposed inside the mobile terminal body, and a card clamped into the card tray, where the card tray is any one of the foregoing card trays.", "According to the card tray provided by the first aspect, the method for preparing a card tray provided by the second aspect, and the mobile terminal provided by the third aspect, two insulation layers are disposed on a card tray base to protect the card tray base, and hardness of a first insulation layer is set to be higher than that of a second insulation layer.", "When burrs or sharp parts on a card pierce the second insulation layer, the first insulation layer can block the burrs or the sharp parts, thereby preventing an insulation coating on the card tray base from being scratched by the burrs.", "Therefore, insulating properties of the card tray are improved effectively, and further, an effect of recognizing the card by the mobile terminal is improved; and cases in which the mobile terminal cannot recognize the card due to scratches on the insulation coating of the card tray and electric conduction of the card tray are reduced effectively." ], [ "CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation of International Application No.", "PCT/CN2016/076363, filed on Mar.", "15, 2016, which claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No.", "201510425471.1, filed on Jul.", "17, 2015.The disclosures of the aforementioned applications are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties.", "TECHNICAL FIELD The present application relates to the field of communications device technologies, and in particular, to a card tray, a method for preparing a card tray, and a mobile terminal.", "BACKGROUND Nowadays, smartphone technologies are developing rapidly.", "One of causes that may affect signals of a smartphone is that if surface insulation coating of a card tray (or referred to as a card slot) is damaged, the card tray becomes electrically conductive.", "As a result, communication signals of the mobile phone are affected, leading to poor signal quality or even that the mobile phone cannot recognize a subscriber identity module (SIM) card.", "SUMMARY The present application provides a card tray, a method for preparing a card tray, and a mobile terminal to improve an insulation effect of the card tray and improve an effect of recognizing a card by the mobile terminal.", "According to a first aspect, a card tray is provided, where the card tray includes a card tray base, a first insulation layer disposed on the card tray base, and a second insulation layer covering the first insulation layer, where hardness of the first insulation layer is higher than that of the second insulation layer.", "With reference to the first aspect, in a first possible implementation, the first insulation layer is an insulation coating including a diamond-like carbon material.", "With reference to the first aspect or the first possible implementation of the first aspect, in a second possible implementation, the first insulation layer includes a metal base layer disposed on the card tray base, an intermediate layer disposed on the metal base layer, and an insulation coating disposed on the intermediate layer, where the intermediate layer is a mixed layer of a metal and a chemical compound of the metal, and the insulation coating is a mixed layer of a metal, a chemical compound of the metal, and a diamond-like carbon material.", "With reference to the second possible implementation of the first aspect, in a third possible implementation, in the insulation coating, content of the metal and the chemical compound of the metal is higher in a position closer to the intermediate layer; and content of the diamond-like carbon material is higher in a position farther away from the intermediate layer.", "With reference to the second possible implementation of the first aspect, in a fourth possible implementation, the chemical compound of the metal in the mixed layer of the metal and the chemical compound of the metal may be a metal oxide, a metal nitride, a metal carbide, a metal sulfide, a metal boride, a metal oxynitride, a metal carbonitride, or a metal carbon oxynitride.", "With reference to the first aspect, in a fifth possible implementation, a material of the card tray base includes at least one of the following materials: a metal material, a metal alloy material, a metal base composite material, or an inorganic non-metal material.", "With reference to the first aspect, in a sixth possible implementation, a thickness of the first insulation layer is between 0.3 micrometer and 7 micrometers.", "With reference to the sixth possible implementation of the first aspect, in a seventh possible implementation, a thickness of the second insulation layer is between 3 micrometers and 100 micrometers.", "With reference to the first aspect, in an eighth possible implementation, a thickness of the first insulation layer is between 0.3 micrometer and 3 micrometers.", "With reference to the eighth possible implementation of the first aspect, in a ninth possible implementation, a thickness of the second insulation layer is between 10 micrometers and 25 micrometers.", "With reference to the first aspect, the first possible implementation of the first aspect, the second possible implementation of the first aspect, the third possible implementation of the first aspect, the fourth possible implementation of the first aspect, the fifth possible implementation of the first aspect, the sixth possible implementation of the first aspect, the seventh possible implementation of the first aspect, the eighth possible implementation of the first aspect, or the ninth possible implementation of the first aspect, in a tenth possible implementation, the second insulation layer is a polymer coating.", "With reference to the tenth possible implementation of the first aspect, in an eleventh possible implementation, a material of the second insulation layer includes at least one of the following materials: a polytetrafluorethylene coating, a paint coating, or an ink coating.", "According to a second aspect, a method for preparing a card tray is provided, where the method includes the following steps: forming a first insulation layer on a card tray base; and forming a second insulation layer on the formed first insulation layer, where hardness of the formed first insulation layer is higher than that of the second insulation layer.", "With reference to the second aspect, in a first possible implementation, the forming a first insulation layer on a card tray base specifically includes: forming a metal base layer on the card tray base; forming an intermediate layer on the metal base layer; and forming an insulation coating on the intermediate layer, where the intermediate layer is a mixed layer of a metal and a chemical compound of the metal, and the insulation coating is a mixed layer of a metal, a chemical compound of the metal, and a diamond-like carbon material.", "With reference to the first possible implementation of the second aspect, in a second possible implementation, as a thickness of the intermediate layer increases, content of the metal in the intermediate layer decreases gradually, and as the thickness of the intermediate layer increases, content of the chemical compound of the metal in the intermediate layer increases gradually.", "With reference to the second possible implementation of the second aspect, in a third possible implementation, as a thickness of the insulation coating increases, content of the metal and the chemical compound of the metal in the insulation coating decreases gradually, and as the thickness of the insulation coating increases, content of a diamond-like carbon film in the insulation coating increases gradually.", "With reference to the first aspect, the first possible implementation of the second aspect, the second possible implementation of the second aspect, or the third possible implementation of the second aspect, in a fourth possible implementation, the method further includes: before the forming a first insulation layer on a card tray base, performing ion cleaning on the card tray base in a vacuum state.", "With reference to the fourth possible implementation of the second aspect, in a fifth possible implementation, the method further includes: after the forming a second insulation layer on the formed first insulation layer, baking the second insulation layer at a high temperature.", "With reference to the fourth possible implementation of the second aspect, in a sixth possible implementation, a thickness of the formed first insulation layer is between 0.3 micrometer and 7 micrometers, and a thickness of the formed second insulation layer is between 3 micrometers and 100 micrometers.", "According to a third aspect, a mobile terminal is provided, where the mobile terminal includes a mobile terminal body, a card tray disposed inside the mobile terminal body, and a card clamped into the card tray, where the card tray is any one of the foregoing card trays.", "According to the card tray provided by the first aspect, the method for preparing a card tray provided by the second aspect, and the mobile terminal provided by the third aspect, two insulation layers are disposed on a card tray base to protect the card tray base, and hardness of a first insulation layer is set to be higher than that of a second insulation layer.", "When burrs or sharp parts on a card pierce the second insulation layer, the first insulation layer can block the burrs or the sharp parts, thereby preventing an insulation coating on the card tray base from being scratched by the burrs.", "Therefore, insulating properties of the card tray are improved effectively, and further, an effect of recognizing the card by the mobile terminal is improved; and cases in which the mobile terminal cannot recognize the card due to scratches on the insulation coating of the card tray and electric conduction of the card tray are reduced effectively.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS FIG.", "1 is a cross sectional view of a card tray according to an embodiment of the present application; FIG.", "2 is a further cross sectional view of a first insulation layer in a card tray according to an embodiment of the present application; FIG.", "3 is a flowchart of a method for preparing a card tray according to an embodiment of the present application; and FIG.", "4 is a schematic structural diagram of a mobile terminal with a card tray according to an embodiment of the present application.", "REFERENCE SIGNS IN THE DRAWINGS 10: Card tray 11: Card tray base 12: First insulation layer 121: Metal base layer 122: Intermediate layer 123: Insulation coating 13: Second insulation layer 20: Mobile terminal body 30: Card (as in SIM card or the like) DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS The following describes the specific embodiments of the present application in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.", "It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are merely used to explain the present application but are not intended to limit the present application.", "FIG.", "1 is a cross sectional view of a card tray according to an embodiment of the present application.", "The card tray 10 includes a card tray base 11, a first insulation layer 12 disposed on the card tray base 11, and a second insulation layer 13 covering the first insulation layer 12, where hardness of the first insulation layer 12 is higher than that of the second insulation layer 13.In this embodiment, the two insulation layers 12 and 13 are disposed on the card tray base 11 to protect the card tray base 11, and hardness of the first insulation layer 12 is set to be higher than that of the second insulation layer 13.When burrs or sharp corners on a card pierce the second insulation layer 13, the second insulation layer 13 can sacrifice its own coating to consume some burrs or sharp corners on the card, and therefore, remaining burrs and sharp corners are reduced.", "When the remaining burrs or sharp corners continue to pierce the first insulation layer 12, integrity of an insulation coating of the first insulation layer 12 can be maintained to the greatest extent.", "The chance of electric conduction of the card tray 10 caused by the damage of the first insulation layer 12 can be reduced, so as to ensure a mobile terminal to recognize the card in the card tray.", "To facilitate understanding of this embodiment of the present application, a structure of the card tray 10 provided by this embodiment of the present application is hereinafter described in detail with reference to accompanying drawings.", "First, the card tray 10 provided by this embodiment is a tray for housing a SIM card, a tray for housing a secure digital memory (SD) card, or a tray for housing a card that is used for signal transmission, number identification, storage, and the like in a device.", "Such device can be, for example, a mobile phone, a smart watch, a smart band, a tablet computer, or a wearable device in any forms.", "The card tray base 11 of the card tray 10 provided by this embodiment may be made of different materials.", "For example, a material of the card tray base 11 may be one of the following materials: a metal, a metal alloy, a metal-based composite, or an inorganic non-metal material.", "Specifically, the card tray 10 may be made of a stainless steel substrate, or may be made of other iron and steel materials, an aluminum alloy, a magnesium alloy, a titanium alloy, an amorphous alloy, a zinc alloy, a copper alloy, a metal base composite material, or the like, or may be made of ceramic or other inorganic non-metal substrates such as ceramics, glass, sapphire, nucleated glass, or spinel.", "The card tray base 11 may be made of different materials according to different requirements.", "In a specific preparation, the first insulation layer 12 and the second insulation layer 13 are formed on the card tray base 11 in an area for placing a card.", "That is, the first insulation layer 12 and the second insulation layer 13 are formed on sidewalls of a card slot for housing the card on the card tray 10.In this way, when the card is placed in the card tray 10 and scratches the insulation layers on the card tray 10, the insulation layers protect the card tray base 11, so as to reduce the possibility that the mobile terminal cannot recognize card information due to electric conduction of the card tray 10.To achieve the foregoing effect, the insulation layers provided by this embodiment need to have particular thicknesses.", "Specifically, a thickness of the first insulation layer 12 is between 0.3 micrometer and 7 micrometers, and a thickness of the second insulation layer 13 is between 3 micrometers and 100 micrometers.", "The thickness of the first insulation layer 12 may be any thickness between 0.3 micrometer and 7 micrometers, such as 0.3 micrometer, 1 micrometer, 2 micrometers, 3 micrometers, 4 micrometers, 5 micrometers, 6 micrometers, or 7 micrometers.", "The thickness of the second insulation layer 13 may be any thickness between 3 micrometers and 100 micrometers, such as 3 micrometers, 10 micrometers, 20 micrometers, 30 micrometers, 40 micrometers, 50 micrometers, 60 micrometers, 70 micrometers, 80 micrometers, 90 micrometers, or 100 micrometers.", "In a solution, preferably, the thickness of the first insulation layer 12 is between 0.3 micrometer and 3 micrometers, and the thickness of the second insulation layer 13 is between 10 micrometers and 25 micrometers.", "For example, the thickness of the first insulation layer 12 is any thickness between 0.3 micrometer and 3 micrometers, such as 0.3 micrometer, 0.5 micrometer, 1 micrometer, 1.5 micrometers, 2 micrometers, 2.5 micrometers, or 3 micrometers, and the thickness of the second insulation layer 13 is any thickness between 10 micrometers and 25 micrometers, such as 10 micrometers, 15 micrometers, 20 micrometers, or 25 micrometers.", "In addition, during preparation of the insulation layers on the card tray base 11, hardness of the first insulation layer 12 is higher than that of the second insulation layer 13.For example, pencil hardness of the first insulation layer 12 is generally far higher than 9H, and pencil hardness of the second insulation layer 13 is approximately 3H, so that the first insulation layer 12 can effectively prevent the card tray 10 from being scratched by the card.", "FIG.", "2 shows a structure of the first insulation layer 12 in the structure of the card tray 10.In a specific preparation, the first insulation layer 12 includes an insulation coating 123 which includes a diamond-like carbon material, for example, a diamond-like carbon (DLC) film having a relatively high hardness.", "The DLC material ensures that hardness of the first insulation layer 12 is far higher than that of the second insulation layer 13.The first insulation layer 12 includes at least three layers.", "That is, a metal base layer 121 disposed on the card tray base 11, an intermediate layer 122 disposed on the metal base layer 121, and the insulation coating 123 disposed on the intermediate layer 122.The intermediate layer 122 is a mixed layer of a metal and a chemical compound of the metal.", "The insulation coating 123 is a mixed layer of a metal, a chemical compound of the metal, and a diamond-like carbon material.", "During preparation of the intermediate layer 122, the chemical compound of the metal in the mixed layer of the metal and the chemical compound of the metal may be a metal oxide, a metal nitride, a metal carbide, a metal sulfide, a metal boride coating, a metal oxynitride, a metal carbonitride, or a metal carbon oxynitride.", "A ratio of a pure metal to a chemical compound of the metal may not be limited, and may be adjusted.", "A percentage of weight of the chemical compound may be from 0% to 100%, adjustable from 0%.", "A percentage of weight of the pure metal may be from 100% to 0%, adjustable from 100%.", "Specifically, starting from one side that is of the intermediate layer 122 and that faces the metal base layer 121, in a direction away from the metal base layer 121, content of the pure metal decreases gradually, and content of the chemical compound of the metal increases gradually.", "The two take on a corresponding gradual change.", "That is, one side that is of the intermediate layer 122 and that face the metal base layer 121 is the pure metal, and one side that faces the insulation coating 123 is the chemical compound of the metal.", "During preparation of the insulation coating 123, the insulation coating 123 may be a mixed coating using the material of the intermediate layer 122 and the DLC (that is, the metal, the chemical compound of the metal, and the DLC material), or may be a mixed coating using only the chemical compound of the metal in the second metal layer and the DLC material.", "In addition, a ratio of the DLC to the mixed coating may not be limited, and may be adjusted.", "A percentage of weight of the DLC may be from 0% to 100%, and may be adjusted from 0% until 100%.", "A percentage of weight of the chemical compound of the metal may be from 100% to 0%, and may be adjusted from 100% until 0%.", "That is, in the insulation coating 123, content of the metal and the chemical compound of the metal is higher in a position closer to the intermediate layer 122; and content of the diamond-like carbon material is higher in a position farther away from the intermediate layer 122.In addition, in the formed insulation coating 123, one side that is of the insulation coating 123 and that faces the intermediate layer 122 is a layer of the chemical compound of the metal, and one side far away from the intermediate layer 122 is a pure DLC film.", "The first insulation layer 12 provided by this embodiment uses a DLC film.", "Although the DLC may not be scratched easily, sharp corners and burrs of the SIM card may pierce the DLC film under pressure of a human hand.", "Therefore, on the card tray 10 provided by this embodiment, the second insulation layer 13 is added on the first insulation layer 12.The second insulation layer 13 is a polymer coating.", "Specifically, the second insulation layer 13 includes at least one of the following: a polytetrafluorethylene coating, a paint coating, or an ink coating.", "In addition, the second insulation layer may be any polymer coating or a coating having a mixture of polymers and other inorganic materials, or may be coatings complexly superimposed on the foregoing coating.", "When a mixed layer is used, a ratio of various components is not limited, and any ratio may be used for the mixing.", "After the coatings are applied, high-temperature processing is required.", "Generally, polytetrafluorethylene is processed at a high temperature of 160° C. to 320° C. for duration of 15 minutes to 60 minutes; ordinary ink or paint is processed at a temperature of 50° C. to 200° C. for duration of 15 minutes to 120 minutes.", "The foregoing coatings may be complexly superimposed, and after each coating is sprayed, corresponding baking processing needs to be performed.", "For example, single spraying and single baking, that is, spraying once, and baking once; or double spraying and double baking, that is, spraying once, and baking once, and then spraying once again, and baking once again; or more coatings are superimposed.", "As can be learned from the foregoing description, the card tray 10 provided by this embodiment uses two insulation layers of different hardness.", "This can effectively prevent the insulation layers on the card tray 10 from being scratched by sharp corners or burrs on a card, improve insulating properties of the card tray 10, and avoid a case in which a mobile terminal cannot recognize card information because the card tray 10 is scratched by the card.", "An embodiment of the present application further provides a method for preparing a card tray 10.The method includes: forming a first insulation layer on a card tray base; and forming a second insulation layer on the formed first insulation layer, where hardness of the formed first insulation layer is higher than that of the second insulation layer.", "In this embodiment, two insulation layers of different hardness are formed on a card tray 10.This effectively prevents the insulation layers on the card tray 10 from being scratched by sharp corners or burrs on a card, improves insulating properties of the card tray 10, and avoids a case in which a mobile terminal cannot recognize card information because the card tray 10 is scratched by the card.", "To facilitate understanding of the method for preparing the card tray 10 provided by this embodiment of the present application, the method is hereinafter described in details.", "FIG.", "3 is a flowchart of a method for preparing a card tray according to an embodiment of the present application.", "The card tray is the card tray in the foregoing specific embodiment.", "The specific method for preparing the card tray includes the following steps.", "Step 001: Prepare a card tray base.", "Specifically, the card tray may be made of different materials.", "For example, the card tray base can be made of a metal material, a metal alloy material, a metal-based composite material, or an inorganic non-metal material.", "Specifically, the card tray is made of a stainless steel substrate, or may be made of other iron and steel materials, an aluminum alloy, a magnesium alloy, a titanium alloy, an amorphous alloy, a zinc alloy, a copper alloy, a metal-based composite material, or the like, or may be made of ceramic or other inorganic non-metal substrates such as ceramics, glass, sapphire, nucleated glass, or spinel.", "Different preparation methods may be selected according to different materials used for the card tray.", "For example, the card tray is formed by using different processes such as metal injection molding, vacuum die casting, and ordinary die casting.", "The foregoing processes are mature processes, and are not described in detail herein.", "Step 002: ion cleaning on the card tray base in a vacuum state.", "Specifically, surfaces of the card tray base is deoiled, degreased, and cleaned by using pure water in ultrasonic waves, and then the card tray base is baked and loaded onto a related fixture to enter a physical vapor deposition (PVD) furnace chamber.", "In addition, ion cleaning is performed according to a specified vacuum degree condition and a negative bias voltage condition.", "Step 003: Form a metal base layer on the card tray base.", "Specifically, the metal base layer is made of a metal material that can be combined with the card tray base.", "The metal of the metal base layer should be capable of attaching to the card tray base properly.", "During specific preparation of the metal base layer, processes such as electroplating, PVD, and chemical vapor deposition (CVD) may be used.", "The processes are mature processes, and are not described in detail herein.", "Step 004: Form an intermediate layer on the metal base layer.", "Specifically, the intermediate layer includes a metal and a chemical compound of the metal.", "The chemical compound of the metal in a mixture of the metal and the chemical compound of the metal may be a metal oxide, a metal nitride, a metal carbide, a metal sulfide, a metal boride coating, a metal oxynitride, a metal carbonitride, or a metal carbon oxynitride.", "A ratio of a pure metal to a chemical compound may not be limited, and may be adjusted.", "A percentage of weight of the chemical compound may be from 0% to 100%, adjustable from 0%.", "A percentage of weight of the pure metal may be from 100% to 0%, adjustable from 100%.", "Specifically, as a thickness of the intermediate layer increases, content of the metal in the intermediate layer decreases gradually, and as the thickness of the intermediate layer increases, content of the chemical compound of the metal in the intermediate layer increases gradually.", "The metal and the chemical compound of the metal take on a corresponding gradual change.", "That is, one side that is of the intermediate layer and that faces the metal base layer is the pure metal, and one side that faces an insulation coating is the chemical compound of the metal.", "During specific preparation of the intermediate layer, processes such as electroplating, PVD, and CVD may be used.", "The processes are mature processes, and are not described in detail herein.", "Step 005: Form an insulation coating on the intermediate layer.", "Specifically, the insulation coating may be a mixed coating using the material of the intermediate layer and DLC (that is, the metal, the chemical compound of the metal, and a DLC material), or may be a mixed coating using only the chemical compound of the metal in the second metal layer and a DLC material.", "In addition, a ratio of the DLC to the mixed coating may not be limited, and may be adjusted.", "A percentage of weight of the DLC may be from 0% to 100%, and may be adjusted from 0% until 100%.", "A percentage of weight of the chemical compound of the metal may be from 100% to 0%, and may be adjusted from 100% until 0%.", "That is, as a thickness of the insulation coating increases, content of the metal and the chemical compound of the metal in the insulation coating decreases gradually, and as the thickness of the insulation coating increases, content of a diamond-like carbon film in the insulation coating increases gradually.", "In addition, in the formed insulation coating, one side that is of the insulation coating and that faces the intermediate layer is a layer of the chemical compound of the metal, and one side far away from the intermediate layer is a pure DLC film.", "During specific preparation of the insulation coating, processes such as electroplating, PVD, and CVD may be used.", "The processes are mature processes, and are not described in detail herein.", "The formed metal base layer, intermediate layer, and insulation coating constitute a first insulation layer, and a thickness of the formed first insulation layer is between 0.3 micrometer and 7 micrometers.", "Step 006: Form a second insulation layer on the insulation coating.", "Specifically, a thickness of the formed second insulation layer is between 3 micrometers and 100 micrometers.", "During specific preparation, the second insulation layer is a polymer coating.", "For example, the second insulation layer is a polytetrafluorethylene coating, a paint coating, or an ink coating, or may be any polymer coating or a coating having a mixture of polymers and other inorganic materials, or may be coatings complexly superimposed on the foregoing coating.", "In addition, when a mixed layer is used, a ratio of various components is not limited, and any ratio may be used for mixing.", "During specific preparation, the method for preparing the second insulation layer is not limited, and any coating manner may be used for implementation.", "Step 007: Bake the second insulation layer at a high temperature.", "Specifically, when the second insulation layer is prepared in the manner described in step 006, after the coatings are processed, high-temperature processing is required.", "Generally, polytetrafluorethylene is processed at a high temperature of 160° C. to 320° C. for duration of 15 minutes to 60 minutes; ordinary ink or paint is processed at a temperature of 50° C. to 200° C. for duration of 15 minutes to 120 minutes.", "The foregoing coatings may be complexly superimposed, and after each coating is sprayed, corresponding baking processing needs to be performed.", "For example, single spraying and single baking, that is, spraying once, and baking once; or double spraying and double baking, that is, spraying once, and baking once, and then spraying once again, and baking once again; or more coatings are superimposed.", "For further understanding the method for preparing a card tray provided by this embodiment of the present application, the following examples are provided.", "EXAMPLE 1 In this example, a card tray for a nano SIM card is prepared.", "A material of a card tray base is a type 17-4 stainless steel.", "A specific method for preparing the card tray is as follows: Step 1: Form a card tray base by means of a metal injection molding process.", "Step 2: Prepare a DLC film in a specified area on the formed card tray base.", "Specific steps of the method are as follows: (A) Deoil and degrease a surface of the stainless steel card tray base, clean the surface by using pure water in ultrasonic waves, then bake the card tray base, and load the card tray base onto a related fixture to enter a PVD furnace chamber.", "(B) A magnetron sputtering target is used in this example, vacuumize the PVD furnace chamber, where a vacuum degree is better than 6.5×10−3 Pa; then inject argon, keep the vacuum degree between 0.1 Pa and 1 Pa, turn on a negative bias voltage −800 V, and perform ion cleaning on the stainless steel card tray base.", "(C) Turn on nitrogen, turn on the magnetron sputtering titanium target, first deposit a pure Ti layer (metal base layer) for combining with the stainless steel base, and then prepare a mixed layer (intermediate layer) of TiN and Ti by adjusting a titanium target power and a gas-flow rate; then turn on a graphite target, inject acetylene, gradually reduce the nitrogen gas-flow rate and the titanium target power to 0, and prepare a mixed layer of TiN, TiC, and DLC; then with only the graphite target, acetylene, and argon remaining, prepare a pure DLC film.", "A total thickness of the PVD film is 2.8 micrometers.", "(D) Spray a polytetrafluorethylene coating on the DLC film, bake at 260° C. for 20 minutes after spraying for the first time, and bake at 260° C. for 20 minutes after spraying for the second time, where a total thickness is 25 micrometers.", "In a test, a multimeter is used to measure surface resistance on the DLC, and the surface resistance is greater than 20 MΩ (20 million ohms).", "After polytetrafluorethylene is sprayed, the surface resistance may be greater than 20 million ohms.", "After a micro SIM card is cut down to a nano SIM card, the nano SIM card is put on the card tray in a card slot of a real mobile phone, and an insertion and removal test is performed.", "The test is repeated cyclically.", "After 60 repeats, the mobile phone can still recognize the SIM card, and signal quality is good.", "EXAMPLE 2 In this example, a card tray for a nano SIM card is prepared.", "The card tray base is made of an amorphous alloy material.", "A specific method for preparing the card tray is as follows: (A) Form a card tray base by using a vacuum die casting method.", "(B) Prepare a DLC film in a specified area on the card tray base.", "The specific preparation method is as follows: Step 1: Deoil and degrease a surface of the card tray base, clean the surface by using pure water in ultrasonic waves, then bake the card tray base, and load the card tray base onto a related fixture to enter a PVD furnace chamber.", "Step 2: A magnetron sputtering target is used in this example, vacuumize the PVD furnace chamber, where a vacuum degree is better than 6×10−3 Pa; then inject argon, keep the vacuum degree between 0.1 Pa and 0.8 Pa, turn on a negative bias voltage of −700 V, and perform ion cleaning on the card tray base.", "Step 3: Turn on acetylene, turn on a magnetron sputtering chromium target, and first deposit a pure chromium layer for combining with the substrate; then prepare a mixed layer of CrC and Cr by adjusting a chromium target power and a gas-flow rate; then turn on a graphite target, gradually reduce the chromium target power to 0, and prepare a mixed layer of CrC and DLC; then with only the graphite target, acetylene, and argon remaining, prepare a pure DLC film.", "A total thickness of the PVD film is 2.6 micrometers.", "Step 4: Spray a polytetrafluorethylene coating having a thickness of 22 micrometers on the DLC film, bake at 160° C. for 30 minutes after spraying for the first time, and bake at 160° C. for 30 minutes after spraying for the second time.", "In a test, a multimeter is used to measure surface resistance on the DLC, and the surface resistance is greater than 2 MSΩ (2 million ohms).", "After polytetrafluorethylene is sprayed, the surface resistance may be greater than 20 million ohms.", "After a micro SIM card is cut down to a nano SIM card, the nano SIM card is put on the card tray in a card slot of a real mobile phone, and an insertion and removal test is performed.", "The test is repeated cyclically.", "After 46 repeats, the mobile phone can still recognize the SIM card, and signal quality is good.", "EXAMPLE 3 In this example, a card tray for a nano SIM card is prepared.", "The card tray base is made of a zinc alloy material.", "A specific method for preparing the card tray is as follows: (A) Form a card tray base by using an ordinary die casting method.", "(B) Prepare a DLC film in a specified area on the card tray base.", "The specific method for preparing the card tray is as follows: Step 1: Deoil and degrease a surface of the card tray base, clean the surface by using pure water in ultrasonic waves, then bake the card tray base, and load the card tray base onto a related fixture to enter a PVD furnace chamber.", "Step 2: A magnetron sputtering target is used in this example, vacuumize the PVD furnace chamber, where a vacuum degree is better than 5×10−3 Pa; then inject argon, keep the vacuum degree between 0.3 Pa and 0.8 Pa, turn on a negative bias voltage of −500 V, and perform ion cleaning on the card tray base.", "Step 3: Turn on acetylene, turn on a magnetron sputtering tungsten target, first deposit a pure tungsten layer for combining with the substrate, and then prepare a mixed layer of WC and W by adjusting a tungsten target power and a gas-flow rate; then turn on a graphite target, gradually reduce the W target power to 0, and prepare a mixed layer of WC and DLC; then with only the graphite target, acetylene, and argon remaining, prepare a pure DLC film, where a total thickness of the PVD film is 2.9 micrometers.", "Step 4: Spray a polytetrafluorethylene coating having a thickness of 20 micrometers on the DLC film; after spraying, bake at 320° C. for 30 minutes.", "In a test, a multimeter is used to measure surface resistance on the DLC, and the surface resistance is greater than 2 MΩ (2 million ohms).", "After polytetrafluorethylene is sprayed, the surface resistance may be greater than 20 million ohms.", "After a micro SIM card is cut down to a nano SIM card, the nano SIM card is put on the card tray in a card slot of a real mobile phone, and an insertion and removal test is performed.", "The test is repeated cyclically.", "After 52 repeats, the mobile phone can still recognize the SIM card, and signal quality is good.", "EXAMPLE 4 In this example, a card tray for a macro SIM card is prepared.", "The card tray base is made of a type-316 stainless steel material.", "A specific method for preparing the card tray is as follows: (A) Form a card tray base by means of metal injection molding.", "(B) Prepare a DLC film in a specified area on the card tray base.", "Specific steps of the method are as follows: Step 1: Deoil and degrease a surface of the card tray base, clean the surface by using pure water in ultrasonic waves, then bake the card tray base, and load the card tray base onto a related fixture to enter a PVD furnace chamber.", "Step 2: Assuming that an arc ion plating target is used in this embodiment, vacuumize the PVD furnace chamber, where a vacuum degree is better than 6.5×10−3 Pa; then inject argon, keep the vacuum degree between 0.4 Pa and 0.9 Pa, turn on a negative bias voltage of −800 V, and perform ion cleaning on the card tray base.", "Step 3: Turn on oxygen, turn on an aluminum target, and first deposit a pure aluminum layer for combining with the substrate; then prepare a mixed layer of an aluminum oxide and aluminum by adjusting an aluminum target power and a gas-flow rate; then turn on a graphite target, gradually reduce the aluminum target power to 0, reduce the oxygen gas-flow rate to 0, and prepare a mixed layer of an aluminum oxide and DLC; then with only the graphite target, acetylene, and argon remaining, prepare a pure DLC film.", "A total thickness of the PVD film is 2.5 micrometers.", "Step 4: Spray an ordinary paint coating having a thickness of 15 micrometers on the DLC film; after spraying, bake at 80° C. for 40 minutes.", "In a test, a multimeter is used to measure surface resistance on the DLC, and the surface resistance is greater than 2 MΩ (2 million ohms).", "After polytetrafluorethylene is sprayed, the surface resistance may be greater than 20 million ohms.", "After a micro SIM card is cut down to a nano SIM card, the nano SIM card is put on the card tray in a card slot of a real mobile phone, and an insertion and removal test is performed.", "The test is repeated cyclically.", "After 45 repeats, the mobile phone can still recognize the SIM card, and signal quality is good.", "EXAMPLE 5 In this example, a card tray for a nano SIM card is prepared.", "The card tray base is made of an amorphous alloy.", "A specific method for preparing the card tray is as follows: (A) Prepare a card tray base by using a vacuum die casting method.", "(B) Prepare a DLC film in a specified area on the card tray base.", "Specific steps of the method are as follows: Step 1: Deoil and degrease a surface of the card tray base, clean the surface by using pure water in ultrasonic waves, then bake the card tray base, and load the card tray base onto a related fixture to enter a PVD furnace chamber.", "Step 2: An arc ion plating target is used in this example, vacuumize the PVD furnace chamber, where a vacuum degree is better than 6.5×10−3 Pa; then inject argon, keep the vacuum degree between 0.4 Pa and 0.9 Pa, turn on a negative bias voltage of −800 V, and perform ion cleaning on the card tray base.", "Step 3: Turn on nitrogen, turn on a titanium target, and first deposit a pure titanium layer for combining with the substrate; then prepare a mixed layer of TiN and Ti by adjusting a titanium target power and a gas-flow rate; then turn on a graphite target, gradually reduce the titanium target power to 0, reduce the nitrogen gas-flow rate to 0, and prepare a mixed layer of a titanium nitride and DLC; then with only the graphite target, acetylene, and argon remaining, prepare a pure DLC film.", "A total thickness of the PVD film is 3 micrometers.", "Step 4: Print ordinary ink having a thickness of 26 micrometers on the DLC film; after printing, bake at 80° C. for 40 minutes.", "In a test, a multimeter is used to measure surface resistance on the DLC, and the surface resistance is greater than 2 MΩ (2 million ohms).", "After polytetrafluorethylene is sprayed, the surface resistance may be greater than 20 million ohms.", "After a micro SIM card is cut down to a nano SIM card, the nano SIM card is put on the card tray in a card slot of a real mobile phone, and an insertion and removal test is performed.", "The test is repeated cyclically.", "After 50 repeats, the mobile phone can still recognize the SIM card, and signal quality is good.", "EXAMPLE 6 In this example, a card tray for a nano SIM card is used prepared.", "The card tray base is made of type 17-4 stainless steel.", "A specific method for preparing the card tray is as follows: Step 1: Form a card tray base by means of a metal injection molding process.", "Step 2: Prepare a DLC film in a specified area on the formed card tray base.", "Specific steps of the method are as follows: (A) Deoil and degrease a surface of the stainless steel card tray base, clean the surface by using pure water in ultrasonic waves, then bake the card tray base, and load the card tray base onto a related fixture to enter a PVD furnace chamber.", "(B) A magnetron sputtering target is used in this example, vacuumize the PVD furnace chamber, where a vacuum degree is better than 6.5×10−3 Pa; then inject argon, keep the vacuum degree between 0.1 Pa and 1 Pa, turn on a negative bias voltage −600 V, and perform ion cleaning on the stainless steel card tray base.", "(C) Turn on a magnetron sputtering Ti target, first deposit a pure Ti layer (metal base layer) for combining with the stainless steel base, and then prepare a mixed layer (intermediate layer) of WC and Ti by adjusting a tungsten carbide target power and a gas-flow rate; then turn on a graphite target, gradually reduce a nitrogen gas-flow rate and the titanium target power to 0, inject acetylene and continuously increase a gas-flow rate, and obtain a mixed layer of WC and DLC.", "A total thickness of the PVD film is 3.2 micrometers.", "(D) Spray a polytetrafluorethylene coating on the DLC film, bake at 160° C. for 30 minutes after spraying for the first time, and bake at 160° C. for 30 minutes after spraying for the second time, where a total thickness is 28 micrometers.", "In a test, a multimeter is used to measure surface resistance on the DLC, and the surface resistance is greater than 2 MΩ (2 million ohms).", "After polytetrafluorethylene is sprayed, the surface resistance may be greater than 20 million ohms.", "After a micro SIM card is cut down to a nano SIM card, the nano SIM card is put on the card tray in a card slot of a real mobile phone, and an insertion and removal test is performed.", "The test is repeated cyclically.", "After 60 repeats, the mobile phone can still recognize the SIM card, and signal quality is good.", "FIG.", "4 is a schematic structural diagram of a mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present application.", "The mobile terminal includes a mobile terminal body 20, a card tray 10 mounted inside the mobile terminal body 20, and a card 30 clamped into the card tray 10.The card tray 10 is any one of the foregoing card trays 10.In this embodiment, two insulation layers are disposed on a card tray base to protect the card tray base, and hardness of a first insulation layer is set to be higher than that of a second insulation layer.", "When burrs or sharp parts on a card pierce the second insulation layer, the first insulation layer can block the burrs or the sharp parts, thereby preventing an insulation coating on the card tray base from being scratched by the burrs.", "Therefore, insulating properties of a card tray 10 are improved effectively, and therefore, an effect of recognizing the card by the mobile terminal is improved.", "Cases in which the mobile terminal cannot recognize the card due to scratches on the insulation coating of the card tray 10 and electric conduction of the card tray 10 are reduced effectively.", "Obviously, a person skilled in the art can make various modifications and variations to the present application without departing from the scope of the present application.", "The present application is intended to cover these modifications and variations provided that they fall within the scope of protection defined by the following claims and their equivalent technologies." ] ]
Patent_15872989
[ [ "PACKET TRANSMISSION METHOD, APPARATUS, AND SYSTEM", "A method includes: setting up, by a first network device, a MACSec channel to a second network device according to the MACSec protocol; and sending, by the first network device, an ACP packet to the second network device by using the MACSec channel, where the ACP packet is carried in a MACSec frame, and a frame header of the MACSec frame carries identification information used to identify the ACP packet.", "By means of the packet transmission method, a MACSec channel is set up between adjacent nodes in a self-organizing network according to the MACSec protocol, and an ACP packet is transmitted between the adjacent nodes by using the MACSec channel and processed." ], [ "1.A packet transmission method, applied to a self-organizing network, wherein the method comprises: setting up, by a first network device according to the Media Access Control Security (MACSec) protocol, a MACSec channel to a second network device; and sending, by the first network device, an autonomic control plane (ACP) packet to the second network device by using the MACSec channel, wherein the ACP packet is carried in a MACSec frame, and a frame header of the MACSec frame carries identification information used to identify the ACP packet.", "2.The method according to claim 1, wherein the identification information is carried in an Ethernet type field in the frame header of the MACSec frame, and the Ethernet type field is used to indicate that the MACSec frame is used to carry the ACP packet.", "3.The method according to claim 1, wherein the identification information is carried in a flag bit field in the frame header of the MACSec frame, and the flag bit field is a field or a version field.", "4.The method according to claim 1, wherein the identification information is carried in a MAC address field in the frame header of the MACSec frame.", "5.A first network device for packet transmission, applied to a self-organizing network, wherein the first network device comprises: a non-transitory memory storage comprising instructions; and one or more processors in communicating with the memory, wherein the one or more processors execute the instructions to: set up, according to the Media Access Control Security (MACSec) protocol, a MACSec channel to a second network device; and send an autonomic control plane (ACP) packet to the second network device by using the MACSec channel, wherein the ACP packet is carried in a MACSec frame, and a frame header of the MACSec frame carries identification information used to identify the ACP packet.", "6.The first network device according to claim 5, wherein the identification information is carried in an Ethernet type field in the frame header of the MACSec frame, and the Ethernet type field is used to indicate that the MACSec frame is used to carry the ACP packet.", "7.The first network device according to claim 5, wherein the identification information is carried in a flag bit field in the frame header of the MACSec frame, and the flag bit field is a field or a version field.", "8.The first network device according to claim 5, wherein the identification information is carried in a MAC address field in the frame header of the MACSec frame.", "9.A second network device for packet transmission, applied to a self-organizing network, wherein the second network device comprises: a non-transitory memory storage comprising instructions; and one or more processors in communicating with the memory, wherein the one or more processors execute the instructions to: set up, according to the Media Access Control Security (MACSec) protocol, a MACSec channel to a first network device; receive, by using the MACSec channel, a MACSec frame sent by the first network device; and determine, according to identification information that is carried in a frame header of the MACSec frame and that is used to identify an autonomic control plane (ACP) packet, the ACP packet.", "10.The second network device according to claim 9, wherein the identification information is carried in an Ethernet type field in the frame header of the MACSec frame, and the Ethernet type field is used to indicate that the MACSec frame is used to carry the ACP packet.", "11.The second network device according to claim 9, wherein the identification information is carried in a flag bit field in the frame header of the MACSec frame, and the flag bit field is a field or a version field.", "12.The second network device according to claim 9, wherein the identification information is carried in a MAC address field in the frame header of the MACSec frame.", "13.A packet transmission system, applied to a self-organizing network, wherein the system comprises: the first network device and the second network device, wherein the first network device sets up, according to the Media Access Control Security (MACSec) protocol, a MACSec channel to the second network device; the first network device sends an autonomic control plane (ACP) packet to the second network device by using the MACSec channel, wherein the ACP packet is carried in a MACSec frame, and a frame header of the MACSec frame carries identification information used to identify the ACP packet; the second network device receives the MACSec frame; and the second network device determines, according to the identification information that is carried in the frame header of the MACSec frame and that is used to identify the autonomic control plane ACP packet, the ACP packet." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND <EOH>A self-organizing network supports self-management, so as to reduce intervention of an administrator and improve automation of the network, thereby alleviating network management workload, facilitating deployment of new services, lowering a probability of a configuration error, and reducing an operating expense (OPEX).", "In an important aspect of the self-organizing network, a device can be “plug-and-play”, and supports bootup and self-configuration.", "One of key technologies of the self-organizing network is setup of an autonomic control plane (ACP).", "The ACP is characterized in that participation of an administrator is not required, and such a control plane is automatically generated and automatically grows up (a new device automatically joins).", "Setup of an end-to-end connection is completely “zero-touch (zero-touch)”, and the ACP is not affected by incorrect configuration of an administrator, so as to implement secure information exchange.", "In an existing solution, setup of an ACP relies on IPv6, but most devices in an existing network support IPv4.Development of an IPv4-based ACP provides a better compatibility with the existing network and can reduce deployment barriers.", "If a secure tunnel is to be set up by using a link-local address similar to an IPv6 link-local address (link-local-IP) (169.254.0.0/16), when an ACP having an IPSec channel is set up based on IPv4, an IPv4 link-local address needs to be used.", "However, different from IPv6, Request For Comments RFC (Request For Comments) 3927 recommends that an IPv4 link-local address is used only when there is no routable IPv4 interface address.", "Consequently, usually, no layer 3 tunnel corresponding to the IPv6 link-local-IP can be used in this case, and an IPv4-based ACP having an IPSec channel cannot be set up." ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY <EOH>The application provides a packet transmission method, apparatus, and system, so as to improve efficiency.", "According to a first aspect, a packet transmission method is provided and is applied to a self-organizing network.", "The method includes: setting up, by a first network device according to the Media Access Control Security MACSec protocol, a MACSec channel to a second network device; and sending, by the first network device, an autonomic control plane ACP packet to the second network device by using the MACSec channel, where the ACP packet is carried in a MACSec frame, and a frame header of the MACSec frame carries identification information used to identify the ACP packet.", "With reference to the first aspect, in an implementation of the first aspect, the identification information is carried in an Ethernet type field in the frame header of the MACSec frame, and the Ethernet type field is used to indicate that the MACSec frame is used to carry the ACP packet.", "With reference to the first aspect or the foregoing implementation of the first aspect, in another implementation of the first aspect, the identification information is carried in a flag bit field in the frame header of the MACSec frame, and the flag bit field is a newly added field or a version field.", "With reference to the first aspect or the foregoing implementation of the first aspect, in another implementation of the first aspect, the identification information is carried in a MAC address field in the frame header of the MACSec frame.", "According to a second aspect, a packet transmission method is provided and is applied to a self-organizing network.", "The method includes: setting up, by a second network device according to the Media Access Control Security MACSec protocol, a MACSec channel to a first network device; receiving, by the second network device by using the MACSec channel, a MACSec frame sent by the first network device; and determining, by the second network device according to identification information that is carried in a frame header of the MACSec frame and that is used to identify an autonomic control plane ACP packet, the ACP packet.", "With reference to the second aspect, in an implementation of the second aspect, the identification information is carried in an Ethernet type field in the frame header of the MACSec frame, and the Ethernet type field is used to indicate that the MACSec frame is used to carry the ACP packet.", "With reference to the second aspect or the foregoing implementation of the second aspect, in another implementation of the second aspect, the identification information is carried in a flag bit field in the frame header of the MACSec frame, and the flag bit field is a newly added field or a version field.", "With reference to the second aspect or the foregoing implementation of the second aspect, in another implementation of the second aspect, the identification information is carried in a MAC address field in the frame header of the MACSec frame.", "According to a third aspect, a first network device for packet transmission is provided and is applied to a self-organizing network.", "The first network device includes: a setup module, configured to set up, by the first network device according to the Media Access Control Security MACSec protocol, a MACSec channel to a second network device; and a sending module, configured to send, by the first network device, an autonomic control plane ACP packet to the second network device by using the MACSec channel that is set up by the setup module, where the ACP packet is carried in a MACSec frame, and a frame header of the MACSec frame carries identification information used to identify the ACP packet.", "With reference to the third aspect, in an implementation of the third aspect, the identification information is carried in an Ethernet type field in the frame header of the MACSec frame, and the Ethernet type field is used to indicate that the MACSec frame is used to carry the ACP packet.", "With reference to the third aspect or the foregoing implementation of the third aspect, in another implementation of the third aspect, the identification information is carried in a flag bit field in the frame header of the MACSec frame, and the flag bit field is a newly added field or a version field.", "With reference to the third aspect or the foregoing implementation of the third aspect, in another implementation of the third aspect, the identification information is carried in a MAC address field in the frame header of the MACSec frame.", "According to a fourth aspect, a second network device for packet transmission is provided and is applied to a self-organizing network.", "The second network device includes: a setup module, configured to set up, by the second network device according to the Media Access Control Security MACSec protocol, a MACSec channel to a first network device; a receiving module, configured to receive, by the second network device by using the MACSec channel that is set up by the setup module, a MACSec frame sent by the first network device; and a determining module, configured to determine, by the second network device according to identification information that is carried in a frame header of the MACSec frame received by the receiving module and that is used to identify an autonomic control plane ACP packet, the ACP packet.", "With reference to the fourth aspect, in an implementation of the fourth aspect, the identification information is carried in an Ethernet type field in the frame header of the MACSec frame, and the Ethernet type field is used to indicate that the MACSec frame is used to carry the ACP packet.", "With reference to the fourth aspect or the foregoing implementation of the fourth aspect, in another implementation of the fourth aspect, the identification information is carried in a flag bit field in the frame header of the MACSec frame, and the flag bit field is a newly added field or a version field.", "With reference to the fourth aspect or the foregoing implementation of the fourth aspect, in another implementation of the fourth aspect, the identification information is carried in a MAC address field in the frame header of the MACSec frame.", "According to a fifth aspect, a packet transmission system is provided and is applied to a self-organizing network.", "The system includes: the foregoing first network device and the foregoing second network device.", "The first network device sets up, according to the Media Access Control Security MACSec protocol, a MACSec channel to the second network device; the first network device sends an autonomic control plane ACP packet to the second network device by using the MACSec channel, where the ACP packet is carried in a MACSec frame, and a frame header of the MACSec frame carries identification information used to identify the ACP packet; the second network device receives the MACSec frame; and the second network device determines, according to the identification information that is carried in the frame header of the MACSec frame and that is used to identify the autonomic control plane ACP packet, the ACP packet.", "Based on the foregoing technical solutions, by means of the packet transmission method, apparatus, and system in the embodiments of the application, the MACSec channel is set up between the first network device and the second network device that are in the self-organizing network according to the MACSec protocol, and the MACSec frame can be transmitted between the first network device and the second network device by using the MACSec channel.", "The frame header of the MACSec frame carries the identification information, and the ACP packet can be indicated according to the identification information.", "Therefore, a routable interface address and a link-local address that is used to set up an IPSec do not need to be both configured on an interface, and a MACSec security mechanism is provided for an ACP according to the MACSec protocol and without using an L3 tunnel, thereby improving efficiency.", "In addition, the ACP packet in the MACSec frame can be distinguished by using the identification information, so that the ACP packet can be transmitted between the first network device and the second network device that are in the self-organizing network." ], [ "CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation of International Application No.", "PCT/CN2015/084384, filed on Jul.", "17, 2015, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.", "TECHNICAL FIELD The application relates to the field of information technologies, and in particular, to a packet transmission method, apparatus, and system.", "BACKGROUND A self-organizing network supports self-management, so as to reduce intervention of an administrator and improve automation of the network, thereby alleviating network management workload, facilitating deployment of new services, lowering a probability of a configuration error, and reducing an operating expense (OPEX).", "In an important aspect of the self-organizing network, a device can be “plug-and-play”, and supports bootup and self-configuration.", "One of key technologies of the self-organizing network is setup of an autonomic control plane (ACP).", "The ACP is characterized in that participation of an administrator is not required, and such a control plane is automatically generated and automatically grows up (a new device automatically joins).", "Setup of an end-to-end connection is completely “zero-touch (zero-touch)”, and the ACP is not affected by incorrect configuration of an administrator, so as to implement secure information exchange.", "In an existing solution, setup of an ACP relies on IPv6, but most devices in an existing network support IPv4.Development of an IPv4-based ACP provides a better compatibility with the existing network and can reduce deployment barriers.", "If a secure tunnel is to be set up by using a link-local address similar to an IPv6 link-local address (link-local-IP) (169.254.0.0/16), when an ACP having an IPSec channel is set up based on IPv4, an IPv4 link-local address needs to be used.", "However, different from IPv6, Request For Comments RFC (Request For Comments) 3927 recommends that an IPv4 link-local address is used only when there is no routable IPv4 interface address.", "Consequently, usually, no layer 3 tunnel corresponding to the IPv6 link-local-IP can be used in this case, and an IPv4-based ACP having an IPSec channel cannot be set up.", "SUMMARY The application provides a packet transmission method, apparatus, and system, so as to improve efficiency.", "According to a first aspect, a packet transmission method is provided and is applied to a self-organizing network.", "The method includes: setting up, by a first network device according to the Media Access Control Security MACSec protocol, a MACSec channel to a second network device; and sending, by the first network device, an autonomic control plane ACP packet to the second network device by using the MACSec channel, where the ACP packet is carried in a MACSec frame, and a frame header of the MACSec frame carries identification information used to identify the ACP packet.", "With reference to the first aspect, in an implementation of the first aspect, the identification information is carried in an Ethernet type field in the frame header of the MACSec frame, and the Ethernet type field is used to indicate that the MACSec frame is used to carry the ACP packet.", "With reference to the first aspect or the foregoing implementation of the first aspect, in another implementation of the first aspect, the identification information is carried in a flag bit field in the frame header of the MACSec frame, and the flag bit field is a newly added field or a version field.", "With reference to the first aspect or the foregoing implementation of the first aspect, in another implementation of the first aspect, the identification information is carried in a MAC address field in the frame header of the MACSec frame.", "According to a second aspect, a packet transmission method is provided and is applied to a self-organizing network.", "The method includes: setting up, by a second network device according to the Media Access Control Security MACSec protocol, a MACSec channel to a first network device; receiving, by the second network device by using the MACSec channel, a MACSec frame sent by the first network device; and determining, by the second network device according to identification information that is carried in a frame header of the MACSec frame and that is used to identify an autonomic control plane ACP packet, the ACP packet.", "With reference to the second aspect, in an implementation of the second aspect, the identification information is carried in an Ethernet type field in the frame header of the MACSec frame, and the Ethernet type field is used to indicate that the MACSec frame is used to carry the ACP packet.", "With reference to the second aspect or the foregoing implementation of the second aspect, in another implementation of the second aspect, the identification information is carried in a flag bit field in the frame header of the MACSec frame, and the flag bit field is a newly added field or a version field.", "With reference to the second aspect or the foregoing implementation of the second aspect, in another implementation of the second aspect, the identification information is carried in a MAC address field in the frame header of the MACSec frame.", "According to a third aspect, a first network device for packet transmission is provided and is applied to a self-organizing network.", "The first network device includes: a setup module, configured to set up, by the first network device according to the Media Access Control Security MACSec protocol, a MACSec channel to a second network device; and a sending module, configured to send, by the first network device, an autonomic control plane ACP packet to the second network device by using the MACSec channel that is set up by the setup module, where the ACP packet is carried in a MACSec frame, and a frame header of the MACSec frame carries identification information used to identify the ACP packet.", "With reference to the third aspect, in an implementation of the third aspect, the identification information is carried in an Ethernet type field in the frame header of the MACSec frame, and the Ethernet type field is used to indicate that the MACSec frame is used to carry the ACP packet.", "With reference to the third aspect or the foregoing implementation of the third aspect, in another implementation of the third aspect, the identification information is carried in a flag bit field in the frame header of the MACSec frame, and the flag bit field is a newly added field or a version field.", "With reference to the third aspect or the foregoing implementation of the third aspect, in another implementation of the third aspect, the identification information is carried in a MAC address field in the frame header of the MACSec frame.", "According to a fourth aspect, a second network device for packet transmission is provided and is applied to a self-organizing network.", "The second network device includes: a setup module, configured to set up, by the second network device according to the Media Access Control Security MACSec protocol, a MACSec channel to a first network device; a receiving module, configured to receive, by the second network device by using the MACSec channel that is set up by the setup module, a MACSec frame sent by the first network device; and a determining module, configured to determine, by the second network device according to identification information that is carried in a frame header of the MACSec frame received by the receiving module and that is used to identify an autonomic control plane ACP packet, the ACP packet.", "With reference to the fourth aspect, in an implementation of the fourth aspect, the identification information is carried in an Ethernet type field in the frame header of the MACSec frame, and the Ethernet type field is used to indicate that the MACSec frame is used to carry the ACP packet.", "With reference to the fourth aspect or the foregoing implementation of the fourth aspect, in another implementation of the fourth aspect, the identification information is carried in a flag bit field in the frame header of the MACSec frame, and the flag bit field is a newly added field or a version field.", "With reference to the fourth aspect or the foregoing implementation of the fourth aspect, in another implementation of the fourth aspect, the identification information is carried in a MAC address field in the frame header of the MACSec frame.", "According to a fifth aspect, a packet transmission system is provided and is applied to a self-organizing network.", "The system includes: the foregoing first network device and the foregoing second network device.", "The first network device sets up, according to the Media Access Control Security MACSec protocol, a MACSec channel to the second network device; the first network device sends an autonomic control plane ACP packet to the second network device by using the MACSec channel, where the ACP packet is carried in a MACSec frame, and a frame header of the MACSec frame carries identification information used to identify the ACP packet; the second network device receives the MACSec frame; and the second network device determines, according to the identification information that is carried in the frame header of the MACSec frame and that is used to identify the autonomic control plane ACP packet, the ACP packet.", "Based on the foregoing technical solutions, by means of the packet transmission method, apparatus, and system in the embodiments of the application, the MACSec channel is set up between the first network device and the second network device that are in the self-organizing network according to the MACSec protocol, and the MACSec frame can be transmitted between the first network device and the second network device by using the MACSec channel.", "The frame header of the MACSec frame carries the identification information, and the ACP packet can be indicated according to the identification information.", "Therefore, a routable interface address and a link-local address that is used to set up an IPSec do not need to be both configured on an interface, and a MACSec security mechanism is provided for an ACP according to the MACSec protocol and without using an L3 tunnel, thereby improving efficiency.", "In addition, the ACP packet in the MACSec frame can be distinguished by using the identification information, so that the ACP packet can be transmitted between the first network device and the second network device that are in the self-organizing network.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS To describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the application more clearly, the following briefly describes the accompanying drawings required for describing the embodiments of the application.", "Apparently, the accompanying drawings in the following description show merely some embodiments of the application, and a person of ordinary skill in the art may still derive other drawings from these accompanying drawings without creative efforts.", "FIG.", "1 is a schematic flowchart of a packet transmission method according to an embodiment of the application; FIG.", "2 is a schematic structural diagram of a MACSec frame in a packet transmission method according to an embodiment of the application; FIG.", "3 is a schematic structural diagram of another MACSec frame in a packet transmission method according to an embodiment of the application; FIG.", "4 is a schematic structural diagram of still another MACSec frame in a packet transmission method according to an embodiment of the application; FIG.", "5 is a schematic flowchart of a packet transmission method according to another embodiment of the application; FIG.", "6 is a schematic block diagram of a first network device for packet transmission according to an embodiment of the application; FIG.", "7 is a schematic block diagram of a second network device for packet transmission according to an embodiment of the application; FIG.", "8 is a schematic block diagram of a packet transmission system according to an embodiment of the application; FIG.", "9 is a schematic block diagram of a first network device for packet transmission according to another embodiment of the application; and FIG.", "10 is a schematic block diagram of a second network device for packet transmission according to another embodiment of the application.", "DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS The following clearly and describes the technical solutions in the embodiments of the application with reference to the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the application.", "Apparently, the described embodiments are a part rather than all of the embodiments of the application.", "All other embodiments obtained by a person of ordinary skill in the art based on the embodiments of the application without creative efforts shall fall within the protection scope of the application.", "FIG.", "1 is a schematic flowchart of a packet transmission method 100 according to an embodiment of the application.", "The method 100 may be applied to a self-organizing network and is performed by a first network device in the self-organizing network.", "The first network device may be a transmit node.", "As shown in FIG.", "1, the method 100 includes the following steps.", "S110: The first network device sets up, according to the Media Access Control Security MACSec protocol, a MACSec channel to a second network device.", "S120: The first network device sends an autonomic control plane ACP packet to the second network device by using the MACSec channel, where the ACP packet is carried in a MACSec frame, and a frame header of the MACSec frame carries identification information used to identify the ACP packet.", "Specifically, in the self-organizing network, a node may be set to a registrar (Registrar) node.", "A unique device identifier (UDI) whitelist of self-organizing nodes is configured for the registrar node.", "Nodes in the UDI whitelist may join in the self-organizing domain, and the registrar node is connected to a domain CA (a self-organizing domain digital certificate authentication authority) and supports domain certificate (domain certificate) allocation.", "Each node in the network initiates an adjacency discovery (AD) message, and searches for a neighboring node by using the AD message.", "The AD message includes a UDI or a domain certificate.", "Each node may create a neighbor list according to the AD message.", "After receiving the AD message, the registrar node compares the UDI with the UDI whitelist, and sends the domain certificate to the neighboring node belonging to the UDI whitelist.", "The neighboring node and the registrar node perform, based on the domain certificate, mutual authentication, obtain, after the authentication succeeds, a packet encryption key by means of negotiation based on a key generated in an authentication process, and set up a MACSec channel between the registrar node and the neighboring node according to the Media Access Control Security MACSec) protocol.", "Similarly, for a neighboring node of the neighboring node of the registrar node, the neighboring node of the registrar node needs to serve as a proxy server (Proxy) and an authenticator, and other steps are the same, thereby setting up MACSec channels between adjacent nodes in the self-organizing network, so that multiple nodes belonging to a same domain form an ACP.", "In the ACP, the nodes may mutually transmit, by using the MACSec channels, ACP packets encapsulated according to the MACSec protocol.", "Therefore, by means of the packet transmission method in this embodiment of the application, the MACSec channel is set up between the first network device and the second network device that are in the self-organizing network according to the MACSec protocol.", "The first network device sends the ACP packet to the second network device by using the MACSec channel.", "The ACP packet is carried in the MACSec frame, and the frame header of the MACSec frame carries the identification information used to identify the ACP packet.", "Therefore, a routable interface address and a link-local address that is used to set up an IPSec do not need to be both configured on an interface, and a MACSec security mechanism is provided for transmission of the ACP packet without using an L3 tunnel, thereby improving efficiency.", "In addition, the ACP packet can be distinguished from another packet by using the identification information in the frame header of the MACSec frame, so that the ACP packet can be transmitted between the first network device and the second network device that are in the self-organizing network.", "In this embodiment of the application, each node in the self-organizing network supports a self-organizing feature, and each node has a UDI or a device ID certificate (DevID certificate) of the node.", "Optionally, an example in which each node obtains a domain certificate by using the UDI is used herein for description, but the application is not limited thereto.", "In the network, a node is set to a registrar (Registrar) node.", "The registrar node supports domain certificate allocation and a UDI whitelist of self-organizing nodes is configured for the registrar node.", "Nodes in the UDI whitelist belong to a same self-organizing domain.", "Optionally, the registrar node may be pre-configured.", "The registrar node is a node that can support domain certificate allocation, that is, the registrar node is connected to a digital certificate authentication management authority and can communicate with the digital certificate authentication management authority.", "That is, the registrar node can allocate the domain certificate to another node by using the digital certificate authentication management authority.", "In this embodiment of the application, after the self-organizing feature is enabled, the self-organizing node can send an AD message to a neighboring node, so as to search for the neighboring node of the self-organizing node.", "Optionally, each node may initiate the AD message once at a time interval, for example, every 10s.", "The AD message may include a UDI or a domain certificate.", "For example, for an AD message sent by the registrar node, the registrar node supports the domain certificate allocation and may first allocate a domain certificate to the registrar node.", "The AD message sent by the registrar node may include the domain certificate.", "For an AD message sent by a node having no domain certificate, the AD message may include a UDI.", "In this embodiment of the application, the AD message sent by the self-organizing node can merely be sent for a distance of one hop.", "That is, only the neighboring node can receive the AD message.", "Therefore, after receiving an AD message sent by a neighboring node, a node may set up a neighbor list for recording the neighboring node of the node.", "Optionally, the neighbor list may include a UDI of the neighboring node.", "The UDI is obtained by using the AD message sent by the neighboring node.", "The neighbor list may further include address information.", "The address information may be an IPv6 address, an IPv4 address, or a Media Access Control (MAC) address, and may be determined by using a packet in the sent AD message, but the application is not limited thereto.", "A UDI and address information of a neighboring node of each node can be determined according to a neighboring node list determined by the node.", "In this embodiment of the application, after receiving the AD message sent by the neighboring node, the registrar node compares a UDI in the AD message with the UDI whitelist of the registrar node.", "If the UDI of the neighboring node matches the UDI whitelist, the registrar node generates a domain certificate according to the UDI, and sends the domain certificate to the neighboring node.", "The domain certificate is used in a subsequent AD broadcast.", "In this case, the registrar node and the neighboring node that have the domain certificate belong to a same ACP.", "In this embodiment of the application, the AD message that is received by the registrar node and that is sent by the neighboring node may be an AD message of the neighboring node, or may be an AD message that is of the neighboring node of the neighboring node and that is forwarded by the neighboring node.", "In addition, in comparison with the UDI whitelist, and for nodes belonging to a same domain, the registrar node sends the domain certificate to all the nodes.", "Optionally, the domain certificate may be mutually forwarded by the neighboring nodes.", "Nodes having the domain certificate all belong to a same domain, and the nodes in the self-organizing network belong to a same ACP.", "In this embodiment of the application, when each node in the self-organizing network has an DevID certificate of the node, an AD message sent by the node to a neighboring node includes the domain certificate or a secured Unique Device Identifier (SUDI).", "An AD message of the registrar node may include the domain certificate, and an AD message of a node having no domain certificate includes an SUDI.", "The neighboring node sends an 802.1AR certificate of the neighboring node to the registrar node.", "Optionally, the neighboring node may send an 802.1AR certificate of the neighboring node to the registrar node by using a Proxy.", "The registrar node receiving the message verifies the certificate by using a public key, and is connected to a verification server to verify whether the device can access the domain.", "If verification succeeds, the registrar node generates a domain certificate according to the SUDI and sends the domain certificate to the corresponding neighboring node.", "The neighboring node receives the domain certificate and uses the domain certificate in the subsequent AD broadcast.", "Similarly, the neighboring node of the neighboring node of the registrar node may also obtain the domain certificate by using the method.", "The registrar node and the neighboring node that have the domain certificate belong to a same ACP.", "In S110, the first network device and the second network device that are in the self-organizing network may set up the MACSec channel according to the Media Access Control Security MACSec protocol.", "The first network device and the second network device may be any two nodes in the self-organizing network.", "Optionally, the first network device and the second network device may be two neighboring nodes.", "Specifically, the neighboring node obtaining the domain certificate and the registrar node may perform, based on the domain certificate, mutual authentication, obtain, after the authentication succeeds, a packet encryption key by means of negotiation based on a key generated in an authentication process, and set up a MACSec channel between the registrar node and the neighboring node according to the MACSec protocol.", "Similarly, for the neighboring node of the neighboring node of the registrar node, the neighboring node of the registrar node may serve as a proxy server (Proxy) and an authenticator, and other steps are the same, thereby setting up MACSec channels between adjacent nodes of nodes belonging to a same domain.", "In this way, packet transmission can be performed between any two nodes, that is, the first network device and the second network device, in the ACP by using the MACSec channel.", "Specifically, the neighboring node obtaining the domain certificate sent by the registrar node may initiate authentication to the registrar node, for example, may initiate 802.1X-based authentication.", "The registrar node may serve as an authenticator (Authenticator) and an authentication server, to implement the mutual authentication between the registrar node and the neighboring node.", "For example, an EAP-TLS (Extensible Authentication Protocol, Extensible Authentication Protocol) (Transport Layer Security Protocol, Transport Layer Security Protocol) authentication method may be selected, to comply with the 802.1af standard.", "In this embodiment of the application, after the authentication succeeds, the registrar node and the neighboring node obtain the packet encryption key by means of the negotiation based on the key generated in the authentication process, and set up an ACP-dedicated secure MACSec channel.", "Specifically, a pairwise master key (PMK) generated in the previous authentication between the registrar node and the neighboring node is used as a connectivity association key (CAK) according to the MACSec Key Agreement (MKA).", "Serving as an authenticator, the registrar node is selected as a key server (key server) in the MKA protocol by default, and may generate a secure association key (SAK) according to the 802.1X protocol and according to the CAK, a random number, or the like, encrypt the SAK, and send the encrypted SAK to the neighboring node, so as to facilitate use of the SAK for encryption and signature of an Ethernet frame in subsequent communication.", "In this embodiment of the application, after the registrar node and the neighboring node set up the MACSec channel by using the foregoing method, and when the neighboring node of the neighboring node of the registrar node joins in the ACP, the neighboring node of the registrar node may serve as a proxy server (Proxy) and an authenticator, and the neighboring node of the neighboring node of the registrar node obtains the domain certificate by using the same method, further joins in the ACP, and sets up a MACSec channel between the neighboring node of the neighboring node and the neighboring node by means of authentication.", "In S120, in the ACP in the self-organizing network, the first network device may send the ACP packet to the second network device by using the MACSec channel that is set up.", "Specifically, any node in the self-organizing network may send an ACP packet to a neighboring node by using a MACSec channel.", "The ACP packet is forwarded at least once.", "The ACP packet can be transmitted between any two nodes, that is, the first network device and the second network device, in the self-organizing network.", "Another packet can be transmitted by using the MACSec channel at a MAC layer.", "Therefore, specifically, the identification information may be carried in the frame header of the MACSec frame, and it may be distinguished according to the identification information whether the MACSec frame carries the ACP packet.", "Optionally, the ACP packet and the another packet of packets encapsulated according to the MACSec protocol may be determined by using the following several methods.", "Optionally, in an embodiment, an example in which a packet is transmitted between neighboring nodes is used.", "When a node sends, to a neighboring node, a MACSec frame encapsulated according to the MACSec protocol, a frame header of the MACSec frame may carry identification information, and the identification information is used to indicate that a structure of the frame is used to carry an ACP packet.", "Specifically, if the entire self-organizing network does not use the MACSec on a data plane, a packet encapsulated according to the MACSec protocol is an ACP packet, and another packet may be encapsulated by means of MAC.", "After being decapsulated, the packet is processed by means of global routing.", "For example, when the entire self-organizing network does not use the MACSec on the data plane, a packet that is sent by the node to the neighboring node and that is encapsulated in an 802.1ae format is a packet encapsulated according to the MACSec protocol.", "The packet may be understood as the ACP packet.", "Specifically, as shown in FIG.", "2, FIG.", "2 shows a MACSec frame encapsulated in the 802.1ae format.", "A frame header of the MACSec frame may include several fields shown in FIG.", "2.The 802.1AE header (802.1AE Header) field may be the identification information and indicates that a structure of the frame is a packet encapsulated according to the MACSec protocol, and the MACSec frame is used to carry an ACP packet.", "On the contrary, if the 802.1AE header is not included, it may be determined that a structure of the frame is another common packet.", "Optionally, in an embodiment, an example in which a packet is transmitted between neighboring nodes is used.", "When a node sends, to a neighboring node, a MACSec frame encapsulated according to the MACSec protocol, a frame header of the MACSec frame may carry identification information, and the identification information is used to indicate that a structure of the frame is used to carry an ACP packet.", "For example, the identification information may be carried in an Ethernet type field in the frame header of the transmitted MACSec frame.", "Specifically, the transmitted packet may include the Ethernet type (Ethertype) field.", "For example, as shown in FIG.", "2, the Ethernet type field may be located in an 802.1AE header field.", "Specifically, as shown in FIG.", "3, the 802.1AE header field may include a MACSec Ethertype field, a TCI (TAG control information, tag control information) field, an AN (Association Number) field, an SL (Short Length) field, a PN (Packet Number) field, and an SCI (Secure Channel Identifier, secure channel identifier) field.", "The MACSec Ethertype field may include two octets.", "One octet may include 8 bits.", "The TCI field and the AN field may include one octet in total, the SL field may include one octet, the PN field may include four octets, and the SCI field may include eight octets, but the application is not limited thereto.", "In the 802.1AE Header field, for the MACSec Ethertype field, that is, the Ethernet type field carrying the identification information, optionally, the MACSec Ethertype field may include the identification information, or may be directly used as the identification information.", "Optionally, if the field is used as the identification information, it may be set that when a value of the MACSec Ethertype field is a preset value, the packet is an ACP packet; or when a value of the MACSec Ethertype field is not the preset value, the packet is another packet.", "For example, in the packet encapsulated in the 802.1ae format, a value of the MACSec Ethertype field may be represented by 88e5, and the packet is a common packet.", "A new value of the MACSec Ethertype field, for example, 88e6, is set to the preset value, and the packet is an ACP packet.", "Optionally, in an embodiment, an example in which a packet is transmitted between neighboring nodes is used.", "When a node sends, to a neighboring node, a MACSec frame encapsulated according to the MACSec protocol, a frame header of the MACSec frame may include identification information used to distinguish an ACP packet.", "For example, the identification information may be carried in a flag bit field in the frame header of the transmitted MACSec frame, and the flag bit field may be a newly added field or may be an existing field.", "Specifically, the flag bit field may be an original indicator bit in the packet.", "For example, in the packet encapsulated in the 802.1ae format, the TCI field and the AN field that are shown in FIG.", "3 occupy one octet, that is, the two fields occupy eight bits in total.", "The two fields may be expanded as shown in FIG.", "4.v=0 in the eighth bit indicates a version (version) bit, and the version bit is originally used to indicate a version of the MACSec and is 0 at present.", "In this embodiment of the application, the version bit may be used to indicate the ACP packet.", "When the bit is “1”, it indicates that the packet is an ACP packet; or when the bit is “0”, it indicates that the packet is another packet.", "Optionally, a new flag bit may be added to the transmitted packet.", "The flag bit includes the identification information of the ACP packet.", "For example, when the flag bit is “0”, it indicates that the packet is an ACP packet; or when the flag bit is “1”, it indicates that the packet is another packet.", "Optionally, in an embodiment, an example in which a packet is transmitted between neighboring nodes is used.", "When a node sends, to a neighboring node, a MACSec frame encapsulated according to the MACSec protocol, a frame header of the MACSec frame may include identification information that is of an ACP packet and that is used to indicate that the packet is an ACP packet.", "For example, the identification information may be carried in a MAC address field in the transmitted packet, and it is determined according to the MAC address field whether the transmitted packet is an ACP packet.", "For example, for eight most significant bits of an existing MAC address, a second bit b2 of the eight bits is used to distinguish whether the MAC address is a locally managed MAC address or a global (global) MAC address.", "Most existing MAC addresses are global.", "Therefore, the bit b2 may be used as the identification information and is used to indicate whether the packet is an ACP packet.", "In this case, the locally managed MAC address (virtual MAC) and the global MAC address are both used on a device interface.", "When the locally managed MAC address is used to transmit the packet, that is, when a value of b2 is 1, the transmitted packet is an ACP packet.", "When the global MAC address is used to transmit the packet, that is, when a value of b2 is 0, the transmitted packet is another packet, but the application is not limited thereto.", "Optionally, the identification information of the ACP packet may be carried in another location in the MAC address field.", "Alternatively, one or more bits may be newly added to the MAC address field to carry the identification information.", "In this embodiment of the application, by using the foregoing method, each node in the ACP may generate and send, to a neighboring node, an ACP packet encapsulated according to the MACSec protocol.", "Therefore, by means of the packet transmission method in this embodiment of the application, the MACSec channel is set up between the first network device and the second network device that are in the self-organizing network according to the MACSec protocol.", "The first network device sends the ACP packet to the second network device by using the MACSec channel.", "The ACP packet is carried in the MACSec frame, and the frame header of the MACSec frame carries the identification information used to identify the ACP packet.", "Therefore, a routable interface address and a link-local address that is used to set up an IPSec do not need to be both configured on an interface, and a MACSec security mechanism is provided for transmission of the ACP packet without using an L3 tunnel, thereby improving efficiency.", "In addition, the ACP packet can be distinguished from another packet by using the identification information in the frame header of the MACSec frame, so that the ACP packet can be transmitted between the first network device and the second network device that are in the self-organizing network.", "The foregoing describes the packet transmission method in the embodiments of the application in detail from the perspective of a transmit end, that is, the first network device with reference to FIG.", "1 to FIG.", "4, and the following describes a packet transmission method in the embodiments of the application from the perspective of a receive end, that is, a second network device with reference to FIG.", "5.FIG.", "5 is a schematic flowchart of a packet transmission method 200 according to another embodiment of the application.", "The method 200 may be applied to a self-organizing network and is performed by a first network device in the self-organizing network.", "The first network device may be a receive node.", "As shown in FIG.", "5, the method 200 includes the following steps.", "S210: A second network device sets up, according to the Media Access Control Security MACSec protocol, a MACSec channel to a first network device.", "S220: The second network device receives, by using the MACSec channel, a MACSec frame sent by the first network device.", "S230: The second network device determines, according to identification information that is carried in a frame header of the MACSec frame and that is used to identify an autonomic control plane ACP packet, the ACP packet.", "Specifically, in the self-organizing network, a node may be set to a registrar (Registrar) node.", "A UDI whitelist of self-organizing nodes is configured for the registrar node.", "Nodes in the UDI whitelist may join in the self-organizing domain, and the registrar node is connected to a domain CA (a self-organizing domain digital certificate authentication authority) and supports domain certificate (domain certificate) allocation.", "Each node in the network initiates an adjacency discovery (AD) message, and searches for a neighboring node by using the AD message.", "The AD message includes a UDI or a domain certificate.", "Each node may create a neighbor list according to the AD message.", "After receiving the AD message, the registrar node compares the UDI with the UDI whitelist, and sends the domain certificate to the neighboring node belonging to the UDI whitelist.", "The neighboring node and the registrar node perform, based on the domain certificate, mutual authentication, obtain, after the authentication succeeds, a packet encryption key by means of negotiation based on a key generated in an authentication process, and set up a MACSec channel between the registrar node and the neighboring node according to the MACSec protocol.", "Similarly, for a neighboring node of the neighboring node of the registrar node, the neighboring node of the registrar node needs to serve as a proxy server (Proxy) and an authenticator, and other steps are the same, thereby setting up MACSec channels between adjacent nodes in the self-organizing network, so that multiple nodes belonging to a same domain form an ACP.", "In the ACP, the nodes may mutually transmit, by using the MACSec channels, ACP packets encapsulated according to the MACSec protocol.", "Therefore, by means of the packet transmission method in this embodiment of the application, the MACSec channel is set up between the second network device and the first network device that are in the self-organizing network according to the MACSec protocol.", "The second network device receives, by using the MACSec channel, the MACSec frame sent by the first network device, and determines the ACP packet according to the identification information in the frame header of the MACSec frame.", "Therefore, a routable interface address and a link-local address that is used to set up an IPSec do not need to be both configured on an interface, and a MACSec security mechanism is provided for transmission of the ACP packet without using an L3 tunnel, thereby improving efficiency.", "In addition, the ACP packet can be distinguished from another packet by using the identification information in the frame header of the MACSec frame, so that the ACP packet can be transmitted between the first network device and the second network device that are in the self-organizing network.", "In this embodiment of the application, each node in the self-organizing network supports a self-organizing feature, and each node has a UDI or a device ID certificate (DevID certificate) of the node.", "Optionally, an example in which each node obtains a domain certificate by using the UDI is used herein for description, but the application is not limited thereto.", "In the network, a node is set to a registrar (Registrar) node.", "The registrar node supports domain certificate allocation and a UDI whitelist of self-organizing nodes is configured for the registrar node.", "Nodes in the UDI whitelist belong to a same self-organizing domain.", "Optionally, the registrar node may be pre-configured.", "The registrar node is a node that can support domain certificate allocation, that is, the registrar node is connected to a digital certificate authentication management authority and can communicate with the digital certificate authentication management authority.", "That is, the registrar node can allocate the domain certificate to another node by using the digital certificate authentication management authority.", "In this embodiment of the application, after the self-organizing feature is enabled, the self-organizing node can send an AD message to a neighboring node, so as to search for the neighboring node of the self-organizing node.", "Optionally, each node may initiate the AD message once at a time interval, for example, every 10 s. The AD message may include a UDI or a domain certificate.", "For example, for an AD message sent by the registrar node, the registrar node supports the domain certificate allocation and may first allocate a domain certificate to the registrar node.", "The AD message sent by the registrar node may include the domain certificate.", "For an AD message sent by a node having no domain certificate, the AD message may include a UDI.", "In this embodiment of the application, the AD message sent by the self-organizing node can merely be sent for a distance of one hop.", "That is, only the neighboring node can receive the AD message.", "Therefore, after receiving an AD message sent by a neighboring node, a node may set up a neighbor list for recording the neighboring node belonging to the node.", "Optionally, the neighbor list may include a UDI of the neighboring node.", "The UDI is obtained by using the AD message sent by the neighboring node.", "The neighbor list may further include address information.", "The address information may be an IPv6 address, an IPv4 address, or a MAC address, and may be determined by using a packet in the sent AD message, but the application is not limited thereto.", "A UDI and address information of a neighboring node of each node can be determined according to a neighboring node list determined by the node.", "In this embodiment of the application, after receiving the AD message sent by the neighboring node, the registrar node compares a UDI in the AD message with the UDI whitelist of the registrar node.", "If the UDI of the neighboring node matches the UDI whitelist, the registrar node generates a domain certificate according to the UDI, and sends the domain certificate to the neighboring node.", "The domain certificate is used in a subsequent AD broadcast.", "In this case, the registrar node and the neighboring node that have the domain certificate belong to a same ACP.", "In this embodiment of the application, the AD message that is received by the registrar node and that is sent by the neighboring node may be an AD message of the neighboring node, or may be an AD message that is of the neighboring node of the neighboring node and that is forwarded by the neighboring node.", "In addition, in comparison with the UDI whitelist, and for nodes belonging to a same domain, the registrar node sends the domain certificate to all the nodes.", "Optionally, the domain certificate may be mutually forwarded by the neighboring nodes.", "Nodes having the domain certificate all belong to a same domain, and the nodes in the self-organizing network belong to a same ACP.", "In this embodiment of the application, when each node in the self-organizing network has an DevID certificate of the node, an AD message sent by the node to a neighboring node includes the domain certificate or an SUDI.", "An AD message of the registrar node may include the domain certificate, and an AD message of a node having no domain certificate includes an SUDI.", "The neighboring node sends an 802.1AR certificate of the neighboring node to the registrar node.", "Optionally, the neighboring node may send an 802.1AR certificate of the neighboring node to the registrar node by using a Proxy.", "The registrar node receiving the message verifies the certificate by using a public key, and is connected to a verification server to verify whether the device can access the domain.", "If verification succeeds, the registrar node generates a domain certificate according to the SUDI and sends the domain certificate to the corresponding neighboring node.", "The neighboring node receives the domain certificate and uses the domain certificate in the subsequent AD broadcast.", "Similarly, the neighboring node of the neighboring node of the registrar node may also obtain the domain certificate by using the method.", "The registrar node and the neighboring node that have the domain certificate belong to a same ACP.", "In S210, the first network device and the second network device that are in the self-organizing network may set up the MACSec channel according to the Media Access Control Security MACSec protocol.", "The first network device and the second network device may be any two nodes in the self-organizing network.", "Optionally, the first network device and the second network device may be two neighboring nodes.", "Specifically, the neighboring node obtaining the domain certificate and the registrar node may perform, based on the domain certificate, mutual authentication, obtain, after the authentication succeeds, a packet encryption key by means of negotiation based on a key generated in an authentication process, and set up a MACSec channel between the registrar node and the neighboring node according to the MACSec protocol.", "Similarly, for the neighboring node of the neighboring node of the registrar node, the neighboring node of the registrar node may serve as a proxy server (Proxy) and an authenticator, and other steps are the same, thereby setting up MACSec channels between adjacent nodes of nodes belonging to a same domain.", "In this way, packet transmission can be performed between any two nodes, that is, the first network device and the second network device, in the ACP by using the MACSec channel.", "Specifically, the neighboring node obtaining the domain certificate sent by the registrar node may initiate authentication to the registrar node, for example, may initiate 802.1X-based authentication.", "The registrar node may serve as an authenticator (Authenticator) and an authentication server, to implement the mutual authentication between the registrar node and the neighboring node.", "For example, an EAP-TLS authentication method may be selected, to comply with the 802.1af standard.", "In this embodiment of the application, after the authentication succeeds, the registrar node and the neighboring node obtain the packet encryption key by means of the negotiation based on the key generated in the authentication process, and set up an ACP-dedicated secure MACSec channel.", "Specifically, a PMK generated in the previous authentication between the registrar node and the neighboring node is used as a CAK according to the MKA protocol.", "Serving as an authenticator, the registrar node is selected as a key server (key server) in the MKA protocol by default, and may generate an SAK according to the 802.1X protocol and according to the CAK, a random number, or the like, encrypt the SAK, and send the encrypted SAK to the neighboring node, so as to facilitate use of the SAK for encryption and signature of an Ethernet frame in subsequent communication.", "In this embodiment of the application, after the registrar node and the neighboring node set up the MACSec channel by using the foregoing method, and when the neighboring node of the neighboring node of the registrar node joins in the ACP, the neighboring node of the registrar node may serve as a proxy server (Proxy) and an authenticator, and the neighboring node of the neighboring node of the registrar node obtains the domain certificate by using the same method, further joins in the ACP, and sets up a MACSec channel between the neighboring node of the neighboring node and the neighboring node by means of authentication.", "In S220, in the ACP in the self-organizing network, the second network device may receive, by using the MACSec channel, the MACSec frame sent by the first network device.", "Specifically, any node in the self-organizing network may send an ACP packet to a neighboring node by using a MACSec channel, and the ACP packet is forwarded at least once.", "The MACSec frame can be transmitted between any two nodes, that is, the first network device and the second network device, in the self-organizing network.", "In this embodiment of the application, the frame header of the MACSec frame received by the second network device may include the identification information, and the identification information is used to identify whether the MACSec frame is an ACP packet.", "Therefore, in S230, the second network device may determine, according to the identification information in the frame header of the MACSec frame, that the MACSec frame is an ACP packet.", "Another packet can be transmitted by using the MACSec channel at a MAC layer.", "Therefore, specifically, it may be distinguished according to the identification information carried in the frame header of the MACSec frame whether the MACSec frame carries the ACP packet.", "Optionally, the ACP packet and the another packet of received packets encapsulated according to the MACSec protocol may be determined by using the following several methods.", "Optionally, in an embodiment, an example in which a packet is transmitted between neighboring nodes is used.", "When a node receives a MACSec frame that is sent by a neighboring node and that is encapsulated according to the MACSec protocol, a frame header of the MACSec frame may carry identification information, and the identification information is used to indicate that a structure of the frame is used to carry an ACP packet.", "Specifically, if the entire self-organizing network does not use the MACSec on a data plane, a packet encapsulated according to the MACSec protocol is an ACP packet, and another packet may be encapsulated by means of MAC.", "After being decapsulated, the packet is processed by means of global routing.", "For example, when the entire self-organizing network does not use the MACSec on the data plane, a packet that is received by the node and sent by the neighboring node and that is encapsulated in an 802.1ae format is a packet encapsulated according to the MACSec protocol.", "The packet may be understood as the ACP packet.", "Specifically, as shown in FIG.", "2, FIG.", "2 shows a MACSec frame encapsulated in the 802.1ae format.", "A frame header of the MACSec frame may include several fields shown in FIG.", "2.The 802.1AE header (802.1AE Header) field may be the identification information and indicates that a structure of the frame is a packet encapsulated according to the MACSec protocol, and the MACSec frame is used to carry an ACP packet.", "On the contrary, if the 802.1AE header is not included, it may be determined that a structure of the frame is another common packet.", "Optionally, in an embodiment, an example in which a packet is transmitted between neighboring nodes is used.", "When a node receives a MACSec frame that is sent by a neighboring node and that is encapsulated according to the MACSec protocol, the MACSec frame includes identification information that is of an ACP packet and that is used to indicate that the packet is an ACP packet.", "For example, the identification information may be carried in an Ethernet type field in the frame header of the transmitted MACSec frame.", "Specifically, the transmitted packet may include the Ethernet type (Ethertype) field.", "For example, as shown in FIG.", "2, the Ethernet type field may be located in an 802.1AE header field.", "Specifically, as shown in FIG.", "3, the 802.1AE header field may include a MACSec Ethertype field, a TCI field, an AN field, an SL field, a PN field, and an SCI field.", "In the 802.1AE Header field, for the MACSec Ethertype field, that is, the Ethernet type field carrying the identification information, optionally, the MACSec Ethertype field may include the identification information, or may be directly used as the identification information.", "Optionally, if the field is used as the identification information, it may be set that when a value of the MACSec Ethertype field is a preset value, the packet is an ACP packet; or when a value of the MACSec Ethertype field is not the preset value, the packet is another packet.", "For example, in the packet encapsulated in the 802.1ae format, a value of the MACSec Ethertype field may be represented by 88e5, and the packet is a common packet.", "A new value of the MACSec Ethertype field, for example, 88e6, is set to the preset value, and the packet is an ACP packet.", "Optionally, in an embodiment, an example in which a packet is transmitted between neighboring nodes is used.", "When a node receives a MACSec frame that is sent by a neighboring node and that is encapsulated according to the MACSec protocol, a frame header of the MACSec frame includes identification information that is of an ACP packet and that is used to indicate that the packet is an ACP packet.", "For example, the identification information may be carried in a flag bit field in the frame header of the transmitted MACSec frame, and the flag bit field may be a newly added field or may be an existing field.", "Specifically, the flag bit field may be an original indicator bit in the packet.", "For example, in the packet encapsulated in the 802.1ae format, the TCI field and the AN field that are shown in FIG.", "3 may be expanded as shown in FIG.", "4.v=0 indicates a version (version) bit, and the version bit is originally used to indicate a version of the MACSec and is 0 at present.", "In this embodiment of the application, the version bit may be used to indicate the ACP packet.", "When the bit is “1”, it indicates that the packet is an ACP packet; or when the bit is “0”, it indicates that the packet is another packet.", "Optionally, a new flag bit may be added to the transmitted packet.", "The flag bit includes the identification information of the ACP packet.", "For example, when the flag bit is “0”, it indicates that the packet is an ACP packet; or when the flag bit is “1”, it indicates that the packet is another packet.", "Optionally, in an embodiment, an example in which a packet is transmitted between neighboring nodes is used.", "When a node receives a MACSec frame that is sent by a neighboring node and that is encapsulated according to the MACSec protocol, a frame header of the MACSec frame includes identification information that is of an ACP packet and that is used to indicate that the packet is an ACP packet.", "For example, the identification information may be carried in a MAC address field in the transmitted packet, and it is determined according to the MAC address field whether the transmitted packet is an ACP packet.", "For example, for eight most significant bits of an existing MAC address, a second bit b2 of the eight bits is used to distinguish whether the MAC address is a locally managed MAC address or a global (global) MAC address.", "Most existing MAC addresses are global.", "Therefore, the bit b2 may be used as the identification information and is used to indicate whether the packet is an ACP packet.", "In this case, the locally managed MAC address (virtual MAC) and the global MAC address are both used on a device interface.", "When the locally managed MAC address is used to transmit the packet, that is, when a value of b2 is 1, the transmitted packet is an ACP packet.", "When the global MAC address is used to transmit the packet, that is, when a value of b2 is 0, the transmitted packet is another packet, but the application is not limited thereto.", "Optionally, the identification information of the ACP packet may be carried in another location in the MAC address field.", "Alternatively, one or more bits may be newly added to the MAC address field to carry the identification information.", "In this embodiment of the application, the node in the self-organizing network receives the MACSec frame that is sent by the neighboring node and that is encapsulated according to the MACSec protocol, determines the ACP packet according to the identification information included in the frame header of the MACSec frame, and specifically, may determine, by using the foregoing method, a packet that is an ACP packet.", "It should be understood that sequence numbers of the foregoing processes do not mean execution sequences in various embodiments of the application.", "The execution sequences of the processes should be determined according to functions and internal logic of the processes, and should not be construed as any limitation on the implementation processes of the embodiments of the application.", "Therefore, by means of the packet transmission method in this embodiment of the application, the MACSec channel is set up between the second network device and the first network device that are in the self-organizing network according to the MACSec protocol.", "The second network device receives, by using the MACSec channel, the MACSec frame sent by the first network device, and determines the ACP packet according to the identification information in the frame header of the MACSec frame.", "Therefore, a routable interface address and a link-local address that is used to set up an IPSec do not need to be both configured on an interface, and a MACSec security mechanism is provided for transmission of the ACP packet without using an L3 tunnel, thereby improving efficiency.", "In addition, the ACP packet can be distinguished from another packet by using the identification information in the frame header of the MACSec frame, so that the ACP packet can be transmitted between the first network device and the second network device that are in the self-organizing network.", "The foregoing describes the packet transmission methods in the embodiments of the application in detail with reference to FIG.", "1 to FIG.", "5, and the following describes packet transmission apparatuses in the embodiments of the application with reference to FIG.", "6 and FIG.", "7.FIG.", "6 is a schematic flowchart of a first network device 300 for packet transmission according to an embodiment of the application.", "The first network device 300 may be a transmit node in a self-organizing network.", "As shown in FIG.", "6, the first network device 300 includes: a setup module 310, configured to set up, by the first network device according to the Media Access Control Security MACSec protocol, a MACSec channel to a second network device; and a sending module 320, configured to send, by the first network device, an autonomic control plane ACP packet to the second network device by using the MACSec channel that is set up by the setup module, where the ACP packet is carried in a MACSec frame, and a frame header of the MACSec frame carries identification information used to identify the ACP packet.", "Specifically, a node in the self-organizing network may be set to a registrar (Registrar) node.", "A UDI whitelist of self-organizing nodes is configured for the registrar node.", "Nodes in the UDI whitelist may join in the self-organizing domain, and the registrar node is connected to a domain CA (a self-organizing domain digital certificate authentication authority) and supports domain certificate (domain certificate) allocation.", "Each node in the network initiates an adjacency discovery (AD) message, and searches for a neighboring node by using the AD message.", "The AD message includes a UDI or a domain certificate.", "Each node may create a neighbor list according to the AD message.", "After receiving the AD message, the registrar node compares the UDI with the UDI whitelist, and sends the domain certificate to the neighboring node belonging to the UDI whitelist.", "The neighboring node and the registrar node perform, based on the domain certificate, mutual authentication, obtain, after the authentication succeeds, a packet encryption key by means of negotiation based on a key generated in an authentication process, and set up a MACSec channel between the registrar node and the neighboring node according to the MACSec protocol.", "Similarly, for a neighboring node of the neighboring node of the registrar node, the neighboring node of the registrar node needs to serve as a proxy server (Proxy) and an authenticator, and other steps are the same, thereby setting up MACSec channels between adjacent nodes in the self-organizing network, so that multiple nodes belonging to a same domain form an ACP.", "In the ACP, the nodes may mutually transmit, by using the MACSec channels, ACP packets encapsulated according to the MACSec protocol.", "Therefore, by means of the first network device for packet transmission in this embodiment of the application, the MACSec channel is set up between the setup module of the first network device and the second network device that are in the self-organizing network according to the MACSec protocol.", "The sending module of the first network device sends the ACP packet to the second network device by using the MACSec channel.", "The ACP packet is carried in the MACSec frame, and the frame header of the MACSec frame carries the identification information used to identify the ACP packet.", "Therefore, a routable interface address and a link-local address that is used to set up an IPSec do not need to be both configured on an interface, and a MACSec security mechanism is provided for transmission of the ACP packet without using an L3 tunnel, thereby improving efficiency.", "In addition, the ACP packet can be distinguished from another packet by using the identification information in the frame header of the MACSec frame, so that the ACP packet can be transmitted between the first network device and the second network device that are in the self-organizing network.", "In this embodiment of the application, each node in the self-organizing network supports a self-organizing feature, and each node has a UDI or a device ID certificate (DevID certificate) of the node.", "Optionally, an example in which each node obtains a domain certificate by using the UDI is used herein for description, but the application is not limited thereto.", "In the network, a node is set to a registrar (Registrar) node.", "The registrar node supports domain certificate allocation and a UDI whitelist of self-organizing nodes is configured for the registrar node.", "Nodes in the UDI whitelist belong to a same self-organizing domain.", "Optionally, the registrar node may be pre-configured.", "The registrar node is a node that can support domain certificate allocation, that is, the registrar node is connected to a digital certificate authentication management authority and can communicate with the digital certificate authentication management authority.", "That is, the registrar node can allocate the domain certificate to another node by using the digital certificate authentication management authority.", "In this embodiment of the application, after the self-organizing feature is enabled, the self-organizing node can send an AD message to a neighboring node, so as to search for the neighboring node of the self-organizing node.", "Optionally, each node may initiate the AD message once at a time interval, for example, every 10 s. The AD message may include a UDI or a domain certificate.", "For example, for an AD message sent by the registrar node, the registrar node supports the domain certificate allocation and may first allocate a domain certificate to the registrar node.", "The AD message sent by the registrar node may include the domain certificate.", "For an AD message sent by a node having no domain certificate, the AD message may include a UDI.", "In this embodiment of the application, the AD message sent by the self-organizing node can merely be sent for a distance of one hop.", "That is, only the neighboring node can receive the AD message.", "Therefore, after receiving an AD message sent by a neighboring node, a node may set up a neighbor list for recording the neighboring node belonging to the node.", "Optionally, the neighbor list may include a UDI of the neighboring node.", "The UDI is obtained by using the AD message sent by the neighboring node.", "The neighbor list may further include address information.", "The address information may be an IPv6 address, an IPv4 address, or a MAC address, and may be determined by using a packet in the sent AD message, but the application is not limited thereto.", "A UDI and address information of a neighboring node of each node can be determined according to a neighboring node list determined by the node.", "In this embodiment of the application, after receiving the AD message sent by the neighboring node, the registrar node compares a UDI in the AD message with the UDI whitelist of the registrar node.", "If the UDI of the neighboring node matches the UDI whitelist, the registrar node generates a domain certificate according to the UDI, and sends the domain certificate to the neighboring node.", "The domain certificate is used in a subsequent AD broadcast.", "In this case, the registrar node and the neighboring node that have the domain certificate belong to a same ACP.", "In this embodiment of the application, the AD message that is received by the registrar node and that is sent by the neighboring node may be an AD message of the neighboring node, or may be an AD message that is of the neighboring node of the neighboring node and that is forwarded by the neighboring node.", "In addition, in comparison with the UDI whitelist, and for nodes belonging to a same domain, the registrar node sends the domain certificate to all the nodes.", "Optionally, the domain certificate may be mutually forwarded by the neighboring nodes.", "Nodes having the domain certificate all belong to a same domain, and the nodes in the self-organizing network belong to a same ACP.", "In this embodiment of the application, when each node in the self-organizing network has an DevID certificate of the node, an AD message sent by the node to a neighboring node includes the domain certificate or an SUDI.", "An AD message of the registrar node may include the domain certificate, and an AD message of a node having no domain certificate includes an SUDI.", "The neighboring node sends an 802.1AR certificate of the neighboring node to the registrar node.", "Optionally, the neighboring node may send an 802.1AR certificate of the neighboring node to the registrar node by using a Proxy.", "The registrar node receiving the message verifies the certificate by using a public key, and is connected to a verification server to verify whether the device can access the domain.", "If verification succeeds, the registrar node generates a domain certificate according to the SUDI and sends the domain certificate to the corresponding neighboring node.", "The neighboring node receives the domain certificate and uses the domain certificate in the subsequent AD broadcast.", "Similarly, the neighboring node of the neighboring node of the registrar node may also obtain the domain certificate by using the method.", "The registrar node and the neighboring node that have the domain certificate belong to a same ACP.", "In this embodiment of the application, the setup module 310 of the first network device in the self-organizing network sets up the MACSec channel to the second network device according to the MACSec protocol.", "The first network device and the second network device may be any two nodes in the self-organizing network.", "Optionally, the first network device and the second network device may be two neighboring nodes.", "Specifically, the neighboring node obtaining the domain certificate and the registrar node may perform, based on the domain certificate, mutual authentication, obtain, after the authentication succeeds, a packet encryption key by means of negotiation based on a key generated in an authentication process, and set up a MACSec channel between the registrar node and the neighboring node according to the MACSec protocol.", "Similarly, for the neighboring node of the neighboring node of the registrar node, the neighboring node of the registrar node may serve as a proxy server (Proxy) and an authenticator, and other steps are the same, thereby setting up MACSec channels between adjacent nodes of nodes belonging to a same domain.", "In this way, packet transmission can be performed between any two nodes, that is, the first network device and the second network device, in the ACP by using the MACSec channel.", "Specifically, the neighboring node obtaining the domain certificate sent by the registrar node may initiate authentication to the registrar node, for example, may initiate 802.1X-based authentication.", "The registrar node may serve as an authenticator (Authenticator) and an authentication server, to implement the mutual authentication between the registrar node and the neighboring node.", "For example, an EAP-TLS authentication method may be selected, to comply with the 802.1af standard.", "In this embodiment of the application, after the authentication succeeds, the registrar node and the neighboring node obtain the packet encryption key by means of the negotiation based on the key generated in the authentication process, and set up an ACP-dedicated secure MACSec channel.", "Specifically, a PMK generated in the previous authentication between the registrar node and the neighboring node is used as a CAK according to the MKA protocol.", "Serving as an authenticator, the registrar node is selected as a key server (key server) in the MKA protocol by default, and may generate an SAK according to the 802.1X protocol and according to the CAK, a random number, or the like, encrypt the SAK, and send the encrypted SAK to the neighboring node, so as to facilitate use of the SAK for encryption and signature of an Ethernet frame in subsequent communication.", "In this embodiment of the application, after the registrar node and the neighboring node set up the MACSec channel by using the foregoing method, and when the neighboring node of the neighboring node of the registrar node joins in the ACP, the neighboring node of the registrar node may serve as a proxy server (Proxy) and an authenticator, and the neighboring node of the neighboring node of the registrar node obtains the domain certificate by using the same method, further joins in the ACP, and sets up a MACSec channel between the neighboring node of the neighboring node and the neighboring node by means of authentication.", "In this embodiment of the application, in the ACP in the self-organizing network, the sending module 320 of the first network device may send the ACP packet to the second network device by using the MACSec channel that is set up by the setup module 310.Specifically, a sending module 320 of any node in the self-organizing network may send an ACP packet to a neighboring node by using a MACSec channel.", "The ACP packet is forwarded at least once.", "The ACP packet can be transmitted between any two nodes, that is, the first network device and the second network device, in the self-organizing network.", "Another packet can be transmitted by using the MACSec channel at a MAC layer.", "Therefore, specifically, the identification information may be carried in the frame header of the MACSec frame, and it may be distinguished according to the identification information whether the MACSec frame carries the ACP packet.", "Optionally, the ACP packet and the another packet of packets encapsulated according to the MACSec protocol may be determined by using the following several methods.", "Optionally, in an embodiment, an example in which a packet is transmitted between neighboring nodes is used.", "When a sending module 320 of a node sends, to a neighboring node, a MACSec frame encapsulated according to the MACSec protocol, a frame header of the MACSec frame may carry identification information, and the identification information is used to indicate that a structure of the frame is used to carry an ACP packet.", "Specifically, if the entire self-organizing network does not use the MACSec on a data plane, a packet encapsulated according to the MACSec protocol is an ACP packet, and another packet may be encapsulated by means of MAC.", "After being decapsulated, the packet is processed by means of global routing.", "For example, when the entire self-organizing network does not use the MACSec on the data plane, a packet that is sent by the node to the neighboring node and that is encapsulated in an 802.1ae format is a packet encapsulated according to the MACSec protocol.", "The packet may be understood as the ACP packet.", "Specifically, as shown in FIG.", "2, FIG.", "2 shows a MACSec frame encapsulated in the 802.1ae format.", "A frame header of the MACSec frame may include several fields shown in FIG.", "2.The 802.1AE header (802.1AE Header) field may be the identification information and indicates that a structure of the frame is a packet encapsulated according to the MACSec protocol, and the MACSec frame is used to carry an ACP packet.", "On the contrary, if the 802.1AE header is not included, it may be determined that a structure of the frame is another common packet.", "Optionally, in an embodiment, an example in which a packet is transmitted between neighboring nodes is used.", "When a sending module 320 of a node sends, to a neighboring node, a MACSec frame encapsulated according to the MACSec protocol, a frame header of the MACSec frame may carry identification information, and the identification information is used to indicate that a structure of the frame is used to carry an ACP packet.", "For example, the identification information may be carried in an Ethernet type field in the transmitted packet.", "Specifically, the transmitted packet may include the Ethernet type (Ethertype) field.", "For example, as shown in FIG.", "2, the Ethernet type field may be located in an 802.1AE header field.", "Specifically, as shown in FIG.", "3, the 802.1AE header field may include a MACSec Ethertype field, a TCI field, an AN field, an SL field, a PN field, and an SCI field.", "In the 802.1AE Header field, for the MACSec Ethertype field, that is, the Ethernet type field carrying the identification information, optionally, the MACSec Ethertype field may include the identification information, or may be directly used as the identification information.", "Optionally, if the field is used as the identification information, it may be set that when a value of the MACSec Ethertype field is a preset value, the packet is an ACP packet; or when a value of the MACSec Ethertype field is not the preset value, the packet is another packet.", "For example, in the packet encapsulated in the 802.1ae format, a value of the MACSec Ethertype field may be represented by 88e5, and the packet is a common packet.", "A new value of the MACSec Ethertype field, for example, 88e6, is set to the preset value, and the packet is an ACP packet.", "Optionally, in an embodiment, an example in which a packet is transmitted between neighboring nodes is used.", "When a sending module 320 of a node sends, to a neighboring node, a MACSec frame encapsulated according to the MACSec protocol, a frame header of the MACSec frame may include identification information used to distinguish an ACP packet.", "For example, the identification information may be carried in a flag bit field in the frame header of the transmitted MACSec frame, and the flag bit field may be a newly added field or may be an existing field.", "Specifically, the flag bit field may be an original indicator bit in the packet.", "For example, in the packet encapsulated in the 802.1ae format, the TCI field and the AN field that are shown in FIG.", "3 may be expanded as shown in FIG.", "4.v=0 indicates a version (version) bit, and the version bit is originally used to indicate a version of the MACSec and is 0 at present.", "In this embodiment of the application, the version bit may be used to indicate the ACP packet.", "When the bit is “1”, it indicates that the packet is an ACP packet; or when the bit is “0”, it indicates that the packet is another packet.", "Optionally, a new flag bit may be added to the transmitted packet.", "The flag bit includes the identification information of the ACP packet.", "For example, when the flag bit is “0”, it indicates that the packet is an ACP packet; or when the flag bit is “1”, it indicates that the packet is another packet.", "Optionally, in an embodiment, an example in which a packet is transmitted between neighboring nodes is used.", "When a sending module 320 of a node sends, to a neighboring node, a MACSec frame encapsulated according to the MACSec protocol, a frame header of the MACSec frame may include identification information that is of an ACP packet and that is used to indicate that the packet is an ACP packet.", "For example, the identification information may be carried in a MAC address field in the transmitted packet, and it is determined according to the MAC address field whether the transmitted packet is an ACP packet.", "For example, for eight most significant bits of an existing MAC address, a second bit b2 of the eight bits is used to distinguish whether the MAC address is a locally managed MAC address or a global (global) MAC address.", "Most existing MAC addresses are global.", "Therefore, the bit b2 may be used as the identification information and is used to indicate whether the packet is an ACP packet.", "In this case, the locally managed MAC address (virtual MAC) and the global MAC address are both used on a device interface.", "When the locally managed MAC address is used to transmit the packet, that is, when a value of b2 is 1, the transmitted packet is an ACP packet.", "When the global MAC address is used to transmit the packet, that is, when a value of b2 is 0, the transmitted packet is another packet, but the application is not limited thereto.", "Optionally, the identification information of the ACP packet may be carried in another location in the MAC address field.", "Alternatively, one or more bits may be newly added to the MAC address field to carry the identification information.", "In this embodiment of the application, each node in the ACP may send, to the neighboring node by using the foregoing method and by using the sending module 320, the ACP packet encapsulated according to the MACSec protocol.", "It should be understood that the first network device 300 for packet transmission in this embodiment of the application may correspondingly perform the method 100 in the embodiments of the application.", "The foregoing and other operations and/or functions of the modules of the first network device 300 for packet transmission are respectively intended to implement the corresponding procedures in each method in FIG.", "1.For brevity, details are not described herein again.", "Therefore, by means of the first network device for packet transmission in this embodiment of the application, the MACSec channel is set up between the setup module of the first network device and the second network device that are in the self-organizing network according to the MACSec protocol.", "The sending module of the first network device sends the ACP packet to the second network device by using the MACSec channel.", "The ACP packet is carried in the MACSec frame, and the frame header of the MACSec frame carries the identification information used to identify the ACP packet.", "Therefore, a routable interface address and a link-local address that is used to set up an IPSec do not need to be both configured on an interface, and a MACSec security mechanism is provided for transmission of the ACP packet without using an L3 tunnel, thereby improving efficiency.", "In addition, the ACP packet can be distinguished from another packet by using the identification information in the frame header of the MACSec frame, so that the ACP packet can be transmitted between the first network device and the second network device that are in the self-organizing network.", "FIG.", "7 is a schematic flowchart of a second network device 400 for packet transmission according to another embodiment of the application.", "The second network device 400 may be a receive node in a self-organizing network.", "As shown in FIG.", "7, the second network device 400 includes: a setup module 410, configured to set up, by the second network device according to the Media Access Control Security MACSec protocol, a MACSec channel to a first network device; a receiving module 420, configured to receive, by the second network device by using the MACSec channel that is set up by the setup module, a MACSec frame sent by the first network device; and a determining module 430, configured to determine, by the second network device according to identification information that is carried in a frame header of the MACSec frame received by the receiving module and that is used to identify an autonomic control plane ACP packet, the ACP packet.", "Specifically, a node in the self-organizing network may be set to a registrar (Registrar) node.", "A UDI whitelist of self-organizing nodes is configured for the registrar node.", "Nodes in the UDI whitelist may join in the self-organizing domain, and the registrar node is connected to a domain CA and supports domain certificate (domain certificate) allocation.", "Each node in the network initiates an adjacency discovery (AD) message, and searches for a neighboring node by using the AD message.", "The AD message includes a UDI or a domain certificate.", "Each node may create a neighbor list according to the AD message.", "After receiving the AD message, the registrar node compares the UDI with the UDI whitelist, and sends the domain certificate to the neighboring node belonging to the UDI whitelist.", "The neighboring node and the registrar node perform, based on the domain certificate, mutual authentication, obtain, after the authentication succeeds, a packet encryption key by means of negotiation based on a key generated in an authentication process, and set up a MACSec channel between the registrar node and the neighboring node according to the MACSec protocol.", "Similarly, for a neighboring node of the neighboring node of the registrar node, the neighboring node of the registrar node needs to serve as a proxy server (Proxy) and an authenticator, and other steps are the same, thereby setting up MACSec channels between adjacent nodes in the self-organizing network, so that multiple nodes belonging to a same domain form an ACP.", "In the ACP, the nodes may mutually transmit, by using the MACSec channels, ACP packets encapsulated according to the MACSec protocol.", "Therefore, by means of the second network device for packet transmission in this embodiment of the application, the MACSec channel is set up between the second network device and the first network device according to the MACSec protocol.", "The second network device receives, by using the MACSec channel, the MACSec frame sent by the first network device, and determines the ACP packet according to the identification information in the MACSec frame.", "Therefore, a routable interface address and a link-local address that is used to set up an IPSec do not need to be both configured on an interface, and a MACSec security mechanism is provided for transmission of the ACP packet without using an L3 tunnel, thereby improving efficiency.", "In addition, the ACP packet can be distinguished from another packet by using the identification information in the frame header of the MACSec frame, so that the ACP packet can be transmitted between the first network device and the second network device that are in the self-organizing network by using the MACSec channel.", "In this embodiment of the application, each node in the self-organizing network supports a self-organizing feature, and each node has a UDI or a device ID certificate (DevID certificate) of the node.", "Optionally, an example in which each node obtains a domain certificate by using the UDI is used herein for description, but the application is not limited thereto.", "In the network, a node is set to a registrar (Registrar) node.", "The registrar node supports domain certificate allocation and a UDI whitelist of self-organizing nodes is configured for the registrar node.", "Nodes in the UDI whitelist belong to a same self-organizing domain.", "Optionally, the registrar node may be pre-configured.", "The registrar node is a node that can support domain certificate allocation, that is, the registrar node is connected to a digital certificate authentication management authority and can communicate with the digital certificate authentication management authority.", "That is, the registrar node can allocate the domain certificate to another node by using the digital certificate authentication management authority.", "In this embodiment of the application, after the self-organizing feature is enabled, the self-organizing node can send an AD message to a neighboring node, so as to search for the neighboring node of the self-organizing node.", "Optionally, each node may initiate the AD message once at a time interval, for example, every 10 s. The AD message may include a UDI or a domain certificate.", "For example, for an AD message sent by the registrar node, the registrar node supports the domain certificate allocation and may first allocate a domain certificate to the registrar node.", "The AD message sent by the registrar node may include the domain certificate.", "For an AD message sent by a node having no domain certificate, the AD message may include a UDI.", "In this embodiment of the application, the AD message sent by the self-organizing node can merely be sent for a distance of one hop.", "That is, only the neighboring node can receive the AD message.", "Therefore, after receiving an AD message sent by a neighboring node, a node may set up a neighbor list for recording the neighboring node belonging to the node.", "Optionally, the neighbor list may include a UDI of the neighboring node.", "The UDI is obtained by using the AD message sent by the neighboring node.", "The neighbor list may further include address information.", "The address information may be an IPv6 address, an IPv4 address, or a MAC address, and may be determined by using a packet in the sent AD message, but the application is not limited thereto.", "A UDI and address information of a neighboring node of each node can be determined according to a neighboring node list determined by the node.", "In this embodiment of the application, after receiving the AD message sent by the neighboring node, the registrar node compares a UDI in the AD message with the UDI whitelist of the registrar node.", "If the UDI of the neighboring node matches the UDI whitelist, the registrar node generates a domain certificate according to the UDI, and sends the domain certificate to the neighboring node.", "The domain certificate is used in a subsequent AD broadcast.", "In this case, the registrar node and the neighboring node that have the domain certificate belong to a same ACP.", "In this embodiment of the application, the AD message that is received by the registrar node and that is sent by the neighboring node may be an AD message of the neighboring node, or may be an AD message that is of the neighboring node of the neighboring node and that is forwarded by the neighboring node.", "In addition, in comparison with the UDI whitelist, and for nodes belonging to a same domain, the registrar node sends the domain certificate to all the nodes.", "Optionally, the domain certificate may be mutually forwarded by the neighboring nodes.", "Nodes having the domain certificate all belong to a same domain, and the nodes in the self-organizing network belong to a same ACP.", "In this embodiment of the application, when each node in the self-organizing network has an DevID certificate of the node, an AD message sent by the node to a neighboring node includes the domain certificate or an SUDI.", "An AD message of the registrar node may include the domain certificate, and an AD message of a node having no domain certificate includes an SUDI.", "The neighboring node sends an 802.1AR certificate of the neighboring node to the registrar node.", "Optionally, the neighboring node may send an 802.1AR certificate of the neighboring node to the registrar node by using a Proxy.", "The registrar node receiving the message verifies the certificate by using a public key, and is connected to a verification server to verify whether the device can access the domain.", "If verification succeeds, the registrar node generates a domain certificate according to the SUDI and sends the domain certificate to the corresponding neighboring node.", "The neighboring node receives the domain certificate and uses the domain certificate in the subsequent AD broadcast.", "Similarly, the neighboring node of the neighboring node of the registrar node may also obtain the domain certificate by using the method.", "The registrar node and the neighboring node that have the domain certificate belong to a same ACP.", "In this embodiment of the application, the setup module 410 of the first network device in the self-organizing network sets up the MACSec channel to the first network device according to the MACSec protocol.", "The first network device and the second network device may be any two nodes in the self-organizing network.", "Optionally, the first network device and the second network device may be two neighboring nodes.", "Specifically, the neighboring node obtaining the domain certificate and the registrar node may perform, based on the domain certificate, mutual authentication, obtain, after the authentication succeeds, a packet encryption key by means of negotiation based on a key generated in an authentication process, and set up a MACSec channel between the registrar node and the neighboring node according to the MACSec protocol.", "Similarly, for the neighboring node of the neighboring node of the registrar node, the neighboring node of the registrar node may serve as a proxy server (Proxy) and an authenticator, and other steps are the same, thereby setting up MACSec channels between adjacent nodes of nodes belonging to a same domain.", "In this way, packet transmission can be performed between any two nodes, that is, the first network device and the second network device, in the ACP by using the MACSec channel.", "Specifically, the neighboring node obtaining the domain certificate sent by the registrar node may initiate authentication to the registrar node, for example, may initiate 802.1X-based authentication.", "The registrar node may serve as an authenticator (Authenticator) and an authentication server, to implement the mutual authentication between the registrar node and the neighboring node.", "For example, an EAP-TLS authentication method may be selected, to comply with the 802.1af standard.", "In this embodiment of the application, after the authentication succeeds, the registrar node and the neighboring node obtain the packet encryption key by means of the negotiation based on the key generated in the authentication process, and set up an ACP-dedicated secure MACSec channel.", "Specifically, a PMK generated in the previous authentication between the registrar node and the neighboring node is used as a CAK according to the MKA protocol.", "Serving as an authenticator, the registrar node is selected as a key server (key server) in the MKA protocol by default, and may generate an SAK according to the 802.1X protocol and according to the CAK, a random number, or the like, encrypt the SAK, and send the encrypted SAK to the neighboring node, so as to facilitate use of the SAK for encryption and signature of an Ethernet frame in subsequent communication.", "In this embodiment of the application, after the registrar node and the neighboring node set up the MACSec channel by using the foregoing method, and when the neighboring node of the neighboring node of the registrar node joins in the ACP, the neighboring node of the registrar node may serve as a proxy server (Proxy) and an authenticator, and the neighboring node of the neighboring node of the registrar node obtains the domain certificate by using the same method, further joins in the ACP, and sets up a MACSec channel between the neighboring node of the neighboring node and the neighboring node by means of authentication.", "In this embodiment of the application, in the ACP in the self-organizing network, the receiving module 420 of the second network device may receive, by using the MACSec channel, the MACSec frame sent by the first network device.", "Specifically, any node in the self-organizing network may send an ACP packet to a neighboring node by using a MACSec channel, and the ACP packet is forwarded at least once.", "The MACSec frame can be transmitted between any two nodes, that is, the first network device and the second network device, in the self-organizing network.", "In this embodiment of the application, the frame header of the MACSec frame received by the receiving module 420 of the second network device may include the identification information, and the identification information is used to identify whether the MACSec frame is an ACP packet.", "Therefore, the determining module 430 of the second network device may determine, according to the identification information in the frame header of the MACSec frame, that the MACSec frame is an ACP packet.", "Another packet can be transmitted by using the MACSec channel at a MAC layer.", "Therefore, specifically, it may be distinguished according to the identification information carried in the frame header of the MACSec frame whether the MACSec frame carries the ACP packet.", "Optionally, the ACP packet and the another packet of received packets encapsulated according to the MACSec protocol may be determined by using the following several methods.", "Optionally, in an embodiment, an example in which a packet is transmitted between neighboring nodes is used.", "When a receiving module 420 of a node receives a MACSec frame that is sent by a neighboring node and that is encapsulated according to the MACSec protocol, a determining module 430 may determine an ACP packet according to identification information carried in a frame header of the MACSec frame.", "Specifically, if the entire self-organizing network does not use the MACSec on a data plane, a packet encapsulated according to the MACSec protocol is an ACP packet, and another packet may be encapsulated by means of MAC.", "After being decapsulated, the packet is processed by means of global routing.", "For example, when the entire self-organizing network does not use the MACSec on the data plane, a packet that is received by the node and sent by the neighboring node and that is encapsulated in an 802.1ae format is a packet encapsulated according to the MACSec protocol.", "The packet may be understood as the ACP packet.", "Specifically, as shown in FIG.", "2, FIG.", "2 shows a MACSec frame encapsulated in the 802.1ae format.", "A frame header of the MACSec frame may include several fields shown in FIG.", "2.The 802.1AE header (802.1AE Header) field may be the identification information and indicates that a structure of the frame is a packet encapsulated according to the MACSec protocol, and the MACSec frame is used to carry an ACP packet.", "On the contrary, if the 802.1AE header is not included, it may be determined that a structure of the frame is another common packet.", "Optionally, in an embodiment, an example in which a packet is transmitted between neighboring nodes is used.", "When a receiving module 420 of a node receives a MACSec frame that is sent by a neighboring node and that is encapsulated according to the MACSec protocol, a determining module 430 may determine, according to identification information that is of an ACP packet and that is included in the MACSec frame, that the packet is an ACP packet.", "For example, the identification information may be carried in an Ethernet type field in the frame header of the transmitted MACSec frame.", "Specifically, the transmitted packet may include the Ethernet type (Ethertype) field.", "For example, as shown in FIG.", "2, the Ethernet type field may be located in an 802.1AE header field.", "Specifically, as shown in FIG.", "3, the 802.1AE header field may include a MACSec Ethertype field, a TCI field, an AN field, an SL field, a PN field, and an SCI field.", "In the 802.1AE Header field, for the MACSec Ethertype field, that is, the Ethernet type field carrying the identification information, optionally, the MACSec Ethertype field may include the identification information, or may be directly used as the identification information.", "Optionally, if the field is used as the identification information, it may be set that when a value of the MACSec Ethertype field is a preset value, the packet is an ACP packet; or when a value of the MACSec Ethertype field is not the preset value, the packet is another packet.", "For example, in the packet encapsulated in the 802.1ae format, a value of the MACSec Ethertype field may be represented by 88e5, and the packet is a common packet.", "A new value of the MACSec Ethertype field, for example, 88e6, is set to the preset value, and the packet is an ACP packet.", "Optionally, in an embodiment, an example in which a packet is transmitted between neighboring nodes is used.", "When a receiving module 420 of a node receives a MACSec frame that is sent by a neighboring node and that is encapsulated according to the MACSec protocol, a determining module 430 may determine, according to identification information that is of an ACP packet and that is included in a frame header of the MACSec frame, that the packet is an ACP packet.", "For example, the identification information may be carried in a flag bit field in the frame header of the transmitted MACSec frame, and the flag bit field may be a newly added field or may be an existing field.", "Specifically, the flag bit field may be an original indicator bit in the packet.", "For example, in the packet encapsulated in the 802.1ae format, the TCI field and the AN field that are shown in FIG.", "3 may be expanded as shown in FIG.", "4.v=0 indicates a version (version) bit, and the version bit is originally used to indicate a version of the MACSec and is 0 at present.", "In this embodiment of the application, the version bit may be used to indicate the ACP packet.", "When the bit is “1”, it indicates that the packet is an ACP packet; or when the bit is “0”, it indicates that the packet is another packet.", "Optionally, a new flag bit may be added to the transmitted packet.", "The flag bit includes the identification information of the ACP packet.", "For example, when the flag bit is “0”, it indicates that the packet is an ACP packet; or when the flag bit is “1”, it indicates that the packet is another packet.", "Optionally, in an embodiment, an example in which a packet is transmitted between neighboring nodes is used.", "When a receiving module 420 of a node receives a MACSec frame that is sent by a neighboring node and that is encapsulated according to the MACSec protocol, a determining module 430 may determine, according to identification information that is of an ACP packet and that is included in a frame header of the MACSec frame, that the packet is an ACP packet.", "For example, the identification information may be carried in a MAC address field in the transmitted packet, and it is determined according to the MAC address field whether the transmitted packet is an ACP packet.", "For example, for eight most significant bits of an existing MAC address, a second bit b2 of the eight bits is used to distinguish whether the MAC address is a locally managed MAC address or a global (global) MAC address.", "Most existing MAC addresses are global.", "Therefore, the bit b2 may be used as the identification information and is used to indicate whether the packet is an ACP packet.", "In this case, the locally managed MAC address (virtual MAC) and the global MAC address are both used on a device interface.", "When the locally managed MAC address is used to transmit the packet, that is, when a value of b2 is 1, the transmitted packet is an ACP packet.", "When the global MAC address is used to transmit the packet, that is, when a value of b2 is 0, the transmitted packet is another packet, but the application is not limited thereto.", "Optionally, the identification information of the ACP packet may be carried in another location in the MAC address field.", "Alternatively, one or more bits may be newly added to the MAC address field to carry the identification information.", "In this embodiment of the application, the receiving module 420 of the node in the self-organizing network receives the MACSec frame that is sent by the neighboring node and that is encapsulated according to the MACSec protocol, and the determining module 430 determines the ACP packet according to the identification information included in the frame header of the MACSec frame, and specifically, may determine, by using the foregoing method, a packet that is an ACP packet.", "It should be understood that the second network device 400 for packet transmission in this embodiment of the application may correspondingly perform the method 200 in the embodiments of the application.", "The foregoing and other operations and/or functions of the modules of the second network device 400 for packet transmission are respectively intended to implement the corresponding procedures in each method in FIG.", "5.For brevity, details are not described herein again.", "Therefore, by means of the second network device for packet transmission in this embodiment of the application, the MACSec channel is set up between the second network device and the first network device according to the MACSec protocol.", "The second network device receives, by using the MACSec channel, the MACSec frame sent by the first network device, and determines the ACP packet according to the identification information in the MACSec frame.", "Therefore, a routable interface address and a link-local address that is used to set up an IPSec do not need to be both configured on an interface, and a MACSec security mechanism is provided for transmission of the ACP packet without using an L3 tunnel, thereby improving efficiency.", "In addition, the ACP packet can be distinguished from another packet by using the identification information in the frame header of the MACSec frame, so that the ACP packet can be transmitted between the first network device and the second network device that are in the self-organizing network by using the MACSec channel.", "As shown in FIG.", "8, an embodiment of the application further provides a packet transmission system 500.The system 500 may include a first network device 510 and a second network device 520.The first network device 510 sets up a MACSec channel to the second network device 520 according to the MACSec protocol.", "The first network device 510 sends an ACP packet to the second network device 520 by using the MACSec channel, where the ACP packet is carried in a MACSec frame, and a frame header of the MACSec frame carries identification information used to identify the ACP packet.", "The second network device 520 receives the MACSec frame, and the second network device 520 determines the ACP packet according to the identification information that is carried in the frame header of the MACSec frame and that is used to identify the ACP packet.", "The first network device 510 may be the first network device 300 shown in FIG.", "6, and the second network device 520 may be the second network device 400 shown in FIG.", "7.The first network device 510 may further include the setup module 310 and the sending module 320 that are shown in FIG.", "6.The second network device 520 may further include the setup module 410, the receiving module 420, and the determining module 430 that are shown in FIG.", "7.Therefore, the packet transmission system in this embodiment of the application includes the first network device and the second network device that are in a self-organizing network.", "The MACSec channel is set up between the first network device and the second network device according to the MACSec protocol, and the MACSec frame can be transmitted between the first network device and the second network device by using the MACSec channel.", "The frame header of the MACSec frame carries the identification information, and the ACP packet can be indicated according to the identification information.", "Therefore, a routable interface address and a link-local address that is used to set up an IPSec do not need to be both configured on an interface, and a MACSec security mechanism is provided for an ACP according to the MACSec protocol without using an L3 tunnel, thereby improving efficiency.", "In addition, the ACP packet in the MACSec frame can be distinguished by using the identification information, so that the ACP packet can be transmitted between the first network device and the second network device that are in the self-organizing network.", "As shown in FIG.", "9, an embodiment of the application further provides a first network device 600 for packet transmission.", "The first network device 600 includes a processor 610, a memory 620, a transmitter 630, and a bus system 640.The processor 610, the memory 620, and the transmitter 630 are connected by using the bus system 640.The memory 620 is configured to store an instruction.", "The processor 610 is configured to execute the instruction stored in the memory 620, to control the transmitter 630 to send a signal.", "The processor 610 is configured to set up, by the first network device according to the Media Access Control Security MACSec protocol, a MACSec channel to a second network device.", "The transmitter 630 is configured to send, by the first network device, an autonomic control plane ACP packet to the second network device by using the MACSec channel, where the ACP packet is carried in the MACSec frame, and a frame header of the MACSec frame carries identification information used to identify the ACP packet.", "Therefore, by means of the first network device for packet transmission in this embodiment of the application, the MACSec channel is set up between the setup module of the first network device and the second network device that are in the self-organizing network according to the MACSec protocol.", "The sending module of the first network device sends the ACP packet to the second network device by using the MACSec channel.", "The ACP packet is carried in the MACSec frame, and the frame header of the MACSec frame carries the identification information used to identify the ACP packet.", "Therefore, a routable interface address and a link-local address that is used to set up an IPSec do not need to be both configured on an interface, and a MACSec security mechanism is provided for transmission of the ACP packet without using an L3 tunnel, thereby improving efficiency.", "In addition, the ACP packet can be distinguished from another packet by using the identification information in the frame header of the MACSec frame, so that the ACP packet can be transmitted between the first network device and the second network device that are in the self-organizing network.", "It should be understood that in this embodiment of the application, the processor 610 may be a central processing unit (CPU), or the processor 610 may be another general purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or another programmable logic device, a discrete gate or a transistor logic device, a discrete hardware component, or the like.", "The general purpose processor may be a microprocessor, or the processor may be any conventional processor or the like.", "The memory 620 may include a read-only memory and a random access memory, and provides an instruction and data to the processor 610.A part of the memory 620 may further include a non-volatile random access memory.", "For example, the memory 620 may further store device type information.", "The bus system 640 may further include a power bus, a control bus, a status signal bus, and the like in addition to a data bus.", "However, for clear description, various types of buses in the figure are all marked as the bus system 640.In an implementation process, steps of the foregoing method may be implemented by a hardware integrated logic circuit in the processor 610 or by an instruction in a software form.", "Steps of the method disclosed with reference to the embodiments of the application may be directly embodied as being performed by a hardware processor or by a combination of hardware in the processor and a software module.", "The software module may be located in a mature storage medium in the field, such as a random access memory, a flash memory, a read-only memory, a programmable read-only memory, an electrically-erasable programmable memory, or a register.", "The storage medium is located in the memory 620, and the processor 610 reads information in the memory 620 and completes the steps in the foregoing method in combination with hardware of the processor.", "To avoid repetition, detailed description is not provided herein.", "Optionally, in an embodiment, the identification information is carried in an Ethernet type field in the frame header of the MACSec frame, and the Ethernet type field is used to indicate that the MACSec frame is used to carry the ACP packet.", "Optionally, in an embodiment, the identification information is carried in a flag bit field in the frame header of the MACSec frame, and the flag bit field is a newly added field or a version field.", "Optionally, in an embodiment, the identification information is carried in a MAC address field in the frame header of the MACSec frame.", "It should be understood that the first network device 600 for packet transmission in this embodiment of the application may correspond to the first network device 300 for packet transmission in the embodiments of the application, and may correspond to a corresponding entity for performing the method 100 in the embodiments of the application.", "The foregoing and other operations and/or functions of the modules of the first network device 600 are respectively intended to implement the corresponding procedures in each method in FIG.", "1.For brevity, details are not described herein again.", "Therefore, by means of the first network device for packet transmission in this embodiment of the application, the MACSec channel is set up between the setup module of the first network device and the second network device that are in the self-organizing network according to the MACSec protocol.", "The sending module of the first network device sends the ACP packet to the second network device by using the MACSec channel.", "The ACP packet is carried in the MACSec frame, and the frame header of the MACSec frame carries the identification information used to identify the ACP packet.", "Therefore, a routable interface address and a link-local address that is used to set up an IPSec do not need to be both configured on an interface, and a MACSec security mechanism is provided for transmission of the ACP packet without using an L3 tunnel, thereby improving efficiency.", "In addition, the ACP packet can be distinguished from another packet by using the identification information in the frame header of the MACSec frame, so that the ACP packet can be transmitted between the first network device and the second network device that are in the self-organizing network.", "As shown in FIG.", "10, an embodiment of the application further provides a second network device 700 for packet transmission.", "The second network device 700 includes a processor 710, a memory 720, a receiver 730, and a bus system 740.The processor 710, the memory 720, and the receiver 730 are connected by using the bus system 740.The memory 720 is configured to store an instruction.", "The processor 710 is configured to execute the instruction stored in the memory 720, to control the receiver 730 to receive a signal.", "The processor 710 is configured to set up, by the second network device according to the Media Access Control Security MACSec protocol, a MACSec channel to a first network device.", "The receiver 730 is configured to receive, by the second network device by using the MACSec channel, a MACSec frame sent by the first network device.", "The processor 710 is further configured to determine, by the second network device according to identification information that is carried in a frame header of the MACSec frame and that is used to identify an autonomic control plane ACP packet, the ACP packet.", "Therefore, by means of the second network device for packet transmission in this embodiment of the application, the MACSec channel is set up between the second network device and the first network device according to the MACSec protocol.", "The second network device receives, by using the MACSec channel, the MACSec frame sent by the first network device, and determines the ACP packet according to the identification information in the MACSec frame.", "Therefore, a routable interface address and a link-local address that is used to set up an IPSec do not need to be both configured on an interface, and a MACSec security mechanism is provided for transmission of the ACP packet without using an L3 tunnel, thereby improving efficiency.", "In addition, the ACP packet can be distinguished from another packet by using the identification information in the frame header of the MACSec frame, so that the ACP packet can be transmitted between the first network device and the second network device that are in the self-organizing network by using the MACSec channel.", "It should be understood that in this embodiment of the application, the processor 710 may be a central processing unit (CPU), or the processor 710 may be another general purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or another programmable logic device, a discrete gate or a transistor logic device, a discrete hardware component, or the like.", "The general purpose processor may be a microprocessor, or the processor may be any conventional processor or the like.", "The memory 720 may include a read-only memory and a random access memory, and provides an instruction and data to the processor 710.A part of the memory 720 may further include a non-volatile random access memory.", "For example, the memory 720 may further store device type information.", "The bus system 740 may further include a power bus, a control bus, a status signal bus, and the like in addition to a data bus.", "However, for clear description, various types of buses in the figure are all marked as the bus system 740.In an implementation process, steps of the foregoing method may be implemented by a hardware integrated logic circuit in the processor 710 or by an instruction in a software form.", "Steps of the method disclosed with reference to the embodiments of the application may be directly embodied as being performed by a hardware processor or by a combination of hardware in the processor and a software module.", "The software module may be located in a mature storage medium in the field, such as a random access memory, a flash memory, a read-only memory, a programmable read-only memory, an electrically-erasable programmable memory, or a register.", "The storage medium is located in the memory 720, and the processor 710 reads information in the memory 720 and completes the steps in the foregoing method in combination with hardware of the processor.", "To avoid repetition, detailed description is not provided herein.", "Optionally, in an embodiment, the identification information is carried in an Ethernet type field in the frame header of the MACSec frame, and the Ethernet type field is used to indicate that the MACSec frame is used to carry the ACP packet.", "Optionally, in an embodiment, the identification information is carried in a flag bit field in the frame header of the MACSec frame, and the flag bit field is a newly added field or a version field.", "Optionally, in an embodiment, the identification information is carried in a MAC address field in the frame header of the MACSec frame.", "It should be understood that the second network device 700 for packet transmission in this embodiment of the application may correspond to the second network device 400 for packet transmission in the embodiments of the application, and may correspond to a corresponding entity for performing the method 200 in the embodiments of the application.", "The foregoing and other operations and/or functions of the modules of the second network device 700 are respectively intended to implement the corresponding procedures in each method in FIG.", "5.For brevity, details are not described herein again.", "Therefore, by means of the second network device for packet transmission in this embodiment of the application, the MACSec channel is set up between the second network device and the first network device according to the MACSec protocol.", "The second network device receives, by using the MACSec channel, the MACSec frame sent by the first network device, and determines the ACP packet according to the identification information in the MACSec frame.", "Therefore, a routable interface address and a link-local address that is used to set up an IPSec do not need to be both configured on an interface, and a MACSec security mechanism is provided for transmission of the ACP packet without using an L3 tunnel, thereby improving efficiency.", "In addition, the ACP packet can be distinguished from another packet by using the identification information in the frame header of the MACSec frame, so that the ACP packet can be transmitted between the first network device and the second network device that are in the self-organizing network by using the MACSec channel.", "A person of ordinary skill in the art may be aware that, in combination with the examples described in the embodiments disclosed in this specification, units and algorithm steps may be implemented by electronic hardware or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware.", "Whether the functions are performed by hardware or software depends on particular applications and design constraint conditions of the technical solutions.", "A person skilled in the art may use different methods to implement the described functions for each particular application, but it should not be considered that the implementation goes beyond the scope of the application.", "It may be clearly understood by a person skilled in the art that, for the purpose of convenient and brief description, for a detailed working process of the foregoing system, apparatus, and unit, refer to a corresponding process in the foregoing method embodiments, and details are not described herein again.", "In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed system, apparatus, and method may be implemented in other manners.", "For example, the described apparatus embodiment is merely an example.", "For example, the unit division is merely logical function division and may be other division in actual implementation.", "For example, a plurality of units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be ignored or not performed.", "In addition, the displayed or discussed mutual couplings or direct couplings or communication connections may be implemented by using some interfaces.", "The indirect couplings or communication connections between the apparatuses or units may be implemented in electronic, mechanical, or other forms.", "The units described as separate parts may or may not be physically separate, and parts displayed as units may or may not be physical units, may be located in one position, or may be distributed on a plurality of network units.", "Some or all of the units may be selected according to actual requirements to achieve the objectives of the solutions of the embodiments.", "In addition, functional units in the embodiments of the application may be integrated into one processing unit, or each of the units may exist alone physically, or two or more units are integrated into one unit.", "When the functions are implemented in the form of a software functional unit and sold or used as an independent product, the functions may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium.", "Based on such an understanding, the technical solutions of the application essentially, or the part contributing to the prior art, or some of the technical solutions may be implemented in the form of a software product.", "The software product is stored in a storage medium, and includes several instructions for instructing a computer device (which may be a personal computer, a server, or a network device) to perform all or some of the steps of the methods described in the embodiments of the application.", "The foregoing storage medium includes: any medium that can store program code, such as a USB flash drive, a removable hard disk, a read-only memory (ROM, Read-Only Memory), a random access memory (RAM, Random Access Memory), a magnetic disk, or an optical disc.", "The foregoing descriptions are merely specific implementations of the application, but are not intended to limit the protection scope of the application.", "Any variation or replacement readily figured out by a person skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in the application shall fall within the protection scope of the application.", "Therefore, the protection scope of the application shall be subject to the protection scope of the claims." ] ]
Patent_15872990
[ [ "METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR OBTAINING CONFIGURATION INFORMATION", "The present invention discloses a method and an apparatus for obtaining configuration information of a grant-free transmission unit.", "A centrally configured network element sends configuration information of a grant-free transmission unit of an access device to the access device, where the grant-free transmission unit refers to a transmission resource used for grant-free transmission, and the configuration information of the grant-free transmission unit includes at least one or more of the following information: information about the grant-free transmission unit or information about a grant-free transmission control mechanism.", "By using the method and the apparatus for obtaining configuration information of a grant-free transmission unit, an access device can obtain configuration information of a grant-free transmission unit." ], [ "1.A method for obtaining configuration information of a grant-free transmission unit, comprising: receiving, by an access device, configuration information of a grant-free transmission unit of the access device, wherein the grant-free transmission unit refers to a transmission resource used for grant-free transmission, and the configuration information of the grant-free transmission unit comprises at least one or more of the following information: information about the grant-free transmission unit or information about a grant-free transmission control mechanism, wherein the information about the grant-free transmission unit is one or more of the following information: time-domain resource information, frequency-domain resource information, space-domain resource information, code-domain resource information, or pilot resource information; and the information about the grant-free transmission control mechanism is one or more of the following information: uplink power control information, modulation and coding scheme information, or retransmission mechanism information.", "2.The method according to claim 1, further comprising: receiving, by the access device, configuration information about a grant-free transmission unit of a neighboring access device of the access device.", "3.The method according to claim 1, further comprising: receiving, by the access device, information about a grant-free area to which the access device belongs, wherein the grant-free area is a set of one or more access devices, and the configuration information of the grant-free transmission unit of the access device is configuration information of a grant-free transmission unit in the grant-free area to which the access device belongs.", "4.The method according to claim 1, further comprising: sending, by the access device, information used for grant-free transmission unit configuration.", "5.The method according to claim 4, wherein the information used for grant-free transmission unit configuration comprises one or more of the following information: load information of the access device, capability information of a terminal device served by the access device, or a grant-free transmission requirement of the access device.", "6.The method according to claim 4, before the sending, by the access device, information used for grant-free transmission unit configuration, further comprising: receiving, by the access device, an information reporting request message, wherein the information reporting request message is used to request the access device to send the information used for grant-free transmission unit configuration.", "7.An apparatus for obtaining configuration information of a grant-free transmission unit, wherein the apparatus comprises a transmitter, and the transmitter is configured to: send configuration information of a grant-free transmission unit of an access device to the access device, wherein the grant-free transmission unit refers to a transmission resource used for grant-free transmission, and the configuration information of the grant-free transmission unit comprises at least one or more of the following information: information about the grant-free transmission unit or information about a grant-free transmission control mechanism, wherein the information about the grant-free transmission unit is one or more of the following information: time-domain resource information, frequency-domain resource information, space-domain resource information, code-domain resource information, or pilot resource information; and the information about the grant-free transmission control mechanism is one or more of the following information: uplink power control information, modulation and coding scheme information, or retransmission mechanism information.", "8.The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the transmitter is further configured to send configuration information of a grant-free transmission unit of a neighboring access device of the access device to the access device.", "9.The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the transmitter is further configured to send information about a grant-free area to which the access device belongs to the access device.", "10.The apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising: a receiver, wherein the receiver is configured to receive the information that is used for grant-free transmission unit configuration and that is sent by the access device.", "11.The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the information used for grant-free transmission unit configuration comprises one or more of the following information: load information of the access device, capability information of a terminal device served by the access device, or a grant-free transmission requirement of the access device.", "12.The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the transmitter is further configured to send an information reporting request message to the access device, wherein the information reporting request message is used to request the access device to send the information used for grant-free transmission unit configuration.", "13.An apparatus for obtaining configuration information of a grant-free transmission unit, wherein the apparatus comprises a receiver, and the receiver is configured to: receive configuration information of a grant-free transmission unit of the apparatus, wherein the grant-free transmission unit refers to a transmission resource used for grant-free transmission, and the configuration information of the grant-free transmission unit comprises at least one or more of the following information: information about the grant-free transmission unit or information about a grant-free transmission control mechanism, wherein the information about the grant-free transmission unit is one or more of the following information: time-domain resource information, frequency-domain resource information, space-domain resource information, code-domain resource information, or pilot resource information; and the information about the grant-free transmission control mechanism is one or more of the following information: uplink power control information, modulation and coding scheme information, or retransmission mechanism information.", "14.The apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the receiver is further configured to receive configuration information of a grant-free transmission unit of a neighboring access device of the apparatus.", "15.The apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the receiver is further configured to receive information about a grant-free area to which the apparatus belongs.", "16.The apparatus according to claim 13, further comprising: a transmitter, configured to send information used for grant-free transmission unit configuration to a centrally configured network element.", "17.The apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the information used for grant-free transmission unit configuration comprises one or more of the following information: load information of the apparatus, capability information of a terminal device served by the apparatus, or a grant-free transmission requirement of the apparatus.", "18.The apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the receiver is further configured to receive an information reporting request message, wherein the information reporting request message is used to request the apparatus to send the information used for grant-free transmission unit configuration." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND <EOH>In an existing cellular communications system, such as a Global System for Mobile Communications (English: Global System for Mobile Communication, GSM for short) system, a Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (English: Wideband Code Division Multiple Access, WCDMA for short) system, or a Long Term Evolution (English: Long Term Evolution, LTE for short) system, supported communication is mainly for voice and data communication.", "Generally, a quantity of connections supported by a conventional base station is limited, and conventional communication is easy to implement.", "A next-generation mobile communications system supports not only conventional communication but also M2M (English: Machine to Machine) communication, which is also known as MTC (English: Machine Type Communication) communication.", "It is predicted that a quantity of MTC devices connected to a network will be up to 50 billion to 100 billion by 2020, and far more than a quantity of existing connections.", "M2M services have diversified service types, and therefore have highly different requirements for a network.", "Roughly, there are the following several requirements: reliable but delay-insensitive transmission; and ultra-reliable and low latency transmission.", "A service that requires reliable and delay-insensitive transmission is easy to process.", "However, an ultra-reliable and low latency transmission service, such as a V2V (English: Vehicle to Vehicle) service, requires transmission to be not only low-delay but also reliable.", "If transmission is unreliable, retransmission is caused.", "As a result, a transmission delay is excessively long, and cannot meet requirements.", "Existence of a large quantity of connections makes a future wireless communications system highly different from an existing communications system.", "For the large quantity of connections, more resources need to be consumed to connect terminal devices, and more resources need to be consumed to transmit scheduling signaling related to data transmission of the terminal devices.", "Therefore, a grant-free transmission method is proposed, thereby reducing a delay and meeting reliable transmission at least to some extent.", "In addition, even ultra-reliability can be achieved by means of the solution design.", "However, in the prior art, there are no solutions for configuring a grant-free transmission resource and for obtaining related information." ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY <EOH>In view of this, embodiments of the present invention provide a method and an apparatus for obtaining configuration information of a grant-free transmission unit.", "According to a first aspect, a method for obtaining configuration information of a grant-free transmission unit is provided, where the method includes: sending, by a centrally configured network element, configuration information of a grant-free transmission unit of an access device to the access device, where the grant-free transmission unit refers to a transmission resource used for grant-free transmission, and the configuration information of the grant-free transmission unit includes at least one or more of the following information: information about the grant-free transmission unit or information about a grant-free transmission unit control mechanism; and receiving, by the access device, the configuration information that is of the grant-free transmission unit of the access device and that is sent by the centrally configured network element, where the information about the grant-free transmission unit is one or more of the following information: time-domain resource information, frequency-domain resource information, space-domain resource information, code-domain resource information, or pilot resource information; and the information about the grant-free transmission control mechanism is one or more of the following information: uplink power control information, modulation and coding scheme information, or retransmission mechanism information.", "According to a second aspect, an apparatus for obtaining configuration information of a grant-free transmission unit is provided, where the apparatus includes a receiver, and the receiver is configured to receive configuration information of a grant-free transmission unit of the apparatus, where the grant-free transmission unit refers to a transmission resource used for grant-free transmission, and the configuration information of the grant-free transmission unit includes at least one or more of the following information: information about the grant-free transmission unit or information about a grant-free transmission unit control mechanism, where the information about the grant-free transmission unit is one or more of the following information: time-domain resource information, frequency-domain resource information, space-domain resource information, code-domain resource information, or pilot resource information; and the information about the grant-free transmission control mechanism is one or more of the following information: uplink power control information, modulation and coding scheme information, or retransmission mechanism information.", "According to a third aspect, an apparatus for obtaining configuration information of a grant-free transmission unit is provided, where the apparatus includes a transmitter, and the transmitter is configured to send configuration information of a grant-free transmission unit of an access device to the access device, where the grant-free transmission unit refers to a transmission resource used for grant-free transmission, and the configuration information of the grant-free transmission unit includes at least one or more of the following information: information about the grant-free transmission unit or information about a grant-free transmission unit control mechanism, where the information about the grant-free transmission unit is one or more of the following information: time-domain resource information, frequency-domain resource information, space-domain resource information, code-domain resource information, or pilot resource information; and the information about the grant-free transmission control mechanism is one or more of the following information: uplink power control information, modulation and coding scheme information, or retransmission mechanism information.", "Based on the foregoing technical solutions, according to the method and the apparatus for obtaining configuration information in the embodiments of the present invention, a centrally configured network element sends configuration information of a grant-free transmission unit to an access device.", "In this way, the access device can obtain the configuration information of the grant-free transmission unit, so that a grant-free service of a terminal device that is covered, controlled, or served by the access device can be smoothly carried out." ], [ "CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation of International Patent Application No.", "PCT/CN2015/084371, filed on Jul.", "17, 2015, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.", "TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to the communications field, and more specifically, to a method and an apparatus for obtaining configuration information.", "BACKGROUND In an existing cellular communications system, such as a Global System for Mobile Communications (English: Global System for Mobile Communication, GSM for short) system, a Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (English: Wideband Code Division Multiple Access, WCDMA for short) system, or a Long Term Evolution (English: Long Term Evolution, LTE for short) system, supported communication is mainly for voice and data communication.", "Generally, a quantity of connections supported by a conventional base station is limited, and conventional communication is easy to implement.", "A next-generation mobile communications system supports not only conventional communication but also M2M (English: Machine to Machine) communication, which is also known as MTC (English: Machine Type Communication) communication.", "It is predicted that a quantity of MTC devices connected to a network will be up to 50 billion to 100 billion by 2020, and far more than a quantity of existing connections.", "M2M services have diversified service types, and therefore have highly different requirements for a network.", "Roughly, there are the following several requirements: reliable but delay-insensitive transmission; and ultra-reliable and low latency transmission.", "A service that requires reliable and delay-insensitive transmission is easy to process.", "However, an ultra-reliable and low latency transmission service, such as a V2V (English: Vehicle to Vehicle) service, requires transmission to be not only low-delay but also reliable.", "If transmission is unreliable, retransmission is caused.", "As a result, a transmission delay is excessively long, and cannot meet requirements.", "Existence of a large quantity of connections makes a future wireless communications system highly different from an existing communications system.", "For the large quantity of connections, more resources need to be consumed to connect terminal devices, and more resources need to be consumed to transmit scheduling signaling related to data transmission of the terminal devices.", "Therefore, a grant-free transmission method is proposed, thereby reducing a delay and meeting reliable transmission at least to some extent.", "In addition, even ultra-reliability can be achieved by means of the solution design.", "However, in the prior art, there are no solutions for configuring a grant-free transmission resource and for obtaining related information.", "SUMMARY In view of this, embodiments of the present invention provide a method and an apparatus for obtaining configuration information of a grant-free transmission unit.", "According to a first aspect, a method for obtaining configuration information of a grant-free transmission unit is provided, where the method includes: sending, by a centrally configured network element, configuration information of a grant-free transmission unit of an access device to the access device, where the grant-free transmission unit refers to a transmission resource used for grant-free transmission, and the configuration information of the grant-free transmission unit includes at least one or more of the following information: information about the grant-free transmission unit or information about a grant-free transmission unit control mechanism; and receiving, by the access device, the configuration information that is of the grant-free transmission unit of the access device and that is sent by the centrally configured network element, where the information about the grant-free transmission unit is one or more of the following information: time-domain resource information, frequency-domain resource information, space-domain resource information, code-domain resource information, or pilot resource information; and the information about the grant-free transmission control mechanism is one or more of the following information: uplink power control information, modulation and coding scheme information, or retransmission mechanism information.", "According to a second aspect, an apparatus for obtaining configuration information of a grant-free transmission unit is provided, where the apparatus includes a receiver, and the receiver is configured to receive configuration information of a grant-free transmission unit of the apparatus, where the grant-free transmission unit refers to a transmission resource used for grant-free transmission, and the configuration information of the grant-free transmission unit includes at least one or more of the following information: information about the grant-free transmission unit or information about a grant-free transmission unit control mechanism, where the information about the grant-free transmission unit is one or more of the following information: time-domain resource information, frequency-domain resource information, space-domain resource information, code-domain resource information, or pilot resource information; and the information about the grant-free transmission control mechanism is one or more of the following information: uplink power control information, modulation and coding scheme information, or retransmission mechanism information.", "According to a third aspect, an apparatus for obtaining configuration information of a grant-free transmission unit is provided, where the apparatus includes a transmitter, and the transmitter is configured to send configuration information of a grant-free transmission unit of an access device to the access device, where the grant-free transmission unit refers to a transmission resource used for grant-free transmission, and the configuration information of the grant-free transmission unit includes at least one or more of the following information: information about the grant-free transmission unit or information about a grant-free transmission unit control mechanism, where the information about the grant-free transmission unit is one or more of the following information: time-domain resource information, frequency-domain resource information, space-domain resource information, code-domain resource information, or pilot resource information; and the information about the grant-free transmission control mechanism is one or more of the following information: uplink power control information, modulation and coding scheme information, or retransmission mechanism information.", "Based on the foregoing technical solutions, according to the method and the apparatus for obtaining configuration information in the embodiments of the present invention, a centrally configured network element sends configuration information of a grant-free transmission unit to an access device.", "In this way, the access device can obtain the configuration information of the grant-free transmission unit, so that a grant-free service of a terminal device that is covered, controlled, or served by the access device can be smoothly carried out.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS To describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention more clearly, the following briefly describes the accompanying drawings required for describing the embodiments of the present invention.", "Apparently, the accompanying drawings in the following description show merely some embodiments of the present invention, and a person of ordinary skill in the art may still derive other drawings from these accompanying drawings without creative efforts.", "FIG.", "1 is a schematic diagram of an application scenario according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG.", "2 is a schematic flowchart of a method for obtaining configuration information of a grant-free transmission unit according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG.", "3 is another schematic flowchart of a method for obtaining configuration information of a grant-free transmission unit according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG.", "4 is a schematic diagram of another application scenario according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG.", "5A and FIG.", "5B are respectively schematic principle diagrams of resource orthogonality according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG.", "6 is a schematic block diagram of an apparatus for obtaining configuration information of a grant-free transmission unit according to an embodiment of the present invention; and FIG.", "7 is another schematic block diagram of an apparatus for obtaining configuration information of a grant-free transmission unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.", "DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS The following clearly describes the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present invention.", "Apparently, the described embodiments are a part rather than all of the embodiments of the present invention.", "All other embodiments obtained by a person of ordinary skill in the art based on the embodiments of the present invention without creative efforts shall fall within the protection scope of the present invention.", "FIG.", "1 provides a simplified schematic network diagram.", "In a network 100, for example, there is a centrally configured network element 101 and an access device 102.The centrally configured network element 101 and the access device 102 are connected to several terminal devices 104 to 114 (UE for short in the figure) in a wireless or wired manner, or in another manner.", "A network in this patent may be a public land mobile network (English: Public Land Mobile Network, PLMN for short), a D2D network, an M2M network, an MTC network, or another network.", "FIG.", "1 is merely an example of a simplified schematic diagram.", "The network may further include another access device that is not illustrated in FIG.", "1.The centrally configured network element in this patent application may be a mobility management entity (English: Mobile Management Entity, MME for short), a serving gateway (English: Serving Gateway, S-GW for short), a packet data network gateway (English: Packet Data Network-Gateway, PDN-GW for short), or another network device; or may serve as a logical function node and is located in a network element on a core network, an access network, or another network level.", "The terminal device in this patent application may be user equipment (English: User Equipment, UE for short), an access terminal, a subscriber unit, a subscriber station, a mobile site, a mobile station, a remote station, a remote terminal, a mobile device, a user terminal, a terminal, radio communications equipment, a user agent, or a user apparatus.", "The access terminal may be a cellular phone, a cordless phone, a Session Initiation Protocol (English: Session Initiation Protocol, SIP for short) phone, a wireless local loop (English: Wireless Local Loop, WLL for short) station, a personal digital assistant (English: Personal Digital Assistant, PDA for short), a handheld device that has a wireless communication function, a computing device or another processing device that is connected to a wireless modem, an in-vehicle device, a wearable device, a terminal device in a future 5G network, a terminal device in a future evolved PLMN network, or the like.", "The access device in this patent application may be a device configured to communicate with a terminal device.", "The access device may be a BTS (English: Base Transceiver Station) in GSM or Code Division Multiple Access (English: Code Division Multiple Access, CDMA for short), or may be an NB (English: NodeB) in WCDMA, or may be a baseband unit (English: Base Band Unit, BBU for short) set (certainly, a person skilled in the art may know that the BBU set may have another name) in a cloud radio access network (English: Cloud Radio Access Network, CRAN for short) scenario, or may be an eNB or eNodeB (English: evolved Node B) or an access point in LTE, an in-vehicle device, a wearable device, a network-side device in a future 5G network, or an access device in a future evolved PLMN network.", "To deal with a large quantity of MTC services in a network in the future, or to meet ultra-reliable and low latency service transmission, this patent proposes a grant-free transmission solution.", "English for grant-free transmission may be represented as grant free.", "Grant-free transmission may be understood as any one or more of the following meanings, or a combination of some technical features in multiple meanings, or a similar meaning: The grant-free transmission may mean that: an access device pre-allocates multiple transmission resources and notifies a terminal device of the multiple transmission resources; when there is an uplink data transmission requirement, the terminal device selects at least one transmission resource from the multiple transmission resources pre-allocated by the access device, and uses the selected transmission resource to send uplink data; and the access device detects, on one or more transmission resources of the multiple pre-allocated transmission resources, the uplink data sent by the terminal device.", "The detection may be blind detection, or may be performed according to a control field in the uplink data, or may be performed in another manner.", "The grant-free transmission may mean that: an access device pre-allocates multiple transmission resources and notifies a terminal device of the multiple transmission resources, so that when there is an uplink data transmission requirement, the terminal device selects at least one transmission resource from the multiple transmission resources pre-allocated by the access device, and uses the selected transmission resource to send uplink data.", "The grant-free transmission may mean that: information about multiple pre-allocated transmission resources is obtained; and when there is an uplink data transmission requirement, at least one transmission resource is selected from the multiple transmission resources, and uplink data is sent by using the selected transmission resource.", "The information about the multiple pre-allocated transmission resources may be obtained from an access device.", "The grant-free transmission may mean a method by using which uplink data transmission of a terminal device can be implemented without dynamic scheduling performed by an access device, where the dynamic scheduling may be a scheduling manner in which the access device indicates, by using signaling, a transmission resource for each uplink data transmission of the terminal device.", "Optionally, implementing uplink data transmission of a terminal device may be understood as allowing two or more terminal devices to perform uplink data transmission on a same time-frequency resource.", "Optionally, the transmission resource may be a transmission resource of one or more transmission time units after a moment at which UE receives the signaling.", "One transmission time unit may be a minimum time unit of one transmission, for example, a TTI (English: Transmission Time Interval), and its value may be 1 ms, or may be a preset transmission time unit.", "The grant-free transmission may mean that: a terminal device performs uplink data transmission without a grant from an access device, where the grant may mean that: the terminal device sends an uplink scheduling request to the access device, and after receiving the scheduling request, the access device sends an uplink grant to the terminal device, where the uplink grant is used to indicate an uplink transmission resource allocated to the terminal device.", "The grant-free transmission may mean a contention-based transmission manner, and specifically, may mean that: multiple terminals simultaneously perform uplink data transmission on a same pre-allocated time-frequency resource without a grant from a base station.", "The data may include service data or signaling data.", "The blind detection may be understood as detection performed, without foreknowledge of whether there is arrived data, on data that may arrive.", "The blind detection may also be understood as detection performed without an explicit signaling indication.", "The foregoing transmission resource may include but is not limited to one or a combination of the following resources: a time-domain resource, such as a radio frame, a subframe, or a symbol; a frequency-domain resource, such as a subcarrier or a resource block; a space-domain resource, such as a transmit antenna or a beam; a code-domain resource, such as a sparse code multiple access (English: Sparse Code Multiple Access, SCMA for short) codebook, a low density signature (English: Low Density Signature, LDS for short) sequence, or a CDMA code; or a pilot resource.", "The foregoing grant-free transmission may be transmission performed according to one or more of the following control mechanisms, including but not limited to: uplink power control, such as uplink transmit power upper limit control; modulation and coding scheme setting, such as transport block size setting, code rate setting, or modulation order setting; and a transmission mechanism, such as a HARQ mechanism.", "A grant-free transmission unit may be a basic transmission resource for grant-free transmission, and may be one or a combination of the following resources for grant-free transmission: a time-domain resource, such as a radio frame, a subframe, or a symbol; a frequency-domain resource, such as a subcarrier, a resource block, or a sub-band; a space-domain resource, such as a transmit antenna or a beam; a code-domain resource, such as a sparse code multiple access (English: Sparse Code Multiple Access, SCMA for short) codebook, a low density signature (English: Low Density Signature, LDS for short) sequence, or a CDMA code; or a pilot resource.", "Certainly, a grant-free transmission unit may be known as another name by a person skilled in the art.", "The application with Patent No.", "PCT/CN2014/073084 and entitled “SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR UPLINK GRANT-FREE TRANSMISSION SCHEME” provides a technical solution of uplink grant-free transmission.", "Content of the application PCT/CN2014/073084 may also be understood as a part incorporated into content of the embodiments of the present invention by reference, and details are not described herein.", "Generally, an access device configures one or more grant-free transmission units, to perform grant-free data transmission better.", "In addition, optionally, a grant-free transmission unit may be in terms of a cell, that is, a grant-free transmission unit of an access device may be understood as a grant-free transmission unit for one or more cells controlled by the access device, and that the access device configures the grant-free transmission unit may be understood as that the access device configures the grant-free transmission unit for a cell controlled by the access device.", "Configuration information of the grant-free transmission unit may include but is not limited to information about the grant-free transmission unit or information about a grant-free transmission unit control mechanism.", "The information about the grant-free transmission unit includes but is not limited to one or more of the following information: time-domain resource information, such as radio frame information, subframe information, and symbol information; frequency-domain resource information, such as subcarrier information, resource block information, and sub-band information; space-domain resource information, such as transmit antenna information and beam information; code-domain resource information, such as SCMA codebook information, LDS sequence information, and CDMA code information; or pilot resource information.", "The information about the grant-free transmission unit control mechanism includes but is not limited to one or more of the following information: modulation and coding scheme information, such as transport block size information, code rate information, and modulation order information; uplink power control information, such as uplink transmit power upper limit information; or retransmission mechanism information, such as HARQ information.", "The foregoing information may be understood as indication information in any form, which may be a specific value, an index, or another form.", "The foregoing descriptions may be applicable to the following embodiments.", "FIG.", "2 shows a method for obtaining information used for grant-free transmission unit configuration, a method for obtaining configuration information of a grant-free transmission unit, and a method for configuring a grant-free transmission unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.", "In the schematic embodiment, an access device 1 and an access device 2, as an example, represent one or more access devices connected to a centrally configured network element, and in implementation, there may be more than two access devices.", "There may be one or more terminal devices within a coverage area of an access device.", "FIG.", "2 merely uses one terminal as an example.", "As shown in FIG.", "2, the method 200 includes the following steps: S201: The centrally configured network element sends an information reporting request message to the access device 1, where the information reporting request message is used to request the access device 1 to send information used for grant-free transmission unit configuration to the centrally configured network element.", "This step is optional, and the centrally configured network element may periodically or aperiodically send the information reporting request message.", "S201′: The access device 1 receives the information reporting request message sent by the centrally configured network element.", "This step is optional.", "Further, optionally, after receiving the information reporting request message, the access device 1 sends a feedback message about the information reporting request to the centrally configured network element (not shown in the figure).", "S202: The centrally configured network element sends an information reporting request message to the access device 2, where the information reporting request message is used to request the access device 2 to send information used for grant-free transmission unit configuration to the centrally configured network element.", "This step is optional, and the centrally configured network element may periodically or aperiodically send the information reporting request message.", "S202′: The access device 2 receives the information reporting request message sent by the centrally configured network element.", "This step is optional.", "Further, optionally, after receiving the information reporting request message, the access device 2 sends a feedback message about the information reporting request to the centrally configured network element (not shown in the figure).", "S203: The access device 1 sends the information used for grant-free transmission unit configuration to the centrally configured network element.", "This step is optional, and the access device 1 may periodically or aperiodically send the information used for grant-free transmission unit configuration.", "S203′: The centrally configured network element receives the information that is used for grant-free transmission unit configuration and that is sent by the access device 1.This step is optional.", "Further, optionally, after receiving the information, the centrally configured network element sends a feedback message about the received information to the access device 1 (not shown in the figure).", "S204: The access device 2 sends the information used for grant-free transmission unit configuration to the centrally configured network element.", "This step is optional, and the access device 2 may periodically or aperiodically send the information used for grant-free transmission unit configuration.", "S204′: The centrally configured network element receives the information that is used for grant-free transmission unit configuration and that is sent by the access device 2.This step is optional.", "Further, optionally, after receiving information, the access device 2 centrally configured network sends a feedback message about the received information to the access device 2 (not shown in the figure).", "S205: The centrally configured network element configures grant-free transmission units of the access device 1 and the access device 2.Optionally, configuration may be performed according to the information reported by the access device 1 and the access device 2.Because one access device may have one or more grant-free transmission units, configuration information of the grant-free transmission unit of the access device is information about configuration of the one or more grant-free transmission units of the access device, and specifically, may include information about the one or more grant-free transmission units, or information about a control mechanism of the one or more grant-free transmission units.", "Explanations may be similar in other parts of the embodiments of this application.", "If the access device is a baseband unit set, because the baseband unit set may include one or more baseband units, configuration information of a grant-free transmission unit of the access device may be understood as configuration information of the grant-free transmission unit of the one or more baseband units included in the baseband unit set.", "In the embodiments of this application, in a scenario in which the access device is a baseband unit set, “of an access device” may be understood as “of one or more baseband units included in a baseband unit set”, and details are not further described.", "Certainly, one baseband unit may have one or more grant-free transmission units.", "Therefore, configuration information of the grant-free transmission unit of the baseband unit is information about configuration of the one or more grant-free transmission units of the baseband unit, and specifically, may include information about the one or more grant-free transmission units, or information about a control mechanism of the one or more grant-free transmission units.", "S206: The centrally configured network element sends configuration information of a grant-free transmission unit of the access device 1 to the access device 1, or may further send configuration information of a grant-free transmission unit of a neighboring access device of the access device 1.The configuration information of the grant-free transmission unit of the access device 1 and the configuration information of the grant-free transmission unit of the neighboring access device of the access device 1 may be sent in one message, or may be sent in different messages.", "S206′: The access device 1 receives the configuration information that is of the grant-free transmission unit of the access device 1 and that is sent by the centrally configured network element.", "Further, received information includes the configuration information of the grant-free transmission unit of the neighboring access device of the access device 1.Further, optionally, after receiving the configuration information of the grant-free transmission unit, the access device 1 sends a feedback message about the received configuration information of the grant-free transmission unit to the centrally configured network element (not shown in the figure).", "S207: The centrally configured network element sends configuration information of a grant-free transmission unit of the access device 2 to the access device 2, or may further send configuration information of a grant-free transmission unit of a neighboring access device of the access device 2.The configuration information of the grant-free transmission unit of the access device 2 and the configuration information of the grant-free transmission unit of the neighboring access device of the access device 2 may be sent in one message, or may be sent in different messages.", "S207′: The access device 2 receives the configuration information that is of the grant-free transmission unit of the access device 2 and that is sent by the centrally configured network element.", "Further, received information includes the configuration information of the grant-free transmission unit of the neighboring access device of the access device 2.Further, optionally, after receiving the configuration information of the grant-free transmission unit, the access device 2 sends a feedback message about the received configuration information of the grant-free transmission unit to the centrally configured network element (not shown in the figure).", "S208: The access device 1 sends the configuration information of the grant-free transmission unit of the access device 1 to a terminal device 1 within a coverage area of the access device 1.A terminal device within the coverage area of the access device 1 may also be understood as a terminal device within an area controlled by the access device 1, or within an area covered by a signal of the access device 1 or a signal of another device connected to the access device 1.Understandings may be similar in other parts of the embodiments of this application, and details are not further described.", "S208′: The terminal device 1 within the coverage area of the access device 1 receives the configuration information that is of the grant-free transmission unit of the access device 1 and that is sent by the access device 1.Further, optionally, after receiving the configuration information of the grant-free transmission unit, the terminal device 1 within the coverage area of the access device 1 sends a feedback message about the received configuration information of the grant-free transmission unit of the access device 1 to the access device 1 (not shown in the figure).", "S209: The access device 2 sends the configuration information of the grant-free transmission unit of the access device 2 to a terminal device 2 within a coverage area of the access device 2.S209′: The terminal device 2 within the coverage area of the access device 2 receives the configuration information that is of the grant-free transmission unit of the access device 2 and that is sent by the access device 2.Further, optionally, after receiving the configuration information of the grant-free transmission unit, the terminal device 2 within the coverage area of the access device 2 sends a feedback message about the received configuration information of the grant-free transmission unit of the access device 2 to the access device 2 (not shown in the figure).", "The following describes the method for obtaining configuration information of a grant-free transmission unit.", "FIG.", "2 actually includes the method for obtaining configuration information of a grant-free transmission unit, for example, S206, S206′, S207, and S207′.", "The method for obtaining configuration information of a grant-free transmission unit may include the following steps: A centrally configured network element sends configuration information of a grant-free transmission unit of one or more access devices to the one or more access devices, where the grant-free transmission unit refers to a transmission resource used for grant-free transmission, and may be a basic transmission resource used for grant-free transmission, and the configuration information of the grant-free transmission unit includes at least one or more of the following information: information about the grant-free transmission unit or information about a grant-free transmission unit control mechanism.", "Configuration information of a grant-free transmission unit of one access device may include configuration information of one or more grant-free transmission units or configuration information of one or more sets of grant-free transmission units.", "The one or more access devices receive the configuration information that is of the grant-free transmission unit of the one or more access devices and that is sent by the centrally configured network element.", "Further, optionally, the one or more access devices send a response message about the received configuration information of the grant-free transmission unit to the centrally configured network element.", "According to the method for obtaining configuration information in this embodiment of the present invention, a centrally configured network element sends configuration information of a grant-free transmission unit to an access device.", "In this way, the access device can obtain the configuration information of the grant-free transmission unit, so that a grant-free service of a terminal device within a coverage area of the access device can be smoothly carried out.", "For example, as shown in FIG.", "3, the centrally configured network element may send the configuration information of the grant-free transmission unit of the one or more access devices to the one or more access devices by using an indication message for grant-free transmission unit configuration.", "FIG.", "3 uses one access device as an example.", "The one or more access devices may send a response message (optional) about the received indication message for grant-free transmission unit configuration to the centrally configured network element by using an indication response message for grant-free transmission unit configuration.", "Certainly, the indication message for grant-free transmission unit configuration or the indication response message for grant-free transmission unit configuration may have another name, for example, may be carried in another existing message or a newly defined message.", "An implementation example of the indication message for grant-free transmission unit configuration is as follows.", "English for grant-free transmission unit may be grant free transmission unit, GFTU for short.", "Certainly, another English description and English abbreviation may be used by a person skilled in the art.", "The grant-free transmission unit in other parts of the embodiments of this application is understood in a same manner, and details are not further described.", "IE type and Semantics Assigned IE/Group Name Presence Range reference description Criticality Criticality Message Type M YES ignore GFTU M YES reject Configuration of Target eBN >Cell M 1 .", ".", ".", "Configuration Item <maxCellineNB> >>Cell ID M >>GFTU M 9.2.xx YES ignore Status GFTU O YES ignore Configuration of neighbouring eNB >eNB 1 .", ".", ".", "Configuration Item <maxNeighbouring eNB> >>eNB ID >>Cell O 1 .", ".", ".", "YES ignore Configuration Item <maxCellineNB> >>Cell ID O YES ignore >>>GFTU O 9.2.xx YES ignore Status GFTU Status may be configuration information of one grant-free transmission unit.", "The foregoing table represents that there are configuration information of multiple grant-free transmission units for multiple cells.", "An implementation example of a format of this IE GFTU Status may be as follows: 9.2.xx GFTU Status IE type and IE/Group Name Presence Range reference Semantics description CHOICE GFTU M — — Information >GFTU M 1 .", ".", ".", "maxGFTUinCell Configuration >>FDD — — >>>Time Domain M BIT STRING Each position in the bitmap Info (SIZE(T1)) represents a subframe, for which value “1” indicates GFTU is located in the corresponding subframe and value “0” indicates GFTU is located in the corresponding subframe.", "The first position of the Time Domain Info corresponds to subframe 0 in a radio frame where SFN = 0.The Time Domain Info is continuously repeated in all radio frames.", "The maximum number of subframes is T1.>>>Frequency M BIT STRING Each position in the bitmap Domain Info (SIZE(F1)) represents an RB, for which value “1” indicates the corresponding RB is allocated to GFTU and value “0” indicates the corresponding RB is not allocated to GFTU.", "The first position of the Frequency Domain Info corresponds to the lowest indexed RB of the bandwidth.", ">TDD — — >>>Time Domain M BIT STRING Each position in the bitmap Info (1 .", ".", ".", "T2) represents a subframe, for which value “1” indicates GFTU is located in the corresponding subframe and value “0” indicates GFTU is located in the corresponding subframe.", "The first position of the Time Domain Info corresponds to subframe 0 in a radio frame where SFN = 0.The Time Domain Info is continuously repeated in all radio frames.", "The maximum number of subframes is T2.>>>Frequency M BIT STRING Each position in the bitmap Domain Info (SIZE(F2)) represents an RB, for which value “1” indicates the corresponding RB is allocated to GFTU and value “0” indicates the corresponding RB is not allocated to GFTU.", "The first position of the Frequency Domain Info corresponds to the lowest indexed RB of the bandwidth.", "Optionally, the centrally configured network element sends configuration information of a grant-free transmission unit of a neighboring access device of the one or more access devices to the one or more access devices, for example, IE information of GFTU Configuration of neighbouring eNB in the foregoing example.", "The configuration information of the grant-free transmission unit of the neighboring access device of the one or more access devices is sent to the one or more access devices, so that an access device that receives the configuration information of the grant-free transmission unit of the neighboring access device can configure a transmission resource of the access device (for example, configure a granted transmission resource) according to the configuration information of the grant-free transmission unit of the neighboring access device or use the obtained configuration information of the grant-free transmission unit of the neighboring access device for another purpose.", "For example, if the grant-free transmission unit of the neighboring access device overlaps with the granted transmission resource of the access device, the access device can make some adjustments, for example, power reduction, to its own granted transmission, to reduce impact on neighboring grant-free transmission.", "Optionally, the centrally configured network element sends information about a grant-free area to which the one or more access devices belong to the one or more access devices.", "The grant-free area may be a set of one or more access devices, and the grant-free area may be used to physically represent a geographical area covered by an access device.", "Certainly, the information about the grant-free area may or may not be sent together with the configuration information of the grant-free transmission unit.", "Optionally, the centrally configured network element configures a grant-free transmission unit based on a grant-free area.", "For example, if access devices 1 to 3 belong to a same grant-free area 1, the grant-free area 1 has configuration information 1 of one grant-free transmission unit; if access devices 3 to 5 belong to a same grant-free area 2, the grant-free area 2 has configuration information 2 of one grant-free transmission unit.", "Therefore, because the access devices 1, 2, 4, and 5 each belong to only one grant-free area, configuration information of grant-free transmission units of the access devices 1, 2, 4, and 5 may be configuration information of grant-free transmission units of only grant-free area 1.Because the access device 3 belongs to two grant-free areas, configuration information of a grant-free transmission unit of the access device 3 may be configuration information of grant-free transmission units of the grant-free areas 1 and 2.As shown in FIG.", "4, access devices (BSs are used as an example in FIG.", "4) that belong to a same grant-free area can constitute a virtual service set, and the access devices in the virtual service set serve a terminal device jointly.", "For example, in FIG.", "4, when the terminal device is in the grant-free area 1, a BS 1 to a BS 3 serve the terminal device; and when the terminal device moves to the grant-free area 2, a BS 3 to a BS 5 serve the terminal device.", "Grant-free area information is sent, so that an access device that receives the grant-free area information can establish a virtual service set according to the grant-free area information, to serve a terminal device.", "English for grant-free area may be GRANT FREE AREA CONFIGURATION, and may be GFA Configuration for short.", "Certainly, there may be another English description.", "An example of how a grant-free area is represented in an indication message for grant-free transmission unit configuration may be as follows.", "Certainly, the grant-free area information may also be carried in another message.", "IE type and Semantics Assigned IE/Group Name Presence Range reference description Criticality Criticality Message Type M YES ignore GFA Configuration M YES reject >GFA Configuration M 1 .", ".", ".", "Item IEs <maxnoofGFA> >>GFA ID M >>GFTU M 1 .", ".", ".", "Configuration List IEs <maxnoofGFTA> >>>GFTU M XY YES ignore Configuration maxnoofGFA indicates a maximum quantity of GFAs when an access device belongs to multiple GFAs at the same time.", "A further example of the IE grant-free transmission unit configuration information GFTU configuration may be as follows: IE/Group Name Presence Range IE type and reference Semantics description GFTU Configuration M — — IE >>FDD — — >>>Time Domain Info M BIT STRING Each position in the bitmap (SIZE(T1)) represents a subframe, for which value “1” indicates GFTU is located in the corresponding subframe and value “0” indicates GFTU is located in the corresponding subframe.", "The first position of the Time Domain Info corresponds to subframe 0 in a radio frame where SFN = 0.The Time Domain Info is continuously repeated in all radio frames.", "The maximum number of subframes is T1.>>>Frequency M BIT STRING Each position in the bitmap Domain Info (SIZE(F1)) represents an RB, for which value “1” indicates the corresponding RB is allocated to GFTU and value “0” indicates the corresponding RB is not allocated to GFTU.", "The first position of the Frequency Domain Info corresponds to the lowest indexed RB of the bandwidth.", ">TDD — — >>>Time Domain Info M BIT STRING (1 .", ".", ".", "T2) Each position in the bitmap represents a subframe, for which value “1” indicates GFTU is located in the corresponding subframe and value “0” indicates GFTU is located in the corresponding subframe.", "The first position of the Time Domain Info corresponds to subframe 0 in a radio frame where SFN = 0.The Time Domain Info is continuously repeated in all radio frames.", "The maximum number of subframes is T2.>>>Frequency M BIT STRING Each position in the bitmap Domain Info (SIZE(F2)) represents an RB, for which value “1” indicates the corresponding RB is allocated to GFTU and value “0” indicates the corresponding RB is not allocated to GFTU.", "The first position of the Frequency Domain Info corresponds to the lowest indexed RB of the bandwidth.", "Optionally, the access device may belong to one grant-free area, or may belong to multiple grant-free areas.", "If the access device belongs to multiple grant-free areas, the configuration information of the grant-free transmission unit of the access device is configuration information of grant-free transmission units in the multiple grant-free areas to which the access device belongs.", "Further, optionally, the one or more access devices may send the configuration information of the grant-free transmission unit of the one or more access devices to a terminal device in a coverage area of the one or more access devices.", "This has been described, for example, S208, S208′, S209, and S209′ in the foregoing embodiment.", "The following describes the method for obtaining information used for grant-free transmission unit configuration.", "The method for obtaining information used for grant-free transmission unit configuration may, as an independent technical solution, include steps such as S203, S203′, S204, and S204′, and optionally, may include steps S201, S201′, S202, and S202′.", "A quantity of access devices may not be limited to 2.The method for obtaining information used for grant-free transmission unit configuration and a technical solution to another technical problem, for example, the method for configuring a grant-free transmission unit or the method for obtaining configuration information of a grant-free transmission unit, are combined into a new solution.", "Optionally, the information that is sent by the access device 1 or 2 to the centrally configured network element in S203, S203′, S204, and S204′ is information used for grant-free transmission unit configuration, and may include but is not limited to one or more of the following information: load information of the one or more access devices (for example, the access device 1 or the access device 2), capability information of a terminal device served by the one or more access devices (for example, the access device 1 or the access device 2), or a grant-free transmission requirement of the one or more access devices (for example, the access device 1 or the access device 2); and may be sent in INFORMATION REPORT.", "An implementation example of INFORMATION REPORT is as follows: IE type and Semantics Assigned IE/Group Name Presence Range reference description Criticality Criticality Message Type M 9.2.13 YES ignore Cell Information M YES ignore >Cell Information 1 .", ".", ".", "EACH ignore Item <maxCellineNB> >>Cell ID M Id of the — — source cell >>UL Load O xx — — Indication >>UE Capability O yy >>GF Requirement O zz xx represents load information that is of an access device and that needs to be reported, and an example of its format may be as follows: This IE provides a report on UL load information.", "IE/Group Semantics Name Presence Range IE type and reference description UL Load O ENUMERATED (high Indication load, medium load, low load, .", ".", ". )", "yy represents capability information that is of a terminal device served by an access device and that needs to be reported, and an example of its format may be as follows: This IE provides a report on UE capability information.", "IE/Group Semantics Name Presence Range IE type and reference description UE O ENUMERATED Capability (support GF, not support GF, .", ".", ". )", "zz represents a grant-free transmission requirement that is of an access device and that needs to be reported, and an example of its format may be as follows: This IE provides a report onGF requirement information.", "IE/Group Semantics Name Presence Range IE type and reference description GF O ENUMERATED Requirement (high, medium, low, .", ".", ". )", "The following describes the method for configuring a grant-free transmission unit.", "The method for configuring a grant-free transmission unit, as an independent technical solution, may include a step such as S205.A quantity of access devices may not be limited to 2.The method for configuring a grant-free transmission unit and a technical solution to another technical problem, for example, the method for obtaining information used for grant-free transmission unit configuration or the method for obtaining configuration information of a grant-free transmission unit, are combined into a new solution.", "A configuration manner in which the centrally configured network element configures the grant-free transmission unit of the access device may include but is not limited to one or more of the following: The centrally configured network element configures the grant-free transmission unit of the access device, so that the grant-free transmission unit of the access device is orthogonal to a grant-free transmission unit of another access device (there may be one or more access devices).", "Being orthogonal to a grant-free transmission unit may mean being orthogonal to the grant-free transmission unit in any one or more dimensions of transmission resources, such as a time domain, or a frequency domain, or a space domain, or a time domain and a frequency domain, or a time domain and a space domain, or a space domain and a frequency domain, or a time domain, a frequency domain, and a space domain.", "Being orthogonal may be understood as non-overlapping.", "FIG.", "5A and FIG.", "5B are used as an example.", "FIG.", "5A shows that grant-free transmission units of a network device 1 (one network device is uses as an example herein) and a network device 2 overlap in a time domain and a frequency domain, which may be understood as non-orthogonal.", "FIG.", "5B shows that, although non-orthogonal in a time domain, a grant-free transmission unit of a network device 2 is orthogonal to a grant-free transmission unit of a network device 1 in a frequency domain.", "The centrally configured network element configures uplink power of the grant-free transmission unit of the access device.", "For specific configuration, refer to a manner in which the access device 2 configures uplink power of a grant-free transmission unit in the foregoing distributed mechanism.", "The centrally configured network element configures a retransmission mechanism of the grant-free transmission unit of the access device, determines an access device whose grant-free transmission unit requires a retransmission mechanism and an access device whose grant-free transmission unit does not require a retransmission mechanism, and even may specifically configure different types of retransmission mechanisms.", "The centrally configured network element configures a modulation and coding scheme of the grant-free transmission unit of the access device, and configures different, identical, or partly identical modulation and coding schemes for grant-free transmission units of the access device.", "The centrally configured network element may perform the configuration according to an obtained grant-free transmission unit requirement of the access device.", "If the grant-free transmission unit requirement of the access device is lower than a specific threshold, the grant-free transmission unit of the access device may not be configured.", "The centrally configured network element may perform the configuration according to obtained capabilities of a terminal device served by the access device.", "If none of the capabilities of the terminal device served by the access device support a grant-free transmission unit, the grant-free transmission unit of the access device may not be configured.", "If some or all capabilities of the terminal device served by the access device support a grant-free transmission unit, the grant-free transmission unit of the access device may be configured.", "Although descriptions of the foregoing embodiments relate to multiple network devices (for example, the centrally configured network element and the access device) or terminal devices, protection and implementation of the technical solutions of the patent may be merely for a single network device.", "With reference to FIG.", "1 to FIG.", "5B, the foregoing describes in detail the method for obtaining configuration information of a grant-free transmission unit according to the embodiments of the present invention.", "With reference to FIG.", "6 and FIG.", "7, the following describes in detail an apparatus for obtaining configuration information of a grant-free transmission unit according to the embodiments of the present invention.", "FIG.", "6 describes an apparatus for obtaining configuration information of a grant-free transmission unit.", "As shown in FIG.", "6, the apparatus 600 includes a sending unit.", "Optionally, the sending unit may be a transmitter 601, or the sending unit may be a transmitter circuit.", "Further, optionally, the apparatus 600 includes a receiving unit.", "Optionally, the receiving unit may be a receiver 602, or the receiving unit may be a receiver circuit.", "The sending unit is connected to the receiving unit.", "Further, optionally, the apparatus 600 includes a processing unit.", "Optionally, the processing unit may be a processor 603, or the processing unit may be a processing circuit.", "Both the sending unit and the receiving unit are connected to the processing unit.", "Optionally, the sending unit and the receiving unit may be integrated to form a transceiver unit, or the transmitter and the receiver may be integrated to form a transceiver, or the transmitter circuit and the receiver circuit may be integrated to form a transceiver circuit.", "Optionally, any two or more of the transmitter circuit, the receiver circuit, or the processing circuit may be integrated into one integrated circuit.", "The following uses the receiver, the transmitter, and the processor as an example for description.", "The transmitter 601 is configured to: send configuration information of a grant-free transmission unit of an access device to the access device, where the grant-free transmission unit refers to a transmission resource used for grant-free transmission, and the configuration information of the grant-free transmission unit includes at least one or more of the following information: information about the grant-free transmission unit or information about a grant-free transmission unit control mechanism.", "The information about the grant-free transmission unit is one or more of the following information: time-domain resource information, frequency-domain resource information, space-domain resource information, code-domain resource information, or pilot resource information.", "The information about the grant-free transmission control mechanism is one or more of the following information: uplink power control information, modulation and coding scheme information, or retransmission mechanism information.", "Optionally, the apparatus further includes the transmitter 601, further configured to send configuration information of a grant-free transmission unit of a neighboring access device of the access device to the access device.", "Optionally, the receiver 601 is further configured to send information about a grant-free area to which the access device belongs to the access device.", "Optionally, the receiver 602 is configured to receive the information that is used for grant-free transmission unit configuration and that is sent by the access device.", "Optionally, the information used for grant-free transmission unit configuration includes one or more of the following information: load information of the access device, capability information of a terminal device served by the access device, or a grant-free transmission requirement of the access device.", "Optionally, the transmitter 601 is further configured to send an information reporting request message to the access device, where the information reporting request message is used to request the access device to send the information used for grant-free transmission unit configuration.", "Optionally, the apparatus further includes the processor 603.The processor 603 is further configured to configure the grant-free transmission unit of the access device.", "Optionally, the processor is further configured to configure the grant-free transmission unit of the access device in one or a combination of the following manners: configuring the grant-free transmission unit of the access device, so that the grant-free transmission unit of the access device is orthogonal to a grant-free transmission unit of another access device; configuring uplink power of the grant-free transmission unit of the access device; configuring a retransmission mechanism of the grant-free transmission unit of the access device; and configuring a modulation and coding scheme of the grant-free transmission unit of the access device.", "It should be understood that, the apparatus 600 for obtaining configuration information of a grant-free transmission unit according to this embodiment of the present invention may be corresponding to the centrally configured network element in the method embodiments of the present invention, and the foregoing and other operations and/or functions of the components in the apparatus 600 are to implement corresponding procedures of the methods in FIG.", "1 to FIG.", "5B.", "For brevity, the descriptions of the foregoing embodiments of the present invention may be applicable to the apparatus embodiment, and details are not described herein again.", "As shown in FIG.", "7, an embodiment of the present invention further provides an apparatus 700 for obtaining configuration information of a grant-free transmission unit.", "The apparatus 700 includes a receiving unit.", "Optionally, the receiving unit may be a receiver 701, or the receiving unit may be a receiver circuit.", "Further, optionally, the apparatus 700 includes a sending unit.", "Optionally, the sending unit may be a transmitter 702, or the sending unit may be a transmitter circuit.", "The sending unit is connected to the receiving unit.", "Optionally, the apparatus 700 includes a processing unit.", "Optionally, the processing unit may be a processor 703, or the processing unit may be a processing circuit.", "Both the sending unit and the receiving unit are connected to the processing unit.", "Optionally, the sending unit and the receiving unit may be integrated to form a transceiver unit, or the transmitter and the receiver may be integrated to form a transceiver, or the transmitter circuit and the receiver circuit may be integrated to form a transceiver circuit.", "Optionally, any two or more of the transmitter circuit, the receiver circuit, or the processing circuit may be integrated into one integrated circuit.", "The following uses the receiver, the transmitter, and the processor as an example for description.", "The receiver 701 is configured to: receive configuration information of a grant-free transmission unit of the apparatus, and optionally, receive configuration information that is of a grant-free transmission unit of the apparatus and that is sent by a centrally configured network element, where the grant-free transmission unit refers to a transmission resource used for grant-free transmission, and the configuration information of the grant-free transmission unit includes at least one or more of the following information: information about the grant-free transmission unit or information about a grant-free transmission unit control mechanism.", "The information about the grant-free transmission unit is one or more of the following information: time-domain resource information, frequency-domain resource information, space-domain resource information, code-domain resource information, or pilot resource information.", "The information about the grant-free transmission control mechanism is one or more of the following information: uplink power control information, modulation and coding scheme information, or retransmission mechanism information.", "Optionally, the receiver 701 is further configured to receive configuration information of a grant-free transmission unit of a neighboring access device of the apparatus.", "Optionally, the receiver 701 is further configured to receive information about a grant-free area to which the apparatus belongs.", "Optionally, the transmitter 702 is further configured to send information used for grant-free transmission unit configuration to the centrally configured network element.", "Optionally, the information used for grant-free transmission unit configuration includes one or more of the following information: load information of the apparatus, capability information of a terminal device served by the apparatus, or a grant-free transmission requirement of the apparatus.", "Optionally, the receiver 701 is further configured to receive an information reporting request message, where the information reporting request message is used to request the apparatus to send the information used for grant-free transmission unit configuration.", "Optionally, the receiver 701 receives the information reporting request message that is sent by the centrally configured network element.", "Optionally, the processing unit, for example, the processor 703, is configured to: control the sending unit, for example, the transmitter 702, to send a signal, and control the receiving unit, for example, the receiver 701, to receive a signal.", "It should be understood that, the apparatus 700 for obtaining configuration information of a grant-free transmission unit according to this embodiment of the present invention may be corresponding to the access device in the embodiments of the present invention, and the foregoing and other operations and/or functions of the components in the apparatus 700 are to implement corresponding procedures of the methods in FIG.", "2 to FIG.", "5B.", "For brevity, the descriptions of the foregoing embodiments of the present invention may be applicable to the apparatus embodiment, and details are not described herein again.", "An embodiment of the present invention further relates to a system for obtaining configuration information of a grant-free transmission unit, including the centrally configured network element and the access device in the foregoing method embodiments.", "For specific division of structures and functions of the centrally configured network element and the access device, refer to the apparatuses 600 and 700 for obtaining configuration information of a grant-free transmission unit.", "Descriptions of the foregoing method embodiments and apparatus embodiments may be applicable to the system embodiment, and details are not described herein again.", "It should be understood that, in the foregoing embodiments of the present invention, the processor may be a central processing unit (Central Processing Unit, “CPU” for short), or may be another general purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or another programmable logic device, a discrete gate or a transistor logic device, or a discrete hardware component.", "The general purpose processor may be a microprocessor, or the processor may be any conventional processor.", "A memory may include a read-only memory and a random access memory, and provide instructions and data to the processor.", "A part of the memory may further include a non-volatile random access memory.", "For example, the memory may further store device type information.", "In addition to a data bus, a bus system may further include a power bus, a control bus, a status signal bus, and so on.", "However, for clear description, all buses in the figure are marked as the bus system.", "In an implementation process, steps in the foregoing method may be implemented by using a hardware integrated logic circuit in the processor, or by using instructions in a form of software.", "The steps of the method disclosed in this embodiment of the present invention may be directly implemented by a hardware processor, or may be implemented by a combination of hardware and software modules in the processor.", "The software module may be located in a storage medium that is mature in the art, such as a random access memory, a flash memory, a read-only memory, a programmable read-only memory or an erasable programmable memory, or a register.", "The storage medium is located in the memory, and the processor reads information in the memory and completes the steps in the foregoing method in combination with hardware of the processor.", "To avoid repetition, no detailed description is given herein again.", "It should be understood that, the sending module, the sending unit, or the transmitter in the foregoing embodiments of the present invention may send information directly over an air interface, or may send information to another device, instead of sending information directly over an air interface, so that the another device sends information over the air interface.", "Similarly, the receiving module, the receiving unit, or the receiver in the foregoing embodiments may receive information directly over an air interface, or may receive information over an air interface by using another device, instead of receiving information directly over the air interface.", "It should further be understood that, to make the application document brief and clear, technical features and descriptions in one of the foregoing embodiments may be applicable to other embodiments.", "For example, technical features of a method embodiment may be applicable to apparatus embodiments or other method embodiments, and details are not further described in the other embodiments.", "In addition, the terms “system” and “network” may be used interchangeably in this specification.", "The term “and/or” in this specification describes only an association relationship for describing associated objects and represents that three relationships may exist.", "For example, A and/or B may represent the following three cases: Only A exists, both A and B exist, and only B exists.", "In addition, the character “/” in this specification generally indicates an “or” relationship between the associated objects.", "It should be understood that in the embodiments of the present invention, “B corresponding to A” indicates that B is associated with A, and B may be determined according to A.", "However, it should further be understood that determining A according to B does not mean that B is determined according to A only; that is, B may also be determined according to A and/or other information.", "A person of ordinary skill in the art may be aware that, in combination with the examples described in the embodiments disclosed in this specification, units and algorithm steps may be implemented by electronic hardware, computer software, or a combination thereof.", "To clearly describe the interchangeability between the hardware and the software, the foregoing has generally described compositions and steps of each example according to functions.", "Whether the functions are performed by hardware or software depends on particular applications and design constraint conditions of the technical solutions.", "A person skilled in the art may use different methods to implement the described functions for each particular application, but it should not be considered that the implementation goes beyond the scope of the present invention.", "It may be clearly understood by a person skilled in the art that, for the purpose of convenient and brief description, for a detailed working process of the foregoing system, apparatus, and unit, refer to a corresponding process in the foregoing method embodiments, and details are not described herein again.", "In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed system, apparatus, and method may be implemented in other manners.", "For example, the described apparatus embodiment is merely exemplary.", "For example, the unit division is merely logical function division and may be other division in actual implementation.", "For example, a plurality of units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be ignored or not performed.", "In addition, the displayed or discussed mutual couplings or direct couplings or communication connections may be implemented through some interfaces, indirect couplings or communication connections between the apparatuses or units, or electrical connections, mechanical connections, or connections in other forms.", "The units described as separate parts may or may not be physically separate, and parts displayed as units may or may not be physical units, may be located in one position, or may be distributed on a plurality of network units.", "A part or all of the units may be selected according to actual needs to achieve the objectives of the solutions of the embodiments of the present invention.", "In addition, functional units in the embodiments of the present invention may be integrated into one unit, or each of the units may exist alone physically, or two or more units are integrated into one unit.", "The integrated unit may be implemented in a form of hardware, or may be implemented in a form of a software functional unit.", "When the integrated unit is implemented in the form of a software functional unit and sold or used as an independent product, the integrated unit may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium.", "Based on such an understanding, the technical solutions of the present invention essentially, or the part contributing to the prior art, or all or a part of the technical solutions may be implemented in the form of a software product.", "The software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions for instructing a computer device (which may be a personal computer, a server, or a network device) to perform all or a part of the steps of the methods described in the embodiments of the present invention.", "The foregoing storage medium includes: any medium that can store program code, such as a USB flash drive, a removable hard disk, a read-only memory (ROM, Read-Only Memory), a random access memory (RAM, Random Access Memory), a magnetic disk, or an optical disc.", "The foregoing descriptions are merely specific embodiments of the present invention, but are not intended to limit the protection scope of the present invention.", "Any modification or replacement readily figured out by a person skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in the present invention shall fall within the protection scope of the present invention.", "Therefore, the protection scope of the present invention shall be subject to the protection scope of the claims.", "Further embodiments of the present invention are provided in the following.", "It should be noted that the numbering used in the following section does not necessarily need to comply with the numbering used in the previous sections.", "The numbering of following embodiments may not be consecutive.", "Embodiment 1 A method for obtaining configuration information of a grant-free transmission unit, comprising: sending, by a centrally configured network element, configuration information of a grant-free transmission unit of an access device to the access device, wherein the grant-free transmission unit refers to a transmission resource used for grant-free transmission, and the configuration information of the grant-free transmission unit comprises at least one or more of the following information: information about the grant-free transmission unit or information about a grant-free transmission control mechanism; and receiving, by the access device, the configuration information that is of the grant-free transmission unit of the access device and that is sent by the centrally configured network element, wherein the information about the grant-free transmission unit is one or more of the following information: time-domain resource information, frequency-domain resource information, space-domain resource information, code-domain resource information, or pilot resource information; and the information about the grant-free transmission control mechanism is one or more of the following information: uplink power control information, modulation and coding scheme information, or retransmission mechanism information.", "Embodiment 2 The method according to embodiment 1, further comprising: sending, by the centrally configured network element, configuration information of a grant-free transmission unit of a neighboring access device of the access device to the access device.", "Embodiment 3 The method according to embodiment 1 or 2, further comprising: sending, by the centrally configured network element, information about a grant-free area to which the access device belongs to the access device, wherein the grant-free area is a set of one or more access devices, and the configuration information of the grant-free transmission unit of the access device is configuration information of a grant-free transmission unit in the grant-free area to which the access device belongs.", "Embodiment 4 The method according to any one of embodiments 1 to 3, further comprising: sending, by the access device, information used for grant-free transmission unit configuration to the centrally configured network element.", "Embodiment 5 The method according to embodiment 4, wherein the information used for grant-free transmission unit configuration comprises one or more of the following information: load information of the access device, capability information of a terminal device served by the access device, or a grant-free transmission requirement of the access device.", "Embodiment 6 The method according to embodiment 4, before the sending, by the access device, information used for grant-free transmission unit configuration to the centrally configured network element, further comprising: sending, by the centrally configured network element, an information reporting request message to the access device, wherein the information reporting request message is used to request the access device to send the information used for grant-free transmission unit configuration.", "Embodiment 7 The method according to any one of embodiments 1 to 6, wherein the centrally configured network element configures the grant-free transmission unit of the access device.", "Embodiment 8 The method according to embodiment 7, wherein the centrally configured network element configures the grant-free transmission unit of the access device in one or a combination of the following manners: the centrally configured network element configures the grant-free transmission unit of the access device, so that the grant-free transmission unit of the access device is orthogonal to a grant-free transmission unit of another access device; the centrally configured network element configures uplink power of the grant-free transmission unit of the access device; the centrally configured network element configures a retransmission mechanism of the grant-free transmission unit of the access device; or the centrally configured network element configures a modulation and coding scheme of the grant-free transmission unit of the access device.", "Embodiment 9 The method according to any one of embodiments 1 to 8, wherein the grant-free transmission is one or more of the following: the grant-free transmission means that: an access device pre-allocates multiple transmission resources and notifies a terminal device of the multiple transmission resources; when there is an uplink data transmission requirement, the terminal device selects at least one transmission resource from the multiple transmission resources pre-allocated by the access device, and uses the selected transmission resource to send uplink data; and the access device detects, on one or more transmission resources of the multiple pre-allocated transmission resources, the uplink data sent by the terminal device; the grant-free transmission means that: an access device pre-allocates multiple transmission resources and notifies a terminal device of the multiple transmission resources, so that when there is an uplink data transmission requirement, the terminal device selects at least one transmission resource from the multiple transmission resources pre-allocated by the access device, and uses the selected transmission resource to send uplink data; the grant-free transmission means that: information about multiple pre-allocated transmission resources is obtained; and when there is an uplink data transmission requirement, at least one transmission resource is selected from the multiple transmission resources, and the selected transmission resource is used to send uplink data; the grant-free transmission means a method by using which uplink data transmission of a terminal device can be implemented without dynamic scheduling performed by an access device, wherein the dynamic scheduling is a scheduling manner in which the access device indicates, by using signaling, a transmission resource for each uplink data transmission of the terminal device; the grant-free transmission means that: a terminal device performs uplink data transmission without a grant from an access device, wherein the grant means that: the terminal device sends an uplink scheduling request to the access device, and after receiving the scheduling request, the access device sends an uplink grant to the terminal device, wherein the uplink grant is used to indicate an uplink transmission resource allocated to the terminal device; or the grant-free transmission means a contention-based transmission manner in which multiple terminals simultaneously perform uplink data transmission on a same pre-allocated time-frequency resource without a grant from a base station.", "Embodiment 10 The method according to any one of embodiments 1 to 9, wherein the centrally configured network element is a mobility management entity MME, a serving gateway S-GW, or a packet data network gateway PDN-GW.", "Embodiment 11 The method according to any one of embodiments 1 to 10, wherein the access device is a base station controller, a base station, or a baseband unit BBU set.", "Embodiment 12 The method according to any one of embodiments 1 to 11, wherein the method is applied to one or more of the following networks: a public land mobile PLMN network, a D2D communications network, an M2M communications network, or a machine type communication MTC network.", "Embodiment 13 A method for obtaining configuration information of a grant-free transmission unit, comprising: receiving, by an access device, configuration information of a grant-free transmission unit of the access device, wherein the grant-free transmission unit refers to a transmission resource used for grant-free transmission, and the configuration information of the grant-free transmission unit comprises at least one or more of the following information: information about the grant-free transmission unit or information about a grant-free transmission control mechanism, wherein the information about the grant-free transmission unit is one or more of the following information: time-domain resource information, frequency-domain resource information, space-domain resource information, code-domain resource information, or pilot resource information; and the information about the grant-free transmission control mechanism is one or more of the following information: uplink power control information, modulation and coding scheme information, or retransmission mechanism information.", "Embodiment 14 The method according to embodiment 13, further comprising: receiving, by the access device, configuration information about a grant-free transmission unit of a neighboring access device of the access device.", "Embodiment 15 The method according to embodiment 13 or 14, further comprising: receiving, by the access device, information about a grant-free area to which the access device belongs, wherein the grant-free area is a set of one or more access devices, and the configuration information of the grant-free transmission unit of the access device is configuration information of a grant-free transmission unit in the grant-free area to which the access device belongs.", "Embodiment 16 The method according to any one of embodiments 13 to 15, further comprising: sending, by the access device, information used for grant-free transmission unit configuration.", "Embodiment 17 The method according to embodiment 16, wherein the information used for grant-free transmission unit configuration comprises one or more of the following information: load information of the access device, capability information of a terminal device served by the access device, or a grant-free transmission requirement of the access device.", "Embodiment 18 The method according to embodiment 16 or 17, before the sending, by the access device, information used for grant-free transmission unit configuration, further comprising: receiving, by the access device, an information reporting request message, wherein the information reporting request message is used to request the access device to send the information used for grant-free transmission unit configuration.", "Embodiment 19 A method for obtaining configuration information of a grant-free transmission unit, comprising: sending, by a centrally configured network element, configuration information of a grant-free transmission unit of an access device to the access device, wherein the grant-free transmission unit refers to a transmission resource used for grant-free transmission, and the configuration information of the grant-free transmission unit comprises at least one or more of the following information: information about the grant-free transmission unit or information about a grant-free transmission control mechanism; and the information about the grant-free transmission unit is one or more of the following information: time-domain resource information, frequency-domain resource information, space-domain resource information, code-domain resource information, or pilot resource information; and the information about the grant-free transmission control mechanism is one or more of the following information: uplink power control information, modulation and coding scheme information, or retransmission mechanism information.", "Embodiment 20 The method according to embodiment 19, further comprising: sending, by the centrally configured network element, configuration information of a grant-free transmission unit of a neighboring access device of the access device to the access device.", "Embodiment 21 The method according to embodiment 19 or 20, further comprising: sending, by the centrally configured network element, information about a grant-free area to which the access device belongs to the access device, wherein the grant-free area is a set of one or more access devices, and the configuration information of the grant-free transmission unit of the access device is configuration information of a grant-free transmission unit in the grant-free area to which the access device belongs.", "Embodiment 22 The method according to any one of embodiments 19 to 21, further comprising: receiving, by the centrally configured network element, information that is used for grant-free transmission unit configuration and that is sent by the access device.", "Embodiment 23 The method according to embodiment 22, wherein the information used for grant-free transmission unit configuration comprises one or more of the following information: load information of the access device, capability information of a terminal device served by the access device, or a grant-free transmission requirement of the access device.", "Embodiment 24 The method according to any one of embodiments 19 to 23, further comprising: sending, by the centrally configured network element, an information reporting request message to the access device, wherein the information reporting request message is used to request the access device to send the information used for grant-free transmission unit configuration.", "Embodiment 25 The method according to any one of embodiments 19 to 24, wherein the centrally configured network element configures the grant-free transmission unit of the access device.", "Embodiment 26 The method according to embodiment 25, wherein the centrally configured network element configures the grant-free transmission unit of the access device in one or a combination of the following manners: the centrally configured network element configures the grant-free transmission unit of the access device, so that the grant-free transmission unit of the access device is orthogonal to a grant-free transmission unit of another access device; the centrally configured network element configures uplink power of the grant-free transmission unit of the access device; the centrally configured network element configures a retransmission mechanism of the grant-free transmission unit of the access device; or the centrally configured network element configures a modulation and coding scheme of the grant-free transmission unit of the access device.", "Embodiment 27 An apparatus for obtaining configuration information of a grant-free transmission unit, wherein the apparatus comprises a transmitter, and the transmitter is configured to: send configuration information of a grant-free transmission unit of an access device to the access device, wherein the grant-free transmission unit refers to a transmission resource used for grant-free transmission, and the configuration information of the grant-free transmission unit comprises at least one or more of the following information: information about the grant-free transmission unit or information about a grant-free transmission control mechanism, wherein the information about the grant-free transmission unit is one or more of the following information: time-domain resource information, frequency-domain resource information, space-domain resource information, code-domain resource information, or pilot resource information; and the information about the grant-free transmission control mechanism is one or more of the following information: uplink power control information, modulation and coding scheme information, or retransmission mechanism information.", "Embodiment 28 The apparatus according to embodiment 27, wherein the transmitter is further configured to send configuration information of a grant-free transmission unit of a neighboring access device of the access device to the access device.", "Embodiment 29 The apparatus according to embodiment 27 or 28, wherein the transmitter is further configured to send information about a grant-free area to which the access device belongs to the access device.", "Embodiment 30 The apparatus according to any one of embodiments 27 to 29, further comprising: a receiver, wherein the receiver is configured to receive the information that is used for grant-free transmission unit configuration and that is sent by the access device.", "Embodiment 31 The apparatus according to embodiment 30, wherein the information used for grant-free transmission unit configuration comprises one or more of the following information: load information of the access device, capability information of a terminal device served by the access device, or a grant-free transmission requirement of the access device.", "Embodiment 32 The apparatus according to any one of embodiments 27 to 31, wherein the transmitter is further configured to send an information reporting request message to the access device, wherein the information reporting request message is used to request the access device to send the information used for grant-free transmission unit configuration.", "Embodiment 33 The apparatus according to any one of embodiments 27 to 32, further comprising: a processor, wherein the processor is further configured to configure the grant-free transmission unit of the access device.", "Embodiment 34 The apparatus according to embodiment 33, wherein the processor is further configured to configure the grant-free transmission unit of the access device in one or a combination of the following manners: configuring the grant-free transmission unit of the access device, so that the grant-free transmission unit of the access device is orthogonal to a grant-free transmission unit of another access device; configuring uplink power of the grant-free transmission unit of the access device; configuring a retransmission mechanism of the grant-free transmission unit of the access device; and configuring a modulation and coding scheme of the grant-free transmission unit of the access device.", "Embodiment 35 An apparatus for obtaining configuration information of a grant-free transmission unit, wherein the apparatus comprises a receiver, and the receiver is configured to: receive configuration information of a grant-free transmission unit of the apparatus, wherein the grant-free transmission unit refers to a transmission resource used for grant-free transmission, and the configuration information of the grant-free transmission unit comprises at least one or more of the following information: information about the grant-free transmission unit or information about a grant-free transmission control mechanism, wherein the information about the grant-free transmission unit is one or more of the following information: time-domain resource information, frequency-domain resource information, space-domain resource information, code-domain resource information, or pilot resource information; and the information about the grant-free transmission control mechanism is one or more of the following information: uplink power control information, modulation and coding scheme information, or retransmission mechanism information.", "Embodiment 36 The apparatus according to embodiment 35, wherein the receiver is further configured to receive configuration information of a grant-free transmission unit of a neighboring access device of the apparatus.", "Embodiment 37 The apparatus according to embodiment 35 or 36, wherein the receiver is further configured to receive information about a grant-free area to which the apparatus belongs.", "Embodiment 38 The apparatus according to any one of embodiments 35 to 37, further comprising: a transmitter, configured to send information used for grant-free transmission unit configuration to a centrally configured network element.", "Embodiment 39 The apparatus according to embodiment 38, wherein the information used for grant-free transmission unit configuration comprises one or more of the following information: load information of the apparatus, capability information of a terminal device served by the apparatus, or a grant-free transmission requirement of the apparatus.", "Embodiment 40 The apparatus according to any one of embodiments 35 to 39, wherein the receiver is further configured to receive an information reporting request message, wherein the information reporting request message is used to request the apparatus to send the information used for grant-free transmission unit configuration.", "Embodiment 41 A system for obtaining configuration information of a grant-free transmission unit, comprising the apparatus according to any one of embodiments 27 to 34 and the apparatus according to any one of embodiments 35 to 40." ] ]
Patent_15872991
[ [ "SYNTAX ANALYSIS METHOD AND APPARATUS", "A syntax analysis method and apparatus are disclosed.", "The method includes: obtaining a source language sentence that is a translation of a target language sentence (S110); determining instances of state transition for the target language sentence according to the source language sentence and a correspondence between words of the target language sentence and words of the source language sentence (S120); and generating a syntax tree of the target language sentence according to the instances of state transition for the target language sentence (S130).", "The syntax analysis method and apparatus can improve efficiency of syntax analysis." ], [ "1.A syntax analysis method, comprising: obtaining a source language sentence, wherein a target language sentence is translated from the source language; determining instances of state transition for the target language sentence according to the source language sentence and a correspondence between words of the target language sentence and words of the source language sentence; and generating a syntax tree of the target language sentence according to the instances of state transition for the target language sentence.", "2.The method according to claim 1, wherein the determining instances of state transition for the target language sentence according to the source language sentence and a correspondence between words of the target language sentence and words of the source language sentence comprises: obtaining a syntax tree of the source language sentence according to the source language sentence; for any adjacent segments xl and xr of the target language sentence, determining, according to the correspondence, segments yl and yr of the source language sentence that correspond to xl and xr; if yl and yr are components in the syntax tree of the source language sentence, obtaining, according to a relationship between yl and yr in the syntax tree of the source language sentence, an instance of state transition corresponding to xl and xr; and determining the instances of state transition for the target language sentence according to instances of state transition corresponding to all adjacent segments of the target language sentence.", "3.The method according to claim 2, wherein the obtaining, according to the relationship between yl and yr in the syntax tree of the source language sentence, an instance of state transition corresponding to xl and xr comprises: if yl and yr constitute a component in the syntax tree of the source language sentence, obtaining an instance of a merge operation; or if yl and yr cannot constitute a component in the syntax tree of the source language sentence, obtaining an instance for a disjoin operation.", "4.The method according to claim 2, wherein the method further comprises: determining a score for the instance of state transition corresponding to xl and xr; and determining the instances of state transition for the target language sentence according to instances of state transition corresponding to all adjacent segments of the target language sentence comprises: determining the instances of state transition for the target language sentence according to scores of the instances of state transition corresponding to all the adjacent segments of the target language sentence.", "5.The method according to claim 4, wherein the determining the instances of state transition for the target language sentence according to scores of the instances of state transition corresponding to all the adjacent segments of the target language sentence comprises: determining that N−1 instances of state transition with a highest score in the instances of state transition corresponding to all the adjacent segments of the target language sentence are the instances of state transition for the target language sentence, wherein N is a length of the target language sentence.", "6.The method according to claim 4, wherein the determining a score for the instance of state transition corresponding to xl and xr comprises: determining the score, according to the following equations, for the instance of state transition corresponding to xl and xr:  p  ( x l , x r , y l , y r  A ) = p  ( x l , y l  A ) × p  ( x r , y r  A ) , and p  ( x , y  A ) = p  ( x  y , A ) × p  ( y  x , A ) = ∑ i ∈ x , j ∈ y  A  ( i , j ) ∑ i ∈ x  A  ( i , j ) × ∑ i ∈ x , j ∈ y  A  ( i , j ) ∑ j ∈ y  A  ( i , j ) , wherein A is an alignment matrix, and p(xl,xr,yl,yr|A) indicates a score of an instance of the state transition, wherein the score is obtained according to xl and xr, and yl and yr. 7.The method according to claim 1, wherein the obtaining the source language sentence comprises: obtaining, according to a parallel corpus of a target language and a source language, the source language sentence.", "8.The method according to claim 1, wherein the generating a syntax tree of the target language sentence according to the instances of state transition for the target language sentence comprises: generating the syntax tree Y(X) of the target language sentence X according to the following equation: Y  ( X ) = arg   max Y  ( ∑ D , s .", "t .", "D  ( X ) = Y  ∏ T ∈ D   p  ( T ) ) ≈ arg   max Y  ( max D , s .", "t .", "D  ( X ) = Y  ∏ T ∈ D   p  ( T ) ) , wherein T indicates a state transition operation, and D indicates derivation of the syntax tree.", "9.The method according to claim 1, wherein the method further comprises: training a target language analyzer according to the syntax tree of the target language sentence.", "10.A syntax analysis apparatus, comprising: an obtaining device in a server, configured to obtain a source language sentence, wherein a target language sentence is translated from the source language; a determining device in the server, configured to determine instances of state transition for the target language sentence according to the source language sentence and a correspondence between words of the target language sentence and words of the source language sentence; and a generation device in the server, configured to generate a syntax tree of the target language sentence according to the instances of state transition for the target language sentence.", "11.The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the determining device is further configured to: obtain a syntax tree of the source language sentence according to the source language sentence; for any adjacent segments xl and xr of the target language sentence, determine, according to the correspondence, segments yl and yr of the source language sentence that correspond to xl and xr; if yl and yr are components in the syntax tree of the source language sentence, obtain, according to a relationship between yl and yr in the syntax tree of the source language sentence, an instance of state transition corresponding to xl and xr; and determine the instances of state transition for the target language sentence according to instances of state transition corresponding to all adjacent segments of the target language sentence.", "12.The apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the determining device is further configured to: if yl and yr constitute a component in the syntax tree of the source language sentence, obtain an instance of a merge operation; or if yl and yr cannot constitute a component in the syntax tree of the source language sentence, obtain an instance for a disjoin operation.", "13.The apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the determining device is further configured to: determine a score for the instance of the state transition corresponding to xl and xr; and determine the instances of state transition for the target language sentence according to scores of the instances of state transition corresponding to all the adjacent segments of the target language sentence.", "14.The apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the determining device is further configured to: determine that N−1 instances of state transition with a highest score in the instances of state transition corresponding to all the adjacent segments of the target language sentence are the instances of state transition for the target language sentence, wherein N is a length of the target language sentence.", "15.The apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the determining device is further configured to: determine a score, according to the following equations, for the instance of the state transition corresponding to xl and xr:  p  ( x l , x r , y l , y r  A ) = p  ( x l , y l  A ) × p  ( x r , y r  A ) , and p  ( x , y  A ) = p  ( x  y , A ) × p  ( y  x , A ) = ∑ i ∈ x , j ∈ y  A  ( i , j ) ∑ i ∈ x  A  ( i , j ) × ∑ i ∈ x , j ∈ y  A  ( i , j ) ∑ j ∈ y  A  ( i , j ) , wherein A is an alignment matrix, and p(xl,xr,yl,yr|A) indicates a score of an instance of the state transition, wherein the score is obtained according to xl and xr, and yl and yr. 16.The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the obtaining device is further configured to: obtain, according to a parallel corpus of a target language and a source language, the source language sentence that is the translation of the target language sentence.", "17.The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the generation device is further configured to: generate the syntax tree Y(X) of the target language sentence X according to the following equation: Y  ( X ) = arg   max Y  ( ∑ D , s .", "t .", "D  ( X ) = Y  ∏ T ∈ D   p  ( T ) ) ≈ arg   max Y  ( max D , s .", "t .", "D  ( X ) = Y  ∏ T ∈ D   p  ( T ) ) , wherein T indicates a state transition operation, and D indicates derivation of the syntax tree.", "18.The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the apparatus further comprises: a training device, configured to train a target language analyzer according to the syntax tree of the target language sentence." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND <EOH>As fast development of the Internet is accompanied with explosive increase of web text data and development of economic globalization, information is exchanged and interchanged between different countries more frequently.", "In addition, the booming Internet provides great convenience for obtaining information in various language forms such as English, Chinese, French, German, and Japanese.", "These language services include information retrieval, text summarization, machine translation, automatic question answering, and the like.", "In multitudinous language services, syntax analysis can greatly improve performance of the language services.", "In syntax analysis, a language structure can be analyzed, a sentence structure obtained through syntax analysis can be used to better help a lower-layer application better capture sentence structure information, and semantic information is further understood on this basis.", "In machine translation, syntax analysis can be used for multiple purposes, for example, can be used to better assist and collect statistics in machine translation and complete long-distance reordering in a translation process from a source language to a target language, or can be used to provide guidance in a process of generating a target translation, so that the translation is more compliant with a syntax structure, and then translation quality is improved.", "However, except for few popular languages such as English, Japanese, French, and German, syntax analysis is not developed well for numerous minority languages, for example, languages including Thai, Burmese, Vietnamese, and Cambodian in Southeast Asia.", "Its bottleneck lies in that syntax resources of these minority languages are severely scarce.", "Great labor input is required for building syntax resources.", "In addition, performance of automatic syntax analysis can reach an extent for application only after the syntax resources are built on a particular scale.", "On the other hand, in an actual process of building the syntax resources artificially, another problem to be faced with is to determine a standard for syntax structures of different languages.", "Tagging standards need to be unified as far as possible.", "Due to these difficulties, an automatic syntax analyzer can hardly be built for resource-scarce languages within a short time.", "Currently, existing syntax analysis methods may be roughly classified into two types: syntax analysis with supervision and syntax analysis without supervision.", "Syntax analysis with supervision is to extract features from an artificially tagged syntax treebank, and learn relationships between the features and artificially tagged syntax structures by using a machine learning model; and with respect to a to-be-tagged sentence, search, according to a learned model, for a combination of syntax structures matching features in the sentence, so as to generate a syntax tree of the given sentence.", "Syntax analysis with supervision requires a machine learning model for learning features and needs to determine an operation on a tagged syntax structure.", "A large amount of artificially tagged data is required for obtaining cases.", "Without training data, it is completely impossible to make syntax analysis on a current language.", "Manual tagging of a syntax treebank needs to consume a lot of labor and time costs, and it is also difficult to ensure consistency of tagging standards.", "Even if there is training data, if a scale of the training data is too small, over-fitting also easily occurs in case learning, and consequently, performance in actual application is relatively poor.", "Syntax analysis without supervision is to automatically generate a syntax treebank having tag information, for a sentence without tag information.", "A greatest disadvantage of syntax analysis without supervision lies in that a practical syntax analyzer cannot be obtained because unsupervised learning is performed on a raw text only." ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY <EOH>Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a syntax analysis method and apparatus to automatically generate a syntax tree complying with syntax knowledge and improve efficiency of syntax analysis.", "According to a first aspect, a syntax analysis method is provided and includes: obtaining a source language sentence that is a translation of a target language sentence; determining instances of state transition for the target language sentence according to the source language sentence and a correspondence between words of the target language sentence and words of the source language sentence; and generating a syntax tree of the target language sentence according to the instances of state transition for the target language sentence.", "With reference to the first aspect, in a first possible implementation, the determining instances of state transition for the target language sentence according to the source language sentence and a correspondence between words of the target language sentence and words of the source language sentence includes: obtaining a syntax tree of the source language sentence according to the source language sentence; for any adjacent segments x l and x r of the target language sentence, determining, according to the correspondence, segments y l and y r of the source language sentence that correspond to x l and x r ; if y l and y r are components in the syntax tree of the source language sentence, obtaining, according to a relationship between y l and y r in the syntax tree of the source language sentence, an instance of state transition corresponding to x l and x r ; and determining the instances of state transition for the target language sentence according to instances of state transition corresponding to all adjacent segments of the target language sentence.", "With reference to the first possible implementation of the first aspect, in a second possible implementation, the obtaining, according to a relationship between y l and y r in the syntax tree of the source language sentence, an instance of state transition corresponding to x l and x r includes: if y l and y r constitute a component in the syntax tree of the source language sentence, obtaining an instance of a merge operation; or if y l and y r cannot constitute a component in the syntax tree of the source language sentence, obtaining an instance for a disjoin operation.", "With reference to the first or the second possible implementation of the first aspect, in a third possible implementation, the method further includes: determining a score for the instance of state transition corresponding to x l and x r ; and the determining the instances of state transition for the target language sentence according to instances of state transition corresponding to all adjacent segments of the target language sentence includes: determining the instances of state transition for the target language sentence according to scores of the instances of state transition corresponding to all the adjacent segments of the target language sentence.", "With reference to the third possible implementation of the first aspect, in a fourth possible implementation, the determining the instances of state transition for the target language sentence according to scores of the instances of state transition corresponding to all the adjacent segments of the target language sentence includes: determining that N−1 instances of state transition with a highest score in the instances of state transition corresponding to all the adjacent segments of the target language sentence are the instances of state transition for the target language sentence, where N is a length of the target language sentence.", "With reference to the third or the fourth possible implementation of the first aspect, in a fifth possible implementation, the determining a score for the instance of state transition corresponding to x l and x r includes: determining the score, according to the following equations, for the instance of state transition corresponding to x l and x r :  p  ( x l , x r , y l , y r  A ) = p  ( x l , y l  A ) × p  ( x r , y r  A ) , and p  ( x , y  A ) = p  ( x  y , A ) × p  ( y  x , A ) = ∑ i ∈ x , j ∈ y  A  ( i , j ) ∑ i ∈ x  A  ( i , j ) × ∑ i ∈ x , j ∈ y  A  ( i , j ) ∑ j ∈ y  A  ( i , j ) , where A is an alignment matrix, and p(x l ,x r ,y l ,y r |A) indicates a score of an instance of the state transition, where the score is obtained according to x l and x r , and y l and y r .", "With reference to any one of the first aspect or the foregoing possible implementations of the first aspect, in a sixth possible implementation, the obtaining a source language sentence that is a translation of a target language sentence includes: obtaining, according to a parallel corpus of a target language and a source language, the source language sentence that is the translation of the target language sentence.", "With reference to any one of the first aspect or the foregoing possible implementations of the first aspect, in a seventh possible implementation, the generating a syntax tree of the target language sentence according to the instances of state transition for the target language sentence includes: generating the syntax tree Y(X) of the target language sentence X according to the following equation: Y  ( X ) = arg   max Y  ( ∑ D , s .", "t .", "D  ( X ) = Y  ∏ T ∈ D   p  ( T ) ) ≈ arg   max Y  ( max D , s .", "t .", "D  ( X ) = Y  ∏ T ∈ D   p  ( T ) ) , where T indicates a state transition operation, and D indicates derivation of the syntax tree.", "With reference to any one of the first aspect or the foregoing possible implementations of the first aspect, in an eighth possible implementation, the method further includes: training a target language analyzer according to the syntax tree of the target language sentence.", "According to a second aspect, a syntax analysis apparatus is provided and includes: an obtaining module, configured to obtain a source language sentence that is a translation of a target language sentence; a determining module, configured to determine instances of state transition for the target language sentence according to the source language sentence and a correspondence between words of the target language sentence and words of the source language sentence; and a generation module, configured to generate a syntax tree of the target language sentence according to the instances of state transition for the target language sentence.", "With reference to the second aspect, in a first possible implementation, the determining module is further configured to: obtain a syntax tree of the source language sentence according to the source language sentence; for any adjacent segments x l and x r of the target language sentence, determine, according to the correspondence, segments y l and y r of the source language sentence that correspond to x l and x r ; if y l and y r are components in the syntax tree of the source language sentence, obtain, according to a relationship between y l and y r in the syntax tree of the source language sentence, an instance of state transition corresponding to x l and x r ; and determine the instances of state transition for the target language sentence according to instances of state transition corresponding to all adjacent segments of the target language sentence.", "With reference to the first possible implementation of the second aspect, in a second possible implementation, the determining module is further configured to: if y l and y r constitute a component in the syntax tree of the source language sentence, obtain an instance of a merge operation; or if y l and y r cannot constitute a component in the syntax tree of the source language sentence, obtain an instance for a disjoin operation.", "With reference to the first or the second possible implementation of the second aspect, in a third possible implementation, the determining module is further configured to: score the instance of the state transition corresponding to x l and x r ; and determine the instances of state transition for the target language sentence according to scores of the instances of state transition corresponding to all the adjacent segments of the target language sentence.", "With reference to the third possible implementation of the second aspect, in a fourth possible implementation, the determining module is further configured to: determine that N−1 instances of state transition with a highest score in the instances of state transition corresponding to all the adjacent segments of the target language sentence are the instances of state transition for the target language sentence, where N is a length of the target language sentence.", "With reference to the third or the fourth possible implementation of the second aspect, in a fifth possible implementation, the determining module is further configured to: score, according to the following equations, the instance of the state transition corresponding to x l and x r :  p  ( x l , x r , y l , y r  A ) = p  ( x l , y l  A ) × p  ( x r , y r  A ) , and p  ( x , y  A ) = p  ( x  y , A ) × p  ( y  x , A ) = ∑ i ∈ x , j ∈ y  A  ( i , j ) ∑ i ∈ x  A  ( i , j ) × ∑ i ∈ x , j ∈ y  A  ( i , j ) ∑ j ∈ y  A  ( i , j ) , where A is an alignment matrix, and p(x l ,x r ,y l ,y r |A) indicates a score of an instance of the state transition, where the score is obtained according to x l and x r , and y l and y r .", "With reference to any one of the second aspect or the foregoing possible implementations of the second aspect, in a sixth possible implementation, the obtaining module is further configured to: obtain, according to a parallel corpus of a target language and a source language, the source language sentence that is the translation of the target language sentence.", "With reference to any one of the second aspect or the foregoing possible implementations of the second aspect, in a seventh possible implementation, the generation module is further configured to: generate the syntax tree Y(X) of the target language sentence X according to the following equation: Y  ( X ) = arg   max Y  ( ∑ D , s .", "t .", "D  ( X ) = Y  ∏ T ∈ D   p  ( T ) ) ≈ arg   max Y  ( max D , s .", "t .", "D  ( X ) = Y  ∏ T ∈ D   p  ( T ) ) , where T indicates a state transition operation, and D indicates derivation of the syntax tree.", "With reference to any one of the second aspect or the foregoing possible implementations of the second aspect, in an eighth possible implementation, the apparatus further includes: a training module, configured to train a target language analyzer according to the syntax tree of the target language sentence.", "Based on the foregoing technical solutions, in the embodiments of the present disclosure, a syntax tree of a target language sentence is generated according to a source language sentence from which the target language sentence is translated, and a syntax tree that is of the target language sentence and complies with syntax knowledge may be obtained without manual tagging.", "Therefore, efficiency of syntax analysis can be improved." ], [ "CROSS-REFERENCE TO THE RELATED APPLICATION This application is a continuation of International Application No.", "PCT/CN2016/072422, filed on Jan. 28, 2016, which claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No.", "201510435938.0, filed on Jul.", "22, 2015.The disclosures of the aforementioned applications are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties.", "TECHNICAL FIELD The present disclosure relates to the field of information technologies, and in particular, to a syntax analysis method and apparatus.", "BACKGROUND As fast development of the Internet is accompanied with explosive increase of web text data and development of economic globalization, information is exchanged and interchanged between different countries more frequently.", "In addition, the booming Internet provides great convenience for obtaining information in various language forms such as English, Chinese, French, German, and Japanese.", "These language services include information retrieval, text summarization, machine translation, automatic question answering, and the like.", "In multitudinous language services, syntax analysis can greatly improve performance of the language services.", "In syntax analysis, a language structure can be analyzed, a sentence structure obtained through syntax analysis can be used to better help a lower-layer application better capture sentence structure information, and semantic information is further understood on this basis.", "In machine translation, syntax analysis can be used for multiple purposes, for example, can be used to better assist and collect statistics in machine translation and complete long-distance reordering in a translation process from a source language to a target language, or can be used to provide guidance in a process of generating a target translation, so that the translation is more compliant with a syntax structure, and then translation quality is improved.", "However, except for few popular languages such as English, Japanese, French, and German, syntax analysis is not developed well for numerous minority languages, for example, languages including Thai, Burmese, Vietnamese, and Cambodian in Southeast Asia.", "Its bottleneck lies in that syntax resources of these minority languages are severely scarce.", "Great labor input is required for building syntax resources.", "In addition, performance of automatic syntax analysis can reach an extent for application only after the syntax resources are built on a particular scale.", "On the other hand, in an actual process of building the syntax resources artificially, another problem to be faced with is to determine a standard for syntax structures of different languages.", "Tagging standards need to be unified as far as possible.", "Due to these difficulties, an automatic syntax analyzer can hardly be built for resource-scarce languages within a short time.", "Currently, existing syntax analysis methods may be roughly classified into two types: syntax analysis with supervision and syntax analysis without supervision.", "Syntax analysis with supervision is to extract features from an artificially tagged syntax treebank, and learn relationships between the features and artificially tagged syntax structures by using a machine learning model; and with respect to a to-be-tagged sentence, search, according to a learned model, for a combination of syntax structures matching features in the sentence, so as to generate a syntax tree of the given sentence.", "Syntax analysis with supervision requires a machine learning model for learning features and needs to determine an operation on a tagged syntax structure.", "A large amount of artificially tagged data is required for obtaining cases.", "Without training data, it is completely impossible to make syntax analysis on a current language.", "Manual tagging of a syntax treebank needs to consume a lot of labor and time costs, and it is also difficult to ensure consistency of tagging standards.", "Even if there is training data, if a scale of the training data is too small, over-fitting also easily occurs in case learning, and consequently, performance in actual application is relatively poor.", "Syntax analysis without supervision is to automatically generate a syntax treebank having tag information, for a sentence without tag information.", "A greatest disadvantage of syntax analysis without supervision lies in that a practical syntax analyzer cannot be obtained because unsupervised learning is performed on a raw text only.", "SUMMARY Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a syntax analysis method and apparatus to automatically generate a syntax tree complying with syntax knowledge and improve efficiency of syntax analysis.", "According to a first aspect, a syntax analysis method is provided and includes: obtaining a source language sentence that is a translation of a target language sentence; determining instances of state transition for the target language sentence according to the source language sentence and a correspondence between words of the target language sentence and words of the source language sentence; and generating a syntax tree of the target language sentence according to the instances of state transition for the target language sentence.", "With reference to the first aspect, in a first possible implementation, the determining instances of state transition for the target language sentence according to the source language sentence and a correspondence between words of the target language sentence and words of the source language sentence includes: obtaining a syntax tree of the source language sentence according to the source language sentence; for any adjacent segments xl and xr of the target language sentence, determining, according to the correspondence, segments yl and yr of the source language sentence that correspond to xl and xr; if yl and yr are components in the syntax tree of the source language sentence, obtaining, according to a relationship between yl and yr in the syntax tree of the source language sentence, an instance of state transition corresponding to xl and xr; and determining the instances of state transition for the target language sentence according to instances of state transition corresponding to all adjacent segments of the target language sentence.", "With reference to the first possible implementation of the first aspect, in a second possible implementation, the obtaining, according to a relationship between yl and yr in the syntax tree of the source language sentence, an instance of state transition corresponding to xl and xr includes: if yl and yr constitute a component in the syntax tree of the source language sentence, obtaining an instance of a merge operation; or if yl and yr cannot constitute a component in the syntax tree of the source language sentence, obtaining an instance for a disjoin operation.", "With reference to the first or the second possible implementation of the first aspect, in a third possible implementation, the method further includes: determining a score for the instance of state transition corresponding to xl and xr; and the determining the instances of state transition for the target language sentence according to instances of state transition corresponding to all adjacent segments of the target language sentence includes: determining the instances of state transition for the target language sentence according to scores of the instances of state transition corresponding to all the adjacent segments of the target language sentence.", "With reference to the third possible implementation of the first aspect, in a fourth possible implementation, the determining the instances of state transition for the target language sentence according to scores of the instances of state transition corresponding to all the adjacent segments of the target language sentence includes: determining that N−1 instances of state transition with a highest score in the instances of state transition corresponding to all the adjacent segments of the target language sentence are the instances of state transition for the target language sentence, where N is a length of the target language sentence.", "With reference to the third or the fourth possible implementation of the first aspect, in a fifth possible implementation, the determining a score for the instance of state transition corresponding to xl and xr includes: determining the score, according to the following equations, for the instance of state transition corresponding to xl and xr:  p  ( x l , x r , y l , y r  A ) = p  ( x l , y l  A ) × p  ( x r , y r  A ) , and p  ( x , y  A ) = p  ( x  y , A ) × p  ( y  x , A ) = ∑ i ∈ x , j ∈ y  A  ( i , j ) ∑ i ∈ x  A  ( i , j ) × ∑ i ∈ x , j ∈ y  A  ( i , j ) ∑ j ∈ y  A  ( i , j ) , where A is an alignment matrix, and p(xl,xr,yl,yr|A) indicates a score of an instance of the state transition, where the score is obtained according to xl and xr, and yl and yr. With reference to any one of the first aspect or the foregoing possible implementations of the first aspect, in a sixth possible implementation, the obtaining a source language sentence that is a translation of a target language sentence includes: obtaining, according to a parallel corpus of a target language and a source language, the source language sentence that is the translation of the target language sentence.", "With reference to any one of the first aspect or the foregoing possible implementations of the first aspect, in a seventh possible implementation, the generating a syntax tree of the target language sentence according to the instances of state transition for the target language sentence includes: generating the syntax tree Y(X) of the target language sentence X according to the following equation: Y  ( X ) = arg   max Y  ( ∑ D , s .", "t .", "D  ( X ) = Y  ∏ T ∈ D   p  ( T ) ) ≈ arg   max Y  ( max D , s .", "t .", "D  ( X ) = Y  ∏ T ∈ D   p  ( T ) ) , where T indicates a state transition operation, and D indicates derivation of the syntax tree.", "With reference to any one of the first aspect or the foregoing possible implementations of the first aspect, in an eighth possible implementation, the method further includes: training a target language analyzer according to the syntax tree of the target language sentence.", "According to a second aspect, a syntax analysis apparatus is provided and includes: an obtaining module, configured to obtain a source language sentence that is a translation of a target language sentence; a determining module, configured to determine instances of state transition for the target language sentence according to the source language sentence and a correspondence between words of the target language sentence and words of the source language sentence; and a generation module, configured to generate a syntax tree of the target language sentence according to the instances of state transition for the target language sentence.", "With reference to the second aspect, in a first possible implementation, the determining module is further configured to: obtain a syntax tree of the source language sentence according to the source language sentence; for any adjacent segments xl and xr of the target language sentence, determine, according to the correspondence, segments yl and yr of the source language sentence that correspond to xl and xr; if yl and yr are components in the syntax tree of the source language sentence, obtain, according to a relationship between yl and yr in the syntax tree of the source language sentence, an instance of state transition corresponding to xl and xr; and determine the instances of state transition for the target language sentence according to instances of state transition corresponding to all adjacent segments of the target language sentence.", "With reference to the first possible implementation of the second aspect, in a second possible implementation, the determining module is further configured to: if yl and yr constitute a component in the syntax tree of the source language sentence, obtain an instance of a merge operation; or if yl and yr cannot constitute a component in the syntax tree of the source language sentence, obtain an instance for a disjoin operation.", "With reference to the first or the second possible implementation of the second aspect, in a third possible implementation, the determining module is further configured to: score the instance of the state transition corresponding to xl and xr; and determine the instances of state transition for the target language sentence according to scores of the instances of state transition corresponding to all the adjacent segments of the target language sentence.", "With reference to the third possible implementation of the second aspect, in a fourth possible implementation, the determining module is further configured to: determine that N−1 instances of state transition with a highest score in the instances of state transition corresponding to all the adjacent segments of the target language sentence are the instances of state transition for the target language sentence, where N is a length of the target language sentence.", "With reference to the third or the fourth possible implementation of the second aspect, in a fifth possible implementation, the determining module is further configured to: score, according to the following equations, the instance of the state transition corresponding to xl and xr:  p  ( x l , x r , y l , y r  A ) = p  ( x l , y l  A ) × p  ( x r , y r  A ) , and p  ( x , y  A ) = p  ( x  y , A ) × p  ( y  x , A ) = ∑ i ∈ x , j ∈ y  A  ( i , j ) ∑ i ∈ x  A  ( i , j ) × ∑ i ∈ x , j ∈ y  A  ( i , j ) ∑ j ∈ y  A  ( i , j ) , where A is an alignment matrix, and p(xl,xr,yl,yr|A) indicates a score of an instance of the state transition, where the score is obtained according to xl and xr, and yl and yr. With reference to any one of the second aspect or the foregoing possible implementations of the second aspect, in a sixth possible implementation, the obtaining module is further configured to: obtain, according to a parallel corpus of a target language and a source language, the source language sentence that is the translation of the target language sentence.", "With reference to any one of the second aspect or the foregoing possible implementations of the second aspect, in a seventh possible implementation, the generation module is further configured to: generate the syntax tree Y(X) of the target language sentence X according to the following equation: Y  ( X ) = arg   max Y  ( ∑ D , s .", "t .", "D  ( X ) = Y  ∏ T ∈ D   p  ( T ) ) ≈ arg   max Y  ( max D , s .", "t .", "D  ( X ) = Y  ∏ T ∈ D   p  ( T ) ) , where T indicates a state transition operation, and D indicates derivation of the syntax tree.", "With reference to any one of the second aspect or the foregoing possible implementations of the second aspect, in an eighth possible implementation, the apparatus further includes: a training module, configured to train a target language analyzer according to the syntax tree of the target language sentence.", "Based on the foregoing technical solutions, in the embodiments of the present disclosure, a syntax tree of a target language sentence is generated according to a source language sentence from which the target language sentence is translated, and a syntax tree that is of the target language sentence and complies with syntax knowledge may be obtained without manual tagging.", "Therefore, efficiency of syntax analysis can be improved.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS To describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present disclosure more clearly, the following briefly describes the accompanying drawings required for describing the embodiments of the present disclosure.", "Apparently, the accompanying drawings in the following description show merely some embodiments of the present disclosure, and a person of ordinary skill in the art may still derive other drawings from these accompanying drawings without creative efforts.", "FIG.", "1 is a schematic flowchart of a syntax analysis method according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG.", "2 is a schematic diagram of a syntax tree of a source language sentence according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG.", "3 is a schematic diagram of a segment correspondence according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG.", "4 is a schematic diagram of an extracted instance according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG.", "5 is a schematic flowchart of a syntax analysis method according to another embodiment of the present invention; FIG.", "6 is a schematic block diagram of a syntax analysis apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention; and FIG.", "7 is a schematic structural diagram of a syntax analysis apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention.", "DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS The following clearly describes the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present disclosure with reference to the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present disclosure.", "Apparently, the described embodiments are a part rather than all of the embodiments of the present disclosure.", "All other embodiments obtained by a person of ordinary skill in the art based on the embodiments of the present disclosure without creative efforts shall fall within the protection scope of the present disclosure.", "In the embodiments of the present disclosure, a target language is a language to be analyzed.", "For example, the target language may be a resource-scarce language.", "Because syntax resources are scarce, for the resource-scarce language, there is no syntax analyzer or no syntax analyzer with high efficiency.", "In the embodiments of the present disclosure, a source language is a language that may undergo syntax analysis by using an existing syntax analyzer or a syntax analysis method.", "For example, the source language may be a resource-rich language.", "For the resource-rich language, a syntax analyzer already exists or a syntax analyzer may be obtained by training an existing syntax treebank.", "FIG.", "1 shows a schematic flowchart of a syntax analysis method 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention.", "As shown in FIG.", "1, the method 100 includes the following steps: S110.Obtain a source language sentence from which a target language sentence is translated.", "S120.Determine instances of state transition for the target language sentence according to the source language sentence and a correspondence between words of the target language sentence and words of the source language sentence.", "S130.Generate a syntax tree of the target language sentence according to the instances of state transition for the target language sentence.", "In this embodiment of the present invention, a syntax tree of a target language sentence is generated by using a source language sentence from which the target language sentence is translated.", "For a target language sentence, instances (instance) of state transition (transition) of the target language sentence are first determined according to a source language sentence and a correspondence between words of the target language sentence and words of the source language sentence, and then a syntax tree of the target language sentence is generated according to the instances of state transition for the target language sentence.", "In this way, a target language syntax treebank may be obtained according to multiple target language sentences.", "Therefore, in this embodiment of the present invention, the target language syntax treebank can be obtained without manual tagging, and the target language syntax treebank is more compliant with syntax knowledge than a syntax treebank automatically generated in unsupervised learning.", "Therefore, in the syntax analysis method according to this embodiment of the present invention, a syntax tree of a target language sentence is generated according to a source language sentence from which the target language sentence is translated, and a syntax tree that is of the target language sentence and complies with syntax knowledge may be obtained without manual tagging.", "Therefore, efficiency of syntax analysis can be improved.", "In an embodiment of the present invention, in some embodiments, the obtaining a source language sentence that is a translation of a target language sentence includes: obtaining, according to a parallel corpus of a target language and a source language, the source language sentence that is the translation of the target language sentence.", "The parallel corpus is a bilingual corpus, and refers to a corpus in which a source language and a target language are mutually translated on a sentence level.", "That is, for a target language sentence, there is a source language sentence as its translation in the parallel corpus.", "For example, the parallel corpus may be a bilingual parallel corpus, a bilingual dictionary, or a bilingual correspondence rule.", "In this embodiment of the present invention, the target language sentence is selected from the parallel corpus, and then the syntax tree of the target language sentence is generated according to the translation (source language sentence) of the target language sentence.", "Optionally, a corresponding sentence in the parallel corpus may be preprocessed in a corresponding language.", "For example, word segmentation needs to be performed for Chinese, and tokenizing (tokenize) needs to be performed for English, so as to reduce data sparsity and increase data consistency.", "In an embodiment of the present invention, optionally, the determining instances of state transition for the target language sentence according to the source language sentence and a correspondence between words of the target language sentence and words of the source language sentence includes: obtaining a syntax tree of the source language sentence according to the source language sentence; for any adjacent segments xl and xr of the target language sentence, determining, according to the correspondence, segments yl and yr of the source language sentence that correspond to xl and xr; if yl and yr are components in the syntax tree of the source language sentence, obtaining, according to a relationship between yl and yr in the syntax tree of the source language sentence, an instance of state transition corresponding to xl and xr; and determining the instances of state transition for the target language sentence according to instances of state transition corresponding to all adjacent segments of the target language sentence.", "Specifically, after the source language sentence corresponding to the target language sentence is obtained, the source language sentence is analyzed, and the syntax tree of the source language sentence is obtained.", "The syntax tree of the source language sentence may be obtained by using an existing source language analyzer, for example, a Stanford parser, or by using an analyzer obtained by training an existing syntax treebank of the source language.", "Any adjacent segments xl and xr of the target language sentence are enumerated, and are expressed as <xl, xr>.", "Source language segments yl and yr corresponding to <xl, xr> are obtained according to the correspondence between words of the target language sentence and words of the source language sentence, and are expressed as <yl, yr>.", "yl and yr are not adjacent definitely.", "The correspondence may be obtained by using an existing alignment tool, for example, GIZA++, or by using another automatic alignment tool.", "This is not limited in the present disclosure.", "For example, a specific alignment form of words is: 1:1 2:3 .", ".", ".", ", indicating that a first word of the source language sentence corresponds to a first word of the target language sentence, and that a second word of the source language sentence corresponds to a third word of the target language sentence.", "If the obtained segments <yl, yr> of the source language sentence are not components in the syntax tree of the source language sentence, other adjacent segments of the target language sentence are selected.", "If the obtained segments <yl, yr> of the source language sentence are components in the syntax tree of the source language sentence, an instance of a state transition is extracted according to the relationship between yl and yr.", "Specifically, if yl and yr constitute a component in the syntax tree of the source language sentence, namely, a larger component, an instance of a merge operation is extracted, and this is an example of derivation; or if yl and yr cannot constitute a component in the syntax tree of the source language sentence, an instance for a disjoin operation is extracted, and this is a counterexample of derivation.", "The foregoing steps are repeated until enumeration is completed.", "Then an instance of a state transition is selected from all extracted instances of state transition.", "In an embodiment of the present invention, optionally, the method 100 further includes: determining a score for the instance of state transition corresponding to xl and xr; and in this case, the determining the instances of state transition for the target language sentence according to instances of state transition corresponding to all adjacent segments of the target language sentence includes: determining the instances of state transition for the target language sentence according to scores of the instances of state transition corresponding to all the adjacent segments of the target language sentence.", "Specifically, an error exists in a word correspondence (or referred to as alignment), and especially between heterogeneous languages.", "Therefore, alignment strength may be high or low for source language segments and target language segments.", "Optionally, when the source language segments <xl, xr> corresponding to <yl, yr> are determined, a selection may be made according to one or more best alignment results.", "During the selection, the instances of state transition may be selected according to the scores of the instances of state transition.", "Optionally, it may be determined that N−1 instances of state transition with a highest score in the instances of state transition corresponding to all the adjacent segments of the target language sentence are the instances of state transition for the target language sentence, where N is a length of the target language sentence.", "In an embodiment of the present invention, optionally, the instance of the state transition corresponding to xl and xr may be scored according to the following equations:  p  ( x l , x r , y l , y r  A ) = p  ( x l , y l  A ) × p  ( x r , y r  A ) ( 1 ) p  ( x , y  A ) = p  ( x  y , A ) × p  ( y  x , A ) = ∑ i ∈ x , j ∈ y  A  ( i , j ) ∑ i ∈ x  A  ( i , j ) × ∑ i ∈ x , j ∈ y  A  ( i , j ) ∑ j ∈ y  A  ( i , j ) ( 2 ) where A is an alignment matrix, p(xl,xr,yl,yr|A) indicates a score of an instance of the state transition, where the score is obtained according to xl and xr, and yl and yr, i is a word in a segment x, and j is a word in a segment y.", "It should be understood that, the equations (1) and (2) are only a manner of scoring an instance.", "An instance may also be scored in another manner in the present disclosure, for example, scored in another alignment manner or by using another alignment matrix.", "This is not limited in the present disclosure.", "The following describes this embodiment of the present invention in detail with reference to specific examples.", "It should be noted that, these examples are used only to help a person skilled in the art better understand this embodiment of the present invention but are not used to limit the scope of this embodiment of the present invention.", "A given target language sentence is “railway workers learn English grammar”, and its translation is a source language sentence “”.", "For the source language sentence, its syntax tree may be obtained according to an existing syntax analyzer, as shown in FIG.", "2.Two adjacent segments of the target language sentence are enumerated.", "For example, the two adjacent segments <xl, xr> are <learn, English grammar>.", "Segments <yl, yr> of the source language sentence that correspond to the two adjacent segments are obtained according to a correspondence.", "As shown in FIG.", "3, the corresponding segments are <>.", "Whether <yl, yr> are components in the syntax tree of the source language sentence is determined.", "As can be obtained from FIG.", "2, <, > are components in the syntax tree of the source language sentence, namely, <V, NP>.", "An instance of a state transition is extracted according to a relationship between yl and yr. As shown in FIG.", "4, <V, NP> constitute a larger component VP, that is, <V, NP> may be merged.", "Therefore, by derivation, it is considered that <learn, English grammar> may also be merged.", "Therefore, an instance of a merge operation is extracted, and the instance is scored.", "The foregoing steps are repeated until all adjacent segments are enumerated, and finally, N−1 instances (N is a length of the target language sentence) with a highest score are selected.", "After instances of state transition for the target language sentence are obtained, a syntax tree of the target language sentence is generated according to the instances of state transition for the target language sentence.", "In an embodiment of the present invention, optionally, the syntax tree Y(X) of the target language sentence X may be generated according to the following equation: Y  ( X ) = arg   max Y  ( ∑ D , s .", "t .", "D  ( X ) = Y  ∏ T ∈ D   p  ( T ) ) ≈ arg   max Y  ( max D , s .", "t .", "D  ( X ) = Y  ∏ T ∈ D   p  ( T ) ) , ( 3 ) where T indicates a state transition operation (transition operation), and D indicates derivation (derivation) of the syntax tree.", "In the equation (3), the state transition operation T corresponding to the instance may be expressed as T=(λ,α,β), where λϵ{reduce,separate}, indicating whether two components should be merged or disjoined, αϵNT, indicating a target non-terminal (non-terminal) after the merging, and βϵ{left,right}, indicating which is a central component after the merging.", "The state transition operation (λ,α,β) may be split into two parts: (λ,α), a component syntax analysis operation; and (λ,β), a dependency syntax analysis operation.", "A score p(T) of the state transition operation T=(λ,α,β) is a product of scores of the two parts: p(T|S,Cc,Cd)=p(λ,α,β|S,Cc,Cd)=p(λ,α|S,Cc)×p(λ,β|S,Cd) (4) where S indicates a state, and Cc and Cd indicate a component classifier and a dependency classifier respectively.", "For p(λ,α|S,Cc) and p(λ,β|S,Cd), a corresponding feature of each instance may be extracted by using a feature template, and a correlation probability (namely, a score) is obtained by training a classifier.", "It should be understood that, the equation (3) is only a manner of generating a syntax tree.", "In the present disclosure, a variation of the equation (3) or any other score-based manner may also be used to generate a syntax tree.", "This is not limited in the present disclosure.", "In an embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG.", "5, optionally, the method 100 further includes the following step: S140.Train a target language analyzer according to the syntax tree of the target language sentence.", "Specifically, the generated syntax tree of the target language sentence may be used to train the target language analyzer.", "That is, syntax trees of multiple target language sentences may constitute a target language syntax treebank, used to train the target language analyzer.", "The prior art may be used to train the analyzer according to the syntax treebank.", "Details are not described herein.", "In the syntax analysis method according to this embodiment of the present invention, a syntax tree of a target language sentence is generated according to a source language sentence from which the target language sentence is translated, and a syntax tree that is of the target language sentence and complies with syntax knowledge may be obtained without manual tagging.", "Therefore, efficiency of syntax analysis can be improved.", "It should be understood that, sequence numbers of the foregoing processes do not mean execution sequences in various embodiments of the present disclosure.", "The execution sequences of the processes should be determined according to functions and internal logic of the processes, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation processes of the embodiments of the present disclosure.", "The foregoing describes a syntax analysis method in detail according to an embodiment of the present invention.", "The following describes a syntax analysis apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.", "FIG.", "6 shows a schematic block diagram of a syntax analysis apparatus 600 according to an embodiment of the present invention.", "As shown in FIG.", "6, the apparatus 600 includes: an obtaining module 610, configured to obtain a source language sentence from which a a target language sentence is translated; a determining module 620, configured to determine instances of state transition for the target language sentence according to the source language sentence and a correspondence between words of the target language sentence and words of the source language sentence; and a generation module 630, configured to generate a syntax tree of the target language sentence according to the instances of state transition for the target language sentence.", "In this embodiment of the present invention, a syntax tree of a target language sentence is generated by using a source language sentence from which the target language sentence is translated.", "For a target language sentence, instances of state transition for the target language sentence are first determined according to a source language sentence and a correspondence between words of the target language sentence and words of the source language sentence, and then a syntax tree of the target language sentence is generated according to the instances of state transition for the target language sentence.", "In this way, a target language syntax treebank may be obtained according to multiple target language sentences.", "Therefore, in this embodiment of the present invention, the target language syntax treebank can be obtained without manual tagging, and the target language syntax treebank is more compliant with syntax knowledge than a syntax treebank automatically generated in unsupervised learning.", "Therefore, in the syntax analysis apparatus according to this embodiment of the present invention, a syntax tree of a target language sentence is generated according to a source language sentence from which the target language sentence is translated, and a syntax tree that is of the target language sentence and complies with syntax knowledge may be obtained without manual tagging.", "Therefore, efficiency of syntax analysis can be improved.", "In an embodiment of the present invention, optionally, the determining module 620 is further configured to: obtain a syntax tree of the source language sentence according to the source language sentence; for any adjacent segments xl and xr of the target language sentence, determine, according to the correspondence, segments yl and yr of the source language sentence that correspond to xl and xr; if yl and yr are components in the syntax tree of the source language sentence, obtain, according to a relationship between yl and yr in the syntax tree of the source language sentence, an instance of state transition corresponding to xl and xr; and determine the instances of state transition for the target language sentence according to instances of state transition corresponding to all adjacent segments of the target language sentence.", "In an embodiment of the present invention, optionally, the determining module 620 is further configured to: if yl and yr constitute a component in the syntax tree of the source language sentence, obtain an instance of a merge operation; or if yl and yr cannot constitute a component in the syntax tree of the source language sentence, obtain an instance for a disjoin operation.", "In an embodiment of the present invention, optionally, the determining module 620 is further configured to: score the instance of the state transition corresponding to xl and xr; and determine the instances of state transition for the target language sentence according to scores of the instances of state transition corresponding to all the adjacent segments of the target language sentence.", "In an embodiment of the present invention, optionally, the determining module 620 is further configured to: determine that N−1 instances of state transition with a highest score in the instances of state transition corresponding to all the adjacent segments of the target language sentence are the instances of state transition for the target language sentence, where N is a length of the target language sentence.", "In an embodiment of the present invention, optionally, the determining module 620 is further configured to: score, according to the following equations, the instance of the state transition corresponding to xl and xr:  p  ( x l , x r , y l , y r  A ) = p  ( x l , y l  A ) × p  ( x r , y r  A ) , and p  ( x , y  A ) = p  ( x  y , A ) × p  ( y  x , A ) = ∑ i ∈ x , j ∈ y  A  ( i , j ) ∑ i ∈ x  A  ( i , j ) × ∑ i ∈ x , j ∈ y  A  ( i , j ) ∑ j ∈ y  A  ( i , j ) , where A is an alignment matrix, and p(xl,xr,yl,yr|A) indicates a score of an instance of the state transition, where the score is obtained according to xl and xr, and yl and yr.", "In an embodiment of the present invention, optionally, the obtaining module 610 is further configured to: obtain, according to a parallel corpus of a target language and a source language, the source language sentence that is the translation of the target language sentence.", "In an embodiment of the present invention, optionally, the generation module 630 is further configured to: generate the syntax tree Y(X) of the target language sentence X according to the following equation: Y  ( X ) = arg   max Y  ( ∑ D , s .", "t .", "D  ( X ) = Y  ∏ T ∈ D   p  ( T ) ) ≈ arg   max Y  ( max D , s .", "t .", "D  ( X ) = Y  ∏ T ∈ D   p  ( T ) ) , where T indicates a state transition operation, and D indicates derivation of the syntax tree.", "In an embodiment of the present invention, optionally, the apparatus 600 further includes: a training module, configured to train a target language analyzer according to the syntax tree of the target language sentence.", "The syntax analysis apparatus 600 according to this embodiment of the present invention may correspond to an entity for executing a syntax analysis method according to an embodiment of the present invention, and the foregoing and other operations and/or functions of the modules in the apparatus 600 are separately used to implement the corresponding procedures of the method.", "Details are not described again herein for brevity.", "In the syntax analysis apparatus according to this embodiment of the present invention, a syntax tree of a target language sentence is generated according to a source language sentence from which the target language sentence is translated, and a relatively good syntax tree that is of the target language sentence and complies with syntax knowledge may be obtained without manual tagging.", "Therefore, efficiency of syntax analysis can be improved.", "FIG.", "7 shows a structure of a syntax analysis apparatus according to still another embodiment of the present invention.", "The apparatus includes at least one processor 702 (for example, a CPU), at least one network interface 705 or another communications interface, a memory 706, and at least one communications bus 703 configured to implement connection and communication between the components.", "The processor 702 is configured to execute an executable module stored in the memory 706, for example, a computer program.", "The memory 706 may include a high-speed random access memory (RAM, Random Access Memory), and may also further include a non-volatile memory (non-volatile memory), for example, at least one disk storage.", "By using the at least one network interface 705 (which may be wired or wireless), a communication connection to at least one other network element is implemented.", "In some implementations, the memory 706 stores a program 7061, and the processor 702 executes the program 7061 to perform the following operations: obtaining a source language sentence that is a translation of a target language sentence; determining instances of state transition for the target language sentence according to the source language sentence and a correspondence between words of the target language sentence and words of the source language sentence; and generating a syntax tree of the target language sentence according to the instances of state transition for the target language sentence.", "Optionally, the processor 702 is further configured to: obtain a syntax tree of the source language sentence according to the source language sentence; for any adjacent segments xl and xr of the target language sentence, determine, according to the correspondence, segments yl and yr of the source language sentence that correspond to xl and xr; if yl and yr are components in the syntax tree of the source language sentence, obtain, according to a relationship between yl and yr in the syntax tree of the source language sentence, an instance of state transition corresponding to xl and xr; and determine the instances of state transition for the target language sentence according to instances of state transition corresponding to all adjacent segments of the target language sentence.", "Optionally, the processor 702 is further configured to: if yl and yr constitute a component in the syntax tree of the source language sentence, obtain an instance of a merge operation; or if yl and yr cannot constitute a component in the syntax tree of the source language sentence, obtain an instance for a disjoin operation.", "Optionally, the processor 702 is further configured to: score the instance of the state transition corresponding to xl and xr; and determine the instances of state transition for the target language sentence according to scores of the instances of state transition corresponding to all the adjacent segments of the target language sentence.", "Optionally, the processor 702 is further configured to: determine that N−1 instances of state transition with a highest score in the instances of state transition corresponding to all the adjacent segments of the target language sentence are the instances of state transition for the target language sentence, where N is a length of the target language sentence.", "Optionally, the processor 702 is further configured to: score, according to the following equations, the instance of the state transition corresponding to xl and xr:  p  ( x l , x r , y l , y r  A ) = p  ( x l , y l  A ) × p  ( x r , y r  A ) , and p  ( x , y  A ) = p  ( x  y , A ) × p  ( y  x , A ) = ∑ i ∈ x , j ∈ y  A  ( i , j ) ∑ i ∈ x  A  ( i , j ) × ∑ i ∈ x , j ∈ y  A  ( i , j ) ∑ j ∈ y  A  ( i , j ) , where A is an alignment matrix, and p(xl,xr,yl,yr|A) indicates a score of an instance of the state transition, where the score is obtained according to xl and xr, and yl and yr. Optionally, the processor 702 is further configured to: obtain, according to a parallel corpus of a target language and a source language, the source language sentence that is the translation of the target language sentence.", "Optionally, the processor 702 is further configured to: generate the syntax tree Y(X) of the target language sentence X according to the following equation: Y  ( X ) = arg   max Y  ( ∑ D , s .", "t .", "D  ( X ) = Y  ∏ T ∈ D   p  ( T ) ) ≈ arg   max Y  ( max D , s .", "t .", "D  ( X ) = Y  ∏ T ∈ D   p  ( T ) ) , where T indicates a state transition operation, and D indicates derivation of the syntax tree.", "Optionally, the processor 702 is further configured to train a target language analyzer according to the syntax tree of the target language sentence.", "As can be seen from the foregoing technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure, in the embodiments of the present disclosure, a syntax tree of a target language sentence is generated according to a source language sentence from which the target language sentence is translated, and a syntax tree that is of the target language sentence and complies with syntax knowledge may be obtained without manual tagging.", "Therefore, efficiency of syntax analysis is improved.", "It should be understood that, the term “and/or” in this embodiment of the present invention describes only an association relationship for describing associated objects and represents that three relationships may exist.", "For example, A and/or B may represent the following three cases: A exists (B may or may not exist), both A and B exist, or B exists (A may or may not exist).", "In addition, the character “/” in this specification generally indicates an “or” relationship between the associated objects.", "A person of ordinary skill in the art may be aware that, in combination with the examples described in the embodiments disclosed herein, units and algorithm steps may be implemented by electronic hardware, computer software, or a combination thereof.", "To clearly describe the interchangeability between the hardware and the software, the foregoing has generally described compositions and steps of each example according to functions.", "Whether the functions are performed by hardware or software depends on particular applications and design constraint conditions of the technical solutions.", "A person skilled in the art may use different methods to implement the described functions for each particular application, but it should not be considered that the implementation goes beyond the scope of the present disclosure.", "It may be clearly understood by a person skilled in the art that, for the purpose of convenient and brief description, for a detailed working process of the foregoing system, apparatus, and unit, reference may be made to a corresponding process in the foregoing method embodiments, and details are not described herein again.", "In the several embodiments provided herein, it should be understood that the disclosed system, apparatus, and method may be implemented in other manners.", "For example, the described apparatus embodiment is merely an example.", "For example, the unit division is merely logical function division and may be other division in actual implementation.", "For example, a plurality of units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be ignored or not performed.", "In addition, the displayed or discussed mutual couplings or direct couplings or communication connections may be implemented through some interfaces, indirect couplings or communication connections between the apparatuses or units, or electrical connections, mechanical connections, or connections in other forms.", "The units described as separate parts may or may not be physically separate, and parts displayed as units may or may not be physical units, may be located in one position, or may be distributed on a plurality of network units.", "A part or all of the units may be selected according to actual needs to achieve the objectives of the solutions of the embodiments of the present disclosure.", "In addition, functional units in the embodiments of the present disclosure may be integrated into one processing unit, or each of the units may exist alone physically, or two or more units are integrated into one unit.", "The integrated unit may be implemented in a form of hardware, or may be implemented in a form of a software functional unit.", "When the integrated unit is implemented in the form of a software functional unit and sold or used as an independent product, the integrated unit may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium.", "Based on such an understanding, the technical solutions of the present disclosure essentially, or the part contributing to the prior art, or all or a part of the technical solutions may be implemented in the form of a software product.", "The software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions for instructing a computer device (which may be a personal computer, a server, or a network device) to perform all or a part of the steps of the methods described in the embodiments of the present disclosure.", "The foregoing storage medium includes: any medium that can store program code, such as a USB flash drive, a removable hard disk, a read-only memory (ROM, Read-Only Memory), a random access memory (RAM, Random Access Memory), a magnetic disk, or an optical disc.", "The foregoing descriptions are merely specific embodiments of the present disclosure, but are not intended to limit the protection scope of the present disclosure.", "Any modification or replacement readily figured out by a person skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in the present disclosure shall fall within the protection scope of the present disclosure." ] ]
Patent_15872993
[ [ "STORAGE SYSTEM COMPRISING A COMMUNICATIONS PORT FOR CHARGING AN ELECTRONIC DEVICE", "A storage system including a storage device comprising a media configured to store data, wherein the storage device is configured to be in a first operating mode or a second operating mode comprising a reduced power mode relative to the first operating mode, a communications port configured to connect to an electronic device, the communications port comprising one or more data lines configured to communicate data to the electronic device and to configure power supplied to the electronic device, and one or more controllers.", "The one or more controllers are configured to control an operation of the storage device, communicate data to the electronic device using the one or more data lines when the storage device is in the first operating mode, and configure power supplied to the electronic device using the one or more data lines when the storage device is in the second operating mode." ], [ "1.A storage system comprising: a storage device comprising a medium configured to store data, wherein the storage device is configured to be in a first operating mode or a second operating mode comprising a reduced power mode relative to the first operating mode; a communications port configured to connect to an electronic device, the communications port configured to communicate data and supply power to the electronic device; and one or more processors configured to: determine an available power amount with the storage device in the first operating mode; receive a request for a first power amount from the electronic device; determine that the first power amount is greater than the available power amount; transition the storage device from the first operating mode to the second operating mode; and cause the first power amount to be supplied to the electronic device.", "2.The storage system of claim 1 wherein the second operating mode comprises a standby mode or an off mode.", "3.The storage system of claim 1 wherein: the storage device is configured to consume a second amount of power when the storage device is in the first operating mode and a third amount of power when the storage device is in the second operating mode; and at least a portion of a power differential between the second amount of power and the third amount of power is supplied as the first power amount.", "4.The storage system of claim 1 wherein the one or more processors comprise: a host controller configured to communicate data to the electronic device and control operation of the storage device; and a charge controller configured to supply power to the electronic device.", "5.The storage system of claim 4 further comprising a switch unit configured to switch a connection of one or more data lines between the host controller and the charge controller, wherein: the host controller is further configured to communicate data to the electronic device using the one or more data lines when the one or more data lines are connected to the host controller; and the charge controller is further configured to configure power supplied to the electronic device when the one or more data lines are connected to the charge controller.", "6.The storage system of claim 4 further comprising a power supply unit configured to supply power to the storage device and the charge controller, based on whether the storage device is in the first operating mode or the second operating mode.", "7.The storage system of claim 6 wherein the power supply unit is further configured to decrease an amount of power supplied to the storage device and increase an amount of power supplied to the charge controller responsive to the storage device transitioning from the first operating mode to the second operating mode.", "8.The storage system of claim 4 further comprising a network access unit configured to: connect to a network; provide network access to the storage device; receive a request from the network to place the storage device in the second operating mode; and receive a request from the network to access the storage device.", "9.The storage system of claim 8 wherein the host controller is further configured to: place the storage device in the second operating mode responsive to the network access unit receiving the request from the network to place the storage device in the second operating mode; and place the storage device in the first operating mode responsive to the network access unit receiving the request from the network to access the storage device.", "10.The storage system of claim 1 wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: negotiate the first power amount to provide to the electronic device.", "11.The storage system of claim 10 wherein negotiating the first power amount comprises: offering the available power amount to the electronic device; receiving a request for additional power over the available power; and agreeing to provide the requested additional power to the electronic device.", "12.A method for charging an electronic device using a storage system comprising a storage device and a communications port, the method comprising: determining an available power amount on the storage system with a storage device operating in a first operating mode, the storage device configured to operate in the first operating mode or a second operating mode comprising a reduced power mode relative to the first operating mode; receiving a request for a first power amount from an electronic device connected to the communications port; determining that the first power amount is greater than the available power amount; transitioning the storage device from the first operating mode to the second operating mode; and causing the first power amount to be supplied to the electronic device.", "13.The method of claim 12 further comprising: supplying, using a power supply unit in the storage system, power to the storage device and a charge controller based on whether the storage device is in the first operating mode or the second operating mode.", "14.The method of claim 13 further comprising decreasing an amount of power supplied to the storage device by the power supply unit and increasing an amount of power supplied to the charge controller by the power supply unit responsive to the storage device transitioning from the first operating mode to the second operating mode.", "15.The method of claim 12 further comprising: connecting one or more data lines to a host controller using a switch unit in the storage system when the storage device is in the first operating mode; and connecting the one or more data lines to a charge controller using the switch unit when the storage device is in the second operating mode.", "16.The method of claim 15 further comprising: controlling, using the host controller, the switch unit to switch the connection of the one or more data lines between the host controller and the charge controller.", "17.The method of claim 12 further comprising: connecting the storage device to a network using a network access unit of the storage system; and providing network access to the storage device using the network access unit.", "18.The method of claim 17 further comprising: receiving a request from the network to place the storage device in the second operating mode, using the network access unit; and placing the storage device in the second operating mode using a host controller.", "19.The method of claim 17 further comprising: receiving a request from the network to access the storage device, using the network access unit; and placing the storage device in the first operating mode using a host controller.", "20.The method of claim 12 further comprising: negotiate the first power amount to provide to the electronic device.", "21.The method of claim 20, wherein negotiating the first power amount comprises: offering the available power amount to the electronic device; receiving a request for additional power over the available power; and agreeing to provide the requested additional power to the electronic device.", "22.A storage system comprising: a storage device comprising a medium configured to store data, wherein the storage device is configured to be in a first operating mode or a second operating mode comprising a reduced power mode relative to the first operating mode; a communications port configured to connect to an electronic device, the communications port configured to communicate data and supply power to the electronic device; and one or more processors configured to: determine an available power amount with the storage device in the first operating mode; negotiate an amount of power to provide to the electronic device, wherein the amount of power is greater than the available power amount; transition the storage device from the first operating mode to the second operating mode; and cause additional power to be supplied the electronic device.", "23.A storage system comprising: a storage means comprising a medium configured to store data, wherein the storage means is configured to be in a first operating mode or a second operating mode comprising a reduced power mode relative to the first operating mode; a communications means configured to connect to an electronic device, the communications means comprising one or more transmission means configured to communicate data to the electronic device and to configure power supplied to the electronic device; and one or more controllers configured to: control an operation of the storage means; communicate data to the electronic device using the one or more transmission means when the storage means is in the first operating mode; and configure power supplied to the electronic device using the one or more transmission means when the storage means is in the second operating mode, wherein: a larger amount of power is supplied to the electronic device when the storage means is in the second operating mode than when the storage means is in the first operating mode; a first amount of power is diverted from the storage means to the electronic device when the storage means is in the second operating mode; and the storage system lacks sufficient power to supply the larger amount of power to the electronic device when the storage means is in the first operating mode." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND <EOH>Conventionally, an electronic device is charged by plugging a cable to a wall outlet.", "However, the number of wall outlets available and the location of such wall outlets may be limited in a household.", "Thus, a user may need to use a longer than normal cable in order to charge the electronic device.", "However, such longer cables are often not included with the electronic device.", "Thus, the user may have to purchase an additional cable, which can be even more expensive than a normal cable.", "Such longer cables could also provide additional portions of the cable which may be caught on by an object or a person.", "In addition, even if the wall outlet was accessible for the cable, the wall outlet may have a limited amount of sockets.", "With the increasing number of electronic devices in the household, the sockets may already be used.", "A power strip may be used, but the number of electronic devices used in the household may be numerous enough such that some or all of the sockets of a power strip may also be used." ], [ "<SOH> BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS <EOH>The features and advantages of the present embodiments will become more apparent from the detailed description set forth below when taken in conjunction with the drawings, wherein: FIG.", "1 is a box diagram of a storage system configured to be connected to an electronic device according to an embodiment; FIG.", "2 is a circuit diagram of a portion of a storage system according to an embodiment; FIG.", "3 depicts a process for communicating data and supplying power to an electronic device according to an embodiment; FIG.", "4 depicts a process for charging an electronic device using a storage system according to an embodiment; FIG.", "5 depicts one or more optional blocks for a process for charging an electronic device using a storage system according to an embodiment; FIG.", "6 depicts one or more optional blocks for a process for charging an electronic device using a storage system according to an embodiment; and FIG.", "7 depicts one or more optional blocks for a process for charging an electronic device using a storage system according to an embodiment.", "detailed-description description=\"Detailed Description\" end=\"lead\"?" ], [ "CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "13/902,722 filed on May 24, 2013, entitled STORAGE SYSTEM COMPRISING A COMMUNICATIONS PORT FOR CHARGING AN ELECTRONIC DEVICE, which claims priority to U.S.", "Provisional Application No.", "61/812,952, filed on Apr.", "17, 2013, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties.", "BACKGROUND Conventionally, an electronic device is charged by plugging a cable to a wall outlet.", "However, the number of wall outlets available and the location of such wall outlets may be limited in a household.", "Thus, a user may need to use a longer than normal cable in order to charge the electronic device.", "However, such longer cables are often not included with the electronic device.", "Thus, the user may have to purchase an additional cable, which can be even more expensive than a normal cable.", "Such longer cables could also provide additional portions of the cable which may be caught on by an object or a person.", "In addition, even if the wall outlet was accessible for the cable, the wall outlet may have a limited amount of sockets.", "With the increasing number of electronic devices in the household, the sockets may already be used.", "A power strip may be used, but the number of electronic devices used in the household may be numerous enough such that some or all of the sockets of a power strip may also be used.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The features and advantages of the present embodiments will become more apparent from the detailed description set forth below when taken in conjunction with the drawings, wherein: FIG.", "1 is a box diagram of a storage system configured to be connected to an electronic device according to an embodiment; FIG.", "2 is a circuit diagram of a portion of a storage system according to an embodiment; FIG.", "3 depicts a process for communicating data and supplying power to an electronic device according to an embodiment; FIG.", "4 depicts a process for charging an electronic device using a storage system according to an embodiment; FIG.", "5 depicts one or more optional blocks for a process for charging an electronic device using a storage system according to an embodiment; FIG.", "6 depicts one or more optional blocks for a process for charging an electronic device using a storage system according to an embodiment; and FIG.", "7 depicts one or more optional blocks for a process for charging an electronic device using a storage system according to an embodiment.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION In an embodiment shown in FIG.", "1, a storage system 100 is configured to be connected to an electronic device 102.In an embodiment, the storage system 100 comprises a power supply unit 104, a switch unit 106, a host controller 108, a charge controller 110, a storage device 112, a communications port 114, and a network access unit 130.In an embodiment, the storage system 100 comprises a network attached storage system, a media streaming device, a cable box, or any combination thereof.", "In an embodiment, the storage system 100 is configured to be connected to the electronic device 102 using the communications port 114.In an embodiment, the storage system 100 is configured to charge the electronic device 102, communicate data to the electronic device 102, or any combination thereof.", "For example, the communications port 114 can comprise one or more data lines configured to communicate data to the electronic device and to configure power supplied to the electronic device.", "In an embodiment, the electronic device 102 comprises a mobile phone, a laptop, a tablet, a pad, a portable gaming device, a portable music device, a watch, or other device which may be connected to and charged by the storage system 100.In an embodiment, the amount of power supplied by the storage system 100 can be varied, which will be described in more detail below.", "The data communicated to the electronic device 102 can be, for example, data stored on the storage device 112.In an embodiment, the storage device 112 comprises at least one of a magnetic recording disk or a solid state memory.", "In an embodiment, the data can be, for example, photo data, music data, video data, or any combination thereof.", "While the description herein refers to solid state memory generally, it is understood that solid state memory may comprise one or more of various types of solid state non-volatile memory devices such as flash integrated circuits, Chalcogenide RAM (C-RAM), Phase Change Memory (PC-RAM or PRAM), Programmable Metallization Cell RAM (PMC-RAM or PMCm), Ovonic Unified Memory (OUM), Resistance RAM (RRAM), NAND memory (e.g., single-level cell (SLC) memory, multi-level cell (MLC) memory, or any combination thereof), NOR memory, EEPROM, Ferroelectric Memory (FeRAM), Magnetoresistive RAM (MRAM), other discrete NVM (non-volatile memory) chips, or any combination thereof.", "Furthermore, in an embodiment, the storage device 112 is configured to operate in a first operating mode or a second operating mode.", "In an embodiment, the first operating mode is a default mode or a normal operating mode.", "In an embodiment, the second operating mode comprises a reduced power mode relative to the first operating mode.", "Thus, the storage device 112 can consume less power when the storage device 112 is in the second operating mode.", "For example, the storage device 112 may be configured to consume a first amount of power when the storage device 112 is in the first operating mode, and a second amount of power when the storage device 112 is in the second operating mode.", "The second amount of power can be less than the first amount of power.", "In an embodiment, when the storage device 112 is in the second operating mode, the storage device 112 is in a standby mode or an off mode.", "In an embodiment, during a standby mode or an off mode, the storage device 112 may be spun-down when the storage device 112 comprises the magnetic recording disk (e.g., a hard disk drive, hybrid drive or other mechanical drive).", "When spun down, most or all of the mechanical components of a mechanical drive are generally not moving, which can significantly reduce the power usage of the mechanical drive.", "In an embodiment, the power supply unit 104 is configured to supply power to the storage device 112 and to charge the electronic device 102.The amount of power supplied to the storage device 112 and to charge the electronic device 102 can be varied, which will be described in more detail later.", "In an embodiment, the power supply unit 104 is configured to supply at least 500 mA to the electronic device 102.In an embodiment, the power supply unit 104 is configured to supply at least 900 mA to the electronic device 102.In an embodiment, the power supply unit 104 comprises a DC to DC converter.", "In an embodiment, the power supply unit 104 comprises a power input.", "The power input can be configured, for example, to be connected to external power sources.", "The external power sources can be, for example, a wall outlet, an automobile power outlet, an airplane power outlet, a generator, a battery, or other type of power source which may provide sufficient power to power the storage system 100.In an embodiment, the network access unit 130 is configured to be connected to a network and to provide network access to the storage device 112.In an embodiment, the network access unit 130 comprises a network interface controller, a wireless network card, a wireless access device, a device capable of accessing a network, or any combination thereof.", "In an embodiment, the network access unit 130 is configured to receive a request from the network to place the storage device in the second operating mode, and to receive a request from the network to access the storage device.", "In an embodiment, the host controller 108 is configured to control an operation of the storage device 112.The host controller 108 can be, for example, an application specific integrated circuit (“ASIC”) host controller.", "The host controller 108 can also be configured to communicate data to the electronic device using the one or more data lines when the storage device 112 is in the first operating mode.", "Furthermore, the host controller 108 can also be configured to control the switch unit 106.The switch unit 106 is configured to switch a connection of the one or more data lines between the host controller 108 and the charge controller 110, which will be described in more detail below.", "In an embodiment, the charge controller 110 is configured to configure power supplied to the electronic device 102 using the one or more data lines when the storage device 112 is in the second operating mode.", "In an embodiment, a circuit diagram of portions of the storage system 100 is shown in FIG.", "2.As previously noted, the power supply unit 104 comprises a DC to DC converter 116.The power supply unit 104 can be connected, for example, to an external power source.", "The communications port 114 is configured to be connected to the electronic device 102 (FIG.", "1).", "In the embodiment shown in FIG.", "2, the communications port 114 comprises a universal serial bus (“USB”) connector 118.However, the communications port 114 could utilize other types of connectors and other types of standards for connection with the electronic device 102.In an embodiment, an output current from the communications port 114 comprises a minimum output current required to satisfy various communications standards such as a USB 3.0 standard.", "In an embodiment, the communications port 114 comprises a ground line 142, a power line 132, and data lines 138 and 140.In an embodiment, the data line 138 comprises a data minus line and the data line 140 comprises a data plus line.", "In an embodiment, the power supply unit 104 transmits power to the electronic device 102 using the power line 132.As can be seen in the embodiment shown in FIG.", "2, the amount of power supplied to the communications port 114 and the electronic device 102 is based on a resistance of the resistors 120 and 122 (RILIM).", "Since the resistors 120 and 122 are in parallel, changes in resistance to one or more of the resistors 120 and 122 can affect an amount of power supplied by the power supply unit 104 in the power line 132.In an embodiment, the resistance of the resistor 122 can be adjusted by a field-effect transistor (FET) 124.The FET 124 can decrease the resistance of the resistor 122 in order to increase the power supplied by the power supply unit 104 in the power line 132.In an embodiment, the operation of the FET 124 is controlled by a STANDBY (“STDBY”) signal at a STDBY signal line 126.When the STDBY signal is enabled, the FET 124 can decrease the resistance of the resistor 122 to thereby increase the power supplied by the power supply unit 104 in the power line 132.When the STDBY signal is disabled, the FET 124 can increase the resistance of the resistor 122 to thereby decrease the power supplied by the power supply unit 104 in the power line 132.In an embodiment, the role of the STDBY signal can also be reserved such that the when the STDBY signal is enabled, the FET 124 can increase the resistance of the resistor 122, and when the STDBY signal is disabled, the FET 124 can decrease the resistance of the resistor 122.In an embodiment, the STDBY signal is transmitted, asserted, enabled, or disabled by the host controller 108.In an embodiment, the STDBY signal indicates when the storage device 112 is in the second operating mode.", "As seen in the embodiment shown in FIG.", "2, the switch unit 106 is configured to switch a connection of the data lines 138 and 140 between the charge controller 110 and the host controller 108.In the embodiment shown in FIG.", "2, the switch unit 106 comprises a double pole, double throw switch.", "In an embodiment shown in FIG.", "3, a process for switching a connection of the data lines 138 and 140 between the charge controller 110 and the host controller 108 is disclosed.", "In block S302, the host controller 108 communicates data to the electronic device 102 using the data lines 138 and 140.In block S304, the power supply unit 104 supplies power to the electronic device 102 using the power line 132.In an embodiment, the power supply unit 104 supplies power to the electronic device 102 using the power line 132.For example, the power supply unit 104 can supply approximately 500 mA of power to the electronic device using the power line 132.In block S306, the switch unit 106 switches a connection of the data lines 138 and 140 from the host controller 108 to the charge controller 110.For example, the switch unit 106 comprises connection units 134 and 136.The data line 138 is connected to a pin 5 of the switch unit 106 while the data line 140 is connected to a pin 3 of the switch unit 106.In the embodiment shown in FIG.", "2, the pin 5 of the switch unit 106 is connected to either a pin 6 of the switch unit 106, or a pin 7 of the switch unit 106, depending on a position of the connection unit 134.Furthermore, in the embodiment shown in FIG.", "2, the pin 3 of the switch unit 106 is connected to either a pin 2 of the switch unit 106, or a pin 1 of the switch unit 106, depending on a position of the connection unit 134.When the pin 5 of the switch unit 106 is connected to the pin 7 of the switch unit 106, the data line 138 is connected to the host controller 108.When the pin 3 of the switch unit 106 is connected to the pin 1 of the switch unit 106, the data line 140 is connected to the host controller 108.However, when the pin 5 of the switch unit 106 is connected to the pin 6 of the switch unit 106, the data line 138 is connected to a pin 7 of charge controller 110.Similarly, when the pin 3 of the switch unit 106 is connected to the pin 2 of the switch unit 106, the data line 140 is connected to a pin 6 of the charge controller 110.In an embodiment, the host controller 108 controls the operation of the switch unit 106.Therefore, the host controller 108 controls when the connection unit 134 switches the connection of the pin 5 of the switch unit 106 between the pin 6 of the switch unit 106 and the pin 7 of the switch unit 106.The host controller 108 also controls when the connection unit 136 switches the connection of the pin 3 of the switch unit 106 between the pin 2 of the switch unit 106 and the pin 1 of the switch unit 106.In an embodiment, the host controller 108 controls the operation of the switch unit 106 by transmitting, asserting, enabling, or disabling the STDBY signal on the STDBY signal line 126 as shown in the embodiment in FIG.", "2.Thus, in block S306, the connection unit 134 switches the connection of the pin 5 of the switch unit 106 from the pin 7 of the switch unit 106 to the pin 6 of the switch unit 106.Similarly, the connection unit 136 switches the connection of the pin 3 of the switch unit 106 from the pin 1 of the switch unit 106 to the pin 2 of the switch unit 106.Therefore, the data lines 138 and 140 are switched from being connected to the host controller 108 to being connected to the charge controller 110.In block S308 the charge controller 110 negotiates power supplied to the electronic device 102 using the data lines 138 and 140.For example, the charge controller 110 can communicate with the electronic device 102 regarding what amount of power the electronic device 102 requests from the storage system 100 and what amount of power the storage system 100 can or will supply to the electronic device 102.The charge controller 110 can also communicate with the electronic device 102 to determine if the charge controller 110 should even supply power to the electronic device 102.For example, the power supply unit 104 may supply 0.5 mA of power to the electronic device 102.However, the electronic device 102 may send a request to the charge controller 110 requesting 2.0 A of power.", "In response to the request for additional power, the charge controller 110 may indicate that the power supplied by the power supply unit 104 to the electronic device 102 will be increased to the requested 2.0 A of power.", "However, the electronic device 102 may send a request to the charge controller 110 requesting 3.5 A of power, but the power supply unit 104 may only be able to supply 2.0 A of power to the electronic device 102.In such a case, the charge controller 110 may indicate that the power supply unit 104 may supply only 2.0 A of power.", "In other instances, the electronic device 102 may send a message to the charge controller 110 to decline the 2.0 A of power as being insufficient.", "Instead, the electronic device 102 may send a message to the charge controller 110 to choose to receive no power or an even a reduced amount of power.", "Although specific amounts of power are disclosed above, it should be understood that such numbers are merely presented as examples, and other amounts of power may be utilized.", "In block S310, power is supplied to the electronic device 102 based on the negotiated power using the power line 132.In an embodiment, the amount of power supplied by the power supply unit 104 may vary from electronic device to electronic device.", "In an embodiment, the charge controller 110 boosts the power supplied to the electronic device 102 by boosting an output of the CS signal coming from pin 4 of the charge controller 110.In the embodiment shown in FIG.", "2, the CS signal in the pin 4 feeds into a feedback sense of the power supply unit 104.In an embodiment, the increased amount of power supplied to the electronic device 102 occurs when the storage device 112 is in the second operating mode.", "Thus, in an embodiment, the reduced power consumption by the storage device 112 in the second operating mode can allow the electronic device 102 to receive additional power.", "That is, since the storage device 112 consumes less power in the second operating mode, some or all of the power which may have been used to power the storage device 112 in the first operating mode is supplied instead to the electronic device 102.In an embodiment, some or all of a power differential between the first amount of power and the second amount of power is supplied to the electronic device 102 when the storage device 112 is in the second operating mode.", "In an embodiment, this may allow charging of the electronic device 102 even in some situations where a low-power power supply unit is used.", "For example, the power supply unit 104 may be insufficient to charge the electronic device 102 at an amount of power requested by the electronic device 102, and power the storage device 112 when the storage device 112 is in the first operating mode.", "However, when the storage device 112 is in the second operating mode, power may be freed up to charge the electronic device 102 at the amount of power requested by the electronic device 102 or at least increase an amount of power supplied to the electronic device 102.Furthermore, in an embodiment, the output of the CS signal in the pin 4 can also be used to boost power supplied by the power supply unit 104 to overcome current and/or voltage loss by a cable connected between the storage system 100 and the electronic device 102.In an embodiment, the current and/or voltage loss can be an IV loss.", "In an embodiment, the charge controller 110 also provides a hiccup recovery.", "That is, the charge controller 110 can automatically prevent power from reaching the electronic device 102 through the power line 132 when an abnormal condition occurs.", "In an embodiment, the power supply unit 104 is connected to the pin 3 of the charge controller 110 and the power line 132 is connected to the pin 8 of the charge controller 110.In an embodiment, the pin 3 and the pin 8 of the charge controller 110 are removably connected to each other.", "Thus, in an embodiment, power from the power supply unit 104 flows from the pin 3 of the charge controller 110, to the pin 8 of the charge controller 110, to the power line 132, and to the electronic device 102.However, in an embodiment, the charge controller 110 includes a current sensor configured to detect a current being output to the power line 132.When the current being output to the power line 132 exceeds a predetermined maximum current threshold, the charge controller 110 can interrupt the power being supplied to the power line 132 by disconnecting the pin 3 and the pin 8 of the charge controller 110.Since the pin 3 and the pin 8 of the charge controller 110 are disconnected, current flowing from the power supply unit 104 to the power line 132 using the charge controller 110 is reduced or eliminated.", "Thus, the power in the power line 132 is reduced or eliminated.", "In an embodiment, this can cause a circuit break between the power supply unit 104 and the power line 132.In an embodiment, the charge controller 110 disconnects the pin 3 and the pin 8 of the charge controller 110 for a predetermined amount of time.", "After the predetermined amount of time has expired, the charge controller 110 can reconnect the pin 3 and the pin 8 of the charge controller 110.However, if the current detected by the current sensor exceeds the predetermined maximum current threshold, the charge controller 110 can disconnect the pin 3 and the pin 8 of the charge controller 110 again.", "In an embodiment, the predetermined amount of time can be fixed.", "In an embodiment, the predetermined amount of time can be varied depending on when the pin 3 and the pin 8 of the charge controller 110 were last disconnected.", "In an embodiment, the predetermined amount of time is set such that potential damage to the electronic device 102 is minimized or reduced.", "In an embodiment, the charge controller 110 can also disconnect the pin 3 and the pin 8 of the charge controller 110 until a determination is made that the electronic device 102 has disconnected and reconnected to the storage system 100.In an embodiment, the charge controller 110 comprises a temperature sensor.", "When the temperature of the charge controller 110 exceeds a predetermined maximum temperature threshold, the charge controller 110 can similarly disconnect the pin 3 and the pin 8 of the charge controller 110.In an embodiment shown in FIG.", "2, the charge controller 110 receives the ENABLE signal at an ENABLE signal line 128.The ENABLE signal line 128 feeds the ENABLE signal to the pin 5 of the charge controller 110.In an embodiment, the ENABLE signal can disconnect or connect the pin 3 to the pin 8 in the charge controller 110.In an embodiment, this can cut off power to the power line 132 and the electronic device 102 or allow for the supply of power to the power line 132 and the electronic device 102.In an embodiment, the charge controller 110 is activated or deactivated by the ENABLE signal.", "In an embodiment, the ENABLE signal is controlled by the host controller 108.Thus, in an embodiment, the host controller 108 can control when the pin 3 and the pin 8 of the charge controller 110 are disconnected or connected.", "In an embodiment, the host controller 108 can also control when the charge controller 110 is activated or deactivated.", "In an embodiment, a process for charging an electronic device 102 using the storage system 100 is shown in FIG.", "4.In block S402, a connection to the electronic device 102 is received on the communications port 114 of the storage system 100.As seen in the embodiment shown in FIG.", "2, the communications port 114 comprises one or more data lines such as the data lines 138 and 140.In block S404, data is communicated to the electronic device 102 using one or more of the data lines 138 and 140 when the storage device 112 of the storage system 100 is in the first operating mode.", "In block S406, the storage device 112 transitions from the first operating mode to the second operating mode.", "As previously noted, the second operating mode comprises a reduced power mode relative to the first operating mode.", "In block S408, the power supplied to the electronic device 102 is configured using one or more of the data lines 138 and 140 and one or more controllers when the storage device 112 is in the second operating mode.", "In an embodiment, the one or more controllers comprise the host controller 108, the charge controller 110, or any combination thereof.", "In an embodiment, additional or optional blocks in the process for charging the electronic device 102 using the storage system 100 are shown in FIG.", "5.In block S502, the storage device 112 consumes the first amount of power when the storage device 112 is in the first operating mode.", "In block S504, the storage device 112 consumes the second amount of power when the storage device 112 is in the second operating mode.", "As previously noted, the second amount of power is less than the first amount of power.", "In block S506, power is supplied by the power supply unit 104 to the storage device 112 and the charge controller 110 based on whether the storage device 112 is in the first operating mode or the second operating mode.", "In block S508, an amount of power supplied to the storage device 112 by the power supply unit 104 is decreased and an amount of power supplied to the charge controller 110 by the power supply unit 104 is increased when the storage device 112 transitions from the first operating mode to the second operating mode.", "In block S510, an amount of power supplied to the storage device 112 by the power supply unit 104 is increased, and an amount of power supplied to the charge controller 110 is decreased when the storage device 112 transitions from the second operating mode to the first operating mode.", "In an embodiment, additional or optional blocks in the process for charging the electronic device 102 using the storage system 100 are shown in FIG.", "6.In block S602, one or more data lines such as the data lines 138 and 140 are connected to the host controller 108 using the switch unit 106 when the storage device 112 is in the first operating mode.", "In block S604, one or more data lines such as the data lines 138 and 140 are connected to the charge controller 110 when the storage device 112 is in the second operating mode.", "In block S606, the host controller 108 controls the switch unit 106 to switch the connection of the one or more data lines between the host controller 108 and the charge controller 110.In block S608, the host controller 108 places the storage device 112 in the first operating mode or the second operating mode.", "In an embodiment, additional or optional blocks in the process for charging the electronic device 102 using the storage system 100 are shown in FIG.", "7.In block S702, the storage device 112 is connected to the network using the network access unit 130.In block S704, the network access unit 130 provides network access to the storage device 112.In block S706, the network access unit 130 receives a request from the network to place the storage device 112 in the second operating mode.", "In block S708, the host controller 108 places the storage device 112 in the second operating mode.", "In an embodiment, the host controller 108 places the storage device 112 in the second operating mode in response to the request to place the storage device 112 in the second operating mode.", "For example, the electronic device 102 may wish to be charged.", "In such a case, the electronic device 102 may force the storage device 112 to be placed into the second operating mode (e.g., standby/off mode) in order to begin charging the electronic device 102 instead of waiting for the storage system 100 to determine when the electronic device 102 should be charged.", "In an embodiment, additional or other electronic devices aside from the electronic device 102 may force the storage device 112 to be placed into the second operating mode.", "In block S710, the network access unit 130 receives a request from the network to access the storage device 112.In block S712, the host controller 108 places the storage device 112 in the first operating mode.", "In an embodiment, the host controller 108 places the storage device 112 in the first operating mode in response to the request from the network to access the storage device 112.For example, should another electronic device wish to access the storage device 112, the host controller 108 may transition the storage device 112 from the second operating mode (e.g., standby/off mode) to the first operating mode.", "Thus, in an embodiment, the access of the storage device 112 may be prioritized over the charging of the electronic device 102.Those of ordinary skill would appreciate that the various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and algorithm parts described in connection with the examples disclosed herein may be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or combinations of both.", "Furthermore, the embodiments can also be embodied on a non-transitory machine readable medium causing a processor or computer to perform or execute certain functions.", "To clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware and software, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and process parts have been described above generally in terms of their functionality.", "Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system.", "Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the disclosed apparatus and methods.", "The parts of a method or algorithm described in connection with the examples disclosed herein may be embodied directly in hardware, in a software module executed by a processor, or in a combination of the two.", "The parts of the method or algorithm may also be performed in an alternate order from those provided in the examples.", "A software module may reside in RAM memory, flash memory, ROM memory, EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, registers, hard disk, a removable disk, an optical disk, or any other form of storage medium known in the art.", "An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor such that the processor can read information from, and write information to, the storage medium.", "In the alternative, the storage medium may be integral to the processor.", "The processor and the storage medium may reside in an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC).", "The previous description of the disclosed examples is provided to enable any person of ordinary skill in the art to make or use the disclosed methods and apparatus.", "Various modifications to these examples will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the principles defined herein may be applied to other examples without departing from the spirit or scope of the disclosed method and apparatus.", "The described embodiments are to be considered in all respects only as illustrative and not restrictive and the scope of the disclosure is, therefore, indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description.", "All changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are to be embraced within their scope." ] ]
Patent_15872995
[ [ "METHOD OF IMPLANTING A PENILE PROSTHETIC IN TREATING ERECTILE DYSFUNCTION", "A method of implanting a penile prosthetic in treating erectile dysfunction is described.", "The method includes providing a pump having a pump bulb including a mid-section having a first face that is planar in longitudinal cross-section and a second face that is concave and arced in longitudinal cross-section.", "The method includes implanting an inflatable member into a penis; implanting a reservoir into an abdomen; intraoperatively coupling the pump between the inflatable member and the reservoir; and implanting the pump in a scrotum." ], [ "1.A method of implanting a penile prosthetic in treating erectile dysfunction, the method comprising: providing a pump having a pump bulb including a first end section and a second end section and a mid-section extending between the first end section and the second end section, with the mid-section having a first face that is planar in longitudinal cross-section and a second face that is concave and arced in longitudinal cross-section; implanting an inflatable member into a penis; implanting a reservoir into an abdomen; intraoperatively coupling the pump between the inflatable member and the reservoir; and implanting the pump in a scrotum.", "2.A method of implanting a penile prosthetic in treating erectile dysfunction, the method comprising: providing a pump having a pump bulb including a first end section and a second end section and a mid-section extending between the first end section and the second end section, with the mid-section having a first face that is planar in longitudinal cross-section, a second face that is concave and arced in longitudinal cross-section, and a third face that is concave and on an opposite side of the pump bulb from the first face and arced in longitudinal cross-section; implanting an inflatable member into a penis; implanting a reservoir into an abdomen; intraoperatively coupling the pump between the inflatable member and the reservoir; and implanting the pump in a scrotum.", "3.A method of implanting a penile prosthetic in treating erectile dysfunction, the method comprising: providing a pump having a pump bulb including: a first end section and a second end section, each of the first end section and the second end section formed as a portion of a sphere, a mid-section extending between the first end section and the second end section, with the mid-section planar in longitudinal cross-section and forming an arc in lateral cross-section, and a first concave portion being arced in longitudinal cross-section between a first apex located in the first end section and a second apex located in the second end section; implanting an inflatable member into a penis; implanting a reservoir into an abdomen; intraoperatively coupling the pump between the inflatable member and the reservoir; and implanting the pump in a scrotum." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND <EOH>An implanted penile prosthetic is effective in relieving erectile dysfunction in men.", "A penile prosthetic typically includes an inflatable cylinder that is implanted in each corpora cavernosum of the penis, a reservoir implanted in the abdomen that communicates with the cylinders, and a pump, often located in the scrotum, that is employed to move liquid from the reservoir into the cylinders for inflation of the implanted cylinders.", "In a typical application, the user squeezes a bulb of the pump multiple times to draw liquid out of the reservoir and pump the liquid into the cylinders.", "The repeated squeezing of the bulb thus moves the liquid from the reservoir into the cylinders to provide the user with an erect penis.", "The user may return the penis to its flaccid state by selectively transferring the liquid from the cylinders back into the reservoir.", "Some users suffer from a reduced range of motion in their fingers or from reduced dexterity, at times due to arthritis of the hand.", "These users can have difficulty in grasping the pump bulb or in repeatedly squeezing the pump bulb.", "Penile prostheses have proven effective in relieving erectile dysfunction in men.", "However, users and their surgeons would welcome improvements to penile prostheses." ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY <EOH>Aspects of the disclosure provide an implantable penile prosthetic including a pump according to the appended claims." ], [ "BACKGROUND An implanted penile prosthetic is effective in relieving erectile dysfunction in men.", "A penile prosthetic typically includes an inflatable cylinder that is implanted in each corpora cavernosum of the penis, a reservoir implanted in the abdomen that communicates with the cylinders, and a pump, often located in the scrotum, that is employed to move liquid from the reservoir into the cylinders for inflation of the implanted cylinders.", "In a typical application, the user squeezes a bulb of the pump multiple times to draw liquid out of the reservoir and pump the liquid into the cylinders.", "The repeated squeezing of the bulb thus moves the liquid from the reservoir into the cylinders to provide the user with an erect penis.", "The user may return the penis to its flaccid state by selectively transferring the liquid from the cylinders back into the reservoir.", "Some users suffer from a reduced range of motion in their fingers or from reduced dexterity, at times due to arthritis of the hand.", "These users can have difficulty in grasping the pump bulb or in repeatedly squeezing the pump bulb.", "Penile prostheses have proven effective in relieving erectile dysfunction in men.", "However, users and their surgeons would welcome improvements to penile prostheses.", "SUMMARY Aspects of the disclosure provide an implantable penile prosthetic including a pump according to the appended claims.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of embodiments and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification.", "The drawings illustrate embodiments and together with the description serve to explain principles of embodiments.", "Other embodiments and many of the intended advantages of embodiments will be readily appreciated, as they become better understood by reference to the following detailed description.", "The elements of the drawings are not necessarily to scale relative to each other.", "Like reference numerals designate corresponding similar parts.", "FIG.", "1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of an implantable penile prosthetic including a pump attached to inflatable penile inserts and a reservoir.", "FIG.", "2 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the pump illustrated in FIG.", "1.FIG.", "3A is a top view of one embodiment of the pump illustrated in FIG.", "1 and indicating the location of a longitudinal cross-sectional view of FIG.", "4.FIG.", "3B is a side view of one embodiment of the pump illustrated in FIG.", "1 and indicating the location of a lateral cross-sectional view of FIG.", "7.FIG.", "3C is an end side view of one embodiment of the pump illustrated in FIG.", "1.FIG.", "4 is a schematic, longitudinal cross-sectional view taken along the line IV-IV in FIG.", "3A.", "FIG.", "5 is a side view of one embodiment of the pump including a pump bulb.", "FIG.", "6 is a partially sectional top view of the bulb of the pump taken along the line V-V indicated in FIG.", "5.FIG.", "7 is a lateral cross-sectional view of one embodiment of the pump bulb taken along the line VII-VII in FIG.", "3B.", "FIG.", "8 is a side view of one embodiment of the pump seen from a side facing opposite the side visible in FIG.", "5.FIG.", "9A is an enlarged, schematic cross-sectional view of one embodiment of a transition area of the pump bulb.", "FIG.", "9B is an enlarged, schematic cross-sectional view of one embodiment of a transition area of the pump bulb.", "FIG.", "10 is a perspective view of one embodiment of a pump suitable for use with the penile prosthetic illustrated in FIG.", "1.FIG.", "11 is a schematic, perspective view of the pump bulb with a portion of the pump bulb cut away.", "FIG.", "12 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of one embodiment of a pump suitable for use with the penile prosthesis system shown in FIG.", "1.FIG.", "13 is a perspective view of a hand accessing a finger gripping area on one embodiment of a pump bulb.", "FIG.", "14 is a schematic view of one embodiment of the implantable penile prosthetic system of FIG.", "1 implanted in a user.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION In the following Detailed Description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration specific embodiments in which the invention may be practiced.", "In this regard, directional terminology, such as “top,” “bottom,” “front,” “back,” “leading,” “trailing,” etc., is used with reference to the orientation of the Figure(s) being described.", "Because components of embodiments can be positioned in a number of different orientations, the directional terminology is used for purposes of illustration and is in no way limiting.", "It is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and structural or logical changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.", "The following detailed description, therefore, is not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of the present invention is defined by the appended claims.", "It is to be understood that the features of the various exemplary embodiments described herein may be combined with each other, unless specifically noted otherwise.", "The term “proximal” as employed in this application means that the referenced part is situated next to or near the point of attachment or origin or a central point: as located toward a center of the human body.", "The term “distal” as employed in this application means that the referenced part is situated away from the point of attachment or origin or the central point: as located away from the center of the human body.", "A distal end is the furthest endmost location of a distal portion of a thing being described, whereas a proximal end is the nearest endmost location of a proximal portion of the thing being described.", "For example, the glans penis is located distal, and of the crus of the penis is located proximal relative to the male body such that a distal end of a corpora cavernosum of the patient extends about midway into the glans penis.", "Embodiments provide an implantable penile prosthetic including a pump that is provided with a pump bulb that is easier to grasp and easier to pump, particularly for those users who suffer from arthritis or limited dexterity of the hand.", "Embodiments provide a pump having a pump bulb including first and second end sections, each formed as a portion of a sphere, a planar mid-section extending between the first end section and the second end section and a concave portion extending between a first apex located in the first end section and a second apex located in the second end section.", "The concave portion provides a finger access area to configure the pump bulb to more naturally fit in the hand between the fingers of the user.", "Embodiments provide a pump having a pump bulb with an internal cavity defined by an external surface, the external surface having six interconnected segments including a side segment forming a concavity.", "In contrast, some implantable penile prosthetics are provided with a completely spherical pump bulb that operates to pump liquid from the prosthetic reservoir to the penile implants.", "However, some users have experienced sliding and movement of the completely spherical pump bulb within the tissue of the scrotum that presents challenges in grasping and/or repeatedly pumping the completely spherical pump bulb.", "The pump bulb described below includes a concave portion extending between a first apex located in the first end section and a second apex located in the second end section providing an improved finger-grasping surface with an easier to manipulate pump, particularly for users with limited dexterity.", "FIG.", "1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of an implantable penile prosthetic 20.The penile prosthetic 20 includes a reservoir 22 communicating with inflatable members 24 across a pump 26.The reservoir 22 is connected with the pump 26 by tubing 28, and inflatable members 24 are connected with the pump 26 by tubing 30.The components (reservoir 22, implants 24, pump 26, and tubing 28, 30) of the penile prosthetic 20 are generally provided unassembled in a kit of parts.", "The components are assembled immediately prior to surgery, or intra-operatively, as determined by the surgeon.", "For example, each of the tubing lengths 28, 30 have a portion that is attached to the reservoir 22 and a portion that is attached to the inflatable members 24, respectively, and a portion that is secured to a pump housing 40 that extends from a pump bulb 42 of the pump 26.The tubing lengths are attached by some form of tubing connector useful with surgical implants.", "The components of the penile prosthetic 20 are illustrated in an assembled configuration in FIG.", "1 for descriptive clarity.", "The reservoir 22 is sized for implantation within the human body, for example within the abdomen.", "The reservoir 22 is configured to retain a volume of liquid useful in inflating the inflatable members, for example with a volume in a range of 50-350 cc.", "Suitable materials for fabricating the reservoir 22 include silicone, polymers such as urethanes, a blend of polymers with urethane, copolymers of urethane, or the like.", "In one exemplary fabrication process, one of the suitable materials identified above is moulded into a container shape appropriate for implantation in the space of Retzius or in the abdomen.", "The inflatable members 24 are provided as a pair of inflatable cylinders, each of which is sized to be implanted into a corpora cavernosum of the penis.", "Each of the cylinders includes a rear tip that is implanted toward the crus of the penis and a distal end that is implanted within the glans penis.", "The cylinders are fabricated from material configured to collapse and be flexible when the cylinders are deflated to provide the penis with a flaccid state and expand when the cylinders are inflated with liquid to provide the penis with an erect state.", "Suitable material for fabricating the cylinders 32 includes silicone, polymers such as urethanes, a blend of polymers with urethane, copolymers of urethane, or the like.", "Suitable cylinders are available from Coloplast Corp., Minneapolis, Minn.", "FIG.", "2 is a perspective view of the pump 26 according to one embodiment.", "In one embodiment, the pump housing 40 is attached to the pump bulb 42 and includes valve assemblies (described below) in communication with conduits that extend from the pump housing 40 for attachment with the tubing 28, 30.The valve assemblies facilitate controlling of the fluid to inflate and deflate the cylinders 32, respectively.", "The pump bulb 42 includes a first end section 50 and a second end section 52.Each one of the first end section 50 and the second end section 52 is formed as a portion of a sphere.", "It is to be understood by the wording “portion of a sphere” that each of the first end section 50 and the second end section 52 is configured to provide a surface of the pump bulb 42 formed as a portion of the surface of a sphere.", "The pump bulb 42 includes a mid-section 54 that is extending between the first end section 50 and the second end section 52.The mid-section 54 is planar when seen in longitudinal cross-section through the pump bulb 42 (FIGS.", "3A, 4).", "The mid-section 54 forms an arc 56 when seen in lateral cross-section through the pump bulb 42 (FIGS.", "3B, 7).", "In one embodiment, the arc 56 is a circular arc.", "The pump bulb 42 includes a concave portion 58 extending between a first apex 60 located in the first end section 50 and a second apex 62 located in the second end section 52.In one embodiment, the second end section 52 is attached to the pump housing 40.In one embodiment, the pump bulb 42 is monolithically formed with the pump housing 40 at the second end section 52.FIG.", "3A is a schematic top view of the pump 26 indicating the position of the longitudinal cross-section through the pump bulb 42 of FIG.", "4.FIG.", "3B is a schematic side view of the pump 26 indicating the position of the lateral cross-section through the pump bulb 42 of FIG.", "7.FIG.", "3C is an end view of the pump 26 seen from an end opposite the location of the pump bulb 42 and indicating the tubing 28, 30.FIG.", "4 is a schematic, longitudinal cross-sectional view taken along the line IV-IV in FIG.", "3A illustrating an overall contour of the pump and pump bulb.", "In FIG.", "4, the mid-section 54 has a planar extent extending between the first end section 50 and the second end section 52.The planar mid-section 54 is connected between the spherical portions for the first and second end sections 50, 52.It is to be understood that the planar extent of mid-section 54 means that an external surface 64 of the mid-section 54 extends parallel with a longitudinal axis A-A through the pump 26.The mid-section 54 is planar when seen in longitudinal cross-section through the pump bulb 42.In other words, the external surface 64 of the pump bulb 42 along the mid-section 54 is parallel to the axis A-A when seen in longitudinal cross-section through the pump bulb 42.The external surface 64 of the mid-section 54 is planar and takes the shape of a straight line between the first and second end sections 50, 52 when seen in longitudinal cross-section through the pump bulb 42.The second end section 52 of the pump bulb 42 is attached to the pump housing 40.The tubing 28, 30 extends from the pump housing 40.FIG.", "5 is a schematic side view of the pump 26 also indicating the position of the partially sectional top view of FIG.", "6 taken along line VI-VI.", "In FIG.", "6, a portion of the pump 26 including the housing 40 and the tubing 28, 30 is viewed in a regular top view and a portion including the pump bulb 26 in shown at a section line through the pump bulb 26 to illustrate sections of the pump bulb 26.FIGS.", "5 and 6 show the first and second end sections 50, 52 and the mid-section 54.As in FIG.", "4, the side view of FIG.", "5 also shows the mid-section 54 with the planar external surface 64 extending between the first end section 50 and the second end section 52.FIG.", "6 shows a first concave portion 58a extending between the first apex 60 located in the first end section 50 and the second apex 62 located in the second end section 52.In one embodiment (as illustrated in FIG.", "6), the pump bulb 42 includes a second concave portion 58b extending between a third apex 66 located in the first end section 50 and a fourth apex 68 located in the second end section 52.The second concave portion 58b is separate from the first concave portion 58a.", "In one embodiment, the first concave portion 58a and the second concave portion 58b are located on opposite sides of the pump bulb 26, with the mid-section 54 connected between the first concave portion 58a and the second concave portion 58n.", "In one embodiment, the first concave portion 58a and the second concave portion 58b face in opposite directions of each other in relation to the longitudinal A-A through the pump 26.This configuration of the concave portions 58a, 58b helps provide easier tactile recognition of the concave portions 58a, 58b of the pump bulb 42 through a skin surface when the user is looking to locate the gripping surfaces for engagement of the pump to create an erection of the penis.", "In one embodiment, a first width W1 of the pump bulb 42 between an external surface of the concave portion 58a and an external surface of the concave portion 58b is greater than a second width W2 of the pump bulb 42 between planar extent surfaces 64 of the mid-section 54.In one embodiment, the pump bulb is configured such that width W2 is smallest between a vertex 70a of the concave portion 58a and a vertex 70b of the concave portion 58b.", "In embodiments, a first longitudinal extent L1 of the mid-section 54 is shorter than a second longitudinal extent L2 of a concave portion 58a, 58b between the first apex 60 and the second apex 62, and/or between the third apex 66 and the fourth apex 68, respectively.", "In other words, in embodiments the longitudinal extent of the mid-section 54 is different from a longitudinal extent of the concave portion 58 measured between respective apices.", "FIG.", "7 is a lateral cross-sectional view of one embodiment of the pump bulb 42 taken along the line VII-VII in FIG.", "3B.", "The cross-sectional view is located at the mid-section 54 of the pump bulb 42.In one embodiment, a boundary of the mid-section 54 is formed by a plurality of discrete segments 55, 57.In embodiments, each segment 55, 57 of a plurality of discrete segments forms an arc 56 in lateral cross-section.", "In embodiments, the plurality of discrete segments combine to configure the mid-section 54 to form an arc in lateral cross-section.", "In one embodiment, the mid-section 54 includes two discrete segments 55, 57 each forming a circular arc 56a, 56b.", "In the cross-section of FIG.", "6, the circular arc 56a has a curved extent between the first concave portion 58a and the second concave portion 58b.", "The circular arc 56a, 56b defines a curve in the plane of the paper.", "In one embodiment, the mid-section 54 includes a first arc-shaped segment 55 and a second arc-shaped segment 57, each of the first and the second arc-shaped segment 55, 57 extending between the first concave portion 58a and the second concave portion 58b.", "FIG.", "7 also shows an internal surface 51 of the first end section 50 (to be understood as bulging away from the observer and away from the plane of the paper).", "Also visible is the first apex 60 and the third apex 66.In embodiments, the concave portions 58a, 58b are adapted to form a finger gripping (or grasping) area of the pump bulb 42.In one embodiment, the concave portions 58a, 58b include a friction-increasing surface 72, such as, but not limited to a criss-cross surface pattern.", "FIG.", "7 also indicates an internal cavity 74 of the pump bulb 42.The internal cavity 74 is defined (surrounded) by the first and second end sections 50, 52, the first and second arc-shaped segments 55, 57 and the first and second concave portions 58a, 58b.", "In one embodiment, the pump bulb 26 includes a second concave portion 58b separate from the first concave portion 58a, wherein the mid-section 54 includes a band that is connected between the first concave portion 58a and the second concave portion 58b, and the band is narrower than a width of either of the first concave portion 58a and the second concave portion 58b.", "In embodiments, the concave portion 58 is bounded by a first curved line located in the first end section 50 and a second curved line located in the second end section 52, where the concave portion 58 and the first and second curved lines form a finger gripping area of the pump bulb 26.In one embodiment, the concave portion 58 has a boundary provided by a first curved line located in the first end section 50, a second curved line located in the second end section 52, and a pair of separated and parallel linear lines connected between the first curved line located in the first end section 50 and the second curved line located in the second end section 52.The concave portions 58a, 58b are each sized to receive a thumb or a finger of the user.", "The distinct difference of the surface configurations of the concave portion 58a, 58b and the sphere shape of the first and second end sections 50, 52 provides a pump bulb 42 wherein the grasping surfaces provided by the concave portions 58a, 58b are easily located by the user when he palpates the skin surface of the scrotum.", "Contrary to the case of some prostheses incorporating completely spherical pump bulbs, each of the concave portions 58a, 58b of the pump bulb 42 provides a rest for the user's thumb or other finger, which helps stabilize the pump 26 and further helps prevent the pump bulb 42 from unintentionally slipping out between the fingers of the user.", "Each of the first and second end sections 50, 52 is sized and configured to provide a wide obstacle that helps resist slipping through the user's fingers when the user squeezes the concave portions 58a, 58b of the pump bulb 42.In this manner, the pump bulb 42 has increased stability during compression compared to a completely spherical bulb and is therefore easier to use and squeeze for those who suffer from arthritis and limited dexterity.", "Moreover, the increased stability of the pump bulb 42 helps facilitate use of less force for squeezing and engaging the pump bulb 42 and this additionally means that the user's overall tactile perception of the pumping procedure is improved.", "Improved stability and a reduction of the required squeezing force of the pump bulb 42 is particularly, but not exclusively, useful when the user is familiarizing himself with the penile prosthesis in the period following healing and initially learning to apply pressure to the pump bulb 42.Even further, squeezing of oppositely facing concave portions 58a, 58b delivers an increased and more effective evacuation force as compared to completely spherical pump bulbs, and this makes squeezing of the pump bulb 42 more efficient in delivering liquid to the cylinders 24.In embodiments, the disclosure relates to an implantable penile prosthetic having a pump 26 including a pump bulb 42 having an internal cavity formed by an external surface including six interconnected segments.", "It is to be understood that the term “interconnected” is not intended to imply that each individual segment is necessarily connected to each and all of the other five segments.", "Instead, the six segments combine to define an internal cavity of the pump bulb such that the pump bulb is capable of holding liquid in the internal cavity during a pumping action.", "With reference to FIGS.", "4-7, in one embodiment the pump bulb 42 includes a top segment 50 formed as a portion of a top sphere surface, with a centre of the top sphere surface offset away from a centre 76 of the internal cavity 74.The pump bulb 42 includes a bottom segment 52 formed as a portion of a bottom sphere surface, with a centre of the bottom sphere surface offset away from the centre 76 of the internal cavity 74.The pump bulb 42 includes a first arc-shaped side segment 55 and a second arc-shaped side segment 57, each of the side segments 55, 57 connecting the top segment 50 with the bottom segment 52.The pump bulb 42 includes a third side segment 58a shaped as a portion of a sphere and a fourth side segment 58b shaped as a portion of a sphere.", "Each of the third and fourth side segments 58a, 58b connects the top segment 50 with the bottom segment 52 such that the external surface at the third side segment 58a and the fourth side segment 58b defines a concavity.", "FIG.", "8 is a side view of one embodiment of a pump 26 including a pump bulb 42.In one embodiment, the first arc-shaped side segment 55 is connected to the top segment 50 along a first curved line 78 and to the bottom segment 52 along a second curved line 80.The second arc-shaped side segment 57 is connected to the top segment 50 along a third curved line 82 and to the bottom segment 52 along a fourth curved line 84.In one embodiment, the first arc-shaped side segment 55 is connected to the third side segment 58a along a first straight line 86 and to the fourth side segment 58b along a second straight line 88 (see FIG.", "5).", "The second arc-shaped side segment 57 is connected to the third side segment 58a along a third straight line 90 and to the fourth side segment 58b along a fourth straight line 92 (see FIG.", "5).", "In one embodiment, the third side segment 58a is connected to the top segment 50 along a fifth curved line 94 and to the bottom segment 52 along a sixth curved line 96.The fourth side segment 58b is connected to the top segment 50 along a seventh curved line 97 and to the bottom segment 52 along an eighth curved line 98 (see FIG.", "5).", "In embodiments, the pump bulb 42 includes a transition area 99a-99h (FIG.", "8), 99i-99l (FIG.", "5) between any two adjacent segments 50, 52, 55, 57, 58a, 58b.", "In embodiments, this is advantageous in that it helps provide clearly defined and differentiated segments, in turn aiding in tactile recognition of the relevant gripping surfaces of the pump bulb 42 through the skin surface after implantation of the prosthesis.", "Moreover, the transition area 99a-99i helps provide a smooth, edge-or ridge-free surface of the pump bulb 42 for implantation.", "In one embodiment, the transition area 99a-99l is defined by a plane surface, i.e.", "the transition area extends along a straight line between two neighbouring segments.", "In one embodiment, the transition area 99a-99l is defined by a curved surface, i.e.", "the transition area extends along an arc between two neighbouring segments.", "FIG.", "9A is an enlarged, schematic view of one exemplary transition area, in this example transition area 99b between second side segment 57 and third side segment 58a.", "In FIG.", "9A the transition area 99b is defined by a plane surface, i.e.", "the transition area extends along a straight line between intersection point P at third side segment 58a and intersection point Q and the second side segment 57.FIG.", "9B is a schematic view of exemplary transition area 99b in one embodiment wherein the transition area is defined by a curved surface, i.e.", "the transition area extends along an arc between intersection point P at third side segment 58a and intersection point Q and the second side segment 57.In embodiments, the pump bulb 42 includes intersection points between three neighbouring segments wherein the transition area can curve in more than one dimension, or can include a polygonal surface area defined by more than one straight line.", "Such intersection point configurations are advantageous in that they provide a smooth transition between multiple segments having differentiated external surfaces.", "In one embodiment, the disclosure provides a pump bulb 42 having a finger pad 58a, 58b extending between four segments 50, 52, 55, 57.In one embodiment, the disclosure provides a pump bulb 42 including a finger gripping area in a concavity 58a, 58b defined by four segments 50, 52, 55, 57.FIG.", "10 is a perspective view of one embodiment of a pump 26 suitable for use with the penile prosthetic illustrated in FIG.", "1.The pump 26 includes a pump housing 40 and a pump bulb 42.The housing 40 holds one or more valves that control the flow of liquid out of the pump bulb 42.In one embodiment, the pump bulb 42 is attached to the pump housing 40 such that the external surface of each of the segments 58a, 58b face towards a plane that is parallel with another plane including an activation surface 168 on the pump housing 40 (as shown in FIG.", "10).", "In other embodiments, the pump bulb 42 is attached to the pump housing 40 such that the external surface of each of the segments 58a, 58b face towards a plane that is perpendicular to another plane including the activation surface 168 on the pump housing 40.In other words, the pump bulb 42 can be attached such that it is rotated 90 degrees in relation to the pump housing 40.Examples of this embodiment are shown in FIGS.", "6 and 8.The specific configuration of the attachment of the pump bulb 42 to the pump housing 40 can be adjusted according to parameters such as, but not exclusively, patient anatomy and the preferred surgical procedure for the implantation.", "The pump bulb 42 has an internal cavity 74 (schematically indicated with punctured line in FIG.", "10) that is defined (surrounded) by six interconnected segments 50, 52, 55, 57, 58a, 58b (segments 57 and 58b not visible in FIG.", "10).", "The six interconnected segments form an outer circumference of the pump bulb 42.The pump bulb 42 forms two finger pads located at the external surface of the side segments 58a, 58b.", "Each finger pad is spaced apart from the other finger pad by the segments 50, 52, 55 and 57.FIG.", "11 is a schematic, perspective view of the pump bulb 42 with a portion of the pump bulb cut away for better illustration of the internal cavity 74.The pump bulb 42 is cut off such that a portion of each of the third and fourth side segments 58a, 58b; the top segment 50, and the second arc-shaped segment 57 is removed.", "The bottom segment 52 is attached to the pump housing 40.In one embodiment, six interconnected side segments define the internal cavity 74.In one embodiment, a thickness T2 of the top segment 50 is greater than a thickness T1 of the third side segment 58a.", "In one embodiment, a thickness T3 of the second arc-shaped segment 57 is greater than the thickness T1.In one embodiment, the thickness T2 corresponds to the thickness T3.In one embodiment, a thickness of the bottom segment 52 (thickness not indicated) corresponds to the thickness T2 of the top segment 50.In one embodiment, a thickness of the first arc-shaped segment 55 (thickness not indicated) corresponds to the thickness T3 of the second arc-shaped segment 57.Differentiating the thicknesses of the individual segments can help adjust and control the resistance to compression of the pump bulb 42 and thus facilitate controlling the tactile response to the user's thumb and finger, in turn helping to guide the user to engage and compress the correct external surfaces of the pump bulb 42.FIG.", "12 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of one embodiment of a pump 26 suitable for use with the penile prosthesis system 20 shown in FIG.", "1 having a pump bulb 42.FIG.", "12 further includes illustration of the valve assemblies of the pump housing 40.In one embodiment, the pump housing 40 includes an inlet valve 140 that communicates between the reservoir 22 (FIG.", "1) and the pump bulb 42, an exhaust valve 142 that communicates between the pump bulb 42 and the cylinders 24, and a deflate valve 144 disposed in the pump housing 40 transversely between the inlet valve 140 and the exhaust valve 142.The inlet valve 140 includes a ball 150 that is biased into contact with a surface 152 by a spring 154.The ball 150 is configured to be displaced from the surface 152 (thus compressing the spring 154) when liquid flows from the reservoir through the inlet tube 28 and into the pump bulb 42.When the liquid flow from the reservoir is reduced, or more specifically, when the pressure driving the liquid flow from the reservoir is reduced, the spring 154 biases the ball 150 into contact with the surface 152 to seat the ball 150 on the surface 152 and block backflow of the liquid from the bulb 102 back to the reservoir.", "In this manner, the inlet valve 140 provides a one-way inlet valve.", "The exhaust valve 142 includes a ball 160 that is biased into contact with a surface 162 by a spring 164.The ball 160 is configured to be displaced from the surface 162 (thus compressing the spring 164) when liquid flows from the pump bulb 42 through the exhaust valve 142 toward the cylinders.", "For example, compressing the pump bulb 42 ejects liquid from the pump bulb 42, which unseats the ball 160 from the surface 162 to allow the liquid to flow past the ball 160 and the deflate valve 144 into the cylinders.", "Expansion (or recovery) of the pump bulb 42 draws liquid from the reservoir, past the ball 160, and into the bulb 102.The spring 164 biases the ball 160 into contact with the surface 162 to block backflow of liquid from the cylinders into the pump bulb 42.In this manner, the exhaust valve 142 provides a one-way exhaust valve.", "The deflate valve 144 is configured to allow liquid to flow from the reservoir 22 into the pump bulb 42 and out the pump bulb 42 into the cylinders 24 during inflation of the cylinders (FIG.", "1) as described above.", "The deflate valve 144 is also configured to allow for the rapid deflation of the cylinders 24.For example, in one embodiment pressing on the activation surface 168 moves the deflate valve 144 to the right in the orientation of FIG.", "10, which allows fluid to flow from the cylinders 24 axially along the deflate valve 144 directly back into the reservoir 22.Suitable materials for fabricating the pump 26 include silicone, polymers such as urethanes, a blend of polymers with urethane, copolymers of urethane, or the like.", "In one exemplary fabrication process, one of the suitable materials identified above is moulded into the shape of the pump bulb 42 illustrated in one of FIG.", "1-6, 8 or 10.FIG.", "13 is a schematic view of a hand grasping the pump 26.The pump 26 is sized to be implanted within the scrotum.", "However, the operation of the pump 26 and the improved grasping surfaces are best understood in isolation from the tissues of the body.", "The pump bulb 42 provides a concave portion 58a, 58b defined between first and second end sections 50, 52 and mid-section 54.The concave portion 58a is configured to receive the pad of the thumb, and another concave portion 58b (not shown) is sized to receive the pad of a finger, such as, but not limited to, an index finger.", "The first and second end section 50, 52 and the mid-section 54 direct the thumb and the finger to the appropriate concave portion 58, 58B and provide a structural exterior feature that is easy to locate.", "In one embodiment, the exterior surface of the pump 26 is smooth and the user is allowed to grasp the pump bulb 42 by virtue of the concave portions 58a, 58b in conjunction with the mid-section 54.In one embodiment, the exterior surface of the pump bulb 42 is fabricated to have increased wet sliding friction provided by a plurality of ribs, a saw tooth pattern, bumps, or other external surface feature added to the exterior surface.", "FIG.", "14 is a schematic view of the reservoir 22 implanted in an abdomen A and the pair of cylinders 24 implanted in a penis P with the pump 26 intra-operatively connected to the reservoir 22 by the tubing 28 and connected to the cylinders 24 by the tubing 30.The reservoir 22 is suitable for implantation into the abdomen behind the abdominal fascia, or in the space of Retzius, or another suitable location determined by the surgeon.", "The cylinders 24 are implanted into the penis from a proximal location at the crus to a distal location at the glans.", "The pump 26 is implanted in the scrotum S in a manner that allows the user to manually access both pump housing 40 and the pump bulb 42.The concave portions 58a, 58b (FIGS.", "5, 10) in cooperation with the first and second end sections 50, 52 and the mid-section 54 direct the user's finger and thumb to the external surface at the concave portions 58a, 58b and into a position that allows for maximum compression of the bulb 42.The concavity in combination with the mid-and end-sections provide a pump bulb 42 that is easier to manually locate and subsequently squeeze when inflating the cylinders 24 of the penile prosthetic.", "Although specific embodiments have been illustrated and described herein, it will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that a variety of alternate and/or equivalent implementations may be substituted for the specific embodiments shown and described without departing from the scope of the present invention.", "This application is intended to cover any adaptations or variations of medical devices as discussed herein.", "Therefore, it is intended that this invention be limited only by the claims and the equivalents thereof." ] ]
Patent_15873000
[ [ "DYNAMIC MASTER DATA MANAGEMENT", "A computer-implemented method includes, in a master data management system, receiving a persistent modification request affecting a master data attribute, determining that no preexisting master record exists in the master data management system for the master data attribute, and, responsive to determining that no preexisting master record exists for the master data attribute, adding a new master data attribute and associated new ownership information for the master data attribute to the master data management system, based on the persistent modification request.", "A corresponding computer program product and computer system are also disclosed." ], [ "1.A computer program product comprising one or more computer readable storage media and program instructions stored on said one or more computer readable storage media, said program instructions comprising instructions to, in a master data management system: receive a persistent modification request affecting a master data attribute; said persistent modification request being received through a physical application programming interface; and responsive to determining that a preexisting master record exists in said master data management system for said master data attribute that identifies virtual ownership of said master data attribute, deny said persistent modification request as to said master data attribute.", "2.The computer program product of claim 1, wherein: said persistent modification request is part of a transaction on said master data management system; and said program instructions further comprise instructions to, responsive to denying said persistent modification request, roll back said transaction.", "3.The computer program product of claim 1, wherein said program instructions further comprise instructions to: responsive to determining that no preexisting master record exists for said master data attribute, add a new master data attribute and associated new ownership information for said master data attribute to said master data management system, based on said persistent modification request.", "4.A computer program product comprising one or more computer readable storage media and program instructions stored on said one or more computer readable storage media, said program instructions comprising instructions to, in a master data management system: receive a persistent modification request affecting a master data attribute; said persistent modification request being received through a physical application programming interface; and responsive to determining that a preexisting master record exists in said master data management system for said master data attribute that identifies central ownership of said master data attribute, allow said persistent modification request.", "5.The computer program product of claim 4, wherein: said persistent modification request is part of a transaction on said master data management system; and said program instructions further comprise instructions to, responsive to allowing said persistent modification request, roll back said transaction.", "6.The computer program product of claim 4, wherein said program instructions further comprise instructions to: responsive to determining that no preexisting master record exists for said master data attribute, add a new master data attribute and associated new ownership information for said master data attribute to said master data management system, based on said persistent modification request.", "7.A computer program product comprising one or more computer readable storage media and program instructions stored on said one or more computer readable storage media, said program instructions comprising instructions to, in a master data management system: receive a persistent modification request affecting a master data attribute; determine that a preexisting master record exists in said master data management system for said master data attribute that identifies central ownership of said master data attribute; detect a conflict between said persistent modification request and said master data attribute based on said master data attribute having central ownership; and responsive to detecting said conflict, generate a stewardship event.", "8.The computer program product of claim 7, wherein said program instructions to generate a stewardship event comprises instructions to perform at least one stewardship action selected from the group consisting of: (a) sending a task notification to a stewardship entity; and (b) reconciling said conflict according to one or more business rules." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND <EOH>The present invention relates generally to the field of master data management, and more particularly to managing ownership of attributes in master data management systems.", "Master data management (MDM) systems provide a platform for ensuring consistency of data across multiple systems and databases deployed by an enterprise user.", "For example, a bank may have multiple source systems for interacting with customers in different ways, such as deposit accounts, investment accounts, loans, payment card management, etc., all of which may need to interact with the customer's contact information.", "The bank may deploy an MDM system to ensure that the customer contact information is managed consistently.", "Generally, MDM systems may be characterized as physical, virtual, or hybrid.", "In a virtual MDM implementation, data remains fragmented across various source systems in a distributed manner with a central indexing service.", "By contrast, in a physical MDM implementation, master data is stored and/or created in a centralized system, which is accessed by or pushed to the various source systems.", "Hybrid MDM implementations blend the virtual and physical styles of management by allowing source systems to manage of some attributes and the central management of other attributes.", "In hybrid MDM implementations, several capabilities are exposed that allow for seamless movement of master data entities between their virtual and physical representations.", "Enterprises continue to face challenges in managing the ownership of various attributes in MDM systems, particularly hybrid MDM systems." ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY <EOH>A computer-implemented method includes, in a master data management system, receiving a persistent modification request affecting a master data attribute, determining that no preexisting master record exists in the master data management system for the master data attribute, and, responsive to determining that no preexisting master record exists for the master data attribute, adding a new master data attribute and associated new ownership information for the master data attribute to the master data management system, based on the persistent modification request.", "A corresponding computer program product and computer system are also disclosed." ], [ "BACKGROUND The present invention relates generally to the field of master data management, and more particularly to managing ownership of attributes in master data management systems.", "Master data management (MDM) systems provide a platform for ensuring consistency of data across multiple systems and databases deployed by an enterprise user.", "For example, a bank may have multiple source systems for interacting with customers in different ways, such as deposit accounts, investment accounts, loans, payment card management, etc., all of which may need to interact with the customer's contact information.", "The bank may deploy an MDM system to ensure that the customer contact information is managed consistently.", "Generally, MDM systems may be characterized as physical, virtual, or hybrid.", "In a virtual MDM implementation, data remains fragmented across various source systems in a distributed manner with a central indexing service.", "By contrast, in a physical MDM implementation, master data is stored and/or created in a centralized system, which is accessed by or pushed to the various source systems.", "Hybrid MDM implementations blend the virtual and physical styles of management by allowing source systems to manage of some attributes and the central management of other attributes.", "In hybrid MDM implementations, several capabilities are exposed that allow for seamless movement of master data entities between their virtual and physical representations.", "Enterprises continue to face challenges in managing the ownership of various attributes in MDM systems, particularly hybrid MDM systems.", "SUMMARY A computer-implemented method includes, in a master data management system, receiving a persistent modification request affecting a master data attribute, determining that no preexisting master record exists in the master data management system for the master data attribute, and, responsive to determining that no preexisting master record exists for the master data attribute, adding a new master data attribute and associated new ownership information for the master data attribute to the master data management system, based on the persistent modification request.", "A corresponding computer program product and computer system are also disclosed.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG.", "1 is block diagram depicting an exemplary operational environment incorporating various logical components for at least one embodiment of the present invention.", "FIG.", "2 is a flowchart diagram depicting various operational steps for an MDM request program, in accordance with at least one embodiment of the present invention.", "FIG.", "3 is a block diagram of various components of a computer system suitable for performing various methods, in accordance with at least one embodiment of the present invention.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION Referring now to the invention in more detail, FIG.", "1 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary operational environment incorporating various logical components for at least one embodiment of the present invention.", "Broadly, an enterprise deploys a hybrid master data management (MDM) system 100 for managing data consistency across multiple source systems 114.Source systems may include any data management system deployed by the enterprise, for example, a bank deploying MDM may operate different source systems for checking and savings accounts, investment accounts, loan accounts, payment cards, etc.", "The hybrid MDM system 100 may be understood as deployed on any standalone or distributed computer or computing environment, such as the exemplary computer of FIG.", "3.The hybrid MDM system 100 maintains a profile 102, which may include various master data attributes 107 including supplemental attributes 104 and non-supplemental attributes 106, and corresponding ownership information 108.The profile 102 may be understood to refer to a collection of attributes, and not any specific system, hardware unit, or user.", "Ownership of any master data attribute 107, in the context of the present invention, means the right to modify the value of the attribute, and the ownership information 108 stores whether each master data attribute 107 is centrally or virtually (i.e.", "source system) owned.", "In various embodiments, the non-supplemental attributes 106 may be understood as owned by various source systems 114, while supplemental attributes 104 may be understood as centrally owned and thus “supplemental” to the data maintained by the source systems 114.In various embodiments of hybrid MDM, hybrid MDM is deployed by an enterprise as part of a transition strategy from virtual MDM to physical MDM wherein disparate preexisting source systems 114 are harmonized via MDM, but not all are immediately upgraded to take advantage of profile 102 and its central control of data.", "To support this, the hybrid MDM system 100 is accessible at least through a physical application programming interface (API) 110 and a virtual application programming interface (API) 120.Embodiments of the present invention may exist as an MDM request program 101, which may receive a persistent modification request 112 via the physical API 110.Various source systems 114 may access the master data attributes 107 via the physical API 110 by sending a persistent modification request 112 to change various affected attributes 116 or directly via the virtual API 120, with the understanding that, as the enterprise continues to develop, update, or replace its source systems 114 over time, the virtual API 120 will be disfavored and the physical API 110 preferred, until all systems use the physical API 110, and the system may be described as physical MDM.", "The inventors have observed and/or recognized that existing implementations of hybrid MDM require the ownership information 108 to be defined in.", "The definitions typically include all of the master data attributes 107.For the externally managed non-supplemental attributes 106, this includes defining survivorship rules for when various source systems 114 present updates through the virtual API 120.For the centrally managed supplemental attributes 104, the definition includes which supplemental attributes 104 will exist and which source systems 114 will be permitted to change them.", "The inventors have observed and/or recognized that allowing the supplemental attributes 104 to be dynamically created and owned would reduce the design-time burden on the enterprise MDM user.", "While various embodiments of the present invention may address this and other problems and/or offer this or other advantages, it will be understood that the presence of such benefits are not essential to the practice of the invention, and accordingly, the invention is not to be understood as limited with respect to any problem recognized or advantaged discovered by the inventors.", "Referring now to FIG.", "2, FIG.", "2 is a flowchart diagram depicting various operational steps for the MDM request program 101, in accordance with various embodiments of the present invention.", "At step 200, the MDM request program identifies a profile 102.In accordance with at least one MDM model (specifically, a hybrid MDM model, though physical and virtual MDM models may be adapted for the present invention as well), the profile 102 may be administered, updated, and/or accessed by the MDM request program 101 via the physical API 110.At step 202, the MDM request program 101 receives the persistent modification request 112 from one of the source systems 114.The persistent modification request 112 is directed to the profile 102, which includes a plurality of master data attributes 107.The persistent modification request 112 may include any type of insert, update, delete, or other database modification statement or action that, if permitted, would persistently modify the contents of the profile 102.The persistent modification request 112 may affect one or more master data attributes 107; those that are affected are termed “one or more affected attributes”.", "At decision block 204, the MDM request program 101 iterates over the affected attributes affected by the persistent modification request 112.For each affected attribute of the one or more affected attributes, at decision block 206, the MDM request program 101 determines whether there is a preexisting master record for the affected attribute.", "A preexisting master record is a previously set value for the variable designated by affected attribute in the profile 102.Specifically, the MDM request program 101 either identifies a preexisting master record associated with preexisting ownership information for the affected attribute or determines that no preexisting master record exists.", "Referring still to FIG.", "2, if there is no preexisting master record for the affected attribute (decision block 206, NO branch), then, responsive to determining that no preexisting master record exists, the MDM request program 101 at step 208 adds a new master data attribute 107 and new ownership information to the profile 102, based on the persistent modification request 112.Specifically, the persistent modification request 112 includes the values of the affected attributes 116 and the associated source ownership data from which the new master data attribute is created.", "In the hybrid MDM system 100, the ownership data may specify, for each master data attribute 107, ownership selected from the group consisting of (a) virtual ownership; and (b) central ownership.", "When adding a new master data attribute, central ownership may be intended in the interest of migrating the MDM system away from the virtual API 120 and toward the physical API 110.Referring still to FIG.", "2, if there is a preexisting master record for the affected attribute (decision block 206, YES branch), then, at decision block 212, responsive to identifying the preexisting master record for the affected attribute, the MDM request program 101 selectively permits or denies the persistent modification request as to the affected attribute.", "Permitting or denying the persistent modification request 112 may be based on various rules, including the particular source system 114, the ownership information 108, and other bases.", "In some embodiments, selectively permitting or denying the persistent modification request 112 as to the affected attribute includes denying the persistent modification request 112 as to the affected attribute, if the preexisting ownership information indicates virtual ownership of the affected attribute and the persistent modification request 112 is received via the physical application programming interface 110.In such embodiments, changes to supplemental attributes 104 may be generally allowed, or selectively allowed subject to enterprise-specific business rules.", "At step 214, responsive to permitting the persistent modification request 112 as to the affected attribute, the MDM request program 101 updates the preexisting master record for the affected attribute, based on the persistent modification request 112.In some embodiments, the MDM request program 101 may detect a conflict between the persistent modification request 112 and one or more master records for the affected attributes and resolve the conflict by a stewardship event.", "A conflict condition may arise when a source system 114 attempts to create a new supplemental attribute 104 where a non-supplemental attribute 106 already exists, or where an update to an existing supplemental attribute 104 is suspect due to the application of one or more-entity specific business rules to the persistent modification request 112.More formally, in such embodiments, the MDM request program 101 may, for each affected attribute of the one or more affected attributes 116, detect a conflict between the persistent modification request 112 as to the affected attribute and any of the plurality of master data attributes 107 that has central ownership (by contrast to the herein described steps, a conflict with a master data attribute 107 that has virtual ownership may be simply denied).", "In such embodiments, selectively permitting or denying the persistent modification request 112 as to the affected attribute includes generating a stewardship event.", "Generating a stewardship event may include at least one stewardship action selected from the group consisting of (a) sending a task notification to a stewardship entity; and (b) reconciling the conflict according to one or more business rules.", "A stewardship entity may be a computer service, business unit, or one or more individual users, or some combination thereof that is authorized to modify the content of supplemental attributes 104 within the profile 102.The stewardship entity may be tasked with responding, investigating, and/or resolving the conflict.", "Alternatively, some embodiments may incorporate automatic conflict resolution according to business rules.", "For example, a bank entity user may treat a changed customer address as a conflict, if it comes from a third party source such as a credit report, but allow it if it comes from a privileged source, such as the customer updating his or her address via a web interface.", "In some embodiments, the MDM system 100 may implement a transaction system supports multi-step operations that can be rolled back in case of a failure at any step, or continued until all steps complete successfully, and then committed.", "The persistent modification request 112 may be part of a transaction on the MDM system 100 as one step of several steps that may comprise the transaction.", "Steps of the transaction may include persistent modification requests such as the persistent modification request 112, but may also include non-modifying data access and/or query operations directed to the profile 102 or operations that are unrelated to the profile 102.In such embodiments, responsive to allowing the persistent modification request 112 for all of the one or more affected attributes, the MDM request program 101 may continue with the transaction by proceeding to the next step or committing the transaction, if all steps are completed.", "Responsive to denying the persistent modification request 112 for any of the one or more affected attributes, the MDM request program 101 may roll back and/or abort the transaction.", "FIG.", "3 is a block diagram depicting components of a computer 300 suitable for executing the MDM request program 101.FIG.", "3 displays the computer 300, the one or more processor(s) 304 (including one or more computer processors), the communications fabric 302, the memory 306, the RAM, the cache 316, the persistent storage 308, the communications unit 310, the I/O interfaces 312, the display 320, and the external devices 318.It should be appreciated that FIG.", "3 provides only an illustration of one embodiment and does not imply any limitations with regard to the environments in which different embodiments may be implemented.", "Many modifications to the depicted environment may be made.", "As depicted, the computer 300 operates over a communications fabric 302, which provides communications between the cache 316, the computer processor(s) 304, the memory 306, the persistent storage 308, the communications unit 310, and the input/output (I/O) interface(s) 312.The communications fabric 302 may be implemented with any architecture suitable for passing data and/or control information between the processors 304 (e.g., microprocessors, communications processors, and network processors, etc.", "), the memory 306, the external devices 318, and any other hardware components within a system.", "For example, the communications fabric 302 may be implemented with one or more buses or a crossbar switch.", "The memory 306 and persistent storage 308 are computer readable storage media.", "In the depicted embodiment, the memory 306 includes a random access memory (RAM).", "In general, the memory 306 may include any suitable volatile or non-volatile implementations of one or more computer readable storage media.", "The cache 316 is a fast memory that enhances the performance of computer processor(s) 304 by holding recently accessed data, and data near accessed data, from memory 306.Program instructions for the MDM request program 101 may be stored in the persistent storage 308 or in memory 306, or more generally, any computer readable storage media, for execution by one or more of the respective computer processors 304 via the cache 316.The persistent storage 308 may include a magnetic hard disk drive.", "Alternatively, or in addition to a magnetic hard disk drive, the persistent storage 308 may include, a solid state hard disk drive, a semiconductor storage device, read-only memory (ROM), electronically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, or any other computer readable storage media that is capable of storing program instructions or digital information.", "The media used by the persistent storage 308 may also be removable.", "For example, a removable hard drive may be used for persistent storage 308.Other examples include optical and magnetic disks, thumb drives, and smart cards that are inserted into a drive for transfer onto another computer readable storage medium that is also part of the persistent storage 308.The communications unit 310, in these examples, provides for communications with other data processing systems or devices.", "In these examples, the communications unit 310 may include one or more network interface cards.", "The communications unit 310 may provide communications through the use of either or both physical and wireless communications links.", "MDM request program may be downloaded to the persistent storage 308 through the communications unit 310.In the context of some embodiments of the present invention, the source of the various input data may be physically remote to the computer 300 such that the input data may be received and the output similarly transmitted via the communications unit 310.The I/O interface(s) 312 allows for input and output of data with other devices that may operate in conjunction with the computer 300.For example, the I/O interface 312 may provide a connection to the external devices 318, which may include a keyboard, keypad, a touch screen, and/or some other suitable input devices.", "External devices 318 may also include portable computer readable storage media, for example, thumb drives, portable optical or magnetic disks, and memory cards.", "Software and data used to practice embodiments of the present invention may be stored on such portable computer readable storage media and may be loaded onto the persistent storage 308 via the I/O interface(s) 312.The I/O interface(s) 312 may similarly connect to a display 320.The display 320 provides a mechanism to display data to a user and may be, for example, a computer monitor.", "The programs described herein are identified based upon the application for which they are implemented in a specific embodiment of the invention.", "However, it should be appreciated that any particular program nomenclature herein is used merely for convenience, and thus the invention should not be limited to use solely in any specific application identified and/or implied by such nomenclature.", "The present invention may be a system, a method, and/or a computer program product at any possible technical detail level of integration.", "The computer program product may include a computer readable storage medium (or media) having computer readable program instructions thereon for causing a processor to carry out aspects of the present invention.", "The computer readable storage medium can be a tangible device that can retain and store instructions for use by an instruction execution device.", "The computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but is not limited to, an electronic storage device, a magnetic storage device, an optical storage device, an electromagnetic storage device, a semiconductor storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing.", "A non-exhaustive list of more specific examples of the computer readable storage medium includes the following: a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), a static random access memory (SRAM), a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disk (DVD), a memory stick, a floppy disk, a mechanically encoded device such as punch-cards or raised structures in a groove having instructions recorded thereon, and any suitable combination of the foregoing.", "A computer readable storage medium, as used herein, is not to be construed as being transitory signals per se, such as radio waves or other freely propagating electromagnetic waves, electromagnetic waves propagating through a waveguide or other transmission media (e.g., light pulses passing through a fiber-optic cable), or electrical signals transmitted through a wire.", "Computer readable program instructions described herein can be downloaded to respective computing/processing devices from a computer readable storage medium or to an external computer or external storage device via a network, for example, the Internet, a local area network, a wide area network and/or a wireless network.", "The network may comprise copper transmission cables, optical transmission fibers, wireless transmission, routers, firewalls, switches, gateway computers and/or edge servers.", "A network adapter card or network interface in each computing/processing device receives computer readable program instructions from the network and forwards the computer readable program instructions for storage in a computer readable storage medium within the respective computing/processing device.", "Computer readable program instructions for carrying out operations of the present invention may be assembler instructions, instruction-set-architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions, machine dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions, state-setting data, configuration data for integrated circuitry, or either source code or object code written in any combination of one or more programming languages, including an object oriented programming language such as Smalltalk, C++, or the like, and procedural programming languages, such as the “C” programming language or similar programming languages.", "The computer readable program instructions may execute entirely on the user's computer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remote computer or entirely on the remote computer or server.", "In the latter scenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user's computer through any type of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer (for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider).", "In some embodiments, electronic circuitry including, for example, programmable logic circuitry, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA), or programmable logic arrays (PLA) may execute the computer readable program instructions by utilizing state information of the computer readable program instructions to personalize the electronic circuitry, in order to perform aspects of the present invention.", "Aspects of the present invention are described herein with reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of the invention.", "It will be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer readable program instructions.", "These computer readable program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.", "These computer readable program instructions may also be stored in a computer readable storage medium that can direct a computer, a programmable data processing apparatus, and/or other devices to function in a particular manner, such that the computer readable storage medium having instructions stored therein comprises an article of manufacture including instructions which implement aspects of the function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.", "The computer readable program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other device to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer, other programmable apparatus or other device to produce a computer implemented process, such that the instructions which execute on the computer, other programmable apparatus, or other device implement the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.", "The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate the architecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementations of systems, methods, and computer program products according to various embodiments of the present invention.", "In this regard, each block in the flowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portion of instructions, which comprises one or more executable instructions for implementing the specified logical function(s).", "In some alternative implementations, the functions noted in the blocks may occur out of the order noted in the Figures.", "For example, two blocks shown in succession may, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality involved.", "It will also be noted that each block of the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implemented by special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specified functions or acts or carry out combinations of special purpose hardware and computer instructions." ] ]
Patent_15873001
[ [ "Secure Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) Architecture", "Method and systems using stateful encryption for non-bypassable FPGA configuration including receiving, at an FPGA, FPGA-configuration data comprising a cryptographic state to initialize a cryptographic state of the FPGA, and decrypting, at the FPGA, the FPGA-configuration data, wherein decrypting the FPGA-configuration data yields at least a second cryptographic state and decrypted FPGA-configuration data.", "Embodiments can include receiving, at the FPGA, a challenge message, processing, at the FPGA, the challenge message to yield at least a third cryptographic state and a response, and transmitting the response from the FPGA." ], [ "1.A method of using a stateful encryption algorithm for non-bypassable FPGA configuration, the method comprising: receiving, at an FPGA, FPGA-configuration data comprising a cryptographic state to initialize a cryptographic state of the FPGA; decrypting, at the FPGA, the FPGA-configuration data, wherein decrypting the FPGA-configuration data yields at least a second cryptographic state and decrypted FPGA-configuration data; receiving, at the FPGA, a challenge message; processing, at the FPGA, the challenge message to yield at least a third cryptographic state and a response; and transmitting the response from the FPGA.", "2.The method of claim 1 further comprising: obtaining an initialization vector from the FPGA-configuration data; and encrypting the challenge message using an initialization vector to generate a response message.", "3.The method of claim 2 further comprising: receiving the response at an authentication device; and comparing, at the authentication device, the response to an expected response.", "4.A field-programmable gate array (FPGA) comprising: one or more interfaces arranged to receive FPGA-configuration data and challenge messages; a decryption unit arranged to maintain a cryptographic state, wherein the cryptographic state is an input to a stateful decryption algorithm; the decryption unit further arranged to use the cryptographic state to process the challenge messages to yield response messages, and to use the cryptographic state to decrypt the FPGA-configuration data; and a programmable logic unit arranged to receive the decrypted FPGA-configuration data, wherein the one or more interfaces are configured to transmit the response messages.", "5.The FPGA of claim 4 wherein the FPGA is configured to: obtain an initialization vector from the FPGA-configuration data; and encrypt challenge messages using an initialization vector to generate the response messages.", "6.A system comprising: a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) configured to receive FPGA-configuration data, the FPGA comprising a decryption unit arranged to decrypt FPGA-configuration data to configure a programmable logic unit of the FPGA; and an authentication device configured to transmit challenge messages to the FPGA and to receive response messages to the challenge messages, wherein the authentication device is further configured to authenticate the response messages by comparing the response messages to expected response messages, wherein the FPGA is configured to process the challenge messages to yield the response messages, and to transmit the response messages to the authentication device.", "7.The system of claim 6 further comprising a memory arranged to store the FPGA-configuration data." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND <EOH>Conventionally, techniques for configuring or programming an FPGA include encrypting configuration data, and storing the encrypted data in a memory unit within the FPGA or in an external storage device operatively connected with the FPGA.", "However, typically, the key to encrypt arid decrypt (at the time of FPGA configuration) configuration data is stored internally in a memory unit in the FPGA.", "Alternatively, the key may be stored externally, and may be passed to the FPGA for configuration through a standard interface, such as the Joint Test Action Group (JTAG) interface.", "However, both these key management implementations do not provide a sufficiently robust method for confidentiality or authentication of the FPGA key or FPGA-configuration data.", "Such key management implementations may be susceptible to an attack by a malicious entity, which may result in an unauthorized access to the FPGA key.", "The FPGA key may be captured from the unsecured storage unit in the FPGA, or may be captured during an unsecure transfer in the JTAG interface.", "The captured key may then be used by an adversary to decrypt the FPGA-configuration data and make unauthorized copies.", "Alternatively, or in addition, the configuration data may be reverse-engineered to understand the functionality of the FPGA, and may be further modified to make the FPGA perform unintended functions." ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY <EOH>In one or more embodiments, this disclosure provides embodiments of a secure FPGA device, architecture, and method in which the confidentiality of the decryption key for the FPGA load is established and maintained by not storing the key locally at the FPGA.", "In another aspect of various embodiments, a flexible method is disclosed that securely transfers the FPGA load-decryption key from its external storage location or device, e.g., a secure processor into the FPGA in real-time.", "Further, a mechanism is disclosed that not only establishes initial authenticity, but maintains recurring authenticity while the FPGA is in operation without degrading FPGA performance.", "In one or more embodiments of this disclosure, the FPGA architecture includes a non bypassable loader.", "and a key management protocol.", "The non-bypassable loader may allow for an initial authentication and decryption of PGA-configuration data as well as recurring authentication of the FPGA-configuration data.", "The key management protocol may allow an FPGA load-decryption key to be transmitted to the FPGA securely from a storage or a device located external to the FPGA.", "In one embodiment, a system for configuring an FPGA includes a key interface, a Load interface, a key-security unit and a configuration-data security unit.", "In some embodiments, one or more of the key interface, the load interface, the key-security unit, the configuration-data security unit and the state-encryption unit are internal to or part of the FPGA.", "The key interface may receive an encrypted FPGA load-decryption key at an FPGA from a remote key-storage device.", "The remote key-storage device may be external to and operatively connected with the FPGA.", "The key-security decryption unit may decrypt the encrypted FPGA load-decryption key using an ephemeral session key to provide a decrypted FPGA load-decryption key.", "In one embodiment, a session key is calculated either at the FPGA and the remote key-storage device, using a key-agreement protocol, e.g, a Menezes-Qu-Vanstone (MQV) protocol, an Elliptic curve MQV (EC-MQV) protocol, or a Diffie-Hellman protocol.", "In some embodiments, the session key is a function of the ephemeral session key.", "and a common key stored in both the FPGA and the remote key-storage device.", "In some embodiments, the remote key-storage device includes a secure processor, which may be configured to use the key-agreement protocol in conjunction with the FPGA, and to facilitate the generation of the session key as an output of the remote key-storage device.", "After, or in parallel with, the decryption of the FPGA load-decryption key, encrypted FPGA configuration data for configuring the FPGA may be received at the FPGA at the load interface.", "The FPGA-configuration data may be received at the load interface from a memory device, e.g., a non-volatile memory device including one or more of a programmable read-only memory (PROM) device, an erasable PROM (EPROM) device, and an electrically erasable PROM (EEPROM) device.", "In some embodiments, the FPGA-configuration data is encrypted.", "The encryption of the FPGA-configuration data may be executed using an advanced encryption standard counter with cipher-block chaining message authentication code (AES-CCM) encryption mode.", "In some embodiments, the configuration-data security unit decrypts and performs an initial authentication of the FPGA-configuration data using the FPGA load-decryption key.", "The decryption and initial authentication of the FPGA-configuration data, e.g., using configuration data security unit may be non-bypassable to configure the FPGA.", "In one embodiment, the second decryption unit may generate a cryptographic state associated with the FPGA configuration data, which may be used for initial and/or recurring authentication of FPGA-configuration data.", "In one embodiment, the cryptographic state is a function of or determined by at least a part of the FPGA configuration data.", "In some embodiments, for recurring authentication of the FPGA load, the system further includes an authentication input interface, a state-encryption unit, and an authentication output interface.", "The authentication input interface may be used for receiving a challenge message at the FPGA from an authentication device.", "The authentication device may be external to and operatively connected with the FPGA.", "In some embodiments, the authentication device generates the challenge message, e.g., a random number.", "The authentication device.", "May further encrypt and sign the challenge message before sending it out to the authentication input interface.", "In some embodiments, if the challenge message is encrypted and signed by the authentication device, the state-encryption unit authenticates and decrypts the challenge message before further processing.", "The state-encryption unit may then encrypt the challenge message using the cryptographic state and the session key to generate a response message.", "In addition to the FPGA and the remote key-storage device, the session key may also be stored in the authentication device.", "The state-encryption unit may encrypt the challenge message to generate the response message using an advanced encryption standard cipher-block chaining (AES-CBC) encryption mode.", "In the AES-CBC encryption mode, the cryptographic state may be used as an initialization vector (IV) for the first cycle of the recurring authentication.", "For subsequent authentication attempts, the response message from the previous authentication cycle may be used in the initialization vector for AES-CBC encryption.", "The response message may be sent to the authentication device through the authentication output interface.", "In some embodiments, at the authentication device, the response message is decrypted to generate a decrypted challenge message.", "If the decrypted challenge message is same as the (original) challenge message, the FPGA-configuration data is indicated as authentic.", "In another embodiment, a method of configuring a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) includes receiving, at the FPGA, an encrypted FPGA load-decryption key from a remote key-storage device, which may be external to and operatively connected with the FPGA.", "The encrypted FPGA load-decryption key may be decrypted, in a key-security unit, using an ephemeral session key to generate a decrypted FPGA load-decryption key.", "In one embodiment, the session key is calculated either at the FPGA, the remote key-storage device, or both, using a key-agreement protocol, e.g., a Menezes-Qu-Vanstone (MQV) protocol, an Elliptic-curve MQV (EC-MQV) protocol, or a Diffie-Hellman protocol.", "Encrypted FPGA-configuration data may be received at the FPGA, and decrypted and authenticated, in a configuration-data security unit, using the decrypted FPGA load-decryption key.", "In some embodiments, the FPGA-configuration data is encrypted, and the encryption may be executed using an advanced encryption standard counter with cipher-block chaining message authentication code (AES-CCM) encryption mode.", "In some embodiments, the step of decryption and initial authentication at the configuration-data security unit is non-bypassable for successful configuration of the FPGA.", "The decryption of the FPGA-configuration data may indicate a cryptographic state associated with the FPGA configuration data.", "The cryptographic state may be a function of or determined by at least a part of the FPGA configuration data.", "In one embodiment, the method may further perform recurring authentication of the FPGA-configuration data.", "Such recurring authentication may include receiving a (encrypted or unencrypted) challenge message at the FPGA from an authentication device, which may be external to and operatively connected with the FPGA.", "The received challenge message may be encrypted in a state-security unit using the cryptographic state and the session key to generate a response message.", "In addition to the FPGA and the remote key-storage device, the session key may also be stored in the authentication device.", "The challenge message may be encrypted to generate the response message using an advanced encryption standard cipher-block chaining (AES-CBC) encryption mode.", "In the AESCBC encryption mode, the cryptographic state may be used as an initialization vector (IV) for the first cycle of the recurring authentication for subsequent authentication attempts, the response message from the previous authentication cycle may be used in the initialization vector for AES-CBC encryption.", "The response message may then be sent to the authentication device, where the response message may be decrypted to generate a decrypted challenge message.", "If the decrypted challenge message is same as the (original) challenge message, the FPGA configuration data is indicated as authentic.", "In another embodiment, a system for configuring a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) includes a load interface that receives encrypted FPGA-configuration data at the FPGA.", "The FPGA-configuration data may be decrypted and authenticated in a configuration-data security unit using a FPGA load-decryption key.", "The configuration-data security unit may generate a cryptographic state associated with the FPGA-configuration data.", "The system may further include an authentication input interface, a state-encryption unit, an authentication output interface, and a programmable logic.", ": circuit.", "The authentication input interface may receive a challenge message at the FPGA from an authentication device which may be external to and operatively connected with the FPGA).", "The state-encryption unit may encrypt the challenge message using the cryptographic state to generate a response message, and the authentication output interface may then send the response message to the authentication device.", "The authentication device may decrypt the response message to generate a decrypted challenge message.", "If the decrypted challenge message is same as the (original) challenge message, the FPGA-configuration data is indicated as authentic.", "If FPGA-configuration data is authenticated by the authentication device, the programmable logic circuit may be programmed using the FPGA-configuration data.", "In another embodiment, an article of manufacture comprising a tangible computer readable medium that contains computer instructions therein, which when executed by a processor carries out the functions of receiving, at an FPGA, an encrypted FPGA loaded encryption key from a remote key-storage device, which may be external to and operatively connected with the FPGA.", "The encrypted FPGA load-decryption key may be decrypted in a key-security unit to generate a decrypted FPGA load-decryption key.", "Encrypted FPGA configuration data may be received at the FPGA and decrypted (and authenticated) in a configuration-data security unit using the decrypted FPGA load-decryption key.", "The decryption of the FPGA configuration data may indicate a cryptographic state associated with the FPGA configuration data.", "The cryptographic state may be a function of or determined by at least a part of the FPGA configuration data.", "In one embodiment, the method may further include receiving a challenge message at the FPGA from an authentication device, which may be external to and operatively connected with the FPGA.", "The challenge message may be encrypted in a state-security unit using the cryptographic state to generate a response message.", "The response message may then be sent to the authentication device, where the response message may be decrypted to generate a decrypted challenge message.", "If the decrypted challenge message is same as the (original) challenge message, the FPGA-configuration data is indicated as authentic." ], [ "CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation of application of U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "13/967,400, filed Aug. 15, 2013, entitled “SECURE FIELD-PROGRAMMABLE GATE ARRAY (FPGA) ARCHITECTURE,” which is a continuation of application of U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "12/861,586, filed Aug. 23, 2010, entitled “SECURE FIELD-PROGRAMMABLE GATE ARRAY (FPGA) ARCHITECTURE.” The applications cited in this paragraph are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.", "FIELD OF THE INVENTION This application is directed to field-programmable gate array (FPGA) devices and, in particular, to secure FPGA devices in which the confidentiality and authenticity of the FPGA load is desired.", "BACKGROUND Conventionally, techniques for configuring or programming an FPGA include encrypting configuration data, and storing the encrypted data in a memory unit within the FPGA or in an external storage device operatively connected with the FPGA.", "However, typically, the key to encrypt arid decrypt (at the time of FPGA configuration) configuration data is stored internally in a memory unit in the FPGA.", "Alternatively, the key may be stored externally, and may be passed to the FPGA for configuration through a standard interface, such as the Joint Test Action Group (JTAG) interface.", "However, both these key management implementations do not provide a sufficiently robust method for confidentiality or authentication of the FPGA key or FPGA-configuration data.", "Such key management implementations may be susceptible to an attack by a malicious entity, which may result in an unauthorized access to the FPGA key.", "The FPGA key may be captured from the unsecured storage unit in the FPGA, or may be captured during an unsecure transfer in the JTAG interface.", "The captured key may then be used by an adversary to decrypt the FPGA-configuration data and make unauthorized copies.", "Alternatively, or in addition, the configuration data may be reverse-engineered to understand the functionality of the FPGA, and may be further modified to make the FPGA perform unintended functions.", "SUMMARY In one or more embodiments, this disclosure provides embodiments of a secure FPGA device, architecture, and method in which the confidentiality of the decryption key for the FPGA load is established and maintained by not storing the key locally at the FPGA.", "In another aspect of various embodiments, a flexible method is disclosed that securely transfers the FPGA load-decryption key from its external storage location or device, e.g., a secure processor into the FPGA in real-time.", "Further, a mechanism is disclosed that not only establishes initial authenticity, but maintains recurring authenticity while the FPGA is in operation without degrading FPGA performance.", "In one or more embodiments of this disclosure, the FPGA architecture includes a non bypassable loader.", "and a key management protocol.", "The non-bypassable loader may allow for an initial authentication and decryption of PGA-configuration data as well as recurring authentication of the FPGA-configuration data.", "The key management protocol may allow an FPGA load-decryption key to be transmitted to the FPGA securely from a storage or a device located external to the FPGA.", "In one embodiment, a system for configuring an FPGA includes a key interface, a Load interface, a key-security unit and a configuration-data security unit.", "In some embodiments, one or more of the key interface, the load interface, the key-security unit, the configuration-data security unit and the state-encryption unit are internal to or part of the FPGA.", "The key interface may receive an encrypted FPGA load-decryption key at an FPGA from a remote key-storage device.", "The remote key-storage device may be external to and operatively connected with the FPGA.", "The key-security decryption unit may decrypt the encrypted FPGA load-decryption key using an ephemeral session key to provide a decrypted FPGA load-decryption key.", "In one embodiment, a session key is calculated either at the FPGA and the remote key-storage device, using a key-agreement protocol, e.g, a Menezes-Qu-Vanstone (MQV) protocol, an Elliptic curve MQV (EC-MQV) protocol, or a Diffie-Hellman protocol.", "In some embodiments, the session key is a function of the ephemeral session key.", "and a common key stored in both the FPGA and the remote key-storage device.", "In some embodiments, the remote key-storage device includes a secure processor, which may be configured to use the key-agreement protocol in conjunction with the FPGA, and to facilitate the generation of the session key as an output of the remote key-storage device.", "After, or in parallel with, the decryption of the FPGA load-decryption key, encrypted FPGA configuration data for configuring the FPGA may be received at the FPGA at the load interface.", "The FPGA-configuration data may be received at the load interface from a memory device, e.g., a non-volatile memory device including one or more of a programmable read-only memory (PROM) device, an erasable PROM (EPROM) device, and an electrically erasable PROM (EEPROM) device.", "In some embodiments, the FPGA-configuration data is encrypted.", "The encryption of the FPGA-configuration data may be executed using an advanced encryption standard counter with cipher-block chaining message authentication code (AES-CCM) encryption mode.", "In some embodiments, the configuration-data security unit decrypts and performs an initial authentication of the FPGA-configuration data using the FPGA load-decryption key.", "The decryption and initial authentication of the FPGA-configuration data, e.g., using configuration data security unit may be non-bypassable to configure the FPGA.", "In one embodiment, the second decryption unit may generate a cryptographic state associated with the FPGA configuration data, which may be used for initial and/or recurring authentication of FPGA-configuration data.", "In one embodiment, the cryptographic state is a function of or determined by at least a part of the FPGA configuration data.", "In some embodiments, for recurring authentication of the FPGA load, the system further includes an authentication input interface, a state-encryption unit, and an authentication output interface.", "The authentication input interface may be used for receiving a challenge message at the FPGA from an authentication device.", "The authentication device may be external to and operatively connected with the FPGA.", "In some embodiments, the authentication device generates the challenge message, e.g., a random number.", "The authentication device.", "May further encrypt and sign the challenge message before sending it out to the authentication input interface.", "In some embodiments, if the challenge message is encrypted and signed by the authentication device, the state-encryption unit authenticates and decrypts the challenge message before further processing.", "The state-encryption unit may then encrypt the challenge message using the cryptographic state and the session key to generate a response message.", "In addition to the FPGA and the remote key-storage device, the session key may also be stored in the authentication device.", "The state-encryption unit may encrypt the challenge message to generate the response message using an advanced encryption standard cipher-block chaining (AES-CBC) encryption mode.", "In the AES-CBC encryption mode, the cryptographic state may be used as an initialization vector (IV) for the first cycle of the recurring authentication.", "For subsequent authentication attempts, the response message from the previous authentication cycle may be used in the initialization vector for AES-CBC encryption.", "The response message may be sent to the authentication device through the authentication output interface.", "In some embodiments, at the authentication device, the response message is decrypted to generate a decrypted challenge message.", "If the decrypted challenge message is same as the (original) challenge message, the FPGA-configuration data is indicated as authentic.", "In another embodiment, a method of configuring a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) includes receiving, at the FPGA, an encrypted FPGA load-decryption key from a remote key-storage device, which may be external to and operatively connected with the FPGA.", "The encrypted FPGA load-decryption key may be decrypted, in a key-security unit, using an ephemeral session key to generate a decrypted FPGA load-decryption key.", "In one embodiment, the session key is calculated either at the FPGA, the remote key-storage device, or both, using a key-agreement protocol, e.g., a Menezes-Qu-Vanstone (MQV) protocol, an Elliptic-curve MQV (EC-MQV) protocol, or a Diffie-Hellman protocol.", "Encrypted FPGA-configuration data may be received at the FPGA, and decrypted and authenticated, in a configuration-data security unit, using the decrypted FPGA load-decryption key.", "In some embodiments, the FPGA-configuration data is encrypted, and the encryption may be executed using an advanced encryption standard counter with cipher-block chaining message authentication code (AES-CCM) encryption mode.", "In some embodiments, the step of decryption and initial authentication at the configuration-data security unit is non-bypassable for successful configuration of the FPGA.", "The decryption of the FPGA-configuration data may indicate a cryptographic state associated with the FPGA configuration data.", "The cryptographic state may be a function of or determined by at least a part of the FPGA configuration data.", "In one embodiment, the method may further perform recurring authentication of the FPGA-configuration data.", "Such recurring authentication may include receiving a (encrypted or unencrypted) challenge message at the FPGA from an authentication device, which may be external to and operatively connected with the FPGA.", "The received challenge message may be encrypted in a state-security unit using the cryptographic state and the session key to generate a response message.", "In addition to the FPGA and the remote key-storage device, the session key may also be stored in the authentication device.", "The challenge message may be encrypted to generate the response message using an advanced encryption standard cipher-block chaining (AES-CBC) encryption mode.", "In the AESCBC encryption mode, the cryptographic state may be used as an initialization vector (IV) for the first cycle of the recurring authentication for subsequent authentication attempts, the response message from the previous authentication cycle may be used in the initialization vector for AES-CBC encryption.", "The response message may then be sent to the authentication device, where the response message may be decrypted to generate a decrypted challenge message.", "If the decrypted challenge message is same as the (original) challenge message, the FPGA configuration data is indicated as authentic.", "In another embodiment, a system for configuring a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) includes a load interface that receives encrypted FPGA-configuration data at the FPGA.", "The FPGA-configuration data may be decrypted and authenticated in a configuration-data security unit using a FPGA load-decryption key.", "The configuration-data security unit may generate a cryptographic state associated with the FPGA-configuration data.", "The system may further include an authentication input interface, a state-encryption unit, an authentication output interface, and a programmable logic.", ": circuit.", "The authentication input interface may receive a challenge message at the FPGA from an authentication device which may be external to and operatively connected with the FPGA).", "The state-encryption unit may encrypt the challenge message using the cryptographic state to generate a response message, and the authentication output interface may then send the response message to the authentication device.", "The authentication device may decrypt the response message to generate a decrypted challenge message.", "If the decrypted challenge message is same as the (original) challenge message, the FPGA-configuration data is indicated as authentic.", "If FPGA-configuration data is authenticated by the authentication device, the programmable logic circuit may be programmed using the FPGA-configuration data.", "In another embodiment, an article of manufacture comprising a tangible computer readable medium that contains computer instructions therein, which when executed by a processor carries out the functions of receiving, at an FPGA, an encrypted FPGA loaded encryption key from a remote key-storage device, which may be external to and operatively connected with the FPGA.", "The encrypted FPGA load-decryption key may be decrypted in a key-security unit to generate a decrypted FPGA load-decryption key.", "Encrypted FPGA configuration data may be received at the FPGA and decrypted (and authenticated) in a configuration-data security unit using the decrypted FPGA load-decryption key.", "The decryption of the FPGA configuration data may indicate a cryptographic state associated with the FPGA configuration data.", "The cryptographic state may be a function of or determined by at least a part of the FPGA configuration data.", "In one embodiment, the method may further include receiving a challenge message at the FPGA from an authentication device, which may be external to and operatively connected with the FPGA.", "The challenge message may be encrypted in a state-security unit using the cryptographic state to generate a response message.", "The response message may then be sent to the authentication device, where the response message may be decrypted to generate a decrypted challenge message.", "If the decrypted challenge message is same as the (original) challenge message, the FPGA-configuration data is indicated as authentic.", "BRIEF DISCUSSION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG.", "1 provides a block diagram of an exemplary system to configure an FPGA according to an embodiment of this disclosure; and FIG.", "2 provides a block diagram of an exemplary embodiment of an FPGA of this disclosure.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION Various embodiments of this disclosure may be made in hardware, firmware, software, or any suitable combination thereof.", "Aspects of this disclosure may also be implemented as instructions stored on a machine-readable medium, which may be read and executed by one or more processors.", "A machine-readable medium may include any mechanism for storing or transmitting information in a form readable by a machine (e.g., a computing device).", "For example, a machine-readable storage medium may include read only memory, random access memory, magnetic disk storage media, optical storage media, flash memory devices, and others.", "Further, firmware, software, routines, or instructions may be described wherein in terms of specific exemplary embodiments that may perform certain actions.", "However, it will be apparent that such descriptions are merely for convenience and that such actions, in fact, result from computing devices, processors, controllers, or other devices executing the firmware, software, routines, or instructions.", "FIG.", "1 depicts a functional block diagram of system 100 for securely configuring FPGA 102.To configure FPGA 102, system 100 may include FPGA-configuration data storage device 104, remote key-storage device 106 and authentication device 108.FPGA-configuration data storage device 104 may store and provide encrypted or unencrypted configuration or “load” data to FPGA 102.At least a part of the configuration data may be used to configure FPGA 102.Remote key-storage device 106 may store and securely provide a key to FPGA 102 for decrypting the configuration data at FPGA 102, if the configuration data was provided to FPGA 102 in the encrypted form.", "In one embodiment, remote key-storage device 106 may include processor 120, non-volatile memory unit 122, volatile memory unit 124, and random number generator (RNG) 126.Storing a configuration data key non-locally, i.e.", "off-FPGA, at remote key-storage device 106, may enhance the FPGA configuration security from entities which may try to hack into FPGA 102.Those hacking entities may modify and/or copy and reverse-engineer the FPGA configuration data in an unauthorized way.", "To authenticate that configuration data at FPGA 102 has not been modified or otherwise tampered with, FPGA 102 may be engaged with authentication device 108 in a recurring authentication process.", "The recurring authentication process may ensure the security of the configuration data at the start and during the operation of FPGA 102.In one embodiment, as depicted in FIG.", "1, authentication device 108 may include random number generator (RNG) 170, authentication-crypto (AC) engine 172 and memory device 174.In one embodiment, remote key storage device 106 and/or authentication device 108 are (or are parts of) a secure processor external to and operatively connected with FPGA 102.In some embodiments, a secure processor is a processor in which processing of data (or programming code, or both) is protected such that all operations performed on the data are authentic and confidential.", "All inputs to the secure processor are authenticated before further processing.", "A secure processor may allow some data to reside in an external memory when confidentiality is not required, but such external data is still protected from any modification using authentication process within the secure processor.", "In one or more embodiments, each of FPGA 102, devices 104, 106, 108, or their respective subcomponents (described below) may include one or more processors and/or memory modules, to perform the functions and processes described herein.", "Structural and functional details of all components of system 100 will be described in detail below.", "Although devices 104, 106 and 108 are shown as individual components in system 100, in one or more embodiments, devices 104, 106 and 108 may be combined into just one or two devices.", "In one embodiment, FPGA 102 and devices 104, 106 and 108 may be designed to be placed and operational on a same circuit in a chip.", "In another embodiment, FPGA 102 may be operational on a chip in one system (e.g., a chip in an unmanned vehicle), and one or more of devices 104, 106 and 108 may be part of another system which is located geographically remotely from the FPGA system (e.g., a remote operations system for the unmanned vehicle).", "If FPGA 102 is located remotely from the other devices of system 100, one or more of devices 104, 106 and 108 may be operatively connected with FPGA 102 through a wired or wireless network (not shown) using necessary interfaces and components.", "Such network may include one or more of a private TCP/rP network, the Internet, or a private or public radio frequency (RF) network.", "In the case where remote key-storage device 106 and authentication device 108 are implemented as two separate devices (e.g., as two separate circuits or chips), it will be understood by a person of ordinary skill in the art that one or more system parameters (e.g., a session key) will be shared by both the devices 106, 108.FIG.", "2 shows exemplary FPGA 102 according to one or more embodiments of this disclosure.", "As shown, FPGA 102 includes controller 202, non-bypassable crypto-loader 204, programmable logic 206 and input/output (1/0) cores 208.For clarity, resources and/or components of FPGA 102 not required or related to configuration of FPGA 102 are not shown in FIG.", "2 or subsequent figures of this disclosure, but those resources/components will be appreciated by a person of ordinary skill in the art.", "In one embodiment, controller 202 interfaces with devices 104, 106 and 108 of system 100 to receive and.", "send messages and/or data (e.g., configuration data, key, authentication messages, etc.).", "Additionally, among other purposes, controller 202 may be connected with and control non-bypassable crypto-loader 204, logic unit 206 and 1/0 cores 208 by exchanging data and/or messages to and from those FPGA components.", "In one or more embodiments, controller 202 includes FPGA interface unit 220, key security unit 222, random number generator (RNG) 224, one-time programmable key storage (OPKS) unit 226, and volatile key storage (VKS) unit 228.In one embodiment, FPGA interface unit 220 includes interfaces (i.e., key interrace 230 and authentication interrace 232) to facilitate exchange of messages and/or data between components which may be internal and external to FPGA 102.For example, using key interrace 230, FPGA interface unit 220 may receive a cryptographic key (or a “FPGA load decryption” key) from remote key-storage device 106.The cryptographic key may be used to decrypt encrypted FPGA-configuration data to configure FPGA 102.As discussed above, the cryptographic key may be stored at remote key-storage device 106 (i.e., external to FPGA 102) to maintain confidentiality of the cryptographic key and for secure transfer to FPGA 102, when needed.", "In one embodiment, the cryptographic key may be received at FPGA 102 via key interface 230 in an encrypted form.", "For example, the cryptographic key may be encrypted using a session key.", "In one embodiment, the session key may be calculated and stored at the remote key-storage device, and then securely transferred to FPGA 102 along with the cryptographic key.", "In another embodiment, the session key is calculated and stored at both remote key-storage device 102 and FPGA 102.For example, the session key may be calculated using one or more of various key-agreement protocols, such as Menezes-Qu-Vanstone (MQV) protocol, an Elliptic curve MQV (EC-MQV) protocol, or a Diffie-Hellman protocol.", "The key-agreement protocol used to calculate the session key may engage and be executed by one or more processors or processing modules associated with remote key-storage device 106 (e.g., processor 120) and FPGA controller 202 (e.g., key-security unit 222).", "Additionally, one or more memory devices in remote key-storage device 106 (e.g., memory unit 122) and in FPGA controller 202 (e.g., OPKS unit 226 and VKS unit 228) may be used to store parameters and/or other data generated by the key-agreement protocol.", "Random number generator 224 in FPGA controller 202 and/or random number generator 126 in remote key-storage device 106 may also be used as part of the execution of the key-agreement protocol.", "In one embodiment, the EC-MQV protocol is used as the key-agreement protocol to calculate the session key.", "The EC-MQV protocol may protect the configuration key (and hence the configuration data of FPGA 102) from both passive attacks (where an adversary/hacking entity attempts to prevent the protocol from achieving its goals by merely observing entities executing out the protocol, i.e., remote key-storage device 106 and key-security unit 222), and active attacks (where an adversary additionally subverts the communications between the protocol-executing entities by injecting, deleting, altering or replaying messages).", "Additionally, the EC-MQY protocol may provide the following advantages for secure cryptographic key communication: 1.Known-key security: Each run of EC-MQV protocol between remote key-storage device 106 and key-security unit 222 may produce a unique secret key.", "Such keys are called common session keys, and are used to encrypt the cryptographic key at the remote key-storage device 106, and to decrypt the encrypted cryptographic.", "key at key-security unit 222.EC-MQV protocol may achieve its goal of secure transfer of cryptographic key from remote key-storage device 106 to FPGA controller 202 even in the face of an adversary who has learned some other common session keys.", "2.Perfect forward secrecy: If long-term private keys of one or more protocol-executing entities are compromised, the secrecy of previous common session keys established by those protocol-executing entities is not affected.", "3.Key-compromise impersonation: In case a long-tern private key associated with key security unit 222 is disclosed or stolen by an adversary, the adversary may impersonate key security unit 222.However, using the EC-MQV protocol may not enable an adversary to impersonate other entities to key-security unit 222.4.Unknown key-share: EC-MQV protocol may prevent a protocol-executing entity (key security unit 222 or remote key-storage device 106) from being coerced into sharing a key with the other protocol-executing entity without the protocol-executing entity's knowledge.", "5.Key control: Neither protocol-executing entity should be able to force the common session key to a preselected value.", "6.Low overhead: EC-MQV protocol may a minimal number of passes (the number of messages exchanged in a run of the protocol) between the protocol-executing entities, and low communication overhead (total number of bits transmitted).", "In operation, as part of EC-MQV protocol, each remote key-storage device 106 and key-security unit 222 generate a static or long-tern key pair and an ephemeral or short-term key pair.", "While, the static key pair is bound to the respective entity for a certain period of time, the ephemeral key pair is generated for each run of the protocol.", "Both the static and ephemeral key pairs for remote key-storage device 106 and key-security unit 222 may be generated using certain parameters (common to both units 106 and 222, and) specific to EC-MQY protocol which will be well-known to a person skilled in the art.", "For example.", "such parameters may include elliptic curve EC of characteristic p defined over a finite field r˜ (where q is the field size), a base (finite) point P on the curve EC, order 11 of the point J>, and cofactor h. These parameters may be stored in respective non-volatile memory devices in FPGA controller 202 (e.g., OPKS unit 226) and in memory unit 122 in remote key-storage device 106.The nonvolatile memory devices be one or more of programmable read-only memory (PROM) device, an erasable PROM (EPROM) device, and an electrically-erasable PROM (EEPROM) device.", "The EC-MQV protocol parameters stored in these memory devices may be directly or indirectly accessible to key-security unit 222 and to processor 120 in device 106.Static private key (s222) of key-security unit 222 may be generated using RNG 224 to provide a random number from the interval [1, n−1].", "Thereafter, key-security unit's static pubic key (S222) may be calculated as a point on elliptic curve E, such that S222=s222P.", "The static key pair (S222, s222) may be stored in OPKS unit 226.The static key pair (S106, s106) for remote key-storage device 106 may also be generated in a similar manner using RNG 126, and then stored in non-volatile memory 122 in device 106.In one embodiment, the static public keys S222 and S106 are exchanged by FPGA controller 202 and remote key-storage device 106 (via, e.g., interface unit 220), where those public keys are stored in the respective non-volatile memory devices.", "Further, ephemeral key pairs at key-security unit 222 and remote key-storage device 106 may be generated as follows.", "Key-security unit 222 may first generate an ephemeral private key (e222) as a random number in the interval [1,n−1] using RNG 224, calculate an ephemeral public key (E222) as E222=e222P, and then send the public key E222 to remote key-storage device 106.The ephemeral key pair (E222, e222) may be stored in OPKS unit 226.Similarly, ephemeral key pair (Elm, elm) may also be generated and stored at remote key-storage device 106, and the ephemeral public key E106 may be sent to FPGA controller 202 and stored in OPKS unit 226.Key-security unit 222 may validate the public keys S106 and E106 received from remote key-storage device 106 using one or more known validation processes defined for the EC-MQV protocol.", "Upon successful validation, unit 222 computes: I222=(e222+E′222s222)mod n, and Session key at unit 222, K=h I222(E106+E′106S106), where E′ for key E is computed as (x′ mod 2f/2)+2f/2, where x′ is an integer obtained from a binary representation of x-coordinate of E (on elliptic curve EC), and f=log2n+1.If session key K=0, key-security unit 222 may terminate the protocol, and send a “fail” status to remote key-storage device 106 as an indication to restart the protocol execution.", "At the same time as key-security unit 222, based on the parameters and key pairs, remote key-storage device 106 computes: I106=(e106+E′106s106)mod n, and Session key at device 106, K=h I106(E222+E′222S222).", "The session key, K computed at both units 106 and 222 are identical and, because it is calculated for each run of the EC-MQV protocol, the session key, K, is stored in volatile memory devices at key-security unit 222 (e.g., at VKS unit 228) and at remote key-storage device 106 (e.g., in memory unit 124).", "After having calculated the session key, K, the cryptographic key or FPGA load-decryption key stored at the remote key-storage device 106 may be encrypted using the session key, K. The encrypted FPGA load-decryption key may then be sent by device 106 to FPGA 102, where the FPGA load-decryption key may be received at key interface 230.Key interface 230 passes the encrypted key to key-security unit 222, and unit 222 then decrypts the encrypted FPGA load-decryption key using the (previously computed and stored) session key, K. The decrypted FPGA load-decryption key thus obtained may be transferred from unit 222 to crypto-loader 204 via, e.g., interface unit 220 (as depicted in FIG.", "2).", "In one embodiment, crypto-loader 204 includes configuration-data security (CDS) unit 242, state-encryption (SE) unit 244, load interface 246, memory 248, and random number generator (RNG) 250.In some embodiments, both RNG 224 and RNG 250 may be implemented as a single device in system 100.Crypto-loader 204 may be configured to decrypt FPGA-configuration data received from an external storage device, e.g., storage device 104, and configure logic unit 206 using the configuration data.", "Additionally, crypto-loader 204 may be configured to operate in conjunction with FPGA controller 202 and authentication device 108 to perform initial and/or recurring authentication of the configuration data.", "In one embodiment, FPGA 102 may be implemented in a manner such that all configuration data decryption and authentication processes are performed in crypto-loader 204.In other words, for configuring FPGA 102, it may not be possible to bypass crypto-loader 204.Such implementation may ensure that for each run of FPGA configuration, configuration data is checked for confidentiality and authenticity.", "In operation, encrypted FPGA-configuration data may be received at load interface 246 from storage device 104.Load interface 246 may forward the data internally to memory 248 to be stored therein.", "In one embodiment, the FPGA load-decryption key received from interface unit 220 may also be stored in memory 248.Storage device 104 may be (or may include) one or more of a programmable read-only memory (PROM) device, an erasable PROM (EPROM) device, and an electrically-erasable PROM (EEPROM) device.", "In one embodiment, CDS unit 242 may be operatively connected with memory 248 to fetch the encrypted FPGA-configuration data and the FPGA load-decryption key.", "Further, CDS unit 242 may be configured to decrypt the configuration data using a block-cipher algorithm that may provide both confidentiality and initial authentication of the configuration data.", "One assumption is that CDS unit 242 uses the same block-cipher algorithm that was used to encrypt the FPGA-configuration data (stored at storage device 104) with the same FPGA load-decryption key initially stored at remote key-storage device 106.In one embodiment, CDS unit 242 decrypts the FPGA-configuration data using an advanced encryption standard (AES) algorithm.", "The AES algorithm is known to include various modes of operation, e.g., electronic codebook (ECB) mode, cipher-block chaining (CBC) mode, propagating CBC mode, counter (CTR) mode, counter with cipher-block chaining-message authentication code (CCM) mode, etc.", "In one embodiment, CDS unit 242 employs AES-CCM mode that combines CTR mode for encryption (and therefore, confidentiality), and cipher-block chaining-message authentication code (CBC-MAC) mode for initial authentication of the configuration data.", "In one embodiment, the mode of operation of CDS unit 242 is selected by controller 202, and indicated to loader 204 using a “mode” signal (as shown in FIG.", "2).", "In some embodiments, instead of a single AES mode (e.g., AES-CCM mode), CDS unit 242 may be configured to utilize two separate algorithms—one for encryption-decryption of the configuration data and the other for initial authentication of the configuration data.", "Based on the assumption that CCM mode was also used to (pre-)encrypt the configuration data, the FPGA-configuration data (received from storage device 104) may include the (original) data used to configure FPGA 102, and data that indicates a cryptographic state of the FPGA-configuration data.", "In one embodiment, the cryptographic-state data includes message authentication code (MAC) value generated during (pre-)encryption of configuration data.", "For example, the MAC value may be generated as an output of the CBC-MAC mode of the CCM algorithm executed on the original FPGA-configuration data.", "Accordingly, the calculated MAC value may be based on (or a function of) at least a part of the original FPGA-configuration data.", "The calculated MAC value may then be combined or associated with the original FPGA-configuration data for encryption using the CTR mode of the CCM algorithm to provide the encrypted FPGA-configuration data.", "For decrypting and authenticating using the CCM mode, CDS unit 242 first run the CTR mode to decrypt the encrypted FPGA-configuration data using a nonce as the initial value (IV) for the CTR mode, and the FPGA load-decryption key (fetched from memory 248).", "In one embodiment, the nonce is generated using RNG 250 in loader 204.The execution of the CTR mode may recover the original FPGA-configuration data and the associated MAC value.", "In one embodiment, CDS unit 242 may copy the recovered FPGA-configuration data and/or the recovered MAC value in memory 248.CDS unit 242 may then run the CBC-MAC mode of the CCM algorithm on the recovered FPGA-configuration data using an initial value generated using RNG 250 (different than the value used in the CTR mode), and the FPGA load-decryption key.", "The CBC-mode may use zero as the initial value, instead of the value from RNG 250.The execution of the CBC-MAC mode may result in a “new” MAC value which is compared by CDS unit 242 with the recovered MAC value to authenticate the FPGA-configuration data.", "For example, if the FPGA-configuration data were modified or tampered with in any form after (pre-) encryption, the MAC value generated by the CBC-MAC mode at CDS unit 242 would not be the same as the original MAC value recovered by the CTR mode.", "Accordingly, if it is determined that the new MAC value is not same as the recovered MAC value, loader 204 may discard the FPGA-configuration data and send a “status” signal to controller 202 indicating unauthorized access and/or modification of configuration data in system 100, thereby terminating the FPGA-configuration process.", "Alternatively, if the new MAC value is determined to be the same as the recovered MAC value, a status signal indicating the successful decryption and authentication of the FPGA-configuration data is sent to controller 202, and the recovered FPGA-configuration data is passed to logic unit 206 via multiplexer 252.Logic unit 206 may be programmed using the recovered FPGA-configuration data.", "Thereafter, logic unit 206 may be operatively connected with 110 cores 208 to send and receive data required for operation of FPGA 102.Controller 202 may control the timing of data access and communication between logic unit 206 and I/O cores 208 using an “I/0” signal.", "After decrypting and recovering the FPGA-configuration data, there is a possibility that an adversary may passively monitor the operation of the FPGA and may try to access and/or change the FPGA-configuration data.", "Such unauthorized data access/modification may result in a completely unintended functionality of the FPGA, and therefore, it is important to authenticate the FPGA-configuration data on a recurring basis.", "A time period to run such authentication on FPGA 102 may be pre-provisioned in system 100, or may be set by a user at will.", "Accordingly, for such recurring authentication process, FPGA 102 operates in conjunction with authentication device 108.For example, the FPGA 102 may be operatively connected with authentication device 108 to execute AES-CBC encryption mode for authentication purposes.", "To start the authentication process under CBC mode, authentication device 108 may generate a challenge message which is sent out to FPGA 102 and received at an authentication interface 232 of interface unit 220.The challenge message may be a message including a random number generated by RNG 170, and stored in memory 174 of authentication device 108.At controller 202, interface 232 may pass the received challenge message to crypto-loader 204.Additionally, the session key (previously generated by key-security unit 222) stored in VKS unit 228 may be transferred to crypto-loader 204 to be.", "stored in memory 248.Further, in operation, controller may send a mode signal to crypto-loader 204 to indicate CBC-encryption mode, and to invoke state-encryption (SE) unit 244 to execute the CBC mode.", "SE unit 244 may execute the CBC-encryption mode by taking the challenge message as the input message, the session key as the CBC-mode key, and the new MAC value generated by CDS unit 242 (during CCM-mode decryption) as the initial value for the CBC mode.", "SE unit 244 may then produce a response message as an output which is transferred to interface unit 220 to be eventually transferred to authentication device 108.In one embodiment, interface 232 act as an authentication input interface as well as an authentication output interface, and accordingly, may be used to send out the response message to authentication device 108.At authentication device 108, the response message may be stored in memory 174 of device 108, and AC engine 172 may be configured to execute decryption of the response message using CBC mode.", "To run CBC-mode decryption, AC engine 172 may be provided with the session key from either FPGA 102 or remote key-storage device 106.Additionally, as an initial value for CBC modem, the recovered MAC value from the CDS unit 242 may be copied to AC engine 172 via interface 232.Based on these received data, AC engine 172 may decrypt the response message to generate a decrypted challenge message.", "AC engine 172 may then compare the decrypted challenge message with the challenge message originally sent to FPGA 102 to determine the authenticity of FPGA-configuration data.", "For example, in the case of unauthorized access and/or modification of the FPGA-configuration data, the new MAC value used as the initial value for the challenge-message encryption at SE unit 244 will be different than the recovered MAC value used for the response-message decryption by AC engine 172.Accordingly, the decrypted challenge message will not be the same the challenge message originally sent out to FPGA 102, thereby indicating that the FPGA-configuration data may be not be authentic, and may have been modified or accessed in an unauthorized manner.", "Such indication from authentication 108 may be used to terminate the FPGA-configuration process, and restart the process after the unauthorized entity is identified and blocked, and/or configuration data is reloaded or corrected.", "For each cycle of recurring authentication, a new challenge message may be generated by authentication device 108, and the response message generated in the previous CBC-mode encryption may be used as an initial value for the next CBC-mode encryption.", "The same session key used in the first authentication cycle may be used as the CBC-mode key in all subsequent authentication cycles.", "Some details related to the known cryptographic algorithms discussed above, i.e., EC-MQV algorithm, CCM algorithm and CBC algorithm, are not provided in this application.", "Moreover, the above-discussed embodiments and aspects of this disclosure are not intended to be limiting, but have been shown and described for the purposes of illustrating the functional and structural principles of the inventive concept, and are intended to encompass various modifications that would be within the spirit and scope of the following claims." ] ]
Patent_15873005
[ [ "DYNAMIC MASTER DATA MANAGEMENT", "A computer-implemented method includes, in a master data management system, receiving a persistent modification request affecting a master data attribute, determining that no preexisting master record exists in the master data management system for the master data attribute, and, responsive to determining that no preexisting master record exists for the master data attribute, adding a new master data attribute and associated new ownership information for the master data attribute to the master data management system, based on the persistent modification request.", "A corresponding computer program product and computer system are also disclosed." ], [ "1.A computer system comprising: one or more processors; one or more computer readable storage media; computer program instructions; said computer program instructions being stored on said one or more computer readable storage media; said computer program instructions comprising instructions to, in a master data management system: receive a persistent modification request affecting a master data attribute; said persistent modification request being received through a physical application programming interface; and responsive to determining that a preexisting master record exists in said master data management system for said master data attribute that identifies virtual ownership of said master data attribute, deny said persistent modification request as to said master data attribute.", "2.The computer system of claim 1, wherein: said persistent modification request is part of a transaction on said master data management system; and said computer program instructions further comprise instructions to, responsive to denying said persistent modification request, roll back said transaction.", "3.The computer system of claim 1, wherein said computer program instructions further comprise instructions to: responsive to determining that no preexisting master record exists for said master data attribute, add a new master data attribute and associated new ownership information for said master data attribute to said master data management system, based on said persistent modification request.", "4.A computer system comprising: one or more processors; one or more computer readable storage media; computer program instructions; said computer program instructions being stored on said one or more computer readable storage media; said computer program instructions comprising instructions to, in a master data management system: receive a persistent modification request affecting a master data attribute; said persistent modification request being received through a physical application programming interface; and responsive to determining that a preexisting master record exists in said master data management system for said master data attribute that identifies central ownership of said master data attribute, allow said persistent modification request.", "5.The computer system of claim 4, wherein: said persistent modification request is part of a transaction on said master data management system; and said computer program instructions further comprise instructions to, responsive to allowing said persistent modification request, roll back said transaction.", "6.The computer system of claim 4, wherein said computer program instructions further comprise instructions to: responsive to determining that no preexisting master record exists for said master data attribute, add a new master data attribute and associated new ownership information for said master data attribute to said master data management system, based on said persistent modification request.", "7.A computer system comprising: one or more processors; one or more computer readable storage media; computer program instructions; said computer program instructions being stored on said one or more computer readable storage media; said computer program instructions comprising instructions to, in a master data management system: receive a persistent modification request affecting a master data attribute; determine that a preexisting master record exists in said master data management system for said master data attribute that identifies central ownership of said master data attribute; detect a conflict between said persistent modification request and said master data attribute based on said master data attribute having central ownership; and responsive to detecting said conflict, generate a stewardship event.", "8.The computer system of claim 7, wherein said computer program instructions to generate a stewardship event comprises instructions to perform at least one stewardship action selected from the group consisting of: (a) sending a task notification to a stewardship entity; and (b) reconciling said conflict according to one or more business rules." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND <EOH>The present invention relates generally to the field of master data management, and more particularly to managing ownership of attributes in master data management systems.", "Master data management (MDM) systems provide a platform for ensuring consistency of data across multiple systems and databases deployed by an enterprise user.", "For example, a bank may have multiple source systems for interacting with customers in different ways, such as deposit accounts, investment accounts, loans, payment card management, etc., all of which may need to interact with the customer's contact information.", "The bank may deploy an MDM system to ensure that the customer contact information is managed consistently.", "Generally, MDM systems may be characterized as physical, virtual, or hybrid.", "In a virtual MDM implementation, data remains fragmented across various source systems in a distributed manner with a central indexing service.", "By contrast, in a physical MDM implementation, master data is stored and/or created in a centralized system, which is accessed by or pushed to the various source systems.", "Hybrid MDM implementations blend the virtual and physical styles of management by allowing source systems to manage of some attributes and the central management of other attributes.", "In hybrid MDM implementations, several capabilities are exposed that allow for seamless movement of master data entities between their virtual and physical representations.", "Enterprises continue to face challenges in managing the ownership of various attributes in MDM systems, particularly hybrid MDM systems." ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY <EOH>A computer-implemented method includes, in a master data management system, receiving a persistent modification request affecting a master data attribute, determining that no preexisting master record exists in the master data management system for the master data attribute, and, responsive to determining that no preexisting master record exists for the master data attribute, adding a new master data attribute and associated new ownership information for the master data attribute to the master data management system, based on the persistent modification request.", "A corresponding computer program product and computer system are also disclosed." ], [ "BACKGROUND The present invention relates generally to the field of master data management, and more particularly to managing ownership of attributes in master data management systems.", "Master data management (MDM) systems provide a platform for ensuring consistency of data across multiple systems and databases deployed by an enterprise user.", "For example, a bank may have multiple source systems for interacting with customers in different ways, such as deposit accounts, investment accounts, loans, payment card management, etc., all of which may need to interact with the customer's contact information.", "The bank may deploy an MDM system to ensure that the customer contact information is managed consistently.", "Generally, MDM systems may be characterized as physical, virtual, or hybrid.", "In a virtual MDM implementation, data remains fragmented across various source systems in a distributed manner with a central indexing service.", "By contrast, in a physical MDM implementation, master data is stored and/or created in a centralized system, which is accessed by or pushed to the various source systems.", "Hybrid MDM implementations blend the virtual and physical styles of management by allowing source systems to manage of some attributes and the central management of other attributes.", "In hybrid MDM implementations, several capabilities are exposed that allow for seamless movement of master data entities between their virtual and physical representations.", "Enterprises continue to face challenges in managing the ownership of various attributes in MDM systems, particularly hybrid MDM systems.", "SUMMARY A computer-implemented method includes, in a master data management system, receiving a persistent modification request affecting a master data attribute, determining that no preexisting master record exists in the master data management system for the master data attribute, and, responsive to determining that no preexisting master record exists for the master data attribute, adding a new master data attribute and associated new ownership information for the master data attribute to the master data management system, based on the persistent modification request.", "A corresponding computer program product and computer system are also disclosed.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG.", "1 is block diagram depicting an exemplary operational environment incorporating various logical components for at least one embodiment of the present invention.", "FIG.", "2 is a flowchart diagram depicting various operational steps for an MDM request program, in accordance with at least one embodiment of the present invention.", "FIG.", "3 is a block diagram of various components of a computer system suitable for performing various methods, in accordance with at least one embodiment of the present invention.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION Referring now to the invention in more detail, FIG.", "1 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary operational environment incorporating various logical components for at least one embodiment of the present invention.", "Broadly, an enterprise deploys a hybrid master data management (MDM) system 100 for managing data consistency across multiple source systems 114.Source systems may include any data management system deployed by the enterprise, for example, a bank deploying MDM may operate different source systems for checking and savings accounts, investment accounts, loan accounts, payment cards, etc.", "The hybrid MDM system 100 may be understood as deployed on any standalone or distributed computer or computing environment, such as the exemplary computer of FIG.", "3.The hybrid MDM system 100 maintains a profile 102, which may include various master data attributes 107 including supplemental attributes 104 and non-supplemental attributes 106, and corresponding ownership information 108.The profile 102 may be understood to refer to a collection of attributes, and not any specific system, hardware unit, or user.", "Ownership of any master data attribute 107, in the context of the present invention, means the right to modify the value of the attribute, and the ownership information 108 stores whether each master data attribute 107 is centrally or virtually (i.e.", "source system) owned.", "In various embodiments, the non-supplemental attributes 106 may be understood as owned by various source systems 114, while supplemental attributes 104 may be understood as centrally owned and thus “supplemental” to the data maintained by the source systems 114.In various embodiments of hybrid MDM, hybrid MDM is deployed by an enterprise as part of a transition strategy from virtual MDM to physical MDM wherein disparate preexisting source systems 114 are harmonized via MDM, but not all are immediately upgraded to take advantage of profile 102 and its central control of data.", "To support this, the hybrid MDM system 100 is accessible at least through a physical application programming interface (API) 110 and a virtual application programming interface (API) 120.Embodiments of the present invention may exist as an MDM request program 101, which may receive a persistent modification request 112 via the physical API 110.Various source systems 114 may access the master data attributes 107 via the physical API 110 by sending a persistent modification request 112 to change various affected attributes 116 or directly via the virtual API 120, with the understanding that, as the enterprise continues to develop, update, or replace its source systems 114 over time, the virtual API 120 will be disfavored and the physical API 110 preferred, until all systems use the physical API 110, and the system may be described as physical MDM.", "The inventors have observed and/or recognized that existing implementations of hybrid MDM require the ownership information 108 to be defined in.", "The definitions typically include all of the master data attributes 107.For the externally managed non-supplemental attributes 106, this includes defining survivorship rules for when various source systems 114 present updates through the virtual API 120.For the centrally managed supplemental attributes 104, the definition includes which supplemental attributes 104 will exist and which source systems 114 will be permitted to change them.", "The inventors have observed and/or recognized that allowing the supplemental attributes 104 to be dynamically created and owned would reduce the design-time burden on the enterprise MDM user.", "While various embodiments of the present invention may address this and other problems and/or offer this or other advantages, it will be understood that the presence of such benefits are not essential to the practice of the invention, and accordingly, the invention is not to be understood as limited with respect to any problem recognized or advantaged discovered by the inventors.", "Referring now to FIG.", "2, FIG.", "2 is a flowchart diagram depicting various operational steps for the MDM request program 101, in accordance with various embodiments of the present invention.", "At step 200, the MDM request program identifies a profile 102.In accordance with at least one MDM model (specifically, a hybrid MDM model, though physical and virtual MDM models may be adapted for the present invention as well), the profile 102 may be administered, updated, and/or accessed by the MDM request program 101 via the physical API 110.At step 202, the MDM request program 101 receives the persistent modification request 112 from one of the source systems 114.The persistent modification request 112 is directed to the profile 102, which includes a plurality of master data attributes 107.The persistent modification request 112 may include any type of insert, update, delete, or other database modification statement or action that, if permitted, would persistently modify the contents of the profile 102.The persistent modification request 112 may affect one or more master data attributes 107; those that are affected are termed “one or more affected attributes”.", "At decision block 204, the MDM request program 101 iterates over the affected attributes affected by the persistent modification request 112.For each affected attribute of the one or more affected attributes, at decision block 206, the MDM request program 101 determines whether there is a preexisting master record for the affected attribute.", "A preexisting master record is a previously set value for the variable designated by affected attribute in the profile 102.Specifically, the MDM request program 101 either identifies a preexisting master record associated with preexisting ownership information for the affected attribute or determines that no preexisting master record exists.", "Referring still to FIG.", "2, if there is no preexisting master record for the affected attribute (decision block 206, NO branch), then, responsive to determining that no preexisting master record exists, the MDM request program 101 at step 208 adds a new master data attribute 107 and new ownership information to the profile 102, based on the persistent modification request 112.Specifically, the persistent modification request 112 includes the values of the affected attributes 116 and the associated source ownership data from which the new master data attribute is created.", "In the hybrid MDM system 100, the ownership data may specify, for each master data attribute 107, ownership selected from the group consisting of (a) virtual ownership; and (b) central ownership.", "When adding a new master data attribute, central ownership may be intended in the interest of migrating the MDM system away from the virtual API 120 and toward the physical API 110.Referring still to FIG.", "2, if there is a preexisting master record for the affected attribute (decision block 206, YES branch), then, at decision block 212, responsive to identifying the preexisting master record for the affected attribute, the MDM request program 101 selectively permits or denies the persistent modification request as to the affected attribute.", "Permitting or denying the persistent modification request 112 may be based on various rules, including the particular source system 114, the ownership information 108, and other bases.", "In some embodiments, selectively permitting or denying the persistent modification request 112 as to the affected attribute includes denying the persistent modification request 112 as to the affected attribute, if the preexisting ownership information indicates virtual ownership of the affected attribute and the persistent modification request 112 is received via the physical application programming interface 110.In such embodiments, changes to supplemental attributes 104 may be generally allowed, or selectively allowed subject to enterprise-specific business rules.", "At step 214, responsive to permitting the persistent modification request 112 as to the affected attribute, the MDM request program 101 updates the preexisting master record for the affected attribute, based on the persistent modification request 112.In some embodiments, the MDM request program 101 may detect a conflict between the persistent modification request 112 and one or more master records for the affected attributes and resolve the conflict by a stewardship event.", "A conflict condition may arise when a source system 114 attempts to create a new supplemental attribute 104 where a non-supplemental attribute 106 already exists, or where an update to an existing supplemental attribute 104 is suspect due to the application of one or more-entity specific business rules to the persistent modification request 112.More formally, in such embodiments, the MDM request program 101 may, for each affected attribute of the one or more affected attributes 116, detect a conflict between the persistent modification request 112 as to the affected attribute and any of the plurality of master data attributes 107 that has central ownership (by contrast to the herein described steps, a conflict with a master data attribute 107 that has virtual ownership may be simply denied).", "In such embodiments, selectively permitting or denying the persistent modification request 112 as to the affected attribute includes generating a stewardship event.", "Generating a stewardship event may include at least one stewardship action selected from the group consisting of (a) sending a task notification to a stewardship entity; and (b) reconciling the conflict according to one or more business rules.", "A stewardship entity may be a computer service, business unit, or one or more individual users, or some combination thereof that is authorized to modify the content of supplemental attributes 104 within the profile 102.The stewardship entity may be tasked with responding, investigating, and/or resolving the conflict.", "Alternatively, some embodiments may incorporate automatic conflict resolution according to business rules.", "For example, a bank entity user may treat a changed customer address as a conflict, if it comes from a third party source such as a credit report, but allow it if it comes from a privileged source, such as the customer updating his or her address via a web interface.", "In some embodiments, the MDM system 100 may implement a transaction system supports multi-step operations that can be rolled back in case of a failure at any step, or continued until all steps complete successfully, and then committed.", "The persistent modification request 112 may be part of a transaction on the MDM system 100 as one step of several steps that may comprise the transaction.", "Steps of the transaction may include persistent modification requests such as the persistent modification request 112, but may also include non-modifying data access and/or query operations directed to the profile 102 or operations that are unrelated to the profile 102.In such embodiments, responsive to allowing the persistent modification request 112 for all of the one or more affected attributes, the MDM request program 101 may continue with the transaction by proceeding to the next step or committing the transaction, if all steps are completed.", "Responsive to denying the persistent modification request 112 for any of the one or more affected attributes, the MDM request program 101 may roll back and/or abort the transaction.", "FIG.", "3 is a block diagram depicting components of a computer 300 suitable for executing the MDM request program 101.FIG.", "3 displays the computer 300, the one or more processor(s) 304 (including one or more computer processors), the communications fabric 302, the memory 306, the RAM, the cache 316, the persistent storage 308, the communications unit 310, the I/O interfaces 312, the display 320, and the external devices 318.It should be appreciated that FIG.", "3 provides only an illustration of one embodiment and does not imply any limitations with regard to the environments in which different embodiments may be implemented.", "Many modifications to the depicted environment may be made.", "As depicted, the computer 300 operates over a communications fabric 302, which provides communications between the cache 316, the computer processor(s) 304, the memory 306, the persistent storage 308, the communications unit 310, and the input/output (I/O) interface(s) 312.The communications fabric 302 may be implemented with any architecture suitable for passing data and/or control information between the processors 304 (e.g., microprocessors, communications processors, and network processors, etc.", "), the memory 306, the external devices 318, and any other hardware components within a system.", "For example, the communications fabric 302 may be implemented with one or more buses or a crossbar switch.", "The memory 306 and persistent storage 308 are computer readable storage media.", "In the depicted embodiment, the memory 306 includes a random access memory (RAM).", "In general, the memory 306 may include any suitable volatile or non-volatile implementations of one or more computer readable storage media.", "The cache 316 is a fast memory that enhances the performance of computer processor(s) 304 by holding recently accessed data, and data near accessed data, from memory 306.Program instructions for the MDM request program 101 may be stored in the persistent storage 308 or in memory 306, or more generally, any computer readable storage media, for execution by one or more of the respective computer processors 304 via the cache 316.The persistent storage 308 may include a magnetic hard disk drive.", "Alternatively, or in addition to a magnetic hard disk drive, the persistent storage 308 may include, a solid state hard disk drive, a semiconductor storage device, read-only memory (ROM), electronically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, or any other computer readable storage media that is capable of storing program instructions or digital information.", "The media used by the persistent storage 308 may also be removable.", "For example, a removable hard drive may be used for persistent storage 308.Other examples include optical and magnetic disks, thumb drives, and smart cards that are inserted into a drive for transfer onto another computer readable storage medium that is also part of the persistent storage 308.The communications unit 310, in these examples, provides for communications with other data processing systems or devices.", "In these examples, the communications unit 310 may include one or more network interface cards.", "The communications unit 310 may provide communications through the use of either or both physical and wireless communications links.", "MDM request program may be downloaded to the persistent storage 308 through the communications unit 310.In the context of some embodiments of the present invention, the source of the various input data may be physically remote to the computer 300 such that the input data may be received and the output similarly transmitted via the communications unit 310.The I/O interface(s) 312 allows for input and output of data with other devices that may operate in conjunction with the computer 300.For example, the I/O interface 312 may provide a connection to the external devices 318, which may include a keyboard, keypad, a touch screen, and/or some other suitable input devices.", "External devices 318 may also include portable computer readable storage media, for example, thumb drives, portable optical or magnetic disks, and memory cards.", "Software and data used to practice embodiments of the present invention may be stored on such portable computer readable storage media and may be loaded onto the persistent storage 308 via the I/O interface(s) 312.The I/O interface(s) 312 may similarly connect to a display 320.The display 320 provides a mechanism to display data to a user and may be, for example, a computer monitor.", "The programs described herein are identified based upon the application for which they are implemented in a specific embodiment of the invention.", "However, it should be appreciated that any particular program nomenclature herein is used merely for convenience, and thus the invention should not be limited to use solely in any specific application identified and/or implied by such nomenclature.", "The present invention may be a system, a method, and/or a computer program product at any possible technical detail level of integration.", "The computer program product may include a computer readable storage medium (or media) having computer readable program instructions thereon for causing a processor to carry out aspects of the present invention.", "The computer readable storage medium can be a tangible device that can retain and store instructions for use by an instruction execution device.", "The computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but is not limited to, an electronic storage device, a magnetic storage device, an optical storage device, an electromagnetic storage device, a semiconductor storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing.", "A non-exhaustive list of more specific examples of the computer readable storage medium includes the following: a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), a static random access memory (SRAM), a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disk (DVD), a memory stick, a floppy disk, a mechanically encoded device such as punch-cards or raised structures in a groove having instructions recorded thereon, and any suitable combination of the foregoing.", "A computer readable storage medium, as used herein, is not to be construed as being transitory signals per se, such as radio waves or other freely propagating electromagnetic waves, electromagnetic waves propagating through a waveguide or other transmission media (e.g., light pulses passing through a fiber-optic cable), or electrical signals transmitted through a wire.", "Computer readable program instructions described herein can be downloaded to respective computing/processing devices from a computer readable storage medium or to an external computer or external storage device via a network, for example, the Internet, a local area network, a wide area network and/or a wireless network.", "The network may comprise copper transmission cables, optical transmission fibers, wireless transmission, routers, firewalls, switches, gateway computers and/or edge servers.", "A network adapter card or network interface in each computing/processing device receives computer readable program instructions from the network and forwards the computer readable program instructions for storage in a computer readable storage medium within the respective computing/processing device.", "Computer readable program instructions for carrying out operations of the present invention may be assembler instructions, instruction-set-architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions, machine dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions, state-setting data, configuration data for integrated circuitry, or either source code or object code written in any combination of one or more programming languages, including an object oriented programming language such as Smalltalk, C++, or the like, and procedural programming languages, such as the “C” programming language or similar programming languages.", "The computer readable program instructions may execute entirely on the user's computer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remote computer or entirely on the remote computer or server.", "In the latter scenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user's computer through any type of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer (for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider).", "In some embodiments, electronic circuitry including, for example, programmable logic circuitry, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA), or programmable logic arrays (PLA) may execute the computer readable program instructions by utilizing state information of the computer readable program instructions to personalize the electronic circuitry, in order to perform aspects of the present invention.", "Aspects of the present invention are described herein with reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of the invention.", "It will be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer readable program instructions.", "These computer readable program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.", "These computer readable program instructions may also be stored in a computer readable storage medium that can direct a computer, a programmable data processing apparatus, and/or other devices to function in a particular manner, such that the computer readable storage medium having instructions stored therein comprises an article of manufacture including instructions which implement aspects of the function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.", "The computer readable program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other device to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer, other programmable apparatus or other device to produce a computer implemented process, such that the instructions which execute on the computer, other programmable apparatus, or other device implement the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.", "The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate the architecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementations of systems, methods, and computer program products according to various embodiments of the present invention.", "In this regard, each block in the flowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portion of instructions, which comprises one or more executable instructions for implementing the specified logical function(s).", "In some alternative implementations, the functions noted in the blocks may occur out of the order noted in the Figures.", "For example, two blocks shown in succession may, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality involved.", "It will also be noted that each block of the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implemented by special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specified functions or acts or carry out combinations of special purpose hardware and computer instructions." ] ]
Patent_15873008
[ [ "COIL DEVICE", "A coil device includes a first coil wound around a winding axis, and a second coil substantially overlapping the first coil when viewed from a winding axis direction of the first coil.", "The second coil includes first and second portions adjacent to each other in the winding axis direction.", "The first and second portions extend so that the directions of electric current flowing through the first and second portions are opposite to each other, and a coil opening is provided between the first and second portions." ], [ "1.A coil device comprising: a first coil wound around a winding axis; and a second coil substantially overlapping the first coil when viewed from a winding axis direction of the first coil; wherein the second coil includes a first portion and a second portion that are adjacent to each other in the winding axis direction; and the first portion and the second portion extend so that directions of electric current flowing through the first portion and the second portion are opposite to each other, and a coil opening is provided between the first portion and the second portion.", "2.The coil device according to claim 1, further comprising: a first terminal and a second terminal; wherein a first end of the second coil is connected to a second end of the first coil; a first end of the first coil is connected to the first terminal; and a second end of the second coil is connected to the second terminal.", "3.The coil device according to claim 1, further comprising: a first terminal, a second terminal, and a third terminal; wherein the first coil and the second coil are connected to each other, and a circuit defined by connecting the first coil and the second coil to each other is connected to the first terminal, the second terminal, and the third terminal.", "4.The coil device according to claim 3, wherein the first coil defines a primary coil portion and a secondary coil portion of a transformer; a first end of the primary coil portion is connected to the first terminal; a second end of the primary coil portion is connected to the third terminal; a first end of the secondary coil portion is connected to a first end of the second coil; a second end of the secondary coil portion is connected to the third terminal; and a second end of the second coil is connected to the second terminal.", "5.The coil device according to claim 3, wherein the first coil defines a primary coil portion and a secondary coil portion of a transformer; a first end of the primary coil portion is connected to the first terminal; a second end of the primary coil portion is connected to the third terminal; a first end of the secondary coil portion is connected to the second terminal; a second end of the secondary coil portion is connected to the third terminal; a first end of the second coil is connected to the second terminal; and a second end of the second coil is connected to the first terminal.", "6.The coil device according to claim 2, further comprising: a fourth terminal; wherein a second end of the first coil is connected to the fourth terminal.", "7.The coil device according to claim 1, further comprising: a multilayer body including a plurality of base material layers that are stacked; wherein the first coil and the second coil overlap each other in a stacking direction.", "8.The coil device according to claim 7, wherein the multilayer body has a rectangular or substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape.", "9.The coil device according to claim 4, wherein the primary coil portion includes about 3.75 turns.", "10.The coil device according to claim 4, wherein the secondary coil portion includes about 3.75 turns.", "11.The coil device according to claim 5, wherein the primary coil portion includes about 3.75 turns.", "12.The coil device according to claim 5, wherein the secondary coil portion includes about 3.75 turns.", "13.The coil device according to claim 1, wherein the first coil and the second coil are structured such that a magnetic flux passing through a coil opening of the first coil and a magnetic flux passing through a coil opening of the second coil are orthogonal or substantially orthogonal to each other." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION <EOH>" ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION <EOH>Preferred embodiments of the present invention provide coil devices that significantly reduce or prevent an increase in size, increase the independence of at least two coils, and significantly reduce or prevent a reduction of the coil characteristics such as the Q value.", "A coil device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a first coil wound around a winding axis; and a second coil substantially overlapping the first coil when viewed from a winding axis direction of the first coil, wherein the second coil includes a first portion and a second portion that are adjacent to each other in the winding axis direction, and the first portion and the second portion extend or are folded so that directions of electric current flowing through the first portion and the second portion are opposite to each other, and a coil opening is provided between the first portion and the second portion.", "With the above-described configuration, the coil opening of the first coil is not blocked by the second coil, and accordingly, reduction of the Q value of the first coil is reduced or prevented.", "In addition, because the coil opening of the second coil and the coil opening of the first coil are orthogonal or substantially orthogonal to each other, the first coil and the second coil may be used as independent coils.", "In a coil device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, it is preferable that the coil device includes a first terminal and a second terminal, a first end of the second coil being connected to a second end of the first coil, a first end of the first coil being connected to the first terminal, and a second end of the second coil being connected to the second terminal.", "Accordingly, the coil device may be used as a coil device that includes the first coil and the second coil which are connected in series, and that is provided with two terminals.", "In a coil device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, it is preferable that the coil device includes a first terminal, a second terminal, and a third terminal, the first coil defining a primary coil portion and a secondary coil portion of a transformer, a first end of the primary coil portion being connected to the first terminal, a second end of the primary coil portion being connected to the third terminal, a first end of the secondary coil portion being connected to a first end of the second coil, and a second end of the secondary coil portion being connected to the third terminal.", "Accordingly, the coil device may be used as a coil device in which the first coil defines a transformer, and the second coil, which is not magnetically and undesirably coupled to the transformer and which is independent, is connected in series with a secondary coil portion of the transformer.", "In a coil device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, it is preferable that the coil device includes a first terminal, a second terminal, and a third terminal, the first coil defining a primary coil portion and a secondary coil portion of a transformer, a first end of the primary coil portion being connected to the first terminal, a second end of the primary coil portion being connected to the third terminal, a first end of the secondary coil portion being connected to the second terminal, a second end of the secondary coil portion being connected to the third terminal, a first end of the second coil being connected to the second terminal, and a second end of the second coil being connected to the first terminal.", "Accordingly, the coil device may be used as a coil device provided with a transformer in which a primary coil is connected between a first terminal and a third terminal and a secondary coil is connected between a second terminal and the third terminal, and the second coil being connected between the first terminal and the second terminal.", "In a coil device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, it is preferable that the coil device further includes a fourth terminal, a second end of the first coil being connected to the fourth terminal.", "Accordingly, the coil device may be used as a coil device that includes the first coil connected between the first terminal and a fourth terminal, and the second coil connected between the second terminal and the fourth terminal.", "In a coil device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, it is preferable that the coil device includes a multilayer body including a plurality of base material layers that are stacked, the first coil and the second coil overlapping each other in a stacking direction.", "Accordingly, simply by staking a plurality of base material layers defining the first coil and a plurality of base material layers defining the second coil, the first coil and the second coil are arranged in a multilayer body, thus obtaining a coil device that occupies a small area when being mounted on a circuit substrate or other suitable substrate.", "According to preferred embodiments of the present invention, coil devices that significantly reduce or prevent an increase in size, increase the independence of at least two coils, and significantly reduce or prevent a reduction of the coil characteristics such as the Q value is obtained.", "The above and other elements, features, steps, characteristics and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments with reference to the attached drawings." ], [ "CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims the benefit of priority to Japanese Patent Application No.", "2015-218518 filed on Nov. 6, 2015 and Japanese Patent Application No.", "2015-156812 filed on Aug. 7, 2015 and is a Continuation Application of PCT Application No.", "PCT/JP2016/071790 filed on Jul.", "26, 2016.The entire contents of each application are hereby incorporated herein by reference.", "BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1.Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a coil device included in an inductance element, an impedance conversion circuit, a voltage conversion circuit, and other devices.", "2.Description of the Related Art A transformer is used as an impedance conversion circuit or a voltage conversion circuit in various electronic circuits.", "A transformer which is a small electronic component mounted on a circuit substrate is often configured as a surface-mounted component including a coil in a multilayer substrate made by stacking a plurality of base material layers (for example, Japanese Patent No.", "5505582).", "In recent years, mobile electronic devices, such as cellular phone terminals, are required to be smaller and thinner, and additionally, an increase in the number of components due to sophistication also requires higher mounting density.", "To add an inductance element for matching, an inductance element for a resonance circuit, or other similar inductance element to a multilayer substrate including a coil, it is conceivable to add another coil other than the coil for a transformer (“transformer coil”).", "However, when the multilayer substrate including the transformer coil is configured to further include another coil, unnecessary coupling may occur between the transformer coil and this other coil.", "To prevent unnecessary coupling, it is conceivable to arrange the transformer coil and the other coil at a distance in the multilayer substrate.", "However, this results in an increase in the size of the multilayer substrate.", "Additionally, it is conceivable to arrange the transformer coil and the other coil so that the directions of magnetic fluxes in the transformer coil and the other coil will not be aligned, or to provide a shielding member between the transformer coil and the other coil.", "However, this results in a reduction of the Q value of the coils.", "The above-described problems are not limited to a device provided with a transformer coil and another coil, but are common to coil devices provided with at least two coils with different functions.", "SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Preferred embodiments of the present invention provide coil devices that significantly reduce or prevent an increase in size, increase the independence of at least two coils, and significantly reduce or prevent a reduction of the coil characteristics such as the Q value.", "A coil device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a first coil wound around a winding axis; and a second coil substantially overlapping the first coil when viewed from a winding axis direction of the first coil, wherein the second coil includes a first portion and a second portion that are adjacent to each other in the winding axis direction, and the first portion and the second portion extend or are folded so that directions of electric current flowing through the first portion and the second portion are opposite to each other, and a coil opening is provided between the first portion and the second portion.", "With the above-described configuration, the coil opening of the first coil is not blocked by the second coil, and accordingly, reduction of the Q value of the first coil is reduced or prevented.", "In addition, because the coil opening of the second coil and the coil opening of the first coil are orthogonal or substantially orthogonal to each other, the first coil and the second coil may be used as independent coils.", "In a coil device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, it is preferable that the coil device includes a first terminal and a second terminal, a first end of the second coil being connected to a second end of the first coil, a first end of the first coil being connected to the first terminal, and a second end of the second coil being connected to the second terminal.", "Accordingly, the coil device may be used as a coil device that includes the first coil and the second coil which are connected in series, and that is provided with two terminals.", "In a coil device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, it is preferable that the coil device includes a first terminal, a second terminal, and a third terminal, the first coil defining a primary coil portion and a secondary coil portion of a transformer, a first end of the primary coil portion being connected to the first terminal, a second end of the primary coil portion being connected to the third terminal, a first end of the secondary coil portion being connected to a first end of the second coil, and a second end of the secondary coil portion being connected to the third terminal.", "Accordingly, the coil device may be used as a coil device in which the first coil defines a transformer, and the second coil, which is not magnetically and undesirably coupled to the transformer and which is independent, is connected in series with a secondary coil portion of the transformer.", "In a coil device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, it is preferable that the coil device includes a first terminal, a second terminal, and a third terminal, the first coil defining a primary coil portion and a secondary coil portion of a transformer, a first end of the primary coil portion being connected to the first terminal, a second end of the primary coil portion being connected to the third terminal, a first end of the secondary coil portion being connected to the second terminal, a second end of the secondary coil portion being connected to the third terminal, a first end of the second coil being connected to the second terminal, and a second end of the second coil being connected to the first terminal.", "Accordingly, the coil device may be used as a coil device provided with a transformer in which a primary coil is connected between a first terminal and a third terminal and a secondary coil is connected between a second terminal and the third terminal, and the second coil being connected between the first terminal and the second terminal.", "In a coil device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, it is preferable that the coil device further includes a fourth terminal, a second end of the first coil being connected to the fourth terminal.", "Accordingly, the coil device may be used as a coil device that includes the first coil connected between the first terminal and a fourth terminal, and the second coil connected between the second terminal and the fourth terminal.", "In a coil device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, it is preferable that the coil device includes a multilayer body including a plurality of base material layers that are stacked, the first coil and the second coil overlapping each other in a stacking direction.", "Accordingly, simply by staking a plurality of base material layers defining the first coil and a plurality of base material layers defining the second coil, the first coil and the second coil are arranged in a multilayer body, thus obtaining a coil device that occupies a small area when being mounted on a circuit substrate or other suitable substrate.", "According to preferred embodiments of the present invention, coil devices that significantly reduce or prevent an increase in size, increase the independence of at least two coils, and significantly reduce or prevent a reduction of the coil characteristics such as the Q value is obtained.", "The above and other elements, features, steps, characteristics and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments with reference to the attached drawings.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG.", "1 is a perspective view of a coil device 101 according to a first preferred embodiment of the present invention.", "FIG.", "2 is an exploded plan view illustrating conductor patterns provided on base material layers of the coil device 101.FIG.", "3 is a perspective view of the conductor patterns provided on the base material layers of the coil device 101.FIG.", "4 is a circuit diagram of the coil device 101.FIG.", "5 is an exploded plan view illustrating conductor patterns provided on base material layers of a coil device 102 according to a second preferred embodiment of the present invention.", "FIG.", "6 is a circuit diagram of the coil device 102.FIGS.", "7A and 7B are perspective views of conductor patterns provided on base material layers of coil devices 103A and 103B, respectively, according to a third preferred embodiment of the present invention.", "FIG.", "8 is a circuit diagram of the coil devices 103A and 103B.", "FIG.", "9 is a perspective view of conductor patterns provided on base material layers of a coil device 104 according to a fourth preferred embodiment of the present invention.", "FIG.", "10 is a circuit diagram of the coil device 104.FIG.", "11 is a perspective view of conductor patterns provided on base material layers of a coil device 105 according to a fifth preferred embodiment of the present invention.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a plurality of preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described by providing a few specific examples with reference to the drawings.", "In the drawings, the same portions are denoted by the same reference numeral.", "Considering the ease of description or understanding of main points, the preferred embodiments will be described separately for the sake of convenience.", "However, configurations described in different preferred embodiments may be partially replaced or combined.", "From a second preferred embodiment onward, descriptions of points that are common to those of a first preferred embodiment will be omitted, and only different points will be described.", "In particular, the same or similar advantageous effects achieved by the same or similar configuration will not be mentioned in each of the preferred embodiments.", "First Preferred Embodiment In a first preferred embodiment of the present invention, a coil device 101 including a first coil defining a transformer, and a second coil connected in series with a secondary coil of the transformer will be described.", "The coil device 101 is used in, for example, an inductance element, an impedance conversion circuit, a voltage conversion circuit, and other suitable devices.", "FIG.", "1 is a perspective view of the coil device 101 according to the first preferred embodiment.", "FIG.", "2 is an exploded plan view illustrating conductor patterns provided on base material layers.", "FIG.", "3 is a perspective view of the conductor patterns provided on the base material layers.", "Note that FIG.", "3 is extended (exaggerated) in a stacking direction, except for the base material layers on which the conductor patterns are provided.", "The conductor pattern on the top layer is not illustrated in FIG.", "3.FIG.", "4 is a circuit diagram of the coil device 101.As illustrated in FIG.", "4, a first coil L1 defines a primary coil portion L11 and a secondary coil portion L12 of a transformer T. A first end E11a of the primary coil portion L11 is connected to a first terminal P1.A second end L11b of the primary coil portion L11 is connected to a third terminal Pg.", "A first end E12a of the secondary coil portion L12 is connected to a first end E2a of a second coil L2.A second end E12b of the secondary coil portion L12 is connected to the third terminal Pg.", "A second end E2b of the second coil L2 is connected to a second terminal P2.The coil device 101 includes a multilayer body including a plurality of base material layers that are stacked.", "In the multilayer body, the first coil and the second coil overlap each other in a stacking direction of the base material layers.", "On the outer surface of the multilayer body which is preferably a rectangular or substantially rectangular parallelepiped, the first terminal P1, the second terminal P2, the third terminal Pg, and a free terminal Pn for mounting are respectively provided.", "The third terminal Pg is used as, for example, a ground terminal, and the first terminal P1 and the second terminal P2 are used as input/output terminals, for example.", "As illustrated in FIG.", "2, conductor patterns are respectively provided on the top surfaces of base material layers S1 to S11.In FIG.", "2, a base material layer S1 (B) is the back surface of the base material layer S1.In FIG.", "2, an inter-layer connection conductor (via conductor) is represented by a broken line.", "Conductor patterns L11a, L11b, L11c, and L11d and a plurality of inter-layer connection conductors provided on and in the base material layers S1 to S4 define the primary coil portion L11, which preferably includes about 3.75 turns, for example.", "In addition, conductor patterns L12a, L12b, L12c, and L12d and a plurality of inter-layer connection conductors provided on and in the base material layers S8 to S5 define the secondary coil portion L12, which preferably includes about 3.75 turns, for example.", "The conductor patterns L11a to L11d of the primary coil portion L11 and the conductor patterns L12a to L12d of the secondary coil portion L12 extend along one rectangular path.", "The primary coil portion L11 and the secondary coil portion L12 have an identical or substantially identical winding axis.", "The primary coil portion L11 operates as a primary coil of the transformer T, and the secondary coil portion L12 operates as a secondary coil of the transformer T. Conductor patterns L2A and L2B are provided on the base material layers S9 and S10, respectively.", "The conductor patterns L2a and L2b and an inter-layer connection conductor define the second coil L2.The conductor pattern L2a is a first portion of the second coil L2, and the conductor pattern L2b is a second portion of the second coil L2.The second coil L2 substantially overlaps the first coil L1 when viewed from the winding axis direction of the first coil L1.Therefore, a coil opening of the first coil L1 is not blocked by the second coil L2, and accordingly, reduction of the Q value of the first coil is reduced or prevented.", "The first portion (L2a) and the second portion (L2b) extend (are folded) so that the directions of electric current flowing through the first portion (L2a) and the second portion (L2b) are opposite to each other.", "Therefore, a gap provided between the first portion (L2a) and the second portion (L2b) is a coil opening of the second coil L2.A magnetic flux ϕ2 in FIG.", "3 represents a magnetic flux that passes through the coil opening of the second coil L2.In contrast, the coil opening of the first coil L1 is open towards the above-described winding axis AX direction.", "Therefore, a magnetic flux ϕ1 passing through the coil opening of the first coil L1 and the magnetic flux ϕ2 passing through the coil opening of the second coil L2 are orthogonal or substantially orthogonal to each other and are not significantly magnetic-field coupled to each other.", "That is, the first coil L1 does not block the opening of the second coil L2.Accordingly, reduction of the Q value of the second coil is also significantly reduced or prevented.", "In addition, the directions of magnetic fluxes are opposite for the conductor patterns L12a and L2a, but are the same for the conductor patterns L12a and L2b.", "Thus, when viewed as a whole, the magnetic field coupling between the conductor pattern L12a and the conductor patterns (L2a and L2b) is weak.", "The conductor pattern L12a, which is one of the conductor patterns of the first coil that is adjacent to the second coil, and the conductor pattern L2a, which is one of the conductor patterns of the second coil that is adjacent to the first coil, have such a relationship that the conductor patterns L12a and L2a extend (are folded) so that the directions of electric current flowing through the conductor patterns L12a and L2a are opposite to each other.", "Therefore, the electric field coupling between the conductor pattern L12a and the conductor pattern L2a is weak.", "According to the above-described operation, the first coil L1 and the second coil L2 operate as coils that are substantially magnetically and electrically independent coils.", "Second Preferred Embodiment In a second preferred embodiment of the present invention, a coil device including a first coil defining a transformer, and a second coil connected between a primary coil and a secondary coil of the transformer will be described.", "FIG.", "5 is an exploded plan view illustrating conductor patterns provided on base material layers of a coil device 102 according to the second preferred embodiment.", "The external appearance is the same as that illustrated in FIG.", "1 of the first preferred embodiment.", "FIG.", "6 is a circuit diagram of the coil device 102.As illustrated in FIG.", "6, a first coil L1 defines a primary coil portion L11 and a secondary coil portion L12 of a transformer T. A first end E11a of the primary coil portion L11 is connected to a first terminal P1.A second end L11b of the primary coil portion L11 is connected to a third terminal Pg.", "A first end E12a of the secondary coil portion L12 is connected to a first end E2a of a second coil L2.A second end E12b of the secondary coil portion L12 is connected to the third terminal Pg.", "A second end E2b of the second coil L2 is connected to the first terminal P1.As illustrated in FIG.", "5, conductor patterns are respectively provided on the top surfaces of base material layers S1 to S12.In FIG.", "5, a base material layer S1 (B) is the back surface of the base material layer S1.In FIG.", "5, an inter-layer connection conductor (via conductor) is represented by a broken line.", "Conductor patterns L11a, L11b, L11c, and L11d and a plurality of inter-layer connection conductors provided on and in the base material layers S1 to S4 define the primary coil portion L11, which preferably includes about 3.75 turns, for example.", "In addition, conductor patterns L12a, L12b, L12c, and L12d and a plurality of inter-layer connection conductors provided on and in the base material layers S8 to S5 define the secondary coil portion L12, which preferably includes about 3.75 turns, for example.", "The conductor patterns L11a to L11d of the primary coil portion L11 and the conductor patterns L12a to L12d of the secondary coil portion L12 extend along one rectangular path.", "The primary coil portion L11 and the secondary coil portion L12 have an identical or substantially identical winding axis.", "The primary coil portion L11 operates as a primary coil of the transformer T, and the secondary coil portion L12 operates as a secondary coil of the transformer T. Conductor patterns L2a, L2b, and L2c are provided on the base material layers S9, S10, and S11, respectively.", "The conductor patterns L2a, L2b, and L2c and inter-layer connection conductors define the second coil L2.The conductor patterns L2a and L2c are first portions of the second coil L2, and the conductor pattern L2b is a second portion of the second coil L2.Similar to the coil device 101 according to the first preferred embodiment, reduction of the Q value of the first coil L1 and the second coil L2 is reduced or prevented even though the first coil L1 and the second coil L2 are close to each other.", "Similar to the coil device 101 according to the first preferred embodiment, the first coil L1 and the second coil L2 operate as coils that are substantially magnetically and electrically independent coils.", "According to the present preferred embodiment, a signal in a relatively high frequency band is impedance-converted by the transformer T illustrated in FIG.", "6, and a signal in a relatively low frequency band bypasses the second coil L2 and passes through.", "To reduce the coupling coefficient between the second coil L2 and the first coil L1 as much as possible, it is preferable that the number of conductor patterns included in the second coil L2 (the number of layers on which conductor patterns are formed) be an even number.", "However, as illustrated in FIG.", "5 of the present preferred embodiment, the number may be an odd number (three, namely, the conductor patterns L2a, L2b, and L2c).", "Third Preferred Embodiment In a third preferred embodiment of the present invention, a coil device that is provided with a first terminal P1 and a second terminal P2, and that is additionally provided with, between the first terminal P1 and the second terminal P2, a circuit including a first coil L1 and a second coil L2 that are connected in series will be described.", "FIGS.", "7A and 7B are perspective views of conductor patterns provided on base material layers of coil devices 103A and 103B, respectively, according to the third preferred embodiment.", "Note that base material layers on which conductor patterns are provided are omitted in FIGS.", "7A and 7B.", "Additionally, the line width of each of the conductor patterns is represented to be thinner in FIGS.", "7A and 7B.", "FIG.", "8 is a circuit diagram of the coil devices 103A and 103B.", "As illustrated in FIG.", "8, a first end E2a of the second coil L2 is connected to a second end E1b of the first coil L1.A first end E1a of the first coil L1 is connected to the first terminal P1.A second end E2b of the second coil L2 is connected to the second terminal P2.The coil devices 103A and 103B each include a multilayer body including a plurality of base material layers that are stacked.", "In the multilayer body, the first coil L1 and the second coil L2 overlap each other in the stacking direction of the base material layers.", "On the outer surface of the multilayer body, the first terminal P1 and the second terminal P2 are respectively provided.", "Conductor patterns L11a to L11h and a plurality of inter-layer connection conductors connecting the conductor patterns L11a to L11h define the first coil L1, which preferably includes about 7.5 turns, for example.", "In addition, conductor patterns L2a and L2b and an inter-layer connection conductor connecting the conductor patterns L2a and L2b define the second coil L2.The conductor pattern L2a is a first portion of the second coil L2, and the conductor pattern L2b is a second portion of the second coil L2.The coil device 103A and the coil device 103B have different patterns when viewed in plan of the second coil L2.In the coil device 103A, the first portion L2a and the second portion L2b of the second coil L2 include two sides extending in the X direction and two sides extending in the Y direction.", "In contrast, in the coil device 103B, the first portion L2a and the second portion L2b of the second coil L2 include one side extending in the X direction and two sides extending in the Y direction.", "As illustrated in FIG.", "7A, the directions of magnetic fluxes ϕ2y1 and ϕ2y2 passing through the coil opening of the second coil L2 are opposite to each other.", "Thus, the magnetic fluxes ϕ2y1 and ϕ2y2 are canceled out to some extent.", "Therefore, it is difficult to obtain a high inductance for a long total path length of the first portion L2a and the second portion L2b of the second coil.", "In the coil device 103B in FIG.", "7B, a side that extends in the X direction, which is the longitudinal direction, is one side.", "Thus, the above-mentioned cancellation does not occur.", "Although the directions of magnetic fluxes ϕ2x1 and ϕ2x2 passing through the coil opening of the second coil L2 are opposite to each other, because two sides extending in the Y direction are relatively distant from each other, the cancellation between the magnetic fluxes ϕ2x1 and ϕ2x2 is small.", "Therefore, a high inductance is able to be obtained in the coil device 103B for a short total path length of the first portion L2a and the second portion L2b.", "According to the present preferred embodiment, similarly to the coil device 101 according to the first preferred embodiment, reduction of the Q value of the first coil L1 and the second coil L2 is reduced or prevented even though the first coil L1 and the second coil L2 are close to each other.", "In addition, similarly to the coil device 101 according to the first preferred embodiment, the first coil L1 and the second coil L2 operate as coils that are substantially magnetically and electrically independent coils.", "Because the coil devices 103A and 103B according to the present preferred embodiment are such that the direction of a magnetic flux ϕ1 due to the first coil L1 and the direction of a magnetic flux ϕ2 (ϕ2x1, ϕ2x2, ϕ2y1, and ϕ2y2) due to the second coil L2 are different (orthogonal or substantially orthogonal to each other), the coil devices 103A and 103B are able to be used as an antenna with two-directional directivity.", "For example, the coil devices 103A and 103B may preferably be used as an HF-band antenna for NFC (Near Field Communication).", "Fourth Preferred Embodiment In a fourth preferred embodiment of the present invention, a coil device that is provided with a first terminal P1, a second terminal P2, and a fourth terminal Pc, and that is additionally provided with a first coil L1 between the first terminal P1 and the fourth terminal Pc and a second coil L2 between the second terminal P2 and the fourth terminal Pc will be described.", "FIG.", "9 is a perspective view of conductor patterns provided on base material layers of a coil device 104 according to the fourth preferred embodiment.", "Note that base material layers on which conductor patterns are provided are omitted in FIG.", "9.Additionally, the line width of each of the conductor patterns is represented to be thinner in FIG.", "9.FIG.", "10 is a circuit diagram of the coil device 104.As illustrated in FIG.", "10, a first end E2a of the second coil L2 is connected to a second end E1b of the first coil L1.A first end E1a of the first coil L1 is connected to the first terminal P1.A second end E2b of the second coil L2 is connected to the second terminal P2.A second end E1b of the first coil L1 is connected to the fourth terminal Pc.", "The coil device 104 includes a multilayer body including a plurality of base material layers that are stacked.", "In the multilayer body, the first coil L1 and the second coil L2 overlap each other in the stacking direction of the base material layers.", "On the outer surface of the multilayer body, the first terminal P1, the second terminal P2, and the fourth terminal Pc are respectively provided.", "Conductor patterns L11a to L11h and a plurality of inter-layer connection conductors connecting the conductor patterns L11a to L11h define the first coil L1, which preferably includes about 7.5 turns, for example.", "In addition, conductor patterns L2a and L2b and an inter-layer connection conductor connecting the conductor patterns L2a and L2b define the second coil L2.The conductor pattern L2a is a first portion of the second coil L2, and the conductor pattern L2b is a second portion of the second coil L2.The coil device 104 is different from the coil device 103A according to the third preferred embodiment in that the coil device 104 is provided with the fourth terminal Pc.", "According to the present preferred embodiment, the first coil L1 and the second coil L2, which are electrically and magnetically independent from each other, may use, for example, the fourth terminal Pc as a common terminal.", "Fifth Preferred Embodiment In a fifth preferred embodiment of the present invention, an example in which the number of layers on which conductor patterns defining a second coil are provided is preferably three or more layers, for example, will be described.", "FIG.", "11 is a perspective view of conductor patterns provided on base material layers of a coil device 105 according to the fifth preferred embodiment.", "Note that base material layers on which conductor patterns are provided are omitted in FIG.", "11.Additionally, the line width of each of the conductor patterns is represented to be thinner in FIG.", "11.The coil device 105 includes a multilayer body including a plurality of base material layers that are stacked.", "In the multilayer body, a first coil L1 and a second coil L2 overlap each other in the stacking direction of the base material layers.", "On the outer surface of the multilayer body, a first terminal P1 and a second terminal P2 are provided.", "Unlike the coil device 103A illustrated in FIG.", "7A of the third preferred embodiment, conductor patterns L2a, L2b, L2c, and L2d are stacked and arranged sequentially.", "These conductor patterns L2a, L2b, L2c, and L2d and inter-layer connection conductors connecting these conductor patterns L2a, L2b, L2c, and L2d define the second coil L2.The conductor patterns L2a and L2c are first portions of the second coil L2, and the conductor pattern L2b and L2d are second portions of the second coil L2.Similar to the present preferred embodiment, even if the second coil L2 including a plurality of first portions and a plurality of second portions is provided, reduction of the Q value of the first coil L1 and the second coil L2 is reduced or prevented.", "In addition, the first coil L1 and the second coil L2 operate as coils that are substantially magnetically and electrically independent coils.", "Finally, the descriptions of the above-described preferred embodiments are only exemplary in all respects and are not construed to be limiting.", "Modifications or changes may be made to the preferred embodiments by those skilled in the art.", "For example, configurations described in different preferred embodiments may be partially replaced or combined.", "The scope of the present invention is defined not by the above-described preferred embodiments, but by the claims.", "In addition, it is intended that equivalents to the scope of the claims and all changes that are within the scope of the claims be included within the scope of the present invention.", "For example, although the preferred embodiments illustrated in FIG.", "2 and other figures describe examples in which conductor patterns provided on different base material layers are connected by inter-layer connection conductors penetrating through the base material layers, the inter-layer connection conductors may be provided on the end surfaces of the multilayer body.", "While preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, it is to be understood that variations and modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention.", "The scope of the present invention, therefore, is to be determined solely by the following claims." ] ]
Patent_15873010
[ [ "FOOD PROCESSING SYSTEM PRESENTING A GUIDING FLOW ARRANGEMENT AND PROCESS FOR USE THEREOF", "A food processing system presents a recipient configured for receiving food ingredients and a lid presenting upwards and downwards sides configured to engage with the perimeter of the recipient thereby at least partially closing the recipient, and a driving arrangement confined within a casing and adapted to drive a tool support arranged inside of the recipient, whereby the lid presents a single lid opening advantageously presenting a generally circular form and disposed, e.g., centrally relative to the lid, whereby the upwards side of the lid presents a first surface extending on a generally outer region of the lid and further presents a second surface extending around the opening and developing at a lower level in respect of the first surface, and whereby the lid further presents a flow guiding unit arranged next to the lid opening and adapted to provide a streamlined flow of a fluid poured into the second surface into the recipient when the lid is placed thereupon." ], [ "1.Food processing system for processing food ingredients comprising a recipient for receiving food ingredients and a lid presenting an upwards side and a downwards side configured to engage with the perimeter edge of said recipient, and a driving arrangement confined within a casing and adapted to drive a tool support arranged so that it can support a food processing tool inside of said recipient, wherein said lid presents a lid opening advantageously presenting a generally circular form and disposed for example in a centered manner relative to said lid, wherein the upwards side of said lid presents a first surface extending on a generally outer region of said lid and further presents a second surface extending around at least part of said single lid opening and developing at a lower level in respect of said first surface, wherein said lid presents a flow-guiding unit arranged next to said single lid opening, comprising a wall part and at least one flow part, and adapted so that an amount of fluid poured upon said second surface can be comprised inwards along most of the perimeter of said lid opening and can flow under the action of the gravity force through said lid opening into said recipient when said lid is arranged on said recipient.", "2.Food processing system according to claim 1, wherein said flow-guiding unit comprises a wall part extending upwards from the edge of said lid opening and extending along part of the perimeter of said lid opening, and at least one flow part that is provided as a flow passage section in said wall part and configured so that said fluid can flow streamlined through said lid opening.", "3.Food processing system according to claim 1, wherein said wall part presents a similar height along a respective perimeter extension in relation to said second surface, wherein said height is advantageously similar to the level difference between said second surface and said first surface along a respective perimeter.", "4.Food processing system according to claim 1, wherein said flow part is configured as a spout-like arrangement comprising a constrain of flow passage section and a downwards oriented flow surface in relation to said second surface, and in that said flow part advantageously presents a narrowing of flow passage section, for example with a V-like form, directed towards said lid opening.", "5.Food processing system according to claim 1, wherein said flow part presents a curved or straight flow surface between said second surface and said lid opening configured so as to generate a streamlined flow of said liquid into said recipient.", "6.Food processing system according to claim 1, wherein said second surface presents at least one inclination relative to a horizontal plane and towards a flow part, wherein said flow part is arranged at the lowest part of said second surface.", "7.Food processing system according to claim 1, wherein that said system further comprises a cup-like closing element comprising a first part presenting a tubular, advantageously frusto-conic form, extending upwards from a second part, said second part provided as an annular element projecting outwards and arranged between said first part and a third part, and said third part presenting a tubular form, advantageously frusto-conic, extending downwards from said second part, wherein said closing element is adapted so that can be placed on said lid opening thereby at least partially closing said lid opening.", "8.Food processing system according to claim 7, wherein said second part of said closing element comprises a base part and a closing wall part extending upwards and downwards of the perimeter edge of said base part and presenting a height in relation to said base part that generally corresponds at least to the level difference between said second surface and a lower level of said first surface along a respective perimeter, so that said closing element is supported in its closing wall part by said second surface and in its base part by said wall part of said flow guiding unit along part of the perimeter of said second surface but not in the region of said flow part where there remains a distance between said closing wall part and said second surface, so that fluid poured upon said second surface can further flow through said lid opening into said recipient, even when said closing element is placed in said lid opening.", "9.Food processing system according to claim 7, wherein said closing element comprises a closing wall part that presents a plurality of indents in both the upwards and downwards extensions thereof relative to said base part, wherein said indents generally correspond to height variations of a respective top edge and are advantageously evenly distributed along the radial direction, thereby providing a flow communication between outside and inside parts of said second surface in respect of the diameter of said closing wall part, and from said inside part of said second surface through said lid opening into said recipient, when said lid is placed thereupon and regardless of which of said first and third parts of said closing element is placed in said lid opening.", "10.Food processing system according to claim 7, wherein said first part defines an open cup-like collection volume and said third part defines a closed form of different volume divided from said first part by said second part, or both of said first and third parts define a single cup-like collection volume, and in that at least one of first or third parts of said closing element present a plurality of tongues projecting outwards from its outside side surface and adapted so that they can engage with a retaining unit provided in corresponding radial positions, advantageously on the downwards oriented side of said lid opening, so that said closing element can be optionally retained in a given position with said lid.", "11.Food processing system according to claim 1, wherein said second surface presents at least one cavity element, such as a cavity of channel-like, or a plurality of cavity elements in fluid communication with each other and with a respective flow part, and in that said second surface presents at least one marking, advantageously disposed along said wall part and towards said flow part, wherein said marking indicates at least one of the general flow direction and fluid quantities.", "12.Process for using a food processing system presenting a recipient configured for receiving food ingredients and a lid presenting an upwards side and a downwards side configured to engage with the perimeter of said recipient thereby at least partially closing said recipient, and a driving arrangement confined within a casing and adapted to drive a tool support arranged inside of said recipient, wherein said lid presents a single lid opening advantageously presenting a generally circular form and disposed for example in a centered manner relative to said lid, wherein the upwards side of said lid presents a first surface extending on a generally outer region of said lid and further presents a second surface extending around at least part of said opening and developing at a lower level in respect of said first surface, in particular a food processing system according to claim 1, wherein said process comprises: providing food ingredients to said recipient and placing said lid upon said recipient, advantageously in a removable fixed engagement with the perimeter edge of said recipient, optionally actuating said driving arrangement, pouring a fluid upon said second surface, wherein said fluid is conducted under the action of the force gravity into said recipient via a flow guiding unit provided next to said lid opening of said lid.", "13.Process according to claim 12, wherein said fluid is poured upon at least one previously defined region of said second surface of said lid.", "14.Process according to claim 12, wherein said flow is conducted along said second surface, comprised by a wall part along at least part of the perimeter of said lid opening, and through at least one flow part provided next to said lid opening, into said recipient.", "15.Process according to claim 12, further comprising: placing a closing element on the lid opening, and eventually rotating said closing element so as to retain said closing element in said lid opening, thereby optionally further allowing said fluid to flow there through into said recipient." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION <EOH>Conventional technology includes several solutions relating to cooking systems presenting a recipient adapted for receiving food ingredients and a respective lid adapted for providing closure of said recipient and means adapted for fluid flows through said lid into and out of said recipient.", "Document U.S. Pat.", "No.", "4,137,834 discloses a cooking device for heating and mixing foods of the type of the present invention.", "The cooking device presents a recipient and a respective lid, whereby said lid presents a central opening.", "Documents EP 1651086 B1 discloses a cooking vessel comprising a bowl arranged in a casing and a lid, whereby an annular top portion of the casing presents flow guiding means adapted for supporting pouring of food out of said recipient.", "Document EP 1566124 B1 discloses a closure lid for closing a receptacle of an electrical household appliance and suitable for containing liquid, whereby said lid is provided with an orifice and a closure device that comprises a movable portion that is adapted so that it can be moved between a plurality of positions including an open position allowing the liquid to be poured out by tilting the receptacle, and whereby the movable portion can be placed in a disassembly position in which the movable portion can be separated from the body of the lid.", "Document U.S. Pat.", "No.", "8,157,435 B2 discloses a lid for a mixing device whereby a pour spout extends generally vertically upwardly from the base and further includes a channel that generally surrounds the pour spout to collect errant drips of foodstuff when the lid is mounted to the jar.", "This solution proposes two lid openings, a bigger one that can be regarded as a main opening dedicated to pouring the contents of the recipient outwards, and a small secondary opening dedicated to collecting and returning any spillovers remaining from said while also assisting said pouring through the main opening.", "Said non-closable secondary opening is disadvantageous in certain culinary preparations where a substantial gas closure of the recipient may be used.", "Moreover, this solution does not provide for a configuration of said secondary opening providing a streamlined flow of the fluid poured into said lid, but a rather bulk pattern at a high flow rate.", "This is a relevant aspect in some culinary preparations, such as in the case of adding olive oil or a seasoning sauce to certain preparations, whereby it is important to provide said fluid at a relatively slow supply rate, sometimes during relatively long periods while cooking is ongoing.", "The documents DE 10 2010 017387 A1 and DE 201 2014 100 967 A1 disclose closing elements adapted for closing a lid opening in a food processor of the same type as the one of the present invention.", "However, none of these documents discloses a solution for retaining said closing element in said lid opening while further providing for a fluid connection through said lid opening, including inwards and outwards of said recipient.", "This is advantageous in terms of optionally preventing an unintentional handling of the recipient with the lid and thereby resulting in a release of the closing element and eventual hazardous spills of hot cooking preparation outwards." ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY <EOH>According to an embodiment, a food processing system for processing food ingredients may have a recipient for receiving food ingredients and a lid presenting an upwards side and a downwards side configured to engage with the perimeter edge of said recipient, and a driving arrangement confined within a casing and adapted to drive a tool support arranged so that it can support a food processing tool inside of said recipient, whereby said lid presents a lid opening advantageously presenting a generally circular form and disposed for example in a centered manner relative to said lid, whereby the upwards side of said lid presents a first surface extending on a generally outer region of said lid and further presents a second surface extending around at least part of said single lid opening and developing at a lower level in respect of said first surface, characterized in that said lid presents flow-guiding means arranged next to said single lid opening, including a wall part and at least one flow part, and adapted so that an amount of fluid poured upon said second surface can be contained inwards along most of the perimeter of said lid opening and can flow under the action of the gravity force through said lid opening into said recipient when said lid is arranged on said recipient.", "Another embodiment may have a process for using a food processing system presenting a recipient configured for receiving food ingredients and a lid presenting an upwards side and a downwards side configured to engage with the perimeter of said recipient thereby at least partially closing said recipient, and a driving arrangement confined within a casing and adapted to drive a tool support arranged inside of said recipient, wherein said lid presents a single lid opening advantageously presenting a generally circular form and disposed for example in a centered manner relative to said lid, wherein the upwards side of said lid presents a first surface extending on a generally outer region of said lid and further presents a second surface extending around at least part of said opening and developing at a lower level in respect of said first surface, in particular a food processing system according to claim 1 , which process may have the steps of: providing food ingredients to said recipient and placing said lid upon said recipient, advantageously in a removable fixed engagement with the perimeter edge of said recipient,—optionally actuating said driving arrangement,—pouring a fluid upon said second surface, wherein said fluid is conducted under the action of the force gravity into said recipient via a flow guiding unit provided next to said lid opening of said lid.", "In particular, a food processing system according to the present invention comprises a recipient that presents a spout-like arrangement and a lid that presents a single lid opening and flow guiding means arranged next to said lid opening and adapted so that an amount of fluid poured upon said second surface can be contained inwards around most of the perimeter of said lid opening and can flow under the action of the gravity force through said single lid opening into inside of said recipient when said lid is arranged on said recipient.", "Moreover, according to an advantageous embodiment, said flow guiding means comprise a wall part extending upwards from and along part of the perimeter edge of said lid opening, and at least one flow part that is provided as a flow passage section in said wall part and configured so that said fluid can flow streamlined through said lid opening.", "According to a particularly advantageous embodiment, said flow part is configured as a spout-like arrangement including a constrain of flow passage section and a downwards oriented flow surface in relation to said second surface.", "This configuration advantageously provides for a streamlined flow of said fluid circulating under the force of gravity after being poured upon said second surface of said lid.", "A related objective of the present invention is to provide a closing element adapted to substantially close said lid opening and further providing the options of enabling vapor exit out of the recipient, and of retention thereof to said lid, thereby avoiding unintentional releases and any hazardous spills of hot cooking preparations.", "The aforementioned objective is solved according to the present invention.", "A related objective of the present invention is to provide a process for using a food processing system presenting a lid with flow guiding means.", "The aforementioned objective is solved according to the present invention by means of a process according to claim 12 , whereby dependent claims present advantageous embodiments thereof.", "In particular, said process comprises the steps of providing food ingredients to said recipient and placing said lid upon said recipient, advantageously in a removable fixed engagement with the perimeter edge of said recipient, optionally actuating said driving arrangement, and pouring a fluid upon said second surface, whereby said fluid is conducted under the action of the force gravity into said recipient via flow guiding means provided next to said lid opening of said lid." ], [ "CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation of copending International Application No.", "PCT/PT2016/000008, filed Jul.", "12, 2016, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, and additionally claims priority from Portuguese Application No.", "108708, filed Jul.", "20, 2015, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.", "The present invention refers to the field of food processing systems presenting a recipient and lid arrangement.", "BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Conventional technology includes several solutions relating to cooking systems presenting a recipient adapted for receiving food ingredients and a respective lid adapted for providing closure of said recipient and means adapted for fluid flows through said lid into and out of said recipient.", "Document U.S. Pat.", "No.", "4,137,834 discloses a cooking device for heating and mixing foods of the type of the present invention.", "The cooking device presents a recipient and a respective lid, whereby said lid presents a central opening.", "Documents EP 1651086 B1 discloses a cooking vessel comprising a bowl arranged in a casing and a lid, whereby an annular top portion of the casing presents flow guiding means adapted for supporting pouring of food out of said recipient.", "Document EP 1566124 B1 discloses a closure lid for closing a receptacle of an electrical household appliance and suitable for containing liquid, whereby said lid is provided with an orifice and a closure device that comprises a movable portion that is adapted so that it can be moved between a plurality of positions including an open position allowing the liquid to be poured out by tilting the receptacle, and whereby the movable portion can be placed in a disassembly position in which the movable portion can be separated from the body of the lid.", "Document U.S. Pat.", "No.", "8,157,435 B2 discloses a lid for a mixing device whereby a pour spout extends generally vertically upwardly from the base and further includes a channel that generally surrounds the pour spout to collect errant drips of foodstuff when the lid is mounted to the jar.", "This solution proposes two lid openings, a bigger one that can be regarded as a main opening dedicated to pouring the contents of the recipient outwards, and a small secondary opening dedicated to collecting and returning any spillovers remaining from said while also assisting said pouring through the main opening.", "Said non-closable secondary opening is disadvantageous in certain culinary preparations where a substantial gas closure of the recipient may be used.", "Moreover, this solution does not provide for a configuration of said secondary opening providing a streamlined flow of the fluid poured into said lid, but a rather bulk pattern at a high flow rate.", "This is a relevant aspect in some culinary preparations, such as in the case of adding olive oil or a seasoning sauce to certain preparations, whereby it is important to provide said fluid at a relatively slow supply rate, sometimes during relatively long periods while cooking is ongoing.", "The documents DE 10 2010 017387 A1 and DE 201 2014 100 967 A1 disclose closing elements adapted for closing a lid opening in a food processor of the same type as the one of the present invention.", "However, none of these documents discloses a solution for retaining said closing element in said lid opening while further providing for a fluid connection through said lid opening, including inwards and outwards of said recipient.", "This is advantageous in terms of optionally preventing an unintentional handling of the recipient with the lid and thereby resulting in a release of the closing element and eventual hazardous spills of hot cooking preparation outwards.", "SUMMARY According to an embodiment, a food processing system for processing food ingredients may have a recipient for receiving food ingredients and a lid presenting an upwards side and a downwards side configured to engage with the perimeter edge of said recipient, and a driving arrangement confined within a casing and adapted to drive a tool support arranged so that it can support a food processing tool inside of said recipient, whereby said lid presents a lid opening advantageously presenting a generally circular form and disposed for example in a centered manner relative to said lid, whereby the upwards side of said lid presents a first surface extending on a generally outer region of said lid and further presents a second surface extending around at least part of said single lid opening and developing at a lower level in respect of said first surface, characterized in that said lid presents flow-guiding means arranged next to said single lid opening, including a wall part and at least one flow part, and adapted so that an amount of fluid poured upon said second surface can be contained inwards along most of the perimeter of said lid opening and can flow under the action of the gravity force through said lid opening into said recipient when said lid is arranged on said recipient.", "Another embodiment may have a process for using a food processing system presenting a recipient configured for receiving food ingredients and a lid presenting an upwards side and a downwards side configured to engage with the perimeter of said recipient thereby at least partially closing said recipient, and a driving arrangement confined within a casing and adapted to drive a tool support arranged inside of said recipient, wherein said lid presents a single lid opening advantageously presenting a generally circular form and disposed for example in a centered manner relative to said lid, wherein the upwards side of said lid presents a first surface extending on a generally outer region of said lid and further presents a second surface extending around at least part of said opening and developing at a lower level in respect of said first surface, in particular a food processing system according to claim 1, which process may have the steps of: providing food ingredients to said recipient and placing said lid upon said recipient, advantageously in a removable fixed engagement with the perimeter edge of said recipient,—optionally actuating said driving arrangement,—pouring a fluid upon said second surface, wherein said fluid is conducted under the action of the force gravity into said recipient via a flow guiding unit provided next to said lid opening of said lid.", "In particular, a food processing system according to the present invention comprises a recipient that presents a spout-like arrangement and a lid that presents a single lid opening and flow guiding means arranged next to said lid opening and adapted so that an amount of fluid poured upon said second surface can be contained inwards around most of the perimeter of said lid opening and can flow under the action of the gravity force through said single lid opening into inside of said recipient when said lid is arranged on said recipient.", "Moreover, according to an advantageous embodiment, said flow guiding means comprise a wall part extending upwards from and along part of the perimeter edge of said lid opening, and at least one flow part that is provided as a flow passage section in said wall part and configured so that said fluid can flow streamlined through said lid opening.", "According to a particularly advantageous embodiment, said flow part is configured as a spout-like arrangement including a constrain of flow passage section and a downwards oriented flow surface in relation to said second surface.", "This configuration advantageously provides for a streamlined flow of said fluid circulating under the force of gravity after being poured upon said second surface of said lid.", "A related objective of the present invention is to provide a closing element adapted to substantially close said lid opening and further providing the options of enabling vapor exit out of the recipient, and of retention thereof to said lid, thereby avoiding unintentional releases and any hazardous spills of hot cooking preparations.", "The aforementioned objective is solved according to the present invention.", "A related objective of the present invention is to provide a process for using a food processing system presenting a lid with flow guiding means.", "The aforementioned objective is solved according to the present invention by means of a process according to claim 12, whereby dependent claims present advantageous embodiments thereof.", "In particular, said process comprises the steps of providing food ingredients to said recipient and placing said lid upon said recipient, advantageously in a removable fixed engagement with the perimeter edge of said recipient, optionally actuating said driving arrangement, and pouring a fluid upon said second surface, whereby said fluid is conducted under the action of the force gravity into said recipient via flow guiding means provided next to said lid opening of said lid.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Embodiments of the present invention will be detailed subsequently referring to the appended drawings, in which the Figures show, in schematic representations: FIG.", "1: a side view of a first embodiment of a food processing system (1) according to the present invention; FIG.", "2: a top view of a first embodiment of a lid (3) according to the present invention; FIG.", "3: a perspective view from above of a first embodiment of a lid (3) according to the present invention; FIG.", "4: a side view of the lid (3) according to FIG.", "3; FIG.", "5: a cut view of the lid (3) according to the AA place indicated in FIG.", "4; FIG.", "6: a top view of a second embodiment of a lid (3) according to the present invention; FIG.", "7: a top view of a third embodiment of a lid (3) according to the present invention; FIG.", "8: a side view of a second embodiment of a food processing system (1) according to the present invention; FIG.", "9: a perspective view from above of an advantageous embodiment of a closing element (8) in a food processing system according to the present invention; FIG.", "10: a top view of the closing element (8) according to FIG.", "9; FIG.", "11: a side view of the closing element (8) according to FIG.", "9; FIG.", "12: a side-cut view of the closing element (8) according to the cut plane AA indicated in FIG.", "11; FIG.", "13: a top view of the lid (3) with closing element (8); FIG.", "14: a side view of the lid (3) with closing element (8) according to FIG.", "13; FIG.", "15: a side-cut view of the lid (3) with closing element (8) according to the cut plane AA indicated in FIG.", "14; FIG.", "16: a perspective view from above of the lid (3) with closing element (8).", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION FIG.", "1 shows a food processing system (1) according to the present invention.", "As schematically depicted, said food processing system (1) presents a recipient (2) for receiving food ingredients, and a lid (3) presenting an upwards side and a downwards side configured to engage with the perimeter edge of said recipient (2), and a driving arrangement (4) confined within a casing (5) and adapted to drive a tool support (6) arranged so that it can support a food processing tool inside of said recipient (2).", "Said lid (3) presents a single lid opening (31) advantageously presenting a generally circular form and disposed for example in a centered manner relative to said lid (3).", "According to an advantageous embodiment, said food-processing system (1) further comprises a heating device (not represented) arranged next to said recipient (2) and adapted to provide a regulated heat transfer to said recipient (2).", "As further represented in FIG.", "8, in an advantageous embodiment thereof, said food processing system (1) further comprises a closing element (8) adapted to close said single lid opening (31) thus optionally rendering said recipient (2) substantially closed to any substantial gas exhaustion.", "As best seen in the top view of said lid (3) represented in FIG.", "2 and in the perspective top view represented in FIG.", "3, the upwards side of said lid (3) presents a first surface (32) extending on a generally outer region of said lid (3) and further presents a second surface (33) extending around at least part of said opening (31) and developing at a lower level in respect of said first surface (32).", "According to a first inventive aspect, said lid (3) presents flow guiding means (7) arranged next to said lid opening (31) and adapted so that an amount of fluid poured upon said second surface (33) can be contained inwards around most of the perimeter of said lid opening (31) and can flow under the action of the gravity force through said lid opening (31) into inside of said recipient (2) when said lid (3) is arranged on said recipient (2).", "A first central aspect of the present invention thus relates to providing means constraining a fluid flow poured in the vicinity of said lid opening (31) so as to flow into said recipient (2) through said lid opening (31).", "This advantageously provides for the possibility of a user adding a particular fluid, such as olive oil or another type of seasoning sauce, and leaving it to flow in a streamlined manner into said recipient.", "According to a first advantageous embodiment, said flow guiding means (7) comprise a wall part (71) extending upwards from the edge of said lid opening (31) and extending along part of the perimeter of said lid opening (31), and at least one flow part (72) that is provided as a flow passage section in said second surface (33) or in said wall part (71) and configured so that said fluid can flow streamlined into said lid opening (31).", "In fact, according to another advantageous embodiment, as depicted in FIG.", "2, said flow part (72) presents a substantial narrowing of flow passage section in relation to said second surface (33), thereby generating a streamlined fluid flow over the edge and through said lid opening (31).", "FIGS.", "4 and 5 represent further construction details of the first embodiment of lid (3) according to FIGS.", "2 and 3.As best seen in the section cut view of FIG.", "5, said lid (3) presents a second surface (33) that extends next to a wall part (71) along the perimeter edge of said lid opening (31), whereby there is provided an inclination along said extension towards said flow part (71).", "This advantageously facilitates the fluid to flow towards said flow part (71) under the action of the force of gravity.", "As further illustrated in FIG.", "5, and according to another advantageous embodiment, said wall part (71) presents a similar height along a respective perimeter extension in relation to said second surface (33).", "Moreover, it is further advantageous when said height of said wall part (71) is similar to the level difference between said second surface (33) and said first surface (32) along a respective perimeter.", "FIG.", "6 depicts a second embodiment of lid (3) presenting flow-guiding means (7) as part of a food processing system (1) according to the present invention.", "In this case, there are provided two second surfaces (33) provided at respectively different inclination relative to a horizontal plane and arranged towards a respective flow part (72).", "This embodiment advantageously provides for the possibility of pouring two seasoning fluids simultaneously and leaving them to flow in a streamlined manner in said recipient (2).", "FIG.", "7 illustrates a third embodiment, whereby there are two cavity elements (331) provided in said second surface (33) and in fluid communication with a respective flow part (72).", "According to an advantageous embodiment, said cavity elements (331) are sized to correspond to a given amount of fluid volume, thus facilitating the measurement by a user of a fluid quantity to be poured.", "According to another advantageous embodiment, said cavity element (331), such as a cavity of channel-like, or a plurality of cavity elements in fluid communication with each other and with a respective flow part (71).", "FIG.", "8 illustrates an advantageous embodiment of the food processing system (1) according to the present invention, whereby there is further provided a closing element (8) adapted so that it can be placed upon said wall part (71) thereby substantially closing said lid opening (31).", "According to an advantageous embodiment, and as best depicted in FIGS.", "9 to 12, said closing element (8) includes a first part (81) presenting a tubular, advantageously frusto-conic form extending upwards from a second part (82), said second part (82) provided as an annular element projecting outwards and arranged between said first part (81) and a third part (83), and said third part (83) presenting a tubular, advantageously frusto-conic form extending downwards from said second part (82).", "According to an advantageous embodiment, said second part (82) of said closing element (8) includes a base part (821) and a closing wall part (822) extending upwards and downwards of the perimeter edge of said base part (821), whereby said closing wall part (822) further presents indents (823) defining a height variation in relation to said base part (821) along the radial direction that generally corresponds to the level difference between said second surface (33) and at least a lower level of said first surface (32) along a respective perimeter.", "According to an advantageous embodiment, said plurality of indents (823) is provided in both the upwards and downwards extensions of said closing wall part (822) relative to said base part (821), whereby said indents (823) generally correspond to height variations of a respective top edge and are advantageously evenly distributed along the radial direction, thereby providing a flow communication between outside and inside parts of said second surface (33) in respect of the diameter of said closing wall part (822), and from said inside part of said second surface (33) through said lid opening (31) into said recipient (2), when said lid (3) is placed thereupon and regardless of which of said first and third parts (81, 83) of said closing element (8) is placed in said lid opening (31).", "According to another advantageous embodiment, at least one of first (81) or third (83) parts of said closing element (8) present a plurality of tongues (84) projecting outwards from its outside side surface and adapted so that they can engage with retaining means (34) provided in corresponding radial positions, advantageously on the downwards oriented side of said lid opening (31), so that said closing element (8) can be optionally retained in a given position with said lid (3).", "This advantageously provides for the possibility of a user retaining said closing element (8) in said lid opening (31) thereby preventing hazardous spillovers of hot liquids from inside.", "FIGS.", "12 to 14 depict the general views of a lid (3) with a closing element (8) adapted for substantially closing and optional mechanic retention in a respective lid opening (31), in a food processing system (1) according to the present invention.", "According to an advantageous embodiment, said first (81) defines an open cup-like collection volume and said third part (83) defines a closed form of different volume divided from said first part (81) by said second part (82), or both of said first and third parts (83) define a single cup-like collection volume.", "According to another embodiment, and as best depicted in FIG.", "15, considering the inclination of said second surface (33) relative to a horizontal plane and towards said at least one flow part (72), provides that said closing element (8) is supported in its closing wall part (822) by said second surface (33) and in its base part (821) by said wall part (71) of said flow guiding means (7) along part of the perimeter of said second surface (33) but not in the region of said flow part (72) where there remains a distance between said closing wall part (822) and said second surface (33), so that fluid poured upon said second surface (33) can further flow through said lid opening (31) into said recipient (2), even when said closing element (8) is placed in said lid opening (31).", "This arrangement advantageously provides for the possibility of pouring a seasoning fluid into the outside part of said second surface (33), when said closing element (8) is placed in said lid opening (31), and further obtaining a flow thereof into said recipient (2) through said at least one flow part (72).", "FIG.", "16 represents a perspective view of the ensemble arrangement of said closing element (8) placed in said lid opening (31) of said lid (3) thereby partially dividing said second surface (33) into an exterior and interior zones that are provided in fluid communication with the interior of said recipient (2) through said flow guiding means (7), in particular through at least one respective flow part (72), when said lid (3) is placed upon said recipient (2).", "While this invention has been described in terms of several embodiments, there are alterations, permutations, and equivalents which fall within the scope of this invention.", "It should also be noted that there are many alternative ways of implementing the methods and compositions of the present invention.", "It is therefore intended that the following appended claims be interpreted as including all such alterations, permutations and equivalents as fall within the true spirit and scope of the present invention." ] ]
Patent_15873011
[ [ "METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR CREATING AND MANAGING NETWORK GROUPS", "The embodiments are directed to methods and devices for creating one or more network groups.", "The methods and devices can define a network group with one or more properties.", "The methods and devices can identify a plurality of isolated networks, and can assign the plurality of isolated networks to the defined network group.", "The methods and devices can assign machines to at least one of the plurality of isolated networks, wherein the network group enables unrestricted routing." ], [ "1-26.", "(canceled) 27.A method comprising: (a) establishing, by a network management device, a plurality of network groups, each of the plurality of network groups comprising one or more properties, a property of the one or more properties identifying whether a network group of the one or more network groups is one of isolated, private or shared; (b) identifying, by the network management device, a plurality of Virtual Local Area Networks (VLANs) to be included in each of the one or more network groups; (c) assigning, by the network management device, each of the plurality VLANs to a network group of the plurality of network groups; and (d) configuring, by the network management device based at least on the one or more properties, routing between VLANs within the same network group and restricted routing between network groups among the plurality of network groups.", "28.The method of claim 27, wherein (d) further comprises defining specific network routes for unrestricted routing between VLANS.", "29.The method of claim 27, wherein (d) further comprises configuring settings for a router to enable traffic be sent from one network group to another network group.", "30.The method of claim 27, further comprising assigning, by the network management device, available machines to a VLAN of the plurality of VLANs.", "31.The method of claim 27, wherein a second property of the one or more properties identifies a maximum number of machines for each Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN) in the network group.", "32.The method of claim 31, further comprising receiving, by the network management device, a request to add one or more additional machines to a VLAN and determining based on the second property whether the maximum number of machines for the VLAN has been reached.", "33.The method of claim 27, further comprising receiving, by the network management device, information to associate a scope with each of the plurality of network groups, wherein the scope defines one or more machines or applications that can communicate packets to each other.", "34.The method of claim 33, wherein the one or more machines or applications of the network group are restricted by a router to send packets to other machines or applications outside the scope of the network group.", "35.The method of claim 33, further comprising, responsive to a request for a machine within the scope, selecting a machine located on one of the VLANs in the network group associated with the scope or creating a new virtual machine on one of the VLANs in the network group associated with the scope.", "36.The method of claim 27, wherein shared for the one or more properties identifies to allow ingress network traffic for the network group from multiple tenants, wherein private for the one or more properties identifies to allow egress network traffic for the network group for one or more applications and wherein isolated for the one or more properties identifies to prevent for the network group ingress or egress traffic for a specific set of users.", "37.A system comprising: a network management device comprising one or more processors, coupled to memory and configured to: establish a plurality of network groups, each of the plurality of network groups comprising one or more properties, a property of the one or more properties identifying whether a network group of the one or more network groups is one of isolated, private or shared; identify a plurality of Virtual Local Area Networks (VLANs) to be included in each of the one or more network groups; assign each of the plurality VLANs to a network group of the plurality of network groups; and configure, based on at least the one or more properties, routing between VLANs within the same network group and restricted routing between network groups among the plurality of network groups.", "38.The system of claim 37, wherein the network management device is further configured to define specific network routes for unrestricted routing between VLANS.", "39.The system of claim 37, wherein the network management device is further configured to establish settings for a router to enable traffic be sent from one network group to another network group.", "40.The system of claim 37, wherein the network management device is further configured to assign available machines to a VLAN of the plurality of VLANs.", "41.The system of claim 37, wherein a second property of the one or more properties identifies a maximum number of machines for each Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN) in the network group.", "42.The system of claim 41, wherein the network management device is further configured to receive a request to add one or more additional machines to a VLAN and determining based on the second property whether the maximum number of machines for the VLAN has been reached.", "43.The system of claim 37, wherein the network management device is further configured to receive information to associate a scope with each of the plurality of network groups, wherein the scope defines one or more machines or applications that can communicate packets to each other.", "44.The system of claim 43, wherein the one or more machines or applications of the network group are restricted by a router to send packets to other machines or applications outside the scope of the network group.", "45.The system of claim 43, wherein the network management device is further configured, responsive to a request for a machine within the scope, to select a machine located on one of the VLANs in the network group associated with the scope or create a new virtual machine on one of the VLANs in the network group associated with the scope.", "46.The system of claim 37, wherein shared for the one or more properties identifies to allow ingress network traffic for the network group from multiple tenants, wherein private for the one or more properties identifies to allow egress network traffic for the network group for one or more applications and wherein isolated for the one or more properties identifies to prevent for the network group ingress or egress traffic for a specific set of users." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND <EOH>Personal computers were originally created for a single user, and encompassed one or more of the following: one or more operating systems, native and third party applications, user settings, etc.", "Now, however, the concept of virtualization has made it easier for organizations to provide similar computational functionality, without the cost of purchasing and maintaining individual personal computers.", "Virtualization allows a user to interact with the operating system and applications stored therein in much the same way that they would a standalone personal computer.", "Desktop virtualization technology allows multiple instances of an operating system to be instantiated on a single server, thereby allowing multiple users to login to the server and complete the same tasks that they would, as if they had their own personal computer.", "The architecture of the desktop virtualization environment is comprised of a collection of disparate networks.", "These networks can span floors in a building, or offices across several continents.", "The complexity of creating and maintaining these networks increases with the size of the network.", "Network administrators can spend weeks, if not months, properly configuring a network supporting a desktop virtualization environment." ], [ "<SOH> BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS <EOH>FIG.", "1 is a block diagram of an exemplary system, consistent with embodiments of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "2 is an exemplary network diagram illustrating connections between devices on different physical networks, consistent with embodiments of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "3 is an exemplary operating environment consistent with the embodiments of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "4 is an exemplary computing device consistent with the embodiments of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "5 is an exemplary computing device, consistent with the embodiments of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "6 is a block diagram depicting an exemplary virtualization server, consistent with embodiments of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "7 is a flowchart representing exemplary methods for creating a network group, consistent with embodiments of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "8 is a flowchart representing an exemplary method for managing a network group, consistent with embodiments of the present disclosure.", "detailed-description description=\"Detailed Description\" end=\"lead\"?" ], [ "CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims the benefit of U.S.", "Provisional Application No.", "61/825,338, filed May 20, 2013, which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.", "BACKGROUND Personal computers were originally created for a single user, and encompassed one or more of the following: one or more operating systems, native and third party applications, user settings, etc.", "Now, however, the concept of virtualization has made it easier for organizations to provide similar computational functionality, without the cost of purchasing and maintaining individual personal computers.", "Virtualization allows a user to interact with the operating system and applications stored therein in much the same way that they would a standalone personal computer.", "Desktop virtualization technology allows multiple instances of an operating system to be instantiated on a single server, thereby allowing multiple users to login to the server and complete the same tasks that they would, as if they had their own personal computer.", "The architecture of the desktop virtualization environment is comprised of a collection of disparate networks.", "These networks can span floors in a building, or offices across several continents.", "The complexity of creating and maintaining these networks increases with the size of the network.", "Network administrators can spend weeks, if not months, properly configuring a network supporting a desktop virtualization environment.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG.", "1 is a block diagram of an exemplary system, consistent with embodiments of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "2 is an exemplary network diagram illustrating connections between devices on different physical networks, consistent with embodiments of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "3 is an exemplary operating environment consistent with the embodiments of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "4 is an exemplary computing device consistent with the embodiments of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "5 is an exemplary computing device, consistent with the embodiments of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "6 is a block diagram depicting an exemplary virtualization server, consistent with embodiments of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "7 is a flowchart representing exemplary methods for creating a network group, consistent with embodiments of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "8 is a flowchart representing an exemplary method for managing a network group, consistent with embodiments of the present disclosure.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION Network administrators can spend a substantial amount of time in properly configuring a network supporting a desktop virtualization environment.", "To configure a multi-tenant network environment, one of the requirements is that the tenants, which can be different organizations, are isolated from each other in such a way so a first tenant cannot send network packets to a different, second tenant.", "For example, in this type of environment, a proper setup would prevent packets from being transmitted from organization A to organization B.", "This isolation can occur by assigning each tenant to a different network.", "In some multi-tenant management environments, pools of virtual machines have been built from the same image.", "The networks to which these virtual machines are connected to, are specified beforehand so that the virtual machines can be created as they are needed.", "While the virtual machines have been built from the same image, some of these virtual machines, despite being in the same pool, could be assigned to different networks.", "A problem can occur if a virtual machine that has been configured to communicate with one network is assigned to a different network.", "If this occurs, the virtual machine will not receive packets intended for it.", "Another problem that can occur in a multi-tenant environment is the connection of too many machines to a network.", "This can result in too much network traffic, thereby congesting the network.", "Embodiments in the present disclosure address one or more of the aforementioned problems by creating and managing groups of networks representing both physical and virtual networks by enabling unrestricted routing within the group and restricted routing between groups.", "Reference will now be made in detail to the exemplary embodiments implemented according to the present disclosure, the examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings.", "Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts.", "FIG.", "1 is a network diagram of an exemplary system, consistent with embodiments of the present disclosure.", "Exemplary system 100 represents any type of system capable of creating and/or managing network groups over a network.", "Exemplary system 100 can include, in addition to other things, a network management device 101, a network switch 103, and one or more network groups 105.Network management device 101 is a computer program and/or terminal that can access and control different devices and applications in one or more network groups 105.Network management device 101 can receive a request from one or more network groups 105, process the request, and send a response to the requesting network groups 105.For example, network management device 101 could receive a message from a network group 105b, requesting access to another network group 105c.", "Network management device 101 can determine if the requesting entity in network group 105b has permission to access network group 105c, then send a response to the requesting entity in network group 105b granting or denying access to network group 105c.", "Moreover, network management device 101 can define the network groups, which will further be described herein.", "Network switch 103 is a computer program or computer networking device that connects devices on different networks.", "Network switch 103, for example, can be a server, network hub, repeater, network bridge, router, a layer-4 switch, or a layer-7 switch.", "Network switch 103 is a device that receives messages from any device connected to it and transmits the message to the device or set of devices for which the message was intended.", "Network switch 103 can send and receive messages to the devices connected to it at layers 1, 2, 3, 4, and 7 of the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model.", "Network switch 103 can also send and receive messages using any combination of the different layers.", "Each network group 105 is a network of networks.", "Network group 105 is a collection of isolated networks that can have full routing amongst the isolated network members of that group.", "In some embodiments, network group 105 also indicates restricted routing with other network groups.", "Network group 105 can include one or more isolated networks, such as a Virtual Local Area Networks (VLAN), a subnet, or a security group.", "The networks in network groups 105 can be comprised of a combination of wired and wireless networks.", "FIG.", "2 is an exemplary network diagram illustrating connections between devices on different physical networks, consistent with embodiments of the present disclosure.", "One or more clients 240 and/or one or more servers 206 can transmit data over a network 230 installed between machines and appliances within computing environment 200.Network 230 can comprise one or more subnet, and can be installed between any combination of the clients 240, servers 206, computing machines and appliances included within the computing environment 200.In some embodiments, network 230 can be: a local-area network (LAN); a metropolitan area network (MAN); a wide area network (WAN); a primary public network (e.g., the Internet); or a primary private network.", "Each Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN) consists of a one or more clients 240 and one or more servers 206 (e.g., a computing device 306), which can either be physical machines running a single standalone operating system, or a virtualization server (such as virtualization server 601 described in FIG.", "6) hosting multiple virtual machines, each of which has an operating system running on it.", "Multiple VLANs can be grouped into a single network group 250.And while FIG.", "2 focuses on VLANs as being in network group 250, it is appreciated that any isolated network, such as a subnet and security group, can be included in network group 250.To perform this grouping, one or more network groups (e.g., network group 250) are first defined at network management device 101.The administrators input grouping information into network management device 101 to define network groups.", "After the one or more network groups are defined, network management device 101 defines properties of those one or more network groups.", "The properties of the network group can include assigning a maximum number of machines for each VLAN in the network group.", "In some embodiments, the properties can include additional routing properties of that group, such as whether that network group is isolated, private, or shared.", "For example, a “shared” network group allows ingress network traffic from multiple tenants; a “private” network group allows egress network traffic to access some limited shared application components; and an “isolated” network group can prevent any ingress or egress traffic other than from a specific set of users.", "Network management device 101 can provide information for identifying the VLANs to be used for grouping.", "In some embodiments, the administrator defines the VLAN, while in other embodiments the information for identifying the VLANs is imported from one or more hypervisor.", "Each VLAN can be assigned a “maximum number of machines.” Network management device 101 can assign the identified VLANs into network groups (e.g., VLANs 1, 2, and 3 of network group 1 250a).", "This indicates that the VLANs have full routing in place between them, and have appropriate routing between the VLANs in the group and other network groups.", "In some embodiments, the configuring of the routing is performed automatically by an orchestration system.", "The orchestration system can configure routing automatically between all of the VLANs in the network group, and appropriate routing between all of the VLANs in multiple network groups.", "Network management device 101 can receive information for associating each network group with an appropriate “scope.” The scope defines a set of machines and/or applications that can send any packet to each other.", "In this example, the machines of a network group would not necessarily be restricted by a router unless the machines attempt to send packets to other machines outside of the scope.", "In the case of existing machines (e.g., physical machines 240 and/or virtual machines 206), network management device 101 defines the specific VLAN that each machine is located on.", "This definition can occur by tagging each machine to each VLAN.", "When machines are needed within a “scope,” network management device 101 either selects physical machines that are located on one of the VLANs in the network group associated with the scope; or, it creates a new virtual machine on one of the VLANs in the network group associated with the scope.", "In the latter case, network management device 101 ensures that the maximum number of machines for a single network is not exceeded.", "If there are not enough machines available to meet the needs of a “scope,” network management device 101 raises an alert to inform the administrator that one or more additional VLANs are needed in that network group.", "When networks are added to a network group, network management device 101 can continue creating virtual machines in any scope associated with that group that needs additional machines, using the newly added VLANs.", "FIG.", "3 is an example block diagram of a computing device 306 in an example computing environment consistent with embodiments of the present disclosure.", "According to one or more aspects, computing device 306 can be a server in a single-server or multi-server remote desktop system configured to provide physical or virtual machines for client access devices.", "Computing device 306 can have a processor 303 for controlling overall operation of the server and its associated components, including random access memory (RAM) 305, read-only memory (ROM) 307, input/output (I/O) module 309, and memory 315.I/O module 309 can include a mouse, keypad, touch screen, scanner, optical reader, and/or stylus (or one or more other input devices) through which a user of computing device 306 can provide input, and can also include one or more speakers for providing audio output and a video display device for providing textual, audiovisual, and/or graphical output.", "Software can be stored within memory 315 and/or other storage to provide instructions to processor 303 for enabling computing device 306 to perform various functions.", "For example, memory 315 can store software used by computing device 306, such as an operating system 317, application programs 319, and an associated database 321.Alternatively, some or all of the computer executable instructions for computing device 306 can be embodied in hardware or firmware (not shown).", "Computing device 306 can operate in a networked environment supporting connections to one or more remote computers, such as client devices 340 .", "Client devices 340 can be personal computers or servers that include many or all of the elements described above with respect to computing device 306.The network connections depicted in FIG.", "3 can include, for example, a local area network (LAN) interface 323 (such as an adapter) connected to a LAN and a wide area network (WAN) interface 327 (such as a modem) connected to a WAN.", "It will be appreciated that the network connections shown are illustrative and other means of establishing a communications link between the computers can be used.", "The embodiments disclosed herein are operational with numerous other general purpose or special purpose computing system environments or configurations.", "Examples of well-known computing systems, environments, and/or configurations that can be suitable for use with the disclosure include, but are not limited to, personal computers, server computers, hand-held or laptop devices, multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based systems, set top boxes, programmable consumer electronics, network PCs, minicomputers, mainframe computers, distributed computing environments that include any of the above systems or devices, and the like.", "Client device 340, in some embodiments, can be referred to as a single client device or a single group of client devices, while computing device 306 can be referred to as a single server or a single group of servers.", "In some embodiments, a single client device 340 communicates with more than one computing device 306, while in other embodiments a single server communicates with more than one client device.", "Yet in other embodiments, a single client device communicates with a single computing device.", "Client device 340 can execute, operate, or otherwise provide an application, such as, for example, any one of the following: software; a program; executable instructions; a virtual machine; a hypervisor; or any other set of executable instructions.", "Client device 340 can display application output generated by an application remotely executing on computing device 306 or other remotely located machine.", "In one example, the application is a desktop, while in other examples the application is an application that generates a desktop.", "A desktop can include a graphical shell providing a user interface for an instance of an operating system in which local and/or remote applications can be integrated.", "Applications, as used herein, are programs that execute after an instance of an operating system (and, optionally, also the desktop) has been loaded.", "Computing device 306, in some embodiments, executes a remote presentation client or other client or program that uses a thin-client or remote-display protocol to capture display output generated by an application executing on computing device and transmits the application display output to client device 340.The thin-client or remote-display protocol can be any one of the following protocols: the Independent Computing Architecture (ICA) protocol; or the Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP).", "The computing environment can include more than one server such that the servers are logically grouped together into a Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN) as demonstrated in FIG.", "2.The VLAN can include servers that are geographically dispersed and logically grouped together in a VLAN, or servers that are located proximate to each other and logically grouped together in a VLAN.", "Geographically dispersed servers within a VLAN can, in some embodiments, communicate using a WAN, MAN, or LAN, where different geographic regions can be characterized as: different continents; different regions of a continent; different countries; different states; different cities; different campuses; different rooms; or any combination of the preceding geographical locations.", "When multiple VLANs are grouped together logically, the servers connected to the VLAN belong to the same network group.", "In some embodiments, a VLAN can include servers that execute a substantially similar type of operating system platform (e.g., WINDOWS NT, manufactured by Microsoft Corp. of Redmond, Wash., UNIX, LINUX, or SNOW LEOPARD.)", "The VLAN, in other embodiments, can include servers that execute different types of operating system platforms.", "Computing device 306 can be any server type that includes network management device 101 for managing network 100.Such server types can include a file server; an application server; a web server; a proxy server; an appliance; a network appliance; a gateway; an application gateway; a gateway server; a virtualization server; a deployment server; a SSL VPN server; a firewall; a web server; an application server.", "Computing device 306 can, in some embodiments, execute any one of the following applications: a thin-client application using a thin-client protocol to transmit application display data to a client; a remote display presentation application; any portion of the CITRIX ACCESS SUITE by Citrix Systems, Inc. like the METAFRAME or CITRIX PRESENTATION SERVER; MICROSOFT WINDOWS Terminal Services manufactured by the Microsoft Corporation; or an ICA client, developed by Citrix Systems, Inc.", "Client device 340 can, in some embodiments, be a client node that seeks access to resources provided by computing device 306.In other embodiments, computing device 306 can provide one or more client devices (such as client device 340) with access to hosted resources.", "Computing device 306, in some embodiments, functions as a master node such that it communicates with one or more client devices or servers.", "In some embodiments, the master node can identify and provide address information associated with a server hosting a requested application, to one or more client devices or server.", "In still other embodiments, the master node can be a VLAN, a client device 340, a cluster of client devices 340, or an appliance.", "FIG.", "4 is an exemplary computing device 400, consistent with the embodiments of the present disclosure.", "Computing device 400 can deploy client device 340 and/or computing device 306.Computing device 400 can include a system bus 450 that communicates with the following components: a processing unit 421; a main memory 422; a storage memory 428; an input/output (I/O) controller 423; display device 424; an installation device 416; and a network interface 418.In some embodiments, storage memory 428 includes: an operating system, software routines, and a client agent 420.I/O controller 423, in some embodiments, can be connected to a keyboard , and/or a pointing device.", "Other embodiments can include an I/O controller 423 connected to more than one input/output device 430.FIG.", "5 illustrates an exemplary computing device 500, consistent with embodiments of the present disclosure.", "Computing device 500 can deploy client device 340 and/or computing device 306 illustrated in FIG.", "3.Computing device 500 can include, among other things, a system bus 550 that communicates with the following components: a bridge 570, and a first I/O device 530a.", "Bridge 570 can also communicate with a main processor 521, which can further communicate with a second I/O device 530b through an I/O port, a client agent 522, and a cache memory 540.Client agent 522 can be a main memory.", "Main processor 521 can include, among other things, one or more I/O ports, and a memory port 503.Main processor 521 can be characterized by any one of the following component configurations: logic circuits that respond to and process instructions fetched from the client agent 522; a microprocessor unit; or any other combination of logic circuits.", "While FIG.", "5 illustrates computing device 500 as including a single processing unit (e.g., processor 521), in some embodiments the computing device 500 can be more than one processing unit.", "Computing device 500 can store and execute firmware or other executable instructions that, when executed, direct the one or more processing units to simultaneously execute instructions or to simultaneously execute instructions on a single piece of data.", "In other embodiments, the computing device 500 can store and execute firmware or other executable instructions that, when executed, direct the one or more processing units to each execute a section of a group of instructions.", "For example, each processing unit can be instructed to execute a portion of a program or a particular module within a program.", "In embodiments where the computing device 500 includes one or more processing units, or a processing unit including one or more processing cores, the processors can execute a single instruction simultaneously on multiple pieces of data (SIMD), or in other embodiments can execute multiple instructions simultaneously on multiple pieces of data (MIMD).", "In some embodiments, the computing device 500 can include any number of SIMD and MIMD processors.", "The computing device 500, in some embodiments, includes a memory unit 522 and cache memory 540.The cache memory 540 can be any memory type, and in some embodiments can be any one of the following types of memory: SRAM; BSRAM; or EDRAM.", "Further embodiments include main processor 521 that can access the memory 522 via: a system bus 550; a memory port 503; or any other connection, bus or port that allows the processor 521 to access memory 522.Computing device 400/500 can provide support for installation drive 416, which can include, for example, a CD-ROM drive, a CD-R/RW drive, a DVD-ROM drive, tape drives of various formats, USB device, a bootable medium, a bootable CD.", "The computing device 400/500 can further include a storage device 428 that can be either one or more hard disk drives, or one or more redundant arrays of independent disks; where the storage device is configured to store an operating system, software, programs applications, or at least a portion of the client agent 420.Computing device 400, 500 can further include a network interface 418 to interface to a Local Area Network (LAN), Wide Area Network (WAN) or the Internet through a variety of connections including, but not limited to, standard telephone lines, LAN or WAN links (e.g., 802.11, T1, T3, 56 kb, X.25, SNA, DECNET), broadband connections (e.g., ISDN, Frame Relay, ATM, Gigabit Ethernet, Ethernet-over-SONET), wireless connections, or some combination of any or all of the above.", "In some embodiments, computing device 400 can execute any operating system, while in other embodiments the computing device 400 can execute any of the following operating systems: MICROSOFT WINDOWS; the different releases of the Unix and Linux operating systems; and any version of the MAC OS.", "Computing device 400 can be embodied in any one of the following computing devices: a computing workstation; a desktop computer; a laptop or notebook computer; a server; a handheld computer; a mobile telephone; a portable telecommunication device; a media playing device; a gaming system; a mobile computing device; a netbook; a tablet; or any other type and/or form of computing, telecommunications or media device that is capable of communication and that has sufficient processor power and memory capacity to perform the methods and systems described herein.", "FIG.", "3-5 show a high-level architecture of an illustrative remote desktop system.", "As shown, the remote desktop system can be single-server or multi-server system, or cloud system, including at least one computing device configured to provide virtual desktops and/or virtual applications to one or more client devices 340.As used herein, a desktop refers to a graphical environment or space in which one or more applications may be hosted and/or executed.", "A desktop can include a graphical shell providing a user interface for an instance of an operating system in which local and/or remote applications can be integrated.", "Applications, as used herein, are programs that execute after an instance of an operating system (and, optionally, also the desktop) has been loaded.", "Each instance of the operating system can be physical (e.g., one operating system per device) or virtual (e.g., many instances of an OS running on a single device).", "Each application can be executed on a local device, or executed on a remotely located device.", "FIG.", "6 is a block diagram depicting an exemplary virtualization server, consistent with embodiments of the present disclosure.", "In some embodiments, virtualization server 601 can be configured as a virtualization server in a virtualization environment, for example, a single-server, multi-server, or cloud computing environment.", "Virtualization server 601 illustrated in FIG.", "6 can be deployed as and/or implemented by computing device 306 illustrated in FIG.", "3 and/or computing devices 400 and 500 illustrated in FIG.", "4 and FIG.", "5.Virtualization server 601 can include, among other things, a hardware layer 610 that can include one or more physical disks 604, one or more physical devices 606, one or more physical processors 608, and a physical memory 616.Physical components 604, 606, 608, and 616 can include, for example, any of the components described above in FIGS.", "3-5.For instance, physical disks 604 can include permanent memory storage, temporary memory storage, disk drives (e.g.", "optical, floppy, tape), hard disks, external hard drives, flash memory, network-attached storage, a storage-area network, or any other storage repository that the virtualization server 601 can access.", "Physical devices 606 can include any device included in the virtualization server 601 and/or any combination of devices included in virtualization server 601 and external devices that communicate with virtualization server 601.Physical memory 616 in hardware layer 610 can include any type of memory.", "Physical memory 616 can store data, and in some embodiments can store one or more programs, or set of executable instructions.", "FIG.", "6 illustrates an embodiment where firmware 612 is stored within physical memory 616 of virtualization server 601.Programs or executable instructions stored in physical memory 616 can be executed by one or more processors 608 of virtualization server 601.Virtualization server 601 can further include an operating system 614 that can be stored in a memory element in physical memory 616 and executed by one or more of physical processors 608.Still further, a hypervisor 602 can be stored in a memory element in physical memory 616 and can be executed by one or more of physical processors 608.Executing on one or more of physical processors 608 can be one or more virtual machines 632A-C (generally 632).", "Virtual machine 632A can have a virtual disk 626A and a virtual processor 628A.", "In some embodiments, a first virtual machine 632A can execute, on a virtual processor 628A, a control program 620 that includes a tools stack 624.As shown in FIG.", "6, each of virtual machines 632B and 632C can also have a virtual disk and a virtual processor.", "Virtual machines 632B-C can execute, on a virtual processor 628B-C, a guest operating system 630A-B.", "Virtualization server 601 can also include hypervisor 602 that creates and/or manages any number of virtual machines 632.In some embodiments, hypervisor 602 is a program executed by processors 608 on the virtualization server 601.Hypervisor 602 can be referred to as a virtual machine monitor, or platform virtualization software.", "In some embodiments, hypervisor 602 can be any combination of executable instructions and hardware that monitors virtual machines executing on a computing machine.", "Hypervisor 602, in some embodiments, can provide virtual resources to guest operating systems 630 or control programs 620 executing on virtual machines 632 in any manner that simulates operating systems 630 or control programs 620 having direct access to system resources.", "System resources can include, among other things, physical devices 606; physical disks 604; physical processors 608; physical memory 616, and any other component included in hardware later 610 of virtualization server 601.Hypervisor 602 can be used to emulate virtual hardware, partition physical hardware, virtualize physical hardware, or execute virtual machines that provide access to computing environments.", "Hypervisor 602 can also control processor scheduling and memory partitioning for virtual machine 632 executing on virtualization server 601.Hypervisor 602 can create one or more virtual machines 632B-C (generally 632) in which guest operating systems 630 execute.", "In some embodiments, hypervisor 602 can load a virtual machine image to create a virtual machine 632.In other embodiments, hypervisor 602 can execute a guest operating system 630 within virtual machine 632.In still other embodiments, virtual machine 632 can execute guest operating system 630.In addition to creating virtual machines 632, hypervisor 602 can control the execution of at least one virtual machine 632.In other embodiments, hypervisor 602 can present at least one virtual machine 632 with an abstraction of at least one hardware resource provided by virtualization server 601 (e.g., any hardware resource available within hardware layer 610).", "As shown in the example of FIG.", "6, virtualization server 601 can host or execute one or more virtual machines 632.A virtual machine 632 can include a set of executable instructions that, when executed by a physical processor 608, imitate the operation of a physical computer such that virtual machine 632 can execute programs and processes much like a physical computing device.", "While FIG.", "6 illustrates an embodiment where a virtualization server 601 hosts three virtual machines 632, in other embodiments virtualization server 601 can host any number of virtual machines 632.Hypervisor 602, in some embodiments, provides each virtual machine 632 with a unique virtual view of the physical hardware, memory, processor and other system resources available to that virtual machine 632.In some embodiments, the unique virtual view can be based on any of the following: virtual machine permissions; application of a policy engine to one or more virtual machine identifiers; the user accessing a virtual machine; the applications executing on a virtual machine; networks accessed by a virtual machine; or any other similar criteria.", "For instance, hypervisor 602 can create one or more unsecure virtual machines 632 and one or more secure virtual machines 632.Unsecure virtual machines 632 can be prevented from accessing resources, hardware, memory locations, and programs that secure virtual machines 632 can be permitted to access.", "In other embodiments, hypervisor 602 can provide each virtual machine 632 with a substantially similar virtual view of the physical hardware, memory, processor and other system resources available to the virtual machines 632.As stated previously, each virtual machine 632 can include a virtual disk 626A-C (generally 626) and a virtual processor 628A-C (generally 628.)", "The virtual disk 626, in some embodiments, is a virtualized view of one or more physical disks 604 of virtualization server 601, or a portion of one or more physical disks 604 of virtualization server 601.The virtualized view of physical disks 604 can be generated, provided, and managed by hypervisor 602.In some embodiments, hypervisor 602 provides each virtual machine 632 with a unique view of physical disks 604.Thus, in these embodiments, virtual disk 626 included in each virtual machine 632 can be unique when compared with the other virtual disks 626.A virtual processor 628 can be a virtualized view of one or more physical processors 608 of virtualization server 601.In some embodiments, the virtualized view of physical processors 608 can be generated, provided, and managed by hypervisor 602.In some embodiments, virtual processor 628 has substantially all of the same characteristics of at least one physical processor 608.In other embodiments, hypervisor 602 provides a modified view of virtual processor 628 such that at least some of the characteristics of virtual processor 628 are different from the characteristics of the corresponding physical processor 608.Having described various examples of remote desktop systems in FIGS.", "3-5 and virtualization servers in FIG.", "6, the following paragraphs provide additional examples of various methods and systems relating to: creating virtual machines on a virtualization server 601; connecting physical machines (e.g., computing devices 400/500) and virtual machines 632 to the correct VLAN; creating VLANs; maintaining VLANs; creating network groups; and maintaining network groups.", "As used herein, a VLAN refers to a set of virtual machines 632 and/or physical machines 400/500 logically grouped together to support one or more tenants in a remote desktop system.", "A tenant refers to a customer of the remote desktop system.", "A tenant can be an organization having multiple users with multiple client devices 340 that will be used to access virtual machines 632 and physical machines 400/500 in the remote desktop system.", "As described in greater detail below, a network management device 101 can be configured to create a VLAN by selecting a set of physical and/or virtual machines from a pool of unallocated machines, connecting the machines to the appropriate VLAN, and creating a network group for a tenant.", "In some embodiments, network management device 101 is computing device 400 and/or computing device 500.Each network group is comprised of one or more VLANs.", "The physical and/or virtual machines in each VLAN have software that allow a client device 340 to interact directly with the physical and virtual machines in the VLAN.", "A network management device 101 is used to define certain properties and characteristics of the VLANs and the network groups.", "Information that the network management device 101 might contain about the VLANs and network groups includes information identifying the machines in the VLANs (e.g., IP address or Medium Access Protocol Address), configuration settings for the VLAN (e.g.", "limiting traffic between certain clients devices and machines in the VLAN), isolation level of the network group, scope of the network group, and load balancing requirements.", "Network management device 101 can also define the user, the user's rights, security policies, and set of one or more applications available to tenants of a network group.", "As an example, network management device 101 can set a particular isolation level for one tenant limiting access to certain software applications hosted on physical or virtual machines in a first network group, and set another isolation level for another tenant enabling access to certain software applications hosted on physical or virtual machines in a second network.", "The physical and/or virtual machines in each VLAN can be installed with client applications (e.g., word processing, email, Internet browsing applications, etc.)", "and can include the software to remotely host and deliver the client applications to the tenant.", "The machines in the network group can also be configured to function as access gateways and/or web servers.", "Access gateways can be used to make the secure connections with the client devices 340 and handle authentication credentials (e.g., establishing a virtual private network (VPN)), and web servers can provide the initial web pages to the client devices 340 and then forward the client requests to the application hosting machines in the network group.", "Certain tenants can be assigned to a dedicated network group.", "For example, a highly secure tenant requiring a high level of isolation (e.g.", "a financial institution, government agency, emergency notification systems) can request an exclusive network group including its own access gateway and web server.", "In a system where virtual machines are created on-demand, the VLANs are specified beforehand so that the remote desktop system knows how to create the virtual machines when they are needed.", "Network management device 101 can define the VLAN in one of two ways.", "The VLANs can be discovered from existing hypervisors and cloud compute resources, then grouped appropriately by the network management device 101, or the VLANs can be entered and then grouped manually by an administrator.", "After the network groups are defined, network management device 101 can select a network group to use for specific provisioning and isolation tasks.", "It is also important to monitor the number of virtual machines created in a certain VLAN.", "Adding too many virtual machines to a VLAN could result in network congestion and reduce the overall performance of the network group.", "Moreover, when selecting existing machines, physical or virtual, or creating new virtual machines, the machines are connected to a VLAN that is accessible by the users and applications that require access to it.", "To ensure that the users and applications have access to the machines that they are requesting access to, routing is configured between VLANs and is updated appropriately when additional network access is required by machines in the VLAN.", "FIG.", "7 is a flowchart representing exemplary methods for establishing network groups and network settings, consistent with embodiments of the present disclosure.", "Referring to FIG.", "7, it will be readily appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art that the illustrated procedure can be altered to delete steps or further include additional steps.", "After initial start step 700, a network management device (e.g., network management device 101) receives input to define a network group.", "The network group is a collection of VLANs that can have full routing amongst the VLAN members of that group.", "While FIG.", "7 focuses on VLANs as being part of the network group, it is appreciated that any isolated network, such as a subnet and/or security group, can be included in the network group.", "In some embodiments, this input can be received from an administrator, and in others it can be received from an automated process.", "After the network groups have been defined, the network management device defines properties of the network group (704).", "The properties of the network group include assigning a maximum number of machines for each VLAN in the network group.", "In some embodiments, the properties can include additional routing properties of that group, such as whether that network group is isolated, private, or shared.", "For example, a “shared” network group allows ingress network traffic from multiple tenants; a “private” network group allows egress network traffic to access some limited shared application components; and an “isolated” network group can prevent any ingress or egress traffic other than from a specific set of users.", "After the properties of the network group have been defined in step 704, the network management device identifies different VLANs that will be added to the network group (706).", "In some embodiments, these VLANs can be identified by the network management device requesting that existing hypervisors and other cloud computing resources identify any known VLANs.", "In some other embodiments, the VLANs can be identified by an administrator entering the VLAN definition into a network management device manually.", "After the one or more VLANs are identified, network management device 101 assigns these identified VLANs to the appropriate network group (708).", "For example a first VLAN can be assigned to a network group associated with an engineering department of an organization and another VLAN can be assigned to a network group associated with a management department of the same organization.", "Based on the previous step, network management device 101 can initiate the routing (710) between the different VLANs in the network group.", "In some embodiments, an automated orchestration system determines the specific network routes required between any two VLANs.", "For example, network management device 101 can configure the router settings to enable traffic to be sent from the engineering department to the management department, but not vice versa.", "After completing step 710 network management device 101 assigns the available machines to a VLANs (712).", "Available machines can include both physical and virtual machines (e.g., physical machines 240 and virtual machines 206).", "After the machines are assigned, the method can end (714).", "FIG.", "8 is a flowchart representing an exemplary method for managing a network group, consistent with embodiments of the present disclosure.", "It will be readily appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art that the illustrated procedure can be altered to delete steps or further include additional steps.", "After initial start step 800, a network management device (e.g., network management device 101) defines a maximum number of machines for a VLAN (802).", "The network management device can define the maximum number based on input from an administrator or on automated process using, for example, predetermined information assessing an optimal number of machines per VLAN.", "The network management device can assign the VLAN to a network group (e.g., network group 250) (804).", "The network group is a collection of VLANs that can have full routing amongst the VLAN members of that group.", "While FIG.", "8 focuses on VLANs as being part of the network group, it is appreciated that any isolated network, such as a subnet and/or a security group, can be included in the network group.", "In some embodiments, the network group also indicates restricted routing with other network groups.", "In some embodiments, the assigning of VLAN to network group in step 804 can occur before the defining of the maximum number of machines for the VLAN in step 802.The network management device can define a scope for network group (806).", "The scope represents a set of machines and applications that can communicate with each other for a set of tasks.", "For example, if an organization sets up an engineering network group and a management network group, the defined scope for the engineering network group could indicate that machines in those VLANs can have access to engineering-related data and applications.", "The scope could also indicate that machines in the engineering network group would not have access to at least some of the management-related data and applications.", "In some embodiments, defining the scope in step 806 can occur before step 802 or step 804.After defining the scope, the network management device assigns existing machines to VLAN (808).", "Existing machines can include both physical and virtual machines (e.g., physical machines 240 and virtual machines 206).", "In some embodiments, the network management device assigns existing machines to multiple VLANs in the network group.", "After these existing machines have been assigned, in some cases, additional machines may need to be added to the one or more VLANs of the network group.", "The network management device can either select physical machines that are located on one of the VLANs in the network group or it can create a new virtual machine on one of the VLANs in the network group associated with the scope.", "When additional machines are needed with the scope of network group, the network management device can receive a request to add additional virtual machines to the VLAN (810).", "After receiving the request, the network management device can determine whether the number of requested machines is greater than the defined maximum number of machines for the VLAN specified in step 802 (812).", "If not, the network management device can assign the additional virtual machine to VLAN (814), and the method proceeds to step 820.If, however, the number of requested machines is greater than the defined maximum number of machines for the VLAN, the network management device acquires information to add another VLAN to the network group (816).", "In some embodiments, before the information is acquired in step 816, an alert is displayed on the network management device when the maximum number of machines for a VLAN is exceeded.", "In some embodiments, the alert message is not displayed until a request to add additional machines to the network group and all VLANs in the network group are at their maximum-number-of-machines threshold.", "Moreover, if a request to add an additional machine is received and another VLAN in the network group has not met its maximum-number threshold, in some embodiments, the additional machine can be assigned to that other VLAN in the network group.", "After the new VLAN is added, the network management device can assign the additional virtual machine to the new VLAN (818), and the method proceeds to step 820.Here, at step 820, the network management device can determine whether additional virtual machines need to be added to VLAN.", "If so, the method proceeds to step 812.If, however, no additional virtual machines are to be added to VLAN, the method proceeds to end (822).", "The methods disclosed herein can be implemented as a computer program product comprising computer-readable instructions.", "Computer-readable instructions can be stored on a tangible non-transitory computer-readable medium, such as a flexible disk, a hard disk, a CD-ROM (compact disk-read only memory), an MO (magneto-optical) disk, a DVD-ROM (digital versatile disk-read only memory), a DVD RAM (digital versatile disk-random access memory), or a semiconductor memory.", "Alternatively, the methods can be implemented in hardware components or combinations of hardware and software of a data processing apparatus, e.g., a programmable processor, a computer, or multiple computers.", "The computer program can be written in any form of programming language, including compiled or interpreted languages, and it can be deployed in any form, including as a standalone program or as a module, component, subroutine, or other unit suitable for use in a computing environment.", "A computer program can be deployed to be executed on one computer or on multiple computers at one site or distributed across multiple sites and interconnected by a communication network.", "In the preceding specification, the embodiments have been described with reference to specific exemplary embodiments.", "It will however, be evident that various modifications and changes can be made without departing from the broader spirit and scope of the exemplary embodiments as set forth in the claims that follow.", "The specification and drawings are accordingly to be regarded as illustrative rather than restrictive sense.", "Other embodiments of the present disclosure may be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practice of the invention disclosed herein." ] ]
Patent_15873015
[ [ "SHORT-RANGE WIRELESS COMMUNICATION APPARATUS", "A short-range wireless communication apparatus is disclosed.", "The short-range wireless communication apparatus comprises: multiple connection devices and a control device.", "The connection devices are capable of simultaneously connecting multiple communication interfaces to a communication counterparty apparatus to enable sound data transfer.", "When the control device determines that, in cases where the communication interfaces are communicably connected, there arises a request to start outputting the sound data transferred by one of the communication interfaces, the control device disconnects another one of the communication interfaces while keeping the one of the communication interfaces connected and causes a sound data output device to output the sound data transferred from the communication counterparty apparatus by the one of the communication interfaces." ], [ "1.An in-vehicle apparatus comprising: a first communication interface and a second communication interface that are connectable to a communication counterparty apparatus for transferring sound data from the communication counterparty apparatus; and a control device configured to cause a sound data output device to output the sound data selectively transferred by the first communication interface or the second communication interface from the communication counterparty apparatus, wherein: when transfer of the sound data by the first communication interface is requested by a user while (i) the first communication interface and the second communication interface are connected to the communication counterparty apparatus and (ii) the sound data is not being transferred by the first communication interface nor the second communication interface, the control device causes the first communication interface to transfer the sound data and keeps the second communication interface connected to the communication counterparty apparatus; and when transfer of the sound data by the second communication interface is requested by the user while the sound data is being transferred by the first communication interface, the control device disconnects the first communication interface connected to the communication counterparty apparatus and causes the second communication interface to transfer the sound data.", "2.The in-vehicle apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: when the control device connects the first and second communication interfaces to the communication counterparty apparatus upon power on of the in-vehicle apparatus, the control device determines a last-used communication interface to cause the last-used communication interface to transfer the sound data; and the last-used communication interface is one of the first and second communication interfaces that had transferred the sound data immediately before last power off of the in-vehicle apparatus.", "3.The in-vehicle apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: the first communication interface is a Bluetooth interface capable of multi-connection of HFP (Hands Free Profile) and A2DP (Advanced Audio Distribution Profile); and when the transfer of the sound data by the second communication interface is requested by the user while (i) the HFP and the A2DP of the first communication interface are connected to the communication counterparty apparatus and (ii) the sound data is being transferred by the A2DP of the first communication interface, the control device disconnects the A2DP of the first communication interface connected to the communication counterparty apparatus and keeps the HFP of the first communication interface connected to the communication counterparty apparatus and causes the second communication interface to transfer the sound data.", "4.The in-vehicle apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: the first communication interface is a Bluetooth interface capable of multi-connection of HFP (Hands Free Profile) and A2DP (Advanced Audio Distribution Profile) and AVRCP (Audio/Video Remote Control Profile); and when the transfer of the sound data by the second communication interface is requested by the user while (i) the HFP, the A2DP and the AVRCP of the first communication interface are connected to the communication counterparty apparatus and (ii) the sound data is being transferred by the A2DP of the first communication interface, the control device disconnects the A2DP and the AVRCP of the first communication interface connected to the communication counterparty apparatus and keeps the HFP of the first communication interface connected to the communication counterparty apparatus and causes the second communication interface to transfer the sound data.", "5.A method comprising causing a sound data output device to output sound data that is transferred from a communication counterparty apparatus to an in-vehicle apparatus selectively by a first communication interface or a second communication interface, wherein: causing the sound data output device to output the sound data includes: causing the first communication interface to transfer the sound data and keeping the second communication interface connected between the in-vehicle apparatus and the communication counterparty apparatus, when transfer of the sound data by the first communication interface is requested by a user while (i) the first communication interface and the second communication interface are connected between the in-vehicle apparatus and the communication counterparty apparatus and (ii) the sound data is not being transferred by the first communication interface nor the second communication interface; and disconnecting the first communication interface connected between the in-vehicle apparatus and the communication counterparty apparatus and causing the second communication interface to transfer the sound data, when transfer of the sound data by the second communication interface is requested by the user while the sound data is being transferred by the first communication interface.", "6.The method according to claim 5, wherein: causing the sound data output device to output the sound data further includes: determining a last-used communication interface to cause the last-used communication interface to transfer the sound data, when the first and second communication interfaces are connected between the in-vehicle apparatus and the communication counterparty apparatus after power on of the in-vehicle apparatus, wherein the last-used communication interface is one of the first and second communication interfaces that had transferred the sound data immediately before last power off of the in-vehicle apparatus.", "7.The method according to claim 5, wherein: the first communication interface is a Bluetooth interface capable of multi-connection of HFP (Hands Free Profile) and A2DP (Advanced Audio Distribution Profile); and disconnecting the first communication interface and causing the second communication interface to transfer the sound data include disconnecting the A2DP of the first communication interface connected between the in-vehicle apparatus and the communication counterparty apparatus while keeping the HFP of the first communication interface connected between the in-vehicle apparatus and the communication counterparty apparatus and causing the second communication interface to transfer the sound data, when the transfer of the sound data by the second communication interface is requested by the user while (i) the HFP and the A2DP of the first communication interface are connected between the in-vehicle apparatus and the communication counterparty apparatus and (ii) the sound data is being transferred by the A2DP of the first communication interface.", "8.The method according to claim 5, wherein: the first communication interface is a Bluetooth interface capable of multi-connection of HFP (Hands Free Profile) and A2DP (Advanced Audio Distribution Profile) and AVRCP (Audio/Video Remote Control Profile); and disconnecting the first communication interface and causing the second communication interface to transfer the sound data include disconnecting the A2DP and the AVRCP of the first communication interface connected between the in-vehicle apparatus and the communication counterparty apparatus while keeping the HFP of the first communication interface connected between the in-vehicle apparatus and the communication counterparty apparatus and causing the second communication interface to transfer the sound data, when the transfer of the sound data by the second communication interface is requested by the user while (i) the HFP, the A2DP and the AVRCP of the first communication interface are connected to the communication counterparty apparatus and (ii) the sound data is being transferred by the A2DP of the first communication interface." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND <EOH>A short-range wireless communication apparatus having a short-range wireless communication function can connect a short-range wireless communication line to a communication counterparty apparatus which is, for example, a mobile phone.", "By connecting a sound data transfer protocol defining sound data transfer with the communication counterparty apparatus, the short-range wireless communication apparatus receives the sound data transferred from the communication counterparty apparatus based on the sound data transfer protocol and outputs sound from a speaker.", "JP-2008-273370A (US 2008/0269961A) discloses that Advanced Audio Distribution Profile (A2DP) and Audio/Video Remote Control Profile (AVRCP), respectively, are a sound data transfer protocol defining sound data transfer and a control data transfer protocol defining control data transfer relating to sound data control according to the Bluetooth (registered trademark) communication standards.", "In this relation, the inventor of the present application has found out the following.", "A conceivable system is that there are multiple communication interfaces between a short-range wireless communication apparatus and a communication counterparty apparatus.", "In such a system, the multiple communication interfaces (e.g., transmission medium such as data communication protocols and communication lines) enabling sound data transfer are simultaneously connected between a short-range wireless communication apparatus and a communication counterparty apparatus.", "In this case, when the multiple communication interfaces provides different functions, a user may wish to transfer sound data from the communication counterparty apparatus by his or her desired communication interface by selecting it from the multiple communication interfaces.", "However, depending on the specifications of the communication counterparty apparatus, when multiple communication interfaces are simultaneously connected between the short-range wireless communication apparatus and the communication counterparty apparatus, the simultaneously-connected multiple communication interface prevents the communication counterparty apparatus from appropriately transferring the sound data." ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY <EOH>The present disclosure is made in view of the foregoing.", "It is an object of the present disclosure to provide a short-range wireless communication apparatus which can simultaneously connect multiple communication interfaces to a communication counterparty apparatus and which enables appropriate sound transfer from the communication counterparty apparatus by one of the multiple communication interfaces.", "According to a first example of the present disclosure, a short-range wireless communication apparatus comprises multiple connection devices and a control device.", "The multiple connection devices are capable of simultaneously connecting a plurality of communication interfaces to a communication counterparty apparatus.", "The multiple connection devices cause transfer of sound data from the communication counterparty apparatus by the communication interfaces.", "The control device is configured to cause a sound data output device to selectively output the sound data transferred from the communication counterparty apparatus to any of the connection devices by any of the communication interfaces.", "When the control device determines that, in cases where the communication interfaces are communicably connected, there arises a request to start outputting the sound data transferred by one of the communication interfaces, the control device disconnects another one of the communication interfaces while keeping the one of the communication interfaces connected and causes the sound data output device to output the sound data that is transferred from the communication counterparty apparatus by the one of the communication interfaces.", "A short-range wireless communication apparatus comprising: According to the above configuration, even if the communication counterparty apparatus is designed to be incapable of appropriately transfer the sound data due to the simultaneously-connected multiple communication interfaces between the short-range wireless communication apparatus and the communication counterparty apparatus, the short-range wireless communication apparatus can cause the communication counterparty apparatus to appropriately transfer the sound data by disconnecting the another one of the communication interfaces while maintaining the connection of the one of the communication interfaces associated with the sound data output start request.", "According to a second example of the present disclosure, a short-range wireless communication apparatus comprises multiple connection devices and a control device.", "The multiple connection devices are capable of simultaneously connecting a plurality of communication interfaces to a communication counterparty apparatus.", "The multiple connection devices cause transfer of sound data from the communication counterparty apparatus by the communication interfaces.", "The control device is configured to cause a sound data output device to selectively output the sound data transferred from the communication counterparty apparatus to any of the connection devices by any of the communication interfaces.", "When the control device determines that, in cases where one of the communication interfaces is not communicably connected and another one of the communication interfaces is communicably connected, there arises a request to start outputting the sound data transferred by the one of the communication interfaces, the control device disconnects the another one of the communication interfaces and thereafter connects the one of the communication interfaces and causes the sound data output device to output the sound data that is transferred from the communication counterparty apparatus by the one of the communication interfaces.", "According to the above configuration, even if the communication counterparty apparatus is designed to be incapable of appropriately transfer the sound data due to the simultaneously-connected multiple communication interfaces between the short-range wireless communication apparatus and the communication counterparty apparatus, the short-range wireless communication apparatus can cause the communication counterparty apparatus to appropriately transfer the sound data by disconnecting the another one of the communication interfaces and thereafter connecting the one of the communication interfaces." ], [ "CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This application is a continuation application of U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "14/831,908 filed on Aug. 21, 2015 which is a divisional application of U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "14/283,353 filed on May 21, 2014, now U.S. Pat.", "No.", "9,154,905, issued Oct. 6, 2015, which is a continuation application of U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "13/535,937 filed on Jun.", "28, 2012, now U.S. Pat.", "No.", "8,811,966, issued Aug. 19, 2014, which is based on and claims priority to Japanese Patent Application No.", "2011-145782 filed on Jun.", "30, 2011.The entire disclosures of each of the above applications are incorporated herein by reference.", "TECHNICAL FIELD The present disclosure relates to a short-range wireless communication apparatus that can simultaneously connect multiple communication interfaces to a communication counterparty apparatus and that includes multiple connection devices for sound data transmission from the communication counterparty apparatus by the multiple communication interfaces.", "BACKGROUND A short-range wireless communication apparatus having a short-range wireless communication function can connect a short-range wireless communication line to a communication counterparty apparatus which is, for example, a mobile phone.", "By connecting a sound data transfer protocol defining sound data transfer with the communication counterparty apparatus, the short-range wireless communication apparatus receives the sound data transferred from the communication counterparty apparatus based on the sound data transfer protocol and outputs sound from a speaker.", "JP-2008-273370A (US 2008/0269961A) discloses that Advanced Audio Distribution Profile (A2DP) and Audio/Video Remote Control Profile (AVRCP), respectively, are a sound data transfer protocol defining sound data transfer and a control data transfer protocol defining control data transfer relating to sound data control according to the Bluetooth (registered trademark) communication standards.", "In this relation, the inventor of the present application has found out the following.", "A conceivable system is that there are multiple communication interfaces between a short-range wireless communication apparatus and a communication counterparty apparatus.", "In such a system, the multiple communication interfaces (e.g., transmission medium such as data communication protocols and communication lines) enabling sound data transfer are simultaneously connected between a short-range wireless communication apparatus and a communication counterparty apparatus.", "In this case, when the multiple communication interfaces provides different functions, a user may wish to transfer sound data from the communication counterparty apparatus by his or her desired communication interface by selecting it from the multiple communication interfaces.", "However, depending on the specifications of the communication counterparty apparatus, when multiple communication interfaces are simultaneously connected between the short-range wireless communication apparatus and the communication counterparty apparatus, the simultaneously-connected multiple communication interface prevents the communication counterparty apparatus from appropriately transferring the sound data.", "SUMMARY The present disclosure is made in view of the foregoing.", "It is an object of the present disclosure to provide a short-range wireless communication apparatus which can simultaneously connect multiple communication interfaces to a communication counterparty apparatus and which enables appropriate sound transfer from the communication counterparty apparatus by one of the multiple communication interfaces.", "According to a first example of the present disclosure, a short-range wireless communication apparatus comprises multiple connection devices and a control device.", "The multiple connection devices are capable of simultaneously connecting a plurality of communication interfaces to a communication counterparty apparatus.", "The multiple connection devices cause transfer of sound data from the communication counterparty apparatus by the communication interfaces.", "The control device is configured to cause a sound data output device to selectively output the sound data transferred from the communication counterparty apparatus to any of the connection devices by any of the communication interfaces.", "When the control device determines that, in cases where the communication interfaces are communicably connected, there arises a request to start outputting the sound data transferred by one of the communication interfaces, the control device disconnects another one of the communication interfaces while keeping the one of the communication interfaces connected and causes the sound data output device to output the sound data that is transferred from the communication counterparty apparatus by the one of the communication interfaces.", "A short-range wireless communication apparatus comprising: According to the above configuration, even if the communication counterparty apparatus is designed to be incapable of appropriately transfer the sound data due to the simultaneously-connected multiple communication interfaces between the short-range wireless communication apparatus and the communication counterparty apparatus, the short-range wireless communication apparatus can cause the communication counterparty apparatus to appropriately transfer the sound data by disconnecting the another one of the communication interfaces while maintaining the connection of the one of the communication interfaces associated with the sound data output start request.", "According to a second example of the present disclosure, a short-range wireless communication apparatus comprises multiple connection devices and a control device.", "The multiple connection devices are capable of simultaneously connecting a plurality of communication interfaces to a communication counterparty apparatus.", "The multiple connection devices cause transfer of sound data from the communication counterparty apparatus by the communication interfaces.", "The control device is configured to cause a sound data output device to selectively output the sound data transferred from the communication counterparty apparatus to any of the connection devices by any of the communication interfaces.", "When the control device determines that, in cases where one of the communication interfaces is not communicably connected and another one of the communication interfaces is communicably connected, there arises a request to start outputting the sound data transferred by the one of the communication interfaces, the control device disconnects the another one of the communication interfaces and thereafter connects the one of the communication interfaces and causes the sound data output device to output the sound data that is transferred from the communication counterparty apparatus by the one of the communication interfaces.", "According to the above configuration, even if the communication counterparty apparatus is designed to be incapable of appropriately transfer the sound data due to the simultaneously-connected multiple communication interfaces between the short-range wireless communication apparatus and the communication counterparty apparatus, the short-range wireless communication apparatus can cause the communication counterparty apparatus to appropriately transfer the sound data by disconnecting the another one of the communication interfaces and thereafter connecting the one of the communication interfaces.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present disclosure will become more apparent from the following detailed description made with reference to the accompanying drawings.", "In the drawings: FIG.", "1 is a functional block diagram illustrating a BT communication system of one embodiment; FIG.", "2 is a flowchart illustrating a main processing performed by an in-vehicle apparatus; FIG.", "3 is a flowchart illustrating a communication interface connection processing; FIG.", "4 is a flowchart illustrating a last-used communication interface check processing; FIG.", "5 is a flowchart illustrating USB communication line connection check processing; FIG.", "6 is a flowchart illustrating an A2DP/AVRCP-based sound data output start request check processing; FIG.", "7 is a flowchart illustrating a USB-communication-line-based sound data output start request check processing; FIG.", "8 is a flowchart illustrating an A2DP/AVRCP-based sound data output end request check processing; FIG.", "9 is a flowchart illustrating a USB-communication-line-based sound data output end request check processing; FIG.", "10 is a diagram illustrating a change in communication interface connection in cases where a mobile phone is an ordinary type and a sound data transmitted by USB communication line had been outputted immediately before an in-vehicle apparatus was last powered off.", "FIG.", "11 is a diagram illustrating a change in communication interface connection in cases where a mobile phone is an ordinary type and a sound data transmitted by A2DP/AVRCP had been outputted immediately before an in-vehicle apparatus was last powered off; FIG.", "12 is a diagram illustrating a change in communication interface connection in cases where a mobile phone is a later-connected interface priority type and a sound data transmitted by USB communication line had been outputted immediately before an in-vehicle apparatus was last powered off; FIG.", "13 is a diagram illustrating a change in communication interface connection in cases where a mobile phone is a later-connected interface priority type and a sound data transmitted by A2DP/AVRCP had been outputted immediately before an in-vehicle apparatus was last powered off; FIG.", "14 is a diagram illustrating a change in communication interface connection in cases where a mobile phone is an earlier-connected interface priority type and a sound data transmitted by USB communication line had been outputted immediately before an in-vehicle apparatus was last powered off; FIG.", "15 is a diagram illustrating a change in communication interface connection in cases where a mobile phone is an earlier-connected interface priority type and a sound data transmitted by A2DP/AVRCP had been outputted immediately before an in-vehicle apparatus was last powered off; FIG.", "16 is a diagram illustrating how to connect and disconnect communication interfaces in cases where USB communication line is connected before A2DP/AVRCP is connected; FIG.", "17 is a diagram illustrating how to connect and disconnect communication interfaces in cases where USB communication line is connected before A2DP/AVRCP is connected; and FIG.", "18 is a flowchart illustrating a last-used communication interface check processing of one modification example.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION A BT-compatible in-vehicle apparatus having a Bluetooth (registered trademark) communication function (Bluetooth is also referred to herein as “BT”) will be described with reference to drawings.", "In one embodiment, it is assumed that a BT-compatible mobile phone having a BT communication function is carried in a compartment the vehicle equipped with the in-vehicle apparatus, and that the in-vehicle apparatus and the mobile phone are in a BT communication performable state.", "As shown in FIG.", "1, a BT communication system 1 includes an in-vehicle apparatus 2 (corresponding to a short-range wireless communication apparatus) mounted in a vehicle, and a mobile phone 3 (corresponding to a communication counterparty apparatus) carried in the compartment the vehicle.", "The in-vehicle apparatus 2 includes a control section 4 (corresponding to a control means and a control device), a BT module 5 (corresponding to a connection means and a connection device), a Universal Serial Bus (USB) module 6 (corresponding to a connection means and a connection device), a storage section 7, a voice processing section 8, a display control section 9, an operator input section 10, and a signal input section 11.The control section 4, the USB module 6, the storage section 7, the voice processing section 8, the display control section 9, the operator input section 10, and the signal input section 11 are physically mounted on a control board 12.The BT module 5 is physically mounted on a BT module board 13 different from the control board 12.The control section 4 and the BT module 5 may be connected to each other by a USB.", "The control section 4 may include a microcomputer with a CPU, a RAM, a ROM and an I/O bus and controls generally all operations of the in-vehicle apparatus 2, including communication operation and data management operation.", "The BT module 5 has functions to connect a BT communication line to a BT module of the mobile phone 3 and performs BT communication with the mobile phone 3 by the BT communication line.", "The BT module 5 is configured to be capable of simultaneously connecting multiple profiles defined by the BT communication standard (i.e.", "to achieve so-called multi-connection).", "The multiple profiles include Hands Free Profile (HFP) defining hands-free communication, Advanced Audio Distribution Profile (A2DP) defining sound data transfer, Audio/Video Remote Control Profile (AVRCP) defining control data transfer for sound data control, Serial Port Profile (SPP) defining data communication using a virtual serial port, Dial-up Networking Profile (DUN) defining dial-up Internet connection, Message Access Profile (MAP) defining e-mail data transfer, Phone Book Access Profile (PBAP) defining phone book data transfer, and Object Push Profile (OPP) also defining phone book data transfer.", "The HFP, A2DP, AVRCP, SPP, DUN, MAP, PBAP, and OPP are data communication protocols defined on a function basis.", "By connecting A2DP and AVRCP between the BT module 5 of the in-vehicle apparatus 2 and the BT module of the mobile phone 3, sound data can be transferred between the BT module 5 of the in-vehicle apparatus 2 and the BT module of the mobile phone 3.A2DP and AVRCP corresponds to a communication interface.", "The USB module 6 includes a connection terminal 6a, which is detachably connectable to a connection terminal 14a of a USB connection cable 14 c. When the connection terminal 14a of the USB connection cable 14 is connected to the connection terminal 6a and when the other connection terminal 14b of the USB connection cable 14 is connected to a connection terminal of the USB module of the mobile phone 3, the USB module 6 can connect a USB communication line to the USB module of the mobile phone 3, and can perform USB communication with the mobile phone 3 by the USB communication line.", "When connecting the USB communication line (USB application), the USB module 6 of the in-vehicle apparatus 2 and the USB module of the mobile phone 3 can transfer the sound data therebetween using the USB communication line.", "Like the foregoing A2DP and AVRCP, the USB communication line also corresponds to a communication interface.", "The storage section 7 has a storage area for storing various kinds of data.", "When the BT module 5 connects MAP to the BT module of the mobile phone 3, e-mail data may be transferred from the mobile phone 3 to the BT module 5 and may be stored in the storage section 7.The e-mail data may include addresser information for identifying the e-mail sender, receipt date/time information for identifying the date and time when the e-mail was received at the mobile phone 3, and/or type information for identifying the type of the e-mail.", "The type information may be, for example, information for identifying the e-mail subject inputted by the sender.", "Also, when the BT module 5 connects PBAP to the BT module of the mobile phone 3, phone book data, outgoing call history data, incoming call history data and/or the like may be transferred from the mobile phone 3 to the BT module 5, and may be stored in the storage section 7.The outgoing call history data indicates correspondence between outgoing call time destination's phone number for each outgoing call made from (i) the in-vehicle apparatus 2 or (ii) the mobile phone 3 that is connected with the in-vehicle apparatus 2 by HFP.", "The incoming call history data indicates correspondence between caller's phone number and incoming call receipt time for each incoming call received by the mobile phone 3 that is connected, by HFP, with the in-vehicle apparatus 2.The voice processing section 8 is connected with a microphone 15 and an audio amplifier 16.The microphone 15 is disposed in the vehicle compartment and is installed at a place where the voice uttered by the user can be easily collected.", "For example, the microphone 15 may be placed near the steering wheel.", "The audio amplifier 16 is external to the in-vehicle apparatus 2.The audio amplifier 16 is connected with speaker 17a, 17b (corresponding to a sound data output means and a sound data output device).", "When the HFP is connected between the BT module 5 and the BT module of the mobile phone 3, the user may utter voice to input an outgoing call voice data to the microphone 15.In this case, the voice processing section 8 processes the inputted voice data, then outputs the processed voice data to the BT module 5.When an incoming call voice data is inputted to the BT module 5, the voice processing section 8 outputs the incoming call voice data to the audio amplifier 16.When A2DP and AVRCP are connected between the BT module 5 and the BT module of the mobile phone 3, the sound data may be transferred from the BT module of the mobile phone 3 to the BT module 5 using A2DP and AVRCP.", "In this case, the voice processing section 8 outputs the transferred sound data to the audio amplifier 16.When USB communication is performable between the USB module 6 and the USB module of the mobile phone 3, the sound data may be transferred from the USB module of the mobile phone 3 to the USB module 6 by the USB communication line.", "In this case, the voice processing section 8 outputs the transferred sound data to the audio amplifier 16.When receiving the incoming call voice data or the sound data from the voice processing section 8, the audio amplifier 16 amplifies the inputted voice data or sound data and outputs the amplified voice data or sound data from speaker 17a, 17b.", "The audio amplifier 16 is also connected with a tuner deck 18.When the tuner deck 18 plays music data from, for example, a music recording medium, the audio amplifier 16 amplifies the music data and outputs the amplified music data from the speaker 17a, 17b.", "A display apparatus 19 includes a display unit 20 for displaying various display screens and an operation unit 21 for forming touch switches on a display screen.", "When receiving a display command signal from the control section 4, the display control section 9 controls display operation of the display unit 20 of the display apparatus 19 based on the inputted display command signal.", "When a touch switch formed on a display screen is operated by the user, a corresponding operation detection signal is inputted from the operation unit 21 to the operator input section 10.The operator input section 10 then outputs the operation detection signal to the control section 4.The control section 4 analyzes the operation detection signal received from the operator input section 10 and determines the operation performed by the user.", "The signal input section 11 is connected to an accessory (ACC) switch mounted to the vehicle.", "When an ACC signal outputted from the ACC switch is inputted, the signal input section 11 outputs the inputted ACC signal to the control section 4.The control section 4 controls the turning on/off of the apparatus power supply based on the turning on/off of the ACC signal inputted from the signal input section 11.Namely, the control section 4 turns the apparatus power supply on (turning the in-vehicle apparatus 2 on) when the ACC signal turns on and turns the apparatus power supply off (turning the in-vehicle apparatus 2 off) when the ACC signal turns off.", "The mobile phone 3 includes a control section 22, a telephone communication section 23, a BT module 24, a USB module 25, a keying section 26, a storage section 27, a display section 28, a microphone 29, a speaker 30, and a power supply section 31.The control section 22 may include a microcomputer with a CPU, a RAM, a ROM, and an I/O bus and controls generally all operations of the mobile phone 3, including communication operation and data management operation.", "The telephone communication section 23 performs telephone communication with a communication network 33.The communication network 33 includes equipment, such as a mobile phone base station and a base station control apparatus, for providing mobile telephone communication services.", "The BT module 24 has a function to connect a BT communication line to the BT module 5 of the in-vehicle apparatus 2 and perform BT communication by the BT communication line.", "The BT module 24 is configured to be capable of simultaneously connecting multiple profiles defined by the BT communication standard such as HFP, A2DP, AVRCP, SPP, DUN, MAP, PBAP, and OPP.", "The USB module 25 includes a connection terminal 25a, which is detachably connectable to the connection terminal 14b of the USB connection cable 14.When the connection terminal 14a of the USB connection cable 14 is connected to the connection terminal 6a of the USB module 6 of the in-vehicle apparatus 2 and the other connection terminal, 14b, of the USB connection cable 14 is connected to the connection terminal 25a, the USB module 25 can connect a USB communication line to the USB module 6 of the in-vehicle apparatus 2 and perform USB communication with the in-vehicle apparatus 2 by the USB communication line.", "The keying section 26 includes various keys operable by the user.", "When a key is operated by the user, a corresponding operation detection signal is outputted from the keying section 26 to the control section 22.The control section 22 then analyzes the inputted operation detection signal and determines the operation performed by the user.", "The storage section 27 has a storage area for storing various kinds of data.", "When a display command signal is received from the control section 22, the display control section 28 displays a display screen based on the display command signal.", "Also, when voice uttered by the user is received as outgoing call voice data from the microphone 29, the control section 22 processes the outgoing call voice data.", "When an incoming call voice data is inputted from the telephone communication section 23, the control section 22 outputs the incoming call voice data as voice from the speaker 30.The power supply section 31 supplies the power, which is from a detachable battery 32, as operating power to various function blocks.", "In the above configuration, after connecting a BT communication line between the BT module 5 and the BT module 24, the control section 4 first automatically connects HFP between the BT module 5 and the BT module 24 (without requiring user operation).", "After finishing connecting HFP, the control section 4 automatically connects A2DP between the BT module 5 and the BT module 24.After finishing connecting A2DP, the control section 4 automatically connects AVRCP between the BT module 5 and the BT module 24.After finishing connecting AVRCP, the control section 4 automatically connects PBAP between the BT module 5 and the BT module 24.Then, with HFP, A2DP and AVRCP connected between the BT module 5 and the BT module 24, the control section 4 starts data communication (phone book data transfer) using PBAP.", "Subsequently, when the control section 4 determines that the data communication performed using PBAP has ended, the control section 4 disconnects PBAP between the BT module 5 and the BT module 24 while keeping HFP, A2DP and AVRCP connected.", "When the USB communication line is connected between the USB module 6 and the USB module 25 while A2DP and AVRCP are being connected between the BT module 5 and the BT module 24, the mobile phone 3 acting as a communication counterparty of the in-vehicle apparatus 2 has two communication interfaces for transmitting (transferring) the sound data to the in-vehicle apparatus 2, one being a USB communication line and the other being A2DP and AVRCP.", "The sound data transmitted from the mobile phone 3 to the in-vehicle apparatus 2 may be, for example, music data played with use of a music play function of the mobile phone 3.Upon receipt of a sound data output start request command, which requests start of sound data output, from the in-vehicle apparatus 2, the mobile phone 3 transmits sound data to the in-vehicle apparatus 2.In cases where the two communication interfaces, e.g., the USB communication line and the A2DP and AVRCP, are usable in sound data transmission, there are many ways for the mobile phone 3 to transmit the sound data.", "In term of sound data transmission way, the mobile phone can be classified into the following three types according to apparatus' specifications as to which communication interface is used to transmit the sound data.", "(a) An ordinary type apparatus, which is allowed to transmit the sound data by using any one of the USB communication line and the A2DP/AVRCP when the USB communication line and the A2DP/AVRCP are connected.", "This ordinary type apparatus is also called herein an ordinary apparatus.", "(b) A later-connected interface priority type apparatus (a special type apparatus placing priority on a later-connected communication interface), which is allowed to transmit the sound data by using only the later-connected (last-connected) one of the two communication interfaces (the USB communication line and the A2DP/AVRCP) when the USB communication line and the A2DP/AVRCP are connected.", "The later-connected interface priority type apparatus is also called a later-connected interface priority apparatus.", "(c) An earlier-connected interface priority type apparatus (a special type apparatus placing priority on an earlier-connected communication interface), which is allowed to transmit the sound data by using only the earlier-connected one (first-connected one) of the two communication interfaces (the USB communication line and the A2DP/AVRCP) when the USB communication line and the A2DP/AVRCP are connected.", "The earlier-connected interface priority type apparatus is also called an earlier-connected interface priority apparatus.", "Namely, in the ordinary type apparatus, the communication interface usable to transmit the sound data does not depend on an order in which the communication interfaces are connected.", "In the later-connected interface priority type apparatus and the earlier-connected interface priority type apparatus, the communication interface usable to transmit the sound data depends on the order in which the communication interfaces are connected.", "Next, the operations of the BT communication system 1 will be described with reference to FIGS.", "2 to 18.FIGS.", "2 to 9 are flowcharts illustrating processings performed by the control section 4 of the in-vehicle apparatus 2.When the in-vehicle apparatus 2 is in a powered state (with an ACC switch on), the control section 4 performs a main processing.", "Sub-processings of the main processing include a communication interface connection processing, a last-used communication interface check processing, a USB communication line connection check processing, an A2DP/AVRCP-based sound data output start request check processing, a USB-communication-line-based sound data output start request check processing, a A2DP/AVRCP-based sound data output end request check processing, a USB-communication-line-based sound data output end request check processing.", "These processings will be described in order below.", "(1) Main Processing (See FIG.", "2) Upon determining that the in-vehicle apparatus 2 has been powered on, the control section 4 starts the main processing.", "In the main processing, the communication interface connection processing and the last-used communication interface check processing are performed only once immediately after the in-vehicle apparatus 2 is powered on.", "Subsequently, the USB communication line connection check processing, the A2DP/AVRCP-based sound data output start request check processing, the USB-communication-line-based sound data output start request check processing, the A2DP/AVRCP-based sound data output end request check processing, and the USB-communication-line-based sound data output end request check processing are periodically performed at predetermined intervals until the control section 4 determines that the in-vehicle apparatus 2 has been powered off (steps S1 to S8).", "(2) Communication Interface Connection Processing (See FIG.", "3) After entering the communication interface connection processing from the main processing, the control section 4 first determines whether or not the USB connection cable 14 is physically connected between the in-vehicle apparatus 2 and the mobile phone 3 (step S11).", "When the connection terminal 14a of the USB connection cable 14 has been already connected by the user to the connection terminal 6a of the USB module 6 of the in-vehicle apparatus 2 and the other connection terminal 14b of the USB connection cable 14 has also been already connected by the user to the connection terminal 25a of the USB module 25 of the mobile phone 3, the control section 4 determines that the USB connection cable 14 is physically connected between the in-vehicle apparatus 2 and the mobile phone 3 (step S11=YES).", "Then, the control section 4 causes a USB communication line to be connected between the USB module 6 and the USB module 25, thereby enabling USB communication (step S12).", "In this case, connecting the USB communication line between the USB module 6 and the USB module 25 refers to not physically connecting the USB communication line but it refers to logically connecting (by software) the USB communication line to enable USB communication.", "After connecting the USB communication line between the USB module 6 and the USB module 25, the control section 4 connects a BT communication line between the BT module 5 and the BT module 24 (step S13).", "Subsequently, the control section 4 connects HFP between the BT module 5 and the BT module 24 (step S14), A2DP/AVRCP between the BT module 5 and the BT module 24 (step S15), and PBAP between the BT module 5 and the BT module 24 (step S16).", "The control section 4 then ends the communication interface connection processing and returns to the main processing.", "When the control section 4 determines that the USB connection cable 14 is not physically connected between the in-vehicle apparatus 2 and the mobile phone 3 (step S11=NO), the control section 4 connects a BT communication line between the BT module 5 and the BT module 24 (step S13) without connecting they USB communication line between the USB module 6 and the USB module 25.Subsequently, the control section 24 connects HFP (step S14), A2DP/AVRCP (step S15), and PBAP (step S16) between the BT module 5 and the BT module 24.The control section 4 then ends the communication interface connection processing and returns to the main processing.", "(3) Last-Used Communication Interface Check Processing (See FIG.", "4) After entering the last-used communication interface check processing from the main processing, the control section 4 first determines whether or not the sound data transmitted from the USB module 25 to the USB module 6 by the USB communication line had been outputted immediately before the in-vehicle apparatus 2 was last powered off (the ACC switch off) (step S21).", "When the control section 4 determines that the sound data transmitted by the USB communication line had been outputted immediately before the in-vehicle apparatus 2 was last powered off (step S21=YES), the control section 4 determines whether or not the USB communication line is connected (step S22).", "Specifically, at step S22 the control section 4 determines whether both the USB communication line and the A2DP/AVRCP are concurrently connected and whether the USB communication line was made connected earlier and thereafter the A2DP/AVRCP was made connected later (step S22).", "When the control section 4 determines that the USB communication line is connected, specifically, When the control section 4 determines that the USB communication line and the A2DP/AVRCP both are concurrently connected and that the USB communication line was made connected earlier than the A2DP/AVRCP was (step S22=YES), the processing proceeds to step S23.At step S23, the control section 4 determines whether or not the communication counterparty apparatus to which the USB module 6 is connected by the USB communication line is the same as the communication counterparty apparatus to which the BT module 5 is connected by A2DP/AVRCP.", "This determination may be made, for example, by comparing the identification information (for example, apparatus identification information identifying the mobile phone 3) received from the USB module 25 when the USB communication line was made connected and the identification information (for example, apparatus identification information identifying the mobile phone 3) received from the BT module 24 when the BT communication line was made connected.", "In this case, when the communication counterparty apparatus to which the USB module 6 is connected by the USB communication line is the same as the communication counterparty apparatus to which the BT module 5 is connected by A2DP/AVRCP, the identification information received from the USB module 25 and the identification information received from the BT module 24 matches each other.", "When the communication counterparty apparatus to which the USB module 6 is connected by the USB communication line differs from the communication counterparty apparatus to which the BT module 5 is connected by A2DP/AVRCP, the identification information received from the USB module 25 and the identification information received from the BT module 24 does not match each other.", "When the control section 4 determines that the identification information received from the USB module 25 and the identification information received from the BT module 24 matches each other, specifically, when the control section 4 determines that the communication counterparty apparatus to which the USB module 6 is connected by the USB communication line is the same as the communication counterparty apparatus to which the BT module 5 is connected by A2DP/AVRCP (step S23=YES), the processing proceeds to step S24.At step S24, the control section 4 determines whether or not the communication counterparty apparatus is the later-connected interface priority type apparatus, which is a apparatus allowed to transmit the sound data by using only the later-connected (last-connected) communication interface when the multiple communication interfaces each enabling sound data transmission are connected.", "This determination S24 may be made, for example, based on the identification information received from the USB module 25 when the USB communication line was connected or the identification information received from the BT module 24 when the BT communication line was connected.", "When the control section 4 determines that the communication counterparty apparatus is the later-connected interface priority type apparatus (step S24=YES), the control section 4 disconnects the A2DP/AVRCP (A2DP and AVRCP) connected between the BT module 5 and the BT module 24 (step S25).", "When the A2DP/AVRCP connected between the BT module 5 and the BT module 24 is disconnected, the USB communication line connected between the USB module 25 and the USB module 6 becomes the only communication interface that the mobile phone 3 can use to transmit sound data to the in-vehicle apparatus 2.The control section 4 transmits a sound data output start request command from the USB module 6 to the USB module 25 (step S26).", "Because of this, sound data transmission from the USB module 25 to the USB module 6 by the USB communication line stars, and additionally, the sound outputs from the speaker 17a, 17b.", "Subsequently, the control section 4 ends the last-used communication interface check processing and returns to the main processing.", "When the control section 4 determines that the communication counterparty apparatus to which the USB module 6 is connected by the USB communication line differs from the communication counterparty apparatus to which the BT module 5 is connected by A2DP/AVRCP (step S23=NO) or when the control section 4 determines that the communication counterparty apparatus is not the later-connected interface priority type apparatus (step S24=NO), the processing proceeds to step S26.At step S26, the control section 4 transmits the sound data output start request command from the USB module 6 to the USB module 25 without disconnecting the A2DP/AVRCP between the BT module 5 and the BT module 24.Because of this, the sound data transmission from the USB module 25 to the USB module 6 by the USB communication line starts, and additionally, the sound outputs from the speaker 17a, 17b.", "Subsequently, the control section 4 ends the last-used communication interface check processing and returns to the main processing.", "When the control section 4 determines that immediately before the in-vehicle apparatus 2 was last powered off, the sound data transmitted by a USB communication line had not been outputted (step S21=NO), the processing proceeds to step S27.At step S27, the control section 4 determines whether or not the sound data transmitted from the BT module 24 to the BT module 5 by A2DP/AVRCP had been outputted immediately before the in-vehicle apparatus 2 was last powered off (step S27).", "When the control section 4 determines that the sound data transmitted by A2DP/AVRCP had been outputted immediately before the in-vehicle apparatus 2 was last powered off (step S27=YES), the control section 4 determines whether or not the USB communication line is connected (step S28).", "Specifically, at step S28, the control section 4 determines whether or not both the USB communication line and the A2DP/AVRCP both are connected, and whether or not the USB communication line was made connected earlier and then the A2DP/AVRCP was made connected later.", "When the control section 4 determines that the USB communication line is connected, specifically, when the control section 4 determines that the USB communication line and the A2DP/AVRCP both are connected and that the USB communication line was made connected earlier than the A2DP/AVRCP was (step S28=YES), the processing proceeds to step S29.At step S29, the control section 4 determines whether or not the communication counterparty apparatus to which the USB module 6 is connected by the USB communication line is the same as the communication counterparty apparatus to which the BT module 5 is connected by A2DP/AVRCP.", "When the control section 4 determines that the communication counterparty apparatus to which the USB module 6 is connected by the USB communication line is the same as the communication counterparty apparatus to which the BT module 5 is connected by A2DP/AVRCP (step S29=YES), the processing proceeds to step 30.At step S30, the control section 4 determines whether or not the communication counterparty apparatus is the earlier-connected interface priority type apparatus, which is a apparatus allowed to transmit the sound data by using only the earlier-connected communication interface (first-connected communication interface) when multiple communication interfaces each enabling sound data transmission are connected.", "The determination at S30 may be made, for example, based on the identification information received from the USB module 25 when the USB communication line was connected or the identification information received from the BT module 24 when the BT communication line was connected.", "When the control section 4 determines that the communication counterparty apparatus is the earlier-connected interface priority type apparatus (step S30=YES), the control section 4 disconnects the USB communication line connected between the USB module 6 and the USB module 25 (in order not to allow USB communication) (step S31).", "In this case, disconnecting the USB communication line does not refers to physically disconnecting the USB communication line but it refers to logically disconnecting (by software) the USB communication line to prohibit the USB communication.", "When the USB communication line connected between the USB module 6 and the USB module 25 is disconnected, the A2DP/AVRCP connected between the BT module 5 and the BT module 24 becomes the only communication interface that the mobile phone 3 can use to transmit sound data to the in-vehicle apparatus 2.The control section 4 transmits a sound data output start request command from the BT module 5 to the BT module 24.Because of this, the sound data transmission from the BT module 24 to the BT module 5 by the A2DP/AVRCP starts, and additionally, the sound outputs from the speaker 17a, 17b (step S32).", "Subsequently, the control section 4 ends the last-used communication interface check processing and returns to the main processing.", "When the control section 4 determines that the USB communication line is not connected between the USB module 6 and the USB module 25 (step S28=NO) or that the communication counterparty apparatus to which the USB module 6 is connected by a USB communication line differs from the communication counterparty apparatus to which the BT module 5 is connected by A2DP/AVRCP (step S29=NO) or that the communication counterparty apparatus is not of the earlier-connected interface priority type apparatus (step S30=NO), the processing proceeds to step S32.At step S32, the control section 4 transmits a sound data output start request command from the BT module 5 to the BT module 24 without disconnecting the USB communication line between the USB module 6 and the USB module 25.Because of this, the sound data transmission from the BT module 24 to the BT module 5 by A2DP/AVRCP starts, and additionally, the sound outputs from the speaker 17a, 17b.", "Subsequently, the control section 4 ends the last-used communication interface check processing and returns to the main processing.", "When the control section 4 determines that immediately before the in-vehicle apparatus 2 was last powered off, the sound data transmitted by A2DP/AVRCP had not been outputted (step S27=NO), the processing proceeds to step S33.At step S33, the control section 4 determines whether or not the sound data had been outputted using another communication interface (step S33).", "When the control section 4 determines that sound data had been outputted using another communication interface (step S33=YES), the control section 4 disconnects the A2DP/AVRCP connected between the BT module 5 and the BT module 24 (step S34) and the USB communication line connected between the USB module 6 and the USB module 25 (step S35).", "This causes sound data transmitted by the another communication interface to be outputted from the speaker 17a, 17b (step S36).", "Subsequently, the control section 4 ends the last-used communication interface check processing and returns to the main processing.", "(4) USB Communication Line Connection Check Processing (See FIG.", "5) After entering the USB communication line connection check processing from the main processing, the control section 4 first determines whether or not the USB connection cable 14 is physically connected between the in-vehicle apparatus 2 and the mobile phone 3 (step S41).", "When the connection terminal 14a of the USB connection cable 14 is already connected to the connection terminal 6a of the USB module 6 of the in-vehicle apparatus 2 and the other connection terminal 14b of the USB connection cable 14 is already connected to the connection terminal 25a of the USB module 25 of the mobile phone 3 by the user, the control section 4 determines that the USB connection cable 14 is physically connected between the in-vehicle apparatus 2 and the mobile phone 3 (step S41=YES).", "Then, the control section 4 causes connect a USB communication line between the USB module 6 and the USB module 25 to enable USB communication (step S42).", "The control section 4 then ends the USB communication line connection check processing and returns to the main processing.", "In this case, too, connecting the USB communication line between the USB module 6 and the USB module 25 does not refer to physically connecting the USB communication line but it refers to logically connecting (by software) the USB communication line enabling USB communication.", "(5) A2DP/AVRCP-Based Sound Data Output Start Request Check Processing (See FIG.", "6) After entering the A2DP/AVRCP-based sound data output start request check processing from the main processing, the control section 4 first determines whether or not there is a request to start outputting the sound data from the speaker 17a, 17b by the A2DP/AVRCP (step S51).", "A condition for YES at step 51 is, for example, as follows.", "When the speaker 17a, 17b is outputting the sound data transmitted by the USB communication line, a user operates the operation apparatus 21 to instruct a change in communication interface from the USB communication line to the A2DP/AVRCP.", "Alternatively, when the speaker 17a, 17b is not outputting any sound data, the user operates the operation apparatus 21 to instruct the output of the sound data output by A2DP/AVRCP.", "When the control section 4 determines that there is a request to output the sound data from the speaker 17a, 17b by the A2DP/AVRCP (step S51=YES), the control section 4 determines whether or not the sound data is being outputted by the USB communication line (step S52).", "When the control section 4 determines that no sound data is being outputted by the USB communication line (step S52=NO), the control section 4 determines whether or not the A2DP/AVRCP is connected between the BT module 5 and the BT module 24 (step S55).", "When the control section 4 determines that the A2DP/AVRCP is connected between the BT module 5 and the BT module 24 (step S55=YES), the control section 4 transmits a sound data output start request command from the BT module 5 to the BT module 24.Because of this, the sound data transmission from the BT module 24 to the BT module 5 by A2DP/AVRCP starts, and the control section 5 outputs the sound from the speaker 17a, 17b (step S57).", "Subsequently, the control section 4 ends the A2DP/AVRCP-based sound data output start request check processing and returns to the main processing.", "When the control section 4 determines that the A2DP/AVRCP is not connected between the BT module 5 and the BT module 24 (step S55=NO), the control section 4 connects the A2DP/AVRCP between the BT module 5 and the BT module 24 (step S56) and transmits a sound data output start request command from the BT module 5 to the BT module 24.Because of this, the sound data transmission from the BT module 24 to the BT module 5 by A2DP/AVRCP starts, and the control section 5 outputs the sound from the speaker 17a, 17b (step S57).", "Subsequently, the control section 4 ends the A2DP/AVRCP-based sound data output start request check processing and returns to the main processing.", "When the control section 4 determines that the sound data is being outputted by the USB communication line (step S52=YES), the control section 4 stops outputting the sound data by the USB communication line (step S53).", "Then, after disconnecting the USB communication line between the USB module 6 and the USB module 25 (step S54), the control section 4 executes the above-described steps S55 to S57.Thereafter, the control section 4 ends the A2DP/AVRCP-based sound data output start request check processing and returns to the main processing.", "(6) USB-Communication-Line-Based Sound Data Output Start Request Check Processing (See FIG.", "7) After entering the USB-communication-line-based sound data output start request check processing from the main processing, the control section 4 first determines whether or not there is a request to start the sound data output by the USB communication line (step S61).", "In step S61, the control section 4 determines that starting of sound data output from the speaker 17a, 17b by a USB communication line has been requested, for example, when it determines that, in a state where sound data transmitted from the mobile phone 3 by A2DP/AVRCP is being outputted from the speaker 17a, 17b, the communication interface was switched from A2DP/AVRCP to a USB communication line at the operation unit 21 or when it determines that, in a state with no sound data outputted from the speaker 17a, 17b, the operation unit 21 was operated to start sound data output by a USB communication line.", "When the control section 4 determines that starting of sound data output from the speaker 17a, 17b by a USB communication line has been requested (step S61=YES), the control section 4 determines whether or not sound data is being outputted by A2DP/AVRCP (step S62).", "When the control section 4 determines that sound data is not being outputted by A2DP/AVRCP (step S62=NO), the control section 4 determines whether or not a USB communication line is connected between the USB module 6 and the USB module 25 (step S65).", "When the control section 4 determines that a USB communication line is connected between the USB module 6 and the USB module 25 (step S65=YES), the control section 4 has a sound data output start request command transmitted from the USB module 6 to the USB module 25.This causes sound data transmission from the USB module 25 to the USB module 6 by the USB communication line to be started and the sound to be outputted from the speaker 17a, 17b (step S67).", "Subsequently, the control section 4 ends the USB-communication-line-based sound data output start request check processing and returns to the main processing.", "When the control section 4 determines that no USB communication line is connected between the USB module 6 and the USB module 25 (step S65=NO), the control section 4 connects a USB communication line between the USB module 6 and the USB module 25 (step S66) and has a sound data output start request command transmitted from the USB module 6 to the USB module 25.This causes sound data transmission from the USB module 25 to the USB module 6 by the USB communication line to be started and the sound to be outputted from the speaker 17a, 17b (step S67).", "Subsequently, the control section 4 ends the USB-communication-line-based sound data output start request check processing and returns to the main processing.", "When the control section 4 determines that sound data is being outputted by A2DP/AVRCP (step S62=YES), the control section 4 terminates sound data output from the speaker 17a, 17b by A2DP/AVRCP (step S63) and, after disconnecting A2DP/AVRCP connected between the BT module 5 and the BT module 24 (step S64), executes steps S65 to S67 described above.", "Subsequently, the control section 4 ends the USB-communication-line-based sound data output start request check processing and returns to the main processing.", "(7) A2DP/AVRCP-Based Sound Data Output End Request Check Processing (See FIG.", "8) After entering the A2DP/AVRCP-based sound data output end request check processing from the main processing, the control section 4 first determines whether or not there is a request to terminate the sound data output from the speaker 17a, 17b by the A2DP/AVRCP (step S71).", "A condition for YES at step S71 is, for example, as follows.", "When the sound data transmitted from the BT module 24 to the BT module 5 by A2DP/AVRCP is being outputted from the speaker 17a, 17b, the user operates the operation unit 21 to input an output end instruction.", "When the control section 4 determines that there is the request to terminate the sound data output from the speaker 17a, 17b by the A2DP/AVRCP (step S71=YES), the control section 4 transmits a sound data output end request command from the BT module 5 to the BT module 24.This causes the sound data transmission from the BT module 24 to the BT module 5 by A2DP/AVRCP to be terminated and the sound output from the speaker 17a, 17b to be terminated (step S72).", "Subsequently, the control section 4 disconnects the A2DP/AVRCP between the BT module 5 and the BT module 24 (step S73), ends the A2DP/AVRCP-based sound data output end request check processing, and returns to the main processing.", "(8) USB-Communication-Line-Based Sound Data Output End Request Check Processing (See FIG.", "9) After entering the USB-communication-line-based sound data output end request check processing from the main processing, the control section 4 first determines whether or not there is a request to terminate the sound data output from the speaker 17a, 17b by the USB communication line (step S81).", "A condition for YES at step S81 is, for example, as follows.", "When the sound data transmitted from the USB module 25 to the USB module 6 by the USB communication line is being outputted from the speaker 17a, 17b, the user operates the operation unit 21 to input an output end instruction.", "When the control section 5 determines that there is the request to terminate the sound data output from the speaker 17a, 17b by the USB communication line (step S81=YES), the control section 4 transmits a sound data output end request command from the USB module 6 to the USB module 25.This causes the sound data transmission from the USB module 25 to the USB module 6 by the USB communication line to be terminated and the sound output from the speaker 17a, 17b to be terminated (step S82).", "Subsequently, the control section 4 disconnects the USB communication line connected between the USB module 6 and the USB module 25 (step S83), ends the USB-communication-line-based sound data output end request check processing, and returns to the main processing.", "The above processings will be described in more detail below by referring to exemplary situations where the USB communication line is an earlier-connected communication interface and the A2DP/AVRCP is a later-connected communication interface, as shown in FIGS.", "10 and 11.One exemplary situation shown in FIG.", "10 assumes that the sound data transmitted by the USB communication line had been outputted from the speaker 17a, 17b immediately before the in-vehicle apparatus 2 was last powered off.", "Another exemplary situation shown in FIG.", "11 assumes that the sound data transmitted by the A2DP/AVRCP USB had been outputted from the speaker 17a, 17b immediately before the in-vehicle apparatus 2 was last powered off.", "When the control section 4 determines that the mobile phone 3 acting as the communication counterparty of the in-vehicle apparatus 2 is the ordinary type apparatus, the communication interface usable to transmit the sound data does not depend on an order in which the communication interfaces are connected.", "In this case, the control section 4 may cause the operations illustrated in FIGS.", "10 and 11 Specifically, as shown in FIGS.", "10 and 11, after the in-vehicle apparatus 2 is powered on, the control section 4 causes, without disconnecting any connected-one of the USB communication line and the A2DP/AVRCP (while maintaining the connection), the start of the sound data transmission and the output of the sound from the speaker 17a, 17b by using the same communication interface that had been used for the sound data transmission immediately before the in-vehicle apparatus 2 was last powered off, regardless of which of the USB communication line and the A2DP/AVRCP had been used to transmit the sound data and output the sound from the speaker 17a, 17b immediately before the in-vehicle apparatus 2 was last powered off.", "Subsequently, when the control section 4 determines that an output switching operation for switching to the USB communication line or A2DP/AVRCP has been performed, the control section 4 accordingly switches the communication interface for the sound data transmission without disconnecting the connected USB communication line and A2DP/AVRCP and starts transmitting the sound data by the communication interface switched to, causing the sound to be outputted from the speaker 17a, 17b.", "When the control section 4 determines that the mobile phone 3 acting as the communication counterparty of the in-vehicle apparatus 2 is the later-connected interface priority type apparatus, the communication interface usable to transmit the sound data is limited to a last-connected communication interface.", "In this case, as shown in FIG.", "12, if the sound data transmitted by the USB communication line had been outputted immediately before the in-vehicle apparatus 2 was last powered off, in other words, if the sound data transmitted by an earlier-connected communication interface had been outputted immediately before the in-vehicle apparatus 2 was last powered off, the control section causes the following operation.", "The control section 4 disconnects the later-connected interface, which is the later-connected one of the USB communication line and the A2DP/AVRCP and which is the A2DP/AVRCP in this example.", "Additionally, the control section 4 starts the sound data transmission by the USB communication line that had been used to transmit the sound data immediately before the in-vehicle apparatus 2 was last powered off.", "Then, the control section 4 outputs the sound from the speaker 17a, 17b.", "Subsequently, when the control section 4 determines that an output switching operation for switching from the USB communication line to the A2DP/AVRCP has been performed, the control section 4 reconnects the disconnected A2DP/AVRCP and switches the communication interface for sound data transmission from the USB communication line to the reconnected A2DP/AVRCP.", "The control unit 4 then starts sound data transmission by the reconnected A2DP/AVRCP, thereby starting sound output from the speaker 17a, 17b.", "Note that the control section 4 may reconnect the disconnected A2DP/AVRCP before an output switching operation for switching from the USB communication line to A2DP/AVRCP is performed.", "In such a case, even while sound data is being outputted by the USB communication line, it is possible to make the A2DP/AVRCP the later-connected communication interface.", "Also, if the A2DP/AVRCP is connected at a time when an output switching operation for switching from the USB communication line to A2DP/AVRCP is performed, the control section 4 may once disconnect and then reconnect the A2DP/AVRCP.", "When the sound data transmitted by a later-connected communication interface had been outputted immediately before the in-vehicle apparatus 2 was last powered off, in other words, when the sound data transmitted by the A2DP/AVRCP had been outputted immediately before the in-vehicle apparatus 2 was last powered off, the control section 4 starts, as shown in FIG.", "13, without disconnecting any connected-one of the USB communication line and the A2DP/AVRCP, the sound data transmission by using the A2DP/AVRCP that had been used to transmit the sound data immediately before the in-vehicle apparatus 4 was last powered off.", "Accordingly, the control section 4 starts the sound output from the speaker 17a, 17b.", "Subsequently, when the control section 4 determines that an output switching operation for switching from A2DP/AVRCP to the USB communication line is performed, the control section 4 disconnects the A2DP/AVRCP, which is the later-connected communication interface, and switches the communication interface for sound data transmission from the A2DP/AVRCP to the USB communication line.", "The control section 4 then starts the sound data transmission by the USB communication line switched to, thereby starting sound output from the speaker 17a, 17b.", "Another exemplary case will be described with reference to FIG.", "14.In this case, the control section determines that the mobile phone 3 acting as the communication counterparty of the in-vehicle apparatus 2 is the earlier-connected interface priority type apparatus, and thus, the communication interface usable to transmit the sound data is limited to a first-connected communication interface.", "Therefore, if the sound data transmitted by a USB communication line had been outputted immediately before the in-vehicle apparatus 2 was last powered off, i.e., if the sound data transmitted by an earlier-connected communication interface has been outputted immediately before the in-vehicle apparatus 2 was last powered off, the control section 4 starts, without disconnecting any one of the connected USB communication line and A2DP/AVRCP, the sound data transmission and the sound output from the speaker 17a, 17b by using the USB communication line that had been used to transmit the sound data immediately before the in-vehicle apparatus 2 was last powered off.", "Subsequently, when the control section 4 determines that an output switching operation for switching from the USB communication to the A2DP/AVRCP is performed, the control section 4 disconnects the USB communication line, i.e.", "the earlier-connected communication interface, and switches the communication interface for sound data transmission from the USB communication line to the A2DP/AVRCP.", "The control section 4 then starts sound data transmission using the A2DP/AVRCP switched to, thereby causing sound output from the speaker 17a, 17b to be started.", "When the sound data transmitted by the A2DP/AVRCP had been outputted immediately before the in-vehicle apparatus 2 was last powered off as shown in FIG.", "15., in other words, when the sound data transmitted by the later-connected communication interface had been outputted immediately before the in-vehicle apparatus 2 was last powered off, the control section 4 disconnects the USB communication line, which is the earlier-connected communication interface out of the USB communication line and the A2DP/AVRCP, and additionally, the control section 4 starts the sound data transmission by using the A2DP/AVRCP that had been used to transmit the sound data immediately before the in-vehicle apparatus 2 was last powered off, thereby starting sound output from the speaker 17a, 17b.", "Subsequently, when the control section 4 determines that an output switching operation for switching from the A2DP/AVRCP to the USB communication line is performed, the control section 4 disconnects the A2DP/AVRCP, reconnects the USB communication line, and switches the communication interface for sound data reception from the A2DP/AVRCP to the USB communication line.", "The control section 4 then starts sound data transmission by the USB communication line switched to, thereby starting sound output from the speaker 17a, 17b.", "Assuming two situations, FIG.", "16 summarizes the processings described above with reference to FIGS.", "10 to 1.One assumed situation is that where the USB communication line was made connected earlier than the A2DP/AVRCP, the sound data transmitted by the USB communication line had been outputted from the speaker 17a, 17b immediately before the in-vehicle apparatus 2 was last powered off.", "The other assumed situation is that where the USB communication line was made connected earlier than the A2DP/AVRCP, the sound data transmitted by the A2DP/AVRCP had been outputted from the speaker 17a, 17b immediately before the in-vehicle apparatus 2 was last powered off.", "Substantially the same as in FIG.", "16 is applicable when the order of connecting the USB communication line and the A2DP/AVRCP is reversed.", "Assuming two situations, FIG.", "17 summarizes the processings described above with reference to FIGS.", "10 to 15.One assumed situation is that where the A2DP/AVRCP was made connected earlier than the USB communication line, the sound data transmitted by the USB communication line has been outputted from the speaker 17a, 17b immediately before the in-vehicle apparatus 2 was last powered off.", "The other assumed situation is that where the A2DP/AVRCP was made connected earlier than the USB communication line, the sound data transmitted by the A2DP/AVRCP had been outputted from the speaker 17a, 17b immediately before the in-vehicle apparatus 2 was last powered off.", "In the above described configuration, since the communication interfaces capable of sound data transmission, which are the, USB communication line and the A2DP/AVRCP, are automatically connected immediately after the in-vehicle apparatus 2 is powered on, the last-used communication interface check processing is performed to enable control of the connection/disconnection of the USB communication line and the A2DP/AVRCP based on the communication interface that has been used to transmit the sound data immediately before the in-vehicle apparatus 2 was last powered off.", "However, if the communication interfaces capable of sound data transmission are not automatically connected immediately after the in-vehicle apparatus 2 is powered on, the last-used communication interface check processing may be performed in the following way (see FIG.", "18).", "As shown in FIG.", "18, after entering the last-used communication interface check processing from the main processing, the control section 4 first determines whether or not the sound data transmitted from the USB module 25 to the USB module 6 by the USB communication line has been outputted immediately before the in-vehicle apparatus was last powered off (the ACC switch off) (step S91).", "When the control section 4 determines that the sound data transmitted by the USB communication line had been outputted immediately before the in-vehicle apparatus 2 was last powered off (step S91=YES), the control section 4 determines whether or not the USB connection cable 14 is physically connected between the in-vehicle apparatus 2 and the mobile phone 3 (step S92).", "When the control section 4 determines that the USB connection cable 14 is physically connected between the in-vehicle apparatus 2 and the mobile phone 3 (step S92=YES), the control section 4 connects the USB communication line between the USB module 6 and the USB module 25 (enabling USB communication) (step S93) and transmits a sound data output start request command from the USB module 6 to the USB module 25.Because of this, the control section 4 causes the start of the sound data transmission from the USB module 25 to the USB module 6 by the USB communication line and causes the start of the sound output from the speaker 17a, 17b (step S94).", "Subsequently, the control section 4 ends the last-used communication interface check processing and returns to the main processing.", "When the control section 4 determines that the sound data transmitted by the USB communication line had not been outputted immediately before the in-vehicle apparatus 2 was last powered off (step S91=NO), the control section 4 determines whether or not the sound data transmitted from the BT module 24 to the BT module 5 by the A2DP/AVRCP had been outputted immediately before the in-vehicle apparatus 2 was last powered off (step S95).", "When the control section 4 determines that sound data transmitted by the A2DP/AVRCP had been outputted immediately before the in-vehicle apparatus 2 was last powered off (step S95=YES), the control section 4 connects the A2DP/AVRCP between the BT module 5 and the BT module 24 (step S96) and transmits a sound data output start request command from the BT module 5 to the BT module 24.Because of this, the controls section 4 causes the start of the sound data transmission from the BT module 24 to the BT module 5 by the A2DP/AVRCP and causes the start of the sound output from the speaker 17a, 17b (step S97).", "Subsequently, the control section 4 ends the last-used communication interface check processing and returns to the main processing.", "When the control section 4 determines that the sound data transmitted by the A2DP/AVRCP had not been outputted immediately before the in-vehicle apparatus 2 was last powered off (step S95=NO), the control section 4 determines whether or not the sound data has been outputted using another communication interface (step S98).", "When the control section 4 determines that the sound data had been outputted using another communication interface (step S98=YES), the control section 4 starts the sound data output from the speaker 17a, 17b using the another communication interface (step S99).", "Subsequently, the control section 4 ends the last-used communication interface check processing and returns to the main processing.", "In the above series of processings, it is determined which communication interface had been used to transmit the sound data immediately before the in-vehicle apparatus 2 was last powered off, and thereafter, the same communication interface as the one that had been used to transmit the sound data transmission immediately before the in-vehicle apparatus 2 was last powered off is connected again.", "Therefore, in order to appropriately transmit the sound data from the mobile phone 3, it is unnecessary to determine the type of the mobile phone 3 (the type of the communication counterpart of the in-vehicle apparatus 2).", "Additionally, it is possible to appropriately transmit the sound data from the mobile phone 3 regardless of the type of the mobile phone 3 (the type of the communication counterpart of the in-vehicle apparatus 2) In the present embodiment, in order to transmit the sound data from the mobile phone 3 to the in-vehicle apparatus 2 by the USB communication line, the in-vehicle apparatus 2 controls connection/disconnection of the USB communication line and the A2DP/AVRCP so as to enable the mobile phone 3 to transmit he sound data by the USB communication line.", "Similarly, in order to transmit the sound data from the mobile phone 3 the in-vehicle apparatus 2 by the A2DP/AVRCP, the in-vehicle apparatus 2 controls connection/disconnection of the USB communication line and A2DP/AVRCP so as to enable the mobile phone 3 to transmit the sound data using the A2DP/AVRCP.", "This enables the mobile phone 3 to appropriately transmit the sound data even when the mobile phone 3 is designed to not appropriately transmit the sound data in the case of the concurrently (simultaneously) connection of the USB communication line and the A2DP/AVRCP.", "Specifically, where (i) the USB communication line was made connected earlier than the A2DP/AVRCP, (ii) the mobile phone 3 acting as the communication counterpart of the in-vehicle apparatus 2 is the later-connected interface priority type apparatus, and (iii) the sound data transmitted by the USB communication line had been outputted immediately before the in-vehicle apparatus 2 was last powered off, the earlier-connected communication interface, i.e.", "the USB communication line is kept connected and the later-connected communication interface, i.e.", "A2DP/AVRCP, is disconnected.", "In this way, the sound data transmission can be started and the sound output from the speaker 17a, 17b can be started using the USB communication line, in other words, the same communication interface as the one that had been used for sound data transmission immediately before the in-vehicle apparatus 2 was last powered off.", "Furthermore, where (i) the USB communication line was made connected earlier than the A2DP/AVRCP, (ii) the mobile phone 3 acting as the communication counterpart of the in-vehicle apparatus 2 is the earlier-connected interface priority type apparatus, and (iii) the sound data transmitted by the A2DP/AVRCP had been outputted immediately before the in-vehicle apparatus 2 was last powered off, the later-connected communication interface, i.e.", "A2DP/AVRCP is kept connected and the earlier-connected communication interface, i.e.", "the USB communication line, is disconnected.", "In this way, the sound data transmission and the sound output from the speaker 17a, 17b can be started using the A2DP/AVRCP, i.e.", "the same communication interface as the one that had been used for sound data transmission immediately before the in-vehicle apparatus 2 was last powered off.", "Embodiments are not limited to the above embodiments and can be modified or expanded in various ways, example of which will be described.", "For example, the short-range wireless communication apparatus may be other than the in-vehicle apparatus 2.As long as the short-range wireless communication apparatus includes a BT module having a function comparable to that of the BT module 5, the short-range wireless communication apparatus may be, for example, a navigation apparatus having a navigation function.", "Additionally, the short-range wireless communication apparatus may not be required to be an in-vehicle apparatus.", "The communication counterparty apparatus, which is the communication counterparty of the short-range wireless communication apparatus, is not limited to the mobile phone 3.As long as the communication counterparty apparatus includes a BT module having a function comparable to that of the BT module 24, the communication counterparty apparatus may be a portable information terminal or the like, or alternatively, the communication counterparty apparatus may be a fixed terminal, which is not portable.", "The above embodiments are applicable not only to cases where two communication interfaces are simultaneously connected but also to cases where three or more communication interfaces are simultaneously connected.", "In cases where three or more communication interfaces are simultaneously connected also, the connection/disconnection of the communication interfaces can be controlled based on the type of the mobile phone 3 (the type of the communication counterpart of the in-vehicle apparatus 2).", "Specifically, in cases where three communication interfaces such as a USB communication line, A2DP/AVRCP and WiFi are connected, the control may be performed in the following way.", "For example, where (i) the USB communication line was connected first, (ii) the A2DP/AVRCP was connected second, (iii) the WiFi was connected third, (iv) the mobile phone 3 acting as the communication counterpart of the in-vehicle apparatus 2 is the later-connected interface priority type apparatus, the A2DP/AVRCP and WiFi may be disconnected in response to a request to start output of the sound data by the USB communication line.", "In response to a request to start output of the sound data by the WiFi, the WiFi may be kept connected.", "The in-vehicle apparatus 2 may be configured to be capable of storing the type of each communication counterparty apparatus.", "When a BT communication line or a USB communication line is connected between the in-vehicle apparatus 2 and the communication counterparty apparatus, the in-vehicle apparatus 2 stores identification information received from the communication counterparty apparatus, so that the in-vehicle apparatus 2 can identify the type of the communication counterparty apparatus next time the BT communication line or USB communication line is connected between the in-vehicle apparatus 2 and the communication counterparty apparatus.", "The present disclosure has various aspects.", "For example, according to a first aspect, a short-range wireless communication apparatus can be configured as follows.", "The short-range wireless communication apparatus comprises a plurality of connection devices and a control device.", "The plurality of connection devices is capable of simultaneously connecting a plurality of communication interfaces to a communication counterparty apparatus, respectively, and capable of causing transfer of sound data from the communication counterparty apparatus by the plurality of communication interfaces, respectively.", "The control device is configured to cause a sound data output device to selectively output the sound data transferred from the communication counterparty apparatus to any of the connection devices by any of the communication interfaces.", "When the control device determines that, in cases where the communication interfaces are communicably connected, there arises a request to start outputting the sound data transferred by one of the communication interfaces, the control device disconnects another one of the communication interfaces while keeping the one of the communication interfaces connected and causes the sound data output device to output the sound data that is transferred from the communication counterparty apparatus by the one of the communication interfaces.", "According to the above configuration, even if the communication counterparty apparatus is designed to be incapable of appropriately transfer the sound data due to the simultaneously-connected multiple communication interfaces between the short-range wireless communication apparatus and the communication counterparty apparatus, the short-range wireless communication apparatus can cause the communication counterparty apparatus to appropriately transfer the sound data by disconnecting the another one of the communication interfaces while maintaining the connection of the one of the communication interfaces associated with the sound data output start request.", "The above short-range wireless communication apparatus may be configured as follows.", "When the control device determines that, in cases where the communication interfaces are communicably connected, there arises the request to start outputting the sound data transferred by one of the communication interfaces, the control device disconnects all the others of the communication interfaces while keeping the one of the communication interfaces connected and causes the sound data output device to output the sound data that is transferred from the communication counterparty apparatus by the one of the communication interfaces.", "In the above, the all the others of the communication interfaces is all of the multiple communication interfaces except the one of the communication interfaces.", "According to the above configuration, even if the communication counterparty apparatus is designed to be incapable of appropriately transferring the sound data due to the simultaneously-connected multiple communication interfaces between the short-range wireless communication apparatus and the communication counterparty apparatus, the short-range wireless communication apparatus can cause the communication counterparty apparatus to appropriately transfer the sound data by disconnects all the others of the communication interfaces (which may be multiple interfaces) while maintaining the connection of the one of the communication interfaces associated with the request to start outputting the sound data.", "The above short-range wireless communication apparatus may be configured as follows.", "When the control device determines that, in cases where the communication interfaces are communicably connected, there arises the request to start outputting the sound data transferred by a last-connected communication interface which is one of the communication interfaces that was connected last among the communication interfaces, the control device disconnects another one of the communication interfaces while keeping the one of the communication interfaces connected and causes the sound data output device to output the sound data that is transferred from the communication counterparty apparatus by the one of the communication interfaces.", "According to the above configuration, even if the communication counterparty apparatus is designed to be capable of transferring the sound data only by the last-connected communication interface (in other words, even if the communication counterparty apparatus is the later-connected interface priority type apparatus), the short-range wireless communication apparatus can causes the last-connected communication interface to be only an available communication interface for the communication counterparty apparatus to transfer the sound data.", "This can be done by disconnecting the other of the communication interfaces while keeping the last-connected communication interface connected.", "The above short-range wireless communication apparatus may be configured as follows.", "After disconnecting the another one of the communication interfaces, the control device reconnects the disconnected another one of the communication interfaces.", "According to the above configuration, since the short-range wireless communication apparatus can disconnect the another one of the communication interfaces (which is other than the one of the communication interfaces) and thereafter reconnect the disconnected another one of the communication interfaces, the reconnected another one of the communication interfaces can be made the last-connected communication interface.", "Therefore, at a time when the communication interface associated with the request to start outputting the sound data is changed from the one of the communication interfaces to the another one of the communication interfaces, the another one of the communication interfaces has been already connected.", "Therefore, it becomes possible to continuously transfer the sound data by the another one of the communication interfaces.", "The above short-range wireless communication apparatus may be configured as follows.", "When the control device determines, after disconnecting the another one of the communication interfaces, that there arises a request to start outputting the sound data by the another one of the communication interfaces, the control device performs control such that if the another one of the communication interfaces is currently connected, the control device disconnects and then reconnects the another one of the communication interfaces.", "According to the above configuration, if the another one of the communication interfaces is currently connected at a time when the request is changed from the request to start outputting by the one of the communication interfaces to the request to start outputting by the another one of the communication interfaces, the short-range wireless communication apparatus can make the another communication interface the last-connected communication interface by disconnecting and then reconnecting the another one of the communication interfaces, thereby enabling the transfer of the sound data by the another one of the communication interfaces.", "The above short-range wireless communication apparatus may be configured as follows.", "When the control device determines, after disconnecting the another one of the communication interfaces, that there arises a request to start outputting the sound data by the another one of the communication interfaces, the control device performs control such that if the another one of the communication interfaces is currently unconnected, the control device reconnects the another one of the communication interfaces.", "According to the above configuration, if the another one of the communication interfaces is currently unconnected at a time when the request is changed from the request to start outputting by the one of the communication interfaces to the request to start outputting by the another one of the communication interfaces, the short-range wireless communication apparatus can make the another communication interface the last-connected communication interface by reconnecting the another one of the communication interfaces, thereby enabling the transfer of the sound data by the another one of the communication interfaces The above short-range wireless communication apparatus may be configured as follows.", "When the control device determines that, in cases where the communication interfaces are communicably connected, there arises the request to start outputting the sound data transferred by a first-connected communication interface which is one of the communication interfaces that was made connected first among the communication interfaces, the control device disconnects another one of the communication interfaces while keeping the one of the communication interfaces connected and causes the sound data output device to output the sound data that is transferred from the communication counterparty apparatus by the one of the communication interfaces.", "According to the above configuration, even if the communication counterparty apparatus is designed to be capable of transferring the sound data only by the first-connected communication interface (in other words, even if the communication counterparty apparatus is the earlier-connected interface priority type apparatus), the short-range wireless communication apparatus can causes the first-connected communication interface to be only an available communication interface for the communication counterparty apparatus to transfer the sound data.", "This can be done by, while keeping the last-connected communication interface connected, disconnecting the other of the communication interfaces.", "Namely, even when the communication counterparty apparatus is the earlier-connected interface priority type apparatus, the short-range wireless communication apparatus can cause the communication counterparty apparatus, which is the earlier-connected interface priority type apparatus, to transfer the sound data by the first-connected communication interface.", "The above short-range wireless communication apparatus may be configured as follows.", "When the control device determines, after disconnecting the another one of the communication interfaces, that there arises a request to start outputting the sound data by the another one of the communication interfaces, the control device disconnects all of the communication interfaces including the one of the communication interfaces and thereafter reconnects the another one of the communication interfaces.", "According to the above configuration, when the request is changed from the request to start outputting the sound data by the one of the communication interfaces to the request to start outputting the sound data by the another one of the communication interfaces, the short-range wireless communication apparatus can disconnect all of the communication interfaces including the one of the communication interfaces and thereafter reconnect the another one of the communication interfaces, thereby enabling the transfer of the sound data by the another one of the communication interfaces.", "According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, a short-range wireless communication apparatus can be configured as follows.", "The short-range wireless communication apparatus comprises: a plurality of connection devices capable of simultaneously connecting a plurality of communication interfaces to a communication counterparty apparatus, and causing transfer of sound data from the communication counterparty apparatus by the plurality of communication interfaces respectively; and a control device for causing a sound data output device to selectively output the sound data transferred from the communication counterparty apparatus to any of the connection devices by any of the communication interfaces.", "When the control device determines that, in cases where one of the communication interfaces is not communicably connected and another one of the communication interfaces is communicably connected, there arises a request to start outputting the sound data transferred by the one of the communication interfaces, the control device disconnects the another one of the communication interfaces and thereafter connects the one of the communication interfaces and causes the sound data output device to output the sound data that is transferred from the communication counterparty apparatus by the one of the communication interfaces.", "Alternatively, when the control device determines that, in cases where one of the communication interfaces is not communicably connected and all the others of the communication interfaces is communicably connected, there arises a request to start outputting the sound data transferred by the one of the communication interfaces, the control device disconnects the another one of the communication interfaces and thereafter connects the one of the communication interfaces and causes the sound data output device to output the sound data that is transferred from the communication counterparty apparatus by the one of the communication interfaces.", "According to the above configuration, even if the communication counterparty apparatus is designed to be incapable of appropriately transfer the sound data due to the simultaneously-connected multiple communication interfaces between the short-range wireless communication apparatus and the communication counterparty apparatus, the short-range wireless communication apparatus can cause the communication counterparty apparatus to appropriately transfer the sound data by disconnecting the another one of the communication interfaces and thereafter connecting the one of the communication interfaces.", "It should be noted that the present disclosure is intended to cover various modification and equivalent arrangements.", "In addition, while the various combinations and configurations, other combinations and configurations, including more, less or only a single element, are also within the spirit and scope of the present disclosure." ] ]
Patent_15873021
[ [ "METHODS FOR IDENTIFYING IMMUNOBINDERS OF CELL-SURFACE ANTIGENS", "The invention provides methods for identifying immunobinders, such as scFv antibodies, capable of specifically binding to cell surface antigens, and compositions identified according to said methods." ], [ "1.A humanized immunobinder capable of binding to an antigen of interest, wherein the immunobinder comprises: a variable heavy chain comprising three heavy chain complementarity determining regions (CDRs) and four framework region sequences having at least 90% identity to the four framework region sequences of SEQ ID NO: 4, wherein the framework region sequences have one or more amino acid residues selected from the group consisting of: Threonine (T) at position 24, Valine (V) at position 25, Glycine or Alanine (G/A) at position 56, Lysine (K) at position 82, Threonine (T) at position 84, Valine (V) at position 89 and Arginine (R) at position 108 (AHo numbering), and a variable light chain comprising three light chain CDRs and a light chain framework sequence, wherein the heavy chain and light chain CDRs are from an immunobinder derived from a B-cell clone identified by: (a) providing a plurality of B-cells; (b) contacting the plurality of B-cells with the antigen of interest, wherein the antigen of interest comprises a first sortable label, and staining the plurality of B-cells with anti-IgG antibodies comprising a second sortable label and anti-IgM antibodies comprising a third sortable label; (c) separating from the plurality of B-cells one or more B-cells that can specifically bind to the antigen of interest using a cell sorter, wherein the presence of the first and second sortable label, but not the third sortable label, in a complex is indicative of the binding of a B-cell to an antigen of interest, thereby identifying a B-cell clone that binds to the antigen of interest.", "2.The humanized immunobinder of claim 1, wherein the plurality of B-cells is provided in a plurality of lymphocytes.", "3.The humanized immunobinder of claim 1, wherein the plurality of B-cells are stained prior to being contacted with the antigen of interest in step (b).", "4.The humanized immunobinder of claim 1, wherein the plurality of B-cells are stained after being contacted with the antigen of interest in step (b).", "5.The humanized immunobinder of claim 1, wherein identification of the B-cell clone comprises clonally isolating the B-cells obtained in step (c), optionally followed by clonal expansion of the clonally isolated cells.", "6.The humanized immunobinder of claim 5, further comprising isolating a nucleic acid molecule encoding an immunobinder from the B-cell clone that binds to an antigen of interest.", "7.The humanized immunobinder of claim 6, further comprising producing an immunobinder capable of binding to an antigen of interest, wherein the immunobinder is produced by introducing the nucleic acid sequence into an expression environment such that the encoded immunobinder is produced.", "8.The humanized immunobinder of claim 1, wherein the one or more separated B-cells are cultivated under suitable conditions so that antibodies are secreted into the culture medium.", "9.The humanized immunobinder of claim 8, wherein the antibodies are tested for specific binding to the antigen of interest.", "10.The humanized immunobinder of claim 8, wherein the antibodies are mouse, rabbit, rat, hamster, sheep, chicken, camel, goat, human antibodies.", "11.The humanized immunobinder of claim 1, wherein the sortable labels are fluorescent labels.", "12.The humanized immunobinder of claim 1, wherein the antigen of interest is a soluble antigen.", "13.The humanized immunobinder of claim 1, wherein the B-cells are B-cells from a rabbit.", "14.The humanized immunobinder of claim 13, wherein the rabbit was immunized with an antigen of interest.", "15.The humanized immunobinder of claim 1, wherein the immunobinder is an antibody.", "16.The humanized immunobinder of claim 15, wherein the antibody is a full-length immunoglobulin, Fab or scFv.", "17.The humanized immunobinder of claim 1, wherein the antigen of interest is expressed from an exogenous gene.", "18.The humanized immunobinder of claim 1, wherein the variable light chain framework regions have sequences that have at least 90% identity to the framework region sequences of SEQ ID NO:2." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND INFORMATION <EOH>Immunobinders, including antibodies, their conjugates and derivatives are hugely commercially important as therapeutic and diagnostic agents.", "Traditional methods for antibody preparation or screening usually utilize soluble antigens.", "However, for certain membrane-bound protein antigens, the conformational epitopes on the antigens are altered if the antigens are solubilized from the membrane, resulting in the failure of antibody preparation or screening.", "In addition, one major problem in immunoblotting and affinity chromatography methods is that antibodies with a moderate affinity for the antigen will be selected.", "This allows the inclusion of many cross-reactive or sticky antibodies, causing burdens in the sequential screening procedures.", "Although cells expressing membrane-bound antigens have been used directly for antibody preparation, an efficient screening method capable of detecting and enriching high affinity antibodies against cell-surface antigens is still lacking." ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION <EOH>The invention provides methods for identifying immunobinders, such as scFv antibodies, capable of specifically binding to cell surface antigens.", "The methods of the invention generally comprise contacting labeled antigen-expressing cells with labeled immunobinder-expressing cells and isolating immunobinder-expressing cells that bind to the antigen-expressing cells using a cell sorter.", "These methods are particularly useful for the rapid and efficient identification of immunobinders against conformational epitopes present in integral membrane proteins, such as GPCRs.", "The invention also provides isolated immunobinders and immunobinder-encoding nucleic acids identified using the methods of the invention.", "In one aspect the invention provides a method for identifying an immunobinder that specifically binds to a cell surface antigen of interest.", "The method comprises: providing a plurality of immunobinder-expressing cells operably linked a first sortable label; providing a plurality of antigen-expressing cells operably linked to a second sortable label, wherein the antigen of interest is displayed at the surface of the antigen expressing cell; contacting the antigen-expressing cells with the immunobinder-expressing cells; and separating from the plurality of immunobinder-expressing cells, one or more immunobinder-expressing cells that can specifically bind to the antigen-expressing cells using a cell sorter (e.g., a fluorescence activated cell sorter), wherein the presence of the first and second sortable label in a single cellular complex (e.g., a complex formed between an antigen and a B-cell receptor) is indicative of the binding of an immunobinder-expressing cell to an antigen-expressing cell, thereby identifying an immunobinder that binds to a antigen of interest.", "In some embodiments, the separated immunobinder-expressing cells are clonally isolated.", "In some embodiments, the immunobinder-expressing cells are subjected to clonal expansion.", "In other embodiments, the immunobinder-encoding nucleic acid sequence is isolated from immunobinder-expressing cells.", "Suitable methods for isolation of the immunobinder-encoding nucleic acid sequence include PCR, e.g., single-cell PCR.", "The immunobinder-encoding nucleic acid sequence can be isolated after the cells are clonally isolated and/or after clonal expansion.", "In some embodiments, immunobinder-expressing cells isolated using the methods of the invention are subjected to a cell-based assays in order to functionally characterize the immunobinder.", "Suitable cell-based assays include CELISA.", "In some embodiments, the immunobinder is an antibody.", "Such antibodies include, mouse, rabbit, rabbitized, chicken, camel, camelized, human, humanized and chimeric antibodies.", "Suitable antibody formats include, without limitation, Fab, Dab, Nanobody and scFv.", "In some embodiments, the antigen of interest is expressed from an exogenous gene.", "In other embodiments, the antigen of interest is a genetically engineered antigen.", "In other embodiments, the antigen of interest is an integral membrane protein.", "Suitable integral membrane proteins include, without limitation, GPCRs (e.g., CXCR2) or ion channels.", "In some embodiments, the first or second sortable label is a fluorescent label.", "Suitable fluorescent labels include, without limitation, fluorescent proteins, antibody/fluor conjugates and fluorescent cellular labels.", "In some embodiments, the antigen-expressing cells are yeast or mammalian cells (e.g., human cells).", "In some embodiments, the antigen-expressing cells express an exogenous antigen.", "In some embodiments the antigen-expressing cells are transfected with an expression vector.", "In some embodiments, the immunobinder-expressing cells are yeast or mammalian cells.", "Suitable mammalian cells include, without limitation, B-cells, e.g., rabbit B-cells.", "In some embodiments the B-cells are isolated from an immunized animal, e.g., an animal immunized by DNA vaccination.", "In some embodiments, the immunobinder-expressing cells comprise an immunobinder expressed from an expression vector.", "In another aspect, the invention provides an isolated nucleic acid molecule encoding an immunobinder identified by the methods of the invention.", "In another aspect, the invention provides a method of producing an immunobinder capable of binding to an antigen of interest, comprising introducing an immunobinder-encoding nucleic acid sequence identified by the methods of the invention into an expression environment such that the encoded immunobinder is produced.", "In another aspect, the invention provides an immunobinder produced by the methods of the invention.", "In another aspect, the invention also provides a method for identifying a B-cell clone that specifically binds to a cell surface antigen of interest comprising: immunizing an animal with DNA encoding a cell surface antigen; isolating B-cells from the immunized animal; labeling the B-cells with a first sortable label; providing a plurality of antigen-expressing cells operably linked to a second sortable label, wherein the antigen of interest is displayed at the surface of the antigen expressing cell; contacting the antigen-expressing cells with the B-cells; and separating from the plurality of B-cells, one or more B-cells that can specifically bind to the antigen-expressing cells using a cell sorter, wherein the presence of the first and second sortable label in a single cellular complex is indicative of the binding of an B-cell to an antigen-expressing cell, thereby identifying a B-cell clone that binds to a antigen of interest." ], [ "CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "14/947,133 filed Nov. 20, 2015 (now allowed); which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "14/273,231 filed May 8, 2014 (now U.S. Pat.", "No.", "9,221,905); which is a divisional of U.S. Patent Application of U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "13/530,241 filed Jun.", "22, 2012 (now abandoned); which is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "12/710,579 filed Feb. 23, 2010 (now U.S. Pat.", "No.", "8,227,199); which claims the benefit to U.S.", "Provisional Patent Application No.", "61/155,105 filed Feb. 24, 2009, and U.S.", "Provisional Patent Application No.", "61/155,041 filed Feb. 24, 2009; Swiss Patent Application Serial No.", ": CH/00832/09 filed Jun.", "2, 2009; and PCT Application Serial No.", ": PCT/CH2009/000222 filed Jun.", "25, 2009, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.", "BACKGROUND INFORMATION Immunobinders, including antibodies, their conjugates and derivatives are hugely commercially important as therapeutic and diagnostic agents.", "Traditional methods for antibody preparation or screening usually utilize soluble antigens.", "However, for certain membrane-bound protein antigens, the conformational epitopes on the antigens are altered if the antigens are solubilized from the membrane, resulting in the failure of antibody preparation or screening.", "In addition, one major problem in immunoblotting and affinity chromatography methods is that antibodies with a moderate affinity for the antigen will be selected.", "This allows the inclusion of many cross-reactive or sticky antibodies, causing burdens in the sequential screening procedures.", "Although cells expressing membrane-bound antigens have been used directly for antibody preparation, an efficient screening method capable of detecting and enriching high affinity antibodies against cell-surface antigens is still lacking.", "SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention provides methods for identifying immunobinders, such as scFv antibodies, capable of specifically binding to cell surface antigens.", "The methods of the invention generally comprise contacting labeled antigen-expressing cells with labeled immunobinder-expressing cells and isolating immunobinder-expressing cells that bind to the antigen-expressing cells using a cell sorter.", "These methods are particularly useful for the rapid and efficient identification of immunobinders against conformational epitopes present in integral membrane proteins, such as GPCRs.", "The invention also provides isolated immunobinders and immunobinder-encoding nucleic acids identified using the methods of the invention.", "In one aspect the invention provides a method for identifying an immunobinder that specifically binds to a cell surface antigen of interest.", "The method comprises: providing a plurality of immunobinder-expressing cells operably linked a first sortable label; providing a plurality of antigen-expressing cells operably linked to a second sortable label, wherein the antigen of interest is displayed at the surface of the antigen expressing cell; contacting the antigen-expressing cells with the immunobinder-expressing cells; and separating from the plurality of immunobinder-expressing cells, one or more immunobinder-expressing cells that can specifically bind to the antigen-expressing cells using a cell sorter (e.g., a fluorescence activated cell sorter), wherein the presence of the first and second sortable label in a single cellular complex (e.g., a complex formed between an antigen and a B-cell receptor) is indicative of the binding of an immunobinder-expressing cell to an antigen-expressing cell, thereby identifying an immunobinder that binds to a antigen of interest.", "In some embodiments, the separated immunobinder-expressing cells are clonally isolated.", "In some embodiments, the immunobinder-expressing cells are subjected to clonal expansion.", "In other embodiments, the immunobinder-encoding nucleic acid sequence is isolated from immunobinder-expressing cells.", "Suitable methods for isolation of the immunobinder-encoding nucleic acid sequence include PCR, e.g., single-cell PCR.", "The immunobinder-encoding nucleic acid sequence can be isolated after the cells are clonally isolated and/or after clonal expansion.", "In some embodiments, immunobinder-expressing cells isolated using the methods of the invention are subjected to a cell-based assays in order to functionally characterize the immunobinder.", "Suitable cell-based assays include CELISA.", "In some embodiments, the immunobinder is an antibody.", "Such antibodies include, mouse, rabbit, rabbitized, chicken, camel, camelized, human, humanized and chimeric antibodies.", "Suitable antibody formats include, without limitation, Fab, Dab, Nanobody and scFv.", "In some embodiments, the antigen of interest is expressed from an exogenous gene.", "In other embodiments, the antigen of interest is a genetically engineered antigen.", "In other embodiments, the antigen of interest is an integral membrane protein.", "Suitable integral membrane proteins include, without limitation, GPCRs (e.g., CXCR2) or ion channels.", "In some embodiments, the first or second sortable label is a fluorescent label.", "Suitable fluorescent labels include, without limitation, fluorescent proteins, antibody/fluor conjugates and fluorescent cellular labels.", "In some embodiments, the antigen-expressing cells are yeast or mammalian cells (e.g., human cells).", "In some embodiments, the antigen-expressing cells express an exogenous antigen.", "In some embodiments the antigen-expressing cells are transfected with an expression vector.", "In some embodiments, the immunobinder-expressing cells are yeast or mammalian cells.", "Suitable mammalian cells include, without limitation, B-cells, e.g., rabbit B-cells.", "In some embodiments the B-cells are isolated from an immunized animal, e.g., an animal immunized by DNA vaccination.", "In some embodiments, the immunobinder-expressing cells comprise an immunobinder expressed from an expression vector.", "In another aspect, the invention provides an isolated nucleic acid molecule encoding an immunobinder identified by the methods of the invention.", "In another aspect, the invention provides a method of producing an immunobinder capable of binding to an antigen of interest, comprising introducing an immunobinder-encoding nucleic acid sequence identified by the methods of the invention into an expression environment such that the encoded immunobinder is produced.", "In another aspect, the invention provides an immunobinder produced by the methods of the invention.", "In another aspect, the invention also provides a method for identifying a B-cell clone that specifically binds to a cell surface antigen of interest comprising: immunizing an animal with DNA encoding a cell surface antigen; isolating B-cells from the immunized animal; labeling the B-cells with a first sortable label; providing a plurality of antigen-expressing cells operably linked to a second sortable label, wherein the antigen of interest is displayed at the surface of the antigen expressing cell; contacting the antigen-expressing cells with the B-cells; and separating from the plurality of B-cells, one or more B-cells that can specifically bind to the antigen-expressing cells using a cell sorter, wherein the presence of the first and second sortable label in a single cellular complex is indicative of the binding of an B-cell to an antigen-expressing cell, thereby identifying a B-cell clone that binds to a antigen of interest.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES FIG.", "1 schematically shows a B-cell 1 labeled with a fluorescent antibody 2 interacting with a target-expressing cell stained with an intracellular dye 3.", "(4: target of choice/antigen; 5: B cell receptor (BCR)).", "FIGS.", "2A, 2B and 2C show: the FACS selection process of rabbit B cells binding to ESBA903 soluble target.", "FIG.", "2A: Lymphocytes were gated according to forward and side scatter.", "FIG.", "2B: Among them, IgG+ IgM− cells (probably memory B cells) were selected (shown circled).", "FIG.", "2C: Cells double-stained with ESBA903-PE and ESBA903-PerCP (shown circled) were expected to encode high affinity IgGs against ESBA903.Cells showing the brightest fluorescence (uncircled) were sorted in 96-well plates.", "FIG.", "3: Beads coated with anti-TNFalpha antibodies (PE labeled) bind to TNFalpha-transfected CHO cells (upper panel).", "Control beads coated anti-CD19 antibodies (APC labeled) did not bind TNFalpha transfected CHO cells (middle panel).", "Beads coated with anti-TNFalpha antibodies (PE labeled) did not bind to wildtype (wt) CHO cells (lower panel).", "Dot plots on the left show forward and side scatters, which indicate respectively the size and the granularity of the events.", "The single beads (˜3 μm) population was gated in P2.CHO cells eventually bound to beads (˜30 μm) were gated in P1.Dot plots in the middle show the P1 events (CHO cells) in respect to their PE or APC staining.", "Thus, cells interacting with anti-TNFalpha beads would appear in P3 gate, and cells interacting with the anti-CD19 beads would appear in P4 gate.", "On the right, statistics for each sample are detailed.", "FIG.", "4: Beads coated with anti-TNFalpha-PE and beads coated with anti-CD19-APC were mixed together with TNFalpha-transfected CHO cells.", "CHO cells were gated (P1), and among them cells binding to either anti-TNFalphaPE coated beads or anti-CD19-APC coated beads are shown in gates P3 and P4, respectively.", "Unbound beads are visible in gate P2.FIGS.", "5A and 5B: FIG.", "5A shows a FACS analysis of the 3 different CHO-TNFα—memory B cells suspensions.", "Top left: dot plot showing cell suspension forward and side scatter.", "The living cells, comprising a large population of transgenic CHO cells and a small population of memory B cells, were gated.", "Down left: dot plot showing APC and FITC fluorescence.", "Here, the memory B cells (IgG+/IgM−) were gated.", "These two dot plots were identical for all three samples; therefore, they are shown only once.", "FIG.", "5B shows histograms and population hierarchy of the 3 samples: top: CHO-TNFα cells+ESBA105+memory B cells of ESBA105 immunized rabbit; middle: CHO-TNFα cells+ESBA105+memory B cells of non-immunized rabbit; down: CHO-TNFα cells+memory B cells of ESBA105 immunized rabbit.", "On the histograms, memory B cells binding to CHO cells were gated.", "FIGS.", "6A, 6B, and 6C: FACS analysis of the suspension consisting of immunized lymphocytes mixed with TNFα transgenic CHO cells “coated” with ESBA105.FIG.", "6A: dot plot showing cell suspension forward and side scatter.", "The living cells, comprising a large population of transgenic CHO cells and a small population of lymphocytes, were gated.", "FIG.", "6B: dot plot showing APC and FITC fluorescence.", "Here, the memory B cells (IgG+/IgM−) were gated.", "FIG.", "6C: histogram showing calcein fluorescence of gated memory B cells.", "Gated population was sorted (memory B cells binding to CHO-TNFα-ESBA105 complex).", "FIG.", "7: Bright field microscopy pictures of beads coated with anti-TNFα IgG which interact with CHO-TNFα (B220) transgenic cells.", "FIGS.", "8A and 8B: Bright field microscopy pictures (FIG.", "8A) and fluorescence microscopy pictures (FIG.", "8B) of CHO-TNFalpha/ESBA105 cells (big cells) bound to B cells, which have anti-ESBA105 antibodies on the surface (smaller cells).", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION The invention provides methods for identifying immunobinders, such as scFv antibodies, capable of specifically binding to cell surface antigens.", "The methods of the invention generally comprise contacting labeled antigen-expressing cells with labeled immunobinder-expressing cells and isolating immunobinder-expressing cells that bind to the antigen-expressing cells using a cell sorter.", "These methods are particularly useful for the rapid and efficient identification of immunobinders against conformational epitopes present in integral membrane proteins, such as GPCRs.", "The invention also provides isolated immunobinders and immunobinder-encoding nucleic acids identified using the methods of the invention.", "In one aspect the invention provides a method for identifying an immunobinder that specifically binds to a cell surface antigen of interest.", "The method comprises: providing a plurality of immunobinder-expressing cells operably linked to a first sortable label; providing a plurality of antigen-expressing cells operably linked to a second sortable label, wherein the antigen of interest is displayed at the surface of the antigen expressing cell; contacting the antigen-expressing cells with the immunobinder-expressing cells; and separating from the plurality of immunobinder-expressing cells, one or more immunobinder-expressing cells that can specifically bind to the antigen-expressing cells using a cell sorter (e.g., a fluorescence activated cell sorter), wherein the presence of the first and second sortable label in a single cellular complex (e.g., a complex formed between an antigen and a B-cell receptor) is indicative of the binding of an immunobinder-expressing cell to an antigen-expressing cell, thereby identifying an immunobinder that binds to an antigen of interest.", "In some embodiments, the separated immunobinder-expressing cells are clonally isolated.", "In certain embodiments, the clonally isolated immunobinder-expressing cells are subjected to clonal expansion using methods well-known to those of skill in the art.", "In other embodiments, the immunobinder-encoding nucleic acid sequence is isolated from immunobinder-expressing cells.", "Isolation of the nucleic acid sequence can occur after clonal isolation or after clonal expansion.", "Suitable methods for isolation of the immunobinder-encoding nucleic acid sequence include PCR, e.g., single-cell PCR.", "In some embodiments, immunobinder-expressing cells isolated using the methods of the invention are subject to a cell-based assays in order to functionally characterize the immunobinder.", "Suitable cell-based assays include CELISA.", "In some embodiments, the immunobinder is an antibody.", "Such antibodies include, mouse, rabbit, rabbitized, chicken, camel, camelized, human, humanized and chimeric antibodies.", "Suitable antibody formats include, without limitation, Fab, Dab, Nanobody and scFv.", "In some embodiments, the antigen of interest is expressed from an exogenous gene.", "In other embodiments, the antigen of interest is a genetically engineered antigen.", "In other embodiments, the antigen of interest is an integral membrane protein.", "Suitable integral membrane proteins include, without limitation, G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs, such as CXCR2) or ion channels.", "In some embodiments, the first or second sortable label is a fluorescent label.", "Suitable fluorescent labels include, without limitation, fluorescent proteins, antibody/fluor conjugates and fluorescent cellular labels.", "In some embodiments, the antigen-expressing cells are yeast or mammalian cells (e.g., human cells).", "In some embodiments, the antigen-expressing cells express an exogenous antigen.", "In some embodiments the antigen-expressing cells are transfected with an expression vector.", "In some embodiments, the immunobinder-expressing cells are yeast or mammalian cells.", "Suitable mammalian cells include, without limitation, B-cells, e.g., rabbit B-cells.", "In some embodiments the B-cells are isolated from an immunized animal, e.g., an animal immunized by DNA vaccination.", "In some embodiments, the immunobinder-expressing cells comprise an immunobinder expressed from an expression vector.", "In another aspect, the invention provides an isolated nucleic acid molecule encoding an immunobinder identified by the methods of the invention.", "In another aspect, the invention provides a method of producing an immunobinder capable of binding to an antigen of interest, comprising introducing an immunobinder-encoding nucleic acid sequence identified by the methods of the invention into an expression environment such that the encoded immunobinder is produced.", "In another aspect, the invention provides an immunobinder produced by the methods of the invention.", "In another aspect, the invention also provides a method for identifying a B-cell clone that specifically binds to a cell surface antigen of interest comprising: immunizing an animal with DNA encoding a cell surface antigen; isolating B-cells from the immunized animal; labeling the B-cells with a first sortable label; providing a plurality of antigen-expressing cells operably linked to a second sortable label, wherein the antigen of interest is displayed at the surface of the antigen expressing cell; contacting the antigen-expressing cells with the B-cells; and separating from the plurality of B-cells, one or more B-cells that can specifically bind to the antigen-expressing cells using a cell sorter, wherein the presence of the first and second sortable label in a single cellular complex is indicative of the binding of an B-cell to an antigen-expressing cell, thereby identifying a B-cell clone that binds to a antigen of interest.", "Definitions In order that the present invention may be more readily understood, certain terms will be defined as follows.", "Additional definitions are set forth throughout the detailed description.", "The term “antibody” refers to whole antibodies and any antigen binding fragment (i.e., “antigen-binding portion,” “antigen binding polypeptide,” or “immunobinder”) or single chain thereof.", "An “antibody” refers to a glycoprotein comprising at least two heavy (H) chains and two light (L) chains inter-connected by disulfide bonds, or an antigen binding portion thereof.", "Each heavy chain is comprised of a heavy chain variable region (abbreviated herein as VH) and a heavy chain constant region.", "The heavy chain constant region is comprised of three domains, CH1, CH2 and CH3.Each light chain is comprised of a light chain variable region (abbreviated herein as VL) and a light chain constant region.", "The light chain constant region is comprised of one domain, CL.", "The VH and VL regions can be further subdivided into regions of hypervariability, termed complementarity determining regions (CDR), interspersed with regions that are more conserved, termed framework regions (FR).", "Each VH and VL is composed of three CDRs and four FRs, arranged from amino-terminus to carboxy-terminus in the following order: FR1, CDR1, FR2, CDR2, FR3, CDR3, FR4.The variable regions of the heavy and light chains contain a binding domain that interacts with an antigen.", "The constant regions of the antibodies may mediate the binding of the immunoglobulin to host tissues or factors, including various cells of the immune system (e.g., effector cells) and the first component (C1q) of the classical complement system.", "The term “chimeric antibody” refers to an antibody molecule in which (a) the constant region, or a portion thereof, is altered, replaced or exchanged so that the antigen binding site (variable region) is linked to a constant region of a different or altered class, effector function and/or species, or an entirely different molecule which confers new properties to the chimeric antibody, e.g., an enzyme, toxin, hormone, growth factor, drug, etc.", "; or (b) the variable region, or a portion thereof, is altered, replaced or exchanged with a variable region having a different or altered antigen specificity.", "The term “antigen-binding portion” of an antibody (or simply “antibody portion”) refers to one or more fragments of an antibody that retain the ability to specifically bind to an antigen (e.g., TNF).", "It has been shown that the antigen-binding function of an antibody can be performed by fragments of a full-length antibody.", "Examples of binding fragments encompassed within the term “antigen-binding portion” of an antibody include (i) a Fab fragment, a monovalent fragment consisting of the VL, VH, CL and CH1 domains; (ii) a F(ab′)2 fragment, a bivalent fragment comprising two Fab fragments linked by a disulfide bridge at the hinge region; (iii) a Fd fragment consisting of the VH and CH1 domains; (iv) a Fv fragment consisting of the VL and VH domains of a single arm of an antibody, (v) a single domain such as a dAb fragment (Ward et al., (1989) Nature 341:544-546), which consists of a VH domain; and (vi) an isolated complementarity determining region (CDR) or (vii) a combination of two or more isolated CDRs which may optionally be joined by a synthetic linker.", "Furthermore, although the two domains of the Fv fragment, VL and VH, are coded for by separate genes, they can be joined, using recombinant methods, by a synthetic linker that enables them to be made as a single protein chain in which the VL and VH regions pair to form monovalent molecules (known as single chain Fv (scFv); see e.g., Bird et al.", "(1988) Science 242:423-426; and Huston et al.", "(1988) Proc.", "Natl.", "Acad.", "Sci.", "USA 85:5879-5883).", "Such single chain antibodies are also intended to be encompassed within the term “antigen-binding portion” of an antibody.", "These antibody fragments are obtained using conventional techniques known to those with skill in the art, and the fragments are screened for utility in the same manner as are intact antibodies.", "Antigen-binding portions can be produced by recombinant DNA techniques, or by enzymatic or chemical cleavage of intact immunoglobulins.", "Antibodies can be of different isotype, for example, an IgG (e.g., an IgG1, IgG2, IgG3, or IgG4 subtype), IgA1, IgA2, IgD, IgE, or IgM antibody.", "The term “immunobinder” refers to a molecule that contains all or a part of the antigen binding site of an antibody, e.g., all or part of the heavy and/or light chain variable domain, such that the immunobinder specifically recognizes a target antigen.", "Non-limiting examples of immunobinders include full-length immunoglobulin molecules and scFvs, as well as antibody fragments, including but not limited to (i) a Fab fragment, a monovalent fragment consisting of the VL, VH, CL and CH1 domains; (ii) a F(ab′)2 fragment, a bivalent fragment comprising two Fab fragments linked by a disulfide bridge at the hinge region; (iii) a Fab′ fragment, which is essentially a Fab with part of the hinge region (see, FUNDAMENTAL IMMUNOLOGY (Paul ed., 3.sup.rd ed.", "1993); (iv) a Fd fragment consisting of the VH and CH1 domains; (v) a Fv fragment consisting of the VL and VH domains of a single arm of an antibody, (vi) a single domain antibody such as a Dab fragment (Ward et al., (1989) Nature 341:544-546), which consists of a VH or VL domain, a Camelid (see Hamers-Casterman, et al., Nature 363:446-448 (1993), and Dumoulin, et al., Protein Science 11:500-515 (2002)) or a Shark antibody (e.g., shark Ig-NARs Nanobodies®; and (vii) a nanobody, a heavy chain variable region containing a single variable domain and two constant domains.", "As used herein, the term “functional property” is a property of a polypeptide (e.g., an immunobinder) for which an improvement (e.g., relative to a conventional polypeptide) is desirable and/or advantageous to one of skill in the art, e.g., in order to improve the manufacturing properties or therapeutic efficacy of the polypeptide.", "In one embodiment, the functional property is improved stability (e.g., thermal stability).", "In another embodiment, the functional property is improved solubility (e.g., under cellular conditions).", "In yet another embodiment, the functional property is non-aggregation.", "In still another embodiment, the functional property is an improvement in expression (e.g., in a prokaryotic cell).", "In yet another embodiment the functional property is an improvement in refolding yield following an inclusion body purification process.", "In certain embodiments, the functional property is not an improvement in antigen binding affinity.", "The term “frameworks” refers to the art recognized portions of an antibody variable region that exist between the more divergent CDR regions.", "Such framework regions are typically referred to as frameworks 1 through 4 (FR1, FR2, FR3, and FR4) and provide a scaffold for holding, in three-dimensional space, the three CDRs found in a heavy or light chain antibody variable region, such that the CDRs can form an antigen-binding surface.", "Such frameworks can also be referred to as scaffolds as they provide support for the presentation of the more divergent CDRs.", "Other CDRs and frameworks of the immunoglobulin superfamily, such as ankyrin repeats and fibronectin, can be used as antigen binding molecules (see also, for example, U.S. Pat.", "Nos.", "6,300,064, 6,815,540 and U.S. Pub.", "No.", "20040132028).", "The term “epitope” or “antigenic determinant” refers to a site on an antigen to which an immunoglobulin or antibody specifically binds.", "An epitope typically includes at least 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 or 15 amino acids in a unique spatial conformation.", "See, e.g., Epitope Mapping Protocols in Methods in Molecular Biology, Vol.", "66, G. E. Morris, Ed.", "(1996).", "The terms “specific binding”, “selective binding”, “selectively binds”, and “specifically binds” refer to antibody binding to an epitope on a predetermined antigen.", "Typically, the antibody binds with an affinity (KD) of approximately less than 10−7 M, such as approximately less than 10−8 M, 10−9 M or 10−10 M or even lower.", "The term “KD,” refers to the dissociation equilibrium constant of a particular antibody-antigen interaction.", "Typically, the antibodies of the invention bind to an antigen with a dissociation equilibrium constant (KD) of less than approximately 10−7 M, such as less than approximately 10−8 M, 10−9 M or 10−10 M or even lower, for example, as determined using surface plasmon resonance (SPR) technology in a BIACORE instrument.", "As used herein, “identity” refers to the sequence matching between two polypeptides, molecules or between two nucleic acids.", "When a position in both of the two compared sequences is occupied by the same base or amino acid monomer subunit (for instance, if a position in each of the two DNA molecules is occupied by adenine, or a position in each of two polypeptides is occupied by a lysine), then the respective molecules are identical at that position.", "The “percentage identity” between two sequences is a function of the number of matching positions shared by the two sequences divided by the number of positions compared ×100.For instance, if 6 of 10 of the positions in two sequences are matched, then the two sequences have 60% identity.", "By way of example, the DNA sequences CTGACT and CAGGTT share 50% identity (3 of the 6 total positions are matched).", "Generally, a comparison is made when two sequences are aligned to give maximum identity.", "Such alignment can be provided using, for instance, the method of Needleman et al.", "(1970) J. Mol.", "Biol.", "48: 443-453, implemented conveniently by computer programs such as the Align program (DNAstar, Inc.).", "The percent identity between two amino acid sequences can also be determined using the algorithm of E. Meyers and W. Miller (Comput.", "Appl.", "Biosci., 4:11-17 (1988)) which has been incorporated into the ALIGN program (version 2.0), using a PAM120 weight residue table, a gap length penalty of 12 and a gap penalty of 4.In addition, the percent identity between two amino acid sequences can be determined using the Needleman and Wunsch (J. Mol.", "Biol.", "48:444-453 (1970)) algorithm which has been incorporated into the GAP program in the GCG software package (available at www.gcg.com), using either a Blossum 62 matrix or a PAM250 matrix, and a gap weight of 16, 14, 12, 10, 8, 6, or 4 and a length weight of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6.“Similar” sequences are those which, when aligned, share identical and similar amino acid residues, where similar residues are conservative substitutions for corresponding amino acid residues in an aligned reference sequence.", "In this regard, a “conservative substitution” of a residue in a reference sequence is a substitution by a residue that is physically or functionally similar to the corresponding reference residue, e.g., that has a similar size, shape, electric charge, chemical properties, including the ability to form covalent or hydrogen bonds, or the like.", "Thus, a “conservative substitution modified” sequence is one that differs from a reference sequence or a wild-type sequence in that one or more conservative substitutions are present.", "The “percentage similarity” between two sequences is a function of the number of positions that contain matching residues or conservative substitutions shared by the two sequences divided by the number of positions compared ×100.For instance, if 6 of 10 of the positions in two sequences are matched and 2 of 10 positions contain conservative substitutions, then the two sequences have 80% positive similarity.", "As used herein, the term “conservative sequence modifications” is intended to refer to amino acid modifications that do not negatively affect or alter the binding characteristics of the antibody containing the amino acid sequence.", "Such conservative sequence modifications include nucleotide and amino acid substitutions, additions and deletions.", "For example, modifications can be introduced by standard techniques known in the art, such as site-directed mutagenesis and PCR-mediated mutagenesis.", "Conservative amino acid substitutions include ones in which the amino acid residue is replaced with an amino acid residue having a similar side chain.", "Families of amino acid residues having similar side chains have been defined in the art.", "These families include amino acids with basic side chains (e.g., lysine, arginine, histidine), acidic side chains (e.g., aspartic acid, glutamic acid), uncharged polar side chains (e.g., glycine, asparagine, glutamine, serine, threonine, tyrosine, cysteine, tryptophan), nonpolar side chains (e.g., alanine, valine, leucine, isoleucine, proline, phenylalanine, methionine), beta-branched side chains (e.g., threonine, valine, isoleucine) and aromatic side chains (e.g., tyrosine, phenylalanine, tryptophan, histidine).", "Thus, a predicted nonessential amino acid residue may be replaced with another amino acid residue from the same side chain family.", "Methods of identifying nucleotide and amino acid conservative substitutions which do not eliminate antigen binding are well-known in the art (see, e.g., Brummell et al., Biochem.", "32:1180-1187 (1993); Kobayashi et al.", "Protein Eng.", "12(10):879-884 (1999); and Burks et al.", "Proc.", "Natl.", "Acad.", "Sci.", "USA 94:412-417 (1997)).", "“Amino acid consensus sequence” as used herein refers to an amino acid sequence that can be generated using a matrix of at least two, and preferably more, aligned amino acid sequences, and allowing for gaps in the alignment, such that it is possible to determine the most frequent amino acid residue at each position.", "The consensus sequence is that sequence which comprises the amino acids which are most frequently represented at each position.", "In the event that two or more amino acids are equally represented at a single position, the consensus sequence includes both or all of those amino acids.", "The amino acid sequence of a protein can be analyzed at various levels.", "For example, conservation or variability can be exhibited at the single residue level, multiple residue level, multiple residue with gaps, etc.", "Residues can exhibit conservation of the identical residue or can be conserved at the class level.", "Examples of amino acid classes include polar but uncharged R groups (Serine, Threonine, Asparagine and Glutamine); positively charged R groups (Lysine, Arginine, and Histidine); negatively charged R groups (Glutamic acid and Aspartic acid); hydrophobic R groups (Alanine, Isoleucine, Leucine, Methionine, Phenylalanine, Tryptophan, Valine and Tyrosine); and special amino acids (Cysteine, Glycine and Proline).", "Other classes are known to one of skill in the art and may be defined using structural determinations or other data to assess substitutability.", "In that sense, a substitutable amino acid can refer to any amino acid which can be substituted and maintain functional conservation at that position.", "It will be recognized, however, that amino acids of the same class may vary in degree by their biophysical properties.", "For example, it will be recognized that certain hydrophobic R groups (e.g., Alanine,) are more hydrophilic (i.e., of higher hydrophilicity or lower hydrophobicity) than other hydrophobic R groups (e.g., Valine or Leucine).", "Relative hydrophilicity or hydrophobicity can be determined using art-recognized methods (see, e.g., Rose et al., Science, 229: 834-838 (1985) and Cornette et al., J. Mol.", "Biol., 195: 659-685 (1987)).", "As used herein, when one amino acid sequence (e.g., a first VH or VL sequence) is aligned with one or more additional amino acid sequences (e.g., one or more VH or VL sequences in a database), an amino acid position in one sequence (e.g., the first VH or VL sequence) can be compared to a “corresponding position” in the one or more additional amino acid sequences.", "As used herein, the “corresponding position” represents the equivalent position in the sequence(s) being compared when the sequences are optimally aligned, i.e., when the sequences are aligned to achieve the highest percent identity or percent similarity.", "The term “nucleic acid molecule,” refers to DNA molecules and RNA molecules.", "A nucleic acid molecule may be single-stranded or double-stranded, but preferably is double-stranded DNA.", "A nucleic acid is “operably linked” when it is placed into a functional relationship with another nucleic acid sequence.", "For instance, a promoter or enhancer is operably linked to a coding sequence if it affects the transcription of the sequence.", "The term “vector,” refers to a nucleic acid molecule capable of transporting another nucleic acid to which it has been linked.", "One type of vector is a “plasmid,” which refers to a circular double stranded DNA loop into which additional DNA segments may be ligated.", "Another type of vector is a viral vector, wherein additional DNA segments may be ligated into the viral genome.", "Certain vectors are capable of autonomous replication in a host cell into which they are introduced (e.g., bacterial vectors having a bacterial origin of replication and episomal mammalian vectors).", "Other vectors (e.g., non-episomal mammalian vectors) can be integrated into the genome of a host cell upon introduction into the host cell, and thereby are replicated along with the host genome.", "The term “host cell” refers to a cell into which an expression vector has been introduced.", "Host cells can include bacterial, microbial, plant or animal cells.", "Bacteria, which are susceptible to transformation, include members of the enterobacteriaceae, such as strains of Escherichia coli or Salmonella; Bacillaceae, such as Bacillus subtilis; Pneumococcus; Streptococcus, and Haemophilus influenzae.", "Suitable microbes include Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Pichia pastoris.", "Suitable animal host cell lines include CHO (Chinese Hamster Ovary lines) and NS0 cells.", "The terms “treat,” “treating,” and “treatment,” refer to therapeutic or preventative measures described herein.", "The methods of “treatment” employ administration to a subject, in need of such treatment, an antibody of the present invention, for example, a subject having a GPCR-mediated disorder or a subject who ultimately may acquire such a disorder, in order to prevent, cure, delay, reduce the severity of, or ameliorate one or more symptoms of the disorder or recurring disorder, or in order to prolong the survival of a subject beyond that expected in the absence of such treatment.", "The term “effective dose” or “effective dosage” refers to an amount sufficient to achieve or at least partially achieve the desired effect.", "The term “therapeutically effective dose” is defined as an amount sufficient to cure or at least partially arrest the disease and its complications in a patient already suffering from the disease.", "Amounts effective for this use will depend upon the severity of the disorder being treated and the general state of the patient's own immune system.", "The term “subject” refers to any human or non-human animal.", "For example, the methods and compositions of the present invention can be used to treat a subject with a GPCR-mediated disorder.", "The term “rabbit” as used herein refers to an animal belonging to the family of the leporidae.", "The term “cell sorter” refers to any means for separating cells based upon the presence of a detectable “sortable” label.", "Such means include, without limitation, a fluorescence activation cell sorter.", "Any cellular labels can be used as sortable labels including, without limitation, fluorescent proteins, e.g.", "Green fluorescent protein, antibody/fluor conjugates and fluorescent cellular labels, e.g., fluorescent calcium ionophores The term “cellular complex” refers to a one or more antigen-expressing cells bound to one or more immunobinder-expressing cells, wherein the binding is mediated by the antigen on the surface of the antigen-expressing cell.", "In some embodiments, the binding of an antigen-expressing cell to an immunobinder-expressing cell consists of a direct interaction between the antigen on the surface of the antigen-expressing cell and the immunobinder on the surface of the immunobinder-expressing cell.", "The term “clonally isolating” refers to any means for the isolation of individual cell clones from a cell population.", "Suitable means include, without limitation, the limiting dilution and transfer of cells to multiwell plates such that each well contains no more than a single cell.", "The term “obtaining the immunobinder-encoding nucleic acid sequence” refers to any means for obtaining the nucleic acid sequence of an immunobinder expressed by an immunobinder-expressing cell.", "Suitable means include, without limitation, nucleic acid isolation, PCR amplification and DNA sequencing of the immunobinder-encoding nucleic acid sequence from the immunobinder-expressing cell.", "In some embodiments, immunobinder-encoding nucleic acid sequences are amplified by PCR from single cells, i.e.", "“single cell PCR”.", "The term “exogenous antigen” refers to an antigen not normally expressed in a particular host cell.", "For example, an exogenous antigen can be from a different kingdom, phylum class, order, genus or species from the host cell, e.g., a human antigen expressed in a yeast cell.", "Additionally or alternatively, an exogenous antigen can be from the same species but inappropriately expressed in that host cell, e.g, a lung specific antigen expressed in a brain cell.", "“Exogenous antigen” also refers to mutant an antigen not normally found in a normal cell, e.g., a cancer specific mutant antigen expressed in a lung cell.", "The term “genetically engineered antigen” refers to any antigen that has been produced by recombination DNA techniques and includes antigens that are chimeras or contain point mutation, deletions and/or insertions.", "Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs.", "Although methods and materials similar or equivalent to those described herein can be used in the practice or testing of the present invention, suitable methods and materials are described below.", "In case of conflict, the present specification, including definitions, will control.", "In addition, the materials, methods, and examples are illustrative only and not intended to be limiting.", "Various aspects of the invention are described in further detail in the following subsections.", "It is understood that the various embodiments, preferences and ranges may be combined at will.", "Further, depending of the specific embodiment, selected definitions, embodiments or ranges may not apply.", "The present invention provides a screening method using FACS to identify and separate immunobinder-expressing cells in adherence with cells expressing corresponding antigen.", "In particular embodiments, the immunobinder is an antibody.", "Antigen Expression The target antigen for antibody preparation can be any protein, peptide, nucleotide, carbohydrate, lipid, and other molecules that are soluble or expressed on a cell surface or integrated in the plasma membrane.", "Antigens can be native or synthetic.", "Preferably, a target antigen is a protein or peptide.", "Non-limiting examples of a target antigen include CXCR1, CXCR2, CXCR3, CXCR4, CXCR6, CCR1, CCR2, CCR3, CCR4, CCRS, CCR6, CCR8, CFTR, CIC-1, CIC-2, CIC-4, CIC-5, CIC-7, CIC-Ka, CIC-Kb, Bestrophins, TMEM16A, GABA receptor, glycin receptor, ABC transporters, NAV1.1, NAV1.2, NAV1.3, NAV1.4, NAV1.5, NAV1.6, NAV1.7, NAV1.8, NAV1.9, sphingosin-1-phosphate receptor (S1P1R), NMDA channel etc.", "In one embodiment, the target antigen is a transmembrane protein.", "In another embodiment, the target antigen is a multispan transmembrane protein, for example, G protein coupled receptors (GPCRs), ion channels, etc.", "The family of GPCRs has at least 250 members (Strader et al.", "FASEB J., 9:745-754, 1995; Strader et al.", "Annu.", "Rev.", "Biochem., 63:101-32, 1994).", "It has been estimated that one percent of human genes may encode GPCRs.", "GPCRs bind to a wide-variety of ligands ranging from photons, small biogenic amines (i.e., epinephrine and histamine), peptides (i.e., IL-8), to large glycoprotein hormones (i.e., parathyroid hormone).", "Upon ligand binding, GPCRs regulate intracellular signaling pathways by activating guanine nucleotide-binding proteins (G proteins).", "Interestingly, GPCRs have functional homologues in human cytomegalovirus and herpesvirus, suggesting that GPCRs may have been acquired during evolution for viral pathogenesis (Strader et al., FASEB J., 9:745-754, 1995; Arvanitakis et al.", "Nature, 385:347-350, 1997; Murphy, Annu.", "Rev.", "Immunol.", "12:593-633, 1994).", "The characteristic feature of most GPCRs which have been known up to now is that seven clusters of hydrophobic amino acid residues are located in the primary structure and pass through (span) the cell membrane at each region thereof.", "The domains are believed to represent transmembrane alpha-helices connected by three intracellular loops, three extracellular loops, and amino- and carboxyl-terminal domains (K. Palczewski et al., Science 289, 739-45 (2000)).", "Most GPCRs have single conserved cysteine residues in each of the first two extracellular loops which form disulfide bonds that are believed to stabilize functional protein structure.", "The 7 transmembrane regions are designated as TM1, TM2, TM3, TM4, TMS, TM6, and TM7.It is well known that these structures detailed above are common among G protein coupled receptor proteins and that the amino acid sequences corresponding to the area where the protein passes through the membrane (membrane-spanning region or transmembrane region) and the amino acid sequences near the membrane-spanning region are often highly conserved among the receptors.", "Thus, due to the high degree of homology in GPCRs, the identification of novel GPCRs, as well as identification of both the intracellular and the extracellular portions of such novel members, is readily accomplished by those of skill in the art.", "By way of example, the book of Watson and Arkinstall (1994), incorporated herein by reference, provides the sequences of over 50 GPCRs.", "The book further describes, for each sequence, the precise residues comprising each of the transmembrane domains.", "The binding sites for small ligands of G-protein coupled receptors are believed to comprise a hydrophilic socket located near the extracellular surface and formed by several G-protein coupled receptors transmembrane domains, which socket is surrounded by hydrophobic residues of the G-protein coupled receptors.", "The hydrophilic side of each G-protein coupled receptor transmembrane helix is postulated to face inward and form the polar ligand binding site.", "TM3 has been implicated in several G-protein coupled receptors as having a ligand binding site, such as including the TM3 aspartate residue.", "Additionally, TM5 serines, a TM6 asparagine and TM6 or TM7 phenylalanines or tyrosines are also implicated in ligand binding.", "The ligand binding site for peptide hormones receptors and receptors with other larger ligands such as glycoproteins (LH, FSH, hCG, TSH), and the Ca2+/glutamate/GABA classes of receptors likely residue in the extracellular domains and loops.", "A key event for the switch from inactive to active receptor is ligand-induced conformational changes of transmembrane helices 3 (TM3) and 6 (TM6) of the GPCRs that have 7 transmembrane spanning helices (U. Gether, and B. K. Kolbilka, J. Biol.", "Chem.", "273, 17979-17982 (1998)).", "These helical movements in turn alter the conformation of the intracellular loops of the receptor to promote activation of associated heterotrimeric G proteins.", "Mutagenesis studies (S. Cotecchia, J. Ostrowski, M. A. Kjelsberg, M. G. Caron and R. J. Lefkowitz, J. Biol.", "Chem.", "267, 1633-1639 (1992); E. Kostenis, B. R. Conklin and J. Wess, Biochemistry 36, 1487-1495 (1997); M. A. Kjelsberg, S. Coteechia, J. Ostrowski, M. G. Caron, and R. J. Lefkowitz, J. Biol.", "Chem.", "267, 1430-1433 (1992)) demonstrated that the third intracellular loop (i3) mediates a large part of the coupling between receptor and G protein.", "I3 loops expressed as minigenes have also been shown to directly compete with adrenergic receptors for Gq binding (L. M. Luttrell, J. Ostrowski, S. Cotecchia, H. Kendal and R. J. Lefkowitz, Science 259, 1453-1457 (1993)), or can activate G proteins as soluble peptides in cell-free conditions (T. Okamoto et al., Cell 67, 723-730 (1991)).", "The antigen of interest can be of endogenous source in the target cell (sometimes also referred to as antigen-expressing cell).", "Alternatively, exogenous molecules can be introduced into cells to express the antigen.", "The introduction of the antigen into cells can be practiced by any method known to a person with ordinary skills in the art.", "In one embodiment, a polynucleotide encoding the antigen as a polypeptide can be inserted in vitro into a vector, which can further be introduced into target cells for expression.", "The polynucleotide can contain the cDNA sequence, DNA sequence, or other sequences known in the art, of the target antigen.", "The vector can be plasmid, cosmid, liposome, or other natural or artificial vectors known in the art.", "The introduction can be a process of transfection, transformation, infection, direct micro-injection of materials, biolistic particle delivery, electroporation, or other methods known in the art.", "The target cell expressing the antigen can be any cells known in the art, including, for example, cells directly taken from animals, e.g., cancer cells, non-cancer cells, primary cells, etc., or cells with molecular engineering, e.g., culture cells (e.g., Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cells, HEK293cells, etc.", "), immortalized cells, transfected/infected cells, T cells, etc.", "Alternatively, the target cell can come from non-animal sources, e.g., bacterial, insect, etc.", "In one embodiment, the cells expressing the target antigen are yeast cells, preferably yeast spheroblasts.", "Alternatively, the target “cell” can be an artificial cell-like body or structure, e.g., liposome, single-layer membrane body, etc.", "The expression of the antigen in the target cell or cell-like bodies can be transient, i.e., the expression will attenuate or stop after a comparatively short period of time (e.g., from minutes to several days), or stable, i.e., the expression will sustain at a comparatively stable level for a comparatively long time (e.g., after several days or several generations of cells).", "In one preferable embodiment, the antigen is expressed on the extracellular surface of the plasma membrane of the target cell.", "In another preferable embodiment, the antigen is an integral or multispan membrane antigen.", "To get to its location on the plasma membrane, the antigen can be expressed directly on these locations, or can be translocated to these locations after their expression in the cytoplasm of the target cell.", "This translocation can be a natural process of the target cell or an engineered process by, for example, attaching a signal/tag molecule (e.g., Golgi sorting signals, antibodies to certain membrane-bound molecules, etc.", "), anchoring graft (e.g., a glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) anchor), or chemical crosslink to the antigen, mutating the antigen, or other methods known in the art, before or after the antigen expression, which leads to its translocation.", "Immunobinder-Expressing Cells and Immunization In one embodiment, the immunobinder-expressing cells to be selected by the method described herein are mammalian B cells, preferably rabbit B-cells.", "In a preferred embodiment, the B cells originate from an animal that was immunized with the target of interest.", "The immunization of the animal can be practiced by any method known to a person with ordinary skills in the art.", "Typically, the B-cells are isolated from lymphatic organs of an immunized animal (such as spleen or lymph nodes).", "In one preferred embodiment, the immunization of antigen of the interest is done by DNA immunization/vaccination.", "Alternatively, cells expressing the target antigen are injected into animals (e.g., rabbit, rat, mouse, hamster, sheep, goat, chicken, etc.)", "for the immunization.", "The preferred animal for this immunization step is a rabbit.", "DNA immunization/vaccination induces a rapid immune response and allows for native expression, and usually only native expression, of target antigens.", "Because it does not involve the expression and handling of recombinant proteins, this process is more efficient and cost-effective than traditional immunization with recombinant proteins.", "In addition, more importantly, the in vivo expressed antigen possesses the same secondary structures and may even possess the same post-translational modifications as the target protein in its natural context, which improves the correctness of recognition by the prepared antibodies against the target antigen.", "An exemplary DNA immunization is illustrated in a Canadian patent application CA2350078 and in WO04/087216.Specifically, the DNA encoding the polypeptide as the target antigen is introduced directly into an animal through a gene gun method, resulting in expression of a polypeptide in the animal, which expression causes the formation of antibodies against the polypeptide.", "In order to achieve a more vigorous antibody formation, so-called genetic adjuvants are applied simultaneously with the polypeptide-encoding DNA.", "These genetic adjuvants are plasmids which express cytokines (e.g., GM-CSF, IL-4 and IL-10) and which stimulate the humoral immune response in the laboratory animals.", "In one preferred embodiment, the antibody to the target antigen is expressed on the cell surface of B cells as a B cell receptor (BCR).", "In another preferred embodiment, the antibody-expressing cell is a memory B cell, characterized and distinguishable from regular B cells by the absence of any IgM on its surface.", "In one embodiment, the immunobinder-expressing cells are yeast cells and the immunobinders are preferably antibody fragments, more preferably scFv.", "Screening using Fluorescent-Activated Cell Sorting (FACS) After the immunization step, the membrane-bound antibody on B cells that specifically binds to the target antigen need to be separated from other cells expressing non-specific antibodies.", "In one preferred embodiment, through the antigen-antibody binding, B cells expressing the specific antibody on its plasma membrane is adhered to the target cells expressing the antigen.", "In another one preferred embodiment, other or more interactions (e.g., same or different antigen-antibody interactions, chemical crosslinks, ligand-receptor interactions, etc.)", "may occur between B cells and target cells.", "The B cells can be in a pool of B cells expressing different antibodies, or in combination with other immune cells, collected directly from the immunized animal, from a pool of immunized/non-immunized animals, or from in vitro engineering processes, for example, a library of B cells expressing different antibodies by V(D)J genetic recombination technique.", "The separation of the B cells expressing antibodies specific to the target antigen can be done in any method known in the art.", "These include, but are not limited to, panning on antigen, limited dilution, affinity purification, or other methods utilizing the characteristics of the expressed antibodies or the antibody-producing B cells.", "In one preferred embodiment, the antigen-expressing cells are labeled with a tag useful for future detection and/or isolation of the adhered B cells.", "The tag can be a crosslinker, antigen/antibody, small molecules (e.g., glutathione (GSH), biotin/avidin, etc.", "), magnetic particles, fluorescence tag, etc.", "In one preferred embodiment, the antigen-expressing cells are labeled with a fluorescent protein/peptide.", "In another embodiment, the antibody-producing B cells are also labeled with a tag, preferably, a different fluorescent protein/peptide.", "In yet another embodiment, the B cells in adherence to the antigen-expressing cells can be detected by the emission of fluorescence from the fluorescent protein/peptide labeled on B cells.", "In still another embodiment, the B cell and the antigen-expressing cell in adherence can be detected by the emission of fluorescence from two different fluorescent protein/peptide labeled on them.", "In one preferred embodiment, B cells expressing antibodies specific to the target antigen can be detected and further separated from other antibody-producing B cells by the emission of both fluorescence from fluorescent proteins/peptides labeled on them and on adhered APCs.", "Preferably, this detection and separation can be performed by fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) technique.", "The acronym FACS is trademarked and owned by Becton Dickinson (Franklin Lakes, N.J.).", "As used herein, the term FACS shall represent any form of flow cytometry based cell sorting.", "Fluorescence-activated cell sorting is a specialized type of flow cytometry.", "It provides a method for sorting a heterogeneous mixture of biological cells into two or more containers, one cell at a time, based upon the specific light scattering and fluorescent characteristics of each cell.", "It is a useful scientific instrument as it provides fast, objective and quantitative recording of fluorescent signals from individual cells as well as physical separation of cells of particular interest.", "In a typical FACS system, the cell suspension is entrained in the center of a narrow, rapidly flowing stream of liquid.", "The flow is arranged so that there is a large separation between cells relative to their diameter.", "A vibrating mechanism causes the stream of cells to break into individual droplets.", "The system is adjusted so that there is a low probability of more than one cell being in a droplet.", "Just before the stream breaks into droplets the flow passes through a fluorescence measuring station where the fluorescent character of interest of each cell is measured.", "An electrical charging ring is placed just at the point where the stream breaks into droplets.", "A charge is placed on the ring based on the immediately prior fluorescence intensity measurement and the opposite charge is trapped on the droplet as it breaks from the stream.", "The charged droplets then fall through an electrostatic deflection system that diverts droplets into containers based upon their charge.", "In some systems the charge is applied directly to the stream and the droplet breaking off retains charge of the same sign as the stream.", "The stream is then returned to neutral after the droplet breaks off.", "The fluorescent labels for FACS technique depend on the lamp or laser used to excite the fluorochromes and on the detectors available.", "The most commonly available lasers on single laser machines are blue argon lasers (488 nm).", "Fluorescent labels workable for this kind of lasers include, but not limited to, 1) for green fluorescence (usually labelled FL1): FITC, Alexa Fluor 488, GFP, CFSE, CFDA-SE, and DyLight 488; 2) for orange fluorescence (usually FL2): PE, and PI; 3) for red fluorescence (usually FL3): PerCP, PE-Alexa Fluor 700, PE-Cy5 (TRI-COLOR), and PE-Cy5.5; and 4) for infra-red fluorescence (usually FL4; in some FACS machines): PE-Alexa Fluor 750, and PE-Cy7.Other lasers and their corresponding fluorescent labels include, but are not limited to, 1) red diode lasers (635 nm): Allophycocyanin (APC), APC-Cy7, Alexa Fluor 700, Cy5, and Draq-5; and 2) violet lasers (405 nm): Pacific Orange, Amine Aqua, Pacific Blue, 4′,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI), and Alexa Fluor 405.In a preferred embodiment, B cells are stained with labeled anti-IgG and anti-IgM antibodies and the memory B cells only being positively stained with the anti-IgG antibodies but not with the anti-IgM antibodies are preferentially selected.", "IgG have generally a higher affinity than IgM; positive B-cells expressing IgG but not IgM on their surface (which is characteristic for memory B-cells) are thereby selected.", "For said purpose, multicolor staining is preferably used, where antibodies specific for IgG and IgM are differentially labeled, e.g.", "with APC and FITC, respectively.", "Preferably, the target antigen and/or the target cell expressing the target antigen are also labeled.", "In one embodiment, the target antigen is stained indirectly by staining the cell that expresses the target antigen with an intracellular fluorescent dye.", "The present invention provides a method using FACS to screen B cells pools, in which B cells may adhere to cells expressing target antigens, to identify and further isolate B cells producing antibodies specifically binding to the target antigen of interest.", "Preferably, the B cells are labeled with a fluorescent label and the cells expressing the target antigen are separately labeled with a different fluorescent label.", "These labels can be either intracellular, extracellular, or integrated in the plasma membrane.", "After the immunization and production of antibodies, all B cells are pooled together and run through a FACS system.", "Only those B cells producing antibodies specific to the target antigen will adhere to the antigen-expressing cells.", "Their adherence shortens the distance between these two cells in the flow, compared to the large separation between other individual cells, leading to a “bi-color event” detectable during their concurrent passing through the scanning laser beam.", "Thus, the B cells producing antibodies of interest can be identified and then sorted into a different collection tube from other non-specific B cells.", "In another preferred embodiment, if the interaction between the B cell and the corresponding antigen-expressing cell leads to certain modification of cellular characteristics, e.g., depolarization, fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET), etc., more fluorescent labels can be added to the cell capable of such modification.", "Thus, B cells and antigen-expressing cells in contact will give out a “tri-color” event or an event containing even more than three colors at the same time.", "Alternatively, the identification and sorting of B cells in adherence does not require the existence of its fluorescent label.", "In one embodiment, the cell-cell interaction leads to functional changes in either cell.", "In another embodiment, these functional changes can be used to identify and further separate B cells producing antibodies specifically binding to the target antigen.", "For example, the cell-cell interaction may functionally block or activate receptor signaling in either cell, leading to cellular changes, e.g., the Ca2+ efflux changes, etc., detectable by the FACS system.", "Thus, by monitoring these detectable functional changes, B cells of interest can also be identified and separated.", "One particular embodiment of functionally blocking or activating receptor signaling includes incubating B-cells with cells that functionally express a GPCR (G protein-coupled receptor).", "An agonist that signals through a GPCR can be added to the mixture to induce GPDR mediated Ca2+ efflux from the endoplasmatic reticulum.", "In case an antibody presented on a B-cell would functionally block agonist signaling, Ca2+ efflux would consequently also be blocked by this cell-cell interaction.", "Ca2+ efflux can e.g.", "be quantitatively measured by flow-cytometry.", "Therefore, only B-cell/target cell conglomerates that either show increase or decrease in Ca2+ efflux would be sorted.", "Affinity Assays to Antibodies Produced by the Isolated B Cells In certain embodiments, B-cells are cultivated under suitable conditions so that antibodies are secreted into the culture medium.", "The produced antibodies are, for example, monoclonal antibodies.", "The cultivation may involve the use of a helper cell line, such as a thymoma helper cell line (e.g.", "EL4-B5, see Zubler et al, 1985, J.", "Immunol., 134(6): 3662-3668).", "Optionally, additional affinity assays can be performed before further processing to evaluate the selectivity and the ability to compete with the ligand of antibodies produced by the isolated B cells.", "These assays include, but are not limited to, cell-based assays (e.g., cell ELISA (CELISA), which is a modified ELISA process in which entire cells are used for coating).", "As discussed in CA2350078, CELISA can be conducted as described below in Examples.", "The validation step is performed to test the generated antibodies for specific binding to the target, e.g.", "for excluding antibodies which are directed against a protein being expressed on the cell surface other than the target protein.", "Alternatively, the identified and isolated B cells of interest can be directly examined for antibody affinity and the B cells can be separated from adhered antigen-expressing cells before the processing Further Processing of Isolated B Cells for Antibody Production The identified and isolated B cells, optionally tested by affinity assay (e.g., CELISA), can be further processed to produce immunobinders of interest.", "Traditional hybridoma technique, for example, can be used.", "This may involve steps such as purifying the immunobinders, elucidating their amino acid sequence and/or nucleic acid sequence.", "Alternatively, characterization of the binders is performed in their scFv format.", "For this approach CDR sequences of binders expressed on sorted B-cells would be retrieved by RT-PCR from either the cultured sorted cells or from single cells directly.", "Combination of two pools of partially overlapping oligonucleotides in which one oligonucleotide pool is coding for the CDRs and a second pool encodes the framework regions of a suitable scFv scaffold would allow for generation of a humanized scFv in a one-step PCR procedure.", "HT sequencing, cloning and production would allow to perform clone selection based on the performance of the purified humanized scFv, instead of characterizing secreted IgG in the cell culture supernatant.", "A scFv scaffold suitable to accept CDRs from any rabbit antibody has been identified and characterized (“rabbitized” human FW or rabbit acceptor RabTor; see WO09/155726, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety).", "The proof of concept for a variety of CDRs that in some cases even contain the rabbit specific inter-CDR disulfide bonds has been shown.", "A general description of making rabbitized antibody is described below.", "Grafting of Immunobinders The antigen binding regions or CDRs of immunobinders identified using the methods of the invention can be grafted into acceptor antibody frameworks.", "Such grafting can, for example, reduce the immunogenicity of the immunobinder or improve its functional properties, e.g., improve thermodynamic stability.", "General methods for grafting CDRs into human acceptor frameworks have been disclosed by Winter in U.S. Pat.", "No.", "5,225,539, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.", "Specific strategies for grafting CDRs from rabbit monoclonal antibodies are disclosed in U.S.", "Provisional Patent Application Nos.", "61/075,697, and 61/155,041, which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.", "These strategies are related to that of Winter but diverge in that the acceptor antibody frameworks are particularly suitable as universal acceptor for all human or non-human donor antibodies.", "In particular, the human single-chain framework FW1.4 (a combination of SEQ ID NO: 1 (named a43 in WO03/097697) and SEQ ID NO: 2 (named KI27 in WO03/097697)) has been shown to be highly compatible with the antigen-binding sites of rabbit antibodies.", "Therefore, the FW1.4 represents a suitable scaffold to construct stable humanized scFv antibody fragments derived from grafting of rabbit loops.", "Moreover, it was found that FW1.4 could be optimized by substituting 5 or 6 residue positions in the heavy chain of FW1.4 and/or by substituting 1 position in the light chain of FW1.4.Thereby, it was surprisingly found that loop conformation of a large variety of rabbit CDRs in the VH could be fully maintained, largely independent of the sequence of the donor framework.", "Said 5 or 6 residues in the heavy chain as well as the 1 position in the light chain of FW1.4 are conserved in rabbit antibodies.", "The consensus residue for the 5 or 6 positions in the heavy chain, as well as the one position in the light chain, was deduced from the rabbit repertoire and introduced into the sequence of the human acceptor framework.", "As a result, the modified framework 1.4 (referred to therein as rFW1.4) is compatible with virtually any rabbit CDR.", "Contrary to the rabbit wild type single chains, rFW1.4 containing different rabbit CDRs is well expressed and almost fully retains the affinity of the original donor rabbit antibodies.", "Accordingly, exemplary immunobinder acceptor frameworks comprise (i) a variable heavy chain framework having at least 70% identity, preferably at least 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, more preferably at least 95% identity, to SEQ ID No.", "1; and/or (ii) a variable light chain framework having at least 70% identity, preferably at least 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, more preferably at least 95% identity, to SEQ ID No.", "2.In a preferred embodiment, the variable light chain comprises Threonine (T) at position 87 (AHo numbering).", "In a preferred embodiment, said immunobinder acceptor framework comprises (i) a variable heavy chain framework selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID No.", "1, SEQ ID No.", "4 and SEQ ID No.", "6; and/or (ii) a variable light chain framework of SEQ ID No.", "2 or SEQ ID No.", "9.In a preferred embodiment, the variable heavy chain framework is linked to a variable light chain framework via a linker.", "The linker may be any suitable linker, for example a linker comprising 1 to 4 repeats of the sequence GGGGS (SEQ ID No.", "10), preferably a (GGGGS)4 peptide (SEQ ID No.", "8), or a linker as disclosed in Alfthan et al.", "(1995) Protein Eng.", "8:725-731.In a most preferred embodiment, the immunobinder acceptor framework is a sequence having at least 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, more preferably at least 95% identity, to SEQ ID.", "No.", "3.More preferably, the immunobinder acceptor framework comprises or is SEQ ID.", "No.", "3.In another preferred embodiment, the immunobinder acceptor framework is a sequence having at least 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90% more preferably at least 95% identity, to SEQ ID No.", "5.More preferably, the immunobinder acceptor framework comprises or is SEQ ID No.", "5.In another preferred embodiment, the immunobinder acceptor framework is a sequence having at least 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, more preferably at least 95% identity, to SEQ ID No.", "7.More preferably, the immunobinder acceptor framework comprises or is SEQ ID No.", "7.Furthermore, an exemplary variable heavy chain framework of SEQ ID No.", "1 may be employed, further comprising one or more amino acid residues that generally support conformation of CDRs derived from a rabbit immunobinder.", "In particular, said residues are present at one or more amino acid positions selected from the group consisting of 24H, 25H, 56H, 82H, 84H, 89H and 108H (AHo numbering).", "These positions are proven to affect CDR conformation and are therefore contemplated for mutation to accommodate donor CDRs.", "Preferably, said one or more residues are selected from the group consisting of: Threonine (T) at position 24, Valine (V) at position 25 Glycine or Alanine (G/A) at position 56, Lysine (K) at position 82, Threonine (T) at position 84, Valine (V) at position 89 and Arginine (R) at position 108 (AHo numbering).", "In a preferred embodiment, said variable heavy chain framework is or comprises SEQ ID No.", "4 or SEQ ID No.", "6.Both variable heavy chain frameworks may for example be combined with any suitable light chain framework.", "The sequences disclosed above are the following (X residues are CDR insertion sites): SEQ ID NO.", "1: variable heavy chain framework of FW1.4 (a43) EVQLVESGGGLVQPGGSLRLSCAAS(X)n = 1-50 WVRQAPGKGLEWV S(X)n = 1-50 RFTISRDNSKNTLYLQMNSLRAEDTAVYYCAK (X)n = 1-50 WGQGTLVTVSS SEQ ID NO.", "2: variable light chain framework of FW1.4 (KI27) EIVMTQSPSTLSASVGDRVIITC(X)n = 1-50 WYQQKPGKAPKLLIY (X)n = 1-50 GVPSRFSGSGSGAEFTLTISSLQPDDFATYYC (X)n = 1-50 FGQGTKLT VLG SEQ ID NO.", "3: framework of FW1.4 EIVMTQSPSTLSASVGDRVIITC(X)n = 1-50 WYQQKPGKAPKLLIY (X)n = 1-50 GVPSRFSGSGSGAEFTLTISSLQPDDFATYYC (X)n = 1-50 FGQGTKLTVLGGGGGSGGGGSGGGGSGGGGS EVQLVE SGGGLVQPGGSLRLSCAAS(X)n = 1-50 WVRQAPGKGLEWVS (X)n = 1-50 RFTISRDNSKNTLYLQMNSLRAEDTAVYYCAK (X)n = 1-50 WGQGTLVTVSS SEQ ID NO.", "4: variable heavy chain framework of rFW1.4 EVQLVESGGGLVQPGGSLRLSCTAS(X)n = 1-50 WVRQAPGKGLEWV G(X)n = 1-50 RFTISRDTSKNTVYLQMNSLRAEDTAVYYCAR (X)n = 1-50 WGQGTLV TVSS SEQ ID NO.", "5: framework of rFW1.4 EIVMTQSPSTLSASVGDRVIITC(X)n = 1-50 WYQQKPGKAPKLLIY (X)n = 1-50 GVPSRFSGSGSGTEFTLTISSLQPDDFATYYC (X)n = 1-50 FGQGTKLTVLGGGGGSGGGGSGGGGSGGGGSEVQLVES GGGLVQPGGSLRLSCTAS(X)n = 1-50 WVRQAPGKGLEWVG (X)n = 1-50 RFTISRDTSKNTVYLQMNSLRAEDTAVYYCAR (X)n = 1-50 WGQGTLVTVSS SEQ ID NO.", "6: variable heavy chain framework of rFW1.4(V2) EVQLVESGGGLVQPGGSLRLSCTVS(X)n = 1-50 WVRQAPGKGLEWV G(X)n = 1-50 RFTISKDTSKNTVYLQMNSLRAEDTAVYYCAR (X)n = 1-50 WGQGTLVTVSS SEQ ID NO.", "7: framework of rFW1.4(V2) EIVMTQSPSTLSASVGDRVIITC(X)n = 1-50 WYQQKPGKAPKLLI Y(X)n = 1-50 GVPSRFSGSGSGTEFTLTISSLQPDDFATYYC (X)n = 1-50 FGQGTKLTVLGGGGGSGGGGSGGGGSGGGGS EVQLVE SGGGLVQPGGSLRLSCTVS(X)n = 1-50 WVRQAPGKGLEWVG (X)n = 1-50 RFTISKDTSKNTVYLQMNSLRAEDTAVYYCAR (X)n = 1-50 WGQGTLVTVSS SEQ ID NO.", "8: linker GGGGSGGGGSGGGGSGGGGS SEQ ID NO.", "9: substituted variable light chain framework of FW1.4 EIVMTQSPSTLSASVGDRVIITC(X)n = 1-50 WYQQKPGKAPKLLIY (X)n = 1-50 GVPSRFSGSGSGTEFTLTISSLQPDDFATYYC (X)n = 1-50 FGQGTKLTVLG Thus, unlike the general method of Winter, the framework sequence used for the humanization methods of the invention is not necessarily the framework sequence which exhibits the greatest sequence similarity to the sequence of the non-human (e.g., rabbit) antibody from which the donor CDRs are derived.", "In addition, framework residue grafting from the donor sequence to support CDR conformation is not required.", "The acceptor antibody frameworks can also comprise one or more of the stability enhancing mutations described in U.S.", "Provisional Application Ser.", "No.", "61/075,692, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.", "Exemplary solubility enhancing substitutions in the heavy chain framework are found at positions 12, 103 and 144 (AHo numbering).", "More preferably, the heavy chain framework comprises (a) Serine (S) at position 12; (b) Serine (S) or Threonine (T) at position 103 and/or (c) Serine (S) or Threonine (T) at position 144.Moreover, stability enhancing amino acids may be present at one or more positions 1, 3, 4, 10, 47, 57, 91 and 103 of the variable light chain framework (AHo numbering).", "More preferably, the variable light chain framework comprises glutamic acid (E) at position 1, valine (V) at position 3, leucine (L) at position 4, Serine (S) at position 10; Arginine (R) at position 47, Serine (S) at position 57, phenylalanine (F) at position 91 and/or Valine (V) at position 103.EXAMPLES Throughout the examples, the following materials and methods were used unless otherwise stated.", "Materials and Methods In general, the practice of the present invention employs, unless otherwise indicated, conventional techniques of chemistry, molecular biology, recombinant DNA technology, immunology (especially, e.g., antibody technology), and standard techniques of polypeptide preparation.", "See, e.g., Sambrook, Fritsch and Maniatis, Molecular Cloning: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press (1989); Antibody Engineering Protocols (Methods in Molecular Biology), 510, Paul, S., Humana Pr (1996); Antibody Engineering: A Practical Approach (Practical Approach Series, 169), McCafferty, Ed., Irl Pr (1996); Antibodies: A Laboratory Manual, Harlow et al., C.S.H.L.", "Press, Pub.", "(1999); and Current Protocols in Molecular Biology, eds.", "Ausubel et al., John Wiley & Sons (1992).", "Cell ELISA (CELISA) The following example describes the use of CELISA to analyze cells expressing CXCR2: CHO cells expressing CXCR2 can be seeded at a density of 50,000 cells/well in 96-well half area plates.", "After overnight incubation at 37° C., cells can be fixed with 1% formaldehyde in PBS for 30 minutes at room temperature.", "Cell layers can be washed three times and non specific binding sites can be blocked with cell culture medium for one hour at room temperature.", "Next, after three washing steps, the supernatants can be diluted 1:1 in culture medium and added to the wells.", "In three control wells, a commercial rabbit anti-CXCR2 antibody can be spiked in supernatant.", "Supernatants can then be incubated on the cell layers for one and a half hours at room temperature.", "Finally, rabbit IgGs are detected with a goat anti-rabbit IgG Fc antibody coupled to HRP.", "Upon addition of a peroxidase substrate (Blue POD substrate from Roche), a colorimetric reaction would develop which could be stopped after 25 minutes with 1M HCl.", "Absorbance can be measured at 450 nm.", "EXAMPLE 1 B Cell Screening System Using Soluble Antigens A FACS (fluorescence-activated cell sorting)-based screening system described in this invention is exemplified here capable of selecting B cells that bind to a target of interest, specifically, a soluble protein, via their B cell receptors (BCR).", "In this Example, the target was the single-chain anti-VEGF antibody ESBA903 labeled with a fluorescent dye (PE and PerCP).", "Lymphocyte suspension was prepared from the spleen of rabbits immunized with the recombinant target.", "Cells were then incubated with PE and PerCP labeled scFv as well as with antibodies specific for IgG (APC-labeled) or IgM (FITC labeled).", "ESBA903-positive B-cells that express IgG but not IgM on their surface were sorted and selected in 96-well plates (FIG.", "2).", "As shown in panel A of FIG.", "2, lymphocytes were gated according to forward and side scatter.", "Among them, IgG+ IgM− cells (probably memory B cells) were selected (panel B).", "Cells double-stained with scFv-PE and scFv-PerCP were expected to encode high affinity IgGs against the scFv (panel C).", "Cells showing the brightest fluorescence were sorted in 96-well plates with sorting statistics listed in panel D. By means of a thymoma helper cell line (EL4-B5: see Zubler et al, 1985, J. Immunol.", "134(6):3662-3668), selected B cells proliferated, differentiated into plasma cells and then secreted antibodies.", "The affinity of these IgG molecules for the target protein was verified by ELISA and Biacore measurements.", "Kinetic parameters are depicted in Table 1 for seven selected clones.", "These clones, from a pool of ˜200 sorted cells, show high binding affinities in the low nanomolar to picomolar range.", "Finally, mRNAs for secreted IgG molecules were isolated from 6 clones of interest and the CDRs were grafted on ESBATech single-chain framework RabTor, also termed Framework rFW1.4.TABLE 1 Kinetic values for 7 B cell culture supernatants B-cell clone ka [Ms−1] kd [s−1] KD [M] SG2 2.91E+06 2.95E−04 1.01E−10 SE11 3.63E+05 3.81E−04 1.05E−09 2E-03 8.34E+05 3.53E−04 4.23E−10 9E-03 8.66E+05 6.47E−04 7.47E−10 7D-03 3.97E+05 3.04E−04 7.65E−10 12B-02 1.08E+06 1.10E−04 1.01E−10 11G-02 5.48E+05 1.52E−04 2.78E−10 TABLE 1a Sorting statistics for FIG.", "2.Population #Events % Parent % Total All Events 100,000 #### 100.0 Lymphocytes 86,585 86.6 86.6 Single Lymphocytes 1 86,013 99.3 86.0 Single Lymphocytes 2 85,523 99.4 85.5 Memory B cells?", "5,450 6.4 5.4 Sorted Cells 16 0.3 0.0 903-binding cells 160 2.9 0.2 Selected Literature: Zuber et al.", "Mutant EL-4 thymoma cells polyclonally activate murine and human B cells via direct cell interaction.", "J Immunol.", "1985; 134(6):3662-3668.Transmembrane Targets The screening system described above works efficiently when the target is soluble, and when recombinant protein is available.", "However, some targets of interest are multispan transmembrane proteins (e.g., GPCRs and ion channels).", "Traditional immunization with recombinant protein is in these cases inadvisable or impossible.", "Further, FACS selection of B cells cannot be performed based on binding of purified, labeled proteins if the antigen is an integral membrane protein.", "In order to address these issues the following improvements of the above mentioned procedure were implemented.", "1) Immunization with DNA Instead of Recombinant Protein: DNA vaccination induces a rapid immune response against native antigen.", "Since no recombinant protein is needed, this technology is on one hand very cost-effective, on the other hand, and more importantly, this method allows for native expression of integral membrane complexes and/or multispan membrane proteins.", "2) FACS Selection of B-Cells that Bind to Cells that Express an Integral Membrane Target Protein: Flow cytometry normally measures the fluorescence emitted by single cells when they cross a laser beam.", "However, some researchers have already used cytometers to investigate cell-cell interactions, for example adhesion mediated by cadherins (Panorchan et al, 2006, J.", "Cell Science, 119, 66-74; Leong et Hibma, 2005, J. Immunol.", "Methods, 302, 116-124) or integrins (Gawaz et al, 1991, J. Clin.", "Invest, 88, 1128-1134).", "However, such studies did not demonstrate whether such cell-cell interactions will remain intact during the physical step of cell sorting.", "Furthermore, it has never been shown that the binding of a B cell receptor to its target being present on the surface of another cell will be strong enough to allow such physical sorting.", "In order to select for B-cells that bind to transmembrane targets, cells (for example, CHO or HEK293 cells) can be transiently or preferentially stably transfected with the target of choice, or cells that naturally express the target of choice can be used.", "Such target cells are stained with an intracellular fluorescent dye (for example calcein) and incubated with the memory B lymphocytes of an immunized rabbit.", "B lymphocytes are stained with fluorescent antibodies binding to cell surface specific markers.", "Thus, selection of bi-color “events” consisting in two cells adhering to each other through BCR-target interactions (see FIG.", "1) can be achieved.", "The further processing of these B cells is performed as described above, which leads to the production of monoclonal antibodies, for example in the IgG or scFv format.", "To estimate the affinity of these antibodies for the target, CELISA (ELISA, where coating step is performed with entire cells) is being performed.", "With this method, the selectivity and the ability of antibodies to compete with the ligand can be evaluated.", "Finally, the CDRs of clones of interest will be cloned into our rabbitized framework (RabTor) by gene synthesis with the oligo extension method.", "A read-out for B-cell sorting is not necessarily limited to cell-cell interaction, but can also be used to select for the ability of this interaction to functionally block/activate receptor signaling.", "For example, B-cells can be incubated with cells that functionally express a GPCR.", "An agonist that signals through a GPCR can be added to the mixture to induce GPCR mediated Ca2+ efflux from the endoplasmic reticulum.", "In case an antibody presented on a B-cell functionally blocks agonist signaling, Ca2+ efflux would consequently also be blocked by this cell-cell interaction.", "Ca2+ efflux can be quantitatively measured by flow-cytometry.", "Therefore only B-cell/target cell conglomerates that show no Ca2+ efflux would be sorted.", "EXAMPLE 2 Detection of the Interaction Between Beads Coated with Anti-TNFα Antibody and CHO Cells Expressing Membrane-Bound TNFα Before a B cell screening against a transmembrane protein is initiated, it has to be demonstrated that cell-cell interactions (and especially interactions between BCR and transmembrane protein on target cell) can be positively selected with a FACS.", "To determine whether the high pressure in the flow-cytometry stream breaks non covalent binding between two cells, the following experiment was performed.", "CHO cells stably transfected with membrane-bound TNFα (B-220 cells) (containing a mutant membrane-bound TNFα that contains a point mutation in the TACE cleavage site that prevents cleavage and shedding of TNFα ligand; see, for example, Scallon et al.", "J Pharmacol Exp Ther 2002; 301:418-26) were incubated with beads coated with a PE-labeled anti-TNFα antibody.", "In this set-up the beads mimic memory B cells.", "As negative controls, non-transfected CHO cells were used, as well as beads coated with an APC-labeled unrelated antibody (anti-CD19).", "After 2 hours incubation at 4° C. with agitation, the cell-bead suspension was analyzed by FACS (using a 130 um nozzle).", "FIG.", "3 shows that a specific binding between anti-TNFα □beads and TNFα-transfected CHO cells was clearly detectable with FACS.", "Indeed, in this sample (upper panel) about two thirds of the beads were bound to cells (585 bound against 267 unbound).", "In contrast, in the control samples (middle and lower panels), almost no bead bound to CHO cells.", "Further, both bead populations (anti-TNFα-PE and anti-CD19-APC) were mixed together with TNFα-transfected CHO cells.", "FIG.", "4 shows that about half of the anti-TNFα beads bound to CHO cells, whereas the vast majority of the anti-CD19 beads stayed unbound.", "The percentage of beads binding to the cell in each sample is detailed in Table 2.Thus, the demonstration is made that the specific selection of single B cells that bind to an integral membrane target protein through their B cell receptor was possible using flow-cytometry.", "TABLE 2 Percentage of beads bound to CHO cells in each sample Cells mAb on beads % bound beads Sample 1 CHO-TNFα □(B220) anti-TNFα 68.0 Sample 2 CHO-TNFα □(B220) anti-CD19 0.9 Sample 3 CHO wt anti-TNFα 1.5 Sample 4 CHO-TNFα □(B220) anti-TNFα 47.0 anti-CD19 0.4 TABLE 2a Sorting statistics for upper panel of FIG.", "3; binding of beads coated with anti-TNFα antibodies to TNFα-transfected CHO cells Population #Events % Parent % Total All Events 10,000 #### 100.0 P1 9,692 96.9 96.9 P3 585 6.0 5.9 P4 1 0.0 0.0 P2 267 2.7 2.7 TABLE 2b Sorting statistics for middle panel of FIG.", "3; no binding of beads coated with anti-CD19 antibodies to TNFα-transfected CHO cells Population #Events % Parent % Total All Events 10,000 #### 100.0 P1 9,399 94.0 94.0 P3 3 0.0 0.0 P4 6 0.1 0.1 P2 558 5.6 5.6 TABLE 2c Sorting statistics for lower panel of FIG.", "3; no binding of beads coated with anti-TNFα antibodies to CHO wildtype cells Population #Events % Parent % Total All Events 10,000 #### 100.0 P1 9,001 90.0 90.0 P3 13 0.1 0.1 P4 7 0.1 0.1 P2 811 0.1 0.1 TABLE 2d Sorting statistics for FIG.", "4 Population #Events % Parent % Total All Events 10,000 #### 100.0 P1 9,096 91.0 91.0 P3 401 4.4 4.0 P4 2 0.0 0.0 P2 856 8.6 8.6 EXAMPLE 3 Detection of the Interaction Between B Cell Isolated from an Anti-TNFα Antibody Immunized Rabbit and CHO Cells Expressing Membrane-Bound TNFα which were Saturated with Anti-TNFα Antibody For the experiment depicted in FIG.", "5, lymphocytes were isolated either from an anti-TNFα antibody (ESBA105, produced in-house) immunized rabbit spleen or from a non-immunized rabbit spleen.", "They were stained with anti-rabbit IgG-APC and anti-rabbit IgM-FITC (AbD serotec) and subsequently pre-sorted in order to obtain pure populations of memory B cells (IgG+/IgM−).", "In parallel, TNFα-expressing CHO cells (donated by Dr. P Scheurich, Univ.", "of Stuttgart) were loaded with 1 ug/mL calcein-red (Invitrogen), a cytoplasmic dye that fluorescently stains living cells.", "These cells were then washed once and incubated with (or without, for the negative control) 100 ug/mL of ESBA105, and finally washed again 3× with PBS.", "Memory B cells were finally mixed at a ratio of about 1:10 with the CHO cells and incubated during 2 hours at 4° C. on a rotating plate (concentration: 3*107 cells/mL).", "The following samples were prepared: 1) CHO-TNFα cells+ESBA105+memory B cells of ESBA105 immunized rabbit 2) CHO-TNFα cells+ESBA105+memory B cells of non-immunized rabbit 3) CHO-TNFα cells+memory B cells of ESBA105 immunized rabbit After 2 hours incubation, the 3 samples were measured by FACS, using the 70 um nozzle.", "According to the population hierarchy shown in Table 3a, 5% of ESBA105 immunized cells bind to “ESBA105-coated” TNFα transgenic CHO cells.", "In comparison, only 0.5% non-immunized B cell bind to these “ESBA105-coated” TNFα transgenic CHO cells (Table 3b), and 0.6% of immunized B cells bind in absence of ESBA105 on CHO cell surface (Table 3c).", "These results give a show that a specific interaction between a BCR (B cell receptor) and a transmembrane target can be detected by FACS.", "TABLE 3a Sorting statistics for upper panel of FIG.", "5b Population #Events % Parent % Total All Events 50,000 #### 100.0 Living cells 43,828 87.7 87.7 B cells 5,162 11.8 10.3 B cells sticking to CHO 78 1.5 0.2 TABLE 3b Sorting statistics for middle panel of FIG.", "5b Population #Events % Parent % Total All Events 50,000 #### 100.0 Living cells 43,834 87.7 87.7 B cells 4,290 9.8 8.6 B cells sticking to CHO 23 0.5 0.0 TABLE 3c Sorting statistics for lower panel of FIG.", "5b Population #Events % Parent % Total All Events 50,000 #### 100.0 Living cells 42,982 86.0 86.0 B cells 10,150 23.6 20.3 B cells sticking to CHO 65 0.6 0.1 EXAMPLE 4 Detection of the Interaction Between B Cell Isolated from an ESBA105 Immunized Rabbit and CHO Cells Expressing Membrane-Bound TNFα which were Saturated with ESBA105 In a further experiment, no pre-sorting of memory B cells was made.", "The entire lymphocyte population was incubated with the stained CHO-TNFα-ESBA105 cells.", "Transgenic CHO cells were prepared as described above.", "However, in order to prevent their proliferation in B cell culture medium after the sort in 96-well plates, the cells were cell-cycle arrested by a mitomycin C (M4287-2MG) treatment before the calcein staining.", "The lymphocytes of an ESBA105 immunized rabbit were mixed at a ratio of 3:1 with the stained CHO cells (concentration of the cell suspension: ≈3-107 cells/mL), and incubated during 2 hours at 4° C. on a rotating plate.", "After this, the cell suspension was FACS analyzed and memory B cells binding to CHO-TNFα-ESBA105 were sorted according to the gate depicted in FIG.", "6, with 1, 10 or 100 cells/well as shown in Table 3.Sorted cells represented 5.5% of the memory B cell population, respectively 0.2% of total events.", "Sorted cells were collected in 96-well plates and cultivated during 13 days at 37° C. with 5% CO2.After that, culture supernatants were collected and tested in direct ELISA to check for the presence of ESBA105 binding IgGs.", "ELISA results (Table 3) show that ESBA105 specific antibodies could be detected in many wells, and also in wells where single B cells were sorted.", "The Biacore (GE Healthcare) analysis (Table 4) of these supernatants confirmed that these antibodies indeed bound to ESBA105 target.", "TABLE 3 ELISA analysis of B cell culture supernatant samples taken 13 days after sorting.", "No B cells were sorted in raw A wells in order to verify specificity of OD450 signals.", "In wells A11 and A12, a polyclonal rabbit anti-ESBA105 antibody (AK3A; 2 ug/mL) was spiked in supernatant as positive control.", "Wells where OD450 is significantly higher than background are highlighted in bold.", "Day 13 0 B cell/well Positive control <> 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 A 0.0690 0.0680 0.0600 0.0470 0.0540 0.0700 0.0660 0.0750 0.0490 0.0690 2.7270 2.7020 B 0.0660 0.0630 2.7190 0.0460 0.0500 0.0640 0.0630 0.0770 2.7920 0.0580 2.8670 2.8880 C 0.0700 2.8380 0.0520 0.0470 0.0540 0.0690 2.9260 2.7160 0.0570 0.0690 2.9500 2.7730 D 0.0680 0.0630 0.0560 0.0490 0.0520 0.0640 0.0650 0.7840 0.4480 0.0620 3.0010 2.9250 E 0.0750 0.0730 0.0630 0.0550 0.0630 0.0670 2.8550 0.0830 0.0580 1.9820 2.1250 2.8090 F 0.0680 0.0640 2.7090 0.0530 0.0580 0.0680 0.0750 2.5610 0.0610 0.3820 2.8150 2.8180 G 0.0820 0.0740 0.0660 1.7530 0.0700 0.0780 0.3980 0.0740 2.8920 1.8240 2.7910 2.7510 H 0.0730 0.0680 0.0620 0.0570 0.0610 0.0720 0.1710 1.9590 0.0610 2.7830 0.1800 2.8510 1 B cell/well 10 B cells/well 100 B cells/well TABLE 4 kinetic values and concentrations determined by Biacore for the B cell culture supernatants.", "Only supematants where one cell per well was sorted were measured.", "Capture Capture Approx- Fitted Chi2 level B cell level imate Concen- Ka Kd % SE % SE Rmax (% of medium B cell net capture tration Protein (1/Ms) (1/s) (ka) (kd) KD (M) (RU) Rmax) with IgGs medium level (ug/ml) 19-01-B3 1.54E+06 2.83E−03 0.29 0.20 1.8E−09 64.0566 0.30 772.65 554.36 218.30 0.273 19-01-C2 2.30E+09 3.23E+01 0.04 0.04 1.4E−08 99.0582 10.46 1069.06 546.00 523.06 1.576 19-01-F3 1.46E+06 2.31E−03 0.30 0.20 1.6E−09 77.848 0.37 803.86 537.13 266.72 0.347 19-01-G4 3.40E+06 4.45E−03 2.86 2.29 1.3E−09 4.43221 1.43 578.01 548.58 29.43 BQL 19-02-B4 8.18E+05 3.18E−03 0.22 0.15 3.9E−09 80.3549 0.22 822.67 539.30 283.37 0.397 19-02-D3 1.01E+06 2.95E−03 0.54 0.36 2.9E−09 23.7639 0.41 652.51 547.28 105.23 0.066 19-02-F2 2.61E+06 6.61E−04 1.53 0.59 2.5E−10 12.533 0.64 5214.04 514.43 9.61 BLQ BLQ: below limit of quantification EXAMPLE 5 Screening of Lymphocytes of Rabbits Immunized with CXCR2 (Sorts 27/29) Three rabbits were immunized with a CXCR2 expression vector.", "After several intradermal applications of CXCR2-cDNA, serum was taken and tested on CXCR2 transfected cells for presence of specific antibodies.", "Lymph node cells were then removed, frozen in five aliquots with each 1.6×107 cells and were stored in a liquid nitrogen tank.", "An aliquot was thawed and stained with antibodies specific for IgG (APC-labeled) or IgM (FITC labeled).", "In parallel, CXCR2-expressing CHO cells were treated with mitomycin C, in order to prevent further growth without killing the cells, and loaded with 1 ug/mL calcein-red.", "Both cell preparations were then mixed with a final cell concentration of 107 cells/ml, lymphocytes being twice as abundant as CXCR2-transfected CHO cells.", "After 2 hour incubation with gentle agitation at 4° C., cell suspension was filtered through a 50-um filter and loaded on the FACS.", "Gating was performed as described in FIG.", "6.One “event” (Memory B cells bound to a CXCR2-transfected CHO cell) was sorted per well in a total of 10×96-well plates (900 events in total).", "Sorted events represented 3.1% of the memory B cell population, respectively 0.035% of total cell amount in the sample.", "Selected lymphocytes were cultivated during 21 days in a 37° C. incubator.", "Every 2-3 days, 100 uL of culture supernatant were collected from the wells and replaced by fresh medium.", "During this culture time, B cells proliferated, differentiated into plasma cells and secreted antibodies.", "In order to visualize which supernatants contained CXCR2 specific antibodies, a CELISA was performed.", "For this, CHO cells expressing CXCR2 were seeded at a density of 50,000 cells/well in 96-well half area plates.", "After overnight incubation at 37° C., cells were fixed with 1% formaldehyde in PBS for 30 minutes at room temperature.", "Cell layers were then washed three times and non specific binding sites were blocked with cell culture medium during one hour at room temperature.", "Next, after three washing steps, the supernatants were diluted 1:1 in culture medium and added to the wells.", "In three control wells, a commercial rabbit anti-CXCR2 antibody was spiked in supernatant.", "Supernatants were incubated on the cell layers during one and a half hour at room temperature.", "Finally, rabbit IgGs were detected with a goat anti-rabbit IgG Fc antibody coupled to HRP.", "Upon addition of a peroxidase substrate (Blue POD substrate from Roche), a colorimetric reaction developed which was stopped after 25 minutes with 1M HCl.", "Absorbance was measured at 450 nm.", "This CELISA resulted in 1.8% of wells (16/900) displaying positive signals.", "All positives were confirmed in a second CELISA.", "Supernatants were also tested against other cell lines: CHO-K1 (wild type) to reveal eventual unspecific binding clones, CHO-human CXCR1 and CHO-mouse CXCR2 to demonstrate cross-activity against close-related receptor or species counterpart.", "Finally, supernatants were tested in a direct ELISA for binding to a peptide consisting of the 48 CXCR2 N-terminal amino acids.", "Results are displayed in Table 5.All selected supernatants produced strong OD450 signals against human CXCR2 in CELISA.", "Some of them were also slightly positive in the control experiment with the CHO wild type cells, meaning that they might bind in an unspecific way.", "None of the clones was cross-reactive with human CXCR1 or mouse CXCR2.Finally, some clones, but not all of them, bound to the CXCR2 N-terminal peptide, indicating a probable alternative binding site on CXCR2.Given the impossibility of immobilizing entire cells on a Biacore chip, it is currently impossible to quantitatively measure the affinity of selected antibodies for CXCR2 receptor.", "However, gathered data converge to indicate that antibodies specific to human CXCR2 were selected using the cell-cell interaction sorting system described above.", "TABLE 5 Summary of CELISA results from anti-CXCR2 clones isolated during sort 27 and 29 direct rabbit IgG CELISA against CXCR2 quantification CELISA CELISA ELISA Clone 1.Assay 2.Assay CHO wt.", "in ELISA CXCR1 mCXCR2 N-term number OD450 OD450 OD450 (ng/mL) (OD450) (OD450) (OD450) 27-01-E3 3.3576 3.384 0.199 13501.9 0.1111 0.2210 2.3224 27-01-D9 3.1769 3.652 0.084 431.6 0.1100 0.1081 2.1632 27-01-H9 3.2068 3.707 0.366 6439.8 0.3410 0.3180 0.0552 27-02-D3 2.1209 2.971 0.090 370.2 0.1190 0.1169 0.0507 27-03-H4 3.4092 3.490 0.373 904.3 0.4470 0.2562 2.7145 27-04-B3 2.7205 3.284 0.410 2896.1 0.4810 0.2724 0.0602 27-06-B5 0.4456 0.457 0.091 <5 ng/ml 0.1050 0.0980 0.05 27-06-A6 3.2461 3.507 0.423 1259 0.3640 0.2119 2.1627 27-07-B2 3.2434 3.390 0.140 455.9 0.1210 0.1216 2.4233 27-08-D5 3.1386 3.302 0.090 178.4 0.1060 0.0910 2.2873 27-08-G9 3.3705 3.302 0.100 427.6 0.1160 0.0881 2.4506 27-08-G11 3.2857 3.380 0.125 2755 0.1660 0.1389 0.2955 27-09-A1 0.9547 1.926 0.103 261.1 0.1180 0.0996 0.0383 27-09-D1 3.2530 3.503 0.094 1576.5 0.1210 0.1238 0.0504 27-09-A5 3.2953 3.501 0.482 4502 0.4970 0.2491 2.5863 27-10-C3 0.6464 1.522 0.092 35.5 0.1030 0.1080 0.0513 29-01-H10 3.3345 3.3405 0.1558 5238.5 0.1810 0.1644 2.5374 29-02-C4 3.1456 3.3931 0.1219 2406.9 0.1490 0.1513 2.5126 29-02-H8 3.4441 3.3891 0.1178 4645.7 0.1260 0.1287 2.4003 29-02-C10 3.1259 3.4947 0.1128 861.3 0.1220 0.1074 1.9841 29-03-G11 2.5987 3.0270 0.1181 420.1 0.1110 0.0828 0.0501 29-04-F11 3.0250 3.1871 0.2768 16071.6 0.3160 0.1999 2.6047 29-05-E11 3.5481 3.4769 0.1531 2857.3 0.1950 0.1081 2.2094 29-06-H3 3.4308 3.4005 0.1254 8741.7 0.1530 0.1489 2.6543 29-06-D10 3.3152 3.4020 0.1316 1522.1 0.1210 0.1101 2.4598 29-07-H4 3.3693 3.4622 0.8502 16580.3 1.5030 0.7195 2.4458 29-08-E1 3.7283 3.4990 1.0667 10562.2 1.4780 0.5225 2.3015 29-08-G10 2.8429 2.5070 0.1107 40.4 0.1110 0.0955 1.8621 29-09-C4 1.1362 0.8767 0.1054 <5 ng/ml 0.1090 0.0900 0.3539 Equivalents Numerous modifications and alternative embodiments of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art in view of the foregoing description.", "Accordingly, this description is to be construed as illustrative only and is for the purpose of teaching those skilled in the art the best mode for carrying out the present invention.", "Details of the structure may vary substantially without departing from the spirit of the invention, and exclusive use of all modifications that come within the scope of the appended claims is reserved.", "It is intended that the present invention be limited only to the extent required by the appended claims and the applicable rules of law.", "All literature and similar material cited in this application, including, patents, patent applications, articles, books, treatises, dissertations, web pages, figures and/or appendices, regardless of the format of such literature and similar materials, are expressly incorporated by reference in their entirety.", "In the event that one or more of the incorporated literature and similar materials differs from or contradicts this application, including defined terms, term usage, described techniques, or the like, this application controls." ] ]
Patent_15873022
[ [ "MONITORING ERROR CORRECTION OPERATIONS PERFORMED IN MEMORY", "The present disclosure includes apparatuses and methods for monitoring error correction operations performed in memory.", "A number of embodiments include a memory and circuitry configured to determine a quantity of erroneous data corrected during an error correction operation performed on soft data associated with a sensed data state of a number of memory cells of the memory, determine a quality of soft information associated with the erroneous data corrected during the error correction operation performed on the soft data, and determine whether to take a corrective action on the sensed data based on the quantity of the erroneous data corrected during the error correction operation and the quality of the soft information associated with the erroneous data corrected during the error correction operation." ], [ "1-20.", "(canceled) 21.An apparatus, comprising: a memory; and circuitry configured to: determine a bit error rate associated with an error correction operation performed on sensed data states of a number of memory cells of the memory and soft data associated with the sensed data states; determine a high reliability error rate associated with the error correction operation; and determine whether to take a corrective action on the sensed data states by plotting the bit error rate and the high reliability error rate in a two-dimensional bit error rate versus high reliability error rate space.", "22.The apparatus of claim 21, wherein plotting the bit error rate and the high reliability error rate in the two-dimensional bit error rate versus high reliability error rate space includes plotting a data point corresponding to the bit error rate and the high reliability error rate in the two-dimensional bit error rate versus high reliability error rate space.", "23.The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the two-dimensional bit error rate versus high reliability error rate space includes a curve corresponding to a correction limit of the error correction operation.", "24.The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the two-dimensional bit error rate versus high reliability error rate space includes a number of additional curves, wherein each respective curve corresponds to a different margin amount associated with the curve that corresponds to the correction limit of the error correction operation.", "25.The apparatus of claim 24, wherein the number of additional curves comprises three additional curves.", "26.The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the error correction operation is a successful error correction operation.", "27.A method for operating memory, comprising: determining a bit error rate associated with an error correction operation performed on sensed data states of a number of memory cells and soft data associated with the sensed data states; determining a high reliability error rate associated with the error correction operation; and determining whether to take a corrective action on the sensed data states based on a location of a data point corresponding to the bit error rate and the high reliability error rate in a two-dimensional bit error rate versus high reliability error rate space.", "28.The method of claim 27, wherein: the two-dimensional bit error rate versus high reliability error rate space includes a curve corresponding to a correction limit of the error correction operation; and the method includes determining whether to take the corrective action based on the location of the data point relative to the curve in the two-dimensional bit error rate versus high reliability error rate space.", "29.The method of claim 28, wherein the method includes determining whether to take the corrective action based on whether the location of the data point is on a first side of the curve or a second side of the curve in the two-dimensional bit error rate versus high reliability error rate space.", "30.The method of claim 28, wherein: the two-dimensional bit error rate versus high reliability error rate space includes a number of additional curves, wherein each respective additional curve corresponds to a different margin amount associated with the curve that corresponds to the correction limit of the error correction operation; and the method includes determining whether to take the corrective action based on the location of the data point relative to the number of additional curves in the two-dimensional bit error rate versus high reliability error rate space.", "31.The method of claim 30, wherein: the curve and the number of additional curves split the two-dimensional bit error rate versus high reliability error rate space into a number of regions; and the method includes determining whether to take the corrective action based on which of the number of regions the location of the data point is in.", "32.The method of claim 31, wherein each respective region corresponds to a different probability that the error correction operation performed on the soft data will fail.", "33.The method of claim 27, wherein the method includes: determining the bit error rate using a controller; determining the high reliability error rate using the controller; and determining whether to take the corrective action using the controller.", "34.The method of claim 33, wherein the error correction operation is performed by an error correction component of the controller.", "35.An apparatus, comprising: a memory; and circuitry configured to: sense a data state of a number of memory cells of the memory and soft data associated with the sensed data states; perform an error correction operation on the sensed data states and soft data; determine a bit error rate associated with the error correction operation; determine a high reliability error rate associated with the error correction operation; and determine whether to take a corrective action on the sensed data states by plotting the bit error rate and the high reliability error rate in a two-dimensional bit error rate versus high reliability error rate space.", "36.The apparatus of claim 35, wherein the circuitry is configured to: take the corrective action if a location of the bit error rate and the high reliability error rate in the two-dimensional bit error rate versus high reliability error rate space is on a first side of a curve in the two-dimensional space corresponding to a correction limit of the error correction operation; and not take the corrective action if the location of the bit error rate and the high reliability error rate in the two-dimensional bit error rate versus high reliability error rate space is on a second side of the curve in the two-dimensional space.", "37.The apparatus of claim 36, wherein the circuitry is configured to generate the curve based on previous error correction operations performed on previously sensed data states of the number of memory cells and soft data associated with the previously sensed data states.", "38.The apparatus of claim 36, wherein the curve is a pre-generated curve.", "39.The apparatus of claim 36, wherein the curve extends downward from a line in the two-dimensional bit error rate versus high reliability error rate space where bit error rate and high reliability error rate are equal.", "40.The apparatus of claim 35, wherein the two-dimensional bit error rate versus high reliability error rate space comprises a log-log scale graph having bit error rate on an x-axis of the graph and high reliability error rate on a y-axis of the graph." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND <EOH>Memory devices are typically provided as internal, semiconductor, integrated circuits and/or external removable devices in computers or other electronic devices.", "There are many different types of memory including volatile and non-volatile memory.", "Volatile memory can require power to maintain its data and can include random-access memory (RAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), and synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), among others.", "Non-volatile memory can retain stored data when not powered and can include NAND flash memory, NOR flash memory, phase change random access memory (PCRAM), resistive random access memory (RRAM), and magnetic random access memory (MRAM), among others.", "Memory devices can be combined together to form a solid state drive (SSD).", "An SSD can include non-volatile memory (e.g., NAND flash memory and/or NOR flash memory), and/or can include volatile memory (e.g., DRAM and/or SRAM), among various other types of non-volatile and volatile memory.", "Flash memory devices can include memory cells storing data in a charge storage structure such as a floating gate, for instance, and may be utilized as non-volatile memory for a wide range of electronic applications.", "Flash memory devices typically use a one-transistor memory cell that allows for high memory densities, high reliability, and low power consumption.", "Memory cells in an array architecture can be programmed to a target (e.g., desired) state.", "For instance, electric charge can be placed on or removed from the charge storage structure (e.g., floating gate) of a memory cell to program the cell to a particular data state.", "The stored charge on the charge storage structure of the memory cell can indicate a threshold voltage (Vt) of the cell.", "For example, a single level cell (SLC) can be programmed to a targeted one of two different data states, which can be represented by the binary units 1 or 0.Some flash memory cells can be programmed to a targeted one of more than two data states (e.g., 1111, 0111, 0011, 1011, 1001, 0001, 0101, 1101, 1100, 0100, 0000, 1000, 1010, 0010, 0110, and 1110).", "Such cells may be referred to as multi state memory cells, multiunit cells, or multilevel cells (MLCs).", "MLCs can provide higher density memories without increasing the number of memory cells since each cell can represent more than one digit (e.g., more than one bit).", "A state of a flash memory cell can be determined by sensing the stored charge on the charge storage structure (e.g., the Vt) of the cell.", "However, a number of mechanisms, such as read disturb, program disturb, cell-to-cell interference, and/or charge loss (e.g., charge leakage), for example, can cause the Vt of the memory cell to change.", "As a result of the change in the Vt, an error may occur when the state of the cell is sensed.", "For example, the cell may be sensed to be in a state other than the target state (e.g., a state different than the state to which the cell was programmed).", "Such errors may or may not be correctable by error correction code (ECC) schemes such as, for example, a low-density parity-check (LDPC) ECC scheme, which may utilize soft data associated with the data state of the cell to correct the error.", "However, errors may also occur in soft data values (e.g., bits), and these errors also may or may not be correctable by an ECC scheme." ], [ "<SOH> BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS <EOH>FIG.", "1 illustrates a schematic diagram of a portion of a memory array in accordance with a number of embodiments of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "2 illustrates a diagram of a number of threshold voltage distributions, sensing voltages, and data assignments associated with a sensing operation in accordance with a number of embodiments of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "3 is a functional block diagram of a computing system including an apparatus in the form of a memory device in accordance with a number of embodiments of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "4 illustrates an example of a two-dimensional bit error rate versus high reliability error rate space in accordance with a number of embodiments of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "5 illustrates a method for operating memory in accordance with a number of embodiments of the present disclosure.", "detailed-description description=\"Detailed Description\" end=\"lead\"?" ], [ "PRIORITY INFORMATION This application is a Continuation of U.S. application Ser.", "No.", "15/099,675 filed Apr.", "15, 2016, the specification of which is incorporated herein by reference.", "TECHNICAL FIELD The present disclosure relates generally to semiconductor memory and methods, and more particularly, to monitoring error correction operations performed in memory.", "BACKGROUND Memory devices are typically provided as internal, semiconductor, integrated circuits and/or external removable devices in computers or other electronic devices.", "There are many different types of memory including volatile and non-volatile memory.", "Volatile memory can require power to maintain its data and can include random-access memory (RAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), and synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), among others.", "Non-volatile memory can retain stored data when not powered and can include NAND flash memory, NOR flash memory, phase change random access memory (PCRAM), resistive random access memory (RRAM), and magnetic random access memory (MRAM), among others.", "Memory devices can be combined together to form a solid state drive (SSD).", "An SSD can include non-volatile memory (e.g., NAND flash memory and/or NOR flash memory), and/or can include volatile memory (e.g., DRAM and/or SRAM), among various other types of non-volatile and volatile memory.", "Flash memory devices can include memory cells storing data in a charge storage structure such as a floating gate, for instance, and may be utilized as non-volatile memory for a wide range of electronic applications.", "Flash memory devices typically use a one-transistor memory cell that allows for high memory densities, high reliability, and low power consumption.", "Memory cells in an array architecture can be programmed to a target (e.g., desired) state.", "For instance, electric charge can be placed on or removed from the charge storage structure (e.g., floating gate) of a memory cell to program the cell to a particular data state.", "The stored charge on the charge storage structure of the memory cell can indicate a threshold voltage (Vt) of the cell.", "For example, a single level cell (SLC) can be programmed to a targeted one of two different data states, which can be represented by the binary units 1 or 0.Some flash memory cells can be programmed to a targeted one of more than two data states (e.g., 1111, 0111, 0011, 1011, 1001, 0001, 0101, 1101, 1100, 0100, 0000, 1000, 1010, 0010, 0110, and 1110).", "Such cells may be referred to as multi state memory cells, multiunit cells, or multilevel cells (MLCs).", "MLCs can provide higher density memories without increasing the number of memory cells since each cell can represent more than one digit (e.g., more than one bit).", "A state of a flash memory cell can be determined by sensing the stored charge on the charge storage structure (e.g., the Vt) of the cell.", "However, a number of mechanisms, such as read disturb, program disturb, cell-to-cell interference, and/or charge loss (e.g., charge leakage), for example, can cause the Vt of the memory cell to change.", "As a result of the change in the Vt, an error may occur when the state of the cell is sensed.", "For example, the cell may be sensed to be in a state other than the target state (e.g., a state different than the state to which the cell was programmed).", "Such errors may or may not be correctable by error correction code (ECC) schemes such as, for example, a low-density parity-check (LDPC) ECC scheme, which may utilize soft data associated with the data state of the cell to correct the error.", "However, errors may also occur in soft data values (e.g., bits), and these errors also may or may not be correctable by an ECC scheme.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG.", "1 illustrates a schematic diagram of a portion of a memory array in accordance with a number of embodiments of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "2 illustrates a diagram of a number of threshold voltage distributions, sensing voltages, and data assignments associated with a sensing operation in accordance with a number of embodiments of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "3 is a functional block diagram of a computing system including an apparatus in the form of a memory device in accordance with a number of embodiments of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "4 illustrates an example of a two-dimensional bit error rate versus high reliability error rate space in accordance with a number of embodiments of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "5 illustrates a method for operating memory in accordance with a number of embodiments of the present disclosure.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION The present disclosure includes apparatuses and methods for monitoring error correction operations performed in memory.", "A number of embodiments include a memory and circuitry configured to determine a quantity of erroneous data corrected during an error correction operation performed on soft data associated with a sensed data state of a number of memory cells of the memory, determine a quality of soft information associated with the erroneous data corrected during the error correction operation performed on the soft data, and determine whether to take a corrective action on the sensed data based on the quantity of the erroneous data corrected during the error correction operation and the quality of the soft information associated with the erroneous data corrected during the error correction operation.", "Hard data can refer to a binary data value stored in one or more memory cells and provided to a host responsive to a sense operation, for example.", "In various instances, soft data associated with the sensed data state (e.g., with the hard data) of the memory cell can also be determined.", "The soft data can, for example, indicate the quality and/or confidence of the hard data, including, for instance, information regarding the probability of the cell storing the read hard data or of the cell storing different data.", "Such quality and/or confidence information can be referred to herein as soft information.", "Accordingly, soft data can provide benefits such as increased error correction capability for the error correction code, which can translate into increased memory life, among other benefits.", "Error correction operations, such as, for instance, error correction operations that utilize a low-density parity-check (LDPC) error correction code (ECC) scheme, can be used to detect and correct errors with both hard or soft data.", "Such error correction operations, however, may have limited correction capabilities.", "For instance, such error correction operations may only be capable of correcting a particular (e.g., maximum) number of errors that may occur in the data.", "If this correction limit is reached, (e.g., if the data has more errors than the error correction operation is capable of correcting), the error correction operation may fail, and other actions may need to be taken to recover the data.", "Error correction operations can be monitored to determine whether the operations are approaching their correction limit, and, if so, appropriate corrective actions can be taken to prevent a failure of the error correction operations from occurring.", "For example, in the case of hard data, the performance of the error correction operation may depend solely on the quantity of erroneous data corrected during the operation.", "For instance, in the case of hard data, whether the error correction fails may depend solely on whether the bit error rate associated with the error correction operation meets or exceeds a particular threshold.", "As such, error correction operations performed on hard data can be effectively monitored based solely on the quantity of erroneous data (e.g., the bit error rate) associated therewith.", "In the case of soft data, however, the performance of the error correction operations may depend on more than just the quantity of erroneous data.", "For example, in some instances, a particular quantity of erroneous soft data may result in an error correction operation failure, while in other instances that quantity of erroneous data may not result in an error correction operation failure.", "Accordingly, more than just the quantity of erroneous data (e.g., more than just the bit error rate) may be needed to effectively monitor error correction operations performed on soft data and determine whether corrective actions on the sensed data need to be taken.", "Embodiments of the present disclosure can use more than just the quantity of erroneous data corrected during error correction operations performed on soft data to monitor such error correction operations and determine whether to take corrective actions.", "For example, embodiments of the present disclosure can use the quality of soft data, in conjunction with the quantity of the erroneous data corrected during error correction operations performed on the soft data to monitor the error correction operations and determine whether to take corrective actions.", "For instance, embodiments of the present disclosure can use the high reliability error rate, which will be further defined and described herein, in conjunction with the bit error rate, associated with error correction operations performed on soft data to monitor the operations and determine whether to take corrective actions on the data that has been sensed (e.g., read) from the memory.", "Accordingly, embodiments of the present disclosure can effectively monitor error correction operations performed on soft data as well as hard data.", "As used herein, “a number of” something can refer to one or more such things.", "For example, a number of memory cells can refer to one or more memory cells.", "Additionally, the designators “N” and “M”, as used herein, particularly with respect to reference numerals in the drawings, indicates that a number of the particular feature so designated can be included with a number of embodiments of the present disclosure.", "The figures herein follow a numbering convention in which the first digit or digits correspond to the drawing figure number and the remaining digits identify an element or component in the drawing.", "Similar elements or components between different figures may be identified by the use of similar digits.", "FIG.", "1 illustrates a schematic diagram of a portion of a memory array 100 in accordance with a number of embodiments of the present disclosure.", "The embodiment of FIG.", "1 illustrates a NAND architecture non-volatile memory array.", "However, embodiments described herein are not limited to this example.", "As shown in FIG.", "1, memory array 100 includes access lines (e.g., word lines 105-1, .", ".", ".", ", 105-N) and data lines (e.g., bit lines) 107-1, 107-2, 107-3, .", ".", ".", ", 107-M. For ease of addressing in the digital environment, the number of word lines 105-1, .", ".", ".", ", 105-N and the number of bit lines 107-1, 107-2, 107-3, .", ".", ".", ", 107-M can be some power of two (e.g., 256 word lines by 4,096 bit lines).", "Memory array 100 includes NAND strings 109-1, 109-2, 109-3, .", ".", ".", ", 109-M. Each NAND string includes non-volatile memory cells 111-1, .", ".", ".", ", 111-N, each communicatively coupled to a respective word line 105-1, .", ".", ".", ", 105-N. Each NAND string (and its constituent memory cells) is also associated with a bit line 107-1, 107-2, 107-3, .", ".", ".", ", 107-M.", "The non-volatile memory cells 111-1, .", ".", ".", ", 111-N of each NAND string 109-1, 109-2, 109-3, .", ".", ".", ", 109-M are connected in series between a source select gate (SGS) (e.g., a field-effect transistor (FET)) 113, and a drain select gate (SGD) (e.g., FET) 119.Each source select gate 113 is configured to selectively couple a respective NAND string to a common source 123 responsive to a signal on source select line 117, while each drain select gate 119 is configured to selectively couple a respective NAND string to a respective bit line responsive to a signal on drain select line 115.As shown in the embodiment illustrated in FIG.", "1, a source of source select gate 113 is connected to a common source 123.The drain of source select gate 113 is connected to memory cell 111-1 of the corresponding NAND string 109-1.The drain of drain select gate 119 is connected to bit line 107-1 of the corresponding NAND string 109-1 at drain contact 121-1.The source of drain select gate 119 is connected to memory cell 111-N (e.g., a floating-gate transistor) of the corresponding NAND string 109-1.In a number of embodiments, construction of non-volatile memory cells 111-1, .", ".", ".", ", 111-N includes a charge storage structure such as a floating gate, and a control gate.", "Non-volatile memory cells 111-1, .", ".", ".", ", 111-N have their control gates coupled to a word line, 105-1, .", ".", ".", ", 105-N respectively.", "A “column” of the non-volatile memory cells, 111-1, .", ".", ".", ", 111-N, make up the NAND strings 109-1, 109-2, 109-3, .", ".", ".", ", 109-M, and are coupled to a given bit line 107-1, 107-2, 107-3, .", ".", ".", ", 107-M, respectively.", "A “row” of the non-volatile memory cells are those memory cells commonly coupled to a given word line 105-1, .", ".", ".", ", 105-N.", "The use of the terms “column” and “row” is not meant to imply a particular linear (e.g., vertical and/or horizontal) orientation of the non-volatile memory cells.", "A NOR array architecture would be similarly laid out, except that the string of memory cells would be coupled in parallel between the select gates.", "Subsets of cells coupled to a selected word line (e.g., 105-1, .", ".", ".", ", 105-N) can be programmed and/or sensed (e.g., read) together (e.g., at the same time).", "A program operation (e.g., a write operation) can include applying a number of program pulses (e.g., 16V-20V) to a selected word line in order to increase the threshold voltage (Vt) of selected cells coupled to that selected access line to a desired program voltage level corresponding to a target (e.g., desired) data state.", "A sense operation, such as a read or program verify operation, can include sensing a voltage and/or current change of a bit line coupled to a selected cell in order to determine the data state (e.g., hard data value) of the selected cell.", "A sense operation can also be used to determine soft data associated with the data state of the selected cell, as will be further described herein.", "A sense operation can include providing a voltage to (e.g., biasing) a bit line (e.g., bit line 107-1) associated with a selected memory cell above a voltage (e.g., bias voltage) provided to a source (e.g., source 123) associated with the selected memory cell.", "A sense operation could alternatively include precharging the bit line followed with discharge when a selected cell begins to conduct, and sensing the discharge.", "Sensing the state of a selected cell can include providing a number of stepped sensing signals (e.g., stepped sensing signals that include different read voltage levels) to a selected word line while providing a number of pass signals (e.g., read pass voltages) to the word lines coupled to the unselected cells of the string sufficient to place the unselected cells in a conducting state independent of the Vt of the unselected cells.", "The bit line corresponding to the selected cell being read and/or verified can be sensed to determine whether or not the selected cell conducts in response to the particular sensing voltage applied to the selected word line.", "For example, the data state of the selected cell can be determined based on the current of the bit line corresponding to the selected cell.", "When the selected cell is in a conductive state, current flows between the source contact at one end of the string and a bit line contact at the other end of the string.", "As such, the current associated with sensing the selected cell is carried through each of the other cells in the string and the select transistors.", "FIG.", "2 illustrates a diagram 201 of a number of threshold voltage (Vt) distributions, sensing voltages, and data (e.g., hard and soft data) assignments associated with a sensing operation in accordance with a number of embodiments of the present disclosure.", "The two Vt distributions 225-1 and 225-2 shown in FIG.", "2 can correspond to two-bit (e.g., four-state) multilevel memory cells.", "As such, although not shown in FIG.", "2, a two-bit memory cell would include two additional Vt distributions (e.g., one corresponding to each of the four data states).", "In this example, only the Vt distributions corresponding to data states L1 and L2 are shown.", "Further, embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to two-bit multilevel memory cells.", "For example, embodiments of the present disclosure can include single level cells and/or other multilevel cells such as, for instance, triple level cells (TLCs) or quadruple level cells (QLCs).", "As shown in FIG.", "2, Vt distributions 225-1 and 225-2 represent two target data states (e.g., L1 and L2, respectively, of a four level system where R3 corresponds to the hard read position for the lower page and R1, R2, R4, and R5 correspond to sot read positions for the lower page) to which the memory cells can be programmed.", "In this example, data state L1 corresponds to data “01” and data state L2 corresponds to data “00”.", "Embodiments of the present disclosure, however, are not limited to these particular data assignments.", "Further, although not shown in FIG.", "2 for simplicity, diagram 201 could also include the two additional Vt distributions corresponding to the other two data states (e.g., L0 and L3), and the data corresponding to those data states (e.g., “11” and “10”).", "Vt distributions 225-1 and 225-2 can represent a number of memory cells that are programmed to the corresponding target states (e.g., L1 and L2, respectively), with the height of a Vt distribution curve indicating a number of cells programmed to a particular voltage within the Vt distribution (e.g., on average).", "The width of the Vt distribution curve indicates the range of voltages that represent a particular target state (e.g., the width of the Vt distribution curve 225-2 for L2 represents the range of voltages that correspond to a hard data value of 00).", "During a sense (e.g., read) operation, a sensing (e.g., read) voltage located between Vt distributions 225-1 and 225-2 can be used to distinguish between states L1 and L2.In a read operation performed on a selected memory cell in a NAND string, the unselected memory cells of the string can be biased with a pass voltage so as to be in a conducting state.", "When all cells in a string are in a conductive state, current can flow between the source contact at one end of the string and a drain line contact at the other end of the string.", "As such, the data state of the selected cell can be determined based on the current sensed on a bit line corresponding to a particular string when the selected cell begins to conduct (e.g., in response to the particular read voltage applied to the control gate of the cell via a selected word line).", "Each data state (e.g., L1, and L2) of the memory cells can have soft data associated therewith.", "For instance, the Vt distribution (e.g., 225-1 or 225-2) associated with each data state can have soft data values (e.g., bits) assigned thereto.", "In the example illustrated in FIG.", "2, two bits are used to provide soft data associated with the data states.", "The soft data can be sensed using a plurality of sensing voltages, such as, for instance, reference voltages R1 to R5 illustrated in FIG.", "2.The soft data (e.g., the soft data values) associated with a data state of a memory cell can indicate the quality and/or confidence of the data state, which can be referred to herein as soft information (e.g., soft information can refer to the quality and/or confidence information indicated by the soft data).", "For example, soft data associated with a data state of a memory cell can indicate a location of the Vt associated with the memory cell within the Vt distribution associated with the data state of the memory cell.", "For example, in the embodiment illustrated in FIG.", "2, soft data 00 associated with data state L2 indicates that the Vt of the memory cell is located at a voltage greater than reference voltage R5 within Vt distribution 225-2 (e.g., that the Vt of the memory cell is located toward the middle of Vt distribution 225-2), and soft data 00 associated with data state L1 indicates that the Vt of the memory cell is located at a voltage less than reference voltage R1 within Vt distribution 225-1 (e.g., that the Vt of the memory cell is located toward the middle of Vt distribution 225-1).", "Additionally, soft data 10 associated with data state L2 indicates that the Vt of the memory cell is located at a voltage between reference voltages R4 and R5 within Vt distribution 225-2, and soft data 10 associated with data state L1 indicates that the Vt of the memory cell is located at a voltage between reference voltages R1 and R2 (e.g., soft data 10 indicates that the Vt of the memory cell is located closer toward the edge of the Vt distribution than soft data 00).", "Further, soft data 11 associated with data state L2 indicates that the Vt of the memory cell is located at a voltage between reference voltages R3 and R4, and soft data 11 associated with data state L1 indicates that the Vt of the memory cell is located at a voltage between reference voltages R2 and R3.As such, soft data 11 may indicate a lower confidence that the hard data matches the target state to which the cell was originally programmed.", "Soft data (e.g., the soft data values) associated with a data state of a memory cell can also indicate a probability of whether the Vt associated with the memory cell corresponds to the data state of the memory cell.", "For example, in the embodiment illustrated in FIG.", "2, soft data 00 associated with the data state L2 indicates a strong probability that the Vt of the memory cell corresponds to data state L2, soft data 10 associated with the data state L2 indicates a moderate probability (e.g., a probability that is less than the strong probability) that the Vt of the memory cell corresponds to data state L2, and soft data 11 associated with data state L2 indicates a weak probability (e.g., a probability that is less than the moderate probability) that the Vt of the memory cell corresponds to data state L2.Additionally, soft data 00 associated with the data state L1 indicates a strong probability that the Vt of the memory cell corresponds to data state L1, soft data 10 associated with data state L1 indicates a moderate probability that the Vt of the memory cell corresponds to data state L1, and soft data 11 associated with data state L1 indicates a weak probability that the Vt of the memory cell corresponds to data state L1.Embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to the reference voltages and/or soft data assignments shown in FIG.", "2.For example, a greater number of soft data assignments can be used to indicate a more precise Vt location within a Vt distribution and/or a more precise probability of whether a Vt corresponds to a data state.", "However, for simplicity and so as not to obscure embodiments of the present disclosure, five reference voltages and six soft data values (e.g., six different soft data possibilities-three for data state L1 and three for data state L2) representing six different hard data quality and/or confidence levels have been illustrated in FIG.", "2.FIG.", "3 is a functional block diagram of a computing system 302 including an apparatus in the form of a memory device 334 in accordance with a number of embodiments of the present disclosure.", "As used herein, an “apparatus” can refer to, but is not limited to, any of a variety of structures or combinations of structures, such as a circuit or circuitry, a die or dice, a module or modules, a device or devices, or a system or systems, for example.", "Memory device 334 can be, for example, a solid state drive (SSD).", "In the embodiment illustrated in FIG.", "3, memory device 334 includes a physical host interface 336, a number of memories 340-1, 340-2, .", ".", ".", ", 340-N (e.g., solid state memory devices), and a controller 338 (e.g., an SSD controller) coupled to physical host interface 336 and memories 340-1, 340-2, .", ".", ".", ", 340-N. Memories 340-1, 340-2, .", ".", ".", ", 340-N can include, for example, a number of non-volatile memory arrays (e.g., arrays of non-volatile memory cells).", "For instance, memories 340-1, 340-2, .", ".", ".", ", 340-N can include a number of memory arrays analogous to memory array 100 previously described in connection with FIG.", "1.Physical host interface 336 can be used to communicate information between memory device 334 and another device such as a host 332.Host 332 can include a memory access device (e.g., a processor).", "One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that “a processor” can intend a number of processors, such as a parallel processing system, a number of coprocessors, etc.", "Example hosts can include personal laptop computers, desktop computers, digital cameras, digital recording and playback devices, mobile phones such as smart phones, PDAs, memory card readers, interface hubs, and the like.", "Physical host interface 336 can be in the form of a standardized physical interface.", "For example, when memory device 334 is used for information storage in computing system 302, physical host interface 336 can be a serial advanced technology attachment (SATA) physical interface, a peripheral component interconnect express (PCIe) physical interface, or a universal serial bus (USB) physical interface, among other physical connectors and/or interfaces.", "In general, however, physical host interface 336 can provide an interface for passing control, address, information (e.g., data), and other signals between memory device 334 and a host (e.g., host 332) having compatible receptors for physical host interface 206.Controller 338 can include, for example, control circuitry and/or logic (e.g., hardware and firmware).", "For instance, controller 338 can include error correction component 342, as illustrated in FIG.", "3.Error correction component 342 can perform error correction operations to correct errors that may occur when the data state of the memory cells of memories 340-1, 340-2, .", ".", ".", ", 340-N are sensed, including, for instance, errors in the sensed data states and/or error in the soft data associated with the sensed data states.", "For example, error correction component 342 can be a low-density parity-check (LDPC) ECC component that can utilize an LDPC ECC scheme to correct the errors.", "Controller 338 can also communicate with memories 340-1, 340-2, .", ".", ".", ", 340-N to sense (e.g., read), program (e.g., write), and/or erase information, among other operations.", "Controller 338 can have circuitry that may be a number of integrated circuits and/or discrete components.", "Controller 338 can be included on the same physical device (e.g., the same die) as memories 340-1, 340-2, .", ".", ".", ", 340-N. For example, controller 338 can be an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) coupled to a printed circuit board including physical host interface 336 and memories 340-1, 340-2, .", ".", ".", ", 340-N. Alternatively, controller 338 can be included on a separate physical device that is communicatively coupled to the physical device that includes memories 340-1, 340-2, .", ".", ".", ", 340-N.", "In a number of embodiments, components of controller 338 can be spread across multiple physical devices (e.g., some components on the same die as the memory, and some components on a different die, module, or board) as a distributed controller.", "Controller 338 can monitor error correction operations performed by error correction component 342.For example, controller 338 can monitor the performance of error correction operations performed on soft data by error correction component 342 to determine whether the operations are approaching their correction limit, and, if so, take appropriate corrective actions to prevent a failure of the future error correction operations from occurring.", "For example, controller 338 can determine a quantity of erroneous soft data corrected during an error correction operation performed by error correction component 342 on soft data associated with a sensed data state of the memory cells of memories 340-1, 340-2, .", ".", ".", ", 340-N.", "The quantity of erroneous soft data can correspond to, for example, the quantity of erroneous soft data bits corrected (e.g., flipped) during the error correction operation, which can be used by controller 338 to determine the bit error rate associated with the error correction operation.", "For instance, a bit error rate, as used herein, can refer to the quantity of erroneous bits corresponding to an amount of erroneous data sensed from a memory during a sense operation divided by the total amount of data (e.g., total amount of hard data) sensed during the sense operation (e.g., the sample size).", "As such, controller 338 can determine the bit error rate associated with the error correction operation performed on the soft data by dividing the quantity of erroneous bits corrected during the error correction operation by the total quantity of soft data.", "As an example, in an embodiment in which error correction component 342 is an LDPC ECC component that utilizes an LDPC ECC scheme to perform the error correction operation, if error correction component 342 flips 100 bits out of a 10,000 bit codeword, the bit error rate associated with the error correction operation would be 0.01.The performance of error correction operations performed on soft data, however, may depend on more than just the quantity of erroneous soft data corrected during the error correction operation, as previously described herein.", "For example, the performance of error correction operations performed on soft data (e.g., whether the operations may fail) may also depend on the quality of the soft information associated with (e.g., indicated by) the erroneous soft data.", "As such, controller 338 may also determine the quality of the soft information associated with the erroneous soft data corrected during the error correction operation performed by error correction component 342 on the soft data.", "The quality of the soft information associated with the corrected erroneous soft data can correspond to, for example, the high reliability error rate associated with the error correction operation.", "The high reliability error rate associated with the error correction operation can refer to the quantity of the soft data errors (e.g., erroneous bits) corrected during the error correction operation that are high reliability errors divided by the total amount of soft data sensed during the sense operation (e.g., the sample size).", "For example, referring to FIG.", "2, high reliability errors may correspond to the portion of the left tail of Vt distribution 225-2 (e.g., data state L2) that is less than reference voltage R1, and the portion of the right tail of Vt distribution 225-1 (e.g., data state L1) that is greater than reference voltage R5.Both cases of this example result in erroneous bits that are assigned soft data 00, which indicates high reliability.", "As such, controller 338 can determine the high reliability error rate by determining how many of the erroneous soft data bits corrected during the error correction operation are high reliability errors, and dividing that quantity by the total quantity of soft data.", "To continue the previous example, if controller 338 determines that 20 of the 100 erroneous bits flipped by error correction component 342 are high reliability errors, the high reliability error rate associated with the error correction operation would be 0.002.Whether a soft data error is a high reliability error, and hence the quality of the soft information associated with erroneous soft data, can correspond to the quality and/or confidence information (e.g., level) associated with the sensed data state of the memory cell that is indicated by that soft data.", "For example, whether a soft data error is a high reliability error, and hence the quality of the soft information associated with the erroneous soft data, can correspond to the threshold voltage location that is indicated by that soft data.", "For instance, a soft data error can be classified as a high reliability error if that soft data indicates that the threshold voltage associated with that memory cell is located at a voltage that is greater than the highest sensing voltage that may be used to sense the soft data (e.g., greater than reference voltage R5 for data state L1 illustrated in FIG.", "2), or if that soft data indicates that the threshold voltage associated with that memory cell is located at a voltage that is less than the lowest sensing voltage that may be used to sense the soft data (e.g., less than reference voltage R1 for data state L2 illustrated in FIG.", "2).", "Hence, referring to the example illustrated in FIG.", "2, an error in soft data 00 associated with data state L1 or L2 would be a high reliability error, while an error in soft data 10 or 11 associated with data state L1 or L2 would not be a high reliability error.", "As an additional example, a high reliability error can be defined as a bit that is in error and has a Vt that is a particular voltage amount (e.g., millivolts) away from the voltage used to sense the data state of the memory cell (e.g., reference voltage R3 illustrated in FIG.", "2).", "As an additional example, whether a soft data error is a high reliability error, and hence the quality of the soft data associated with the erroneous soft data, can correspond to the probability that is indicated by that soft data.", "For instance, a soft data error can be classified as a high reliability error if that soft data indicates that the threshold voltage associated with that memory cell has the strongest probability of corresponding to the data state of that cell.", "Hence, referring again to the example illustrated in FIG.", "2, an error in soft data 00 associated with data state L1 or L2 would again be a high reliability error, as that soft data indicates the strongest probability (e.g., stronger than the probability indicated by soft data 10 and 11) the threshold voltage corresponds to that data state.", "Controller 338 can then determine whether to take a corrective action on the sensed data (e.g., whether the operation is approaching its correction limit and may fail) based on both the quantity and quality of the erroneous soft data corrected during the error correction operation.", "For example, controller 338 can determine whether to take the corrective action based on both the bit error rate and the high reliability error rate associated with the error correction operation.", "The corrective action can be, for example, a relocation of the sensed (e.g., read) data to a different location in memories 340-1, 340-2, .", ".", ".", ", 340-N. For instance, the data can be programmed to and/or stored in a different page, block, or die of memories 340-1, 340-2, .", ".", ".", ", 340-N. As an example, controller 338 can plot a data point corresponding to the bit error rate and the high reliability error rate in a two-dimensional bit error rate versus high reliability error rate space, and determine whether to take the corrective action based on the location of the data point in the space.", "For instance, the two-dimensional bit error rate versus high reliability error rate space can include a curve corresponding to the correction limit of the error correction operation performed on the soft data (e.g., the limit of the correction capabilities of error correction component 342), and controller 338 can determine whether to take the corrective action based on the location of the data point relative to the curve (e.g., based on which side of the curve the data point is on) in the space.", "For example, controller 338 may take the corrective action if the data point is located on a first side of the curve, and may not take the corrective action if the data point is located on a second side of the curve.", "The curve can be a pre-generated curve provided to controller 338, or the curve can be generated by controller 338 during operation of memory device 334 (e.g.", "on the fly) based on the results of previous error correction operations performed on soft data by error correction component 342.As an additional example, the two-dimensional bit error rate versus high reliability error rate space may also include a number of additional curves, each corresponding to a different margin amount associated with the curve that corresponds to the correction limit of the error correction operation, and controller 338 can determine whether to take the corrective action based on the location of the data point relative to the number of additional curves as well.", "An example of such a two-dimensional bit error rate versus high reliability error rate space with such curves that can be used to determine whether to take the corrective action will be further described herein (e.g., in connection with FIG.", "4).", "The embodiment illustrated in FIG.", "3 can include additional circuitry, logic, and/or components not illustrated so as not to obscure embodiments of the present disclosure.", "For example, memory device 334 can include address circuitry to latch address signals provided over I/O connectors through I/O circuitry.", "Address signals can be received and decoded by a row decoder and a column decoder, to access memories 340-1, 340-2, .", ".", ".", ", 340-N.", "FIG.", "4 illustrates an example of a two-dimensional bit error rate versus high reliability error rate space 450 in accordance with a number of embodiments of the present disclosure.", "For instance, in the example illustrated in FIG.", "4, two-dimensional space 450 comprises a log-log scale graph, with bit error rate on the x-axis and high reliability error rate on the y-axis.", "As such, the x-coordinate of a data point plotted in two-dimensional space 450 would correspond to bit error rate, and the y-coordinate of a data point plotted in two-dimensional space 450 would correspond to high reliability error rate.", "For example, line 456 illustrates where the bit error rate (e.g., x-coordinate) and high reliability error rate (e.g., y-coordinate) are equal in two-dimensional space 450.Two-dimensional space 450 can be used, for example, by controller 338 previously described in connection with FIG.", "3 to monitor the performance of error correction operations performed on soft data, including determining whether the operations are approaching their correction limit and corrective actions should be taken.", "For instance, controller 338 can plot a data point in two-dimensional space 450 corresponding to a determined bit error rate and high reliability error rate (e.g., the x-coordinate of the data point would be the bit error rate, and the y-coordinate of the data point would be the high reliability error rate) associated with an error correction operation performed on soft data, and can determine whether to take a corrective action on the sensed data based on the location of the data point in the space.", "For example, as shown in FIG.", "4, two-dimensional space 450 includes a curve 452 extending downward from line 456.Curve 452 can correspond to the correction limit of the error correction operation performed on the soft data, and can be pre-generated or generated on the fly, as previously described herein (e.g., in connection with FIG.", "3).", "In a number of embodiments, controller 338 may determine whether to take a corrective action on the sensed data based on which side of curve 452 the plotted bit error rate-high reliability error rate data point is on.", "For instance, controller 338 may take the corrective action if the data point is to the right of curve 452 in two-dimensional space 450, and may not take the corrective action if the data point is to the left of curve 452 in two-dimensional space 450.For instance, to continue the previous example in which the bit error rate was determined to be 0.01 and the high reliability error rate was determined to be 0.002, the data point (e.g., 0.01, 0.002) would be on the right side of curve 452, which would result in controller 338 taking corrective action.", "In a number of embodiments, two-dimensional space 450 can also include a number of additional curves extending downward from line 456.For example, in the embodiment illustrated in FIG.", "4, two-dimensional space 450 includes three additional curves 454-1, 454-2, and 454-3.However, embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to a particular number of additional curves.", "Each respective additional curve can correspond to a different margin amount associated with (e.g., from) curve 452.For example, in the embodiment illustrated in FIG.", "4, curve 454-1 can correspond to a 10% margin from curve 452, curve 454-2 can correspond to a 25% margin from curve 452, and curve 454-3 can correspond to a 50% margin from curve 452.However, embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to particular margin amounts.", "These margin amounts can add a guard band against unaccounted noise sources, for example.", "The curves in two-dimensional space 450 can split the space into a number of regions.", "For example, in the embodiment illustrated in FIG.", "4, two-dimensional space 450 includes region 458-1 to the left of curve 454-3, region 458-2 between curves 454-2 and 454-3, region 458-3 between curves 454-1 and 454-2, region 458-4 between curves 452 and 454-1, and region 458-5 to the right of curve 452.Each region (e.g., the portion of two-dimensional space 450 included within each respective region) can correspond to a different probability that an error correction operation performed on soft data will fail (e.g., that the error correction operation will not be able to correctly decode the errors in the soft data).", "For example, an error correction operation whose bit error rate-high reliability error rate data point falls in region 458-1 may have a very low probability of failing, an error correction operation whose bit error rate-high reliability error rate data point falls in region 458-2 may have a low probability (e.g., a probability that is greater than the very low probability) of failing, an error correction operation whose bit error rate-high reliability error rate data point falls in region 458-3 may have a moderate probability (e.g., a probability that is greater than the low probability) of failing, an error correction operation whose bit error rate-high reliability error rate data point falls in region 458-4 may have a strong probability (e.g., a probability that is greater than the moderate probability) of failing, and an error correction operation whose bit error rate-high reliability error rate data point falls in region 458-5 may have a very strong probability (e.g., a probability that is greater than the strong probability) of failing.", "In a number of embodiments, controller 338 may determine whether to take a corrective action on the sensed data based on which region the plotted bit error rate-high reliability error rate data point falls in.", "As an example, controller 338 may take the corrective action if the data point falls in region 458-5, and may not take the corrective action if the data point falls in regions 458-4, 458-3, 458-2, or 458-1.As an additional example, controller 338 may take the corrective action if the data point falls in regions 458-5 or 458-4, and may not take the corrective action if the data point falls in regions 458-3, 458-2, or 458-1.As an additional example, controller 338 may take the corrective action if the data point falls in regions 458-5, 458-4, or 458-3 and may not take the corrective action if the data point falls in regions 458-2 or 458-1.The determination of which region or regions the data point needs to fall in for controller 338 to determine to take the corrective action can depend, for example, on the current operating and/or performance level of the memory.", "For instance, the greater the operating and/or performance level of the memory, the more regions that will result in the corrective action being taken.", "FIG.", "5 illustrates a method 560 for operating memory (e.g., memories 340-1, 340-2, .", ".", ".", ", 340-N previously described in connection with FIG.", "3) in accordance with a number of embodiments of the present disclosure.", "Method 560 can be performed by, for example, controller 338 previously described in connection with FIG.", "3.Method 560 can be used, for example, to monitor the performance of error correction operations performed on hard and soft data, including determining whether the operations are approaching their correction limit and corrective actions should be taken.", "At block 562, method 560 includes performing a sense operation to sense the data state of the cells of the memory, and soft data associated with the sensed data states.", "In a number of embodiments, the data state of each respective cell, and the soft data associated with the data state of each respective memory cell, can be sensed during the same sense operation.", "The data states, and the soft data associated therewith, can be sensed using a plurality of sensing voltages, as previously described herein.", "For example, the soft data can be sensed using reference voltages R1 to R5 illustrated in FIG.", "2.At block 564, method 560 includes performing an error correction operation on the sensed data states and/or the soft data associated therewith to correct errors therein.", "Performing an error correction on the soft data can include performing an LDPC operation on the soft data, as previously described herein.", "However, embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to a particular type of ECC scheme (e.g., the error correction operation can be performed using other types of ECC schemes).", "At block 566, method 560 includes determining whether the error correction operation was successful (e.g., whether the error correction operation was able to correctly decode the errors in the sensed data states and/or soft data).", "If it is determined that the error correction operation was not successful, then a number of recovery schemes, such as, for instance, a read-retry recovery scheme, a corrective read recovery scheme, and/or a redundant array of independent NAND (RAIN) recovery scheme, can be performed at block 568 to attempt to recover the data.", "If it is determined that the error correction was successful, then it can be determined whether the error correction operation was performed on soft data at block 570.If it is determined that the error correction operation was performed on soft data, then the bit error rate associated with the error correction operation can be determined at block 572, and the high reliability error rate associated with the error correction operation can be determined at block 574.The bit error rate associated with the error correction operation can be determined, for example, using the quantity of erroneous soft data bits corrected during the error correction operation (e.g., by the ECC scheme), and the high reliability error rate can be determined, for example, based on the quantity of the soft data errors corrected during the error correction operation that are high reliability errors, as previously described herein.", "At block 576, method 560 includes determining whether to take a corrective action on the sensed data.", "This determination can be made based on the bit error rate and the high reliability error rate associated with the error correction operation, as previously described herein.", "For example, this determination can be made by plotting the bit error rate and high reliability error rate in two-dimensional space 450 having curves 452 and/or 454-1, 454-2, and 454-3, as previously described in connection with FIG.", "4.As an additional example, this determination can be look-up table based.", "For instance, this determination can be made by looking up the bit error rate and high reliability error rate in a look-up table.", "If it is determined not to take a corrective action on the soft data, no corrective action is taken, and method 560 ends at block 580.If it is determined to take a corrective action, the corrective action is taken at block 578.The corrective action can include, for example, a relocation of the sensed data, as previously described herein.", "If it is determined that the error correction operation was not performed on soft data at block 570 (e.g., the error correction operation was performed on the sensed data states), then the bit error rate associated with the error correction operation performed on the sensed data states can be determined at block 582.The bit error rate can refer to the quantity of erroneous bits corresponding to an amount of erroneous hard data sensed during the sense operation performed at block 562 divided by the total amount of hard data sensed during the sense operation (e.g., the sample size).", "As such, the bit error rate associated with the error correction operation performed on the sensed data states can be determined by dividing the quantity of erroneous bits corrected during the error correction operation by the total quantity of hard data.", "At block 584, method 560 includes determining whether to take a corrective action on the sensed data states (e.g., the hard data).", "This determination can be made based on the bit error rate associated with the error correction operation performed at block 564.For example, this determination can be based on whether the bit error rate associated with the error correction operation meets or exceeds a threshold bit error rate.", "The threshold bit error rate can correspond to the correction limit of the error correction operation (e.g., the amount of errors the operation is capable of correcting).", "If it is determined not to take a corrective action on the sensed data states, no corrective action is taken, and method 560 ends at block 588.If it is determined to take a corrective action, the corrective action is taken at block 586.The corrective action can include, for example, a relocation of the data to a different location in the memory.", "For instance, the data can be programmed to and/or stored in a different page, block, or die of the memory.", "Although specific embodiments have been illustrated and described herein, those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that an arrangement calculated to achieve the same results can be substituted for the specific embodiments shown.", "This disclosure is intended to cover adaptations or variations of a number of embodiments of the present disclosure.", "It is to be understood that the above description has been made in an illustrative fashion, and not a restrictive one.", "Combination of the above embodiments, and other embodiments not specifically described herein will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon reviewing the above description.", "The scope of a number of embodiments of the present disclosure includes other applications in which the above structures and methods are used.", "Therefore, the scope of a number of embodiments of the present disclosure should be determined with reference to the appended claims, along with the full range of equivalents to which such claims are entitled.", "In the foregoing Detailed Description, some features are grouped together in a single embodiment for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure.", "This method of disclosure is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intention that the disclosed embodiments of the present disclosure have to use more features than are expressly recited in each claim.", "Rather, as the following claims reflect, inventive subject matter lies in less than all features of a single disclosed embodiment.", "Thus, the following claims are hereby incorporated into the Detailed Description, with each claim standing on its own as a separate embodiment." ] ]
Patent_15873024
[ [ "MOLDED ARTICLE AND MOLDING MATERIAL", "A molded article includes 10 to 40% by mass of reinforcing fibers (A); and 60 to 90% by mass of a matrix resin (B) mainly including a polyarylene sulfide, the molded article satisfying conditions (I) to (IV) and having a tensile strength of 240 MPa or more in a main orientation direction of the reinforcing fibers (A) in the molded article: (I) strand tensile strength of the reinforcing fibers (A) is 1.5 to 5.5 OPa; (II) number average fiber length of the reinforcing fibers (A) in the molded article is 0.4 mm or more and less than 0.6 mm; (III) tensile elongation of the matrix resin (B) is 1.5 to 10%; and (IV) interfacial shear strength between the reinforcing fibers (A) and the matrix resin (B) is 20 MPa or more." ], [ "1.A molded article comprising: 10 to 40% by mass of reinforcing fibers (A); and 60 to 90% by mass of a matrix resin (B) mainly including a polyarylene sulfide, the molded article satisfying conditions (I) to (IV) and having a tensile strength of 240 MPa or more in a main orientation direction of the reinforcing fibers (A) in the molded article: (I) strand tensile strength of the reinforcing fibers (A) is 1.5 to 5.5 OPa; (II) number average fiber length of the reinforcing fibers (A) in the molded article is 0.4 mm or more and less than 0.6 mm; (III) tensile elongation of the matrix resin (B) is 1.5 to 10%; and (IV) interfacial shear strength between the reinforcing fibers (A) and the matrix resin (B) is 20 MPa or more.", "2.The molded article according to claim 1, wherein the reinforcing fibers (A) are carbon fibers surface-treated with a surface treatment agent which is a compound having, in one molecule, three or more functional groups of at least one type selected from the group consisting of a carboxyl group, an amino group, a hydroxyl group and an epoxy group.", "3.The molded article according to claim 2, wherein the surface treatment agent is contained in an amount of 0.01 to 5 parts by mass based on 100 parts by mass of the reinforcing fibers (A).", "4.The molded article according to claim 2, wherein thickness of a film formed on the surfaces of the reinforcing fibers (A) by the surface treatment agent is 10 to 150 nm.", "5.The molded article according to claim 1, wherein a ratio of the number of fibers dispersed in the form of monofilaments to the number of reinforcing fiber (A) (fiber dispersion ratio P) in the molded article is 90 to 100%.", "6.The molded article according to claim 1, wherein mass average molecular weight of the polyarylene sulfide as a main component of the matrix resin (B) is 10,000 to 40,000.7.The molded article according to claim 1, wherein the content of volatile components, when the polyarylene sulfide is heated and melted at 3200 for 120 minutes, is 0.8% by mass or less.", "8.The molded article according to claim 1, wherein the (III) tensile elongation of the matrix resin (B) is measured from a Type-I dumbbell test piece using a strain gauge in conformity with ASTM D63.9.A molded article comprising: 10 to 40% by mass of reinforcing fibers (A); and 60 to 90% by mass of a matrix resin (B) mainly including a polyarylene sulfide, wherein the reinforcing fibers (A) are carbon fibers surface-treated with a compound having, in one molecule, three or more functional groups of at least one type selected from the group consisting of a carboxyl group, an amino group, a hydroxyl group and an epoxy group; the molded article satisfying conditions (I) to (IV) and having a tensile strength of 240 MPa or more in a main orientation direction of the reinforcing fibers (A) in the molded article: (I) strand tensile strength of the reinforcing fibers (A) is 1.5 to 5.5 OPa; (II) number average fiber length of the reinforcing fibers (A) in the molded article is 0.4 to 10 mm; (III) tensile elongation of the matrix resin (B) is 1.5 to 10%; and (IV) interfacial shear strength between the reinforcing fibers (A) and the matrix resin (B) is 20 MPa or more.", "10.A molded article comprising: 10 to 40% by mass of reinforcing fibers (A); and 60 to 90% by mass of a matrix resin (B) mainly including a polyarylene sulfide, wherein mass average molecular weight of the polyarylene sulfide as a main component of the matrix resin (B) is 10,000 to 40,000; the molded article satisfying conditions (I) to (IV) and having a tensile strength of 240 MPa or more in a main orientation direction of the reinforcing fibers (A) in the molded article: (I) strand tensile strength of the reinforcing fibers (A) is 1.5 to 5.5 OPa; (II) number average fiber length of the reinforcing fibers (A) in the molded article is 0.4 to 10 mm; (III) tensile elongation of the matrix resin (B) is 1.5 to 10%; and (IV) interfacial shear strength between the reinforcing fibers (A) and the matrix resin (B) is 20 Mpa or more." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND <EOH>Molded articles produced using a fiber-reinforced resin composition including a thermoplastic resin and reinforcing fibers are easily molded and processed by virtue of the characteristics of the thermoplastic resin, do not require a load in storage unlike thermosetting resins, and are excellent in recyclability.", "As these molded articles, those in a variety of forms are known such as thermoplastic prepregs in which reinforcing fibers are arranged in the form of a sheet, and pellets in which reinforcing fibers are randomly dispersed.", "Molded articles including reinforcing fibers and a thermoplastic resin are excellent in balance between lightness and dynamic characteristics, and are therefore widely used as structural members of aircraft, automobiles, watercraft and the like, electronic equipment housings, sporting goods, and industrial materials such as building materials.", "Among thermoplastic resins, a polyarylene sulfide is particularly excellent in heat resistance and chemical resistance so that a molded article produced using the resin can be expected to be applied as an alternative to a metal material.", "However, when a molded article produced using a polyarylene sulfide is used as an alternative to a metal material, further improvement in the dynamic characteristics, particularly the tensile strength, of the molded article is desired.", "This is because since the tensile elongation of a general polyarylene sulfide is lower than the tensile elongation of reinforcing fibers, and interfacial bondability between the polyarylene sulfide and reinforcing fibers is low, the reinforcing effect of reinforcing fibers cannot be sufficiently utilized in the molded article.", "General means to improve the tensile strength and elongation of a molded article is enhancement of the elongation of a polyarylene sulfide.", "However, the tensile elongation of a polyarylene sulfide correlates to its molecular weight and, hence, its melt viscosity and, when the tensile elongation of the polyarylene sulfide is improved, the melt viscosity increases so that moldability in production of a molded article may be considerably impaired.", "It is well known that it becomes harder to combine a polyarylene sulfide with reinforcing fibers as the melt viscosity of the polyarylene sulfide increases.", "In that case, it is necessary to make the process temperature higher and therefore a polyarylene sulfide is not suitable for easily producing a molded article and a molding material with high productivity.", "For these reasons, it is an important technical challenge to secure both the tensile strength and molding processability in a molded article produced using a polyarylene sulfide.", "In view of the above-mentioned situations, techniques have been disclosed in which the bending characteristic of a molded article is improved by a molding material obtained by sizing to carbon fibers a compound mainly including an epoxy resin and containing a specific catalyst in a molding material including a polyarylene sulfide and carbon fibers as an attempt to improve dynamic characteristics.", "In those techniques, attempts are made using various forms of reinforcing fibers (Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication Nos.", "2013-117003, 2013-117001 and 2013-117000).", "However, in those techniques, a certain improvement in dynamic characteristics is achieved, but for dynamic characteristics, only the bending characteristic is considered and, in addition, it is not considered that the elongation of a polyarylene sulfide and the state of dispersion of reinforcing fibers in a molded article considerably influence tensile characteristics useful as design parameters for a product.", "It is predicted that further improvement of the strength is required in application development which will increasingly progress in future.", "As a technique with attention given to electrical characteristics and dynamic characteristics among the characteristics of a molded article, an injection-molded article including a polyphenylene sulfide and carbon fibers has been disclosed (Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No.", "8-325385).", "In the technique disclosed in JP '385, attention is given to the length of fibers in the molded article and the strand strength of carbon fibers, but the resin characteristics of the polyphenylene sulfide that serves as a matrix resin are not considered, and it is absolutely necessary that the dynamic characteristics (bending characteristic) be improved in terms of strength in the application development in future.", "Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No.", "11-21457 describes an example of modification of a polyarylene sulfide.", "The purpose is to improve the adhesiveness of the resulting composite material itself, and the resin properties and processability of a polyphenylene sulfide that serves as a matrix resin are not considered.", "Further, the composite material shown in examples has a tensile strength of only 129 to 158 MPa, which is insufficient to use the composite material as an alternative to a metal material.", "Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No.", "8-59303 discloses a composite material including reinforcing fibers treated with a surface modifier, and a thermoplastic resin, and the tensile characteristics thereof.", "However, the resin characteristics and processability of a polyphenylene sulfide as a matrix resin are not considered, and the tensile strength of the resulting composite material is insufficient for using the composite material as an alternative to a metal material.", "It could therefore be helpful to provide a molded article having a sufficiently high tensile strength with high productivity by specializing the state of reinforcing fibers in the molded article and the characteristics of a polyarylene sulfide as a matrix resin." ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY <EOH>We thus provide a molded article including: 10 to 40% by mass of reinforcing fibers (A); and 60 to 90% by mass of a matrix resin (B) mainly including a polyarylene sulfide, the molded article satisfying the following conditions (I) to (IV) and having a tensile strength of 240 MPa or more in a main orientation direction of the reinforcing fibers (A) in the molded article: (I) the strand tensile strength of the reinforcing fibers (A) is 1.5 to 5.5 GPa; (II) the number average fiber length of the reinforcing fibers (A) in the molded article is 0.4 to 10 mm; (III) the tensile elongation of the matrix resin (B) is 1.5 to 10%; and (IV) the interfacial shear strength between the reinforcing fibers (A) and the matrix resin (B) is 20 MPa or more.", "The molded article has a dramatically improved tensile strength as a result of controlling the form of fibers in the molded article, elongation of a polyarylene sulfide as a matrix resin, and interfacial bondability.", "Further, the molding material includes a specific polyarylene sulfide, and is thus excellent in productivity so that a molded article excellent in tensile strength can be easily produced.", "We also provide a molded article including 10 to 40% by mass of reinforcing fibers (A); and 60 to 90% by mass of a matrix resin (B) mainly including a polyarylene sulfide, the molded article satisfying conditions (I) to (IV) and having a tensile strength of 240 MPa or more in a main orientation direction of the reinforcing fibers (A) in the molded article: (I) strand tensile strength of the reinforcing fibers (A) is 1.5 to 5.5 OPa; (II) number average fiber length of the reinforcing fibers (A) in the molded article is 0.4 mm or more and less than 0.6 mm; (III) tensile elongation of the matrix resin (B) is 1.5 to 10%; and (IV) interfacial shear strength between the reinforcing fibers (A) and the matrix resin (B) is 20 MPa or more.", "We further provide a molded article including 10 to 40% by mass of reinforcing fibers (A); and 60 to 90% by mass of a matrix resin (B) mainly including a polyarylene sulfide, wherein the reinforcing fibers (A) are carbon fibers surface-treated with a compound having, in one molecule, three or more functional groups of at least one type selected from the group consisting of a carboxyl group, an amino group, a hydroxyl group and an epoxy group; the molded article satisfying conditions (I) to (IV) and having a tensile strength of 240 MPa or more in a main orientation direction of the reinforcing fibers (A) in the molded article: (I) strand tensile strength of the reinforcing fibers (A) is 1.5 to 5.5 OPa; (II) number average fiber length of the reinforcing fibers (A) in the molded article is 0.4 to 10 mm; (III) tensile elongation of the matrix resin (B) is 1.5 to 10%; and (IV) interfacial shear strength between the reinforcing fibers (A) and the matrix resin (B) is 20 Ma or more.", "We also further provide a molded article including 10 to 40% by mass of reinforcing fibers (A); and 60 to 90% by mass of a matrix resin (B) mainly including a polyarylene sulfide, wherein mass average molecular weight of the polyarylene sulfide as main component of the matrix resin (B) is 10,000 to 40,000; the molded article satisfying conditions (I) to (IV) and having a tensile strength of 240 MPa or more in a main orientation direction of the reinforcing fibers (A) in the molded article: (I) strand tensile strength of the reinforcing fibers (A) is 1.5 to 5.5 OPa; (II) number average fiber length of the reinforcing fibers (A) in the molded article is 0.4 to 10 mm; (III) tensile elongation of the matrix resin (B) is 1.5 to 10%; and (IV) interfacial shear strength between the reinforcing fibers (A) and the matrix resin (B) is 20 MPa or more." ], [ "TECHNICAL FIELD This disclosure relates to a molded article including a polyarylene sulfide and reinforcing fibers and, more specifically, to a molded article including a polyarylene sulfide having high dynamic characteristics, particularly a high tensile elongation, and reinforcing fibers and which is suitably produced by injection molding, and a molding material to produce the molded article.", "BACKGROUND Molded articles produced using a fiber-reinforced resin composition including a thermoplastic resin and reinforcing fibers are easily molded and processed by virtue of the characteristics of the thermoplastic resin, do not require a load in storage unlike thermosetting resins, and are excellent in recyclability.", "As these molded articles, those in a variety of forms are known such as thermoplastic prepregs in which reinforcing fibers are arranged in the form of a sheet, and pellets in which reinforcing fibers are randomly dispersed.", "Molded articles including reinforcing fibers and a thermoplastic resin are excellent in balance between lightness and dynamic characteristics, and are therefore widely used as structural members of aircraft, automobiles, watercraft and the like, electronic equipment housings, sporting goods, and industrial materials such as building materials.", "Among thermoplastic resins, a polyarylene sulfide is particularly excellent in heat resistance and chemical resistance so that a molded article produced using the resin can be expected to be applied as an alternative to a metal material.", "However, when a molded article produced using a polyarylene sulfide is used as an alternative to a metal material, further improvement in the dynamic characteristics, particularly the tensile strength, of the molded article is desired.", "This is because since the tensile elongation of a general polyarylene sulfide is lower than the tensile elongation of reinforcing fibers, and interfacial bondability between the polyarylene sulfide and reinforcing fibers is low, the reinforcing effect of reinforcing fibers cannot be sufficiently utilized in the molded article.", "General means to improve the tensile strength and elongation of a molded article is enhancement of the elongation of a polyarylene sulfide.", "However, the tensile elongation of a polyarylene sulfide correlates to its molecular weight and, hence, its melt viscosity and, when the tensile elongation of the polyarylene sulfide is improved, the melt viscosity increases so that moldability in production of a molded article may be considerably impaired.", "It is well known that it becomes harder to combine a polyarylene sulfide with reinforcing fibers as the melt viscosity of the polyarylene sulfide increases.", "In that case, it is necessary to make the process temperature higher and therefore a polyarylene sulfide is not suitable for easily producing a molded article and a molding material with high productivity.", "For these reasons, it is an important technical challenge to secure both the tensile strength and molding processability in a molded article produced using a polyarylene sulfide.", "In view of the above-mentioned situations, techniques have been disclosed in which the bending characteristic of a molded article is improved by a molding material obtained by sizing to carbon fibers a compound mainly including an epoxy resin and containing a specific catalyst in a molding material including a polyarylene sulfide and carbon fibers as an attempt to improve dynamic characteristics.", "In those techniques, attempts are made using various forms of reinforcing fibers (Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication Nos.", "2013-117003, 2013-117001 and 2013-117000).", "However, in those techniques, a certain improvement in dynamic characteristics is achieved, but for dynamic characteristics, only the bending characteristic is considered and, in addition, it is not considered that the elongation of a polyarylene sulfide and the state of dispersion of reinforcing fibers in a molded article considerably influence tensile characteristics useful as design parameters for a product.", "It is predicted that further improvement of the strength is required in application development which will increasingly progress in future.", "As a technique with attention given to electrical characteristics and dynamic characteristics among the characteristics of a molded article, an injection-molded article including a polyphenylene sulfide and carbon fibers has been disclosed (Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No.", "8-325385).", "In the technique disclosed in JP '385, attention is given to the length of fibers in the molded article and the strand strength of carbon fibers, but the resin characteristics of the polyphenylene sulfide that serves as a matrix resin are not considered, and it is absolutely necessary that the dynamic characteristics (bending characteristic) be improved in terms of strength in the application development in future.", "Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No.", "11-21457 describes an example of modification of a polyarylene sulfide.", "The purpose is to improve the adhesiveness of the resulting composite material itself, and the resin properties and processability of a polyphenylene sulfide that serves as a matrix resin are not considered.", "Further, the composite material shown in examples has a tensile strength of only 129 to 158 MPa, which is insufficient to use the composite material as an alternative to a metal material.", "Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No.", "8-59303 discloses a composite material including reinforcing fibers treated with a surface modifier, and a thermoplastic resin, and the tensile characteristics thereof.", "However, the resin characteristics and processability of a polyphenylene sulfide as a matrix resin are not considered, and the tensile strength of the resulting composite material is insufficient for using the composite material as an alternative to a metal material.", "It could therefore be helpful to provide a molded article having a sufficiently high tensile strength with high productivity by specializing the state of reinforcing fibers in the molded article and the characteristics of a polyarylene sulfide as a matrix resin.", "SUMMARY We thus provide a molded article including: 10 to 40% by mass of reinforcing fibers (A); and 60 to 90% by mass of a matrix resin (B) mainly including a polyarylene sulfide, the molded article satisfying the following conditions (I) to (IV) and having a tensile strength of 240 MPa or more in a main orientation direction of the reinforcing fibers (A) in the molded article: (I) the strand tensile strength of the reinforcing fibers (A) is 1.5 to 5.5 GPa; (II) the number average fiber length of the reinforcing fibers (A) in the molded article is 0.4 to 10 mm; (III) the tensile elongation of the matrix resin (B) is 1.5 to 10%; and (IV) the interfacial shear strength between the reinforcing fibers (A) and the matrix resin (B) is 20 MPa or more.", "The molded article has a dramatically improved tensile strength as a result of controlling the form of fibers in the molded article, elongation of a polyarylene sulfide as a matrix resin, and interfacial bondability.", "Further, the molding material includes a specific polyarylene sulfide, and is thus excellent in productivity so that a molded article excellent in tensile strength can be easily produced.", "We also provide a molded article including 10 to 40% by mass of reinforcing fibers (A); and 60 to 90% by mass of a matrix resin (B) mainly including a polyarylene sulfide, the molded article satisfying conditions (I) to (IV) and having a tensile strength of 240 MPa or more in a main orientation direction of the reinforcing fibers (A) in the molded article: (I) strand tensile strength of the reinforcing fibers (A) is 1.5 to 5.5 OPa; (II) number average fiber length of the reinforcing fibers (A) in the molded article is 0.4 mm or more and less than 0.6 mm; (III) tensile elongation of the matrix resin (B) is 1.5 to 10%; and (IV) interfacial shear strength between the reinforcing fibers (A) and the matrix resin (B) is 20 MPa or more.", "We further provide a molded article including 10 to 40% by mass of reinforcing fibers (A); and 60 to 90% by mass of a matrix resin (B) mainly including a polyarylene sulfide, wherein the reinforcing fibers (A) are carbon fibers surface-treated with a compound having, in one molecule, three or more functional groups of at least one type selected from the group consisting of a carboxyl group, an amino group, a hydroxyl group and an epoxy group; the molded article satisfying conditions (I) to (IV) and having a tensile strength of 240 MPa or more in a main orientation direction of the reinforcing fibers (A) in the molded article: (I) strand tensile strength of the reinforcing fibers (A) is 1.5 to 5.5 OPa; (II) number average fiber length of the reinforcing fibers (A) in the molded article is 0.4 to 10 mm; (III) tensile elongation of the matrix resin (B) is 1.5 to 10%; and (IV) interfacial shear strength between the reinforcing fibers (A) and the matrix resin (B) is 20 Ma or more.", "We also further provide a molded article including 10 to 40% by mass of reinforcing fibers (A); and 60 to 90% by mass of a matrix resin (B) mainly including a polyarylene sulfide, wherein mass average molecular weight of the polyarylene sulfide as main component of the matrix resin (B) is 10,000 to 40,000; the molded article satisfying conditions (I) to (IV) and having a tensile strength of 240 MPa or more in a main orientation direction of the reinforcing fibers (A) in the molded article: (I) strand tensile strength of the reinforcing fibers (A) is 1.5 to 5.5 OPa; (II) number average fiber length of the reinforcing fibers (A) in the molded article is 0.4 to 10 mm; (III) tensile elongation of the matrix resin (B) is 1.5 to 10%; and (IV) interfacial shear strength between the reinforcing fibers (A) and the matrix resin (B) is 20 MPa or more.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIGS.", "1(A) and 1(B) are schematic views showing one example of a reinforcing fiber monofilament observed from a breakage cross-section after a tension test of a molded article.", "FIGS.", "2(A) and 2(B) are schematic views showing one example of a dispersion state of reinforcing fibers in observation of the molded article.", "FIG.", "3 is a schematic view showing one example of a preferred aspect of a molding material.", "DESCRIPTION OF REFERENCE SIGNS 1 Breakage surface after tension test of molded article including reinforcing fiber (A) and matrix resin (B) 2 Matrix resin (B) 3 Reinforcing fiber (A) monofilament 4 Fiber length 5 Length (width) between intersections of matrix resin (B) and reinforcing fiber (A) monofilaments 6 Length (width) equal to ½ of length (width) between intersections of matrix resin (B) and reinforcing fiber (A) monofilaments 7 Intersection of matrix resin (B) and reinforcing fiber (A) monofilament 8 Reinforcing fiber monofilament (s) as reference 9,10,11 Reinforcing fiber monofilament (t) that does not intersect reinforcing fiber monofilament (s) 12,13 Reinforcing fiber monofilament (t) that intersects reinforcing fiber monofilament (s) 14 Two-dimensional intersection angle DETAILED DESCRIPTION Our molded articles include: 10 to 40% by mass of reinforcing fibers (A); and 60 to 90% by mass of a matrix resin (B) mainly including a polyarylene sulfide, the molded articles satisfying conditions (I) to (IV) as described below, and having a tensile strength of 240 MPa or more in a main orientation direction of the reinforcing fibers in the molded articles.", "The molded article includes 10 to 40% by mass of reinforcing fibers (A), and 60 to 90% by mass of a matrix resin (B) mainly including a polyarylene sulfide from the viewpoint of improvement of the tensile strength and molding processability in production of a molded article from a molding material.", "When the mass ratio of the reinforcing fibers (A) is less than 10% by mass (the mass ratio of the matrix resin (B) is more than 90% by mass), moldability in production of a molded article is improved, but the molded article has a poor tensile strength.", "When the mass ratio of the reinforcing fibers (A) is more than 40% by mass (the mass ratio of the matrix resin (B) is less than 60% by mass), the molding material has considerably poor moldability into a molded article and, in addition, the molded article is poor in balance between the tensile strength and the lightness and economy because the molded article includes the reinforcing fiber (A) more than necessary.", "Further, the molded article is preferably a molded article including 20 to 40% by mass of the reinforcing fibers (A) and 60 to 80% by mass of the matrix resin (B).", "When the ratio of the reinforcing fibers (A) and the matrix resin (B) is in the above-mentioned range, a molded article further excellent in tensile strength is obtained while moldability in production of the molded article is maintained.", "Further, the molded article has a tensile strength of 240 MPa in a main orientation direction of the reinforcing fibers (A) in the molded article.", "The tensile strength in the main orientation direction of the reinforcing fibers (A) in the molded article is a 0° direction tensile strength where the main orientation direction of the reinforcing fibers (A) in the molded article is defined as 0°.", "When the tensile strength is 240 MPa or more, beneficial features are obtained such that the width of design when the molded article is made into a product is broadened so that the molded article can be applied to a variety of products, and the thickness can be reduced in product design.", "When the tensile strength is less than 240 MPa, applications in which the molded article can be applied are increasingly restricted so that the width of product design is limited.", "For the same reason, the tensile strength is further preferably 280 MPa or more, especially preferably 300 MPa or more.", "Particularly, in an injection-molded article, it is more difficult to increase the length of the reinforcing fibers (A) so that it is more difficult to increase the strength as compared to a molded article produced using a sheet-shaped molding material (e.g., press-molded article).", "When a molded article having a high tensile strength as described above is obtained in injection molding capable of forming a complicated shape in a short time, the width of design can be dramatically broadened.", "For the tensile strength in the molded article, the tensile strength in a direction orthogonal to the main orientation direction of reinforcing fibers in the molded article is preferably 150 MPa or more from the viewpoint of uniformity of characteristics in a direction.", "The tensile strength in a direction orthogonal to the main orientation direction of reinforcing fibers in the molded article is a 90° direction tensile strength where the main orientation direction of the reinforcing fibers (A) in the molded article is defined as 0°.", "The tensile strength in a direction orthogonal to the main orientation direction is more preferably 200 MPa or more because the width of strength design in the molded article is broadened as the tensile strength in this direction becomes higher.", "The main orientation direction of reinforcing fibers in the molded article refers to an arrangement direction of reinforcing fibers observed from the surface of the molded article.", "As a measurement method, reinforcing fibers on the surface of the molded article are observed with a microscope to determine the main orientation direction.", "For reinforcing fiber monofilaments observed on the surface of the molded article, any reference direction is defined as D, and an angle α formed by the direction D and the reinforcing fiber monofilament is measured for each of 400 reinforcing fiber monofilaments.", "Then, the sum of angles α for the 400 measured monofilaments is divided by 400, i.e., the number of the measured monofilaments, to identify a direction along the most intense orientation, and this direction is determined as a main orientation direction of reinforcing fibers in the molded article, and especially defined as 0°.", "A direction orthogonal to the direction 0° determined in this measurement is defined as 90°.", "Condition (I) is that the strand tensile strength of the reinforcing fibers (A) is 1.5 to 5.5 GPa.", "When the strand tensile strength of the reinforcing fibers (A) is 1.5 to 5.5 GPa, the tensile characteristics of the molded article can be efficiently improved because the reinforcing fibers (A) as a main factor of strength development in the molded article are strong.", "It is preferable for strength development in the molded article that the strand tensile strength is high, but reinforcing fibers having a high strand tensile strength tend to be expensive in terms of cost, and the strand tensile strength is more preferably 3 to 5.5 GPa, especially preferably 4 to 5 GPa from the viewpoint of balance between economy and tensile strength development in the molded article.", "The strand tensile strength of the reinforcing fibers (A) can be determined in accordance with the following procedure in conformity with the resin impregnation strand test method in JIS R7608 (2007).", "As a resin formulation, “CELLOXIDE (registered trademark)” 2021P (manufactured by Daicel Chemical Industries, Ltd.)/boron trifluoride monoethylamine (manufactured by Tokyo Chemical Industry Co., Ltd.)/acetone=100/3/4 (parts by mass) is used, and as curing conditions, curing is performed at normal pressure at 130° C. for 30 minutes.", "A measurement is made for each of ten strands in a reinforcing fiber bundle, and the average thereof is defined as a strand tensile strength.", "Examples of the reinforcing fibers (A) that form a molded article include metal fibers formed of a metal such as aluminum, brass or stainless steel; polyacrylonitrile (PAN)-based, rayon-based, lignin-based and pitch-based carbon fibers and graphite fibers; insulating fibers such as glass fibers; and inorganic fibers such as silicon carbide fibers and silicon nitride fibers.", "These fibers may be subjected to a surface treatment.", "Examples of the surface treatment include a treatment with a coupling agent, a treatment with a sizing agent, a treatment with a binder and an additive deposition treatment in addition to a metal coating treatment as a conductor.", "Particularly, the reinforcing fibers (A) are preferably carbon fibers surface-treated with a compound having, in one molecule, three or more functional groups of at least one type selected from the group consisting of a carboxyl group, an amino group, a hydroxyl group and an epoxy group as described later.", "When as a compound to be used for the surface treatment (hereinafter, referred to simply as a surface treatment agent), only a compound in which the number of the functional groups in one molecule is less than 3 is used, reaction points between the compound and the reinforcing fibers (A) or the matrix resin (B) are insufficient so that the effect of improving the dynamic characteristics such as the tensile strength and the elongation, of the resulting molded article may not be obtained.", "Preferably, the surface treatment agent exists at the interface between the reinforcing fibers (A) and the matrix resin (B).", "Accordingly, the surface treatment agent is applied to the surfaces of reinforcing fiber (A) monofilaments.", "By adding the surface treatment agent to the reinforcing fibers (A) beforehand, the surfaces of the reinforcing fibers (A) can be effectively modified even with a small deposition amount.", "The surface treatment agent having the specific structure is contained in an amount of preferably 0.01 to 5 parts by mass, further preferably 0.1 to 2 parts by mass based on 100 parts by mass of the reinforcing fibers (A).", "When the content of the surface treatment agent is less than 0.01 part by mass, it may be unable to sufficiently cover the surfaces of the reinforcing fibers (A) with the surface treatment agent having the specific structure so that the effect of improving the dynamic characteristics such as the tensile strength and the elongation, of the resulting molded article is hard to be exhibited.", "When the content of the surface treatment agent is more than 5 parts by mass, the thickness of a film formed on the surfaces of the reinforcing fibers (A) by the surface treatment agent excessively increases so that it may be difficult to disperse the reinforcing fibers (A) in the form of monofilaments in the resulting molded article, or the dynamic characteristics such as the tensile strength and the elongation may be deteriorated.", "The preferred range of the thickness of a film formed on the surfaces of the reinforcing fibers (A) by the surface treatment agent may be, for example, from 10 to 150 nm.", "Examples of the method of adding the surface treatment agent to the reinforcing fibers (A) include a method in which the reinforcing fibers (A) are immersed in the surface treatment agent via a roller, and a method in which the surface treatment agent is atomized, and sprayed to the reinforcing fibers (A).", "It is preferable that the surface treatment agent is diluted with a solvent or the temperature, the yearn tension or the like in addition of the surface treatment agent is controlled so that the deposition amount of the surface treatment agent on the reinforcing fibers (A) becomes more uniform.", "Examples of the solvent to dilute the surface treatment agent include water, methanol, ethanol, dimethylformamide, dimethylacetamide and acetone, and water is preferable from the viewpoint of ease of handling and disaster prevention.", "The solvent is evaporated by heating and removed after the surface treatment agent is added to the reinforcing fibers (A).", "When a compound insoluble or hardly soluble in water is used as the surface treatment agent, it is preferable that the compound is dispersed in water with an emulsifier or surfactant added thereto.", "As the emulsifier or surfactant, anionic emulsifiers, cationic emulsifiers, nonionic emulsifiers and the like can be used.", "Among them, nonionic emulsifiers which have low interactivity are preferably used because they hardly hinder the effect of the surface treatment agent.", "Among these types of reinforcing fibers, one type of reinforcing fibers may be used, or two or more types of reinforcing fibers may be used.", "Among them, carbon fibers such as PAN-based, pitch-based and rayon-based carbon fibers which are excellent in specific strength and specific rigidity are preferably used from the viewpoint of a weight reducing effect.", "Among them, PAN-based carbon fibers which are excellent in dynamic characteristics such as the strength and the elastic modulus can be preferably used.", "Further, when carbon fibers are used, the surface oxygen concentration ratio (O/C) that is a ratio of the number of atoms of oxygen (O) to carbon (C) on the fiber surface as measured by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) is preferably 0.05 to 0.50, more preferably 0.08 to 0.40, further preferably 0.10 to 0.30.Higher the surface oxygen concentration ratio (O/C), larger the number of functional groups on the carbon fiber surface so that bondability between carbon fibers and the matrix resin can be improved, but when the surface oxygen concentration ratio (O/C) is excessively high, the crystal structure of the carbon fiber surface may be ruptured to reduce the strength of carbon fibers themselves and therefore a molded article that is particularly excellent in dynamic characteristics can be obtained when the surface oxygen concentration ratio (O/C) is in the above-mentioned preferred range.", "The surface oxygen concentration ratio (O/C) is determined in accordance with the following procedure by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy.", "First, carbon fibers freed of impurities by a solvent are cut, and spread and arranged on a sample supporting stand made of copper, the photoelectron escape angle is then set to 90°, and the inside of a sample chamber is kept at 1×10−8 Torr with MgKα1,2 used as an X-ray source.", "The kinetic energy value (K.E.)", "at the main peak of C1S is matched to 969 eV as a correction of a peak associated with charging during measurement.", "The C1S peak area is determined by drawing a straight baseline over the range of 958 to 972 eV as K.E.", "The O1S peak area is determined by drawing a straight baseline over the range of 714 to 726 eV as K.E.", "The surface oxygen concentration ratio (O/C) is calculated as the ratio of the number of atoms from the ratio of the O1S peak area and the C1S peak area using an apparatus-specific sensitivity correction value.", "The reinforcing fibers (A) may be used as a reinforcing fiber bundle with a plurality of monofilaments bundled together from the viewpoint of handling characteristics.", "The number of monofilaments that form the reinforcing fiber bundle is preferably not less than 100 and not more than 350,000, more preferably not less than 1,000 and not more than 250,000, further preferably not less than 10,000 and not more than 100,000 from the viewpoint of handling characteristics.", "When the number of monofilaments that form the reinforcing fiber bundle is in the above-mentioned range, the molded article is obtained with good economy.", "The method of controlling the surface oxygen concentration ratio (O/C) is not particularly limited and, for example, methods such as an electrolytic oxidation treatment, a chemical oxidation treatment and a gas phase oxidation treatment can be employed, with the electrolytic oxidation treatment being preferable.", "Condition (II) is that the number average fiber length of the reinforcing fibers (A) in the molded article is 0.4 to 10 mm.", "When the number average fiber length of the reinforcing fibers (A) in the molded article is 0.4 to 10 mm, the effect and efficiency of reinforcing the matrix resin (B) with the reinforcing fibers (A) in the molded article can be improved to sufficiently increase the tensile strength of the molded article and, in addition, the added amount of the reinforcing fibers (A) can be reduced, leading to excellent balance with molding processability.", "The number average fiber length of the reinforcing fibers (A) is more preferably 0.5 to 7 mm, further preferably 0.6 to 5 mm, especially preferably 0.6 to 2 mm.", "It is preferable that the number average fiber length of the reinforcing fibers (A) is in such a range because excellent fluidity is achieved in production of a molded article having a complicated shape and, further, for example, both the molding fluidity in recycling of the molded article and the strength of the recycled molded article can be secured.", "The method of measuring the number average fiber length in the molded article will now be described.", "Examples of the method of measuring the number average fiber length of the reinforcing fibers (A) contained in the molded article include a method in which resin components contained in the molded article are removed by a dissolution method or a burn-off method, the remaining reinforcing fibers (A) are separated by filtration, and a measurement is then made by microscope observation, and a method in which the molded article is stretched and made thin by a melting method, and the reinforcing fibers (A) are transparently observed to make a measurement.", "In the measurement, 400 reinforcing fibers (A) are randomly selected, the lengths thereof are measured to a unit of 1 μm using an optical microscope, and the total of the fiber lengths is divided by the number of the fibers to calculate the number average fiber length.", "The obtained result does not significantly vary depending on a method of extracting the reinforcing fibers (A) from the molded article such as a melting method, a burn-off method or a dissolution method.", "The preferred condition in the molded article is that the ratio of the number of fibers dispersed in the form of monofilaments to the number of the reinforcing fibers (A) (fiber dispersion ratio P) is 90 to 100%.", "The phrase “sufficiently dispersed in the form of monofilaments” refers to a state in which the fiber dispersion ratio P is 90 to 100%.", "To efficiently exhibit the reinforcing effect of the reinforcing fibers (A), it is important that the reinforcing fibers (A) are dispersed in the form of monofilaments in the molded article.", "The phrase “dispersed in the form of monofilaments” refers to a state in which a plurality of neighboring reinforcing fiber monofilaments is not parallel to one another in the length direction thereof, or are parallel to one another, but are not in contact with one another.", "When a plurality of neighboring reinforcing fiber monofilaments is parallel to and in contact with one another, they are in the form of a bundle.", "When a large number of reinforcing fibers in the form of a bundle exist, the end portions of the reinforcing fibers (A) on which stress is easily concentrated expand in the form of a bundle, and cracking that may cause breakage easily occurs from the portions so that the tensile characteristics of the resulting molded article are deteriorated.", "The reinforcing fibers (A) in the form of a bundle are hard to be impregnated with the matrix resin (B) to the inside of the bundle so that voids are generated, leading to deterioration of the tensile characteristics of the resulting molded article.", "The ratio of the number of reinforcing fibers (A) dispersed in the form of monofilaments is evaluated by the fiber dispersion ratio P. The fiber dispersion ratio P is calculated from the following equation on the basis of the number of reinforcing fiber monofilaments (t) having a two-dimensional intersection angle of 5° or more as measured at an acute angle of 0° to 90° when the surface of the molded article is observed with a microscope, the two-dimensional intersection angle being formed by any reinforcing fiber monofilament (s) and a reinforcing fiber monofilament (t) neighboring the reinforcing fiber monofilament (s).", "P=n/N×100(unit: %) P: ratio of the number of reinforcing fibers (A) dispersed in the form of monofilaments (fiber dispersion ratio).", "n: number of reinforcing fiber monofilaments having a two-dimensional intersection angle of 5° or more.", "N: total number of reinforcing fiber monofilaments (t) subjected to measurement of two-dimensional intersection angle.", "In the measurement, a reinforcing fiber monofilament (s) is randomly selected, and the two-dimensional intersection angle is measured for all reinforcing fiber monofilaments (t) that intersect the reinforcing fiber monofilament (s).", "The intersection angle is measured at an acute angle of 0° to 90°, and the ratio of reinforcing fiber monofilaments (t) having an intersection angle of 5° or more is calculated from the total number of reinforcing fiber monofilaments (t) subjected to measurement of the two-dimensional intersection angle.", "100 reinforcing fiber monofilaments (s) are selected, and measurements are made.", "A portion where the two-dimensional intersection angle of the reinforcing fiber is measured is not particularly limited, but it is preferable that the end portion of the molded article is avoided, and a measurement is made at a portion which is as close as possible to the center of the molded article, and free from a shape of a boss, a rib or the like and a variation in thickness of the molded article.", "The specific observation method may be, for example, a method in which reinforcing fibers are observed from the surface of the molded article.", "It is preferable that the surface of the molded article is polished to a depth of about 100 μm to expose fibers because the reinforcing fibers are more easily observed.", "The fiber surfaces of the reinforcing fiber monofilament (s) and the reinforcing fiber monofilament (t) which are observed are not necessarily required to be in contact with each other, and those that intersect at the observation surface when overlooked are employed for measurement.", "Specifically, in FIG.", "2(a), a reinforcing fiber monofilament 8 intersects reinforcing fiber monofilaments 12 and 13 when the reinforcing fiber monofilament 8 is defined as a reference.", "The two-dimensional intersection angle between the reinforcing fiber monofilament 8 and the reinforcing fiber monofilament 12 is denoted by reference numeral 14.Similarly, in FIG.", "2(b), the reinforcing fiber monofilament 8 intersects only the reinforcing fiber monofilament 12 when the reinforcing fiber monofilament 8 is defined as a reference.", "The two-dimensional intersection angle between the reinforcing fiber monofilament 8 and the reinforcing fiber monofilament 12 is denoted by reference numeral 14.Condition (III) is that the tensile elongation of the matrix resin (B) mainly including a polyarylene sulfide is 1.5 to 10%.", "When the tensile elongation is 1.5 to 10%, the tensile strength of the reinforcing fibers (A) themselves can be efficiently utilized due to a balance in elongation between the reinforcing fibers (A) and the matrix resin (B).", "When the tensile elongation is less than 1.5%, the matrix resin has a low elongation and, therefore, the resin is ruptured before the potential of the reinforcing fibers is sufficiently exhibited so that the tensile strength of the molded article cannot be sufficiently exhibited.", "From such a point of view, the tensile elongation of the matrix resin (B) is preferably 2.0% or more, more preferably 2.5% or more.", "When the tensile elongation is more than 10%, the polyarylene sulfide as a main component of the matrix resin has a large molecular weight, resulting in poor fluidity during molding.", "When fluidity during molding is deteriorated, damage occurs during molding to decrease the fiber length of the reinforcing fibers (A), and voids are generated so that the tensile strength of the resulting molded article is reduced.", "From such a point of view, the tensile elongation of the matrix resin (B) is preferably 4% or less, more preferably 3% or less.", "The tensile elongation of the matrix resin (B) refers to a breaking point strain measured from a Type-I dumbbell test piece using a strain gauge in conformity with ASTM D638.The polyarylene sulfide as a main component of the matrix resin (B) is a homopolymer or a copolymer having a repeating unit of the formula —(Ar—S)— as a main constituent unit and contains preferably 80 mol % or more, more preferably 90 mol % or more, further preferably 95 mol % or more of the repeating unit (hereinafter, the polyarylene sulfide will be sometimes abbreviated as PAS).", "Examples of Ar include units represented by formulae (a) to (k), and units represented by formula (a) are especially preferable.", "wherein R1 and R2 each represent a substituent selected from hydrogen, an alkyl group having 1 to 12 carbon atoms, an alkoxy group having 1 to 12 carbon atoms, an arylene group having 6 to 24 carbon atoms, and a halogen group, and R1 and R2 may be the same, or different.", "As long as the polyarylene sulfide has the above-mentioned repeating unit as a main constituent unit, it may contain a small amount of branched units or crosslinked units represented by formulae (I) to (n).", "The copolymerization amount of branched units or crosslinked units is preferably 0 to 1 mol % based on 1 mol of the —(Ar—S)— unit.", "The PAS may be any one of a random copolymer and a block copolymer including the above-mentioned repeating unit, and a mixture thereof.", "Typical examples of the PAS include polyphenylene sulfides (formulae (a), (b) and (f) to (k)), polyphenylene sulfide sulfones (formula (d)), polyphenylene sulfide ketones (formula (c)), polyphenylene sulfide ethers (formula (e)), random copolymers and block copolymers thereof, and mixtures thereof.", "Examples of the particularly preferred PAS include polyphenylene sulfides containing 80 mol % or more, particularly 90 mol % or more of a p-phenylene sulfide unit: as a main constituent unit of the polymer (hereinafter, the polyphenylene sulfide will be sometimes abbreviated as a PPS).", "The PAS has a mass average molecular weight of preferably 10,000 to 80,000, more preferably 10,000 to 60,000, further preferably 10,000 to 40,000.A PAS having a smaller mass average molecular weight has a lower melt viscosity, is superior in moldability into a complicated shape, and can more reliably inhibit the fiber length of the reinforcing fibers (A) from decreasing due to damage during molding.", "The mass average molecular weight of the PAS can be measured using generally known GPC (gel permeation chromatography) such as size exclusion chromatography (SEC).", "The mass average molecular weight of the PAS can be determined by calculating the mass average molecular weight in terms of polystyrene with 1-chloronaphthalene used as an eluent and the column temperature set to 210° C. Condition (IV) is that the interfacial shear strength between the reinforcing fibers (A) and the matrix resin (B) mainly including a PAS is 20 MPa or more.", "Bondability between the reinforcing fibers (A) and the matrix resin (B) is represented by the interfacial shear strength (hereinafter, the interfacial shear strength will be sometimes abbreviated as IFSS), and when the bondability is high, the IFSS shows a high value.", "It is important that the IFSS is 20 MPa or more to improve the tensile strength of the molded article.", "When the IFSS is less than 20 MPa, a load applied to the molded article is transmitted from the matrix resin (B) to the reinforcing fibers (A) and, before the reinforcing fibers (A) are sufficiently burdened with the load, the interface between the reinforcing fibers (A) and the matrix resin (B) is ruptured so that the tensile strength of the molded article cannot be sufficiently exhibited.", "From the point of view described above, the IFSS is more preferably 25 MPa or more, especially preferably 35 MPa or more.", "The IFSS varies depending on the characteristics of the matrix resin (B) to be used, but as long as the IFSS is not less than 50 MPa, a molded article having a sufficiently increased tensile strength can be provided.", "When the IFSS is in such a range, advantages resulting from improvement of the tensile strength of the reinforcing fibers (A) and the tensile elongation of the matrix resin (B) can be effectively exhibited.", "Evaluation of the IFSS will now be described in detail.", "For evaluation of the IFSS, reference has been made to Drzal, L.T., Material of Science Engineering (Mater.", "Sci.", "Eng.", "), Vol.", "A126, 1990, page 289.One reinforcing fiber monofilament having a length of 20 cm is taken out from a reinforcing fiber bundle.", "Subsequently, two 150 μm-thick matrix resin films having a size of 20×20 cm square are prepared, the reinforcing fiber monofilament taken out from the reinforcing fiber bundle is linearly disposed on one of the matrix resin films.", "The other matrix resin film is superimposed thereon to sandwich the reinforcing fiber monofilament between the matrix resin films, and pressing is performed at a pressure of 0.5 MPa at 320° C. for 3 minutes to prepare a sample with a reinforcing fiber monofilament embedded in a matrix resin.", "The obtained sample is cut to obtain a sample piece having a thickness of 0.2 mm, a width of 10 mm and a length of 70 mm with a reinforcing fiber monofilament buried at the center.", "Ten test pieces are prepared in the same manner as described above.", "Using a usual tension test tool, the test piece is subjected to a tension test at a strain rate of 0.5 mm/min with the test length set to 25 mm.", "The lengths of all the fragments of the reinforcing fiber monofilament at the time when the reinforcing fiber monofilament is no longer broken is measured with a transmission microscope, and the measured lengths are averaged to determine an average breakage fiber length L. The IFSS (τ) is determined from the following equations: τ=(σf·d)/(2·Lc) Lc=(4/3)·L τ: IFSS (interfacial shear strength) (unit: MPa) L: average breakage fiber length (unit: μm) σf: tensile strength of reinforcing fiber monofilament (unit: MPa) d: diameter of reinforcing fiber monofilament (unit: μm).", "σf is determined by the following method on the premise that the tensile strength distribution of the reinforcing fiber monofilament follows the Weibull distribution.", "Specifically, only the reinforcing fiber monofilament is subjected to a tension test without embedding the reinforcing fiber monofilament in the matrix resin, a relational expression between the sample length and the average tensile strength is derived by a least square method from the average tensile strength obtained with each of the sample lengths of 5 mm, 25 mm and 50 mm, and the average tensile strength at a sample length Lc is calculated.", "It is preferable that the matrix resin (B) contains 0.1 to 10% by mass of a compound having, in one molecule, three or more functional groups of at least one type selected from a carboxyl group, an amino group, a hydroxyl group and an epoxy group for improving interfacial bondability between the reinforcing fibers (A) and the matrix resin (B) to improve the tensile strength of the molded article.", "The content of the compound is more preferably 0.2 to 8% by mass, especially preferably 0.6 to 5% by mass.", "Two or more of types of the functional groups may exist in one molecule, or two or more compounds having three or more functional groups of one type in one molecule may be used in combination.", "The compound having, in one molecule, three or more functional groups as described above is preferably an aliphatic compound.", "The aliphatic compound is an acyclic linear saturated hydrocarbon, a branched saturated hydrocarbon, a cyclic saturated hydrocarbon, an acyclic linear unsaturated hydrocarbon, a branched unsaturated hydrocarbon, or a compound of chain structure in which a carbon atom (CH3, CH2, CH or C) in the hydrocarbon is replaced by an oxygen atom (O), a nitrogen atom (NH or N) or a carbonyl atom group (CO).", "The aliphatic compound does not have an aromatic backbone such as a benzene ring.", "It is preferable that the compound having, in one molecule, three or more specific functional groups as described above is an aliphatic compound because affinity between the reinforcing fibers (A) and the matrix resin (B) is improved so that a molded article excellent in dynamic characteristics is obtained.", "Specific examples of the compound having, in one molecule, three or more specific functional groups as described above include polyfunctional epoxy resins, acrylic acid-based polymers, polyhydric alcohols and polyethyleneimines, and in particular, polyfunctional epoxy resins having high reactivity with both the surface functional groups of the reinforcing fibers (A) and the matrix resin (B) are preferably used.", "Examples of the polyfunctional epoxy resin include tri-or-more functional aliphatic epoxy resins and phenol novolac-type epoxy resins.", "Among them, tri-or-more functional aliphatic epoxy resins are preferable because they have a plurality of reaction points and hence high reactivity so that affinity between the reinforcing fibers (A) and the matrix resin (B) are improved.", "The tri-or-more functional aliphatic epoxy resin means an aliphatic epoxy resin having three or more epoxy groups in one molecule.", "Specific examples of the tri-or-more functional aliphatic epoxy resin include polyglycidyl ethers of aliphatic polyhydric alcohols such as glycerol triglycidyl ether, diglycerol polyglycidyl ether, polyglycerol polyglycidyl ether, sorbitol polyglycidyl ether, arabitol polyglycidyl ether, trimethylolpropane triglycidyl ether and pentaerythritol polyglycidyl ether.", "Among these aliphatic epoxy resins, glycerol triglycidyl ether, diglycerol polyglycidyl ether and polyglycerol polyglycidyl ether are preferably used because they contain a large number of epoxy groups having high reactivity in one molecule, have high water solubility, and are easily applied to the reinforcing fibers (A).", "The acrylic acid-based polymer is a generic name of polymers which are polymers of acrylic acid, methacrylic acid and maleic acid, and contain three or more carboxyl groups in one molecule.", "Specific examples of the acrylic acid-based polymer include polyacrylic acids, copolymers of acrylic acid and methacrylic acid, copolymers of acrylic acid and maleic acid, and mixtures of two or more thereof.", "Further, the acrylic acid-based polymer may be one with the carboxyl group partially neutralized with an alkali (i.e., formed into a carboxylate) as long as the number of functional groups as described above is 3 or more in one molecule.", "Examples of the alkali include alkali metal hydroxides such as sodium hydroxide, lithium hydroxide and potassium hydroxide, and ammonium hydroxide.", "As the acrylic acid-based polymer, a polyacrylic acid containing a larger number of carboxyl groups in one molecule is preferably used.", "Specific examples of polyhydric alcohol include polyvinyl alcohol, glycerol, diglycerol, polyglycerol, sorbitol, arabitol, trimethylolpropane and pentaerythritol.", "As the polyhydric alcohol, a polyvinyl alcohol containing a larger number of hydroxyl groups in one molecule can be preferably used.", "The polyethyleneimine is a polyamine obtained by ring-opening polymerization of ethylene imine, and has a branched structure formed by primary, secondary and tertiary amino groups.", "As the polyethyleneimine, a polyethyleneimine containing a larger number of amino groups in one molecule is preferably used.", "The compound having, in one molecule, three or more specific functional groups as described above is preferably one in which the value obtained by dividing the mass average molecular weight of the compound by the number of the above-described functional groups (the total number of carboxyl groups, amino groups, hydroxyl groups and epoxy groups) in one molecule is 40 to 150.It is preferable that the above-mentioned value is in such a range because the density of reaction points with the surface functional groups of the reinforcing fibers (A) and the functional groups of the matrix resin (B) can be made more uniform, and affinity between the reinforcing fibers (A) and the matrix resin (B) can be improved to further increase the tensile strength of the resulting molded article.", "It is preferable that the matrix resin (B) further contains 0.1 to 10% by mass of a compound having, in one molecule, two or more structures of at least one type selected from a carbodiimide structure, a urea structure and a urethane structure for further improving affinity between the reinforcing fibers (A) and the matrix resin (B) so that the tensile characteristics of the resulting molded article is improved.", "The blending amount is preferably 0.3 to 8% by mass, and especially preferably 0.5 to 5% by mass in view of generation of a decomposed gas at the time of kneading the compound with the matrix resin.", "Examples of the compound having a carbodiimide structure, i.e., the carbodiimide compound, include polycarbodiimides, which include aliphatic polycarbodiimides and aromatic polycarbodiimides, and aliphatic polycarbodiimides are preferably used from the viewpoint of affinity and reactivity with the reinforcing fibers (A) and the matrix resin (B).", "The aliphatic polycarbodiimide compound is a homopolymer or a copolymer which has as a main constituent unit a repeating unit represented by the general formula —N═C═N—R3— (wherein R3 represents a divalent organic group of a cycloaliphatic compound such as cyclohexylene, or a divalent organic group of an aliphatic compound such as methylene, ethylene, propylene or methylethylene) and contains preferably 70 mol % or more, more preferably 90 mol % or more, further preferably 95 mol % or more of the repeating unit.", "As the compound having a urea structure, one obtained by reacting a diisocyanate with a diamine including a compound containing a plurality of amino groups (e.g., hydrazine, dihydrazide or the like) can be used.", "Alternatively, the polyurea can be synthesized by reacting an isocyanate with water to form unstable carbamic acid.", "The carbamic acid is decomposed to generate carbon dioxide and form amino groups that immediately react with an isocyanate to form a urea bridge.", "Alternatively, the polyurea is obtained by treating a compound having a carbodiimide structure with water to react the carbodiimide into urea.", "As the compound having a urethane structure, one obtained by reacting bischloroformate with diamine can be used.", "Alternatively, the polyurethane can be synthesized by reacting a diisocyanate with a diol such as a macroglycol, a polyol, or a combination of a macroglycol and a single-chain glycol extending agent.", "Among compounds having structures as described above, polycarbodimides are preferably used from the viewpoint of interfacial bonding to the reinforcing fibers (A).", "When the PAS as a main component of the matrix resin (B) has a smaller mass average molecular weight, it has a lower melt viscosity, and is superior in molding processability in production of a molded article as described above.", "When a PAS having a smaller mass average molecular weight is used in the molded article, the dynamic characteristics such as the tensile strength and the elongation, of the resulting molded article tend to be improved.", "This may be because functional groups of the PAS chemically react with functional groups existing on the surfaces of reinforcing fibers.", "For these reasons, it is especially preferable that the mass average molecular weight of the PAS as a main component of the matrix resin (B) is 10,000 to 40,000 in the molded article because both the dynamic characteristics of the resulting molded article and the molding processability can be achieved at a high level.", "Further, when the matrix resin (B) is a carbodiimide-modified polyarylene sulfide obtained from a polyarylene sulfide and a carbodiimide compound, the matrix resin (B) having a high tensile elongation is obtained even when the polyarylene sulfide has a small mass average molecular weight.", "Since the mass average molecular weight of the polyarylene sulfide is small, it is easy to combine the reinforcing fibers (A) and the matrix resin (B), and the number average fiber length of the reinforcing fibers (A) in the resulting molded article is increased so that a molded article having a high strength is obtained.", "For these reasons, when the matrix resin (B) is a carbodiimide-modified polyarylene sulfide obtained from a polyarylene sulfide and a carbodiimide compound in the molded article, it is especially preferable that the mass average molecular weight of the polyarylene sulfide is 10,000 to 40,000 because both the tensile strength and productivity of the resulting molded article and the molding processability can be achieved at a high level.", "In the PAS, the content of volatile components when the PAS is heated and melted at 320° C. for 120 minutes is preferably 0.8% by mass or less from the viewpoint of a work environment during molding, and to reduce generation of voids in the molded article, and preventing contamination due to generation of gas on the metal side when the molded article is used integrally with a metal member of aluminum or the like, or used in combination with a metal member having an elevated temperature at a use site.", "The content of volatile components is further preferably 0.5% by mass or less.", "The amount of volatile components can be measured from a mass decrease ratio with respect to the mass of a sample before measurement when the PAS is heated at a temperature elevation rate of 20° C./minute at a nitrogen flow rate of 30 mL/minute, and then held at 320° C. for 120 minutes using Differential Thermal Balance (TG-DTA) Standard Model CN8078B1 manufactured by Rigaku Corporation.", "In the molded article, the average of fiber lengths observed from the breakage cross-section after tension breakage of the molded article is preferably 0.2 mm or less because a sufficient effect of improving the tensile strength of the molded article is obtained.", "Usually, in a molded article including the matrix resin (B) and the reinforcing fibers (A), a state in which the reinforcing fibers (A) falls off the matrix resin (B) is observed when a breakage surface after a tension test is observed.", "This may be because surface bondability between the matrix resin (B) and the reinforcing fibers (A) is not sufficient.", "There is a certain correlation between the length of the reinforcing fiber (A) that falls off the matrix resin and the tensile strength, and the fiber length sufficient for exhibiting the tensile strength is usually called a critical fiber length.", "It suffices that the average of fiber lengths is 0.2 mm or less from the viewpoint of a critical fiber length, and the average of fiber lengths is more preferably 0.15 mm or less, especially preferably 0.1 mm or less.", "The method of measuring the average of fiber lengths observed from the breakage cross-section of the molded article after tension breakage will now be described with reference to FIG.", "1.A test piece is disposed such that the breakage surface after a tension test is level with a sample stand, and fiber lengths at the surface area are observed using a scanning electron microscope.", "Contact ends (7 in FIG.", "1(a)) between a reinforcing fiber monofilament (3 in FIG.", "1(a)) protruding from the breakage surface and the matrix resin (B) are connected by a straight line, a perpendicular line is drawn from the center of the straight line to the tip of the protruding reinforcing fiber monofilament (4 in FIG.", "1(a)), and the length of the perpendicular line is measured to a unit of 1 μm.", "A measurement can be made in the same manner as described above even when the reinforcing fiber monofilament is covered with the matrix resin (B) (FIG.", "1(b)).", "The average of fiber lengths can be determined by measuring the fiber length for up to 400 fibers in total, and dividing the total of the measured lengths by the number of the fibers.", "If the number of measurable reinforcing fibers in one test piece is less than 400, or 400 reinforcing fibers exist, but it is difficult to measure 400 fibers, the number of samples may be increased to measure 400 fibers in total.", "Preferably, the molded article is in a state in which the matrix resin (B) is deposited on the surfaces of the reinforcing fibers (A) observed from the breakage cross-section after tension breakage of the molded article.", "The state can be evaluated by the ratio of the number of reinforcing fibers (A) with the lumped matrix resin (B) deposited on at least a part of the surface to the number of reinforcing fibers (A) observed from the breakage cross-section.", "The ratio of reinforcing fibers (A) with the matrix resin (B) deposited on the surface is preferably 10% or more, further preferably 40% or more, more preferably 70% or more.", "This ratio is preferably as high as possible because the bonding strength between the reinforcing fibers (A) and the matrix resin (B) becomes higher so that the effect by improvement of the tensile strength of the matrix resin (B) can be effectively exhibited.", "The ratio of reinforcing fibers (A) with the matrix resin (B) deposited on the surface is measured in the following manner: test piece is disposed such that the breakage surface after a tension test is level with a sample stand, total 400 reinforcing fiber (A) monofilaments protruding from the breakage surface are observed using a scanning electron microscope, the number of reinforcing fiber (A) monofilaments with the lumped matrix resin (B) deposited on at least a part of the surface is measured, and the ratio of reinforcing fibers (A) with the matrix resin (B) deposited on the surface is determined using the following equation: Q=w/M×100(unit: %) Q: ratio of reinforcing fibers (A) with the lumped matrix resin (B) deposited on at least a part of the surface w: number of reinforcing fiber (A) monofilaments with the lumped matrix resin (B) deposited on at least a part of the surface M: total number of reinforcing fiber (A) monofilaments observed for deposition of the matrix resin (B).", "From the viewpoint of ease of processing into a complicated shape, storage stability and productivity, the method of producing the molded article is preferably a method in which a molding material is provided beforehand, and molded and processed to produce a molded article.", "The first preferred method of producing a molding material is, for example, a method in which the reinforcing fibers (A) and the matrix resin (B) are simultaneously melted and kneaded, then cooled in a strand bath, and cut to be pelletized, and the second preferred method of producing a molding material is a method in which a base material formed of the reinforcing fibers (A) is impregnated and/or covered with the melted matrix resin (B), then cooled, and cut to a pellet shape.", "When the third component is added, mention is made of, for example, a method in which the third component is added to the reinforcing fibers (A) beforehand (sizing method), and a method in which the third component is dry-blended with the matrix resin (B).", "In the first method of producing a molding material, the melting and kneading method is not particularly limited, and a known heating, melting and mixing apparatus can be used.", "Specifically, a single-screw extruder, a twin-screw extruder, a twin-screw extruder including a combination of a single-screw extruder and a twin-screw extruder, a kneader extruder or the like can be used.", "Particularly, a twin-screw extruder is preferably used from the viewpoint of mixing power, and a twin-screw extruder having two or more kneading zones is more preferably used.", "The kneading zone is a region including one or more kneading disks installed in a screw of a twin-screw extruder and having a higher effect of dispersing the reinforcing fibers (A) in the form of monofilaments and a higher effect of decreasing the number average fiber length as compared to other zones.", "Accordingly, it is preferable to control kneading zones, and the total length of the kneading zones is preferably 1 to 30%, further preferably 1 to 20%, more preferably 1 to 15% of the full length of the screw.", "Regions other than kneading zones are preferably full-flight zones including one or more full-flights installed in the screw.", "As the twin-screw extruder, one having a (screw length)/(screw diameter) ratio of 20 to 100 is preferably selected from the view point of productivity.", "The cylinder temperature in melting and kneading is preferably 250 to 400° C., further preferably 280 to 350° C. It is preferable that the cylinder temperature is in such a temperature range because breakage of the reinforcing fibers (A) during melting and kneading is suppressed so that the length of the reinforcing fibers (A) in the resulting molding material and molded article can be increased.", "The form of the reinforcing fibers (A) at the time of putting the reinforcing fibers (A) in the heating, melting and mixing apparatus may be either a continuous fiber form or a discontinuous fiber form in which the fibers are cut to a specific length.", "When the reinforcing fibers (A) are put in the heating, melting and mixing apparatus directly in the form of continuous fibers (direct robing), breakage of the reinforcing fibers (A) is suppressed so that the fiber length can be secured in the molding material and the molded article, and therefore a molded article excellent in dynamic characteristics can be obtained.", "The step of cutting the reinforcing fibers (A) can be omitted and, therefore, productivity is improved.", "In the preferred aspect of the molding material obtained in the first method, the reinforcing fibers (A) are dispersed in the form of monofilaments in the molding material.", "It is preferable that the reinforcing fibers (A) are dispersed beforehand because breakage of the reinforcing fibers (A) can be reduced in the process of molding the molding material into a molded article.", "In the second method of producing a molding material, specific examples of the base material formed of the reinforcing fibers (A) may include reinforcing fiber bundles formed by bunching the continuous reinforcing fibers (A) (hereinafter, referred to simply as a reinforcing fiber bundle), base materials in which continuous reinforcing fibers are unidirectionally oriented (hereinafter, referred to simply as a unidirectionally arranged base material), woven fabrics (cloths), nonwoven fabrics, mats, knitted fabrics, braids, yarns and tows.", "Among them, reinforcing fiber bundles are preferably used because they can be continuously taken up at a high speed, leading to excellent productivity.", "Since the reinforcing fiber bundle becomes more advantageous in economy as the number of reinforcing fiber (A) monofilaments increases, the number of monofilaments is preferably 10,000 or more.", "On the other hand, since the reinforcing fiber bundle tends to become more disadvantageous for impregnability of the matrix resin (B) as the number of reinforcing fiber (A) monofilaments increases, the number of monofilaments is more preferably not less than 10,000 and not more than 100,000, especially preferably not less than 10,000 and not more than 50,000 for securing both economy and impregnability.", "The method of melting the matrix resin (B) may be, for example, a method using heating, melting and mixing apparatus.", "The base material formed of the reinforcing fibers (A) can be impregnated and/or covered with the matrix resin (B) by feeding the melted matrix resin (B) to an impregnation tank, and bringing the matrix resin (B) into contact with the base material formed of the reinforcing fibers (A).", "The impregnation tank is a vessel including a mechanism capable of continuously carrying out a step of immersing in the melted matrix resin (B) the base material formed of the reinforcing fibers (A), and taking up the base material.", "Preferably, the impregnation tank further includes a heating source to store the matrix resin (B) in a melted state for a predetermined period of time.", "Preferably, the impregnation tank further includes therein a slit structure in which the spacing of a cavity is inclined, a movable roll or a stationary bar for improving the effect of impregnating the gaps between reinforcing fiber (A) monofilaments with the matrix resin (B).", "In the second method of producing a molding material, the mass average molecular weight of the PAS as a main component of the matrix resin (B) is preferably small because the base material formed of the reinforcing fibers (A) is easily impregnated with the matrix resin (B).", "The mass average molecular weight of the PAS which satisfies such a condition may be, for example, 10,000 to 40,000.In the preferred aspect of the molding material obtained in the second method, the reinforcing fibers (A) are arranged almost in parallel to the axial center direction of the molding material, and the length of the reinforcing fiber (A) is substantially the same as the length of the molding material as shown in FIG.", "3.In FIG.", "3, symbol 3 denotes a black area, and symbol 2 denotes a white area.", "The phrase “arranged almost in parallel to” refers to a state in which the axis line of the major axis of the reinforcing fiber (A) and the axis line of the major axis of the molding material are directed in the same direction, and the angular deviation between the axis lines is preferably 20° or less, more preferably 10° or less, further preferably 5° or less.", "The phase “substantially the same length” means that, for example, in a pellet-shaped molding material, the reinforcing fiber (A) is not cut at some midpoint in the pellet, and reinforcing fibers (A) significantly shorter than the full length of the pellet are not substantially included.", "The amount of reinforcing fibers (A) shorter than the full length of the pellet is not particularly specified, but when the content of reinforcing fibers (A) having a length equal to or less than 50% of the full length of the pellet is 30% by mass or less, it is determined that reinforcing fibers (A) significantly shorter than the full length of the pellet are not substantially included.", "Further, the content of reinforcing fibers (A) having a length equal to or less than 50% of the full length of the pellet is preferably 20% by mass or less.", "The full length of the pellet is a length in the orientation direction of the reinforcing fibers (A) in the pellet.", "When the reinforcing fibers (A) have a length equivalent to that of the molding material, the fiber length of the reinforcing fibers (A) in the molded article can be increased so that excellent dynamic characteristics can be obtained.", "The molding material allows the reinforcing fibers (A) to be dispersed in the form of monofilaments in the process of molding the molding material into a molded article, and the mass average molecular weight of the PAS as a main component of the matrix resin (B) is preferably small because breakage of the reinforcing fibers (A) is suppressed.", "The mass average molecular weight of the PAS which satisfies such a condition may be, for example, 10,000 to 40,000.The number average fiber length of the reinforcing fibers (A) included in the molding material is preferably 4 to 10 mm.", "When the number average fiber length of the reinforcing fibers (A) is in the above-mentioned range, a molded article excellent in fluidity during molding and processing, has a large fiber length in the molded article, and is further excellent in tensile strength may be obtained.", "The number average fiber length can be measured by applying to the molding material the method of measuring the number average fiber length in the molded article.", "The second method is more preferable as a method of producing a molding material because a molding material as described above can be obtained with high productivity.", "Preferably, the molded article is obtained by providing a molding material in the form of a pellet, and molding the molding material from the viewpoint of moldability.", "Examples of the molding method using the molding material include injection molding (injection compression molding, gas-assisted injection molding, insert molding and so on).", "Particularly, injection molding is preferably used from the viewpoint of productivity and moldability into a complicated shape.", "The cylinder temperature in injection molding is preferably 250 to 400° C., further preferably 280 to 350° C. The die temperature in injection molding is preferably 40 to 250° C., further preferably 120 to 200° C. When the cylinder temperature and the die temperature are in the above-mentioned ranges, respectively, breakage of the reinforcing fibers (A) during injection molding is suppressed so that the fiber length can be secured in the molded article and, therefore a molded article excellent in dynamic characteristics can be obtained.", "Molded articles can be obtained using these molding methods.", "The molded articles may contain an impact resistance improving agent such as an elastomer or a rubber component, and other fillers and additives as long as the desired effect is not impaired.", "Examples of the additives include flame retardants, conductivity imparting agents, nucleating agents, ultraviolet absorbers, antioxidants, vibration controlling agents, antibacterial agents, insect repellents, deodorants, coloration preventing agents, heat stabilizers, mold release agents, antistatic agents, plasticizers, lubricants, colorants, pigments, dyes, foaming agents and antifoaming agents.", "The molded articles are suitable as electronic device housings, and are suitably used in computers, televisions, cameras, audio players and the like.", "The molded articles are suitable in electric and electronic component applications, and are suitably used in connector, LED lamps, sockets, optical pickups, terminal plates, printed boards, speakers, small motors, magnetic heads, power modules, power generators, electric motors, transformers, current transformers, voltage regulators, rectifiers, inverters and the like.", "The molded articles are suitable for automobile components, vehicle related components and so on, and are suitably used in safety belt components, instrument panels, console boxes, pillars, roof rails, fenders, bumpers, door panels, roof panels, hood panels, trunk lids, door mirror stays, spoilers, hood louvers, wheel covers, wheel caps, garnishes, intake manifolds, fuel pumps, engine cooling water joints, wind washer nozzles, wipers, battery peripheral components, wire harness connectors, lamp housings, lamp reflectors, lamp sockets and the like.", "The molded articles are suitable as building materials, and are suitably used in wall, roof and ceiling material related components, window material related components, heat insulator material related components, floor material related components, base isolation vibration damping member related components, lifeline related components and the like in civil engineering and construction products.", "The molded articles are suitable as sporting goods, and are suitably used in golf related goods such as golf club shafts and golf balls, sports racket related goods such as tennis rackets and badminton rackets, body protection goods for sports such as masks, helmets, chest protectors, elbow pads and kneepads in American football, baseball, softball and the like, fishing tackle related goods such as fishing rods, reels and fishing lures, winter sports related goods such as skis and snowboards and the like.", "EXAMPLES Our articles and materials will be described further in detail below by way of examples.", "First, evaluation methods will be described below.", "(1) Strand Tensile Strength of Reinforcing Fibers (A) The strand tensile strength was determined in accordance with the following procedure in conformity with the resin impregnation strand test method in JIS R7608 (2007) using a reinforcing fiber bundle including reinforcing fibers (A).", "As a resin composition, “CELLOXIDE (registered trademark)” 2021P (manufactured by Daicel Chemical Industries, Ltd.)/boron trifluoride monoethylamine (manufactured by Tokyo Chemical Industry Co., Ltd.)/acetone=100/3/4 (parts by mass) was used, and as curing conditions, curing was performed at normal pressure at 130° C. for 30 minutes.", "A measurement was made for each of ten strands in a reinforcing fiber bundle, and the average thereof was defined as a strand tensile strength.", "(2) Number Average Fiber Length of Reinforcing Fibers (A) Contained in Molded Article and Molding Material A sample obtained by cutting a part of a molded article, or a molding material was heating-pressed at 300° C. to obtain a 30 μm-thick film.", "The obtained film was observed at a magnification of 25 to 150 depending on the fiber lengths of the reinforcing fibers (A) to be observed with an optical microscope, and fibers dispersed in the film were observed.", "The lengths of the fibers were measured to a unit of 1 m, and the number average fiber length (Ln) was determined from the following equation: Number average fiber length(Ln)=(ΣLi)/Ntotal Li: measured fiber length (i=1, 2, 3, .", ".", ".", ", n) Ntotal: total number of fibers subjected to measurement of fiber length.", "(3) Measurement of Main Orientation Direction of Reinforcing Fibers (A) in Molded Article A molded article molded under the same conditions as those for a molded article subjected to a tension test is embedded in an epoxy resin.", "The surface of the embedded molded article was polished to a depth of 100 μm from the surface to prepare a test piece for observation.", "The polished surface of the molded article was observed with a microscope to determine the main orientation direction.", "On the microscope observation screen, any direction was set to a reference direction D, 400 reinforcing fiber monofilaments were randomly selected, and the angle α (unit: °) formed by each of the reinforcing fiber monofilaments with respect to the reference direction D was measured.", "Two angles α (acute angle and obtuse angle) were formed with respect to the reference direction D, and the angle α on the acute angle side (−90°≤α≤90°) was measured.", "Further, the angle α was considered as a positive angle when the acute angle was formed in a clockwise direction with respect to the reference direction D and, conversely, the angle α was considered as a negative angle when the acute angle was formed in a counterclockwise direction with respect to the reference direction D. Then, the sum of angles α (Σα) formed by the 400 measured reinforcing fiber monofilaments with respect to the reference direction D was determined, and divided by 400, i.e., the number of the measured monofilaments, to calculate the average of angles α.", "The direction along the most intense orientation in the molded article was considered as a direction at the average of angles α with respect to the reference direction D, and the direction along the most intense orientation was determined as a main orientation direction of reinforcing fibers in the molded article, and defined as 0°.", "A direction orthogonal to the direction 0° determined in this measurement was defined as 90°.", "(4) Tension Test in Main Orientation Direction and Direction Orthogonal to Main Orientation Direction in Molded Article A tension test in the main orientation direction (0° direction) determined in (3) and a direction (90° direction) orthogonal to the main orientation direction was conducted in conformity with ASTM D638.In this test, a test piece processed into a Type-I dumbbell test piece was used, and “Instron (registered trademark)” Universal Tester Model (manufactured by Instron, Ltd.) was used as a tester.", "In this measurement, a value obtained in the following manner was used as the tensile strength: a load at a breakage point at which tension breakage of the test piece occurred in the measurement specified in ASTM D638 was divided by the cross-section area of a parallel part of the dumbbell test piece subjected to the test.", "For the tensile elongation, a breakage point strain measured using a strain gauge attached to the parallel part was used.", "When irregularities existed on a molded article, or the shape of the test piece did not conform to the above-mentioned specification, for example, the molded article was small, a tensile test piece equally scaled down while maintaining the shape with respect to a test piece size conforming to the specification was cut out from a molded article part having a flat plate shape wherever possible, and evaluation was performed.", "(5) Ratio of the Number of Reinforcing Fibers (A) Dispersed in the Form of Monofilaments in Molded Article A part of a molded article was cut out, the test piece cut out from the molded article was embedded in an epoxy resin, and the surface of the molded article was polished to a depth of 100 μm from the surface to prepare a test piece for observation.", "The test piece for observation from the molded article was observed with an optical microscope, a reinforcing fiber monofilament (s) serving as a reference was randomly selected, and the two-dimensional intersection angle was measured for all reinforcing fiber monofilaments (t) that was in contact with the reinforcing fiber monofilament (s).", "The two-dimensional contact angle was measured in an acute angle of 0° to 90°, and the ratio of reinforcing fiber monofilaments having a two-dimensional contact angle of 5° or more was calculated from the total number of reinforcing fiber monofilaments (t) subjected to measurement of the two-dimensional intersection angle.", "This measurement was repeated 100 times.", "P=n/N×100(unit: %) P: ratio of the number of reinforcing fibers (A) dispersed in the form of monofilaments (fiber dispersion ratio).", "n: number of reinforcing fiber monofilaments having a two-dimensional intersection angle of 5° or more.", "N: total number of reinforcing fiber monofilaments (t) subjected to measurement of two-dimensional intersection angle.", "(6) Interfacial Shear Strength (IFSS) Between Reinforcing Fibers (A) and Matrix Resin (B) For details of evaluation, reference was made to Drzal, L.T., Material of Science Engineering (Mater.", "Sci.", "Eng.", "), Vol.", "A126, 1990, page 289.One monofilament having a length of 20 cm was taken out from reinforcing fibers (A) used in each of Examples and Comparative Examples.", "Two resin films used in each of Examples and Comparative Examples were provided, and the monofilament taken out from the reinforcing fibers (A) was linearly disposed on one of the resin films.", "The other resin film was superimposed thereon to sandwich the monofilament between the matrix resin films, and pressing was performed at a pressure of 0.5 MPa at 320° C. for 3 minutes to prepare a sample with a monofilament embedded in a resin.", "The obtained sample was cut to obtain a sample piece having a thickness of 0.2 mm, a width of 10 mm and a length of 70 mm with a monofilament buried at the center.", "Ten test pieces were prepared in the same manner as described above.", "For the measurement of the IFSS, the reinforcing fibers (A) and matrix resin (B) used in each of Examples and Comparative Examples were combined to prepare a sample, and the sample was subjected to evaluation.", "Using a usual tension test tool, the test piece was subjected to a tension test at a strain rate of 0.5 mm/min with the test length set to 25 mm.", "The lengths of all the fragments of the monofilament at the time when the monofilament was no longer broken were measured with a transmission microscope, and the measure lengths are averaged to determine an average breakage fiber length L. The IFSS (τ) was determined from the following equations: τ=(σf·d)/(2·Lc) Lc=(4/3)·L τ: IFSS (interfacial shear strength) (unit: MPa) L: average breakage fiber length (unit: μm) described above σf: tensile strength of monofilament (unit: MPa) d: diameter of reinforcing fiber monofilament (unit: μm).", "σf was determined by the following method on the premise that the tensile strength distribution of the reinforcing fiber (A) would follow the Weibull distribution.", "Specifically, using reinforcing fiber (A) monofilaments, the tensile strength of each of the monofilaments having sample strengths of 5 mm, 25 mm and 50 mm was determined according to JIS R7606.Specifically, a reinforcing fiber bundle was divided into four equal parts, and 100 monofilaments were sequentially sampled from the four bundles.", "The monofilaments were sampled as equally as possible from the whole bundle.", "The sampled monofilaments were fixed on a perforated paste board using an adhesive.", "The paste board with the monofilaments fixed thereon was attached to a tension tester, and a tension test was conducted at a strain rate of 1 mm/min with a sample number of 100.A relational expression between the sample length and the average tensile strength was derived by a least square method from the average tensile strength obtained with each of the sample lengths, and the average tensile strength at a sample length Lc was calculated, and defined as of.", "(7) Tensile Elongation of Matrix Resin (B) Using an injection molding machine (J150EII-P manufactured by JSW, Inc.), only the matrix resin (B) used in each of Examples and Comparative Examples were injection-molded to prepare a test piece for tension evaluation.", "The injection molding was performed at a cylinder temperature of 320° C. and a die temperature of 150° C. The measurement of tension elongation was made in conformity with ASTM D638.In the measurement, a Type-I dumbbell test piece was used, and “Instron (registered trademark)” Universal Tester Model (manufactured by Instron, Ltd.) was used as a tester.", "For the tensile elongation, a breakage point strain measured using a strain gauge attached to the parallel part was used as a measurement value.", "(8) Mass Average Molecular Weight of PAS The mass average molecular weight of a PAS was calculated as a mass average molecular weight (Mw) in terms of a polystyrene using gel permeation chromatography (GPC).", "GPC measurement conditions are shown below: Apparatus: Senshu Scientific SSC-7100 (column brand: Senshu Scientific GPC3506) Eluent: 1-chloronaphthalene, flow rate: 1.0 mL/min, column temperature: 210° C., detector temperature: 210° C. (9) Fiber Length in Observation of Breakage Surface after Tension Test A test piece was disposed such that the breakage surface after a tension test was level with a sample stand, and fiber lengths at the surface area were observed using a scanning electron microscope.", "Contact ends between a reinforcing fiber monofilament protruding from the breakage surface and the matrix resin (B) were connected by a straight line, a perpendicular line was drawn from the center of the straight line to the tip of the protruding reinforcing fiber monofilament, and the length of the perpendicular line was measured to a unit of 1 μm.", "A measurement was made in the same manner as described above even when the reinforcing fiber monofilament was covered with the matrix resin (B).", "The average of fiber lengths was determined by measuring the fiber length for up to 400 fibers in total, and dividing the total of the measured lengths by the number of the fibers.", "(10) Deposition of Matrix Resin (B) on Surface of Reinforcing Fiber (A) at Breakage Surface after Tension Test A test piece was disposed such that the breakage surface after a tension test was level with a sample stand, and reinforcing fiber (A) monofilaments protruding from the breakage surface were observed using a scanning electron microscope.", "Total 400 reinforcing fiber (A) monofilaments were observed, and the number of reinforcing fiber (A) monofilaments with the lumped matrix resin (B) deposited on at least a part of the surface was measured.", "The ratio of reinforcing fibers (A) with the lumped matrix resin (B) deposited on at least a part of the surface was determined from the following equation, and evaluated in the following four grades, and samples rated “fair” to “excellent” were determined as passing.", "Q=w/M×100(unit: %) Q: ratio of reinforcing fibers (A) with the lumped matrix resin (B) deposited on at least a part of the surface w: number of reinforcing fiber (A) monofilaments with the lumped matrix resin (B) deposited on at least a part of the surface M: total number of reinforcing fiber (A) monofilaments observed for deposition of the matrix resin (B) excellent: Q is 70% or more, and the bonding strength of the matrix resin (B) to the reinforcing fibers (A) is especially high.", "good: Q is not less than 40% and less than 70%, and the bonding strength of the matrix resin (B) to the reinforcing fibers (A) is high.", "fair: Q is not less than 10% and less than 40%, and the matrix resin (B) bonds to the reinforcing fibers (A).", "bad: Q is less than 10%, and the matrix resin (B) does not bond to the reinforcing fibers (A).", "Materials used in Examples and Comparative Examples will now be described.", "Reinforcing Fibers (A) (CF-1) A copolymer mainly including polyacrylonitrile was subjected to spinning, a firing treatment and a surface oxidation treatment to obtain a continuous carbon fiber strand with a total monofilament number of 12,000.The characteristics of the carbon fiber were as shown below: Tensile strength: 4900 MPa Tensile elastic modulus: 240 GPa Tensile elongation: 2% Specific gravity: 1.8 diameter of monofilament: 7 μm.", "(CF-2) pitch-based carbon fiber, “Dialead (registered trademark)” K223Y1 manufactured by Mitsubishi Plastics, Inc. was used.", "The characteristics of the carbon fiber were as shown below: Tensile strength: 1000 MPa Tensile elastic modulus: 50 GPa Tensile elongation: 1.8% Specific gravity: 1.5 diameter of monofilament: 13 μm.", "(GF-1) made of E-glass; a continuous glass fiber strand with a total monofilament number of 1600.The characteristics of the glass fiber were as shown below: Tensile strength: 3400 MPa Tensile elastic modulus: 72 GPa Tensile elongation: 3% Specific gravity: 2.6 diameter of monofilament: 13 μm.", "Surface Treatment Agent (SZ-1) bisphenol A diglycidyl ether (manufactured by SIGMA-ALDRICH Corporation) Mass average molecular weight: 340 Number of epoxy groups per molecule: 2 Value obtained by dividing the mass average molecular weight by the total number of carboxyl groups, amino groups, hydroxyl groups and epoxy groups per molecule: 170.", "(SZ-2) glycerol triglycidyl ether (manufactured by Wako Pure Chemical Industries, Ltd.) Mass average molecular weight: 260 Number of epoxy groups per molecule: 3 Value obtained by dividing the mass average molecular weight by the total number of carboxyl groups, amino groups, hydroxyl groups and epoxy groups per molecule: 87.", "(SZ-3) (3-glycidyloxypropyl)triethoxysilane (manufactured by SIGMA-ALDRICH Corporation) Mass average molecular weight: 278 Number of epoxy groups per molecule: 1 Value obtained by dividing the mass average molecular weight by the total number of carboxyl groups, amino groups, hydroxyl groups and epoxy groups per molecule: 278.Components of Matrix Resin (B) (PPS-1) polyphenylene sulfide of phenyl group end product Melting point: 285° C. Mass average molecular weight: 45,000 Tensile elongation: 2.0% Amount of volatile components: 0.6%.", "(PPS-2) polyphenylene sulfide of acid end product Melting point: 285° C. Mass average molecular weight: 50,000 Tensile elongation: 2.5% Amount of volatile components: 0.7%.", "(PPS-3) polyphenylene sulfide of acid end product Melting point: 285° C. Mass average molecular weight: 55,000 Tensile elongation: 3.3% Amount of volatile components: 0.7%.", "(PPS-4) polyphenylene sulfide of acid end product Melting point: 285° C. Mass average molecular weight: 60,000 Tensile elongation: 4.5% Amount of volatile components: 0.7%.", "(PPS-5) polyphenylene sulfide of acid end product Melting point: 285° C. Mass average molecular weight: 90,000 Tensile elongation: 11% Amount of volatile components: 0.8%.", "(PPS-6) polyphenylene sulfide of acid end product Melting point: 285° C. Mass average molecular weight: 30,000 Tensile elongation: 0.8% Amount of volatile components: 0.5%.", "(PPS-7) polyphenylene sulfide of acid end product Melting point: 285° C. Mass average molecular weight: 40,000 Tensile elongation: 1.3% Amount of volatile components: 0.5%.", "(Epoxy-1) glycerol triglycidyl ether (manufactured by Wako Pure Chemical Industries, Ltd.) Mass average molecular weight: 260 Number of epoxy groups per molecule: 3 Value obtained by dividing the mass average molecular weight by the total number of carboxyl groups, amino groups, hydroxyl groups and epoxy groups per molecule: 87.", "(CDI-1) aliphatic polycarbodiimide (“CARBODILITE (registered trademark)” HMV-8CA (manufactured by Nisshinbo Chemical Inc.)) Carbodiimide group equivalent: 278 Mass average molecular weight: 3,000.Reference Example 1 A reinforcing fiber bundle including reinforcing fibers (A) was continuously taken up, immersed in an aqueous surface treatment agent mother liquor containing 2% by mass of a surface treatment agent, and then heated and dried at 230° C. to obtain reinforcing fibers (A) with a surface treatment agent deposited thereon.", "The reinforcing fibers (A) were defined as CF-1, and the reinforcing fibers (A) with a surface treatment agent deposited thereon, obtained using SZ-1 as the surface treatment agent, were defined as CF-3.In CF-3, the deposition amount of SZ-1 after drying was 1 part by mass based on 100 parts by mass of CF-1.Reference Example 2 Except that the surface treatment agent was changed from SZ-1 to SZ-2, the same procedure as in Reference Example 1 was carried out to obtain reinforcing fibers (A) with a surface treatment agent deposited thereon.", "The obtained reinforcing fibers (A) with a surface treatment agent deposited thereon were defined as CF-4.In CF-4, the deposition amount of SZ-2 after drying was 1 part by mass based on 100 parts by mass of CF-1.Reference Example 3 Except that the surface treatment agent was changed from SZ-1 to SZ-3, the same procedure as in Reference Example 1 was carried out to obtain reinforcing fibers (A) with a surface treatment agent deposited thereon.", "The obtained reinforcing fibers (A) with a surface treatment agent deposited thereon were defined as CF-5.In CF-5, the deposition amount of SZ-3 after drying was 1 part by mass based on 100 parts by mass of CF-1.Reference Example 4 CDI-1 was immersed in hot water at 80° C. for 5 days to obtain a compound in which carbodiimide groups were transformed to urea groups, and this compound was defined as Urea-1.Transformation of carbodiimide groups to urea groups was confirmed by disappearance of the absorption peak (2119 cm−1) of the carbodiimide group in IR spectrum measurement.", "Example 1 A molding material was prepared according to the following procedure using CF-1 as the reinforcing fibers (A) and PPS-2 as the matrix resin (B), and the molding material was then injection-molded to obtain a molded article.", "CF-1 was cut to a length of 6 mm to prepare chopped strands.", "In a twin-screw extruder (TEX-30α from JSW, Inc., (screw length)/(screw diameter)=31.5), PPS-2 was main-fed, and the chopped strands were side-fed to melt and knead the components.", "The melting and kneading was performed at a cylinder temperature of 290° C., a screw rotation number of 150 rpm and a discharge rate of 10 kg/hour.", "The discharged product was taken out and simultaneously cooled by a water cooling bath to form a gut, and the gut was cut to a length of 5 mm to form a pellet.", "The blending amount was adjusted so that the content of CF-1 was 20% by mass, and the content of PPS-2 was 80% by mass.", "The pellet was injection-molded to prepare a molded article using an injection molding machine (J150EII-P manufactured by JSW, Inc.).", "The injection molding was performed at a cylinder temperature of 320° C. and a die temperature of 150° C. Test pieces were provided from the obtained molded article, annealed at 150° C. for 2 hours, then air-cooled, and subjected to a test.", "Evaluation results were described in Table 1.PPS-2 was injection-molded to prepare test pieces for tension evaluation with an injection molding machine (J150EII-P manufactured by JSW, Inc.).", "The injection molding was performed at a cylinder temperature of 320° C. and a die temperature of 150° C. The obtained test pieces were annealed at 150° C. for 2 hours, then air-cooled, and subjected to a tension test.", "The tensile elongation of the matrix resin (B) thus obtained was described in Table 1.Example 2 Except that CF-1 as the reinforcing fibers (A) was blended in an amount of 30% by mass, and PPS-2 as the matrix resin (B) was blended in an amount of 70% by mass, the same procedure as in Example 1 was carried out to prepare test pieces, and the test pieces were subjected to a test.", "Evaluation results were described in Table 1.Example 3 Except that CF-1 as the reinforcing fibers (A) was blended in an amount of 40% by mass, and PPS-2 as the matrix resin (B) was blended in an amount of 60% by mass, the same procedure as in Example 1 was carried out to prepare test pieces, and the test pieces were subjected to a test.", "Evaluation results were described in Table 1.Example 4 Except that CF-1 as the reinforcing fibers (A) was blended in an amount of 30% by mass, and in place of PPS-2, PPS-3 was blended as the matrix resin (B) in an amount of 70% by mass, the same procedure as in Example 1 was carried out to prepare test pieces, and the test pieces were subjected to a test.", "Evaluation results were described in Table 1.Example 5 Except that CF-1 as the reinforcing fibers (A) was blended in an amount of 30% by mass, and in place of PPS-2, PPS-4 was blended as the matrix resin (B) in an amount of 70% by mass, the same procedure as in Example 1 was carried out to prepare test pieces, and the test pieces were subjected to a test.", "Evaluation results were described in Table 1.Example 6 A molding material was prepared according to the following procedure using CF-1 as the reinforcing fibers (A) and PPS-3 and Epoxy-1 as the matrix resin (B), and the molding material was then injection-molded to obtain a molded article.", "CF-1 was cut to a length of 6 mm to prepare chopped strands.", "In a twin-screw extruder (TEX-30α from JSW, Inc., (screw length)/(screw diameter)=31.5), a mixture including PPS-3 and Epoxy-1 with 5% by mass of Epoxy-1 dry-blended with 95% by mass of PPS-3 was main-fed as a raw material of the matrix resin (B), and the chopped strands side-fed to melt and knead the components.", "The melting and kneading was performed at a cylinder temperature of 290° C., a screw rotation number of 150 rpm and a discharge rate of 10 kg/hour.", "The discharged product was taken out and simultaneously cooled by a water cooling bath to form a gut, and the gut was cut to a length of 5 mm to form a pellet.", "The blending amount was adjusted so that the content of CF-1 was 30% by mass, and the content of the matrix resin (B) including PPS-3 and Epoxy-1 was 70% by mass.", "The pellet was injection-molded to prepare a molded article with an injection molding machine (J150EII-O manufactured by JSW, Inc.).", "The injection molding was performed at a cylinder temperature of 320° C. and a die temperature of 150° C. Test pieces were provided from the obtained molded article, annealed at 150° C. for 2 hours, then air-cooled, and subjected to a test.", "Evaluation results were described in Table 1.Further, only the raw material of the matrix resin (B) was main-fed to a twin-screw extruder (TEX-30α from JSW, Inc., (screw length)/(screw diameter)=31.5) to be melted and kneaded.", "The melting and kneading was performed at a cylinder temperature of 290° C., a screw rotation number of 150 rpm and a discharge rate of 10 kg/hour.", "The discharged product was taken out and simultaneously cooled by a water cooling bath to form a gut, and the gut was cut to a length of 5 mm to obtain a resin pellet including the matrix rein (B).", "The resin pellet was injection-molded to prepare test pieces for tension evaluation with an injection molding machine (J150EII-P manufactured by JSW, Inc.).", "The injection molding was performed at a cylinder temperature of 320° C. and a die temperature of 150° C. The obtained test pieces were annealed at 150° C. for 2 hours, then air-cooled, and subjected to a tension test.", "The tensile elongation of the matrix resin (B) thus obtained was described in Table 1.Example 7 Except that the component dry-blended with PPS-3 as the matrix resin (B) was changed from Epoxy-1 to CDI-1, the same procedure as in Example 6 was carried out to prepare test pieces, and the test pieces were subjected to a test.", "Evaluation results were described in Table 1.Example 8 Except that the component dry-blended with PPS-3 as the matrix resin (B) was changed from Epoxy-1 to CDI-1, and the blending amount thereof was adjusted so that the content of CDI-1 was 0.5% by mass while the content of PPS-3 was 99.5% by mass, the same procedure as in Example 6 was carried out to prepare test pieces, and the test pieces were subjected to a test.", "Evaluation results were described in Table 1.Example 9 Except that as the reinforcing fibers (A), GF-1 was used in place of CF-1, the same procedure as in Example 8 was carried out to prepare test pieces, and the test pieces were subjected to a test.", "Evaluation results were described in Table 1.Example 10 Except that the component dry-blended with PPS-3 as the matrix resin (B) was changed from Epoxy-1 to Urea-1, and the blending amount thereof was adjusted so that the content of Urea-1 was 0.5% by mass while the content of PPS-3 was 99.5% by mass, the same procedure as in Example 6 was carried out to prepare test pieces, and the test pieces were subjected to a test.", "Evaluation results were described in Table 1.Example 11 Except that in injection molding, molding was performed with the back pressure reduced to 50% of that in Example 1, the same procedure as in Example 1 was carried out to prepare test pieces, and the test pieces were subjected to a test.", "Evaluation results were described in Table 1.TABLE 1 Exam- Exam- Exam- Exam- Exam- Exam- Exam- Exam- Exam- Exam- Exam- ple 1 ple 2 ple 3 ple 4 ple 5 ple 6 ple 7 ple 8 ple 9 ple 10 ple 11 (Material) Reinforcing fibers (A) Type CF-1 CF-1 CF-1 CF-1 CF-1 CF-1 CF-1 CF-1 GF-1 CF-1 CF-1 % by mass 20 30 40 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 20 Strand 4.9 4.9 4.9 4.9 4.9 4.9 4.9 4.9 3.4 4.9 4.9 strength GPa Matrix resin (B) % by mass 80 70 60 70 70 70 70 70 70 70 80 (Characteristics of matrix resin (B)) Polyarylene sulfide Type PPS-2 PPS-2 PPS-2 PPS-3 PPS-4 PPS-3 PPS-3 PPS-3 PPS-3 PPS-3 PPS-2 % by mass 100 100 100 100 100 95 95 99.5 99.5 99.5 100 Other compounds Type 0 0 0 0 0 Epoxy-1 CDI-1 CDI-1 CDI-1 Urea-1 0 (Blending amount to % by mass 5 5 0.5 0.5 0.5 polyarylene sulfide) Tensile elongation of matrix % 2.5 2.5 2.5 3.3 4.5 3 3 3.3 3.3 3.3 2.5 resin (B) (Molded article) Number average fiber length mm 0.8 0.7 0.5 0.4 0.6 0.5 0.6 0.6 0.4 0.6 0.9 Tensile strength in main MPa 250 255 260 255 250 280 280 300 240 280 240 orientation direction Tensile strength in direction MPa 150 160 164 180 180 200 200 240 155 210 140 orthogonal to main orientation direction Tensile elongation in main % 1.8 1.8 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.8 1.1 1.6 orientation direction Ratio of the number of fibers % 99 95 93 95 99 95 95 95 95 95 91 dispersed in the form of monofilaments IFSS MPa 21 21 21 23 25 30 32 32 22 27 21 Fiber length after tension mm 0.20 0.20 0.20 0.19 0.18 0.18 0.16 0.16 0.16 0.16 0.20 breakage Deposition of matrix resin (B) — fair fair fair fair fair good good good fair fair fair on surface of reinforcing fiber (A) at breakage surface Comparative Example 1 Except that as the reinforcing fibers (A), CF-2 was used in place of CF-1, the same procedure as in Example 1 was carried out to prepare test pieces, and the test pieces were subjected to a test.", "Evaluation results were described in Table 2.Comparative Example 2 Except that in place of CF-1, CF-2 was blended as the reinforcing fibers (A) in an amount of 30% by mass, and the blending amount of PPS-2 as the matrix resin (B) was changed to 70% by mass, the same procedure as in Example 1 was carried out to prepare test pieces, and the test pieces were subjected to a test.", "Evaluation results were described in Table 2.Comparative Example 3 Except that the blending amount of CF-1 as the reinforcing fibers (A) was changed from 20% by mass to 30% by mass, the matrix resin (B) was changed from PPS-2 to PPS-1, and the blending amount thereof was changed from 80% by mass to 70% by mass, the same procedure as in Example 1 was carried out to prepare test pieces, and the test pieces were subjected to a test.", "Evaluation results were described in Table 2.Comparative Example 4 Except that the blending amount of CF-1 used as the reinforcing fibers (A) was changed from 20% by mass to 30% by mass, the matrix resin (B) was changed from PPS-2 to PPS-5, and the blending amount thereof was changed from 80% by mass to 70% by mass, the same procedure as in Example 1 was carried out to prepare test pieces, and the test pieces were subjected to a test.", "Evaluation results were described in Table 2.Comparative Example 5 Except that a change was made so that the blending amount of CF-1 used as the reinforcing fibers (A) was 40% by mass while the blending amount of the matrix resin (B) was 60% by mass, the matrix resin (B) was changed from PPS-2 to a mixture of PPS-3 and Epoxy-1, and a change was made so that the blending amount of Epoxy-1 was 5% by mass while the blending amount of PPS-3 was 95% by mass, the same procedure as in Example 1 was carried out to prepare test pieces, and the test pieces were subjected to a test.", "Evaluation results were described in Table 2.Comparative Example 6 Except that a change was made so that the blending amount of CF-1 used as the reinforcing fibers (A) was 40% by mass while the blending amount of the matrix resin (B) was 60% by mass, the matrix resin (B) was changed to a mixture of PPS-3 and CDI-1, and a change was made so that the blending amount of CDI-1 was 5% by mass while the blending amount of PPS-3 was 95% by mass, the same procedure as in Example 6 was carried out to prepare test pieces, and the test pieces were subjected to a test.", "Evaluation results were described in Table 2.TABLE 2 Comparative Comparative Comparative Comparative Comparative Comparative Example 1 Example 2 Example 3 Example 4 Example 5 Example 6 (Material) Reinforcing fibers (A) Type CF-2 CF-2 CF-1 CF-1 CF-1 CF-1 % by mass 20 30 30 30 40 40 Strand strength 1.0 1.0 4.9 4.9 4.9 4.9 GPa Matrix resin (B) % by mass 80 70 70 70 60 60 (Characteristics of matrix resin (B)) Polyarylene sulfide Type PPS-2 PPS-2 PPS-1 PPS-5 PPS-3 PPS-3 % by mass 100 100 100 100 95 95 Other compounds Type 0 0 0 0 Epoxy-1 CDI-1 (Blending amount to polyarylene sulfide) % by mass 5 5 Tensile elongation of matrix resin (B) % 2.5 2.5 2.0 11 3 3 (Molded article) Number average fiber length mm 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.2 0.2 0.2 Tensile strength in main orientation direction MPa 125 130 100 120 200 230 Tensile strength in direction orthogonal to main MPa 90 95 75 100 140 140 orientation direction Tensile elongation in main orientation direction % 1.7 1.7 1.2 1.8 1.8 1.2 Ratio of the number of fibers dispersed in the % 91 91 80 70 89 80 form of monofilaments IFSS MPa 12 12 15 17 30 32 Fiber length after tension breakage mm 0.05 0.05 0.20 0.19 0.09 0.12 Deposition of matrix resin (B) on surface of — bad bad bad bad good good reinforcing fiber (A) at breakage surface Comparison Between Examples 1 to 11 and Comparative Examples 1 to 6 In Examples 1 to 11 where the strand strength of the reinforcing fibers (A) was secured, the elongation of the matrix rein (B) was selected, the IFSS between the reinforcing fibers (A) and the matrix resin (B) was sufficient, and the number average fiber length of the fibers in the molded article fell within a specific range, the molded article exhibited a high tensile strength of 240 MPa or more in the main orientation direction.", "In Examples 6 to 10 where further a compound having a specific functional group, or a compound having a specific structure was mixed in the matrix resin (B), the molded article was superior in tensile strength as compared to Examples 1 to 5.In Comparative Examples 1 and 2, the reinforcing fibers had an insufficient strand strength, and the IFSS between the reinforcing fibers (A) and the matrix resin (B) was low so that the resulting molded article was poor in tensile strength.", "In Comparative Example 3, the IFSS between the reinforcing fibers (A) and the matrix resin (B) was low so that the resulting molded article was poor in tensile strength.", "In Comparative Example 4, the matrix resin (B) had a large mass average molecular weight, and the reinforcing fibers (A) in the molded article had a small number average fiber length.", "Further, the IFSS between the reinforcing fibers (A) and the matrix resin (B) was low so that the resulting molded article was poor in tensile strength.", "In Comparative Examples 5 and 6, the reinforcing fibers (A) in the molded article had a number average fiber length of less than 0.4 mm, and therefore although the IFSS between the reinforcing fibers (A) and the matrix resin (B) was 20 or more, the resulting molded article was poor in tensile strength.", "Example 12 A molding material was prepared according to the following procedure using CF-1 as the reinforcing fibers (A) and PPS-6 and CDI-1 as the matrix resin (B), and the molding material was then injection-molded to obtain a molded article.", "PPS-6 and CDI-1 were dry-blended with each other such that the content of CDI-1 was 5% by mass while the content of PPS-6 was 95% by mass, and the mixture was main-fed to a twin-screw extruder (TEX-30α from JSW, Inc., (screw length)/(screw diameter)=31.5) to be melted and kneaded.", "The melting and kneading was performed at a cylinder temperature of 290° C., a screw rotation number of 150 rpm and a discharge rate of 10 kg/hour.", "The discharged product was taken out and simultaneously cooled by a water cooling bath to form a gut, and the gut was cut to a length of 5 mm to obtain a resin pellet including the matrix rein (B).", "Using an injection molding machine (J150EII-P manufactured by JSW, Inc.), the resin pellet was injection-molded to prepare test pieces for tension evaluation.", "The injection molding was performed at a cylinder temperature of 320° C. and a die temperature of 150° C. The obtained test pieces were annealed at 150° C. for 2 hours, then air-cooled, and subjected to a tension test.", "The tensile elongation of the matrix resin (B) thus obtained was described in Table 3.The resin pellet was melted and kneaded in a single-screw extruder at 320° C. to form the molten matrix resin (B), and the molten matrix resin (B) was supplied to an impregnation tank mounted at the head of the extruder.", "Further, CF-1 was continuously taken up as a reinforcing fiber bundle including the reinforcing fibers (A), and caused to pass through the inside of the impregnation tank, thereby obtaining an impregnated strand with a reinforcing fiber bundle impregnated with a fixed amount of the matrix resin (B) per unit length thereof.", "The impregnated strand was cooled by a water cooling bath to form a gut, and the gut was cut to a length of 7 mm to form a reinforcing fiber-containing pellet.", "The blending amount was adjusted so that the content of the reinforcing fibers (A) was 20% by mass, and the content of the matrix resin (B) was 80% by mass.", "The number average fiber length of the molding material was measured from the thus-obtained reinforcing fiber-containing pellet.", "The number average fiber length of the molding material was described in Table 3.Using an injection molding machine (J150EII-P manufactured by JSW, Inc.), the reinforcing fiber-containing pellet was injection-molded to prepare a molded article.", "The injection molding was performed at a cylinder temperature of 320° C. and a die temperature of 150° C. Test pieces were provided from the obtained molded article, annealed at 150° C. for 2 hours, then air-cooled, and subjected to a test.", "Evaluation results were described in Table 3.Comparative Example 7 Except that the compound used in dry-blending as the matrix resin (B) was changed from CDI-1 to Epoxy-1, the same procedure as in Example 12 was carried out to prepare a molding material, and test pieces were provided from a molded article produced using the molding material, and were subjected to various kinds of tests.", "Evaluation results were described in Table 3.Comparative Example 8 Except that the compound used in dry-blending as the matrix resin (B) was omitted, and only PPS-6 was used as the matrix resin (B), the same procedure as in Example 12 was carried out to prepare a molding material, and test pieces were provided from a molded article produced using the molding material, and were subjected to various kinds of tests.", "Evaluation results were described in Table 3.Example 13 Except that the PAS used in dry-blending as the matrix resin (B) was changed from PPS-6 to PPS-7, the same procedure as in Example 12 was carried out to prepare a molding material, and test pieces were provided from a molded article produced using the molding material, and were subjected to various kinds of tests.", "Evaluation results were described in Table 3.Comparative Example 9 Except that the compound used in dry-blending as the matrix resin (B) was changed from CDI-1 to Epoxy-1, the same procedure as in Example 13 was carried out to prepare a molding material, and test pieces were provided from a molded article produced using the molding material, and were subjected to various kinds of tests.", "Evaluation results were described in Table 3.Comparative Example 10 Except that the compound used in dry-blending as the matrix resin (B) was omitted, and only PPS-7 was used as the matrix resin (B), the same procedure as in Example 13 was carried out to prepare a molding material, and test pieces were provided from a molded article produced using the molding material, and were subjected to various kinds of tests.", "Evaluation results were described in Table 3.Example 14 Except that the PAS used in dry-blending as the matrix resin (B) was changed from PPS-6 to PPS-4, the same procedure as in Example 12 was carried out to prepare a molding material, and test pieces were provided from a molded article produced using the molding material, and were subjected to various kinds of tests.", "Evaluation results were described in Table 3.Example 15 Except that the compound used in dry-blending as the matrix resin (B) was changed from CDI-1 to Epoxy-1, the same procedure as in Example 14 was carried out to prepare a molding material, and test pieces were provided from a molded article produced using the molding material, and were subjected to various kinds of tests.", "Evaluation results were described in Table 3.Comparative Example 11 Except that the compound used in dry-blending as the matrix resin (B) was omitted, and only PPS-4 was used as the matrix resin (B), the same procedure as in Example 14 was carried out to prepare a molding material, and test pieces were provided from a molded article produced using the molding material, and were subjected to various kinds of tests.", "Evaluation results were described in Table 3.Comparative Example 12 Except that the PAS used in dry-blending as the matrix resin (B) was changed from PPS-6 to PPS-5, the same procedure as in Example 12 was carried out to prepare a molding material, and test pieces were provided from a molded article produced using the molding material, and were subjected to various kinds of tests.", "Evaluation results were described in Table 3.Comparative Example 13 Except that the compound used in dry-blending as the matrix resin (B) was changed from CDI-1 to Epoxy-1, the same procedure as in Comparative Example 12 was carried out to prepare a molding material, and test pieces were provided from a molded article produced using the molding material, and were subjected to various kinds of tests.", "Evaluation results were described in Table 3.Comparative Example 14 Except that the compound used in dry-blending as the matrix resin (B) was omitted, and only PPS-5 was used as the matrix resin (B), the same procedure as in Comparative Example 12 was carried out to prepare a molding material, and test pieces were provided from a molded article produced using the molding material, and were subjected to various kinds of tests.", "Evaluation results were described in Table 3.TABLE 3 Example Comparative Comparative Example Comparative Comparative 12 Example 7 Example 8 13 Example 9 Example 10 (Material) Reinforcing fibers (A) Type CF-1 CF-1 CF-1 CF-1 CF-1 CF-1 % by mass 20 20 20 20 20 20 Strand 4.9 4.9 4.9 4.9 4.9 4.9 strength GPa Matrix resin (B) % by mass 80 80 80 80 80 80 (Characteristics of matrix resin (B)) Polyarylene sulfide Type PPS-6 PPS-6 PPS-6 PPS-7 PPS-7 PPS-7 % by mass 95 95 100 95 95 100 Other compounds Type CDI-1 Epoxy-1 0 CDI-1 Epoxy-1 0 (Blending amount to polyarylene % by mass 5 5 5 5 sulfide) Tensile elongation of matrix resin (B) % 1.6 0.6 0.8 2.6 1 1.3 (Molding material) Number average fiber length of mm 7 7 7 7 7 7 reinforcing fibers (A) contained in molding material (Molded article) Number average fiber length of mm 1 1 1 0.7 0.9 0.9 reinforcing fibers (A) contained in molded article Tensile strength in main orientation MPa 315 200 190 310 210 200 direction Tensile strength in direction MPa 200 140 140 190 145 140 orthogonal to main orientation direction Tensile elongation in main orientation % 1.4 0.9 0.9 1.3 1 0.9 direction Ratio of the number of fibers % 94 99 99 92 95 95 dispersed in the form of monofilaments IFSS MPa 32 30 20 32 30 20 Fiber length after tension breakage mm 0.2 0.25 0.3 0.2 0.3 0.35 Deposition of matrix resin (B) on — excellent excellent fair excellent excellent fair surface of reinforcing fiber (A) at breakage surface Comparative Comparative Comparative Comparative Example 14 Example 15 Example 11 Example 12 Example 13 Example 14 (Material) Reinforcing fibers (A) CF-1 CF-1 CF-1 CF-1 CF-1 CF-1 20 20 20 20 20 20 4.9 4.9 4.9 4.9 4.9 4.9 Matrix resin (B) 80 80 80 80 80 80 (Characteristics of matrix resin (B)) Polyarylene sulfide PPS-4 PPS-4 PPS-4 PPS-5 PPS-5 PPS-5 95 95 100 95 95 100 Other compounds CDI-1 Epoxy-1 0 CDI-1 Epoxy-1 0 (Blending amount to polyarylene sulfide) 5 5 5 5 Tensile elongation of matrix resin (B) 3.2 3.1 4.5 3.3 3.3 11 (Molding material) Number average fiber length of 7 7 7 7 7 7 reinforcing fibers (A) contained in molding material (Molded article) Number average fiber length of 0.5 0.5 0.3 0.2 0.2 0.1 reinforcing fibers (A) contained in molded article Tensile strength in main orientation 250 240 220 210 200 170 direction Tensile strength in direction orthogonal 175 170 145 140 135 115 to main orientation direction Tensile elongation in main orientation 1.1 1.1 1 1 0.9 0.8 direction Ratio of the number of fibers dispersed 91 91 88 65 65 60 in the form of monofilaments IFSS 32 30 20 32 30 20 Fiber length after tension breakage 0.2 0.2 0.14 0.1 0.1 0.05 Deposition of matrix resin (B) on good good bad good good bad surface of reinforcing fiber (A) at breakage surface The results in Examples and Comparative Examples described in Table 3.A comparison between the molded article described in Example 12 and the molded articles described in Comparative Examples 7 and 8 shows that when CDI-1 is added, both an increase in tensile elongation of PPS-6 and an improvement in IFSS can be achieved to obtain a molded article excellent in tensile strength.", "A comparison between the molded article described in Example 13 and the molded articles described in Comparative Examples 9 and 10 shows that when CDI-1 is added, both an increase in tensile elongation of PPS-7 and an improvement in IFSS can be achieved to obtain a molded article excellent in tensile strength.", "A comparison between the molded articles described in Examples 14 and 15 and the molded article described in Comparative Example 11 shows that when CDI-1 is added, the tensile elongation of PPS-4 is decreased, but the IFSS is improved.", "Further, it is apparent that when the number average fiber length of the reinforcing fibers (A) is 0.4 mm or more, a molded article excellent in tensile strength is obtained.", "A comparison among the molded articles described in Comparative Examples 12 to 14 shows that when CDI-1 is added, the tensile elongation of PPS-5 is decreased, but the IFSS is improved.", "Further, it is apparent that when the number average fiber length of the reinforcing fibers (A) is less than 0.4 mm, a molded article excellent in tensile strength cannot be obtained.", "A comparison between the molded articles described in Examples 12 to 14 and the molded article described in Comparative Example 12 shows that when the PAS used in the matrix resin (B) has a smaller mass average molecular weight, the number average fiber length of the fibers in the resulting molded article increases so that a molded article excellent in tensile strength is obtained.", "Example 16 Except that the blending amount of CF-1 used as the reinforcing fibers (A) was changed from 20% by mass to 30% by mass, and the blending amount of the matrix resin (B) was changed from 80% by mass to 70% by mass, the same procedure as in Example 12 was carried out to prepare a molding material, and test pieces were provided from a molded article produced using the molding material, and were subjected to various kinds of tests.", "Evaluation results were described in Table 4.Comparative Example 15 Except that the compound used in dry-blending as the matrix resin (B) was omitted, and only PPS-6 was used as the matrix resin (B), the same procedure as in Example 16 was carried out to prepare a molding material, and test pieces were provided from a molded article produced using the molding material, and were subjected to various kinds of tests.", "Evaluation results were described in Table 4.Comparative Example 16 Except that the blending amount of CF-1 used as the reinforcing fibers (A) was changed from 20% by mass to 50% by mass, and the blending amount of the matrix resin (B) was changed from 80% by mass to 50% by mass, the same procedure as in Example 12 was carried out to prepare a molding material, and test pieces were provided from a molded article produced using the molding material, and were subjected to various kinds of tests.", "Evaluation results were described in Table 4.Comparative Example 17 Except that the compound used in dry-blending as the matrix resin (B) was omitted, and only PPS-6 was used as the matrix resin (B), the same procedure as in Comparative Example 16 was carried out to prepare a molding material, and test pieces were provided from a molded article produced using the molding material, and were subjected to various kinds of tests.", "Evaluation results were described in Table 4.Example 17 Except that the reinforcing fibers (A) were changed from CF-1 to CF-3, the same procedure as in Example 12 was carried out to prepare a molding material, and test pieces were provided from a molded article produced using the molding material, and were subjected to various kinds of tests.", "Evaluation results were described in Table 4.Example 18 Except that the reinforcing fibers (A) were changed from CF-1 to CF-4, the same procedure as in Example 12 was carried out to prepare a molding material, and test pieces were provided from a molded article produced using the molding material, and were subjected to various kinds of tests.", "Evaluation results were described in Table 4.Example 19 Except that the reinforcing fibers (A) were changed from CF-1 to CF-5, the same procedure as in Example 12 was carried out to prepare a molding material, and test pieces were provided from a molded article produced using the molding material, and were subjected to various kinds of tests.", "Evaluation results were described in Table 4.Example 20 Except that the reinforcing fibers (A) were changed from CF-1 to GF-1, the same procedure as in Example 16 was carried out to prepare a molding material, and test pieces were provided from a molded article produced using the molding material, and were subjected to various kinds of tests.", "Evaluation results were described in Table 4.TABLE 4 Exam- Comparative Comparative Comparative Exam- Exam- Exam- Exam- ple 16 Example 15 Example 16 Example 17 ple 17 ple 18 ple 19 ple 20 (Material) Reinforcing fibers (A) Type CF-1 CF-1 CF-1 CF-1 CF-3 CF-4 CF-5 GF-1 % by mass 30 30 50 50 20 20 20 30 Strand 4.9 4.9 4.9 4.9 4.9 4.9 4.9 3.4 strength GPa Matrix resin (B) % by mass 70 70 50 50 80 80 80 70 (Characteristics of matrix resin (B)) Polyarylene sulfide Type PPS-6 PPS-6 PPS-6 PPS-6 PPS-6 PPS-6 PPS-6 PPS-6 % by mass 95 100 95 100 95 95 95 95 Other compounds Type CDI-1 0 CDI-1 0 CDI-1 CDI-1 CDI-1 CDI-1 (Blending amount to polyarylene % by mass 5 5 5 5 5 5 sulfide) Tensile elongation of matrix resin (B) % 1.6 0.8 1.6 0.8 1.6 1.6 1.6 1.6 (Molding material) Number average fiber length of mm 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 reinforcing fibers (A) contained in molding material (Molded article) Number average fiber length of mm 0.8 0.7 0.2 0.2 1 1 1 0.6 reinforcing fibers (A) contained in molded article Tensile strength in main orientation MPa 285 210 180 150 290 320 270 240 direction Tensile strength in direction orthogonal MPa 205 145 95 80 205 225 195 170 to main orientation direction Tensile elongation in main orientation % 1 0.7 0.6 0.5 1.3 1.4 1.2 1.1 direction Ratio of the number of fibers % 92 94 60 65 94 94 94 94 dispersed in the form of monofilaments IFSS MPa 32 20 32 20 30 34 24 22 Fiber length after tension breakage mm 0.20 0.30 0.10 0.10 0.20 0.20 0.20 0.18 Deposition of matrix resin (B) on — excellent fair excellent fair excellent excellent good good surface of reinforcing fiber (A) at breakage surface The results in Examples and Comparative Examples described in Table 3 and Table 4.A comparison between the molded articles described in Examples 12 and 16 and the molded articles described in Comparative Examples 7 and 15 to 17 shows that when the blending amount of the reinforcing fibers (A) falls out of the range of 10 to 40% by mass, the reinforcing fibers (A) in the resulting molded article have a small fiber length so that the molded article is poor in strength.", "A comparison between the molded article described in Example 12 and the molded articles described in Comparative Examples 17 to 19 shows that when CF-1 surface-treated with SZ-2 is used as the reinforcing fiber (A), the IFSS is improved and, consequently, a molded article excellent in tensile strength is obtained.", "A comparison between Example 16 and Example 20 shows that when the strand strength of the reinforcing fibers (A), and the IFSS decrease, the strength of the resulting molded article considerably decreases.", "INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY Our molded articles exhibit an excellent tensile strength.", "The molded articles have an outstandingly high tensile strength and, therefore, can be used in a wide range of applications such as automobile interiors and exteriors, electric and electronic device housings, reinforcing materials in the field of civil engineering and construction, and sporting goods.", "The molding material can be suitably used to produce such a molded article with high productivity." ] ]
Patent_15873031
[ [ "Systems and Methods for Adjusting Target Manufacturing Parameters on an Absorbent Product Converting Line", "Systems and processes herein may be configured to correlate manufacturing parameters and performance feedback parameters with individual absorbent articles manufactured by a converting apparatus.", "Embodiments of the systems herein may include inspection sensors configured to inspect substrates and/or component parts advancing along the converting line and communicate inspection parameters to a controller and historian.", "The systems may also include process sensors configured to monitor equipment on the converting line and communicate process parameters to the controller and historian.", "The systems herein may also be adapted to receive performance feedback parameters based on the packaged absorbent articles.", "The systems may correlate inspection parameters, process parameters, and/or performance feedback parameters with individual absorbent articles produced on the converting line.", "The controller may also be configured to perform various functions based on the performance feedback parameters." ], [ "1.A method for manufacture of absorbent products, the method comprising the steps of: providing a communication network; connecting a first sensor with the communication network; connecting a second sensor with the communication network; connecting a controller with the communication network; advancing a substrate in a machine direction through a converting apparatus; sequentially adding component parts to the substrate; inspecting the substrate and component parts with the first sensor; communicating inspection parameters from the first sensor to the controller; comparing the inspection parameters with a target inspection parameter; inspecting a process with the second sensor; communicating process parameters from the second sensor to the controller; comparing the process parameters with a target process parameter; cutting the substrate with component parts added thereto into discrete absorbent articles; packaging the discrete absorbent articles; receiving performance feedback parameters based on the packaged absorbent articles; correlating at least one inspection parameter with a selected packaged absorbent article; correlating at least one process parameter with the selected packaged absorbent article; correlating at least one performance feedback parameter with the selected packaged absorbent article; and adjusting at least one target inspection parameter or at least one the target process parameter based on the performance feedback parameter.", "2.The method of claim 1, wherein the absorbent articles are diapers.", "3.The method of claim 2, wherein the components are back ears.", "4.The method of claim 3, further comprising the step of bonding the back ear to the substrate with a mechanical bonding unit, and wherein one process parameter corresponds with an applied pressure of the mechanical bonding unit.", "5.The method of claim 4, wherein the at least one target process parameter corresponds with a target applied pressure of the mechanical bonding unit.", "6.The method of claim 3, wherein the at least one target inspection parameter corresponds with a target placement of the back ears on the substrate.", "7.The method of claim 3, wherein at least one of the performance feedback parameter corresponds with separation of back ears from diapers while under tension.", "8.The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of compiling correlated feedback parameters, correlated inspection parameters, and correlated process parameters to create, modify, or validate manufacturing process models.", "9.The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of compiling correlated feedback parameters, correlated inspection parameters, and correlated process parameters to create, modify, or validate product models.", "10.The method of claim 1, wherein the step of receiving performance feedback parameters based on the packaged absorbent articles further comprises soliciting and recording consumer feedback relating to in use performance of the packaged absorbent articles.", "11.The method of claim 10, further comprising the step of compiling correlated feedback parameters, correlated inspection parameters, and correlated process parameters to harmonize quality specification limits with consumer feedback.", "12.The method of claim 1, wherein one inspection parameter corresponds to a detected missing component on the substrate.", "13.The method of claim 1, wherein one inspection parameter corresponds to measured placement of a component on the substrate.", "14.The method of claim 1, wherein the performance feedback parameter is selected from the group consisting of: leakage; component alignment; and absorbent article fit.", "15.The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of testing the selected packaged absorbent article.", "16.A method for manufacture of absorbent products, the method comprising the steps of: providing a communication network; connecting a first sensor with the communication network; connecting a second sensor with the communication network; connecting a controller with the communication network; advancing a substrate in a machine direction through a converting apparatus at a first speed; virtually dividing the substrate into a plurality of virtual segments along the machine direction; sequentially adding component parts to the substrate; inspecting the substrate and component parts with the first sensor; communicating inspection parameters from the first sensor to the controller; comparing the inspection parameters with a target inspection parameter; inspecting a process with the second sensor; communicating process parameters from the second sensor to the controller; comparing the process parameters with a target process parameter; cutting the substrate with component parts added thereto into discrete absorbent articles; packaging the discrete absorbent articles; receiving performance feedback parameters based on the packaged absorbent articles; correlating at least one inspection parameter with a selected packaged absorbent article; correlating at least one process parameter with the selected packaged absorbent article; correlating at least one performance feedback parameter with the selected packaged absorbent article; and adjusting at least one target inspection parameter or at least one the target process parameter based on the performance feedback parameter.", "17.The method of claim 16, wherein the first and second sensors each include a sensor clock, wherein the controller includes a controller clock; and further comprising the step of: synchronizing the sensor clocks with the controller clock such that reported times of the controller clock and the sensor clocks can be correlated; assigning a time-stamp to each inspection parameter, each time-stamp based on the sensor clock; receiving the inspection parameters and corresponding time-stamps from the communication network into the controller; and correlating each inspection parameter with one virtual segment based on the time-stamp of the inspection parameter and the first speed of the substrate.", "18.The method of claim 16, further comprising the step of compiling correlated feedback parameters, correlated inspection parameters, and correlated process parameters to create, modify, or validate prognostic systems.", "19.The method of claim 16, further comprising the step of compiling correlated feedback parameters, correlated inspection parameters, and correlated process parameters to facilitate autonomous data mining.", "20.A method for manufacture of absorbent products, the method comprising the steps of: providing a communication network; connecting a first sensor with the communication network; connecting a second sensor with the communication network; connecting a controller with the communication network; advancing a substrate in a machine direction through a converting apparatus; sequentially adding component parts to the substrate; inspecting the substrate and component parts with the first sensor; communicating inspection parameters and time-stamps from the first sensor to the controller; inspecting a process with the second sensor; communicating process parameters and time-stamps from the second sensor to the controller; normalizing time-stamps for inspection parameters to a reference location or product; normalizing time-stamps for process parameters to a reference location or product; cutting the substrate with component parts added thereto into discrete absorbent articles; packaging the discrete absorbent articles; receiving performance feedback parameters based on the packaged absorbent articles; determining and normalizing time-stamps for performance feedback parameters to a reference location or product; correlating at least one inspection parameter with a selected packaged absorbent article; correlating at least one process parameter with the selected packaged absorbent article; correlating at least one performance feedback parameter with the selected packaged absorbent article; and storing inspection parameters, process parameters, and product performance parameters in a historian." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION <EOH>Along an assembly line, diapers and various types of other absorbent articles may be assembled by adding components to and otherwise modifying an advancing, continuous web of material.", "For example, in some processes, advancing webs of material are combined with other advancing webs of material.", "In other examples, individual components created from advancing webs of material are combined with advancing webs of material, which in turn, are then combined with other advancing webs of material.", "Webs of material and component parts used to manufacture diapers may include: backsheets, topsheets, absorbent cores, front and/or back ears, fastener components, and various types of elastic webs and components such as leg elastics, barrier leg cuff elastics, and waist elastics.", "Once the desired component parts are assembled, the advancing web(s) and component parts are subjected to a final knife cut to separate the web(s) into discrete diapers or other absorbent articles.", "The discrete diapers or absorbent articles may also then be folded and packaged.", "For quality control purposes, absorbent article converting lines may utilize various types of sensor technology to inspect the webs and discrete components added to the webs along the converting line as absorbent articles are constructed.", "Example sensor technology may include vision systems, photoelectric sensors, proximity sensors, laser or sonic distance detectors, and the like.", "Product inspection data from the sensors may be communicated to a controller in various ways.", "In turn, the controller may be programmed to receive product inspection data, and in turn, make adjustments to manufacturing process.", "In some instances, the controller may reject defective diapers based on the product inspection data after the final knife cut at the end of the converting line.", "In addition, absorbent article converting lines may utilize various types of process sensor technology to monitor the performance of various types of assembly equipment used on the converting line.", "Example process sensor technology may include speed sensors, linear or radial position sensors, temperature, pressure or vacuum sensors, vision systems, proximity sensors, and the like.", "Process data from the process sensors may be communicated to a controller in various ways.", "In turn, the controller may be programmed to receive process data, and in turn, make adjustments to manufacturing process and/or communicate potential problems associated with assembly equipment to converting line operators.", "In some instances, based on the process data, the controller may automatically shutdown the converting line.", "In further efforts to improve and control quality of manufactured absorbent articles, manufacturers may conduct extensive product testing and/or consumer research on various aspects of absorbent articles.", "Product performance data obtained from such product testing, in turn, may be used as a tool by manufacturers to make future converting equipment and/or processing adjustments.", "Consequently, it would be beneficial to provide a system that is capable of precisely correlating product inspection data, process data, and product performance data with each other and/or with corresponding absorbent articles from where such data is obtained.", "However, there are challenges associated with precise correlation of such data.", "For example, the controller may not be able to correlate product inspection data with exact locations in the web and corresponding diapers with a very large degree of accuracy due to slow sensor response, data transportation delays and control loop execution times.", "For example, the sensor and control technologies may work asynchronously of each other, thus creating control system accuracy challenges, which may be exacerbated at the high speed production rates of some absorbent article processes.", "Further, product inspection data and process data is traditionally recorded and correlated to the time at which the data was acquired.", "As such, an event that happens upstream in the process and causes a second event downstream would be recorded with different time-stamps and cannot be easily correlated without extensive data processing and detailed knowledge of the process conditions at the time.", "Finally, when products are inspected away from the manufacturing process, such as in a quality assurance lab, the data may be stored with a time-stamp generated at the moment that the data is posted to the database, rather than the time-stamp at which the product was produced.", "The same time-stamp issue is present for product performance data, which is sometimes obtained at a significantly different time than the time at which the product was produced.", "For these same reasons, the controller may not be able to precisely correlate obtained process data and/or product performance data with inspection data and/or manufactured absorbent articles." ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION <EOH>The present disclosure relates to systems and processes that may be configured to correlate manufacturing parameters and performance feedback parameters with individual absorbent articles manufactured by a converting apparatus.", "Embodiments of the systems herein may include inspection sensors configured to inspect substrates and/or component parts advancing along the converting line and communicate inspection parameters to a controller and historian.", "The systems may also include process sensors configured to monitor equipment on the converting line and communicate process parameters to the controller and historian.", "The systems herein may also be adapted to receive performance feedback parameters based on the packaged absorbent articles.", "The systems may correlate inspection parameters, process parameters, and/or performance feedback parameters with individual absorbent articles produced on the converting line.", "The controller may also be configured to perform various functions based on the performance feedback parameters.", "In one form, a method for manufacture absorbent products includes the steps of: providing a communication network; connecting a first sensor with the communication network; connecting a second sensor with the communication network; connecting a controller with the communication network; advancing a substrate in a machine direction through a converting apparatus; virtually segmenting the substrate into a plurality of virtual products along the machine direction; virtually dividing the virtual products into a plurality of virtual segments along the machine direction; sequentially adding component parts to the substrate; inspecting the substrate and component parts with the first sensor; communicating inspection parameters from the first sensor to the controller; comparing the inspection parameter with a target inspection parameter; inspecting a process with the second sensor; communicating process parameters from the second sensor to the controller; comparing the process parameters with a target process parameter; cutting the substrate with component parts added thereto into discrete absorbent articles; packaging the discrete absorbent articles; receiving performance feedback parameters based on the packaged absorbent articles; correlating at least one inspection parameter with a selected packaged absorbent article; correlating at least one process parameter with the selected packaged absorbent article; correlating at least one performance feedback parameter with the selected packaged absorbent article; and adjusting at least one target inspection parameter or at least one the target process parameter based on the performance feedback parameter.", "In another form, a method for manufacture absorbent products includes the steps of: providing a communication network; connecting a first sensor with the communication network; connecting a second sensor with the communication network; connecting a controller with the communication network; advancing a substrate in a machine direction through a converting apparatus; virtually segmenting the substrate into a plurality of virtual products along the machine direction; virtually dividing the virtual products into a plurality of virtual segments along the machine direction; sequentially adding component parts to the substrate; inspecting the substrate and component parts with the first sensor; communicating inspection parameters and time-stamps from the first sensor to the controller; inspecting a process with the second sensor; communicating process parameters and time-stamps from the second sensor to the controller; normalizing time-stamps for inspection parameters to a reference location or product; normalizing time-stamps for process parameters to a reference location or product; cutting the substrate with component parts added thereto into discrete absorbent articles; packaging the discrete absorbent articles; receiving performance feedback parameters based on the packaged absorbent articles; determining and normalizing time-stamps for performance feedback parameters to a reference location or product; correlating at least one inspection parameter with a selected packaged absorbent article; correlating at least one process parameter with the selected packaged absorbent article; correlating at least one performance feedback parameter with the selected packaged absorbent article; and storing inspection parameters, process parameters, and product performance parameters in a historian." ], [ "FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present disclosure relates to systems and methods for manufacturing disposable absorbent articles, and more particularly, systems and methods for adjusting target manufacturing parameters on a converting apparatus based on performance feedback parameters and manufacturing parameters that are correlated with individual absorbent articles manufactured by the converting apparatus.", "BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Along an assembly line, diapers and various types of other absorbent articles may be assembled by adding components to and otherwise modifying an advancing, continuous web of material.", "For example, in some processes, advancing webs of material are combined with other advancing webs of material.", "In other examples, individual components created from advancing webs of material are combined with advancing webs of material, which in turn, are then combined with other advancing webs of material.", "Webs of material and component parts used to manufacture diapers may include: backsheets, topsheets, absorbent cores, front and/or back ears, fastener components, and various types of elastic webs and components such as leg elastics, barrier leg cuff elastics, and waist elastics.", "Once the desired component parts are assembled, the advancing web(s) and component parts are subjected to a final knife cut to separate the web(s) into discrete diapers or other absorbent articles.", "The discrete diapers or absorbent articles may also then be folded and packaged.", "For quality control purposes, absorbent article converting lines may utilize various types of sensor technology to inspect the webs and discrete components added to the webs along the converting line as absorbent articles are constructed.", "Example sensor technology may include vision systems, photoelectric sensors, proximity sensors, laser or sonic distance detectors, and the like.", "Product inspection data from the sensors may be communicated to a controller in various ways.", "In turn, the controller may be programmed to receive product inspection data, and in turn, make adjustments to manufacturing process.", "In some instances, the controller may reject defective diapers based on the product inspection data after the final knife cut at the end of the converting line.", "In addition, absorbent article converting lines may utilize various types of process sensor technology to monitor the performance of various types of assembly equipment used on the converting line.", "Example process sensor technology may include speed sensors, linear or radial position sensors, temperature, pressure or vacuum sensors, vision systems, proximity sensors, and the like.", "Process data from the process sensors may be communicated to a controller in various ways.", "In turn, the controller may be programmed to receive process data, and in turn, make adjustments to manufacturing process and/or communicate potential problems associated with assembly equipment to converting line operators.", "In some instances, based on the process data, the controller may automatically shutdown the converting line.", "In further efforts to improve and control quality of manufactured absorbent articles, manufacturers may conduct extensive product testing and/or consumer research on various aspects of absorbent articles.", "Product performance data obtained from such product testing, in turn, may be used as a tool by manufacturers to make future converting equipment and/or processing adjustments.", "Consequently, it would be beneficial to provide a system that is capable of precisely correlating product inspection data, process data, and product performance data with each other and/or with corresponding absorbent articles from where such data is obtained.", "However, there are challenges associated with precise correlation of such data.", "For example, the controller may not be able to correlate product inspection data with exact locations in the web and corresponding diapers with a very large degree of accuracy due to slow sensor response, data transportation delays and control loop execution times.", "For example, the sensor and control technologies may work asynchronously of each other, thus creating control system accuracy challenges, which may be exacerbated at the high speed production rates of some absorbent article processes.", "Further, product inspection data and process data is traditionally recorded and correlated to the time at which the data was acquired.", "As such, an event that happens upstream in the process and causes a second event downstream would be recorded with different time-stamps and cannot be easily correlated without extensive data processing and detailed knowledge of the process conditions at the time.", "Finally, when products are inspected away from the manufacturing process, such as in a quality assurance lab, the data may be stored with a time-stamp generated at the moment that the data is posted to the database, rather than the time-stamp at which the product was produced.", "The same time-stamp issue is present for product performance data, which is sometimes obtained at a significantly different time than the time at which the product was produced.", "For these same reasons, the controller may not be able to precisely correlate obtained process data and/or product performance data with inspection data and/or manufactured absorbent articles.", "SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present disclosure relates to systems and processes that may be configured to correlate manufacturing parameters and performance feedback parameters with individual absorbent articles manufactured by a converting apparatus.", "Embodiments of the systems herein may include inspection sensors configured to inspect substrates and/or component parts advancing along the converting line and communicate inspection parameters to a controller and historian.", "The systems may also include process sensors configured to monitor equipment on the converting line and communicate process parameters to the controller and historian.", "The systems herein may also be adapted to receive performance feedback parameters based on the packaged absorbent articles.", "The systems may correlate inspection parameters, process parameters, and/or performance feedback parameters with individual absorbent articles produced on the converting line.", "The controller may also be configured to perform various functions based on the performance feedback parameters.", "In one form, a method for manufacture absorbent products includes the steps of: providing a communication network; connecting a first sensor with the communication network; connecting a second sensor with the communication network; connecting a controller with the communication network; advancing a substrate in a machine direction through a converting apparatus; virtually segmenting the substrate into a plurality of virtual products along the machine direction; virtually dividing the virtual products into a plurality of virtual segments along the machine direction; sequentially adding component parts to the substrate; inspecting the substrate and component parts with the first sensor; communicating inspection parameters from the first sensor to the controller; comparing the inspection parameter with a target inspection parameter; inspecting a process with the second sensor; communicating process parameters from the second sensor to the controller; comparing the process parameters with a target process parameter; cutting the substrate with component parts added thereto into discrete absorbent articles; packaging the discrete absorbent articles; receiving performance feedback parameters based on the packaged absorbent articles; correlating at least one inspection parameter with a selected packaged absorbent article; correlating at least one process parameter with the selected packaged absorbent article; correlating at least one performance feedback parameter with the selected packaged absorbent article; and adjusting at least one target inspection parameter or at least one the target process parameter based on the performance feedback parameter.", "In another form, a method for manufacture absorbent products includes the steps of: providing a communication network; connecting a first sensor with the communication network; connecting a second sensor with the communication network; connecting a controller with the communication network; advancing a substrate in a machine direction through a converting apparatus; virtually segmenting the substrate into a plurality of virtual products along the machine direction; virtually dividing the virtual products into a plurality of virtual segments along the machine direction; sequentially adding component parts to the substrate; inspecting the substrate and component parts with the first sensor; communicating inspection parameters and time-stamps from the first sensor to the controller; inspecting a process with the second sensor; communicating process parameters and time-stamps from the second sensor to the controller; normalizing time-stamps for inspection parameters to a reference location or product; normalizing time-stamps for process parameters to a reference location or product; cutting the substrate with component parts added thereto into discrete absorbent articles; packaging the discrete absorbent articles; receiving performance feedback parameters based on the packaged absorbent articles; determining and normalizing time-stamps for performance feedback parameters to a reference location or product; correlating at least one inspection parameter with a selected packaged absorbent article; correlating at least one process parameter with the selected packaged absorbent article; correlating at least one performance feedback parameter with the selected packaged absorbent article; and storing inspection parameters, process parameters, and product performance parameters in a historian.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG.", "1 is a top plan view of a disposable absorbent article that may include one or more substrates and/or components manufactured in accordance with the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "2 is a schematic representation of an absorbent article converting line and control system.", "FIG.", "3 is a top view of an advancing substrate showing virtual products and virtual segments.", "FIG.", "4 is a block diagram showing how target inspection parameters and target process parameters may be adjusted based on performance feedback parameters.", "FIG.", "5A is a schematic representation of an implementation of an absorbent article converting line and control system.", "FIG.", "5B is a schematic representation of an implementation of an absorbent article converting line and control system.", "FIG.", "5C is a schematic representation of an implementation of an absorbent article converting line and control system.", "FIG.", "5D is a schematic representation of an implementation of an absorbent article converting line and control system.", "FIG.", "6A is view of the base substrate from FIG.", "5A taken along line 6A-6A.", "FIG.", "6B is view of the base substrate from FIG.", "5B taken along line 6B-6B.", "FIG.", "6C is view of the base substrate from FIG.", "5C taken along line 6C-6C.", "FIG.", "6D is view of the base substrate from FIG.", "5D taken along line 6D-6D.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The following term explanations may be useful in understanding the present disclosure: “Absorbent article” is used herein to refer to consumer products whose primary function is to absorb and retain soils and wastes.", "“Diaper” is used herein to refer to an absorbent article generally worn by infants and incontinent persons about the lower torso.", "The term “disposable” is used herein to describe absorbent articles which generally are not intended to be laundered or otherwise restored or reused as an absorbent article (e.g., they are intended to be discarded after a single use and may also be configured to be recycled, composted or otherwise disposed of in an environmentally compatible manner).", "An “elastic,” “elastomer” or “elastomeric” refers to materials exhibiting elastic properties, which include any material that upon application of a force to its relaxed, initial length can stretch or elongate to an elongated length more than 10% greater than its initial length and will substantially recover back to about its initial length upon release of the applied force.", "As used herein, the term “joined” encompasses configurations whereby an element is directly secured to another element by affixing the element directly to the other element, and configurations whereby an element is indirectly secured to another element by affixing the element to intermediate member(s) which in turn are affixed to the other element.", "“Longitudinal” means a direction running substantially perpendicular from an end edge, such as a waist edge to a longitudinally opposing end edge, or waist edge, of an absorbent article when the article is in a flat out, uncontracted state, or from a waist edge to the bottom of the crotch, i.e.", "the fold line, in a bi-folded article.", "Directions within 45 degrees of the longitudinal direction are considered to be “longitudinal.” “Lateral” refers to a direction running from a longitudinally extending side edge to a laterally opposing longitudinally extending side edge of an article and generally at a right angle to the longitudinal direction.", "Directions within 45 degrees of the lateral direction are considered to be “lateral.” The term “substrate” is used herein to describe a material which is primarily two-dimensional (i.e.", "in an XY plane) and whose thickness (in a Z direction) is relatively small (i.e.", "1/10 or less) in comparison to its length (in an X direction) and width (in a Y direction).", "Non-limiting examples of substrates include a web, layer or layers or fibrous materials, nonwovens, films and foils such as polymeric films or metallic foils.", "These materials may be used alone or may comprise two or more layers laminated together.", "As such, a web is a substrate.", "The term “nonwoven” refers herein to a material made from continuous (long) filaments (fibers) and/or discontinuous (short) filaments (fibers) by processes such as spunbonding, meltblowing, carding, and the like.", "Nonwovens do not have a defined woven or knitted filament pattern.", "The term “machine direction” (MD) is used herein to refer to the direction of material flow through a process.", "In addition, relative placement and movement of material can be described as flowing in the machine direction through a process from upstream in the process to downstream in the process.", "The term “cross direction” (CD) is used herein to refer to a direction that is generally perpendicular to the machine direction.", "The terms “normalized time” and “normalized time-stamp” are used herein to refer to a time representing the instant that a product was present at a certain reference position.", "The present disclosure relates to systems and processes manufacturing absorbent articles.", "More particularly, the systems and processes herein may be configured with a historian to maintain a database of process data and product inspection data, and/or a controller to correlate manufacturing parameters and performance feedback parameters with individual absorbent articles manufactured by a converting apparatus.", "In turn, the controller may adjust target manufacturing parameters on the converting apparatus based on the correlated manufacturing and performance feedback parameters.", "As discussed below, embodiments of the systems herein may include a converting line adapted to produce absorbent articles, wherein the converting line includes inspection sensors, process sensors, a controller, and a historian connected with a communication network.", "Inspection sensors may be configured to inspect substrates and/or component parts advancing along the converting line and communicate inspection parameters to the controller and historian.", "Process sensors may be configured to monitor equipment on the converting line and communicate process parameters to the controller and historian.", "The systems herein may also be adapted to receive performance feedback parameters based on the packaged absorbent articles.", "The systems may correlate inspection parameters, process parameters, and performance feedback parameters with individual absorbent articles produced on the converting line.", "In turn, the controller may be configured to perform various functions based on the performance feedback parameters.", "For example, the controller may adjust target inspection parameters and/or the target process parameters based on the performance feedback parameters.", "The systems and methods herein utilize technologies to create inspection and process monitoring systems with improved abilities to precisely correlate stored data with individual products produced from a converting line.", "In turn, performance feedback data obtained from individual products can be precisely correlated with the stored inspection and process data.", "The ability to precisely correlate inspection, process, and performance feedback data with individual products results in improved utilization of performance feedback data to effect desired adjustments in the converting process and to monitor the results of such adjustments.", "In some embodiments, the systems and methods may utilize feedback from technologies, such as vision systems, sensors, remote input and output stations, and controllers with synchronized embedded clocks to accurately correlate inspection results and measurements from an absorbent article converting process.", "These systems and methods may accurately apply the use of precision clock synchronization for both instrumentation and control system devices on a non-deterministic communications network, such as for example, an EthernetlP network.", "In turn, the clock synchronized control and instrumentation network may be used to precisely correlate stored data with individual absorbent articles produced by a converting line.", "Thus, the controller may be programmed to track inspection data obtained from substrates and components as well as process data obtained from assembly equipment along the converting line without having to account for undeterminable delays.", "It is to be appreciated that although the methods and apparatuses herein may be configured to manufacture various types of products, the methods and apparatuses herein are discussed below in the context of manufacturing absorbent articles.", "In particular, the methods and apparatuses are discussed in the context of manufacturing diapers.", "For the purposes of a specific illustration, FIG.", "1 shows one example of a disposable absorbent article 100, such as described in U.S. Patent Publication Nos.", "US 2008/0132865 A1 and US 2011/0247199 A1, in the form of a diaper 102 that may be constructed from substrates and components monitored according to the systems and methods disclosed herein.", "In particular, FIG.", "1 is a plan view of one embodiment of a diaper 102 including a chassis 104 shown in a flat, unfolded condition, with the portion of the diaper 102 that faces away from the wearer oriented towards the viewer.", "A portion of the chassis structure is cut-away in FIG.", "1 to more clearly show the construction of and various features that may be included in embodiments of the diaper.", "As shown in FIG.", "1, the diaper 102 includes a chassis 104 having a first ear 106, a second ear 108, a third ear 110, and a fourth ear 112.The first ear 106 and second ear 108 may also be referred to herein as front ears 107.And the third ear 110 and the fourth ear 112 may be referred to as back ears 111.The back ears 111 may be connected with the chassis 104 with pressure bonds 150 such as shown for example in FIG.", "1.To provide a frame of reference for the present discussion, the chassis 104 is shown with a longitudinal axis 114 and a lateral axis 116.The chassis 104 is shown as having a first waist region 118, a second waist region 120, and a crotch region 122 disposed intermediate the first and second waist regions.", "In some configurations, the first waist region 118 may correspond with a front waist region, and the second waist region 120 may correspond with a rear waist region.", "The periphery of the diaper is defined by a pair of longitudinally extending side edges 124, 126; a first outer edge 128 extending laterally adjacent the first waist region 118; and a second outer edge 130 extending laterally adjacent the second waist region 120.As shown in FIG.", "1, the chassis 104 includes an inner, body-facing surface 132, and an outer, garment-facing surface 134.A portion of the chassis structure is cut-away in FIG.", "1 to more clearly show the construction of and various features that may be included in the diaper.", "As shown in FIG.", "1, the chassis 104 of the diaper 102 may include an outer covering layer 136 including a topsheet 138 and a backsheet 140.An absorbent core 142 may be disposed between a portion of the topsheet 138 and the backsheet 140.As discussed in more detail below, any one or more of the regions may be stretchable and may include an elastomeric material or laminate as described herein.", "As such, the diaper 102 may be configured to adapt to a specific wearer's anatomy upon application and to maintain coordination with the wearer's anatomy during wear.", "The absorbent article may also include an elastic waist feature 143 shown in FIG.", "1 in the form of a waist band 144 and may provide improved fit and waste containment.", "The elastic waist feature 143 may be configured to elastically expand and contract to dynamically fit the wearer's waist.", "The elastic waist feature 143 can be incorporated into the diaper and may extend at least longitudinally outwardly from the absorbent core 142 and generally form at least a portion of the first and/or second outer edges 128, 130 of the diaper 102.In addition, the elastic waist feature may extend laterally to include the ears.", "While the elastic waist feature 143 or any constituent elements thereof may comprise one or more separate elements affixed to the diaper, the elastic waist feature may be constructed as an extension of other elements of the diaper, such as the backsheet 140, the topsheet 138, or both the backsheet and the topsheet.", "In addition, the elastic waist feature 143 may be disposed on the outer, garment-facing surface 134 of the chassis 104; the inner, body-facing surface 132; or between the inner and outer facing surfaces.", "The elastic waist feature 143 may be constructed in a number of different configurations including those described in U.S. Patent Publication Nos.", "US 2007/0142806 A1; US 2007/0142798 A1; and US 2007/0287983 A1, all of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein.", "As shown in FIG.", "1, the diaper 102 may include leg cuffs 146 that may provide improved containment of liquids and other body exudates.", "In particular, elastic gasketing leg cuffs can provide a sealing effect around the wearer's thighs to prevent leakage.", "It is to be appreciated that when the diaper is worn, the leg cuffs may be placed in contact with the wearer's thighs, and the extent of that contact and contact pressure may be determined in part by the orientation of diaper on the body of the wearer.", "The leg cuffs 146 may be disposed in various ways on the diaper 102.The diaper 102 may be provided in the form of a pant-type diaper or may alternatively be provided with a re-closable fastening system, which may include fastener elements in various locations to help secure the diaper in position on the wearer.", "For example, fastener elements 148 may be located on the third and fourth ears 110, 112 and may be adapted to releasably connect with one or more corresponding fastening elements located in the first or second waist regions.", "It is to be appreciated that various types of fastening elements may be used with the diaper.", "FIG.", "2 shows a schematic representation of an absorbent article converting process including a converting line or machine 300 configured to manufacture absorbent articles 100.It is to be appreciated that the systems and methods disclosed herein are applicable to work with various types of converting processes and/or machines.", "As shown in FIG.", "2, the converting line 300 may include one or more motors 302 that drive transport systems, such as a nip roll 304, to move diaper substrates and component materials through the manufacturing process.", "For example, FIG.", "2 shows a base substrate 306 and two auxiliary substrates and/or components 308 of material used to construct portions of the diapers.", "The substrates may be provided as rolls and fed into the converting line 300.It is to be appreciated that material of the auxiliary substrates may be supplied in various ways.", "For example, FIG.", "2 shows a first auxiliary substrate 310 in the form of a continuous substrate 312, and a second auxiliary substrate 314 in the form of individual components 316.It is to be appreciated that the auxiliary substrates 310 may be transferred to the base substrate through various types of transfer mechanisms.", "For example, the individual components 316 may be in the form of ears 110, 112 such as shown in FIG.", "1.As such, the individual ears 110, 112 may be transferred to the base substrate via a transfer mechanism 318 in the form of a servo patch placer mechanism 320, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat.", "Nos.", "6,450,321; 6,705,453; 6,811,019; and 6,814,217.In addition, the nip roll 304 may be configured create the bonds 150 between the ears 110, 112 and the chassis 104.For example, the nip roll 304 may be configured as a mechanical bonding unit, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat.", "No.", "4,854,984.In another example, the nip roll may be configured as a thermal bonding unit such as disclosed in U.S. Pat.", "No.", "6,248,195.It is also to be appreciated that the various substrates can be used to construct various components of the absorbent articles, such as backsheets, topsheets, ears, leg cuffs, elastic waist features, and absorbent cores.", "Exemplary descriptions of absorbent article components are provided above with reference to FIG.", "1.Referring back to FIG.", "2, as the base substrate 306 advances through the converting line 300, the base substrate 306 is combined with the auxiliary substrates 308 and/or discrete components 316 to create a continuous length of absorbent articles 400.At a downstream portion of the converting process 300, the continuous length of absorbent articles 400 is subjected to a final knife 324 and cut to create separate and discrete absorbent articles 100 in the form of diapers 102.Defective articles 100R may be subject to a rejection system 326 and removed from the process.", "For example, FIG.", "2 shows defective articles 100R being channeled to a reject bin 328.It is to be appreciated that the term “reject bin” is used herein generically to designate the location where rejected diapers may be conveyed.", "As such, the reject bin 328 may include various systems.", "For example, the reject bin may 328 may include additional systems such as conveyors and/or pneumatic systems to provide additional transport or conveyance of rejected diapers to other locations.", "Articles 100 that are not deemed to be defective may be subject to further processing steps, such as folding and packaging.", "For example, FIG.", "2 shows diapers 102 advancing from the final knife 324 to a packaging system 330 and placed into packages 101.As shown in FIG.", "2, an inspection system 600 may be configured to interact with, monitor, and/or control the converting line 300.As shown in FIG.", "2 and as described in more detail below, various sensors 602 and other devices may be arranged adjacent the converting line 300 may communicate with a controller 604.Based on such communications, the controller 604 may monitor and affect various operations on the converting line 300.For example, the controller may send various types of control commands 1000 to the converter line, such as speed change commands based on communications with the sensors 602.In some embodiments, the control commands 1000 may be in the form of reject commands communicated to the reject system 326.In the systems and methods described herein, the controller 604 may include one or more computer systems.", "The computer system may, for example, include one or more types of programmable logic controller (PLC) and/or personal computer (PC) running software and adapted to communicate on an EthernetlP network.", "Some embodiments may utilize industrial programmable controllers such as the Siemens S7 series, Rockwell ControlLogix, SLC or PLC 5 series, or Mitsubishi Q series.", "The aforementioned embodiments may use a personal computer or server running a control algorithm such as Rockwell SoftLogix or National Instruments Labview or may be any other device capable of receiving inputs from sensors, performing calculations based on such inputs and generating control actions through servomotor controls, electrical actuators or electro-pneumatic, electrohydraulic, and other actuators.", "Process and product data may be stored directly in the controller or may be located in a separate data historian.", "In some embodiments, the historian is a simple data table in the controller, in other embodiments, the historian may be a relational or simple database.", "Common historian applications include Rockwell Automation Factory Talk Historian, General Electric Proficy Historian, OSI PI, or any custom historian that may be configured from Oracle, SQL or any of a number of database applications.", "As the substrates and components travel in the machine direction MD through the converting line, the controller 604 tracks the advancement of the substrates and components.", "In some embodiments such as shown in FIG.", "2, the controller 604 may track the advancement with counts generated by a machine axis 332 that correspond with machine direction positions on substrates and components while advancing though the converting line 300.In some configurations, the machine axis 332 may be configured as an actual motor 302 that provides count signals 1002 to the controller 604.The controller 604 may utilize rotational speed, time, and/or count data from the machine axis 332 that correspond with the machine direction speed and travel of the substrates and components through the converting line 300.It is to be appreciated that instead of or in addition to utilizing feedback from a physical machine axis as discussed above, the rotational motion of the machine axis 332 may be simulated by software in the controller.", "For example, in FIG.", "2, the controller 604 can utilize counts generated by a virtual machine axis 334 in the controller software.", "More particularly, the virtual machine axis 334 may be programmed to imitate a motor that generates counts as the motor rotates.", "As such, it is to be appreciated that the machine axis 332 referred to herein may be either a virtual axis existing in software or a physical axis corresponding with the rotational motion of a motor or other equipment.", "As discussed above, the machine axis 332 may be configured to correlate the linear motion of the substrates and components in the machine direction MD through the converting line 300 with counts corresponding with rotation of the machine axis 332.In some embodiments, one complete rotation of the machine axis 332 and associated count data correspond with one pitch length of an absorbent article 100.In some embodiments, the pitch lengths of the absorbent articles are the machine direction longitudinal lengths of the individual absorbent articles being produced.", "FIG.", "1 shows an example of a longitudinal pitch length PL of a diaper.", "As such, the controller 604 may use counts generated from the machine axis 332 to virtually divide the substrates and components into virtual products 402.As shown in FIG.", "3, the virtual products 402 may have machine direction lengths PL that correspond with the pitch lengths PL of products being produced.", "For example, FIG.", "3 shows a top side view of the base substrate 306 divided into virtual products 402 along the machine direction MD by the controller 604.Count signals corresponding with rotation of the machine axis that correspond with less than a complete rotation can also be used by the controller divide each virtual product 402 into virtual segments 404, such as shown in FIG.", "3.As discussed in more detail below, the substrate speed and estimated clock inaccuracies can be used to determine the length of the each virtual segment in the machine direction MD, and in turn, the number of virtual segments in each virtual product.", "For example, FIG.", "3 shows one virtual product 402 divided into twenty virtual segments 404.As discussed in more detail below, the controller 604 can also utilize signals from the sensor 602 that correspond with the detection of various parameters in virtual products and segments to correlate the locations of parameters within manufactured products 100.As previously mentioned, the systems and methods herein utilize various types of sensors 602 to monitor the substrates and components traveling through the converting line.", "As shown in FIG.", "2, sensors 602 may be configured as inspection sensors 606 to monitor various aspects in the substrates 106, 108, 110 and/or components 116.In some configurations, the inspection sensors 606 may detect defects within substrates and/or components themselves, such as for example, damage, holes, tears, dirt, and the like, and may also detect defective assemblies and/or combinations of the substrates and components, such as for example, missing and/or misplaced ears, landing zones, fasteners, and the like.", "As such, inspection sensors 606 may be configured to detect the presence or absence of substrates and/or components, and may be configured to detect the relative placement of substrates and/or components.", "As discussed in more detail below, based on the detections of the inspection sensors 606, feedback signals from the inspection sensors 606 in the form of inspection parameters 1006 are communicated to the controller 604.It is to be appreciated that various different types of inspection sensors 606 may be used to monitor substrates and various components while advancing through the converting line 300.For example, inspection sensors 606 may be configured as photo-optic sensors that receive either reflected or transmitted light and serve to determine the presence or absence of a specific material; metal-proximity sensors that use electromagnetic to determine the presence or absence of a ferromagnetic material; or capacitive or other proximity sensors using any of a number of varied technologies to determine the presence or absence materials.", "Inspection sensors 604 may also be configured as vision systems and other sub-processing devices to perform detection and, in some cases, logic to more accurately determine the status of an inspected product.", "Particular examples of such inspections sensors 606 may include Cognex Insight, DVT Legend or Keyence smart cameras, component vision systems such as National Instruments PXI or PC based vision system such as Cognex VisionPro or any other vision system software which can run on a PC platform.", "It should also be appreciated that inspection parameters 1006 may be provided from inspection sensors 606 in various forms.", "In one embodiment, inspection parameters 1006 may be in the form of “results,” such as for example, provided from a sensor state change resulting in a binary input corresponding with the detected presence or absence of a defect, such as for example, the presence or absence of components and/or substrates.", "For example, inspection parameters 1006 may indicate the presence or absence of an ear, landing zone, and/or printed graphics on a product.", "In another example, an inspection parameter 1006 may indicate the presence or absence of a tear, hole, splice tape, and/or contaminants in a substrate and/or component.", "In another embodiment, inspection parameters 1006 may be provided in the form of measurements and/or numerical indications of detected positions of components and/or substrates; numerical indications of the positions of components and/or substrates relative to other components and/or substrate; and/or numerical indications of the positions of components and/or substrates relative to another physical or virtual reference.", "For example, inspection parameters 1006 may indicate the relative position of one feature, such as a back ear fastener, with respect to a back ear substrate or the measured width of a main chassis compared to the desired width.", "In other embodiments, inspection parameters 1006 may be in the form of images transferred via a standard protocol such as ftp (File Transfer Protocol), DDE (Dynamic Data Exchange), or OPC (Object Linking and Embedding for Process Control), which are stored in a database or stored in a specified directory on an image server for the purpose of either operator visualization, offline image processing or claim support.", "As previously mentioned, the systems and methods herein utilize various types of sensors 602 or data from the controller 604 to monitor the various assembly equipment used in the converting line 300.As shown in FIG.", "2, equipment sensors 602 may be configured as process sensors 608 to monitor various aspects of process equipment or operations.", "In some configurations, the process or equipment sensors may be linear position transmitters, rotary position transmitters, rotational encoders for speed and position feedback, temperature sensors such as RTD elements, pressure and/or vacuum transmitters or vibration sensors.", "Controller data may be configured as data from drive position or velocity control loop, automatic or operator induced control actions, motor current or power or any other parameter that can be harvested from a controller 604.As discussed in more detail below, based on the detections of the process sensors 608, feedback signals from the process sensors 608 in the form of process parameters 1008 are communicated to the controller 604.In addition to the inspection sensors 606 and process sensors 608, the systems and methods herein may utilize various types of sensors 602 to identify the absorbent articles 100 that are produced.", "For example, as shown in FIG.", "2, some sensors 602 may be configured as product identifier sensors 610 that are adapted to identify products 100 manufactured by the converting line 300.Based on the detections of the product identifier sensors 610, feedback signals from the product identifier sensors 610 in the form of identifier parameters 1008 are communicated to the controller 604 and further to a historian.", "In some configurations, a unique identifier may be applied to each individual diaper 102 that are detected by the product identifier sensors 610.It is to be appreciated that the unique identifier may be configured in various ways, such as for example, a serial number, a bar code, and/or a QR code.", "Further, the unique identifier could be a combination of identifiers that, in combination, can serve to uniquely identify the product.", "It is also to be appreciated that a unique identifier may also be applied to a bundle of individual diapers 102, or to a package 101 containing multiple individual diapers 102.In some instances, the system 600 may be configured to add individual preprinted inserts 612 from a dispenser 615 into stacks of diapers 102 before being packaged.", "The product identifier sensor 610 may be configured as a scanner that senses a unique identifier in the form of a 1D or 2D code on the inserts 612 as the inserts are packaged with the diapers 102.In some instances, the system 600 may be configured to add individual preprinted stickers 612 from a dispenser 615 onto the bag of diapers 102 before being packaged.", "The product identifier sensor 610 may be configured as a scanner that senses a unique identifier in the form of a 1D or 2D code on the sticker 612 as the stickers are applied to the package 102.It is also noted that the unique identification process may utilize, but does not require a sensor 602 to detect the applied unique identifier.", "In some embodiments, the unique identifier could be applied in such a way that the identifier parameter 1010 can be stored in the historian.", "For example, if a printer is used to print a unique identifier, such as a serial number or an accurate time-stamp, the commanded print string can be stored as identifier parameter 1010 without directly sensing the identifier data on the product or package.", "Product performance feedback is then correlated to the unique product identifier as determined by direct human observation.", "As shown in FIG.", "2, the sensors 602, such as the inspection sensors 606, process sensors 608, and product identifier sensors 610, may be connected with the controller 604 and historian through a communication network 614, which allows the inspection sensors 606, process sensors 608, and product identifier sensors 610 to communicate inspection parameters 1006, process parameters 1008, and identifier parameters 1010, respectively, to the controller 604.As discussed in more detail below, devices that communicate on the network each include precision clocks that are synchronized to a master clock within some specified accuracy.", "As shown in FIG.", "2, the sensors 602 and the controller 604 may be connected directly with the communication network 614.As such, each sensor or other field device connected directly with the communication network may include a clock.", "Sensors 602 that include a clock and that may be connected directly with the communication network 614 may include, for example, vision systems such as National Instruments CVS or any PC-based vision system such as Cognex VisionPro.", "Such sensors may also include other controllers that may be configured as peers to the controller or may be configured as subordinate to the controller.", "In some embodiments, the sensors 602, such as the inspection sensors 606, process sensors 608, and product identifier sensors 610, may be indirectly connected with the communication network 614.For example, the inspections sensors 602 may be connected with the communication network 614 through a remote input and output (I/O) station 616.When utilizing remote I/O stations 616, the sensors 602 may be hardwired to the remote I/O stations, and in turn, the remote I/O stations are connected with the communication network 616.As such, the each remote I/O station 616 may include a precision clock.", "Example remote I/O stations 616 or other IEEE-1588 based instruments that can be utilized with systems and methods herein include, for example a National Instruments PCI-1588 Interface (IEEE 1588 Precision Time Protocol Synchronization Interface) that synchronizes PXI systems, I/O modules and instrumentation over Ethernet/IP or a Beckhoff Automation EtherCat and XFC technology (eXtreme Fast Control Technology).", "As previously mentioned, each device, such as the inspection sensors 606, process sensors 608, product identifier sensors 610, remote I/O stations 616, and the controller 604, connected with the communication network 614 includes a clock, and each clock is synchronized to a master clock.", "In one configuration, the controller 604 includes the master clock, and all other clocks of devices connected with the communication network are referenced to the controller master clock.", "In such a configuration, the remote I/O stations, inspection sensors, process sensors, and product identifier sensors each include a clock that is synchronized to the controller master clock.", "For example, inspection parameters 1006 provided by the inspection sensors 606 and process parameters 1008 provided by the process sensors 608 communicated to the communication network 614 are time-stamped with the time from the clocks on the corresponding sensors and remote I/O stations.", "Similarly, identifier parameters 1010 provided by the product identifier sensors 610 communicated to the communication network 614 are time-stamped with the time from the clocks on the corresponding sensors and remote I/O stations.", "In turn, the inspection parameters, process parameters, identifier parameters, and corresponding time-stamp data are sent to the controller 604 over the communication network 614.Thus, the controller 604 can be programmed to correlate the inspection parameters, process parameters, and identifier parameters based on the actual time the parameters were provided by the respective sensors.", "Therefore, ambiguity as to when detections were actually made by respective sensors is relatively small.", "Additionally, traditional methods of storing inspection parameters, process parameters, and identifier parameter normally rely on OPC (Object Linking and Embedding for Process Control) to pass data which is subsequently time-stamped at the destination, for example, a computer housing the historian.", "With these methods, the transport delays between the data source and the clock drift of the computer housing the historian combine to create further ambiguity in the detection time-stamp of the data.", "The controller may ‘normalize’ the time-stamps by adjusting the reported time-stamps which were recorded at the time of detection to a reference location in the process.", "In this manner, all data may be correlated to the production time (normalized time) of the particular product on which the measurement was detected.", "For example, if an inspection is performed using an inspection system 600, which may include a vision system, at some location in the process, and equipment parameters are recorded by a process sensor 602 at a second location in the process and the unique product identifier parameter 1010 are recorded at a third location in the line, the controller may adjust each time-stamp in such a way that all three parameters will have the same time-stamp and therefore be correlated to the same individual product.", "Further, if some product is removed from the production in order to perform offline manual inspections, the system can be configured to record the sample time of the product being removed, to adjust that time-stamp to the normalized time of that individual product and to present that time-stamp to the quality assurance laboratory, who may use that time-stamp when that data is stored in the historian.", "By recording the time-stamp at the moment of detection, normalizing it to a reference point in the process and passing the normalized time-stamp to the historian as the associated data time-stamp, the majority of the ambiguities in the system are eliminated.", "As previously mentioned, all clocks that are used to determine and report time-stamps may be synchronized together.", "Clock synchronization allows the reported time from one device on the communication network 614 to be utilized by another device on the communication network.", "When the clocks are synchronized, ambiguity as to when parameters were actually provided by the respective sensors 602 is affected only by the accuracy of the clocks with respect to each other.", "The clocks of the devices on the communication network may be synchronized in various ways depending on the type of communication network 614 used.", "In one embodiment, the communication network 614 is configured as a non-deterministic communication network, such as for example, Ethernet or Ethernet IP (industrial protocol) communication network.", "When using an Ethernet IP communication network, the clocks of each device may be synchronized using the IEEE1588 precision time protocol, described in IEEE1588 Standard, “Precision Clock Synchronization Protocol for Networked Measurement and Control Systems” and also described in Rockwell Automation publication number 1756-WPO05A-EN-E, published January 2009, and entitled “An Application of IEEE 1588 to Industrial Automation.” As mentioned above, time-stamps associated with parameters from any sensor may be referenced to the master clock, which allows the relative time as to when the inspection parameters were provided to be accurately calculated.", "In one configuration, the controller includes the master clock, the controller master clock, and all other clocks of devices connected with the communication network, the sensor clocks, are referenced to the controller master clock.", "As a result, the time as to when inspection parameters, process parameters, and identifier parameters were provided from respective sensors can be can be reported to the controller within the accuracy of an IEEE1588 compliant clock.", "In some embodiments, reported time-stamps may be accurate to within 0.1 milliseconds of the controller master clock.", "In another configuration, another device, such as an Ethernet switch or router is the local master clock.", "In this case, both the controller clock and the sensor clock follow the local master clock.", "The identity of the local master is unimportant since all clocks in the system are synchronized to the local master within the IEEE1588 PTP standard.", "With reference to the above description and figures, the methods and systems herein utilize a controller 604 and one or more sensors 602, such as inspection sensors 606, process sensors 608, and product identifier sensors 610, connected with a communication network 614.Each sensor 602, and remote I/O device 616, if used, have clocks that are synchronized with the master controller clock in the controller.", "The controller 604 tracks the movement of the substrates and components traveling in the machine direction of the converting line 100.More particularly, controller 604 utilizes feedback from the machine axis 332 to virtually divide the substrates and components into virtual products 402 along the machine direction, track the movement of virtual products 402 in the machine direction, and correlate the virtual products 402 to actual individual products 100, 102 produced after being cut by the final knife 324.In addition, the controller 604 utilizes feedback from the machine axis 332 to virtually divide the virtual products 402 into virtual segments 404 along the machine direction.", "During manufacture, the inspection sensors 606 provide inspection parameters 1006 to the controller 604 via the communication network 614.As discussed above, the inspection parameters 1006 can be configured to indicate various types of information, such as measurement data and/or images, about the substrates and/or components.", "The inspection sensors 606 provide inspection parameters 1006 to the communication network along with associated time-stamp from the sensor clocks.", "Similarly, the process sensors 608 provide process parameters 1008 to the controller 604 via the communication network 614.As discussed above, the process parameters 1008 can be configured to indicate various types of information, such as temperatures and/or pressures, from the assembly equipment on the converting line 300.In turn, the process sensors 608 provide inspection parameters 1008 to the communication network along with associated time-stamp from the sensor clocks.", "In addition, the product identifier sensors 610 provide identifier parameters 1010 to the controller 604 via the communication network 614.As discussed above, the identifier parameters 1010 can be configured to identify individually produced articles 100, 102 once placed in packages 101 and that the associated time-stamps may be normalized to facilitate that correlation.", "In turn, the product identifier sensors 610 provide identifier parameters 1010 to the communication network along with associated normalized time-stamp from the sensor clocks.", "The controller 604 receives the inspection parameters 1006, process parameters 1008, identifier parameters 1010, and associated time-stamps from the communication network 614 and correlates the inspection parameters 1006 and process parameters 1008 with the corresponding virtual products 150 and/or virtual segments 152 moving along the converting line 300, and in turn, with individual products 100, 102 in a package 101.It should be noted that while time-stamps, and specifically normalized time-stamps are an efficient method to provide correlation between process data, inspection parameters and product performance feedback, other techniques to make the correlation may be used.", "For example, the product's unique identifier may be a mathematical sequence.", "The controller 604 and inspection devices 616 may independently generate the same sequence.", "When data is stored from varied sources, each piece of data is identified by the product unique identifier rather than a time.", "As discussed above, the controller 604 may also be adapted to receive performance feedback parameters 1012.Performance feedback parameters may be generated in various ways and may include various information and/or data relating to the articles 100, 102 produced by the converting line 300.For example, performance parameters 1012 may generated as a result of laboratory testing and/or consumer feedback.", "In some configurations, performance parameters 1012 may be generated in a laboratory environment where absorbent articles may be disassembled and subjected to various tests.", "In some configurations, performance parameters 1012 may be collected as a result of soliciting and recording consumer feedback relating to in use performance of the packaged absorbent articles.", "Examples of performance parameters 1012 may include data relating to the separation of back ears from diapers while under tension; leakage; component alignment; and absorbent article fit.", "It is to be appreciated that consumer feedback may include any kind of information provided by the consumer as end-user which is or may be relevant to product quality data.", "Consumer feedback includes, for example, responses to questionnaires or interviews, complaints made by dissatisfied customers, any of which may be may be recorded in written form, or as audio or video recording; and/or images of product in use or after use.", "Performance parameters may be transmitted directly from feedback providers to the controller in various ways, such as via written communication; electronic communication; interne interface; and/or combinations thereof.", "As such, performance parameters can be communicated with various types of devices, such as telephones; computers; mobile devices such as mobile telephones; smart phones; tablets; and the like.", "Performance parameters may also be transmitted in various ways feedback providers to intermediaries, which can then communicate and/or enter the performance parameters into the controller.", "As previously mentioned, the controller 604 may be adapted to send various types of control commands 1000 to the converting line 300, such as for example, speed change commands, reject commands, and shutdown commands.", "Such control commands 1000 may be based on parameters communicated from various sensors 602 as described above.", "For example, control commands 1000 may be based on inspection parameters 1006 and/or process parameters 1008 provided by inspection sensors 606 and process sensors 608.In the example block diagram shown in FIG.", "4, the controller 604 may include target inspection parameters 1014 and/or target process parameters 1016.During the manufacturing process, the controller 604 compares inspection parameters 1008 to corresponding target inspection parameters 1014 to generate control commands 1000 to control various operations on the converting line 300.Similarly, the controller 604 compares process parameters 1008 to corresponding target process parameters 1016 to generate control commands 1000 to control various operations on the converting line 300.As described above, performance feedback parameters 1012 that may include various types of information and/or data relating to the articles 100, 102 produced by the converting line 300 are communicated to the controller 604.The performance feedback parameters 1012 can then be used as a basis to adjust the target inspection parameters 1014 and/or target process parameters 1016.Because the inspection parameters 1006, process parameters 1008, and performance feedback parameters 1012 are correlated with each other and to specific articles 100, 102, the resulting affects in how articles 100, 102 are manufactured can be observed and relatively more precisely correlated with adjusted parameters.", "As discussed in the example below, correlated performance feedback parameters 1012, correlated inspection parameters 1006, and correlated process parameters 1008 may be used to adjust target inspection parameters 1014 and/or target process parameters 1016 to harmonize quality specification limits with feedback from various sources, such as for example, consumers, line operators, process design personnel, and/or product design personnel.", "To provide additional context to the above discussion, the following provides a specific description of an example implementation of the systems and processes herein.", "FIGS.", "5A-6D show an example of an absorbent article converting line 300 as substrates and components travel along the machine direction MD through a nip roll 304, a final knife 324, and a packaging system 330.In particular, FIGS.", "5A-5D show schematic side views of the converting line 300, substrates 306, 308 and components 316 assembled into a continuous length of absorbent articles 400.And FIGS.", "6A-6D show a plan view of the continuous length of absorbent articles 400 and virtual absorbent articles 402 that correspond with FIGS.", "5A-5D, respectively.", "For the purposes of the discussion relating to FIGS.", "5A-6D, the converting line 300 is described in the context of a diaper converting line.", "In particular, a base substrate 306 is shown to enter and advance in the machine direction MD through the converting line 300.Material from an auxiliary substrate 308 is cut into individual components 316, transferred to the base substrate 306 to form features on the base substrate 306, such as for example, back ears 111 on a diaper.", "The back ears are also shown as being bonded to the base substrate 306 at nip roll 304, which may be in form of a mechanical bonding unit as discussed above.", "As such, the nip roll 304 may be configured create the bonds 150 between the back ears 111 and the base substrate 306, such as shown in FIGS.", "6B-6D.", "FIGS.", "5A-5D also show an inspection sensor 606, a process sensor 608, product identifier sensor 610, controller 604, machine axis 332, packaging system 330, and packages 101 containing multiple individual diapers 102.In accordance with the above description, the machine axis 332 is shown schematically in the form of a virtual axis 334 and provides base substrate position and speed signals to the controller 604.In turn, the controller 604 divides the base substrate into virtual products 402 along the machine direction MD, such as described above with reference to FIG.", "3.Also in accordance with the above discussion, the inspection sensor 606, process sensor 608, and product identifier sensor 610 are each connected with remote I/O stations 616.In turn, the remote I/O stations 610 and controller 142 are connected with a communication network 614, in the form of an Ethernet IP network.", "It is to be appreciated that various quantities of sensors 602 may be used and that some or all sensors may be connected directly with the communication network 614 without using remote I/O stations.", "Each remote I/O station 616 includes a clock 1018, referred to herein as a sensor clock 1020 providing a time, Ts, and the controller includes a clock 1018, referred to herein as the master control clock 1022 providing a time, Tc.", "The sensor clocks 1020 are synchronized with the master control clock 1012, such that Ts is set to equal Tc.", "For the purposes of the present discussion, the lengths of the virtual products 402 in the machine direction correspond with the pitch lengths PL of products 102 being produced.", "In the present example, it may be assumed that the machine axis 332 rotates such that one complete one rotation corresponds with a one pitch length advancement of the base substrate 306 in the machine direction.", "Upon each revolution of the machine axis 332, a shift register in the controller 604 is incremented by one virtual product 402.The aforementioned increments continue as the base substrate 306 advances through the converting line 300.FIGS.", "5A-5D show the advancement of the base substrate 106 in the machine direction through the mechanical bonding unit 304 and past the inspection sensor 606.As discussed above, the inspection sensor 606 can be configured to perform various detection operations.", "In one example, the inspection sensor 606 may be configured as a vision system that detects an inspection parameter that is indicative of the quality of bonds 150 between the back ears 111 and the base substrate 306 passing thereby.", "As such, the inspection sensor 606 provides an inspection parameter 1006 to the communication network via the remote I/O station, wherein the inspection parameter 1006 corresponds with sensed relative strengths of the individual bonds 150.In accordance with the above discussion, the inspection parameter 1006 includes a corresponding time-stamp from the sensor clock 1020.When the position of the inspection sensor 606 along the converting line 300 is known by the controller 604, the controller 604 can correlate the inspection parameters 1006 provided by the inspection sensor 606 with the corresponding virtual products 402 based on the normalized time-stamps of the inspection parameters 1006.FIGS.", "5A-5D also show a process sensor 608 operatively connected with the mechanical bonding unit 304.As discussed above, the process sensor 608 can be configured to perform various detection operations.", "In one example, the process sensor 608 may be configured as a pressure sensor that detects the applied pressure of the mechanical bonding unit 304.As such, the process sensor 608 provides a process parameter 1008 to the communication network via the remote I/O station, wherein the process parameter 1008 corresponds with the sensed pressure of the mechanical bonding unit 304 while creating the bonds 150 between the back ears 111 and the base substrate 306.In accordance with the above discussion, the process parameter 1008 includes a corresponding time-stamp from the sensor clock 1020.When the position of the pressure sensor 608 along the converting line 300 is known by the controller 604, the controller 604 can correlate the process parameters 1008 provided by the inspection sensor 608 with the corresponding virtual products 402 based on the normalized time-stamps of the process parameters 1008.In turn, the controller 604 can correlate the process parameters 1008 and inspection parameters 1006 with virtual products 402.Thus, the controller is able to correlate the sensed pressures from the mechanical bonding unit 304 on a virtual product advancing through the mechanical bonding unit with the sensed presence and/or absence of bonds 150 on the same virtual product.", "With continued reference to FIGS.", "5A-5D, the inspection system 600 also includes a product identifier sensor 610 adapted to identify diapers 102 manufactured by the converting line 300.As discussed above, a unique identifier may be applied to each individual diaper 102 that are detected by the product identifier sensors 610.The unique identifier may be configured in various ways, such as for example, a serial number, a bar code, and/or a QR code.", "As such, the product identifier sensor 610 provides an identifier parameter 1010 to the communication network via the remote I/O station, wherein the identifier parameter 1010 corresponds with the unique identifier on a diaper 102.In accordance with the above discussion, the identifier parameter 1010 includes a corresponding time-stamp from the sensor clock 1020.When the position of the product identifier sensor 610 along the converting line 300 is known by the controller 604, the controller 604 can correlate the identifier parameters 1010 provided by the product identifier sensor 610 with the corresponding virtual products 402 based on the normalized time-stamps of the identifier parameters 1010.In turn, performance feedback parameters 1012 and associated unique identifiers can be sent to and received by the controller 604 and historian, which can then correlate process feedback parameters 1012 with the process parameters 1008 and inspection parameters 1006 of virtual products 402.Thus, for example, the controller is able to correlate product performance information, such as for example, failures of the bonds 150 during diaper usage, with the sensed pressures on the mechanical bonding unit 304 on a virtual product 402 and the sensed quality, presence, and/or absence of bonds 150 on the same virtual product 402.FIGS.", "5A and 6A show the advancement of the base substrate in the machine direction, and in particular, advancement of a first virtual product 402a to the mechanical bonding unit 304.FIGS.", "5B and 6B show the continued advancement of the base substrate in the machine direction, and in particular, advancement of a second virtual product 402b past the inspection sensor 606.As shown in FIG.", "6B, two back ears 111 are connected with bonds 150 to the base substrate 306.The bonds 150 are schematically represented by discrete, black crescent-shaped areas.", "As shown in FIG.", "6B six bonds 150 are shown to connect a first back ear 111a with the base substrate 306, and six bonds 150 are shown to connect a second back ear 111b with the base substrate.", "FIG.", "5B shows a first process parameter PS1 having a corresponding time stamp, Ts1a, being communicated to the communication network 614.PS1 may be configured to provide an indication of the applied pressure of the mechanical bonding unit 304 while creating the bonds 150 on the second virtual product 402b.", "Simultaneously, the time reported by master controller clock 1022 is Tc1a.", "A first inspection parameter, IS1, having a corresponding time-stamp, Ts1b, is also being communicated to the communication network 614.IS1 may be configured to provide an indication of the quality and presence of bonds 150 on the second virtual product 402b.", "Simultaneously, the time reported by master controller clock 1022 is Tc1b.", "In addition, a first identifier parameter, ID1, having a corresponding time-stamp, Ts1c, is being communicated to the communication network 614.ID1 may be configured to provide an indication of the unique identifier on the second virtual product 402b.", "Simultaneously, the time reported by master controller clock 1022 is Tc1c.", "As discussed below, PS1, IS1, and ID1 may not be immediately received by the controller 604.Next, FIGS.", "5C and 6C show the continued advancement of the base substrate 306 in the machine direction MD, and in particular, advancement of a third virtual product 402c past the inspection sensor 606.FIG.", "5C shows a second process parameter PS2 having a corresponding time stamp, Ts2a, being communicated to the communication network 614.PS2 may be configured to provide an indication of the applied pressure of the mechanical bonding unit 304 while creating the bonds 150 on the third virtual product 402c.", "Simultaneously, the time reported by master controller clock 1022 is Tc2a.", "A second inspection parameter, IS2, having a corresponding time-stamp, Ts2b, is also being communicated to the communication network 614.IS2 may be configured to provide an indication of the quality and presence of bonds 150 on the third virtual product 402c.", "In particular, IS2 may provide an indication of the degraded quality of bonds 150 on the first back ear 111a, represented by the three discrete, gray crescent-shaped areas in FIG.", "6C.", "Simultaneously, the time reported by master controller clock 1022 is Tc2b.", "In addition, a second identifier parameter, ID2, having a corresponding time-stamp, Ts2c, is being communicated to the communication network 614.ID2 may be configured to provide an indication of the unique identifier on the third virtual product 402c.", "Simultaneously, the time reported by master controller clock 1022 is Tc2c.", "As discussed below, PS2, IS2, and ID2 may not be immediately received by the controller 604.Next, FIGS.", "5D and 6D show the continued advancement of the base substrate 306 in the machine direction MD, and in particular, advancement of a fourth virtual product 402d past the inspection sensor 606.FIG.", "5D shows a third process parameter PS3 having a corresponding time stamp, Ts3a, being communicated to the communication network 614.PS3 may be configured to provide an indication of the applied pressure of the mechanical bonding unit 304 while creating the bonds 150 on the fourth virtual product 402d.", "Simultaneously, the time reported by master controller clock 1022 is Tc3a.", "A third inspection parameter, IS3, having a corresponding time-stamp, Ts3b, is also being communicated to the communication network 614.IS3 may be configured to provide an indication of the quality and presence of bonds 150 on the fourth virtual product 402d.", "In particular, IS3 may provide an indication of the absence and degraded quality of some bonds 150 on the first back ear 111a, represented by two missing discrete, black crescent shaped areas and the two discrete, gray crescent-shaped areas in FIG.", "6D.", "Simultaneously, the time reported by master controller clock 1022 is Tc3b.", "In addition, a third identifier parameter, ID3, having a corresponding time-stamp, Ts3c, is being communicated to the communication network 614.ID3 may be configured to provide an indication of the unique identifier on the fourth virtual product 402d.", "Simultaneously, the time reported by master controller clock 1022 is Tc3c.", "Again, PS3, IS3, and ID3 may not be immediately received by the controller 604.As previously mentioned, some amount of time may pass before the controller 604 receives the process parameters 1008, inspection parameters 1006, and identifier parameters 1010 from the communication network 614.Some such time delays may be the result of the non-deterministic nature of the Ethernet IP network.", "There may also be additional time before a controller analyzes the inspection parameters based on the controller's program cycle or loop time.", "However, notwithstanding such time delays, once the controller receives and analyzes process, inspection, and identifier parameters, the controller can use the corresponding time-stamps to correlate the process, inspection, and identifier parameters with particular virtual products 402.For example, the controller may receive and analyze PS3, IS3, and ID3 at some time after being provided to the communication network 614.However, along with PS3, IS3, and ID3, the controller 604 will receive Ts3a, Ts3b, and Ts3c, which were provided by the sensor clocks 1020.Because the sensor clocks 1020 are synchronized with the master controller clock 1022, the controller 604 can correlate PS3, IS3, and ID3 with the fourth virtual product 402d.", "Because the process parameters 1008, inspection parameters 1008, and identifier parameters 1010 have time-stamps provided from sensor clocks 1020 that are synchronized with the master controller clock 1022, the controller 604 can correlate the process parameters 1008, inspection parameters 1008, and identifier parameters 1010 with actual physical locations on the substrates and/or components advancing through the converting line 300 without having to account for various system time delays, such as time delays in the communication network and controller loop times.", "As such, the correlated location of the process parameters 1008, inspection parameters 1008, and identifier parameters 1010 on the substrates and/or components may be accurate to within the accuracy of the sensor clock with respect to the master controller clock.", "For example, where the clock accuracy meets the software implementation of IEE1588, the clocks may be assured to be accurate within 0.1 milliseconds.", "Expanding on the above discussion, it is to be appreciated that the controller 604 can utilized the machine axis 332 to further divide the virtual products 402 into virtual segments 404, such as described above with reference to FIG.", "3.As such, the controller 604 may correlate the process parameters 1008, inspection parameters 1008, and identifier parameters 1010 with actual physical locations within the virtual products 402.In turn, the controller 604 correlates the virtual products 402 with individual products 102.Expanding on the example implementation provided above with reference to FIGS.", "5A-6D, the controller 604 may be adapted to send various types of control commands 1000 to the converting line 300, such as for example reject commands and/or shutdown commands.", "Such control commands 1000 may be based on process parameters 1008 and/or inspection parameters 1006.As described above with reference to FIG.", "4, the controller 604 may include target inspection parameters 1014 and/or target process parameters 1016.During the manufacturing process, the controller 604 may compare inspection parameters 1008 to corresponding target inspection parameters 1014 to generate control commands 1000.Similarly, the controller 604 may compare process parameters 1008 to corresponding target process parameters 1016 to generate control commands 1000.For example, the controller 604 may have compared PS3 to target applied pressure of the mechanical bonding unit 304, and may have compared IS3 to a target quality and presence of bonds 150.If PS3 and IS3 were found to be within allowable limits based on the targets, the controller 604 may not have provided an alarm and/or issued reject and/or shutdown control commands 1000.As described above, the controller may later receive performance feedback parameters 1012 that may include various types of information and/or data relating to the articles 102 produced by the converting line 300.And the performance feedback parameters 1012 can then be used as a basis to adjust target manufacturing parameters, such as the target inspection parameters 1014 and/or target process parameters 1016.For example, performance feedback parameters 1012 may provide an indication that the bonds 150 on products 102 corresponding with PS3 and IS3 may have an unacceptable failure rate, as for example, indicated by consumers providing the performance feedback parameters 1012.As such, the correlated performance feedback parameters 1012, correlated inspection parameters 1006, and correlated process parameters 1008 may be used to adjust target inspection parameters 1014 and/or target process parameters 1016.For example, in future manufacturing operations, the controller 604 will compare a process parameter of PS3 to the adjusted target applied pressure of the mechanical bonding unit 304, and will compare a inspection parameter of IS3 to the adjusted target quality and presence of bonds 150.As such, PS3 and IS3 may be found to be outside allowable limits based on the adjusted targets, and in turn, the controller 604 may provide an alarm and/or issue reject and/or shutdown control commands 1000.Additionally, the performance feedback data, inspection parameters and process parameters may be formed into a process model for use in process troubleshooting or process or product improvement.", "In this example, unacceptable product performance may correlate to excessive values in the applied pressure of the mechanical bonding unit and may be indicated by certain values of an inspection parameter IS3.Modeling software may be used to monitor IS3 and PS3 in such a way as to alert the operator to an abnormal condition before the machine enters a state where product with unacceptable performance potential is produced.", "Other examples of the implementation of the above system include utilizing the correlated data collected by the system to populate process and machinery models for use in process improvement.", "The correlations between product performance feedback 1012, whether from consumers or from quality laboratory testing to the process and inspection parameters 1002, 1006 can be used to provide analytical results when testing new raw materials, such as substrates, nonwoven or elastics as well as new designs for process machinery such as nip rolls, web guides or rotary knives.", "This may result in acceleration of the innovation process in that testing can be done more quickly.", "Additionally, hitherto unknown causal relationships may be discovered and documented through using advanced mathematical techniques such as multivariate analyses and principal component analysis (PCA).", "Since the data is tightly correlated, determination of these relationships allows a high confidence in the mathematical models of the process and equipment, eliminating the need for physical testing and replacing it with mathematical modeling.", "The tight correlation of data and the normalization of time-stamps simplify the data mining process and increase the fidelity of autonomous data mining techniques.", "Traditionally, data must be conditioned and preprocessed to synchronize the reported time-stamps to the correlated product.", "Usually the preprocessing must be manually accomplished based on detailed process understanding or rely on cross correlation techniques that may indicate false causal relationships or obscure true causal relationships.", "The use of correlated data with normalized time-stamps increases the probability that a reported causal relationship is true and reduces the probability of falsely reporting a causal relationship.", "Determination of causal relationships, either through direct correlation or through advanced mathematical modeling may also be used to enable real-time monitoring of process and inspection parameters.", "Such monitoring may be capable of tracking degradation trends in process and inspection parameters that indicate a trend towards unacceptable product performance.", "Thus the prognostic capability of the system may be used to either execute a control action or alert the line operator to take corrective action before the product enters a state where there would be unacceptable performance for the consumer.", "It is to be appreciated that the methods and systems disclosed herein may be utilized to monitor the quality of substrates and components as well as respective placements during the manufacture of absorbent articles, such as for example, topsheets, backsheets, absorbent cores, ears, waist features, and graphics printed thereon.", "It is also to be appreciated that the systems and methods described herein may also be utilized in combination with other types of control systems and methods, such as described in U.S. Pat.", "Nos.", "8,145,338; 8,145,344; and 8,145,343.Further, the methods and systems described herein may be utilized in other types of control systems and methods such as for example: data storage and correlation methods with repeat application devices and multiple application stations such as described in U.S. Pat.", "No.", "6,829,516; raw material database integration such as described in U.S. Pat.", "No.", "7,162,319; web guide control methods and systems such as described in U.S. Pat.", "No.", "6,801,828; and data mining and trending methods and systems such as described in U.S. Pat.", "No.", "6,845,278.This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser.", "No.", "14/474,554 filed on Sep. 2, 2014, which claims the benefit of U.S.", "Provisional Application No.", "61/872,885 filed on Sep. 3, 2013, which are both incorporated herein by reference.", "The dimensions and values disclosed herein are not to be understood as being strictly limited to the exact numerical values recited.", "Instead, unless otherwise specified, each such dimension is intended to mean both the recited value and a functionally equivalent range surrounding that value.", "For example, a dimension disclosed as “40 mm” is intended to mean “about 40 mm.” Every document cited herein, including any cross referenced or related patent or application and any patent application or patent to which this application claims priority or benefit thereof, is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety unless expressly excluded or otherwise limited.", "The citation of any document is not an admission that it is prior art with respect to any invention disclosed or claimed herein or that it alone, or in any combination with any other reference or references, teaches, suggests or discloses any such invention.", "Further, to the extent that any meaning or definition of a term in this document conflicts with any meaning or definition of the same term in a document incorporated by reference, the meaning or definition assigned to that term in this document shall govern.", "While particular embodiments of the present invention have been illustrated and described, it would be obvious to those skilled in the art that various other changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.", "It is therefore intended to cover in the appended claims all such changes and modifications that are within the scope of this invention." ] ]
Patent_15873032
[ [ "TRANSACTION SECURITY APPARATUS AND METHOD", "A transaction security apparatus, including a card reader; an input device or receiver which inputs or receives transaction information regarding a transaction on or involving an account; a camera or video recording device which obtains or records a photograph or video clip of an individual involved in the transaction; a microphone or audio recording device which obtains or records an audio clip of the individual; a display; a processing device which processes information regarding the transaction and generates a notification message containing information regarding the transaction; and a transmitter which transmits the notification message to a communication device associated with an account holder.", "The notification message and the photograph, video clip, or audio clip, is transmitted to the communication device independently of any processing of the transaction by the transaction authorization processing computer." ], [ "1.A transaction security apparatus, comprising: a card reader, wherein the card reader obtains information regarding an account; an input device or a receiver, wherein the input device inputs, or the receiver receives, transaction information regarding a transaction on or involving the account; a camera or a video recording device, wherein the camera or the video recording device obtains or records a photograph or a video clip of an individual involved in the transaction; a microphone or an audio recording device, wherein the microphone or the audio recording device obtains or records an audio clip of the individual involved in the transaction; a display; a processing device, wherein the processing device processes the information regarding the transaction and generates a notification message, wherein the notification message contains information regarding the transaction; and a transmitter, wherein the transmitter transmits the notification message to a communication device associated with an account holder, and further wherein the notification message is transmitted to the communication device independently of any processing of the transaction by a transaction authorization processing computer, wherein the photograph, the video clip, or the audio clip, is transmitted to the communication device independently of any processing of the transaction by the transaction authorization processing computer.", "2.The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the notification message also contains an image, a digital copy, a photograph, or a picture, of a document, an authorization form, an authorization request form, a benefit request form, a claim form, a draft, a bank draft, a deposit form, a withdrawal form, a check, a receipt, or a request form, offered, presented, submitted, processed, involved, or used, in the transaction on or involving the account.", "3.The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the transaction information regarding the transaction includes an image, a digital copy, a photograph, or a picture, of a document, an authorization form, an authorization request form, a benefit request form, a claim form, a draft, a bank draft, a deposit form, a withdrawal form, a check, a receipt, or a request form, offered, presented, submitted, processed, involved, or used, in the transaction on or involving the account.", "4.The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the account is a credit account or a credit card account, and further wherein the notification message also includes an image, a digital copy, a photograph, or a picture, of a document, an authorization form, an authorization request form, a benefit request form, a claim form, a draft, a bank draft, a deposit form, a withdrawal form, a check, a receipt, or a request form, offered, presented, submitted, processed, involved, or used, in the transaction.", "5.The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the account is a debit account or a debit card account, and further wherein the notification message also includes an image, a digital copy, a photograph, or a picture, of a document, an authorization form, an authorization request form, a benefit request form, a claim form, a draft, a bank draft, a deposit form, a withdrawal form, a check, a receipt, or a request form, offered, presented, submitted, processed, involved, or used, in the transaction.", "6.The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the account is a charge account or a charge card account, and further wherein the notification message also includes an image, a digital copy, a photograph, or a picture, of a document, an authorization form, an authorization request form, a benefit request form, a claim form, a draft, a bank draft, a deposit form, a withdrawal form, a check, a receipt, or a request form, offered, presented, submitted, processed, involved, or used, in the transaction.", "7.The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the account is a healthcare account, an account associated with a healthcare insurance policy, plan, or program, a Medicare account, a Medicaid account, a pharmacy account, a life insurance account, or a disability insurance account, and further wherein the notification message also includes an image, a digital copy, a photograph, or a picture, of a document, an authorization form, an authorization request form, a benefit request form, a claim form, a draft, a bank draft, a deposit form, a withdrawal form, a check, a receipt, or a request form, offered, presented, submitted, processed, involved, or used, in the transaction on or involving the account.", "8.The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the account is a bank account, a checking account, a savings account, or a brokerage account, and further wherein the notification message also includes an image, a digital copy, a photograph, or a picture, of a document, an authorization form, an authorization request form, a benefit request form, a claim form, a draft, a bank draft, a deposit form, a withdrawal form, a check, a receipt, or a request form, offered, presented, submitted, processed, involved, or used, in the transaction on or involving the account.", "9.The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the account is a smart card account, a currency card account, an electronic money account, or an electronic cash account, and further wherein the notification message also includes an image, a digital copy, a photograph, or a picture, of a document, an authorization form, an authorization request form, a benefit request form, a claim form, a draft, a bank draft, a deposit form, a withdrawal form, a check, a receipt, or a request form, offered, presented, submitted, processed, involved, or used, in the transaction on or involving the account.", "10.The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the account is a telephone calling card account, a communication account, a telephone account, a wireless communication device account, a non-wireless communication device account, or a cellular communication device account, and further wherein the notification message also includes an image, a digital copy, a photograph, or a picture, of a document, an authorization form, an authorization request form, a benefit request form, a claim form, a draft, a bank draft, a deposit form, a withdrawal form, a check, a receipt, or a request form, offered, presented, submitted, processed, involved, or used, in the transaction on or involving the account.", "11.The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the photograph or the video clip is transmitted along with the notification message.", "12.A transaction security apparatus, comprising: a card reader, wherein the card reader obtains information regarding an account; an input device or a receiver, wherein the input device inputs, or the receiver receives, transaction information regarding a transaction on or involving the account; a camera or a video recording device, wherein the camera or the video recording device obtains or records a photograph or a video clip of an individual involved in the transaction on or involving the account; a microphone or an audio recording device, wherein the microphone or the audio recording device obtains or records an audio clip of the individual involved in the transaction; a display; a processing device, wherein the processing device processes information regarding the transaction, and further wherein the processing device generates a notification message, wherein the notification message contains information regarding the transaction; and a transmitter, wherein the transmitter transmits the notification message to a communication device associated with an account holder, wherein the notification message is transmitted to the communication device independently of any processing of the transaction by a transaction authorization processing computer; and a server computer, wherein the apparatus transmits the photograph, the video clip, or the audio clip, to the communication device associated with an account holder independently of any processing of the transaction by the transaction authorization processing computer, and further wherein information regarding the transaction and the photograph, the video clip, or the audio clip, is transmitted to, received by, and stored in, the server computer.", "13.The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the photograph, the video clip, or the audio clip, is transmitted along with the notification message.", "14.A transaction security apparatus, comprising: a card reader, wherein the card reader obtains information regarding an account; an input device or a receiver, wherein the input device inputs, or the receiver receives, transaction information regarding a transaction on or involving the account; a camera or a video recording device, wherein the camera or the video recording device obtains or records a photograph or a video clip of an individual involved in the transaction on or involving the account; a microphone or an audio recording device, wherein the microphone or the audio recording device obtains or records an audio clip of the individual involved in the transaction; a display; a processing device, wherein the processing device processes information regarding the transaction, wherein the processing device is specially programmed to, and generates, a notification message containing information regarding the transaction; a transmitter, wherein the transmitter transmits the notification message to a communication device associated with an account holder, wherein the notification message is transmitted independently of any processing of the transaction by a transaction authorization processing computer; and a server computer, wherein the server computer is specially programmed to receive and store information regarding the transaction, and further wherein the server computer is specially programmed to store information regarding multiple transactions for multiple accounts, wherein the apparatus is specially programmed to transmit the photograph, the video clip, or the audio clip, to the communication device associated with the account holder independently of any processing of the transaction by the transaction authorization processing computer, and further wherein the apparatus is specially programmed to transmit the photograph, the video clip, or the audio clip, along with the notification message, and further wherein information regarding the transaction and the photograph, the video clip, or the audio clip, is transmitted to, received by, and stored in, the server computer.", "15.The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the apparatus receives a message containing a file photograph or a file picture of the individual or of a second individual, and further wherein the display displays the file photograph or the file picture.", "16.The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the apparatus records and stores a voice recording of the individual involved in the transaction, and further wherein the apparatus or the transmitter transmits the voice recording to the communication device, and further wherein the server computer receives and stores the voice recording.", "17.The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the notification message also contains an image, a digital copy, a photograph, or a picture, of a document, an authorization form, an authorization request form, a benefit request form, a claim form, a draft, a bank draft, a deposit form, a withdrawal form, a check, a receipt, or a request form, offered, presented, submitted, processed, involved, or used, in or involving the transaction.", "18.The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the account is a credit account, a credit card account, a debit account, a debit card account, a charge account, or a charge card account, and further wherein the notification message also includes an image, a digital copy, a photograph, or a picture, of a document, an authorization form, an authorization request form, a benefit request form, a claim form, a draft, a bank draft, a deposit form, a withdrawal form, a check, a receipt, or a request form, offered, presented, submitted, processed, involved, or used, in the transaction.", "19.The apparatus of claim 55, wherein the account is a healthcare account, an account associated with a healthcare insurance policy, plan, or program, a Medicare account, a Medicaid account, a pharmacy account, a life insurance account, or a disability insurance account, and further wherein the notification message also includes an image, a digital copy, a photograph, or a picture, of a document, an authorization form, an authorization request form, a benefit request form, a claim form, a draft, a bank draft, a deposit form, a withdrawal form, a check, a receipt, or a request form, offered, presented, submitted, processed, involved, or used, in the transaction.", "20.The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the account is a bank account, a checking account, a savings account, or a brokerage account, and further wherein the notification message also includes an image, a digital copy, a photograph, or a picture, of a document, an authorization form, an authorization request form, a benefit request form, a claim form, a draft, a bank draft, a deposit form, a withdrawal form, a check, a receipt, or a request form, offered, presented, submitted, processed, involved, or used, in the transaction." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION <EOH>Millions of individuals enjoy the convenience of utilizing credit cards, charge cards, debit cards, and/or currency or “smart” cards as a convenient way in which to purchase goods and/or services.", "By utilizing credit cards, charge cards, debit cards, and/or currency or “smart” cards, an individual may enter into a transaction without having to have cash or currency in hand or otherwise.", "In the case of credit cards, charge cards and debit cards, the individual, in effect obtains an instant loan of the funds needed to make a purchase and/or enter into a transaction.", "In the case of currency or “smart” cards, the individual may “store” an amount of money on the card(s) and, thereafter, utilize the card(s), instead of cash or currency, in order to make purchases and/or enter into transactions.", "Millions of individuals also enjoy the benefits of having savings accounts, checking accounts and/or automated teller machine accounts which allow then to enjoy the security of saving their money in accounts which are usually insured and which allow them to, in some instances, earn interest on their money.", "In the case of checking accounts, individuals enjoy the convenience of writing checks and/or other transaction instruments which allow them to draw against their money without having to undergo the inconvenience of going to the bank or financial institution to withdraw their money, in currency form, and traveling to, in some cases, a distant location to either make a purchase, payment and/or to otherwise settle an account.", "In this regard, the ability to write checks, drafts and/or other instruments against an account is a very convenient manner in which to conduct transactions of any kind.", "In the case of automated teller machines, individuals may conveniently withdraw and/or deposit money into a bank of other financial account.", "Many individuals also enjoy the convenience of owning and/or using wireless, mobile or cellular telephones or devices as a means by which to make telephone calls when a conventional line or permanent telephone is not within reach and/or when the individual is “on the go”, such as in an automobile, on foot, and/or in any other type of environment, such as away from home, when a conventional line or permanently fixed telephone is not available.", "Unfortunately, with the convenience of each of the above credit cards, charge cards, debit cards, and/or currency or “smart” cards, savings accounts, checking accounts, automated teller machine accounts, and cellular telephones or cellular communications devices, comes many disadvantages and the opportunity for theft and/or fraud.", "In the case of credit cards, charge cards and/or debit cards, hundreds of millions, if not billions, of dollars a year are lost as a result of the theft of, and/or the fraudulent use of, credit cards, charge cards and/or debit cards, or the account numbers which correspond thereto.", "A lost or stolen card may be utilized by an unauthorized individual to spend upwards of thousands of dollars before the unauthorized use is detected and/or before the cardholder can ascertain, and/or be notified, either by the card issuer or servicing institution or when the cardholder detects the unauthorized transaction on his or her monthly account statement, that the card is lost or stolen.", "Similarly, even in the absence of the physical card, an unauthorized individual may utilize the account number which corresponds to the card in order to make certain transactions.", "While card holders are usually protected by various coverages which shield them from the liabilities associated with the fraudulent use of a card or the corresponding account number, the card issuers, credit, charge and/or debit card issuing companies and/or institutions, and/or their insurance companies, end up paying for the above described thefts and/or fraudulent and/or unauthorized uses.", "Ultimately, the consumer also shoulders the burden of the costs associated with these thefts and/or fraudulent and/or unauthorized uses in the form of increased prices.", "While authorization terminals and/or devices are utilized at a point-of-sale and/or at the vendor's, the seller's, or the service provider's, location, these authorization terminals and/or devices typically are utilized to obtain an authorization from the card issuer or account servicing institution which, usually entails a screening of whether the card has been lost, stolen, cancelled, de-activated and/or whether the cardholder has exceeded and/or will exceed his or her credit limit.", "This current authorization practice fails to prevent the use of a lost or stolen card, or the unauthorized use of either the card or the account number corresponding thereof, if the card has not been reported, and/or discovered, to be lost, stolen or used without authorization and/or if the account credit limit has not yet been reached.", "Current practices do not entail and/or do not include the provision for obtaining an authorization, and/or for providing notice to the cardholder before, during and/or shortly after a transaction, which cardholder authorization and/or notification procedure would be helpful and prove to be essential in preventing the fraudulent use and/or unauthorized use of a card and/or the account number corresponding thereto in a unauthorized transaction and/or shortly thereafter an unauthorized transaction has occurred, thereby minimizing the fraudulent and/or unauthorized use of the card and/or the account number corresponding thereto.", "In the case of currency or “smart” cards, which typically may serve as bearer instruments, the monetary credit on these cards may be completely depleted before the card owner even discovers same to be lost or stolen.", "In the case of savings accounts, checking accounts, and/or automated teller machine accounts, these accounts may be accessed, and funds can be withdrawn, without the account owner's notification and/or knowledge.", "In the case of savings accounts and checking accounts, these accounts may be accessed, and/or funds may be withdrawn therefrom, when checks drawn on insufficient funds are returned, and/or when the account number is inadvertently and/or fraudulently utilized in an endorsement, or otherwise, by an individual attempting to cash or perform a transaction with a fraudulent instrument, a forged instrument and/or an otherwise “bad” check.", "In these instances, the accounts and/or funds involved are usually accessed, invaded, and/or withdrawn from the account involved without the account owner being notified and/or having a say in the matter.", "The account owner is typically notified of the above-described activity involving his or her account days later when he or she either receives a mailed notice and/or when they receive and review their monthly or periodic statement, which notice may be received at a time when it may be too late for the account owner to stop or reverse the transaction and/or, in the case of a check or draft returned for insufficient funds, at a time which is too late for the account owner to attempt to collect the funds.", "In the case of automated teller machine accounts, these accounts may be accessed, such as with a lost, stolen, or counterfeit card and/or with a card account number(s) and/or associated personal identification number(s), by a thief or by any other unauthorized person who could then make an unauthorized withdrawal(s) therefrom.", "Once again, the account owner would not receive notification and/or have knowledge of the unauthorized transaction until they are notified by the bank or financial institution either via a monthly and/or periodic statement, and/or when they attempt a transaction at the automated teller machine and, at that time, discover that funds are missing and/or have been withdrawn.", "In the case of savings accounts, checking accounts and/or automated teller machine accounts, there is no present apparatus or method by which to provide notification to an account owner at the time of the unauthorized transaction and/or account activity and/or shortly thereafter same.", "In the case of cellular telephones, recent practices involving “cloning” cellular telephones, which entails intercepting telephone transmissions from a cellular telephone, which transmissions contain the phone number of the transmitting phone and/or the associated personal identification number (PIN), and utilizing the intercepted information to program a different cellular phone which by then be utilized in conjunction with the account of the “cloned” cellular telephone, has also resulted in widespread theft and fraudulent use of cellular telephones and/or cellular communications devices The “cloned” telephones are typically sold on the “black” market.", "In these instances, the cellular telephone owner has no way of knowing whether, or when, his or her cellular transmissions are being intercepted and/or if and when a “cloned” cellular phone is created and/or is utilized on, or over, his or her cellular telephone account.", "Typically, the cellular telephone owner first becomes aware of the unauthorized usage of his or her cellular telephone account when he or she receives their telephone account statement.", "Once again, in the time between the “cloning” of the cellular telephone and the discovery of same, hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars worth of cellular telephone calls may have been made before the unauthorized use is detected.", "At present, there is no apparatus or method for providing notification to the cellular telephone owner as to when his or her cellular telephone and/or cellular telephone number is, or has been, utilized in an unauthorized manner." ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION <EOH>The present invention provides an apparatus and a method for providing financial transaction, or other account transaction, authorization, notification, and/or security, and, in particular, provides an apparatus and a method for providing financial transaction authorization, notification, and/or security in conjunction with credit card, charge card, debit card, and/or currency or “smart” card use, savings and/or checking account activity and use, or other account use, and/or cellular telephone use, which overcomes the shortcomings of the prior art.", "The present invention provides an authorization, notification, and/or security, apparatus and method which provides a notification of a transaction on or involving any one or more of the accounts described herein, along with an image, a digital copy, a photograph, or a picture, of a document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or any other entity, which is offered, presented, submitted, processed, or used, in or involving a transaction on or involving an account, or related to a transaction on or involving an account.", "The apparatus and method of the present invention, which is utilized in conjunction with a credit card, a charge card, a debit card and/or a currency or “smart” card authorization process, comprises a point-of-sale authorization terminal which terminals are found in various establishments and which are utilized in conjunction with the sale of goods and/or services and/or in other types of financial transactions.", "The point-of-sale terminal may be utilized at the location of the seller and/or service provider, such as at a retail store or office, and/or the point-of-sale terminal may be located at the site of the goods or service provider or vendor, such as in cases when the sale is a telephone order, mail order, and/or other type of transaction, including transactions made on, or over, the Internet and/or other on-line services or communication networks or mediums.", "The point-of-sale terminal can also include and input device, a keyboard, a mouse, a reader, a scanner, or any combination of same, or any other input device for inputting or for entering information and/or for obtaining an image or a digital copy of a respective document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or other entity, which is offered, presented, submitted, processed, involved, or used, in or involving a transaction on or involving a respective account, or related to a transaction on or involving an account.", "The point-of-sale terminal includes a camera and/or a microphone, and/or any other video recording device and/or audio recording device, for obtaining a picture and/or video information and/or audio information regarding an individual engaging in a transaction involving the respective credit card, a charge card, a debit card, and/or a currency or “smart” card.", "The camera can also be utilized to obtain a photograph or a picture of a document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or other entity, which is offered, presented, submitted, processed, involved, or used, in or involving a transaction on or involving a respective account, or related to a transaction on or involving an account.", "The apparatus also comprises a central processing computer for processing the credit, charge, debit, and/or currency or “smart” card and/or other transaction requests, and data and/or information pertaining thereto, and/or the authorization pertaining thereto.", "The central processing computer may service any predefined group of card holders and/or any pre-defined group(s) and/or type(s) of cards.", "The central processing computer may also process accounts for any of the various banks and/or financial institutions which issue and/or manage credit cards, charge cards, debit cards, and/or currency or “smart” cards, and/or process or manage these accounts.", "The central processing computer can be equipped with a memory device for storing pictures and/or video information and/or audio information which can be obtained for any number of transactions on any of the herein-described accounts associated with any of the herein-described credit cards, charge cards, debit cards and/or currency or “smart” cards.", "For example, a picture, video information and/or audio information of or regarding an individual engaging in a transaction can be stored in a memory of the central processing computer and/or in a memory associated with the central processing computer.", "Any number or instances of pictures, video information, and/or audio information, regarding and/or associated with any number of transactions on any account or accounts, can be stored for later use or retrieval as described herein.", "The point-of-sale terminal is linked and/or connected to the central processing computer via a communications system, link and/or medium, such as, for example, a telephone network or line.", "The communications system which is utilized may be any communications system and may include telecommunication systems, satellite communications systems, radio communication systems, digital satellite communications systems, personal communications services communication systems as well as any other appropriate communications system.", "In a preferred embodiment, as described herein, the communication system can be the Internet and/or the World Wide Web, and/or any other packet-switched communication system and/or any other communication system which uses TCP/IP protocols.", "The point-of-sale terminal transmits signals and/or data to the central processing computer as well as receives signals and/or data from the central processing computer.", "The apparatus also comprises a cardholder communication device which may receive signals and/or data from either or both of the point-of-sale terminal and/or the central processing computer.", "The communication device may also be equipped with a transmitter for transmitting signals and/or data to the central processing computer.", "In this regard, the central processing computer transmits signals and/or data to the communication device as well as receives signals and/or data from the communication device.", "The communication device may also transmit signals and/or data directly to the point-of-sale terminal and receive signals and/or data directly from the point-of-sale terminal.", "The communication device can include a camera and/or a microphone, and/or any other video recording device and/or audio recording device, for obtaining a picture and/or video information and/or audio information regarding the cardholder.", "The point-of-sale terminal may transmit signals and/or data to the central processing computer and to the communication device and may receive signals and/or data from the central processing computer and from the communication device.", "The communication device may be a wireless device.", "In this regard, the communication device may be a telephone signal receiving device which may be a cellular telephone, a personal digital assistant, a wireless telephone, a home computer, a personal computer, a laptop computer, a notebook computer, a netbook computer, a beeper, and/or a pager or other device, which may be carried by the cardholder and/or be kept on and/or close to the cardholder's person so that the central processing computer may transmit signals and/or data to the communication device so as to communication with the cardholder at any time and at any location.", "The apparatus may also comprise a facsimile (fax) machine, a home computer, a personal computer, a laptop computer, a notebook computer, a netbook computer, a telephone, a telephone answering machine, an alternate telephone, an alternate telephone answering machine, a network computer, and/or an alternate beeper or pager.", "The central processing computer may be linked with the above fax machine, a home computer, personal computer, laptop computer, notebook computer, netbook computer, telephone, associated answering machine, alternate telephone and associated answering machine, network computer, and/or alternate beeper or pager via any suitable communication system.", "The telecommunications link or telephone line or link, which may or may not be a wireless link depending on the device and/or the circumstances, is utilized in order to link the central processing computer with each of the fax machine, the home computer, the personal computer, the laptop computer, the notebook computer, the netbook computer, the telephone, the associated answering machine, the alternate telephone, alternate telephone answering machine, the network computer, and/or the alternate beeper or pager.", "The apparatus and method of the present invention may be utilized in order to provide cardholder authorization, notification and/or security measures in financial transactions involving credit cards, charge cards, debit cards, and/or currency or “smart” cards and may be utilized in order to obtain cardholder authorization in a card-related transaction.", "The present invention can provide an authorization, notification, and/or security, apparatus and method which provides a notification of a transaction on or involving any one or more of the accounts described herein along with an image, a digital copy, a photograph, or a picture, of a document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or other entity, used in or involving a transaction on or involving an account, or related to a transaction on or involving an account.", "The present invention can also provide any number, group, or combinations, of images, digital copies, photographs, pictures, or any combination of same, for any number or combination of documents, authorization forms, authorization request forms, benefit request forms, claim forms, drafts, bank drafts, deposit forms, withdrawal forms, checks, forms, receipts, request forms, or other entities, which is, or which are, offered, presented, submitted, processed, involved, or used, in or involving a transaction, or related to a transaction, on or involving an account or any number of accounts.", "The apparatus and method of the present invention may commence operation when the card, which is to be utilized in a credit card, charge card, debit card, and/or currency or “smart” card, or number corresponding thereto, transaction, is offered, presented, transmitted, or submitted, in the transaction, or when a document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or other entity, or when an image, digital copy, photograph, or picture, of a document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or other entity, is offered, presented, transmitted, submitted, processed, involved, or used, in or involving the transaction, or related to the transaction, at the point-of-sale or other appropriate location whereupon the attendant or point-of-sale terminal operator will activate the apparatus in any typical manner, such as by obtaining a phone line and entering card information into the point-of-sale terminal.", "Data entry may typically be performed by swiping the magnetic strip of the card through a card reader of the point-of-sale terminal.", "In the case of a document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or other entity, which is offered, presented, submitted, processed, involved, or used, in or involving the transaction, or related to the transaction, an image or a digital copy of the respective document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or other entity, involved in, related to, or used in, the transaction can be obtained, scanned, or generated, and/or stored, by or in the point-of-sale terminal or other suitable device, or a photograph or a picture of the respective document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or other entity, involved in, related to, or used in, the transaction can be obtained, taken, recorded, or generated, or stored, in or by the point-of-sale terminal using the camera/microphone system of the point-of-sale terminal or any other suitable device.", "In addition to the above-described transaction data entry, a picture, a video image, or a video clip, containing a picture, photograph or image, video clip, and/or and audio clip or voice print, of the individual involved in the transaction, or offering the respective card or account in the transaction, can be obtained via the respective, camera, video recording device, microphone, or audio recording device.", "The information and/or data pertinent to the transaction and/or the card, along with the image, digital copy, photograph, or picture, of the document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or other entity, and/or the respective picture, photograph or image, video clip, and/or and audio clip or voice print, of the individual involved in the transaction, is then transmitted to the central processing computer.", "The information and/or data pertinent to the transaction and/or the card, along with the image, the digital copy, the photograph, or the picture, of the document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or other entity, and/or the respective picture, photograph or image, video clip, and/or and audio clip or voice print, of the individual involved in the transaction, can also be transmitted to the communication device.", "The image, digital copy, photograph, or picture, of the respective document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or other entity, involved in or used in the transaction, or related to the transaction, can be in the body of a message containing the information or data sent, such as in the body of the message, or the respective document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or other entity, involved in or used in the transaction, or related to the transaction, can be, or can be included in, an attachment to the message.", "The message, or the information or data pertinent to the transaction, can be included in, or can be or can include an electronic mail (e-mail) message, an instant message, a text message, or any other suitable message, electronic, digital, or otherwise, or any other electronic transmission.", "The photograph, picture, and/or video clip, and/or the voice recording and/or voice print, of the individual involved in the transaction, can also be in the body of the message containing the information or data sent, such as in the body of the message, or the respective photograph, picture, and/or video clip, and/or the voice recording, and/or voice print, of the individual involved in the transaction, can be, or can be included in, an attachment to the message.", "The cardholder can then, or at any time, review the information in the message, including viewing or reviewing the image, digital copy, photograph, or picture, of the respective document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or other entity, involved in or used in the transaction, or related to the transaction, or viewing or reviewing the photograph, picture, and/or video clip, and/or the voice recording and/or voice print, of the individual involved in the transaction.", "The central processing computer will then process the information and/or data pertinent to the transaction and to the particular card account and may request, if needed, that the point-of-sale operator enter the transaction amount.", "The central processing computer will process the information and/or data pertinent to the transaction in conjunction with the card account information in order to determine if the card has been lost, stolen and/or cancelled and/or de-activated.", "Further, the central processing computer may perform a test in order to determine if the maximum credit, charge or debit account limit has been exceeded and/or if the card has been depleted of its currency value.", "Once all of the information and/or data processing has been completed, the central processing computer will determine if the card has been lost, stolen, and/or cancelled and/or de-activated and/or if the credit, charge or debit account limit of the card has been reached and/or exceeded and/or if the currency value of the card has been depleted.", "The central processing computer may also perform a test in order to determine if the predetermined maximum number of unauthorized transactions have occurred on the account.", "If any of the above listed conditions are found to exist (i.e.", "card is lost, stolen, cancelled and/or de-activated, or credit, charge or debit account limit has been reached or exceeded, currency value depleted, or unauthorized transaction limit reached or exceeded), the central processing computer may transmit a signal to the point-of-sale terminal indicating that the transaction is not approved and/or is not authorized.", "The point-of-sale terminal operator may then cancel the transaction.", "The point-of-sale terminal operator may then confiscate the card and/or alert the authorities.", "If, however, the central processing computer should determine that the card is not lost, stolen, cancelled or de-activated, or that the credit, charge or debit account limit of the card has not been reached or exceeded, or that the of unauthorized transactions count has not reached a predefined limit, the central processing computer may transmit a signal and/or data to the communication device which is located with the cardholder.", "The information and/or data pertinent to the transaction and/or the card, along with the image, digital copy, photograph, or picture, of the document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or other entity, and/or the respective picture, photograph or image, video clip and/or and audio clip or voice print, of the individual involved in the transaction, can also be transmitted to, or re-transmitted to, the communication device.", "The central processing computer may then also transmit respective signals and/or data, including the information and/or data pertinent to the transaction and/or the card, along with the image, digital copy, photograph, or picture, of the document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or other entity, involved in or used in, or related to, the transaction, and/or the respective picture, photograph or image, video clip and/or and audio clip or voice print, of the individual involved in the transaction, to any one or more of the cardholder's designated fax machine, home computer, personal computer, laptop computer, notebook computer, netbook computer, telephone, telephone answering machine, alternate telephone, cellular telephone, wireless telephone, personal digital assistant, interactive television, digital television, alternate telephone answering machine, network computer, and/or alternate beeper or pager, either sequentially and/or simultaneously.", "In addition to the above-described information, the information pertinent to the transaction, along with the image, digital copy, photograph, or picture, of the document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or other entity, involved in or used in, or related to, the transaction, and/or the picture, photograph or image, video clip and/or and audio clip or voice print, of the individual involved in the transaction, the information and/or data transmitted to the communication device can also include information and/or data identifying the transaction and may include the name of the store or the service provider and the amount of the transaction.", "The information and/or data may also provide the time of the transaction, the location (i.e.", "city, town, village, state, country, etc.)", "of the transaction.", "The information and/or data may also include the phone number of the central processing office and/or computer servicing the account so that the cardholder may telephone same in order to authorize or cancel the transaction.", "The information and/or data may also be supplemented to include the type of goods and/or services involved in the transaction, if such information can be entered at the point-of-sale terminal.", "The information and/or data which is transmitted from the central processing computer, and received at the communication device, may be displayed to the cardholder on a display device of the communication device.", "The information displayed on the display device may include information regarding the transaction, the picture, photograph or image, video clip and/or and audio clip or voice print, of the individual involved in the transaction, and/or the name of the store or the service provider, the amount of the transaction, the time of the transaction and the location of the transaction.", "The information and/or data may also be supplemented to include the type of goods and/or services involved in the transaction, if such information can be entered at the point-of-sale terminal.", "The apparatus, or the central processing computer, may then wait for the cardholder to respond to the transmission.", "During this time, the cardholder may utilize the respective communication device, such as, for example, the cellular telephone, a personal digital assistant, a wireless telephone, a home computer, a personal computer, a laptop computer, a notebook computer, a netbook computer, an interactive television, a digital television, a beeper, and/or a pager, and/or the reply or two-way pager feature on the communication device in order to either approve, or authorize, the transaction or to disapprove, or void the transaction.", "The apparatus may then determine if the cardholder has made a reply or response within a pre-defined time limit.", "The cardholder may also transmit a signal via an appropriate key or button suspending use of the card such as when he or she may first be apprised of the fact that the card has been lost or stolen.", "If the cardholder has replied or responded to the notice, the response may then be transmitted to, and received by, the central processing computer.", "The cardholder may also simply telephone the central processing office or processing center, servicing the card, so as to personally notify the office or center of his or her response to the central processing computer transmission regarding the transaction.", "If the cardholder does not reply to the central processing computer within a pre-specified time, the central processing computer may transmit a signal and/or data to the point-of-sale terminal indicating that, with the exception of receiving the authorization of the cardholder, the transaction is otherwise approved.", "The central processing computer may also simply transmit a signal indicating that the transaction is not authorized and, therefore, should be cancelled of voided.", "The point-of-sale terminal operator may then either proceed to complete the transaction, try to obtain additional information from the purchaser, or cancel the transaction.", "The cardholder can also respond by transmitting his/her own picture or photograph and/or a voice response or voice print, recorded by or at the communication device, to the central processing computer and/or to the point-of-sale terminal.", "The action taken by the point-of-sale terminal operator may be dictated by the specific agreement in effect between the sales or service establishment and the bank or financial institution administering the card accounts.", "The point-of-sale terminal operator can also view the picture or photograph and/or a voice response or voice print, recorded by or at the communication device.", "Thereafter, the operation of the apparatus will cease.", "If the cardholder should reply or respond to the transaction notice at a later period, this information may then be utilized in order to approve, or to disapprove, and/or to dispute the transaction.", "The central processing computer, after receiving the reply or response from the cardholder, may then identify the cardholder response.", "The apparatus, or the central processing computer, may then determine if the cardholder has replied or responded so as to authorize the transaction.", "If the cardholder's response is to cancel, to disapprove or not authorize, the transaction, the central processing computer may transmit a signal and/or data to the point-of-sale terminal which will notify and/or instruct the point-of-sale terminal operator that the transaction is not authorized and, therefore, should be cancelled or voided.", "The point-of-sale terminal operator may then cancel the transaction.", "The point-of-sale terminal operator may then confiscate the card and/or alert the authorities.", "Thereafter, the apparatus will cease operation.", "If, however, the central processing computer identifies the cardholder reply or response as being one to authorize the transaction, the central processing computer may then transmit a signal and/or data to the point-of-sale terminal which may notify and/or instruct the point-of-sale terminal operator that the transaction is authorized and/or approved.", "The point-of-sale terminal operator may then complete the transaction.", "Thereafter, operation of the apparatus will cease.", "In cases when the cardholder is the party to the transaction, he or she, having the communication device with, or on, his or her person, may authorize the transaction at the point-of-sale location or from his or her remote location.", "The cardholder may also program and/or set the communication device to automatically authorize or disapprove or disallow transactions.", "In this regard, the communication device may be programmable so as to receive and/or to analyze the transaction information and/or data and reply or respond to same automatically and/or with preset or programmed replies and/or responses.", "The communication device may also be programmable so as to limit and/or restrict the amounts and/or types of transactions, and/or the goods and/or services which may be purchased with the card, the stores or service providers which may be authorized to accept the card, limits on the dollar amounts of transactions pertaining to each authorized vendor, seller and/or service provider, daily spending limits, and/or the geographical area or location to which authorized use may be limited, and/or authorized times for card usage (i.e.", "specific days, dates, time of day, time of month, year, etc.", "), and/or any other limitation and/or restriction regarding amount of the transaction, the parties involved, the geographical area limitations, and/or the times of allowed usage.", "In this regard, the cardholder may provide for temporary transaction and/or purchasing amounts.", "The communication device may also be provided with a memory device for storing any number of transactions, as well as any of the information described herein as being provided by the apparatus and method of the present invention, so that the cardholder may review his account activity and/or transactions which have occurred involving his or her card.", "In this manner, the cardholder may “scroll” through and/or in other ways review account activity at any time and for any time period and/or interval.", "The communication device may also be equipped to service more than one card.", "For example, a plurality of cards may be serviced with or by a single communication device.", "The apparatus and method of the present invention provides for the real-time, non-real-time, or other, authorization, notification, and/or security, of financial transactions involving credit cards, charge cards, debit cards, and/or currency or “smart” cards, or transaction on or involving any of the herein-described accounts or any other accounts, which provides information regarding the transaction, along with an image, digital copy, photograph, or picture, of a respective document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or other entity, involved in, used in, or related to, the transaction, and which also enables a cardholder to monitor, in real-time, all activity involving his or her card(s) and the corresponding account numbers.", "The present invention can provide transaction information or information pertinent to a transaction, along with an image, digital copy, photograph, or picture, of a respective the document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or other entity, involved in, used in, or related to, a transaction or transactions, for any number or types of transactions and for any number or types of accounts.", "In another preferred embodiment, wherein a number of transactions may be batch processed or otherwise processed in batches or processed in groups, the apparatus of the present invention can provide or transmit information and/or data pertinent to each of and/or all of the transactions, and/or the card or account used in same, along with the image, digital copy, photograph, or picture, of the respective document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or other entity, involved in, used in, or related to, each of the transactions, and/or the photograph, picture, and/or video clip, and/or the voice recording, and/or voice print, of the individual involved in the transaction, associated with each of the transactions.", "The above-described information can be transmitted to the communication device and the cardholder or account holder can review the information as desired.", "In this regard, all of the herein-described information pertaining to each transaction processed in a batch processing of transactions on or involving an account or accounts, can be processed, obtained, gathered, or stored, and/or can be transmitted, in a single message, or in a group of messages, to the communication device.", "The apparatus and method the present invention also provides for real-time identity verification regarding the individual involved in the transaction and/or the cardholder.", "The apparatus and method of the present invention also provides a means and a mechanism by which to inform a cardholder that his or her card(s) are lost, stolen and/or are or have been fraudulently used, and/or when his or her card number(s) are or have been fraudulently used, and provides an indication to the cardholder of where his or her card(s) are being or have been utilized in transactions.", "The cardholder may then report the card lost or stolen and/or cancel and/or de-activate the card.", "The apparatus and method of the present invention also provides for identify verification by providing the above-described picture, photograph, image, video clip, audio clip, or voice print of the individual involved in the transaction.", "The apparatus and method of the present invention also provides for identify verification of the cardholder by providing the above-described picture, photograph, image, video clip, audio clip, or voice print, of the cardholder which can be provided to the point-of-sale terminal operator in real-time for use in verifying that the transaction is not unauthorized and/or fraudulent.", "Information pertinent to a transaction or transactions, along with an image or images, a digital copy or digital copies, a photograph or photographs, or a picture or pictures, of a document or documents, an authorization form or authorization forms, an authorization request form or authorization request forms, a benefit request form or benefit request forms, a claim form or claim forms, a draft or drafts, a bank draft or bank drafts, a deposit form or deposit forms, a withdrawal form or withdrawal forms, a check or checks, a form or forms, a receipt or receipts, a request form or request forms, or other entity or entities, involved in, used in, or related to, the transaction or transactions, can be stored in the central processing computer as part of an account transaction history.", "A picture, photograph, image, video clip, audio clip, or voice print, of the cardholder, can be stored at the central processing computers as part of an account transaction history.", "The central processing computer can also transmit any number of pictures, photographs, images, video clips, audio clips, or voice prints, of the cardholder, to the point-of-sale terminal for viewing or hearing at the point-of-sale terminal by the point-of-sale terminal operator so as to provide for identity verification for the transaction.", "The present invention also provides a means and a mechanism by which to monitor the number of transactions which are unauthorized by the cardholder and determine whether or not to authorize transactions and/or to cancel or to de-activate the card(s).", "In the above manner, the present invention provides an apparatus and a method to prevent and/or to drastically limit fraudulent and/or unauthorized use of credit cards, charge cards, debit cards, and/or currency or “smart” cards, and/or the account numbers corresponding thereto.", "The present invention, in an alternate embodiment, may be utilized so as to provide authorization, notification and/or security in banking and related financial transactions involving checking accounts, savings accounts and/or automated teller machine (ATM) transactions and/or other transactions wherein an account holder can be notified of a transaction and/or attempted transaction.", "The present invention, in an alternate embodiment, may be utilized so as to provide authorization, notification, and/or security, in brokerage transactions.", "In such an alternate embodiment, the apparatus comprises a banking transaction terminal, which terminals are found in banks and financial institutions, and which may be a teller terminal, a processing computer terminal and/or an ATM terminal.", "The apparatus also comprises a central processing computer and a communication device.", "The banking transaction terminal transmits an authorization request which may include the data pertaining to the particular account which is accessed and/or involved in the transaction and the type and the amount of the transaction, over a communications medium, to the central processing computer for processing the transaction request and/or the authorization pertaining thereto.", "The central processing computer may transmit signals and/or data pertaining to the transaction, along with the image, digital copy, photograph, or picture, of a document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or other entity, involved in, used in, or related to, the transaction, and/or the respective picture, photograph or image, video clip and/or and audio clip or voice print, of the individual involved in the transaction, to the communication device.", "The apparatus may then operate and/or be utilized in a manner similar to, or analogous to, the apparatus utilized in conjunction with credit cards, charge cards, debit cards, and/or currency or “smart” cards, and/or the account numbers corresponding thereto, as described above.", "The present invention can also provide an authorization, notification and/or security, apparatus and method which provides a notification of a transaction on or involving a bank account, checking account, savings account, or ATM account, or any one or more of the accounts described herein, along with an image, a digital copy, a photograph, or a picture, of a document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or other entity, which is offered, presented, submitted, processed, involved, or used, in or involving, or related to, a transaction on or involving a bank account, checking account, savings account, or ATM account.", "In this manner, the apparatus and method of the present invention may provide for the real-time, non-real-time, or other, notification, along with providing any or all of the other information described herein as being provided by the present invention, of, and/or for, banking and/or financial transactions involving various bank and/or financial accounts and enable an account owner to monitor, in real-time, all activity involving his or her bank and/or financial accounts.", "The apparatus and method the present invention also provides for real-time identity verification regarding the individual involved in the transaction and/or the account owner.", "The apparatus and method of the present invention also provides a means and a mechanism by which to inform an account owner that his or her account is overdrawn, has been charged against and/or that his or her ATM card(s) are lost, stolen, cancelled or de-activated and/or provides an indication to the account owner of when and/or where his or her accounts are being accessed in transactions and/or are being otherwise compromised.", "The account owner may then report the unauthorized activity, or the discovery of a lost or stolen ATM card, and/or cancel and/or de-activate the respective account(s) and/or ATM card(s).", "The present invention can also provide an authorization, notification, and/or security, apparatus and method which provides a notification of a transaction on or involving any one or more of a cellular telephone account, a mobile telephone account, or a wireless telephone account, or any of the other accounts described herein, along with an image, a digital copy, a photograph, or a picture, of a document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or other entity, which is offered, presented, submitted, processed, involved, or used, in or involving, or related to, a transaction on or involving a cellular telephone account, a mobile telephone account, or a wireless telephone account.", "In another alternate embodiment, the apparatus and method of the present invention may also be utilized so as to provide authorization, notification, and/or security, along with providing any and/or all of the other information described herein as being provided by the present invention, for, and in conjunction with, cellular, wireless, and/or mobile telephones and/or communication systems wherein a cellular or mobile telephone owner and/or account holder can be notified of a transmission and/or an attempted transmission and/or telephone call made with his or her cellular or mobile telephone and/or with the telephone number and/or account information, which information may include, but not be limited to, transmission codes and/or associated signatures and/or data which corresponds to his or her cellular or mobile telephone.", "The apparatus utilized in conjunction with a cellular telephone comprises a cellular telephone which serves as the transaction terminal, a central processing computer and a communication device.", "The cellular telephone transmits signals and/or data which are received by the central processing computer.", "The central processing computer may then transmit signals and/or data which are received by the communication device.", "The apparatus may then operate and/or be utilized in a manner similar to, or analogous to, the apparatus utilized in conjunction with credit cards, charge cards, debit cards, and/or currency or “smart” cards, savings accounts, checking accounts and/or automated teller machine accounts, and/or the account numbers corresponding thereto, as described above.", "The apparatus and method of the present invention provides for the real-time, non-real-time, or other, notification of cellular or mobile telephone usage which enables a cellular telephone owner and/or account holder to monitor, in real-time, all activity involving his or her cellular telephone.", "The apparatus and method the present invention also provides for real-time identity verification regarding the individual involved in the transaction or use of the cellular or mobile telephone and/or the cellular or mobile telephone owner and/or account holder.", "The apparatus and method of the present invention also provides a means and a mechanism by which to inform a cellular telephone owner and/or account holder that his or her cellular telephone is lost, stolen and/or is being fraudulently used, and/or that the telephone number is being used in an unauthorized manner, and provides an indication to the cellular telephone owner and/or account holder of how, when and where his or her cellular telephone, or the account number which corresponds thereto, is being utilized in cellular communication transactions.", "The cellular telephone owner and/or account holder may then report the cellular telephone lost or stolen and/or cancel and/or de-activate the cellular telephone and/or the corresponding account and/or the account number.", "The present invention also provides an apparatus and a method by which to monitor the number of cellular or mobile telephone transactions which are unauthorized by the cellular or mobile telephone owner and to determine whether or not a central processing computer should cancel or de-activate the cellular telephone and/or the account.", "In the above manner, the present invention provides an apparatus and a method for preventing and/or for drastically limiting fraudulent use and/or unauthorized use of cellular or mobile telephones and/or cellular or mobile telephone numbers.", "The present invention also provides an apparatus and a method for combating cellular telephone “cloning.” The present invention can also provide an authorization, notification, and/or security, apparatus and method which provides a notification of a transaction on or involving a credit card account, a credit account, a charge card account, a charge account, a debit card account, a debit account, a bank account, a checking account, a savings account, a brokerage account, a pension account, an individual retirement account (IRAs), a self-employed pension (SEP) account, a “smart card accounts, a currency card accounts, a healthcare accounts, a Medicare account, a Medicaid account, an employee benefits plan, a cafeteria plan, a spending plan, a subscription for any goods, products, or services, an insurance policy, plan, or program, a healthcare insurance policy, plan, or program, a healthcare spending plan or program, a life insurance policy, plan, or program, a disability insurance policy, plan, or program, a tuition or tuition reimbursement plan or program, a pharmacy insurance policy, plan, or program, a credit report plan or program, a cable television plan or program, a digital television plan or program, a satellite television plan or program, a social security plan or program, a liability insurance policy, plan, or program, a lease insurance policy, plan, or program, a ticket plan or program, a telephone calling card plan or program, a utility plan or program, an electrical utility plan or program, gas utility plan or program, a fuel oil utility plan or program, a plan or program for monitoring use of an official seal, a plan or program for monitoring use of a private, individual, and/or organizational, seal or access code, a security access plan or program, an access code plan or program, a facility access plan or program, a facility security plan or program, Internet plan or program, an Internet service provider plan or program, an electronic signature, an e-mail account, a membership account, a club membership account, an entertainment membership account, an entertainment tickets account, a sports tickets account, a theatre tickets account, a concert or opera tickets account, a consumer or purchaser membership account, a sports club membership account, a health club membership account, a merchant credit account for customers, a merchant account, an association membership account, a professional association membership account, a trade association membership account, and/or any other account, or any of the other accounts described herein, along with an image, digital copy, photograph, or picture, of a respective document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or other entity, used in or related to the transaction.", "The present invention, in another alternate embodiment, may be utilized so as to provide authorization, notification, and/or security, in transactions involving credit card accounts, credit accounts, charge card accounts, charge accounts, debit card accounts, debit accounts, bank accounts, checking accounts, savings accounts, brokerage accounts, pension accounts, individual retirement accounts (IRAs), self-employed pension (SEP) accounts, “smart” card accounts, currency card accounts, healthcare account, Medicare accounts, Medicaid accounts, employee benefits accounts, cafeteria accounts, spending accounts, subscription accounts for any goods, products, or services, insurance accounts, healthcare insurance accounts, healthcare spending accounts, life insurance accounts, disability insurance accounts, tuition accounts, pharmacy accounts, credit report accounts, cable television accounts, digital television accounts, satellite television accounts, social security accounts, liability insurance accounts, lease insurance accounts, ticket accounts, telephone calling card accounts, utility accounts, electrical utility accounts, gas utility accounts, fuel oil utility accounts, accounts monitoring use of official seals, accounts monitoring use of private, individual, and/or organizational seals or access codes, security access accounts, computer access code accounts, facility access accounts, facility security accounts, financial accounts, electronic money accounts, electronic cash accounts, communication accounts, telephone accounts, wireless communication device accounts, non-wireless communication device accounts, cellular communication device accounts, cellular telephone accounts, Internet accounts, Internet service provider accounts, electronic signature accounts, e-mail accounts, membership accounts, club membership accounts, entertainment membership accounts, entertainment tickets accounts, sports tickets accounts, theatre tickets accounts, concert or opera tickets accounts, consumer or purchaser memberships accounts, sports club membership accounts, health club membership accounts, merchant credit accounts for customers, merchant accounts, association membership accounts, professional association membership accounts, trade association membership accounts, and/or any other accounts, as well as any cards, devices, and/or other entities, which can be used with or which can be associated with any of the herein-described accounts, wherein an account holder or other individual authorized to use the account can be notified of a transaction and/or attempted transaction on or involving the account.", "In this embodiment, the apparatus and method of the present invention can provide information pertinent to the transaction, along with an image, a digital copy, a photograph, or a picture, of a document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or other entity, which is offered, presented, submitted, processed, involved, or used, in or involving, or related to, a transaction on or involving the respective account.", "In such an alternate embodiment, the apparatus comprises a transaction device or terminal, which devices or terminals can be found in any location where a transaction on or involving the respective account can take place and/or at any other location for processing a transaction on the respective account.", "The transaction can be any suitable computer, communication device, or transaction device, which can be used to process information regarding a transaction or information regarding a transaction authorization.", "The apparatus also comprises a central processing computer and a communication device.", "The transaction device or terminal transmits an authorization request which may include the data pertaining to the particular account which is accessed and/or involved in the transaction and the type and/or the amount of the transaction, over a communications medium, to the central processing computer for processing the transaction request and/or the authorization pertaining thereto.", "The central processing computer may transmit signals and/or data pertaining to the transaction device, along with an image, digital copy, photograph, or picture, of the respective document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or other entity, involved in, used in, or related to, the transaction, and/or the respective picture, photograph or image, video clip and/or and audio clip or voice print, of the individual involved in the transaction, to the communication device.", "The apparatus may then operate and/or be utilized in a manner similar to, or analogous to, the apparatus utilized in conjunction with credit cards, charge cards, debit cards, and/or currency or “smart” cards, and/or the account numbers corresponding thereto, as described above.", "In this manner, the apparatus and method of the present invention may provide for the real-time, non-real-time, or other, notification of transactions on or involving any of the herein-described credit card accounts, credit accounts, charge card accounts, charge accounts, debit card accounts, debit accounts, bank accounts, checking accounts, savings accounts, brokerage accounts, pension accounts, individual retirement accounts (IRAs), self-employed pension (SEP) accounts, “smart card account, currency card account, healthcare account, Medicare accounts, Medicaid accounts, employee benefits accounts, cafeteria accounts, spending accounts, subscription accounts for any goods, products, or services, insurance accounts, healthcare insurance accounts, healthcare spending accounts, life insurance accounts, disability insurance accounts, tuition accounts, pharmacy accounts, credit report accounts, cable television accounts, digital television accounts, satellite television accounts, social security accounts, liability insurance accounts, lease insurance accounts, ticket accounts, telephone calling card accounts, utility accounts, electrical utility accounts, gas utility accounts, fuel oil utility accounts, accounts monitoring use of official seals, accounts monitoring use of private, individual, and/or organizational, seals or access codes, security access accounts, computer access code accounts, facility access accounts, facility security accounts, financial accounts, electronic money accounts, electronic cash accounts, communication accounts, telephone accounts, wireless communication device accounts, non-wireless communication device accounts, cellular communication device accounts, cellular telephone accounts, Internet accounts, Internet service provider accounts, and/or any other accounts, as well as any cards, devices, and/or other entities, which can be used with or which can be associated with any of the herein-described accounts, and enable an account owner to monitor, in real-time or otherwise, all activity involving his or her respective account(s).", "The apparatus and method the present invention also provides for real-time, non-real-time, or other, identity verification regarding the individual involved in the transaction and/or the account owner.", "The apparatus and method of the present invention also provides a means and a mechanism by which to inform an account owner that his or her account is being used or accessed, has been used or accessed, has been charged against and/or that his or her card(s) associated with the respective account are lost, stolen, cancelled or de-activated and/or provides an indication to the account owner of when and/or where his or her accounts are being accessed in transactions and/or are being otherwise compromised.", "The account owner may then report the unauthorized activity on or involving the respective account, or the discovery of a lost or stolen card associated with the respective account, and/or cancel and/or de-activate the respective account(s) and/or card(s) associated with the respective account.", "The apparatus and method of the present invention may also be utilized in connection with an on-line service and/or on, or over, the Internet and/or the World Wide Web, so as to provide for a means by which the authorized user or operator may utilize the apparatus in conjunction with a home and/or a personal computer and/or a commercial or industrial computer system (i.e., an Internet server computer) and/or any other appropriate device, including a personal communication and/or computing device, in a network environment, and which may be utilized over any suitable and/or appropriate communications network or medium.", "The communications system utilized in conjunction with the present invention may operate anywhere in the electromagnetic and/or the radio spectrum.", "A preferred communication system, as described herein, is the Internet and/or the World Wide Web, and/or any other packet-switched communication system and/or any other communication system which uses TCP/IP protocols.", "Personal communication service (PCS) systems and devices, including stationary, portable and/or handheld devices, and digital signal communications devices and systems, may also be utilized.", "The communication system or medium should provide for the transmission and for the reception of a multitude of remote electrical, electronic, electromagnetic, and/or other suitable signals, over long distances and/or in a mobile and/or a wireless communications environment.", "The apparatus and method of the present invention may be utilized in conjunction any appropriate communications device which may be utilized with any appropriate communications system and/or medium.", "The present invention may also be equipped with, and be utilized with, hardware and software necessary for providing self-monitoring functions, automatic control and/or responses to occurrences, automatic notice of an occurrence and/or a situation, to an owner, user and/or authorized individual.", "In this regard, any and all of the embodiments described above may comprise a monitoring device, a triggering device and/or any other suitable device for detecting an occurrence and/or identifying a situation which may warrant providing notice to a card holder, account owner, cellular telephone owner and/or an authorized individual.", "In this regard, the apparatus and method may provide a transmission of any appropriate signal from a transmitter and, if desired, from a voice synthesizer to the card holder, account owner and/or cellular, telephone owner.", "The, signal utilized could be in the form of a communication transmission, depending upon the communication medium utilized, a telephone call, a voice message, a beeper and/or a pager message, an electronic mail message, a fax transmission, and/or any other mode of communication which may be utilized with any of the apparatuses, devices and/or components described herein.", "In this regard, the apparatus may be designed or programmed to telephone the cardholder, account owner and/or cellular telephone owner, and/or other authorized individual, at a primary phone number, at an alternate or forwarding phone number, and/or at a business phone number, send a beeper or pager message to the individual, and/or send a fax message, an electronic mail (e-mail) message, a voice mail message and/or an answering service message to, or for, the card holder, account owner and/or cellular telephone owner or authorized individual.", "In this manner, the apparatus may communicate with the desired individual by utilizing multiple notification and/or reporting avenues and/or devices so as to provide and to ensure that best efforts are to be made to communicate with the desired individual as soon as possible.", "The apparatus and method of the present invention may also be programmable for programmed and/or automatic activation, self-activation, programmed and/or automatic operation and/or self-operation.", "The apparatus and method of the present invention may provide for an immediate, as well as for a deferred, authorization, notification, and/or security, in any of the above-described financial transactions, other account transactions, transactions on accounts, and/or wireless communication transactions.", "The present invention can also provide a respective cardholder, account owner, account holder, or cellular telephone owner and/or cellular communications device owner, with periodic transaction records showing any and/or all transactions on or involving any of the herein-described accounts, for any given time period, which may by provided weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, yearly, or for any given and/or desired time period and/or for or at any time interval or period.", "For each transaction, information regarding the transaction, along with an image, digital copy, photograph, or picture, of a respective document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or other entity, involved in, used in, or related to, each transaction, and/or the respective picture, photograph or image, video clip, and/or and audio clip or voice print, of the individual involved in the transaction, can be provided to, or transmitted to, a respective cardholder, account owner, account holder, or cellular telephone owner and/or cellular communications device owner.", "The present invention may also be utilized in such a manner that a communication device may receive and/or transmit signals, data and/or information which pertains to multiple accounts and/or multiple types of accounts in order to provide authorization, notification, and/or security, for a plurality of any of the accounts described herein.", "The present invention, in any of the embodiments described herein, may also be designed to be user-friendly.", "In this regard, the present invention may be menu-driven, and/or its operation may be menu-selected, from audio menus, visual menus, or both audio and visual menus." ], [ "RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation application of U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "12/925,057, filed Oct. 13, 2010, and entitled “TRANSACTION SECURITY APPARATUS AND METHOD”, which application is a continuation-in-part application of U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "12/658,180, filed Feb. 4, 2010, and entitled “TRANSACTION SECURITY APPARATUS AND METHOD”, now U.S. Pat.", "No.", "9,235,841, which application is a continuation-in-part application of U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "11/482,430, filed Jul.", "7, 2006, and entitled “TRANSACTION SECURITY APPARATUS AND METHOD”, now U.S. Pat.", "No.", "9,245,270, the subject matter and teachings of which applications are hereby incorporated by reference herein in their entirety.", "U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "11/482,430, now U.S. Pat.", "No.", "9,245,270, claims the benefit of the priority of U.S.", "Provisional Patent Application Ser.", "No.", "60/701,770, filed Jul.", "22, 2005, and entitled “TRANSACTION SECURITY APPARATUS AND METHOD”, the subject matter and teachings of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.", "FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention pertains to a transaction security apparatus and method and/or to a financial transaction, an account transaction, and/or wireless communication device, authorization, notification and/or security apparatus and method, and, in particular to a financial transaction, an account transaction, and/or wireless communication device authorization, notification and/or security apparatus and method for use in providing authorization, notification and/or security in conjunction with credit card, charge card and/or debit card use, savings and/or checking account activity, and/or brokerage account activity, cellular telephone activity or use, or activity or use of or involving credit card accounts, credit accounts, charge card accounts, charge accounts, debit card accounts, debit accounts, bank accounts, checking accounts, savings accounts, brokerage accounts, pension accounts, individual retirement accounts (IRAs), self-employed pension (SEP) accounts, “smart card accounts, currency card accounts, healthcare accounts, Medicare accounts, Medicaid accounts, employee benefits accounts, cafeteria accounts, spending accounts, subscription accounts for any goods, products, or services, insurance accounts, healthcare insurance accounts, healthcare spending accounts, life insurance accounts, disability insurance accounts, tuition accounts, pharmacy accounts, credit report accounts, cable television accounts, digital television accounts, satellite television accounts, social security accounts, liability insurance accounts, lease insurance accounts, ticket accounts, telephone calling card accounts, utility accounts, electrical utility accounts, gas utility accounts, fuel oil utility accounts, accounts monitoring use of official seals, accounts monitoring use of private, individual, and/or organizational, seals or access codes, security access accounts, computer access code accounts, facility access accounts, facility security accounts, financial accounts, electronic money accounts, electronic cash accounts, communication accounts, telephone accounts, wireless communication device accounts, non-wireless communication device accounts, cellular communication device accounts, cellular telephone accounts, Internet accounts, Internet service provider accounts, electronic signature accounts, e-mail accounts, membership accounts, club membership accounts, entertainment membership accounts, entertainment tickets accounts, sports tickets accounts, theatre tickets accounts, concert or opera tickets accounts, consumer or purchaser memberships accounts, sports club membership accounts, health club membership accounts, merchant credit accounts for customers, merchant accounts, association membership accounts, professional association membership accounts, trade association membership accounts, or any other accounts.", "BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Millions of individuals enjoy the convenience of utilizing credit cards, charge cards, debit cards, and/or currency or “smart” cards as a convenient way in which to purchase goods and/or services.", "By utilizing credit cards, charge cards, debit cards, and/or currency or “smart” cards, an individual may enter into a transaction without having to have cash or currency in hand or otherwise.", "In the case of credit cards, charge cards and debit cards, the individual, in effect obtains an instant loan of the funds needed to make a purchase and/or enter into a transaction.", "In the case of currency or “smart” cards, the individual may “store” an amount of money on the card(s) and, thereafter, utilize the card(s), instead of cash or currency, in order to make purchases and/or enter into transactions.", "Millions of individuals also enjoy the benefits of having savings accounts, checking accounts and/or automated teller machine accounts which allow then to enjoy the security of saving their money in accounts which are usually insured and which allow them to, in some instances, earn interest on their money.", "In the case of checking accounts, individuals enjoy the convenience of writing checks and/or other transaction instruments which allow them to draw against their money without having to undergo the inconvenience of going to the bank or financial institution to withdraw their money, in currency form, and traveling to, in some cases, a distant location to either make a purchase, payment and/or to otherwise settle an account.", "In this regard, the ability to write checks, drafts and/or other instruments against an account is a very convenient manner in which to conduct transactions of any kind.", "In the case of automated teller machines, individuals may conveniently withdraw and/or deposit money into a bank of other financial account.", "Many individuals also enjoy the convenience of owning and/or using wireless, mobile or cellular telephones or devices as a means by which to make telephone calls when a conventional line or permanent telephone is not within reach and/or when the individual is “on the go”, such as in an automobile, on foot, and/or in any other type of environment, such as away from home, when a conventional line or permanently fixed telephone is not available.", "Unfortunately, with the convenience of each of the above credit cards, charge cards, debit cards, and/or currency or “smart” cards, savings accounts, checking accounts, automated teller machine accounts, and cellular telephones or cellular communications devices, comes many disadvantages and the opportunity for theft and/or fraud.", "In the case of credit cards, charge cards and/or debit cards, hundreds of millions, if not billions, of dollars a year are lost as a result of the theft of, and/or the fraudulent use of, credit cards, charge cards and/or debit cards, or the account numbers which correspond thereto.", "A lost or stolen card may be utilized by an unauthorized individual to spend upwards of thousands of dollars before the unauthorized use is detected and/or before the cardholder can ascertain, and/or be notified, either by the card issuer or servicing institution or when the cardholder detects the unauthorized transaction on his or her monthly account statement, that the card is lost or stolen.", "Similarly, even in the absence of the physical card, an unauthorized individual may utilize the account number which corresponds to the card in order to make certain transactions.", "While card holders are usually protected by various coverages which shield them from the liabilities associated with the fraudulent use of a card or the corresponding account number, the card issuers, credit, charge and/or debit card issuing companies and/or institutions, and/or their insurance companies, end up paying for the above described thefts and/or fraudulent and/or unauthorized uses.", "Ultimately, the consumer also shoulders the burden of the costs associated with these thefts and/or fraudulent and/or unauthorized uses in the form of increased prices.", "While authorization terminals and/or devices are utilized at a point-of-sale and/or at the vendor's, the seller's, or the service provider's, location, these authorization terminals and/or devices typically are utilized to obtain an authorization from the card issuer or account servicing institution which, usually entails a screening of whether the card has been lost, stolen, cancelled, de-activated and/or whether the cardholder has exceeded and/or will exceed his or her credit limit.", "This current authorization practice fails to prevent the use of a lost or stolen card, or the unauthorized use of either the card or the account number corresponding thereof, if the card has not been reported, and/or discovered, to be lost, stolen or used without authorization and/or if the account credit limit has not yet been reached.", "Current practices do not entail and/or do not include the provision for obtaining an authorization, and/or for providing notice to the cardholder before, during and/or shortly after a transaction, which cardholder authorization and/or notification procedure would be helpful and prove to be essential in preventing the fraudulent use and/or unauthorized use of a card and/or the account number corresponding thereto in a unauthorized transaction and/or shortly thereafter an unauthorized transaction has occurred, thereby minimizing the fraudulent and/or unauthorized use of the card and/or the account number corresponding thereto.", "In the case of currency or “smart” cards, which typically may serve as bearer instruments, the monetary credit on these cards may be completely depleted before the card owner even discovers same to be lost or stolen.", "In the case of savings accounts, checking accounts, and/or automated teller machine accounts, these accounts may be accessed, and funds can be withdrawn, without the account owner's notification and/or knowledge.", "In the case of savings accounts and checking accounts, these accounts may be accessed, and/or funds may be withdrawn therefrom, when checks drawn on insufficient funds are returned, and/or when the account number is inadvertently and/or fraudulently utilized in an endorsement, or otherwise, by an individual attempting to cash or perform a transaction with a fraudulent instrument, a forged instrument and/or an otherwise “bad” check.", "In these instances, the accounts and/or funds involved are usually accessed, invaded, and/or withdrawn from the account involved without the account owner being notified and/or having a say in the matter.", "The account owner is typically notified of the above-described activity involving his or her account days later when he or she either receives a mailed notice and/or when they receive and review their monthly or periodic statement, which notice may be received at a time when it may be too late for the account owner to stop or reverse the transaction and/or, in the case of a check or draft returned for insufficient funds, at a time which is too late for the account owner to attempt to collect the funds.", "In the case of automated teller machine accounts, these accounts may be accessed, such as with a lost, stolen, or counterfeit card and/or with a card account number(s) and/or associated personal identification number(s), by a thief or by any other unauthorized person who could then make an unauthorized withdrawal(s) therefrom.", "Once again, the account owner would not receive notification and/or have knowledge of the unauthorized transaction until they are notified by the bank or financial institution either via a monthly and/or periodic statement, and/or when they attempt a transaction at the automated teller machine and, at that time, discover that funds are missing and/or have been withdrawn.", "In the case of savings accounts, checking accounts and/or automated teller machine accounts, there is no present apparatus or method by which to provide notification to an account owner at the time of the unauthorized transaction and/or account activity and/or shortly thereafter same.", "In the case of cellular telephones, recent practices involving “cloning” cellular telephones, which entails intercepting telephone transmissions from a cellular telephone, which transmissions contain the phone number of the transmitting phone and/or the associated personal identification number (PIN), and utilizing the intercepted information to program a different cellular phone which by then be utilized in conjunction with the account of the “cloned” cellular telephone, has also resulted in widespread theft and fraudulent use of cellular telephones and/or cellular communications devices The “cloned” telephones are typically sold on the “black” market.", "In these instances, the cellular telephone owner has no way of knowing whether, or when, his or her cellular transmissions are being intercepted and/or if and when a “cloned” cellular phone is created and/or is utilized on, or over, his or her cellular telephone account.", "Typically, the cellular telephone owner first becomes aware of the unauthorized usage of his or her cellular telephone account when he or she receives their telephone account statement.", "Once again, in the time between the “cloning” of the cellular telephone and the discovery of same, hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars worth of cellular telephone calls may have been made before the unauthorized use is detected.", "At present, there is no apparatus or method for providing notification to the cellular telephone owner as to when his or her cellular telephone and/or cellular telephone number is, or has been, utilized in an unauthorized manner.", "SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides an apparatus and a method for providing financial transaction, or other account transaction, authorization, notification, and/or security, and, in particular, provides an apparatus and a method for providing financial transaction authorization, notification, and/or security in conjunction with credit card, charge card, debit card, and/or currency or “smart” card use, savings and/or checking account activity and use, or other account use, and/or cellular telephone use, which overcomes the shortcomings of the prior art.", "The present invention provides an authorization, notification, and/or security, apparatus and method which provides a notification of a transaction on or involving any one or more of the accounts described herein, along with an image, a digital copy, a photograph, or a picture, of a document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or any other entity, which is offered, presented, submitted, processed, or used, in or involving a transaction on or involving an account, or related to a transaction on or involving an account.", "The apparatus and method of the present invention, which is utilized in conjunction with a credit card, a charge card, a debit card and/or a currency or “smart” card authorization process, comprises a point-of-sale authorization terminal which terminals are found in various establishments and which are utilized in conjunction with the sale of goods and/or services and/or in other types of financial transactions.", "The point-of-sale terminal may be utilized at the location of the seller and/or service provider, such as at a retail store or office, and/or the point-of-sale terminal may be located at the site of the goods or service provider or vendor, such as in cases when the sale is a telephone order, mail order, and/or other type of transaction, including transactions made on, or over, the Internet and/or other on-line services or communication networks or mediums.", "The point-of-sale terminal can also include and input device, a keyboard, a mouse, a reader, a scanner, or any combination of same, or any other input device for inputting or for entering information and/or for obtaining an image or a digital copy of a respective document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or other entity, which is offered, presented, submitted, processed, involved, or used, in or involving a transaction on or involving a respective account, or related to a transaction on or involving an account.", "The point-of-sale terminal includes a camera and/or a microphone, and/or any other video recording device and/or audio recording device, for obtaining a picture and/or video information and/or audio information regarding an individual engaging in a transaction involving the respective credit card, a charge card, a debit card, and/or a currency or “smart” card.", "The camera can also be utilized to obtain a photograph or a picture of a document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or other entity, which is offered, presented, submitted, processed, involved, or used, in or involving a transaction on or involving a respective account, or related to a transaction on or involving an account.", "The apparatus also comprises a central processing computer for processing the credit, charge, debit, and/or currency or “smart” card and/or other transaction requests, and data and/or information pertaining thereto, and/or the authorization pertaining thereto.", "The central processing computer may service any predefined group of card holders and/or any pre-defined group(s) and/or type(s) of cards.", "The central processing computer may also process accounts for any of the various banks and/or financial institutions which issue and/or manage credit cards, charge cards, debit cards, and/or currency or “smart” cards, and/or process or manage these accounts.", "The central processing computer can be equipped with a memory device for storing pictures and/or video information and/or audio information which can be obtained for any number of transactions on any of the herein-described accounts associated with any of the herein-described credit cards, charge cards, debit cards and/or currency or “smart” cards.", "For example, a picture, video information and/or audio information of or regarding an individual engaging in a transaction can be stored in a memory of the central processing computer and/or in a memory associated with the central processing computer.", "Any number or instances of pictures, video information, and/or audio information, regarding and/or associated with any number of transactions on any account or accounts, can be stored for later use or retrieval as described herein.", "The point-of-sale terminal is linked and/or connected to the central processing computer via a communications system, link and/or medium, such as, for example, a telephone network or line.", "The communications system which is utilized may be any communications system and may include telecommunication systems, satellite communications systems, radio communication systems, digital satellite communications systems, personal communications services communication systems as well as any other appropriate communications system.", "In a preferred embodiment, as described herein, the communication system can be the Internet and/or the World Wide Web, and/or any other packet-switched communication system and/or any other communication system which uses TCP/IP protocols.", "The point-of-sale terminal transmits signals and/or data to the central processing computer as well as receives signals and/or data from the central processing computer.", "The apparatus also comprises a cardholder communication device which may receive signals and/or data from either or both of the point-of-sale terminal and/or the central processing computer.", "The communication device may also be equipped with a transmitter for transmitting signals and/or data to the central processing computer.", "In this regard, the central processing computer transmits signals and/or data to the communication device as well as receives signals and/or data from the communication device.", "The communication device may also transmit signals and/or data directly to the point-of-sale terminal and receive signals and/or data directly from the point-of-sale terminal.", "The communication device can include a camera and/or a microphone, and/or any other video recording device and/or audio recording device, for obtaining a picture and/or video information and/or audio information regarding the cardholder.", "The point-of-sale terminal may transmit signals and/or data to the central processing computer and to the communication device and may receive signals and/or data from the central processing computer and from the communication device.", "The communication device may be a wireless device.", "In this regard, the communication device may be a telephone signal receiving device which may be a cellular telephone, a personal digital assistant, a wireless telephone, a home computer, a personal computer, a laptop computer, a notebook computer, a netbook computer, a beeper, and/or a pager or other device, which may be carried by the cardholder and/or be kept on and/or close to the cardholder's person so that the central processing computer may transmit signals and/or data to the communication device so as to communication with the cardholder at any time and at any location.", "The apparatus may also comprise a facsimile (fax) machine, a home computer, a personal computer, a laptop computer, a notebook computer, a netbook computer, a telephone, a telephone answering machine, an alternate telephone, an alternate telephone answering machine, a network computer, and/or an alternate beeper or pager.", "The central processing computer may be linked with the above fax machine, a home computer, personal computer, laptop computer, notebook computer, netbook computer, telephone, associated answering machine, alternate telephone and associated answering machine, network computer, and/or alternate beeper or pager via any suitable communication system.", "The telecommunications link or telephone line or link, which may or may not be a wireless link depending on the device and/or the circumstances, is utilized in order to link the central processing computer with each of the fax machine, the home computer, the personal computer, the laptop computer, the notebook computer, the netbook computer, the telephone, the associated answering machine, the alternate telephone, alternate telephone answering machine, the network computer, and/or the alternate beeper or pager.", "The apparatus and method of the present invention may be utilized in order to provide cardholder authorization, notification and/or security measures in financial transactions involving credit cards, charge cards, debit cards, and/or currency or “smart” cards and may be utilized in order to obtain cardholder authorization in a card-related transaction.", "The present invention can provide an authorization, notification, and/or security, apparatus and method which provides a notification of a transaction on or involving any one or more of the accounts described herein along with an image, a digital copy, a photograph, or a picture, of a document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or other entity, used in or involving a transaction on or involving an account, or related to a transaction on or involving an account.", "The present invention can also provide any number, group, or combinations, of images, digital copies, photographs, pictures, or any combination of same, for any number or combination of documents, authorization forms, authorization request forms, benefit request forms, claim forms, drafts, bank drafts, deposit forms, withdrawal forms, checks, forms, receipts, request forms, or other entities, which is, or which are, offered, presented, submitted, processed, involved, or used, in or involving a transaction, or related to a transaction, on or involving an account or any number of accounts.", "The apparatus and method of the present invention may commence operation when the card, which is to be utilized in a credit card, charge card, debit card, and/or currency or “smart” card, or number corresponding thereto, transaction, is offered, presented, transmitted, or submitted, in the transaction, or when a document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or other entity, or when an image, digital copy, photograph, or picture, of a document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or other entity, is offered, presented, transmitted, submitted, processed, involved, or used, in or involving the transaction, or related to the transaction, at the point-of-sale or other appropriate location whereupon the attendant or point-of-sale terminal operator will activate the apparatus in any typical manner, such as by obtaining a phone line and entering card information into the point-of-sale terminal.", "Data entry may typically be performed by swiping the magnetic strip of the card through a card reader of the point-of-sale terminal.", "In the case of a document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or other entity, which is offered, presented, submitted, processed, involved, or used, in or involving the transaction, or related to the transaction, an image or a digital copy of the respective document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or other entity, involved in, related to, or used in, the transaction can be obtained, scanned, or generated, and/or stored, by or in the point-of-sale terminal or other suitable device, or a photograph or a picture of the respective document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or other entity, involved in, related to, or used in, the transaction can be obtained, taken, recorded, or generated, or stored, in or by the point-of-sale terminal using the camera/microphone system of the point-of-sale terminal or any other suitable device.", "In addition to the above-described transaction data entry, a picture, a video image, or a video clip, containing a picture, photograph or image, video clip, and/or and audio clip or voice print, of the individual involved in the transaction, or offering the respective card or account in the transaction, can be obtained via the respective, camera, video recording device, microphone, or audio recording device.", "The information and/or data pertinent to the transaction and/or the card, along with the image, digital copy, photograph, or picture, of the document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or other entity, and/or the respective picture, photograph or image, video clip, and/or and audio clip or voice print, of the individual involved in the transaction, is then transmitted to the central processing computer.", "The information and/or data pertinent to the transaction and/or the card, along with the image, the digital copy, the photograph, or the picture, of the document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or other entity, and/or the respective picture, photograph or image, video clip, and/or and audio clip or voice print, of the individual involved in the transaction, can also be transmitted to the communication device.", "The image, digital copy, photograph, or picture, of the respective document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or other entity, involved in or used in the transaction, or related to the transaction, can be in the body of a message containing the information or data sent, such as in the body of the message, or the respective document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or other entity, involved in or used in the transaction, or related to the transaction, can be, or can be included in, an attachment to the message.", "The message, or the information or data pertinent to the transaction, can be included in, or can be or can include an electronic mail (e-mail) message, an instant message, a text message, or any other suitable message, electronic, digital, or otherwise, or any other electronic transmission.", "The photograph, picture, and/or video clip, and/or the voice recording and/or voice print, of the individual involved in the transaction, can also be in the body of the message containing the information or data sent, such as in the body of the message, or the respective photograph, picture, and/or video clip, and/or the voice recording, and/or voice print, of the individual involved in the transaction, can be, or can be included in, an attachment to the message.", "The cardholder can then, or at any time, review the information in the message, including viewing or reviewing the image, digital copy, photograph, or picture, of the respective document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or other entity, involved in or used in the transaction, or related to the transaction, or viewing or reviewing the photograph, picture, and/or video clip, and/or the voice recording and/or voice print, of the individual involved in the transaction.", "The central processing computer will then process the information and/or data pertinent to the transaction and to the particular card account and may request, if needed, that the point-of-sale operator enter the transaction amount.", "The central processing computer will process the information and/or data pertinent to the transaction in conjunction with the card account information in order to determine if the card has been lost, stolen and/or cancelled and/or de-activated.", "Further, the central processing computer may perform a test in order to determine if the maximum credit, charge or debit account limit has been exceeded and/or if the card has been depleted of its currency value.", "Once all of the information and/or data processing has been completed, the central processing computer will determine if the card has been lost, stolen, and/or cancelled and/or de-activated and/or if the credit, charge or debit account limit of the card has been reached and/or exceeded and/or if the currency value of the card has been depleted.", "The central processing computer may also perform a test in order to determine if the predetermined maximum number of unauthorized transactions have occurred on the account.", "If any of the above listed conditions are found to exist (i.e.", "card is lost, stolen, cancelled and/or de-activated, or credit, charge or debit account limit has been reached or exceeded, currency value depleted, or unauthorized transaction limit reached or exceeded), the central processing computer may transmit a signal to the point-of-sale terminal indicating that the transaction is not approved and/or is not authorized.", "The point-of-sale terminal operator may then cancel the transaction.", "The point-of-sale terminal operator may then confiscate the card and/or alert the authorities.", "If, however, the central processing computer should determine that the card is not lost, stolen, cancelled or de-activated, or that the credit, charge or debit account limit of the card has not been reached or exceeded, or that the of unauthorized transactions count has not reached a predefined limit, the central processing computer may transmit a signal and/or data to the communication device which is located with the cardholder.", "The information and/or data pertinent to the transaction and/or the card, along with the image, digital copy, photograph, or picture, of the document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or other entity, and/or the respective picture, photograph or image, video clip and/or and audio clip or voice print, of the individual involved in the transaction, can also be transmitted to, or re-transmitted to, the communication device.", "The central processing computer may then also transmit respective signals and/or data, including the information and/or data pertinent to the transaction and/or the card, along with the image, digital copy, photograph, or picture, of the document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or other entity, involved in or used in, or related to, the transaction, and/or the respective picture, photograph or image, video clip and/or and audio clip or voice print, of the individual involved in the transaction, to any one or more of the cardholder's designated fax machine, home computer, personal computer, laptop computer, notebook computer, netbook computer, telephone, telephone answering machine, alternate telephone, cellular telephone, wireless telephone, personal digital assistant, interactive television, digital television, alternate telephone answering machine, network computer, and/or alternate beeper or pager, either sequentially and/or simultaneously.", "In addition to the above-described information, the information pertinent to the transaction, along with the image, digital copy, photograph, or picture, of the document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or other entity, involved in or used in, or related to, the transaction, and/or the picture, photograph or image, video clip and/or and audio clip or voice print, of the individual involved in the transaction, the information and/or data transmitted to the communication device can also include information and/or data identifying the transaction and may include the name of the store or the service provider and the amount of the transaction.", "The information and/or data may also provide the time of the transaction, the location (i.e.", "city, town, village, state, country, etc.)", "of the transaction.", "The information and/or data may also include the phone number of the central processing office and/or computer servicing the account so that the cardholder may telephone same in order to authorize or cancel the transaction.", "The information and/or data may also be supplemented to include the type of goods and/or services involved in the transaction, if such information can be entered at the point-of-sale terminal.", "The information and/or data which is transmitted from the central processing computer, and received at the communication device, may be displayed to the cardholder on a display device of the communication device.", "The information displayed on the display device may include information regarding the transaction, the picture, photograph or image, video clip and/or and audio clip or voice print, of the individual involved in the transaction, and/or the name of the store or the service provider, the amount of the transaction, the time of the transaction and the location of the transaction.", "The information and/or data may also be supplemented to include the type of goods and/or services involved in the transaction, if such information can be entered at the point-of-sale terminal.", "The apparatus, or the central processing computer, may then wait for the cardholder to respond to the transmission.", "During this time, the cardholder may utilize the respective communication device, such as, for example, the cellular telephone, a personal digital assistant, a wireless telephone, a home computer, a personal computer, a laptop computer, a notebook computer, a netbook computer, an interactive television, a digital television, a beeper, and/or a pager, and/or the reply or two-way pager feature on the communication device in order to either approve, or authorize, the transaction or to disapprove, or void the transaction.", "The apparatus may then determine if the cardholder has made a reply or response within a pre-defined time limit.", "The cardholder may also transmit a signal via an appropriate key or button suspending use of the card such as when he or she may first be apprised of the fact that the card has been lost or stolen.", "If the cardholder has replied or responded to the notice, the response may then be transmitted to, and received by, the central processing computer.", "The cardholder may also simply telephone the central processing office or processing center, servicing the card, so as to personally notify the office or center of his or her response to the central processing computer transmission regarding the transaction.", "If the cardholder does not reply to the central processing computer within a pre-specified time, the central processing computer may transmit a signal and/or data to the point-of-sale terminal indicating that, with the exception of receiving the authorization of the cardholder, the transaction is otherwise approved.", "The central processing computer may also simply transmit a signal indicating that the transaction is not authorized and, therefore, should be cancelled of voided.", "The point-of-sale terminal operator may then either proceed to complete the transaction, try to obtain additional information from the purchaser, or cancel the transaction.", "The cardholder can also respond by transmitting his/her own picture or photograph and/or a voice response or voice print, recorded by or at the communication device, to the central processing computer and/or to the point-of-sale terminal.", "The action taken by the point-of-sale terminal operator may be dictated by the specific agreement in effect between the sales or service establishment and the bank or financial institution administering the card accounts.", "The point-of-sale terminal operator can also view the picture or photograph and/or a voice response or voice print, recorded by or at the communication device.", "Thereafter, the operation of the apparatus will cease.", "If the cardholder should reply or respond to the transaction notice at a later period, this information may then be utilized in order to approve, or to disapprove, and/or to dispute the transaction.", "The central processing computer, after receiving the reply or response from the cardholder, may then identify the cardholder response.", "The apparatus, or the central processing computer, may then determine if the cardholder has replied or responded so as to authorize the transaction.", "If the cardholder's response is to cancel, to disapprove or not authorize, the transaction, the central processing computer may transmit a signal and/or data to the point-of-sale terminal which will notify and/or instruct the point-of-sale terminal operator that the transaction is not authorized and, therefore, should be cancelled or voided.", "The point-of-sale terminal operator may then cancel the transaction.", "The point-of-sale terminal operator may then confiscate the card and/or alert the authorities.", "Thereafter, the apparatus will cease operation.", "If, however, the central processing computer identifies the cardholder reply or response as being one to authorize the transaction, the central processing computer may then transmit a signal and/or data to the point-of-sale terminal which may notify and/or instruct the point-of-sale terminal operator that the transaction is authorized and/or approved.", "The point-of-sale terminal operator may then complete the transaction.", "Thereafter, operation of the apparatus will cease.", "In cases when the cardholder is the party to the transaction, he or she, having the communication device with, or on, his or her person, may authorize the transaction at the point-of-sale location or from his or her remote location.", "The cardholder may also program and/or set the communication device to automatically authorize or disapprove or disallow transactions.", "In this regard, the communication device may be programmable so as to receive and/or to analyze the transaction information and/or data and reply or respond to same automatically and/or with preset or programmed replies and/or responses.", "The communication device may also be programmable so as to limit and/or restrict the amounts and/or types of transactions, and/or the goods and/or services which may be purchased with the card, the stores or service providers which may be authorized to accept the card, limits on the dollar amounts of transactions pertaining to each authorized vendor, seller and/or service provider, daily spending limits, and/or the geographical area or location to which authorized use may be limited, and/or authorized times for card usage (i.e.", "specific days, dates, time of day, time of month, year, etc.", "), and/or any other limitation and/or restriction regarding amount of the transaction, the parties involved, the geographical area limitations, and/or the times of allowed usage.", "In this regard, the cardholder may provide for temporary transaction and/or purchasing amounts.", "The communication device may also be provided with a memory device for storing any number of transactions, as well as any of the information described herein as being provided by the apparatus and method of the present invention, so that the cardholder may review his account activity and/or transactions which have occurred involving his or her card.", "In this manner, the cardholder may “scroll” through and/or in other ways review account activity at any time and for any time period and/or interval.", "The communication device may also be equipped to service more than one card.", "For example, a plurality of cards may be serviced with or by a single communication device.", "The apparatus and method of the present invention provides for the real-time, non-real-time, or other, authorization, notification, and/or security, of financial transactions involving credit cards, charge cards, debit cards, and/or currency or “smart” cards, or transaction on or involving any of the herein-described accounts or any other accounts, which provides information regarding the transaction, along with an image, digital copy, photograph, or picture, of a respective document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or other entity, involved in, used in, or related to, the transaction, and which also enables a cardholder to monitor, in real-time, all activity involving his or her card(s) and the corresponding account numbers.", "The present invention can provide transaction information or information pertinent to a transaction, along with an image, digital copy, photograph, or picture, of a respective the document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or other entity, involved in, used in, or related to, a transaction or transactions, for any number or types of transactions and for any number or types of accounts.", "In another preferred embodiment, wherein a number of transactions may be batch processed or otherwise processed in batches or processed in groups, the apparatus of the present invention can provide or transmit information and/or data pertinent to each of and/or all of the transactions, and/or the card or account used in same, along with the image, digital copy, photograph, or picture, of the respective document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or other entity, involved in, used in, or related to, each of the transactions, and/or the photograph, picture, and/or video clip, and/or the voice recording, and/or voice print, of the individual involved in the transaction, associated with each of the transactions.", "The above-described information can be transmitted to the communication device and the cardholder or account holder can review the information as desired.", "In this regard, all of the herein-described information pertaining to each transaction processed in a batch processing of transactions on or involving an account or accounts, can be processed, obtained, gathered, or stored, and/or can be transmitted, in a single message, or in a group of messages, to the communication device.", "The apparatus and method the present invention also provides for real-time identity verification regarding the individual involved in the transaction and/or the cardholder.", "The apparatus and method of the present invention also provides a means and a mechanism by which to inform a cardholder that his or her card(s) are lost, stolen and/or are or have been fraudulently used, and/or when his or her card number(s) are or have been fraudulently used, and provides an indication to the cardholder of where his or her card(s) are being or have been utilized in transactions.", "The cardholder may then report the card lost or stolen and/or cancel and/or de-activate the card.", "The apparatus and method of the present invention also provides for identify verification by providing the above-described picture, photograph, image, video clip, audio clip, or voice print of the individual involved in the transaction.", "The apparatus and method of the present invention also provides for identify verification of the cardholder by providing the above-described picture, photograph, image, video clip, audio clip, or voice print, of the cardholder which can be provided to the point-of-sale terminal operator in real-time for use in verifying that the transaction is not unauthorized and/or fraudulent.", "Information pertinent to a transaction or transactions, along with an image or images, a digital copy or digital copies, a photograph or photographs, or a picture or pictures, of a document or documents, an authorization form or authorization forms, an authorization request form or authorization request forms, a benefit request form or benefit request forms, a claim form or claim forms, a draft or drafts, a bank draft or bank drafts, a deposit form or deposit forms, a withdrawal form or withdrawal forms, a check or checks, a form or forms, a receipt or receipts, a request form or request forms, or other entity or entities, involved in, used in, or related to, the transaction or transactions, can be stored in the central processing computer as part of an account transaction history.", "A picture, photograph, image, video clip, audio clip, or voice print, of the cardholder, can be stored at the central processing computers as part of an account transaction history.", "The central processing computer can also transmit any number of pictures, photographs, images, video clips, audio clips, or voice prints, of the cardholder, to the point-of-sale terminal for viewing or hearing at the point-of-sale terminal by the point-of-sale terminal operator so as to provide for identity verification for the transaction.", "The present invention also provides a means and a mechanism by which to monitor the number of transactions which are unauthorized by the cardholder and determine whether or not to authorize transactions and/or to cancel or to de-activate the card(s).", "In the above manner, the present invention provides an apparatus and a method to prevent and/or to drastically limit fraudulent and/or unauthorized use of credit cards, charge cards, debit cards, and/or currency or “smart” cards, and/or the account numbers corresponding thereto.", "The present invention, in an alternate embodiment, may be utilized so as to provide authorization, notification and/or security in banking and related financial transactions involving checking accounts, savings accounts and/or automated teller machine (ATM) transactions and/or other transactions wherein an account holder can be notified of a transaction and/or attempted transaction.", "The present invention, in an alternate embodiment, may be utilized so as to provide authorization, notification, and/or security, in brokerage transactions.", "In such an alternate embodiment, the apparatus comprises a banking transaction terminal, which terminals are found in banks and financial institutions, and which may be a teller terminal, a processing computer terminal and/or an ATM terminal.", "The apparatus also comprises a central processing computer and a communication device.", "The banking transaction terminal transmits an authorization request which may include the data pertaining to the particular account which is accessed and/or involved in the transaction and the type and the amount of the transaction, over a communications medium, to the central processing computer for processing the transaction request and/or the authorization pertaining thereto.", "The central processing computer may transmit signals and/or data pertaining to the transaction, along with the image, digital copy, photograph, or picture, of a document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or other entity, involved in, used in, or related to, the transaction, and/or the respective picture, photograph or image, video clip and/or and audio clip or voice print, of the individual involved in the transaction, to the communication device.", "The apparatus may then operate and/or be utilized in a manner similar to, or analogous to, the apparatus utilized in conjunction with credit cards, charge cards, debit cards, and/or currency or “smart” cards, and/or the account numbers corresponding thereto, as described above.", "The present invention can also provide an authorization, notification and/or security, apparatus and method which provides a notification of a transaction on or involving a bank account, checking account, savings account, or ATM account, or any one or more of the accounts described herein, along with an image, a digital copy, a photograph, or a picture, of a document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or other entity, which is offered, presented, submitted, processed, involved, or used, in or involving, or related to, a transaction on or involving a bank account, checking account, savings account, or ATM account.", "In this manner, the apparatus and method of the present invention may provide for the real-time, non-real-time, or other, notification, along with providing any or all of the other information described herein as being provided by the present invention, of, and/or for, banking and/or financial transactions involving various bank and/or financial accounts and enable an account owner to monitor, in real-time, all activity involving his or her bank and/or financial accounts.", "The apparatus and method the present invention also provides for real-time identity verification regarding the individual involved in the transaction and/or the account owner.", "The apparatus and method of the present invention also provides a means and a mechanism by which to inform an account owner that his or her account is overdrawn, has been charged against and/or that his or her ATM card(s) are lost, stolen, cancelled or de-activated and/or provides an indication to the account owner of when and/or where his or her accounts are being accessed in transactions and/or are being otherwise compromised.", "The account owner may then report the unauthorized activity, or the discovery of a lost or stolen ATM card, and/or cancel and/or de-activate the respective account(s) and/or ATM card(s).", "The present invention can also provide an authorization, notification, and/or security, apparatus and method which provides a notification of a transaction on or involving any one or more of a cellular telephone account, a mobile telephone account, or a wireless telephone account, or any of the other accounts described herein, along with an image, a digital copy, a photograph, or a picture, of a document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or other entity, which is offered, presented, submitted, processed, involved, or used, in or involving, or related to, a transaction on or involving a cellular telephone account, a mobile telephone account, or a wireless telephone account.", "In another alternate embodiment, the apparatus and method of the present invention may also be utilized so as to provide authorization, notification, and/or security, along with providing any and/or all of the other information described herein as being provided by the present invention, for, and in conjunction with, cellular, wireless, and/or mobile telephones and/or communication systems wherein a cellular or mobile telephone owner and/or account holder can be notified of a transmission and/or an attempted transmission and/or telephone call made with his or her cellular or mobile telephone and/or with the telephone number and/or account information, which information may include, but not be limited to, transmission codes and/or associated signatures and/or data which corresponds to his or her cellular or mobile telephone.", "The apparatus utilized in conjunction with a cellular telephone comprises a cellular telephone which serves as the transaction terminal, a central processing computer and a communication device.", "The cellular telephone transmits signals and/or data which are received by the central processing computer.", "The central processing computer may then transmit signals and/or data which are received by the communication device.", "The apparatus may then operate and/or be utilized in a manner similar to, or analogous to, the apparatus utilized in conjunction with credit cards, charge cards, debit cards, and/or currency or “smart” cards, savings accounts, checking accounts and/or automated teller machine accounts, and/or the account numbers corresponding thereto, as described above.", "The apparatus and method of the present invention provides for the real-time, non-real-time, or other, notification of cellular or mobile telephone usage which enables a cellular telephone owner and/or account holder to monitor, in real-time, all activity involving his or her cellular telephone.", "The apparatus and method the present invention also provides for real-time identity verification regarding the individual involved in the transaction or use of the cellular or mobile telephone and/or the cellular or mobile telephone owner and/or account holder.", "The apparatus and method of the present invention also provides a means and a mechanism by which to inform a cellular telephone owner and/or account holder that his or her cellular telephone is lost, stolen and/or is being fraudulently used, and/or that the telephone number is being used in an unauthorized manner, and provides an indication to the cellular telephone owner and/or account holder of how, when and where his or her cellular telephone, or the account number which corresponds thereto, is being utilized in cellular communication transactions.", "The cellular telephone owner and/or account holder may then report the cellular telephone lost or stolen and/or cancel and/or de-activate the cellular telephone and/or the corresponding account and/or the account number.", "The present invention also provides an apparatus and a method by which to monitor the number of cellular or mobile telephone transactions which are unauthorized by the cellular or mobile telephone owner and to determine whether or not a central processing computer should cancel or de-activate the cellular telephone and/or the account.", "In the above manner, the present invention provides an apparatus and a method for preventing and/or for drastically limiting fraudulent use and/or unauthorized use of cellular or mobile telephones and/or cellular or mobile telephone numbers.", "The present invention also provides an apparatus and a method for combating cellular telephone “cloning.” The present invention can also provide an authorization, notification, and/or security, apparatus and method which provides a notification of a transaction on or involving a credit card account, a credit account, a charge card account, a charge account, a debit card account, a debit account, a bank account, a checking account, a savings account, a brokerage account, a pension account, an individual retirement account (IRAs), a self-employed pension (SEP) account, a “smart card accounts, a currency card accounts, a healthcare accounts, a Medicare account, a Medicaid account, an employee benefits plan, a cafeteria plan, a spending plan, a subscription for any goods, products, or services, an insurance policy, plan, or program, a healthcare insurance policy, plan, or program, a healthcare spending plan or program, a life insurance policy, plan, or program, a disability insurance policy, plan, or program, a tuition or tuition reimbursement plan or program, a pharmacy insurance policy, plan, or program, a credit report plan or program, a cable television plan or program, a digital television plan or program, a satellite television plan or program, a social security plan or program, a liability insurance policy, plan, or program, a lease insurance policy, plan, or program, a ticket plan or program, a telephone calling card plan or program, a utility plan or program, an electrical utility plan or program, gas utility plan or program, a fuel oil utility plan or program, a plan or program for monitoring use of an official seal, a plan or program for monitoring use of a private, individual, and/or organizational, seal or access code, a security access plan or program, an access code plan or program, a facility access plan or program, a facility security plan or program, Internet plan or program, an Internet service provider plan or program, an electronic signature, an e-mail account, a membership account, a club membership account, an entertainment membership account, an entertainment tickets account, a sports tickets account, a theatre tickets account, a concert or opera tickets account, a consumer or purchaser membership account, a sports club membership account, a health club membership account, a merchant credit account for customers, a merchant account, an association membership account, a professional association membership account, a trade association membership account, and/or any other account, or any of the other accounts described herein, along with an image, digital copy, photograph, or picture, of a respective document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or other entity, used in or related to the transaction.", "The present invention, in another alternate embodiment, may be utilized so as to provide authorization, notification, and/or security, in transactions involving credit card accounts, credit accounts, charge card accounts, charge accounts, debit card accounts, debit accounts, bank accounts, checking accounts, savings accounts, brokerage accounts, pension accounts, individual retirement accounts (IRAs), self-employed pension (SEP) accounts, “smart” card accounts, currency card accounts, healthcare account, Medicare accounts, Medicaid accounts, employee benefits accounts, cafeteria accounts, spending accounts, subscription accounts for any goods, products, or services, insurance accounts, healthcare insurance accounts, healthcare spending accounts, life insurance accounts, disability insurance accounts, tuition accounts, pharmacy accounts, credit report accounts, cable television accounts, digital television accounts, satellite television accounts, social security accounts, liability insurance accounts, lease insurance accounts, ticket accounts, telephone calling card accounts, utility accounts, electrical utility accounts, gas utility accounts, fuel oil utility accounts, accounts monitoring use of official seals, accounts monitoring use of private, individual, and/or organizational seals or access codes, security access accounts, computer access code accounts, facility access accounts, facility security accounts, financial accounts, electronic money accounts, electronic cash accounts, communication accounts, telephone accounts, wireless communication device accounts, non-wireless communication device accounts, cellular communication device accounts, cellular telephone accounts, Internet accounts, Internet service provider accounts, electronic signature accounts, e-mail accounts, membership accounts, club membership accounts, entertainment membership accounts, entertainment tickets accounts, sports tickets accounts, theatre tickets accounts, concert or opera tickets accounts, consumer or purchaser memberships accounts, sports club membership accounts, health club membership accounts, merchant credit accounts for customers, merchant accounts, association membership accounts, professional association membership accounts, trade association membership accounts, and/or any other accounts, as well as any cards, devices, and/or other entities, which can be used with or which can be associated with any of the herein-described accounts, wherein an account holder or other individual authorized to use the account can be notified of a transaction and/or attempted transaction on or involving the account.", "In this embodiment, the apparatus and method of the present invention can provide information pertinent to the transaction, along with an image, a digital copy, a photograph, or a picture, of a document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or other entity, which is offered, presented, submitted, processed, involved, or used, in or involving, or related to, a transaction on or involving the respective account.", "In such an alternate embodiment, the apparatus comprises a transaction device or terminal, which devices or terminals can be found in any location where a transaction on or involving the respective account can take place and/or at any other location for processing a transaction on the respective account.", "The transaction can be any suitable computer, communication device, or transaction device, which can be used to process information regarding a transaction or information regarding a transaction authorization.", "The apparatus also comprises a central processing computer and a communication device.", "The transaction device or terminal transmits an authorization request which may include the data pertaining to the particular account which is accessed and/or involved in the transaction and the type and/or the amount of the transaction, over a communications medium, to the central processing computer for processing the transaction request and/or the authorization pertaining thereto.", "The central processing computer may transmit signals and/or data pertaining to the transaction device, along with an image, digital copy, photograph, or picture, of the respective document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or other entity, involved in, used in, or related to, the transaction, and/or the respective picture, photograph or image, video clip and/or and audio clip or voice print, of the individual involved in the transaction, to the communication device.", "The apparatus may then operate and/or be utilized in a manner similar to, or analogous to, the apparatus utilized in conjunction with credit cards, charge cards, debit cards, and/or currency or “smart” cards, and/or the account numbers corresponding thereto, as described above.", "In this manner, the apparatus and method of the present invention may provide for the real-time, non-real-time, or other, notification of transactions on or involving any of the herein-described credit card accounts, credit accounts, charge card accounts, charge accounts, debit card accounts, debit accounts, bank accounts, checking accounts, savings accounts, brokerage accounts, pension accounts, individual retirement accounts (IRAs), self-employed pension (SEP) accounts, “smart card account, currency card account, healthcare account, Medicare accounts, Medicaid accounts, employee benefits accounts, cafeteria accounts, spending accounts, subscription accounts for any goods, products, or services, insurance accounts, healthcare insurance accounts, healthcare spending accounts, life insurance accounts, disability insurance accounts, tuition accounts, pharmacy accounts, credit report accounts, cable television accounts, digital television accounts, satellite television accounts, social security accounts, liability insurance accounts, lease insurance accounts, ticket accounts, telephone calling card accounts, utility accounts, electrical utility accounts, gas utility accounts, fuel oil utility accounts, accounts monitoring use of official seals, accounts monitoring use of private, individual, and/or organizational, seals or access codes, security access accounts, computer access code accounts, facility access accounts, facility security accounts, financial accounts, electronic money accounts, electronic cash accounts, communication accounts, telephone accounts, wireless communication device accounts, non-wireless communication device accounts, cellular communication device accounts, cellular telephone accounts, Internet accounts, Internet service provider accounts, and/or any other accounts, as well as any cards, devices, and/or other entities, which can be used with or which can be associated with any of the herein-described accounts, and enable an account owner to monitor, in real-time or otherwise, all activity involving his or her respective account(s).", "The apparatus and method the present invention also provides for real-time, non-real-time, or other, identity verification regarding the individual involved in the transaction and/or the account owner.", "The apparatus and method of the present invention also provides a means and a mechanism by which to inform an account owner that his or her account is being used or accessed, has been used or accessed, has been charged against and/or that his or her card(s) associated with the respective account are lost, stolen, cancelled or de-activated and/or provides an indication to the account owner of when and/or where his or her accounts are being accessed in transactions and/or are being otherwise compromised.", "The account owner may then report the unauthorized activity on or involving the respective account, or the discovery of a lost or stolen card associated with the respective account, and/or cancel and/or de-activate the respective account(s) and/or card(s) associated with the respective account.", "The apparatus and method of the present invention may also be utilized in connection with an on-line service and/or on, or over, the Internet and/or the World Wide Web, so as to provide for a means by which the authorized user or operator may utilize the apparatus in conjunction with a home and/or a personal computer and/or a commercial or industrial computer system (i.e., an Internet server computer) and/or any other appropriate device, including a personal communication and/or computing device, in a network environment, and which may be utilized over any suitable and/or appropriate communications network or medium.", "The communications system utilized in conjunction with the present invention may operate anywhere in the electromagnetic and/or the radio spectrum.", "A preferred communication system, as described herein, is the Internet and/or the World Wide Web, and/or any other packet-switched communication system and/or any other communication system which uses TCP/IP protocols.", "Personal communication service (PCS) systems and devices, including stationary, portable and/or handheld devices, and digital signal communications devices and systems, may also be utilized.", "The communication system or medium should provide for the transmission and for the reception of a multitude of remote electrical, electronic, electromagnetic, and/or other suitable signals, over long distances and/or in a mobile and/or a wireless communications environment.", "The apparatus and method of the present invention may be utilized in conjunction any appropriate communications device which may be utilized with any appropriate communications system and/or medium.", "The present invention may also be equipped with, and be utilized with, hardware and software necessary for providing self-monitoring functions, automatic control and/or responses to occurrences, automatic notice of an occurrence and/or a situation, to an owner, user and/or authorized individual.", "In this regard, any and all of the embodiments described above may comprise a monitoring device, a triggering device and/or any other suitable device for detecting an occurrence and/or identifying a situation which may warrant providing notice to a card holder, account owner, cellular telephone owner and/or an authorized individual.", "In this regard, the apparatus and method may provide a transmission of any appropriate signal from a transmitter and, if desired, from a voice synthesizer to the card holder, account owner and/or cellular, telephone owner.", "The, signal utilized could be in the form of a communication transmission, depending upon the communication medium utilized, a telephone call, a voice message, a beeper and/or a pager message, an electronic mail message, a fax transmission, and/or any other mode of communication which may be utilized with any of the apparatuses, devices and/or components described herein.", "In this regard, the apparatus may be designed or programmed to telephone the cardholder, account owner and/or cellular telephone owner, and/or other authorized individual, at a primary phone number, at an alternate or forwarding phone number, and/or at a business phone number, send a beeper or pager message to the individual, and/or send a fax message, an electronic mail (e-mail) message, a voice mail message and/or an answering service message to, or for, the card holder, account owner and/or cellular telephone owner or authorized individual.", "In this manner, the apparatus may communicate with the desired individual by utilizing multiple notification and/or reporting avenues and/or devices so as to provide and to ensure that best efforts are to be made to communicate with the desired individual as soon as possible.", "The apparatus and method of the present invention may also be programmable for programmed and/or automatic activation, self-activation, programmed and/or automatic operation and/or self-operation.", "The apparatus and method of the present invention may provide for an immediate, as well as for a deferred, authorization, notification, and/or security, in any of the above-described financial transactions, other account transactions, transactions on accounts, and/or wireless communication transactions.", "The present invention can also provide a respective cardholder, account owner, account holder, or cellular telephone owner and/or cellular communications device owner, with periodic transaction records showing any and/or all transactions on or involving any of the herein-described accounts, for any given time period, which may by provided weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, yearly, or for any given and/or desired time period and/or for or at any time interval or period.", "For each transaction, information regarding the transaction, along with an image, digital copy, photograph, or picture, of a respective document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or other entity, involved in, used in, or related to, each transaction, and/or the respective picture, photograph or image, video clip, and/or and audio clip or voice print, of the individual involved in the transaction, can be provided to, or transmitted to, a respective cardholder, account owner, account holder, or cellular telephone owner and/or cellular communications device owner.", "The present invention may also be utilized in such a manner that a communication device may receive and/or transmit signals, data and/or information which pertains to multiple accounts and/or multiple types of accounts in order to provide authorization, notification, and/or security, for a plurality of any of the accounts described herein.", "The present invention, in any of the embodiments described herein, may also be designed to be user-friendly.", "In this regard, the present invention may be menu-driven, and/or its operation may be menu-selected, from audio menus, visual menus, or both audio and visual menus.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the Drawings: FIG.", "1 illustrates a block diagram of the apparatus of the present invention which is utilized in conjunction with a credit card, a charge card, a debit card, and/or a currency or “smart” card authorization process; FIG.", "2 illustrates the various components of the apparatus of FIG.", "1; FIGS.", "3A, 3B, and 3C illustrate the operation of the apparatus of FIG.", "1 in flow diagram form; FIG.", "4 illustrates a block diagram of an alternate embodiment of the apparatus of the present invention which is utilized in conjunction with a checking account, a savings account, and/or an automated teller machine transaction; FIG.", "5 illustrates the various components of the apparatus of FIG.", "4; FIGS.", "6A, 6B, and 6C illustrate the operation of the apparatus of FIG.", "4 in flow diagram form; FIG.", "7 illustrates a block diagram of an alternate embodiment of the apparatus of the present invention which is utilized in conjunction with a cellular and/or a mobile telephone; FIG.", "8 illustrates the various components of the apparatus of FIG.", "7; FIGS.", "9A, 9B, and 9C illustrate the operation of the apparatus of FIG.", "7 in flow diagram form; FIG.", "10 illustrates another alternate embodiment of the apparatus of the present invention which can be utilized in conjunction with a credit card account, a credit account, a charge card account, a charge account, a debit card account, a debit account, a bank account, a checking account, a savings account, a brokerage account, a pension account, an individual retirement account (IRA), a self-employed pension (SEP) account, a “smart card account, a currency card account, a healthcare account, a Medicare account, a Medicaid account, an employee benefits account, a cafeteria account, a spending account, a subscription account for any goods, products, or services, an insurance account, a healthcare insurance account, a healthcare spending account, a life insurance account, a disability insurance account, a tuition account, a pharmacy account, a credit report account, a cable television account, a digital television account, a satellite television account, a social security account, a liability insurance account, a lease insurance account, a ticket account, a telephone calling card account, a utility account, an electrical utility account, a gas utility account, a fuel oil utility account, an account monitoring use of official seals, an account monitoring use of private, individual, and/or organizational, seals or access codes, a security access account, a computer access code account, a facility access account, a facility security account, a financial account, an electronic money account, an electronic cash account, a communication account, a telephone account, a wireless communication device account, a non-wireless communication device account, a cellular communication device account, a cellular telephone account, an Internet account, an Internet service provider account, an electronic signature account, an e-mail account, a membership account, a club membership account, an entertainment membership account, an entertainment tickets account, a sports tickets account, a theatre tickets account, a concert or opera tickets account, a consumer or purchaser membership account, a sports club membership account, a health club membership account, a merchant credit account for customers, a merchant account, an association membership account, a professional association membership account, a trade association membership account, and/or any other account; FIG.", "11 illustrates the various components of the apparatus of FIG.", "10; FIGS.", "12A, 12B, and 12C illustrate the operation of the apparatus of FIG.", "10, in flow diagram form; FIG.", "13 illustrates yet another alternate embodiment of the present invention wherein the apparatus of the present invention is utilized on, or over, an on-line service, the Internet and/or the World Wide Web or other suitable communication network or medium; and FIG.", "14 illustrates yet another alternate embodiment of the present invention which is also utilized in conjunction with an on-line service and/or on, or over, the Internet and/or the World Wide Web or the suitable communication network or medium.", "DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention pertains to a transaction security apparatus and method and/or to a financial transaction, an account transaction, and/or wireless communication device, authorization, notification, and/or security, apparatus and method, and, in particular to a financial transaction, an account transaction, and/or wireless communication device, authorization, notification, and/or security, apparatus and method for use in providing authorization, notification, and/or security, in conjunction with credit card, charge card and/or debit card use, savings and/or checking account activity, and/or brokerage account activity, and/or cellular telephone use, or activity on or involving any other account.", "The present invention can provide an authorization, notification, and/or security, apparatus and method which provides a notification of a transaction on or involving any one or more of the accounts described herein along with an image, a digital copy, a photograph, or a picture, of a document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or any other entity, which is offered, presented, submitted, processed, involved, or used, in or involving a transaction on or involving an account, or related to a transaction on or involving an account.", "In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the present invention provides an authorization, notification, and/or security, apparatus and method which provides a notification of a transaction on or involving any one or more of the accounts described herein along with an image, a digital copy, a photograph, or a picture, of a document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or any other entity, which is offered, presented, submitted, processed, involved, or used, in or involving, or related to, a transaction on or involving an account.", "FIG.", "1 illustrates a block diagram of a preferred embodiment of the apparatus of the present invention, which is utilized in conjunction with a credit card, a charge card, a debit card, and/or a currency or “smart” card, authorization process.", "The apparatus of FIG.", "1 is denoted generally by the reference numeral 1.With reference to FIG.", "1, the apparatus 1 consists of a point-of-sale authorization terminal 2 which terminals are found in various establishments and utilized in conjunction with the sale of goods and/or services and in other financial transactions.", "The point-of-sale terminal 2 includes a camera and/or a microphone, and/or any other video recording device and/or audio recording device, for obtaining a picture and/or video information and/or audio information regarding an individual engaging in a transaction involving the respective credit card, a charge card, a debit card and/or a currency or “smart” card.", "The point-of-sale authorization terminal 2 (hereinafter referred to as “point-of-sale terminal”) may be any of the widely used and well known terminals or devices for providing point-of-sale authorization for transactions involving credit cards, charge cards, debit cards, and/or other currency or “smart” cards.", "The point-of-sale terminal 2 may be utilized at the location of the goods and/or service provider, such as the retail store or office, and/or the point-of-sale terminal 2 may be located at the site of the goods or service provider or vendor, such as in cases when the sale is a telephone order, mail order and/or other type of transaction, including transactions made over the Internet and/or other on-line mediums.", "Typically, the terminals and devices for providing point-of-sale authorization comprise and utilize a magnetic card reader and/or magnetic strip card reader, for reading data from the magnetic strip located on credit cards, charge cards, debit cards and/or the currency or “smart” cards.", "The point-of-sale terminal 2 transmits an authorization request which may include the data pertaining to the particular card utilized in the transaction and the amount of the transaction, over a communications medium, to a central processing computer for processing the credit, charge, debit and/or other transaction request and/or the authorization request pertaining thereto.", "The point-of-sale terminal 2 also receives the authorization and/or authorization data and/or information from the central processing computer.", "A printed transaction receipt may also be provided at and/or obtained via the point-of-sale terminal 2, or peripheral device associated therewith, for printing a transaction receipt which is usually or typically signed by the card holder in completing the transaction.", "The point-of-sale terminal 2 may be designed to read other data besides and/or in addition to magnetic card data.", "The point-of-sale terminal 2 may also comprise, or have associated therewith, a keypad for the manual entry of transaction information and/or data, such as the amount of the transaction.", "The point-of-sale terminal 2 may also be an integral component of a cash register or other transaction terminal or device which may provide for the automatic entry of transaction information and/or data.", "The point-of-sale terminal 2 may also include a scanner or other input device for obtaining an image or a digital copy of a respective document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or any other entity, which is offered, presented, submitted, processed, involved, or used, in or involving, or related to, a transaction on or involving a respective account.", "The apparatus 1 also comprises a central processing computer 3 which services any predefined group of cardholders.", "For example, the central processing computer 3 may handle all MASTERCARD® transactions for a given financial and/or credit institution.", "The central processing computer 3, for example, may process credit cards, charge cards, debit cards, and/or currency or “smart” cards and/or combinations of same, such as, for example, VISA®, MASTERCARD®, and/or AMERICAN EXPRESS®, cards and process and/or mange account information pertaining thereto.", "The central processing computer 3 may also process accounts for any of the various banks and/or financial institutions which issue and/or manage credit cards, charge cards, debit cards, and/or currency or “smart” cards (hereinafter referred to as “card” or “cards”) and/or process or manage these accounts.", "The central processing computer 3 may be a mainframe computer, a mini-computer, a micro-computer, a server computer, such as those utilized in conjunction with on-line services and/or in a network environment, and/or any other suitable computer or computer system.", "In the preferred embodiment, the point-of-sale terminal 2 is linked and/or connected to the central processing computer 3 via a telecommunications system, link and/or medium (hereinafter referred to as “communications system”) such as, for example, a telephone network or line.", "It is important to note that the communications system which is utilized may be any communications system and may include telecommunication systems, satellite communications systems, radio communication systems, digital communications systems, digital satellite communications systems, personal communications services communication systems as well as any other appropriate communications system.", "The point-of-sale terminal 2 transmits signals and/or data to the central processing computer 3 as well as receives signals and/or data from the central processing computer 3.The apparatus 1 also comprises a cardholder communication device 4 which may receive signals and/or data from either or both of the point-of-sale terminal 2 and/or the central processing computer 3.In the preferred embodiment of FIG.", "1, the communication device 4 receives signals and data from the central processing computer 3 with said signals being transmitted via a suitable communication system.", "In the preferred embodiment, the communications system or network utilized for transmitting signals and/or data to the communication device 4 is a wireless communication network and/or the Internet and/or the World Wide Web and the communication device 4 is a telephone signal receiving device such as a cellular telephone, a wireless telephone, a personal digital assistant, a home computer, a personal computer, a laptop computer, a notebook computer, a netbook computer, or a telephone beeper or pager.", "The communication device 4 or pager receive s the wireless telephone signals and/or data from the central processing computer 3 during the authorization procedure as will be described in more detail below.", "In the preferred embodiment, the communication device 4 is also equipped with a transmitter for transmitting signals and/or data to the central processing computer 3.In this regard, the central processing computer 3 transmits signals and/or data to the communication device 4 as well as receives signals and/or data from the communication device 4.The communication device 4 may also transmit signals and/or data directly to the point-of-sale terminal 2 and receive signals and/or data directly from the point-of-sale terminal 2.In the preferred embodiment, the point-of-sale terminal 2 transmits signals and/or data to the central processing computer 3 and receives signals and/or data from the central processing computer 3.Further, in the preferred embodiment, the communication device 4 receives signals and/or data from the central processing computer 3 and transmits signals and/or data to the central processing computer 3.As noted above, the communication device 4 is a wireless device.", "In this regard, the communication device 4 or pager may be carried by the cardholder and/or be kept on and/or close to the cardholder's person so that the central processing computer 3 may transmit signals and/or data to the communication device 4 so as to communicate with the cardholder at any time.", "The communication device 4 may also comprise any one or more of a facsimile (fax) machine, a home computer, a personal computer, a laptop computer, a notebook computer, a netbook computer, a telephone, a telephone answering machine, an alternate telephone, an alternate telephone answering machine, a network computer, and/or an alternate beeper or pager.", "The central processing computer 3 may be linked with each of the above devices via any suitable communication system.", "In the preferred embodiment, the apparatus 1 also comprises a facsimile (fax) machine 5, a personal computer 6, a telephone 7, a telephone answering machine 8, an alternate telephone 9, an alternate telephone answering machine 10, a network computer 11, an alternate beeper 12 and an alternate pager 13.The central processing computer 3 may be linked with the above fax machine 5, personal computer 6, telephone 7, associated answering machine 8, alternate telephone 9, alternate telephone answering machine 10, network computer 11, and/or alternate beeper 12 or pager 13, via any suitable communication system.", "In the preferred embodiment, a telecommunications link or telephone network, line or link, which may or may not be a wireless link depending on the device and/or the circumstances, is utilized in order to link the central processing computer 3 with each of the fax machine 5, the personal computer 6, the telephone 7, the associated answering machine 8, the alternate telephone 9, alternate telephone answering machine 10, the network computer 11, and/or the alternate beeper 12 and/or the alternate pager 13.FIG.", "2 illustrates the various components of the apparatus 1 of FIG.", "1.In FIG.", "2, the point-of-sale terminal 2, in the preferred embodiment, comprises a central processing unit or CPU 2A, a magnetic card reader 2B, which is connected to the CPU 2A, associated random access memory 2C (RAM) and read only memory 2D (ROM) devices, which are also connected to the CPU 2A, a user input device 2E, which is typically a keypad or other suitable input device, keyboard, mouse, reader, or scanner, or any combination of same, for inputting data into the terminal 2 and which is also connected to the CPU 2A, and a display device 2F for displaying information and/or data to a user.", "The point-of-sale terminal 2 also comprises a transmitter 2G for transmitting signals and/or data to the central processing computer 3, and/or to the communication device 4 and/or to any other device associated with the cardholder and/or the apparatus, if desired.", "The transmitter 2G is also connected to the CPU 2A.", "The point-of-sale terminal 2 also comprises a receiver 2H for receiving signals and/or data from the central processing computer 3, and from the communication device 4 and/or any other associated device which may be utilized, if desired.", "The receiver 2H is also connected to the CPU 2A.", "The point-of-sale terminal 2 also comprises a printer 21 or other appropriate output device for outputting data to the user.", "The printer 21 is also connected to the CPU 2A.", "In the preferred embodiment, the printer 21 prints receipts corresponding to the transaction.", "The point-of-sale terminal 2 also includes a camera/microphone system 2J.", "In the preferred embodiment, the camera/microphone system 2J can include a camera or a video recording device which can be used to take a picture, a photograph, or a video clip of an individual or individuals involved in a transaction involving a credit card, a charge card, a debit card, and/or a currency or “smart” card.", "In the preferred embodiment, the camera/microphone system 2J can also include a microphone or an audio recording device which can be used to record audio information and/or the voice of an individual involved in a transaction involving a credit card, a charge card, a debit card, and/or a currency or “smart” card.", "In a preferred embodiment, voice information can be processed by the CPU 2A in order to generate a voiceprint file of the recorded voice.", "In the preferred embodiment, the camera/microphone system 2J is also used to take a picture or a photograph of a respective a document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or any other entity, which is offered, presented, submitted, processed, involved, or used, in or involving, or related to, a transaction on or involving a respective account.", "In the preferred embodiment, the camera/microphone system 2J can be located on or in the vicinity of the point-of-sale terminal 2 so as to record the respective picture, photograph, or video clip, of the individual or individuals involved in a transaction, and/or so as to record the audio information and/or the voice of the individual involved in the transaction.", "In the preferred embodiment, the point-of-sale terminal 2 can also include a database (not shown) which can be utilized to store information regarding transactions processed by the point-of-sale terminal 2.The information can include, for each of any number of transactions, a picture, a photograph, or a video clip, of the individual or individuals involved in a transaction, and/or audio information, a voice message or sample, and/or a voice print, which is a digital representation of a voice message or sample, obtained from the individual involved in the transaction.", "The database of the point-of-sale terminal 2 can also contain copies of any of the images, digital copies, photographs, or pictures, of any of the respective documents, authorization forms, checks, forms, receipts, request forms, or other entities, which have been, or which were, offered, presented, submitted, processed, involved, or used, in or involving, or related to, a transaction or transactions on or involving any of the accounts serviced by the apparatus 1.In FIG.", "2, the central processing computer 3, in the preferred embodiment, comprises a central processing unit or CPU 3A, associated random access memory 3B (RAM) and read only memory 3C (ROM) devices, which are connected to the CPU 3A, a user input device 3D, which is a keypad and/or any other suitable input device for inputting data into the central processing computer 3 and which is also connected to the CPU 3A and a display device 3E for displaying information and/or data to a user or operator.", "The central processing computer 3 also comprises a transmitter(s) 3F for transmitting signals and/or data to the point-of-sale terminal 2 and to the communication device 4 and/or to any one or more of the fax machine 5, personal computer 6, telephone 7, telephone answering machine 8, alternate telephone 9, alternate telephone answering machine 10, network computer 11, and/or alternate beeper 12 or alternate pager 13.The transmitter(s) 3F is also connected to the CPU 3A.", "The central processing computer 3 also comprises a receiver(s) 3G for receiving signals and/or data from the point-of-sale terminal 2 and from the communication device 4 and/or from any other suitable device which may be utilized in conjunction with the apparatus 1.The receiver(s) 3G is also connected to the CPU 3A.", "The central processing computer 3, in any and/or all of the embodiments described herein, may utilize a fax/modem and/or any other suitable computer communication device.", "The central processing computer 3 also comprises a database(s) 3H which contains account information and data pertaining to the cardholders and/or to the cardholder accounts.", "The database 3H contains information about the cardholder, the cardholders account number, credit and/or account limits, previous purchases, number of unauthorized purchases made to the account and other information and/or data necessary to manage and/or process an account transaction as described herein.", "The database 3H may also comprise data and/or information regarding specific limitations and/or restrictions which may be placed on a particular account, which may be pre-selected and/or programmed by the cardholder and which may include limitations and/or restrictions on the usage of the card.", "The limitations and/or restrictions may include the types of transactions which are allowed and/or authorized, the goods and/or services which may be purchased with the card, the vendors, stores and/or service provider which may be authorized to accept the card, limits on the dollar amounts of transactions pertaining to each authorized vendor, seller and/or service provider, daily spending limits, and/or the geographical area or location wherein authorized card use may be limited, and/or authorized times for card usage (i.e.", "specific days, dates, time of day, time of month, year, etc.", "), and/or any other limitation and/or restriction regarding amount of transaction, parties involved, geographical area, and/or times of allowed usage.", "The database 3H is also connected to the CPU 3A.", "The central processing computer 3 also comprises a printer 31 or other appropriate output device for outputting information and/or data to a user or operator.", "The database 3H can also include or store information regarding transactions processed by the central processing computer 3 for any account(s) serviced by the central processing computer 3.The information can include, for each of any number of transactions for each or any number of accounts, a picture, a photograph, or a video clip, of the individual or individuals involved in a transaction, and/or audio information, a voice message or sample, and/or a voice print, which is a digital representation of a voice message or sample, obtained from the individual involved in the transaction, for each of any number of transactions processed by the central processing computer 3.For example, for any given account, the central processing computer 3 can store information for any number of transactions occurring on a given credit card account, charge card account, debit card account, and/or currency or “smart” card account.", "In this manner, a picture, a photograph, or a video clip, of the individual or individuals involved in a transaction, and/or audio information, a voice message or sample, and/or a voice print, which is a digital representation of a voice message or sample, obtained from the individual involved in the transaction, can be stored for any number of transactions on a respective card account, in order to perform identity verification for an individual involved in a transaction.", "The database 3H of the central processing computer 3 can also contain copies of any of the images, digital copies, photographs, or pictures, of any of the respective documents, authorization forms, checks, forms, receipts, request forms, or other entities, which have been, or which were, offered, presented, submitted, processed, involved, or used, in or involving, or related to, a transaction or transactions on or involving any of the accounts serviced by the apparatus 1.It is envisioned that a cardholder, or other authorized individual, of a respective credit card account, charge card account, debit card account, and/or currency or “smart” card account, can submit a photograph or picture or his or her face which can be stored in the database 3H as a “file photograph” or a “file picture” associated with the respective account.", "In a preferred embodiment, and “file photograph” or a “file picture” is stored as a digital file.", "It is also envisioned that the cardholder or authorized individual can also submit a pre-recorded voice message which can be digitized into a voice print which can be stored as a “file voiceprint”.", "In processing a transaction involving a respective credit card account, charge card account, debit card account, and/or currency or “smart” card account, the central processing computer 3 can process a picture, a photograph, or a video clip, of the individual or individuals involved in the transaction, and/or audio information, a voice message or sample, and/or a voice print, obtained from the individual involved in the transaction using the respective “file photograph”, “file picture”, and/or “file voice print”, and/or can provide the “file photograph”, “file picture”, and/or “file voice print”, to point-of-sale terminal 2 so that the operator of the point-of-sale terminal 2 can use same in verifying that the individual is the cardholder or authorized individual.", "In FIG.", "2, the communication device 4, in the preferred embodiment, comprises a central processing unit or CPU 4A, associated random access memory 4B (RAM) and read only memory 4C (ROM) devices, which are connected to the CPU 4A, a user input device 4D, which is a keypad or a plurality of keys and/or switches for inputting data into the communication device 4 and which is also connected to the CPU 4A, and a display device 4E, for displaying information and/or data to the cardholder, and a database 4F, which are also connected to the CPU 4A.", "The communication device 4 also comprises a receiver 4G for receiving signals and/or data from the central processing computer 3 and which is also connected to the CPU 4A, a transmitter 4H for transmitting signals and/or data to the central processing computer 3 and which is also connected to the CPU 4A.", "The communication device 4 also includes a camera/microphone system 41.In the preferred embodiment, the camera/microphone system 41 can include a camera or a video recording device which can be used to take a picture, a photograph, or a video clip of the cardholder.", "In the preferred embodiment, the camera/microphone system 41 can also include a microphone or an audio recording device which can be used to record audio information and/or the voice of the cardholder.", "In a preferred embodiment, voice information can be processed by the CPU 4A in order to generate a voiceprint file of the recorded voice.", "In the preferred embodiment, the camera/microphone system 41 can be located on or in the communication device 4 so as to record the respective picture, photograph, or video clip, of the cardholder, and/or so as to record the audio information and/or the voice of the cardholder.", "In the preferred embodiment, the database 4F can be utilized to store, for each of any number of transactions, a picture, a photograph, or a video clip, of the individual or individuals involved in a transaction, and/or audio information, a voice message or sample, and/or a voice print, which is a digital representation of a voice message or sample, obtained from the individual involved in the transaction at the point-of-sale terminal 2.The database 4F of the communication device 4 can also contain copies of any of the images, digital copies, photographs, or pictures, of any of the respective documents, authorization forms, checks, forms, receipts, request forms, or other entities, which have been, or which were, offered, presented, submitted, processed, involved, or used, in or involving, or related to, a transaction or transactions on or involving any of the accounts serviced by the apparatus 1.In the preferred embodiment, the communication device 4 which is utilized is a cellular telephone, a personal digital assistant, a wireless telephone, a home computer, a personal computer, a laptop computer, a notebook computer, a netbook computer, an interactive television, and/or pager with a reply feature and/or device, or any of the other devices described-herein as being utilized as a communication device.", "A two-way pager and/or pager systems may also be utilized for implementing the respective component system(s) in the communication device 4/central processing computer 3 combination and/or link.", "The apparatus 1 of the present invention, in the preferred embodiment, may be utilized in order to facilitate cardholder authorization, notification and/or security measures in financial transactions involving credit cards, charge cards, debit cards, and/or currency or “smart” cards, in the manner described below and with reference to FIGS.", "3A, 3B, and 3C.", "In the preferred embodiment, the apparatus 1 of the present invention can provide an authorization, notification, and/or security, apparatus and method which provides a notification of a transaction on or involving any one or more of the accounts described herein along with an image, a digital copy, a photograph, or a picture, of a document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or any other entity, or any number, group, or combination of, documents, authorization forms, authorization request forms, benefit request forms, claim forms, drafts, bank drafts, deposit forms, withdrawal forms, checks, forms, receipts, request forms, or any other entities, which is, or which are, offered, presented, submitted, processed, involved, or used, in or involving, or related to, a transaction on or involving an account.", "In this manner, the apparatus 1 of the present invention may be utilized to obtain cardholder authorization in a card-related transaction.", "Applicant hereby incorporates by reference herein the subject matter and teachings of U.S. Pat.", "No.", "5,917,405 which teaches an apparatus and method for transmitting video information and/or audio information to a remote device on or over a communication network such as the Internet and/or the World Wide Web.", "FIGS.", "3A, 3B, and 3C illustrate the operation of the apparatus 1 in flow diagram form.", "With reference to FIGS.", "3A, 3B, and 3C, the operation of the apparatus 1 commences at step 30 when the card, which is to be utilized in a credit card, charge card, debit card, and/or currency or “smart” card transaction, is presented, transmitted, or submitted, in the transaction, or when a document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or any other entity, or when an image, digital copy, photograph, or picture, of a document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or any other entity, is offered, presented, transmitted, submitted, processed, involved, or used, in or involving, or related to, the transaction.", "At step 31, the sales or service attendant or point-of-sale terminal operator (hereinafter “point-of-sale terminal operator”) will activate the apparatus 1 in any typical manner, such as by obtaining a phone line and entering card information into the point-of-sale terminal 2.This data entry is typically performed by swiping the magnetic strip of the card through the card reader 2B.", "In the case of a document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or any other entity, which is offered, presented, submitted, processed, involved, or used, in or involving, or related to, the transaction, an image or a digital copy of the respective document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or any other entity, involved in, used in, or related to, the transaction can be obtained, scanned, or generated, and/or stored, by or in the point-of-sale terminal 2 using the user input device 2E of the point-of-sale terminal 2 or other suitable device, or a photograph or a picture of the respective document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or any other entity, involved in, used in, or related to, the transaction can be obtained, taken, recorded, or generated, or stored, in or by the point-of-sale terminal 2 using the camera/microphone system 2J of the point-of-sale terminal 2 or other suitable device.", "In another preferred embodiment, at step 32, the individual involved in the transaction will be requested or instructed to look into, or pose for, the camera of the camera/microphone system 2J so that a photograph, a picture, or a video clip, can be taken of the individual's face.", "In the preferred embodiment, a photograph, picture, or video clip, is taken of the individual's face with the camera and a digital file of same is created and stored at the point-of-sale terminal 2.At step 32, the individual will be requested or instructed to recite a predetermined voice message into the microphone of the camera/microphone system 2J, so that a voice recording or a voice print can be obtained.", "The pre-determined voice message can be any appropriate message such as “My name is Raymond Joao” or “This is my credit card”, or any other appropriate message.", "In a preferred embodiment, the voice message should be the same as that voice message for which a voice print was previously submitted for storage at the central processing computer 3.In an Internet transaction, wherein the transaction is being performed with a remote point-of-sale terminal 2, the individual can take the photograph, picture, or video clip, by using a camera or web camera associated with his or her computer, home computer, personal computer, laptop computer, notebook computer, netbook computer, cellular telephone, personal digital assistant, or other communication device, and/or record the voice message or voice print on a microphone or other audio recording device associated with the respective computer, home computer, personal computer, laptop computer, notebook computer, netbook computer, cellular telephone, personal digital assistant, or other communication device.", "The respective photograph, picture, or video clip, and/or voice message or voice print can thereafter be transmitted to the receiver 2H of the point-of-sale terminal 2.The information and/or data pertinent to the transaction, and/or the card, along with the image, digital copy, photograph, or picture, of the respective document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or any other entity, involved in, used in, or related to, the transaction, and/or the photograph, picture, and/or video clip, and/or the voice recording, and/or voice print, of the individual involved in the transaction, is then transmitted, at step 32, to the central processing computer 3.In a preferred embodiment, at step 32, the information and/or data pertinent to the transaction, and/or the card, along with the image, digital copy, photograph, or picture, of the respective document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or any other entity, involved in, used in, or related to, the transaction, and/or the photograph, picture, and/or video clip, and/or the voice recording, and/or voice print, of the individual involved in the transaction can also be transmitted to the communication device 4 to inform the cardholder and to provide him or her with information regarding the transaction, along with an image, digital copy, photograph, or picture, of the respective document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or any other entity, involved in, used in, or related to, the transaction, and/or any or all of the other herein-described information.", "At step 32, the information regarding the transaction, along with the image or digital copy of the respective document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or any other entity, involved in, used in, or related to, the transaction, and/or the photograph, picture, and/or video clip, and/or the voice recording, and/or voice print, of the individual involved in the transaction, can also be stored in the central processing computer 3 and, in particular, in the database 3H, and can be retrieved at any time by any authorized individual.", "The information and/or data pertinent to the transaction, and/or the card or account, along with the image, digital copy, photograph, or picture, of the respective document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or any other entity, involved in, used in, or related to, the transaction, and/or the photograph, picture, and/or video clip, and/or the voice recording, and/or voice print, of the individual involved in the transaction can thereafter be provided to the cardholder via the communication device 4.In a preferred embodiment, the image, digital copy, photograph, or picture, of the respective document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or any other entity, involved in, used in, or related to, the transaction, can be in the body of a message containing the information or data sent, such as in the body of the message, or the image, digital copy, photograph, or picture, of the respective document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or any other entity, involved in, used in, or related to, the transaction, can be, or can be included, in an attachment to the message.", "In a preferred embodiment, the message, or the information or data pertinent to the transaction, can be included in, or can include, an electronic mail (e-mail) message, an instant message, or any other suitable message, electronic, digital, or otherwise, or can be included in any other electronic transmission.", "In a preferred embodiment, the photograph, picture, and/or video clip, and/or the voice recording, and/or voice print, of the individual involved in the transaction, can be in the body of the message containing the information or data sent, such as in the body of the message, or the respective photograph, picture, and/or video clip, and/or the voice recording, and/or voice print, of the individual involved in the transaction, can be in an attachment to the message.", "The cardholder can then, at step 32, or at any other time, review the information in the message, including viewing or reviewing the image, digital copy, photograph, or picture, of the respective document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or any other entity, involved in, used in, or related to, the transaction, or viewing or reviewing the photograph, picture, and/or video clip, and/or the voice recording, of the individual involved in the transaction.", "At any time, if the cardholder determines that the transaction is a fraudulent transaction or an unauthorized transaction, or that the individual is not an individual authorized for engaging in a transaction involving the respective account, the cardholder can transmit an unauthorized message to the point-of-sale terminal 2 so as to stop, cancel, or prevent, the transaction.", "The cardholder, in another preferred embodiment, can place an immediate or real-time telephone call to a telephone or other device associated with the point-of-sale terminal 2 and inform the operator of the point-of-sale terminal 2 that the transaction is unauthorized and/or fraudulent.", "The above telephone call can be a conventional telephone call or a voice over IP telephone call.", "The central processing computer 3 will, at step 33, process the information and/or data pertinent to the transaction and/or to the particular card account and may request, if needed, that the point-of-sale operator enter the transaction amount.", "The central processing computer 3 will then process the information and/or data pertinent to the transaction in conjunction with the card account information in order to determine if the card has been lost, stolen and/or cancelled and/or de-activated.", "Further, the central processing computer 3 will perform a test to determine if the card has reached and/or exceeded the maximum credit, charge or debit limit and/or if the card has been depleted of its currency value.", "The central processing computer 3 can also process the photograph or picture against the “file photograph” or “file picture” and/or can process the voice message against the “file voice print”.", "The central processing computer 3 may utilize any of the widely known data processing and/or software routines, which are known to those skilled in that art, in order to process transaction requests and/or authorizations involving the use of the respective card(s).", "Once the information and/or data processing has been completed at step 33, the central processing computer 3, at step 34, will determine if the card has been lost, stolen, and/or cancelled and/or de-activated, or if the credit, charge or debit limit of the card has been reached and/or exceeded, or if the currency value of the card has been depleted.", "The central processing computer 3 will, at step 34, also perform a test in order to determine if the predetermined maximum number of unauthorized transactions have occurred on the account.", "The unauthorized transactions count refers to transactions which are not authorized by the cardholder as will be described herein.", "The authorized transaction count (UNAUTHCT) is a variable which is pre-set to zero (0) at the time the card account is issued.", "Each time an unauthorized transaction occurs, the unauthorized transaction count is incremented by one (1).", "Once the unauthorized transaction count reaches a pre-defined limit of, for example, three (3), the central processing computer 3 will cancel the transaction and de-activate the card.", "The central processing computer 3 will then notify the cardholder.", "In this manner, the apparatus 1 will enable the central processing computer 3 of an issuing and/or card servicing institution to cancel and/or de-activate the card, either permanently and/or temporarily, in cases when the cardholder may have failed to respond or to reply to transaction notices, which may be the case when the cardholder is not aware that the card has been lost or stolen, or when the card or account number has been duplicated, “cloned”, or in other ways utilized without the cardholder's authorization, and/or when the cardholder is unable to respond or reply to the transaction notices for some other reason(s).", "This feature of the present invention serves to put a usage limit on the use of the card(s).", "The central processing computer 3, at step 34, will also perform a test(s) to determine if any additional limitations and/or restrictions have been met and/or satisfied.", "The central processing computer 3 can also process the photograph or picture against the “file photograph” or “file picture” and/or can process the voice message against the “file voice print” to determine if the individual is not the cardholder or other authorized individual.", "If any of the above listed conditions exist (i.e.", "card is lost, stolen, cancelled and/or de-activated, or credit, charge or debit limit is reached and/or exceeded, currency value depleted, unauthorized transaction limit reached or exceeded limitations and/or restrictions violated, etc.", "), the central processing computer 3 will, at step 35, transmit a signal to the point-of-sale terminal 2 indicating that the transaction is not approved and/or is not authorized.", "The point-of-sale terminal operator may then cancel the transaction, at step 36.The point-of-sale terminal operator may then confiscate the card and/or alert the authorities.", "Upon the completion of step 36, the apparatus will cease operation at step 55.At step 34, if requested pursuant to a pre-existing agreement between the respective merchant and operator of the central processing computer 3, and/or if requested by the point-of-sale terminal operator during the transaction, the central processing computer 3 can retrieve and transmit a “file photograph” or “file picture”, of the cardholder or authorized individual or authorized individuals, to the point-of-sale terminal 2 for display thereat.", "If the point-of-sale terminal operator does not recognize the individual involved in the transaction as being the cardholder or other authorized individual, then the point-of-sale terminal operator can stop, void, or cancel the transaction at that moment and at step 55 and so inform the central processing computer 3 and/or the cardholder by transmitting an appropriate signal or message to the central processing computer 3 or the cardholder's communication device 4.If, at step 34, the central processing computer 3 determines that the card is not lost, stolen, cancelled or de-activated, or that the credit, charge or debit limit of the card has not been reached or exceeded, or that the of unauthorized transactions count (UNAUTHCT) has not reached a pre-defined limit, or whether any other pre-defined, pre-selected and/or programmed limitation(s) and/or restriction(s) have been met, have been satisfied and/or have been reconciled, the central processing computer 3 will, at step 37, transmit a signal and/or data containing any and/or all of the above-described information regarding the transaction, including, but not limited to, information and/or data pertinent to the transaction, along with the image, digital copy, photograph, or picture, of the respective document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or any other entity, involved in, used in, or related to, the transaction, and/or the respective picture, photograph or image, video clip, and/or and audio clip or voice print, of the individual involved in the transaction, to the communication device 4.In this regard, at step 37, a signal and/or data containing any and/or all of the above-described information regarding the transaction, including, but not limited to, information and/or data pertinent to the transaction, along with the image, digital copy, photograph, or picture, of the respective document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or any other entity, involved in, used in, or related to, the transaction, and/or the respective picture, photograph or image, video clip, and/or audio clip or voice print, of the individual involved in the transaction, can also be transmitted to, or re-transmitted to, the communication device 4, which can be any one or more of the communication devices 4 described herein, which is located at the cardholder.", "At step 37, the central processing computer 3 will then also transmit respective signals and/or data, containing any and/or all of the above-described information regarding the transaction, including information and/or data pertinent to the transaction, along with the image, digital copy, photograph, or picture, of the respective document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or any other entity, involved in, used in, or related to, the transaction, and/or the respective picture, photograph or image, video clip, and/or audio clip or voice print, of the individual involved in the transaction, to any one or more of the cardholder's designated fax machine 5, personal computer 6, telephone 7, telephone answering machine 8, alternate telephone 9, alternate telephone answering machine 10, network computer 11, and/or alternate beeper 12 or alternate pager 13, or any other communication device.", "The signals and/or data can be transmitted to more than one of the above devices 5-13, or to any other communication device or devices, either sequentially or simultaneously.", "The information and/or data which is transmitted to the communication device 4, can include, in addition to any of the herein-described information, the information pertinent to the transaction, along with the image, digital copy, photograph, or picture, of the respective document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or any other entity, involved in, used in, or related to, the transaction, and/or the respective picture, photograph or image, video clip, and/or audio clip or voice print, of the individual involved in the transaction, and can also include information and/or data identifying the transaction and may include the name of the store or the service provider and the amount of the transaction, as well as the photograph, picture, and/or video clip, and/or the voice recording, and/or voice print.", "The information and/or data may also provide the time of the transaction, the location (i.e.", "city, town, village, state, country etc.)", "of the transaction.", "The information and/or data may also include the phone number of the central processing office and/or computer servicing the account so that the cardholder may telephone same in order to authorize or cancel the transaction.", "The information and/or data may also be supplemented to include the type of goods and/or services involved in the transaction, if such information can be entered at the point-of-sale terminal 2.At step 38, the information and/or data which is transmitted from the central processing computer 3 and received at the communication device 4 is displayed to the cardholder on the display device 4E of the communication device 4.The information displayed on the display device 4E includes the name of the store or the service provider, the amount of the transaction, the time of the transaction and the location of the transaction.", "The information and/or data may also be supplemented to include the type of goods and/or services involved in the transaction, if such information can be entered at the point-of-sale terminal 2.In an instance where the cardholder has not responded earlier, the apparatus 1 will then, at step 39, wait for the cardholder to respond to the transmission.", "During this time, the cardholder may utilize the communication device 4, which in a preferred embodiment, may be a cellular telephone, a personal digital assistant, a wireless telephone, a home computer, a personal computer, a laptop computer, a notebook computer, a netbook computer, a television, an interactive television, a digital television, a beeper, or a pager, or any of the communication devices 4 described herein, and/or a reply or two-way pager feature on the communication device 4, or any other communication device, in order to either approve or authorize the transaction or disapprove of or void the transaction.", "At step 39, the central processing computer 3 will also receive the response if one is sent.", "At step 40, the apparatus 1 will determine if the cardholder has made a reply or response within the pre-defined time limit which is chosen, in the preferred embodiment, to be one (1) minute.", "The cardholder may also transmit a signal via an appropriate key or button suspending use of the card such as when he or she may first be apprised of the fact that the card has been lost or stolen.", "In instances when the communication device 4 does not have a reply feature associated with the communication device 4, or means for communicating with the central processing computer 3, the cardholder may simply telephone the central processing office or a processing center for the card in order to personally appraise the center or office of his or her response to the central processing computer transmission regarding the transaction.", "If the cardholder does not respond or reply to the central processing office within the pre-specified time, chosen, in the preferred embodiment, to be one (1) minute, the central office computer will, at step 41, increment the unauthorized transaction count (UNAUTHCT) by one (1) and will, at step 42, transmit a signal and/or data to the point-of-sale terminal 2 indicating that, with the exception of receiving the authorization of the cardholder, the transaction is otherwise approved.", "The point-of-sale terminal operator may then, at step 43, either proceed to consummate the transaction, try to obtain additional information from the purchaser, or cancel the transaction.", "The action taken by the point-of-sale terminal operator may be dictated by the specific agreement in effect between the sales and/or service provider establishment and the bank or financial institution administering the card account.", "Upon the completion of step 43, the operation of the apparatus 1 will cease at step 44.If the cardholder should reply or respond to the transaction notice at a later period, the response or reply information may then be utilized in order to approve of, or to disapprove and/or to dispute, the transaction.", "If, at step 40, the response or reply is determined to be timely, the central processing computer 3 will, at step 45, process and identify the cardholder response.", "At step 46, the central processing computer 3 will determine if the cardholder has replied or responded so as to authorize the transaction.", "If the cardholder's response is to cancel, disapprove or, or not to authorize, the transaction, the central processing computer 3 will, at step 47, increment an unauthorized transaction count by 1.At this juncture, it is important to note that the unauthorized count (UNAUTHCT) is set to zero at the time of the issuance of the card.", "After the unauthorized transaction count has been incremented, the central processing computer 3 will, at step 48, transmit a signal and/or data to the point-of-sale terminal 2 which will notify and/or instruct the point-of-sale terminal operator that the transaction is not authorized and should, therefore, be cancelled or voided.", "The point-of-sale terminal operator may then cancel the transaction at step 49.The point-of-sale terminal operator may then confiscate the card and/or alert the authorities.", "Upon the completion of step 49, the apparatus will cease operation at step 50.If, at step 46, the central processing computer 3 identifies the cardholder reply or response as being one to authorize the transaction, the central processing computer 3, at step 51, will reset the unauthorized transaction count (UNAUTHCT) to 0.An unauthorized transaction count (UNAUTHCT) of 0 will signify that any string of unauthorized transactions has now been broken by the cardholder, and further, that the present transaction is approved by the cardholder.", "The central processing computer 3 will then, at step 52, transmit a signal and/or data to the point-of-sale terminal 2 which will notify and/or instruct the point-of-sale terminal operator that the transaction is authorized and/or approved.", "In another preferred embodiment, the cardholder can also transmit an authorization message to the point-of-sale terminal 2.The point-of-sale terminal operator may then complete the transaction, at step 53.After the transaction has been completed at step 53, the operation of the apparatus 1 will cease at step 54.In instances when the cardholder is a party to the transaction, he or she, having the communication device 4 on his or her person, may authorize the transaction at the point-of-sale location.", "If the transaction is a telephone and/or other remotely made transaction, the cardholder may authorize the transaction from his or her remote location.", "The cardholder may also program and/or set the communication device 4 to automatically authorize or disapprove or disallow transactions.", "In this regard, the communication device 4 may be programmable so as to receive and analyze the transaction information and/or data and reply and/or respond to same automatically and/or with preset and/or programmed relies and/or responses.", "The communication device 4 may also be programmable so as to limit the amounts of transactions.", "In this regard, the cardholder may provide for temporary transaction and/or purchasing amounts.", "The communication device 4, in the preferred embodiment, is provided with a memory device for storing any of the information or data described herein as being provided by the apparatus 1 for any number of transactions so that the cardholder may review his or her card and/or account activity and/or transactions which have occurred involving his or her card.", "In this manner, the cardholder may “scroll” through and/or in other ways review card and/or account activity.", "The communication device 4 may also be equipped to service more than one card.", "For example, a cardholder's MASTERCARD®, VISA®, and/or AMERICAN EXPRESS®, card or cards and the accounts corresponding thereto may all be serviced with or by a single communication device 4.The apparatus and method of the present invention provides for the real-time notification of financial transactions involving credit cards, charge cards, debit cards, and/or currency or “smart” cards, which also provides information regarding the transaction, along with an image, digital copy, photograph, or picture, of a respective document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or any other entity, involved in, used in, or related to, the transaction, and which also enables a cardholder to monitor, in real-time, activity involving his or her card(s) and the corresponding accounts.", "The apparatus and method of the present invention also provides a means and a mechanism by which to inform a cardholder that his or her card(s) are lost or stolen, and/or that his or her card(s), and/or the account numbers corresponding thereto, are utilized without his or her authorization and also provides an indication to the cardholder of where his or her card(s) or corresponding account number(s) is being utilized in transactions while also providing the cardholder with an image, digital copy, photograph, or picture, of a respective document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or any other entity, involved in, used in, or related to, the transaction.", "The cardholder may then report the card lost or stolen and/or cancel and/or de-activate the card and/or the account.", "The present invention also provides a means and a mechanism by which to monitor the number of transactions which are unauthorized by the cardholder and to determine whether or not to authorize transactions and/or cancel or de-activate the card(s) and/or the account.", "In the above manner, the apparatus and method of the present invention provides an apparatus and a method for preventing and/or for drastically limiting fraudulent and/or unauthorized use of credit cards, charge cards, debit cards, and/or currency or “smart” cards, and/or the account numbers corresponding thereto.", "The present invention also provides a means and a mechanism for providing an image, digital copy, photograph, or picture, of a respective document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or any other entity, involved in, used in, or related to, a transaction or transactions, for any number of transactions and for any number of accounts.", "In another preferred embodiment, wherein a number of transactions may be batch processed or otherwise processed in batches or processed in groups, the apparatus 1 can, at step 32 and/or at step 37, transmit the information and/or data pertinent to each of and/or all of the transactions, and/or the card or account used in same, along with the image, digital copy, photograph, or picture, of the respective document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or other entity, involved in, used in, or related to, each of the transactions, and/or the photograph, picture, and/or video clip, and/or the voice recording, and/or voice print, of the individual involved in the transaction, associated with each of the transactions, can be transmitted to the communication device 4 and the cardholder or account holder can review the information as desired.", "In this regard, in another preferred embodiment, all of the herein-described information pertaining to each transaction processed in a batch processing of transactions on or involving an account or accounts, can be processed, obtained, gathered, or stored, and/or can be transmitted, in a single message, or in any number of messages, to the communication device at step 32 and/or at step 37.The present invention, in an alternate embodiment, may be utilized so as to provide authorization, notification, and/or security, in banking and related financial transactions involving checking accounts, savings accounts, and/or automated teller machine (ATM) accounts, and transactions and/or other transactions wherein an account owner may be notified of a transaction and/or an attempted transaction.", "In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the present invention provides an authorization, notification, and/or security, apparatus and method which provides a notification of a transaction on or involving any one or more of the accounts described herein along with an image, digital copy, photograph, or picture, of a respective document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or any other entity, involved in, used in, or related to, a transaction, which is offered, presented, submitted, processed, involved, or used, in or involving, or related to, a transaction on or involving a bank account, checking account, savings account, or ATM account.", "FIG.", "4 illustrates a block diagram of an alternate embodiment of the apparatus of the present invention which is utilized in conjunction with a checking account, savings account, and/or ATM account and/or transaction (hereinafter referred to as a “banking transaction”) and/or the authorization process involved therewith.", "The apparatus of FIG.", "4 is denoted generally by the reference numeral 100.In FIG.", "4, the apparatus 100 consists of a banking transaction terminal which terminals are found in banks and financial establishments.", "In the preferred embodiment, the banking transaction terminal 102 is a teller terminal, a processing computer terminal and/or an ATM terminal.", "Any other terminal or similar device may also be utilized as the banking transaction terminal 102 depending upon the application and/or the transaction.", "The banking transaction terminal 102 includes a camera and/or a microphone, and/or any other video recording device and/or audio recording device, for obtaining a picture and/or video information and/or audio information regarding an individual engaging in a banking transaction.", "The banking transaction terminal 102 (hereinafter referred to as “banking terminal”) may be any of the widely used and well known terminals or devices for providing banking transactions over-the-counter, ATM transactions and/or in any other type of financial transactions, including clearing transactions, check clearing and/or account charging and/or charge-back transactions, which transactions banks and financial institutions perform and/or engage in.", "Typically, the banking terminals and/or devices comprise a computer terminal having an input device such as a keyboard and/or various reader and/or scanning device for reading and/or scanning, respectively, information and/or data necessary in order to perform the transaction.", "The banking terminal transmits an authorization request which may include the data pertaining to the particular account which is accessed and/or involved in the transaction and the type and the amount of the transaction, over a communications medium, to a central processing computer for processing the transaction, the transaction request and/or the authorization request pertaining thereto.", "The banking terminal may transmit the transaction authorization request and/or notice to a central processing computer via a central bank computer (not shown) which may be a central computer at the particular bank or financial institution.", "The central processing computer may also be a central computer system which is not located at the bank or financial institution, but rather, services the particular bank or financial institution or a group of banks or financial institutions.", "The banking terminal 102 also receives the transaction and/or authorization data and/or information from the central processing computer.", "If a central bank computer is utilized, the data transmitted from the central processing computer would be transmitted to the banking terminal 102 via the central bank computer.", "A printed transaction receipt may also be provided at and/or obtained via the banking terminal 102, or peripheral device associated therewith, for printing a transaction receipt which is usually provided to the account holder at the time and/or location of the transaction.", "The banking terminal or other device 102 may also comprise, and/or have associated therewith, a keypad for the manual entry of transaction information and/or data, such as the amount of the transaction, account number, etc.", "The banking terminal 102 may also be an integral component of a teller and/or cashier work station and/or other transaction terminals and/or devices, including those which may provide for the automatic entry of transaction information and/or data.", "The banking terminal or other device 102 may also include a scanner or other input device for obtaining an image or a digital copy of a document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or any other entity, which is offered, presented, submitted, processed, involved, or used, in or involving, or related to, a transaction on or involving an account.", "The apparatus 100 also comprises a central processing computer 103 which services any bank and/or financial institution and/or any pre-defined group of banks and/or financial institutions and/or any number of accounts associated therewith.", "For example, the central processing computer 103 may handle all checking accounts, savings accounts and/or other accounts for a given bank or banks.", "The central processing computer 103, for example, may process and maintain records of deposits, withdrawals, checks cashed, drafts, ATM deposits, ATM withdrawals, charges made against an account, credits made to an account, etc., and/or any combinations of same.", "The central processing computer 103 may process accounts for any of the various banks and/or financial institutions.", "In the preferred embodiment, the banking terminal 102 is linked and/or connected to the central processing computer 103 via a telecommunications system, link and/or medium (hereinafter referred to as “communications system”) such as, for example, a telephone network or line.", "As noted above, the banking terminal 102 may or may not be linked to the central processing computer 103 via a central bank computer.", "It is important to note that the communications system which is utilized may be any communications system and may include telecommunication systems, satellite communications systems, radio communication systems, digital communications systems, digital satellite communications systems, personal communications services communication systems as well as any other appropriate communications system.", "The banking terminal 102 transmits signals and/or data to the central processing computer 103 as well as receives signals and/or data from the central processing computer 103.The central processing computer 103 may be a mainframe computer, a mini-computer, a micro-computer, a server computer, such as those utilized in conjunction with on-line services and/or in a network environment, and/or any other suitable computer or computer system.", "The apparatus 100 also comprises an account owner communication device 104 which may receive signals and/or data from either or both of the banking transaction terminal 102 and/or the central processing computer 103.In the preferred embodiment of FIG.", "4, the communication device 104 receives signals and/or data from the central processing computer 103 with said signals being transmitted via a suitable communication system.", "In the preferred embodiment, the communications system or network utilized for transmitting signals and/or data to the communication device 104 is a wireless communication network and/or the Internet and/or the World Wide Web and the communication device 104 is a telephone signal receiving device such as a cellular telephone, a wireless telephone, a personal digital assistant, a home computer, a personal computer, a laptop computer, a notebook computer, a netbook computer, or a telephone beeper or pager.", "The communication device 104, which may be a pager, receives the wireless telephone signals and/or data from the central processing computer 103 during the authorization procedure as will be described in more detail below.", "In the preferred embodiment, the communication device 104 is also equipped with a transmitter for transmitting signals and/or data to the central processing computer 103.In this regard, the central processing computer 103 transmits signals and/or data to the communication device 104 as well as receives signals and/or data from the communication device 104.The communication device 104 may also transmit signals and/or data directly to the banking terminal 102 and receive signals and/or data directly from the banking terminal 102.In the preferred embodiment, the banking terminal 102 transmits signals and/or data to the central processing computer 103 and receives signals and/or data from the central processing computer 103.Further, in the preferred embodiment, the communication device 104 receives signals and/or data from the central processing computer 3 and transmits signals and/or data to the central processing computer 103.As noted above, the communication device 104 is a wireless device.", "In this regard, the communication device 104 or pager may be carried by the account owner and/or be kept on and/or close to the account owner's person so that the central processing computer 103 may transmit signals and/or data to the communication device 104 so as to communication with the account owner at any time.", "In the preferred embodiment, the apparatus 100 also comprises a facsimile (fax) machine 105, a personal computer 106, a telephone 107, a telephone answering machine 108, an alternate telephone 109, an alternate telephone answering machine 110, a network computer 111, and/or an alternate beeper 112 or alternate pager 113.The central processing computer 103 may be linked with the above fax machine 105, personal computer 106, telephone 107, associated answering machine 108, alternate telephone 109, alternate telephone answering machine 110, network computer 111, alternate beeper 112 and alternate pager 113, via any suitable communication system.", "In the preferred embodiment, a telecommunications link or telephone line or link, which may or may not be a wireless link, depending on the device and/or the circumstances, is utilized in order to link the central processing computer 103 with each of the fax machine 105, the personal computer 106, the telephone 107, the associated answering machine 108, the alternate telephone 109, the alternate telephone answering machine 110, the network computer 111, the alternate beeper 112 and the alternate pager 113.FIG.", "5 illustrates the various components of the apparatus 100 of FIG.", "4.In FIG.", "5, the banking transaction terminal 102 (“banking terminal”), in the preferred embodiment, comprises a central processing unit or CPU 102A, a scanner or reader 102B, which is connected to the CPU 102A, associated random access memory 102C (RAM) and read only memory 102D (ROM) devices, which are also connected to the CPU 102A, a user input device 102E, which is typically a keypad, keyboard, mouse, reader, or scanner, or any combination of same, or other suitable input device for inputting data into the banking terminal 102 and which is also connected to the CPU 102A, and a display device 102F for displaying information and/or data to a user or operator, which display device 102F is also connected to the CPU 102A.", "The banking terminal 102 also comprises a transmitter 102G for transmitting signals and/or data to the central processing computer 103, and/or to the communication device 104 and/or to any other device associated with the account owner and/or the apparatus, if desired.", "The transmitter 102G is also connected to the CPU 102A.", "The banking terminal 102 also comprises a receiver 102H for receiving signals and/or data from the central processing computer 103, and from the communication device 104 and/or from any other associated device which may be utilized, if desired.", "The receiver 102H is also connected to the CPU 102A.", "The banking terminal 102 also comprises a printer 1021 or other appropriate output device for outputting data to the operator.", "The printer 1021 is also connected to the CPU 102A.", "In the preferred embodiment, the printer 1021 prints receipts corresponding to the transaction.", "The banking terminal 102 also includes a camera/microphone system 102J.", "In the preferred embodiment, the camera/microphone system 102J can include a camera or a video recording device which can be used to take a picture, a photograph, or a video clip of an individual or individuals involved in a banking transaction involving a checking account, a savings account, and/or an automated teller machine account.", "In the preferred embodiment, the camera/microphone system 102J can also include a microphone or an audio recording device which can be used to record audio information and/or the voice of an individual involved in a banking transaction involving a checking account, a savings account, and/or an automated teller machine account.", "In a preferred embodiment, voice information can be processed by the CPU 102A in order to generate a voiceprint file of the recorded voice.", "In the preferred embodiment, the camera/microphone system 102J is also used to take a picture or a photograph of a respective document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or other entity, which is offered, presented, submitted, processed, involved, or used, in or involving, or related to, a transaction on or involving a respective account.", "In the preferred embodiment, the camera/microphone system 102J can be located on or in the vicinity of the banking terminal 102 so as to record the respective picture, photograph, or video clip, of the individual or individuals involved in a banking transaction, and/or so as to record the audio information and/or the voice of the individual involved in the banking transaction.", "In the preferred embodiment, the banking terminal 102 can also include a database (not shown) which can be utilized to store information regarding banking transactions processed by the banking terminal 102.The information can include, for each of any number of banking transactions, a picture, a photograph, or a video clip, of the individual or individuals involved in a banking transaction, and/or audio information, a voice message or sample, and/or a voice print, which is a digital representation of a voice message or sample, obtained from the individual involved in the banking transaction.", "The database of the banking terminal 102 can also contain copies of any of the images, digital copies, photographs, or pictures, of any of the respective documents, authorization forms, authorization request forms, benefit request forms, claim forms, drafts, bank drafts, deposit forms, withdrawal forms, checks, forms, receipts, request forms, or other entities, which have been, or which were, offered, presented, submitted, processed, involved, or used, in or involving, or related to, a transaction or transactions on or involving any of the accounts serviced by the apparatus 100.In FIG.", "5, the central processing computer 103, in the preferred embodiment, comprises a central processing unit or CPU 103A, associated random access memory 103B (RAM) and read only memory 103C (ROM) devices, which are connected to the CPU 103A, a user input device 103D, which is a keypad or any other suitable input device, for inputting data into the central processing computer 103 and which is also connected to the CPU 103A, and a display device 103E for displaying information and/or data to a user or operator.", "The central processing computer 103 also comprises a transmitter(s) 103F for transmitting signals and/or data to the banking terminal 102 and to the communication device 104 and/or to any one or more of the fax machine 105, the personal computer 106, the telephone 107, the telephone answering machine 108, the alternate telephone 109, the alternate telephone answering machine 110, the network computer 111, the alternate beeper 112, and/or the alternate pager 113.The transmitter(s) 103F is also connected to the CPU 103A.", "The central processing computer 103 also comprises a receiver(s) 103G for receiving signals and/or data from the banking transaction terminal 102 and from the communication device 104 and/or from any other suitable device which may be utilized in conjunction with the apparatus 100.The receiver(s) 103G is also connected to the CPU 103A.", "The central processing computer 103 also comprises a database(s) 103H which contains account information and data pertaining to the account owner's account(s).", "The database 103H contains information about the account owner, the account number, etc., and any other information and/or data necessary to manage and/or process an account and/or account transaction as described herein.", "The database 103H is also connected to the CPU 103A.", "The central processing computer 103 also comprises a printer 1031 or other appropriate output device for outputting information and/or data to a user or operator, which printer 1031 or other output device is also connected to the CPU 103A.", "The database 103H can also include or store information regarding banking transactions processed by the central processing computer 103 for any account(s) serviced by the central processing computer 103.The information can include, for each of any number of banking transactions for each or any number of accounts, a picture, a photograph, or a video clip, of the individual or individuals involved in a banking transaction, and/or audio information, a voice message or sample, and/or a voice print, which is a digital representation of a voice message or sample, obtained from the individual involved in the banking transaction, for each of any number of banking transactions processed by the central processing computer 103.For example, for any given checking account, savings account, and/or automated teller machine account, the central processing computer 103 can store, for any number of banking transactions occurring on the respective account.", "In this manner, a picture, a photograph, or a video clip, of the individual or individuals involved in a banking transaction, and/or audio information, a voice message or sample, and/or a voice print, which is a digital representation of a voice message or sample, obtained from the individual involved in the banking transaction, can be stored for any number of banking transactions on a respective checking account, savings account, and/or automated teller machine account, in order to perform identity verification for an individual involved in a banking transaction.", "The database 103 of the central processing computer 103 can also contain copies of any of the images, digital copies, photographs, or pictures, of any of the respective documents, authorization forms, authorization request forms, benefit request forms, claim forms, drafts, bank drafts, deposit forms, withdrawal forms, checks, forms, receipts, request forms, or other entities, which have been, or which were, offered, presented, submitted, processed, involved, or used, in or involving, or related to, a transaction or transactions on or involving any of the accounts serviced by the apparatus 100.It is envisioned that an account holder, or other authorized individual, of a respective checking account, savings account, and/or automated teller machine account, can submit a photograph or picture or his or her face which can be stored in the database 103H as a “file photograph” or a “file picture” associated with the respective account.", "In a preferred embodiment, and “file photograph” or a “file picture” is stored as a digital file.", "It is also envisioned that the account holder or other authorized individual can also submit a pre-recorded voice message which can be digitized into a voice print which can be stored as a “file voice print”.", "In processing a banking transaction involving a respective checking account, savings account, and/or automated teller machine account, the central processing computer 103 can process a picture, a photograph, or a video clip, of the individual or individuals involved in the banking transaction, and/or audio information, a voice message or sample, and/or a voice print, obtained from the individual involved in the banking transaction using the respective “file photograph”, “file picture”, and/or “file voice print”, and/or can provide the “file photograph”, “file picture”, and/or “file voice print”, to banking terminal 102 so that the operator of the banking terminal 1022 can use same in verifying that the individual is the account holder or authorized individual.", "In FIG.", "5, the communication device 104, in the preferred embodiment, comprises a central processing unit or CPU 104A, associated random access memory 104B (RAM) and read only memory 104C (ROM) devices, which are also connected to the CPU 104A, a user input device 104D, which is a keypad or a plurality of keys and/or switches for inputting data into the communication device 104 and which is also connected to the CPU 104A, and a display device 104E, for displaying information and/or data to the account owner, and a database 104F.", "This display device 104E and the database 104F are also connected to the CPU 104A.", "The communication device 104 also comprises a receiver 104G for receiving signals and/or data from the central processing computer 103 and which is also connected to the CPU 104A, and a transmitter 104H for transmitting signals and/or data to the central processing computer 103 and which is also connected to the CPU 104A.", "The communication device 104 also includes a camera/microphone system 1041.In the preferred embodiment, the camera/microphone system 1041 can include a camera or a video recording device which can be used to take a picture, a photograph, or a video clip of the account holder.", "In the preferred embodiment, the camera/microphone system 1041 can also include a microphone or an audio recording device which can be used to record audio information and/or the voice of the account holder.", "In a preferred embodiment, voice information can be processed by the CPU 104A in order to generate a voiceprint file of the recorded voice.", "In the preferred embodiment, the camera/microphone system 1041 can be located on or in the communication device 104 so as to record the respective picture, photograph, or video clip, of the account holder, and/or so as to record the audio information and/or the voice of the account holder.", "In the preferred embodiment, the database 104F can be utilized to store, for each of any number of banking transactions, a picture, a photograph, or a video clip, of the individual or individuals involved in a banking transaction, and/or audio information, a voice message or sample, and/or a voice print, which is a digital representation of a voice message or sample, obtained from the individual involved in the banking transaction at the banking terminal 102.The database 104F of the communication device 104 can also contain copies of any of the images, digital copies, photographs, or pictures, of any of the respective documents, authorization forms, authorization request forms, benefit request forms, claim forms, drafts, bank drafts, deposit forms, withdrawal forms, checks, forms, receipts, request forms, or other entities, which have been, or which were, offered, presented, submitted, processed, involved, or used, in or involving, or related to, a transaction or transactions on or involving any of the accounts serviced by the apparatus 100.In the preferred embodiment, the communication device 104 which is utilized is a cellular telephone, a personal digital assistant, a wireless telephone, a home computer, a personal computer, a laptop computer, a notebook computer, a netbook computer, an interactive television, and/or pager with a reply feature and/or device, or any of the other devices described-herein as being utilized as a communication device.", "A two-way pager and/or pager system(s) may also be utilized for implementing the respective component systems in the communication device 104/central processing computer 103 combination and/or link.", "The apparatus 100 of the present invention, in the preferred embodiment, may be utilized in order to facilitate account owner authorization, notification and/or security, in financial transactions involving checking accounts, savings accounts, and ATM accounts, and/or any transactions involving same in the manner described below and with reference to FIGS.", "6A, 6B and 6C.", "In the preferred embodiment, the apparatus 100 of the present invention can provide an authorization, notification, and/or security, apparatus and method which provides a notification of a financial transaction on or involving a checking account, a savings account, or an ATM account, and/or in or for any transactions involving same, or any transaction on or involving any one or more of the accounts described herein, along with an image, a digital copy, a photograph, or a picture, of a document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or other entity, or any number, group, or combination of, documents, authorization forms, authorization request forms, benefit request forms, claim forms, drafts, bank drafts, deposit forms, withdrawal forms, checks, forms, receipts, request forms, or other entities, which is or were, or which are, offered, presented, submitted, processed, involved, or used, in or involving, or related to, a transaction or transactions on or involving a checking account, a savings account, or an ATM account, or any other account.", "In this manner, the apparatus and method of the present invention may be utilized to obtain account owner authorization in a banking and/or financial transaction.", "FIGS.", "6A, 6B and 6C illustrate the operation of the apparatus 100 in flow diagram form.", "With reference to FIGS.", "6A, 6B and 6C, the operation of the apparatus 100 commences at step 130 when the financial transaction and/or instrument, or when the image, digital copy, photograph, or picture, of the document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or other entity, which is offered, presented, transmitted, submitted, processed, involved, or used, in or involving, or related to, a transaction on or involving an account, or when the ATM card, is presented to the bank or financial institution employee, representative, and/or placed in a card reader or other device used in processing the banking transaction, respectively.", "At step 131, the employee or representative of the bank or financial institution will activate the apparatus, via the banking transaction terminal 102, in any typical manner, such as by entering account and/or card information, by entering the document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or other entity, which is offered, presented, submitted, processed, involved, or used, in or involving, or related to, a transaction on or involving a respective account, or by entering an image or a digital copy of the respective document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or other entity, which is offered, presented, submitted, processed, involved, or used, in or involving, or related to, a transaction on or involving a respective account, into the banking transaction terminal 102 or other device used in processing the banking transaction, or by obtaining, scanning, generating, or entering, an image, a photograph, or a picture, of the document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or other entity, by or into, into the banking transaction terminal 102 using the user input device 102E of the banking transaction terminal 102 or other device used in processing the banking transaction, or by obtaining, scanning, generating, or entering, and/or storing, a photograph or a picture of the respective document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or other entity, with or by the point-of-sale terminal 102 using the camera/microphone system 102J of the point-of-sale terminal 102 or other suitable device.", "In the case of a document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or other entity, which is offered, presented, submitted, processed, involved, or used, in or involving, or related to the transaction, the image, digital copy, photograph, or picture, of the respective document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or other entity, can be obtained, scanned, or generated, and/or stored, by or in the point-of-sale terminal 102 or any suitable device used in connection with same.", "This data entry is typically performed by manual data entry, electronic data entry, and/or via a card reader or other suitable device or computer, depending upon the transaction.", "For example, if a person offers a check for cashing and provides a savings account or a checking account number, as the means by which to endorse the check, the employee or representative will enter the savings account or checking account number into the banking transaction terminal 102 for processing.", "Similarly, if one desires to withdraw money from an ATM account, the card reader will read and enter the account number and/or information for processing.", "In another preferred embodiment, at step 132, the individual involved in the banking transaction will be requested or instructed to look into, or pose for, the camera of the camera/microphone system 102J so that a photograph, a picture, or a video clip, can be taken of the individual's face.", "In the preferred embodiment, a photograph, picture, or video clip, is taken of the individual's face with the camera and a digital file of same is created and stored at the banking transaction terminal 102.At step 132, the individual will be requested or instructed to recite a predetermined voice message into the microphone of the camera/microphone system 102J, so that a voice recording or a voice print can be obtained.", "The pre-determined voice message can be any appropriate message such as “My name is Raymond Joao” or “This is my bank account”, or any other appropriate message.", "In a preferred embodiment, the voice message should be the same as that voice message for which a voice print was previously submitted for storage at the central processing computer 103.In an Internet banking transaction, wherein the banking transaction is being performed with a remote banking transaction terminal 102, the individual can take the photograph, picture, or video clip, by using a camera or web camera associated with his or her computer, home computer, personal computer, laptop computer, notebook computer, netbook computer, cellular telephone, personal digital assistant, or other communication device, and/or record the voice message or voice print on a microphone or other audio recording device associated with the respective computer, home computer, personal computer, laptop computer, notebook computer, netbook computer, cellular telephone, personal digital assistant, or other communication device.", "The respective photograph, picture, or video clip, and/or voice message or voice print can thereafter be transmitted to the receiver 102H of the banking transaction terminal 102.The information and/or data pertinent to the banking transaction, along with the image, digital copy, photograph, or picture, of the respective document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or other entity, involved in, used in, or related to, the transaction, and/or the photograph, picture, and/or video clip, and/or the voice recording, and/or voice print, of the individual involved in the transaction, is then transmitted, at step 132, to the central processing computer 103.In a preferred embodiment, at step 132, the information and/or data pertinent to the banking transaction, along with the image, digital copy, photograph, or picture, of the respective document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or other entity, involved in, used in, or related to, the transaction, and/or the photograph, picture, and/or video clip, and/or the voice recording, and/or voice print, of the individual involved in the transaction, can also be transmitted to the communication device 104 to inform the account holder and to provide him or her with the information regarding the banking transaction, along with the image, digital copy, photograph, or picture, of the respective document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or other entity, involved in, used in, or related to, the transaction, and/or the photograph, picture, and/or video clip, and/or the voice recording, and/or voice print, of the individual involved in the transaction, and/or any or all of the other above-described information.", "At step 132, the information regarding the transaction, along with the image, digital copy, photograph, or picture, of the respective document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or other entity, involved in, used in, or related to, the transaction, and/or the photograph, picture, and/or video clip, and/or the voice recording, and/or voice print, of the individual involved in the transaction, can also be stored in the central processing computer 3 and, in particular, in the database 3H, and can be retrieved at any time by any authorized individual.", "The information and/or data pertinent to the banking transaction, and/or the card, the image, digital copy, photograph, or picture, of the respective document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or other entity, involved in, used in, or related to, the transaction, and/or the photograph, picture, and/or video clip, and/or the voice recording, and/or voice print, of the individual involved in the transaction, can thereafter be provided to the account holder via the communication device 104.At any time, if the account holder determines that the transaction is a fraudulent transaction or an unauthorized transaction, or that the individual is not an individual authorized for engaging in a banking transaction involving the respective account, the account holder can transmit an unauthorized message to the banking transaction terminal 102 so as to stop, cancel, or prevent, the banking transaction.", "The account holder, in another preferred embodiment, can place an immediate or real-time telephone call to a telephone or other device associated with the banking transaction terminal 102 and inform the operator of the banking transaction terminal 102 that the transaction is unauthorized and/or fraudulent.", "The above telephone call can be a conventional telephone call or a voice over IP telephone call.", "In a preferred embodiment, the image, digital copy, photograph, or picture, of the respective document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or other entity, involved in, used in, or related to, the banking transaction, can be in the body of a message containing the information or data sent, such as in the body of the message, or the respective document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or other entity, involved in, used in, or related to, the banking transaction can be, or can be included, in an attachment to the message.", "In a preferred embodiment, the message, or the information or data pertinent to the banking transaction, can be included in, or can include, an electronic mail (e-mail) message, an instant message, a text message, or any other suitable message, electronic, digital, or otherwise, or other electronic transmission.", "In a preferred embodiment, the photograph, picture, and/or video clip, and/or the voice recording, and/or voice print, of the individual involved in the transaction, can also be included in the body of the message containing the information or data sent, such as in the body of the message, or the respective photograph, picture, and/or video clip, and/or the voice recording, and/or voice print, of the individual involved in the transaction, can be, or can be included in, an attachment to the message.", "The account holder can then, at step 132, or at any other time, review the information in the message, including viewing or reviewing the image, digital copy, photograph, or picture, of the respective document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or other entity, involved in, used in, or related to, the banking transaction, or viewing or reviewing the photograph, picture, and/or video clip, and/or the voice recording and/or voice print, of the individual involved in the transaction.", "The central processing computer 103 will then, at step 133, process the information and/or data pertinent to the transaction and to the particular account.", "The central processing computer 103 can also process the photograph or picture against the “file photograph” or “file picture” and/or can process the voice message against the “file voice print”.", "The central processing computer 103 may utilize any of the widely known data processing and/or software routines, which are known to those skilled in that art, in order to process transaction requests and/or authorizations involving the use of the respective account(s) and/or related card(s).", "The central processing computer 103 will process the information and/or data pertinent to the transaction in conjunction with the account information in order to determine the status of the account (i.e.", "whether any holds have been placed on the account, such as those prohibiting withdrawal(s).", "Further, the central processing computer 103 will then perform a test, at step 134, in order to determine if the transaction amount has reached and/or exceeded the amount available in the account and/or if the ATM card has been reported lost, stolen, cancelled and/or de-activated, and/or determine whether any other pre-defined, pre-selected and/or programmed limitations) and/or restriction(s) have been met, satisfied and/or reconciled.", "The central processing computer 103 can also process the photograph or picture against the “file photograph” or “file picture” and/or can process the voice message against the “file voice print” to determine if the individual is not the cardholder or other authorized individual.", "The central processing computer 103 will also perform a test in order to determine if the predetermined maximum number count of unauthorized transactions, pre-defined in the preferred embodiment to be one (1), has occurred on the account.", "The unauthorized transaction count refers to a count of the transactions which are not authorized by the account holder or account owner as will be described herein.", "The authorized transaction count (UNAUTHCT) is a variable which is pre-set to zero (0) at the time the account is opened.", "Each time an unauthorized transaction occurs, the unauthorized transaction count is incremented by one.", "Once the unauthorized transaction count reaches a pre-defined limit of, for example, one (1), although it may be pre-defined to be zero (0), the central processing computer 103 will cancel the transaction and de-activate the account and/or the ATM card.", "The central processing computer 103 will then notify the account owner.", "In this manner, the apparatus 100 will enable the central processing computer 103 of a banking and/or financial institution to cancel and/or de-activate the account and/or the ATM card, either permanently or temporarily, in cases when the account owner may have failed to respond or to reply to transaction notices, which may be the case when the account owner is not aware that the account has been charged, overdrawn, and/or that the ATM card has been lost or stolen, cancelled or de-activated, duplicated, “cloned”, or in other ways utilized without the account owner's knowledge or authorization, or when the account owner is unable to respond or reply to the transaction notices for some other reason(s).", "This feature of the present invention serves to place a transaction stop limit on the account and/or on the use of the ATM card.", "If any of the above listed conditions exist (i.e.", "account overdrawn and/or ATM card is lost, stolen, cancelled and/or de-activated), the central processing computer 103 will, at step 135, transmit a signal to the banking transaction terminal 102 indicating that the transaction is not approved and/or is not authorized.", "The banking terminal operator, or employee, or representative, may then cancel the transaction at step 136.The employee or representative may then alert the authorities and/or confiscate the ATM card.", "In the case when an ATM machine is utilized as the banking terminal 102, the ATM machine may confiscate the ATM card automatically.", "Upon the completion of step 136, the apparatus will cease operation at step 137.At step 134, if requested pursuant to a pre-existing agreement between the respective bank or financial institution and operator of the central processing computer 103, and/or if requested by the banking transaction terminal operator during the transaction, the central processing computer 103 can retrieve and transmit a “file photograph” or “file picture”, of the account owner or authorized individual or authorized individuals, to the banking transaction terminal 102 for display thereat.", "If the banking transaction terminal operator does not recognize the individual involved in the banking transaction as being the account owner or other authorized individual, then the banking transaction terminal operator can stop, void, or cancel the transaction at that moment and at step 137 and so inform the central processing computer 103 and/or the account owner by transmitting an appropriate signal or message to the central processing computer 103 or the account owner's communication device 4.If, at step 134, the central processing computer 103 determines that the account is not overdrawn or that the ATM card is not lost, stolen, cancelled or de-activated, or that the of unauthorized transactions count (UNAUTHCT) has not reached a predefined limit, and/or that pre-defined or pre-specified limitations and/or restrictions have been met, the central processing computer 103 will, at step 138, transmit a signal and/or data, containing any and/or all of the herein-described information regarding the banking transaction, including, but not limited to, information and/or data pertinent to the transaction, along with the image, digital copy, photograph, or picture, of the respective document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or other entity, involved in, used in, or related to, the banking transaction, and/or the respective photograph, picture, and/or video clip, and/or the voice recording, and/or voice print, of the individual involved in the transaction, to the communication device 104.In this regard, at step 138, a signal and/or data containing any and/or all of the above-described information regarding the transaction, including, but not limited to, information and/or data pertinent to the transaction, along with the image, digital copy, photograph, or picture, of the respective document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or any other entity, involved in, used in, or related to, the transaction, and/or the respective picture, photograph or image, video clip, and/or audio clip or voice print, of the individual involved in the transaction, can also be transmitted to, or re-transmitted to, the communication device 104, which can be any one or more of the communication devices 104 described herein, which is located at the account holder or account owner.", "At step 138, the central processing computer 103 will then also transmit respective signals and/or data, containing any and/or all of the above-described information regarding the banking transaction, including the information and/or data pertinent to the banking transaction, along with the image, digital copy, photograph, or picture, of the respective document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or other entity, involved in, used in, or related to, the banking transaction, and/or the respective photograph, picture, and/or video clip, and/or the voice recording, and/or voice print, of the individual involved in the transaction, to any one or more of the account owner's designated fax machine 105, personal computer 106, telephone 107, telephone answering machine 108, alternate telephone 109, alternate telephone answering machine 110, network computer 111, and/or alternate beeper 112 or alternate pager 113, or any other communication device.", "The signals and/or data can be transmitted to more than one of the above devices 105-113, or to any other communication device, either sequentially or simultaneously.", "The information and/or data transmitted to the communication device 104 includes information and data identifying the transaction, can include, in addition to any of the herein-described information, the information pertinent to the banking transaction, along with the image, digital copy, photograph, or picture, of the respective document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or other entity, involved in, used in, or related to, the banking transaction, and/or the respective photograph, picture, and/or video clip, and/or the voice recording, and/or voice print, of the individual involved in the transaction, and can also include the name of the bank or financial institution where the transaction is taking place, the account number and/or description, the amount of the transaction, the time of the transaction and the location (i.e.", "city, town, village, state, country etc.)", "of the transaction, as well as the photograph, picture, and/or video clip, and/or the voice recording, and/or voice print.", "The information and/or data may also include the phone number of the central processing office and/or computer servicing, and/or the banking and/or financial institution handling, the account so that the account owner may telephone same in order to authorize or cancel the transaction.", "The information and/or data may also be supplemented to include a description of the person seeking to make the transaction and the type of transaction sought (i.e.", "cash withdrawal, cashing of check, etc.).", "At step 139, the information and/or data which is transmitted from the central processing computer 103, and received at the communication device 104, is displayed to the account owner on the display device 104E of the communication device 104.The information displayed on the display device 104 includes the name of the banking and/or financial institution, the amount of the transaction, the time of the transaction and the location of the transaction.", "The information and/or data may also include the type of transaction and a description of the person seeking to make the transaction, etc.", "In an instance where the account owner has not responded earlier, the apparatus 100, at step 140, will then wait for the account owner to respond to the transmission.", "During this time, the account owner may utilize the communication device 104, which in a preferred embodiment, may be a cellular telephone, a personal digital assistant, a wireless telephone, a home computer, a personal computer, a laptop computer, a notebook computer, a netbook computer, a television, an interactive television, a digital television, a beeper, or a pager, or any of the communication devices 104 described herein, and/or a reply or two-way pager feature on the communication device 104, or any other communication device, in order to either approve or authorize the transaction or disapprove of, or void, the transaction.", "At step 140, the apparatus 100 will receive the reply or response from the account owner.", "At step 141, the central processing computer 103 will determine if the account owner has made a reply or response within the pre-defined time limit which is chosen, in the preferred embodiment, to be one (1) minute.", "The account owner may also transmit a signal via an appropriate key or button suspending use of the account or ATM card, such as when he or she may first be apprised of the fact that the account is being unlawfully accessed, or the use thereof is unauthorized, or that the ATM card has been lost or stolen.", "In instances when the communication device 104 does not have a reply feature associated with the communication device 104, or means for communicating with the central processing computer 103, the account owner may simply telephone the central processing office or processing center and/or the banking or financial institution so as to personally reply or respond to the authorization request.", "If, at step 141, it is determined that the account owner's reply or response was not made within the pre-specified time, chosen in the preferred embodiment to be one (1) minute, the central processing computer 103 will, at step 142, increment the unauthorized transaction count (UNAUTHCT) by one (1) and will, at step 143, transmit a signal and/or data to the banking transaction terminal 102 indicating that the transaction is not authorized by the account owner.", "The banking terminal operator may then, at step 144, either cancel the transaction, proceed to consummate the transaction, and/or attempt to obtain additional information or identification from the customer and/or obtain an alternate account number from which to draw against.", "The action taken by the banking transaction terminal operator may be dictated by the specific agreement in effect between the account owner and the bank or financial institution administering the accounts.", "Upon the completion of step 144, the operation of the apparatus will cease at step 145.If the account owner should reply or respond to the transaction notice at a later period, this information may then be utilized to approve of or to disapprove and/or to dispute the transaction.", "If, at step 141, it is determined that the reply or response was timely, the central processing computer 103 will, at step 146, process and identify the account owner response.", "At step 147, the central processing computer 103 will determine if the account owner has authorized the transaction.", "If the account owner's response is to cancel, to disapprove, or to not authorize, the transaction, the central processing computer 103 will, at step 148, increment the unauthorized transaction count (UNAUTHCT) by 1.At this juncture, it is important to note that the unauthorized count (UNAUTHCT) is set to zero at the time of the opening of the account.", "After the unauthorized transaction count has been incremented, the central processing computer 103 will, at step 149, transmit a signal and/or data to the banking terminal 102 which will notify and/or instruct the banking terminal operator that the transaction is not authorized and should, therefore, be cancelled or voided.", "The banking terminal operator may then cancel the transaction at step 150.The banking transaction terminal operator or the ATM machine may then confiscate the ATM card and/or alert the authorities.", "Upon the completion of step 150, the apparatus will cease operation at step 151.If, at step 147, the central processing computer 103 identifies the account owner's reply or response as being one to authorize the transaction, the central processing computer 103 will, at step 152, reset the unauthorized transaction count (UNAUTHCT) to zero (0).", "The central processing computer 103 will then, at step 153, transmit a signal and/or data to the banking terminal 102 which will notify and/or instruct the banking terminal operator, and/or the ATM machine, that the transaction is authorized and/or approved.", "In another embodiment, the account owner can also transmit an authorization message or approval message to the banking transaction terminal 102.The banking terminal operator, and/or the ATM machine, may then complete the transaction, at step 154.After the transaction has been completed at step 154, the operation of the apparatus 100 will cease at step 155.In instances when the account owner is a party to the transaction, which should typically be the case in banking and/or financial transactions, the account owner, having the communication device 104 on his or her person, may authorize the transaction at the point of the transaction.", "If the transaction is an overnight or other remotely made transaction, such as in clearing and/or account settling transactions, the account owner may authorize the transaction from his or her remote location.", "The account owner may also program and/or set the communication device 104 so as to automatically authorize or disapprove or disallow transactions.", "In this regard, the communication device 104 may be programmable so as to receive and analyze the transaction information and/or data and reply or respond to same automatically and/or with preset or programmed replies and/or responses.", "The communication device 104 may also be programmable so as to limit the amounts of transactions.", "In this regard, the account owner may provide for temporary transaction types and/or amounts.", "The communication device 104, in the preferred embodiment, is provided with a memory device for storing any of the information or data described herein as being capable of being provided by the apparatus 100 for any number of transactions so that the account owner may review his or her account activity and/or transactions which have occurred involving his or her accounts and/or ATM card.", "In this manner, the account owner may “scroll” through and/or in other ways review account activity.", "The communication device 104 may also be equipped to service more than one bank and/or financial account and/or ATM card.", "For example, any number and/or types of accounts may be serviced with or by a single communication device 104.The apparatus and method of the present invention provides for the real-time notification of banking and/or financial transactions involving various bank and/or financial accounts which also provides information regarding the transaction, along with an image, digital copy, photograph, or picture, of the respective document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or other entity, involved in, used in, or related to, the banking transaction, and which also enables an account owner to monitor, in real-time, activity involving his or her bank and/or financial accounts and/or ATM card(s).", "The apparatus and method of the present invention can be utilized in connection with providing transaction security for transactions on or involving brokerage accounts in a similar or analogous manner as described above in connection with FIGS.", "4, 5, 6A, 6B, and 6C, and as described herein in connection with FIGS.", "10, 11, 12A, 12B, and 12C.", "The apparatus and method of the present invention also provides a means and a mechanism by which to inform an account owner that his or her account is overdrawn, has been charged against and/or that his or her ATM card(s) are lost, stolen, cancelled or de-activated and/or provides an indication to the account owner of when and/or where his or her accounts are being accessed in transactions while also providing the account holder with an image, digital copy, photograph, or picture, of a respective document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or other entity, involved in, used in, or related to, the banking transaction.", "The account owner may then report the unauthorized activity, and/or the discovery of a lost or stolen ATM card, and/or cancel and/or de-activate the respective account(s) and/or ATM card(s).", "The present invention also provides a means and a mechanism by which to monitor the number of banking transactions which are unauthorized by the account holder and to determine whether or not to authorize banking transactions and/or cancel or de-activate a respective account or accounts or a card or cards associated with same.", "In the above manner, the apparatus and method of the present invention provides an apparatus and a method for preventing and/or for drastically limiting fraudulent and/or unauthorized use of bank accounts, savings accounts, checking accounts, and/or ATM accounts, and/or the account numbers corresponding thereto.", "The present invention also provides a means and a mechanism for providing an image, digital copy, photograph, or picture, of a respective image, digital copy, photograph, or picture, of the respective document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or other entity, involved in, used in, or related to, a transaction or transactions, for any number of transactions and for any number of accounts.", "In another preferred embodiment, wherein a number of banking transactions may be batch processed or otherwise processed in batches or processed in groups, the apparatus 100 can, at step 132 and/or at step 138, transmit the information and/or data pertinent to each of and/or all of the banking transactions processed in the batch processing routine, and/or the account used in same, along with the image, digital copy, photograph, or picture, of the respective document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or other entity, involved in, used in, or related to, each of the transactions, and/or the photograph, picture, and/or video clip, and/or the voice recording, and/or voice print, of the individual involved in the transaction, associated with each of the transactions, can be transmitted to the communication device 104 and the account holder or account owner can review the information as desired.", "In this regard, in another preferred embodiment, all of the herein-described information pertaining to each banking transaction processed in a batch processing of banking transactions on or involving an account or accounts, can be processed, obtained, gathered, or stored, and/or can be transmitted, in a single message, or in any number of messages, to the communication device 104 at step 132 and/or at step 138.The present invention, in an alternate embodiment, may also be utilized so as to provide authorization, notification, and/or security, for and in conjunction with, cellular and/or mobile telephone and/or communication systems wherein a cellular or mobile telephone owner and/or account owner may be notified of a transmission and/or an attempted transmission and/or telephone call made with his or her cellular or mobile telephone and/or with the telephone number and or transmission codes and/or associated signatures and/or data which corresponds to his or her cellular or mobile telephone.", "In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the present invention provides an authorization, notification, and/or security, apparatus and method which provides a notification of a transaction on or involving any one or more of the accounts described herein along with an image, a digital copy, a photograph, or a picture, of a document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or any other entity, which is offered, presented, submitted, processed, involved, or used, in or involving, or related to, a transaction on or involving a cellular telephone account, a mobile telephone, or a wireless telephone account.", "FIG.", "7 illustrates a block diagram of an alternate embodiment of the apparatus of the present invention which is utilized in conjunction with a cellular or mobile telephone (hereinafter referred to as “cellular telephone”) and/or corresponding cellular telephone account number and/or information related thereto.", "The apparatus of FIG.", "7 is denoted generally by the reference numeral 200.In FIG.", "7, the apparatus 200 consists of a cellular telephone 202 which may be any typical cellular and/or mobile telephone.", "Any other cellular and/or mobile communication device may also be utilized.", "The cellular telephone 202 includes a camera and/or a microphone, and/or any other video recording device and/or audio recording device, for obtaining a picture and/or video information and/or audio information regarding an individual engaging in a transaction with the cellular telephone 202.The cellular telephone 202 may be any of the widely used and well known cellular telephones and/or wireless or mobile communication device(s).", "In the embodiment of FIG.", "7, the cellular telephone 202 serves as the transaction terminal which is described above in conjunction with the previous embodiments.", "As is the case with cellular telephones, the cellular telephone may transmit the authorization request and/or notice to a central processing computer.", "The cellular telephone 202 may, but need not, receive authorization data and/or information from the central processing computer.", "The cellular telephone 202 may also comprise, or have associated therewith, a keypad for the manual entry of transaction information and/or data, such as the telephone number and various command codes utilized in making or placing a telephone call.", "The cellular telephone 202 may also include a scanner or other input device for obtaining an image or a digital copy of a respective a document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or any other entity, which is offered, presented, submitted, processed, involved, or used, in or involving, or related to, a transaction on or involving a respective account.", "The apparatus 200 also comprises a central processing computer 203 which services any predefined group of cellular telephones or cellular communication devices.", "For example, the central processing computer 203 may handle all cellular telephone accounts for a given telecommunications company and/or area.", "The central processing computer 203, for example, may process and maintain records of cellular telephone calls, including billing information, for any number of cellular telephones, cellular telephone accounts, and/or cellular telephone owners which or who are serviced by a particular communications company or central processing office or computer.", "The central processing computer 203 may be a mainframe computer, a mini-computer, a micro-computer, a server computer, such as those utilized in conjunction with on-line services and/or in a network environment, and/or any other suitable computer or computer system.", "The central processing computer 203 may also process accounts for any of the various cellular and/or mobile communications accounts and/or devices.", "In the preferred embodiment, the cellular telephone 202 is linked and/or connected to the central processing computer 203 via a telecommunications system, link and/or medium (hereinafter referred to as “communications system”) such as, for example, a telephone network or line.", "It is important to note that the communications system which is utilized may be any communications system and may include telecommunication systems, satellite communications systems, radio communication systems, digital communications systems, digital satellite communications systems, personal communications services communication systems as well as any other appropriate communications system.", "The cellular telephone 202 transmits signals and/or data to the central processing computer 203 as well as receives signals and/or data from the central processing computer 203.The apparatus 200 also comprises a cellular telephone owner communication device 204 which may receive signals and/or data from either or both of the cellular telephone 202 and/or the central processing computer 203.In the embodiment of FIG.", "7, the communication device 204 receives signals and data from the central processing computer 203 with said signals being transmitted via a suitable communication system.", "In the embodiment of FIG.", "7, the communications system or network utilized for transmitting signals and/or data to the communication device 204 is a wireless communication network and/or the Internet and/or the World Wide Web and the communication device 204 is a telephone signal receiving device such as a cellular telephone, a wireless telephone, a personal digital assistant, a home computer, a personal computer, a laptop computer, a notebook computer, a netbook computer, or a telephone beeper or pager.", "The communication device 204 receives the wireless telephone signals and/or data from the central processing computer 203 during the authorization procedure as will be described in more detail below.", "In the preferred embodiment, the communication device 204 is also equipped with a transmitter for transmitting signals and/or data to the central processing computer 203.In this regard, the central processing computer 203 transmits signals and/or data to the communication device 204 as well as receives signals and/or data from the communication device 204.The communication device 204 may also transmit signals and/or data directly to the cellular telephone 202 and receive signals and/or data directly from the cellular telephone 202.In the preferred embodiment, signals and/or data which are transmitted by the cellular telephone 202 are received at the central processing computer 203.The cellular telephone 202 also receives signals and/or data from the central processing computer 203.Further, in the alternate embodiment of FIG.", "7, the communication device 204 receives signals and/or data from the central processing computer 203 and transmits signals and/or data to the central processing computer 203.As noted above, the communication device 204 is a wireless device.", "In this regard, the communication device 204 or pager may be carried by the cellular telephone owner and/or be kept on and/or close to the cellular telephone owner's person so that the central processing computer 203 may transmit signals and/or data to the communication device 204 so as to communicate with the cellular telephone owner at any time.", "In the alternate embodiment of FIG.", "7, the apparatus 200 also comprises a facsimile (fax) machine 205, a personal computer 206, a telephone 207, a telephone answering machine 208, an alternate telephone 209, an alternate telephone answering machine 210, a network computer 211, an alternate beeper 212, and an alternate pager 213.The central processing computer 203 may be linked with the above fax machine 205, personal computer 206, telephone 207 and associated answering machine 208, alternate telephone 209 and associated answering machine 210, network computer 211, alternate beeper 212, and/or alternate pager 213, via any suitable communication system.", "In the preferred embodiment, a telecommunications link or telephone line or link, which may or may not be a wireless link depending on the device and/or the circumstances, is utilized in order to link the central processing computer 203 with each of the fax machine 205, the personal computer 206, the telephone 207 and associated answering machine 208, the alternate telephone 209 and associated answering machine 210, the network computer 211, the alternate beeper 212, and/or the alternate pager 213.FIG.", "8 illustrates the various components of the apparatus 200 of FIG.", "7.In FIG.", "8, the cellular telephone 202, in the preferred embodiment, comprises a central processing unit or CPU 202A, associated random access memory 202B (RAM) and read only memory 202C (ROM) devices, which are also connected to the CPU 202A, a user input device 202D, which is a typically a keypad, keyboard, mouse, reader, or scanner, or any combination of same, or other suitable input device for inputting data into the cellular telephone 202 and which is also connected to the CPU 202A, and a display device 202E for displaying information and/or data to a user or operator.", "The cellular telephone 202 also comprises a transmitter 202F for transmitting signals during normal telephone operation and/or for transmitting signals and/or data to the central processing computer 203, and/or to the communication device 204 and/or to any other device associated with the account owner or apparatus 200 if desired.", "The transmitter 202F is also connected to the CPU 202A.", "The cellular telephone 202 also comprises a receiver 202G for receiving signals during normal telephone operation and/or for receiving signals and/or data from the central processing computer 203, and from the communication device 204 and/or from any other associated device which may be utilized, if desired.", "The receiver 202G is also connected to the CPU 202A.", "The cellular telephone 202 may also comprise a printer 202H or other appropriate output device for outputting data to the user.", "The printer 202H, if utilized, is also connected to the CPU 202A.", "In the preferred embodiment, the printer 202H prints receipts corresponding to the transaction and/or information transmitted during the telephone call or transaction.", "The cellular telephone 202 also includes a camera/microphone system 2021.In the preferred embodiment, the camera/microphone system 2021 can include a camera or a video recording device which can be used to take a picture, a photograph, or a video clip of an individual or individuals involved in a use of the cellular telephone 202.In the preferred embodiment, the camera/microphone system 2021 can also include a microphone or an audio recording device which can be used to record audio information and/or the voice of an individual involved in the use of the cellular telephone 202.In a preferred embodiment, voice information can be processed by the CPU 202A in order to generate a voiceprint file of the recorded voice.", "In the preferred embodiment, the camera/microphone system 2021 is also used to take a picture or a photograph of a respective document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or any other entity, which is offered, presented, submitted, processed, involved, or used, in or involving, or related to, a transaction on or involving a respective account.", "In the preferred embodiment, the camera/microphone system 2021 can be located on the cellular telephone 202 so as to record the respective picture, photograph, or video clip, of the individual or individuals involved in the use of the cellular telephone 202, and/or so as to record the audio information and/or the voice of the individual involved in the use of the cellular telephone 202.In the preferred embodiment, the cellular telephone 202 can also include a database (not shown) which can be utilized to store information regarding uses of the cellular telephone 202.The information can include, for each of any number of uses of the cellular telephone 202, a picture, a photograph, or a video clip, of the individual or individuals involved in using the cellular telephone 202, and/or audio information, a voice message or sample, and/or a voice print, which is a digital representation of a voice message or sample, obtained from the individual involved in using the cellular telephone 202.The database of the cellular telephone 202 can also contain copies of any of the images, digital copies, photographs, or pictures, of any of the respective documents, authorization forms, authorization request forms, benefit request forms, claim forms, drafts, bank drafts, deposit forms, withdrawal forms, checks, forms, receipts, request forms, or any other entities, which have been or which were offered, presented, submitted, processed, involved, or used, in or involving, or related to, a transaction or transactions on or involving any of the accounts serviced by the apparatus 200.In FIG.", "8, the central processing computer 203, in the preferred embodiment, comprises a central processing unit or CPU 203A, associated random access memory 203B (RAM) and read only memory 203C (ROM) devices, which are connected to the CPU 203A, a user input device 203D, which is a keypad or any other suitable input device for inputting data into the central processing computer 203 and which is also connected to the CPU 203A and a display device 203E for displaying information and/or data to a user or operator.", "The central processing computer 203 also comprises a transmitter(s) 203F for transmitting signals and/or data to the cellular telephone 202 and to the communication device 204 and/or to any other device which may be utilized and/or to any one or more of the fax machine 205, personal computer 206, telephone 207 and associated answering machine 208, alternate telephone 209 and associated answering machine 210, network computer 211, alternate beeper 212, and/or alternate pager 213.The transmitter(s) 203F is also connected to the CPU 203A.", "The central processing computer 203 also comprises a receiver(s) 203G for receiving signals and/or data from the cellular telephone 202 and from the communication device 204 and/or from any other suitable device which may be utilized in conjunction with the apparatus 200.The receiver(s) 203G is also connected to the CPU 203A.", "The central processing computer 203 also comprises a database(s) 203H which contains account information and data pertaining to the cellular telephone owner(s) and/or account(s).", "The database 203H contains information about the cellular telephone owner, the telephone number, etc., and any other information and/or data necessary to the manage and/or process an account and/or account transaction as described herein.", "The database 203H may also contain information regarding any limitations and/or restrictions placed on the cellular telephone and/or the use thereof.", "The database 203H is also connected to the CPU 203A.", "The central processing computer 203 also comprises a printer 2031 or other appropriate output device for outputting information and/or data to a user or operator.", "The database 203H can also include or store information regarding uses of the cellular telephone 202 processed by the central processing computer 203 for any cellular telephone account(s) or wireless telephone account(s) serviced by the central processing computer 203.The information can include, for each of any number of uses of a cellular telephone 202 for each or any number of cellular telephone account(s) or wireless telephone account(s), a picture, a photograph, or a video clip, of the individual or individuals involved in using the cellular telephone 202, and/or audio information, a voice message or sample, and/or a voice print, which is a digital representation of a voice message or sample, obtained from the individual involved in using the cellular telephone 202, for each of any number of uses of cellular telephone 202 for any number of cellular telephone account(s) or wireless telephone account(s) processed by the central processing computer 203.For example, for any given cellular telephone account or wireless telephone account, the central processing computer 103 can store information for any number of uses of a cellular telephone 202 occurring on the respective account.", "In this manner, a picture, a photograph, or a video clip, of the individual or individuals involved in using a cellular telephone 202 on a cellular telephone account or wireless telephone account, and/or audio information, a voice message or sample, and/or a voice print, which is a digital representation of a voice message or sample, obtained from the individual involved in using a cellular telephone on a cellular or wireless telephone account, can be stored for any number of uses of a cellular telephone 202 on a cellular telephone account or wireless telephone account.", "The database 203H of the central processing computer 203 can also contain copies of any of the images, digital copies, photographs, or pictures, of any of the respective documents, authorization forms, authorization request forms, benefit request forms, claim forms, drafts, bank drafts, deposit forms, withdrawal forms, checks, forms, receipts, request forms, or any other entities, which have been or which were offered, presented, submitted, processed, involved, or used, in or involving, or related to, a transaction or transactions on or involving any of the accounts serviced by the apparatus 200.It is envisioned that a cellular or wireless telephone account holder, or other authorized individual, can submit a photograph or picture or his or her face which can be stored in the database 203H as a “file photograph” or a “file picture” associated with the respective account.", "In a preferred embodiment, and “file photograph” or a “file picture” is stored as a digital file.", "It is also envisioned that the cellular or wireless telephone account holder or other authorized individual can also submit a pre-recorded voice message which can be digitized into a voice print which can be stored as a “file voice print”.", "In processing a transaction involving or use of a cellular or wireless telephone account, a respective checking account, savings account, and/or automated teller machine account, the central processing computer 203 can process a picture, a photograph, or a video clip, of the individual or individuals using the cellular or wireless telephone account, and/or audio information, a voice message or sample, and/or a voice print, obtained from the individual using the cellular or wireless telephone account using the respective “file photograph”, “file picture”, and/or “file voice print”, and/or can provide the “file photograph”, “file picture”, and/or “file voice print”, to the communication device 204 for use in allowing the cellular or wireless telephone account holder to verify that the use of the cellular or wireless telephone account is authorized.", "In FIG.", "8, the communication device 204, in the preferred embodiment, comprises a central processing unit or CPU 204A, associated random access memory 204B (RAM) and read only memory 204C (ROM) devices, which also connected to the CPU 204A, a user input device 204D, which is a keypad or a plurality of keys and/or switches for inputting data into the communication device 204 and which is also connected to the CPU 204A, and a display device 204E, for displaying information and/or data to the cellular telephone owner, and a database 204F, which are also connected to the CPU 204A.", "The communication device 204 also comprises a receiver 204G for receiving signals and/or data from the central processing computer 203 and which is also connected to the CPU 204A, a transmitter 204H for transmitting signals and/or data to the central processing computer 203 and which is also connected to the CPU 204A.", "The communication device 204 also includes a camera/microphone system 2041.In the preferred embodiment, the camera/microphone system 2041 can include a camera or a video recording device which can be used to take a picture, a photograph, or a video clip of the cellular telephone owner.", "In the preferred embodiment, the camera/microphone system 2041 can also include a microphone or an audio recording device which can be used to record audio information and/or the voice of the cellular telephone owner.", "In a preferred embodiment, voice information can be processed by the CPU 204A in order to generate a voiceprint file of the recorded voice.", "In the preferred embodiment, the camera/microphone system 2041 can be located on or in the communication device 204 so as to record the respective picture, photograph, or video clip, of the cellular telephone owner, and/or so as to record the audio information and/or the voice of the cellular telephone owner.", "In the preferred embodiment, the database 204F can be utilized to store, for each of any number of uses of the cellular telephone 202 on the cellular telephone account or wireless telephone account, a picture, a photograph, or a video clip, of the individual or individuals involved in using the cellular telephone 202 on the cellular telephone account or wireless telephone account, and/or audio information, a voice message or sample, and/or a voice print, which is a digital representation of a voice message or sample, obtained from the individual using the cellular telephone 202 on the cellular telephone account or wireless telephone account.", "The database 204F of the communication device 204 can also contain copies of any of the images, digital copies, photographs, or pictures, of any of the respective documents, authorization forms, authorization request forms, benefit request forms, claim forms, drafts, bank drafts, deposit forms, withdrawal forms, checks, forms, receipts, request forms, or any other entities, which have been or which were offered, presented, submitted, processed, involved, or used, in or involving, or related to, a transaction or transactions on or involving any of the accounts serviced by the apparatus 200.In the preferred embodiment, the communication device 204 which is utilized is a cellular telephone, a personal digital assistant, a wireless telephone, a home computer, a personal computer, a laptop computer, a notebook computer, a netbook computer, an interactive television, and/or pager with a reply feature and/or device, or any of the other devices described-herein as being utilized as a communication device.", "A two-way pager and/or pager systems may also be utilized for implementing the respective components, and/or systems in the communication device 204/central processing computer 203 combination and/or link.", "The apparatus 200 of the present invention, in the preferred embodiment, may be utilized in order provide cellular telephone owner and/or account owner authorization, notification and/or security measures in transactions involving cellular telephones and/or cellular telephone numbers, and any transactions involving same in the manner described below and with reference to FIGS.", "9A, 9B and 9C.", "In the preferred embodiment, the apparatus 200 of the present invention can provide an authorization, notification, and/or security, apparatus and method which provides a notification of a telephone call or a transaction involving a cellular telephone and/or a cellular telephone number, and/or in or for any transactions involving same, or any telephone call or transaction on or involving any one or more of the accounts described herein, along with an image, a digital copy, a photograph, or a picture, of a document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or any other entity, which is offered, presented, submitted, processed, involved, or used, in or involving, or related to, a telephone call or a transaction on or involving a cellular telephone account, a cellular telephone, a cellular telephone number, a mobile telephone account, a wireless telephone account, or any other telephone account or telephone number associated with same, or any other telephone account or telephone number.", "In this manner, the apparatus and method of the present invention may be utilized to obtain cellular telephone owner and/or account owner authorization in a transaction involving cellular telephones and/or cellular telephone numbers.", "FIGS.", "9A, 9B and 9C illustrate the operation of the apparatus 200 of FIG.", "7 in flow diagram form.", "It is important to note, with regards to the apparatus 200 of FIG.", "7, that the cellular/telephone replaces the transaction terminal of the previously described embodiments.", "With reference to FIGS.", "9A, 9B and 9C, the operation of the apparatus 200 commences at step 230 when the cellular telephone 202 is utilized to make a cellular telephone call and/or transaction, or when a document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or any other entity, is offered, presented, transmitted, submitted, processed, involved, or used, in or involving, or related to, a telephone call or a transaction.", "The cellular telephone 202 will activate the apparatus 200, at step 231, with the initiation of the cellular telephone call, and/or in any other typical manner, such as when a cellular telephone is utilized to gain access to the telephone network so that the calling connection may be established via the cellular communications network and/or the cell site.", "In the case of a document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or any other entity, is offered, presented, transmitted, submitted, processed, involved, or used, in or involving, or related to, the telephone call or the transaction, an image or a digital copy of the respective document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or any other entity, offered, presented, transmitted, submitted, processed, involved, or used, in or involving, or related to, the telephone call or the transaction, can be obtained, scanned, or generated, and/or stored, by or in cellular telephone 202 using the user input device 202D of the cellular telephone 202 or other suitable device, or a photograph or a picture of the respective document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or any other entity, offered, presented, transmitted, submitted, processed, involved, or used, in or involving, or related to, the telephone call or the transaction, can obtained, taken, recorded, or generated, or stored, in or by the point-of-sale terminal 2 using the camera/microphone system 2021 of the cellular telephone 202.In another preferred embodiment, at step 231, the individual using the cellular telephone will also be requested or instructed to look into, or pose for, the camera of the camera/microphone system 2021 so that a photograph, a picture, or a video clip, can be taken of the individual's face.", "At step 231, the individual will also be requested or instructed to recite a predetermined voice message into the microphone of the camera/microphone system 2021, so that a voice recording or a voice print can be obtained.", "The pre-determined voice message can be any appropriate message such as “My name is Raymond Joao” or “This is my cellular phone”, or any other appropriate message.", "In a preferred embodiment, the voice message should be the same as that voice message for which a voice print was previously submitted for storage at the central processing computer 203.Upon the making of the cellular telephone call, at step 231, the cellular telephone 202 will transmit data and/or information, which identifies the calling telephone, along with the image, digital copy, photograph, or picture, of the respective document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or any other entity, offered, presented, transmitted, submitted, processed, involved, or used, in or involving, or related to, the telephone call or the transaction, and/or the photograph, picture, and/or video clip, and/or the voice recording, and/or voice print, of the individual involved in the transaction, to the central processing computer 203 which services the particular cellular telephone or cellular telephone network, so that appropriate billing and/or accounting of telephone usage may be noted and/or processed.", "The cellular telephone 202 will also, at step 231, transmit the data or information pertinent to the transaction, along with the image, digital copy, photograph, or picture, of the respective document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or any other entity, offered, presented, transmitted, submitted, processed, involved, or used, in or involving, or related to, the telephone call or the transaction, and/or the photograph, picture, and/or video clip, and/or the voice recording, and/or voice print, of the individual involved in the transaction, to the central processing computer 203.In the preferred embodiment, the central processing computer for the particular cellular telephone and/or cellular telephone network is the central processing computer 203.In a preferred embodiment, at step 231, the information and/or data pertinent to the use of the cellular telephone or the transaction, along with the image, digital copy, photograph, or picture, of the respective document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or any other entity, offered, presented, transmitted, submitted, processed, involved, or used, in or involving, or related to, the telephone call or the transaction, and/or the photograph, picture, and/or video clip, and/or the voice recording, and/or voice print, of the individual involved in the transaction, can also be transmitted to the communication device 204 to inform the cellular telephone owner and to provide him or her with any or all of the above-described information.", "The information and/or data pertinent to the use of the cellular telephone or the transaction, along with the image, digital copy, photograph, or picture, of the respective document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or any other entity, offered, presented, transmitted, submitted, processed, involved, or used, in or involving, or related to, the telephone call or the transaction, and/or the photograph, picture, and/or video clip, and/or the voice recording, and/or voice print, of the individual involved in the transaction, can thereafter be provided to the cellular telephone owner via the communication device 204.At any time, if the cellular telephone owner determines that the use of the cellular telephone or the cellular telephone account is a fraudulent or an unauthorized use, or that the individual is not an individual authorized for using the cellular telephone or the cellular telephone account, the cellular telephone owner can transmit an unauthorized message from the communication device to the central processing computer 203 so as to stop, cancel, or prevent, the use of the cellular telephone or the cellular telephone account.", "At step 231, the information regarding the telephone call or the transaction, along with the image, digital copy, photograph, or picture, of the respective document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or any other entity, offered, presented, transmitted, submitted, processed, involved, or used, in or involving, or related to, the telephone call or the transaction, and/or the photograph, picture, and/or video clip, and/or the voice recording, and/or voice print, of the individual involved in the transaction, can also be stored in the central processing computer 203 and, in particular, in the database 203H, and can be retrieved at any time by any authorized individual.", "In a preferred embodiment, the image, digital copy, photograph, or picture, of the respective document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or any other entity, offered, presented, transmitted, submitted, processed, involved, or used, in or involving, or related to, the telephone call or the transaction, can be in the body of a message containing the information or data sent, such as in the body of the message, or the image, digital copy, photograph, or picture, of the respective document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or any other entity, offered, presented, transmitted, submitted, processed, involved, or used, in or involving, or related to, the telephone call or the transaction, can be, or can be included in, an attachment to the message.", "In a preferred embodiment, the message, or the information or data pertinent to the telephone call or the transaction, can be included in, or can include, an electronic mail (e-mail) message, an instant message, a text message, or any other suitable message, electronic, digital, or otherwise, or any other electronic transmission.", "In a preferred embodiment, the photograph, picture, and/or video clip, and/or the voice recording, and/or voice print, of the individual involved in the transaction, can also be in the body of the message containing the information or data sent, such as in the body of the message, or the respective photograph, picture, and/or video clip, and/or the voice recording, and/or voice print, of the individual involved in the transaction, can be, or can be included in, an attachment to the message.", "The account owner can then, at step 231, or at any other time, review the information in the message, including viewing or reviewing the image, digital copy, photograph, or picture, of the respective document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or any other entity, offered, presented, transmitted, submitted, processed, involved, or used, in or involving, or related to, the telephone call or the transaction, or viewing or reviewing the photograph, picture, and/or video clip, and/or the voice recording, of the individual involved in the telephone call or the transaction.", "At step 232, the central processing computer will receive and store the data and/or information which is transmitted by the cellular telephone 202.At step 233, the central processing computer 203 will process the data and/or information which is received from the cellular telephone 202 and/or from the communication device 204.The central processing computer 203 can also process the photograph or picture against the “file photograph” or “file picture” and/or can process the voice message against the “file voice print”.", "The central processing computer 203 may utilize any of the widely known data processing and/or software routines, which are known to those skilled in that art, in order to process transaction requests and/or authorizations involving the use of the respective cellular telephone(s) and/or cellular communication device, and/or cellular telephone number.", "At step 234, the central processing computer 203 will perform a test in order to determine if the cellular telephone is lost, stolen, cancelled or de-activated.", "If the cellular telephone is determined to be lost, stolen, cancelled or de-activated, the central processing computer 203 will, at step 235, block the telephone call or terminate the call if it has already been connected.", "The central processing computer 203 will then, at step 236, cancel and/or de-activate the cellular telephone number or account.", "The central processing computer 203 will then, at step 237, notify the cellular telephone owner that his or her cellular telephone has been cancelled and/or de-activated.", "The operation of the apparatus will then cease at step 238.If, at step 234, the central processing computer 203 determines that the cellular telephone is not lost, stolen, cancelled or de-activated, the central processing computer 203 will, at step 239, transmit a signal and/or data, containing any and/or all of the above-described information regarding the use of the cellular telephone or the cellular telephone account, including, but not limited to, information and/or data pertinent to the use of the cellular telephone or the cellular telephone account or the transaction, along with the image, digital copy, photograph, or picture, of the respective document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or any other entity, offered, presented, transmitted, submitted, processed, involved, or used, in or involving, or related to, the telephone call or the transaction, and/or the respective photograph, picture, and/or video clip, and/or the voice recording, and/or voice print, of the individual involved in the use of the cellular telephone, the cellular telephone account, the telephone call, or the transaction, can also be transmitted to, or re-transmitted to, the communication device 204, which can be any one or more of the communication devices 204 described herein, which is located at the cellular telephone owner.", "At step 240, the communication device 204 will receive and display the data and/or information which is transmitted from the central processing computer 203.The displayed information, in the preferred embodiment, will include the number called, the time of the call, and the duration of the call, any and/or all of the above-described information regarding the use of the cellular telephone or the cellular telephone account, and can also include, in addition to the herein-described information, information pertinent to the use of the cellular telephone or the cellular telephone account, the telephone call, or the transaction, along with the image, digital copy, photograph, or picture, of the respective document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or any other entity, offered, presented, transmitted, submitted, processed, involved, or used, in or involving, or related to, the telephone call or the transaction, and/or the respective photograph, picture, video clip, voice recording, or voice print, of the individual involved in the use of the cellular telephone, the cellular telephone account, the telephone call, or the transaction, in real-time or otherwise.", "The information will remain displayed during the duration of the call so that the cellular telephone owner will be notified continuously throughout the duration of the call.", "In an instance where the cellular telephone owner has not responded earlier, at step 241, the central processing computer 203 will await the cellular telephone owner's reply or response.", "During this time, the cellular telephone owner may utilize the communication device 204, which can be a cellular telephone, a personal digital assistant, a wireless telephone, a home computer, a personal computer, a laptop computer, a notebook computer, a netbook computer, a television, an interactive television, a digital television, a beeper, or a pager, or any of the communication devices 204 described herein, and/or a reply or two-way pager feature on the communication device 204, or any other communication device, in order to respond.", "If the cellular telephone owner replies or responds, the reply or response data will also be transmitted to, and received by, the central processing computer 203 at step 241.At step 242, the central processing computer 203 will then determine if the cellular telephone owner's response was made within a pre-defined time period, which is chosen, in the preferred embodiment, to be one (1) minute.", "If, at step 242, it is determined that the cellular telephone owner did not reply or respond within the pre-defined time limit, the central processing computer will, at step 243, increment the unauthorized transaction count (UNAUTHCT) by one (1).", "The central processing computer 203 will then, depending upon pre-defined instructions of the cellular telephone owner, at step 244, either allow the telephone call to continue, such as for a pre-defined duration of one (1) minute, so as to allow for cases wherein an emergency condition exists, or terminate the telephone call immediately.", "The decision to either allow the telephone call to continue or to terminate the telephone call can be made by the cellular telephone owner and/or by the cellular telephone service provider.", "Upon the completion of step 244, the central processing computer 203 will then, at step 245, cancel and/or de-activate the cellular telephone.", "Thereafter, the central processing computer 203 will, at step 246, notify the cellular telephone owner that the cellular telephone number or account has been cancelled and/or de-activated.", "Upon completion of step 246, the apparatus will cease operation at step 247.If, at step 242, the cellular telephone owner did respond in time, the central processing computer 203 will process the reply or response data and/or information, at step 248.The central processing computer 203 will then determine, at step 249, if the cellular telephone call is authorized by the cellular telephone owner.", "If, at step 249, the cellular telephone call is unauthorized, the central processing computer will, at step 250, increment the unauthorized transaction count (UNAUTHCT) by one (1).", "The central processing computer 203 will then, at step 251, terminate the telephone call immediately.", "Upon the completion of step 251, the central processing computer 203 will then, at step 252, cancel and/or de-activate the cellular telephone.", "Thereafter, the central processing computer 203 will, at step 253, notify the cellular telephone owner that the cellular telephone has been cancelled and/or de-activated.", "Upon completion of step 253, the apparatus will cease operation at step 254.If, at step 249, the central processing computer 203 identifies the cardholder reply or response as being one to authorize the cellular telephone call, the central processing computer 203 will, at step 255, reset the unauthorized transaction count (UNAUTHCT) to zero (0).", "An unauthorized transaction count (UNAUTHCT) of 0 will signify that any string of unauthorized transactions has now been broken by the cellular telephone owner.", "The central processing computer 203 will then, at step 256, allow the cellular telephone call to continue uninterrupted.", "Upon the completion of the cellular telephone call, at step 256, the apparatus 200 will cease operation at step 257.In instances when the cellular telephone owner is a party to the cellular telephone call and/or transaction, he or she, having the communication device 204 on his or her person, may authorize the call and/or transaction at his or her present location.", "If the cellular telephone owner has lent out the cellular telephone, he or she may authorize the cellular telephone call and/or transaction from his or her remote location.", "The cellular telephone owner may also program and/or set the communication device 204 to automatically authorize or disapprove or disallow cellular telephone calls and/or transactions with said selective authorizations being made as to time of day, calling areas, numbers called, and/or call and/or transaction duration.", "In this regard, the communication device 204 may be programmable so as to receive and analyze the cellular telephone call information and/or data and reply or respond to same automatically and/or with preset or programmed replies and/or responses.", "The communication device 204 may also be programmable so as to limit the number of cellular telephone calls made from the cellular telephone and/or with the cellular telephone number.", "The communication device 204, in the preferred embodiment, is provided with a memory device for storing any number of cellular telephone calls and/or transactions along with any of the information or data described herein as being capable of being provided by the apparatus 200 so that the cellular telephone owner may review his or her account activity and/or cellular calls and/or transactions made and/or which have occurred involving his or her cellular telephone.", "In this manner, the cellular telephone owner may “scroll” through and/or in other ways review account activity.", "The communication device 204 may also be equipped to service more than one cellular telephone and/or mobile communication device(s).", "The apparatus and method of the present invention provides for the real-time notification of cellular and/or mobile telephone usage which also provides information regarding the telephone call or the transaction, along with the image, digital copy, photograph, or picture, of the respective document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or any other entity, offered, presented, transmitted, submitted, processed, involved, or used, in or involving, or related to, the telephone call or the transaction, and which also enables a cellular telephone owner and/or account owner to monitor, in real-time, activity involving his or her cellular telephone and/or cellular telephone number.", "The apparatus and method of the present invention also provides a means and a mechanism by which to inform a cellular telephone owner that the cellular telephone is lost or stolen, and/or to provide notification to the cellular telephone owner that his or her cellular telephone number is being utilized in calls and/or transactions while also providing the account owner with an image, digital copy, photograph, or picture, of the respective document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or any other entity, offered, presented, transmitted, submitted, processed, involved, or used, in or involving, or related to, the telephone call or the transaction, such as when a cellular telephone has been illegally “cloned”, is being used in an unauthorized or fraudulent manner, or when any other fraud is being perpetrated involving the cellular telephone account or the cellular telephone.", "The cellular telephone owner may then report the cellular telephone lost or stolen and/or cancel and/or de-activate the cellular telephone number and/or account.", "The present invention also provides a means and a mechanism by which to monitor the number of cellular or mobile telephone calls and/or transactions which are unauthorized by the cellular telephone owner and to determine whether or not to de-activate the cellular telephone and/or the cellular telephone number and/or account.", "The present invention also provides a means and a mechanism for providing an image, digital copy, photograph, or picture, of the respective document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or any other entity, offered, presented, transmitted, submitted, processed, involved, or used, in or involving, or related to, the telephone call or the transaction, for any number of transactions on or involving a cellular telephone account, a mobile telephone account, a cellular telephone, a mobile telephone, or a cellular telephone number or a mobile telephone number, for any number of accounts.", "In another preferred embodiment, wherein a number of transactions may be batch processed or otherwise processed in batches or processed in groups, the apparatus 200 can, at step 231 and/or at step 239, transmit the information and/or data pertinent to each of and/or all of the transactions, and/or the cellular telephone account, cellular telephone, or cellular telephone number, used in same, along with the image, digital copy, photograph, or picture, of the respective document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or other entity, involved in, used in, or related to, each of the transactions, and/or the photograph, picture, and/or video clip, and/or the voice recording, and/or voice print, of the individual involved in the transaction, associated with each of the transactions, can be transmitted to the communication device 204 and the account owner or account holder can review the information as desired.", "In this regard, in another preferred embodiment, all of the herein-described information pertaining to each transaction processed in a batch processing of transactions on or involving a cellular telephone account, a cellular telephone, or a cellular telephone number, or any other account, can be processed, obtained, gathered, or stored, and/or can be transmitted, in a single message, or in any number of messages, to the communication device 204 at step 231 and/or at step 239.In the above manner, the apparatus and method of the present invention provides an apparatus and a method to prevent and/or to drastically limit fraudulent and/or unauthorized use of, and/or the “cloning” of, cellular telephones and/or the unauthorized use of cellular telephone numbers.", "In this regard, the apparatus 300 of the present invention provides an authorization, notification, and/or security, apparatus and method which provides a notification of a telephone call or a transaction, on or involving a cellular telephone account, a cellular telephone, or a cellular telephone number, or a wireless or mobile telephone account or number, for any number of cellular telephone accounts, cellular telephones, or cellular telephone numbers, or other accounts, along with an image, digital copy, photograph, or picture, of a respective document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or any other entity, offered, presented, transmitted, submitted, processed, involved, or used, in or involving, or related to, the telephone call or the transaction.", "The apparatus and method of the present invention, in another alternate embodiment, may be utilized so as to provide authorization, notification, and/or security, in transactions involving credit card accounts, credit accounts, charge card accounts, charge accounts, debit card accounts, debit accounts, bank accounts, checking accounts, savings accounts, brokerage accounts, pension accounts, individual retirement accounts (IRAs), self-employed pension (SEP) accounts, “smart card accounts, currency card accounts, healthcare accounts, Medicare accounts, Medicaid accounts, employee benefits accounts, cafeteria accounts, spending accounts, subscription accounts for any goods, products, or services, insurance accounts, healthcare insurance accounts, healthcare spending accounts, life insurance accounts, disability insurance accounts, tuition accounts, pharmacy accounts, credit report accounts, cable television accounts, digital television accounts, satellite television accounts, social security accounts, liability insurance accounts, lease insurance accounts, ticket accounts, telephone calling card accounts, utility accounts, electrical utility accounts, gas utility accounts, fuel oil utility accounts, accounts monitoring use of official seals, accounts monitoring use of private, individual, and/or organizational, seals or access codes, security access accounts, computer access code accounts, facility access accounts, facility security accounts, financial accounts, electronic money accounts, electronic cash accounts, communication accounts, telephone accounts, wireless communication device accounts, non-wireless communication device accounts, cellular communication device accounts, cellular telephone accounts, Internet accounts, Internet service provider accounts, electronic signature accounts, e-mail accounts, membership accounts, club membership accounts, entertainment membership accounts, entertainment tickets accounts, sports tickets accounts, theatre tickets accounts, concert or opera tickets accounts, consumer or purchaser memberships accounts, sports club membership accounts, health club membership accounts, merchant credit accounts for customers, merchant accounts, association membership accounts, professional association membership accounts, trade association membership accounts, and/or any other accounts, as well as any cards, devices, and/or other entities, which can be used with or which can be associated with any of the herein-described accounts, wherein an account holder or other individual authorized to use the account can be notified of a transaction and/or attempted transaction on or involving the account.", "In another preferred embodiment, the apparatus and method of the present invention provides an authorization, notification, and/or security, apparatus and method which provides a notification of a transaction on or involving any one or more of the accounts described herein along with along with an image, a digital copy, a photograph, or a picture, of a document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or any other entity, which is offered, presented, submitted, processed, involved, or used, in or involving, or related to, a transaction on or involving a credit card account, a credit account, a charge card account, a charge account, a debit card account, a debit account, a bank account, a checking account, a savings account, a brokerage account, a pension account, an individual retirement account (IRAs), a self-employed pension (SEP) account, a “smart card account, a currency card account, a healthcare account, a Medicare account, a Medicaid account, an employee benefits plan, a cafeteria plan, a spending plan, a subscription for any goods, products, or services, an insurance policy, plan, or program, a healthcare insurance policy, plan, or program, a healthcare spending plan or program, a life insurance policy, plan, or program, a disability insurance policy, plan, or program, a tuition or tuition reimbursement plan or program, a pharmacy insurance policy, plan, or program, a credit report plan or program, a cable television plan or program, a digital television plan or program, a satellite television plan or program, a social security plan or program, a liability insurance policy, plan, or program, a lease insurance policy, plan, or program, a ticket plan or program, a telephone calling card plan or program, a utility plan or program, an electrical utility plan or program, gas utility plan or program, a fuel oil utility plan or program, a plan or program for monitoring use of an official seal, a plan or program for monitoring use of a private, individual, and/or organizational, seal or access code, a security access plan or program, an access code plan or program, a facility access plan or program, a facility security plan or program, Internet plan or program, an Internet service provider plan or program, an electronic signature, an e-mail account, a membership account, a club membership account, an entertainment membership account, an entertainment tickets account, a sports tickets account, a theatre tickets account, a concert or opera tickets account, a consumer or purchaser membership account, a sports club membership account, a health club membership account, a merchant credit account for customers, a merchant account, an association membership account, a professional association membership account, a trade association membership account, or any other account.", "In this alternate embodiment, an account can also be associated with, established, or created, to correspond to, or to be the same as, a credit card account, a credit account, a charge card account, a charge account, a debit card account, a debit account, a bank account, a checking account, a savings account, a brokerage account, a pension account, an individual retirement account (IRAs), a self-employed pension (SEP) account, a “smart card accounts, a currency card accounts, a healthcare accounts, a Medicare account, a Medicaid account, an employee benefits plan, a cafeteria plan, a spending plan, a subscription for any goods, products, or services, an insurance policy, plan, or program, a healthcare insurance policy, plan, or program, a healthcare spending plan or program, a life insurance policy, plan, or program, a disability insurance policy, plan, or program, a tuition or tuition reimbursement plan or program, a pharmacy insurance policy, plan, or program, a credit report plan or program, a cable television plan or program, a digital television plan or program, a satellite television plan or program, a social security plan or program, a liability insurance policy, plan, or program, a lease insurance policy, plan, or program, a ticket plan or program, a telephone calling card plan or program, a utility plan or program, an electrical utility plan or program, gas utility plan or program, a fuel oil utility plan or program, a plan or program for monitoring use of an official seal, a plan or program for monitoring use of a private, individual, and/or organizational, seal or access code, a security access plan or program, an access code plan or program, a facility access plan or program, a facility security plan or program, Internet plan or program, an Internet service provider plan or program, an electronic signature, an e-mail account, a membership account, a club membership account, an entertainment membership account, an entertainment tickets account, a sports tickets account, a theatre tickets account, a concert or opera tickets account, a consumer or purchaser membership account, a sports club membership account, a health club membership account, a merchant credit account for customers, a merchant account, an association membership account, a professional association membership account, a trade association membership account, or any other account.", "For the sake of simplicity, the apparatus of the embodiment described herein with regards to FIGS.", "10, 11, 12A, 12B, and 12B, will be described as being utilized in connection with, or in conjunction with, an “account”, with it being understood that the “account” can be any one of the herein-described credit card accounts, credit accounts, charge card accounts, charge accounts, debit card accounts, debit accounts, bank accounts, checking accounts, savings accounts, brokerage accounts, pension accounts, individual retirement accounts (IRAs), self-employed pension (SEP) accounts, “smart card accounts, currency card accounts, healthcare accounts, Medicare accounts, Medicaid accounts, employee benefits accounts, cafeteria accounts, spending accounts, subscription accounts for any goods, products, or services, insurance accounts, healthcare insurance accounts, healthcare spending accounts, life insurance accounts, disability insurance accounts, tuition accounts, pharmacy accounts, credit report accounts, cable television accounts, digital television accounts, satellite television accounts, social security accounts, liability insurance accounts, lease insurance accounts, ticket accounts, telephone calling card accounts, utility accounts, electrical utility accounts, gas utility accounts, fuel oil utility accounts, accounts monitoring use of official seals, accounts monitoring use of private, individual, and/or organizational, seals or access codes, security access accounts, computer access code accounts, facility access accounts, facility security accounts, financial accounts, electronic money accounts, electronic cash accounts, communication accounts, telephone accounts, wireless communication device accounts, non-wireless communication device accounts, cellular communication device accounts, cellular telephone accounts, Internet accounts, Internet service provider accounts, electronic signature accounts, e-mail accounts, membership accounts, club membership accounts, entertainment membership accounts, entertainment tickets accounts, sports tickets accounts, theatre tickets accounts, concert or opera tickets accounts, consumer or purchaser memberships accounts, sports club membership accounts, health club membership accounts, merchant credit accounts for customers, merchant accounts, association membership accounts, professional association membership accounts, trade association membership accounts, or any other accounts, as well as any cards, devices, and/or other entities, which can be used with or which can be associated with any of the herein-described accounts, wherein an account holder or other individual authorized to use the account can be notified of a transaction and/or attempted transaction on or involving the account.", "The “account” described in connection with the description of the apparatus and method of FIGS.", "10, 11, 12A, 12B, and 12C, can be any one of the herein-described credit card account, a credit account, a charge card account, a charge account, a debit card account, a debit account, a bank account, a checking account, a savings account, a brokerage account, a pension account, an individual retirement account (IRAs), a self-employed pension (SEP) account, a “smart card account, a currency card account, a healthcare account, a Medicare account, a Medicaid account, an employee benefits plan, a cafeteria plan, a spending plan, a subscription for any goods, products, or services, an insurance policy, plan, or program, a healthcare insurance policy, plan, or program, a healthcare spending plan or program, a life insurance policy, plan, or program, a disability insurance policy, plan, or program, a tuition or tuition reimbursement plan or program, a pharmacy insurance policy, plan, or program, a credit report plan or program, a cable television plan or program, a digital television plan or program, a satellite television plan or program, a social security plan or program, a liability insurance policy, plan, or program, a lease insurance policy, plan, or program, a ticket plan or program, a telephone calling card plan or program, a utility plan or program, an electrical utility plan or program, gas utility plan or program, a fuel oil utility plan or program, a plan or program for monitoring use of an official seal, a plan or program for monitoring use of a private, individual, and/or organizational, seal or access code, a security access plan or program, an access code plan or program, a facility access plan or program, a facility security plan or program, Internet plan or program, an Internet service provider plan or program, an electronic signature, an e-mail account, a membership account, a club membership account, an entertainment membership account, an entertainment tickets account, a sports tickets account, a theatre tickets account, a concert or opera tickets account, a consumer or purchaser membership account, a sports club membership account, a health club membership account, a merchant credit account for customers, a merchant account, an association membership account, a professional association membership account, a trade association membership account, and/or any other account.", "FIG.", "10 illustrates a block diagram of a preferred embodiment of the apparatus of the present invention, which is utilized in conjunction with a credit card account, a credit account, a charge card account, a charge account, a debit card account, a debit account, a bank account, a checking account, a savings account, a brokerage account, a pension account, an individual retirement account (IRAs), a self-employed pension (SEP) account, a Medicare account, a Medicaid account, an employee benefits plan, a cafeteria plan, a spending plan, a subscription for any goods, products, or services, an insurance policy, plan, or program, a healthcare insurance policy, plan, or program, a healthcare spending plan or program, a life insurance policy, plan, or program, a disability insurance policy, plan, or program, a tuition or tuition reimbursement plan or program, a pharmacy insurance policy, plan, or program, a credit report plan or program, a cable television plan or program, a digital television plan or program, a satellite television plan or program, a social security plan or program, a liability insurance policy, plan, or program, a lease insurance policy, plan, or program, a ticket plan or program, a telephone calling card plan or program, a utility plan or program, an electrical utility plan or program, gas utility plan or program, a fuel oil utility plan or program, a plan or program for monitoring use of an official seal, a plan or program for monitoring use of a private, individual, and/or organizational, seal or access code, a security access plan or program, an access code plan or program, a facility access plan or program, a facility security plan or program, Internet plan or program, an Internet service provider plan or program, an electronic signature, an e-mail account, a membership account, a club membership account, an entertainment membership account, an entertainment tickets account, a sports tickets account, a theatre tickets account, a concert or opera tickets account, a consumer or purchaser membership account, a sports club membership account, a health club membership account, a merchant credit account for customers, a merchant account, an association membership account, a professional association membership account, a trade association membership account, or any other account, transaction and/or authorization process.", "The apparatus of FIG.", "10 is denoted generally by the reference numeral 300.With reference to FIG.", "10, the apparatus 300 consists of a transaction device 302 which can be utilized in processing a transaction involving or on any of the herein-described credit card accounts, credit accounts, charge card accounts, charge accounts, debit card accounts, debit accounts, bank accounts, checking accounts, savings accounts, brokerage accounts, pension accounts, individual retirement accounts (IRAs), self-employed pension (SEP) accounts, “smart card accounts, currency card accounts, healthcare accounts, Medicare accounts, Medicaid accounts, employee benefits accounts, cafeteria accounts, spending accounts, subscription accounts for any goods, products, or services, insurance accounts, healthcare insurance accounts, healthcare spending accounts, life insurance accounts, disability insurance accounts, tuition accounts, pharmacy accounts, credit report accounts, cable television accounts, digital television accounts, satellite television accounts, social security accounts, liability insurance accounts, lease insurance accounts, ticket accounts, telephone calling card accounts, utility accounts, electrical utility accounts, gas utility accounts, fuel oil utility accounts, accounts monitoring use of official seals, accounts monitoring use of private, individual, and/or organizational, seals or access codes, security access accounts, computer access code accounts, facility access accounts, facility security accounts, financial accounts, electronic money accounts, electronic cash accounts, communication accounts, telephone accounts, wireless communication device accounts, non-wireless communication device accounts, cellular communication device accounts, cellular telephone accounts, Internet accounts, Internet service provider accounts, electronic signature accounts.", "The transaction device 302 includes a camera and/or a microphone, and/or any other video recording device and/or audio recording device, for obtaining a picture and/or video information and/or audio information regarding an individual engaging in a transaction involving the respective account.", "The transaction device 302 can be any of the widely used and well known devices or terminals or any suitable device or terminal which can be used for providing transaction authorization or processing for transactions on or involving any of the herein-described accounts, or any cards or other entities which are or which may be associated with, or established or created to correspond to, any of the herein-described accounts.", "The transaction device 302 can or may be utilized at the location of a respective goods or service provider, provider, account servicing business or entity, or any counterparty to a transaction involving, or pursuant to, the respective account, such as, but not limited to, a retail store, an office, a place of business, a place of operations, or any other suitable place where a transaction involving the respective account can or may occur and/or a place where the respective account can be serviced, or the transaction device 302 can or may be located at the site of the goods or service provider or vendor, provider, account servicing business or entity, or any counterparty to a transaction involving the respective account, such as in cases when a transaction involves a sale, a payment, a servicing of, or pursuant to, the respective account, or in situations where the transaction is or involves a telephone request or order, a mail request or order, and/or any other type of transaction via a communication network with any counterparty involving the respective account, including transactions made over or via the Internet and/or the World Wide Web, or any other suitable on-line or communication network or medium.", "As and for an, if the transaction involves a healthcare insurance account, the transaction device 302 can or may be located at the office of a doctor or dentist.", "If the transaction involves a request or claim pursuant to an employee benefit, the transaction device can or may be located at a location associated with an employee benefit provider of an employer.", "The transaction device 302 can also be the respective communication device used by the individual account holder or account owner in a transaction.", "In the preferred embodiment, the transaction device 302 can comprise and utilize a magnetic card reader and/or magnetic strip card reader, for reading data from the magnetic strip located on a card associated with the respective account.", "The transaction device 302 transmits an authorization request which may include the data pertaining to the particular card utilized in the transaction, the amount of the transaction, the individual involved in the transaction or associated with the respective account, or any other information, over or via a communication network or medium, to a central processing computer for processing the transaction, the transaction request, and/or the authorization request pertaining thereto.", "The transaction device 302 can also receive the authorization and/or authorization data and/or information from the central processing computer.", "A printed transaction receipt or other receipt can or may also be provided at and/or obtained via the transaction device 302, or from a peripheral device associated therewith, for printing a transaction receipt which is usually or typically signed by the account holder in acknowledging or in completing the transaction.", "The transaction device 302 may be designed to read other data besides and/or in addition to magnetic card data.", "The transaction device 302 may also comprise, or have associated therewith, a keypad for the manual entry of transaction information and/or data, such as the amount of the transaction, or any information regarding the respective account, the transaction, or any other information.", "The transaction device 302 may also be an integral component of a computer, a home computer, a personal computer, a laptop computer, a notebook computer, a netbook computer, a cash register, a point-of-sale device or terminal, or other transaction terminal or device, which may provide for the entry of transaction information and/or data.", "The transaction device 302 may also include a scanner or other input device for obtaining an image or a digital copy of a document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or other entity, which is offered, presented, submitted, processed, involved, or used, in or involving, or related to, a transaction on or involving an account or a policy (hereinafter referred to as an “account”).", "The apparatus 300 also comprises a central processing computer 303 which services any predefined group of accounts, including the respective account utilized in the transaction.", "For example, the central processing computer 303 can handle all healthcare insurance transactions or claims for a given healthcare insurance company or the central processing computer 303 can handle employee benefits transactions or requests for a given employer or for a pre-defined group of employers.", "The central processing computer 303 can also process any and/or all transactions for an account provider as well as process and/or manage account information for any of the accounts serviced by the account provider.", "The central processing computer 303 can also process transactions and/or information for or regarding any accounts, for any number of account providers, for any number of the herein-described accounts or herein-described account types.", "The central processing computer 303 can be a mainframe computer, a mini-computer, a micro-computer, a server computer, such as those utilized in conjunction with on-line services and/or in a network environment, and/or any other suitable computer or computer system.", "In the preferred embodiment, the transaction device 302 is linked and/or connected to the central processing computer 303 via a telecommunications system, link and/or medium (hereinafter referred to as “communications system”) such as, for example, a telephone network or line.", "It is important to note that the communications system which is utilized may be any communications system and may include telecommunication systems, satellite communications systems, radio communication systems, digital communications systems, digital satellite communications systems, personal communications services communication systems, the Internet and/or the World Wide Web, as well as any other appropriate communications system.", "The transaction device 302 transmits signals and/or data to the central processing computer 303 as well as receives signals and/or data from the central processing computer 303.The apparatus 300 also comprises an account holder communication device 304 which can receive signals and/or data from either or both of the transaction device 302 and/or the central processing computer 303.In the preferred embodiment of FIG.", "10, the communication device 304 receives signals and data from the central processing computer 303 and/or from the transaction device 302, with said signals being transmitted via a suitable communication system or network or combination of communication networks.", "In the preferred embodiment, the communications system or network utilized for transmitting signals and/or data to the communication device 304 is a wireless communication network and/or the Internet and/or the World Wide Web and the communication device 304 is a telephone signal receiving device such as a cellular telephone, a wireless telephone, a personal digital assistant, a home computer, a personal computer, a laptop computer, a notebook computer, a netbook computer, or a telephone beeper or pager.", "The communication device 304 receives the signals and/or data from the central processing computer 303 or from the transaction device 302 during the transaction authorization procedure as will be described in more detail below.", "In the preferred embodiment, the communication device 304 is also equipped with a transmitter for transmitting signals and/or data to the central processing computer 303 or to the transaction device 302.In this regard, the central processing computer 303 transmits signals and/or data to the communication device 304 as well as receives signals and/or data from the communication device 304.The communication device 304 may also transmit signals and/or data directly to the transaction device 302 and receive signals and/or data directly from the transaction device 302.In the preferred embodiment, the transaction device 302 transmits signals and/or data to the central processing computer 303 and receives signals and/or data from the central processing computer 303, and the transaction device 302 transmits signals and/or data to the communication device 304 and receives signals and/or data from the communication device 304.Further, in the preferred embodiment, the communication device 304 receives signals and/or data from the central processing computer 303 and transmits signals and/or data to the central processing computer 303, and the communication device 304 receives signals and/or data from the transaction device 302 and transmits signals and/or data to the transaction device 302.As noted above, the communication device 304 is a wireless device in the preferred embodiment.", "In this regard, the communication device 304 may be carried by the account holder and/or be kept on and/or close to the account holder's person so that the central processing computer 303 or the transaction device 302 may transmit signals and/or data to the communication device 304 so as to communicate with the account holder at any time.", "The communication device 304 may also be or comprise any one or more of a facsimile (fax) machine, a home computer, a personal computer, a laptop computer, a notebook computer, a netbook computer, a telephone, a telephone answering machine, an alternate telephone, an alternate telephone answering machine, a network computer, and/or an alternate beeper or pager, a cellular telephone, a wireless telephone, a personal digital assistant, or any other suitable communication device.", "The central processing computer 303 may be linked with each of the above devices via any suitable communication system or network.", "In the preferred embodiment, the apparatus 300 also comprises a facsimile (fax) machine 305, a personal computer 306, a telephone 307, a telephone answering machine 308, an alternate telephone 309, an alternate telephone answering machine 310, a network computer 311, an alternate beeper 312, and/or an alternate pager 313.The central processing computer 303 may be linked with the above fax machine 305, personal computer 306, telephone 307, associated answering machine 308, alternate telephone 309, alternate telephone answering machine 310, network computer 311, and/or alternate beeper 312 or pager 313, via any suitable communication system o network.", "In the preferred embodiment, a telecommunications link or telephone network, line or link, which may or may not be a wireless link depending on the device and/or the circumstances, can be utilized in order to link the central processing computer 303 with each of the fax machine 305, the personal computer 306, the telephone 307, the associated answering machine 308, the alternate telephone 309, alternate telephone answering machine 310, the network computer 311, or the alternate beeper 312, the alternate pager 13, or any cellular telephone, wireless telephone, personal digital assistant, or other suitable communication device.", "FIG.", "11 illustrates the various components of the apparatus 300 of FIG.", "10.In FIG.", "11, the transaction device 302, in the preferred embodiment, comprises a central processing unit or CPU 302A, a magnetic card reader 302B, which is connected to the CPU 302A, associated random access memory 302C (RAM) and read only memory 302D (ROM) devices, which are also connected to the CPU 302A, a user input device 302E, which is typically a keypad, keyboard, mouse, reader, or scanner, or any combination of same, or other suitable input device for inputting data into the transaction device 302 and which is also connected to the CPU 302A, and a display device 302F for displaying information and/or data to a user.", "The transaction device 302 also comprises a transmitter 302G for transmitting signals and/or data to the central processing computer 303, and/or to the communication device 304 and/or to any other device associated with the account holder and/or the apparatus, if desired.", "The transmitter 302G is also connected to the CPU 302A.", "The transaction device 302 also comprises a receiver 302H for receiving signals and/or data from the central processing computer 303, and from the communication device 304 and/or any other associated device which may be utilized, if desired.", "The receiver 302H is also connected to the CPU 302A.", "The transaction device 302 also comprises a printer 3021 or other appropriate output device for outputting data to the user.", "The printer 3021 is also connected to the CPU 302A.", "In the preferred embodiment, the printer 3021 prints receipts corresponding to the transaction.", "The transaction device 302 also includes a camera/microphone system 302J.", "In the preferred embodiment, the camera/microphone system 302J can include a camera or a video recording device which can be used to take a picture, a photograph, or a video clip of an individual or individuals involved in a transaction involving the respective account.", "In the preferred embodiment, the camera/microphone system 302J can also include a microphone or an audio recording device which can be used to record audio information and/or the voice of an individual involved in a transaction involving the respective account.", "In a preferred embodiment, voice information can be processed by the CPU 302A in order to generate a voiceprint file of the recorded voice.", "In the preferred embodiment, the camera/microphone system 302J is also used to take a picture or a photograph of a respective document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or other entity, which is offered, presented, submitted, processed, involved, or used, in or involving, or related to, a transaction on or involving a respective account.", "In the preferred embodiment, the camera/microphone system 302J can be located on or in the vicinity of the transaction device 302 so as to record the respective picture, photograph, or video clip, of the individual or individuals involved in a transaction, and/or so as to record the audio information and/or the voice of the individual involved in the transaction.", "In the preferred embodiment, the transaction device 302 can also include a database (not shown) which can be utilized to store information regarding transactions processed by the transaction device 302 and to store any other information described herein as being store in or at the central processing computer 303 or a database in, of, or associated with, the central processing computer as described herein.", "The information can include, for each of any number of transactions, a picture, a photograph, or a video clip, of the individual or individuals involved in a transaction, and/or audio information, a voice message or sample, and/or a voice print, which is a digital representation of a voice message or sample, obtained from the individual involved in the transaction.", "The database of the transaction device 302 can also contain copies of any of the images, digital copies, photographs, or pictures, of any of the respective documents, authorization forms, authorization request forms, benefit request forms, claim forms, drafts, bank drafts, deposit forms, withdrawal forms, checks, forms, receipts, request forms, or other entities, which have been, or which were, offered, presented, submitted, processed, involved, or used, in or involving, or related to, a transaction or transactions on or involving any of the accounts serviced by the apparatus 300.In FIG.", "11, the central processing computer 303, in the preferred embodiment, comprises a central processing unit or CPU 303A, associated random access memory 303B (RAM) and read only memory 303C (ROM) devices, which are connected to the CPU 303A, a user input device 303D, which is a keypad and/or any other suitable input device for inputting data into the central processing computer 303 and which is also connected to the CPU 303A and a display device 303E for displaying information and/or data to a user or operator.", "The central processing computer 303 also comprises a transmitter(s) 303F for transmitting signals and/or data to the transaction device 302 and to the communication device 304 and/or to any one or more of the fax machine 305, personal computer 306, telephone 307, telephone answering machine 308, alternate telephone 309, alternate telephone answering machine 310, network computer 311 and/or alternate beeper 312 or alternate pager 313.The transmitter(s) 303F is also connected to the CPU 303A.", "The central processing computer 303 also comprises a receiver(s) 303G for receiving signals and/or data from the transaction device 302 and from the communication device 304 and/or from any other suitable device which may be utilized in conjunction with the apparatus 300.The receiver(s) 303G is also connected to the CPU 303A.", "The central processing computer 303, in any and/or all of the embodiments described herein, may utilize a fax/modem and/or any other suitable computer communication device.", "The central processing computer 303 also comprises a database(s) 303H which contains account information and data pertaining to the account holders and/or to the account holders' accounts which are serviced by the central processing computer 303.The database 303H, for example, contains information about the account holder, the account holder's account number, account limits, previous activities, transactions, claims made, or purchases, etc., number of unauthorized activities, transactions, claims attempted, or purchases, made or attempted on or involving the respective account, and/or any other information and/or data necessary to manage and/or process an account transaction as described herein, to manage transactions for a respective account or types of accounts, and/or to provide the functionality described herein as being provided by the central processing computer 303.The database 303H can also comprise data and/or information regarding specific limitations and/or restrictions which may be placed on a particular account, which may be pre-selected and/or programmed by the account holder and/or which may include limitations and/or restrictions on the usage of the account.", "The limitations and/or restrictions may include the types of transactions which are allowed and/or authorized, the goods or services which may be purchased on or with the account, the vendors, stores, or service providers, or account servicing providers or entities who or which may be authorized to engage in a transaction on or involving the account, copayments for services rendered, limits on the dollar amounts of transactions pertaining to each authorized vendor, seller, service provider, or account servicing provider or entity, daily spending limits on the account, and/or the geographical area or location wherein authorized account use may be limited, and/or authorized times for account usage (i.e.", "specific days, dates, time of day, time of month, year, etc.", "), and/or any other limitation and/or restriction regarding amount of transaction, parties involved, geographical area, and/or times of allowed usage.", "For each of the herein-described accounts, the database 303H can include any information, data, limitation, or restriction, which is needed or desired for servicing each of the respective accounts.", "The database 303H is also connected to the CPU 303A.", "The central processing computer 303 also comprises a printer 303I or other appropriate output device for outputting information and/or data to a user or operator.", "The database 303H can also include or store information regarding transactions processed by the central processing computer 303 for any account(s) serviced by the central processing computer 303.The information can include, for each of any number of transactions for each of any number of accounts, a picture, a photograph, or a video clip, of the individual or individuals involved in a transaction, and/or audio information, a voice message or sample, and/or a voice print, which is a digital representation of a voice message or sample, obtained from the individual involved in the transaction, for each of any number of transactions processed by the central processing computer 303.For example, for any given account, the central processing computer 303 can store information for any number of transactions occurring on a given account.", "In this manner, a picture, a photograph, or a video clip, of the individual or individuals involved in a transaction, and/or audio information, a voice message or sample, and/or a voice print, which is a digital representation of a voice message or sample, obtained from the individual involved in the transaction, can be stored for any number of transactions on a respective account, in order to perform identity verification for an individual involved in a transaction.", "The database 303H of the central processing computer 303 can also contain copies of any of the images, digital copies, photographs, or pictures, of any of the respective documents, authorization forms, authorization request forms, benefit request forms, claim forms, drafts, bank drafts, deposit forms, withdrawal forms, checks, forms, receipts, request forms, or other entities, which have been, or which were, offered, presented, submitted, processed, involved, or used, in or involving, or related to, a transaction or transactions on or involving any of the accounts serviced by the apparatus 300.It is envisioned that an account holder, or other authorized individual, of a respective account can submit a photograph or picture or his or her face which can be stored in the database 303H as a “file photograph” or a “file picture” associated with the respective account.", "In a preferred embodiment, and “file photograph” or a “file picture” is stored as a digital file.", "It is also envisioned that the account holder or authorized individual can also submit a pre-recorded voice message which can be digitized into a voice print which can be stored as a “file voiceprint”.", "In processing a transaction involving a respective account, the central processing computer 303 can process a picture, a photograph, or a video clip, of the individual or individuals involved in the transaction, and/or audio information, a voice message or sample, and/or a voice print, obtained from the individual involved in the transaction using the respective “file photograph”, “file picture”, and/or “file voice print”, and/or can provide the “file photograph”, “file picture”, and/or “file voice print”, to transaction device 302 so that the operator of the transaction device 302 can use same in verifying that the individual is the account holder or authorized individual.", "In FIG.", "11, the communication device 304, in the preferred embodiment, comprises a central processing unit or CPU 304A, associated random access memory 304B (RAM) and read only memory 304C (ROM) devices, which are connected to the CPU 304A, a user input device 304D, which is a keypad or a plurality of keys and/or switches for inputting data into the communication device 304 and which is also connected to the CPU 304A, and a display device 304E, for displaying information and/or data to the account holder, and a database 304F, which are also connected to the CPU 304A.", "The communication device 304 also comprises a receiver 304G for receiving signals and/or data from the central processing computer 303 and which is also connected to the CPU 304A, a transmitter 304H for transmitting signals and/or data to the central processing computer 303 and which is also connected to the CPU 304A.", "The communication device 304 also includes a camera/microphone system 3041.In the preferred embodiment, the camera/microphone system 3041 can include a camera or a video recording device which can be used to take a picture, a photograph, or a video clip of the account holder.", "In the preferred embodiment, the camera/microphone system 3041 can also include a microphone or an audio recording device which can be used to record audio information and/or the voice of the account holder.", "In a preferred embodiment, voice information can be processed by the CPU 304A in order to generate a voiceprint file of the recorded voice.", "In the preferred embodiment, the camera/microphone system 3041 can be located on or in the communication device 304 so as to record the respective picture, photograph, or video clip, of the account holder, and/or so as to record the audio information and/or the voice of the account holder.", "In the preferred embodiment, the database 304F can be utilized to store, for each of any number of transactions, a picture, a photograph, or a video clip, of the individual or individuals involved in a transaction, and/or audio information, a voice message or sample, and/or a voice print, which is a digital representation of a voice message or sample, obtained from the individual involved in the transaction at the transaction device 302.The database 304F of the communication device 304 can also contain copies of any of the images, digital copies, photographs, or pictures, of any of the respective documents, authorization forms, authorization request forms, benefit request forms, claim forms, drafts, bank drafts, deposit forms, withdrawal forms, checks, forms, receipts, request forms, or other entities, which have been, or which were, offered, presented, submitted, processed, involved, or used, in or involving, or related to, a transaction or transactions on or involving any of the accounts serviced by the apparatus 300.In the preferred embodiment, the communication device 304 which is utilized is a cellular telephone, a personal digital assistant, a wireless telephone, a home computer, a personal computer, a laptop computer, a notebook computer, a netbook computer, an interactive television, and/or pager with a reply feature and/or device, or any of the other devices described-herein as being utilized as a communication device.", "A two-way pager and/or pager systems may also be utilized for implementing the respective component system(s) in the communication device 304/central processing computer 303 combination and/or link.", "The apparatus 300 of the present invention, in the preferred embodiment, may be utilized, in the manner described below and with reference to FIGS.", "12A, 12B, and 12C, in order to facilitate account holder authorization, notification, and/or security or security measures, in transactions involving a respective account, which account can be any one or more of the herein-described credit card accounts, credit accounts, charge card accounts, charge accounts, debit card accounts, debit accounts, bank accounts, checking accounts, savings accounts, brokerage accounts, pension accounts, individual retirement accounts (IRAs), self-employed pension (SEP) accounts, “smart card accounts, currency card accounts, healthcare accounts, Medicare accounts, Medicaid accounts, employee benefits accounts, cafeteria accounts, spending accounts, subscription accounts for any goods, products, or services, insurance accounts, healthcare insurance accounts, healthcare spending accounts, life insurance accounts, disability insurance accounts, tuition accounts, pharmacy accounts, credit report accounts, cable television accounts, digital television accounts, satellite television accounts, social security accounts, liability insurance accounts, lease insurance accounts, ticket accounts, telephone calling card accounts, utility accounts, electrical utility accounts, gas utility accounts, fuel oil utility accounts, accounts monitoring use of official seals, accounts monitoring use of private, individual, and/or organizational, seals or access codes, security access accounts, computer access code accounts, facility access accounts, facility security accounts, financial accounts, electronic money accounts, electronic cash accounts, communication accounts, telephone accounts, wireless communication device accounts, non-wireless communication device accounts, cellular communication device accounts, cellular telephone accounts, Internet accounts, Internet service provider accounts, electronic signature accounts, e-mail accounts, membership accounts, club membership accounts, entertainment membership accounts, entertainment tickets accounts, sports tickets accounts, theatre tickets accounts, concert or opera tickets accounts, consumer or purchaser memberships accounts, sports club membership accounts, health club membership accounts, merchant credit accounts for customers, merchant accounts, association membership accounts, professional association membership accounts, trade association membership accounts, or any other accounts.", "In the preferred embodiment, the apparatus 300 of the present invention can provide an authorization, notification, and/or security, apparatus and method which provides a notification of a transaction on or involving any one or more of the accounts described herein along with an image, a digital copy, a photograph, or a picture, of a document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or other entity, or any number, group, or combination of, documents, authorization forms, authorization request forms, benefit request forms, claim forms, drafts, bank drafts, deposit forms, withdrawal forms, checks, forms, receipts, request forms, or other entities, which is, or which are, offered, presented, submitted, processed, related to, or used, in or involving a transaction on or involving an account or a policy associated with or corresponding to the account.", "In this manner, the apparatus 300 of the present invention may be utilized to obtain account holder authorization in an account-related transaction.", "FIGS.", "12A, 12B, and 12C illustrate a preferred embodiment operation of the apparatus 300 in flow diagram form.", "The apparatus 300 can be utilized, or can operate, in the manner described herein with reference to FIGS.", "12A, 12B, and 12C, for processing a transaction, or information regarding a transaction, on or involving credit card accounts, credit accounts, charge card accounts, charge accounts, debit card accounts, debit accounts, bank accounts, checking accounts, savings accounts, brokerage accounts, pension accounts, individual retirement accounts (IRAs), self-employed pension (SEP) accounts, “smart card accounts, currency card accounts, healthcare accounts, Medicare accounts, Medicaid accounts, employee benefits accounts, cafeteria accounts, spending accounts, subscription accounts for any goods, products, or services, insurance accounts, healthcare insurance accounts, healthcare spending accounts, life insurance accounts, disability insurance accounts, tuition accounts, pharmacy accounts, credit report accounts, cable television accounts, digital television accounts, satellite television accounts, social security accounts, liability insurance accounts, lease insurance accounts, ticket accounts, telephone calling card accounts, utility accounts, electrical utility accounts, gas utility accounts, fuel oil utility accounts, accounts monitoring use of official seals, accounts monitoring use of private, individual, and/or organizational, seals or access codes, security access accounts, computer access code accounts, facility access accounts, facility security accounts, financial accounts, electronic money accounts, electronic cash accounts, communication accounts, telephone accounts, wireless communication device accounts, non-wireless communication device accounts, cellular communication device accounts, cellular telephone accounts, Internet accounts, Internet service provider accounts, electronic signature accounts, e-mail accounts, membership accounts, club membership accounts, entertainment membership accounts, entertainment tickets accounts, sports tickets accounts, theatre tickets accounts, concert or opera tickets accounts, consumer or purchaser memberships accounts, sports club membership accounts, health club membership accounts, merchant credit accounts for customers, merchant accounts, association membership accounts, professional association membership accounts, trade association membership accounts, or any other accounts, as well as any cards, devices, and/or other entities, which can be used with or which can be associated with any of the herein-described accounts.", "In the preferred embodiment, the apparatus 300 of the present invention can provide an authorization, notification, and/or security, apparatus and method which provides a notification of a transaction on or involving any one or more of the accounts described herein, along with an image, a digital copy, a photograph, or a picture, of a document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or other entity, or any number, group, or combination of, documents, authorization forms, authorization request forms, benefit request forms, claim forms, drafts, bank drafts, deposit forms, withdrawal forms, checks, forms, receipts, request forms, or other entities, which is or were, or which are, offered, presented, submitted, processed, involved, or used, in or involving, or related to, a transaction or transactions on or involving a respective account.", "For the sake of simplicity, the operation of the apparatus 300 is described herein for an “account” or for a “respective account”, it being understood that the account or respective account can be a credit card account, credit account, charge card account, charge account, debit card account, debit account, bank account, checking account, savings account, brokerage account, pension account, individual retirement account (IRAs), self-employed pension (SEP) account, “smart card account, currency card account, healthcare account, Medicare account, Medicaid account, employee benefits account, cafeteria account, spending account, subscription account for any good, product, or service, insurance account, healthcare insurance account, healthcare spending account, life insurance account, disability insurance account, tuition account, pharmacy account, credit report account, cable television account, digital television account, satellite television account, social security account, liability insurance account, lease insurance account, ticket account, telephone calling card account, utility account, electrical utility account, gas utility account, fuel oil utility account, account monitoring use of an official seal, account monitoring use of a private, individual, and/or organizational, seal or access code, security access account, computer access code account, facility access account, facility security account, financial account, electronic money account, electronic cash account, communication account, telephone account, wireless communication device account, non-wireless communication device account, cellular communication device account, cellular telephone account, Internet account, Internet service provider account, electronic signature account, e-mail account, membership account, club membership account, entertainment membership account, entertainment ticket account, sports ticket account, theatre ticket account, concert or opera ticket account, consumer or purchaser membership account, sports club membership account, health club membership account, merchant credit account for a customer, merchant account, association membership account, professional association membership account, trade association membership account, or any other account.", "With reference to FIGS.", "12A, 12B, and 12C, the operation of the apparatus 300 commences at step 330 when the account or a card, or when a document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or other entity, is offered, presented, transmitted, submitted, processed, involved, or used, in or involving, or related to, a transaction on or involving a respective account, or when an image, a digital copy, a photograph, or a picture, of a document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or other entity, is offered, presented, transmitted, submitted, processed, involved, or used, in or involving, or related to, a transaction on or involving respective account, or which is to be utilized in connection with a transaction on or involving the account, is presented in the transaction.", "At step 331, the attendant or transaction device operator (hereinafter “transaction device operator”) will activate the apparatus 300 in any typical manner, such as by obtaining a communication line or link by entering account or card information, or information regarding the respective document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or other entity, or the image, digital copy, photograph, or picture, of same, into the transaction device 302, or other suitable device.", "For the card, this data entry is typically performed by swiping the magnetic strip of the card through the card reader 302B.", "In the case of a document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or other entity, which is offered, presented, transmitted, submitted, processed, involved, or used, in or involving, or related to, the transaction on or involving the respective account, an image or a digital copy of the respective document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or other entity, which is offered, presented, transmitted, submitted, processed, involved, or used, in or involving, or related to, the transaction on or involving the respective account, can be obtained, scanned, or generated, and/or stored, by or in the transaction device 302 using the user input device 302E of the transaction device 302 or other suitable device, or a photograph or a picture of the respective document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or other entity, which is offered, presented, transmitted, submitted, processed, involved, or used, in or involving, or related to, the transaction on or involving the respective account, can obtained, taken, recorded, or generated, or stored, in or by the transaction device 302 using the camera/microphone system 302J of the transaction device 302 or other suitable device.", "In another preferred embodiment, at step 332, the individual involved in the transaction will be requested or instructed to look into, or pose for, the camera of the camera/microphone system 302J so that a photograph, a picture, or a video clip, can be taken of the individual's face.", "In the preferred embodiment, a photograph, picture, or video clip, is taken of the individual's face with the camera and a digital file of same is created and stored at the transaction device 302.At step 332, the individual will be requested or instructed to recite a predetermined voice message into the microphone of the camera/microphone system 302J, so that a voice recording or a voice print can be obtained.", "The pre-determined voice message can be any appropriate message such as “My name is Raymond Joao” or “This is my account”, or any other appropriate message.", "In a preferred embodiment, the voice message should be the same as that voice message for which a voice print was previously submitted for storage at the central processing computer 303.In an Internet transaction, or other on-line transaction, wherein the transaction is being performed with a remote transaction device 302, the individual can take the photograph, picture, or video clip, by using a camera or web camera associated with his or her computer, home computer, personal computer, laptop computer, notebook computer, netbook computer, cellular telephone, personal digital assistant, or other communication device, and/or record the voice message or voice print on a microphone or other audio recording device associated with the respective computer, home computer, personal computer, laptop computer, notebook computer, netbook computer, cellular telephone, personal digital assistant, or other communication device.", "The respective photograph, picture, or video clip, and/or voice message or voice print can thereafter be transmitted to the receiver 302H of the transaction device 302.The information and/or data pertinent to the transaction, and/or the card, along with the image, digital copy, photograph, or picture, of the respective document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or other entity, which is offered, presented, transmitted, submitted, processed, involved, or used, in or involving, or related to, the transaction on or involving the respective account, and/or the photograph, picture, and/or video clip, and/or the voice recording, and/or voice print, of the individual involved in the transaction, is then transmitted, at step 332, to the central processing computer 303.In a preferred embodiment, at step 332, the information and/or data pertinent to the transaction, and/or the card, along with the image, digital copy, photograph, or picture, of the respective document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or other entity, which is offered, presented, transmitted, submitted, processed, involved, or used, in or involving, or related to, the transaction on or involving the respective account, and/or the photograph, picture, and/or video clip, and/or the voice recording, and/or voice print, of the individual involved in the transaction, can also be transmitted to the communication device 304 to inform the account holder and to provide him or her information regarding the transaction, along with the image, digital copy, photograph, or picture, of the respective document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or other entity, which is offered, presented, transmitted, submitted, processed, involved, or used, in or involving, or related to, the transaction on or involving the respective account, and/or any and/or all of the other herein-described information.", "At step 332, the information regarding the transaction, along with the image, digital copy, photograph, or picture, of the respective document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or other entity, which is offered, presented, transmitted, submitted, processed, involved, or used, in or involving, or related to, the transaction on or involving the respective account, and/or the photograph, picture, and/or video clip, and/or the voice recording, and/or voice print, of the individual involved in the transaction, can also be stored in the central processing computer 303 and, in particular, in the database 303H, and can be retrieved at any time by any authorized individual.", "The information and/or data pertinent to the transaction, and/or the card, or the account, along with the image, digital copy, photograph, or picture, of the respective document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or other entity, which is offered, presented, transmitted, submitted, processed, involved, or used, in or involving, or related to, the transaction on or involving the respective account, and/or the photograph, picture, and/or video clip, and/or the voice recording, and/or voice print, of the individual involved in the transaction, can thereafter be provided to the account holder via the communication device 304.In a preferred embodiment, the image, digital copy, photograph, or picture, of the respective document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or other entity, involved in, used in, or related to, the transaction, can be in the body of a message containing the information or data sent, such as in the body of the message, or the respective document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or other entity, involved in, used in, or related to, the transaction can be, or can be included in, an attachment to the message.", "In a preferred embodiment, the message, or the information or data pertinent to the transaction, can be included in, or can include, an electronic mail (e-mail) message, an instant message, a text message, or any other suitable message, electronic, digital, or otherwise, or other electronic transmission.", "In a preferred embodiment, the photograph, picture, and/or video clip, and/or the voice recording, and/or voice print, of the individual involved in the transaction, can also be included in the body of the message containing the information or data sent, such as in the body of the message, or the respective photograph, picture, and/or video clip, and/or the voice recording, and/or voice print, of the individual involved in the transaction, can be, or can be included in, an attachment to the message.", "The account holder can then, at step 332, or at any other time, review the information in the message, including viewing or reviewing the image, digital copy, photograph, or picture, of the respective document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or other entity, involved in, used in, or related to, the transaction, or viewing or reviewing the photograph, picture, and/or video clip, and/or the voice recording and/or voice print, of the individual involved in the transaction.", "At any time, if the account holder determines that the transaction is a fraudulent transaction or an unauthorized transaction, or that the individual is not an individual authorized for engaging in a transaction involving the respective account, the account holder can transmit an unauthorized message to the transaction device 302 so as to stop, cancel, or prevent, the transaction.", "The account holder, in another preferred embodiment, can place an immediate or real-time telephone call, or other communication, to a telephone or other device associated with the transaction device 302 and inform the operator of the transaction device 302 that the transaction is unauthorized and/or fraudulent.", "The above telephone call can be a conventional telephone call or a voice over IP telephone call.", "The central processing computer 303 will, at step 333, process the information and/or data pertinent to the transaction and/or to the account and may request, if needed or desired, that the transaction device operator enter additional information regarding the transaction, such as, for example, transaction description, transaction description as it pertains or relates to the account, transaction amount, service description, good or product description, security information, provider or vendor identification, benefit sought, account claim request, request made involving the account, or any other pertinent information which may be needed or desired by any entity or person processing the transaction, or processing information regarding the transaction, on or involving the account.", "The central processing computer 303 will then process the information and/or data pertinent to the transaction in conjunction with the account information in order to determine if the card has been lost, stolen and/or cancelled and/or de-activated or whether the account is active or inactive.", "Further, the central processing computer 303 will perform a test to determine if the account can still be utilized by the individual or account holder or whether the maximum benefits available pursuant to the account have been provided for a given time period, or whether any benefits under the account can still be provided to the account holder or individual.", "For a credit, charge, or debit account, the central processing computer 303 can determine if a maximum credit, charge, or debit spending limit has been reached.", "The central processing computer 303 can also perform any other suitable test for any of the herein-described accounts, The central processing computer 303 can also process the photograph or picture against the “file photograph” or “file picture” and/or can process the voice message against the “file voice print”.", "The central processing computer 303 may utilize any of the widely known data processing and/or software routines, which are known to those skilled in that art, in order to process transaction requests and/or authorizations involving the use of the respective account(s).", "Once the information and/or data processing has been completed at step 333, the central processing computer 303, at step 334, will determine if the card has been lost, stolen, and/or cancelled and/or de-activated, or if the account is active or inactive, or if any limit associated with a use of the card or the account has been reached and/or exceeded.", "The central processing computer 303 will, at step 334, also perform a test in order to determine if the predetermined maximum number of unauthorized transactions have occurred on the account.", "The unauthorized transactions count refers to transactions which are not authorized by the account holder as will be described herein.", "The authorized transaction count (UNAUTHCT) is a variable which is pre-set to zero (0) at the time the account is created or established.", "Each time an unauthorized transaction occurs, the unauthorized transaction count is incremented by one (1).", "Once the unauthorized transaction count reaches a pre-defined limit of, for example, three (3), the central processing computer 303 will cancel the transaction and de-activate the account as well as any card associated with the account.", "The central processing computer 303 will then notify the account holder.", "In this manner, the apparatus 300 will enable the central processing computer 303 of an account issuing and/or account servicing entity to cancel and/or de-activate the account as well as the card associated with the account, either permanently and/or temporarily, in cases when the account holder may have failed to respond or to reply to transaction notices, which may be the case when the account holder is not aware that the card has been lost or stolen, or when the card or account number has been duplicated, “cloned”, or in other ways utilized without the account holder's authorization, and/or when the account holder is unable to respond or reply to the transaction notices for some other reason(s).", "This feature of the present invention serves to put a usage limit on the use of the account as well as the card associated with the account.", "The central processing computer 303, at step 334, will also perform a test(s) to determine if any additional limitations and/or restrictions have been met and/or satisfied.", "The central processing computer 303 can also process the photograph or picture against the “file photograph” or “file picture” and/or can process the voice message against the “file voice print” to determine if the individual is not the account holder or other authorized individual.", "If any of the above listed conditions exist (i.e.", "card is lost, stolen, cancelled, and/or de-activated, account inactive, unauthorized transaction limit reached or exceeded, or pre-defined, pre-selected and/or programmed, or other, limitations and/or restrictions are violated, etc.", "), the central processing computer 303 will, at step 335, transmit a signal to the transaction device 302 indicating that the transaction is not approved and/or is not authorized.", "The transaction device operator may then cancel the transaction, at step 336.The transaction device operator may then confiscate the card and/or alert the authorities.", "Upon the completion of step 336, the apparatus 300 will cease operation at step 355.At step 334, if requested pursuant to a pre-existing agreement between the respective operator of the central processing computer 303, and/or if requested by the transaction device operator during the transaction, the central processing computer 303 can retrieve and transmit a “file photograph” or “file picture”, of the account holder or authorized individual or authorized individuals, to the transaction device 302 for display thereat.", "If the transaction device operator does not recognize the individual involved in the transaction as being the account holder or other authorized individual, then the transaction device operator can stop, void, or cancel, the transaction at that moment and at step 355 and so inform the central processing computer 303 and/or the account holder by transmitting an appropriate signal or message to the central processing computer 303 or the account holder's communication device 304.If, at step 334, the central processing computer 303 determines that the card is not lost, stolen, cancelled or de-activated, that the account is not inactive, that the unauthorized transaction limit has not been reached or exceeded, or that any pre-defined, pre-selected and/or programmed, or other limitations and/or restrictions have not been violated, the central processing computer 303 will, at step 337, transmit a signal and/or data, containing any and/or all of the herein-described information regarding the transaction, including, but not limited to, information and/or data pertinent to the transaction, along with the image, digital copy, photograph, or picture, of the respective document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or other entity, involved in, used in, or related to, the transaction, and/or the respective photograph, picture, and/or video clip, and/or the voice recording, and/or voice print, of the individual involved in the transaction, can also be transmitted to, or re-transmitted to, the communication device 304, which can be any one or more of the communication devices 4 described herein, which is located at the account holder.", "In this regard, at step 337, a signal and/or data containing any and/or all of the above-described information regarding the transaction, including, but not limited to, information and/or data pertinent to the transaction, along with the image, digital copy, photograph, or picture, of the respective document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or any other entity, involved in, used in, or related to, the transaction, and/or the respective picture, photograph or image, video clip, and/or audio clip or voice print, of the individual involved in the transaction, can also be transmitted to, or re-transmitted to, the communication device 304, which can be any one or more of the communication devices 304 described herein, which is located at the account holder or account owner.", "At step 337, the central processing computer 303 will then also transmit respective signals and/or data, containing any and/or all of the above-described information regarding the transaction, including the information and/or data pertinent to the transaction, along with the image, digital copy, photograph, or picture, of the respective document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or other entity, involved in, used in, or related to, the transaction, and/or the respective photograph, picture, and/or video clip, and/or the voice recording, and/or voice print, of the individual involved in the transaction, to any one or more of the account holder's designated fax machine 305, personal computer 306, telephone 307, telephone answering machine 308, alternate telephone 309, alternate telephone answering machine 310, network computer 311, and/or alternate beeper 312 or alternate pager 313, or any other communication device.", "The signals and/or data can be transmitted to more than one of the above devices 305-313, or to any other communication device, either sequentially or simultaneously.", "The information and/or data which is transmitted to the communication device 304 includes information and/or data identifying the transaction and can include, in addition to any of the herein-described information, the information pertinent to the transaction, along with the image, digital copy, photograph, or picture, of the respective document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or other entity, involved in, used in, or related to, the transaction, and/or the respective photograph, picture, and/or video clip, and/or the voice recording, and/or voice print, of the individual involved in the transaction, and may also include information identifying the account, the name of the individual involved in the transaction, the name of the store or the service provider involved in the transaction, the type of transaction, the amount of the transaction, or any other information pertinent to the transaction, as well as the photograph, picture, and/or video clip, and/or the voice recording, and/or voice print.", "The information and/or data may also provide the time of the transaction, the location (i.e.", "city, town, village, state, country etc.)", "of the transaction, or any other information regarding the transaction, the account, or any party, counterparty, or parties involved.", "The information and/or data may also include the phone number of the central processing office and/or computer servicing the account so that the account holder may telephone same in order to authorize or cancel the transaction.", "The information and/or data may also be supplemented to include the type of goods or services, or other subject of the transaction, involved in the transaction, if such information can be entered at the transaction device 302.At step 338, the information and/or data which is transmitted from the central processing computer 303 and received at the communication device 304 is displayed to the account holder on the display device 304E of the communication device 304.The information displayed on the display device 304E can include information and/or data identifying the transaction and may include information identifying the account, the name of the individual involved in the transaction, the name of the store or the service provider involved in the transaction, the type of transaction, the amount of the transaction, or any other information pertinent to the transaction, as well as the photograph, picture, and/or video clip, and/or the voice recording, and/or voice print.", "The information and/or data displayed may also provide the time of the transaction, the location (i.e.", "city, town, village, state, country etc.)", "of the transaction, or any other information regarding the transaction, the account, or any party, counterparty, or parties involved.", "The information and/or data displayed may also include the phone number of the central processing office and/or computer servicing the account so that the account holder may telephone same in order to authorize or cancel the transaction.", "The information and/or data displayed may also be supplemented to include the type of goods or services, or other subject of the transaction, involved in the transaction, if such information can be entered at the transaction device 302.In an instance where the account holder has not responded earlier, the apparatus 300 will then, at step 339, wait for the account holder to respond to the transmission.", "During this time, the account holder may utilize a cellular telephone, a personal digital assistant, a wireless telephone, a home computer, a personal computer, a laptop computer, a notebook computer, a netbook computer, a television, an interactive television, a digital television, a beeper, or a pager, or any of the communication devices 304 described herein, and/or a reply or two-way pager feature on the communication device 304, or any other communication device, in order to either approve or authorize the transaction, or disapprove of, or void, the transaction.", "At step 339, the central processing computer 303 will also receive the response if one is sent.", "At step 340, the apparatus 300 will determine if the account holder has made a reply or response within the pre-defined time limit which is chosen, in the preferred embodiment, to be one (1) minute.", "The account holder may also transmit a signal via an appropriate key or button suspending use of the account, or the card associated with the account, such as when he or she may first be apprised of the fact that the card has been lost or stolen.", "In instances when the communication device 304 does not have a reply feature or means for communicating with the central processing computer 303, the account holder may simply telephone the central processing office or a processing center for the account in order to personally appraise the center or office of his or her response to the central processing computer transmission regarding the transaction.", "If the account holder does not respond or reply to the central processing office within the pre-specified time, chosen, in the preferred embodiment, to be one (1) minute, the central office computer will, at step 341, increment the unauthorized transaction count (UNAUTHCT) by one (1) and will, at step 342, transmit a signal and/or data to the transaction device 302 indicating that, with the exception of receiving the authorization of the account holder, the transaction is otherwise approved.", "The transaction device operator may then, at step 343, either proceed to consummate the transaction, try to obtain additional information from the individual, or cancel the transaction.", "The action taken by the transaction device operator may be dictated by the specific agreement in effect between the account servicing entity and the account holder.", "Upon the completion of step 343, the operation of the apparatus 300 will cease at step 344.If the account holder should reply or respond to the transaction notice at a later period, the response or reply information may then be utilized in order to approve of, or to disapprove and/or to dispute, the transaction.", "If, at step 340, the response or reply is determined to be timely, the central processing computer 303 will, at step 345, process and identify the account holder response.", "At step 346, the central processing computer 303 will determine if the account holder has replied or responded so as to authorize the transaction.", "If the account holder's response is to cancel, disapprove or, or not to authorize, the transaction, the central processing computer 303 will, at step 347, increment an unauthorized transaction count by 1.At this juncture, it is important to note that the unauthorized count (UNAUTHCT) is set to zero at the time of the establishment or creating of the account.", "After the unauthorized transaction count has been incremented, the central processing computer 303 will, at step 348, transmit a signal and/or data to the transaction device 302 which will notify and/or instruct the transaction device operator that the transaction is not authorized and should, therefore, be cancelled or voided.", "The transaction device operator may then cancel the transaction at step 349.The transaction device operator may then confiscate the card and/or alert the authorities.", "Upon the completion of step 349, the apparatus 300 will cease operation at step 350.If, at step 346, the central processing computer 303 identifies the account holder reply or response as being one to authorize the transaction, the central processing computer 303, at step 351, will reset the unauthorized transaction count (UNAUTHCT) to 0.An unauthorized transaction count (UNAUTHCT) of 0 will signify that any string of unauthorized transactions has now been broken by the account holder, and further, that the present transaction is approved by the account holder.", "The central processing computer 303 will then, at step 352, transmit a signal and/or data to the transaction device 302 which will notify and/or instruct the transaction device operator that the transaction is authorized and/or approved.", "In another preferred embodiment, the account holder can also transmit an authorization message to the transaction device 302.The transaction device operator may then complete the transaction, at step 353.After the transaction has been completed at step 353, the operation of the apparatus 300 will cease at step 354.In instances when the account holder is a party to the transaction, he or she, having the communication device 304 on his or her person, may authorize the transaction at the transaction device location or while in communication with the transaction device location.", "If the transaction is a telephone and/or other remotely made transaction, the account holder may authorize the transaction from his or her remote location.", "The account holder may also program and/or set the communication device 304 to automatically authorize or disapprove or disallow transactions.", "In this regard, the communication device 304 may be programmable so as to receive and analyze the transaction information and/or data and reply and/or respond to same automatically and/or with preset and/or programmed relies and/or responses.", "The communication device 304 may also be programmable so as to limit the amounts of transactions.", "In this regard, the account holder may provide for temporary transaction types or temporary transaction amounts.", "The communication device 304, in the preferred embodiment, is provided with a memory device for storing any of the information or data described herein as being capable of being provided by the apparatus 300 for any number of transactions so that the account holder may review his or her account activity and/or transactions which have occurred involving his or her account.", "In this manner, the account holder may “scroll” through and/or in other ways review card and/or account activity.", "The communication device 304 may also be equipped to service more than one account.", "The apparatus and method of the present invention provides for the real-time, as well as non-real-time, notification of transactions involving any of the herein-described accounts which also provides information regarding the transaction, along with an image, digital copy, photograph, or picture, of the respective document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or other entity, involved in, used in, or related to, the transaction, and which also enables an account holder to monitor, in real-time or otherwise, activity involving his or her accounts.", "The apparatus and method of the present invention also provides a means and a mechanism by which to inform a account holder that his or her card(s) associated with an account are lost or stolen, and/or that the respective card(s), and/or the account numbers corresponding thereto, are utilized without his or her authorization and also provides an indication to the account holder of where his or her accounts, account numbers, or card(s) associated with the respective account(s) is being utilized in transactions while also providing the account holder with an image, digital copy, photograph, or picture, of a respective document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or other entity, involved in, used in, or related to, the transaction.", "The account holder may then report the account has having been compromised, or as having been, or as being, involved in, or as being the subject of, fraudulent or unauthorized activity, and/or the account holder can cancel and/or de-activate the account or can cancel and/or de-activate a card associated with the account.", "The account owner may then report the unauthorized or fraudulent activity.", "The present invention also provides a means and a mechanism by which to monitor the number of transactions which are unauthorized by the account holder and to determine whether or not to authorize transactions and/or cancel or de-activate the card(s) and/or the account.", "In the above manner, the apparatus and method of the present invention provides an apparatus and a method for preventing and/or for drastically limiting fraudulent and/or unauthorized use of accounts, and/or cards and/or the account numbers corresponding to these accounts.", "The present invention also provides a means and a mechanism by which to monitor the number of transactions which are deemed to be unauthorized by the account holder and to determine whether or not to authorize transactions and/or cancel or de-activate a respective account or accounts or a card or cards associated with same.", "In the above manner, the apparatus and method of the present invention provides an apparatus and a method for preventing and/or for drastically limiting fraudulent and/or unauthorized use of any of the herein-described accounts.", "The present invention also provides a means and a mechanism for providing an image, digital copy, photograph, or picture, of the respective document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or other entity, involved in, used in, or related to, a transaction or transactions, for any number of transactions and for any number or types of accounts.", "In another preferred embodiment, wherein a number of transactions may be batch processed or otherwise processed in batches or processed in groups, the apparatus 300 can, at step 332 and/or at step 337, transmit the information and/or data pertinent to each of and/or all of the transactions processed in the batch processing routine, and/or the account used in same, along with the image, digital copy, photograph, or picture, of the respective document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or other entity, involved in, used in, or related to, each of the transactions, and/or the photograph, picture, and/or video clip, and/or the voice recording, and/or voice print, of the individual involved in the transaction, associated with each of the transactions, can be transmitted to the communication device 304 and the account holder or account owner can review the information as desired.", "In this regard, in another preferred embodiment, all of the herein-described information pertaining to each transaction processed in a batch processing of transactions on or involving an account or accounts, can be processed, obtained, gathered, or stored, and/or can be transmitted, in a single message, or in any number of messages, to the communication device 304 at step 332 and/or at step 337.The apparatus and method of the present invention may also be utilized in connection with an on-line service and/or on, or over, the Internet and/or the World Wide Web, so as to provide for a means by which the respective cardholder, account owner, account holder, and/or cellular telephone owner, may utilize the apparatus and method in conjunction with a home and/or a personal computer, a laptop computer, a notebook computer, a netbook computer, a personal communications device, and/or a commercial or industrial computer system (i.e., an internet server computer), and/or any other appropriate device, in any appropriate network, system or medium.", "FIG.", "13 illustrates yet another alternate embodiment of the present invention wherein the apparatus and method of any of the embodiments described herein may be utilized on, or over, an on-line service, the Internet and/or the World Wide Web, and/or any other suitable communication network or medium.", "In FIG.", "13, the apparatus, which is denoted generally by the reference numeral 400, comprises a transaction terminal 402, which may be a transaction terminal or a cellular telephone or communication device, depending upon the application, a server computer 450, which is a central processing computer for processing data and/or information in an on-line, and/or Internet and/or World Wide Web, communication environment, network, or medium.", "The server computer 450 may be a mainframe computer, a mini-computer, a micro-computer, a server computer, such as those utilized in conjunction with on-line services and/or in a network environment, and/or any other suitable computer or computer system.", "The server computer 450, in the preferred embodiment, should have associated therewith a suitable receiver(s) or transmitter(s) which may be a fax/modem and/or any other device(s) which are well known to those skilled in the art for providing communications and/or a link with a server computer in such a network environment.", "The apparatus of FIG.", "13 also comprises a communications device 404 which may be or which may comprise a cellular telephone, a personal digital assistant, a wireless telephone, a home computer, a personal computer, a laptop computer, a notebook computer, a netbook computer, a television, an interactive television, a digital television, a beeper, or a pager, or any of the communication devices described herein, and/or a reply or two-way pager feature on the communication device 404, or any other communication device, or any one or more of the herein-described personal communications devices, so that the individual may access the apparatus 400, and in particular, the server computer 450, at any time and from any location.", "Basically, the embodiment of FIG.", "13 serves to replace the central processing computer of the previously described embodiments with a server computer for utilization on, or over, an on-line service, the Internet, the World Wide Web, and/or any other suitable communications network or medium.", "The apparatus of FIG.", "13 operates and is utilized in the same, in similar and/or an analogous, manner as described herein in conjunction with the previously described embodiments.", "FIG.", "14 illustrates yet another alternate embodiment of the present invention, wherein the present invention is also utilized in conjunction with an on-line service and/or on, or over, the Internet and/or the World Wide Web, and/or any other suitable communication network or medium.", "In FIG.", "14, the apparatus, which is denoted generally by the reference numeral 500, comprises a transaction terminal 502, which may be a transaction terminal and/or a cellular telephone and/or cellular communications device, depending upon the application.", "The apparatus of FIG.", "14 also comprises a central processing computer 503 which provides processing and/or control over the apparatus 500 in the manner described above in conjunction with the previously described embodiments.", "The central processing computer 503 and/or the server computer 550 may be a mainframe computer, a mini-computer, a micro-computer, a server computer, such as those utilized in conjunction with on-line services and/or in a network environment, and/or any other suitable computer or computer system.", "The apparatus 500 of FIG.", "14 also comprises a communications device(s) 504 such as those described herein and in conjunction with the apparatus 400 of FIG.", "13.The apparatus also comprises a server computer 550 which may either perform parallel operations and/or processing of the data and/or information which is performed and/or processed by the central processing computer 503 and/or may simply receive the data and/or information processed by the central processing computer 503.In any event, the server computer 550 provides the means by which the data and/or information, which is provided by the apparatus, can be accessed and or utilized via an on-line service and/or on, or over, the Internet and/or the World Wide Web, and/or any other communications network or medium.", "The server computer 550 should have associated therewith a suitable receiver(s) or transmitter(s) which may be a fax/modem and/or any other device(s) which are well known to those skilled in the art for providing communications and/or a link with a server computer in such a network environment.", "The apparatus of FIG.", "14 also comprises a communications device 504 which may be or which may comprise a cellular telephone, a personal digital assistant, a wireless telephone, a home computer, a personal computer, a laptop computer, a notebook computer, a netbook computer, a television, an interactive television, a digital television, a beeper, or a pager, or any of the communication devices described herein, and/or a reply or two-way pager feature on the communication device 504, or any other communication device, or any one or more of the herein-described personal communications devices, so that the individual may access the apparatus, and in particular, the server computer 550, at any time and from any location.", "The apparatus of FIG.", "14 is utilized and/or operates in the same, a similar and/or an analogous, manner as any of the embodiments described herein.", "In any and/or all of the embodiments described herein, it can be required, and the respective apparatus and/or its respective components can be so programmed, that a picture, and/or a voice sample or voice print, of the individual involved in the transaction be obtained during the transaction in order for the transaction to be allowed, approved, or authorized.", "In this regard, the respective apparatus and/or its respective components can be programmed to require that a picture, and/or a voice sample or voice print, be obtained from the individual involved in the transaction as a pre-requisite to transaction allowance, approval, or authorization.", "In this regard, any transactions in which a picture, and/or voice sample or voice print, is not obtained can be disallowed, disapproves, or not authorized.", "Applicant hereby incorporates by reference herein all of the methods and/or techniques for providing information and/or data over on-line service and/or on, or over, the Internet and/or the World Wide Web, and/or any other suitable communication network or medium, along with client/server and/or Web Site technology and methods and/or techniques utilized in conjunction therewith, which are known as of the filing date of this application.", "In any and/or all of the embodiments described herein, each and every one the components of the apparatus, which include, but which are not limited to, the described transaction terminals, cellular telephones and/or other cellular communications devices, central processing computers, server computers, if utilized, and any of the various communications devices, may transmit and/or receive signals and/or data, and/or be capable or transmitting and/or receiving signals and/or data, to and from any and all of the other apparatus components which may be utilized in conjunction therewith, in and for a given embodiment.", "In this regard, it is important to note, with respect to the embodiments of FIGS.", "13 and 14, and any of the other embodiments described herein, that each and every component involved in the transmission and/or reception of signals, data and/or information may include an associated transmitter, receiver and/or suitable communication device.", "The communication system or medium should provide for the transmission and/or for the reception of a multitude of remote electrical, electronic, electromagnetic, and/or other suitable signals, over long distances and/or in a mobile and/or a wireless communications environment.", "Telephone signals and telephone communication devices can be utilized in the present invention as well as personal computers and associated peripheral devices which may be utilized with telecommunications and/or other suitable communication systems and/or mediums.", "The apparatus and method of the present invention may operate over any appropriate communications system, network and/or medium and/or other suitable communications systems, including radio signal, optical, satellite, digital, digital satellite, and/or other communications systems.", "The communications system utilized may operate anywhere in the electromagnetic and/or radio frequency spectrum.", "As noted above, the present invention may also be utilized in conjunction with a satellite communications system, in which case, the receivers and transmitters which are utilized in conjunction with the apparatus should be satellite communication receivers and transmitters, respectively.", "For example, the associated receiver(s) may be a satellite dish receiver(s).", "In this regard, the respective cardholder, account owner, account holder, or cellular telephone owner, may utilize the apparatus and method of the present invention to its fullest capabilities over an on-line service and/or on, or over, the Internet and/or the World Wide Web, and/or any other suitable communication network or medium.", "In this manner, the embodiment of FIGS.", "13 and 14 may allow the cardholder, account owner, account holder, or cellular telephone owner, to utilize the apparatus and/or to monitor the operation of the apparatus over the on-line service and/or on, or over, the Internet and/or the World Wide Web, and/or any other communication network or medium, from any suitable computer or device, and/or from any location.", "The system receiver(s) may also be utilized in conjunction with a home and/or a personal computer and/or other personal communications device(s) and/or apparatuses which may be utilized with an associated receiver or equivalent peripheral device(s).", "The apparatus may also be utilized in conjunction with a computer network such as an on-line service and/or on, or over, the Internet and/or the World Wide Web, by employing any appropriate server computer and/or an associated Web Site and/or Web Site technology in conjunction with an appropriate communication medium and communication equipment.", "In any of the above described embodiments, the present invention may be utilized in conjunction with any suitable communication device(s) and/or communication system(s).", "In this manner, the present invention may be utilized in conjunction with a telephone, a line-connected and/or a permanent telephone, a touch-tone telephone, a cordless telephone and/or a cellular or mobile telephone, a home and/or a personal computer having associated telecommunication devices or other suitable peripheral device(s), such as a modem and/or a fax/modem, and/or other suitable personal communication devices which can operate over an appropriate communications system, and/or other suitable communications systems and/or mediums, including radio signal, optical, satellite, digital, and/or other communications systems and/or mediums.", "Any suitable communication system and/or medium may be utilized.", "Personal communication service (PCS) systems and devices, including stationary, portable and/or hand-held devices, may also be utilized.", "Digital signal communications devices and systems may also be utilized.", "Televisions, interactive and/or digital televisions, personal communication devices, personal communication services (PCS) devices, personal digital assistants, cellular telephones, display telephones, video telephones, display cellular telephones and electronically equipped watches and/or other devices and/or effects and/or accessories, may also be utilized for performing user interactive control, monitoring, authorization, notification and/or security functions in conjunction with the present invention.", "It should be noted that the telephone/telephone beeper or pager system, or any other communication device combination, including two-way pager systems, may be replaced with any other type of transmitter/receiver combination, electronic or otherwise, which provides for the transmission and reception of a multitude of remote electrical, electronic, electromagnetic, and/or other suitable signals, over long distances and/or in a mobile and/or a wireless communications environment.", "As noted above, a personal computer system which may be adapted to such operation, or a personal communication device(s) or personal communication services (PCS) device(s) may also be utilized for, or in, any of the transmitter/receiver system combinations described herein.", "In the preferred embodiment, the communication device 4 which is utilized is a cellular telephone, a personal digital assistant, a wireless telephone, a personal computer, a laptop computer, a notebook computer, a netbook computer, an interactive television, and/or a pager with a reply feature and/or device, or any of the other devices described-herein as being utilized as a communication device.", "Two-way pagers and reply pagers may also be utilized for any, or in any, of the transmitter/receiver system combinations described herein.", "The communication device(s) utilized in the present invention, as well as the associated transaction terminal and/or cellular communications device(s) and/or associated central processing computer may be personal communication services (PCS) devices and/or other suitable communications devices.", "A television, appropriately equipped to receive and/or to transmit signals may also be utilized.", "It is also envisioned that digital televisions, interactive televisions, personal communications devices, personal communications services (PCS) devices, personal digital assistants, display telephones, electronically equipped watches, cellular telephones and/or display cellular telephones may also be utilized in conjunction with the present invention.", "It is also important to note that the communication device(s), in any of the embodiments described herein may be a home and/or a personal computer having associated therewith an appropriate receiver(s) and transmitter(s) such as, for example, a fax/modem.", "It is important to note that the telephone/telephone beeper system, described above, or any other communication device combination, may be replaced with any remote transmitter/receiver system, such as by a remote transmitter, i.e., a television-type remote control unit, which control unit would require a user interface feature and which has the capability to remotely transmit a multitude of signals over long distances to an associated receiver.", "In the preferred embodiment, the communication device 4 which is utilized is a cellular telephone, a personal digital assistant, a wireless telephone, a personal computer, a laptop computer, a notebook computer, a netbook computer, an interactive television, and/or a pager with a reply feature and/or device, or any of the other devices described-herein as being utilized as a communication device.", "A two-way pager, a reply pager, or any other appropriate two-way communication device may also be utilized.", "A home and/or a personal computer, a laptop computer, a notebook computer, a netbook computer, with requisite peripheral devices, a personal communication device and/or a personal communication services (PCS) device may also be utilized.", "Digital communications devices, interactive televisions and/or digital televisions may also be utilized.", "It is also envisioned that digital televisions, interactive televisions, personal communications devices, personal communications services (PCS) devices, personal digital assistants, display telephones, video telephones, electronically equipped watches and/or other effects or accessories, cellular telephones, wireless telephones, display cellular telephones, televisions, interactive televisions, or digital televisions, may also be utilized.", "The apparatus of the present invention may be designed or programmed to telephone an owner, user, operator, occupant, or other authorized central office individual or other authorized individual, at a primary phone number, at an alternate or forwarding phone number and/or at a business phone number, send a beeper or pager message to the individual or central office and/or send a facsimile message, an electronic mail message, a voice mail message and/or an answering service message to, or for, the individual or central office.", "In this manner, the apparatus may report a theft and/or a malfunction situation to the interested individual(s) by utilizing multiple notification and/or reporting avenues and/or schemes so as to provide and ensure that the interested individual (s) are in fact notified as soon as possible.", "The multiple notification transmissions may be sequentially and/or simultaneously performed.", "The apparatus and method of the present invention may also be programmable for programmed and/or automatic activation, self-activation, programmed and/or automatic operation and/or self-operation.", "The apparatus and method of the present invention may provide for an immediate, as well as for a deferred, control, monitoring and/or security function, and/or response thereto, so as to provide for the immediate and/or the deferred control, activation, de-activation, programming, monitoring and/or security, etc., of any one or more the herein described credit cards, charge cards, debit cards, currency or “smart” cards, banking and/or financial accounts and associated transaction cards, cellular telephones and/or cellular or mobile communications devices, credit card accounts, credit accounts, charge card accounts, charge accounts, debit card accounts, debit accounts, bank accounts, checking accounts, savings accounts, brokerage accounts, pension accounts, individual retirement accounts (IRAs), self-employed pension (SEP) accounts, “smart card accounts, currency card accounts, healthcare accounts, Medicare accounts, Medicaid accounts, employee benefits accounts, cafeteria accounts, spending accounts, subscription accounts for any goods, products, or services, insurance accounts, healthcare insurance accounts, healthcare spending accounts, life insurance accounts, disability insurance accounts, tuition accounts, pharmacy accounts, credit report accounts, cable television accounts, digital television accounts, satellite television accounts, social security accounts, liability insurance accounts, lease insurance accounts, ticket accounts, telephone calling card accounts, utility accounts, electrical utility accounts, gas utility accounts, fuel oil utility accounts, accounts monitoring use of official seals, accounts monitoring use of private, individual, and/or organizational, seals or access codes, security access accounts, computer access code accounts, facility access accounts, facility security accounts, financial accounts, electronic money accounts, electronic cash accounts, communication accounts, telephone accounts, wireless communication device accounts, non-wireless communication device accounts, cellular communication device accounts, cellular telephone accounts, Internet accounts, Internet service provider accounts, electronic signature accounts, e-mail accounts, membership accounts, club membership accounts, entertainment membership accounts, entertainment tickets accounts, sports tickets accounts, theatre tickets accounts, concert or opera tickets accounts, consumer or purchaser memberships accounts, sports club membership accounts, health club membership accounts, merchant credit accounts for customers, merchant accounts, association membership accounts, professional association membership accounts, trade association membership accounts, or any other cards, devices, or accounts, and/or any other suitable application in and for which the present invention may be utilized.", "In any of the herein-described embodiments, the communications devices and associated transaction terminals and/or cellular communications devices and associated central processing computers, may be devices for receiving, and transmitting, respectively, radio signals, satellite communication signals, telecommunications signals, optical communication signals and/or other signals and/or those signals, including digital signals, which are utilized in conjunction with personal communication devices and/or personal communication services (PCS) devices.", "The devices utilized should, however, be of the same type and/or operate compatibly with the corresponding transmitters and receivers of the apparatus of the present invention.", "The present invention may also be equipped with, and be utilized in conjunction with, hardware and software necessary for providing self-monitoring functions, automatic control and/or responses to occurrences, providing automatic notice of an occurrence and/or a situation to an owner, user and/or authorized individual.", "In this regard, any and all of the embodiments described above may comprise a monitoring device, a triggering device and/or any other suitable device for detecting an occurrence and/or a transaction which may warrant providing notice to the respective cardholder, account owner, account holder, and/or cellular telephone owner.", "In this regard, the apparatus may provide for an appropriate signal, data and/or information transmission to the central processing computer, and/or server computer, if utilized.", "The signal, data and/or information may be conveyed in the form of a communication transmission, depending upon the communication medium utilized, a telephone call, a voice message, a beeper and/or a pager message, an electronic mail message, a fax transmission, and/or any other mode of communication which may be utilized in conjunction with any of the embodiments described herein.", "The present invention, in any of the embodiments described herein, may be designed to be user-friendly.", "In this regard, the present invention may be menu-driven, and/or its operation may be menu-selected, from audio menus, visual menus, or both audio and visual menus.", "While the present invention has been illustrated and described as being utilized in conjunction with providing notice and for obtaining authorizations with regard to transactions involving credit cards, charge cards, debit cards, and/or currency or “smart” cards, banking and/or financial accounts, and/or in conjunction with cellular and/or mobile telephones, credit card accounts, credit accounts, charge card accounts, charge accounts, debit card accounts, debit accounts, bank accounts, checking accounts, savings accounts, brokerage accounts, pension accounts, individual retirement accounts (IRAs), self-employed pension (SEP) accounts, “smart card accounts, currency card accounts, healthcare accounts, Medicare accounts, Medicaid accounts, employee benefits accounts, cafeteria accounts, spending accounts, subscription accounts for any goods, products, or services, insurance accounts, healthcare insurance accounts, healthcare spending accounts, life insurance accounts, disability insurance accounts, tuition accounts, pharmacy accounts, credit report accounts, cable television accounts, digital television accounts, satellite television accounts, social security accounts, liability insurance accounts, lease insurance accounts, ticket accounts, telephone calling card accounts, utility accounts, electrical utility accounts, gas utility accounts, fuel oil utility accounts, accounts monitoring use of official seals, accounts monitoring use of private, individual, and/or organizational, seals or access codes, security access accounts, computer access code accounts, facility access accounts, facility security accounts, financial accounts, electronic money accounts, electronic cash accounts, communication accounts, telephone accounts, wireless communication device accounts, non-wireless communication device accounts, cellular communication device accounts, cellular telephone accounts, Internet accounts, Internet service provider accounts, electronic signature accounts, e-mail accounts, membership accounts, club membership accounts, entertainment membership accounts, entertainment tickets accounts, sports tickets accounts, theatre tickets accounts, concert or opera tickets accounts, consumer or purchaser memberships accounts, sports club membership accounts, health club membership accounts, merchant credit accounts for customers, merchant accounts, association membership accounts, professional association membership accounts, trade association membership accounts, or any other cards, devices, or accounts, it is also envisioned that the present invention may be utilized in any similar type of transactional activity, such as purchasing and/or sale activity over an on-line service, the Internet and/or the World Wide Web and/or in any other type of transaction wherein frequent notice and/or account holder authorization may be utilized to guard against theft and/or fraud and/or unauthorized transactions.", "The apparatus of the present invention may be accessed at any time by the respective cardholder, account owner, account holder, and/or cellular telephone owner and/or cellular communications device owner so as to obtain information regarding activity on his or her respective account.", "The respective cardholder, account owner, account holder, and/or cellular telephone owner and/or cellular communications device owner, may access the apparatus and, in particular, the central processing computer, and/or the server computer, if utilized, so as to obtain transaction records regarding any transaction, group or string of transactions, transactions by goods and/or service type, transactions by dollar amount, etc.", "The respective cardholder, account owner, account holder, and/or cellular telephone owner and/or cellular communications device owner, may also obtain, via the central processing computer, and/or the server computer, if utilized, periodic transaction records showing all transactions for a given week or other selected time period or interval, which may by provided weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, yearly, and/or for or at any other given and/or desired time period and/or time interval.", "In a preferred embodiment, for each transaction, the apparatus and method of the present invention can provide a respective cardholder, account owner, account holder, and/or cellular telephone owner and/or cellular communications device owner, with periodic transaction records showing all transactions on or involving any of the herein-described accounts, for any given time period, which may by provided weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, yearly, and/or for or at any given and/or desired time period and/or for or at any time interval or period.", "For each transaction, information regarding the transaction, along with an image, digital copy, photograph, or picture, of a respective document, authorization form, authorization request form, benefit request form, claim form, draft, bank draft, deposit form, withdrawal form, check, form, receipt, request form, or other entity, involved in, used in, or related to, each transaction, and/or the respective picture, photograph or image, video clip and/or and audio clip or voice print, of the individual involved in the transaction, can be provided to, or can be transmitted to, a respective cardholder, account owner, account holder, and/or cellular telephone owner and/or cellular communications device owner.", "The apparatus and, in particular, the central processing computer, and/or the server computer, if utilized, may be designed and/or programmed so as to automatically and/or periodically provide and/or transmit any of the above-described account and/or transaction information to the respective cardholder, account owner, account holder, and/or cellular telephone owner and/or cellular communications device owner, by transmitting same to the respective communications device, which may be any of the devices described herein which are utilized as the communications device.", "The apparatus and, in particular, the central processing computer, and/or the server computer, if utilized, may also be designed and or programmed to transmit any of the above-described account information and/or transaction information to any one or all of the respective cardholder's, account owner's, account holder's, and/or cellular telephone owner's and/or cellular communications device owner's, facsimile (fax) machine, personal computer, laptop computer, notebook computer, netbook computer, telephone, telephone answering machine, alternate telephone, alternate telephone answering machine, network computer, and/or alternate beeper or pager.", "Such multiple notification transmissions, if utilized, may be performed sequentially and/or simultaneously.", "The central processing computer may be linked with a fax machine, a personal computer, a laptop computer, a notebook computer, a netbook computer, a telephone, an associated answering machine, an alternate telephone and associated answering machine, a network computer, and/or an alternate beeper or pager via any suitable communication system.", "The telecommunications link or telephone line or link, which may or may not be a wireless link, depending on the device and/or the circumstances, is utilized in order to link the central processing computer with each of the fax machine, the personal computer, the laptop computer, the notebook computer, the netbook computer, the telephone, the associated answering machine, the alternate telephone, the alternate telephone answering machine, the network computer, and/or the alternate beeper or pager.", "In any of the herein-described and/or envisioned embodiments, the respective central processing computer which is utilized may comprise a plurality of computers and/or computer systems.", "Further, the respective central processing computer may be the processing computer for processing account information, and/or for servicing, and/or monitoring, the respective account(s) activity, and/or the central processing computer may be a separate and/or distinct computer or computer system which is associated with and/or linked with the processing computer.", "In any of the herein-described and/or envisioned embodiments, the respective communication device which may be utilized may operate independently of, and/or in conjunction with, a central service and/or a communications service.", "For example, a beeper or pager may be utilized in conjunction with a corresponding beeper or pager communications service, which communications service may serve to relay signals, data and/or information, to, and from, the beeper or pager, whichever the case may be.", "The communication device which may be utilized may also be capable of transmitting signals, data and/or information, directly to, and receiving signals, data and/or information, directly from, a component(s) of the apparatus, without the need for a central service and/or a communications service and/or a relay system.", "It is also envisioned that the apparatus and method of the present invention may provide for transmitting signals, data and/or information to the cardholder, account owner, accountholder, and/or cellular telephone owner, via transmissions made to, and received at a television, radio, car radio, computer and/or other communication device which receives signals transmitted via any suitable communication system.", "In this manner, for example, a cardholder, account owner, account holder, and/or cellular telephone owner, may be notified by having signals, data and/or information transmitted to their television, radio, car radio, computer, etc., in such a manner so as to interrupt the normal operation of same, so as to convey the information and/or message to the cardholder, account owner, account holder, and/or cellular telephone owner, in real-time and/or upon the occurrence of the event triggering or giving rise to same.", "In any and/or all of the above described embodiments, the apparatus may be programmed and/or be programmable by the respective cardholder, account owner, account holder, and/or cellular telephone, owner or cellular device owner, for his or her account.", "In conjunction with the use of credit cards, charge cards, debit cards, the cardholder may program the central processing computer, and/or the server computer, if utilized, so as to change the credit limits on his or her account, periodically and/or at any desired time.", "For example, a cardholder having a credit card with a $10,000.00 dollar credit limit, but who very seldom utilizes his or her card for much more than $500.00 dollars during a monthly billing period, may program the apparatus and, in particular, the central processing computer, or server computer, if utilized, so as to temporarily reduce his or her credit limit.", "If the cardholder should then desire to make a major purchase with his or her credit card of, for example, a purchase in the amount of $8500.00, the cardholder may, prior to the transaction, reprogram the central processing computer and/or server computer, if utilized, so as to temporarily increase his or her temporary credit limit.", "The apparatus may then be programmed so that, after the major purchase has been made, the apparatus may revert operation back to the reduced credit limit.", "The cardholder may program the central processing computer, and/or the server computer, if utilized, via the communication device, which may be any one or more of the devices described herein.", "The cardholder may also perform the above-described programming via a touch-tone telephone.", "In the same manner, the cardholder may program the apparatus so as to limit the types of transactions involving, and/or the goods and/or services which may be purchased with, his or her card, and/or the stores and/or service providers which may be authorized to accept the card, limits on the dollar amounts of transactions pertaining to each authorized vendor, seller and/or service provider, daily spending limits, the vendors, sellers, and/or service providers with which the card may be utilized, the geographical area or location within which the card may be utilized, and/or authorized times for card usage (i.e.", "specific days, dates, times of day, times of month, year, etc.", "), and/or any other limitations and/or restrictions regarding amount of transaction, parties involved, geographical area, and or times of allowed usage.", "In a similar manner, the cardholder may similarly program the apparatus as described above in conjunction with use of any of the hereindescribed cards.", "In a similar manner, a cardholder of a currency and/or “smart” card may program the apparatus so as to limit the types of transactions involving, and/or the goods and/or services which may be purchased with, his or her card, and/or the stores or service providers which may be authorized to accept the card, limits on the dollar amounts of transactions pertaining to each authorized vendor, seller and/or service provider, daily spending limits, the vendors, sellers, and/or service providers with which the card may be utilized, the geographical area or location within which the card may be utilized, and/or authorized times for card usage (i.e.", "specific days, dates, times of day, times of month, year, etc.", "), and/or any other limitations and/or restrictions regarding amount of transaction, parties involved, geographical area, and or times of allowed usage.", "In the case of savings accounts, checking accounts, and/or automated teller machine accounts, the account owner or account holder may program the apparatus and, in particular, the central processing computer, and/or the server computer, if utilized, so as to limit the amount of any one transaction or transactions, individuals who may make the transactions, proof of identity of which the types of proof may be specified, specific banks and/or financial institutions authorized to accept and/or perform transactions for the account, geographical areas and/or location within which banks and/or financial institutions may be authorized to accept and/or perform transactions with the account, specific times of day, specific days, dates and/or time of the month in, or on, which transactions may be authorized, limits of charge-backs, returned item amount withdrawals, maintenance and/or other fee charge withdrawals, etc.", "and/or authorized times for account usage (i.e.", "specific days, dates, times of day, times of month, year, etc.", "), and/or any other limitations and/or restrictions regarding amount of transaction, parties involved, geographical area, and or times of allowed usage.", "With regards to automated teller machine accounts, it is also possible to specify and programmably change personal identification numbers and/or any other access code(s) and provide for various personal identification numbers and/or access codes for different locations, different automated teller machines, different days, different times and/or different transaction amounts.", "In the cases of cellular telephones and/or cellular communications devices, the cellular telephone owner and/or cellular communication device owner may program the apparatus and, in particular, the central processing computer, and/or the server computer, if utilized, so as to limit the phone numbers which may be called, and/or the numbers from which incoming calls may be accepted and/or received, the geographical areas and/or locations which may be called and/or accessed or from which calls may be received, the times of day, specific days, dates, times of month or year, during which the cellular telephone and/or cellular communication device may be utilized, specific phone numbers which may be called, specific time durations for a phone call and/or any authorized times for cellular telephone and/or cellular communication device usage (i.e.", "specific days, dates, times of day, times of month, year, etc.", "), and/or any other limitations and/or restrictions, regarding amount of transaction, parties involved, geographical area, and or times of allowed usage.", "In the cases of credit card accounts, credit accounts, charge card accounts, charge accounts, debit card accounts, debit accounts, bank accounts, checking accounts, savings accounts, brokerage accounts, pension accounts, individual retirement accounts (IRAs), self-employed pension (SEP) accounts, “smart card accounts, currency card accounts, healthcare accounts, Medicare accounts, Medicaid accounts, employee benefits accounts, cafeteria accounts, spending accounts, subscription accounts for any goods, products, or services, insurance accounts, healthcare insurance accounts, healthcare spending accounts, life insurance accounts, disability insurance accounts, tuition accounts, pharmacy accounts, credit report accounts, cable television accounts, digital television accounts, satellite television accounts, social security accounts, liability insurance accounts, lease insurance accounts, ticket accounts, telephone calling card accounts, utility accounts, electrical utility accounts, gas utility accounts, fuel oil utility accounts, accounts monitoring use of official seals, accounts monitoring use of private, individual, and/or organizational, seals or access codes, security access accounts, computer access code accounts, facility access accounts, facility security accounts, financial accounts, electronic money accounts, electronic cash accounts, communication accounts, telephone accounts, wireless communication device accounts, non-wireless communication device accounts, cellular communication device accounts, cellular telephone accounts, Internet accounts, Internet service provider accounts, electronic signature accounts, e-mail accounts, membership accounts, club membership accounts, entertainment membership accounts, entertainment tickets accounts, sports tickets accounts, theatre tickets accounts, concert or opera tickets accounts, consumer or purchaser memberships accounts, sports club membership accounts, health club membership accounts, merchant credit accounts for customers, merchant accounts, association membership accounts, professional association membership accounts, trade association membership accounts, or any other cards, devices, or any other accounts, the account holder may program the central processing computer, and/or the server computer, if utilized, via the communication device, which may be any one or more of the devices described herein.", "The account holder may also perform the above-described programming via a touch-tone telephone.", "In the same manner, the account holder may program the apparatus so as to limit the types of transactions involving, and/or the goods and/or services which may be purchased with or on, his or her account, and/or the stores and/or service providers which may be authorized to engage in transaction on or involving the account, limits on the dollar amounts of transactions pertaining to each authorized account servicing entity or provider, daily account spending limits, the geographical area or location within which the account may be utilized, and/or authorized times for account usage (i.e.", "specific days, dates, times of day, times of month, year, etc.", "), and/or any other limitations and/or restrictions regarding amount of transaction, parties involved, geographical area, and or times of allowed usage.", "In a similar manner, the account holder may similarly program the apparatus as described above in conjunction with use of any of the herein-described cards associated with an account.", "In a similar manner, an account holder may program the apparatus so as to limit the types of transactions involving, and/or the goods and/or services which may be purchased with, his or her account, the types of claims or requests which can be made pursuant to the account, authorized account service providers or account servicing entities who can engage in transactions on or involving the account.", "The account holder may also program the apparatus and, in particular, the central processing computer, and/or the server computer, if utilized, so as to limit the amount of any one transaction or transactions, individuals who may make the transactions, proof of identity of which the types of proof may be specified, providers authorized to accept and/or perform transactions for, on, or involving, the account.", "The account holder can also programmably change, for the account, personal identification numbers and/or any other access code(s) and/or provide for various personal identification numbers and/or access codes for different locations, different providers, different types of claims or requests, different days, different times, and/or different transaction amounts.", "The account holder may also program the apparatus and, in particular, the central processing computer, and/or the server computer, if utilized, in order to provider any other limitation or restriction on the use of any of the herein-described accounts, or the use of any cards associated with any of the herein-described accounts, in order to impose any kind or type of limitation or restriction on the use of the account.", "The present invention may also be utilized so as to provide financial transaction and/or wireless communication device authorization, notification, and/or security, for any number and/or types of accounts, including credit card accounts, charge card accounts, debit card accounts, currency or “smart” card accounts, and/or other transaction card accounts, savings accounts, checking accounts, automated teller machine accounts, cellular telephone accounts and/or cellular communication device accounts.", "In this manner, the apparatus may comprise a communication device or communications devices which may receive and/or transmit signals, data and/or information, for any number and/or types of the above accounts, and/or for each of the respective accounts utilized, from and to the respective central processing computer and/or central processing computers for the respective accounts.", "In this manner, an individual may utilize a single communication device so as to monitor all of his or her accounts and/or types of accounts.", "The apparatus and method of the present invention provides for the real-time notification of financial transactions involving credit cards, charge cards, debit cards, and/or currency or “smart” cards, which enables a cardholder to monitor, in real-time, activity involving his or her card(s) and the corresponding accounts.", "The apparatus and method of the present invention also provides a means and a mechanism by which to inform a cardholder that his or her card(s) are lost, stolen, or is being utilized in an unauthorized manner and provides an indication to the cardholder of when and where his or her card(s) is being utilized in transactions.", "The cardholder may then report the card lost or stolen and/or cancel and/or de-activate the card.", "The apparatus and method of the present invention provides the same, and/or analogous, features and/or functions for banking and/or financial accounts, brokerage accounts, and/or for cellular telephone accounts.", "While the communications device(s) described above are described, in each of the respective embodiments, as being utilized for specific uses (i.e.", "credit and other cards transactions, banking and/or financial transactions, and/or cellular telephone transactions, the communication device(s) may also be adapted and/or programmed for use in all of these aforementioned transactions so that an individual may utilize a single communication device for all of the above described and/or envisioned transaction types.", "In any and/or all of the embodiments described herein, any of the data, information, images, digital copies, photographs, pictures, videos, or voice prints, described herein, can be stored in, maintained in, and retrieved from and/or via, any of the respective point-of-sale terminals or devices, transaction terminals or devices, devices, transaction devices, cellular telephones, central processing computers, server computers, or communication devices, described herein, or in any other device or computer described herein as being used in connection with any of the herein-described, or other, embodiments of the apparatus and methods of present invention.", "It is envisioned that the apparatus and method of the present invention may be utilized in conjunction with other apparatuses and methods in the prior art, and that the present invention may be incorporated with these known apparatuses and methods so as to improve upon them and so as to find additional applications for the present invention.", "Applicant hereby incorporates by reference herein the subject matter and teachings of U.S.", "Provisional Patent Application Ser.", "No.", "60/701,770, filed Jul.", "22, 2005, and entitled “TRANSACTION SECURITY APPARATUS AND METHOD”, in its entirety.", "Applicant hereby incorporates by reference herein the following United States patents: U.S. Pat.", "No.", "5,173,594 which teaches a system for printing personalized charge-card service receipts at remote locations; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "5,479,510 which teaches an automated data card payment verification method; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "5,473,667 which teaches a paging system with third party authorization; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "3,723,655 which teaches a credit authorization terminal; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "5,485,510 which teaches a secure credit/debit card authorization; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "5,406,619 which teaches a universal authentication device for use over telephone lines; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "5,444,616 which teaches financial transaction systems and methods utilizing a multi-reader transaction terminal; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "5,513,250 which teaches telephone based credit card protection; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "4,485,300 which teaches a loss control system; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "4,758,714 which teaches a point-of-sale mechanism; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "4,947,027 which teaches a system for identifying authorized use of credit cards; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "5,357,563 which teaches a data card terminal for receiving authorizations from remote locations; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "5,444,763 which teaches a translation and connection device for radio frequency point of sale transaction system; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "5,243,645 which teaches an automatic system for forwarding of calls; and U.S. Pat.", "No.", "3,938,090 which teaches a terminal apparatus.", "While the present invention has been described and illustrated in various preferred and alternate embodiments, such descriptions are merely illustrative of the present invention and are not to be construed to be limitations thereof.", "In this regard, the present invention encompasses any and all modifications, variations, and/or alternate embodiments, with the scope of the present invention being limited only by the claims which follow." ] ]
Patent_15873033
[ [ "OPTICAL SYSTEM FOR CAMERA", "Disclosed herein is an optical system for a camera.", "The optical system for a camera includes: a first lens having positive refractive power and a meniscus shape concave toward an image; a second lens having negative refractive power and a shape concave toward the image; a third lens having the positive refractive power and a shape convex toward an object; a fourth lens having the positive refractive power and a shape convex toward the image; and a fifth lens having the negative refractive power, a shape convex toward the object and concave to the image, and one or more inflection point provided on an image surface." ], [ "1.An optical system, comprising: a first lens having positive refractive power and being concave toward an image side; a second lens having negative refractive power and being concave toward an image side; a third lens being convex toward the image side; a fourth lens having positive refractive power and comprising a meniscus shape being concave toward an object side and convex toward the image side; and a fifth lens having negative refractive power and being concave in the center toward the image side, the fifth lens having at least one inflection point on an image-side surface and a shape being concave in the center toward the object side, wherein the first lens, the second lens, the third lens, the fourth lens and the fifth lenses are arranged in order from the object side to the image side.", "2.The optical system of claim 1, wherein: the first lens is convex toward the object side, and has a meniscus shape, and the fifth lens comprises an image side surface being concave in the center and convex at the periphery.", "3.The optical system of claim 2, wherein each surface of the first, second, third, fourth and fifth lenses comprises an aspherical surface, and the first, second, third, fourth and fifth lenses are made of plastic.", "4.An optical system, comprising: a first lens having positive refractive power and comprising a meniscus shape being convex toward an object side; a second lens having negative refractive power and comprising a concave surface on an image side; a third lens comprising a convex surface on the image side; a fourth lens having positive refractive power and comprising a meniscus shape being concave toward the object side and convex toward the image side; a fifth lens having negative refractive power and comprising: an image-side surface being concave in the center and convex at the periphery and having at least one inflection point thereon; and an object-side surface being concave toward the object side, wherein: the first lens, the second lens, the third lens, the fourth lens and the fifth lenses are arranged in order from the object side to the image side, and the meniscus shape of the first and fourth lenses, the concave surface of the second lens and the convex surface of the third lens are arranged on an optical axis." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION <EOH>" ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION <EOH>An object of the present invention is to provide an optical system for a camera capable of implementing a wide angle and a high resolution by sequentially disposing five sheets of lenses having different longitudinal chromatic aberration characteristics and improving an relative illumination (the ratio of corner illumination to the center) by disposing an aperture stop between first and second lenses.", "According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, there is provided an optical system for a camera including: a first lens having positive refractive power and a meniscus shape concave toward an image; a second lens having negative refractive power and a shape concave toward the image; a third lens having the positive refractive power and a shape convex toward an object; a fourth lens having the positive refractive power and a shape convex toward the image; and a fifth lens having the negative refractive power, a shape convex toward the object and concave to the image, and one or more inflection point provided on an image surface, wherein the first and second lenses include an aperture stop disposed therebetween in order to block unnecessary light in light passing through the optical system.", "The third lens may be configured of a lens having a shape in which both surfaces thereof are convex.", "The fourth lens may be configured of a lens having a meniscus shape convex toward the image.", "The fifth lens may be configured of a lens having a shape concave toward the object.", "The optical system for a camera may further include an optical filter provided between the fifth lens and an image surface, wherein the optical filter is configured of a cover glass coated with an infrared blocking filter for blocking excessive infrared rays included in light introduced from the outside.", "The first to fifth lenses may be configured of a plastic lens and have both surfaces configured of an aspherical surface.", "The optical system for a camera may satisfy the following Conditional Equations 1 and 2 with respect to a radius of curvature of the third lens and a focal length of the entire optical system, and a focal length of the third lens and a focal length of the entire optical system in-line-formulae description=\"In-line Formulae\" end=\"lead\"?", "f 3/ f< 2.0  [Conditional Equation 1] in-line-formulae description=\"In-line Formulae\" end=\"tail\"?", "in-line-formulae description=\"In-line Formulae\" end=\"lead\"?", "R 31/ f< 1.2  [Conditional Equation 2] in-line-formulae description=\"In-line Formulae\" end=\"tail\"?", "where f3 indicates a focal length of the third lens, R31 indicates a radius of curvature on a surface of the third lens L 3 toward the object, and f indicates a focal length of the entire optical system." ], [ "CROSS REFERENCE(S) TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "14/795,856 filed on Jul.", "9, 2015, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "14/137,795 filed on Dec. 20, 2013, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "13/802,247 filed on Mar.", "13, 2013 which claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C.", "Section 119 of Korean Patent Application Serial No.", "10-2012-0045609, entitled “Optical System for Camera” filed on Apr.", "30, 2012, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety into this application.", "BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1.Technical Field The present invention relates to an optical system for a camera, and more particularly, to an optical system for a camera capable of being manufactured in a small size in order to be mounted in a mobile device and implementing a high resolution.", "2.Description of the Related Art Recently, as the use of a mobile communication unit such as a mobile communication terminal, a personal digital assistant (PDA), and a smart phone increases and a service provided through a communication technology is verified, in addition to a basic communication function, various types of additional functions have been mounted.", "Among them, the mounting of a camera for simple photographing has been generalized.", "Further, recently, in an optical system of a camera used in a mobile device such as a cellular phone, the number of pixels has increased to eight million pixels or more in excess of five million pixels.", "In addition, a view angle of 70 degrees or more wider than a general view angle of about 60 degrees has been demanded.", "However, when a view angle of a lens is increased, an incident angle of a light ray incident to a lens surface cannot but be increased, such that performance deterioration may be intensified even in the same manufacturing tolerance.", "In addition, as a pixel size of a sensor is decreased, a required spatial frequency is increased, such that an optical system having a high resolution is required.", "When the spatial frequency is increased and the resolution is increased, sensitivity to the manufacturing tolerance of the optical system cannot but be increased.", "Therefore, the development of the optical system having a high resolution and capable of decreasing the sensitivity has been required.", "Meanwhile, a high-pixel optical system supporting eight million pixels, which is an optical system for a camera according to the related art, is mainly configured of four sheets of lenses (having a pixel size of 1.4 μm or more), wherein first and second lens of the four sheets of lenses are in charge of the entire refractive power of the optical system, and third and fourth lenses thereof are in charge of image surface field curvature and distortion to correct aberration that is not corrected by the first and second lenses.", "In addition, as the first and second lenses, a crown or flint based glass lens is used.", "Particularly, the second lens has negative refractive power and is made of the flint based glass material to compensate for longitudinal chromatic aberration.", "However, it is difficult to satisfy conditions such as miniaturization and cost reduction with an optical system design considering a manufacturing cost of an optical system for a mobile camera.", "Particularly, due to characteristics of the optical system for a camera applied to the mobile device, a plastic lens is mainly used in consideration of mass production, size, weight, and cost.", "Therefore, it is difficult to satisfy optical performance and compensate for chromatic aberration with a general optical system design.", "RELATED ART DOCUMENT Patent Document (Patent Document 1) Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No.", "1997-211320 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an optical system for a camera capable of implementing a wide angle and a high resolution by sequentially disposing five sheets of lenses having different longitudinal chromatic aberration characteristics and improving an relative illumination (the ratio of corner illumination to the center) by disposing an aperture stop between first and second lenses.", "According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, there is provided an optical system for a camera including: a first lens having positive refractive power and a meniscus shape concave toward an image; a second lens having negative refractive power and a shape concave toward the image; a third lens having the positive refractive power and a shape convex toward an object; a fourth lens having the positive refractive power and a shape convex toward the image; and a fifth lens having the negative refractive power, a shape convex toward the object and concave to the image, and one or more inflection point provided on an image surface, wherein the first and second lenses include an aperture stop disposed therebetween in order to block unnecessary light in light passing through the optical system.", "The third lens may be configured of a lens having a shape in which both surfaces thereof are convex.", "The fourth lens may be configured of a lens having a meniscus shape convex toward the image.", "The fifth lens may be configured of a lens having a shape concave toward the object.", "The optical system for a camera may further include an optical filter provided between the fifth lens and an image surface, wherein the optical filter is configured of a cover glass coated with an infrared blocking filter for blocking excessive infrared rays included in light introduced from the outside.", "The first to fifth lenses may be configured of a plastic lens and have both surfaces configured of an aspherical surface.", "The optical system for a camera may satisfy the following Conditional Equations 1 and 2 with respect to a radius of curvature of the third lens and a focal length of the entire optical system, and a focal length of the third lens and a focal length of the entire optical system f3/f<2.0 [Conditional Equation 1] R31/f<1.2 [Conditional Equation 2] where f3 indicates a focal length of the third lens, R31 indicates a radius of curvature on a surface of the third lens L3 toward the object, and f indicates a focal length of the entire optical system.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG.", "1 is a lens configuration diagram showing a lens arrangement of an optical system for a camera according to a first exemplary embodiment of the present invention; FIGS.", "2A and 2B are, respectively, views showing astigmatism and distortion of the optical system shown in Table 1 and FIG.", "1; FIG.", "3 is a lens configuration diagram showing a lens arrangement of an optical system for a camera according to a second exemplary embodiment of the present invention; and FIGS.", "4A and 4B are, respectively, views showing astigmatism and distortion of the optical system shown in Table 3 and FIG.", "3.FIG.", "5 is a lens configuration diagram showing a lens arrangement of an optical system for a camera according to a third exemplary embodiment of the present invention; FIGS.", "6A and 6B are, respectively, views showing astigmatism and distortion of the optical system shown in Table 5 and FIG.", "5.FIG.", "7 is a lens configuration diagram showing a lens arrangement of an optical system for a camera according to a fourth exemplary embodiment of the present invention; FIGS.", "8A and 8B are, respectively, views showing astigmatism and distortion of the optical system shown in Table 7 and FIG.", "7.FIG.", "9 is a lens configuration diagram showing a lens arrangement of an optical system for a camera according to a fifth exemplary embodiment of the present invention; FIGS.", "10A and 10B are, respectively, views showing astigmatism and distortion of the optical system shown in Table 9 and FIG.", "9.DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The acting effects and technical configuration with respect to the objects of an optical system for a camera according to the present invention will be clearly understood by the following description in which exemplary embodiments of the present invention are described with reference to the accompanying drawings.", "However, in the lens configuration diagrams according to the following exemplary embodiments, a thickness, a size, and a shape of the lens are slightly exaggerated for a detailed description of the present invention.", "Particularly, a shape of a spherical surface or an aspherical surface suggested in the lens configuration diagram is only an example.", "Therefore, the lens is not limited to the above-mentioned shape.", "FIG.", "1 is a lens configuration diagram of an optical system for a camera according to a first exemplary embodiment of the present invention.", "As shown in FIG.", "1, the optical system for a camera according to the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention may be configured to include a first lens (L1) having a meniscus shape concave toward an image and positive refractive power, a second lens L2 having a shape concave toward the image and negative refractive power, a third lens L3 having a shape convex toward an object and the positive refractive power, a fourth lens L4 having a shape convex toward the image and the positive refractive power, and a fifth lens L5 having a shape convex toward the object and concave toward the image and the negative refractive power, wherein the first to fifth lenses L1 to L5 are sequentially arranged from the object.", "Here, the first and second lenses L1 and L2 may include an aperture stop (AS) installed therebetween.", "In addition, the optical system for a camera may include an optical filter (OF) provided between the fifth lens L5 and an image surface 11, wherein the optical filter (OF) is configured of an infrared filter for blocking excessive infrared rays in light passing through the optical system or a cover glass coated with the infrared filter.", "In the optical system for a camera according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the aperture stop (AS) is disposed at the rear of the first lens L1, that is, between the first and second lenses L1 and L2, thereby making it possible to decrease sensitivity of the first lens L1 to a tolerance.", "That is, in the case in which the aperture stop (AS) is disposed in front of the first lens L1, an image height is increased due to light incident to the optical system, such that the first lens L1 may become sensitive to decenter.", "However, when the aperture stop (AS) is disposed between the first and second lenses L1 and L2 as in the exemplary embodiment of the present invention, since an incident angle of light rays incident to the first lens L1 may be decreased, the sensitivity of the first lens L1 to the manufacturing tolerance may be decreased, such that a degree of freedom in design of the optical system may be increased.", "In addition, when the aperture stop (AS) is disposed between the first and second lenses L1 and L2, a size of an entrance pupil imaged by the first lens L1 becomes larger toward an edge of the image surface, thereby making it possible to improve an ambient light amount ratio.", "Meanwhile, according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention, since the aperture stop (AS) is disposed between the first and second lenses L1 and L2, an incident angle of the light ray is increased, such that an incident angle at an image surface side of the first lens L1 is significantly increased, thereby making it possible to increase the sensitivity to the manufacturing tolerance.", "However, the first lens L1 is designed in the shape concave toward the image, thereby making it possible to decrease the incident angle of the light ray to the first lens L1.However, in the case in which a lens concave toward the image is used as the first lens L1, a chromatic aberration correction function may be weakened.", "Since the refractive power at the image surface of the lens L1 may be changed into the negative refractive power, the chromatic aberration correction function capable of being removed using a difference in dispersion property by the Abbe's number of the first and second lenses L1 and L2 may be weakened.", "Therefore, according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the third lens L3 is formed to be convex toward the object and a relationship between a focal length (f3) of the third lens L3 and a radius of curvature (R31) on a surface of the third lens L3 toward the object is used, thereby making it possible to correct longitudinal chromatic aberration.", "A more detailed description thereof will be provided through the following Conditional Equations.", "Here, the third lens L3 may also be configured of a lens having a shape in which both surfaces thereof are convex.", "Further, in the optical system according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the fourth lens L4 may be configured of a lens having a meniscus shape convex toward the image.", "In addition, in the optical system according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the fifth lens L5 may be configured of a lens having a shape concave toward the object.", "Further, in the optical system according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention, all of the first to fifth lenses L1 to L5 may be configured of a plastic lens, and any one surface or both surfaces of each of the first and fifth lenses L1 to L5 may be configured of an aspherical surface.", "The reason why one or more surface of the lenses configuring the optical system according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention is configured of the aspherical surface is to minimize the sheet number of lenses capable of implementing a wide view angle, thereby configuring the optical system for a camera that may be compactly manufactured to thereby be used in the mobile device.", "In addition, the reason why all of the first to fifth lenses L1 to L5 are configured of the plastic lens is to configure the optical system using the plastic lens capable of more easily manufacturing the aspherical surface lens as compared to the glass lens, thereby reducing a manufacturing cost and improving a degree of freedom in design that may alleviate the chromatic aberration correction and the manufacturing tolerance.", "Meanwhile, as described above, in the optical system according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the chromatic aberration is corrected by the following Conditional Equations 1 and 2, the acting effect of which will be described below.", "f3/f<2.0 [Conditional Equation 1] Where f3 indicates a focal length of the third lens, and f indicates a focal length of the entire optical system.", "Conditional Equation 1 indicates a condition regarding the chromatic aberration correction of the optical system.", "In the case of being out of an upper limit of Conditional Equation 1, focus adjusting positions for each wavelength in the entire optical system become different, such that a phenomenon that a color of a photographed image is blurred may occur.", "R31/f<1.2 [Conditional Equation 2] Where R31 indicates a radius of curvature on a surface of the third lens L3 toward the object, and f indicates a focal length of the entire optical system.", "Conditional Equation 2 also indicates a condition regarding the chromatic aberration, similar to Conditional Equation 1.When the surface of the first lens L1 toward the image is formed to be concave, the radius of curvature of the third lens L3 is increased, thereby making it possible to correct the chromatic aberration.", "Here, in the case of being out of an upper limit of Conditional Equation 2, since a back focal length (BFL) for each wavelength of the optical system may be rapidly changed at a portion having a short wavelength, it is difficult to satisfy optical characteristics required in the present invention, that is, correction characteristics of the chromatic aberration.", "Meanwhile, an aspherical surface used in the following exemplary embodiments is obtained from the known Equation 1, and ‘E used in a Conic constant (K) and aspherical surface coefficients (A, B, C, D, E, and F) and numerals next thereto’ indicate the power of 10.For example, E+02 indicates 102, and E-02 indicates 10−2.Z = cY 2 1 + 1 - ( 1 + K )  c 2  Y 2 + AY 4 + BY 6 + CY 3 + DY 10 + EY 12 + FY 14 + … [ Equation   1 ] Where Z indicates a distance from the top of a lens in an optical axis direction, Y indicates a distance in a direction vertical to an optical axis, c indicates a reciprocal number of a radius of curvature (r) at the top of the lens, K indicates a Conic constant, and A, B, C, D, E, and F indicate aspherical surface coefficients.", "First Exemplary Embodiment The following Table 1 shows examples of numerical values according to a first exemplary embodiment of the present invention.", "In addition, FIG.", "1 is a lens configuration diagram showing a lens arrangement of an optical system for a camera according to a first exemplary embodiment of the present invention; and FIGS.", "2A and 2B are, respectively, views showing astigmatism and distortion of the optical system shown in Table 1 and FIG.", "1.In the case of the first exemplary embodiment, an effective focal length (f) of the entire optical system is 4.05 mm.", "In addition, all of the first to fifth lenses L1 to L5 are configured of an aspherical surface plastic lens.", "Further, focal lengths of each lens used in the first exemplary embodiment are as follows: f1=3.66 mm, f2=−3.80 mm, f3=5.09 mm, f4=2.27 mm, and f5=−2.10 mm.", "TABLE 1 Radius of Surface Curvature Thickness Refractive Abbe's No.", "(R) (mm) Power (n) Number (v) Remarks *1 1.848 0.62 1.543 56.0 L1 *2 23.379 0.08 *3 6.605 0.36 1.635 23.7 L2 *4 1.729 0.18 *5 3.287 0.48 1.543 56.0 L3 *6 −16.575 0.52 *7 −2.149 0.72 1.543 56.0 L4 *8 −0.877 0.15 *9 50.000 0.50 1.543 56.0 L5 *10 1.114 0.50 11 ∞ 0.30 1.517 64.2 Optical Filter 12 ∞ 0.69 In Table 1, a mark * before the surface number indicates an aspherical surface.", "In the case of the first exemplary embodiment, both surfaces of the first to fifth lenses L1 to L5 are aspherical surfaces.", "In addition, values of aspherical surface coefficients of the first exemplary embodiment by Equation 1 are as shown by the following Table 2.TABLE 2 Surface No.", "K A B C D E 1 0.0000 0.0084 −0.0041 0.0154 −0.0025 — 2 0.0000 −0.0191 0.0759 −0.0445 — — 3 0.0000 −0.1486 0.2118 −0.1457 — — 4 0.0000 −0.2033 0.2187 −0.1079 −0.0016 — 5 0.0000 −0.0914 0.0289 −0.0610 0.1737 −0.0957 6 0.0000 −0.0232 −0.0057 −0.0711 0.1253 −0.0467 7 0.0000 −0.0983 −0.0359 −0.0534 0.1083 −0.0121 8 −1.0000 0.2995 −0.5557 0.7744 −0.7865 0.5168 9 0.0000 −0.0941 −0.0209 0.0523 −0.0267 0.0058 10 −7.4160 −0.0918 0.0364 −0.0124 0.0029 −0.0004 Second Exemplary Embodiment The following Table 3 shows examples of numerical values according to a second exemplary embodiment of the present invention.", "In addition, FIG.", "3 is a lens configuration diagram showing a lens arrangement of an optical system for a camera according to a second exemplary embodiment of the present invention; and FIGS.", "4A and 4B are, respectively, views showing astigmatism and distortion of the optical system shown in Table 3 and FIG.", "3.In the case of the second exemplary embodiment, an effective focal length (f) of the entire optical system is 3.94 mm.", "In addition, all of the first to fifth lenses L1 to L5 are configured of an aspherical surface plastic lens.", "Further, focal lengths of each lens used in the second exemplary embodiment are as follows: f1=3.68 mm, f2=−4.63 mm, 13=5.55 mm, f4=3.80 mm, and f5=−2.51 mm.", "TABLE 3 Radius of Surface Curvature Thickness Refractive Abbe's No.", "(R) (mm) Power (n) Number (v) Remarks *1 1.858 0.63 1.543 56.0 L1 *2 22.800 0.08 *3 4.089 0.32 1.635 23.7 L2 *4 1.658 0.21 *5 4.173 0.59 1.543 56.0 L3 *6 −10.312 0.38 *7 −6.405 0.68 1.543 56.0 L4 *8 −1.621 0.31 *9 22.423 0.50 1.543 56.0 L5 *10 1.275 0.50 11 ∞ 0.30 1.517 64.2 Optical Filter 12 ∞ 0.69 In Table 3, a mark * before the surface number indicates an aspherical surface.", "In the case of the second exemplary embodiment, both surfaces of the first to fifth lenses L1 to L5 are aspherical surfaces.", "In addition, values of aspherical surface coefficients of the second exemplary embodiment by Equation 1 are as shown by the following Table 4.TABLE 4 Surface No.", "K A B C D E 1 0.0000 0.0084 −0.0021 0.0109 0.0057 — 2 0.0000 −0.0456 0.1602 −0.0994 — — 3 0.0000 −0.2037 0.3035 −0.2414 — — 4 0.0000 −0.2033 0.2528 −0.1822 0.0193 — 5 0.0000 −0.0538 0.0204 0.0121 0.0318 −0.0224 6 0.0000 −0.0377 −0.1047 0.1179 −0.1157 0.0569 7 0.0000 0.0272 −0.1782 0.2284 −0.2547 0.1598 8 −0.9827 0.0372 −0.0918 0.1788 −0.2169 0.1592 9 0.0000 −0.4123 0.2687 −0.1214 0.0383 −0.0059 10 −7.4160 −0.1583 0.0892 −0.0353 0.0085 −0.0012 Third Exemplary Embodiment The following Table 5 shows examples of numerical values according to a third exemplary embodiment of the present invention.", "In addition, FIG.", "5 is a lens configuration diagram showing a lens arrangement of an optical system for a camera according to a third exemplary embodiment of the present invention; and FIGS.", "6A and 6B are, respectively, views showing astigmatism and distortion of the optical system shown in Table 5 and FIG.", "5.In the case of the third exemplary embodiment, an effective focal length (f) of the entire optical system is 4.10 mm.", "In addition, all of the first to fifth lenses L1 to L5 are configured of an aspherical surface plastic lens.", "Further, focal lengths of each lens used in the third exemplary embodiment are as follows: f1=3.694 mm, f2=−4.620 mm, f3=6.119 mm, f4=2.402 mm, and f5=−2.093 mm.", "TABLE 5 Radius of Surface Curvature Thickness Refractive Abbe's No.", "(R) (mm) Power (n) Number (v) Remarks *1 1.744 0.60 1.543 56.0 L1 *2 11.367 0.03 *3 10.729 0.35 1.635 23.7 L2 *4 2.292 0.25 *5 4.92 0.47 1.543 56.0 L3 *6 −10.035 0.57 *7 −2.048 0.60 1.543 56.0 L4 *8 −0.882 0.08 *9 41.338 0.60 1.543 56.0 L5 *10 1.106 0.50 11 ∞ 0.30 1.517 64.2 Optical Filter 12 ∞ 0.70 In Table 5, a mark * before the surface number indicates an aspherical surface.", "In the case of the third exemplary embodiment, both surfaces of the first to fifth lenses L1 to L5 are aspherical surfaces.", "In addition, values of aspherical surface coefficients of the third exemplary embodiment by Equation 1 are as shown by the following Table 6.TABLE 6 Surface No.", "K A B C D E 1 0.0000 0.0078 0.0195 −0.0113 −0.0198 — 2 0.0000 −0.0526 0.1366 −0.0815 — — 3 0.0000 −0.1764 0.2553 −0.1908 — — 4 0.0000 −0.1762 0.2286 −0.1913 −0.0599 — 5 0.0000 −0.1167 0.0423 −0.1200 0.1233 −0.0246 6 0.0000 −0.0608 −0.0169 −0.0400 0.0315 0.0061 7 0.0000 −0.0004 −0.0677 0.0671 −0.1283 0.1470 8 −1.0000 0.3049 −0.5433 0.7642 −0.7824 0.5108 9 0.0000 −0.0986 −0.0026 0.0286 −0.0168 0.0041 10 −7.4160 −0.0864 0.0369 −0.0131 0.0029 −0.0004 Fourth Exemplary Embodiment The following Table 7 shows examples of numerical values according to a fourth exemplary embodiment of the present invention.", "In addition, FIG.", "7 is a lens configuration diagram showing a lens arrangement of an optical system for a camera according to a fourth exemplary embodiment of the present invention; and FIGS.", "8A and 8B are, respectively, views showing astigmatism and distortion of the optical system shown in Table 7 and FIG.", "7.In the case of the fourth exemplary embodiment, an effective focal length (f) of the entire optical system is 4.10 mm.", "In addition, all of the first to fifth lenses L1 to L5 are configured of an aspherical surface plastic lens.", "Further, focal lengths of each lens used in the fourth exemplary embodiment are as follows: f1=3.959 mm, f2=−4.925 mm, f3=5.542 mm, f4=2.763 mm, and f5=−2.302 mm.", "TABLE 7 Radius of Surface Curvature Thickness Refractive Abbe's No.", "(R) (mm) Power (n) Number (v) Remarks *1 1.751 0.59 1.543 56.0 L1 *2 8.133 0.03 *3 7.962 0.35 1.635 23.7 L2 *4 2.222 0.25 *5 4.185 0.47 1.543 56.0 L3 *6 −10.466 0.51 *7 −2.102 0.60 1.543 56.0 L4 *8 −0.966 0.10 *9 50.000 0.66 1.543 56.0 L5 *10 1.219 0.50 11 ∞ 0.30 1.517 64.2 Optical Filter 12 ∞ 0.68 In Table 7, a mark * before the surface number indicates an aspherical surface.", "In the case of the fourth exemplary embodiment, both surfaces of the first to fifth lenses L1 to L5 are aspherical surfaces.", "In addition, values of aspherical surface coefficients of the fourth exemplary embodiment by Equation 1 are as shown by the following Table 8.TABLE 8 Surface No.", "K A B C D E 1 0.0000 0.0071 0.0183 −0.0097 −0.0185 — 2 0.0000 −0.0854 0.1565 −0.0880 — — 3 0.0000 −0.2336 0.2973 −0.1993 — — 4 0.0000 −0.2176 0.2534 −0.2119 0.0661 — 5 0.0000 −0.1155 −0.0049 −0.0484 −0.0346 0.0635 6 0.0000 −0.0457 −0.0487 0.0103 −0.0496 0.0423 7 0.0000 −0.0409 −0.1167 0.2662 −0.2476 0.1189 8 −1.0000 0.1786 −0.2042 0.2245 −0.0938 0.0126 9 0.0000 −0.1691 0.1144 −0.0458 0.0083 0.0001 10 −7.4160 −0.0995 0.0546 −0.0231 0.0062 −0.0010 Fifth Exemplary Embodiment The following Table 9 shows examples of numerical values according to a fifth exemplary embodiment of the present invention.", "In addition, FIG.", "9 is a lens configuration diagram showing a lens arrangement of an optical system for a camera according to a fifth exemplary embodiment of the present invention; and FIGS.", "10A and 10B are, respectively, views showing astigmatism and distortion of the optical system shown in Table 9 and FIG.", "9.In the case of the fifth exemplary embodiment, an effective focal length (f) of the entire optical system is 4.16 mm.", "In addition, all of the first to fifth lenses L1 to L5 are configured of an aspherical surface plastic lens.", "Further, focal lengths of each lens used in the fifth exemplary embodiment are as follows: f1=3.749 mm, f2=−4.198 mm, f3=4.042 mm, f4=4.365 mm, and f5=−2.505 mm.", "TABLE 9 Radius of Surface Curvature Thickness Refractive Abbe's No.", "(R) (mm) Power (n) Number (v) Remarks *1 1.938 0.62 1.543 56.0 L1 *2 32.755 0.08 *3 −19.728 0.45 1.635 23.7 L2 *4 3.145 0.22 *5 4.193 0.56 1.543 56.0 L3 *6 −4.434 0.58 *7 −1.639 0.47 1.543 56.0 L4 *8 −1.069 0.23 *9 44.872 0.70 1.543 56.0 L5 *10 1.319 0.50 11 ∞ 0.30 1.517 64.2 Optical Filter 12 ∞ 0.41 In Table 9, a mark * before the surface number indicates an aspherical surface.", "In the case of the fifth exemplary embodiment, both surfaces of the first to fifth lenses L1 to L5 are aspherical surfaces.", "In addition, values of aspherical surface coefficients of the fifth exemplary embodiment by Equation 1 are as shown by the following Table 10.TABLE 10 Surface No.", "K A B C D E 1 0.0000 0.0067 0.0161 −0.0043 −0.0121 — 2 0.0000 −0.0246 0.0876 −0.0484 — — 3 0.0000 −0.1293 0.1672 −0.1329 — — 4 0.0000 −0.1654 0.1759 −0.1349 0.0344 — 5 0.0000 −0.0963 0.0301 −0.0059 0.0170 −0.0053 6 0.0000 −0.0160 −0.0312 0.0119 0.0135 −0.0028 7 0.0000 0.0869 −0.1379 0.1153 −0.0644 0.0515 8 −1.0000 0.1292 −0.1915 0.2507 −0.2724 0.2071 9 0.0000 −0.1854 0.0877 −0.0323 0.0076 −0.0006 10 −7.4160 −0.0813 0.0343 −0.0112 0.0022 −0.0002 Meanwhile, values of Conditional Equations 1 and 2 with respect to the first to fifth exemplary embodiments are as shown in Table 11.TABLE 11 Exemplary Embodiment R31/f f3/f 1 0.811 1.255 2 1.059 1.408 3 1.200 1.492 4 1.020 1.351 5 1.007 0.971 As shown in the above Table 1, it may be confirmed that the first to fifth exemplary embodiments of the present invention satisfy Conditional Equations 1 and 2.As set forth above, in the optical system for a camera according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention, five sheets of lenses are configured of the aspherical surface plastic lens, thereby making it possible to decrease a manufacturing cost and implement a wide view angle.", "In addition, in the optical system for a camera according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the third lens is configured to perform the chromatic aberration correction for the first lens in a state in which five sheets of lenses are disposed, such that the first lens having the shape concave toward the image is used to alleviate the sensitivity to the manufacturing tolerance, thereby making it possible to improve a degree of freedom in design.", "Further, in the optical system for a camera according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the aperture stop is disposed between the first and second lenses, thereby making it possible to alleviate the sensitivity to the manufacturing tolerance of the first lens and improve the ambient light amount ratio.", "Although the exemplary embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as disclosed in the accompanying claims.", "Accordingly, such modifications, additions and substitutions should also be understood to fall within the scope of the present invention." ] ]
Patent_15873040
[ [ "CHILD-RESISTANT PACKAGE", "A package includes a vessel and a closure.", "The vessel is formed to include a product-storage chamber and a mouth opening into the product-storage chamber.", "The closure is configured to mount on the vessel to assume an installed position closing the mouth formed in the vessel when rotated relative to the vessel about a vertical axis of rotation in a closure-installation direction." ], [ "1.A child-resistant package comprising a vessel including a container formed to include a product-storage chamber and a separate container adapter mated to the container and arranged to define an upper boundary of the product-storage chamber, the container adapter including a top rim coupled to the container and an upwardly extending filler neck having a root end appended to the top rim and a free end arranged to lie in spaced-apart relation to the root end to define an endless side wall extending therebetween and defining a mouth opening into the product-storage chamber, a closure configured to surround and cooperate with the upwardly extending filler neck of the container adapter to close the mouth defined by the endless side wall, a child-resistant closure-release control mechanism including stationary first and second rotation blockers coupled to the top rim of the container and arranged to lie in spaced-apart relation to one another and a multi-mode closure-rotation inhibitor coupled to the closure to rotate therewith relative to the top rim during closure installation and removal from the container adapter, and an external dual-start thread system coupled to an exterior surface of the endless side wall of the upwardly extending filler neck and arranged to mate with the closure to retain the closure in a mouth-closing position on the upwardly extending filler neck of the container adapter, the external dual-start thread system including a first thread arranged to wind around the endless side wall and having a first leading end arranged to lie at a first distance from the top rim and a first trailing end arranged to lie at a relatively greater second distance from the top rim and a second thread arranged to wind around the endless side wall in an interleaved pattern relative to the first thread and having a second leading end arranged to lie at a third distance from the top rim and a second trailing end arranged to lie at a fourth distance above the top rim, wherein the closure-rotation inhibitor is arranged to be shifted relative to the endless side wall of the upwardly extending filler neck of the container adapter automatically during closure installation and manually during closure removal between a rotation-blocking expanded mode away from the endless side wall and a rotation-allowing compressed mode relatively nearer to the endless side wall, in the rotation-blocking expanded mode, the closure-rotation inhibitor will rotate along with the closure about a central vertical axis of rotation of the closure to engage one of the stationary first and second rotation blockers after rotation of the closure following engagement of the closure with a companion one of the first and second leading ends of the threads to block further rotation of the closure relative to the container adapter, and in the rotation-allowing compressed mode, the closure-rotation inhibitor has changed shape to assume a slimmed-down shape that is sized to pass through a space provided between one of the first and second rotation blockers and the endless side wall of the upstanding filler neck without engaging said one of the first and second rotation blockers so that further rotation of the closure relative to the container adapter is allowed leading to removal of the closure from the container adapter.", "2.The child-resistant package of claim 1, wherein the closure-rotation inhibitor comprises an L-shaped compliant arm having a root end coupled to the closure and a relatively short curved arm-return spring arranged to interconnect the closure a free end of the L-shaped compliant arm.", "3.The child-resistant package of claim 2, wherein the L-shaped compliant arm comprises a short segment defining a strip-support base and a relatively longer segment coupled to the short segment an elbow joint and arranged to cooperate with the short segment to define an inclined angle there between of about 90 degrees when the closure-rotation inhibitor is in the rotation-blocking expanded mode, the strip support base includes a stop face located at the free end of the L-shaped compliant arm and arranged to face toward and mate with a confronting rotation-blocking panel included in the first rotation blocker to block further rotation of the closure in a counter-clockwise closure removal direction so that a user is unable to rotate the closure about the central vertical axis of rotation sufficiently to separate the closure from the upwardly extending filler neck during removal of the closure from the container adapter, and the elbow joint is untethered from the endless side wall of the upwardly extending filler neck by any structure other than the short segment.", "4.The child-resistant package of claim 3, wherein the rotation-blocking panel included in the first rotation blocker has a slight negative draft angle to maximize locking engagement with the stop face of the relatively longer segment of the L-shaped compliant arm.", "5.The child-resistant package of claim 4, wherein the filler neck of the container has a filler-neck diameter, the container has a container dimension which is the largest dimension of the container measured in a horizontal plane, the central axis extends through the horizontal plane and is normal to the horizontal plane, and a ratio of the filler-neck diameter to the container dimension is greater than 0.5.6.The child-resistant package of claim 4, wherein the filler neck of the container has a filler-neck diameter, the container has a container dimension which is the largest dimension of the container measured in a horizontal plane, the central axis extends through the horizontal plane and is normal to the horizontal plane, and a ratio of the filler-neck diameter to the container dimension is greater than 0.5 and less than about 1.7.The child-resistant package of claim 1, wherein the filler neck of the container has a filler-neck diameter, the container has a container dimension which is the largest dimension of the container measured in a horizontal plane, the central axis extends through the horizontal plane and is normal to the horizontal plane, and a ratio of the filler-neck diameter to the container dimension is greater than 0.5.8.The child-resistant package of claim 7, wherein the ratio is less than about 1.9.The child-resistant package of claim 1, wherein the first distance from the top rim and the third distance from the top rim are approximately the same.", "10.The child-resistant package of claim 1, wherein the second distance from the top rim and the fourth distance from the top rim are approximately the same.", "11.A child-resistant package comprising a vessel including a container formed to include a product-storage chamber and a separate container adapter mated to the container and arranged to define an upper boundary of the product-storage chamber, the container adapter including a top rim coupled to the container and an upwardly extending filler neck having a root end appended to the top rim and a free end arranged to lie in spaced-apart relation to the root end to define an endless side wall extending therebetween and defining a mouth opening into the product-storage chamber, a closure configured to surround and cooperate with the upwardly extending filler neck of the container adapter to close the mouth defined by the endless side wall, a child-resistant closure-release control mechanism including stationary first and second rotation blockers coupled to the top rim of the container and arranged to lie in spaced-apart relation to one another and a multi-mode closure-rotation inhibitor coupled to the closure to rotate therewith relative to the top rim during closure installation and removal from the container adapter, and an external thread system coupled to an exterior surface of the endless side wall of the upwardly extending filler neck and arranged to mate with the closure to retain the closure in a mouth-closing position on the upwardly extending filler neck of the container adapter, the external thread system including a first thread arranged to wind around the endless side wall and having a first leading end arranged to lie at a first distance from the top rim and a first trailing end arranged to lie at a relatively greater second distance from the top rim, wherein the closure-rotation inhibitor is arranged to be shifted relative to the endless side wall of the upwardly extending filler neck of the container adapter automatically during closure installation and manually during closure removal between a rotation-blocking expanded mode away from the endless side wall and a rotation-allowing compressed mode relatively nearer to the endless side wall, in the rotation-blocking expanded mode, the closure-rotation inhibitor will rotate along with the closure about a central vertical axis of rotation of the closure to engage one of the stationary first and second rotation blockers after rotation of the closure following engagement of the closure with the leading end of the thread to block further rotation of the closure relative to the container adapter, and in the rotation-allowing compressed mode, the closure-rotation inhibitor has changed shape to assume a slimmed-down shape that is sized to pass through a space provided between one of the first and second rotation blockers and the endless side wall of the upstanding filler neck without engaging said one of the first and second rotation blockers so that further rotation of the closure relative to the container adapter is allowed leading to removal of the closure from the container adapter.", "12.The child-resistant package of claim 11, wherein the closure-rotation inhibitor comprises an L-shaped compliant arm having a root end coupled to the closure and a relatively short curved arm-return spring arranged to interconnect the closure a free end of the L-shaped compliant arm.", "13.The child-resistant package of claim 12, wherein the L-shaped compliant arm comprises a short segment defining a strip-support base and a relatively longer segment coupled to the short segment an elbow joint and arranged to cooperate with the short segment to define an inclined angle there between of about 90 degrees when the closure-rotation inhibitor is in the rotation-blocking expanded mode, the strip support base includes a stop face located at the free end of the L-shaped compliant arm and arranged to face toward and mate with a confronting rotation-blocking panel included in the first rotation blocker to block further rotation of the closure in a counter-clockwise closure removal direction so that a user is unable to rotate the closure about the central vertical axis of rotation sufficiently to separate the closure from the upwardly extending filler neck during removal of the closure from the container adapter, and the elbow joint is untethered from the endless side wall of the upwardly extending filler neck by any structure other than the short segment.", "14.The child-resistant package of claim 13, wherein the rotation-blocking panel included in the first rotation blocker has a slight negative draft angle to maximize locking engagement with the stop face of the relatively longer segment of the L-shaped compliant arm.", "15.The child-resistant package of claim 14, wherein the filler neck of the container has a filler-neck diameter, the container has a container dimension which is the largest dimension of the container measured in a horizontal plane, the central axis extends through the horizontal plane and is normal to the horizontal plane, and a ratio of the filler-neck diameter to the container dimension is greater than 0.5.16.The child-resistant package of claim 14, wherein the filler neck of the container has a filler-neck diameter, the container has a container dimension which is the largest dimension of the container measured in a horizontal plane, the central axis extends through the horizontal plane and is normal to the horizontal plane, and a ratio of the filler-neck diameter to the container dimension is greater than 0.5 and less than about 1.17.The child-resistant package of claim 11, wherein the filler neck of the container has a filler-neck diameter, the container has a container dimension which is the largest dimension of the container measured in a horizontal plane, the central axis extends through the horizontal plane and is normal to the horizontal plane, and a ratio of the filler-neck diameter to the container dimension is greater than 0.5.18.The child-resistant package of claim 17, wherein the ratio is less than about 1.19.The child-resistant package of claim 11, wherein the first distance from the top rim and the third distance from the top rim are approximately the same.", "20.The child-resistant package of claim 11, wherein the second distance from the top rim and the fourth distance from the top rim are approximately the same." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND <EOH>The present disclosure relates to packaging, and particularly to child-resistant packaging.", "More particularly, the present disclosure relates to child-resistant packaging that includes a closure-release control mechanism used to release a closure from a container.", "Child-resistant packaging is used to store products such as cleaning products.", "To prevent unwanted opening by children, such packaging is often configured to require multiple actions to remove a closure from a companion container." ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY <EOH>According to the present disclosure, a package includes a vessel and a closure.", "The vessel is formed to include a product-storage chamber and a mouth opening into the product-storage chamber.", "The closure is configured to mount on the vessel to assume an installed position closing the mouth formed in the vessel when rotated relative to the vessel about a vertical axis of rotation in a clockwise closure-installation direction.", "In illustrative embodiments, the vessel includes a container and a container adapter that is formed to include the mouth of the vessel and configured to mate with the closure.", "The container adapter is a separate item that is mated with the underlying container during a vessel-manufacturing process to form the vessel and define the product-storage chamber of the vessel.", "In illustrative embodiments, the package further includes a child-resistant closure-release control mechanism including stationary first and second rotation blockers coupled to a top rim of the container adapter and a multi-mode closure-rotation inhibitor coupled to the closure to rotate therewith during closure installation on and removal from the container adapter.", "A container adapter in accordance with the present disclosure carries the rotation blockers and may be coupled to an underlying container of any suitable shape.", "In illustrative embodiments, the closure-rotation inhibitor may be shifted relative to the container adapter automatically during closure installation and manually during closure removal between a rotation-blocking expanded mode and a rotation-allowing compressed mode.", "In the rotation-blocking expanded mode, the closure-rotation inhibitor will rotate along with the closure to engage one of the stationary first and second rotation blockers at some point during closure installation or removal to block further rotation of the closure relative to the container adapter.", "In the rotation-allowing compressed mode, the closure-rotation inhibitor has changed shape to assume a slimmed-down shape that is sized to pass through a space provided between a rotation blocker and the rotatable closure without engaging that companion rotation blocker so that further rotation of the closure relative to the container adapter is allowed leading to removal of the closure from the container adapter.", "In illustrative embodiments, the package further includes an external dual-start thread system coupled to a filler neck of the vessel.", "The external dual-start thread system permits installation of the closure on the vessel by rotating the closure 180 degrees relative to the vessel.", "In illustrative embodiments, the external dual-start thread system includes first and second threads interleaved with one another.", "Each thread includes an upper leading edge and a lower trailing edge.", "The leading edge of each thread is offset 90 degrees from each neighboring rotation blocker.", "In illustrative embodiments, the closure-rotation inhibitor comprises an L-shaped compliant arm coupled to the closure and a relatively short curved arm-return spring arranged to interconnect the closure and a free end of the L-shaped compliant arm.", "The closure-removal inhibitor is made of a flexible resilient plastics material normally to assume the rotation-blocking expanded mode.", "The closure and the closure-removal inhibitor cooperate to form a monolithic element in which the closure is relatively rigid and the closure-removal inhibitor is flexible to allow the inhibitor to change shape from an expanded shape to a slimmed-down compressed shape and also move relative to the closure during use.", "Additional features of the present disclosure will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon consideration of illustrative embodiments exemplifying the best mode of carrying out the disclosure as presently perceived." ], [ "PRIORITY CLAIM This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "15/223,553, filed Jul.", "29, 2016, which claims priority under 35 U.S.C.", "§ 119(e) to U.S.", "Provisional Application No.", "62/198,416, filed Jul.", "29, 2015, each of which is expressly incorporated by reference herein.", "BACKGROUND The present disclosure relates to packaging, and particularly to child-resistant packaging.", "More particularly, the present disclosure relates to child-resistant packaging that includes a closure-release control mechanism used to release a closure from a container.", "Child-resistant packaging is used to store products such as cleaning products.", "To prevent unwanted opening by children, such packaging is often configured to require multiple actions to remove a closure from a companion container.", "SUMMARY According to the present disclosure, a package includes a vessel and a closure.", "The vessel is formed to include a product-storage chamber and a mouth opening into the product-storage chamber.", "The closure is configured to mount on the vessel to assume an installed position closing the mouth formed in the vessel when rotated relative to the vessel about a vertical axis of rotation in a clockwise closure-installation direction.", "In illustrative embodiments, the vessel includes a container and a container adapter that is formed to include the mouth of the vessel and configured to mate with the closure.", "The container adapter is a separate item that is mated with the underlying container during a vessel-manufacturing process to form the vessel and define the product-storage chamber of the vessel.", "In illustrative embodiments, the package further includes a child-resistant closure-release control mechanism including stationary first and second rotation blockers coupled to a top rim of the container adapter and a multi-mode closure-rotation inhibitor coupled to the closure to rotate therewith during closure installation on and removal from the container adapter.", "A container adapter in accordance with the present disclosure carries the rotation blockers and may be coupled to an underlying container of any suitable shape.", "In illustrative embodiments, the closure-rotation inhibitor may be shifted relative to the container adapter automatically during closure installation and manually during closure removal between a rotation-blocking expanded mode and a rotation-allowing compressed mode.", "In the rotation-blocking expanded mode, the closure-rotation inhibitor will rotate along with the closure to engage one of the stationary first and second rotation blockers at some point during closure installation or removal to block further rotation of the closure relative to the container adapter.", "In the rotation-allowing compressed mode, the closure-rotation inhibitor has changed shape to assume a slimmed-down shape that is sized to pass through a space provided between a rotation blocker and the rotatable closure without engaging that companion rotation blocker so that further rotation of the closure relative to the container adapter is allowed leading to removal of the closure from the container adapter.", "In illustrative embodiments, the package further includes an external dual-start thread system coupled to a filler neck of the vessel.", "The external dual-start thread system permits installation of the closure on the vessel by rotating the closure 180 degrees relative to the vessel.", "In illustrative embodiments, the external dual-start thread system includes first and second threads interleaved with one another.", "Each thread includes an upper leading edge and a lower trailing edge.", "The leading edge of each thread is offset 90 degrees from each neighboring rotation blocker.", "In illustrative embodiments, the closure-rotation inhibitor comprises an L-shaped compliant arm coupled to the closure and a relatively short curved arm-return spring arranged to interconnect the closure and a free end of the L-shaped compliant arm.", "The closure-removal inhibitor is made of a flexible resilient plastics material normally to assume the rotation-blocking expanded mode.", "The closure and the closure-removal inhibitor cooperate to form a monolithic element in which the closure is relatively rigid and the closure-removal inhibitor is flexible to allow the inhibitor to change shape from an expanded shape to a slimmed-down compressed shape and also move relative to the closure during use.", "Additional features of the present disclosure will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon consideration of illustrative embodiments exemplifying the best mode of carrying out the disclosure as presently perceived.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTIONS OF THE DRAWINGS The detailed description particularly refers to the accompanying figures in which: FIG.", "1 is a perspective view of a child-resistant package in accordance with the present disclosure showing a vessel comprising a container adapter and an underlying container (with a portion of a side wall broken away to show a floor of the container), a rotatable closure mounted on the container adapter to cover a mouth opening into an interior region formed in the vessel, and a closure-release control mechanism comprising upstanding stationary first and second rotation blockers coupled to a top rim of the container adapter and a closure-removal inhibitor coupled to the closure to rotate therewith relative to the container adapter and configured to flex (when cammed or pushed) to shift relative to the container adapter between a normal rotation-blocking expanded mode shown in FIGS.", "1, 2, 13, and 14 and a temporary rotation-allowing compressed mode shown in FIG.", "12 and showing that the closure-removal inhibitor is configured to include (1) an arm-return spring tethered at an inner end thereof to the closure and (2) a compliant arm coupled at one end to an outer end of the closure and at an opposite end to the arm-return spring; FIG.", "2 is a top plan view of the package of FIG.", "1 showing that the rotatable closure is arranged to lie between and in spaced-apart relation to each of the upstanding stationary first and second removal blockers that are coupled to the top rim of the container adapter to provide a radially extending arm-passage space therebetween through which the compliant arm and the arm-return spring may pass when the closure-removal inhibitor is temporarily in the rotation-allowing compressed mode during installation of the closure on the container adapter as suggested in FIG.", "12; FIG.", "3 is a side elevation view of the package of FIGS.", "1 and 2 showing that an arm-passage space is provided between an outer side wall of the rotatable closure and each of the stationary first and second rotation blockers that are mounted on the top rim of the container adapter; FIG.", "4 is an exploded perspective assembly view showing the closure after it has been separated from the container adapter and positioned to lie above a threaded filler neck that is included in the container adapter and coupled to an inner edge of the top rim of the container adapter and showing that a root end of the compliant arm of the closure-removal inhibitor is coupled to an exterior side wall of the closure and a free end of the compliant arm of the closure-removal inhibitor is coupled to an outer end of the curved arm-return spring that is also included in the closure-removal inhibitor; FIG.", "5 is an enlarged side elevation view of the closure of FIGS.", "1-4; FIG.", "6 is a reduced top plan view of the closure of FIG.", "5 showing that the root end of the compliant arm is coupled to the exterior side wall of the closure and the free end of the compliant arm is separated from the exterior side wall of the closure; FIG.", "7 is a reduced bottom view of the closure of FIG.", "5; FIG.", "8 is a reduced side elevation view of the container of FIGS.", "1-4; FIG.", "9 is an enlarged perspective view of the closure-removal inhibitor of FIGS.", "1-7 coupled to an exterior side wall of the closure and showing that the arm-return spring is curved in a natural pre-loaded state and that the compliant arm includes a strip-support base cantilevered to the exterior side wall of the closure and a deflectable strip coupled to the strip-support base and configured to include a free end having (1) a radially inner portion coupled to an outer end of the curved arm-return spring and (2) a radially outer portion configured to provide a stop face; FIG.", "10 is an enlarged view of the circled region of FIG.", "1 showing that the stop face of the compliant arm is facing toward a substantially vertical rotation-blocking panel of the first rotation blocker so that the stop face will engage the stationary rotation-blocking panel during counterclockwise rotation of the closure relative to the container adapter to block further rotation of the closure about a vertical closure-rotation axis in a counterclockwise closure-removal direction and thereby inhibit removal of the closure from the container adapter until the deflectable strip of the compliant arm has been pushed to move radially inwardly toward the closure by a user to compress the arm-return spring and cause the compliant arm to flex and move toward and alongside the exterior side wall of the closure as suggested in FIG.", "12 so as to move the stop face of the compliant arm into and through the first arm-passage space to avoid contact with the stationary first rotation blocker and allow continued rotation of the closure in the counterclockwise closure-removal direction; FIG.", "11 is a top plan view of the package of FIG.", "1 during installation of the rotatable closure on the underlying container adapter and showing that the closure has been rotated on the threaded filler neck of the container adapter in a clockwise closure-installation direction to position the strip-support base of the compliant arm to lie in a downstream position aligned with and facing toward the first arm-passage space provided between the first rotation blocker and the exterior surface of the closure and showing that the leading strip-support base is narrow enough to pass through the first arm-passage space during rotation of the closure about the closure-rotation axis in the clockwise closure-installation direction; FIG.", "12 is a top plan view similar to FIG.", "11 showing that a radially inwardly facing portion of the stationary first rotation blocker has engaged an outwardly facing cam-follower ridge included in the deflectable strip to cause the deflectable strip to be moved toward and alongside the exterior side wall of the closure automatically during continued rotation of the closure in the clockwise closure-installation direction so that the compliant arm is arranged to pass through the first arm-passage space provided between the first rotation blocker and the exterior surface of the closure and showing that the arm-return spring coupled to the closure and to the deflectable strip is compressed to lie closer to the exterior surface of the closure during such passage; FIG.", "13 is a top plan view of the package of FIG.", "1 after the closure has been rotated still further in the clockwise closure-installation direction to assume an installed container-closing position to cause the stop face provided on the free end of the compliant arm to lie in spaced-apart relation to the rotation-blocking panel provided on the upstanding stationary first rotation blocker; FIG.", "14 is a top plan view similar to FIG.", "13 showing some rotation of the closure in a counterclockwise closure-removal direction to cause the stop face provided on the free end of the compliant arm of the closure-removal inhibitor to lie in closely confronting relation to the rotation-blocking panel provided on the upstanding stationary first rotation blocker so that further rotation of the closure relative to the container adapter in the counterclockwise closure-removal direction is blocked by engagement of the moving stop face and the stationary rotation-blocking panel to block removal of the closure from the container adapter unless a radially inwardly directed PUSH force (shown in phantom) is applied by a user to a radially outwardly facing surface of the compliant arm to cause the compliant arm and the arm-return spring to move in tandem toward the exterior side wall of the closure to assume compressed positions associated with the rotation-allowing compressed mode of the closure-removal inhibitor shown in FIG.", "12 to cause the stop face provided on the free end of the compliant arm to move radically inwardly away from the rotation-blocking panel of the stationary first rotation blocker so that continued rotation of the closure about the vertical closure-rotation axis in the counterclockwise closure-removal direction leading to removal of the closure from the container is possible without any engagement of the rotating stop face provided on the free end of the compliant arm and the rotation-blocking panel of the stationary first rotation blocker; FIG.", "15 is a perspective view of another package in accordance with the present disclosure having a vessel that is shaped differently than the vessel shown in FIG.", "1; FIG.", "15A is a top plan view of the container of FIG.", "15; FIG.", "16 is another view of the package of FIG.", "15; FIG.", "17 is a perspective view of yet another package in accordance with the present disclosure having a vessel that is shaped differently than the vessels shown in FIGS.", "1 and 15; and FIG.", "18 is a top pan view of the container of FIG.", "17.DETAILED DESCRIPTION A child-resistant package 10 includes a vessel 11 comprising a container 12 and a container adapter 12A as shown in FIG.", "1.Child-resistant package 10 also comprises a rotatable closure 14 mounted on container adapter 12A for rotation about a closure-rotation axis 14A to cover a mouth 15 opening into a product-storage chamber 16 formed in vessel 11 as shown in an illustrative embodiment shown, for example, in FIGS.", "1-3.Child-resistant package 10 also includes a child-resistant closure-release control mechanism 18 configured to control release of closure 14 from container adapter 12A.", "A package 10′ in accordance with another embodiment of the present disclosure is shown, for example, in FIGS.", "15 and 16 and includes a container 12′ and container adapter 12A′ having a top rim 120′.", "A package 10″ in accordance with yet another embodiment of the present disclosure is shown in FIG.", "17 and includes a container 12″ and a container adapter 12A″ having a top rim 120″.", "Vessel 11 includes a container 12 and a container adapter 12A as shown, for example, in FIGS.", "1 and 4.Container adapter 12A is formed to include the mouth 15 of vessel 11 and is configured to mate with closure 14.Container adapter 12A is a separate molded item that is mated with the underlying container 12 to form vessel 11 and define a product-storage chamber 16 of vessel during a vessel-manufacturing process.", "Closure-release control mechanism 18 includes a multi-mode closure-removal inhibitor 20 comprising a compliant arm 22 coupled to closure 14 and an arm-return spring 24 arranged to interconnect closure 14 and a free end 22F of compliant arm 22 as suggested in FIGS.", "1, 4, and 9.Compliant arm 22 is able to be moved relative to arm-return spring 24 and to closure 14 during flexure of closure-removal inhibitor 20 as suggested in FIGS.", "11 and 12.Closure-removal inhibitor 20 may be shifted relative to container adapter 12A automatically (during closure installation) or manually (during closure removal) between a rotation-blocking expanded mode shown, for example, in FIGS.", "1, 2, and 13 and a rotation-allowing compressed mode shown, for example, in FIG.", "12.In illustrative embodiments, closure 14, compliant arm 22, and arm-return spring 24 cooperate to form a monolithic component made of a plastics material.", "Closure-release control mechanism 18 also includes upright stationary first and second rotation blockers 31, 32 coupled to container adapter 12A as shown, for example, in FIGS.", "1, 4, and 11-14.In an illustrative embodiment, each rotation blocker 31, 32 is coupled to a top rim 120 of container adapter 12A.", "Rotation blockers 31, 32 are arranged to lie in spaced-apart relation to one another to locate the rotatable closure 14 therebetween to provide a first arm-passage space 131 between first rotation blocker 31 and rotatable closure 14 and to provide a second arm-passage space 132 between closure 14 and second rotation blocker 32 as suggested in FIG.", "2.Closure-removal inhibitor 20 may be shifted from the normal rotation-blocking expanded mode to the temporary rotation-allowing mode in accordance with the present disclosure.", "Compliant arm 22 (and arm-return spring 24) will flex and move relative to closure 14 automatically owing to engagement with radially inwardly facing portions of stationary first rotation blocker 31 to assume a temporary slimmed-down shape so that compliant arm 22 and arm-return spring 24 may pass through first arm-passage space 131 as suggested in FIG.", "12 during installation of closure 14 on container adapter 12A compliant arm 22 (and arm-return spring 24) also will flex and move relative to closure 14 only when a radially inwardly directed PUSH force is applied by a knowledgeable user to an exterior side of closure-removal inhibitor 20 as suggested in phantom in FIG.", "14 so that compliant arm 22 and arm-return spring 24 may pass in a counterclockwise direction through first arm-passage space 131 (see, for example, FIG.", "12).", "Only one of the stationary first and second rotation blockers 31, 32 included in closure-release control mechanism 18 will be needed to interact with the rotating closure-removal inhibitor 20 during installation of closure 14 on container adapter 12A or removal of closure 14 from container adapter 12A as suggested in FIG.", "2.No more than 180° of rotation of closure 14 is required to install closure 14 on container adapter 12A in the embodiment of FIGS.", "1-14.If closure 14 is oriented relative to container adapter 12A to position closure-removal inhibitor 20 below the reference line 100 shown in FIG.", "2 when closure 14 is first moved downwardly to engage the underlying container adapter 12A during the first stage of a closure-installation process, then only first rotation blocker 31 (and a companion first arm-passage space 131) will be used to control removal of closure 14 from container adapter 12A.", "However, if closure 14 is oriented relative to container adapter 12A to position closure-removal inhibitor 20 above the reference line 100 shown in FIG.", "2 at the start of a closure-installation process, then only second rotation blocker 32 (and a companion second arm-passage space 132) will be used to control removal of closure 14 from container adapter 12A.", "Container adapter 12A includes an upwardly extending filler neck 121 coupled to an inner edge of top rim 120 and a downwardly extending side wall 122 coupled to an outer edge of top rim 120 as suggested in FIG.", "4.Filler neck 121 includes external threads in an illustrative embodiment to mate with internal threads included in closure 14.Container 12 also includes a floor 123 coupled to a lower edge of side wall 122 and arranged to cooperate with side wall 122 and with top rim 120 and filler neck 121 of container adapter 12A to define the product-storage chamber 16 of vessel 11.Filler neck 121 includes an outer end formed to include mouth 15 as suggested in FIG.", "4.While top rim 120 has an annular shape in the embodiment of FIGS.", "1-14, it is within the scope of the present disclosure to provide container adapter 12A and vessel 11 with any suitable shape.", "As an example, a package 10′ comprising a vessel 11′ including a container adapter 12A′ and a container 12′, a closure 14, and a closure-release control mechanism 18 is shown in FIGS.", "15 and 16.In another example, a package 10″ comprising a vessel 11″, a container 12″ having a box-like shape and a container adapter 12A″, a closure 14, and a closure-release control mechanism 18 is shown in FIG.", "17.During installation of rotatable closure 14 on filler neck 121 of container adapter 12A, compliant arm 22 and arm-return spring 24 of closure-removal inhibitor 20 are moved automatically from a normal radially outwardly extending expanded mode shown, for example in FIG.", "11, to a temporary radially inwardly extending compressed mode to lie alongside an exterior side wall 14S of closure 14 as shown, for example, in FIG.", "12 during rotation of closure 14 about closure-rotation axis 14A in a clockwise closure-installation direction 101.In the expanded mode, closure-removal inhibitor 20 has an expanded width W as suggested in FIG.", "11.In the compressed mode, the lateral width of closure-removal inhibitor 20 is reduced from expanded width W to compressed width w as shown, for example, in FIG.", "12 due to camming engagement of a radially outwardly facing surface 22CAM on compliant arm 22 with a radially inwardly facing surface 311 on the stationary first rotation blocker 31 to cause each of the compliant arm 22 and arm-return spring 24 to flex and move relative to (and closer to) closure 14 so that closure-removal inhibitor 20 temporarily is slim enough to pass through the first arm-passage space 131 provided between the stationary first rotation blocker 31 and the exterior side wall 14S of closure 14 during rotation of closure 14 in the clockwise closure-installation direction 101 as suggested in FIGS.", "11-13.Once the temporarily slimmed-down closure-removal inhibitor 20 passes through the first arm-passage space 131 it will snap back to shift to the normal expanded mode as suggested in FIG.", "13 owing to resilient spring characteristics of each of the compliant arm 22 and the arm-return spring 24.During a first stage of closure removal, closure 14 will be rotated by a user in a counterclockwise closure-removal direction 102 from, for example, an installed position shown in FIG.", "13 to a rotation-blocked position in which a stop face 220 of a free end 22F of compliant arm 22 is arranged to face toward and mate with a confronting rotation-blocking panel 31P included in first rotation blocker 31 to block further rotation of closure 14 in the counterclockwise closure-removal direction 102 so that the user is unable to continue to rotate the closure 14 about closure-rotation axis 14A sufficiently to separate closure 14 from the filler neck 121 included in container adapter 12A.", "A knowledgeable user will know to apply a radially inwardly directed push force F to the radially outwardly facing surface 22P of compliant arm 22 to cause compliant arm 22 and arm-return spring 24 to move (as a unit) toward the exterior side wall 14S of closure 14 to assume the temporary compressed mode.", "In such a mode, the resilient and flexible closure-removal inhibitor 20 will be slimmed down enough so that it will pass through the first arm-passage space 131 to allow continued rotation of closure 14 about closure-rotation axis 14A in the counterclockwise closure-removal direction 102 until closure 14 may be separated from filler neck 121 of container adapter 12A.", "As suggested in FIG.", "4, top rim 120 of container adapter 12A has an annular shape.", "Each of the first and second rotation blockers 31, 32 is coupled to a radially outer portion of annular top rim 120 to lie in close proximity to side wall 122 of container 12.The rotation blockers 31, 32 are arranged to lie diametrically opposed to one another as shown, for example, in FIG.", "2.The rotation-blocking panel 31P included in first rotation blocker 31 has a slight negative draft angle to make lock engagement with stop face 220 of compliant arm 22 more robust in illustrative embodiments.", "The upwardly facing raised surface 31R provided on first rotation blocker 31 provides no ramping or camming function in the illustrated embodiment.", "Similarly, the upwardly facing raised surface 32R provided on second rotation blocker 32 provides no ramping or camming function in the illustrated embodiment.", "Compliant arm 22 has a root end 22R coupled to exterior side wall 14S of closure 14 and an opposite free end 22F that is arranged normally to be separated from exterior side wall 14S of closure 14 as suggested in FIGS.", "2, 9, and 10.Compliant arm 22 is substantially L-shaped and comprises a short segment defining a strip-support base 22B and a relatively longer segment defining a deflectable strip 22S and including stop face 220.In the illustrative embodiment, the length of the relatively short strip-support base 22B is less than the spacial distance provided between free end 22F of compliant arm 22 and exterior side wall 14S owing to a non-tangential angled orientation of deflectable strip 22S relative to annular exterior side wall 14S as suggested in FIGS.", "9 and 11.When free end 22F of compliant arm 22 is moved radially inwardly toward exterior side wall 14S of closure, a load is applied to compliant arm 22 since compliant arm 22 is made of a resilient, flexible, plastics material.", "Once that load is released, the springy compliant arm 22 will snap back to assume its original position relative to closure 14.Arm-return spring 24 is a relatively short curved segment as shown in FIG.", "9.Arm-return spring 24 includes an inner end 241 coupled to exterior side wall 14S of closure 14 and an outer end 240 coupled to free end 22F of compliant arm 22.Closure-removal inhibitor 20 is coupled to exterior side wall 14S of closure 14 as shown in FIG.", "9 Arm-return spring 24 is curved in a natural pre-loaded state.", "Compliant arm 22 includes a strip-support base 22B cantilevered to exterior side wall 14S of closure 14 and a deflectable strip 22S coupled to strip-support base 22B and configured to include a free end 22F having a radially inner portion 221 coupled to an outer end 240 of the curved arm-return spring 24 and a radially outer portion 220 configured to provide a stop face 220.Stop face 220 of compliant arm 22 is arranged to face toward a substantially vertical rotation-blocking panel 31P of the first rotation blocker 31 as suggested in FIG.", "10 so that the stop face 220 will engage the stationary rotation-blocking panel 31P during counterclockwise rotation of closure 14 relative to container 12 to block further rotation of closure 14 about a vertical closure-rotation axis 14A in a counterclockwise closure-removal direction 102.This inhibits removal of closure 14 from container adapter 12A until deflectable strip 22S of compliant arm 22 has been moved radially inwardly toward closure 14 by a user to compress arm-return spring 24 and cause compliant arm 22 to flex and move toward and alongside the exterior side wall 14S of closure 14 as suggested in FIG.", "12 so as to move the stop face 220 of compliant arm 22 into and through the first arm-passage space 131 to avoid contact with the stationary first rotation blocker 31 and allow continued rotation of closure 14 in the counterclockwise closure-removal direction 102.A top plan view of the child-resistant package 10 of FIG.", "1 during installation of the rotatable closure 14 on the underlying container adapter 12A is provided in FIG.", "11.At this stage of installation, closure 14 has been rotated on the threaded filler neck 121 of container adapter 12A in a clockwise closure-installation direction 101 to position strip-support base 22B of compliant arm 22 to lie in a downstream position aligned with and facing toward the first arm-passage space 131 provided between first rotation blocker 31and the exterior side wall 14S of closure 14.The leading strip-support base 22B is narrow enough to pass through the first arm-passage space 131 during rotation of closure 14 about the closure-rotation axis 14A in the clockwise closure-installation direction 101.A radially inwardly facing portion 311 of the stationary first rotation blocker 31 has engaged an outwardly facing elongated cam-follower ridge 22R included in the deflectable strip 22S to cause deflectable strip 22S to be moved toward and alongside the exterior side wall 14S of closure 14 during continued rotation of closure 14 in the clockwise closure-installation direction 101 so that compliant arm 22 is arranged to pass through the first arm-passage space 131 provided between first rotation blocker 31 and the exterior side wall 14S of closure 14.Also, the arm-return spring 24 coupled to the closure and to the deflectable strip 22S is compressed to lie closer to the exterior side wall 14S of closure 14 during such passage.", "In a next stage of closure installation, closure 14 has been rotated still further in the clockwise closure-installation direction 101 to assume an installed container-closing position as shown in FIG.", "13.Now, the stop face 220 provided on the free end 22F of compliant arm 22 is positioned to lie in spaced-apart relation to the rotation-blocking panel 31P provided on the upstanding stationary first rotation blocker 31.In a first stage of closure removal shown in FIG.", "14, some rotation of the closure in a counterclockwise closure-removal direction 102 has taken place to cause the stop face 220 provided on free end 22F of compliant arm 22 of closure-removal inhibitor 20 to lie in closely confronting relation to the rotation-blocking panel 31P provided on the upstanding stationary first rotation blocker 31.As such, any further rotation of closure 14 relative to container adapter 12A in the counterclockwise closure-removal direction 102 will be blocked by engagement of the moving stop face 220 and the stationary rotation-blocking panel 31P to block removal of closure 14 from container adapter 12A unless a radially inwardly directed PUSH force F (shown in phantom) is applied by a knowledgeable user to a radially outwardly facing surface 22P of compliant arm 22 to cause the compliant arm 22 and the arm-return spring 24 to move radially inwardly in tandem toward the exterior side wall 14S of closure 14 to assume compressed positions associated with the rotation-allowing compressed mode of the closure-removal inhibitor 20 shown in FIG.", "12 so that continued rotation of closure 14 about the vertical closure-rotation axis 14A in the counterclockwise closure-removal direction 102 will lead to removal of closure 14 from container adapter 12A.", "The compliant arm 22 is normally arranged to position stop face 220 so that it always catches on the rotation-blocking panel 31P of stationary first rotation blocker 31 and holds closure-removal inhibitor 20 from passing through arm-passage space 131 and by first rotation blocker 31 until compliant arm 22 is pushed inwardly to compress arm-return spring 24 and slim-down the width of closure-removal inhibitor 20.In accordance with the present disclosure, an external dual-start thread 121T is provided on filler neck 121 of container adapter 12A as suggested diagrammatically in FIGS.", "4 and 8.This allows closure 14 to be applied and locked more quickly than a single-start thread design.", "For example, closure 14 is applied and locked with about one half (i.e.", "about 180 degrees) of rotation in the clockwise closure-installation direction 101.External dual-start thread 121T includes a first thread 141 and a second thread 142.Each of first thread 141 and second thread 142 have a first leading end 144 and a first trailing end 146 as suggested in FIG.", "8.First leading end 144 is located between side wall 122 and closure 14.First trailing end 146 is located between first leading end 144 and closure 12 as shown in FIG.", "8.Each first leading end 144 is located in spaced-apart circumferential relation to both rotation blockers 31, 32 as shown in FIG.", "8.Said another way, each starting end is spaced apart from both rotation blockers about 90 degrees as shown in FIG.", "8.As a result, 180 degrees of closure rotation causes each closure removal inhibitor 20 to rotate past an associated rotation blocker 31, 32 during installation of closure 14.External dual-start thread system 121T is coupled to an exterior surface of the endless side wall of the upwardly extending filler neck 121 and arranged to mate with closure 12 to retain closure 12 in a mouth-closing position on upwardly extending filler neck 121 of container adapter 12A.", "External dual-start thread system 121T includes first thread 141 and second thread 142.First thread 141 is arranged to wind around the endless side wall and has a first leading end 144 arranged to lie at a first distance from top rim 120 and offset from the first rotation blocker 31 by a first angle 155 a first trailing end 146 arranged to lie at a relatively greater second distance from top rim 120.Second thread 142 is arranged to wind around the endless side wall in an interleaved pattern relative to first thread 141 and has a second leading end arrange to lie at a third distance from the top rim 120 and offset from the second rotation blocker 32 by a second angle 156 and offset from the first rotation blocker 31 by a third angle 157 as suggested in FIG.", "15A.", "In one example, the first angle 155 is about 80 degrees to about 90 degrees, the second angle 156 is about 80 degrees to about 90 degrees, and the third angle 157 is about 260 degrees to about 270 degrees.", "In another example, the first angle 155 is about 90 degrees, the second angle 156 is about 90 degrees, and the third angle 157 is about 270 degrees.", "In another example, first and second angles may 70 degrees and the third angle may be about 250 degrees, second, and third angles may be any suitable combination of angle.", "In yet another example, first, second, and third angles may be any suitable combination of angles.", "In one example, the angles should be selected such that multi-mode closure-removal inhibitor 20 passes by one of first and second rotation blockers 31, 32 during installation of closure 12 on container 12 during the 180 degrees of closure rotation.", "This dual-start thread 121T provides proper thread engagement to close and seal vessel 11 as needed particularly when the stored product is not moisture or air sensitive.", "Dual-start thread 121T may be useful when closure 14 is relatively wide and relatively thin as suggested in FIG.", "8.Thus, in accordance with the present disclosure, two rotation blockers 31, 32 are included so that there are two opportunities to engage the closure-removal inhibitor 20 when closure 14 is installed from any starting position on container 12.Containers 12, 12′, 12″ may be used, for example, to store detergent pods in product-storage chamber 16 formed therein.", "In the detergent-pod example, mouth 15 of container 12, 12′, and 12″ is sized to allow a hand of a user to pass there through and remove a detergent pod stored in product-storage chamber 16.As a result, container 12 and mouth 15 may be sized to accommodate this use.", "Container 12, for example, has a filler-neck diameter 148 as shown in FIG.", "4.Filler-neck diameter 148 is, for example, the diameter as measured to an outer surface of filler neck 121.In one example, filler-neck diameter 148 may be in a range of about 2.3 inches to about 4.2 inches.", "In another example, filler-neck diameter 148 may be in a range of about 2.256 inches to about 4.216 inches.", "In another example, filler-neck diameter 148 may be about 2.256 inches.", "In another example, filler-neck diameter 148 may be about 4.216 inches.", "Container 12, for example, has a thread diameter 152 as shown in FIG.", "4.Thread diameter 152 is, for example, the diameter as measured to an outer edge of threads 141, 142.In one example, thread diameter 152 may be in a range of about 2.4 inches to about 4.4 inches.", "In another example, thread diameter 152 may be in a range of about 2.35 inches to about 4.34 inches.", "In another example, thread diameter 152 may be about 2.35 inches.", "In another example, thread diameter 152 may be about 4.34 inches.", "Container 12, for example, has a filler-neck height 154 as shown in FIG.", "8.Filler-neck height 154 is, for example, the height of filler neck 121 above top rim 120.In one example, a filler-neck height 154 may be in a range of about 0.4 inches to about 0.7 inches.", "In another example, a filler-neck height 154 may be in a range of about 0.48 inches to about 0.647 inches.", "In another example, a filler-neck height 154 may be about 0.480 inches.", "In another example, a filler-neck height 154 may be about 0.647 inches.", "Container 12, for example, has a container diameter 150 as shown in FIG.", "5.Container diameter 150 is, for example, the largest diameter of the container measured to an outer surface of the container.", "In one example, container diameter 150 is greater than thread diameter 152.Container 12 may be referred to as a wide-mouth container due to the relationship between container diameter 150, filler-neck diameter 148, thread diameter 152, and filler-neck height 154.Container diameter 150 is, for example, the largest diameter of the container measured to an outer surface of the container.", "In one example, container diameter 150 is greater than thread diameter 152.Container 12 may be referred to as a wide-mouth container due to the relationship between container diameter 150, filler-neck diameter 148, thread diameter 152, and filler-neck height 154.Container 12′, for example, has a container width 12′W and a container length 12′L as shown in FIG.", "15A.", "In another example, container 12″ has a container width 12″W as shown in FIG.", "18.Filler-neck diameter 148, thread diameter 152, and filler-neck height 154 in accordance with the present disclosure may be used with containers 12′ and 12″.", "Containers 12′ and 12″ may be referred to as a wide-mouth container due to the relationship between dimensions of the container, filler-neck diameter 148, thread diameter 152, and filler-neck height 154.In one illustrative example, containers in accordance with the present disclosure may have a filler-neck diameter to container diameter ratio of greater than 0.5.Furthermore, containers in accordance with the present disclosure may have a filler-neck diameter to largest container dimension ratio as measured in a horizontal plane of greater than about 0.5.Container 12, for example, has a filler-neck diameter to container diameter ratio of about 0.6.Container 12′, for example, has a filler-neck diameter to container length ratio of about 0.5.Container 12′, for example, has a filler-neck diameter to container width ratio of about 0.9.Container 12″, for example, has a filler-neck diameter to container width ratio of 0.5.Container 12″, for example, has a filler-neck diameter to container width ratio of 0.6.In these examples, one factor used to determine the mouth diameter is that the diameter is of sufficient size to allow a user's hand to pass there through and remove product stored in product-storage chamber 16 or allow large products, such as detergent pods, to pass through mouth 15." ] ]
Patent_15873047
[ [ "OPTICAL SENSOR EMPLOYING A REFRACTIVE INDEX ENGINEERED METAL OXIDE MATERIAL", "An optical sensor device includes an optical waveguide portion having a core, the core having a first refractive index, and a functional material layer coupled to the optical fiber portion, the functional material layer being made of a metal oxide material, the functional material layer being structured to have a second refractive index, the second refractive index being less than the first refractive index.", "The functional material layer may be a nanostructure material comprising the metal oxide material with a plurality of holes or voids formed therein such that the functional material layer is caused to have the second refractive index." ], [ "1.A method of sensing an analyte in an environment in a spatially distributed manner, comprising: providing an optical sensor device in the environment, the optical sensor device including an optical waveguide portion having a core, the core having a first refractive index, and a functional material layer coupled to the optical waveguide portion, the functional material layer being comprised of a material that in a bulk, fully dense form has a natural, non-engineered refractive index that is greater than the first refractive index, the functional material layer being structured to have an engineered second refractive index that is lower than the first refractive index, wherein the functional material layer is an engineered nanostructure material with a plurality of voids formed therein, wherein throughout the functional material layer a porosity of the functional material layer is uniform and a size and a shape of the voids is uniform such that the functional material layer is caused to have the engineered second refractive index and such that light scattering in the optical sensor device is minimized, wherein the functional material layer is a material wherein at least one of the engineered second refractive index of the functional material layer or the optical absorption of the functional material layer will change in response to a parameter relating to the analyte, and wherein the engineered second refractive index of the functional material layer and losses thereof are engineered as to permit interrogation of a desired length of the optical sensor device or a plurality of sensing locations along the optical sensor device using a spatially distributed sensing technique; and sensing a presence of or measuring the parameter relating to the analyte at a plurality of locations along the optical sensor device using the spatially distributed sensing technique.", "2.The method according to claim 1, wherein the spatially distributed sensing technique employs an in-fiber sensing device.", "3.The method according to claim 2, wherein the in-fiber sensing device comprises a fiber Bragg grating.", "4.The method according to claim 1, wherein the spatially distributed sensing technique employs optical backscattering.", "5.The method according to claim 1, wherein the spatially distributed sensing technique comprises Brillouin scattering or Rayleigh scattering.", "6.The method according to claim 1, wherein the functional material layer is provided on a surface of the optical waveguide portion.", "7.The method according to claim 6, wherein the optical waveguide portion is a D-shaped optical fiber having a cladding layer having a partial cylindrical cross-section, the cladding layer and the functional material layer being made of different materials, the core being provided at least in part within the cladding layer and being partially exposed to the environment, the functional material layer being provided on a top, flat surface of the cladding layer and a top portion of the core.", "8.The method according to claim 1, wherein the voids comprise about 60% of the nanostructure material causing the functional material layer to have a total volume fraction of voids of about 60%.", "9.The method according to claim 1, wherein the voids each have a width or diameter of 50 nm or less, and wherein the voids comprise about 60% of the nanostructure material causing the functional material layer to have a total volume fraction of voids of about 60%.", "10.The method according to claim 9, wherein the voids each have a width or diameter of about 10 nm to about 20 nm.", "11.The method according to claim 1, wherein the engineered second refractive index is about 99.0% to about up to 99.7% of the first refractive index.", "12.The method according to claim 1, wherein the nanostructure material is formed using a sol-gel method.", "13.The method according to claim 12, wherein the sol-gel method uses a block copolymer as a structure directing agent.", "14.The method according to claim 13, wherein the block copolymer is a triblock copolymer and is poloxamer 407.15.The method according to claim 1, wherein the material comprising the functional material layer is selected from a group consisting of a zeolite, SnO2, TiO2, ZnO, WO3, and a perovskite.", "16.method of sensing an analyte in an environment in a spatially distributed manner, comprising: providing an optical waveguide portion having a core, the core having a first refractive index, and a functional material layer coupled to the optical waveguide portion, the functional material layer being structured to have an engineered second refractive index that is lower than the first refractive index, wherein the functional material layer is an engineered nanostructure material with a plurality of voids formed therein, wherein throughout the functional material layer a porosity of the functional material layer is uniform and a size and a shape of the voids is uniform such that the functional material layer is caused to have the engineered second refractive index, and wherein the functional material layer is a material wherein at least one of the engineered second refractive index of the functional material layer or the optical absorption of the functional material layer will change in response to a parameter relating to the analyte, and wherein the engineered second refractive index of the functional material layer and losses thereof are engineered as to permit interrogation of a desired length of the optical sensor device or a plurality of sensing locations along the optical sensor device using a spatially distributed sensing technique; and sensing a presence of or measuring the parameter relating to the analyte at a plurality of locations along the optical sensor device using the spatially distributed sensing technique.", "17.The method according to claim 16, wherein the distributive sensing technique employs an in-fiber sensing device.", "18.The method according to claim 17, wherein the in-fiber sensing device comprises a fiber Bragg grating.", "19.The method according to claim 16, wherein the spatially distributed sensing technique employs optical backscattering.", "20.The method according to claim 16, wherein the spatially distributed sensing technique comprises one of Brillouin scattering or Rayleigh scattering." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION <EOH>" ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION <EOH>In one embodiment, an optical sensor device is provided that includes an optical waveguide portion having a core, the core having a first refractive index, and a functional material layer coupled to the optical waveguide portion, the functional material layer being made of a metal oxide material, the functional material layer being structured to have a second refractive index, the second refractive index being less than the first refractive index.", "In the exemplary embodiment, the functional material layer is a nanostructure material comprising the metal oxide material with a plurality of holes or voids formed therein such that the functional material layer is caused to have the second refractive index.", "In another embodiment, a method of making an optical sensor device is provided that includes providing an optical waveguide portion having a core, and foaming a functional material layer made of a metal oxide material, the functional material layer being coupled to the optical waveguide portion, the core having a first refractive index, the functional material layer being structured to have a second refractive index, the second refractive index being less than the first refractive index.", "In still another embodiment, an optical sensor device is provided that includes a multilayer hollow waveguide device having: (i) a hollow waveguide tube layer, (ii) an intermediate layer provided inside the hollow waveguide tube layer, and (iii) a metal oxide coating layer inside the intermediate layer." ], [ "CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This is a divisional application which claims priority from U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "14/259,213, filed on Apr.", "23, 2014, entitled “Optical Sensor Employing a Refractive Index Engineered Metal Oxide Material,” and under 35 U.S.C.", "§ 119(e) to U.S.", "Provisional Patent Application No.", "61/816,457, filed on Apr.", "26, 2013, entitled “Fiber Optic Sensor Employing a Metal Oxide Material,” the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.", "GOVERNMENT CONTRACT This invention was made with government support under grant #1054652 awarded by the National Science Foundation and grant #DE-FE0003859 awarded by the Department of Energy.", "The government has certain rights in the invention.", "BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1.Field of the Invention The present invention pertains to the integration of functional sensory materials with optical guiding structures by employing refractive index engineering through nano-structuring.", "More specifically, the present invention pertains to optical sensor devices, and, in particular, to an optical sensor device employing a metal oxide material such as a metal oxide material having a tailored refractive index through, for example, controlled nm-scale porosity.", "2.Description of the Related Art Optical fiber is one of the most versatile sensor platforms due to its inherent ability to operate in a wide array of extreme conditions.", "For example, fiber optic sensors can perform in a number of conditions/environments that are problematic and/or impossible for electronic sensors, such as, without limitation, high temperature environments, corrosive environments, strong electromagnetic field conditions, and in environments containing volatile organic/inorganic species.", "As is known in the art, to perform chemical and/or bio sensing using fiber optic devices, such devices typically employ functional sensing materials that undergo material changes in response to the presence of an analyte, such as a given chemical species and/or biological material being sensed/detected.", "A variety of optical responses have been documented by exposing high refractive index sensing materials to a species of interest such as, but not limited to, optical effects in a sensing device due to a refractive index modulation, absorption, fluorescence, and optical losses due to coupling with surface plasmons.", "Amongst their many applications, metal oxides are an important class of functional materials in chemical and bio sensing applications.", "A large variety of metal oxides have been explored extensively for highly sensitive resistance based electronic sensors.", "While the optimization of sensor responses to specific analytes remains a challenge, the basic origin and form of the resistivity response of metal oxide chemi-resistive sensors is well known and can be linked to a change in free carrier concentration or free carrier mobility.", "In contrast, the exploration of metal oxides in optical sensing applications (e.g., as coatings on optical fibers) has not been effectively investigated due in part to the incompatibilities of the refractive indices of metal oxides and optical fiber components, such as silica fiber cores.", "The refractive index is arguably one of the most important parameters in optics as it determines the working relationships between the constituent components of optical devices.", "In particular, in an optical sensing application employing a metal oxide as a functional material, the sensitivity to an analyte is a key issue.", "One way to improve the sensitivity of a fiber optic sensor for a given metal oxide coating is to increase the interaction length between the metal oxide coating and the guided light, which in turn facilitates the accumulation of the response, whether refractive index or absorption based, leading to an increase in sensitivity.", "This is, however, not a trivial issue since the typical refractive index, n, of a metal oxide (n≥2.0) is significantly higher than that of commercial silica fiber cores (n˜1.46).", "As a result, the interaction between the guided light in the core of a silica fiber with higher index sensing can destroy the guiding of the fiber due to scattering or radiative losses if the design restrictions imposed by the high refractive indices are not considered.", "To date, the only way to overcome this problem, with some degrees of success, is to utilize very thin film coatings when they are in close proximity with the fiber core.", "Such thin coatings reduce the amount of the evanescent waves confined in the film, and thus reduce the sensitivity of the device (due to a reduction of the interaction length to both the analyte and the interrogating field).", "SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In one embodiment, an optical sensor device is provided that includes an optical waveguide portion having a core, the core having a first refractive index, and a functional material layer coupled to the optical waveguide portion, the functional material layer being made of a metal oxide material, the functional material layer being structured to have a second refractive index, the second refractive index being less than the first refractive index.", "In the exemplary embodiment, the functional material layer is a nanostructure material comprising the metal oxide material with a plurality of holes or voids formed therein such that the functional material layer is caused to have the second refractive index.", "In another embodiment, a method of making an optical sensor device is provided that includes providing an optical waveguide portion having a core, and foaming a functional material layer made of a metal oxide material, the functional material layer being coupled to the optical waveguide portion, the core having a first refractive index, the functional material layer being structured to have a second refractive index, the second refractive index being less than the first refractive index.", "In still another embodiment, an optical sensor device is provided that includes a multilayer hollow waveguide device having: (i) a hollow waveguide tube layer, (ii) an intermediate layer provided inside the hollow waveguide tube layer, and (iii) a metal oxide coating layer inside the intermediate layer.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG.", "1 is a schematic diagram of a fiber optic sensor device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention; FIG.", "1A is a magnified view of a portion of the fiber optic sensor device of FIG.", "1; FIG.", "2 is a cross-sectional diagram of the fiber optic sensor device of FIG.", "1; FIG.", "3A is a graph showing the measured and extrapolated refractive indices of various forms of SnO2 coatings prepared by an exemplary method of the present invention described herein; FIG.", "3B is a graph showing the measured refractive indices of SnO2, TiO2 and ZnO coatings also prepared by an exemplary method of the present invention described herein; FIGS.", "4A-4E show Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM) and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) images of exemplary fabricated nanostructures of which the TEM images for the SnO2 nanomaterial were directly obtained from exemplary implementations of the fiber optic sensor device of FIGS.", "1 and 2; FIG.", "5 is a schematic representation of a cavity ring down spectroscopy system which employs the fiber optic sensor device of FIGS.", "1 and 2; FIG.", "6 is a schematic diagram of a fiber optic sensor device according to an alternative exemplary embodiment; and FIG.", "7 is a schematic diagram of a fiber optic sensor device according to another alternative exemplary embodiment.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS As used herein, the singular form of “a”, “an”, and “the” include plural references unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.", "As used herein, the statement that two or more parts or components are “coupled” shall mean that the parts are joined or operate together either directly or indirectly, i.e., through one or more intermediate parts or components, so long as a link occurs.", "As used herein, “directly coupled” means that two elements are directly in contact with each other.", "As used herein, “fixedly coupled” or “fixed” means that two components are coupled so as to move as one while maintaining a constant orientation relative to each other.", "As used herein, the word “unitary” means a component is created as a single piece or unit.", "That is, a component that includes pieces that are created separately and then coupled together as a unit is not a “unitary” component or body.", "As employed herein, the statement that two or more parts or components “engage” one another shall mean that the parts exert a force against one another either directly or through one or more intermediate parts or components.", "As employed herein, the term “number” shall mean one or an integer greater than one (i.e., a plurality).", "As used herein, the term “metal oxide” shall mean a chemical compound that contains at least one oxygen atom and at least one other element in the form of a metal in its chemical formula, and shall include doped variants thereof and mixed metal oxides.", "Examples of metal oxides are, without limitation, zeolites, SnO2, TiO2, ZnO, WO3, and perovskites such as barium strontium cobalt iron oxide (BSCF).", "As used herein, the term “nanostructure” shall mean an object of intermediate size between microscopic and molecular structures having at least one dimension (e.g., the diameter of a hole, a sphere or a tubular structure) that is much less than the wavelength of the light used (e.g., typically less than one order of magnitude defined as 1/10, not excluding functional designs which may be less strict such as ⅕th).", "For example, in one particular embodiment, the at least one dimension is ≤100 nm.", "As used herein, the term “sol-gel process or method” shall mean a method for producing solid materials from small molecules (e.g., used for the fabrication of metal oxides, especially the oxides of silicon and titanium), that includes conversion of monomers into a colloidal solution (sol) that acts as the precursor for an integrated network (or gel) of either discrete particles or network polymers.", "Directional phrases used herein, such as, for example and without limitation, top, bottom, left, right, upper, lower, front, back, and derivatives thereof, relate to the orientation of the elements shown in the drawings and are not limiting upon the claims unless expressly recited therein.", "FIG.", "1 is a schematic diagram and FIG.", "2 is a cross-sectional diagram of a fiber optic sensor device 2 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.", "FIG.", "1A is a magnified view of a portion of fiber optic sensor device 2.As described in detail below, fiber optic sensor device 2 employs a metal oxide functional material having a tailored refractive index, and is structured to detect/measure an analyte, such as a gas (e.g., without limitation, NH3), in an environment based on a change in the refractive index of the functional material induced by an analyte, a change in the optical absorption of the functional material induced by an analyte, a change in the fluorescent properties, or some combination of the above mentioned types of response.", "Fiber optic sensor device 2 in the non-limiting exemplary embodiment includes a D-shaped optical fiber 4 having a core 6 surrounded by a cladding layer 8 which has a hemispherical cross-section.", "It will be understood, however, that such a D-shaped optical fiber is meant to be exemplary only, and that optical fibers having other shapes, such as a fiber having a cylindrical cross-section, are contemplated within the scope of the disclosed concept.", "It will also be understood that optical waveguide structures not in the form of an optical fiber are a natural extension of the embodiments described herein and are contemplated within the scope of the disclosed concept.", "In the exemplary embodiment, core 6 has a cylindrical shape, but it will be appreciated that other shapes, such as a shape having an elliptical cross-section, are also possible.", "Core 6 and cladding layer 8 are each made of a light propagating material, such as fused silica (possibly doped with another material such as germanium and/or boron), wherein core 6 has an index of refraction that is greater than the index of refraction of cladding layer 8.In the exemplary embodiment, D-shaped optical fiber 4 is formed in manner wherein the top portion (e.g., top quarter to half) of core 6 extends beyond and above the top, flat edge of cladding layer 8 (i.e., without coating layer 12 described below, the top portion of core 6 is exposed).", "D-shaped optical fiber 4 in the exemplary embodiment also includes an in-fiber optic component 10 formed in core 6.In the exemplary embodiment, in-fiber optic component 10 is a Fiber Bragg Grating (FBG).", "As is known in the art, an FBG consists of a series of perturbations, foaming a grating, in the index of refraction along the length of an optical fiber.", "An FBG reflects a spectral peak of a light that is transmitted through the fiber, and the particular spectral peak (called the resonance wavelength) that is reflected depends upon the grating spacing.", "In the exemplary embodiment, in-fiber optic component 10 is an FBG with a constant period (meaning the grating elements are evenly spaced), referred to as a uniform FBG.", "In-fiber optic component 10 may also take on other forms, such as an FBG having gratings that have a varying period (referred to as a chirped FBG), a fiber interferometer, or a Fabry-Perot cavity (FP).", "It will be understood, however, that in-fiber optic component 10 formed in core 6 is optional, and that fiber optic sensor device 2 may also be formed with a D-shaped optical fiber 4 that does not include an in-fiber optic component 10.As seen in FIGS.", "1, 1A and 2, in the exemplary embodiment, fiber optic sensor device 2 further includes a coating layer 12 provided on the top, flat surface of cladding layer 8 and the top portion core 6.In an alternative embodiment, coating layer 12 may be provided on the entire outer perimeter of fiber optic sensor device 2.Coating layer 12 is made of a metal oxide material and is structured and formed in a manner such that coating layer 12 has a refractive index that is less than the refractive index of core 6.In the exemplary, non-limiting embodiment, the refractive index of coating layer 12 is about 99.0% to about 99.7% of the refractive index of core 6.In one particular exemplary embodiment, core 6 is made of fused silica having a refractive index of about 1.46, and coating layer 12 is made of SnO2 (which, in its normal form typically has a refractive index of about 2.2) and is structured and formed such that it has a refractive index of about 1.45.In another particular exemplary embodiment, core 6 is made of fused silica having a refractive index of about 1.468, and coating layer 12 is made of SnO2 (which, in its normal form typically has a refractive index of about 2.2) and is structured and formed such that it has a refractive index of about 1.461.In the exemplary embodiment, and as shown schematically in FIG.", "1A, coating layer 12 is structured and formed to have such a reduced refractive index by forming coating layer 12 as a highly porous nanostructure material with a plurality of voids (also referred to as holes) 14 (i.e., nano-voids or nano-holes) formed therein (sometimes referred to as a network of voids 14).", "In the illustrated exemplary embodiment, coating layer 12 is about 2 μm thick and, with the voids 14 formed therein, is about 60% void and about 40% SnO2.", "(the percentage or fraction of voids 14 as compared to the volume of the whole structure being referred to herein as the “total volume fraction of voids”).", "It will be understood, however, that by employing the design method described herein, virtually any thickness of coating layer 12 nay be employed.", "In the exemplary embodiment, the total volume fraction of voids in coating layer 12 is chosen so as to cause coating layer 12 to have an “engineered” refractive index that is less than the refractive index of core 6 In one particular, non-limiting embodiment, coating layer 12 is formed such that it has a lattice structure wherein the voids 12 have a generally regular and consistent shape (such as a spherical shape).", "In one such lattice structure, the voids 14 have a characteristic dimension (e.g., width or diameter) of the void network that is less than or equal to a predetermined value.", "For example, and without limitation, the voids 14 may be spherical and each have a diameter of about 20 nm, of between about 10 nm and about 20 nm, of about ≤20 nm, of between about 10 nm and about 50 nm, or of between about 10 nm and about 100 nm.", "It will be understood that these dimension are meant to be exemplary only and that it is possible for the void sizes to be much larger, perhaps up to even 200 nm, and still be viable for engineering the refractive index for light at 1550 nm.", "In still another example, the voids 12 may actually be a continuous network and the characteristic dimension (e.g., 20 nm size) may be the characteristic width of the void network in one dimension.", "In one particular embodiment, characteristic dimension of the void network is chosen so that local light scattering is avoided/minimized by making the characteristic dimension of the voids 14 at least about ten times smaller than the wavelength of the light being used/measured in any particular application.", "The controlled tailoring (via controlled nano-structuring) of the metal oxide porosity as just described is what allows the refractive index of coating layer 12 to be reduced below that of core 6, which in turn enables the development of highly sensitive evanescent wave fiber optic sensors with long interaction lengths.", "At the same time, it removes the thickness, interaction length, and proximity restrictions that have previously been imposed in the prior art by the high refractive indices of metal oxide materials.", "In addition, in further embodiments, metal oxide coating layer 12 may be modified through doping or by forming a mixed metal oxide to target fiber optic sensor device 2 for a particular gas species of interest.", "For example, and without limitation, coating layer 12 may be made of SnO2 as described herein and may be doped with palladium (Pd) or platinum (Pt) in order to target fiber optic sensor device 2 for hydrogen (H) sensing.", "In another embodiment, the coating layer may be a hybrid metal oxide that contains a mixture of two or more materials.", "For example, and without limitation, tin oxide with zinc oxide.", "In one particular exemplary embodiment, a polymer-based synthesis technique is employed to form fiber optic sensor device 2 having coating layer 12 such that, as just described, it has a tailored refractive index that is less than the refractive index of core 6.More specifically, a sol-gel approach is used to produce coating layer 12 over D-shaped optical fiber 4.In this sol-gel approach, a polymer additive is used as a structure directing agent such that the porosity of the metal oxide (SnO2 in the illustrated exemplary embodiment) is controlled at the scale of tens of nanometers for refractive index tailoring.", "The porosity/refractive index is controlled by varying the included amount of the polymer.", "In the exemplary embodiment, poloxamer 407, also known by the trade name Pluronic® F127, a triblock copolymer, is used as the structure directing agent.", "During the process, the structure directing agent is mixed with SnCl4 in Ethanol to form a precursor.", "The precursor is then modified by the addition of HCl to adjust the pH to about 0.5 (in the exemplary embodiment, precursor is modified by the addition of 37% HCl dissolved in water).", "Other chemicals could be used for such purposes as well.", "For example, refractive index tailored SnO2 films can also be synthesized by addition of a structure directing agent to a mixture of Sn-isopropoxide and a solvent such as a mixture of isopropanol and toluene among many others.", "Other acids could include glacial acetic acid, nitric acid, and many others.", "Also, metal oxides can be coated by non-wet processing, such as sputtering, where the nm-scale voids could be fabricated through nano-lithography and patterning approaches, reactive ion-etching, or other suitable techniques.", "Other exemplary embodiments include: (i) TiO2 solutions containing TiCl4, ethanol, Pluronic F-127, and 37% HCl in water, and (ii) ZnO solutions containing zinc acetate dihydrate, ethanol, Pluronic F-127, and 30% ammonium hydroxide dissolved in water.", "Coating layer 12 is formed over D-shaped optical fiber 4 by dragging (e.g., manually) D-shaped optical fiber 4 through the precursor, immersed in an open dish, at a rate of approximately 1 cm/s.", "The coated sample is then exposed to a temperature treatment which includes initially drying the coated sample at 70° C., followed by a slow ramp of temperature to 130° C. and then to 600° C. to form the porous coating layer 12 (porous SnO2 in the exemplary embodiment).", "Afterwards, the coated sample is allowed to cool down at a slow rate.", "Amongst the available choices of copolymers for porosity engineering at the nanoscale, poloxamer 407 (a triblock copolymer as noted above) is the most favored.", "Poloxamer 407 has been shown to provide highly porous SnO2 coatings with average feature size of around 20 nm.", "FIG.", "3A shows the measured (400-800 nm) and extrapolated (800-1600 nm) refractive indices of various forms of SnO2 coatings prepared by the above described method according to one exemplary embodiment.", "The refractive index of bulk, fully dense SnO2 is also presented as a reference.", "A 100 nm thick SnO2 thin film prepared by sputter coating (estimated porosity of around 3-5%) is also included for comparison.", "Using the Lorentz single oscillator model with Bruggeman's Effective Medium Theory, it was determined that a volume fraction of about 60% void for the Nano-Structured SnO2 was used.", "At 1550 nm, the wavelength of interest, it can be seen that the SnO2 coating has a refractive index of 1.461, which is slightly smaller than the refractive index of the fiber core (1.468).", "FIG.", "3B shows the measured refractive indices of various forms of SnO2 coatings prepared by the above described method and other metal oxides such as TiO2 and ZnO according to another exemplary embodiment.", "The refractive indices of their bulk, fully dense counterparts are also presented as a reference.", "Using the Lorentz single oscillator model with Bruggeman's Effective Medium Theory, a volume fraction of about 60% air void was determined for Nano-Structured SnO2 that was used to coat the fiber.", "At 1550 nm, the wavelength of interest, the SnO2 coating has a refractive index of 1.461, which is slightly smaller than the refractive index of the fiber core (1.468).", "Moreover, in order to examine the underlying structure of the reduced index nanostructured metal oxide of the present invention, cross-sectional TEM samples were prepared using one particular exemplary embodiment of fiber optic sensor device 2 through standard FIB lift-out procedures.", "A protective layer of Pt was deposited on the surface prior to sectioning and a tungsten-probe tip was used for sample lift-out and electron transparency was obtained over an approximately 10 μm wide region for the entire film thickness.", "As expected, and a shown in FIG.", "4A, the scanning transmission electron (STEM) image clearly shows a large degree of film porosity through z-contrast that is homogeneous over the entire region imaged with porosity features ranging from less than ˜20 nm up to greater than ˜50 nm in diameter.", "In addition, as shown in FIG.", "4B, bright field TEM imaging shows an average SnO2 grain size of approximately 10 nm.", "A Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) obtained from the high resolution TEM image confirms the expected cassiterite crystal structure, as shown in FIG.", "4E.", "TEM imaging of a nanostructured TiO2 sample is presented in FIG.", "4C.", "A scanning electron microscope image of an exemplary ZnO nanostructure is shown in FIG.", "4D.", "FIG.", "5 shows one particular, exemplary application for fiber optic sensor device 2.More specifically, FIG.", "5 is a schematic representation of a cavity ring down spectroscopy (CRDS) system 20 which employs fiber optic sensor device 2 for highly sensitive analyte detection.", "As is known in the art, CRDS is a highly sensitive optical spectroscopic technique that enables measurement of absolute optical extinction by samples that scatter and absorb light.", "It has been widely used to study gaseous samples which absorb light at specific wavelengths, and in turn to determine mole fractions down to the parts per trillion level.", "Referring to FIG.", "5, in the illustrated embodiment, CRDS system 20 includes an optical fiber 22 that is provided in the form of a circulating ring structure.", "In the exemplary embodiment, optical fiber 22 is a D-shaped optical fiber.", "A fiber coupler 24 is provided to enable an exciting pulse to be transmitted into optical fiber 22, and a fiber coupler 26 is provided to enable decaying pulses to be transmitted out of optical fiber 22 for analysis.", "Some gain control mechanism 28 is included between fiber coupler 24 and fiber coupler 26.The purpose of the gain control scheme is to minimize the intrinsic losses in the system prior to sensory analysis.", "The exemplified schematic is a simplified representation of a generally more complex system and does not exclude more elaborate cavity ring down schemes that may be used to exploit the adjusted refractive index integrated optical fiber.", "Cavity ring-down schemes with gain control mechanisms such as those described in Nicholas L. P. Andrews, “Near-infrared absorption detection in picolitre liquid volumes using amplified fibre loop ring-down detection”, Optical Fiber Technology 19 (2013), pp.", "822-827; George Stewart, “An investigation of an optical fibre amplifier loop for intra-cavity and ring-down cavity loss measurements”, Measurement Science and Technology 12 (2001), pp.", "843-849; Helen Waechter, “Chemical Sensing Using Fiber Cavity Ring-Down Spectroscopy”, Sensors 2010, 10, pp.", "1716-1742; and George Stewart, “Cavity-enhanced spectroscopy in fiber cavities”, Optics Letters, Mar.", "1, 2004, pp.", "442-444, Vol.", "29, No.", "5.may be used to adjust and control gain in the loop to yield long ring-down decay time for sensitive chemical measurements.", "CRDS system 20 further includes a quartz tube 30 having an analyte input end 32 and an analyte output end 34.A heating element 36 is provided around a portion of quartz tube 30.Furthermore, as seen in FIG.", "5, optical fiber 22 includes fiber optic sensor device 2 at a portion thereof that is located within quartz tube 30 and heating element 36.In the exemplary embodiment, fiber optic sensor device 2 is of the type that does not include an in-fiber optic component 10.In operation, an analyte (e.g., a gas species) is introduced into quartz tube 30, and an exciting pulse is transmitted into optical fiber 22.The exciting pulse is circulated within the loop of optical fiber 22 many times (e.g., 1000 times).", "As will be appreciated, with each circulation, the exciting pulse will experience some loss.", "While the amount of loss in each circulation is small, that loss will accumulate over time with each circulation.", "Thus, during the circulation process, decaying pulses are transmitted out of optical fiber 22 and are used to analyze the analyte.", "For example, the time it takes the exciting pulse to decay to 1/e of its initial intensity (the “ringdown time”) can be used to calculate the concentration of the analyte in quartz tube 30.In addition, fiber optic sensor device 2 may also be used in a distributive fiber sensing application wherein the scattered light within a fiber is used for sensing purposes.", "As is known in the art, distributive fiber sensing can be broken down into two categories.", "The first is known as Brillouin scattering, which is realized by sending a high energy optical pulse into an optical waveguide.", "The lattice vibrations generated give rise to a pressure wave traveling at the speed of sound.", "This pressure wave can be considered as a moving grating along the fiber and its properties will depend on the surrounding environment.", "The returning probing light will carry information about this environment and can be used for detection.", "The second type of distributive sensing is known as Rayleigh scattering.", "Here, one measures the backscattered light which contains information as well about the fiber surroundings, such as refractive index variations, absorption losses, and etc.", "Thus, in another exemplary application of fiber optic sensor device 2, such a device may be provided in an environment, such as a chemical plant, where it would be desirable to be able to detect the presence of a chemical species.", "In such an application, fiber optic sensor device 2 may have a relatively long length, e.g., 100 m, in order to cover the area of interest, and distributive fiber sensing as described above (Brillouin scattering or Rayleigh scattering) may be used to determine the location along fiber optic sensor device 2 where the chemical species is being absorbed, which may indicate a leak at that location.", "FIG.", "6 is a schematic diagram of a fiber optic sensor device 40 according to an alternative exemplary embodiment.", "Fiber optic sensor device 40 is a multilayer hollow waveguide device that includes at least the following three layers: (i) a hollow waveguide tube layer 42 (e.g., cylindrical or other shape) made of a material such as silica, plastic, or metal such as nickel, (ii) a reflective coating layer 44 provided on an inner surface of hollow waveguide tube layer 42 and made of, for example, a metal material such as silver or gold, and (iii) a metal oxide coating layer 46 provided on an inner surface of reflective coating layer 44.In the exemplary embodiment, metal oxide coating layer 46 is engineered in refractive index and porosity on the 10-50 nm scale to increase the sensory sensitivity.", "In an alternative exemplary embodiment, metal oxide coating layer 46 has a reduced refractive index as described elsewhere herein such that it is less than that of silica (e.g., the refractive index of hollow waveguide tube layer 42).", "In fiber optic sensor device 40, an interrogating light can be confined by either waveguiding (via total internal reflection) or by pure reflection off of reflective coating layer 44.By providing metal oxide coating layer 46 on the inside of waveguide tube layer 42 and reflective coating layer 44, more light (as compared to fiber optic sensor device 2) will propagate inside metal oxide coating layer 46, thereby leading to enhanced sensitivity.", "Fiber optic sensor device 40 may also include one or more layers in addition to those just described.", "For example, a protective dielectric coating may be provided on either or both sides (i.e., inner/outer) of reflective coating layer 44.In addition, a multilayered metal oxide sensing layer may be employed for improved selectivity or optimized response.", "Fiber optic sensor device 40 may, in one exemplary implementation, be employed in CRDS system 20 in place of fiber optic sensor device 2.FIG.", "7 is a schematic diagram of a fiber optic sensor device 50 according to an alternative exemplary embodiment.", "Fiber optic sensor device 50 is also a multilayer hollow waveguide device that includes at least the following three layers: (i) a hollow waveguide tube layer 52 (e.g., cylindrical or other shape) made of a material such as silica, plastic, or metal such as nickel, (ii) a high index guiding layer 54 provided on an inner surface of hollow waveguide tube layer 52 and made of, for example, glass or dielectric material such as, without limitation, Al2O3 or ZrO2, and (iii) a metal oxide coating layer 56 provided on an inner surface of guiding layer 54.In the exemplary embodiment, guiding layer 54 has an index of refraction that is higher than the index of refraction of hollow waveguide tube layer 52.In the exemplary embodiment, metal oxide coating layer 56 is structured to have a reduced refractive index as described elsewhere herein (e.g., it is a nanostructure material) such that it has a refractive index that is less than the index of refraction of guiding layer 54.Fiber optic sensor device 50 may also include one or more layers in addition to those just described.", "Fiber optic sensor device 50 may, in one exemplary implementation, be employed in CRDS system 20 in place of fiber optic sensor device 2.In the claims, any reference signs placed between parentheses shall not be construed as limiting the claim.", "The word “comprising” or “including” does not exclude the presence of elements or steps other than those listed in a claim.", "In a device claim enumerating several means, several of these means may be embodied by one and the same item of hardware.", "The word “a” or “an” preceding an element does not exclude the presence of a plurality of such elements.", "In any device claim enumerating several means, several of these means may be embodied by one and the same item of hardware.", "The mere fact that certain elements are recited in mutually different dependent claims does not indicate that these elements cannot be used in combination.", "Although the invention has been described in detail for the purpose of illustration based on what is currently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that such detail is solely for that purpose and that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but, on the contrary, is intended to cover modifications and equivalent arrangements that are within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.", "For example, it is to be understood that the present invention contemplates that, to the extent possible, one or more features of any embodiment can be combined with one or more features of any other embodiment." ] ]
Patent_15873049
[ [ "ORGANIZING NETWORK-STORED CONTENT ITEMS INTO SHARED GROUPS", "Systems, methods, and computer-readable storage media for adding users to groups of content items organized into events based on a common attribute.", "An example system configured to practice the method can receive, from a client device, content items uploaded to a synced online content management system, wherein the content items are associated with an account of a first user.", "The system can cluster at least some of the content items as an event, wherein the event is associated with a common attribute, and identify a second user satisfying a minimum similarity threshold for the event based on the common attribute.", "The system can provide a suggestion to share the event with the second user.", "Upon receiving a confirmation of the suggestion, the system can make content items clustered in the event available to the second user." ], [ "1.A system comprising: a processor; a computer-readable storage medium having stored therein processor-executable instructions for causing the processor to: cluster a plurality of content items having a common attribute as an event content collection; exclude a subset of the plurality of content items from the event content collection; reassign the excluded subset of the plurality of content items to a new cluster having a second common attribute; and share the event content collection with a user account that satisfies a minimum similarity threshold for the event based on the common attribute of the event.", "2.The system of claim 1, wherein the computer-readable storage medium further contains instructions for causing the processor to: provide a suggestion to share the event content collection to a first user account, in association with a content item import operation for importing one or more content items from a client device to a synced online content management system.", "3.The system of claim 1, wherein the computer-readable storage medium further contains instructions for causing the processor to: determine a probable label for the event content collection based on an analysis of content items clustered in the event content collection; and include the probable label when the event content collection is shared.", "4.The system of claim 1, wherein the computer-readable storage medium further contains instructions for causing the processor to: determine a plurality of probable labels for the event content collection based on an analysis of the plurality of content items clustered in the event content collection; present the plurality of probable labels to a first user account and a second user account; receive selections of the probable labels from the first user account and the second user account; and based on the selections, assign one of the probable labels to the event content collection.", "5.The system of claim 1, wherein the computer-readable storage medium further contains instructions for causing the processor to: present to the user account a list of content items associated with the event content collection; receive an indication of additional content items from a second user account; and include the additional content items in the event content collection.", "6.The system of claim 1, wherein the computer-readable storage medium further contains instructions for causing the processor to: receive additional content items from a first user account; identify that the additional content items are within a threshold similarity to the event content collection; cluster the additional content items into the event content collection; and notify a second user account of the additional content items.", "7.The system of claim 6, wherein the computer-readable storage medium further contains instructions for causing the processor to: mark the event content collection as closed to adding more content items after elapsing of a predetermined amount of time since a last content item was added to the event.", "8.The system of claim 1, wherein the computer-readable storage medium further contains instructions for causing the processor to: join a second user account to the event content collection when the user account accepts a suggestion to share the event content collection; after joining the second user account to the event content collection, scan the second user account for content from the second user account to contribute to the event content collection; identify one or more content items from the second user account to contribute to the event content collection, the one or more content items having the common attribute; and add the one or more content items from the second user account to the event content collection.", "9.A computer-implemented method comprising: clustering, by a processor, content items having a common attribute to yield an event content collection; excluding, by a processor, a subset of the content items from the event content collection; reassigning, by a processor, the excluded subset of the content items to a new cluster having a second common attribute; identifying, by a processor, a user account satisfying a minimum similarity threshold for the event based on the common attribute of the event; and sharing, by a processor, the event content collection with the user account.", "10.The method of claim 9, further comprising: providing, by a processor, a suggestion to share the event content collection to a second user account upon approval by the user account.", "11.The method of claim 9, further comprising: determining, by a processor, a probable label for the event content collection based on an analysis of the content items clustered in the event content collection and on the common attribute; and including, by a processor, the probable label when transmitting a confirmation approving sharing the event content collection.", "12.The method of claim 9, further comprising: determining, by a processor, a plurality of probable labels for the event content collection based on an analysis of content items clustered in the event content collection and on the common attribute; presenting, by a processor, the plurality of probable labels to a second user account; receiving, by a processor, from the second user account a selection of one of the probable labels; and including, by a processor, the probable label when transmitting a confirmation approving sharing the event content collection.", "13.The method of claim 9, further comprising: presenting, by a processor, to a second user account a list of content items associated with the second user account that are within the minimum similarity threshold; receiving, by a processor, from the second user account a selection from the list of content items; and contributing, by a processor, content items to the event content collection based on the selection.", "14.The method of claim 9, further comprising: processing, by a processor, additional content items in a second user account that are generated after transmitting a confirmation approving sharing the event content collection; identifying, by a processor, that the additional content items are within a threshold similarity to the event content collection; and contributing, by a processor, the additional content items to the event content collection.", "15.The method of claim 14, further comprising: after a threshold amount of time has passed since a last image was added to the event content collection, marking the event content collection as closed to adding more images.", "16.The method of claim 9, further comprising: joining a second user account to the event content collection when the user account accepts a suggestion to share the event content collection; after joining the second user account to the event content collection, scanning the second user account for content items from the second user account to contribute to the event content collection; identifying one or more content items from the second user account to contribute to the event content collection, the one or more content items having the common attribute; and adding the one or more content items from the second user account to the event content collection.", "17.A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored therein processor-executable instructions for causing a processor to: cluster a plurality of images having a common attribute as an event; identify a user account satisfying a minimum similarity threshold for the event based on a common attribute of the event; exclude a subset of images from the event; reassign the excluded subset of the images to a new cluster having a second common attribute; and share the event with the user account.", "18.The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 17, wherein the computer-readable storage medium further contains instructions for causing a processor to: provide a suggestion to share the event to the user account in association with an image import operation.", "19.The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 17, wherein the computer-readable storage medium further contains instructions for causing a processor to: determine a probable label for the event based on an analysis of images clustered in the event; and include the probable label with a suggestion to share the event.", "20.The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 17, wherein the computer-readable storage medium further contains instructions for causing the processor to: determine a plurality of probable labels for the event based on an analysis of images clustered in the event; present the plurality of probable labels to user account and a second user account; receive selections from the user account and the second user account from the probable labels; and assigning at least one of the selected probable labels to the event." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND <EOH>Media recording capabilities, such as photographing and video recording, have been integrated with remarkable regularity in a score of common, everyday devices.", "The ubiquity of such media recording capabilities has prompted a growing demand for media applications, particularly to access media stored on different devices and to share media with other users.", "The Internet has further fueled the demand for media applications by greatly expanding the amount of media available to users and providing an ever widening audience for conveniently sharing media.", "Numerous tools have emerged that allow users to share and access media through Internet-connected devices.", "For example, an online storage provider can allow users to share and access files, including media files such as photos, through a web browser from any Internet-connected device.", "Users can browse photos and search image content through an application on a client device.", "However, as users store more and more photos, the organization of such photos can become a cumbersome and time consuming chore.", "Some users may not bother due to the large amount of time required to organize their photos, while others may begin to organize their photos and give up half way.", "Properly organized photos can allow users to search, browse, share, and otherwise manage their photos more efficiently and easily, but the barriers to proper organization remain high." ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY <EOH>Features and advantages of the disclosure will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or can be learned by practice of the herein disclosed principles.", "The features and advantages of the disclosure can be realized and obtained by means of the instruments and combinations particularly pointed out hereinafter.", "These and other features of the disclosure will become more fully apparent from the following description and accompanying drawings, or can be learned by the practice of the principles set forth herein.", "The approaches set forth herein can be used to assist in organizing content items into collections for improved browsing, sharing, and management of content items.", "For example, a user can upload photos or other images into a photo collection hosted by a synced online content management system.", "Herein, photos will be used as an example of content items for purposes of illustration; however the principles disclosed herein are not limited to photos.", "The synced online content management system can host the photo collection and make the collection available for the user to access, such as via a web interface or a platform-native client interface.", "The interface can provide access to all or part of the photo collection, but in one embodiment can provide a single scrollable view of the entire photo collection with a fixed location navigation bar organized by events or albums in the photo collection that represents the entire photo collection.", "The synced online content management system can categorize each photo into one or more albums or events.", "Initially, the albums or events can be simple dates or date ranges, such as December 2011, Spring Break 2012, or Holidays 2007.In one implementation, the synced online content management system can generate automatic labels for the photo collection based on specific dates, and organize the photos by date.", "The system can present the photo collection with an index generated using the automatic labels.", "A user can then provide additional descriptions, labels, or adjustments to the automatic labels and to which photos the automatic labels apply.", "For example, the synced online content management system can generate an automatic label of June 2012, but June 2012 may contain more than 500 photos from multiple discrete events.", "While June 2012 is an accurate description, it may not be very helpful for a user trying to find a particular photo from a specific event.", "The system can analyze the photos in the June 2012 index to analyze similarities in metadata, time, location, content, upload time, and so forth, to determine or suggest sub-groups in June 2012 and prompt the user to confirm or modify the sub-groups and provide labels for the sub-groups.", "Alternatively in an example where the June 2012 index contains a smaller, more manageable amount of photos, the system may not break out the June 2012 index into sub-groups, but instead let the user relabel June 2012 to some other, more descriptive name.", "The synced online content management system can use these groups not only for navigational purposes in a photo browsing or management interface, but can also use these groups as logical groups of photos that can be shared with others or linked to.", "One photo can be associated with multiple groups.", "When a user shares a larger group with a recipient, the system can also share the organization of any smaller sub-groups contained therein for the ease of browsing by the recipient.", "The user can further select certain sub-groups in a larger group to include or exclude from sharing with the recipient.", "The system can assign every photo in a displayed view to a cluster, event, or group.", "For example, each photo can be associated, at a minimum, with an automatically generated cluster, event, or group based on a date rage.", "In one aspect, the automatically generated groups are months.", "However, certain month clusters may not make much sense if the actual event depicted therein spans a month boundary.", "After the synced online content management system assigns an initial label to an event identified by a time range, the synced online content management system can present the user the option to name or modify the event.", "The synced online content management system can prompt the user to name or modify the event upon an import event, for example.", "The synced online content management system can perform a content analysis of similarities of photos, faces or places found in the photos, and photo metadata to suggest event boundaries that are most probable.", "If geolocation data is available, the synced online content management system can generate a suggested title based on a location, destination, or route.", "The suggested title can further be based on email or other correspondence of the user, documents uploaded to the synced online content management system, or calendar entries.", "An event can be ‘in progress’ so that a user can continue to add photos to the event.", "Disclosed are systems, methods, and non-transitory computer-readable storage media for adding users to groups of content items organized into collections based on a common attribute, such as photos organized into events.", "An example system configured to practice the method can receive, from a client device, content items uploaded to a synced online content management system, wherein the content items are associated with an account of a first user.", "The system can cluster at least some of the content items as an event, wherein the event is associated with a common attribute, and identifies a second user satisfying a minimum similarity threshold for the event based on the common attribute.", "The system can provide a suggestion to share the event with the second user.", "Upon receiving a confirmation of the suggestion, the system can make content items clustered in the event available to the second user.", "The system can detect events in a collection of content items uploaded to a synced online content management system, and assign labels to the events.", "An example system can receive, from a user, content items uploaded to an account at a synced online content management system.", "The system can present to the user a list of content items associated with the event, and receive from the user a selection from the list of content items.", "The system can modify which content items are included in the event accordingly based on the selection.", "The system can cluster at least some of the content items as an event corresponding to chronological boundaries, wherein the event has a unique identifier within the synced online content management system.", "The system can assign an initial label to the event, wherein the initial label is based on a time range of content items clustered in the event.", "For example, the initial label can be a date and time, a date, or a date range.", "The system can receive, in response to a user prompt, a user-specified label for the event.", "The system can provide the user prompt to the user in association with an content items import operation, such as before, during, or after an content items import operation.", "For example, the system can prompt the user while content items are being uploaded, or after content items are uploaded and a content and/or metadata analysis has been performed.", "In one variation, the system can determine a probable label for the event based on an analysis of content items clustered in the event, and suggest the probable label to the user as part of the user prompt.", "The system can replace the initial label for the event with the user-specified label, and can present a view of the content items organized by event.", "The system can provide suggestions to the user based on an analysis of previously labeled events, an analysis of friends' labels for events, metadata or tags associated with the content items, and so forth.", "The system can determine a set of probable labels for the event based on an analysis of content items clustered in the event, and present the set of probable labels to the user.", "The user can select one of the probable labels, and the system can replace the initial label for the event with the probable label selected by the user.", "After events are labeled, the system can process additional content items.", "The system can receive additional content items from the user after clustering a set of content items.", "The system can identify that the additional content items are within a threshold similarity to an already labeled event, and clusters the additional content items with the already labeled event.", "In specific time-sensitive events, which may be ongoing over a period of time, the system can mark the event as ‘open’ to additional content items.", "However, after a threshold amount of time has passed since a last content items was added to the event, the system can mark the event as ‘closed’ to adding more content items automatically.", "A user or owner of the event or content items in the event can override a ‘closed’ event and add more files manually." ], [ "CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "13/839,528, filed on Mar.", "15, 2013, entitled, “ORGANIZING NETWORK-STORED CONTENT ITEMS INTO SHARED GROUPS”, which claims the benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C.", "§119(e) to U.S.", "Provisional Patent Application No.", "61/719,861, filed on Oct. 29, 2012; both of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.", "TECHNICAL FIELD The present technology pertains to grouping content items that are stored in a network-based content management system, and more specifically pertains to organizing content items into groups and sharing the groups.", "BACKGROUND Media recording capabilities, such as photographing and video recording, have been integrated with remarkable regularity in a score of common, everyday devices.", "The ubiquity of such media recording capabilities has prompted a growing demand for media applications, particularly to access media stored on different devices and to share media with other users.", "The Internet has further fueled the demand for media applications by greatly expanding the amount of media available to users and providing an ever widening audience for conveniently sharing media.", "Numerous tools have emerged that allow users to share and access media through Internet-connected devices.", "For example, an online storage provider can allow users to share and access files, including media files such as photos, through a web browser from any Internet-connected device.", "Users can browse photos and search image content through an application on a client device.", "However, as users store more and more photos, the organization of such photos can become a cumbersome and time consuming chore.", "Some users may not bother due to the large amount of time required to organize their photos, while others may begin to organize their photos and give up half way.", "Properly organized photos can allow users to search, browse, share, and otherwise manage their photos more efficiently and easily, but the barriers to proper organization remain high.", "SUMMARY Features and advantages of the disclosure will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or can be learned by practice of the herein disclosed principles.", "The features and advantages of the disclosure can be realized and obtained by means of the instruments and combinations particularly pointed out hereinafter.", "These and other features of the disclosure will become more fully apparent from the following description and accompanying drawings, or can be learned by the practice of the principles set forth herein.", "The approaches set forth herein can be used to assist in organizing content items into collections for improved browsing, sharing, and management of content items.", "For example, a user can upload photos or other images into a photo collection hosted by a synced online content management system.", "Herein, photos will be used as an example of content items for purposes of illustration; however the principles disclosed herein are not limited to photos.", "The synced online content management system can host the photo collection and make the collection available for the user to access, such as via a web interface or a platform-native client interface.", "The interface can provide access to all or part of the photo collection, but in one embodiment can provide a single scrollable view of the entire photo collection with a fixed location navigation bar organized by events or albums in the photo collection that represents the entire photo collection.", "The synced online content management system can categorize each photo into one or more albums or events.", "Initially, the albums or events can be simple dates or date ranges, such as December 2011, Spring Break 2012, or Holidays 2007.In one implementation, the synced online content management system can generate automatic labels for the photo collection based on specific dates, and organize the photos by date.", "The system can present the photo collection with an index generated using the automatic labels.", "A user can then provide additional descriptions, labels, or adjustments to the automatic labels and to which photos the automatic labels apply.", "For example, the synced online content management system can generate an automatic label of June 2012, but June 2012 may contain more than 500 photos from multiple discrete events.", "While June 2012 is an accurate description, it may not be very helpful for a user trying to find a particular photo from a specific event.", "The system can analyze the photos in the June 2012 index to analyze similarities in metadata, time, location, content, upload time, and so forth, to determine or suggest sub-groups in June 2012 and prompt the user to confirm or modify the sub-groups and provide labels for the sub-groups.", "Alternatively in an example where the June 2012 index contains a smaller, more manageable amount of photos, the system may not break out the June 2012 index into sub-groups, but instead let the user relabel June 2012 to some other, more descriptive name.", "The synced online content management system can use these groups not only for navigational purposes in a photo browsing or management interface, but can also use these groups as logical groups of photos that can be shared with others or linked to.", "One photo can be associated with multiple groups.", "When a user shares a larger group with a recipient, the system can also share the organization of any smaller sub-groups contained therein for the ease of browsing by the recipient.", "The user can further select certain sub-groups in a larger group to include or exclude from sharing with the recipient.", "The system can assign every photo in a displayed view to a cluster, event, or group.", "For example, each photo can be associated, at a minimum, with an automatically generated cluster, event, or group based on a date rage.", "In one aspect, the automatically generated groups are months.", "However, certain month clusters may not make much sense if the actual event depicted therein spans a month boundary.", "After the synced online content management system assigns an initial label to an event identified by a time range, the synced online content management system can present the user the option to name or modify the event.", "The synced online content management system can prompt the user to name or modify the event upon an import event, for example.", "The synced online content management system can perform a content analysis of similarities of photos, faces or places found in the photos, and photo metadata to suggest event boundaries that are most probable.", "If geolocation data is available, the synced online content management system can generate a suggested title based on a location, destination, or route.", "The suggested title can further be based on email or other correspondence of the user, documents uploaded to the synced online content management system, or calendar entries.", "An event can be ‘in progress’ so that a user can continue to add photos to the event.", "Disclosed are systems, methods, and non-transitory computer-readable storage media for adding users to groups of content items organized into collections based on a common attribute, such as photos organized into events.", "An example system configured to practice the method can receive, from a client device, content items uploaded to a synced online content management system, wherein the content items are associated with an account of a first user.", "The system can cluster at least some of the content items as an event, wherein the event is associated with a common attribute, and identifies a second user satisfying a minimum similarity threshold for the event based on the common attribute.", "The system can provide a suggestion to share the event with the second user.", "Upon receiving a confirmation of the suggestion, the system can make content items clustered in the event available to the second user.", "The system can detect events in a collection of content items uploaded to a synced online content management system, and assign labels to the events.", "An example system can receive, from a user, content items uploaded to an account at a synced online content management system.", "The system can present to the user a list of content items associated with the event, and receive from the user a selection from the list of content items.", "The system can modify which content items are included in the event accordingly based on the selection.", "The system can cluster at least some of the content items as an event corresponding to chronological boundaries, wherein the event has a unique identifier within the synced online content management system.", "The system can assign an initial label to the event, wherein the initial label is based on a time range of content items clustered in the event.", "For example, the initial label can be a date and time, a date, or a date range.", "The system can receive, in response to a user prompt, a user-specified label for the event.", "The system can provide the user prompt to the user in association with an content items import operation, such as before, during, or after an content items import operation.", "For example, the system can prompt the user while content items are being uploaded, or after content items are uploaded and a content and/or metadata analysis has been performed.", "In one variation, the system can determine a probable label for the event based on an analysis of content items clustered in the event, and suggest the probable label to the user as part of the user prompt.", "The system can replace the initial label for the event with the user-specified label, and can present a view of the content items organized by event.", "The system can provide suggestions to the user based on an analysis of previously labeled events, an analysis of friends' labels for events, metadata or tags associated with the content items, and so forth.", "The system can determine a set of probable labels for the event based on an analysis of content items clustered in the event, and present the set of probable labels to the user.", "The user can select one of the probable labels, and the system can replace the initial label for the event with the probable label selected by the user.", "After events are labeled, the system can process additional content items.", "The system can receive additional content items from the user after clustering a set of content items.", "The system can identify that the additional content items are within a threshold similarity to an already labeled event, and clusters the additional content items with the already labeled event.", "In specific time-sensitive events, which may be ongoing over a period of time, the system can mark the event as ‘open’ to additional content items.", "However, after a threshold amount of time has passed since a last content items was added to the event, the system can mark the event as ‘closed’ to adding more content items automatically.", "A user or owner of the event or content items in the event can override a ‘closed’ event and add more files manually.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In order to describe the manner in which the above-recited and other advantages and features of the disclosure can be obtained, a more particular description of the principles briefly described above will be rendered by reference to specific embodiments thereof which are illustrated in the appended drawings.", "Understanding that these drawings depict only exemplary embodiments of the disclosure and are not therefore to be considered to be limiting of its scope, the principles herein are described and explained with additional specificity and detail through the use of the accompanying drawings in which: FIG.", "1 shows an exemplary configuration of devices and a network; FIG.", "2A shows an example user interface for providing a continuous presentation of a set of images using automatically generated date-based event labels; FIG.", "2B shows the example user interface with user-provided event labels; FIG.", "3 shows an example prompt for a user to modify an existing automatically generated event label; FIG.", "4 shows a first example method embodiment for sharing events in a photo collection with other users; FIG.", "5 shows a second example method embodiment for receiving an invitation to participate in a shared event; FIG.", "6A shows a conventional system bus computing system architecture; and FIG.", "6B shows a computer system having a chipset architecture.", "DESCRIPTION Various embodiments of the disclosure are discussed in detail below.", "While specific implementations are discussed, it should be understood that this is done for illustration purposes only.", "A person skilled in the art will recognize that other components and configurations may be used without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure.", "The disclosed technology addresses the need in the art for a user to be able to share groups of content items, such as photos organized in an album or photos associated with a particular event with other users.", "When a user organizes photos according to an event, for example, the photos associated with the event also may relate to or be of interest to other users (such as others who participated in the event).", "In some cases, the user may not even know who the other users are, how to discover them, or how to contact them.", "The system can analyze the photos in the event, as well as any additional data provided by the user or by other internal or external sources, to determine what, if any, attributes the photos associated with the event have in common.", "Then, based on those attributes, the system can search for other users who may be interested in or associated with the event.", "For example, the system can determine that the photos in an event were generated in a particular time frame and at a particular location.", "The system can attempt to locate other users who have a calendar event or other tasks or documents indicating participation at that location at that time, with which to share all or part of the photos of the event uploaded by the first user.", "The system can determine which portion of the images in the event to share with different users based on the level of similarity or overlap between the event or the first user and the different users.", "In another aspect, the system can accept, from the additional users who are granted access to the event, additional images which are a sufficient match for the attributes of the event.", "For example, if the second user has taken some of their own photos, the second user can contribute, via their client device or online storage account, those photos to the event.", "An exemplary system configuration 100 is illustrated in FIG.", "1, wherein electronic devices communicate via a network for purposes of exchanging content and other data.", "The system can be configured for use on a wide area network such as that illustrated in FIG.", "1.However, the present principles are applicable to a wide variety of network configurations that facilitate the intercommunication of electronic devices.", "For example, each of the components of system 100 in FIG.", "1 can be implemented in a localized or distributed fashion in a network.", "An exemplary system configuration 100 is shown in FIG.", "1, wherein electronic devices communicate via a network for purposes of exchanging content and other data.", "The system can be configured for use on a wide area network such as that illustrated in FIG.", "1.However, the present principles are applicable to a wide variety of network configurations that facilitate the intercommunication of electronic devices.", "For example, each of the components of system 100 in FIG.", "1 can be implemented in a localized or distributed fashion in a network.", "In system 100, a user can interact with content management system 106 through client devices 1021, 1022, .", ".", ".", ", 102n (collectively “102”) connected to network 104 by direct and/or indirect communication.", "Content management system 106 can support connections from a variety of different client devices, such as desktop computers; mobile computers; mobile communications devices, e.g.", "mobile phones, smart phones, tablets; smart televisions; set-top boxes; and/or any other network enabled computing devices.", "Client devices 102 can be of varying type, capabilities, operating systems, etc.", "Furthermore, content management system 106 can concurrently accept connections from and interact with multiple client devices 102.A user can interact with content management system 106 via a client-side application installed on client device 102i.", "In some embodiments, the client-side application can include a content management system specific component.", "For example, the component can be a stand-alone application, one or more application plug-ins, and/or a browser extension.", "However, the user can also interact with content management system 106 via a third-party application, such as a web browser, that resides on client device 102i and is configured to communicate with content management system 106.In either case, the client-side application can present a user interface (UI) for the user to interact with content management system 106.For example, the user can interact with the content management system 106 via a client-side application integrated with the file system or via a webpage displayed using a web browser application.", "Content management system 106 can make it possible for a user to store content, as well as perform a variety of content management tasks, such as retrieve, modify, browse, and/or share the content.", "Furthermore, content management system 106 can make it possible for a user to access the content from multiple client devices 102.For example, client device 102i can upload content to content management system 106 via network 104.The content can later be retrieved from content management system 106 using the same client device 102i or some other client device 102j.", "To facilitate the various content management services, a user can create an account with content management system 106.The account information can be maintained in user account database 150.User account database 150 can store profile information for registered users.", "In some cases, the only personal information in the user profile can be a username and/or email address.", "However, content management system 106 can also be configured to accept additional user information.", "User account database 150 can also include account management information, such as account type, e.g.", "free or paid; usage information, e.g.", "file edit history; maximum storage space authorized; storage space used; content storage locations; security settings; personal configuration settings; content sharing data; etc.", "Account management module 124 can be configured to update and/or obtain user account details in user account database 150.The account management module 124 can be configured to interact with any number of other modules in content management system 106.An account can be used to store content, such as documents, text files, audio files, video files, etc., from one or more client devices 102 authorized on the account.", "The content can also include folders of various types with different behaviors, or other mechanisms of grouping content items together.", "For example, an account can include a public folder that is accessible to any user.", "The public folder can be assigned a web-accessible address.", "A link to the web-accessible address can be used to access the contents of the public folder.", "In another example, an account can include a photos folder that is intended for photos and that provides specific attributes and actions tailored for photos; an audio folder that provides the ability to play back audio files and perform other audio related actions; or other special purpose folders.", "An account can also include shared folders or group folders that are linked with and available to multiple user accounts.", "The permissions for multiple users may be different for a shared folder.", "The content can be stored in content storage 160.Content storage 160 can be a storage device, multiple storage devices, or a server.", "Alternatively, content storage 160 can be a cloud storage provider or network storage accessible via one or more communications networks.", "Content management system 106 can hide the complexity and details from client devices 102 so that client devices 102 do not need to know exactly where the content items are being stored by content management system 106.In one variation, content management system 106 can store the content items in the same folder hierarchy as they appear on client device 102i.", "However, content management system 106 can store the content items in its own order, arrangement, or hierarchy.", "Content management system 106 can store the content items in a network accessible storage (SAN) device, in a redundant array of inexpensive disks (RAID), etc.", "Content storage 160 can store content items using one or more partition types, such as FAT, FAT32, NTFS, EXT2, EXT3, EXT4, ReiserFS, BTRFS, and so forth.", "Content storage 160 can also store metadata describing content items, content item types, and the relationship of content items to various accounts, folders, or groups.", "The metadata for a content item can be stored as part of the content item or can be stored separately.", "In one variation, each content item stored in content storage 160 can be assigned a system-wide unique identifier.", "Content storage 160 can decrease the amount of storage space required by identifying duplicate files or duplicate segments of files.", "Instead of storing multiple copies, content storage 160 can store a single copy and then use a pointer or other mechanism to link the duplicates to the single copy.", "Similarly, content storage 160 can store files more efficiently, as well as provide the ability to undo operations, by using a file version control that tracks changes to files, different versions of files (including diverging version trees), and a change history.", "The change history can include a set of changes that, when applied to the original file version, produce the changed file version.", "Content management system 106 can be configured to support automatic synchronization of content from one or more client devices 102.The synchronization can be platform agnostic.", "That is, the content can be synchronized across multiple client devices 102 of varying type, capabilities, operating systems, etc.", "For example, client device 102i can include client software, which synchronizes, via a synchronization module 132 at content management system 106, content in client device 102i's file system with the content in an associated user account.", "In some cases, the client software can synchronize any changes to content in a designated folder and its sub-folders, such as new, deleted, modified, copied, or moved files or folders.", "The client software can be a separate software application, can integrate with an existing content management application in the operating system, or some combination thereof.", "In one example of client software that integrates with an existing content management application, a user can manipulate content directly in a local folder, while a background process monitors the local folder for changes and synchronizes those changes to content management system 106.Conversely, the background process can identify content that has been updated at content management system 106 and synchronize those changes to the local folder.", "The client software can provide notifications of synchronization operations, and can provide indications of content statuses directly within the content management application.", "Sometimes client device 102i may not have a network connection available.", "In this scenario, the client software can monitor the linked folder for file changes and queue those changes for later synchronization to content management system 106 when a network connection is available.", "Similarly, a user can manually stop or pause synchronization with content management system 106.A user can also view or manipulate content via a web interface generated and served by user interface module 122.For example, the user can navigate in a web browser to a web address provided by content management system 106.Changes or updates to content in the content storage 160 made through the web interface, such as uploading a new version of a file, can be propagated back to other client devices 102 associated with the user's account.", "For example, multiple client devices 102i each with their own client software, can be associated with a single account and files in the account can be synchronized between each of the multiple client devices 102.Content management system 106 can include a communications interface 120 for interfacing with various client devices 102i and can interact with other content and/or service providers 1091, 1092, .", ".", ".", ", 109n (collectively “109”) via an Application Programming Interface (API).", "Certain software applications can access content storage 160 via an API on behalf of a user.", "For example, a software package, such as an app on a smartphone or tablet computing device, can programmatically make calls directly to content management system 106, when a user provides credentials, to read, write, create, delete, share, or otherwise manipulate content.", "Similarly, the API can allow users to access all or part of content storage 160 through a web site.", "Content management system 106 can also include authenticator module 126, which can verify user credentials, security tokens, API calls, specific client devices, and so forth, to ensure only authorized clients and users can access files.", "Further, content management system 106 can include analytics module 134 that can track and report on aggregate file operations, user actions, network usage, total storage space used, as well as other technology, usage, or business metrics.", "A privacy and/or security policy can prevent unauthorized access to user data stored with content management system 106.Content management system 106 can include sharing module 130 for managing sharing content publicly or privately.", "Sharing content publicly can include making the content item accessible from any computing device in network communication with content management system 106.Sharing content privately can include linking a content item in content storage 160 with two or more user accounts so that each user account has access to the content item.", "The sharing can be performed in a platform agnostic manner.", "That is, the content can be shared across multiple client devices 102 of varying type, capabilities, operating systems, etc.", "The content can also be shared across varying types of user accounts.", "In some embodiments, content management system 106 can include a content management module 128 for maintaining a content directory.", "The content directory can identify the location of each content item in content storage 160.The content directory can include a unique content entry for each content item stored in the content storage.", "A content entry can include a content path that can be used to identify the location of the content item in a content management system.", "For example, the content path can include the name of the content item and a folder hierarchy associated with the content item.", "For example, the content path can include a folder or path of folders in which the content item is placed as well as the name of the content item.", "Content management system 106 can use the content path to present the content items in the appropriate folder hierarchy.", "A content entry can also include a content pointer that identifies the location of the content item in content storage 160.For example, the content pointer can include the exact storage address of the content item in memory.", "In some embodiments, the content pointer can point to multiple locations, each of which contains a portion of the content item.", "In addition to a content path and content pointer, a content entry can also include a user account identifier that identifies the user account that has access to the content item.", "In some embodiments, multiple user account identifiers can be associated with a single content entry indicating that the content item has shared access by the multiple user accounts.", "To share a content item privately, sharing module 130 can be configured to add a user account identifier to the content entry associated with the content item, thus granting the added user account access to the content item.", "Sharing module 130 can also be configured to remove user account identifiers from a content entry to restrict a user account's access to the content item.", "To share content publicly, sharing module 130 can be configured to generate a custom network address, such as a uniform resource locator (URL), which allows any web browser to access the content in content management system 106 without any authentication.", "To accomplish this, sharing module 130 can be configured to include content identification data in the generated URL, which can later be used to properly identify and return the requested content item.", "For example, sharing module 130 can be configured to include the user account identifier and the content path in the generated URL.", "Upon selection of the URL, the content identification data included in the URL can be transmitted to content management system 106 which can use the received content identification data to identify the appropriate content entry and return the content item associated with the content entry.", "In addition to generating the URL, sharing module 130 can also be configured to record that a URL to the content item has been created.", "In some embodiments, the content entry associated with a content item can include a URL flag indicating whether a URL to the content item has been created.", "For example, the URL flag can be a Boolean value initially set to 0 or false to indicate that a URL to the content item has not been created.", "Sharing module 130 can be configured to change the value of the flag to 1 or true after generating a URL to the content item.", "In some embodiments, sharing module 130 can also be configured to deactivate a generated URL.", "For example, each content entry can also include a URL active flag indicating whether the content should be returned in response to a request from the generated URL.", "For example, sharing module 130 can be configured to only return a content item requested by a generated link if the URL active flag is set to 1 or true.", "Thus, access to a content item for which a URL has been generated can be easily restricted by changing the value of the URL active flag.", "This allows a user to restrict access to the shared content item without having to move the content item or delete the generated URL.", "Likewise, sharing module 130 can reactivate the URL by again changing the value of the URL active flag to 1 or true.", "A user can thus easily restore access to the content item without the need to generate a new URL.", "While content management system 106 is presented with specific components, it should be understood by one skilled in the art, that the architectural configuration of system 106 is simply one possible configuration and that other configurations with more or less components are also possible.", "For example, the content management system 106 can include an event attribute identifier that determines which attributes are relevant or significant for a particular event or grouping of content items, a similarity scanner that checks for other users who are within a threshold similarity to the attributes, and an event merging module that manages how to add new users and new files to the event.", "A person of skill in the art will recognize that while the disclosure frequently uses photos and albums to illustrate the technology, a content item can be of any file type and the content items can be in any organizational unit without parting from the spirit and scope of the disclosure.", "For example, content items can be documents, videos, and audio, and organizational units can be albums, document workspaces, video galleries, and playlists.", "Additionally, an organizational unit can include multiple different content item types.", "FIG.", "2A shows an example user interface for providing a continuous presentation of a set of images using automatically generated date-based event labels.", "Web page 200 can provide a continuous presentation of the set of images on a device having a memory available for use by the web page that is less than a size of the set of images.", "Moreover, web page 200 can be based on the size of the set of images.", "For example, web page 200 can be larger as the size of the set of images increases.", "The way elements in web page 200 are displayed can also depend on the size and number of the images.", "The displayed portion of web page 200 can include a timeline of images 206 and scroll bar 202 for scrolling through web page 200.Scroll bar 202 can be used to scroll through the continuous presentation of the images.", "Web page 200 can detect a scroll event and load images in areas of web page 200 located in the same area and/or direction of the scroll event.", "Web page 200 can also unload images in areas of web page 200 located away from the direction/area of the scroll event.", "For example, as scroll bar 202 moves towards an area of web page 200, web page 200 can load images in that area of web page 200, including any portions around that area of web page 200.Moreover, as scroll bar 202 moves towards an area of web page 200, web page 200 can also unload images that are away from that area of web page 200.Timeline of images 206 can include images 210A-D, which are mapped to area 204 in web page 200 that is associated with the current position of scroll bar 202.Timeline of images 206 can also include list of dates 208A-D associated with images 210A-D in area 204 of web page 200.List of dates 208A-D can be automatically generated event labels, which can be based on photo metadata, time of upload, or other photo contents or metadata.", "Upon upload or at some other time, the synced online content management system can prompt the user to provide replacement labels or to update the existing labels.", "The user can choose to keep the automatically generated labels based on date, supplement the labels, add new labels, or enter completely new labels.", "Images 210A-D can be arranged according to list of dates 208A-D. For example, images 210A are associated with date 208A, and are thus grouped based on date 208A.", "Similarly, images 210B are associated with date 208B, and grouped based on date 208B.", "Likewise, images 210C and 210D are associated with dates 208C and 208D, respectively, and also grouped accordingly.", "Images 210A-D can be arranged in chronological order or reverse chronological order, based on dates 208A-D.", "Dates 208A-D can represent the dates images 210A-D were created, received, recorded, edited, added, etc.", "Dates 208A-D can also represent the date of an event associated with an image.", "Timeline of images 206 can also include additional details associated with images 210A-D. For example, timeline of images 206 can provide a title, name, event, location, and/or description for each of images 210A-D. For example, instead of, or in addition to, dates 208A-D, timeline of images 206 can sort images 210A-D by album title and list the album title instead of, or in addition to, dates 208A-D.", "FIG.", "2B shows the example user interface with user-provided event labels 212A-D.", "In this example, the system can present to the user each of the automatically generated labels 208A-D: 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002.The user can manually enter updated labels 212A-D of “Spring Break,” “New Car!!", "!,” “Moved to Denver,” and “Visit to Grandparents.” The system can assign the new labels to the existing photo groupings.", "In one variation, the user can modify not only the title of the automatically labeled groups, but can also modify which photos are included in a particular group.", "In situations where each photo in a collection must be associated with a group and in which a user chooses to exclude a photo from an automatically generated group, the system can reassign the excluded photo to another group, or can create a new group for excluded photos.", "Groups can overlap, such that an individual photo in a collection may be associated with multiple groups.", "In a shared or collaborative environment, groups describing organization of photos available to multiple users can be specific to a particular user.", "Different users may desire different organization of the same group of photos.", "For example, a presenter at a training conference may desire to organize photos of the training conference differently than an organizer or an attendee of the same training conference.", "Thus, the system can provide user-specific prompts to group, label, or organize a collection of common photos of the training conference, and can separately maintain the various user-specific groups and labels for the photos.", "FIG.", "3 shows an example prompt 300 for a user to modify an existing automatically generated event label.", "The system can provide input box 302 for text input for a new label for an automatically generated group of photos.", "The system can also be configured to accept text input, voice input, gesture input, or a thumbnail image as part of the new label.", "In this case, the automatically generated label is “August 2011”, and the user can enter a replacement label such as “Family Reunion in Oklahoma August 2011.” Further, as part of modifying the automatically generated group and label, the system can present a list of thumbnails of photos, from which the user can include or exclude photos from the group.", "For example, the list of thumbnails can include thumbnails with checks 304 indicating that they will be included in the modified group, and thumbnails without checks 306 indicating that they will not be included in the modified group.", "The user can create multiple overlapping groups from the automatically generated group.", "For example, the user can generate a different label and select a different subset of the photos of the family reunion for one side of the family, and another set for the other side of the family.", "Similarly, the user can select only photos containing grandchildren and provide a corresponding label.", "The user can share a labeled group and its photos as a unit.", "The user can organize and label a group based on an automatically generated event, and share the group.", "Then, as additional photos are added to the group, the shared group is automatically updated so that when recipients of the shared group subsequently access the group, the additional photos are also included.", "The system can analyze the contents, metadata, actions associated with a group, and any available external data such as contacts, social network data, calendar events, and so forth, to determine possible individuals with which to share the group.", "For example, if more than a threshold of photos include a same recognized face of a user that matches a profile picture of a Facebook contact of the owner of the group, the system can recommend to the user to share the group of photos with that Facebook contact.", "In another example, the system can compare geotagging data of the photos to the group owner's calendar items to determine that the photos were taken at a children's soccer game.", "The system can then pull data from external sources, such as a coach's email to the parents, to determine which others may be interested in the photo group.", "In the case of a list of parents' emails, the system can present a list of sharing candidates to the owner of the photo group, and the owner can individually select or approve each sharing candidate.", "In one variation, the owner can further specify, or the system can recommend, sharing permissions for each sharing candidate.", "The sharing permissions can indicate whether a sharing candidate can re-share the group, add photos to the group, tag photos, comment on the photos, delete photos, add photos, and so forth.", "Having disclosed some system components and concepts, the disclosure now turns to the exemplary method embodiments shown in FIGS.", "4 and 5.For the sake of clarity, the methods are described in terms of an exemplary system 100, as shown in FIG.", "1, configured to practice the respective methods.", "The steps outlined herein are exemplary and can be implemented in any combination thereof, including combinations that exclude, add, or modify certain steps.", "FIG.", "4 shows a first example method embodiment for sharing events in a photo collection with other users.", "Content management system 106 can receive images from a client device, wherein the images are associated with an account of a first user (402).", "Content management system 106 can send to a client device associated with the account a list of images associated with the event, and receive a selection from the list of images.", "Content management system 106 can modify which images are included in the event accordingly based on the selection.", "Content management system 106 can cluster at least some of the images as an event, wherein the event is associated with a common attribute, such as a shared set of chronological boundaries, a shared location, a user selection or indication of commonality, shared tags, and so forth.", "Content management system 106 can assign the event a unique identifier.", "Content management system 106 can identify a second user satisfying a minimum similarity threshold for the event based on the common attribute (404).", "Content management system 106 can provide a suggestion to share the event with the second user (406), and upon receiving a confirmation of the suggestion, content management system 106 can make images clustered in the event available to the second user (408).", "In one aspect, in response to a user prompt, content management system 106 can provide a user-specified label for the event.", "Content management system 106 can provide the user prompt in association with an image import operation, such as before, during, or after an image import operation.", "For example, content management system 106 can prompt the user while images are being uploaded, or after images are uploaded and a content and/or metadata analysis has been performed.", "In one variation, content management system 106 can determine a probable label for the event based on an analysis of images clustered in the event, and suggest the probable label to the user as part of the user prompt.", "Example user specified labels include “St.", "Patricks Day 2010”, “Aspen Skiing Trip”, and “Software Developer Conference Apr.", "7-14 2012”.", "Content management system 106 can replace the initial label for the event with the user-specified label (410), and can present a view of the images organized by event.", "Content management system 106 can provide suggestions to the user based on an analysis of previously labeled events, an analysis of friends' labels for events, metadata or tags associated with the images, and so forth.", "Content management system 106 can determine a set of probable labels for the event based on an analysis of images clustered in the event, and present the set of probable labels to the user.", "The user can select one of the probable labels, and Content management system 106 can replace the initial label for the event with the probable label selected by the user.", "After events are labeled, content management system 106 can process additional images.", "Content management system 106 can receive additional images from the user after clustering a set of images.", "Content management system 106 can identify that the additional images are within a threshold similarity to an already labeled event, and clusters the additional images with the already labeled event.", "In specific time-sensitive events, which may be ongoing over a period of time, content management system 106 can mark the event as ‘open’ to additional images.", "However, after a threshold amount of time has passed since a last image was added to the event, content management system 106 can mark the event as ‘closed’ to adding more images automatically.", "A user or owner of the event or images in the event can override a ‘closed’ event and add more files manually.", "FIG.", "5 shows a second example method embodiment for receiving an invitation to participate in a shared event.", "Client device 102i can receive a suggestion addressed to a second user to share in an event of a first user (502).", "The event can include images uploaded to content management system 106 organized based on a common attribute, and the suggestion can indicate that the second user satisfies a minimum similarity threshold with the common attribute.", "Client device 102i can display to the second user the suggestion (504) and optionally include an indication that the minimum similarity threshold is satisfied.", "Client device 102i can receive, from the second user, a confirmation of the suggestion (506), and transmit the confirmation to content management system (508).", "Client device 102i can optionally join the second user to the event or cause the second user to be joined to the event.", "Upon joining the event, the second user can manually contribute images to the event, or Client device 102i can automatically scan images in the second user's account to determine which to contribute.", "FIG.", "6A, and FIG.", "6B illustrate exemplary possible system embodiments.", "The more appropriate embodiment will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art when practicing the present technology.", "Persons of ordinary skill in the art will also readily appreciate that other system embodiments are possible.", "FIG.", "6A illustrates a conventional system bus computing system architecture 600 wherein the components of the system are in electrical communication with each other using a bus 605.Exemplary system 600 includes a processing unit (CPU or processor) 610 and a system bus 605 that couples various system components including the system memory 615, such as read only memory (ROM) 620 and random access memory (RAM) 625, to the processor 610.The system 600 can include a cache of high-speed memory connected directly with, in close proximity to, or integrated as part of the processor 610.The system 600 can copy data from the memory 615 and/or the storage device 630 to the cache 612 for quick access by the processor 610.In this way, the cache can provide a performance boost that avoids processor 610 delays while waiting for data.", "These and other modules can control or be configured to control the processor 610 to perform various actions.", "Other system memory 615 may be available for use as well.", "The memory 615 can include multiple different types of memory with different performance characteristics.", "The processor 610 can include any general purpose processor and a hardware module or software module, such as module 1 632, module 2 634, and module 3 636 stored in storage device 630, configured to control the processor 610 as well as a special-purpose processor where software instructions are incorporated into the actual processor design.", "The processor 610 may essentially be a completely self-contained computing system, containing multiple cores or processors, a bus, memory controller, cache, etc.", "A multi-core processor may be symmetric or asymmetric.", "To enable user interaction with the computing device 600, an input device 645 can represent any number of input mechanisms, such as a microphone for speech, a touch-sensitive screen for gesture or graphical input, keyboard, mouse, motion input, speech and so forth.", "An output device 635 can also be one or more of a number of output mechanisms known to those of skill in the art.", "In some instances, multimodal systems can enable a user to provide multiple types of input to communicate with the computing device 600.The communications interface 640 can generally govern and manage the user input and system output.", "There is no restriction on operating on any particular hardware arrangement and therefore the basic features here may easily be substituted for improved hardware or firmware arrangements as they are developed.", "Storage device 630 is a non-volatile memory and can be a hard disk or other types of computer readable media which can store data that are accessible by a computer, such as magnetic cassettes, flash memory cards, solid state memory devices, digital versatile disks, cartridges, random access memories (RAMs) 625, read only memory (ROM) 620, and hybrids thereof.", "The storage device 630 can include software modules 632, 634, 636 for controlling the processor 610.Other hardware or software modules are contemplated.", "The storage device 630 can be connected to the system bus 605.In one aspect, a hardware module that performs a particular function can include the software component stored in a computer-readable medium in connection with the necessary hardware components, such as the processor 610, bus 605, display 635, and so forth, to carry out the function.", "FIG.", "6B illustrates a computer system 650 having a chipset architecture that can be used in executing the described method and generating and displaying a graphical user interface (GUI).", "Computer system 650 is an example of computer hardware, software, and firmware that can be used to implement the disclosed technology.", "System 650 can include a processor 655, representative of any number of physically and/or logically distinct resources capable of executing software, firmware, and hardware configured to perform identified computations.", "Processor 655 can communicate with a chipset 660 that can control input to and output from processor 655.In this example, chipset 660 outputs information to output 665, such as a display, and can read and write information to storage device 670, which can include magnetic media, and solid state media, for example.", "Chipset 660 can also read data from and write data to RAM 675.A bridge 680 for interfacing with a variety of user interface components 685 can be provided for interfacing with chipset 660.Such user interface components 685 can include a keyboard, a microphone, touch detection and processing circuitry, a pointing device, such as a mouse, and so on.", "In general, inputs to system 650 can come from any of a variety of sources, machine generated and/or human generated.", "Chipset 660 can also interface with one or more communication interfaces 690 that can have different physical interfaces.", "Such communication interfaces can include interfaces for wired and wireless local area networks, for broadband wireless networks, as well as personal area networks.", "Some applications of the methods for generating, displaying, and using the GUI disclosed herein can include receiving ordered datasets over the physical interface or be generated by the machine itself by processor 655 analyzing data stored in storage 670 or 675.Further, the machine can receive inputs from a user via user interface components 685 and execute appropriate functions, such as browsing functions by interpreting these inputs using processor 655.It can be appreciated that exemplary systems 600 and 650 can have more than one processor 610 or be part of a group or cluster of computing devices networked together to provide greater processing capability.", "For clarity of explanation, in some instances the present technology may be presented as including individual functional blocks including functional blocks comprising devices, device components, steps or routines in a method embodied in software, or combinations of hardware and software.", "In some embodiments the computer-readable storage devices, mediums, and memories can include a cable or wireless signal containing a bit stream and the like.", "However, when mentioned, non-transitory computer-readable storage media expressly exclude media such as energy, carrier signals, electromagnetic waves, and signals per se.", "Methods according to the above-described examples can be implemented using computer-executable instructions that are stored or otherwise available from computer readable media.", "Such instructions can comprise, for example, instructions and data which cause or otherwise configure a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or special purpose processing device to perform a certain function or group of functions.", "Portions of computer resources used can be accessible over a network.", "The computer executable instructions may be, for example, binaries, intermediate format instructions such as assembly language, firmware, or source code.", "Examples of computer-readable media that may be used to store instructions, information used, and/or information created during methods according to described examples include magnetic or optical disks, flash memory, USB devices provided with non-volatile memory, networked storage devices, and so on.", "Devices implementing methods according to these disclosures can comprise hardware, firmware and/or software, and can take any of a variety of form factors.", "Typical examples of such form factors include laptops, smart phones, small form factor personal computers, personal digital assistants, and so on.", "Functionality described herein also can be embodied in peripherals or add-in cards.", "Such functionality can also be implemented on a circuit board among different chips or different processes executing in a single device, by way of further example.", "The instructions, media for conveying such instructions, computing resources for executing them, and other structures for supporting such computing resources are means for providing the functions described in these disclosures.", "Although a variety of examples and other information was used to explain aspects within the scope of the appended claims, no limitation of the claims should be implied based on particular features or arrangements in such examples, as one of ordinary skill would be able to use these examples to derive a wide variety of implementations.", "Further and although some subject matter may have been described in language specific to examples of structural features and/or method steps, it is to be understood that the subject matter defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to these described features or acts.", "For example, such functionality can be distributed differently or performed in components other than those identified herein.", "Rather, the described features and steps are disclosed as examples of components of systems and methods within the scope of the appended claims." ] ]
Patent_15873055
[ [ "Narrowing Audio Filter Transition Band", "An apparatus including a first audio filter; a first transducer connected to the first audio filter; and a first sound attenuator located relative to the first transducer to attenuate sound from the first transducer.", "The first audio filter includes a first transition frequency band.", "The first sound attenuator is configured to attenuate sound generated by the first transducer from audio signals through the first audio filter in a target frequency band, where a majority of the target frequency band is in the first transition frequency band." ], [ "1.An apparatus comprising: audio filter circuitry; a first transducer coupled to the audio filter circuitry; a second transducer coupled to the audio filter circuitry; a first sound attenuator located and tuned relative to the first transducer to attenuate first sound from the first transducer, where the first sound attenuator is an absorber configured to attenuate sound in a first attenuation band when the first sound is generated by the first transducer from audio signals through the audio filter circuitry, where the first attenuation band is at least partially in a transition band of the audio filter circuitry; and a second sound attenuator located and tuned relative to the second transducer to attenuate second sound from the second transducer, where the second sound attenuator is an absorber configured to attenuate sound in an at least partially different second attenuation band when the second sound is generated by the second transducer from the audio signals through the audio filter circuitry, where the second attenuation band is at least partially in the transition band of the audio filter circuitry.", "2.An apparatus as in claim 1 where the audio circuitry comprises a low-pass filter and a high-pass filter, where the low-pass filter comprises a first frequency transition band, where the high-pass filter comprises a second frequency transition band, and where the first and second frequency transition bands at least partially overlap.", "3.An apparatus as in claim 2 where the first attenuation band forms a first target frequency band located in the overlap of the first and second frequency transition bands.", "4.An apparatus as in claim 3 where the second attenuation band forms a second target frequency band located in the overlap of the first and second frequency transition bands.", "5.An apparatus as in claim 4 where the second attenuation band is located at an end of the second frequency transition band of the high-pass filter partially in the second frequency transition band and partially out of the second frequency transition band of the high-pass filter.", "6.An apparatus as in claim 3 where the first attenuation band is located only in the transition band of the audio filter circuitry.", "7.An apparatus as in claim 1 where the first attenuation band is located partially out of the transition band of the audio filter circuitry.", "8.An apparatus as in claim 1 where the first sound attenuator comprises metamaterial tuned to attenuate sound from the first transducer from the audio signals through the audio filter circuitry in the first attenuation band.", "9.An apparatus as in claim 8 where the second sound attenuator comprises metamaterial tuned to attenuate sound from the second transducer from the audio signals through the audio filter circuitry in the second attenuation band.", "10.An apparatus as in claim 8 further comprising a third sound attenuator comprising metamaterial tuned to attenuate sound from the first transducer from the audio signals through the audio filter circuitry in an at least partially different third attenuation band.", "11.A method comprising: providing audio filter circuitry; coupling a first transducer to the audio filter circuitry; coupling a second transducer to the audio filter circuitry; locating a first sound attenuator relative to the first transducer to attenuate first sound from the first transducer, where the first sound attenuator is an absorber configured to attenuate sound in a first frequency transition band of the audio filter circuitry in a first attenuation band of the first sound attenuator when the first sound is generated by the first transducer from audio signals through the audio filter circuitry; and locating a second sound attenuator relative to the second transducer to attenuate second sound from the second transducer, where the second sound attenuator is an absorber configured to attenuate sound in a second frequency transition band of the audio filter circuitry in a second attenuation band of the second sound attenuator when the second sound is generated by the second transducer from the audio signals through the audio filter circuitry.", "12.An apparatus comprising: audio circuitry comprising a low-pass filter and a high-pass filter, where the low-pass filter comprises a first frequency transition band, where the high-pass filter comprises a second frequency transition band, and where the first and second frequency transition bands at least partially overlap to form a transition band of the audio circuitry; a first transducer coupled to the audio circuitry; and a first sound attenuator located and tuned relative to the first transducer to attenuate sound from the first transducer, where the first sound attenuator is an absorber configured to attenuate the sound in an attenuation frequency band only in the overlap of the first and second frequency transition bands.", "13.An apparatus as in claim 12 further comprising a second sound attenuator located and tuned relative to the first transducer to attenuate sound from the first transducer, where the second sound attenuator is an absorber configured to attenuate the sound in a second attenuation frequency band which is located either: only in the overlap of the first and second frequency transition bands, or both partially in the overlap of the first and second frequency transition bands and partially out of the overlap of the first and second frequency transition bands.", "14.An apparatus as in claim 12 further comprising: a second transducer coupled to the audio circuitry; and a second sound attenuator located and tuned relative to the second transducer to attenuate second sound from the second transducer, where the second sound attenuator is an absorber configured to attenuate sound in an at least partially different second attenuation frequency band when the second sound is generated by the second transducer from the audio signals through the audio circuitry, where the different second attenuation band is at least partially in the overlap of the first and second frequency transition bands.", "15.An apparatus as in claim 12 where the first sound attenuator comprises metamaterial tuned to attenuate sound from the first transducer from the audio signals through the audio filter circuitry in a first attenuation band.", "16.An apparatus as in claim 15 further comprising a second sound attenuator comprising metamaterial tuned to attenuate sound from a second transducer from the audio signals through the audio filter circuitry in a second different attenuation band.", "17.An apparatus as in claim 16 further comprising a third sound attenuator comprising metamaterial tuned to attenuate sound from the first transducer from the audio signals through the audio filter circuitry in a third attenuation band which is at least partially different from the first attenuation band.", "18.An apparatus as in claim 12 where a majority of the attenuation frequency band is outside a passband of the low-pass filter.", "19.An apparatus as in claim 14 where the first and second sound attenuators are configured to smooth overall frequency response of the first and second transducers at the overlap of the first and second frequency transition bands.", "20.A method comprising: providing audio circuitry comprising a low-pass filter and a high-pass filter, where the low-pass filter comprises a first frequency transition band, where the high-pass filter comprises a second frequency transition band, and where the first and second frequency transition bands at least partially overlap; coupling the audio circuitry to a first transducer; and locating a first sound attenuator relative to the first transducer to attenuate sound from the first transducer, where the first sound attenuator is an absorber configured to attenuate the sound at a frequency in the overlap of the first and second frequency transition bands." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND <EOH>" ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY <EOH>The following summary is merely intended to be exemplary.", "The summary is not intended to limit the scope of the claims.", "In accordance with one aspect, an example is provided in an apparatus comprising a first audio filter, where the first audio filter comprises a first transition frequency band; a first transducer connected to the first audio filter; and a first sound attenuator located relative to the first transducer to attenuate sound from the first transducer, where the first sound attenuator is configured to attenuate sound generated by the first transducer from audio signals through the first audio filter in a target frequency band, where a majority of the target frequency band is in the first transition frequency band.", "In accordance with another aspect, an example method comprises providing a first audio filter, where the first audio filter comprises a first transition frequency band; connecting a first transducer to the first audio filter; and locating a first sound attenuator relative to the first transducer to attenuate sound from the first transducer, where the first sound attenuator is configured to attenuate sound generated by the first transducer from audio signals through the first audio filter in a target frequency band, where a majority of the target frequency band is in the transition frequency band.", "In accordance with another aspect, an example method comprises determining at least one desired pass frequency to be provided with a first audio filter connected to a first transducer, where the first audio filter comprises a first transition frequency band relative to the at least one desired pass frequency; and determining a first sound attenuator to be located proximate the first transducer to attenuate sound from the first transducer, where the first sound attenuator is selected for location relative to the first transducer to attenuate sound from the first transducer which is generated from audio signals through the first audio filter in a target frequency band, where a majority of the target frequency band is in the transition frequency band to provide an output from the first transducer having a narrowed frequency range from the attenuation in the transition frequency band." ], [ "CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This is a divisional patent application of copending application Ser.", "No.", "14/663,783 filed Mar.", "20, 2015 which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.", "BACKGROUND Technical Field The exemplary and non-limiting embodiments relate generally to audio and, more particularly, to narrowing an audio filter transition band.", "Brief Description of Prior Developments Audio filters, such as in a crossover, are known.", "Audio filters which have wide transition bands do not provide as good a quality sound as compared to audio filters which have narrower transition bands.", "However, making analog or digital filters with narrow transition bands, while still providing good quality sound, is difficult and expensive.", "SUMMARY The following summary is merely intended to be exemplary.", "The summary is not intended to limit the scope of the claims.", "In accordance with one aspect, an example is provided in an apparatus comprising a first audio filter, where the first audio filter comprises a first transition frequency band; a first transducer connected to the first audio filter; and a first sound attenuator located relative to the first transducer to attenuate sound from the first transducer, where the first sound attenuator is configured to attenuate sound generated by the first transducer from audio signals through the first audio filter in a target frequency band, where a majority of the target frequency band is in the first transition frequency band.", "In accordance with another aspect, an example method comprises providing a first audio filter, where the first audio filter comprises a first transition frequency band; connecting a first transducer to the first audio filter; and locating a first sound attenuator relative to the first transducer to attenuate sound from the first transducer, where the first sound attenuator is configured to attenuate sound generated by the first transducer from audio signals through the first audio filter in a target frequency band, where a majority of the target frequency band is in the transition frequency band.", "In accordance with another aspect, an example method comprises determining at least one desired pass frequency to be provided with a first audio filter connected to a first transducer, where the first audio filter comprises a first transition frequency band relative to the at least one desired pass frequency; and determining a first sound attenuator to be located proximate the first transducer to attenuate sound from the first transducer, where the first sound attenuator is selected for location relative to the first transducer to attenuate sound from the first transducer which is generated from audio signals through the first audio filter in a target frequency band, where a majority of the target frequency band is in the transition frequency band to provide an output from the first transducer having a narrowed frequency range from the attenuation in the transition frequency band.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The foregoing aspects and other features are explained in the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein: FIG.", "1 is a front view of an example embodiment of an apparatus comprising features as described herein; FIG.", "2 is a rear view of the apparatus shown in FIG.", "1; FIG.", "3 is a schematic diagram illustrating some of the components of the apparatus shown in FIGS.", "1-2; FIG.", "4 is a schematic diagram illustrating components of the speaker shown in FIGS.", "2-3; FIG.", "5 is a diagram illustrating characteristics of a conventional low pass filter; FIG.", "6 is a diagram illustrating a conventional transition band for a low-pass filter and high-pass filter; FIG.", "7 illustrates an increase in overall frequency response above unity for moving cutoffs closer to one another for the low-pass filter and high-pass filter shown in FIG.", "6; FIG.", "8 is a diagram, similar to FIG.", "7, for the apparatus shown in FIG.", "4, but illustrating a narrowed transition band without increase in overall frequency response above unity; FIG.", "9 is an example of an alternate example embodiment; FIG.", "10 is a diagram similar to FIG.", "8, but for the example shown in FIG.", "9; FIG.", "11 is a diagram similar to FIGS.", "8 and 10, but for another alternate example; FIG.", "12 is a diagram illustrating an example method; and FIG.", "13 is a diagram illustrating an example method.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Referring to FIG.", "1, there is shown a front view of an apparatus 10 incorporating features of an example embodiment.", "Although the features will be described with reference to the example embodiments shown in the drawings, it should be understood that features can be embodied in many alternate forms of embodiments.", "In addition, any suitable size, shape or type of elements or materials could be used.", "The apparatus 10 may be a hand-held portable apparatus, such as a communications device which includes a telephone application for example.", "In the example shown the apparatus 10 is a smartphone which includes a camera and a camera application.", "The apparatus 10 may additionally or alternatively comprise an Internet browser application, a video recorder application, a music player and recorder application, an email application, a navigation application, a gaming application, and/or any other suitable electronic device application.", "In an alternate example embodiment the apparatus might not be a smartphone.", "For example, the apparatus might be a video camera, a hand-held game or game remote, a tablet computer, or any other suitable hand-held electronic device.", "Referring also to FIGS.", "2-3, the apparatus 10, in this example embodiment, comprises a housing 12, a touchscreen 14, a receiver 16, a transmitter 18, a controller 20, a rechargeable battery 26, a first camera and a second camera 32.However, all of these features are not necessary to implement the features described below.", "The controller 20 may include at least one processor 22, at least one memory 24, and software 28.The electronic circuitry inside the housing 12 may comprise at least one printed wiring board (PWB) 21 having components such as the controller 20 thereon.", "The receiver 16 and transmitter 18 form a primary communications system to allow the apparatus 10 to communicate with a wireless telephone system, such as a mobile telephone base station for example.", "The apparatus 10 includes a sound transducer provided as a microphone 38.In an alternate example the apparatus may comprise more than one microphone.", "In one type of example embodiment the apparatus might not comprise a microphone.", "The apparatus 10 includes a sound transducer provided as an earpiece 40, and sound transducers provided as a speaker 42.More than one speaker may be provided.", "As seen in FIG.", "3, the apparatus 10 comprises an audio source 34 connected to the controller 20.The audio source may comprise a MP3 player, a CD player, etc.", "for example.", "Other audio sources, for example, may comprise audio from a transmission received by the receiver 16 or audio in a music or video recording stored in the memory(ies) 24.Referring also to FIG.", "4, the speaker 42 in this example comprises two transducers 44, 45.In this example the first transducer 44 is a woofer (designed to produce low frequency sounds) and the second transducer is a tweeter (designed to produce high audio frequencies).", "In an alternate example the speaker might comprise more than two transducers, such as having an additional squawker (mid-range driver).", "As seen in FIG.", "3, part of the electronics on the PWB 21 includes at least one audio filter 36 which connects the audio source to the transducers 44, 45 of the speaker 42.The audio filter 36 may comprise an audio crossover for example.", "Most individual transducers are incapable of covering the entire audio spectrum from low frequencies to high frequencies with acceptable relative volume and absence of distortion.", "Thus, most Hi-Fi speaker systems use a combination of multiple transducers; each catering to a different frequency band.", "Crossovers split the audio signal into separate frequency bands that can be separately routed to transducers optimized for those bands.", "Active crossovers come in both digital and analog varieties.", "Digital active crossovers often include additional signal processing, such as limiting, delay, and equalization.", "Features as described herein relate generally to audio filters, filter design, sound absorbers (such as metamaterials for example), and microphone and loudspeaker design.", "A transition band is a band of frequencies between a cutoff frequency and a pass frequency.", "Making analog or digital filters with a narrow transition band is difficult.", "There are many reasons for this including, for example, computational complexity, delay, component cost, component tolerances etc.", "Sometimes, products are designed so that the shape of the product causes acoustic characteristics that make the product more sensitive to some frequencies than to others.", "These characteristic typically have a very wide transition band.", "FIG.", "5 presents an example of a frequency response with a typical low pass filter.", "Despite a high order (300) that makes the filter complex, the transition region 46 is quite wide.", "Referring also to FIG.", "6, this design illustrates a conventional transition band 52 in an amplitude versus frequency chart in a crossover for a low-pass filter 54 and a high pass filter 56, and their overall frequency response 58.As can be seen, the transition band 52 for the crossover filter is wide.", "If one tried to make the transition band narrower 52′ by merely moving the filter cut-off frequencies closer to each other as illustrated in FIG.", "7, the overall frequency response 58′ raises above unity.", "This is not acceptable for sound reproduction.", "With features as described herein, a combination of a filter (digital or analog or acoustic) and absorbing metamaterials (or an active acoustic absorber) makes it possible to provide a narrower transition band in the filtering process without the overall frequency response being raised above unity.", "Use of sound attenuating metamaterials (or an active acoustic attenuator) may be taken into account in the filter design process.", "Thus, a combination of a digital/analog/acoustic filter and absorbing metamaterials makes possible more narrow transition bands with the filters.", "The filter may be designed with relaxed transition band characteristics, and the transitions bands may be made narrower by using one or more different patches of metamaterial to attenuated sound at the different transition bands.", "A transition region for a filter may be made more narrow by using metamaterial tuned to frequencies in the transition region in the acoustic environment where the filter is used.", "Metamaterials are artificial materials engineered to have properties that have not yet been found in nature.", "They are assemblies of multiple individual elements fashioned from conventional materials such as metals or plastics, but the materials are usually constructed into repeating patterns, often with microscopic structures.", "Metamaterials derive their properties not from the compositional properties of the base materials, but from their exactingly-designed structures.", "Their precise shape, geometry, size, orientation and arrangement can affect waves of sound in a manner not observed in natural materials.", "These metamaterials achieve desired effects by incorporating structural elements of sub-wavelength sizes, i.e.", "features that are actually smaller than the wavelength of the waves they affect.", "Metamaterials textured with nanoscale wrinkles may be used to control sound, such as changing a material's ultrasound resolution.", "Uses include sound suppression.", "The materials can be made through a high-precision, multi-layer deposition process.", "The thickness of each layer can be controlled within a fraction of a wavelength.", "Referring back to FIG.", "4, in this example the speaker 42 is provided with a first sound attenuator 48 at the first transducer 44 and a second sound attenuator at the second transducer 45.The audio filter 36 comprise a low-pass filter and a high-pass filter having the characteristics shown in FIG.", "7.Audio signals from the audio source 34 for the woofer 44 are supplied through the low-pass filter, and audio signals from the audio source 34 for the tweeter 46 are supplied through the high-pass filter.", "However, with use of the attenuators 48, 50, overall frequency response can be kept substantially at or lower than unity as seen in FIG.", "8.The first sound attenuator 48 is configured to attenuate sound from the woofer 44 generated from frequencies in the transition band 52′.", "The second sound attenuator 50 is configured to attenuate sound from the tweeter 46 generated from frequencies in the transition band 52′.", "As seen in FIG.", "8, the first sound attenuator cause a drop in amplitude for its corresponding frequencies as illustrated by 60.Likewise, the second sound attenuator 50 cause a drop in amplitude for its corresponding frequencies as illustrated by 62.With the sound attenuators 48, 50, the transition band 52′ may be made narrower by moving the filter cut-off frequencies closer to each other similar to that shown in FIG.", "7, but without the overall frequency response 58 being raised significantly or noticeably above unity.", "The metamaterial attenuates sound is a very narrow frequency region.", "Sometimes the transition bands might be so wide that, in order to provide attenuation to most of the transition band, there may be a need to use several different patches of metamaterial each tuned to a different frequency so that the frequencies of the patches cover the desired attenuation frequency region.", "An example of this is shown with regard to FIGS.", "9-10.In the example shown in FIGS.", "9-10, a speaker 70 is shown with a woofer box or cabinet 72 adjacent a tweeter box or cabinet 74.The woofer 44 is provided at the woofer cabinet 72.The tweeter 46 is provided at the tweeter cabinet 74.A first patch of metamaterial 76 and a second patch of metamaterial 78 are located in the woofer cabinet 72.A third patch of metamaterial 80 is located in the tweeter cabinet 74.A crossover 36 provides audio signals to the woofer 44 and the tweeter from an amplifier 82 and audio source 34.The crossover 36 has a low pass filter and a high pass filter to provide respective signals to the woofer and tweeter from the input signal 84.The impact of the patches 76, 78, 80 of metamaterials, as illustrated by lines 86, 87, 88 in FIG.", "10, allow the crossover 36 to be designed with the cutoffs for the low-pass filter and the high-pass filter to be closer to each other without increasing the overall frequency response 58 above unity.", "The transition band 52″ may, thus, be narrower than without the metamaterials.", "This example illustrates that more than one patch of metamaterial, tuned to at least partially different frequencies, can be provided for a single transducer.", "Referring also to FIG.", "11, features as described herein may be used with a band pass filter.", "In this example three sound attenuators are provided with three different respective bands of frequency tunings as indicated by 90, 91 and 92.The first sound attenuator comprises a first patch of metamaterial tuned to a first frequency band in a lower transition band 94, the second sound attenuator comprises a second patch of metamaterial tuned to a second different frequency band in the lower transition band, and the third sound attenuator comprises a third patch of metamaterial tuned to a third frequency band in a higher transition band 96.With the band pass filter response 98, and the metamaterials effect on the sound output from the transducer, the transition bands 94, 96 can be narrowed without the overall frequency response being raised above unity.", "Thus, when a band pass filter is used, patches of metamaterial tuned to two different frequency transition regions, may be used; one or more at the lower transition region and one or more at the higher transition region.", "However, with low-pass and high-pass filters only one transition region is needed to be addressed.", "The amount of metamaterial (size of the area) can be used to control the level of attenuation.", "The use of metamaterials allows the change of the filter design.", "Features as described herein are not limited to a speaker.", "Features as described herein may be used with microphones as the transducers for example.", "Although the examples described above have included a band-pass filter, a low-pass filter and a high-pass filter, features as described herein may be used with any type of filter which is not an all-pass filter, such as a notch filter for example.", "It does not matter whether the filters are notch, band-pass, low-pass etc.", "The interesting thing takes place in the transition band which all filter have (except for all-pass filters).", "In the transition band, sound may be attenuated from one or more transducers.", "The signals in the transition band is attenuated by filters.", "The transition band definition varies.", "In one example, it could be a region where a filter attenuates the signal between 3 dB and 60 dB.", "In the pass band, the signal may be attenuated less than 3 dB and in the stop band the signal may be attenuated more than 60 dB.", "The metamaterial may be used to make the transition bands more narrow.", "In a way, the metamaterial is an additional filter that helps the signal hit the 60 dB attenuation faster.", "An example apparatus comprises a first audio filter, where the first audio filter comprises a first transition frequency band between a cutoff frequency and a pass frequency; a first transducer connected to the first audio filter; and a first sound attenuator located relative to the first transducer to attenuate sound from the first transducer, where the first sound attenuator is configured to attenuate sound generated by the first transducer from audio signals through the first audio filter in a target frequency band, where a majority of the target frequency band is in the first transition frequency band.", "The material may attenuate sounds in the region of the filter's operating band, and there may be some attenuation slightly outside of the filter's operating band.", "Thus, the term ‘substantially’ is used.", "Such attenuation outside of the filter band is considered to be small and unintentional.", "The apparatus may further comprise a second different sound attenuator located relative to the first transducer to attenuate sound from the first transducer, where the second sound attenuator is configured to substantially only attenuate sound generated by the first transducer from audio signals through the first audio filter in the first transition frequency band.", "The first sound attenuator may comprise metamaterial tuned to attenuate sound from the first transducer from audio signals through the first audio filter substantially only in the first transition frequency band.", "The first audio filter may comprise a low pass filter and the apparatus may further comprise a second transducer, a second audio filter comprising a high pass filter, and a second sound attenuator located relative to the second transducer to attenuate sound from the second transducer, where the second sound attenuator is configured to substantially only attenuate sound generated by the second transducer from audio signals through the high pass filter in a second transition frequency band, where the second transition band substantially overlaps the first transition frequency band.", "The first audio filter may be a band pass filter which comprises a second transition frequency band between a second cutoff frequency and the pass frequency, and the apparatus further comprises: a second transducer connected to the first audio filter; and a second sound attenuator located relative to the second transducer to attenuate sound from the second transducer, where the second sound attenuator is configured to substantially only attenuate sound generated by the second transducer from audio signals through the band pass filter in the second transition frequency band.", "The first sound attenuator may comprise a first metamaterial tuned to attenuate sound from the first transducer from audio signals through the band pass filter substantially only in the first transition frequency band, and the second sound attenuator comprises a second metamaterial tuned to attenuate sound from the second transducer from audio signals through the band pass filter substantially only in the second transition frequency band.", "The apparatus may further comprise a third different sound attenuator located relative to the first transducer to attenuate sound from the first transducer, where the third sound attenuator is configured to substantially only attenuate sound generated by the first transducer from audio signals through the band pass filter in the first transition frequency band.", "The first sound attenuator may be configured to flatten the frequency response and/or sharpening a roll off rate (higher order roll off) of a speaker system comprising the first transducer.", "In some respects, the metamaterial may be considered an optimizer rather than an attenuator (or as well as acting as an attenuator).", "Referring also to FIG.", "12, an example method may comprise providing a first audio filter as indicated by block 100, where the first audio filter comprises a first transition frequency band between a cutoff frequency and a pass frequency; connecting a first transducer to the first audio filter as indicated by block 102; and, as indicated by block 104, locating a first sound attenuator relative to the first transducer to attenuate sound from the first transducer, where the first sound attenuator is configured to attenuate sound generated by the first transducer from audio signals through the first audio filter in a target frequency band, where a majority of the target frequency band is in the transition frequency band.", "The method may further comprise providing a second different sound attenuator located relative to the first transducer to attenuate sound from the first transducer, where the second sound attenuator is configured to substantially only attenuate sound generated by the first transducer from audio signals through the first audio filter in the first transition frequency band.", "The first sound attenuator may comprise metamaterial tuned to attenuate sound from the first transducer from audio signals through the first audio filter substantially only in the first transition frequency band.", "The first audio filter may be a low pass filter and the method may further comprise providing a second transducer, a second audio filter comprising a high pass filter, and a second sound attenuator located relative to the second transducer to attenuate sound from the second transducer, where the second sound attenuator is configured to substantially only attenuate sound generated by the second transducer from audio signals through the high pass filter in a second transition frequency band, where the second transition band substantially overlaps the first transition frequency band.", "The first audio filter may be a band pass filter which comprises a second transition frequency band between a second cutoff frequency and the pass frequency, and the method may further comprise: providing a second transducer connected to the first audio filter; and providing a second sound attenuator located relative to the second transducer to attenuate sound from the second transducer, where the second sound attenuator is configured to substantially only attenuate sound generated by the second transducer from audio signals through the band pass filter in the second transition frequency band.", "The first sound attenuator may comprise a first metamaterial tuned to attenuate sound from the first transducer from audio signals through the band pass filter substantially only in the first transition frequency band, and the second sound attenuator comprises a second metamaterial tuned to attenuate sound from the second transducer from audio signals through the band pass filter substantially only in the second transition frequency band.", "The method may further comprise providing a third different sound attenuator located relative to the first transducer to attenuate sound from the first transducer, where the third sound attenuator is configured to substantially only attenuate sound generated by the first transducer from audio signals through the band pass filter in the first transition frequency band.", "Referring also to FIG.", "13, an example method may comprise determining, as indicated by block 106, at least one desired pass frequency to be provided with a first audio filter connected to a first transducer, where the first audio filter comprises a first transition frequency band relative to the at least one desired pass frequency; and determining, as indicated by block 108, a first sound attenuator to be located proximate the first transducer to attenuate sound from the first transducer, where the first sound attenuator is selected for location relative to the first transducer to substantially only attenuate sound from the first transducer which is generated from audio signals through the first audio filter in the transition frequency band to provide an output from the first transducer having a narrowed frequency range from the attenuation in the transition frequency band.", "The method may further comprise determining at least one desired pass frequency to be provided with a second audio filter connected to a second transducer, where the second audio filter comprises a second transition frequency band which substantially overlaps the first transition frequency band, and determining a second sound attenuator to be located proximate the second transducer to attenuate sound from the second transducer, where the second sound attenuator is selected for location relative to the second transducer to substantially only attenuate sound from the second transducer which is generated from audio signals through the second audio filter in the second transition frequency band to provide an output from the second transducer having a narrowed frequency range from the attenuation in the second transition frequency band.", "The first audio filter may be a band pass filter which comprises a lower transition band, as the first transition frequency band, and a higher transition band.", "The first audio filter may be a band pass filter which comprises a higher transition band, as the first transition frequency band, and a lower transition band.", "An example embodiment may comprise means for providing a first audio filter, where the first audio filter comprises a first transition frequency band between a cutoff frequency and a pass frequency; means for connecting a first transducer to the first audio filter; and means for locating a first sound attenuator relative to the first transducer to attenuate sound from the first transducer, where the first sound attenuator is configured to attenuate sound generated by the first transducer from audio signals through the first audio filter in a target frequency band, where a majority of the target frequency band is in the transition frequency band.", "An example embodiment may comprise means for determining at least one desired pass frequency to be provided with a first audio filter connected to a first transducer, where the first audio filter comprises a first transition frequency band relative to the at least one desired pass frequency; and means for determining a first sound attenuator to be located proximate the first transducer to attenuate sound from the first transducer, where the first sound attenuator is selected for location relative to the first transducer to attenuate sound from the first transducer which is generated from audio signals through the first audio filter in a target frequency band, where a majority of the target frequency band is in the transition frequency band to provide an output from the first transducer having a narrowed frequency range from the attenuation in the transition frequency band.", "The means may comprise a computer with a processor, a memory and software code for the determinings and an output for communicating the determinings to a user to design and build an apparatus as described above for example.", "In a transition band between two filters an example may have sound from two transducers; each sound through its own filter.", "The two sounds overlap each other.", "An attenuator in the transition band could attenuate both sounds if it is in a location where both sounds are present, such as outside a speaker cavity for example.", "However, if an example has a two transducer element speaker, where each element is in its own cavity, then the attenuator in one cavity would mostly effect the sound from that element.", "In one example there may be a multiple element speaker and two attenuators tuned to different frequencies were used inside the same element cavity.", "Two attenuators may be used to make the attenuation work at a wider frequency range.", "In another example one attenuator may be used to attenuate sounds from one element and a second attenuator may be used to attenuate sounds from a second element.", "For a frequency response “hump”, the hump could additionally be attenuated by also putting an attenuator outside both speaker cavities so that the attenuator would affect sound from both elements.", "With features as described herein, material responses may be tuned at particular frequency regions during which these materials cause attenuation effects.", "An example may provide a band-pass frequency response with sharper upper and lower roll-off, where unwanted frequencies are attenuated more significantly and the chance of unwanted frequency audibility becomes very small.", "Such a band-pass response represent a frequency response of a speaker system regardless of whether the speaker system comprises a single speaker or multiple speakers.", "In a multiple speaker system, such as with a woofer and a tweeter, a cross over network may be used.", "Features as described herein can help overall playback response from multiple speakers where cross-over cutoff frequency region can be optimized further.", "Features as described herein are applicable to a speaker system having a single speaker where the material can be used to optimise the frequency response.", "This is different from use of activated carbon for example, because the effect is a local effect in the frequency response and the material is acting as an additional filter.", "Features may be used in any speaker system including portable device speakers, hi-fi industry, etc.", "Such material can be used for speaker systems with or without activated carbon in speaker cavities.", "The attenuation material(s) as described herein may be tuned for a target frequency region(s).", "The location of the attenuator relative to the sound transducer may be selected to produce a desired effect, and thus influence how the audio signals are delivered to the sound transducer.", "In some example embodiments the location of the attenuator can be determined for the desired effect.", "In some example embodiments the position of the attenuator is not a random position, and is particularly identified/designed in order to enable the material functions in the desired manner.", "Any suitable means could be used to locate the sound attenuator(s) relative to the sound transducer(s) including, for example, use of glue to attach the sound transducer(s) to a frame or cabinet or inside an audio channel, adhesive tape, welding techniques or other techniques.", "This can help insure the sound transducer(s) stay at a desired target location relative to the sound coming from the transducer(s).", "With features as described in some of the example embodiment above, the transducer is driven with audio signals, where the filter is a electrical/digital filter which attenuates desired frequencies before the transducer.", "The signals to the audio filter are in the electrical/digital domain.", "The material of the sound attenuator/optimizer is a mechanical component that provides attenuation in the transition band in the acoustic domain; after the sound is generated by the transducer.", "Both the filter and the material of the sound attenuator/optimizer function in the transition band, but in different domains (i.e.", "the domain is the acoustic domain in the case of the material).", "It should be understood that the foregoing description is only illustrative.", "Various alternatives and modifications can be devised by those skilled in the art.", "For example, features recited in the various dependent claims could be combined with each other in any suitable combination(s).", "In addition, features from different embodiments described above could be selectively combined into a new embodiment.", "Accordingly, the description is intended to embrace all such alternatives, modifications and variances which fall within the scope of the appended claims." ] ]
Patent_15873062
[ [ "LARGE AREA OPTICAL QUALITY SYNTHETIC POLYCRYSTALLINE DIAMOND WINDOW", "A polycrystalline chemical vapour deposited (CVD) diamond wafer comprising: a largest linear dimension equal to or greater than 125 mm; a thickness equal to or greater than 200 μm; and one or both of the following characteristics measured at room temperature (nominally 298 K) over at least a central area of the polycrystalline CVD diamond wafer, said central area being circular, centred on a central point of the polycrystalline CVD diamond wafer, and having a diameter of at least 70% of the largest linear dimension of the polycrystalline CVD diamond wafer: an absorption coefficient ≤0.2 cm−1 at 10.6 μm; and a dielectric loss coefficient at 145 GHz, of tan δ≤2×10−4." ], [ "1.A process for fabricating a polycrystalline CVD diamond wafer having a largest linear dimension equal to or greater than 125 mm, a thickness equal to or greater than 200 μm, and one or both of the following characteristics measured at room temperature (nominally 298 K) over at least a central area of the polycrystalline CVD diamond wafer, said central area being circular, centred on a central point of the polycrystalline CVD diamond wafer, and having a diameter of at least 70% of the largest linear dimension of the polycrystalline CVD diamond wafer; a dielectric loss coefficient at 145 GHz, of tan δ≤5×10−5; and a thermal conductivity of no less than 1900 Wm−1K−1; the process comprising: locating a substrate over the substrate holder, the substrate being rotationally symmetric and having a rotation axis of symmetry lying within 1.0 mm of the central rotational axis of symmetry of the resonance cavity when located over the substrate holder; feeding microwaves into the plasma chamber through the annular dielectric window at a power in a range 15 to 40 kW; feeding process gases into the plasma chamber through the one or more gas inlet nozzles, the process gases comprising an atomic concentration of hydrogen in a range 98 to 99%, an atomic concentration of carbon in a range 0.3 to 1.1%, and an atomic concentration of nitrogen in a range 30 to 270 ppm, wherein a total flow rate of the process gases lies in a range 2000 to 15000 sccm and a pressure within the plasma chamber lies in a range 140 to 235 Torr; growing a polycrystalline CVD diamond wafer on the substrate at a substrate temperature in a range 775 to 950° C.; removing the polycrystalline CVD diamond wafer from the microwave plasma reactor; and polishing the polycrystalline CVD diamond wafer.", "2.A process according to claim 1, wherein the rotation axis of symmetry of the substrate lies within 0.5 mm or 0.2 mm of the central rotational axis of symmetry of the resonance cavity when located over the substrate holder 3.A process according to claim 1, wherein microwaves are fed into the plasma chamber through the annular dielectric window at a power in a range 20 to 35 kW or 25 to 30 kW.", "4.A process according to claim 1, wherein the pressure within the plasma chamber lies in a range 160 to 215 Torr or 180 to 205 Torr.", "5.A process according to claim 1, wherein the substrate temperature lies in a range 800 to 900° C. or 825 to 875° C. 6.A process according to claim 1, wherein a growth rate of the polycrystalline CVD diamond wafer is decreased as a thickness of the polycrystalline CVD diamond wafer increases.", "7.A process according to claim 1, wherein the growth rate of the polycrystalline CVD diamond wafer is decreased as the thickness of the polycrystalline CVD diamond wafer increases by reducing the atomic concentration of carbon and/or the atomic concentration of nitrogen during growth of the polycrystalline CVD diamond wafer on the substrate.", "8.A process according to claim 1, further comprising a plasma or chemical treatment after polishing to generate an oxygen terminated surface on the polycrystalline CVD diamond wafer.", "9.A process according to claim 1, further comprising cutting the polycrystalline CVD diamond wafer into smaller items for use." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND OF INVENTION <EOH>Chemical vapour deposition (CVD) processes for synthesis of diamond material are now well known in the art.", "Useful background information relating to the chemical vapour deposition of diamond materials may be found in a special issue of the Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter, Vol.", "21, No.", "36 (2009) which is dedicated to diamond related technology.", "For example, the review article by R. S Balmer et al.", "gives a comprehensive overview of CVD diamond materials, technology and applications (see “Chemical vapour deposition synthetic diamond: materials, technology and applications” J.", "Phys.", ": Condensed Matter, Vol.", "21, No.", "36 (2009) 364221).", "Being in the region where diamond is metastable compared to graphite, synthesis of diamond under CVD conditions is driven by surface kinetics and not bulk thermodynamics.", "Diamond synthesis by CVD is normally performed using a small fraction of carbon (typically <5%), typically in the form of methane although other carbon containing gases may be utilized, in an excess of molecular hydrogen.", "If molecular hydrogen is heated to temperatures in excess of 2000 K, there is a significant dissociation to atomic hydrogen.", "In the presence of a suitable substrate material, synthetic diamond material can be deposited.", "Atomic hydrogen is essential to the process because it selectively etches off non-diamond carbon from the substrate such that diamond growth can occur.", "Various methods are available for heating carbon containing gas species and molecular hydrogen in order to generate the reactive carbon containing radicals and atomic hydrogen required for CVD diamond growth including arc-jet, hot filament, DC arc, oxy-acetylene flame, and microwave plasma.", "Methods that involve electrodes, such as DC arc plasmas, can have disadvantages due to electrode erosion and incorporation of material into the diamond.", "Combustion methods avoid the electrode erosion problem but are reliant on relatively expensive feed gases that must be purified to levels consistent with high quality diamond growth.", "Also the temperature of the flame, even when combusting oxy-acetylene mixes, is insufficient to achieve a substantial fraction of atomic hydrogen in the gas stream and the methods rely on concentrating the flux of gas in a localized area to achieve reasonable growth rates.", "Perhaps the principal reason why combustion is not widely used for bulk diamond growth is the cost in terms of kWh of energy that can be extracted.", "Compared to electricity, high purity acetylene and oxygen are an expensive way to generate heat.", "Hot filament reactors while appearing superficially simple have the disadvantage of being restricted to use at lower gas pressures which are required to ensure relatively effective transport of their limited quantities of atomic hydrogen to a growth surface.", "In light of the above, it has been found that microwave plasma is the most effective method for driving CVD diamond deposition in terms of the combination of power efficiency, growth rate, growth area, and purity of product which is obtainable.", "A microwave plasma activated CVD diamond synthesis system typically comprises a plasma reactor vessel coupled both to a supply of source gases and to a microwave power source.", "The plasma reactor vessel is configured to form a resonance cavity supporting a standing microwave.", "Source gases including a carbon source and molecular hydrogen are fed into the plasma reactor vessel and can be activated by the standing microwave to form a plasma in high field regions.", "If a suitable substrate is provided in close proximity to the plasma, reactive carbon containing radicals can diffuse from the plasma to the substrate and be deposited thereon.", "Atomic hydrogen can also diffuse from the plasma to the substrate and selectively etch off non-diamond carbon from the substrate such that diamond growth can occur.", "A range of possible microwave plasma reactors for synthetic diamond film growth using a CVD process are known in the art.", "Such reactors have a variety of different designs.", "Common features include: a plasma chamber; a substrate holder disposed in the plasma chamber; a microwave generator for forming the plasma; a coupling configuration for feeding microwaves from the microwave generator into the plasma chamber; a gas flow system for feeding process gases into the plasma chamber and removing them therefrom; and a temperature control system for controlling the temperature of a substrate on the substrate holder.", "A useful overview article by Silva et al.", "summarizing various possible reactor designs is given in the previous mentioned Journal of Physics (see “Microwave engineering of plasma-assisted CVD reactors for diamond deposition” J.", "Phys.", ": Condens.", "Matter, Vol.", "21, No.", "36 (2009) 364202).", "Having regard to the patent literature, U.S. Pat.", "No.", "6,645,343 (Fraunhofer) discloses an example of a microwave plasma reactor configured for diamond film growth via a chemical vapour deposition process.", "The reactor described therein comprises a cylindrical plasma chamber with a substrate holder mounted on a base thereof.", "A cooling device is provided below the substrate holder for controlling the temperature of a substrate on the substrate holder.", "Furthermore, a gas inlet and a gas outlet are provided in the base of the plasma chamber for supplying and removing process gases.", "A microwave generator is coupled to the plasma chamber via a high-frequency coaxial line which is subdivided at its delivery end above the plasma chamber and directed at the periphery of the plasma chamber to an essentially ring-shaped microwave window in the form of a quartz ring mounted in a side wall of the plasma chamber.", "Using microwave plasma reactors such as those disclosed in the prior art it is possible to grow polycrystalline diamond wafers by chemical vapour deposition on a suitable substrate such as a silicon wafer or a carbide forming refractory metal disk.", "Such polycrystalline CVD diamond wafers are generally opaque in their as-grown form but can be made transparent by polishing opposing faces of the wafers to produce transparent polycrystalline diamond windows for optical applications.", "Diamond material is useful as an optical component as it has a broad optical transparency from ultraviolet through to infrared.", "Diamond material has the additional advantage over other possible window materials in that it is mechanically strong, inert, and biocompatible.", "For example, the inertness of diamond material makes it an excellent choice for use in reactive chemical environments where other optical window materials would not be suitable.", "Further still, diamond material has very high thermal conductivity and a low thermal expansion coefficient.", "As such, diamond material is useful as an optical component in high energy beam applications where the component will tend to be heated.", "The diamond material will rapidly conduct away heat to cool areas where heating occurs so as to prevent heat build-up at a particular point, e.g.", "where a high energy beam passes through the material.", "To the extent that the material is heated, the low thermal expansion coefficient of diamond material ensures that the component does not unduly deform which may cause optical and/or mechanical problems in use.", "One problem with fabricating polycrystalline CVD diamond optical components is that during the CVD growth process impurities such as nitrogen, silicon and non-diamond carbon are incorporated into the diamond material as discussed below.", "Atmospheric nitrogen is generally present as an impurity within source process gases and may also be present as a residual impurity within CVD reactor components due, for example, to non-perfect vacuum seals and/or residual impurities adsorbed onto interior surfaces of the CVD reactor which may desorb during use.", "Furthermore, nitrogen gas is often intentionally introduced into the CVD synthesis atmosphere during a synthetic diamond growth process as it is known that nitrogen increases the growth rate of synthetic diamond material.", "While nitrogen is advantageous for achieving commercially useful growth rates, incorporation of nitrogen into the synthetic diamond material can detrimentally affect the optical and thermal performance characteristics of the material.", "Accordingly, a balance may be struck between providing sufficient nitrogen within the CVD synthesis atmosphere to achieve acceptable growth rates while limiting the quantity of nitrogen which is incorporated into the solid CVD diamond material being grown.", "Apparatus and process conditions can affect the rate at which nitrogen within the CVD synthesis atmosphere is incorporated into the solid CVD diamond material being grown.", "Silicon impurities may come from silicon based components within the CVD reactor.", "For example, quartz windows or bell jars are often used to couple microwaves into the plasma chamber and/or constrain plasma and process gases near a substrate growth surface to achieve CVD diamond growth.", "Such silicon containing quartz components are exposed to extreme temperatures from the plasma in use and this can result in silicon from these components being incorporated into the synthetic diamond material.", "Apparatus and process conditions can affect the rate at which silicon is incorporated into the solid CVD diamond material being grown.", "Non-diamond carbon (e.g.", "sp2 hybridized graphitic carbon) is inevitably deposited on the growth surface of the substrate during CVD diamond growth processes.", "As previously described, atomic hydrogen is essential to a CVD diamond growth process because it selectively etches off non-diamond carbon from the substrate such that diamond growth can occur.", "However, this selective etching process does not usually remove all the deposited non-diamond carbon and such material therefore becomes incorporated into the CVD diamond material.", "Apparatus and process conditions can affect the rate at which non-diamond carbon is incorporated into the solid CVD diamond material being grown.", "In light of the above, it is evident that the apparatus configuration and process conditions must be carefully selected and controlled in order to ensure that the level of impurities incorporated into the synthetic diamond material during CVD growth are extremely small for high performance optical components.", "In addition to control of absolute impurity levels, it is also critical to ensure that the uniformity of impurity uptake is controlled so as to achieve a product which has consistent performance characteristics.", "Uniformity is an issue in terms of spatial variations in the rate of impurity uptake across a growth surface and temporal variations in the rate of impurity uptake over a growth run.", "For example, a non-uniform distribution of physical and/or chemical process parameters over the growth surface can lead to spatial variations in the rate of impurity uptake across a synthetic polycrystalline diamond wafer.", "Furthermore, as a synthetic polycrystalline diamond wafer grows, grain boundaries within the synthetic polycrystalline diamond wafer increase in size.", "An increase in the size of grain boundaries as the synthetic polycrystalline diamond wafer grows thicker leads to an increase in the rate of impurity uptake within the enlarged grain boundaries which can result in an increasing concentration of impurities through the thickness of a synthetic polycrystalline diamond wafer.", "In addition to the above described problems, variations in growth rate across a synthetic polycrystalline diamond wafer can lead to variations in impurity uptake.", "For example, as the growth rate increases the time available to etch non-diamond carbon from the growth surface before it is encapsulated within the synthetic polycrystalline diamond wafer decreases.", "Furthermore, variations in growth rate also cause variations in thickness which can lead to strain and cracking of synthetic polycrystalline diamond wafer on cooling after completion of the CVD growth process.", "Variations in growth rate can be caused by non-uniformities in the plasma across the growth surface and non-uniformities in the temperature of the substrate on which the synthetic polycrystalline diamond wafer is grown.", "Despite the above problems, to date it has been possible to fabricate high optical quality polycrystalline diamond wafer up to approximately 100 mm in diameter.", "However, the production of larger polycrystalline diamond wafers of high optical quality has proved problematic.", "While it has been possible to fabricate larger polycrystalline diamond wafers, these have been of lower optical quality, particularly towards the periphery of the wafers.", "Such wafers do not meet the requirements for certain commercial applications which require relatively thick, relatively large diameter synthetic polycrystalline diamond windows of extremely high optical quality.", "For example, certain very high powered laser beam applications require >120 mm diameter clear aperture, optical grade, polycrystalline diamond laser windows capable of handling the extreme power densities involved.", "Polycrystalline diamond laser windows with the relevant optical properties are available in smaller sizes.", "However these sizes are not large enough for certain applications.", "Such polycrystalline diamond windows are also required for use as radiation resistant windows.", "It is an aim of certain embodiments of the present invention to provide a suitable microwave plasma reactor configuration and suitable CVD process conditions in order to fabricate large (e.g.", "at least 120 mm diameter) synthetic polycrystalline diamond windows having extremely high optical quality across substantially all (e.g.", "at least 80%) of the window area." ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY OF INVENTION <EOH>According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a polycrystalline chemical vapour deposited (CVD) diamond wafer comprising: a largest linear dimension equal to or greater than 125 mm; a thickness equal to or greater than 200 μm; and one or both of the following characteristics measured at room temperature (nominally 298 K) over at least a central area of the polycrystalline CVD diamond wafer, said central area being circular, centred on a central point of the polycrystalline CVD diamond wafer, and having a diameter of at least 70% of the largest linear dimension of the polycrystalline CVD diamond wafer: (1) an absorption coefficient ≤0.2 cm −1 at 10.6 μm; and (2) a dielectric loss coefficient at 145 GHz, of tan δ≤2×10 −4 .", "Preferably, the polycrystalline CVD diamond wafer further comprises one or more of the following structural characteristics over at least the central area: (3) a tensile rupture strength with a nucleation face of the polycrystalline CVD diamond wafer in tension of: ≥760 MPa×n for a thickness of 200 to 500 □m; ≥700 MPa×n for a thickness of 500 to 750 □m; ≥650 MPa×n for a thickness of 750 to 1000 □m; ≥600 MPa×n for a thickness of 1000 to 1250 m; ≥550 MPa×n for a thickness of 1250 to 1500 □m; ≥500 MPa×n for a thickness of 1500 to 1750 □m; ≥450 MPa×n for a thickness of 1750 to 2000 □m; or ≥400 MPa×n for a thickness of ≥2000 □m, wherein multiplying factor n is 1.0, 1.1, 1.2, 1.4, 1.6, 1.8, or 2; (4) a tensile rupture strength with a growth face of the polycrystalline CVD diamond wafer in tension of: ≥330 MPa×n for a thickness of 200 to 500 □m; ≥300 MPa×n for a thickness of 500 to 750 □m; ≥275 MPa×n for a thickness of 750 to 1000 □m; ≥250 MPa×n for a thickness of 1000 to 1250 □m; ≥225 MPa×n for a thickness of 1250 to 1500 □m; ≥200 MPa×n for a thickness of 1500 to 1750 □m; ≥175 MPa×n for a thickness of 1750 to 2000 □m; or ≥150 MPa×n for a thickness of ≥2000 □m, wherein multiplying factor n is 1.0 1.1, 1.2, 1.4, 1.6, 1.8, or 2; and (5) a surface flatness ≤5 μm, ≤4 μm, ≤3 μm, ≤2 μm, ≤1 μm, ≤0.5 μm, ≤0.2 μm, ≤ or 0.1 μm.", "Preferably, the polycrystalline CVD diamond wafer further comprises one or more of the following characteristics over at least the central area: (6) an average black spot density no greater than 1 mm −2 , 0.5 mm −2 , or 0.1 mm −2 ; (7) a black spot distribution such that there are no more than 4, 3, 2, or 1 black spots within any 3 mm −2 area; (8) an integrated absorbance per unit thickness of no more than 0.20 cm −2 , 0.15 cm −2 , 0.10 cm −2 , or 0.05 cm −2 , when measured with a corrected linear background in a range 2760 cm −1 to 3030 cm −1 ; (9) a thermal conductivity of no less than 1900 Wm −1 K −1 , 2000 Wm −1 K −1 , 2100 Wm −1 K −1 , or 2200 Wm −1 K −1 ; (10) a total integrated scatter in a forward hemisphere no more than 1%, 0.5%, or 0.1% at 10.6 □m for a sample thickness of 0.7 mm with front and rear surfaces polished to a root mean squared roughness of less than 15 nm; and (11) a silicon concentration as measured by secondary ion mass spectrometry of no more than 10 17 cm −3 , 5×10 16 cm −3 , 10 16 cm −3 , 5×10 15 cm −3 , or 10 15 cm −3 .", "Embodiments may comprise any combination of the aforementioned preferred characteristics.", "However, of the eleven recited characteristics given above, the polycrystalline CVD diamond wafer preferably comprises two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, or most preferably all eleven of said characteristics.", "According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a microwave plasma reactor for fabricating a polycrystalline CVD diamond wafer as define above, the microwave plasma reactor comprising: a plasma chamber comprising a base, a top plate, and a side wall extending from said base to said top plate defining a resonance cavity for supporting a microwave resonance mode, wherein the resonance cavity has a central rotational axis of symmetry extending from the base to the top plate; a microwave coupling configuration comprising an annular dielectric window for inductively coupling microwaves into the plasma chamber through the top plate via a ring shaped dielectric window in a direction towards the base of the plasma chamber; a gas flow system for feeding process gases into the plasma chamber through the top plate via one or more gas inlet nozzles in a direction towards the base of the plasma chamber; a substrate holder disposed in the base of the plasma chamber and comprising a supporting surface for supporting a substrate on which the polycrystalline CVD diamond wafer can be grown in use; and a substrate temperature control system comprising a coolant delivery system for supplying liquid and/or gas coolant to the substrate holder to control a temperature profile across the supporting surface of the substrate holder in use, wherein at least the annular dielectric window is rotationally symmetric, having a rotational axis of symmetry lying within 0.2 mm of the central rotational axis of symmetry of the resonance cavity.", "According to a third aspect of the present invention there is provided a process for fabricating the polycrystalline CVD diamond wafer using a microwave plasma reactor as defined above, the process comprising: locating a substrate over the substrate holder, the substrate being rotationally symmetric and having a rotation axis of symmetry lying within 1.0 mm of the central rotational axis of symmetry of the resonance cavity when located over the substrate holder; feeding microwaves into the plasma chamber through the annular dielectric window at a power in a range 15 to 40 kW; feeding process gases into the plasma chamber through the one or more gas inlet nozzles, the process gases comprising an atomic concentration of hydrogen in a range 98 to 99%, an atomic concentration of carbon in a range 0.3 to 1.1%, and an atomic concentration of nitrogen in a range 30 to 270 ppm, wherein a total flow rate of the process gases lies in a range 2000 to 15000 sccm and a pressure within the plasma chamber lies in a range 140 to 235 Torr; growing a polycrystalline CVD diamond wafer on the substrate at a substrate temperature in a range 775 to 950° C.; removing the polycrystalline CVD diamond wafer from the microwave plasma reactor; and polishing the polycrystalline CVD diamond wafer.", "Certain embodiments of the present invention have been realized by: (i) developing a particular microwave plasma reactor configuration; (ii) further modifying the microwave plasma reactor configuration to extremely precise design tolerances; and (iii) developing suitable process conditions for operating the microwave plasma reactor configuration to achieve fabrication of large synthetic polycrystalline diamond windows having extremely high optical quality.", "Having regard to point (i), the microwave plasma reactor is configured to couple both process gas, via one or more gas inlet nozzles, and microwaves, via an annular dielectric window, through a top plate of the plasma chamber towards a suitably temperature controlled substrate mounted in a base of the plasma chamber such that both process gas and microwaves are coupled into the plasma chamber in a rotationally symmetric manner and directed towards the substrate growth surface.", "Such a configuration has been found to be useful in allowing high gas flow rates, high process pressures, and high microwave power process conditions to be used for achieving good quality synthetic diamond growth at high growth rates with a suitably controlled nitrogen concentration.", "Furthermore, the provision of an annular dielectric window around a peripheral region of the top plate of the plasma chamber can reduce silicon transfer into the synthetic diamond material during growth when compared with alternatives such as the use of a bell jar, the use of a window spanning across a central portion of the plasma chamber, or an annular dielectric window disposed in a side wall of the plasma chamber, all of which increase exposure of the dielectric window material to a plasma region within the chamber.", "Having regard to point (ii), it has been found that even utilizing such a configuration it is not possible to fabricate large area (≥120 mm diameter), thick (≥200 μm) windows of synthetic polycrystalline diamond having extremely high optical quality and no cracking.", "This problem has been traced to very minor misalignments in the microwave coupling configuration, the gas delivery system, and the substrate mounting and temperature control systems relative to the central rotational axis of symmetry of the plasma chamber.", "While minor misalignments do not manifest themselves in terms of a significant reduction in the quality of synthetic diamond material grown over smaller areas (e.g.", "≤100 mm diameter), it has been found that when fabricating synthetic diamond material over larger areas (≥120 mm diameter) even very minor misalignments between components can detrimentally affect material quality, particularly around a peripheral region of the synthetic polycrystalline diamond wafer.", "As such, it has been found that the components, particularly the annular dielectric window, should be rotationally symmetric with each component having a rotational axis of symmetry lying within 0.2 mm of a central rotational axis of symmetry of the resonance cavity.", "Preferably other components such as the substrate holder and the one or more gas inlet nozzles should also be precisely configured and aligned.", "Such precise alignment, in combination with the previously described configuration in which process gas and microwaves are both coupled into the plasma chamber in an axial direction towards the substrate growth surface, allows high gas flow rates and high microwave power conditions to be achieved with a high degree of rotational symmetry which has been found to be critical for achieving the fabrication of large area, thick windows of synthetic polycrystalline diamond having extremely high optical quality.", "Having regard to point (iii), it has been found that even utilizing the previously described precisely-aligned microwave plasma reactor configuration, the quality of polycrystalline diamond material around a peripheral region of the polycrystalline diamond wafer may not meet extremely high optical quality requirements.", "In particular, levels of impurities such as non-diamond carbon have been found to increase at a peripheral region of larger area wafers.", "This problem is exacerbated when also growing to larger thicknesses because as a synthetic polycrystalline diamond wafer grows, grain boundaries increase in size and this leads to an increase in the rate of impurity uptake within the grain boundaries.", "It has been found that this problem can be alleviated by increasing the hydrogen gas flow rate.", "It is considered that the concentration of atomic hydrogen required to selectively etch off non-diamond carbon from the substrate is lower at very large diameters and thus the efficiency of non-diamond carbon etching is reduced.", "It is believed that increasing the hydrogen gas flow rate directed towards the growth surface pushes more atomic hydrogen to peripheral regions of the polycrystalline diamond wafer thus increasing the rate at which non-diamond carbon is etched from the growth surface and improving the quality of the material in peripheral regions of the growing wafer.", "An alternative or additional solution is to provide a gas inlet nozzle array having a plurality of gas inlet nozzles directed towards the growth surface of the substrate and disposed over an area sufficiently large to ensure that a sufficiently large concentration of atomic hydrogen is provided in peripheral regions of a polycrystalline diamond wafer during growth.", "Yet another alternative or additional solution is to reduce the growth rate of the polycrystalline CVD diamond wafer to allow more time for non-diamond carbon to be etched from the growth surface.", "For example, the growth rate may be decreased as a thickness of the polycrystalline CVD diamond wafer increases by, for example, reducing the atomic concentration of carbon and/or the atomic concentration of nitrogen during growth of the polycrystalline CVD diamond wafer on the substrate.", "By combining developments in reactor design, engineering tolerance control, and process design it has been possible to achieve fabrication of large synthetic polycrystalline diamond windows having extremely high optical quality." ], [ "FIELD OF INVENTION The present invention relates to the fabrication of optical quality synthetic polycrystalline diamond windows using a chemical vapour deposition (CVD) technique.", "BACKGROUND OF INVENTION Chemical vapour deposition (CVD) processes for synthesis of diamond material are now well known in the art.", "Useful background information relating to the chemical vapour deposition of diamond materials may be found in a special issue of the Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter, Vol.", "21, No.", "36 (2009) which is dedicated to diamond related technology.", "For example, the review article by R. S Balmer et al.", "gives a comprehensive overview of CVD diamond materials, technology and applications (see “Chemical vapour deposition synthetic diamond: materials, technology and applications” J.", "Phys.", ": Condensed Matter, Vol.", "21, No.", "36 (2009) 364221).", "Being in the region where diamond is metastable compared to graphite, synthesis of diamond under CVD conditions is driven by surface kinetics and not bulk thermodynamics.", "Diamond synthesis by CVD is normally performed using a small fraction of carbon (typically <5%), typically in the form of methane although other carbon containing gases may be utilized, in an excess of molecular hydrogen.", "If molecular hydrogen is heated to temperatures in excess of 2000 K, there is a significant dissociation to atomic hydrogen.", "In the presence of a suitable substrate material, synthetic diamond material can be deposited.", "Atomic hydrogen is essential to the process because it selectively etches off non-diamond carbon from the substrate such that diamond growth can occur.", "Various methods are available for heating carbon containing gas species and molecular hydrogen in order to generate the reactive carbon containing radicals and atomic hydrogen required for CVD diamond growth including arc-jet, hot filament, DC arc, oxy-acetylene flame, and microwave plasma.", "Methods that involve electrodes, such as DC arc plasmas, can have disadvantages due to electrode erosion and incorporation of material into the diamond.", "Combustion methods avoid the electrode erosion problem but are reliant on relatively expensive feed gases that must be purified to levels consistent with high quality diamond growth.", "Also the temperature of the flame, even when combusting oxy-acetylene mixes, is insufficient to achieve a substantial fraction of atomic hydrogen in the gas stream and the methods rely on concentrating the flux of gas in a localized area to achieve reasonable growth rates.", "Perhaps the principal reason why combustion is not widely used for bulk diamond growth is the cost in terms of kWh of energy that can be extracted.", "Compared to electricity, high purity acetylene and oxygen are an expensive way to generate heat.", "Hot filament reactors while appearing superficially simple have the disadvantage of being restricted to use at lower gas pressures which are required to ensure relatively effective transport of their limited quantities of atomic hydrogen to a growth surface.", "In light of the above, it has been found that microwave plasma is the most effective method for driving CVD diamond deposition in terms of the combination of power efficiency, growth rate, growth area, and purity of product which is obtainable.", "A microwave plasma activated CVD diamond synthesis system typically comprises a plasma reactor vessel coupled both to a supply of source gases and to a microwave power source.", "The plasma reactor vessel is configured to form a resonance cavity supporting a standing microwave.", "Source gases including a carbon source and molecular hydrogen are fed into the plasma reactor vessel and can be activated by the standing microwave to form a plasma in high field regions.", "If a suitable substrate is provided in close proximity to the plasma, reactive carbon containing radicals can diffuse from the plasma to the substrate and be deposited thereon.", "Atomic hydrogen can also diffuse from the plasma to the substrate and selectively etch off non-diamond carbon from the substrate such that diamond growth can occur.", "A range of possible microwave plasma reactors for synthetic diamond film growth using a CVD process are known in the art.", "Such reactors have a variety of different designs.", "Common features include: a plasma chamber; a substrate holder disposed in the plasma chamber; a microwave generator for forming the plasma; a coupling configuration for feeding microwaves from the microwave generator into the plasma chamber; a gas flow system for feeding process gases into the plasma chamber and removing them therefrom; and a temperature control system for controlling the temperature of a substrate on the substrate holder.", "A useful overview article by Silva et al.", "summarizing various possible reactor designs is given in the previous mentioned Journal of Physics (see “Microwave engineering of plasma-assisted CVD reactors for diamond deposition” J.", "Phys.", ": Condens.", "Matter, Vol.", "21, No.", "36 (2009) 364202).", "Having regard to the patent literature, U.S. Pat.", "No.", "6,645,343 (Fraunhofer) discloses an example of a microwave plasma reactor configured for diamond film growth via a chemical vapour deposition process.", "The reactor described therein comprises a cylindrical plasma chamber with a substrate holder mounted on a base thereof.", "A cooling device is provided below the substrate holder for controlling the temperature of a substrate on the substrate holder.", "Furthermore, a gas inlet and a gas outlet are provided in the base of the plasma chamber for supplying and removing process gases.", "A microwave generator is coupled to the plasma chamber via a high-frequency coaxial line which is subdivided at its delivery end above the plasma chamber and directed at the periphery of the plasma chamber to an essentially ring-shaped microwave window in the form of a quartz ring mounted in a side wall of the plasma chamber.", "Using microwave plasma reactors such as those disclosed in the prior art it is possible to grow polycrystalline diamond wafers by chemical vapour deposition on a suitable substrate such as a silicon wafer or a carbide forming refractory metal disk.", "Such polycrystalline CVD diamond wafers are generally opaque in their as-grown form but can be made transparent by polishing opposing faces of the wafers to produce transparent polycrystalline diamond windows for optical applications.", "Diamond material is useful as an optical component as it has a broad optical transparency from ultraviolet through to infrared.", "Diamond material has the additional advantage over other possible window materials in that it is mechanically strong, inert, and biocompatible.", "For example, the inertness of diamond material makes it an excellent choice for use in reactive chemical environments where other optical window materials would not be suitable.", "Further still, diamond material has very high thermal conductivity and a low thermal expansion coefficient.", "As such, diamond material is useful as an optical component in high energy beam applications where the component will tend to be heated.", "The diamond material will rapidly conduct away heat to cool areas where heating occurs so as to prevent heat build-up at a particular point, e.g.", "where a high energy beam passes through the material.", "To the extent that the material is heated, the low thermal expansion coefficient of diamond material ensures that the component does not unduly deform which may cause optical and/or mechanical problems in use.", "One problem with fabricating polycrystalline CVD diamond optical components is that during the CVD growth process impurities such as nitrogen, silicon and non-diamond carbon are incorporated into the diamond material as discussed below.", "Atmospheric nitrogen is generally present as an impurity within source process gases and may also be present as a residual impurity within CVD reactor components due, for example, to non-perfect vacuum seals and/or residual impurities adsorbed onto interior surfaces of the CVD reactor which may desorb during use.", "Furthermore, nitrogen gas is often intentionally introduced into the CVD synthesis atmosphere during a synthetic diamond growth process as it is known that nitrogen increases the growth rate of synthetic diamond material.", "While nitrogen is advantageous for achieving commercially useful growth rates, incorporation of nitrogen into the synthetic diamond material can detrimentally affect the optical and thermal performance characteristics of the material.", "Accordingly, a balance may be struck between providing sufficient nitrogen within the CVD synthesis atmosphere to achieve acceptable growth rates while limiting the quantity of nitrogen which is incorporated into the solid CVD diamond material being grown.", "Apparatus and process conditions can affect the rate at which nitrogen within the CVD synthesis atmosphere is incorporated into the solid CVD diamond material being grown.", "Silicon impurities may come from silicon based components within the CVD reactor.", "For example, quartz windows or bell jars are often used to couple microwaves into the plasma chamber and/or constrain plasma and process gases near a substrate growth surface to achieve CVD diamond growth.", "Such silicon containing quartz components are exposed to extreme temperatures from the plasma in use and this can result in silicon from these components being incorporated into the synthetic diamond material.", "Apparatus and process conditions can affect the rate at which silicon is incorporated into the solid CVD diamond material being grown.", "Non-diamond carbon (e.g.", "sp2 hybridized graphitic carbon) is inevitably deposited on the growth surface of the substrate during CVD diamond growth processes.", "As previously described, atomic hydrogen is essential to a CVD diamond growth process because it selectively etches off non-diamond carbon from the substrate such that diamond growth can occur.", "However, this selective etching process does not usually remove all the deposited non-diamond carbon and such material therefore becomes incorporated into the CVD diamond material.", "Apparatus and process conditions can affect the rate at which non-diamond carbon is incorporated into the solid CVD diamond material being grown.", "In light of the above, it is evident that the apparatus configuration and process conditions must be carefully selected and controlled in order to ensure that the level of impurities incorporated into the synthetic diamond material during CVD growth are extremely small for high performance optical components.", "In addition to control of absolute impurity levels, it is also critical to ensure that the uniformity of impurity uptake is controlled so as to achieve a product which has consistent performance characteristics.", "Uniformity is an issue in terms of spatial variations in the rate of impurity uptake across a growth surface and temporal variations in the rate of impurity uptake over a growth run.", "For example, a non-uniform distribution of physical and/or chemical process parameters over the growth surface can lead to spatial variations in the rate of impurity uptake across a synthetic polycrystalline diamond wafer.", "Furthermore, as a synthetic polycrystalline diamond wafer grows, grain boundaries within the synthetic polycrystalline diamond wafer increase in size.", "An increase in the size of grain boundaries as the synthetic polycrystalline diamond wafer grows thicker leads to an increase in the rate of impurity uptake within the enlarged grain boundaries which can result in an increasing concentration of impurities through the thickness of a synthetic polycrystalline diamond wafer.", "In addition to the above described problems, variations in growth rate across a synthetic polycrystalline diamond wafer can lead to variations in impurity uptake.", "For example, as the growth rate increases the time available to etch non-diamond carbon from the growth surface before it is encapsulated within the synthetic polycrystalline diamond wafer decreases.", "Furthermore, variations in growth rate also cause variations in thickness which can lead to strain and cracking of synthetic polycrystalline diamond wafer on cooling after completion of the CVD growth process.", "Variations in growth rate can be caused by non-uniformities in the plasma across the growth surface and non-uniformities in the temperature of the substrate on which the synthetic polycrystalline diamond wafer is grown.", "Despite the above problems, to date it has been possible to fabricate high optical quality polycrystalline diamond wafer up to approximately 100 mm in diameter.", "However, the production of larger polycrystalline diamond wafers of high optical quality has proved problematic.", "While it has been possible to fabricate larger polycrystalline diamond wafers, these have been of lower optical quality, particularly towards the periphery of the wafers.", "Such wafers do not meet the requirements for certain commercial applications which require relatively thick, relatively large diameter synthetic polycrystalline diamond windows of extremely high optical quality.", "For example, certain very high powered laser beam applications require >120 mm diameter clear aperture, optical grade, polycrystalline diamond laser windows capable of handling the extreme power densities involved.", "Polycrystalline diamond laser windows with the relevant optical properties are available in smaller sizes.", "However these sizes are not large enough for certain applications.", "Such polycrystalline diamond windows are also required for use as radiation resistant windows.", "It is an aim of certain embodiments of the present invention to provide a suitable microwave plasma reactor configuration and suitable CVD process conditions in order to fabricate large (e.g.", "at least 120 mm diameter) synthetic polycrystalline diamond windows having extremely high optical quality across substantially all (e.g.", "at least 80%) of the window area.", "SUMMARY OF INVENTION According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a polycrystalline chemical vapour deposited (CVD) diamond wafer comprising: a largest linear dimension equal to or greater than 125 mm; a thickness equal to or greater than 200 μm; and one or both of the following characteristics measured at room temperature (nominally 298 K) over at least a central area of the polycrystalline CVD diamond wafer, said central area being circular, centred on a central point of the polycrystalline CVD diamond wafer, and having a diameter of at least 70% of the largest linear dimension of the polycrystalline CVD diamond wafer: (1) an absorption coefficient ≤0.2 cm−1 at 10.6 μm; and (2) a dielectric loss coefficient at 145 GHz, of tan δ≤2×10−4.Preferably, the polycrystalline CVD diamond wafer further comprises one or more of the following structural characteristics over at least the central area: (3) a tensile rupture strength with a nucleation face of the polycrystalline CVD diamond wafer in tension of: ≥760 MPa×n for a thickness of 200 to 500 □m; ≥700 MPa×n for a thickness of 500 to 750 □m; ≥650 MPa×n for a thickness of 750 to 1000 □m; ≥600 MPa×n for a thickness of 1000 to 1250 m; ≥550 MPa×n for a thickness of 1250 to 1500 □m; ≥500 MPa×n for a thickness of 1500 to 1750 □m; ≥450 MPa×n for a thickness of 1750 to 2000 □m; or ≥400 MPa×n for a thickness of ≥2000 □m, wherein multiplying factor n is 1.0, 1.1, 1.2, 1.4, 1.6, 1.8, or 2; (4) a tensile rupture strength with a growth face of the polycrystalline CVD diamond wafer in tension of: ≥330 MPa×n for a thickness of 200 to 500 □m; ≥300 MPa×n for a thickness of 500 to 750 □m; ≥275 MPa×n for a thickness of 750 to 1000 □m; ≥250 MPa×n for a thickness of 1000 to 1250 □m; ≥225 MPa×n for a thickness of 1250 to 1500 □m; ≥200 MPa×n for a thickness of 1500 to 1750 □m; ≥175 MPa×n for a thickness of 1750 to 2000 □m; or ≥150 MPa×n for a thickness of ≥2000 □m, wherein multiplying factor n is 1.0 1.1, 1.2, 1.4, 1.6, 1.8, or 2; and (5) a surface flatness ≤5 μm, ≤4 μm, ≤3 μm, ≤2 μm, ≤1 μm, ≤0.5 μm, ≤0.2 μm, ≤ or 0.1 μm.", "Preferably, the polycrystalline CVD diamond wafer further comprises one or more of the following characteristics over at least the central area: (6) an average black spot density no greater than 1 mm−2, 0.5 mm−2, or 0.1 mm−2; (7) a black spot distribution such that there are no more than 4, 3, 2, or 1 black spots within any 3 mm−2 area; (8) an integrated absorbance per unit thickness of no more than 0.20 cm−2, 0.15 cm−2, 0.10 cm−2, or 0.05 cm−2, when measured with a corrected linear background in a range 2760 cm−1 to 3030 cm−1; (9) a thermal conductivity of no less than 1900 Wm−1K−1, 2000 Wm−1K−1, 2100 Wm−1K−1, or 2200 Wm−1K−1; (10) a total integrated scatter in a forward hemisphere no more than 1%, 0.5%, or 0.1% at 10.6 □m for a sample thickness of 0.7 mm with front and rear surfaces polished to a root mean squared roughness of less than 15 nm; and (11) a silicon concentration as measured by secondary ion mass spectrometry of no more than 1017 cm−3, 5×1016 cm−3, 1016 cm−3, 5×1015 cm−3, or 1015 cm−3.Embodiments may comprise any combination of the aforementioned preferred characteristics.", "However, of the eleven recited characteristics given above, the polycrystalline CVD diamond wafer preferably comprises two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, or most preferably all eleven of said characteristics.", "According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a microwave plasma reactor for fabricating a polycrystalline CVD diamond wafer as define above, the microwave plasma reactor comprising: a plasma chamber comprising a base, a top plate, and a side wall extending from said base to said top plate defining a resonance cavity for supporting a microwave resonance mode, wherein the resonance cavity has a central rotational axis of symmetry extending from the base to the top plate; a microwave coupling configuration comprising an annular dielectric window for inductively coupling microwaves into the plasma chamber through the top plate via a ring shaped dielectric window in a direction towards the base of the plasma chamber; a gas flow system for feeding process gases into the plasma chamber through the top plate via one or more gas inlet nozzles in a direction towards the base of the plasma chamber; a substrate holder disposed in the base of the plasma chamber and comprising a supporting surface for supporting a substrate on which the polycrystalline CVD diamond wafer can be grown in use; and a substrate temperature control system comprising a coolant delivery system for supplying liquid and/or gas coolant to the substrate holder to control a temperature profile across the supporting surface of the substrate holder in use, wherein at least the annular dielectric window is rotationally symmetric, having a rotational axis of symmetry lying within 0.2 mm of the central rotational axis of symmetry of the resonance cavity.", "According to a third aspect of the present invention there is provided a process for fabricating the polycrystalline CVD diamond wafer using a microwave plasma reactor as defined above, the process comprising: locating a substrate over the substrate holder, the substrate being rotationally symmetric and having a rotation axis of symmetry lying within 1.0 mm of the central rotational axis of symmetry of the resonance cavity when located over the substrate holder; feeding microwaves into the plasma chamber through the annular dielectric window at a power in a range 15 to 40 kW; feeding process gases into the plasma chamber through the one or more gas inlet nozzles, the process gases comprising an atomic concentration of hydrogen in a range 98 to 99%, an atomic concentration of carbon in a range 0.3 to 1.1%, and an atomic concentration of nitrogen in a range 30 to 270 ppm, wherein a total flow rate of the process gases lies in a range 2000 to 15000 sccm and a pressure within the plasma chamber lies in a range 140 to 235 Torr; growing a polycrystalline CVD diamond wafer on the substrate at a substrate temperature in a range 775 to 950° C.; removing the polycrystalline CVD diamond wafer from the microwave plasma reactor; and polishing the polycrystalline CVD diamond wafer.", "Certain embodiments of the present invention have been realized by: (i) developing a particular microwave plasma reactor configuration; (ii) further modifying the microwave plasma reactor configuration to extremely precise design tolerances; and (iii) developing suitable process conditions for operating the microwave plasma reactor configuration to achieve fabrication of large synthetic polycrystalline diamond windows having extremely high optical quality.", "Having regard to point (i), the microwave plasma reactor is configured to couple both process gas, via one or more gas inlet nozzles, and microwaves, via an annular dielectric window, through a top plate of the plasma chamber towards a suitably temperature controlled substrate mounted in a base of the plasma chamber such that both process gas and microwaves are coupled into the plasma chamber in a rotationally symmetric manner and directed towards the substrate growth surface.", "Such a configuration has been found to be useful in allowing high gas flow rates, high process pressures, and high microwave power process conditions to be used for achieving good quality synthetic diamond growth at high growth rates with a suitably controlled nitrogen concentration.", "Furthermore, the provision of an annular dielectric window around a peripheral region of the top plate of the plasma chamber can reduce silicon transfer into the synthetic diamond material during growth when compared with alternatives such as the use of a bell jar, the use of a window spanning across a central portion of the plasma chamber, or an annular dielectric window disposed in a side wall of the plasma chamber, all of which increase exposure of the dielectric window material to a plasma region within the chamber.", "Having regard to point (ii), it has been found that even utilizing such a configuration it is not possible to fabricate large area (≥120 mm diameter), thick (≥200 μm) windows of synthetic polycrystalline diamond having extremely high optical quality and no cracking.", "This problem has been traced to very minor misalignments in the microwave coupling configuration, the gas delivery system, and the substrate mounting and temperature control systems relative to the central rotational axis of symmetry of the plasma chamber.", "While minor misalignments do not manifest themselves in terms of a significant reduction in the quality of synthetic diamond material grown over smaller areas (e.g.", "≤100 mm diameter), it has been found that when fabricating synthetic diamond material over larger areas (≥120 mm diameter) even very minor misalignments between components can detrimentally affect material quality, particularly around a peripheral region of the synthetic polycrystalline diamond wafer.", "As such, it has been found that the components, particularly the annular dielectric window, should be rotationally symmetric with each component having a rotational axis of symmetry lying within 0.2 mm of a central rotational axis of symmetry of the resonance cavity.", "Preferably other components such as the substrate holder and the one or more gas inlet nozzles should also be precisely configured and aligned.", "Such precise alignment, in combination with the previously described configuration in which process gas and microwaves are both coupled into the plasma chamber in an axial direction towards the substrate growth surface, allows high gas flow rates and high microwave power conditions to be achieved with a high degree of rotational symmetry which has been found to be critical for achieving the fabrication of large area, thick windows of synthetic polycrystalline diamond having extremely high optical quality.", "Having regard to point (iii), it has been found that even utilizing the previously described precisely-aligned microwave plasma reactor configuration, the quality of polycrystalline diamond material around a peripheral region of the polycrystalline diamond wafer may not meet extremely high optical quality requirements.", "In particular, levels of impurities such as non-diamond carbon have been found to increase at a peripheral region of larger area wafers.", "This problem is exacerbated when also growing to larger thicknesses because as a synthetic polycrystalline diamond wafer grows, grain boundaries increase in size and this leads to an increase in the rate of impurity uptake within the grain boundaries.", "It has been found that this problem can be alleviated by increasing the hydrogen gas flow rate.", "It is considered that the concentration of atomic hydrogen required to selectively etch off non-diamond carbon from the substrate is lower at very large diameters and thus the efficiency of non-diamond carbon etching is reduced.", "It is believed that increasing the hydrogen gas flow rate directed towards the growth surface pushes more atomic hydrogen to peripheral regions of the polycrystalline diamond wafer thus increasing the rate at which non-diamond carbon is etched from the growth surface and improving the quality of the material in peripheral regions of the growing wafer.", "An alternative or additional solution is to provide a gas inlet nozzle array having a plurality of gas inlet nozzles directed towards the growth surface of the substrate and disposed over an area sufficiently large to ensure that a sufficiently large concentration of atomic hydrogen is provided in peripheral regions of a polycrystalline diamond wafer during growth.", "Yet another alternative or additional solution is to reduce the growth rate of the polycrystalline CVD diamond wafer to allow more time for non-diamond carbon to be etched from the growth surface.", "For example, the growth rate may be decreased as a thickness of the polycrystalline CVD diamond wafer increases by, for example, reducing the atomic concentration of carbon and/or the atomic concentration of nitrogen during growth of the polycrystalline CVD diamond wafer on the substrate.", "By combining developments in reactor design, engineering tolerance control, and process design it has been possible to achieve fabrication of large synthetic polycrystalline diamond windows having extremely high optical quality.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS For a better understanding of the present invention and to show how the same may be carried into effect, embodiments of the present invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: FIG.", "1 illustrates a microwave plasma reactor configured to fabricate large area optical quality polycrystalline CVD diamond wafers; FIGS.", "2(a), 2(b) and 3 illustrate components of a microwave coupling configuration for coupling microwaves into a plasma chamber; FIGS.", "4(a) to 4(c) show electric field profile plots for varying heights of substrate within a microwave plasma reactor; FIGS.", "5(a) to 5(c) show how the height of the growth surface of the substrate is calculated relative to a mean height of a surface surrounding the substrate; FIGS.", "6(a) and 6(b) illustrate a large area optical quality polycrystalline CVD diamond wafer; and FIG.", "7 illustrates four 20 mm diameter test samples extracted for laser calorimetry measurement from a parent wafer of 140 mm diameter according to an embodiment of the present invention.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION The microwave plasma reactor illustrated in FIG.", "1 comprises the following components: a plasma chamber 2; a substrate holder 4; a substrate 5; a microwave generator 6; plasma 8 generated in use for growing a polycrystalline CVD diamond wafer 9 having a nucleation face 9′ and a growth face 9″; a microwave coupling configuration 10; dielectric window 12; source gas container system 14; one or more gas inlets 16; one or more gas outlets 18; spacer wires or spacer pads 20 to define a gas gap 22 between a supporting surface of the substrate holder 4 and a rear surface of the substrate 5; and a substrate temperature control arrangement comprising a gas supply system 24 coupled to the gas gap 22 via a supply pipe 26, and a coolant liquid supply system 28 for cooling the substrate holder.", "The microwave plasma reactor can be considered to comprise three subsystems: (A) gas and microwave delivery systems configured to deliver process gases and microwaves into a plasma chamber through a top plate of the plasma chamber; (B) a plasma chamber comprising a base, a top plate, and a side wall extending from the base to the top plate defining a resonance cavity for supporting a microwave resonance mode, the resonance cavity comprising a central rotational axis of symmetry S extending from the base to the top plate; and (C) a substrate mounting configuration comprising a substrate holder disposed in the base of the plasma chamber providing a supporting surface for supporting a substrate on which the polycrystalline CVD diamond wafer can be grown in use and a substrate temperature control system comprising a coolant delivery system for supplying liquid and/or gas coolant to the substrate holder to control a temperature profile across the supporting surface of the substrate holder in use.", "Each of the subsystems will be described in more detail below.", "(A) the Gas and Microwave Delivery System The microwave coupling configuration 10 comprises a coaxial waveguide configured to feed microwaves from a rectangular waveguide to an annular dielectric window 12.The coaxial waveguide comprises an inner conductor and an outer conductor.", "The annular dielectric window is made of a microwave permeable material such as quartz which forms a vacuum-tight window in a top portion of the plasma chamber.", "The microwave generator 6 and the microwave coupling configuration 10 are configured to generate a suitable wavelength of microwaves and inductively couple the microwaves into the plasma chamber to form a standing wave within the plasma chamber having a high energy anti-node located just above the substrate 5 in use.", "The microwave coupling configuration 10 further comprises a waveguide plate 13.The waveguide plate 13 and its mounting configuration are illustrated in more detail in FIGS.", "2(a), 2(b), and 3.The waveguide plate 13 comprising a plurality of apertures 32 disposed in an annular configuration, each aperture forming a waveguide for coupling microwaves from the coaxial waveguide into the plasma chamber through the annular dielectric window 12.The waveguide plate may also comprise a plurality of channels 34 extending between the apertures suitable for supplying coolant and/or process gas from an outer circumferential region to an inner axial region.", "This configuration has been found to be advantageous as it allows microwave power to be coupled into the plasma chamber via an annular dielectric window while also allowing of the provision of coolant and/or process gases to regions of the plasma chamber enclosed by the waveguide structure.", "In addition to the above, the waveguide plate can be configured to support the central conductor of the coaxial waveguide.", "Accordingly, while the central conductor illustrated in FIG.", "1 is a grounded post, in one alternative arrangement the central conductor can be formed as an electrically floating post which is not required to be grounded on an upper wall of the rectangular waveguide from the microwave generator.", "An inner conductor which is electrically floating in the waveguide is in many respects a simpler and more convenient method of transferring power from a rectangular to a coaxial waveguide.", "This has the disadvantage of losing the grounded point at which services such as coolant water and process gas can be introduced through the central conductor as shown in FIG.", "1.However, certain embodiments of the present invention provide an alternative route for supplying such services via channels in the waveguide plate.", "Furthermore, the waveguide plate can be configured to couple together upper and lower portions of the plasma chamber and avoid large compressive stresses on the annular dielectric window in use without the use of a mechanical anchor point through a central conductor of the coaxial waveguide.", "Further still, the annular dielectric window may comprise two opposing surfaces through which microwaves are coupled into the plasma chamber and seals may be provided on said two opposing surfaces.", "This allows for a reliable seal to be formed between upper and lower portions of the plasma chamber and at the dielectric window.", "FIG.", "3 shows a cross-sectional view of a portion of the microwave plasma reactor illustrating an example of how the annular dielectric window 12 and waveguide plate 13 can be mounted in the reactor.", "In the illustrated arrangement, an outer peripheral portion of the waveguide plate 13 is disposed between the outer conductor 36 of the coaxial waveguide 38 and a side wall 40 of the plasma chamber.", "An outer peripheral portion of the annular dielectric window 12 is disposed between the waveguide plate 13 and the side wall 40 of the plasma chamber.", "An inner portion of the annular dielectric window 12 is held between an inner portion of the waveguide plate 13 and a further plate 42.The apertures 32 in the waveguide plate are aligned with the annular dielectric window 12 and channels 34 for supplying coolant and/or process gas pass between the apertures into the inner portion of the waveguide plate 13.The annular dielectric window 12 may be mounted to the waveguide plate using elastomer o-rings 44.In this arrangement the further plate 42 can be attached to the waveguide plate 13 with a portion of the dielectric window 12 disposed and held therebetween via elastomeric o-rings 44.The waveguide plate as described above fulfils several advantageous functions: (i) it allows injection of coolant and/or process gases; (ii) it supports the central coaxial conductor; (iii) it forms a coupling between the upper and lower parts of the plasma chamber; (iv) it feeds microwaves from the coaxial waveguide into the plasma chamber in an axial direction towards the substrate; and (v) it supports an annular dielectric window.", "In the illustrated embodiment, the plurality of apertures in the waveguide plate are configured to couple microwaves into the plasma chamber in a direction parallel to a central axis of the plasma chamber.", "In this arrangement, the waveguide plate is disposed in a plane perpendicular to a central axis of the plasma chamber and forms a portion of an upper wall in the plasma chamber.", "It has been found that coupling microwaves into the plasma chamber in a direction parallel to the axis of the chamber is more efficient and avoids the need for a more complex coaxial feed configuration.", "As such, even if channels for coolant and/or process gas are not provided in the waveguide plate, and/or no floating post is provided, the waveguide plate according to the present invention is still advantageous for coupling microwaves into the plasma chamber in an efficient and simple manner.", "The plurality of apertures are preferably configured to have a periodic rotational symmetry.", "For example, if n apertures are provided, the apertures are configured symmetrically around a circle to have n fold rotational symmetry.", "A symmetric arrangement is preferred to avoid asymmetries in the electric field within the plasma chamber formed as a result of asymmetries in the apertures.", "The annular dielectric window as previously described is formed of a single complete ring of dielectric material.", "However, in an alterative arrangement the annular dielectric window may be formed of a plurality of separate arcuate segments, each segment sealed across a corresponding aperture of the waveguide plate.", "The important features of embodiments of the present invention is that the annular dielectric window is rotationally symmetric and has a rotational axis of symmetry lying within 0.2 mm, 0.15 mm, 0.10 mm, or 0.05 mm of the central rotational axis of symmetry of the resonance cavity.", "In one configuration the one or more channels extending between the apertures in the waveguide plate comprise at least one channel configured to supply process gas to one or more injection ports arranged opposite the substrate holder for injecting process gas towards the substrate holder.", "This configuration allows an axial gas flow arrangement to be disposed at the same end of the chamber as the microwave coupling configuration.", "A central portion of the waveguide plate can support a conductive surface 46 disposed opposite the substrate holder.", "The conductive surface may be formed by the waveguide plate or may be formed by a separate metallic body which is connected to a central portion of the waveguide plate.", "One or more gas inlet nozzles 16 may be disposed in the conductive surface for injecting process gas towards the substrate holder.", "In one configuration, the conductive surface is curved and extends towards a central region of the plasma chamber.", "For example, the conductive surface may form a cone-shaped body.", "Such a conductive surface is useful as it can aid in preventing plasma formation in an upper region of the plasma chamber.", "Effectively, the conductive surface can mask off a high electric field region in use.", "That is, the conductive surface can be located to enclose a high electric field anti-node region which would exist in a corresponding chamber which did not comprise the conductive surface extending towards a central region of the plasma chamber.", "The waveguide plate may include 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 or more apertures.", "It has been found that varying the number of apertures can affect the efficiency at which microwaves are coupled into the plasma chamber.", "According to certain arrangements, the waveguide plate comprises an odd number of apertures, most preferably a prime number of apertures.", "For example, the waveguide plate may comprise 3, 5, or 7 apertures.", "Each aperture is in effect equivalent to a rectangular waveguide.", "A three way aperture can help to maximize the length of the aperture.", "Four and six way alternatives have both been found to be deficient from the point of view of mode stability.", "Despite the presence of several apertures, the power can be predominantly coupled into the cavity in a TM0 mn mode.", "There are effects from the symmetry of the apertures visible in the form of the generation of high order modes i.e.", "TM1 mn.", "(where 1 does not equal zero).", "Thus a three way aperture in which all three apertures are excited in phase will couple to the TM3 mn series of modes while the four and six way apertures might be expected to couple with the much higher order TM8 mn and TM12 mn modes.", "In practice however, the four and six way apertures are prone to parasitic modes.", "Thus a four or six way aperture can couple into the TM2 mn modes.", "Overall the effect is that the four and six way apertures can produce asymmetries in the plasma that result in either the plasma moving off centre or splitting two ways.", "The three way aperture gives a stable three way pulling effect that is less undesirable than the more serious one way and two way break-up modes that occur with other configurations.", "Instabilities can be dealt with using mode cancelling blocks which are basically metal bodies that produce a perturbation to the local electric field that is intended to cancel that of the three way mode produced by the apertures.", "The position of these metal blocks can be established empirically.", "By placing them in regions of high wall current (i.e.", "where the H field is high) the blocks can be used to disrupt the unwanted mode.", "As such in one arrangement a plurality of mode cancelling blocks are disposed on an inner wall of the plasma chamber, for example on a side wall or on a base of the chamber, the mode cancelling blocks being configured to compensate for electromagnetic perturbations caused by the plurality of apertures.", "The mode cancelling blocks are spaced apart so as to be symmetrically related to the aperture configuration.", "For example, the number of mode cancelling blocks may be equal to the number of apertures provided in the waveguide plate, the mode cancelling blocks being positioned to have a symmetry which corresponds to the aperture arrangement.", "For example, if three apertures are provided in the waveguide plate then three mode cancelling blocks may be mounted around the plasma chamber wall in a lower portion of the plasma chamber and arranged symmetrically so as to cancel perturbations in the electric field caused by the apertures.", "Alternatively, the number of mode cancelling blocks may be an integer multiple of the number of apertures while still being arranged to be symmetrically related to the aperture configuration.", "The mode cancelling blocks can be adhered to an inner wall of the plasma chamber or may be integrally formed by a wall of the plasma chamber.", "Another possible alternative to the three way aperture is to use a five or seven way aperture.", "Because these are prime numbers they are resistant to over-moding with lower order two way modes etc.", "In this case the mode cancelling blocks may not be required.", "It is further advantageous to supply microwave energy to a plasma chamber via apertures having a specific radial width.", "A ratio of the annular gap (in a radial direction) provided by the apertures in the waveguide plate to that of a diameter of the plasma chamber may be in the range 1/10 to 1/50, 1/20 to 1/40, 1/25 to 1/35, or optionally approximately 1/30.This annular gap may be provided by locating the apertures adjacent the side wall of the plasma chamber with the outer conductor of the coaxial waveguide being comparable in diameter to the diameter of the resonance cavity of the plasma chamber and the inner conductor being only slightly smaller than the outer conductor to achieve a ratio as previously specified for the annular gap.", "By varying the ratio of the diameters of these two conductors it is possible to find an optimum point at which a match to the chamber is achieved.", "In an alternative arrangement, the apertures may be placed away from the side walls of the plasma chamber, e.g.", "at an intermediate position between the centre and an edge of the top plate.", "Advantageously, the components of the chamber and microwave coupling assembly should be configured to a high degree of precision, e.g.", "such that dimensions and positioning of components is within 0.1% of the prescribed specification.", "The gas supply system comprises a source gas container system 14, one or more gas inlets 16 and one or more gas outlets 18.One axially disposed gas inlet is illustrated in FIG.", "1 in the centre of the top plate of the plasma chamber which also forms the previously described waveguide plate 13.Optionally, the gas inlet can be modified to provide an array of gas inlet nozzles across an area of the top plate of the plasma chamber.", "The gas inlet is positioned in a top portion of the plasma chamber directly above the substrate holder and configured to directly feed gas at high velocity towards the substrate.", "Process gas is removed at one or more outlets in or near the base of the plasma chamber.", "Optionally, the process gas can be recirculated to the inlet using a pump.", "An advantage of such a system is that high velocity gas flow directed towards the substrate transports activated gas species from the plasma to the substrate by convection.", "This aids in increasing growth rates when compared with systems which rely upon diffusion of activated gas species from the plasma to the substrate.", "Furthermore, as previously discussed, by increasing the hydrogen gas flow rate using such an arrangement it is possible to push more atomic hydrogen to peripheral regions of the polycrystalline diamond wafer thus increasing the rate at which non-diamond carbon is etched from the growth surface and improving the quality of the material in peripheral regions of the growing wafer.", "An alternative or additional solution is to provide a gas inlet nozzle array having a plurality of gas inlet nozzles directed towards the growth surface of the substrate and disposed over an area sufficiently large to ensure that a sufficiently large concentration of atomic hydrogen is provided in peripheral regions of a polycrystalline diamond wafer during growth.", "In this regard, a relatively high number of nozzles can be closely spaced to ensure a relatively uniform flow of gas.", "It has been found that providing a relatively high number density of nozzles in an array improves the uniformity of gas flow towards the substrate in use and allows the plasma to be uniformly flattened and shaped relative to the substrate to achieve uniform diamond film formation at high rates over a relatively large area.", "It has also been found to be useful to provide relatively small area nozzles such that the area of the nozzle array is largely made up of the space in-between the nozzles rather than the area of the nozzle outlets themselves.", "As such, whereas it has been found to be advantageous to provide a relatively large number density of nozzles in relation to the area of the nozzle inlet array, it has also been found to be advantageous to provide an array in which the ratio of the area of the nozzle inlets divided by the area of the nozzle array as a whole is low.", "It has been found that small nozzles are advantageous for providing high velocity directed gas flows.", "However, it is also desired to have a relatively uniform gas flow over a relatively large area for uniform deposition of a diamond film over a relatively large area.", "Accordingly, a combination of relatively small inlet nozzle size and a relatively high number density of such nozzles has been found to be advantageous to achieve a balance between high velocity directed gas flows and uniformity of gas flow over a relatively large area.", "In light of the above, a modified gas flow system may comprise a gas inlet nozzle array comprising a plurality of gas inlet nozzles disposed opposite the substrate holder for directing process gases towards the substrate holder, the gas inlet nozzle array comprising: at least six gas inlet nozzles disposed in a substantially parallel or divergent orientation relative to a central axis of the plasma chamber (by substantially parallel we mean at least within 100, 50, 20, or 10 of a perfect parallel arrangement); a gas inlet nozzle number density equal to or greater than 0.1 nozzles/cm2, (but preferably much higher for certain applications) wherein the gas inlet nozzle number density is measured by projecting the nozzles onto a plane whose normal lies parallel to the central axis of the plasma chamber and measuring the gas inlet number density on said plane; and a nozzle area ratio of equal to or greater than 10 (but preferably much higher for certain applications), wherein the nozzle area ratio is measured by projecting the nozzles onto a plane whose normal lies parallel to the central axis of the plasma chamber, measuring the total area of the gas inlet nozzle area on said plane, dividing by the total number of nozzles to give an area associated with each nozzle, and dividing the area associated with each nozzle by an actual area of each nozzle.", "In accordance with certain embodiments of the present invention the one or more gas inlet nozzles have a rotational axis of symmetry lying within 1.0 mm, 0.5 mm, 0.25 mm, 0.2 mm, 0.15 mm, 0.10 mm, or 0.05 mm of the central rotational axis of symmetry of the resonance cavity.", "(B) The Plasma Chamber The plasma chamber is configured to form a resonance cavity supporting a standing microwave in use.", "According to one configuration the plasma chamber is configured to support a TM01 n standing microwave in use, e.g.", "a TM011 mode.", "The operational frequency may be in a range 400 to 500 MHz or 800 to 1000 MHz.", "It has also been found to be advantageous to provide a cylindrical resonance cavity configured to have a diameter which satisfies the condition that a ratio of the resonance cavity height/the resonance cavity diameter is in the range 0.3 to 1.0, 0.4 to 0.9, or 0.5 to 0.8.Such a ratio constitutes a relatively small diameter cavity when compared to prior art arrangements.", "Although it would seem counter-intuitive, it has been found that it is advantageous to use a plasma reactor chamber having a relatively small diameter to form a uniform, stable, large area plasma for achieving uniform CVD diamond growth over large areas.", "A relatively small diameter cavity can provide the following beneficial technical effects: (i) Improve resonance mode purity within the chamber and avoid complex interactions between numerous modes during operation over the long time-scales required for CVD diamond synthesis.", "For example, a small diameter chamber can reduce the problem of slight temperature instabilities in the CVD diamond growth surface stimulating an unwelcome higher order mode.", "(ii) A cavity formed within a specific, relatively small, diameter range is considered to allow the formation of localized higher order axis-symmetric modes at the substrate making the E-field across the substrate more uniform without forming very intense radial E-fields at the top corners of the substrate.", "(iii) A small diameter cavity which has a relatively low Q factor is more easy to start and tune, and is less sensitive to variations in microwave source frequency.", "Such a relatively small diameter cavity also helps to alleviate the problem of complex and interacting gas convection currents forming within the chamber leading to plasma instability.", "That is, the present inventors consider that a small diameter cavity provides a more simple and easier to control system in terms of both gas flow and microwave power within the plasma chamber such that a more uniform, stable, large area plasma can be formed and maintained to achieve uniform CVD diamond growth over large areas.", "At the same time, the diameter of the cavity should not be so small that the plasma becomes compressed and non-uniform across the substrate.", "For example, the resonance cavity height, as measured from the base to the top plate of the plasma chamber, may lie in a range: 300 mm to 600 mm, 300 mm to 500 mm, or 400 mm to 500 mm at a microwave frequency f in the range 400 MHz to 500 MHz; or 150 mm to 300 mm, 150 mm to 250 mm, or 200 mm to 250 mm at a microwave frequency f in the range 800 MHz to 1000 MHz.", "The resonance cavity diameter may lie in the range: 400 mm to 1000 mm, 500 mm to 900 mm, or 600 mm to 800 mm at a microwave frequency f in the range 400 MHz to 500 MHz; or 200 mm to 500 mm, 250 mm to 450 mm, or 300 mm to 400 mm at a microwave frequency f in the range 800 MHz to 1000 MHz.", "The resonance cavity may have a volume in a range: 0.018 m3 to 0.530 m3, 0.062 m3 to 0.350 m3, 0.089 m3 to 0.270 m3, or 0.133 m3 to 0.221 m3 at a microwave frequency f in the range 400 to 500 MHz; or 0.002 m3 to 0.06 m3, 0.007 m3 to 0.04 m3, 0.01 m3 to 0.03 m3, or 0.015 m3 to 0.025 m3 at a microwave frequency f in the range 800 MHz to 1000 MHz.", "One potentially problem when using a small cavity arrangement as described above is that of over heating in wall components of the chamber.", "However, it has been found to be advantageous to provide an arrangement in which the walls of the resonance cavity are exposed to the plasma in use, i.e.", "the plasma is not contained within a bell jar, to avoid silicon contamination.", "Plasma reactor vessels are usually manufactured from welded stainless steel as this is the accepted material of choice for ultra-high vacuum (UHV) chambers.", "However, it has been found that this creates problems with arcing at interfaces, soot formation on hot surfaces, and generally poor heat transfer.", "Furthermore, these chambers cost a large amount of money to build.", "Aluminium has been found to be a better material thermally and is also easy to machine.", "Thus, while stainless steel is a good material for vacuum chambers, its very poor thermal performance makes it not well suited to use in areas where high power densities are experienced.", "Materials such as aluminium, while not traditionally regarded as suitable for high vacuum, are actually quite good for reasonably high vacuum usage where conventional elastomer seals can be used.", "In light of the above, the resonance cavity may comprise internal walls configured to be exposed to a plasma formed within the resonance cavity in use, the internal walls comprising metallic surfaces forming at least 75%, 80%, 85%, 90% or 95% of a total surface area of the internal walls within the resonance cavity.", "The metallic surfaces may be made of aluminium or an alloy thereof comprising at least 80%, 90%, 95%, or 98% by weight of aluminium.", "Furthermore, a portion of the internal walls formed by the annular dielectric window, is preferably no more than 25%, 20%, 15%, 10%, or 5% of the total surface area of the internal walls within the resonance cavity.", "Although a basic cylindrical chamber configuration is illustrated in FIG.", "1, additional optional features may be provided.", "For example, projections from a wall of the chamber may be provided in certain instances.", "These may be provided to modify the electric field formed near the substrate, introducing a vertical asymmetry which increases the electric field above the substrate relative to the electric field at an opposite end of the plasma chamber where plasma formation is not desirable.", "In addition, such projections can function as a mode filter, aiding stability and/or purity of the electric field which drives the plasma.", "Such projections may also be provided to alter the thermal properties of the plasma which can aid in improving uniformity of CVD diamond growth, function as a physical boundary to confine the plasma in use and prevent the plasma from deviating from an axially central location above the substrate, and/or interrupt gas flow up a side wall of the plasma chamber thereby reducing gas entrainment and unwanted convection currents within the chamber which would otherwise destabilize the inlet gas streams and/or the plasma.", "In such cases, it should be ensured that any additional structure provided within the plasma chamber have a high degree of rotational symmetry and alignment with the rotational symmetry axis of the plasma chamber to achieve good optical quality material out to large diameters.", "(C) The Substrate Mounting Configuration It has been found that the electric field profile is significantly perturbed when a substrate is introduced into the resonance cavity as can be shown by modelling or empirical measurement.", "In this regard, FIGS.", "4(a) to 4(c) illustrate electric field profile plots showing how the electric field varies with differing height of a substrate within a resonance cavity of a plasma reactor.", "The plots show the magnitude of the electric field Ez on the Y-axis against the lateral position X across the diameter of the resonance cavity above the substrate.", "FIG.", "4(a) illustrates the electric field profile when the growth surface of the substrate S is located just above a base B of the resonance cavity C. The electric field profile is dominated by that of the empty chamber which is a J0 Bessel function for a TM01 n chamber.", "There is only a slight contribution to the electric field magnitude from the upper edge of the substrate forming a coaxial mode set up between the substrate and the chamber wall.", "In this arrangement, the electric field is high above a central region of the substrate and drops off significantly towards the edge of the substrate.", "As such, this electric field profile results in poor CVD diamond growth in a peripheral region of the substrate growth surface.", "FIG.", "4(b) illustrates the electric field profile when the growth surface of the substrate S is located high above the base B of the resonance cavity C. The electric field profile is now dominated by the coaxial mode set up between the substrate and the chamber wall which decays evanescently into a central region of the chamber.", "In this arrangement, the electric field is high above a peripheral region of the substrate and drops off towards the central region of the substrate.", "As such, this electric field profile results in poor CVD diamond growth in a central region of the substrate growth surface.", "FIG.", "4(c) illustrates the electric field profile when the growth surface of the substrate S is located at the correct height above a surrounding surface within the resonance cavity C. The electric field profile of the empty chamber is balanced with the coaxial mode set up between the substrate and the chamber wall to form a substantially uniform electric field region over the majority of the substrate with a ring of higher electric field localized around the substrate edge.", "The central region of the electric field is substantially uniform but has a slightly lower electric field region just inside the ring of higher electric field localized around the substrate edge.", "One would think that this lower electric field region would lead to poor CVD diamond growth at this region of the growth surface.", "However, in practice it has been found that the higher electric field ring immediately outside the region of lower electric field aids in pulling the plasma outwards, compensating for the slight non-uniformity in the central region and resulting in a large, flat, uniform plasma over the majority of the substrate enabling uniform CVD diamond growth over large areas.", "In practice, it has been found that a large, flat, uniform plasma over the majority of the substrate enabling uniform CVD diamond growth over large areas can be achieved when a ratio of substrate diameter/height of the growth surface of the substrate is in a range 10 to 14, 11 to 13.5, or 11.0 to 12.5, wherein the height of the growth surface of the substrate is relative to a mean height of a surface surrounding the substrate.", "According to certain embodiments of the present invention the substrate holder has a rotational axis of symmetry lying within 1.0 mm, 0.5 mm, 0.25 mm, 0.2 mm, 0.15 mm, 0.10 mm, or 0.05 mm of the central rotational axis of symmetry of the resonance cavity.", "Furthermore, in use a substrate may be located and aligned on the substrate holder such that a the rotation axis of symmetry of the substrate lies within 1.0 mm, 0.5 mm or 0.2 mm of the central rotational axis of symmetry of the resonance cavity when located over the substrate holder.", "For an arrangement in which the substrate holder is the same diameter as the substrate, the substrate holder will be located wholly under the substrate and the surface surrounding the substrate may be formed by the base of the plasma chamber.", "As such, in this case the mean height of the surface surrounding the substrate will equate to the height of the base B of the plasma chamber C and the height of the growth surface of the substrate, Hgs, will be measured from the base of the plasma chamber surrounding the substrate S and substrate holder SH as illustrated in FIG.", "5(a).", "Alternatively, for an arrangement in which the substrate holder is much larger than the substrate thus forming a large flat surface which surrounds the substrate, the mean height of the surface surrounding the substrate will equate to a top surface of the substrate holder.", "As such, in this case the height of the growth surface of the substrate, Hgs, will be measured from the top surface of the substrate holder SH surrounding the substrate S as illustrated in FIG.", "5(b).", "For an arrangement in which the substrate holder extends outwards from the substrate with a sloped, curved, or stepped top surface surrounding the substrate then the mean height of the local surrounding surface, Hlss, can be defined by a mean of a height, Hlocal, of a cross section between the edge of the substrate, at Rs, and a distance approximately two times the thickness of the substrate, 2×Ts, away from the substrate edge, taken in a radial direction, X: H lss = 1 2  Rs  ∫ Rs Rs + 2  Ts  H local  dX Such an arrangement is illustrated in FIG.", "5(c) for a sloped substrate holder.", "For example, for a substrate holder having a top surface sloping away from the substrate at an angle of 450 to a distance 2×Ts from the substrate in a radial direction, the mean height of the surface surrounding the substrate will equate to half the height of the substrate holder SH.", "As such, in this case the height of the growth surface of the substrate, Hgs, will be measured from half the height of the substrate holder SH.", "In relation to the above, it has been found that providing a step of a particular height between the substrate growth surface and the local surrounding surface perturbs the electric field profile of the plasma chamber in such a way that the electric field profile of the empty chamber is balanced with a coaxial mode set up between the substrate and the chamber wall to form a substantially uniform electric field region over the majority of the substrate with a ring of higher electric field localized around the substrate edge as previously described.", "The magnitude of the coaxial mode set up between the substrate and the chamber wall can also be affected by the ratio of a resonance cavity diameter/substrate diameter.", "Accordingly, in certain arrangements it may be preferred to provide a configuration in which a ratio of resonance cavity diameter/substrate diameter is in the range 1.5 to 5, 2.0 to 4.5, or 2.5 to 4.0, wherein the resonance cavity diameter is measured at a height less than 50%, 40%, 30%, or 20% of a height of the resonance cavity.", "In one particularly preferred arrangement the aforementioned ratios hold when the resonance cavity diameter is measured at a height of the growth surface of the substrate.", "Providing suitable substrate dimensions and correctly locating the substrate within the plasma chamber can thus aid providing a more uniform plasma over larger areas.", "Furthermore, the uniform plasma achieved by such configurations also provides relatively uniform heat flow towards the substrate which has been found to aid in alleviating the problem of cracking of the CVD diamond when the CVD diamond cools after growth.", "In this regard, stress balance in a CVD diamond wafer is largely determined by the variation in growth temperatures over the diamond wafer.", "Hotter regions during growth contract more during cool down, and are therefore in tension; cooler regions contract less, and therefore remain in compression.", "Variations in stress within the CVD diamond wafer during cooling can result in cracking.", "As such, large variations in substrate temperature are not desirable.", "That said, one potential problem using the previously described arrangement is that the high electric field ring disposed around the edge of the substrate can lead to higher substrate temperatures at the edge of the substrate and this can potentially lead to cracking of the substrate when the CVD diamond material cools after growth.", "Indeed, rather than having a completely uniform temperature across the substrate growth surface as might be intuitively desired, the present inventors consider that it is actually desirable to ensure that the edge temperature of the substrate growth surface is lower that the temperature in a central region of the substrate growth surface.", "The reason for such an arrangement is that crack propagation can be minimised by ensuring that compressive regions within the CVD diamond material are near where cracks can originate, i.e.", "near the edge of the CVD diamond wafer.", "Accordingly, keeping the edge of the substrate growth surface slightly cooler than a central region during growth is considered to be advantageous in forming a compressive region near the edge of the resulting CVD diamond wafer.", "If a crack is initiated at an edge of a CVD diamond wafer during cooling, the compressive region near the edge of the CVD diamond wafer prevents the crack from propagating towards the centre of the CVD diamond wafer.", "As such, any cracks which are initiated tend to remain short and located at an outer edge of the CVD diamond wafer which can subsequently be processed to remove any minor edge damage.", "In this regard, it is advantageous to provide a substrate temperature control system an example of which is illustrated in the reactor configuration of FIG.", "1.The substrate 5 is spaced apart from the substrate holder 4 by spacer wires or spacer pads 20 to define a gas gap 22 between a supporting surface of the substrate holder 4 and a rear surface of the substrate 5.Furthermore a gas supply system 24 is coupled to the gas gap 22 via a supply pipe 26 which extends from the gas supply system 24 through the substrate holder 4 and is configured to supply gas into the gas gap 22 through one or more outlets in the supporting surface of the substrate holder.", "A coolant liquid supply system 28 is also provided for cooling the substrate holder 4.The coolant liquid supply system 28 provides a rough basic cooling to the substrate holder.", "However, this system has been found to be insufficiently precise for the fine temperature control of the substrate which is considered to be required by the present inventors in order to obtain high quality, uniform deposition of CVD diamond over large areas.", "Accordingly, the gas supply system 24, 26 is provided in order to allow more precise control of the substrate temperature.", "The gas supply system may be configured to inject at least two gases having different thermal conductivities into the gas gap below the substrate and vary a ratio of the at least two gases in order to control the temperature of the substrate on the substrate holder.", "For example, the gas supply system may utilize a mixture of a light gas such as hydrogen and a heavy gas such as argon which is less thermally conductive.", "Advantageously, the gases used to control the temperature of the substrate are ones which are also utilized in the main process chemistry so that additional gas sources are not required.", "If the edge temperature of the substrate is too high relative to the central region of the substrate, the proportion of heavy gas relative to light gas can be increased to reduce the thermal conductivity of the gas under a central region of the substrate, thus causing the central region of the substrate to heat up relative to the edge of the substrate.", "Conversely, if the edge temperature of the substrate is too low relative to the central region of the substrate, the proportion of light gas relative to heavy gas can be increased to increase the thermal conductivity of the gas under a central region of the substrate, thus causing the central region of the substrate to cool down relative to the edge of the substrate.", "The absolute temperature of the substrate as well as the relative temperature of different regions of the substrate can also be controlled by varying gas flow and gas composition within the gas gap under the substrate.", "The spacer wires 16 may be configured to define a central gas gap cavity under the substrate so that the gas pools in the central gas gap cavity.", "For example, the spacer wires 16 can be each arcuate in shape and configured into a ring with gaps therebetween through which gas can flow.", "The spacer elements may be electrically conductive and/or may be fixed in place with an electrically conductive adhesive such as Silver DAG™ which has been found to be useful in ensuring a good electrical contact between the spacer elements and the substrate holder.", "This aids in preventing the problem of arcing under the substrate which can detrimentally affect temperature control.", "It has also been noted that the position of gaps between the ring sections of the spacer wires can produce a variation in thickness of the diamond wafer.", "If desired, the number and position can be adjusted to compensate for other non-uniformities inherent in diamond wafers produced by a given reactor.", "The microwave plasma reactor further comprises one or more temperature measurement devices configured to take at least two temperature measurements, including one or more measurements in a central region of the growth surface of the substrate and one or more measurements in a peripheral region of the growth surface of the substrate as previously described.", "The temperature measurements may be taken simultaneously or within a short time interval of each other and the substrate temperature control system may be used to ensure that the temperature gradient does not move outside the previously described ranges.", "The temperature measurement device may comprise a pyrometer 30 as illustrated in FIG.", "1.Two pyrometers may be provided, one to take the central temperature measurements and one to take the peripheral temperature measurements.", "Microwave plasma reactors may comprise further features such as a metallic temperature modifying ring disposed around the substrate.", "Such a temperature modifying ring performs two roles: it moves the ring of high electric field away from the substrate edge; and, being a separately heated (by plasma) and cooled (by the chamber base) item, it directly modifies the substrate edge temperature.", "As such, the ring can function to cool the edge of the substrate, reducing the magnitude of any tensile stresses, making cracking of the CVD diamond less likely.", "In addition, adjusting the temperature modifying ring disposed around the substrate can also modify overgrowth of CVD diamond down the edge of the substrate thereby aiding release of the CVD diamond material from the substrate.", "As with previously described structures, if any such a ring structure is provided within the plasma chamber then it should be ensured that it is rotationally symmetric and precisely aligned relative to the rotational axis of the plasma chamber to prevent asymmetries which are detrimental when growing large area optical quality synthetic diamond windows.", "The substrate temperature control system may be configured to control the temperature of the growth surface of the substrate during CVD diamond growth thereon to fulfil the condition: 5° C.<Tc−Te<120° C.; 10° C.<Tc−Te<100° C.; 10° C.<Tc−Te<80° C.; 20° C.<Tc−Te<80° C.; or 20° C.<Tc−Te<60° C., where Te is a temperature in the central region of the growth surface and Te is a temperature in the peripheral region of the growth surface.", "If Tc−Te becomes too large, excessive tension may be created in the central region of the CVD diamond wafer during cooling, leading to cracking in the central region of the CVD diamond wafer.", "If Tc−Te becomes too small, compressive regions will not form near the edge of the CVD diamond wafer and any cracks which initiate at the edge of the wafer are more likely to propagate across the CVD diamond wafer resulting in very long cracks, including complete wafer fracture.", "Even when utilizing arrangements such as those described above, a number of problems may still exist, although these may be substantially alleviated by the previously described arrangements.", "For example, in some instances there may still be issues of non-uniform CVD diamond growth across the substrate, diamond wafer delamination from the substrate during CVD diamond growth, and crack initiation and/or propagation during cooling after growth of the CVD diamond wafer, particularly when larger substrates are used for growing large area polycrystalline diamond discs (e.g.", "80 mm diameter or more) or when growing a plurality of single crystal diamonds in a single growth run on a plurality of single crystal diamond substrates adhered to a supporting substrate over a relatively large area (e.g.", "80 mm diameter or more).", "This is particularly problematic as there is an on going need to increase the area over which high quality, uniform CVD diamond can be grown.", "Furthermore, these problems tend to be exacerbated when the substrates are reused in subsequent growth runs.", "This is particularly problematic for refractory metal substrates which are expensive and reuse is desirable in an economically competitive industrial process.", "One possible solution considered by the inventors was that the quality of the growth surface was in some way affecting the release of a CVD diamond wafer on cooling after growth thus causing cracking.", "However, it was found that processing the growth surface to have a more precisely defined flatness and roughness did not in itself solve the problems.", "After much research focussed at addressing these issues, the present inventors have surprisingly found that the problems they have observed are a result of small variations in temperature across the growth surface of the substrate caused by very minor variations in the height of the gas gap under the substrate.", "In particular, the present inventors found that although the cylindrical refractory metal substrates provided by their supplier have nominally planar front and rear surfaces, these surfaces are not sufficiently flat.", "Minor flatness variations in a rear surface of the substrate result in minor variations in the height of the gas gap and it has been found that this results in differential cooling across the substrate.", "The temperature variations caused by the variations in the gas gap height result in stress variations in the CVD diamond on cooling after CVD diamond growth which can cause the diamond wafer to crack in at least a proportion of growth runs resulting in reduced yields.", "While the previously described arrangements can control variations in temperature which are circumferentially symmetric, it can be more difficult to control temperature variations which are not circumferentially symmetric such as those caused by variations in the gas gap height.", "For example, refractory metal substrates tend to sag and buckle during use (despite being a long way from their melting point).", "Uniform sag mainly modifies Tc—Te which can be controlled as previously described.", "However, buckling introduces non-uniformities in the temperature around the wafer edge which are not symmetric.", "Therefore it is not easy to maintain the whole edge in compression.", "Typical buckling magnitudes can be greater than 20 micron (peak to valley).", "For a gas gap of approximately 200 microns, this corresponds to a 10% variation in thickness, and corresponding temperature variation.", "This can result in up to 60° C. variations in temperature around the wafer edge.", "In order to solve this problem, it is advantageous to ensure that the height h of the gas gap varies by no more than 200 □m, 150 □m, 100 □m, 80 □m, 60 □m, 40 □m, 20 □m, 10 □m, or 5 □m.", "This may be achieved, for example, by further processing the rear surface of substrates provided by suppliers to have a very precisely defined profile which is complementary to the profile of the supporting surface of the substrate holder.", "For example, if the supporting surface of the substrate holder is flat, then the rear surface of the substrate should be processed to ensure that it is very precisely flat.", "Accordingly, control of rear surface substrate shape by mechanical means (preferably uniform, non-directional processing, e.g.", "lapping rather than grinding) has been found to be advantageous.", "Furthermore, the supporting surface of the substrate holder may also be processed to have a precisely defined profile which is complementary to the rear surface of the substrate.", "In addition to the above, it has also been found that some cylindrical refractory metal substrates provided by suppliers do not result in uniform, high quality CVD diamond wafers, even if both front and rear surfaces were processed as outlined above.", "Commercially available refractory metals often contain small amounts of graphite forming impurities such as iron and nickel.", "Even very small proportions of such impurities have been found to affect CVD diamond growth on the growth surface of such a substrate.", "Accordingly, in addition to applying the precise processing of both front and rear surfaces of the substrate as previously described, it is advantageous to use a carbide forming refractory metal substrate which has very high chemical purity with less than 0.5%, 0.1%, 0.075%, 0.05%, 0.025%, 0.01%, 0.005%, or 0.001% by weight of graphite forming impurities at the growth surface of the substrate.", "Optionally, the growth surface has a surface roughness Ra in the range 1 nm to 1 □m.", "It has been found that the roughness of the growth surface can affect both the crystal structure of the CVD diamond grown thereon and adhesion strength of the CVD diamond to the substrate.", "It has been found that a surface roughness Ra in the range 1 nm to 1 □m has been found to be particularly useful to provide sufficient adhesion to the CVD diamond during growth to prevent early delamination during growth while providing a sufficiently low adhesion such that the diamond material can be released from the substrate on cooling after CVD growth without the material cracking.", "Preferred range of surface roughness may be 1 nm to 500 nm, 10 nm to 500 nm, 10 nm to 200 nm.", "Typically, the refractory metal discs are first lapped on a cast iron wheel using diamond grit suspended in a lapping fluid.", "In general, the lapping process is used for bulk material removal and also to achieve the required flatness for the given process.", "There are a few processes where the as-lapped surface is used.", "A typical Ra value for the lapped finish is 100 nm to 500 nm.", "However, usually the lapped surface is then further processed using, for example, a grinding/polishing machine and using a finer grit to obtain a lower surface roughness value.", "Prior to CVD diamond growth, the refractory metal substrates may be cleaned to ensure all contamination from the lapping process has been removed and/or seeded to aid nucleation for diamond growth thereon.", "Process Conditions Using the aforementioned apparatus a process has been developed for fabricating high optical quality CVD diamond material over large areas.", "The process comprises: locating a substrate over the substrate holder, the substrate being rotationally symmetric and having a rotation axis of symmetry lying within 1.0 mm of the central rotational axis of symmetry of the resonance cavity when located over the substrate holder; feeding microwaves into the plasma chamber through the annular dielectric window at a power in a range 15 to 40 kW, 20 to 35 kW, or 25 to 30 kW; feeding process gases into the plasma chamber through the one or more gas inlet nozzles, the process gases comprising an atomic concentration of hydrogen in a range 98 to 99%, an atomic concentration of carbon in a range 0.3 to 1.1%, and an atomic concentration of nitrogen in a range 30 to 270 ppm, wherein a total flow rate of the process gases lies in a range 2000 to 15000 sccm and a pressure within the plasma chamber lies in a range 140 to 235 Torr, 160 to 215 Torr, or 180 to 205 Torr; growing a polycrystalline CVD diamond wafer on the substrate at a substrate temperature in a range 775 to 950° C., 800 to 900° C., or 825 to 875° C.; removing the polycrystalline CVD diamond wafer from the microwave plasma reactor; and polishing the polycrystalline CVD diamond wafer.", "High pressure, high power, high gas flow rate conditions have been found to be advantageous for synthesizing high optical quality material over large areas.", "However, such conditions are difficult to control in a uniform manner.", "The microwave plasma reactor and substrate configurations as previously described are capable of sustaining such conditions in a stable and uniform manner in order to achieve the present invention.", "However, it has been found that even utilizing the previously described precisely-aligned microwave plasma reactor configuration, the quality of polycrystalline diamond material around a peripheral region of the polycrystalline diamond wafer may not meet extremely high optical quality requirements.", "In particular, levels of impurities such as non-diamond carbon have been found to increase at a peripheral region of larger area wafers.", "This problem is exacerbated when also growing to larger thicknesses because as a synthetic polycrystalline diamond wafer grows, grain boundaries increase in size and this leads to an increase in the rate of impurity uptake within the grain boundaries.", "It has been found that this problem can be alleviated by increasing the hydrogen gas flow rate.", "It is considered that the concentration of atomic hydrogen required to selectively etch off non-diamond carbon from the substrate is lower at very large diameters and thus the efficiency of non-diamond carbon etching is reduced.", "It is believed that increasing the hydrogen gas flow rate directed towards the growth surface pushes more atomic hydrogen to peripheral regions of the polycrystalline diamond wafer thus increasing the rate at which non-diamond carbon is etched from the growth surface and improving the quality of the material in peripheral regions of the growing wafer.", "An alternative or additional solution is to provide a gas inlet nozzle array having a plurality of gas inlet nozzles directed towards the growth surface of the substrate and disposed over an area sufficiently large to ensure that a sufficiently large concentration of atomic hydrogen is provided in peripheral regions of a polycrystalline diamond wafer during growth.", "Yet another alternative or additional solution is to reduce the growth rate of the polycrystalline CVD diamond wafer to allow more time for non-diamond carbon to be etched from the growth surface.", "For example, the growth rate may be decreased as a thickness of the polycrystalline CVD diamond wafer increases by, for example, reducing the atomic concentration of carbon and/or the atomic concentration of nitrogen during growth of the polycrystalline CVD diamond wafer on the substrate.", "By combining developments in reactor design, engineering tolerance control, and process design it has been possible to achieve fabrication of large synthetic polycrystalline diamond windows having extremely high optical quality.", "After polishing, the polycrystalline CVD diamond wafer may be further processed by performing a plasma or chemical treatment to generate an oxygen terminated surface on the polycrystalline CVD diamond wafer.", "This is useful as the as the surface termination can affect optical characteristics.", "Product Using the apparatus and process conditions as described above, it is possible to fabricate a polycrystalline CVD diamond wafer as illustrated in FIGS.", "6(a) and 6(b).", "The polycrystalline CVD diamond wafer comprising: a polycrystalline chemical vapour deposited (CVD) diamond wafer comprising: a largest linear dimension equal to or greater than 125 mm; a thickness equal to or greater than 200 μm; and one or both of the following characteristics measured at room temperature (nominally 298 K) over at least a central area of the polycrystalline CVD diamond wafer, said central area being circular, centred on a central point of the polycrystalline CVD diamond wafer, and having a diameter of at least 70% of the largest linear dimension of the polycrystalline CVD diamond wafer: (1) an absorption coefficient ≤0.2 cm−1, ≤0.1 cm−1, or ≤0.05 cm−1 at 10.6 μm; and (2) a dielectric loss coefficient at 145 GHz, of tan δ≤2×10−4, ≤10−4, ≤5×10−5, ≤10−5, ≤5×10−6, or ≤10−6.Preferably, the polycrystalline CVD diamond wafer further comprises one or more of the following structural characteristics over at least the central area: (3) a tensile rupture strength with a nucleation face of the polycrystalline CVD diamond wafer in tension of: ≥760 MPa×n for a thickness of 200 to 500 □m; ≥700 MPa×n for a thickness of 500 to 750 □m; ≥650 MPa×n for a thickness of 750 to 1000 □m; ≥600 MPa×n for a thickness of 1000 to 1250 m; ≥550 MPa×n for a thickness of 1250 to 1500 □m; ≥500 MPa×n for a thickness of 1500 to 1750 □m; ≥450 MPa×n for a thickness of 1750 to 2000 □m; or ≥400 MPa×n for a thickness of ≥2000 □m, wherein multiplying factor n is 1.0, 1.1, 1.2, 1.4, 1.6, 1.8, or 2.", "(4) a tensile rupture strength with a growth face of the polycrystalline CVD diamond wafer in tension of: ≥330 MPa×n for a thickness of 200 to 500 □m; ≥300 MPa×n for a thickness of 500 to 750 □m; ≥275 MPa×n for a thickness of 750 to 1000 □m; ≥250 MPa×n for a thickness of 1000 to 1250 □m; ≥225 MPa×n for a thickness of 1250 to 1500 □m; ≥200 MPa×n for a thickness of 1500 to 1750 □m; ≥175 MPa×n for a thickness of 1750 to 2000 □m; or ≥150 MPa×n for a thickness of ≥2000 □m, wherein multiplying factor n is 1.0 1.1, 1.2, 1.4, 1.6, 1.8, or 2.", "(5) a surface flatness ≤5 μm, ≤4 μm, ≤3 μm, ≤2 μm, ≤1 μm, ≤0.5 μm, ≤0.2 μm, ≤ or 0.1 μm.", "Preferably, the polycrystalline CVD diamond wafer further comprises one or more of the following characteristics over at least the central area: (6) an average black spot density no greater than 1 mm−2, 0.5 mm−2, or 0.1 mm−2; (7) a black spot distribution such that there are no more than 4, 3, 2, or 1 black spots within any 3 mm−2 area; (8) an integrated absorbance per unit thickness of no more than 0.20 cm−2, 0.15 cm−2, 0.10 cm−2, or 0.05 cm−2, when measured with a corrected linear background in a range 2760 cm−1 to 3030 cm−1; (9) a thermal conductivity of no less than 1900 Wm−1K−1, 2000 Wm−1K−1, 2100 Wm−1K−1, or 2200 Wm−1K−1; (10) a total integrated scatter in a forward hemisphere no more than 1%, 0.5%, or 0.1% at 10.6 □m for a sample thickness of 0.7 mm with front and rear surfaces polished to a root mean squared roughness of less than 15 nm; and (11) a silicon concentration as measured by secondary ion mass spectrometry of no more than 1017 cm−3, 5×1016 cm−3, 1016 cm−3, 5×1015 cm−3, or 1015 cm−3.Embodiments may comprise any combination of the aforementioned preferred characteristics.", "However, of the eleven recited characteristics given above, the polycrystalline CVD diamond wafer preferably comprises two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, or most preferably all eleven of said characteristics.", "Preferably, the diameter of the central area over which the above defined characteristics are met is at least 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 95%, or 99% of said largest linear dimension.", "That is, the above defined characteristics preferably extend over the majority or substantially all of the polycrystalline CVD diamond wafer.", "The polycrystalline CVD diamond wafer may have at least one linear dimension, but preferably at least two orthogonal linear dimensions, equal to or greater than 125 mm, 130 mm, 135 mm, 140 mm, 145 mm, or 150 mm.", "For example, the polycrystalline CVD diamond wafer may be in the form of a substantially circular disk having a diameter corresponding to said dimensions.", "The thickness of the polycrystalline CVD diamond wafer may be equal to or greater than 250 □m, 350 □m, 450 □m, 500 □m, 750 □m, 1000 □m, 1500 □m, or 2000 □m.", "The polycrystalline CVD diamond wafer may also be processed to have a surface roughness no more than 200 nm, 150 nm, 100 nm, 80 nm, 60 nm, or 40 nm.", "Furthermore, an antireflective structure may be formed in or on a surface of the polycrystalline CVD diamond wafer.", "The polycrystalline CVD diamond wafer may be used in large area form or otherwise may be cut into smaller items depending on the end application.", "Measurement Techniques Absorption Coefficient Laser calorimetry is the method of choice for measuring the absorptance of low loss materials and optical components.", "Details of this measurement can be found in Test method for absorptance of optical laser components ISO/FDIS 11551, International Organisation for Standardisation, Geneva (1995) and G. Turri et al, Optical absorption, depolarization, and scatter of epitaxial single-crystal chemical-vapor-deposited diamond at 1.064 μm, Optical Engineering 46(6), 064002 (2007).", "Laser calorimetry involves measuring the time-dependent rise and fall in temperature of a test specimen exposed to a laser of known power for a fixed time period.", "From an analysis of the temperature response of the specimen, the absorbance A can be determined, where A is defined as the fraction of incident laser power absorbed by the specimen.", "When the product of the absorption coefficient α with the sample thickness d is much less than unity, then α≈A/d.", "This approximation is reasonable for optical quality polycrystalline diamond.", "In addition, optical quality polycrystalline diamond is commonly used for CO2 laser optics operating at 10.6 μm.", "Performing the laser calorimetry measurement using the 10.6 μm line of a CO2 laser is therefore particularly appropriate for the present invention.", "Test specimens for calorimetry are prepared as follows.", "Firstly the growth and nucleation faces of the wafer are lapped and polished to a uniform, desired thickness.", "A minimum of 20 μm is polished off the nucleation face in order to remove any contamination which may have incorporated during the nucleation stage of synthesis.", "Secondly, a series of calorimetry test specimens are laser machined from the polished wafer.", "These specimens are further polished on both sides to an rms roughness of <15 nm.", "Dielectric Loss The dielectric loss coefficient tan δ of the material is measured using an open resonator technique.", "The resonator is characterized by a very high unloaded Q-factor, typically >100 000, and operates in a highly polarised TEM00 n mode, where n denotes the number of half guided wavelengths between the two reflectors.", "Sample thickness must be controlled such that it is ideally of an integral number of half wavelengths in thickness at the measurement frequency.", "This technique is described in “Properties of bulk polycrystalline CVD diamond”, by Sussmann et al, Diamond and related materials, 3 (1994) 303-312.Tensile Strength Strength testing of materials can be performed using different techniques, all of which have their advantages and disadvantages.", "These are well-known to persons skilled in the art.", "One method of testing for strength is the so-called 3-point bend test.", "The application of this technique to polycrystalline diamond specimens is detailed in Philosophical Magazine Vol.", "83, No.", "36, 4059-4070 (2003), Strength of free-standing chemically vapour-deposited diamond measured by a range of techniques, A. R. Davies, J. E. Field, C. S. J. Pickles.", "An as-grown CVD wafer is prepared for 3-point bend strength testing as follows.", "First, the growth and nucleation faces of the wafer are lapped and polished to a uniform, desired thickness.", "A minimum of 20 μm is polished off the nucleation face in order to remove any contamination which may have been incorporated during the nucleation stage of synthesis.", "Secondly, a series of 40 rectangular strength test specimens of lateral dimension 18 mm×2 mm are laser machined from the polished wafer.", "These specimens are extracted from across the entire wafer in order to provide an even sampling.", "The 3-point bend test is performed on a first 20 samples in which the nucleation face is in tension and a second 20 samples in which the growth face is in tension.", "The mean strength of the nucleation and growth faces is determined by calculating the arithmetic mean of each sample set.", "Black Spots Optical microscopy is used for the analysis of black spots.", "Optical microscopy of polycrystalline diamond samples in general reveals the presence of microscopic crack-like features (termed “black spots”) formed during synthesis within individual grains, which are most probably a result of inter-grain stress.", "These spots have diverse shapes, however typically have a radius of approximately 50-100 micron, and have been shown to have a negative impact upon certain physical properties of the film.", "Black spots can be inspected under a ×50 microscope.", "Integrated Absorption Integrated absorption per unit thickness of the sample is measured using an FTIR spectrometer.", "The absorption associated with stretch modes of CHx species within the film lies between 2760 cm−1 to 3030 cm−1.This absorption was measured at room temperature, using an aperture size of 5 mm in an FTIR spectrometer scanning between 400 cm−1 and 4000 cm−1.A linear baseline is subtracted from the peak before the integrated area is calculated.", "The technique is described in “Thermal conductivity measurements on CVD diamond”, by Twitchen et al, Diamond and related materials, 10 (2001) 731-735.Thermal Conductivity Thermal conductivity is measured in thick diamond wafers using the proven relationship between thermal conductivity and the CHx component of the FTIR absorption spectrum.", "This relationship is described in “Thermal conductivity measurements on CVD diamond”, by Twitchen et al, Diamond and related materials, 10 (2001) 731-735.The integrated area of the CHx components in the region 2760 cm−1 to 3030 cm−1 of the IR spectrum of the diamond window, once corrected with a linear baseline, has been shown to be quantitatively related to the thermal conductivity of diamond.", "Optical Scatter Total integrated scatter in the forward direction is measured using a so-called Coblentz sphere capable of collecting forward scattered light at an angle ≥2.5° with respect to the incident light beam.", "The technique is described in J. C. Stover, Optical Scattering: Measurement and Analysis, SPIE Press Monograph (1995).", "The 10.6 μm line of a CO2 laser is used for these measurements.", "Test specimens for scatter measurements are prepared as follows.", "Firstly the growth and nucleation faces of the wafer are lapped and polished to a uniform, desired thickness.", "A minimum of 20 μm is polished off the nucleation face in order to remove any contamination which may have incorporated during the nucleation stage of synthesis.", "Secondly, a series of test specimens are laser machined from the polished wafer.", "These specimens are further polished on both sides to an rms roughness of <15 nm.", "Example A 140 mm diameter refractory metal carbide forming substrate suitable for synthesising polycrystalline CVD wafers was prepared using standard lapping and polishing processes to produce a surface with an Ra of 20-60 nm.", "This substrate was introduced into a CVD reactor, and the synthesis process started.", "Reaction gases were flowed into the reactor at flows of 3500/43/43 sccm for Hydrogen/Methane/Argon.", "A controlled level of nitrogen was introduced to provide a concentration in the gas phase of 150 ppb, as quantified by optical emission spectroscopy.", "The pressure in the chamber was kept at 185 Torr and the mean temperature of the substrate was adjusted to be 830° C. and was held at this point through the course of the growth run.", "The difference in substrate temperature from centre to edge was maintained at less than 30° C. The synthesis process was terminated following a minimum diamond wafer deposition thickness of 1.0 mm.", "The diamond wafer was removed from the substrate.", "A 20 μm thick layer was lapped off the nucleation face.", "The growth face was lapped to produce a substantially flat wafer of average thickness 0.84 mm.", "From this, four 20 mm diameter test samples were laser cut for laser calorimetry measurement at 10.6 μm, extracted according to FIG.", "7.The four test samples were further polished on both sides to an rms roughness <15 nm with minimal removal of material.", "The mean absorption coefficient α at 10.6 μm for each of these four test samples was determined to be less than 0.2 cm−1.Further measurements have been taken in accordance with the previously described measurement techniques and fall within the numerical ranges as defined in the product section.", "While this invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to preferred embodiments, it will be understood to those skilled in the art that various changes in form and detail may be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the appendant claims." ] ]
Patent_15873063
[ [ "SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR RETAINING DATA IN A MEMORY", "Methods, systems, and vehicles are provided for retaining data in a vehicle.", "In various embodiments, the vehicle includes a sensor, a processor, and a memory.", "The sensor is configured to sense an aspect of the vehicle.", "The processor is configured to receive data from the sensor, sample the data at a first rate and retain the data at a second rate that is less than the first rate while the vehicle is in operation.", "The memory is in communication with the processor, and includes a plurality of storage locations each identified with a unique address.", "The processor is further configured to determine a current storage location address for a latest sample of the data at the first rate such that older samples of data are retained at the second rate less frequent than the first rate while the vehicle is in operation." ], [ "1.A method of retaining data in a memory of a vehicle having a plurality of data storage locations, the method comprising, while the vehicle is in operation: receiving data; sampling the data at a first sampling rate; retaining the data at a second rate that is less than the first rate; determining a current storage location address for a latest sample of the data at the first sampling rate such that older samples of data are retained at a second sampling rate less frequent than the first sampling rate; and storing the latest sample of the data at the current storage location address.", "2.The method of claim 1, wherein determining the current storage location address (Adds) is determined with the expression: Add s = Add m   i   n + { ∑ k = 0 T s  m   od   ModIdx  M ma   x  ( k - 1 ) } + int  ( T s ModIdx )  mod   M ma   x  ( T s  mod   ModIdx ) wherein Addmin is a minimum address, Ts is a consecutive integer representing the latest sample of the data, LCM is the least common multiple of the sampling Periods, Tm=(Ts mod LCM)+1, Rk is the sampling rate, Nk is the number of samples at Rk, and kmax is the total number of sampling rates to be stored.", "3.The method of claim 1, wherein determining the current storage location is performed utilizing modular arithmetic.", "4.The method of claim 1, further comprising partitioning the data storage locations of the memory into a plurality of arrays.", "5.The method of claim 4, wherein determining the current storage location address (Adds) is determined with the expression: Add s = Add m   i   n + { ∑ k = 0 T s  modModIdx  M ma   x  ( k - 1 ) } + int  ( T s ModIdx )  mod   M ma   x  ( T s  mod   ModIdx ) , wherein Addmin is a minimum address, ModIdx is a modula index equal to the number of arrays, Ts is a consecutive integer representing the latest sample of the data, and Mmax n represents the size of the respective array.", "6.The method of claim 1, wherein determining a current storage location address comprises determining a current storage location address for a latest sample of the data at the first rate such that older samples of data are retained at a second rate less frequent than the first rate and a third rate less frequent than the second sampling rate.", "7.The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving an event notification; and communicating the data stored in the data storage locations in response to receiving the event notification.", "8.The method of claim 1, wherein the steps of receiving data, sampling the data at a first sampling rate, retaining the data at a second rate that is less than the first rate, determining a current storage location address for a latest sample of the data at the first sampling rate such that older samples of data are retained at a second sampling rate less frequent than the first sampling rate, and storing the latest sample of the data at the current storage location address are performed continuously throughout operation of the vehicle.", "9.The method of claim 1, wherein the data is recorded at a constant rate throughout usage of the vehicle, at a recording rate that is different from the second rate.", "10.A system for retaining data for a vehicle, comprising: a processor configured to receive data from at least one data source, sample the data at a first rate, and retain the data at a second rate that is less than the first rate while the vehicle is in operation; a memory in communication with the processor, the memory including a plurality of storage locations each identified with a unique address; and wherein the processor is further configured to determine a current storage location address for a latest sample of the data at the first rate such that older samples of data are retained at the second rate less frequent than the first rate while the vehicle is in operation.", "11.The system of claim 10, wherein the processor is configured to determine the current storage location address (Adds) with the expression: Add s = Add m   i   n + { ∑ k = 1 kma   x  ( int  ( T m R k ) * R k * N k ) } + T m - 1 - T s LCM  mod   ∑ k = 1 kma   x  N k wherein Addmin is a minimum address, Ts is a consecutive integer representing the latest sample of the data, LCM is the least common multiple of the sampling periods, Tm=(Ts mod LCM)+1, Rk is the sampling rate, Nk is the number of samples at Rk, and kmax is the total number of sampling rates to be stored.", "12.The system of claim 10, wherein the processor is configured to determine the current storage location utilizing modular arithmetic.", "13.The system as set forth in claim 10, wherein the data storage locations of the memory are partitioned into a plurality of arrays.", "14.The system of claim 10, wherein the processor is configured to determine a current storage location address for a latest sample of the data at the first rate such that older samples of data are retained at the second rate less frequent than the first rate and a third rate less frequent than the second rate.", "15.The system of claim 10, wherein the processor is configured to receive an event notification, and to send the data stored in the data storage locations in response to receiving the event notification.", "16.The system of claim 10, wherein the processor is configured to receive the data, sample the data at a first sampling rate, retain the data at a second rate that is less than the first rate, determine a current storage location address for a latest sample of the data at the first sampling rate such that older samples of data are retained at a second sampling rate less frequent than the first sampling rate, and store the latest sample of the data at the current storage location address are performed continuously throughout operation of the vehicle.", "17.A vehicle, comprising: a sensor configured to sense an aspect of the vehicle; a processor configured to receive data from the sensor, sample the data at a first rate and retain the data at a second rate that is less than the first rate while the vehicle is in operation; a memory in communication with the processor, the memory including a plurality of storage locations each identified with a unique address; and wherein the processor is further configured to determine a current storage location address for a latest sample of the data at the first rate such that older samples of data are retained at the second rate less frequent than the first rate while the vehicle is in operation.", "18.The vehicle of claim 17, wherein the processor is configured to determine the current storage location address (Adds) with the expression: Add s = Add m   i   n + { ∑ k = 1 kmax  ( int  ( T m R k ) * R k * N k ) } + T m - 1 - T s LCM  mod   ∑ k = 1 kmax  N k wherein Addmin is a minimum address, Ts is a consecutive integer representing the latest sample of the data, LCM is the least common multiple of the sampling periods, Tm=(Ts mod LCM)+1, Rk is the sampling rate, Nk is the number of samples at Rk, and kmax is the total number of sampling rates to be stored.", "19.The vehicle of claim 17, wherein the processor is configured to receive the data, sample the data at a first sampling rate, retain the data at a second rate that is less than the first rate, determine a current storage location address for a latest sample of the data at the first sampling rate such that older samples of data are retained at a second sampling rate less frequent than the first sampling rate, and store the latest sample of the data at the current storage location address are performed continuously throughout operation of the vehicle.", "20.The vehicle of claim 17, wherein the data is recorded at a constant rate throughout usage of the vehicle, at a recording rate that is different from the second rate." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND <EOH>Data regarding operation of a vehicle is often stored to a memory device, or simply, a “memory”, for later retrieval and use.", "One common technique for storing such data is a circular buffer where the data is recorded sequentially at a defined rate.", "After each recording, the address of the memory storage location is incremented, so that the memory fills up sequentially.", "When an upper limit of the memory is reached, the address is reset to a beginning location and data is over-written from the beginning location.", "The memory addresses to be written to can be expressed as: in-line-formulae description=\"In-line Formulae\" end=\"lead\"?", "Add s =Add min +T s mod n in-line-formulae description=\"In-line Formulae\" end=\"tail\"?", "wherein Add s is the current address that is being written to, Add min is the minimum (or beginning) memory address, T s is an incrementing time sample (e.g., 0, 1, 2, 3, .", ".", ".", "), and n is the number of memory locations.", "In this application, the notation “x mod n” will refer to the remainder of the quantity x divided by n. One drawback of this technique is that all of the data is written at a single sampling rate.", "Therefore, a large memory device is required to record data for a large period of time while providing for a fast sampling rate close to an event, e.g., an airbag deployment event.", "To save on the amount of storage locations that are required in a memory, it may be beneficial for older data to only be retained at a slower sampling rate while still maintaining the fast sampling rate near the event.", "Accordingly, it is desirable to provide systems and methods that allows for storing data at multiple sampling rates.", "Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the foregoing technical field and background." ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY <EOH>In various embodiments, a method is provided for recording data in a memory of a vehicle having a plurality of data storage locations.", "In various embodiments, the method includes, while the vehicle is in operation: receiving data while the vehicle is in operation; sampling the data, and recording at a first sampling rate while the vehicle is in operation, determining a current storage location address for a latest sample of the data at the first sampling rate such that older samples of data are retained at a second sampling rate less frequent than the first sampling rate; and storing the latest sample of the data at the current storage location address.", "In various embodiments, a system for recording data for a vehicle is provided.", "In various embodiments, the system includes a processor and a memory.", "The processor is configured to receive data from at least one data source, sample and record the data at a first rate, while the vehicle is in operation.", "The memory is in communication with the processor, and includes a plurality of storage locations each identified with a unique address.", "The processor is further configured to determine a current storage location address for a latest sample of the data at the first rate such that older samples of data are retained at the second rate less frequent than the first rate while the vehicle is in operation.", "In various embodiments, a vehicle is provided.", "In various embodiments, the vehicle includes a sensor, a processor, and a memory.", "The sensor is configured to sense an aspect of the vehicle.", "The processor is configured to receive data from the sensor, sample and record the data at a first rate while the vehicle is in operation.", "The memory is in communication with the processor, and includes a plurality of storage locations each identified with a unique address.", "The processor is further configured to determine a current storage location address for a latest sample of the data at the first rate such that older samples of data are retained at the second rate less frequent than the first rate while the vehicle is in operation." ], [ "CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser.", "No.", "14/222,308, filed on Mar.", "21, 2014, the entirety of which is incorporated by reference herein.", "TECHNICAL FIELD The technical field generally relates to systems and methods for recording data in a memory, and more particularly relates to systems and methods for recording data in a memory at a plurality of sampling rates.", "BACKGROUND Data regarding operation of a vehicle is often stored to a memory device, or simply, a “memory”, for later retrieval and use.", "One common technique for storing such data is a circular buffer where the data is recorded sequentially at a defined rate.", "After each recording, the address of the memory storage location is incremented, so that the memory fills up sequentially.", "When an upper limit of the memory is reached, the address is reset to a beginning location and data is over-written from the beginning location.", "The memory addresses to be written to can be expressed as: Adds=Addmin+Ts mod n wherein Adds is the current address that is being written to, Addmin is the minimum (or beginning) memory address, Ts is an incrementing time sample (e.g., 0, 1, 2, 3, .", ".", ".", "), and n is the number of memory locations.", "In this application, the notation “x mod n” will refer to the remainder of the quantity x divided by n. One drawback of this technique is that all of the data is written at a single sampling rate.", "Therefore, a large memory device is required to record data for a large period of time while providing for a fast sampling rate close to an event, e.g., an airbag deployment event.", "To save on the amount of storage locations that are required in a memory, it may be beneficial for older data to only be retained at a slower sampling rate while still maintaining the fast sampling rate near the event.", "Accordingly, it is desirable to provide systems and methods that allows for storing data at multiple sampling rates.", "Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the foregoing technical field and background.", "SUMMARY In various embodiments, a method is provided for recording data in a memory of a vehicle having a plurality of data storage locations.", "In various embodiments, the method includes, while the vehicle is in operation: receiving data while the vehicle is in operation; sampling the data, and recording at a first sampling rate while the vehicle is in operation, determining a current storage location address for a latest sample of the data at the first sampling rate such that older samples of data are retained at a second sampling rate less frequent than the first sampling rate; and storing the latest sample of the data at the current storage location address.", "In various embodiments, a system for recording data for a vehicle is provided.", "In various embodiments, the system includes a processor and a memory.", "The processor is configured to receive data from at least one data source, sample and record the data at a first rate, while the vehicle is in operation.", "The memory is in communication with the processor, and includes a plurality of storage locations each identified with a unique address.", "The processor is further configured to determine a current storage location address for a latest sample of the data at the first rate such that older samples of data are retained at the second rate less frequent than the first rate while the vehicle is in operation.", "In various embodiments, a vehicle is provided.", "In various embodiments, the vehicle includes a sensor, a processor, and a memory.", "The sensor is configured to sense an aspect of the vehicle.", "The processor is configured to receive data from the sensor, sample and record the data at a first rate while the vehicle is in operation.", "The memory is in communication with the processor, and includes a plurality of storage locations each identified with a unique address.", "The processor is further configured to determine a current storage location address for a latest sample of the data at the first rate such that older samples of data are retained at the second rate less frequent than the first rate while the vehicle is in operation.", "DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The exemplary embodiments will hereinafter be described in conjunction with the following drawing figures, wherein like numerals denote like elements, and wherein: FIG.", "1 is a block diagram of a system for storing data in accordance with an embodiment; FIG.", "2 is a table representing a memory in accordance with an embodiment; FIG.", "3 is flowchart showing a method of storing data in accordance with an embodiment; FIG.", "4 is a table representing a memory in accordance with an exemplary embodiment; FIG.", "5 is a graph showing data storage locations over time in accordance with the embodiment of FIG.", "4; FIG.", "6 is a graph showing data storage locations over time in accordance with an exemplary embodiment; and FIG.", "7 is a graph showing sampling rates over time in accordance with the embodiment of FIG.", "6.DETAILED DESCRIPTION The following detailed description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the application and uses.", "Furthermore, there is no intention to be bound by any expressed or implied theory presented in the preceding technical field, background, brief summary or the following detailed description.", "Referring to the Figures, wherein like numerals indicate like parts throughout the several views, a system 100 and method 300 of recording data is shown and described herein.", "In the exemplary embodiments, the method 300 is implemented with the computerized system 100.In one exemplary embodiment, the computerized system 100 may be integrated with a vehicle 102, e.g., an automobile that is driven along roadways on land.", "However, it is to be appreciated that the method 300 may be implemented with other devices (not shown), including non-vehicular applications.", "Referring to FIG.", "1, the system 100 of the exemplary embodiment includes a processor 104.The processor 104 is a device capable of executing instructions (i.e., running a program) and/or performing calculations.", "The processor 104 may be part of an integrated circuit, i.e., a semiconductor device, as is well known to those skilled in the art.", "The processor 104 of the exemplary embodiment includes a plurality of inputs (not numbered) and outputs (not numbered) capable of sending and receiving signals, data, and/or other information.", "The processor 104 is in communication with at least one data source 105 for receiving data.", "In the exemplary embodiment, the at least one data source 105 is a system or sensor related to operation of the vehicle 102.For example, the data source 105 may be an accelerometer.", "As such, the accelerometer provides a signal which encodes data corresponding to an acceleration/deceleration of the vehicle 102.The processor 104 may include hardware and/or software to decode the signal to obtain the data, as is well known to those skilled in the art.", "Of course, the data source 105 is not limited to an accelerometer or even to vehicular applications.", "In another example, the data source 105 may be a temperature sensor for sensing temperature of cooling water used in an engine (not shown) of the vehicle 102.In a non-vehicle example, the data source 105 may be a wind sensor for measuring the speed of wind.", "The system 100 also includes a memory 106 capable of storing data and/or other information.", "The memory 106 may be implemented with a semiconductor device, e.g., random access memory (RAM) or flash memory.", "The memory 106 may also be implemented with a magnetic storage device, e.g., a hard drive or a floppy drive.", "The memory 106 may further be implemented as an optical storage device, e.g., a CD-ROM or a DVD.", "Those skilled in the art realize other media and techniques for implementing the memory 106.The memory 106 is in communication with the processor 104.As such, the processor 104 may communicate data received to the memory 106 for storage.", "In the exemplary embodiment, the memory 106 is integrated with the processor 104, i.e., part of the same integrated circuit 108.However, the memory 106 and the processor 104 may be separate and distinct components, as is readily appreciated by those skilled in the art.", "The vehicle 102 may also include a radio 110 in communication with the processor 104.Referring now to FIG.", "2, the memory 106 includes a plurality of memory locations 200.The memory locations 200 are identified with unique storage location addresses 202.As such, the processor 104 is capable of storing data in specific memory locations 200 corresponding to the storage location addresses 202.A plurality of memory locations 200 may be grouped together as an array 204, wherein each of the plurality of memory locations 200 is configured to be identified via a respective unique storage location address 202.Furthermore, the memory 106 may be sectioned into a plurality of arrays 204.In various embodiments, memory locations are mixed within a contiguous range, for example in the sense that in certain embodiments the disclosed techniques creates an addressing scheme that records non-sequentially, with a specific purpose in mind.", "With reference to FIG.", "3, and continued reference to FIGS.", "1 and 2, one exemplary method 300 is shown.", "As can be appreciated in light of the disclosure, the order of operation within the method 300 is not limited to the sequential execution as illustrated in FIG.", "3, but may be performed in one or more varying orders as applicable and in accordance with the present disclosure.", "As can further be appreciated, one or more steps of the method 300 may be added or removed without altering the spirit of the method 300.The method 300 shown and described herein may run substantially continuously during usage and/or operation of the vehicle 102 and/or continuously while recording is desired.", "However, the method 300 may alternatively run during predefined time periods or as desired by a user.", "In certain embodiments, each of the steps of the method 300 is performed, preferably continuously during usage of the vehicle 102 and/or continuously while recording is desired.", "The method 300, includes, at 302, receiving data.", "When implemented with the exemplary system 100 described above, the processor 104 is configured to receive data from the at least one data source 105.Of course, receiving data may be implemented as receiving a signal on which the data is encoded and then decoding the signal to obtain the data, as is well known to those skilled in the art.", "In various embodiments, step 302 is performed, preferably continuously, throughout usage and/or operation of the vehicle 102 and/or continuously while recording is desired.", "In various embodiments, the received data is continually stored at a consistent, fast rate, and an addressing scheme is utilized that results in data being retained at different rates.", "The received data may be retained at a plurality of sampling rates.", "For example, in certain embodiments, newer data is retained at a first sampling rate, and older data is retained at a second sampling rate, which is less frequent than the first sampling rate.", "In various embodiments, the retaining of the data in this manner with different sampling rates for newer and older data, respectively, is performed, preferably continuously, throughout usage and/or operation of the vehicle 102 and/or continuously while recording is desired.", "In the exemplary system 100, the processor 104 obtains the data at the first sampling rate.", "That is, the processor 104 obtains data at predetermined periodic time period.", "In the exemplary embodiments, the first sampling rate is one sample per second.", "However, it should be appreciated that the first sampling rate may be accomplished at any time period achievable by the processor 104.In the exemplary embodiments, the older data retained at the second sampling rate is the same data that was stored at the first sampling rate but simply maintained at the second sampling rate.", "Said another way, as newer data is received, one part of the older data is maintained, but another part is overwritten by the newly received data.", "As a result, data at multiple sampling rates is achieved.", "In various embodiments, this is performed, preferably continuously, throughout usage and/or operation of the vehicle 102 and/or continuously while recording is desired.", "The data may be stored at more than the two sampling rates described above.", "In the exemplary embodiments described herein, the received data is retained at three sampling rates: the first sampling rate, the second sampling rate, and a third sampling rate.", "The third sampling rate is less frequent than the second sampling rate, which, as previously stated, is less frequent than the first sampling rate.", "Of course, any number of sampling rates may be stored utilizing the system 100 and methods 300 described herein.", "In various embodiments, this is performed, preferably continuously, throughout usage and/or operation of the vehicle 102 and/or continuously while recording is desired.", "Also in various embodiments, regardless of the sampling rates, all of the data in the present disclosure is recorded at a constant rate throughout usage and/or operation of the vehicle 102 and/or continuously while recording is desired, and is retained at different rates throughout as noted above.", "Also in various embodiments, the data is not transferred from one location to another.", "As such, the method 300 includes sampling the received data.", "More specifically, the exemplary method 300 includes, at 304, sampling the data at a first sampling rate.", "The method 300 further includes, at 306, determining a current storage location address for a latest sample of the data at the first sampling rate such that older samples of data are retained at the second sampling rate.", "The method 300 also includes, at 308, storing the latest sample of the data at the current storage location address.", "In various embodiments, steps 304, 306, and 308 are performed, preferably continuously, throughout usage and/or operation of the vehicle 102 and/or continuously while recording is desired.", "Determining the current storage location address may be performed utilizing modular arithmetic.", "That is, at least one mathematical computation used in determining the current storage location address involves a modulo operation.", "Different techniques for determining the current storage location are described herein.", "In a first exemplary embodiment, determining the current data storage location address Adds is determined with the expression: Add s = Add m   i   n + { ∑ k = 0 T s  m   od   ModIdx  M ma   x  ( k - 1 ) } + int  ( T s ModIdx )  mod   M ma   x  ( T s  mod   ModIdx ) wherein Addmin is a minimum address, ModIdx is a modula index equal to the number of arrays, Ts is a consecutive integer representing the latest sample of the data, and Mmax n represents the size of the respective array.", "NOTE: For TsmodModIdx=0, this summation will=0 as Mmax(-1) has no value.", "In one implementation of the first exemplary embodiment, 100 samples of newer data are stored at a one sample per second (1 s/sample) sampling rate (i.e., the first sampling rate) and 400 samples of older data are stored at a one sample every five seconds (5 s/sample) sampling rate (i.e., the second sampling rate).", "Said another way, 100 newer data samples are stored every second and 400 older data samples are stored every five seconds.", "In this implementation of the first exemplary embodiment, as shown in FIG.", "4, the memory 106 is partitioned into a plurality of arrays 204.More specifically, the memory 106 is partitioned into four arrays 204 labeled M0-M3, each having 20 data storage locations, and one array 204 labeled M4 having 420 data storage locations.", "In this implementation, the minimum address Add is zero and ModIdx is five.", "Therefore, the current data storage location address Adds proceeds as {0, 20, 40, 60, 80, 1, 21, 41, 61, 81, .", ".", ".", ", 19, 39, 59, 79, 99, 0, 20, 40, 60, 100, 1, 21, 41, 61, 101, .", ".", ".", "}.", "A graphical representation of the data storage addresses over time can be seen in FIG.", "5, wherein the horizontal axis 500 reflects time (or Ts) and the vertical axis 502 reflects the data storage location addresses 202.In accordance with the first embodiment, the values were selected such that the first rate is five times the second rate, and therefore five arrays were chosen.", "Also in this embodiment, one fifth (⅕) of the first rate samples (100), namely twenty (i.e., ⅕*100=20) samples per array were chosen for the first 4 arrays.", "Also in this embodiment, the second rate samples are combined with the last array, with four hundred twenty (i.e., 20+400=420) samples in the last array.", "Also in various embodiments, this method of selecting bins can vary, and can be expanded to more than two sample rates in various embodiments.", "For example, in certain embodiments, (i) a first rate may include one hundred samples at one second per sample; (ii) a second rate may include four hundred samples at five seconds per sample; and (iii) a third rate may include five hundred samples at ten seconds per sample, and so on.", "Also in certain embodiments, in this implementation, the following array sizes can be utilized: (i) eight arrays of size ten [i.e., the first rate size (100)*the first rate (1 second)/the third rate (10 seconds)=10]; (ii) one array of size two hundred ten [i.e., the first array size, above (10)+the second rate size (400)*the second rate (5 seconds)/the third rate (10 seconds)=210]; and (iii) one array of size seven hundred ten [i.e., the second array size, above (210)+the third rate size (500)=710].", "Implementing the first exemplary embodiment described above results in a memory having data at a plurality of sampling rates, while only recording data at one sampling rate, i.e., the first sampling rate.", "Moreover, the method of the first exemplary embodiment is fairly simple to implement in program form in the processor 104.In a second exemplary embodiment, determining the current data storage location address Adds is determined with the expression: Add s = Add m   i   n + { ∑ k = 1 kma   x  ( int  ( T m P k ) * P k * N k ) } + T m - 1 - T s LCM  mod   ∑ k = 1 kmax  N k wherein Addmin is a minimum address, Ts is a consecutive integer representing the latest sample of the data, LCM is the least common multiple of the sampling Periods, Tm=(Ts mod LCM)+1, Pk is the sampling period, Nk is the number of samples at a given Pk, therefore Nk*Pk will equal to the number of samples if they were sampled at the fasted rate, and kmax is the total number of sampling rates to be stored.", "In order for the equation in this Paragraph to divide to an integer, the number of samples Nk should be chosen such that they are a multiple of the least common multiple (LCM).", "In one implementation of the second exemplary embodiment, 1000 samples of newer data are stored at a one sample per second (1 s/sample) sampling rate (i.e., the first sampling rate), 2000 samples of older data are stored at a one sample every two seconds (2 s/sample) sampling rate (i.e., the second sampling rate), and 1000 samples of even older data are stored at a one sample per 10 seconds (10 s/sample) sampling rate (i.e., the third sampling rate In this implementation, the minimum address Addmin is zero, LCM is 10, and kmax is three.", "Therefore, the current data storage location address Adds proceeds as {100, 600, 700, 1200, 1300, 1800, 1900, 2400, 2500, 0, 99, 599, .", ".", ".", "}.", "A graphical representation of the data storage addresses over time can be seen in FIG.", "6, wherein the horizontal axis 600 reflects time (or Ts) and the vertical axis 602 reflects the data storage location addresses.", "The sampling rates and the quantity of data stored utilizing the second exemplary embodiment can be seen with reference to FIG.", "7.Specifically, the horizontal axis 700 represents time and the vertical axis 702 represents the number of data storage locations utilized.", "Three sections 704, 706, 708 of a curve (not separately numbered) represent the three different sampling rates utilized in the second exemplary embodiment.", "Specifically, section 704 represents 1000 samples stored at one sample every second, section 706 represents 2000 samples stored at one sample every two seconds, and section 708 represents 1000 samples stored at one sample every ten sections.", "Implementing the second exemplary embodiment described above also results in a memory having data at a plurality of sampling rates, while only recording data at one sampling rate, i.e., the first sampling rate.", "Moreover, the method of the second exemplary embodiment utilizes the same write rate at all data storage locations by cycling through the various spacing between writes at all memory locations.", "Referring again to FIG.", "3, the method 300 may also include, at 310, receiving an event notification.", "As one example, the event notification may be an indication of an impact event from an accelerometer.", "Other event notifications may occur due to an engine stall and/or a diagnostic code setting.", "Furthermore, those skilled in the art will appreciate numerous event notifications that may be generated and received.", "In response to receiving the event notification, the method 300 may further include, at 312, communicating the data stored in the memory locations 200 in response to receiving the event notification.", "The data stored in the memory locations 200 may be sent to the radio 110 for transmission to a remote server 112, in response to the event notification.", "In another exemplary embodiment (not shown), the data stored in the memory locations 200 may simply be written to another section of the memory 106 for later retrieval.", "By sending the data in response to an event notification, the data present at the time of the event may be analyzed to determine the cause of the event and/or the reaction to the event.", "In various embodiments, in the case of an event, the method 300 maintains and provides a record with varying retention rate (e.g., referring to retention of data) going back in time prior to the event.", "Specifically, in various embodiments, the method 300 does not modify the current logging rate in response to a current event, but rather provides a record with varying retention rate going back in time prior to the event.", "This can provide more robust and useful data, for example as compared with other techniques in which the logging rate is modified (e.g., because recording may terminate abruptly in the case of an event).", "In certain embodiments, the techniques disclosed herein may be expanded to include multiple event capability, by increasing the memory size and modifying Addmin after each event.", "In certain embodiments, even when events overlap, this method will provide sample rates that meet the desired rates for each event.", "This is not possible using current methods.", "Also in various embodiments, an event is not used as a triggering event to record data, but rather to extract information (including information prior to the event) for transfer.", "In comparison with other art of record (which may how a change of rate can occur after an event), the present disclosure provides a change in rate prior to an event.", "While at least one exemplary embodiment has been presented in the foregoing detailed description, it should be appreciated that a vast number of variations exist.", "It should also be appreciated that the exemplary embodiment or exemplary embodiments are only examples, and are not intended to limit the scope, applicability, or configuration of the disclosure in any way.", "Rather, the foregoing detailed description will provide those skilled in the art with a convenient road map for implementing the exemplary embodiment or exemplary embodiments.", "It should be understood that various changes can be made in the function and arrangement of elements without departing from the scope of the disclosure as set forth in the appended claims and the legal equivalents thereof." ] ]
Patent_15873064
[ [ "Portable Drug Mixing and Delivery Device and Associated Methods", "A telescoping portable drug mixing and delivery device configured to store a dry medication separately from a liquid component, wherein a tensile force applied between the housing and a cap opens a valve and causes displacement of a fluid from a first chamber to a second chamber while simultaneously mixing the fluid with a dry medicament prior to injection.", "An extendable needle guard is provided over the delivery assembly which prevents premature injection as well as inadvertent sticks or other cross contamination of a needle.", "The needle guard can also form part of a secondary trigger mechanism which injects the reconstituted drug after the mixing stage is complete." ], [ "1.A medication mixing and delivery device comprising: a housing; a first chamber, a second chamber, and a compression chamber located within the housing, wherein each chamber has a selectively changeable effective volume; a fluidic channel disposed between the first and second chambers; a seal positioned between the first chamber and the compression chamber; a movable body disposed between the first and second chamber; a mixing actuation device coupled to the movable body, wherein activation of the mixing actuation device facilitates: the selective reduction of the effective volume of the first chamber; the selective reduction of the effective volume of the compression chamber; and displacement of a liquid stored in the first chamber from the first chamber into the second chamber via the fluidic channel; and a delivery assembly configured to be in fluid communication with the second chamber.", "2.", "(canceled) 3.", "(canceled) 4.", "(canceled) 5.The medication mixing and delivery device of claim 1, further comprising a dynamic seal separating the first chamber from the compression chamber, wherein the dynamic seal is configured to flex or translate axially.", "6.The medication mixing and delivery device of claim 1, further comprising a mixing displacement device coupled to the movable body and wherein the mixing actuation device is activated through application of an axial tensile force, which axial tensile force releases a stop and allows the movable body and mixing displacement mechanism to translate in a first direction.", "7.The medication mixing and delivery device of claim 1, further comprising an intermediate stopping mechanism wherein the intermediate stopping mechanism prevents fluid communication from the second chamber to the delivery assembly prior to activating a delivery actuation device.", "8.The medication mixing and delivery device of claim 1, further including two independent and directionally opposing springs, wherein one spring is a mixing spring that is coupled to the mixing actuation device and upon triggering the mixing actuation device releases energy from the mixing spring that directs the movable body in a first direction, and wherein the other spring is a delivery spring that is coupled to a delivery actuation device and upon triggering the delivery actuation device releases energy that directs the movable body in a second direction.", "9.The medication mixing and delivery device of claim 7, further comprising a needle shield assembly, the needle shield assembly further comprising a needle shield and a needle shield spring, the needle shield spring biasing the needle shield in an extended position.", "10.The medication mixing and delivery device of claim 9, wherein the needle shield forms a part of the delivery actuation device, the delivery actuation device being configured to displace the movable body downward so as to displace the fluid out of the second chamber through the delivery assembly, and whereupon depressing the needle shield toward the housing triggers actuation of the delivery actuation device.", "11.", "(canceled) 12.The medication mixing and delivery device of claim 1, further comprising a delivery actuation device coupled to a delivery spring that upon activating the delivery actuation device causes energy from the delivery spring to be released and cause the movable body, which is coupled to a delivery displacement mechanism, to translate in an opposite direction of the movement initially facilitated by the mixing actuation device, thus facilitating displacement of liquid transferred to the second chamber from the first chamber to be displaced through the delivery assembly.", "13.The medication mixing and delivery device of claim of 1, wherein the compression chamber contains a gas and the chamber is configured to vent the gas upon activating the mixing actuation device.", "14.", "(canceled) 15.The medication mixing and delivery device of claim of 1, further comprising a delivery actuation device, and wherein the mixing actuation device and the delivery actuation device are each coupled to a multi-cam system.", "16.The medication mixing and delivery device of claim of 15, wherein the multi-cam system is comprised of a three-cam component.", "17.", "(canceled) 18.", "(canceled) 19.A medication mixing and delivery device comprising: a housing having a first chamber and a second chamber with selectively variable effective volumes; a first and second displacement component mechanically coupled to a multi-cam system; a pre-loaded energy source coupled to the multi-cam system; a first and second trigger coupled to the multi-cam system, wherein triggering the first trigger causes energy to be released from the pre-stored energy and direct the first displacement component to displace a liquid stored in the first chamber through a fluidic channel into the second chamber, and wherein triggering the second trigger releases additional energy that directs the second displacement component to displace liquid now stored in the second chamber to be displaced and exit through a delivery assembly that is in fluid communication with the second chamber.", "20.The medication and delivery device of claim 19, wherein the multi-cam system includes a three-cam component.", "21.The medication and delivery device of claim 19, wherein the pre-loaded energy source is comprised of a mixing spring and a delivery spring.", "22.The medication and delivery device of claim 21, wherein the delivery spring overcomes and recompresses the mixing spring during an injection step.", "23.The medication and delivery device of claim 19, further including a movable body disposed between the first and second chambers, wherein the movable body is coupled to the multi-cam system and is configured to rotate and translate about an axis.", "24.The medication and delivery device of claim 23, further comprising a needle shield assembly configured to form part of the second trigger.", "25.", "(canceled) 26.", "(canceled) 27.The medication and delivery device of claim 19, further including a compression chamber separated from the first chamber by a dynamic seal.", "28.A medication and delivery device comprising: a housing having a first chamber and a second chamber with selectively variable effective volumes; an actuation assembly further comprising: a first displacement component; a second displacement component; a first spring; a second spring; wherein a first actuation step of the actuation assembly releases energy stored in the first spring that drives the first displacement component in a first direction, and wherein a second actuation step of the actuation assembly releases energy stored in the second spring that drives the second displacement component in a second direction that is different that the first direction; and wherein the first actuation causes liquid to transfer from the first chamber to the second chamber, and wherein the second actuation causes fluid to transfer from the second chamber through a delivery assembly.", "29.", "(canceled) 30.", "(canceled) 31.", "(canceled) 32.The medication and delivery device of claim 28, wherein the first spring is configured to be in a pre-torqued and compressed state prior to the first actuation.", "33.", "(canceled)" ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION <EOH>Individuals who suffer from certain medical conditions are often required to keep an auto-injector or prefilled syringe nearby in order to address a medical need.", "A few examples of this are insulin pens for people with diabetes, epinephrine for those with food and insect stings allergies, and antidotes for soldiers at risk of exposure to chemical and/or biological toxins in the field.", "For example, an allergic reaction may occur in a location which is physically distant from the nearest hospital or medical facility.", "For example, bee stings, are more likely to occur outside than indoors.", "Food containing peanuts are more likely to be supplied to the individual away from a controlled home environment like at a baseball park.", "Having a portable epinephrine auto-injector nearby enables emergency intervention after an exposure to an allergen.", "Size is an issue when it comes to auto-injectors.", "Many owners of the devices are hesitant to carry their injector with them if it represents a burden, by providing injectors in more compact sizes it will make it more likely that they will.", "Shelf-life is also a large issue with respect to auto-injectors, which can be expensive and used fairly infrequently.", "For example, a user who has intense allergic reactions to shellfish can go years between exposures and subsequent injections.", "In such a case it can be easy to forget to replace the auto-injector after expiration, whereupon in an emergency, the drugs contained therein have expired and are either ineffective or have a greatly reduced effectiveness due to decomposition of the drugs contained therein.", "As will be appreciated by those having skill in the art, the shelf life can be increased by storing the desired medication in an unmixed and dry state and dissolved just prior to injection.", "This ability to store the wet and dry components separately within the device can increase the shelf life and thus increase the likelihood that the user will have an injector with effective dosages when an emergency arises.", "In such devices it is required that the mixing and reconstitution processes are consistent and complete prior to injection." ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION <EOH>It has been recognized that if a drug can be kept out of the liquid phase and stored as a dry medication, the shelf-life can be increased substantially while temperature susceptibility can be decreased substantially, thus allowing the efficacy and potency of the drug to endure longer and through harsher environments.", "It has been recognized that a smaller drug delivery device than a conventional epinephrine auto-injector, which could be attached to a key chain and/or easily fit in a person's pocket, would make the device easier to carry and more likely that the user will have it on their person when needed.", "Various structures are contemplated herein, which address many of the problems discussed above through the use of mixing structures, and actuation devices, which ensure proper storage integrity, and full mixing prior to injection.", "Contemplated herein is a medication mixing and delivery device, A medication mixing and delivery device which includes a housing which contains a first chamber, a second chamber, and a compression chamber located within the housing, wherein each chamber has a selectively changeable effective volume.", "A fluidic channel can be provided and disposed between the first and second chambers as well as a seal which can be positioned between the first chamber and the compression chamber.", "In addition, a movable body can be provided which is disposed between the first and second chamber.", "A mixing actuation device can then be coupled to the movable body, wherein activation of the mixing actuation device facilitates the selective reduction of the effective volume of the first chamber, the selective reduction of the effective volume of the compression chamber, and displacement of a liquid stored in the first chamber from the first chamber into the second chamber via the fluidic channel.", "Further, a delivery assembly can be provided in fluid communication with the second chamber and which facilitates delivery to the user, such as through a needle to an injection site.", "In some embodiments a dry medicament can be provided within the housing and outside the first chamber such as in the fluidic channel or within the second chamber.", "In yet additional embodiments the drug mixing and delivery device can include a fluidic bypass formed in a sidewall of the first chamber.", "In some such embodiments the fluidic channel can be provided through the movable body and is selectively placed into fluidic communication with the fluidic bypass upon translation of a mixing displacement mechanism, i.e.", "a plunger which can be affixed to the movable body.", "In yet additional embodiments the seal can be provided as a dynamic seal which is configured to flex or translate axially.", "In yet other embodiments a mixing displacement device can be coupled to the movable body, wherein the mixing actuation device is activated through application of an axial tensile force, which axial tensile force releases a stop and allows the movable body and mixing displacement mechanism to translate in a first direction.", "In yet additional embodiments an intermediate stopping mechanism can be provided wherein the intermediate stopping mechanism prevents fluid communication from the second chamber to the delivery assembly prior to activating a delivery actuation device.", "In some of the embodiments shown herein the drug mixing and delivery device of can further include two independent and directionally opposing springs, wherein one spring is a mixing spring that is coupled to the mixing actuation device and upon triggering the mixing actuation device releases energy from the mixing spring that directs the movable body in a first direction, and wherein the other spring is a delivery spring that is coupled to a delivery actuation device and upon triggering the delivery actuation device releases energy that directs the movable body in a second direction.", "In yet additional embodiments the medication mixing and delivery device can also include a needle shield assembly, the needle shield assembly having a needle shield and a needle shield spring, the needle shield spring biasing the needle shield in an extended position.", "In some such embodiments the needle shield forms a part of the delivery actuation device, the delivery actuation device being configured to displace the movable body downward so as to displace the fluid out of the second chamber through the delivery assembly, and whereupon depressing the needle shield toward the housing triggers actuation of the delivery actuation device.", "In additional embodiments the needle shield assembly further includes a locking mechanism, which is triggered after a first needle shield depression, and wherein the locking mechanism is configured to lock the needle shield in an extended position after being removed from an injection site.", "In yet additional embodiments an additional delivery actuation device can be provided which is also coupled to a delivery spring that, upon activating, the delivery actuation device causes energy from the delivery spring to be released and cause the movable body, which is coupled to a delivery displacement mechanism, to translate in an opposite direction of the movement initially facilitated by the mixing actuation device, thus facilitating displacement of liquid transferred to the second chamber from the first chamber to be displaced through the delivery assembly.", "In some embodiments the compression chamber can contain a gas and the chamber is configured to vent the gas upon activating the mixing actuation device, wherein the volume of gas contained therein is displaced in part by the dynamic seal.", "In yet additional embodiments the mixing and delivery device can include a delivery actuation device, and wherein the mixing actuation device and the delivery actuation device are each coupled to a multi-cam system.", "In some such embodiments the multi-cam system can include a plurality of camming features, ramps, etc.", "In yet additional embodiments the medication mixing and delivery device can include a mixing spring coupled to the mixing actuation device, wherein the mixing spring is initially stored in torsion and compression, and whereupon activating the mixing actuation device releases the torsional force and an extension force of the spring.", "In some such embodiments the mixing spring can be re-torqued prior to activating the delivery actuation device, wherein the torque released is directed to and rotates the movable body about an axis.", "In yet other embodiments a method for mixing and delivering a medication is contemplated wherein the steps of the method can include: activating a mixing actuation device of a medication mixing and delivery device that translates a movable body, wherein the medication mixing and delivery device includes: a housing; a first chamber, a second chamber and a compression chamber located within the housing, wherein each chamber has a selectively changeable effective volume; a fluidic channel disposed between the first and second chambers; a seal positioned between the first chamber and the compression chamber; the movable body disposed between the first and second chamber, the movable body being coupled to a mixing displacement mechanism; the mixing actuation device coupled to the movable body; and a delivery assembly configured to be in fluid communication with the second chamber; displacing the effective volume of the compression chamber by causing the mixing displacement mechanism coupled to the movable body to translate toward the dynamic seal; displacing a liquid stored in the first chamber through the fluidic channel into the second chamber; and displacing the liquid now stowed in the second chamber through the delivery device.", "In additional embodiments the method can further include the step of releasing a torsional and compression force stored in a mixing spring that is coupled to the mixing actuation device, wherein the compression force from the mixing spring provides energy for the movable body to translate toward the seal, wherein the released torsional force acts on and causes the movable body to rotate about an axis.", "In additional embodiments the method can further include the step of arming a delivery actuation device upon activation of the first actuation device by re-torqueing the mixing spring prior to displacing the liquid now stowed in the second chamber.", "In additional embodiments the method can further include the step of activating the delivery actuation device that is coupled to a delivery spring, whereupon activation of the delivery actuation device releases energy stored in the delivery spring and causes the movable body, which is coupled to delivery displacement device, to translate towards the second chamber and displace a liquid that was previously displaced from the first chamber through the delivery assembly.", "In additional embodiments the method can further include the step of mixing the liquid with a dry medicament stored in the housing outside of the first chamber prior to displacing the now mixed liquid through the delivery assembly.", "In additional embodiments the method can further include the step of activating the mixing actuation device step by pulling an extension trigger that releases a stop thereby allowing energy stored in a mixing spring to be released.", "In additional embodiments the step of displacing an effective volume from the compression results in either a gas stored in the compression chamber to be compressed or vented out through a vent.", "In yet additional embodiments a medication mixing and delivery device is contemplated which includes a housing; a compression chamber located within the housing and having a dynamic seal about one end; a first chamber located within the housing proximal a first end, wherein the first chamber further includes: an effective volume defined between a first displacement mechanism and the dynamic seal, the first displacement mechanism being configured to selectively reduce the effective volume of the first chamber; a fluidic bypass provided in a sidewall being configured to selectively bypass the first displacement mechanism; a second chamber located within the housing configured to receive a volume of liquid being displaced from the first chamber by the first displacement mechanism, the second chamber having an effective volume defined between a second displacement mechanism and an opposing wall; a movable body disposed between the first and second chamber, the movable body further being coupled to the first and second displacement mechanism; a mixing actuation device coupled to the movable body, wherein activation of the mixing actuation device displaces the movable body in a first direction which displacement causes the first displacement mechanism to reduce the effective volume of the first chamber; a delivery assembly configured to be in fluid communication with the second chamber; and a delivery actuation device coupled to a second trigger, wherein activation of the delivery actuation device displaces the movable body in a second direction which displacement causes the second displacement mechanism to reduce the effective volume of the second chamber.", "The second direction some instances is opposite of that of the first direction and in other instances it is in a direction that is different than the first direction.", "In some such embodiments the mixing actuation device can be activated through application of an axial tensile force, which axial tensile force is configured to release a first stop of the mixing actuation device and allows the movable body and first displacement mechanism to displace in the first direction, establish fluidic communication between the first and second chambers, and thus displace a liquid component from the first chamber, through at least the fluidic bypass, and into the second chamber.", "In yet additional embodiments a medication mixing and delivery device is contemplated which includes: a housing having a chamber, wherein a medicament is stored therein; a needle shield assembly that is coupled to a first actuation device, wherein the needle shield assembly is comprised of a needle shield and a pre-stored energy source, wherein the needle shield is initially positioned in a stowed state prior to activating the first actuation device, which first actuation device causes a first portion of the needle shield to extend indicating a ready state; a second actuation device coupled to the needle shield assembly, wherein the extended first portion functions as a trigger for the second actuation device and upon depressing the first portion activates the second actuation device; and a delivery assembly configured to be in fluid communication with the chamber.", "In some such embodiments activating the delivery actuation device can cause or establish fluidic communication between the chamber and the delivery mechanism, and further releases a locking mechanism that releases energy stored in the pre-stored energy source that directs the needle shield to extend to a position beyond that of the delivery assembly.", "In yet additional embodiments a medication mixing and delivery device is contemplated which includes: a housing; a first chamber and a second chamber located within the housing, wherein each chamber has a selectively changeable effective volume; a fluidic channel disposed between the first and second chambers; a movable body disposed between the first and second chamber; a mixing actuation assembly coupled to the movable body and a mixing spring, wherein activation of the actuation device facilitates the rotation and translation of the movable body about an axis, the selective reduction of the effective volume of the first chamber, and a transferring of liquid stored in the first chamber to be displaced from the first chamber and enter into the second chamber via the fluidic channel.", "This embodiment can further include a delivery assembly configured to be in fluid communication with the second chamber.", "In some such embodiments the medication mixing and delivery device can further include a torqueing component configured to cause torsion in the mixing spring during the actuation of the mixing actuation assembly.", "In some such embodiments the medication mixing and delivery device can further include a compression chamber separated from the first chamber by a dynamic seal.", "In some such embodiments the medication mixing and delivery device can further include a delivery actuation assembly configured to transfer fluid from the second chamber through the delivery assembly.", "In some such embodiments the delivery actuation can be coupled to an extendable trigger, whereupon triggering the extendable trigger causes the delivery actuation assembly to actuate wherein the mixing actuation assembly is coupled to the extendable trigger, and causes a portion of the extendable trigger to be extended during actuation of the mixing actuation assembly and wherein triggering the extendable trigger causes the mixing spring to release a torsional force.", "In some such embodiments depressing of the extendable trigger can cause energy from a pre-loaded needle assembly energy source to be released that extends a portion of the needle shield assembly to extend beyond the delivery assembly.", "In some such embodiments a locking mechanism can be provided that prevents the extended needle shield assembly from retracting after being extended beyond the delivery assembly.", "In some additional embodiments, the medication mixing and delivery device can further include a torqueing component in the form of a multi-cam system.", "In yet additional embodiments a method for mixing and delivering a medication, the method is contemplated which involves various steps, such steps including: releasing energy stored in a pre-torqued and pre-compressed mixing spring, wherein the release of energy causes a movable body, disposed between a first and second chamber disposed in the housing of a mixing device, to rotate and translate about an axis; displacing an effective volume of the first chamber with a displacement device coupled to the movable body; transferring a fluid stored in the first chamber through a fluidic channel to the second chamber; re-torqueing the mixing spring; releasing energy from the re-torqued spring that causes the movable body to rotate again; transferring fluid from a second chamber through a delivery assembly.", "This method can further include providing a delivery system coupled to the mixing device, wherein the delivery system includes a delivery actuation assembly coupled to the movable body.", "This method can further include extending a trigger coupled to the delivery actuation assembly; activating a trigger coupled to the delivery actuation assembly; and depressing the trigger, whereby energy is released from a delivery spring that causes the delivery actuation device to translate the movable body.", "In yet additional embodiments a medication mixing and delivery device is contemplated which includes: a housing having a first chamber and a second chamber with selectively variable effective volumes; a first and second displacement component mechanically coupled to a multi-cam system; a pre-loaded energy source coupled to the multi-cam system; a first and second trigger coupled to the multi-cam system, wherein triggering the first trigger causes energy to be released from the pre-stored energy and direct the first displacement component to displace a liquid stored in the first chamber through a fluidic channel into the second chamber, and wherein triggering the second trigger releases additional energy that directs the second displacement component to displace liquid now stored in the second chamber to be displaced and exit through a delivery assembly that is in fluid communication with the second chamber.", "In some such devices the multi-cam system can include a three-cam component.", "Additionally some such devices a mixing spring and a delivery spring which function as pre-loaded energy sources for driving the various steps or moving into the various states.", "In yet additional embodiments the medication and delivery device can further include a movable body disposed between the first and second chambers, wherein the movable body is coupled to the multi-cam system and is configured to rotate and translate about an axis.", "In yet additional embodiments the medication and delivery device a needle shield assembly can be incorporated into the second trigger, wherein the multi-cam system allows the second trigger to partially extend upon release of energy from the pre-loaded energy source.", "In some such embodiments the needle shield of the needle shield assembly can be configured to extend beyond the delivery assembly upon depressing the second trigger.", "In yet another embodiment a medication and delivery device comprises a housing having a first chamber and a second chamber with selectively variable effective volumes; a first and second displacement component coupled to a single actuation assembly that is coupled to a first and second spring, wherein actuating the actuation assembly a first time releases energy stored in the first spring that drives the first displacement component in a first direction, and wherein actuating the actuation assembly a second time releases energy stored in the second spring that drives the second displacement component in a second direction that is different that the first direction, wherein the first actuation causes liquid to transfer from the first chamber to the second chamber, and wherein the second actuation causes fluid to transfer from the second chamber through a delivery assembly.", "Alternative methods can include various manufacturing and assembly steps for a mixing and delivering device, such methods including various steps such as: providing a needle shield; extending the needle shield in response to the mixing actuation, wherein a subsequent depression of the needle shield causes initiates the delivery actuation.", "These aspects of the invention are not meant to be exclusive and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art when read in conjunction with the following description, appended claims, and accompanying drawings.", "Further, it will be appreciated that any of the various features, structures, steps, or other aspects discussed herein are for purposes of illustration only, any of which can be applied in any combination with any such features as discussed in alternative embodiments, as appropriate." ], [ "CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims the benefit of each of the following co-pending applications: U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "15/108,697 filed on Aug. 1, 2018, and all priority claimed applications claimed therefrom, which are all herein incorporated by reference in their entirety.", "FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates generally to auto-injectors and prefilled syringes and more particularly to auto-injectors that store in a compact state and allow for formation or reconstitution of a therapeutic agent for injection.", "BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Individuals who suffer from certain medical conditions are often required to keep an auto-injector or prefilled syringe nearby in order to address a medical need.", "A few examples of this are insulin pens for people with diabetes, epinephrine for those with food and insect stings allergies, and antidotes for soldiers at risk of exposure to chemical and/or biological toxins in the field.", "For example, an allergic reaction may occur in a location which is physically distant from the nearest hospital or medical facility.", "For example, bee stings, are more likely to occur outside than indoors.", "Food containing peanuts are more likely to be supplied to the individual away from a controlled home environment like at a baseball park.", "Having a portable epinephrine auto-injector nearby enables emergency intervention after an exposure to an allergen.", "Size is an issue when it comes to auto-injectors.", "Many owners of the devices are hesitant to carry their injector with them if it represents a burden, by providing injectors in more compact sizes it will make it more likely that they will.", "Shelf-life is also a large issue with respect to auto-injectors, which can be expensive and used fairly infrequently.", "For example, a user who has intense allergic reactions to shellfish can go years between exposures and subsequent injections.", "In such a case it can be easy to forget to replace the auto-injector after expiration, whereupon in an emergency, the drugs contained therein have expired and are either ineffective or have a greatly reduced effectiveness due to decomposition of the drugs contained therein.", "As will be appreciated by those having skill in the art, the shelf life can be increased by storing the desired medication in an unmixed and dry state and dissolved just prior to injection.", "This ability to store the wet and dry components separately within the device can increase the shelf life and thus increase the likelihood that the user will have an injector with effective dosages when an emergency arises.", "In such devices it is required that the mixing and reconstitution processes are consistent and complete prior to injection.", "SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It has been recognized that if a drug can be kept out of the liquid phase and stored as a dry medication, the shelf-life can be increased substantially while temperature susceptibility can be decreased substantially, thus allowing the efficacy and potency of the drug to endure longer and through harsher environments.", "It has been recognized that a smaller drug delivery device than a conventional epinephrine auto-injector, which could be attached to a key chain and/or easily fit in a person's pocket, would make the device easier to carry and more likely that the user will have it on their person when needed.", "Various structures are contemplated herein, which address many of the problems discussed above through the use of mixing structures, and actuation devices, which ensure proper storage integrity, and full mixing prior to injection.", "Contemplated herein is a medication mixing and delivery device, A medication mixing and delivery device which includes a housing which contains a first chamber, a second chamber, and a compression chamber located within the housing, wherein each chamber has a selectively changeable effective volume.", "A fluidic channel can be provided and disposed between the first and second chambers as well as a seal which can be positioned between the first chamber and the compression chamber.", "In addition, a movable body can be provided which is disposed between the first and second chamber.", "A mixing actuation device can then be coupled to the movable body, wherein activation of the mixing actuation device facilitates the selective reduction of the effective volume of the first chamber, the selective reduction of the effective volume of the compression chamber, and displacement of a liquid stored in the first chamber from the first chamber into the second chamber via the fluidic channel.", "Further, a delivery assembly can be provided in fluid communication with the second chamber and which facilitates delivery to the user, such as through a needle to an injection site.", "In some embodiments a dry medicament can be provided within the housing and outside the first chamber such as in the fluidic channel or within the second chamber.", "In yet additional embodiments the drug mixing and delivery device can include a fluidic bypass formed in a sidewall of the first chamber.", "In some such embodiments the fluidic channel can be provided through the movable body and is selectively placed into fluidic communication with the fluidic bypass upon translation of a mixing displacement mechanism, i.e.", "a plunger which can be affixed to the movable body.", "In yet additional embodiments the seal can be provided as a dynamic seal which is configured to flex or translate axially.", "In yet other embodiments a mixing displacement device can be coupled to the movable body, wherein the mixing actuation device is activated through application of an axial tensile force, which axial tensile force releases a stop and allows the movable body and mixing displacement mechanism to translate in a first direction.", "In yet additional embodiments an intermediate stopping mechanism can be provided wherein the intermediate stopping mechanism prevents fluid communication from the second chamber to the delivery assembly prior to activating a delivery actuation device.", "In some of the embodiments shown herein the drug mixing and delivery device of can further include two independent and directionally opposing springs, wherein one spring is a mixing spring that is coupled to the mixing actuation device and upon triggering the mixing actuation device releases energy from the mixing spring that directs the movable body in a first direction, and wherein the other spring is a delivery spring that is coupled to a delivery actuation device and upon triggering the delivery actuation device releases energy that directs the movable body in a second direction.", "In yet additional embodiments the medication mixing and delivery device can also include a needle shield assembly, the needle shield assembly having a needle shield and a needle shield spring, the needle shield spring biasing the needle shield in an extended position.", "In some such embodiments the needle shield forms a part of the delivery actuation device, the delivery actuation device being configured to displace the movable body downward so as to displace the fluid out of the second chamber through the delivery assembly, and whereupon depressing the needle shield toward the housing triggers actuation of the delivery actuation device.", "In additional embodiments the needle shield assembly further includes a locking mechanism, which is triggered after a first needle shield depression, and wherein the locking mechanism is configured to lock the needle shield in an extended position after being removed from an injection site.", "In yet additional embodiments an additional delivery actuation device can be provided which is also coupled to a delivery spring that, upon activating, the delivery actuation device causes energy from the delivery spring to be released and cause the movable body, which is coupled to a delivery displacement mechanism, to translate in an opposite direction of the movement initially facilitated by the mixing actuation device, thus facilitating displacement of liquid transferred to the second chamber from the first chamber to be displaced through the delivery assembly.", "In some embodiments the compression chamber can contain a gas and the chamber is configured to vent the gas upon activating the mixing actuation device, wherein the volume of gas contained therein is displaced in part by the dynamic seal.", "In yet additional embodiments the mixing and delivery device can include a delivery actuation device, and wherein the mixing actuation device and the delivery actuation device are each coupled to a multi-cam system.", "In some such embodiments the multi-cam system can include a plurality of camming features, ramps, etc.", "In yet additional embodiments the medication mixing and delivery device can include a mixing spring coupled to the mixing actuation device, wherein the mixing spring is initially stored in torsion and compression, and whereupon activating the mixing actuation device releases the torsional force and an extension force of the spring.", "In some such embodiments the mixing spring can be re-torqued prior to activating the delivery actuation device, wherein the torque released is directed to and rotates the movable body about an axis.", "In yet other embodiments a method for mixing and delivering a medication is contemplated wherein the steps of the method can include: activating a mixing actuation device of a medication mixing and delivery device that translates a movable body, wherein the medication mixing and delivery device includes: a housing; a first chamber, a second chamber and a compression chamber located within the housing, wherein each chamber has a selectively changeable effective volume; a fluidic channel disposed between the first and second chambers; a seal positioned between the first chamber and the compression chamber; the movable body disposed between the first and second chamber, the movable body being coupled to a mixing displacement mechanism; the mixing actuation device coupled to the movable body; and a delivery assembly configured to be in fluid communication with the second chamber; displacing the effective volume of the compression chamber by causing the mixing displacement mechanism coupled to the movable body to translate toward the dynamic seal; displacing a liquid stored in the first chamber through the fluidic channel into the second chamber; and displacing the liquid now stowed in the second chamber through the delivery device.", "In additional embodiments the method can further include the step of releasing a torsional and compression force stored in a mixing spring that is coupled to the mixing actuation device, wherein the compression force from the mixing spring provides energy for the movable body to translate toward the seal, wherein the released torsional force acts on and causes the movable body to rotate about an axis.", "In additional embodiments the method can further include the step of arming a delivery actuation device upon activation of the first actuation device by re-torqueing the mixing spring prior to displacing the liquid now stowed in the second chamber.", "In additional embodiments the method can further include the step of activating the delivery actuation device that is coupled to a delivery spring, whereupon activation of the delivery actuation device releases energy stored in the delivery spring and causes the movable body, which is coupled to delivery displacement device, to translate towards the second chamber and displace a liquid that was previously displaced from the first chamber through the delivery assembly.", "In additional embodiments the method can further include the step of mixing the liquid with a dry medicament stored in the housing outside of the first chamber prior to displacing the now mixed liquid through the delivery assembly.", "In additional embodiments the method can further include the step of activating the mixing actuation device step by pulling an extension trigger that releases a stop thereby allowing energy stored in a mixing spring to be released.", "In additional embodiments the step of displacing an effective volume from the compression results in either a gas stored in the compression chamber to be compressed or vented out through a vent.", "In yet additional embodiments a medication mixing and delivery device is contemplated which includes a housing; a compression chamber located within the housing and having a dynamic seal about one end; a first chamber located within the housing proximal a first end, wherein the first chamber further includes: an effective volume defined between a first displacement mechanism and the dynamic seal, the first displacement mechanism being configured to selectively reduce the effective volume of the first chamber; a fluidic bypass provided in a sidewall being configured to selectively bypass the first displacement mechanism; a second chamber located within the housing configured to receive a volume of liquid being displaced from the first chamber by the first displacement mechanism, the second chamber having an effective volume defined between a second displacement mechanism and an opposing wall; a movable body disposed between the first and second chamber, the movable body further being coupled to the first and second displacement mechanism; a mixing actuation device coupled to the movable body, wherein activation of the mixing actuation device displaces the movable body in a first direction which displacement causes the first displacement mechanism to reduce the effective volume of the first chamber; a delivery assembly configured to be in fluid communication with the second chamber; and a delivery actuation device coupled to a second trigger, wherein activation of the delivery actuation device displaces the movable body in a second direction which displacement causes the second displacement mechanism to reduce the effective volume of the second chamber.", "The second direction some instances is opposite of that of the first direction and in other instances it is in a direction that is different than the first direction.", "In some such embodiments the mixing actuation device can be activated through application of an axial tensile force, which axial tensile force is configured to release a first stop of the mixing actuation device and allows the movable body and first displacement mechanism to displace in the first direction, establish fluidic communication between the first and second chambers, and thus displace a liquid component from the first chamber, through at least the fluidic bypass, and into the second chamber.", "In yet additional embodiments a medication mixing and delivery device is contemplated which includes: a housing having a chamber, wherein a medicament is stored therein; a needle shield assembly that is coupled to a first actuation device, wherein the needle shield assembly is comprised of a needle shield and a pre-stored energy source, wherein the needle shield is initially positioned in a stowed state prior to activating the first actuation device, which first actuation device causes a first portion of the needle shield to extend indicating a ready state; a second actuation device coupled to the needle shield assembly, wherein the extended first portion functions as a trigger for the second actuation device and upon depressing the first portion activates the second actuation device; and a delivery assembly configured to be in fluid communication with the chamber.", "In some such embodiments activating the delivery actuation device can cause or establish fluidic communication between the chamber and the delivery mechanism, and further releases a locking mechanism that releases energy stored in the pre-stored energy source that directs the needle shield to extend to a position beyond that of the delivery assembly.", "In yet additional embodiments a medication mixing and delivery device is contemplated which includes: a housing; a first chamber and a second chamber located within the housing, wherein each chamber has a selectively changeable effective volume; a fluidic channel disposed between the first and second chambers; a movable body disposed between the first and second chamber; a mixing actuation assembly coupled to the movable body and a mixing spring, wherein activation of the actuation device facilitates the rotation and translation of the movable body about an axis, the selective reduction of the effective volume of the first chamber, and a transferring of liquid stored in the first chamber to be displaced from the first chamber and enter into the second chamber via the fluidic channel.", "This embodiment can further include a delivery assembly configured to be in fluid communication with the second chamber.", "In some such embodiments the medication mixing and delivery device can further include a torqueing component configured to cause torsion in the mixing spring during the actuation of the mixing actuation assembly.", "In some such embodiments the medication mixing and delivery device can further include a compression chamber separated from the first chamber by a dynamic seal.", "In some such embodiments the medication mixing and delivery device can further include a delivery actuation assembly configured to transfer fluid from the second chamber through the delivery assembly.", "In some such embodiments the delivery actuation can be coupled to an extendable trigger, whereupon triggering the extendable trigger causes the delivery actuation assembly to actuate wherein the mixing actuation assembly is coupled to the extendable trigger, and causes a portion of the extendable trigger to be extended during actuation of the mixing actuation assembly and wherein triggering the extendable trigger causes the mixing spring to release a torsional force.", "In some such embodiments depressing of the extendable trigger can cause energy from a pre-loaded needle assembly energy source to be released that extends a portion of the needle shield assembly to extend beyond the delivery assembly.", "In some such embodiments a locking mechanism can be provided that prevents the extended needle shield assembly from retracting after being extended beyond the delivery assembly.", "In some additional embodiments, the medication mixing and delivery device can further include a torqueing component in the form of a multi-cam system.", "In yet additional embodiments a method for mixing and delivering a medication, the method is contemplated which involves various steps, such steps including: releasing energy stored in a pre-torqued and pre-compressed mixing spring, wherein the release of energy causes a movable body, disposed between a first and second chamber disposed in the housing of a mixing device, to rotate and translate about an axis; displacing an effective volume of the first chamber with a displacement device coupled to the movable body; transferring a fluid stored in the first chamber through a fluidic channel to the second chamber; re-torqueing the mixing spring; releasing energy from the re-torqued spring that causes the movable body to rotate again; transferring fluid from a second chamber through a delivery assembly.", "This method can further include providing a delivery system coupled to the mixing device, wherein the delivery system includes a delivery actuation assembly coupled to the movable body.", "This method can further include extending a trigger coupled to the delivery actuation assembly; activating a trigger coupled to the delivery actuation assembly; and depressing the trigger, whereby energy is released from a delivery spring that causes the delivery actuation device to translate the movable body.", "In yet additional embodiments a medication mixing and delivery device is contemplated which includes: a housing having a first chamber and a second chamber with selectively variable effective volumes; a first and second displacement component mechanically coupled to a multi-cam system; a pre-loaded energy source coupled to the multi-cam system; a first and second trigger coupled to the multi-cam system, wherein triggering the first trigger causes energy to be released from the pre-stored energy and direct the first displacement component to displace a liquid stored in the first chamber through a fluidic channel into the second chamber, and wherein triggering the second trigger releases additional energy that directs the second displacement component to displace liquid now stored in the second chamber to be displaced and exit through a delivery assembly that is in fluid communication with the second chamber.", "In some such devices the multi-cam system can include a three-cam component.", "Additionally some such devices a mixing spring and a delivery spring which function as pre-loaded energy sources for driving the various steps or moving into the various states.", "In yet additional embodiments the medication and delivery device can further include a movable body disposed between the first and second chambers, wherein the movable body is coupled to the multi-cam system and is configured to rotate and translate about an axis.", "In yet additional embodiments the medication and delivery device a needle shield assembly can be incorporated into the second trigger, wherein the multi-cam system allows the second trigger to partially extend upon release of energy from the pre-loaded energy source.", "In some such embodiments the needle shield of the needle shield assembly can be configured to extend beyond the delivery assembly upon depressing the second trigger.", "In yet another embodiment a medication and delivery device comprises a housing having a first chamber and a second chamber with selectively variable effective volumes; a first and second displacement component coupled to a single actuation assembly that is coupled to a first and second spring, wherein actuating the actuation assembly a first time releases energy stored in the first spring that drives the first displacement component in a first direction, and wherein actuating the actuation assembly a second time releases energy stored in the second spring that drives the second displacement component in a second direction that is different that the first direction, wherein the first actuation causes liquid to transfer from the first chamber to the second chamber, and wherein the second actuation causes fluid to transfer from the second chamber through a delivery assembly.", "Alternative methods can include various manufacturing and assembly steps for a mixing and delivering device, such methods including various steps such as: providing a needle shield; extending the needle shield in response to the mixing actuation, wherein a subsequent depression of the needle shield causes initiates the delivery actuation.", "These aspects of the invention are not meant to be exclusive and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art when read in conjunction with the following description, appended claims, and accompanying drawings.", "Further, it will be appreciated that any of the various features, structures, steps, or other aspects discussed herein are for purposes of illustration only, any of which can be applied in any combination with any such features as discussed in alternative embodiments, as appropriate.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The foregoing and other objects, features, and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description of particular embodiments of the invention, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which like reference characters refer to the same parts throughout the different views.", "The drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating the principles of the invention, wherein: FIGS.", "1A-E illustrate a portable drug mixing and delivery device in accordance with various aspects of the present invention; FIGS.", "2A-E illustrate another portable drug mixing and delivery device in accordance with additional aspects of the present invention; FIG.", "3 illustrates an exploded view of the portable drug mixing and delivery devices illustrated in FIGS.", "2A-E; FIGS.", "4A-F illustrate various cross-sectional views of a portable drug mixing and delivery device in accordance with the embodiments of either FIGS.", "1A-E or FIGS.", "2A-E; FIGS.", "5A-D illustrate a mixing assembly for use in either of the portable drug mixing and delivery devices illustrated in FIGS.", "1A-E or FIGS.", "2A-E; FIGS.", "6A-F illustrate various stages of a mixing mechanism and process which is applicable to either of the portable drug mixing and delivery devices illustrated in FIGS.", "1A-E or FIGS.", "2A-E; FIGS.", "7A-G illustrate various stages of an arming and needle shield extension mechanism and process which is applicable to either of the portable drug mixing and delivery devices illustrated in FIGS.", "1A-E or FIGS.", "2A-E; FIGS.", "8A-B illustrate various front and side views of a movable body and an associated cam ring mechanism for use in either of the portable drug mixing and delivery devices illustrated in FIGS.", "1A-E or FIGS.", "2A-E; FIGS.", "9A-B illustrate various perspective and cross-sectional views of a needle shield for use in either of the portable drug mixing and delivery devices illustrated in FIGS.", "1A-E or FIGS.", "2A-E; FIGS.", "10A-D illustrate various stages of a firing mechanism and process which is applicable to either of the portable drug mixing and delivery devices illustrated in FIGS.", "1A-E or FIGS.", "2A-E; FIG.", "11 illustrates a fluidic channel insert which is adaptable for use in either of the portable drug mixing and delivery devices illustrated in FIGS.", "1A-E or FIGS.", "2A-E; FIGS.", "12A-B illustrate exploded perspective views of yet another embodiment of a portable drug mixing and delivery device in accordance with various aspects of the present invention as well as a mixing assembly for use therein; FIGS.", "13A-C illustrate partial perspective cut away views of the portable drug mixing and delivery device of embodiment of FIGS.", "12A-B which illustrate various mixing actuation steps which further illustrate various aspects of the present invention; FIGS.", "14A-C illustrate partial side cross-sectional views of the portable drug mixing and delivery device of embodiment of FIGS.", "12A-B which illustrate various mixing actuation steps which further illustrate various aspects of the present invention; FIGS.", "15A-C illustrate partial side cross sectional views of the portable drug mixing and delivery device of embodiment of FIGS.", "12A-B which illustrate various mixing actuation steps which further illustrate various aspects of the present invention; and FIGS.", "16A-D illustrate partial side cut away views of the portable drug mixing and delivery device of embodiment of FIGS.", "12A-B which illustrate various injection actuation steps which further illustrate various aspects of the present invention.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION It will be appreciated by those having skill in the area of fabrication and storage of drugs, that the lifespan and effectiveness of the drug can be increased substantially by keeping the medication in a dry state.", "Storage in a dry state also decreases the rate of degeneration as well as the degenerative effects of temperature, for example heat exposure.", "By keeping the drug in a dry state, the breadth of environments where the device can be stored is increased while decreasing the frequency of required replacement.", "The present invention illustrates various principles and devices which allow for the storage of a device having two or more components contained therein but which can quickly and reliably reconstitute, dissolve, fluidize, and/or put into a suspension, the components, i.e.", "mix them, immediately prior to delivery.", "As such, a system and method for storing and/or mixing a dry medicament component with a wet component for delivery to a user is contemplated herein.", "As illustrated in FIGS.", "1A-E and FIGS.", "2A-E.", "The system can include an auto-injector, 10 and 20, which illustrate a stowed state in FIGS.", "1A and 2A.", "The auto injector, 10 or 20, is activated by pulling or extending the device, which extension initiates and actuates a first mixing step, as shown in FIGS.", "1B and 2B.", "Once mixing is complete, a needle shield is released and permitted to extend, as shown in FIGS.", "1C and 2C, wherein a subsequent re-depression of the needle shield operates as a trigger for an injection step which operates to eject the needle and inject the mixed drug to an injection site, as shown in FIGS.", "1D and 2D.", "As the auto injector device is pulled away from the injection site the needle shield is automatically extended and locked into the extended state, blocking the needle, so as to minimize the visibility of the needle pre and post injection, and thus prevent accidental sticks to the user or others in the vicinity.", "A locking mechanism can thus be provided so as to lock the needle shield in the extended position.", "In one embodiment the extended arms of the needle shield can be caused to interfere with corresponding protrusions within the housing, or alternatively the needle shield can be provided with radially outward biased tabs which lock into a corresponding slot in the housing.", "With reference to FIG.", "3, shown is an exploded view of an auto injector assembly 10 and internal mixing assembly 15, which illustrates the various individual components and will be helpful in explaining the interplay between the various components below.", "The auto injector assembly 10 can include an external housing 100.A needle shield 150 can have a needle shield spring 50 which can be biased so as to extend the needle shield 150 axially with respect to the housing 100 in a downward or injection direction.", "The upper end of the housing can be provided with a hanger retention clip 72 and a telescoping component 130, wherein the telescoping component 130 can be pulled and extended with respect to the housing 100 so as to initiate and actuate a mixing step, which mixing step will be discussed in more detail below.", "The mixing assembly 15 can include a plurality of vials 200 and 400 with a movable body 300 disposed there between.", "The movable body 300 can have an actuation device in the form of a cam ring 350 disposed thereon, wherein the cam ring 350 facilitates movement of plungers 210 and 312 into the first and second vials 200 and 400 respectively during mixing and subsequent injection steps.", "A mixing spring 40 can facilitate axial and rotational motion of certain steps of the cam ring 350 and an injection spring 60 can facilitate downward axial displacement of the entire mixing assembly 15 during an injection step which can cause an injection assembly to extend, i.e.", "the needle 410 to pierce the membrane 412, wherein the mixed drug can then be ejected through the needle 410 and into an injection site.", "The injection assembly 15 can further include a dynamic seal 250 and a vial sleeve 270 and a hanger 70 that will be discussed in greater detail below as they relate to the mixing and injection steps.", "Additionally, the vial 200 can be provided with a fluidic bypass 202 which structure and functionality will be discussed in more detail below.", "With reference to FIGS.", "4A-F and FIGS.", "5A-D shown is an exemplary embodiment of an auto-injector 10 and a mixing assembly 15 contained therein in accordance with various aspects of the present invention embodiment which illustrates various states through the actuation of the auto-injector from a stowed to an injected state.", "The auto-injector 10 can include a housing 100 which houses a plurality of vials 200 and 400, which can form first and second chambers 201 and 401 respectively.", "The first chamber 201 can be defined as a space between a first plunger 210 and a dynamic seal 250 within the first vial 200.This first chamber 201 can be configured to initially hold a first component of an unmixed medicament.", "The second chamber 401 can be defined as a space between a second plunger 312 and a bottom and side-walls of the second vial 400.This second chamber 401 can be configured to initially hold a second component of an unmixed medicament.", "A fluidic channel 310 can be provided between the first and second chambers through a movable body 300, which separates the two chambers.", "The fluidic channel 310 can provide selective fluidic communication between the first and second chambers by means of axially translating the movable body 300 with respect to the first vial 200, which will be discussed in more detail below.", "In order to initiate change from a stowed state, as shown in FIG.", "4A, to a mixed state, as shown in FIG.", "4D, a telescoping component 130 can be extended with respect to the housing 100, the extension causing a portion of the telescoping component 130 to interact with various actuating mechanisms of the movable body 300 causing it to translate axially with respect to the first vial, establish fluidic communication between the first and second chambers, and move the first plunger 210 thus reducing the effective volume of the first chamber and displacing the first component through the fluidic channel 310 and into the second chamber 401.This displacement can cause the first component of the medicament to mix with the second component of the medicament, i.e.", "a dry medicament, which second component can be stored within the fluidic channel 310 or within the second vial 400 itself In the embodiments shown the dry medicament can be contained within a second chamber 401 or within a fluidic channel 310 which connects the two chambers, or within a recess formed at an opening or outlet thereof.", "The orientation of this embodiment includes a movable body 300 which pushes a first plunger 210 or other displacement mechanism upwards into the first chamber 201.It will be appreciated that, with respect to gasses, most fluids are considered incompressible.", "In order to facilitate upward motion of the first plunger 210 or displacement mechanism, and the fluid contained within the first chamber 201, a third plunger or dynamic seal 250 and a compression chamber 252 can be provided wherein a compressible gas is provided within the compression chamber 252 or the gas contained therein is permitted to exit the compression chamber 252 freely.", "In some embodiments, as shown, the dynamic seal 250 can be provided as a movable plunger.", "In yet additional embodiments the dynamic seal can be provided as a flexible membrane that is allowed to stretch, deform, or otherwise conform in response to an increase in pressure in the first chamber 201, so as to allow upward translation of the first displacement mechanism or plunger 210.The upward translation of the first plunger 210 creates a pressure on the incompressible fluid of the first medicament component which presses on the dynamic seal 250 or secondary movable wall, causing the dynamic seal to translate upward and allowing both the dynamic seal and the first plunger 210 to each translate upward in the direction of the compression chamber 252 until a plunger channel 212 aligns with a fluidic bypass channel 202 formed in a sidewall of the first vial 200.Once the plunger channel 212 is aligned, fluidic communication is established between the first chamber 201 and the second chamber 401 and the fluid or first medicament component is permitted to be displaced through the plunger channel 212, through the fluidic channel 310, and into the second chamber 401 as the first plunger 210, or other displacement mechanism, reduces the effective volume of the first chamber 201.It will be appreciated that the fluidic bypass channel 202 is sufficient in length in an axial direction such that it can circumvent the first plunger 210 along then entire length of upward travel of the first plunger 210 within the first vial 200 until the effective volume of the first chamber is reduced to near zero by the first plunger being displaced upward by the movable body 300.In the embodiment shown, the plunger channel 212 can be provided as a radially disposed slot on its bottom surface so as to allow fluid to travel from the bypass channel 202 which is located about the perimeter of the first vial 200, to the inlet of the fluidic channel 310, which is located about a central portion of the movable body and into the second chamber 401.In the embodiment shown, as the movable body is displaced upward, and mixing is achieved through the displacement of the movable body in an upward axial direction with respect to the housing, which can be facilitated by a mixing spring 40, the upward motion of the movable body 300 can effectuate the release of a stop, which will be discussed in more detail below, which interferes with the extension of the needle shield 150.In this manner, the needle shield 150 can be extended and serve as a secondary trigger for triggering the device to move from the mixed state to injected state.", "In the embodiments shown, the needle shield 150 can be provided with a needle shield spring 50 which can effectuate such extension and arming of the second trigger step.", "In reference to FIGS.", "6A-F, shown is various stages of a mixing operation and the associated actuation associated therewith.", "As shown in FIG.", "6A, the auto injector 10 will be changed from a stowed state by pulling upward on a telescoping component 130 or in other words exerting a tensile force between the telescoping component 130 and the housing 100.The application of this tensile force acts as a first trigger mechanism and causing the telescoping component 130 to translate axially with respect to the housing.", "The telescoping component 130 includes one or more extensions 134 which extend into the housing 100.The extensions 134 then further include a protrusion 138, which engages and interacts with the cam ring 350 of the movable body.", "The cam ring 350 includes a mixing cam ramp 354 wherein axial extension of the telescoping component, causes an upward motion of the protrusion 138 which in turn causes a rotation of the cam ring 350 as well as the movable body 300.The cam ring 350 can then further include an inward radial protrusion 352 which rests on a stop 274 of the vial sleeve 270 in a stowed state.", "The rotation imparted to the cam ring 350 by the protrusion 138 causes the inward radial protrusion 352 to rotate off of the stop 274 and into a channel 272 which allows for axial translation of the movable body with respect to the first vial and the vial sleeve 270.This radial translation can be effectuated by a biased mixing spring 40 which pushes the movable body 300 upward upon rotation of the inward radial protrusion 352 off of the stop 274 and into the channel 272.In the embodiments shown, the drug delivery and mixing device 10 or 20 can include a mixing spring 40 disposed between the movable body 300 and the vial sleeve 270.This spring is initially biased so as to maintain the inward protrusion 352 onto the stop ledge 274 so as to maintain the device in a locked and unmixed stowed state.", "Upon pulling of the telescoping component 130 the torsional bias is overcome so as to rotate the inward protrusion 352 from the ledge 274 and into the channel 272.At this point the cam ring 350 is allowed to translate upward.", "This upward translation allows a simultaneous release of the needle shield 150, arming of a second trigger, and mixing of the various drug components by displacing the contents of the first vial into the second vial, as discussed above.", "Now with reference to FIGS.", "7A-G, shown is a partial perspective view of an auto-injector 10 which illustrates a concurrent step of mixing and extending the needle shield 150.In the illustrated embodiments, the extension of the needle shield 150 also serves as an indicator that the device is armed, wherein the movable body 300 is extended completely upward thus displacing the first component from the first chamber to the second chamber, which complete upward displacement simultaneously allows for extension of the needle shield thus signifying an injection-ready state.", "In the stowed state, the cam ring 350 is initially in an interference position with a one or more radially outward oriented protrusions 154 provided on one or more arms of the needle shield which extends into the housing 100.The housing has corresponding notches 104 provided in a sidewall, which notches are configured to receive the one or more outward oriented protrusions 154 in a stowed state.", "In this stowed state, the cam ring 350 abuts against the back side of the outward oriented protrusions 154 which provides interference to, and thus prohibits the outward oriented protrusions 154 from deflecting inward and allowing the needle shield 150 to be extended.", "However, by rotating the cam ring 350, as discussed above, by pulling the telescoping component 130, as shown in FIG.", "7A, the cam ring is then allowed to translate upward, moving the movable body, and corresponding plunger into the first chamber.", "In the embodiment shown, the cam ring has a sufficient width such that, one the movable body is pushed completely upward, the lower edge of the cam ring then clears the upper edge of the extensions on which the outward oriented pair of protrusions 154 resides, and the needle shield spring 50 provides a requisite force to cause the inward deflection of the outward oriented pair of protrusions 154 and the outward oriented pair of protrusions 154 can slide downward in an extended position into a lower slot 106 in the sidewall of the housing, as shown in FIG.", "7E.", "It will be appreciated that the lower slot 106 is larger so as to allow depression and extension into a locked outward position during the injection step.", "Further, the needle shield 150 can be provided with an upper arm extension and hook 158 which initially interfere with one or more corresponding protrusions 278 provided on the vial sleeve 270, which interference prevents the needle shield 150 from being extended prior to completion of the mixing step.", "The hook 158 can also be configured so as to interfere with an interior portion of the housing after injection, so as to prevent the needle shield from being fully removed from the housing after injection and any potential contamination by the used needle thereafter.", "Once the needle shield 150 is extended such that the outward oriented pair of protrusions 154 are pushed into the lower slot 106, a subsequent depression of the needle shield is configured to function as a second trigger mechanism which triggers release of energy stored in an injection spring, shown as spring 60 in FIG.", "3, which actuation will be discussed in further detail below.", "In order to fully understand the actuation, reference will now be made to FIGS.", "8A-B which illustrate the various cam ramps of the cam ring 350 which effectuates movement of the movable body 300.FIGS.", "8A-B illustrate the mixing cam ramp 354, which interacts with the inward protrusion of the telescoping component as discussed above, so as to initiate rotation, and thus mixing.", "The cam ring 350 is also provided with an injection ramp 358 which facilitates a second counter rotation of the cam ring 350 in an injection step upon depression of the needle shield back into the housing after initial extension.", "It will be appreciated that initially the cam ring 350 and movable body 300 rotate independently of the vial sleeve 270 and the first vial 200 in the first mixing step, however, because the cam ring protrusion 352 slides into the channel 272 of the vial sleeve, any further rotation causes rotation of both the vial sleeve and the movable body together because the cam ring protrusion 352 interferes with the sidewalls of the channel 272 within a small tolerance as shown in FIG.", "6F.", "Thus, rotation of the cam ring 350 in the second actuation or injection step causes rotation of the entire mixing assembly.", "This second actuation rotation is effectuated by providing another radially inward oriented protrusion 162 on an inner surface of the needle shield 150 which interacts with another cam ramp of the cam ring 158 Upon completion of the mixing step, another secondary actuation occurs upon completion, wherein the cam ring has moved sufficiently upward such that the needle shield can be extended.", "In this extension process a few simultaneous actions are occurring during the extension.", "One action is that a second cam ramp 357 engages with an inward protrusion 162 of the needle shield, the relative axial motion causes the cam ring to simultaneously re-load a small amount of energy into torsional component of the mixing spring 40, and as the inward protrusion travels past the cam ramp 357 and below the protrusion forming the second cam ramp 357, the spring is unloaded again thus bringing the drug mixing and delivery device into the armed and mixed state by aligning the inward protrusion 162 with a bottom portion of the opposing cam ramp 358.At this point, the needle shield 150 acts as a second trigger mechanism which can be depressed to initiate injection.", "The depression then causes the inward protrusion 162 to engage with cam ramp 358, on the opposing side of the same protrusion forming cam ramp 357, so as to impart an opposing rotation to the mixing assembly and thus trigger injection which will be discussed in more detail below by releasing the mixing assembly from a retaining hanger, which will be discussed in more detail below.", "As discussed above, a torsional force component of the mixing spring which is released upon activation of the mixing step, allows the cam ring 350 to translate, and then realign for second trigger arming and subsequent needle shield depression and injection.", "This alignment force of the torsional component is configured to come to rest in an aligned position between the radially inward oriented protrusions 162 and a bottom portion of the injection cam ramp 358.In this manner, a depression of the needle shield 150 causes a counter rotation of the mixing assembly, in particular with regard to the housing 100 and the hanger 70 supported thereby.", "As shown, an upper portion of the mixing assembly includes a keyed slot or hole 78 which is provided in an unaligned position with a keyed protrusion 74 of the hanger 70.The rotation of the mixing assembly, through depression of the needle shield 150, causes the keyed slot 78 to move from an unaligned state, as shown in FIGS.", "10A-C, into an aligned state as shown in FIG.", "10D, wherein upon alignment, the injection spring 60 is allowed to release a portion of energy stored therein, forcing the mixing assembly to translate axially downward until the needle barrier 412 abuts a bottom portion of the needle shield, and wherein the needle is translated out through and piercing the barrier until it extends past the injection end of the device, and wherein the second vial 400 finally abuts a bottom portion of the needle shield wherein the downward force causes the second plunger 312 to displace the mixed drug from the second vial and into the injection site.", "It will then be appreciated that the needle shield 150 is still biased outward and will automatically re-extend to cover the needle as the device is pulled away from the injection site.", "After injection is completed, the needle shield 150 can then be caused to disengage from the stops 278 of the mixing assembly and extend into a fully locked outward position.", "FIG.", "11 illustrates a fluidic channel insert 310a which can include a plurality of internal raised features 311a.", "In some embodiments the fluidic channel insert 310a can be formed of opposing plates 308a and 309A wherein the raised features 311a can be machined or otherwise provided through laser or chemical etching processes on the opposing interior surfaces and then assembled to form a singular insert with a central cavity having the features on the exterior surfaces after assembly.", "This insert can then be provided into the movable body so as to provide a fluidic channel having the desired configuration of raised features therein.", "These features can be manipulated so as to provide various flow characteristics, such as increased turbulence for purposes of reducing flow resistance, increasing flow speed, mixing characteristics, etc.", "FIGS.", "12-16D illustrate yet another embodiment of an auto injector 500 which utilizes various aspects of the present invention.", "Similar to the embodiments discussed above, the auto injector 500 utilizes a movable body which initially moves in an opposing direction to the injection direction, which motion is initiated by pulling on a telescoping end and axially translating a telescoping component with respect to the auto injector housing.", "Other similarities arise in the provision of a dynamic seal as well as a compression or squeeze chamber to allow upward translation of a displacement device until fluidic communication is established between separate and distinct chambers within the auto injector.", "In this embodiment the auto injector 500 is provided with drug mixing assembly 550, the mixing assembly 550 has a movable body in fluid communication with a first and second chamber.", "The first chamber or upper vial 618 can be configured to store a wet component.", "The mixing assembly can then be provided with an actuation device configured to cause the movable body 609 to enter a portion of the first chamber 618 during a first actuation process thus displacing the wet component stored therein into a second chamber or vial 614 during a second actuation process.", "As the movable body 609 enters the first chamber 618, it displaces the wet component through a fluidic channel 621 provided within the movable body 609, and into the lower or second vial 614.In some embodiments a dry powdered material containing at least one pharmaceutically active ingredient can be stored either in the fluidic channel or within the second vial.", "In some configurations the fluidic channel can effectively function as a third dry chamber wherein the first vial, the dry chamber, and the lower vial combine to form a total of three chambers.", "In one embodiment, fluidic communication can be enabled with the first chamber and the dry chamber through a valve, burst membrane, orifice or other mechanism and/or opening.", "As illustrated, the aperture of the fluidic channel is initially sealed against the upper seal 610 thus preventing premature mixing of the wet and dry components but the translation of the movable body 609 into a portion of the first chamber causes an aperture of the fluidic channel to translate sufficiently upward so as to establish fluid communication, i.e.", "thus opening a valve.", "Once fluidic communication is established the wet component stored in the first chamber 618 is permitted to flow through the fluidic channel 621 and into the second or lower vial 614, and cause the dry medicament to combine and mix with the wet component as it flows into the second or lower vial.", "In a second motion and/or actuation step, the mixing assembly 550 is driven downward, which motion then causes the movable body 609 to translate into the second chamber 614 and subsequently displace the mixed component through a delivery assembly, such as through a needle 623 or jet (needle-less system) and into an injection site or other delivery site.", "In some embodiments of the drug mixing system, the movable body 609 can be provided with a mixing volume for retaining a dry medicament component.", "This mixing volume can be a dry chamber, a dry channel, or a separate mixing chamber.", "In yet additional embodiments of the drug mixing system, the volume of the movable body includes a separate fluidic channel assembly 621.In some such embodiments the fluidic channel can be provided with internal features designed to promote mixing.", "In yet additional embodiments, the fluidic channel is a micro-fluidic channel.", "In some such embodiments, the fluidic channel can be provided with tortious path having numerous bends.", "In yet further embodiments, the fluidic channel defines a volume for mixing the wet component with the dry medicament.", "In yet additional embodiments, the tortious path creates turbulent flow for mixing the wet component with the dry medicament.", "In some such embodiments, the series of structures, walls, or grooves in the walls of the mixer body and or channel can help promote mixing of the dry medicament and defining the volume for mixing the wet component with the dry medicament.", "In some such embodiments, at least one of the dimensions in the channel is less than 5 mm.", "In an embodiment, at least one of the dimensions in the channel is less than 2 millimeters.", "In an embodiment, at least one of the dimensions in the channel is less than 1 millimeters.", "In an embodiment, at least one of the dimensions in the channel is less than 0.5 millimeters.", "In an embodiment, at least one of the dimensions in the channel is less than 0.25 millimeters.", "In an embodiment, at least one of the dimensions in the channel is less than 0.1 millimeters.", "In an embodiment, at least one of the dimensions in the channel is less than 0.05 millimeters.", "In an embodiment, the Reynolds number in the fluidic channel is less than 2300.In an embodiment, the Reynolds number of the fluidic channel is less than 100.In an embodiment the Reynolds number in the fluidic channel is 2300 or greater.", "In an embodiment, the channel further includes a plurality of grooves formed therein, wherein the grooves promote mixing when a wet component flows by and/or near the grooves.", "In an embodiment the mixing assembly further includes bends in the channel wherein the bends promote mixing when a wet component flows by the bends.", "In an embodiment, the mixing assembly includes obstructions in the flow path wherein said obstructions promote mixing when the wet component flows by the obstructions.", "In one drug mixing system a powdered material or medicament can be loaded into a fluidic channel 621.In another drug mixing system a powdered material is loaded into a ferrule 625.In one embodiment this ferrule 625 is designed as an integrated feature inside the fluidic channel 621, while in other configurations the ferrule 625 is positioned adjacent the fluidic channel 621.Powder or medicament can be filled directly into the ferrule 625 using several methods including vibration techniques, auger, volumetric fill, or, lyophilizing, spray drying, vacuum drying or filling of pellets, or other method of filling powder doses.", "This ferrule 625 can be made of plastic, and/or rubber, and/or glass and/or any other suitable material.", "In another embodiment, the ferrule 625 can be provided as a removable piece that can be filled outside the fluidic channel using a variety of volumetrically dosing or mass based powder-dosing tools.", "Once the ferrule 625 is filled with powder, separate from the mixing assembly 550, the ferrule 625 can be placed inside the mixing assembly 550 and secured as a permanent or semi-permanent fixture.", "The features of the ferrule 625 are designed such that there are two holes, and/or orifices and/or regions where fluid may enter and/or exit the ferrule.", "In one embodiment there is one inlet and one outlet where the inlet is defined by the region where fluid will enter the powder pocket and come into contact with the powdered material and create a mixed solution or partially-mixed solution.", "A mixed solution for the purpose of this invention is defined to be at least one liquid component and at least one powdered material that is partially mixed together and/or fully mixed together and/or where the powdered material is partially dissolved in the liquid component and/or fully dissolved in the liquid component.", "In another embodiment the liquid component can be two liquids or more.", "In another embodiment the powdered material can be two powdered materials or a blend of powdered materials.", "The outlet of the ferrule is defined by a hole, or orifice, or region where the mixed solution will pass out from the ferrule and into another chamber, i.e.", "the lower vial 614.In one embodiment the solution will pass out of the ferrule as a partially combined fluid and/or mixture with the powder in the powder pocket.", "This mixed solution can exit the outlet and fill another chamber directly.", "In another embodiment, this mixed solution can pass through to a second chamber by first traveling through a fluidic channel 621.In one embodiment, this channel can be straight with a circular cross-section.", "In another embodiment this channel can be straight with a non-circular cross-section.", "In another embodiment this channel can be non-straight with a circular cross-section.", "In another embodiment this channel can be non-straight with a non-circular cross-section.", "In one embodiment, the channel can have and or create bends or turns in the fluid path.", "In one embodiment the fluid path can have a serpentine shape, or a spiral shape, or some other shape, for example, winding back-and-forth and/or have features, ridges or groves inside the channel, which creates a tortious path or some combination of all previous embodiments.", "In one embodiment, the fluid inlet hole can have a larger diameter than the fluid outlet hole.", "In another embodiment the fluid inlet hole can have a larger cross-sectional area than the outlet hole.", "In another embodiment, the fluid inlet hole can be sized to be approximately the same size as the fluid outlet hole.", "In one embodiment the side-wall of the ferrule can taper uniformly down to the fluid outlet hole.", "In another embodiment, the ferrule can include differing geometries where those geometries can be conical, hemispherical, or rectangular wedge shaped.", "The sidewalls of the ferrule can be textured to increase or reduce powder-ferrule interfacial friction the help with powder filling and potentially promote mixing of the liquid and powder inside the ferrule.", "In one embodiment the outlet hole of the ferrule can be covered by a sealing structure or partially sealed structure which can be used to retain powdered material inside the powder pocket during a filling operation or during storage.", "In one embodiment this sealing structure can also prevent fluid flow until the device was actuated which resulted in a change to the sealing structure, which would allow fluid to flow through the powder pocket.", "In one embodiment, as illustrated, a sealing structure 610 can be provided over the inlet of the ferrule but not the outlet.", "In one embodiment there is a sealing structure over both the inlet and the outlet.", "In some embodiment the ferrule can be formed from a soft elastomer and the sealing structure is a small orifice that remains constricted until pressure from fluid flow forces the orifice to open and allows a partially mixed fluid of powder and solvent to flow.", "The promotion of mixing inside the ferrule can come from the fluid resistance created by the outlet hole being smaller than the inlet hole forcing liquid to create eddies which fold back on themselves to cause chaotic and/or turbulent flow by which the powder may mix fully and/or dissolve fully and/or mix partially and/or dissolve partially with the liquid entering the ferrule.", "The ferrule can also be formed from metals and metal alloys (such as stainless steel), plastics (such as polypropylene, polyethylene, PEEK, COP, PET, PLA, etc), elastomeric materials (such as silicone, butyl rubber, or chlorobutyl rubbers), materials such as glass, or other materials that are coated with a PTFE coating or some other coating.", "In an embodiment, at least some of the mixing occurs in the ferrule.", "In one embodiment, the promotion of mixing inside the ferrule can be increased by structures inside the ferrule including but not limited to ridges, grooves, bumps, herring-bone structures, and so forth that help to create a tortious path.", "In one embodiment, the powder is filled into a well and/or blister and/or some other receiving region that holds the powder.", "In one embodiment the powder is introduced into a holding region as a liquid and then lyophilized and/or vacuum dried and/or dried in some other way inside the powder holding region.", "In the illustrated embodiment, the fluidic channel 621 can be provided with a mixing volume for retaining a dry medicament component prior to mixing with a wet component to form a wet medicament solution or mixture.", "In this embodiment, the fluidic channel 621 can be sized to define a hollow volume corresponding in volume to the dry medicament component that is to be placed or received therein.", "As displayed, the upper vial 618 can be provided with selective fluidic communication, through the fluidic channel within the movable body 609, to the lower vial 614.In certain embodiments the movable body 609 can be formed of multiple parts.", "As illustrated the movable body 609 can be provided with a separate fluidic channel insert, or the fluidic channel can be unitarily formed within the movable body.", "Once a wet component passes from the first chamber 618 and into the fluidic channel 621, it can then be received by the lower vial 614 and subsequently passed through a needle 623 or other delivery assembly into the injection site.", "In yet additional embodiments the second chamber 614 can be configured to carry or store a second medicament or component, wherein the first chamber carries the first wet component to mix with the dry medicament in the dry chamber (having a fluidic channel) disposed in the movable body prior to mixing with the second wet component in the second chamber.", "In this embodiment, the system includes a needle assembly in fluid communication with the second chamber and a safety.", "The needle assembly and the second chamber are selectively movable independently or as a single unit relative to the housing.", "The system has a second actuation device that causes the needle assembly to be exposed or protrude from the housing and capable of injecting a wet medicament mixed in the fluidic channel.", "The safety is movable from a first safety position to a second position prior to the activation of the actuation device.", "In this embodiment of a drug delivery system the system can include a housing having an extension component that is movable relative to the housing and causing the effective length of the housing to have a larger dimension.", "The extension component may be a telescoping component, an unfolding component, re-attachable or other lengthening/widening type component.", "In one embodiment, the extension component when activated and/or lengthened allows the first actuation device to cause the movable body to move into the first chamber.", "In one embodiment the extension component is attached to a removable sleeve that extends the injector fully and then releases, or is ripped away from the auto injector.", "While this embodiment can be normally stored in a compact state, it is ready for activation upon a pulling action wherein the user pulls the frame extension cap 601 backwards and the needle shield 606 pops out of the device.", "This device design enables storage in a small footprint but extends during use, making it larger and thus easier and safer to handle.", "In this embodiment, the telescoping component, i.e.", "the frame extension cap 601 moves laterally relative to the first housing in order to increase the effective interior space of the housing In the illustrated embodiment, the first chamber is collapsible, or in other words, the effective volume can be selectively reduced.", "In this embodiment, the movement of the movable body 609 reduces the volume of the first chamber.", "In the illustrated embodiment the mixing assembly 550 can incorporate a valve mechanism that opens the fluid path between the upper and lower vials thus allowing for a mixing between the wet and dry components.", "Mixing within this concept is initiated via a pulling of an extension cap 601 relative to the outer housing 604.The pulling causes a rotation of an unlock ring 611 within the internal frame.", "The rotation of the unlock ring 611 causes an outward deflection of clip arms of the mixing spring clasp 622 until release of the mixing spring 619.The mixing spring 619 is coupled to the movable body 609, wherein release of energy stored in the spring 619 results in an upward translation of the movable body 609 into the upper vial 618 which simultaneously establishes fluidic communication between the upper and lower vials and allows for mixing process that operates independently of user action once initiated.", "The mixing process begins when the movable body 609, held in place by the mixing spring clasp 622, is released.", "As the user pulls upwards on the frame extension end cap 601, the frame extension cam 602 rotates the unlock ring 611.The unlock ring 611 has a ramped exterior surface which interferes with locking arms of the mixing spring clasp 622.these locking arms are flexed outward by the rotation of the unlock ring 611 until a clearance is established between a notch on the movable body 609 and these locking arms.", "This clearance allows for the mixing spring 619 to unload thus releasing the movable body 609 and causing it to travel upward into the upper vial 618.The spring clasp 622 in one embodiment is envisioned to be constructed from stamped metal to avoid creep relaxation in plastic parts.", "In one embodiment this part is to be made out of plastic and/or some other composite material, and possibly integrated into the outer housing 604 or internal frame 603.With the mixing spring 619 expanding, the movable body 609 moves upwards, initiating the mixing process contingent on some compliance either in the upper vial 618, or in the movable body 609.It will be appreciated, as discussed above, that most fluids are incompressible, as such a compressible substance or material is provided within, or in communication with, the upper vial 618.In the embodiment shown, an air pocket 650 is provided within the upper vial 618 which can compress so as to allow relative translation of the movable body 609 into the upper vial 618 until fluidic communication is established and the fluid is allowed to travel into the lower vial 614.It will be appreciated that while the present embodiments illustrate an open air pocket 650 for allowing the movable body 609 to initially move into the upper vial 618 until fluidic communication is established, that the air pocket can also be contained within a compliant chamber using a flexible or compliant barrier in an upper portion of the vial, or alternatively upon the upper surface of the movable body 609 itself.", "As discussed above, the wet component is allowed to flow into the opening in an upper portion of when the opening clears the top edge of the upper seal 610.At this point, the wet component is flushed through the fluidic channel 621 and/or ferrule 625 through and down into the lower vial 614.It will be appreciated that because the mixing process is triggered by the release of the spring clasp 622 and the upward release of the mixing spring 619, that the mixing spring 619 is strong enough to compress the air pocket sufficiently to move the movable body 609 a sufficient degree so as to establish fluidic communication, and then push the liquid component through the fluidic channel 621 as well as expand the lower vial 614 sufficiently to receive the mixed drug and liquid.", "Once the movable body 609 has fully depressed into the upper vial 618, thus reducing the effective volume of and pushing the fluid into the lower vial 614, the mixing assembly 550 is ready to deliver the mixed components from the lower vial 614 through the needle 623.The injection actuation is provided by initially extending and then re-depressing the trigger/needle-shield 606, which as it is re-depressed, its upper arms cause an internal actuation, which as discussed below, will eventually release the injection spring 608.The release of the injection spring 608 is effectuated by the hanger stop retainer 607, wherein rotation of the rotating ring is effectuated by a subsequent depression of the needle shield 606 relative to the internal frame 603 and the mixing assembly 550.The second actuation device involves the needle shield 606, which has a pair of extended arms that extend into the internal frame 603 and interact with the rotating hanger stop retainer 607.Depression of the needle shield 606 after initial extension causes the rotating hanger stop retainer 607 to rotate the hanger stop 616 relative to the hanger 617.In the illustrated embodiment, the second actuation device can include a pre-loaded spring which provides an injection force which causes the mixing assembly to be driven downward, abut against a bottom portion off the interior of the internal frame, thus causing the movable body to compress into and reduce the effective volume of the lower vial 614 and eject the mixed components through the delivery assembly.", "The injection spring 608 itself is held in place by two pieces, the inner part of the hanger 617, connects to the lower face of the spring 608, while the hanger stop 616 is locked to the upper portion of the spring via a keyed hole.", "By rotating the hanger 617 relative to the hanger stop 616, the spring is released.", "In one embodiment the hanger 617 and the hanger stop 616 are made of resilient or spring steel.", "In another embodiment they are made of plastic or some other material.", "The rotating ring 607 can rotate, i.e.", "clockwise as shown, relative to the hanger stop 616, which is held rotationally via friction created by the injection spring 608 and the hanger 617.A protrusion on the side of the rotating hanger stop retainer 607 serves to receive a rotational force as imparted by the needle shield arms which function as the trigger/needle-shield 606 extends outward from the housing during the mixing phase.", "After the needle shield 606 initially clears this protrusion, flexible beams return the hanger stop retainer 607 back to its original position, with the protrusion above the needle shield 606.The device is then armed as is signaled by the initial extension of the needle shield 606.In this position, the device is ready for activation upon re-depression of the needle shield.", "As shown, the trigger/needle-shield 606 includes a pair of arms having angled upper cam surfaces which are shaped in such a way as to cause the rotating hanger stop retainer 607 to rotate in response to an axial re-depression of the needle shield 606, i.e.", "move counter-clockwise as shown, moving the hanger stop 616) relative to the hanger 617.When the hanger stop 616 no longer interferes with the hanger 617, the injection spring 608 is released.", "In the illustrated embodiment, the system can further include a needle assembly.", "The needle assembly and the second chamber 614 can be movable as one unit relative to the housing.", "The second actuation device causes the needle assembly to be exposed or protrude from the housing and capable of injecting a prepared drug that is disposed in the movable body as described below.", "As described above, as the hanger 617 released, the entire mixing assembly 550 is propelled downward through the internal frame 603.As the mixing assembly 550 is propelled downward by the injection spring 608, the sterility barrier 615 is buckled and the needle 623 is inserted into the user.", "The injection spring 608 continues extending after the lower vial 614 has contacted the bottom of the internal frame 603, moving the movable body 609, with upper vial 618, downwards through the lower vial 614, injecting the mixed component through the needle 623.In some embodiments, the dry medicament is stored in the lower vial 614, which can be powder filled or lyophilized within the lower vial 614.For this embodiment a space or spacer would need to be included between the lower vial and the mixing spring in order to position the inner plunger at a sufficient distance away from the inner floor of the lower vial in order to provide sufficient space/volume within which the dry medicament may be stored.", "This space enables some compression if needed.", "Structures to improve reconstitution and mixing may be present in the lower vial.", "This may function as both an embodiment of the spacer and provide improved mixing in the lower vial.", "In one embodiment the trigger/needle-shield 606 doesn't extend and/or make itself ready to be pressed until the mixing process has finished; preventing an incomplete mix from being delivered to the user.", "In order to provide actuation the needle shield 606 can include a pair of snap arms which initially hold the needle shield in place relative to the internal frame 603.In one embodiment, after mixing has been completed, and the movable body 609 has moved to the back of the upper vial 618, the needle shield snap arms are free to flex inwards since the movable body 609 has moved sufficiently upward so as to provide clearance.", "This requirement of clearance between the movable body 609 and the inward flexion of the snap arms ensures that the trigger/needle-shield 606 doesn't fully extend until the mixing process has completely finished; this introduces a failsafe mechanism to ensure safe use of the device.", "After delivery is complete, the user simply removes the device and the needle shield 606 extends, driven by the needle shield spring 605.Additionally, a lockout mechanism is envisioned in the internal frame 603 which can consist of a snap, not shown, wherein the snap is deformed by the downward motion of the mixing assembly 550 during injection, wherein upon injection the snap engages an extension of the needle shield 606 and thus prevents any further movement of the needle-shield 606 after it has been extended for the last time, hiding the needle.", "In one embodiment, the mixing module can be assembled either in a sterile environment or aseptically and sterilized afterwards using a terminal sterilization process.", "The mixing assembly 550 includes an upper vial 618, upper seal 610, mixing spring 619, unlocking ring 611, threaded mixing container 620, fluidic channel 621, mixing spring clasp 622, mixing spring cover 613, lower vial 614, needle 623, and sterility barrier 615.Additionally, a method of assembly is contemplated which includes various steps, which steps can include: Attaching the unlock ring 611 and mixing spring clasp 622 to the mixing spring cover 613, then the movable body 609 and mixing spring 619 are loaded into this assembly by snapping the spring clasp 622 in place.", "The lower vial 614 can be placed over the movable body 609 at this point, possibly at the same time as the fluidic channel 621 which has been filled with the dry component previously, is slid into the movable body 609.With this portion of the mixing assembly being assembled, the upper vial 618, can then be filled with the wet component and glued (or attached via other methods) to the mixing spring cover 613.The upper seal 610 can then be attached and properly placed by threading the threaded mixing container 620 into the mixing spring cover 613.By adding the needle sterility barrier 615 to this assembly, the mixing module is complete and can be handled in non-sterile environment, as the dry component, wet component, and needle are all sealed from the environment.", "In one embodiment, the powder can be filled directly into the conical shaped reservoir 625 (powder pocket) shown in FIGS.", "13A-B.", "In another embodiment, the powder can be filled into a ferrule that, once filled with powder, can then be placed inside the mixing assembly.", "In one embodiment, the removable powder pocket can be filled either by tareing out a mass weight of the powder pocket and then filling using some type of vibrational or auger filling tool or other volumetrically dosed methods of measuring and transferring the dose to the mixing and injection device.", "In another embodiment this powder pocket can be sized appropriately and volumetrically filled.", "In another embodiment, the reservoir can be filled with a pre-formed, fast-dissolving powder structure or lyophilized pellet.", "In another embodiment, the drug may be lyophilized into the powder pocket directly.", "In some embodiments the dry powder module can be provided as a separate component from the movable body 609 in order to help facilitate filling with dry medicament and assembly.", "This also aids in allowing different drugs to be provided in various dosages so as to facilitate use in a variety of treatments and situations which is customizable to each individual drug application as well as each individual user's varying dosage requirements.", "In yet additional embodiments the powdered material can be provided as a blend of one or more therapeutic agents and at least one pharmaceutically acceptable excipient.", "In some embodiments, the therapeutic agent can be provided as glucagon, sumatriptan, alprostadil, or other erectile dysfunction medications, diazepam or anti-seizure medications, anti-coagulants, medications for tramatic brain injury, or antichemical weapon antidones, depo-provera, or other fertility medications, or Pegvisomant, Etanercept, Adalimumab, Infliximab, Bevicuzumab, Rituximab, Trastuzumab, Insulin Glargine, Enoxaparin, Pegfilgrastim, Glatiramer, Ranibizumab, Epoetin alfa, Methotrexate, Golimumab, Certolizumab, Abatacept, Avonex, Betaferon, Extavia, Rebif, Fraxiparine, Darbepoetin alfa, Filgrastim, Follitropin alfa, Urofollitropin, Lutropin alfa, Follitropin beta, Belimumab, Denosumab, Atropine, Edrophonium, Pralidoxime, Lidocaine (amiodarone), Midazolam, Morphine, Novocaine (procaine hydrochloride), Codeine, Albuterol, Amitriptyline, Dexamethasone Phosphate, Benzodiazepine, Docusate Sodium, Fluoxetine, Haloperidol, Fluoxetine, Haloperidol, Lactulose, Loperamide, Metoclopramide, In yet additional alternative embodiments the therapeutic agents can include Ondansetron, Hydrocortisone, Loratidine, Prednisolone, Cyanokit, Naloxone, Dimercaprol, Lorazepan, Phenobarbital, Cefazolin, an anti-inflammatory agent, anantimicrobial agent, an antifungal agent, an anti-parasitic agent, an anti-inflammatory agent, an anti-cancer agent, an agent for treatment of a cardiovascular disease, an agent for treatment of an allergy reaction, or a pain-relieving agent.", "In some embodiments, the therapeutic agent is an agent for treatment of an allergy reaction.", "In some embodiments, the agent is for treatment of anaphylaxis.", "In some embodiments, the agent is epinephrine.", "Exemplified therapeutic agents include, but are not limited to, anti-inflammatory, antipyretic, anti-spasmodics or analgesics such as indomethacin, diclofenac, diclofenac sodium, codeine, ibuprofen, phenylbutazone, oxyphenbutazone, mepirizole, aspirin, ethenzamide, acetaminophen, aminopyrine, phenacetin, butylscopolamine bromide, morphine, etomidoline, pentazocine, fenoprofen calcium, naproxen, selecxip, valdecxip, and tolamadol, anti-rheumatism drugs such as etodolac, anti-tuberculoses drugs such as isoniazide and ethambutol hydrochloride, cardiovascular drugs such as isosorbide dinitrate, nitroglycerin, nifedipine, barnidipine hydrochloride, nicardipine hydrochloride, dipyridamole, amrinone, indenolol hydrochloride, hydralazine hydrochloride, methyldopa, furosemide, spironolactone, guanethidine nitrate, reserpine, amosulalol hydrochloride, lisinopril, metoprolol, pilocarpine, and talcetin, antipsychotic drugs such as chlorpromazine hydrochloride, amitriptyline hydrochloride, nemonapride, haloperidol, moperone hydrochloride, perphenazine, diazepam, lorazepam, chlorodiazepoxide, adinazolam, alprazolam, methylphenidate, myrnasipran, peroxetin, risperidone, and sodium valproate, anti-emetics such as metoclopramide, lamocetron hydrochloride, granisetron hydrochloride, ondansetron hydrochloride, and azacetron hydrochloride, antihistamines such as chlorpheniramine maleate and diphenhydramine hydrochloride, vitamins such as thiamine nitrate, tocopherol acetate, cycothiamine, pyridoxal phosphate, cobarnamide, ascortic acid, and nicotinamide, anti-gout drugs such as allopurinol, colchicine, and probenecide, anti-Parkinson's disease drugs such as levodopa and selegrine, sedatives and hypnotics such as amobarbital, bromuralyl urea, midazolam, and chloral hydrate, antineoplastics such as fluorouracil, carmofur, acralvidine hydrochloride, cyclophosphamide, and thiodepa, anti-allergy drugs such as pseudoephedrine and terfenadine, decongestants such as phenylpropanolamine and ephedorine, diabetes mellitus drugs such as acetohexamide, insulin, tolbutamide, desmopressin, and glipizide, diuretics such as hydrochlorothiazide, polythiazide, and triamterene, bronchodilators such as aminophylline, formoterol fumarate, and theophylline, antitussives such as codeine phosphate, noscapine, dimorfan phosphate, and dextromethorphan, anti-arrhythmics such as quinidine nitrate, digitoxin, propafenone hydrochloride, and procainamide, topical anesthetics such as ethyl aminobenzoate, lidocaine, and dibucaine hydrochloride, anticonvulsants such as phenyloin, ethosuximide, and primidone, synthetic glucocorticoids such as hydrocortisone, prednisolone, triamcinolone, and betamethasone, antiulceratives such as famotidine, ranitidine hydrochloride, cimetidine, sucralfate, sulpiride, teprenone, plaunotol, 5-aminosalicylic acid, sulfasalazine, omeprazole, and lansoprazol, central nervous system drugs such as indeloxazine, idebenone, thiapride hydrochloride, bifemelane hydrocide, and calcium homopantothenate, antihyperlipoproteinemics such as pravastatin sodium, simvastatin, lovastatin, and atorvastatin, antibiotics such as ampicillin hydrochloride, phthalylsulfacetamide, cefotetan, and josamycin, BPH therapeutic agents such as tamsulosin hydrochloride, doxazosin mesylate, and terazosin hydrochloride, drugs affecting uterine motility such as branylcast, zafylcast, albuterol, ambroxol, budesonide, and reproterol, peripheral circulation improvers of prostaglandin I derivatives such as beraprost sodium, anticoagulants, hypotensives, agents for treatment of cardiac insufficiency, agents used to treat the various complications of diabetes, peptic ulcer therapeutic agents, skin ulcer therapeutic agents, agents used to treat hyperlipemia, tocolytics, etc.", "In yet additional embodiments the housing can be provided with a shroud, not shown, which initially covers the injection end of the auto injector and is selectively coupled to the housing, such that during the initial activation and mixing steps of extending the telescoping component the needle shield can be covered so as to prevent a user from being able to unintentionally cause a premature injection.", "The shroud can be interferingly engaged with the housing over the injection end wherein the extension of the telescoping component and a signaling of a completion of the mixing step also unlocks the shroud and allows it to be removed from the housing, thus allowing for initial extension of the needle shield and associated arming of the needle shield as the second injection step trigger.", "While the principles of the invention have been described herein, it is to be understood by those skilled in the art that this description is made only by way of example and not as a limitation as to the scope of the invention.", "Other embodiments are contemplated within the scope of the present invention in addition to the exemplary embodiments shown and described herein.", "Modifications and substitutions by one of ordinary skill in the art are considered to be within the scope of the present invention.", "Additionally, any features, structures, components, method steps which are discussed in reference to any one of the aforementioned embodiments are readily adaptable for use into and with any features of the other alternative embodiments discussed therein, with the understanding that one of ordinary skill in the art will be capable of assessing the ability and be capable of making such adaptations." ] ]
Patent_15873073
[ [ "Methods and Apparatus to Account for Effective Downlink Channels Arising from Beamforming Uplink Reference Signals", "According to the teachings herein, a wireless device enhances uplink channel estimation at a node in a supporting wireless communication network by beamforming its uplink reference signal transmission towards the node, and correspondingly compensates for the effect of that beamforming when receiving a downlink transmission that was adapted in dependence on the uplink channel transmission.", "Such processing provides significant advantages in Multiple-Input-Multiple-Output, MIMO, systems that use a potentially large number of antennas for downlink MIMO transmissions and assume reciprocity between the uplink and downlink channels.", "In particular, uplink beamforming increases the received signal quality of the uplink reference signal used for estimating the uplink channel, while “automatic” compensation by the wireless device of the corresponding downlink transmission obviates the need for the network to know which precoder was used for uplink beamforming, or even that uplink beamforming is in use." ], [ "1.A method at a wireless device configured for operation in a wireless communication network comprising: receiving a downlink transmission from a network node of the wireless communication network, the downlink transmission being beamformed by the network node in dependence on channel estimates determined from reception of an uplink reference signal transmitted from the wireless device; and performing compensation processing on the received downlink transmission, in dependence on whether the uplink reference signal was transmitted by the wireless device using uplink beamforming; said compensation processing compensating the received downlink transmission for the effects of the uplink beamforming on the channel estimates determined by the network node.", "2.The method of claim 1, wherein, for a case where the uplink reference signal was transmitted by the wireless device using uplink beamforming, the method comprises obtaining a compensated received transmission by performing the compensation processing on the received downlink transmission, and demodulating the compensated received transmission to recover information conveyed in the downlink transmission, and further wherein, for a case where the uplink reference signal was transmitted by the wireless device without using uplink beamforming, the method comprises demodulating the received downlink transmission to recover information conveyed in the downlink transmission, without performing the compensation processing.", "3.The method of claim 1, wherein performing the compensation processing on the received downlink transmission comprises linearly transforming the received downlink transmission, to account for the uplink beamforming.", "4.The method of claim 3, wherein linearly transforming the received downlink transmission comprises applying a transpose of a precoder matrix to the received downlink transmission, the precoder matrix being used by the wireless device for the uplink beamforming of the uplink reference signal.", "5.The method of claim 1, further comprising deciding to use uplink beamforming for transmitting the uplink reference signal in dependence on at least one of: a location of the wireless device with respect to the network node; channel conditions observed at the wireless device with respect to the network node; configuration information stored at the wireless device; and control signaling received from the wireless communication network.", "6.The method of claim 1, wherein, for a case where the wireless device decided to use uplink beamforming for transmission of the uplink reference signal, the method further includes the wireless device selecting a precoder matrix to use for the uplink beamforming according to at least one of: control signaling received from the wireless communication network, and channel estimate information determined by the wireless device with respect to the network node.", "7.The method of claim 1, further comprising maintaining linking information in the wireless device that logically links the received downlink transmission to the uplink reference signal and indicates whether or not uplink beamforming was used for transmission of the uplink reference signal, and performing the compensation processing in dependence on the linking information.", "8.The method of claim 1, further comprising, for any given downlink transmission received at the wireless device, determining whether the given downlink transmission corresponds to a prior transmission of a beamformed uplink reference signal by the wireless device and, if so, obtaining a corresponding compensated received transmission from the given received downlink transmission for demodulation, according to a precoder matrix used for the beamformed reference signal.", "9.A wireless device configured for operation in a wireless communication network, the wireless device comprising: a communication interface comprising a radiofrequency transmitter and receiver and configured for receiving a downlink transmission from a network node of the wireless communication network, the downlink transmission being beamformed by the network node in dependence on channel estimates determined from reception of an uplink reference signal transmitted from the wireless device; and processing circuitry operatively associated with the communication interface and configured to: perform compensation processing on the received downlink transmission, in dependence on whether the uplink reference signal was transmitted by the wireless device using uplink beamforming; said compensation processing compensating the received downlink transmission for the effects of the uplink beamforming on the channel estimates determined by the network node.", "10.The wireless device of claim 9, wherein, for a case where the uplink reference signal was transmitted by the wireless device using uplink beamforming, the processing circuitry is configured to obtain a compensated received transmission by performing the compensation processing on the received downlink transmission, and demodulate the compensated received transmission to recover information conveyed in the downlink transmission, and further wherein, for a case where the uplink reference signal was transmitted by the wireless device without using uplink beamforming, the processing circuitry is configured to demodulate the received downlink transmission to recover information conveyed in the downlink transmission, without performing the compensation processing.", "11.The wireless device of claim 9, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to perform the compensation processing on the received downlink transmission by linearly transforming the received downlink transmission, to account for the uplink beamforming.", "12.The wireless device of claim 11, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to linearly transform the received downlink transmission by applying a transpose of a precoder matrix to the received downlink transmission, the precoder matrix being used by the wireless device for the uplink beamforming of the uplink reference signal.", "13.The wireless device of claim 9, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to decide to use uplink beamforming for transmitting the uplink reference signal in dependence on at least one of: a location of the wireless device with respect to the network node; channel conditions observed at the wireless device with respect to the network node; configuration information stored at the wireless device; and control signaling received from the wireless communication network.", "14.The wireless device of claim 9, wherein, for a case where the wireless device decided to use uplink beamforming for transmission of the uplink reference signal, the processing circuitry is configured to select a precoder matrix to use for the uplink beamforming according to at least one of: control signaling received from the wireless communication network, and channel estimate information determined by the wireless device with respect to the network node.", "15.The wireless device of claim 9, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to maintain linking information in the wireless device that logically links the received downlink transmission to the uplink reference signal and indicates whether or not uplink beamforming was used for transmission of the uplink reference signal, and perform the compensation processing in dependence on the linking information.", "16.The wireless device of claim 9, wherein, for any given downlink transmission received at the wireless device, the processing circuitry is configured to determine whether the given downlink transmission corresponds to a prior transmission of a beamformed uplink reference signal by the wireless device and, if so, obtain a corresponding compensated received transmission from the given received downlink transmission for demodulation, according to a precoder matrix used for the beamformed reference signal.", "17.A wireless device configured for operation in a wireless communication network, the wireless device comprising: a communication interface configured for transmitting uplink signals for reception by a network node in the wireless communication network, and for receiving downlink signals from the network node; and processing circuitry operatively associated with the communication interface and configured to: transmit an uplink reference signal using uplink beamforming; receive a downlink signal from the network node, the downlink signal being beamformed by the network node in dependence on channel estimates generated at the network node from the uplink reference signal, the channel estimates being affected by the uplink beamforming; and compensate for the affected channel estimates at the network node by applying a linear transformation to the received downlink signal, the linear transformation being based on the uplink beamforming used for transmission of the uplink reference signal." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND <EOH>Ongoing technology and standardization developments make the use of large antenna arrays at cellular base stations and other wireless access points a viable option to boost the air interface capacities and maximum data rates of wireless communication networks.", "Consider a base station or an access point equipped with a large number of antennas.", "The node can simultaneously schedule multiple wireless devices in the same time/frequency band, using simple linear processing such as maximum-ratio transmission or zero-forcing in the downlink and maximum-ratio combining or zero-forcing in the uplink.", "Current literature often refers to these multi-antenna arrangements as very large multiple-input-multiple-output, VL-MIMO, or as “massive” MIMO.", "VL-MIMO systems are also sometimes referred to as “full dimension” or FD systems.", "FD-MIMO provides throughput gains without consuming additional spectrum and further offers substantial improvements in radiated energy efficiency.", "Reflecting the burgeoning interest in FD-MIMO technology, the Third Generation Partnership Project, 3GPP, has an active work item focused on the use of FD-MIMO.", "Narrow beam forming in the downlink represents a key aspect of FD-MIMO.", "Base stations use narrow beam forming to focus transmitted energy towards desired users—i.e., towards the wireless devices being served at any given time.", "Focusing the radiated energy boosts coverage and raises the maximum data rates achievable on the downlink under real-world channel conditions.", "Accurate channel state information, CSI, is a requisite for effective beamforming and acquiring accurate CSI in a scalable fashion for FD-MIMO systems is non-trivial.", "In conventional systems, radio network nodes transmit per-antenna pilot signals, and wireless devices estimate downlink channel gain based on measurements of the pilot signals.", "These per-antenna approaches are not feasible for a base station that uses a large number of downlink transmit antennas.", "Where reciprocity exists between the uplink and downlink channels, such as in Time Division Duplex, TDD, operation, a wireless device transmits a Sounding Reference Signal, SRS, or other type of reference signal on the uplink.", "The receiving network base station uses the received reference signal to estimate both the uplink and downlink channels between it and the wireless device.", "For the channel estimation to be of sufficiently high quality, the base station must receive the uplink reference signal(s) with a sufficiently high Signal-to-Noise Ratio or SNR.", "This requirement poses challenges for the typical wireless device, which generally is battery operated or otherwise power-limited.", "Because the uplink should be sounded over the entire frequency band of interest, potentially significant energy radiation by the wireless device is required to achieve sufficient signal quality at the base station.", "Operation by a wireless device within a cell edge region exacerbates the problem of providing the network base station with reference signals of sufficiently high reception quality.", "Beamforming represents one trick available to multi-antenna wireless devices for ensuring that the network base station receives its uplink reference signals at a sufficient received-signal strength.", "With uplink beamforming, more of the radiated signal energy is steered towards the network base station, thereby improved received signal quality at the network base station for the uplink reference signal.", "However, this disclosure recognizes that several disadvantages or problems attend the use of beamforming for uplink reference signal transmission.", "For example, the network base station uses the received reference signal to estimate the downlink channel to the wireless device, e.g., for link adaptation of its downlink transmissions to the wireless device.", "Taking the exact same propagation channel conditions, the uplink channel as perceived by the network base station will look different in depending on whether or not the wireless device uses beamforming for its uplink reference signal transmission.", "Further, beamforming characteristics depend on antenna weights used by the wireless device for beamforming.", "Consequently, the perceived or “effective” channel seen by the network base station depends on the particular precoder—antenna weight matrix—used by the wireless device.", "Providing information to the network base station regarding uplink beamforming solves these problems.", "However, that approach requires additional uplink signaling from the wireless device and, therefore, represents an added signaling burden." ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY <EOH>According to the teachings herein, a wireless device enhances uplink channel estimation at a node in a supporting wireless communication network by beamforming its uplink reference signal transmission towards the node, and correspondingly compensates for the effect of that beamforming when receiving a downlink transmission that was adapted in dependence on the uplink channel transmission.", "Such processing provides significant advantages in Multiple-Input-Multiple-Output, MIMO, systems that use a potentially large number of antennas for downlink MIMO transmissions and assume reciprocity between the uplink and downlink channels.", "In particular, uplink beamforming increases the received signal quality of the uplink reference signal used for estimating the uplink channel, while “automatic” compensation by the wireless device of the corresponding downlink transmission obviates the need for the network to know which precoder was used for uplink beamforming, or even that uplink beamforming is in use.", "One embodiment comprises a method at a wireless device configured for operation in a wireless communication network.", "The example method includes transmitting a reference signal to the wireless communication network using uplink beamforming.", "The method includes correspondingly receiving a downlink transmission from the wireless communication network that was beamformed in dependence on an effective channel arising from the use of uplink beamforming on the reference signal.", "Still further, the method includes accounting for the effective channel by applying a linear transform to the received downlink transmission to obtain a compensated received transmission, wherein the linear transform is based on a precoder matrix used for the uplink beamforming.", "Another embodiment comprises a wireless device configured for operation in a wireless communication network.", "The example device includes a communication interface configured to transmit signals to the wireless communication network and to receive signals from the wireless communication network.", "Further, the device includes processing circuitry that is operatively associated with the communication interface and configured to receive a beamformed downlink transmission from the wireless communication network.", "Here, the network beamformed the downlink transmission in dependence on an effective channel arising from the use of uplink beamforming on a reference signal transmitted by the device.", "The processing circuitry is configured to account for the effective channel by applying a linear transform to the received downlink transmission, to obtain a compensated received transmission.", "The linear transform is based on a precoder matrix used for the uplink beamforming.", "Another embodiment comprises a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing a computer program comprising program instructions.", "When executed by a processor of a wireless device that receives a downlink transmission that is beamformed by a network node in a wireless communication network according to a channel estimate determined from a reference signal transmitted by the device, the program instructions configure the device to obtain a compensated received transmission.", "The compensated received transmission is obtained by the device linearly transforming the received downlink transmission according to a precoder matrix used by the device for beamforming the reference signal.", "In yet another embodiment, a wireless device includes a communication module configured to receive a downlink transmission that is beamformed by a network node in a wireless communication network according to a channel estimate determined from a reference signal transmitted by the device.", "The device further includes a compensation module that is configured to obtain a compensated received transmission by linearly transforming the received downlink transmission according to a precoder matrix used by the wireless device for beamforming the reference signal.", "Of course, the present invention is not limited to the above features and advantages.", "Indeed, those skilled in the art will recognize additional features and advantages upon reading the following detailed description, and upon viewing the accompanying drawings." ], [ "RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser.", "No.", "14/890,550, filed Nov. 11, 2015, which is a U.S. National Phase Application of PCT/SE2015/051047, filed Oct. 5, 2015.The entire contents of each of the aforementioned applications are incorporated herein by reference.", "TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to wireless communication networks, and particularly relates to accounting for the effect of beamforming uplink reference signals.", "BACKGROUND Ongoing technology and standardization developments make the use of large antenna arrays at cellular base stations and other wireless access points a viable option to boost the air interface capacities and maximum data rates of wireless communication networks.", "Consider a base station or an access point equipped with a large number of antennas.", "The node can simultaneously schedule multiple wireless devices in the same time/frequency band, using simple linear processing such as maximum-ratio transmission or zero-forcing in the downlink and maximum-ratio combining or zero-forcing in the uplink.", "Current literature often refers to these multi-antenna arrangements as very large multiple-input-multiple-output, VL-MIMO, or as “massive” MIMO.", "VL-MIMO systems are also sometimes referred to as “full dimension” or FD systems.", "FD-MIMO provides throughput gains without consuming additional spectrum and further offers substantial improvements in radiated energy efficiency.", "Reflecting the burgeoning interest in FD-MIMO technology, the Third Generation Partnership Project, 3GPP, has an active work item focused on the use of FD-MIMO.", "Narrow beam forming in the downlink represents a key aspect of FD-MIMO.", "Base stations use narrow beam forming to focus transmitted energy towards desired users—i.e., towards the wireless devices being served at any given time.", "Focusing the radiated energy boosts coverage and raises the maximum data rates achievable on the downlink under real-world channel conditions.", "Accurate channel state information, CSI, is a requisite for effective beamforming and acquiring accurate CSI in a scalable fashion for FD-MIMO systems is non-trivial.", "In conventional systems, radio network nodes transmit per-antenna pilot signals, and wireless devices estimate downlink channel gain based on measurements of the pilot signals.", "These per-antenna approaches are not feasible for a base station that uses a large number of downlink transmit antennas.", "Where reciprocity exists between the uplink and downlink channels, such as in Time Division Duplex, TDD, operation, a wireless device transmits a Sounding Reference Signal, SRS, or other type of reference signal on the uplink.", "The receiving network base station uses the received reference signal to estimate both the uplink and downlink channels between it and the wireless device.", "For the channel estimation to be of sufficiently high quality, the base station must receive the uplink reference signal(s) with a sufficiently high Signal-to-Noise Ratio or SNR.", "This requirement poses challenges for the typical wireless device, which generally is battery operated or otherwise power-limited.", "Because the uplink should be sounded over the entire frequency band of interest, potentially significant energy radiation by the wireless device is required to achieve sufficient signal quality at the base station.", "Operation by a wireless device within a cell edge region exacerbates the problem of providing the network base station with reference signals of sufficiently high reception quality.", "Beamforming represents one trick available to multi-antenna wireless devices for ensuring that the network base station receives its uplink reference signals at a sufficient received-signal strength.", "With uplink beamforming, more of the radiated signal energy is steered towards the network base station, thereby improved received signal quality at the network base station for the uplink reference signal.", "However, this disclosure recognizes that several disadvantages or problems attend the use of beamforming for uplink reference signal transmission.", "For example, the network base station uses the received reference signal to estimate the downlink channel to the wireless device, e.g., for link adaptation of its downlink transmissions to the wireless device.", "Taking the exact same propagation channel conditions, the uplink channel as perceived by the network base station will look different in depending on whether or not the wireless device uses beamforming for its uplink reference signal transmission.", "Further, beamforming characteristics depend on antenna weights used by the wireless device for beamforming.", "Consequently, the perceived or “effective” channel seen by the network base station depends on the particular precoder—antenna weight matrix—used by the wireless device.", "Providing information to the network base station regarding uplink beamforming solves these problems.", "However, that approach requires additional uplink signaling from the wireless device and, therefore, represents an added signaling burden.", "SUMMARY According to the teachings herein, a wireless device enhances uplink channel estimation at a node in a supporting wireless communication network by beamforming its uplink reference signal transmission towards the node, and correspondingly compensates for the effect of that beamforming when receiving a downlink transmission that was adapted in dependence on the uplink channel transmission.", "Such processing provides significant advantages in Multiple-Input-Multiple-Output, MIMO, systems that use a potentially large number of antennas for downlink MIMO transmissions and assume reciprocity between the uplink and downlink channels.", "In particular, uplink beamforming increases the received signal quality of the uplink reference signal used for estimating the uplink channel, while “automatic” compensation by the wireless device of the corresponding downlink transmission obviates the need for the network to know which precoder was used for uplink beamforming, or even that uplink beamforming is in use.", "One embodiment comprises a method at a wireless device configured for operation in a wireless communication network.", "The example method includes transmitting a reference signal to the wireless communication network using uplink beamforming.", "The method includes correspondingly receiving a downlink transmission from the wireless communication network that was beamformed in dependence on an effective channel arising from the use of uplink beamforming on the reference signal.", "Still further, the method includes accounting for the effective channel by applying a linear transform to the received downlink transmission to obtain a compensated received transmission, wherein the linear transform is based on a precoder matrix used for the uplink beamforming.", "Another embodiment comprises a wireless device configured for operation in a wireless communication network.", "The example device includes a communication interface configured to transmit signals to the wireless communication network and to receive signals from the wireless communication network.", "Further, the device includes processing circuitry that is operatively associated with the communication interface and configured to receive a beamformed downlink transmission from the wireless communication network.", "Here, the network beamformed the downlink transmission in dependence on an effective channel arising from the use of uplink beamforming on a reference signal transmitted by the device.", "The processing circuitry is configured to account for the effective channel by applying a linear transform to the received downlink transmission, to obtain a compensated received transmission.", "The linear transform is based on a precoder matrix used for the uplink beamforming.", "Another embodiment comprises a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing a computer program comprising program instructions.", "When executed by a processor of a wireless device that receives a downlink transmission that is beamformed by a network node in a wireless communication network according to a channel estimate determined from a reference signal transmitted by the device, the program instructions configure the device to obtain a compensated received transmission.", "The compensated received transmission is obtained by the device linearly transforming the received downlink transmission according to a precoder matrix used by the device for beamforming the reference signal.", "In yet another embodiment, a wireless device includes a communication module configured to receive a downlink transmission that is beamformed by a network node in a wireless communication network according to a channel estimate determined from a reference signal transmitted by the device.", "The device further includes a compensation module that is configured to obtain a compensated received transmission by linearly transforming the received downlink transmission according to a precoder matrix used by the wireless device for beamforming the reference signal.", "Of course, the present invention is not limited to the above features and advantages.", "Indeed, those skilled in the art will recognize additional features and advantages upon reading the following detailed description, and upon viewing the accompanying drawings.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG.", "1 is a block diagram of one embodiment of a network node and a wireless device.", "FIG.", "2 is a logic flow diagram of one embodiment of a method of processing at a wireless device.", "FIG.", "3 is a logic flow diagram of another embodiment of a method of processing at a wireless device.", "FIG.", "4 is a logic flow diagram of yet another embodiment of a method of processing at a wireless device.", "FIG.", "5 is block diagram of one embodiment of a wireless communication network.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION FIG.", "1 illustrates an example network node 10 and an example wireless device 12.While not shown in FIG.", "1, it shall be understood that the network node 10 forms part of a wireless communication network—the “network”—and the wireless device 12 is configured for operation in the network.", "The network comprises, for example, a Third Generation Partnership Project, 3GPP, cellular communication network such as a Long Term Evolution, LTE, network.", "Correspondingly, the network node 10 may be a cellular radio base station, such as an LTE eNB, and the wireless device 12 comprises a User Equipment or UE in 3GPP parlance.", "No limitations should be inferred by this example, however, and the wireless device 12 may comprise essentially any type of wireless communication apparatus, including a mobile communication device, a computer or other device with wireless networking capabilities, a Machine-Type Communication, MTC, device, etc.", "The wireless device 12 includes two or more antennas 14 for transmitting and/or receiving signals, and the network node 10 also may include multiple antennas or antenna elements 16.Uplink beam forming used at least selectively by the wireless device 12 enables the wireless device 12 to improve received signal strength at the network node 10, with respect to uplink transmissions by the wireless device 12.Because these beamformed transmissions on the uplink include reference signals used for downlink channel adaptation by the network node 10, the effective channel on the downlink between the network node 10 and the wireless device 12 thus reflects the effects of the uplink beamforming.", "Advantageously, the wireless device 12 compensates for those effects in its received signal processing.", "To better appreciate an example implementation of such compensation, the wireless device 12 includes a communication interface 20 that includes one or more radiofrequency receivers 22 and transmitters 24 and associated protocol processing circuitry that are adapted to support the uplink and downlink air interfaces implemented within the wireless communication network—not shown—in which the network node 10 operates.", "Processing circuitry 26 is operatively associated with the communication interface 20 and comprises fixed circuitry, programmed circuitry, or a combination of fixed and programmed circuitry.", "In an example embodiment, the processing circuitry 26 is at least partly implemented using programmed circuitry and comprises, for example, one or more processor circuits, such as one or more microprocessors, Digital Signal Processors or DSPs, Application Specific Integrated Circuits or ASICs, Field Programmable Gate Arrays or FPGAs, or other digital processing circuitry.", "Correspondingly, the processing circuitry 26 includes or is associated with one or more types of computer-readable media—“STORAGE 28” in the figure—such as one or more types of memory circuits such as FLASH, EEPROM, SRAM, DRAM, etc.", "Additionally, or alternatively, the storage 28 comprises hard disk storage, Solid State Disk, SSD, storage, etc.", "In general, the storage 28 provides both working memory and longer-term storage.", "In at least one embodiment, the storage 28 provides non-transitory storage for a computer program 30 and one or more items of configuration data 32.Here, non-transitory does not necessarily mean permanent or unchanging storage but does means storage of at least some persistence—i.e., holding information for subsequent retrieval.", "The computer program 30, which may comprise a number of related or supporting programs, comprises program instructions that, when executed by the processing circuitry 26, configure the wireless device 12 to operate according to the examples described herein.", "In other words, in some embodiments, one or more processing circuits within the wireless device 12 are specially adapted to carry out the teachings herein, based on their execution of the computer program instructions comprising the computer program 30.Such execution configures the processing circuitry 26 to include, for example, a communication module 40 configured to receive a downlink signal that is beamformed by a network node 10 in a wireless communication network according to a channel estimate determined from a reference signal transmitted by the wireless device 12 and a compensation module 42 configured to obtain a compensated received signal by linearly transforming the received downlink signal according to a precoder matrix used by the wireless device 12 for beamforming the reference signal.", "In at least one such embodiment, the processing circuitry 26 implements a demodulation module 44 that is configured to demodulate the compensated received signal, for information recovery at the wireless device 12.More broadly, the wireless device 12 in one or more embodiments is configured for operation in a wireless communication network—not shown—and the aforementioned communication interface 20 is configured to transmit signals to the wireless communication network and to receive signals from the wireless communication network.", "Correspondingly, the processing circuitry 26 is operatively associated with the communication interface 20 and configured to receive a beamformed downlink transmission from the network that was beamformed in dependence on an effective channel arising from the use of uplink beamforming on a reference signal transmitted by the wireless device 12, and account for the effective channel by applying a linear transform to the received downlink transmission, to obtain a compensated received transmission, wherein the linear transform is based on a precoder matrix used for the uplink beamforming.", "The processing circuitry 26 uses the compensated received transmission for information recovery, for example, based on being configured to demodulate the compensated received downlink transmission, for recovering information conveyed in the received downlink transmission.", "Here, rather than performing demodulation processing on the received downlink transmission—held as signal samples in buffer memory in the processing circuitry 26—the processing circuitry 26 performs demodulation processing on compensated signal samples resulting from application of the linear transform to the signal samples comprising the received downlink transmission.", "In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 26 is configured to linearly transform the received downlink transmission, i.e., the received downlink signal in question, by applying a transpose of the precoder matrix to the received downlink transmission.", "Note, however, that in at least some embodiments, the wireless device 12 does not necessarily apply uplink beamforming when transmitting reference signals.", "In cases where the received downlink transmission corresponds to an uplink reference signal that was transmitted by the wireless device 12 without the use of beamforming, the wireless device 12 skips the compensation processing—i.e., skips the linear transformation of the received downlink transmission—and applies its demodulation processing to the received downlink transmission.", "In at least one such embodiment, the processing circuitry 26 is configured to decide to use uplink beamforming for transmitting the reference signal, in dependence on at least one of: a location of the wireless device 12 with respect to the network node 10, channel conditions observed at the wireless device 12 with respect to the network node 10, configuration information stored at the wireless device 12, and control signaling received from the wireless communication network.", "In one example of location dependency, the wireless device 12 uses uplink beamforming for its reference signal transmissions when operating in cell edge areas.", "In one example of channel conditions dependency, the wireless device 12 uses uplink beamforming for its reference signal transmissions when downlink signals from the network node 10 are received below a threshold signal strength or quality.", "In one example of network signaling dependency, the network node 10 sends an Information Element, IE, flag, or other indicator, implicit or explicit, that enables or disables reference-signal beamforming at the wireless device 12.Similarly, in some embodiments, the processing circuitry 26 in one or more embodiments is configured to select the precoder matrix to use for uplink beamforming of the reference signal according to control signaling received from the wireless communication network.", "Additionally, or alternatively, the wireless device 12 selects the precoder based on channel estimate information determined by the wireless device 12 with respect to the network node 10.In at least one such embodiment, the wireless device 12 autonomously selects the precoder and uses it, unless or until the network signals an overriding precoder selection.", "In at least some embodiments, the processing circuitry 26 is configured to maintain linking information in the wireless device 12 that logically links the received downlink transmission to the reference signal and indicates whether or not uplink beamforming was used for transmission of the reference signal.", "In such embodiments, the processing circuitry 26 is further configured to account for the effective channel by applying the linear transform to the received downlink transmission in dependence on determining that the linking information indicates that uplink beamforming was used for transmission of the reference signal.", "In an example case, a predefined relationship exists between uplink reference signal transmissions by the wireless device 12 and corresponding downlink transmissions by the network node 10 towards the wireless device 12.For example, a scheduled downlink transmission corresponds to a particular uplink reference signal transmission if it occurs a defined number of transmission time intervals—e.g., a defined number of radio signal subframes—after transmission of the uplink reference signal.", "For any given downlink transmission received at the wireless device 12, the processing circuitry 26 in one or more embodiments is configured to determine whether the given downlink transmission corresponds to a prior transmission of a beamformed reference signal by the wireless device 12.If so, the processing circuitry 26 obtains a corresponding compensated received downlink transmission from the given received downlink transmission for demodulation, according to the precoder matrix used for the beamformed uplink reference signal.", "In another embodiment, a non-transitory computer-readable medium stores a computer program.", "The program comprises program instructions for execution by a processor of a wireless device 12, e.g., the processing circuitry 26.The wireless device 12 receives a downlink transmission that is beamformed by a network node 10 in a network according to a channel estimate determined from a reference signal transmitted by the wireless device 12.Correspondingly, the program instructions configure the wireless device 12 to obtain a compensated received transmission by linearly transforming the received downlink transmission according to a precoder matrix used by the wireless device 12 for beamforming the reference signal.", "Demodulation processing performed by the wireless device 12 in such embodiments may depend on further computer program instructions that configure the wireless device 12 to demodulate the compensated received transmission, for recovering information conveyed in the downlink transmission.", "Whether or not it is implemented according to the example circuitry of FIG.", "1, a wireless device 12 as contemplated herein is configured for operation in a wireless communication network and is adapted to transmit a reference signal to the wireless communication network using uplink beamforming.", "Further, the wireless device 12 is adapted to receive a downlink transmission from the wireless communication network that was beamformed in dependence on an effective channel arising from the use of uplink beamforming on the reference signal.", "Still further, the wireless device 12 is adapted to account for the effective channel by applying a linear transform to the received downlink transmission, to thereby obtain a compensated received transmission.", "Here, the linear transform is based on a precoder matrix used for the uplink beamforming and the compensated received transmission may be used, e.g., for demodulation and information recovery at the wireless device 12.FIG.", "2 illustrates a method 200 performed by a wireless device 12, such as the wireless device 12 illustrated in FIG.", "1.The method 200 includes transmitting (Block 202) a reference signal to a wireless communication network using uplink beamforming, receiving (Block 204) a downlink transmission from network that was beamformed in dependence on an effective channel arising from the use of uplink beamforming on the reference signal, and accounting (Block 206) for the effective channel by applying a linear transform to the received downlink transmission to obtain a compensated received transmission, wherein the linear transform is based on a precoder matrix used by the wireless device 12 for the uplink beamforming.", "In the same or another embodiment, the method 200 includes demodulating the compensated received transmission, to recover the information conveyed in the downlink transmission.", "FIG.", "3 illustrates another method 300, which may be regarded as one example of a more detailed implementation of the method 200.Here, the wireless device 12 receives (Block 302) the downlink transmission on two or more of the receive antennas 14 of the wireless device 12—denoted here as “antennas y”.", "Further, the reference signal transmitted on the uplink by the wireless device 12 is a Sounding Reference Signal or SRS, and the wireless device 12 device receives a downlink transmission from the network node 10 that is channel-adapted by the network node 10, in dependence on the SRS transmission by the wireless device 12.The method 300 includes determining (Block 304) whether the SRS was precoded—i.e., whether the wireless device 12 transmitted the SRS with or without uplink beamforming.", "The determination involves, for example, the wireless device 12 maintaining linking information that logically links the SRS to the received downlink transmission—e.g., based on knowing that the downlink transmission was received at a defined number of subframes after transmission of the SRS.", "If the SRS was precoded (YES from Block 304), processing continues with the wireless device 12 setting a linear transform matrix equal to the precoder—an antenna-weighting matrix—used for precoding the SRS (Block 306).", "From there, processing continues with compensating the received downlink transmission with the transpose of the precoder matrix.", "Such processing is seen in Block 308 as, z=ATy, where y is a matrix of received signal samples received on two or more of the antennas 14, A is the precoder matrix of antenna weights used for beamforming the SRS from two or more of the antennas 14, AT is the transpose the precoder matrix, and z is the resulting matrix of compensated signal samples.", "Processing further continues with demodulating (Block 310) the compensated received transmission z.", "If the SRS was not precoded (NO from Block 304), processing continues with the wireless device 12 setting the linear transform matrix A equal to the identity matrix I (Block 312), and then applying AT to the received signal y (Block 308).", "Application of the identity matrix transpose IT does not change the received signal y, and is equivalent to skipping compensation and using the downlink transmission y directly in the demodulation processing seen in Block 312.One advantage of using the identity matrix in cases where the SRS was not precoded is simplification of the program code used to carry out the overall processing—i.e., the wireless device 12 always applies AT to the received signal y, and simply decides whether AT is the identity matrix or the transpose of an actual precoder matrix in dependence on whether or not the SRS was precoded.", "Equivalently, in one or more embodiments, the wireless device 12 advances on along the “NO” processing path from Block 304 directly to demodulation of the received downlink transmission y, without calculating AT as IT and without forming z as ITy.", "Such an approach is encompassed in the method 400 illustrated in FIG.", "4.The method 400 can also be understood as a more detailed example of the method 200.The method 400 includes receiving a downlink transmission (Block 402) that is beamformed by a network node 10 according to a channel estimate determined from an uplink reference signal previously transmitted by the wireless device 12.At Block 404, the wireless device 12 determines whether the uplink reference signal in question was beamformed.", "If so, the wireless device 12 obtains a compensated downlink transmission (Block 406) and demodulates the compensated downlink transmission (Block 408) to obtain the information conveyed in the downlink transmission.", "If not, the wireless device 12 demodulates the received downlink transmission (Block 410), i.e., it skips the compensation processing.", "FIG.", "5 illustrates an example of the wireless communication network referenced above, identified in the diagram as a wireless communication network 70.As a non-limiting example, the network 70 comprises a cellular communication network based on the LTE specifications promulgated by the 3GPP.", "The network 70 includes a Radio Access Network, RAN, 72 and a Core Network, CN, 74.The RAN 72 includes one or more radio base stations 76, e.g., 76-1 and 76-2, with each radio base station 76 providing service in one or more cells 78.Here, the radio base station 76-1 provides cellular communication services in a cell 78-1 and the radio base station 76-2 provides cellular communication services in an adjacent cell 78-2.One or more wireless devices 12 operate within the wireless communication network 70, e.g., 12-1, 12-2, etc.", "The CN 74 includes a number of nodes supporting the communication services, including a Mobility Management Entity, MME, 80, a Serving Gateway, SGW, 82, and one or more other nodes 84.The CN 74 may, of course, include any number of nodes not illustrated or discussed here, and it will be appreciated that the CN 74 is not germane to the focus of this disclosure.", "One or more of the radio base stations 76 is configured to operate as the aforementioned network node 10.A given one of the wireless devices 12 receives a downlink transmission from a radio base station 76 is beamformed in dependence on an effective channel arising from the use of uplink beamforming on a reference signal transmitted by the wireless device 12.Further, the wireless device 12 accounts for the effective channel by applying a linear transform to the received downlink transmission to obtain a compensated received transmission.", "The linear transform is based on a precoder matrix used for the uplink beamforming.", "In at least one example of such operation, the wireless device 12 beamforms the uplink reference signal using a precoder that maximizes the average path gain to a serving base station 76.For example, the wireless device 12 receives Cell-specific Reference Signals, CRS, on the downlink from the base station 76 and uses the CRS to estimate the downlink channel between it and the base station 76.In turn, the wireless device 12 selects a particular precoder—e.g., from a defined codebook, or based on calculations—based on the channel estimate.", "For base stations having potentially many antenna elements, the wireless device 12 may be configured to beamform towards the “average” channel, or the wireless device 12 may be configured to try multiple precoders and receive feedback from the base station 76 as to which one it should use.", "For example, the base station 76 determines which precoder yields the highest signal strength or best Signal-to-Interference-plus-Noise-Ratio, SINR.", "The base station 76, operating as an example network node 10, also may control whether or not the wireless device 12 uses uplink beamforming for one or more reference signal transmissions.", "For example, an example network node 10 monitors channel conditions, e.g., based on tracking received signal strength and/or quality, with respect to a particular wireless device 12 and indicates to the wireless device 12 as to whether or not it should beamform its uplink SRS transmissions.", "Not beamforming has the advantage of saving processing power at the wireless device 12, hence, beamforming may be activated only in relatively poor conditions or when the wireless device 12 is known to be at the cell edge.", "To better appreciate an example implementation of the network node 10 in such embodiments, refer back to FIG.", "1.There, the network node 10 includes one or more communication interfaces 50 that include one or more radiofrequency receivers 52 and transmitters 54 and associated protocol processing circuitry that are adapted to support the uplink and downlink air interfaces implemented within the wireless communication network 70 in which the network node 10 operates.", "Processing circuitry 56 is operatively associated with the communication interface(s) 50 and comprises fixed circuitry, programmed circuitry, or a combination of fixed and programmed circuitry.", "In an example embodiment, the processing circuitry 56 is at least partly implemented using programmed circuitry and comprises, for example, one or more processor circuits, such as one or more microprocessors, Digital Signal Processors or DSPs, Application Specific Integrated Circuits or ASICs, Field Programmable Gate Arrays or FPGAs, or other digital processing circuitry.", "Correspondingly, the processing circuitry 56 includes or is associated with one or more types of computer-readable media—“STORAGE 58” in the figure—such as one or more types of memory circuits such as FLASH, EEPROM, SRAM, DRAM, etc.", "Additionally, or alternatively, the storage 58 comprises hard disk storage, Solid State Disk, SSD, storage, etc.", "In general, the storage 58 provides both working memory and longer-term storage.", "In at least one embodiment, the storage 58 provides non-transitory storage for a computer program 60 and one or more items of configuration data 62.Here, non-transitory does not necessarily mean permanent or unchanging storage but does mean storage of at least some persistence—i.e., holding information for subsequent retrieval.", "The computer program 60, which may comprise a number of related or supporting programs, comprises program instructions that, when executed by the processing circuitry 56, configure the network node 10 to operate according to the examples described herein.", "For example, the network node 10 is configured to selectively control whether individual wireless devices 12 or groups of wireless devices 12 use uplink beamforming for SRS transmissions.", "Consider the case where there are M antennas 16 available at a network node 10 for making downlink transmissions towards a wireless device 12.Representing the number of antennas 14 available at the wireless device 12 for receiving these downlink transmissions by n, the downlink channel between the network node 10 and the wireless device 12 can be represented as a M×n complex matrix H, where each matrix element Hi,j denotes the downlink channel gain between the i-th transmit antenna 14 and the j-th receive antenna 16.Assuming reciprocity between the uplink and downlink channels, the uplink channel G equals HT.", "Pilot symbols, sdevice, transmitted by a wireless device 12 on the uplink as reference signals are then received at a network node 10 as ynode=HTsdevice+enode, where ynode denotes the received signal vector at the network node 10, sdevice denotes the vector of pilot symbols transmitted across the involved antennas 16 at the wireless device 12, and enode denotes additive noise at the network node 10.If the uplink reference signal sdevice is beamformed by the wireless device 12 using a precoder Wdevice of antenna weights, then ynode=HTWdevicessdevice+enode.", "The network node 10 estimates the downlink channel H based on ynode, and uses that estimate to compute or select a downlink precoder Wnode that comprises the antenna weights used for beamforming a downlink transmission snode from the network node 10 to the wireless device 12.Here, the downlink data transmission snode comprises, e.g., a scheduled data transmission being adapted based on the channel estimated derived from ynode.", "The beamformed signal is denoted as xnode and is received at the wireless device 12 as ydevice={tilde over (H)}xnode+edevice.", "Here, {tilde over (H)} denotes the “effective” downlink channel arising from the network node 10 basing its estimation of the downlink channel on receiving a beamformed reference signal from the wireless device 12.In other words, {tilde over (H)}≡WdeviceTH.", "Advantageously, the wireless device 12 backs out or otherwise compensates for the influence of WdeviceT on the received signal samples comprising ydevice by applying the linear transformation taught herein.", "Consequently, the teachings herein provide for enhanced CSI acquisition at the network node 10, i.e., via beamforming of the uplink reference signal, and compensation of a corresponding downlink transmission transmitted over the effective downlink channel arising as a consequence of the uplink beamforming.", "The wireless device 12 may store or otherwise remember the precoder that it used for uplink beamforming a particular reference signal transmission, and may link that precoder to correspondingly received downlink transmission, such that that precoder is used to linearly transform the received downlink transmission to remove the influence of the effective channel.", "While such processing may be particularly advantageous in FD-MIMO systems, it should be appreciated that the teachings herein are applicable in any system that uses uplink reference signal transmissions for downlink channel estimation and corresponding adaptation of downlink data transmissions.", "Further, modifications and other embodiments of the disclosed invention(s) will come to mind to one skilled in the art having the benefit of the teachings presented in the foregoing descriptions and the associated drawings.", "Therefore, it is to be understood that the invention(s) is/are not to be limited to the specific embodiments disclosed and that modifications and other embodiments are intended to be included within the scope of this disclosure.", "Although specific terms may be employed herein, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation." ] ]
Patent_15873076
[ [ "STAPLER FOR FORMING MULTIPLE TISSUE PLICATIONS", "A stapling device for forming multiple tissue plications without needing to reload the device between plications is described.", "The device includes staple and anvil housings that move toward and away from a tissue-capture position.", "A cartridge holder in the staple housing supports a cartridge with multiple groups of offset staple slots, where the slots in each group are circularly arrayed about a cartridge center axis.", "A staple driver in the staple housing carries a plurality of arms for engaging and ejecting the staples in a first group of staples in the cartridge, when a tissue fold is captured between the cartridge assembly and anvil in the anvil housing.", "When the staple driver is retracted, after a tissue plication is formed, the cartridge assembly and tissue drive are indexed to eject the next-up group of staples." ], [ "1-24.", "(canceled) 25.A stapling device comprising: a cartridge comprising a plurality of slots that includes at least a first group of slots and a second group of slots; an anvil facing the cartridge; a staple driver configured to engage and eject staples disposed in the first group of slots when the staple driver is moved from a retracted position to an extended position; and an indexing mechanism configured to move at least one of the cartridge or the staple driver relative to the other of the cartridge or the staple driver, such that the staple driver is configured to engage and eject staples from the first group of slots while the second group of slots contains staples, and to engage and eject staples from the second group of slots after the staples have been ejected from the first group of slots.", "26.The stapling device of claim 25, wherein each of the first group of slots and the second group of slots comprises at least three slots.", "27.The stapling device of claim 25, wherein the slots of each of the first group of slots and the second group of slots are arranged in a radial configuration, the first group of slots being angularly offset from the second group of slots.", "28.The stapling device of claim 25, further comprising a plurality of staples, each staple being disposed in one slot of the plurality of slots and having two free ends bowed outwardly.", "29.The stapling device of claim 28, wherein the staple driver includes pusher arms to engage and eject the staples.", "30.The stapling device of claim 25, wherein the slots in each of the first group and the second group are circularly arrayed about a central axis of the cartridge and oriented outwardly with respect to the central axis.", "31.The stapling device of claim 25, wherein the stapling device comprises a first housing that includes the cartridge and a second housing that includes the anvil.", "32.The stapling device of claim 31, wherein the first housing is coupled to the second housing by hinged arms.", "33.The stapling device of claim 25, wherein the indexing mechanism comprises a spring.", "34.The stapling device of claim 33, wherein the indexing mechanism is configured to rotate one of the cartridge or the staple driver relative to the other of the cartridge or the staple driver.", "35.A stapling device comprising: a cartridge comprising at least three groups of slots, wherein each group comprises at least two slots, and each slot contains a staple; an anvil facing the cartridge; a staple driver configured to engage and eject the staples in each group of slots sequentially when the staple driver is repeatedly moved from a retracted position to an extended position; and an indexing mechanism configured to move one of the cartridge or the staple driver incrementally relative to the other of the cartridge or the staple driver, such that the staple driver engages and ejects staples in a first group of slots before engaging and ejecting the staples in a second group of slots.", "36.The stapling device of claim 35, wherein the cartridge comprises N groups of M slots each, where N and M are each at least three, and N×M is at least twelve.", "37.The stapling device of claim 36, wherein the cartridge comprises at least N rings, each ring defining apertures aligned with one of the groups of slots.", "38.The stapling device of claim 37, wherein the anvil includes recessed areas aligned with one of the groups of slots.", "39.The stapling device of claim 37, wherein the staple driver includes pusher arms configured to engage and eject the staples by hydraulic control.", "40.A stapling device comprising: a cartridge comprising a plurality of slots that includes at least a first group of slots offset from a second group of slots; an anvil facing the cartridge and including a plurality of recessed areas; a staple driver configured to engage and eject staples from the plurality of slots of the cartridge when the staple driver is moved from a first position to a second position; and an indexing mechanism configured to move one of the cartridge or the staple driver incrementally relative to the other of the cartridge or the staple driver, such that the staple driver engages and ejects staples disposed in the second group of slots after engaging and ejecting the staples in the first group of slots, such that the stapling device is configured to eject successive groups of staples without reloading the cartridge.", "41.The stapling device of claim 40, wherein the indexing mechanism comprises a spring configured to move one of the cartridge or the staple driver relative to a fixed position of the other of the cartridge or the staple driver.", "42.The stapling device of claim 40, wherein each slot of the plurality of slots has a tapered bottom.", "43.The stapling device of claim 40, wherein the cartridge is cylindrical in shape, and wherein the slots of the plurality of slots are circularly arrayed about a central axis of the cartridge.", "44.The stapling device of claim 40, wherein the staple driver is configured to move from the first position to the second position by hydraulic control." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION <EOH>A standard procedure for the treatment of obesity and obesity-related diabetes to reduce stomach volume, either surgically or by forming stapled folds or tissue plications within the stomach.", "Co-owned U.S. Pat.", "Nos.", "8,020,741, 7,922,062, 7,913,892, 7,909,223, 7,909,222, 7,909,219, and 7,708,821, for example, disclose an endoscopic stapling device that can be inserted into a patient's stomach intraorally, and operated to draw a section of stomach into a fold and staple the fold with a circular array of staples to form a tissue plication within the stomach.", "Ideally, in order to reduce total stomach volume sufficiently, e.g., to less than half of the original volume, it is necessary to create a number of such plications, typically between about 8 and 15.This requires that the stapling device be removed from the stomach after each plication is formed, reloaded with a fresh array of staples, introduced into the patient's stomach again, and then operated to form a new plication.", "A stomach-reduction procedure that requires 10 such plications would thus require the physician to insert and remove the stapling device a total of ten times during the entire procedure.", "This is both time-consuming, and uncomfortable to the patient, and adds to the risk of injuring the patient's stomach as the device is being inserted into the stomach.", "It would therefore be desirable to provide a stapler device that can be used by a physician to produce multiple stapled tissue plications without needing to reload the device between successive plications." ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION <EOH>The invention includes in one aspect, a stapling device for use in producing multiple stapled tissue plications without needing to reload.", "The device includes, in operative condition, a stapler head composed of a staple housing having a cartridge assembly support mounted therein for holding a staple cartridge assembly, a cartridge assembly held on said support and comprising a cartridge having multiple groups of offset staple slots, where the slots in each group are circularly arrayed about a cartridge assembly center axis and are oriented outwardly with respect to said axis, and staples held in the slots, and a staple driver mounted in the housing for movement between retracted and extended positions.", "The driver includes a pusher having a plurality of pusher arms for engaging the staples in a first group of staples in the cartridge, and ejecting such staples from the cartridge, when the pusher driver is moved from a retracted toward an extended position.", "An indexing mechanism in the staple housing advances the staple cartridge relative to the staple pusher, to position a next-up group of staples in the cartridge for engagement with associated arms in the pusher, after the staples in the previous group have been ejected from the cartridge.", "The staple housing and an anvil housing in the device are mounted for relative movement with respect to ne another, under the control of a housing driver in one in one of the housings, toward and away from a stapling position at which a tissue fold disposed between the two housings is captured for stapling between the cartridge assembly and an anvil in the anvil housing.", "Successive stapled tissue folds can be formed without reloading the device by successively stapling tissue folds captured between the cartridge assembly and anvil with staples from successive offset groups of staples in the cartridge assembly.", "The staple cartridge may be releasably attached to the support.", "In one embodiment, the cartridge in the assembly has an outer surface, the staples in the cartridge each have a pair of free ends projecting from the cartridge's outer side, and the cartridge assembly includes multiple reinforcing rings stacked against the cartridge's outer side, where each ring has a plurality of circularly arrayed eyelets for receiving therein, one or both of the free ends of the staples in a given staple group, such that one ring is stacked against the cartridge assembly for each group of staples, and the groups of staples are ejected in the order of the stacked rings, in an outer to inner direction.", "The cartridge may include N groups of M slots each, where N and M are each at least 3, and N×M is at least twelve.", "The pusher arms may provide troughs into which the staples are received during a staple ejection operation, and the troughs may have rounded sides for guiding the staples into the centers of the troughs.", "In one embodiment, the cartridge is mounted on the cartridge assembly support for angular movement with respect to the support, and the indexing mechanism includes a torsion spring operatively interposed between the support and the cartridge, for advancing the cartridge to a next-up indexing position when the staples in a previous group of staples have been ejected and as the pusher is moved toward its retracted position.", "The indexing mechanism may further include a tab on at least one of the pusher arms that engages at least one of the staples the in next-up group of stapler in the cartridge as the pusher is moved toward its retracted position.", "In another embodiment, the cartridge assembly is mounted on the cartridge holder at a fixed position, and the indexing mechanism includes a torsion spring operatively interposed between the cartridge and staple driver, for advancing the pusher arms to a next-up indexing position in the cartridge when the staples in a previous group of staples have been ejected and as the pusher is moved toward its retracted position.", "The indexing mechanism may further include a tab at least one of the pusher arms that engages the next-up slot on the cartridge assembly as the pusher is moved toward its retracted position.", "The staple cartridge may be a cylindrical magazine whose multiple groups of offset staple slots extend through the cartridge assembly and are tapered at the bottom of the slots to retain the staples therein.", "The slots formed in the cartridge may extend along radii projecting from the central axis of the cartridge.", "Alternatively, the slots formed in the cartridge may be radially offset from one another, such that a radial line that intersects the inner end of a slot intersects a second slot between its inner and outer ends.", "The staples carried in the cartridge may be U-shaped, where the staple legs are bowed outwardly, such that the legs taper inwardly on progressing toward the base of the staple, and taper inwardly on progressing toward the free ends of the staples.", "The anvil may include a plurality of anvil surfaces, one for each staple in a group, and each surface may include a pair of side-by-side grooves for bending a staple being ejected against the anvil so that the ends of the staples are bent into a side-by-side overlapping configuration.", "The staple and anvil housings may be mounted by an arm assembly in the device, for movement toward and away from one another, where said housing driver operatively couples the staple housing to the arm assembly, such that movement of the housing drive from a retracted toward an extended position causes the arm assembly to spread outwardly and move the anvil housing relatively toward the staple housing.", "The arm assembly may include at least a pair of arms, each of which pivots outwardly as the anvil housing is drawn relatively toward the staple housing, where arms form, along with confronting surfaces of the staple cartridge assembly and anvil, a tissue chamber that expands outwardly as the two housing are drawn toward one another.", "The device may further include a membrane covering said chamber, allowing tissue to be drawn into the chamber, with application of a vacuum to the membrane.", "The device may further includes at least one arm spreader pivotally connecting said staple holder to the arm assembly, for spreading the arm assembly outwardly as the staple housing is moved relatively toward the anvil housing.", "The anvil housing may further includes drive links operatively connecting the arm assembly to the anvil, for advancing the anvil within the anvil housing toward the staple housing as the staple housing is moved relatively toward the anvil housing.", "For use in forming multiple stapled tissue plication in a patient's stomach, the device may further include a elongate flexible shaft having a distal end operatively connected to the staple housing, a proximal end having user controls, and torque-transmission cables carried within the shaft for transmitting torque from a selected user control to a selected drive screw of the drive assembly, where the shaft is being dimensioned for intraoral access to selected patient stomach regions.", "In another aspect, the invention includes a staple cartridge assembly for use with a stapling device for producing multiple stapled tissue plications without needing to reload the device between successive plications.", "The assembly includes (a) a staple cartridge having multiple groups of offset staple slots, where the slots in each group are circularly arrayed about a cartridge center axis and are oriented outwardly with respect to said axis, (b) staples held in the slots, and having a pair of free ends that extend from an outer surface of the cartridge, and (c) multiple reinforcing rings stacked against the cartridge's outer surface, each ring having a plurality of circularly arrayed eyelets for receiving therein, the free ends of the staples in a given staple group, such that one ring is stacked against the cartridge assembly for each group of staples, and the groups of staples are ejected in the order of the stacked rings, in an outer to inner direction.", "The staple cartridge may be a cylindrical magazine whose multiple groups of offset staple slots extend through the cartridge assembly and are tapered at the bottom of the slots to retain the staples therein, where the slots may be radially projecting or radially offset, as above.", "In another aspect, the invention includes a stapling device for use in producing multiple stapled tissue plications without needing to reload.", "The device has the elements and operations described above except that (a) the cartridge has multiple angularly offset staple slots, and (b) the staple driver has a pusher having a single pusher arm for engaging a single in the cartridge, thus to form multiple tissues plications, each fastened with a single staple.", "These and other objects and features of the invention will become more fully apparent when the following detailed description of the invention is read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings." ], [ "FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates generally to the field of stapling devices, and in particular, devices that can be used for endoscopic stapling of tissue within body cavities.", "BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION A standard procedure for the treatment of obesity and obesity-related diabetes to reduce stomach volume, either surgically or by forming stapled folds or tissue plications within the stomach.", "Co-owned U.S. Pat.", "Nos.", "8,020,741, 7,922,062, 7,913,892, 7,909,223, 7,909,222, 7,909,219, and 7,708,821, for example, disclose an endoscopic stapling device that can be inserted into a patient's stomach intraorally, and operated to draw a section of stomach into a fold and staple the fold with a circular array of staples to form a tissue plication within the stomach.", "Ideally, in order to reduce total stomach volume sufficiently, e.g., to less than half of the original volume, it is necessary to create a number of such plications, typically between about 8 and 15.This requires that the stapling device be removed from the stomach after each plication is formed, reloaded with a fresh array of staples, introduced into the patient's stomach again, and then operated to form a new plication.", "A stomach-reduction procedure that requires 10 such plications would thus require the physician to insert and remove the stapling device a total of ten times during the entire procedure.", "This is both time-consuming, and uncomfortable to the patient, and adds to the risk of injuring the patient's stomach as the device is being inserted into the stomach.", "It would therefore be desirable to provide a stapler device that can be used by a physician to produce multiple stapled tissue plications without needing to reload the device between successive plications.", "SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention includes in one aspect, a stapling device for use in producing multiple stapled tissue plications without needing to reload.", "The device includes, in operative condition, a stapler head composed of a staple housing having a cartridge assembly support mounted therein for holding a staple cartridge assembly, a cartridge assembly held on said support and comprising a cartridge having multiple groups of offset staple slots, where the slots in each group are circularly arrayed about a cartridge assembly center axis and are oriented outwardly with respect to said axis, and staples held in the slots, and a staple driver mounted in the housing for movement between retracted and extended positions.", "The driver includes a pusher having a plurality of pusher arms for engaging the staples in a first group of staples in the cartridge, and ejecting such staples from the cartridge, when the pusher driver is moved from a retracted toward an extended position.", "An indexing mechanism in the staple housing advances the staple cartridge relative to the staple pusher, to position a next-up group of staples in the cartridge for engagement with associated arms in the pusher, after the staples in the previous group have been ejected from the cartridge.", "The staple housing and an anvil housing in the device are mounted for relative movement with respect to ne another, under the control of a housing driver in one in one of the housings, toward and away from a stapling position at which a tissue fold disposed between the two housings is captured for stapling between the cartridge assembly and an anvil in the anvil housing.", "Successive stapled tissue folds can be formed without reloading the device by successively stapling tissue folds captured between the cartridge assembly and anvil with staples from successive offset groups of staples in the cartridge assembly.", "The staple cartridge may be releasably attached to the support.", "In one embodiment, the cartridge in the assembly has an outer surface, the staples in the cartridge each have a pair of free ends projecting from the cartridge's outer side, and the cartridge assembly includes multiple reinforcing rings stacked against the cartridge's outer side, where each ring has a plurality of circularly arrayed eyelets for receiving therein, one or both of the free ends of the staples in a given staple group, such that one ring is stacked against the cartridge assembly for each group of staples, and the groups of staples are ejected in the order of the stacked rings, in an outer to inner direction.", "The cartridge may include N groups of M slots each, where N and M are each at least 3, and N×M is at least twelve.", "The pusher arms may provide troughs into which the staples are received during a staple ejection operation, and the troughs may have rounded sides for guiding the staples into the centers of the troughs.", "In one embodiment, the cartridge is mounted on the cartridge assembly support for angular movement with respect to the support, and the indexing mechanism includes a torsion spring operatively interposed between the support and the cartridge, for advancing the cartridge to a next-up indexing position when the staples in a previous group of staples have been ejected and as the pusher is moved toward its retracted position.", "The indexing mechanism may further include a tab on at least one of the pusher arms that engages at least one of the staples the in next-up group of stapler in the cartridge as the pusher is moved toward its retracted position.", "In another embodiment, the cartridge assembly is mounted on the cartridge holder at a fixed position, and the indexing mechanism includes a torsion spring operatively interposed between the cartridge and staple driver, for advancing the pusher arms to a next-up indexing position in the cartridge when the staples in a previous group of staples have been ejected and as the pusher is moved toward its retracted position.", "The indexing mechanism may further include a tab at least one of the pusher arms that engages the next-up slot on the cartridge assembly as the pusher is moved toward its retracted position.", "The staple cartridge may be a cylindrical magazine whose multiple groups of offset staple slots extend through the cartridge assembly and are tapered at the bottom of the slots to retain the staples therein.", "The slots formed in the cartridge may extend along radii projecting from the central axis of the cartridge.", "Alternatively, the slots formed in the cartridge may be radially offset from one another, such that a radial line that intersects the inner end of a slot intersects a second slot between its inner and outer ends.", "The staples carried in the cartridge may be U-shaped, where the staple legs are bowed outwardly, such that the legs taper inwardly on progressing toward the base of the staple, and taper inwardly on progressing toward the free ends of the staples.", "The anvil may include a plurality of anvil surfaces, one for each staple in a group, and each surface may include a pair of side-by-side grooves for bending a staple being ejected against the anvil so that the ends of the staples are bent into a side-by-side overlapping configuration.", "The staple and anvil housings may be mounted by an arm assembly in the device, for movement toward and away from one another, where said housing driver operatively couples the staple housing to the arm assembly, such that movement of the housing drive from a retracted toward an extended position causes the arm assembly to spread outwardly and move the anvil housing relatively toward the staple housing.", "The arm assembly may include at least a pair of arms, each of which pivots outwardly as the anvil housing is drawn relatively toward the staple housing, where arms form, along with confronting surfaces of the staple cartridge assembly and anvil, a tissue chamber that expands outwardly as the two housing are drawn toward one another.", "The device may further include a membrane covering said chamber, allowing tissue to be drawn into the chamber, with application of a vacuum to the membrane.", "The device may further includes at least one arm spreader pivotally connecting said staple holder to the arm assembly, for spreading the arm assembly outwardly as the staple housing is moved relatively toward the anvil housing.", "The anvil housing may further includes drive links operatively connecting the arm assembly to the anvil, for advancing the anvil within the anvil housing toward the staple housing as the staple housing is moved relatively toward the anvil housing.", "For use in forming multiple stapled tissue plication in a patient's stomach, the device may further include a elongate flexible shaft having a distal end operatively connected to the staple housing, a proximal end having user controls, and torque-transmission cables carried within the shaft for transmitting torque from a selected user control to a selected drive screw of the drive assembly, where the shaft is being dimensioned for intraoral access to selected patient stomach regions.", "In another aspect, the invention includes a staple cartridge assembly for use with a stapling device for producing multiple stapled tissue plications without needing to reload the device between successive plications.", "The assembly includes (a) a staple cartridge having multiple groups of offset staple slots, where the slots in each group are circularly arrayed about a cartridge center axis and are oriented outwardly with respect to said axis, (b) staples held in the slots, and having a pair of free ends that extend from an outer surface of the cartridge, and (c) multiple reinforcing rings stacked against the cartridge's outer surface, each ring having a plurality of circularly arrayed eyelets for receiving therein, the free ends of the staples in a given staple group, such that one ring is stacked against the cartridge assembly for each group of staples, and the groups of staples are ejected in the order of the stacked rings, in an outer to inner direction.", "The staple cartridge may be a cylindrical magazine whose multiple groups of offset staple slots extend through the cartridge assembly and are tapered at the bottom of the slots to retain the staples therein, where the slots may be radially projecting or radially offset, as above.", "In another aspect, the invention includes a stapling device for use in producing multiple stapled tissue plications without needing to reload.", "The device has the elements and operations described above except that (a) the cartridge has multiple angularly offset staple slots, and (b) the staple driver has a pusher having a single pusher arm for engaging a single in the cartridge, thus to form multiple tissues plications, each fastened with a single staple.", "These and other objects and features of the invention will become more fully apparent when the following detailed description of the invention is read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG.", "1 is a perspective view of a multi-fire stapling device constructed in accordance with an embodiment of the invention; FIG.", "2 is a perspective view of a staple ejection operation in the device; FIGS.", "3A-3C show exemplary tissue-fold plications formed with eight staples (1A), three staples (1B) and 4 staples (1C).", "FIGS.", "4A and 4B are side views of a stapler device with the piston subassembly hidden (4A) and shown (4B); FIG.", "5A is a cutaway perspective view of the piston subassembly in the device, and FIG.", "5B is an exploded view of the piston subassembly and associated components; FIGS.", "6A and 6B are side (6A) and perspective (6B) views of stapler pushers in the device; FIGS.", "7A and 7B are perspective views of the piston subassembly in the device showing the stapler firing a first set (7A) and a fourth set (7B) of four staples; FIGS.", "8A and 8B show detail of a staple pusher in the device catching on a staple back in order to stop cartridge rotation and align the staples for firing (8A) and detail of the region A in the FIG.", "8B); FIG.", "9 shows portions of an alternative pusher assembly in a stapling device of the invention, with a three-arm pusher and an indexing mechanism for aligning a rotated pusher with slots in a stationary staple cartridge; FIG.", "10 is a planar view of an anvil in the stapling device of the invention; FIG.", "11A is a perspective view of a staple cartridge assembly in the device, and FIG.", "11B shows the same assembly in exploded view; FIGS.", "12A-12D are plan views showing various slot configurations in a staple cartridge of the invention with radial alignment for 24 (12A) and 16 (12B) staples and 45° offset for 24 (12C) and 16 staples (12D); FIG.", "13 is an enlarged side view of a staple for use in the stapler; FIGS.", "14A and 14B are perspective views of a reinforcing ring shown with a corresponding group of staples in an assembled (14A) and partially stapled condition; and FIGS.", "15A-150 shows alternative configurations of a reinforcing ring suitable for use in the invention.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION I. Overview of the Staple Device and Its Operation This section gives an overview of the components and operation of an embodiment of a staple device intended for forming multiple tissue plications in a patient's stomach, for example, in treating obesity or obesity-related diabetes, or in repairing an earlier stomach-reduction surgery.", "Details of the construction and operation of the device, and the construction of alternative embodiments, are given in the sections below.", "The stapler device is indicated at 20 in FIG.", "1, and includes a staple head 21 composed of a staple housing 22 and an anvil housing 24.The two housings are joined, on their opposite sides, for relative movement toward and away from one another other, by a pair of arm assemblies 26.Each arm assembly includes a pair of arms 28, 30 pivotally attached at exterior ends to the staple housing and anvil housing, respectively, and pivotally attached to each other at the interior arm ends.", "The two housings are also joined at their lower surfaces in the figure by a two-section expansion bar 32.The combination of the inwardly facing ends of the two housings, the arm assemblies connecting the two housings, and the expansion bar form a tissue chamber 34 that is covered by a clear, flexible membrane (not shown).", "During a plication-forming operation, the two housings are moved toward one another, causing the arm assemblies to pivot outwardly and the expansion bar to bend outwardly, expanding the width and height of the tissue chamber as tissue is being drawn into the chamber, under a vacuum applied to the device, through an opening in the upper surface of the flexible membrane in the figure.", "The rate of movement of the two housings toward one another and the rate of vacuum applied to the chamber during a tissue-capture operation are controlled to allow the tissue fold forming in the chamber to substantially fill the height and width dimensions of the chamber.", "With reference to FIGS.", "1 and 2, a staple cartridge assembly 36 in the device is carried in the staple housing on a cartridge support, as detailed below with reference to FIGS.", "5A and 5B.", "As seen best in FIG.", "2, a cartridge 38 in assembly 36 is a cylindrical magazine having a circular array of staples slots, such as slots 40a, 40b, 40c, for receiving staples, such as staples 42, therein.", "The slots can be thought of as forming N groups or M slots each, where the slots in any one group are circularly arrayed about the cartridge, and separated by slots in the other N-1 groups.", "Thus, for example, the 24 slots in cartridge 38 could form 8 groups of 3 slots each, where a group would include every third slot in the cartridge, or 6 groups of 4 slots, where a group would include every fourth slot in the cartridge, and so forth.", "Cartridges having different numbers of slots and slot configurations are described below with reference to FIGS.", "12A-12D.", "As shown in FIG.", "2, a staple driver in the staple housing, described below with reference to FIGS.", "5A and 5B, has a plurality of pusher arms, such as arms 44a, 44b, 44c, for ejecting the staples in a group (in this case, a group of three staples) out of the cartridge and through a tissue fold (not shown) captured between the cartridge assembly and an anvil 46 in anvil housing 24.The cartridge assembly and anvil are typically spaced from one another by a distance of about 0.06 and 0.11 inches at their tissue-capture positions, depending on staple size, and are thus spaced closer to one another than indicated in FIG.", "2 at the tissue-capture position.", "During ejection, the staples are forced through the captured tissue fold and bent inwardly on contact with the anvil to crimp the staples.", "After staples have been ejected from the cartridge, an indexing mechanism operates to advance either the cartridge or the pusher arms so that the pusher arms are now aligned to engage the staples in the next-up group of slots in the cartridge, as will be described below.", "With vacuum released from the chamber, the stapled tissue fold is also released, and the device is set to capture and staple a new tissue fold.", "As can be appreciated from FIG.", "2, the embodiment illustrated is designed to staple a tissue fold with three circularly arrayed staples, allowing up to 8 plications to be produced without reloading.", "Simply by varying the number of pusher arms in the pusher driver, the same device can be adapted for making 6 folds with 4 staples each, 4 folds with 6 staples each or 3 folds with 8 staples each.", "Tissue plications with 8, 3, and 4 evenly arrayed staples are shown at 48, 50, and 52 in FIGS.", "3A-3C, respectively.", "Each plication also includes a reinforcing ring 54, 56, 58, respectively, pressed against the side of the plication originally in contact with the staple cartridge.", "The rings have eyelets for receiving the free ends of all the staples in a group of staples, and form part of the cartridge assembly in the device, one ring per each staple group, where the rings are stacked one against the other, with offset eyelets, on the outer surface of the cartridge, as will be detailed below with reference to FIGS.", "11A, 11B, and 14.The operation of the device as just described is under the control of a piston assembly that will be described further below with respect to FIGS.", "5A and 5B.", "Briefly, a piston assembly in the staple housing has a first hydraulically controlled piston that is movable between retracted and extended positions to (i) move the cartridge support in the staple housing in a distal direction toward the anvil, and at the same time (ii) move the arm assemblies outwardly to draw the anvil housing toward the staple housing.", "A guide slot in the staple housing limits outward extension of the arm assemblies, establishing a preset spacing between the cartridge and anvil at the tissue-capture position.", "The staple driver is carried on a second hydraulically controlled piston which is operable to move the staple driver between a retracted position and an extended, staple-ejecting position once a tissue fold has been captured in the device.", "Completing the description of what is shown in FIG.", "1, device 20 includes an elongate flexible shaft 60 extending between a distal end that is operatively connected to staple housing 22, as shown, and a proximal end (not shown) connected to user controls and by which an operator can control movement of the device in the stomach, and initiate tissue-capture and stapling operations from a position outside the patient's mouth.", "The shaft contains the various hydraulic-fluid conduits and wire cables, including a vacuum conduit, optionally pairs of compressed-fluid conduits, and force-transmitting cables for positioning the device, as described, for example, in co-owned U.S. Pat.", "Nos.", "8,020,741, 7,922,062, 7,913,892, 7,909,223, 7,909,222, 7,909,219, and 7,708,821, all of which are incorporated by reference herein.", "In the description of the embodiments given below, the devices are described as being staplers, and exemplary methods are given with respect to the formation of stapled plications in stomach tissue.", "It should be understood, however, that the embodiments described herein include features that are easily adapted for applying other types of fasteners, and for applying staples or other fasteners for purposes other than formation of plications.", "More specifically, the term “staple” is used herein to designate any type of fastener that (i) can be pushed through tissue, and (ii) has one or more leg members that when forced against an anvil are crimped to secure the fastener to the tissue and hold tissue fastened tissue fold together.", "The disclosed embodiments and methods will also find use in parts of the body where it is useful to make multiple tissue-fold plications.", "II.", "Stapler Construction FIGS.", "4A and 4B are perspective views of head 21 in device 20, with the piston subassembly in the staple housing hidden (4A) and shown (4B).", "The stapler head is designed to have a minimum profile during insertion to the plication site, and to then transform into a much larger profile device having a large internal volume.", "For example, in one embodiment the vacuum chamber might have an initial internal volume of 0.2 cubic inches, and an expanded volume of 0.6 cubic inches (i.e.", "the internal chamber volume after subtracting the volume occupied by the stapler head components positioned within the vacuum chamber).", "This large internal volume allows a large volume of tissue to be drawn into the vacuum chamber and stapled.", "In this way, the stapler head creates a relatively large plication without requiring invasive techniques for insertion.", "In particular, the plication can be sized such that the staples applied to the tissue are well spaced from the edges of the stapled tissue, minimizing the risk of tissue tearing around the staples.", "As described above, stapler head 21 generally includes a proximal staple housing 22, a distal anvil housing member 24 and a pair of hinged arm assemblies 26 that operatively connect the two housing for movement toward and away from one another.", "An expansion bar 32 functions as a membrane raiser and also extends between the staple housing 22 and the anvil housing 24.Although the membrane covering the staple head is not shown, it should be understood that the membrane includes an opening opposite the expansion bar through which tissue is drawn into the tissue chamber, when a vacuum is applied to the chamber.", "The staple housing 22 has a base 62 that supports a pair of plates 64 on opposite upper sides of the housing, each plate having a pair of slots, such as slot 66, paralleling the axis of travel of the two housings.", "A pair of spreader arms 68 is operatively connected to a first driver piston (described below with reference to FIG.", "5A and 5B) through pins 90 that ride in slots 66.The spreader arms are pivotally connected at their opposite ends to arms 28 in the arm assembly, so that movement of the driver piston from a retracted to an extended position within the staple housing moves the inner ends of the spreader arms upwardly in the figure, moving arms assemblies 26 outwardly, and thereby drawing the staple and anvil housing toward one another.", "This movement is arrested when pins 90 reach the upper ends of slots 66, defining a preselected spacing between the two housings at the capture position of the device.", "The piston assembly shown in FIG.", "4B is illustrated in assembled and exploded views at 74 in FIGS.", "5A and 5B.", "As seen there, the subassembly includes a first hydraulically controlled driver piston 76 that rides within a piston cylinder (not shown) formed in the base of the staple housing.", "The piston is sealed within the cylinder by an O-ring 78.A staple driver 80 in the subassembly includes a second hydraulically controlled driver piston 82 that rides within a cylindrical cavity formed by piston 76, and a plurality of pusher arms—in this embodiment, four pusher arms 84—carried on the piston that function to eject staples from the cartridge when the second piston is moved from its retracted to expanded position as will be described.", "A central post 85 mounted on the piston receives a compression spring 87 which biases the staple driver toward its retracted position, as will be seen below, to return the piston to its retracted position after a stapling operation.", "Piston 82 is sealed within the cylindrical cavity of piston 76 by an O-ring 86 in FIG.", "5B.", "Carried on first piston 76, for movement therewith between retracted and extended positions, is a cartridge support 86 that serves to releasably support a staple cartridge 38 in housing 22.With reference to FIG.", "5B, support 86 is attached to the first piston by fasteners (not shown) that engage eyelets 88 formed at the top of the piston in the figure.", "With continued reference to this figure, the support provides brackets 95 on opposite sides for pivot attachment of spreader arms 68 to opposite sides of the support, by means of pins 70 extending through holes in the brackets and spreader arms, as seen in FIG.", "5B.", "As noted above, the upward travel of the first piston in the figures is arrested when pins 90 reach the upper ends of slots 66, placing the cartridge and anvil see in FIG.", "4b at their tissue-capture position.", "With continued reference to Fig.", "FIG.", "5B, support 86 has a central opening 92 for receiving post 85 and four peripheral blade-shaped openings 94 for receiving pusher blades 96 carried at the ends of the pusher arms.", "The construction of the pusher arms in the subassembly are detailed below with reference to FIGS.", "6A and 6B.", "When the second piston is in its fully retracted position, only the upper ends of the blades project through these support openings, and are positioned with respect to the staple cartridge carried on the support such that upper blade ends engage or nearly engage the bottoms (bases) of a group of the staples in the cartridge.", "When the second piston is activated, and begins moving toward its extended position, the blades eject the staples in a group of staples from the cartridge, through a tissue fold captured in the device, and against anvil 46.At the fully extended position of the piston, the staples have been crimped against the tissue, completing the operation for forming a plication.", "During the stapling operation, spring 87 becomes compressed between piston 82 and the lower surface of support 86, and serves to bias the second piston to its retracted position once the piston is released, e.g., by release of hydraulic fluid pressure to the piston.", "Although the staple driver and cartridge support described above are designed for delivering groups of four staples in a tissue plication, it will be appreciated that different numbers of staples in a group, e.g., 3, 6, or 8, can be accommodated merely by changing the number and positions of the pusher arms on the staple driver, and correspondingly, the number and position of the blade slots in the support.", "With continued reference to FIGS.", "5A and 5B, the upper surface of support 86 has four snap-in tabs, such as tab 98 (see also FIG.", "8A) which engage a lower annular ridge 100 formed on the lower side of cartridge, to secure the cartridge releasably to the support, while still allowing the cartridge to rotate with respect to the support.", "Also shown in the figure is an indexing spring assembly 102 composed of a sleeve 103, a torsion spring 104 carried in the sleeve, a twist pin 106, and a cartridge insert 108.When a cartridge is placed on the support, insert 108 engages a center core of the cartridge, locking the cartridge to the spring assembly.", "Before being snapped onto the support, the cartridge is rotated manually, to tension spring 104 so that it urges the cartridge in the direction of spring force.", "The indexing mechanism by which the cartridge is rotated slightly, after each stapling operation, to advance the cartridge to the next-up group of staples will be detailed below with respect to FIGS.", "8A and 8B.", "The cartridge assembly, including cartridge 38, staples held in the cartridge, and reinforcing rings used to strengthen the stapled tissue plications, will be described in the section below with respect to FIGS.", "11-15.FIGS.", "6A and 6B illustrate a representative pusher arm 84 in staple driver 80.The flag-shaped arm includes a lower post 110 and an upper blade 112 which is widened in its middle section for strength.", "The blade is dimensioned in length to support substantially the entire base portion of a staple within an elongate trough 114 formed at the upper end of the blade.", "As seen in FIG.", "6B, the trough is tapered on its sides to assist in guiding the base of a staple into a fully centered position on the blade.", "A tab 115 projecting upwardly from the edge of the blade serves as a stop in the indexing mechanism in the device, as will be described below with reference to FIGS.", "8A and 8B.", "FIGS.", "7A and 7B illustrate the operation of the piston subassembly with successive stapling operations.", "The cartridge in this particular embodiment, indicated at 116, has 20 slots, such as slots 118, divided into 5 groups, each having 4 staples.", "In FIG.", "7A, the cartridge is positioned so that the staples in a first group in the cartridge, such as staples 120, are aligned with the four blades in a staple driver having a rotationally fixed position.", "The figure shows the staples being ejected from the first-group slots by activation of the staple driver to its extended stapling position.", "After the staples are ejected from the cartridge, an indexing mechanism in the piston subassembly advances the cartridge to the second-group position, where the pusher arm blades are aligned with staples in the second-group slots in the cartridge.", "FIG.", "7B illustrates the condition of the subassembly after three such stapling operations, where the staple driver is now positioned so that staples in the fourth group in the cartridge, such as staples 122, are ejected from the cartridge when the staple driver is activated.", "As just illustrated, the indexing mechanism in the device functions, after each stapling cycle, to advance the staple cartridge relative to the staple pusher, to position a next-up group of staples in the cartridge for engagement with associated arms in the staple driver.", "The indexing mechanism may function to advance the cartridge incrementally, with the staple driver held in a fixed angular position, or to advance the staple driver incrementally, with the cartridge held in a stationary position.", "The first approach is the one adopted in the presently described embodiment, and an exemplary implementation is described below with reference to FIGS.", "8A and 8B.", "The second approach is illustrated in FIG.", "9.FIG.", "8A shows the piston subassembly described above with reference to FIGS.", "5A and 5B, but shown here with the cartridge assembly removed, and represented only by two groups of staples, 124, 126 in the assembly.", "In the figure, staples 124 in a first group of staples are biased by torsion spring 104 against pusher arm tabs 115 projecting through associated blade openings in support 72, preventing the cartridge from rotating further in a counterclockwise direction, i.e., in the direction urged by spring 104.When this first group of staples is ejected from the cartridge, and when the staples are fully ejected from their slots in the cartridge, the cartridge is now urged by spring 104 in a counterclockwise direction until a next group of staples 126 makes contact with the pusher arms.", "As can be appreciated in FIG.", "8B, when the pusher arms are fully retracted, the base portions of the staples are in contact only with the pusher arm tabs.", "Then, as the pusher arms are moved upwardly in the figures with the next stapling operation, the bases of the tab-engaged staples seat themselves in the pusher arm troughs 114, and this next-up group of staples is ejected from the cartridge, freeing the cartridge to advance to the third group of staples.", "Several other indexing mechanisms for advancing the cartridge incrementally during operation are contemplated.", "In one embodiment, spring 104 is replaced a hydraulic or magnetic or electromagnetic element effective, when activated to apply a constant biasing force to the cartridge, to bias it in the direction of incremental rotation, or to apply a short-duration force effective to advance the cartridge by one staple group.", "In another general embodiment, the staple cartridge has multiple side projections dimensioned to engage a stop member in the staple housing only as long as a staple is present in the associated slot.", "Then, as a staple in each successive slot is ejected, and the associated projection is neutralized, e.g., broken or allowed to retreat into the staple slot, the cartridge advances to the next projection at the next-up group of staples.", "FIG.", "9 illustrates an indexing mechanism in which the cartridge in the device is held at a fixed position and the staple driver is moved incrementally.", "The figure shows the upper surface of a cartridge support 126 and a pusher arm assembly 128 carried at the distal end of a staple driver, and having three pusher arms 129.The arm assembly is biased to rotate in a clockwise direction in the figure by a torsion spring (not shown) interposed between the staple driver and cartridge support.", "The cartridge is open in its lower region to accommodate the driver pusher arms, and is releasably mounted on the support by snap-in tabs tables (not shown).", "Projecting outwardly from the arm assembly shaft, immediately below the arm assembly, is a pin 130 fashioned to reside in one of multiple asymmetric slots 132 in the upper surface of the support 126.In the stapler configuration shown in the figure, pin 130 resides in a first slot 132 that aligns pusher arms 129 with the three slots representing the first group of staples in the cartridge.", "When the staple driver is activated for stapling, the three pusher arms engage the slots in the first-group before pin just before pin 130 is lifted out of slot 132, preserving the alignment between the pusher assembly and first-group slots.", "After the staples are ejected and the staple driver is returning to its retracted position, the asymmetry of the slots 132 will allow the staple driver to rotate incrementally at the moment pusher arms 129 disengage from the cartridge slots, placing pin 130 in the second slot 132, and aligning the pusher arms with the next group of staples in the cartridge.", "Other index mechanisms for incrementally rotating the staple driver with respect to a stationary cartridge are contemplated.", "For example, the staple driver shaft rotational position could be controlled by a hydraulic or electronic pulse, or by replacing the torsion spring with a magnetic or electromagnetic biasing force.", "Alternatively, the staple driver shaft could have a cammed element that interacts with a stationary element in the staple housing to rotate the staple driver incrementally as it returns to its fully retracted position after each stapling operation.", "FIG.", "10 is a planar view of an anvil 46 designed for use in a device that ejects four staples at each stapling cycle, showing the anvil surface contacted by the staples.", "The anvil has four arms 134, each providing a pair of capsule-shaped, recessed areas 136.The areas are arranged on each arm surface such that a line 140 extending along the middle of the arm intersects opposite ends 138 of the two areas, and forms an angle of about 18° with the long axis of each recessed area, as seen.", "Since each recessed area guides the direction of bending of the staple legs, as they are forced against the anvil, the two staple legs will assume the side-by-side configuration of the recessed areas themselves, thus preventing the staple legs of a staple from colliding and interfering with one another during stapling.", "III.", "Cartridge Assembly FIGS.", "11-15 show details of the cartridge assembly 36 in the staple device.", "As seen in FIGS.", "11A and 11B, the assembly includes cartridge 38 providing a plurality of staple slots 40, staples 42 received in the slots, and a plurality of reinforcement rings, such as rings 136, 138, 140 that are stacked on the upper surface of the cartridge as will be discussed below with reference to FIG.", "14.The slots in cartridge extend in a generally radial direction within the annular body of the cartridge as seen in the FIG.", "11A.", "As indicated above, the cartridge preferably provides N×M slots circularly arrayed around the cartridge body, where N is the number of groups of slots and M, the number of slots in each group.", "The cartridge shown has 20 slots which are divided into 5 groups of 4 slots each, as indicated, although the same cartridge would be suitable for a stapler designed to eject any N×M combination 20 staples, e.g., 4 groups of 5 staples each.", "The opposite sides of the slots have a slight inward taper in cross-section, for a purpose to be described, and are dimensioned to hold the staples snugly but not tightly, so that the staples can be readily ejected from their slots.", "An annular ridge 100 formed on the lower end of the cartridge is used for mounting the cartridge rotatably on cartridge support 72, as described above.", "The cartridge is typically formed as a single-piece molded plastic article, and has a typical diameter between 1 and 1.5 cm and height dimension between 0.3 and 1 cm.", "FIGS.", "12A-12D are plan views showing different numbers and arrangement of slots in a cartridge of the invention.", "FIGS.", "12A and 12B shows arrangements of 24 and 16 slots, respectively, oriented in strictly radial directions.", "FIGS.", "12C and 12D shows arrangements of 24 and 16, slots, respectively, oriented in radially offset directions.", "The latter configuration shortens the radial extent of the slots, allowing for wider staples if needed.", "An exemplary staple 42 for use in the cartridge is shown in FIG.", "13, and includes a base 142 and a pair of bowed staple legs 144 terminating at beveled staple ends or tips 146.The bow in the staple legs is a slight taper on progressing from a point 148 along the legs toward the staple base, matching the slight taper in the cartridge slots in cross section, to support the staples in the slots at a desired vertical position that disposes the staples' bases in the cartridge for the desired interactions with the staple pusher, as described above with reference to FIGS.", "8A and 8B.", "The staple ends are beveled in an inner-to-outer direction in the FIG.", "13, to urge the ends of the staple legs toward one another when the staple is ejected against the anvil, as well as provide sharpened tips.", "An exemplary reinforcing ring in the cartridge assembly is shown at 136 in FIG.", "14.The ring includes inner and outer ring members 138, 140 respectively, connected by spokes 142 and inner and outer eyelets 144, 146, respectively, that receive the ends of associated staples 42 in the fully assembled condition.", "As seen in FIG.", "11B, after staples 42 are loaded into their respective slots, the reinforcing rings are stacked on the assembly, with the eyelets in each successive ring, in a top-to-bottom direction, receiving the staple ends in the staples in each successive group, starting with the first group (top ring), then the second ring (second ring from the top) and so on.", "Thus as each group of so staples is ejected, it carries the top-most ring against the tissue-fold being stapled.", "The relative positions of a staple and ring during stapling are shown in FIG.", "14B, just before the base of the staple engages the ring and presses it against the tissue fold being stapled.", "The ring shown here is the two-section ring described below with reference to FIG.", "15D.", "Various alternative configurations in a reinforcing ring in the cartridge assembly are shown in FIG.", "15A-15D.", "The ring shown at 150 in FIG.", "15A includes an outer ring member 152 having four cross-members 154 that join the outer ring at eyelets 156 that in turn receive only the outer leg of a staple.", "Ring 158 shown in FIG.", "15B has a similar construction, with an outer ring member 160 and four radial legs 162 joined to the outer ring member at eyelets 164 that in turn receive the outer leg of a staple only.", "Ring 166 in FIG.", "15C has inner and outer ring members 166, 168, respectively, joined by cross bars 172, with inner and outer eyelets 174, 175 receiving the opposite ends of the staples.", "The ring 176 shown in FIG.", "15D has two separate ring members 178, 180, each with separate eyelets 182, 184 for receiving outer and inner ends of the staples.", "The two ring members require separate assembly on the cartridge once the staples are in place.", "Although not shown here, the cartridge assembly may have a simplified construction in which a circular array of staples is held in place by a frangible polymer webbing or film to which the staples are attached.", "In this embodiment, the webbing or film serves as the cartridge, and ejection of a group of staples from the cartridge serves to separate those staples from the structure.", "It can be appreciated from the above how various objects and features of the invention are met.", "The stapling device, once loaded with a fresh cartridge assembly, can be inserted into a patient's stomach, and multiple tissue plications formed with anywhere from 2 to 8 staples, and optionally, each strengthened by a reinforcing ring.", "If more than a given number of plications are required, e.g., more than 8 plications, the device can be removed and quickly reloaded with a fresh cartridge assembly, but in any case, a single cartridge reload during an operation should be sufficient to accomplish almost any stomach reduction or repair operation.", "Any and all patents, patent applications and printed publications referred to above, including those relied upon for purposes of priority, are incorporated herein by reference." ] ]
Patent_15873078
[ [ "COMBINATION LIPOSOMAL PHARMACEUTICAL FORMULATIONS", "Docetaxel and doxorubicin can be formulated in liposomal pharmaceutical compositions.", "In various embodiments, the pharmaceutical compositions include (i) a first liposome type comprising a first lipid layer comprising an unsaturated phospholipid, cholesterol or a cholesterol derivative, DC-cholesterol, a cationic lipid, and preferably a pegylated phospholipid, and a first active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) comprising docetaxel in the first lipid layer; and (ii) a second liposome type comprising a second lipid layer, an aqueous interior, and a second API comprising doxorubicin crystallized in the aqueous interior, (iii) where the first liposome type does not comprise doxorubicin and the second liposome type does not comprise docetaxel.", "The pharmaceutical composition can be used to treat a subject, for example, a human subject having cancer.", "The cancer can be, for example, a lung cancer, preferably non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), colon cancer, breast cancer, or liver cancer, preferably hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC)." ], [ "1.A pharmaceutical composition comprising two types of liposomes: (i) a first liposome type comprising a first lipid layer comprising an unsaturated phospholipid, cholesterol, a cationic lipid, and optionally a pegylated phospholipid, and a first active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) comprising docetaxel in the first lipid layer; and (ii) a second liposome type comprising a second lipid layer, an aqueous interior, and a second API comprising doxorubicin crystallized in the aqueous interior, wherein the first liposome type does not comprise doxorubicin and the second liposome type does not comprise docetaxel and wherein the first lipid layer, the second lipid layer, or both the first and second lipid layers comprise: about 20-75% (molar) unsaturated phospholipid; about 10-60% (molar) cholesterol; about 0-20% (molar) pegylated phospholipid; and about 5-75% (molar) cationic lipid.", "2.", "(canceled) 3.The pharmaceutical composition of claim 1, wherein the first lipid layer, the second lipid layer, or both the first and second lipid layers consist essentially of the unsaturated phospholipid, cholesterol, pegylated phospholipid, and the cationic lipid.", "4.The pharmaceutical composition of claim 1, wherein docetaxel is the only API in the first liposome type and/or doxorubicin is the only API in the second liposome type.", "5.", "(canceled) 6.The pharmaceutical composition of claim 1, wherein: the molar ratio of the first lipid layer components:docetaxel is about 100:1 to about 5:1; and the molar ratio of the second lipid layer components:doxorubicin is about 100:1 to about 5:1.7.The pharmaceutical composition of claim 1, wherein the molar ratio of doxorubicin:docetaxel is about 10:1 to 1:10.8.The pharmaceutical composition of claim 1, wherein the unsaturated phospholipid comprises a polyunsaturated phospholipid or a monounsaturated phospholipid.", "9-12.", "(canceled) 13.The pharmaceutical composition of claim 1, formulated for intravenous administration.", "14.The pharmaceutical composition of claim 1, wherein the Z-average particle size of the liposomes is about 20-120 nm.", "15.The pharmaceutical composition of claim 1, wherein, upon intravenous administration to a subject, at least about 10% of the composition is delivered to the liver.", "16-17.", "(canceled) 18.A method of treating a subject comprising administering an effective amount of the pharmaceutical composition of claim 1 to the subject, wherein the subject has a cancer.", "19.The method of claim 18, wherein the cancer is a lung cancer; colon cancer; breast cancer; stomach cancer; esophagus cancer; prostate cancer; leukemia; head and neck cancer; pancreatic cancer; multiple myeloma; or liver cancer.", "20.A method of making the pharmaceutical composition of claim 1, comprising: (i) making a first liposome type by concurrently introducing a first lipid solution comprising an unsaturated phospholipid, a cationic lipid, and docetaxel in ethanol through a first or plural inlet ports into a mixing chamber of a manifold and introducing a first aqueous solution through a second or plural inlet ports into the mixing chamber of the manifold, and the liposomes exit the mixing chamber through one or plural outlet chambers of the manifold, wherein the resulting first liposome type does not comprise doxorubicin; (ii) making a second liposome type by concurrently introducing a second lipid solution in ethanol through a first or plural inlet ports into a mixing chamber of a manifold and introducing a first aqueous solution through a second or plural inlet ports into the mixing chamber of the manifold, and the liposomes exit the mixing chamber through one or plural outlet chambers of the manifold, and incubating the resulting liposomes with doxorubicin, wherein the resulting second liposome type does not comprise docetaxel; and (iii) combining predetermined amounts of the first liposome type and the second liposome type, thereby making the pharmaceutical composition of claim 1.21.The pharmaceutical composition of claim 1, wherein the cationic lipid comprises: N,N-dioleyl-N,N-dimethylammonium chloride (“DODAC”); N-(2,3-dioleyloxy)propyl)-N,N,N-trimethylammonium chloride (“DOTMA”); N-(2,3-dioleyloxy)propyl)-N,N-dimethylammonium chloride (“DODMA”); N,N-distearyl-N,N-dimethylammonium bromide (“DDAB”); N-(2,3-dioleoyloxy)propyl)-N,N,N-trimethylammonium chloride (“DOTAP”); N-(2,3-dioleoyloxy)propyl)-N,N-dimethylammonium chloride (“DODAP”); 3-(N—(N′,N′-dimethylaminoethane) carbamoyl)cholesterol (“DC-Chol”); N-(1,2-dimyristyloxyprop-3-yl)-N,N-dimethyl-N-hydroxyethyl ammonium bromide (“DMRIE”); 1.2-dilinoleyloxy-N,N-dimethyl-3-aminopropane (DLinDMA); 1,2-distearyloxy-N,N-dimethyl-3-aminopropane (DSDMA); 1.2-dilinolenyloxy-N,N-dimethyl-3-aminopropane (DLenDMA); or 2-{4-[(3b)-cholest-5-en-3-yloxy]butoxy}-N,N-dimethyl-3-[(9Z,12Z)-octadeca-9,12-dien-1-yloxy]propan-amine (CLinDMA).", "22.The pharmaceutical composition of claim 1, wherein both the first and second lipid layers comprise: about 20-75% (molar) unsaturated phospholipid; about 10-60% (molar) cholesterol; about 1-10% (molar) pegylated phospholipid; and about 5-75% (molar) cationic lipid.", "23.The pharmaceutical composition of claim 22, wherein the Z-average particle size of the liposomes is about 20-120 nm.", "24.The pharmaceutical composition of claim 1, wherein both the first and the second lipid layers comprise 10-60% (molar) cationic lipid.", "25.The method of claim 19, wherein the cancer is non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) or hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC)." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND <EOH>Liposome technology has been utilized for drug delivery in clinical therapy and scientific research.", "To date, a handful of liposomal pharmaceutical formulations have been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”), and a number of new liposomal formulations are in clinical trials.", "However, the field of liposomal formulation is still evolving and each active pharmaceutical ingredient (“API”) presents unique challenges.", "One area where liposomal formulations can be applied is in cancer APIs.", "For example, liposomal formulations of doxorubicin are presently available under the trade names Doxil® and Myocet®.", "Doxil® is a pegylated (polyethylene glycol coated) liposome-encapsulated form of doxorubicin formerly made by Ben Venue Laboratories in the United States for Janssen Products, LP, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson.", "Myocet® is a non-pegylated liposomal doxorubicin made by Enzon Pharmaceuticals for Cephalon in Europe and for Sopherion Therapeutics in the United States and Canada.", "Myocet® is approved in Europe and Canada for treatment of metastatic breast cancer in combination with cyclophosphamide, but is not yet approved by the FDA for use in the United States.", "Despite the handful of approved liposomal pharmaceutical formulations, the field is still limited by the currently available methods of making liposomal formulations, which present difficult problems associated with scalability and production costs.", "There exists a need for improved liposomal formulations for use in drug delivery." ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION <EOH>In various aspects and embodiments, the invention provides a pharmaceutical composition including a first liposome type comprising a first API (e.g., docetaxel) and a second liposome type comprising a second API (e.g., doxorubicin).", "In various embodiments, (i) the first liposome type comprises a first lipid layer comprising an unsaturated phospholipid, cholesterol, and preferably a pegylated phospholipid, and a first active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) (e.g., docetaxel) in the first lipid layer; and (ii) a second liposome type comprising a second lipid layer, an aqueous interior, and a second API (e.g., crystallized doxorubicin) in the aqueous interior.", "The first liposome type does not comprise the second API (e.g., doxorubicin) and the second liposome type does not comprise the first API (e.g., docetaxel).", "The liposomes can be used to treat a subject, for example, a human subject having cancer.", "The cancer can be, for example, a lung cancer, preferably non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC); colon cancer; breast cancer; or liver cancer, preferably hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).", "The invention can provide for increased efficacy and/or decreased toxicity, for example relative to (i) other pharmaceutical compositions where the first drug (e.g., docetaxel) and/or the second drug (e.g., doxorubicin) are not in a liposomal formulation.", "The invention can also provided superior results to known liposomal, and non-liposomal, formulation (e.g., Doxil® and Myocet®, or Taxotere®).", "The invention can provide for targeted delivery of both the first and second API, for example to the liver.", "The invention can mitigate undesired side effects, for example by providing for increased drug loading, thereby reducing the amount of liposomes needed to deliver a quantity of the first drug (e.g., docetaxel) and the second drug (e.g., doxorubicin).", "Also, because the second drug (e.g., doxorubicin) is crystallized in the second liposome type, the second drug can have more targeted delivery and less off-target side effects.", "Furthermore, because the first and second API are in separate liposomes, each liposome can be designed specifically for the API it carries.", "The different combinations of the two liposomal formulations, including different API ratio, different dosing sequence and interval time, can be clinically identified for the treatment of different type of cancers.", "It also provides physicians a flexibility to adjust the ratios of the two liposomal APIs at patients' bedside to optimize the outcomes while minimizing the adverse reactions for individual patients.", "The invention provides a pharmaceutical composition comprising: (i) a first liposome type comprising a first lipid layer comprising an unsaturated phospholipid, cholesterol, and preferably a pegylated phospholipid, and a first active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) comprising docetaxel in the first lipid layer; and (ii) a second liposome type comprising a second lipid layer, an aqueous interior, and a second API comprising doxorubicin crystallized in the aqueous interior.", "The first liposome type does not comprise doxorubicin and the second liposome type does not comprise docetaxel.", "In various embodiments, the first lipid layer and/or the second lipid layer consist of unsaturated phospholipid and cholesterol.", "In various embodiments, the first lipid layer and/or the second lipid layer consist of unsaturated phospholipid, cholesterol, cationic lipid, and pegylated phospholipid.", "In various embodiments, the first lipid layer and the second lipid layer comprise different lipid compositions (e.g., different lipid components and/or different amounts of certain lipid components).", "In various embodiments, the first liposome and the second liposome are different (e.g., in addition to comprising different APIs, derived from different lipid solutions and/or aqueous solutions as described below).", "Alternatively, in some embodiments, the first and second lipid layers are essentially the same (e.g., other than comprising different APIs, comprising essentially the same lipid components and amounts thereof).", "In various embodiments, docetaxel is the only API in the first liposome type and/or doxorubicin is the only API in the second liposome type.", "In various embodiments, the first lipid layer and/or the second lipid layer comprise: about 20-75%, preferably about 30-60%, (molar) unsaturated phospholipid; about 10-60%, preferably 20-50%, (molar) cholesterol; about 5-75%, preferably about 10-60%, (molar) cationic lipid; and about 0-20%, preferably 1-10%, (molar) pegylated phospholipid.", "In various embodiments, the molar ratio of the first lipid layer components:doxorubicin is about 100:1 to about 2:1, preferably about 20:1 to about 5:1; and the molar ratio of the second lipid layer components:docetaxel is about 100:1 to about 2:1, preferably about 20:1 to about 5:1.In various embodiments, the molar ratio of doxorubicin:docetaxel is about 10:1 to 1:10, preferably about 5:1 to 1:5, and more preferably about 3:1 to 1:3.In various embodiments, the unsaturated phospholipid comprises a polyunsaturated phospholipid or a monounsaturated phospholipid, preferably a phosphatidylcholine, and more preferably and soy phosphatidylcholine or 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphatidylcholine (DOPC).", "In various embodiments, the cholesterol comprises a cholesterol derivative, preferably a cationic cholesterol derivative, more preferably an amino cholesterol derivative, and still more preferably dimethylaminoethanecarbamoyl-cholesterol (DC-cholesterol).", "In various embodiments, the pegylated phospholipid comprises a phosphoethanolamine, preferably a 1,2-distearoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine (DSPE) and wherein the pegylation is a PEG 500 to PEG 3000, preferably PEG 2000.In various embodiments, the pharmaceutical composition is formulated for intravenous administration.", "In various embodiments, the Z-average particle size of the liposomes is about 10-200 nm, preferably about 15-150 nm, and more preferably about 20-120 nm.", "In various embodiments, upon intravenous administration to a subject, at least about 10% of the composition is delivered to the liver.", "In various embodiments, the pharmaceutical composition is for use as a medicament.", "In various embodiments, the pharmaceutical composition is for use as a cancer therapeutic.", "The invention also provides a pharmaceutical composition consisting of: (i) a plurality of liposomes of the first type as described or claimed herein; (ii) a plurality of liposomes of the second type as described or claimed herein; and (iii) one or more pharmaceutical excipients.", "The invention also provides a method of making the pharmaceutical composition as described or claimed herein.", "For example, the invention provides a method of making a pharmaceutical composition as described or claimed herein, comprising: (i) making a first liposome type by introducing a first lipid solution of an unsaturated phospholipid, cholesterol, a cationic lipid, docetaxel, and preferably a pegylated phospholipid in ethanol through a first or more port of a multi-port manifold into a mixing chamber and introducing a aqueous solution through a second or more port of the multi-port manifold into the mixing chamber, the liposome formed in the mixing chamber exit the mixing chamber through a third or more exit port, wherein the resulting first liposome type does not comprise doxorubicin; (ii) making a second liposome type by introducing a second lipid solution in ethanol through a first or more inlet port of a multi-port manifold into a mixing chamber and introducing an aqueous solution through a second or more inlet port of the multi-port manifold into the mixing chamber, the liposome formed in the mixing chamber exit the mixing chamber through one or more outlet port.", "The liposome is then incubated with doxorubicin to encapsulate doxorubicin, wherein the resulting second liposome type does not comprise docetaxel; and (iii) combining predetermined amounts of the first liposome type and the second liposome type, thereby making the pharmaceutical composition as described or claimed herein.", "The invention provides a method of treating a subject comprising administering an effective amount of any of the pharmaceutical compositions of the invention described or claimed herein.", "In various embodiments, the subject has a cancer.", "In various embodiments, the cancer is a lung cancer, preferably non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC); colon cancer; breast cancer; or liver cancer, preferably hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).", "These and other advantages of the present technology will be apparent when reference is made to the accompanying drawings and the following description." ], [ "CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims the benefit of U.S.", "Provisional Application No.", "62/127,487, filed Mar.", "3, 2015, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.", "FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention generally relates to liposomal pharmaceutical compositions and, in various embodiments, more specifically to liposomal pharmaceutical compositions including two different active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) in two different liposome types (e.g., a first liposome type comprising a first API such as docetaxel, and a second liposome type comprising a second API such as doxorubicin).", "BACKGROUND Liposome technology has been utilized for drug delivery in clinical therapy and scientific research.", "To date, a handful of liposomal pharmaceutical formulations have been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”), and a number of new liposomal formulations are in clinical trials.", "However, the field of liposomal formulation is still evolving and each active pharmaceutical ingredient (“API”) presents unique challenges.", "One area where liposomal formulations can be applied is in cancer APIs.", "For example, liposomal formulations of doxorubicin are presently available under the trade names Doxil® and Myocet®.", "Doxil® is a pegylated (polyethylene glycol coated) liposome-encapsulated form of doxorubicin formerly made by Ben Venue Laboratories in the United States for Janssen Products, LP, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson.", "Myocet® is a non-pegylated liposomal doxorubicin made by Enzon Pharmaceuticals for Cephalon in Europe and for Sopherion Therapeutics in the United States and Canada.", "Myocet® is approved in Europe and Canada for treatment of metastatic breast cancer in combination with cyclophosphamide, but is not yet approved by the FDA for use in the United States.", "Despite the handful of approved liposomal pharmaceutical formulations, the field is still limited by the currently available methods of making liposomal formulations, which present difficult problems associated with scalability and production costs.", "There exists a need for improved liposomal formulations for use in drug delivery.", "SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In various aspects and embodiments, the invention provides a pharmaceutical composition including a first liposome type comprising a first API (e.g., docetaxel) and a second liposome type comprising a second API (e.g., doxorubicin).", "In various embodiments, (i) the first liposome type comprises a first lipid layer comprising an unsaturated phospholipid, cholesterol, and preferably a pegylated phospholipid, and a first active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) (e.g., docetaxel) in the first lipid layer; and (ii) a second liposome type comprising a second lipid layer, an aqueous interior, and a second API (e.g., crystallized doxorubicin) in the aqueous interior.", "The first liposome type does not comprise the second API (e.g., doxorubicin) and the second liposome type does not comprise the first API (e.g., docetaxel).", "The liposomes can be used to treat a subject, for example, a human subject having cancer.", "The cancer can be, for example, a lung cancer, preferably non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC); colon cancer; breast cancer; or liver cancer, preferably hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).", "The invention can provide for increased efficacy and/or decreased toxicity, for example relative to (i) other pharmaceutical compositions where the first drug (e.g., docetaxel) and/or the second drug (e.g., doxorubicin) are not in a liposomal formulation.", "The invention can also provided superior results to known liposomal, and non-liposomal, formulation (e.g., Doxil® and Myocet®, or Taxotere®).", "The invention can provide for targeted delivery of both the first and second API, for example to the liver.", "The invention can mitigate undesired side effects, for example by providing for increased drug loading, thereby reducing the amount of liposomes needed to deliver a quantity of the first drug (e.g., docetaxel) and the second drug (e.g., doxorubicin).", "Also, because the second drug (e.g., doxorubicin) is crystallized in the second liposome type, the second drug can have more targeted delivery and less off-target side effects.", "Furthermore, because the first and second API are in separate liposomes, each liposome can be designed specifically for the API it carries.", "The different combinations of the two liposomal formulations, including different API ratio, different dosing sequence and interval time, can be clinically identified for the treatment of different type of cancers.", "It also provides physicians a flexibility to adjust the ratios of the two liposomal APIs at patients' bedside to optimize the outcomes while minimizing the adverse reactions for individual patients.", "The invention provides a pharmaceutical composition comprising: (i) a first liposome type comprising a first lipid layer comprising an unsaturated phospholipid, cholesterol, and preferably a pegylated phospholipid, and a first active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) comprising docetaxel in the first lipid layer; and (ii) a second liposome type comprising a second lipid layer, an aqueous interior, and a second API comprising doxorubicin crystallized in the aqueous interior.", "The first liposome type does not comprise doxorubicin and the second liposome type does not comprise docetaxel.", "In various embodiments, the first lipid layer and/or the second lipid layer consist of unsaturated phospholipid and cholesterol.", "In various embodiments, the first lipid layer and/or the second lipid layer consist of unsaturated phospholipid, cholesterol, cationic lipid, and pegylated phospholipid.", "In various embodiments, the first lipid layer and the second lipid layer comprise different lipid compositions (e.g., different lipid components and/or different amounts of certain lipid components).", "In various embodiments, the first liposome and the second liposome are different (e.g., in addition to comprising different APIs, derived from different lipid solutions and/or aqueous solutions as described below).", "Alternatively, in some embodiments, the first and second lipid layers are essentially the same (e.g., other than comprising different APIs, comprising essentially the same lipid components and amounts thereof).", "In various embodiments, docetaxel is the only API in the first liposome type and/or doxorubicin is the only API in the second liposome type.", "In various embodiments, the first lipid layer and/or the second lipid layer comprise: about 20-75%, preferably about 30-60%, (molar) unsaturated phospholipid; about 10-60%, preferably 20-50%, (molar) cholesterol; about 5-75%, preferably about 10-60%, (molar) cationic lipid; and about 0-20%, preferably 1-10%, (molar) pegylated phospholipid.", "In various embodiments, the molar ratio of the first lipid layer components:doxorubicin is about 100:1 to about 2:1, preferably about 20:1 to about 5:1; and the molar ratio of the second lipid layer components:docetaxel is about 100:1 to about 2:1, preferably about 20:1 to about 5:1.In various embodiments, the molar ratio of doxorubicin:docetaxel is about 10:1 to 1:10, preferably about 5:1 to 1:5, and more preferably about 3:1 to 1:3.In various embodiments, the unsaturated phospholipid comprises a polyunsaturated phospholipid or a monounsaturated phospholipid, preferably a phosphatidylcholine, and more preferably and soy phosphatidylcholine or 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphatidylcholine (DOPC).", "In various embodiments, the cholesterol comprises a cholesterol derivative, preferably a cationic cholesterol derivative, more preferably an amino cholesterol derivative, and still more preferably dimethylaminoethanecarbamoyl-cholesterol (DC-cholesterol).", "In various embodiments, the pegylated phospholipid comprises a phosphoethanolamine, preferably a 1,2-distearoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine (DSPE) and wherein the pegylation is a PEG 500 to PEG 3000, preferably PEG 2000.In various embodiments, the pharmaceutical composition is formulated for intravenous administration.", "In various embodiments, the Z-average particle size of the liposomes is about 10-200 nm, preferably about 15-150 nm, and more preferably about 20-120 nm.", "In various embodiments, upon intravenous administration to a subject, at least about 10% of the composition is delivered to the liver.", "In various embodiments, the pharmaceutical composition is for use as a medicament.", "In various embodiments, the pharmaceutical composition is for use as a cancer therapeutic.", "The invention also provides a pharmaceutical composition consisting of: (i) a plurality of liposomes of the first type as described or claimed herein; (ii) a plurality of liposomes of the second type as described or claimed herein; and (iii) one or more pharmaceutical excipients.", "The invention also provides a method of making the pharmaceutical composition as described or claimed herein.", "For example, the invention provides a method of making a pharmaceutical composition as described or claimed herein, comprising: (i) making a first liposome type by introducing a first lipid solution of an unsaturated phospholipid, cholesterol, a cationic lipid, docetaxel, and preferably a pegylated phospholipid in ethanol through a first or more port of a multi-port manifold into a mixing chamber and introducing a aqueous solution through a second or more port of the multi-port manifold into the mixing chamber, the liposome formed in the mixing chamber exit the mixing chamber through a third or more exit port, wherein the resulting first liposome type does not comprise doxorubicin; (ii) making a second liposome type by introducing a second lipid solution in ethanol through a first or more inlet port of a multi-port manifold into a mixing chamber and introducing an aqueous solution through a second or more inlet port of the multi-port manifold into the mixing chamber, the liposome formed in the mixing chamber exit the mixing chamber through one or more outlet port.", "The liposome is then incubated with doxorubicin to encapsulate doxorubicin, wherein the resulting second liposome type does not comprise docetaxel; and (iii) combining predetermined amounts of the first liposome type and the second liposome type, thereby making the pharmaceutical composition as described or claimed herein.", "The invention provides a method of treating a subject comprising administering an effective amount of any of the pharmaceutical compositions of the invention described or claimed herein.", "In various embodiments, the subject has a cancer.", "In various embodiments, the cancer is a lung cancer, preferably non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC); colon cancer; breast cancer; or liver cancer, preferably hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).", "These and other advantages of the present technology will be apparent when reference is made to the accompanying drawings and the following description.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG.", "1 illustrates volume-weighted particle size distribution of liposomal formulation CPT307A determined by dynamic light scattering.", "FIG.", "2 illustrates volume-weighted particle size distribution of liposomal formulation CPT307B determined by dynamic light scattering.", "FIG.", "3 illustrates volume-weighted particle size distribution of liposomal formulation CPT319A determined by dynamic light scattering.", "FIG.", "4 illustrates volume-weighted particle size distribution of liposomal formulation CPT319B determined by dynamic light scattering.", "FIG.", "5 presents a cryo transmission electron microscopy (TEM) image of liposomal formulation CPT319B.", "FIG.", "6 presents a negative stained TEM image of liposomal formulation CPT319B.", "FIG.", "7 illustrates non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) tumor growth curves and tumor weight inhibition percentages (TW Inh %) after administration with liposomal formulations (CPT319A, CPT319B, or CPT319AB) or non-liposomal formulations of docetaxel/doxorubicin, compared to the control group.", "FIG.", "8 illustrates NSCLC tumor growth curves and tumor weight inhibition percentages (TW Inh %) after administration with liposomal formulations (CPT307A, CPT307B, or CPT307AB) or non-liposomal formulations of docetaxel/doxorubicin, compared to the control group.", "FIG.", "9 illustrates colon cancer tumor growth curves after administration with three different doses of liposomal formulation (CPT319AB), compared to the control group.", "FIG.", "10 illustrates colon cancer tumor growth curves after administration with three different doses of liposomal formulation (CPT307AB), compared to the control group.", "FIG.", "11 illustrates hepatocellular carcinoma tumor growth curves after administration with liposomal formulation (CPT319AB), compared to the control group.", "FIG.", "12 illustrates NSCLC tumor growth curves after administration with liposomal formulations (CPT307A, B, or AB and CPT319A, B, or AB), compared to the control group.", "FIG.", "13 illustrates plasma concentration curves of doxorubicin after administration with liposomal formulations (CPT307A or CPT319A), compared to non-liposomal formulations of docetaxel/doxorubicin.", "*BLOQ: Below Limit of Quantitation.", "FIG.", "14 illustrates liver concentration curves of doxorubicin after administration with liposomal formulations (Doxil®, CPT319A, or CPT221), as well as the DC-Cholesterol percentages of each liposomal formulations (DC-chol %).", "While the invention comprises embodiments in many different forms, there are shown in the drawings and will herein be described in detail several specific embodiments with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered as an exemplification of the principles of the technology and is not intended to limit the invention to the embodiments illustrated.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION In various aspects and embodiments, the invention provides a pharmaceutical composition including a first liposome type comprising a first API (e.g., docetaxel) and a second liposome type comprising a second API (e.g., doxorubicin).", "In various embodiments, (i) the first liposome type comprises a first lipid layer comprising an unsaturated phospholipid, cholesterol, and preferably a pegylated phospholipid, and a first active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) (e.g., docetaxel) in the first lipid layer; and (ii) a second liposome type comprising a second lipid layer, an aqueous interior, and a second API (e.g., crystallized doxorubicin) in the aqueous interior.", "The first liposome type does not comprise the second API (e.g., doxorubicin) and the second liposome type does not comprise the first API (e.g., docetaxel).", "As used herein, the phrase “the first liposome type does not comprise the second API and the second liposome type does not comprise the first API” or “the first liposome type does not comprise doxorubicin and the second liposome type does not comprise docetaxel” means that first liposome type includes essentially none, or a negligible amount, of the second API (e.g., doxorubicin) and the second liposome type includes essentially none, or a negligible amount, the first API (e.g., docetaxel).", "As will be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art, any compound has a partition coefficient between aqueous and non-aqueous phases that are in equilibrium.", "For example, given a hydrophobic compound (e.g., docetaxel) in a non-aqueous phase (e.g., lipid layer of a liposome) that is in equilibrium with an aqueous phase (e.g., aqueous interior of a liposome), the partition coefficient dictates that some negligible amount (e.g., essentially none) of the hydrophobic compound can be found partitioned to the aqueous phase.", "In other words, any amount of doxorubicin the first liposome type in the experimental Examples below can be considered as essentially none, or a negligible amount—i.e., the first liposome type does not comprise doxorubicin.", "Likewise, any amount of docetaxel the second liposome type in the experimental Examples below can be considered as essentially none, or a negligible amount—i.e., the second liposome type does not comprise docetaxel.", "The liposomes can be used advantageously to treat a subject, for example, a human subject having cancer.", "The cancer can be, for example, a lung cancer, preferably non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC); colon cancer; breast cancer; or liver cancer, preferably hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).", "The invention can provide for increased efficacy and/or decreased toxicity, for example relative to (i) other pharmaceutical compositions where the first drug (e.g., docetaxel) and/or the second drug (e.g., doxorubicin) are not in a liposomal formulation.", "The invention can also provided superior results to known liposomal, and non-liposomal, formulation (e.g., Doxil® and Myocet®, or Taxotere®).", "The invention can provide for targeted delivery of both the first and second API, for example to the liver.", "The invention can mitigate undesired side effects, for example to load a water insoluble drug into the liposome to eliminate the toxic solvent used for the non-liposomal drug (e.g., docetaxel) formulations thus to abolish the toxic solvent induced adverse react.", "Furthermore, because the first and second API are in separate liposomes, each liposome can be designed specifically for the API it carries.", "The different combinations of the two liposomal formulations, including different API ratio, different dosing sequence and interval time, can be clinically identified for the treatment of different type of cancers.", "It also provides physicians a flexibility to adjust the ratios of the two liposomal APIs at patients' bedside to optimize the outcomes while minimizing the adverse reactions for individual patients.", "The various features of such liposomes, as well as pharmaceutical compositions including the liposomes and methods of using and making the liposomes are discussed, in turn, below.", "Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API) In various aspects and embodiments, the compositions includes a first API (e.g., docetaxel in a first liposome type) and a second API (e.g., doxorubicin in a second, separate, liposome type).", "While docetaxel and doxorubicin are presented as illustrative examples, other embodiments are possible where a different first API is in the lipid layer of the first liposome type and a different second API is in (e.g., crystallized in) the aqueous interior of the second liposome type.", "In various embodiments, the two liposome types can separately include two (or more) anticancer agents, anti-inflammatory agents, anti-diabetic agents, anti-fungal agents, and/or antibiotic agents.", "Where additional APIs (i.e., more than two) are present, the first and/or second liposome types can include the additional API(s).", "Alternatively, the additional APIs can be included in liposome(s) separate from the first and second liposome types (e.g., in a third liposome type).", "Docetaxel (as generic or under the trade name Taxotere® or Docecad®) is a clinically well-established anti-mitotic chemotherapy medication that works by interfering with cell division.", "Docetaxel is approved by the FDA for treatment of locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer, head and neck cancer, gastric cancer, hormone-refractory prostate cancer and non small-cell lung cancer.", "Docetaxel can be used as a single agent or in combination with other chemotherapeutic drugs as indicated depending on specific cancer type and stage.", "Docetaxel is a member of the taxane drug class, which also includes the chemotherapeutic medication paclitaxel.", "Accordingly, in some embodiments, docetaxel can be substituted for another taxane that can be disposed within the lipid layer of the liposome.", "The optimal dose scheduling of taxanes remains unconfirmed, but most studies find significant mortality benefit following either a three-week or a one-week administration schedule.", "While some research suggests weekly administration as an optimal schedule, the official docetaxel package insert recommends administration every three weeks.", "Important toxicities to note include neutropenia, febrile neutropenia and neurosensory disturbances.", "Such toxicities have been well documented in Phase II and Phase III clinical trials and can be anticipated and subsequently managed.", "In various embodiments, the invention can increase the efficacy of, and/or decrease undesired side effects from, the docetaxel.", "Doxorubicin (trade name Adriamycin®; pegylated liposomal form trade name Doxil®; nonpegylated liposomal form trade name Myocet®), also known as hydroxydaunorubicin and hydroxydaunomycin, is a drug used in cancer chemotherapy and derived by chemical semisynthesis from a bacterial species.", "It is an anthracycline antibiotic (note: in this context, this does not mean it is used to treat bacterial infections) closely related to the natural product daunomycin and like all anthracyclines, it is believed to work by intercalating DNA, with the most serious adverse effect being life-threatening heart damage.", "It is commonly used in the treatment of a wide range of cancers, including hematological malignancies (blood cancers, like leukaemia and lymphoma), many types of carcinoma (solid tumors) and soft tissue sarcomas.", "It is often used in combination chemotherapy as a component of various chemotherapy regimens.", "In some embodiments, doxorubicin can be substituted for another anthracycline or another anticancer agent that can be disposed within the aqueous interior of the liposome.", "Common adverse effects of doxorubicin include hair loss (seen in most of those treated with the drug), myelosuppression (a compromised ability of the body's bone marrow to produce new blood cells), nausea and vomiting (which are seen in roughly 30-90% of people treated with the drug), oral mucositis, oesophagitis, diarrhea, skin reactions (including hand-foot syndrome) and localized swelling and redness along the vein in which the drug is delivered.", "Less common, yet serious reactions include hypersensitivity reactions (including anaphylaxis), radiation recall, heart damage and liver dysfunction.", "The drug is administered intravenously, as the hydrochloride salt.", "It is sold under a number of different brand names, including Adriamycin® PFS, Adriamycin® RDF, or Rubex®.", "Doxorubicin is photosensitive, and containers are often covered by an aluminum bag and/or brown wax paper to prevent light from affecting it.", "Doxorubicin is also available in liposome-encapsulated forms as Doxil® (pegylated form), Myocet® (nonpegylated form), and Caelyx®, although these forms must also be given by intravenous injection.", "In various embodiments, the invention can increase the efficacy of and/or decrease undesired side effects from, the doxorubicin.", "In some embodiments, the API may be a polynucleotide (including an oligonucleotide) a protein or a small molecule.", "In one embodiment the API is a polynucleotide.", "The polynucleotide may be a genomic DNA fragment, cDNA, mRNA, ssRNA, dsRNA, microRNA, siRNA, shRNA, sdRNA, DsiRNA, LNA, and antisense DNA or RNA.", "Alternatively, the API may be a small molecule drug.", "Preferably, the molecule has a molecular weight from about 1500 g/mole to about 50 g/mole.", "An API can include, for example, two or more of the following: an anticancer agent, an antibiotic agent, an antiviral agent, an anti-fungal agent, or an analgesic.", "Exemplary anticancer agents may include but are not limited acivicin, aclarubicin, acodazole, ametantrone, aminoglutethimide, anthramycin, asparaginase, azacitidine, azetepa, bisantrene, bleomycin, busulfan, cactinomycin, calusterone, caracemide, carboplatin, carfilzomib, carmustine, carubicin, chlorambucil, cisplatin, cyclophosphamide, cytarabine, dacarbazine, dactinomycin, daunorubicin, dezaguanine, diaziquone, docetaxel, doxorubicin, epipropidine, erlotinib, etoposide, etoprine, floxuridine, fludarabine, fluorouracil, fluorocitabine, hydroxyurea, iproplatin, leuprolide acetate, lomustine, mechlorethamine, megestrol acetate, melengestrol acetate, mercaptopurine, methotrexate, metoprine, mitocromin, mitogillin, mitomycin, mitosper, mitoxantrone, mycophenolic acid, nocodazole, nogalamycin, oxisuran, paclitaxel, peliomycin, pentamustine, porfiromycin, prednimustine, procarbazine hydrochloride, puromycin, pyrazofurin, riboprine, semustine, sparsomycin, spirogermanium, spiromustine, spiroplatin, streptozocin, talisomycin, tegafur, teniposide, teroxirone, thiamiprine, thioguanine, tiazofurin, triciribine phosphate, triethylenemelamine, trimetrexate, uracil mustard, uredepa, vinblastine, vincristine, vindesine, vinepidine, vinrosidine, vinzolidine, zinostatin and zorubicin.", "In specific embodiments, the anti-cancer agent is chosen from carfilzomib, daunorubicin, doxorubicin, paclitaxel, docetaxel, cisplatin, carboplatin, cytarabine, floxuridine, fludarabine, fluorouracil, iproplatin, leuprolide acetate, and methotrexate.", "Exemplary antibiotic agents may include but are not limited to aminoglycoside; amikacin; gentamicin; kanamycin; neomycin; netilmicin; steptomycin; tobramycin; ansamycins; geldanamycin; herbimycin; carbacephem; loracarbef; carbacepenem; ertapenem; doripenem; imipenem/cilastatin; meropenem; cephalosporin; cefadroxil; cefazolin; cefalotin or cefalothin; cefalexin; cefaclor; cefamandole; cefoxitin; cefprozil; cefuroxime; cefixime; cefdinir; cefditoren; cefoperazone; cefotaxime; cefpodoxime; ceftazidime; ceftibuten; ceftizoxime; ceftriaxone; cefepime; ceftobiprole; glycopeptide; teicoplanin; vancomycin; macrolides; azithromycin; clarithromycin; dirithromycin; erythromicin; roxithromycin; troleandomycin; telithromycin; spectinomycin; monobactam; aztreonam; penicillins; amoxicillin; ampicillin; azlocillin; carbenicillin; cloxacillin; dicloxacillin; flucloxacillin; mezlocillin; meticillin; nafcillin; oxacillin; penicillin, piperacillin, ticarcillin; bacitracin; colistin; polymyxin B; quinolone; ciprofloxacin; enoxacin; gatifloxacin; levofloxacin; lomefloxacin; moxifloxacin; norfloxacin; ofloxacin; trovafloxacin; sulfonamide; mafenide; prontosil (archaic); sulfacetamide; sulfamethizole; sufanilimide (archaic); sulfasalazine; sulfisoxazole; trimethoprim; trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (co-trimoxazole) (TMP-SMX); tetracycline; demeclocycline; doxycycline; minocycline; oxytetracycline; tetracycline; arsphenamine; chloramphenicol; clindamycin; lincomycin; ethambutol; fosfomycin; fusidic acid; furazolidone; isoniazid; linezolid; metronidazole; mupirocin; nitrofuantoin; platensimycin; polymyxin, purazinamide; quinupristin/dalfopristin; rifampin or rifampicin; and timidazole.", "Exemplary antiviral agents may include, but are not limited to thiosemicarbazone; metisazone; nucleoside and/or nucleotide; acyclovir; idoxuridine; vidarabine; ribavirin; ganciclovir; famciclovir; valaciclovir; cidofovir; penciclovir; valganciclovir; brivudine; ribavirin, cyclic amines; rimantadine; tromantadine; phosphonic acid derivative; foscamet; fosfonet; protease inhibitor; saquinavir; indinavir; ritonavir; nelfinavir; amprenavir; lopinavir; fosamprenavir; atazanavir; tipranavir; nucleoside and nucleotide reverse transcriptase inhibitor; zidovudine; didanosine; zalcitabine; stavudine; lamivudine; abacavir; tenofovir disoproxil; adefovir dipivoxil; emtricitabine; entecavir; non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor; nevirapine; delavirdine; efavirenz; neuraminidase inhibitor; zanamivir; oseltamivir; moroxydine; inosine pranobex; pleconaril; and enfuvirtide.", "Exemplary anti-fungal agents may include but are not limited to allylamine; terbinafine; antimetabolite; flucytosine; azole; fluconazole; itraconazole; ketoconazole; ravuconazole; posaconazole; voriconazole; glucan synthesis inhibitor; caspofungin; micafungin; anidulafungin; polyenes; amphotericin B; amphotericin B Colloidal Dispersion (ABCD); and griseofulvin.", "Exemplary analgesics may include, but are not limited to opiate derivative, codeine, meperidine, methadone, and morphine.", "In various embodiments, docetaxel is the only API in the first liposome type and/or doxorubicin is the only API in the second liposome type.", "In various embodiments, the molar ratio of the first lipid layer components:doxorubicin is about 100:1 to about 5:1, preferably about 20:1 to about 10:1; and the molar ratio of the second lipid layer components:docetaxel is about 100:1 to about 5:1, preferably about 20:1 to about 10:1.In various embodiments, the molar ratio of second API (e.g., doxorubicin):first API (e.g., docetaxel) is about 10:1 to 1:10, preferably about 5:1 to 1:5, and more preferably about 3:1 to 1:3.The Lipid Layer and Aqueous Solutions The invention utilizes lipid and aqueous solutions, for example in making liposomes in accordance with the invention.", "Accordingly, the composition lipid and/or aqueous solutions can affect the final composition of the liposomes.", "In various embodiments, the lipid solution may comprise an organic solvent.", "The organic solvent may be a water miscible solvent.", "Preferably, the water miscible solvent is selected from the group consisting of ethanol, methanol, DMSO and isopropanol.", "Most preferably, the organic solvent is ethanol.", "As used herein the term of “cationic lipid” refers to a lipid or a cholesterol derivative that carries a net positive charge at about pH 3-pH 9.As used herein the term of “anionic lipid” refers to a lipid or a cholesterol derivative that carries a net negative charge at about pH 3-pH 9.As used herein the term “pegylated lipid” refers to a lipid that is conjugated with a polyethylene glycol polymer.", "As used herein the term “neutral lipid” refers to the lipid that does not carry net charge at about pH 3-pH 9.The lipid solution may include a mixture of lipids.", "The mixture of lipids preferably includes cholesterol.", "The mixture of lipids may also include a cationic lipid.", "The cationic lipid may be, but is not limited to, N,N-dioleyl-N,N-dimethylammonium chloride (“DODAC”); N-(2,3-dioleyloxy)propyl)-N,N,N-trimethylammonium chloride (“DOTMA”); N-(2,3-dioleyloxy)propyl)-N,N-dimethylammonium chloride (“DODMA”); N,N-distearyl-N,N-dimethylammonium bromide (“DDAB”); N-(2,3-dioleoyloxy)propyl)-N,N,N-trimethylammonium chloride (“DOTAP”); N-(2,3-dioleoyloxy)propyl)-N,N-dimethylammonium chloride (“DODAP”); 3-(N—(N′,N′-dimethylaminoethane)carbamoyl)cholesterol (“DC-Chol”); N-(1,2-dimyristyloxyprop-3-yl)-N,N-dimethyl-N-hydroxyethyl ammonium bromide (“DMRIE”); 1.2-dilinoleyloxy-N,N-dimethyl-3-aminopropane (DLinDMA); 1,2-distearyloxy-N,N-dimethyl-3-aminopropane (DSDMA); 1.2-dilinolenyloxy-N,N-dimethyl-3-aminopropane (DLenDMA); 2-{4-[(3b)-cholest-5-en-3-yloxy]butoxy}-N,N-dimethyl-3-[(9Z,12Z)-octadeca-9,12-dien-1-yloxy]propan-amine (CLinDMA).", "In some embodiments the mixture of lipids may include an anionic lipid.", "The anionic lipid may be but is not limited to diacylglycerol phophatidic acid (1,2-distearoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphate (DSPA); 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphate (DPPA); 1,2-dimyristoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphate (DMPA); 1,2-dilauroyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphate (DLPA); 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphate (DOPA)), diacylglycerol phosphoglycerol (1,2-distearoyl-sn-glycero-3-phospho-(1′-rac-glycerol) (DSPG); 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phospho-(1′-rac-glycerol) (DPPG); 1,2-dimyristoyl-sn-glycero-3-phospho-(1′-rac-glycerol) (DMPG); 1,2-dilauroyl-sn-glycero-3-phospho-(1′-rac-glycerol) (DLPG); 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phospho-(1′-rac-glycerol) (DOPG)), phosphatidylglycerol, cardiolipin, diacylphosphatidylserine, N-succinyl phosphatidylethanolamines, N-glutarylphosphatidylethanolamines, lysylphosphatidylglycerols, and other anionic modifying groups joined to neutral lipids.", "The mixture of lipids may also include a neutral lipid.", "The neutral lipid may be but is not limited to diacylglycerol phosphocholine (L-α-phosphatidylcholine, hydrogenated (Soy) (HSPC); diacylglycerol phosphocholine (L-α-phosphatidylcholine, (Soy) (Soy PC)1,2-distearoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DSPC); 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine(DPPC); 1,2-dimyristoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DMPC); 1,2-dilauroyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DLPC); 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DOPC), diacylglycerol phosphoethanolamine (1,2-distearoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine (DSPE); 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine (DPPE); 1,2-dimyristoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine (DMPE); 1,2-dilauroyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine (DLPE); 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine (DOPE), and phosphatidylserine.", "The mixture of lipids may also include a pegylated lipid.", "The pegylated lipid may be but is not limited to 1,2-distearoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine-N-[methoxy(polyethylene glycol)-2000] (mPEG-2000-DSPE); 1,2-dioctadecanoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine-N-[methoxy(polyethylene glycol)-2000] (mPEG-2000-DOPE); 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine-N-[methoxy(polyethylene glycol)-2000] (mPEG-2000-DPPE); 1,2-dimyristoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine-N-[methoxy(polyethylene glycol)-2000] (mPEG-2000-DMPE); 1,2-dilauroyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine-N-[methoxy(polyethylene glycol)-2000] (mPEG-2000-DLPE); 1,2-distearoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine-N-[methoxy(polyethylene glycol)-5000] (mPEG-5000-DSPE); 1,2-dioctadecanoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine-N-[methoxy(polyethylene glycol)-5000] (mPEG-5000-DOPE); 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine-N-[methoxy(polyethylene glycol)-5000] (mPEG-5000-DPPE); 1,2-dimyristoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine-N-[methoxy(polyethylene glycol)-5000] (mPEG-5000-DMPE); 1,2-dilauroyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine-N-[methoxy(polyethylene glycol)-5000] (mPEG-5000-DLPE).", "The mixture of lipid may also include a lipid-like molecule or lipidoid.", "The mixture of lipid may also include a lipid- or cholesterol-conjugated molecule including a protein, or a peptide, or an oligonucleotide.", "In various embodiments, the lipid layer includes one or more of the lipid components disclosed herein.", "In various embodiments, the first lipid layer and/or the second lipid layer consist of unsaturated phospholipid and cholesterol.", "In various embodiments, the first lipid layer and/or the second lipid layer consist of unsaturated phospholipid, cholesterol, and pegylated phospholipid.", "In various embodiments, the first lipid layer and the second lipid layer comprise different lipid compositions (e.g., different lipid components and/or different amounts of certain lipid components).", "In various embodiments, the first liposome and the second liposome are different (e.g., in addition to comprising different APIs, derived from different lipid solutions and/or aqueous solutions as described below).", "Alternatively, in some embodiments, the first and second lipid layers are essentially the same (e.g., other than comprising different APIs, comprising essentially the same lipid components and amounts thereof).", "In various embodiments, the first lipid layer, the second lipid layer, or both the first and second lipid layers comprise: about 20-75%, preferably about 30-60%, (molar) unsaturated phospholipid; about 10-60%, preferably 20-50%, (molar) cholesterol; and about 0-20%, preferably 1-10%, (molar) pegylated phospholipid.", "In various embodiments, the molar ratio of the lipid layer components:doxorubicin is about 100:1 to about 5:1, preferably about 20:1 to about 10:1; and the molar ratio of the lipid layer components:docetaxel is about 100:1 to about 5:1, preferably about 20:1 to about 10:1.In various embodiments, the molar ratio of doxorubicin:docetaxel is about 10:1 to 1:10, preferably about 5:1 to 1:5, and more preferably about 3:1 to 1:3.In various embodiments, the unsaturated phospholipid comprises a polyunsaturated phospholipid or a monounsaturated phospholipid, preferably a phosphatidylcholine, and more preferably and soy phosphatidylcholine or 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphatidylcholine (DOPC).", "In various embodiments, the cholesterol comprises a cholesterol derivative, preferably a cationic cholesterol derivative, more preferably an amino cholesterol derivative, and still more preferably dimethylaminoethanecarbamoyl-cholesterol (DC-cholesterol).", "In various embodiments, the pegylated phospholipid comprises a phosphoethanolamine, preferably a 1,2-distearoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine (DSPE) and wherein the pegylation is a PEG 500 to PEG 3000, preferably PEG 2000.In various embodiments, the composition of the lipid layer is tuned to achieve a desired loading of the first drug.", "Although at least a fraction of the first drug is in the lipid layer, one of ordinary skill will understand that the first drug will have a partition coefficient between the lipid layer and aqueous interior.", "In some embodiments, essentially all of the first drug will be in the lipid layer.", "The aqueous solution of the process preferably includes water and a buffer.", "Buffers may be of but are not limited to phosphate, histidine, HEPES, Tris, acetate, carbonate, and citrate.", "In various embodiments, the composition of the aqueous solution is tuned to achieve a desired loading (and/or crystallization) of the second drug.", "Although at least a fraction of the second drug is in the aqueous interior of the liposome, one of ordinary skill will understand that the second drug will have a partition coefficient between the lipid layer and aqueous interior.", "In some embodiments, essentially all of the second drug will be in the aqueous interior.", "Although, in some embodiments, the first lipid layer and the second lipid layer have essentially the same lipid compositions, one skilled in the art will appreciate that, in other embodiments, the first lipid layer and the second lipid layer can have different lipid compositions (e.g., different lipid components and/or different amounts of certain lipid components).", "Methods for Making Liposomes Examples of apparatuses and methods that can be adapted for making the liposomes of the invention can be found, for example, in U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "14/209,187 (and published as US20140348900), which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.", "A description of a number of different methods of making liposomes in accordance with the invention are presented in the Examples below.", "The invention also provides a method of making the pharmaceutical composition as described or claimed herein.", "For example, the invention provides a method of making a pharmaceutical composition as described or claimed herein, comprising: (i) making a first liposome type by introducing a first lipid solution of an unsaturated phospholipid, a sterol, docetaxel, and preferably a pegylated phospholipid in ethanol through a first port into a mixing chamber and introducing a first aqueous solution through a second port into the mixing chamber, wherein the resulting first liposome type does not comprise doxorubicin; (ii) making a second liposome type by introducing a second lipid solution in ethanol through a first port into a mixing chamber and introducing a second aqueous solution through a second port into the mixing chamber and incubating the resulting liposomes with doxorubicin, wherein the resulting second liposome type does not comprise docetaxel; and (iii) combining predetermined amounts of the first liposome type and the second liposome type, thereby making the pharmaceutical composition as described or claimed herein.", "In various embodiments, the angle between at least one lipid and at one aqueous solution inlet ports is not 180° or a substantially similar angle.", "In some aspects, at least one stream of lipid solution and at one stream of aqueous solution collide at an angle less than about 180°.", "Thus, in some aspects, the method does not include a T-connector.", "In some embodiments, the angle between at least one lipid and at one aqueous solution inlet ports is about 120° or less, e.g., 115° or less, 100° or less, 90° or less, 80° or less, 72° or less, 60° or less, 45° or less, 30° or less, 18° or less, In some embodiments, the aqueous solution in step ii) is introduced via at least two inlet ports, e.g., at least 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 or more.", "In some embodiments, the aqueous solution in step ii) is introduced via at least 3 but no more than 11 inlet ports, e.g., at least 3 but not more than 7, at least 3 but no more than 5, at least 4 but no more than 11, at least 5 but no more than 11, at least 6 but no more than 11.In some embodiments, at least two (e.g., 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, etc.)", "aqueous inlet ports and at least one (e.g., 2, 3, 4, 5, etc.)", "lipid solution inlet port are in the same plane.", "In some embodiments, at least one (e.g., 2) outlet port is substantially perpendicular to the plane of inlet ports.", "In other embodiments, at least one (e.g., 2, 3, 4, 5, etc.)", "outlet port is substantially not perpendicular to the plane of inlet ports.", "In some embodiments, at least two (e.g., 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, etc.)", "aqueous solution inlet ports and at least one (e.g., 2, 3, 4, 5, etc.)", "lipid solution inlet port are not in the same plane.", "Preparing Lipid Solutions The lipid solution may be made from the stock solutions of individual lipids that are mixed together.", "Lipids are preferably dissolved in an organic solvent to make a lipid solution.", "The organic solvent used for making the lipid solution may be miscible with water.", "Preferably the solvent may ethanol, methanol, DMSO, propanol, DMF, THF, acetone, dioxane, ethylene glycol, polyethylene glycol and isopropanol.", "More preferably, the solvent is polyethylene glycol, isopropanol, and ethanol.", "Preferably, the solvent includes less than 10% water.", "In some cases, the lipid solution may be made from a mixture of lipids, thereupon dissolving the mixture in an organic solvent.", "The concentration of the total lipids in the solution may be in the range from about 1 mg/mL to about 200 mg/mL, e.g., from about 1 mg/mL to about 100 mg/mL.", "More preferably, the concentration of the total lipids in the solution may be in the range from about 5 mg/mL to about 100 mg/mL or form about 10 mg/mL to 100 mg/mL.", "In some embodiments, the organic solvent is ethanol at a concentration of about 70% or more (e.g., 75% or more, 80% or more, 85% or more, 90% or more, 95% or more, 100%).", "The mixture of lipids will be optimized as required for optimal delivery of the API and is readily optimized by routine experimentation by one of ordinary skill in the art.", "In certain embodiments, a water-insoluble API may be dissolved in the lipid solution.", "The concentration of the API in the lipid solution will depend on the efficacy of the agent and may easily be determined by one of ordinary skill in the art.", "The lipid/API ratio will determined by the encapsulation power of the liposome to the API.", "Preparing Aqueous Solutions A water-soluble API component may be dissolved in a first aqueous solution (51).", "The pH and salinity of the solution may be optimized to accommodate the requirements for the interaction between the API component and the lipids to form liposome.", "These conditions may be readily determined by one of ordinary skill in the art.", "Samples are provided in the Examples below.", "As will be readily apparent to those of skill in the art, an aqueous solution that lacks an API, referred to as (S2), may be similar to a solution having the agent.", "Alternatively, S1 and S2 may be different.", "Liposome Preparation, Mixing the Solutions The lipid solution and the aqueous solution(s) preferably enter the manifold from different ports, each with a flow rate of from about 1 mL/min to about 6000 mL/min.", "Preferably, the flow rates may be from about 5 mL/min to about 1000 mL/min.", "More preferably, the rates may be from about 20 mL/min to about 600 mL/min.", "In some embodiments, the flow rates are adjusted based on the size of inlet ports to obtain the desired liposome size, morphology, PDI, and manufacturing scales.", "As described above, the first liposome and the second liposome can be different (e.g., different lipid components and/or different amounts of certain lipid components, different aqueous interiors, etc.).", "In such cases, the first and second liposomes can be made from different lipid solutions and/or aqueous solutions.", "However, one skilled in the art will appreciate that in some embodiments, the first and second lipid layers can be essentially the same.", "In some embodiments, the lipid solution and/or the aqueous solution is introduced via port size of 0.1-5 mm at a flow rate about 1 mL/min to about 2,500 mL/min.", "In some embodiments, the flow velocity of the lipid solution and/or the aqueous solution is from about 0.02 m/s to about 40 m/s, e.g., from 0.1 m/s to 30 m/s, from 0.2 m/s to 20 m/s.", "The flow velocity is adjusted based on the size of inlet ports to obtain the desired liposome size, morphology, PDI, and manufacturing scale.", "Loading of the API Into liposome In the mixing chamber the lipids are believed to instantaneously assemble into liposome particles.", "When the drug API is carried by the lipid solution or by aqueous solution, it may be encapsulated in the liposome by either lipophilic or electrostatic interaction, or both, between the API and the lipids.", "The present invention also provides a method of producing liposome that do not contain an API (so-called “empty” liposome).", "In such embodiments, the API is absent from both the lipid solution and the aqueous solution that are mixed in the manifold.", "The API may be loaded into the liposomes by the process of diffusion or another process.", "For example, doxorubicin may be loaded into the liposome with a pH gradient.", "See U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "10/019,200, PCT Publication No.", "WO 2001/005373, U.S. Pat.", "Nos.", "5,785,987, 5,380,531, 5,316,771, and 5,192,549, all of which are incorporated herein by reference.", "Preferably, the API is mixed with a liposome solution to upload the API into the liposome by diffusion.", "In one aspect, the API is dissolved in an aqueous solution, and the solution is mixed with the empty liposome.", "In another aspect, the API may be readily soluble in the solution of empty liposome, and therefore, the API may be directly mixed with the solution of the empty liposome.", "The volume ratio of the solution of the API to the empty liposome solution of the API is preferably in the range from about 1:50 to about 1:5.A lower volume of the solution is preferred because it avoids a significant dilution to the final liposome solution.", "The drug encapsulation efficiency is preferably greater than 70%.", "More preferably the efficiency is greater than 80%.", "Most preferably, the efficiency is greater than 90%.", "Liposome Concentration Adjustment Tangent flow filtration may be used to concentrate the liposome solution.", "Buffer Change Residual organic solvent in the liposome solution may be removed by a buffer change.", "Preferably, the buffer change is performed by tangent flow filtration.", "In another embodiment, the buffer change may be performed by dialysis.", "Sterile Filtration The liposome solutions can be sterilized, for example, by passing the solution through a 0.22 micron sterile filter.", "Liposomes In various embodiments, the Z-average particle size of the liposomes is from about 10 nm to about 2,000 nm, preferably less than 300 nm, more preferably, the mean particle size may be about 10 to 300 nm or about 20 to about 300 nm.", "Most preferably, the mean particle size is about 20 to 120 nm In some embodiments, the liposomes have a polydispersity index from about 0.005 to about 0.8, e.g., 0.005 to about 0.5, 0.01 to about 0.5, 0.01 to about 0.4, 0.01 to about 0.2.Preferably, more than 70% of API is encapsulated in the liposomes.", "More preferably, more than 80% of API is encapsulated in the liposomes, most preferably, more than 90% of API is encapsulated in the liposomes.", "Optionally, liposomes can be unilamellar.", "Alternatively, the liposomes can be of multilamellar, or of inverted hexagonal or cubic morphology, or as lipid discs, or hollow liposomes.", "Pharmaceutical Compositions In various embodiments, the pharmaceutical composition is for use as a medicament.", "In various embodiments, the pharmaceutical composition is for use as a cancer therapeutic.", "In various embodiments, the pharmaceutical composition comprises an antibiotic, antiviral, anti-diabetes, anti-hypertension, anti-fungal, or analgesic drug.", "The invention also provides a pharmaceutical composition consisting of: (i) a plurality of liposomes of the first type as described or claimed herein; (ii) a plurality of liposomes of the second type as described or claimed herein; and (iii) one or more pharmaceutical excipients.", "In various embodiments, the plurality of liposomes are comprised in an injectable formulation, for example, by subcutaneous, intravenous, intramuscular, intrathecal or intraperitoneal injection.", "Injectable formulations can be aqueous solutions, preferably in physiologically compatible buffers such as Hanks' solution, Ringer's solution, or physiological saline buffer.", "The injectable formulation can contain formulatory agents such as suspending, stabilizing and/or dispersing agents.", "Alternatively, the liposomes can be in a dried or powder form for constitution with a suitable vehicle, e.g., sterile pyrogen-free water, before use.", "Treatment and Administration The invention provides a method of treating a subject comprising administering an effective amount of any of the pharmaceutical compositions of the invention described or claimed herein.", "In various embodiments, the subject has a cancer.", "In various embodiments, the cancer is a lung cancer, preferably non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC); colon cancer; breast cancer; or liver cancer, preferably hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).", "Accordingly, the invention provides methods for treating cancer cells and/or tissue, including cancer cells and/or tissue in a human subject.", "Cancer can be caused by malignant tumors formed by an abnormal growth of cells and tissue leading to organ failure.", "Solid tumors can be neoplasms (new growth of cells) or lesions (damage of anatomic structures or disturbance of physiological functions) formed by an abnormal growth of body tissue cells other than blood, bone marrow or lymphatic cells.", "A solid tumor consists of an abnormal mass of cells which may stem from different tissue types such as liver, colon, breast, or lung, and which initially grows in the organ of its cellular origin.", "However, such cancers may spread to other organs through metastatic tumor growth in advanced stages of the disease.", "The subject being treated may have been diagnosed with cancer.", "The subject may have locally advanced, unresectable, or metastatic cancer and/or may have failed a prior first-line therapy.", "In various embodiments, the cancer is liver cancer (e.g., hepatocellular carcinoma, HCC).", "In various embodiments, the liver cancer (e.g., HCC) can be intermediate, advanced, or terminal stage.", "The liver cancer (e.g., HCC) can be metastatic or non-metastatic.", "Liver cancer can include a liver tumor resulting from the metastasis of a non-liver cancer, to the liver.", "The liver cancer (e.g., HCC) can be resectable or unresectable.", "The liver cancer (e.g., HCC) can comprise a single tumor, multiple tumors, or a poorly defined tumor with an infiltrative growth pattern (into portal veins or hepatic veins).", "The liver cancer (e.g., HCC) can comprise a fibrolamellar, pseudoglandular (adenoid), pleomorphic (giant cell), or clear cell pattern.", "The liver cancer (e.g., HCC) can comprise a well differentiated form, and tumor cells resemble hepatocytes, form trabeculae, cords, and nests, and/or contain bile pigment in cytoplasm.", "The liver cancer (e.g., HCC) can comprise a poorly differentiated form, and malignant epithelial cells are discohesive, pleomorphic, anaplastic, and/or giant.", "In some embodiments, the liver cancer (e.g., HCC) is associated with hepatitis B, hepatitis C, cirrhosis, or type 2 diabetes.", "In various embodiments, the cancer is a lung cancer, preferably non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC); colon cancer; breast cancer; or liver cancer, preferably hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).", "In various embodiments, the docetaxel can be in a concentration of 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 75, 80, 100, 125, 150, or 160 mg/mL.", "A dose can be about 10 mg/m2 to 150 mg/m2 (e.g., 10, 20, 25, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 75, 80, 90, 100, 110, 120, 125, 130, 140, or 150 mg/m2).", "For example, a dose can be 75 mg/m2.A dose can be administered every 3 weeks for 1, 2, 3, 5, 5, or 6 cycles.", "One skilled in the art will appreciate that dosing guidelines for docetaxel are known in the art, and can be adapted based upon factors including, but not limited to the cancer type, the cancer stage, the dosing regimen, the dose of doxorubicin, and/or the efficacy of the pharmaceutical compositions of the invention.", "In various embodiments, the doxorubicin can be in a concentration of 0.1, 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2, 3, 4, or 5 mg/mL.", "A dose can be about 1 mg/m2 to 100 mg/m2 (e.g., 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 20, 25, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 75, 80, 90, or 100 mg/m2).", "For example, a dose can be 30 mg/m2.A dose can be administered every 3 weeks for 1, 2, 3, 5, 5, or 6 cycles.", "One skilled in the art will appreciate that dosing guidelines for docetaxel are known in the art, and can be adapted based upon factors including, but not limited to the cancer type, the cancer stage, the dosing regimen, the dose of doxorubicin, and/or the efficacy of the pharmaceutical compositions of the invention.", "In various embodiments, the liposome of the first API (e.g.", "docetaxel) and the liposome of the second API (e.g.", "doxorubicin) are mixed and co-administered to a subject.", "In various embodiments, the liposome of the first API (e.g.", "docetaxel) and the liposome of the second API (e.g.", "doxorubicin) are administered separately in sequence.", "The following examples are illustrative and not restrictive.", "Many variations of the technology will become apparent to those of skill in the art upon review of this disclosure.", "The scope of the technology should, therefore, be determined not with reference to the examples, but instead should be determined with reference to the appended claims along with their full scope of equivalents.", "Examples Example 1: Preparation of Liposomal Formulation CPT307A CPT307A comprises a nonsaturated lipid 1,2-Dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-Phosphatidylcholine (DOPC), cholesterol, and 1,2-distearoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine-N-[methoxy9polyethyleneglycol)-2000].", "A lipid solution in ethanol was made by dissolving 1200 mg of 1,2-Dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-Phosphatidylcholine (DOPC), 160 mg of cholesterol, and 400 mg of 1,2-distearoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine-N-[methoxy9polyethyleneglycol)-2000] (mPEG2000-DSPE) in 40 mL of anhydrous ethanol.", "In addition, three aqueous solutions of 250 mM ammonium sulfate, pH 6.5 were used.", "Twenty milliliter of each of the above four solutions was loaded into a 20 mL syringe.", "Each syringe was connected to an inlet port of a five-port manifold by tubing.", "Through the tubing, the solutions in the syringes were pumped into the mixing chamber of the manifold by a syringe pump.", "The liposome solution exited through an outlet port and was collected in a glass bottle and was then concentrated by tangent flow filtration.", "The buffer was changed into a histidine/sucrose buffer (10 mM histidine, 9.2% sucrose, pH 6.5) by tangent flow filtration.", "Liposomal formulation CPT307A was prepared by loading doxorubicin (DXR) into the empty liposomes.", "Twenty eight milliliters of the empty liposomes was mixed with 6.85 mL of a DXR solution in the histidine/sucrose buffer at a concentration of 8.93 mg/mL, and incubated at 42° C. for 3 hours, 99.8% of DXR was encapsulated.", "The encapsulated liposome was then sterilized by filtration through a 0.22 μm filter.", "The composition (% molar) of the CPT307A lipid solution is illustrated in Table 1.The final Z-average particle size of the loaded liposome was 37.9 nm, with a DXR concentration of 1.74 mg/mL.", "The volume-weighted particle size distribution of CPT307A determined by dynamic light scattering (Malvern Zetasizer Nano ZS) is shown in FIG.", "1.TABLE 1 Lipid Composition of Example 1.Component CPT307A % (molar) * DOPC 73.6 Cholesterol 20 mPEG2000-DSPE 6.4 DXR 13.1 * The value represents the molar % of each component vs. total lipids.", "Example 2: Preparation of Liposomal Formulation CPT307B The lipid composition of CPT307B is identical to CPT307A, it comprises DOPC, cholesterol, and mPEG2000-DSPE.", "It was found that compared to a saturated lipid such as DSPC, DPPC, HSPC, the nonsaturated lipid DOPC makes liposome a greater capacity to encapsulate docetaxel.", "To make CPT307B, a lipid/DOCE solution was prepared by dissolving 2100 mg of DOPC, 280 mg of cholesterol, 700 mg of mPEG2000-DSPE, and 175 mg of docetaxel (DOCE) in 70 mL of anhydrous ethanol.", "The composition (% molar) of the CPT307B lipid solution is illustrated in Table 2.In addition, three aqueous solutions of 250 mM ammonium sulfate, pH 6.5 were used.", "Twenty milliliter of each of the above four solutions was loaded into a 20 mL syringe.", "Each syringe was connected to an inlet port of a five-port manifold by tubing.", "Through the tubing, the solutions in the syringes were pumped into the mixing chamber of the manifold by a syringe pump.", "The liposome solution exited through an outlet port and was collected in a glass bottle and was then concentrated by tangent flow filtration.", "The buffer was changed into a histidine/sucrose buffer (10 mM histidine, 9.2% sucrose, pH 6.5) by tangent flow filtration.", "The formulation was then sterilized by filtration through a 0.22 μm filter.", "The Z-average particle size was 32.9 nm for CPT307B.", "The volume-weighted particle size distribution of CPT307B determined by dynamic light scattering (Malvern Zetasizer Nano ZS) is shown in FIG.", "2.TABLE 2 Lipid Composition of Example 2.Component CPT307B % (molar)* DOPC 73.6 Cholesterol 20 mPEG2000-DSPE 6.4 DOCE 6.0 *The value represents the molar % of each component vs. total lipids.", "Example 3: Preparation of Combination Liposomal Formulation CPT307AB Liposomal formulation CPT307AB was prepared by mixing CPT307A (see Example 1) and CPT307B (see Example 2) at a 1:1 molar ratio (or 1:1.5 w/w ratio) of DXR encapsulated in CPT307A and DOCE encapsulated in CPT307B.", "For instance, CPT307AB was prepared by mixing 12.07 mL of CPT307A containing 1.74 mg/mL of DXR and 12.26 mL of CPT307B containing 2.57 mg/mL of DOCE.", "The mixture was gently swirled to allow for complete mixing.", "The composition (% molar) of the CPT307AB lipid solution is illustrated in Table 3.The final concentrations of DXR and DOCE in CPT307AB were 0.86 mg/mL and 1.29 mg/mL, respectively.", "TABLE 3 Lipid Composition of Example 3.Component CPT307AB % (molar)* DOPC 73.6 Cholesterol 20 mPEG2000-DSPE 6.4 DXR 4.1 DOCE 4.1 *The value represents the molar % of each component vs. total lipids.", "Example 4: Preparation of Liposomal Formulation CPT319A CPT319A comprises of DOPC, cholesterol, 3β-[N—(N′, N′-dimethylaminoethane)-carbamoyl] cholesterol hydrochloride (DC-Cholesterol), and mPEG2000-DSPE.", "DC-Cholesterol is a cationic derivative of cholesterol that brings positive surface charges to liposome and thus dramatically the in vivo distribution of the liposome.", "To make the liposome, a lipid solution was prepared firstly by dissolving 1800 mg of DOPC, 300 mg of cholesterol, 420 mg of DC-cholesterol and 600 mg of mPEG2000-DSPE in 60 mL of anhydrous ethanol.", "In addition, three aqueous solutions of 250 mM ammonium sulfate, pH 6.5 were used.", "Twenty milliliter of each of the above four solutions was loaded into a 20 mL syringe.", "Each syringe was connected to an inlet port of a five-port manifold by tubing.", "Through the tubing, the solutions in the syringes were pumped into the mixing chamber of the manifold by a syringe pump.", "The liposome solution exited through an outlet port was collected in a glass bottle and was then concentrated by tangent flow filtration.", "The buffer was changed into a histidine/sucrose buffer (10 mM histidine, 9.2% sucrose, pH 6.5) by tangent flow filtration.", "Liposomal formulation CPT319A was prepared by loading DXR into the empty liposomes.", "Thirty milliliters of the empty liposomes containing lipids at 33.5 mg/mL was mixed with 83.6 mg of DXR that had been pre-dissolved in the histidine/sucrose buffer, and incubated at 42° C. for 3 hours, 94.6% of DXR was encapsulated.", "The encapsulated liposome was then sterilized by filtration through a 0.22 μm filter.", "The composition (% molar) of the CPT319A illustrated in Table 4.The final Z-average of the particle size of the loaded liposome was 43.6 nm.", "The volume-weighted particle size distribution of CPT319A determined by dynamic light scattering (Malvern Zetasizer Nano ZS) is shown in FIG.", "3.TABLE 4 Lipid Composition of Example 4.Component CPT319A % (molar)* DOPC 61.7 Cholesterol 17.7 DC-Cholesterol 15.2 mPEG2000-DSPE 5.4 DXR 10.3 *The value represents the molar % of each component vs. total lipids.", "Example 5: Preparation of Liposomal Formulation CPT319B CPT319B comprises of DOPC, cholesterol, 3β-[N—(N′, N′-dimethylaminoethane)-carbamoyl]cholesterol hydrochloride (DC-Cholesterol), and mPEG2000-DSPE.", "DC-Cholesterol is a cationic derivative of cholesterol that brings positive surface charges to liposome and thus dramatically the in vivo distribution of the liposome.", "The lipids composition is identical to CPT319A.", "To make CPT319B, a lipid/DOCE solution was prepared by dissolving 1848 mg of DOPC, 303 mg of cholesterol, 423 mg of DC-Cholesterol, 605 mg of mPEG2000-DSPE, and 154 mg of DOCE in 61.5 mL of anhydrous ethanol.", "The composition (% molar) of the CPT319B lipid solution is illustrated in Table 5.In addition, three aqueous solutions of 250 mM ammonium sulfate, pH 6.5 were used.", "Twenty milliliter of each of the above four solutions was loaded into a 20 mL syringe.", "Each syringe was connected to an inlet port of a five-port manifold by tubing.", "Through the tubing, the solutions in the syringes were pumped into the mixing chamber of the manifold by a syringe pump.", "The liposome solution exited through an outlet port was collected in a glass bottle and was then concentrated by tangent flow filtration.", "The buffer was changed into a histidine/sucrose buffer (10 mM histidine, 9.2% sucrose, pH 6.5) by tangent flow filtration.", "The formulation was then sterilized by filtration through a 0.22 μm filter.", "The volume-weighted particle size distribution of CPT319B determined by dynamic light scattering testing with a Malvern Zetasizer Nano ZS is shown in FIG.", "4.The Cryo-TEM images of CPT319B are shown in FIG.", "5.The particles exhibited overwhelmingly spherical unilamellar morphology with homogenous particle size.", "The negative stained TEM image of CPT319B is shown in FIG.", "6, which further presents the small spherical and homogenous particles.", "TABLE 5 Lipid Composition of Example 5.Component CPT319B % (molar)* DOPC 61.7 Cholesterol 17.7 DC-Cholesterol 15.2 mPEG2000-DSPE 5.4 DOCE 3.5 *The value represents the molar % of each component vs. total lipids.", "Example 6: Preparation of Combination Liposomal Formulation CPT319AB Liposomal formulation CPT319AB was prepared by mixing CPT319A (see Example 4) and CPT319B (see Example 5) at a 1:1 molar ratio (or 1:1.5 w/w ratio) of DXR encapsulated in CPT319A and DOCE encapsulated in CPT319B.", "For instance, CPT319AB was prepared by mixing 13.7 mL of CPT319A containing 1.24 mg/mL of DXR and 11.7 mL of CPT319B containing 2.18 mg/mL of DOCE.", "The mixture was gently swirled to allow for complete mixing.", "The composition (% molar) of the CPT319AB lipid solution is illustrated in Table 6.The final concentrations of DXR and DOCE in CPT319AB were 0.67 mg/mL and 1.0 mg/mL, respectively.", "TABLE 6 Lipid Composition of Example 6.Component CPT319AB % (molar)* DOPC 61.7 Cholesterol 17.7 DC-Cholesterol 15.2 mPEG2000-DSPE 5.4 DXR 2.6 DOCE 2.6 *The value represents the molar % of each component vs. total lipids.", "Example 7: Preparation of Liposomal Formulation CPT317A CPT317A comprises of the same type of lipids as CPT319A while lipids ratio is changed (increased cholesterol and decreased DOPC and DC-cholesterol).", "To make CPT317A, a lipid solution was prepared by dissolving 600 mg of DOPC, 140 mg of cholesterol, 84 mg of DC-Cholesterol, and 200 mg of mPEG2000-DSPE in 20 mL of anhydrous ethanol.", "In addition, three aqueous solutions of 250 mM ammonium sulfate, pH 6.5 were used.", "Twenty milliliter of each of the above four solutions was loaded into a 20 mL syringe.", "Each syringe was connected to an inlet port of a five-port manifold by tubing.", "Through the tubing, the solutions in the syringes were pumped into the mixing chamber of the manifold by a syringe pump.", "The liposome solution exited through an outlet port was collected in a glass bottle and was then concentrated by tangent flow filtration.", "The buffer was changed into a histidine/sucrose buffer (10 mM histidine, 9.2% sucrose, pH 6.5) by dialysis.", "Liposomal formulation CPT317A was prepared by loading DXR into the empty liposomes.", "Fifteen milliliters of the empty liposomes containing lipids at 40.6 mg/mL was mixed with 50.7 mg of DXR and incubated at 42° C. for 3 hours, 99.2% of DXR was encapsulated.", "The encapsulated liposome was then sterilized by filtration through a 0.22 μm filter.", "The Z-average particle size of the loaded liposome determined by dynamic light scattering (Malvern Zetasizer Nano ZS) was 37.6 nm.", "The composition (% molar) of the CPT317A is illustrated in Table 7, TABLE 7 Lipid Composition of Example 7.Component CPT317A % (molar)* DOPC 56.6 Cholesterol 26.9 DC-Cholesterol 11.6 mPEG2000-DSPE 5.0 DXR 11.6 *The value represents the molar % of each component vs. total lipids.", "Example 8: Preparation of Liposomal Formulation CPT317B The liposome composition of CPT317B is identical to CPT317A.", "To make CPT317B, a lipid/DOCE solution was prepared by dissolving 600 mg of DOPC, 140 mg of cholesterol, 84 mg of DC-Cholesterol, 200 mg of mPEG2000-DSPE, and 50 mg of DOCE in 20 mL of anhydrous ethanol.", "The composition (% molar) of the CPT317B is illustrated in Table 8.In addition, three aqueous solutions of 250 mM ammonium sulfate, pH 6.5 were used.", "Twenty milliliter of each of the above four solutions was loaded into a 20 mL syringe.", "Each syringe was connected to an inlet port of a five-port manifold by tubing.", "Through the tubing, the solutions in the syringes were pumped into the mixing chamber of the manifold by a syringe pump.", "The liposome solution exited through an outlet port was collected in a glass bottle and was then concentrated by tangent flow filtration.", "The buffer was changed into a histidine/sucrose buffer (10 mM histidine, 9.2% sucrose, pH 6.5) by tangent flow filtration.", "The formulation was then sterilized by filtration through a 0.22 μm filter.", "The Z-average particle size determined by dynamic light scattering (Malvern Zetasizer Nano ZS) was 47.9 nm.", "TABLE 8 Lipid Composition of Example 8.Component CPT317B % (molar)* DOPC 56.6 Cholesterol 26.9 DC-Cholesterol 11.6 mPEG2000-DSPE 5.0 DOCE 4.6 *The value represents the molar % of each component vs. total lipids.", "Example 9: Preparation of Combination Liposomal Formulation CPT317AB Liposomal formulation CPT317AB was prepared by mixing CPT317A (see Example 7) and CPT317B (see Example 8) at a 1:1 molar ratio (or 1:1.5 w/w ratio) of DXR encapsulated in CPT317A and DOCE encapsulated in CPT317B.", "For instance, CPT317AB was prepared by mixing 2.48 mL of CPT317A containing 1.43 mg/mL of DXR and 2.86 mL of CPT317B containing 1.86 mg/mL of DOCE.", "The mixture was gently swirled to allow for complete mixing.", "The composition (% molar) of the CPT317AB lipid solution is illustrated in Table 9.The final concentrations of DXR and DOCE in CPT317AB were 0.66 mg/mL and 1.0 mg/mL, respectively.", "TABLE 9 Lipid Composition of Example 9.Component CPT317AB % (molar) DOPC 56.6 Cholesterol 26.9 DC-Cholesterol 11.6 mPEG2000-DSPE 5.0 DXR 3.3 DOCE 3.3 *The value represents the molar % of each component vs. total lipids.", "Example 10: Preparation of Liposomal Formulation CPT308B Different from other exemplary formulations above those contain a monounsaturated lipid DOPC, CPT308B contains a polyunsaturated lipid-Soy PC.", "It was found that compared to DOPC, Soy PC further increases DOCE encapsulation capacity of liposome.", "To make CPT308B, two milliliters of the lipids/DOCE solution was prepared by first dissolving 30 mg of L-α-phosphatidylcholine (Soy PC), 10 mg of cholesterol, 10 mg of mPEG2000-DSPE, and 6 mg of DOCE in 2 mL of anhydrous ethanol.", "The composition (% molar) of the lipid formulation of CPT308B is illustrated in Table 10.In addition, three aqueous solutions of 250 mM ammonium sulfate, pH 6.5 were used.", "Two milliliters of each of the above four solutions was loaded into a 20 mL syringe.", "Each syringe was connected to an inlet port of a five-port manifold by tubing.", "Through the tubing, the solutions in the syringes were pumped into the mixing chamber of the manifold by a syringe pump.", "The liposome solution exited through an outlet port was collected in a glass vial.", "The buffer was changed into a histidine/sucrose buffer (10 mM histidine, 9.2% sucrose, pH 6.5) by dialysis.", "The formulation was then sterilized by filtration through a 0.22 μm filter.", "The Z-average particle size of CPT308B determined by dynamic light scattering (Malvern Zetasizer Nano ZS) was 34.7 nm.", "TABLE 10 Lipid Composition of Example 10.Component CPT308B % (molar)* Soy PC 57.0 Cholesterol 38.1 mPEG2000-DSPE 4.9 DOCE 10.9 *The value represents the molar % of each component vs. total lipids.", "Example 11: Preparation of Liposomal Formulation CPT309B In order to further improve DOCE encapsulation capacity of the liposome containing Soy PC, the molar ratio of Soy PC in CPT309B is increased while the molar ratio of cholesterol is decreased.", "To make CPT309B, two milliliters of the lipids/DOCE solution was prepared by dissolving 30 mg of Soy PC, 4 mg of cholesterol, 10 mg of mPEG2000-DSPE, and 6 mg of DOCE in 2 mL anhydrous ethanol.", "The composition (% molar) of the lipid formulation CPT309B lipid solution is illustrated in Table 11.In addition, three aqueous solutions of 250 mM ammonium sulfate, pH 6.5 were used.", "Two milliliters of each of the above four solutions was loaded into a 20 mL syringe.", "Each syringe was connected to an inlet port of a five-port manifold by tubing.", "Through the tubing, the solutions in the syringes were pumped into the mixing chamber of the manifold by a syringe pump.", "The liposome solution exited through an outlet port was collected in a glass vial.", "The buffer was changed into a histidine/sucrose buffer (10 mM histidine, 9.2% sucrose, pH 6.5) by dialysis.", "The formulation was then sterilized by filtration through a 0.22 μm filter.", "The Z-average particle size of CPT309B determined by dynamic light scattering (Malvern Zetasizer Nano ZS) was 35.0 nm.", "TABLE 11 Lipid Composition of Example 11.Component CPT309B % (molar) Soy PC 73.9 Cholesterol 19.7 mPEG2000-DSPE 6.4 DOCE 14.2 *The value represents the molar % of each component vs. total lipids.", "Example 12: Preparation of Liposomal Formulation CPT313B In CPT313B, cholesterol is completely substituted by DC-cholesterol.", "To make CPT313B, a lipid/DOCE solution was prepared by dissolving 33 mg of Soy PC, 20.5 mg of DC-Cholesterol, 11 mg of mPEG2000-DSPE, and 4.4 mg of DOCE in 2.2 mL of anhydrous ethanol.", "The composition (% molar) of the CPT313B is illustrated in Table 12.In addition, three aqueous solutions of 250 mM ammonium sulfate, pH 6.5 were used.", "Two milliliters of each of the above four solutions was loaded into a 20 mL syringe.", "Each syringe was connected to an inlet port of a five-port manifold by tubing.", "Through the tubing, the solutions in the syringes were pumped into the mixing chamber of the manifold by a syringe pump.", "The liposome solution exited through an outlet port was collected in a glass vial.", "The buffer was changed into a histidine/sucrose buffer (10 mM histidine, 9.2% sucrose, pH 6.5) by dialysis.", "The formulation was then sterilized by filtration through a 0.22 μm filter.", "The Z-average particle size of CPT313B determined by dynamic light scattering (Malvern Zetasizer Nano ZS) was 37.4 nm.", "TABLE 12 Lipid Composition of Example 12.Component CPT313B % (molar)* Soy PC 50.4 mPEG2000-DSPE 4.4 DC-cholesterol 45.2 DOCE 6.5 *The value represents the molar % of each component vs. total lipids.", "Example 13: Preparation of Liposomal Formulation CPT323B CPT323C comprises of DOPC, cholesterol, DC-cholesterol but in the absence of pegylated lipid, indicating that pegylated lipid is optional to the formulation.", "To make CPT323B, a lipid/DOCE solution was prepared by dissolving 300 mg of DOPC, 50 mg of cholesterol, 70 mg of DC-Cholesterol, and 25 mg of DOCE in 10 mL of anhydrous ethanol.", "The composition (% molar) of the CPT323B is illustrated in Table 13.In addition, three aqueous solutions of 250 mM ammonium sulfate, pH 6.5 were used.", "Ten milliliter of each of the above four solutions was loaded into a 20 mL syringe.", "Each syringe was connected to an inlet port of a five-port manifold by tubing.", "Through the tubing, the solutions in the syringes were pumped into the mixing chamber of the manifold by a syringe pump.", "The liposome solution exited through an outlet port was collected in a glass bottle and was then concentrated by tangent flow filtration.", "The buffer was changed into a histidine/sucrose buffer (10 mM histidine, 9.2% sucrose, pH 6.5) by dialysis.", "The formulation was then sterilized by filtration through a 0.22 μm filter.", "The Z-average particle size determined by dynamic light scattering (Malvern Zetasizer Nano ZS) of CPT323B was 47.5 nm.", "TABLE 13 Lipid Composition of Example 13.Component CPT323B % (molar)* DOPC 59.5 Cholesterol 20.1 DC-Cholesterol 20.3 DOCE 4.8 *The value represents the molar % of each component vs. total lipids.", "Example 14: Preparation of Liposomal Formulation CPT324B Different from other exemplary formulations, CPT324B contains a polyunsaturated lipid-Soy PC for a higher DOCE capacity, and a cationic lipid DOTAP other than DC-cholesterol.", "To make CPT324B, a lipid/DOCE solution was prepared by dissolving 60 mg of Soy PC, 40 mg of cholesterol, 60 mg of 1,2-dioleoyl-3-trimethylammonium-propane (chloride salt) (DOTAP), 40 mg of mPEG2000-DSPE, and 25 mg of DOCE in 10 mL of anhydrous ethanol.", "The composition (% molar) of the CPT324B is illustrated in Table 14.In addition, three aqueous solutions of 250 mM ammonium sulfate, pH 6.5 were used.", "Ten milliliter of each of the above four solutions was loaded into a 20 mL syringe.", "Each syringe was connected to an inlet port of a five-port manifold by tubing.", "Through the tubing, the solutions in the syringes were pumped into the mixing chamber of the manifold by a syringe pump.", "The liposome solution exited through an outlet port was collected in a glass bottle and was then concentrated by tangent flow filtration.", "The buffer was changed into a histidine/sucrose buffer (10 mM histidine, 9.2% sucrose, pH 6.5) by dialysis.", "The formulation was then sterilized by filtration through a 0.22 μm filter.", "The Z-average particle size of CPT324B determined by dynamic light scattering (Malvern Zetasizer Nano ZS) was 39.0 nm.", "TABLE 14 Lipid Composition of Example 14.Component CPT324B % (molar)* Soy PC 27.6 Cholesterol 36.9 mPEG2000-DSPE 4.8 DOTAP 30.7 DOCE 11.0 *The value represents the molar % of each component vs. total lipids.", "Example 15: Combination Liposome CPT319AB Augments Efficacy Against Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) Female Balb/c nude mice ranging from 6-8 weeks of age were inoculated subcutaneously on the right flank with NSCLC cell line A549 tumor cells (1×107 cells/mouse) in 0.1 mL phosphate buffered saline (PBS) for tumor development.", "On Day 16 following tumor cell inoculation (tumor size was approximately 117 mm3), treatments were started with formulations of CPT319A at 5 mg/kg doxorubicin, CPT319B at 7.5 mg/kg docetaxel, CPT319AB at 5 mg/kg doxorubicin/7.5 mg/kg docetaxel, or the non-liposomal combination formulation of 5 mg/kg doxorubicin/7.5 mg/kg docetaxel by intravenous (IV) injection through the tail vein.", "Three additional treatments were administered on Day 20, Day 27, and Day 34.The study was terminated on Day 45.The tumor growth curves and tumor weight inhibition percentages (TW Inh %) on Day 45 of the formulations compared to the PBS control group are shown in FIG.", "7.All of the liposomal formulations were more efficacious than the non-liposomal combination of DOCE/DXR.", "In addition, the combination liposome, CPT319AB was the most efficacious in this example.", "Compared to the PBS control group, the combination liposomal formulation CPT319AB reduced 81% of the tumor weight that was significantly more efficacious than the 51% of DOCE liposome CPT319B, 27% of DXR liposome CPT319A, and 17% of the non-liposomal combination of DOCE/DXR.", "Example 16: Combination Liposome CPT307AB Augments Efficacy Against NSCLC Female Balb/c nude mice ranging from 6-8 weeks of age were inoculated subcutaneously on the right flank with NSCLC cell line A549 tumor cells (1×107 cells/mouse) in 0.1 mL phosphate buffered saline (PBS) buffer for tumor development.", "On Day 16 following tumor cell inoculation (tumor size was approximately 117 mm3), treatments were started with formulations of CPT307A at 5 mg/kg doxorubicin, CPT307B at 7.5 mg/kg docetaxel, CPT307AB at 5 mg/kg doxorubicin/7.5 mg/kg docetaxel, or the non-liposomal combination formulation of 5 mg/kg doxorubicin/7.5 mg/kg docetaxel by intravenous (IV) injection through the tail vein.", "Three additional treatments were administered on Day 20, Day 27, and Day 34.The study was terminated on Day 45.The tumor growth curves and tumor weight inhibition percentages (TW Inh %) on Day 45 of the formulations compared to the PBS control group are shown in FIG.", "8.All of the liposomal formulations were more efficacious than the non-liposomal combination of DOCE/DXR.", "In addition, the combination liposome, CPT307AB was the most efficacious in this example.", "Compared to the PBS control group, the combination liposomal formulation CPT307AB reduced 72% of the tumor weight that was significant more efficacious than the 44% of DOCE liposome CPT307B, 11% of DXR liposome CPT307A, and 17% of the non-liposomal combination of DOCE/DXR.", "Example 17: Antitumor Activity of Combination Liposome CPT319AB Against Human Colon Cancer in Xenograft Mouse Model Female Balb/c nude mice ranging from 6-8 weeks of age were inoculated subcutaneously at the right flank with human colon cancer cell line HCT-116 tumor cells (5×106 cells/mouse) in 0.1 mL PBS buffer for tumor development.", "On Day 9 following tumor cell inoculation (tumor size was approximately 141 mm3), treatments were started with formulations of CPT319AB at 3 different doses: 5 mg/kg doxorubicin/7.5 mg/kg docetaxel, 2.5 mg/kg doxorubicin/3.75 mg/kg docetaxel, or 1.25 mg/kg doxorubicin/1.875 mg/kg docetaxel by intravenous (IV) injection through the tail vein.", "Two additional treatments were administered on Day 16 and Day 23.The study was terminated on Day 37.The tumor growth curves shown in FIG.", "9 illustrate dose responses of the HCT-116 tumor cells to the liposomal formulations (which are compared to the vehicle control).", "Compared to the vehicle control, tumor weight was inhibited by 59, 52, and 29% in the treatment groups (doses from high to low).", "Example 18: Antitumor Activity of Combination Liposome CPT307AB Against Human Colon Cancer in Xenograft Mouse Model Female Balb/c nude mice ranging from 6-8 weeks of age were inoculated subcutaneously at the right flank with human colon cancer cell line HCT-116 tumor cells (5×106 cells/mouse) in 0.1 mL PBS buffer for tumor development.", "On Day 9 following tumor cell inoculation (tumor size was approximately 141 mm3), treatments were started with formulations of CPT307AB at 3 different doses: 5 mg/kg doxorubicin/7.5 mg/kg docetaxel, 2.5 mg/kg doxorubicin/3.75 mg/kg docetaxel, or 1.25 mg/kg doxorubicin/1.875 mg/kg docetaxel by intravenous (IV) injection through the tail vein.", "Two additional treatments were administered on Day 16 and Day 23.The study was terminated on Day 37.The tumor growth curves shown in FIG.", "10 illustrate dose responses of the HCT-116 tumor cells to the liposomal formulations (which are compared to the vehicle control).", "Compared to the vehicle control, tumor weight was inhibited by 64, 52, and 45% in the treatment groups (doses from high to low).", "Example 19: Antitumor Activity of Combination Liposome CPT319AB Against Human Primary Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Xenograft Mouse Model Female SCID Beige mice ranging from 6-8 weeks of age were inoculated subcutaneously at the right flank with fragments of human primary hepatocellular carcinoma tumor (P3 WP HCC) for tumor development.", "On Day 32 after tumor inoculation (tumor size was approximately 143 mm3), treatments were started with a formulation of CPT319AB at 5 mg/kg doxorubicin/7.5 mg/kg docetaxel by intravenous (IV) injection through the tail vein.", "Two additional treatments were made on Day 39 and Day 46.The study was terminated on Day 63.The tumor growth curves are shown in FIG.", "11.CPT319AB reduced tumor weight by 68% compared to the vehicle control.", "Example 20: Cationic Lipid DC-Cholesterol Enhances the Antitumor Activity of Liposomes Against NSCLC Female Balb/c nude mice ranging from 6-8 weeks of age were inoculated subcutaneously at the right flank with NSCLC cell line A549 tumor cells (1×107 cells/mouse) in 0.1 mL PBS buffer for tumor development.", "On Day 16 following tumor cell inoculation (tumor size was approximately 117 mm3), treatments were started with formulations of CPT307A or CPT319A at 5 mg/kg doxorubicin, CPT307B or CPT319B at 7.5 mg/kg docetaxel, CPT307AB or CPT319AB at 5 mg/kg doxorubicin/7.5 mg/kg docetaxel, or the non-liposomal combination formulation of 5 mg/kg doxorubicin/7.5 mg/kg docetaxel by intravenous (IV) injection through the tail vein.", "Three additional treatments were made on Day 20, Day 27, and Day 34.The study was terminated on Day 45.The lipid compositions of the CPT307 (without DC-Cholesterol) and CPT319 (with DC-Cholesterol) formulations are shown in Table 15.The tumor growth curves are shown in FIG.", "12.The tumor weight inhibition % on Day 45 is shown in Table 16.The tumor inhibition rank order (from high to low) was: CPT319AB>CPT307AB>CPT319B>CPT307B>CPT319A>CPT307A>PBS.", "For each instance, CPT319 (with DC-Cholesterol) was more efficacious than CPT307 (without DC-Cholesterol).", "This indicates that the cationic lipid DC-cholesterol in CPT319 enhances the antitumor activity of the liposome formulations.", "TABLE 15 Lipid Compositions of Example 20.DC-cholesterol Cholesterol mPEG-DSPE DOPC Formulation (molar %) (molar %) (molar %) (molar %) CPT319 15 18 5 62 CPT307 0 24 6 70 TABLE 16 Tumor Weight Inhibition % on Day 45 of Example 20 Formulation A B AB CPT319 27% 51% 81% CPT307 11% 44% 72% Example 21: Cationic Lipid DC-Cholesterol Increases the Half-Life (t1/2) of DXR Male CD-1 mice ranging from 20-25 g body weight were split up into groups of three.", "Each mouse was administered with a single dose of CPT319A or CPT307A at 5 mg/kg DXR by intravenous (IV) injection through the tail vein.", "A non-liposomal combination of DXR was used as the control.", "Blood samples were collected at 0.167, 1, 3, 8, 24, and 48 h after the injection.", "DXR plasma concentration was determined by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS-MS).", "The plasma concentration curves of DXR are shown in FIG.", "13 and the t1/2 and area under the plasma concentration time curve (AUC) are provided in Table 17.", "*BLOQ: Below Limit of Quantitation.", "The non-liposomal DXR was cleared quickly from the blood and resulted in a very low AUC (688 h×ng/mL), whereas CPT319A and CPT307A increased AUC by 84 and 354 fold, respectively.", "Moreover, CPT319A exhibited a 5.5 h t1/2 compared to the 1 h t1/2 of CPT307A, indicating that the cationic lipid DC-Cholesterol in CPT319A improves PK of the formulation by increasing circulation time in the blood.", "The faster decrease of blood concentration for CPT319A compared to CPT307A in the first 3 h after injection indicates that the cationic charge of CPT319A causes a quicker distribution to other organs, such as the liver.", "TABLE 17 t1/2 and AUC values for Example 21.Formulation t1/2 (h) AUC (h × ng/mL) CPT319A 5.5 57453 CPT307A 1.0 243243 Naked DXR 688 Example 22: Programmable Liver Delivery of Liposome by Varying the Cationic Lipid DC-Cholesterol Composition in the Liposome In order to investigate the effects of cationic lipid DC-Cholesterol on in vivo distribution of liposomal DXR, the following three liposome formulations were used for the PK studies: 1) Doxil® (FDA approved liposomal DXR) containing no DC-Cholesterol, 2) CPT319A containing 15.3% DC-Cholesterol, and 3) CPT221 containing 38.3% DC-Cholesterol.", "The lipid compositions of the three formulations are shown in Table 18.Male CD-1 mice ranging from 20-25 g body weight were split up into groups of three.", "Each mouse was administered with a single dose of Doxil®, or CPT319A, or CPT221 at 5 mg/kg DXR by intravenous (IV) injection through the tail vein.", "The mice were sacrificed at designated times and their livers were collected.", "For the groups treated with Doxil® and CPT221, livers were collected at 0.167, 0.5, 1, 2, 4, and 8 h after the injection.", "For the group treated with CPT319A, livers were collected at 0.167, 1, 3, and 8 h after the injection.", "The quantity of DXR in the liver was determined using LC-MS-MS and the percentage of DXR in the liver was calculated against the total quantity of DXR administered.", "The liver concentration curves of DXR are shown in FIG.", "14.The cholesterol in Doxil® is completely substituted by DC-Cholesterol in CPT221, which resulted in a dramatic and rapid accumulation of DXR in the liver.", "For example, 10 min after the injection, about 54% of DXR of CPT221 was accumulated in the liver.", "The partial substitution of cholesterol by DC-Cholesterol in CPT319A corresponded to a 21% accumulation of DXR in the liver, while only 9.4% DXR of Doxil® accumulated in the liver.", "Therefore, programmable liver-targeting delivery can be achieved by controlling the molar ratio of a cationic lipid in the liposome.", "TABLE 18 Lipid Compositions of Example 22.Component Doxil ® CPT319A CPT221 DOPC 61.7 DSPC 56.7 56.7 Cholesterol 38.3 17.7 DC-Cholesterol 15.2 38.3 mPEG2000-DSPE 5.0 5.4 5.0 DXR 17.1* 10.3* 13.7* *this value represents the molar % of DXR vs. total lipids." ] ]
Patent_15873079
[ [ "Advanced Stereo Coding Based on a Combination of Adaptively Selectable Left/Right or Mid/Side Stereo Coding and of Parametric Stereo Coding", "The application relates to audio encoder and decoder systems.", "An embodiment of the encoder system comprises a downmix stage for generating a downmix signal and a residual signal based on a stereo signal.", "In addition, the encoder system comprises a parameter determining stage for determining parametric stereo parameters such as an inter-channel intensity difference and an inter-channel cross-correlation.", "Preferably, the parametric stereo parameters are time- and frequency-variant.", "Moreover, the encoder system comprises a transform stage.", "The transform stage generates a pseudo left/right stereo signal by performing a transform based on the downmix signal and the residual signal.", "The pseudo stereo signal is processed by a perceptual stereo encoder.", "For stereo encoding, left/right encoding or mid/side encoding is selectable.", "Preferably, the selection between left/right stereo encoding and mid/side stereo encoding is time- and frequency-variant." ], [ "1.An encoder system encoding a stereo signal to a bitstream signal, the encoder system comprising: a downmix stage generating a downmix signal and a residual signal based on the stereo signal; a mono SBR encoding stage generating an SBR encoded downmix signal and mono SBR parameters in response to the downmix signal; a parameter determining stage coupled to the downmix stage and determining one or more parametric stereo parameters; a perceptual encoder coupled downstream to the downmix stage, wherein the perceptual encoder selects encoding based on a sum of the SBR encoded downmix signal and the residual signal and based on a difference of the SBR encoded downmix signal and the residual signal, or encoding based on the downmix signal and based on the residual signal in a frequency-variant or frequency-invariant manner.", "2.The encoder system of claim 1, wherein the perceptual encoder comprises: a transformation stage performing a transform based on the SBR encoded downmix signal and the residual signal, thereby generating a pseudo left/right stereo signal; and an encoder encoding the pseudo left/right stereo signal, wherein the encoder selects left/right perceptual encoding or mid/side perceptual encoding in a frequency-variant or frequency-invariant manner.", "3.The encoder system of claim 2, wherein the encoder decides between left/right encoding or mid/side encoding in a frequency-variant or frequency-invariant manner based on the pseudo stereo signal.", "4.The encoder system of claim 2, wherein the encoder performs a left/right to mid/side transform based on the pseudo stereo signal.", "5.The encoder system of claim 1, wherein the perceptual encoder comprises a transformation stage performing a sum and difference transform based on the downmix signal and the residual signal to generate a pseudo left/right stereo signal for one or more or all used frequency bands.", "6.The encoder system of claim 5, wherein the perceptual encoder comprises a processor deciding between L/R perceptual encoding and M/S perceptual encoding in a frequency-variant or frequency-invariant manner; encoding based on the downmix signal and residual signal is selected when the processor decides M/S perceptual decoding, and encoding based on the sum and difference is selected when the processor decides L/R perceptual decoding.", "7.A decoder system decoding a bitstream signal including mono SBR parameters and one or more parametric stereo parameters to a stereo signal, the decoder system comprising: a perceptual decoder decoding based on the bitstream signal, wherein the perceptual decoder generating by decoding a first signal and a second signal and and outputting a downmix signal and a residual signal, wherein the perceptual decoder selects the downmix signal and the residual signal based on a sum of the first signal and of the second signal and based on a difference of the first signal and of the second signal or based on the first signal and based on the second signal in a frequency-variant or frequency-invariant manner; a mono SBR decoder generating an SBR decoded downmix signal in response to the downmix signal and the mono SBR parameters; and an upmixer coupled to the perceptual decoder, and generating the stereo signal based on the SBR decoded downmix signal and the residual signal, with the upmix operation of upmixer being dependent on the one or more parametric stereo parameters.", "8.The decoder system of claim 7, wherein the perceptual decoder comprises: a stereo decoder decoding based on the bitstream signal, the stereo decoder generating a pseudo stereo signal, wherein the stereo decoder selectively performs left/right perceptual decoding or mid/side perceptual decoding in a frequency-variant or frequency-invariant manner; and a transform stage performing a transform based on the pseudo stereo signal, thereby generating the downmix signal and the residual signal.", "9.The decoder system of claim 8, wherein the perceptual decoder performs a mid/side to left/right transform based on a decoded pseudo mid/side signal.", "10.The decoder system of claim 7, wherein the perceptual decoder comprises a transformation stage performing a sum and difference transform based on the first signal and the second signal for one or more or all used frequency bands.", "11.The decoder system of claim 7, wherein the perceptual decoder comprises a selector selecting between L/R perceptual decoding and M/S perceptual decoding in a frequency-variant or frequency-invariant manner; the downmix signal and the residual signal is selected to be based on the sum of the first signal and of the second signal and based on the difference of the first signal and of the second signal when the selector selects L/R perceptual decoding, and the downmix signal and the residual signal is selected to be based on the first signal and based on the second signal when the selector selects M/S perceptual decoding.", "12.The decoder system of claim 7, wherein the parametric stereo parameters comprise a frequency-variant or a frequency-invariant parameter indicating an inter-channel intensity difference, and a frequency-variant or a frequency-invariant parameter indicating an inter-channel cross-correlation.", "13.A method for decoding a bitstream signal including mono SBR parameters and one or more parametric stereo parameters to a stereo signal, the method comprising: perceptual decoding based on the bitstream signal, wherein a first signal and a second signal is generated by decoding and a downmix signal and a residual signal is output after perceptual decoding, the downmix signal and the residual signal being selectively based on the sum of the first signal and of the second signal and based on the difference of the first signal and of the second signal or based on the first signal and based on the second signal in a frequency-variant or frequency-invariant manner; generating an SBR decoded downmix signal in response to the downmix signal and the mono SBR parameters; and generating the stereo signal based on the SBR decoded downmix signal and the residual signal by an upmix operation, with the upmix operation being dependent on the one or more parametric stereo parameters; wherein the method is performed by one or more microprocessor-based components.", "14.A non-transitory computer readable storage medium comprising a sequence of instructions, wherein, when executed by an audio signal processing device, the sequence of instructions causes the audio signal processing device to perform the method of claim 13." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION <EOH>Joint coding of the left (L) and right (R) channels of a stereo signal enables more efficient coding compared to independent coding of L and R. A common approach for joint stereo coding is mid/side (M/S) coding.", "Here, a mid (M) signal is formed by adding the L and R signals, e.g.", "the M signal may have the form M = 1 2  ( L + R ) .", "Also, a side (S) signal is formed by subtracting the two channels L and R, e.g.", "the S signal may have the form S = 1 2  ( L - R ) .", "In case of M/S coding, the M and S signals are coded instead of the L and R signals.", "In the MPEG (Moving Picture Experts Group) AAC (Advanced Audio Coding) standard (see standard document ISO/IEC 13818-7), L/R stereo coding and M/S stereo coding can be chosen in a time-variant and frequency-variant manner.", "Thus, the stereo encoder can apply L/R coding for some frequency bands of the stereo signal, whereas M/S coding is used for encoding other frequency bands of the stereo signal (frequency variant).", "Moreover, the encoder can switch over time between L/R and M/S coding (time-variant).", "In MPEG AAC, the stereo encoding is carried out in the frequency domain, more particularly in the MDCT (modified discrete cosine transform) domain.", "This allows to adaptive choose either L/R or M/S coding in a frequency and also time variant manner.", "The decision between L/R and M/S stereo encoding may be based by evaluating the side signal: when the energy of the side signal is low, M/S stereo encoding is more efficient and should be used.", "Alternatively, for deciding between both stereo coding schemes, both coding schemes may be tried out and the selection may be based on the resulting quantization efforts, i.e., the observed perceptual entropy.", "An alternative approach to joint stereo coding is parametric stereo (PS) coding.", "Here, the stereo signal is conveyed as a mono downmix signal after encoding the downmix signal with a conventional audio encoder such as an AAC encoder.", "The downmix signal is a superposition of the L and R channels.", "The mono downmix signal is conveyed in combination with additional time-variant and frequency-variant PS parameters, such as the inter-channel (i.e.", "between L and R) intensity difference (IID) and the inter-channel cross-correlation (ICC).", "In the decoder, based on the decoded downmix signal and the parametric stereo parameters a stereo signal is reconstructed that approximates the perceptual stereo image of the original stereo signal.", "For reconstructing, a decorrelated version of the downmix signal is generated by a decorrelator.", "Such decorrelator may be realized by an appropriate all-pass filter.", "PS encoding and decoding is described in the paper “Low Complexity Parametric Stereo Coding in MPEG-4”, H. Purnhagen, Proc.", "Of the 7 th Int.", "Conference on Digital Audio Effects (DAFx'04), Naples, Italy, Oct. 5-8, 2004, pages 163-168.The disclosure of this document is hereby incorporated by reference.", "The MPEG Surround standard (see document ISO/IEC 23003-1) makes use of the concept of PS coding.", "In an MPEG Surround decoder a plurality of output channels is created based on fewer input channels and control parameters.", "MPEG Surround decoders and encoders are constructed by cascading parametric stereo modules, which in MPEG Surround are referred to as OTT modules (One-To-Two modules) for the decoder and R-OTT modules (Reverse-One-To-Two modules) for the encoder.", "An OTT module determines two output channels by means of a single input channel (downmix signal) accompanied by PS parameters.", "An OTT module corresponds to a PS decoder and an R-OTT module corresponds to a PS encoder.", "Parametric stereo can be realized by using MPEG Surround with a single OTT module at the decoder side and a single R-OTT module at the encoder side; this is also referred to as “MPEG Surround 2-1-2” mode.", "The bitstream syntax may differ, but the underlying theory and signal processing are the same.", "Therefore, in the following all the references to PS also include “MPEG Surround 2-1-2” or MPEG Surround based parametric stereo.", "In a PS encoder (e.g.", "in a MPEG Surround PS encoder) a residual signal (RES) may be determined and transmitted in addition to the downmix signal.", "Such residual signal indicates the error associated with representing original channels by their downmix and PS parameters.", "In the decoder the residual signal may be used instead of the decorrelated version of the downmix signal.", "This allows to better reconstruct the waveforms of the original channels L and R. The use of an additional residual signal is e.g.", "described in the MPEG Surround standard (see document ISO/IEC 23003-1) and in the paper “MPEG Surround—The ISO/MPEG Standard for Efficient and Compatible Multi-Channel Audio Coding, J. Herre et al., Audio Engineering Convention Paper 7084, 122 nd Convention, May 5-8, 2007.The disclosure of both documents, in particular the remarks to the residual signal therein, is herewith incorporated by reference.", "PS coding with residual is a more general approach to joint stereo coding than M/S coding: M/S coding performs a signal rotation when transforming L/R signals into M/S signals.", "Also, PS coding with residual performs a signal rotation when transforming the L/R signals into downmix and residual signals.", "However, in the latter case the signal rotation is variable and depends on the PS parameters.", "Due to the more general approach of PS coding with residual, PS coding with residual allows a more efficient coding of certain types of signals like a paned mono signal than M/S coding.", "Thus, the proposed coder allows to efficiently combine parametric stereo coding techniques with waveform based stereo coding techniques.", "Often, perceptual stereo encoders, such as an MPEG AAC perceptual stereo encoder, can decide between L/R stereo encoding and M/S stereo encoding, where in the latter case a mid/side signal is generated based on the stereo signal.", "Such selection may be frequency-variant, i.e.", "for some frequency bands L/R stereo encoding may be used, whereas for other frequency bands M/S stereo encoding may be used.", "In a situation where the L and R channels are basically independent signals, such perceptual stereo encoder would typically not use M/S stereo encoding since in this situation such encoding scheme does not offer any coding gain in comparison to L/R stereo encoding.", "The encoder would fall back to plain L/R stereo encoding, basically processing L and R independently.", "In the same situation, a PS encoder system would create a downmix signal that contains both the L and R channels, which prevents independent processing of the L and R channels.", "For PS coding with a residual signal, this can imply less efficient coding compared to stereo encoding, where L/R stereo encoding or M/S stereo encoding is adaptively selectable.", "Thus, there are situations where a PS coder outperforms a perceptual stereo coder with adaptive selection between L/R stereo encoding and M/S stereo encoding, whereas in other situations the latter coder outperforms the PS coder." ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION <EOH>The present application describes an audio encoder system and an encoding method that are based on the idea of combing PS coding using a residual with adaptive L/R or M/S perceptual stereo coding (e.g.", "AAC perceptual joint stereo coding in the MDCT domain).", "This allows to combine the advantages of adaptive L/R or M/S stereo coding (e.g.", "used in MPEG AAC) and the advantages of PS coding with a residual signal (e.g.", "used in MPEG Surround).", "Moreover, the application describes a corresponding audio decoder system and a decoding method.", "A first aspect of the application relates to an encoder system for encoding a stereo signal to a bitstream signal.", "According to an embodiment of the encoder system, the encoder system comprises a downmix stage for generating a downmix signal and a residual signal based on the stereo signal.", "The residual signal may cover all or only a part of the used audio frequency range.", "In addition, the encoder system comprises a parameter determining stage for determining PS parameters such as an inter-channel intensity difference and an inter-channel cross-correlation.", "Preferably, the PS parameters are frequency-variant.", "Such downmix stage and the parameter determining stage are typically part of a PS encoder.", "In addition, the encoder system comprises perceptual encoding means downstream of the downmix stage, wherein two encoding schemes are selectable: encoding based on a sum of the downmix signal and the residual signal and based on a difference of the downmix signal and the residual signal or encoding based on the downmix signal and based on the residual signal.", "It should be noted that in case encoding is based on the downmix signal and the residual signal, the downmix signal and the residual signal may be encoded or signals proportional thereto may be encoded.", "In case encoding is based on a sum and on a difference, the sum and difference may be encoded or signals proportional thereto may be encoded.", "The selection may be frequency-variant (and time-variant), i.e.", "for a first frequency band it may be selected that the encoding is based on a sum signal and a difference signal, whereas for a second frequency band it may be selected that the encoding is based on the downmix signal and based on the residual signal.", "Such encoder system has the advantage that is allows to switch between L/R stereo coding and PS coding with residual (preferably in a frequency-variant manner): If the perceptual encoding means select (for a particular band or for the whole used frequency range) encoding based on downmix and residual signals, the encoding system behaves like a system using standard PS coding with residual.", "However, if the perceptual encoding means select (for a particular band or for the whole used frequency range) encoding based on a sum signal of the downmix signal and the residual signal and based on a difference signal of the downmix signal and the residual signal, under certain circumstances the sum and difference operations essentially compensate the prior downmix operation (except for a possibly different gain factor) such that the overall system can actually perform L/R encoding of the overall stereo signal or for a frequency band thereof.", "E.g.", "such circumstances occur when the L and R channels of the stereo signal are independent and have the same level as will be explained in detail later on.", "Preferably, the adaption of the encoding scheme is time and frequency dependent.", "Thus, preferably some frequency bands of the stereo signal are encoded by a L/R encoding scheme, whereas other frequency bands of the stereo signal are encoded by a PS coding scheme with residual.", "It should be noted that in case the encoding is based on the downmix signal and based on the residual signal as discussed above, the actual signal which is input to the core encoder may be formed by two serial operations on the downmix signal and residual signal which are inverse (except for a possibly different gain factor).", "E.g.", "a downmix signal and a residual signal are fed to an M/S to L/R transform stage and then the output of the transform stage is fed to a L/R to M/S transform stage.", "The resulting signal (which is then used for encoding) corresponds to the downmix signal and the residual signal (expect for a possibly different gain factor).", "The following embodiment makes use of this idea.", "According to an embodiment of the encoder system, the encoder system comprises a downmix stage and a parameter determining stage as discussed above.", "Moreover, the encoder system comprises a transform stage (e.g.", "as part of the encoding means discussed above).", "The transform stage generates a pseudo L/R stereo signal by performing a transform of the downmix signal and the residual signal.", "The transform stage preferably performs a sum and difference transform, where the downmix signal and the residual signals are summed to generate one channel of the pseudo stereo signal (possibly, the sum is also multiplied by a factor) and subtracted from each other to generate the other channel of the pseudo stereo signal (possibly, the difference is also multiplied by a factor).", "Preferably, a first channel (e.g.", "the pseudo left channel) of the pseudo stereo signal is proportional to the sum of the downmix and residual signals, where a second channel (e.g.", "the pseudo right channel) is proportional to the difference of the downmix and residual signals.", "Thus, the downmix signal DMX and residual signal RES from the PS encoder may be converted into a pseudo stereo signal L p , R p according to the following equations: in-line-formulae description=\"In-line Formulae\" end=\"lead\"?", "L p =g ( DMX+RES ) in-line-formulae description=\"In-line Formulae\" end=\"tail\"?", "in-line-formulae description=\"In-line Formulae\" end=\"lead\"?", "R p =g ( DMX−RES ) in-line-formulae description=\"In-line Formulae\" end=\"tail\"?", "In the above equations the gain normalization factor g has e.g.", "a value of g=√{square root over (1/2)}.", "The pseudo stereo signal is preferably processed by a perceptual stereo encoder (e.g.", "as part of the encoding means).", "For encoding, L/R stereo encoding or M/S stereo encoding is selectable.", "The adaptive L/R or M/S perceptual stereo encoder may be an AAC based encoder.", "Preferably, the selection between L/R stereo encoding and M/S stereo encoding is frequency-variant; thus, the selection may vary for different frequency bands as discussed above.", "Also, the selection between L/R encoding and M/S encoding is preferably time-variant.", "The decision between L/R encoding and M/S encoding is preferably made by the perceptual stereo encoder.", "Such perceptual encoder having the option for M/S encoding can internally compute (pseudo) M and S signals (in the time domain or in selected frequency bands) based on the pseudo stereo L/R signal.", "Such pseudo M and S signals correspond to the downmix and residual signals (except for a possibly different gain factor).", "Hence, if the perceptual stereo encoder selects M/S encoding, it actually encodes the downmix and residual signals (which correspond to the pseudo M and S signals) as it would be done in a system using standard PS coding with residual.", "Moreover, under special circumstances the transform stage essentially compensates the prior downmix operation (except for a possibly different gain factor) such that the overall encoder system can actually perform L/R encoding of the overall stereo signal or for a frequency band thereof (if L/R encoding is selected in the perceptual encoder).", "This is e.g.", "the case when the L and R channels of the stereo signal are independent and have the same level as will be explained in detail later on.", "Thus, for a given frequency band the pseudo stereo signal essentially corresponds or is proportional to the stereo signal, if—for the frequency band—the left and right channels of the stereo signal are essentially independent and have essentially the same level.", "Thus, the encoder system actually allows to switch between L/R stereo coding and PS coding with residual, in order to be able to adapt to the properties of the given stereo input signal.", "Preferably, the adaption of the encoding scheme is time and frequency dependent.", "Thus, preferably some frequency bands of the stereo signal are encoded by a L/R encoding scheme, whereas other frequency bands of the stereo signal are encoded by a PS coding scheme with residual.", "It should be noted that M/S coding is basically a special case of PS coding with residual (since the L/R to M/S transform is a special case of the PS downmix operation) and thus the encoder system may also perform overall M/S coding.", "Said embodiment having the transform stage downstream of the PS encoder and upstream of the L/R or M/S perceptual stereo encoder has the advantage that a conventional PS encoder and a conventional perceptual encoder can be used.", "Nevertheless, the PS encoder or the perceptual encoder may be adapted due to the special use here.", "The new concept improves the performance of stereo coding by enabling an efficient combination of PS coding and joint stereo coding.", "According to an alternative embodiment, the encoding means as discussed above comprise a transform stage for performing a sum and difference transform based on the downmix signal and the residual signal for one or more frequency bands (e.g.", "for the whole used frequency range or only for one frequency range).", "The transform may be performed in a frequency domain or in a time domain.", "The transform stage generates a pseudo left/right stereo signal for the one or more frequency bands.", "One channel of the pseudo stereo signal corresponds to the sum and the other channel corresponds to the difference.", "Thus, in case encoding is based on the sum and difference signals the output of the transform stage may be used for encoding, whereas in case encoding is based on the downmix signal and the residual signal the signals upstream of the encoding stage may be used for encoding.", "Thus, this embodiment does not use two serial sum and difference transforms on the downmix signal and residual signal, resulting in the downmix signal and residual signal (except for a possibly different gain factor).", "When selecting encoding based on the downmix signal and residual signal, parametric stereo encoding of the stereo signal is selected.", "When selecting encoding based on the sum and difference (i.e.", "encoding based on the pseudo stereo signal) L/R encoding of the stereo signal is selected.", "The transform stage may be a L/R to M/S transform stage as part of a perceptual encoder with adaptive selection between L/R and M/S stereo encoding (possibly the gain factor is different in comparison to a conventional L/R to M/S transform stage).", "It should be noted that the decision between L/R and M/S stereo encoding should be inverted.", "Thus, encoding based on the downmix signal and residual signal is selected (i.e.", "the encoded signal did not pass the transform stage) when the decision means decide M/S perceptual decoding, and encoding based on the pseudo stereo signal as generated by the transform stage is selected (i.e.", "the encoded signal passed the transform stage) when the decision means decide L/R perceptual decoding.", "The encoder system according to any of the embodiments discussed above may comprise an additional SBR (spectral band replication) encoder.", "SBR is a form of HFR (High Frequency Reconstruction).", "An SBR encoder determines side information for the reconstruction of the higher frequency range of the audio signal in the decoder.", "Only the lower frequency range is encoded by the perceptual encoder, thereby reducing the bitrate.", "Preferably, the SBR encoder is connected upstream of the PS encoder.", "Thus, the SBR encoder may be in the stereo domain and generates SBR parameters for a stereo signal.", "This will be discussed in detail in connection with the drawings.", "Preferably, the PS encoder (i.e.", "the downmix stage and the parameter determining stage) operates in an oversampled frequency domain (also the PS decoder as discussed below preferably operates in an oversampled frequency domain).", "For time-to-frequency transform e.g.", "a complex valued hybrid filter bank having a QMF (quadrature mirror filter) and a Nyquist filter may be used upstream of the PS encoder as described in MPEG Surround standard (see document ISO/IEC 23003-1).", "This allows for time and frequency adaptive signal processing without audible aliasing artifacts.", "The adaptive L/R or M/S encoding, on the other hand, is preferably carried out in the critically sampled MDCT domain (e.g.", "as described in AAC) in order to ensure an efficient quantized signal representation.", "The conversion between downmix and residual signals and the pseudo L/R stereo signal may be carried out in the time domain since the PS encoder and the perceptual stereo encoder are typically connected in the time domain anyway.", "Thus, the transform stage for generating the pseudo L/R signal may operate in the time domain.", "In other embodiments as discussed in connection with the drawings, the transform stage operates in an oversampled frequency domain or in a critically sampled MDCT domain.", "A second aspect of the application relates to a decoder system for decoding a bitstream signal as generated by the encoder system discussed above.", "According to an embodiment of the decoder system, the decoder system comprises perceptual decoding means for decoding based on the bitstream signal.", "The decoding means are configured to generate by decoding an (internal) first signal and an (internal) second signal and to output a downmix signal and a residual signal.", "The downmix signal and the residual signal is selectively based on the sum of the first signal and of the second signal and based on the difference of the first signal and of the second signal or based on the first signal and based on the second signal.", "As discussed above in connection with the encoder system, also here the selection may be frequency-variant or frequency-invariant.", "Moreover, the system comprises an upmix stage for generating the stereo signal based on the downmix signal and the residual signal, with the upmix operation of the upmix stage being dependent on the one or more parametric stereo parameters.", "Analogously to the encoder system, the decoder system allows to actually switch between L/R decoding and PS decoding with residual, preferably in a time and frequency variant manner.", "According to another embodiment, the decoder system comprises a perceptual stereo decoder (e.g.", "as part of the decoding means) for decoding the bitstream signal, with the decoder generating a pseudo stereo signal.", "The perceptual decoder may be an AAC based decoder.", "For the perceptual stereo decoder, L/R perceptual decoding or M/S perceptual decoding is selectable in a frequency-variant or frequency-invariant manner (the actual selection is preferably controlled by the decision in the encoder which is conveyed as side-information in the bitstream).", "The decoder selects the decoding scheme based on the encoding scheme used for encoding.", "The used encoding scheme may be indicated to the decoder by information contained in the received bitstream.", "Moreover, a transform stage is provided for generating a downmix signal and a residual signal by performing a transform of the pseudo stereo signal.", "In other words: The pseudo stereo signal as obtained from the perceptual decoder is converted back to the downmix and residual signals.", "Such transform is a sum and difference transform: The resulting downmix signal is proportional to the sum of a left channel and a right channel of the pseudo stereo signal.", "The resulting residual signal is proportional to the difference of the left channel and the right channel of the pseudo stereo signal.", "Thus, quasi an L/R to M/S transform was carried out.", "The pseudo stereo signal with the two channels L P , R P may be converted to the downmix and residual signals according to the following equations: DMX = 1 2  g  ( L p + R p ) RES = 1 2  g  ( L p - R p ) In the above equations the gain normalization factor g may have e.g.", "a value of g=√{square root over (1/2)}.", "The residual signal RES used in the decoder may cover the whole used audio frequency range or only a part of the used audio frequency range.", "The downmix and residual signals are then processed by an upmix stage of a PS decoder to obtain the final stereo output signal.", "The upmixing of the downmix and residual signals to the stereo signal is dependent on the received PS parameters.", "According to an alternative embodiment, the perceptual decoding means may comprise a sum and difference transform stage for performing a transform based on the first signal and the second signal for one or more frequency bands (e.g.", "for the whole used frequency range).", "Thus, the transform stage generates the downmix signal and the residual signal for the case that the downmix signal and the residual signal are based on the sum of the first signal and of the second signal and based on the difference of the first signal and of the second signal.", "The transform stage may operate in the time domain or in a frequency domain.", "As similarly discussed in connection with the encoder system, the transform stage may be a M/S to L/R transform stage as part of a perceptual decoder with adaptive selection between L/R and M/S stereo decoding (possibly the gain factor is different in comparison to a conventional M/S to L/R transform stage).", "It should be noted that the selection between L/R and M/S stereo decoding should be inverted.", "The decoder system according to any of the preceding embodiments may comprise an additional SBR decoder for decoding the side information from the SBR encoder and generating a high frequency component of the audio signal.", "Preferably, the SBR decoder is located downstream of the PS decoder.", "This will be discussed in detail in connection with drawings.", "Preferably, the upmix stage operates in an oversampled frequency domain, e.g.", "a hybrid filter bank as discussed above may be used upstream of the PS decoder.", "The L/R to M/S transform may be carried out in the time domain since the perceptual decoder and the PS decoder (including the upmix stage) are typically connected in the time domain.", "In other embodiments as discussed in connection with the drawings, the L/R to M/S transform is carried out in an oversampled frequency domain (e.g., QMF), or in a critically sampled frequency domain (e.g., MDCT).", "A third aspect of the application relates to a method for encoding a stereo signal to a bitstream signal.", "The method operates analogously to the encoder system discussed above.", "Thus, the above remarks related to the encoder system are basically also applicable to encoding method.", "A fourth aspect of the invention relates to a method for decoding a bitstream signal including PS parameters to generate a stereo signal.", "The method operates in the same way as the decoder system discussed above.", "Thus, the above remarks related to the decoder system are basically also applicable to decoding method.", "The invention is explained below by way of illustrative examples with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein FIG.", "1 illustrates an embodiment of an encoder system, where optionally the PS parameters assist the psycho-acoustic control in the perceptual stereo encoder; FIG.", "2 illustrates an embodiment of the PS encoder; FIG.", "3 illustrates an embodiment of a decoder system; FIG.", "4 illustrates a further embodiment of the PS encoder including a detector to deactivate PS encoding if L/R encoding is beneficial; FIG.", "5 illustrates an embodiment of a conventional PS encoder system having an additional SBR encoder for the downmix; FIG.", "6 illustrates an embodiment of an encoder system having an additional SBR encoder for the downmix signal; FIG.", "7 illustrates an embodiment of an encoder system having an additional SBR encoder in the stereo domain; FIGS.", "8 a -8 d illustrate various time-frequency representations of one of the two output channels at the decoder output; FIG.", "9 a illustrates an embodiment of the core encoder; FIG.", "9 b illustrates an embodiment of an encoder that permits switching between coding in a linear predictive domain (typically for mono signals only) and coding in a transform domain (typically for both mono and stereo signals); FIG.", "10 illustrates an embodiment of an encoder system; FIG.", "11 a illustrates a part of an embodiment of an encoder system; FIG.", "11 b illustrates an exemplary implementation of the embodiment in FIG.", "11 a; FIG.", "11 c illustrates an alternative to the embodiment in FIG.", "11 a; FIG.", "12 illustrates an embodiment of an encoder system; FIG.", "13 illustrates an embodiment of the stereo coder as part of the encoder system of FIG.", "12 ; FIG.", "14 illustrates an embodiment of a decoder system for decoding the bitstream signal as generated by the encoder system of FIG.", "6 ; FIG.", "15 illustrates an embodiment of a decoder system for decoding the bitstream signal as generated by the encoder system of FIG.", "7 ; FIG.", "16 a illustrates a part of an embodiment of a decoder system; FIG.", "16 b illustrates an exemplary implementation of the embodiment in FIG.", "16 a; FIG.", "16 c illustrates an alternative to the embodiment in FIG.", "16 a; FIG.", "17 illustrates an embodiment of an encoder system; and FIG.", "18 illustrates an embodiment of a decoder system.", "detailed-description description=\"Detailed Description\" end=\"lead\"?", "FIG.", "1 shows an embodiment of an encoder system which combines PS encoding using a residual with adaptive L/R or M/S perceptual stereo encoding.", "This embodiment is merely illustrative for the principles of the present application.", "It is understood that modifications and variations of the embodiment will be apparent to others skilled in the art.", "The encoder system comprises a PS encoder 1 receiving a stereo signal L, R. The PS encoder 1 has a downmix stage for generating downmix DMX and residual RES signals based on the stereo signal L, R. This operation can be described by means of a 2·2 downmix matrix H −1 that converts the L and R signals to the downmix signal DMX and residual signal RES: ( DMX RES ) = H - 1 · ( L R ) Typically, the matrix H −1 is frequency-variant and time-variant, i.e.", "the elements of the matrix H −1 vary over frequency and vary from time slot to time slot.", "The matrix H −1 may be updated every frame (e.g.", "every 21 or 42 ms) and may have a frequency resolution of a plurality of bands, e.g.", "28, 20, or 10 bands (named “parameter bands”) on a perceptually oriented (Bark-like) frequency scale.", "The elements of the matrix H −1 depend on the time- and frequency-variant PS parameters IID (inter-channel intensity difference; also called CLD—channel level difference) and ICC (inter-channel cross-correlation).", "For determining PS parameters 5 , e.g.", "IID and ICC, the PS encoder 1 comprises a parameter determining stage.", "An example for computing the matrix elements of the inverse matrix H is given by the following and described in the MPEG Surround specification document ISO/IEC 23003-1, subclause 6.5.3.2 which is hereby incorporated by reference: H = [ c 1  cos  ( α + β ) c 1  sin  ( α + β ) c 2  cos  ( - α + β ) c 2  sin  ( - α + β ) ] , where c 1 = 10 CLD 10 1 + 10 CLD 10 , and c 2 = 1 1 + 10 CLD 10 , and where β = arctan  ( tan  ( α )  c 2 + c 1 c 2 + c 1 ) , and α = 1 2  arccos  ( ρ ) , and where ρ=ICC.", "Moreover, the encoder system comprises a transform stage 2 that converts the downmix signal DMX and residual signal RES from the PS encoder 1 into a pseudo stereo signal L p , R p , e.g.", "according to the following equations: in-line-formulae description=\"In-line Formulae\" end=\"lead\"?", "L p =g ( DMX+RES ) in-line-formulae description=\"In-line Formulae\" end=\"tail\"?", "in-line-formulae description=\"In-line Formulae\" end=\"lead\"?", "R p =g ( DMX−RES ) in-line-formulae description=\"In-line Formulae\" end=\"tail\"?", "In the above equations the gain normalization factor g has e.g.", "a value of g=√{square root over (1/2)}.", "For g=√{square root over (1/2)}, the two equations for pseudo stereo signal L p , R p can be rewritten as: ( L p R p ) = ( 1 / 2 1 / 2 1 / 2 - 1 / 2 )  ( DMX RES ) The pseudo stereo signal L p , R p is then fed to a perceptual stereo encoder 3 , which adaptively selects either L/R or M/S stereo encoding.", "M/S encoding is a form of joint stereo coding.", "L/R encoding may be also based on joint encoding aspects, e.g.", "bits may be allocated jointly for the L and R channels from a common bit reservoir.", "The selection between L/R or M/S stereo encoding is preferably frequency-variant, i.e.", "some frequency bands may be L/R encoded, whereas other frequency bands may be M/S encoded.", "An embodiment for implementing the selection between L/R or M/S stereo encoding is described in the document “Sum-Difference Stereo Transform Coding”, J. D. Johnston et al., IEEE International Conference on Acoustics, Speech, and Signal Processing (ICASSP) 1992, pages 569-572.The discussion of the selection between L/R or M/S stereo encoding therein, in particular sections 5.1 and 5.2, is hereby incorporated by reference.", "Based on the pseudo stereo signal L p , R p , the perceptual encoder 3 can internally compute (pseudo) mid/side signals M p , S p .", "Such signals basically correspond to the downmix signal DMX and residual signal RES (except for a possibly different gain factor).", "Hence, if the perceptual encoder 3 selects M/S encoding for a frequency band, the perceptual encoder 3 basically encodes the downmix signal DMX and residual signal RES for that frequency band (except for a possibly different gain factor) as it also would be done in a conventional perceptual encoder system using conventional PS coding with residual.", "The PS parameters 5 and the output bitstream 4 of the perceptual encoder 3 are multiplexed into a single bitstream 6 by a multiplexer 7 .", "In addition to PS encoding of the stereo signal, the encoder system in FIG.", "1 allows L/R coding of the stereo signal as will be explained in the following: As discussed above, the elements of the downmix matrix H −1 of the encoder (and also of the upmix matrix H used in the decoder) depend on the time- and frequency-variant PS parameters IID (inter-channel intensity difference; also called CLD—channel level difference) and ICC (inter-channel cross-correlation).", "An example for computing the matrix elements of the upmix matrix H is described above.", "In case of using residual coding, the right column of the 2·2 upmix matrix H is given as ( 1 - 1 ) .", "However, preferably, the right column of the 2·2 matrix H should instead be modified to ( 1 / 2 - 1 / 2 ) .", "The left column is preferably computed as given in the MPEG Surround specification.", "Modifying the right column of the upmix matrix H ensures that for IID=0 dB and ICC=0 (i.e.", "the case where for the respective band the stereo channels L and R are independent and have the same level) the following upmix matrix H is obtained for the band: H = ( 1 / 2 1 / 2 1 / 2 - 1 / 2 ) .", "Please note that the upmix matrix H and also the downmix matrix H −1 are typically frequency-variant and time-variant.", "Thus, the values of the matrices are different for different time/frequency tiles (a tile corresponds to the intersection of a particular frequency band and a particular time period).", "In the above case the downmix matrix H −1 is identical to the upmix matrix H. Thus, for the band the pseudo stereo signal L p , R p can computed by the following equation: ( L p R p ) = ( 1 / 2 1 / 2 1 / 2 - 1 / 2 )  ( DMX RES ) = ( 1 / 2 1 / 2 1 / 2 - 1 / 2 ) · H - 1 · ( L R ) = ( 1 / 2 1 / 2 1 / 2 - 1 / 2 )  ( 1 / 2 1 / 2 1 / 2 - 1 / 2 )  ( L R ) = ( 1 0 0 1 )  ( L R ) = ( L R ) Hence, in this case the PS encoding with residual using the downmix matrix W′ followed by the generation of the pseudo L/R signal in the transform stage 2 corresponds to the unity matrix and does not change the stereo signal for the respective frequency band at all, i.e.", "in-line-formulae description=\"In-line Formulae\" end=\"lead\"?", "L p =L in-line-formulae description=\"In-line Formulae\" end=\"tail\"?", "in-line-formulae description=\"In-line Formulae\" end=\"lead\"?", "R p =R in-line-formulae description=\"In-line Formulae\" end=\"tail\"?", "In other words: the transform stage 2 compensates the downmix matrix H −1 such that the pseudo stereo signal L p , R p corresponds to the input stereo signal L, R. This allows to encode the original input stereo signal L, R by the perceptual encoder 3 for the particular band.", "When L/R encoding is selected by the perceptual encoder 3 for encoding the particular band, the encoder system behaves like a L/R perceptual encoder for encoding the band of the stereo input signal L, R. The encoder system in FIG.", "1 allows seamless and adaptive switching between L/R coding and PS coding with residual in a frequency- and time-variant manner.", "The encoder system avoids discontinuities in the waveform when switching the coding scheme.", "This prevents artifacts.", "In order to achieve smooth transitions, linear interpolation may be applied to the elements of the matrix H −1 in the encoder and the matrix H in the decoder for samples between two stereo parameter updates.", "FIG.", "2 shows an embodiment of the PS encoder 1 .", "The PS encoder 1 comprises a downmix stage 8 which generates the downmix signal DMX and residual signal RES based on the stereo signal L, R. Further, the PS encoder 1 comprises a parameter estimating stage 9 for estimating the PS parameters 5 based on the stereo signal L, R. FIG.", "3 illustrates an embodiment of a corresponding decoder system configured to decode the bitstream 6 as generated by the encoder system of FIG.", "1 .", "This embodiment is merely illustrative for the principles of the present application.", "It is understood that modifications and variations of the embodiment will be apparent to others skilled in the art.", "The decoder system comprises a demultiplexer 10 for separating the PS parameters 5 and the audio bitstream 4 as generated by the perceptual encoder 3 .", "The audio bitstream 4 is fed to a perceptual stereo decoder 11 , which can selectively decode an L/R encoded bitstream or an M/S encoded audio bitstream.", "The operation of the decoder 11 is inverse to the operation of the encoder 3 .", "Analogously to the perceptual encoder 3 , the perceptual decoder 11 preferably allows for a frequency-variant and time-variant decoding scheme.", "Some frequency bands which are L/R encoded by the encoder 3 are L/R decoded by the decoder 11 , whereas other frequency bands which are M/S encoded by the encoder 3 are M/S decoded by the decoder 11 .", "The decoder 11 outputs the pseudo stereo signal L p , R p which was input to the perceptual encoder 3 before.", "The pseudo stereo signal L p , R p as obtained from the perceptual decoder 11 is converted back to the downmix signal DMX and residual signal RES by a L/R to M/S transform stage 12 .", "The operation of the L/R to M/S transform stage 12 at the decoder side is inverse to the operation of the transform stage 2 at the encoder side.", "Preferably, the transform stage 12 determines the downmix signal DMX and residual signal RES according to the following equations: DMX = 1 2  g  ( L p + R p ) RES = 1 2  g  ( L p - R p ) In the above equations, the gain normalization factor g is identical to the gain normalization factor g at the encoder side and has e.g.", "a value of g=√{square root over (1/2)}.", "The downmix signal DMX and residual signal RES are then processed by the PS decoder 13 to obtain the final L and R output signals.", "The upmix step in the decoding process for PS coding with a residual can be described by means of the 2·2 upmix matrix H that converts the downmix signal DMX and residual signal RES back to the L and R channels: ( L R ) = H · ( DMX RES ) .", "The computation of the elements of the upmix matrix H was already discussed above.", "The PS encoding and PS decoding process in the PS encoder 1 and the PS decoder 13 is preferably carried out in an oversampled frequency domain.", "For time-to-frequency transform e.g.", "a complex valued hybrid filter bank having a QMF (quadrature mirror filter) and a Nyquist filter may be used upstream of the PS encoder, such as the filter bank described in MPEG Surround standard (see document ISO/IEC 23003-1).", "The complex QMF representation of the signal is oversampled with factor 2 since it is complex-valued and not real-valued.", "This allows for time and frequency adaptive signal processing without audible aliasing artifacts.", "Such hybrid filter bank typically provides high frequency resolution (narrow band) at low frequencies, while at high frequency, several QMF bands are grouped into a wider band.", "The paper “Low Complexity Parametric Stereo Coding in MPEG-4”, H. Purnhagen, Proc.", "of the 7 th Int.", "Conference on Digital Audio Effects (DAFx'04), Naples, Italy, Oct. 5-8, 2004, pages 163-168 describes an embodiment of a hybrid filter bank (see section 3.2 and FIG.", "4 ).", "This disclosure is hereby incorporated by reference.", "In this document a 48 kHz sampling rate is assumed, with the (nominal) bandwidth of a band from a 64 band QMF bank being 375 Hz.", "The perceptual Bark frequency scale however asks for a bandwidth of approximately 100 Hz for frequencies below 500 Hz.", "Hence, the first 3 QMF bands may be split into further more narrow subbands by means of a Nyquist filter bank.", "The first QMF band may be split into 4 bands (plus two more for negative frequencies), and the 2nd and 3rd QMF bands may be split into two bands each.", "Preferably, the adaptive L/R or M/S encoding, on the other hand, is carried out in the critically sampled MDCT domain (e.g.", "as described in AAC) in order to ensure an efficient quantized signal representation.", "The conversion of the downmix signal DMX and residual signal RES to the pseudo stereo signal L p , R p in the transform stage 2 may be carried out in the time domain since the PS encoder 1 and the perceptual encoder 3 may be connected in the time domain anyway.", "Also in the decoding system, the perceptual stereo decoder 11 and the PS decoder 13 are preferably connected in the time domain.", "Thus, the conversion of the pseudo stereo signal L p , R p to the downmix signal DMX and residual signal RES in the transform stage 12 may be also carried out in the time domain.", "An adaptive L/R or M/S stereo coder such as shown as the encoder 3 in FIG.", "1 is typically a perceptual audio coder that incorporates a psychoacoustic model to enable high coding efficiency at low bitrates.", "An example for such encoder is an AAC encoder, which employs transform coding in a critically sampled MDCT domain in combination with time- and frequency-variant quantization controlled by using a psycho-acoustic model.", "Also, the time- and frequency-variant decision between L/R and M/S coding is typically controlled with help of perceptual entropy measures that are calculated using a psycho-acoustic model.", "The perceptual stereo encoder (such as the encoder 3 in FIG.", "1 ) operates on a pseudo L/R stereo signal (see L p , R p in FIG.", "1 ).", "For optimizing the coding efficiency of the stereo encoder (in particular for making the right decision between L/R encoding and M/S encoding) it is advantageous to modify the psycho-acoustic control mechanism (including the control mechanism which decides between L/R and M/S stereo encoding and the control mechanism which controls the time- and frequency-variant quantization) in the perceptual stereo encoder in order to account for the signal modifications (pseudo L/R to DMX and RES conversion, followed by PS decoding) that are applied in the decoder when generating the final stereo output signal L, R. These signal modifications can affect binaural masking phenomena that are exploited in the psycho-acoustic control mechanisms.", "Therefore, these psycho-acoustic control mechanisms should preferably be adapted accordingly.", "For this, it can be beneficial if the psycho-acoustic control mechanisms do not have access only to the pseudo L/R signal (see L p , R p in FIG.", "1 ) but also to the PS parameters (see 5 in FIG.", "1 ) and/or to the original stereo signal L, R. The access of the psycho-acoustic control mechanisms to the PS parameters and to the stereo signal L, R is indicated in FIG.", "1 by the dashed lines.", "Based on this information, e.g.", "the masking threshold(s) may be adapted.", "An alternative approach to optimize psycho-acoustic control is to augment the encoder system with a detector forming a deactivation stage that is able to effectively deactivate PS encoding when appropriate, preferably in a time- and frequency-variant manner Deactivating PS encoding is e.g.", "appropriate when L/R stereo coding is expected to be beneficial or when the psycho-acoustic control would have problems to encode the pseudo L/R signal efficiently.", "PS encoding may be effectively deactivated by setting the downmix matrix H −1 in such a way that the downmix matrix H −1 followed by the transform (see stage 2 in FIG.", "1 ) corresponds to the unity matrix (i.e.", "to an identity operation) or to the unity matrix times a factor.", "E.g.", "PS encoding may be effectively deactivated by forcing the PS parameters IID and/or ICC to IID=0 dB and ICC=0.In this case the pseudo stereo signal L p , R p corresponds to the stereo signal L, R as discussed above.", "Such detector controlling a PS parameter modification is shown in FIG.", "4 .", "Here, the detector 20 receives the PS parameters 5 determined by the parameter estimating stage 9 .", "When the detector does not deactivate the PS encoding, the detector 20 passes the PS parameters through to the downmix stage 8 and to the multiplexer 7 , i.e.", "in this case the PS parameters 5 correspond to the PS parameters 5 ′ fed to the downmix stage 8 .", "In case the detector detects that PS encoding is disadvantageous and PS encoding should be deactivated (for one or more frequency bands), the detector modifies the affected PS parameters 5 (e.g.", "set the PS parameters IID and/or ICC to IID=0 dB and ICC=0) and feeds the modified PS parameters 5 ′ to downmix stage 8 .", "The detector can optionally also consider the left and right signals L, R for deciding on a PS parameter modification (see dashed lines in FIG.", "4 ).", "In the following figures, the term QMF (quadrature mirror filter or filter bank) also includes a QMF subband filter bank in combination with a Nyquist filter bank, i.e.", "a hybrid filter bank structure.", "Furthermore, all values in the description below may be frequency dependent, e.g.", "different downmix and upmix matrices may be extracted for different frequency ranges.", "Furthermore, the residual coding may only cover part of the used audio frequency range (i.e.", "the residual signal is only coded for a part of the used audio frequency range).", "Aspects of downmix as will be outlined below may for some frequency ranges occur in the QMF domain (e.g.", "according to prior art), while for other frequency ranges only e.g.", "phase aspects will be dealt with in the complex QMF domain, whereas amplitude transformation is dealt with in the real-valued MDCT domain.", "In FIG.", "5 , a conventional PS encoder system is depicted.", "Each of the stereo channels L, R, is at first analyzed by a complex QMF 30 with M subbands, e.g.", "a QMF with M=64 subbands.", "The subband signals are used to estimate PS parameters 5 and a downmix signal DMX in a PS encoder 31 .", "The downmix signal DMX is used to estimate SBR (Spectral Bandwidth Replication) parameters 33 in an SBR encoder 32 .", "The SBR encoder 32 extracts the SBR parameters 33 representing the spectral envelope of the original high band signal, possibly in combination with noise and tonality measures.", "As opposed to the PS encoder 31 , the SBR encoder 32 does not affect the signal passed on to the core coder 34 .", "The downmix signal DMX of the PS encoder 31 is synthesized using an inverse QMF 35 with N subbands.", "E.g.", "a complex QMF with N=32 may be used, where only the 32 lowest subbands of the 64 subbands used by the PS encoder 31 and the SBR encoder 32 are synthesized.", "Thus, by using half the number of subbands for the same frame size, a time domain signal of half the bandwidth compared to the input is obtained, and passed into the core coder 34 .", "Due to the reduced bandwidth the sampling rate can be reduced to the half (not shown).", "The core encoder 34 performs perceptual encoding of the mono input signal to generate a bitstream 36 .", "The PS parameters 5 are embedded in the bitstream 36 by a multiplexer (not shown).", "FIG.", "6 shows a further embodiment of an encoder system which combines PS coding using a residual with a stereo core coder 48 , with the stereo core coder 48 being capable of adaptive L/R or M/S perceptual stereo coding.", "This embodiment is merely illustrative for the principles of the present application.", "It is understood that modifications and variations of the embodiment will be apparent to others skilled in the art.", "The input channels L, R representing the left and right original channels are analyzed by a complex QMF 30 , in a similar way as discussed in connection with FIG.", "5 .", "In contrast to the PS encoder 31 in FIG.", "5 , the PS encoder 41 in FIG.", "6 does not only output a downmix signal DMX but also outputs a residual signal RES.", "The downmix signal DMX is used by an SBR encoder 32 to determine SBR parameters 33 of the downmix signal DMX.", "A fixed DMX/RES to pseudo L/R transform (i.e.", "an M/S to L/R transform) is applied to the downmix DMX and the residual RES signals in a transform stage 2 .", "The transform stage 2 in FIG.", "6 corresponds to the transform stage 2 in FIG.", "1 .", "The transform stage 2 creates a “pseudo” left and right channel signal L p , R p for the core encoder 48 to operate on.", "In this embodiment, the inverse L/R to M/S transform is applied in the QMF domain, prior to the subband synthesis by filter banks 35 .", "Preferably, the number N (e.g.", "N=32) of subbands for the synthesis corresponds to half the number M (e.g.", "M=64) of subbands used for the analysis and the core coder 48 operates at half the sampling rate.", "It should be noted that there is no restriction to use 64 subband channels for the QMF analysis in the encoder, and 32 subbands for the synthesis, other values are possible as well, depending on which sampling rate is desired for the signal received by the core coder 48 .", "The core stereo encoder 48 performs perceptual encoding of the signal of the filter banks 35 to generate a bitstream signal 46 .", "The PS parameters 5 are embedded in the bitstream signal 46 by a multiplexer (not shown).", "Optionally, the PS parameters and/or the original L/R input signal may be used by the core encoder 48 .", "Such information indicates to the core encoder 48 how the PS encoder 41 rotated the stereo space.", "The information may guide the core encoder 48 how to control quantization in a perceptually optimal way.", "This is indicated in FIG.", "6 by the dashed lines.", "FIG.", "7 illustrates a further embodiment of an encoder system which is similar to the embodiment in FIG.", "6 .", "In comparison to the embodiment of FIG.", "6 , in FIG.", "7 the SBR encoder 42 is connected upstream of the PS encoder 41 .", "In FIG.", "7 the SBR encoder 42 has been moved prior to the PS encoder 41 , thus operating on the left and right channels (here: in the QMF domain), instead of operating on the downmix signal DMX as in FIG.", "6 .", "Due to the re-arrangement of the SBR encoder 42 , the PS encoder 41 may be configured to operate not on the full bandwidth of the input signal but e.g.", "only on the frequency range below the SBR crossover frequency.", "In FIG.", "7 , the SBR parameters 43 are in stereo for the SBR range, and the output from the corresponding PS decoder as will be discussed later on in connection with FIG.", "15 produces a stereo source frequency range for the SBR decoder to operate on.", "This modification, i.e.", "connecting the SBR encoder module 42 upstream of the PS encoder module 41 in the encoder system and correspondingly placing the SBR decoder module after the PS decoder module in the decoder system (see FIG.", "15 ), has the benefit that the use of a decorrelated signal for generating the stereo output can be reduced.", "Please note that in case no residual signal exists at all or for a particular frequency band, a decorrelated version of the downmix signal DMX is used instead in the PS decoder.", "However, a reconstruction based on a decorrelated signal reduces the audio quality.", "Thus, reducing the use of the decorrelated signal increases the audio quality.", "This advantage of the embodiment in FIG.", "7 in comparison to the embodiment in FIG.", "6 will be now explained more in detail with reference to FIGS.", "8 a to 8 d. In FIG.", "8 a , a time frequency representation of one of the two output channels L, R (at the decoder side) is visualized.", "In case of FIG.", "8 a , an encoder is used where the PS encoding module is placed in front of the SBR encoding module such as the encoder in FIG.", "5 or FIG.", "6 (in the decoder the PS decoder is placed after the SBR decoder, see FIG.", "14 ).", "Moreover, the residual is coded only in a low bandwidth frequency range 50 , which is smaller than the frequency range 51 of the core coder.", "As evident from the spectrogram visualization in FIG.", "8 a , the frequency range 52 where a decorrelated signal is to be used by the PS decoder covers all of the frequency range apart from the lower frequency range 50 covered by the use of the residual signal.", "Moreover, the SBR covers a frequency range 53 starting significantly higher than that of the decorrelated signal.", "Thus, the entire frequency range separates in the following frequency ranges: in the lower frequency range (see range 50 in FIG.", "8 a ), waveform coding is used; in the middle frequency range (see intersection of frequency ranges 51 and 52 ), waveform coding in combination with a decorrelated signal is used; and in the higher frequency range (see frequency range 53 ), a SBR regenerated signal which is regenerated from the lower frequencies is used in combination with the decorrelated signal produced by the PS decoder.", "In FIG.", "8 b , a time frequency representation of one of the two output channels L, R (at the decoder side) is visualized for the case when the SBR encoder is connected upstream of the PS encoder in the encoder system (and the SBR decoder is located after the PS decoder in the decoder system).", "In FIG.", "8 b a low bitrate scenario is illustrated, with the residual signal bandwidth 60 (where residual coding is performed) being lower than the bandwidth of the core coder 61 .", "Since the SBR decoding process operates on the decoder side after the PS decoder (see FIG.", "15 ), the residual signal used for the low frequencies is also used for the reconstruction of at least a part (see frequency range 64 ) of the higher frequencies in the SBR range 63 .", "The advantage becomes even more apparent when operating on intermediate bitrates where the residual signal bandwidth approaches or is equal to the core coder bandwidth.", "In this case, the time frequency representation of FIG.", "8 a (where the order of PS encoding and SBR encoding as shown in FIG.", "6 is used) results in the time frequency representation shown in FIG.", "8 c .", "In FIG.", "8 c , the residual signal essentially covers the entire lowband range 51 of the core coder; in the SBR frequency range 53 the decorrelated signal is used by the PS decoder.", "In FIG.", "8 d , the time frequency representation in case of the preferred order of the encoding/decoding modules (i.e.", "SBR encoding operating on a stereo signal before PS encoding, as shown in FIG.", "7 ) is visualized.", "Here, the PS decoding module operates prior to the SBR decoding module in the decoder, as shown in FIG.", "15 .", "Thus, the residual signal is part of the low band used for high frequency reconstruction.", "When the residual signal bandwidth equals that of the mono downmix signal bandwidth, no decorrelated signal information will be needed to decoder the output signal (see the full frequency range being hatched in FIG.", "8 d ).", "In FIG.", "9 a , an embodiment of the stereo core encoder 48 with adaptively selectable L/R or M/S stereo encoding in the MDCT transform domain is illustrated.", "Such stereo encoder 48 may be used in FIGS.", "6 and 7 .", "A mono core encoder 34 as shown in FIG.", "5 can be considered as a special case of the stereo core encoder 48 in FIG.", "9 a , where only a single mono input channel is processed (i.e.", "where the second input channel, shown as dashed line in FIG.", "9 a , is not present).", "In FIG.", "9 b , an embodiment of a more generalized encoder is illustrated.", "For mono signals, encoding can be switched between coding in a linear predictive domain (see block 71 ) and coding in a transform domain (see block 48 ).", "Such type of core coder introduces several coding methods which can adaptively be used dependent upon the characteristics of the input signal.", "Here, the coder can choose to code the signal using either an AAC style transform coder 48 (available for mono and stereo signals, with adaptively selectable L/R or M/S coding in case of stereo signals) or an AMR-WB+(Adaptive Multi Rate−WideBand Plus) style core coder 71 (only available for mono signals).", "The AMR-WB+ core coder 71 evaluates the residual of a linear predictor 72 , and in turn also chooses between a transform coding approach of the linear prediction residual or a classic speech coder ACELP (Algebraic Code Excited Linear Prediction) approach for coding the linear prediction residual.", "For deciding between AAC style transform coder 48 and the AMR-WB+ style core coder 71 , a mode decision stage 73 is used which decides based on the input signal between both coders 48 and 71 .", "The encoder 48 is a stereo AAC style MDCT based coder.", "When the mode decision 73 steers the input signal to use MDCT based coding, the mono input signal or the stereo input signals are coded by the AAC based MDCT coder 48 .", "The MDCT coder 48 does an MDCT analysis of the one or two signals in MDCT stages 74 .", "In case of a stereo signal, further, an M/S or L/R decision on a frequency band basis is performed in a stage 75 prior to quantization and coding.", "L/R stereo encoding or M/S stereo encoding is selectable in a frequency-variant manner.", "The stage 75 also performs a L/R to M/S transform.", "If M/S encoding is decided for a particular frequency band, the stage 75 outputs an M/S signal for this frequency band.", "Otherwise, the stage 75 outputs a L/R signal for this frequency band.", "Hence, when the transform coding mode is used, the full efficiency of the stereo coding functionality of the underlying core coder can be used for stereo.", "When the mode decision 73 steers the mono signal to the linear predictive domain coder 71 , the mono signal is subsequently analyzed by means of linear predictive analysis in block 72 .", "Subsequently, a decision is made on whether to code the LP residual by means of a time-domain ACELP style coder 76 or a TCX style coder 77 (Transform Coded eXcitation) operating in the MDCT domain.", "The linear predictive domain coder 71 does not have any inherent stereo coding capability.", "Hence, to allow coding of stereo signal with the linear predictive domain coder 71 , an encoder configuration similar to that shown in FIG.", "5 can be used.", "In this configuration, a PS encoder generates PS parameters 5 and a mono downmix signal DMX, which is then encoded by the linear predictive domain coder.", "FIG.", "10 illustrates a further embodiment of an encoder system, wherein parts of FIG.", "7 and FIG.", "9 are combined in a new fashion.", "The DMX/RES to pseudo L/R block 2 , as outlined in FIG.", "7 , is arranged within the AAC style downmix coder 70 prior to the stereo MDCT analysis 74 .", "This embodiment has the advantage that the DMX/RES to pseudo L/R transform 2 is applied only when the stereo MDCT core coder is used.", "Hence, when the transform coding mode is used, the full efficiency of the stereo coding functionality of the underlying core coder can be used for stereo coding of the frequency range covered by the residual signal.", "While the mode decision 73 in FIG.", "9 b operates either on the mono input signal or on the input stereo signal, the mode decision 73 ′ in FIG.", "10 operates on the downmix signal DMX and the residual signal RES.", "In case of a mono input signal, the mono signal can directly be used as the DMX signal, the RES signal is set to zero, and the PS parameters can default to IID=0 dB and ICC=1.When the mode decision 73 ′ steers the downmix signal DMX to the linear predictive domain coder 71 , the downmix signal DMX is subsequently analyzed by means of linear predictive analysis in block 72 .", "Subsequently, a decision is made on whether to code the LP residual by means of a time-domain ACELP style coder 76 or a TCX style coder 77 (Transform Coded eXcitation) operating in the MDCT domain.", "The linear predictive domain coder 71 does not have any inherent stereo coding capability that can be used for coding the residual signal in addition to the downmix signal DMX.", "Hence, a dedicated residual coder 78 is employed for encoding the residual signal RES when the downmix signal DMX is encoded by the predictive domain coder 71 .", "E.g.", "such coder 78 may be a mono AAC coder.", "It should be noted that the coder 71 and 78 in FIG.", "10 may be omitted (in this case the mode decision stage 73 ′ is not necessary anymore).", "FIG.", "11 a illustrates a detail of an alternative further embodiment of an encoder system which achieves the same advantage as the embodiment in FIG.", "10 .", "In contrast to the embodiment of FIG.", "10 , in FIG.", "11 a the DMX/RES to pseudo L/R transform 2 is placed after the MDCT analysis 74 of the core coder 70 , i.e.", "the transform operates in the MDCT domain.", "The transform in block 2 is linear and time-invariant and thus can be placed after the MDCT analysis 74 .", "The remaining blocks of FIG.", "10 which are not shown in FIG.", "11 can be optionally added in the same way in FIG.", "11 a .", "The MDCT analysis blocks 74 may be also alternatively placed after the transform block 2 .", "FIG.", "11 b illustrates an implementation of the embodiment in FIG.", "11 a .", "In FIG.", "11 b , an exemplary implementation of the stage 75 for selecting between M/S or L/R encoding is shown.", "The stage 75 comprises a sum and difference transform stage 98 (more precisely a L/R to M/S transform stage) which receives the pseudo stereo signal L p , R p .", "The transform stage 98 generates a pseudo mid/side signal M p , S p by performing an L/R to M/S transform.", "Except for a possible gain factor, the following applies: M p =DMX and S p =RES.", "The stage 75 decides between L/R or M/S encoding.", "Based on the decision, either the pseudo stereo signal L p , R p or the pseudo mid/side signal M p , S p are selected (see selection switch) and encoded in AAC block 97 .", "It should be noted that also two AAC blocks 97 may be used (not shown in FIG.", "11 b ), with the first AAC block 97 assigned to the pseudo stereo signal L p , R p and the second AAC block 97 assigned to the pseudo mid/side signal M p , S p .", "In this case, the L/R or M/S selection is performed by selecting either the output of the first AAC block 97 or the output of the second AAC block 97 .", "FIG.", "11 c shows an alternative to the embodiment in FIG.", "11 a .", "Here, no explicit transform stage 2 is used.", "Rather, the transform stage 2 and the stage 75 is combined in a single stage 75 ′.", "The downmix signal DMX and the residual signal RES are fed to a sum and difference transform stage 99 (more precisely a DMX/RES to pseudo L/R transform stage) as part of stage 75 ′.", "The transform stage 99 generates a pseudo stereo signal L p , R p .", "The DMX/RES to pseudo L/R transform stage 99 in FIG.", "11 c is similar to the L/R to M/S transform stage 98 in FIG.", "11 b (expect for a possibly different gain factor).", "Nevertheless, in FIG.", "11 c the selection between M/S and L/R decoding needs to be inverted in comparison to FIG.", "11 b .", "Note that in both FIG.", "11 b and FIG.", "11 c , the position of the switch for the L/R or M/S selection is shown in L p /R p position, which is the upper one in FIG.", "11 b and the lower one in FIG.", "11 c .", "This visualizes the notion of the inverted meaning of the L/R or M/S selection.", "It should be noted that the switch in FIGS.", "11 b and 11 c preferably exists individually for each frequency band in the MDCT domain such that the selection between L/R and M/S can be both time- and frequency-variant.", "In other words: the position of the switch is preferably frequency-variant.", "The transform stages 98 and 99 may transform the whole used frequency range or may only transform a single frequency band.", "Moreover, it should be noted that all blocks 2 , 98 and 99 can be called “sum and difference transform blocks” since all blocks implement a transform matrix in the form of c · ( 1 1 1 - 1 ) Merely, the gain factor c may be different in the blocks 2 , 98 , 99 .", "In FIG.", "12 , a further embodiment of an encoder system is outlined.", "It uses an extended set of PS parameters which, in addition to IID an ICC (described above), includes two further parameters IPD (inter channel phase difference, see φ ipd below) and OPD (overall phase difference, see (p opd below) that allow to characterize the phase relationship between the two channels L and R of a stereo signal.", "An example for these phase parameters is given in ISO/IEC 14496-3 subclause 8.6.4.6.3 which is hereby incorporated by reference.", "When phase parameters are used, the resulting upmix matrix H COMPLEX (and its inverse H COMPLEX −1 ) becomes complex-valued, according to: in-line-formulae description=\"In-line Formulae\" end=\"lead\"?", "H COMPLEX =H φ ·H, in-line-formulae description=\"In-line Formulae\" end=\"tail\"?", "where H φ = ( exp  ( j   ϕ 1 ) 0 0 exp  ( j   ϕ 2 ) ) .", "and where in-line-formulae description=\"In-line Formulae\" end=\"lead\"?", "φ 1 =φ opd in-line-formulae description=\"In-line Formulae\" end=\"tail\"?", "in-line-formulae description=\"In-line Formulae\" end=\"lead\"?", "φ 2 =φ opd −φ ipd .", "in-line-formulae description=\"In-line Formulae\" end=\"tail\"?", "The stage 80 of the PS encoder which operates in the complex QMF domain only takes care of phase dependencies between the channels L, R. The downmix rotation (i.e.", "the transformation from the L/R domain to the DMX/RES domain which was described by the matrix H −1 above) is taken care of in the MDCT domain as part of the stereo core coder 81 .", "Hence, the phase dependencies between the two channels are extracted in the complex QMF domain, while other, real-valued, waveform dependencies are extracted in the real-valued critically sampled MDCT domain as part of the stereo coding mechanism of the core coder used.", "This has the advantage that the extraction of linear dependencies between the channels can be tightly integrated in the stereo coding of the core coder (though, to prevent aliasing in the critical sampled MDCT domain, only for the frequency range that is covered by residual coding, possibly minus a “guard band” on the frequency axis).", "The phase adjustment stage 80 of the PS encoder in FIG.", "12 extracts phase related PS parameters, e.g.", "the parameters IPD (inter channel phase difference) and OPD (overall phase difference).", "Hence, the phase adjustment matrix H φ −1 that it produces may be according to the following: H φ - 1 = ( exp  ( - j   ϕ 1 ) 0 0 exp  ( - j   ϕ 2 ) ) As discussed before, the downmix rotation part of the PS module is dealt with in the stereo coding module 81 of the core coder in FIG.", "12 .", "The stereo coding module 81 operates in the MDCT domain and is shown in FIG.", "13 .", "The stereo coding module 81 receives the phase adjusted stereo signal L φ , R φ in the MDCT domain.", "This signal is downmixed in a downmix stage 82 by a downmix rotation matrix H −1 which is the real-valued part of a complex downmix matrix H COMPLEX as discussed above, thereby generating the downmix signal DMX and residual signal RES.", "The downmix operation is followed by the inverse L/R to M/S transform according to the present application (see transform stage 2 ), thereby generating a pseudo stereo signal L p , R p .", "The pseudo stereo signal L p , R p is processed by the stereo coding algorithm (see adaptive M/S or L/R stereo encoder 83 ), in this particular embodiment a stereo coding mechanism that depending on perceptual entropy criteria decides to code either an L/R representation or an M/S representation of the signal.", "This decision is preferably time- and frequency-variant.", "In FIG.", "14 an embodiment of a decoder system is shown which is suitable to decode a bitstream 46 as generated by the encoder system shown in FIG.", "6 .", "This embodiment is merely illustrative for the principles of the present application.", "It is understood that modifications and variations of the embodiment will be apparent to others skilled in the art.", "A core decoder 90 decodes the bitstream 46 into pseudo left and right channels, which are transformed in the QMF domain by filter banks 91 .", "Subsequently, a fixed pseudo L/R to DMX/RES transform of the resulting pseudo stereo signal L p , R p is performed in transform stage 12 , thus creating a downmix signal DMX and a residual signal RES.", "When using SBR coding, these signals are low band signals, e.g.", "the downmix signal DMX and residual signal RES may only contain audio information for the low frequency band up to approximately 8 kHz.", "The downmix signal DMX is used by an SBR decoder 93 to reconstruct the high frequency band based on received SBR parameters (not shown).", "Both the output signal (including the low and reconstructed high frequency bands of the downmix signal DMX) from the SBR decoder 93 and the residual signal RES are input to a PS decoder 94 operating in the QMF domain (in particular in the hybrid QMF+Nyquist filter domain).", "The downmix signal DMX at the input of the PS decoder 94 also contains audio information in the high frequency band (e.g.", "up to 20 kHz), whereas the residual signal RES at the input of the PS decoder 94 is a low band signal (e.g.", "limited up to 8 kHz).", "Thus, for the high frequency band (e.g.", "for the band from 8 kHz to 20 kHz), the PS decoder 94 uses a decorrelated version of the downmix signal DMX instead of using the band limited residual signal RES.", "The decoded signals at the output of the PS decoder 94 are therefore based on a residual signal only up to 8 kHz.", "After PS decoding, the two output channels of the PS decoder 94 are transformed in the time domain by filter banks 95 , thereby generating the output stereo signal L, R. In FIG.", "15 an embodiment of a decoder system is shown which is suitable to decode the bitstream 46 as generated by the encoder system shown in FIG.", "7 .", "This embodiment is merely illustrative for the principles of the present application.", "It is understood that modifications and variations of the embodiment will be apparent to others skilled in the art.", "The principle operation of the embodiment in FIG.", "15 is similar to that of the decoder system outlined in FIG.", "14 .", "In contrast to FIG.", "14 , the SBR decoder 96 in FIG.", "15 is located at the output of the PS decoder 94 .", "Moreover, the SBR decoder makes use of SBR parameters (not shown) forming stereo envelope data in contrast to the mono SBR parameters in FIG.", "14 .", "The downmix and residual signal at the input of the PS decoder 94 are typically low band signals, e.g.", "the downmix signal DMX and residual signal RES may contain audio information only for the low frequency band, e.g.", "up to approximately 8 kHz.", "Based on the low band downmix signal DMX and residual signal RES, the PS encoder 94 determines a low band stereo signal, e.g.", "up to approximately 8 kHz.", "Based on the low band stereo signal and stereo SBR parameters, the SBR decoder 96 reconstructs the high frequency part of the stereo signal.", "In comparison to the embodiment in FIG.", "14 , the embodiment in FIG.", "15 offers the advantage that no decorrelated signal is needed (see also FIG.", "8 d ) and thus an enhanced audio quality is achieved, whereas in FIG.", "14 for the high frequency part a decorrelated signal is needed (see also FIG.", "8 c ), thereby reducing the audio quality.", "FIG.", "16 a shows an embodiment of a decoding system which is inverse to the encoding system shown in FIG.", "11 a .", "The incoming bitstream signal is fed to a decoder block 100 , which generates a first decoded signal 102 and a second decoded signal 103 .", "At the encoder either M/S coding or L/R coding was selected.", "This is indicated in the received bitstream.", "Based on this information, either M/S or L/R is selected in the selection stage 101 .", "In case M/S was selected in the encoder, the first 102 and second 103 signals are converted into a (pseudo) L/R signal.", "In case L/R was selected in the encoder, the first 102 and second 103 signals may pass the stage 101 without transformation.", "The pseudo L/R signal L p , R p at the output of stage 101 is converted into an DMX/RES signal by the transform stage 12 (this stage quasi performs a L/R to M/S transform).", "Preferably, the stages 100 , 101 and 12 in FIG.", "16 a operate in the MDCT domain.", "For transforming the downmix signal DMX and residual signals RES into the time domain, conversion blocks 104 may be used.", "Thereafter, the resulting signal is fed to a PS decoder (not shown) and optionally to an SBR decoder as shown in FIGS.", "14 and 15 .", "The blocks 104 may be also alternatively placed before block 12 .", "FIG.", "16 b illustrates an implementation of the embodiment in FIG.", "16 a .", "In FIG.", "16 b , an exemplary implementation of the stage 101 for selecting between M/S or L/R decoding is shown.", "The stage 101 comprises a sum and difference transform stage 105 (M/S to L/R transform) which receives the first 102 and second 103 signals.", "Based on the encoding information given in the bitstream, the stage 101 selects either L/R or M/S decoding.", "When L/R decoding is selected, the output signal of the decoding block 100 is fed to the transform stage 12 .", "FIG.", "16 c shows an alternative to the embodiment in FIG.", "16 a .", "Here, no explicit transform stage 12 is used.", "Rather, the transform stage 12 and the stage 101 are merged in a single stage 101 ′.", "The first 102 and second 103 signals are fed to a sum and difference transform stage 105 ′ (more precisely a pseudo L/R to DMX/RES transform stage) as part of stage 101 ′.", "The transform stage 105 ′ generates a DMX/RES signal.", "The transform stage 105 ′ in FIG.", "16 c is similar or identical to the transform stage 105 in FIG.", "16 b (expect for a possibly different gain factor).", "In FIG.", "16 c the selection between M/S and L/R decoding needs to be inverted in comparison to FIG.", "16 b .", "In FIG.", "16 c the switch is in the lower position, whereas in FIG.", "16 b the switch is in the upper position.", "This visualizes the inversion of the L/R or M/S selection (the selection signal may be simply inverted by an inverter).", "It should be noted that the switch in FIGS.", "16 b and 16 c preferably exists individually for each frequency band in the MDCT domain such that the selection between L/R and M/S can be both time- and frequency-variant.", "The transform stages 105 and 105 ′ may transform the whole used frequency range or may only transform a single frequency band.", "FIG.", "17 shows a further embodiment of an encoding system for coding a stereo signal L, R into a bitstream signal.", "The encoding system comprises a downmix stage 8 for generating a downmix signal DMX and a residual signal RES based on the stereo signal.", "Further, the encoding system comprises a parameter determining stage 9 for determining one or more parametric stereo parameters 5 .", "Further, the encoding system comprises means 110 for perceptual encoding downstream of the downmix stage 8 .", "The encoding is selectable: encoding based on a sum signal of the downmix signal DMX and the residual signal RES and based on a difference signal of the downmix signal DMX and the residual signal RES, or encoding based on the downmix signal DMX and the residual signal RES.", "Preferably, the selection is time- and frequency-variant.", "The encoding means 110 comprises a sum and difference transform stage 111 which generates the sum and difference signals.", "Further, the encoding means 110 comprise a selection block 112 for selecting encoding based on the sum and difference signals or based on the downmix signal DMX and the residual signal RES.", "Furthermore, an encoding block 113 is provided.", "Alternatively, two encoding blocks 113 may be used, with the first encoding block 113 encoding the DMX and RES signals and the second encoding block 113 encoding the sum and difference signals.", "In this case the selection 112 is downstream of the two encoding blocks 113 .", "The sum and difference transform in block 111 is of the form c · ( 1 1 1 - 1 ) The transform block 111 may correspond to transform block 99 in FIG.", "11 c. The output of the perceptual encoder 110 is combined with the parametric stereo parameters 5 in the multiplexer 7 to form the resulting bitstream 6 .", "In contrast to the structure in FIG.", "17 , encoding based on the downmix signal DMX and residual signal RES may be realized when encoding a resulting signal which is generated by transforming the downmix signal DMX and residual signal RES by two serial sum and difference transforms as shown in FIG.", "11 b (see the two transform blocks 2 and 98 ).", "The resulting signal after two sum and difference transforms corresponds to the downmix signal DMX and residual signal RES (except for a possible different gain factor).", "FIG.", "18 shows an embodiment of a decoder system which is inverse to the encoder system in FIG.", "17 .", "The decoder system comprises means 120 for perceptual decoding based on bitstream signal.", "Before decoding, the PS parameters are separated from the bitstream signal 6 in demultiplexer 10 .", "The decoding means 120 comprise a core decoder 121 which generates a first signal 122 and a second signal 123 (by decoding).", "The decoding means output a downmix signal DMX and a residual signal RES.", "The downmix signal DMX and the residual signal RES are selectively based on the sum of the first signal 122 and of the second signal 123 and based on the difference of the first signal 122 and of the second signal 123 or based on the first signal 122 and based on the second signal 123 .", "Preferably, the selection is time- and frequency-variant.", "The selection is performed in the selection stage 125 .", "The decoding means 120 comprise a sum and difference transform stage 124 which generates sum and difference signals.", "The sum and difference transform in block 124 is of the form c · ( 1 1 1 - 1 ) The transform block 124 may correspond to transform block 105 ′ in FIG.", "16 c. After selection, the DMX and RES signals are fed to an upmix stage 126 for generating the stereo signal L, R based on the downmix signal DMX and the residual signal RES.", "The upmix operation is dependent on the PS parameters 5 .", "Preferably, in FIGS.", "17 and 18 the selection is frequency-variant.", "In FIG.", "17 , e.g.", "a time to frequency transform (e.g.", "by a MDCT or analysis filter bank) may be performed as first step in the perceptual encoding means 110 .", "In FIG.", "18 , e.g.", "a frequency to time transform (e.g.", "by an inverse MDCT or synthesis filter bank) may be performed as the last step in the perceptual decoding means 120 .", "It should be noted that in the above-described embodiments, the signals, parameters and matrices may be frequency-variant or frequency-invariant and/or time-variant or time-invariant.", "The described computing steps may be carried out frequency-wise or for the complete audio band.", "Moreover, it should be noted that the various sum and difference transforms, i.e.", "the DMX/RES to pseudo L/R transform, the pseudo L/R to DMX/RES transform, the L/R to M/S transform and the M/S to L/R transform, are all of the form c · ( 1 1 1 - 1 ) Merely, the gain factor c may be different.", "Therefore, in principle, each of these transforms may be exchanged by a different transform of these transforms.", "If the gain is not correct during the encoding processing, this may be compensated in the decoding process.", "Moreover, when placing two same or two different of the sum and difference transforms is series, the resulting transform corresponds to the identity matrix (possibly, multiplied by a gain factor).", "In an encoder system comprising both a PS encoder and a SBR encoder, different PS/SBR configurations are possible.", "In a first configuration, shown in FIG.", "6 , the SBR encoder 32 is connected downstream of the PS encoder 41 .", "In a second configuration, shown in FIG.", "7 , the SBR encoder 42 is connected upstream of the PS encoder 41 .", "Depending upon e.g.", "the desired target bitrate, the properties of the core encoder, and/or one or more various other factors, one of the configurations can be preferred over the other in order to provide best performance Typically, for lower bitrates, the first configuration can be preferred, while for higher bitrates, the second configuration can be preferred.", "Hence, it is desirable if an encoder system supports both different configurations to be able to choose a preferred configuration depending upon e.g.", "desired target bitrate and/or one or more other criteria.", "Also in a decoder system comprising both a PS decoder and a SBR decoder, different PS/SBR configurations are possible.", "In a first configuration, shown in FIG.", "14 , the SBR decoder 93 is connected upstream of the PS decoder 94 .", "In a second configuration, shown in FIG.", "15 , the SBR decoder 96 is connected downstream of the PS decoder 94 .", "In order to achieve correct operation, the configuration of the decoder system has to match that of the encoder system.", "If the encoder is configured according to FIG.", "6 , then the decoder is correspondingly configured according to FIG.", "14 .", "If the encoder is configured according to FIG.", "7 , then the decoder is correspondingly configured according to FIG.", "15 .", "In order to ensure correct operation, the encoder preferably signals to the decoder which PS/SBR configuration was chosen for encoding (and thus which PS/SBR configuration is to be chosen for decoding).", "Based on this information, the decoder selects the appropriate decoder configuration.", "As discussed above, in order to ensure correct decoder operation, there is preferably a mechanism to signal from the encoder to the decoder which configuration is to be used in the decoder.", "This can be done explicitly (e.g.", "by means of an dedicated bit or field in the configuration header of the bitstream as discussed below) or implicitly (e.g.", "by checking whether the SBR data is mono or stereo in case of PS data being present).", "As discussed above, to signal the chosen PS/SBR configuration, a dedicated element in the bitstream header of the bitstream conveyed from the encoder to the decoder may be used.", "Such a bitstream header carries necessary configuration information that is needed to enable the decoder to correctly decode the data in the bitstream.", "The dedicated element in the bitstream header may be e.g.", "a one bit flag, a field, or it may be an index pointing to a specific entry in a table that specifies different decoder configurations.", "Instead of including in the bitstream header an additional dedicated element for signaling the PS/SBR configuration, information already present in the bitstream may be evaluated at the decoding system for selecting the correct PS/SBR configuration.", "E.g.", "the chosen PS/SBR configuration may be derived from bitstream header configuration information for the PS decoder and SBR decoder.", "This configuration information typically indicates whether the SBR decoder is to be configured for mono operation or stereo operation.", "If, for example, a PS decoder is enabled and the SBR decoder is configured for mono operation (as indicated in the configuration information), the PS/SBR configuration according to FIG.", "14 can be selected.", "If a PS decoder is enabled and the SBR decoder is configured for stereo operation, the PS/SBR configuration according to FIG.", "15 can be selected.", "The above-described embodiments are merely illustrative for the principles of the present application.", "It is understood that modifications and variations of the arrangements and the details described herein will be apparent to others skilled in the art.", "It is the intent, therefore, that the scope of the application is not limited by the specific details presented by way of description and explanation of the embodiments herein.", "The systems and methods disclosed in the application may be implemented as software, firmware, hardware or a combination thereof.", "Certain components or all components may be implemented as software running on a digital signal processor or microprocessor, or implemented as hardware and or as application specific integrated circuits.", "Typical devices making use of the disclosed systems and methods are portable audioplayers, mobile communication devices, set-top-boxes, TV-sets, AVRs (audio-video receiver), personal computers etc.", "detailed-description description=\"Detailed Description\" end=\"tail\"?" ], [ "CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "14/734,088 filed on Jun.", "9, 2015, which is continuation of U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "13/255,143 filed on Sep. 7, 2011, and an U.S. Pat.", "No.", "9,082,395 issued on Jul.", "14, 2015, which is a national application of PCT application PCT/EP2010/052866 filed Mar.", "5, 2010, which claims the benefit of the filing date of U.S.", "Provisional Patent Application Ser.", "No.", "61/219,484 filed on Jun.", "23, 2009 and U.S.", "Provisional Patent Application Ser.", "No.", "61/160,707 filed on Mar.", "17, 2009, all of which are hereby incorporated by reference.", "TECHNICAL FIELD The application relates to audio coding, in particular to stereo audio coding combining parametric and waveform based coding techniques.", "BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Joint coding of the left (L) and right (R) channels of a stereo signal enables more efficient coding compared to independent coding of L and R. A common approach for joint stereo coding is mid/side (M/S) coding.", "Here, a mid (M) signal is formed by adding the L and R signals, e.g.", "the M signal may have the form M = 1 2  ( L + R ) .", "Also, a side (S) signal is formed by subtracting the two channels L and R, e.g.", "the S signal may have the form S = 1 2  ( L - R ) .", "In case of M/S coding, the M and S signals are coded instead of the L and R signals.", "In the MPEG (Moving Picture Experts Group) AAC (Advanced Audio Coding) standard (see standard document ISO/IEC 13818-7), L/R stereo coding and M/S stereo coding can be chosen in a time-variant and frequency-variant manner.", "Thus, the stereo encoder can apply L/R coding for some frequency bands of the stereo signal, whereas M/S coding is used for encoding other frequency bands of the stereo signal (frequency variant).", "Moreover, the encoder can switch over time between L/R and M/S coding (time-variant).", "In MPEG AAC, the stereo encoding is carried out in the frequency domain, more particularly in the MDCT (modified discrete cosine transform) domain.", "This allows to adaptive choose either L/R or M/S coding in a frequency and also time variant manner.", "The decision between L/R and M/S stereo encoding may be based by evaluating the side signal: when the energy of the side signal is low, M/S stereo encoding is more efficient and should be used.", "Alternatively, for deciding between both stereo coding schemes, both coding schemes may be tried out and the selection may be based on the resulting quantization efforts, i.e., the observed perceptual entropy.", "An alternative approach to joint stereo coding is parametric stereo (PS) coding.", "Here, the stereo signal is conveyed as a mono downmix signal after encoding the downmix signal with a conventional audio encoder such as an AAC encoder.", "The downmix signal is a superposition of the L and R channels.", "The mono downmix signal is conveyed in combination with additional time-variant and frequency-variant PS parameters, such as the inter-channel (i.e.", "between L and R) intensity difference (IID) and the inter-channel cross-correlation (ICC).", "In the decoder, based on the decoded downmix signal and the parametric stereo parameters a stereo signal is reconstructed that approximates the perceptual stereo image of the original stereo signal.", "For reconstructing, a decorrelated version of the downmix signal is generated by a decorrelator.", "Such decorrelator may be realized by an appropriate all-pass filter.", "PS encoding and decoding is described in the paper “Low Complexity Parametric Stereo Coding in MPEG-4”, H. Purnhagen, Proc.", "Of the 7th Int.", "Conference on Digital Audio Effects (DAFx'04), Naples, Italy, Oct. 5-8, 2004, pages 163-168.The disclosure of this document is hereby incorporated by reference.", "The MPEG Surround standard (see document ISO/IEC 23003-1) makes use of the concept of PS coding.", "In an MPEG Surround decoder a plurality of output channels is created based on fewer input channels and control parameters.", "MPEG Surround decoders and encoders are constructed by cascading parametric stereo modules, which in MPEG Surround are referred to as OTT modules (One-To-Two modules) for the decoder and R-OTT modules (Reverse-One-To-Two modules) for the encoder.", "An OTT module determines two output channels by means of a single input channel (downmix signal) accompanied by PS parameters.", "An OTT module corresponds to a PS decoder and an R-OTT module corresponds to a PS encoder.", "Parametric stereo can be realized by using MPEG Surround with a single OTT module at the decoder side and a single R-OTT module at the encoder side; this is also referred to as “MPEG Surround 2-1-2” mode.", "The bitstream syntax may differ, but the underlying theory and signal processing are the same.", "Therefore, in the following all the references to PS also include “MPEG Surround 2-1-2” or MPEG Surround based parametric stereo.", "In a PS encoder (e.g.", "in a MPEG Surround PS encoder) a residual signal (RES) may be determined and transmitted in addition to the downmix signal.", "Such residual signal indicates the error associated with representing original channels by their downmix and PS parameters.", "In the decoder the residual signal may be used instead of the decorrelated version of the downmix signal.", "This allows to better reconstruct the waveforms of the original channels L and R. The use of an additional residual signal is e.g.", "described in the MPEG Surround standard (see document ISO/IEC 23003-1) and in the paper “MPEG Surround—The ISO/MPEG Standard for Efficient and Compatible Multi-Channel Audio Coding, J. Herre et al., Audio Engineering Convention Paper 7084, 122nd Convention, May 5-8, 2007.The disclosure of both documents, in particular the remarks to the residual signal therein, is herewith incorporated by reference.", "PS coding with residual is a more general approach to joint stereo coding than M/S coding: M/S coding performs a signal rotation when transforming L/R signals into M/S signals.", "Also, PS coding with residual performs a signal rotation when transforming the L/R signals into downmix and residual signals.", "However, in the latter case the signal rotation is variable and depends on the PS parameters.", "Due to the more general approach of PS coding with residual, PS coding with residual allows a more efficient coding of certain types of signals like a paned mono signal than M/S coding.", "Thus, the proposed coder allows to efficiently combine parametric stereo coding techniques with waveform based stereo coding techniques.", "Often, perceptual stereo encoders, such as an MPEG AAC perceptual stereo encoder, can decide between L/R stereo encoding and M/S stereo encoding, where in the latter case a mid/side signal is generated based on the stereo signal.", "Such selection may be frequency-variant, i.e.", "for some frequency bands L/R stereo encoding may be used, whereas for other frequency bands M/S stereo encoding may be used.", "In a situation where the L and R channels are basically independent signals, such perceptual stereo encoder would typically not use M/S stereo encoding since in this situation such encoding scheme does not offer any coding gain in comparison to L/R stereo encoding.", "The encoder would fall back to plain L/R stereo encoding, basically processing L and R independently.", "In the same situation, a PS encoder system would create a downmix signal that contains both the L and R channels, which prevents independent processing of the L and R channels.", "For PS coding with a residual signal, this can imply less efficient coding compared to stereo encoding, where L/R stereo encoding or M/S stereo encoding is adaptively selectable.", "Thus, there are situations where a PS coder outperforms a perceptual stereo coder with adaptive selection between L/R stereo encoding and M/S stereo encoding, whereas in other situations the latter coder outperforms the PS coder.", "SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present application describes an audio encoder system and an encoding method that are based on the idea of combing PS coding using a residual with adaptive L/R or M/S perceptual stereo coding (e.g.", "AAC perceptual joint stereo coding in the MDCT domain).", "This allows to combine the advantages of adaptive L/R or M/S stereo coding (e.g.", "used in MPEG AAC) and the advantages of PS coding with a residual signal (e.g.", "used in MPEG Surround).", "Moreover, the application describes a corresponding audio decoder system and a decoding method.", "A first aspect of the application relates to an encoder system for encoding a stereo signal to a bitstream signal.", "According to an embodiment of the encoder system, the encoder system comprises a downmix stage for generating a downmix signal and a residual signal based on the stereo signal.", "The residual signal may cover all or only a part of the used audio frequency range.", "In addition, the encoder system comprises a parameter determining stage for determining PS parameters such as an inter-channel intensity difference and an inter-channel cross-correlation.", "Preferably, the PS parameters are frequency-variant.", "Such downmix stage and the parameter determining stage are typically part of a PS encoder.", "In addition, the encoder system comprises perceptual encoding means downstream of the downmix stage, wherein two encoding schemes are selectable: encoding based on a sum of the downmix signal and the residual signal and based on a difference of the downmix signal and the residual signal or encoding based on the downmix signal and based on the residual signal.", "It should be noted that in case encoding is based on the downmix signal and the residual signal, the downmix signal and the residual signal may be encoded or signals proportional thereto may be encoded.", "In case encoding is based on a sum and on a difference, the sum and difference may be encoded or signals proportional thereto may be encoded.", "The selection may be frequency-variant (and time-variant), i.e.", "for a first frequency band it may be selected that the encoding is based on a sum signal and a difference signal, whereas for a second frequency band it may be selected that the encoding is based on the downmix signal and based on the residual signal.", "Such encoder system has the advantage that is allows to switch between L/R stereo coding and PS coding with residual (preferably in a frequency-variant manner): If the perceptual encoding means select (for a particular band or for the whole used frequency range) encoding based on downmix and residual signals, the encoding system behaves like a system using standard PS coding with residual.", "However, if the perceptual encoding means select (for a particular band or for the whole used frequency range) encoding based on a sum signal of the downmix signal and the residual signal and based on a difference signal of the downmix signal and the residual signal, under certain circumstances the sum and difference operations essentially compensate the prior downmix operation (except for a possibly different gain factor) such that the overall system can actually perform L/R encoding of the overall stereo signal or for a frequency band thereof.", "E.g.", "such circumstances occur when the L and R channels of the stereo signal are independent and have the same level as will be explained in detail later on.", "Preferably, the adaption of the encoding scheme is time and frequency dependent.", "Thus, preferably some frequency bands of the stereo signal are encoded by a L/R encoding scheme, whereas other frequency bands of the stereo signal are encoded by a PS coding scheme with residual.", "It should be noted that in case the encoding is based on the downmix signal and based on the residual signal as discussed above, the actual signal which is input to the core encoder may be formed by two serial operations on the downmix signal and residual signal which are inverse (except for a possibly different gain factor).", "E.g.", "a downmix signal and a residual signal are fed to an M/S to L/R transform stage and then the output of the transform stage is fed to a L/R to M/S transform stage.", "The resulting signal (which is then used for encoding) corresponds to the downmix signal and the residual signal (expect for a possibly different gain factor).", "The following embodiment makes use of this idea.", "According to an embodiment of the encoder system, the encoder system comprises a downmix stage and a parameter determining stage as discussed above.", "Moreover, the encoder system comprises a transform stage (e.g.", "as part of the encoding means discussed above).", "The transform stage generates a pseudo L/R stereo signal by performing a transform of the downmix signal and the residual signal.", "The transform stage preferably performs a sum and difference transform, where the downmix signal and the residual signals are summed to generate one channel of the pseudo stereo signal (possibly, the sum is also multiplied by a factor) and subtracted from each other to generate the other channel of the pseudo stereo signal (possibly, the difference is also multiplied by a factor).", "Preferably, a first channel (e.g.", "the pseudo left channel) of the pseudo stereo signal is proportional to the sum of the downmix and residual signals, where a second channel (e.g.", "the pseudo right channel) is proportional to the difference of the downmix and residual signals.", "Thus, the downmix signal DMX and residual signal RES from the PS encoder may be converted into a pseudo stereo signal Lp, Rp according to the following equations: Lp=g(DMX+RES) Rp=g(DMX−RES) In the above equations the gain normalization factor g has e.g.", "a value of g=√{square root over (1/2)}.", "The pseudo stereo signal is preferably processed by a perceptual stereo encoder (e.g.", "as part of the encoding means).", "For encoding, L/R stereo encoding or M/S stereo encoding is selectable.", "The adaptive L/R or M/S perceptual stereo encoder may be an AAC based encoder.", "Preferably, the selection between L/R stereo encoding and M/S stereo encoding is frequency-variant; thus, the selection may vary for different frequency bands as discussed above.", "Also, the selection between L/R encoding and M/S encoding is preferably time-variant.", "The decision between L/R encoding and M/S encoding is preferably made by the perceptual stereo encoder.", "Such perceptual encoder having the option for M/S encoding can internally compute (pseudo) M and S signals (in the time domain or in selected frequency bands) based on the pseudo stereo L/R signal.", "Such pseudo M and S signals correspond to the downmix and residual signals (except for a possibly different gain factor).", "Hence, if the perceptual stereo encoder selects M/S encoding, it actually encodes the downmix and residual signals (which correspond to the pseudo M and S signals) as it would be done in a system using standard PS coding with residual.", "Moreover, under special circumstances the transform stage essentially compensates the prior downmix operation (except for a possibly different gain factor) such that the overall encoder system can actually perform L/R encoding of the overall stereo signal or for a frequency band thereof (if L/R encoding is selected in the perceptual encoder).", "This is e.g.", "the case when the L and R channels of the stereo signal are independent and have the same level as will be explained in detail later on.", "Thus, for a given frequency band the pseudo stereo signal essentially corresponds or is proportional to the stereo signal, if—for the frequency band—the left and right channels of the stereo signal are essentially independent and have essentially the same level.", "Thus, the encoder system actually allows to switch between L/R stereo coding and PS coding with residual, in order to be able to adapt to the properties of the given stereo input signal.", "Preferably, the adaption of the encoding scheme is time and frequency dependent.", "Thus, preferably some frequency bands of the stereo signal are encoded by a L/R encoding scheme, whereas other frequency bands of the stereo signal are encoded by a PS coding scheme with residual.", "It should be noted that M/S coding is basically a special case of PS coding with residual (since the L/R to M/S transform is a special case of the PS downmix operation) and thus the encoder system may also perform overall M/S coding.", "Said embodiment having the transform stage downstream of the PS encoder and upstream of the L/R or M/S perceptual stereo encoder has the advantage that a conventional PS encoder and a conventional perceptual encoder can be used.", "Nevertheless, the PS encoder or the perceptual encoder may be adapted due to the special use here.", "The new concept improves the performance of stereo coding by enabling an efficient combination of PS coding and joint stereo coding.", "According to an alternative embodiment, the encoding means as discussed above comprise a transform stage for performing a sum and difference transform based on the downmix signal and the residual signal for one or more frequency bands (e.g.", "for the whole used frequency range or only for one frequency range).", "The transform may be performed in a frequency domain or in a time domain.", "The transform stage generates a pseudo left/right stereo signal for the one or more frequency bands.", "One channel of the pseudo stereo signal corresponds to the sum and the other channel corresponds to the difference.", "Thus, in case encoding is based on the sum and difference signals the output of the transform stage may be used for encoding, whereas in case encoding is based on the downmix signal and the residual signal the signals upstream of the encoding stage may be used for encoding.", "Thus, this embodiment does not use two serial sum and difference transforms on the downmix signal and residual signal, resulting in the downmix signal and residual signal (except for a possibly different gain factor).", "When selecting encoding based on the downmix signal and residual signal, parametric stereo encoding of the stereo signal is selected.", "When selecting encoding based on the sum and difference (i.e.", "encoding based on the pseudo stereo signal) L/R encoding of the stereo signal is selected.", "The transform stage may be a L/R to M/S transform stage as part of a perceptual encoder with adaptive selection between L/R and M/S stereo encoding (possibly the gain factor is different in comparison to a conventional L/R to M/S transform stage).", "It should be noted that the decision between L/R and M/S stereo encoding should be inverted.", "Thus, encoding based on the downmix signal and residual signal is selected (i.e.", "the encoded signal did not pass the transform stage) when the decision means decide M/S perceptual decoding, and encoding based on the pseudo stereo signal as generated by the transform stage is selected (i.e.", "the encoded signal passed the transform stage) when the decision means decide L/R perceptual decoding.", "The encoder system according to any of the embodiments discussed above may comprise an additional SBR (spectral band replication) encoder.", "SBR is a form of HFR (High Frequency Reconstruction).", "An SBR encoder determines side information for the reconstruction of the higher frequency range of the audio signal in the decoder.", "Only the lower frequency range is encoded by the perceptual encoder, thereby reducing the bitrate.", "Preferably, the SBR encoder is connected upstream of the PS encoder.", "Thus, the SBR encoder may be in the stereo domain and generates SBR parameters for a stereo signal.", "This will be discussed in detail in connection with the drawings.", "Preferably, the PS encoder (i.e.", "the downmix stage and the parameter determining stage) operates in an oversampled frequency domain (also the PS decoder as discussed below preferably operates in an oversampled frequency domain).", "For time-to-frequency transform e.g.", "a complex valued hybrid filter bank having a QMF (quadrature mirror filter) and a Nyquist filter may be used upstream of the PS encoder as described in MPEG Surround standard (see document ISO/IEC 23003-1).", "This allows for time and frequency adaptive signal processing without audible aliasing artifacts.", "The adaptive L/R or M/S encoding, on the other hand, is preferably carried out in the critically sampled MDCT domain (e.g.", "as described in AAC) in order to ensure an efficient quantized signal representation.", "The conversion between downmix and residual signals and the pseudo L/R stereo signal may be carried out in the time domain since the PS encoder and the perceptual stereo encoder are typically connected in the time domain anyway.", "Thus, the transform stage for generating the pseudo L/R signal may operate in the time domain.", "In other embodiments as discussed in connection with the drawings, the transform stage operates in an oversampled frequency domain or in a critically sampled MDCT domain.", "A second aspect of the application relates to a decoder system for decoding a bitstream signal as generated by the encoder system discussed above.", "According to an embodiment of the decoder system, the decoder system comprises perceptual decoding means for decoding based on the bitstream signal.", "The decoding means are configured to generate by decoding an (internal) first signal and an (internal) second signal and to output a downmix signal and a residual signal.", "The downmix signal and the residual signal is selectively based on the sum of the first signal and of the second signal and based on the difference of the first signal and of the second signal or based on the first signal and based on the second signal.", "As discussed above in connection with the encoder system, also here the selection may be frequency-variant or frequency-invariant.", "Moreover, the system comprises an upmix stage for generating the stereo signal based on the downmix signal and the residual signal, with the upmix operation of the upmix stage being dependent on the one or more parametric stereo parameters.", "Analogously to the encoder system, the decoder system allows to actually switch between L/R decoding and PS decoding with residual, preferably in a time and frequency variant manner.", "According to another embodiment, the decoder system comprises a perceptual stereo decoder (e.g.", "as part of the decoding means) for decoding the bitstream signal, with the decoder generating a pseudo stereo signal.", "The perceptual decoder may be an AAC based decoder.", "For the perceptual stereo decoder, L/R perceptual decoding or M/S perceptual decoding is selectable in a frequency-variant or frequency-invariant manner (the actual selection is preferably controlled by the decision in the encoder which is conveyed as side-information in the bitstream).", "The decoder selects the decoding scheme based on the encoding scheme used for encoding.", "The used encoding scheme may be indicated to the decoder by information contained in the received bitstream.", "Moreover, a transform stage is provided for generating a downmix signal and a residual signal by performing a transform of the pseudo stereo signal.", "In other words: The pseudo stereo signal as obtained from the perceptual decoder is converted back to the downmix and residual signals.", "Such transform is a sum and difference transform: The resulting downmix signal is proportional to the sum of a left channel and a right channel of the pseudo stereo signal.", "The resulting residual signal is proportional to the difference of the left channel and the right channel of the pseudo stereo signal.", "Thus, quasi an L/R to M/S transform was carried out.", "The pseudo stereo signal with the two channels LP, RP may be converted to the downmix and residual signals according to the following equations: DMX = 1 2  g  ( L p + R p ) RES = 1 2  g  ( L p - R p ) In the above equations the gain normalization factor g may have e.g.", "a value of g=√{square root over (1/2)}.", "The residual signal RES used in the decoder may cover the whole used audio frequency range or only a part of the used audio frequency range.", "The downmix and residual signals are then processed by an upmix stage of a PS decoder to obtain the final stereo output signal.", "The upmixing of the downmix and residual signals to the stereo signal is dependent on the received PS parameters.", "According to an alternative embodiment, the perceptual decoding means may comprise a sum and difference transform stage for performing a transform based on the first signal and the second signal for one or more frequency bands (e.g.", "for the whole used frequency range).", "Thus, the transform stage generates the downmix signal and the residual signal for the case that the downmix signal and the residual signal are based on the sum of the first signal and of the second signal and based on the difference of the first signal and of the second signal.", "The transform stage may operate in the time domain or in a frequency domain.", "As similarly discussed in connection with the encoder system, the transform stage may be a M/S to L/R transform stage as part of a perceptual decoder with adaptive selection between L/R and M/S stereo decoding (possibly the gain factor is different in comparison to a conventional M/S to L/R transform stage).", "It should be noted that the selection between L/R and M/S stereo decoding should be inverted.", "The decoder system according to any of the preceding embodiments may comprise an additional SBR decoder for decoding the side information from the SBR encoder and generating a high frequency component of the audio signal.", "Preferably, the SBR decoder is located downstream of the PS decoder.", "This will be discussed in detail in connection with drawings.", "Preferably, the upmix stage operates in an oversampled frequency domain, e.g.", "a hybrid filter bank as discussed above may be used upstream of the PS decoder.", "The L/R to M/S transform may be carried out in the time domain since the perceptual decoder and the PS decoder (including the upmix stage) are typically connected in the time domain.", "In other embodiments as discussed in connection with the drawings, the L/R to M/S transform is carried out in an oversampled frequency domain (e.g., QMF), or in a critically sampled frequency domain (e.g., MDCT).", "A third aspect of the application relates to a method for encoding a stereo signal to a bitstream signal.", "The method operates analogously to the encoder system discussed above.", "Thus, the above remarks related to the encoder system are basically also applicable to encoding method.", "A fourth aspect of the invention relates to a method for decoding a bitstream signal including PS parameters to generate a stereo signal.", "The method operates in the same way as the decoder system discussed above.", "Thus, the above remarks related to the decoder system are basically also applicable to decoding method.", "The invention is explained below by way of illustrative examples with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein FIG.", "1 illustrates an embodiment of an encoder system, where optionally the PS parameters assist the psycho-acoustic control in the perceptual stereo encoder; FIG.", "2 illustrates an embodiment of the PS encoder; FIG.", "3 illustrates an embodiment of a decoder system; FIG.", "4 illustrates a further embodiment of the PS encoder including a detector to deactivate PS encoding if L/R encoding is beneficial; FIG.", "5 illustrates an embodiment of a conventional PS encoder system having an additional SBR encoder for the downmix; FIG.", "6 illustrates an embodiment of an encoder system having an additional SBR encoder for the downmix signal; FIG.", "7 illustrates an embodiment of an encoder system having an additional SBR encoder in the stereo domain; FIGS.", "8a-8d illustrate various time-frequency representations of one of the two output channels at the decoder output; FIG.", "9a illustrates an embodiment of the core encoder; FIG.", "9b illustrates an embodiment of an encoder that permits switching between coding in a linear predictive domain (typically for mono signals only) and coding in a transform domain (typically for both mono and stereo signals); FIG.", "10 illustrates an embodiment of an encoder system; FIG.", "11a illustrates a part of an embodiment of an encoder system; FIG.", "11b illustrates an exemplary implementation of the embodiment in FIG.", "11a; FIG.", "11c illustrates an alternative to the embodiment in FIG.", "11a; FIG.", "12 illustrates an embodiment of an encoder system; FIG.", "13 illustrates an embodiment of the stereo coder as part of the encoder system of FIG.", "12; FIG.", "14 illustrates an embodiment of a decoder system for decoding the bitstream signal as generated by the encoder system of FIG.", "6; FIG.", "15 illustrates an embodiment of a decoder system for decoding the bitstream signal as generated by the encoder system of FIG.", "7; FIG.", "16a illustrates a part of an embodiment of a decoder system; FIG.", "16b illustrates an exemplary implementation of the embodiment in FIG.", "16a; FIG.", "16c illustrates an alternative to the embodiment in FIG.", "16a; FIG.", "17 illustrates an embodiment of an encoder system; and FIG.", "18 illustrates an embodiment of a decoder system.", "FIG.", "1 shows an embodiment of an encoder system which combines PS encoding using a residual with adaptive L/R or M/S perceptual stereo encoding.", "This embodiment is merely illustrative for the principles of the present application.", "It is understood that modifications and variations of the embodiment will be apparent to others skilled in the art.", "The encoder system comprises a PS encoder 1 receiving a stereo signal L, R. The PS encoder 1 has a downmix stage for generating downmix DMX and residual RES signals based on the stereo signal L, R. This operation can be described by means of a 2·2 downmix matrix H−1 that converts the L and R signals to the downmix signal DMX and residual signal RES: ( DMX RES ) = H - 1 · ( L R ) Typically, the matrix H−1 is frequency-variant and time-variant, i.e.", "the elements of the matrix H−1 vary over frequency and vary from time slot to time slot.", "The matrix H−1 may be updated every frame (e.g.", "every 21 or 42 ms) and may have a frequency resolution of a plurality of bands, e.g.", "28, 20, or 10 bands (named “parameter bands”) on a perceptually oriented (Bark-like) frequency scale.", "The elements of the matrix H−1 depend on the time- and frequency-variant PS parameters IID (inter-channel intensity difference; also called CLD—channel level difference) and ICC (inter-channel cross-correlation).", "For determining PS parameters 5, e.g.", "IID and ICC, the PS encoder 1 comprises a parameter determining stage.", "An example for computing the matrix elements of the inverse matrix H is given by the following and described in the MPEG Surround specification document ISO/IEC 23003-1, subclause 6.5.3.2 which is hereby incorporated by reference: H = [ c 1  cos  ( α + β ) c 1  sin  ( α + β ) c 2  cos  ( - α + β ) c 2  sin  ( - α + β ) ] , where c 1 = 10 CLD 10 1 + 10 CLD 10 , and c 2 = 1 1 + 10 CLD 10 , and where β = arctan  ( tan  ( α )  c 2 + c 1 c 2 + c 1 ) , and α = 1 2  arccos  ( ρ ) , and where ρ=ICC.", "Moreover, the encoder system comprises a transform stage 2 that converts the downmix signal DMX and residual signal RES from the PS encoder 1 into a pseudo stereo signal Lp, Rp, e.g.", "according to the following equations: Lp=g(DMX+RES) Rp=g(DMX−RES) In the above equations the gain normalization factor g has e.g.", "a value of g=√{square root over (1/2)}.", "For g=√{square root over (1/2)}, the two equations for pseudo stereo signal Lp, Rp can be rewritten as: ( L p R p ) = ( 1 / 2 1 / 2 1 / 2 - 1 / 2 )  ( DMX RES ) The pseudo stereo signal Lp, Rp is then fed to a perceptual stereo encoder 3, which adaptively selects either L/R or M/S stereo encoding.", "M/S encoding is a form of joint stereo coding.", "L/R encoding may be also based on joint encoding aspects, e.g.", "bits may be allocated jointly for the L and R channels from a common bit reservoir.", "The selection between L/R or M/S stereo encoding is preferably frequency-variant, i.e.", "some frequency bands may be L/R encoded, whereas other frequency bands may be M/S encoded.", "An embodiment for implementing the selection between L/R or M/S stereo encoding is described in the document “Sum-Difference Stereo Transform Coding”, J. D. Johnston et al., IEEE International Conference on Acoustics, Speech, and Signal Processing (ICASSP) 1992, pages 569-572.The discussion of the selection between L/R or M/S stereo encoding therein, in particular sections 5.1 and 5.2, is hereby incorporated by reference.", "Based on the pseudo stereo signal Lp, Rp, the perceptual encoder 3 can internally compute (pseudo) mid/side signals Mp, Sp.", "Such signals basically correspond to the downmix signal DMX and residual signal RES (except for a possibly different gain factor).", "Hence, if the perceptual encoder 3 selects M/S encoding for a frequency band, the perceptual encoder 3 basically encodes the downmix signal DMX and residual signal RES for that frequency band (except for a possibly different gain factor) as it also would be done in a conventional perceptual encoder system using conventional PS coding with residual.", "The PS parameters 5 and the output bitstream 4 of the perceptual encoder 3 are multiplexed into a single bitstream 6 by a multiplexer 7.In addition to PS encoding of the stereo signal, the encoder system in FIG.", "1 allows L/R coding of the stereo signal as will be explained in the following: As discussed above, the elements of the downmix matrix H−1 of the encoder (and also of the upmix matrix H used in the decoder) depend on the time- and frequency-variant PS parameters IID (inter-channel intensity difference; also called CLD—channel level difference) and ICC (inter-channel cross-correlation).", "An example for computing the matrix elements of the upmix matrix H is described above.", "In case of using residual coding, the right column of the 2·2 upmix matrix H is given as ( 1 - 1 ) .", "However, preferably, the right column of the 2·2 matrix H should instead be modified to ( 1 / 2 - 1 / 2 ) .", "The left column is preferably computed as given in the MPEG Surround specification.", "Modifying the right column of the upmix matrix H ensures that for IID=0 dB and ICC=0 (i.e.", "the case where for the respective band the stereo channels L and R are independent and have the same level) the following upmix matrix H is obtained for the band: H = ( 1 / 2 1 / 2 1 / 2 - 1 / 2 ) .", "Please note that the upmix matrix H and also the downmix matrix H−1 are typically frequency-variant and time-variant.", "Thus, the values of the matrices are different for different time/frequency tiles (a tile corresponds to the intersection of a particular frequency band and a particular time period).", "In the above case the downmix matrix H−1 is identical to the upmix matrix H. Thus, for the band the pseudo stereo signal Lp, Rp can computed by the following equation: ( L p R p ) = ( 1 / 2 1 / 2 1 / 2 - 1 / 2 )  ( DMX RES ) = ( 1 / 2 1 / 2 1 / 2 - 1 / 2 ) · H - 1 · ( L R ) = ( 1 / 2 1 / 2 1 / 2 - 1 / 2 )  ( 1 / 2 1 / 2 1 / 2 - 1 / 2 )  ( L R ) = ( 1 0 0 1 )  ( L R ) = ( L R ) Hence, in this case the PS encoding with residual using the downmix matrix W′ followed by the generation of the pseudo L/R signal in the transform stage 2 corresponds to the unity matrix and does not change the stereo signal for the respective frequency band at all, i.e.", "Lp=L Rp=R In other words: the transform stage 2 compensates the downmix matrix H−1 such that the pseudo stereo signal Lp, Rp corresponds to the input stereo signal L, R. This allows to encode the original input stereo signal L, R by the perceptual encoder 3 for the particular band.", "When L/R encoding is selected by the perceptual encoder 3 for encoding the particular band, the encoder system behaves like a L/R perceptual encoder for encoding the band of the stereo input signal L, R. The encoder system in FIG.", "1 allows seamless and adaptive switching between L/R coding and PS coding with residual in a frequency- and time-variant manner.", "The encoder system avoids discontinuities in the waveform when switching the coding scheme.", "This prevents artifacts.", "In order to achieve smooth transitions, linear interpolation may be applied to the elements of the matrix H−1 in the encoder and the matrix H in the decoder for samples between two stereo parameter updates.", "FIG.", "2 shows an embodiment of the PS encoder 1.The PS encoder 1 comprises a downmix stage 8 which generates the downmix signal DMX and residual signal RES based on the stereo signal L, R. Further, the PS encoder 1 comprises a parameter estimating stage 9 for estimating the PS parameters 5 based on the stereo signal L, R. FIG.", "3 illustrates an embodiment of a corresponding decoder system configured to decode the bitstream 6 as generated by the encoder system of FIG.", "1.This embodiment is merely illustrative for the principles of the present application.", "It is understood that modifications and variations of the embodiment will be apparent to others skilled in the art.", "The decoder system comprises a demultiplexer 10 for separating the PS parameters 5 and the audio bitstream 4 as generated by the perceptual encoder 3.The audio bitstream 4 is fed to a perceptual stereo decoder 11, which can selectively decode an L/R encoded bitstream or an M/S encoded audio bitstream.", "The operation of the decoder 11 is inverse to the operation of the encoder 3.Analogously to the perceptual encoder 3, the perceptual decoder 11 preferably allows for a frequency-variant and time-variant decoding scheme.", "Some frequency bands which are L/R encoded by the encoder 3 are L/R decoded by the decoder 11, whereas other frequency bands which are M/S encoded by the encoder 3 are M/S decoded by the decoder 11.The decoder 11 outputs the pseudo stereo signal Lp, Rp which was input to the perceptual encoder 3 before.", "The pseudo stereo signal Lp, Rp as obtained from the perceptual decoder 11 is converted back to the downmix signal DMX and residual signal RES by a L/R to M/S transform stage 12.The operation of the L/R to M/S transform stage 12 at the decoder side is inverse to the operation of the transform stage 2 at the encoder side.", "Preferably, the transform stage 12 determines the downmix signal DMX and residual signal RES according to the following equations: DMX = 1 2  g  ( L p + R p ) RES = 1 2  g  ( L p - R p ) In the above equations, the gain normalization factor g is identical to the gain normalization factor g at the encoder side and has e.g.", "a value of g=√{square root over (1/2)}.", "The downmix signal DMX and residual signal RES are then processed by the PS decoder 13 to obtain the final L and R output signals.", "The upmix step in the decoding process for PS coding with a residual can be described by means of the 2·2 upmix matrix H that converts the downmix signal DMX and residual signal RES back to the L and R channels: ( L R ) = H · ( DMX RES ) .", "The computation of the elements of the upmix matrix H was already discussed above.", "The PS encoding and PS decoding process in the PS encoder 1 and the PS decoder 13 is preferably carried out in an oversampled frequency domain.", "For time-to-frequency transform e.g.", "a complex valued hybrid filter bank having a QMF (quadrature mirror filter) and a Nyquist filter may be used upstream of the PS encoder, such as the filter bank described in MPEG Surround standard (see document ISO/IEC 23003-1).", "The complex QMF representation of the signal is oversampled with factor 2 since it is complex-valued and not real-valued.", "This allows for time and frequency adaptive signal processing without audible aliasing artifacts.", "Such hybrid filter bank typically provides high frequency resolution (narrow band) at low frequencies, while at high frequency, several QMF bands are grouped into a wider band.", "The paper “Low Complexity Parametric Stereo Coding in MPEG-4”, H. Purnhagen, Proc.", "of the 7th Int.", "Conference on Digital Audio Effects (DAFx'04), Naples, Italy, Oct. 5-8, 2004, pages 163-168 describes an embodiment of a hybrid filter bank (see section 3.2 and FIG.", "4).", "This disclosure is hereby incorporated by reference.", "In this document a 48 kHz sampling rate is assumed, with the (nominal) bandwidth of a band from a 64 band QMF bank being 375 Hz.", "The perceptual Bark frequency scale however asks for a bandwidth of approximately 100 Hz for frequencies below 500 Hz.", "Hence, the first 3 QMF bands may be split into further more narrow subbands by means of a Nyquist filter bank.", "The first QMF band may be split into 4 bands (plus two more for negative frequencies), and the 2nd and 3rd QMF bands may be split into two bands each.", "Preferably, the adaptive L/R or M/S encoding, on the other hand, is carried out in the critically sampled MDCT domain (e.g.", "as described in AAC) in order to ensure an efficient quantized signal representation.", "The conversion of the downmix signal DMX and residual signal RES to the pseudo stereo signal Lp, Rp in the transform stage 2 may be carried out in the time domain since the PS encoder 1 and the perceptual encoder 3 may be connected in the time domain anyway.", "Also in the decoding system, the perceptual stereo decoder 11 and the PS decoder 13 are preferably connected in the time domain.", "Thus, the conversion of the pseudo stereo signal Lp, Rp to the downmix signal DMX and residual signal RES in the transform stage 12 may be also carried out in the time domain.", "An adaptive L/R or M/S stereo coder such as shown as the encoder 3 in FIG.", "1 is typically a perceptual audio coder that incorporates a psychoacoustic model to enable high coding efficiency at low bitrates.", "An example for such encoder is an AAC encoder, which employs transform coding in a critically sampled MDCT domain in combination with time- and frequency-variant quantization controlled by using a psycho-acoustic model.", "Also, the time- and frequency-variant decision between L/R and M/S coding is typically controlled with help of perceptual entropy measures that are calculated using a psycho-acoustic model.", "The perceptual stereo encoder (such as the encoder 3 in FIG.", "1) operates on a pseudo L/R stereo signal (see Lp, Rp in FIG.", "1).", "For optimizing the coding efficiency of the stereo encoder (in particular for making the right decision between L/R encoding and M/S encoding) it is advantageous to modify the psycho-acoustic control mechanism (including the control mechanism which decides between L/R and M/S stereo encoding and the control mechanism which controls the time- and frequency-variant quantization) in the perceptual stereo encoder in order to account for the signal modifications (pseudo L/R to DMX and RES conversion, followed by PS decoding) that are applied in the decoder when generating the final stereo output signal L, R. These signal modifications can affect binaural masking phenomena that are exploited in the psycho-acoustic control mechanisms.", "Therefore, these psycho-acoustic control mechanisms should preferably be adapted accordingly.", "For this, it can be beneficial if the psycho-acoustic control mechanisms do not have access only to the pseudo L/R signal (see Lp, Rp in FIG.", "1) but also to the PS parameters (see 5 in FIG.", "1) and/or to the original stereo signal L, R. The access of the psycho-acoustic control mechanisms to the PS parameters and to the stereo signal L, R is indicated in FIG.", "1 by the dashed lines.", "Based on this information, e.g.", "the masking threshold(s) may be adapted.", "An alternative approach to optimize psycho-acoustic control is to augment the encoder system with a detector forming a deactivation stage that is able to effectively deactivate PS encoding when appropriate, preferably in a time- and frequency-variant manner Deactivating PS encoding is e.g.", "appropriate when L/R stereo coding is expected to be beneficial or when the psycho-acoustic control would have problems to encode the pseudo L/R signal efficiently.", "PS encoding may be effectively deactivated by setting the downmix matrix H−1 in such a way that the downmix matrix H−1 followed by the transform (see stage 2 in FIG.", "1) corresponds to the unity matrix (i.e.", "to an identity operation) or to the unity matrix times a factor.", "E.g.", "PS encoding may be effectively deactivated by forcing the PS parameters IID and/or ICC to IID=0 dB and ICC=0.In this case the pseudo stereo signal Lp, Rp corresponds to the stereo signal L, R as discussed above.", "Such detector controlling a PS parameter modification is shown in FIG.", "4.Here, the detector 20 receives the PS parameters 5 determined by the parameter estimating stage 9.When the detector does not deactivate the PS encoding, the detector 20 passes the PS parameters through to the downmix stage 8 and to the multiplexer 7, i.e.", "in this case the PS parameters 5 correspond to the PS parameters 5′ fed to the downmix stage 8.In case the detector detects that PS encoding is disadvantageous and PS encoding should be deactivated (for one or more frequency bands), the detector modifies the affected PS parameters 5 (e.g.", "set the PS parameters IID and/or ICC to IID=0 dB and ICC=0) and feeds the modified PS parameters 5′ to downmix stage 8.The detector can optionally also consider the left and right signals L, R for deciding on a PS parameter modification (see dashed lines in FIG.", "4).", "In the following figures, the term QMF (quadrature mirror filter or filter bank) also includes a QMF subband filter bank in combination with a Nyquist filter bank, i.e.", "a hybrid filter bank structure.", "Furthermore, all values in the description below may be frequency dependent, e.g.", "different downmix and upmix matrices may be extracted for different frequency ranges.", "Furthermore, the residual coding may only cover part of the used audio frequency range (i.e.", "the residual signal is only coded for a part of the used audio frequency range).", "Aspects of downmix as will be outlined below may for some frequency ranges occur in the QMF domain (e.g.", "according to prior art), while for other frequency ranges only e.g.", "phase aspects will be dealt with in the complex QMF domain, whereas amplitude transformation is dealt with in the real-valued MDCT domain.", "In FIG.", "5, a conventional PS encoder system is depicted.", "Each of the stereo channels L, R, is at first analyzed by a complex QMF 30 with M subbands, e.g.", "a QMF with M=64 subbands.", "The subband signals are used to estimate PS parameters 5 and a downmix signal DMX in a PS encoder 31.The downmix signal DMX is used to estimate SBR (Spectral Bandwidth Replication) parameters 33 in an SBR encoder 32.The SBR encoder 32 extracts the SBR parameters 33 representing the spectral envelope of the original high band signal, possibly in combination with noise and tonality measures.", "As opposed to the PS encoder 31, the SBR encoder 32 does not affect the signal passed on to the core coder 34.The downmix signal DMX of the PS encoder 31 is synthesized using an inverse QMF 35 with N subbands.", "E.g.", "a complex QMF with N=32 may be used, where only the 32 lowest subbands of the 64 subbands used by the PS encoder 31 and the SBR encoder 32 are synthesized.", "Thus, by using half the number of subbands for the same frame size, a time domain signal of half the bandwidth compared to the input is obtained, and passed into the core coder 34.Due to the reduced bandwidth the sampling rate can be reduced to the half (not shown).", "The core encoder 34 performs perceptual encoding of the mono input signal to generate a bitstream 36.The PS parameters 5 are embedded in the bitstream 36 by a multiplexer (not shown).", "FIG.", "6 shows a further embodiment of an encoder system which combines PS coding using a residual with a stereo core coder 48, with the stereo core coder 48 being capable of adaptive L/R or M/S perceptual stereo coding.", "This embodiment is merely illustrative for the principles of the present application.", "It is understood that modifications and variations of the embodiment will be apparent to others skilled in the art.", "The input channels L, R representing the left and right original channels are analyzed by a complex QMF 30, in a similar way as discussed in connection with FIG.", "5.In contrast to the PS encoder 31 in FIG.", "5, the PS encoder 41 in FIG.", "6 does not only output a downmix signal DMX but also outputs a residual signal RES.", "The downmix signal DMX is used by an SBR encoder 32 to determine SBR parameters 33 of the downmix signal DMX.", "A fixed DMX/RES to pseudo L/R transform (i.e.", "an M/S to L/R transform) is applied to the downmix DMX and the residual RES signals in a transform stage 2.The transform stage 2 in FIG.", "6 corresponds to the transform stage 2 in FIG.", "1.The transform stage 2 creates a “pseudo” left and right channel signal Lp, Rp for the core encoder 48 to operate on.", "In this embodiment, the inverse L/R to M/S transform is applied in the QMF domain, prior to the subband synthesis by filter banks 35.Preferably, the number N (e.g.", "N=32) of subbands for the synthesis corresponds to half the number M (e.g.", "M=64) of subbands used for the analysis and the core coder 48 operates at half the sampling rate.", "It should be noted that there is no restriction to use 64 subband channels for the QMF analysis in the encoder, and 32 subbands for the synthesis, other values are possible as well, depending on which sampling rate is desired for the signal received by the core coder 48.The core stereo encoder 48 performs perceptual encoding of the signal of the filter banks 35 to generate a bitstream signal 46.The PS parameters 5 are embedded in the bitstream signal 46 by a multiplexer (not shown).", "Optionally, the PS parameters and/or the original L/R input signal may be used by the core encoder 48.Such information indicates to the core encoder 48 how the PS encoder 41 rotated the stereo space.", "The information may guide the core encoder 48 how to control quantization in a perceptually optimal way.", "This is indicated in FIG.", "6 by the dashed lines.", "FIG.", "7 illustrates a further embodiment of an encoder system which is similar to the embodiment in FIG.", "6.In comparison to the embodiment of FIG.", "6, in FIG.", "7 the SBR encoder 42 is connected upstream of the PS encoder 41.In FIG.", "7 the SBR encoder 42 has been moved prior to the PS encoder 41, thus operating on the left and right channels (here: in the QMF domain), instead of operating on the downmix signal DMX as in FIG.", "6.Due to the re-arrangement of the SBR encoder 42, the PS encoder 41 may be configured to operate not on the full bandwidth of the input signal but e.g.", "only on the frequency range below the SBR crossover frequency.", "In FIG.", "7, the SBR parameters 43 are in stereo for the SBR range, and the output from the corresponding PS decoder as will be discussed later on in connection with FIG.", "15 produces a stereo source frequency range for the SBR decoder to operate on.", "This modification, i.e.", "connecting the SBR encoder module 42 upstream of the PS encoder module 41 in the encoder system and correspondingly placing the SBR decoder module after the PS decoder module in the decoder system (see FIG.", "15), has the benefit that the use of a decorrelated signal for generating the stereo output can be reduced.", "Please note that in case no residual signal exists at all or for a particular frequency band, a decorrelated version of the downmix signal DMX is used instead in the PS decoder.", "However, a reconstruction based on a decorrelated signal reduces the audio quality.", "Thus, reducing the use of the decorrelated signal increases the audio quality.", "This advantage of the embodiment in FIG.", "7 in comparison to the embodiment in FIG.", "6 will be now explained more in detail with reference to FIGS.", "8a to 8d.", "In FIG.", "8a, a time frequency representation of one of the two output channels L, R (at the decoder side) is visualized.", "In case of FIG.", "8a, an encoder is used where the PS encoding module is placed in front of the SBR encoding module such as the encoder in FIG.", "5 or FIG.", "6 (in the decoder the PS decoder is placed after the SBR decoder, see FIG.", "14).", "Moreover, the residual is coded only in a low bandwidth frequency range 50, which is smaller than the frequency range 51 of the core coder.", "As evident from the spectrogram visualization in FIG.", "8a, the frequency range 52 where a decorrelated signal is to be used by the PS decoder covers all of the frequency range apart from the lower frequency range 50 covered by the use of the residual signal.", "Moreover, the SBR covers a frequency range 53 starting significantly higher than that of the decorrelated signal.", "Thus, the entire frequency range separates in the following frequency ranges: in the lower frequency range (see range 50 in FIG.", "8a), waveform coding is used; in the middle frequency range (see intersection of frequency ranges 51 and 52), waveform coding in combination with a decorrelated signal is used; and in the higher frequency range (see frequency range 53), a SBR regenerated signal which is regenerated from the lower frequencies is used in combination with the decorrelated signal produced by the PS decoder.", "In FIG.", "8b, a time frequency representation of one of the two output channels L, R (at the decoder side) is visualized for the case when the SBR encoder is connected upstream of the PS encoder in the encoder system (and the SBR decoder is located after the PS decoder in the decoder system).", "In FIG.", "8b a low bitrate scenario is illustrated, with the residual signal bandwidth 60 (where residual coding is performed) being lower than the bandwidth of the core coder 61.Since the SBR decoding process operates on the decoder side after the PS decoder (see FIG.", "15), the residual signal used for the low frequencies is also used for the reconstruction of at least a part (see frequency range 64) of the higher frequencies in the SBR range 63.The advantage becomes even more apparent when operating on intermediate bitrates where the residual signal bandwidth approaches or is equal to the core coder bandwidth.", "In this case, the time frequency representation of FIG.", "8a (where the order of PS encoding and SBR encoding as shown in FIG.", "6 is used) results in the time frequency representation shown in FIG.", "8c.", "In FIG.", "8c, the residual signal essentially covers the entire lowband range 51 of the core coder; in the SBR frequency range 53 the decorrelated signal is used by the PS decoder.", "In FIG.", "8d, the time frequency representation in case of the preferred order of the encoding/decoding modules (i.e.", "SBR encoding operating on a stereo signal before PS encoding, as shown in FIG.", "7) is visualized.", "Here, the PS decoding module operates prior to the SBR decoding module in the decoder, as shown in FIG.", "15.Thus, the residual signal is part of the low band used for high frequency reconstruction.", "When the residual signal bandwidth equals that of the mono downmix signal bandwidth, no decorrelated signal information will be needed to decoder the output signal (see the full frequency range being hatched in FIG.", "8d).", "In FIG.", "9a, an embodiment of the stereo core encoder 48 with adaptively selectable L/R or M/S stereo encoding in the MDCT transform domain is illustrated.", "Such stereo encoder 48 may be used in FIGS.", "6 and 7.A mono core encoder 34 as shown in FIG.", "5 can be considered as a special case of the stereo core encoder 48 in FIG.", "9a, where only a single mono input channel is processed (i.e.", "where the second input channel, shown as dashed line in FIG.", "9a, is not present).", "In FIG.", "9b, an embodiment of a more generalized encoder is illustrated.", "For mono signals, encoding can be switched between coding in a linear predictive domain (see block 71) and coding in a transform domain (see block 48).", "Such type of core coder introduces several coding methods which can adaptively be used dependent upon the characteristics of the input signal.", "Here, the coder can choose to code the signal using either an AAC style transform coder 48 (available for mono and stereo signals, with adaptively selectable L/R or M/S coding in case of stereo signals) or an AMR-WB+(Adaptive Multi Rate−WideBand Plus) style core coder 71 (only available for mono signals).", "The AMR-WB+ core coder 71 evaluates the residual of a linear predictor 72, and in turn also chooses between a transform coding approach of the linear prediction residual or a classic speech coder ACELP (Algebraic Code Excited Linear Prediction) approach for coding the linear prediction residual.", "For deciding between AAC style transform coder 48 and the AMR-WB+ style core coder 71, a mode decision stage 73 is used which decides based on the input signal between both coders 48 and 71.The encoder 48 is a stereo AAC style MDCT based coder.", "When the mode decision 73 steers the input signal to use MDCT based coding, the mono input signal or the stereo input signals are coded by the AAC based MDCT coder 48.The MDCT coder 48 does an MDCT analysis of the one or two signals in MDCT stages 74.In case of a stereo signal, further, an M/S or L/R decision on a frequency band basis is performed in a stage 75 prior to quantization and coding.", "L/R stereo encoding or M/S stereo encoding is selectable in a frequency-variant manner.", "The stage 75 also performs a L/R to M/S transform.", "If M/S encoding is decided for a particular frequency band, the stage 75 outputs an M/S signal for this frequency band.", "Otherwise, the stage 75 outputs a L/R signal for this frequency band.", "Hence, when the transform coding mode is used, the full efficiency of the stereo coding functionality of the underlying core coder can be used for stereo.", "When the mode decision 73 steers the mono signal to the linear predictive domain coder 71, the mono signal is subsequently analyzed by means of linear predictive analysis in block 72.Subsequently, a decision is made on whether to code the LP residual by means of a time-domain ACELP style coder 76 or a TCX style coder 77 (Transform Coded eXcitation) operating in the MDCT domain.", "The linear predictive domain coder 71 does not have any inherent stereo coding capability.", "Hence, to allow coding of stereo signal with the linear predictive domain coder 71, an encoder configuration similar to that shown in FIG.", "5 can be used.", "In this configuration, a PS encoder generates PS parameters 5 and a mono downmix signal DMX, which is then encoded by the linear predictive domain coder.", "FIG.", "10 illustrates a further embodiment of an encoder system, wherein parts of FIG.", "7 and FIG.", "9 are combined in a new fashion.", "The DMX/RES to pseudo L/R block 2, as outlined in FIG.", "7, is arranged within the AAC style downmix coder 70 prior to the stereo MDCT analysis 74.This embodiment has the advantage that the DMX/RES to pseudo L/R transform 2 is applied only when the stereo MDCT core coder is used.", "Hence, when the transform coding mode is used, the full efficiency of the stereo coding functionality of the underlying core coder can be used for stereo coding of the frequency range covered by the residual signal.", "While the mode decision 73 in FIG.", "9b operates either on the mono input signal or on the input stereo signal, the mode decision 73′ in FIG.", "10 operates on the downmix signal DMX and the residual signal RES.", "In case of a mono input signal, the mono signal can directly be used as the DMX signal, the RES signal is set to zero, and the PS parameters can default to IID=0 dB and ICC=1.When the mode decision 73′ steers the downmix signal DMX to the linear predictive domain coder 71, the downmix signal DMX is subsequently analyzed by means of linear predictive analysis in block 72.Subsequently, a decision is made on whether to code the LP residual by means of a time-domain ACELP style coder 76 or a TCX style coder 77 (Transform Coded eXcitation) operating in the MDCT domain.", "The linear predictive domain coder 71 does not have any inherent stereo coding capability that can be used for coding the residual signal in addition to the downmix signal DMX.", "Hence, a dedicated residual coder 78 is employed for encoding the residual signal RES when the downmix signal DMX is encoded by the predictive domain coder 71.E.g.", "such coder 78 may be a mono AAC coder.", "It should be noted that the coder 71 and 78 in FIG.", "10 may be omitted (in this case the mode decision stage 73′ is not necessary anymore).", "FIG.", "11a illustrates a detail of an alternative further embodiment of an encoder system which achieves the same advantage as the embodiment in FIG.", "10.In contrast to the embodiment of FIG.", "10, in FIG.", "11a the DMX/RES to pseudo L/R transform 2 is placed after the MDCT analysis 74 of the core coder 70, i.e.", "the transform operates in the MDCT domain.", "The transform in block 2 is linear and time-invariant and thus can be placed after the MDCT analysis 74.The remaining blocks of FIG.", "10 which are not shown in FIG.", "11 can be optionally added in the same way in FIG.", "11a.", "The MDCT analysis blocks 74 may be also alternatively placed after the transform block 2.FIG.", "11b illustrates an implementation of the embodiment in FIG.", "11a.", "In FIG.", "11b, an exemplary implementation of the stage 75 for selecting between M/S or L/R encoding is shown.", "The stage 75 comprises a sum and difference transform stage 98 (more precisely a L/R to M/S transform stage) which receives the pseudo stereo signal Lp, Rp.", "The transform stage 98 generates a pseudo mid/side signal Mp, Sp by performing an L/R to M/S transform.", "Except for a possible gain factor, the following applies: Mp=DMX and Sp=RES.", "The stage 75 decides between L/R or M/S encoding.", "Based on the decision, either the pseudo stereo signal Lp, Rp or the pseudo mid/side signal Mp, Sp are selected (see selection switch) and encoded in AAC block 97.It should be noted that also two AAC blocks 97 may be used (not shown in FIG.", "11b), with the first AAC block 97 assigned to the pseudo stereo signal Lp, Rp and the second AAC block 97 assigned to the pseudo mid/side signal Mp, Sp.", "In this case, the L/R or M/S selection is performed by selecting either the output of the first AAC block 97 or the output of the second AAC block 97.FIG.", "11c shows an alternative to the embodiment in FIG.", "11a.", "Here, no explicit transform stage 2 is used.", "Rather, the transform stage 2 and the stage 75 is combined in a single stage 75′.", "The downmix signal DMX and the residual signal RES are fed to a sum and difference transform stage 99 (more precisely a DMX/RES to pseudo L/R transform stage) as part of stage 75′.", "The transform stage 99 generates a pseudo stereo signal Lp, Rp.", "The DMX/RES to pseudo L/R transform stage 99 in FIG.", "11c is similar to the L/R to M/S transform stage 98 in FIG.", "11b (expect for a possibly different gain factor).", "Nevertheless, in FIG.", "11c the selection between M/S and L/R decoding needs to be inverted in comparison to FIG.", "11b.", "Note that in both FIG.", "11b and FIG.", "11c, the position of the switch for the L/R or M/S selection is shown in Lp/Rp position, which is the upper one in FIG.", "11b and the lower one in FIG.", "11c.", "This visualizes the notion of the inverted meaning of the L/R or M/S selection.", "It should be noted that the switch in FIGS.", "11b and 11c preferably exists individually for each frequency band in the MDCT domain such that the selection between L/R and M/S can be both time- and frequency-variant.", "In other words: the position of the switch is preferably frequency-variant.", "The transform stages 98 and 99 may transform the whole used frequency range or may only transform a single frequency band.", "Moreover, it should be noted that all blocks 2, 98 and 99 can be called “sum and difference transform blocks” since all blocks implement a transform matrix in the form of c · ( 1 1 1 - 1 ) Merely, the gain factor c may be different in the blocks 2, 98, 99.In FIG.", "12, a further embodiment of an encoder system is outlined.", "It uses an extended set of PS parameters which, in addition to IID an ICC (described above), includes two further parameters IPD (inter channel phase difference, see φipd below) and OPD (overall phase difference, see (popd below) that allow to characterize the phase relationship between the two channels L and R of a stereo signal.", "An example for these phase parameters is given in ISO/IEC 14496-3 subclause 8.6.4.6.3 which is hereby incorporated by reference.", "When phase parameters are used, the resulting upmix matrix HCOMPLEX (and its inverse HCOMPLEX−1) becomes complex-valued, according to: HCOMPLEX=Hφ·H, where H φ = ( exp  ( j   ϕ 1 ) 0 0 exp  ( j   ϕ 2 ) ) .", "and where φ1=φopd φ2=φopd−φipd.", "The stage 80 of the PS encoder which operates in the complex QMF domain only takes care of phase dependencies between the channels L, R. The downmix rotation (i.e.", "the transformation from the L/R domain to the DMX/RES domain which was described by the matrix H−1 above) is taken care of in the MDCT domain as part of the stereo core coder 81.Hence, the phase dependencies between the two channels are extracted in the complex QMF domain, while other, real-valued, waveform dependencies are extracted in the real-valued critically sampled MDCT domain as part of the stereo coding mechanism of the core coder used.", "This has the advantage that the extraction of linear dependencies between the channels can be tightly integrated in the stereo coding of the core coder (though, to prevent aliasing in the critical sampled MDCT domain, only for the frequency range that is covered by residual coding, possibly minus a “guard band” on the frequency axis).", "The phase adjustment stage 80 of the PS encoder in FIG.", "12 extracts phase related PS parameters, e.g.", "the parameters IPD (inter channel phase difference) and OPD (overall phase difference).", "Hence, the phase adjustment matrix Hφ−1 that it produces may be according to the following: H φ - 1 = ( exp  ( - j   ϕ 1 ) 0 0 exp  ( - j   ϕ 2 ) ) As discussed before, the downmix rotation part of the PS module is dealt with in the stereo coding module 81 of the core coder in FIG.", "12.The stereo coding module 81 operates in the MDCT domain and is shown in FIG.", "13.The stereo coding module 81 receives the phase adjusted stereo signal Lφ, Rφ in the MDCT domain.", "This signal is downmixed in a downmix stage 82 by a downmix rotation matrix H−1 which is the real-valued part of a complex downmix matrix HCOMPLEX as discussed above, thereby generating the downmix signal DMX and residual signal RES.", "The downmix operation is followed by the inverse L/R to M/S transform according to the present application (see transform stage 2), thereby generating a pseudo stereo signal Lp, Rp.", "The pseudo stereo signal Lp, Rp is processed by the stereo coding algorithm (see adaptive M/S or L/R stereo encoder 83), in this particular embodiment a stereo coding mechanism that depending on perceptual entropy criteria decides to code either an L/R representation or an M/S representation of the signal.", "This decision is preferably time- and frequency-variant.", "In FIG.", "14 an embodiment of a decoder system is shown which is suitable to decode a bitstream 46 as generated by the encoder system shown in FIG.", "6.This embodiment is merely illustrative for the principles of the present application.", "It is understood that modifications and variations of the embodiment will be apparent to others skilled in the art.", "A core decoder 90 decodes the bitstream 46 into pseudo left and right channels, which are transformed in the QMF domain by filter banks 91.Subsequently, a fixed pseudo L/R to DMX/RES transform of the resulting pseudo stereo signal Lp, Rp is performed in transform stage 12, thus creating a downmix signal DMX and a residual signal RES.", "When using SBR coding, these signals are low band signals, e.g.", "the downmix signal DMX and residual signal RES may only contain audio information for the low frequency band up to approximately 8 kHz.", "The downmix signal DMX is used by an SBR decoder 93 to reconstruct the high frequency band based on received SBR parameters (not shown).", "Both the output signal (including the low and reconstructed high frequency bands of the downmix signal DMX) from the SBR decoder 93 and the residual signal RES are input to a PS decoder 94 operating in the QMF domain (in particular in the hybrid QMF+Nyquist filter domain).", "The downmix signal DMX at the input of the PS decoder 94 also contains audio information in the high frequency band (e.g.", "up to 20 kHz), whereas the residual signal RES at the input of the PS decoder 94 is a low band signal (e.g.", "limited up to 8 kHz).", "Thus, for the high frequency band (e.g.", "for the band from 8 kHz to 20 kHz), the PS decoder 94 uses a decorrelated version of the downmix signal DMX instead of using the band limited residual signal RES.", "The decoded signals at the output of the PS decoder 94 are therefore based on a residual signal only up to 8 kHz.", "After PS decoding, the two output channels of the PS decoder 94 are transformed in the time domain by filter banks 95, thereby generating the output stereo signal L, R. In FIG.", "15 an embodiment of a decoder system is shown which is suitable to decode the bitstream 46 as generated by the encoder system shown in FIG.", "7.This embodiment is merely illustrative for the principles of the present application.", "It is understood that modifications and variations of the embodiment will be apparent to others skilled in the art.", "The principle operation of the embodiment in FIG.", "15 is similar to that of the decoder system outlined in FIG.", "14.In contrast to FIG.", "14, the SBR decoder 96 in FIG.", "15 is located at the output of the PS decoder 94.Moreover, the SBR decoder makes use of SBR parameters (not shown) forming stereo envelope data in contrast to the mono SBR parameters in FIG.", "14.The downmix and residual signal at the input of the PS decoder 94 are typically low band signals, e.g.", "the downmix signal DMX and residual signal RES may contain audio information only for the low frequency band, e.g.", "up to approximately 8 kHz.", "Based on the low band downmix signal DMX and residual signal RES, the PS encoder 94 determines a low band stereo signal, e.g.", "up to approximately 8 kHz.", "Based on the low band stereo signal and stereo SBR parameters, the SBR decoder 96 reconstructs the high frequency part of the stereo signal.", "In comparison to the embodiment in FIG.", "14, the embodiment in FIG.", "15 offers the advantage that no decorrelated signal is needed (see also FIG.", "8d) and thus an enhanced audio quality is achieved, whereas in FIG.", "14 for the high frequency part a decorrelated signal is needed (see also FIG.", "8c), thereby reducing the audio quality.", "FIG.", "16a shows an embodiment of a decoding system which is inverse to the encoding system shown in FIG.", "11a.", "The incoming bitstream signal is fed to a decoder block 100, which generates a first decoded signal 102 and a second decoded signal 103.At the encoder either M/S coding or L/R coding was selected.", "This is indicated in the received bitstream.", "Based on this information, either M/S or L/R is selected in the selection stage 101.In case M/S was selected in the encoder, the first 102 and second 103 signals are converted into a (pseudo) L/R signal.", "In case L/R was selected in the encoder, the first 102 and second 103 signals may pass the stage 101 without transformation.", "The pseudo L/R signal Lp, Rp at the output of stage 101 is converted into an DMX/RES signal by the transform stage 12 (this stage quasi performs a L/R to M/S transform).", "Preferably, the stages 100, 101 and 12 in FIG.", "16a operate in the MDCT domain.", "For transforming the downmix signal DMX and residual signals RES into the time domain, conversion blocks 104 may be used.", "Thereafter, the resulting signal is fed to a PS decoder (not shown) and optionally to an SBR decoder as shown in FIGS.", "14 and 15.The blocks 104 may be also alternatively placed before block 12.FIG.", "16b illustrates an implementation of the embodiment in FIG.", "16a.", "In FIG.", "16b, an exemplary implementation of the stage 101 for selecting between M/S or L/R decoding is shown.", "The stage 101 comprises a sum and difference transform stage 105 (M/S to L/R transform) which receives the first 102 and second 103 signals.", "Based on the encoding information given in the bitstream, the stage 101 selects either L/R or M/S decoding.", "When L/R decoding is selected, the output signal of the decoding block 100 is fed to the transform stage 12.FIG.", "16c shows an alternative to the embodiment in FIG.", "16a.", "Here, no explicit transform stage 12 is used.", "Rather, the transform stage 12 and the stage 101 are merged in a single stage 101′.", "The first 102 and second 103 signals are fed to a sum and difference transform stage 105′ (more precisely a pseudo L/R to DMX/RES transform stage) as part of stage 101′.", "The transform stage 105′ generates a DMX/RES signal.", "The transform stage 105′ in FIG.", "16c is similar or identical to the transform stage 105 in FIG.", "16b (expect for a possibly different gain factor).", "In FIG.", "16c the selection between M/S and L/R decoding needs to be inverted in comparison to FIG.", "16b.", "In FIG.", "16c the switch is in the lower position, whereas in FIG.", "16b the switch is in the upper position.", "This visualizes the inversion of the L/R or M/S selection (the selection signal may be simply inverted by an inverter).", "It should be noted that the switch in FIGS.", "16b and 16c preferably exists individually for each frequency band in the MDCT domain such that the selection between L/R and M/S can be both time- and frequency-variant.", "The transform stages 105 and 105′ may transform the whole used frequency range or may only transform a single frequency band.", "FIG.", "17 shows a further embodiment of an encoding system for coding a stereo signal L, R into a bitstream signal.", "The encoding system comprises a downmix stage 8 for generating a downmix signal DMX and a residual signal RES based on the stereo signal.", "Further, the encoding system comprises a parameter determining stage 9 for determining one or more parametric stereo parameters 5.Further, the encoding system comprises means 110 for perceptual encoding downstream of the downmix stage 8.The encoding is selectable: encoding based on a sum signal of the downmix signal DMX and the residual signal RES and based on a difference signal of the downmix signal DMX and the residual signal RES, or encoding based on the downmix signal DMX and the residual signal RES.", "Preferably, the selection is time- and frequency-variant.", "The encoding means 110 comprises a sum and difference transform stage 111 which generates the sum and difference signals.", "Further, the encoding means 110 comprise a selection block 112 for selecting encoding based on the sum and difference signals or based on the downmix signal DMX and the residual signal RES.", "Furthermore, an encoding block 113 is provided.", "Alternatively, two encoding blocks 113 may be used, with the first encoding block 113 encoding the DMX and RES signals and the second encoding block 113 encoding the sum and difference signals.", "In this case the selection 112 is downstream of the two encoding blocks 113.The sum and difference transform in block 111 is of the form c · ( 1 1 1 - 1 ) The transform block 111 may correspond to transform block 99 in FIG.", "11c.", "The output of the perceptual encoder 110 is combined with the parametric stereo parameters 5 in the multiplexer 7 to form the resulting bitstream 6.In contrast to the structure in FIG.", "17, encoding based on the downmix signal DMX and residual signal RES may be realized when encoding a resulting signal which is generated by transforming the downmix signal DMX and residual signal RES by two serial sum and difference transforms as shown in FIG.", "11b (see the two transform blocks 2 and 98).", "The resulting signal after two sum and difference transforms corresponds to the downmix signal DMX and residual signal RES (except for a possible different gain factor).", "FIG.", "18 shows an embodiment of a decoder system which is inverse to the encoder system in FIG.", "17.The decoder system comprises means 120 for perceptual decoding based on bitstream signal.", "Before decoding, the PS parameters are separated from the bitstream signal 6 in demultiplexer 10.The decoding means 120 comprise a core decoder 121 which generates a first signal 122 and a second signal 123 (by decoding).", "The decoding means output a downmix signal DMX and a residual signal RES.", "The downmix signal DMX and the residual signal RES are selectively based on the sum of the first signal 122 and of the second signal 123 and based on the difference of the first signal 122 and of the second signal 123 or based on the first signal 122 and based on the second signal 123.Preferably, the selection is time- and frequency-variant.", "The selection is performed in the selection stage 125.The decoding means 120 comprise a sum and difference transform stage 124 which generates sum and difference signals.", "The sum and difference transform in block 124 is of the form c · ( 1 1 1 - 1 ) The transform block 124 may correspond to transform block 105′ in FIG.", "16c.", "After selection, the DMX and RES signals are fed to an upmix stage 126 for generating the stereo signal L, R based on the downmix signal DMX and the residual signal RES.", "The upmix operation is dependent on the PS parameters 5.Preferably, in FIGS.", "17 and 18 the selection is frequency-variant.", "In FIG.", "17, e.g.", "a time to frequency transform (e.g.", "by a MDCT or analysis filter bank) may be performed as first step in the perceptual encoding means 110.In FIG.", "18, e.g.", "a frequency to time transform (e.g.", "by an inverse MDCT or synthesis filter bank) may be performed as the last step in the perceptual decoding means 120.It should be noted that in the above-described embodiments, the signals, parameters and matrices may be frequency-variant or frequency-invariant and/or time-variant or time-invariant.", "The described computing steps may be carried out frequency-wise or for the complete audio band.", "Moreover, it should be noted that the various sum and difference transforms, i.e.", "the DMX/RES to pseudo L/R transform, the pseudo L/R to DMX/RES transform, the L/R to M/S transform and the M/S to L/R transform, are all of the form c · ( 1 1 1 - 1 ) Merely, the gain factor c may be different.", "Therefore, in principle, each of these transforms may be exchanged by a different transform of these transforms.", "If the gain is not correct during the encoding processing, this may be compensated in the decoding process.", "Moreover, when placing two same or two different of the sum and difference transforms is series, the resulting transform corresponds to the identity matrix (possibly, multiplied by a gain factor).", "In an encoder system comprising both a PS encoder and a SBR encoder, different PS/SBR configurations are possible.", "In a first configuration, shown in FIG.", "6, the SBR encoder 32 is connected downstream of the PS encoder 41.In a second configuration, shown in FIG.", "7, the SBR encoder 42 is connected upstream of the PS encoder 41.Depending upon e.g.", "the desired target bitrate, the properties of the core encoder, and/or one or more various other factors, one of the configurations can be preferred over the other in order to provide best performance Typically, for lower bitrates, the first configuration can be preferred, while for higher bitrates, the second configuration can be preferred.", "Hence, it is desirable if an encoder system supports both different configurations to be able to choose a preferred configuration depending upon e.g.", "desired target bitrate and/or one or more other criteria.", "Also in a decoder system comprising both a PS decoder and a SBR decoder, different PS/SBR configurations are possible.", "In a first configuration, shown in FIG.", "14, the SBR decoder 93 is connected upstream of the PS decoder 94.In a second configuration, shown in FIG.", "15, the SBR decoder 96 is connected downstream of the PS decoder 94.In order to achieve correct operation, the configuration of the decoder system has to match that of the encoder system.", "If the encoder is configured according to FIG.", "6, then the decoder is correspondingly configured according to FIG.", "14.If the encoder is configured according to FIG.", "7, then the decoder is correspondingly configured according to FIG.", "15.In order to ensure correct operation, the encoder preferably signals to the decoder which PS/SBR configuration was chosen for encoding (and thus which PS/SBR configuration is to be chosen for decoding).", "Based on this information, the decoder selects the appropriate decoder configuration.", "As discussed above, in order to ensure correct decoder operation, there is preferably a mechanism to signal from the encoder to the decoder which configuration is to be used in the decoder.", "This can be done explicitly (e.g.", "by means of an dedicated bit or field in the configuration header of the bitstream as discussed below) or implicitly (e.g.", "by checking whether the SBR data is mono or stereo in case of PS data being present).", "As discussed above, to signal the chosen PS/SBR configuration, a dedicated element in the bitstream header of the bitstream conveyed from the encoder to the decoder may be used.", "Such a bitstream header carries necessary configuration information that is needed to enable the decoder to correctly decode the data in the bitstream.", "The dedicated element in the bitstream header may be e.g.", "a one bit flag, a field, or it may be an index pointing to a specific entry in a table that specifies different decoder configurations.", "Instead of including in the bitstream header an additional dedicated element for signaling the PS/SBR configuration, information already present in the bitstream may be evaluated at the decoding system for selecting the correct PS/SBR configuration.", "E.g.", "the chosen PS/SBR configuration may be derived from bitstream header configuration information for the PS decoder and SBR decoder.", "This configuration information typically indicates whether the SBR decoder is to be configured for mono operation or stereo operation.", "If, for example, a PS decoder is enabled and the SBR decoder is configured for mono operation (as indicated in the configuration information), the PS/SBR configuration according to FIG.", "14 can be selected.", "If a PS decoder is enabled and the SBR decoder is configured for stereo operation, the PS/SBR configuration according to FIG.", "15 can be selected.", "The above-described embodiments are merely illustrative for the principles of the present application.", "It is understood that modifications and variations of the arrangements and the details described herein will be apparent to others skilled in the art.", "It is the intent, therefore, that the scope of the application is not limited by the specific details presented by way of description and explanation of the embodiments herein.", "The systems and methods disclosed in the application may be implemented as software, firmware, hardware or a combination thereof.", "Certain components or all components may be implemented as software running on a digital signal processor or microprocessor, or implemented as hardware and or as application specific integrated circuits.", "Typical devices making use of the disclosed systems and methods are portable audioplayers, mobile communication devices, set-top-boxes, TV-sets, AVRs (audio-video receiver), personal computers etc." ] ]
Patent_15873083
[ [ "BARRIER FILM-CONTAINING FORMAT AND THE USE THEREOF FOR PRE-APPLIED UNDERFILL FILM FOR 3D TSV PACKAGES", "Provided herein are stabilized underfill film-containing assemblies which extend the work-life of underfill films.", "In accordance with certain aspects of the present invention, there are also provided stabilized underfill film-containing assemblies which extend the shelf-life of underfill films.", "In certain aspects of the present invention, there are also provided methods for extending the work-life of underfill films.", "In another aspect of the present invention, there are also provided methods for extending the shelf-life of underfill films." ], [ "1.An underfill film-containing assembly, said assembly comprising: an underfill film layer between a coating release liner, and a barrier film.", "2.The assembly of claim 1 wherein the underfill film is a thermoset resin.", "3.The assembly of claim 2, wherein said thermoset resin is selected from an epoxy-based resin, a maleimide-based resin, a nadimide-based resin, an itaconamide-based resin, an acrylate-based resin, cyanate ester-based resins, silicones, oxetanes, polyester-based resins, polyurethane-based resins, polyimide-based resins, melamine-based resins, urea-formaldehyde-based resins, phenol-formaldehyde-based resins, as well as mixtures of any two or more thereof.", "4.The assembly of claim 1 wherein the underfill film layer has a thickness in the range of about 5 μm up to about 200 μm.", "5.The assembly of claim 1 wherein the coating release liner undergoes substantially no chemical interaction with the underfill film layer.", "6.The assembly of claim 5 wherein the coating release liner is a paper or plastic-based film sheet which prevents the underfill film surface from sticking.", "7.The assembly of claim 6 wherein the coating release liner is plastic based.", "8.The assembly of claim 7 wherein the coating release liner is selected from PET, a polyolefin, or a silicone.", "9.The assembly of claim 1 wherein the barrier film is substantially impervious to chemical migration into or out of the surface thereof.", "10.The assembly of claim 7 wherein said barrier film is selected from a polyethylene terephthalate, a fluoropolyolefin, a perfluoropolyolefin, or a silicone layer.", "11.The assembly of claim 10 wherein the fluoropolyolefin is selected from an ETFE (copolymer of ethylene and tetrafluoroethylene), a perfluoroalkoxy, a PCTFE (polychloro Teflon) film, an FEP (fluorinated ethylene propylene copolymer), or a PVDF (polyvinylidene difluoride).", "12.The assembly of claim 1 wherein the barrier film has a thickness in the range of about 1 nm up to about 200 μm.", "13.The assembly of claim 1 further comprising a layer of pressure sensitive adhesive tape on the exposed side of the barrier film.", "14.The assembly of claim 13 wherein the pressure sensitive adhesive is an elastomeric acrylic-based resin.", "15.The assembly of claim 1 wherein: said underfill film layer comprises a resin, a hardener and a filler, said coating release liner comprises PET, said barrier film comprises a fluoropolyolefin, and wherein the underfill film undergoes substantially no interaction with the barrier film, and maintains its properties favorable for use in underfill applications.", "16.The assembly of claim 12 wherein: said underfill film layer comprises a resin, a hardener and a filler, said coating release liner comprises PET, said barrier film comprises a fluoropolyolefin, and said pressure sensitive adhesive tape on the exposed side of the barrier film comprises elastomers based on acrylic polymers, rubber, ethylene-vinyl acetate, nitriles, or styrene block copolymers, wherein the underfill film undergoes substantially no interaction with the barrier film, and maintains its properties favorable for use in underfill applications.", "17.An assembly comprising: an underfill film layer comprising a resin, a hardener and a filler, a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) coating release liner, and a pressure sensitive adhesive (PSA) tape comprising a layer of PSA on a fluoro-polymer backing layer, wherein the underfill film undergoes substantially no interaction with the backing layer, and maintains its properties favorable for use in underfill applications.", "18.A method to extend the shelf life of an underfill film layer supported by a coating release liner, said method comprising applying a barrier film to the exposed side of said underfill film layer.", "19.The method of claim 18 wherein the underfill film layer is a thermoset resin.", "20.The method of claim 18 wherein the barrier film is substantially impervious to chemical migration into or out of the surface thereof.", "21.A method to extend the worklife of an underfill film layer supported by a coating release liner, said method comprising applying a barrier film to the exposed side of said underfill film layer.", "22.The method of claim 21 wherein the underfill film layer is a thermoset resin.", "23.The method of claim 21 wherein the barrier film is substantially impervious to chemical migration into or out of the surface thereof." ], [ "<SOH> FIELD OF THE INVENTION <EOH>The present invention relates to stabilized underfill film-containing assemblies which extend the work-life of underfill films.", "The present invention also relates to stabilized underfill film-containing assemblies which extend the shelf-life of underfill films.", "In another aspect, the invention relates to methods for extending the work-life of underfill films.", "In still another aspect, the present invention also relates to methods for extending the shelf-life of underfill films." ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION <EOH>In accordance with the present invention, there are provided stabilized underfill film-containing assemblies which extend the work-life of underfill films.", "In accordance with certain aspects of the present invention, there are also provided stabilized underfill film-containing assemblies which extend the shelf-life of underfill films.", "In certain aspects of the present invention, there are also provided methods for extending the work-life of underfill films.", "In additional aspects of the present invention, there are also provided methods for extending the shelf-life of underfill films." ], [ "FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to stabilized underfill film-containing assemblies which extend the work-life of underfill films.", "The present invention also relates to stabilized underfill film-containing assemblies which extend the shelf-life of underfill films.", "In another aspect, the invention relates to methods for extending the work-life of underfill films.", "In still another aspect, the present invention also relates to methods for extending the shelf-life of underfill films.", "SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with the present invention, there are provided stabilized underfill film-containing assemblies which extend the work-life of underfill films.", "In accordance with certain aspects of the present invention, there are also provided stabilized underfill film-containing assemblies which extend the shelf-life of underfill films.", "In certain aspects of the present invention, there are also provided methods for extending the work-life of underfill films.", "In additional aspects of the present invention, there are also provided methods for extending the shelf-life of underfill films.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES FIG.", "1 illustrates a prior art format for underfill film assemblies, comprising an underfill film layer between a coating release liner and a pressure sensitive adhesive (PSA) tape.", "FIG.", "2 illustrates an exemplary underfill film assembly according to the present invention comprising an underfill film layer between a coating release liner and a barrier film, wherein a pressure sensitive adhesive (PSA) tape is applied on the exposed side of the barrier film.", "FIG.", "3 illustrates another exemplary underfill film assembly according to the invention comprising an underfill film layer between a coating release liner and a polyolefin film.", "FIG.", "4 illustrates yet another exemplary underfill film assembly according to the invention comprising an underfill film layer between a coating release liner and a barrier film.", "FIG.", "5 illustrates another exemplary underfill film assembly according to the invention comprising an underfill film between a coating release liner and a pressure sensitive tape, wherein the PSA tape is composed of two layers: one layer is a PSA layer, the other layer is a polyolefin backing tape.", "FIG.", "6 illustrates yet another exemplary underfill film assembly according to the invention comprising an underfill film between a coating release liner and pressure sensitive tape, wherein the PSA tape is composed of two layers: one layer is PSA layer, the other layer fluoro-polymer.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION In accordance with the present invention, there are provided underfill film-containing assembly(ies), said assembly(ies) comprising: an underfill film layer between a coating release liner, and a barrier film.", "A wide variety of underfill films are contemplated for use in accordance with the present invention.", "In some embodiments, underfill films comprise a thermoset resin.", "Exemplary thermoset resins include epoxy-based resins, maleimide-based resins, nadimide-based resins, itaconamide-based resins, acrylate-based resins, cyanate ester-based resins, silicones, oxetanes, polyester-based resins, polyurethane-based resins, polyimide-based resins, melamine-based resins, urea-formaldehyde-based resins, phenol-formaldehyde-based resins, and the like, as well as mixtures of any two or more thereof.", "Epoxies A wide variety of epoxy-functionalized resins are contemplated for use herein, e.g., liquid-type epoxy resins based on bisphenol A, solid-type epoxy resins based on bisphenol A, liquid-type epoxy resins based on bisphenol F (e.g., Epiclon EXA-835LV), multifunctional epoxy resins based on phenol-novolac resin, dicyclopentadiene-type epoxy resins (e.g., Epiclon HP-7200L), naphthalene-type epoxy resins, and the like, as well as mixtures of any two or more thereof.", "Exemplary epoxy-functionalized resins contemplated for use herein include the diepoxide of the cycloaliphatic alcohol, hydrogenated bisphenol A (commercially available as Epalloy 5000), a difunctional cycloaliphatic glycidyl ester of hexahydrophthallic anhydride (commercially available as Epalloy 5200), Epiclon EXA-835LV, Epiclon HP-7200L, and the like, as well as mixtures of any two or more thereof.", "In certain embodiments, the epoxy component may include the combination of two or more different bisphenol based epoxies.", "These bisphenol based epoxies may be selected from bisphenol A, bisphenol F, or bisphenol S epoxies, or combinations thereof.", "In addition, two or more different bisphenol epoxies within the same type of resin (such as A, F or S) may be used.", "Commercially available examples of the bisphenol epoxies contemplated for use herein include bisphenol-F-type epoxies (such as RE-404-S from Nippon Kayaku, Japan, and EPICLON 830 (RE1801), 830S (RE1815), 830A (RE1826) and 830W from Dai Nippon Ink & Chemicals, Inc., and RSL 1738 and YL-983U from Resolution) and bisphenol-A-type epoxies (such as YL-979 and 980 from Resolution).", "The bisphenol epoxies available commercially from Dai Nippon and noted above are promoted as liquid undiluted epichlorohydrin-bisphenol F epoxies having much lower viscosities than conventional epoxies based on bisphenol A epoxies and have physical properties similar to liquid bisphenol A epoxies.", "Bisphenol F epoxy has lower viscosity than bisphenol A epoxies, all else being the same between the two types of epoxies, which affords a lower viscosity and thus a fast flow underfill sealant material.", "The EEW of these four bisphenol F epoxies is between 165 and 180.The viscosity at 25° C. is between 3,000 and 4,500 cps (except for RE1801 whose upper viscosity limit is 4,000 cps).", "The hydrolyzable chloride content is reported as 200 ppm for RE1815 and 830W, and that for RE1826 as 100 ppm.", "The bisphenol epoxies available commercially from Resolution and noted above are promoted as low chloride containing liquid epoxies.", "The bisphenol A epoxies have a EEW (g/eq) of between 180 and 195 and a viscosity at 25° C. of between 100 and 250 cps.", "The total chloride content for YL-979 is reported as between 500 and 700 ppm, and that for YL-980 as between 100 and 300 ppm.", "The bisphenol F epoxies have a EEW (g/eq) of between 165 and 180 and a viscosity at 25° C. of between 30 and 60.The total chloride content for RSL-1738 is reported as between 500 and 700 ppm, and that for YL-983U as between 150 and 350 ppm.", "In addition to the bisphenol epoxies, other epoxy compounds are contemplated for use as the epoxy component of invention formulations.", "For instance, cycloaliphatic epoxies, such as 3,4-epoxycyclohexylmethyl-3,4-epoxycyclohexylcarbonate, can be used.", "Also monofunctional, difunctional or multifunctional reactive diluents may be used to adjust the viscosity and/or lower the Tg of the resulting resin material.", "Exemplary reactive diluents include butyl glycidyl ether, cresyl glycidyl ether, polyethylene glycol glycidyl ether, polypropylene glycol glycidyl ether, and the like.", "Epoxies suitable for use herein include polyglycidyl derivatives of phenolic compounds, such as those available commercially under the tradename EPON, such as EPON 828, EPON 1001, EPON 1009, and EPON 1031 from Resolution; DER 331, DER 332, DER 334, and DER 542 from Dow Chemical Co.; and BREN-S from Nippon Kayaku.", "Other suitable epoxies include polyepoxides prepared from polyols and the like and polyglycidyl derivatives of phenol-formaldehyde novolacs, the latter of such as DEN 431, DEN 438, and DEN 439 from Dow Chemical.", "Cresol analogs are also available commercially under the tradename ARALDITE, such as ARALDITE ECN 1235, ARALDITE ECN 1273, and ARALDITE ECN 1299 from Ciba Specialty Chemicals Corporation.", "SU-8 is a bisphenol-A-type epoxy novolac available from Resolution.", "Polyglycidyl adducts of amines, aminoalcohols and polycarboxylic acids are also useful in this invention, commercially available resins of which include GLYAMINE 135, GLYAMINE 125, and GLYAMINE 115 from F.I.C.", "Corporation; ARALDITE MY-720, ARALDITE 0500, and ARALDITE 0510 from Ciba Specialty Chemicals and PGA-X and PGA-C from the Sherwin-Williams Co.", "Appropriate monofunctional epoxy coreactant diluents for optional use herein include those that have a viscosity which is lower than that of the epoxy component, ordinarily, less than about 250 cps.", "The monofunctional epoxy coreactant diluents should have an epoxy group with an alkyl group of about 6 to about 28 carbon atoms, examples of which include C6-28 alkyl glycidyl ethers, C6-28 fatty acid glycidyl esters, C6-28 alkylphenol glycidyl ethers, and the like.", "In the event such a monofunctional epoxy coreactant diluent is included, such coreactant diluent should be employed in an amount from about 0.5 percent by weight to about 10 percent by weight, based on the total weight of the composition; in some embodiments, such coreactant diluent should be employed in an amount from about 0.25 percent by weight to about 5 percent by weight, based on the total weight of the composition.", "The epoxy component should be present in the composition in an amount in the range of about 1 percent by weight to about 20 percent by weight; in some embodiments, invention formulations comprise about 2 percent by weight to about 18 percent by weight epoxy; in some embodiments, invention formulations comprise about 5 to about 15 percent by weight epoxy.", "In some embodiments, the epoxy component employed herein is a silane modified epoxy, e.g., a composition of matter that includes: (A) an epoxy component embraced by the following structure: where: Y may or may not be present and when Y present is a direct bond, CH2, CH(CH3)2, C═O, or S, R1 here is alkyl, alkenyl, hydroxy, carboxy and halogen, and x here is 1-4; (B) an epoxy-functionalized alkoxy silane embraced by the following structure: R1—Si(OR2)3 wherein R1 is an oxirane-containing moiety and R2 is an alkyl or alkoxy-substituted alkyl, aryl, or aralkyl group having from one to ten carbon atoms; and (C) reaction products of components (A) and (B).", "An example of one such silane-modified epoxy is formed as the reaction product of an aromatic epoxy, such as a bisphenol A, E, F or S epoxy or biphenyl epoxy, and epoxy silane where the epoxy silane is embraced by the following structure: R1—Si(OR2)3 wherein R1 is an oxirane-containing moiety, examples of which include 2-(ethoxymethyl)oxirane, 2-(propoxymethyl)oxirane, 2-(methoxymethyl)oxirane, and 2-(3-methoxypropyl)oxirane and R2 is an alkyl or alkoxy-substituted alkyl, aryl, or aralkyl group having from one to ten carbon atoms.", "In one embodiment, R1 is 2-(ethoxymethyl)oxirane and R2 is methyl.", "Idealized structures of the aromatic epoxy used to prepare the silane modified epoxy include wherein Y may or may not be present, and when Y is present, it is a direct bond, CH2, CH(CH3)2, C═O, or S, R1 is alkyl, alkenyl, hydroxy, carboxy or halogen, and x is 1-4.Of course, when x is 2-4, chain extended versions of the aromatic epoxy are also contemplated as being embraced by this structure.", "For instance, a chain extended version of the aromatic epoxy may be embraced by the structure below In some embodiments, the siloxane modified epoxy resin has the structure: —(O—Si(Me)2-O—Si(Me)(Z)—O—Si(Me)2-O—Si(Me)2)n— wherein: Z is —O—(CH2)3—O-Ph-CH2-Ph-O—(CH2—CH(OH)—CH2—O-Ph-CH2-Ph-O—)n—CH2-oxirane, and n falls in the range of about 1-4.In some embodiments, the siloxane modified epoxy resin is produced by contacting a combination of the following components under conditions suitable to promote the reaction thereof: wherein “n” falls in the range of about 1-4.The silane modified epoxy may also be a combination of the aromatic epoxy, the epoxy silane, and reaction products of the aromatic epoxy and the epoxy silane.", "The reaction products may be prepared from the aromatic epoxy and epoxy silane in a weight ratio of 1:100 to 100:1, such as a weight ratio of 1:10 to 10:1.Quantities of epoxy monomer(s) contemplated for use in invention compositions are sufficient so that the resulting formulation comprises in the range of about 1-20 wt % of said epoxy.", "In certain embodiments, the resulting formulation comprises in the range of about 2-18 wt % of said epoxy.", "In certain embodiments, the resulting formulation comprises in the range of about 5-15 wt % of said epoxy.", "Epoxy cure agents are optionally employed in combination with epoxy monomer(s).", "Exemplary epoxy cure agents include ureas, aliphatic and aromatic amines, amine hardeners, polyamides, imidazoles, dicyandiamides, hydrazides, urea-amine hybrid curing systems, free radical initiators (e.g., peroxy esters, peroxy carbonates, hydroperoxides, alkylperoxides, arylperoxides, azo compounds, and the like), organic bases, transition metal catalysts, phenols, acid anhydrides, Lewis acids, Lewis bases, and the like.", "When epoxy cure agents are present, invention compositions comprise in the range of about 0.1-2 wt % thereof.", "In certain embodiments, invention compositions comprise in the range of about 0.5-5 wt % of epoxy cure agent.", "Maleimides, Nadimides or Itaconimides Maleimides, nadimides or itaconimides contemplated for use herein are compounds having the structure: respectively, wherein: m is 1-15, p is 0-15, each R2 is independently selected from hydrogen or lower alkyl (such as C1-5), and J is a monovalent or a polyvalent radical comprising organic or organosiloxane radicals, and combinations of two or more thereof.", "In some embodiments of the present invention, J is a monovalent or polyvalent radical selected from: hydrocarbyl or substituted hydrocarbyl species typically having in the range of about 6 up to about 500 carbon atoms, where the hydrocarbyl species is selected from alkyl, alkenyl, alkynyl, cycloalkyl, cycloalkenyl, aryl, alkylaryl, arylalkyl, aryalkenyl, alkenylaryl, arylalkynyl or alkynylaryl, provided, however, that X can be aryl only when X comprises a combination of two or more different species; hydrocarbylene or substituted hydrocarbylene species typically having in the range of about 6 up to about 500 carbon atoms, where the hydrocarbylene species are selected from alkylene, alkenylene, alkynylene, cycloalkylene, cycloalkenylene, arylene, alkylarylene, arylalkylene, arylalkenylene, alkenylarylene, arylalkynylene or alkynylarylene, heterocyclic or substituted heterocyclic species typically having in the range of about 6 up to about 500 carbon atoms, polysiloxane, or polysiloxane-polyurethane block copolymers, as well as combinations of one or more of the above with a linker selected from covalent bond, —O—, —S—, —NR—, —NR—C(O)—, —NR—C(O)—O—, —NR—C(O)—NR—, —S—C(O)—, —S—C(O)—O—, —S—C(O)—NR—, —O—S(O)2—, —O—S(O)2—O—, —O—S(O)2—NR—, —O—S(O)—, —O—S(O)—O—, —O—S(O)—NR—, —O—NR—C(O)—, —O—NR—C(O)—O—, —O—NR—C(O)—NR—, —NR—O—C(O)—, —NR—O—C(O)—O—, —NR—O—C(O)—NR—, —O—NR—C(S)—, —O—NR—C(S)—O—, —O—NR—C(S)—NR—, —NR—O—C(S)—, —NR—O—C(S)—O—, —NR—O—C(S)—NR—, —O—C(S)—, —O—C(S)—O—, —O—C(S)—NR—, —NR—C(S)—, —NR—C(S)—O—, —NR—C(S)—NR—, —S—S(O)2—, —S—S(O)2—O—, —S—S(O)2—NR—, —NR—O—S(O)—, —NR—O—S(O)—O—, —NR—O—S(O)—NR—, —NR—O—S(O)2—, —NR—O—S(O)2—O—, —NR—O—S(O)2—NR—, —O—NR—S(O)—, —O—NR—S(O)—O—, —O—NR—S(O)—NR—, —O—NR—S(O)2—O—, —O—NR—S(O)2—NR—, —O—NR—S(O)2—, —O—P(O)R2—, —S—P(O)R2—, or —NR—P(O)R2—; where each R is independently hydrogen, alkyl or substituted alkyl.", "Exemplary compositions include those wherein J is oxyalkyl, thioalkyl, aminoalkyl, carboxylalkyl, oxyalkenyl, thioalkenyl, aminoalkenyl, carboxyalkenyl, oxyalkynyl, thioalkynyl, aminoalkynyl, carboxyalkynyl, oxycycloalkyl, thiocycloalkyl, aminocycloalkyl, carboxycycloalkyl, oxycloalkenyl, thiocycloalkenyl, aminocycloalkenyl, carboxycycloalkenyl, heterocyclic, oxyheterocyclic, thioheterocyclic, aminoheterocyclic, carboxyheterocyclic, oxyaryl, thioaryl, aminoaryl, carboxyaryl, heteroaryl, oxyheteroaryl, thioheteroaryl, aminoheteroaryl, carboxyheteroaryl, oxyalkylaryl, thioalkylaryl, aminoalkylaryl, carboxyalkylaryl, oxyarylalkyl, thioarylalkyl, aminoarylalkyl, carboxyarylalkyl, oxyarylalkenyl, thioarylalkenyl, aminoarylalkenyl, carboxyarylalkenyl, oxyalkenylaryl, thioalkenylaryl, aminoalkenylaryl, carboxyalkenylaryl, oxyarylalkynyl, thioarylalkynyl, aminoarylalkynyl, carboxyarylalkynyl, oxyalkynylaryl, thioalkynylaryl, aminoalkynylaryl or carboxyalkynylaryl, oxyalkylene, thioalkylene, aminoalkylene, carboxyalkylene, oxyalkenylene, thioalkenylene, aminoalkenylene, carboxyalkenylene, oxyalkynylene, thioalkynylene, aminoalkynylene, carboxyalkynylene, oxycycloalkylene, thiocycloalkylene, aminocycloalkylene, carboxycycloalkylene, oxycycloalkenylene, thiocycloalkenylene, aminocycloalkenylene, carboxycycloalkenylene, oxyarylene, thioarylene, aminoarylene, carboxyarylene, oxyalkylarylene, thioalkylarylene, aminoalkylarylene, carboxyalkylarylene, oxyarylalkylene, thioarylalkylene, aminoarylalkylene, carboxyarylalkylene, oxyarylalkenylene, thioarylalkenylene, aminoarylalkenylene, carboxyarylalkenylene, oxyalkenylarylene, thioalkenylarylene, aminoalkenylarylene, carboxyalkenylarylene, oxyarylalkynylene, thioarylalkynylene, aminoarylalkynylene, carboxy arylalkynylene, oxyalkynylarylene, thioalkynylarylene, aminoalkynylarylene, carboxyalkynylarylene, heteroarylene, oxyheteroarylene, thioheteroarylene, aminoheteroarylene, carboxyheteroarylene, heteroatom-containing di- or polyvalent cyclic moiety, oxyheteroatom-containing di- or polyvalent cyclic moiety, thioheteroatom-containing di- or polyvalent cyclic moiety, aminoheteroatom-containing di- or polyvalent cyclic moiety, or a carboxyheteroatom-containing di- or polyvalent cyclic moiety.", "Acrylates Acrylates contemplated for use in the practice of the present invention are well known in the art.", "See, for example, U.S. Pat.", "No.", "5,717,034, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein.", "Exemplary acrylates contemplated for use herein include monofunctional (meth)acrylates, difunctional (meth)acrylates, trifunctional (meth)acrylates, polyfunctional (meth)acrylates, and the like.", "Exemplary monofunctional (meth)acrylates include phenylphenol acrylate, methoxypolyethylene acrylate, acryloyloxyethyl succinate, fatty acid acrylate, methacryloyloxyethylphthalic acid, phenoxyethylene glycol methacrylate, fatty acid methacrylate, β-carboxyethyl acrylate, isobornyl acrylate, isobutyl acrylate, t-butyl acrylate, hydroxyethyl acrylate, hydroxypropyl acrylate, dihydrocyclopentadiethyl acrylate, cyclohexyl methacrylate, t-butyl methacrylate, dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate, diethylaminoethyl methacrylate, t-butylaminoethyl methacrylate, 4-hydroxybutyl acrylate, tetrahydrofurfuryl acrylate, benzyl acrylate, ethylcarbitol acrylate, phenoxyethyl acrylate, methoxytriethylene glycol acrylate, monopentaerythritol acrylate, dipentaerythritol acrylate, tripentaerythritol acrylate, polypentaerythritol acrylate, and the like.", "Exemplary difunctional (meth)acrylates include hexanediol dimethacrylate, hydroxyacryloyloxypropyl methacrylate, hexanediol diacrylate, urethane acrylate, epoxyacrylate, bisphenol A-type epoxyacrylate, modified epoxyacrylate, fatty acid-modified epoxyacrylate, amine-modified bisphenol A-type epoxyacrylate, allyl methacrylate, ethylene glycol dimethacrylate, diethylene glycol dimethacrylate, ethoxylated bisphenol A dimethacrylate, tricyclodecanedimethanol dimethacrylate, glycerin dimethacrylate, polypropylene glycol diacrylate, propoxylated ethoxylated bisphenol A diacrylate, 9,9-bis(4-(2-acryloyloxyethoxy)phenyl) fluorene, tricyclodecane diacrylate, dipropylene glycol diacrylate, polypropylene glycol diacrylate, PO-modified neopentyl glycol diacrylate, tricyclodecanedimethanol diacrylate, 1,12-dodecanediol dimethacrylate, and the like.", "Exemplary trifunctional (meth)acrylates include trimethylolpropane trimethacrylate, trimethylolpropane triacrylate, trimethylolpropane ethoxy triacrylate, polyether triacrylate, glycerin propoxy triacrylate, and the like.", "Exemplary polyfunctional (meth)acrylates include dipentaerythritol polyacrylate, dipentaerythritol hexaacrylate, pentaerythritol tetraacrylate, pentaerythritolethoxy tetraacrylate, ditrimethylolpropane tetraacrylate, and the like.", "Additional exemplary acrylates contemplated for use in the practice of the present invention include those described in U.S. Pat.", "No.", "5,717,034, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein.", "Cyanate Ester-Based Resins Cyanate ester monomers contemplated for use in the practice of the present invention contain two or more ring forming cyanate (—O—C≡N) groups which cyclotrimerize to form substituted triazine rings upon heating.", "Because no leaving groups or volatile byproducts are formed during curing of the cyanate ester monomer, the curing reaction is referred to as addition polymerization.", "Suitable polycyanate ester monomers that may be used in the practice of the present invention include, for example, 1,1-bis(4-cyanatophenyl)methane, 1,1-bis(4-cyanatophenyl)ethane, 2,2-bis(4-cyanatophenyl)propane, bis(4-cyanatophenyl)-2,2-butane, 1,3-bis[2-(4-cyanato phenyl)propyl]benzene, bis(4-cyanatophenyl)ether, 4,4′-dicyanatodiphenyl, bis(4-cyanato-3,5-dimethylphenyl)methane, tris(4-cyanatophenyl)ethane, cyanated novolak, 1,3-bis[4-cyanatophenyl-1-(1-methylethylidene)]benzene, cyanated phenoldicyclopentadiene adduct, and the like.", "Polycyanate ester monomers utilized in accordance with the present invention may be readily prepared by reacting appropriate dihydric or polyhydric phenols with a cyanogen halide in the presence of an acid acceptor.", "Monomers that can optionally be combined with polycyanate ester monomer(s) in accordance with the present invention are selected from those monomers which undergo addition polymerization.", "Such monomers include vinyl ethers, divinyl ethers, diallyl ethers, dimethacrylates, dipropargyl ethers, mixed propargyl allyl ethers, monomaleimides, bismaleimides, and the like.", "Examples of such monomers include cyclohexanedimethanol monovinyl ether, trisallylcyanurate, 1,1-bis(4-allyloxyphenyl)ethane, 1,1-bis(4-propargyloxyphenyl)ethane, 1,1-bis(4-allyloxyphenyl-4′-propargyloxyphenyl)ethane, 3-(2,2-dimethyltrimethylene acetal)-1-maleimidobenzene, 2,2,4-trimethylhexamethylene-1,6-bismaleimide, 2,2-bis[4-(4-maleimidophenoxy)phenyl]propane, and the like.", "Additional cyanate esters contemplated for use in the practice of the present invention are well known in the art.", "See, for example, U.S. Pat.", "No.", "5,718,941, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein.", "Silicones Silicones contemplated for use in the practice of the present invention are well known in the art.", "See, for example, U.S. Pat.", "No.", "5,717,034, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein.", "Oxetanes Oxetanes (i.e., 1,3-propylene oxides) are heterocyclic organic compounds with the molecular formula C3H6O, having a four-membered ring with three carbon atoms and one oxygen atom.", "The term oxetane also refers generally to any organic compound containing an oxetane ring.", "See, for example, Burkhard et al., in Angew.", "Chem.", "Int.", "Ed.", "2010, 49, 9052-9067, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein.", "Polyester-Based Resins Polyesters contemplated for use in the practice of the present invention refer to condensation polymers formed by the reaction of polyols (also known as polyhydric alcohols), with saturated or unsaturated dibasic acids.", "Typical polyols used are glycols such as ethylene glycol; acids commonly used are phthalic acid and maleic acid.", "Water, a by-product of esterification reactions, is continuously removed, driving the reaction to completion.", "The use of unsaturated polyesters and additives such as styrene lowers the viscosity of the resin.", "The initially liquid resin is converted to a solid by cross-linking chains.", "This is done by creating free radicals at unsaturated bonds, which propagate to other unsaturated bonds in adjacent molecules in a chain reaction, linking the adjacent chains in the process.", "Polyurethane-Based Resins Polyurethanes contemplated for use in the practice of the present invention refer to polymers composed of a chain of organic units joined by carbamate (urethane) links.", "Polyurethane polymers are formed by reacting an isocyanate with a polyol.", "Both the isocyanates and polyols used to make polyurethanes contain on average two or more functional groups per molecule.", "Polyimide-Based Resins Polyimides contemplated for use in the practice of the present invention refer to polymers composed of a chain of organic units joined by imide linkages (i.e., —C(O)—N(R)—C(O)—).", "Polyimide polymers can be formed by a variety of reactions, i.e., by reacting a dianhydride and a diamine, by the reaction between a dianhydride and a diisocyanate, and the like.", "Melamine-Based Resins Melamines contemplated for use in the practice of the present invention refer to hard, thermosetting plastic materials made from melamine (i.e., 1,3,5-triazine-2,4,6-triamine) and formaldehyde by polymerization.", "In its butylated form, it can be dissolved in n-butanol and/or xylene.", "It can be used to cross-link with other resins such as alkyd, epoxy, acrylic, and polyester resins.", "Urea-Formaldehyde-Based Resins Urea-formaldehydes contemplated for use in the practice of the present invention refers to a non-transparent thermosetting resin or plastic made from urea and formaldehyde heated in the presence of a mild base such as ammonia or pyridine.", "Phenol-Formaldehyde-Based Resins Phenol-formaldehydes contemplated for use in the practice of the present invention refer to synthetic polymers obtained by the reaction of phenol or substituted phenol with formaldehyde.", "Underfill film layers contemplated for use herein typically have a thickness in the range of about 5 μm up to about 200 μm.", "In some embodiments, the film thickness falls in the range of about 5-150 μm.", "In some embodiments, the film thickness falls in the range of about 5-100 μm.", "In some embodiments, the film thickness falls in the range of about 5-75 μm.", "In some embodiments, the film thickness falls in the range of about 5-60 μm.", "Exemplary coating release liners contemplated for use herein include materials which undergo substantially no chemical interaction with the underfill film layer, including such materials as paper or plastic-based film sheets which are used to prevent the underfill film surface from sticking.", "Exemplary materials are plastic based materials such as PET, polyolefin, silicone, and the like.", "Barrier films contemplated for use herein are materials which are substantially impervious to chemical migration into or out of the surface thereof.", "Exemplary barrier films include polyethylene terephthalates, fluoropolyolefins, perfluoropolyolefins, silicone layer(s), and the like.", "Fluoropolyolefins contemplated for use herein include ETFEs (copolymers of ethylene and tetrafluoroethylene), perfluoroalkoxies, PCTFEs (polychloro Teflon films), FEPs (fluorinated ethylene propylene copolymers), PVDF (polyvinylidene difluorides), and the like.", "Barrier films employed in the practice of the present invention typically have a thickness in the range of about 1 nm up to about 200 μm.", "In some embodiments, barrier films employed herein have a thickness in the range of about 10 nm-200 μm.", "In some embodiments, barrier films employed herein have a thickness in the range of about 100 nm-200 μm.", "In some embodiments, barrier films employed herein have a thickness in the range of about 100 nm-100 μm.", "In some embodiments, barrier films employed herein have a thickness in the range of about 50 nm-100 μm.", "In some embodiments, barrier films employed herein have a thickness in the range of about 10-50 μm.", "In some embodiments, barrier films employed herein have a thickness in the range of about 5-50 μm.", "In certain embodiments, invention assemblies further comprise a layer of pressure sensitive adhesive tape on the exposed side of the barrier film.", "See, for example, FIG.", "2.Exemplary pressure sensitive adhesives comprise elastomers based on acrylic polymers, rubber, ethylene-vinyl acetate, nitriles, styrene block copolymers, and the like.", "In some embodiments, invention assemblies comprise: an underfill film layer comprising a resin, a hardener and a filler, a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) coating release liner, and a fluoropolyolefin barrier film, wherein the underfill film undergoes substantially no interaction with the barrier film, and maintains its properties favorable for use in underfill applications.", "In some embodiments, invention assemblies comprise: an underfill film layer comprising a resin, a hardener and a filler, a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) coating release liner, a fluoropolyolefin barrier film, and a pressure sensitive adhesive (PSA) tape on the exposed side of the barrier film, said adhesive comprising elastomers based on acrylic polymers, rubber, ethylene-vinyl acetate, nitriles, styrene block copolymers, and the like, wherein the underfill film undergoes substantially no interaction with the PSA, and maintains its properties favorable for use in underfill applications.", "In some embodiments, invention assemblies comprise: an underfill film layer comprising a resin, a hardener and a filler, a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) coating release liner, a pressure sensitive adhesive (PSA) tape comprising a layer of PSA on a fluoro-polymer backing layer, wherein the underfill film undergoes substantially no interaction with the backing tape, and maintains its properties favorable for use in underfill applications.", "In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, there are provided methods to extend the shelf life of an underfill film layer supported by a coating release liner, said method comprising applying a barrier film to the exposed side of said underfill film layer.", "As described herein, underfill film layers contemplated for use herein comprise one or more thermoset resins.", "As also described in detail herein, barrier films contemplated for use herein are substantially impervious to chemical migration into or out of the surface thereof.", "In accordance with yet another embodiment of the present invention, there are provided methods to extend the worklife of an underfill film layer supported by a coating release liner, said method comprising applying a barrier film to the exposed side of said underfill film layer.", "In accordance with yet another embodiment of the present invention, there are provided articles comprising an underfill film as described herein adhered to a suitable substrate therefor.", "Suitable substrates contemplated for use herein include polyethylene terephthalates, polymethyl methacrylates, polyolefins (e.g., polyethylenes, polypropylenes, and the like), polycarbonates, epoxy resins, polyimides, polyamides, polyesters, glass, Si die with silicon nitride passivation, Si die with polyimide passivation, BT substrates, bare Si, SR4 substrates, SR5 substrates, and the like.", "The adhesion of said underfill film to said substrate in invention articles is typically at least 5 kg/cm2 as tested with SiN die/PI die/SiO2 (size: 3.81×3.81×700 mm3), wherein the die is attached on a BT substrate at 120° C./1 kg force/5 seconds, then cured by ramping the temperature from room temperature to 175° C. over 30 minutes, then held at 175° C. for 5 hrs.", "A variety of articles can be prepared employing invention materials, including, for example, flip chip packages, stacked die, hybrid memory cubes, TSV devices, and the like.", "Various aspects of the present invention are illustrated by the following non-limiting examples.", "The examples are for illustrative purposes and are not a limitation on any practice of the present invention.", "It will be understood that variations and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.", "One of ordinary skill in the art readily knows how to synthesize or commercially obtain the reagents and components described herein.", "Example 1 A first assembly is prepared comprising an acrylate chemistry-based under-fill film (having a thickness of 20-40 μm), between a PET coating release liner and a pressure sensitive adhesive tape (see FIG.", "1).", "The worklife properties of the resulting assembly are then evaluated.", "A second assembly is prepared comprising the same underfill film between a coating release liner and a barrier film, and further comprising a pressure sensitive adhesive tape applied to the exposed surface of the barrier film (see FIG.", "2).", "The worklife properties of the resulting assembly are then evaluated.", "Results with the first and second assemblies are presented in Table 1.TABLE 1 Worklife testing results Format II Items Data unit Initial Day 1 Day 2 Day 7 DSC DSC onset deg C. 163.69 162.97 162.03 164 DSC peak deg C. 170.82 170.88 170.31 170.77 delta T (onset deg C. 7.13 7.91 8.28 6.77 to peak) DSC Delta H J/g 69.17 63.09 66.15 65.44 Worklife testing results Format I Items Data unit Initial Day 1 Day 2 Day 7 DSC DSC onset deg C. 158.16 156.21 155.94 159.94 DSC peak deg C. 166.83 168.78 171.41 179.7 delta T (onset deg C. 8.67 12.57 15.47 19.76 to peak) DSC Delta H J/g 75.71 70.93 61.29 34.19 The results set forth in Table 1 demonstrate that prior art assemblies such as Format I (see FIG.", "1), lacking the presence of a barrier film, show significant material property change during worklife testing.", "For example, the DSC peak temperature up-shifted>10deg C., deltaT increased>2× times, and reaction heat dropped to >50%.", "In contrast (see Format II, FIG.", "2), the underfill film of assemblies prepared using a barrier film show much improved stability.", "Example 2 Additional assemblies were prepared as follows.", "A third assembly is prepared comprising an underfill film between a coating release liner and a polyolefin film (see FIG.", "3).", "The worklife properties of the resulting assembly are then evaluated.", "A fourth assembly is prepared comprising an underfill film between a coating release liner and a barrier film (see FIG.", "4).", "The worklife properties of the resulting assembly are then evaluated.", "Results with the third and fourth assemblies are presented in Table 2.TABLE 2 Worklife testing results Format IV Items Data unit Initial Day 1 Day 2 Day 7 DSC DSC onset deg C. 163.69 162.32 161.09 159.14 DSC peak deg C. 170.82 170.62 170.35 169.11 delta T (onset deg C. 7.13 8.3 9.26 9.97 to peak) DSC Delta H J/g 69.17 65.74 64.23 64.76 Worklife testing results Format III Items Data unit Initial Day 1 Day 2 Day 7 DSC DSC onset deg C. 162.02 163.37 163.37 163.14 DSC peak deg C. 170.35 176.63 176.63 177.87 delta T (onset deg C. 7.12 13.26 12.35 14.73 to peak) DSC Delta H J/g 68.59 47.91 46.47 45.5 The comparison between Format III (see FIG.", "3—lacking a barrier film) and Format IV (FIG.", "4), shows that the underfill material undergoes significant material property change during worklife testing, e.g., the DSC peak temperature up-shifted>7deg C., deltaT increased>2× times, and reaction heat dropped to >30%.", "In contrast, the underfill film in assemblies of Format IV (FIG.", "4), which includes a barrier film, shows much more stability.", "Example 3 Additional assemblies are prepared as follows.", "A fifth assembly is prepared comprising an underfill film between a coating release liner and a pressure sensitive tape (see FIG.", "5).", "This PSA tape is composed of two layers: one layer is PSA layer, the other layer is a polyolefin backing tape.", "The worklife properties of the resulting assembly are then evaluated.", "A sixth assembly is prepared comprising an underfill film between a coating release liner and pressure sensitive tape (see FIG.", "6).", "This PSA tape is composed of two layers: one layer is PSA layer, the other layer fluoro-polymer.", "The worklife properties of the resulting assembly are then evaluated.", "Results with the fifth and sixth assemblies are presented in Table 3.TABLE 3 Accelerated Worklife testing results Format VI Items Data unit Initial Day 1 Day 2 Day 7 DSC DSC onset deg C. 160.64 160.69 159.45 158.58 DSC peak deg C. 166.96 175.31 175.86 180.76 delta T (onset deg C. 6.32 14.62 16.41 22.18 to peak) DSC Delta H J/g 73.29 48.2 47.76 33.1 Accelerated Worklife testing results Format V Items Data unit Initial Day 1 Day 2 Day 7 DSC DSC onset deg C. 160.64 158.12 155.9 128.86 DSC peak deg C. 166.96 177.00 178.52 154.13, 181.62 delta T (onset deg C. 6.32 18.88 22.62 two peaks to peak) DSC Delta H J/g 73.29 43.48 43.22 46.94 The comparison between Format V (see FIG.", "5—lacking a barrier film) and Format VI (FIG.", "6), shows that the underfill material undergoes significant material property change during worklife testing, e.g., the DSC onset temperature down-shifted to <130° C., and the DSC became multiple peaks.", "In contrast, the underfill film in assemblies of Format VI (FIG.", "6), which includes a barrier film, shows much more stability.", "Various modifications of the present invention, in addition to those shown and described herein, will be apparent to those skilled in the art of the above description.", "Such modifications are also intended to fall within the scope of the appended claims.", "Patents and publications mentioned in the specification are indicative of the levels of those skilled in the art to which the invention pertains.", "These patents and publications are incorporated herein by reference to the same extent as if each individual application or publication was specifically and individually incorporated herein by reference.", "The foregoing description is illustrative of particular embodiments of the invention, but is not meant to be a limitation upon the practice thereof.", "The following claims, including all equivalents thereof, are intended to define the scope of the invention." ] ]
Patent_15873087
[ [ "IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS AND DRYING DEVICE FOR IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS", "An image forming apparatus includes an image forming unit to form an image on a recording medium by discharging liquid droplets onto the medium; and a media heater to heat the medium by contacting a rear surface of the medium opposite a surface of the medium on which the image is formed, in which the media heater includes a contact member with a contact surface having a predetermined curvature that the medium contacts, the contact member is a roller member, and the medium closely contacts the contact surface of the contact member across an entire width of the medium in a direction perpendicular to the media conveyance direction." ], [ "1-19.", "(canceled) 20.A drying device comprising: a media heater to heat a medium, wherein the media heater includes a plurality of contact heat members, each heating the medium by contacting the medium with a corresponding contact surface having a corresponding predetermined curvature that the medium contacts, wherein the plurality of contact heat members include: a first contact heat member; and at least two second contact heat members, each configured to contact the medium at an upstream side of the first contact heat member relative to a media conveyance direction, wherein for each second contact heat member amongst the second contact heat members, the contact surface of the second contact heat member has a greater curvature than the contact surface of the first contact heat member.", "21.The drying device according to claim 20, wherein the at least two second contact heat members are disposed in an arc.", "22.The drying device according to claim 20, wherein each of the at least two second contact heat members includes a contact heat surface with a radius R that is equal to or less than 125 mm.", "23.The drying device according to claim 20, wherein each of the first contact heat member and the at least two second contact heat members is a heat roller.", "24.The drying device according to claim 20, wherein the media heater further includes a plurality of hot air blowers configured to blow hot air onto the medium that is contacted and conveyed by the first contact heat member and the second contact heat members.", "25.The drying device according to claim 24, wherein the hot air blowers are disposed in an arc to surrounding the second contact heat members.", "26.An image forming apparatus comprising: an image forming unit to form an image on a medium by discharging liquid droplets onto the medium; and a media heater to heat the medium, wherein the media heater includes a plurality of contact heat members, each heating the medium by contacting the medium with a corresponding contact surface having a corresponding predetermined curvature that the medium contacts, wherein the contact heat members include: a first contact heat member; and at least two second contact heat members, each configured to contact the medium at an upstream side of the first contact heat member relative to a media conveyance direction, wherein for each second contact heat member amongst the second contact heat members, the contact surface of the second contact heat member has a greater curvature than the contact surface of the first contact heat member." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND <EOH>" ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY <EOH>In one embodiment of the disclosure, provided is an image forming apparatus including an image forming unit to form an image on a recording medium by discharging liquid droplets onto the medium; and a media heater to heat the medium by contacting a rear surface of the medium opposite a surface of the medium on which the image is formed, in which the media heater includes a contact member with a contact surface having a predetermined curvature that the medium contacts, the contact member is a roller member, and the medium closely contacts the contact surface of the contact member across an entire width of the medium in a direction perpendicular to the media conveyance direction.", "In another embodiment of the disclosure, there is provided a drying device for the above-described image forming apparatus.", "These and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon consideration of the following description of the preferred embodiments of the present invention when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings." ], [ "CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS The present application claims priority pursuant to 35 U.S.C.", "§ 119(a) from Japanese patent application numbers 2014-208523, 2014-257956, and 2014-247504, filed on Oct. 10, 2014, Dec. 19, 2014, and Dec. 7, 2014, respectively, the entire disclosure of each of which is incorporated by reference herein.", "BACKGROUND Technical Field The present invention relates to a drying device for an image forming apparatus and an image forming apparatus including the drying device.", "Background Art In image forming apparatuses employing a liquid discharging recording method in which a liquid discharge head to discharge liquid droplets is used as a recording head, a drying device is provided to accelerate drying of the liquid droplets impacted on, for example, a recording medium such as a sheet of paper, etc.", "For example, a heat roller having a polygonal shape is contacted against a rear surface of the medium (on which no image is formed), such that ridge-like portions of the heat roller press against the medium locally.", "As a result, wrinkles in the medium on the ridge-like portion are stretched for more effective drying.", "SUMMARY In one embodiment of the disclosure, provided is an image forming apparatus including an image forming unit to form an image on a recording medium by discharging liquid droplets onto the medium; and a media heater to heat the medium by contacting a rear surface of the medium opposite a surface of the medium on which the image is formed, in which the media heater includes a contact member with a contact surface having a predetermined curvature that the medium contacts, the contact member is a roller member, and the medium closely contacts the contact surface of the contact member across an entire width of the medium in a direction perpendicular to the media conveyance direction.", "In another embodiment of the disclosure, there is provided a drying device for the above-described image forming apparatus.", "These and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon consideration of the following description of the preferred embodiments of the present invention when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG.", "1 illustrates principal parts of an exemplary image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG.", "2 is a table showing evaluation results of adherence of a medium to a heat roller when a basis weight of the medium and a radius of the heat roller are changed; FIG.", "3 is a perspective view illustrating adherence of a medium to a contact surface according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG.", "4 is a perspective view illustrating adherence of a medium to a contact surface according to a comparative example of the present invention; FIG.", "5 illustrates a drying device according to a second embodiment of the present invention; FIG.", "6 illustrates a drying device according to a third embodiment of the present invention; FIG.", "7 is a block diagram of a controller of the image forming apparatus; FIG.", "8 is a flowchart showing steps in a process of controlling a heating temperature according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention; FIG.", "9 is a table showing actual exemplary drying heater temperatures by media conveyance speed; FIG.", "10 is a flowchart showing steps in a process of controlling a heating temperature according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention; FIG.", "11 is a table showing actual exemplary drying heater temperature by basis weight of the medium; FIG.", "12 is a flowchart showing steps in a process of controlling a heating temperature according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention; FIG.", "13 is a table showing actual exemplary drying heater temperature by maximum ink adhesion amount; FIG.", "14 is a perspective view of a hot air blower according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention; FIG.", "15 is a perspective view of the hot air blower according to an eighth embodiment of the present invention; FIG.", "16 is a perspective view of the hot air blower according to a ninth embodiment of the present invention; FIG.", "17 is a perspective view of the hot air blower according to a tenth embodiment of the present invention; FIG.", "18 is an enlarged perspective view of the drying device including a plurality of heat rollers according to an eleventh embodiment of the present invention.", "FIG.", "19 is an explanatory partial view of the drying device illustrating a principal part thereof according to a twelfth embodiment of the present invention; FIG.", "20 is an explanatory view of the drying device illustrating a principal part thereof according to a thirteenth embodiment of the present invention; FIG.", "21 is an explanatory view of the drying device illustrating a principal part thereof according to a fourteenth embodiment of the present invention; FIG.", "22 is an explanatory view of the drying device 104 illustrating a principal part thereof according to a fifteenth embodiment of the present invention; FIG.", "23 is a perspective view of the heating member illustrating a sixteenth embodiment of the present invention; FIG.", "24 illustrates a drying device according to a seventeenth embodiment; FIG.", "25 is a block diagram of an exemplary controller section; FIG.", "26 illustrates one example of heat rollers used in heating concerning a number and positions thereof; FIG.", "27 illustrates one example of the number and positions of the heat rollers used in heating; FIG.", "28 illustrates one example of the number and positions of the heat rollers used in heating; FIG.", "29 is a flowchart to control a number of media heating members for use in the seventeenth embodiment; FIG.", "30 is a table showing an actual exemplary media conveyance speed by the number of use heaters; FIG.", "31 is a flowchart of steps in a process to control a number of media heating members for use in an eighteenth embodiment of the present invention; FIG.", "32 is a table showing an actual exemplary basis weight of the medium by the number of use heaters; FIG.", "33 is a flowchart of steps in a process to control a number of media heating members for use in a nineteenth embodiment of the present invention; FIG.", "34 is a table showing an actual exemplary maximum ink adhesion amount by the number of use heaters; and FIG.", "35 illustrates a drying device according to a twentieth embodiment.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described referring to accompanying drawings.", "FIG.", "1 illustrates principal parts of an exemplary image forming apparatus 500.The image forming apparatus is a full-line type inkjet recording apparatus, including an image forming section 101 formed of liquid discharge heads to discharge liquid droplets of a predetermined color to a recording medium or, simply, a medium 110 being a continuous sheet.", "The image forming section 101 includes four full-line type recording heads 111K, 111C, 111M, and 111Y, disposed from upstream in the media conveyance direction to downstream.", "Suffixes of K, C, M, and Y mean a color of black, cyan, magenta, and yellow, respectively.", "Each of the recording heads 111K, 111C, 111M, and 111Y discharges droplets of black (K), cyan (C), magenta (M), or yellow (Y), respectively, to the medium 110 that has been conveyed thereto.", "Colors of ink and the number of the colors are not limited to the above.", "The medium 110 fed out from an original roll 102, is conveyed by a feed roller pair 112 of a conveyance part 103 onto a feed guide unit 113 disposed opposite the image forming section 101, and is further guided and conveyed by the feed guide unit 113.The medium 110 on which an image is formed by the image forming section 101 passes through a drying device 104 according to the present embodiment, is conveyed by a discharge roller pair 114, and is wound up by a wind-up roll 105.The drying device 104 includes a heat roller 121 and a plurality of guide rollers 122.Each of the heat rollers 121 serves as a heating member and a contact member.", "The heat roller 121 is disposed to contact a rear side of the medium 110, opposite a surface on which an image is formed.", "The heat roller 121 includes a circumferential surface including a contact surface 200 having a predetermined curvature that the medium 110 contacts, and the medium 110 closely contacts the contact surface 200 at a contacting area in the media conveyance direction across an entire width of the medium in a direction of the heat roller 121 perpendicular to the media conveyance direction.", "Specifically, the curvature of the circumferential surface of the contact surface 200 of the heat roller 121 is the curvature in which the medium 110 closely contacts the contact surface 200 across an entire width of the medium in a direction perpendicular to the media conveyance direction.", "More specifically, the heat roller 121 is configured to have a radius R that is equal to 75 mm (φ150 mm) or less, when the apparatus employs the medium 110 having a basis weight of less than 100 gsm (gram per square meter or g/m2).", "In addition, the heat roller 121 is configured to have a radius R that is equal to 125 mm (φ250 mm) or less, when the apparatus employs the medium 110 having a basis weight of 100 gsm or greater.", "In this case, the lowest limit of the radius of the heat roller 121 is preferably 30 mm or greater, because a heat source is disposed inside, a certain strength is required for the heat roller 121, and a width that the heat roller 121 presses and heats the medium 110 is preferably longer so as to easily transmit heat to the medium 110.FIG.", "2 is a table showing evaluation results of adherence of the medium 110 to the heat roller 121 when a basis weight of the medium 110 and a radius R of the heat roller 121 are changed.", "Conditions used for evaluation are as follows: Medium: coated paper with 90 gsm and 130 gsm; Media conveyance speed: 50 m/min.", "; Ink: water based ink; Resolution: 1,200×1,200 dpi; Ink adhesion amount: 4.0 μl/inch2 (solid coat); Roller radius: 50 mm, 75 mm, 100 mm, and 125 mm; and Heating temperature: 100° C. Adherence was evaluated under the above conditions.", "When the medium is cockled, if the medium is separated from the heat roller 121 more than 0.1 mm, the heat transfer efficiency drastically decreases.", "Accordingly, as to the adherence property, a laser measuring equipment is used to measure the distance between the medium and the heat roller.", "If the distance from which a thickness of the medium is subtracted, is 0.05 mm or less, it is evaluated that the medium closely, contacts the heat roller.", "As understood from the result, the medium that weighs 90 gsm, closely contacts the heat roller having a radium R=50 mm or 75 mm.", "By contrast, the medium does not closely contact, due to floating of the medium, the heat roller having a radius R that equals 100 mm or 125 mm.", "The medium that weighs 130 gsm closely contacts the heat roller having a radius R=50 mm, 75 mm, 100 mm, or 125 mm.", "Specifically, when the curvature of the contact surface 200 is small or the radius is large as in a comparative example of FIG.", "4, the medium 110 does not closely contact the contact surface 200 at several points in the width direction of the medium 110 that is a perpendicular direction relative to the media conveyance direction in a contact range 201 with the contact surface 200, due to cockling of the medium 110 occurring due to adhesion of the liquid in the image formation.", "As a result, because heat from the contact surface 200 is not transferred or radiation heat alone is transferred in a portion where the medium 110 floats from and does not closely contact the contact surface 200, uneven drying occurs in the width direction of the heat roller perpendicular to the media conveyance direction and drying is not done effectively.", "By contrast, when the curvature of the contact surface 200 is large or the radius is small as illustrated in FIG.", "3 according to the present embodiment, the medium 110 closely contacts the contact surface 200 because the cockling of the medium 110 occurring due to adhesion of the liquid in the image formation is corrected.", "That is, because the cockling is corrected, the medium 110 evenly contacts the contact surface 200 and does not float therefrom.", "With this structure, the medium 110 closely contacts the contact surface 200 across an entire width of the medium in a direction perpendicular to the media conveyance direction, the heat from the contact surface 200 is directly transferred to the medium 110, and the medium 110 can be effectively dried.", "Thus, the medium closely contacts the contact surface across an entire width of the medium in a direction perpendicular to the media conveyance direction in the contact area in the media conveyance direction, heating by the drying device can be performed effectively and liquid droplets adhered to the medium can be swiftly dried.", "Next, a second embodiment according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.", "5.FIG.", "5 illustrates a drying device according to the second embodiment.", "In the present embodiment, instead of the heat roller 121 in the first embodiment, a curved surface heater 131 having a convex curved contact surface is disposed.", "With such a configuration, the cockling of the medium 110 due to adhesion of the liquid in the image formation is corrected and the medium 110 closely contacts the curved contact surface of the convex curved surface heater 131, so that the heating is performed as effectively as the first embodiment of the present invention.", "It is noted that the curvature of the curved surface heater 131 does not need to be constant, and can be within a range such that the medium 110 closely contacts the contact surface 200 across an entire range of the width direction perpendicular to the media conveyance direction in the contact area in the media conveyance direction of the medium 110.Next, a third embodiment according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.", "6, which illustrates a drying device according to the third embodiment.", "In the third embodiment, two heat rollers 121A, 121B are disposed along the media conveyance direction.", "The number of heaters is not limited to two and can be three or more.", "The configuration as described above may dry the medium 110 more efficiently in a short time of period.", "Herein, the contact area of the medium 110 relative to one heat roller ranges 90 degrees or less in the circumferential direction of the heat roller and within one fourth or below of the full length of the circumference.", "Namely, an angle formed by a tangent line passing a contact start point where the medium 110 starts to contact a circumferential surface of the heat roller and a tangent line passing a contact end point where the medium 110 separates from the circumferential surface of the heat roller may only be 90 degrees or less.", "The two or more heat rollers are disposed, so that a direction changes more than 180 degrees.", "The temperature of the heat roller or the curved surface heater in each of the embodiments is detected by a temperature sensor and controlled to a predetermined set temperature by a feedback controller.", "Next, an outline of a controller section in the image forming apparatus 500 will be described with reference to FIG.", "7.FIG.", "7 is a block diagram of the controller section of the image forming apparatus 500.The controller section includes a main controller 501 including a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, an I/O, and the like.", "The main controller 501 is sent image data from an image input part 502 to input information related to a print image from an external source, setting data of media conveyance speed from a speed setting part 503, and information related to the basis weight (g/m2) of the medium from a media setting part 504.In addition, the image data from the image input part 502 is sent to a liquid adhesion amount calculator 505, which calculates a liquid adhesion amount as a result of printing the image, and the data is sent to the main controller 501.The main controller 501 causes a conveyance control part 512 to drive rotatably the feed roller pair 112 and the discharge roller pair 114 of the conveyance part 103, to thereby convey the medium 110 opposing to the image forming section 101.Then, based on the image data of the image input part 502, the main controller 501 causes a head control part 511 that drives the recording head 111 of the image forming section 101 to discharge liquid droplets and form an image on the medium 110.In addition, the main controller 501 reads out data of heating temperature from a temperature sensor 506 that detects a temperature by the heating member of the drying device 104, and controls a heating temperature control part 513 so as to control the heating temperature by the heat roller 121 or the curved surface heater 131 of the drying device 104 at a predetermined temperature, thereby drying the medium 110 on which the image has been formed.", "Next, referring to FIG.", "8, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described.", "The main controller 501 determines whether or not a media conveyance speed V set by the speed setting part 503 is a predetermined speed V1 (in step S11).", "When the media conveyance speed V is equal to the predetermined speed V1 (S12), the heating temperature is set to a temperature T1.By contrast, when the media conveyance speed V is not equal to the predetermined speed V1, the main controller 501 determines whether or not the media conveyance speed V is equal to another predetermined speed V2 (V1<V2) (S13).", "Here, when the media conveyance speed V is equal to another predetermined speed V2, the heating temperature of the heat roller 121 is set at a temperature T2 which is higher than T1 (T1<T2) (S14), and the heat roller 121 is controlled.", "By contrast, when the media conveyance speed V is not equal to the predetermined speed V2, that is, when the media conveyance speed V is equal to further another predetermined speed V3 (V2<V3), the heating temperature of the heat roller 121 is set at a temperature T3 which is higher than T2 (T2<T3) (S15).", "As illustrated in FIG.", "9, when the media conveyance speed (printing speed) V is equal to 10 m/min, the heating temperature (that is, the temperature of the dryer heater) is set to 60° C. Similarly, when the media conveyance speed V is equal to 20 m/min, the heating temperature is set to 80° C. Further similarly, when the media conveyance speed V is equal to 30 m/min, the heating temperature is set to 100° C. Specifically, as the conveyance speed of the medium 110 increases, the time to contact the heat roller 121 shortens, and the time to dry the medium 110 also shortens.", "Thus, to reliably dry the liquid droplets impacted on the medium 110, the heating temperature of the heat roller 121 is raised.", "When the media conveyance speed is equal to the predetermined speed or greater, the heating temperature of the media heating member is raised more than the case in which the media conveyance speed is less than the predetermined speed, so that the drying can be performed reliably.", "Next, referring to FIG.", "10, a fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described.", "The main controller 501 determines whether or not a basis weight G of the medium set by the media setting part 504 is less than a predetermined amount G1 (G<G1) (in step S21).", "Herein, when the basis weight G of the medium is less than the predetermined amount G1, the heating temperature of the heat roller 121 is set to a temperature T11 (S22).", "By contrast, when the basis weight G of the medium is not less than the predetermined amount G1, the main controller 501 determines whether or not the basis weight G of the medium is the predetermined amount G1 or more and less than a predetermined amount G2 (G1≤G<G2) (S23).", "Herein, when the basis weight G of the medium is the predetermined amount G1 or more and less than the predetermined amount G2 (G1≤G<G2), the heating temperature of the heat roller 121 is set to a temperature T12 (T11<T12) (S24).", "By contrast, when the basis weight G of the medium is not the predetermined amount G1 or more and less than the predetermined amount G2 (G1≤G<G2), that is, when the basis weight G of the medium is the predetermined amount G2 or more, the heating temperature of the heat roller 121 is set to a temperature T13 (T12<T13) (S25).", "For example, as illustrated in FIG.", "11, when the basis weight G of the medium is less than 60 gsm, the heating temperature (that is, the temperature of the dryer heater) is set to 60° C. Similarly, when 60 gsm or more, and less than 100 gsm, the heating temperature is set to 80° C. Further similarly, when 100 gsm or more, the heating temperature is set to 100° C. In short, when the basis weight of the medium 110, or the thickness thereof, increases, more energy is required to heat by the heat roller 121.Thus, to reliably dry the liquid droplets impacted on the medium 110, the heating temperature of the heat roller 121 is raised.", "When the basis weight per square meters (g/m2) of the medium is equal to the predetermined amount or greater, the heating temperature of the media heating member is raised more than the case in which the basis weight is less than the predetermined amount, so that the drying can be performed reliably even though the medium has a greater thickness.", "Next, referring to a flowchart of FIG.", "12, a sixth embodiment of the present invention will be described.", "The main controller 501 determines whether or not a liquid adhesion amount D calculated by a liquid adhesion amount calculator 505 is less than a predetermined amount Dl (D<D1) (S31).", "Herein, when the liquid adhesion amount D is less than the predetermined amount D1, the heating temperature of the heat roller 121 is set to a temperature T21 (S32) and is controlled.", "By contrast, when the liquid adhesion amount D is not less than the predetermined amount D1, the main controller 501 determines whether or not the liquid adhesion amount D is equal to or greater than the predetermined amount D1 and less than a predetermined amount D2 (D1≤D<D2) (S33).", "Herein, when the liquid adhesion amount D is equal to or greater than the predetermined amount D1 and less than the predetermined amount D2 (D1≤D<D2), the heating temperature of the heat roller 121 is set to a temperature T22 (T21<T22) (S34) and is controlled.", "By contrast, when the liquid adhesion amount D is not equal to or greater than the predetermined amount D1 and less than the predetermined amount D2 (D1≤D<D2), that is, when the liquid adhesion amount D equals the predetermined amount D or greater, the heating temperature of the heat roller 121 is set to a temperature T23 (T22<T23) (S35) and is controlled.", "For example, as illustrated in FIG.", "13, when a maximum ink adhesion amount D (μl/inch2) is less than 2.0, the heating temperature of the heat roller 121 is set to 60° C. Similarly, when the maximum ink adhesion amount D is equal to 2.0 or greater and less than 3.0, the heating temperature is set to 80° C. Further similarly, when 3.0 or greater, the heating temperature is set to 100° C. In short, when the liquid adhesion amount relative to the medium 110 increases, drying the medium 110 by the heat roller 121 requires more energy.", "Thus, to reliably dry the liquid droplets impacted on the medium 110, the heating temperature of the heat roller 121 is raised.", "When the liquid adhesion amount relative to the medium is equal to the predetermined amount or greater, the heating temperature of the media heating member is raised more than the case in which the liquid adhesion amount is less than the predetermined amount, so that the drying can be performed reliably even though the liquid adhesion amount increases.", "The description above is based on rules that T1=T11=T21, T2=T12=T22, and T3=T13=T23; however, these temperatures may be varied.", "Further, without limiting to the three-step control, the temperature may be controlled in two or in four or more steps.", "Next, referring to FIG.", "14, a seventh embodiment of the present invention will be described.", "FIG.", "14 is a perspective view of the heating member illustrating the seventh embodiment of the present invention.", "In the present embodiment, in addition to the curved surface heater 131 being a contact portion of the media heating member, pressing rollers 123 to press the medium 110 against the contact surface 200 of the curved surface heater 131 are disposed.", "Then, a hot air blower 141 is disposed to blow the hot air to an area of the medium 110 heated by the contact surface 200 of the curved surface heater 131.With such a configuration, the medium 110 is heated by the curved surface heater 131 and heated by the hot air blown from the hot air blower 141.At the same time, the temperature boundary layer that evaporated liquid solvent forms at a surface of the medium 110 thins out and heat transfer is accelerated.", "With this structure, the medium 110 can be dried more effectively.", "It is preferred that the hot air blown off from the hot air blower 141 might blow at a relative speed of 20 m/s or more to the surface of the medium 110.At the same time, the temperature boundary layer that evaporated liquid solvent forms on the surface of the medium 110 can be removed securely and the heat transfer is accelerated.", "Next, an eighth embodiment according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.", "15.FIG.", "15 is a perspective view of the heating member illustrating the eighth embodiment of the present invention.", "In the present embodiment, a heat roller 121 is disposed as a contact member of the media heating member.", "The other structure of the eighth embodiment is identical to that in the seventh embodiment.", "Next, referring to FIG.", "16, a ninth embodiment of the present invention will be described.", "FIG.", "16 is a perspective view of the heating member illustrating the ninth embodiment of the present invention.", "In the present embodiment, the hot air blower 141 is disposed to blow off hot air toward upstream in the media conveyance direction.", "Namely, the hot air blows in the counter direction relative to the media conveyance direction.", "Next, a tenth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.", "17.FIG.", "17 is a perspective view of the heating member illustrating the tenth embodiment of the present invention.", "In the present embodiment, a plurality of heat rollers 121A, 121B and a plurality of hot air blowers 141A, 141B are disposed along the media conveyance direction.", "Drying of the medium can be accelerated by heating and hot-air blowing at multiple positions.", "It is preferred that a radius Ra of an upstream side heat roller 121A and a radius Rb of a downstream heat roller 121B have a relation of Ra<Rb from the viewpoint of reliably correcting the cockling of the medium and increasing heat amount (or the contact area and time period) by the small-radius heat roller from a rear side of the medium.", "This relation is preferably retained between three or more heating members.", "FIG.", "18 is an enlarged perspective view of the drying device 104 including a plurality of heat rollers 121A to 121D according to an eleventh embodiment of the present invention.", "It is noted that the heat rollers 121A to 121D can be generally and collectively referred to as the heat roller 121 when used indiscriminately.", "The drying device 104 further includes a plurality of guide rollers 122A to 122D.", "In the present embodiment, a radius R of each of the heat rollers 121A, 121B, 121C, and 121D is defined as R1, R2, R3, and R4 (R1<R2<R3<R4), respectively, and the radius R of the heat roller increases toward downstream in the conveyance direction.", "Accordingly, in the media conveyance direction, the heat rollers 121A, 121B, 121C, and 121D sequentially disposed from upstream each include a sequentially decreasing curvature.", "With this configuration, the medium 110 sent into the drying device 104 contacts a circumferential surface of the heat roller 121A with a greatest curvature, the cockling thereof is corrected along the circumferential shape of the heat roller 121A, and the medium 110, a rear side of which the heat roller 121A closely contacts, is heated and dried.", "In this state, because the liquid on the medium 110 is dried to a certain degree, the cockling recovered after passing through the heat roller 121A becomes smaller than in an initial time.", "Thereafter, the medium 110 contacts a circumferential surface of the heat roller 121E with a second greatest curvature, the cockling thereof is corrected along the circumferential shape of the heat roller 121B, and the medium 110, a rear side of which the heat roller 121B closely contacts, is heated and dried.", "In this case, because the curvature of the heat roller 121B is smaller than that of the heat roller 121A, the contact time period with the medium 110 is longer, thereby accelerating heat transfer and drying.", "In this step, because the liquid of the medium 110 is further dried, the cockling recovered after passing through the heat roller 121B becomes smaller than in the previous step (after passing through the heat roller 121A).", "Thereafter, the medium 110 contacts a circumferential surface of the heat roller 121C with a third greatest curvature, the cockling thereof is corrected along the circumferential shape of the heat roller 121C, and the medium 110, a rear side of which the heat roller 121C closely contacts, is heated and dried.", "In this case, because the curvature of the heat roller 121C is smaller than that of the heat roller 121B, the contact time period with the medium 110 is longer, thereby accelerating heat transfer and drying.", "In this step, because the liquid of the medium 110 is further dried, the cockling recovered after passing through the heat roller 121C becomes smaller than in the previous step (after passing through the heat roller 121B).", "Thereafter, the medium 110 contacts a circumferential surface of the heat roller 121D with a greatest curvature, the cockling thereof is corrected along the circumferential shape of the heat roller 121D, and the medium 110, a rear side of which the heat roller 121D closely contacts, is heated and dried.", "In this case, because the curvature of the heat roller 121D is smaller than that of the heat roller 121C, the contact time period with the medium 110 is longer, thereby accelerating heat transfer and drying.", "The cockling is eliminated in this step after passing through the heat roller 141D.", "Thus, by providing a plurality of contact members with a curvature sequentially reducing toward downstream in the media conveyance direction, cockling is reliably reduced and drying is performed effectively.", "In the present embodiment, a case in which all of the plurality of contact members have different curvatures is explained; however, among two contact members that the medium contacts sequentially in the conveyance direction, the curvature of the downstream contact member may only be smaller than that of the upstream contact member.", "For example, in the present embodiment, the heat rollers 121A and 121B, the heat rollers 121B and 121C, or alternatively, the heat rollers 121C and 121D may have the same curvature.", "In addition, when the medium 110 used in the present embodiment is a continuous sheet, because an entire width of the rear surface of the medium 110 contacts the heat rollers 121, extension and contraction in the media width direction (that is, the direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction) due to heating can be suppressed by the friction, so that difference in the extension and contraction between a printing portion (liquid adhering part) and a non-printing portion (no liquid adhering part) serves as an internal stress.", "However, because restriction in the media width direction is once released between the heat roller 121 and the next heat roller 121, the internal stress due to difference in the extension and contraction is moderated and is uniformed when contacting the next heat roller 121, thereby accelerating correction effect of the cockling.", "Next, a twelfth embodiment according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.", "19.FIG.", "19 is an explanatory partial view illustrating a principal part of the drying device according to the twelfth embodiment of the present invention.", "In the present embodiment, the curved surface heaters 131A, 131B, instead of the heat roller, are disposed as contact members serving as media heating members from upstream along the media conveyance direction.", "The curvature of the contact surface of the curved surface heater 131B disposed downstream is smaller than that of the upstream curved surface heater 131A.", "In the present embodiment, because a cut sheet is used as a medium 210, a plurality of feed rollers 143 are disposed at an entrance side and an exit side of the curved surface heaters 131A, 131B.", "With this configuration, the medium 210 on which a liquid is adhered and an image 300 is formed contacts a contact surface 200 of the curved surface heater 131A, and the cockling is corrected after the shape of the contact surface of the curved surface heater 131A, and is heated and dried by the close contact with a rear surface of the medium 210.In this state, because the liquid on the medium 210 is dried to a certain degree, the cockling recovered after passing through the curved surface heater 131A is reduced.", "Thereafter, the medium 210 contacts a contact surface of the curved surface heater 131B, having a relatively large curvature, and the cockling is corrected after the shape of the contact surface of the curved surface heater 131B, and is heated and dried by the close contact with a rear surface of the medium 210.In this case, because the curvature of the curved surface heater 131B is smaller than that of the curved surface heater 131A, the contact time period with the medium 210 is longer, thereby accelerating heat transfer and drying.", "In this step, because the liquid of the medium 210 is further dried, the cockling recovered after passing through the curved surface heater 131B becomes smaller than in the previous step (after passing through the curved surface heater 131A).", "Thus, by providing a plurality of contact members with a curvature sequentially reducing toward downstream in the media conveyance direction, cockling is reliably reduced and drying is performed effectively.", "It is preferred that the contact surface of each of the curved surface heaters 131A, 131B be formed of part of the circumference having a radius R that equals 125 mm or less when using a medium with a basis weight of 100 gsm or more, and a radius R=75 mm or less when using a medium with a basis weight of less than 100 gsm.", "However, the radius R does not need to be constant, and the maximum curvature may only correspond to R=125 mm or the radius R=75 mm or less.", "The radius R=50 mm or less is more preferable from the view of cockling correction.", "When the medium is cockled, if the medium is separated from the contact surface or heating surface of the contact member more than 0.1 mm, the heat transfer efficiency drastically decreases.", "When the basis weight is equal to 100 gsm or more, if the R=125 mm or 100 mm, the medium 210 closely contacts the contact surface.", "When the basis weight is less than 100 gsm, the medium 210 closely contacts the contact surface when the R=75 mm or 50 mm.", "For example, relative to the coated paper having a basis weight of 90 gsm, when the curvature is R50, the distance between the coated paper and the heating surface becomes 0.02 mm or less.", "Next, a thirteenth embodiment according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.", "20.FIG.", "20 is an explanatory view of the drying device 104 illustrating a principal part according to the thirteenth embodiment of the present invention.", "In the present embodiment, heat rollers 121A, 121B are disposed in this order each as a contact member to construct a media heating member from upstream along the media conveyance direction.", "The curvature of the contact surface of the heat roller 121B disposed downstream is smaller than that of the upstream heat roller 121A.", "In the present embodiment, because a cut sheet is used as a medium 210, a plurality of feed rollers 143 are disposed at an entrance side and an exit side of the curved surface heaters 131A and 131B.", "With this configuration, the medium 210 contacts a circumferential surface of the heat roller 121A with a relatively greater curvature, the cockling thereof is corrected after the circumferential shape of the heat roller 121A, and the medium 210, a rear side of which the heat roller 121A closely contacts, is heated and dried.", "In this step, because the liquid on the medium 210 is dried to a certain degree, the cockling recovered after passing through the heat roller 121A becomes smaller than in an earlier time.", "Thereafter, the medium 210 contacts a circumferential surface of the heat roller 121B with a relatively small curvature, the cockling thereof is corrected after the circumferential shape of the heat roller 121B, and the medium 210, a rear side of which the heat roller 121B closely contacts, is heated and dried.", "In this case, because the curvature of the heat roller 121B is smaller than that of the heat roller 121A, the contact time period with the medium 210 is longer, thereby accelerating heat transfer and drying.", "In this step, because the liquid of the medium 210 is further dried, the cockling recovered after passing through the heat roller 121B becomes smaller than in the previous step (after passing through the heat roller 121A).", "Thus, by providing a plurality of contact members with a curvature sequentially reducing toward downstream in the media conveyance direction, cockling is reliably reduced and drying is performed effectively.", "It is preferred that the diameter φ of the heat rollers 121A, 121B equal 250 mm or less when using a medium with a basis weight of 100 gsm or more, and the diameter φ thereof equal 150 or less when using a medium with a basis weight of less than 100 gsm.", "The radius R=50 mm or less is more preferable from the view of cockling correction.", "In addition, as to the curvature, it is preferable that the diameter φ is equal to 100 mm or less from the point of cockling correction.", "When the roller width is 589 mm, the diameter φ is preferably 30 mm or more from the point of strength.", "Next, a fourteenth embodiment according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.", "21.FIG.", "21 is an explanatory view of the drying device 104 illustrating a principal part thereof according to the fourteenth embodiment of the present invention.", "In the present embodiment, a plurality of hot air blowers 141 is disposed to blow the hot air to an area of the medium 210 heated by the contact surface of each of the curved surface heaters 131A, 131B.", "With such a configuration, the medium 210 is heated by the curved surface heaters 131A, 131B and heated by the hot air blown from the hot air blower 141.At the same time, the temperature boundary layer that evaporated liquid solvent forms on a surface of the medium 210 thins out and heat transfer is accelerated.", "With this structure, the medium 210 can be dried more effectively.", "It is preferred that the hot air blown from the hot air blower 141 blow at a relative speed of 20 m/s or more relative to the medium 210 on the surface of the medium 210.At the same time, the temperature boundary layer that evaporated liquid solvent forms on a surface of the medium 210 can be removed securely and the heat transfer is accelerated.", "Next, a fifteenth embodiment according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.", "22.FIG.", "22 is an explanatory view of the drying device 104 illustrating a principal part thereof according to the fifteenth embodiment of the present invention.", "In the present embodiment, a plurality of hot air blowers 141 is disposed to blow the hot air to an area of the medium 110 heated by the contact surface (or the circumferential surface) of each of the heat rollers 121A to 121D.", "With such a configuration, the medium 110 is heated by the heat rollers 121A to 121D and by the air blown from the hot air blower 141.At the same time, the temperature boundary layer that evaporated liquid solvent forms on a surface of the medium 110 thins out and heat transfer is accelerated.", "With this structure, the medium 110 can be dried more effectively.", "It is preferred that the hot air blown from the hot air blower 141 blow at a relative speed of 20 m/s or more relative to the medium 210 on the surface of the medium 110.With this structure, the temperature boundary layer that evaporated liquid solvent forms at a surface of the medium 110 can be removed securely and the heat transfer is accelerated.", "Next, a sixteenth embodiment according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.", "23.FIG.", "23 is a perspective view of the heating member illustrating the sixteenth embodiment of the present invention.", "In the present embodiment, a plurality of heat rollers 121A to 121J and a plurality of hot air blowers 141 to 141J are disposed along the media conveyance direction.", "These plural heat rollers and hot air blowers are circularly arranged.", "Herein, a total ten heating members and a toner ten hot air blowers are provided; however, the number is not limited to ten and can be more than 10, and numbers from three to nine are selected appropriately.", "As described above, the contact area of one heat roller ranges 90 degrees or less in the media conveyance direction, to thereby achieve a reliable heating and direction change while saving a space.", "With such a structure, a plurality of heat rollers and hot air blowers can be disposed in a reduced space and drying effect can be improved.", "In addition, as described above, an entire width of the rear surface of the medium 110 closely contacts the heat rollers 121, thereby suppressing extension and contraction in the media width direction due to heat.", "Accordingly, a difference in the extension and contraction between an image forming area and a non-printing area serves as an internal stress.", "However, because restriction in the media width direction is once released at a position 207 between the heat roller 121 and the next heat roller 121, the internal stress due to difference in the extension and contraction is moderated.", "As a result, when the medium 110 contacts the next heat roller 121, the difference in the extension and contraction is further uniformed.", "Thereby, correction effect of the cockling is accelerated.", "Next, a seventeenth embodiment according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.", "24.FIG.", "24 illustrates a drying device 104 according to the seventeenth embodiment.", "In the present embodiment, six heat rollers 121A to 121F are disposed in a circle along the media conveyance direction.", "The number of heaters is not limited to six and can be two to five or more than seven.", "Referring to FIG.", "25, a controlling section of the preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described.", "FIG.", "25 is a block diagram of an exemplary controller section.", "The controller section according to the present embodiment includes a roller selector 514 serving as a selector to select a heat roller to be used for heating the medium among the plurality of heat rollers of the drying device 104.Herein, the roller selector 514 selects a heat roller for use in accordance with a media conveyance speed as a printing condition.", "To be more specific, the roller selector 514 determines a number of use heat rollers (or a number of contact members) and a position thereof according to preset printing conditions, and selects heat rollers matching with the printing conditions.", "Other parts and components are the same as the controlling section illustrated with reference to FIG.", "7, and therefore, a further explanation will be omitted.", "Next, referring to FIGS.", "26 to 28, one example of the number of the heat rollers used in heating and disposed positions thereof will be described.", "FIGS.", "26 to 28 illustrate examples of drying devices 104.Heat-generating heat rollers in operation in FIGS.", "26 to 28 are indicated by hatching.", "FIG.", "26 shows that all heat rollers 121A to 121F are used for heat generation.", "FIG.", "27 shows that among six heat rollers 121A to 121F, four heat rollers 121A, and 121C to 121E are caused to generate heat.", "FIG.", "28 shows that, of six heat rollers 121A to 121F, two heat rollers 121A, and 121E are caused to generate heat.", "The numbers and positions of the heat rollers used for heating are not limited to the above examples.", "Next, a heating control of the controlling section according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to a flowchart of FIG.", "29.The main controller 501 determines whether or not a media conveyance speed V set by the speed setting part 503 is a predetermined speed V13 (in step S41).", "When the media conveyance speed V equals the predetermined speed V13, the number of heat rollers 121 is set to six, and causes the heat rollers 121A to 121F to generate heat as illustrated in FIG.", "26 (S42).", "By contrast, when the media conveyance speed V is not equal to the predetermined speed V13, the main controller 501 determines whether or not the media conveyance speed V is a predetermined speed V12 (V12<V<V13) (S43).", "When the media conveyance speed V equals the predetermined speed V12, the number of heat rollers 121 is set to four, and causes the heat rollers 121A, and 121C to 121E to generate heat as illustrated in FIG.", "27 (S44).", "By contrast, when the media conveyance speed V is not equal to the predetermined speed V12 and is equal to a predetermined speed V11 (V11<V<V12), the number of heat rollers 121 is set to two, and causes the heat rollers 121A, and 121E to generate heat as illustrated in FIG.", "28 (S45).", "As illustrated in FIG.", "30, when the media conveyance speed (printing speed) V is equal to 30 m/min, the number of heat rollers to be used (that is, “number of heaters used” in FIG.", "30) is set to six.", "Similarly, when the media conveyance speed V is equal to 20 m/min, the number of heat rollers is set to four.", "Further similarly, when the media conveyance speed V is equal to 10 m/min, the number of heat rollers is set to two.", "Specifically, as the conveyance speed of the medium 110 increases, the time to contact the heat roller 121 shortens, and the time to dry the medium 110 also shortens.", "Thus, to reliably dry the liquid, the number of heat rollers to be used for heating is increased.", "On the other hand, as the conveyance speed of the medium 110 decreases, the time to contact the heat roller 121 lengthens, so that the medium 110 is dried excessively.", "To prevent an excessive drying, the number of heat rollers to be used is reduced.", "Thus, by changing the number of media heating members according to the media conveyance speed, the excessive drying is prevented and the drying is reliably performed.", "Next, referring to a flowchart of FIG.", "31, an eighteenth embodiment of the present invention will be described.", "The main controller 501 determines whether or not a basis weight G of the medium set by the media setting part 504 is equal to or greater than a predetermined amount G13 (G13≤G) (in step S51).", "When the basis weight G of the medium is equal to or greater than a predetermined amount G13, the number of heat rollers 121 is set to six, and the main controller 501 causes the heat rollers 121A to 121F to generate heat as illustrated in FIG.", "26 (S52).", "By contrast, when the basis weight G of the medium is not equal to or greater than the predetermined amount G13, the main controller 501 determines whether or not the basis weight G of the medium is equal to the predetermined amount G12 or greater and less than the predetermined amount G13 (G12≤G<G13) (S53).", "When the basis weight G of the medium is equal to the predetermined amount G12 or greater and less than the predetermined amount G13 (G12≤G<G13), the number of heat rollers 121 is set to four, and the main controller 501 causes the heat rollers 121A, and 121C to 121E to generate heat as illustrated in FIG.", "27 (S54).", "When the basis weight G of the medium is not equal to the predetermined amount G12 or greater and less than the predetermined amount G13 (G12≤G<G13), specifically, when the basis weight G of the medium is less than the predetermined amount G12, the number of heat rollers 121 is set to two, and the main controller 501 causes the heat rollers 121A, and 121E to generate heat as illustrated in FIG.", "28 (S55).", "For example, as illustrated in FIG.", "32, when the basis weight G of the medium is equal to and greater than 100 gsm, the number of heat rollers is set to six.", "Similarly, when 60 gsm≤G<100 gsm, the number of heat rollers for use is set to four.", "Further similarly, when G<100 gsm, the number of heat rollers is set to two.", "In short, when the basis weight of the medium 110, or the thickness thereof, increases, more energy is required for heating by the heat roller 121.Thus, to reliably dry the liquid impacted on the medium, the number of heat rollers 121 to be used for heating is increased.", "On the other hand, when the basis weight of the medium 110, or the thickness thereof, decreases, necessary calories also lessen, so that it is needed to prevent an excessive drying.", "To prevent an excessive drying, the number of heat rollers to be used is reduced.", "Thus, by changing the number of media heating members according to the basis weight of the medium, the excessive drying is prevented and the drying is reliably performed.", "Next, referring to a flowchart of FIG.", "33, a nineteenth embodiment of the present invention will be described.", "The main controller 501 determines whether or not a liquid adhesion amount D calculated by the liquid adhesion amount calculator 505 is equal to or greater than a predetermined amount D13 (D13≤D) (in step S61).", "When the liquid adhesion amount D is equal to or greater than the set predetermined amount D13, the number of heat rollers to be used for heating is set to six, and the main controller 501 causes the heat rollers 121A to 121F to generate heat as illustrated in FIG.", "26 (S62).", "By contrast, when the liquid adhesion amount D is not equal to or greater than the set predetermined amount D13, the main controller 501 determines whether or not the liquid adhesion amount D is equal to or greater than the predetermined amount D12 and less than the predetermined amount D13 (D12≤D<D13) (S63).", "When the liquid adhesion amount D is equal to or greater than the set predetermined amount D12 and less than the predetermined amount D13 (D12≤D<D13), the number of heat rollers 121 to be used for heating is set to four, and the main controller 501 causes the heat rollers 121A, and 121C to 121E to generate heat as illustrated in FIG.", "27 (S64).", "By contrast, when the liquid adhesion amount D is not equal to or greater than the set predetermined amount D12 and less than the predetermined amount D13, that is, the liquid adhesion amount D is less than the predetermined amount D12, the main controller 501 sets the number of heat rollers 121 to be used for heating to four, and causes the heat rollers 121A, and 121E to generate heat as illustrated in FIG.", "28 (S65).", "For example, as illustrated in FIG.", "34, when the liquid adhesion amount (or the maximum adhesion amount) D [μl/inch2] relative to the medium is equal to or greater than 3.0, the number of heat rollers to be used for heating is set to six.", "Similarly, when 2.0≤D <3.0, the number of heat rollers for use is set to four.", "Further similarly, when D<2.0, the number of heat rollers is set to two.", "In short, when the liquid adhesion amount relative to the medium 110 increases, drying the medium 110 by the heat roller 121 requires more energy.", "Thus, to reliably dry the liquid impacted on the medium, the number of heat rollers 121 to be used for heating is increased.", "On the other hand, when the liquid adhesion amount relative to the medium 110 decreases, necessary calories for heating reduce, so that the excessive drying needs to be prevented.", "To prevent the excessive drying, the number of heat rollers 121 to be used for heating is reduced.", "Thus, by changing the number of media heating members according to the liquid adhesion amount relative to the medium, the excessive drying is prevented and the drying is reliably performed.", "Printing conditions are divided into three steps in the above embodiments; however, the number of heat rollers can be controlled by dividing the printing condition into two steps or more than four steps.", "Next, a twentieth embodiment according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.", "35.FIG.", "35 illustrates a drying device according to the twentieth embodiment.", "In the present embodiment, instead of the heat rollers 121A to 121F according to the ninth embodiment, curved surface heaters 131A to 131F are disposed in a circle.", "Even though such media heating members are used, the heating and drying control as described in the ninth to eleventh embodiments can be performed.", "Each of the above embodiments may be combined each other on a consistent basis.", "The term “sheet” means a substantially same matter as meant by recorded medium, recording medium, recording sheet, and the like, and the term “image formation” means a substantially same matter as meant by recording, printing, image printing, and the like.", "The term “image forming apparatus” means an apparatus to perform image formation by jetting liquid droplets to various media.", "The term “image formation” means not only forming images with letters or figures having meaning to the medium, but also forming images without meaning such as patterns to the medium (and simply jetting the droplets to the medium).", "The term “image” is not limited to a plane two-dimensional one, but also includes a three-dimensional one, and the image formed by three-dimensionally from the 3D figure itself.", "Further, the image forming apparatus includes, otherwise limited in particular, any of a serial-type image forming apparatus and a line-type image forming apparatus.", "Additional modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings.", "It is therefore to be understood that, within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced other than as specifically described herein." ] ]
Patent_15873088
[ [ "Providing State Storage in a Processor for System Management Mode", "In one embodiment, the present invention includes a processor that has an on-die storage such as a static random access memory to store an architectural state of one or more threads that are swapped out of architectural state storage of the processor on entry to a system management mode (SMM).", "In this way communication of this state information to a system management memory can be avoided, reducing latency associated with entry into SMM.", "Embodiments may also enable the processor to update a status of executing agents that are either in a long instruction flow or in a system management interrupt (SMI) blocked state, in order to provide an indication to agents inside the SMM.", "Other embodiments are described and claimed." ], [ "1.A processor comprising: a plurality of cores formed on a single semiconductor die; decode circuitry of at least one core to decode instructions of one or more threads; execution circuitry of the at least one core to perform out-of-order execution of the instructions of the one or more threads; the execution circuitry to execute system management mode (SMM) handler code from a designated system memory address region to perform system management operations in response to a system management interrupt (SMI); save/restore circuitry to save at least a portion of a first execution state of a first thread to a cache prior to entering the SMM; and the execution circuitry to execute a resume instruction included in the SMM handler code to cause the save/restore circuitry to restore the at least a portion of the first execution state from the cache upon exiting the SMM; wherein the processor does not invalidate the cache responsive to entering or existing the 2.The processor of claim 1 wherein the portion of the first execution state of the first thread is to be saved in cache lines which map to a system management random access memory (SMRAM) address region.", "3.The processor of claim 1 wherein the designated system memory address region maps to a system management random access memory (SMRAM).", "4.The processor of claim 1 further comprising: fetch circuitry to fetch the instructions of the one or more threads.", "5.The processor of claim 1 further comprising: an integrated memory controller to couple the plurality of cores to a system memory.", "6.The processor of claim 1 further comprising: a last level cache (LLC) shared by the plurality of cores.", "7.A method comprising: executing, in execution circuitry of a processor, system management mode (SMM) handler code from a designated system memory address region to perform system management operations in response to a system management interrupt (SMI), the processor including a plurality of cores formed on a single semiconductor die; saving, by save/restore circuitry, of the processor, at least a portion of a first execution state of a first thread to a cache of the processor prior to entering the SMM; and executing, in the execution circuitry, a resume instruction included in the SMM handler code to cause the save/restore circuitry to restore the at least a portion of the first execution state from the cache upon exiting the SMM, and not invalidating the cache responsive to entering or exiting the SMM.", "8.The method of claim 7 further comprising saving the portion of the first execution state of the first thread in cache lines which map to a system management random access memory (SRAM) address region.", "9.The method of claim 7 wherein the designated system memory address region maps to a system management random access memory (SMRAM).", "10.The method of claim 7 further comprising fetching, via fetch circuitry of the processor, instructions of one or more threads.", "11.The method of claim 7 further comprising coupling, via an integrated memory controller of the processor, the plurality of cores to a system memory.", "12.The method of claim 7 further comprising sharing a last level cache (LLC) of the processor by the plurality of cores.", "13.At least one computer readable storage medium comprising instructions that when executed enable a system to: execute, in execution circuitry of a processor, system management mode (SMM) handler code from a designated system memory address region to perform system management operations in response to a system management interrupt (SMI), the processor including a plurality of cores formed on a single semiconductor die; save, by save/restore circuitry, of the processor, at least a portion of a first execution state of a first thread to a cache of the processor prior to entry into the SMM; and execute, in the execution circuitry, a resume instruction included in the SMM handler code to cause the save/restore circuitry to restore the at least a portion of the first execution state from the cache upon exit the SMM, and wherein the cache is not invalidated responsive to entry into or exit from the SMM.", "14.The at least one computer readable storage medium of claim 13 further comprising instructions that when executed enable the system to save the portion of the first execution state of the first thread in cache lines which map to a system management random access memory (SRAM) address region.", "15.The at least one computer readable storage medium of claim 13 wherein the designated system memory address region is to map to a system management random access memory (SMRAM).", "16.The at least one computer readable storage medium of claim 13 further comprising instructions that when executed enable the system to fetch, via fetch circuitry of the processor, instructions of one or more threads." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND <EOH>Most computer system processors support a special mode of operation called system management mode (SMM).", "SMM provides a distinct operating environment that is transparent to operating system (OS) software.", "This mode is often used by original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to perform special tasks such as system management, device, power and thermal management.", "Server-related reliability, availability and serviceability (RAS) functions are usually implemented using SMM.", "SMM is typically entered by sending a system management interrupt (SMI) message to the processor.", "Upon acknowledging the SMI, the processor saves the current processor context, also called the Processor Save State, to a portion of system memory that is specifically allocated to SMM, referred to as system management random access memory (SMRAM), and executes SMI handler code contained in SMRAM.", "When the SMI handler has completed its operations, it executes a special (valid in SMM only) resume instruction, which causes the processor to reload the saved processor context from the SMRAM and resume executing the interrupted task.", "In a multiprocessor system, generally a SMI message is broadcasted to all processors.", "The SMI handler selects one processor, referred to as the SMM monarch, to handle the event.", "This processor waits until all other processors rendezvous inside SMM before handling the SMI event.", "Non-monarch processors stay in SMM until the monarch completes the event handling.", "When the SMM event has been handled, the monarch will signal the other processors to exit SMM.", "This synchronized entry and exit behavior is implemented to prevent any resource conflicts between the two parallel environments (OS and SMM).", "That is, if some processors are active in the OS environment and the rest are active in the SMM environment at the same time, it is possible that they may modify a shared resource and thereby interfere with each other's operations, causing the system to crash.", "In addition, certain SMM events can only be handled by a specific logical processor or a set of logical processors.", "A broadcast ensures that this condition is always met, since all logical processors will enter SMI.", "Thus, SMI handling in a multiprocessor system is complex and can consume all system resources, preventing the handling of other useful work as while a processor is in SMM, it is not available to the operating system." ], [ "<SOH> BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS <EOH>FIG.", "1 is a block diagram of a processor in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.", "FIG.", "2 is a block diagram of a multiprocessor system in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.", "FIG.", "3 is a flow diagram of a method in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.", "FIG.", "4 is a flow diagram of a method in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention.", "detailed-description description=\"Detailed Description\" end=\"lead\"?" ], [ "This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "15/270,151, filed Sep. 20, 2016, which is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "14/048,451, filed Oct. 8, 2013, now U.S. Pat.", "No.", "9,465,647, issued Oct. 11, 2016, which is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "12/550,737, filed Aug. 31, 2009, now U.S. Pat.", "No.", "8,578,138, issued Nov. 5, 2013, the content of which is hereby incorporated by reference.", "BACKGROUND Most computer system processors support a special mode of operation called system management mode (SMM).", "SMM provides a distinct operating environment that is transparent to operating system (OS) software.", "This mode is often used by original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to perform special tasks such as system management, device, power and thermal management.", "Server-related reliability, availability and serviceability (RAS) functions are usually implemented using SMM.", "SMM is typically entered by sending a system management interrupt (SMI) message to the processor.", "Upon acknowledging the SMI, the processor saves the current processor context, also called the Processor Save State, to a portion of system memory that is specifically allocated to SMM, referred to as system management random access memory (SMRAM), and executes SMI handler code contained in SMRAM.", "When the SMI handler has completed its operations, it executes a special (valid in SMM only) resume instruction, which causes the processor to reload the saved processor context from the SMRAM and resume executing the interrupted task.", "In a multiprocessor system, generally a SMI message is broadcasted to all processors.", "The SMI handler selects one processor, referred to as the SMM monarch, to handle the event.", "This processor waits until all other processors rendezvous inside SMM before handling the SMI event.", "Non-monarch processors stay in SMM until the monarch completes the event handling.", "When the SMM event has been handled, the monarch will signal the other processors to exit SMM.", "This synchronized entry and exit behavior is implemented to prevent any resource conflicts between the two parallel environments (OS and SMM).", "That is, if some processors are active in the OS environment and the rest are active in the SMM environment at the same time, it is possible that they may modify a shared resource and thereby interfere with each other's operations, causing the system to crash.", "In addition, certain SMM events can only be handled by a specific logical processor or a set of logical processors.", "A broadcast ensures that this condition is always met, since all logical processors will enter SMI.", "Thus, SMI handling in a multiprocessor system is complex and can consume all system resources, preventing the handling of other useful work as while a processor is in SMM, it is not available to the operating system.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG.", "1 is a block diagram of a processor in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.", "FIG.", "2 is a block diagram of a multiprocessor system in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.", "FIG.", "3 is a flow diagram of a method in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.", "FIG.", "4 is a flow diagram of a method in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION In various embodiments, on-die storage can be used as an alternative to using external physical memory to store the save state of individual threads on SMM entry/exit.", "In contrast, current systems are dependent on external physical memory for entering and exiting SMM.", "This SMM dependency on system RAM results in scaling, performance and reliability related limitations in mission critical applications, and can be avoided using an embodiment of the present invention.", "Note that as used herein, the term “thread” may refer to a hardware thread that includes storage in a processor for the architectural state associated with a process (e.g., a register file and associated configuration and status registers).", "As used herein, the term “hardware thread” is used synonymously with the term “logical processor.” Each processor core may include multiple logical processors each having a dedicated architectural state storage but which shares other core resources such as front end units, execution units and so forth.", "In different implementations, the on-die storage provided to store the save state of any active threads during a SMM can be an on-die Static RAM (SRAM) or a register file in the processor itself to serve as a small dedicated memory for save state storage.", "Some processors may include an on-die SRAM for specific tasks like power management, e.g., an OS-managed low power state such as in accordance with an Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI) state (e.g., C6 state or other power management operations).", "In such processors, a portion of this SRAM, partitioned on a per-thread basis, can be reserved for each thread's SRAM save state.", "As one example, each logical processor may use 1 kilobyte (KB) of SRAM storage for SMM save state.", "If a given processor cannot dedicate this amount of SRAM for SMM save state, an embodiment can be implemented such that it can utilize SRAM reserved for C6 flows.", "In this case, C6/C7 transitions inside SMM can be demoted to a lower low power state (e.g., C3) to ensure mutually exclusive use of the shared SRAM space for SMM state save.", "Some processors do not implement dedicated SRAM for C6 state saves and instead utilize a portion of a last level cache (LLC) for storing processor state during a C6 state save.", "In these processors the SMM save state can be stored in the LLC.", "Once saved, this internal SMM save state may be accessed in different manners.", "As examples, the internal state can be accessed using model-specific register (MSR) addressing on a per-thread basis, or a backwards compatible mechanism.", "Conventionally, a processor can access SMM save state at certain system memory addresses.", "The backwards compatible mechanism includes logic in the processor that traps a logical processor's access to these legacy memory addresses and redirects those to the appropriate SRAM location.", "Such redirection can be implemented if absolute backwards compatibility with existing basic input/output system (BIOS) software is required.", "These MSRs can be read or written in SMM mode only and follow restrictions that are associated with SMM save state.", "If one logical processor needs access to another processor's save state, this can be accomplished via a software protocol.", "In some embodiments, a dedicated processor identifier leaf (e.g., a CPUID leaf) or a field thereof or a feature-enable MSR (Model-specific Register) bit, can be used to enable the usage of the internal SRAM.", "Referring now to FIG.", "1, shown is a block diagram of a processor in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.", "As shown in FIG.", "1, processor 100 may be a multi-stage pipelined out-of-order processor.", "Processor 100 is shown with a relatively simplified view to illustrate various features used in connection with the SMM techniques described herein.", "As seen, processor 100 may be a multi-core processor including a plurality of processor cores 105 and which may be formed on a single semiconductor die.", "While shown with four such cores in the embodiment of FIG.", "1, understand the scope of the present invention is not limited in this regard.", "As further seen in FIG.", "1, additional components may be present in processor 100.For example, an integrated memory controller (IMC) 108 may be present, along with a static random access memory (SRAM) 106.As discussed above, in some implementations this memory may be used to store context state in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention that would otherwise be stored in SMRAM.", "Still further, processor 100 may include a last level cache (LLC) 109, which may be a shared cache that is shared among all processor cores.", "As shown in FIG.", "1, processor 100 includes front end unit 110, which may be used to fetch macro-instructions to be executed and prepare them for use later in the core.", "For example, front end unit 110 may include an instruction prefetcher, an instruction decoder, and a trace cache, along with microcode storage as well as a micro-instruction (μop) storage.", "The instruction prefetcher may fetch macro-instructions from memory and feed them to the instruction decoder to decode them into primitives, i.e., μops for execution by the processor.", "The trace cache may take decoded μops and assemble them into program ordered sequences.", "Of course, additional components and features may be implemented in front end unit 110.Coupled between front end unit 110 and execution units 120 is an out-of-order (OOO) engine 115 that may be used to receive the micro-instructions and prepare them for execution.", "More specifically, OOO engine 115 may include various buffers to re-order micro-instruction flow and allocate various resources needed for execution, as well as to provide renaming of logical registers onto storage locations within various register files such as a register file 130a.", "Register file 130 may include separate register files for integer and floating point operations.", "Note multiple register files 130a-n may be present, each for a different logical processor.", "Additional registers, namely status and configuration registers 135 may also be present.", "As seen, each set of registers 135a-n may be for a different logical processor.", "These various registers may be used to configure a core for different operating modes as well as to provide status information regarding the thread and different instructions executed.", "In the example shown in FIG.", "1, such registers may include a SMM save state register 136.In various implementations, a plurality of such registers may be present, each associated with a given thread operating on the core.", "As discussed above, such register may store an indicator, e.g., an enable bit, to enable the state of the thread to be stored, e.g., within the core itself when entering into SMM.", "If this indicator is not enabled, on entry into SMM, a thread's context will instead be stored to SMRAM.", "In some embodiments, this MSR may contain other bits that can control other processor features.", "In some embodiments, this register file 135 containing the indicator can be made to be changeable only in SMM, thus protecting it from being maliciously changed by a malware component outside of SMM, increasing both security and robustness of the system.", "As further seen, register file 135 may also include one or more SMM status indicator registers 138.Such indicator registers may be in the form of a bitmap or bit vector, with each logical processor having a location to indicate when the logical processor is inhibited from entering into a SMM or whether the logical processor is in a long flow execution.", "In one embodiment, a separate register may be present for each such indication.", "Alternately, a single register may be present and a logically combined indicator may thus be used to indicate presence of one these states for each logical processor.", "Further details regarding use of these registers are described below.", "Still referring to FIG.", "1, various resources may be present in execution units 120, including, for example, integer, floating point, and single instruction multiple data (SIMD) logic units, among other specialized hardware.", "Results may be provided to a retirement unit 140, which may operate to determine whether executed instructions can be validly retired and result data committed to the architectural state of the processor, or whether one or more exceptions occurred that prevent a proper retirement of the instructions.", "As shown in FIG.", "1, retirement unit 140 is coupled to a cache memory 150 which, in one embodiment may be a low level cache (e.g., an L1 cache) although the scope of the present invention is not limited in this regard.", "Also, execution units 120 can be directly coupled to cache 150 (not shown in FIG.", "1).", "From cache memory 150, data communication may occur with higher level caches, system memory and so forth.", "While shown with this high level in the embodiment of FIG.", "1, understand the scope of the present invention is not limited in this regard.", "For example, other embodiments may be implemented in an in-order processor.", "By storing SMM save state internally to the processor, reliability and robustness of the system may be improved.", "That is, the physical memory, which is typically a set of external dynamic random access memory (DRAM) devices on which the SMRAM resides, is vulnerable to memory errors.", "Without an embodiment of the present invention, SMM operations run out of this external memory and hence cannot be relied on in error conditions.", "Instead using an embodiment of the present invention, SMRAM memory reliability can be improved by executing a SMI handler from non-volatile space when handling errors.", "For example, the SMM handler can run from a more robust storage like BIOS flash or external SRAM while it is handling memory errors.", "Also, when SMM save state is internal to the processor the architectural state of this storage can be exposed only through MSRs to the software outside.", "The micro-architectural state of the processor that is needed to restore machine execution state after SMM code executes a “Resume (RSM)” instruction need not be exposed to outside software as it has no legitimate use for this internal machine state.", "This also means that malicious software code does not have access to sensitive micro-architecture state (as it would, if the saved data storage is in SMRAM), making the machine more secure and robust.", "Embodiments may also improve performance and latency.", "Many server applications/operating systems are non-uniform memory architecture (NUMA)-optimized and BIOS typically configures memory such that the entire SMRAM, which is a contiguous memory range, is mapped to a single socket.", "Therefore, all SMM save state/restore state operations will appear as remote writes/remote reads for all logical CPUs, except the ones contained in one socket for which the SMRAM is local.", "Performance analysis for a server configuration with four sockets, each with 12 cores indicates that SMM save state write operations can be limited by the interconnect and memory bandwidth and can take up to 5 microseconds.", "As applications become more NUMA optimized, processors may allocate fewer buffers for remote traffic.", "When that happens, SMRAM save state write and read operations will take an even longer time.", "Operating systems typically have a limit on how long a CPU can be in SMM, in order to maintain acceptable real time performance and avoid timeouts on high speed network links.", "Exceeding this limit affects OS responsiveness, application latencies and may even lead to operating system malfunction.", "Accordingly using an on-die SMM save state in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention reduces latency and thus enables further time allocated for a SMM handler to service the SMM event (the useful work of the SMM).", "Additionally, embodiments may improve scalability.", "In a multiprocessor system, when an SMI occurs, every thread in the system must store its save state in its own dedicated save state region in external system memory, as defined and reserved by the system BIOS during system boot.", "The total amount of physical memory to be reserved as the SMRAM space required to capture all the save states of all the threads in the system increases linearly with the number of threads in the system.", "For a multi-core, multi-socket system with symmetric multi-threading support, the amount of space can be fairly large (and may be on the order of approximately 256 KB, in one embodiment).", "By providing on-die storage for SMM save state, the need for an ever-expanding SMRAM region to accommodate all the cores and threads thereof can be avoided, thereby facilitating scale.", "It also obviates the necessity for BIOS to find and allocate a unique, non-overlapping region in SMRAM for every thread.", "Still further, this also saves memory protection regions from being implemented in silicon.", "In hot plug scenarios, the architecturally defined SMM save sate area in SMRAM is below 1 MB.", "Without an embodiment of the present invention, BIOS sets up a memory protection range and migrates out data to avoid OS attacks and/or interference when adding new processors.", "Embodiments obviate the need to do this because the saved state is no longer stored in OS visible memory.", "Referring now to FIG.", "2, shown is a block diagram of a multiprocessor system in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.", "As shown in FIG.", "2, multiprocessor system 200 includes a plurality of processors 2101-210n (generically processor 210).", "While shown with four such processors in the embodiment of FIG.", "2, understand the scope of the present invention is not limited in this regard.", "In the implementation shown in FIG.", "2, a non-uniform memory architecture (NUMA) system is present such that system memory 2201 and 2203 is locally attached to processors 2101 and 2103 via the interconnect 2171 and 2173.Thus, access to memory by processors 2102 and 210n requires a communication through one of a plurality of point-to-point (PTP) interconnects 215 with one of processors 2101 and 2103.As seen in the implementation of FIG.", "2, memory 2201, which may be a DRAM includes a SMRAM 225.In this NUMA architecture, SMRAM 225 is the system management store for the entire system.", "Accordingly, without an embodiment of the present invention, each processor on a SMM entry or exit needs to save/restore context to this SMRAM 225.This in turn causes large usage of bandwidth on PTP interconnect 215 and interconnect 2171, as well as increasing latency for entry into and exit from the SMM.", "Accordingly, in various embodiments each processor 210 may include SRAM 216, in addition to one or more cores 212 and an integrated memory controller 214.In various embodiments, SRAM 216 may be dedicated for storage of SMM save states.", "That is, when a system management interrupt occurs, the context state for the various logical processors of each processor 210 may be stored locally to its SRAM 216, avoiding the need for communication of state information with SMRAM 225.In other embodiments, instead of a dedicated on-die storage, this context state can be stored in on-chip registers, e.g., of a register file or other location such as a cache memory.", "While shown with this particular implementation in the embodiment of FIG.", "2, the scope of the present invention is not limited in this regard.", "For example, embodiments may be further used with a uniform memory architecture system.", "Referring now to FIG.", "3, shown is a flow diagram of a method in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.", "As shown in FIG.", "3, method 300 may be performed to handle entry into SMM without the need for accessing SMRAM for saving state information.", "Note for ease of discussion it is assumed that only a single hardware thread is present, although in many implementations multiple threads may enter into SMM together.", "As seen in FIG.", "3, method 300 may begin by receiving a system management interrupt (block 310).", "Upon receipt of this interrupt, a current active state (e.g., of a given hardware thread) may be saved to an on-die storage (block 320).", "As discussed above, this on-die storage may be dedicated SRAM, SRAM used for another purpose (e.g., power management states), register storage, an on-die cache storage or so forth.", "Referring still to FIG.", "3, processor state is modified to match a SMM entry state, e.g., as defined by processor specification (block 330).", "This state includes values for various control and configuration registers as well as initial values for a register file.", "This setup thus prepares an SMM execution environment appropriate for a SMM handler by loading predetermined values associated with the SMM entry state into the state storage.", "When the SMM state has been set up, control passes to block 340, where SMM may be executed using code and data from SMRAM (block 340).", "Accordingly, a desired SMM operation may be performed.", "While the scope of the present invention is not limited in this regard, examples of SMM operations include power management operations, error handling operations, or so forth.", "It may then be determined whether SMM operations have completed (diamond 350).", "If not, execution in SMM may continue.", "If completed, the processor executes a resume instruction (block 360).", "As a result of this instruction, the previous state may be loaded back into the processor's registers from the on-die storage (block 370).", "Then, the processor may resume execution of the thread corresponding to this previous state restored back to the active state (block 380).", "While shown with this particular implementation in the embodiment of FIG.", "3, understand that the scope of the present invention is not limited in this regard.", "For example, in some implementations, rather than executing SMM operations from SMRAM, particularly when the SMM is for handling an error such as a DRAM error, embodiments may instead obtain SMM state information, SMM code and data from a non-volatile storage such as a flash memory.", "As described above, silicon storage of an active state can reduce SMM latency.", "Embodiments may further reduce latency by enabling a faster entry into SMM in certain situations, as now will be discussed.", "SMM latency is defined as the duration for which a processor is in the SMM environment per single SMI.", "There are two main contributors to total SMM latency, processor overhead and OEM BIOS code.", "This latency must be kept under control to avoid side-effects on the OS environment such as timeouts and clock drifts.", "Future demands will require this latency to be reduced, which becomes difficult to realize.", "Currently, SMI latency is dictated to be under approximately 190 microseconds.", "New usage models like Internet portal data centers and utility computing expect more predictable latencies from applications.", "As a result, OS vendors are pushing for further reductions in SMM latency.", "On the other hand, other technologies have the potential to increase SMI latency over time.", "As examples, the industry push to multi-core processors means that a SMI handler must rendezvous an ever-increasing number of processor cores.", "New SMM-based capabilities also place additional pressure on SMM latency.", "For example, high-end RAS capabilities rely on SMM.", "In addition, some OEMs utilize SMM to deliver unique power management capabilities to differentiate their products.", "Many OEMs are known to generate SMIs as high as 8 times per second.", "Certain instruction set architectures (ISAs) include instructions such as a write back and invalidate instruction (e.g., wbinvd), which invalidates all cache lines and writes them back to memory.", "These operations can take a long time to complete, e.g., on the order of 103 to 107 processor cycles, particularly in processors that support large cache sizes.", "In addition, there are certain processor states where a SMI response can be delayed (e.g., C3 and C6 low processor states).", "Collectively, these instructions and processor states are termed as “long flow” states, which is defined to mean an instruction or process that can take an unusually long number of cycles to complete (e.g., on the order of 103 clocks) and which can delay entry into SMM.", "In one embodiment, any flow that will delay SMM entry by more than 5 microseconds can be termed as a long flow.", "With regard to SMM, if one or more logical processor is in a long flow, it delays SMM entry.", "As explained above, the SMM monarch waits until all expected logical processors have entered SMM.", "Upon entry into SMM, each processor sets its own bit in SMRAM indicating it has entered SMM.", "The monarch waits until all expected processors have set their bits.", "When one or more logical processor is in a long flow and enters SMM late, it holds up the SMM monarch and thus increases SMM latency.", "In addition, there are certain architectural states such as a wait for startup interprocessor interrupt (WFS) and a TXT sleep state, where an SMI event is inhibited.", "If the OS/BIOS places one or more logical processor into a SMI-inhibited state, it will not enter SMM until the OS/BIOS explicitly brings it out of this state.", "Since a SMI event places all other processors in SMM, the OS is unable to unmask the SMI.", "Under this scenario, the SMM monarch must rely on a long timeout to determine the presence of a SMI-inhibited processor.", "These timeouts delay SMM rendezvous and either increase the overall SMM latency or reduce the amount of time available for SMM event handling.", "In various embodiments, the need for time-outs inside SMM can be avoided, even where some logical processors are in a long flow.", "Eliminating such timeouts can improve average SMM latency by 10-20% and worst case SMM latency by at least a few milliseconds.", "Embodiments rely on the fact that a processor that is in a long flow or an SMI-inhibited state is unlikely to access a shared resource.", "In addition, such processor is unlikely to have caused the SMI, and thus its participation is not necessary for SMI processing.", "Therefore, the SMM monarch can proceed with SMM processing before such processor has entered into a SMM.", "However, before proceeding the SMM monarch must be able to reliably detect which processors are in a long flow and/or SMI-inhibited state.", "To detect processors that are busy in a long flow or in SMI inhibited state, embodiments may provide indicators for these states such as by way of bitmaps.", "In one embodiment, such indications can be provided via globally visible configuration registers, called LONG_FLOW_INDICATION and SMI_INHIBITED_INDICATION.", "In this embodiment, one bit can be allocated to each logical processor in a socket.", "As one example, the registers may be represented by register 138 of FIG.", "1.In implementations in which processor microcode is involved in entry to and exit from long flows and SMI inhibited states, the microcode/hardware can populate these register bits.", "Some of the long flows can incur times longer than 5 microseconds and therefore the ability to not wait for processors in these states can provide significant savings in SMM latency.", "Future processors may take more than 5 microseconds for SMM microcode entry flow and can itself be considered as a long flow.", "The SMM monarch can wait until all processors are accounted for, i.e., they either join the SMM or are reported to be in a long flow or in SMI inhibited state.", "To aid in such determination, one or more tables such as bitmaps stored in SMRAM can be used, as described below.", "In one implementation, the monarch processor saves its state and runs SMM preamble code before performing a check of the indicator registers.", "These steps can easily take more than 0.5 microseconds.", "This duration is much greater than the propagation time for any in-flight interrupts, ensuring that there is no race condition between SMI delivery to a core and a read of its indicator registers.", "If the delay is smaller under certain configurations, the monarch processor can insert a small delay loop to make up.", "Referring now to FIG.", "4, shown is a flow diagram of a method in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention.", "Specifically, FIG.", "4 shows a flow diagram for handling entry into and exit from SMM when all logical processors need not rendezvous in the SMM state.", "In this way, the latency associated with waiting for all logical processors before performing SMM operations can be avoided.", "As seen in FIG.", "4, method 400 may begin by generation of an SMI event (block 410).", "This SMI event may be propagated to all threads.", "Note that for ease of discussion it is assumed that the threads of FIG.", "4 are with regard to a single processor socket, although implementations can be used to rendezvous SMM across multiple sockets.", "Next, an indicator may be set in an SMM indicator map for each thread that enters a SMM rendezvous state (block 420).", "It is to be understood that various preparatory actions to enter SMM can be first performed by the threads, e.g., a state save, such as described above with regard to FIG.", "3.Each thread that enters SMM rendezvous state may set an indicator in a SMM indicator map that may be stored in SMRAM.", "In one embodiment, this map may be a bit map in which each logical processor is associated with a bit of the map, and where logical processors of each socket can be separated into different segments of the map.", "Thus when a given thread enters into the SMM, its corresponding bit in the bit map may be set.", "Then, one of the threads inside the SMM may be selected as a monarch or executing thread (block 430).", "In various embodiments, the determination of which thread is to be the executing thread may vary.", "For example, the monarch may be pre-selected (e.g., logical processor 0 on socket 0) or can be selected dynamically via an election mechanism.", "Still referring to FIG.", "4, each thread may then determine whether it has been selected as the monarch (diamond 435).", "If not, the thread may enter into a sleep state, where it waits for the monarch thread to signal completion (block 470).", "Accordingly, control passes to block 440 for the monarch thread.", "There, it may determine an ACCOUNTED status for all the threads.", "In one embodiment, this status may be based on various configuration registers, the SMM indicator map, in addition to a thread presence map, which may also be present in SMRAM.", "This presence map may be a similar bit map to the SMM indicator map and which may be set during SMM initialization to indicate the threads present in the system.", "In one embodiment, the determination at block 440 may be a bitwise OR operation as follows: OR (LONG_FLOW_INDICATION, SMI_INHIBITED_INDICATION, IN_SMM_INDICATION) where LONG_FLOW_INDICATION is obtained from a status register that stores a bit vector, each bit of which indicates whether a corresponding thread is in long flow operation, SMI_INHIBITED_INDICATION is obtained from a status register that stores a bit vector, each bit of which indicates whether a corresponding thread is in a SMI-inhibited state, and IN_SMM_INDICATION is the SMM indicator map.", "The result of the bitwise OR, ACCOUNTED, may be stored in a bitmap, e.g., in SMRAM.", "After this analysis, control passes to diamond 450 where it may be determined whether the ACCOUNTED status is active for all present threads (diamond 450).", "This can be determined based on a comparison between the result of the ACCOUNTED operation and the presence map.", "If not, control passes back to block 440.Otherwise, control passes to block 455, where the SMI event may be processed.", "Thus the monarch thread may perform the desired SMM code.", "At the conclusion of the SMM performed by the monarch thread, control passes to block 460.At block 460, the ACCOUNTED status and the SMM indicator map may be reset (block 460).", "That is, the monarch thread may reset the values in both of these bit maps.", "Then the monarch thread may signal other logical processors that they may resume from SMI (block 465).", "In this way, the other threads are released from their waiting loop.", "Accordingly, at block 475 all the threads may resume from SMM.", "While shown with this particular implementation in the embodiment of FIG.", "4, the scope of the present invention is not limited in this regard.", "Embodiments thus enable SMM handler execution without memory dependency, improving reliability.", "This mechanism also addresses performance and scalability issues associated with SMM so that SMI handling can avoid becoming a bottleneck in multi-core/multi-socket systems.", "Embodiments thus avoid execution of SMM code with DRAM dependency, enabling high availability usage models where SMM code diagnoses and corrects memory errors.", "Embodiments further enable entry into SMM with reduced latency in the presence of a logical processor being in a long flow or SMI-inhibited state.", "In contrast, presently there is no reliable mechanism by which SMM code can determine if one or more processors will join SMM late or is in a SMM inhibited state, and thus a timeout is set that is larger than the largest long-flow state.", "This solution, in addition to being unreliable and hard to implement, increases SMM latency and reduces OS real time response and can be overcome using an embodiment of the present invention.", "Embodiments may be implemented in code and may be stored on a storage medium having stored thereon instructions which can be used to program a system to perform the instructions.", "The storage medium may include, but is not limited to, any type of disk including floppy disks, optical disks, optical disks, solid state drives (SSDs), compact disk read-only memories (CD-ROMs), compact disk rewritables (CD-RWs), and magneto-optical disks, semiconductor devices such as read-only memories (ROMs), random access memories (RAMs) such as dynamic random access memories (DRAMs), static random access memories (SRAMs), erasable programmable read-only memories (EPROMs), flash memories, electrically erasable programmable read-only memories (EEPROMs), magnetic or optical cards, or any other type of media suitable for storing electronic instructions.", "While the present invention has been described with respect to a limited number of embodiments, those skilled in the art will appreciate numerous modifications and variations therefrom.", "It is intended that the appended claims cover all such modifications and variations as fall within the true spirit and scope of this present invention." ] ]
Patent_15873089
[ [ "ANUS CREVICE INSERT", "A protective device for insertion into the crevice adjacent to the anus, and cover adjacent portions of the derriere.", "The protective device cover includes a solid sheet of material with an adhesive on one side which can be used to apply the cover directly onto the portion directly around and adjacent to the anus after it has been inserted into the crevice.", "The cover also includes slits or holes through which evacuated material may pass through.", "The cover may also be made from a “plastic wrap” type material that adheres to human skin when pressure is applied.", "In an alternate embodiment, a wiping pad is provided between two layers of the cover, which traverses the hole opening when a string is pulled to effect at least partial cleaning in the anus area.", "This almost eliminates the need for toilet paper, keeps the body clean, and avoids excessive contamination." ], [ "1.A protective device for insertion into a user's crevice adjacent to an anus and covering adjacent portions of a derriere and without any part entering the anus, the device comprising: a flexible layer made from a water-impermeable material and forming a center section and a peripheral section, the center section capable of being inserted into the crevice adjacent to an anus, and an adhesive applied to a surface of the peripheral section to be able to adhere to portions of the derriere adjacent the crevice, the water-impermeable material of the flexible layer facing the body of the user when the protective device is applied, wherein said center section comprises an opening through the flexible layer keeping the anus exposed to the atmosphere thereby permitting excretion from the anus directly into the atmosphere while surrounding the anus without covering the anus and without entering the anus, the center section entering the crevice not containing any adhesive facing the body, wherein with the center section inserted in the crevice and the peripheral section adhered to the derriere only the anus is exposed.", "2.The protective device of claim 1, wherein the opening has a shape comprising one of a slit, a circle, or a polygon.", "3.The protective device of claim 1, wherein the protective device has an elongated shape having two ends, wherein one end is tapered.", "4.The protective device of claim 3, wherein another end of the elongated shape has a lateral flare.", "5.The protective device of claim 1, wherein the water-impermeable material comprises one of a polyolefin resin film, cellulose derivative, a water soluble polymer and a biodegradable polymer.", "6.The protective device of claim 1, wherein the peripheral section has a plurality of perforations made through at least a portion of the peripheral section.", "7.The protective device of claim 1, further comprising a single layer of a removable adhesive jacket over the adhesive.", "8.A protective device for insertion into a user's crevice adjacent to an anus and covering adjacent portions of a derriere and without any part entering the anus, the device comprising: a flexible layer made from a material forming a center section and a peripheral section, the center section capable of being inserted into the crevice adjacent to an anus, and an adhesive applied to a surface of the peripheral section to be able to adhere to portions of the derriere adjacent the crevice, the material of the flexible layer facing the body of the user when the protective device is applied, wherein said center section comprises an opening through the flexible layer keeping the anus exposed to the atmosphere thereby permitting excretion from the anus directly into the atmosphere while surrounding the anus without covering the anus and without entering the anus, the center section entering the crevice not containing any adhesive facing the body, wherein with the center section inserted in the crevice and the peripheral section adhered to the derriere only the anus is exposed.", "9.The protective device of claim 8, wherein the opening has a shape comprising one of a slit, a circle, or a polygon.", "10.The protective device of claim 8, wherein the protective device has an elongated shape having two ends, wherein one end is tapered.", "11.The protective device of claim 10, wherein another end of the elongated shape has a lateral flare.", "12.The protective device of claim 8, wherein the peripheral section has a plurality of perforations made through at least a portion of the peripheral section.", "13.The protective device of claim 8, further comprising a single layer of a removable adhesive jacket over the adhesive.", "14.A protective device for insertion into a user's crevice adjacent to an anus and covering adjacent portions of a derriere and without any part entering the anus, the device comprising: a flexible layer made from a water-impermeable material and forming a center section and a peripheral section, the center section capable of being inserted into the crevice adjacent to an anus, and an adhesive applied to a surface of the peripheral section to be able to adhere to portions of the derriere adjacent the crevice, the water-impermeable material of the flexible layer facing the body of the user when the protective device is applied, wherein said center section comprises an opening through the flexible layer keeping the anus exposed to the atmosphere thereby permitting excretion from the anus directly into the atmosphere while surrounding the anus without covering the anus and without entering the anus, wherein with the center section inserted in the crevice and the peripheral section adhered to the derriere only the anus is exposed.", "15.The protective device of claim 14, wherein the opening has a shape comprising one of a slit, a circle, or a polygon.", "16.The protective device of claim 14, wherein the protective device has an elongated shape having two ends, wherein one end is tapered.", "17.The protective device of claim 16, wherein another end of the elongated shape has a lateral flare.", "18.The protective device of claim 14, wherein the water-impermeable material comprises one of a polyolefin resin film, cellulose derivative, a water soluble polymer and a biodegradable polymer.", "19.The protective device of claim 14, wherein the peripheral section has a plurality of perforations made through at least a portion of the peripheral section.", "20.The protective device of claim 14, further comprising a single layer of a removable adhesive jacket over the adhesive." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND INFORMATION <EOH>During the course of fecal elimination, oftentimes the peripheral recessed area or crevice adjacent the anus becomes soiled as the fecal material is eliminated.", "In such a case, cleansing of the peripheral area around the anus becomes difficult.", "Additionally, a large amount of toilet paper and other cleansing substances must be used.", "It often causes a distasteful messy situation to the individual.", "It is further complicated when the individual has handicaps and it is difficult for him to clean himself.", "Also, the cost of the cleansing material is considerable and such use of large amounts of toilet paper and the like, is harmful to the environment.", "In the areas of sanitary napkins and absorbable pants/diapers, certain designs provide for pad-type surfaces that contain openings in the surface for retaining matter discharged from a human body.", "Examples include U.S. Pat.", "No.", "7,179,247, titled “Absorbable Article With Protruding Body Fluid Inflow Hole Having an Elastic Side Wall,” U.S. Pat.", "No.", "6,120,485, titled “Absorbent Pants Product,” and U.S. Pat.", "No.", "5,062,840, titled “Disposable Diapers,” each of which are incorporated by reference in their entirety herein.", "While the aforementioned designs are suitable for sanitary napkin and absorbable pants/diaper applications, there is a need for a protector that is simple to apply and use during evacuation, which directly is inserted into the crevice immediately surrounding the anus, or other such orifice, and protects the crevice and the surrounding areas." ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY <EOH>The present disclosure relates to a suitable cover capable of being inserted into the crevice containing the anus, and protecting the portions of the derriere immediately surrounding the anus, which cover can be easily applied, easily removed and is disposable.", "In one embodiment, the cover can be a solid sheet of material with an adhesive on one side which adhesive can be used to insert the cover directly into the crevice and adjacent the anus and protect the surrounding derriere portion.", "Specifically, it would adhere to the skin directly surrounding the anus to protect almost all parts from being soiled.", "The type of adhesive used can be any of the types similar to those applied to band aids, and other topical items that are applied to a person's skin.", "The sheet may also be perforated to minimize surface contact with the skin to avoid discomfort during removal.", "In other embodiments, the cover has a unique shape to effect a more easy removal of the cover from the human body.", "In further embodiments, the cover is made from a “plastic wrap” type material that physically attaches to skin without the use of adhesives, where a hole in the cover has an adjustment pad attached over the top.", "In a preferred embodiment, the pad allows a user to adjust the cover over the anal area and peel away the pad just before use.", "The cover can already be perforated in this area of the anus to permit the cover to be appropriately shaped to enter into the crevice surrounding the anus.", "Alternately, the cover can be solid permitting the user to form the perforation for the anus and shape the material to fit snugly into the crevice adjacent the anus and then extend onto the derriere.", "For this purpose, the center of the cover may be thinner than the rest of the cover to permit easy perforation to form the hold in the center.", "Also, an adaptor may be provided to facilitate placement of the protector.", "Other objects, features, and advantages according to the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of certain advantageous embodiments when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which the same components are identified by the same reference numerals." ], [ "TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to protective covers adapted to be removably inserted into areas adjacent vacating orifice areas of a body, such as the anus and/or groin area.", "BACKGROUND INFORMATION During the course of fecal elimination, oftentimes the peripheral recessed area or crevice adjacent the anus becomes soiled as the fecal material is eliminated.", "In such a case, cleansing of the peripheral area around the anus becomes difficult.", "Additionally, a large amount of toilet paper and other cleansing substances must be used.", "It often causes a distasteful messy situation to the individual.", "It is further complicated when the individual has handicaps and it is difficult for him to clean himself.", "Also, the cost of the cleansing material is considerable and such use of large amounts of toilet paper and the like, is harmful to the environment.", "In the areas of sanitary napkins and absorbable pants/diapers, certain designs provide for pad-type surfaces that contain openings in the surface for retaining matter discharged from a human body.", "Examples include U.S. Pat.", "No.", "7,179,247, titled “Absorbable Article With Protruding Body Fluid Inflow Hole Having an Elastic Side Wall,” U.S. Pat.", "No.", "6,120,485, titled “Absorbent Pants Product,” and U.S. Pat.", "No.", "5,062,840, titled “Disposable Diapers,” each of which are incorporated by reference in their entirety herein.", "While the aforementioned designs are suitable for sanitary napkin and absorbable pants/diaper applications, there is a need for a protector that is simple to apply and use during evacuation, which directly is inserted into the crevice immediately surrounding the anus, or other such orifice, and protects the crevice and the surrounding areas.", "SUMMARY The present disclosure relates to a suitable cover capable of being inserted into the crevice containing the anus, and protecting the portions of the derriere immediately surrounding the anus, which cover can be easily applied, easily removed and is disposable.", "In one embodiment, the cover can be a solid sheet of material with an adhesive on one side which adhesive can be used to insert the cover directly into the crevice and adjacent the anus and protect the surrounding derriere portion.", "Specifically, it would adhere to the skin directly surrounding the anus to protect almost all parts from being soiled.", "The type of adhesive used can be any of the types similar to those applied to band aids, and other topical items that are applied to a person's skin.", "The sheet may also be perforated to minimize surface contact with the skin to avoid discomfort during removal.", "In other embodiments, the cover has a unique shape to effect a more easy removal of the cover from the human body.", "In further embodiments, the cover is made from a “plastic wrap” type material that physically attaches to skin without the use of adhesives, where a hole in the cover has an adjustment pad attached over the top.", "In a preferred embodiment, the pad allows a user to adjust the cover over the anal area and peel away the pad just before use.", "The cover can already be perforated in this area of the anus to permit the cover to be appropriately shaped to enter into the crevice surrounding the anus.", "Alternately, the cover can be solid permitting the user to form the perforation for the anus and shape the material to fit snugly into the crevice adjacent the anus and then extend onto the derriere.", "For this purpose, the center of the cover may be thinner than the rest of the cover to permit easy perforation to form the hold in the center.", "Also, an adaptor may be provided to facilitate placement of the protector.", "Other objects, features, and advantages according to the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of certain advantageous embodiments when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which the same components are identified by the same reference numerals.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG.", "1 is a perspective view showing the human derriere and the placement of the present invention; FIG.", "2 illustrates a first exemplary embodiment of an anus crevice insert and protector; FIGS.", "3A-F illustrate other exemplary embodiments of the present invention with a vacating hole of various types and shapes; FIG.", "4 illustrates another embodiment where the cover has a specialized shape to effect easier insertion and removal of cover from the human body; FIG.", "5 illustrates another embodiment of the invention; FIG.", "6 illustrates a side view of the invention illustrated in FIG.", "2A; FIG.", "7A is yet another illustrative embodiment of the invention; FIG.", "7B illustrates a side view of the embodiment shown in FIG.", "7A; FIG.", "8A illustrates yet another embodiment of the invention, which includes a wiping pad; FIG.", "8B illustrates a side view of the embodiment shown in FIG.", "8A; FIG.", "9 shows a perspective view of an adapter for use with the present invention; and FIGS.", "10A & 10B show the separate parts of the adapter shown in FIG.", "8.DETAILED DESCRIPTION Referring now to FIG.", "1, there is shown a general view of the derriere 2, showing the left portion 4 and right portion 6 with the crevice 8 which is formed between the two sections of the derriere.", "Along the crevice is located the anus 9 from which typical fecal elimination is emitted.", "During normal use, the sidewalls of the crevice adjacent to the anus become soiled and in many instances, the soiling even extends beyond the crevice sidewalls onto the actual derriere portion.", "As a result, large amounts of toilet paper are often needed to cleanse the crevice area, including the sidewalls adjacent to the anus as well as the lateral portions of the derriere itself on either side of the crevice itself.", "In addition to large amounts of toilet paper, which must be used, there is often required other cleansing material to protect and remove the soiling.", "This costs large sums, contaminates the environment and provides a mess and disturbance to the user.", "As shown, there is provided a cover 10 which is placed over the anus area.", "The cover is such that using a finger, applicator, or the like, the center portion is actually inserted within the crevice so that it extends up to and adjacent to the anus without necessarily disturbing the anus or restricting the flow of excrement from the anus.", "At the same time, it will also serve to cover portions of the derriere adjacent to the crevice to protect those areas as well.", "In the embodiment illustrated in FIG.", "2, the anus insert and protector 1 is a solid sheet of material with an adhesive on one side which adhesive can be used to apply the cover directly onto the derriere portion, and snugly into the crevice adjacent to the anus.", "The type of adhesive used can be any of the types similar to those applied to band aids, and other topical items that are applied to a person's skin.", "To protect the adhesive from inadvertently attaching to unwanted items, an adhesive jacket 20 may be overlaid on cover 10 to protect it.", "Prior to use, adhesive jacket 20 would be removed, and the cover applied so that it is inserted into the crevice and adheres to the skin.", "Thus, similar to a band-aid that has a protective layer over the adhesive, the jacket 20 can be removed to expose the adhesive on the cover prior to its use.", "When one is ready to use it, the user will peel off the layer thereby exposing the adhesive for use in inserting the cover into the crevice as well as covering the derriere around the anus.", "In a preferred embodiment, cover 10 includes a preformed hole 30A, which would be arranged over the anus, when cover 10 is inserted into the crevice and applied to the human body.", "The adhesive jacket 20 may have a corresponding hole 30B as well.", "It should be understood that the cover (and jacket) can also be provided without any opening and once the user inserts it into the crevice and applies it to the derriere, he himself can make an appropriate cut, slit, or simple hole corresponding to the position of the anus.", "This can be made either with an applied tool or a finger.", "Alternately, the cover can be provided with a pre-formed slit or hole (see FIGS.", "3A-F).", "Furthermore, the size of the opening, whether it be a slit or a circular hole or other shape, can be made of various sizes namely small, medium or large.", "Of course, the user can begin with the small size, and he could accommodate himself by enlarging the size of the opening.", "With the cover placed in the crevice and attached to the derriere, the cover can be shaped so that it adheres to the immediate walls adjacent the anus, as close as possible to the actual exit hole.", "Thus, when eliminating, there will be almost no soiling of the skin and little, if any, toilet paper needed.", "The adhesive can be placed over the entire surface of the cover material or it can be placed only on selected parts of the material.", "By way of example, just enough so that it will adhere to the immediate peripheral area around the anus.", "Furthermore, the size of the cover itself can be made in various sizes, either to cover a larger extent area or simply a small peripheral area along the crevice adjacent the anus itself.", "The insert and cover can be made of well-known material such as paper, plastic, or any other type which can be usable as material applied onto the skin without causing any irritation.", "By way of example, the numerous types of material, cloth, plastic, paper or the like from which band aids are made can be suitable used for such derriere covers.", "Furthermore, if the user will make the hole penetration in the insert and cover, it can be of thinner material adjacent the anus to facilitate making a hole in the cover material.", "Also, perforation can be already existing in the cover for this purpose.", "As the insert and cover is made of soft pliable material, and as the adhesive covers the area around the anus, when a hole is made, the portions of the cover adjacent to the hole will adhere closely to the crevice wall adjacent the anus.", "Thus, will actually bend upwardly toward the anus covering the crevice wall adjacent the anus itself.", "As a result, much of the excrement which normally might contaminate the area around the anus will now only contaminate the cover and will not affect the actual skin area.", "This will cause less irritation and damage to the skin area itself from the fecal material.", "Additionally, once the cover is removed and it removes the excrement along with it, there will be very little required to maintain cleanliness of the anus itself.", "As a result, there will be less irritation due to rubbing in that area.", "Furthermore, there will be almost no toilet paper required to be used to cleanse the area itself.", "FIG.", "3A illustrates another exemplary embodiment of an insert and cover for use as an anus protector.", "The item comprises an exterior layer 100 that is affixed to an interior layer 101.The exterior layer 100 of the cover would be the layer furthest from the body when inserted and applied, and preferably is made from woven fabric, or suitable plastic or latex rubber material which has a biocompatible adhesive or glue.", "The adhesive chosen is one that will adhere to human skin and yet be easily removed with slight pulling with no adverse effects to the skin.", "Such adhesives are well known in the art.", "The adhesive can be placed over the entire surface of the insert and cover material or it can be placed only on selected parts of the material.", "By way of example, just enough adhesive is applied so that it will adhere to the crevice wall immediately adjacent to the anus.", "The adhesive for adhering the exterior layer to the human body may be the same adhesive used to affix the exterior and interior layers together.", "Preferably, the adhesive used to affix the two layers should have stronger adhesive qualities.", "Under a preferred embodiment, at least one end 103 of the exterior layer 100 is not configured with adhesive, to aid in removing the cover after use.", "It should be understood that the cover can be made of paper, or any other type of covering which can be usable as material applied onto the skin without causing any irritation.", "Interior layer 101 covers exterior layer 100, and is configured to be closest to human skin during application.", "Since the interior layer 101 would be in contact with the skin, the layer should have minimal to no adhesive qualities.", "Interior layer 101 is preferably made from a water-impermeable material that is flexible, such as a film made of polyolefin resin.", "Alternately, the water-impermeable material may be a cellulose derivative such as methyl cellulose, hydroxyethyl cellulose, and carboxymethyl cellulose, water soluble polymer such as polyvinyl alcohol, sodium alginate, sodium poly acrylate, polyacrylic ether, polyvinyl pyrrolidone, and a copolymer of isobutylene and maleic anhydride, or biodegradable polymer such as poly lactic acid, polybutylene succinate, starch, and dextrin.", "Both interior and exterior layers should be made as thin as possible to allow for ease of application, preferably in the range of 0.5-20 mils thick.", "Under one exemplary embodiment, the insert cover can be provided without any opening and once the user inserts it into the crevice and applies it to the derriere, the user can make an appropriate cut, slit, or simple hole corresponding to the position of the anus.", "This can be made either with an applied tool or a finger.", "Alternately, the cover can be provided with a pre-formed slit 102a as shown in FIG.", "3A.", "In the embodiment of FIG.", "3B, a pre-formed circular hole is provided through which human waste would be evacuated.", "Furthermore, the size of the opening, whether it be a slit 102a or a circular hole 102b or other shape 102c (e.g., polygon 102d), illustrated in FIGS.", "3C-3F, can be made in various sizes namely small, medium or large.", "Of course, the user can begin with the small size, and he could accommodate himself by enlarging the size of the opening.", "FIG.", "4 shows an alternate exemplary embodiment of an insert and cover, where exterior surface 200 possesses a specialized shape to form-fit to the human body.", "Specifically, a front portion 202 of exterior surface 200 could be flared in a lateral direction so that a greater surface area would be available for adhesion to a front part of the body (i.e., pubic region).", "A back portion 201 of exterior surface 200 is tapered to form a tab-like area, suitable for fitting into the back cleft.", "Back portion 201 may also contain the same adhesive applied to the remainder of exterior surface 200, or may alternately be adhesive-free.", "Due to the tabbed shape, back portion 201 provides an easier means for a user to remove the cover after use.", "The cover also includes a hole 210, just as in the embodiments discussed above.", "Due to the sensitivity of the anal area, and presence of hair, it is possible to limit the amount of surface area the exterior surface 200 comes in contact with.", "Accordingly, perforations comprising a plurality of circular holes 203 may be provided.", "It should be understood that other hole shapes (e.g., squares, diamonds, hexagonal, etc.)", "would accomplish the same effect.", "The size of the insert and cover itself can be made in various sizes, either to cover a larger extent area or simply a small peripheral area around the anus itself.", "In the exemplary embodiment of FIG.", "5, exterior layer 300 is made to insert into the crevice adjacent the anus and to cover only the nearby vicinity of the derriere (i.e., 1 ½-3 inches), and contains the appropriate adhesive, as discussed above.", "Interior layer 301 is made from water-impermeable material and surrounds the outer area 302 of the opening, while leaving a sufficient area exposed on exterior layer 300 to allow adhesion to the skin.", "Due to the smaller size, interior layer 301 may be made thicker to provide structural support to the outer area 302, which surrounds the anus and defines the opening, or alternately include an insert (not shown) to support the opening.", "FIG.", "6 illustrates a side view of the insert and cover for anus protection.", "Referring partially to the embodiments in FIGS.", "3A-F, exterior layer 100 is covered by interior layer 101, and affixed using an adhesive or glue that is water-impermeable.", "Hole 102 extends through interior layer 101 and exterior layer 100, forming walls 400A and 400B, which serve as a means for allowing evacuated waste to flow through.", "Under one exemplary embodiment, since exterior layer 401 possesses an adhesive surface, a protective cover or film is placed over exterior layer 401.During normal use, the film would be peeled away by the user before applying to an orifice area.", "FIG.", "7A illustrates yet another embodiment, where the insert and cover 500 is made from a “plastic wrap” type material, preferably made from a water-impermeable vinyl or polyvinylchloride molecular configuration, which would provide an adhesive “cling” throughout the entire surface.", "The cover material should also possess a suitable electrical charge to allow for increased adhesion.", "Plasticizers may be included in the material for the cover 500 to allow it to stretch during application.", "In an alternate embodiment, the cover 500 may comprise two overlying sheets of cellular tissue on one side and polyethylene on the other side.", "The polyethylene sheet may be coated with an adhesive, covered with a release tape in the form of a removable cover strip, e.g.", "glassine paper.", "Alternately biodegradable materials, such as polystyrene-based stretch film may also be used for cover 500.The thickness of insert and cover 500 should be very thin (e.g., 0.5-2.0 mils) to allow ease of insertion and adhesion.", "Because the device is so thin, a hole support 505, preferably made from plastic or rubber, can encircle hole 502 to support and/or maintain the hole opening during use.", "Similar to the embodiment of FIG.", "4, a tab portion 501 is provided at the back of the cover 500, in order to fit in the black cleft when applied.", "During removal, tab 501 provides an easy means for removal after use.", "In an alternate embodiment, adhesive areas 506 may be provided in advantageous portions of the cover 500 (as shown in the exemplary embodiment of FIG.", "7 A) to increase adhesive qualities of the cover.", "In contrast to the embodiments of FIG.", "3A-F, the insert and cover 500 is equipped with a removable adjustment pad 503, which covers hole 502 from an exterior surface as show in FIG.", "7B.", "Pad 503 is configured to be larger than hole 502 and is affixed to the surface of cover 500 with adhesive.", "Similar to insert and cover 500, pad 503 preferably has a tabbed end 504 that allows easy removal of pad 503 from the cover 500 prior to use.", "Under this configuration, a user can adjust the hole 502 to be over the anus without having to physically touch the area.", "Once the device is inserted in the crevice adjacent the anus, and placed over the sides of the derriere, the user would remove the tab (see arrow in FIG.", "7B) to expose the hole.", "Subsequently, the user would apply pressure over the remaining surface of the insert and cover 500 to adhere it to the skin.", "Turning to FIGS.", "8A and 8B, another exemplary embodiment is illustrated, where a wiping pad 602 is provided between two layers (600A, 600B) of insert and cover 600.Wiping pad 602 is attached to a string (603B, 603A) that runs continuously through the body of the cover 600 and to the outside, where tab 604 is affixed.", "During use, and after elimination of the feces, a user pulls on tab 604 which creates tension in the string, which ultimately forces wiping pad 602 to move to the rear of cover 600 (see FIG.", "8A, “W”), effectively providing at least partial cleaning of the anal area.", "To facilitate movement of wiping pad 602, the edge of hole 601 is sealed with a mild adhesive (610) that would break apart when the tension from the string 603 during pulling (FIG.", "8B, “T”) brings the string through to the center hole 601.After the initial break of the adhesive, the remaining mild adhesive breaks apart when wiping pad 602 is brought forward.", "The anus insert and cover described above can be stored in a container and be placed directly in bathrooms or individual stalls, in which case they can be extracted and used by each user similar to toilet seat covers.", "Alternately, they can be folded and prepackaged to that the user can carry one or multiples of the devices.", "To the extent that the user carries them, they can be individually folded and packaged for single use or packaged in a bundle and the user extracts them individually from a container that he carries one as he uses it.", "After use, the entire insert and cover will be flushed or otherwise disposed of in a wastebasket.", "To that end, the material used in the insert and cover may also be adapted to conform to various “green” technologies and provide a lessened impact upon the environment.", "For example, covers may be made from biodegradable polymers such as aliphatic diols, aliphatic-aromatic copolyester, or any organic plastics derived from renewable biomass sources, such as vegetable oil, corn starch, pea starch or microbiota.", "In this case, materials should generally conform to biodegradability certifications EN 13432, ASTM D6400 and biobased certification ASTM D6866.While use has been described in connection with fecal elimination, it should be appreciated that such coverings can also be utilized by females during urination to protect the surrounding area from being splashed or otherwise soiled during urination.", "In addition to providing the benefit of avoiding soiling by the elimination process, either fecal or urination, it should also be appreciated that these protective insert and cover can also provide medical protection by avoiding contamination with toilet seats, and other material on which the user typically sits.", "Thus, in many cases, this can serve a similar purpose of a toilet seat cover.", "While on the one hand it protects the anus from elimination soiling and almost eliminates the use of toilet paper, it also protects the anus and surrounding area from contamination from dirty toilet seats and the like.", "To that extent, if the anus covers are large enough, they can replace toilet seat covers and thereby provide both the benefit of the toilet seat cover, as well as the benefit of the derriere cover.", "It should be appreciated that instead of a single unitary insert and cover such as a circular section or the like, as we are dealing with the two sides of the anal slit, elongated strips could likewise be used.", "In that case, a strip would be placed on either side of the anal section and each section inserted in the crevice adjacent each side of the anus.", "The two individual sections can then serve a similar purpose as a single unitary round or oval section.", "Through use of the single strip, the individual need not make an opening but simply applies each of the two strips separately to cover each of the separate sides of the crevice adjacent to the anus.", "Furthermore, through use of the strip material, it can be placed on a continuous roll of elongated strip section similar to toilet paper.", "The user can pull off one or more sections and apply it individually on either side of the crevice, respectively, adjacent the anus as needed.", "This could facilitate making it available for users without having numerous different sizes and shapes.", "Various types of medicaments or creams, salves, etc., can also be applied adjacent the opening, if need.", "Referring now to FIGS.", "9, 10A and 10B, there is shown the use of an applicator 700 for aid in making use of the insert and cover of any of the devices heretofore described.", "The applicator includes a base portion 702 and a stem portion 704.The applicator can be used in a number of different ways.", "In one method, the insert and cover of the present invention is first placed on the derriere.", "The portion of the device is inserted into the crevice adjacent the anus and the derriere is then covered with the rest.", "After the insert and cover is adhered to the skin, the applicator can then be used to make a center hole corresponding to the anus, avoiding the need for the user to use parts of his own body such as his finger, or the like to make the hole for the anus.", "Alternately, the device of the present invention can be loaded onto the base 702 of the applicator with the stem 704 extending into an existing or a created hole on the device.", "With the device of the present invention placed on the base of the applicator, the applicator is then used to properly guide the device of the present invention and place it on the sides of the crevice adjacent to the anus.", "Thereafter, the rest of the cover can be adhered to the sides of the derriere and the applicator removed.", "As shown in FIG.", "10A, the applicator 700 is shown with the base 702 and the stem 704.FIG.", "10B shows the presence of the stem 704.In various embodiments the stems can be made removable so that they can be single use stems and therefore, simply inserted into the base and used individually by each individual separately to avoid contamination.", "Although the invention has been described with reference to particular arrangements and embodiments, these are not intended to exhaust all possible arrangements or embodiments, and indeed many other modifications and variations will be ascertainable to those of skill in the art.", "Also, while specific materials are mentioned in this document, one skilled in the art would appreciate that other materials may be used or substituted.", "This application covers any adaptations or variations of the present invention.", "Therefore, the present invention is limited only by the claims and all available equivalents." ] ]
Patent_15873092
[ [ "THERMAL POLING METHOD, PIEZOELECTRIC FILM AND MANUFACTURING METHOD OF SAME, THERMAL POLING APPARATUS, AND INSPECTION METHOD OF PIEZOELECTRIC PROPERTY", "A thermal poling method in which a poling treatment can be performed easily by a dry process.", "The poling treatment is performed on a PZT film by performing a heat treatment on the PZT film under a pressurized oxygen atmosphere at a temperature of 400° C. or more and 900° C. or less.", "The PZT film before the heat treatment has a single-domain crystal structure, and the PZT film after the heat treatment has a multi-domain crystal structure." ], [ "1.An inspection method of piezoelectric property, comprising the steps of: comparing peak positions in XRD results of each of a first ferroelectric film and a second ferroelectric film, determining that a piezoelectric property is excellent when the peak position of said second ferroelectric film is shifted to a lower-angle side than the peak position of said first ferroelectric film, and determining that a piezoelectric property is not excellent when the peak position of said second ferroelectric film is not shifted to a lower-angle side than the peak position of said first ferroelectric film, wherein said first ferroelectric film is one not subjected to a thermal poling treatment, and said second ferroelectric film is one subjected to a thermal poling treatment.", "2.The inspection method of piezoelectric property according to claim 1, wherein said first ferroelectric film has a single-domain crystal structure, and said second ferroelectric film has a multi-domain crystal structure." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION <EOH>" ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION <EOH>Since the above-mentioned conventional poling treatment method is a wet process in which the material to be poled is immersed in oil in a state of being sandwiched in the center of a pair of electrodes, there is a problem in which the poling treatment becomes complicated.", "An aspect of the present invention is to provide anyone of a thermal poling method in which a poling treatment can be performed easily by a dry process, a piezoelectric film and a manufacturing method of the same, and a thermal poling apparatus.", "In addition, an aspect of the present invention is to provide an inspection method of piezoelectric property." ], [ "BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1.Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a thermal poling method, piezoelectric film and manufacturing method of same, thermal poling apparatus, and inspection method of piezoelectric property.", "2.Description of the Related Art FIG.", "11 is a schematic diagram illustrating a conventional poling apparatus.", "A crystal 33 is sandwiched in the center of a pair of electrodes 35 constituted of two parallel flat plates each having 10×10 mm2 so that an electric field is applied in the direction not subjected to mechanical poling.", "In addition, the crystal 33 together with the electrodes 35 is immersed in an oil 36 of an oil bath 37, and the oil 36 in which the crystal 33 has been immersed is then heated to 125° C. by a heater 38.After having reached a specified temperature of the oil, a DC electric field of 1 kV/cm is applied between the electrodes 35 for 10 hours via lead wires 40 from a high-voltage power supply 39.Therefore, the crystal 33 is subjected to a poling treatment (for example, refer to Patent Literature 1).", "[Patent Literature 1] Japanese Patent Laid-Open No.", "10-177194 (Paragraph 0018, FIG.", "4) SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Since the above-mentioned conventional poling treatment method is a wet process in which the material to be poled is immersed in oil in a state of being sandwiched in the center of a pair of electrodes, there is a problem in which the poling treatment becomes complicated.", "An aspect of the present invention is to provide anyone of a thermal poling method in which a poling treatment can be performed easily by a dry process, a piezoelectric film and a manufacturing method of the same, and a thermal poling apparatus.", "In addition, an aspect of the present invention is to provide an inspection method of piezoelectric property.", "1.Means to Solve the Problem Hereinafter, various aspects of the present invention will be explained.", "[1] A thermal poling method, including the step of performing a poling treatment on a ferroelectric film by performing a heat treatment on the ferroelectric film under a pressurized oxygen atmosphere at a temperature of 400° C. or more and 900° C. or less.", "[2] The thermal poling method according to the above [1], wherein the ferroelectric film before the heat treatment has a single-domain crystal structure, and the ferroelectric film after the heat treatment has a multi-domain crystal structure.", "[3] The thermal poling method according to the above [1] or [2], wherein the pressurized atmosphere is 202650 Pa (2 atoms) or more.", "[4] The thermal poling method according to any one of the above [1] to [3], wherein a time for the heat treatment is 10 sec or more (preferably 60 sec or more).", "[5] The thermal poling method according to any one of the above [1] to [4], wherein the ferroelectric film is a PZT film.", "[6] The thermal poling method according to any one of the above [1] to [5], wherein said ferroelectric film is a film having a perovskite or a bismuth oxide of layered structure represented by ABO3 or (Bi2O2)2+(Am-1BmO3m+1)2− where A is at least one selected from the group consisting of Li, Na, K, Rb, Pb, Ca, Sr, Ba, Bi, La and Hf, B is at least one selected from the group consisting of Ru, Fe, Ti, Zr, Nb, Ta, V, W and Mo, m is a natural number of 5 or less, a film having a superconductive oxide represented by LanBa2Cu3O7, Trm2Ba2Can-1CunO2n+4 or TrmBa2Can-1CunO2n+3 where Lan is at least one selected from the group consisting of Y, La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Pm, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb and Lu, Trm is at least one selected from the group consisting of Bi, Tl and Hg, n is a natural number of 5 or less, a film having a tungsten oxide of bronze structure represented by A0.5BO3 of square bronze structure or A0.3BO3 of hexagonal bronze structure where A is at least one selected from the group consisting of Li, Na, K, Rb, Cs, Pb, Ca, Sr, Ba, Bi and La, B is at least one selected from the group consisting of Ru, Fe, Ti, Zr, Nb, Ta, V, W and Mo, a film having at least one material selected from the group consisting of CaO, BaO, PbO, ZnO, MgO, B2O3, Al2O3, Y2O3, La2O3, Cr2O3, Bi2O3, Ga2O3, ZrO2, TiO2, HfO2, NbO2, MoO3, WO3 and V2O5, a film having a material which contains SiO2 in said at least one material, or a film having a material which contains SiO2 and GeO2 in said at least one material.", "[7] The thermal poling method according to any one of the above [1] to [5], wherein said ferroelectric film is a PZT film.", "Note that, in the present description, the “PZT film” includes one containing impurities in Pb(Zr, Ti) O3r and various ones may be contained as long as a function of piezoelectric property of the PZT film is not extinguished even if the impurities is contained.", "[8] The thermal poling method according to any one of the above [1] to [7], wherein said ferroelectric film is formed on a substrate.", "[9] The thermal poling method according to the above [8], wherein an electrode film is formed between said ferroelectric film and said substrate.", "[10] A piezoelectric film, wherein a piezoelectric activity is imparted to said ferroelectric film by performing a poling treatment on said ferroelectric film by the thermal poling method according to any one of the above [1] to [9].", "[11] A manufacturing method of a piezoelectric film, comprising the steps of: forming a ferroelectric film on a substrate, and performing a poling treatment on said ferroelectric film by performing a heat treatment on said ferroelectric film under a pressurized oxygen atmosphere at a temperature of 400° C. or more and 900° C. or less, thus forming the piezoelectric film by imparting piezoelectric activity to said ferroelectric film.", "[12] The manufacturing method of a piezoelectric film according to the above [11], wherein the ferroelectric film before said heat treatment has a single-domain crystal structure, and the ferroelectric film after said heat treatment has a multi-domain crystal structure.", "[13] The manufacturing method of a piezoelectric film according to the above [11] or [12], wherein said pressurized atmosphere is 202650 Pa or more.", "[14] The manufacturing method of a piezoelectric film according to any one of the above [11] to [13], wherein a time for said heat treatment is 10 sec or more.", "[15] The manufacturing method of a piezoelectric film according to any one of the above [11] to [14], wherein said ferroelectric film formed on said substrate is formed by a sol-gel method and crystallized by heat treatment.", "[16] The manufacturing method of a piezoelectric film according to any one of the above [11] to [15], wherein a substrate before forming the ferroelectric film on said substrate has an electrode film formed on said substrate.", "[17] A thermal poling apparatus, comprising: a treatment room, a holding part arranged in said treatment room and holding a substrate having a ferroelectric film, a gas introducing mechanism that introduces a pressurized oxygen gas into said treatment room, a gas exhausting mechanism that exhausts the gas in said treatment room, a lamp heater that irradiates said ferroelectric film with a lamp light, and a control part that controls said gas introducing mechanism and said lamp heater, wherein said control part performs a control so that said pressurized oxygen gas is introduced into said treatment room, a heat treatment is performed on said ferroelectric film under the pressurized atmosphere at a temperature of 400° C. or more and 900° C. or less by irradiating said ferroelectric film with the lamp light from said lamp heater and thus a poling treatment is performed on said ferroelectric film.", "[18] An inspection method of piezoelectric property, comprising the steps of: comparing peak positions in XRD results of each of a first ferroelectric film and a second ferroelectric film, determining that a piezoelectric property is excellent when the peak position of said second ferroelectric film is shifted to a lower-angle side than the peak position of said first ferroelectric film, and determining that a piezoelectric property is not excellent when the peak position of said second ferroelectric film is not shifted to a lower-angle side than the peak position of said first ferroelectric film, wherein said first ferroelectric film is one not subjected to a thermal poling treatment, and said second ferroelectric film is one subjected to a thermal poling treatment.", "[19] The inspection method of piezoelectric property according to the above [18], wherein said first ferroelectric film has a single-domain crystal structure, and said second ferroelectric film has a multi-domain crystal structure.", "Note that, in above-described various aspects of the present invention, the phrase of “forming a specified B (hereinafter, referred to as “B”) on (or under) a specified A (hereinafter, referred to as “A”) (or “B” is formed on (or under) “A”) is not limited to the case of “forming “B” (the case where “B” is formed) directly on (or under) “A”,” but the phrase also includes the case of “forming “B” (the case where “B” is formed) over (or below) “A” via another substance within the scope not hindering the working effect of the present invention.” 2.Effect of the Invention According to an aspect of the present invention, it is possible to provide any of a thermal poling method in which a poling treatment can be performed easily by a dry process, piezoelectric film and manufacturing method of the same, and thermal poling apparatus.", "In addition, according to another aspect of the present invention, it is possible to provide an inspection method of piezoelectric property.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG.", "1 is a cross-sectional view explaining a manufacturing method of a piezoelectric film according to an aspect of the present invention.", "FIG.", "2 is a schematic view showing a thermal poling apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention.", "FIG.", "3 is an A-A′ part cross-sectional view of FIG.", "2.FIG.", "4 is a B-B′ part cross-sectional view of FIG.", "2.FIG.", "5(A) is a view showing a hysteresis property of the PZT film of the sample wafer subjected to a thermal poling treatment under the second conditions.", "FIG.", "5(B) is a photograph taken of the surface of the PZT film of the sample wafer subjected to the thermal poling treatment under the second conditions.", "FIG.", "5(C) is a view showing a hysteresis property of the PZT film of the sample wafer not subjected to the thermal poling treatment.", "FIG.", "5(D) is a photograph taken of the surface of the PZT film of the sample wafer not subjected to the thermal poling treatment.", "FIG.", "6 is a view showing the results of the hysteresis evaluation of the PZT film of the sample wafer not subjected to the thermal poling treatment and a piezocurve of the PZT film.", "FIG.", "7 is a view showing the results of the hysteresis evaluation of the PZT film of the sample wafer subjected to the thermal poling treatment under the second conditions and a piezocurve of the PZT film.", "FIG.", "8 is an XRD chart of the PZT film of the sample wafer subjected to the thermal poling treatment under the second conditions and an FIB cross-sectional image.", "FIG.", "9 is an XRD (X-Ray Diffraction) chart showing peaks of Pt (400) and PZT (400) of each of the sample wafer (as) not subjected to the thermal poling treatment, the sample wafer (PA85-1-HP10) subjected to the thermal poling treatment under the first conditions, and the sample wafer (PA85-3-HP10) subjected to the thermal poling treatment under the third conditions.", "FIG.", "10 is an XRD (X-Ray Diffraction) chart showing peaks of Pt (400), PZT (400) and PZT (004) of each of the sample wafer (as) not subjected to the thermal poling treatment, the sample wafer (PA85-1-HP10) subjected to the thermal poling treatment under the first conditions, and the sample wafer (PA85-3-HP10) subjected to the thermal poling treatment under the third conditions.", "FIG.", "11 is a view showing a schematic diagram illustrating a conventional poling apparatus.", "DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments and examples of the present invention will be explained in detail using the drawings.", "However, a person skilled in the art would be able to easily understand that the present invention is not limited to the following explanation but the configuration and details thereof can be changed variously without deviating from the gist and the scope of the present invention.", "Accordingly, the present invention should not be construed as being limited to the description of the present embodiments and examples shown below.", "<Manufacturing Method of Piezoelectric Film> FIG.", "1 is a cross-sectional view explaining a manufacturing method of a piezoelectric film according to one aspect of the present invention.", "A Pt film 13 by epitaxial growth is formed on a Si substrate 11 having a crystal plane (100).", "The Pt film 13 is oriented to the (100) in the same way as the crystal plane (100) of the Si substrate 11.The Pt film 13 may function as an electrode film.", "Note that the Pt film 13 may be any electrode film other than Pt.", "This electrode film may be an electrode film formed of, for example, an oxide or a metal, or may be an Ir film.", "A first buffer film (not shown) may be formed between the Si substrate 11 and the Pt film 13.The first buffer film may be constituted of a plural of films.", "In addition, the first buffer film may preferably be an oriented film of (100).", "The oriented film of (100) is referred to as a film oriented to the (100) in the same way as the crystal plane (100) of the Si substrate 11.After that, a PZT film 15 is formed on the Pt film 13.This PZT film 15 preferably has a single-domain crystal structure.", "Note that, in the present description, the “single domain” literally means only one domain, and means there is only one region where the same polarization component exists, so-called polarization region.", "All of the polarization of wafer sizes start at the same time and usually are divided into several domains, and there is a wall referred to as a domain wall between the domains.", "A case where there are many domains and domain walls is so-called as “multi domain”.", "Usually, a polarization component existing along the domain wall performs polarization reversal along the wall.", "Namely, the single domain has a structure which is difficult to perform polarization reversal along the wall, since there is no domain wall other than at a wafer edge.", "Hereinafter, a method of forming the PZT film 15 will be explained in detail.", "A PZT film 15 obtained by crystallizing a PZT amorphous film is formed on a Pt film 13 by forming, on the Pt film 13, a PZT amorphous film short of lead or a PZT amorphous film having a stoichiometric composition by sol-gel process, and by performing heat treatment on the PZT amorphous film under a normal pressure oxygen atmosphere or a pressurized oxygen atmosphere.", "Note that a lead amount in the PZT amorphous film short of lead is preferably 80 atomic % or more and 95 atomic % or less, in contrast to the fact that the lead amount of the PZT amorphous film having a stoichiometric composition is set to be 100 atomic.", "Furthermore, a specific method of forming the PZT film 15 will be explained.", "There was used, as a sol-gel solution for forming the PZT film, an E1 solution of a concentration of 10% by weight in a butanol solvent to which lead is added in an insufficient amount of 70% to 90%.", "When adding an alkaline alcohol with an amino group being dimethylaminoethanol in a volume ratio of the E1 sol-gel solution:dimethylaminoethanol=7:3 to the sol-gel solution, strong alkalinity of 12 was exhibited.", "A PZT amorphous film was formed by a spin coating method through the use of the above solution.", "MS-A200 manufactured by MIKASA Co., Ltd was used as a spin coater.", "First, the amorphous film was formed by rotation at 800 rpm for 5 seconds, and 1500 rpm for 10 seconds, and then by raising a rotation speed gradually to 3000 rpm in 10 seconds, and then by being allowed to stand in the atmosphere, on a hot-plate (ceramics hot-plate AHS-300 manufactured by AS ONE Co., Ltd.) of 150° C. for 5 minutes, and then, by being allowed to stand in the atmosphere, on a hot-plate (the same AHS-300) of 300° C. for 10 minutes, followed by being cooled to room temperature.", "The PZT amorphous film having a desired film thickness of 200 nm was formed on the Pt film 13 by repetition of this procedure five times.", "Next, a PZT film 15 in which a PZT amorphous film is crystallized is formed on a Pt film 13 by performing heat treatment on the above-mentioned PZT amorphous film under a normal pressure oxygen atmosphere or a pressurized oxygen atmosphere, for example, at a temperature of 650° C. The PZT film 15 has a single-domain crystal structure.", "After that, the PZT film 15 is subjected to the thermal poling treatment by performing heat treatment on the PZT film 15 at a temperature of 400° C. or more and 900° C. or less under a pressurized atmosphere.", "The heat treatment condition at this time is preferably at a pressure of 202650 Pa (2 atoms) or more and 1519875 Pa or less, under an oxygen atmosphere, for a treatment time of 10 seconds or more (preferably 60 seconds or more) and 60 minutes or less, for example, may be under a pressure of 10 atoms at a temperature of 550° C. for a treatment time of 30 minutes, or, for example, may be under a pressure of 10 atoms at a temperature of 850° C. for a treatment time of 1 minute to 3 minutes.", "In this way, a piezoelectric activity is imparted to the PZT film 15, and the crystal structure of the PZT film 15 can be made multi domain.", "As the result, the PZT film 15 can be made a piezoelectric film.", "Note that the definition of the multi domain is explained above.", "In addition, a second buffer film (not shown) may be formed between the Pt film 13 and the PZT film 15.The second buffer film may be constituted of a plurality of films.", "Furthermore, the second buffer film may be SrTiO3 film formed by, for example, spattering.", "The SrTiO3 film 14 is formed of a composite oxide of strontium and titanium, and formed of a compound having a perovskite structure.", "Moreover, although, in the present embodiment, the Si substrate 11 is used, any monocrystalline substrate other than the Si substrate 11 may be used.", "In addition, although, in the present embodiment, the PZT film 15 is used, any ferroelectric film other than the PZT film may be used, and such a ferroelectric film may be formed of at least one film of the following (1) to (6).", "(1) A film having a perovskite or a bismuth oxide of layered structure represented by ABO3 or (Bi2O2)2+(Am-1BmO3m+1)2− where A is at least one selected from the group consisting of Li, Na, K, Rb, Pb, Ca, Sr, Ba, Bi, La and Hf, B is at least one selected from the group consisting of Ru, Fe, Ti, Zr, Nb, Ta, V, W and Mo, m is a natural number of 5 or less (2) A film having a superconductive oxide represented by LanBa2Cu3O7, Trm2Ba2Can-1CunO2n+4 or TrmBa2Can-1CunO2n+3 where Lan is at least one selected from the group consisting of Y, La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Pm, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb and Lu, Trm is at least one selected from the group consisting of Bi, Tl and Hg, n is a natural number of 5 or less (3) A film having a tungsten oxide of bronze structure represented by A0.5BO3 of square bronze structure or A0.3BO3 of hexagonal bronze structure where A is at least one selected from the group consisting of Li, Na, K, Rb, Cs, Pb, Ca, Sr, Ba, Bi and La, B is at least one selected from the group consisting of Ru, Fe, Ti, Zr, Nb, Ta, V, W and Mo (4) A film having at least one material selected from the group consisting of CaO, BaO, PbO, ZnO, MgO, B2O3, Al2O3, Y2O3, La2O3, Cr2O3, Bi2O3, Ga2O3, ZrO2, TiO2, HfO2, NbO2, MoO3, WO3 and V2O5 (5) A film having a material which contains SiO2 in the at least one material (6) A film having a material which contains SiO2 and GeO2 in the at least one material According to the present embodiment, the PZT film 15 can be subjected to the thermal poling treatment by performing heat treatment on the crystalized PZT film 15 under a pressurized atmosphere at a temperature of 550° C. or more to 900° C. or less.", "As the result, a piezoelectric activity is imparted to the PZT film 15 to thereby enhance the piezoelectric property.", "Hereinafter, details will be explained.", "Since a ferroelectric film such as a PZT film 15 which is formed and crystalized by a sol-gel method has a tensile stress due to volume shrinkage at the time of forming films, the ferroelectric film is put into a state of being not movable.", "It is considered that the tensile stress is removed by performing the thermal poling treatment on the ferroelectric film and thus the ferroelectric film is put into a state of being easily movable.", "As a result, a piezoelectric activity is imparted to the ferroelectric film, and the multi-domain crystal structure can be provided.", "In addition, as mentioned above, by forming the ferroelectric film such as the PZT film 15 into the multi-domain crystal structure, the piezoelectric property can be enhanced when the ferroelectric film is used as a piezoelectric element for extracting d31.The “piezoelectric element for extracting d31” in the present description is a piezoelectric element in which, when an electric field is applied in the direction perpendicular to the surface of the substrate 11, the ferroelectric film such as the PZT film 15 moves in the direction parallel to the surface of the substrate 11.<Thermal Poling Apparatus> FIG.", "2 is a schematic view of showing a thermal poling apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention.", "FIG.", "3 is an A-A′ part cross-sectional view of FIG.", "2.FIG.", "4 is a B-B′ part cross-sectional view of FIG.", "2.The above-mentioned thermal poling treatment is performed by the thermal poling apparatus.", "Hereinafter, details will be explained.", "As shown in FIG.", "2 to FIG.", "4, the thermal poling apparatus has a chamber 21, and a treatment room 25 is formed by the inside of the chamber 21.The inner surface 21a of the chamber 21 is subjected to surface treatment.", "Namely, a reflective film is formed on the inner surface 21a of the chamber 21.This reflective film can reflect a lamp light.", "As a result, a temperature rising rate can be increased.", "In addition, the chamber 21 is constituted so as to be cooled with water by a cooling mechanism not shown.", "A stage (holding part) 23 on which a Si substrate 11 having the crystalized PZT film 15 is put is provided in the chamber 21.The stage 23 is formed of a lamp light-transmissive material, for example, quartz.", "A plurality of transparent tubes 20 is arranged above the stage 23, and these transparent tubes 20 are formed of a lamp light-transmissive material, for example, quartz.", "A lamp heater 19 is arranged inside each of the plurality of transparent tubes 20.A groove 18 is provided on the upper inner wall 21b of the chamber 21, and the inner wall of the groove 18 has a curved surface along the outer surface of the transparent tube 20.Accordingly, the transparent tube 20 can be arranged in the groove 18 in a state where the outer surface thereof is in contact with the curved surface of the inner wall of the groove 18.A wafer 22 held on the stage 23 is irradiated with the lamp light of the lamp heater 19 through the transparent tube 20.As shown in FIG.", "3 and FIG.", "4, one end 20a of the transparent tube 20 is connected to the inside of a first box 26a formed of a metal, which is positioned on the outer side of the chamber 21, and the other end 20b of the transparent tube 20 is connected to the inside of a second box 26b formed of a metal, which is positioned on the outer side of the chamber 21.An exhaust duct (not shown) is connected to the first box 26a.", "White O-rings 28 are arranged between the chamber 21 and each of the both ends 20a and 20b of the transparent tube 20.These O-rings 28 are used for keeping air tight in the treatment room 25.A window is provided at the lower part of the chamber 21 which is positioned under the stage 23, and a calcium fluoride 8 is arranged in the window.", "A radiation thermometer 9 is arranged under the calcium fluoride 8.In order to measure a temperature of the Si substrate 11 with the radiation thermometer 9, the calcium fluoride 8 is arranged for taking in light in a wavelength region to be measured (infrared ray of 5 μm wavelength).", "The treatment room 25 in the chamber 21 is connected to a pressurizing line (pressurizing mechanism) 51 having a gas introducing mechanism.", "The pressurizing line 51 has a pressurizing line of argon gas, a pressurizing line of oxygen gas and a pressurizing line of nitrogen gas.", "Furthermore, the treatment room 25 in the chamber 21 is connected to a pressure regulating line 52 having a gas exhausting mechanism.", "The treatment room 25 in the chamber 21 can be pressurized to a predetermined pressure (for example, 1.014 MPa or less) by the pressure regulating line 52 and the pressurizing line 51.In addition, the thermal poling apparatus is provided with the pressurizing line 51 having a gas introducing mechanism and a control part (not shown) controlling the lamp heater 19.The control part controls the pressurizing line 51 and lamp heater 19 so as to execute the thermal poling method described below.", "<Thermal Poling Method> The thermal poling method using the above-mentioned thermal poling apparatus will be explained.", "The inside of the treatment room 25 of the chamber is set to be in a pressurized atmosphere.", "Specifically, for example, an oxygen gas is introduced to the treatment room 25 from an oxygen-supplying source of the pressurizing line 51.At the same time, by gradually closing a variable valve of the pressure regulating line 52, the inside of the treatment room 25 is gradually pressurized while being brought into an oxygen atmosphere.", "Then, the inside of the treatment room 25 is pressurized to a predetermined pressure of 1.014 MPa or less, and is maintained at that pressure.", "Next, heat treatment is performed on the PZT film 15 for a predetermined period of time at a temperature of 400° C. or more to 900° C. or less by irradiating the PZT film 15 on the Si substrate 11 with the lamp light from the lamp heater 19 through the transparent tube 20.According to these procedures, the PZT film 15 is subjected to the thermal poling treatment, and a piezoelectric activity is imparted to the PZT film 15.According to the present embodiment, it is possible to perform the thermal poling treatment on the PZT film 15 in a simple manner by a dry process.", "Furthermore, although the conventional poling apparatus shown in FIG.", "11 is a device that performs a poling treatment on a bulk material and is difficult to perform a poling treatment on a substrate formed of thin film such as a ferroelectric film, the thermal poling apparatus according to the present embodiment easily performs the poling treatment on a substrate of thin film such as a ferroelectric film.", "Moreover, according to the thermal poling apparatus of the present embodiment, in performing the poling treatment on the ferroelectric film formed on the substrate, the poling treatment can be performed unless the film is divided into chip-shaped pieces.", "In addition, according to the thermal poling apparatus of the present embodiment, since the poling treatment is performed by using heat, the treatment time can be shortened in comparison with that in the conventional poling apparatus, it is possible to enhance the productivity of the piezoelectric film.", "Furthermore, according to the thermal poling apparatus of the present embodiment, since any oil as used in the conventional poling apparatus is not used, the deterioration of working environments of a worker due to evaporation of oil is prevented.", "<Inspection Method of Piezoelectric Property> Since the ferroelectric film before being subjected to the thermal poling treatment and the ferroelectric film after being subjected to the thermal poling treatment have different peak positions in the XRD results, it is possible to inspect the piezoelectric property of the ferroelectric film nondestructively by comparing these peak positions.", "Hereinafter, details will be explained.", "There are prepared a first ferroelectric film which is crystallized but is not subjected to the thermal poling treatment and a second ferroelectric film which is subjected to the thermal poling treatment after crystallization.", "Next, peak positions in XRD results of each of the first ferroelectric film and the second ferroelectric film are compared, a piezoelectric property can be determined to be excellent when the peak position of the second ferroelectric film is shifted to a lower-angle side than the peak position of the first ferroelectric film, and a piezoelectric property can be determined not to be excellent when the peak position of the second ferroelectric film is not shifted to a lower-angle side than the peak position of the first ferroelectric film.", "Note that the first ferroelectric film has a single-domain crystal structure, and the second ferroelectric film has a multi-domain crystal structure.", "Example A naturally oxidized film is attached to a surface of a Si substrate (Si wafer) having a (100) crystal plane.", "A Y2O3 film, ZrO2 film and a TiO2 film are formed sequentially on the Si substrate, a ZrO2 film, and then a Pt film is formed on the TiO2 film.", "Hereinafter, film forming method of each film will be explained in detail.", "A ZrO2 film, a Y2O3 film and a ZrO2 film are formed sequentially by deposition method on the Si substrate with the naturally oxidized film deposit by irradiating a ZrO2 target with an electron beam for about 10 minutes, then irradiating a Y2O3 target with an electron beam for about 2 minutes, and subsequently irradiating a ZrO2 target with an electron beam for about 10 minutes.", "The conditions at this time are as follows.", "Degree of vacuum at film formation: 2×10−4 Pa Temperature of substrate: 800° C. Rotation speed of substrate: 15 rpm Output: 60 kW Next, a TiO2 film is formed on the ZrO2 film.", "The TiO2 film is formed by forming a Ti film by DC sputtering method and then by subjecting the Ti film to heat treatment in an oxygen gas.", "Details are as follows.", "<Film Forming Conditions of Ti Film> Film formation device: DC spattering device Distance between target-substrate: 50 mm Substrate temperature: 200° C. Gas used in film formation: Atmosphere of 100% Ar gas Sputtering pressure: 0.5 Pa DC power supply: 200 W Film formation time: 20 seconds (film thickness 2 nm) <Heat Treatment Conditions of Ti Film> Oxygen pressure: 10 atoms Substrate temperature: 400° C. Treatment time: 1 min.", "Then, a Pt film is formed on the TiO2 film by DC spattering method.", "The film forming conditions at this time are as follows.", "Film formation device: DC spattering device Distance between target-substrate: 50 mm Substrate temperature: 400° C. Gas used in film formation: Atmosphere of 100% Ar gas Sputtering pressure: 1 Pa DC power supply: 400 W Film formation time: 240 seconds (film thickness 150 nm) Subsequently, a SrRuO3 film is formed on the Pt film by spattering method.", "The spattering film forming conditions at this time are as follows.", "Film formation pressure: 4 Pa Substrate temperature at film formation: Normal temperature Gas at film formation: Ar Flow rate at film formation: 30 sccm RF output: 300 W (13.56 MHz power supply) Film formation time: 6 minutes (film thickness 50 nm) Target: SrRuO3 sintered material After that, the SrRuO3 film is crystallized by RTA (Rapid Thermal Anneal) under a pressurized oxygen atmosphere.", "The RTA conditions at this time are as follows.", "Annealing temperature: 600° C. Introduced gas: oxygen gas Pressure: 9 kg/cm2 Temperature raising rate: 100° C./sec Annealing time: 5 minutes The SrRuO3 film is formed of a composite oxide of strontium and ruthenium and formed of compound having a perovskite structure.", "Next, the PZT film is formed on the SrRuO3 film in the following way.", "There was used, as a sol-gel solution for forming the PZT film, an E1 solution obtained by adding lead in an amount of a stoichiometric composition free from shortage of lead and having a concentration of 10% by weight, in a butanol solvent.", "An alkaline alcohol having an amino group, referred to as dimethylamino ethanol, was added to the sol-gel solution, at a ratio of E1 sol-gel solution:dimethylamino ethanol=7:3 in a volume ratio, which exhibited strong alkalinity of pH=12.A PZT amorphous film was formed using the above-described solution by spin coating.", "MS-A200 manufactured by MIKASA CO., LTD. was used as a spin coater.", "First, the coater was rotated at 800 rpm for 5 seconds and at 1500 rpm for 10 seconds, and then the rotation rate was raised gradually to 3000 rpm in 10 seconds, which was allowed to stand on a hot plate (AHS-300, a ceramic hot plate manufactured by AS ONE Corporation) at 150° C. for 5 minutes in the air, and after that, was allowed to stand on a hot plate (AHS-300) at 300° C. for 10 minutes also in the air, and then was cooled to room temperature.", "A PZT amorphous film having an intended thickness of 773 nm was formed on the SrRuO3 film by repeating the process several times.", "The product was formed in plural number.", "Then, a PZT film obtained by crystallizing the above-described PZT amorphous film was produced on the SrRuO3 film by performing a heat treatment on the above-mentioned PZT amorphous film in a pressurized oxygen atmosphere.", "After that, a SrRuO3 film was formed on the crystalized PZT film by the spattering method in the same way as in the above-mentioned SrRuO3 film.", "The sample wafer thus produced was SrRuO3/PZT/SrRuO3/150 nm-Pt/2 nm-TiO2/15 nm-ZrO2/3 nm-Y2O3/15 nm-ZrO2/Si wafer.", "Subsequently, the above-mentioned sample wafer was divided into two parts, one part of the sample wafer was not subjected to the thermal poling treatment, and the other part of the sample was subjected to the thermal poling treatment under the following three conditions.", "The first condition is a treatment time of 1 minute at a temperature of 850° C., under oxygen atmosphere at 10 atoms.", "The second condition is a treatment time of 2 minutes at a temperature of 850° C., under oxygen atmosphere at 10 atoms.", "The third condition is a treatment time of 3 minutes at a temperature of 850° C., under oxygen atmosphere at 10 atoms.", "Evaluation of the hysteresis property (refer to FIG.", "5(A)) of the PZT film of the sample wafer (PA85-2-HP10) subjected to the thermal poling treatment under the above-mentioned second condition and evaluation of the hysteresis property (refer to FIG.", "5(C)) of the PZT film of the sample wafer (as) not subjected to the thermal poling treatment were carried out.", "Note that, in FIG.", "5(A) and FIG.", "5(C), the vertical axis shows Polarization (μC/cm2), and the horizontal axis shows Voltage (V) to be applied.", "As shown in FIG.", "5(C) and FIG.", "5(D), it is found that the PZT film of the sample wafer not subjected to the thermal poling treatment has a single-domain crystal structure, and has a property in which the piezoelectricity is larger than the electrostriction since the hysteresis curve is not opened enough.", "In contrast to this, as shown in FIG.", "5(A) and FIG.", "5(B), it is found that the PZT film of the sample wafer subjected to the thermal poling treatment under the second condition has a multi-domain crystal structure, and has a property in which the electrostriction is larger than the piezoelectricity since the hysteresis curve is largely opened.", "From these facts, it has been confirmed that the piezoelectric property can be enhanced by performing the thermal poling treatment.", "Note that the hysteresis curve not opened enough shown in FIG.", "5(A) is the curve that the hysteresis curve shown in FIG.", "5(C) is transcribed to FIG.", "5(A).", "The reason why the hysteresis curve shown in FIG.", "5(C) and that in FIG.", "5(A) look different from each other is that the voltage in the horizontal axis is ±50 V in FIG.", "5(C) and ±10 V in FIG.", "5(A).", "Furthermore, by turning the PZT film to a multi-domain state, it has been confirmed that a plurality of parallel-looking lines is generated on the surface of the PZT film (refer to FIG.", "5(B)).", "TABLE 1 Post Anneal 850° C./10 atm/2 min as εr Loc.", "01 8.81E+03 7.80E+02 Loc.", "02 8.78E+02 7.84E+02 Loc.", "03 8.57E+02 7.87E+02 Ave. 8.72E+02 7.84E+02 d31 (pm/V) Loc.", "01 1.42E+02 5.49E+01 @20 V, 1 kHz Loc.", "02 1.43E+02 5.77E+01 Loc.", "03 1.39E+02 5.72E+01 Ave. 1.41E+02 5.66E+01 Table 1 shows the results in which there were measured the εr and d31, at three locations, of each of the PZT film of the sample wafer subjected to the thermal poling treatment under the second condition (Post Anneal: 850° C./10 atm/2 min.)", "and the PZT film of the sample wafer (as) not subjected to the thermal poling treatment.", "In TABLE 1, an average value (Ave.) of the three locations (Loc.", "01 to 03) is also shown.", "The εr is a dielectric constant (relative permittivity, dielectric constant), and is a ratio of a dielectric constant of a medium to a dielectric constant of vacuum ε/ε0=εr.", "The dielectric constant is a dimensionless amount and shows a constant value regardless a unit system to be used.", "The measuring method of the εr is as follows.", "The dielectric constant εr=ε/ε0 is obtained by assuming a dielectric constant of vacuum (condition in which no substance exists) to be ε0 (known), and assuming a dielectric constant of a certain substance to be ε.", "The dielectric constant can be determined from a capacity ratio of a capacitor.", "For example, the dielectric constant is measured from the change with time of charging-discharging current.", "However, when trying to investigate a minute change of capacity, there is a method in which a change of frequency is obtained by using a LC resonant circuit.", "It is possible to obtain a small change of the dielectric constant from change of electric capacity by producing two resonant circuits and obtaining a difference of those frequencies.", "The above measurements are performed by using a commercially available LCR meter, impedance analyzer, and the like.", "The measuring method of the d31 is as follows.", "A piezoelectric constant d31 means that the vibration direction is perpendicular to the polarization direction, and is a single vibration.", "When measuring the piezoelectric constant d31 of a thin film, the piezoelectric thin film is processed, for every substrate, into a cantilever which is a measurable form, and then is measured.", "For example, the Si substrate obtained by forming the piezoelectric thin film is processed into a strip form having a width of, approximately, 2 mm and a length of, approximately, 15 mm, and one end part of the strip is fixed.", "In applying a sinusoidal voltage to the electrode thin films formed on the upper and lower layers of the piezoelectric thin film, a displacement at the tip is measured as the displacement δ through the use of a laser Doppler vibration meter, and the d31 value is obtained by introducing the displacement value to the following equation.", "d   31 = ( s 1 2  t 2 4  t + 4  s 1  s 2  t 1  t 2 3 + 6  s 1  s 2  t 1 2  t 2 2 + 4  s 1  s 2  t 1 3  t 2 + s 2 2  t 1 4 )  δ 3  s 1  s 2  t 1  ( t 1 + t 2 )  l 2  V [ Equation   1 ] S1: ELASTIC MODULUS OF SUBSTRATE S2: ELASTIC MODULUS OF PIEZOELECTRIC MATERIAL t1: THICKNESS OF SUBSTRATE t2: THICKNESS OF PIEZOELECTRIC MATERIAL I: ELECTRODE LENGTH V: APPLIED VOLTAGE As shown in Table 1, it was able to be confirmed that the piezoelectric activity was imparted to the PZT film by performing the thermal poling treatment on the PZT film, to thereby enhance the piezoelectric property.", "In FIG.", "6 and FIG.", "7, the d33 property was compared.", "Note that, in the present description, “d33 property” means a property of a piezoelectric element that moves the piezoelectric film in the direction perpendicular to the surface of the substrate when applying an electric field in the direction perpendicular to the surface of the substrate, in the PZT film.", "FIG.", "6 is a drawing which shows the result of the hysteresis evaluation of the PZT film of the sample wafer not subjected to the thermal poling treatment (vertical axis: residual polarization Pr (μC/cm2), horizontal axis: applied voltage (V)) and the piezoelectric curve of the PZT film.", "FIG.", "7 is a drawing which shows the result of the hysteresis evaluation of the PZT film of the sample wafer subjected to the thermal poling treatment under the second condition (vertical axis: residual polarization Pr (μC/cm2), horizontal axis: applied voltage (V)) and the piezoelectric curve of the PZT film.", "It is found that, as shown in FIG.", "6, the PZT film of the single domain of the sample wafer not subjected to the thermal poling treatment drastically rises and has huge strain characteristics.", "In contrast to this, the PZT film of the multi domain of the sample wafer subjected to the thermal poling treatment under the second condition as shown in FIG.", "7 has a flat piezoelectric property to the applied voltage.", "FIG.", "8 is a XRD chart and a FIB cross-sectional image of the sample wafer, subjected to the thermal poling treatment under the second condition.", "According to FIG.", "8, although there were no differences in the XRD and FIB between the sample wafers before and after the thermal poling treatment, there was found a difference between the sample wafers before and after the thermal poling treatment in the metal microscopic photograph by observation at magnification of several tens.", "Namely, a single domain was observed in the sample wafer before the thermal poling treatment, whereas a multi domain was observed in the sample wafer after the thermal poling treatment (refer to FIG.", "5(B) and FIG.", "5(D)).", "FIG.", "9 and FIG.", "10 are XRD (X-Ray Diffraction) charts in which there are shown peaks of Pt (400), PZT (400) and PZT (004) of each the sample wafer (as) not subjected to the thermal poling treatment, the sample wafer (PA85-1-HP10) subjected to the thermal poling treatment under the first condition, and the sample wafer (PA85-3-HP10) subjected to the thermal poling treatment under the third condition.", "In FIG.", "9 and FIG.", "10, the vertical axis is intensity, and the horizontal axis is 28.When comparing the peak positions of the (400) PZT of each of the sample wafers shown in FIG.", "9 and FIG.", "10, it is found that the 2θs of the sample wafer (as), the sample wafer (PA85-1-HP10), and the sample wafer (PA85-3-HP10) are shifted to the lower-angle side in this order.", "In addition, the piezoelectric property is increased in order of the sample wafer (as), the sample wafer (PA85-1-HP10), and the sample wafer (PA85-3-HP10).", "Accordingly, it has been confirmed that the lower side the e shift to, the higher the piezoelectric property becomes.", "The above fact can be used for non-destructive inspection of a ferroelectric film such as a PZT film.", "Namely, when comparing the peak positions of the results of the XRD of the sample wafer (as) not subjected to the thermal poling treatment and the sample wafer subjected to the thermal poling treatment, it can be determined that the piezoelectric property becomes high if the peak position of the sample wafer subjected to the thermal poling treatment is shifted to the lower-angle side than the peak position of the sample wafer (as) not subjected to the thermal poling treatment.", "In addition, when comparing the peak positions of the (400) Pt of each of the sample wafers shown in FIG.", "9 and FIG.", "10, it is found that the 2θs of the sample wafer (as), the sample wafer (PA85-1-HP10), and the sample wafer (PA85-3-HP10) are shifted to a higher-angle side in this order.", "Furthermore, when comparing the peak positions of the (004) PZT of each of the sample wafers shown in FIG.", "10, it is found that the 2θs of the sample wafer (as), the sample wafer (PA85-1-HP10), and the sample wafer (PA85-3-HP10) are shifted to the higher-angle side in this order.", "The shifting to the higher-angle side means the decrease in the lattice constant.", "It is considered that the smaller lattice constant of the Pt means removing the strain of the Pt film by the thermal poling treatment to thereby restore the lattice condition of Pt itself.", "DESCRIPTION OF REFERENCE SYMBOLS 8 calcium fluoride 9 radiation thermometer 11 Si substrate 13 Pt film 15 PZT film 18 groove 19 lamp heater 20 transparent tube 20a one end of transparent tube 20b other end of transparent tube 21 chamber 21a inner surface of chamber 21b upper inner wall of chamber 23 stage (holding part) 25 treatment room 26a first box 26b second box 28 White O-rings 33 crystal 35 pair of electrodes 36 oil 37 oil bath 38 heater 39 high-voltage power supply 40 lead wires 51 pressurizing line (pressurizing mechanism) 52 pressure regulating line" ] ]
Patent_15873094
[ [ "Task managing application for performing tasks based on messages received from a data processing application initiated by the task managing application", "Managing task execution includes: receiving a specification of a plurality of tasks to be performed by respective functional modules; processing a flow of input data using a dataflow graph that includes nodes representing data processing components connected by links representing flows of data between data processing components; in response to at least one flow of data provided by at least one data processing component, generating a flow of messages; and in response to each of the messages in the flow of messages, performing an iteration of a set of one or more tasks using one or more corresponding functional modules." ], [ "1.", "(canceled) 2.A computer-implemented method for managing task execution, the method including: receiving, by a task managing application of a computer system, a specification of a plurality of tasks, wherein the task managing application includes a first program and a second program, with the second program for listening for and receiving messages from a data processing application of the computer system; initiating, by the first program of the task managing application, the data processing application of the computer system; processing, by the data processing application of the computer system, input data to transform one or more portions of the input data into an appropriate form for the task managing application; generating, by the data processing application, output data that includes the transformed one or more portions of the input data; generating, by the data processing application, a message, the message including data elements, with at least one of the data elements including at least some data of the transformed one or more portions of the input data included in the output data; transmitting the message to the task managing application; periodically listening, by the second program, for messages sent from the data processing application; storing, in data structures, messages received, with the storing being by the second program of the task managing application; and for each message stored in a data structure, starting, by the second program of the task managing application, a new iteration of the plurality of tasks in the specification; identifying, by the second program of the task managing application, at least one of the tasks to perform based on one or more values of the data elements in the message stored in the data structure; and performing, by the task managing application, the identified at least one of the tasks.", "3.The method of claim 2, wherein the plurality of tasks are to be performed by respective functional modules.", "4.The method of claim 2, wherein a dependency relationship between at least two tasks of the tasks defines at least a partial ordering for execution of functional modules corresponding to the tasks.", "5.The method of claim 2, wherein the plurality of tasks are to be performed by respective functional modules, wherein a dependency relationship between at least two tasks of the tasks defines conditional logic for determining at least one condition upon which execution of at least one of the functional modules is based.", "6.The method of claim 5, wherein at least one of the functional modules includes a fault-handling module that is executed when the conditional logic detects that a fault has occurred in execution of one of the other functional modules.", "7.The method of claim 5, wherein the generated message comprises a first message, and wherein second tasks are executed concurrently with the identified at least one of the tasks, with execution of the second tasks being in response to generating a second message.", "8.The method of claim 2, wherein the plurality of tasks are to be performed by respective functional modules, wherein at least one of the functional modules is configured to send an acknowledgement in response to receiving the message.", "9.The method of claim 2, wherein a data processing component resends an unacknowledged message.", "10.A system for managing task execution, the system including: one or more processing devices; and one or more machine-readable hardware storage devices storing instructions that are executable to cause the one or more processing devices to perform operations including: receiving, by a task managing application of a computer system, a specification of a plurality of tasks, wherein the task managing application includes a first program and a second program, with the second program for listening for and receiving messages from a data processing application of the computer system; initiating, by the first program of the task managing application, the data processing application of the computer system; processing, by the data processing application of the computer system, input data to transform one or more portions of the input data into an appropriate form for the task managing application; generating, by the data processing application, output data that includes the transformed one or more portions of the input data; generating, by the data processing application, a message, the message including data elements, with at least one of the data elements including at least some data of the transformed one or more portions of the input data included in the output data; transmitting the message to the task managing application; periodically listening, by the second program, for messages sent from the data processing application; storing, in data structures, messages received, with the storing being by the second program of the task managing application; and for each message stored in a data structure, starting, by the second program of the task managing application, a new iteration of the plurality of tasks in the specification; identifying, by the second program of the task managing application, at least one of the tasks to perform based on one or more values of the data elements in the message stored in the data structure; and performing, by the task managing application, the identified at least one of the tasks.", "11.A system for managing task execution, the system including: means for receiving, by a task managing application of a computer system, a specification of a plurality of tasks, wherein the task managing application includes a first program and a second program, with the second program for listening for and receiving messages from a data processing application of the computer system; means for initiating, by the first program of the task managing application, the data processing application of the computer system; means for processing, by the data processing application of the computer system, input data to transform one or more portions of the input data into an appropriate form for the task managing application; means for generating, by the data processing application, output data that includes the transformed one or more portions of the input data; means for generating, by the data processing application, a message, the message including data elements, with at least one of the data elements including at least some data of the transformed one or more portions of the input data included in the output data; means for transmitting the message to the task managing application; means for periodically listening, by the second program, for messages sent from the data processing application; means for storing, in data structures, messages received, with the storing being by the second program of the task managing application; and for each message stored in a data structure, means for starting, by the second program of the task managing application, a new iteration of the plurality of tasks in the specification; means for identifying, by the second program of the task managing application, at least one of the tasks to perform based on one or more values of the data elements in the message stored in the data structure; and means for performing, by the task managing application, the identified at least one of the tasks.", "12.A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing a computer program for managing task execution, the computer program including instructions for causing a computer system to: receive, by a task managing application of a computer system, a specification of a plurality of tasks, wherein the task managing application includes a first program and a second program, with the second program for listening for and receiving messages from a data processing application of the computer system; initiate, by the first program of the task managing application, the data processing application of the computer system; process, by the data processing application of the computer system, input data to transform one or more portions of the input data into an appropriate form for the task managing application; generate, by the data processing application, output data that includes the transformed one or more portions of the input data; generate, by the data processing application, a message, the message including data elements, with at least one of the data elements including at least some data of the transformed one or more portions of the input data included in the output data; transmit the message to the task managing application; periodically listen, by the second program, for messages sent from the data processing application; store, in data structures, messages received, with the storing being by the second program of the task managing application; and for each message stored in a data structure, start, by the second program of the task managing application, a new iteration of the plurality of tasks in the specification; identify, by the second program of the task managing application, at least one of the tasks to perform based on one or more values of the data elements in the message stored in the data structure; and perform, by the task managing application, the identified at least one of the tasks.", "13.The method of claim 2, wherein the specification includes a control flow diagram that includes nodes representing functional modules, with the nodes connected by directed links representing flow of control between functional modules.", "14.The method of claim 2, wherein control flows from a first functional module to a second functional module, with a directed link connected from the first functional module to the second functional module, after a task performed by the first functional module has been completed.", "15.The computer-implemented method of claim 2, wherein the first program and the second program are different programs.", "16.The computer-implemented method of claim 2, wherein the first program and the second program are a same program.", "17.The computer-implemented method of claim 2, wherein periodically listening for the messages comprises listening, from time to time, for the messages.", "18.The computer-implemented method of claim 2, wherein storing the messages received comprises storing a first message received at a first time in a first data structure and storing a second message received at a second time in a second data structure.", "19.The system of claim 10, wherein a dependency relationship between at least two tasks of the tasks defines at least a partial ordering for execution of functional modules corresponding to the tasks.", "20.The system of claim 10, wherein the plurality of tasks are to be performed by respective functional modules, wherein a dependency relationship between at least two tasks of the tasks defines conditional logic for determining at least one condition upon which execution of at least one of the functional modules is based.", "21.The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 12, wherein a dependency relationship between at least two tasks of the tasks defines at least a partial ordering for execution of functional modules corresponding to the tasks.", "22.The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 12, wherein the plurality of tasks are to be performed by respective functional modules, wherein a dependency relationship between at least two tasks of the tasks defines conditional logic for determining at least one condition upon which execution of at least one of the functional modules is based.", "23.The computer-implemented method of claim 2, wherein the first program includes code and wherein the second program accesses or includes at least a portion of the code.", "24.The system of claim 10, wherein the first program and the second program are different programs.", "25.The system of claim 10, wherein the first program and the second program are a same program.", "26.The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 12, wherein the first program and the second program are different programs.", "27.The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 12, wherein the first program and the second program are a same program.", "28.The system of claim 10, wherein the first program includes code and wherein the second program accesses or includes at least a portion of the code.", "29.The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 12, wherein the first program includes code and wherein the second program accesses or includes at least a portion of the code." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND <EOH>This description relates to managing task execution.", "A data processing system typically stores, manages, processes, and analyzes data.", "A data processing system may simply handle one or more tasks scheduled to be completed at a certain time.", "Alternatively, a data processing system may be a large-scale customer relationship management system.", "Simple or complex, a data processing system often includes one or more components, such as processing elements, input data, and output data.", "The processing elements of a data processing system determine the function of the data processing system, for example, data warehouse, customer relationship management, and data mining, etc..", "Input data of a data processing system can come from many sources.", "For example, input data may come from flat files, database tables, operational systems, etc..", "Input data may also come from the Internet, carrying information from one system to another.", "Output data of a data processing system are what the processing elements generate.", "Formats of output data vary depending on the processing elements that generate them." ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY <EOH>In one aspect, in general, a method for managing task execution includes receiving a specification of a plurality of tasks to be performed by respective functional modules; processing a flow of input data using a dataflow graph that includes nodes representing data processing components connected by links representing flows of data between data processing components; in response to at least one flow of data provided by at least one data processing component, generating a flow of messages; and in response to each of the messages in the flow of messages, performing an iteration of a set of one or more tasks using one or more corresponding functional modules.", "Aspects can include one or more of the following features.", "At least one of the functional modules is configured to initiate execution of the dataflow graph.", "The specification of the plurality of tasks specifies dependency relationships between the at least two of the tasks.", "A dependency relationship between the at least two tasks defines at least a partial ordering for execution of the functional modules corresponding to the tasks.", "A dependency relationship between the at least two tasks defines conditional logic for determine at least one condition upon which execution of at least one of the functional modules is based.", "At least one of the functional modules includes a fault-handling module that is executed when the conditional logic detects that a fault has occurred in execution of one of the other functional modules.", "Multiple iterations of a given set of one or more tasks are executed concurrently in response to two or more messages in the flow of messages.", "One or more of the messages in the flow of messages is generated in response to an element of data in the flow of data without including the element of data.", "One or more of the messages in the flow of messages includes at least a portion of an element of data in the flow of data.", "At least one of the functional modules is configured to send an acknowledgement in response to receiving one of the messages in the flow of messages.", "At least one of the data processing components resends an unacknowledged message.", "The method further includes storing a parameter value identifying the specification of a plurality of tasks.", "The method further includes transmitting the generated flow of messages to an application for receiving the messages identified by the parameter value.", "The method further includes storing messages received by the application in parameters visible to multiple processes for performing the tasks.", "In another aspect, in general, a system for managing task execution includes: a task managing system including circuitry for receiving a specification of a plurality of tasks to be performed by respective functional modules; and a data processing system including circuitry for processing a flow of input data using a dataflow graph that includes nodes representing data processing components connected by links representing flows of data between data processing components.", "The data processing system is configured to generate a flow of messages in response to at least one flow of data provided by at least one data processing component.", "The task managing system is configured to perform an iteration of a set of one or more tasks using one or more corresponding functional modules in response to each of the messages in the flow of messages.", "In another aspect, in general, a system for managing task execution includes: means for receiving a specification of a plurality of tasks to be performed by respective functional modules; and means for processing a flow of input data using a dataflow graph that includes nodes representing data processing components connected by links representing flows of data between data processing components.", "The data processing to system is configured to generate a flow of messages in response to at least one flow of data provided by at least one data processing component.", "The task managing system is configured to perform an iteration of a set of one or more tasks using one or more corresponding functional modules in response to each of the messages in the flow of messages.", "In another aspect, in general, a computer-readable medium stores a computer program for managing task execution.", "The computer program includes instructions for causing a computer to: receive a specification of a plurality of tasks to be performed by respective functional modules; process a flow of input data using a dataflow graph that includes nodes representing data processing components connected by links representing flows of data between data processing components; in response to at least one flow of data provided by at least one data processing component, generate a flow of messages; and in response to each of the messages in the flow of messages, perform an iteration of a set of one or more tasks using one or more corresponding functional modules.", "Aspects can include one or more of the following advantages.", "The techniques enable data flow to be converted into control flow and can facilitate data processing situations where incoming data are continuous and unpredictable and each piece of data may need elaborate handling.", "Dataflow graphs can be incorporated into the control flow of a task managing application, allowing different dataflow graphs for data processing based on the values stored in the incoming message generated in response to elements of a data flow.", "Having separate development environments for data processing and task management allows development of data processing applications and task managing applications to be sandboxed into independent environments that do not interfere with each other.", "Since data processing applications often emphasize data availability, data transformation, and data integrity, and task managing applications often emphasize error handling, system resource allocation, and computation order, using separate graphical development tools in a complex data processing system for developing data processing applications and task managing applications allow each tool to meet the unique requirements of each type of the applications.", "Having a separate data processing application and task managing application also facilitates software reuse.", "In a complex data processing system, data may come from diverse external sources and take on different formats.", "Incoming data may be corrupted and error checking may be used to ensure data integrity.", "A separate data processing application that handles reformatting and error checking encapsulates and isolates this complexity from a downstream task managing application, allowing task managing application to be developed without specific knowledge of possible data sources and to be reused when data sources or formats are changed.", "Likewise data processing applications can be developed with a focus on the data sources and without specific knowledge of the downstream computation environment and can be reused even when downstream handling has been changed.", "Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description, and from the claims." ], [ "CLAIM OF PRIORITY This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser.", "No.", "12/704,998, filed on Feb. 12, 2010, which claims priority to U.S. application Ser.", "No.", "61/152,669, filed on Feb. 13, 2009, the entire contents of each of which are incorporated herein by reference.", "BACKGROUND This description relates to managing task execution.", "A data processing system typically stores, manages, processes, and analyzes data.", "A data processing system may simply handle one or more tasks scheduled to be completed at a certain time.", "Alternatively, a data processing system may be a large-scale customer relationship management system.", "Simple or complex, a data processing system often includes one or more components, such as processing elements, input data, and output data.", "The processing elements of a data processing system determine the function of the data processing system, for example, data warehouse, customer relationship management, and data mining, etc..", "Input data of a data processing system can come from many sources.", "For example, input data may come from flat files, database tables, operational systems, etc..", "Input data may also come from the Internet, carrying information from one system to another.", "Output data of a data processing system are what the processing elements generate.", "Formats of output data vary depending on the processing elements that generate them.", "SUMMARY In one aspect, in general, a method for managing task execution includes receiving a specification of a plurality of tasks to be performed by respective functional modules; processing a flow of input data using a dataflow graph that includes nodes representing data processing components connected by links representing flows of data between data processing components; in response to at least one flow of data provided by at least one data processing component, generating a flow of messages; and in response to each of the messages in the flow of messages, performing an iteration of a set of one or more tasks using one or more corresponding functional modules.", "Aspects can include one or more of the following features.", "At least one of the functional modules is configured to initiate execution of the dataflow graph.", "The specification of the plurality of tasks specifies dependency relationships between the at least two of the tasks.", "A dependency relationship between the at least two tasks defines at least a partial ordering for execution of the functional modules corresponding to the tasks.", "A dependency relationship between the at least two tasks defines conditional logic for determine at least one condition upon which execution of at least one of the functional modules is based.", "At least one of the functional modules includes a fault-handling module that is executed when the conditional logic detects that a fault has occurred in execution of one of the other functional modules.", "Multiple iterations of a given set of one or more tasks are executed concurrently in response to two or more messages in the flow of messages.", "One or more of the messages in the flow of messages is generated in response to an element of data in the flow of data without including the element of data.", "One or more of the messages in the flow of messages includes at least a portion of an element of data in the flow of data.", "At least one of the functional modules is configured to send an acknowledgement in response to receiving one of the messages in the flow of messages.", "At least one of the data processing components resends an unacknowledged message.", "The method further includes storing a parameter value identifying the specification of a plurality of tasks.", "The method further includes transmitting the generated flow of messages to an application for receiving the messages identified by the parameter value.", "The method further includes storing messages received by the application in parameters visible to multiple processes for performing the tasks.", "In another aspect, in general, a system for managing task execution includes: a task managing system including circuitry for receiving a specification of a plurality of tasks to be performed by respective functional modules; and a data processing system including circuitry for processing a flow of input data using a dataflow graph that includes nodes representing data processing components connected by links representing flows of data between data processing components.", "The data processing system is configured to generate a flow of messages in response to at least one flow of data provided by at least one data processing component.", "The task managing system is configured to perform an iteration of a set of one or more tasks using one or more corresponding functional modules in response to each of the messages in the flow of messages.", "In another aspect, in general, a system for managing task execution includes: means for receiving a specification of a plurality of tasks to be performed by respective functional modules; and means for processing a flow of input data using a dataflow graph that includes nodes representing data processing components connected by links representing flows of data between data processing components.", "The data processing to system is configured to generate a flow of messages in response to at least one flow of data provided by at least one data processing component.", "The task managing system is configured to perform an iteration of a set of one or more tasks using one or more corresponding functional modules in response to each of the messages in the flow of messages.", "In another aspect, in general, a computer-readable medium stores a computer program for managing task execution.", "The computer program includes instructions for causing a computer to: receive a specification of a plurality of tasks to be performed by respective functional modules; process a flow of input data using a dataflow graph that includes nodes representing data processing components connected by links representing flows of data between data processing components; in response to at least one flow of data provided by at least one data processing component, generate a flow of messages; and in response to each of the messages in the flow of messages, perform an iteration of a set of one or more tasks using one or more corresponding functional modules.", "Aspects can include one or more of the following advantages.", "The techniques enable data flow to be converted into control flow and can facilitate data processing situations where incoming data are continuous and unpredictable and each piece of data may need elaborate handling.", "Dataflow graphs can be incorporated into the control flow of a task managing application, allowing different dataflow graphs for data processing based on the values stored in the incoming message generated in response to elements of a data flow.", "Having separate development environments for data processing and task management allows development of data processing applications and task managing applications to be sandboxed into independent environments that do not interfere with each other.", "Since data processing applications often emphasize data availability, data transformation, and data integrity, and task managing applications often emphasize error handling, system resource allocation, and computation order, using separate graphical development tools in a complex data processing system for developing data processing applications and task managing applications allow each tool to meet the unique requirements of each type of the applications.", "Having a separate data processing application and task managing application also facilitates software reuse.", "In a complex data processing system, data may come from diverse external sources and take on different formats.", "Incoming data may be corrupted and error checking may be used to ensure data integrity.", "A separate data processing application that handles reformatting and error checking encapsulates and isolates this complexity from a downstream task managing application, allowing task managing application to be developed without specific knowledge of possible data sources and to be reused when data sources or formats are changed.", "Likewise data processing applications can be developed with a focus on the data sources and without specific knowledge of the downstream computation environment and can be reused even when downstream handling has been changed.", "Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description, and from the claims.", "DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS FIGS.", "1A and 1B show examples of data processing systems.", "FIG.", "2 is an example of a dataflow graph.", "FIG.", "3 is an example of a control flow diagram.", "FIG.", "4 illustrates how to convert data flow to control flow.", "FIG.", "5 is a block diagram of a data processing system.", "FIG.", "6 is an example showing how to configure an application to run iteratively.", "FIGS.", "7A and 7B are block diagrams showing implementations of iterative task handling.", "FIG.", "8 is an example of a data transmitting mechanism.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTIONS FIGS.", "1A and 1B show examples of data processing systems.", "The data processing system 100 in FIG.", "1A is a chart generation tool.", "In FIG.", "1A, a Java program 104 reads input from a table 102 that contains sales data, then plots a bar chart 106 as output.", "The Java program 104 is a processing element of the data processing system 100; the table 102 is the input data; and the bar chart 106 is the output data.", "The data processing system 120 in FIG.", "1B includes a call center 130 deployed in a retail business.", "The call center 130 pulls data from a warehouse 122, a manufacturer 124, a retail 4e 126, and terminals 134 to give call center agents 131, 132, 133, and 134 real-time information regarding merchandise availability.", "Servers 136, the terminals 134, and the applications running on them are the processing elements.", "Information pulled from the warehouse 122, the manufacturer 124, the retail store 126, and the terminals 134 is input data.", "Real-time information regarding merchandise availability that is displayed on the call agents' terminals is output data.", "A complex data processing system, such as the one shown in FIG.", "1B, handles volumes of data and performs myriads of computations through applications that run on the system.", "Some applications are commercially available.", "Some applications have to be customer tailored to meet customers' special demands.", "Applications in a complex data processing system tend to specialize.", "For example, some applications may mainly handle data processing and some may mainly handle task managing.", "Data processing applications usually handle data-related computations, such as reformatting, sorting, and organizing data.", "Data processing applications tend to have a focus on how data flow from a source to a destination and how data are transformed in the process.", "Task managing applications usually handle scheduling and initiating execution of computation-related jobs, such as executing programs, scheduling events, managing processes, and dealing with faulty conditions.", "Task managing applications tend to have an emphasis on how control flows from task to task and how control flow is affected by conditional logic and faulty conditions.", "Data processing applications and task managing applications typically have different characteristics.", "Development environments for these two types of applications may be the same or separate.", "An exemplary development environment for a data processing application is a graph-based computation environment described below.", "A graph-based computation environment allows a programmer to build a graph-based application by using components as building blocks.", "A graph-based application is often represented by a directed graph, with nodes (or “vertices”) in the graph representing components (either data storage components or executable computation components), and the directed links (or “edges”) in the graph representing flows of data between components.", "A dataflow graph (also called simply a “graph”) is a modular entity.", "Each graph can be made up of one or more other graphs, and a particular graph can be a component in a larger graph.", "A graphical development environment (GDE) provides a user interface for developers to develop, test, and deploy applications as executable graphs that are tailored to a given user-specific environment.", "FIG.", "2 is an example of a dataflow graph that represents a data processing application.", "In FIG.", "2, input dataset component 202 contains status data for a particular merchandise.", "The status data are pulled from warehouses, manufacturers, and retail stores.", "A computation component 204 reads the data contained in the input dataset component 202, reformats them, and feeds them to a next computation component 208.The computation component 208 analyzes the reformatted data and generates output data to be stored in output dataset component 210.The output data represent merchandise availability.", "Symbol 212 is an output port representing a source of data elements (e.g., records or other units of data) flowing out of the input dataset component 202.Symbol 214 is an input port representing a destination for data elements flowing into the computation component 208.Link 206 shows the direction in which the data flows, i.e., from the computation component 204 to the computation component 208.The data processing application embodied by the dataflow graph 200 can be used in a call center system, such as the call center system 120 shown in FIG.", "1B.", "A dataflow graph, such as graph 200, embodies the data processing aspects of a data processing application such as, for example, where the data come from, what transformations the data undergo, and where the data arrive.", "As a comparison, FIG.", "3 shows a control flow diagram 300 (also called a “Plan”).", "The control flow diagram 300 represents a specification for a task managing application which specifies tasks to be performed by respective functional modules.", "A functional module may perform a task that includes, for example, a series of actions to be executed on a computer system.", "A functional module may be implemented using a dataflow graph or may represent another control flow diagram (called a “SubPlan”).", "A functional module may be an implementation of conditional logic, or a program, or a user script.", "In the control flow diagram 300, functional modules, such as Demographics Graph 302, Mailing Graph 306, Top Customers Graph 310, and Bottom Customers Graph 314, are dataflow graphs.", "Load Transactions Program 304 is a functional module that includes executable code e.g., a script in Python or Perl.", "Distribute Mail Conditional Task 308 is an implementation of conditional logic, directing the control to either a Top Customers Graph 310, or a Credit SubPlan 312, or a Bottom Customers Graph 314 depending on whether a particular customer is classified as a top customer or a bottom customer or a customer who needs credit extension.", "Credit SubPlan 312 and Charge SubPlan 316 are themselves control flow diagrams.", "The functional modules are connected with arrow links, 322, 324, etc..", "The arrow links specify dependency relationships among the tasks performed by the functional modules and thus indicate how control flows from one functional module to another and define at least a partial ordering according to which the functional modules run.", "For example, Demographic Graph 302 is run before Mailing Graph 306.A control flow diagram, such as diagram 300, embodies the control aspects of the task managing application controlled by the control flow diagram.", "Control aspects of a task managing application include, for example, determining running sequences among different tasks and applying conditional logic.", "As mentioned above, a complex data processing system may need to manage large volumes of data as well as perform numerous computations.", "In a complex data processing system, both task managing applications and data processing applications may be used.", "For example, in the call center system 120 shown in FIG.", "1B, customer transaction data stream into the system and are processed using real-time processing.", "If only a one-step processing is required to handle the data, such as registering the data as an entry in a database, a simple application represented by a dataflow graph such as the dataflow graph 200 may be sufficient.", "However, in many cases, multi-step processing may be needed.", "For example, in a large retail business, thousands of customer transactions may happen simultaneously.", "Parallel processing may be needed.", "Or in a sophisticated retail business, customers may be accorded differential treatments.", "Therefore conditional logic may be implemented to handle different classes of customers.", "Or in a reliable call center system, exception handling, failover, and data clean-up may be used.", "Thus, fault handling may be required.", "When data processing is a multi-step process that involves parallel processing, conditional logic, and/or fault handling, a simple dataflow graph may not be the best approach to capture the complexity of the multi-step process.", "It may be advantageous to convert data flow to control flow at a certain stage during the process.", "For example, a complex data processing system, such as the call center system 120 shown in FIG.", "1B, may use both data processing applications and task managing applications.", "Incoming data are first processed in a data processing application.", "The data is then used to drive the control flow in a task managing application.", "For a developer who develops applications for a complex data processing system, the technique of letting the data flow drive the control flow can be used, for example, when incoming data are streaming, continuous, and unpredictable, or when concurrent data processing may be needed.", "An example of this technique is illustrated in FIG.", "4.In FIG.", "4, a data processing application (such as the call center system 120 shown in FIG.", "1B) receives a flow of input data, such as warehouse data 402, manufacturing data 404, and retail-store sales data 406, from various external sources.", "As the input data stream into the data processing application, implemented in this example by the dataflow graph 410, a component in the graph 410 reformats the data coming from different sources into an appropriate format.", "Another component in the graph 410 then stores the data and generates messages to be sent to the task managing application 450.Messages generated by the data processing application are based on the received incoming data or an element in the received incoming data, and in some implementations portions of the incoming data can be used as the messages.", "Different mechanisms can be used to transmit a message from the data processing application 410 to the task managing application 450, for example, message passing, queues, shared memory space, remote procedure calls.", "The task managing application 450, based on the messages or certain values contained in the messages, can invoke different processes, such as a process executing a Plan 442, a SubPlan 444, and/or a dataflow graph 446.In some cases the task managing application 450 invokes a separate iteration of a corresponding set of one or more tasks (e.g., Plan 442, SubPlan 444, or dataflow graph 446) for each incoming message received from the data processing application 410.So if each message is generated in response to an element of data generated as output of the data processing application 410, the application 450 is able to iterate for each element of data.", "A loop index increments for each iteration of the task managing application 450.In each loop iteration, a process associated with the current loop index is spun off to handle an incoming message.", "Depending on the message received by the task managing application 450 or a value contained in the message, the process spun off to handle an incoming message can execute a dataflow graph, or a SubPlan, or any program for performing a set of one or more tasks.", "In the illustrated example, for the first element of incoming warehouse data 402 processed by the data processing application 410, a message 422 is generated by the data processing application 410 and transmitted to the task managing application 450.The task managing application 450 being in its first loop iteration (with loop index 0), spins off a child process 452 to handle the message 442.The process 452 corresponds to the Plan 442, evoked by the task managing application 450 to reduce the number of merchandise available.", "A child process 454 is initiated in a second loop iteration associated with loop index 1 of the task managing application 450 to handle the second element of incoming data, generated in response to the manufacturing data 404.The child process 454 may correspond to the SubPlan 444, which, for example, performs the task of increasing the number of merchandise available.", "A child process 456 is initiated in a third loop iteration associated with loop index 2 to handle the third element of incoming data, generated in response to the retail store sales data 406.The child process 456 may correspond to executing the dataflow graph 446.The task managing application may be configured to invoke the processes, 452, 454, and 456, concurrently or serially.", "Processes may refer to processes that run on different CPUs or on the same CPU.", "In the latter case, the processes may also be known as “threads”.", "For increased reliability, the task managing application 450 may be configured to send an acknowledgement to the data processing application 410 when it receives a message.", "The acknowledgement can be a positive acknowledgement if the task managing application decides that the message received is intact or a negative one if the task managing application decides that the message received is corrupted.", "The data processing application 410 can be configured to wait for an acknowledgement that the last-sent message has been received before sending the next message.", "It can be further configured to send the next message upon receiving a positive acknowledgement and re-send the last message upon receiving a negative acknowledgement.", "FIG.", "5 is a block diagram of an application development and execution system 500.The system 500 includes two graphical development environments, a GDE 512 used for dataflow graph development and a GDE 514 used for control flow diagram development.", "Alternatively, one graphical development environment can be used for development of both dataflow graphs and control flow diagrams.", "Or a graphical development environment can be used for developing control flow diagrams and a command line user interface can be used for dataflow graphs, or vice versa.", "Using the GDE 512, a data processing application 518 is built that includes a dataflow graph 580.Using the GDE 514, a task managing application 516 is built that includes a control flow diagram 550.The system 500 also includes a database 520.The database 520 may be a scalable object-oriented database system that provides storage for various kinds of information (e.g., metadata) for the system 500.The database 520 may be, for example, an enterprise metadata database, which can support the development and execution of graph-based applications and the interchange of data between the graph-based applications and other systems, e.g., operating systems.", "The system 500 further includes an operating system 524.The operating system 524 may be, for example, a parallel operating environment.", "The operating system 524 provides support for running application development environments, such as GDE 512 and GDE 514, and provides for scalable parallel and distributed execution of the applications developed.", "In FIG.", "5, a stream of input data 530 go through the dataflow graph 580 as the data are being processed by the data processing application 518.The dataflow graph 580 includes a computation component, reformat 584.In the dataflow graph 580, the data flow from input dataset 582 to output dataset 586.After being reformatted, the data flow out of the data processing application 518 and into the task managing application 516, and are used to drive the task managing application 516 driven by the control flow diagram 550.The control flow diagram 550 shows two tasks, task 552 and task 554.A task may be a computation performed, for example, by executing a dataflow graph or a script, such as a Perl script.", "A time sequence 556 shows the running sequence of the tasks specified in the control flow diagram 550.In this case, the task 552 is executed before the task 554.As shown in FIG.", "5, the task 552 in the control flow diagram 550 is a Perl script and the task 554 in the control flow diagram is itself a control flow diagram of sub-tasks.", "The task 554 includes several sub-tasks implemented by methods that can be executed in the operating system 524.These methods may be existing methods provided by the system or customized methods developed by users.", "As shown in FIG.", "5 as an example, the task 554 includes five methods: Trigger, At Start, Perform, At Failure, and At Success.", "These methods may be provided by the system or may be developed by a customer.", "In some examples, the above five methods may be implemented as follows.", "Method Trigger may be implemented to represent the starting point of the task 554.It may contain the condition for starting the execution.", "The condition may be whether a specific file exists, or whether a flag has been set to true.", "Method At Start may be implemented as a method that prepares the system for the method Perform, such as setting environmental variables to desired values, or setting up log files to log runtime information.", "Method Perform may be implemented to perform the main functionality of the task 554.Task 554 may also contain conditional logic to handle what happens after method Perform.", "If method Perform succeeds during its execution, method At Success is executed to exit task 554 with a return code of zero.", "If method Perform fails during its execution, method At Failure is executed to exit task 554 with a return code of non-zero.", "Optionally, additional methods can be added for rollback, error handling, and recovery.", "For example, a method of rollback can be added to roll back what has been done in reverse execution order starting at the point of failure.", "Alternatively.", "a method of cleanup can be added to clean up the failed conditions, by resetting flags, registers, etc.. To handle iterative incoming data, a looping SubPlan can be used.", "In some implementations, a task managing application is configured to include a looping SubPlan.", "As shown in FIG.", "6, the control flow diagram 602 is an example of a looping SubPlan and has conditional logic implemented for handling an element of incoming data.", "To handle a stream of incoming data, the control flow diagram 602 is run iteratively.", "The screen shot 604 is an example showing how to configure a simple application, called “My_Subplan” in this example, as a looping SubPlan by setting a predetermined property to “looping” and by setting appropriate looping properties.", "Looping properties include loop type (Do-While, For-Each, etc.", "), loop value vector, loop concurrent, loop count and loop indices, etc.. FIGS.", "7a and 7b demonstrate, as an example, how to construct a system that includes a task managing application and a data processing application to handle iterative incoming data.", "Suppose that we have a business that involves processing customer transactions that arrive continuously and unpredictably.", "A developer can construct a data processing application 702 to handle data formatting and other preparation work, and a task managing application 704 to perform tasks to further process the data.", "After the data processing application and the task managing application have been constructed, the data processing application can be configured to pass data to the task managing application and the task managing application can be configured to listen for messages that are coming from the data processing application.", "In some implementations, messages passed between the data processing application and the task managing application may include data output by the data processing application (e.g., encapsulated and/or encrypted in messages).", "In some implementations, messages passed between the data processing application and the task managing application can be generated in response to data from the data processing application without including the output data itself.", "Thus, the term “message” can refer to information passed between the data processing application and the task managing application in any form or format.", "On the task managing side, the task managing application 704 includes a looping set of one or more tasks (e.g., a SubPlan) that listens continuously for messages from the data processing application 702.Symbol 706 is a symbol indicating that the application is running iteratively.", "A message arriving for the task managing application 704 triggers a new loop iteration in which a process can be spun off.", "The task managing application 704 can be configured to wait until the last loop iteration finishes before starting a new loop iteration or to start a new iteration immediately upon the receipt of a message.", "In the latter case, processes spun out of each iteration run concurrently.", "On the data processing side, a user can configure a message-transmitting application (e.g., a dataflow graph) to “talk” to a counterpart listening application, which in this case is the task managing application 704.In some implementations, the message-transmitting application defines a parameter that holds the name of the counterpart listening application so the message-transmitting application knows where to send messages.", "As mentioned before, having a separate data processing application and task managing application provides the advantage of software re-use.", "However when the task managing application, i.e., the counterpart listening application, has been replaced by a new task managing application, the parameter in the message transmitting application that holds the name of the counterpart listening application needs to be updated correspondingly.", "A user may need to open the message-transmitting application and make the required change.", "To avoid the need of opening the message transmitting application every time the task managing application has been replaced by a new application, parameter Name_of_Listening_Application can be made visible to both the message transmitting application and any counterpart listening application.", "In the listening application, parameter Name_of_Listening_Application is assigned the value of the listening application's name.", "Because the parameter is also visible to the message transmitting application, the message transmitting application can read the value of parameter Name_of_Listening_Application to find out the application to which it is supposed to send message.", "In this way, the listening application can be changed even at run time without any need of opening the message transmitting application for updates.", "In some implementations, the listening application stores the received messages in parameters.", "A parameter of a process defines a system setting for that process.", "In some cases, a parameter of a parent process can be inherited by and therefore visible to its child processes.", "For example, parameter 720 in FIG.", "7a are used to store messages transmitted from data processing application 702 to task managing application 704.Optionally, the user can construct a program or a method on the task managing side to kick off the message-transmitting application, as shown in FIG.", "7b.", "In FIG.", "7b, the task managing application 722 (a Plan) includes a listening program 704, which is a task managing application itself (a SubPlan), that listens for messages, and a starter program 726 that initiates execution of the message-transmitting data processing application 702, as shown by an arrow 730.FIG.", "7b also shows that the data processing application 702 includes two data processing applications, 732 and 734, and a queue 736.The data processing application 732 first performs complex processing on incoming data.", "Then it hands the data over so that the data get published to the queue 736.From the queue 736, the data processing application 734 retrieves the data, reformats them, and publishes them to the task managing application 704 by sending a message to be stored in a predetermined location.", "Here the queue 736 is acting as a buffer between the incoming data streaming into the data processing application 732 and the outgoing data streaming out of the data processing application 734.In this way, the data processing application 734 may be configured to wait for an acknowledgement of the previously sent message before sending out the next message without blocking the data processing application 732 from processing incoming data that are streaming in continuously and unpredictably.", "Also the data processing application 734 is kept simple and lightweight because part of the complex processing is removed from it.", "When the task managing application 722 starts running, the starter program 726 initiates the data processing applications 732 and 734.In the meantime, the listening program 704 begins listening for messages from the message-transmitting data processing application 702.In some implementations, the data processing applications 732 and 734 and the task managing application 722 may be configured to run on the same host.", "The data processing applications 732 and 734 and the task managing application 722 may also include various error-handling methods, such as rollback, recovery, clean-up, and acknowledgements and message tracking that are used to make message transmitting resilient to failures, as demonstrated in FIG.", "8.In FIG.", "8, the message-transmitting application 802, labeled as publisher, may be the data processing application 702 as shown in FIG.", "7a or the data processing application 734 as shown in FIG.", "7b.", "The receiving application 804, labeled as subscriber, may be the task managing application 704 as shown in FIG.", "7a or 7b.", "In FIG.", "8, messages sent from the publisher are assigned a sequence number.", "Sequence numbers help the publisher to keep track of the messages sent and facilitate acknowledgements of receipt of the messages by the subscriber.", "For each message received, the subscriber sends an acknowledgement to the publisher.", "In the acknowledgement, the subscriber indicates the sequence number of the received message and whether the message is intact (positive) or corrupted (negative).", "When the publisher sends a message with a sequence number X, it may wait for an acknowledgement for the message.", "When it receives the acknowledgement that contains the sequence number X, it sends the next message of a sequence number X+1 if the acknowledgement is positive or resends the message of the sequence number X if the acknowledgement is negative.", "Alternatively, the publisher may send messages without waiting for acknowledgements of previously sent messages.", "The publisher may store unacknowledged messages and resend the messages if no acknowledgement has been received within a certain period of time.", "The subscriber can be programmed to ignore messages with the same sequence number so that receiving a repeated message will not cause a problem.", "If the system were to crash at some point, the publisher can resend the unacknowledged messages on recovery.", "The unacknowledged messages can be stored in a persistent storage, such as a disk, if it is desired that the data survive system failures.", "Other methods or techniques can be used to ensure that each message is transmitted successfully.", "The approach described above can be implemented using software for execution on a computer.", "For instance, the software forms procedures in one or more computer programs that execute on one or more programmed or programmable computer systems (which may be of various architectures such as distributed, client/server, or grid) each including at least one processor, at least one data storage system (including volatile and non-volatile memory and/or storage elements), at least one input device or port, and at least one output device or port.", "The software may form one or more modules of a larger program, for example, that provides other services related to the design and configuration of computation graphs.", "The nodes and elements of the graph can be implemented as data structures stored in a computer readable medium or other organized data conforming to a data model stored in a data repository.", "The software may be provided on a storage medium, such as a CD-ROM, readable by a general or special purpose programmable computer or delivered (encoded in a propagated signal) over a communication medium of a network to the computer where it is executed.", "All of the functions may be performed on a special purpose computer, or using special-purpose hardware, such as coprocessors.", "The software may be implemented in a distributed manner in which different parts of the computation specified by the software are performed by different computers.", "Each such computer program is preferably stored on or downloaded to a storage media or device (e.g., solid state memory or media, or magnetic or optical media) readable by a general or special purpose programmable computer, for configuring and operating the computer when the storage media or device is read by the computer system to perform the procedures described herein.", "The inventive system may also be considered to be implemented as a computer-readable storage medium, configured with a computer program, where the storage medium so configured causes a computer system to operate in a specific and predefined manner to perform the functions described herein.", "A number of embodiments of the invention have been described.", "Nevertheless, it will be understood that various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.", "For example, some of the steps described above may be order independent, and thus can be performed in an order different from that described.", "It is to be understood that the foregoing description is intended to illustrate and not to limit the scope of the invention, which is defined by the scope of the appended claims.", "For example, a number of the function steps described above may be performed in a different order without substantially affecting overall processing.", "Other embodiments are within the scope of the following claims." ] ]
Patent_15873095
[ [ "SUBSTRATE COMPRISING A STACK HAVING THERMAL PROPERTIES", "The invention relates to a substrate (10), especially a transparent glass substrate, provided with a thin-film multilayer comprising a functional layer (40) having reflection properties in the infrared and/or in solar radiation, especially a metallic functional layer based on silver or on a metal alloy containing silver, and two coatings (20, 60), said coatings being composed of a plurality of dielectric layers (24, 26; 64), so that the functional layer (40) is placed between the two coatings (20, 60), the functional layer (40) being deposited on a wetting layer (30) itself deposited directly onto a subjacent coating (20), characterized in that the subjacent coating (20) comprises at least one dielectric layer (24) based on nitride, especially on silicon nitride and/or aluminum nitride, and at least one noncrystalline smoothing layer (26) made from a mixed oxide, said smoothing layer (26) being in contact with said superjacent wetting layer (30)." ], [ "1.A substrate provided with a thin-film multilayer comprising, in the following order from the substrate: a subjacent coating comprising a plurality of dielectric layers comprising: a dielectric layer based on a nitride; and a noncrystalline smoothing layer based on a mixed oxide; a wetting layer; a functional layer having reflection properties in the infrared and/or in solar radiation; and a second coating comprising a plurality of dielectric layers wherein the smoothing layer is in contact with the wetting layer.", "2.The substrate of claim 1, wherein the smoothing layer is a mixed oxide layer based on an oxide of at least one metal selected from the group consisting of Sn, Si, Ti, Zr, Hf, Zn, Ga, and In.", "3.The substrate of claim 2, wherein the smoothing layer is a layer of a mixed oxide based on zinc and tin, optionally doped, or a layer of a mixed indium tin oxide (ITO) deposited at low temperature.", "4.The substrate of claim 1, wherein the smoothing layer is an oxide layer having a nonstoichiometric amount of oxygen.", "5.The substrate of claim 1, wherein the smoothing layer has a geometric thickness between 0.1 and 30 nm.", "6.The substrate of claim 1, wherein the smoothing layer has a geometric thickness between 0.2 and 10 nm.", "7.The substrate of claim 1, wherein the thin film multilayer further comprises a subjacent blocking coating, wherein the functional layer is placed directly onto the subjacent blocking coating.", "8.The substrate of claim 1, wherein the thin film multilayer further comprises a superjacent blocking coating, wherein the functional layer is placed directly under the superjacent blocking coating.", "9.The substrate of claim 1, wherein the thin film multilayer further comprises a subjacent blocking coating and a superjacent blocking coating, wherein the functional layer is placed directly onto the subjacent blocking coating and directly under the superjacent blocking coating.", "10.The substrate of claim 7, wherein the subjacent blocking coating is based on Ni or Ti.", "11.The substrate of claim 7, wherein the subjacent blocking coating is based on a Ni alloy.", "12.The substrate of claim 8, wherein the superjacent blocking coating is based on Ni or Ti.", "13.The substrate of claim 8, wherein the subjacent blocking coating is based on a Ni alloy.", "14.The substrate of claim 1, wherein the wetting layer is based on zinc oxide.", "15.The substrate of claim 1, wherein dielectric layer based on a nitride in the subjacent coating is based on silicon nitride and/or aluminum nitride.", "16.The substrate of claim 1, wherein the functional layer is a metallic functional layer based on silver or on a metal alloy comprising silver.", "17.A glazing unit, comprising: the substrate of claim 1; and optionally, at least one other substrate.", "18.The glazing unit of claim 17, mounted in monolithic form or as multiple glazing of a double glazing or laminated glazing type, wherein at least the substrate carrying the multilayer is curved or toughened.", "19.A process for manufacturing the substrate of claim 1, the process comprising: depositing the thin film multilayer on the substrate by a vacuum sputtering technique, optionally magnetron sputtering; and then carrying out a heat treatment of bending, toughening or annealing on the substrate without degrading its optical and/or mechanical quality." ], [ "The invention relates to transparent substrates, especially those made of rigid mineral material such as glass, said substrates being coated with a thin-film multilayer comprising a functional layer of metallic type which can act on solar radiation and/or infrared radiation of long wavelength.", "The invention relates more particularly to the use of such substrates for manufacturing thermal insulation and/or solar protection glazing.", "This glazing may be intended for equipping both buildings and vehicles, especially with a view to reducing air-conditioning load and/or preventing excessive overheating (glazing called “solar control” glazing) and/or reducing the amount of energy dissipated to the outside (glazing called “low-e” or “low-emissivity” glazing) brought about by the ever growing use of glazed surfaces in buildings and vehicle passenger compartments.", "This glazing may furthermore be integrated into glazing units having particular functionalities, such as, for example, heated windows or electrochromic glazing.", "One type of multilayer known for giving substrates such properties is composed of a metallic functional layer having reflection properties in the infrared and/or in solar radiation, especially a metallic functional layer based on silver or on a metal alloy containing silver.", "This metallic functional layer is deposited in a crystalline form on a wetting layer that is also crystalline and that promotes the suitable crystalline orientation of the metallic layer deposited on it.", "This functional layer is placed between two coatings made of dielectric material of the metal oxide or nitride type.", "The multilayer is generally obtained by a succession of deposition operations carried out using a vacuum technique, such as sputtering, optionally magnetically enhanced or magnetron sputtering.", "One, or even two, very thin film(s), known as “blocking coatings”, may also be provided, this or these being placed directly under, over or on each side of each silver-based metallic functional layer—the subjacent coating as a tie, nucleation and/or protection coating, for protection during a possible heat treatment subsequent to the deposition, and the superjacent coating as a “sacrificial” or protection coating so as to prevent the silver from being impaired if a layer that surmounts is deposited by sputtering in the presence of oxygen or nitrogen and/or if the multilayer undergoes a heat treatment subsequent to the deposition.", "Thus, the use of an amorphous layer based on a mixed zinc and tin oxide, which is directly in contact with the substrate, under a wetting layer based on zinc oxide is known from European patent application No.", "EP 803 481.It turns out that when such an amorphous layer is not deposited directly onto the substrate but is inserted between at least one subjacent dielectric layer and a wetting layer, it makes it possible to modify the interface between the dielectric layer and the wetting layer located above and thus to significantly improve the crystallization of the wetting layer and also the crystallization of the metallic functional layer.", "It has been found, surprisingly, that the integration of such an amorphous layer in the coating that is subjacent to the functional layer and provided with at least one nitride-based dielectric layer under this amorphous layer makes it possible to achieve a desired improvement in the crystallization of the functional layers and thus a desired improvement in the resistivity of the entire multilayer.", "The object of the invention is therefore to remedy the drawbacks of the prior art, by developing a novel type of multilayer having layers of the type of those described above, which multilayer has an improved resistivity, lower than in a similar multilayer having equivalent functional layer thickness and coatings.", "Said multilayer may or may not undergo one (or more) high-temperature heat treatment(s) of the bending, toughening or annealing type, but if it does undergo one (or more) such treatment(s), its optical quality and mechanical integrity will be preserved.", "Thus, the subject of the invention, in its broadest acceptance, is a substrate, especially a transparent glass substrate, provided with a thin-film multilayer comprising a functional layer having reflection properties in the infrared and/or in solar radiation, especially a metallic functional layer based on silver or on a metal alloy containing silver, and two coatings, said coatings being composed of a plurality of dielectric layers, so that the functional layer is placed between two coatings, the functional layer being deposited on a wetting layer itself deposited directly onto a subjacent coating, characterized in that the subjacent coating comprises at least one dielectric layer based on nitride, especially on silicon nitride and/or aluminum nitride, and at least one noncrystalline smoothing layer made from a mixed oxide, said smoothing layer being in contact with said superjacent wetting layer.", "Thus, the invention consists in providing a noncrystalline smoothing layer under the wetting layer which is crystalline in order to allow suitable growth of the functional layer located on top of this wetting layer, which smoothing layer is in contact with the wetting layer directly or via an underblocking coating.", "It has appeared that in the case where the subjacent coating comprises at least one dielectric layer based on nitride, especially on silicon nitride and/or aluminum nitride, choosing a noncrystalline smoothing layer made from a mixed oxide made it possible to obtain good resistivity of the multilayer and optical properties suitable for the expectations whether or not the substrate undergoes a heat treatment after deposition.", "The invention thus applies to substrates known as “toughened or untoughened” substrates insofar as it is possible, on the same building façade for example, to place near each other glazing that integrate toughened substrates and untoughened substrates, without it being possible to distinguish them from one another by simple visual observation of the color in reflection and of the light reflection.", "Within the meaning of the present invention, when it is stated that a deposition of a layer or a coating (comprising one or more layers) is carried out directly under or directly on another deposit, it means that no other layer can be interposed between these two deposits.", "The smoothing layer is said to be “noncrystalline” in the sense that it can be completely amorphous or partially amorphous, and thus partially crystalline, but that it cannot be completely crystalline over its entire thickness.", "It may be of metallic nature as it is based on a mixed oxide (a mixed oxide is an oxide of at least two elements).", "The crystallographic appearance of the smoothing layer is inevitably different from that of the wetting layer since the smoothing layer is noncrystalline whereas the wetting layer is, for the most part, crystalline; they can therefore not be confused from this point of view.", "The advantage of such a smoothing layer is to make it possible to obtain an interface with the directly superjacent wetting layer that is not very rough.", "This low roughness can furthermore be seen with a transmission electron microscope.", "Furthermore, the wetting layer has a better texture and, in addition, has a preferential crystallographic orientation that is more pronounced.", "Each smoothing layer is thus made of a different material, differing both from a crystallographic and stoichiometric point of view, from that of the wetting layer under which it is directly placed.", "The nitride-based layer of the subjacent coating, which in addition comprises the smoothing layer, is in contact with the substrate, directly or indirectly via a contact layer, for example based on titanium oxide (TiO2).", "The index of this nitride-based layer is, preferably, less than 2.2.Preferably, the smoothing layer is a mixed oxide layer based on an oxide of one or more of the following metals: Sn, Si, Ti, Zr, Hf, Zn, Ga, In and more precisely a layer of a mixed oxide based on zinc and tin or a layer of a mixed indium tin oxide (ITO) deposited at low temperature.", "The index of the smoothing layer is, preferably, less than 2.2.Preferably, in addition, the smoothing layer is a mixed oxide layer having a nonstoichiometric amount of oxygen and even more particularly a substoichiometric mixed oxide layer based on zinc and tin, doped with antimony (SnZnOx:Sb, x being a number).", "Furthermore, the smoothing layer preferably has a geometric thickness between 0.1 and 30 nm and more preferably between 0.2 and 10 nm.", "In a preferred variant, at least one blocking coating is based on Ni or on Ti or is based on an Ni-based alloy, and especially is based on an NiCr alloy.", "In addition, the wetting layer subjacent to the functional layer is, preferably, based on zinc oxide; this wetting layer may be, in particular, based on aluminum-doped zinc oxide.", "The geometric thickness of the wetting layer is preferably between 2 and nm and more preferably between 3 and 20 nm.", "The glazing according to the invention incorporates at least the substrate carrying the multilayer according to the invention, optionally combined with at least one other substrate.", "Each substrate may be clear or tinted.", "At least one of the substrates may especially be made of bulk-tinted glass.", "The choice of coloration type will depend on the level of light transmission and/or on the colorimetric appearance that is desired for the glazing once its manufacture has been completed.", "Thus, for glazing intended to equip vehicles, some standards dictate that windshields should have a light transmission TL of about 75%, while other standards impose a light transmission TL of about 65%; such a level of transmission is not required for the side windows or the sunroof for example.", "The tinted glass that can be used is for example that which, for a thickness of 4 mm, has a TL of 65% to 95%, an energy transmission TE of 40% to 80%, a dominant wavelength in transmission of 470 nm to 525 nm, associated with a transmission purity of 0.4% to 6% under illuminant D65, which may “result” in the (L, a*, b*) colorimetry system, in a* and b* values in transmission of between −9 and 0 and between −8 and +2 respectively.", "For glazing intended to equip buildings, the glazing preferably has a light transmission TL of at least 75% or higher in the case of “tow-emissivity” applications, and a light transmission TL of at least 40% or higher for “solar control” applications.", "The glazing according to the invention may have a laminated structure, especially one combining at least two rigid substrate of the glass type with at least one sheet of thermoplastic polymer, so as to have a structure of the type: glass/thin-film multilayer/sheet(s)/glass.", "The polymer may especially be based on polyvinyl butyral (PVB), ethylene/vinyl acetate (EVA), polyethylene terephthalate (PET) or polyvinyl chloride (PVC).", "The glazing may also have what is called an asymmetric laminated glazing structure, which combines a rigid substrate of the glass type with at least one sheet of polymer of the polyurethane type having energy-absorbing properties, optionally combined with another layer of polymers having “self-heating” properties.", "For further details about this type of glazing, the reader may refer especially to patents EP-0 132 198, EP-0 131 523, EP-0 389 354.The glazing may therefore have a structure of the type: glass/thin-film multilayer/polymer sheet(s).", "The glazing according to the invention is capable of undergoing a heat treatment without damaging the thin-film multilayer.", "The glazing is therefore possibly curved and/or toughened.", "The glazing may be curved and/or toughened when consisting of a single substrate, that provided with the multilayer.", "It is then referred to as “monolithic” glazing.", "When the glazing is curved, especially for the purpose of making windows for vehicles, the thin-film multilayer is preferably on an at least partly nonplanar face.", "The glazing may also be a multiple glazing unit, especially a double-glazing unit, at least the substrate carrying the multilayer being curved and/or toughened.", "It is preferable in a multiple glazing configuration for the multilayer to be placed so as to face the intermediate gas-filled space.", "In a laminated structure, the substrate carrying the multilayer is preferably in contact with the sheet of polymer.", "When the glazing is monolithic or is in the form of multiple glazing of the double-glazing or laminated glazing type, at least the substrate carrying the multilayer may be made of curved or toughened glass, it being possible for this substrate to be curved or toughened before or after the multilayer has been deposited.", "The invention also relates to a process for manufacturing substrates according to the invention, which consists in depositing the thin-film multilayer on its substrate by a vacuum technique of the sputtering, optionally magnetically enhanced sputtering, type and then in carrying out a heat treatment of the bending, toughening or annealing type on the coated substrate without degrading its optical and/or mechanical quality.", "However, it is not excluded for the first layer or first layers of the multilayer to be able to be deposited by another technique, for example by a thermal decomposition technique of the pyrolysis type.", "The details and advantageous features of the invention will become apparent from the following nonlimiting examples, illustrated by means of the attached figures: FIG.", "1 illustrates the change, before heat treatment, in the sheet resistance of a multilayer having a single functional layer provided with a coating having a single overblocking layer, with and without a smoothing layer, as a function of the thickness of the dielectric layer placed underneath; FIG.", "2 illustrates the change, after heat treatment, in the sheet resistance of the same multilayer having a single functional layer as in FIG.", "1, with and without a smoothing layer, as a function of the thickness of the dielectric layer placed underneath; FIG.", "3 illustrates the change, before heat treatment, in the sheet resistance of a multilayer having a single functional layer provided with a coating having a single overblocking layer as a function of the thickness of the smoothing layer; FIG.", "4 illustrates the change, after heat treatment, in the sheet resistance of the same multilayer having a single functional layer as in FIG.", "3, as a function of the thickness of the smoothing layer; FIG.", "5 illustrates a multilayer having a single functional layer according to the invention, the functional layer being provided with an overblocking coating but not an underblocking coating; FIG.", "6 illustrates a multilayer having a single functional layer according to the invention, the functional layer being provided with an underblocking coating but not with an overblocking coating; and FIG.", "7 illustrates a multilayer having a single functional layer according to the invention, the functional layer being provided with an underblocking coating and with an overblocking coating.", "In the figures illustrating the multilayers, the thicknesses of the various materials have not been drawn strictly to scale in order to make them easier to understand.", "Furthermore, in all the examples below the thin-film multilayer is deposited on a substrate 10 made of soda-lime glass having a thickness of 2 mm.", "In each case where a heat treatment was applied to the substrate, this was an annealing treatment for around 5 minutes at a temperature of around 660° C. followed by cooling in ambient air (around 20° C.).", "The objective of FIGS.", "1 to 4 is to illustrate the importance of the presence of a smoothing layer in a multilayer of the type of that illustrated in FIG.", "5, which shows a multilayer according to the invention.", "An example, numbered 1, of a multilayer having a single functional layer according to the invention is of the type: Substrate/Si3N4/SnZnOx:Sb/ZnO/Ag/Ti/ZnO/Si3N4 Variable/Variable/8 nm/10 nm/2 nm/8 nm/20 nm in FIGS.", "1 and 2, the curves C1 and C11 illustrate the change in the sheet resistance (in ohms) of the multilayer as a function of the thickness of the dielectric layer based on silicon nitride (e Si3N4) in contact with the substrate, before (BHT) and after (AHT) heat treatment respectively, when the multilayer is not provided with a smoothing layer.", "The curves C2 and C12 illustrate the change in the sheet resistance (in ohms) of the multilayer as a function of the thickness of the dielectric layer based on silicon nitride (e Si3N4) in contact with the substrate, before and after heat treatment respectively, when the multilayer is provided with a smoothing layer made from SnZnOx:Sb having a thickness of 6 nm (x denotes a non-zero number).", "The curves C3 and C13 illustrate the change in the sheet resistance (in ohms) of the multilayer as a function of the thickness of the dielectric layer based on silicon nitride (e Si3N4) in contact with the substrate, before and after heat treatment respectively, when the multilayer is provided with a smoothing layer based on SnZnOx:Sb having a thickness of 20 nm.", "As can be seen in these FIGS.", "1 and 2, for the same thickness of dielectric layer in contact with the substrate (for example 20 nm), the sheet resistance of the multilayer is always lower—therefore better—for curves C2, C3, C12 and C13 when the multilayer comprises a smoothing layer based on SnZnOx:Sb between the dielectric layer based on silicon nitride in contact with the substrate and the wetting layer based on zinc oxide ZnO subjacent to the functional layer based on silver Ag and the sheet resistance of the multilayer is always lower for a smoothing layer thickness of 20 nm (curves C3 and C13).", "It was verified that the smoothing layer made from a mixed oxide is amorphous throughout its thickness, whereas the wetting layer and the metallic functional layer are both crystalline, throughout their thickness.", "Consequently, the presence of the smoothing layer significantly improves the sheet resistance of the multilayer for comparable thickness of the subjacent dielectric layer, and this improvement is even greater when the thickness of the smoothing layer is large.", "In FIGS.", "3 and 4, the curves illustrate the change in the sheet resistance (in ohms) of the multilayer as a function of the thickness of the smoothing layer based on zinc and tin oxide doped with antimony (e SnZnOx:Sb), before (BHT) and after (AHT) heat treatment respectively, when the multilayer is provided with a 20 nm layer based on silicon nitride Si3N4 between the substrate and the layer based on SnZnOx:Sb.", "It was also verified that the smoothing layer made from a mixed oxide is amorphous throughout its thickness, whereas the wetting layer and the metallic functional layer are both crystalline, throughout their thickness.", "As can be seen in these FIGS.", "3 and 4 also, the presence of the smoothing layer significantly improves the sheet resistance of the multilayer for a smoothing layer with a thickness between >0 and 4 nm, and this improvement is even greater when the thickness of the smoothing layer is large.", "Similar observations may be made with a multilayer having a single functional layer provided with an underblocking coating and without an overblocking coating or provided with an underblocking coating and with an overblocking coating.", "Another series of tests was carried out.", "Three examples, numbered 2, 3 and 4, were produced based on the multilayer structure having a single functional layer illustrated in FIG.", "5, in which the functional layer 40 is provided with an overblocking coating 45.Table 1 below illustrates the thicknesses in nanometers of each of the layers: TABLE 1 Layer Material Ex.", "2 Ex.", "3 Ex.", "4 64 Si3N4 40 40 40 62 ZnO 10 10 10 45 Ti 2 2 2 40 Ag 10 10 10 30 ZnO 10 10 10 26 SnZnOx:Sb — — 10 24 Si3N4 30 30 20 The resistivity, optical and energy characteristics of these examples are given in Table 2 below: TABLE 2 Ex.", "R (ohms) RL (%) TL (%) a* (D65) b* (D65) E (%) 2 BHT 5.7 4.4 86.5 2.3 −5.2 6 2 AHT — — — — — — 3 BHT 6.9 4.4 85.6 2.9 −7.8 8 3 AHT 5.2 4.5 87.1 6.5 −6 6 4 BHT 5.8 5.7 87 1.3 −3.5 6 4 AHT 4.3 4.3 88.7 3.3 −5.7 5 Thus, the resistivity of the multilayer both before and after heat treatment of example 4 according to the invention is still lower than the counterexamples 3 and 2 respectively.", "Furthermore, the light reflection RL, the light transmission TL measured under illuminant D65 and the colors in reflection a* and b* in the LAB system measured under illuminant D65 on the side of the layers do not vary very significantly between the example according to the invention and the counterexamples 3 and 2.By comparing the optical and energy characteristics before heat treatment with these same characteristics after heat treatment, no major degradation was observed.", "Other tests were carried out based on the multilayer structure having a single functional layer illustrated in FIG.", "6, in which the functional layer 40 is provided with an overblocking coating 45 but not with an underblocking coating 35.Other tests were carried out based on the multilayer structure having a single functional layer illustrated in FIG.", "7, in which the functional layer 40 is provided with an underblocking coating 35 and with an overblocking coating 45.All these tests led to similar observations.", "(n addition, tests were conducted in order to measure the roughness of the layers.", "Table 3 below illustrates the roughness measured by X-ray reflectometry and expressed in nm (the roughness of the substrate being around 0.4): TABLE 3 Thickness Roughness σ Layer(s) (nm) of the layers (nm) Si3N4 28.5 1.1 Glass Substrate SnInOx 29.5 0.8 Glass Substrate SnZnOx:Sb 32.0 0.7 Glass Substrate SnZnOx:Sb 11.2 0.8 Si3N4 19.7 0.5 Glass Substrate SnInOx 10.4 0.8 Si3N4 19.3 0.5 Glass Substrate As can be seen in this table, the roughness of the layer based on silicon nitride Si3N4 deposited alone on the glass is high, but the final roughness of a multilayer comprising a layer based on indium tin oxide SnInOx (ITO) or a layer based on a mixed zinc tin oxide SnZnOx:Sb deposited on the layer based on silicon nitride is lower.", "The wetting layer based on a mixed oxide thus makes it possible to improve the roughness of the interface in contact with the wetting layer, by reducing this roughness.", "The present invention has been described above by way of example.", "It will be understood that a person skilled in the art is capable of producing various alternative forms of the invention without thereby departing from the scope of the patent as defined by the claims." ] ]
Patent_15873098
[ [ "COMPANION ROBOT FOR PERSONAL INTERACTION", "A mobile robot guest for interacting with a human resident performs a room-traversing search procedure prior to interacting with the resident, and may verbally query whether the resident being sought is present.", "Upon finding the resident, the mobile robot may facilitate a teleconferencing session with a remote third party, or interact with the resident in a number of ways.", "For example, the robot may carry on a dialogue with the resident, reinforce compliance with medication or other schedules, etc.", "In addition, the robot incorporates safety features for preventing collisions with the resident; and the robot may audibly announce and/or visibly indicate its presence in order to avoid becoming a dangerous obstacle.", "Furthermore, the mobile robot behaves in accordance with an integral privacy policy, such that any sensor recording or transmission must be approved by the resident." ], [ "1-9.", "(canceled) 10.A method comprising: presenting, by a user interface of a user terminal remote from an autonomous mobile robot, first imagery captured by the robot during navigation through a home comprising a plurality of rooms, the first imagery representing at a least a portion of a first room of the plurality of rooms; assigning a first of a plurality of room identity markers to the first room based on a first user selection of the first of the plurality of room identity markers using the user interface; presenting, by the user interface, second imagery captured by the robot during the navigation through the home, the second imagery representing at least a portion of a second room of the plurality of rooms; assigning a second of the plurality of room identity markers to the second room based on a second user selection of the second of the plurality of room identity markers using the user interface; and presenting, by the user interface, the assigned first of the plurality of room identity markers and the assigned second of the plurality of room identity markers on a map of the home.", "11.The method of claim 10, further comprising combining two or more of a plurality of room identities identified by the robot during the navigation through the home when a quantity of the plurality of room identities is greater than a quantity of the plurality of rooms in the home.", "12.The method of claim 11, wherein combining the two or more of the plurality of room identities comprises combining the two or more of the plurality of room identities in response to receiving a user request to combine the two or more of the plurality of room identities.", "13.The method of claim 10, further comprising: receiving a user selection of an object in the home; and causing the robot to move toward a location of the object in response to the user selection.", "14.The method of claim 13, further comprising, after the robot has moved toward the location of the object, presenting imagery captured by the robot, the imagery representing the object.", "15.The method of claim 10, further comprising: causing the robot to move toward a location of an object in response to a user command; and presenting information indicative of a status of the object, the status being detected by the robot.", "16.The method of claim 15, wherein the object is a door, and the status corresponds to a state of a lock of the door.", "17.The method of claim 10, further comprising presenting, by the user interface, locations of objects or persons on the map, the objects or persons being identified by the robot.", "18.The method of claim 10, further comprising causing data indicative of assignment of the first of the plurality of room identity markers and assignment of the second of the plurality of room identity markers to be stored on a remote server.", "19.The method of claim 10, further comprising: causing the robot to navigate to the first room associated with the assigned first of the plurality of identity markers in response to a user selection of the assigned first of the plurality of identity markers on the map; and receiving imagery of the first room captured by the robot after the robot arrives in the first room.", "20.The method of claim 19, wherein receiving the imagery of the first room comprises wirelessly receiving the imagery of the first room from the robot.", "21.The method of claim 10, wherein the map is indicative of a location of a dock or a charger for the robot.", "22.The method of claim 10, further comprising: presenting imagery captured by the robot, the imagery representing at least a portion of a room; receiving a user selection of a floor location represented in the imagery; and causing the robot to move to the floor location in response to receiving the user selection.", "23.The method of claim 10, further comprising presenting, by the user interface, a video stream captured by the robot as the robot navigates through the home.", "24.The method of claim 10, further comprising presenting a location and a status of the robot on the map.", "25.The method of claim 10, wherein the user terminal comprises a mobile phone.", "26.The method of claim 10, further comprising causing the robot to move in a direction based on a user selection of a navigational button.", "27.The method of claim 10, wherein the plurality of room identity markers each comprises an icon or text indicative of a type or a function of a room." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION <EOH>Robotic research platforms have been developed for interacting with people in home situations, such as the elderly, children, or others who may benefit from an interactive robot assistant.", "These robotic platforms often do not consider the actual home environment, or personal preferences and concerns, such as making a companion robot non-intrusive and a welcome guest in the home environment.", "Certain platforms have been developed which assist caregivers in carrying medications, providing amusing interaction, and/or providing teleconferencing tools, many remain research platforms: they tend to be so large, heavy, and unwieldy, as to be inappropriate for use in an ordinary home.", "These robotic platforms are generally tested in institutions, where some surveillance is expected and privacy and personal dignity tend already to be adversely affected, and may not be suitable for use in private homes, where expectations for privacy protection are higher.", "Simply making a robot smaller, however, does not correct these shortcomings.", "Though a robot may be sufficiently small to be carried, the contemplated use is typically in a single room, with limited ability to be useful throughout an entire home.", "Low-weight platforms tend also to be low to the ground, and generally out of view of residents who may be moving about in the same rooms, creating a danger for those with balance or mobility issues.", "In short, previous robots suffer from limited usability, and thus do not function as a welcoming and versatile assistant to a human." ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION <EOH>In one aspect, the invention relates to a robot for regimen compliance management, including a processor, a memory accessible by the processor, a sensor capable of detecting a presence of a person within a detection range of the robot, a communication interface capable of generating a human-perceptible signal, a drive operatively connected to the processor that moves the robot, a scheduler routine executable on the processor that checks at least one of a medication dosage information for a medication event and a health-related information for a regimen event, and in advance of the event, initiates a person finding routine, a person finding routine executable on the processor that instructs the drive to move the robot about an environment and to stop in a position proximate a person, and a regimen compliance manager for ensuring compliance of a person with a regimen routine.", "In one aspect, the invention relates to a robot for regimen compliance management, including a processor, a memory accessible by the processor that includes personal medication dosage information, a sensor capable of detecting the presence of a person within a detection range of the robot, a communication interface capable of generating a human-perceptible signal and receiving a compliance or non-compliance indication from the person, a drive operatively connected to the processor that moves the robot, a scheduler routine executable on the processor that checks the personal medication do sage information for medication events, and in advance of a medication event, initiates a person finding routine, a person finding routine executable on the processor that instructs the drive to move the robot about the household checking the sensor suite for the presence of the person and to stop in a position next to the person, a matching routine executable on the processor that sends a human perceptible signal to the person including information regarding the location of medication to be taken and guides the person to the medication.", "In certain embodiments of the above aspect, the communication interface is receiving a compliance or non-compliance indication from the person and the memory accessible by the processor includes postponement rules, and further including a regimen compliance snooze routine that upon recognition of a non-compliance indication from the person, checks the personal medication dosage information and sets a new medication event compatible with the postponement rules.", "In another aspect, the invention relates to a robot for regimen compliance management, including a processor, a memory accessible by the processor that includes personal medication dosage information, the memory including postponement rules defining permissible conditions for postponing dosage, a sensor capable of detecting the presence of a person within a detection range of the robot, a communication interface capable of generating a human-perceptible signal and receiving a compliance or non-compliance indication from the person, a drive operatively connected to the processor that moves the robot, a scheduler routine executable on the processor that checks the personal medication dosage information for medication events, and in advance of a medication event, initiates a person finding routine, a person finding routine executable on the processor that instructs the drive to move the robot about the household and to stop in a position next to the person, a matching routine executable on the processor that sends a human perceptible signal to the person including information regarding medication to be taken, and a regimen compliance snooze routine that upon recognition of a non-compliance indication from the person, checks the personal medication dosage information and sets a new medication event if postponing medication is compatible with the postponement rules.", "In yet another aspect, the invention relates to a robot for regimen compliance management, including a medication cache that receives loaded medication to be carried by the robot, a processor, a memory accessible by the processor that includes personal medication dosage information and postponing rules, a sensor capable of detecting the presence of a person within a detection range of the robot, a communication interface capable of generating a human-perceptible signal, a drive operatively connected to the processor that moves the robot, a scheduler routine executable on the processor that checks the personal medication dosage information for medication events, and in advance of a medication event, initiates a person finding routine, a person finding routine executable on the processor that instructs the drive to move the robot about the household checking the sensor suite for the presence of the person and to stop in a position next to the person, a matching routine executable on the processor that sends a human perceptible signal to the person including information regarding the medication carried in the medication cache.", "In certain embodiments of the above aspect, the robot includes a medication loading routine executable on the processor that sends a human perceptible signal to the person including information regarding loading the medication cache for later administration and information guiding the person to the medication.", "In still another aspect, the invention relates to a robot system for regimen compliance management, having a medication cache that receives loaded medication, a processor, a memory accessible by the processor that includes personal medication dosage information and postponing rules, a sensor capable of detecting the presence of a person within a detection range of the robot, a communication interface capable of generating a human-perceptible signal, a drive operatively connected to the processor that moves the robot, a scheduler routine executable on the processor that checks the personal medication dosage information for medication events, and in advance of a medication event, initiates a person finding routine, a person finding routine executable on the processor that instructs the drive to move the robot about the household checking the sensor suite for the presence of the person and to stop in a position next to the person, and a medication loading routine executable on the processor that sends a human perceptible signal to the person including information regarding loading the medication cache for later administration, and information guiding the person to the medication cache.", "In another aspect, the invention relates to a robot for regimen compliance management, including a network interface that connects the robot to a remote location at which a caregiver may connect to the robot, a processor, a memory accessible by the processor that includes personal medication dosage information, a sensor capable of detecting the presence of a person within a detection range of the robot, a communication interface capable of generating a human-perceptible signal and receiving a compliance or non-compliance indication from the person, a drive operatively connected to the processor that moves the robot, a scheduler routine executable on the processor that checks the personal medication dosage information for medication events, and in advance of a medication event, initiates a person finding routine, a person finding routine executable on the processor that instructs the drive to move the robot about the household checking the sensor suite for the presence of the person and to stop in a position next to the person, a regimen compliance reminder routine executable on the processor that, upon recognition of a non-compliance indication from the person, contacts the caregiver via the network interface.", "In certain embodiments of the above aspect, the robot includes an inbound communication channel for the caregiver to send a human-perceptible signal through the inbound communication channel and via the communication interface.", "In yet another aspect, the invention relates to a robot for regimen compliance management, including a network interface that connects the robot to a remote location at which a caregiver may connect to the robot, a processor, a memory accessible by the processor that includes health-related regimen information, a sensor capable of detecting the presence of a person within a detection range of the robot, a communication interface capable of generating a human-perceptible signal, an inbound communication channel for the caregiver to send a human-perceptible signal through the inbound communication channel and via the communication interface, a drive operatively connected to the processor that moves the robot, a scheduler routine executable on the processor that checks the health-related regimen information for regimen events, and in advance of a health-related regimen event, initiates a person finding routine, a person finding routine executable on the processor that instructs the drive to move the robot about the household checking the sensor suite for the presence of the person and to stop in a position next to the person, and a regimen compliance guide access routine executable on the processor that connects a communication session with a caregiver via the network interface.", "In another aspect, the invention relates to a method of human-robot interaction, including receiving a communication script segment, outputting to a person at least one of a visible component of the communication script segment and an audible component of the communication script segment, and controlling at least one of a robot expression component accompanying the output component and a robot response to an input by a person.", "In still another aspect, the invention relates to a method of human-robot interaction, including receiving a communication script segment, including an output query sub-script text and a response tree of five or less sub-script response text candidate, associating the output query text with an audible output signal, and outputting the audible output signal as a spoken query to a person, displaying the output query sub-script text together with the five or less sub-script response text candidates on a display of the robot, receiving an audio input signal recording a person's response to the audible output signal, processing the audio input signal to recognize if the audio input signal includes speech corresponding to any one of the five or less displayed sub-script response text candidates, if the audio input signal is not recognized to include speech corresponding to any one of the four or less sub-script response text candidates, issuing an output signal to prompt the user to retry communicating a response to the audible output signal, and if the audio input signal is recognized to include speech corresponding to any one of the five or less sub-script response text candidates, issuing an output signal including a repetition of the one of the five or less sub-script response text candidates that was recognized.", "Embodiments of the above aspect include, after the confirmation signal is issued monitoring for a confirmation of the correctness or incorrectness of the one of the four or less sub-script response text candidates that was recognized.", "In still other embodiments issuing an output signal to prompt the user to retry communicating a response to the audio output signal includes, highlighting the displayed sub-script text on a display of the robot, and receiving an input signal selecting any one of the five or less displayed sub-script response text candidates via a manually operated control associated with the display.", "In additional embodiments two of the five or less sub-scripts response text candidates are a simple affirmative and simple negative response, and further include processing the audio input signal to recognize if the audio input signal includes speech corresponding to a family of affirmative responses equivalent to the simple affirmative response or includes speech corresponding to a family of affirmative responses equivalent to the simple negative response.", "In other embodiments one of the five or less sub-scripts response text candidates is a response text candidate that is common to a majority of communication script segments.", "In still other embodiments, no two of the five or less sub-scripts response text candidates are a simple affirmative and simple negative response, and further include processing the audio input signal to recognize if the audio input signal includes speech corresponding to a family of affirmative responses equivalent to the simple affirmative response or includes speech corresponding to a family of affirmative responses equivalent to the simple negative response.", "In other embodiments of the robot, the response tree is a response tree of three or less sub-script response text candidates, and none of the response text candidates is simple affirmative response or simple negative response.", "Other embodiments include converting the response tree text subscript into a set of menu choices displayed on the display.", "In another aspect, the invention relates to a method of human-robot interaction, including receiving a communication script segment, including an output query sub-script text and a response tree of five or less sub-script response text candidate, associating the output query text with an audible output signal, and outputting the audible output signal as a spoken query to a person, displaying the output query sub-script text together with the five or less sub-script response text candidates on a display of the robot, receiving an audio input signal recording a person's response to the audible output signal, processing the audio input signal to recognize if the audio input signal includes speech corresponding to any one of the five or less displayed sub-script response text candidates, if the audio input signal is recognized to include speech corresponding to any one of the five or less sub-script response text candidates, issuing an output signal including a repetition of the one of the five or less sub-script response text candidates that was recognized if the audio input signal is not recognized to include speech corresponding to any one of the four or less sub-script response text candidates, highlighting the displayed sub-script text on a display of the robot, then receiving an input signal selecting any one of the five or less displayed sub-script response text candidates via a manually operated control associated with the display.", "In yet another aspect, the invention relates to a method of human-robot interaction, including asynchronously executing a plurality of motion behaviors, including motion behaviors responsive to events, receiving a communication script segment, including dialogue branches with robot speech prompt text and human response text, interpreting the communication script segment to generate an audible robot speech prompt, receiving input from a person as a response to the audible robot speech prompt, interrupting a dialogue branch in response to an event detected by one of the plurality of behaviors to execute an asynchronous response, and recovering the dialogue branch after the execution of the asynchronous response.", "In still another aspect, the invention relates to a method of human-robot interaction, including receiving a communication script segment, including dialogue branches with robot speech prompt text and human response text, associating the output query text with an audible output signal, and outputting the audible output signal as a spoken query to a person, modulating the dialogue branch to show a desired expression during the communication script segment by adding at least expression motion selected from a head movement sequence including nod axis head movement or turn axis head movement, or a robot movement sequence including movement of the entire robot.", "In another aspect, the invention relates to a method of human-robot interaction, including receiving a communication script segment, including dialogue branches with robot speech prompt text, human response text, and robot expression motion tags, interpreting the communication script segment to generate an audible robot speech prompt and robot expression motions according to the dialogue branches, receiving input from a person as a response to the audible robot speech prompt, interrupting an expression motion in response to an event detected by the robot to execute a corrective behavior to reposition the robot according to the event, and recovering the dialogue branch after the execution of the corrective behavior.", "In another aspect, the invention relates to a method of robot self-navigation for a robot, the method including monitoring at least one of a sensor and an input, comparing a signal from at least one of the sensor and the input to at least two predetermined conditions, and performing at least one of (a) an action, if the signal corresponds to a first condition; and (b) a movement of the robot, if the signal corresponds to a second condition.", "In one aspect, the invention relates to a method of robot self-navigation, including monitoring a sensor capable of detecting the presence of a person within a detection range of the robot, improving a presence score when the person is detected within the detection range of the robot, decaying the presence score to progressively worsen, driving in a direction to move the robot to a different location when the presence score decays to a first threshold presence score, parking the robot in a location proximate to the person when the presence score improves to a second threshold presence score.", "In another aspect, the invention relates to a method of robot self-navigation, including monitoring a sensor capable of detecting the presence of a detectable object within a detection range of the robot, improving a presence score when a detectable object is detected within the detection range of the robot, decaying the presence score to progressively worsen, driving in a direction to move the robot to a different location when the presence score decays to a first threshold presence score.", "In certain embodiments, the sensor suite is capable of detecting detectable objects including a person and a charging station, and the method further includes parking the robot in a charging station located proximate to the person, engaged to recharge, when the presence score improves to a second threshold presence score.", "In other embodiments, the driving includes moving the robot to a succession of different locations until the presence score improves to a second threshold presence score.", "In yet another aspect, the invention relates to a method of robot self-navigation, including monitoring a sensor suite capable of detecting the presence of a detectable object within a detection range of the robot, detectable objects including either or both of a person and a charging station, improving a presence score when a detectable object is detected within the detection range of the robot, decaying the presence score to progressively worsen, driving in a direction to move the robot to a different location when the presence score decays to a first threshold presence score, and parking the robot in a charging station located proximate to the different location and to the person, engaged to recharge, when the presence score improves to a second threshold presence score.", "In another aspect, the invention relates to a mobile robot for interacting with a person, including a first detector for detecting at least one of a person and an object within a first predetermined space proximate the robot, a second detector for detecting at least one of a person and an object within a second predetermined space proximate the robot, a physical contact device to detect contact between at least one of a person and an object, wherein at least one of the first detector, the second detector, and the contact device triggers a safety condition, and a controller configured to immobilize the robot when the safety condition is detected.", "In still another aspect, the invention relates to a method of robot self-navigation, including generating an annunciator activation signal in response to a detected condition, activating an annunciator upon an annunciator activation signal, monitoring a sensor for a detected response from a person, checking whether the detected response includes a sought response, if the checking confirms the detected response includes a sought response, activating a found person success routine, and if the checking confirms the detected response includes a sought response, identifying a passage from a present chamber, and driving in a direction to move the robot through the passage from the present chamber to a new chamber.", "It is a preferably a function of the robot to act as a confidence, trust, and bonding manager.", "The robot is crafted to boost user trust and emotional attachment, which is beneficial in itself and provides generic benefits for any and all other applications, increasing their success rate.", "This function addresses the challenge of introducing new and unfamiliar technology (especially autonomous, self-controlled, mobile technology) into the lives of ordinary persons.", "In another aspect, the invention relates to a method for robotically locating a person being sought, including monitoring a sensor suite for a non-noise signal indicative of the presence of a person, and if the non-noise signal corresponds to a sought response, then activating a found person success routine, and if the non-noise signal does not correspond to a sought response or if no response is identified, then selecting one of (i) identifying a doorway from a present chamber, and navigating the robot through the doorway from the present chamber to a new chamber, or (ii) controlling a mobile robot to activate an annunciator.", "In certain embodiments of the above-aspect, the annunciator emits a sound including the name of the person being sought, and the method further includes checking the sought response to confirm that the source of the sought response is a person of the name being sought.", "In yet another aspect, the invention relates to a method for navigating a robot, including receiving a first navigation command representative of a remote user's selection of a room identity marker, recognizing a present room, driving among rooms of different room identity according to the first navigation command until the robot recognizes being within a room having a room identity corresponding to the selected room identity marker, receiving a second navigation command representative of a remote user's selection of one of a floor location within the room having a room identity corresponding to the room identity marker or a landmark item within the room having a room identity corresponding to the room identity marker, driving within the room corresponding to the room identity according to the second navigation command until the robot recognizes being at one of the floor location or next to the landmark item, receiving a third navigation command stream representative of a remote user's command including direction and bearing, driving within the room and from the floor location according to the received third navigation command stream representative of a remote user's command including direction and bearing.", "In still another aspect, the invention relates to a method for handling navigation commands for remotely controlling a robot, including receiving a selection of room identities corresponding to available room identities in a household, driving among rooms of different room identity until the robot captures topological adjacency among room identities and correlates each room identity of a household with a received room identity marker, displaying room identity markers corresponding to available room identities for a household, the room identity markers being displayed according to topological adjacency of corresponding room identities and being displayed as a part of a graphical depiction of a house.", "In another aspect, the invention relates to a method for handling navigation commands for remotely controlling a robot, including receiving a selection of room identities corresponding to available room identities in a household, driving among rooms of different room identity until the robot captures topological adjacency among room identities and correlates each room identity of a household with a received room identity marker, displaying room identity markers corresponding to available room identities for a household, the room identity markers being displayed according to topological adjacency of corresponding room identities and being displayed as a part of a graphical depiction of a house, receiving a selection of a room identity marker via a user interface linked to the displaying room identity markers as a first navigation command representative of a remote user's selection of a room identity marker, recognizing a present room, and driving among rooms of different room identity according to the first navigation command until the robot recognizes being within a room having a room identity corresponding to the selected room identity marker.", "In yet another aspect, the invention relates to a mobile robot for interacting with a person, including an annunciator configured to audibly indicate the presence of the robot, a visible beacon configured to optically indicate the presence of the robot, a proximity curtain detector configured to detect a person within a curtain covering a majority of the height of the robot and thereafter trigger a safety condition, a physical impact buffer configured to absorb impact of a person colliding with the robot, detect the person, and trigger the safety condition, a floor-level proximity ribbon detector configured to detect objects of less than 2 inches in height and trigger the safety condition, and a controller configured to immobilize the robot when the safety condition is detected.", "In still another aspect, the invention relates to a mobile robot for interacting with a person, including a zone detector configured to detect an object within a zone in front of the robot covering a substantial portion of the height of the robot above 10 inches from the ground and thereafter trigger a safety condition, a near zone impact bumper configured to absorb an impact of an object colliding with the robot, detect the object, and trigger the safety condition, a near zone proximity sensor configured to detect an object in front of the robot between 2-10 inches from the ground and trigger the safety condition, a near zone low object proximity sensor configured to detect objects in front of the robot of less than 2-4 inches in height and trigger the safety condition, and a controller configured to immobilize the robot when the safety condition is detected.", "In embodiments of the above aspect, each of the proximity curtain detector, the physical impact buffer, and the floor-level proximity ribbon detector are configured to detect a person at different distances from a center of the robot.", "In certain embodiments, the robot further includes a heat radiation detector or sound detector checked by the controller, that determines that an object encountered in the direction of travel is a person when heat radiation or sound of an object is above a low threshold and optionally below a high threshold.", "In other embodiments, the robot is configured to slow to less than 10 cm/sec when an object in the direction of travel is determined to be a person by heat radiation or sound detection.", "In another aspect, the invention relates to a robot for interacting with a resident in an environment, including a sensor adapted to monitor a resident when the robot is in an environment and a resident is within range of the sensor, a controller to monitor surveillance data from the sensor, a transmission control routine configured to enable transmission of surveillance data from the sensor to a location outside an environment, if a resident grants permission for the transmission, and an override routine configured to enable transmission of surveillance data from the sensor to a location outside the environment at least in an emergency condition.", "In another aspect, the invention relates to a robot for interacting with a resident in the resident's home, including a sensor capable of monitoring the resident when the robot is in the resident's home and the resident is within range of the sensor, a controller connected to monitor surveillance data from the sensor, a transmission control routine configured to enable a transmission of surveillance data from the sensor outside the resident's home if the resident grants permission for the transmission, and an override routine configured to enable a transmission of surveillance data from the sensor outside the resident's home (i) in an emergency condition detected by the robot or (ii) after a n authorized remote caregiver sends to the robot an authorization previously permitted by the resident and an emergency condition indication, wherein the transmission of surveillance data by the robot outside the resident's home is otherwise prohibited.", "In certain embodiments of the above aspect, the robot includes a connector capable of receiving a lock-out member, wherein the transmission control routine enables transmission of surveillance data from the sensor outside the resident's home only when the lock-out member is inserted in the connector.", "In other embodiments, the sensor includes a camera, and the robot includes a privacy controller configured to orient the objective lens of the camera to face the robot's body when a privacy mode is selected.", "In alternative embodiments, the robot includes a privacy member configured to physically unplug the sensor when a privacy mode is selected.", "In yet another aspect, the invention relates to a robot for interacting with a resident in the resident's home, including a sensor capable of monitoring the resident when the robot is in the resident's home and the resident is within range of the sensor, a controller connected to monitor surveillance data from the sensor, a connector capable of receiving a lock-out member, a transmission control routine configured to enable a transmission of surveillance data from the sensor outside the resident's home if the resident grants permission for the transmission and only when the lock-out member is inserted in the connector, and an override routine configured to enable a transmission of surveillance data from the sensor outside the resident's home only when an emergency condition signal is received by the robot.", "In another embodiment, the invention relates to a robot capable of human-robot interaction, including a head assembly including a face at least one camera mounted proximate the face, and a positionable support having a first position and a second position, the mount supporting at least one of the face and the at least one camera.", "In still another aspect, the invention relates to a robot capable of human-robot interaction, including a head assembly including a head having a face on one side, at least one camera mounted within the face to direct an objective lens of the camera in the same direction as the face, a rotatable pivot supporting the head to permit the head to move such that the face and the at least one camera are hidden from view and the camera is thereby prevented from viewing an area around the robot.", "In embodiments of the above aspect, the face further includes a matrix panel electronically controllable to show different configurations of left and right eyes composed of matrix elements, and the at least one camera includes a left camera proximate to the left eye composed of matrix elements and a right camera proximate to the right camera composed of matrix elements.", "In another aspect, the invention relates to a robot capable of human-robot interaction, including a head assembly including a head having a face on one side, the face comprising a matrix panel electronically controllable to show different configurations of left and right eyes composed of matrix elements, a left camera proximate to the left eye and a right camera proximate to the right eye, each of left and right cameras being mounted near the face to direct an objective lens of the camera in the same direction as the face, and at least one positionable mount supporting the left camera and right camera to each move to a position disabled from viewing an area around the robot.", "In yet another aspect, the invention relates to a robot system, including a base station, and a robot, the base station including a wireless transceiver capable of communicating TCP/IP transmissions over a local wireless protocol, a wired Ethernet connector for communicating TCP/IP transmissions over a local wired Ethernet accessing the Internet, and an access point circuit for transferring TCP/IP transmissions between the local wired Ethernet and local wireless protocol limited to a predetermined IP address locked to the robot, predetermined shell level encryption locked to the robot, and predetermined ports to the Internet open only to the robot, the robot including a wireless transceiver capable of communicating TCP/IP transmissions over a local wireless protocol and a client circuit for transferring TCP/IP transmissions over the local wireless protocol.", "In embodiments of the above aspect, the wireless access point includes a plurality of antennas and an antenna diversity circuit.", "In other embodiments, the wireless access point includes a plurality of antennas and an antenna diversity circuit and encodes wireless transmissions using orthogonal frequency division multiplexing.", "In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, a method for robotically locating a person being sought may include (a) controlling a mobile robot to activate an annunciator upon an annunciator activation signal, (b) monitoring a sensor suite for any non-noise (noise filtered) response to the annunciator within a limited time period after the activation, (c) comparing any detected non-noise response to a library of sought responses; (d) when the non-noise response does not correspond to a sought response or when no response is identified, identifying a doorway from a present chamber, (e) navigating the robot through the doorway from the present chamber to a new chamber, (f) generating an annunciator activation signal in response to a detected condition, and (g) repeating (a) through (f) until the non-noise response corresponds to a sought response, then (h) activating a found person success routine.", "The identifying the doorway may include analyzing robot odometry and heading during wall following and identifying successive odometry/heading combinations indicating a wall end and/or doorway has been traversed.", "Also, the identifying the doorway may include analyzing robot signal reflection sensing and identifying a heading toward a wall gap.", "The identifying the doorway may further include analyzing a dynamically built map and identifying a heading toward a wall gap; analyzing an archived map and robot position and identifying a heading toward a wall gap; analyzing a beacon sensor of a door-designating beacon and identifying a heading toward a door designated by the door beacon; and/or analyzing a ceiling configuration or pattern of indicia on a ceiling of a present chamber and identifying a heading toward a door at a position recognized using the indicia or ceiling configuration.", "The annunciator may emit a sound including the name of the person being sought, and the comparing any detected non-noise response to the library of sought responses/non-noise response indicates that the source of the non-noise response is a person being sought.", "The method may further include selecting the second location based on an arbitrary heading and an arbitrary distance for the mobile robot to travel; adjusting the heading of the mobile robot when an obstacle or hazard is encountered; and proceeding until the mobile robot has traveled the arbitrary distance.", "The new chamber may lie in a different room from the present chamber, and the method may further include navigating the mobile robot from the present chamber location to the new chamber based on one or more of optical room feature recognition, sonar, RFID room tagging, IR directional beacon detection, odometry, inertial guidance, dead reckoning, room mapping, and/or compass navigation.", "The method may also include using at least one secondary detection system configured to detect the person being sought, in which the at least one secondary detection system is selected from infrared detection, radiative heat detection, acoustic detection, RFID tag detection, tank circuit detection, motion detection, and/or image analysis; or, the method may further include generating a map of a structure in which the mobile robot is located, and selecting the new chamber based on the generated map, in which the new chamber is in a different room from the present chamber or lies at least a threshold distance away from the present chamber.", "The generating the map may include controlling the mobile robot to traverse the robot's environment and to detect walls and obstacles; and the map may be transmitted to the mobile robot by a user.", "The method may further include locating a closed door, and transmitting an audible signal through the door; in addition, the transmitting the audible signal may include imparting a knocking sound to the closed door.", "In accordance with one embodiment, a mobile robot for interacting with a person may include a speaker for generating audible content based on a robot behavior; a scheduler configured to trigger a robot behavior in accordance with the schedule; and a morning robot behavior for interacting with the person soon after the person awakens regarding a second robot behavior scheduled later in the day.", "The robot may also include a pill dispenser for dispensing medication, in which the second robot behavior includes dispensing medication to the person, and in which the morning robot behavior includes reminding the person about the medication and/or requesting that a person place the medication into the pill dispenser.", "The robot may further include a transmitter for notifying a caregiver when the medication is not dispensed according to schedule.", "Also, the robot may further include a sensor for detecting the person; a locater which uses the sensor when locating the person, in which the robot attempts to locate a person prior to the scheduled robot behavior.", "Further, each robot behavior may include using the speaker to remind the person of a scheduled robot behavior.", "The second robot behavior may include guiding the person 2 a predetermined location, in which the morning robot behavior includes verbally reminding the person of an activity associated with the upcoming second robot behavior; and the morning robot behavior may cognitively reinforce the person's recollection regarding an activity associated with the later second robot behavior.", "The mobile robot may further include a visual display, in which at least one of the morning or second robot behaviors include both displaying and speaking.", "The mobile robot may further include a privacy controller for preventing transmission to a caregiver unless the person has given permission to notify the caregiver.", "Also, the robot may include a receiver for receiving the command from the caretaker, in which the privacy controller is overridden when the command is received.", "At least one of the robot behaviors may be input by the person or by the caregiver; and the mobile robot may cease interaction with the person when instructed to stop by the person or by the caregiver.", "In accordance with another embodiment, the mobile robot for interacting with a person may include at least one sensor; a privacy controller for preventing operation of the sensor unless the person grants permission for the sensor to operate; and an override unit configured for enabling operation of the sensor regardless of the privacy controller when the override unit receives an override command.", "Regarding the mobile robot, the sensor may include at least one of a camera, a microphone, a proximity detector, a heat detector, or a tag detector.", "The mobile robot may further include a wireless transmitter for transmitting and output of the sensor, or a recording unit configured to record the output of the sensor.", "The mobile robot may also include a teleconferencing unit for transmitting and receiving audio and/or video data, in which the teleconferencing unit includes the sensor, and in which the privacy controller prevents initiation of a teleconferencing session unless the person grants permission.", "In addition the mobile robot may further include a speech recognition unit for detecting spoken input, in which the permission to talk with the sensor and the input by the speech recognition unit.", "The mobile robot 1 may control or manipulate an object in the household of the person (for example, turning on a television at a certain time by using an on-board IR transmitter), or point to an object or location at a certain time of day, as components of robot operation.", "Also, the override unit may include a receiver for wirelessly receiving the override command from a remote caregiver.", "The mobile robot may attempt to locate the person when an incoming teleconferencing request is received.", "Also, the privacy controller may be overridden when the robot detects an emergency condition—for example, if a person appears to be passed out, in danger, sick, or if there's smoke or if a fire alarm has been triggered, etc.", "The sensor may be conspicuously positioned when operating, and the sensor may become shrouded, covered, or moved so as not to be seen by the person when the sensor is not operating.", "Furthermore, the sensor may include a camera, in which the camera is placed in an inoperable position when permission to operate is not granted, and in which a lens of the camera faces an opaque surface in the inoperable position.", "The mobile robot may further include a behavior privacy matrix stored in a computer memory and correlating a plurality of robot behaviors to a plurality of permission to scores, in which the privacy controller permits a robot behavior when the robot behavior has been permitted, or prevents the robot behavior when the robot behavior has not been permitted.", "In accordance with yet another embodiment, a robot for interacting with a person may include an annunciator for audibly indicating the presence of the robot; a beacon for optically indicating the presence of the robot; a sensor for detecting a safety condition; and a controller for immobilizing the robot when the safety condition is detected.", "The annunciator may continuously or periodically emit a characteristic sound when the robot is moving.", "The beacon may shine a strobe light when the robot is moving, as well.", "Also, the sensor may include a camera, an optical sensor, an IR sensor, a key detector, a motion detector, a contact switch, a pressure detector, a proximity sensor, a sonar, a laser based obstacle detector, a noise detector, and/or a microphone, inter alia.", "The mobile robot may further include a platform mounted to main chassis of the robot by a stalk, in which the platform and the stalk convey an impression of fragility, and in which the platform extends to the person's waist-level above the main chassis of the robot.", "The stalk and robot may have an overall shape and/or mass distribution similar to an inverted pendulum.", "The mobile robot may further include a tipper ring positioned along the stalk which prevents the person from inadvertently colliding with the platform.", "The mobile robot may also include a communication unit for sending information regarding the person 2 a remote terminal operable by a caregiver.", "The communication unit may not send the information if the person has not given permission, and in addition, it may periodically transmit the information according to a predetermined schedule.", "Also, the communication unit may send the information when the information has changed.", "Alternatively, for example, the communication unit may retrieve instructions via a computer network.", "In another aspect, the invention relates to a method of human-robot interaction between a resident and a mobile robot, the method including the steps of providing a robot comprising a facial display and a sound generating device, executing a viseme sequence of a communication script segment via the display, executing a phoneme sequence of the communication script segment via the sound generating device, wherein the viseme sequence and the phoneme sequence are executed substantially synchronously, and managing the interaction based at least upon an action of the resident and a flexible response regimen of the robot.", "In one embodiment of the above aspect, the managing step includes an affect behavior for depicting a response of the robot to an event.", "The affect behavior may include the steps of providing the display on a movable head on the robot, and moving the head from a first position to a second position upon an occurrence of an event.", "In the above method, the first position may permit viewing by the resident, and the second position is associated with at least one of a surprise response, a joy response, a confusion response, a concern response, and a dejection response.", "The affect behavior further may include the step of displaying a caricature.", "The caricature is selected from a set of caricatures associated with a surprise response, a joy response, a confusion response, a concern response, and a dejection response.", "In another embodiment of the above aspect, the managing step includes an interrupt behavior for responding to an asynchronous response by the resident.", "The interrupt behavior may include the steps of receiving the asynchronous response, interrupting the execution of the viseme sequence and the execution of the phoneme sequence upon receipt of the asynchronous response, executing an interrupt sequence, and recovering the execution of the viseme sequence and the execution of the phoneme sequence subsequent to the interrupt sequence.", "The interrupt behavior may include delivering an error message.", "Delivering the error message may include the steps of executing an error viseme sequence via the display, and executing an error phoneme sequence via the sound generating device, wherein the execution of the error viseme sequence and the execution of the error phoneme sequence are substantially synchronized.", "The recovering step may include the step of repeating the steps of executing the viseme sequence and executing the phoneme sequence.", "The asynchronous may not correspond to at least one of a predetermined set of responses.", "The above method may also include the steps of comparing a response to the predetermined set of responses, and executing a second viseme sequence and a second phoneme sequence, if the response corresponds to at least one response of the predetermined set of responses.", "In another embodiment of the above aspect, the managing step may include a regimen compliance behavior for providing instruction to the resident.", "The regimen compliance behavior includes the steps of storing a regimen and a compliance schedule associated with the regimen, providing a reminder to the resident at a predetermined event during the compliance schedule, comparing a response from the resident to a set of predetermined responses, and performing an action based on the response from the resident.", "In another embodiment, the performing step includes providing a medicine to the resident.", "In another embodiment, the performing step includes providing a second reminder to the resident.", "The performing step may include communicating with a device remote from the robot.", "In another embodiment of the above aspect, the managing step may include a remote communication sequence for communicating between the resident and a third party located remote from the resident.", "In another embodiment, the remote communication sequence includes the steps of providing a camera on the robot, and changing a status of the camera from a first setting to a second setting upon an occurrence of an event.", "The first setting may permits viewing the resident, and the second setting may include a privacy orientation of the camera.", "The method may also include the step of providing a privacy signal to the resident.", "The event may include a permission denial from the resident.", "The first setting includes an unpowered condition of the camera, and the second setting includes a powered condition of the camera, and wherein the camera is oriented for viewing the resident.", "In still another embodiment of the above-aspect, the managing step includes a navigation manager for moving the mobile robot in an environment.", "The navigation manager includes a human-seeking sequence, the sequence including the steps of activating an annunciator in a first of a plurality of locations, monitoring a sensor suite for a non-noise response, comparing the non-noise response to a set of predetermined responses, activating a success routine if the non-noise response corresponds to at least one response of the set of predetermined responses, navigating the robot to a next location, and activating the annunciator.", "The navigating step includes the step of identifying a doorway, which includes at least one of the group of (a) analyzing robot odometry and heading during a wall following mode and identifying odometry and heading combinations indicating traversal of at least one of a wall end and a doorway, (b) analyzing signal reflection and identifying a heading toward a wall gap, (c) analyzing a dynamically built map and identifying a heading toward a wall gap, (d) analyzing a map and robot orientation relative to the map and identifying a heading toward a wall gap, (e) analyzing a beacon and identifying a heading toward the beacon, and (f) analyzing a pattern of indicia on a ceiling and identifying a heading toward a door at a position recognized by utilizing the pattern.", "In the method, the annunciator emits a sound including a name associated with the resident being sought, and wherein the set of predetermined responses identifies a source of the non-noise response.", "The method may also include the steps of selecting the next location based on an arbitrary heading and an arbitrary distance for the mobile robot to travel, moving in the direction of the arbitrary heading, adjusting a direction of travel of the mobile robot to avoid an obstacle, returning to the arbitrary heading when the obstacle is avoided, and continuing movement in the direction of the arbitrary heading until the mobile robot has traveled the arbitrary distance.", "Additionally, the method may further include the step of navigating the mobile robot to the next location based on at least one of optical room feature recognition, sonar, RFID room tagging, IR directional beacon detection, odometry, inertial guidance, dead reckoning, room mapping, and compass navigation.", "The method may also include the step of using at least one detector configured to detect a person, wherein the at least one detector is selected from the group consisting of an infrared detector, a radiation detector, and acoustic detector, an RFID detector, a tank circuit detector, a motion detector, and an image detector.", "In addition, the method further includes the steps of generating a map of a structure in which the mobile robot is located, and selecting the next location based on the generated map, wherein the next location is located at least a threshold distance away from a present location of the mobile robot.", "The generating step includes detecting obstacles or receiving the map electronically from a resident.", "The method may also include the steps of locating a closed door, and transmitting an audible signal through the door.", "The transmitting step includes imparting a knocking sound to the door.", "In yet another embodiment of the above aspect, the managing step includes a safety manager for controlling contact with a resident.", "The safety manager initiates a safety sequence including the steps of configuring an annunciator to indicate a presence of the robot, configuring a beacon to indicate the presence of the robot, configuring a sensor to detect a safety condition, and configuring a controller to immobilize the robot when the safety condition is detected.", "The annunciator emits a predetermined sound when the robot is moving.", "The beacon comprises a strobe light.", "The sensor includes at least one of a camera, an optical sensor, an IR sensor, a key detector, a motion detector, a contact switch, a pressure detector, a proximity sensor, a sonar detector, a laser-based obstacle detector, a noise detector, and a microphone.", "The above method further includes the step of configuring a physical shape of the robot to limit contact between the resident and a base of the robot.", "The above method further includes the step of configuring a communication unit for sending information regarding the resident to a remote terminal.", "Sending information includes receiving permission from the resident, which is sent according to a predetermined schedule, upon an occurrence of a change in information, or is exchanged with a computer." ], [ "CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims priority to and incorporates by reference herein in their entireties, the following: U.S.", "Provisional Patent Application Ser.", "No.", "60/746,491, filed May 4, 2006; U.S.", "Provisional Patent Application Ser.", "No.", "60/745,006, filed Apr.", "17, 2006; U.S.", "Provisional Patent Application Ser.", "No.", "60/722,935, filed Sep. 30, 2005.FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates generally to autonomous mobile robots for interacting with people and, more specifically, to autonomous mobile robots for assisting persons with various tasks.", "BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Robotic research platforms have been developed for interacting with people in home situations, such as the elderly, children, or others who may benefit from an interactive robot assistant.", "These robotic platforms often do not consider the actual home environment, or personal preferences and concerns, such as making a companion robot non-intrusive and a welcome guest in the home environment.", "Certain platforms have been developed which assist caregivers in carrying medications, providing amusing interaction, and/or providing teleconferencing tools, many remain research platforms: they tend to be so large, heavy, and unwieldy, as to be inappropriate for use in an ordinary home.", "These robotic platforms are generally tested in institutions, where some surveillance is expected and privacy and personal dignity tend already to be adversely affected, and may not be suitable for use in private homes, where expectations for privacy protection are higher.", "Simply making a robot smaller, however, does not correct these shortcomings.", "Though a robot may be sufficiently small to be carried, the contemplated use is typically in a single room, with limited ability to be useful throughout an entire home.", "Low-weight platforms tend also to be low to the ground, and generally out of view of residents who may be moving about in the same rooms, creating a danger for those with balance or mobility issues.", "In short, previous robots suffer from limited usability, and thus do not function as a welcoming and versatile assistant to a human.", "SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In one aspect, the invention relates to a robot for regimen compliance management, including a processor, a memory accessible by the processor, a sensor capable of detecting a presence of a person within a detection range of the robot, a communication interface capable of generating a human-perceptible signal, a drive operatively connected to the processor that moves the robot, a scheduler routine executable on the processor that checks at least one of a medication dosage information for a medication event and a health-related information for a regimen event, and in advance of the event, initiates a person finding routine, a person finding routine executable on the processor that instructs the drive to move the robot about an environment and to stop in a position proximate a person, and a regimen compliance manager for ensuring compliance of a person with a regimen routine.", "In one aspect, the invention relates to a robot for regimen compliance management, including a processor, a memory accessible by the processor that includes personal medication dosage information, a sensor capable of detecting the presence of a person within a detection range of the robot, a communication interface capable of generating a human-perceptible signal and receiving a compliance or non-compliance indication from the person, a drive operatively connected to the processor that moves the robot, a scheduler routine executable on the processor that checks the personal medication do sage information for medication events, and in advance of a medication event, initiates a person finding routine, a person finding routine executable on the processor that instructs the drive to move the robot about the household checking the sensor suite for the presence of the person and to stop in a position next to the person, a matching routine executable on the processor that sends a human perceptible signal to the person including information regarding the location of medication to be taken and guides the person to the medication.", "In certain embodiments of the above aspect, the communication interface is receiving a compliance or non-compliance indication from the person and the memory accessible by the processor includes postponement rules, and further including a regimen compliance snooze routine that upon recognition of a non-compliance indication from the person, checks the personal medication dosage information and sets a new medication event compatible with the postponement rules.", "In another aspect, the invention relates to a robot for regimen compliance management, including a processor, a memory accessible by the processor that includes personal medication dosage information, the memory including postponement rules defining permissible conditions for postponing dosage, a sensor capable of detecting the presence of a person within a detection range of the robot, a communication interface capable of generating a human-perceptible signal and receiving a compliance or non-compliance indication from the person, a drive operatively connected to the processor that moves the robot, a scheduler routine executable on the processor that checks the personal medication dosage information for medication events, and in advance of a medication event, initiates a person finding routine, a person finding routine executable on the processor that instructs the drive to move the robot about the household and to stop in a position next to the person, a matching routine executable on the processor that sends a human perceptible signal to the person including information regarding medication to be taken, and a regimen compliance snooze routine that upon recognition of a non-compliance indication from the person, checks the personal medication dosage information and sets a new medication event if postponing medication is compatible with the postponement rules.", "In yet another aspect, the invention relates to a robot for regimen compliance management, including a medication cache that receives loaded medication to be carried by the robot, a processor, a memory accessible by the processor that includes personal medication dosage information and postponing rules, a sensor capable of detecting the presence of a person within a detection range of the robot, a communication interface capable of generating a human-perceptible signal, a drive operatively connected to the processor that moves the robot, a scheduler routine executable on the processor that checks the personal medication dosage information for medication events, and in advance of a medication event, initiates a person finding routine, a person finding routine executable on the processor that instructs the drive to move the robot about the household checking the sensor suite for the presence of the person and to stop in a position next to the person, a matching routine executable on the processor that sends a human perceptible signal to the person including information regarding the medication carried in the medication cache.", "In certain embodiments of the above aspect, the robot includes a medication loading routine executable on the processor that sends a human perceptible signal to the person including information regarding loading the medication cache for later administration and information guiding the person to the medication.", "In still another aspect, the invention relates to a robot system for regimen compliance management, having a medication cache that receives loaded medication, a processor, a memory accessible by the processor that includes personal medication dosage information and postponing rules, a sensor capable of detecting the presence of a person within a detection range of the robot, a communication interface capable of generating a human-perceptible signal, a drive operatively connected to the processor that moves the robot, a scheduler routine executable on the processor that checks the personal medication dosage information for medication events, and in advance of a medication event, initiates a person finding routine, a person finding routine executable on the processor that instructs the drive to move the robot about the household checking the sensor suite for the presence of the person and to stop in a position next to the person, and a medication loading routine executable on the processor that sends a human perceptible signal to the person including information regarding loading the medication cache for later administration, and information guiding the person to the medication cache.", "In another aspect, the invention relates to a robot for regimen compliance management, including a network interface that connects the robot to a remote location at which a caregiver may connect to the robot, a processor, a memory accessible by the processor that includes personal medication dosage information, a sensor capable of detecting the presence of a person within a detection range of the robot, a communication interface capable of generating a human-perceptible signal and receiving a compliance or non-compliance indication from the person, a drive operatively connected to the processor that moves the robot, a scheduler routine executable on the processor that checks the personal medication dosage information for medication events, and in advance of a medication event, initiates a person finding routine, a person finding routine executable on the processor that instructs the drive to move the robot about the household checking the sensor suite for the presence of the person and to stop in a position next to the person, a regimen compliance reminder routine executable on the processor that, upon recognition of a non-compliance indication from the person, contacts the caregiver via the network interface.", "In certain embodiments of the above aspect, the robot includes an inbound communication channel for the caregiver to send a human-perceptible signal through the inbound communication channel and via the communication interface.", "In yet another aspect, the invention relates to a robot for regimen compliance management, including a network interface that connects the robot to a remote location at which a caregiver may connect to the robot, a processor, a memory accessible by the processor that includes health-related regimen information, a sensor capable of detecting the presence of a person within a detection range of the robot, a communication interface capable of generating a human-perceptible signal, an inbound communication channel for the caregiver to send a human-perceptible signal through the inbound communication channel and via the communication interface, a drive operatively connected to the processor that moves the robot, a scheduler routine executable on the processor that checks the health-related regimen information for regimen events, and in advance of a health-related regimen event, initiates a person finding routine, a person finding routine executable on the processor that instructs the drive to move the robot about the household checking the sensor suite for the presence of the person and to stop in a position next to the person, and a regimen compliance guide access routine executable on the processor that connects a communication session with a caregiver via the network interface.", "In another aspect, the invention relates to a method of human-robot interaction, including receiving a communication script segment, outputting to a person at least one of a visible component of the communication script segment and an audible component of the communication script segment, and controlling at least one of a robot expression component accompanying the output component and a robot response to an input by a person.", "In still another aspect, the invention relates to a method of human-robot interaction, including receiving a communication script segment, including an output query sub-script text and a response tree of five or less sub-script response text candidate, associating the output query text with an audible output signal, and outputting the audible output signal as a spoken query to a person, displaying the output query sub-script text together with the five or less sub-script response text candidates on a display of the robot, receiving an audio input signal recording a person's response to the audible output signal, processing the audio input signal to recognize if the audio input signal includes speech corresponding to any one of the five or less displayed sub-script response text candidates, if the audio input signal is not recognized to include speech corresponding to any one of the four or less sub-script response text candidates, issuing an output signal to prompt the user to retry communicating a response to the audible output signal, and if the audio input signal is recognized to include speech corresponding to any one of the five or less sub-script response text candidates, issuing an output signal including a repetition of the one of the five or less sub-script response text candidates that was recognized.", "Embodiments of the above aspect include, after the confirmation signal is issued monitoring for a confirmation of the correctness or incorrectness of the one of the four or less sub-script response text candidates that was recognized.", "In still other embodiments issuing an output signal to prompt the user to retry communicating a response to the audio output signal includes, highlighting the displayed sub-script text on a display of the robot, and receiving an input signal selecting any one of the five or less displayed sub-script response text candidates via a manually operated control associated with the display.", "In additional embodiments two of the five or less sub-scripts response text candidates are a simple affirmative and simple negative response, and further include processing the audio input signal to recognize if the audio input signal includes speech corresponding to a family of affirmative responses equivalent to the simple affirmative response or includes speech corresponding to a family of affirmative responses equivalent to the simple negative response.", "In other embodiments one of the five or less sub-scripts response text candidates is a response text candidate that is common to a majority of communication script segments.", "In still other embodiments, no two of the five or less sub-scripts response text candidates are a simple affirmative and simple negative response, and further include processing the audio input signal to recognize if the audio input signal includes speech corresponding to a family of affirmative responses equivalent to the simple affirmative response or includes speech corresponding to a family of affirmative responses equivalent to the simple negative response.", "In other embodiments of the robot, the response tree is a response tree of three or less sub-script response text candidates, and none of the response text candidates is simple affirmative response or simple negative response.", "Other embodiments include converting the response tree text subscript into a set of menu choices displayed on the display.", "In another aspect, the invention relates to a method of human-robot interaction, including receiving a communication script segment, including an output query sub-script text and a response tree of five or less sub-script response text candidate, associating the output query text with an audible output signal, and outputting the audible output signal as a spoken query to a person, displaying the output query sub-script text together with the five or less sub-script response text candidates on a display of the robot, receiving an audio input signal recording a person's response to the audible output signal, processing the audio input signal to recognize if the audio input signal includes speech corresponding to any one of the five or less displayed sub-script response text candidates, if the audio input signal is recognized to include speech corresponding to any one of the five or less sub-script response text candidates, issuing an output signal including a repetition of the one of the five or less sub-script response text candidates that was recognized if the audio input signal is not recognized to include speech corresponding to any one of the four or less sub-script response text candidates, highlighting the displayed sub-script text on a display of the robot, then receiving an input signal selecting any one of the five or less displayed sub-script response text candidates via a manually operated control associated with the display.", "In yet another aspect, the invention relates to a method of human-robot interaction, including asynchronously executing a plurality of motion behaviors, including motion behaviors responsive to events, receiving a communication script segment, including dialogue branches with robot speech prompt text and human response text, interpreting the communication script segment to generate an audible robot speech prompt, receiving input from a person as a response to the audible robot speech prompt, interrupting a dialogue branch in response to an event detected by one of the plurality of behaviors to execute an asynchronous response, and recovering the dialogue branch after the execution of the asynchronous response.", "In still another aspect, the invention relates to a method of human-robot interaction, including receiving a communication script segment, including dialogue branches with robot speech prompt text and human response text, associating the output query text with an audible output signal, and outputting the audible output signal as a spoken query to a person, modulating the dialogue branch to show a desired expression during the communication script segment by adding at least expression motion selected from a head movement sequence including nod axis head movement or turn axis head movement, or a robot movement sequence including movement of the entire robot.", "In another aspect, the invention relates to a method of human-robot interaction, including receiving a communication script segment, including dialogue branches with robot speech prompt text, human response text, and robot expression motion tags, interpreting the communication script segment to generate an audible robot speech prompt and robot expression motions according to the dialogue branches, receiving input from a person as a response to the audible robot speech prompt, interrupting an expression motion in response to an event detected by the robot to execute a corrective behavior to reposition the robot according to the event, and recovering the dialogue branch after the execution of the corrective behavior.", "In another aspect, the invention relates to a method of robot self-navigation for a robot, the method including monitoring at least one of a sensor and an input, comparing a signal from at least one of the sensor and the input to at least two predetermined conditions, and performing at least one of (a) an action, if the signal corresponds to a first condition; and (b) a movement of the robot, if the signal corresponds to a second condition.", "In one aspect, the invention relates to a method of robot self-navigation, including monitoring a sensor capable of detecting the presence of a person within a detection range of the robot, improving a presence score when the person is detected within the detection range of the robot, decaying the presence score to progressively worsen, driving in a direction to move the robot to a different location when the presence score decays to a first threshold presence score, parking the robot in a location proximate to the person when the presence score improves to a second threshold presence score.", "In another aspect, the invention relates to a method of robot self-navigation, including monitoring a sensor capable of detecting the presence of a detectable object within a detection range of the robot, improving a presence score when a detectable object is detected within the detection range of the robot, decaying the presence score to progressively worsen, driving in a direction to move the robot to a different location when the presence score decays to a first threshold presence score.", "In certain embodiments, the sensor suite is capable of detecting detectable objects including a person and a charging station, and the method further includes parking the robot in a charging station located proximate to the person, engaged to recharge, when the presence score improves to a second threshold presence score.", "In other embodiments, the driving includes moving the robot to a succession of different locations until the presence score improves to a second threshold presence score.", "In yet another aspect, the invention relates to a method of robot self-navigation, including monitoring a sensor suite capable of detecting the presence of a detectable object within a detection range of the robot, detectable objects including either or both of a person and a charging station, improving a presence score when a detectable object is detected within the detection range of the robot, decaying the presence score to progressively worsen, driving in a direction to move the robot to a different location when the presence score decays to a first threshold presence score, and parking the robot in a charging station located proximate to the different location and to the person, engaged to recharge, when the presence score improves to a second threshold presence score.", "In another aspect, the invention relates to a mobile robot for interacting with a person, including a first detector for detecting at least one of a person and an object within a first predetermined space proximate the robot, a second detector for detecting at least one of a person and an object within a second predetermined space proximate the robot, a physical contact device to detect contact between at least one of a person and an object, wherein at least one of the first detector, the second detector, and the contact device triggers a safety condition, and a controller configured to immobilize the robot when the safety condition is detected.", "In still another aspect, the invention relates to a method of robot self-navigation, including generating an annunciator activation signal in response to a detected condition, activating an annunciator upon an annunciator activation signal, monitoring a sensor for a detected response from a person, checking whether the detected response includes a sought response, if the checking confirms the detected response includes a sought response, activating a found person success routine, and if the checking confirms the detected response includes a sought response, identifying a passage from a present chamber, and driving in a direction to move the robot through the passage from the present chamber to a new chamber.", "It is a preferably a function of the robot to act as a confidence, trust, and bonding manager.", "The robot is crafted to boost user trust and emotional attachment, which is beneficial in itself and provides generic benefits for any and all other applications, increasing their success rate.", "This function addresses the challenge of introducing new and unfamiliar technology (especially autonomous, self-controlled, mobile technology) into the lives of ordinary persons.", "In another aspect, the invention relates to a method for robotically locating a person being sought, including monitoring a sensor suite for a non-noise signal indicative of the presence of a person, and if the non-noise signal corresponds to a sought response, then activating a found person success routine, and if the non-noise signal does not correspond to a sought response or if no response is identified, then selecting one of (i) identifying a doorway from a present chamber, and navigating the robot through the doorway from the present chamber to a new chamber, or (ii) controlling a mobile robot to activate an annunciator.", "In certain embodiments of the above-aspect, the annunciator emits a sound including the name of the person being sought, and the method further includes checking the sought response to confirm that the source of the sought response is a person of the name being sought.", "In yet another aspect, the invention relates to a method for navigating a robot, including receiving a first navigation command representative of a remote user's selection of a room identity marker, recognizing a present room, driving among rooms of different room identity according to the first navigation command until the robot recognizes being within a room having a room identity corresponding to the selected room identity marker, receiving a second navigation command representative of a remote user's selection of one of a floor location within the room having a room identity corresponding to the room identity marker or a landmark item within the room having a room identity corresponding to the room identity marker, driving within the room corresponding to the room identity according to the second navigation command until the robot recognizes being at one of the floor location or next to the landmark item, receiving a third navigation command stream representative of a remote user's command including direction and bearing, driving within the room and from the floor location according to the received third navigation command stream representative of a remote user's command including direction and bearing.", "In still another aspect, the invention relates to a method for handling navigation commands for remotely controlling a robot, including receiving a selection of room identities corresponding to available room identities in a household, driving among rooms of different room identity until the robot captures topological adjacency among room identities and correlates each room identity of a household with a received room identity marker, displaying room identity markers corresponding to available room identities for a household, the room identity markers being displayed according to topological adjacency of corresponding room identities and being displayed as a part of a graphical depiction of a house.", "In another aspect, the invention relates to a method for handling navigation commands for remotely controlling a robot, including receiving a selection of room identities corresponding to available room identities in a household, driving among rooms of different room identity until the robot captures topological adjacency among room identities and correlates each room identity of a household with a received room identity marker, displaying room identity markers corresponding to available room identities for a household, the room identity markers being displayed according to topological adjacency of corresponding room identities and being displayed as a part of a graphical depiction of a house, receiving a selection of a room identity marker via a user interface linked to the displaying room identity markers as a first navigation command representative of a remote user's selection of a room identity marker, recognizing a present room, and driving among rooms of different room identity according to the first navigation command until the robot recognizes being within a room having a room identity corresponding to the selected room identity marker.", "In yet another aspect, the invention relates to a mobile robot for interacting with a person, including an annunciator configured to audibly indicate the presence of the robot, a visible beacon configured to optically indicate the presence of the robot, a proximity curtain detector configured to detect a person within a curtain covering a majority of the height of the robot and thereafter trigger a safety condition, a physical impact buffer configured to absorb impact of a person colliding with the robot, detect the person, and trigger the safety condition, a floor-level proximity ribbon detector configured to detect objects of less than 2 inches in height and trigger the safety condition, and a controller configured to immobilize the robot when the safety condition is detected.", "In still another aspect, the invention relates to a mobile robot for interacting with a person, including a zone detector configured to detect an object within a zone in front of the robot covering a substantial portion of the height of the robot above 10 inches from the ground and thereafter trigger a safety condition, a near zone impact bumper configured to absorb an impact of an object colliding with the robot, detect the object, and trigger the safety condition, a near zone proximity sensor configured to detect an object in front of the robot between 2-10 inches from the ground and trigger the safety condition, a near zone low object proximity sensor configured to detect objects in front of the robot of less than 2-4 inches in height and trigger the safety condition, and a controller configured to immobilize the robot when the safety condition is detected.", "In embodiments of the above aspect, each of the proximity curtain detector, the physical impact buffer, and the floor-level proximity ribbon detector are configured to detect a person at different distances from a center of the robot.", "In certain embodiments, the robot further includes a heat radiation detector or sound detector checked by the controller, that determines that an object encountered in the direction of travel is a person when heat radiation or sound of an object is above a low threshold and optionally below a high threshold.", "In other embodiments, the robot is configured to slow to less than 10 cm/sec when an object in the direction of travel is determined to be a person by heat radiation or sound detection.", "In another aspect, the invention relates to a robot for interacting with a resident in an environment, including a sensor adapted to monitor a resident when the robot is in an environment and a resident is within range of the sensor, a controller to monitor surveillance data from the sensor, a transmission control routine configured to enable transmission of surveillance data from the sensor to a location outside an environment, if a resident grants permission for the transmission, and an override routine configured to enable transmission of surveillance data from the sensor to a location outside the environment at least in an emergency condition.", "In another aspect, the invention relates to a robot for interacting with a resident in the resident's home, including a sensor capable of monitoring the resident when the robot is in the resident's home and the resident is within range of the sensor, a controller connected to monitor surveillance data from the sensor, a transmission control routine configured to enable a transmission of surveillance data from the sensor outside the resident's home if the resident grants permission for the transmission, and an override routine configured to enable a transmission of surveillance data from the sensor outside the resident's home (i) in an emergency condition detected by the robot or (ii) after a n authorized remote caregiver sends to the robot an authorization previously permitted by the resident and an emergency condition indication, wherein the transmission of surveillance data by the robot outside the resident's home is otherwise prohibited.", "In certain embodiments of the above aspect, the robot includes a connector capable of receiving a lock-out member, wherein the transmission control routine enables transmission of surveillance data from the sensor outside the resident's home only when the lock-out member is inserted in the connector.", "In other embodiments, the sensor includes a camera, and the robot includes a privacy controller configured to orient the objective lens of the camera to face the robot's body when a privacy mode is selected.", "In alternative embodiments, the robot includes a privacy member configured to physically unplug the sensor when a privacy mode is selected.", "In yet another aspect, the invention relates to a robot for interacting with a resident in the resident's home, including a sensor capable of monitoring the resident when the robot is in the resident's home and the resident is within range of the sensor, a controller connected to monitor surveillance data from the sensor, a connector capable of receiving a lock-out member, a transmission control routine configured to enable a transmission of surveillance data from the sensor outside the resident's home if the resident grants permission for the transmission and only when the lock-out member is inserted in the connector, and an override routine configured to enable a transmission of surveillance data from the sensor outside the resident's home only when an emergency condition signal is received by the robot.", "In another embodiment, the invention relates to a robot capable of human-robot interaction, including a head assembly including a face at least one camera mounted proximate the face, and a positionable support having a first position and a second position, the mount supporting at least one of the face and the at least one camera.", "In still another aspect, the invention relates to a robot capable of human-robot interaction, including a head assembly including a head having a face on one side, at least one camera mounted within the face to direct an objective lens of the camera in the same direction as the face, a rotatable pivot supporting the head to permit the head to move such that the face and the at least one camera are hidden from view and the camera is thereby prevented from viewing an area around the robot.", "In embodiments of the above aspect, the face further includes a matrix panel electronically controllable to show different configurations of left and right eyes composed of matrix elements, and the at least one camera includes a left camera proximate to the left eye composed of matrix elements and a right camera proximate to the right camera composed of matrix elements.", "In another aspect, the invention relates to a robot capable of human-robot interaction, including a head assembly including a head having a face on one side, the face comprising a matrix panel electronically controllable to show different configurations of left and right eyes composed of matrix elements, a left camera proximate to the left eye and a right camera proximate to the right eye, each of left and right cameras being mounted near the face to direct an objective lens of the camera in the same direction as the face, and at least one positionable mount supporting the left camera and right camera to each move to a position disabled from viewing an area around the robot.", "In yet another aspect, the invention relates to a robot system, including a base station, and a robot, the base station including a wireless transceiver capable of communicating TCP/IP transmissions over a local wireless protocol, a wired Ethernet connector for communicating TCP/IP transmissions over a local wired Ethernet accessing the Internet, and an access point circuit for transferring TCP/IP transmissions between the local wired Ethernet and local wireless protocol limited to a predetermined IP address locked to the robot, predetermined shell level encryption locked to the robot, and predetermined ports to the Internet open only to the robot, the robot including a wireless transceiver capable of communicating TCP/IP transmissions over a local wireless protocol and a client circuit for transferring TCP/IP transmissions over the local wireless protocol.", "In embodiments of the above aspect, the wireless access point includes a plurality of antennas and an antenna diversity circuit.", "In other embodiments, the wireless access point includes a plurality of antennas and an antenna diversity circuit and encodes wireless transmissions using orthogonal frequency division multiplexing.", "In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, a method for robotically locating a person being sought may include (a) controlling a mobile robot to activate an annunciator upon an annunciator activation signal, (b) monitoring a sensor suite for any non-noise (noise filtered) response to the annunciator within a limited time period after the activation, (c) comparing any detected non-noise response to a library of sought responses; (d) when the non-noise response does not correspond to a sought response or when no response is identified, identifying a doorway from a present chamber, (e) navigating the robot through the doorway from the present chamber to a new chamber, (f) generating an annunciator activation signal in response to a detected condition, and (g) repeating (a) through (f) until the non-noise response corresponds to a sought response, then (h) activating a found person success routine.", "The identifying the doorway may include analyzing robot odometry and heading during wall following and identifying successive odometry/heading combinations indicating a wall end and/or doorway has been traversed.", "Also, the identifying the doorway may include analyzing robot signal reflection sensing and identifying a heading toward a wall gap.", "The identifying the doorway may further include analyzing a dynamically built map and identifying a heading toward a wall gap; analyzing an archived map and robot position and identifying a heading toward a wall gap; analyzing a beacon sensor of a door-designating beacon and identifying a heading toward a door designated by the door beacon; and/or analyzing a ceiling configuration or pattern of indicia on a ceiling of a present chamber and identifying a heading toward a door at a position recognized using the indicia or ceiling configuration.", "The annunciator may emit a sound including the name of the person being sought, and the comparing any detected non-noise response to the library of sought responses/non-noise response indicates that the source of the non-noise response is a person being sought.", "The method may further include selecting the second location based on an arbitrary heading and an arbitrary distance for the mobile robot to travel; adjusting the heading of the mobile robot when an obstacle or hazard is encountered; and proceeding until the mobile robot has traveled the arbitrary distance.", "The new chamber may lie in a different room from the present chamber, and the method may further include navigating the mobile robot from the present chamber location to the new chamber based on one or more of optical room feature recognition, sonar, RFID room tagging, IR directional beacon detection, odometry, inertial guidance, dead reckoning, room mapping, and/or compass navigation.", "The method may also include using at least one secondary detection system configured to detect the person being sought, in which the at least one secondary detection system is selected from infrared detection, radiative heat detection, acoustic detection, RFID tag detection, tank circuit detection, motion detection, and/or image analysis; or, the method may further include generating a map of a structure in which the mobile robot is located, and selecting the new chamber based on the generated map, in which the new chamber is in a different room from the present chamber or lies at least a threshold distance away from the present chamber.", "The generating the map may include controlling the mobile robot to traverse the robot's environment and to detect walls and obstacles; and the map may be transmitted to the mobile robot by a user.", "The method may further include locating a closed door, and transmitting an audible signal through the door; in addition, the transmitting the audible signal may include imparting a knocking sound to the closed door.", "In accordance with one embodiment, a mobile robot for interacting with a person may include a speaker for generating audible content based on a robot behavior; a scheduler configured to trigger a robot behavior in accordance with the schedule; and a morning robot behavior for interacting with the person soon after the person awakens regarding a second robot behavior scheduled later in the day.", "The robot may also include a pill dispenser for dispensing medication, in which the second robot behavior includes dispensing medication to the person, and in which the morning robot behavior includes reminding the person about the medication and/or requesting that a person place the medication into the pill dispenser.", "The robot may further include a transmitter for notifying a caregiver when the medication is not dispensed according to schedule.", "Also, the robot may further include a sensor for detecting the person; a locater which uses the sensor when locating the person, in which the robot attempts to locate a person prior to the scheduled robot behavior.", "Further, each robot behavior may include using the speaker to remind the person of a scheduled robot behavior.", "The second robot behavior may include guiding the person 2 a predetermined location, in which the morning robot behavior includes verbally reminding the person of an activity associated with the upcoming second robot behavior; and the morning robot behavior may cognitively reinforce the person's recollection regarding an activity associated with the later second robot behavior.", "The mobile robot may further include a visual display, in which at least one of the morning or second robot behaviors include both displaying and speaking.", "The mobile robot may further include a privacy controller for preventing transmission to a caregiver unless the person has given permission to notify the caregiver.", "Also, the robot may include a receiver for receiving the command from the caretaker, in which the privacy controller is overridden when the command is received.", "At least one of the robot behaviors may be input by the person or by the caregiver; and the mobile robot may cease interaction with the person when instructed to stop by the person or by the caregiver.", "In accordance with another embodiment, the mobile robot for interacting with a person may include at least one sensor; a privacy controller for preventing operation of the sensor unless the person grants permission for the sensor to operate; and an override unit configured for enabling operation of the sensor regardless of the privacy controller when the override unit receives an override command.", "Regarding the mobile robot, the sensor may include at least one of a camera, a microphone, a proximity detector, a heat detector, or a tag detector.", "The mobile robot may further include a wireless transmitter for transmitting and output of the sensor, or a recording unit configured to record the output of the sensor.", "The mobile robot may also include a teleconferencing unit for transmitting and receiving audio and/or video data, in which the teleconferencing unit includes the sensor, and in which the privacy controller prevents initiation of a teleconferencing session unless the person grants permission.", "In addition the mobile robot may further include a speech recognition unit for detecting spoken input, in which the permission to talk with the sensor and the input by the speech recognition unit.", "The mobile robot 1 may control or manipulate an object in the household of the person (for example, turning on a television at a certain time by using an on-board IR transmitter), or point to an object or location at a certain time of day, as components of robot operation.", "Also, the override unit may include a receiver for wirelessly receiving the override command from a remote caregiver.", "The mobile robot may attempt to locate the person when an incoming teleconferencing request is received.", "Also, the privacy controller may be overridden when the robot detects an emergency condition—for example, if a person appears to be passed out, in danger, sick, or if there's smoke or if a fire alarm has been triggered, etc.", "The sensor may be conspicuously positioned when operating, and the sensor may become shrouded, covered, or moved so as not to be seen by the person when the sensor is not operating.", "Furthermore, the sensor may include a camera, in which the camera is placed in an inoperable position when permission to operate is not granted, and in which a lens of the camera faces an opaque surface in the inoperable position.", "The mobile robot may further include a behavior privacy matrix stored in a computer memory and correlating a plurality of robot behaviors to a plurality of permission to scores, in which the privacy controller permits a robot behavior when the robot behavior has been permitted, or prevents the robot behavior when the robot behavior has not been permitted.", "In accordance with yet another embodiment, a robot for interacting with a person may include an annunciator for audibly indicating the presence of the robot; a beacon for optically indicating the presence of the robot; a sensor for detecting a safety condition; and a controller for immobilizing the robot when the safety condition is detected.", "The annunciator may continuously or periodically emit a characteristic sound when the robot is moving.", "The beacon may shine a strobe light when the robot is moving, as well.", "Also, the sensor may include a camera, an optical sensor, an IR sensor, a key detector, a motion detector, a contact switch, a pressure detector, a proximity sensor, a sonar, a laser based obstacle detector, a noise detector, and/or a microphone, inter alia.", "The mobile robot may further include a platform mounted to main chassis of the robot by a stalk, in which the platform and the stalk convey an impression of fragility, and in which the platform extends to the person's waist-level above the main chassis of the robot.", "The stalk and robot may have an overall shape and/or mass distribution similar to an inverted pendulum.", "The mobile robot may further include a tipper ring positioned along the stalk which prevents the person from inadvertently colliding with the platform.", "The mobile robot may also include a communication unit for sending information regarding the person 2 a remote terminal operable by a caregiver.", "The communication unit may not send the information if the person has not given permission, and in addition, it may periodically transmit the information according to a predetermined schedule.", "Also, the communication unit may send the information when the information has changed.", "Alternatively, for example, the communication unit may retrieve instructions via a computer network.", "In another aspect, the invention relates to a method of human-robot interaction between a resident and a mobile robot, the method including the steps of providing a robot comprising a facial display and a sound generating device, executing a viseme sequence of a communication script segment via the display, executing a phoneme sequence of the communication script segment via the sound generating device, wherein the viseme sequence and the phoneme sequence are executed substantially synchronously, and managing the interaction based at least upon an action of the resident and a flexible response regimen of the robot.", "In one embodiment of the above aspect, the managing step includes an affect behavior for depicting a response of the robot to an event.", "The affect behavior may include the steps of providing the display on a movable head on the robot, and moving the head from a first position to a second position upon an occurrence of an event.", "In the above method, the first position may permit viewing by the resident, and the second position is associated with at least one of a surprise response, a joy response, a confusion response, a concern response, and a dejection response.", "The affect behavior further may include the step of displaying a caricature.", "The caricature is selected from a set of caricatures associated with a surprise response, a joy response, a confusion response, a concern response, and a dejection response.", "In another embodiment of the above aspect, the managing step includes an interrupt behavior for responding to an asynchronous response by the resident.", "The interrupt behavior may include the steps of receiving the asynchronous response, interrupting the execution of the viseme sequence and the execution of the phoneme sequence upon receipt of the asynchronous response, executing an interrupt sequence, and recovering the execution of the viseme sequence and the execution of the phoneme sequence subsequent to the interrupt sequence.", "The interrupt behavior may include delivering an error message.", "Delivering the error message may include the steps of executing an error viseme sequence via the display, and executing an error phoneme sequence via the sound generating device, wherein the execution of the error viseme sequence and the execution of the error phoneme sequence are substantially synchronized.", "The recovering step may include the step of repeating the steps of executing the viseme sequence and executing the phoneme sequence.", "The asynchronous may not correspond to at least one of a predetermined set of responses.", "The above method may also include the steps of comparing a response to the predetermined set of responses, and executing a second viseme sequence and a second phoneme sequence, if the response corresponds to at least one response of the predetermined set of responses.", "In another embodiment of the above aspect, the managing step may include a regimen compliance behavior for providing instruction to the resident.", "The regimen compliance behavior includes the steps of storing a regimen and a compliance schedule associated with the regimen, providing a reminder to the resident at a predetermined event during the compliance schedule, comparing a response from the resident to a set of predetermined responses, and performing an action based on the response from the resident.", "In another embodiment, the performing step includes providing a medicine to the resident.", "In another embodiment, the performing step includes providing a second reminder to the resident.", "The performing step may include communicating with a device remote from the robot.", "In another embodiment of the above aspect, the managing step may include a remote communication sequence for communicating between the resident and a third party located remote from the resident.", "In another embodiment, the remote communication sequence includes the steps of providing a camera on the robot, and changing a status of the camera from a first setting to a second setting upon an occurrence of an event.", "The first setting may permits viewing the resident, and the second setting may include a privacy orientation of the camera.", "The method may also include the step of providing a privacy signal to the resident.", "The event may include a permission denial from the resident.", "The first setting includes an unpowered condition of the camera, and the second setting includes a powered condition of the camera, and wherein the camera is oriented for viewing the resident.", "In still another embodiment of the above-aspect, the managing step includes a navigation manager for moving the mobile robot in an environment.", "The navigation manager includes a human-seeking sequence, the sequence including the steps of activating an annunciator in a first of a plurality of locations, monitoring a sensor suite for a non-noise response, comparing the non-noise response to a set of predetermined responses, activating a success routine if the non-noise response corresponds to at least one response of the set of predetermined responses, navigating the robot to a next location, and activating the annunciator.", "The navigating step includes the step of identifying a doorway, which includes at least one of the group of (a) analyzing robot odometry and heading during a wall following mode and identifying odometry and heading combinations indicating traversal of at least one of a wall end and a doorway, (b) analyzing signal reflection and identifying a heading toward a wall gap, (c) analyzing a dynamically built map and identifying a heading toward a wall gap, (d) analyzing a map and robot orientation relative to the map and identifying a heading toward a wall gap, (e) analyzing a beacon and identifying a heading toward the beacon, and (f) analyzing a pattern of indicia on a ceiling and identifying a heading toward a door at a position recognized by utilizing the pattern.", "In the method, the annunciator emits a sound including a name associated with the resident being sought, and wherein the set of predetermined responses identifies a source of the non-noise response.", "The method may also include the steps of selecting the next location based on an arbitrary heading and an arbitrary distance for the mobile robot to travel, moving in the direction of the arbitrary heading, adjusting a direction of travel of the mobile robot to avoid an obstacle, returning to the arbitrary heading when the obstacle is avoided, and continuing movement in the direction of the arbitrary heading until the mobile robot has traveled the arbitrary distance.", "Additionally, the method may further include the step of navigating the mobile robot to the next location based on at least one of optical room feature recognition, sonar, RFID room tagging, IR directional beacon detection, odometry, inertial guidance, dead reckoning, room mapping, and compass navigation.", "The method may also include the step of using at least one detector configured to detect a person, wherein the at least one detector is selected from the group consisting of an infrared detector, a radiation detector, and acoustic detector, an RFID detector, a tank circuit detector, a motion detector, and an image detector.", "In addition, the method further includes the steps of generating a map of a structure in which the mobile robot is located, and selecting the next location based on the generated map, wherein the next location is located at least a threshold distance away from a present location of the mobile robot.", "The generating step includes detecting obstacles or receiving the map electronically from a resident.", "The method may also include the steps of locating a closed door, and transmitting an audible signal through the door.", "The transmitting step includes imparting a knocking sound to the door.", "In yet another embodiment of the above aspect, the managing step includes a safety manager for controlling contact with a resident.", "The safety manager initiates a safety sequence including the steps of configuring an annunciator to indicate a presence of the robot, configuring a beacon to indicate the presence of the robot, configuring a sensor to detect a safety condition, and configuring a controller to immobilize the robot when the safety condition is detected.", "The annunciator emits a predetermined sound when the robot is moving.", "The beacon comprises a strobe light.", "The sensor includes at least one of a camera, an optical sensor, an IR sensor, a key detector, a motion detector, a contact switch, a pressure detector, a proximity sensor, a sonar detector, a laser-based obstacle detector, a noise detector, and a microphone.", "The above method further includes the step of configuring a physical shape of the robot to limit contact between the resident and a base of the robot.", "The above method further includes the step of configuring a communication unit for sending information regarding the resident to a remote terminal.", "Sending information includes receiving permission from the resident, which is sent according to a predetermined schedule, upon an occurrence of a change in information, or is exchanged with a computer.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES The foregoing and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention, as well as the invention itself, will be more fully understood from the following description of various embodiments, when read together with the accompanying drawings, in which: FIG.", "1A is a schematic perspective view of an autonomous mobile robot in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention; FIG.", "1B is an outline schematic perspective view of the mobile robot of FIG.", "1A; FIG.", "2A is a schematic perspective view of a mobile robot and functions thereof in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention; FIGS.", "3A-3B are schematic front views and perspective views of mobile robots and medicine dispensers and base stations in accordance with other embodiments of the present invention; FIG.", "4A is a schematic bottom view of a mobile robot in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; FIG.", "4B is schematic top, side, and front views of a mobile robot in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention; FIGS.", "5A-5B are schematic perspective views of the mobile robot of FIG.", "1A; FIG.", "5C is a schematic view of a privacy interface for use in a mobile robot in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention; FIG.", "5D depicts a schematic view of a privacy device in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention; FIG.", "6A is a schematic block diagram of internal architecture and relationships between components in a mobile robot in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention; FIG.", "6B is a schematic block diagrams of alternative electronic systems for a mobile robot in accordance with the present invention; FIG.", "6C is an interaction state diagram for a mobile robot in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention; FIG.", "6D is an interaction state diagram for a mobile robot in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention; FIG.", "7A depicts a generic interaction algorithm in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention; FIG.", "7B depicts a dialog algorithm in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention; FIG.", "7C depicts a bump algorithm in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention; FIG.", "7D depicts an interaction algorithm utilizing a combination of voice prompts and responses with display backup in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention; FIG.", "8A depicts a networked server for a mobile robot in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention; FIG.", "8B is a schematic diagram of network protocols, security, and transport layers in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention; FIG.", "8C depicts a schematic diagram of authentication and negotiation for NAT/firewall traversing connectivity in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention; FIG.", "9A is a reporting procedure algorithm for a mobile robot in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention; FIG.", "9B is a communication system for a mobile robot in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention; FIG.", "10A depicts affect expressions for robot screen display in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention; FIG.", "10B depicts affect movements for a robot in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention; FIG.", "11A depicts a schedule graphic in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention; FIG.", "11B depicts a regimen initiation algorithm in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention; FIG.", "11C depicts a regimen compliance algorithm in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention; FIG.", "12 depicts a video/teleconference request algorithm in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention; FIG.", "13A depicts a plan view of a home environment in which a robot of the present invention operates; FIG.", "13B depicts a robot-constructed topological map of the home environment of FIG.", "13A; FIG.", "14A depicts a plan view of a path traversed by a mobile robot during a locating behavior, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention; FIG.", "14B depicts a locating algorithm in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention; FIG.", "15 depicts a proximity algorithm in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention; FIG.", "16 depicts a regimen compliance algorithm in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention; FIGS.", "17A-17B depict matching algorithms in accordance with embodiments of the present invention; FIG.", "18A depicts a regimen compliance reminder algorithm in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention; FIG.", "18B depicts a medication loading algorithm in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention; FIG.", "19 depicts an algorithm of a first mode of multi-mode navigation for a robot in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; FIG.", "20 depicts an algorithm of a second and a third mode of multi-mode navigation for a robot in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; FIGS.", "21A-21B depict a map generation algorithms in accordance with embodiments of the present invention; FIGS.", "22A-22C depict user interface displays for the mode of navigation depicted in FIG.", "19; and FIGS.", "22D-22F depict user interface displays for the mode of navigation depicted in FIG.", "20.DETAILED DESCRIPTION One embodiment of an autonomous mobile robot 10 is shown in FIGS.", "1A and 1B.", "The robot 10 has a body 12, one or more wheels 14, and a head 16.Certain components of the robot 10 (e.g., the body 12, wheels 14, and head 16) may each be configured to be readily mounted and demounted from the others via compatible quick-mount and/or electrical contact point arrangements, permitting different versions of each to be used in a compatible manner.", "A number of peripheral devices may be mounted on the robot 10, either on the body 12, head 16, or elsewhere.", "The depicted embodiment includes a touch screen 18 for allowing a user to interact with the robot 10, answer questions posed by the robot 10, or give the robot 10 commands.", "A speaker 20 or other sound-generating device is located on the robot 10.In addition, as shown in FIG.", "1B, the robot 10 may utilize a number of sensors 22 mounted on virtually any location on the robot 10, for sensing various environmental conditions.", "For example, the sensors 22 may include cliff or edge detectors, vibration sensors, temperature sensors, cameras for visual sensing, tag detectors, laser devices for proximity sensing, wall-following, or docking with a power source or base station, detectors for following homing beacons or local environment indicia, etc.", "For the purposes of this description, the robot has several categories of functional systems.", "Each functional system may include components such as sensors; effectors (actuators); communications; and computational control.", "The robot described herein has several application systems, where an application system is a system for achieving an overall function to be performed by the robot.", "For a companion robot, there is necessary overlap with the human/robot interaction system, as enhanced human/robot interaction is a primary function.", "The robot includes systems (privacy protection, interaction systems) to increase user trust and emotional attachment, which has generic benefits by itself and increases the success rate of any and all other applications.", "The robot maintains a schedule or schedules of health, hygiene, and or need-specific regimens, reminders, messages, and encouragement techniques for associated users.", "The robot is responsive to voice command, touch on screen or surface; detection of movement and human presence and (other stuff); and the robot may communicate via voice synthesis, gestures, earcons, text, images, movement, and “ambient” color response.", "The form of the head and torso of the robot may be designed to provide shrugging, nodding, head shaking, looking away (change of subject) and other gestural cues; the mobility system permits approach and recede motions (personal space and conversational attention cues); and a facial matrix panel may permit a full range of facial expressions.", "A chest panel may be an interface to a content player/engine.", "Low-level behaviors of the robot may accommodate interruption by a person.", "One embodiment may employ a scripting engine that can interrupt or be triggered by behaviors, and an alternative embodiment contemplates that some behaviors, such as self-play, rescue requests, gestural cues, can be executed as concurrent/arbitrated behaviors.", "The robot may include a wheeled mobility system such as two drive wheels and a passive caster, responsive to short-range object avoidance and hazard management behaviors.", "The wheeled mobility system may also be also responsive to mid-range obstacle avoidance planning (path planning according to a SLAM generated map) and long-range goal oriented planning.", "The head 16 may be mounted on a riser 13, stalk or neck.", "A turning (or pan) axis AP runs generally parallel to and within the neck.", "A nodding axis AN is transverse to the pan axis AP and may substantially bisect the head 16.A display axis may be generally transverse to and intersect either or both of the nod and pan axes, and may project normal from the display 26.The head 16 also contains a display 26 used for facial animation, and which may be adapted for videoconferencing, multimedia applications, menu input, etc.", "As shown in FIG.", "1B, the head 16 of the robot 10 may also contain one or more cameras 28 which serve various functions, from navigating the robot 10 around an environment, observing a resident or other person, acting as a video phone or other communication device, etc.", "An antenna 30, modem, or other wireless communication device allows for communication between the robot 10 and a remote device, base station, etc.", "The teleconferencing camera(s) 28 may also be considered navigation cameras 29 and used for navigation, feature extraction and the like, or one or more separate navigation camera(s) 29 may be separately provided (as shown in FIGS.", "3A-3B, for example, pointed at the ceiling to observe ceiling features, edges, shapes, or fiducials; or as indirectly shown in FIG.", "22F, pointed at the floor or ground plane and including the robot's leading edge or leading portion).", "The head 16 may be generally shaped as a sphere or other solid of reasonably constant diameter (which permits the head to be seated or accommodated in a neck or shoulder cavity with small enough spacing to avoid catching fingers between the head and neck joints or torso).", "The head 16 may be articulated via a pan joint 315 including a pan motor and position encoder 314 and a tilt joint or hollow pivot 302 including a tilt motor and position encoder 340.Either or both of the pan and tilt joints may be yoke-type joints, which has particular advantages as discussed herein.", "In the embodiment shown in FIG.", "4, for example, the tilt joint 302 is a yoke-type joint, which permits a face matrix panel 26 to be rotated to face into the neck (i.e., disappear from view) and the rear portion of the head 16 to be rotated to take the place of the face matrix panel 26.Alternatively, a differential drive mechanism using one motor and a clutch may be used to drive the head about two axes.", "The torso or riser 13 (riser in general, to lift sensors and/or head elements to a height where the perspective of cameras and sensors is useful for obstacle detection and remote teleoperation) may support the head 16 and pan joint 315.The robot 100 includes the majority of the components in the head 16 or mobility platform 12 rather than in the torso 13 as an aesthetic and functional choice.", "Locating components away from the torso 13 permits the robot to avoid a ponderous trash-can appearance.", "Functionally, there are several benefits.", "Heavier components are placed in the mobility platform 12, lowering the center of gravity.", "The torso 13 can more easily permit variable elevation or extension (pivoted/jointed/folding or telescoping torso parts) if few components are placed there.", "The mobility platform 12 supports the torso 13, and may be generally triangularly shaped, or may be shaped as a curve of constant width (i.e., Reuleaux polygon with an odd number of sides).", "Optionally, the robot 100 fits within a generally pyramidal or tetrahedral envelope, with the mobility platform 12 generally extending along a bottom face, the torso 13 generally extending along one or two vertically angled faces, and the head 16 generally positioned at the apex.", "In this configuration, much of the internal volume of the envelope is open, and may accommodate a carrying tray or a retracted manipulator (not shown).", "Additionally, the torso 13 can be arranged to extend from one end of the mobility platform 12 toward the horizontal middle so that the weight of the head 16 tends to contribute to locating the center of gravity in the middle of the mobility platform 12.The target height for the center of gravity is approximately 30 cm from the floor (not necessarily at all times if the head can be elevated).", "In a particular embodiment, the head 16 of the robot 10 may serve several functions.", "The head 16 may include the main control board (an example E20 shown in FIG.", "6B, which includes a number of circuits and subcircuits).", "The cameras 28 (charge-coupled device (CCD) or complimentary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) sensors with compatible optics) are provided for stereo vision (if two are used), and a pyrolytic (heat-sensitive) sensor (S21) may directed along the direction of the display 26 (one or more of which may also be placed in a fixed location on the torso or base, pointing forward, sideways, and to the rear).", "Cameras 28 may be located proximate (in this case, less than four inches from) animated matrix or segment “eyes” 304 near the display 26, such that a person looking at the robot's head and eyes during a teleconferencing session will be regarding the cameras, and a remote user observing the teleconferencing session will see the resident looking straight into the camera.", "While it is natural to look at “eyes” during a conversation, especially when the robot 10 acts as an avatar, channeling a remote user, it is unnatural to look at a camera (except, perhaps, for actors), and teleconferencing sessions generally have most participants looking away from the camera.", "Placing the cameras within a few inches of the robot's animated eyes “304”, but not within them, may result in users of the robot seeming to essentially looking directly into the cameras 28 when in a video chat or teleconference.", "The cameras 28 should not be in the eyes “304” in this embodiment, such that the entire “eye” 304 can be fully animated, or in different positions on different faces displayable on the facial matrix panel.", "The rear portion of the head 16 may be smooth and/or translucent, have a rounded or other outer shape, may include indicia or ornamentation, or may incorporate an additional informational display panel.", "A microphone 32 may be included to collect audio data, receive verbal commands, etc.", "Preferably, a vectoring microphone array 305 is provided, with multiple microphones capable of locating sound sources and removing ambient noise using time of arrival and other filtering techniques.", "The display 26 may be affixed to a main printed circuit board (PCB) housed within the head 16.The PCB may include most of the control electronics of the robot 10, or a second PCB may be mounted parallel to the first PCB.", "The main PCB may include Low Voltage Differential Signaling (LVDS) interface elements (E10 in FIG.", "6B), and may be connected to compatible LVDS interface elements E10 in the body 12 via multiplexed LVDS wire pairs.", "Connectors and cabling compatible with high frequency LVDS signaling may be used to carry the LVDS signals between the main PCB and the body 12 as shown in FIG.", "6B.", "The target cabling and connector impedance may be a 100 ohm differential pair.", "The use of LVDS may also simplify system wiring and reduce radiated emissions.", "The body 12 of the robot 10 may be supported on three wheels 14 that provide stable three-point contact with or without use of a suspension system.", "The three wheels 14 may be arranged with two differential forward driving wheels and a rear caster, or vice versa; a greater number of wheels could distribute driving and idle wheels differently.", "A harmonic drive, direct drive, or conventional gear train may be used between drive motors (FIG.", "4) and the wheels 14.The wheels 14 may be sized to overcome about 3 cm high thresholds and may have a radius of about that size or higher.", "The size of the wheelbase W (approximately 32 cm between wheels, in a particular embodiment) may be a function of necessary stability, and a lower center of gravity or larger number of wheels may permit a shorter wheelbase.", "The wheels may be alternatively holonomic or omnidirectional wheels.", "Such systems are disclosed in U.S. Pat.", "Nos.", "3,876,255; 4,223,753; and 5,374,879, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein in their entireties.", "The robot may alternatively use as few as two wheels with inverted pendulum dynamic balancing (depicted, for example, in FIGS.", "3A-3B).", "In some arrangements, the robot may use obstacle-climbing or cluster wheels as described in U.S. Pat.", "Nos.", "6,535,793; and 3,348,518, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein in their entireties.", "Other components may be included on the robot 10 that provide additional features and functionality to facilitate bonding between the robot 10 and one or more residents or users.", "“Resident” is used to describe a person that lives in a home with the robot; unless used otherwise herein, the terms “resident” and “user” may be used interchangeably.", "A resident could be an elderly person or child who requires additional attention or supervision, various members of a family, the family pet, guests to the household identified by residents, etc.", "To increase the likelihood of bonding between the robot 10 and resident, the robot 10 may include tactile sensors 34 or “digital skin” over any or all of its body 12 or head 16.These tactile sensors 34 allow the robot 10 to recognize when a resident is touching it (and respond appropriately to such touching).", "The tactile sensors 34 may also allow the robot to recognize when a resident is using a robot not designed to physically assist the resident for support, and appropriately react (immobilizing and sending an audio warning); such a striking function may serve as an emergency shut down, should the robot 10 be malfunctioning.", "The head 16 may be mounted to a moveable neck, or a neck may be rigid and unmovable, and serve as a base for the head to move thereon.", "A combination of both a moveable head and a movable neck is also contemplated.", "The moveable head 16 allows the robot 10 to interact more naturally with a resident.", "In one embodiment shown in FIGS.", "1A-1B and 5A-5B, the head 16 is supported in a cavity 24a by a hollow shoulder support 12a.", "A rotatable yoke within the shoulder support 12a is able to rotate around the turning axis AT.", "The yoke also allows the head 16 to rotate about the nodding axis AN, so the display 26 may be hidden from view under certain conditions (see FIGS.", "5A and 5B).", "Also, movement of the head 16 allows movement of the camera 28 and display 26 located thereon, giving the robot 10 both a wide range of camera vision and a wide range of display viewability.", "In a particular embodiment, the articulated head/neck combination provides four degrees of freedom.", "In one embodiment, display 26 is a facial segment or matrix panel and is a monochrome, backlit or non-backlit liquid crystal display (LCD) including between about 100 and about 1000 segments individually shaped as portions of facial features on a neutral gray field.", "The LCD may be a square, rectangular, octagonal, etc., approximately 10-15 cm across, with a permanent pattern of segments.", "Neither the refresh rate nor the update rate need be rapid.", "Any subset of the segments can be on (i.e., dark) at any instant, and segments can change or switch state in about 50 milliseconds to about 1 second.", "The LCD glass is considered part of the head 16, and the display 26 should move as little as possible relative to the head 16.The display 26 implements an eyes-brow-nose-mouth object display which is animated in synchronization with speech and interaction to express the changing affect and non-verbal behavior of the robot 10.The display 26 may be only backlit during interaction with a resident, if the backlight consumes a more power than desired.", "Alternatively, the display 26 may be a reflective panel, or backlit by ambient room light filtered in through the (translucent) head 16, backlit by one or more white light emitting diodes (LEDs) and an appropriate diffuser, or any combination of these.", "The display 26 also may be an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) panel, which may require no backlight (although one may be used) and could consume less power if light-on-dark facial patterns are used.", "For a robot 100 provided with the facilities discussed herein, power consumption from two backlights can be half or more of the power consumed by the robot 100 at any time, and can restrict the operation time of the robot to 2 hours or less (conversely, operating without any backlight could increase this time to 4-5 hours).", "The display 26 may be constructed using reflective bistable (non-volatile) technology such as electrophoretic, electronic ball twisting, electronic ink or electronic paper displays, and/or hybrid electronic ink/active matrix displays.", "Electrophoretic or electronic ink displays are made by a high-contrast, low-power technology that is bistable and retains an image when unpowered (e.g., E-Ink™ high resolution matrix Imaging Film or segment Display Cells from E-Ink Corporation of Cambridge, Mass.", "; or electronic ink/gyricon sheets from Xerox/3M).", "This type of technology may have a switching time of about 0.5-1 s, allowing for satisfactory display of caricatured facial expressions.", "Hybrid electronic ink/active matrix displays combine a thin film transistor (TFT) active-matrix back plane, containing polymer electronics-based pixel driving or conventional TFT technology on steel foil, with a front plane of reflective electronic ink as above (e.g., from SiPix Imaging of Fremont, Calif., or Polymer Vision of Eindhoven, NL).", "Display types operating on different principles, but that display at least some of the identified characteristics (reflective or transparent, very low power, bistable, etc.)", "are Fujitsu e-paper displays (cholesteric selective reflection film substrate-based color display from Fujitsu, Japan), or NanoChromics™ displays (nanostructured film electrode/electrochromic viologen molecule display from NTERA of Ireland).", "When describing the display 26, the term “segment” panel means, in one instance, a panel made up of discretely shaped elements, rather than an X-Y matrix of pixels.", "The use of the term “matrix” panel means, in one instance, a panel made up of an X-Y matrix of pixels.", "The potential benefits of a matrix panel are that it can be used as an alternative (or the sole) informational display, and that the faces or facial expressions to be displayed thereon can be completely changed in software, downloaded, or user-designed.", "A segment panel, however, can be simpler and more efficient; can give extremely smooth outlines for activated segments; and can be more easily adapted to user or community programming of expression sequences.", "While the description herein contemplates an octagonal or other multi-sided polygon panel shape that permits covering most of the surface area of a circular panel window 101 of the head 16, an ordinary 4:3 or other rectangular LCD panel may be used in vertical or horizontal orientation.", "More than one panel can be used within the circular panel window 101 (e.g., three panels horizontally or vertically oriented can fill more of a circle than a rectangular panel).", "As shown in FIG.", "10A, mouth, eye, and eyebrow objects can be arbitrarily formed from a multiplicity of pixels using a matrix display, or can be formed in set shapes from a number of segments using a segment display.", "Of course, a panel 26 may incorporate both segments and matrix portions, and matrix pixels can be considered one kind of segment.", "The segment or facial matrix panel 26 may be provided with a sufficient number of segments or pixels by conventional manufacturing techniques.", "Although the robot 10 of FIGS.", "1A and 1B depicts two screens 18, 26, used for input and output, respectively, other embodiments of the robot may utilize only a single screen for both functions, typically labeled with both numbers (e.g., “18, 26” see FIGS.", "3A-3B).", "For example, a single touch screen may be used for both input and output viewing, and may be located on either a head or a body of a robot.", "Alternatively, a single display could be used for output, while input interaction with the robot could be via a plurality of buttons, knobs, tactile or other sensors, etc.", "A tracker ball device or other type of contact pad for moving a pointer on the screen may also be utilized.", "The tracker ball or contact pad may be located on the robot or remote therefrom.", "An exemplary single-screen mobile robots are is depicted in FIG.", "2 The depicted robot R2 may include a V- or U-shaped base 112, that allows the robot R2 to function as a walking aid or guide.", "The robot R2 includes at least three wheels 114 for stabilizing a user who grasps and leans on a pair of handles 136 (generally when a head 116 of the robot R2 is in a horizontal position) in order to walk with the assistance of the robot R2, much like a conventional walker.", "The robot R2 may control the rotation of one or more of the wheels 114 to steer the robot, or prevent the robot R2 and/or user from slipping or moving too quickly, and/or to modulate the walking of a user, who may steer the robot R2 by turning the head 116 via the handles 136.A torsion, angle, position, strain, and/or any other displacement detector may detect the twisting of the head 116 relative to a stalk 124 or a track 134 (described below), and alter the movement of the wheels 114 so as to assist the person in walking.", "The stalk 124 includes a track 134, along which the head 116 moves 140 (as depicted in FIG.", "2).", "In addition, the head 116 may be rotatable and/or may swivel.", "The track 134 may be passive or motorized.", "The head 116 may be fixed to a particular position along the track 134 by turning a tightening knob, for example, or may be automatically adjusted and/or fixed into position by a motor, locking bolt, cable, chain, rack and pinion, or any other system.", "The movement of the head 116 along the track 134 also may be effected by an electric motor under control of a control unit, for example, and may move in accordance with various robot behaviors or functionalities.", "Track 134 may have a top “dead center” position, such that at the topmost point along the track 134, the head 116 may lie flat (i.e., normal to gravity, G, optionally detected by an accelerometer, gyroscope, digital level, etc., in the head 116).", "Alternatively or additionally, the head 116 may turn over to face a direction opposite to the directions shown in FIG.", "2A.", "As shown in FIG.", "2A, the track 134 goes all the way to the ground, and a camera on the display face side or sides of the tray (head 116) may be moved to the ground position to provide a ground plane view (for navigation, or for looking under sofas and the like for lost objects).", "The robot R2 may include an display 126 on the head 116, which may function as either a touch screen and/or visual output screen, as described above.", "A speaker 120 may be located on the head 116 for audio output; a microphone 132 or array 132 may be utilized for audio input.", "Moreover, the robot R2 may include any appropriate sensors 122 or other accessories, such as a finger-cap heart-rate monitor, to provide medical feedback to a remote caregiver or doctor, described below.", "The head 116 and/or display 126 may include one or more temperature, mass, weight, or other sensors, which may be used to detect properties of items placed on the tray, or to facilitate appropriate use of the tray as a means to move items from place to place (e.g., to detect too hot items, too heavy items, or to detect items placed too far off-center).", "The head 116 may be suitable for carrying or holding items (such as, for example, food or beverages), and may include reactive, active, clamping, or passive holder(s) or receptacle(s) for food, beverages, and/or medications.", "FIG.", "2 also illustrates an example of a mobile robot R2 that is equipped with safety features.", "The speaker 120 may function as an annunciator for the robot R2, or the robot R2 may include another “noise-maker,” (including gears or other machinery that are selected to be more noisy than necessary).", "The speaker 120 may be used in combination with a particular audible profile, in order to audibly alert a resident or other people to the presence of the robot R2.The presence warning emitted by the speaker/annunciator 120 may be a periodic beeping, a continuous tone, a bar of music, a soothing sound, or any other appropriate notice which alerts people audibly to the presence of the mobile robot R2.However, the noise should not be loud or intrusive.", "In one embodiment, it is audible in about the same loudness range as ordinary footsteps on a floor.", "In addition, one or more visible beacons 138, such as a spinning light bar, may provide supplementary visual warning.", "The visual signal emitted by the beacon 138 may be flashing lights, strobes, a continuous or changing beam of color, an image displayed on the display 126, or any other appropriate visible signal which alerts people to the presence of the mobile robot R2.The visible signal may also be passive, e.g., reflectors or retroreflective patterns.", "FIGS.", "3A-3C depict several variations R3-R7 of a robot according to the embodiments of the invention.", "Each of the robots R3-R7 may include RF communication and may use the robot base station (shown here as BS, positioned atop a set top box STB described below).", "The robot R3 balances on two coaxial wheels (or a ball) using inverted pendulum balancing (i.e., active or dynamic balancing via servo control of the wheels using gyroscopic sensing), and is self righting.", "Near the top of the robot is a display or teleconferencing screen 18 as described herein.", "On top of the robot, pointing at the ceiling, a combination camera 28, 29 handles teleconferencing functions and navigation functions.", "The combination camera may be oriented at the ceiling for following ceiling and/or light fixture and/or door and corner edges, features, indicia, or fiducials, and may be tilted by, e.g., 90 degrees to face forward for teleconferencing or additional modes of navigation.", "More than half of the weight of the robot is arranged near the wheels, such that the center of gravity of the entire robot is as close as possible to the axis of the wheels or ball.", "Because the tipper ring 12, at knee level or above, is significantly larger than any part of the bottom of the robot, it may be less likely that the wheels or toe-level portions of the robot will be tripped on.", "Similarly, the tipper ring is circular and as wide as a person (e.g., 16-24 inches, preferable about 18), and at knee height will encounter most table and chair legs.", "The robot R3 may include an inertial sensor near the middle of the height of the robot (3-4 ft.) such as an accelerometer, which may detect collisions.", "At the top of the robot, a self-righting platform is provided.", "The platform is also preferably dynamically balanced to maintain a horizontal orientation, such that items carried thereon will not tip or spill.", "Additionally, object detection and avoidance sensors are positioned at the top of the robot R3.The platform supports a medication dispenser 17.As shown, the medication dispenser is a circular carousel of slots, each slot holding a small paper cup suitable for containing pills or a “Dixie” cup suitable for a swallow or so of water.", "The dispenser or pill station may be fixed, rotatable manually, or by motor.", "The dispenser may include a movable D-shaped “purse” handle (not shown) and may mount and dismount from the robot, and or lock to the robot.", "The dispenser may also fit into a loader, which may be positioned at another location in the home (e.g., in the bathroom, networked, and containing a magazine of pills for loading the dispenser).", "Loading techniques discussed herein may use a pre-filled (off-site, at a pharmacy, etc.)", "magazine type loader to load the dispenser.", "As shown, the dispenser MD or 17 may also be positioned at another location in the home.", "No one or more components are necessary.", "A variant R5 is essentially alike, but includes an extending or telescoping riser 13A (using telescoping barrels, jacks, screws, scissors, or an articulated and/or jointed arm), such that the medication dispenser 17 or other components can be moved about the house with a lower center of gravity.", "A variant R4 omits the display 26, 18 and dispenser 17, but still includes a navigation camera 28 and many remaining facilities.", "Such a robot R4, in omitting a display screen, may guide the resident to a set-top box STB and television for vide chat purposes.", "That is, for those robots which do not have a teleconferencing camera 28, or even for those that do, a set-top box STB may form a part of the robot system.", "The set-top box STB may be integrated with the robot base station or a separate component privileged on the robot base station network.", "As noted, the base station (and possibly the STB) are located in the home at the broadband ingress (typically cable, xDSL modem or fiber optic terminal, but also WAN wireless networks).", "As shown, the set-top box includes a teleconferencing camera directed toward a position in front of a TV upon which the set-top box STB is most likely positioned.", "Because a normal household television screen is much larger than any screen that can be carried by the robots R3-R7, in a teleconferencing mode (that may be treated as a regiment event for the purpose of scheduling and bringing the resident to a regiment compliance object—the STB and TV—as discussed herein), the robot may bring the resident to the STB and TV for a videoconferencing session that takes advantage of a large screen (on the TV), stable acoustics (a microphone array on the STB that is not subject to motor and mechanical noise), stable AC power, a stable camera, and wired broadband access.", "Two further variants are shown in FIG.", "3B and FIG.", "3C.", "The mobility system of the robot R6 of FIG.", "3B uses three pairs of wheels front to back (six wheels in total), in which the center wheel pair is slightly lower than the outer two pairs.", "This permits low friction on smooth surfaces, good traction on soft surfaces, and ready turning in place on most surfaces.", "The display 26, 18 takes the form of tablet computer form pad, removable from the robot as necessary, but oriented similarly to the other embodiments discussed herein when the robot R6 is normally navigating.", "The display pad 26, 18 itself would have a separate wireless connection to the base station BS.", "The navigation camera 28 is preferably not be on the pad 26, 18, although a teleconferencing camera may be (through which one could find a dismounted pad).", "The medication dispenser in this case is a dismountable chest or kit, and may be “hung” on the robot and engaged thereto.", "The “head” 16 in this case is primarily for mounting the display pad 26, 18 and medicine chest 17.The mobility system of the robot R7 of FIG.", "3C uses a differential drive and front or rear caster similar to household robotic vacuums.", "An inverted cone, largely empty in the middle, leads up to the tipper ring 152, configured as discussed herein.", "In the middle of the tipper ring, the medication dispenser 17.In this case, the medication dispenser 17 essentially hangs, pivoted and free to swing, (remaining essentially horizontal at most time) within the cone and center of the tipper ring 152.The medication dispenser 17 may also be actively controlled to stay horizontal.", "The variant of R7 may be the least costly discussed herein, and may navigate semi-randomly (with wall following and other chamber diffusion techniques) or with limited recording of doorways and the like, being able to identify its proximity to the resident, using proximity and presence scores as noted herein, but using no maps.", "In this case, the R7 variant would start trying to find the resident earlier than the other variants, e.g., from 15 minutes to an hour before a regimen event.", "This robot R7 may have tag or lighthouse based navigation, and may communicate with a pill station or medication dispenser 17 not on the robot R7 by infrared.", "The medication dispenser may be replaced with, or have underneath it, a net for holding and carrying various objects.", "Again, the tipper ring 152 is of larger diameter than the base.", "The base station BS may be RF-connected, but in this case may also be alternatively connected to a regular phone line, and provide only limited data services (and may then be remotely communicated with indirectly by caller ID channels, tip and ring, and other phone line signaling).", "FIG.", "1B, as noted, depicts the embodiment of the mobile robot R1, having generally a triangular base 40, a lengthened body 12, and a head 16 at the top of the body 12.In this embodiment, the head 16 includes a yoke assembly 42 allowing for movement.", "The robot R1 includes wheels 14, sensors 22, at least one camera 28, and one or more screens 18, 26.The motors 22 are located proximate the wheels 14.Additionally, main power/control components 46 are located in the base 40.Location of the power/control components 46 may vary as desired for a particular application.", "In certain embodiments, the power/control components may be split into a power component and a control component, with the power component located in the robot base or body, and the control located in the head.", "FIGS.", "4A and 4B illustrates an example in which object detection coverage is provided by a plurality of converging infrared emitter-sensor elements, arranged in zones.", "Of those sensors, several face down for cliff sensing, several face forward, some face backward, and a number are special configurations described herein.", "This sensor system may function alone, or, as an alternative, may function in combination with one or more bump switches for redundancy, for example.", "In accordance with one example configuration, the robot 100 includes six infrared rangefinders for obstacle and stairwell avoidance, with three bump switches for obstacle avoidance when backing up.", "The infrared sensors preferably have a similar electronic implementation such as, for example, a synchronous reflectivity emitter/detector pair comparable to cliff detectors.", "With regard to the infrared rangefinders, as non-limiting implementation examples, emitter/detector pairs may be deployed in accordance with several different configurations as follows: Convergent-Crossed emitter/detector pairs 965 are emitter/detector pairs providing a specific detection zone at the point of intersection, as used in cliff sensors.", "Diffuse-Parallel 966, 962A, 962B are colocated emitter/detector pairs preferably providing a 30° field of view (+/−15°), detecting objects at distances between (for example) about 2 cm and 20 cm, depending upon the reflectivity of such objects.", "The Tangential sensor 961 may utilize a “broken beam” topology created across a concave surface 978 at the front of the robot 100.In accordance with at least one configuration, as non-limiting examples, the sensors can perform synchronous detection during and after illumination pulse of associated emitter, in which each sensor reading produces two scalar values denoting ambient reflectivity and illuminated reflectivity.", "With a least 8-bit dynamic range, each sensor can produce at least 100 such samples per second.", "In a preferred configuration, analog conditioning/filtering/integration is done on each detector's signal before moving into the digital domain.", "Further, the detector components may be standalone photodiodes, or may integrate transimpedance amplifiers to improve the signal-to-noise ratio through a wiring harness.", "A robot 100 including 16 such sensors is shown in FIG.", "4B, for example.", "A preferred configuration relates to a robot including six forward-facing diffuse sensors 966, spaced 7 cm apart, which can provide sensor coverage for objects up to about 14 cm away, provided that the objects are reflective enough to be detected at that range.", "Three downward-facing cliff sensors 965 are placed before each wheel 14 in its direction of travel.", "Two angled diffuse sensors 962A, 962B and 963A, 963B at the rear-angled sides of the robot mobility base 12 provide obstacle detection in the reverse direction, and can guide the docking process in conjunction with matching emitters on the dock, for example.", "Two angled convergent sensors 966 at the front provide a defined detection zone just outside the projected envelope of the robot, for use in wall following and wall locating, for example.", "A tangential beam across the front 978 of the robot base provides precise contact information when an object touches any part of that surface, and may accordingly accelerate collision detection and accurately locate the object's position.", "Because the mobile robot 100 functions in a household environment, the issue of household safety may be addressed by any of a variety of features.", "Among these features, inter alia, are personal contact avoidance, obstacle avoidance (including the ability to detect and/or avoid objects that exist over a wide range of possible heights and positions relative to the robot 100), and damage avoidance—avoiding and/or mitigating damage to either the home, objects in the home (such as furniture, fixtures, and the like), or the robot itself, for example.", "In connection with these features, the robot preferably includes redundancy in detecting and/or avoiding obstacles.", "Regarding personal contact avoidance, the robot 100 preferably avoids initiating physical contact with any person—such as the user—unless there are circumstances that make such contact unavoidable or necessary.", "However, as non-limiting examples, the robot 100 may initiate contact when a possible medical emergency requires the robot to measure the temperature of the user, or when an authorized remote user issues a command to the robot to make physical contact with a person, inter alia.", "In accordance with at least one aspect, the robot 100 includes one or more sensors for detecting the presence or absence of objects over a range of physical space, in which the monitored space is divided into protection zones.", "As illustrated in FIG.", "4C, for example, the area surrounding the robot 100 includes a “toe zone” Z10 ranging from ground level up through about two inches above the ground; a “bump zone” Z20 ranging from about two inches up through about 4 inches above the ground; a “near zone” Z30 ranging from about one inch up through about 12 inches above the ground; and a “face zone” Z40 corresponding to the area directly in front of the face 26 of the robot, and which varies as the face 26 is raised or lowered, or as the face 26 swivels or rotates.", "Each protection zone is monitored by at least one sensor (such as, for example, a photosensor or a bump switch), and preferably there is overlap of the monitored zones among two or more of the sensors.", "As a result, the redundancy of obstacle detection is improved and the likelihood of an obstacle failing to be detected is reduced, because even if an obstacle is not detected by one of the sensors monitoring an overlapped area, another sensor monitoring the same overlapped area may nonetheless detect the obstacle.", "As illustrated in FIG.", "4C, the bump zone Z20 is monitored by a bump sensor 957, such as a contact switch or pressure sensor.", "The near zone Z30 is preferably monitored around a full perimeter of the robot 100, by (for example) a light curtain that may include beam emitters L21, L22 and photosensors 956 that detect light reflected off of objects that was emitted by the beam emitters L21, L22.Objects between 2-4 inches above the ground may be detected at between 1 to 5 inches laterally outward from the robot 100, for example.", "Low objects such as toes or door thresholds may also be detected.", "Also, one or more cliff sensors may be positioned around the mobility platform 12 and detect any sudden or precipitous drops in ground elevation over the full perimeter of the robot 100.In the area in front of the robot 100, the light curtain may detect incursions by objects at a height between approximately one through 12 inches above the ground.", "Toward the face 26, the near zone Z30 may also be monitored by an infrared or ultrasonic obstacle sensor.", "At far range, such as two through twenty feet or more, the robot 100 may include a camera 304, which can detect both near and far objects when image processing is applied to the data produced by the camera 304.In order to detect people in front of the robot 100, heat sensors, ultrasonic object sensors, or voice vector detector arrays may be used.", "For example, the robot 100 may include an array of six microphones (not shown) positioned such that the direction of the source of a sound may be determined; when the robot “hears” sound that corresponds to speech and the voice vector array indicates that the source of the sound is in front of the robot, the robot may respond accordingly.", "In addition, the robot 100 may employ such “people detectors” at either side and/or behind the robot 100, in order to detect people who may be standing or approaching too close to the robot (such that a danger of collision or of the robot tipping), in order to respond appropriately.", "The robot can receive data from two or more sensors, integrate the sensor data to predict the likelihood of an obstacle being present in one of the protection zones, and modify its actions (for example, by reducing speed, changing the direction of travel, and/or lowering the head 16, inter alia) when the predicted likelihood of an obstacle being present exceeds a threshold.", "Moreover, the threshold can be adaptively modified in accordance with experience—for example, when the robot collides with an obstacle after failing to predict the presence of that obstacle, the robot can lower the threshold; or when the robot discovers that a predicted obstacle did not in fact exist, the robot can raise the threshold.", "As an advantage, by predicting the presence of an obstacle coming into the path of the robot based on input from more than one sensor and/or more than one protection zone, the robot can avoid or mitigate obstacles encroach onto a primary protection zone.", "As illustrated in FIG.", "4C, for example, the face 26 of the robot may include a forward-directed camera 304 that monitors and can detect objects over a broad range of distances in front of the camera 304.The robot 100 may also include a first beam source B21 that emits downward-directed beams of light L21 and a second beam source B22 that emits upwardly-directed beams of light L22.The beams of light L21 and L22 preferably intersect over an area, and when either beam contacts an object, light is reflected off the object and is detected by photosensors; the range of space monitored by the beam sources B21, B22 and photosensors 956 generally corresponds to the near zone Z30.The different beams of light L21 and L22 may have mutually different wavelengths, or may be encoded with different signals, for example, such that the reflected light detected by the photosensors 956 can determine which beam source B21 or B22 emitted the reflected light.", "When the camera 304 detects a possible object lying near the lower area of the face zone Z40, and the photosensors 956 also detect light reflected off of an object, the robot 100 can determine that the likelihood of an obstacle in the near zone Z30 is high, and halt the robot 100 from moving forward in order to avoid colliding with the obstacle, for example.", "In addition, the robot 100 may include a microphone that monitors ambient sound or noise levels.", "When the microphone input indicates sound corresponding to speech, for example, the robot may determine that it is likely a person is in the vicinity, and accordingly reduce its movement speed, in order to reduce the chance of colliding with the person.", "The robot 100 may also monitor other sensors such as heat detectors (infrared photosensors, for example) or cameras, and make behavior determinations based on one or more of the sensors.", "For example, if no person is in fact in the vicinity of the robot, but the television is turned on, then the robot's microphone detects speech, but the heat detector does not indicate the presence of any heat sources.", "In such a case, the robot 100 may instead determine that no person is present, and accordingly decide not to reduce its movement speed.", "When the robot 100 is in an environment containing many potential obstacles (for example, in a cluttered basement or in a room full of people), the robot may operate at slow speed in order not to collide with people or things.", "When operating at slow speed, the robot may rely more on bump sensor input than on optical cameras or photosensors, for example.", "The cameras on the robot, depicted for example, as item 28 in FIGS.", "1A and 1B, allow the robot to view a resident or other persons in an environment.", "Even if the resident is comfortable with an interactive robot regarding them on a regular basis, the network connectivity (as described below) of the robot may raise privacy concerns for residents.", "Residents may feel that they are being “watched” by a third person, or that an imagined “hacker” may be able to view them in their home.", "Accordingly, the robot may be equipped with functionality that displays or otherwise ensures that the privacy of the resident is not being compromised.", "This functionality includes, but is not limited to, camera/head position limitations, visible or audible indicia, or default conditions that prevent lapses in privacy.", "FIG.", "5A depicts a perspective and side schematic view of a movable camera 28 in an operating position within the head 16 of a robot.", "FIG.", "5B depicts the same camera 28 in a non-operating position.", "Here, the camera 28 includes a body 300, having a pivot 302 and a lens 304.", "(Alternatively, the entire camera 28 may be located behind a shield 306, which may completely enclose a void 24a within the head 16.)", "Wires for power and visual image feed are contained within a support structure, and may enter the body through the hollow pivot 302.Alternatively, the wires may be located external to the support structure, but would need to be long enough to allow unimpeded movement of the head 16.In FIG.", "5A, the camera 28 is directed outward, providing an unobstructed forward view, in the operative position.", "The resident therefore may be able to clearly ascertain that the camera 28 is capable of recording (and potentially transmitting) visual data.", "However, in the non-operating position of FIG.", "5B, the camera 28 may be rotated or otherwise positioned so as to face an opaque surface forming the hollow 24a, which may encompass the entire field of vision of the camera 28.A non-operating position depicted in FIG.", "5B may alternatively function as the default position for the camera 28, unless the resident grants permission for the operative setting of FIG.", "5A.", "If utilized, a shield may be transparent to allow clear viewing of the camera 28 within the hollow 24a.", "Alternatively, it may be entirely opaque and movable into a position to cover the camera 28, so the resident may directly control the ability of the robot to view and potentially transmit visual data.", "In one embodiment, the camera and/or lens is entirely withdrawn into the robot's body, or the lens is turned to abut the robot's body.", "Accordingly, the robot is not only rendered incapable of recording its surroundings, but can be readily confirmed as incapable of such recording, as indicated by the blocking of the lens, the turning of the lens to substantially face the robot's body, or the turning the head to change the field of view.", "The visual cue of camera or head position may be supplemented by an electronic light that may be dimmed or undimmed when the camera is recording visual data.", "Thus, the person can clearly see and confirm that they are not under potential surveillance by a third person.", "A similar mechanism can be used with a microphone 305 or microphone arrays 305 on the robot; the robot may disconnect, shutter or otherwise disable microphones when entering a privacy mode.", "If the microphone(s) 305 are turned along with the head or otherwise moved to be blocked, an elastomer seal in the inoperative position may further muffle sound.", "Similarly, external antennae can be disconnected.", "In each case, the transmitting medium is rendered incapable of monitoring the resident.", "As shown in FIG.", "5C, a lockout mechanism may take forms other than turning a camera 28 or microphone(s) to be isolated from the local area.", "In one model, the resident or user has verifiable, ultimate control over the physical ability of the robot to monitor the local area.", "A key slot, plug, or other connector 321 capable of receiving a lock-out member (such as a key 322, dongle, etc.)", "is provided at a lock-out station 320 readily accessible and visible on the robot 10.If the robot is constructed under the model that the resident has control that may not be overridden, the engagement of the lock-out member or key 322 mechanically closes electrical contacts, enabling the camera 28 (and microphone) to operate, and completely disabling the camera and microphone in when in a private position.", "In an alternative arrangement, a lock-out member as a slider 333 including visible electrical pins 332 is arranged in the lock-out station 320.The resident may readily verify that the camera and microphone cannot work at all, because critical electrical paths are open.", "When the slider 333 is closed to a receiving plug 331, a notifier indicates a readily understood message (e.g., “on the air”) or signal (e.g., flashing LED) giving notice that the robot is connected to the world at large.", "This kind of arrangement, a privacy member configured to physically unplug the sensor when a privacy mode is selected, may give the resident a degree of confidence that the household is “hacker-proof” with respect to camera or microphone surveillance of the resident.", "In an alternative model, the key slot, plug, or other connector 321 does not mechanically close electrical contacts, and can be overridden in emergency situations.", "In this case, software transmission control routines may enable transmission of surveillance data from the camera 28 outside the resident's home only when the lock-out member is inserted in the connector 321.In this model, the robot 10 may normally use its controller connected to the camera or microphone to monitor surveillance data from that sensor.", "The robot may run a transmission control routine configured to enable transmission of surveillance data from the sensor (to the caregiver) outside the resident's home if the resident grants permission for the transmission.", "However, an override routine may be configured to enable a transmission of surveillance data from the sensor outside the resident's home (i) in an emergency condition detected by the robot.", "Alternatively, if an authorized remote caregiver sends an authorization previously permitted by the resident together with an emergency condition, the camera and/or microphone may be enabled.", "wherein the transmission of surveillance data by the robot outside the resident's home is otherwise prohibited.", "This kind of arrangement may also use a privacy member configured to physically unplug the sensor when a privacy mode is selected, if the override mode uses a mechanism or relay to “replug” the sensor.", "In accordance with at least one embodiment, any sensor input capable of observing or monitoring the environment surrounding the mobile robot may be routed by a privacy device 350, as illustrated in FIG.", "5D.", "A privacy controller 352 tracks any permissions granted or denied by the resident, and controls the data stream from sensors, such as the camera 28, microphone 32, or other sensor 22, thereby permitting sensor input to be recorded by the data recorder 356, and/or transmitted by the antenna 30 to a remote data recorder, only if such recording or transmission complies with the permissions granted by the resident.", "The privacy controller 352 may be implemented as a discrete hardware item or as a division of another piece of hardware; alternatively, the privacy controller 352 may be implemented as a software routine.", "In one embodiment, the privacy controller takes the form of a key, plug, dongle, or other physical medium that enables sensors only when installed, e.g., as shown in FIG.", "5C.", "An override unit 354 may override privacy directives issued by, or monitoring capabilities disabled by, the privacy controller 352, and thereby permit the sensor input to be temporarily recorded and/or transmitted, despite the permissions implemented by the privacy controller 352.In certain embodiments, the override unit 354 may only override the privacy controller 352 when either a predetermined event is present, the event being either a threshold on the output of one or more sensors or interpreted data as detected by the controller 352, or when a caregiver's override command is received by the mobile robot.", "An override command from the caregiver may be in the form of an encrypted code or other secure transmission, encoded or digitally signed using any suitable method, such as, for example, digital certificates, public-key encryption, a predetermined password, or any other suitable mechanism.", "The override unit 354 may permit surveillance or monitoring temporarily when, e.g., a distress condition of pulse, breathing, medical, environmental, or safety monitoring sensors, or other emergency situation is detected.", "When a distress condition is detected, the robot may also make an outbound call requesting the caregiver to check on the resident.", "Also, the mobile robot may include a receiver for wirelessly receiving the override command (from a remote terminal, which may be operated by a caregiver, for example).", "In addition, there may be circumstances in which considerations of safety or health suggest that the usual permissions granted or denied by the resident be temporarily overridden.", "Master override permissions may enable a caregiver to receive permission to temporarily override subsidiary permissions in emergency situations, or to enable medical monitoring devices or data analysis conclusions to override these permissions.", "Circumstances that may require overriding of the privacy controller 352 may include a determination by the mobile robot that the resident has become non-responsive (and therefore possibly unconscious), or when a fire alarm or smoke detector has triggered on the robot, or in the environment.", "In such circumstances, the override unit 354 may override the privacy controller 352 to permit input from the camera 28, microphone 32, or other sensors 22, to be transmitted to a remote terminal belonging to a caregiver, police or fire department, or ambulance service.", "Therefore, the caregiver may be alerted to such emergency circumstances, and receive relevant video, image, or audio information from the mobile robot in proximity to the resident.", "FIGS.", "6A-6D depict some of the software architecture, electronic systems, and network connections of embodiments of a robot as disclosed herein.", "Not all of these is necessary in every robot discussed herein, but the description applies at least in part to each embodiment.", "FIG.", "6A shows a basic architectural distribution of tasks and functions.", "A behavior based robot acts largely on the basis of behavioral systems, in this case as depicted as reactive systems 6A-1.Short-range navigation is navigation within and among obstacles in a room, and would normally be handled by a combination of cruising and turning behaviors.", "Goal behaviors seek, home in on, or search for relatively simple goals—e.g., a charger, a virtual wall or lighthouse, a beacon, a sound, an area of strong signal reception.", "Escape behaviors enjoy higher priority in the event of robot stasis, stuck, canyoning, or other trapped conditions.", "Avoid behaviors may avoid simple hazards—cliffs, perhaps people.", "Wall following behaviors and other behaviors follow obstacles to improve navigation and diffusion.", "All of these behaviors are arbitrated and contend for control of actuators 6A-4, based upon a collection or suite of sensors 6A-5 (vision, stairwell or cliff, proximity, wheel encoder or other odometry).", "Higher level planning is not always necessary, but can be handled by specific controls that influence or direct the behavior based systems.", "As shown, the behavior bases systems normally intervene between planning routines 6A-2 and actuators 6A-4.Long-range navigation, as discussed herein, will move the robot from room to room as discussed herein, or alternatively using path planning.", "A mapper may build maps, which may or may not be “Cartesian” spatial maps (most of the routines, techniques, and inventions discussed herein do not rely upon Cartesian or spatial maps).", "Stereo feature extraction may proceed according to known routines (e.g., SIFT or SURF scale invariant feature extraction) in order to identify landmarks or labels.", "Some of the necessary records may be stored remotely on a server or database 6A-3.FIG.", "6B illustrates one example of component organization in accordance with at least one of the present embodiments, in which communications or power transmission relationships are denoted by arrows interconnecting various component blocks.", "In one example, components located generally in the head 16, neck or torso 13, or mobility base 12 may be organized into component clusters E20, E30 and E46, respectively.", "These component clusters may include various electronic or electrical circuits, such as power supplies, motor controllers, and/or integrated circuits.", "Preferably, components such as integrated circuits, CPUs, controllers, and communication buses are integrated onto PCB boards; as a non-limiting example, a robot 100 may include three PCB boards, in which an upper PCB board E20 is disposed in the head 16, a middle PCB board E30 is disposed in the torso 13, and a lower PCB board E46 is disposed in the mobility base 12.In the example of FIG.", "6B, non-power signals are preferably transmitted among the upper, middle and lower PCBs via a low-voltage differential serial channel (LVDS), which provides advantages of producing only low levels electromagnetic noise (and having low susceptibility to electrical noise interference), inter alia.", "Alternatively, a parallel or traditional serial bus (such as RC232) may be employed, or a wireless protocol such as WiFi or Bluetooth, in order to transmit signals between the PCBs.", "The lower PCB board E46 includes one or more power supplies E90 and a battery and/or charger E91, in which a power supply channel (which may be a plastic-sheathed copper wire, or any other component suitable for power transmission from the mobility base 12 through the torso 13 and into the head 16) transmits power from the power supplies E90 to the middle PCB E30 and to the upper PCB E20.The lower PCB E46 also includes a pan motor amplifier E401 and one or more drive motor amps E402, together with encoder E403 and proximity sensor interfaces E404, and also a two-dimensional accelerometer E406 and a microcomputer E407 (which may include a microcontroller, a programmable logic array, a digital signal processor, and/or a general-purpose CPU, as non-limiting examples).", "The lower PCB E46 communicates with proximity sensors 222 (routing such communication to the proximity sensor interface E404), drive motors/encoders 46, and to the pan motor/encoder 314.Regarding the torso area, various features local to this region-such as the body display panel 18 and speakers S31—communicate with the middle PCB E30.Also, an array of microphones may be disposed on the robot 100 for determining the location of the source of a sound.", "In accordance with at least one embodiment, a microphone for use in a sound-source locating system (herein termed “Acoustic Magic”) preferably transmits a continuous serial stream of octets indicating the direction of current sound.", "The stream is transmitted by a DSP onboard an Acoustic Magic PCB, through its synchronous serial port, emulating an asynchronous serial signal.", "The serial signal is received by an HCS12 on the power board, and the octets may be delivered unprocessed in the packet stream to the CPU board.", "On the CPU board, a process receives the signal and decimates it to (as a non-limiting example) 10 samples/second, storing the stream in a shared-memory ring buffer.", "The decimation is preceded by a single-pole IIR low-pass filter, with a pole at 3 Hz, for example.", "The buffer preferably records at least the last 5 seconds of observations, each of which are time-stamped with a true timestamp for when that audio sample was actually heard (accounting for any buffering through the signal chain).", "The estimated voice location is produced by combining this vector with the speech detector of the recognition system.", "The speech detector preferably may issue regular callbacks indicating its live status.", "These callbacks correlate detected speech (compensating to true real time) with the 10 hz voice location samples, to produce the estimated direction vector to the most recent detected utterance.", "These utterance direction vector samples are similarly recorded in a shared memory ring buffer, for use by the user-location and interaction system.", "Such functionality and processing is preferably provided by an array processor E301 disposed on the middle PCB E30.In the head area, various sensors such as a pyro sensor S21 or touch sensor S22 may communicate with the upper PCB E20, as well as the right and left image sensors (cameras, etc.)", "28, 29, and the face matrix panel 26.The tilt motor/encoder 340 also is connected to the upper PCB E20.Within the upper PCB E20, components corresponding to devices disposed in the head 16 may be integrated onto the PCB board, such as: a face controller/interface E210, for interfacing with (and/or controlling) the face matrix panel 26; audio codecs/amplifiers E211; and/or Ethernet E202, USB E203, or infrared (IR) E204 interface components for communicating according to their respective channels.", "Further, the upper PCB E20 may include an embedded microprocessor E230 (preferably consuming less than 1 Watt per hour) and a memory E209 comprising volatile and non-volatile sections, for providing necessary instructions to coordinate and/or control the various subcomponents on the upper PCB E20.In addition, the upper PCB E20 in the head 16 may be connected to an antenna E201, such as a cellular-band antenna for use with a CDMA modem, in which the antenna E201 includes an embedded antenna component mounted on a PC board.", "As an advantage, such components are designed for cellular handsets, are small, precisely manufactured and impedance-matched, and easy to integrate.", "Further, the antenna design may alternatively use simple wire dipoles to additionally reduce cost.", "Preferably, a dipole design is implemented directly on the upper PCB E20 in the head 16.One example cellular modem slot supports modules operating in the 800 mHz cellular band, specifically the transmit band from 824-849 mHz and the receive band from 869-894 mHz.", "The robot's head 16 may be selected to be large enough to accommodate a half-wave dipole for these frequencies, which is nominally 163 mm long.", "However, if many other mechanical and electrical components are packed into the head, the antennas may alternatively be mounted horizontally.", "As another alternative, an “inverted V” configuration may be used, which is a horizontal dipole, extended slightly (by approximately 4%, for example) and bent in the middle.", "The inverted V has the added advantage of a more uniform omnidirectional response pattern.", "A preferred configuration places two “inverted V” dipoles, mounted at the top and bottom of the head for spatial diversity.", "Each dipole has two legs, each preferably 85 mm in length, 2 mm in diameter.", "The calculated VSWR for this configuration may range from 1.7 at 824 mHz, 1.2 at 860 mHz, to 1.7 at 894 mHz.", "These antennas may be implemented with (for example) 12-gauge wire segments affixed to Plexiglas supports placed behind the CPU board, in which case 50-ohm coaxial cables can connect the antennas to the CDMA modules.", "FIG.", "6C shows transitions between levels of activity in a robot during a day.", "Not all of these states are necessary in every robot discussed herein.", "Nor need there be divisions as shown.", "Largely, these states are useful for power conservation.", "In a Sleep state for maximum power saving, in which the robot neither “listens” nor “observes” its surroundings (e.g., camera and microphones are disabled, Sleep state may also be considered a Privacy Mode) the robot may enter an Idle state (from which it may begin an interaction script or other activity) upon some external or internal stimulus event.", "If the battery is fully charged, the robot may rest in a Monitor state rather than a sleep state, and may enter the Idle state upon any event detection, including sound, heat, or observed or detected motion.", "The robot may move from Monitor to Sleep state in a low battery charge condition or when no sound or motion is detected for a certain period, e.g., 10 minutes.", "Changing from Sleep state to Monitor state may be prevented without express permission.", "Similarly, the robot may enter the Monitor state from the Idle state in circumstances of inactivity or charge required.", "The Orb mode is a condition where the robot illuminates the area around it.", "FIG.", "6D shows transitions between different functions in a robot during a day.", "Not all of these functions are necessary in every robot discussed herein.", "Nor need there be divisions as shown.", "The Sleep function and Idle function are similar to the states as discussed with reference to FIG.", "6C.", "If the battery is fully charged, the robot may rest in a Global (Ready) function ready to undertake other functions, rather than a Sleep or Idle state, and may enter the Global function upon any event detection, including sound, heat, or observed or detected motion.", "The robot may move from Global to Avatar function.", "In the Avatar function, a teleconferencing, teleoperation, or remote presence session may be started or activated from suspension.", "In a Companion function, a dialogue as discussed herein may be started or activated from suspension.", "In an Application function, any application that is storable in a suspended state by saving a runtime stack may be started or activated from suspension.", "In a Speaker Phone or video chat mode, the robot may start or activate a call.", "FIG.", "7A depicts a generalized dialog routine that may be used by a robot of the present invention for natural, flowing communication.", "Step SD1 initiates a Start Sequence, where the robot may select one of various conversations or dialogs to engage in with the resident.", "The sequence may be selected based on an occurrence of an event or time.", "For example, the robot may initiate a greeting sequence when the resident returns home, or may ask the resident if they have any plans for the evening after a meal occurs.", "Additionally, the robot may generate sequences at random, to increase contact and bonding opportunities with the resident.", "The robot may approach the resident and inquire if the resident may be interested in playing a game stored on the robot, asked to be picked up, etc.", "Additionally, the dialog sequence need not occur between the robot and resident, but may include the robot talking to itself.", "In one example, if the robot bumps an object while moving in an environment, the robot may begin a sequence expressing surprise or frustration.", "Step SD2 represents a first interaction, which, depending on application, may be a greeting to the resident, an audible comment to itself, etc.", "At Step SD3, the robot may ask the robot a question or make an affirmative statement, “How was your day?”, “Got plans tonight?”, “You asked me to check movie times for you.”, etc.", "The question be designed specifically to elicit one of a specific number of responses from the resident, or the resident may respond to an open-ended question or statement.", "A Response X (outside the robot's library of anticipated responses) may cause an error, confused, or other reply from the robot, Step SD, causing the robot to end the interaction or pose the question or statement again, Step SD3.Predetermined or expected responses may initiate corresponding replies, Step SD5, from the robot.", "These replies may include a matching affect responses as well; e.g., an audible “Wow” with an affect indicating surprise, an audible “That's too bad” with an affect indicating concern, “Sounds great” with a happy affect, etc.", "Alternatively, the robot's response may be a second question.", "For example, if the robot asked the resident which movie the resident would like to see, the robot could then ask if the resident if the robot should search for theaters showing that movie, and so on.", "After the robot's reply at SD5, the robot may begin a number of second interactions, at Step SD6.For example, the robot may begin playing a game with the resident, move on to a second, more specific line of questioning or interaction, or end the interaction in view of particular responses.", "Certain interactions may lead to other interactions.", "Under these circumstances, the robot may interact with the resident for long periods of time, changing topic, activity, or task, as the circumstances demand, creating a rich interactive experience for the resident.", "According to these routines, the robot may conduct an effective method of human-robot interaction.", "Most fundamental motion behaviors are asynchronous (or independent of) the dialogues.", "Behaviors such as escape or safety reactions to events are not affected by the dialogue.", "The communication script segments (queries, choices, replies) are received by the robot from its internal database or a remote database, and include the dialogue branches with robot speech prompt text (such as dialogue queries, replies, and confirmation/feedback responses) as well as human response text (such as the choices for the person to repeat or select).", "The robot interprets the communication script segment to generate an audible robot speech prompt, either by referring to recordings; by consulting a speech synthesis phoneme script that goes with the text; or by having on-the-fly text-to-speech synthesis (each of these being capable of including script or timestamp synchronized viseme tags defining facial animations, earcons defining emphasis sounds, or “animotion” scripts defining robot emphasis motions).", "Animotion scripts tend to define a desired expression during the communication script segment by adding an expression motion, usually one or both of a head movement sequence including nod axis head movement or turn axis head movement, or a robot movement sequence including movement of the entire robot.", "The robot receives input in the form of either recorded speech from the person via its microphone array, or the result of a push-button or touch-screen identification of the selected response choice.", "If at any point during this dialogue, the robot detects an event that requires a response from the behavioral system (e.g., in moving into an expression motion, the robot bumps a table or other obstacle, or has moved partway toward a second person), the robot interrupts the dialogue branch in response to the event detected by one of the plurality of behaviors (i.e., via the sensors used by those behaviors) to execute an asynchronous response (such as stopping the robot).", "After any appropriate asynchronous response (including a further comment from the robot regarding the change its motion or pose, or what was discovered that caused the change and asynchronous response), the robot recovers the dialogue branch after the execution of the asynchronous response.", "The robot interrupts expression motion(s) in response to the event detected by the robot.", "The robot is stopped (or other corrective behavior) to reposition the robot according to the event.", "FIG.", "7B depicts a dialog routine constructed using the generic routine of FIG.", "7A.", "At Step SD1′, the robot begins a greeting sequence, triggered when the resident returns to the home at a time that the robot recognizes as the conclusion of the workday.", "The robot welcomes the resident home at Step SD2′, then asks about the resident's day at Step SD3′.", "In this case, for example, the robot may combine the question of SD3′ with a display on it's input screen of the question and potential responses (in this case, “Great,” “OK,” “Terrible,” or “I'm in a rush”).", "A number of robot replies are depicted at Step SD5′, or the robot may end the dialogue if the resident has no time or interest to interact with the robot.", "At Step SD6′, the robot may begin a number of other interaction sequences, such as asking the resident about the day's or a future day's work, remind them of scheduled events, advise them on the importance of getting a good night's sleep, etc.", "As indicated, interactions may lead to other interactions, questions, etc.", "These interactions may continue indefinitely, until the robot reaches an end point, until the resident requests termination of the interaction, etc.", "FIG.", "7C depicts a bump interaction algorithm SD10 constructed using the generic algorithm of FIG.", "7A.", "At Step SD11, the robot begins a bump sequence, triggered when the robot bumps unexpectedly into an object.", "The robot makes a bump sound at Step SD12, such as a beep, crash, or other sound to signal contact with an object.", "The robot then initiates a bump analysis sequence SD13, to determine the frequency of the sensor events (in this case, contact with the object).", "For example, the robot may contact an object a single time, as in Step SD13a, or several times in a predefined period, as in Steps SD13b and/or SD13c.", "The decision making as to the expressions, SD14, that the robot uses depend on the sensor events, but need not effect the behavioral response of the mobility response.", "In other words, the robot may output any expression, sound, affect, etc., but these are independent from the robot's behavioral mobility system (e.g., the robot may back up, if required, while expressing frustration).", "In addition to outputting an audible (via its speaker) or visible (via its display) expression, SD14a, the robot may also utilize other animations or sounds, SD14b.", "By utilizing its mapping function, the robot may also determine if it has hit an object at other times in the past in this particular location, Step SD15, and thus learn to avoid areas where it has experienced mobility problems.", "The POP step allows the robot to exit the bump interaction sequence.", "Similar to the dialog algorithm of FIG.", "7B, this bump interaction may lead to other interactions, cause pleas or questions directed to a nearby resident, etc.", "These interactions may continue indefinitely, until the robot reaches an end point, until the resident offers assistance to the robot, etc.", "FIG.", "7D depicts a routine for the robot to present a question to the resident, with a limited number of responses (five or less, usually three), and in which most of these responses are confined to simple affirmative, negative replies.", "At step 7D-10, the robot retrieves or receives a script segment from its own database or a remote database.", "the robot may carry all dialogues or common dialogues on board, but other embodiments may also retrieve dialogues from a remote server, on an ad-hoc basis (as a rarely encountered dialogue tree is explored) or on a predictive basis (retrieving or some all possible branches in a dialogue tree ahead of the speed at which the resident is moving through them), or as part of a scheduled or on-demand update procedure.", "As explained above, the robot then “speaks” an audible query or question (step 7D-12 and shown at 7D-2, from recording, phonemes, or text) and at the same time displays the corresponding question in text (using a screen as shown at 7D-1, optionally highlighting each word of the query sentence as it is pronounced or the query sentence all at one time) as well as the answers the robot expects to hear as subsequent branches in the scripted dialogue tree.", "Subsequently (step 7D-16), the robot attempts to receive an audible response and process it.", "FIG.", "7D does not show processes for robot behavior in the event that no response is detected at all (e.g., the resident has walked away, the resident for some reason does not to speak at all), but such processes would be compatible with this routine.", "In addition, should the person reach across and press a button or touchscreen beside the displayed choice as a way of answering the question, the process of FIG.", "7D would move immediately to step 7D-22 noted below (confirmation repeat of the selected choice).", "The processing in this case is speech recognition, but the set of potential responses is limited to those shown on the screen (one exception is the affirmative, negative response, which may have a larger set of possibilities).", "The resident may choose to read the response text out loud from the screen; may have memorized the typical responses as a result of frequent use, or may choose to input using touch screen or soft buttons.", "As shown in the diagram, numbers may also be displayed (and recognized), but the robot would not necessarily explain on every occasion that a number may also be spoken and recognized.", "The choices and thereby the processing is limited such that the speech recognition may be done on an embedded-class processor of less than 1000 MIPs, shared with all the remaining tasks and computation necessary for robotic operation.", "If more speech recognition resources are available, they may be devoted to a higher success rate rather than a more versatile recognition set.", "As shown in FIG.", "7D, the robot provides the resident with a designated number of “retries” (one shown) at steps 7D-18, 7D-20 if speech analyzed and processed is not recognized as one of the expected responses in the dialogue tree at step 7D-16.A retry message may be spoken (shown at 7D-5) and the question itself or possible answers may be highlighted or blinked together or sequentially (7D-4) to attempt to refocus the resident's attention.", "If, on the other hand, the speech analyzed and processed in step 7D-16 is recognized, the robot may confirm this at step 7D-22 with audible repeat-back feedback (shown at step 7D-7) and/or by highlighting or blinking the recognized answer at (shown at 7D-6).", "In this manner, the received (from database) communication script segment includes an output query sub-script text and a response tree of five or less sub-script response text candidates (often “yes”, “no”, and an alternative such as “I don't know”; on other occasions a list, e.g., pill type “red diamond”, “green”, “white”, “none of the above”).", "The list is kept at five or less so as to (1) avoid overwhelming attention; (2) avoid overwhelming display screen “real estate,” (i.e., no scrolling, text large enough for easy review) and (3) limit the resources necessary for speech recognition.", "The output query text (i.e., the questions asked) are related to or associated with an audible output signal (e.g., phoneme codes, compressed recorded audio), and output as a spoken query to a person.", "Both the output query sub-script text and the limited number of responses are displayed together on a display of the robot.", "The robot receives, via a microphone or a vectoring or other microphone array, the person's spoken response as an audio input signal, which is processed to check/recognize if it corresponds to what has been displayed (i.e., all the responses expected to the question).", "If the signal recorded by the microphone is recognized, the robot issues an output signal (i.e., a voice or text confirmation, highlight, or blinking) to feed back or repeat back the recognized response.", "If not, an output signal, also a voice or text reprompt, highlight, or blinking prompts the user to retry communicating a response.", "In some cases, the robot can request confirmation from the resident by monitoring for a confirmation of the correctness or incorrectness of the recognized choice.", "In the event that audio reprompting is ineffective, the reprompt can take the form of highlighting (including blinking or the like) the displayed sub-script text on the display of the robot, and at the same time receiving the response choice via a manually operated control (e.g., soft button, touch screen) associated with the display.", "There is some advantage if two of the response text candidates are a simple affirmative and simple negative response, and if the processing then checks for speech corresponding to many different kinds—a family—of affirmative responses equivalent to the simple affirmative response (yes, yeah, uh-huh, sure, etc.)", "or includes speech corresponding to a family of negative responses equivalent to the simple negative response (no, nope, nah, I don't think so, uh-uh, etc.).", "Other messages can be common among many scripts (I don't know, please go back, etc.", "), and in such cases, the robot may recognize a limited set of possible responses that are not shown on the screen (please go back, come back later, quit, etc., show me my schedule).", "If there is no yes or no answer, the list of answers may be limited to three or less to significantly limit speech recognition work.", "A standalone network adapter provides firewall circumvention and zero-configuration of network access for the robot, without requiring a user-interface for configuration.", "This may be done independent of the robot and, in certain embodiments, can potentially bridge multiple robots in the home.", "In one embodiment, WiFi is an non-broadcast extended service set identifier (ESSID), with wired equivalent privacy/WiFi-protected access (WEP/WPA) enabled by default and “locked”.", "The robot and network adapter may be paired at the factory with generated, unique security information.", "Additional pairing operations performed at a later time may require physical proximity or line of sight between the robot and network adapter (as verified by pairing cable, by short range RF such as BlueTooth, ZigBee, Wireless USB, or by short range IR.", "The network adapter functions as a firewall and may be into outside any existing infrastructure.", "It also includes “Simple Traversal of User Datagram Protocol (UDP) Through Network Address Translators (NATs),” as defined, for example, in http://www.faqs.org/rfcs/rfc3489.html, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.", "This functionality may be embedded into the device, thus allowing the network adapter to act as an Internet gateway, granting Internet-access to recognized robots in a home environment.", "There are a number of ways to access the firewall circumvention features of network adapter, for example, by the robot having a MAC address within a known range.", "General enabling network architecture is shown in FIGS.", "8A and 8B.", "Each robot 10 in a home (multiple robots or other embedded devices with access to the robot base station possible) is linked to the robot base station via different levels of pre-installed security and compatible cryptographic keys.", "As shown in FIG.", "8B, the connection 8B-2 would generally be carried in frames or packets of an RF protocol, would use IP stack protocols within this (TCP, UDP, HTTP), and would have a trust boundary within this (a virtual private network VPN or secure socket layer SSL boundary).", "Generally, the robots 10 are wirelessly connected, and the robot base station is an RF station using an RF bandwidth and protocol sufficient for the data that will be sent to and from the robot 20.For example, for a robot 10 capable of videoconferencing, a relatively high bandwidth RF modality such as 802.11 a/b/g/n would be useful.", "For a robot 10 which does not transmit video or audio data, Bluetooth, wireless USB, or proprietary networks could be used.", "The base station can be configured to add encryption to the RF protocol (to limit access to the network), or without (to permit the highest speeds).", "Whether or not the RF protocol is itself encrypted, the innermost trust boundary encrypts and protects data that can be sniffed from the RF signal; and robots and other authorized devices are on a media access control MAC connection-permitted whitelist, and/or are provided with appropriate public and private cryptographic keys for the VPN or SSL connection.", "The base station 8A-6 may also provide general RF-protocol or WiFi network connectivity for other devices in the home; and the robot(s) (especially if provided with two transceivers) may act as relays or repeaters to extend the range of the base station 8A-6.The base station (in this view, 8A-6) is always connected via a modem or network terminal (usually a cable modem, xDSL, or optical network terminal) to a (usually broadband) Internet Service Provider (not shown) and then to the public internet (cloud).", "The robot base station generally has the functionality of and provides a router (e.g., DHCP server, NAT, firewall, etc.)", "so does not need to traverse a router.", "Nonetheless, as described herein, in some cases the robot base station 8A-6 will be behind a firewall or NAT service, and some techniques for matchmaking are addressed herein.", "The robot base station 8A-6 regularly or intermittently connects to a matchmaker 8A-10 (a web or database server), which maintains up to date records of the current IP address of the robot base station 89A-6 (assumed to be, in most cases, dynamically assigned).", "Once a match is made (i.e., a caregiver station 8A-4 and robot base station 8A-6 are informed of each other's IP address), a secure peer-to-peer connection (as shown in FIG.", "8B, connection 8B-8) is established The matchmaker 8A-10 may not be necessary in an IPv6 regime with ubiquitous unique IP addresses.", "As shown in the right side of FIG.", "8B, the base station knows the address of the matchmaker or supernode, and connects 89B-4 via protocol layers similar to the robot-base station connection 8B-2, except that the outer layer in this case would be protocols appropriate for whatever medium carries internet traffic from the base station to the matchmaker (e.g., Ethernet, ATM, X.25, or other packet network).", "The matchmaker 8A-10 or supernode informs the caregiver's station of the IP address of a matched robot or robots 10.In addition, the matchmaker 8A-10 may be part of a network which relies upon so-called supernodes to provide routing among privileged clients, or the matchmaking function may be handled by a network of nodes and supernodes which do not have any access to the data network 8A-8, 8A-12, 8A-14.For example, supernodes may be nodes with a public or fixed IP address, not behind a firewall.", "Cryptographic keys for user identity and password are stored on the matchmaker 8A-10 as a login server.", "Each robot base station or caregiver station may use a protocols similar to STUN (rfc 3489) protocol and TURN protocols to determine what kind of NAT or firewall intervenes.", "To initiate, the station may open (TCP or UDP) listening ports at a random port number and specific common port numbers (80 for HTTP and 443 for HTTPS).", "Each station may maintain a cache of supernodes or matchmakers and their IP addresses and known random ports.", "Upon connecting to the internet, either station may send packets (TCP or UDP) to a supernode or matchmaker IP address at the historic port number, await a response, then try to connect on the HTTP port and then HTTPS port.", "After being connected to the supernode or matchmaker, this matchmaker or another matchmaker, Web server or security server may authenticate the station.", "The supernode or matchmaker may also exchange sufficient packets to inform the station of the IP address of a different matchmaker or the address of a particular login authority that can authenticate that station.", "During a connection, each station may populate its cache with supernodes, nodes, matchmakers and their last known (random) open ports and IP addresses.", "Any node (robot base station, caregiver station) or supernode may act as a router to forward and route traffic between a matched robot base station or caregiver station if either or both are behind port-restricted network firewalls or NAT.", "This is typically similar the “Skype” peer to peer telephony network, and would be capable of interoperating with such a network.", "In the present arrangement, preferably, idle caregiver stations (typically ordinary PCs running authorization software, VPN, and/or client software) act as routers in such cases, as this would tend not to burden the supernodes, and also would avoid using robot base station nodes which would typically have less processing capability (i.e., about the same as a consumer router).", "As shown in FIG.", "8C, using this or a modified system, authorized devices such as robots or pre-authorized devices such as a VOIP phone or media station (i.e., that have cryptographic or unique identity information known to the robot base station, such as a MAC address, public key, signature, or that can transmit this information locally over a direct wire connection, scannable ID, serial connection, and the like) can be permitted by the robot base station to immediately participate in at least part of the trusted network(s).", "The base station will permit an authorized device trying to become an identified node to listen on a random port nn, which will notify the matchmaker that the device is available at that port (i.e., including the IP address assigned to the robot base station, the port that is being listened upon, and identity and/or security information associated with the robot or pre-authorized device).", "In other cases, no identity information is necessary, as each device accessing via a base station will have a different random port.", "The matchmaker and robot/device will then conduct challenge-response (including security, authorization information) to authenticate the robot/device at the matchmaker.", "If an unauthorized device tries to use the base station, the device may become authenticated by negotiating its authorization via the base station and a list of authentication servers (e.g., registering by sending a signed and/or pre-authorized privilege code, already known to the authentication servers, via the base station).", "Thereafter, the device or robot may be authorized at that base station.", "The same process may take place at a caregiver station, except that a caregiver station would immediately attempt to connect to a supernode or matchmaker.", "In addition, the random port strategy may be supplemented by using an HTTP port, HTTPS port, and/or intervening node packet forwarding and routing when either the robot base station or caregiver station are behind a firewall, closed ports, and/or NAT.", "The base station 8A-6 is also connected to a Web server or server 8A-8 which hosts various applications useful on the robot 10.The Web server 8A-8 has access to a file system 8A-12 with content to be used by the robot 10 (e.g., multimedia content); and also to a generalize database.", "The database may store user profiles for the residents, the dialogues available for robots 10 to use, schedules and the like.", "Any data considered confidential or sensitive can be obscured as to identity or content by cryptographic keys.", "Data may be used or processed by the database in a manner that the database owner (not the resident) may not inspect or attach an identity to private date.", "Join tables can match records stored on the robot or base station with data stored by the caregiver, so that data collected or sent from either while the other is not on-line to connect peer-to-peer 8B-8 may be associated.", "Data normally preserved only on the robot or by the caregiver or caregiver's network (confidential medical history and records, etc.", "may be maintained on the database 8A-14, but preferably in an encrypted backup form that is recoverable only by one of the caregiver, robot, or robot base station or a proxy (e.g., the resident's home PC).", "In this manner, a robot system, includes both the base station 8A-6 and robot 10.The base station includes a wireless transceiver capable of communicating TCP/IP transmissions over a local wireless protocol and a wired Ethernet connector for communicating TCP/IP transmissions over a local wired Ethernet accessing the Internet.", "The access point circuit (e.g., in the robot base station) transfers TCP/IP transmissions between the local wired Ethernet and local wireless protocol, and is limited to a predetermined IP address assigned to and locked to the robot (e.g., cannot be changed by a resident or caregiver without authorization, or at all), predetermined shell level encryption locked to the robot (such as the discussed VPN and/or SSL), and predetermined ports to the Internet open only to the robot, (e.g., one random port assigned to each robot and opened, or under the same language, a common port such as HTTP or HTTPS in combination with an intervening random routing node).", "The robot itself would include a wireless transceiver capable of communicating TCP/IP transmissions over the local RF or wireless protocol and a client circuit (e.g., CPU and OS with IP protocol stack) for transferring TCP/IP transmissions over the local wireless protocol.", "Preferably, the robot base station includes a plurality of antennas (the robot may also), and makes use of 802.11n multiple-in, multiple-out antenna diversity and selection to overcome issues of multipath propagation within the home, not limited to 2.4 GHz unlicensed frequencies, but in bands from e.g., 900 MHz up to around 10 GHz.", "Further preferably, the robot base station further encodes wireless transmissions using orthogonal frequency division multiplexing.", "In such a case, the robot base station may be portable and incorporate elements of the caregiver station (such as a screen capable of relaying camera and video information for teleoperation, and a controller for teleoperating the robot), and the embodiments contemplate that the platform for the robot may be treaded and skid steered, with surveillance cameras on board.", "Video is transmitted from the robot to the base station at the highest possible speed, multipath resistance, and frame rate using multiple-in, multiple-out antenna diversity, orthogonal frequency division multiplexing, IP or IP-compatible packet protocols that do not error correct (like UDP), and optionally predictive wavelet based video compression like H.264 AVC or MPEG 4.In the embodiment depicted in FIG.", "8, the robot authenticates via a challenge-and-response exchanging with an upstream server.", "The network adapter opens a small hole to a known authentication site for unrecognized robots in the home.", "This authentication site issues a challenge to an unrecognized robot.", "If robot responds with a cryptographically correct response, an authentication token is sent to the network adapter, which stores the token and allows access from that point to the Internet.", "In still another embodiment, the robot is granted a random port number to listen to, and this information is also forwarded to the matchmaking service.", "A central service may provide a matchmaking similar to dynamic DNS services, but for commercially available robots that utilize the particular network adapters.", "Under these circumstances, each robot would be shipped to a consumer with a unique pass code to map the owner to the device when the owner first connects to the matchmaker service.", "In this case, the matchmaker service is web-hosted centralized user interface for robots.", "Service proxies configuration and user interfaces between robots and users, who are both Internet clients.", "Additionally, the matchmaker service may operate as a fleet management tool (for software updates) and a portal for the robots in a particular home.", "From this central site, a user can “connect” to a robot, which redirects the user to the user interface hosted on the robot.", "FIG.", "9A illustrates a reporting routine which may be implemented by a mobile robot in situations where safety concerns require transmission of information to a remote terminal (a base station, caregiver computer, etc.).", "At step S1, the robot retrieves reporting instructions from a computer network—for example, by downloading a list of information that a remote caregiver wants to receive from the mobile robot.", "Such information may include, among other things, what time is the robot last detected the presence of the resident, whether issuance of medication to the resident succeeded, etc.", "At step S2, the robot may collect such information.", "The robot then checks the current time and compares it to the schedule at step S3; and, if it determines that the scheduled time has come to transmit information, at S4, the robot may transmit the information to the remote terminal at step S5.Otherwise, the control may return to step S2, for example.", "In response to schedules or events throughout the day, the mobile robot generates updates including updated information regarding the resident, including but not limited to: (a) medication compliance information; (b) presence or absence of the resident, recognized by patterns of sound or other detections; (c) status or “nothing unusual” reports; (d) reports of visitors; (e) updates entered by the resident as to their planned schedule (“I'll be out for two hours”); (f) report of unusual patterns of sound (distress noises, calling out noises) or unusually loud sounds; (g) requests for communication from the caregiver or other family members to the resident.", "These updates include event-responsive updates, data-change updates, status updates, and scheduled updates.", "The robot uploads the update information to the computer server, which is integrated with or in communication with a push server, using a push updating system.", "The push server, similar to a mail delivery agent, sends (or pushes) newly received updates to the update client, similar to a mail user agent.", "Both the robot and caregiver's terminal may be an update client.", "The push server monitors the network of robots and caregiver clients, and when it sees a new update for a caregiver, it retrieves the update and pushes it to the caregiver's terminal.", "Similarly, when the push server sees a new update for a robot, it pushes the message to the robot.", "The updates may or may not be separately maintained and archived.", "As shown in FIG.", "9B, a push server P provided on the internet I communicates with the mobile robot R (via the base station B) and the caregiver's terminal C in such a way that reports and updates from the robot (which are reported to the push server in client mode by a client robot) are pushed to the caregiver's terminal C. The caregiver's terminal C may be a telephone, messaging device (blackberry or other personal digital assistant), or computer browser or other client.", "In this context, information being delivered from a push server P to a client device is based upon a predefined set of request parameters outlined by the client device.", "This can be delayed or in an instant messaging fashion.", "The push server P pushes content to the caregiver's terminal C, without the caregiver's terminal C polling or otherwise requesting updates from the push server P. As a result, the information updated by the mobile robot R is relayed to the caregiver's terminal C via the push server P on the Internet I.", "The push server P may push updates as well as e-mail.", "Alternatively, pull technology such as RSS may be used for delivery of robot-originating content.", "In such a case, the caregiver's terminal C may automatically retrieve any updated information from the computer server, for example, at particular intervals during the day.", "The robot of the present invention provides a rich interactive experience for a user by utilizing visual cues to indicate its responses to certain events.", "Those cues include, at least, image displays on one or more of the screens and head or other physical movements to convey reactions.", "FIG.", "10A depicts a number of exemplary affect expressions to be displayed on a screen 26 of a mobile robot.", "Although the affect images depicted in FIG.", "10A are shown on the display 26 of head 16 of a robot, affect images could also be displayed on a body-mounted screen.", "Optionally, the affect images may only utilize a portion of a display screen, leaving the remainder open for other interactions and/or functions.", "As displayed, mouth, eye, and eyebrow objects (such as those exemplary expressions depicted in FIG.", "10A) can be arbitrarily formed from a multiplicity of pixels using a matrix display, or can be formed in set shapes from a number of segments using a segment display.", "Of course, a display may incorporate both segments and matrix portions, and matrix pixels may be considered one kind of segment.", "The segment or facial matrix display may be provided with a sufficient number of segments or pixels by conventional manufacturing techniques.", "The following discussion describes either a segment panel or matrix panel, with distinctions noted at appropriate portions.", "In discussing the matrix panel, terminology used to create animations in Macromedia™ Flash™, a portable animation system, is useful.", "In this terminology, a “movie” may be a collection of scenes, which is a collection of objects such as text objects and image objects, which in one embodiment may be placed in layers onto a background.", "The movie and objects are responsive to events, and may apply effects (animations that change the appearance of an object) as well as carry out actions outside the movie.", "In discussing the operation of a segment panel, an object may be a single segment or group of segments that may be turned on or off in sequence or separately, which can give the impression of motion or a change in appearance.", "In both cases, “objects” may be animated and accommodate transitional animation states.", "Notwithstanding the use of this terminology, the invention is not limited to the discussed animation systems.", "The display 26 implements an eyes-nose-mouth display which is animated in sync with speech and interaction to express the changing affect and non-verbal behavior of the robot.", "The animated expression of the display is controlled subject to a number of variables within the system: non-verbal behavior synchronized with speech, phoneme animation synchronized with speech, base expression from dialogue and affect module, and several specialty expressive sequences.", "The functional elements of the expression include several base expressions, several eye gaze directions, several eyebrow positions for emphasis gestures, and several mouth shapes (visemes) for phoneme animation.", "These elements are independent (orthogonal), i.e., phoneme animation, gaze shifting and eyebrow raising work regardless of the base expression, which include Sad (mild), Concerned, Neutral (positive), Happy (with at least 4 gradations from contentment to joy), Surprise (with different presentation for positive and negative surprise), etc.", "There are “in-between” states (“tweens”) in all these elements, for smoothing animated transitions from state to state.", "Eye gaze direction may provide, for example, 16 different positions of direct gaze from right to left.", "Additionally provided may be two positions upward-left and upward-right, and two positions downward-left and downward-right.", "Reflection-indicators on the eyes may be omitted, set depending on directionality of room illumination, or kept stable.", "At least three eyebrow positions may be provided—neutral, raised medium, raised high, plus tweens.", "Eyebrows participate in forming base expressions as well.", "Phoneme animation utilizes a subset of 13 visemes (a “viseme” is set of animation frame frames of a mouth in positions corresponding to speech synthesis phonemes, according to the timing and pace of human mouth motions used to form such phonemes; an “earcon” is the audible equivalent of an icon, i.e., a short, meaningful sound that conveys an idea, object, or action without the use of spoken language), tweened for target speech rate of 5 phonemes per second.", "Expressions that indicate a tongue may be eliminated to reduce this subset.", "A set of closed, A, B, E, F, K, O, OO, R, TH comprises a basic set of phonemes.", "A larger set may include any or all of Silence; P, B, M; W, UW; R; F, V; TH, DH; L; S, Z, D, T, N; SH, CH, JH, ZH; Y, IY, IH, IX, AW, H, K, G, NG; EY, EH, UH; AE, AX, AH, AA, AO, ER, AY; OY; and OW.", "Specialty expressions may include Wink, Blink, Curious, Inquisitive (e.g., one flat eyebrow with sideways glance), Dilated pupils, Laughing, Crying, Sleepy (used when the robot battery level becomes low), Thinking (used while downloading something, might include brow furrowing).", "The expressions depicted in FIG.", "10A may be utilized in conjunction with the various head orientations, if desired.", "FIG.", "10B depicts expression motion actions and positions for the robot 10.The potential default position of the head 16 (shown in FIG.", "1A, but not shown in FIG.", "10B) may be regarding the resident.", "As generally depicted herein.", "the form of the head and torso of the robot may be designed to provide shrugging, nodding, head shaking, looking away (change of subject) and other gestural cues; the mobility system permits approach and recede motions (personal space and conversational attention cues).", "It is important to note that it is not necessary that the robot have a head, or indeed any human or animal attributes.", "For those known gestural cues that involve motion of a person's head, shoulders, or the like, an analogous motion using portions of the robot that are in similar positions, and/or of similar profile, and/or are exaggerated using the entire body of the robot, if arranged according to the same or similar conversational timing and cues as human gestural cues.", "Some of these are shown in FIG.", "10B.", "The approach and recede motions may also include looking away and other gestural cues.", "In general, as discussed herein, motion to provide a gestural cue is included in the term expression motion, and can be triggered by script, asynchronously, or periodically.", "As shown in FIG.", "10B, the robot may approach to the correct distance for a particular culture or person (which may be recorded and adapted over time as, e.g., the robot is able to detect that conversations with the resident continually involve the resident edging away from the robot).", "This is an example of a gestural cue, another typical gestural cue would be slightly turning the entire robot or robot's head away from the resident momentarily at a change in subject in the conversation.", "As also shown in FIG.", "10B, the robot may perform “politely and graciously,” moving out of the way of the resident if it becomes apparent the resident is beginning to move in a certain direction—the robot's recording of the position of doors and/or traffic paths and/or household obstacles would facilitate keeping out of the way.", "This is an example of the robot simulating social interaction via robot expression motion.", "As also shown in FIG.", "10B, the robot may perform “animotions”, i.e., entire-robot (via the wheels) movement scripts designed to convey expression (these may also include movement of other parts of the robot and/or sound, etc.).", "Each of these kinds of expression motion is considered part of the expression motion and/or asynchronous robot motions and asynchronous events discussed herein.", "In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, a mobile robot may provide interaction with a resident to promote or insure compliance with various tasks or activities.", "For example, the mobile robot may provide reminders and other stimuli for numerous scheduled events, as illustrated in FIG.", "11A.", "This would be particularly useful for interacting with an elderly or other resident who may have difficulty remembering to take medications at the appropriate times during the day.", "In addition to supporting medication regimens, the robot may support dietary regimens, may provide recurring recommendations for managing a chronic medical condition (stretching, drinking water, resting, etc.", "), and instructions for restorative therapy (therapist-recommended exercises, etc.).", "A schedule 50 stored in the robot's processor may be set by the resident or a remote operator or caregiver.", "For example, the resident may enter events as desired, either via a computer or personal digital assistant, or directly by utilizing the robot's interface abilities.", "Additionally, the resident may request that certain behaviors be performed immediately.", "Similarly, a robot schedule 50 also may be linked to a doctor's computer or personal digital assistant to record critical appointments, medicinal doses, etc.", "Additionally or alternatively, the schedule 50 may receive instructions from a pharmacist's office when a new medicine is prescribed, for example.", "As shown in the schedule 50 in FIG.", "11A, a medication compliance routine 54 may be scheduled following a morning regimen 52, which may include the robot waking the resident, a pill-loading sequence, a stretching regimen, a vital signs check, etc.", "The morning behavior may also be used to remind the resident of any of the activities that are scheduled for later that day, or even for particular appointments for future dates.", "By increasing the resident's cognitive and physical involvement in daily activities (such as planning one's own daily schedule and/or loading medication), the robot increases the resident's involvement in, responsibility for, and control of their own regimens.", "Such involvement in one's own care may be beneficial.", "Additional regimens may be supported by the mobile robot, with similar reminder schemes.", "For example, the robot may provide the resident with reminders for social visits 56, or entertainment events 58 previously placed in its schedule 50.During the medication compliance routine 54, the robot may remind the resident of the purpose of the interaction, note the amount of medicine that must be taken, and request permission to proceed with the compliance routine.", "In the present example, the mobile robot may, depending on whether the robot includes a medicine dispenser, magazine, or carrier, (i) direct the resident to go to the room in which medication is kept, (ii) offer medication from an cup or cups borne by the robot, along with water, and/or (iii) open an appropriate portion of a pill dispenser, in order for the resident to retrieve and take the medication.", "Accordingly, by simply reminding the resident that the time for regimen compliance has come, the probability of regimen compliance is increased.", "However, various actions can be taken by the robot to further increase this probability.", "For example, the robot may be provided with an associated medication cache, carrier, magazine, or dispenser, and may also include with a water carrier or dispenser.", "When the compliance routine 54 is initiated by a time or other event trigger (for example, after a meal, upon direction from a remote caregiver, etc.", "), the robot may take the medication to the resident or bring the resident to the medication.", "FIG.", "11B illustrates an exemplary regimen initiation routine, I, the mobile robot may follow for beginning regimen routines.", "At step SI1, the mobile robot checks the current time (or notes the occurrence of the event), and compares it to schedule 50 (FIG.", "6A).", "If at step SI2 the robot determines that it is time for a medication routine or other regimen routine to begin, the robot proceeds to find the resident at step SI3 (otherwise, the control process may loop back to step SI1).", "Finding routines are described below.", "At step SI4, the mobile robot may query the resident, and then determine, at step SI5, whether permission has been granted for an interaction.", "If so, then the mobile robot performs the interaction behavior at step SI6; otherwise, at step SI7, the robot checks the permissions that have been granted to determine whether the robot may contact the remote caregiver regarding refusal.", "Alternatively, if the regimen is non-critical (e.g., a social or entertainment event), the robot may move to step SI10 and leave the area.", "If at step SI8 the mobile robot determines that it is permissible to inform the caregiver of the resident's refusal to interact with the robot, it then proceeds at step SI9 to transmit notice to the caregiver.", "Otherwise, if permission was not granted, and assuming that no override condition exists, the robot may leave the area at step SI10.An exemplary regimen compliance routine, C, is depicted in FIG.", "11C.", "The robot's display screen(s) or speakers may provide displayable or audible instructions or description of how a medication should be taken or other regimen performed.", "When the schedule 50 indicates a regimen compliance routine (e.g., a morning routine 52, a medication compliance routine 54, a social visit 56, an entertainment event 58) is scheduled, the robot may then help the resident understand how and why the regimen is to be followed, as depicted in SC1.For example, the robot may explain the personal medication dosage information, which may include the medication that the person is to take, and the schedule they are to take it on, whether that is based upon time, events, or other factors The robot then sets an compliance counter to Step=0, at SC2, to track compliance during the routine, then gives the first reminder to follow the regimen, at SC3.If the reminder is not initially refused, SC4, the robot assists as required, SC5, by providing pills, guiding the person to a location where the pills are stored, displaying and/or verbalizing exercise instructions, preparing a videoconference connection, etc.", "After a set time or event, the robot confirms compliance, SC6, either with a question or other compliance-confirming action (e.g., checking contents of pill dispenser), and, if compliance is confirmed, SC7, the routine terminates, and the robot returns to monitoring the schedule 50 (FIG.", "11A).", "If compliance has not been confirmed, the robot increases the compliance counter by 1, SC7′, then determines if the routine is critical, SC9.This step SC9 is also reached if compliance with the routine is initially refused at SC4, after an increase of the compliance counter by S+1 at step SC8.To increase probability of compliance, the robot may include a “snooze” function, SC9′, that permits the resident to temporarily delay the medication or regimen when the regimen is non-critical.", "The snooze routine may be limited in recurrences for particular regimens deemed more important, but not critical, by the resident, caregiver, or robot (e.g., medication compliance, therapeutic compliance, etc.).", "For less critical regimens (e.g., social and entertainment events, morning wake-ups on days with no events scheduled, etc.)", "the snooze routine may time out entirely.", "The snooze routine may also be modifiable with a secondary reminder (e.g., when permitting a delay by, for example, 15 minutes, the robot may issue a reminder that the compliance with the regimen will be soon required), and then return to SC3.The snooze function SC9′ may also be utilized when circumstances for compliance are unfavorable (e.g., the person is preparing a meal when a teleconference is scheduled, etc.).", "When a regimen compliance routine is interrupted or delayed by necessity and by the resident's control, it may be reinstated after a requested delay.", "Such delays may be managed by postponement rules that provide guidelines as to how many times and how long medication may be delayed or refused, and whether and how a caregiver is to be notified upon a delay or refusal.", "If the routine is critical, the robot determines if the compliance counter has met a predetermined threshold, SC10, if not, the robot repeats the initial reminder at SC3.In the event the threshold is exceeded (resulting from persistent refusal by the resident), the robot is provided with more assertive reminders, SC11, allowing the robot to utilize other speech (“Bob, it is very important that you take this medicine”), or affect responses (Angry, Sad) to convince the resident to comply with the regimen.", "If the increased assertiveness reminder is not refused, SC12, the robot moves through the assistance subroutine, including steps SC13, SC14, SC15, and SC15′ (similar to the assistance subroutine beginning with step SC5 above) as needed.", "Continued refusal SC12 increases the compliance counter, SC16, until a second threshold is reached, at step SC17.As an additional compliance step, the robot may report continued refusal to the caregiver, with or without the resident's permission, depending on the application, SC18.Again, regimens deemed critical may be reported to the caregiver without resident permission, less critical regimens may require the resident's permission, or may go entirely unreported.", "Additionally, at the caregiver's or resident's discretion, the report to the caregiver may provide an opportunity to exercise caregiver intervention, e.g., including a videoconferencing call, where the caregiver may encourage the resident to follow the regimen.", "Alternatively, for caregivers without access to a videoconference system, the display of the robot may act as an avatar for the caregiver, wherein speech received from the caregiver is converted into viseme (and, optionally, phoneme) sequences on the display of the robot, to communicate with the resident and convince compliance.", "The robot is also able to take other action in the event it is deliberately or inadvertently ignored, so that probability of compliance may be increased.", "Reasons for non-compliance can include simple or condition-dependent forgetfulness about what actions to take, or how those actions should be taken.", "Moreover, unavailability of medication at the designated time, other time or scheduling problems, the resident's inability to comply because of a medical condition, lack of understanding of the necessity of following the complete compliance regimen, and dislike of side effects or other disincentives may impact compliance.", "The robot may provide an option to call the caregiver to provide assistance when a compliance regimen is not followed or if other problems exist or arise at any point during the sequence.", "The caregiver may also remotely interrupt or conclude the performance of any interaction.", "The camera and microphone on the mobile robot also allows the robot to operate as a video/teleconference station.", "As a videoconference station, the display may function as an avatar for the other party (as described above with regard to the caregiver avatar), or the robot may include a video coprocessor capable of processing high-compression video such as MPEG-4, H.264 or AVC, or other video and sound files.", "FIG.", "12 depicts a general conference request routine, V, that may be utilized in one embodiment of the present invention.", "For an outgoing conference, i.e., one initiated by the resident, permissions to provide outgoing video may be provided at the call initiation sequence.", "For incoming calls, however, permissions may be desirable to ensure that a caller may not view the resident unless the resident so desires.", "The mobile robot may receive a conferencing request at step SV1 (for example, over a computer network using a wireless networking protocol, such as any standard IEEE 801.11 or 802.15, or BlueTooth, UWB or other impulse radio).", "The robot would then proceed to find or locate the resident at step SV2.Navigation sequences for resident searching and/or locating are described in more detail below.", "When the mobile robot finds the resident, it may issue an audible and/or visible query at step SV3, for example, “Shall I accept this conferencing request?”.", "At step SV4, the mobile robot may monitor the microphone, camera 28, and/or other sensors for verbal, gestural, or other responses from the resident.", "Additionally, the resident may touch an “Accept” button on one of the robot's screens, press a button on the surface of the robot, or touch a particular sensor.", "At step SV5, the robot determines from any one or more of the above events whether compliance was granted to begin the conferencing session.", "If permission was granted, the mobile robot may begin the conferencing session at step SV6; otherwise, the mobile robot may proceed to decline the session (and possibly, send notice of the decline to the remote conferencing requester) at step SV7.To function as a useful companion to a resident, a robot may be able to navigate within an unpredictable home environment.", "FIG.", "13A depicts a typical home layout or floorplan, but the robot would not necessarily require a spatial or blueprint “map” In an embodiment, the robot and caregiver or resident, via a web-browser or the robot's own screen, creates an icon set (map) including only conceptual icons representative of accessible rooms of interest in the home.", "In constructing a topological map of the environment, the robot may move about the home and note rooms or other subdivisions of the environment.", "These subdivisions may be any logical division of a space, e.g., a hallway, quadrants or other portions of a large space, etc.", "The robot may identify the spaces at boundaries of rooms via “lighthouses,” or by visual identification of features (windows, etc.).", "Such space boundary identifiers are described in U.S.", "Provisional Patent Application Ser.", "No.", "60/741,442, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.", "Additionally, the robot may recognize fiducials in the room, such as indicia projected onto the ceiling, self-similar tags, etc.", "Examples of fiducials that are projected onto a ceiling are described in U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "11/176,048, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.", "The robot may also utilize position information, such as provided by odometry, optical or RF time of flight or angle of arrival triangulation or trilateralizing, or may use spatial estimates, e.g., room-size detection, size of largest diagonal, etc., to identify rooms.", "As the robot explores the various rooms/spaces within an environment, it may build a topological map to capture room adjacency information and maintain this information during normal operation.", "This map information is cached in the user/resident interface, or may be stored at an online site.", "The robot may also identify persons and things (a charging station, doors, windows, keys, pets, etc.", "), optionally by recognizing a radio frequency (RF) tag carried on, present on, or worn by the person or thing.", "Additionally, the robot could identify a person by a signature heat, voice, and/or visual recognition pattern, as described herein.", "Once the robot completes, or as the robot completes, all or a portion of the topology (and resident/entity information), it may keep this information local or send this information to a web server, as previously discussed, (or serves the content itself).", "Discussed herein are methods for building an interface, an icon map, and meaningful connections between the map and the home, as well as methods for robot navigation using the combination of icons and room identity information.", "A web client may render an icon map of the home, which may in some embodiments appear as a collection of rooms arranged by distance on the topological map, not real-world distance.", "The web client may also draw and label figures or other markers for the resident or other entities within the house.", "Thus, the location of any identified person or thing within the house may be tracked.", "Such technology allows the resident or caregiver to monitor the location of objects, persons, or the like within the home, if these objects or persons are detectable to the robot (via tags or sufficient recognition resources).", "The resident or other user may rename or classify rooms: “this is a bathroom,” “this is my bedroom,” etc.", "The location and identity of each of these rooms and entities may be stored within the robot memory or local or remote database, and presented to the resident upon request, for example, on a robot display or a remote caregiver station or web client.", "The robot may display a basic list of rooms and identified persons, things, etc., but preferably arranges the icon map as discussed herein.", "If desired, the resident may touch any room indicated on the screen to direct the robot to go to that room.", "As discussed herein, a privacy mode may require that the cameras of the robot are inaccessible to a remote caregiver when the robot is autonomously navigating from room to room, and require one-time or trust-level permission of the resident to be activated once the robot arrives in a room of interest.", "Once in an identified room (if permissions are appropriate), the robot may take a video or still image of the space, and either return to the resident to display this data, or send it remotely to the resident's computer, networked television, or personal digital assistant.", "The robot may also be used as a find tool, for keys or remote controls or the like.", "If equipped with suitable object recognition capability (e.g., scale invariant feature transform based object recognition and appropriate learning and database routines), the robot may maintain a list of people or things that it is currently tracking within the environment (e.g., according to where they were observed last).", "By selecting one of those items, the resident may direct the robot to proceed to the location where the particular person or thing is located.", "FIGS.", "21A, 21B and 22A-22C show a method for handling navigation commands for remotely controlling a robot.", "Pursuant to this method, a local user (such as the resident, a caregiver working the robot in the residents home, or a setup technician) may construct a simple icon-map of the users home to be used for room-to-room navigation.", "Although several steps discussed herein discuss topological adjacency and/or exploring the household, the basic method does not require topological data, or exploration to build or understand topological adjacency.", "That is, if the robot can identify the room identity of the present room and be directed to move to a room of another identifiable room identity, the robot does not strictly need a topological map, but may explore using the most direct room-to-room navigation it is capable of in order to find the room it is seeking.", "Although a user may identify topological adjacency of known rooms, it is preferable that either the robot build any adjacency matrix or that none be necessary.", "As shown in FIG.", "21A, at step TM2, the robot explores the household.", "This step is non-sequential and can be carried out later in the process.", "In this context, the robot may simply travel randomly or upon a directed path from room to room, but a preferred mode is for the robot to be guided from room to room, following the resident or caregiver into those areas that the robot is to work in.", "At the same time, the robot may be told preferable places to sit and wait, what kind of room each room is, etc.", "However, because the method may also be carried out remotely, this exploration may include tele-operating or web-driving (as disclosed in U.S. Pat.", "Nos.", "6,535,793 and 6,845,297) the robot among all accessible rooms.", "The robot may then have a count of accessible rooms (which may be corrected by a person, or an excessive number consolidated into fewer rooms, or the like).", "In the present examples, hallways are not considered rooms from the operator's perspective and are not assigned an icon (primarily because a robot parked in a hallway is an obstacle).", "However, hallways may also be treated as rooms.", "At step TM4, the robot captures topological adjacency of different rooms, and docks and chargers.", "Docks may charge and/or provide a data connection (e.g., such as a robot base station); chargers are intended to recharge the robot but may also have data access.", "“Capture” in this sense may include taking the entry of data from a person or floorplan analysis, but generally means closing (topological) paths and loops according to odometry or localization data, by routine or with the assistance of a person.", "At step TM 6, nodes are assigned by the robot.", "Simplicity means fewer nodes, e.g., one per room.", "However, bases and chargers may also have a node each, and hallways typically have a node whether or not they appear on an icon map.", "In addition, as shown in step TM6, doorways and interesting positions (e.g., facing to the TV, behind the chair, out of the way by the window) may also be assigned nodes.", "At step TM8, the number of rooms (e.g., the number of rooms a resident or caregiver has entered into the robot as existing in the house) are compared to the number of room identities (e.g., the number of rooms discovered by the robot or otherwise recorded by or made known to the robot).", "If there are too many room identities, the room identities are combined until the number of rooms equals the number of room identities.)", "Once the topological map and/or number of rooms are in the robot or system, the user map or icon map can be built.", "The user map and topological map are distinct.", "The user map is built using a user interface presentation at a local or remote client (PC, dedicated, cell phone screen) or on the display of the robot.", "A person's identification of room identities and association with markers (or icons) provides the easiest and most reliable way of unifying the robot's and person's world views.", "The resident or caregiver may or may not be shown the contents of the topological map, and connectivity and adjacency from the topological map may or may not be used to display the user map (or be separately displayed superimposed or together with the user map).", "As shown in FIG.", "21B, in order to build the user map, the robot, base station, or web application shows possible markers to the user via the interface in step UM2.As shown in FIG.", "22A (depicting a user interface screen), one system employs iconography, simple pictures of each room type.", "In the view depicted in FIG.", "22A, Office, Living Room, Kitchen, Bedroom (1 denoting that no bedrooms have yet been selected) and Bathroom icons and/or text are shown as room identity markers.", "Also shown is an empty graphical representation of a home (a house outline with roof).", "The interface in this case shows the number of rooms remaining to be identified.", "At step UM4 (which may come before UM2, and may not depend on nodes but on other methods of determining room identity), the robot is moved to a new node, from which the room identity is to be verified.", "At step UM6, the robot shows the robot's perspective to the person conducting the construction of the user map.", "As shown in FIG.", "22A, the robot's perspective (from one or more cameras 28) may be shown to a remote user via the user interface.", "When this is performed locally, the user will confirm the present room that the robot is in, but there is no need to show the robot's perspective.", "At step UM8, the robot (or web server, etc.)", "requests assignment of one of the room identity markers to the robot perspective or the current room (“Please confirm which room the robot is in?” from FIG.", "22A).", "The resident or other constructing the map then selects a room identity marker.", "One way of receiving this information is by accepting a selection (cursor-mouse click, touchscreen) of one of the icons as shown in FIG.", "22B—one room is then subtracted from the count of remaining rooms, and text confirmation of the selected room is shown.", "Additionally, at this time or other time, the routine may confirm which room includes a home base (charger, dock, RF access point).", "At step UM 12, the room identity (in FIG.", "22B, “kitchen” identity is correlated with the kitchen icon room identity marker).", "In step UM 14, the assigned room identity (“kitchen”) is assigned to the icon map with the proper room identity marker.", "Step UM14 is cumulative in nature, i.e., in order to add each assigned room identity to the icon map and complete the map, steps UM2-UM12 would be conducted for each iteration of step UM 14, until step UM 16 permits the process to conclude.", "FIG.", "22C shows the icon map built up, with all rooms to be identified (five) having been identified.", "Five room identity markers correspond to the five assigned room identities, and five unknown rooms have been accounted for.", "The completed map may be stored as an association of the graphics (markers) with the room identities (type and function of room) and further, optionally, with the rooms (including one or more topological nodes).", "A confirmation checks if the user has identified all of the rooms accessible.", "While FIGS.", "22C and 22D show room adjacency as lines between room identity markers, there is no need for the user to see these (at the same time, the markers or icons are optionally arranged according to adjacency and/or with adjacency lines so as to provide the person operating the robot with an intuitive feel for travel time from room to room).", "As noted above, the robot may receive a selection of a room identity markers via the user interface linked to the displayed room identity markers as a first navigation command representative of a remote user's selection of a room identity marker, may recognize a present room, and may previously, at the same time, or subsequently drive among rooms of different room identity according to the first navigation command until the robot recognizes being within a room having a room identity corresponding to the selected room identity marker.", "Directions via the icon map can provide multi mode semi-autonomous navigation, with decreasing granularity.", "First, the user selects a room using the room identity marker, and the robot uses the room identity and/or topological information to search for a room with the room identity until it is located (if a topological map is used, planning a route rather than searching).", "FIG.", "19 describes the first mode, using the icon map.", "At step IN-2, the robot receives room identity and/or navigation commands from a user (in many cases a remove caregiver, but also from the resident if the resident is confined to part of the home, as well as other exceptions).", "As shown in FIG.", "22D, the operator may click or select an icon corresponding to a room.", "The exemplary interface of FIG.", "22D also identifies the present location and status of the robot 10 (kitchen, charging) with text as well as a superposition on the icon map.", "The interface in FIG.", "22D offers different options, among them to click on (or otherwise select) the local scene observed by the robot—i.e., to position the robot (via selection of ground plane position or landmark) and to click on (or otherwise select) a particular room to travel to.", "Confirmation steps are not shown, but may be used.", "In step 1N-4, the robot may recognizes the present room.", "A variety of techniques are available as discussed herein, including localization via RF, fiducials, odometry, dead reckoning, object, pattern, surface, or feature recognition, and the like.", "If the room sought is not the one the robot is in (which can be a choice prevented by the interface), then the robot will begin to search for the room at step IN-6.The robot may follow a topological map, or may wall-follow, or may use SLAM or other navigation to begin this search.", "The search may also be essentially random.", "Once in a new room, the robot may stop at a predefined node, pose or arbitrarily, in a position that permits or facilitates room recognition.", "However, it is necessary that the robot identify the sought room when found—that a room the robot eventually finds corresponds to the sought room identity.", "Methods of recognizing a room are also discussed herein, and if the robot cannot confirm that it is in the correct room at step IN-8, the robot moves on to another room.", "FIG.", "19 is simplified in that it does not specify a failure mode should the robot never locate the room sought, in most cases this would require intervention.", "At step IN-10, the robot will change mode to “webdrive”, permitting the remote or local user to select a position on the ground in the camera view, or a landmark, for the robot to approach autonomously.", "Webdrive mode has two sub-modes.", "As shown in FIG.", "22E, a user interface may permit the operator to click a feature observed via the robot's teleconferencing camera 28 or navigation camera 29 within the room.", "The user may indicate a desire to “steer” the robot (in FIG.", "22E by clicking on or selecting an icon representing the rear of the robot's profile), i.e., use joystick command streaming to directly drive the robot, or to “position” the robot (in FIG.", "22E by clicking on or selecting a point or landmark within the scene), i.e., use an interpreted x-y ground plane position in the scene as a target for the robot to move to relatively autonomously, or to “travel,” (in FIG.", "22E by clicking on or selecting a miniaturized representation of the icon map) i.e., to return to icon map mode and select a new room.", "To web drive, as shown in FIG.", "20, the robot receives a floor location and/or landmark item (which may be converted to a floor location or node) from the remote use at step WN-2.At step WN-4, the robot recognizes a present location.", "The resolution of the present location may be rough, i.e., there may be no more than a few discrete recognizable positions in the room.", "Alternatively, there is no need for the robot to recognize a present position—instead, it merely estimates an amount of forward movement using parallax or triangulation from the selection made within the scene by the user, and attempts to move to that position, relying upon behavioral object detection and avoidance to stop short of any hazards which may prevent completing the movement In either case, the robot begins moving toward the location at step WN-6, and stops moving when it interprets its position to be the location desired, i.e., location reached at step WN-8.From a new position, although FIG.", "20 shows a continuous process and direct move from web drive by ground plane pointing into a command stream mode, the operator (remote or local caregiver or resident or other user) may be presented with an opportunity to step up to the icon map mode or down to the command stream mode, as depicted in FIG.", "22E.", "Once the command stream mode is selected, an exemplary user interface could take the form shown in FIG.", "22F.", "The command stream mode takes joystick-like (trackball, multi-degree puck controller, mouse) movement commands from the operator and directly moves the robot at a direction and heading according to the command stream.", "Modifications to direct movement can include behavioral oversight via intervening object detection and avoidance, slowing down for persons or objects, spline-curve or other movement prediction, estimation and smoothing, and other provisions to handle latency between command, execution, and feedback.", "If ping times are very high, this mode may be disabled in favor of ground plane point web-drive mode.", "As shown in FIG.", "22F, the command stream mode may use on-screen active arrow controls to simulate a joystick, and may offer a choice of steering using these arrows or positioning (by returning to the view shown in FIG.", "22E.", "As shown in FIG.", "22E, in order to steer effectively, it is often useful to have a portion of the robot's body or leading edge appear in the scene as point of reference for scale, orientation, and steering.", "Estimation of gaps, angles, and distances by a human operator is improved.", "In FIG.", "22E, two different camera views are shown: a ground plane camera which is used for steering clear of objects on the ground, and a robot perspective camera for showing the “eye-level” view from the robot's primary or teleconferencing camera(s) 28.The robot body, steering reference, ground plane view may be from a separate camera or the same camera.", "Upon the change to command stream mode at step WN-10, the robot receives a command stream of joystick or controller commands as discussed above in repeatedly cycling through steps WN-12 and WN-14, and the robot is substantially directly (albeit with latency) moved according to the command stream WN-14.An exit signal permits the user to return to other functions of the robot at WN-16.This navigation ability may also be remotely available to a resident who is away from home, or who may be confined to a particular area of the home.", "In such a case, the resident may remotely access the robot interface, via an internet connection (or via a personal digital device), and select a room or thing on which the resident desires status information.", "For example, the resident may want to robot to confirm that the front door is locked, and selects the living room on the map displayed on his or her web browser.", "The robot first identifies its present location (for example, the bedroom D).", "The robot then moves from the bedroom D, through the hallway F, until it reaches the living room B, where the front door is located.", "The robot may then take a visual image of the front door, and send that visual data to the remote resident, at which time the resident may instruct the robot to return to it's starting point, or to move to a different location.", "Alternatively, the resident may first select the room where it wants the robot to navigate to, then direct the robot to an item or more specific location within that room, then direct the robot to move on to a different location.", "The robot may also send streaming video to the resident as it moves throughout the home.", "Additionally, this mapping and tracking functionality may be available to a remote caregiver, with the appropriate permissions, as described herein.", "In the course of interacting with a human resident, the robot and resident may become separated within an environment.", "Should the robot require contact with the resident, due to the beginning of a compliance routine, initiating a teleconference, or otherwise interacting, the robot will be able to navigate the environment to locate the resident.", "A plan view of one such navigation path in an environment 400 is depicted in FIG.", "14A.", "The environment 400 may include a number of rooms, such as rooms 1, 2, 3 and 4, as shown, as well as a corridor 402 which interconnects each of the rooms.", "Entry and egress to each of the rooms may be provided by doors 404, which may be open or closed.", "The mobile robot 10 may perform a locating behavior for seeking out the resident before beginning an interaction or other robotic behavior that requires the presence of the resident.", "For example, if the robot 10 is docked at a base or charging station 406 when its schedule determines that a regimen must be initiated, the robot 10 may proceed from room to room within the environment 400 while monitoring the robot's immediate environment for indications that the resident is present.", "In each room, the robot 10 may employ a sensor suite that is responsive to the presence of a person (including sound detection, movement detection, pulse, breathing and/or heat detection) and/or an audible or visual query.", "The robot 10 also may move to a central area of the robot's known environment 400, or may move to an observation area in its present location (a central point in the room, for example), to begin its query.", "This first initial centralized locating function may be helpful if the robot recently had contact with the resident in the room or area in which it is still presently located but did not detect the resident leaving the room.", "The robot may also make a first round of known rooms, stopping in positions permitting surveying of large areas and monitor sensors for any responses.", "Filtering can be used to exclude false positives (the stove is too hot to be the resident, the dog is too low to be the resident, etc.).", "In an alternative embodiment, the robot may utilize a paging system, with or without the use of sensors, to locate a person.", "This type of system may also be utilized if the robot is experiencing a sensor or other failure condition.", "When paging a person, the robot may use the doorways to separate rooms or chambers, in order to page the resident over only a short (in one embodiment, less than about 5 m) distance, from locations in which a direct line from robot to resident is more likely.", "The robot may also use this paging in subparts (smaller areas) of rooms or from passage outside of or between rooms.", "The robot may page from the doorways themselves in order to reach two rooms with one page.", "When a person is detected, the robot may attempt to identify the person by employing an audible or visible query that asks whether the person is present, via a speaker and/or recorded speech or sounds, or synthesized speech or sounds.", "If the robot proceeds through every room, as depicted in FIG.", "14A, without locating a sound, movement, or heat source indicative of a person, the robot may perform a second round of the circuit or other path through the rooms (starting in the present room), but on this occasion using an audible or visible query in each room.", "This search strategy may also be utilized if a sensor failure is preventing the robot from properly operating.", "Where other means indicate the presence of the person in the house (e.g., if the robot detects the presence of a resident's personal radio frequency identification (RFD) tag but no other signs are detected), or confirm the presence of the person but lack of responsiveness to queries (e.g., pulse and breathing detected but no response to queries), the robot can conduct procedures to resolve the inconsistency.", "These procedures may include requesting a caregiver checkup call, or the robot may place a telephone call into the environment searched to make the same queries via phone, or the robot may contact emergency services.", "The mobile robot may also use a secondary system for confirming the identity of a person, such as by analyzing an infrared image or signature heat pattern corresponding to the person being sought, performing acoustic analysis to recognize the voice of the person, detecting an RFID or magnetic tag associated with the person or carried by the person, detecting a particular motion or a gesture, and/or performing image analysis on a video stream or still image frame generated by a camera to recognize facial features or memorized clothing sets typically worn by a person.", "In selecting a next location to continue a search, the mobile robot may use any suitable method, including, but not limited to one or more of optical room feature recognition, sonar, RFID room tagging, infrared (IR) directional beacon detection, odometry, inertial guidance, dead reckoning, room mapping, and/or compass navigation.", "In one embodiment, the robot may use an available heading to a doorway or other wall gap (the heading made available by mapping, by passive detection of beacons from which the heading to a doorway can be inferred, or by active sensor detection of the doorway itself).", "The mobile robot may also choose an arbitrary path intended to locate a door in a reasonable time (e.g., wall following utilizing signal reflection) and then proceed until a doorway is detected as having been traversed.", "The robot may also identify a doorway by analyzing odometry and heading while in wall following mode.", "Identifying successive odometry/heading combinations may indicate that a doorway has been traversed.", "If the mobile robot encounters any obstacles when traveling to the next location, the mobile robot may circumnavigate the obstacle, or otherwise adjust its path of travel, in order to proceed to the coordinate location of the selected next location, or, alternatively, the mobile robot may simply halt at the obstacle and begin the query process anew.", "In the case of the robot adjusting its path of travel, once the robot passes an obstacle and encounters its previous heading, it may continue on until a predetermined distance is reached.", "In addition, the robot may simply move a threshold distance, ending in either another room, or in the same room, before beginning its query.", "In addition, as illustrated in FIG.", "14A, as the mobile robot encounters walls and/or doors 404 (either open or closed), it may generate a obstacle, geometric, preference, topological, grid, Voronoi, or other map of the environment 400.Instead of generating its own map, the map may be transmitted to the robot by the resident, possibly as part of a start up, or ownership-initiation sequence.", "In such a case, the robot may supplement the transmitted map by identifying locations of transient elements within the environment.", "Furthermore, the mobile robot may have a upward-facing camera for recognizing pose and/or rooms within the environment 400 based on ceiling characteristics (e.g., ceiling edges or configurations, patterns of indicia located on or projected onto the ceiling, etc.).", "Such systems are disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "11/176,048, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.", "The mobile robot may also adjust its method of selecting the next location by selecting a next location or node that is available through a known door or node-connecting topological branch.", "On some occasions, potential paths could be blocked by a closed door.", "When the mobile robot encounters a closed door, it may attempt to communicate with a person on the other side by applying an audible signal to the closed door.", "For example, the mobile robot may include a door knocker (such as a solenoid) or a speaker which can be applied to the closed door to transmit an audible signal or announcement to the closed door.", "Accordingly, the mobile robot can attempt to contact a person even when the person may be located in an area that is inaccessible to the robot.", "Also, the mobile robot may plan a path to the selected next location based on its active or passive detections or map of the environment 400, or it may employ odometry, and/or inertial guidance when navigating.", "In this way, the mobile robot may identify when a door has been traversed, for example.", "Alternatively, the mobile robot may employ any suitable method for navigation, mapping, and room identification, such as, for example, infrared beam-detection (e.g., the navigation and beacon systems as disclosed in U.S.", "Provisional Patent Application Ser.", "No.", "60/741,442, RFID room or door tagging, inductive or resonance detection of tank circuit or amorphous metal tags, optical feature detection or image analysis.", "The robot may also utilize Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM), using machine vision-based methods, computational resources, and sensors, to prepare vision and odometry data of an environment.", "Such systems are disclosed in U.S.", "Provisional Patent Application Ser.", "No.", "60/822,636, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.", "A locating routine depicted in FIG.", "14B may first include checking the local area for a resident at (optional) step SL0 (e.g., by pyrolytic heat sensor; and/or sound; and/or visual recognition of movement or clothing; and/or tags or other emitters worn by the resident; and/or any one of these used to confirm or in combination with at least one other).", "If the resident is sensed with high confidence, the routine may proceed directly to a success routine.", "However, the routine may also seek to confirm its detection.", "Whether the locating routine checks first for a resident or proceeds directly to querying, in step SL1 confirmation or direct querying may require a simple query in a location where a person is detected or that has not yet been checked: “Are you there?,” as depicted in SL1.As alternatives, the query may specify the name of the person being sought, or may be a message intended to imply a lower level of cognitive ability, e.g., a simple trill or other emotive sound, or a “Mary here?” The mobile robot may then begin a countdown of a timer at step SL2, and monitor an audio sensor SL3 (such as a microphone) for any verbal response to the query.", "If the mobile robot determines that a verbal response has been detected at step SL4, the mobile robot may then proceed to it's next task.", "On the other hand, if no response is detected, or if a non-noise response does not correspond to responses in the robot's library (e.g., “Go away” from a person other than the resident), the mobile robot may check the timer at step SL7.If time has run out (as determined at step SL7), the mobile robot may then move to a next location SL8 and repeat the process.", "Otherwise, the mobile robot may return to step SL3 and continue to monitor the audio sensor for a response until the timer completes its cycle.", "The robot's verbal annunciation need not sound like “shouting” or include blasting a claxon or other loud sound.", "Instead, the annunciator sound levels may be generally inoffensive to others in a room or adjacent room.", "As an example, normal background noise is about 35 dB, and the annunciator would sound in a normal speaking voice volume of about 55 dB to about 65 dB, or at least about 15 dB greater than detected background noise.", "If the resident has been identified as hard-of-hearing, the robot may increase the volume to up to about 75 dB or some other threshold level, and may add a visible signal and/or activate a resident-carried remote vibrator.", "The annunciator volume may be reduced to about 10 dB to about 20 dB greater than detected background noise; and/or may be pitched in frequencies that are typically still audible even to the elderly or those will various types of hearing loss (i.e., within a range of about 500 Hz to about 5000 Hz).", "To facilitate a more rapid response to needs of the resident, or to limit the amount of time the robot spends away from the resident (thus encouraging more bonding), the robot may be provided with a sensor suite and reactive behaviors that tend to keep the robot in the vicinity of the resident, or track the resident from room-to-room.", "Simply following the resident from room to room may produce annoyance on the part of the resident to the constant presence of the robot; therefore, the robot instead undertakes actions and tasks that tend to keep the robot near to the resident, but without close following.", "The behaviors may (i) increase the probability that the robot is near to the resident, (ii) increase the probability that the robot is in a room or near to a room where the resident has been or will be, and/or (iii) increase the probability that the time to find the resident will be shorter.", "For this purpose, in one embodiment, the robot may maintain a comfort or presence score (or anxiety score if the implementation is viewed from another perspective), which may increase, increment, or fully replenish in the resident's presence and may decrement, decay, or be reduced in jumps or steps as time passes or events occur without observing the resident.", "Once the comfort score decays beyond a threshold value or enters a certain range or region, the robot may register the score as a discomfort, which may activate or change the priority of a resident-seeking behavior or other behavior that tends to improve the proximity of the robot to the resident.", "Upon direct querying, sensing the resident, or checking phenomena that tend to correlate with the presence of the resident (heat, sound, movement), the comfort score may be replenished, or be gradually incremented, depending upon the character of the detection of the resident or phenomena.", "An exemplary tracking routine that utilizes a comfort or presence score (as that score relates to proximity to the resident) is shown in FIG.", "15.In a preferred embodiment, improving and decaying such a score are separate processes, and may occur for separate reasons, although the same score is affected.", "Other factors, such as battery condition or charging dock proximity, may also affect the score.", "Initially, at step ST2A, the improvement conditions are set, e.g., the score may be set to a maximum (fully replenished) when the resident is proximate, or may be improved or incremented by a set amount when the resident is proximate.", "These may be different for different times of day or for different user preferences.", "The presence or comfort score improvement process or thread is then started at step ST3A.", "At step ST2B, the decay conditions are set, e.g., the score may be set to a half (fully replenished) at the beginning of the day, or may be improved or incremented by a set amount, at a constant rate or at an accelerating rate, when the resident is not detected.", "These may be also different for different times of day or for different user preferences.", "The presence or comfort score decay process or thread is then started at step ST3B.", "For example, the robot may begin in a bedroom, in an idle, charging, or sleeping state, yet detecting the presence of the sleeping resident, and maintaining or re-incrementing the comfort score at a maximum value.", "The robot may enter a parked or waiting state, or may approach the resident, monitoring its sensors ST7.If the robot is not directed to follow a person when the person leaves a room, it may stay in the room, yet the comfort or presence score will decay according to the thread controlling it.", "It should be noted that the robot may maintain competing scores, e.g., adding a security score that measures whether the robot is close to a charging station.", "So long as the comfort score is within a threshold value, or together with other scores, the robot may not activate or change the priority of a finding behavior.", "This may result in the robot being parked at a charger or in the last position at which it stopped searching for the resident.", "Once the threshold is crossed (ST5), the robot begins to try to find the resident, leaving the room to find (ST6) and approach the resident.", "If there is more than one exit to the room, the robot may have recorded and recall the exit used by the resident (not shown).", "At some point, the robot may find the room in which the resident is present.", "When the resident is found, the comfort score or presence score will improve according to the ST3A thread, and step ST7 will again approach and park the robot proximate the resident.", "The robot would then park itself quietly, or with a simple comment or noise, in the same room as the resident, in a position that does not block traffic paths.", "Corridors and very small rooms such as bathrooms may be off-limits, and the robot may instead park itself in a nearby room.", "At this point, the cycle begins again as soon as the comfort score reaches a maximum.", "If the robot does not find the resident, it may seek the security of the charging station or other comfort generating phenomena.", "In this manner, although the robot does not follow the resident, the distance to the resident may usually not be very far, and the robot may be often in the same room.", "The robot may also communicate in order to elicit a response from the resident and/or provoke interaction.", "Accordingly, the robot may be perceived as a more natural entity, may maintain proximity to the resident without uninvited irritating following behaviors, and enhance the likelihood of successfully interaction with the person, as well as ensuring that the resident is quickly locatable.", "By using the tracking behavior, the robot increases the probability that it will be near to the resident when the resident is to be found or when the robot is called by the resident.", "The robot need not be within detection range, only closer to the resident than it was when it started looking, although parking within a detection range may require that the robot search less often.", "If a charging station is nearby, the robot dock and charge.", "Additionally, the robot may dock and charge with a nearby charger, even if that charger lies outside of the detection range, if the robot concludes it requires additional power.", "Alternatively or in addition, the robot may behave in accordance with a virtual pheromone system, in which a room is assigned the comfort score rather than one score kept by the robot.", "When the resident is not observed in a particular room or location, on the other hand, the comfort score of that room would decline.", "Entering a room of frequent use may increment the comfort score, and the robot may tend to navigate to rooms that tend to increase the comfort score.", "These properties may be time dependent—the robot may look first in the TV room at 7 pm, first in the kitchen at noon, and first in the bedroom after bedtime; the decay rate may be correlated with times of frequent room changing (early morning activity) or stability (evening leisure activities).", "Thus, the robot may choose to seek out the resident in rooms with higher comfort scores before resorting to searching locations with lower comfort scores, and therefore potentially increase the likelihood and typical speed of looking for the person.", "Alternatively or in addition, the robot may form a comfort-related spatial occupancy map, landmark map, or topological map that updates features or cells according to the probability that the feature or cell is adjacent to or occupied by the resident—in this case, each cell corresponding to a room, corridor, or a nearly room-sized area.", "Alternatively or in addition, the robot may behave in accordance with a force, vector or potential field that maps a comfort scores/vectors onto a motor, drive, or navigation goal space.", "The comfort scores may be vectors or areas of high comfort potential, which may decay over time.", "The comfort potential of the resident in the potential field may be compared to with the comfort or security potential of the charger, base station, or recorded wireless signal strength field to decide the location where the robot will park itself in the room with the resident.", "Such fields can define that the robot should be near to, but not too near to, the resident, and also in a strong wireless signal strength area available in that room.", "The mobile robot may improve its rate of successfully maintaining proximity to the resident by tracking and following the resident in certain circumstances: e.g., a fixed or variable percentage of the time the robot successfully detects that the resident has left the room, and/or during certain times of the day, and/or after certain patterns of conduct by the resident.", "For example, if the robot recognizes that the resident is beginning preparations to retire for the evening, the robot may follow the resident from living room to bedroom.", "Additionally, or in alternative, the robot may record, interpret, or accept inputs describing the resident's daily routine or schedule, and may use the schedule to predict and move to an appropriate room ahead of the resident.", "The robot may initially become aware of the resident's presence by any appropriate method, such as by asking whether the resident is present and receiving an affirmative response, or by having the robot's attention directed to the resident via a command or input from the resident or a caregiver, for example.", "The robot may detect the presence of the resident using a physical sensor or input from a variety of sensors, such as infrared sensors, heat sensors, motion sensors, optical sensors, a microphone or other acoustic sensor, electrical property sensors (e.g., capacitance) or any other suitable physical sensor.", "Alternatively, the resident may carry a tag such as an active or passive RF or RFID tag, tank circuit, sonic emitter, light source, any of which may carry a modulated signal, or the like, which the robot may use to identify and locate the resident.", "Used in conjunction with an item such as a medical alert bracelet would make such an item very useful for increasing the reaction time of the robot to various medical situations.", "As another example, once the robot has located the resident in order to perform a task (as described in the above-described embodiments), the robot may then continue to keep track of the location of the resident and track the resident as the resident moves about the environment.", "While navigating an environment, the robot will encounter various candidate objects (objects higher than room temperature, in motion, or generating noise), which may or may not be the resident sought.", "In order to determine whether a candidate object has a high likelihood of being the resident, the robot may associate a particular sensor input profile with the resident, and compare any objects that come within range of the robot with the resident's sensor profile.", "For example, if Ann is the resident that is being cared for, then the robot may record Ann's average temperature using an IR sensor, Ann's approximate size using a camera and/or image analyzer, the clothing combinations typically worn by Ann in the same manner, pitch of Ann's voice or the sound of Ann's breathing using a microphone or acoustic sensor, etc., during the course of performing tasks with or for Ann.", "Based on these or other inputs, the robot may generate a sensor profile that is characteristic of Ann.", "Furthermore, the robot may analyze or distill the characteristic sensor profile of the resident by employing suitable statistical models or recognition models, e.g., Bayesian analysis, Hidden Markov Models, techniques dependent upon these two, or other statistical or heuristic routines for filtering and recognizing.", "The robot may also track a number of grouped characteristics of an entity, maintain a persistent record of grouped characteristics labeled as a particular entity, and/or the location of that entity in space (including topological space or other abstract representative space).", "When the robot compares an observed object to the resident's characteristic sensor profile, it may generate a comparison score that generally correlates to the likelihood that the observed object is, in fact, the resident.", "If the comparison score of the observed object exceeds a threshold score, the robot may track the object in order to remain generally proximal to the resident, or may rank the comparison scores of two or more of the observed objects to determine which object is more likely to be the resident, or may track new objects instead of old objects, or may switch tracking from one object to another when the comparison yields a difference above threshold.", "The robot may rely on its likelihood analysis without seeking direct identity confirmation from the resident.", "The robot may try to maintain a particular distance or distance range from the resident, and may react only after a delay or distance threshold is crossed.", "Within an environment, one or more docks or base stations (such as a recharging dock or resupply dock) may be positioned for the robot to recharge its batteries or obtain supplies.", "A location of one such charging station is depicted in FIG.", "14A.", "Each dock may be plugged into a power outlet on a wall, and permit the robot to interface with the dock for recharging, where the robot has charging terminals at power outlet height and/or at dock terminal height.", "The dock may employ celestial navigation, the robot using an upwardly-directed camera or sensor to recognize a 1- or 2-dimensional bar code, self-similar symbol, or other resolvable symbol projected onto the ceiling or other readily visible surface.", "The resolvable symbol may include information resolvable to the type of dock (charging, medication or consumable resupply, etc.)", "in the room, the typical use of the room (living room, dining room, kitchen, bedroom), the adjoining rooms, the number and/or position of doorways, and/or information recorded by the dock.", "The presence of a dock and type of a dock in a room may increment or change the comfort score, security score, etc., of the robot to improve the probability that the robot maintains a viable battery charge.", "The robot may detect the presence of the dock through any other suitable method, such as optical scanning for a symbol on a dock, RFID tag detection when an RFID tag is positioned on the dock, a pre-loaded map of dock locations, etc.", "A regimen compliance assistance routine is detailed in FIG.", "16.In step RC-2, the robot checks a database (locally, remotely) of personal regimen compliance information, such as medication dosage information that corresponds to the medication regimen of the resident, as well as postponement rules.", "The database includes, e.g., how many pills in a dose, when and how the medications are to be take, whether they can be delayed by a few minutes, an hour, before or after meals, which medications are to be taken together with others or not with others.", "This routine is applicable for health oriented regimens (exercise, therapy, meditation, etc.)", "and where compatible, the discussion herein of medical dosage information and “doses” includes activities associated with any kind of regimen.", "The robot checks the information often enough to anticipate that it will need to be near the resident at a certain time in the future (e.g., frequently checking ahead to accommodate changes in schedule, or by setting ticklers ahead of the event).", "When an event is upcoming (anticipated or known due to a tickler/reminder) at RC-4, the robot begins to look for the person/resident.", "In the case of the proximity maintaining routines discussed herein, the likelihood that the resident is very near is good.", "However, even absent the proximity maintaining routines, the robot need only schedule enough time in advance to traverse the entire household, and in most cases will not need to.", "Rather than employ proximity events as previously described, the robot may learn a schedule by recording the rooms the resident is found in every day and time an event is needed, and in short order will learn the most likely room, the second most likely room, etc., for a time of day.", "The person finding routine employed at step RC-8 is as described herein, and may include a verification step to check the identity of the person.", "When the resident has been located and their identity verified, the robot establishes a position next to the resident.", "The resident may be otherwise engaged, and so the robot takes up a position that is preferably unobtrusive (E.g., against a wall, in a nearby charging dock, in a corner of the room, beside the arm of the chair in which a resident sits) and awaits the scheduled event.", "In the case of a generalized regimen compliance event, at RC-16 the resident is reminded of the regimen activity they are expected to accommodate.", "For exercise, the robot may act as coach, may display exercises on screen, may link into a live exercise session, and may synchronize its own motions with those exercises to be performed by the resident (along with other appropriate movement expressions, modulated and controlled as discussed herein to match particular scripted events or non-scripted stimuli).", "For therapy, the robot may display therapies on screen, may guide the resident to particular equipment (or carry the same), may link into a live or recorded therapist, and may take the resident's reports of status information (e.g.", "following exercise or therapy, reporting heart rate, blood pressure, breathing rate, either by having the resident measure them or by using on-board interactive sensors).", "It should be noted that as described herein, the robot contains full connectivity and support for power, network access, security, and mobility to health assisting appliances, one example of which is a “Health Buddy” available from Health Hero Network, Inc., Redwood City, Calif., and such as those discussed in U.S. Pat.", "No.", "5,307,263, herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.", "A typical device is a 1.25 lb device with a small color LCD screen, soft buttons, and medical instrument and network interfaces.", "It includes may include USB ports, an RJ-45 Ethernet network port, and embedded-class memory (64 MB) and processing (ARM processor, Linux OS).", "The devices are typically powered by 5-24V DC via an AC adapter.", "The contemplated robot can provide more robust, longer lasting power (2400-9000 milliamp-hours) for appliance or instruments, as well as smart control of on-off cycles (turning on the Health Buddy only as needed); mobility and patient finding for the appliance itself as well as instruments, additional network connectivity to additional instruments, wireless devices, pagers, telecommunications; full-screen, full-support, and live tutorials and instructions; video conferencing, remote observation, statistical reporting, richer controls and interfaces.", "Such appliances may be connected via network interface to collect data from to blood glucose meters, peak flow meters, scales, blood pressure monitors, pulse oximeters and the like, and robot may intercept, split, transfer or otherwise link to the same instruments, and the regimen compliance reminder may hand off to or receive delegation from a Health Buddy or like device pursuant to independent or linked schedules, and subsequently route collected data, interface events, communications, and all other digitally transmissible information discussed herein via the appliance's supporting networks or the robot networks discussed herein.", "The Health Buddy is a Linux device having a limited subset of the connectivity and user interface elements of a robot as discussed herein, and all of the Health Buddy processes, software and interfaces, including user interfaces displayable on a screen and controllable by user interface elements such as a touch screen or soft buttons, may be directly run by the robot discussed herein.", "As discussed herein, regimen compliance, scheduling, interaction, reporting and all other compliance and medical reporting discussed herein, as supported by resident or patient finding, reminding, household navigation and resident location awareness, medication loading and carrying, privacy and permission administration, and human-robot interaction, expressly includes all uses of appliances such as the Health Buddy supported by, carried by, and or linked to the mobile robot described herein, and the claims herein expressly consider such an accessory appliance to be fall within the literal language of a “robot,” “robot system,” or method of operating, navigating, or otherwise controlling a robot or robot system.", "If the compliance event is associated with the taking of medications, steps RC-12 and RC-14 are specifically applicable.", "In the context of these claims, “matching” is the task of putting the resident in the same place at the same time as their medication, and may involve bringing the medication to the person or guiding the person to the medication.", "In a failure mode where mobility is not working, matching is replaced by mere reminders.", "In step RC-12, a human perceptible signal (recorded speech, synthesized speech, a displayed picture or displayed text, flashing or blinking lights, pointers, outlines, or highlights) is “sent” to the resident, and shows the resident the location where the medication is to be found (which may in fact be inches away carried by the robot, or may be in a room where a medication dispenser that is a networked part of the robot system is kept, or may be where medication is normally kept for that resident, as well as other variations discussed herein).", "Guiding, as discussed in step RC-14, is the task of showing or leading the resident to the location of the medication, and may be showing an image of the medication on the robot, a pointer or indicator drawing attention to a robot-carried dispenser, or actually moving the robot toward the bathroom or other room where a dispenser is located while expressing that the resident should accompany the robot by spoken messages, sounds, or expression motions.", "One kind of matching is shown in FIG.", "17A.", "In this routine, a regimen support object could include a robot-carried dispenser as is shown in FIGS.", "3A-3C, which may be carried by the robot or in a location stored by the robot, and could also include medical instruments (blood pressure monitor, glucose, heart rate, etc.)", "or therapy instruments carried by the robot or in locations stored by the robot.", "The robot sends a human perceptible signal at step M-2 as noted above, indicating the regimen performance location, in this case the location of the dispenser on the robot.", "The appearance of the regimen support object (i.e., a pictorial depiction of it) as the object is positioned on the robot is shown on the display (which may also be projected onto a nearby surface) or otherwise.", "The robot guides the resident at step M-4, by showing an animation or activating secondary indicia near the regimen support object, to the object.", "A second kind of matching is shown in FIG.", "17B.", "In this routine, the robot sends a human perceptible signal in step M-6 as noted above, indicating the regimen performance location, in this case a room or other location where the medication is kept or other compliance activity is performed.", "The robot guides the resident to the location in step M-8.FIG.", "18A shows a routine for conducting a reminder routine and providing a remote caregiver with an opportunity to intervene.", "This routine can take place at step RC-16 of FIG.", "16.At step RC-16 herein, after an appropriate period and a reminder as performed by any method discussed herein, the robot checks for a non-compliance indication, e.g., a recorded refusal and/or failure of the resident to successfully complete a schedule regimen event.", "The robot may record this via any of the interaction methods discussed herein.", "The procedure is terminated for a successful completion.", "At step RC-18, the robot connects to the network (using the security and authentication methods discussed herein) and to the caregiver via a preferred channel (desktop video chat, cell phone, e-mail).", "The caregiver is given the opportunity to intervene (in some cases, as controlled by the resident's previous granting or refusal of permission to permit regimen compliance intervention by the caregiver) at step RC-20.If the caregiver elects to intervene, the robot receives a communication of a human-perceptible signal (an e-mail, recorded message, live chat or telephone call, text to be spoken by the robot) via an inbound communication channel (e.g., a channel crossing the network(s) to which the robot and caregiver are both connected).", "FIG.", "18B shows a routine for loading medication into a medication dispenser that can be controlled or monitored by the robot.", "As previously discussed, such a dispenser can be simple or complex.", "A simple version would be a standard plastic compartmented device that is carried by the robot, in which case the robot does not monitor the device but only interacts with the resident.", "Additional features of a dispenser may include: electro-mechanical opening and closing of compartments and presentation of compartments; magazining of multi-day doses or entire bottles of pills; monitoring of magazines, optionally connected to payment systems and/or verification by the resident, so as to schedule mail-order or other deliveries of replacement supplies carrying of “Dixie” cups of pills or water, fillable or disposable bladders of water, or a water bottle; sensored detection of medication presence or absence; sensored detection of compartments individually or of a presence or absence of an entire dispenser caddy; any of the above connected to robot or robot base station via simple microprocessor together with serial interface, sensor bus, general purpose I/O or wired or RF network.", "FIG.", "18B describes a routine in which the resident—the person who is to take the medication—loads the dispenser him or herself.", "As earlier noted, the dispenser may be permanent on the robot, carried by the robot, networked but located in a bathroom or the like, and may also switch between these latter two roles.", "The steps are mechanistic and somewhat verifiable, but can be sped through once the resident becomes adept at interacting with the robot and dispenser.", "Most residents that could gain substantial benefit from a robot assistant would be responsible for their own medication planning in any case.", "However, in all cases in FIG.", "18B, the resident may be replaced with the caregiver, with an orderly, another family member, etc.", "In step ML-2, the robot retrieves from local or remote memory or database the medication complement for that day, and may also retrieve from local or remote database images of medications in the complement, dosage rules (so as to determine whether to collect, load, or later supply water when a dispenser includes such capability), and the like.", "In step ML-4, the resident is asked whether or not he or she is ready to load the dispenser.", "This is optionally handled as any other compliance event discussed herein, and can be subject to snooze delays, reporting to the caregiver, and like procedures detailed herein.", "A simple dialogue is shown at MSG-4 in which the robot checks whether the resident has left-over medication in the dispenser, and/or expects that he or she has all medication available.", "In step ML-6, the robot repeats and steps through each medication.", "A simple dialogue is shown at MSG-6, in which the robot explains the particular regimen for a medication, uses the name of the medication, shows an image of the medication, and requests the user to load a chamber, compartment, disposable cup, or other holder with the medication.", "More medications are stepped through in the same way.", "The routine does not show more significant interaction (e.g., such as the resident wishing to ask about side effects or other queries), but more responsive dialogues (such as are discussed herein) would permit this to occur.", "Once the medications have all been loaded, the robot may ask the resident to quickly step through and double-check the day's complement (ML-8).", "If the caregiver is permitted to or designated to check the medication complement (ML-10), the robot may open a communication channel to the caregiver (step ML-10, the same as or similar to the above discussion of steps RC-18 and step RC-20), and then permit the caregiver to ask questions of the resident (or for a richly instrumented dispenser, directly check the status).", "The dispenser may be arranged (with a transparent or open cover) and positioned so that it is visible to a camera of the robot, and indeed the resident may hold a dispenser so configured up to one of the robot's cameras.", "In addition to the above-identified functionality, the robot may be equipped with RFID or barcode sensors for assisting with shopping, etc.", "In an example, the robot may accompany the resident to a store or supermarket, in which the items for sale include RFID tags (or barcodes, or any other suitable identification scheme) for identification and inventory.", "If the resident wants to purchase an item, the robot may scan the RFID information of the indicated product, and relay the information to the store for purchasing assistance.", "In addition, the robot may keep track of food or supply inventories in the household by scanning RFID tags or barcodes of items in the refrigerator or pantry.", "When items run low, the robot may retrieve additional supplies and restock, for example.", "Such functionality is not limited to only food or store items, but may also be applied to any suitable items, such as clothing, automobile parts, etc.", "In addition, the robot may assist in keeping the household clean, by monitoring clutter or by keeping track of cleaning schedules.", "A clutter level can be scored according to, e.g., (i) a number of collisions or proximity detections per unit time or per unit distance traveled (these could be separated into wall, furniture, and non-wall detections based on sensor data); and/or (ii) a number of differently colored or differently textured items per unit area detected by cameras viewing the ground plane in front of the robot; and/or (iii) a number of medium-range obstacles detected per unit time, distance, or area by ranging sensors.", "In this manner, the robot may apply image analysis to views of the house obtained from an on-board camera, and determine if the house has become too messy, or may determine that clutter has accrued when the robot too frequently encounters obstacles along paths that should be or are historically clear, for example.", "The robot may facilitate bill paying by sharing checklists between the resident and a remote caregiver.", "Accordingly, when a bill payment or other household task is due, the robot may present a checklist of tasks to the resident on its display screen (and may also verbally or audibly inform the person).", "If tasks have not been completed, the robot may notify a caregiver, if concordant with the privacy permissions.", "Also, the task checklists may be programmed by either the resident or by a remote caregiver, for example.", "The robot's cameras also may be used to photograph and/or OCR bills and notices.", "If the resident requires assistance dealing with an outside third party or service provider, such as a housing contractor, salesperson, or nurse or aide, the robot may provide on-the-spot teleconferencing between the people present at the house and the remote caregiver, for example.", "Furthermore, by providing remote visual inspection capabilities, the robot may facilitate housing safety inspections by permitting a remote inspector (or caregiver) to view various locations of the house.", "The robot may also include safety sensors such as a smoke detector, radon gas detector, carbon monoxide or CO2 sensor, or the like.", "The robot may use an infrared emitter to control one or more home entertainment devices, such as televisions, VCRs, DVD players, or stereo systems.", "For example, the robot may function as a device coordinator, and control several pieces of equipment simultaneously or according to a sequence, such that the robot could turn on both the television and DVD player (and switch a stereo mixer to input from the DVD player, for example) when the resident wants to view a DVD.", "As another feature, the robot may be easier to locate than a small remote control, and the robot may also include a database of remote control codes for various products and manufacturers, relieving the resident of having to program a remote control for multiple items.", "Furthermore, the robot (or other appliance having a camera and IR modulated emitter) may detect RFID, barcode, or brand trademarks on the home equipment, and discern the appropriate remote control codes therefore without requiring further input from the person.", "The robot (or remote control or other appliance, having a connection to a camera and IR modulated emitter) may photograph part of or the entire front face panel of any remote controlled equipment (TV, stereo, video recorder, cable box, CD/DVD/disc player, home theater, amplifier, tuner, lighting, fans, air conditioners, video games, etc.).", "The robot may then relay an image of the equipment to a remote computer, which may analyze the image for brand information or model information, and relay the appropriate remote control code back to the robot, for example, and therefore the robot need not necessarily include image processing capabilities locally.", "Visual pattern recognition (which may employ a scale invariant feature transform “SIFT” system such as the ViPR™ system, Evolution Robotics of Pasadena, Calif., or other known scale invariant feature transform algorithms such as “SURF”) may identify features or distinct regions and compute from 1-1000 descriptors of unique visual patterns, which in combination may be used to uniquely identify the brand and model (or model family) of equipment, including OEM variations.", "Any portion of this process can be carried out on the robot or remotely on a server, in most cases the robot would simply send the image to the server for decomposition and comparison to the database of trained equipment images.", "A voting or probabilistic routine can employ feature votes to cross-correlate features in trained images to similar features in the recorded image.", "The votes are tabulated to identify the most likely identity for the equipment or different items of equipment.", "The robot selects or receives the appropriate libraries of remote control IR modulated codes for use with every device photographed (e.g., all of the codes for each of the TV, DVD player, and cable box).", "A single photograph or several photographs may be decomposed or analyzed to identify every piece of equipment in one place, in a room or in the residence.", "The robot can then employ a compatibility routine to control the devices according to the overall task specified by the resident, by coordinating compatibility of inputs and outputs (e.g., in response to a command to watch TV, the robot may activate, via the received IR codes: the TV ON, the DVD OFF, the cable box ON, and the TV to the CABLE input; in response to a command to watch a DVD, the robot may activate, via the received IR codes, the TV ON, the DVD ON, the cable box OFF, and the TV to the S-VIDEO input).", "In this manner, the robot would operate similarly to the family of Harmony™ Remote Controls sold by Logitech Inc., of Fremont, Calif., using a similar database of IR codes and products.", "The Harmony devices are programmed by the user, suffer from drift when one controlled device is no longer synchronized from the others, and employ an all-off routine to reset all devices to a default state in order to recover the input/state synchronization.", "In contrast, the present robot or remote control or other appliance, having a connection to a camera and IR-modulated emitter may use the camera and aforementioned visual pattern recognition to detect the on, off, or other active (e.g., wrong input selected, volume low) state of any device by status lights, status indications (a picture on the TV), status messages (on the TV screen or device display) or other pattern recognition to avoid using an all-off routine, instead resynchronizing the devices to one another based on the present state of inputs and other functions.", "The robot or other device may also use speech recognition to receive verbal remote control commands from the person, for example.", "With regard to verbal input and/or output, the mobile robot may include a database of verbal patterns for various events and/or tasks, such that the robot may correctly interpret verbal input associated with a particular task.", "For example, when the robot is performing a medication-related task, the robot may load medical terminology into its immediate speech-recognition pattern memory; if the robot later performs a shopping task, the robot may switch to a clothing- or grocery-related speech pattern database.", "Many examples are given herein that relate to elder care.", "However, the same embodiments of the invention are readily adaptable for care of children or in limited cases, adults who require caregiver assistance.", "In order to provide mental stimulation to the person, the robot may use sound, music, and/or games, either spontaneously, or in response to a request by the resident or caregiver, or in accordance with a predetermined schedule.", "In addition, the robot may perform any of the following interactive activities: play games using a touch screen; play word games (audio only, or via the display screen, or both); play music; play audio books; tell stories or recite audio books; play daily news stories, weather, or sports scores; look up reference information (encyclopedia, TV guides) (in response to verbal input or questions from the person, for example); look up financial information (stock prices, bank balance); receive emails and instant messages; show digital photos sent by family and friends; play videos sent by family and friends; talk on the phone; participate in a video conference; produce a daily report sent to a caregiver in email that lists activities the resident performed that day; play audio clips of the resident talking to the robot; show photos of the resident in their home; give medication reminders including dosage and timing; give physical activity reminders (e.g., go for a walk, do stretches); give daily event reminders (e.g., TV show times, appointments, birthdays); let a caregiver talk to and see the resident from their computer; let a caregiver navigate the robot around the person's house to check on things; include privacy control (the robot requires permission from the resident before turning on a camera or letting a remote caregiver do a virtual visit; include a trip detector (the robot detects when the resident is nearby, and gets out of the way or makes sounds and flashes lights); include caregiver management; and/or give updates (new games, music, videos and photos may be sent to the robot automatically via an Internet feed, or specifically by a caregiver or third party from a remote location (via e-mail or web interface)).", "The invention has been described in detail in connection with various embodiments.", "These embodiments, however, are merely for example only and the invention is not limited thereto.", "It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that other variations and modifications can be easily made within the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims." ] ]
Patent_15873107
[ [ "COMMUNICATION METHOD AND RADIO TRANSMITTER", "Radio transmission is performed even to a communication party whose bandwidth that can be used for transmission and reception is limited without having an influence of an offset of a DC component.", "A radio transmitter applied to an OFDMA communication system in which a plurality of different terminals performs communication using OFDM signals at the same time that includes a mapping part that allocates transmission power to each subcarrier, and also selects a subcarrier to which minimum power of the transmission power to be allocated is allocated and modulates transmission data in units of communication slots to output the modulated data; and a transmission part for transmitting radio signals including the modulated data using each of the subcarriers." ], [ "1.A first communication apparatus configured to receive OFDM signals by using at least some of a plurality of frequency sub-channels on a frequency band without a center subcarrier positioned in a center frequency of the frequency band, each of the OFDM signals comprising OFDM symbols for a first period and OFDM symbols for a second period, the first communication apparatus comprising: a receiving circuit configured for receiving the OFDM signals from a second communication apparatus by using a plurality of subcarriers allocated among an even number of contiguous frequency sub-channels, wherein the even number comprises at least an even number smaller than a number of the plurality of frequency sub-channels on the frequency band; a processing circuit configured for: de-modulating data from each of the OFDM symbols of the first period in which data is not allocated to a first subset of subcarriers of the plurality of subcarriers positioned in respective centers of frequency sub-channels among the even number of the contiguous frequency sub-channels, and de-modulating data from each of the OFDM symbols of the second period in which data is not allocated to a second subset of subcarriers of the plurality of subcarriers positioned in a center of a frequency band of the even number of the contiguous frequency sub-channels for the second period, the unused subcarrier being in a center between contiguous frequency sub-channels, in which data is allocated to the second subset of subcarriers positioned in respective centers of frequency sub-channels among the even number of the contiguous frequency sub-channels, wherein the data for reception in the first period to be allocated to the first subset of subcarriers of the plurality of subcarriers that are allocated among the even number of the contiguous frequency sub-channels comprises data representing control information, wherein each of the frequency sub-channels has a bandwidth of 20 MHZ and comprises 64 subcarriers, wherein the control information comprises information about the second period and indirectly indicating positions of subcarriers to which data is not allocated, wherein the positions of the plurality of subcarriers are known mutually between the first communication apparatus and the second communication apparatus based on the information indirectly indicating the subcarrier positions to which data is not allocated, wherein the information indirectly indicating the subcarrier positions to which data is not allocated includes information indicating a frequency bandwidth of the OFDM symbols for the second period." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND <EOH>In recent years, standardization for realizing broadband wireless Internet access targeting a transmission rate of 10 Mbps to 100 Mbps has been promoted and various kinds of technologies have been proposed.", "A requirement needed for realizing high speed transmission rate radio communication is to increase frequency utilization efficiency.", "Since the transmission rate and a bandwidth used are in a direct proportional relationship, a simple solution to increase the transmission rate is to broaden the frequency bandwidth to be used.", "However, frequency bands that can be used are becoming scarcer and it is therefore unlikely that sufficient bandwidth be assigned for constructing a new radio communication system.", "Consequently, it becomes necessary to increase frequency utilization efficiency.", "In addition, another requirement is to seamlessly provide services in a private area (isolated cell) such as a wireless LAN while realizing services in a communication area composed of cells such as mobile phones.", "A technology that has a potential for meeting these requirements includes one-cell repetition OFDMA (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access).", "In this technology, communication is performed by using the same frequency band in all cells in a communication area composed of these cells, and a modulation system for performing communication is OFDM.", "This communication method can realize faster data communication while isolated cells have a radio interface common to that of a cell area as a matter of course.", "An essential technology OFDM of the OFDMA will be described below.", "The OFDM system is used in IEEE802.11a, which is a 5 GHz-band radio system, and Digital Terrestrial Broadcasting.", "The OFDM system arranges several tens to several thousands of carriers at theoretically minimum frequency intervals with no interference for simultaneous communications.", "In the OFDM, these carriers are usually called subcarriers and each subcarrier is modulated by a digital system such as PSK (phase shift modulation) and QAM (quadrature amplitude modulation) for communication.", "Further, the OFDM is said to be a frequency-selective fading resistant modulation system in combination with an error correction system.", "A circuit configuration for modulation and demodulation will be described using diagrams.", "Here, it is assumed that 768 subcarriers are used for the OFDM for a concrete description below.", "FIG.", "6 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a modulation circuit of the OFDM.", "The modulation circuit shown in FIG.", "6 includes an error correction coding part 501 , a serial to parallel conversion part (S/P conversion part) 502 , a mapping part 503 , an IFFT part 504 , a parallel to serial part (P/S conversion part) 505 , a guard interval insertion part 506 , a digital to analog conversion part (D/A conversion part) 507 , a radio transmission part 508 , and an antenna 509 .", "Error correction encoding of information data to be transmitted is performed by the error correction coding part 501 .", "If a modulation scheme of each carrier is QPSK (four-phase modulation), 2×768=1536 bits are output from an error correction coding circuit to generate one OFDM symbol.", "Then, 2 bits are input into the mapping part 503 at a time from the S/P conversion part 502 as 768-system data, and modulation is performed by the mapping part 503 for each carrier.", "Then, the IFFT part 504 performs IFFT (Inverse Fast Fourier Transform).", "The number of points of the IFFT usually used for generating a 768-subcarrier OFDM signal is 1024.Data is allocated to f(n) (n is an integer between 0 and 1023) by the mapping part and thus the IFFT part 504 will output data t(n).", "Since only 768 pieces of data are input for 1024-point IFFT input in the present example, zero (both real and imaginary parts) is input as other pieces of data.", "Normally, f(0) and f(385) to f(639) correspond to input of zero.", "Then, after the data is converted to serial data by the P/S conversion part 505 , guard intervals are inserted by the guard interval insertion part 506 .", "Guard intervals are inserted for reducing interference between symbols when receiving an OFDM signal.", "If no guard interval is used, IFFT output t(n) is output in order of t(0), t(1), .", ".", ".", ", t(1023) and these form symbols of the OFDM.", "When guard intervals are used, a latter half part of IFFT output will be output in accordance with a guard interval length.", "If the guard interval length is ⅛ of a normal OFDM symbol, t(n) will be output in order of t(896), t(897), .", ".", ".", ", t(1023), t(0), t(1), .", ".", ".", ", t(1023).", "Then, after the data is converted to an analog signal by the D/A conversion part 507 , the analog signal is converted to a frequency to be used for transmission, and then the data is transmitted from the antenna 509 .", "FIG.", "7 illustrates a schematic view of spectrum of an OFDM signal after D/A conversion, a schematic view of time waveforms after D/A conversion, and a schematic view after frequency conversion of the spectrum to a transmission band f(n) and t(n) in FIG.", "7 are the same as those shown in the above description.", "It is known that if, usually when transmitting or receiving an OFDM signal, the center of all bands is handled as DC in base-band processing, sampling frequency of an A/D converter and D/A converter will be the smallest and also efficient.", "However, in the OFDM, as shown above, no data is usually allocated to a DC component, that is, a carrier corresponding to f(0).", "Thus, power of the DC component is also depicted as zero in FIG.", "7 .", "It is obviously theoretically possible to modulate the DC component, but the DC component is susceptible to noise (an influence of offset in the DC component of a circuit) in a transmitter or receiver and thus degradation of characteristics thereof is severe compared with other subcarriers.", "For this reason, almost all systems do not modulate the subcarrier of the DC component.", "Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No.", "Hei 10-27 6165 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No.", "Hei 11-154925, for example, describe an influence of the DC offset and how to eliminate the DC offset.", "FIG.", "8 is a block diagram illustrating the schematic configuration of an OFDM demodulator circuit.", "Basically, an operation that is opposite to that performed by a transmission part is performed by a reception part.", "The demodulator circuit shown in FIG.", "8 includes an error correction decoding part 701 , a parallel to serial conversion part (P/S conversion part) 702 , a propagation path estimation demapping part 703 , an FFT part 704 , a serial to parallel (S/P conversion part) 705 , a guard interval (GI) removal part 706 , an OFDM symbol synchronization part 707 , an analog to digital conversion part (A/D conversion part) 708 , a radio reception part 709 , and an antenna 710 .", "Frequencies of radio waves received by the antenna part 710 are converted down to frequency bands where A/D conversion can be performed by the radio reception part 709 .", "OFDM symbol synchronization of data converted to a digital signal by the A/D conversion part 708 is carried out by the OFDM symbol synchronization part 707 .", "Symbol synchronization is to determine boundaries of OFDM symbols from continuously incoming data.", "Data whose symbol synchronization has been carried out is represented by t′(n).", "If there is neither multipath nor noise in communication at all, t′(n)=t(n) holds.", "Guard intervals are removed by the guard interval removal part 706 .", "Therefore, after guard intervals are removed, t′(m) (m is an integer between 0 and 1023) will be extracted.", "Then, parallel conversion of the data into 1024 pieces of data is performed by the S/P conversion part 705 .", "Then, 1024-point FFT (Fast Fourier Transform) is performed by the FFT part 704 before f′(m) is output to the propagation path estimation demapping part 703 .", "However, since no modulation has been performed for m=0 and m=385 to 639 for transmission, f′(m) corresponding to such m are not input into the demapping part.", "Demodulation of subcarriers including propagation path estimation of 768 subcarriers is performed by the propagation path estimation demapping part 703 .", "The data is converted to serial data by the P/S conversion part 702 and error corrections are carried out by the error correction decoding part 701 before demodulation of transmission data is completed.", "Next, the OFDMA will be described based on the above OFDM.", "The OFDMA system forms two-dimensional channels on frequency and time axes, arranges slots for communication two-dimensionally in a frame, and allows a mobile station to access a base station using the slots.", "FIG.", "9 is a diagram illustrating a two-dimensional frame configuration of the OFDMA.", "In this diagram, the vertical axis is the frequency axis and the horizontal axis is the time axis.", "One rectangle is a slot used for data transmission and a rectangle with oblique lines is a control slot used by the base station to transmit broadcast information to all mobile stations.", "This diagram indicates that one frame has nine slots in a time direction and twelve slots in a frequency direction, and 108 slots (among 108 slots, twelve slots are control slots) exist in total.", "Formally, a slot is represented by (Ta, Fb), with a time axis direction slot Ta (a is a natural number between 1 and 9) and a frequency axis direction slot Fb (b is a natural number between 1 and 12).", "A shaded slot in FIG.", "9 , for example, is represented by (T 4 , F 7 ).", "In the present specification, twelve slots configured in the frequency direction are called time channels and nine slots configured in the time direction are called frequency channels or sub-channels.", "Subcarriers of the OFDM will be divided and allocated to the frequency channels.", "Since it is assumed that the OFDM has 768 subcarriers, 64 subcarriers are allocated to each channel if divided equally among twelve slots.", "Here, it is assumed that subcarriers are allocated in increasing order of spectrum in bands used for actual communication for convenience and thus subcarriers f640 to f703 are allocated to F 1 , subcarriers f704 to f767 to F 2 , .", ".", ".", ", subcarriers f960 to f1023 to F 6 , subcarriers f1 to f64 to F 7 , subcarriers f65 to f128 to F 8 , .", ".", ".", ", and subcarriers f321 to f384 to F 12 .", "Communication from a base station (AP) to a mobile station (MT) will be considered.", "Many cases can be considered when the AP allocates data for 15 slots to the MT and it is assumed here that data is allocated to slots with vertical lines in FIG.", "9 .", "That is, data to be received by the MT will be allocated to (T 2 to T 4 , F 1 ), (T 5 to T 8 , F 4 ), and (T 2 to T 9 , F 11 ).", "It is also necessary to embed data indicating allocation of data in a control slot corresponding to the frequency to be used to indicate that the AP has allocated data to the MT.", "For the present example, (T 1 , F 1 ), (T 1 , F 4 ), and (T 1 , F 11 ) correspond to such control slots.", "The OFDMA system, based on what has been described above, allows a plurality of mobile stations to transmit and receive data to and from the base station by changing the frequencies and times.", "FIG.", "9 illustrates a gap between slots for convenience, but whether or not there is a gap is not so important.", "FIG.", "10 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a radio transmitter used for the OFDMA, and FIG.", "11 is a block diagram illustrating the schematic configuration of a receiving circuit used for the OFDMA.", "A transmitting circuit shown in FIG.", "10 has a data multiplexing part 901 , and is divided into an error correction coding part 902 , an S/P conversion part 903 , and a mapping part 904 for the number of channels (one to twelve).", "An IFFT part 905 , a P/S conversion part 906 , a GI insertion part 907 , a D/A conversion part 908 , a radio transmission part 909 , and an antenna 910 fulfill functions similar to those of the IFFT part 504 , parallel to serial conversion part (P/S conversion part) 505 , guard interval insertion part 506 , digital to analog conversion part (D/A conversion part) 507 , radio transmission part 508 , and antenna 509 shown in FIG.", "6 respectively.", "In FIG.", "10 , the data multiplexing part 901 demultiplexes information data to be transmitted into twelve series in units of packets.", "That is, the multiplexer 901 physically specifies slots of the OFDMA specified by modules such as CPU (not shown).", "Then, error correction encoding is performed by the as many error correction coding parts 902 as the channels, the data is demultiplexed into 64-system data by the as many S/P conversion parts 903 as the channels, and modulation is performed by the as many mapping parts 904 as the channels for each carrier before IFFT processing is performed by the IFFT part 905 .", "Operations thereafter are the same as those described with reference to FIG.", "6 .", "A receiving circuit shown in FIG.", "11 has a data multiplexing part 101 , and is divided into an error correction coding part 102 , a parallel to serial conversion part (P/S conversion part) 103 , and a propagation path estimation demapping part 104 for number of channels (one to twelve).", "An FFT part 106 , a GI removal part 107 , a synchronization part 108 , an A/D conversion part 109 , a radio receiving part 110 , and an antenna part 111 fulfill functions similar to those of the FFT part 704 , serial to parallel conversion part (S/P conversion part) 705 , guard interval (GI) removal part 706 , OFDM symbol synchronization part 707 , analog to digital conversion part (A/D conversion part) 708 , radio reception part 709 , and antenna 710 .", "Similar to the receiving circuit shown in FIG.", "8 , FFT processing is performed for received radio waves, and each of the twelve series of data undergoes propagation path estimation, demapping, and error correction processing before being input into the data multiplexing part 101 .", "Information data is processed by the data multiplexing part 101 before being output.", "Modulation and demodulation processing shown here is only an example.", "Particularly, as many blocks as the number of channels, that is, twelve blocks are shown, but the present invention is not limited to this number.", "Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No.", "Hei 11-346203 described a basic configuration of an OFDMA transmission apparatus." ], [ "<SOH> BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS <EOH>FIG.", "1 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a transmitting circuit according to a first embodiment.", "FIG.", "2 is a diagram illustrating allocation of communication slots in some frame.", "FIG.", "3 is a diagram illustrating unused subcarrier numbers in each time slot.", "FIG.", "4 is a block diagram illustrating the schematic configuration of a transmitting circuit according to a second embodiment.", "FIG.", "5 is a flow chart illustrating operations of an unused subcarrier operation part 11.FIG.", "6 is a block diagram illustrating the schematic configuration of a conventional OFDM modulation circuit.", "FIG.", "7 illustrates a schematic view of spectrum of an OFDM signal after D/A conversion, a schematic view of time waveforms after D/A conversion, and a schematic view after frequency conversion of the spectrum to a transmission band.", "FIG.", "8 is a block diagram illustrating the schematic configuration of a conventional OFDM demodulator circuit.", "FIG.", "9 is a diagram illustrating a two-dimensional frame configuration of a conventional OFDMA.", "FIG.", "10 is a block diagram illustrating the schematic configuration of a transmitting circuit used for the conventional OFDMA.", "FIG.", "11 is a block diagram illustrating the schematic configuration of a receiving circuit used for the conventional OFDMA.", "detailed-description description=\"Detailed Description\" end=\"lead\"?" ], [ "CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "15/280,561, filed on Sep. 29, 2016, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "14/837,056, filed on Aug. 27, 2015, now U.S. Pat.", "No.", "9,485,064, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "14/459,061, filed on Aug. 13, 2014, issued as U.S. Pat.", "No.", "9,148,874 on Sep. 29, 2015, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "13/915,792, filed on Jun.", "12, 2013, issued as U.S. Pat.", "No.", "8,855,077 on Oct. 7, 2014, which is a divisional application of U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "11/666,239, filed on Apr.", "25, 2007, issued as U.S. Pat.", "No.", "8,488,688 on Jul.", "16, 2013, which is a national phase application of International Patent Application No.", "PCT/JP2005/019898, filed on Oct. 28, 2005, which claims the benefit of Japanese Patent Application No.", "2004317364, filed on Oct. 29, 2004, each of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.", "TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a communication method and a radio transmitter that perform radio transmission with a multi-carrier transmission system using communication slots.", "BACKGROUND In recent years, standardization for realizing broadband wireless Internet access targeting a transmission rate of 10 Mbps to 100 Mbps has been promoted and various kinds of technologies have been proposed.", "A requirement needed for realizing high speed transmission rate radio communication is to increase frequency utilization efficiency.", "Since the transmission rate and a bandwidth used are in a direct proportional relationship, a simple solution to increase the transmission rate is to broaden the frequency bandwidth to be used.", "However, frequency bands that can be used are becoming scarcer and it is therefore unlikely that sufficient bandwidth be assigned for constructing a new radio communication system.", "Consequently, it becomes necessary to increase frequency utilization efficiency.", "In addition, another requirement is to seamlessly provide services in a private area (isolated cell) such as a wireless LAN while realizing services in a communication area composed of cells such as mobile phones.", "A technology that has a potential for meeting these requirements includes one-cell repetition OFDMA (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access).", "In this technology, communication is performed by using the same frequency band in all cells in a communication area composed of these cells, and a modulation system for performing communication is OFDM.", "This communication method can realize faster data communication while isolated cells have a radio interface common to that of a cell area as a matter of course.", "An essential technology OFDM of the OFDMA will be described below.", "The OFDM system is used in IEEE802.11a, which is a 5 GHz-band radio system, and Digital Terrestrial Broadcasting.", "The OFDM system arranges several tens to several thousands of carriers at theoretically minimum frequency intervals with no interference for simultaneous communications.", "In the OFDM, these carriers are usually called subcarriers and each subcarrier is modulated by a digital system such as PSK (phase shift modulation) and QAM (quadrature amplitude modulation) for communication.", "Further, the OFDM is said to be a frequency-selective fading resistant modulation system in combination with an error correction system.", "A circuit configuration for modulation and demodulation will be described using diagrams.", "Here, it is assumed that 768 subcarriers are used for the OFDM for a concrete description below.", "FIG.", "6 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a modulation circuit of the OFDM.", "The modulation circuit shown in FIG.", "6 includes an error correction coding part 501, a serial to parallel conversion part (S/P conversion part) 502, a mapping part 503, an IFFT part 504, a parallel to serial part (P/S conversion part) 505, a guard interval insertion part 506, a digital to analog conversion part (D/A conversion part) 507, a radio transmission part 508, and an antenna 509.Error correction encoding of information data to be transmitted is performed by the error correction coding part 501.If a modulation scheme of each carrier is QPSK (four-phase modulation), 2×768=1536 bits are output from an error correction coding circuit to generate one OFDM symbol.", "Then, 2 bits are input into the mapping part 503 at a time from the S/P conversion part 502 as 768-system data, and modulation is performed by the mapping part 503 for each carrier.", "Then, the IFFT part 504 performs IFFT (Inverse Fast Fourier Transform).", "The number of points of the IFFT usually used for generating a 768-subcarrier OFDM signal is 1024.Data is allocated to f(n) (n is an integer between 0 and 1023) by the mapping part and thus the IFFT part 504 will output data t(n).", "Since only 768 pieces of data are input for 1024-point IFFT input in the present example, zero (both real and imaginary parts) is input as other pieces of data.", "Normally, f(0) and f(385) to f(639) correspond to input of zero.", "Then, after the data is converted to serial data by the P/S conversion part 505, guard intervals are inserted by the guard interval insertion part 506.Guard intervals are inserted for reducing interference between symbols when receiving an OFDM signal.", "If no guard interval is used, IFFT output t(n) is output in order of t(0), t(1), .", ".", ".", ", t(1023) and these form symbols of the OFDM.", "When guard intervals are used, a latter half part of IFFT output will be output in accordance with a guard interval length.", "If the guard interval length is ⅛ of a normal OFDM symbol, t(n) will be output in order of t(896), t(897), .", ".", ".", ", t(1023), t(0), t(1), .", ".", ".", ", t(1023).", "Then, after the data is converted to an analog signal by the D/A conversion part 507, the analog signal is converted to a frequency to be used for transmission, and then the data is transmitted from the antenna 509.FIG.", "7 illustrates a schematic view of spectrum of an OFDM signal after D/A conversion, a schematic view of time waveforms after D/A conversion, and a schematic view after frequency conversion of the spectrum to a transmission band f(n) and t(n) in FIG.", "7 are the same as those shown in the above description.", "It is known that if, usually when transmitting or receiving an OFDM signal, the center of all bands is handled as DC in base-band processing, sampling frequency of an A/D converter and D/A converter will be the smallest and also efficient.", "However, in the OFDM, as shown above, no data is usually allocated to a DC component, that is, a carrier corresponding to f(0).", "Thus, power of the DC component is also depicted as zero in FIG.", "7.It is obviously theoretically possible to modulate the DC component, but the DC component is susceptible to noise (an influence of offset in the DC component of a circuit) in a transmitter or receiver and thus degradation of characteristics thereof is severe compared with other subcarriers.", "For this reason, almost all systems do not modulate the subcarrier of the DC component.", "Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No.", "Hei 10-27 6165 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No.", "Hei 11-154925, for example, describe an influence of the DC offset and how to eliminate the DC offset.", "FIG.", "8 is a block diagram illustrating the schematic configuration of an OFDM demodulator circuit.", "Basically, an operation that is opposite to that performed by a transmission part is performed by a reception part.", "The demodulator circuit shown in FIG.", "8 includes an error correction decoding part 701, a parallel to serial conversion part (P/S conversion part) 702, a propagation path estimation demapping part 703, an FFT part 704, a serial to parallel (S/P conversion part) 705, a guard interval (GI) removal part 706, an OFDM symbol synchronization part 707, an analog to digital conversion part (A/D conversion part) 708, a radio reception part 709, and an antenna 710.Frequencies of radio waves received by the antenna part 710 are converted down to frequency bands where A/D conversion can be performed by the radio reception part 709.OFDM symbol synchronization of data converted to a digital signal by the A/D conversion part 708 is carried out by the OFDM symbol synchronization part 707.Symbol synchronization is to determine boundaries of OFDM symbols from continuously incoming data.", "Data whose symbol synchronization has been carried out is represented by t′(n).", "If there is neither multipath nor noise in communication at all, t′(n)=t(n) holds.", "Guard intervals are removed by the guard interval removal part 706.Therefore, after guard intervals are removed, t′(m) (m is an integer between 0 and 1023) will be extracted.", "Then, parallel conversion of the data into 1024 pieces of data is performed by the S/P conversion part 705.Then, 1024-point FFT (Fast Fourier Transform) is performed by the FFT part 704 before f′(m) is output to the propagation path estimation demapping part 703.However, since no modulation has been performed for m=0 and m=385 to 639 for transmission, f′(m) corresponding to such m are not input into the demapping part.", "Demodulation of subcarriers including propagation path estimation of 768 subcarriers is performed by the propagation path estimation demapping part 703.The data is converted to serial data by the P/S conversion part 702 and error corrections are carried out by the error correction decoding part 701 before demodulation of transmission data is completed.", "Next, the OFDMA will be described based on the above OFDM.", "The OFDMA system forms two-dimensional channels on frequency and time axes, arranges slots for communication two-dimensionally in a frame, and allows a mobile station to access a base station using the slots.", "FIG.", "9 is a diagram illustrating a two-dimensional frame configuration of the OFDMA.", "In this diagram, the vertical axis is the frequency axis and the horizontal axis is the time axis.", "One rectangle is a slot used for data transmission and a rectangle with oblique lines is a control slot used by the base station to transmit broadcast information to all mobile stations.", "This diagram indicates that one frame has nine slots in a time direction and twelve slots in a frequency direction, and 108 slots (among 108 slots, twelve slots are control slots) exist in total.", "Formally, a slot is represented by (Ta, Fb), with a time axis direction slot Ta (a is a natural number between 1 and 9) and a frequency axis direction slot Fb (b is a natural number between 1 and 12).", "A shaded slot in FIG.", "9, for example, is represented by (T4, F7).", "In the present specification, twelve slots configured in the frequency direction are called time channels and nine slots configured in the time direction are called frequency channels or sub-channels.", "Subcarriers of the OFDM will be divided and allocated to the frequency channels.", "Since it is assumed that the OFDM has 768 subcarriers, 64 subcarriers are allocated to each channel if divided equally among twelve slots.", "Here, it is assumed that subcarriers are allocated in increasing order of spectrum in bands used for actual communication for convenience and thus subcarriers f640 to f703 are allocated to F1, subcarriers f704 to f767 to F2, .", ".", ".", ", subcarriers f960 to f1023 to F6, subcarriers f1 to f64 to F7, subcarriers f65 to f128 to F8, .", ".", ".", ", and subcarriers f321 to f384 to F12.Communication from a base station (AP) to a mobile station (MT) will be considered.", "Many cases can be considered when the AP allocates data for 15 slots to the MT and it is assumed here that data is allocated to slots with vertical lines in FIG.", "9.That is, data to be received by the MT will be allocated to (T2 to T4, F1), (T5 to T8, F4), and (T2 to T9, F11).", "It is also necessary to embed data indicating allocation of data in a control slot corresponding to the frequency to be used to indicate that the AP has allocated data to the MT.", "For the present example, (T1, F1), (T1, F4), and (T1, F11) correspond to such control slots.", "The OFDMA system, based on what has been described above, allows a plurality of mobile stations to transmit and receive data to and from the base station by changing the frequencies and times.", "FIG.", "9 illustrates a gap between slots for convenience, but whether or not there is a gap is not so important.", "FIG.", "10 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a radio transmitter used for the OFDMA, and FIG.", "11 is a block diagram illustrating the schematic configuration of a receiving circuit used for the OFDMA.", "A transmitting circuit shown in FIG.", "10 has a data multiplexing part 901, and is divided into an error correction coding part 902, an S/P conversion part 903, and a mapping part 904 for the number of channels (one to twelve).", "An IFFT part 905, a P/S conversion part 906, a GI insertion part 907, a D/A conversion part 908, a radio transmission part 909, and an antenna 910 fulfill functions similar to those of the IFFT part 504, parallel to serial conversion part (P/S conversion part) 505, guard interval insertion part 506, digital to analog conversion part (D/A conversion part) 507, radio transmission part 508, and antenna 509 shown in FIG.", "6 respectively.", "In FIG.", "10, the data multiplexing part 901 demultiplexes information data to be transmitted into twelve series in units of packets.", "That is, the multiplexer 901 physically specifies slots of the OFDMA specified by modules such as CPU (not shown).", "Then, error correction encoding is performed by the as many error correction coding parts 902 as the channels, the data is demultiplexed into 64-system data by the as many S/P conversion parts 903 as the channels, and modulation is performed by the as many mapping parts 904 as the channels for each carrier before IFFT processing is performed by the IFFT part 905.Operations thereafter are the same as those described with reference to FIG.", "6.A receiving circuit shown in FIG.", "11 has a data multiplexing part 101, and is divided into an error correction coding part 102, a parallel to serial conversion part (P/S conversion part) 103, and a propagation path estimation demapping part 104 for number of channels (one to twelve).", "An FFT part 106, a GI removal part 107, a synchronization part 108, an A/D conversion part 109, a radio receiving part 110, and an antenna part 111 fulfill functions similar to those of the FFT part 704, serial to parallel conversion part (S/P conversion part) 705, guard interval (GI) removal part 706, OFDM symbol synchronization part 707, analog to digital conversion part (A/D conversion part) 708, radio reception part 709, and antenna 710.Similar to the receiving circuit shown in FIG.", "8, FFT processing is performed for received radio waves, and each of the twelve series of data undergoes propagation path estimation, demapping, and error correction processing before being input into the data multiplexing part 101.Information data is processed by the data multiplexing part 101 before being output.", "Modulation and demodulation processing shown here is only an example.", "Particularly, as many blocks as the number of channels, that is, twelve blocks are shown, but the present invention is not limited to this number.", "Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No.", "Hei 11-346203 described a basic configuration of an OFDMA transmission apparatus.", "Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No.", "10-276165 Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No.", "11-154925 Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No.", "11-346203 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG.", "1 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a transmitting circuit according to a first embodiment.", "FIG.", "2 is a diagram illustrating allocation of communication slots in some frame.", "FIG.", "3 is a diagram illustrating unused subcarrier numbers in each time slot.", "FIG.", "4 is a block diagram illustrating the schematic configuration of a transmitting circuit according to a second embodiment.", "FIG.", "5 is a flow chart illustrating operations of an unused subcarrier operation part 11.FIG.", "6 is a block diagram illustrating the schematic configuration of a conventional OFDM modulation circuit.", "FIG.", "7 illustrates a schematic view of spectrum of an OFDM signal after D/A conversion, a schematic view of time waveforms after D/A conversion, and a schematic view after frequency conversion of the spectrum to a transmission band.", "FIG.", "8 is a block diagram illustrating the schematic configuration of a conventional OFDM demodulator circuit.", "FIG.", "9 is a diagram illustrating a two-dimensional frame configuration of a conventional OFDMA.", "FIG.", "10 is a block diagram illustrating the schematic configuration of a transmitting circuit used for the conventional OFDMA.", "FIG.", "11 is a block diagram illustrating the schematic configuration of a receiving circuit used for the conventional OFDMA.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION When the OFDMA is used for communication, terminals with various capabilities may be connected as a mobile station.", "One of such terminals is a low power consumption terminal.", "This type of terminal is constructed so as to reduce power consumption to be more suitable for portability even at the expense of a certain amount of transmission and reception capabilities.", "A method that may reduce power consumption of an OFDMA terminal is to narrow bandwidths that are capable of transmitting and receiving radio waves to limit accessible frequency channels.", "Limiting accessible frequency channels has disadvantages such as a reduced transmission rate and not being able to select channels in good propagation condition, but also has advantages such as being able to lessen a processing speed, for example, a sampling frequency of an A/D converter and the processing speed of logic, and as a result, lower power consumption can be achieved.", "Conventional OFDMA transmitters and receivers assume that, as described above, a receiving terminal receives and processes all bands.", "Thus, a transmitter adopts a system in which a subcarrier of a DC component (f(0)), being a center of all bands, is not used.", "The case where a terminal capable of receiving only one band in a state described above makes access will be discussed.", "Such a terminal filters a band to be received using an analog filter.", "If, for example, only the slot of F2 (subcarrier numbers f(704) to f(767)) in FIG.", "9 should be received, F2 is extracted by filtering and the center of this band, f(735) or f(736), will be handled as a center frequency.", "Incidentally, selection of f(735) and f(736) shown here has no special meaning.", "Since modulation has conventionally been performed for such subcarriers like other subcarriers in a transmitter, a receiving terminal must demodulate such subcarriers despite bad characteristics.", "Thus, there have been problems such as degraded characteristics, an occurrence of errors in receiving slots, and an occurrence of retransmission, leading to reduced throughput of an overall system.", "Such problems are not limited to the terminal capable of receiving only one band, as described above, and concern various terminals, for example, those terminals capable of receiving only two bands.", "The present invention has been made in view of circumstances described above and an object thereof is to provide a radio transmitter capable of performing radio transmission without having an influence of an offset of a DC component even to a communication party whose bandwidth that can be used for transmission and reception is limited.", "(1) To achieve the above object, the present invention has taken steps shown below.", "That is, a communication method according to the present invention is a communication method in which a plurality of different terminals performs communication using OFDM signals at the same time, wherein a transmitting terminal allocates minimum transmission power for transmission to a specific subcarrier mutually known between the transmitting terminal and a receiving terminal within a communication slot, which is a frequency band in units of access, and the receiving terminal performs frequency conversion of a received signal assuming that a frequency of the specific subcarrier corresponds to a direct current potential and converts the frequency-converted received signal to a digital signal by using an analog to digital converter for data demodulation.", "Thus, the minimum transmission power is allocated for transmission to a specific subcarrier mutually known between the transmitting terminal and receiving terminal within a communication slot, which is a frequency band in units of access, and therefore, radio transmission can be performed without causing any influence of offset by a DC component regardless of which bandwidth a communication party uses.", "Accordingly, it becomes possible to prevent deterioration of communication characteristics and occurrence of errors in receiving slots to avoid degradation of throughput because the DC component will not exert any influence upon transmission and reception processing even if communication is performed with a terminal whose bandwidth in use is limited in order to reduce power consumption.", "(2) Also, a communication method according to the present invention is a communication method in which a plurality of different terminals performs communication using OFDM signals at the same time, wherein a receiving terminal performs frequency conversion of a received signal and notifies a transmitting terminal of information about whether or not a frequency of a subcarrier corresponding to a direct current potential about the received signal which was inputted to an analog to digital converter can be used for data communication, and the transmitting terminal allocates, when the notified information indicates that the frequency of the subcarrier corresponding to the direct current potential cannot be used for data communication, minimum transmission power to the subcarrier for transmission.", "If information notified from the receiving terminal indicates that the frequency of the subcarrier corresponding to the direct current potential cannot be used for data communication, the transmitting terminal allocates the minimum transmission power to the subcarrier, as described above, and therefore, radio transmission can be performed without causing any influence of offset by a DC component at the receiving terminal.", "Accordingly, it becomes possible to prevent deterioration of communication characteristics and occurrence of errors in receiving slots to avoid degradation of throughput because the DC component will not exert any influence upon transmission and reception processing even if communication is performed with a terminal whose bandwidth in use is limited in order to reduce power consumption.", "(3) Also, a communication method according to the present invention is a communication method in which a plurality of different terminals performs communication using OFDM signals at the same time, wherein a receiving terminal performs frequency conversion of a received signal and notifies a transmitting terminal of information about whether or not a frequency of a subcarrier corresponding to a direct current potential about the received signal which was inputted to an analog to digital converter can be used for data communication, and the transmitting terminal allocates minimum transmission power to a subcarrier of the notified frequency for transmission.", "Thus, the transmitting terminal allocates the minimum transmission power for transmission to the subcarrier of the frequency notified from the receiving terminal, and therefore, radio transmission can be performed without causing any influence of offset by a DC component at the receiving terminal.", "Accordingly, it becomes possible to prevent deterioration of communication characteristics and occurrence of errors in receiving slots to avoid degradation of throughput because the DC component will not exert any influence upon transmission/reception processing even if communication is performed with a terminal whose bandwidth in use is limited in order to reduce power consumption.", "(4) Also, the communication method according to the present invention is characterized in that the minimum transmission power is zero.", "Thus, the minimum transmission power is zero, and therefore, radio transmission can be performed without causing any influence of offset by a DC component.", "Accordingly, it becomes possible to prevent deterioration of communication characteristics and occurrence of errors in receiving slots to avoid degradation of throughput because the DC component will not exert any influence upon transmission/reception processing even if communication is performed with a terminal whose bandwidth in use is limited in order to reduce power consumption.", "(5) Also, the communication method according to the present invention is characterized in that the specific subcarrier mutually known between the transmitting terminal and receiving terminal is a center frequency of the communication slot.", "Thus, the known specific subcarrier is the center frequency of the communication slot, and therefore, an influence of offset by a DC component can be avoided by allocation of the center frequency of the communication slot to the DC component in reception processing by the receiving terminal.", "Accordingly, it becomes possible to prevent deterioration of communication characteristics and occurrence of errors in receiving slots to avoid degradation of throughput because the DC component will not exert any influence upon transmission/reception processing even if communication is performed with a terminal whose bandwidth in use is limited in order to reduce power consumption.", "(6) Also, the communication method according to the present invention is characterized in that the specific subcarrier mutually known between the transmitting terminal and receiving terminal is one of a maximum frequency and a minimum frequency of the communication slot.", "Thus, the known specific subcarrier is one of the maximum frequency and minimum frequency of the communication slot, and therefore, it becomes possible to easily determine the subcarrier to be a DC component or the subcarrier corresponding to the center frequency in bandwidths used by the receiving terminal.", "That is, if there are even subcarriers included in the communication slot, the subcarrier corresponding to the center frequency can be determined by making the number of subcarriers odd after excluding (allocating no modulated data to) the subcarrier corresponding to the maximum frequency or minimum frequency.", "Since it is still possible to allocate no modulated data to the subcarrier to be a DC component or the subcarrier corresponding to the center frequency even if a plurality of frequency channels is used by excluding (allocating no modulated data to) the subcarrier corresponding to the maximum frequency or minimum frequency, radio transmission can be performed without causing any influence of offset by a DC component regardless of which bandwidth a communication party uses.", "Also, a terminal that can receive only one sub-channel filters the one sub-channel to perform reception processing.", "Since in this case no modulation of subcarrier in the center of each sub-channel has been performed, data can be demodulated without deterioration of characteristics by ignoring the center for demodulation like a conventional OFDM receiver.", "Similarly, since the center frequency of a terminal that can access only x (x is an odd number) sub-channels will be the center of a sub-channel under the current assumption and the subcarrier thereof is not used for modulation, data can be demodulated without deterioration of characteristics by ignoring the center for demodulation like the conventional OFDM receiver.", "The center of a terminal that can access only y (y is an even number) sub-channels will be between sub-channels.", "Since also a subcarrier between sub-channels is not used for modulation, similar to the conventional OFDM receiver, data can be demodulated without deterioration of characteristics by ignoring the center for demodulation.", "Thus, it becomes possible to prevent deterioration of communication characteristics and occurrence of errors in receiving slots to avoid degradation of throughput.", "(7) Also, the communication method according to the present invention is characterized in that the transmitting terminal does not allocate information data to a subcarrier to which the minimum transmission power is allocated.", "Since no information data is allocated to the subcarrier to which the minimum transmission power is allocated, it becomes possible to prevent deterioration of communication characteristics and occurrence of errors in receiving slots to avoid degradation of throughput.", "(8) Also, a radio transmitter according to the present invention is a radio transmitter applied to an OFDMA communication system in which a plurality of different terminals performs communication using OFDM signals at the same time, the transmitter comprises: a mapping part that allocates transmission power to each subcarrier, and also selects a subcarrier to which minimum power of the transmission power to be allocated is allocated, and modulates transmission data in units of communication slots to output the modulated data; and a transmission part for transmitting radio signals including the modulated data using each of the subcarriers.", "Thus, the subcarrier to which the minimum transmission power of transmission power to be allocated is selected, and therefore, it becomes possible to select a specific subcarrier known between a transmitting terminal and a receiving terminal, select a subcarrier that cannot be used for data communication, and a subcarrier notified from the receiving terminal.", "As a result, radio transmission can be performed without causing any influence of offset by a DC component regardless of which bandwidth a communication party uses.", "Accordingly, it becomes possible to prevent deterioration of communication characteristics and occurrence of errors in receiving slots to avoid degradation of throughput because the DC component will not exert any influence upon transmission and reception processing even if communication is performed with a terminal whose bandwidth in use is limited in order to reduce power consumption.", "(9) Also, the radio transmitter according to the present invention is characterized in that the mapping part allocates zero to the selected subcarrier as the transmission power.", "Thus, zero is allocated to the selected subcarrier as transmission power, and therefore, radio transmission can be performed without causing any influence of offset by a DC component.", "Accordingly, it becomes possible to prevent deterioration of communication characteristics and occurrence of errors in receiving slots to avoid degradation of throughput because the DC component will not exert any influence upon transmission/reception processing even if communication is performed with a terminal whose bandwidth in use is limited in order to reduce power consumption.", "(10) Also, the radio transmitter according to the present invention is characterized in that the mapping part selects a subcarrier corresponding to a center of a communication slot.", "Thus, the subcarrier corresponding to the center of the communication slot is selected, and therefore, an influence of offset by a DC component can be avoided by allocation of the center frequency of the communication slot to the DC component in reception processing by the receiving terminal.", "Accordingly, it becomes possible to prevent deterioration of communication characteristics and occurrence of errors in receiving slots to avoid degradation of throughput because the DC component will not exert any influence upon transmission and reception processing even if communication is performed with a terminal whose bandwidth in use is limited in order to reduce power consumption.", "(11) Also, the radio transmitter according to the present invention is characterized in that the mapping part selects a subcarrier corresponding to a maximum frequency or a minimum frequency of a communication slot.", "Thus, the subcarrier corresponding to the maximum frequency or minimum frequency of the communication slot, and therefore, it becomes possible to easily determine the subcarrier to be a DC component or the subcarrier corresponding to the center frequency in bandwidths used by the receiving terminal.", "That is, if there are even subcarriers included in the communication slot, the subcarrier corresponding to the center frequency can be determined by making the number of subcarriers odd after excluding (allocating no modulated data to) the subcarrier corresponding to the maximum frequency or minimum frequency.", "Since it is still possible to allocate no modulated data to the subcarrier to be a DC component or the subcarrier excluding (allocating no modulated data to) the subcarrier corresponding to the maximum frequency or minimum frequency, radio transmission can be performed without causing any influence of offset by a DC component regardless of which bandwidth a communication party uses.", "Also, a terminal that can receive only one sub-channel filters the one sub-channel to perform reception processing.", "Since in this case no modulation of subcarrier in the center of each sub-channel has been performed, data can be demodulated without deterioration of characteristics by ignoring the center for demodulation like a conventional OFDM receiver.", "Similarly, since the center frequency of a terminal that can access only x (x is an odd number) sub-channels will be the center of a sub-channel under the current assumption and the subcarrier thereof is not used for modulation, data can be demodulated without deterioration of characteristics by ignoring the center for demodulation like the conventional OFDM receiver.", "The center of a terminal that can access only y (y is an even number) sub-channels will be between sub-channels.", "Since also a subcarrier between sub-channels is not used for modulation, similar to the conventional OFDM receiver, data can be demodulated without deterioration of characteristics by ignoring the center for demodulation.", "Thus, it becomes possible to prevent deterioration of communication characteristics and occurrence of errors in receiving slots to avoid degradation of throughput.", "(12) Also, the radio transmitter according to the present invention is characterized in that the mapping part selects a frequency of a subcarrier corresponding to a direct current potential only if subcarrier availability information notified from a communication party indicates that the frequency cannot be used for data communication.", "Thus, only if subcarrier availability information notified from a communication party indicates that the frequency of a subcarrier corresponding to a direct current potential cannot be used for data communication, the subcarrier is selected, and therefore, radio transmission can be performed without causing any influence of offset by a DC component on the communication party.", "Accordingly, it becomes possible to prevent deterioration of communication characteristics and occurrence of errors in receiving slots to avoid degradation of throughput because the DC component will not exert any influence upon transmission and reception processing even if communication is performed with a terminal whose bandwidth in use is limited in order to reduce power consumption.", "(13) Also, the radio transmitter according to the present invention is characterized in that the mapping part selects a frequency notified from a communication party.", "Thus, the subcarrier of the frequency notified from a communication party is selected, and therefore, radio transmission can be performed without causing any influence of offset by a DC component on the communication party.", "Accordingly, it becomes possible to prevent deterioration of communication characteristics and occurrence of errors in receiving slots to avoid degradation of throughput because the DC component will not exert any influence upon transmission and reception processing even if communication is performed with a terminal whose bandwidth in use is limited in order to reduce power consumption.", "(14) Also, the radio transmitter according to the present invention is characterized in that the mapping part updates a subcarrier frequency to be selected each time a communication party with which communication is performed using communication slots changes.", "Thus, the subcarrier frequency to be selected is updated each time a communication party with which communication is performed changes, and therefore, processing in accordance with the communication party can be performed.", "Radio transmission can thereby be performed without causing any influence of offset by a DC component regardless of which bandwidth a communication party uses.", "Accordingly, it becomes possible to prevent deterioration of communication characteristics and occurrence of errors in receiving slots to avoid degradation of throughput because the DC component will not exert any influence upon transmission and reception processing even if communication is performed with a terminal whose bandwidth in use is limited in order to reduce power consumption.", "According to the present invention, it becomes possible to prevent deterioration of communication characteristics and occurrence of errors in receiving slots to avoid degradation of throughput because the DC component will not exert any influence upon transmission and reception processing even if communication is performed with a terminal whose bandwidth in use is limited in order to reduce power consumption.", "BEST MODES FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Radio communication systems according to present embodiments will be described below.", "The present embodiments assume a communication system based on the above OFDMA.", "The present embodiments only exemplify circuit configurations and control methods, and purposes thereof are not to modulate a subcarrier corresponding to a DC component in a radio transmitter to avoid any influence of noise of the DC component in a transmitting circuit and similarly not to demodulate the subcarrier corresponding to the DC component in a receiving circuit.", "Thus, there are various methods available for implementation.", "First Embodiment In a first embodiment, a terminal is shown in which, regardless of which bandwidth a terminal connected is capable of processing, no modulated data is provided to a subcarrier selected as a center frequency by the terminal.", "In a conventional technology, relationships between sub-channels and subcarriers are: subcarriers f(640) to f(703) allocated to F1, subcarriers f(704) to f(767) to F2, .", ".", ".", ", subcarriers f(960) to f(1023) to F6, subcarriers f(1) to f(64) to F7, subcarriers f(65) to f(128) to F8, .", ".", ".", ", and subcarriers f(321) to f(384) to F12, but here subcarriers whose subcarrier number exceeds 512 are represented by subtracting 1024.Thus, new representations will be changed to: subcarriers f(−384) to f(−321) allocated to F1, subcarriers f(−320) to f(−257) to F2, .", ".", ".", ", subcarriers f(−64) to f(−1) to F6, subcarriers f(1) to f(64) to F7, subcarriers f(65) to f(128) to F8, .", ".", ".", ", and subcarriers f(321) to f(384) to F12.FIG.", "1 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a transmitting circuit according to the first embodiment.", "The transmitting circuit shown in FIG.", "1 has a data multiplexing part 1, and is divided into an error correction coding part 2, an S/P conversion part 3, and a mapping part for the number of channels (one to twelve).", "An IFFT part 5, a P/S conversion part 6, a GI insertion part 7, a D/A conversion part 8, a radio transmission part 9, and an antenna part 10 fulfill functions similar to those of the IFFT part 504, parallel/serial conversion part (P/S conversion part) 505, guard interval insertion part 506, digital/analog conversion part (D/A conversion part) 507, radio transmission part 508, and antenna 509 shown in FIG.", "6 respectively.", "The mapping part 4 allocates transmission power to each subcarrier and also selects a subcarrier to which minimum power (for example, zero) of the transmission power to be allocated should be allocated.", "Then, transmission data is modulated in units of communication slots and the modulated data is output.", "In the mapping part 4 described above, each corresponding sub-channel number has been added and marking of f(m) has been changed to m=−512 to 511.In the conventional technology, modulation of subcarriers corresponding to the subcarrier numbers zero, 385 to 511, and −385 to −512 is not performed.", "In the first embodiment, in addition, modulation of subcarriers corresponding to the subcarrier numbers 32×p (p is an integer between −12 and 12) is not performed.", "Viewed from slot allocation, this means that the number of subcarriers used by each sub-channel is 62 and subcarriers in the center of each sub-channel and between sub-channels are not modulated.", "A terminal that can receive only one sub-channel filters the one sub-channel to perform reception processing.", "Since in this case no modulation of subcarrier in the center of each sub-channel has been performed, data can be demodulated without deterioration of characteristics by ignoring the center for demodulation like a conventional OFDM receiver.", "Similarly, since the center frequency of a terminal that can access only x (x is an odd number equal to 12 or smaller) sub-channels will be the center of a sub-channel under the current assumption and the subcarrier thereof is not used for modulation, data can be demodulated without deterioration of characteristics by ignoring the center for demodulation like the conventional OFDM receiver.", "The center of a terminal that can access only y (y is an even number equal to 12 or smaller) sub-channels will be between sub-channels.", "Since also a subcarrier between sub-channels is not used for modulation, similar to the conventional OFDM receiver, data can be demodulated without deterioration of characteristics by ignoring the center for demodulation.", "In the first embodiment, as described above, receivers suitable for various bands can be connected without deterioration of characteristics.", "Second Embodiment In the first embodiment described above, a method was shown in which subcarriers not to be used are selected in advance to deal with various terminals.", "However, according to this method, the transmission rate of a highly capable terminal that can use all bands for transmission and reception may be lower than that of a conventional method.", "Subcarriers that cannot be used are set in the first embodiment while all 768 subcarriers can be used in the conventional method, and therefore, the number of available subcarriers is 744 and, if an identical modulation is applied to all subcarriers, the rate thereof will drop to 744/768.Thus, in the second embodiment, a method in which subcarriers not used adaptively are set will be described.", "FIG.", "2 is a diagram illustrating allocation of communication slots in some frame.", "Similar to the conventional technology, slots with oblique lines are broadcast slots received by all terminals and the terminals A to F perform communication using indicated slots respectively.", "When determining a center subcarrier position in descriptions below, processing is performed by assuming that the number of subcarriers used is odd so that the processing can be made easier to understand.", "However, there is no inevitability for this assumption and, if an even number of subcarriers are used for processing, the center frequency will be a frequency at which no subcarrier exists and no problem will be caused by arranging in advance which subcarrier to use as the center subcarrier between the transmitting and receiving apparatuses.", "Since the control slots need to be received by all stations in FIG.", "2, similar to the first embodiment, subcarriers not used for modulation are arranged.", "More specifically, the subcarrier numbers not used for modulation are zero, 385 to 511, −385 to −512, and 32×p (p is an integer between −12 and 12).", "Next, focusing on A, slots to be used are five slots of (T2 to T6, F12) and the frequency channel is F12 only.", "F(321) to f(384) are allocated to F12 and it is assumed that the subcarrier with the maximum number f(384) and the subcarrier f(352) positioned in the center after excluding f(384) are not to be used.", "Focusing on B, slots to be used are nine slots of (T2, F7 to F9) and (T5 to T6, F7 to F9).", "Subcarriers to be used for F7 to F9 are f(1) to f(192) and it is assumed that the subcarrier with the maximum number f(192) and the subcarrier f(96) positioned in the center after excluding f(192) are not to be used.", "C uses 10 slots of (T3, F1 to F10).", "Subcarriers to be used are f(−384) to f(256).", "If subcarriers to be accessed sandwich f(0), processing not to use a subcarrier with the maximum number is not performed.", "Thus, only the subcarrier f(−64) positioned in the center is not to be used.", "f(0) is naturally not used.", "D uses 18 slots of (T2, F1 to F6) and (T4 to T5, F1 to F6).", "Subcarriers to be used are f(−384) to F(−1).", "Thus, the subcarrier f(−1) with the maximum number and the subcarrier f(−193) positioned in the center are not to be used.", "E uses 4 slots of (T4 to T5, F10 to F11).", "Subcarriers to be used are f(193) to F(320).", "Thus, the subcarrier f(320) with the maximum number and the subcarrier f(256) positioned in the center are not to be used.", "F uses 36 slots of (T7 to T9, F1 to F12).", "Subcarriers to be used are f(−384) to F(384).", "Only the subcarrier f(0) positioned in the center is not to be used.", "FIG.", "3 summarizes unused subcarriers in units of time slots.", "As is evident from FIG.", "3, the number of unused subcarriers has decreased in comparison with the first embodiment and terminals capable of accessing all bands can use exactly as many subcarriers as before.", "Continuous bands are allocated to slots in FIG.", "2 and even if an unused slot is present therebetween, no problem will be caused by performing processing under the assumption that a band thereof is being used.", "FIG.", "4 is a block diagram illustrating the schematic configuration of a transmitting circuit according to the second embodiment.", "When compared with the transmitting circuit according to the first embodiment shown in FIG.", "1, the transmitting circuit according to the second embodiment additionally has the unused subcarrier operation part 11.The unused subcarrier operation part 11 carries out a function to operate unused subcarriers described above.", "The slot number, the terminal ID using the slot, and the maximum number and minimum number of the sub-channel number to be used are input into the unused subcarrier operation part 11.FIG.", "5 is a flow chart illustrating operations of the unused subcarrier operation part 11.Parameters used in FIG.", "5 are the same as those described above.", "However, fdc is an index value showing whether or not a channel used contains a DC component, TS is a variable value of the slot number, and m_max and m_min are the maximum value and minimum value of the sub-channel to be input into the unused subcarrier operation part 11 for use respectively.", "An unused subcarrier is represented as f(m)=0.When starting to configure a frame in S101, f(0), f(385 to 511), and f(−385 to −512) are set always to zero.", "Also, fdc=0 and TS=0 are set.", "In S102, TS is incremented by one.", "In S103, whether the current slot is a broadcast slot is determined.", "Since in the present embodiment broadcast information is transmitted using the T1 slot, the slot is determined to be a broadcast slot if TS=1.If the slot is a broadcast slot, f(m) with m=32×p (p is an integer between −12 and 12) for subcarriers not to be transmitted is set to zero in S104.If TS is equal to or greater than 2, proceed to S105.Here, whether in applicable TS there is a terminal to which a slot should be allocated is determined.", "If there is such a terminal, proceed to S106, and if there is no such terminal, proceed to S110.In S106, an fdc operation is performed.", "fdc is an operation based on the subcarrier number.", "In S107, whether sub-channels are allocated by sandwiching f(0) is determined based on the value of fdc.", "If fdc is negative, proceed to S109 because sub-channels are allocated by sandwiching f(0).", "If fdc is positive, proceed to S108.S108 is a process to determine unused subcarriers when f(0) is not sandwiched and the subcarrier f(m_max) with the maximum value and the center subcarrier f((m_max+m_min −1)/2) in the band excluding f(m_max) are set to zero respectively.", "S109 is a process to determine unused subcarriers when f(0) is sandwiched and the subcarrier f((m_max+m_min−1)/2)) to be the center in the band is set to zero.", "In S110, whether slots have been allocated up to a frame end is determined.", "Since in the second embodiment the time slot is up to 9, whether TS=9 or not is determined.", "If TS=9, processing is terminated to return to an initial state.", "By determining unused subcarriers according to the method described above for each frame, communication can be performed efficiently without suffering degradation of characteristics.", "Unused subcarriers are determined in the first and second embodiments under the assumption that an influence of DC noise of a reception apparatus is always considerable, but existence of a terminal with very good characteristics can also be considered.", "Thus, the introduction of a function to determine unused subcarriers to eliminate an influence of the DC noise in the reception apparatus can also be considered when a request is made from a terminal.", "That is, if notification that any subcarrier to be a DC component in all frequency channels of allocated communication slots cannot be used is received from a terminal, no modulated data is allocated to the subcarrier and therefore, it becomes possible to prevent deterioration of communication characteristics and occurrence of errors in receiving slots to avoid degradation of throughput with a communication party in which communication characteristics of a subcarrier to be a DC component are degraded.", "For a communication party in which communication characteristics of a subcarrier to be a DC component are not degraded, on the other hand, it becomes possible to increase utilization efficiency of frequencies by allocating modulated data also to the subcarrier to be a DC component.", "Though examples in which the numbers of subcarriers of basic sub-channels are identical in all sub-channels are shown for both the first and second embodiments, these are only basic examples and can also be applied easily when the numbers of subcarriers are different in different sub-channels.", "Incidentally, base station equipment can be configured by a transmitting circuit according to the present embodiments.", "With this base station equipment, it becomes possible to prevent deterioration of communication characteristics and occurrence of errors in receiving slots to avoid degradation of throughput because the DC component will not exert any influence upon transmission and reception processing even if communication is performed with a terminal whose bandwidth in use is limited in order to reduce power consumption.", "EXPLANATIONS OF NUMERALS 1: data multiplexing part 2: error correction coding part 3: S/P conversion part 4: mapping part 5: IFFT part 6: P/S conversion part 7: guard interval (GI) insertion part 8: D/A conversion part 9: radio transmission part 10: antenna part 11: unused subcarrier operation part" ] ]
Patent_15873109
[ [ "Systems And Methods For Delivering Fluid To A Wound Therapy Dressing", "Provided are systems and methods for delivery of fluid to a wound therapy dressing.", "In exemplary embodiments, a pressure source provides negative pressure to a wound dressing and positive pressure to an actuator that expels fluid from a fluid reservoir." ], [ "1.", "(canceled) 2.A system for delivering fluid to a wound therapy dressing, the system comprising: an actuator configured to engage a fluid reservoir, the actuator adapted to expel a fluid from the fluid reservoir, wherein the fluid reservoir is adapted to be in fluid communication with the wound therapy dressing; a pressure source configured to provide positive pressure to the actuator and negative pressure to the wound therapy dressing; a fluid control device adapted to control fluid communication between the fluid reservoir and the wound therapy dressing; and a control system configured to control flow of the fluid based on a pressure exerted on the fluid in the fluid reservoir by the actuator.", "3.The system of claim 2, wherein the actuator is a compression sleeve positioned circumferentially about the fluid reservoir, the compression sleeve adapted to compress the fluid reservoir and to expel the fluid from the fluid reservoir upon application of the positive pressure.", "4.The system of claim 2, wherein the actuator is an expandable bladder positioned within the fluid reservoir, the expandable bladder adapted to expand upon application of the positive pressure to displace the fluid in the fluid reservoir and to expel the fluid from the fluid reservoir.", "5.The system of claim 2, wherein the fluid control device comprises a control valve and a metering flow orifice, wherein the control valve and the metering flow orifice cooperate to provide a volume of the fluid from the fluid reservoir according to the positive pressure provided to the actuator and a size of the metering flow orifice.", "6.The system of claim 2, wherein the fluid control device comprises a metering flow orifice.", "7.The system of claim 2, wherein the control system is configured to control the fluid control device to provide a volume of the fluid from the fluid reservoir according to the pressure exerted on the actuator.", "8.The system of claim 2, further comprising a valve in fluid communication between the actuator and the pressure source, wherein the positive pressure is provided to the actuator through the valve, and wherein the valve is configured to vent excess pressure from the pressure source to atmosphere.", "9.The system of claim 2, further comprising a pressure sensor in fluid communication with the actuator.", "10.The system of claim 2, wherein the fluid control device comprises a control valve and a metering flow orifice, wherein the metering flow orifice is sized to provide a fluid flow rate based on the pressure exerted on the fluid.", "11.The system of claim 8, further comprising a pressure sensor in fluid communication between the valve and the actuator.", "12.A system for delivering fluid to a wound therapy dressing, the system comprising: a pump comprising a vacuum port and a positive pressure port, the vacuum port adapted to be in fluid communication with the wound therapy dressing; an expandable member in fluid communication with the positive pressure port, wherein the expandable member is configured to exert a force on a fluid within a fluid reservoir to expel the fluid from the fluid reservoir, the fluid reservoir adapted to be in fluid communication with the wound therapy dressing; and a valve in fluid communication with the positive pressure port and the expandable member, wherein positive pressure from the positive pressure port is provided to the expandable member through the valve, and wherein the valve is configured to vent pressure to atmosphere.", "13.The system of claim 12, further comprising a fluid control device, the fluid control device comprising a metering flow orifice adapted to communicate a volume of the fluid from the fluid reservoir according to the positive pressure provided to the expandable member.", "14.The system of claim 12, further comprising a fluid control device and a control system, the control system configured to control the fluid control device to provide a volume of the fluid from the fluid reservoir according to the positive pressure provided to the expandable member.", "15.The system of claim 14, wherein the fluid control device comprises a control valve selected from the group consisting of a solenoid valve and a solenoid-actuated pinch valve.", "16.The system of claim 12, further comprising a fluid control device, the fluid control device comprising a control valve and a metering flow orifice, wherein the control valve and the metering flow orifice cooperate to provide a volume of the fluid from the fluid reservoir according to the positive pressure provided to the expandable member and a size of the metering orifice.", "17.A method of delivering fluid to a wound therapy dressing, the method comprising: operating a pressure source adapted to exert a positive pressure on a fluid in a fluid reservoir with an actuator configured to engage the fluid reservoir; monitoring the positive pressure exerted on the actuator; and controlling fluid flow to the wound therapy dressing by regulating the positive pressure delivered to the actuator and regulating the fluid leaving the fluid reservoir with a fluid control device in response to the pressure detected on the actuator.", "18.The method of claim 17, wherein regulating the fluid leaving the fluid reservoir further comprises: opening a control valve to provide a predetermined volume of the fluid from the fluid reservoir to the wound therapy dressing; and closing the control valve to restrict fluid flow after an elapsed time period.", "19.The method of claim 18, wherein the predetermined volume of the fluid corresponds to a fluid flow rate from the fluid reservoir for the elapsed time period.", "20.The method of claim 19, further comprising controlling the fluid flow rate with a metering orifice being sized to provide the fluid flow rate according to the positive pressure on the fluid.", "21.The method of claim 17, wherein the pressure source is a diaphragm vacuum pump having a vacuum port adapted to provide a negative pressure to the wound therapy dressing and a positive pressure port adapted to provide the positive pressure.", "22.The method of claim 17, wherein the actuator is a compression sleeve positioned circumferentially about the fluid reservoir, the compression sleeve adapted to compress the fluid reservoir and to expel fluid from the fluid reservoir upon application of the positive pressure.", "23.The method of claim 17, wherein the actuator is an expandable bladder positioned within the fluid reservoir, the expandable bladder adapted to expand upon application of the positive pressure to displace the fluid in the fluid reservoir and to expel the fluid from the fluid reservoir.", "24.The method of claim 17, wherein monitoring the positive pressure exerted on the actuator further comprises monitoring a pressure sensor in fluid communication with the actuator, wherein the pressure sensor is configured to detect a pressure exerted on the actuator.", "25.The method of claim 17, wherein monitoring the positive pressure exerted on the actuator further comprises controlling a valve in fluid communication between the actuator and the pressure source, wherein the positive pressure is provided to the actuator through the valve, and wherein the valve is configured to vent excess pressure from the pressure source to atmosphere.", "26.The method of claim 25, wherein the valve is further configured to vent the positive pressure to atmosphere in response to a stop of fluid flow at the fluid control device.", "27.The method of claim 24, wherein controlling fluid flow to the wound therapy dressing further comprises configuring a control system to control fluid flow based on the pressure exerted on the actuator, wherein the control system is configured to regulate the positive pressure being delivered to the actuator and to communicate with the fluid control device to regulate fluid leaving the fluid reservoir in response to the pressure detected by the pressure sensor.", "28.The method of claim 27, wherein the control system is configured to control a control valve of the fluid control device." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND <EOH>" ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY <EOH>From the foregoing discussion, it should be apparent that a need exists for a system and method for improved delivery of fluid to a wound therapy dressing.", "The method in the disclosed embodiments substantially includes the steps necessary to carry out the operation of the described system.", "In one embodiment, provided is a system for delivering fluid to a negative pressure wound therapy dressing, where the system includes: an actuator configured to engage a fluid reservoir; and a pressure source configured to provide positive pressure to the actuator and negative pressure to a wound dressing.", "The actuator can be, for example, configured as a compression sleeve and/or a bladder.", "Some embodiments may additionally include: a fluid reservoir; a wound dressing; and a fluid control device in fluid communication with the fluid reservoir and the wound dressing.", "In specific embodiments, the fluid control device can be a control valve, such as, for example, a solenoid-actuated pinch valve and/or an orifice.", "Certain embodiments may also include a control system configured to control the fluid control device.", "In specific embodiments, the pressure source may include a vacuum diaphragm pump.", "Specific embodiments may also include a valve in fluid communication with the actuator and the pressure source, where the valve can be configured to vent to atmosphere.", "The pressure source can be, for example, configured to provide a pressure of between approximately 0.1 psig and approximately 1.0 psig.", "In another embodiment, provided is a system for delivering fluid to a negative pressure wound therapy dressing, where the system includes: a pump comprising a vacuum port and a positive pressure port; an expandable member in fluid communication with the positive pressure port, wherein the expandable member is configured to engage a fluid reservoir and expel fluid from the fluid reservoir; and a valve in fluid communication with the positive pressure port and the expandable member, wherein the valve is configured to vent pressure to atmosphere.", "Specific embodiments may additionally include a wound dressing in fluid communication with the vacuum port.", "Further, specific embodiments may additionally include a control system configured to control a fluid flow from the fluid reservoir.", "For example, the control system can be configured to control a control valve.", "The control valve can be, for example, a solenoid-actuated pinch valve.", "In specific embodiments, the positive pressure port can be configured to provide a pressure of between approximately 0.1 psig and approximately 1.0 psig to the expandable member.", "In yet another embodiment, provided is a method of delivering fluid to a negative pressure wound therapy dressing, where the method includes: operating a pressure source to exert a positive pressure on a fluid reservoir and a negative pressure on a wound dressing of a negative pressure wound therapy system; monitoring the positive pressure and opening a valve to allow fluid to flow from the fluid reservoir to the wound dressing; closing the valve to restrict fluid flow from the fluid reservoir to the wound dressing; and maintaining negative pressure from the pressure source to the wound dressing.", "In specific embodiments, the pressure source may be a diaphragm vacuum pump.", "In particular embodiments, the positive pressure may be between approximately 0.1 psig and approximately 1.0 psig.", "In yet another embodiment, provided is a system for delivering fluid to a wound therapy dressing.", "The system includes an actuator, a pressure source, and a fluid control device.", "The actuator is configured to engage a fluid reservoir.", "Further, the actuator is adapted to expel the fluid from the fluid reservoir.", "The fluid reservoir is adapted to be in fluid communication with the wound therapy dressing.", "The pressure source is configured to provide positive pressure to the actuator and negative pressure to the wound therapy dressing.", "The fluid control device is adapted to be in fluid communication between the fluid reservoir and the wound dressing, wherein fluid communication between the fluid reservoir and the wound dressing is provided through the fluid control device.", "In yet another embodiment, provided is a system for delivering fluid to a wound therapy dressing.", "The system includes a pump, an expandable member, and a valve.", "The pump comprises a vacuum port and a positive pressure port, the vacuum port being adapted to be in fluid communication with the wound therapy dressing.", "The expandable member is in fluid communication with the positive pressure port.", "Further, the expandable member is configured to exert a force on fluid within a fluid reservoir to expel fluid from the fluid reservoir, the fluid reservoir being adapted to be in fluid communication with the wound therapy dressing.", "The valve is in fluid communication between the positive pressure port and the expandable member, wherein positive pressure from the positive pressure port is provided to the expandable member through the valve, and wherein the valve is configured to vent excess pressure to atmosphere.", "In yet another embodiment, provided is a method of delivering fluid to a wound therapy dressing.", "The method includes the step of operating a pressure source adapted to exert a positive pressure on fluid in a fluid reservoir and a negative pressure on the wound therapy dressing.", "Further, the method includes monitoring the positive pressure on the fluid.", "Additionally, the method includes providing a fluid control device adapted to supply the fluid from the fluid reservoir to the wound therapy dressing, the fluid control device comprising a control valve and a metering orifice, the metering orifice being sized to provide a fluid flow rate according to the positive pressure on the fluid.", "Further, the method includes opening the control valve to provide a predetermined volume of the fluid from the fluid reservoir to the wound therapy dressing, the predetermined volume of the fluid corresponding to the fluid flow rate from the fluid reservoir for an elapsed time period.", "Even further, the method may include the steps of closing the control valve to restrict the fluid flow from the fluid reservoir to the wound therapy dressing after the elapsed time period, and maintaining negative pressure from the pressure source to the wound dressing.", "Other features and associated advantages will become apparent with reference to the following detailed description of specific embodiments in connection with the accompanying drawings.", "The term “coupled” is defined as connected, although not necessarily directly, and not necessarily mechanically.", "The terms “a” and “an” are defined as one or more unless this disclosure explicitly requires otherwise.", "The term “substantially” and its variations are defined as being largely but not necessarily wholly what is specified as understood by one of ordinary skill in the art, and in one non-limiting embodiment “substantially” refers to ranges within 10%, preferably within 5%, more preferably within 1%, and most preferably within 0.5% of what is specified.", "The terms “comprise” (and any form of comprise, such as “comprises” and “comprising”), “have” (and any form of have, such as “has” and “having”), “include” (and any form of include, such as “includes” and “including”) and “contain” (and any form of contain, such as “contains” and “containing”) are open-ended linking verbs.", "As a result, a method or device that “comprises,” “has,” “includes” or “contains” one or more steps or elements possesses those one or more steps or elements, but is not limited to possessing only those one or more elements.", "Likewise, a step of a method or an element of a device that “comprises,” “has,” “includes” or “contains” one or more features possesses those one or more features, but is not limited to possessing only those one or more features.", "Furthermore, a device or structure that is configured in a certain way is configured in at least that way, but may also be configured in ways that are not listed.", "The term “negative pressure” refers to an absolute pressure that is lower than the absolute atmospheric pressure at the location of use of the device.", "A stated level of negative pressure in a region is therefore a relative measure between the absolute atmospheric pressure and the absolute pressure in the region.", "A statement that the negative pressure is decreasing means the pressure in the region is moving towards atmospheric pressure (i.e.", "the absolute pressure is increasing).", "Where numeric values are used a negative sign is placed in front of the numeric pressure value to indicate the value is a negative pressure relative to atmospheric pressure." ], [ "CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "14/805,113, entitled “Systems and Methods for Delivering Fluid to a Wound Therapy Dressing,” filed Jul.", "21, 2015, which is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "13/734,790, entitled “Systems and Methods for Delivering Fluid to a Wound Therapy Dressing,” filed Jan. 4, 2013, now U.S. Pat.", "No.", "9,114,237, which claims priority to U.S.", "Provisional Patent Application No.", "61/585,055, filed Jan. 10, 2012, entitled “Systems and Methods for Delivering Fluid to a Wound Therapy Dressing,”.", "Each of the above applications are incorporated by reference herein for all purposes.", "BACKGROUND Field The subject matter of this specification relates generally to healing of wounds and wound-treatment therapies.", "More particularly, but not by way of limitation, the subject matter relates to systems and methods for improving fluid-instillation and negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) apparatuses and methods.", "Discussion Clinical studies and practice have shown that providing a reduced pressure in proximity to a tissue site augments and accelerates the growth of new tissue at the tissue site.", "The applications of this phenomenon are numerous, but application of reduced pressure has been particularly successful in treating wounds.", "This treatment (frequently referred to in the medical community as “negative pressure wound therapy,” “reduced pressure therapy,” or “vacuum therapy”) provides a number of benefits, including faster healing and increased formulation of granulation tissue.", "Typically, reduced pressure is applied to tissue through a porous pad or other manifold device.", "The porous pad contains cells or pores that are capable of distributing reduced pressure to the tissue and channeling fluids that are drawn from the tissue.", "The porous pad may be incorporated into a dressing having other components that facilitate treatment.", "Typical instillation therapy instills fluid into a wound under a low positive pressure.", "For maximum therapeutic effect, the instilled fluid should reach all exposed tissue surfaces.", "The practice of fully filling a wound with instillation fluid, combined with the application of porous wound fillers and negative pressure to help distribute fluid, can provide effective instillation therapy.", "Such techniques can have numerous disadvantages.", "For example, filling a wound with fluid is wasteful, particularly where expensive fluids (e.g.", "antibiotics) are used as the bulk of the fluid enters the dressing (e.g., a foam) to enable the surface of the wound to be coated with instillation fluid.", "Even where the instilled fluid is inexpensive, large volumes of fluid may be involved, requiring frequent canister changes that may lead to user dissatisfaction.", "Although low positive pressures are typically used to fill the wound cavity, the hydraulic (essentially incompressible) nature of the fluid means that over filling can quickly cause drape leakage.", "Tortuous contours within a wound cavity may be difficult to reach with both foam dressings and liquid-fill techniques as gas pockets may be created.", "Applying a low vacuum during liquid instillation (to help maintain a seal and reduce leaking, to minimize patient discomfort, and to aid fluid distribution) can be problematic as instilled fluid may be removed before it is fully distributed through the dressing.", "The referenced shortcomings are not intended to be exhaustive, but rather are among many that tend to impair the effectiveness of previously known techniques in fluid delivery to wound dressings; however, those mentioned here are sufficient to demonstrate that the methodologies appearing in the art have not been satisfactory and that a significant need exists for the techniques described and claimed in this disclosure.", "For at least the reasons described above, improved wound treatment systems and methods are therefore desired.", "SUMMARY From the foregoing discussion, it should be apparent that a need exists for a system and method for improved delivery of fluid to a wound therapy dressing.", "The method in the disclosed embodiments substantially includes the steps necessary to carry out the operation of the described system.", "In one embodiment, provided is a system for delivering fluid to a negative pressure wound therapy dressing, where the system includes: an actuator configured to engage a fluid reservoir; and a pressure source configured to provide positive pressure to the actuator and negative pressure to a wound dressing.", "The actuator can be, for example, configured as a compression sleeve and/or a bladder.", "Some embodiments may additionally include: a fluid reservoir; a wound dressing; and a fluid control device in fluid communication with the fluid reservoir and the wound dressing.", "In specific embodiments, the fluid control device can be a control valve, such as, for example, a solenoid-actuated pinch valve and/or an orifice.", "Certain embodiments may also include a control system configured to control the fluid control device.", "In specific embodiments, the pressure source may include a vacuum diaphragm pump.", "Specific embodiments may also include a valve in fluid communication with the actuator and the pressure source, where the valve can be configured to vent to atmosphere.", "The pressure source can be, for example, configured to provide a pressure of between approximately 0.1 psig and approximately 1.0 psig.", "In another embodiment, provided is a system for delivering fluid to a negative pressure wound therapy dressing, where the system includes: a pump comprising a vacuum port and a positive pressure port; an expandable member in fluid communication with the positive pressure port, wherein the expandable member is configured to engage a fluid reservoir and expel fluid from the fluid reservoir; and a valve in fluid communication with the positive pressure port and the expandable member, wherein the valve is configured to vent pressure to atmosphere.", "Specific embodiments may additionally include a wound dressing in fluid communication with the vacuum port.", "Further, specific embodiments may additionally include a control system configured to control a fluid flow from the fluid reservoir.", "For example, the control system can be configured to control a control valve.", "The control valve can be, for example, a solenoid-actuated pinch valve.", "In specific embodiments, the positive pressure port can be configured to provide a pressure of between approximately 0.1 psig and approximately 1.0 psig to the expandable member.", "In yet another embodiment, provided is a method of delivering fluid to a negative pressure wound therapy dressing, where the method includes: operating a pressure source to exert a positive pressure on a fluid reservoir and a negative pressure on a wound dressing of a negative pressure wound therapy system; monitoring the positive pressure and opening a valve to allow fluid to flow from the fluid reservoir to the wound dressing; closing the valve to restrict fluid flow from the fluid reservoir to the wound dressing; and maintaining negative pressure from the pressure source to the wound dressing.", "In specific embodiments, the pressure source may be a diaphragm vacuum pump.", "In particular embodiments, the positive pressure may be between approximately 0.1 psig and approximately 1.0 psig.", "In yet another embodiment, provided is a system for delivering fluid to a wound therapy dressing.", "The system includes an actuator, a pressure source, and a fluid control device.", "The actuator is configured to engage a fluid reservoir.", "Further, the actuator is adapted to expel the fluid from the fluid reservoir.", "The fluid reservoir is adapted to be in fluid communication with the wound therapy dressing.", "The pressure source is configured to provide positive pressure to the actuator and negative pressure to the wound therapy dressing.", "The fluid control device is adapted to be in fluid communication between the fluid reservoir and the wound dressing, wherein fluid communication between the fluid reservoir and the wound dressing is provided through the fluid control device.", "In yet another embodiment, provided is a system for delivering fluid to a wound therapy dressing.", "The system includes a pump, an expandable member, and a valve.", "The pump comprises a vacuum port and a positive pressure port, the vacuum port being adapted to be in fluid communication with the wound therapy dressing.", "The expandable member is in fluid communication with the positive pressure port.", "Further, the expandable member is configured to exert a force on fluid within a fluid reservoir to expel fluid from the fluid reservoir, the fluid reservoir being adapted to be in fluid communication with the wound therapy dressing.", "The valve is in fluid communication between the positive pressure port and the expandable member, wherein positive pressure from the positive pressure port is provided to the expandable member through the valve, and wherein the valve is configured to vent excess pressure to atmosphere.", "In yet another embodiment, provided is a method of delivering fluid to a wound therapy dressing.", "The method includes the step of operating a pressure source adapted to exert a positive pressure on fluid in a fluid reservoir and a negative pressure on the wound therapy dressing.", "Further, the method includes monitoring the positive pressure on the fluid.", "Additionally, the method includes providing a fluid control device adapted to supply the fluid from the fluid reservoir to the wound therapy dressing, the fluid control device comprising a control valve and a metering orifice, the metering orifice being sized to provide a fluid flow rate according to the positive pressure on the fluid.", "Further, the method includes opening the control valve to provide a predetermined volume of the fluid from the fluid reservoir to the wound therapy dressing, the predetermined volume of the fluid corresponding to the fluid flow rate from the fluid reservoir for an elapsed time period.", "Even further, the method may include the steps of closing the control valve to restrict the fluid flow from the fluid reservoir to the wound therapy dressing after the elapsed time period, and maintaining negative pressure from the pressure source to the wound dressing.", "Other features and associated advantages will become apparent with reference to the following detailed description of specific embodiments in connection with the accompanying drawings.", "The term “coupled” is defined as connected, although not necessarily directly, and not necessarily mechanically.", "The terms “a” and “an” are defined as one or more unless this disclosure explicitly requires otherwise.", "The term “substantially” and its variations are defined as being largely but not necessarily wholly what is specified as understood by one of ordinary skill in the art, and in one non-limiting embodiment “substantially” refers to ranges within 10%, preferably within 5%, more preferably within 1%, and most preferably within 0.5% of what is specified.", "The terms “comprise” (and any form of comprise, such as “comprises” and “comprising”), “have” (and any form of have, such as “has” and “having”), “include” (and any form of include, such as “includes” and “including”) and “contain” (and any form of contain, such as “contains” and “containing”) are open-ended linking verbs.", "As a result, a method or device that “comprises,” “has,” “includes” or “contains” one or more steps or elements possesses those one or more steps or elements, but is not limited to possessing only those one or more elements.", "Likewise, a step of a method or an element of a device that “comprises,” “has,” “includes” or “contains” one or more features possesses those one or more features, but is not limited to possessing only those one or more features.", "Furthermore, a device or structure that is configured in a certain way is configured in at least that way, but may also be configured in ways that are not listed.", "The term “negative pressure” refers to an absolute pressure that is lower than the absolute atmospheric pressure at the location of use of the device.", "A stated level of negative pressure in a region is therefore a relative measure between the absolute atmospheric pressure and the absolute pressure in the region.", "A statement that the negative pressure is decreasing means the pressure in the region is moving towards atmospheric pressure (i.e.", "the absolute pressure is increasing).", "Where numeric values are used a negative sign is placed in front of the numeric pressure value to indicate the value is a negative pressure relative to atmospheric pressure.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The following drawings form part of this specification and are included to further demonstrate certain aspects of exemplary embodiments of the subject matter described herein.", "FIG.", "1 is a schematic diagram illustrating one embodiment of a system for delivering fluid to a wound therapy dressing.", "FIG.", "2 is a schematic diagram illustrating another embodiment of a system for delivering fluid to a wound therapy dressing.", "FIG.", "3 is schematic flowchart diagram illustrating one embodiment of a method for delivering fluid to a wound therapy dressing.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS Various features and advantageous details are explained more fully with reference to the non-limiting embodiments that are illustrated in the accompanying drawings and detailed in the following description.", "Descriptions of well known starting materials, processing techniques, components, and equipment are omitted so as not to unnecessarily obscure the invention in detail.", "It should be understood, however, that the detailed description and the specific examples, while indicating embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, and not by way of limitation.", "Various substitutions, modifications, additions, and/or rearrangements within the spirit and/or scope of the underlying inventive concept will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure.", "FIG.", "1 illustrates one exemplary embodiment of a system 100 for delivering fluid to a negative pressure wound therapy dressing.", "In the exemplary embodiment shown, system 100 includes a reservoir 110, a wound dressing 120, and a pressure source 130.In exemplary embodiments, pressure source 130 may be a vacuum pump, including, for example, a diaphragm vacuum pump.", "In exemplary embodiments, reservoir 110 may be configured as a polyethylene bag similar to those used for intravenous fluid delivery.", "In the embodiment of FIG.", "1, pressure source 130 provides a negative pressure to reservoir 110 and wound dressing 120, and a positive pressure to an actuator 115 configured to force fluid from reservoir 110.Reservoir 110 may contain saline, antibiotic fluid, or any other fluid suitable for use in instillation therapy.", "As shown in FIG.", "1, actuator 115 is an expandable member, such as a compression sleeve, that is configured to compress reservoir 110 and expel fluid from reservoir 110.For example, FIG.", "1 depicts actuator 115 as a compression sleeve positioned circumferentially about reservoir 110.The compression sleeve may be adapted to expand at least in an inward direction toward reservoir 110 to engage and compress reservoir 110, i.e., the internal circumference of the compression sleeve may decrease as the compression sleeve expands.", "Continuing with FIG.", "1, system 100 additionally includes a fluid control device 150 in fluid communication with reservoir 110 and wound dressing 120.As discussed in greater detail below, fluid control device 150 may comprise one or more valves or orifices configured to control the flow of fluid from reservoir 110 to wound dressing 120.During operation of system 100, pressure source 130 provides a negative pressure from a vacuum port 138 that is in fluid communication with wound dressing 120 via conduit 116 and with reservoir 110 via conduit 114 and 112.Pressure source 130 is also configured to provide a positive pressure from a pressure port 132 to actuator 115 via conduits 134 and 136 during operation.", "A valve 135 in fluid communication between pressure port 132 and actuator 115 (e.g.", "via conduits 134 and 136) can be used to vent positive pressure to atmosphere.", "Prior to operation, system 100 is prepared so that actuator 115 is engaged with reservoir 110, containing fluid to be delivered to wound dressing 120.Reservoir 110 is in fluid communication with fluid control device 150 via conduit 112 and with wound dressing 120 via conduit 114.Wound dressing 120 is in turn in fluid communication with vacuum port 138 via conduit 116.Furthermore, pressure port 132 is in fluid communication with actuator 115 via conduits 134 and 136, and valve 135.Pressure source 130 is operated so that positive pressure is delivered to actuator 115.In certain exemplary embodiments, the pressure provided to actuator 115 is less than 2.0 psig, and in specific embodiments, the pressure level is less than 1.0 psig.", "In even more specific embodiments, the pressure level is less than 0.9, 0.8, 0.7, 0.6, 0.5, 0.4, 0.3, 0.2 or 0.1 psig.", "The pressure level delivered to actuator 115 can be controlled by valve 135.In certain embodiments, valve 135 may be a three-way valve configured to vent excess pressure to atmosphere.", "Actuator 115 can then exert a force on reservoir 110 so that fluid can be expelled from reservoir 110 via conduit 112.Fluid control device 150 can be operated to control the amount (e.g., the total volume, the flow rate, or another fluid flow parameter that is desired to be controlled) of fluid expelled from reservoir 110.As shown in FIG.", "1, fluid control device 150 includes a control valve 151 and a metering flow orifice 152.Valve 151 may be configured, for example, as a solenoid valve or pinch valve that can be used to stop the flow of fluid from reservoir 110.In certain exemplary embodiments, when valve 151 is closed to stop fluid flow, valve 135 can be positioned to vent the positive pressure developed by pressure source 130 to atmosphere.", "It is understood that in other embodiments, fluid control device 150 may comprise a different combination of components, including for example, a control valve without an orifice or an orifice without a control valve.", "In certain embodiments, fluid control device 150 may be controlled via an appropriate control system 155 (e.g., a system comprising software, pressure sensors or other appropriate components).", "For example, control system 155 may receive an input from a pressure sensor 153 configured to detect a pressure exerted on actuator 115.As shown in FIG.", "1, pressure sensor 153 detects pressure in conduit 136, wherein conduit 136 is in fluid communication with actuator 115.Control system 155 may also be configured to provide an output to valve 151 to control the flow of fluid from reservoir 110, based on, for example, the pressure exerted on actuator 115 and the force, or pressure, exerted by the actuator 115 on reservoir 110 and the fluid therein.", "Fluid control device 150 can be operated so that a known, or predetermined, volume and/or flow rate of fluid is expelled from reservoir 110 based on the known pressure level exerted on reservoir 110 and the valve position and/or orifice size of control device 150.In particular embodiments, the rate of fluid flow from reservoir 110 may be controlled at 100 ml/minute.", "In other embodiments, the flow rate may be controlled at 90, 80, 70, 60, 50, 40, 30, 20 or 10 ml/min.", "By utilizing a positive pressure to expel fluid from reservoir 110 and fluid control device 150 to control the fluid flow from reservoir 110, a user can precisely monitor and administer a desired amount of fluid to wound dressing 120.For example, metering flow orifice 152 can be sized to provide a particular flow rate at a known pressure provided to reservoir 110.The flow rate can be maintained at a substantially constant level because actuator 115 can expand as the volume in reservoir 110 is reduced.", "With a known flow rate, valve 151 can be operated for a specific length of time to provide a desired fluid volume to wound dressing 120, i.e., the predetermined or desired volume of fluid from reservoir 110 may correspond to the fluid flow rate from reservoir 110 for an elapsed time period.", "This can reduce the likelihood that excess fluid will be delivered to wound dressing 120 and cause leakage.", "The embodiment shown in FIG.", "1 is merely one exemplary embodiment.", "Other exemplary embodiments may comprise a different configuration or arrangement of components.", "For example, referring now to FIG.", "2, an exemplary embodiment of a system 200 is shown that is similar to that of FIG.", "1, but includes an actuator 215 that is configured as an expandable bladder.", "The components of system 200 sharing the same element numbering as the components discussed in connection with system 100 are equivalent, and thus, will not be further described herein.", "During operation of system 200, actuator 215 expands as the pressure provided from pressure source 130 is increased.", "In this embodiment, actuator 215 is contained within a reservoir 210, such as a housing.", "As actuator 215 expands, actuator 215 displaces fluid in reservoir 210 to expel fluid from reservoir 210 in a similar manner as described above in connection with system 100 to provide controlled fluid flow from reservoir 210 to wound dressing 120.Referring now to FIG.", "3, a flow chart is provided to illustrate an embodiment of a method that may be utilized to operate systems 100 and 200.The flow chart is generally set forth as a logical flow chart diagram.", "As such, the depicted order and labeled steps are indicative of one non-limiting embodiment of the presented method.", "Other steps, methods, and the order of execution thereof may be conceived that fall within the scope of this specification.", "In the embodiment shown in FIG.", "3, a method 300 is disclosed comprising a series of steps that may be executed for the operation of an exemplary system according to this disclosure.", "Certain embodiments may comprise a tangible computer readable medium comprising computer readable code that, when executed by a computer, causes the computer to perform operations comprising the steps disclosed in FIG.", "3.In this exemplary embodiment, step 310 comprises operating a pressure source to exert a positive pressure on a fluid reservoir and to exert a negative pressure on a wound dressing of a negative wound pressure therapy system.", "Step 320 comprises monitoring a reservoir or fluid pressure and opening a valve to allow fluid to flow from the fluid reservoir to the wound dressing.", "Step 330 comprises closing the valve to restrict fluid flow from the fluid reservoir to the wound dressing.", "Step 340 comprises maintaining negative pressure from the pressure source to the wound dressing.", "The method may additionally include the steps of providing the previously described fluid control device 150, opening control valve 151 associated with fluid control device 150, and subsequently closing control valve 151 after an elapsed time period sufficient to deliver a predetermined volume of fluid from reservoir 110, 210.While the apparatus and methods herein have been described in terms of preferred embodiments, it will be apparent to those of skill in the art that variations may be applied without departing from the scope of this specification as defined by the appended claims." ] ]
Patent_15873110
[ [ "MULTI-ROTOR UAV FLIGHT CONTROL METHOD AND SYSTEM", "Disclosed herein is a method and system for flying rotary wing drone.", "An add-on flight camera that is free to rotate around the vehicle's yaw axis is attached to the drone.", "The flight camera is automatically looking in the direction of its flight.", "The video from the flight camera is streamed to the operator's display.", "Thus the rotary wing drone can fly in any direction with respect to its structure, giving the operator a first person view along the flight path, thus keeping high level of situational awareness to the operator.", "The information required for controlling the camera orientation is derived from sensors, such as GPS, magnetometers, gyros and accelerometer.", "As a backup mode the information can be derived from propeller commands or tilt sensors." ], [ "1.A method for remotely piloting a rotary wing drone flying in any direction, by streaming to the drone's operator a first-person-view video in the direction of the drone's flight, regardless of drone's yaw, the method comprising: a. fitting the drone with a video camera capable of rotating around drone's yaw axis; b. acquiring the projection of drone's flight direction on the natural plane in local coordinates; c. automatically turning the video camera so that the center of its field of view is aligned with the projection of the drone's flight direction on the natural plane; and d. continuously streaming the video from the video camera to an operator's client.", "2.The method of claim 1, where the projection of the drone's flight direction on the natural plane is acquired from the drone's built-in electronics which include, among others, the drone's flight computer, a Global Position System, or an Inertial Measurement Unit or other type of an Inertial Navigation System.", "3.The method of claim 1, where the projection of the drone's flight direction on the natural plane is acquired from an add-on hardware module.", "4.The method of claim 1, where the projection of the drone's flight direction on the natural plane is computed from tilt sensors mounted on the drone's body.", "5.The method of claim 1, where the projection of the drone's flight direction on the natural plane is computed from the commands applied to the drone's rotors.", "6.The method of claim 1, where the projection of the drone's flight direction on the natural plane is derived by acquiring the drone's direction of flight in geographical coordinates, transforming and projecting it onto the drone's local coordinates.", "7.The method of claim 6, where the drone's direction of flight in the geographical coordinates is acquired from the drone's built-in electronics which include, among others, a flight computer, a Global Position System, or an Inertial Measurement Unit or other type of an Inertial Navigation System.", "8.The method of claim 1, where the video streamed from the video camera is an infra-red or thermal imaging video stream.", "9.A method for piloting remotely a rotary wing drone in any direction relative to its local coordinates, by streaming first-person-view video to the drone's ground operator, where the center of field of view is pointing in the direction of the drone's flight, regardless of drone's yaw, the method comprising: a. fitting the drone with a plurality of fixed video cameras that provide 360 degree video coverage around the drone's yaw axis; b. acquiring the projection of the drone's flight direction on the natural plane; c. using the fixed camera's 360 degrees video, encode a limited field-of-view video, with the center of its field of view is aligned with the projection of drone's flight direction on the natural plane; and d. continuously streaming the video from the encoded limited field-of-view video camera to an operator's client.", "10.The method of claim 9, where the projection of flight direction on the natural plane, is acquired from the drone's built-in electronics which include, among others, a flight computer, a Global Position System or an Inertial Measurement Unit or other type of an Inertial Navigation System.", "11.The method of claim 9, where the projection of the drone's flight direction on the natural plane is acquired from an add-on hardware module.", "12.The method of claim 9, where the projection of the drone's flight direction on the natural plane is computed from tilt sensors mounted on the drone's body.", "13.The method of claim 9, where the projection of the drone's flight direction on the natural plane is computed from the commands applied to the drone's rotors.", "14.The method of claim 9, where the projection of the drone's flight direction on the natural plane is derived by acquiring the drone's direction of flight in geographical coordinates and transforming and projecting it onto the drone's local coordinates.", "15.The method of claim 14, where the drone's direction of flight in the geographical coordinates are acquired from the drone's built-in electronics which include, among others, a flight computer, a Global Position System and an Inertial Measurement Unit or other type of an Inertial Navigation System.", "16.The method of claim 9, where the video streamed from the plurality of fixed cameras is an infra-red or thermal imaging video stream.", "17.A system for piloting remotely a rotary wing drone, the system comprising: a. a 360-degrees-of-freedom gimbal attached on the drone that can rotate around drone's yaw axis; b. a video camera mounted on the gimbal; c. a motor, attached to the drone, capable of rotating the gimbal; d. a ground operator's client with video viewing capabilities; e. a downlink for transmitting data including video from the video camera to the ground operator's client; f. sensors for providing the required information for turning the camera to the desired orientation in the natural plane; and g. a processor including software running on it for: i. receiving required information from the sensors; ii.", "computing a desired camera rotation angle; and iii.", "controlling the motor.", "18.The system as in claim 17, wherein the sensors provide information on the drone's direction of flight and the camera's current orientation, and software which: a. samples and signal-processes information from the sensors; b. computes the camera's orientation such that the center of its field of view is aligned with the direction of flight; and c. controls the motor.", "19.The system as in claim 18, wherein the drone's direction of flight is obtained from tilt sensors.", "20.The system as in claim 17, wherein the sensors comprise a Global Positioning System and a magnetometer, and software which: a. samples and signal-process information from the sensors; b. transforms the flight direction obtained from the Global Position System to local coordinates using data from the magnetometer, and c. controls the motor.", "21.The system as in claim 17, wherein the sensors comprise a Global Positioning System, an Inertial Measurement Unit containing plurality of accelerometers gyros and magnetometer, and the software which: a. samples and signal-process information from the sensors; b. transforms the flight direction obtained from the Global Position System to local coordinates using data from gyroscopes and magnetometer; c. improves the accuracy of obtained flight direction by combining it with higher frequency data obtained from the accelerometers; and d. controls the motor.", "22.The method of claim 17, where the data transmitted from the video camera is infra-red or thermal imaging video data.", "23.A system for piloting remotely a rotary wing drone, the system comprising: a. a plurality of fixed video cameras that provide 360 degrees video coverage around drone's yaw axis; b. a ground operator's client with video viewing capabilities; c. a downlink for transmitting data including video from the video camera to ground operator's client; d. sensors for providing the required information for encoding a limited field-of-view video, with the center of its field-of-view pointing towards desired direction in local coordinates; e. a processor including software running on it for: i. receiving required information from the sensors; ii.", "computing desired camera center of field-of-view angle; and iii.", "encoding a limited field-of-view video with the center of its field-of-view pointing towards the direction in local coordinates.", "24.The system as in claim 23, where the projection of drone's flight direction on the natural plan is computed from tilt sensors mounted on the drone's body.", "25.The system as in claim 23, where the sensors comprise a Global Positioning System and a magnetometer, and software which: a. samples and signal-processes information from the sensors; b. transforms the bearing direction obtained from the GPS to local coordinates using data from magnetometers; and c. encodes a limited field-of-view video, with the center of its field-of-view pointing towards the direction in local coordinates.", "26.The system as in claim 23, where the sensors comprise a Global Positioning System and an inertial-measurement-unit containing a plurality of accelerometers, gyros, and a magnetometer, and software which: a. samples and signal-process information from the sensors; b. transforms the flight direction obtained from the GPS to local coordinates using data from the gyroscopes and the magnetometer; c. improves the accuracy of obtained flight direction by combining it with higher frequency data obtained from the accelerometers; and d. encodes a limited field-of-view video, with the center of its field-of-view pointing towards the direction in local coordinates.", "27.The method of claim 23, where the data transmitted from the video camera is infra-red or thermal imaging video data." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND ART <EOH>Multi-rotor UAV (and multirotor copters in general) configurations have become popular in UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) as payload carrying platforms.", "They are known for their simplicity and for their high maneuverability.", "They are used for military as well as for civilian purposes.", "Such multi-rotor UAVs are sometimes also referred to as tri-copter, quadcopter, hexa-copter and octocopter, quads and drones.", "From now on we refer to these UAV's as Rotary Wing Drones.", "The most difficult part of flying rotary wing drones is controlling them remotely.", "This difficulty arises from decrease of the situational awareness of the operator, which in turn, significantly decreases working efficiency and at the same time increases risks.", "Low working efficiency results in high operating costs, and risks present even higher costs associated with collision inflicted hardware damages and human injuries.", "The situational awareness of the operator is dependent on two main factors: the quality of input from his senses and his attention/concentration levels.", "Decreasing any of the two dramatically reduces the situational awareness of the operator and hence his ability to control the rotary wing drone and to accomplish the mission's purpose.", "Remote controlled rotary wing drones are mainly used to photograph and document various subjects in civilian and in military applications, such as reconnaissance missions, social events, sport events, scenery, movie scenes, maintenance of buildings, bridges, and pipelines, and also accidents, fires and home security scenes.", "These missions are performed by an operator/pilot which has to fly and control the rotary wing drone remotely by looking up to the sky to watch it and at the same time keep the documenting camera pointed and focused on the documented subject by watching its output on a small screen to which the film is transmitted.", "Attempting to simultaneously perform those two distinct operations, which are taking place in different reference systems with different rate of change, severely harm the operator's attention/concentration levels.", "Moreover, remotely flying a rotary wing drone, where the operator is not onboard, intrinsically deprives the operator of sensations of speed, acceleration, noise, distance, three-dimensional image of space, directions (right/left), direction of propagation (forward/backward, to/from) and inclination (pitch/roll).", "Additionally, the distance between the operator and the rotary wing drone, optically converge all objects in the distance such that the operator can't distinguish the rotary wing drone from objects surrounding it.", "All these dramatically degrade the situational awareness of the operator and thus his ability to perform the mission efficiently and safely.", "In fixed wing UAVs there is an intrinsic continuous flight path due to the aeronautical characteristics of the fixed wing UAV.", "This helps the operator create and maintain a better idea of the direction of movement of the UAV based on this path that is registered in his mind and thus allows him to predict the location and direction of movement to come.", "In contrary, because rotary wing drone can change the direction of its flight and its speed abruptly, the ability to predict the location and direction of propagation of the rotary wing drone is severely tampered, and hence also the operator's situational awareness.", "Hence a solution to the problem of the degradation of situational awareness of operators of rotary wing drones is needed." ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY OF INVENTION <EOH>" ], [ "CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This application claims the benefit of U.S.", "Provisional Patent Application 62/197,569 filed on 28 Jul.", "2015, which is incorporated herein by reference.", "TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention generally relates to the field of remotely controlling Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), and more particularly, controlling remotely the flight of multi-rotor UAV or ducted-fan UAV.", "BACKGROUND ART Multi-rotor UAV (and multirotor copters in general) configurations have become popular in UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) as payload carrying platforms.", "They are known for their simplicity and for their high maneuverability.", "They are used for military as well as for civilian purposes.", "Such multi-rotor UAVs are sometimes also referred to as tri-copter, quadcopter, hexa-copter and octocopter, quads and drones.", "From now on we refer to these UAV's as Rotary Wing Drones.", "The most difficult part of flying rotary wing drones is controlling them remotely.", "This difficulty arises from decrease of the situational awareness of the operator, which in turn, significantly decreases working efficiency and at the same time increases risks.", "Low working efficiency results in high operating costs, and risks present even higher costs associated with collision inflicted hardware damages and human injuries.", "The situational awareness of the operator is dependent on two main factors: the quality of input from his senses and his attention/concentration levels.", "Decreasing any of the two dramatically reduces the situational awareness of the operator and hence his ability to control the rotary wing drone and to accomplish the mission's purpose.", "Remote controlled rotary wing drones are mainly used to photograph and document various subjects in civilian and in military applications, such as reconnaissance missions, social events, sport events, scenery, movie scenes, maintenance of buildings, bridges, and pipelines, and also accidents, fires and home security scenes.", "These missions are performed by an operator/pilot which has to fly and control the rotary wing drone remotely by looking up to the sky to watch it and at the same time keep the documenting camera pointed and focused on the documented subject by watching its output on a small screen to which the film is transmitted.", "Attempting to simultaneously perform those two distinct operations, which are taking place in different reference systems with different rate of change, severely harm the operator's attention/concentration levels.", "Moreover, remotely flying a rotary wing drone, where the operator is not onboard, intrinsically deprives the operator of sensations of speed, acceleration, noise, distance, three-dimensional image of space, directions (right/left), direction of propagation (forward/backward, to/from) and inclination (pitch/roll).", "Additionally, the distance between the operator and the rotary wing drone, optically converge all objects in the distance such that the operator can't distinguish the rotary wing drone from objects surrounding it.", "All these dramatically degrade the situational awareness of the operator and thus his ability to perform the mission efficiently and safely.", "In fixed wing UAVs there is an intrinsic continuous flight path due to the aeronautical characteristics of the fixed wing UAV.", "This helps the operator create and maintain a better idea of the direction of movement of the UAV based on this path that is registered in his mind and thus allows him to predict the location and direction of movement to come.", "In contrary, because rotary wing drone can change the direction of its flight and its speed abruptly, the ability to predict the location and direction of propagation of the rotary wing drone is severely tampered, and hence also the operator's situational awareness.", "Hence a solution to the problem of the degradation of situational awareness of operators of rotary wing drones is needed.", "SUMMARY OF INVENTION Technical Problem Rotary wing drones are frequently used for documenting objects.", "Usually, the documenting camera is attached to the rotary wing drone pointing in the direction the its front (its roll axis).", "The camera is usually gimballed on the pitch and roll, and sometimes it can be rotated by the operator in the yaw axis.", "The main task of the ground operator is to pilot the vehicle to obtain the required documentation information.", "Often, the operator needs to fly the rotating wing drone in a direction which is not aligned with its roll axis.", "As an example, the operator is asked to film a line of olive trees in an orchard in order to evaluate the amount of fruit.", "In order to achieve it the operator needs to fly the rotary wing drone along the lines of the trees, where its front with the documenting camera points to the trees while it flies to its side.", "Thus, simultaneously the operator has to look up to the sky to watch the rotary wing drone and to keep the documenting camera pointed and focused on the documented subject by watching its output on a small screen to which the film is transmitted.", "Thus the situational awareness of the operator is dramatically decreased, which leads to increased risk and performance degradation.", "Solution to Problem The solution to the problem is to add a video camera, called Flight Camera, that is free to rotate around the rotary wing drone's yaw axis, and to automatically continuously point its field of view in the direction of propagation of the rotary wing drone.", "The video from the flight camera is streamed to the operator's display.", "Advantageous Effects of Invention The disclosed invention dramatically improves the efficiency and safety of flying rotary wing drones.", "It does so by returning a high level of situational awareness to the operator.", "As a result it increases flight safety and reduces the operational costs.", "The objective of the disclosed invention is to add the ability to fly rotary wing drone from a First Person View (FPV) perspective (flying from the cockpit) regardless of the direction of the vehicle's body.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS FIG.", "1 shows a top view of a typical rotary wing drone.", "FIG.", "2 shows a top view of rotary wing drone with the added flight camera.", "FIG.", "3 shows a block diagram of one embodiment of the flight camera.", "FIG.", "4 shows a block diagram of one embodiment of the flight camera alignment.", "FIG.", "5 presents another implementation of the disclosed invention.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION The invention will be described more fully hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which certain possible embodiments of the invention are shown.", "The invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather these embodiments are provided so that the disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art.", "The description that follows refers to a multi-rotor UAV as an example, albeit, the same solution is applicable to multirotor UAVs, unmanned helicopters and to ducted-fan air vehicles.", "All these UAV types are referred to as Rotary Wing Drone.", "Throughout the rest of the specifications and the claims we shall use the following terms as they are defined hereunder.", "Natural plane is a plane that passes through the drone's center of gravity and is perpendicular to the yaw axis of the rotary wing drone.", "Local coordinates are Cartesian coordinates fixed relative to the structure of the rotary wing drone.", "Usually they are aligned with direction of the inertial measurement unit's sensors.", "The direction of the drone's flight is the direction of its propagation.", "Geographic coordinates are the coordinate system in which the GPS provides information on the flight direction of the rotating wing drone.", "We further define first-person-view, also known as remote-person-view, or simply video piloting, as the method used to control a remote controlled vehicle from the driver's or pilot's view point as if they were sitting on board the vehicle.", "FIG.", "1 presents a top schematic view of a typical rotary wing drone 100 having four rotors.", "It is comprised of a body 102, to which four motor arms 104a, 104b 104c and 104d are symmetrically attached.", "At the end of each motor arm 104a, 104b, 104c, 104d, a propeller 106a, 106b, 106c, 106d is mounted.", "The rotors are driven by respective motors 108a, 108b, 108c and 108d.", "The propeller can be either with fixed pitch or variable pitch.", "The propellers of each diagonal rotate in the same direction i.e.", "rotors 106a and 106c rotate in one direction and rotors 106b and 106d rotate in opposite direction.", "The motion of the rotary wing drone is controlled by adjusting the spin speeds and optionally the pitch of its propellers.", "All the required electronic units are attached to the body of the rotary wing drone 102.As a minimum it contains a power unit, a motor control and drive unit and ground communication unit.", "A top view of a rotary wing drone with the added flight camera unit, according to the invention is shown in FIG.", "2.A video camera unit 210 is mounted on the body is comprised of a video camera 220 attached to a gimbal that is free to rotate around the yaw axis of the rotary wing drone.", "The yaw axis in the figure is perpendicular to the plane of the paper.", "The plane of the paper also represents the natural plane.", "The camera is controlled to look in the direction of the projection of the flight direction on the natural plane V—230.The camera unit contains the required electronics that supports its operation.", "Note, that during calibration, the representation of the yaw axis in the local coordinate system has to be determined, as well as the zero reference direction of the video camera.", "A detailed block diagram of the flight camera unit 350 is presented in FIG.", "3.The flight-camera-unit 350 is comprised of a flight camera 320 firmly attached to 360° CW/CCW rotating camera pedestal 310.The camera pedestal is driven by a pedestal motor 354 which is controlled by pedestal servo controller 352.The pedestal servo controller accepts as a command the angle ψ of the required center of the field of view of the camera.", "The flight camera unit includes a video transmitter 360, that transmits the video to a ground receiver and monitor 390.The signals to and from the camera are channeled via slip rings 356 and 358, one for the video signal and one for the power.", "All components get the energy from a power unit 362.Block diagram of one embodiment of the invention is presented in FIG.", "4.The flight-camera-system is comprised of a sensors unit 410, processing unit 420 and the flight camera unit 350.The sensors unit provides its data to a processing unit 420.The processor unit 420 computes the angle ψ to which the flight camera has to be rotated in order to point in the direction of vehicle's direction of flight in the natural plane, and it provides driving signals to the flight camera unit 350 which rotates the camera to the desired direction.", "All components get their power from a power unit 450.The power unit can be independent or it can get its energy from the power source of the vehicle.", "Note that the sensors used by the system can be either add on sensors, or the rotary wing drone built in sensors.", "The sensors unit 410 is comprised, as a minimum, of a GPS and magnetometers, and can include additional sensors such as accelerometers and gyros.", "The sensors provide the data required for the computation of the direction of the flight in local coordinates.", "The use of the additional sensors, results in improved accuracy in the positioning of the flight camera.", "It is important to note that the field of view of the flight camera is much wider than the magnetic deviation, so the error induced by the use of magnetometers and not the geographical north is meaningless.", "If accurate INS system is used, there is no need for the magnetometers.", "FIG.", "4 presents another implementation of the disclosed invention.", "This implementation can be used as a backup mode when GPS signals are blocked, such as in a building, or when the drone's flight is not affected by winds.", "In this implementation the direction of flight of the rotary wing drone is computed by the processor from the commands 522 sent to the propellers 510 by the flight controller 520.In a similar way, the flight direction of the rotary wing drone, can be evaluated by tilt sensors attached to it.", "This method is also used as backup mode or when GPS signal is unavailable.", "What has been described above are just a few possible embodiments of the disclosed invention.", "It is of course, not possible to describe every conceivable combination of components and/or methodologies, but one of ordinary skill in the art may recognize that many further combinations and permutations are possible.", "Accordingly, the invention is intended to embrace all such alterations, modifications, and variations that fall within the spirit and scope of the invention." ] ]
Patent_15873115
[ [ "DC-BASED PEER-TO-PEER NETWORK FOR AIRCRAFT", "A passenger control unit (PCU) network is provided for a passenger aircraft having passenger seats in a plurality of zones, each zone having at least one column of seats, and each column having at least one row of seats.", "The PCU network includes a direct current (DC) power distribution system, and a plurality of wired PCUs, one PCU associated with each passenger seat and coupled to the DC power distribution system.", "Each PCU has a processor and system memory and a standard data and power interface, the processor being programmed for differential peer-to-peer communication with adjacently interconnected PCUs throughout the PCU network and with an external system of the aircraft.", "A PCU of one seat of each row is serially coupled to all PCUs in the respective row, and designated as a row master PCU; a PCU of one seat of each column is serially coupled to all row master PCUs in the respective column, and designated as a column master PCU; a PCU of one seat of each zone is serially coupled to all column master PCUs in the respective zone, and designated as a zone master PCU; and one zone master PCU is designated as a PCU system master and connected to an external system.", "Two-conductor data wires couple all PCUs within the PCU network." ], [ "1.A passenger control unit (PCU), configured for association with a passenger seat of an aircraft, comprising: a processor and system memory, the processor being programmed for differential peer-to-peer communication with adjacently interconnected PCUs throughout a hierarchical data network and with an external system of the aircraft; a passenger operable control for the external system; a standard data and power interface, couplable to a direct current (DC) power source, having a plurality of two-wire data interfaces for receiving and transmitting data with the adjacently interconnected PCUs, whereby any PCU is interchangeable with any other PCU within the hierarchical data network, and functions depending upon its position in the hierarchical data network.", "2.The PCU of claim 1, wherein the passenger operable control is selected from the group consisting of a reading light control and an attendant call button.", "3.The PCU of claim 1, further comprising a universal serial bus (USB) power and data outlet, the processor being configured for USB power management.", "4.The PCU of claim 1, wherein the standard data and power interface further comprises an inter-system data interface, a zone-to-zone data interface, a column-to-column data interface, a seat group-to-seat group interface, and a seat-to-seat interface.", "5.The PCU of claim 1, wherein the standard data and power interface includes at least one power output interface for providing DC power to the adjacently interconnected PCU.", "6.The PCU of claim 1, wherein the PCU is configured to be disposed in an armrest of the passenger seat.", "7.The PCU of claim 1, wherein the PCU is configured to be directly connected to a DC power supply device.", "8.The PCU of claim 1, wherein the external system is selected from the group consisting of a cabin services system, an in-flight entertainment system, and a passenger services system.", "9.The PCU of claim 1, wherein the external system comprises: a plurality of overhead passenger services units (PSU), one PSU associated with each row of passenger seats; at least one overhead passenger services system (PSS) device associated with each overhead PSU; and a microcontroller unit (MCU), associated with each overhead PSU, the MCUs coupled to a DC power distribution system and interconnected to each other in a hierarchical MCU peer-to-peer network with two-conductor data wires, each MCU having an MCU processor and system memory and a standard data and power interface, the MCU processor being programmed for differential peer-to-peer communication with adjacently interconnected MCUs throughout the MCU peer-to-peer network, one MCU designated as an MCU system master.", "10.An aircraft comprising: a cabin services system (CSS); an in-flight entertainment system (IFES); and a passenger control unit (PCU) network, distinct from the CSS and from the IFES, comprising a plurality of wired passenger control units (PCUs), each PCU having a processor and system memory and a standard data and power interface, the processor being programmed for differential peer-to-peer communication with adjacently interconnected PCUs throughout the PCU network and with the CSS system, the IFES system, or both.", "11.The aircraft of claim 10, further comprising passenger seats arranged in a plurality of zones, each zone having at least one column of seats, and each column having at least one row of seats, wherein each passenger seat is associated with a respective PCU of the plurality of PCUs, wherein one PCU of one seat of each row is serially coupled to all PCUs in a respective row, and designated as a row master PCU.", "12.The aircraft of claim 11, wherein one PCU of one seat of each column is serially coupled to all row master PCUs in a respective column, and designated as a column master PCU.", "13.The aircraft of claim 12, wherein one PCU of one seat of each zone is serially coupled to all column master PCUs in a respective zone, and designated as a zone master PCU.", "14.The aircraft of claim 13, wherein one zone master PCU is designated as a PCU system master and connected to the CSS system, the IFES system, or both.", "15.The aircraft of claim 10, further comprising two-conductor data wires coupling all PCUs within the PCU network.", "16.The aircraft of claim 10, further comprising a DC power distribution system including a plurality of DC power supply devices (DCPS), at least one of the PCUs being directly connected to the DCPS.", "17.The aircraft of claim 16, wherein each PCU is configured to transmit DC power via a power transmission line to the adjacently interconnected PCU.", "18.The aircraft of claim 10, wherein each PCU includes a universal serial bus (USB) power and data outlet, and the processor is configured for USB data management.", "19.The aircraft of claim 10, wherein each of the PCUs is coupled to the IFES and receives DC power and data via the IFES.", "20.The aircraft of claim 10, wherein each of the PCUs is mounted in an armrest of the associated passenger seat, and includes at least one of passenger operable controls for a reading light and an attendant call light." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND <EOH>Commercial aircraft typically include a cabin services system (CSS) that includes control of Call Lights, Reading Lights, and signage (e.g., FASTEN SEAT BELTS and NO SMOKING signs).", "Other cabin services can also be provided that enhance the passenger experience, including In-Flight Entertainment Systems (IFES), including music and video (e.g.", "flip-down or seatback screens), Internet connectivity, seat-to-seat communication and USB charging for personal electronic devices at each passenger seat.", "The Passenger Services System (PSS) is the function that provides a passenger control of his or her reading light and call light.", "The Passenger Service Unit (PSU) located directly above a given seat group contains the lamps for Reading Lights and Call Lights.", "In narrow body aircraft, the control input for the PSS function is physically integrated with PSUs since the PSU is within arm's reach of passengers.", "On Twin Aisle aircraft, the control input for the PSS function is implemented in the IFES, whereas the light control for the PSU is implemented in the CSS.", "The IFES handles the control input on Twin Aisle aircraft due the fact that PSUs are not within arm's reach of passengers.", "Control input events received by the IFES are packaged by the IFES Head End and delivered to the CSS Head End for processing which light the CSS will actuate as a result.", "The mechanical, electrical, and other components that are involved in the CSS and IFES can be significant in size, weight, volume and complexity.", "The combination of conventional CSS and IFES systems to implement the PSS function results in significant hardware and cabling for the basic purpose of controlling lights.", "A typical IFES consists of Passenger Control Units (PCU) at each seat to receive control input from passengers, Seat Electronic Boxes (SEB) in each Seat Group to route data, Seat Power Modules (SPM) in each Seat Group to convert 115VAC to 28VDC, a couple Area Distribution Boxes (ADB) in Each Zone to distribute content to the Seat Groups, Content Servers in the Electronics Bay to serve up entertainment, and a Head End in the Electronics Bay to manage the IFES and interface with the CSS.", "A typical CSS system consists of overhead Passenger Service Units (PSUs) that accommodate the respective Reading and Call Lights for a seat group, Overhead Electronics Units (OEU) to transform 115VAC and route discrete signals to Reading and Call Lights in respective PSUs, Zone Management Units (ZMU) that route messages to the OEUs, and a CSS Head End to manage the CSS and interface with the IFES.", "Seat-to-seat communication traditionally involves data aggregating and power conditioning equipment at each seat.", "For example, a Seat Electronics Box is typically provided to process high speed Ethernet communication, and Seat Power Modules typically accompany these Seat Electronics Boxes to condition the power for a single Seat Group (i.e.", "for converting the typical aircraft 115VAC power supply to DC at each seat).", "One challenge associated with this typical configuration is the need for additional hardware for each seat group to service the Passenger Control Unit.", "Additionally, overhead electronics traditionally service multiple seats, using several discrete wiring segments to fan out to other panels.", "Running discrete wiring segments between panels tends to limit the features of panels to binary functions, and can involve additional wiring between the Overhead Electronics controller and each panel it serves.", "All of these issues tend to add weight, cost and complexity to the aircraft.", "The present disclosure is directed toward one or more of the above-referenced issues." ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY <EOH>In accordance with one embodiment thereof, the disclosure provides a passenger control unit (PCU) network for a passenger aircraft having passenger seats in a plurality of zones, each zone having at least one column of seats, and each column having at least one row of seats.", "The PCU network includes a direct current (DC) power distribution system, and a plurality of wired PCUs, one PCU associated with each passenger seat and coupled to the DC power distribution system.", "Each PCU has a processor and system memory and a standard data and power interface, the processor being programmed for differential peer-to-peer communication with adjacently interconnected PCUs throughout the PCU network and with an external system of the aircraft.", "A PCU of one seat of each row is serially coupled to all PCUs in the respective row, and designated as a row master PCU; a PCU of one seat of each column is serially coupled to all row master PCUs in the respective column, and designated as a column master PCU; a PCU of one seat of each zone is serially coupled to all column master PCUs in the respective zone, and designated as a zone master PCU; and one zone master PCU is designated as a PCU system master and connected to an external system.", "Two-conductor data wires couple all PCUs within the PCU network.", "In accordance with another embodiment thereof, the disclosure provides an aircraft, including a plurality of passenger seats, arranged into one or more zones, each zone having one or more columns, each column having one or more rows of contiguous seats, and an overhead device associated with each passenger seat.", "The aircraft also includes a plurality of wired, direct current-(DC) powered passenger control units (PCUs), interconnected to each other with two-conductor data wires in a hierarchical peer-to-peer network, one PCU associated with each passenger seat, each PCU having a processor and system memory and a standard data and power interface, the processor being programmed for differential peer-to-peer communication with adjacently interconnected PCUs throughout the peer-to-peer network.", "The PCU also includes passenger operable controls for at least the overhead device.", "Exactly one PCU of each seat row is a row master PCU, coupled to all PCUs in the row; exactly one PCU of each seat column is a column master PCU, coupled to all row master PCUs in the column; exactly one PCU of each seat zone is a zone master PCU, coupled to all column master PCUs in the zone; and exactly one zone master PCU is a PCU system master, coupled to all zone master PCUs, the PCU system master providing a single connection of the peer-to-peer network to a network of overhead devices.", "In accordance with yet another embodiment thereof, the disclosure provides a passenger control unit (PCU), configured for association with a passenger seat of an aircraft.", "The PCU includes a processor and system memory, the processor being programmed for differential peer-to-peer communication with adjacently interconnected PCUs throughout a hierarchical data network and with an external system of the aircraft, and a passenger operable control for the external system.", "The PCU also includes a standard data and power interface, couplable to a direct current (DC) power source, having a plurality of two-wire data interfaces for receiving and transmitting data with the adjacently interconnected PCUs, whereby any PCU is interchangeable with any other PCU within the hierarchical data network, and functions depending upon its position in the hierarchical data network." ], [ "CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation of and claims priority to U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "14/575,890 filed on Dec. 18, 2014, published as U.S. Patent App.", "Publication No.", "2016/0179151 and entitled “DC-Based Peer-to-Peer Network for Aircraft,” the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein.", "FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE The present disclosure is related to data networks and passenger services systems in aircraft.", "More particularly, the present disclosure provides a DC-based peer-to-peer network for cabin and passenger services systems that reduces the size, weight and complexity while retaining desired functionality.", "BACKGROUND Commercial aircraft typically include a cabin services system (CSS) that includes control of Call Lights, Reading Lights, and signage (e.g., FASTEN SEAT BELTS and NO SMOKING signs).", "Other cabin services can also be provided that enhance the passenger experience, including In-Flight Entertainment Systems (IFES), including music and video (e.g.", "flip-down or seatback screens), Internet connectivity, seat-to-seat communication and USB charging for personal electronic devices at each passenger seat.", "The Passenger Services System (PSS) is the function that provides a passenger control of his or her reading light and call light.", "The Passenger Service Unit (PSU) located directly above a given seat group contains the lamps for Reading Lights and Call Lights.", "In narrow body aircraft, the control input for the PSS function is physically integrated with PSUs since the PSU is within arm's reach of passengers.", "On Twin Aisle aircraft, the control input for the PSS function is implemented in the IFES, whereas the light control for the PSU is implemented in the CSS.", "The IFES handles the control input on Twin Aisle aircraft due the fact that PSUs are not within arm's reach of passengers.", "Control input events received by the IFES are packaged by the IFES Head End and delivered to the CSS Head End for processing which light the CSS will actuate as a result.", "The mechanical, electrical, and other components that are involved in the CSS and IFES can be significant in size, weight, volume and complexity.", "The combination of conventional CSS and IFES systems to implement the PSS function results in significant hardware and cabling for the basic purpose of controlling lights.", "A typical IFES consists of Passenger Control Units (PCU) at each seat to receive control input from passengers, Seat Electronic Boxes (SEB) in each Seat Group to route data, Seat Power Modules (SPM) in each Seat Group to convert 115VAC to 28VDC, a couple Area Distribution Boxes (ADB) in Each Zone to distribute content to the Seat Groups, Content Servers in the Electronics Bay to serve up entertainment, and a Head End in the Electronics Bay to manage the IFES and interface with the CSS.", "A typical CSS system consists of overhead Passenger Service Units (PSUs) that accommodate the respective Reading and Call Lights for a seat group, Overhead Electronics Units (OEU) to transform 115VAC and route discrete signals to Reading and Call Lights in respective PSUs, Zone Management Units (ZMU) that route messages to the OEUs, and a CSS Head End to manage the CSS and interface with the IFES.", "Seat-to-seat communication traditionally involves data aggregating and power conditioning equipment at each seat.", "For example, a Seat Electronics Box is typically provided to process high speed Ethernet communication, and Seat Power Modules typically accompany these Seat Electronics Boxes to condition the power for a single Seat Group (i.e.", "for converting the typical aircraft 115VAC power supply to DC at each seat).", "One challenge associated with this typical configuration is the need for additional hardware for each seat group to service the Passenger Control Unit.", "Additionally, overhead electronics traditionally service multiple seats, using several discrete wiring segments to fan out to other panels.", "Running discrete wiring segments between panels tends to limit the features of panels to binary functions, and can involve additional wiring between the Overhead Electronics controller and each panel it serves.", "All of these issues tend to add weight, cost and complexity to the aircraft.", "The present disclosure is directed toward one or more of the above-referenced issues.", "SUMMARY In accordance with one embodiment thereof, the disclosure provides a passenger control unit (PCU) network for a passenger aircraft having passenger seats in a plurality of zones, each zone having at least one column of seats, and each column having at least one row of seats.", "The PCU network includes a direct current (DC) power distribution system, and a plurality of wired PCUs, one PCU associated with each passenger seat and coupled to the DC power distribution system.", "Each PCU has a processor and system memory and a standard data and power interface, the processor being programmed for differential peer-to-peer communication with adjacently interconnected PCUs throughout the PCU network and with an external system of the aircraft.", "A PCU of one seat of each row is serially coupled to all PCUs in the respective row, and designated as a row master PCU; a PCU of one seat of each column is serially coupled to all row master PCUs in the respective column, and designated as a column master PCU; a PCU of one seat of each zone is serially coupled to all column master PCUs in the respective zone, and designated as a zone master PCU; and one zone master PCU is designated as a PCU system master and connected to an external system.", "Two-conductor data wires couple all PCUs within the PCU network.", "In accordance with another embodiment thereof, the disclosure provides an aircraft, including a plurality of passenger seats, arranged into one or more zones, each zone having one or more columns, each column having one or more rows of contiguous seats, and an overhead device associated with each passenger seat.", "The aircraft also includes a plurality of wired, direct current-(DC) powered passenger control units (PCUs), interconnected to each other with two-conductor data wires in a hierarchical peer-to-peer network, one PCU associated with each passenger seat, each PCU having a processor and system memory and a standard data and power interface, the processor being programmed for differential peer-to-peer communication with adjacently interconnected PCUs throughout the peer-to-peer network.", "The PCU also includes passenger operable controls for at least the overhead device.", "Exactly one PCU of each seat row is a row master PCU, coupled to all PCUs in the row; exactly one PCU of each seat column is a column master PCU, coupled to all row master PCUs in the column; exactly one PCU of each seat zone is a zone master PCU, coupled to all column master PCUs in the zone; and exactly one zone master PCU is a PCU system master, coupled to all zone master PCUs, the PCU system master providing a single connection of the peer-to-peer network to a network of overhead devices.", "In accordance with yet another embodiment thereof, the disclosure provides a passenger control unit (PCU), configured for association with a passenger seat of an aircraft.", "The PCU includes a processor and system memory, the processor being programmed for differential peer-to-peer communication with adjacently interconnected PCUs throughout a hierarchical data network and with an external system of the aircraft, and a passenger operable control for the external system.", "The PCU also includes a standard data and power interface, couplable to a direct current (DC) power source, having a plurality of two-wire data interfaces for receiving and transmitting data with the adjacently interconnected PCUs, whereby any PCU is interchangeable with any other PCU within the hierarchical data network, and functions depending upon its position in the hierarchical data network.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG.", "1 is a perspective view of an aircraft.", "FIG.", "2 is a partial side-schematic view of a portion of an aircraft cabin, showing a schematic diagram of one embodiment of a prior art passenger data network (CSS and IFES).", "FIG.", "3 is a partial side-schematic view of a portion of an aircraft cabin, showing a schematic diagram of another embodiment of a prior art passenger data network (CSS and IFES) for an aircraft cabin having multiple seating zones.", "FIG.", "4 is a partial side-schematic view of a portion of an aircraft cabin, showing a schematic diagram of one embodiment of a DC-based peer network in accordance with the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "5 is a partial plan view of an aircraft fuselage, showing a schematic plan view diagram of an embodiment of a DC-based peer network in accordance with the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "6 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a passenger control unit that can be used in a DC-based peer network in accordance with the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "7 is a partial schematic plan view diagram of an embodiment of a DC-based peer network in accordance with the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "8 is a side view of a column of seats, showing the connection of PCU's in each seat in the column.", "FIG.", "9 is a front view showing the seat-to-seat connections in multiple seat row groups.", "FIG.", "10 is a partial side-schematic view of a portion of an aircraft cabin, showing a schematic diagram of another embodiment of a DC-based peer network in accordance with the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "11 is a partial side-schematic view of a portion of an aircraft cabin, showing a schematic diagram of another embodiment of a DC-based peer network in accordance with the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "12 is a partial side-schematic view of a portion of an aircraft cabin, showing a schematic diagram of another embodiment of a DC-based peer network in accordance with the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "13 is a flow diagram of an aircraft production and service methodology.", "FIG.", "14 is a block diagram of an aircraft.", "While the disclosure is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments have been shown by way of example in the drawings and will be described in detail herein.", "However, it should be understood that the disclosure is not intended to be limited to the particular forms disclosed.", "Rather, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION As noted above, the present disclosure relates to the Passenger Services System and seat-to-seat electronics systems for commercial aircraft.", "Referring to FIG.", "1, a conventional commercial aircraft 100 typically includes a fuselage 102, a main wing 104 attached to the fuselage 102, and a tail structure 106 that includes a vertical stabilizer 108 and a horizontal stabilizer 110.The main wing can include ailerons 112 and wing flaps 114 along its trailing edge 116 for assisting with low speed flight, and the leading edge 118 of the wing 104 can include moveable slats 120 for increasing lift during takeoff.", "The aircraft 100 also includes engines 122, in this case mounted to the main wings 104, for providing thrust for flight.", "On modern commercial aircraft, the Passenger Services System can include a Cabin Services System, In-Flight Entertainment System, seat-to-seat communication and USB charging for personal electronic devices at each passenger seat.", "These overlapping systems traditionally involve data aggregating and power conditioning equipment, along with a passenger control unit at each seat.", "These components typically involve a significant quantity of hardware and wiring, which tend to add weight, cost and complexity to the aircraft.", "Advantageously, as disclosed herein, a DC-based peer network has been developed that provides these functions with a significant reduction in hardware and wiring.", "To appreciate the features provided by the system disclosed herein, it is helpful to first observe prior aircraft Passenger Services Systems and their components.", "Shown in FIG.", "2 is a partial side-schematic view of a portion of an aircraft cabin 200, showing a schematic diagram of one embodiment of a prior art passenger data network for a Passenger Services System (PSS) 201 having individual portions associated with each passenger seat 206, only one of which is outlined in dashed lines in FIG.", "2.The PSS 201 is an overlapping system of systems, in that each portion of the PSS 201 includes a single seat or row portion of the cabin services system (CSS) 202 and of the in-flight entertainment system (IFES) 203, in a particular group or zone 204 of seats 206.While individual seats 206 are shown in this side view, each seat 206 in this view represents a row of immediately adjacent seats 206 in the zone 204.It is also to be appreciated that while the dashed outline of the PSS 201 in FIG.", "2 is shown only in relation to a single seat 206, it is to be understood that this one instance is intended to be representative of how the PSS 201 is associated with each row and overlaps with the CSS 202 and IFES 203.In the configuration shown in FIG.", "2, an overhead Passenger Services Unit (PSU) panel 208 is provided above each row of seats 206 and includes various components of the PSS, including Reading Lights 212, attendant Call lights 213, and signage 214, such as FASTEN SEAT BELTS and NO SMOKING signs.", "The CSS 202 also includes Overhead Electronics Units (OEUs) 218, Zone Management Units (ZMUs) 230, and a CSS Head End Unit 232.The Reading lights 212, Call Lights 213, and signage 214 can be referred to generally as overhead PSS devices.", "Additional overhead devices, such as passenger air nozzles (not shown) can also be incorporated into an overhead panel, but are not shown in the drawings because they are not considered to be part of the PSU or of the CSS 202.Power and electronic data for the overhead PSS devices of each overhead PSU panel 208 or for those of a group of overhead PSU panels 208 can be provided through the overhead electronics unit (OEU) 218.These types of overhead electronics units will be well known to those of skill in the art.", "The IFES 203 is associated with each individual seat 206.For example, each passenger seat 206 can include a passenger control unit (PCU) 220, typically disposed in the armrest of the seat 206, which receives power from a seat power box (SPB) 222 and data from a seat electronics box (SEB) 224.These components of the IFES 203 allow a variety of convenient services for each passenger, including Internet connectivity, seat-to-seat communication and USB charging for personal electronic devices.", "For seats 206 in wide body aircraft, where the overhead PSU panel 208 is generally out of reach of a seated passenger, each PCU 220 can also include controls for the overhead PSS devices.", "Power to each OEU 218 is provided from via 115v AC power line that is interconnected with the aircraft power system 226.Similarly, power to the SPB 222 and SEB 224 for each passenger seat 206 (and ultimately for its associated PCU 220) is also provided by the 115v AC aircraft power system 226.The power system shown in FIG.", "2 for the PCUs 220 includes a forward power connection point 226a and an aft power connection point 226b for the seat zone 204.Electronic data for all of the PCUs 220 in the zone 204 is provided through both fore and aft area distribution boxes (ADB), indicated generally at 228.In the view of FIG.", "2, three ADBs 228 are shown at each end of the system, though only ADB1 228a and ADB2 228b are connected to the SEBs 224 of the seats 206 in this seat zone 204.Having fore and aft ADBs 228 allows a redundant connection.", "Each pair of ADBs 228 represents those associated with each of three seat row portions of a wide body aircraft—i.e.", "right, left and center rows of seats 206, relative to the dual aisles of a wide body aircraft.", "The diagram of FIG.", "2 thus represents a seat zone 204 (e.g.", "First Class) of the right, center, or left side of the aircraft, while the other four ADBs 228 at each end (ADB3 228c, ADB5 228e, ADB4 228d, and ADB6 228f) represent the area distribution boxes 228 for subsequent zones on the aircraft (e.g.", "Business Class and Economy Class).", "Electronic data for all of the OEUs 218 in the zone 204 is provided through a zone management unit (ZMU), indicated generally at 230.Similar to the arrangement of the ADBs 228, ZMU3 230c is connected to the OEUs 218 in this seat zone 204 (e.g.", "First Class), which represents a seat zone, while the other two ZMUs (ZMU2 230b, ZMU1 230a) represent the zone management units for the subsequent zones (e.g.", "Business Class and Economy Class).", "The ZMUs 230 are coupled to and controlled by a CSS head end unit 232, which provides data and control for all of the OEUs 218 through their respective ZMUs 230.The fore and aft ADB units 228a, 228b are similarly coupled to server 2 234 and server 1 236, respectively.", "These two data servers are coupled to the In-Flight Entertainment (IFE) head end unit 238, which manages content and distribution of entertainment and other data to the PCUs 220 of each seat.", "The IFE head end unit 238 is also connected to the CSS head end unit 232 so that control inputs for overhead PSS devices can be routed from individual seat PCUs 220 to the components of the associated overhead PSU panels 208 in wide body aircraft.", "Shown in FIG.", "3 is a partial side-schematic view of an aircraft cabin 300 having another embodiment of a prior art Passenger Services System 301 (outlined in dashed lines) implemented with a CSS 302 and IFES 303.As in FIG.", "2, while the dashed outline of the PSS 301 in FIG.", "3 is shown only in relation to a single seat 206 in each of the forward zone 304a and aft zone 304b, it is to be understood that this one instance in each zone is intended to be representative of how the PSS 301 is associated with each row and overlaps with the CSS 302 and IFES 303.This diagram shows the wiring arrangement for a CSS 302 controlling two different seating zones 304 (e.g.", "a forward zone 304a and an aft zone 304b) of an aircraft having an In-Flight Entertainment System 303 and a slightly different overall configuration.", "As with the system shown in FIG.", "2, the cabin 300 includes an overhead Passenger Services Unit (PSU) panel 308 for each seat, which includes overhead components of the PSS 301, including Reading lights 312, Call Lights 313, signage 314, etc.", "(collectively referred to as overhead PSS devices).", "Power and electronic data for the overhead PSS devices of each overhead PSU panel 308 or for a group of overhead PSU panels 308 can be provided through an overhead electronics unit (OEU) 318.Each passenger seat 306 includes a passenger control unit (PCU) 320, which receives power from a seat power box (SPB) 322 and data from a seat electronics box (SEB) 324, facilitating seat-to-seat communication and USB charging for personal electronic devices at each seat.", "Each PCU 320 also includes controls for the overhead PSS devices.", "As with the embodiment of FIG.", "2, power to each OEU 318 is provided via the 115v AC power from the aircraft power system 326.Similarly, power to the SPB 322 and SEB 324 for each passenger seat 306 (and ultimately for the associated PCU 320) is also provided by the 115v AC aircraft power system 326.The power system shown in FIG.", "3 depicts only a forward power connection point 326a for the forward seat zone 304a, and a forward power connection point 326b for the aft seat zone 304b.", "It is also possible to have an aft power connection, if desired.", "Electronic data for all of the PCUs 320 in the forward zone 304a is provided through redundant fore and aft area distribution boxes ADB1 328a and ADB2 328b.", "Electronic data for all of the PCUs 320 in the aft zone 304b is provided through redundant fore and aft area distribution boxes ADB3 328c and ADB4 328d.", "In the system of FIG.", "3, rather than separate ADBs 328 for the right, left and center seat sections, only one ADB 328 is shown at each end of each zone 304, and is associated with all three seat row portions of the wide body aircraft—i.e.", "right, left and center rows—in its zone 304.Similarly, electronic data and control for all of the OEUs 318 in each zone 304 is provided through a single ZMU 330, which is also associated with all three seat row portions of the wide body aircraft.", "Thus, ZMU1 330a provides control to all of the OEUs 318 in the fore zone 304a, and ZMU2 330b provides control to all of the OEUs 318 in the aft zone 304b.", "As with the configuration of FIG.", "2, in FIG.", "3 the ZMUs 330 are coupled to and controlled by a CSS head end unit 332, which provides data and control for all of the OEUs 318 through their respective ZMUs 330.Unlike the configuration of FIG.", "2, the fore and aft ADB units 328a, b are all coupled to one or more IFE servers 336, which in turn are connected to an IFE head end unit 338, which manages content and distribution of entertainment and other data to the PCUs 320 units of each seat 306.The IFE head end unit 338 is connected to the CSS head end server 332 so that control inputs for overhead PSS devices can be routed from individual seat PCUs 320 to the components of the associated overhead PSU panel 308.As will be apparent from the systems shown in FIGS.", "2 and 3, the mechanical, electrical, and other components that are involved in these Passenger Services Systems are significant in size, weight, volume and complexity.", "In a given aircraft they can involve considerable lengths of electrical wiring and cable in the ceiling or crown and through the floor of the aircraft, along with data aggregating and power conditioning equipment at each seat.", "The additional hardware for these types of systems tends to add weight, cost and complexity to the aircraft.", "Advantageously, as disclosed herein, a DC-based peer network has been developed that provides comparable functionality, but with a significant reduction in hardware and wiring.", "The system disclosed herein uses DC power and two-conductor differential communication hardware to implement a lightweight network between seat groups, columns, and zones in an aircraft.", "Component count is reduced by routing power and data directly to passenger control units at each seat without intermediate controllers to condition power and aggregate data.", "The network can be implemented within seats, within overhead electronics, or as a combination of the two, while interfacing with other Cabin Management Systems as desired.", "Shown in FIG.", "4 is a partial side-schematic view of a portion of an aircraft cabin 400, showing a schematic diagram of one embodiment of a DC-based peer network in accordance with the present disclosure.", "This figure shows a Passenger Services System (PSS) 401 associated with one group or zone 404 of seats 406, each individual seat 406 in this view representing a row of immediately adjacent seats 406 in the zone 404.The configuration shown in FIG.", "4 does not include an In-Flight Entertainment System, but does include USB power and connection components, as described in more detail below.", "As with the systems shown in FIGS.", "2 and 3, in the configuration shown in FIG.", "4 each seat row includes an overhead PSU panel 408 that includes overhead PSS devices that are part of the PSS 401, including Reading lights 412 and Call Lights 413, etc.", "While it was noted above that overhead PSS devices in prior system are considered part of the CSS, the embodiment of FIG.", "4 does not include a CSS system.", "Instead, the overhead PSS devices are part of what can be referred to as an overhead PSS system 402, which is also part of the PSS 401 for each seat 406 or row.", "As in FIGS.", "2 and 3, while the dashed outline of the PSS 401 in FIG.", "4 is shown only in relation to a single seat 406, it is to be understood that this one instance is intended to be representative of how the PSS 401 is associated with each row and overlaps with the overhead PSS system 402.Each passenger seat 406 includes a passenger control unit (PCU) 420, typically disposed in the armrest of the seat.", "The PCU 420 can allow USB charging for personal electronic devices and includes controls for the overhead Reading Light and Call Light.", "Unlike the prior systems, power and data for the overhead PSU panels 408 and PCUs 420 are provided differently in this system.", "Rather than an OEU for each overhead PSU panel 408 or group of overhead PSU panels 408, each overhead PSU panel 408 includes a Micro Controller Unit (MCU) 440 that includes a discrete microcontroller having a processor and system memory.", "The microcontroller can be any one of a wide variety of commercially available embedded controllers, such as a Freescale KW20 or Microchip PIC32.Power for all MCUs 440 is provided from a DC power Supply (DCPS) 442 that is connected to the 115V AC aircraft power supply 426, thus providing DC power to all of the MCUs 440 and the overhead components associated with each overhead PSU panel 408.While a single DCPS 442 can provide power to all MCUs 440 in a given zone 404, fore and aft DCPS units 442a, b can be provided in a given zone 404 to provide power to both forward and aft sections of a column, in the manner discussed above.", "In this same way it is possible to use multiple DCPS units to segment a long column into different regions.", "All of the MCUs 440 in a given zone 404 have data connection cables 444 that are coupled in a hierarchical daisy-chain fashion with adjacent MCU units 440 in the seat zone 404.This allows unique data and commands to be sent from MCU to MCU until they reach any destination MCU 440 in the zone 404.The MCUs 440 can be structurally and functionally identical devices that each provide a commanded function depending upon their location in the hierarchical connection network, thus creating a peer-to-peer network among the MCUs 440.A hierarchical data transfer logic program can be stored in memory in each MCU 440, and each individual MCU 440 will have its specific identity and hierarchical position in the network stored in memory.", "When a signal is received by any given MCU 440, the signal can include a data string that indicates the destination for that signal.", "If the given MCU 440 is not the destination MCU 440, but is upstream of the destination MCU 440 or other destination device in the hierarchy (depending on the direction of the signal), it will pass the signal on to the next MCU 440 or other next device in the chain.", "For example, while no CSS head end device is shown in FIG.", "4, such a device can be included in this configuration, if desired, and coupled to the MCU system master 440a.", "Otherwise, all commands and signals between the master PCU 420a and the MCU system master 440a can go directly between these two devices.", "If a given MCU 440 is not the destination MCU 440 and is not upstream of the destination MCU 440 or other destination device in the system hierarchy (depending on the direction of the signal), it will ignore the signal, based on the data transfer programming logic.", "In this way, a differential peer-to-peer network is created in which any MCU can communicate with any PCU 420 or MCU 440 throughout the network, and also with an external system of the aircraft.", "Consequently, the MCUs are structurally identical and interchangeable.", "Each MCU forwards data along the network depending upon its position in the hierarchical network.", "In another embodiment, each of the MCUs can be on a multi-drop data bus so that each will respond to addressed messages.", "Similar to the arrangement of the MCUs 440, power for all PCUs 420 is provided from fore and aft DC power supply (DCPS) units 442 that are connected to the 115v AC aircraft power supply 426, thus providing DC power to all of the PCUs 420.Advantageously, a single DCPS 442 can provide power to all PCUs 420 in a given zone 404.Alternatively, as shown in FIG.", "4, fore and aft DCPS units 442a, b can be provided in a given zone 404, in the manner discussed above.", "In this same way it is possible to use multiple DCPS units to segment a long column into different regions.", "Any number of DCPS units 442 can be used in a given zone 404.Like the MCUs 440, the PCUs 420 are also interconnected in a hierarchical peer-to-peer network.", "The PCUs 420 can be identical devices, such as the PCU 420/520 shown in FIG.", "6, having a microprocessor 602 and system memory 604, the memory 604 being provided with programming for the functions of the PCU 420 and for the hierarchical data transfer logic.", "Each PCU 420 is configured to provide a standard interface for all external systems (e.g.", "ARINC 628 Part B for interfacing to the CSS), though only some PCUs 420 will be connected directly to the external systems, as discussed below.", "Each seat 406 has a PCU 420, and each PCU 420 is configured to control the data, communications and other functions for its associated seat 406.In addition, one PCU 420c at the end of each row of seats 406 can be designated as a row master; one PCU 420b at the head of a column of seats 406 can be designated as a column master; and one PCU 420a at the head column and/or head row of a zone 404 can be designated as a zone master PCU 420a.", "A zone master PCU 420a will generally also be a column master PCU 420b, hence the PCU 420 at the far left of FIG.", "4 is designated 420a/b.", "The zone master PCUs 420a for each of multiple zones 404 on an aircraft are communicatively coupled to each other, and will interface with all external systems for data handling.", "In the system of FIG.", "4 there are no seat power boxes (SPBs) and seat electronics boxes (SEBs) for each seat 406, thus greatly reducing weight and complexity.", "Additionally, a single inter-system data connection line 446 extends from the zone master PCU 420a up to the MCU system master 440a of the overhead PSU panels 408, allowing any passenger in any seat 406 in the zone 404 to control their corresponding overhead PSU panel 408 using the PCU 420 of their particular seat.", "Data and commands from all PCUs 420 in a given zone 404 can thus be routed through a common inter-system data communication line 446 to all MCUs 440, thus greatly reducing wiring.", "Shown in FIG.", "5 is a partial plan view diagram of a cabin 500 of an aircraft 501 having an embodiment of a DC-based peer network 502 in accordance with the present disclosure.", "This diagram helps to illustrate the hierarchical peer-to-peer system.", "The aircraft cabin 500 is divided into four general sections, a first-class section 504a, a business-class section 504b, and two economy class sections 504c, 504d.", "Each of these sections can be designated as an individual zone 504 for purposes of the peer-to-peer system 502.Each zone 504 includes a zone master PCU 520a, which will be the PCU 520 associated with one particular seat in the respective zone 504.The PCU system Master 550 is a PCU 520 that includes an inter-system data connection line 546 to route messages to an external system such as the overhead PSS system (402 in FIG.", "4) or a corresponding MCU system Master (440a in FIG.", "4).", "The zone master PCUs 520a are all interconnected via the zone master communications line 548 to the PCU System Master 550.Each zone master PCU 520a is, in turn, connected to each column master PCU 520b that is at the head of a column 552 of rows 554 of seats 506 by the column master communication line 556.As noted above, in this cabin configuration each zone master PCU 520a is also a column master PCU 520b and a row or group master PCU 520c, hence the PCU 520 at the lower left corner of each zone in FIG.", "5 is designated 520a/b/c.", "Each column master PCU 520b is connected to each row master PCU 520c in the column 552 via row master communication lines 558, and, finally, each row master PCU 520c is connected in series to each PCU 520 in its respective row 554.In this way, each PCU 520 serves its given seat, and can serve as any one or more of a row master, column master or zone master PCU, depending upon its location within the hierarchical peer-to-peer system 502.As noted above, the PCU devices 520 can be structurally identical units that can each perform all of the various data handling and other functions desired at any position in the hierarchical peer-to-peer network system 502.Shown in FIG.", "6 is a block diagram of one embodiment of a PCU 420/520 that can provide these functions.", "The PCU 420/520 generally includes a housing 600 containing a microprocessor 602 and memory 604, which together store and carry out programmed instructions for the device.", "The processor is programmed for differential peer-to-peer communication with any adjacently interconnected PCU throughout the network, and also with an external system of the aircraft.", "Because of this programming, any PCU is interchangeable with any other PCU within the network, and functions depending upon its position in the hierarchical network.", "A voltage regulator 606 or other power conditioning device can be included to compensate for possible voltage spikes or other power fluctuations that could affect the power supply to the processor and other components of the PCU 420/520.The processor 602 is also connected to a USB management circuit 608, described in more detail below, and to an attendant call light button 610 and reading light button 612 that are provided for the convenience of the passenger.", "The PCU 420/520 also includes a USB connector 614, which is coupled to the USB management circuit 608, and allows a passenger to obtain power and data for a personal USB device, such as a smart phone, tablet computer, etc.", "The USB connector 614 and attendant call light and reading light buttons 610, 612 can be collectively referred to as passenger input/output devices.", "As noted above, the entire PCU 420/520 can be included in an armrest of an aircraft passenger seat (406, 506 in FIGS.", "4, 5), making the passenger input/output devices easily accessible.", "Alternatively, the passenger input/output devices can be disposed within the armrest, while physically separated from the housing 600 of the PCU device 420/520 as a whole, and connected with suitable wiring.", "This option could be desirable, for example, where geometric constraints of the armrest or other parts of the passenger seat (406, 506 in FIGS.", "4, 5) make it desirable to physically separate the passenger input/output devices from the rest of the PCU device 420/520.The PCU 420/520 includes a series of connectors, that allow the PCU 420/520 to be selectively connected to one or more other PCUs 420/520 and operate at any position within the hierarchical peer-to-peer network.", "It is to be appreciated that the position and order of the connectors shown in FIG.", "6 is exemplary only.", "The various connectors can be placed in any desired order and in a variety of different positions upon the housing 600 of the PCU 420/520, and can be configured for use with a variety of types of connectors that are used for electronic devices.", "The first connector is a DC power supply input interface 622, which connects directly to the voltage regulator 606 for providing DC power to the PCU 420/520.Depending upon the particular position of the PCU 420/520 within the peer-to-peer network system, the DC power supply input interface 622 can connect directly to one of the DCPS units (442 in FIG.", "4), or it can be connected to one of the power output connections of an upstream PCU 420/520, as described in more detail below.", "Generally speaking, zone master PCUs 420a/520a will be connected directly to a DCPS unit, as will row master PCUs 420c/520c and/or column master PCU's 420b/520b.", "This arrangement is clearly shown in FIG.", "7.Other PCUs 420/520 in any given zone 404/504 or row 554 can receive power through connection to an upstream PCU 420/520, as described in more detail below.", "At the same time, it is to be appreciated that because all PCUs 420/520 have the same configuration, any PCU 420/520 at any position in the system can be directly connected to a DCPS unit (442 in FIG.", "4), if desired.", "Referring again to FIG.", "6, the next connector on the PCU 420/520 is an inter system data interface 624, which connects to the PCU processor 602.This connector is only used for PCU System master PCUs 550, and connects the System Master PCU 550 to the inter-system data communications line (546 in FIG.", "5) that connects to any external device such as the CSS Head End as shown and discussed above with respect to FIG.", "5, and as also shown in FIG.", "7.This inter system data interface 624 is a data-only interface.", "It does not transmit power.", "The next connector on the PCU 420/520 is a zone-to-zone data interface 626, which is another data-only connector coupled to the PCU processor 602, and is only used for zone master PCUs 420a/520a.", "This connector connects the PCU 420/520 to the zone master communications line 548 that connects all the Zone Master PCUs 420a/520a, as shown and discussed above with respect to FIG.", "5, and as also shown in FIG.", "7.This connector allows zone data for all PCUs 420/520 to be received by the processor 602 of the zone master PCU 420a/520a.", "The processor 602 of the zone master PCU 420a/520a is programmed to determine which data signals are directed to PCUs 420/520 in its respective zone (or to itself), and to ignore the rest.", "Signals that are directed to that particular PCU 420/520 are acted upon.", "Signals that are directed to any other PCU 420/520 in the relevant zone are then routed in the appropriate direction, in the manner described below.", "This data handling protocol provides a true peer-to-peer differential communication network in which any PCU can communicate with any adjacently interconnected PCU throughout the network, and also with an external system of the aircraft.", "Each PCU forwards data along the network depending upon its position in the hierarchical network.", "In another embodiment, the Zone Master PCUs 420a/520a can be on a multi-drop network and configured to respond to addressed messages.", "The next interface on the PCU 420/520 is a column-to-column data interface 630, which is configured for connecting to the column master communication line 556 for communication between Column Master PCUs 420b/520b.", "The column-to-column data interface 630 allows data sent via the zone-to-zone data interface 626 of an upstream zone master PCU 420a/520a to be received and transmitted to the processor 602 of the respective column master PCU 420b/520b.", "The column-to-column data interface 630 routes messages between Column Master PCUs 420b/520b to be processed by the respective Column (552 in FIG.", "5) within which the respective PCU resides.", "Provided in FIG.", "7 is a closer partial schematic plan view diagram of one zone 504 and parts of an adjacent zone in a DC-based peer network 502 in accordance with the present disclosure.", "A side view of a column 552 of seats 506, comprising multiple rows of seats 506 one behind another, is provided in FIG.", "8.In this view, the row or group master PCU's 520c in each seat group in the column 552 are shown connected to the column master PCU 520b via the row master communication lines 558.The row master communications lines 558 can be coupled to the individual row master PCUs 520c in a daisy-chain fashion via a connector 562 that is installed on each passenger seat 506.Provided in FIG.", "9 is a front view of a row 554 of seats 506 and part of an adjacent row, showing a column/row master PCU 520b/c and its connection to another column/row master PCU 520b/c via the column master communication line 556, along with individual seat PCUs 520 connected by seat-to-seat communication lines 557.Referring to FIGS.", "6-9 together, the processor 602 of the column master PCU 420b/520b is programmed to determine which data signals received via the column-to-column data interface 630 are directed to PCUs 420/520 in its respective column 552 (or to itself), and to ignore the rest.", "Signals that are directed to that particular PCU 420/520 are acted upon.", "Signals that are directed to any other PCU 420/520 in the relevant column 552 or the row 554 of the column master PCU 520b are then routed via the seat group-to-seat group data interface 634 (which couples to a row master communications line 558), or the seat-to-seat data interface 638 (which couples to a seat-to-seat communications line 557), as further described below.", "This data handling protocol provides a true peer-to-peer differential communication network in which any PCU can communicate with any adjacently interconnected PCU throughout the network, and also with an external system of the aircraft.", "Each PCU forwards data along the network depending upon its position in the hierarchical network.", "In another embodiment the columns can be on a multidrop bus and can respond to messages without forwarding.", "Referring again to FIG.", "6, the next interface on the PCU 420/520 is a seat group-to-seat group data interface 634.This connector can be configured to provide data from one Seat Group Master PCU 420c/520c to any contiguous Seat Group Master PCU 420c/520c of a given Column via the row master communications line 558.The seat group-to-seat group data interface 634 is coupled to the processor 602 of the PCU 420/520 and receives data from any adjacently connected PCU, and routes this data to the processor 602.The processor 602 of the seat group master PCU 420c/520c is programmed to determine which data signals are directed to PCUs 420/520 in its respective group or row 554 (or to itself), and to ignore the rest.", "Signals that are directed to that particular PCU 420/520 are acted upon.", "Signals that are directed to any downstream or upstream PCU 420/520 in the relevant seat group or row 554 or column 552 are then routed via the appropriate data interface (634 or 638) into either the row master communications line 558 or the seat-to-seat communications line 557.This data handling protocol provides a true peer-to-peer differential communication network in which any PCU can communicate with any adjacently interconnected PCU throughout the network, and also with an external system of the aircraft.", "Each PCU forwards data along the network depending upon its position in the hierarchical network.", "The next interface on the PCU 420/520 is a seat-to-seat data interface 638.The seat-to-seat data interface 638 provides data from the PCU 420/520 of one seat 506 to the PCU 420/520 of the next adjacent seat 506 in a group or row 554 of seats 506 via the seat-to-seat communications line 557.These seat-to-seat data interfaces 638 are coupled to the processor 602 of the PCU 420/520, and receive data from the next adjacently connected PCU 420/520, and route the data to the processor 602.Again, the processor 602 of each PCU 420/520 is programmed to determine which data signals are directed to itself or to PCUs 420/520 upstream or downstream in its respective zone 504, column 552, or group or row 554, and to ignore the rest.", "Signals that are directed to that particular PCU 420/520 are acted upon.", "Signals that are directed to any upstream or downstream PCU 420/520 in the relevant seat zone 504, column 552 or group or row 554 are then routed in the proper direction via the appropriate data interface, as discussed above.", "The seat-to-seat data interface 638 is thus used to connect adjacent PCUs 420/520 in each seat group 554 via the seat-to-seat communications line 557 in a daisy-chain fashion, until reaching the final seat 506 in a seat group 554.This data handling protocol provides a true peer-to-peer differential communication network in which any PCU can communicate with any adjacently interconnected PCU throughout the network, and also with an external system of the aircraft.", "Each PCU forwards data along the network depending upon its position in the hierarchical network.", "Each PCU 420/520 also includes an inter-seat group power output 640 and an intra-seat group power output 642.These connectors are coupled to the DC power input, and allow transmission of electrical power throughout the network of connected PCUs 420/520.Specifically, as noted above, each PCU receives power input at the DC power input interface 622.This DC power input can be from a DCPS 442/542, or from another adjacent PCU, via either the inter-seat group power output 640 or intra-seat group power output 642.The inter-seat group power output 640 sends power from one seat group 554 to the next (i.e.", "interconnects seat group master PCUs 520c).", "The intra-seat group power output 642 sends power from one seat 506 to the next (i.e.", "interconnects PCUs in a given row 554 downstream of the seat group master PCU 520c).", "Advantageously, this power transmission can be carried by a conductor or group of conductors in either the row master communications line 558 or the seat-to-seat communications line 557, as applicable, thus employing only one connection wire for each PCU 520 in many parts of the peer-to-peer network 502.Different connectors for the inter- and intra-seat group power outputs 640, 642 can be provided because the PCUs 520 in any given seat row will cumulatively demand less power than will be needed to supply multiple rows, and hence connecting cables (e.g.", "557, 558) of different size and current carrying capacity can be used in these two different applications.", "In practice, all power and data connection points or pins for each PCU 420/520 can be physically adjacent to each other in one group, which simplifies the system so that each PCU 420/520 can, depending on its position in the network, be connected to just one combined input cable, providing both power and data, and just one combined output cable, providing both power and data.", "An additional connection cable to a DCPS (442 in FIG.", "4) can be provided for all PCUs 420/520 that have a direct power connection, rather than receiving power output from an upstream PCU 520.It is also to be understood that zone master, column master and row master PCUs, 520a, b, c, respectively, will typically have multiple data connections.", "Connection points made for the data wire within a given interconnection cable can differ (i.e.", "physically connect with a different data interface) depending upon the position and type of connection.", "Differentiation between different connection types can be facilitated in various ways, such as by connector keying.", "Thus, for example, all column master connection cables 556 that interconnect zone master PCUs 420a/520a to column master PCUs 420b/520b can have a first connector key configuration; all group master connection lines 558 that interconnect column master PCUs 420b/520b to group master PCUs 420c/520c can have a second connector key configuration; and all seat-to-seat connection lines 557 that interconnect PCUs 420/520 seat-to-seat can have a third connector key configuration.", "The simplified peer-to-peer system shown in FIGS.", "4-9 can be used with either or both of the PCU 420 and MCU 440 portions of the system.", "While the diagram of FIG.", "5 shows the hierarchical zone arrangement for the peer-to-peer system associated with the PCU units 520, it is to be understood that a similar arrangement can be used for interconnection of the overhead MCU units (440 in FIG.", "4) in an analogous peer-to-peer network.", "Thus, the diagram of FIG.", "5 represents both the peer-to-peer PCU network as shown, but also represents a corresponding peer-to-peer MCU network.", "In such a network, the MCU system master (440a in FIG.", "4) is analogous to the PCU Zone Master 550, and other MCUs will operate as zone masters and column masters, depending on their position in the network, in a similar manner to the hierarchical PCU system described herein.", "One difference in a peer-to-peer system for the MCU units (440 in FIG.", "4) is that each MCU (440 in FIG.", "4) is associated with a given row 554 of seats 506, rather than with an individual seat 506.The simplified peer-to-peer system shown in FIGS.", "4-9 can also be used alone or in combination with systems that incorporate In-Flight Entertainment and other CSS components like those of prior systems.", "Various alternative configurations of such combination systems are illustrated in FIGS.", "10-12.Shown in FIG.", "10 is a partial side-schematic view of an aircraft cabin 1000 having a DC-based peer-to-peer network with seats 1006 in two seating zones 1004a, b (e.g.", "business class and economy class).", "In this embodiment, at least some of the seat-based PCUs 1020 units are incorporated into a DC-based peer-to-peer network, while the overhead PSS panels 1008 are configured in the manner of prior systems, like that shown in FIG.", "3.As discussed above, the overhead PSU panel 1008 includes various overhead PSS devices discussed above, such as Reading lights 1012 and Call Lights 1013, signage 1014, etc.", "Power and electronic data for the electronic PSS components of each overhead PSU panel 1008 or for a group of overhead PSU panels 1008 can be provided through an overhead electronics unit (OEU) 1018.A zone management unit (ZMU), indicated generally at 1030, is coupled to and controlled by the CSS head end unit 1032, which provides data and control for all of the OEUs 1018 through their respective ZMUs 1030.In this configuration, electronic data and control for all of the OEUs 1018 in each zone 1004 is provided through a single ZMU 1030, which is associated with all three seat columns of the wide body aircraft—i.e.", "right, left and center columns of seats 1006—in its zone 1004.Thus, ZMU1 1030a provides control to all of the OEUs 1018 in the fore zone 1004a, and ZMU2 1030b provides control to all of the OEUs 1018 in the aft zone 1004b.", "As with the embodiment of FIG.", "3, power to each OEU 1018 is provided via the 115v AC power system 1026 from the aircraft power system.", "Each passenger seat 1006 includes a PCU 1020, which can provide the functions discussed above.", "The forward zone 1004a of seats 1006 in FIG.", "10 has an In-Flight Entertainment System, with PCUs 1020 configured like those of FIG.", "3.Each PCU 1020 receives power from a seat power box (SPB) 1022 and data from a seat electronics box (SEB) 1024, allowing seat-to-seat communication and USB charging for personal electronic devices at each seat 1006.The PCU 1020 can also include controls for the overhead PSS devices, as discussed above.", "Power to the SPB 1022 and SEB 1024 for each passenger seat 1006 (and ultimately for the associated PCU 1020) in the forward zone 1004a is also provided by the aircraft 115v AC aircraft power system 1026.The power system shown in FIG.", "10 includes only a forward power connection point 1026a for the forward seat zone 1004a, and a forward power connection point 1026b for the aft seat zone 1004b.", "Electronic data for all of the PCUs 1020 in the forward zone 1004a is provided through redundant fore and aft area distribution boxes ADB1 1028a and ADB2 1028b.", "Rather than separate ADBs 1028 for the right, left and center seat sections, only one ADB 1028a is shown at each end of the forward zone 1004a, and is associated with all three seat column portions of the wide body aircraft—i.e.", "right, left and center columns of seats 1006—in this zone.", "The fore and aft ADB units 1028a, b, are coupled to one or more IFE servers 1036, which in turn are connected to an IFE head end unit 1038, which manages content and distribution of entertainment and other data to the SEB 1024 of each seat 1006 in the forward zone 1004a.", "The PCU 1020 is connected to the SEB 1024 and sends Call Light and Reading Light commands to the IFE head end unit 1038 via the SEB 1024.The IFE head end unit 1038 is connected to the CSS head end unit 1032, which in turn is connected to ZMU1 1030a, which communicates with all OEUs 1018 in the overhead PSU panels 1008 of the forward zone 1004a.", "With this configuration, control inputs for overhead PSS devices can be routed from individual seat PCUs 1020 to the PSS components of the associated overhead PSU panels 1008.The aft zone 1004b in FIG.", "10 does not include an In-Flight Entertainment System, but can include all features shown with respect to the embodiment of FIG.", "4.Each passenger seat 1006 in this zone includes its passenger control unit (PCU) 1020, typically disposed in the armrest of the seat 1006.The PCU 1020 can allow USB charging for personal electronic devices, and can also include controls for the overhead PSS devices.", "In the rear zone 1004b, the PCUs 1020 are connected in a true peer-to-peer network 1002, as discussed above.", "Power for all PCUs 1020 in the aft zone 1004 is provided via one or more DCPS units 1042 that are connected to the 115v AC aircraft power supply 1026, thus providing DC power to all of the PCUs 1020.While, a single DCPS 1042 is shown providing power to all PCUs 1020 in the aft zone 1004b, it is to be appreciated that any number of DCPS units 1026 can be used in a given zone 1004.The PCUs 1020 can be identical units like that shown in FIG.", "6, and are interconnected in a hierarchical peer-to-peer network, as discussed above.", "Each PCU 1020 is configured to control the data, communications and other functions for its associated seat 1006.Zone master PCUs 1020a, column master PCUs 1020b, row master PCUs 1020c and seat-to-seat PCUs 1020 are connected together to provide the functions discussed above.", "The zone master PCU 1020a for each zone 1004 is communicatively coupled to the CSS head end unit 1032, and interfaces with all external systems for data handling.", "Thus, in the aft zone 1004b of the system of FIG.", "10 there are no seat power boxes (SPBs) and seat electronics boxes (SEBs) for each seat 1006, thus greatly reducing weight and complexity.", "A single data connection cable 1046 extends from the aft zone master PCU 1020a to the CSS head end unit 1032, which is also connected to ZMU2 1030b for the aft zone 1004b, allowing control signals to be transmitted between the PCUs 1020 in the aft zone 1004 and the OEUs 1018 of the overhead panel system units 1008 of the aft zone 1004b.", "This allows any passenger in any seat in the aft zone 1004b to control their corresponding overhead PSU panel 1008 using the PCU 1020 of their particular seat.", "Shown in FIG.", "11 is a partial side-schematic view of another embodiment of an aircraft cabin 1100 having a DC-based peer-to-peer network with seats 1106 in two seating zones 1104a, b.", "Like the embodiment of FIG.", "10, the overhead PSU panels 1108 are configured in the manner of prior systems, and include the overhead PSS devices such as Reading lights and Call Lights.", "Power and electronic data for the electronic components of each overhead PSU panel 1108 or for a group of overhead PSU panels 1108 in both zones 1104a, b are provided through an overhead electronics unit (OEU) 1118.A zone management unit (ZMU) 1130 is coupled to and controlled by the CSS head end unit 1132, which provides data and control for all of the OEUs 1118 through their respective ZMUs 1130.In this configuration, electronic data and control for all of the OEUs 1118 in each zone 1104 is provided through a single ZMU 1130, which is associated with all three seat column portions of the wide body aircraft in its zone 1104.Thus, ZMU1 1130a provides control to all of the OEUs 1118 in the fore zone 1104a, and ZMU2 1130b provides control to all of the OEUs 1118 in the aft zone 1104b.", "As with the embodiment of FIG.", "3, power to each OEU 1118 is provided via the 115v AC power 1126 from the aircraft power system.", "Also like FIG.", "10, each passenger seat 1106 in FIG.", "11 includes a PCU 1120, with the aft seat PCUs 1120 incorporated into a DC-based peer-to-peer network 1102.Each passenger seat 1106 includes a PCU, which can provide the functions discussed above.", "The forward zone 1104a of seats 1106 in FIG.", "11 has an In-Flight Entertainment System 1103, with a PCU system configured like that of FIG.", "3.Each PCU 1120 receives power from a seat power box (SPB) 1122 and data from a seat electronics box (SEB) 1124, allowing seat-to-seat communication and USB charging for personal electronic devices at each seat 1106.The PCU 1120 can also include controls for the overhead PSS devices, as discussed above.", "Power to the SPB 1122 and SEB 1124 boxes for each passenger seat 1106 (and ultimately for the associated PCU 1120) in the forward zone 1104a is also provided by the aircraft 115v AC aircraft power system 1126.The power system shown in FIG.", "11 includes only a forward power connection point 1126a for the forward seat zone 1104a, and a forward power connection point 1126b for the aft seat zone 1104b.", "Electronic data for all of the PCUs 1120 in the forward zone 1104a is provided through redundant fore and aft area distribution boxes ADB1 1128a and ADB2 1128b.", "Rather than separate ADBs 1128 for the right, left and center seat sections, only one ADB is shown at each end of the forward zone 1104a, and is associated with all three seat column portions of the wide body aircraft in this zone.", "The fore and aft ADB units 1128 are coupled to one or more IFE servers 1136, which in turn are connected to an IFE head end unit 1138, which manages content and distribution of entertainment and other data to the SEBs 1124 of each seat 1106 in the forward zone 1104a.", "The PCUs are connected to the SEBs and send Reading Light and Call Light commands to the IFE Head End 1138 via the SEBs 1124.The IFE head end unit 1138 is connected to the CSS Head End 1132, which in turn is connected to ZMU1 1130a, which communicates with all OEUs 1118 in the overhead PSU panels 1108 of the forward zone 1104a.", "With this configuration, control inputs for overhead PSS devices can be routed from individual seat PCUs 1120 to the components of the associated overhead PSU panel 1108.In the rear zone 1104b of seats 1106, the PCUs 1120 are structurally identical units connected in a true peer-to-peer hierarchical network, as discussed above.", "Power for all PCUs 1120 in the aft zone 1104b is provided via one or more DCPS units 1142 that are connected to the 115v AC aircraft power supply 1126, thus providing DC power to all of the PCUs 1120.While, a single DCPS 1142 is shown providing power to all PCUs 1120 in the aft zone 1104b, it is to be appreciated that any number of DCPS units 1142 can be used in a given zone 1104.Each passenger seat 1106 includes its passenger control unit (PCU) 1120, typically disposed in the armrest of the seat.", "The PCU 1120 can allow USB charging for personal electronic devices and can also include controls for the overhead PSS devices.", "Unlike the embodiment of FIG.", "10, however, each PCU 1120 in the aft zone 1104b is coupled through a passenger services system (PSS) head end unit 1150.That is, the data cable 1146 connected to the zone master PCU 1120a in the aft zone 1104b is coupled to the PSS head end unit 1150, which provides a standard interface for all external systems (e.g.", "ARINC 628 Part B for interfacing to the CSS).", "The aft zone 1104b in FIG.", "11 is substantially similar to the forward zone 1104a, but without the IFES.", "The commands from each PCU 1120 can still be routed to the CSS by way of the peer-to-peer network 1102.The PSS head end unit 1150 is connected to the CSS head end unit 1132, which is also connected to ZMU2 1130b for the aft zone 1104b, allowing control signals to be transmitted between the PCUs 1120 in the aft zone 1104b and the corresponding overhead OEUs 1118 and panel units 1108 of the aft zone 1104.This allows any passenger in any seat 1106 in the aft zone 1104b to control their corresponding overhead PSU panel 1108 using the PCU 1120 of their particular seat.", "Though not separately shown, other peer-to-peer system configurations can be created using various combinations of elements shown in the figures herein.", "For example, a peer-to-peer system can be configured using overhead PSS components configured like the overhead PSU system 402 of FIG.", "4, in combination with an entertainment system like the IFES 1103 shown in FIG.", "11.In such a system, each seat or row 1106 would have overhead PSU devices controlled by an MCU (e.g.", "MCU 440 in FIG.", "4), rather than the configuration in FIG.", "11 in which a group of overhead PSU panels 1108 are controlled by an OEU 1118, in the manner of prior overhead systems (e.g.", "as shown in FIGS.", "2 and 3).", "Other combinations can also be used.", "Shown in FIG.", "12 is a partial side-schematic view of another embodiment of a PSS 1201 having DC-based peer network in accordance with the present disclosure.", "In this embodiment, the seats 1206 in the cabin 1200 are arranged in two seating zones 1204a, b.", "However, unlike the embodiments of FIGS.", "10 and 11, both zones 1204a and 1204b are configured in a true peer-to-peer network 1202 for both the seat-based PCUs 1220 and the overhead PSS panels 1208.The configuration shown in FIG.", "12 does not include an In-Flight Entertainment System, but does include USB connections at each PCU 1220.The overhead PSU panel 1208 includes the overhead Reading lights and Call Lights that are part of the PSS 1201, as discussed above.", "Rather than an OEU for each overhead PSU panel 1208 or group of overhead PSU panels 1208, each overhead PSU panel 1208 includes a discrete microcontroller unit (MCU) 1240 having a processor and system memory, like the MCU 440 discussed above with respect to FIGS.", "4 and 6.Power for all MCUs 1240 is provided from a DC power source (DCPS) 1242 that is connected to the 115v AC aircraft power supply 1226, thus providing DC power to all of the MCUs 1240 and the associated overhead PSS devices of the overhead PSU panel 1208.While a single DCPS 1242 can provide power to all MCUs 1240 in a given zone 1204, fore and aft DCPS units 1242 can be provided in a given zone 1204 to provide a power supply for respective zones of a column, in the manner discussed above.", "All of the MCUs 1240 in a given zone 1204 have data connection cables 1244 that are coupled in a hierarchical daisy-chain fashion with adjacent MCU units 1240 in each seat zone 1204.This allows unique data and commands to be sent to or from one MCU 1240 to the next MCU 1240, in either direction, until they reach any destination MCU in the zone 1204 or to any PCU 1220 in the system, as described below The MCUs 1240 can be structurally and functionally identical microprocessor devices, as discussed above, with hierarchical data transfer logic programming stored in their associated memory.", "Each MCU 1240 functions depending upon its location in the hierarchical connection structure, thus creating a peer-to-peer network among the MCUs 1240 that functions in the manner discussed above with respect to FIG.", "4.Each passenger seat 1206 in FIG.", "12 includes a PCU 1220, which includes all of the features and functionality discussed above with respect to FIG.", "6.Power for any or all PCUs 1220 in each zone 1204 is provided from one or more DCPS units 1242 that are connected to the 115v AC aircraft power supply 1226.As shown in FIG.", "12, the forward zone 1204a includes a first DCPS 1242a and the aft zone 1204b includes a second DCPS 1242b.", "As noted above, however, any number of DCPS units 1242 can be used in any given zone 1204.The PCUs 1220 in each zone 1204 are interconnected in a hierarchical peer-to-peer network, as discussed above, with each zone 1204 having a zone master PCU 1220a, having a standard interface for all external systems (e.g.", "ARINC 628 Part B for interfacing to the CSS), the zone master PCU 1220a being connected to column master PCUs 1220b, which are connected to row master PCUs 1220c, which are finally connected to PCUs 1220 in a given seat 1206 in seat-to-seat fashion, as shown in FIGS.", "5-9.In sum, the DC-based peer network disclosed herein facilitates a Passenger Services System that can include in-flight entertainment, seat-to-seat communication and USB charging for personal electronic devices at each passenger seat with a significant reduction in hardware and wiring.", "By using DC power and two-conductor differential communication hardware between seat groups, columns, and zones in an aircraft, component count is reduced by routing power and data directly to passenger control units at each seat without the need for intermediate controllers to condition power and aggregate data.", "The network can be implemented within seats, within overhead electronics, or as a combination of the two, while interfacing with other Cabin Management Systems as desired.", "The system disclosed herein addresses the prior approach of dedicated data aggregators (e.g.", "Seat Electronics Boxes) and/or Power Modules in each seat group by enabling lightweight point-to-point power and data delivery between Control Units.", "This system reduces weight by eliminating aggregating and conditioning equipment at each seat.", "It reduces component count by eliminating hardware and associated connectors and wiring.", "It provides Control Units that perform power management functions formerly handled by multiple separate Power Modules.", "This system is also capable of managing USB charging for Portable Electronic Devices, and has the ability to communicate to other systems using aviation standard communication protocols, such as ARINC 628 Part 3.For overhead PSU panels this system reduces the size and complexity of electrical distribution networks and hardware, such as high speed data distribution systems to control reading lights.", "Instead, this system enables each overhead PSU panel to have its own controller, thereby extending its features beyond discrete control to include a wider range of customizable capabilities.", "This system also enables a Seat System to communicate directly with an Overhead System without the use of a dedicated Cabin Services System.", "This system also simplifies diagnostics by enabling each LRU have the ability to manage network traffic, and can be enabled to serve its own Maintenance screens to external Web Based Systems for use by maintenance personnel.", "Embodiments of the disclosure may be described in the context of an aircraft manufacturing and service method 1300 as shown in FIG.", "13, for an aircraft 1302 as shown in FIG.", "14.During pre-production, exemplary method 1300 may include specification and design 1304 of the aircraft 1302 and material procurement 1306.During production, component and subassembly manufacturing 1308 and system integration 1310 of the aircraft 1302 takes place.", "Thereafter, the aircraft 1302 may go through certification and delivery 1312 in order to be placed in service 1314.While in service by a customer, the aircraft 1302 is scheduled for routine maintenance and service 1316 (which may also include modification, reconfiguration, refurbishment, and so on).", "Each of the processes of method 1300 may be performed or carried out by a system integrator, a third party, and/or an operator (e.g., a customer).", "For the purposes of this description, a system integrator may include without limitation any number of aircraft manufacturers and major-system subcontractors; a third party may include without limitation any number of venders, subcontractors, and suppliers; and an operator may be an airline, leasing company, military entity, service organization, and so on.", "As shown in FIG.", "14, an aerospace vehicle such as an aircraft 1302 produced by exemplary method 1300 may include an airframe 1318 with a plurality of systems 1320 and an interior 1322.Examples of high-level systems 1320 include one or more of a propulsion system 1324, an electrical system 1326, a hydraulic system 1328, and an environmental system 1330.Any number of other systems may be included.", "Although an aircraft is given as an example of an aerospace application for the present disclosure, it is to be understood that this is only one example of an aerospace application.", "Additionally, while an aerospace example is shown, the principles of the disclosure may be applied to other industries, such as the automotive industry, for example.", "Although various embodiments have been shown and described, the present disclosure is not so limited and will be understood to include all such modifications and variations are would be apparent to one skilled in the art." ] ]
Patent_15873121
[ [ "SLIDER UTILIZING MULTIPLE TRANSDUCER SETS", "A slider includes an array of two or more transducer sets offset from one another in a cross-track direction.", "Each transducer set includes at least one writer and at least one reader.", "All of the transducer sets are configured to operate simultaneously to perform any combination of reading and writing on two or more tracks of a recording medium.", "At least one actuator is included between two the transducer sets.", "The actuator is configured to adjust a cross-track spacing between the two transducer sets in response to a control current." ], [ "1.A method comprising: positioning a slider over a disk via a positioning mechanism, the slider comprising first and second transducer sets, the first and second transducer sets offset from one another in a cross-track direction, each transducer set comprising at least one reader, an actuator located between the first and second transducer sets and configured to change a crosstrack spacing between the first and second transducer sets; reading first position data from the disk via a first reader of the first transducer set; reading second position data from the disk via a second reader of the second transducer set; using the first position data to position the first transducer set over a first track via the positioning mechanism; and using the second position data to position the second transducer set over a second track via the actuator.", "2.The method of claim 1, wherein the positioning mechanism comprises a voice coil and a microactuator, 3.The method of claim 1, wherein the actuator comprises a heater that changes the crosstrack spacing between the first and second transducer sets via thermal expansion.", "4.The method of claim 1, wherein the slider further comprises a third transducer set and a second actuator configured to change a second crosstrack spacing between the third transducer set and the first and second transducer sets, the method further comprising: reading third position data from the disk via a third reader of the third transducer set; and using the third position data to position the third transducer set over a third track via the actuator.", "5.The method of claim 4, wherein the first transducer set is located between the second and third transducer sets, and wherein a servo controller subtracts the first position signal from the second position signal to determine a second position error of the second transducer set and adds the first position signal to the third position signal to determine a third position error of the third transducer set.", "6.The method of claim 1, wherein the second position data is combined with the first position data to control the positioning mechanism.", "7.The method of claim 1, further comprising determining different first and second repeatable runout values affecting the first and second transducer sets, wherein the second repeatable runout values are combined with the second position data to position the second transducer set over the second track via the actuator.", "8.The method of claim 1, further comprising applying a temperature compensation signal to the actuator to adjust for variations in the crosstrack spacing due to temperature.", "9.The method of claim 1, further comprising applying a skew compensation signal to the actuator to adjust for a skew angle of the slider.", "10.An apparatus comprising: interface circuitry operable to communicate with a slider, the slider comprising first and second transducer sets, the first and second transducer sets offset from one another in a cross-track direction, each transducer set comprising at least one reader, an actuator being located between the first and second transducer sets and configured to change a crosstrack spacing between the first and second transducer sets; and a servo controller coupled to the interface circuitry and a positioning mechanism operable to position the slider over a disk, the servo controller configured to: read first position data from the disk via a first reader of the first transducer set; read second position data from the disk via a second reader of the second transducer set, use the first position data to position the first transducer set over a first rack via the voice coil motor; and use the second position data to position the second transducer set over a second track via the actuator.", "11.The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the positioning mechanism comprises a voice coil and a microactuator.", "12.The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the actuator comprises a heater that changes the crosstrack spacing between the first and second transducer sets via thermal expansion.", "13.The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the slider further comprises a third transducer set and a second actuator configured to change a second crosstrack spacing between the third transducer set and the first and second transducer sets, the servo controller being further operable to: read third position data from the disk via a third reader of the third transducer set; and use the third position data to position the third transducer set over a track via the actuator.", "14.The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the first transducer set is located between the second and third transducer sets, and wherein the servo controller subtracts the first position signal from the second position signal to determine a second position error of the second transducer set and adds the first position signal to the third position signal to determine a third position error of the third transducer set.", "15.The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the second position data is combined with the first position data to control the positioning mechanism.", "16.The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the servo controller is further operable to determine different first and second repeatable runout values affecting the first and second transducer sets, wherein the second repeatable runout values are combined with the second position data to position the second transducer set over the second track via the actuator.", "17.The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the servo controller is further operable to apply a compensation signal to the actuator to adjust for at least one of a skew angle of the slider and a variation in the crosstrack spacing due to temperature.", "18.A system comprising: a slider comprising: an array of two or more transducer sets offset from one another in a cross-track direction, each set comprising at least one reader, all of the transducer sets configured simultaneously to read from two or more tracks of a disk; and an actuator between two of the transducer sets, the actuator configured to adjust a crosstrack spacing between the two transducer sets in response to a control current; a positioning mechanism operable to move the slider between an inner diameter and an outer diameter of the disk; and a servo controller coupled to the slider and the positioning mechanism, the servo controller configured to: control a position of the slider based on a first position signal from a first of the two or more transducer sets; and control the position of a second of the two or more transducer sets via the actuator based on a second position signal of the second transducer set.", "19.The system of claim 19, wherein the servo controller is further operable to apply a compensation signal to the actuator to adjust for at least one of a skew angle of the slider and a variation in the crosstrack spacing due to temperature.", "20.The system of claim 19, wherein the servo controller is further operable to determine different first and second repeatable runout values affecting the first and second transducer sets, wherein the first repeatable runout values are applied to the positioning mechanisms to position the two or more transducer sets and wherein the second repeatable runout values are applied to the actuator to position just the second transducer set." ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY <EOH>The present disclosure is directed to a slider that utilizes multiple transducer sets.", "In one embodiment, a slider includes an array of two or more transducer sets offset from one another in a cross-track direction.", "Each transducer set includes at least one writer and at least one reader.", "All of the transducer sets are configured to operate simultaneously to perform any combination of reading and writing on two or more tracks of a recording medium.", "At least one actuator is included between two the transducer sets.", "The actuator is configured to adjust a cross-track spacing between the two transducer sets in response to a control current.", "These and other features and aspects of various embodiments may be understood in view of the following detailed discussion and accompanying drawings." ], [ "CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation of U.S. Ser.", "No.", "15/291,290, filed Oct. 12, 2016, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.", "SUMMARY The present disclosure is directed to a slider that utilizes multiple transducer sets.", "In one embodiment, a slider includes an array of two or more transducer sets offset from one another in a cross-track direction.", "Each transducer set includes at least one writer and at least one reader.", "All of the transducer sets are configured to operate simultaneously to perform any combination of reading and writing on two or more tracks of a recording medium.", "At least one actuator is included between two the transducer sets.", "The actuator is configured to adjust a cross-track spacing between the two transducer sets in response to a control current.", "These and other features and aspects of various embodiments may be understood in view of the following detailed discussion and accompanying drawings.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The discussion below makes reference to the following figures, wherein the same reference number may be used to identify the similar/same component in multiple figures.", "FIG.", "1 is a perspective view of a slider according to an example embodiment; FIG.", "2 is a perspective view of transducer sets according to an example embodiment; FIGS.", "3-5 are plan views of transducer sets superimposed over tracks according to example embodiments; FIG.", "6 is a block diagram of a servo controller system according to an example embodiment; FIG.", "7 is a flowchart of a method according to an example embodiment; and FIG.", "8 is a block diagram of a data storage device according to an example embodiment.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION The present disclosure generally relates to data storage devices that utilize magnetic storage media, e.g., hard disks.", "Since the adoption of hard disks as primary persistent data storage for personal and commercial computing, the areal density of disk drives has increased dramatically.", "In the last 20 years or so, the areal density of hard disk drives (and other magnetic data storage medium) has increased by a factor of more than 250.While the increase in areal density has reduced costs of data storage, recently the areal density of hard disk drives has outpaced the growth in sequential data rate measured when reading from and writing to the drives.", "The reason for this can be seen by observing that areal density is increased by either increasing linear density (the density of bits along each circumferential track), or increasing track density (the number of concentric tracks per unit distance in the radial direction), or a combination of both methods.", "A second observation is that increases in linear density increase both sequential transfer rate and areal density at the same time and rate, while increases in track density only increase areal density.", "Assuming all other drive features are kept constant (RPM, seek times, disc count, etc.)", "that means that the amount of time required to completely read or write a drive is scaled by the increase in track density.", "For example a 6 gigabit per square inch (Gbpsi) drive from circa 1998 utilized a track density of about 20 thousand tracks per inch (ktpi) while a modern version of that drive utilizes 400-500 ktpi.", "This means that it takes 20-25 times longer to read/write all of the data (which as noted before is about 250 times greater) on the modern drive.", "The problem is further exacerbated by adding discs even at the same areal density since that is effectively the same as adding more tracks, which adds capacity without necessarily any performance increase.", "This inability to access the data on a drive in a reasonable amount of time has a number of undesirable side effects that limit the effective utilization of the disk drive.", "These side effects include increasing the probability of a double-drive failure during RAID rebuild and reducing the ability to move data from one drive to another during rebalancing.", "In embodiments described below, multiple readers and writers are built on a single recording head to increase the data throughput of the drive.", "The multiple transducers can be used simultaneously while writing and/or reading to increase throughput.", "Heaters or other actuators may be used to control crosstrack spacing between recording elements.", "Multiple read sensors per writer may be used to accommodate for skew angle spacing effects, with some or all of the sensors selectively used depending upon the track radius.", "In FIG.", "1, a perspective view illustrates a read/write head 100 according to an example embodiment.", "The read/write head 100 includes a slider body 102 that includes integrated electromagnetic components.", "The slider body 102 is formed by building components on a unitary substrate (e.g., via layer deposition), the components including an array of two or more transducer sets 104 at a trailing edge 106.The transducer sets 104 are offset from one another in a cross-track direction 108, and may also be offset in a downtrack direction 110.Each transducer set 104 includes at least one writer and at least one reader.", "The transducer sets 104 are configured to operate simultaneously to perform any combination of reading and writing on two or more tracks of a recording medium (not shown).", "A media facing surface 112 of the slider body 102 is held proximate over the moving recording medium when reading and writing.", "The media-facing surface 112 may be configured as an air-bearing surface that rides over a thin layer of air when the recording medium is moving relative to the slider body 112.The read/write head 100 may be coupled to a gimbal assembly (not shown) that suspends the slider body 102 over the recording medium.", "The gimbal assembly is attached to an arm (not shown) and actuator which moves the assembly in response to a control signal to position the read/write head 100 over the desired track on the recording medium.", "The illustrated read/write head 100 may be configured for conventional, e.g., perpendicular magnetic recording.", "In other embodiments, the read/write head 100 may be configured to recording using heat-assisted magnetic recording (HAMR).", "In a HAMR device, an energy source (e.g., a laser diode 114) is used with integrated optics to create a small hotspot on the recording medium, which has high magnetic coercivity at room temperature which results in stability of the recorded data at high areal density.", "The hotspot temporarily lowers the coercivity when recording allowing a conventional write transducer to be used.", "In FIG.", "2, a diagram illustrates a transducer array 200 according to an example embodiment.", "The transducer array 200 includes three transducer sets 202-204 offset from each other in a crosstrack direction 201.As seen here, the transducers sets 202-204 may be identical in terms of number of read and write transducers, geometry, materials, etc., although in other embodiments there may be differences between transducer sets 202-204.For purposes of illustration, member components of transducer set 202 are discussed in detail, and it will be understood that the other transducer sets 203, 204 may have the same member components in a similar arrangement.", "Transducer set 202 includes a write pole 206 and a write coil 208 that generate a magnetic field that extends from a media facing surface 214 when a current is applied to the coil 208.First and second read transducers 210, 212 are configured to sense changes in magnetic orientation when held over the recording medium.", "The read transducers 210, 212 may be magnetoresistive sensors (e.g., giant magnetoresistive, tunneling magnetoresistive, etc.)", "that exhibit varying resistance in response to local changes in magnetic flux.", "While all the transducer sets 202-204 are shown with two read transducers, in some embodiments the transducer sets 202-204 may have different numbers of read transducers.", "Shown between the transducer sets 202-204 are heaters 216, 218 that, if present, may be used to affect a crosstrack separation between the transducer sets.", "Generally, the heaters 216, 218 can expand by a desired amount in response to selective application of current to the heaters 216, 218.Material surrounding the heaters 216, 218 may be selected with a relatively high thermal expansion coefficient to control the amount of expansion.", "The heaters 216, 218 may be resistive elements with resistance R that dissipate, in response to applied current I, I2R power to the surrounding material.", "Generally, for N transducer sets, as many as N-1 heaters or similar actuators may be used to affect crosstrack spacing.", "Other devices that affect spacing between the transducer sets without relying on thermal expansion can be used instead of or in addition to heat producing devices.", "For example, piezoelectric material can selectably deform in response to an applied voltage field.", "Another technology known as microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) involves the construction of microscopic mechanical components.", "One or more MEMS actuators may also be used to affect spacing between transducer sets.", "It will be understood that reference to heater actuators herein may apply equally to these other types of actuators.", "The transducer sets 202-204 are mounted on a single slider body and can be used simultaneously for read and/or write operations.", "Each of the transducer sets and heaters shown in the figure may have a separate set of signal lines that extend to mainboard circuitry on the storage device (e.g., preamplifiers, controllers).", "Other components not shown in the figure (e.g., head-to-media clearance actuators, sensors, lasers) may similarly have independent signal lines to allow independent and simultaneous operation of the transducer sets 202-204.Common return lines (grounds) may be used to reduce the number of signal lines.", "The heaters 216, 218 can be used to adjust cross track position of the read transducers and or write transducers during respective reading and writing operations.", "In FIGS.", "3-5, plan views from a media-parallel surface shows three transducer sets 301-303 of a slider 300 according to another example embodiment.", "Each transducer set 301-303 has one writer (W1, W2, and W3, respectively) and two readers (R1A, R1B, R2A, R2B, R3A and R3B, respectively).", "Crosstrack-movement actuators 305, 306 (e.g., heaters) are located between the transducer sets 301-303.The transducer sets 301-303 are shown positioned over tracks 311-313, respectively.", "The tracks 311-313 are written to a recording medium (e.g., magnetic disk) that moves relative to the slider 300 in a downtrack direction 310.Note that tracks 311-313 are not necessarily adjacent.", "There may be many tracks in-between tracks 311, 312, and 313, and in some embodiments the number of in-between tracks may vary as a function of track radius.", "Note that in FIG.", "3, the slider 300 is at or near a zero skew angle with the recording medium.", "This may be a nominal position, such that at this skew angle, the transducer sets 301-303 are configured to align with the tracks 311-313 with a nominal (e.g.", "median) heater biasing applied by the actuators 305-306 when the drive is operated at a nominal temperature (e.g., 40C).", "In FIG.", "4, the slider 300 is shown over a different set of tracks 411-413 at a high skew angle.", "The dashed lines indicate the size of the actuators 305-306 at a low skew angle as in FIG.", "3.Therefore, at the skew angle of FIG.", "4, the actuators 305-306 have expanded to align the writers W1-W3 over the tracks 411-413.The actuators 305-306 may also be used to compensate for thermal effects.", "For instance, the actuators 305-306 may be used to compensate for different temperatures or different values of thermal expansion of materials between the recording head.", "Considering FIG.", "4 in a different context, the dashed lines may indicate the size of the actuators 305-306 at a cooler temperature.", "The solid lines may represent the size of the actuators when extra heater current is applied to compensate for the cooler drive temperature.", "Conversely, less heater current may be applied when the drive's operating temperature is hotter.", "The actuators 305-306 may be used similarly to align the readers R1A-B, R2A-B, and R3A-B over the tracks 411-413.However, because the readers R1A-B, R2A-B, and R3A-B in each transducer set 301-303 are offset from each other in a crosstrack direction, such readers may be able to operate without active crosstrack alignment via the actuators 305-306.This is seen in FIG.", "5, where the slider is positioned over the tracks 411-413 without expansion of the actuators.", "At least readers R1A, R2A and R3C are centered over the tracks 411-413.Further, the signal from two readers over the same track (e.g., R1A and R2A over track 411) may be combined when reading the track, e.g., using multiple signal/sensor magnetic recording (MSMR) mode that uses two or more signals to read from a single track, or in a two-dimensional magnetic recording—multi-track (TDMR-MT) mode, where multiple readers are used to read from more than one track.", "Both MSMR and TDMR-MT modes are specific cases of TDMR.", "The multiple readers may be from the same transducer set or from different, adjacent transducer sets.", "In the above embodiments, the transducer sets are shown aligned with one another in a crosstrack direction.", "In other embodiments, at least some of the transducers in the sets may also be offset in a downtrack direction.", "For example, the sets may have the same downtrack separation between readers and writers within the set, but the sets are offset from one another downtrack.", "In another case, the sets may have different separation between readers and writers.", "For example, the writers of all the sets may be crosstrack-aligned but the readers may be offset in a downtrack direction.", "A hard disk drive generally uses a servo control system to position read/write heads over tracks on the recording medium.", "In order to determine the location of the read/write head, the recording medium includes servo marks prewritten onto the disk at multiple locations.", "The servo marks include data that helps identify the current position (e.g., track and sector number) as well as to determine the offset of the read/write head relative to track center.", "In the embodiment described herein where cross track adjustment of transducer sets is possible, the servo control system may include additional features to control the simultaneous tracking of two or more transducer sets over different tracks.", "In FIG.", "6, a block diagram illustrates a servo control system according to an example embodiment.", "A plant of the servo control system includes a voice coil motor (VCM) 602 that moves some or all of the read/write heads of the device together.", "One or more microactuators 604 may be incorporated to provide fine-position adjustment for each individual read/write head.", "Together, the VCM 602 and microactuator 604 affect the displacement 610 of a first transducer set.", "A reader of the first transducer set reads position data 612 (e.g., based on burst patterns embedded in servo marks) and this position data 612 is fed back to the controller 606,.", "A command input 614 is used to set position, and is zero for track-following mode.", "The difference between the command input 614 and actual position 614 is position error PES1 for this transducer set, which is ultimately the feedback signal sent to the controller 606.The controller 606 causes actuation of the VCM 602 and microactuator 604 via respective drivers 607, 608.Because the illustrated system includes more than one transducer set (three transducer sets in this example) on the same read/write head, the movement of the VCM 602 and microactuator 604 also affects the displacements 616, 618 of second and third transducer sets.", "The displacement of the second and third transducer sets relative to the first transducer set is controlled by respective heaters 620, 622.Readers of the second and third transducer sets provide respective position signals 624, 626 which are used as feedback to controllers 628, 630.Controllers 628, 630 cause actuation of the heaters 620, 622 via drivers 629, 631.Command signals 632, 634 are combined with position signals 624, 626 and fed back to the second and third transducer sets via the controllers 628, 630.In this example, the heaters 620, 622 are on either side of the first transducer set that provides the position signal 612.Therefore, this signal 612 is subtracted from position 616 of the second transducer set and added to the position 618 of the third transducer set.", "In other arrangements, the signal 612 may be added to or subtracted from both positions 616, 618.For example, this may occur where the first transducer set is at one end of the array and not in the middle.", "Note that the command input 614 affects all three of the transducer sets, while command inputs 632, 634 only affect position of second and third transducer sets relative to the first.", "Thus, command input 614 may be used for seeking, track switching, and the like, but not command inputs 632, 634.During track-following mode, all three inputs 614, 632, 634 may be set to zero.", "In some cases, additional servo control data such as repeatable runout (RRO) compensation may be used to induce intentional position offsets from the servo marks due to known distortions of the servo patterns on the disk.", "Each of the transducers may be affected by the same RRO, in which case the primary actuators 602, 604 can be the primary mechanism for RRO correction.", "However, the heaters 620, 622 provide the possibility of correcting for repeatable position error differences between adjacent tracks, e.g., by using command signals 632, 634 for RRO correction.", "The position signal 612 read from the first transducer set is shown being used to control the primary actuators 602, 604.As indicated by dashed lines 636-638, the outputs of all the position signals 612, 624, 626 may be combined, as indicated by processing block 640.The combined output 642 of these signals may be used instead of signal 612 or in addition to signal 612 to control the primary actuators 602, 604.For example, the signals 612, 624, 626 may exhibit a common mode that more accurately estimates position of the read/write head than any one signal.", "The differences between the signals 612, 624, 626 may be used to drive the heaters 620, 622 instead of or in addition to the raw position data 624, 626.In FIG.", "7, a flowchart shows a method according to an example embodiment.", "The method involves positioning 700 an array of two or more transducer sets over two or more corresponding tracks of a recording medium.", "The two or more transducers are offset from one another in a cross-track direction.", "Each transducer set includes at least one writer and at least one reader.", "The two or more transducer sets are operated 701 simultaneously to perform any combination of reading and writing on the two or more corresponding tracks.", "A relative cross-track spacing between the transducer sets is adjusted 702 via one or more heaters located between the two or more transducer sets In FIG.", "8, a diagram illustrates components of a hard drive apparatus 800 that utilizes one or more read/write heads 812 according to example embodiments.", "The apparatus includes circuitry 802 such as a system controller 804 that processes read and write commands and associated data from a host device 806 via a host interface 807.The system controller 804 may include an application specific integrated circuit or chipset with a central processing unit and other application-specific circuitry (e.g., digital signal processing circuitry).", "The host interface 807 includes circuitry that enables electronic communications via standard bus protocols (e.g., SATA, SAS, PCI, Ethernet, etc.).", "The host device 806 may include any electronic device that can be communicatively coupled to store and retrieve data from a data storage device, e.g., a computer, a server, a storage controller.", "The controller 804 is coupled to a read/write channel 808 that communicates with read/write heads that read from and write to surfaces of one or more rotating magnetic media, e.g., magnetic disks 810.The read/write channel 808 generally converts data between the digital signals processed by the controller 804 and the analog signals conducted through one or more HGAs 812 during read operations.", "At least one of the HGAs 812 includes two or more transducer sets capable of concurrently reading from and writing to different tracks of one of the disks 810.Generally, each of the transducer sets includes at least one reader and one writer, and in some configurations, the transducers sets include two or more readers.", "The read transducers can be selectively activated, e.g., activating different single readers to account for different skew angles of the HGA 812, activating different numbers of readers to operate in different modes (e.g., TDMR, MSMR, conventional), etc.", "The read/write channel 808 may include analog and digital circuitry such as decoders, timing-correction units, error correction units, etc.", "The read/write channel is coupled to the HGAs 812 via interface circuitry 813 that may include preamplifiers, filters, digital-to-analog converters, analog-to-digital converters, etc.", "As shown in the figure, the read/write channel 808 is capable of using multiple encoder/decoders 809, as well as multiple instances of other functional components (e.g., preamplifiers, filters, equalizers, detectors).", "The multiple encoders/decoders 809 and other circuits allow for simultaneous reading/writing from two or more transducer sets on an HGA 812.In addition to processing user data, the read/write channel 808 reads servo data from servo wedges 814 on the magnetic disk 810 via the read/write head.", "All of the multiple readers of the HGAs 812 may be used to read servo data, or only a subset thereof.", "The servo data are sent to a servo controller 816, which uses the data to provide position control signals 817 to one or more positioning mechanisms, which may include at least a VCM 818, arm 820, and optionally microactuators 824.The VCM 818 rotates the arm 820 upon which the read/write heads 812 are mounted in response to the control signals 817.The position control signals 817 may also be sent to microactuators 824 that individually control each of the HGAs 812, e.g., causing small displacements at each read/write head.", "The transducer sets on the HGAs 812 are separated by cross-track displacement actuators, e.g., heaters.", "The servo controller 816 includes heater controllers to selectively actuate the heaters to affect cross-track spacing of the transducer sets.", "This can be done in both read and write modes.", "The heaters may be dynamically controlled in a closed-loop mode (e.g., as shown in FIG.", "6) or in an open loop mode.", "For example, a predetermined heater actuator setting may be used based on current track or zone, which affects the skew angle of the read write head.", "A mode selector module 826 is a functional component that can process a control message from the host 806 via the host interface 807.The message includes data (e.g., command descriptor block) that causes the mode selector module 826 to select a different mode of the device 800, e.g., selecting readers based on angle of skew, single-signal-per-track, MSMR, TDMR, etc.", "For example, the read/write channel 808 can send a signal to the HGAs 812 to activate or deactivate readers based on the selected mode.", "An appropriate decoder 809 can be selected for use with the selected readers.", "Other functionality, such as that of the servo controller 816, clearance control (not shown), can also be altered by the change of mode in response to the mode selector 826.The foregoing description of the example embodiments has been presented for the purposes of illustration and description.", "It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the embodiments to the precise form disclosed.", "Many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching.", "Any or all features of the disclosed embodiments can be applied individually or in any combination and are not meant to be limiting, but purely illustrative.", "It is intended that the scope of the invention be limited not with this detailed description, but rather determined by the claims appended hereto." ] ]
Patent_15873126
[ [ "DEVICES FOR ABSORBING ENERGY FROM ELECTRONIC COMPONENTS", "A device for absorbing energy from an electronic component includes a low melting alloy layer including a first side and a second side opposing the first side, and coating layers substantially covering the first side and the second side of the low melting alloy layer.", "In some embodiments, the low melting alloy layer includes a polymer mixture and a plurality of low melting alloy particulates dispersed in the polymer mixture.", "Other example devices are also disclosed." ], [ "1.A device for absorbing energy from an electronic component, the device comprising: a low melting alloy layer including a first side and a second side opposing the first side, a first coating layer substantially covering the first side of the low melting alloy layer, and a second coating layer substantially covering the second side of the low melting alloy layer.", "2.The device of claim 1, further comprising at least one thermally conductive layer coupled between the low melting alloy layer and one of the first or second coating layer.", "3.The device of claim 2 wherein the low melting alloy layer is a first low melting alloy layer, the device further comprising a second low melting alloy layer coupled to the thermally conductive layer.", "4.The device of claim 2 wherein the thermally conductive layer is a first thermally conductive layer, the device further comprising at least a second thermally conductive layer formed of graphite.", "5.The device of claim 1 wherein the low melting alloy layer includes a polymer mixture and a plurality of low melting alloy particulates dispersed in the polymer mixture.", "6.The device of claim 1, wherein the low melting alloy layer is a first low melting alloy layer, the device further comprising a second low melting alloy layer including a polymer mixture and a plurality of low melting alloy particulates dispersed in the polymer mixture.", "7.The device of claim 6, further comprising at least one thermally conductive layer coupled between the first low melting alloy layer and the second low melting alloy layer.", "8.The device of claim 7, wherein the thermally conductive layer is formed of graphite.", "9.The device of claim 8, wherein the thermally conductive layer is configured to couple to a reference potential and provide shielding of the electronic component.", "10.The device of claim 7, wherein: the thermally conductive layer is a metallic layer; and/or the low melting alloy layer includes a polymer mixture and a plurality of low melting alloy particulates dispersed in the polymer mixture.", "11.The device of claim 10, wherein the low melting alloy layer has about a five weight percent or more of the plurality of low melting alloy particulates and/or wherein the low melting alloy layer has a thickness between about 0.1 mils and about 10 mils.", "12.An assembly including an electronic component and the device of claim 1 coupled to the electronic component.", "13.A device for absorbing energy from an electronic component, the device comprising: a first thermally conductive layer including a first side and a second side opposing the first side; two or more low melting alloy layers, one low melting alloy layer coupled to the first side of the first thermally conductive layer, another low melting alloy layer coupled to the second side of the first thermally conductive layer; two or more graphite layers, one graphite layer coupled to said one low melting alloy layer, another graphite layer coupled to said another low melting alloy layer; and two or more coating layers, one coating layer substantially covering one side of said one graphite layer, another coating layer substantially covering one side of said another graphite layer.", "14.The device of claim 13, wherein at least one of the low melting alloy layers includes a polymer mixture and a plurality of low melting alloy particulates dispersed in the polymer mixture.", "15.The device of claim 13, wherein the first thermally conductive layer is formed of graphite.", "16.The device of claim 13, wherein the first thermally conductive layer is a metallic layer.", "17.The device of claim 13, wherein at least one of the graphite layers is configured to couple to a reference potential and provide shielding of the electronic component.", "18.An assembly including an electronic component and the device of claim 13 coupled to the electronic component.", "19.An assembly comprising: an electronic component configured to generate energy; and a thermally conductive layer defined by a first side coupled to the electronic component and a second side, the thermally conductive layer including a polymer mixture and a plurality of low melting alloy particulates dispersed in the polymer mixture, the thermally conductive layer configured to absorb energy generated by the electronic component.", "20.The assembly of claim 19, wherein: the thermally conductive layer is configured to dissipate the absorbed energy without a dissipating device coupled to the thermally conductive layer; and/or the low melting alloy particulates are a first plurality of thermally conductive particulates and wherein the thermally conductive layer includes a second plurality of thermally conductive particles dispersed in the polymer mixture different than the first plurality of thermally conductive particulates." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND <EOH>This section provides background information related to the present disclosure which is not necessarily prior art.", "Electronic devices commonly include one or more devices placed adjacent heat generating components to dissipate heat generated by the components.", "Typically, this heat is in the form of transient temperature spikes.", "Often times, one or more heat generating components (and/or other components) in the electronic components may have to decrease their performance (e.g., by a throttling process, etc.)", "to reduce the amount of heat generated." ], [ "CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a U.S. continuation application that claims priority to and benefit of PCT International Application PCT/US2016/050905 filed Sep. 9, 2016 (published as WO2017/044712 on Mar.", "16, 2017), which, in turn, claims priority to and benefit of U.S.", "Provisional Patent Application No.", "62/217,482 filed Sep. 11, 2015.The entire disclosures of the above applications are incorporated herein by reference.", "FIELD The present disclosure relates to devices for absorbing energy from electronic components.", "BACKGROUND This section provides background information related to the present disclosure which is not necessarily prior art.", "Electronic devices commonly include one or more devices placed adjacent heat generating components to dissipate heat generated by the components.", "Typically, this heat is in the form of transient temperature spikes.", "Often times, one or more heat generating components (and/or other components) in the electronic components may have to decrease their performance (e.g., by a throttling process, etc.)", "to reduce the amount of heat generated.", "DRAWINGS The drawings described herein are for illustrative purposes only of selected embodiments and not all possible implementations, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "1 is a block diagram of an assembly including a thermally conductive layer having a polymer mixture and low melting alloy particulates dispersed in the polymer mixture according to one example embodiment of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "2 is a block diagram of an assembly including the thermally conductive layer of FIG.", "1 having additional thermally conductive particulates according to another example embodiment.", "FIG.", "3 is a block diagram of an assembly including a device having a thermally conductive layer, two low melting alloy layers, and two coating layers according to yet another example embodiment.", "FIG.", "4 is a block diagram of an assembly including a device having a thermally conductive layer, two low melting alloy layers, two graphite layers, and two coating layers according to another example embodiment.", "FIG.", "5 is a block diagram of an assembly including a device having a thermally conductive layer, two low melting alloy layers each having a polymer mixture and low melting alloy particulates dispersed in the polymer mixture, two graphite layers, and two coating layers according to yet another example embodiment.", "FIG.", "6 is a block diagram of an assembly including a device having layers of different widths according to another example embodiment.", "FIG.", "7 is a block diagram of an assembly including the device of FIG.", "4 in which the graphite layers are coupled to a reference potential according to yet another example embodiment.", "FIG.", "8 is a block diagram of an assembly including the device of FIG.", "4 in which one of the graphite layers is coupled to a reference potential according to another example embodiment.", "FIG.", "9 is a graph comparing an insertion loss for a traditional aluminum foil material and a noise floor.", "FIG.", "10 is a graph comparing an insertion loss for a single synthetic graphite sheet and a single aluminum foil sheet.", "FIG.", "11 is a graph comparing an insertion loss for two synthetic graphite sheets and two aluminum foil sheets.", "FIGS.", "12, 13, and 14 are graphs comparing temperatures of an electronic component with (a) the device of FIG.", "4, (b) an air gap, and (c) a known silicone putty.", "FIG.", "15 is a line graph comparing temperatures of an electronic component with (a) the device of FIG.", "4 (collectively “Sample A” shown in FIG.", "16A) and (b) a copper foil enveloped with graphite (collectively “Sample B” shown in FIG.", "16B).", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION Example embodiments will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings.", "An assembly according to one example embodiment of the present disclosure is illustrated in FIG.", "1 and indicated generally by reference number 100.As shown in FIG.", "1, the assembly 100 includes an electronic component 102 that generates energy and a thermally conductive layer 104 defined by at least a bottom side 108 coupled to the electronic component 102 and a top side 106.The thermally conductive layer 104 includes a polymer mixture (generally indicated by reference number 110) and low melting alloy particulates (shown as ovals 112) dispersed in the polymer mixture 110.The thermally conductive layer 104 (e.g., a device) absorbs energy generated by the electronic component 102.Additionally, the thermally conductive layer 104 may optionally dissipate at least a portion of the energy it absorbs.", "In some embodiments, the thermally conductive layer 104 can absorb and dissipate a sufficient amount of energy without utilizing a dissipating device (e.g., a heatsink, heat pipe, etc.).", "Thus, and as shown in FIG.", "1, the assembly 100 does not include a dissipating device coupled to the top side 106 (or any other side) of the thermally conductive layer 104.The thermally conductive layer 104 may have any suitable thickness depending on, for example, desired thermal performance, surrounding space restraints, etc.", "For example, the thermally conductive layer 104 may have a thickness between about 0.05 mm and about 15 mm.", "In other embodiments, the thickness may be more than about 15 mm or less than 0.05 mm.", "Additionally, the thickness of the layer 104 (and any other layer disclosed herein) may be uniform or non-uniform.", "As shown in FIG.", "1, the electronic component 102 is coupled to a substrate 114.For example, the electronic component 102 may be an integrated circuit and the substrate 114 may be a printed circuit board.", "In other example embodiments, the electronic component 102 may be another suitable electronic component that is or is not coupled to a circuit board and/or another suitable substrate.", "In some embodiments, the thermally conductive layer 104 may include one or more other thermally conductive particulates (in addition to the low melting alloy particulates 112) to assist in absorbing, spreading, dissipating, etc.", "energy.", "For example, FIG.", "2 illustrates an assembly 200 including a thermally conductive layer 204 substantially similar to the thermally conductive layer 104 of FIG.", "1.The thermally conductive layer 204 of FIG.", "2, however, further includes thermally conductive particulates (shown as rectangles 202) and the low melting alloy particulates 112 dispersed in the polymer mixture 110.The thermally conductive particulates 202 may be, for example, particles and/or fibers of graphite, metal (including metal alloy), ceramic, and/or a combination thereof.", "For example, the graphite may be natural graphite, synthetic graphite, a combination of both, the metal may include copper, aluminum, etc., and the ceramic may include aluminum nitride, silicon nitride, etc.", "Additionally and/or alternatively, the thermally conductive layer 204 may include one or more other suitable thermally conductive particulates without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "3 illustrates another example assembly 300 including the electronic component 102 coupled to the substrate 114 of FIG.", "1, and a device 320 for absorbing (and therefore removing) energy from the electronic component 102.As shown in FIG.", "3, the device 320 includes an optional thermally conductive layer 302, two low melting alloy layers 304, 306, and two coating layers 308, 310.Each low melting alloy layer 304, 306 includes one side 312, 316 coupled to the thermally conductive layer 302 and another opposing side 314, 318 substantially covered by the coating layers 308, 310, respectively.", "As such, a cross sectional arrangement of the device 320 includes a coating layer (adjacent the electronic component 102), a low melting alloy layer, an optional thermally conductive layer, another low melting alloy layer, and another coating layer (adjacent a top portion of the device 320).", "In the embodiment of FIG.", "3, the low melting alloy layers 304, 306 are coated on the thermally conductive layer 302.For example, one or both low melting alloy layers 304, 306 may be molded around the thermally conductive layer 302, soldered to the thermally conductive layer 302, etc.", "In such examples, each low melting alloy layer 304, 306 has a thickness between about 0.1 mils and about 10 mils.", "In other embodiments, one or both low melting alloy layers 304, 306 may be placed on the thermally conductive layer 302 in another suitable manner and/or have another suitable thickness depending on, for example, desired results, applications using the device 320, etc.", "The low melting alloy layers 304, 306 may include only one or more particular low melting alloys as further explained below.", "In other example embodiments, one or both low melting alloy layers 304, 306 may include thermally conductive particles blended together with the low melting alloy(s) to enhance thermal conductivity as explained above, a continuous material of higher thermal conductivity (e.g., greater than about 5 w/mK) along with the low melting alloy(s), etc.", "One or both low melting alloy layers 304, 306 may melt as the electronic component 102 (and/or an adjacent component) release energy such as heat, waves, etc.", "as further explained below.", "For example, if the temperature increases to a melting point temperature (e.g., about 60° C.) of the layer(s) 304, 306, the layer(s) begin to melt and absorb energy from the electronic component 102 (and/or an adjacent component).", "During this time, the volume of the layer(s) 304, 306 may slightly increase due to, for example, the phase transition.", "After the temperature decreases below the melting point temperature of the layer(s) 304, 306, the layer(s) may transfer the absorbed energy to an adjacent layer in the device 300, away from the device 300 (e.g., to an adjacent device), etc.", "During this time, the volume of the layer(s) 304, 306 may slightly decrease (relative to the volume when melting) due to, for example, the phase transition.", "Additionally, the thermal conductivity of the layer(s) 304, 306 may change after the phase transitions.", "For example, the layer(s) 304, 306 may have a thermal conductivity of about 10 W/mK when the temperature is above their melting point temperature and a thermal conductivity of about 19 W/mK when the temperature is below their melting point temperature.", "The thermally conductive layer 302 of FIG.", "3 may be a metallic layer, a graphite layer, etc.", "For example, if the layer 302 is a metallic layer, it may include a foil, a mesh and/or another suitable metallic material.", "This metallic layer may be formed of copper (including copper alloys), aluminum (including aluminum alloys) and/or another suitable material.", "In some embodiments, the metallic layer may be formed exclusively of one or more metals (e.g., copper, a copper alloy, etc.", "), etc.", "In the particular example of FIG.", "3, the thermally conductive layer 302 has a thickness between about 1 mil and about 2 mils.", "In other embodiments, the thickness of the thermally conductive layer 302 may be more than 2 mils or less than 1 mil.", "For example, the thickness of the thermally conductive layer 302 may be about 0.25 mils, about 2.5 mils, about 2.9 mils, etc.", "As explained above, each coating layers 308, 310 may substantially cover its corresponding low melting alloy layer 304, 306.For example, the coating layer 308 may entirely cover the side 314 of the low melting alloy layer 304 and the coating layer 310 may entirely cover the side 318 of the low melting alloy layer 306.In other embodiments, the coating layers 308, 310 may encapsulate at least a portion of the device 320.For example, the coating layer 308 may extend beyond the side 314 of the low melting alloy layer 304 and downward towards the electronic component 102.In such cases, the coating layer 308 may cover one or both peripheral sides of the low melting alloy layer 304 and optionally one or both peripheral sides of the thermally conductive layer 302.Similarly, the coating layer 310 may extend beyond the side 318 of the low melting alloy layer 306.In some embodiments, the coating layers 308, 310 may form one coating layer encapsulating the entire device 320.Additionally and/or alternatively, the low melting alloy layer 306 and/or the low melting alloy layer 304 may be at least partially exposed.", "Thus, in some examples, the coating layer 308 and/or the coating layer 310 may not be employed.", "In other examples, one or both coating layers 308, 310 may cover less than the entire surface area of the sides 314, 318 of one or both low melting alloy layers 304, 306.For example, the coating layer 310 may cover less than the entire side 318 of the low melting alloy layer 306.In such examples, the coating layer 310 may cover the portion of the side 318 aligned with the electronic component 102).", "Each coating layer 308, 310 may be formed of any suitable material.", "For example, one or both of the coating layers 308, 310 may be thermally and/or electrically insulating, thermally and/or electrically conductive, etc.", "For example, the coating layer(s) 308, 310 can be isotopically insulating having a thermal conductivity of about 0.02 W/mK, isotopically thermally conductive having a thermal conductivity of up to about 400 W/mK, anisotropically thermally conductive having a through-plane (z axis) thermal conductivity between about 2 W/mK and about 16 W/mK and an in-plane (x, y axis) thermal conductivity between about 100 and about 1900 w/mK, etc.", "As such, one or both coating layers 308, 310 may include plastic, a thermally conductive material, etc.", "For example, the layer(s) 308, 310 may include metal, ceramic, graphite, etc.", "at least partially coated with plastic (if desired).", "In some embodiments, the thermally conductive material may be enveloped in plastic.", "Additionally, the layer(s) 308, 310 may be scratch resistant if desired.", "Additionally, the coating layer(s) 308, 310 may be flexible.", "Thus, the layer(s) 308, 310 may be conformable to mate with their adjacent layer (if applicable).", "Additionally, an adhesive may be placed between the coating layer(s) 308, 310 and their adjacent layer (e.g., the low melting alloy layer(s) 304, 306 of FIG.", "3).", "In some examples, the adhesive may be a thermally conductive adhesive.", "In some embodiments, the device 320 (and/or another device disclosed herein) may include one or more additional thermally conductive layers for absorbing, spreading, dissipating, etc.", "energy.", "For example, FIG.", "4 illustrates an assembly 400 including a device 420 substantially similar to the device 320 of FIG.", "3.The device 420 of FIG.", "4, however, further includes a thermally conductive layer positioned between a coating layer and a low melting alloy layer.", "In the particular example of FIG.", "4, the device 420 includes a thermally conductive layer 402 formed of graphite positioned between the coating layer 308 and the low melting alloy layer 304, and a thermally conductive layer 404 formed of graphite positioned between the coating layer 310 and the low melting alloy layer 306.As such, a cross sectional arrangement of the device 420 includes a coating layer (adjacent the electronic component 102), a graphite layer, a low melting alloy layer, a thermally conductive layer, another low melting alloy layer, another graphite layer, and another coating layer (adjacent a top portion of the device 420).", "The graphite layers 402, 404 may assist in spreading energy absorbed from the electronic component 102.For example, each graphite layer 402, 404 may be anisotropic in that its in-plane thermal conductivity (e.g., the plane parallel to top and bottom sides) may be larger than its through-plane thermal conductivity (e.g., the plane perpendicular to the top and bottom sides).", "This causes a greater amount of energy to spread through the in-plane of each graphite layer 402, 404 as compared to the through-plane.", "Additionally, the graphite layers 402, 404 may assist in absorbing and dissipating energy.", "For example, the graphite layer 404 may absorb energy from the electronic component 102 (via, e.g., the coating layer 310) and dissipate energy into the low melting alloy layer 306.This dissipation of energy may be spread across top side of the graphite layer 404 due to the anisotropic relationship as explained above.", "In some embodiments, one or both of the low melting alloy layers 304, 306 may be absorbed into the graphite layers 402, 404 to promote this transfer of energy The graphite layers 402, 404 may be formed of natural graphite and/or synthetic graphite.", "For example, the graphite layer 402 may be formed of natural graphite and the graphite layer 404 may be formed of synthetic graphite.", "The graphite layers may include, for example, sheets of graphite such as flexible graphite sheets having exfoliated natural graphite flakes, synthetic graphite sheets, etc.", "In such examples, one or both coating layers 308, 310 may substantially prevent the graphite from flaking off the graphite layers 402, 404.The synthetic graphite may include pyrolytic graphite or another suitable synthetic graphite material.", "One or both graphite layers 402, 404 may have a thickness between about 0.014 mm and about 1 mm, one or both low melting alloy layers 304, 306 of FIG.", "4 may have a thickness between about 0.0025 mm and about 0.5 mm, and one or both coating layers 308, 310 of FIG.", "4 may have a thickness between about 0.0025 mm and about 0.5 mm.", "In other example embodiments, any one or more of the layers may have another suitable thickness depending on, for example, desired thermal performance, surrounding space restraints, etc.", "In some embodiments, one or both graphite layers 402, 404 may provide shielding of the electronic component 102 (if applicable) due to the electrical conductivity of the graphite layers 402, 404.For example, FIG.", "7 illustrates an assembly 700 including the device 420 of FIG.", "4, in which the graphite layers 402, 404 are formed of one or more graphite sheets and the sheets are coupled to a reference potential (e.g., ground on the substrate 114).", "As a result, the graphite layer(s) 402, 404 may provide shielding (e.g., electromagnetic interference shielding, etc.)", "of the electronic component 102.In the example embodiment of FIG.", "7, the graphite layers 402, 404 are coupled to the reference potential on the substrate 114 via electrical conductors 702, 704 (shown as dashed lines), respectively.", "For example, one or more terminals (such as pins, hooks, etc.", "), a conductive adhesive (such as solder, etc.", "), etc.", "can be employed to couple the electrical conductors 702, 704 to the graphite layers 402, 404 and/or the substrate 114.In some embodiments, only one of the graphite layers 402, 404 may be coupled to the reference potential on the substrate 114.For example, the graphite layer 404 may be coupled to the reference potential (via the electrical conductor 704) and the graphite layer 402 may not be coupled to the reference potential.", "As shown in FIG.", "7, the device 420 can be a standalone device.", "In such examples, the device 420 can be positioned on the electronic component 102 without additional shielding devices as shown in FIG.", "7.In some standalone devices, each side of the graphite layer 404 (and optionally the coating layer 310) can extend downward towards the substrate 114 a distance substantially equal to a height of the electronic component 102.As such, when the device 420 is positioned adjacent the electronic component 102, the downward extending sides (not shown) of the graphite layer 404 can be substantially flush with the substrate 114 to substantially surround the electronic component 102.Alternatively, the device 420 can attach to a board level shielding (BLS) device.", "For example, the device 420 can couple to a lid of a BLS device.", "In other example embodiments, the device 420 can replace a lid of a BLS device.", "For example, FIG.", "8 illustrates an example assembly 800 including the device 420 of FIG.", "4 having the graphite layer 404 coupled to portions 802, 804 of a BLS device positioned on the substrate 114.In the particular example of FIG.", "8, the graphite layer 404 is formed of one or more graphite sheets, the device 420 is a lid of the BLS device, and the portions 802, 804 are two opposing sides (e.g., of a fence) of the BLS device surrounding the electronic component 102.As shown in FIG.", "8, when the device 420 is positioned adjacent the electronic component 102, at least a part 806, 808 of the fence portions 802, 804 pierces through (and penetrates) the coating layer 310 and couples to the graphite layer 404.This may allow the graphite layer 404 to couple to a reference potential on the substrate 114 via the portions 802, 804.Thus, in the example embodiment of FIG.", "8, the graphite layer 404 is providing shielding of the electronic component 102.Additionally, and as shown in FIG.", "8, the portions 802, 804 of the BLS device may pierce into the graphite layer 404.In other embodiments, the portions 802, 804 may couple to a bottom side of the graphite layer 404.In either case, a conductive adhesive (e.g., solder, etc.)", "may be used to ensure the shielding fence and the graphite layer 404 are in sufficient contact.", "Testing has shown that shielding performance of graphite sheets is comparable to other typical shielding materials.", "For example, FIGS.", "9-11 illustrate graphs 900, 1000, 1100 comparing shielding performance of synthetic graphite sheet(s), an aluminum foil material, and/or a noise floor.", "In particular, the graph 900 of FIG.", "9 compares an insertion loss in decibels (dBs) between a traditional aluminum foil material (indicated by line 902) and a noise floor (indicated by line 904) between 2 GHz and 18 GHz to calibrate the testing fixture.", "The traditional aluminum foil material is a two feet by two feet aluminum foil sheet.", "The difference between the line 902 and the line 904 is indicative of energy leaking around the aluminum foil sheet.", "The graph 1000 of FIG.", "10 compares an insertion loss in dBs between a single synthetic graphite sheet (indicated by line 1002) and a single aluminum foil sheet (indicated by line 1004) while the graph 1100 of FIG.", "11 compares an insertion loss in dB s between two side by side synthetic graphite sheets (indicated by line 1102) and two side by side aluminum foil sheets (indicated by line 1104).", "The sheets used for the testing shown in FIGS.", "10 and 11 are seven inches by eight inches.", "As shown in FIGS.", "10 and 11, the insertion loss of the synthetic graphite sheet(s) is similar to the insertion loss of the aluminum foil sheet(s).", "Thus, an estimated shielding performance of the synthetic graphite sheet(s) is similar to the aluminum foil sheet(s) between at least the 2 GHz and 18 GHz frequency range.", "Additionally, comparable shielding performance may be seen in some cases below 2 GHz and above 18 GHz.", "Referring back to FIG.", "4, the device 420 may include a low melting alloy layer having a polymer mixture and low melting alloy particulates dispersed in the polymer mixture in addition to or instead of one or both of the low melting alloy layers 304, 306.For example, FIG.", "5 illustrates an assembly 500 including a device 520 substantially similar to the device 420 of FIG.", "4.The device 520 of FIG.", "5, however, includes a low melting alloy layer having a polymer mixture and low melting alloy particulates positioned between a thermally conductive layer and a graphite layer.", "In the particular example of FIG.", "5, the device 520 includes a low melting alloy layer 502 positioned between a thermally conductive layer 506 and the graphite layer 402, and a low melting alloy layer 504 positioned between the thermally conductive layer 506 and the graphite layer 404.Thus, the low melting alloy layers 502, 504 are coupled to opposing sides of the thermally conductive layer 506.As shown in FIG.", "5, each low melting alloy layer 502, 504 includes a polymer mixture (generally indicated by reference number 510) and low melting alloy particulates (shown as ovals 508) dispersed in the polymer mixture 510.The polymer mixture 510 and the low melting alloy particulates 508 may be the substantially similar to the polymer mixture 110 and the low melting alloy particulates 112, respectively, of FIGS.", "1 and 2.Additionally, one or both low melting alloy layers 502, 504 may optionally include other thermally conductive particulates (not shown in FIG.", "5) dispersed in the polymer mixture 510 in addition to the low melting alloy particulates 508.These additional thermally conductive particulates may be substantially similar to the thermally conductive particulates 202 of FIG.", "2.As such, the thermally conductive particulates may be, for example, particles and/or fibers of graphite, metal (including metal alloy), ceramic, and/or a combination thereof.", "The thermally conductive layer 506 may be a metallic layer, a graphite layer, or another suitable thermally conductive layer.", "Additionally, the particular thermally conductive layer 506 of FIG.", "5 has a thickness between about 0.00625 mm (6.25 um) and about 1 mm.", "For example, if the thermally conductive layer 506 is a graphite layer, the thickness of the thermally conductive layer may have a thickness between about 0.025 mm and about 0.25 mm.", "In other example embodiments, the thermally conductive layer 506 may have another suitable thickness.", "Further, one or both low melting alloy layers 502, 504 of FIG.", "5 may have any suitable thickness.", "For example, if the thermally conductive layer 506 is a metallic layer, one or both low melting alloy layers 502, 504 can have a thickness between about 0.1 mils and about 10 mils.", "The thermally conductive layer 506 of FIG.", "5 may be formed of any suitable thermally conductive material.", "For example, the thermally conductive layer 506 may be formed of graphite (as explained above).", "In such examples, the device 520 may include multiple graphite layers (e.g., the thermally conductive layer 506, the graphite layers 402, 404, etc.)", "that may provide shielding as explained above.", "In other embodiments, the thermally conductive layer 506 may be a metallic layer substantially similar to the thermally conductive layer 302 of FIG.", "3.Although the devices disclosed herein include a particular number of layers in a particular order, it should be understood that one or more layers may be omitted, added, and/or positioned in a different order if desired.", "For example, although the device 320 of FIG.", "3 includes one thermally conductive layer 302, two low melting alloy layers 304, 306, and two coating layers 308, 310 in a sandwich like configuration, the device 320 may include one low melting alloy layer, and two coating layers on each side of the low melting alloy layer.", "In other embodiments, the device 320 may include two thermally conductive layers, three low melting alloy layers, and two coating layers.", "In addition, and as explained herein, any one of the layers disclosed herein may be coupled to its adjacent layer.", "For example, one layer may be coupled to another layer via an adhesive (e.g., solder), etc.", "Other layers may be laminated together, melt coated together, etc.", "Additionally, any one of the devices (including the thermally conductive layer 104) may be coupled (e.g., thermally coupled) to its respective electronic component and/or another device such as a heatsink, heat pipe, etc.", "(if applicable) via an interface.", "For example, the thermally conductive layer 104 of FIG.", "1 may be coupled to the electronic component 102 via a thermal grease or another suitable thermal interface.", "In other embodiments, an adhesive (e.g., solder, tape, etc.)", "may be positioned between the device and the electronic component.", "Further, although the devices disclosed herein have one or more layers including the same width, it should be understood that any one of the devices may include layer(s) having different widths.", "For example, FIG.", "6 illustrates a device 600 substantially similar to the assemblies 400 and 500 of FIGS.", "4 and 5, but including layers of different widths.", "These widths may be dependent on, for example, the available space in a system including the device, thermal characteristics of one or more of the layers, desired thermal results, etc.", "The polymer mixtures disclosed herein (e.g., the polymer mixture 110 of FIG.", "1) may include a crosslinked polymer such as crosslinked silicone, epoxy, polyurethane or another suitable crosslinked polymer.", "The low melting alloy particulates disclosed herein (e.g., the particulates 112 of FIG.", "1, the particulates 508 of FIG.", "5, etc.)", "and the low melting alloy layers disclosed herein (e.g., the layer(s) 304, 306 of FIG.", "3, the layer(s) 502, 504 of FIG.", "5, etc.)", "may be formed of any suitable low melting alloy.", "In some examples, the low melting alloy particulates may be formed of a low melting alloy that melts at or below about 160° C. and the low melting alloy layers may be formed of a low melting alloy that melts at or below about 60° C. For example, the low melting alloy particulates/layers may be formed of gallium, indium (29.6 In, 33 In, 52 In, 66.3 In, etc.", "), bismuth (33.7 Bi, 35.5 Bi, 54.1 Bi, 67 Bi, etc.", "), tin (16.3 Sn, 16.5 Sn, etc.", "), etc.", "In some example embodiments, the low melting alloy particulates/layers are preferably formed of eutectic materials.", "In other example embodiments, cadmium or lead are not used to form the particulates/layers.", "Generally, the low melting alloy(s) that form the particulates/layers have a density greater than or equal to about 6.0 g/cc.", "The particulates disclosed herein may be dispersed in the polymer mixtures by high speed dispersing, ultrasonic mixing, centrifugal mixing, planetary mixing, shaking, sonication, or another suitable dispersion process.", "Additionally, the particulates may be dispersed as a preformed powder having substantially spherical particles.", "In other example embodiments, a low melting alloy may be melted while in the polymer mixture (as explained above) and then subjected to shear by high speed mixing, ultrasonic mixing, etc.", "to create the individual particulates (which solidify discretely upon cooling).", "The polymer mixtures may include any suitable weight percent of the low melting alloy particulates disclosed herein.", "For example, if the thermally conductive layer 506 of FIG.", "5 is a metallic layer (as explained above), one or both low melting alloy layers 502, 504 of FIG.", "5 can have about a five weight percent or more of the low melting alloy particulates 508.In other embodiments, the polymer mixtures may include particulates having between about five weight percent and ninety-eight weight percent.", "For example, the particulates 112 of FIG.", "2 may have about 60 weight percent and the particulates 202 of FIG.", "2 may have about 35 weight percent.", "As used herein, energy may refer to heat generated by an electronic component and/or adjacent components due to, for example, current flowing through the electronic component and/or adjacent components, etc.", "Additionally and/or alternatively, energy may refer to waves (e.g., electromagnetic waves, etc.)", "emitted from an electronic component and/or adjacent components.", "By employing the devices disclosed herein, energy from transient temperature spikes in an electronic component may be absorbed, spread, dissipated, etc.", "more effectively than traditional designs including, for example, paraffin wax designs, etc.", "As such, this energy that may otherwise cause damaging effects to components in an electronic device, to a user holding the electronic device, etc.", "may be managed without, for example, decreasing performance of integrated circuits and/or other electronic components (e.g., by a throttling process, etc.)", "to reduce the amount of energy generated.", "For example, FIGS.", "12-15 illustrate graphs 1200, 1300, 1400, 1500 showing various test results of the device 420 of FIG.", "4 compared to known designs.", "The graph 1200 of FIG.", "12 illustrates a comparison of heat management between an electronic component with (a) the device 420 (collectively “Sample 1”), (b) an air gap (collectively “Sample 2”), and (c) a known silicone putty having a ceramic filler (collectively “Sample 3”).", "The temperature of Sample 1, Sample 2, and Sample 3 are represented by lines 1202, 1204, 1206, respectively.", "During testing, Sample 1 (e.g., the electronic component) was powered at 0.5 W for 11 minutes (660 seconds) while Sample 2 and Sample 3 were powered at 0.5 W for 60 seconds.", "As shown in FIG.", "12, the temperature of Sample 1 does not reach the maximum temperature (about 77° C.) of Sample 2 before powering off during the 11 minute test.", "Additionally, and as shown in FIG.", "12, about 130 seconds passes before Sample 1 reaches the maximum temperature (about 61° C.) of Sample 3.The maximum temperature of Sample 2 and Sample 3 are represented by lines 1208, 1210, respectively.", "The graph 1300 FIG.", "13 illustrates a comparison of heat management between Sample 1, Sample 2, and Sample 3 when each was powered at 1.0 W for 60 seconds.", "The temperature of Sample 1, Sample 2, and Sample 3 are represented by lines 1302, 1304, 1306, respectively.", "As shown in FIG.", "13, the temperature of Sample 1, Sample 2, and Sample 3 (at 60 seconds) are 68.51° C., 106.68° C. and 90.95° C., respectively.", "Thus, Sample 1 reduces temperature by about 38° C. relative to Sample 2 (the air gap sample) while Sample 3 reduces temperature by about 16° C. relative to Sample 2.The graph 1400 of FIG.", "14 illustrates a comparison of heat management between Sample 1, Sample 2, and Sample 3 each including a BLS device.", "For example, Sample 1 includes the electronic component and the device 420 as explained above, and a BLS device surrounding the electronic component and the device 420.Each sample was powered at 1.0 W for 60 seconds.", "The temperature of Sample 1, Sample 2, and Sample 3 of FIG.", "14 are represented by lines 1402, 1404, 1406, respectively.", "As shown in FIG.", "14, the temperature of Sample 1, Sample 2, and Sample 3 (at the 60 second mark) are 57.96° C., 71.29° C., and 82.67° C., respectively.", "Thus, Sample 1 reduces temperature by about 13° C. relative to Sample 2 (the air gap sample) while Sample 3 increases temperature by about 11° C. relative to Sample 2.The line graph 1500 of FIG.", "15 illustrates a comparison of heat management between an electronic component with (a) the device 420 (collectively “Sample A” shown in FIG.", "16A) and (b) a copper foil enveloped with graphite (collectively “Sample B” shown in FIG.", "16B).", "The line graph 1500 illustrates temperatures of the electronic component adjacent a corner of Sample A (line 1502), a center of Sample A (line 1504), a center of Sample B (line 1506), and a corner of Sample B (line 1508).", "Each sample has a dimension of 4 cm by 4 cm by 0.02 cm.", "As shown in FIGS.", "15 and 16A, the temperature (at about 300 seconds) adjacent the center of Sample A is about 67.3° C. and the corner of Sample A is about 65.3° C. The temperature (at about 300 seconds) adjacent the center of Sample B is about 76.1° C. and the corner of Sample B is about 64.2° C. as shown in FIGS.", "15 and 16B.", "Thus, Sample A (including device 420 of FIG.", "4) has a more uniform temperature than Sample B.", "As such, heat spreading across the in-plane of the device 420 of Sample A is greater than the copper foil device of Sample B. Additionally, the device 420 and the electronic component of Sample A have a lower temperature than the copper foil device and the electronic component of Sample B.", "Further, testing has shown Sample A absorbs a larger amount of heat than Sample B at 65° C. Further, by employing the devices having a polymer mixture layer (e.g., the thermally conductive layer 104 of FIG.", "1, the thermally conductive layer 204 of FIG.", "2, the low melting alloy layers 502, 504 of FIG.", "5, etc.", "), the devices may experience increased compliancy that can improve conformability to a mating surface, reduce contact resistance between surfaces, and increase tolerance of height variation in particular applications using the device.", "In addition, the devices including graphite layers as disclosed herein may provide shielding in addition to the improved energy performance as explained above.", "In some cases, these devices may weigh less, use less substrate space, and be more flexible than traditional rigid shielding devices.", "For example, graphite can weigh between about twenty percent and three hundred percent less than typical shielding materials (e.g., stainless steel, aluminum, etc.)", "while having thermal conductivities from about four times to more than a hundred times higher than typical shielding materials.", "Additionally, an overall cost of providing shielding and thermal management may decrease compared to known devices as both functions can be combined into one device.", "Thus, using devices including graphite layers to replace typical board level shields may improve thermal performance, cost less, reduce weight of a product including the device, and reduce space required by shielding components, all while maintaining an effective shielding performance as explained above.", "Further, the devices disclosed herein may be employed in various electronic devices including for example, smart phones, tablets, etc.", "For example, the devices may be utilized in electronics board level applications to absorb energy for a duration of time thereby reducing temperature on (and/or adjacent to) integrated circuits or other electronic components in an electronic device.", "The devices may also spread and/or transfer energy as explained herein.", "Example embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough, and will fully convey the scope to those who are skilled in the art.", "Numerous specific details are set forth such as examples of specific components, devices, and methods, to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the present disclosure.", "It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that specific details need not be employed, that example embodiments may be embodied in many different forms and that neither should be construed to limit the scope of the disclosure.", "In some example embodiments, well-known processes, well-known device structures, and well-known technologies are not described in detail.", "The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular example embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting.", "As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” may be intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.", "The terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “including,” and “having,” are inclusive and therefore specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.", "The method steps, processes, and operations described herein are not to be construed as necessarily requiring their performance in the particular order discussed or illustrated, unless specifically identified as an order of performance.", "It is also to be understood that additional or alternative steps may be employed.", "Specific dimensions, specific materials, and/or specific shapes disclosed herein are example in nature and do not limit the scope of the present disclosure.", "The disclosure herein of particular values and particular ranges of values for given parameters are not exclusive of other values and ranges of values that may be useful in one or more of the examples disclosed herein.", "Moreover, it is envisioned that any two particular values for a specific parameter stated herein may define the endpoints of a range of values that may be suitable for the given parameter (i.e., the disclosure of a first value and a second value for a given parameter can be interpreted as disclosing that any value between the first and second values could also be employed for the given parameter).", "For example, if Parameter X is exemplified herein to have value A and also exemplified to have value Z, it is envisioned that parameter X may have a range of values from about A to about Z.", "Similarly, it is envisioned that disclosure of two or more ranges of values for a parameter (whether such ranges are nested, overlapping or distinct) subsume all possible combination of ranges for the value that might be claimed using endpoints of the disclosed ranges.", "For example, if parameter X is exemplified herein to have values in the range of 1-10, or 2-9, or 3-8, it is also envisioned that Parameter X may have other ranges of values including 1-9, 1-8, 1-3, 1-2, 2-10, 2-8, 2-3, 3-10, and 3-9.When an element or layer is referred to as being “on,” “engaged to,” “connected to,” or “coupled to” another element or layer, it may be directly on, engaged, connected or coupled to the other element or layer, or intervening elements or layers may be present.", "In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly on,” “directly engaged to,” “directly connected to,” or “directly coupled to” another element or layer, there may be no intervening elements or layers present.", "Other words used to describe the relationship between elements should be interpreted in a like fashion (e.g., “between” versus “directly between,” “adjacent” versus “directly adjacent,” etc.).", "As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.", "The term “about” when applied to values indicates that the calculation or the measurement allows some slight imprecision in the value (with some approach to exactness in the value; approximately or reasonably close to the value; nearly).", "If, for some reason, the imprecision provided by “about” is not otherwise understood in the art with this ordinary meaning, then “about” as used herein indicates at least variations that may arise from ordinary methods of measuring or using such parameters.", "For example, the terms “generally,” “about,” and “substantially,” may be used herein to mean within manufacturing tolerances.", "Although the terms first, second, third, etc.", "may be used herein to describe various elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections, these elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections should not be limited by these terms.", "These terms may be only used to distinguish one element, component, region, layer or section from another region, layer or section.", "Terms such as “first,” “second,” and other numerical terms when used herein do not imply a sequence or order unless clearly indicated by the context.", "Thus, a first element, component, region, layer or section discussed below could be termed a second element, component, region, layer or section without departing from the teachings of the example embodiments.", "Spatially relative terms, such as “inner,” “outer,” “beneath,” “below,” “lower,” “above,” “upper” and the like, may be used herein for ease of description to describe one element or feature's relationship to another element(s) or feature(s) as illustrated in the figures.", "Spatially relative terms may be intended to encompass different orientations of the device in use or operation in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures.", "For example, if the device in the figures is turned over, elements described as “below” or “beneath” other elements or features would then be oriented “above” the other elements or features.", "Thus, the example term “below” can encompass both an orientation of above and below.", "The device may be otherwise oriented (rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations) and the spatially relative descriptors used herein interpreted accordingly.", "The foregoing description of the embodiments has been provided for purposes of illustration and description.", "It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosure.", "Individual elements, intended or stated uses, or features of a particular embodiment are generally not limited to that particular embodiment, but, where applicable, are interchangeable and can be used in a selected embodiment, even if not specifically shown or described.", "The same may also be varied in many ways.", "Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the disclosure, and all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the disclosure." ] ]
Patent_15873131
[ [ "BOTTOM GATE TYPE THIN FILM TRANSISTOR, METHOD OF MANUFACTURING THE SAME, AND DISPLAY APPARATUS", "Provided is a bottom gate type thin film transistor including on a substrate (1) a gate electrode (2), a first insulating film (3) as a gate insulating film, an oxide semiconductor layer (4) as a channel layer, a second insulating film (5) as a protective layer, a source electrode (6), and a drain electrode (7), in which the oxide semiconductor layer (4) includes an oxide including at least one selected from the group consisting of In, Zn, and Sn, and the second insulating film (5) includes an amorphous oxide insulator formed so as to be in contact with the oxide semiconductor layer (4) and contains therein 3.8×1019 molecules/cm3 or more of a desorbed gas observed as oxygen by temperature programmed desorption mass spectrometry." ], [ "1.A bottom gate type thin film transistor, comprising on a substrate: a gate electrode; a first insulating film as a gate insulating film; an oxide semiconductor layer as a channel layer; a second insulating film as a protective layer; a source electrode; and a drain electrode, wherein the oxide semiconductor layer includes an oxide including at least one selected from the group consisting of In, Zn, and Sn, and wherein the second insulating film includes an amorphous oxide insulator formed so as to be in contact with the oxide semiconductor layer and contains therein 3.8×1019 molecules/cm3 or more of a desorbed gas observed as oxygen by temperature programmed desorption mass spectrometry.", "2.A bottom gate type thin film transistor according to claim 1, wherein the oxide semiconductor layer comprises an amorphous oxide including In, Zn, and Ga. 3.An apparatus, comprising: an electro-optical device having a pixel electrode; and the bottom gate type thin film transistor according to claim 1, wherein said pixel electrode connected to one of the source electrode and the drain electrode of the bottom gate type thin film transistor.", "4.An apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the electro-optical device is an electroluminescence device.", "5.An apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the electro-optical device is a liquid crystal cell.", "6.An apparatus according to any one of claims 3 to 5, wherein a plurality of the electro-optical devices and a plurality of the bottom gate type thin film transistors are arranged two-dimensionally on a substrate.", "7.A method of manufacturing a bottom gate type thin film transistor, the bottom gate type thin film transistor comprising on a substrate a gate electrode, a first insulating film as a gate insulating film, an oxide semiconductor layer as a channel layer, a second insulating film as a protective layer, a source electrode, and a drain electrode, the method comprising: forming the gate electrode on the substrate; forming the first insulating film and the oxide semiconductor layer in the stated order; patterning the first insulating film and the oxide semiconductor layer; forming the second insulating film in an atmosphere including an oxidizing gas; patterning the second insulating film so as to cover at least a part of a channel region of the oxide semiconductor layer; forming the source electrode and the drain electrode; and patterning the source electrode and the drain electrode using the second insulating film as an etching stopper.", "8.A method of manufacturing a bottom gate type thin film transistor according to claim 7, wherein at the second insulating film is formed so as to contain therein 3.8×1019 molecules/cm3 or more of oxygen.", "9.A method of manufacturing a bottom gate type thin film transistor according to claim 7, wherein the step of forming the second insulating film uses a mixing ratio of oxygen gas and argon gas contained in a sputtering gas of between 10 vol % or more and 50 vol % or less." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND ART <EOH>In recent years, a thin film transistor (TFT) in which a transparent conductive oxide polycrystalline thin film containing ZnO as a main ingredient is used as a channel layer has been actively developed (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No.", "2002-76356).", "The thin film can be formed at low temperature and is transparent to visible light, so it is possible to form a flexible transparent TFT on a substrate such as a plastic plate or a film.", "Further, it is disclosed that thin film transistors having a transparent semiconductor using ZnO or the like form a matrix display apparatus (U.S. Pat.", "No.", "6,563,174).", "In U.S. Pat.", "No.", "6,563,174, it is disclosed that a source electrode and a drain electrode on an oxide semiconductor can be formed by dry etching.", "According to the article in Nature, 488, 432 (2004), there is disclosed a technology of using a transparent amorphous oxide semiconductor film (a-IGZO) containing indium, gallium, zinc, and oxygen as the channel layer of a TFT.", "Further, it is described that a flexible and transparent TFT with a satisfactory field-effect mobility of 6 to 9 cm 2 V −1 s −1 can be formed on a substrate such as a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film at room temperature.", "Further, in Table 2 on page 74 of February 2006 NIKKEI MICRODEVICES, it is described that the operation was recognized as a flexible electronic paper using a thin film transistor where a-IGZO is used as a channel layer of the TFT.", "Further, as a method of forming source/drain electrodes on a semiconductor layer, a structure where an etching stopper layer is provided on a semiconductor layer in a bottom gate type thin film TFT to lower leakage current between a source electrode and a drain electrode is disclosed (U.S. Pat.", "No.", "5,403,755).", "U.S. Pat.", "No.", "6,563,174 discloses that, in a bottom gate type thin film TFT having a transparent oxide semiconductor whose main component is ZnO, a source electrode and a drain electrode on an oxide semiconductor can be formed by dry etching.", "U.S. Pat.", "No.", "6,563,174 also describes that a protective film which is practically essential in a bottom gate type thin film TFT is formed by a plasma CVD (P-CVD) method as a silicon nitride thin film.", "In all the related art except U.S. Pat.", "No.", "6,563,174, a source electrode and a drain electrode are formed by a lift-off technique.", "In lift-off, a problem arises such as readherence of particles of a lifted-off electrode film, thus it is difficult to produce a large-area TFT with high yields.", "It is difficult to form a source electrode and a drain electrode by wet etching using an acid in designing a TFT, because even if an electrode material is a metal or a transparent oxide conductor, an oxide semiconductor whose main component is ZnO is susceptible to an acid and the etching speed is high.", "In effect, a source electrode and a drain electrode are formed only by a dry etching process.", "However, in an oxide semiconductor whose main component is ZnO, an oxygen vacancy is liable to occur and many carrier electrons are liable to be generated, thus an oxide semiconductor layer may be damaged in a process of etching a source electrode and a drain electrode.", "There is also a method of providing a protective layer as an etching stopper layer in order to decrease damage to the semiconductor layer caused by the etching, but, even if such a protective film is formed, the oxide semiconductor layer is damaged and an OFF-current becomes larger.", "Thus, there is a problem in that TFT characteristics with a satisfactory on/off ratio are difficult to realize with stability." ], [ "<SOH> BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS <EOH>FIG.", "1 is a view illustrating a structure of an inverted stagger type TFT having a second insulating film which functions as an etching stopper.", "FIG.", "2 is a view illustrating a structure of an inverted stagger type TFT using a thermal oxide film silicon gate insulating film on a low resistance n-type silicon substrate.", "FIG.", "3 is a graph illustrating typical current-voltage characteristics when the inverted stagger type TFT illustrated in FIG.", "2 is produced.", "FIG.", "4 is a graph illustrating an example of oxygen desorption data of a second insulating film measured by a temperature programmed desorption mass spectrometry.", "FIG.", "5 is a graph illustrating a relationship between an amount of oxygen desorbed from amorphous SiO x measured by the temperature programmed desorption mass spectrometry and a concentration of O 2 gas contained in Ar as a forming atmosphere.", "FIG.", "6 is a sectional view of an example of a display apparatus as an embodiment of the present invention.", "FIG.", "7 is a sectional view of an example of another display apparatus as an embodiment of the present invention.", "FIG.", "8 is a view illustrating a structure of a display apparatus where pixels including an organic EL device and a thin film transistor are arranged two-dimensionally (in a two-dimensional state).", "FIG.", "9 is a graph illustrating a relationship between V on and conductivity of an oxide semiconductor in an inverted stagger (bottom gate) type MISFET device.", "FIG.", "10 is a graph illustrating, when nine TFTs having the structure illustrated in FIG.", "2 are produced and their TFT characteristics are measured, transfer characteristics of the nine TFTs.", "FIG.", "11 is a view illustrating a structure of an inverted stagger type TFT having a protective film.", "FIG.", "12 is a graph illustrating, when nine TFTs having the structure illustrated in FIG.", "11 are produced and their TFT characteristics are measured, transfer characteristics of the nine TFTs.", "detailed-description description=\"Detailed Description\" end=\"lead\"?" ], [ "TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a bottom gate type thin film transistor, a method of manufacturing the same, and an electro-optical apparatus such as a display apparatus.", "More particularly, the present invention relates to a bottom gate type thin film transistor provided with an insulating film as an etching stopper, a method of manufacturing the same, and a display apparatus.", "BACKGROUND ART In recent years, a thin film transistor (TFT) in which a transparent conductive oxide polycrystalline thin film containing ZnO as a main ingredient is used as a channel layer has been actively developed (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No.", "2002-76356).", "The thin film can be formed at low temperature and is transparent to visible light, so it is possible to form a flexible transparent TFT on a substrate such as a plastic plate or a film.", "Further, it is disclosed that thin film transistors having a transparent semiconductor using ZnO or the like form a matrix display apparatus (U.S. Pat.", "No.", "6,563,174).", "In U.S. Pat.", "No.", "6,563,174, it is disclosed that a source electrode and a drain electrode on an oxide semiconductor can be formed by dry etching.", "According to the article in Nature, 488, 432 (2004), there is disclosed a technology of using a transparent amorphous oxide semiconductor film (a-IGZO) containing indium, gallium, zinc, and oxygen as the channel layer of a TFT.", "Further, it is described that a flexible and transparent TFT with a satisfactory field-effect mobility of 6 to 9 cm2V−1s−1 can be formed on a substrate such as a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film at room temperature.", "Further, in Table 2 on page 74 of February 2006 NIKKEI MICRODEVICES, it is described that the operation was recognized as a flexible electronic paper using a thin film transistor where a-IGZO is used as a channel layer of the TFT.", "Further, as a method of forming source/drain electrodes on a semiconductor layer, a structure where an etching stopper layer is provided on a semiconductor layer in a bottom gate type thin film TFT to lower leakage current between a source electrode and a drain electrode is disclosed (U.S. Pat.", "No.", "5,403,755).", "U.S. Pat.", "No.", "6,563,174 discloses that, in a bottom gate type thin film TFT having a transparent oxide semiconductor whose main component is ZnO, a source electrode and a drain electrode on an oxide semiconductor can be formed by dry etching.", "U.S. Pat.", "No.", "6,563,174 also describes that a protective film which is practically essential in a bottom gate type thin film TFT is formed by a plasma CVD (P-CVD) method as a silicon nitride thin film.", "In all the related art except U.S. Pat.", "No.", "6,563,174, a source electrode and a drain electrode are formed by a lift-off technique.", "In lift-off, a problem arises such as readherence of particles of a lifted-off electrode film, thus it is difficult to produce a large-area TFT with high yields.", "It is difficult to form a source electrode and a drain electrode by wet etching using an acid in designing a TFT, because even if an electrode material is a metal or a transparent oxide conductor, an oxide semiconductor whose main component is ZnO is susceptible to an acid and the etching speed is high.", "In effect, a source electrode and a drain electrode are formed only by a dry etching process.", "However, in an oxide semiconductor whose main component is ZnO, an oxygen vacancy is liable to occur and many carrier electrons are liable to be generated, thus an oxide semiconductor layer may be damaged in a process of etching a source electrode and a drain electrode.", "There is also a method of providing a protective layer as an etching stopper layer in order to decrease damage to the semiconductor layer caused by the etching, but, even if such a protective film is formed, the oxide semiconductor layer is damaged and an OFF-current becomes larger.", "Thus, there is a problem in that TFT characteristics with a satisfactory on/off ratio are difficult to realize with stability.", "DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to attain formations of a source electrode and a drain electrode by etching in a bottom gate type thin film transistor that uses an oxide semiconductor, to thereby attain a process that excels in mass production.", "Another object of the present invention is to provide a thin film transistor having satisfactory transistor characteristics with a minimized OFF-current.", "In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a bottom gate type thin film transistor, including on a substrate a gate electrode; a first insulating film as a gate insulating film; an oxide semiconductor layer as a channel layer; a second insulating film as a protective layer; a source electrode; and a drain electrode, in which: the oxide semiconductor layer includes an oxide including at least one selected from the group consisting of In, Zn, and Sn; and the second insulating film includes an amorphous oxide insulator formed so as to be in contact with the oxide semiconductor layer and contains therein 3.8×1019 molecules/cm3 or more of a desorbed gas observed as oxygen by temperature programmed desorption mass spectrometry.", "The temperature programmed desorption mass spectrometry (TPD) is also known as thermal desorption spectroscopy (TDS).", "Further, the present invention provides a method of manufacturing a bottom gate type thin film transistor, the bottom gate type thin film transistor including on a substrate a gate electrode, a first insulating film as a gate insulating film, an oxide semiconductor layer as a channel layer, a second insulating film as a protective layer, a source electrode, and a drain electrode, the method including: forming the gate electrode on the substrate; forming the first insulating film and the oxide semiconductor layer in the stated order; patterning the first insulating film and the oxide semiconductor layer; forming the second insulating film in an atmosphere including an oxidizing gas; patterning the second insulating film so as to cover a channel region (at least a part of a channel region) of the oxide semiconductor layer; forming the source electrode and the drain electrode; and patterning the source electrode and the drain electrode using the second insulating film as an etching stopper.", "According to the present invention, the source electrode and a drain electrode can be formed by etching, which makes it possible to provide thin film transistors which are excellent in mass productivity and have such transistor characteristics has to have a minimized OFF-current.", "Further features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of exemplary embodiments with reference to the attached drawings.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG.", "1 is a view illustrating a structure of an inverted stagger type TFT having a second insulating film which functions as an etching stopper.", "FIG.", "2 is a view illustrating a structure of an inverted stagger type TFT using a thermal oxide film silicon gate insulating film on a low resistance n-type silicon substrate.", "FIG.", "3 is a graph illustrating typical current-voltage characteristics when the inverted stagger type TFT illustrated in FIG.", "2 is produced.", "FIG.", "4 is a graph illustrating an example of oxygen desorption data of a second insulating film measured by a temperature programmed desorption mass spectrometry.", "FIG.", "5 is a graph illustrating a relationship between an amount of oxygen desorbed from amorphous SiOx measured by the temperature programmed desorption mass spectrometry and a concentration of O2 gas contained in Ar as a forming atmosphere.", "FIG.", "6 is a sectional view of an example of a display apparatus as an embodiment of the present invention.", "FIG.", "7 is a sectional view of an example of another display apparatus as an embodiment of the present invention.", "FIG.", "8 is a view illustrating a structure of a display apparatus where pixels including an organic EL device and a thin film transistor are arranged two-dimensionally (in a two-dimensional state).", "FIG.", "9 is a graph illustrating a relationship between Von and conductivity of an oxide semiconductor in an inverted stagger (bottom gate) type MISFET device.", "FIG.", "10 is a graph illustrating, when nine TFTs having the structure illustrated in FIG.", "2 are produced and their TFT characteristics are measured, transfer characteristics of the nine TFTs.", "FIG.", "11 is a view illustrating a structure of an inverted stagger type TFT having a protective film.", "FIG.", "12 is a graph illustrating, when nine TFTs having the structure illustrated in FIG.", "11 are produced and their TFT characteristics are measured, transfer characteristics of the nine TFTs.", "BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described in the following with reference to the attached drawings.", "In a thin film transistor (TFT) of this embodiment, amorphous SiOx is used as a gate insulating film material.", "It is also possible to form by sputtering an Al2O3 and a-SiOxNy, which are amorphous oxide insulators.", "It is preferable to use ZnO or an oxide semiconductor containing In, Zn, and O as a channel layer of the thin film transistor.", "The channel layer contains In, Zn, O, and besides, at least one of Ga, Al, Fe, Sn, Mg, Ca, Si, and Ge.", "Further, it is preferable to use an amorphous oxide whose conductivity is between 10−3 S/cm or more and 10−7 S/cm or less.", "FIG.", "1 is a sectional view, as an example of a thin film transistor, illustrating a structure of a bottom gate structure where a protective film functions as an etching stopper.", "A gate electrode 2 is provided on a substrate 1, and further, a first insulating film 3, an oxide semiconductor layer 4 as a channel layer, a second insulating film 5, a source electrode 6, and a drain electrode 7 are provided thereon.", "When an amorphous oxide containing In, Zn, and O is used as the oxide semiconductor layer 4, it can be produced at room temperature, and thus, if the insulating film is formed by sputtering, all the film forming processes can be performed at room temperature.", "Further, as the substrate, a plastic substrate, a plastic film, or the like can be used.", "The oxide semiconductor layer 4 is patterned to form a channel region.", "After that, an amorphous oxide insulating layer, which is the second insulating film 5, is formed in an atmosphere containing an oxidizing gas.", "By forming the second insulating film 5 which is a protective layer such that the resistance of the oxide semiconductor does not become low, generation of an oxygen vacancy in the oxide semiconductor whose main component is ZnO is suppressed, and thus, generation of many carrier electrons and a large OFF-current can be prevented.", "After the second insulating film 5 is patterned by dry etching using a CF4 gas, a transparent conductive oxide film of ITO, IZO, or the like as the source electrode 6 and the drain electrode 7 is formed.", "The second insulating film which functions as an etching stop layer protects the channel region, and thus the source electrode and the drain electrode can be patterned not only by dry etching but also by wet etching.", "Ideally, it is preferable that the second insulating film covers the entire channel region in view of the protection of the source electrode and the drain electrode upon etching.", "However, when damages to the second insulating film do not substantially lower the characteristics so much according to the etching conditions or the etching time, it is not necessary to provide the second insulating film so as to cover the entire channel region.", "In this case, the second insulating film may be so provided as to cover part of the channel region.", "As the source electrode and the drain electrode, a metal such as Ni, Cr, Rh, Mo, Nd, Ti, W, Ta, Pb, or Al, an alloy thereof, or a silicide thereof may be used.", "FIG.", "2 illustrates a structure of a bottom gate inverted stagger type TFT using a thermal oxide silicon insulating film 2 with a low resistance n-type crystalline silicon being a gate electrode and a substrate 1.The influence of the conditions under which the second insulating film is formed on TFT characteristics when an oxide semiconductor is used is examined using the structure illustrated in FIG.", "2.Amorphous InGaZnO was formed as the oxide semiconductor 4.The source electrode 6 and the drain electrode 7 were formed by depositing as a laminated structure of Ti/Au/Ti followed by lift-off.", "When there is no second insulating film, a TFT:A was completed here.", "After that, with amorphous SiOx to be a second insulating film being a target, SiO2 and a 100%-Ar gas as a sputtering gas were used to form 100 nm amorphous SiOx s by sputtering.", "By forming a contact hole by wet etching on the source electrode 6 and the drain electrode 7, a TFT:B having the second insulating film was completed.", "FIG.", "3 is a graph illustrating typical current-voltage characteristics of the TFT:A and the TFT:B produced in the above-described method.", "With regard to the TFT:A, TFT characteristics with a satisfactory on/off ratio and with a minimized OFF-current are shown.", "However, with regard to the TFT:B where amorphous SiOx that is thought to be an ordinary oxide film insulating layer was formed as the second insulating film, an OFF-current is not exhibited even when the gate voltage is −20 V. The reason is thought to be reduction of the oxide semiconductor layer or generation of an oxygen vacancy in the oxide semiconductor layer when the second insulating film was formed.", "This is because, in an oxide semiconductor whose main component is ZnO, an oxygen vacancy is liable to occur and many carrier electrons are liable to be generated.", "In FIG.", "3, a result of using sputtering for forming the second insulating film is illustrated.", "When amorphous SiOx or amorphous SiNy is formed by P-CVD as the second insulating film, the on/off ratio is still less satisfactory.", "As a result, in effect, the TFT does not operate as a TFT.", "This implies that because an oxide semiconductor is extremely sensitive to hydrogen, the resistance of a portion of the oxide semiconductor that is in contact with the second insulating film becomes extremely low.", "A second insulating film formed in an atmosphere containing an oxidizing gas, which is a main portion of the present invention will be described in detail in the following.", "(With Regard to Second Insulating Film) More specifically, the second insulating film can be materialized by sputtering using SiO2 as a target and using a mixed gas of O2 gas and Ar gas (hereinafter referred to as O2/Ar mixed gas) as a sputtering gas to form an amorphous oxide insulating layer.", "The O2/Ar mixing ratio is indicated as [O2-gas flow rate (SCCM)]/[(O2-gas flow rate (SCCM))+(Ar-gas flow rate (SCCM))] (vol %).", "The effect of the O2/Ar mixed gas was recognized when the O2/Ar mixing ratio was 10 vol % or more, and more preferably 50 vol %.", "When the O2/Ar mixing ratio was 50 vol %, satisfactory OFF-current characteristics were obtained under almost all oxide semiconductor conditions where satisfactory OFF-current characteristics were obtained when the second insulating film 5 was not formed.", "Methods of measuring the oxygen content of amorphous SiOx as the second insulating film include temperature programmed desorption mass spectrometry (TPD).", "Depending on samples, from several ten degrees centigrade to about four hundred degrees centigrade of the temperature of a thermocouple in contact with a surface of the substrate, a peak of desorption of oxygen existing in a thin film is observed.", "In the present invention, oxygen was almost desorbed at 400° C. from amorphous SiOx as the second insulating film (desorbed gas) when measured by temperature programmed desorption mass spectrometry.", "The range of measurement temperature used in the quantitative analysis of the thermocouple in contact with a surface of the substrate was 50° C. to 800° C. The desorbed gas was identified as oxygen from the ionic strength of mass number (m/z) 32, which corresponds to O2+.", "FIG.", "4 is a graph illustrating an example of oxygen desorption data measured by a temperature programmed desorption mass spectrometry.", "The amount of oxygen desorbed from amorphous SiOx as the second insulating film which was obtained in this way was in proportion to the concentration of oxygen in a forming atmosphere.", "FIG.", "5 is a graph illustrating a relationship between the amount of oxygen desorbed from amorphous SiOx measured by the temperature programmed desorption mass spectrometry and the concentration of O2 gas contained in Ar as the forming atmosphere.", "As a result of vigorous research and development of a second insulating film of a TFT using a transparent oxide semiconductor, it was found to use a mixed gas of O2 gas and Ar gas (hereinafter referred to as O2/Ar mixed gas) as sputtering gas (also referred to as sputtering film forming gas) of amorphous SiOx.", "Further, it was found that, when the mixing ratio (also referred to as mixing gas ratio) was 10 vol % or more, generation of an oxygen vacancy in the oxide semiconductor was suppressed, and thus, generation of many carrier electrons and a large OFF-current can be prevented.", "Amorphous SiOx which is effective in suppressing generation of an oxygen vacancy was found by temperature programmed desorption mass spectrometry to contain 3.8×1019 molecules/cm3 or more of oxygen in the film.", "Forming conditions which have a wider process margin and which can obtain more stable characteristics are ones when a sputtering gas where the volume ratio of O2 gas to the sum of O2 gas and Ar gas in the sputtering gas (O2/Ar mixing ratio) is 50 vol % is used.", "When, for example, an oxide semiconductor is formed under such conditions, about 1.2×1020 molecules/cm3 of oxygen are contained in the film.", "It is supposed that the amorphous SiOx containing oxygen in the film releases the oxygen by unintentional heating during the deposition process (e.g.", "temperature increase due to input electrical power during the deposition process) or heating in a subsequent process and oxidizes interfacial portions of the oxide semiconductor, whereby suppressing lowering of the resistance.", "As a result, it is supposed that generation of oxygen vacancies in the oxide semiconductor is suppressed and many carrier electrons are generated, whereby preventing increase of the OFF-current.", "According to the findings of the inventors of the present invention, the O2/Ar mixing ratio in the conditions for forming amorphous SiOx which is effective in suppressing generation of an oxygen vacancy has no upper limit, and even in a case where the ratio of O2 is 100 vol %, generation of an oxygen vacancy is effectively suppressed.", "However, because the film deposition rate is decreased by increasing the O2/Ar mixing ratio, from the viewpoint of productivity and cost, it is preferable to use an O2/Ar mixing ratio of 50 vol % or less.", "The relationship between the O2/Ar mixing ratio of the amorphous SiOx and the film deposition rate is, although depending on film forming parameters such as film forming gas pressure and a distance between the substrate and the target, extremely sensitive to the partial pressure of oxygen.", "Therefore, normally, forming conditions where the partial pressure of oxygen is high are rarely used.", "With regard to the forming conditions in this case, with the film deposition rate when the O2/Ar mixing ratio is 0 vol % being the reference value (100%), the film deposition rates when the O2/Ar mixing ratio was 10 vol % and 50 vol % were 77% and 39%, respectively.", "A TFT was produced using the above-described amorphous SiOx as the second insulating film.", "The structure of the TFT was as illustrated in FIG.", "11, and amorphous InGaZnO as the oxide semiconductor was formed under the same conditions.", "At the same time, a TEG device for measuring the conductivity of the oxide semiconductor was produced under the same process conditions, and the conductivity of the oxide semiconductor layer was measured.", "Von, which is one of the transfer characteristics of the TFT, is the voltage applied to a gate on a rising of the drain current (Id).", "FIG.", "9 illustrates a relationship between Von and the conductivity of the oxide semiconductor.", "There is a strong correlation between the conductivity of the oxide semiconductor and Von.", "The larger the conductivity of the oxide semiconductor is, the more Von shifts to a negative side.", "When the conductivity becomes still larger, Von is not observed even at −40 V or less.", "As is apparent from the result, when the second insulating film is formed, increase in the conductivity of the oxide semiconductor shifts Von, which indicates a border between an OFF-current and an ON current, to the negative side to cause deterioration.", "As a result, the OFF-current characteristics are deteriorated.", "Increase in the conductivity of the oxide semiconductor is suppressed by the forming conditions of the second insulating film.", "The suppressing effect is recognized when the O2/Ar mixing ratio is 10 vol % or more, and 3.8×1019 molecules/cm3 or more of oxygen are contained in the film.", "As the second insulating film, amorphous SiOx which is formed using a sputtering gas whose O2/Ar mixing ratio was 50 vol % and contains 1.2×1020 molecules/cm3 of oxygen in the film was used.", "Nine TFTs having the structure illustrated in FIG.", "2 were produced, and their TFT characteristics were measured.", "FIG.", "10 is a graph illustrating transfer characteristics of the nine TFTs.", "Von is controlled to be substantially 0 V and TFTs exhibiting satisfactory on/off ratios were obtained.", "In the above description, the second insulating film was amorphous SiOx, but amorphous silicon oxynitride or amorphous aluminum oxide may be used as the amorphous oxide insulator as the second insulating film.", "Further, a case where an O2/Ar mixed gas was used as the oxidizing gas in forming the second insulating film is described in the above.", "However, it is essential to form the second insulating film such that the conductivity of the oxide semiconductor is not increased, and thus, the oxidizing gas is not limited to oxygen.", "Besides, the conditions for the content of oxygen in the amorphous oxide insulator as the second insulating film are likely to vary depending on a deposition apparatus.", "However, when varying the deposition parameters to investigate the trend, it is possible to control the content of oxygen so as to obtain the advantageous effect of the present invention.", "The deposition parameters include deposition gas pressure, input power upon deposition, deposition temperature, substrate-target distance, bias application to the substrate or the cathode, etc.", "For example, as the thin film transistor, an amorphous oxide semiconductor layer (a-IGZO thin film) where the composition ratio of indium, gallium, and zinc is 1:1:1 is formed using sputtering which can form a large-area film.", "The amorphous oxide semiconductor layer is applied to a thin film transistor having the structure illustrated in FIG.", "1.This can achieve an on/off ratio of the transistor of 105 or more.", "The field-effect mobility in this case is 1 cm2V−1s−1 or more.", "By those effects, a source electrode and a drain electrode can be formed by various etching processes in a bottom gate type thin film transistor using an oxide semiconductor, which is excellent in mass productivity.", "Further, a thin film transistor having satisfactory transistor characteristics with a minimized OFF-current can be provided.", "In the above description, a case where a transparent oxide semiconductor polycrystalline thin film using ZnO as the main component or a transparent oxide semiconductor thin film whose main component is ZnO containing microcrystals is used as the semiconductor layer (channel layer) is described.", "Further, a case where an amorphous oxide formed so as to contain In, Ga, Zn, and O is used is described.", "However, the oxide semiconductor layer is not limited thereto.", "As the amorphous oxide semiconductor layer formed so as to contain In, Ga, Zn, and O, an amorphous oxide which contains at least one element among Sn, In, and Zn may be used.", "Further, when Sn is selected as at least a part of the elements forming the amorphous oxide, Sn1-xM4x (0<x<1, M4 is selected from Group IV elements whose atomic numbers are smaller than that of Sn, i.e., Si, Ge, and Zr) may be used instead of Sn.", "Further, when In is selected as at least a part of the elements forming the amorphous oxide, In1-yM3y (0<y<1, M3 is selected from Group III elements whose atomic numbers are smaller than that of Lu or In, i.e., B, Al, Ga, and Y) may be used instead of In.", "Further, when Zn is selected as at least a part of the elements forming the amorphous oxide, Zn1-zM2z (0<z<1, M2 is selected from Group II elements whose atomic numbers are smaller than that of Zn, i.e., Mg and Ca) may be used instead of Zn.", "Amorphous materials which can be used include an Sn—In—Zn oxide, an In—Zn—Ga—Mg oxide, an In oxide, an In—Sn oxide, an In—Ga oxide, an In—Zn oxide, a Zn—Ga oxide, and an Sn—In—Zn oxide.", "Needless to say, the composition ratio of the forming materials is not necessarily required to be 1:1.It should be noted that, it is difficult for Zn and Sn to form amorphism by themselves in some cases, but adding In makes it easier to form an amorphous phase.", "For example, in the case of an In—Zn oxide, the composition is preferably such that the ratio of the number of In atoms to all atoms except oxygen is about 20 at.", "% or more.", "In the case of an Sn—In oxide, the composition is preferably such that the ratio of the number of In atoms to all atoms except oxygen is about 80 at.", "% or more.", "In the case of an Sn—In—Zn oxide, the composition is preferably such that the ratio of the number of In atoms to all atoms except oxygen is about 15 at.", "% or more.", "The amorphousness can be confirmed by the condition of not detecting a clear diffraction peak in X-ray diffraction of a thin film to be measured with the angle of incidence being as low as about 0.5 degrees, (that is, a halo pattern is observed).", "It should be noted that, in this embodiment, when the above-mentioned materials are used for a channel layer of a field-effect transistor, it is not excluded that the channel layer includes a forming material in a microcrystalline state.", "Then, by connecting a drain of the thin film transistor which is an output terminal to an electrode of a display device such as an organic or inorganic electroluminescent (EL) device or liquid crystal device, a display apparatus can be formed.", "Specific example of display apparatus structures are described in the following with reference to sectional views of a display apparatus.", "FIG.", "6 is a sectional view of an example of a display apparatus as an embodiment of the present invention.", "A TFT having on a substrate 611 a gate electrode 612, a gate insulating film 613, an oxide semiconductor film 614, a second insulating film 615, a source (drain) electrode 616, and a drain (source) electrode 617.A pixel electrode 618 is connected via an interlayer insulating film 619 to the drain (source) electrode 617.The pixel electrode 618 is in contact with a light emitting layer 620, and further, the light emitting layer 620 is in contact with an electrode 621.Such a structure enables to control current injected to the light emitting layer 620 by the value of a current which flows from the source (drain) electrode 616 to the drain (source) electrode 617 via a channel formed in the oxide semiconductor film 614.Therefore, the current injected to the light emitting layer 620 can be controlled by voltage of the gate 612 of the TFT.", "In this case, the electrode 618, the light emitting layer 620, and the electrode 621 form an inorganic or organic electroluminescent device as an electro-optical device.", "FIG.", "7 is a sectional view of another example of a display apparatus as an embodiment of the present invention.", "A drain (source) electrode 717 is extended so as to serve also as a pixel electrode 718.The drain (source) electrode 717 can be structured to be an electrode 723 for applying voltage to a liquid crystal or an electrophoretic particle 721 sandwiched between high-resistance films 720 and 722.The liquid crystal or the electrophoretic particle 721, the high-resistance films 720 and 722, the pixel electrode 718, and the electrode 723 form a display device.", "Voltage applied to the display device liquid crystal cell or the electrophoretic particle cell as a as an electro-optical device can be controlled by the value of a current which flows from a source electrode 716 to the drain electrode 717 via a channel formed in an oxide semiconductor film 714.Therefore, the voltage applied to the display device can be controlled by voltage of a gate 712 of the TFT.", "In this case, if a display medium of the display device is a capsule where a fluid and particles are encapsulated in an insulating film, the high-resistance films 720 and 722 are not necessary.", "In the above two examples, the TFT is represented by bottom gate inverted stagger type ones, but the present invention is not necessarily limited to such a structure.", "For example, if the connection between the drain electrode which is the output terminal of the TFT and the display device is topologically the same, other structures such as a coplanar type are also possible.", "Further, in the above two examples, the pair of electrodes for driving the display device is provided so as to be in parallel with the substrate, but this embodiment is not necessarily limited to such a structure.", "For example, if the connection between the drain electrode which is the output terminal of the TFT and the display device is topologically the same, either one or both of the electrodes may be provided so as to be perpendicular to the substrate.", "Further, in the above two examples, only one TFT connected to the display device is illustrated, but the present invention is not necessarily limited to such a structure.", "For example, the TFT illustrated in the figures may be connected to another TFT according to the present invention.", "What is required is that the TFT illustrated in the figures is in a final stage of a circuit including those TFTs.", "In this case, when the pair of electrodes for driving the display device is provided so as to be in parallel with the substrate, if the display device is an EL device or a reflection type display device such as a reflection type liquid crystal device, either one of the electrodes is required to be transparent to the wavelength of the emitted light or the wavelength of the reflected light.", "If the display device is a transmission type display device such as a transmission type liquid crystal device, both of the electrodes are required to be transparent to transmitted light.", "Further, in the TFTs according to this embodiment, all the structure may be transparent, which enables to form a transparent display device.", "Further, such a display device may be provided on a low heat resistant substrate such as a lightweight, flexible, and transparent plastic substrate made of resin.", "Next, a display apparatus where pixels including an EL device (in this case, an organic EL device) and a thin film transistor are arranged two-dimensionally (in a two-dimensional state) is described with reference to FIG.", "8.FIG.", "8 illustrates a transistor 81 for driving an organic EL layer 84, a transistor 82 for selecting a pixel.", "A capacitor 83 is for the purpose of maintaining the selected state and stores charge between a common electrode line 87 and a source of a transistor 2 to maintain a gate signal of a transistor 1.Pixel selection is made by a scanning electrode line 85 and a signal electrode line 86.More specifically, an image signal is applied as a pulse signal from a driver circuit (not shown) via the scanning electrode 85 to a gate electrode.", "At the same time, the image signal is applied also as a pulse signal from another driver circuit (not shown) via a signal electrode 86 to the transistor 82 to select a pixel.", "In this case, the transistor 82 is turned ON and charge is stored in the capacitor 83 between the signal electrode line 86 and a source of the transistor 82.This makes gate voltage of a transistor 81 maintained at a desired level and the transistor 81 is turned ON.", "This state is maintained until the next signal is received.", "During the state where the transistor 81 is ON, voltage and current are kept supplied to the organic EL layer 84 to maintain light emission.", "In the example illustrated in FIG.", "8, two transistors and one capacitor are provided per pixel, but more transistors or the like may be mounted in order to improve the performance.", "It is essential to use in a transistor portion a TFT containing In, Ga, Zn, and O which can be formed at a low temperature and which is a transparent TFT to obtain an effective EL device.", "Next, examples of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.", "EXAMPLE 1 In this example, an inverted stagger (bottom gate) type MISFET device illustrated in FIG.", "11 is produced.", "First, a gate terminal of Ti of 5 nm/Au of 40 nm/Ti of 5 nm is formed on a glass substrate by photolithography and a lift-off technique.", "Further, an insulating layer of a-SiOx with a thickness of 200 nm is formed thereon by sputtering.", "In this case, a SiO2 target is used as the sputtering target, and Ar gas is used as the sputtering gas.", "Also the RF radio-frequency power is 400 W, the deposition pressure is 0.1 Pa, and the film deposition rate is 7.4 nm/min.", "The substrate temperature is room temperature, and no intentional heating is performed.", "Further, an amorphous oxide semiconductor film used as a semiconductor layer is formed thereon at room temperature with a thickness of 20 nm by an RF sputtering.", "A channel region is formed by photolithography and wet etching using hydrochloric acid.", "After that, Ti of 5 nm/Au of 40 nm/Ti of 5 nm is formed by electron beam deposition, and source and drain terminals are formed by photolithography and a lift-off technique.", "Further, as a second insulating film, an insulating layer of a-SiOx is formed with a thickness of 100 nm by an RF sputtering.", "In this case, SiO2 is used as the target and an oxidizing atmosphere whose O2/Ar mixing ratio is 50 vol % (5 SCCM O2 gas and 5 SCCM Ar gas) is used as the sputtering gas.", "Also the RF radio-frequency power is 400 W, the deposition pressure is 0.1 Pa, and the film deposition rate is 2.9 nm/min.", "The substrate temperature is room temperature, and no intentional heating is performed.", "In this way, nine inverted stagger (bottom gate) type MISFET devices as illustrated in FIG.", "11 are completed.", "In this case, the metal composition ratio in the amorphous oxide semiconductor film is In:Ga:Zn=1.00:0.94:0.65.As a result of an evaluation of I-V characteristics of the MISFET device, the nine TFTs has a field-effect mobility of 5.0 cm2/Vs on average and an on/off ratio of more than 106 on average.", "FIG.", "12 illustrates the transfer characteristics.", "By using the second insulating film according to the present invention, an OFF-current of the oxide semiconductor bottom gate type thin film transistor is minimized and thus a thin film transistor having satisfactory transistor characteristics can be produced with stability.", "COMPARATIVE EXAMPLE 1 In this comparative example, an inverted stagger (bottom gate) type MISFET device illustrated in FIG.", "11 is produced under the same conditions as those of Example 1 except for the forming conditions of the second insulating film.", "As a second insulating film, an insulating layer of a-SiOx is formed with a thickness of 100 nm by a RF sputtering.", "In this case, SiO2 is used as the target and an oxidizing atmosphere whose O2/Ar mixing ratio was 10 vol % (1 SCCM O2 gas and 5 SCCM Ar gas) is used as the sputtering gas.", "Also the RF radio-frequency power is 400 W, the deposition pressure is 0.1 Pa, and the film deposition rate is 5.7 nm/min.", "The substrate temperature is room temperature, and no intentional heating is performed.", "In this way, nine inverted stagger (bottom gate) type MISFET devices as illustrated in FIG.", "11 are completed.", "At the same time, a TEG device for measuring the conductivity of the oxide semiconductor is produced under the same process conditions, and the conductivity of the oxide semiconductor layer is measured.", "Von s, one of the transfer characteristics of the TFT, is the voltage applied to a gate on a rising of the drain current (Id).", "FIG.", "9 illustrates a relationship between Von and the conductivity of the oxide semiconductor.", "The second insulating film of a-SiOx formed by using the sputtering gas of the O2/Ar mixing ratio of 10 vol % contains 3.8×1019 molecules/cm3 of oxygen therein.", "As a result, the second insulating film of a-SiOx formed by using the gas of the O2/Ar mixing ratio of 10 vol % is effective in suppressing generation of an oxygen vacancy in the oxide semiconductor, Von thereof is −40 V on average, and the on/off ratio thereof is 106 or more, which is satisfactory.", "When the O2/Ar mixing ratio is 1 vol % or 0 vol %, variations in the characteristics increase and, even if gate voltage of −50 V is applied, clear Von is not observed in some cases and clear effect of suppressing generation of an oxygen vacancy in the oxide semiconductor is not recognized.", "EXAMPLE 2 In this example, an inverted stagger (bottom gate) type MISFET device illustrated in FIG.", "1 is produced.", "First, a gate electrode layer of a transparent conductive film IZO with a thickness of 150 nm is formed on a glass substrate by sputtering.", "A gate electrode is formed by photolithography and wet etching using hydrochloric acid.", "Further, an insulating layer of a-SiOx with a thickness of 200 nm is formed thereon by an RF sputtering.", "In this case, a SiO2 target is used as the sputtering target, and Ar gas is used as the sputtering gas.", "Also the RF radio-frequency power is 400 W, the deposition pressure is 0.1 Pa, and the film deposition rate is 7.4 nm/min.", "The substrate temperature is room temperature, and no intentional heating is performed.", "Further, an amorphous oxide semiconductor film used as a semiconductor layer is formed at room temperature with a thickness of 20 nm by sputtering.", "A channel region is formed by photolithography and wet etching using hydrochloric acid.", "After that, as a second insulating film, an insulating layer of a-SiOx is formed with a thickness of 100 nm by sputtering.", "In this case, SiO2 is used as the target and an oxidizing atmosphere whose O2/Ar mixing ratio is 50 vol % (5 SCCM O2 gas and 5 SCCM Ar gas) is used as the sputtering gas.", "A second insulating film which protects the channel region and functions as an etching stop layer is completed by photolithography and dry etching using a CF4 gas.", "After that, a transparent conductive film ITO is formed with a thickness of 150 nm by sputtering, and source and drain terminals are formed by photolithography and etching.", "In this way, the inverted stagger (bottom gate) type transparent MISFET device illustrated in FIG.", "1 can be formed.", "As the source electrode and the drain electrode, not only a transparent conductive oxide film such as IZO, but also a metal such as Ni, Cr, Rh, Mo, Nd, Ti, W, Ta, Pb, or Al, an alloy thereof, or a silicide thereof may be used.", "Further, the source electrode and the drain electrode may be formed of materials different from each other.", "The source electrode and the drain electrode of the inverted stagger (bottom gate) type MISFET device can be formed by etching, and a thin film transistor which excels in mass production and has transistor characteristics with a minimized OFF-current is formed.", "EXAMPLE 3 In this example, a display apparatus using the TFT illustrated in FIG.", "7 is described.", "The production process of the TFT is similar to that of Example 3.In the above-described TFT, a short side of an ITO film forming a drain electrode is extended to 100 μm.", "With 90 μm of the extended portion being left and with wiring to the source electrode and the gate electrode being secured, the TFT is covered with an insulating layer.", "A polyimide film is applied thereon and rubbing is carried out.", "On the other hand, a plastic substrate having an ITO film and a polyimide film similarly formed thereon with rubbing carried out is prepared, the plastic substrate is opposed to the above-described substrate having the TFT formed thereon with a gap of 5 μm therebetween, and nematic liquid crystal is injected into the gap.", "Further, a pair of polarizing plates is provided on both sides of the structure.", "In this case, by applying voltage to the source electrode of the TFT and changing voltage applied to the gate electrode, light transmission is changed only with regard to a region of 30 μm×90 μm which is a part of the island of the ITO film extended from the drain electrode.", "Further, the light transmission can be continuously changed also by the source-drain voltage under the gate voltage where the TFT is ON.", "In this way, a display apparatus using a liquid crystal cell corresponding to FIG.", "7 as a display device is formed.", "In this example, a white plastic substrate is used as a substrate for forming the TFT, gold replaces the respective electrodes of the TFT, and the polyimide film and the polarizing plates were omitted.", "Further, the gap between the white and transparent plastic substrates is filled with a capsule where particles and a fluid are encapsulated with an insulating film filled.", "In the display apparatus structured in this way, the voltage between the drain electrode extended by the TFT and the ITO film thereabove is controlled, and thus, the particles in the capsule moves up and down.", "This enables to carry out a display by controlling the reflectivity of the extended drain electrode region observed from the side of the transparent substrate.", "Further, in this example, a plurality of adjacent TFTs may be formed to form, for example, a current control circuit having an ordinary structure with four transistors and a capacitor, and, one of the transistors in a final stage may drive an EL device as the TFT illustrated in FIG.", "6.For example, a TFT using the above-described ITO film as a drain electrode is used.", "An organic electroluminescence device formed of a charge injection layer and a light emitting layer is formed in a region of 30 μm×90 μm which is a part of the island of the ITO film extended from the drain electrode.", "In this way, a display apparatus using an EL device can be formed.", "EXAMPLE 4 The display device and the TFT of Example 3 are arranged two-dimensionally.", "For example, 7,425×1,790 pixels each occupying an area of about 30 μm×115 μm including a display device such as a liquid crystal cell or an EL device of Example 3 and a TFT are arranged so as to form a rectangle with a pitch of 40 μm in the direction of a short side and 120 μm in the direction of a long side.", "1,790 gate wirings going through gate electrodes of 7,425 TFTs in the direction of the long side and 7,425 signal wires going through portions of source electrodes of 1,790 TFTs extending off out of the island of an amorphous oxide semiconductor film by 5 μm in the direction of the short side are provided.", "The gate wirings and the signal wirings are connected to a gate driver circuit and a source driver circuit, respectively.", "Further, in the case of a liquid crystal display device, by providing on a surface a color filter having repeated RGB in the direction of the long side in such a manner that its size is the same as that of the liquid crystal display device and it is aligned with the liquid crystal display device, an active matrix color image display apparatus of A4-size with about 211 ppi can be formed.", "In the case of an EL device, a gate electrode of a first TFT of two TFTs included in one EL device is connected to a gate wiring, a source electrode of a second TFT is connected to a signal wiring, and further, the emitting wavelengths of the EL device are repeated in the direction of the long side with RGB.", "In this way, a self-emission type color image display apparatus having the same resolution can be formed.", "In such a case, the driver circuit for driving the active matrix may be formed by using the same TFT as that of a pixel according to the present invention, or may be formed by using an available IC chip.", "While the present invention has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments.", "The scope of the following claims is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent structures and functions.", "This application claims the benefit of Japanese Patent Application Nos.", "2006-328308, filed Dec. 5, 2006 and 2007-273863, filed Oct. 22, 2007, which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety." ] ]
Patent_15873140
[ [ "DISPLAY SUBSTRATE, DISPLAY DEVICE AND DISPLAY DEVICE IDENTIFICATION METHOD", "A display substrate, a display device and a method to identify a display device are provided.", "The display substrate comprises a display region and a periphery region.", "The periphery region comprises a plurality of first bonding pads electrically connected to metal wires disposed at the display region and a plurality of second bonding pads including at least two identification bonding pads.", "The at least two identification bonding pads are electrically connected to voltage-level signal lines respectively, and are labeled with identify information according to voltage-level signals provide by the voltage-level signal lines." ], [ "1-15.", "(canceled) 16.A method to identify a display device comprising a display substrate and a driving chip, wherein the display substrate comprises a display region and a periphery region including a plurality of first bonding pads electrically connected to metal wires disposed at the display region and a plurality of second bonding pads including at least two identification bonding pads, the periphery region is disposed adjacent to the display region and disposed on the display substrate, the metal wires include a plurality of scanning lines and a plurality of data lines extending from the display region to the periphery region, and the at least two identification bonding pads disposed on the display substrate are electrically connected to voltage-level signal lines respectively and are labeled with identify information of the display substrate according to voltage-level signals provide by the voltage-level signal lines, and wherein the driving chip includes a plurality of first pins, a plurality of second pins and an identification circuit, the first pins are electrically connected to the first bonding pads, the second pins are electrically connected to the at least two identification bonding pads, and the identification circuit is electrically connected to the at least two identification bonding pads through the second pins for obtaining the identify information of the display substrate according to the voltage-level signals at the at least two identification bonding pads, the method comprising: obtaining, by the identification circuit of the driving chip, the identify information of the display substrate according to the voltage-level signals at the at least two identification bonding pads.", "17.The method to identify a display device according to claim 16, further including: determining whether the identify information of the display substrate obtained from the at least two identification bonding pads is consistent with identify information pre-saved in the driving chip.", "18.The method to identify a display device according to claim 17, further including: receiving, by the driving chip, a display initialization procedure matching the identify information of the display substrate through an input-output port; and saving the display initialization procedure in a memory.", "19.The method to identify a display device according to claim 16, wherein: the plurality of second bonding pads further include at least one power supply bonding pad and at least one ground bonding pad, and each of the at least two identification bonding pads is electrically connected to either the power supply bonding pad or the ground bonding pad through the voltage-level signal line.", "20.The method to identify a display device according to claim 19, wherein: the at least one power supply bonding pad is electrically connected to a power wire; and the at least one ground bonding pad is electrically connected to a ground wire.", "21.The method to identify a display device according to claim 20, wherein the obtaining, by the identification circuit of the driving chip, the identify information of the display substrate according to the voltage-level signals at the at least two identification bonding pads further includes: recognizing, by the identification circuit of the driving chip, the identify information labeled at each of the at least two identification bonding pads as 1 or 0 according to the voltage-level signal at the each of the at least two identification bonding pads, wherein the identify information labeled at an identification bonding pad electrically connected to the at least one power supply bonding pad is recognized as 1, and the identify information labeled at an identification bonding pad electrically connected to the at least one ground bonding pad is recognized as 0.22.The method to identify a display device according to claim 21, wherein the obtaining, by the identification circuit of the driving chip, the identify information of the display substrate according to the voltage-level signals at the at least two identification bonding pads further includes: according to a predetermined order of the at least two identification bonding pads, combing the identify information labeled at the each of the at least two identification bonding pads into a combined signal, wherein the combined signal represents the identify information of the display substrate.", "23.The method to identify a display device according to claim 22, wherein: the predetermined order of the at least two identification bonding pads is an order manually set, or a default order determined by the identification circuit in the driving chip.", "24.The method to identify a display device according to claim 17, further including: when the obtained identify information of the display substrate is determined to be consistent with the identify information pre-saved in the driving chip, determining the display substrate to be a display substrate required by an operator.", "25.The method to identify a display device according to claim 18, further including: based on the display initialization procedure, providing, by the driving chip, an electrical signal to the display substrate for displaying an image.", "26.The method to identify a display device according to claim 16, wherein: the at least two identification bonding pads are divided into at least two groups of identification bonding pads; and each of the at least two groups of identification bonding pads corresponds to one piece of identify information of the display substrate.", "27.The method to identify a display device according to claim 16, wherein: the at least two identification bonding pads together correspond to one piece of identify information of the display substrate.", "28.The method to identify a display device according to claim 16, wherein: the identify information corresponds to at least one property of the display substrate; and the properties of the display substrate include place of production, size, thickness, electrical properties, batch code, date of production, status of production, and serial number." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND <EOH>With the development of modern electronic technologies, applications of display substrates become more and more broad, and requirements of display substrates become more and more diversified.", "Therefore, the number of display substrates with different sizes, different manufacturers, or different electrical parameters is growing.", "The size, place of production, thickness and electrical parameters of a display substrate are often referred as properties of the display substrate.", "Before processing a certain display substrate or a certain group of display substrates in a production line, whether the display substrate or the group of display substrates are the correct display substrates required by an operator needs to be confirmed first.", "To facilitate the identification of the display substrates with different properties, a two-dimensional (2D) code is often disposed at a specific region of the display substrate.", "The 2D code contains identity information of the display substrate, which corresponds to the properties of the display substrate.", "Once the 2D code can be identified or recognized, the identity information of the display substrate is obtained, and the properties of the display substrate are determined accordingly.", "The 2D code is often identified or recognized by a specific fixture.", "However, the existing technologies may have the following technical problems.", "On one hand, the 2D code disposed on the display substrate often has a very small area, which has to be read by a specific fixture and leads to an increased cost.", "Further, when one parameter of the display substrate is adjusted, the fixture may not instantly recognize the properties of the display substrate, which may cause the operator incorrectly process the display substrate.", "On the other hand, an external device connected to the display substrate may be unable to automatically identify the properties of the display substrate and, thus, may be unable to select a correct display initialization procedure.", "Thus, based on the existing technologies, the properties of the display substrate may not be easily obtained.", "The disclosed display substrate, display device and display device identification method are directed to solve one or more problems set forth above and other problems." ], [ "<SOH> BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE <EOH>One aspect of the present disclosure provides a display substrate.", "The display substrate comprises a display region and a periphery region.", "The periphery region comprises a plurality of first bonding pads electrically connected to metal wires disposed at the display region and a plurality of second bonding pads including at least two identification bonding pads.", "The at least two identification bonding pads are electrically connected to voltage-level signal lines respectively, and are labeled with identify information according to voltage-level signals provide by the voltage-level signal lines.", "Another aspect of the present disclosure provides a display device.", "The display device comprises a display substrate and a driving chip.", "The display substrate comprises a display region and a periphery region.", "The periphery region comprises a plurality of first bonding pads electrically connected to metal wires disposed at the display region and a plurality of second bonding pads including at least two identification bonding pads.", "The at least two identification bonding pads are electrically connected to voltage-level signal lines respectively, and are labeled with identify information according to voltage-level signals provide by the voltage-level signal lines.", "The driving chip includes a plurality of first pins, a plurality of second pins and an identification circuit.", "The first pins are electrically connected to the first bonding pads, the second pins are electrically connected to the at least two identification bonding pads, and the identification circuit is electrically connected to the identification bonding pads through the second pins for obtaining the identify information of the display substrate according to the voltage-level signals at the identification bonding pads.", "Another aspect of the present disclosure provides a method to identify a display device.", "The display device comprises a display substrate and a driving chip.", "The display substrate comprises a display region and a periphery region.", "The periphery region comprises a plurality of first bonding pads electrically connected to metal wires disposed at the display region and a plurality of second bonding pads including at least two identification bonding pads.", "The at least two identification bonding pads are electrically connected to voltage-level signal lines respectively, and are labeled with identify information according to voltage-level signals provide by the voltage-level signal lines.", "The driving chip includes a plurality of first pins, a plurality of second pins and an identification circuit.", "The first pins are electrically connected to the first bonding pads, the second pins are electrically connected to the at least two identification bonding pads, and the identification circuit is electrically connected to the identification bonding pads through the second pins for obtaining the identify information of the display substrate according to the voltage-level signals at the identification bonding pads.", "The method to identify a display device comprises obtaining, by the driving chip, the identify information of the display substrate according to the voltage-level signals at the identification bonding pads.", "Other aspects of the present disclosure can be understood by those skilled in the art in light of the description, the claims, and the drawings of the present disclosure." ], [ "CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims the priority of Chinese patent application No.", "201511027846.5, filed on Dec. 31, 2015, the entire content of which is incorporated herein by reference.", "FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE The present disclosure relates to the field of display technology and, more particularly, relates to a display substrate, a display device and a display device identification method.", "BACKGROUND With the development of modern electronic technologies, applications of display substrates become more and more broad, and requirements of display substrates become more and more diversified.", "Therefore, the number of display substrates with different sizes, different manufacturers, or different electrical parameters is growing.", "The size, place of production, thickness and electrical parameters of a display substrate are often referred as properties of the display substrate.", "Before processing a certain display substrate or a certain group of display substrates in a production line, whether the display substrate or the group of display substrates are the correct display substrates required by an operator needs to be confirmed first.", "To facilitate the identification of the display substrates with different properties, a two-dimensional (2D) code is often disposed at a specific region of the display substrate.", "The 2D code contains identity information of the display substrate, which corresponds to the properties of the display substrate.", "Once the 2D code can be identified or recognized, the identity information of the display substrate is obtained, and the properties of the display substrate are determined accordingly.", "The 2D code is often identified or recognized by a specific fixture.", "However, the existing technologies may have the following technical problems.", "On one hand, the 2D code disposed on the display substrate often has a very small area, which has to be read by a specific fixture and leads to an increased cost.", "Further, when one parameter of the display substrate is adjusted, the fixture may not instantly recognize the properties of the display substrate, which may cause the operator incorrectly process the display substrate.", "On the other hand, an external device connected to the display substrate may be unable to automatically identify the properties of the display substrate and, thus, may be unable to select a correct display initialization procedure.", "Thus, based on the existing technologies, the properties of the display substrate may not be easily obtained.", "The disclosed display substrate, display device and display device identification method are directed to solve one or more problems set forth above and other problems.", "BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE One aspect of the present disclosure provides a display substrate.", "The display substrate comprises a display region and a periphery region.", "The periphery region comprises a plurality of first bonding pads electrically connected to metal wires disposed at the display region and a plurality of second bonding pads including at least two identification bonding pads.", "The at least two identification bonding pads are electrically connected to voltage-level signal lines respectively, and are labeled with identify information according to voltage-level signals provide by the voltage-level signal lines.", "Another aspect of the present disclosure provides a display device.", "The display device comprises a display substrate and a driving chip.", "The display substrate comprises a display region and a periphery region.", "The periphery region comprises a plurality of first bonding pads electrically connected to metal wires disposed at the display region and a plurality of second bonding pads including at least two identification bonding pads.", "The at least two identification bonding pads are electrically connected to voltage-level signal lines respectively, and are labeled with identify information according to voltage-level signals provide by the voltage-level signal lines.", "The driving chip includes a plurality of first pins, a plurality of second pins and an identification circuit.", "The first pins are electrically connected to the first bonding pads, the second pins are electrically connected to the at least two identification bonding pads, and the identification circuit is electrically connected to the identification bonding pads through the second pins for obtaining the identify information of the display substrate according to the voltage-level signals at the identification bonding pads.", "Another aspect of the present disclosure provides a method to identify a display device.", "The display device comprises a display substrate and a driving chip.", "The display substrate comprises a display region and a periphery region.", "The periphery region comprises a plurality of first bonding pads electrically connected to metal wires disposed at the display region and a plurality of second bonding pads including at least two identification bonding pads.", "The at least two identification bonding pads are electrically connected to voltage-level signal lines respectively, and are labeled with identify information according to voltage-level signals provide by the voltage-level signal lines.", "The driving chip includes a plurality of first pins, a plurality of second pins and an identification circuit.", "The first pins are electrically connected to the first bonding pads, the second pins are electrically connected to the at least two identification bonding pads, and the identification circuit is electrically connected to the identification bonding pads through the second pins for obtaining the identify information of the display substrate according to the voltage-level signals at the identification bonding pads.", "The method to identify a display device comprises obtaining, by the driving chip, the identify information of the display substrate according to the voltage-level signals at the identification bonding pads.", "Other aspects of the present disclosure can be understood by those skilled in the art in light of the description, the claims, and the drawings of the present disclosure.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The following drawings are merely examples for illustrative purposes according to various disclosed embodiments and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "1 illustrates a top view of a display substrate; FIG.", "2 illustrates a schematic diagram of a driving chip; FIG.", "3 illustrates a top view of an exemplary display substrate consistent with disclosed embodiments; FIG.", "4a illustrates a schematic diagram of a driving chip in an exemplary display device consistent with disclosed embodiments; FIG.", "4b illustrates an electrical connection between a driving chip and a periphery region of an exemplary display substrate consistent with disclosed embodiments; FIG.", "4c illustrates a schematic diagram of an exemplary display device using a conductive adhesive to realize an electrical connection consistent with disclosed embodiments; FIG.", "5 illustrates a flow chart of an exemplary display substrate identification method consistent with disclosed embodiments; FIG.", "6 illustrates a schematic diagram of another exemplary display device consistent with disclosed embodiments; FIG.", "7a illustrates an enlarged diagram of an electrical connection among four identification bonding pads 210, a power supply bonding pad 221 and a ground bonding pad 212 when identity information is 1011; FIG.", "7b illustrates an enlarged diagram of an electrical connection among four identification bonding pads 210, a power supply bonding pad 221 and a ground bonding pad 212 when identity information is 1010; FIG.", "8a illustrates an enlarged diagram of an electrical connection among four identification bonding pads 210, a power supply bonding pad 221 and a ground bonding pad 212 when identity information is 0011; FIG.", "8b illustrates an enlarged diagram of an electrical connection among four identification bonding pads 210, a power supply bonding pad 221 and a ground bonding pad 212 when identity information is 0001; FIG.", "9a illustrates an enlarged diagram of an electrical connection among four identification bonding pads 210, a power supply bonding pad 221 and a ground bonding pad 212 when identity information is 0110; FIG.", "9b illustrates an enlarged diagram of an electrical connection among four identification bonding pads 210, a power supply bonding pad 221 and a ground bonding pad 212 when identity information is 1001; and FIG.", "10 illustrates a schematic diagram of an exemplary display device consistent with disclosed embodiments.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION Reference will now be made in detail to exemplary embodiments of the invention, which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings.", "Hereinafter, embodiments consistent with the disclosure will be described with reference to drawings.", "Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts.", "It is apparent that the described embodiments are some but not all of the embodiments of the present invention.", "Based on the disclosed embodiments, persons of ordinary skill in the art may derive other embodiments consistent with the present disclosure, all of which are within the scope of the present invention.", "A display substrate may be a color film substrate or an array substrate, which may be used in the field of liquid crystal displays (LCDs) or organic light emitting diode (OLED) displays.", "An array substrate adopted in an LCD is illustrated as an example in the following.", "FIG.", "1 illustrates a top view of a display substrate.", "As shown in FIG.", "1, the display substrate is an array substrate including a display region 1 and a periphery region 2 adjacent to the display region 1.The display region 1 includes a plurality of pixel units 10 arranged in an array, and each pixel unit 10 includes a pixel electrode 101 and a thin film transistor(TFT) 102.In particular, TFTs 102 in each row of pixel units 10 (i.e., TFTs in each pixel unit row) are electrically connected to a same scanning line 11, and TFTs 102 in each column of pixel units 10 (i.e., TFTs in each pixel unit column) are electrically connected to a same data line 12.The scanning lines 11 and the data lines 12 are often metal wires, which extend from the display region 1 to the periphery region 2.The periphery region 2 includes a plurality of bonding pads arranged in an array.", "The scanning lines 11 and data lines 12 extending to the peripheral region 2 are electrically connected to certain bonding pads 201 in the peripheral region 2, while the other bonding pads 202 in the peripheral region 2 are in a dummy state, i.e., dummy bonding pads 202.The bonding pads 201 and the bonding pads 202 in the peripheral region 2 are electrically connected to corresponding bonding pads in a driving chip.", "The display region 1 and the metal wires (i.e., the scanning lines 11 and the data lines 12) in FIG.", "1 are only for illustrative purposes.", "The display region in the display substrate may have other structures, and accordingly the metal wires may also be disposed in other ways.", "FIG.", "2 illustrates a schematic diagram of a driving chip.", "As shown in FIG.", "2, the driving chip 3 is connected to a display substrate and also includes a plurality of bonding pads arranged in an array.", "Referring to FIG.", "1 and FIG.", "2, certain bonding pads 301 are electrically connected to the bonding pads 201 in the peripheral region 2 of the display substrate, while the other bonding pads 302 are in the dummy state and, meanwhile, electrically connected to the dummy bonding pads 202 in the peripheral region 2 of the display substrate.", "It should be noted that, the layout and the number of the pixel units, the data lines and the scanning lines disposed at the display region of the display substrate shown in FIG.", "1, the layout and the number of the bonding pads disposed in the peripheral region 2 of the display substrate shown in FIG.", "1, and the layout and the number of the bonding pads disposed in the driving chip 3 shown in FIG.", "2, are only for illustrative purposes.", "The present disclosure provides a configuration of the dummy bonding pads disposed at the peripheral region of the display substrate and the dummy bonding pads disposed at the driving chip.", "Thus, the dummy bonding pads disposed at the peripheral region of the display substrate and the dummy bonding pads disposed at the driving chip are going to be further illustrated.", "The present disclosure provides a display substrate.", "FIG.", "3 illustrates a top view of an exemplary display substrate consistent with disclosed embodiments.", "As shown in FIG.", "3, the display substrate may be a display substrate to be processed.", "The display substrate may include a display region 1 and a periphery region 2.The periphery region 2 may include a plurality of first bonding pads 20 and a plurality of one second bonding pads 21.The bonding pads may be electrically isolated from each other.", "The first bonding pads 20 and the second bonding pads 21 may include any appropriate type of metal pads for bonding or soldering, or other purposes of connecting with external signals or devices.", "Although ten first bonding pads 20 and eight second boding pads 21 are shown in FIG.", "3, the peripheral region 2 may include any number of first bonding pads 20 and second boding pads 21.The layout and the number of the first bonding pads 20 and second boding pads 21 disposed in the peripheral region 2 of the display substrate are only for illustrative purposes, which are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.", "The first bonding pads 20 may be electrically connected to metal wires extending from the display region 1 to the periphery region 2 (refer to the scanning lines and data lines extended to the periphery region shown in FIG.", "1).", "The plurality of second bonding pads 21 may include at least two identification bonding pads 210, each of which may be electrically connected to a voltage-level signal line and may be labeled or given identity information according to a signal provided by the voltage-level signal line.", "The at least two identification bonding pads 210 may be connected to a same voltage-level signal line or different voltage-level signal lines.", "The voltage-level signal line may include any appropriate type of wires which is able to transfer voltage-level signals, for example, a high-level signal, a low-level signal, zero-level signal.", "Each of the at least two identification bonding pads 210 may be electrically connected to one end of the voltage-level signal line, and the other end of the voltage-level signal line may be electrically connected to a power supply, a power device or a power supply bonding pad.", "The power supply or the power device may output a high-level signal or a low-level signal, which may be transferred to the identification bonding pads 210 through the voltage-level signal line, such that the identification bonding pads 210 may be labeled or given the identity information.", "Further, the plurality of second bonding pads 21 may also include at least one power supply bonding pad 211 and at least one ground bonding pad 212.Each of the at least two identification bonding pads 210 may be electrically connected to the power supply bonding pad 211 or the ground bonding pad 212 through the voltage-level signal lines.", "It should be noted that, the at least two identification bonding pads 210 may be electrically connected to the power supply bonding pad 211 or the ground bonding pad 212 through various electrical connections.", "The various electrical connections may be determined during the fabrication of the display substrate, or may be programmable according to various application scenarios.", "In one embodiment, the at least two identification bonding pads 210 may be electrically connected to the power supply bonding pad 211 or the ground bonding pad 212 through one voltage-level signal line, respectively.", "That is, the at least two identification bonding pads 210 may be electrically connected to the power supply bonding pad 211 or the ground bonding pad 212 through different voltage-level signal lines.", "In another embodiment, some of the at least two identification bonding pads 210 may be electrically connected to the power supply bonding pad 211 through one voltage-level signal line, and the remained bonding pads of the at least two identification bonding pads 210 may be electrically connected to the ground bonding pad 212 through another voltage-level signal line.", "That is, the some of the at least two identification bonding pads 210 may be electrically connected to the power supply bonding pad 211 through sharing one voltage-level signal line, and the remained bonding pads of the at least two identification bonding pads 210 may be electrically connected to the ground bonding pad 212 through sharing another voltage-level signal line.", "In another embodiment, some of the at least two identification bonding pads 210 may be electrically connected to the power supply bonding pad 211 or the ground bonding pad 212 through different voltage-level signal lines, some of the at least two identification bonding pads 210 may be electrically connected to the power supply bonding pad 211 or the ground bonding pad 212 through sharing one voltage-level signal line, and the remained bonding pads of the at least two identification bonding pads 210 may not be electrically connected to the voltage-level signal line but may be set in a dummy state or a high-impedance state.", "As described above, each identification bonding pads 210 may be connected to either the power supply bonding pad 211 or the ground bonding pad 212, through which each identification bonding pad 210 may be able to indicate different identity information.", "Thus, according to the electrical connections between the identification bonding pads 210 and the power supply bonding pad 211 as well as the electrical connections between the identification bonding pads 210 and the ground bonding pad 212, the identification bonding pads 210 may be able to represent different types of display substrates, as well as indicate one or more properties of the display substrates.", "In practical applications, the electrical connection between the at least two identification bonding pads 210 and the voltage-level signal lines may be flexibly configured according to various user requirements.", "Further, some of the at least two identification bonding pads 210 may be electrically connected to the power supply bonding pad 211 through the corresponding voltage-level signal line, and the remained bonding pads of the at least two identification bonding pads 210 may be electrically connected to the ground bonding pad 212 through the corresponding voltage-level signal line.", "The power supply bonding pad 211 and the ground bonding pad 212 may provide signals of different levels (e.g., high-level signal, low-level signal, zero-level signal) to the electrically connected identification bonding pads 210, respectively.", "For example, the power supply bonding pad 211 may provide a high-level signal to the electrically connected identification bonding pads 210, while the ground bonding pad 212 may provide a low-level signal to the electrically connected identification bonding pads 210.The power supply bonding pad 211 may be electrically connected to a power wire, and the ground bonding pad 212 may be electrically connected to the ground wire.", "In one embodiment, the periphery region 2 of the display substrate may include four identification bonding pads 210, as shown in FIG.", "3.Among the four identification bonding pads 210, two identification bonding pads 210 may be electrically connected to the power supply bonding pad 211 through one voltage-level signal line, and the other two identification bonding pads 210 may be electrically connected to the ground bonding pad 212 through another voltage-level signal line.", "The power supply bonding pad 211 may provide a high-level signal, such that the two identification bonding pads 210 electrically connected to the power supply bonding pad 211 may be set at a high level.", "The ground bonding pad 212 may provide a low-level signal, such that the two identification bonding pads 210 electrically connected to the ground bonding pad 212 may be set at a low level.", "Thus, at least four identification bonding pads 210 may be labeled or given identity information through being connected to power supply bonding pad 211 or the ground bonding pad 212.The identity information may represent one or more properties of the display substrate.", "The properties of the display substrate may include the place of production, size, thickness, electrical properties, batch code, date of production, status of production, serial number, etc.", "A driving chip may read the identity information of each identification bonding pad 210 to obtain one or more properties of the display substrate.", "For example, the high-level signal may be set as “1”, and the low-level signal may be set as “0”, thus, the two identification bonding pads 210 electrically connected to the power supply bonding pad 211 may be set at “1” and the two identification bonding pads 210 electrically connected to the ground bonding pad 212 may be set at “0”.", "The at least four identification bonding pads 210 may be labeled as “1” or “0”, respectively.", "Such a combination of “0” and “1”.", "i.e., identity information, may represent one or more properties of the display substrate.", "Further, the at least two identification bonding pads 210 may be divided into at least two groups.", "Each group may correspond to one piece of identity information, which may correspond to one or more properties of the display substrate.", "For example, as shown in FIG.", "3, the display substrate may include four identification bonding pads 210, which may be divided into two groups: a first group and a second group.", "In one embodiment, the first group may include two identification bonding pads 210, whose identity information may correspond to the place of production of the display substrate.", "The second group may include the other two identification bonding pads 210, whose identity information may correspond to the size of the display substrate.", "In another embodiment, the first group may include two identification bonding pads 210, whose identity information may correspond to the place of production and the size of the display substrate.", "The second group may include the other two identification bonding pads 210, whose identity information may correspond to the electrical properties, date of production, and serial number of the display substrate.", "It should be noted that, referring to FIG.", "1 and FIG.", "3, the first bonding pads 20 in the periphery region 2 of the display substrate shown in FIG.", "3 may be the bonding pads 201 shown in FIG.", "1, both of which may be electrically connected to the metal wires (i.e., the scanning lines or the data lines) extending from the display region 1 to the periphery region 2.The second bonding pads 21 in the periphery region 2 of the display substrate shown in FIG.", "3 may be the dummy bonding pads 202 shown in FIG.", "1.Further, the plurality of second bonding pads 21 in the periphery region 2 of the display substrate shown in FIG.", "3 may also include the power supply bonding pad 211, the ground bonding pad 212 and the identification bonding pads 210.In the disclosed embodiments, the periphery region 2 of the display substrate may include at least two identification bonding pads 210 electrically connected to one or more voltage-level signal lines.", "Based on the voltage-level signals provided by the voltage-level signal lines, the at least two identification bonding pads 210 may be labeled or given the identity information respectively.", "The identity information may correspond to one or more properties of the display substrate.", "Thus, the driving chip may be able to acquire one or more properties of the display substrate through reading the identity information.", "The disclosed display substrate may solve one or more problems in the existing technologies.", "That is, the 2D code may be no longer required to be disposed on the display substrate, and accordingly the specific fixture to read the 2D code to acquire the properties of the display substrate may not be required.", "Thus, the cost to acquire the properties of the display substrate may be reduced, while the efficiency may be increased.", "Further, the external device connected to the display substrate may be able to automatically identify the properties of the display substrate and select a correct display initialization procedure.", "It should be noted that, in the disclosed embodiments, the plurality of bonding pads (i.e., the plurality of first bonding pads 20 and the plurality of second boding pads 21) in the periphery region 2 of the display substrate are not differentiated into different bonding pads (i.e., the identification bonding pad, the power supply bonding pad, and the ground bonding pad), but are named differently according to a specific application scenario or a setting created by a specific technical staff.", "In other application scenarios or according to other settings created by different technical staffs, the power supply bonding pad may be the identification bonding pad or the ground bonding pad, the ground bonding pad and the identification bonding pad may also be pads for other purposes, etc.", "However, disposing bonding pads for particular purposes in the periphery region of the display substrate is not excluded from the present disclosure.", "That is, the bonding pads disposed in the periphery region of the display substrate may have particular purposes.", "For example, a certain type of the bonding pads disposed in the periphery region of the display substrate may be only used as the identification bonding pad, the power supply bonding pad, or the ground bonding pad.", "Thus, disposing bonding pads for particular purposes in the periphery region of the display substrate is still within the scope of the present disclosure.", "The present disclosure further provides a display device.", "FIG.", "10 illustrates a schematic diagram of an exemplary display device consistent with disclosed embodiments.", "As shown in FIG.", "10, the display device 1000 may include a driving chip 3 and any of the disclosed display substrates 1002.The display device 1000 may be a tablet including any of the disclosed display substrates 1002.The display device 1000 may also be a TV, a smartphone, a notebook, and a smartwatch including any of the disclosed display substrates 1002, etc.", "Further, the display device 1000 may be any appropriate type of content-presentation devices including any of the disclosed display substrates 1002.FIG.", "4a illustrates a schematic diagram of an exemplary driving chip in an exemplary display device consistent with disclosed embodiments.", "As shown in FIG.", "4a, the driving chip 3 may be disposed on the display substrate and may include a plurality of first pins 30, a plurality of second pins 31 and an identification circuit 32.The driving chip 3 may also include a determination module 33, an input-output (I-O) port 34 and a memory 35.Although ten first pins 30 and four second pins 31 are shown in FIG.", "4a, the driving chip 3 may include any number of first pins 30 and second pins 31.The layout and the number of the first pins 30 and second pins 31 disposed in the driving chip 3 are only for illustrative purposes, which are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "4b illustrates an electrical connection between a driving chip and a periphery region in an exemplary display substrate consistent with disclosed embodiments.", "FIG.", "4b only illustrates the periphery region 2 of the display substrate.", "The display region 1 of the display substrate as well as the electrical connection between the metal wires in the display region 1 and the first bonding pad 20 in the periphery region 2 may be referred to FIG.", "3, which are not repeated here.", "As shown in FIG.", "4b, the plurality of first pins 30 at the driving chip 3 may be one-to-one electrically connected to the plurality of first bonding pads 20 at the periphery region 2 of the display substrate.", "For example, as shown in FIG.", "4b, the ten first pins 30 at the driving chip 3 may be one-to-one electrically connected to the ten first bonding pads 20 at the periphery region 2 of the display substrate.", "Meanwhile, the plurality of second pins 31 at the driving chip 3 may be one-to-one electrically connected to the plurality of identification bonding pads 210 in the second bonding pads 21 at the periphery region 2 of the display substrate.", "For example, as shown in FIG.", "4b, the four second pins 31 at the driving chip 3 may be one-to-one electrically connected to the four identification bonding pads 210 (i.e., the four boding pads filled with the outlined diamond pattern) at the periphery region 2 of the display substrate.", "The identification circuit 32 in the driving chip 3 may be electrically connected to the identification bonding pads 210 through the second pins 31, for obtaining the identity information of the display substrate according to the voltage-level signals at the identification bonding pads 210.After obtaining the identity information of the display substrate to be processed, the identification circuit 32 may process the identity information in various approaches.", "For example, in one embodiment, the driving chip may pre-store identity information of a display substrate, for example, identity information of a template display substrate.", "The obtained identity information of the display substrate to be processed may be matched with the identity information of the template display substrate.", "In another embodiment, the obtained identity information of the display substrate may be outputted to a terminal or a chip capable of identifying and processing the identity information of the display substrate to be processed.", "In another embodiment, the obtained identity information of the display substrate may be outputted to a terminal capable of displaying, such that the operator may be able to read the identity information of the display substrate to processed.", "To match the obtained identity information of the display substrate to be processed with the identity information of the template display substrate pre-saved in the driving chip 3, the driving chip 3 may also include the determination module 33 for determining whether the obtained identity information is consistent with the pre-saved identity information.", "To output the obtained identity information of the display substrate to be processed, the driving chip 3 may also include the input-output (I-O) port 34 for outputting the obtained identity information.", "In one embodiment, the obtained identity information may be outputted to a terminal capable of displaying, such that the obtained identity information may be displayed on a screen for an operator to read.", "In another embodiment, the obtained identity information of the display substrate may be outputted to a chip, which may analyze the obtained identity information and determine a corresponding display initialization procedure.", "Based on the display initialization procedure, the chip may issue operating instructions to the driving chip 3, and process the display substrate electrically connected to the driving chip 3.In another embodiment, the obtained identity information may be outputted to the terminal capable of displaying and, meanwhile, outputted to the chip capable of identifying the obtained identity information and determining the corresponding display initialization procedure.", "It should be noted that, in addition to being used for outputting the obtained identity information of the display substrate, the I-O port 34 may also be used for receiving the display initialization procedure corresponding to the obtained identity information.", "The driving chip 3 may also include the memory 35 for storing the display initialization procedure.", "Because the display initialization procedure is directly stored in the driving chip 3, the driving chip 3 may be able to process the display substrate directly.", "For example, the driving chip 3 may reset the TFTs controlling the pixel units in the display substrate, and determine the display mode of the pixel units, etc., according to the display initialization procedure.", "The identity information obtained by the driving chip 3 may be corresponding to the properties of the display substrate, which may include one or more properties, such as the place of production, size, thickness, electrical properties, batch code, date of production, status of production, serial number, etc.", "To indicate different properties of the display substrate through the identity information of the at least two identification bonding pads 210 disposed at the display substrate, the at least two identification bonding pads 210 may be divided into at least two groups, and the identification circuit 32 may acquire the identity information of the display substrate.", "In particular, the identification circuit 32 may acquire at least two pieces of identity information of the display substrate, and each piece of identity information may correspond to at least one property of the display substrate.", "Further, the first pins 30 may be electrically connected to the first bonding pads 20 through the voltage-level signal lines or a conductive adhesive, and the second pins 31 may also be electrically connected to identification bonding pads 210 in the second bonding pads 21 through the voltage-level signal lines or the conductive adhesive.", "FIG.", "4c illustrates a schematic diagram of an exemplary display device using a conductive adhesive to realize an electrical connection consistent with disclosed embodiments For illustrative purposes, FIG.", "4c only illustrates the periphery region 2 of the display substrate.", "The display region 1 of the display substrate as well as the electrical connection between the metal wires in the display region 1 and the first bonding pad 20 in the periphery region 2 may be referred to FIG.", "3, which are not repeated here.", "The structure of the display substrate may be referred to FIG.", "3, and the structure of the driving chip may be referred to FIG.", "4a.", "It should be noted that, the first pins 30 in the driving chip 3 shown in FIGS.", "4a-4c may be the bonding pads 301 shown in FIG.", "2, which may be the pads electrically connected to the first bonding pads 20 in the periphery region 2 of the display substrate.", "The plurality of the second pins 31 in the driving chip 3 and the I-O port 34 shown in FIGS.", "4a-4c may be the dummy bonding pads 302 shown in FIG.", "2.The identification circuit 32, the determination module 33 and the memory 35 may be circuit modules included in the driving chip 3.In particular, after determining the properties of the display substrate, the driving chip 3 may receive the display initialization procedure through the I-O port 34, then save the display initialization procedure in the memory 35.Further, the bonding pads 21 in the periphery region 2 of the display substrate shown in FIG.", "3 may have some unused dummy bonding pads, and the bonding pads 31 in the driving chip 3 shown in FIG.", "4a may also have some unused dummy bonding pads.", "That is, the periphery region of the display substrate and the driving chip may include a large number of dummy bonding pads.", "In the disclosed embodiments, only certain dummy bonding pads may be used to indicate the identity information, while the other unused dummy bonding pads may remain in the periphery region of the display substrate and the driving chip.", "FIG.", "5 illustrates a flow chart of an exemplary display substrate identification method consistent with disclosed embodiments.", "The display substrate may be any one of the disclosed display substrates, and the corresponding concepts and explanation of the display substrates may be referred to the descriptions of the disclosed display substrates.", "To better explain the display substrate identification method shown in FIG.", "5, the display substrate identification method is implanted into a display device.", "FIG.", "6 illustrates a schematic diagram of another exemplary display device consistent with disclosed embodiments.", "FIG.", "6 only illustrates the periphery region of the display substrate, and the structure of the display region of the display substrate may be referred to FIG.", "3, which are not repeated here.", "As shown in FIG.", "5, at the beginning, an identification circuit in a driving chip acquires identity information of a display substrate according to signals at a plurality of identification bonding pads (S101).", "A plurality of first pins disposed at the driving chip may be connected to a plurality of first bonding pads disposed at the display substrate through a conductive adhesive, and a plurality of second pins disposed at the driving chip may be electrically connected to at least two identification bonding pads disposed at the display substrate through the conductive adhesive.", "An identification circuit at the driving chip may be electrically connected to the at least two identification bonding pads at the display substrate through the second pins.", "The identification circuit may acquire the signals at the identification bonding pads through the second pins, then analyze the signals, e.g., analyze whether each signal is a high-level signal, a low-level signal or a zero-level signal.", "The identification bonding pads in the display substrate may be electrically connected to at least one power supply bonding pad or at least one ground bonding pad.", "When one or more identification bonding pads are electrically connected to the power supply bonding pad through voltage-level signal line, in which the power supply bonding pad is electrically connected to a power wire, the identification bonding pads may be set at a high level.", "That is, the signals at the identification bonding pads electrically connected to the power supply bonding pad may be set at a high level.", "Then the identification circuit in the driving chip may recognize the identity information of the identification bonding pads as 1.The remained identification bonding pads in the display substrate may be electrically connected to the ground bonding pad through the voltage-level signal lines, in which the ground bonding pad may be electrically connected to the ground wire.", "The remained identification bonding pads may be set at a low level, i.e., the signals at the identification bonding pads electrically connected to the ground bonding pad may be set at a low level.", "Then the identification circuit in the driving chip may recognize the identity information of the remained identification bonding pads as 0.After recognizing the signal of each identification bonding pad, the identification circuit may combine or group the signals, for example, into a combined signal, according to a predetermined order of the identification bonding pads.", "The combined signal may represent the identify information of the display substrate.", "In particular, the predetermined order of the identification bonding pads may be an order manually set (e.g., set by a technical staff), or a default order determined by the identification circuit in the driving chip.", "The predetermined order may be used to manage all the identification bonding pads in a more convenient and unified way, or may be used to distinguish the identification bonding pads having different identity information.", "Thus, the identify information of the display substrate, which is represented by the combined signal, may become more versatile.", "Referring to FIG.", "6, the periphery region 2 of the display substrate may include ten first bonding pads 20 and eight second bonding pads 21.In particular, the eight second bonding pads 21 may include a power supply bonding pad 211, a ground bonding pad 212 and four identification bonding pads 210 (i.e., a first identification bonding pad 2101, a second identification bonding pad 2102, a third identification bonding pad 2103, and a fourth identification bonding pad 2104), while the remained two second boding pads 21 but may be set in a dummy state or a high-impedance state.", "The driving chip 3 may include ten first pins 30, four second pins 31, an identification circuit 32, a determination module 33, an input-output (I-O) port 34 and a memory 35.Although ten first bonding pads 20 and eight second boding pads 21 are shown in FIG.", "6, the peripheral region 2 may include any number of first bonding pads 20 and second boding pads 21.The layout and the number of the first bonding pads 20 and second boding pads 21 disposed in the peripheral region 2 of the display substrate are only for illustrative purposes, which are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure Although ten first pins 30 and four second pins 31 are shown in FIG.", "6, the driving 3 may include any number of first pins 30 and second pins 31.The layout and the number of the first pins 30 and second pins 31 disposed in the driving chip 3 are only for illustrative purposes, which are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.", "In particular, the first bonding pads 20 at the display substrate may be electrically connected to the first pins 30 in the driving chip 3, the four identification bonding pads 210 at the display substrate may be electrically connected to the four second pins 31 in the driving chip 3, respectively.", "The identification circuit 32 in the driving chip 3 may be electrically connected to the four second pins 31 in the driving chip 3 through the voltage-level signal lines.", "When the four identification bonding pads 210 at the periphery region 2 of the display substrate are not divided into different groups, the identity information indicated by the four identification bonding pads 210 may together represent one or more properties of the display substrate.", "In one embodiment, the identity information indicated by the four identification bonding pads 210 may together represent one property of the display substrate, for example, place of production.", "Table 1 illustrates a correspondence between place of production and identify information.", "As shown in Table 1, the identity information indicated by the four identification bonding pads 210 (i.e., the first identification bonding pad 2101, the second identification bonding pad 2102, the third identification bonding pad 2103, and the fourth identification bonding pad 2104) may together represent one property of the display substrate, i.e., the place of production.", "TABLE 1 Place of production vs. identity information Display substrate Place of production Identity information Display substrate A Shanghai 1011 Display substrate B Chengdu 1010 Display substrate C Beijing 0101 Display sub state D Tianjin 0111 FIG.", "7a illustrates an enlarged diagram of an electrical connection among the four identification bonding pads 210, the power supply bonding pad 211 and the ground bonding pad 212 when the identity information is 1011.As shown in FIG.", "7a, the first identification bonding pad 2101, the third identification bonding pad 2103, and the fourth identification bonding pad 2104 may be electrically connected to the power supply bonding pad 211, respectively.", "Meanwhile, the second identification bonding pad 2102 may be electrically connected to the ground bonding pad 212.Referring to Table 1, the identity information 1011 indicated by the four identification bonding pads 210 of the display substrate may reveal that the place of production is Shanghai.", "The four identification bonding pads 2101-2104 may be arranged in an array, for example, a 2×2 array as shown in FIG.", "7a.", "FIG.", "7b illustrates an enlarged diagram of an electrical connection among the four identification bonding pads 210, the power supply bonding pad 211 and the ground bonding pad 212 when the identity information is 1010.As shown in FIG.", "7b, the first identification bonding pad 2101 and the third identification bonding pad 2103 may be electrically connected to the power supply bonding pad 211, respectively.", "Meanwhile, the second identification bonding pad 2102 and the fourth identification bonding pad 2104 may be electrically connected to the ground bonding pad 212, respectively.", "Referring to Table 1, the identity information 1010 indicated by the four identification bonding pads 210 of the display substrate may reveal that the place of production is Chengdu.", "FIG.", "7a and FIG.", "7b illustrate the enlarged diagram of the electrical connection among the four identification bonding pads 210, the power supply bonding pad 211 and the ground bonding pad 212 when the identity information is 1011 and 1010, respectively.", "According to the electrical connections shown in FIG.", "7a and FIG.", "7b, the electrical connections corresponding to the remained identify information (i.e., 0101 and 0111) in Table 1 may also be determined, which may not be illustrated here.", "Returning to FIG.", "6, to label the four identification bonding pads 210 with the identify information of 1010, the first identification bonding pad 2101 and the third identification bonding pad 2103 may be electrically connected to the power supply bonding pad 211 through the voltage-level signal lines, respectively.", "Meanwhile, the second identification bonding pad 2102 and fourth identification bonding pad 2104 may be electrically connected to the ground bonding pad 212 through the voltage-level signal lines, respectively.", "Thus, the first identification bonding pad 2101 and the third identification bonding pad 2103 may be set at a high level, respectively, and the second identification bonding pad 2102 and fourth identification bonding pad 2104 may be set at a low level, respectively.", "The identification circuit 32 in the driving chip 3 may recognize the signal or identity information of the four identification bonding pads 201 as 1,0,1,0, respectively.", "Further, the identification circuit 32 may combine or group the four identification bonding pads 210, for example, into a combined signal, according to the order of the four identification bonding pads 210, i.e., from the first identification bonding pad 2101 to the fourth identification bonding pad 2104.Thus, the combined signal may be 1010, i.e., the obtained identity information of the display substrate to be processed may be 1010.Returning to FIG.", "5, after the identification circuit in the driving chip obtains the identity information of the display substrate according to the signals at the identification bonding pads, the driving chip determines whether the obtained identity information is consistent with the identity information previously stored in the driving chip or not (S102).", "The driving chip may match the obtained identity information with the identity information pre-saved in the driving chip.", "If the obtained identity information is consistent with the identity information previously stored in the driving chip, the driving chip may determine the display substrate is the one required by the operator.", "Referring to FIG.", "6, one or more pieces of identity information may be pre-saved in the driving chip 3, which may be used to analyze the obtained identity information of the display substrate to be processed.", "For example, referring to Table 1, when the identity information indicated by the four identification bonding pads 210 together represents one property of the display substrate, the identity information 1010 indicating Chengdu may be pre-saved in the driving chip 3.That is, the pre-saved identity information may be 1010.After the identification circuit 32 in the driving chip 3 obtains the identity information indicated by the four identification bonding pads 210 through the four second pins 31, the driving chip 3 may determine whether the obtained identity information is consistent with the identity information pre-saved in the driving chip, through comparing the obtained identity information and the pre-saved identity information.", "Because the obtained identity information of the display substrate to be processed is 1010 and the pre-saved identity information is also 1010, the driving chip 3 may determine the obtained identity information (i.e., 1010) is consistent with the pre-saved identity information (i.e., 1010), and confirm the display substrate to be processed is correctly used, for example, in a production line.", "Returning to FIG.", "5, after the driving chip determines the obtained identity information is consistent with the identity information previously stored in the driving chip, the driving chip receives a display initialization procedure matching the identity information through an I-O port, and further saves the display initialization procedure in a memory (S103).", "In particular, after determining the display substrate is the one required by the operator, the driving chip may send an instruction of receiving a display initialization procedure matching the obtained identity information to an electrically connected terminal or other electrically connected chips.", "The terminal or the other chips may return the display initialization procedure to the driving chip through the I-O port, then the driving chip may save the display initialization procedure in the memory.", "Referring to FIG.", "6, the driving chip 3 may receive a display initialization procedure matching the identity information (i.e., 1010) through the I-O port 34, and further save the display initialization procedure in the memory 35.Based on the display initialization procedure, the driving chip 3 may provide electrical signals to the display substrate for display images.", "Further, in another embedment, the identity information indicated by the four identification bonding pads 210 may together represent three properties of the display substrate, for example, place of production, size, and date of production.", "Table 2 illustrates a correspondence among place of production, size, date of production and identify information.", "TABLE 2 Place of production, size and date of production vs. identity information Properties Place of Date of Identity Display substrate production Size(inch) production information Display substrate A Beijing 15 2014.6 1100 Display substrate B Shanghai 20 2014.10 1101 Display substrate C Chengdu 25 2015.4 0001 Display substrate D Tianjin 30 2015.11 0011 As shown in Table 2, the identity information indicated by the four identification bonding pads 210 (i.e., the first identification bonding pad 2101, the second identification bonding pad 2102, the third identification bonding pad 2103, and the fourth identification bonding pad 2104) may together represent three properties of the display substrate, i.e., place of production, size and date of production.", "FIG.", "8a illustrates an enlarged diagram of an electrical connection among the four identification bonding pads 210, the power supply bonding pad 211 and the ground bonding pad 212 when the identity information is 0011.As shown in FIG.", "8a, the third identification bonding pad 2102 and the fourth identification bonding pad 2103 may be electrically connected to the power supply bonding pad 211, respectively.", "Meanwhile, the first identification bonding pad 2101 and the second identification bonding pad 2104 may be electrically connected to the ground bonding pad 212, respectively.", "Referring to Table 2, the identity information 0011 indicated by the four identification bonding pads 210 of the display substrate may reveal that the place of production is Tianjin, the size is 30 inch and the date of production is 2015 November.", "FIG.", "8b illustrates an enlarged diagram of an electrical connection among the four identification bonding pads 210, the power supply bonding pad 211 and the ground bonding pad 212 when the identity information is 0001.As shown in FIG.", "8b, the fourth identification bonding pad 2104 may be electrically connected to the power supply bonding pad 211.Meanwhile, the first identification bonding pad 2101, the second identification bonding pad 2102, and the third identification bonding pad 2103 may be electrically connected to the ground bonding pad 212, respectively.", "Referring to Table 2, the identity information 0001 indicated by the four identification bonding pads 210 of the display substrate may reveal that the place of production of the display substrate is Chengdu, the size is 25 inch and the date of production is 2015 April.", "FIG.", "8a and FIG.", "8b illustrate the enlarged diagram of the electrical connection among the four identification bonding pads 210, the power supply bonding pad 211 and the ground bonding pad 212 when the identity information is 0011 and 0001, respectively.", "According to the electrical connections shown in FIG.", "8a and FIG.", "8b, the electrical connections corresponding to the remained identify information (i.e., 1100 and 1101) in Table 2 may also be determined, which may not be illustrated here.", "Returning to FIG.", "6, to label the four identification bonding pads 210 with the identify information of 0001, the fourth identification bonding pad 2104 may be electrically connected to the power supply bonding pad 211 through the voltage-level signal line.", "Meanwhile, the first identification bonding pad 2101, the second identification bonding pad 2102 and the third identification bonding pad 2103 may be electrically connected to the ground bonding pad 212 through the voltage-level signal lines, respectively.", "Thus, the fourth identification bonding pad 2104 may be set at a high level, while the first identification bonding pad 2101, the second identification bonding pad 2102 and the third identification bonding pad 2103 may be set at a low level, respectively.", "The identification circuit 32 in the driving chip 3 may recognize the signal or identity information of the four identification bonding pads 210 as 0,0,0,1, respectively.", "Further, the identification circuit 32 may combine or group the four identification bonding pads 210, for example, into a combined signal, according to the order of the four identification bonding pads 210, i.e., from the first identification bonding pad 2101 to the fourth identification bonding pad 2104.Thus, the combined signal may be 0001, i.e., the obtained identity information of the display substrate to be processed may be 0001.On the other hand, one or more pieces of identity information may be pre-saved in the driving chip 3, which may be used to analyze the obtained identity information of the display substrate to be processed.", "For example, referring to Table 2, the identity information 0001 indicating the three properties (i.e., Chengdu, 25 inch and 2015 April) may be pre-saved in the driving chip 3.That is, the pre-saved identity information may be 0001.After the identification circuit 32 in the driving chip 3 obtains the identity information indicated by the four identification bonding pads 210 through the four second pins 31, the driving chip 3 may determine whether the obtained identity information is consistent with the identity information pre-saved in the driving chip.", "Because the obtained identity information of the display substrate to be processed is 0001 and the pre-saved identity information is also 0001, the driving chip 3 may determine the obtained identity information is consistent with the pre-saved identity information, and confirm the display substrate to be processed is correctly used, for example, in a production line.", "Then the driving chip 3 may receive a display initialization procedure matching the identity information (i.e.,0001) through the I-O port 34, and further save the display initialization procedure in the memory 35.Based on the display initialization procedure, the driving chip 3 may provide electrical signals to the display substrate for display images.", "In another embedment, the four identification bonding pads 210 in the periphery region 2 of the display substrate may be divided into two groups: a first group of identification bonding pads 210 and a second group of identification bonding pads 210.The identity information represented by each group of identification bonding pads 210 may correspond to at least one property of the display substrate.", "For example, the identity information indicated by the first group of identification bonding pads 210 may correspond to the place of production of the display substrate, and the identity information indicated by the second group of identification bonding pads 210 may correspond to the size of the display substrate.", "Table 3 illustrates a correspondence among place of production, size, and identify information.", "As shown in Table 3, the four identification bonding pads 210 (i.e., the first identification bonding pad 2101, the second identification bonding pad 2102, the third identification bonding pad 2103, and the fourth identification bonding pad 2104) may indicate two pieces of identity information, and each piece of identity information may correspond to one property of the display substrate.", "TABLE 3 Place of production and size vs. identity information First group of Second group of identification identification Display substrate bonding pads bonding pads Display Place of Identity Size Identity substrate A production information (inch) information Display substrate B Chengdu 10 20 11 Display substrate C Beijing 01 25 10 Display substrate D Tianjin 11 30 01 For example, the first group of identification bonding pads 210 may include the first identification bonding pad 2101 and the second identification bonding pad 2102, and the second group of identification bonding pads 210 may include the third identification bonding pad 2103 and the fourth identification bonding pad 2104.The first group and the second group are used for illustrative purposes, the total number of group may also be 3, 4, or more to identify different types of properties.", "FIG.", "9a illustrates an enlarged diagram of an electrical connection among the four identification bonding pads 210, the power supply bonding pad 211 and the ground bonding pad 212 when the identity information is 0110.As shown in FIG.", "9a, the first identification bonding pad 2101 and the fourth identification bonding pad 2103 may be electrically connected to the power supply bonding pad 211, respectively.", "Meanwhile, the second identification bonding pad 2104 and the third identification bonding pad 2102 may be electrically connected to the ground bonding pad 212.Referring to Table 3, the identity information 0110 indicated by the four identification bonding pads 210 may reveal that the place of production and the size of the display substrate is Beijing and 25 inch, respectively.", "FIG.", "9b illustrates an enlarged diagram of an electrical connection among the four identification bonding pads 210, the power supply bonding pad 211 and the ground bonding pad 212 when the identity information is 1001.As shown in FIG.", "9b, the first identification bonding pad 2101 and the fourth identification bonding pad 2104 may be electrically connected to the power supply bonding pad 211, respectively.", "Meanwhile, the second identification bonding pad 2103 and the third identification bonding pad 2102 may be electrically connected to the ground bonding pad 212, respectively.", "Referring to Table 3, the identity information 1010 indicated by the four identification bonding pads 210 of the display substrate may reveal that the place of production and the size of the display substrate is Chengdu and 30 inch, respectively.", "FIG.", "9a and FIG.", "9b illustrate the enlarged diagram of the electrical connection among the four identification bonding pads 210, the power supply bonding pad 211 and the ground bonding pad 212 when the identity information is 0110 and 1001, respectively.", "According to the electrical connections shown in FIG.", "9a and FIG.", "9b, the electrical connections corresponding to the remained identify information in Table 3 may also be determined, which is not illustrated here.", "Returning to FIG.", "6, to label the four identification bonding pads 210 with the identify information of 1001, the first identification bonding pad 2101 in the first group of identification bonding pads may be electrically connected to the power supply bonding pad 211 through the voltage-level signal lines, and the second identification bonding pad 2102 in the first group of identification bonding pads may be electrically connected to the ground bonding pad 212.Meanwhile, the fourth identification bonding pad 2104 in the second group of identification bonding pads may be electrically connected to the power supply bonding pad 211 through the voltage-level signal lines, and the third identification bonding pad 2103 in the second group of identification bonding pads may be electrically connected to the ground bonding pad 212.Thus, the first identification bonding pad 2101 and fourth identification bonding pad 2104 may be set at a high level, respectively, and the second identification bonding pad 2102 and the third identification bonding pad 2103 may be set at a low level, respectively.", "Through the four second pins 31, the identification circuit 32 in the driving chip 3 may obtain the identity information indicated by the two identification bonding pads in the first group of identification bonding pads (i.e., 10), and the identity information indicated by the two identification bonding pads in the second group of identification bonding pads (i.e., 01).", "Further, the identification circuit 32 may combine or group the four identification bonding pads 210, for example, into a combined signal, according to the order of the four identification bonding pads 210, i.e., from the first identification bonding pad 2101 to the fourth identification bonding pad 2104.Thus, the combined signal may be 1001, i.e., the obtained identity information of the display substrate to be processed may be 1001.On the other hand, one or more pieces of identity information may be pre-saved in the driving chip 3, which may be used to analyze the obtained identity information of the display substrate to be processed.", "For example, referring to Table 3, the identity information 10 indicating Chengdu and the identity information 01 indicating 30 inch may be pre-saved in the driving chip 3, which may help to analyze the obtained identity information.", "That is, the pre-saved identity information may be 1001.After the identification circuit 32 in the driving chip 3 obtains the identity information indicated by the four identification bonding pads 210, the driving chip 3 may determine whether the obtained identity information is consistent with the identity information pre-saved in the driving chip, through comparing the obtained identity information and the pre-saved identity information.", "Because the obtained identity information of the display substrate to be processed is 1001 and the pre-saved identity information is also 1001, the driving chip 3 may determine the obtained identity information is consistent with the pre-saved identity information, and confirm the display substrate to be processed is correctly used, for example, in a production line.", "Then, the driving chip 3 may receive a display initialization procedure matching the identity information (i.e., 1001) through the I-O port 34, and further save the display initialization procedure in the memory 35.Based on the display initialization procedure, the driving chip 3 may provide electrical signals to the display substrate for display images.", "In the disclosed embodiments, no matter the at least two identification bonding pads are divided into multiple groups or not, the driving chip may receive the display initialization procedure matching the identity information through the I-O port after determining the display substrate is correctly used.", "Based on the display initialization procedure, the driving chip may provide electrical signals to the display substrate for displaying images.", "In the disclosed embodiments, the at least two identification bonding pads may be electrically connected to the power supply bonding pad or the ground bonding pad through various electrical connections.", "For example, some of the at least two identification bonding pads may be electrically connected to the power supply bonding pad or the ground bonding pad through different voltage-level signal lines, some of the at least two identification bonding pads may be electrically connected to the power supply bonding pad or the ground bonding pad through sharing one voltage-level signal line, and the remained bonding pads of the at least two identification bonding pads may not be electrically connected to the voltage-level signal line but may be set in a dummy state or a high-impedance state.", "Further, the various electrical connections may be determined during the fabrication of the display substrate, or may be programmable according to various application scenarios.", "Thus, the various electrical connections of the voltage-level signal lines among the first identification bonding pad 2101, the second identification bonding pad 2102, the third identification bonding pad 2103, the fourth identification bonding pad 2104, the power supply bonding pad 211 and the ground bonding pad 212 shown in FIGS.", "7a-9b are only for illustrative purposes, which are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.", "The description of the disclosed embodiments is provided to illustrate the present invention to those skilled in the art.", "Various modifications to these embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention.", "Thus, the present invention is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown herein but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein." ] ]
Patent_15873142
[ [ "MANUFACTURING METHOD FOR PORTABLE DATA CARRIERS", "A method for manufacturing a portable data carrier by means of a continuous manufacturing method, comprises the steps: providing at least one foil as a rolled good, unrolling at least one first foil, with at least a first foil being coated at least partly with an adhesive on at least one side, with at least the first foil being scored on at least one side along at least one creasing edge, with at least the first foil being folded up in precise fit along at least one creasing edge and bonded, with the foil being folded up in the direction of the side which is coated with adhesive, with the side coated with adhesive being arranged on the opposite side of the foil which has at least one scored creasing edge along which it is folded." ], [ "1.A method for manufacturing a portable data carrier by means of a continuous manufacturing method, comprising the steps: providing at least one foil as a rolled good, unrolling at least one first foil, wherein at least the first foil is coated at least partly with an adhesive on at least one side, wherein at least the first foil is scored on at least one side along at least one creasing edge, wherein at least the first foil is folded up in precise fit along at least one creasing edge and bonded, wherein the foil is folded up in the direction of the side which is coated with adhesive, wherein the side coated with adhesive is arranged on the opposite side of the foil which has at least one scored creasing edge along which it is folded, wherein on at least one foil at least a part of a security element and/or at least one security element is arranged on an arbitrary side of the foil; wherein the security element is incorporated into an area of the foil, which is coated with adhesive.", "2.A method for manufacturing a portable data carrier by means of a continuous manufacturing method, comprising the steps: providing at least one foil as a rolled good, unrolling at least one first foil, wherein at least the first foil is coated at least partly with an adhesive on at least one side, wherein at least the first foil is scored on at least one side along at least one creasing edge, wherein at least the first foil is folded up in precise fit along at least one creasing edge and bonded, wherein the foil is folded up in the direction of the side which is coated with adhesive, wherein the side coated with adhesive is arranged on the opposite side of the foil which has at least one scored creasing edge along which it is folded, wherein on at least one foil at least a part of a security element and/or at least one security element is arranged on an arbitrary side of the foil; wherein the adhesive itself includes at least a part of a security feature and/or at least one security feature.", "3.A data carrier which is manufactured according to and having the features of the data carrier in the method of the claim 1." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND <EOH>The invention describes a manufacturing method for portable data carriers.", "Portable data carriers, such as for example SIM cards, credit cards, health cards, identity cards etc.", "are usually manufactured by an injection molding method or a lamination method.", "SIM cards are normally manufactured by an injection molding method which is very expensive and means a high material expenditure.", "The high expenditure is due to the fact that SIM cards are often broken off from cards in ID-1 format.", "Therefore, the largest part of the ID-1 card is thrown away after the breaking off of the SIM card.", "Furthermore, the manufacture of, for example, credit cards is more or less a single-piece production.", "The quasi single-piece production entails a sequential manual processing which is very time-intensive and cost-intensive.", "When portable data carriers are manufactured by means of lamination method, due to high temperatures, e.g.", "between 120 and 160 degrees Celsius, and high pressures, e.g.", "between 100 and 250 bar, the components of the data carrier are subjected to a high load.", "This often leads to a damage of the components, such as for example antenna coils, chips.", "Components sensitive to such loads, such as for example display elements, therefore cannot be processed by means of a lamination method.", "Further, the lamination method takes a relatively long time until the different foil layers have permanently combined under pressure and temperature.", "From the prior art there is known a method for manufacturing a portable data carrier by means of a continuous manufacturing method which as a first step provides at least one foil as a rolled good and unrolls at least one first foil for the method.", "The at least one first foil is coated at least partly with an adhesive on at least one side.", "The adhesive may be liquid or paste-like.", "Further, the adhesive may be processed e.g.", "also in the form of a double-sided adhesive tape or in any other suitable form.", "Then, at least the first foil is scored on at least one side along at least one creasing edge.", "After scoring, at least the first foil is folded up in precise fit along at least one creasing edge and bonded.", "In doing so, the foil is so folded that the foil is folded in the direction of the side which is coated with adhesive.", "The side coated with adhesive here is arranged on the opposite side of the foil which has at least one scored creasing edge along which it is folded.", "In the end, at least one data carrier is detached from the at least one folded and bonded foil, e.g.", "by means of a laser or a punch or a water jet.", "A disadvantage of the prior art is that accordingly manufactured data carriers can be easily forged." ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY <EOH>Starting out from the prior art, it is the object of the invention to find a solution which avoids the disadvantage described above.", "For achieving the object the invention discloses a method for manufacturing a portable data carrier by means of a continuous manufacturing method, comprising the steps: providing at least one foil as a rolled good, unrolling at least one first foil, with at least the first foil being coated at least partly with an adhesive on at least one side, with at least the first foil being scored on at least one side along at least one creasing edge, with at least the first foil being folded up in precise fit along at least one creasing edge and bonded, with the foil is folded up in the direction of the side which is coated with adhesive, with the side coated with adhesive being arranged on the opposite side of the foil which has at least one scored creasing edge along which it is folded, which is characterized by the fact that on at least one foil at least a part of a security element and/or at least one security element is arranged on an arbitrary side of the foil.", "An advantageous embodiment example is that the security element is processed by feeding it from a roll or as a bulk material.", "Another advantageous embodiment example is that the security element is incorporated into an area of the foil, which is coated with adhesive.", "Another advantageous embodiment example is that the security element is embossed into at least one foil of the data carrier.", "Another advantageous embodiment example is that the security element is arranged on at least one outer side of the data carrier and/or in the interior of the data carrier.", "Another advantageous embodiment example is that the security element effects a chemical reaction.", "Another advantageous embodiment example is that a scented lacquer, a color indicator, a catalyst or a test strip is used as a security feature which effects a chemical reaction.", "Another advantageous embodiment example is that the security element effects an optical reaction.", "Another advantageous embodiment example is that a self-luminous ink, a security thread, champs or metal pigments are used as a security feature which effects an optical reaction.", "Another advantageous embodiment example is that the security element effects a haptic reaction.", "Another advantageous embodiment example is that a logo or a Braille character is used as a security feature which effects a haptic reaction.", "Advantageously, the security features effecting a haptic reaction are embossed into a foil.", "Another advantageous embodiment example is that the adhesive itself includes at least a part of a security feature and/or at least one security feature.", "Another advantageous embodiment example is that a foil is used which includes at least a part of a security feature and/or at least one security feature on at least one surface and/or in its interior.", "Further, for achieving the object the invention discloses a data carrier which is manufactured according to the method described above." ], [ "BACKGROUND The invention describes a manufacturing method for portable data carriers.", "Portable data carriers, such as for example SIM cards, credit cards, health cards, identity cards etc.", "are usually manufactured by an injection molding method or a lamination method.", "SIM cards are normally manufactured by an injection molding method which is very expensive and means a high material expenditure.", "The high expenditure is due to the fact that SIM cards are often broken off from cards in ID-1 format.", "Therefore, the largest part of the ID-1 card is thrown away after the breaking off of the SIM card.", "Furthermore, the manufacture of, for example, credit cards is more or less a single-piece production.", "The quasi single-piece production entails a sequential manual processing which is very time-intensive and cost-intensive.", "When portable data carriers are manufactured by means of lamination method, due to high temperatures, e.g.", "between 120 and 160 degrees Celsius, and high pressures, e.g.", "between 100 and 250 bar, the components of the data carrier are subjected to a high load.", "This often leads to a damage of the components, such as for example antenna coils, chips.", "Components sensitive to such loads, such as for example display elements, therefore cannot be processed by means of a lamination method.", "Further, the lamination method takes a relatively long time until the different foil layers have permanently combined under pressure and temperature.", "From the prior art there is known a method for manufacturing a portable data carrier by means of a continuous manufacturing method which as a first step provides at least one foil as a rolled good and unrolls at least one first foil for the method.", "The at least one first foil is coated at least partly with an adhesive on at least one side.", "The adhesive may be liquid or paste-like.", "Further, the adhesive may be processed e.g.", "also in the form of a double-sided adhesive tape or in any other suitable form.", "Then, at least the first foil is scored on at least one side along at least one creasing edge.", "After scoring, at least the first foil is folded up in precise fit along at least one creasing edge and bonded.", "In doing so, the foil is so folded that the foil is folded in the direction of the side which is coated with adhesive.", "The side coated with adhesive here is arranged on the opposite side of the foil which has at least one scored creasing edge along which it is folded.", "In the end, at least one data carrier is detached from the at least one folded and bonded foil, e.g.", "by means of a laser or a punch or a water jet.", "A disadvantage of the prior art is that accordingly manufactured data carriers can be easily forged.", "SUMMARY Starting out from the prior art, it is the object of the invention to find a solution which avoids the disadvantage described above.", "For achieving the object the invention discloses a method for manufacturing a portable data carrier by means of a continuous manufacturing method, comprising the steps: providing at least one foil as a rolled good, unrolling at least one first foil, with at least the first foil being coated at least partly with an adhesive on at least one side, with at least the first foil being scored on at least one side along at least one creasing edge, with at least the first foil being folded up in precise fit along at least one creasing edge and bonded, with the foil is folded up in the direction of the side which is coated with adhesive, with the side coated with adhesive being arranged on the opposite side of the foil which has at least one scored creasing edge along which it is folded, which is characterized by the fact that on at least one foil at least a part of a security element and/or at least one security element is arranged on an arbitrary side of the foil.", "An advantageous embodiment example is that the security element is processed by feeding it from a roll or as a bulk material.", "Another advantageous embodiment example is that the security element is incorporated into an area of the foil, which is coated with adhesive.", "Another advantageous embodiment example is that the security element is embossed into at least one foil of the data carrier.", "Another advantageous embodiment example is that the security element is arranged on at least one outer side of the data carrier and/or in the interior of the data carrier.", "Another advantageous embodiment example is that the security element effects a chemical reaction.", "Another advantageous embodiment example is that a scented lacquer, a color indicator, a catalyst or a test strip is used as a security feature which effects a chemical reaction.", "Another advantageous embodiment example is that the security element effects an optical reaction.", "Another advantageous embodiment example is that a self-luminous ink, a security thread, champs or metal pigments are used as a security feature which effects an optical reaction.", "Another advantageous embodiment example is that the security element effects a haptic reaction.", "Another advantageous embodiment example is that a logo or a Braille character is used as a security feature which effects a haptic reaction.", "Advantageously, the security features effecting a haptic reaction are embossed into a foil.", "Another advantageous embodiment example is that the adhesive itself includes at least a part of a security feature and/or at least one security feature.", "Another advantageous embodiment example is that a foil is used which includes at least a part of a security feature and/or at least one security feature on at least one surface and/or in its interior.", "Further, for achieving the object the invention discloses a data carrier which is manufactured according to the method described above.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Embodiment examples of the invention are hereinafter described in more detail with reference to the attached figure.", "FIG.", "1 in principle shows the procedure of folding a foil according to the invention with reference to a two-step folding for manufacturing a data carrier.", "Although, a single-step or multi-step folding is also possible.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF VARIOUS EMBODIMENTS FIG.", "1 in principle shows the procedure of folding a foil 2 according to the invention with reference to a two-stage folding.", "A foil 2 is transported in the direction of machine operation 4 during the method.", "The foil 2 here has three regions 6, 8 and 10.Each of the regions 6 and 10 has several gaps 12 and 14 which were punched into the foil 2.The gaps 12 and 14 serve for the formation of a gap, into which a module, e.g.", "a chip module, is inserted.", "The regions 6 and 8 are coated with adhesive.", "Before the foil 2 is folded according to the invention, two scored lines 16 and 18 are scored into the foil 2 to facilitate the subsequent folding.", "First, the region 10 is folded in the direction 20 along the scored line 18, so that the region 10 comes to lie in precise fit on the region 8 coated with adhesive and is bonded thereto.", "The resulting region 22 is two-ply and has the gaps 14 at its surface.", "Next, the region 6 is folded in the direction 24 along the scored line 16 in precise fit onto the region 22 and bonded thereto.", "The result is now a three-ply foil in the region 26.The regions 6, 8 and 10 were folded in precise fit onto each other and bonded together, so that, for example, the gaps 12 and 14 have come to lie exactly one above the other.", "Tensions in the resulting card cancel each other out by an odd-numbered folding, e.g.", "single or triple folding in the method according to the invention.", "The orientations possibly present in the at least one foil cancel each other out by folding according to the invention.", "A resulting bulge or a distortion of the product is avoided thereby.", "In addition to the method described above it is possible to introduce in precise fit and to also bond a further foil during the folding.", "Therefore, constructions made of several foil layers and adhesive layers are realizable.", "This is interesting in particular when gaps in different planes, independent of the material thickness of a foil, are necessary.", "At the end of the method at least one data carrier, e.g.", "a SIM card or a credit card is punched out from the at least one folded and bonded foil.", "Alternatively to the punching, any other suitable method can be used for separating data carriers from the folded and bonded foil, e.g.", "separating by means of laser or water jet.", "According to the invention, during the above-described procedure of folding at least one foil 2 at least one security element is arranged on at least one outer side and/or in the interior of the data carrier to be manufactured.", "For reasons of clarity, a representation of a security element in FIG.", "1 has been omitted.", "The security element is supplied to the procedure described above from a roll or as bulk material.", "The security element is supplied such that it is incorporated into an area 6, 8 of the foil 2, which is coated with adhesive.", "Alternatively, the security element may be embossed into at least one foil 2 of the data carrier.", "The security element may effect a chemical, optical or haptic reaction when used.", "As a security feature which effects a chemical reaction there may be used, for example, a scented lacquer, a color indicator, a catalyst or a test strip.", "As a security feature which effects an optical reaction there may be used, for example, a self-luminous ink, a security thread, champs or metal pigments.", "As a security feature which effects a haptic reaction with a user of the data carrier there can be used, for example, a logo or a Braille character." ] ]
Patent_15873147
[ [ "Rotogravure Cylinders, Intermediates and Methods", "An intermediate rotogravure product has a cylindrical case onto which a circumferential copper layer extends, the circumferential copper layer having a characteristic surface roughness Rz and porosity.", "A copper engraving layer is on the circumferential copper layer.", "A method for engraving into adds a copper engraving layer, followed by engraving a predetermined pattern.", "A rotogravure cylinder product and method add a copper engraving layer on the circumferential copper layer that can be engraved in accordance with a predefined pattern and protected with a protection layer." ], [ "1.An intermediate product comprising a cylindrical base of aluminum onto which a circumferential copper layer extends, the base and the circumferential copper layer having a mutual interface, wherein the circumferential copper layer has a surface roughness Rz of less than 0.5 μm and a porosity of less than 1.0%, and wherein the intermediate product further comprises a copper engraving layer that is present on the circumferential copper layer.", "2.The intermediate product as claimed in claim 1, wherein the porosity is less than 0.5%.", "3.The intermediate product as claimed in claim 1, wherein the surface roughness Rz is between 0.2 and 0.4 μm.", "4.The intermediate product as claimed in claim 1, wherein the circumferential copper layer has a thickness of at most 100 μm.", "5.The intermediate product as claimed in claim 4, wherein the circumferential copper layer has a thickness of at most 50 μm.", "6.The intermediate product as claimed in claim 1, wherein the interface between the base and the circumferential copper layer has a bond strength of more than 15 N. 7.The intermediate product as claimed in claim 6, wherein the bond strength is about 70 N. 8.The intermediate product as claimed in claim 1, wherein the circumferential copper layer is obtained by spraying of copper particles with a jet velocity of at least 1,000 m/s.", "9.The intermediate product as claimed in claim 1, wherein the circumferential copper layer is obtained with inherent compressive stress onto the underlying base, 10.The intermediate product as claimed in claim 1, wherein the copper engraving layer is selected from the group consisting of pure copper, copper with small addition of other materials and copper alloys.", "11.The intermediate product as claimed in claim 1, wherein the circumferential copper layer is selected from the group consisting of pure copper, copper with small addition of other materials and copper alloys.", "12.A method for engraving into an intermediate product that is a cylindrical base of aluminum onto which a circumferential copper layer extends, the base and the circumferential copper layer having a mutual interface, wherein the circumferential copper layer has a surface roughness Rz of less than 0.5 μm and a porosity of less than 1.0%, and wherein the intermediate product further comprises a copper engraving layer that is present on the circumferential copper layer, comprising engraving a predetermined pattern into the copper engraving layer.", "13.A rotogravure cylinder comprising a cylindrical base of aluminum onto which a circumferential copper layer extends, the base and the circumferential copper layer having a mutual interface, wherein the circumferential copper layer has a surface roughness Rz of less than 0.5 μm and a porosity of less than 1.0%, and wherein the cylinder further comprises a copper engraving layer that is present on the circumferential copper layer and that is engraved in accordance with a predefined pattern and protected with a protection layer.", "14.The rotogravure cylinder as claimed in claim 13, wherein the circumferential copper layer is obtained with inherent compressive stress onto the underlying base.", "15.The rotogravure cylinder as claimed in claim 13, wherein the surface roughness Rz is between 0.2 and 0.4 μm.", "16.The rotogravure cylinder as claimed in claim 13, wherein the circumferential copper layer has a thickness of at most 100 μm.", "17.The rotogravure cylinder as claimed in claim 13, wherein the copper engraving layer is selected from the group consisting of pure copper, copper with small addition of other materials and copper alloys.", "18.The rotogravure cylinder as claimed in claim 13, wherein the circumferential copper layer is selected from the group consisting of pure copper, copper with small addition of other materials and copper alloys.", "19.A method of manufacturing rotogravure cylinders, wherein a circumferential copper support layer is provided onto a cylindrical base of aluminum, and a copper engraving layer is engraved according to a desired pattern and protected with a protection layer, wherein the provision of the circumferential copper support layer is arranged to obtain a layer with a surface roughness Rz of less than 0.5 μm and a porosity of less than 1.0%.", "20.The method as claimed in claim 19, wherein the circumferential copper layer is obtained by spraying of copper particles with a jet velocity of at least 1,000 m/s.", "21.A method of printing packaging material with rotogravure cylinders, wherein a circumferential copper support layer is provided onto a cylindrical base of aluminum, and a copper engraving layer is engraved according to a desired pattern and protected with a protection layer, wherein the provision of the circumferential copper support layer is arranged to obtain a layer with a surface roughness Rz of less than 0.5 μm and a porosity of less than 1.0%, applying ink to the rotogravure cylinder and transferring at least some of the ink from the rotogravure cylinder to the packaging material." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION <EOH>Gravure cylinders consist of the base of the cylinder (see FIG.", "1 which shows such a cylinder), which is usually made of steel or aluminum ( 1 , FIG.", "1 and 1 , FIG.", "2 ), a copper layer ( 2 , FIG.", "1 and 2 , FIG.", "2 ) usually 0.5 to 1 mm thick and a protection layer, which is usually a chromium layer typically of 6 to 8 μm thick ( 3 , FIG.", "1 and 3 , FIG.", "2 ).", "The copper layer is electroplated on the base of the cylinder and forms the surface which is engraved or etched either by chemical or electromechanical (diamond) or electronic (laser) method with the pattern which will be printed (transferred) on the packaging material (paper, plastic film, aluminum foil, etc.).", "The copper is the dominant surface used for engraving, because it is easy to engrave.", "The chromium layer on the engraved cylinder protects the surface of the cylinder from the pressure exerted by the doctor blade on the printing cylinder during the printing process (transfer of ink onto the packaging material).", "The cylinder body is usually made of steel which satisfies the requirements for precision and small deflection required in the printing process.", "Alternatively for the printing industry, the cylinder body can be manufactured from a light weight metal like aluminum or an aluminum alloy.", "Aluminum has specific weight of about 2700 kg/m 3 , while steel has a specific weight of about 7800 kg/m 3 .", "Using aluminum as the cylinder base results in a lighter rotogravure cylinder (by about one third) which means significant reduced transportation costs and safer handling during production phases.", "However, aluminum is an electrochemically passive material and it is quite challenging to electro-copper plate it.", "This has limited the use of aluminium for the base of the cylinder.", "To the extent that aluminium is used, it requires a plurality of process steps so as to obtain a suitable copper surface for the aluminium body.", "One method for the manufacture of rotogravure cylinders comprising an aluminium base, a copper surface and a chrome protection layer is known from WO2011/073695A2.The copper surface is created in a process that comprises no less than six steps.", "In a first step the surface roughness of the underlying cylinder is increased by a mechanical means, such as sand paper, sandblasting.", "Thereafter, a copper coating of 10-50 μm thickness is deposited in a thermal spraying process.", "The copper coating is considered to be the substrate for subsequent electroplating.", "Another surface treatment with sandpaper is then carried out.", "In the fourth step, a pre-copper plating step is carried out, wherein a layer of copper of about 100-300 μm is plated.", "The copper is plated without hardener, resulting in a Vickers hardness of 100-120 HV.", "This step is followed by another copper plating step, using a bath that includes a hardener, so as to obtain a copper engraving layer with preferably a Vickers hardness of 200-240 HV.", "Such a Vickers hardness is known to be optimal for engraving; at lower values, the engraved cell pattern loses definition.", "In addition, if the hardness exceeds 240 HV, the lifetime of the diamond styli often used to engrave the cylinders during electronic engraving may be reduced.", "The copper engraving layer of WO2011/073695 is deposited in a thickness of about 200 μm.", "Finally, a polishing step is carried out to achieve a predetermined surface roughness, suitably in the range of 0.03-0.07 mm.", "According to this method, the very hard copper engraving layer is supported with a stack that is less hard.", "As is well-known, the Vickers hardness of aluminium or an aluminium alloy is relatively low; a medium strength aluminium alloy such as aluminium alloy 6082 is known to have a Vickers hardness of 35 HV.", "The copper support comprising the copper adhesion layer and particularly the preplated layer therewith has an intermediate hardness between the aluminium base and the hard copper layer.", "Moreover, in accordance with this method, about half of the at least 0.5 mm copper layer is present as support.", "This layer thickness is needed, so as to obtain an appropriately homogeneous layer microstructure on top of which the hard copper can be grown.", "In further investigations on the cylinders manufactured in accordance with WO2011/073695A2 it was however observed that the reliability of the cylinders was less than desired.", "Particularly, about 1-5% of the cylinders turned out defect relatively quickly after use by the customer.", "However, the defects came irregularly, in an unpredictable manner.", "Such defect clearly resulted in a need for replacement of the defect cylinders, which is undesired." ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION <EOH>It is therefore an object to overcome the known drawbacks from the prior art and to provide a manufacturing method of a rotogravure cylinder with an aluminium base, a copper support and a hard copper layer with good reliability.", "It is a further object to provide a resulting rotogravure cylinder with improved properties and the use of such improved cylinder for printing processes.", "According to a first aspect of the invention, a method of manufacturing rotogravure cylinders is provided, wherein a copper support is provided onto a cylindrical base, and a copper engraving layer is electroplated on the copper support, and wherein the copper engraving layer is thereafter engraved according to a desired pattern and protected with a protection layer.", "Herein the provision of the copper support comprises the formation of a copper layer circumferential to the base through at least partial melting of deposited copper particles.", "According to a second aspect of the invention, an intermediate product is provided, comprising a cylindrical base of aluminium onto which a circumferential copper layer extends, the base and the circumferential copper layer having a mutual interface, wherein the circumferential copper layer is obtained with inherent compressive stress onto the underlying base and acts as a support for an electroplated copper engraving layer.", "According to a third aspect of the invention, a method of providing a rotogravure cylinder is provided comprising the steps of engraving the engraving layer of the intermediate product with a predetermined pattern and subsequent deposition of a protection layer.", "According to further aspects of the invention, provided are a rotogravure cylinder therewith obtainable and the use of such rotogravure cylinder for the printing of packaging materials by transfer of ink from the rotogravure cylinder to the packaging material.", "It was found in investigations leading to the inventions that the defects resulted from an insufficient adhesion.", "Surprisingly, this adhesion could be improved strongly with the improved process of the invention, in which the copper was at least partially melted.", "It was moreover unexpected that the improved process resulted in a continuous circumferential layer, so as to give rise to compressive stress.", "It is an advantage of the present invention that the manufacturing process of gravure cylinder with aluminum base is simplified.", "Particularly, the roughening treatment of the cylinder surface could be eliminated in comparison to the soft copper surface plating as described in the above mentioned prior art method of WO2011/073695.More precisely, the invention allows the creation of a copper support that may consist of a single layer, and nevertheless matches the difference in properties between the base, which is particularly of aluminium, and the copper engraving layer with a high hardness.", "This is achieved in that the copper support comprises a copper layer that extends circumferentially around the base and includes a compressive stress.", "This compressive stress more particularly results from cooling down of the circumferential layer after at least partial melting.", "The layer therein has a inherent tendency to contract, and more than the underlying base.", "This is suitably achieved therein that the copper particles are heated up more than any the cylindrical base.", "The copper particles are suitably deposited in a spraying process.", "More preferably a high velocity spraying process is used.", "In such a process, the particles are applied with a high speed such as at least 300 m/s onto the cylinder.", "Suitably, the cylinder herein rotates during the deposition process.", "The particles will impact on the cylindrical base, which results in liberation of a significant amount of energy in form of heat.", "This heat will warm up the particles so as to melt at least partially.", "It is an advantage of the invention that the copper support layer and the copper engraving layer may be thin, preferably less than 100 μm each.", "This is made possible in that the formed circumferential copper layer has a very low porosity, suitably less than 1.0%, preferably less than 0.5% or even less than 0.2%.", "This is in contrast to the prior art copper support layer of WO2011/073695A2.Analysis of the rotogravure cylinders made in accordance with the prior art demonstrated a large porosity, with a significant spread between individual cylinders, which was merely overcome through deposition of a thick preplating layer.", "In one embodiment, the circumferential layer has a thickness of at least 50 μm, more preferably at least 60 μm.", "This has the advantage that the circumferential layer may have a thickness substantially corresponding to the thickness of the subsequently deposited copper engraving layer.", "In an alternative, preferred embodiment, the circumferential layer is provided in a thickness of less than 50 μm, preferably less than 40 μm or even at most 30 μm.", "A suitable circumferential layer with such a small thickness is achieved with a high velocity spraying step followed by a grinding step.", "Most suitably, the circumferential layer is after formation even thinned back.", "This thinning is for instance carried out by sawing.", "A lubricant solution may be applied simultaneously with the cooling.", "This process furthermore results in a suitable polishing of the surface of the circumferential layer.", "The polished circumferential layer is then suitable for the electroplating of the copper engraving layer." ], [ "CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This is a Divisional of U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "14/433,353, filed Apr.", "2, 2015, which is a National Stage of PCT/EP2013/071195, filed Oct. 10, 2013, which claims the benefit of and priority to European Patent Application No.", "12187941.5, filed Oct. 10, 2012, all of which are incorporated by reference hereinto in their respective entireties.", "FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention refers to a method for manufacturing rotogravure or gravure cylinders.", "The invention also relates to the thus obtained rotogravure cylinders The invention further relates to the use of the rotogravure cylinders in the printing industry for the printing of packaging materials (by transfer of ink from the printing cylinder to the packaging material), such as for instance Intaglio printing processes.", "BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Gravure cylinders consist of the base of the cylinder (see FIG.", "1 which shows such a cylinder), which is usually made of steel or aluminum (1, FIG.", "1 and 1, FIG.", "2), a copper layer (2, FIG.", "1 and 2, FIG.", "2) usually 0.5 to 1 mm thick and a protection layer, which is usually a chromium layer typically of 6 to 8 μm thick (3, FIG.", "1 and 3, FIG.", "2).", "The copper layer is electroplated on the base of the cylinder and forms the surface which is engraved or etched either by chemical or electromechanical (diamond) or electronic (laser) method with the pattern which will be printed (transferred) on the packaging material (paper, plastic film, aluminum foil, etc.).", "The copper is the dominant surface used for engraving, because it is easy to engrave.", "The chromium layer on the engraved cylinder protects the surface of the cylinder from the pressure exerted by the doctor blade on the printing cylinder during the printing process (transfer of ink onto the packaging material).", "The cylinder body is usually made of steel which satisfies the requirements for precision and small deflection required in the printing process.", "Alternatively for the printing industry, the cylinder body can be manufactured from a light weight metal like aluminum or an aluminum alloy.", "Aluminum has specific weight of about 2700 kg/m3, while steel has a specific weight of about 7800 kg/m3.Using aluminum as the cylinder base results in a lighter rotogravure cylinder (by about one third) which means significant reduced transportation costs and safer handling during production phases.", "However, aluminum is an electrochemically passive material and it is quite challenging to electro-copper plate it.", "This has limited the use of aluminium for the base of the cylinder.", "To the extent that aluminium is used, it requires a plurality of process steps so as to obtain a suitable copper surface for the aluminium body.", "One method for the manufacture of rotogravure cylinders comprising an aluminium base, a copper surface and a chrome protection layer is known from WO2011/073695A2.The copper surface is created in a process that comprises no less than six steps.", "In a first step the surface roughness of the underlying cylinder is increased by a mechanical means, such as sand paper, sandblasting.", "Thereafter, a copper coating of 10-50 μm thickness is deposited in a thermal spraying process.", "The copper coating is considered to be the substrate for subsequent electroplating.", "Another surface treatment with sandpaper is then carried out.", "In the fourth step, a pre-copper plating step is carried out, wherein a layer of copper of about 100-300 μm is plated.", "The copper is plated without hardener, resulting in a Vickers hardness of 100-120 HV.", "This step is followed by another copper plating step, using a bath that includes a hardener, so as to obtain a copper engraving layer with preferably a Vickers hardness of 200-240 HV.", "Such a Vickers hardness is known to be optimal for engraving; at lower values, the engraved cell pattern loses definition.", "In addition, if the hardness exceeds 240 HV, the lifetime of the diamond styli often used to engrave the cylinders during electronic engraving may be reduced.", "The copper engraving layer of WO2011/073695 is deposited in a thickness of about 200 μm.", "Finally, a polishing step is carried out to achieve a predetermined surface roughness, suitably in the range of 0.03-0.07 mm.", "According to this method, the very hard copper engraving layer is supported with a stack that is less hard.", "As is well-known, the Vickers hardness of aluminium or an aluminium alloy is relatively low; a medium strength aluminium alloy such as aluminium alloy 6082 is known to have a Vickers hardness of 35 HV.", "The copper support comprising the copper adhesion layer and particularly the preplated layer therewith has an intermediate hardness between the aluminium base and the hard copper layer.", "Moreover, in accordance with this method, about half of the at least 0.5 mm copper layer is present as support.", "This layer thickness is needed, so as to obtain an appropriately homogeneous layer microstructure on top of which the hard copper can be grown.", "In further investigations on the cylinders manufactured in accordance with WO2011/073695A2 it was however observed that the reliability of the cylinders was less than desired.", "Particularly, about 1-5% of the cylinders turned out defect relatively quickly after use by the customer.", "However, the defects came irregularly, in an unpredictable manner.", "Such defect clearly resulted in a need for replacement of the defect cylinders, which is undesired.", "SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object to overcome the known drawbacks from the prior art and to provide a manufacturing method of a rotogravure cylinder with an aluminium base, a copper support and a hard copper layer with good reliability.", "It is a further object to provide a resulting rotogravure cylinder with improved properties and the use of such improved cylinder for printing processes.", "According to a first aspect of the invention, a method of manufacturing rotogravure cylinders is provided, wherein a copper support is provided onto a cylindrical base, and a copper engraving layer is electroplated on the copper support, and wherein the copper engraving layer is thereafter engraved according to a desired pattern and protected with a protection layer.", "Herein the provision of the copper support comprises the formation of a copper layer circumferential to the base through at least partial melting of deposited copper particles.", "According to a second aspect of the invention, an intermediate product is provided, comprising a cylindrical base of aluminium onto which a circumferential copper layer extends, the base and the circumferential copper layer having a mutual interface, wherein the circumferential copper layer is obtained with inherent compressive stress onto the underlying base and acts as a support for an electroplated copper engraving layer.", "According to a third aspect of the invention, a method of providing a rotogravure cylinder is provided comprising the steps of engraving the engraving layer of the intermediate product with a predetermined pattern and subsequent deposition of a protection layer.", "According to further aspects of the invention, provided are a rotogravure cylinder therewith obtainable and the use of such rotogravure cylinder for the printing of packaging materials by transfer of ink from the rotogravure cylinder to the packaging material.", "It was found in investigations leading to the inventions that the defects resulted from an insufficient adhesion.", "Surprisingly, this adhesion could be improved strongly with the improved process of the invention, in which the copper was at least partially melted.", "It was moreover unexpected that the improved process resulted in a continuous circumferential layer, so as to give rise to compressive stress.", "It is an advantage of the present invention that the manufacturing process of gravure cylinder with aluminum base is simplified.", "Particularly, the roughening treatment of the cylinder surface could be eliminated in comparison to the soft copper surface plating as described in the above mentioned prior art method of WO2011/073695.More precisely, the invention allows the creation of a copper support that may consist of a single layer, and nevertheless matches the difference in properties between the base, which is particularly of aluminium, and the copper engraving layer with a high hardness.", "This is achieved in that the copper support comprises a copper layer that extends circumferentially around the base and includes a compressive stress.", "This compressive stress more particularly results from cooling down of the circumferential layer after at least partial melting.", "The layer therein has a inherent tendency to contract, and more than the underlying base.", "This is suitably achieved therein that the copper particles are heated up more than any the cylindrical base.", "The copper particles are suitably deposited in a spraying process.", "More preferably a high velocity spraying process is used.", "In such a process, the particles are applied with a high speed such as at least 300 m/s onto the cylinder.", "Suitably, the cylinder herein rotates during the deposition process.", "The particles will impact on the cylindrical base, which results in liberation of a significant amount of energy in form of heat.", "This heat will warm up the particles so as to melt at least partially.", "It is an advantage of the invention that the copper support layer and the copper engraving layer may be thin, preferably less than 100 μm each.", "This is made possible in that the formed circumferential copper layer has a very low porosity, suitably less than 1.0%, preferably less than 0.5% or even less than 0.2%.", "This is in contrast to the prior art copper support layer of WO2011/073695A2.Analysis of the rotogravure cylinders made in accordance with the prior art demonstrated a large porosity, with a significant spread between individual cylinders, which was merely overcome through deposition of a thick preplating layer.", "In one embodiment, the circumferential layer has a thickness of at least 50 μm, more preferably at least 60 μm.", "This has the advantage that the circumferential layer may have a thickness substantially corresponding to the thickness of the subsequently deposited copper engraving layer.", "In an alternative, preferred embodiment, the circumferential layer is provided in a thickness of less than 50 μm, preferably less than 40 μm or even at most 30 μm.", "A suitable circumferential layer with such a small thickness is achieved with a high velocity spraying step followed by a grinding step.", "Most suitably, the circumferential layer is after formation even thinned back.", "This thinning is for instance carried out by sawing.", "A lubricant solution may be applied simultaneously with the cooling.", "This process furthermore results in a suitable polishing of the surface of the circumferential layer.", "The polished circumferential layer is then suitable for the electroplating of the copper engraving layer.", "BRIEF INTRODUCTION OF THE FIGURES These and other aspects of the invention will be further elucidated with respect to the following figures, wherein: FIG.", "1 shows a diagrammatical bird's eye view of a rotogravure cylinder; FIG.", "2 shows a diagrammatical cross-sectional view of the rotogravure cylinder; FIG.", "3 shows a diagrammatical view of end plates for the rotogravure cylinder ILLUSTRATED DISCUSSION OF DETAILED EMBODIMENTS The FIGS.", "1, 2 and 3 are not drawn to scale and they are only intended for illustrative purposes.", "Equal reference numerals in different figures refer to identical or figures.", "The term ‘rotogravure cylinders” relates herein to rotogravure cylinders and/or any gravure cylinders used in the printing industry, particularly for the printing of packaging materials.", "The length of such cylinders is typically at least 1.0 meter, more preferably in the order of 1.5-2.5 meter.", "The term ‘cylindrical base’ as used in the context of the present invention does not require the base to be a block-like material.", "Rather the base may be hollow.", "Alternatively, the base may comprise several layers, such as a steel core and an aluminium top layer.", "The term aluminum in the present invention refers to pure aluminum, aluminum with small addition of other materials or aluminum alloys.", "Likewise, the term copper refers to pure copper, copper with small addition of other materials or copper alloys.", "Most suitably, however, in the process in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, particles are sprayed that contain at least 99% copper, more preferably at least 99.5% copper or more.", "The term high velocity spraying relates to a spraying process wherein particles are sprayed with a velocity of at least 300 m/s, more preferably at least 500 m/s, at least 800 m/s or even at least 1,000 m/s.", "Preferably, use is made of a jet with a velocity above the said particle velocity.", "Generation of a supersonic jet is considered most advantageous.", "Herein, the jet velocity may be higher than 1,400 m/s.", "High velocity spraying may for instance be implemented with High-Velocity Air Fuel (HVAF) technology and guns as commercially available from UniqueCoat Technologies, LLC from Oilville, Va. 23129, USA.", "The term ‘at least partial melting’ refers to a process wherein at least the surface of individual particles is melted so as to create a homogeneous layer.", "It is not excluded that inner cores of the said particles remain in solid form.", "It is moreover not excluded that the circumferential layer created by melting of copper particles is actually an alloy with some aluminium of the underlying cylindrical base.", "Such an alloy may well be created, particularly close to the interface with the cylindrical base.", "The composition of the circumferential layer further away from the cylindrical base may thus be different from the composition near to said interface.", "In the preferred embodiment wherein the copper particles are sprayed onto the base in a high velocity process, it is foreseen that the impact of the copper particles onto the base may result in deformation and fracture of the top layer of the base.", "Such deformation is deemed beneficial so as to obtain a larger interface area and/or some mechanical anchoring of the copper into the aluminium.", "The subsequent melting and furthermore the thinning step are highly suitable in combination therewith, so as to ensure appropriate dimensions and particularly appropriate roundness when seen in cross-sectional view perpendicular to an axial direction of the cylindrical base.", "In one preferred embodiment, a gravure cylinder with an aluminium base was produced from an aluminum tube to the desired dimensions.", "Thereafter, a high velocity spraying process was used for spraying of copper particles.", "Use was made of a gun as available from UniqueCoat Technologies, LLC, as sold as M3.The copper particles, with an average diameter of less than 50 μm, preferably in the range of 40-45 μm, were sprayed with a jet velocity of 1,200-1,400 m/s, resulting in a particle velocity of 900-1000 m/s.", "During the spraying process, the cylinder was rotated.", "Impact of the substantially pure copper particles onto the cylinder resulted in deformations in the aluminum cylinder, and in heating up of the particles, to the extent of at least partial melting.", "This melting resulted in formation of a single layer extending circumferential around the base.", "Compressive stress developed in the course of cooling down.", "This cooling down was achieved by waiting in one embodiment; in an alternative embodiment, jetted air was sprayed onto the cylinder with the circumferential layer.", "For the jet spraying, the same gun as mentioned above was used, but this is not considered essential.", "In one embodiment, the resulting layer had a thickness of approximately 125 μm.", "This layer was thereafter thinned and polished, by means of a sawing process.", "Use was made of a diamond saw, as known for the sawing of copper or copper-containing elements.", "A lubricant was sprayed while sawing so as to prevent too much heating of the copper layer.", "Moreover, herewith a polishing was achieved as well.", "The sawing resulted in removal of about 50 μm thickness of copper.", "The copper support, here consisting of the copper circumferential layer, was therewith ready.", "It is however net excluded that additional layers are deposited.", "In an alternative embodiment, the deposited layer had a thickness of 40-80 microns, for instance about 50 microns.", "This layer was thereafter thinned, for instance with 40-60%.", "Use was made herein of grinding with a conventional grinding machine with grinding and polishing stones.", "The resulting surface roughness Rz, as for instance achieved with the latter embodiment with a final layer thickness between 20 and 40 microns, was suitably less than 0.5 μm.", "As known to the skilled person, various parameters of surface roughness exist, which have been defined in norms DIN EN ISO 4287:1998 and DIN EN ISO 4289: 1998.The surface roughness Rz, also known as the (average) surface roughness depth or the ten-pint mean roughness.", "It is defined as the arithmetic mean value of the single roughness depths of consecutive sampling lengths.", "More suitably the surface roughness Rz was less than 0.4 μm, for instance between 0.2 and 0.4 μm, and in one preferred embodiment close to 0.3 μm (i.e.", "0.25-0.35 μm).", "In a subsequent step, a copper engraving layer with a high hardness, suitably in the range of 200-240 HV, was deposited.", "The layer was deposited in a thickness of 60-100 μm, for instance 75 μm.", "In one embodiment, a layer thickness was chosen that was substantially corresponding to the layer thickness of the copper support.", "However, thicker layers are not excluded.", "The deposition process for such an engraving layer is known per se and involves electroplating.", "Use was made in one embodiment of a solution of copper sulfate (200-230 gr CuSO4×5H2O) and sulfuric acid (60-65 gr H2SO4 per liter of solution) and a catalyst for hardness.", "The catalyst does not have any particular properties and can be found easily in the market.", "During the plating, the cylinder is revolved with a speed of about 100 rpm.", "The current density during electroplating in this phase ranges from 20 to 25 amps/dm2 for about 80-100 min and with a solution temperature maintained at about 30° C. Further details in relation to this process are known from various patents, such as U.S. Pat.", "No.", "4,334,966, Nos.", "4,781,801, 5,417,841 and 7,153,408, which are herein included by reference.", "In an alternative embodiment, which was tested particularly in combination with a ground and thin circumferential layer as discussed above, the copper engraving layer was formed by deposition and subsequent thinning and polishing.", "Here again, a thinning to approximately half of the deposited thickness turned out suitable in practice.", "However, it is not excluded that the thinning removes merely 20-40% of the deposited thickness.", "Thereafter, the cylinder was polished to achieve desired surface roughness (usually Rz is between 0.03 μm and 0.07 μm).", "The intermediate product was therewith ready.", "In a subsequent step, this intermediate product was engraved in accordance with a desired and predefined pattern.", "Use could be made of any engraving technique known per se, including so called electronic engraving.", "Use of a laser appears beneficial.", "The engraving could be carried out in a different location if so desired.", "After the engraving, a protection layer was applied.", "This protection layer is suitably a chromium coating layer of about 6 to 10 μm, and was produced by plating in a chromium oxide solution (250-280 gm of Cr2O3 per solution liter) and sulfuric acid (2.5-2.8 gm of H2SO4 per solution liter) for about 30 min.", "In order to further reduce the weight of the gravure cylinder, the end plates of the gravure cylinders (typical cross sections of an end plate is shown in FIG.", "3) are made of two materials, one light weight (4, FIG.", "3), e.g.", "aluminum and steel (5, FIG.", "3).", "The typical thickness of the end plates is 25 mm.", "The steel is used for the part of the end plate which comes into contact with the support of the printing machines because steel has better wear resistance and higher strength compared to aluminum.", "The dimensions of the end plate are determined by the customer specifications.", "This is why the dimensions (and the keyway) are not shown in FIG.", "3.The proportion of aluminum to steel is determined by the dimensions of the end plate.", "The bigger the end plate the higher the percentage of aluminum used.", "The idea is to keep the steel part at minimum weight.", "The manufacturing of the end plates are made using the following simple steps: a) The outer diameter of the aluminum end plate part (4, FIG.", "3) is manufactured to fit the internal diameter of the cylinder base.", "The inner diameter of the aluminum end plate part is made to fit the outer diameter of the steel end plate part.", "b) The outer diameter of the steel end plate part (5, FIG.", "3) is manufactured to fit the inner diameter of the aluminum end plate part.", "c) The assembly of the aluminum and the steel part of the end plates are is accomplished simply by heating (normal or induction heating) and press fitting the two parts.", "Although the above description is the recommended methodology for the manufacturing of a light weight gravure cylinder with a base made of aluminum and end plates made from aluminum and steel, it is apparent to the experts of the field that small deviations or alterations or modifications can be implemented without significant deviations from the present invention.", "TEST RESULTS Semimanufactured cylinders made in according with the prior art of WO2011/073695A2 and in accordance with the invention were subjected to a bond strength test.", "The semimanufactured cylinders had an aluminum base, a copper support and a copper engraving layer.", "No engraving was applied in the copper engraving layer.", "A protection layer was not applied.", "The cylinder base in both semi-manufactured cylinders was identical; merely the manufacture of the copper support differed.", "Bond strength tests were carried out using a universal testing machine (as supplied from TLCLO, Dartec Ltd, Stourbridge, England).", "Therein, shear force was applied as close as possible to the aluminum-copper interface at a crosshead speed of 1 mm/min.", "The ultimate load to failure was recorded in Newton (N), and repeated several times to ensure sufficient statistics.", "Table 1 provides the results.", "It is clear therefrom that the bond strength has been significantly improved.", "Whereas the prior art cylinders had a bond strength that was close to the limit or even below the limit of 15 N, the bond strength in the invention is such that any variation does not matter any longer.", "TABLE 1 sample bond preparation strength (N) WO2011/073659A2 12 N invention 70 N" ] ]
Patent_15873149
[ [ "NFC PAIRED BLUETOOTH E-COMMERCE", "A method for performing an electronic transaction over two distinct networks with a mobile wallet comprises the steps of receiving form of payment information from a mobile wallet over a first wireless network of a retail environment with a mobile device on which the mobile wallet is deployed; sending second wireless network description information of the retail environment over the first wireless network to facilitate access to the second wireless network by the mobile device, wherein the first wireless network operates within access range of the second wireless network; sending service information from a service provider associated with the retail environment over the second wireless network to request execution of a service provider-specific widget on the mobile device; and completing the electronic transaction, that was initiated by receiving the default form of payment information, by exchanging payment confirmation information over the second network via the service provider-specific widget." ], [ "1.A method for providing a service from a service provider to a user of a mobile device via a service provider-specific widget, wherein providing is performed over a private wireless network after authenticating access to the private wireless local area network using network authentication credentials delivered to a mobile wallet executing on the mobile device during an NFC tap of the mobile device with an NFC terminal that is disposed within access range of the private wireless local area network.", "2.A method for providing a service from a service provider to a user of a mobile device via a service provider-specific widget, wherein providing is performed over a private wireless network after authenticating access to the private wireless local area network using network authentication credentials received by a mobile wallet executing on the mobile device from a QR code captured by the mobile device while the mobile device is disposed within access range of the private wireless local area network." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND <EOH>" ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY <EOH>Near Field Communication (NFC) based payment systems may provide a means for quickly transferring form-of-payment related information from a handheld device (e.g.", "an NFC-enabled mobile phone) to a point of sale apparatus.", "While this may ensure that a financial transaction can be completed in an electronic commerce/payment system even after the phone has been moved out of NFC range (generally less than four centimeters), the user cannot receive a receipt or confirmation of payment over the NFC link without holding the phone within NFC range for several seconds or bringing the phone within NFC range again after the backend payment process has been completed.", "Bluetooth wireless communication can occur over a much greater distance than NFC (ten meters or more compared to 4/100 ths of a meter), but it requires devices to be paired to communicate.", "This pairing typically takes more than several seconds and requires users to select from one of many devices in range.", "Recently, using NFC as a medium for exchange of device-to-device information to facilitate Bluetooth pairing has been standardized.", "This allows a Bluetooth headset to be paired with a mobile phone thru the inclusion of an NFC tag in the headset, which is read by an NFC reader in the phone.", "The universal electronic payment facilities, systems and methods described herein may take advantage of this coming together of short range (e.g.", "NFC) and longer range (e.g.", "Bluetooth) technologies to provide a short range payment user with single tap-and-go payment and receipt capabilities that no longer burden the user to require “tap-and-hold” or tap to pay and tap for receipt.", "In an example, NFC tap-to-pay may be combined with Bluetooth or other longer-range wireless receipt delivery when Bluetooth pairing or other wireless authentication is combined with an NFC “tap”.", "Alternatively, an NFC tap and pair may indicate a commitment to pay for a transaction and through the longer-range wirelessly paired network may enable processing the committed payment and delivering a receipt completely after the NFC tap and commit.", "These types of scenarios that are enabled by short-range wireless authentication for longer-range wireless access are explored further.", "Methods and systems of a multi-network transaction platform may include a personalization tier of a multi-tier platform for secure personalized transactions, the personalization tier configured to enable a service provider to personalize near field communication (NFC) information to enable authentication onto a local wireless network by a mobile device that receives the personalized NFC information from an NFC terminal via an NFC tap while in access range of the local wireless network, wherein the personalized NFC information indicates at least one service provider-specific widget to be executed on the mobile device upon authentication onto the local wireless network.", "The personalized NFC information may further include a preferred wireless network for communicating between the service provider-specific widget and the service provider.", "The personalized NFC information may further include a required wireless network for communicating between the service provider-specific widget and the service provider.", "The personalization tier may include a software development kit for developing the service provider-specific widget.", "Methods and systems of a multi-network transaction platform may include a multi-tier personalized transaction platform that may include a user interface; a service provider; a service provider server configured with software that is adapted to enable personalizing service elements that facilitate over the air service delivery to a user of a mobile phone; a personalization tier; a service tier; and an enabling tier.", "Methods and systems of a multi-network transaction platform may include a service tier of a multi-tier platform for secure personalized transactions, the service tier configured to enable service delivery from a service provider to a user of a mobile device via a local wireless network that the mobile device is authenticated to use through receipt of service provider and local wireless network information during an NFC tap operation between the mobile device and an NFC terminal that is in access range of the local wireless network.", "The service tier may comprise reference implementations of finance, retail, health, and government domains.", "The service tier may comprise a client-side workflow for a plurality of transaction service types, an instrument that facilitates mapping to real world instruments, and a trust model to facilitate two factor authentication.", "Methods and systems of a multi-network transaction platform may include an enabling tier of a multi-tier platform for secure personalized transactions, the enabling tier operable on a mobile device to enable delivery of service provider and local wireless network information to a wallet container application executing on the mobile device, the service provider and local wireless network information received by the mobile device during an NFC tap operation between the mobile device and an NFC terminal that is in access range of the local wireless network.", "The enabling tier may comprise an application that operates cooperatively with a wallet container application adapted for execution on a plurality of different types of mobile devices.", "The wallet container application may enable an electronic wallet capability on the client device by abstracting client-specific runtime environment features.", "The enabling tier may include a client runtime component adapted for execution on a mobile device.", "The client runtime component may be a client independent application that interoperates with client specific resources via a client independent API layer.", "The client runtime component may comprise at least one of a widget management module, a user interface framework, and an action framework.", "The client runtime component may enable distinct operation of a plurality of electronic wallets via a wallet container module.", "The client runtime component may abstract client specific runtime environment features to enable a wallet capability.", "Methods and systems of a multi-network transaction platform may include a method of multi-network tokenization for electronic transaction security that may include receiving form of payment information from a mobile wallet by an NFC terminal for performing an electronic transaction; generating a tokenized representation of the information; sending a token identifier of the tokenized representation and wireless local area network authentication information to the mobile wallet from the NFC terminal; forwarding the tokenization representation to a service provider for processing the electronic transaction; receiving information from the mobile device over the wireless local area network that associates the tokenized representation with the mobile device; and forwarding a tokenized confirmation that is identifiable by the token identifier and that is received from the service provider to the mobile device over the local area wireless network.", "Methods and systems of a multi-network transaction platform may include an NFC capable mobile wallet that activates a service provider-specific set of widgets to provide services via the widgets over a specific wireless network to a mobile device in response to receiving the specific wireless network identification information via an NFC interaction.", "The specific wireless network may have previously been unknown to the wallet capability.", "The wallet container application operating cooperatively with the mobile wallet may update a table that cross references wireless network identification with service provider-specific widgets to facilitate activating the service provider-specific set of widgets each time the specific wireless network is detected.", "Methods and systems of a multi-network transaction platform may include a quick response code (QR code) decoding-capable mobile wallet that activates a service provider-specific set of widgets for a mobile device in response to determining local wireless network identification information from a QR code captured while the mobile wallet is in access range of the local wireless network.", "Methods and systems of a multi-network transaction platform may include a method may include: receiving wireless network identification data for a service provider-specific network via an NFC tap function; using an NFC capable electronic wallet to associate the network identification data with a service provider-specific widget and activating the service provider-specific widget; storing the associated network identification data and a service provider-specific widget identifier for the service provider-specific widget in a network reference table in a memory of a mobile device; and referencing the network reference table when a wireless network is detected by the mobile device to determine a service provider-specific widget to activate.", "The network identification data may be a network SSID.", "Using an NFC capable electronic wallet may comprise providing the network identification data to a wallet container executing on the mobile device that associates the network identification data with the service provider-specific widget and facilitates activating the service provider-specific widget.", "Referencing the network reference table may be performed by a mobile wallet container executing on the mobile device that facilitates activating the service provider-specific widget based on a result of referencing the network reference table.", "Methods and systems of a multi-network transaction platform may include a method for providing a service from a service provider to a user of a mobile device via a service provider-specific widget, wherein providing is performed over a private wireless network after authenticating access to the private wireless local area network using network authentication credentials delivered to a mobile wallet executing on the mobile device during an NFC tap of the mobile device with an NFC terminal that is disposed within access range of the private wireless local area network.", "Methods and systems of a multi-network transaction platform may include a method for providing a service from a service provider to a user of a mobile device via a service provider-specific widget, wherein providing is performed over a private wireless network after authenticating access to the private wireless local area network using network authentication credentials received by a mobile wallet executing on the mobile device from a QR code captured by the mobile device while the mobile device is disposed within access range of the private wireless local area network.", "Methods and systems of a multi-network transaction platform may include a method for performing an electronic transaction over two distinct networks with a mobile wallet, comprising: receiving form of payment information from a mobile wallet over a first wireless network of a retail environment with a mobile device on which the mobile wallet is deployed; sending second wireless network description information of the retail environment over the first wireless network to facilitate access to the second wireless network by the mobile device, wherein the first wireless network operates within access range of the second wireless network; sending service information from a service provider associated with the retail environment over the second wireless network to request execution of a service provider-specific widget on the mobile device; and completing the electronic transaction, that was initiated by receiving the default form of payment information, by exchanging payment confirmation information over the second network via the service provider-specific widget.", "Methods and systems of a multi-network transaction platform may include a method for performing an electronic transaction over two distinct networks, comprising: sending form of payment information from a mobile wallet over a first wireless network with a mobile device on which the mobile wallet is deployed; receiving second network description information over the first wireless network; executing a service provider-specific widget on the mobile device in response to service information received over the second network; and completing the electronic transaction, that was initiated by sending the default form of payment information, by exchanging payment confirmation information over the second network via the service provider-specific widget.", "Methods and systems of a multi-network transaction platform may include a method for performing an electronic transaction over two distinct networks, comprising: sending a form of payment information from a mobile wallet over a first wireless network with a mobile device on which the mobile wallet is deployed; receiving second network description information over the first wireless network; executing a service provider-specific widget on the mobile device based on service provider information derived from the second network description information; and completing the electronic transaction, that was initiated by sending the default form of payment information, by exchanging payment confirmation information over the second network via the service provider-specific widget.", "The first wireless network may be a near-field communication network.", "Sending the form of payment information may comprise: receiving a request to confirm a purchase; providing the request to the mobile wallet; accessing a default form of payment information from secure storage on the mobile device; and transmitting a representation of the form of payment over the first wireless network.", "Accessing a form of payment information from secure storage on the mobile device may include executing a mobile wallet companion applet that is authorized to access the secure storage and providing payment information to the mobile wallet.", "The form of payment information may include mobile wallet identification information suitable for identifying at least one service provider for completing the electronic transaction.", "Receiving second network description information may comprise receiving information to facilitate accessing the second network and for authentication of the mobile device to perform secure electronic transactions over the second network, wherein the second network is a secure local area wireless network.", "Executing a service provider-specific widget may include: determining which service provider-specific widget to execute based on the service information; loading the determined service provider-specific widget into a container executing on the mobile device; and executing the service provider-specific widget within a run-time environment provided by the container.", "Completing the electronic transaction may comprise using the service provider-specific widget to access a second form of payment information via the wallet and sending the second form of payment information for completing the transaction instead of the default form of payment information.", "The second form of payment information may be identified in the service information.", "The second form of payment information may be a default form of payment information associated with the service provider-specific widget.", "Completing the electronic transaction may comprise using the service provider-specific widget to facilitate confirmation of the electronic transaction by presenting a branded transaction confirmation request to the user of the mobile device and forwarding a user response thereto to a service provider from which the service information was received.", "Completing the electronic transaction may comprise using the service provider-specific widget to receive and store in the mobile wallet a branded receipt for the electronic transaction from a service provider from which the service information was received.", "This method may further include updating network availability status of the mobile wallet based on establishing a network connection using the second network between the mobile device and a remote service provider.", "The remote service provider may be an electronic transaction facilitator for a retail environment of the first and second networks.", "The second network may be one of Bluetooth and Wi-Fi.", "Methods and systems of a multi-network transaction platform may include a method of commerce, comprising: receiving Bluetooth pairing information from a universal electronic transaction device during a near-field communication payment information exchange; during the near-field communication information exchange, delivering Bluetooth pairing information for at least one Bluetooth-enabled device other than the universal electronic transaction device to the universal electronic transaction device to facilitate Bluetooth pairing of the at least one Bluetooth-enabled device and the universal electronic transaction device; and delivering a confirmation of purchase based on the payment information to the universal electronic transaction device via a Bluetooth link paired as a result of the near-filed communication payment information exchange.", "During the near-field communication information exchange may comprise, exchanging keys for securing information exchanged via the Bluetooth link.", "This method may further include exchanging a user authorization for the purchase via the Bluetooth link.", "The user authorization may include at least one of an electronic signature and a digital representation of a user's signature.", "The digital representation of the user's signature is captured through a signature input facility of the universal electronic transaction device.", "This method may further include delivering offers to the universal electronic transaction device via a Bluetooth link paired as a result of the near-filed communication payment information exchange.", "Methods and systems of a multi-network transaction platform may include a method of commerce may include: exchanging pairing information to facilitate Bluetooth communication between a universal electronic transaction device and at least one other Bluetooth-enabled device via an NFC tap of the universal electronic transaction device with an NFC terminal; establishing a Bluetooth link between the universal electronic transaction device and the at least one other Bluetooth-enabled device; and conducting electronic commerce via the Bluetooth link.", "This method may further include delivering a confirmation of purchase based on the payment information to the universal electronic transaction device via the Bluetooth link.", "In addition, during the near-field communication information exchange, keys for securing information exchanged via the Bluetooth link may be exchanged.", "This method may further include exchanging a user authorization for the purchase via the Bluetooth link.", "The user authorization may include at least one of an electronic signature and a digital representation of a user's signature.", "The digital representation of the user's signature is captured through a signature input facility of the universal electronic transaction device.", "This method may further include delivering offers to the universal electronic transaction device via a Bluetooth link paired as a result of the near-filed communication payment information exchange.", "This method may further include receiving a commitment to purchase an item identified by the NFC terminal via the NFC tap.", "Conducting electronic commerce may include requesting payment for the item identified in the commitment and receiving method of payment information from the universal electronic transaction device.", "Methods and systems of a multi-network transaction platform may include a method of commerce may include: receiving information consistent with a request for wireless authentication from a universal electronic transaction device during a near-field communication payment information exchange; during the near-field communication information exchange, delivering wireless network authentication information to the universal electronic transaction device to facilitate authenticated access to the wireless network of the universal electronic transaction device; and delivering a confirmation of purchase based on the payment information to the universal electronic transaction device via the wireless network as a result of the near-filed communication payment information exchange.", "During the near-field communication information exchange may comprise, exchanging keys for securing information exchanged via the wireless network.", "This method may further include exchanging a user authorization for the purchase via the wireless network.", "The user authorization may include at least one of an electronic signature and a digital representation of a user's signature.", "The digital representation of the user's signature may be captured through a signature input facility of the universal electronic transaction device.", "This method may further include delivering offers to the universal electronic transaction device via a wireless network access to which is authenticated as a result of the near-filed communication payment information exchange Methods and systems of a multi-network transaction platform may include a method of commerce may include: exchanging wireless network authentication information to facilitate communication between a universal electronic transaction device and at least one other wireless network-enabled device via an short-range information exchange between the universal electronic transaction device and a point of sale transaction terminal; establishing a wireless link via the wireless network between the universal electronic transaction device and the at least one other wireless network-enabled device; and conducting electronic commerce via the wireless link.", "This method may further include delivering a confirmation of purchase based on the payment information to the universal electronic transaction device via the wireless link.", "During the short-range communication information exchange, exchanging keys for securing information exchanged via the wireless network link.", "This method may further include exchanging a user authorization for the purchase via the wireless link.", "The user authorization may include at least one of an electronic signature and a digital representation of a user's signature.", "The digital representation of the user's signature may be captured through a signature input facility of the universal electronic transaction device.", "This method may further include delivering offers to the universal electronic transaction device via a wireless network that is authenticated as a result of the short-range communication payment information exchange.", "This method may further include receiving a commitment to purchase an item identified by the short-range terminal via the short-range information exchange.", "Conducting electronic commerce may include requesting payment for the item identified in the commitment and receiving method of payment information from the universal electronic transaction device.", "These and other systems, methods, objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment and the drawings.", "All documents mentioned herein are hereby incorporated in their entirety by reference." ], [ "CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "14/291,687 (Attorney Docket No.", "CSAM-0007-U01), filed May 30, 2014, entitled “NFC PAIRED BLUETOOTH E-COMMERCE”.", "U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "14/291,687 claims the benefit of U.S. application Ser.", "No.", "61/829,705 (Attorney Docket No.", "CSAM-0007-P01), filed May 31, 2013.U.S.", "patent application Ser.", "No.", "14/291,687 is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "13/909,262 (Attorney Docket No.", "CSAM-0005-U01-001), filed Jun.", "4, 2013, entitled “A SECURE ECOSYSTEM INFRASTRUCTURE ENABLING MULTIPLE TYPES OF ELECTRONIC WALLETS IN AN ECOSYSTEM OF ISSUERS, SERVICE PROVIDERS, AND ACQUIRES OF INSTRUMENTS”.", "U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "13/909,262 is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "13/651,028 (Attorney Docket No.", "CSAM-0005-U01), filed Oct. 12, 2012 and now abandoned, entitled “A MULTI-TIERED SECURE MOBILE TRANSACTIONS ENABLING PLATFORM”.", "U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "13/651,028 also claims the benefit of U.S. provisional patent application 61/546,084 (Attorney Docket No.", "CSAM-0002-P01), filed Oct. 12, 2011 and U.S. provisional patent application 61/619,751 (Attorney Docket No.", "CSAM-0004-P01), filed Apr.", "3, 2012.BACKGROUND Field This application generally relates to mobile transaction processing security and more particularly relates to methods and systems of a multi-network transaction environment based on a multi-tier mobile transaction platform for secure personalized transactions in a multi-domain ecosystem.", "Description of the Related Art Mobile transactions are becoming a prevalent form of point of sale payments.", "Existing systems for mobile transaction processing do not have the scalability and flexibility of configurability needed to address the ever growing demand for secure personalized transaction services and client contact to meet future business needs.", "SUMMARY Near Field Communication (NFC) based payment systems may provide a means for quickly transferring form-of-payment related information from a handheld device (e.g.", "an NFC-enabled mobile phone) to a point of sale apparatus.", "While this may ensure that a financial transaction can be completed in an electronic commerce/payment system even after the phone has been moved out of NFC range (generally less than four centimeters), the user cannot receive a receipt or confirmation of payment over the NFC link without holding the phone within NFC range for several seconds or bringing the phone within NFC range again after the backend payment process has been completed.", "Bluetooth wireless communication can occur over a much greater distance than NFC (ten meters or more compared to 4/100ths of a meter), but it requires devices to be paired to communicate.", "This pairing typically takes more than several seconds and requires users to select from one of many devices in range.", "Recently, using NFC as a medium for exchange of device-to-device information to facilitate Bluetooth pairing has been standardized.", "This allows a Bluetooth headset to be paired with a mobile phone thru the inclusion of an NFC tag in the headset, which is read by an NFC reader in the phone.", "The universal electronic payment facilities, systems and methods described herein may take advantage of this coming together of short range (e.g.", "NFC) and longer range (e.g.", "Bluetooth) technologies to provide a short range payment user with single tap-and-go payment and receipt capabilities that no longer burden the user to require “tap-and-hold” or tap to pay and tap for receipt.", "In an example, NFC tap-to-pay may be combined with Bluetooth or other longer-range wireless receipt delivery when Bluetooth pairing or other wireless authentication is combined with an NFC “tap”.", "Alternatively, an NFC tap and pair may indicate a commitment to pay for a transaction and through the longer-range wirelessly paired network may enable processing the committed payment and delivering a receipt completely after the NFC tap and commit.", "These types of scenarios that are enabled by short-range wireless authentication for longer-range wireless access are explored further.", "Methods and systems of a multi-network transaction platform may include a personalization tier of a multi-tier platform for secure personalized transactions, the personalization tier configured to enable a service provider to personalize near field communication (NFC) information to enable authentication onto a local wireless network by a mobile device that receives the personalized NFC information from an NFC terminal via an NFC tap while in access range of the local wireless network, wherein the personalized NFC information indicates at least one service provider-specific widget to be executed on the mobile device upon authentication onto the local wireless network.", "The personalized NFC information may further include a preferred wireless network for communicating between the service provider-specific widget and the service provider.", "The personalized NFC information may further include a required wireless network for communicating between the service provider-specific widget and the service provider.", "The personalization tier may include a software development kit for developing the service provider-specific widget.", "Methods and systems of a multi-network transaction platform may include a multi-tier personalized transaction platform that may include a user interface; a service provider; a service provider server configured with software that is adapted to enable personalizing service elements that facilitate over the air service delivery to a user of a mobile phone; a personalization tier; a service tier; and an enabling tier.", "Methods and systems of a multi-network transaction platform may include a service tier of a multi-tier platform for secure personalized transactions, the service tier configured to enable service delivery from a service provider to a user of a mobile device via a local wireless network that the mobile device is authenticated to use through receipt of service provider and local wireless network information during an NFC tap operation between the mobile device and an NFC terminal that is in access range of the local wireless network.", "The service tier may comprise reference implementations of finance, retail, health, and government domains.", "The service tier may comprise a client-side workflow for a plurality of transaction service types, an instrument that facilitates mapping to real world instruments, and a trust model to facilitate two factor authentication.", "Methods and systems of a multi-network transaction platform may include an enabling tier of a multi-tier platform for secure personalized transactions, the enabling tier operable on a mobile device to enable delivery of service provider and local wireless network information to a wallet container application executing on the mobile device, the service provider and local wireless network information received by the mobile device during an NFC tap operation between the mobile device and an NFC terminal that is in access range of the local wireless network.", "The enabling tier may comprise an application that operates cooperatively with a wallet container application adapted for execution on a plurality of different types of mobile devices.", "The wallet container application may enable an electronic wallet capability on the client device by abstracting client-specific runtime environment features.", "The enabling tier may include a client runtime component adapted for execution on a mobile device.", "The client runtime component may be a client independent application that interoperates with client specific resources via a client independent API layer.", "The client runtime component may comprise at least one of a widget management module, a user interface framework, and an action framework.", "The client runtime component may enable distinct operation of a plurality of electronic wallets via a wallet container module.", "The client runtime component may abstract client specific runtime environment features to enable a wallet capability.", "Methods and systems of a multi-network transaction platform may include a method of multi-network tokenization for electronic transaction security that may include receiving form of payment information from a mobile wallet by an NFC terminal for performing an electronic transaction; generating a tokenized representation of the information; sending a token identifier of the tokenized representation and wireless local area network authentication information to the mobile wallet from the NFC terminal; forwarding the tokenization representation to a service provider for processing the electronic transaction; receiving information from the mobile device over the wireless local area network that associates the tokenized representation with the mobile device; and forwarding a tokenized confirmation that is identifiable by the token identifier and that is received from the service provider to the mobile device over the local area wireless network.", "Methods and systems of a multi-network transaction platform may include an NFC capable mobile wallet that activates a service provider-specific set of widgets to provide services via the widgets over a specific wireless network to a mobile device in response to receiving the specific wireless network identification information via an NFC interaction.", "The specific wireless network may have previously been unknown to the wallet capability.", "The wallet container application operating cooperatively with the mobile wallet may update a table that cross references wireless network identification with service provider-specific widgets to facilitate activating the service provider-specific set of widgets each time the specific wireless network is detected.", "Methods and systems of a multi-network transaction platform may include a quick response code (QR code) decoding-capable mobile wallet that activates a service provider-specific set of widgets for a mobile device in response to determining local wireless network identification information from a QR code captured while the mobile wallet is in access range of the local wireless network.", "Methods and systems of a multi-network transaction platform may include a method may include: receiving wireless network identification data for a service provider-specific network via an NFC tap function; using an NFC capable electronic wallet to associate the network identification data with a service provider-specific widget and activating the service provider-specific widget; storing the associated network identification data and a service provider-specific widget identifier for the service provider-specific widget in a network reference table in a memory of a mobile device; and referencing the network reference table when a wireless network is detected by the mobile device to determine a service provider-specific widget to activate.", "The network identification data may be a network SSID.", "Using an NFC capable electronic wallet may comprise providing the network identification data to a wallet container executing on the mobile device that associates the network identification data with the service provider-specific widget and facilitates activating the service provider-specific widget.", "Referencing the network reference table may be performed by a mobile wallet container executing on the mobile device that facilitates activating the service provider-specific widget based on a result of referencing the network reference table.", "Methods and systems of a multi-network transaction platform may include a method for providing a service from a service provider to a user of a mobile device via a service provider-specific widget, wherein providing is performed over a private wireless network after authenticating access to the private wireless local area network using network authentication credentials delivered to a mobile wallet executing on the mobile device during an NFC tap of the mobile device with an NFC terminal that is disposed within access range of the private wireless local area network.", "Methods and systems of a multi-network transaction platform may include a method for providing a service from a service provider to a user of a mobile device via a service provider-specific widget, wherein providing is performed over a private wireless network after authenticating access to the private wireless local area network using network authentication credentials received by a mobile wallet executing on the mobile device from a QR code captured by the mobile device while the mobile device is disposed within access range of the private wireless local area network.", "Methods and systems of a multi-network transaction platform may include a method for performing an electronic transaction over two distinct networks with a mobile wallet, comprising: receiving form of payment information from a mobile wallet over a first wireless network of a retail environment with a mobile device on which the mobile wallet is deployed; sending second wireless network description information of the retail environment over the first wireless network to facilitate access to the second wireless network by the mobile device, wherein the first wireless network operates within access range of the second wireless network; sending service information from a service provider associated with the retail environment over the second wireless network to request execution of a service provider-specific widget on the mobile device; and completing the electronic transaction, that was initiated by receiving the default form of payment information, by exchanging payment confirmation information over the second network via the service provider-specific widget.", "Methods and systems of a multi-network transaction platform may include a method for performing an electronic transaction over two distinct networks, comprising: sending form of payment information from a mobile wallet over a first wireless network with a mobile device on which the mobile wallet is deployed; receiving second network description information over the first wireless network; executing a service provider-specific widget on the mobile device in response to service information received over the second network; and completing the electronic transaction, that was initiated by sending the default form of payment information, by exchanging payment confirmation information over the second network via the service provider-specific widget.", "Methods and systems of a multi-network transaction platform may include a method for performing an electronic transaction over two distinct networks, comprising: sending a form of payment information from a mobile wallet over a first wireless network with a mobile device on which the mobile wallet is deployed; receiving second network description information over the first wireless network; executing a service provider-specific widget on the mobile device based on service provider information derived from the second network description information; and completing the electronic transaction, that was initiated by sending the default form of payment information, by exchanging payment confirmation information over the second network via the service provider-specific widget.", "The first wireless network may be a near-field communication network.", "Sending the form of payment information may comprise: receiving a request to confirm a purchase; providing the request to the mobile wallet; accessing a default form of payment information from secure storage on the mobile device; and transmitting a representation of the form of payment over the first wireless network.", "Accessing a form of payment information from secure storage on the mobile device may include executing a mobile wallet companion applet that is authorized to access the secure storage and providing payment information to the mobile wallet.", "The form of payment information may include mobile wallet identification information suitable for identifying at least one service provider for completing the electronic transaction.", "Receiving second network description information may comprise receiving information to facilitate accessing the second network and for authentication of the mobile device to perform secure electronic transactions over the second network, wherein the second network is a secure local area wireless network.", "Executing a service provider-specific widget may include: determining which service provider-specific widget to execute based on the service information; loading the determined service provider-specific widget into a container executing on the mobile device; and executing the service provider-specific widget within a run-time environment provided by the container.", "Completing the electronic transaction may comprise using the service provider-specific widget to access a second form of payment information via the wallet and sending the second form of payment information for completing the transaction instead of the default form of payment information.", "The second form of payment information may be identified in the service information.", "The second form of payment information may be a default form of payment information associated with the service provider-specific widget.", "Completing the electronic transaction may comprise using the service provider-specific widget to facilitate confirmation of the electronic transaction by presenting a branded transaction confirmation request to the user of the mobile device and forwarding a user response thereto to a service provider from which the service information was received.", "Completing the electronic transaction may comprise using the service provider-specific widget to receive and store in the mobile wallet a branded receipt for the electronic transaction from a service provider from which the service information was received.", "This method may further include updating network availability status of the mobile wallet based on establishing a network connection using the second network between the mobile device and a remote service provider.", "The remote service provider may be an electronic transaction facilitator for a retail environment of the first and second networks.", "The second network may be one of Bluetooth and Wi-Fi.", "Methods and systems of a multi-network transaction platform may include a method of commerce, comprising: receiving Bluetooth pairing information from a universal electronic transaction device during a near-field communication payment information exchange; during the near-field communication information exchange, delivering Bluetooth pairing information for at least one Bluetooth-enabled device other than the universal electronic transaction device to the universal electronic transaction device to facilitate Bluetooth pairing of the at least one Bluetooth-enabled device and the universal electronic transaction device; and delivering a confirmation of purchase based on the payment information to the universal electronic transaction device via a Bluetooth link paired as a result of the near-filed communication payment information exchange.", "During the near-field communication information exchange may comprise, exchanging keys for securing information exchanged via the Bluetooth link.", "This method may further include exchanging a user authorization for the purchase via the Bluetooth link.", "The user authorization may include at least one of an electronic signature and a digital representation of a user's signature.", "The digital representation of the user's signature is captured through a signature input facility of the universal electronic transaction device.", "This method may further include delivering offers to the universal electronic transaction device via a Bluetooth link paired as a result of the near-filed communication payment information exchange.", "Methods and systems of a multi-network transaction platform may include a method of commerce may include: exchanging pairing information to facilitate Bluetooth communication between a universal electronic transaction device and at least one other Bluetooth-enabled device via an NFC tap of the universal electronic transaction device with an NFC terminal; establishing a Bluetooth link between the universal electronic transaction device and the at least one other Bluetooth-enabled device; and conducting electronic commerce via the Bluetooth link.", "This method may further include delivering a confirmation of purchase based on the payment information to the universal electronic transaction device via the Bluetooth link.", "In addition, during the near-field communication information exchange, keys for securing information exchanged via the Bluetooth link may be exchanged.", "This method may further include exchanging a user authorization for the purchase via the Bluetooth link.", "The user authorization may include at least one of an electronic signature and a digital representation of a user's signature.", "The digital representation of the user's signature is captured through a signature input facility of the universal electronic transaction device.", "This method may further include delivering offers to the universal electronic transaction device via a Bluetooth link paired as a result of the near-filed communication payment information exchange.", "This method may further include receiving a commitment to purchase an item identified by the NFC terminal via the NFC tap.", "Conducting electronic commerce may include requesting payment for the item identified in the commitment and receiving method of payment information from the universal electronic transaction device.", "Methods and systems of a multi-network transaction platform may include a method of commerce may include: receiving information consistent with a request for wireless authentication from a universal electronic transaction device during a near-field communication payment information exchange; during the near-field communication information exchange, delivering wireless network authentication information to the universal electronic transaction device to facilitate authenticated access to the wireless network of the universal electronic transaction device; and delivering a confirmation of purchase based on the payment information to the universal electronic transaction device via the wireless network as a result of the near-filed communication payment information exchange.", "During the near-field communication information exchange may comprise, exchanging keys for securing information exchanged via the wireless network.", "This method may further include exchanging a user authorization for the purchase via the wireless network.", "The user authorization may include at least one of an electronic signature and a digital representation of a user's signature.", "The digital representation of the user's signature may be captured through a signature input facility of the universal electronic transaction device.", "This method may further include delivering offers to the universal electronic transaction device via a wireless network access to which is authenticated as a result of the near-filed communication payment information exchange Methods and systems of a multi-network transaction platform may include a method of commerce may include: exchanging wireless network authentication information to facilitate communication between a universal electronic transaction device and at least one other wireless network-enabled device via an short-range information exchange between the universal electronic transaction device and a point of sale transaction terminal; establishing a wireless link via the wireless network between the universal electronic transaction device and the at least one other wireless network-enabled device; and conducting electronic commerce via the wireless link.", "This method may further include delivering a confirmation of purchase based on the payment information to the universal electronic transaction device via the wireless link.", "During the short-range communication information exchange, exchanging keys for securing information exchanged via the wireless network link.", "This method may further include exchanging a user authorization for the purchase via the wireless link.", "The user authorization may include at least one of an electronic signature and a digital representation of a user's signature.", "The digital representation of the user's signature may be captured through a signature input facility of the universal electronic transaction device.", "This method may further include delivering offers to the universal electronic transaction device via a wireless network that is authenticated as a result of the short-range communication payment information exchange.", "This method may further include receiving a commitment to purchase an item identified by the short-range terminal via the short-range information exchange.", "Conducting electronic commerce may include requesting payment for the item identified in the commitment and receiving method of payment information from the universal electronic transaction device.", "These and other systems, methods, objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment and the drawings.", "All documents mentioned herein are hereby incorporated in their entirety by reference.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES In the drawings, which are not necessarily drawn to scale, like numerals may describe substantially similar components throughout the several views.", "Like numerals having different letter suffixes may represent different instances of substantially similar components.", "The drawings illustrate generally, by way of example, but not by way of limitation, a detailed description of certain embodiments discussed in the present document.", "FIG.", "1 depicts an example of a retail environment in which an NFC tap for a Bluetooth pairing may be used to facilitate mobile transaction processing; FIG.", "2 depicts an example of an NFC tap-to-pay and pair method to facilitate a Bluetooth receipt process; FIG.", "3 depicts an example of an NFC tap and pair with optional purchase commitment method to facilitate a Bluetooth mobile transaction process FIG.", "4 depicts an example of a retail environment in which an NFC tap for WiFi authentication may be used to facilitate mobile transaction processing; FIG.", "5 depicts an example of an NFC tap-to-pay and Wi-Fi authentication method to facilitate a WiFi receipt process; FIG.", "6 illustrates a use case scenario at a Restaurant; FIG.", "7 illustrates a use case scenario at a Hotel; FIG.", "8 illustrates exchanging network information during an NFC tap to facilitate mobile transaction processing over a secure wireless network; FIG.", "9 depicts elements of a mobile transaction platform for secure personalized transactions in combination with multi-network authentication and service; FIG.", "10 depicts a multi-network transaction flow from a service provider perspective; and FIG.", "11 depicts a multi-network transaction flow from a mobile wallet perspective.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT(S) The methods and systems described herein may include use of a multi-tier platform for personalized secure transactions in an ecosystem of participants including users, mobile devices, merchants, service providers, instrument issuers, transaction acquirers, and the like.", "The methods and systems described herein may further interface with transaction service elements such as wallets, widgets, containers, applets, tiers such as personalization, enabling, and service tiers, and other features and capabilities that facilitate secure personalized transactions among participants of the ecosystem.", "The methods and systems of multi-network transaction processing and other transaction processing in a retail environment described herein may benefit from and/or utilize the features, functions, capabilities, and the like that are depicted in the figures and described in co-owned U.S. Ser.", "No 13/909,262 the entirety of which is incorporated herein by reference.", "FIG.", "1 illustrates generally, but not by the way of limitation, an example of a retail environment 100 in which an NFC tap for Bluetooth pairing may be used.", "The retail environment 100 may enable an NFC POS terminal 102, a wireless communication device 104, and a Bluetooth terminal 110 to coordinate for electronic commerce, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.", "The NFC POS terminal 102 may provide a means to transfer transaction and payment-related information from the wireless communication device 104 to the Bluetooth terminal 110 and to a backend transaction processing system in a communication network.", "The wireless communication device 104 described herein may include for example, but not limited to, Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), Tablet Personal Computer (Tablet PC), cellular telephones, smart phones, universal electronic transaction device, handheld mobile device, and the like.", "The NFC POS terminal 102 may enable the wireless communication device 104 to use Bluetooth technology such as for electronic transactions with a single tap-and-go payment and receipt capabilities.", "The NFC POS terminal 102 may allow the wireless communication device 104 to quickly transfer the payment-related information via NFC, Bluetooth, and the like.", "The Bluetooth terminal 110 described herein may enable the wireless communication device 104 to wirelessly communicate in the retail environment 100 to facilitate a wide range of touch point opportunities associated with a purchase or electronic transaction.", "As a consumer moves about the retail environment 100 with a paired wireless communication device 104, the user may be notified of offers, purchase opportunities, confirmation of prior NFC purchases, confirmation of Bluetooth purchases, and the like without being required to be within NFC range of an NFC terminal such as NFC POS terminal 102.While the NFC POS terminal 102 may support wireless communication within four centimeters of the wireless communication device 104, the Bluetooth terminal 110 may enhance the range of wireless communication to 10 meters or even more, which may allow the wireless communication device 104 user (e.g.", "a consumer) to move or walk while performing electronic transactions, and the like in the retail environment.", "The touch point opportunities associated with a purchase or electronic transaction may include for example, but not limited to, receipt, couponing, recommended items (e.g., batteries for an item that requires batteries), deluxe memberships based on the transaction history, discount, offer, gift, and the like.", "In addition to sending coupons and the like as touch point messages, Bluetooth may further facilitate wireless transfer of diverse formatted content to/from a wireless communication device 104.The content provided over the Bluetooth terminal 110 may include, for example, but not limited to, a URL, a video, an audio message, a receipt or acknowledgement message, transaction data, and the like.", "In an example, a purchase for a cosmetic product may be conducted over the NFC/Bluetooth system described herein and a short video of application of the cosmetic may be delivered to the wireless communication device 104 after the purchase.", "As a result of a conventional NFC-style “tap” of the wireless communication device 104 with the NFC POS terminal 102, the terminal 102 may perform a pairing handshake with the device 104 and set up the Bluetooth pairing between the wireless communication device 104 and any other Bluetooth-enabled device, such as a device in the retail environment including the NFC POS terminal 102, the Bluetooth terminal 110, and the like.", "The NFC POS terminal 102 may use the NFC protocols as a medium such as for exchange of device-to-device information to facilitate Bluetooth pairing via the Bluetooth terminal 110.In this way, traditional NFC POS terminal 102 tap-to-pay may be combined with Bluetooth pairing for fast electronic payment information transfer to the NFC POS terminal 102 and later delivery of payment confirmation (e.g.", "a payment receipt) via Bluetooth.", "In addition to exchange of device-to-device information for Bluetooth pairing, additional information, including security key information for securing data transferred over a Bluetooth link may be exchanged (e.g.", "encryption keys and/or signing keys).", "The information received by the NFC POS terminal 102 from the device 104 may be processed by the terminal 102 and/or may be forwarded to a central server, one or more of the Bluetooth terminals 110, to another NFC POS terminal, and the like for processing including handling of device paring, security key exchange and configuration, and the like.", "FIG.", "2 illustrates generally, but not by the way of limitation, an example of an NFC tap-to-pay and Bluetooth pair method 200 that includes a follow-on Bluetooth receipt process, in accordance with various embodiments of the present invention.", "The wireless communication device 104 may send a payment request to pay to the NFC POS terminal 102.The NFC POS terminal 102 may automatically perform a handshake and set up the Bluetooth pairing with the wireless communication device 104 so that wireless communication device 104 may connect with any Bluetooth terminal associated with a retail environment (e.g.", "Bluetooth terminal 110).", "Upon receipt of the request to pay from the wireless device 104, the NFC POS terminal 102 may send a request indicating a purchase action to be performed by a transaction processor 202.The transaction processor 202 described herein may be for example, a universal electronic transaction facility, transaction server, service provider, and the like as described herein.", "The NFC POS terminal 102 may transfer Bluetooth pairing and/or other details to a Paired Bluetooth terminal 204, which may be similar to the Bluetooth terminal 110 described herein.", "The transaction processor 202 may perform the electronic purchase transaction, in accordance with the request received from the NFC POS terminal 102, and may send a receipt to one or more devices in the retail environment that may further communicate the receipt to the wireless device 104.Such devices may include the NFC terminal 102, the Bluetooth terminal 110, the paired Bluetooth terminal 204, and the like.", "The receipt may be for acknowledging the electronic transaction performed by the transaction processor 202.A paired Bluetooth terminal 204 may send the receipt to the wireless communication device 104, thereby acknowledging the electronic transaction performed by the transaction processor 202.The wireless communication device 104 may also receive offers related to the user purchased item or history or the like from a Bluetooth device that may have been paired during the NFC purchase information transfer described above.", "FIG.", "3 illustrates generally, but not by the way of limitation, an example of an NFC tap and Bluetooth pair with optional purchase commit method 300 followed by the Bluetooth purchase transaction processes, in accordance with various embodiments of the present invention.", "The method 300 may allow the wireless communication device 104 to send a request (optionally including a commit or request to purchase an item) and optionally a request for Bluetooth pairing.", "The NFC POS terminal 102 may automatically perform a handshake and set up the Bluetooth pairing with the wireless communication device 104 as described herein.", "The NFC POS terminal 102 may send a paired confirmation and the optional purchase commits detail to the wireless communication device 104 for later use.", "The NFC POS may transfer the optional device pair and purchase commits request information so that it is accessible by Bluetooth devices, such as paired Bluetooth terminal 204.As the user moves around the retail environment, the paired Bluetooth terminal 204 may send a payment request to the wireless communication device 104.In the case of the optional purchase commit information being exchanged between the NFC POS terminal 102 and the device 104 during the “tap”, the device 104 may validate the payment request and based on the validation may send a request for clearing or processing the payment via Bluetooth that may indicate a purchase action to be performed by the transaction processor 202.The transaction processor 202 may perform the electronic purchase transaction and may send a receipt that may be delivered to the device 104 via Bluetooth.", "The receipt may be for acknowledging the electronic transaction performed by the transaction processor 202.The wireless communication device 104 may also receive the offers related to the user purchase item or history or the like over the paired Bluetooth communication link(s).", "FIG.", "4 illustrates generally, but not by the way of limitation, an example of a retail environment 100 in which an NFC-based transaction facilitates authentication of a mobile device to conduct mobile transactions over a local wireless network, such as through a WiFi terminal 402.The retail environment 100 may enable an NFC POS terminal 102, a wireless communication device 104, and a WiFi terminal 402 to coordinate for electronic commerce, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.", "The NFC POS terminal 102 may provide a means to transfer at least a portion of transaction, device, user, network, security, and payment-related information from the wireless communication device 104 via the WiFi terminal 402 to a backend transaction processing system in a communication network.", "The NFC POS terminal 102 may enable the wireless communication device 104 to use the WiFi technology such as for electronic transactions with a single tap-and-go payment and receipt capabilities.", "The NFC POS terminal 102 may allow the wireless communication device 104 to quickly transfer the payment-related information via NFC, Bluetooth, WiFi, and the like.", "The WiFi terminal 402 described herein may enable the wireless communication device 104 to wirelessly communicate in the retail environment 100 such as to facilitate a wide range of touch point opportunities associated with a purchase, an offer, or any other electronic information exchange, including mobile transactions.", "In an example, as a consumer moves about the retail environment 100 with a wireless communication device 104 that has been enabled to be authenticated on a wireless network via the NFC tap interaction, the consumer (e.g.", "mobile device user) may be notified of offers, purchase opportunities, confirmation of prior purchases (e.g.", "NFC purchases), confirmation of returns, and the like without being required to be within NFC range of an NFC terminal such as NFC POS terminal 102.While the NFC POS terminal 102 may support wireless communication within four centimeters of the wireless communication device 104, the WiFi terminal 402 may enhance the range of wireless communication, which may allow the wireless communication device 104 user (e.g.", "a consumer) to move or walk about and in proximity to the retail environment 100 while performing electronic transactions, and the like as described herein.", "In an aspect, in addition to sending coupons and the like as touch point messages, wireless network authentication as described herein (e.g.", "via a NFC tap interaction) may further facilitate wireless transfer of diverse formatted content to/from the wireless communication device 104.The content provided over the WiFi terminal 402 may include, for example, but not limited to, a URL, a video, an audio message, a receipt or acknowledgement message, transaction data, store information, comparative shopping information, discounts, and the like.", "In an example, a purchase for a cosmetic product may be conducted over the NFC system described herein and a short video of application of the cosmetic may be delivered to the wireless communication device 104 after the purchase.", "As a result of a conventional NFC-style “tap” of the wireless communication device 104 with the NFC POS terminal 102, the terminal 102 may perform a ID exchange handshake with the device 104 that may include receiving device ID and optionally user ID information from the device 104 and optionally providing wireless network ID and/or authentication token information to the device 104.The Terminal 102 may also send the wireless communication device 104 device ID and/or user ID information to the WiFi terminal 402.The information of the wireless communication device sent to the WiFi terminal 402 may include the device credential information such as the WiFi user name and password, and other device related authentication information as described herein.", "In an example, the NFC POS terminal 102 may send the device credential information to the Wi-Fi terminal as well as purchase transaction information to a transaction processor.", "In an example, Wi-Fi network access may require a NFC tap handshake (e.g.", "to receive a current authentication token) even for devices that had previously used the Wi-Fi network (e.g.", "known devices) so that merely passing through the WiFi network does not necessarily enable conducting mobile transactions over the network.", "In another example, the WiFi network may automatically identify and authenticate previously authenticated/known devices without requiring an NFC tap handshake.", "In an example conducting mobile transactions over a Wi-Fi or other local network based on NFC tap authentication, the WiFi terminal 402 may be configured to use the device/user credentials to authenticate the device to perform an electronic transaction.", "The NFC POS terminal 102 may use P-P (peer-to-peer) protocols to exchange network and device information during the NFC transaction.", "Other NFC protocols that support two-way data exchange may also be used.", "In this way, tap-to-pay using current technology NFC POS terminals may be combined with wireless network technology for fast electronic payment information transfer through the NFC POS terminal 102 with latent delivery of payment confirmation (e.g.", "a payment receipt) via the WiFi network.", "In addition to exchange of network and device information for authentication, additional information, including security key information for securing data transferred over the WiFi network may be exchanged (e.g.", "encryption keys and/or signing keys).", "The information received by the NFC POS terminal 102 from the device 104 may be processed by the terminal 102 and/or may be forwarded to a central server, one or more of the WiFi terminals 402, to another NFC POS terminal, and the like for processing including handling of device identification, authenticating, security key exchange and configuration, and the like.", "FIG.", "5 depicts an example of an NFC tap-to-pay and Wi-Fi authentication method to facilitate a Wi-Fi receipt process.", "The wireless communication device 104 may send a payment request to pay to the NFC POS terminal 102.The NFC POS terminal 102 may automatically perform the ID exchange handshake as described for the embodiment of FIG.", "4 so that the wireless communication device 104 may connect with any WiFi terminal (e.g.", "WiFi terminal 402) associated with a wireless network of the retail environment.", "During a NFC “tap” information exchange between the device 104 and the terminal 102, the terminal 102 may receive an authorization to pay along with device/user identification data.", "In return, the device 104 may receive wireless network information such as the network SSID, a secure token for authentication on the wireless network, and the like.", "Upon receipt of the request to pay from the wireless device 104, the NFC POS terminal 102 may send a request indicating a purchase action to the transaction processor 202.The NFC POS terminal 102 may transfer the device/user ID information to the WiFi terminal 402.The information sent to the WiFi terminal 204 may include the device credential information such as the user name and the password.", "The information may be sent via the wireless network if the NFC POS terminal 102 supports communication over a wireless network, such as Wi-Fi.", "The WiFi terminal 402 may use the device information to identify the device user and authenticate the wireless communication device 104.In an aspect, in addition to exchange of device and network ID information for device authentication during the NFC tap event, additional information, such as security key information for securing all sorts of data that may be transferred over the WiFi network may be sent to the device 104 (e.g.", "encryption keys and/or signing keys).", "The information received by the NFC POS terminal 102 from the device 104 may be processed by the WiFi terminal 402 and/or may be forwarded to a central server, one or more of the WiFi terminals 402, to another NFC POS terminal, and the like for processing including handling of device or user authenticating, security key exchange and configuration, and the like.", "After completing the NFC tap information exchange, the device 104 may communicate with the Wi-Fi terminal 402 to complete authentication and enable the wireless device 104 to use the wireless network.", "This may use any known or contemplated authentication scheme including having the device 104 send the token that it received from the NFC terminal 102 to the wireless terminal 402.If the device 104 can be quickly identified by the POS computer during the NFC tap action.", "The NFC terminal may provide an authentication token that can be used by the wireless communication device 104 during transactions over the wireless network.", "Alternatively, as described above, the WiFi terminal 402 may send an authentication confirmation message to the wireless communication device 104 that was identified at the NFC tap event.", "The transaction processor 202, in communication with the WiFi terminal 402, may perform the electronic purchase transaction, in accordance with the request received from the NFC POS terminal 102, and may send a receipt to one or more devices in the retail environment that may further communicate the receipt to the wireless device 104.The receipt may be for acknowledging the electronic transaction performed by the transaction processor 202 for the purchase of items identified by the device 104 in the original NFC tap action.", "The wireless communication device 104 may also receive offers such as offers related to the user purchase history or the like over the WiFi network.", "FIG.", "6 illustrates a use case scenario at a Restaurant 600 in which the NFC tap to pair (for Bluetooth) or to authenticate (for a wireless network) and the like may be used to enable a wide range of mobile transaction processing associated with a visit to a restaurant, including but not limited to authorizing paying the meal bill through an electronic payment transaction.", "A restaurant use scenario may involve similar pairing and/or network authentication techniques described herein including, without limitation exchange of network and device information for authentication including security key information for securing data transferred over a WiFi network (e.g.", "encryption keys and/or signing keys).", "The restaurant environment may leverage the low cost and ease of use of a multi-function NFC-tap as described herein by deploying a variety of NFC terminals throughout the restaurant.", "In this way the NFC terminal 102 may not be just a payment terminal at a checkout or cashier station, but may be embodied as other devices.", "Some examples include deploying an NFC terminal 102 at a store entrance, at a kiosk, at a display, at a ‘welcome’ station, a mobile device operated by a store employee (e.g.", "a hostess), a stall, a booth, an eating table, a waiting area, pavilion, a newsstand, a stand, and the like.", "The NFC terminal 102 may be placed at an entrance 602, at a hostess desk 604 (e.g.", "when giving your name to the hostess to wait for a table), at a table 608, at the bar 610, a waiter/waitress device 612, at a seat yourself sign 614, a hostess device 618, and the like.", "One or more wireless terminals may also be located in the restaurant environment so that the device 104 may access the restaurant wireless network as a result of a successful NFC tap information exchange as described herein.", "This may result in a user's device 104 being the gateway for all electronic information associated with the user's visit to the restaurant.", "By being able to access the user's device 104 over a restaurant-specific wireless network, the device may receive menu information, item nutrition information, wait staff names and faces, offers, suggestions for wine, and the like.", "The user's device 104 may become a portal into the a wide range of restaurant-related information (e.g.", "number of patrons ordering a specific entry, reservation options, ID check for ordering alcoholic beverages, and the like including paying the meal bill.", "The wireless terminal 402 may send the bill to the user device 104.The bill may be presented to the user on the device 104.In an aspect, the bill described herein may be a paper bill.", "The user may perform the activities such as view the bill, approve the totals, determine payment type, send a payment request, and the like.", "FIG.", "7 illustrates a use case scenario at a Hotel 700 that may gain the benefits of the NFC tap and pair or authenticate functionality described herein along with the distributed NFC terminal concepts described in regards to the restaurant embodiment of FIG.", "6.A hotel use scenario may involve similar pairing and/or network authentication techniques described herein including, without limitation exchange of network and device information for authentication including security key information for securing data transferred over a WiFi network (e.g.", "encryption keys and/or signing keys).", "The NFC terminal in the hotel embodiment may be placed at valet 702, a self park 704, a entrance 708, a concierge 710, a front desk (checking) 712, an elevator 714, a restaurant/breakfast buffet 718, the pool 720, a guest room 722, entry 724, minibar 728, television 730, television remote control 732, and the like.", "A simple NFC tap at any of these terminals may enable the device 104 to use the Hotel's wireless network 402 for mobile transaction processing.", "Similarly to the restaurant embodiment of FIG.", "6, the users' wireless device 104 may become the main portal or gateway through with the user communicates with the hotel systems and performs mobile transactions during his/her stay.", "FIG.", "8 illustrates exchanging network information during an NFC tap to facilitate mobile transaction processing over a secure wireless network.", "The exchange of network information begins with a wireless communication device 104 being brought into near-field communication range of a terminal so as to allow the terminal to detect the device.", "The device may also actively detect the NFC terminal.", "Upon detection the terminal and the device may exchange information to facilitate enabling the wireless device to access a private wireless network associated with the terminal.", "The device may send a set of data that may include device identification, user identification, account identification, and the like to the NFC terminal.", "The NFC POS terminal 102 may receive the device information and may send information about the private wireless network to inform the device about the network so that the device can request access to the wireless network.", "In the embodiment of FIG.", "8, the NFC terminal provides identification (e.g.", "SSID) information about the wireless network to the device.", "Subsequent to this NFC exchange of information, the device may attempt to access the wireless network, such as by sending device and user identification credentials for authentication on the wireless network.", "In the embodiment of FIG.", "8, a Wi-Fi terminal 402 represents some wireless network resources, such as a router, bridge, hot spot, server, network appliance, and the like.", "The WiFi terminal 402 may uses the device and/or user information to identify and authenticate the user and the wireless communication device 104.The wireless network resource (e.g.", "Wi-Fi terminal 402) may send an authorization or activation signal to the wireless device 104 to enable mobile transactions between the device 104 and resources on and available through the wireless network 402.The user authorization for access to the wireless network may be based on at least one of an electronic signature and a digital representation of a manual signature.", "In an aspect, the digital representation of the manual signature may be captured through a signature input facility, such as a touch screen or signature pad of the wireless device 104.In another example, the user may manually sign a document, such as an invoice, a check, or the like at the time of conducting a transaction and the user may capture his/her signature with a camera feature of the wireless device 104.Alternatively, the user may carry a signature card or may have a digitized version of his/her signature that can be displayed on a screen so that the camera feature may capture his/her signature for the purposes of authenticating the user of the wireless device 104.Near Field Communication technologies and protocols that are known, contemplated, or otherwise support exchange of information between a wireless device and a terminal during an NFC tap action may be supported by the wireless device 104.Standards such as ISO/IEC 18092/ECMA-340 ; ISO/IEC 21481/ECMA-352; ISO/IEC 14443 Type A and Type B, FeliCa and the like may be used in the NFC tap action.", "The methods and systems of NFC tap to enable pairing for Bluetooth or to enable wireless network authentication may use a bi-directional capability that may be described as a p-p.", "FIG.", "9 depicts elements of a multi-tier mobile transaction platform for secure personalized transactions that may facilitate execution of the multi-network transaction methods and systems described herein.", "Mobile-device localized elements may include an NFC widget 902 that is capable of processing data received via an NFC-style tap operation as described herein.", "The NFC widget 902 may interact with network authentication functionality 904 that may configure an local wireless access interface 908 to a local network 910.The NFC widget 904 may also facilitate selection of a widget via a widget lookup feature 912 of the mobile device.", "The NFC widget 910 may provide information, such as a network SSID, vendor identifier, or the like that may facilitate identification of a widget, such as a service provider-specific widget.", "The lookup function 912 may also interact with the network authentication capability 904 so that an identified widget is activated in coordination with authenticated access to the local network 910.An identified widget 914 may function to access a mobile wallet capability, such as a service-provider specific wallet 918 or wallet capability to exchange information over the local network 910 with a service provider 920.Secure capabilities of such a wallet may be accessed via widget that may be accessible in a secure storage (e.g.", "a mobile device secure element) 922.FIG.", "10 depicts a multi-network transaction flow from a service provider perspective.", "A first network of the multi-network transaction flow may be an NFC network that may be activated by a NFC tap operation 1002.Payment information for a transaction may be received from a mobile wallet of the mobile device via NFC communication in step 1004.Local network access information may be sent to the mobile device over the NFC communication in step 1008.Service provider information, that may be used by the mobile device to access a service provider-specific widget, may be transmitted over the local network in step 1010.The transaction may be completed via the local network by exchanging information between the service provider and the service provider-specific widget in step 1012.FIG.", "11 depicts a multi-network transaction flow from a mobile device wallet/widget perspective.", "A first network of the multi-network transaction flow may be an NFC network that may be activated by a NFC tap operation 1102.Payment information for a transaction may be sent from a mobile wallet of the mobile device via NFC communication to a service provider in step 1104.Local network access information may be received by the mobile device over the NFC communication in step 1108.Service provider information that may be used by the mobile device to activate a service provider-specific widget may be derived from the local network access information in step 1110.The transaction may be completed via the local network by exchanging information between the service provider and the service provider-specific widget in step 1112.In an embodiment, the Bluetooth/WiFi network may function similar to a merchant device, service provider facility, service provider system and the like, and may facilitate connection of the wireless device 104 with a transaction service provider.", "Alternatively, the Bluetooth/WiFi network may act as a communication gateway between a paired wireless device 104 and a service provider server for conducting purchase type transactions, and the like.", "A multi-tier platform for secure personalized transactions may include a personalization tier for enabling such secure personalized transactions.", "The personalization tier may be configured to enable an ecosystem of participants, such as a service provider to personalize information, such as NFC information to enable use of service provider specific capabilities of a mobile device upon authentication onto a local wireless network of a mobile device.", "As noted herein, the personalization tier may be used to effect specific branding elements (such as trademarks, logos, themes, colors or the like), user interaction elements, workflows (such as stored account and transaction data to enable efficient completion of repeated transactions, shopping carts, single-click transactions and many others), user interface effects (such as transitions, content formats, dynamics or any other action), cause and/or effect that may be required by a service provider for a specific requirement.", "A personalization layer may also be configured to facilitate the deployment of a service provider's corporate design or interaction philosophy as well as giving room to consumers to adjust to their personal needs and preferences, including for the visually impaired, and the like.", "In an example, the personalization layer of the multi-tier secure transaction platform may be used by an NFC network provider to create a branded mobile application targeting a specific business vertical that can be executed with the use of the NFC terminal.", "The branded mobile application may be an mWallet application that may be configured for use in the retail/financial domain, a mHealth application for the healthcare vertical, or the like.", "The mobile application may provide a core set of services to a user, specific to a domain for which it may have been created.", "The wallet, through its wallet container application may also facilitate application lifecycle and security, standardized user experience, widget management responsibilities, and other functions, features, and operations associated with the wallet, the widget, the service provider domain, and the like.", "In regards to an NFC-related embodiment, the mobile application may be a wallet-environment assuming a retail domain application.", "The personalized NFC information may include or be indicative of at least one service provider-specific widget to be executed on the mobile device upon authentication onto a local wireless network.", "For example, personalization of such NFC information transmitted from the NFC terminal to the mobile device may include identifiers and other details specific to a particular widget and also the corresponding service provider to which the widget is associated.", "The service provider information may be included in the form of a service provider identifier so that upon receipt of the NFC information, the mobile device identifies the widget and the corresponding service provider with the help of the mobile wallet application environment that may include wallets, wallet containers, widgets, applets, an enabling tier, and the like.", "Widgets may be configured by a service provider to provide a wide range of transaction related functions.", "In a retail environment, a widget may enable a service provider to provide an ecosystem of business services that may be configured to authenticate a transaction.", "An exemplary authentication may be performed through exchange of NFC information between the mobile device and the NFC POS terminal directly.", "In another example, authentication may be effected by exchange of information that may be transmitted through another wireless network present in the retail environment other than an NFC network.", "This may be done by automatically connecting with another long range wireless network, such as WiFi, Bluetooth, and the like as describe herein.", "For example, the personalized NFC information delivered from the NFC terminal may facilitate pairing of the mobile device with a Bluetooth network terminal to enable transmission of relevant information over Bluetooth for authentication associated with personalized services of a service provider via a widget corresponding to the service provider.", "Alternatively, a WiFi or other wireless local area network may be substituted for a Bluetooth network.", "Payment for a purchase may be authenticated and a form of payment may be provided by communicating with the service provider-specific widget on the mobile device over the Bluetooth or WiFi network to a banking service provider, such as a web server configured as a participant in an ecosystem cloud.", "As described herein, the service provide-specific widget may reference an applet, such as an applet for accessing a secure element or other secure storage on the mobile device for implementing the personalized aspect of the transaction (e.g.", "a service provider security key or other security related data).", "The multi-tier platform may be adapted to enable a service provider to ensure that NFC terminals within the local wireless network operating range, such as at merchant locations, are equipped to handle the personalized proximity protocols that may be used by the various wallets and widgets that may have been loaded into the mobile device.", "These NFC terminals may then process the transaction through an acquiring network that may switch the transaction to the appropriate ecosystem service provider in the cloud.", "The wallet and/or the widget may communicate with the ecosystem cloud over the local wireless network to determine service status and various other value-added service requirements like balance, transaction history, stored value top-up, and the like.", "To further enhance security, the personalized NFC information may include a preferred and/or required wireless network for communicating between the service provider-specific widget and the service provider.", "This may result in the mobile device being redirected to the preferred wireless network to avoid transmitting security related or confidential information over a third-party network that may overlap the preferred wireless network range.", "Such an arrangement may be typically found in a retail environment where stores are in close proximity (e.g.", "a shopping mall).", "As described herein, the personalization tier may comprise a software development kit for developing the service provider-specific widget.", "In this way, a service provider may build a service provider-specific widget for use in a retail multi-network environment using an SDK provided with the multi-tier platform.", "As described in detail herein, the multi-tier platform for secure personalized transactions may also include a service tier.", "The service tier may be configured to enable service delivery from a service provider to a user of a mobile device via a local wireless network that may be accessed as a result of information that is provided to a mobile device during an NFC tap operation between the mobile device and a NFC terminal, such as in a retail environment.", "The service tier may cater to the specific requirements such as work flows, business logic, rules, intelligence, and needs of service verticals such as, but not limited to, retail transactions, banking, ticketing, bill payment, couponing, loyalty and point card programs, parking, and other ecosystem services.", "Services enabled by such a service tier may include mobile banking, money transfer, bill payments, ticketing, couponing, loyalty programs, marketing and advertising related services, education related services, city services, mobile health services, mobile insurance, transit services such as parking coupons, travel services, emergency or 911 services, retail payments, logistics support services, business intelligence solutions, branding, shopping, product authentication services, regulatory services, records management, interactive television services, text-to-voice services, location based services and the like.", "The services may be accessed using the multi-tier platform functionality operable on a mobile device.", "In an example, the services may be accessed by the mobile device using an mWallet functionality of the mobile device over a WiFi network of a retail store.", "As described in more detail herein, the mobile device may be authenticated to use the local wireless network through the receipt of service provider and local wireless network information during an NFC tap operation between the mobile device and an NFC terminal that may be in an access range of the local wireless network.", "For example, the NFC terminal may send identifier details pertinent to the wireless network and the service provider to the mobile device during the NFC tap operation such that the identifiers may be indicative of the respective networks and the service provider associated with service delivery through the service tier.", "In an example, the information may also include widgets invitations and/or identifiers for the mobile device to authenticate downloading or updating of the widgets for secured and quick service delivery and interactions with the use of the service tier.", "Once the mobile device is authenticated to use the wireless network to communicate with the service provider, the service tier enables service delivery from the respective service provider to a user of a mobile device via wallets, wallet containers, widgets and other aspects of the multi-tier platform described herein.", "A service tier as described herein may be configured to enable the mobile device to wirelessly communicate in a retail environment to access a wide range of touch point services associated with a purchase, an offer, or any other electronic information exchange, including mobile transactions.", "Through interactions between a service provider and multi-tier platform service elements, such as service elements (e.g.", "widgets) customized with the associated personalization tier, a user of a mobile device that has been enabled to be authenticated on a wireless network via an NFC tap interaction as described herein, may be notified of offers, purchase opportunities, confirmation of prior purchases (e.g.", "NFC purchases), confirmation of returns, and the like without being required to be within NFC range of an NFC terminal while still being in the retail environment.", "In an example, the multi-tier platform for secure personalized transactions may further include an enabling tier.", "The enabling tier may be configured to operate on a mobile device to enable delivery of service provider and local wireless network information to a wallet container application executing on the mobile device.", "The enabling tier may facilitate access of mobile device feature and services, such as NFC communication services and features, WiFi configuration and communication services, Bluetooth pairing and communication services, and the like that may support the multi-network methods and systems described herein.", "An enabling tier, such as a runtime application environment operating on a mobile device, an mWallet capability may be able to communicate with an NFC terminal, redirect WiFi communication to a preferred/required wireless local area network, activate and communicate with a service provider-specific widget, and the like.", "An enabling tier may facilitate initiating a transaction over an NFC tap interaction and finishing that transaction over a preferred WiFi network by facilitating operation of the necessary service provider-specific widgets and providing an environment on the mobile device in which such widgets can maintain important information across such network switching.", "The present document discloses methods of multi-network tokenization for electronic transaction security.", "The process of tokenization may facilitate securing content traversing multiple networks in a dynamic ecosystem for secure commerce and payment transactions.", "The methods may be related to multi-network purchase transactions that include an initial step of receiving a tokenized default form of payment information from a mobile wallet by an NFC terminal for performing an electronic transaction.", "The wallet may be service provider specific so that a specific form of payment may be tokenized and used for performing payment related transaction with a specific service provider.", "Further, certain widgets may be associated with a wallet that may allow facilitating payment in defined forms or modes including tokenization.", "For example, a widget A in association with a wallet W may be used to perform tokenization of payment related transaction with the service provider through retail coupons.", "In this case information about retail coupon codes may also be tokenized and transmitted from the mobile wallet to the NFC terminal.", "In another example, a widget B in association with a wallet X may be used to perform tokenized services related to another service provider through credit cards.", "In this case, the details about the credit card, such as credit card number, credit card holder's name, credit card's expiry date etc may also be tokenized to further secure the information and a resulting token may be transmitted from the wallet to the NFC terminal.", "Similarly any other information pertinent to the mode of payment may be tokenized and transferred from the wallet to the NFC terminal.", "The tokenization process may be used to replace the information elements with a token.", "The token may be consistent of numeric characters, alphabetic characters, a combination of alphabetical and numeric characters, a truncated primary account number with alphabetic and numeric characters replacing the middle digits of the primary account number, and the like.", "The token may be a one-time use token.", "The token may be issued by a trusted entity in the dynamic ecosystem for secure commerce and payment transactions.", "The trusted entity may be a server located at the payment gateway, acquirer, or issuer or any other participant.", "The token may be generated as a mathematically reversible cryptographic function, a one-way non-reversible cryptographic function, or assigned through an index function, sequence number or a randomly generated number.", "As exemplarily described above, the methods and systems described herein of ecosystem secure personalized transactions may include methods of tokenizing information in a secure personalized transaction.", "In an NFC/multi-network retail environment application, a token identifier of the tokenized representation and wireless local area network access/authentication information may be sent from to a mobile device from an NFC terminal during an NFC tap operation.", "The mobile device may receive the token identifier obtained from the tokenization process and information about the wireless network that is paired or connected with the NFC terminal for establishing communications over longer ranges.", "The information and the token identifier may be received by a wallet that is installed on the mobile device for further use by the widget, and other services of the mobile device and service elements of the multi-tier platform that are accessible on the mobile device, such as wallets, widgets, wallet containers, an enabling tier and the like.", "Tokenized multi-network transactions actions may further include forwarding the tokenization representation to a service provider for processing an electronic transaction.", "The service provider may then receive information from the mobile device over the wireless local area network that associates the tokenized representation with the mobile device.", "A tokenized confirmation that is identifiable by the token identifier may be forwarded from the service provider to the mobile device over the local area wireless network.", "An NFC capable mobile wallet as described herein, may activate a service provider-specific set of widgets to provide service provider specific services.", "In an example, the NFC network may be used to perform an NFC tap operation between the NFC terminal and the mobile device.", "During an NFC interaction, information pertinent to a wireless network may be communicated to the mobile device by the NFC terminal.", "The information may also include specific details indicative of a service provider as well as the respective widgets of the service provider for delivery and interaction for specific services by/with the service provider.", "In response to receipt of at least the service provider and widget related information, the mobile wallet may activate the service provider-specific set of widgets.", "The widgets may be used to provide services over the wireless network identified through the NFC interaction.", "The specific wireless network identified in the NFC interaction may have been previously unknown to the wallet or the wallet capability.", "As noted above, a wireless network may not have been known to a wallet capability; however over time, certain wireless networks will become known to the wallet capability.", "Accessing these wireless networks again may not require an NFC tap to access the wireless network information.", "In addition, as noted above, a service provider-specific widget may be activated when certain wireless networks are accessed to facilitate secure service delivery and transactions with a service provider.", "Therefore, to facilitate activation of service provider-specific widgets without requiring an NFC tap operation that identifies the widget, a wallet container application may operate cooperatively with the mobile wallet to update a table that cross references wireless network identification with service provider-specific widgets.", "For example, identifiers may be associated with each of the wireless networks and the service providers and the service provider-specific widgets.", "The identifiers may be updated in the reference table from where information may be derived about specific networks that are accessible in a retail environment and the associated service providers in the network and widgets specific to them.", "The cross referencing to the table may facilitate activating the service provider-specific set of widgets each time the specific wireless network is detected.", "For example, in a retail environment including a large number of stores of a specific service provider, each store may have a different WiFi network ID, yet a single service provider-specific widget may be used in all of the stores.", "In this manner, the single widget or widget set would be needed for all of the unique wireless networks.", "This association can be done by adding a wireless network identifier associated with a widget or a set of widgets into the table.", "The table may thus include references of the network identifiers and the service providers and the widgets specific to them so that after cross-referencing the table, and mapping wireless network identifier to a widget, the respective widget may be automatically activated as the mobile phone enters the same wireless network without needing any NFC tap interaction again and again.", "In this manner specific widgets may automatically get activated in specific network environments automatically.", "The reference table may thus facilitate an initialization engine for enabling automated widget activation and functioning without repeat NFC interactions.", "The methods and systems of multi-network retail environment transaction processing may include a QR code decoding-capable mobile wallet and/or wallet container that may be configured to activate a service provider-specific set of widgets.", "The service provider-specific widgets may be configured to provide services to a user of the mobile device via the widgets over a wireless network in response to determining local wireless network identification information.", "The methods and systems relating to service provider-specific widgets and/or widget sets described above herein apply to these QR code related methods and systems.", "For example, the service provider-specific widgets may be configured to provide shopping related services in response to determining local wireless network identification information.", "The local wireless network identification information may include a network SSID, a secure token for authentication on the wireless network, and the like.", "This local wireless network identification information may be previously unknown to the wallet capability thereby enabling a mobile device that is configured with suitable multi-tier platform personalized service elements to conduct a transaction through personalized service elements, such as widgets through a preferred local wireless network of a retail environment.", "The local wireless network identification information may be obtained from a QR code that may be captured while the mobile wallet is in access range of the local wireless network, such as when a user of the mobile device uses the device to read a QR code on a kiosk in a retail store or other environment that includes a local area network.", "In an example of a method for activating the service-provider specific set of widgets on a mobile device, the wireless network identification data for a service provider-specific network may be received by a wallet container application that provides a runtime environment for activating and executing widgets on the mobile device.", "The network identification data may be used to identify a service provider-specific widget for operation in the runtime environment, such as through a lookup function of the container that maps widgets to QR code information.", "The association of the network identification data and the service provider-specific widget may facilitate activation of the service provider-specific widget to communicate over the network with a specific service provider, such as the retail environment service provider.", "Once the service provider-specific widget is activated, the associated network identification data and a service provider-specific widget identifier for the service provider-specific widget may be stored in a network reference table in a memory of the mobile device as discussed above also.", "This network reference table may be referenced when a wireless network is detected by the mobile device to determine a service provider-specific widget to activate.", "In an example, the network identification data may include a network SSID that may be associated with a widget issued by a service provider.", "In such an instance, a widget issued by a service provider may be granted exclusive access to the workflow of the issuing service provider, resources on the mobile device, such as wallet resources, secure element resources, as well as to user interfaces of the client device.", "Likewise, a widget issued by a service provider that has been activated through the mobile wallet and/or wallet container may be denied access to the workflows, wallet elements, and the like of other service providers as well as to certain mobile device resources of the client device to ensure security of such service provider services and service elements.", "If the widget issued by the service provider is granted access to service provider data, the widget may be activated and may be launched within the runtime secure environment such as a wallet container operating on the mobile device.", "As described above, a reference table of network identifiers and service provider-specific widgets may be built and maintained by the methods and systems described herein.", "Referencing the network reference table may be performed by a mobile wallet container or any other service element of the multi-tier platform for secure personalized transactions that may execute on the mobile device.", "The referenced information may facilitate activating a service provider-specific widget determined from matching a detected wireless network identifier (e.g.", "a broadcast SSID) to entries in the reference table.", "For example, the network reference table may include a plurality of network SSIDs so that each network SSID may correspond to a different wireless network.", "Each network SSID may be associated with a service provider-specific widget that should be activated to facilitate service delivery over that particular wireless network.", "In an example, a service may be provided from a service provider to a user of a mobile device via a service provider-specific widget, over a private wireless local area network, after authenticating access to the private wireless local area network using network authentication credentials received through an NFC tap interaction and/or through ingestion of a QR or similar visual code.", "In an example, an NFC terminal associated with an enterprise may be located within the cafeteria of a multi-national (MNC) enterprise covered by a private wireless enterprise network.", "A user of a mobile device, such as an employee of the MNC may want to purchase an item at the cafeteria.", "The employee may select an item for purchase and make prefer to make a payment for an amount equivalent to the cost of the item through a netbanking service over netbank's private wireless network.", "The user may submit a request to use the netbanking service by tapping the mobile device at the NFC terminal.", "Upon receipt of the request to pay with netbanking, the NFC terminal may send a network SSID information to the mobile device that may be used for authenticating the mobile device for accessing the cafeteria local area wireless network.", "Once the mobile device is authenticated, the NFC terminal may transfer information that uniquely identifies the mobile device to the bank's private network using the NFC wired network.", "The netbank may then attempt to access the mobile device over the MNC wireless network to confirm the purchase and/or deliver confirmation items, such as a receipt for the purchase to the mobile device.", "An appropriate wallet and/or widget on the mobile device may be operationally connected to this transaction so that when the netbank communicates to the mobile device over MNC's local area wireless network, a secure transaction channel may be configured between the wallet operating on the mobile device and netbank through the MNC local area network.", "Thereby providing a high degree of over the air security to complete the transaction.", "In a variety of environments, QR codes may be used to provide information, such as a URL or similar information that can be used by a mobile phone to access information over any available network that facilitates access to the Internet.", "While some wireless networks offer security, such as through a network password and security capabilities (e.g.", "WEP, WPA, and the like), most networks merely act as a secure conduit for information exchange.", "In environments that are conducive to using a mobile phone to acquire a QR code, (e.g.", "a retail environment) it is possible to further customize a network environment so that services, such as personalized services, may be provided over the network in a secure and confidential manner.", "When a mobile device that is configured with service elements of a multi-tier platform for secure personalized transactions has access to capturing QR codes, it may be possible to activate certain personalized service elements of a mobile wallet subsystem on the mobile wallet through the QR code.", "In addition, a QR code may include information to facilitate directing the mobile device wireless interface to a preferred network that has inherent security, personalization, and is equipped to best facilitate service delivery from a service provider to a mobile device.", "A QR code may include network authentication credentials, such as a network SSID associated with the preferred wireless local area network, service provider information, service elements identity (e.g.", "a service provider-specific widget that is deployed on the phone), and the like that may facilitate high quality service delivery to a user of a mobile phone while in a retail or similar environment.", "As noted above and herein, by providing information that aspects of the mobile wallet transaction environment that operate on the mobile device may use to identify and activate a specific installed widget, service delivery may be initiated as soon as the wireless network is accessed by the mobile device.", "In an example of personalized service information that may be delivered through a QR code, a preferred service provider widget identifier may be included in the QR code data set.", "Upon receipt of the preferred service provider widget identifier, a mobile wallet and/or a wallet container may use enabling tier capabilities described herein to access the widget.", "Upon access, the widget may be operated within a mobile container operating environment to enable exchange of information with a service provider who has developed the widget.", "Mobile device action flow for such a method may include: receiving network and service provider information by capturing a QR code; configuring the mobile device to access the network identified in the QR code; activating a service provider-specific widget based on at least one of the service provider information and the network information; operating the service provider-specific widget to exchange information related to services that are available from a specific service provider, and the like.", "Transactions between the mobile device and the specific service provider may be performed via a newly activated service provider widget.", "In this way, for each different environment, a QR code may uniquely help activate a preferred wireless network and a service provider-specific widget.", "Methods and systems of multi-network transaction processing may include a mobile wallet that may be used to perform an electronic transaction in a retail transaction environment.", "In an example, the retail transaction environment may include two distinct networks over which a single transaction may be performed.", "Further, the first wireless network may be used for sending second wireless network description information of the retail environment (e.g.", "an SSID, authentication code, service provider information, a transaction token, a personalization key, and the like) to the mobile device.", "The first wireless network may be a near-filed communication (NFC) network, while the second wireless network may be a Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or similar local area wireless network.", "Performing the transaction over the two distinct networks may include receiving default form of payment information from the mobile wallet over a first wireless network of the retail environment (e.g.", "an NFC network) with a mobile device on which the mobile wallet is deployed while the mobile device is in wireless network detection range of the second network.", "There are several possible multi-network transaction scenarios that may stem from this initial step.", "A few representative scenarios are now described.", "In all instances, second network information received by the mobile device during the NFC transaction is used by the mobile device to at least redirect its WiFi interface to the second wireless network.", "Also, in all exemplary scenarios, service elements of the mobile device (e.g.", "a wallet, widget, wallet container, wallet applet and the like as are described herein) may reference the network information and possibly service provider information provided during the NFC transaction to identify and activate one or more service elements, such as widgets to facilitate continuation of the single transaction over the second wireless network.", "It is noted that the network information may be sufficient to identify and activate an appropriate service provider-specific widget if a reference table that is described herein above is utilized.", "Alternatively, the network information may include data or other information (e.g.", "a URL) that the mobile device should access upon authentication on the second wireless network.", "Using this other network information may result in further service provider details being delivered to the service elements on the mobile phone (e.g.", "by accessing the provided URL) that may facilitate identification and activation of a particular service element, such as a service provider-specific widget.", "In the event that the default form of payment is acceptable by a transaction processor of the retail environment, the transaction may be completed through the transaction processor after the user has moved the mobile device away from the NFC terminal.", "As described herein, information that results in delivery of a receipt for the purchase through the second network may be the follow-on actions.", "In the event that the retail environment and/or a service provider through which the retail environment performs transactions prefers a particular form of payment (e.g.", "a credit card issued by a banking function of the retail environment—a “store card”) or the default form of payment is not accepted, additional activities need to be performed between the mobile device wallet and the service provider to effect payment for the purchase.", "In such a scenario, a service provider-specific service element that is activated through use of second network information as described above or is specifically identified through information provided to the mobile device during the first network NFC tap transaction may be activated to select an alternate form of payment.", "This alternate form of payment may be accessed by a widget that has authority to access the form of payment through a wallet.", "Widget access rights and limitations related to form of payment access and use are described elsewhere and herein.", "Once the service provider accesses the mobile device over the second wireless network, a service workflow that may be known to the service provider and to the service provider-specific widget may be executed to change the form of payment to the preferred/alternate form of payment and complete the transaction.", "In an alternate example of performing the electronic transaction over two distinct networks, a service provider widget or set of widgets may be requested via an exchange of transaction related information over the second wireless network.", "In this example, the widget may not be identified by the information received during the first network transaction exchange (e.g.", "NFC tap interaction).", "Instead, information that identifies the transaction that may be exchanged over the second wireless network may include a service provider-specific widget reference and/or a service workflow identifier that triggers activation of a service provider-specific widget to effect the change in form of payment and complete the purchase transaction.", "The second form of payment information may be a default form of payment information associated with the service provider-specific widget.", "In another example, the electronic transaction may be completed using the service provider-specific widget to facilitate confirmation of the electronic transaction by presenting a branded transaction confirmation request to the user of the mobile device.", "A user response may then be forwarded to a service provider from which the service information was received.", "In another example, the electronic transaction may be completed using the service provider-specific widget to receive and store in the mobile wallet a branded receipt for the electronic transaction from a service provider from which the service information was received.", "The above are only a few examples of the benefits and capabilities of combining the NFC paired Bluetooth transaction methods and systems described herein with the transactional services methods and systems of the present disclosure and including all documents incorporated herein.", "Other benefits, capabilities, services, and functionality of such combinations are contemplated and included herein.", "The methods and systems described herein may be deployed in part or in whole through a machine that executes computer software, program codes, and/or instructions on a processor.", "The present invention may be implemented as a method on the machine, as a system or apparatus as part of or in relation to the machine, or as a computer program product embodied in a computer readable medium executing on one or more of the machines.", "In embodiments, the processor may be part of an ASIC, FPGA, server, cloud server, client, network infrastructure, mobile computing platform, stationary computing platform, or other computing platform.", "A processor may be any kind of computational or processing device capable of performing information processing, executing program instructions, codes, binary instructions and the like.", "The processor may be or may include a signal processor, digital processor, embedded processor, microprocessor or any variant such as a co-processor (math co-processor, graphic co-processor, communication co-processor and the like) and the like that may directly or indirectly facilitate execution of program code or program instructions stored thereon.", "In addition, the processor may enable execution of multiple programs, threads, and codes or may have no threads, programs, or codes.", "Any such threads may be executed simultaneously to enhance the performance of the processor and to facilitate simultaneous operations of the application.", "By way of implementation, methods, program codes, program instructions and the like described herein may be implemented in one or more thread.", "The thread may spawn other threads that may have assigned priorities associated with them; the processor may execute these threads based on priority or any other order based on instructions provided in the program code.", "The processor, or any machine utilizing one, may include memory that stores methods, codes, instructions and programs as described herein.", "The processor may access a storage medium through an interface that may store methods, codes, and instructions as described herein.", "The storage medium associated with the processor for storing methods, programs, codes, program instructions or other type of instructions capable of being executed by the computing or processing device may include but may not be limited to one or more of a CD-ROM, DVD, memory, hard disk, flash drive, RAM, ROM, cache and the like.", "A processor may include one or more cores that may enhance speed and performance of a multiprocessor.", "In embodiments, the process may be a dual core processor, quad core processors, other chip-level multiprocessor and the like that combine two or more independent cores (called a die).", "The methods and systems described herein may be deployed in part or in whole through a machine that executes computer software on a server, client, firewall, gateway, hub, router, or other such computer and/or networking hardware.", "The software program may be associated with a server that may include a file server, print server, domain server, internet server, intranet server, cloud server and other variants such as secondary server, host server, distributed server and the like.", "The server may include one or more of memories, processors, computer readable media, storage media, ports (physical and virtual), communication devices, and interfaces capable of accessing other servers, clients, machines, and devices through a wired or a wireless medium, and the like.", "The methods, programs or codes as described herein may be executed by the server.", "In addition, other devices required for execution of methods as described in this application may be considered as a part of the infrastructure associated with the server.", "The server may provide an interface to other devices including, without limitation, clients, other servers, printers, database servers, print servers, file servers, communication servers, distributed servers, social networks and the like.", "Additionally, this coupling and/or connection may facilitate remote execution of program across the network.", "The networking of some or all of these devices may facilitate parallel processing of a program or method at one or more location without deviating from the scope of the disclosure.", "In addition, any of the devices attached to the server through an interface may include at least one storage medium capable of storing methods, programs, code and/or instructions.", "A central repository may provide program instructions to be executed on different devices.", "In this implementation, the remote repository may act as a storage medium for program code, instructions, and programs.", "The software program may be associated with a client that may include a file client, print client, domain client, internet client, intranet client and other variants such as secondary client, host client, distributed client and the like.", "The client may include one or more of memories, processors, computer readable media, storage media, ports (physical and virtual), communication devices, and interfaces capable of accessing other clients, servers, machines, and devices through a wired or a wireless medium, and the like.", "The methods, programs or codes as described herein may be executed by the client.", "In addition, other devices required for execution of methods as described in this application may be considered as a part of the infrastructure associated with the client.", "The client may provide an interface to other devices including, without limitation, servers, other clients, printers, database servers, print servers, file servers, communication servers, distributed servers and the like.", "Additionally, this coupling and/or connection may facilitate remote execution of program across the network.", "The networking of some or all of these devices may facilitate parallel processing of a program or method at one or more location without deviating from the scope of the disclosure.", "In addition, any of the devices attached to the client through an interface may include at least one storage medium capable of storing methods, programs, applications, code and/or instructions.", "A central repository may provide program instructions to be executed on different devices.", "In this implementation, the remote repository may act as a storage medium for program code, instructions, and programs.", "The methods and systems described herein may be deployed in part or in whole through network infrastructures.", "The network infrastructure may include elements such as computing devices, servers, routers, hubs, firewalls, clients, personal computers, communication devices, routing devices and other active and passive devices, modules and/or components as known in the art.", "The computing and/or non-computing device(s) associated with the network infrastructure may include, apart from other components, a storage medium such as flash memory, buffer, stack, RAM, ROM and the like.", "The processes, methods, program codes, instructions described herein may be executed by one or more of the network infrastructural elements.", "The methods and systems described herein may be adapted for use with any kind of private, community, or hybrid cloud computing network or cloud computing environment, including those which involve features of software as a service (SaaS), platform as a service (PaaS), and/or infrastructure as a service (IaaS).", "The methods, program codes, and instructions described herein may be implemented on a cellular network having multiple cells.", "The cellular network may either be frequency division multiple access (FDMA) network or code division multiple access (CDMA) network.", "The cellular network may include mobile devices, cell sites, base stations, repeaters, antennas, towers, and the like.", "The cell network may be a GSM, GPRS, 3G, EVDO, mesh, or other networks types.", "The methods, programs codes, and instructions described herein may be implemented on or through mobile devices.", "The mobile devices may include navigation devices, cell phones, mobile phones, mobile personal digital assistants, laptops, palmtops, netbooks, pagers, electronic books readers, music players and the like.", "These devices may include, apart from other components, a storage medium such as a flash memory, buffer, RAM, ROM and one or more computing devices.", "The computing devices associated with mobile devices may be enabled to execute program codes, methods, and instructions stored thereon.", "Alternatively, the mobile devices may be configured to execute instructions in collaboration with other devices.", "The mobile devices may communicate with base stations interfaced with servers and configured to execute program codes.", "The mobile devices may communicate on a peer to peer network, mesh network, or other communications network.", "The program code may be stored on the storage medium associated with the server and executed by a computing device embedded within the server.", "The base station may include a computing device and a storage medium.", "The storage device may store program codes and instructions executed by the computing devices associated with the base station.", "The computer software, program codes, and/or instructions may be stored and/or accessed on machine readable media that may include: computer components, devices, and recording media that retain digital data used for computing for some interval of time; semiconductor storage known as random access memory (RAM); mass storage typically for more permanent storage, such as optical discs, forms of magnetic storage like hard disks, tapes, drums, cards and other types; processor registers, cache memory, volatile memory, non-volatile memory; optical storage such as CD, DVD; removable media such as flash memory (e.g.", "USB sticks or keys), floppy disks, magnetic tape, paper tape, punch cards, standalone RAM disks, Zip drives, removable mass storage, off-line, and the like; other computer memory such as dynamic memory, static memory, read/write storage, mutable storage, read only, random access, sequential access, location addressable, file addressable, content addressable, network attached storage, storage area network, bar codes, magnetic ink, and the like.", "The methods and systems described herein may transform physical and/or or intangible items from one state to another.", "The methods and systems described herein may also transform data representing physical and/or intangible items from one state to another.", "The elements described and depicted herein, including in flow charts and block diagrams throughout the figures, imply logical boundaries between the elements.", "However, according to software or hardware engineering practices, the depicted elements and the functions thereof may be implemented on machines through computer executable media having a processor capable of executing program instructions stored thereon as a monolithic software structure, as standalone software modules, or as modules that employ external routines, code, services, and so forth, or any combination of these, and all such implementations may be within the scope of the present disclosure.", "Examples of such machines may include, but may not be limited to, personal digital assistants, laptops, personal computers, mobile phones, other handheld computing devices, medical equipment, wired or wireless communication devices, transducers, chips, calculators, satellites, tablet PCs, electronic books, gadgets, electronic devices, devices having artificial intelligence, computing devices, networking equipment, servers, routers and the like.", "Furthermore, the elements depicted in the flow chart and block diagrams or any other logical component may be implemented on a machine capable of executing program instructions.", "Thus, while the foregoing drawings and descriptions set forth functional aspects of the disclosed systems, no particular arrangement of software for implementing these functional aspects should be inferred from these descriptions unless explicitly stated or otherwise clear from the context.", "Similarly, it will be appreciated that the various steps identified and described above may be varied, and that the order of steps may be adapted to particular applications of the techniques disclosed herein.", "All such variations and modifications are intended to fall within the scope of this disclosure.", "As such, the depiction and/or description of an order for various steps should not be understood to require a particular order of execution for those steps, unless required by a particular application, or explicitly stated or otherwise clear from the context.", "The methods and/or processes described above, and steps associated therewith, may be realized in hardware, software or any combination of hardware and software suitable for a particular application.", "The hardware may include a general purpose computer and/or dedicated computing device or specific computing device or particular aspect or component of a specific computing device.", "The processes may be realized in one or more microprocessors, microcontrollers, embedded microcontrollers, programmable digital signal processors or other programmable device, along with internal and/or external memory.", "The processes may also, or instead, be embodied in an application specific integrated circuit, a programmable gate array, programmable array logic, or any other device or combination of devices that may be configured to process electronic signals.", "It will further be appreciated that one or more of the processes may be realized as a computer executable code capable of being executed on a machine readable medium.", "The computer executable code may be created using a structured programming language such as C, an object oriented programming language such as C++, or any other high-level or low-level programming language (including assembly languages, hardware description languages, and database programming languages and technologies) that may be stored, compiled or interpreted to run on one of the above devices, as well as heterogeneous combinations of processors, processor architectures, or combinations of different hardware and software, or any other machine capable of executing program instructions.", "Thus, in one aspect, methods described above and combinations thereof may be embodied in computer executable code that, when executing on one or more computing devices, performs the steps thereof.", "In another aspect, the methods may be embodied in systems that perform the steps thereof, and may be distributed across devices in a number of ways, or all of the functionality may be integrated into a dedicated, standalone device or other hardware.", "In another aspect, the means for performing the steps associated with the processes described above may include any of the hardware and/or software described above.", "All such permutations and combinations are intended to fall within the scope of the present disclosure.", "While the disclosure has been disclosed in connection with the preferred embodiments shown and described in detail, various modifications and improvements thereon will become readily apparent to those skilled in the art.", "Accordingly, the spirit and scope of the present disclosure is not to be limited by the foregoing examples, but is to be understood in the broadest sense allowable by law.", "The use of the terms “a” and “an” and “the” and similar referents in the context of describing the disclosure (especially in the context of the following claims) is to be construed to cover both the singular and the plural, unless otherwise indicated herein or clearly contradicted by context.", "The terms “comprising,” “having,” “including,” and “containing” are to be construed as open-ended terms (i.e., meaning “including, but not limited to,”) unless otherwise noted.", "Recitation of ranges of values herein are merely intended to serve as a shorthand method of referring individually to each separate value falling within the range, unless otherwise indicated herein, and each separate value is incorporated into the specification as if it were individually recited herein.", "All methods described herein can be performed in any suitable order unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context.", "The use of any and all examples, or exemplary language (e.g., “such as”) provided herein, is intended merely to better illuminate the disclosure and does not pose a limitation on the scope of the disclosure unless otherwise claimed.", "No language in the specification should be construed as indicating any non-claimed element as essential to the practice of the disclosure.", "While the foregoing written description enables one of ordinary skill to make and use what is considered presently to be the best mode thereof, those of ordinary skill will understand and appreciate the existence of variations, combinations, and equivalents of the specific embodiment, method, and examples herein.", "The disclosure should therefore not be limited by the above described embodiment, method, and examples, but by all embodiments and methods within the scope and spirit of the disclosure." ] ]
Patent_15873150
[ [ "AIR-CAVITY MODULE WITH ENHANCED DEVICE ISOLATION", "The present disclosure relates to an air-cavity module having a thinned semiconductor die and a mold compound.", "The thinned semiconductor die includes a back-end-of-line (BEOL) layer, an epitaxial layer over the BEOL layer, and a buried oxide (BOX) layer with discrete holes over the epitaxial layer.", "The epitaxial layer includes an air-cavity, a first device section, and a second device section.", "Herein, the air-cavity is in between the first device section and the second device section and directly in connection with each discrete hole in the BOX layer.", "The mold compound resides directly over at least a portion of the BOX layer, within which the discrete holes are located.", "The mold compound does not enter into the air-cavity through the discrete holes." ], [ "1.An apparatus comprising: a thinned semiconductor die comprising: a BEOL layer having an upper surface that includes a first surface portion and a second surface portion surrounding the first surface portion; an epitaxial layer residing over the upper surface of the BEOL layer and comprising an air-cavity, a first device section, and a second device section, wherein: the air-cavity is over the first surface portion and not over the second surface portion; the first device section and the second device section are located on opposite sides of the air-cavity; and the first device section and the second device section are over the second surface portion and not over the first surface portion; and a BOX layer having a plurality of discrete holes and residing over the epitaxial layer, wherein the plurality of discrete holes are over the first surface portion and not over the second surface portion, and directly in connection with the air-cavity; and a first mold compound directly over at least a portion of the BOX layer, within which the plurality of discrete holes are located, wherein the first mold compound does not enter into the air-cavity of the epitaxial layer through the plurality of discrete holes within the BOX layer.", "2.The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the first mold compound has a relative permittivity of no more than 7.3.The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the first mold compound has a relative permittivity of no more than 4.4.The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the first mold compound is formed of polymer granules, wherein each polymer granule is larger than any of the plurality of discrete holes.", "5.The apparatus of claim 4 wherein a diameter of each of the plurality of discrete holes is between 0.1 μm and 100 μm, and a diameter of each polymer granule is between 0.2 μm and 500 μm.", "6.The apparatus of claim 4 wherein a diameter of each of the plurality of discrete holes is between 0.2 μm and 1 μm, and a diameter of each polymer granule is between 0.5 μm and 50 μm.", "7.The apparatus of claim 4 wherein a shape of each of the plurality of discrete holes is one of a group consisting of a cuboid, a cylinder, and a circular truncated cone.", "8.The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising a thermally enhanced mold compound that resides over the first mold compound.", "9.The apparatus of claim 8 wherein the first mold compound and the thermally enhanced mold compound are formed from an identical material.", "10.The apparatus of claim 8 wherein the first mold compound and the thermally enhanced mold compound are formed from different materials.", "11.The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the epitaxial layer further comprises isolation sections, wherein: the isolation sections surround the first device section and the second device section, and separate the first device section and the second device section from the air-cavity; and the isolation sections are over the second surface portion and not over the first surface portion.", "12.The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the first device section includes a first source, a first drain, and a first channel for a first field effect transistor (FET), and the second device section includes a second source, a second drain, and a second channel for a second FET.", "13.The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the first mold compound is directly over the entire BOX layer.", "14.The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising a low permittivity mold compound, wherein: the first mold compound resides directly over a first portion of the BOX layer, within which the plurality of discrete holes are located; the low permittivity mold compound resides directly over second portions of the BOX layer, within which the plurality of discrete holes are not located; and the low permittivity mold compound at least partially encapsulates the sides of the first mold compound.", "15.The apparatus of claim 14 wherein the low permittivity mold compound has a relative permittivity of no more than 7.16.The apparatus of claim 14 further comprising a thermally enhanced mold compound that resides over the first mold compound, wherein the low permittivity mold compound at least partially encapsulates sides of the thermally enhanced mold compound.", "17.The apparatus of claim 16 wherein the low permittivity mold compound and the thermally enhanced mold compound are formed from an identical material.", "18.The apparatus of claim 16 wherein the low permittivity mold compound and the thermally enhanced mold compound are formed from different materials.", "19.The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising a module substrate and a second mold compound, wherein: the thinned semiconductor die is a flip-chip die and further includes a plurality of interconnects extending from a lower surface of the BEOL layer towards an upper surface of the module substrate; and the second mold compound resides over the upper surface of the module substrate and encapsulates at least sides of the first mold compound and the thinned semiconductor die.", "20.The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising a multilayer redistribution structure and a second mold compound wherein: the thinned semiconductor die resides directly over an upper surface of the multilayer redistribution structure; and the second mold compound resides over the upper surface of multilayer redistribution structure and encapsulates at least sides of the first mold compound and the thinned semiconductor die.", "21.An apparatus comprising: a thinned semiconductor die comprising: a BEOL layer having an upper surface that includes a first surface portion and a second surface portion surrounding the first surface portion; an epitaxial layer residing over the upper surface of the BEOL layer and comprising air-cavities, support structures, a first device section, and a second device section, wherein: the air-cavities and the support structures are over the first surface portion and not over the second surface portion; the first device section and the second device section are over the second surface portion and not over the first surface portion; the air-cavities are in between the first device section and the second device section; and the air-cavities are separated from each other by the support structures; and a BOX layer having a plurality of discrete holes and residing over the epitaxial layer, wherein: the plurality of discrete holes are over the first surface portion and not over the second surface portion; each air-cavity is directly in connection with at least one of the plurality of discrete holes; and the support structures provide mechanical support to a first portion of the BOX layer, within which the plurality of discrete holes are located; and a first mold compound directly over at least the first portion of the BOX layer, wherein the first mold compound does not enter into the air-cavity of the epitaxial layer through the plurality of discrete holes within the BOX layer." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND <EOH>Silicon-on-insulator (SOI) structures are widely used to form semiconductor packages due to the low cost of silicon materials, large scale capacity of wafer production, well-established semiconductor design tools, and well-established semiconductor manufacturing techniques.", "Within a conventional semiconductor package formed from a SOI structure, parasitic coupling effects between devices are dominated by both the vertical parasitic coupling through the silicon handle layer of the SOI structure and the lateral parasitic coupling through the shallow trench isolation (STI) within the epitaxial layer.", "For modern communication applications, a high degree of isolation between signal paths is highly desired.", "This in turn requires a low degree of parasitic coupling between devices.", "Normally, a significant spacing between devices, like switches, is used to ensure good isolation between different signal paths.", "However, the significant spacing between the devices will largely increase the solution area and cost.", "Accordingly, there remains a need for improved semiconductor package designs with SOI structures to reduce parasitic coupling effects between devices within the semiconductor package.", "In addition, there is also a need to keep the size and cost of the final semiconductor package effective." ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY <EOH>The present disclosure relates to an air-cavity module with enhanced device isolation.", "The disclosed air-cavity module has a thinned semiconductor die and a first mold compound.", "The thinned semiconductor die includes a back-end-of-line (BEOL) layer, an epitaxial layer, and a buried oxide (BOX) layer.", "The BEOL layer has an upper surface that includes a first surface portion and a second surface portion surrounding the first surface portion.", "The epitaxial layer resides over the upper surface of the BEOL layer and includes an air-cavity, a first device section, and a second device section.", "Herein, the air-cavity is over the first surface portion and not over the second surface portion.", "The first device section and the second device section are located on opposite sides of the air-cavity.", "The first device section and the second device section are over the second surface portion and not over the first surface portion.", "The BOX layer has a number of discrete holes and is over the epitaxial layer.", "The discrete holes are over the first surface portion and not over the second surface portion, and directly in connection with the air-cavity.", "The first mold compound resides directly over at least a portion of the BOX layer, within which the discrete holes are located.", "The first mold compound does not enter into the air-cavity of the epitaxial layer through the discrete holes within the BOX layer.", "In one embodiment of the air-cavity module, the first mold compound has a relative permittivity of no more than 7.In one embodiment of the air-cavity module, the first mold compound has a relative permittivity of no more than 4.In one embodiment of the air-cavity module, the first mold compound is formed of polymer granules.", "Each polymer granule is larger than any of the discrete holes.", "In one embodiment of the air-cavity module, a diameter of each discrete hole is between 0.1 μm and 100 μm, and a diameter of each polymer granule is between 0.2 μm and 500 μm The apparatus of claim 4 wherein a diameter of each of the plurality of discrete holes is between 0.2 μm and 1 μm, and a diameter of each polymer granule is between 0.5 μm and 50 μm.", "In one embodiment of the air-cavity module, a shape of each discrete hole is one of a group consisting of a cuboid, a cylinder, and a circular truncated cone.", "According to another embodiment, the air-cavity further includes a thermally enhanced mold compound that resides over the first mold compound.", "In one embodiment of the air-cavity module, the first mold compound and the thermally enhanced mold compound are formed from an identical material.", "In one embodiment of the air-cavity module, the first mold compound and the thermally enhanced mold compound are formed from different materials.", "In one embodiment of the air-cavity module, the epitaxial layer further includes isolation sections.", "Herein, the isolation sections surround the first device section and the second device section, and separate the first device section and the second device section from the air-cavity.", "The isolation sections are over the second surface portion and not over the first surface portion.", "In one embodiment of the air-cavity module, the first device section includes a first source, a first drain, and a first channel for a first field effect transistor (FET), and the second device section includes a second source, a second drain, and a second channel for a second FET.", "In one embodiment of the air-cavity module, the first mold compound is directly over the entire BOX layer.", "According to another embodiment, the air-cavity module further includes a low permittivity mold compound.", "Herein, the first mold compound resides directly over a first portion of the BOX layer, within which the discrete holes are located.", "The low permittivity mold compound resides directly over second portions of the BOX layer, within which the discrete holes are not located.", "The low permittivity mold compound at least partially encapsulates the sides of the first mold compound.", "In one embodiment of the air-cavity module, the low permittivity mold compound has a relative permittivity of no more than 7.According to another embodiment, the air-cavity module further includes a thermally enhanced mold compound that resides over the first mold compound.", "The low permittivity mold compound at least partially encapsulates the sides of the thermally enhanced mold compound.", "In one embodiment of the air-cavity module, the low permittivity mold compound and the thermally enhanced mold compound are formed from an identical material.", "In one embodiment of the air-cavity module, the low permittivity mold compound and the thermally enhanced mold compound are formed from different materials.", "According to another embodiment, the air-cavity module is included in a laminate-based semiconductor package.", "Besides the air-cavity module, the laminate-based semiconductor package also includes a module substrate and a second mold compound.", "Herein, the thinned semiconductor die is a flip-chip die and further includes a number of interconnects extending from a lower surface of the BEOL layer towards an upper surface of the module substrate.", "The second mold compound resides over the upper surface of the module substrate and encapsulates at least sides of the first mold compound and the thinned semiconductor die.", "According to another embodiment, the air-cavity module is included in a wafer-level package.", "Besides the air-cavity module, the wafer-level package also includes a multilayer redistribution structure and a second mold compound.", "Herein, the thinned semiconductor die resides directly over an upper surface of the multilayer redistribution structure.", "The second mold compound resides over the upper surface of multilayer redistribution structure and encapsulates at least sides of the first mold compound and the thinned semiconductor die.", "According to another embodiment, an air-cavity module has a thinned semiconductor die and a first mold compound.", "The thinned semiconductor die includes a BEOL layer, an epitaxial layer, and a BOX layer.", "The BEOL layer has an upper surface that includes a first surface portion and a second surface portion surrounding the first surface portion.", "The epitaxial layer resides over the upper surface of the BEOL layer and includes air-cavities, support structures, a first device section, and a second device section.", "Herein, the air-cavities and the support structures are over the first surface portion and not over the second surface portion.", "The first device section and the second device section are over the second surface portion and not over the first surface portion.", "The air-cavities are in between the first device section and the second device section.", "The air-cavities are separated from each other by the support structures.", "The BOX layer has a number of discrete holes and is over the epitaxial layer.", "The discrete holes are over the first surface portion and not over the second surface portion.", "Each air-cavity is directly in connection with at least one discrete hole.", "The support structures provide mechanical support to a first portion of the BOX layer, within which the discrete holes are located.", "The first mold compound directly resides over at least the first portion of the BOX layer and does not enter into the air-cavity of the epitaxial layer through the discrete holes within the BOX layer.", "Those skilled in the art will appreciate the scope of the present disclosure and realize additional aspects thereof after reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments in association with the accompanying drawing figures." ], [ "Related Applications This application claims the benefit of provisional patent application Ser.", "No.", "62/447,111, filed Jan. 17, 2017.This application claims priority to and is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "15/601,858, filed May 22, 2017, entitled WAFER-LEVEL PACKAGE WITH ENHANCED PERFORMANCE, which claims the benefit of U.S. provisional patent application Ser.", "No.", "62/339,322, filed May 20, 2016.This application claims priority to and is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "15/652,826, filed Jul.", "18, 2017, entitled THERMALLY ENHANCED SEMICONDUCTOR PACKAGE HAVING FIELD EFFECT TRANSISTORS WITH BACK-GATE FEATURE, which claims the benefit of U.S. provisional patent application Ser.", "No.", "62/363,499, filed Jul.", "18, 2016.All of the applications listed above are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.", "FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE The present disclosure relates to an air-cavity module and a process for making the same, and more particularly to an air-cavity module with enhanced device isolation, and a process for enhancing isolation performance between devices within the air-cavity module.", "BACKGROUND Silicon-on-insulator (SOI) structures are widely used to form semiconductor packages due to the low cost of silicon materials, large scale capacity of wafer production, well-established semiconductor design tools, and well-established semiconductor manufacturing techniques.", "Within a conventional semiconductor package formed from a SOI structure, parasitic coupling effects between devices are dominated by both the vertical parasitic coupling through the silicon handle layer of the SOI structure and the lateral parasitic coupling through the shallow trench isolation (STI) within the epitaxial layer.", "For modern communication applications, a high degree of isolation between signal paths is highly desired.", "This in turn requires a low degree of parasitic coupling between devices.", "Normally, a significant spacing between devices, like switches, is used to ensure good isolation between different signal paths.", "However, the significant spacing between the devices will largely increase the solution area and cost.", "Accordingly, there remains a need for improved semiconductor package designs with SOI structures to reduce parasitic coupling effects between devices within the semiconductor package.", "In addition, there is also a need to keep the size and cost of the final semiconductor package effective.", "SUMMARY The present disclosure relates to an air-cavity module with enhanced device isolation.", "The disclosed air-cavity module has a thinned semiconductor die and a first mold compound.", "The thinned semiconductor die includes a back-end-of-line (BEOL) layer, an epitaxial layer, and a buried oxide (BOX) layer.", "The BEOL layer has an upper surface that includes a first surface portion and a second surface portion surrounding the first surface portion.", "The epitaxial layer resides over the upper surface of the BEOL layer and includes an air-cavity, a first device section, and a second device section.", "Herein, the air-cavity is over the first surface portion and not over the second surface portion.", "The first device section and the second device section are located on opposite sides of the air-cavity.", "The first device section and the second device section are over the second surface portion and not over the first surface portion.", "The BOX layer has a number of discrete holes and is over the epitaxial layer.", "The discrete holes are over the first surface portion and not over the second surface portion, and directly in connection with the air-cavity.", "The first mold compound resides directly over at least a portion of the BOX layer, within which the discrete holes are located.", "The first mold compound does not enter into the air-cavity of the epitaxial layer through the discrete holes within the BOX layer.", "In one embodiment of the air-cavity module, the first mold compound has a relative permittivity of no more than 7.In one embodiment of the air-cavity module, the first mold compound has a relative permittivity of no more than 4.In one embodiment of the air-cavity module, the first mold compound is formed of polymer granules.", "Each polymer granule is larger than any of the discrete holes.", "In one embodiment of the air-cavity module, a diameter of each discrete hole is between 0.1 μm and 100 μm, and a diameter of each polymer granule is between 0.2 μm and 500 μm The apparatus of claim 4 wherein a diameter of each of the plurality of discrete holes is between 0.2 μm and 1 μm, and a diameter of each polymer granule is between 0.5 μm and 50 μm.", "In one embodiment of the air-cavity module, a shape of each discrete hole is one of a group consisting of a cuboid, a cylinder, and a circular truncated cone.", "According to another embodiment, the air-cavity further includes a thermally enhanced mold compound that resides over the first mold compound.", "In one embodiment of the air-cavity module, the first mold compound and the thermally enhanced mold compound are formed from an identical material.", "In one embodiment of the air-cavity module, the first mold compound and the thermally enhanced mold compound are formed from different materials.", "In one embodiment of the air-cavity module, the epitaxial layer further includes isolation sections.", "Herein, the isolation sections surround the first device section and the second device section, and separate the first device section and the second device section from the air-cavity.", "The isolation sections are over the second surface portion and not over the first surface portion.", "In one embodiment of the air-cavity module, the first device section includes a first source, a first drain, and a first channel for a first field effect transistor (FET), and the second device section includes a second source, a second drain, and a second channel for a second FET.", "In one embodiment of the air-cavity module, the first mold compound is directly over the entire BOX layer.", "According to another embodiment, the air-cavity module further includes a low permittivity mold compound.", "Herein, the first mold compound resides directly over a first portion of the BOX layer, within which the discrete holes are located.", "The low permittivity mold compound resides directly over second portions of the BOX layer, within which the discrete holes are not located.", "The low permittivity mold compound at least partially encapsulates the sides of the first mold compound.", "In one embodiment of the air-cavity module, the low permittivity mold compound has a relative permittivity of no more than 7.According to another embodiment, the air-cavity module further includes a thermally enhanced mold compound that resides over the first mold compound.", "The low permittivity mold compound at least partially encapsulates the sides of the thermally enhanced mold compound.", "In one embodiment of the air-cavity module, the low permittivity mold compound and the thermally enhanced mold compound are formed from an identical material.", "In one embodiment of the air-cavity module, the low permittivity mold compound and the thermally enhanced mold compound are formed from different materials.", "According to another embodiment, the air-cavity module is included in a laminate-based semiconductor package.", "Besides the air-cavity module, the laminate-based semiconductor package also includes a module substrate and a second mold compound.", "Herein, the thinned semiconductor die is a flip-chip die and further includes a number of interconnects extending from a lower surface of the BEOL layer towards an upper surface of the module substrate.", "The second mold compound resides over the upper surface of the module substrate and encapsulates at least sides of the first mold compound and the thinned semiconductor die.", "According to another embodiment, the air-cavity module is included in a wafer-level package.", "Besides the air-cavity module, the wafer-level package also includes a multilayer redistribution structure and a second mold compound.", "Herein, the thinned semiconductor die resides directly over an upper surface of the multilayer redistribution structure.", "The second mold compound resides over the upper surface of multilayer redistribution structure and encapsulates at least sides of the first mold compound and the thinned semiconductor die.", "According to another embodiment, an air-cavity module has a thinned semiconductor die and a first mold compound.", "The thinned semiconductor die includes a BEOL layer, an epitaxial layer, and a BOX layer.", "The BEOL layer has an upper surface that includes a first surface portion and a second surface portion surrounding the first surface portion.", "The epitaxial layer resides over the upper surface of the BEOL layer and includes air-cavities, support structures, a first device section, and a second device section.", "Herein, the air-cavities and the support structures are over the first surface portion and not over the second surface portion.", "The first device section and the second device section are over the second surface portion and not over the first surface portion.", "The air-cavities are in between the first device section and the second device section.", "The air-cavities are separated from each other by the support structures.", "The BOX layer has a number of discrete holes and is over the epitaxial layer.", "The discrete holes are over the first surface portion and not over the second surface portion.", "Each air-cavity is directly in connection with at least one discrete hole.", "The support structures provide mechanical support to a first portion of the BOX layer, within which the discrete holes are located.", "The first mold compound directly resides over at least the first portion of the BOX layer and does not enter into the air-cavity of the epitaxial layer through the discrete holes within the BOX layer.", "Those skilled in the art will appreciate the scope of the present disclosure and realize additional aspects thereof after reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments in association with the accompanying drawing figures.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES The accompanying drawing figures incorporated in and forming a part of this specification illustrate several aspects of the disclosure, and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the disclosure.", "FIG.", "1A and FIG.", "1B show an exemplary air-cavity module according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "2A and FIG.", "2B show an alternative air-cavity module according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "3 shows an alternative air-cavity module according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "4 shows an alternative air-cavity module according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "5 shows an alternative air-cavity module according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "6 shows an exemplary laminate-based semiconductor package including the air-cavity module shown in FIG.", "1A.", "FIG.", "7 shows an exemplary wafer-level package including the air-cavity module shown in FIG.", "1A.", "FIGS.", "8A-8D illustrate an exemplary process to form the exemplary air-cavity module shown in FIG.", "1 A according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.", "FIGS.", "9A-9D illustrate an exemplary process to form the alternative air-cavity module shown in FIG.", "3 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.", "FIGS.", "10A-10G illustrate an exemplary process to form the alternative air-cavity module shown in FIG.", "5 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.", "It will be understood that for clear illustrations, FIGS.", "1A-10G may not be drawn to scale.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION The embodiments set forth below represent the necessary information to enable those skilled in the art to practice the embodiments and illustrate the best mode of practicing the embodiments.", "Upon reading the following description in light of the accompanying drawing figures, those skilled in the art will understand the concepts of the disclosure and will recognize applications of these concepts not particularly addressed herein.", "It should be understood that these concepts and applications fall within the scope of the disclosure and the accompanying claims.", "It will be understood that, although the terms first, second, etc.", "may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms.", "These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another.", "For example, a first element could be termed a second element, and, similarly, a second element could be termed a first element, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.", "As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.", "It will be understood that when an element such as a layer, region, or substrate is referred to as being “on” or extending “onto” another element, it can be directly on or extend directly onto the other element or intervening elements may also be present.", "In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly on” or extending “directly onto” another element, there are no intervening elements present.", "Likewise, it will be understood that when an element such as a layer, region, or substrate is referred to as being “over” or extending “over” another element, it can be directly over or extend directly over the other element or intervening elements may also be present.", "In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly over” or extending “directly over” another element, there are no intervening elements present.", "It will also be understood that when an element is referred to as being “connected” or “coupled” to another element, it can be directly connected or coupled to the other element or intervening elements may be present.", "In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly connected” or “directly coupled” to another element, there are no intervening elements present.", "Relative terms such as “below” or “above” or “upper” or “lower” or “horizontal” or “vertical” may be used herein to describe a relationship of one element, layer, or region to another element, layer, or region as illustrated in the Figures.", "It will be understood that these terms and those discussed above are intended to encompass different orientations of the device in addition to the orientation depicted in the Figures.", "The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the disclosure.", "As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.", "It will be further understood that the terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “includes,” and/or “including” when used herein specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.", "Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs.", "It will be further understood that terms used herein should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of this specification and the relevant art and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.", "The present disclosure relates to an air-cavity module with enhanced device isolation, and a process for making the same.", "FIG.", "1A shows a cross-sectional view of an exemplary air-cavity module 10 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.", "For the purpose of this illustration, the air-cavity module 10 includes a thinned semiconductor die 12 with an air-cavity 14, a first mold compound 16, and a thermally enhanced mold compound 18.In detail, the thinned semiconductor die 12 includes a back-end-of-line (BEOL) layer 20, an epitaxial layer 22 over an upper surface of the BEOL layer 20, and a buried oxide (BOX) layer 24 over the epitaxial layer 22.Herein, the upper surface of the BEOL layer 20 includes a first surface portion SP1 and a second surface portion SP2, which surrounds the first surface portion SP1.The epitaxial layer 22 includes the air-cavity 14, a first device section 26, a second device section 28, and isolation sections 30.The first device section 26 and the second device section 28 are located on opposite sides of the air-cavity 14, and both the first device section 26 and the second device section 28 are surrounded by the isolation sections 30.As such, the air-cavity 14 is isolated from the first device section 26 and the second device section 28 by the isolation sections 30.The isolation sections 30 may be formed by shallow trench isolation (STI).", "The air-cavity 14 is over the first surface portion SP1 and not over the second surface portion SP2.The first device section 26, the second device section 28, and the isolation sections 30 are over the second surface portion SP2 and not over the first surface portion SP1.In different applications, the epitaxial layer 22 may include more device sections and more air-cavities between adjacent device sections.", "In one embodiment, the first device section 26 and the second device section 28 may be used to form field effect transistor (FET) switches.", "The first device section 26 may include a first source 32, a first drain 34, and a first channel 36 between the first source 32 and the first drain 34.The isolation sections 30 surround the first source 32 and the first drain 34.In addition, there is a first gate dielectric 38 and a first gate structure 40 aligned below the first channel 36 and formed within the BEOL layer 20.Herein, the first gate dielectric 38 and the first gate structure 40 are underlying the second surface portion SP2 and not underlying the first surface portion SP1.The first source 32, the first drain 34, and the first channel 36 within the epitaxial layer 22, and the first gate dielectric 38 and the first gate structure 40 within the BEOL layer 20 form a first FET switch.", "Similarly, the second device section 28 may include a second source 42, a second drain 44, and a second channel 46 between the second source 42 and the second drain 44.The isolation sections 30 surround the second source 42 and the second drain 44.In addition, there is a second gate dielectric 48 and a second gate structure 50 aligned below the second channel 46 and formed within the BEOL layer 20.Herein, the second gate dielectric 48 and the second gate structure 50 are underlying the second surface portion SP2 and not underlying the first surface portion SP1.The second source 42, the second drain 44, and the second channel 46 within the epitaxial layer 22, and the second gate dielectric 48 and the second gate structure 50 within the BEOL layer 20 form a second FET switch.", "It is clear to those skilled in the art that the first FET switch formed from the first device section 26 and the second FET switch formed from the second device section 28 are laterally separated by the air-cavity 14.Since the relative permittivity of the air (around 1) is very small (compared to other materials, such as silicon, silicon oxide, or thermal conductive polymer, which may be used between the first device section 26 and the second device section 28), a lateral parasitic coupling effect between the first device section 26 and the second device section 28 is low.", "The first FET switch and the second FET switch have superior isolation.", "For a designated isolation, using an air-cavity may reduce the lateral distance between the first FET switch and the second FET switch, and consequently result in significant die area reduction.", "The BOX layer 24 has a number of discrete holes 52, which are directly in connection with the air-cavity 14 in the epitaxial layer 22.The discrete holes 52 may or may not have the same size.", "The shape of each discrete hole 52 may be a cuboid, a cylinder, or a circular truncated cone that has a larger opening close to the air-cavity 14 and has a smaller opening close to the first mold compound 16.As shown in FIG.", "1B, the discrete holes 52 are over the first surface portion SP1 and not over the second surface portion SP2.It is clear to those skilled in the art that the BOX layer 24 is continuous and the discrete holes 52 do not segment the BOX layer 24 into individual pieces.", "There is no portion of the BOX layer 24 that is floating.", "The first mold compound 16 is formed over the thinned semiconductor die 12 and in contact with the BOX layer 24.The first mold compound 16 may have a thickness between 1 μm and 250 μm, and may be formed from large granularity polymers that cannot go through any of the discrete holes 52 into the air-cavity 14.The polymer granules used for the first mold compound 16 may or may not have the same size.", "The smallest polymer granule is larger than any of the discrete holes 52.The diameter of one discrete hole 52 may be between 0.1 μm and 100 μm or between 0.2 μm and 1 μm.", "The diameter of one polymer granule may be from 0.2 μm and 500 μm or between 0.5 μm and 50 μm.", "Notice that, there are no air gaps between the polymer granules.", "Resins of the polymer granules may fill the gaps between the polymer granules.", "In addition, the first mold compound 16 may be formed from low relative permittivity materials with the relative permittivity being no more than 7 or no more than 4.Organic thermoset and thermoplastic polymer with large granularity may be used for the first mold compound 16.Because the first mold compound 16 is adjacent to the first device section 26 and the second device section 28, a vertical parasitic coupling effect between the first device section 26 and the second device section 28 is low.", "Most parasitic field lines between the first device section 26 and the second device section 28 close through the first mold compound 16.Further, the thermally enhanced mold compound 18 is formed over the first mold compound 16.Unlike the first mold compound 16, the thermally enhanced mold compound 18 does not have a granularity requirement or a relative permittivity requirement.", "The thermally enhanced mold compound 18 may have a thickness between 50 μm and 1000 μm, and may be formed of thermal conductive polymer with fine granularity (<500 μm or preferably <50 μm).", "The thermally enhanced mold compound 18 may have a thermal conductivity between 10 W/m·K and 50 W/mK, or between 1 W/m·K and 500 W/m·K or greater.", "The higher the thermal conductivity of the thermally enhanced mold compound 18, the better the heat dissipation performance of the air-cavity module 10.In different applications, the BOX layer 24 may include fewer or more discrete holes 52 with different configurations.", "As shown in FIGS.", "2A and 2B, the BOX layer 24 may only include a row of the discrete holes 52.Herein, the BOX layer 24 is still continuous and the discrete holes 52 do not segment the BOX layer 24 into individual pieces.", "There is no portion of the BOX layer 24 that is floating.", "In general, the fewer discrete holes 52 the BOX layer 24 has, the better mechanical strength the BOX layer 24 owns.", "In another embodiment of the air-cavity module 10, an epitaxial layer 22′ may further include support structures 54 over the first surface portion SP1 of the BEOL layer 20, as illustrated in FIG.", "3.The support structures 54 provide mechanical support to a portion of the BOX layer 24, within which the discrete holes 52 are located.", "Herein, the epitaxial layer 22′ may include multiple air-cavities 14′ instead of a single air-cavity 14 over the first surface portion SP1 of the BEOL layer 20.The multiple air-cavities 14′ are in between the first device section 26 and the second device section 28, and may be separated from each other by the support structures 54.Each air-cavity 14′ is directly in connection with at least one of the discrete holes 52 in the BOX layer 24, and may be formed between the isolation sections 30 and the support structures 54 or between adjacent support structures 54.With these the support structures 54, the BOX layer 24 gets extra mechanical support, and each air-cavity 14′ under the BOX layer 24 has a relatively small size.", "As such, the BOX layer 24 may endure higher vertical pressure.", "The support structures 54 and the isolation sections 30 may be formed of silicon oxide in a same STI process.", "In some applications, the thermally enhanced mold compound 18 may be formed from the same material as the first mold compound 16, as illustrated in FIG.", "4.The first/second mold compound 16/18 may be formed from large granularity polymers that do not go through any of the discrete holes 52.In some applications, the first mold compound 16 and the thermally enhanced mold compound 18 do not cover the entire BOX layer 24.Instead, the first mold compound 16 and the thermally enhanced mold compound 18 are over a portion of the BOX layer 24, within which the discrete holes 52 are located, as illustrated in FIG.", "5.Since the first mold compound 16 is formed from large granularity polymers, the first mold compound 16 will not go through any of the discrete holes 52 into the air-cavity 14.Herein, the air-cavity module 10 may further include a low permittivity mold compound 56 that resides over the remaining portions of the BOX layer 24, where the discrete holes 52 are not located.", "The low permittivity mold compound 56 may entirely or partially encapsulate the sides of the first mold compound 16 and the sides of the thermally enhanced mold compound 18.The low permittivity mold compound 56 may be formed from low relative permittivity materials, such as organic thermoset and thermoplastic polymer, with the relative permittivity being no more than 7 or no more than 4.Because the low permittivity mold compound 56 is adjacent to the first device section 26 and the second device section 28, a vertical parasitic coupling effect between the first device section 26 and the second device section 28 is low.", "Most parasitic field lines between the first device section 26 and the second device section 28 close through the low permittivity mold compound 56.The low permittivity mold compound 56 may formed of a same or different material as the thermally enhanced mold compound 18.FIG.", "6 shows an exemplary laminate-based semiconductor package 58 including the air-cavity module 10 shown in FIG.", "1A.", "Besides the air-cavity module 10, the laminate-based semiconductor package 58 also includes a module substrate 60, an underfilling layer 62, and a second mold compound 64.In this embodiment, the thinned semiconductor die 12 within the air-cavity module 10 may be a flip-flop die and further includes a number of interconnects 66 extending from a lower surface of the BEOL layer 20 (opposite the epitaxial layer 22) towards the module substrate 60.In detail, the module substrate 60 may be formed from a laminate material, and the thinned semiconductor die 12 is coupled to an upper surface of the module substrate 60 through the interconnects 66.The second mold compound 64 resides over the upper surface of the module substrate 60 and encapsulates at least sides of the thinned semiconductor die 12, sides of the first mold compound 16, and sides of the thermally enhanced mold compound 18.In some applications, a portion of the thermally enhanced mold compound 18 may reside over an upper surface of the second mold compound 64 (not shown).", "Herein, the second mold compound 64 may be formed from the same or different material as the thermally enhanced mold compound 18.The second mold compound 64 does not have a relative permittivity or thermal conductivity requirement.", "One exemplary material used to form the second mold compound 64 is an organic epoxy resin system.", "The underfilling layer 62 resides between the upper surface of the module substrate 60 and the second mold compound 64, such that the underfilling layer 62 encapsulates the interconnects 66 and underfills the thinned semiconductor die 12 between the lower surface of the BEOL layer 20 and the upper surface of the module substrate 60.Herein, the underfilling layer 62 may be formed from the same or different material as the second mold compound 64.FIG.", "7 shows an exemplary wafer-level package 68 including the air-cavity module 10 shown in FIG.", "1A.", "Besides the air-cavity module 10, the wafer-level package 68 also includes a multilayer redistribution structure 70 and the second mold compound 64.Herein, the multilayer redistribution structure 70 includes a first dielectric pattern 72 at the top, a number of redistribution interconnects 74, a second dielectric pattern 76, and a number of package contacts 78.In detail, the thinned semiconductor die 12 resides directly over an upper surface of the multilayer redistribution structure 70.As such, the BEOL layer 20 of the thinned semiconductor die 12 is in contact with the first dielectric pattern 72.In addition, input/ output (I/O) ports (not shown) at the bottom surface of the BEOL layer 20 are exposed through the first dielectric pattern 72.The redistribution interconnects 74 are electrically coupled to the I/O ports (not shown) through the first dielectric pattern 72 and extend underneath the first dielectric pattern 72.The connections between the redistribution interconnects 74 and the I/O ports are solder-free.", "The second dielectric pattern 76 is formed underneath the first dielectric pattern 72 to partially encapsulate each redistribution interconnect 74.As such, a portion of each redistribution interconnect 74 is exposed through the second dielectric pattern 76.In different applications, there may be extra redistribution interconnects (not shown) electronically coupled to the redistribution interconnects 74 through the second dielectric pattern 76, and an extra dielectric pattern (not shown) formed underneath the second dielectric pattern 76 to partially encapsulate the extra redistribution interconnects.", "In this embodiment, each package contact 78 is electronically coupled to a corresponding redistribution interconnect 74 through the second dielectric pattern 76.Consequently, the redistribution interconnects 74 connect certain ones of the I/O ports (not shown) at the bottom surface of the BEOL layer 20 to certain ones of the package contacts 78 on a bottom surface of the multilayer redistribution structure 70.The multilayer redistribution structure 70 may be free of glass fiber or glass-free.", "Herein, the glass fiber refers to individual glass strands twisted to become a larger grouping.", "These glass strands may then be woven into a fabric.", "The first dielectric pattern 72 and the second dielectric pattern 76 may be formed of benzocyclobutene (BCB) or polyimide.", "The redistribution interconnects 74 may be formed of copper or other suitable metals.", "The package contacts 78 may be bump contacts formed of solder alloys, such as tin or tin alloys, or may be land grid arrays (LGA) contacts.", "A combination of the first dielectric pattern 72, the redistribution interconnects 74, and the second dielectric pattern 76 has a thickness between 2 μm and 300 μm.", "In this embodiment, the second mold compound 64 resides over the upper surface of the multilayer redistribution structure 70 and encapsulates at least the sides of the thinned semiconductor die 12, the sides of the first mold compound 16, and the sides of the thermally enhanced mold compound 18.In some applications, a portion of the thermally enhanced mold compound 18 may reside over the upper surface of the second mold compound 64 (not shown).", "The second mold compound 64 may be formed from the same or different material as the thermally enhanced mold compound 18.FIGS.", "8A-8D provide exemplary steps that illustrate a process to form the exemplary air-cavity module 10 shown in FIG.", "1A.", "Although the exemplary steps are illustrated in a series, the exemplary steps are not necessarily order dependent.", "Some steps may be done in a different order than that presented.", "Further, processes within the scope of this disclosure may include fewer or more steps than those illustrated in FIGS.", "8A-8D.", "Initially, a semiconductor die 12D is provided as depicted in FIG.", "8A.", "The semiconductor die 12D includes the BEOL layer 20, a non-air-cavity epitaxial layer 22D over the BEOL layer 20, the BOX layer 24 over the non-air-cavity epitaxial layer 22D, and a silicon handle layer 80 over the BOX layer 24.Herein, the upper surface of the BEOL layer 20 includes the first surface portion SP1 and the second surface portion SP2, which surrounds the first surface portion SP1.The non-air-cavity epitaxial layer 22D includes the first device section 26, the second device section 28, the isolation sections 30, and a sacrificial epitaxy section 82.The first device section 26 and the second device section 28 are located on opposite sides of the sacrificial epitaxy section 82.The isolation sections 30 surround the first device section 26 and the second device section 28, such that the isolation sections 30 separate the first device section 26, the second device section 28, and the sacrificial epitaxy section 82 from each other.", "The sacrificial epitaxy section 82 is over the first surface portion SP1 and not over the second surface portion SP2.The first device section 26, the second device section 28, and the isolation sections 30 are over the second surface portion SP2 and not over the first surface portion SP1.The BOX layer 24 may be formed of silicon oxide or the like, which may serve as an etch stop in a process to remove the silicon handle layer 80 (more details in the following discussion).", "In addition, the semiconductor die 12D further includes etchable structures 84 extending through the sacrificial epitaxy section 82 and the BOX layer 24 to the silicon handle layer 80.The etchable structures 84 are distributed across the sacrificial epitaxy section 80 and not over the second surface portion SP2 of the BEOL layer 20.The etchable structures 84 may be formed from polysilicon.", "In different applications, there may be fewer or more etchable structures extending through the sacrificial epitaxy section 82 and the BOX layer 24.Each etchable structure 84 may or may not have the same size or shape.", "The shape of each etchable structure 84 may be a cuboid, a cylinder, or a circular truncated cone that has a larger opening close to the BEOL layer 20 and has a smaller opening close to the silicon handle layer 80.FIG.", "8B shows the removal of the silicon handle layer 80, the etchable structures 84, and the sacrificial epitaxy section 82 to form the thinned semiconductor die 12.The removal step may be provided by an etching process with a wet/dry etchant chemistry, which may be KOH, ACH, NaOH or the like.", "Normally, these wet/dry etchant chemistries may not etch away the BOX layer 24 and the BOX layer 24 may serve as an etch stop in the etching process.", "However, after removing the etchable structures 84, a number of the discrete holes 52 are formed in the BOX layer 24 and over the first surface portion SP1 of the BEOL layer 20.Consequently, the sacrificial epitaxy section 82, which the etchable structures 84 extend through, is also removed to form the air-cavity 14 within the epitaxial layer 22.Since the isolation sections 30 separate the first/second device section 26/28 from the sacrificial epitaxy section 82, the wet/dry etchant chemistry does not affect the first/second device section 26/28.Herein, the air-cavity 14 is substantially isolated on all sides (the BEOL layer 20 on the bottom, the isolation sections 30 on the sides and the BOX layer 24 with discrete holes 52 on the top).", "Notice that, after the removal step, there is no portion of the BOX layer 24 that is floating.", "The portion of the BOX layer 24, within which the discrete holes 52 are located and below which the air-cavity 14 is located, gets mechanical strength from the remaining portions of the BOX layer.", "In one embodiment, the air-cavity 14 (the sacrificial epitaxy section 82) may not be too wide since it may not sustain in the following molding process (more details in the following discussion).", "Next, the first mold compound 16 is then applied over the entirety of the thinned semiconductor die 12 and in contact with the BOX layer 24 as illustrated in FIG.", "8C.", "The first mold compound 16 may be applied by various procedures, such as sheet molding, overmolding, compression molding, transfer molding, dam fill encapsulation, and screen print encapsulation.", "If the first mold compound 16 is formed by the compression molding or other molding process with a molding pressure larger than 500 psi or 1000 psi, the air-cavity 14 (the sacrificial epitaxy section 82) may have a size no larger than 50 μm×50 μm or 25 μm×25 μm.", "Otherwise, the molding pressure may collapse the BOX layer 24 into the air-cavity 14.The first mold compound 16 may have a thickness between 1 μm and 250 μm, and may be formed from large granularity polymers that cannot go through any of the discrete holes 52 into the air-cavity 14.The smallest polymer granule in the first mold compound 16 is larger than any of the discrete holes 52.Notice that there are no air gaps within the first mold compound 16.Resins of the polymer granules fill the gaps between the polymer granules within the first mold compound 16.In addition, the first mold compound 16 may be formed from low relative permittivity materials with the relative permittivity being no more than 7 or no more than 4.Organic thermoset and thermoplastic polymer with large granularity may be used for the first mold compound 16.Notice that, since the first mold compound 16 will not get into the air-cavity 14 through the discrete holes 52 (because of the large granularity), the first device section 26 and the second device section 28 are laterally separated by the air-cavity 14.Consequently, the lateral parasitic coupling effect between the first device section 26 and the second device section 28 is low due to the low relative permittivity of the air (around 1).", "The first device section 26 and the second device section 28 have superior isolation.", "Further, because the first mold compound 16 is adjacent to the first device section 26 and the second device section 28, a vertical parasitic coupling effect between the first device section 26 and the second device section 28 is low.", "Most parasitic field lines between the first device section 26 and the second device section 28 close through the first mold compound 16.A curing process (not shown) is followed to harden the first mold compound 16.The curing temperature is between 125° C. and 300° C. depending on which material is used as the first mold compound 16.The thermally enhanced mold compound 18 is then applied over the first mold compound 16 to complete the air-cavity module 10, as illustrated in FIG.", "8D.", "The thermally enhanced mold compound 18 may be applied by various procedures, such as sheet molding, overmolding, compression molding, transfer molding, dam fill encapsulation, and screen print encapsulation.", "The thermally enhanced mold compound 18 does not have a granularity requirement or a relative permittivity requirement in low parasitic coupling embodiments.", "The thermally enhanced mold compound 18 may have a thickness between 50 μm and 1000 μm, and have a thermal conductivity between 10 W/m·K and 50 W/mK, or between 1 W/m·K and 500 W/m·K or greater.", "Lastly, a curing process (not shown) is followed to harden the thermally enhanced mold compound 18.The curing temperature is between 100° C. and 320° C. depending on which material is used as the thermally enhanced mold compound 18.FIGS.", "9A-9D provide exemplary steps that illustrate a process to form the exemplary air-cavity module 10 shown in FIG.", "3.Although the exemplary steps are illustrated in a series, the exemplary steps are not necessarily order dependent.", "Some steps may be done in a different order than that presented.", "Further, processes within the scope of this disclosure may include fewer or more steps than those illustrated in FIGS.", "9A-9D.", "Initially, the semiconductor die 12D is provided as depicted in FIG.", "9A.", "The semiconductor die 12D includes the BEOL layer 20, a non-air-cavity epitaxial layer 22D′ over the BEOL layer 20, the BOX layer 24 over the non-air-cavity epitaxial layer 22D′, and the silicon handle layer 80 over the BOX layer 24.Herein, the upper surface of the BEOL layer 20 includes the first surface portion SP1 and the second surface portion SP2, which surrounds the first surface portion SP1.The non-air-cavity epitaxial layer 22D′ includes the first device section 26, the second device section 28, the isolation sections 30, the support structures 54 and a number of sacrificial epitaxy sections 82′.", "The support structures 54 and the sacrificial epitaxy sections 82′ are over the first surface portion SP1 and not over the second surface portion SP2.The first device section 26, the second device section 28, and the isolation sections 30 are over the second surface portion SP2 and not over the first surface portion SP1.The sacrificial epitaxy sections 82′ and the support structures 54 are in between the first device section 26 and the second device section 28.Herein, the support structures 54 may separate the sacrificial epitaxy sections 82′ from each other.", "The isolation sections 30 surround both the first device section 26 and the second device section 28, and separate the first device section 26 and the second device section 28 from the sacrificial epitaxy sections 82′.", "The isolation sections 30 and the support structures 54 may be formed of silicon oxide in a same STI process.", "The BOX layer 24 may be formed of silicon oxide or the like, which may serve as an etch stop in a process to remove the silicon handle layer 80 (more details in following discussion).", "The support structures 54 provide mechanical support to a portion of the BOX layer 24 that is over the surface portion SP1.In addition, the semiconductor die 12D further includes the etchable structures 84.At least one of the etchable structures 84 extends through a corresponding sacrificial epitaxy section 82′ and the BOX layer 24 to the silicon handle layer 80.The etchable structures 84 are over the first surface portion SP1 of the BEOL layer 20 and not over the second surface portion SP2 of the BEOL layer 20.The etchable structures 84 may be formed from polysilicon.", "In different applications, there may be a same or different number of the etchable structures 84 extending through each sacrificial epitaxy section 82′.", "Each etchable structure 84 may or may not have the same size or shape.", "The shape of each etchable structure 84 may be a cuboid, a cylinder, or a circular truncated cone that has a larger opening close to the BEOL layer 20 and has a smaller opening close to the silicon handle layer 80.FIG.", "9B shows the removal of the silicon handle layer 80, the etchable structures 84, and the sacrificial epitaxy sections 82′ to form the thinned semiconductor die 12.The removal step may be provided by an etching process with a wet/dry etchant chemistry, which may be KOH, ACH, NaOH or the like.", "Normally, these wet/dry etchant chemistries may not etch away the BOX layer 24 and the BOX layer 24 may serve as an etch stop in the etching process.", "However, after removing the etchable structures 84, a number of the discrete holes 52 are formed in the BOX layer 24.Consequently, the sacrificial epitaxy sections 82′, which the etchable structures 84 extend through, are also removed.", "Since the isolation sections 30 and the support structures 54 may be formed of silicon oxide, which can withstand the etchant chemistry, multiple air-cavities 14′ are formed between the isolation sections 30 and the support structures 54 or between adjacent support structures 54.Each air-cavity 14′ is directly in connection with at least one of the discrete holes 52 in the BOX layer 24.Next, the first mold compound 16 is then applied over the entirety of the thinned semiconductor die 12 and in contact with the BOX layer 24 as illustrated in FIG.", "9C.", "The first mold compound 16 may be applied by various procedures, such as sheet molding, overmolding, compression molding, transfer molding, dam fill encapsulation, and screen print encapsulation.", "It is clear that the support structures 54 provide extra support to the portion of the BOX layer 24, within which the discrete holes 52 are located.", "As such, the portion of the BOX layer 24, within which the discrete holes 52 are located, may endure higher molding pressures.", "The first mold compound 16 may have a thickness between 1 μm and 250 μm, and may be formed from large granularity polymers that cannot go through any of the discrete holes 52 into any air-cavity 14′.", "The smallest polymer granule in the first mold compound 16 is larger than any of the discrete holes 52.Notice that there are no air gaps within the first mold compound 16.Resins of the polymer granules fill the gaps between the polymer granules within the first mold compound 16.In addition, the first mold compound 16 may be formed from low relative permittivity materials with the relative permittivity being no more than 7 or no more than 4.Organic thermoset and thermoplastic polymer with large granularity may be used for the first mold compound 16.A curing process (not shown) is followed to harden the first mold compound 16.The curing temperature is between 125 C. and 300° C. depending on which material is used as the first mold compound 16.The thermally enhanced mold compound 18 is then applied over the first mold compound 16 to complete the air-cavity module 10, as illustrated in FIG.", "9D.", "The thermally enhanced mold compound 18 may be applied by various procedures, such as sheet molding, overmolding, compression molding, transfer molding, dam fill encapsulation, and screen print encapsulation.", "The thermally enhanced mold compound 18 does not have a granularity requirement or a relative permittivity requirement in low parasitic coupling embodiments.", "The thermally enhanced mold compound 18 may have a thickness between 50 μm and 1000 μm, and have a thermal conductivity between 10 W/m·K and 50 W/mK, or between 1 W/m·K and 500 W/m·K or greater.", "Lastly, a curing process (not shown) is followed to harden the thermally enhanced mold compound 18.The curing temperature is between 100° C. and 320° C. depending on which material is used as the thermally enhanced mold compound 18.FIGS.", "10A-10G provide exemplary steps to form the air-cavity module 10 shown in FIG.", "5.Although the exemplary steps are illustrated in a series, the exemplary steps are not necessarily order dependent.", "Some steps may be done in a different order than that presented.", "Further, processes within the scope of this disclosure may include fewer or more steps than those illustrated in FIGS.", "10A-10G.", "FIGS.", "10A-10B show the same steps to form the thinned semiconductor die 12 as FIGS.", "8A-8B.", "Next, a molding block 86 is placed over a portion of the BOX layer 24, within which the discrete holes 52 are located, as illustrated in FIG.", "10C.", "The remaining portions of the BOX layer 24 are exposed.", "The molding block 86 covers all of the discrete holes 52.The molding block 86 may be formed from a suitable patternable sacrificial material, such as polyimide, with a height between 2 μm and 300 μm.", "The low permittivity mold compound 56 is then applied over the exposed portions of the BOX layer 24, as illustrated in FIG.", "10D.", "The low permittivity mold compound 56 surrounds the molding block 86 and does not reside over any discrete hole 52.The low permittivity mold compound 56 may be applied by various procedures, such as sheet molding, overmolding, compression molding, transfer molding, dam fill encapsulation, and screen print encapsulation.", "A curing process (not shown) is followed to harden the third mold compound.", "The curing temperature is between 125° C. and 300° C. depending on which material is used as the low permittivity mold compound 56.Next, the molding block 86 is removed to form an opening 88 within the low permittivity mold compound 56 as illustrated in FIG.", "10E.", "The portion of the BOX layer 24, within which the discrete holes 52 are located, is exposed at the bottom of the opening 88.The removal of the molding block 86 may be provided by a dry or wet selective etching process.", "If the molding block 86 is formed from polyimide, a hot NaOH or KOH solution may be used in selectively removing the molding block 86.With reference to FIGS.", "10F through 10G, process steps to complete the air-cavity 10 are illustrated according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.", "As shown in FIG.", "10F, the first mold compound 16 is applied at the bottom of the opening 88 and directly over the exposed portion of the BOX layer 24, within which the discrete holes 52 are located.", "The first mold compound 16 may have a thickness between 1 μm and 250 μm, and may be formed from large granularity polymers that cannot go through any of the discrete holes 52 into the air-cavity 14.The smallest polymer granule in the first mold compound 16 is larger than any of the discrete holes 52.Notice that there are no air gaps within the first mold compound 16.Resins of the polymer granules fill the gaps between the polymer granules within the first mold compound 16.In addition, the first mold compound 16 may be formed from low relative permittivity materials with the relative permittivity being no more than 7 or no more than 4.Organic thermoset and thermoplastic polymer with large granularity may be used for the first mold compound 16.The first mold compound 16 may be applied by various procedures, such as sheet molding, overmolding, compression molding, transfer molding, dam fill encapsulation, and screen print encapsulation.", "A curing process (not shown) is followed to harden the first mold compound 16.The curing temperature is between 125° C. and 300° C. depending on which material is used as the first mold compound 16.The thermally enhanced mold compound 18 is then applied at the top of the opening 88 and over the first mold compound 16 to complete the air-cavity module 10, as illustrated in FIG.", "10G.", "The thermally enhanced mold compound 18 may be applied by various procedures, such as sheet molding, overmolding, compression molding, transfer molding, dam fill encapsulation, and screen print encapsulation.", "The thermally enhanced mold compound 18 does not have a granularity requirement or a relative permittivity requirement in low parasitic coupling embodiments.", "The thermally enhanced mold compound 18 may have a thickness between 50 μm and 1000 μm, and a portion of the thermally enhanced mold compound 18 may reside over an upper surface of the low permittivity mold compound 56 (not shown).", "The thermal conductivity of the second mold compound may be between 10 W/m·K and 50 W/mK, or between 1 W/m·K and 500 W/m·K or greater.", "Lastly, a curing process (not shown) is followed to harden the thermally enhanced mold compound 18.The curing temperature is between 100° C. and 320° C. depending on which material is used as the thermally enhanced mold compound 18.Those skilled in the art will recognize improvements and modifications to the preferred embodiments of the present disclosure.", "All such improvements and modifications are considered within the scope of the concepts disclosed herein and the claims that follow." ] ]
Patent_15873152
[ [ "WIND GENERATOR WITH ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEM", "The present invention is a wind generator system particularly suitable for small wind applications that harnesses low velocity wind effectively.", "The wind generator system comprises a drive shaft; one or more retreating blades and one or more advancing blades attached to the drive shaft and extending radially outwardly therefrom; a generator assembly coupled to the drive shaft and effective for generating electrical power; and a energy storage system comprising a mechanical bellows." ], [ "1.A wind generator system comprising: a rotor mounted to a drive shaft; one or more blades attached to said rotor and extending radially outwardly from said rotor; a generator assembly coupled to said drive shaft and effective for generating electrical power; and a mechanical energy storage system, wherein said mechanical energy storage system operates to store rotational energy of said drive shaft by converting said rotational energy into potential energy stored in said mechanical storage system.", "2.The wind generator system of claim 1 wherein said mechanical energy storage system comprises a mechanical bellows having an outer flexible material casing and support elements positioned longitudinally along and coupled to said flexible material casing and shaped memory materials coupled to a heat source for extending and contracting said mechanical bellow.", "3.The wind generator system of claim 2 wherein said mechanical energy storage system wherein said heat source is a heat pipe.", "4.The wind generator of claim 1 wherein said heat source includes a heat sink heated by solar energy.", "5.The wind generator of claim 1 wherein said heat source includes a heat sink heated by a solar cell and a solar concentrator lens.", "6.The wind generator of claim 1 wherein said bellows functions as a Trevelyan rocker.", "7.A mechanical energy storage system comprising: a mechanical bellows having an outer flexible material casing with support elements positioned longitudinally along and coupled to said flexible material casing; shaped memory material attached to said flexible material casing such that when heated said shaped memory material operates to expand or contract said mechanical bellows; and a heat source for changing the temperature of said shaped memory material.", "8.The mechanical energy storage system of claim 7 wherein said heat source is a heat pipe.", "9.The mechanical energy storage system of claim 7 wherein said heat source includes a heat sink heated by solar energy.", "10.The mechanical energy storage system of claim 7 wherein said source includes a heat sink heated by a solar cell and a solar concentrator lens.", "11.The mechanical energy storage system of claim 7 wherein said bellows function as a Trevelyan rocker.", "12.The mechanical energy storage system of claim 7 wherein said mechanical energy storage system is coupled to one or more secondary devices powered by said mechanical energy storage system.", "13.The mechanical energy storage system of claim 12 wherein the one or more secondary devices includes a robotic device.", "14.The mechanical energy storage system of claim 12 wherein the one or more secondary device include satellite devices." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION <EOH>In recent years the need for alternative sources of electrical energy has grown significantly as a result of increased and uncertainty in oil prices, growing environmental concerns, and the lack of sufficient alternative energy supplies.", "Accordingly, wind generator systems have gained support as an alternate energy source.", "Wind generators have been shown to provide a safe and clean source of electric power.", "Systems, such as large or big wind generators, have been developed having large blades (often more than 18 feet in length) mounted on high towers that can produce more than 35 kilowatts (kW) of power with wind speeds of 20 knots.", "Such systems are typically used in combination with other wind generators, such as along coastal areas for providing electrical power directly to power grids.", "Such systems have also been used in rural areas, such as farms, for providing supplemental power or reducing electrical costs.", "Small wind generators mounted on smaller towers have also been developed for use such as for residential application and have been used a remote or distributed power sources.", "Such systems are often connected to the main electric service to the home thereby allowing sufficient powering of the home and for sending excess power generated by the wind generator back to the power grid.", "Typically, these small wind generators rotate at speeds that vary with wind speed and have a plurality of blades that drive a rotor coupled to a gearbox that operates to increase the rotation speed of a generator for producing electric power.", "In order to reduce maintenance and increase efficiency, systems have been developed having relatively large synchronous ring generators that permit the rotor to be directly coupled to the generator without the need of a gearbox.", "Unfortunately, while such systems have reduced maintenance costs and have increased the efficiency of the systems, wind generator systems continue to suffer from relatively significant maintenance costs.", "Further, forces being exerted to the systems due to wind increase in proportion to the cube of wind speed.", "Accordingly, high wind speeds often encountered by small wind generator systems, even if only occasional or momentary can damage system components.", "This is particularly true for wind generators having relatively large blades such as typically required for small wind generators that depend on the relatively large blades to harvest lower-energy winds.", "Thus, small wind generator systems are typically designed having means for preventing system damage due to such high-speed winds.", "Such means include blade pitching, airfoil spoilers, blade tip breaks, and the like.", "Means such as braking means or means that act upon the entire blade apparatus rather than on individual blades have also been developed.", "Unfortunately, all such means significantly add to the complexity and expense of the wind generator systems and significantly add to their maintenance down time and costs.", "In addition, systems having such means typically require routine maintenance which significantly increases their operating costs.", "This is particularly true when parts or components must be repaired or replaced which often requires significant rebuild or major dismantling of the system to replace a component.", "Further, during operation such means often result in significant power drops or the cessation of power generation during such high wind conditions.", "Another problem associated with small wind generators is that they are often acoustically noisy and are undesirable for many residential applications.", "Further, small or low wind generator systems for mounting to building structures are generally not aesthetically pleasing, often require extensive building modifications, and are prohibited under many building codes.", "Accordingly, due to the complexity of many wind generators used in small wind or distributed power the need for a simple modular and easy to maintain generator is significant in no just reducing cost to the consumer but in the cost of manufacture and maintenance.", "Further, environmentally friendly energy storage is one of the greatest challenges of the 21 st century.", "Hundreds of billions of dollars has been invested in fuel cells and chemical batteries.", "While such devices are capable of storing energy, they often are relatively expensive and can cause difficulty in properly disposing such devices.", "Consequently, a need exists for a small wind generating system and energy storage system that has reduced cyclic cost, increased reliability and improved maintenance needs and costs, that is acoustically and aesthetically acceptable for residential operation, and which is relatively inexpensive to manufacture and install." ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION <EOH>The present invention is a new and novel wind generator system particularly suitable for small wind applications that harnesses low velocity wind effectively.", "In a preferred embodiment of the invention the wind generator system comprises a drive shaft; a plurality of blades attached to the drive shaft and extending radially outwardly therefrom; a generator assembly coupled to the drive shaft and effective for generating electrical power; and a housing having an inner chamber for receiving the plurality of blades and a wind directional apparatus that operates to adjust the speed of the wind and to channel wind along a desired flow pathway towards the plurality of blades.", "In another preferred embodiment of the invention the wind generator system comprises means for sensing the direction and speed of wind at the location of the housing.", "In another preferred embodiment of the invention the wind generator system comprises sensing means for monitoring the electrical power output of the wind generator system.", "In another preferred embodiment of the invention the wind generator system comprises sensing means for monitoring the operational efficiency and condition of the wind generator system.", "In another preferred embodiment of the invention the wind generator system comprise a communication and control means coupled to the sensing means whereby the communication and control means can communicate with an outside monitoring system.", "In another preferred embodiment of the invention the communication and control means of one wind generator system can communicate with the communication and control means of another wind generator system.", "In another preferred embodiment of the invention the blades comprise an aerodynamic adjustment element for adjusting the aerodynamic characteristic of the blades.", "In another preferred embodiment of the invention the aerodynamic element is a thin film material.", "In another preferred embodiment of the invention the aerodynamic element is a metallic composite coating.", "In another preferred embodiment of the invention the aerodynamic element is formed from a shaped memory material or a functional material.", "In another preferred embodiment of the invention the shaped memory alloy is Nitinol.", "In another preferred embodiment of the invention the wind generator includes an energy enhancer element comprising a spindle assembly having a loop coupled to the drive shaft; and means for creating a temperature differential along a portion of the loop; wherein the loop is effective for increasing the rotational speed of the drive shaft when acted upon by the means for creating a temperature differential along a portion of the loop.", "In another preferred embodiment of the invention the energy enhancer element having a loop comprising a wire or band formed from a shaped memory material or a functional material.", "In another preferred embodiment of the invention the loop is formed from a shaped memory alloy.", "In another preferred embodiment of the invention the blades comprise a photovoltaic substrate operable for generating electrical power.", "In another preferred embodiment of the invention the photovoltaic substrate operates in response to infrared light.", "In another preferred embodiment of the invention the wind directional apparatus comprises a plurality of rotatable slats.", "Another preferred embodiment of the invention, a wind generator system comprises at least two stages of blades mounted to a drive shaft; each stage having at least one blade attached thereto and extending radially outwardly therefrom; a generator assembly coupled to the drive shaft and effective for generating electrical power; and a housing having an inner chamber for receiving each stage of at least one blade and a wind directional apparatus that operates to adjust airflow and to channel the wind along a desired flow pathway towards each of at least one blade.", "In another preferred embodiment the wind generator system comprises rotatable slats having images thereon that change when the slats rotate.", "In another preferred embodiment of the invention the housing includes a rotatable base that operates to rotate the wind generator system to optimize power generation.", "In another preferred embodiment of the invention the individual components of the wind generator system are grouped into individual modules that can be easily installed or removed into the wind generator system.", "In another preferred embodiment of the invention the housing of the wind generator system can be incorporated into a structure.", "In another preferred embodiment of the invention the wind generator system comprises a wire or band formed from a shaped memory material or a functional material and effective for increasing the rotational speed of the drive shaft.", "In another preferred embodiment of invention the wind generator system comprise and energy storage system.", "In a preferred embodiment of the invention the energy storage system is a bellows having a multifunctional structure that harvests energy from its environment or from other mechanical or physical systems.", "In another preferred embodiment of the invention the energy storage system is a mechanical bellows energy storage system.", "In another preferred embodiment of the invention the energy storage system is a bellows that is a combined heat and power storage device providing thermal management and power generation.", "In a preferred embodiment of the invention the bellows operates as a radiator and energy storage device.", "In a preferred embodiment of the invention the bellows operates as a radiator and thermal management device for solar concentrator cells.", "In a preferred embodiment of the invention the bellows comprises a fabric embedded or integrated with sensors and other processing devices.", "In a preferred embodiment of the invention the bellows is compressible to reduce volume of a space or satellite deployable radiator and energy storage device.", "In a preferred embodiment of the invention the bellows is a compressible space deployable satellite.", "In a preferred embodiment of the invention the bellows is integrated with a heat pipe acting as a thermal management and power storage and generating system.", "In a preferred embodiment of the invention the bellows is integrated with a heat pipe acting as an engine.", "In a preferred embodiment of the invention the bellows is a power drive device for rotating machinery and electrical generators.", "In a preferred embodiment of the invention the bellows is configured individually or in a bank of bellows to be used for startup of an electrically driven system.", "In a preferred embodiment of the invention the bellows operates to start up an automated device or robotic component.", "In a preferred embodiment of the invention the bellows is an automated device or a robotic component.", "In a preferred embodiment of the invention the bellows is a robotic actuator that controls motion and stores energy by harvesting energy from the environment.", "In a preferred embodiment of the invention the bellows operates to augment an electric motor in the startup of an electric vehicle thereby reducing the load on the motor.", "In a preferred embodiment of the invention the bellows operates in conjunction with an on-demand module Nitinol rotary system to store energy and provide power to a motion control or drive system.", "In a preferred embodiment of the invention the bellows operates to control the startup of an automated device or robotic component.", "In a preferred embodiment of the invention the bellows operates to collect heat from solar concentrator cell and functions as an active coding device or radiator.", "In a preferred embodiment of the invention the bellows opera tea to collect heat from a solar concentrator cell and functions as an active coding device or radiator circulating air over a heat sink.", "In a preferred embodiment of the invention the bellows operates to collect heat from a solar concentrator heat sink to change the bellows for energy storage.", "In a preferred embodiment of the invention the bellows operates to collect heat from a solar concentrator cell that functions as a power drive device.", "In a preferred embodiment of the invention the bellows operates to collect heat from a solar concentrator cell to power an active cooling element.", "In a preferred embodiment of the invention the bellows operates to collect heat from a solar concentrator cell to power an active cooling element using a cooling loop within a heat sink plate.", "In a preferred embodiment of the invention the bellows operates to collect waste heat from a mechanical, electrical or optical system to reconfigure itself for energy storage and power storage.", "In a preferred embodiment of the invention the bellows operates to collect waste heat from a mechanical, electrical or optical system to power another device.", "In a preferred embodiment of the invention the bellows operates to collect waste heat from a mechanical, electrical or optical system to store power.", "In a preferred embodiment of the invention the bellows operates to collect waste heat from a mechanical, electrical or optical system to power a drive train or rotating generator or motor.", "In a preferred embodiment of the invention the bellows operates to collect waste heat from a mechanical, electrical or optical system to augment a power drive system.", "In a preferred embodiment of the invention the bellows operates to collect waste heat from its environment to store as energy or power.", "In a preferred embodiment of the invention the bellows operates to collect heat from its environment to store as energy or power.", "In another preferred embodiment of the invention the energy storage system is a bellows storage system having shaped memory material that operates to enhance the storage of energy of the energy storage system.", "In another preferred embodiment of the invention the energy storage system is a combination of hydraulic and bellows storage systems.", "In another preferred embodiment of the invention mechanical the energy storage system is a combination storage system comprising hydraulic, mechanical bellows and battery storage systems.", "Another preferred embodiment of the invention is an energy storage system comprising a mechanical bellows coupled to a robotic structure for powering the operation of the robotic structure.", "These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with regard to the following description, appended claims, and accompanying drawings." ], [ "CROSS-REFERENCE TO PRIOR APPLICATION This is a continuation-in-part of divisional patent application Ser.", "No.", "15/142,559 filed Apr.", "29, 2016 which is a divisional patent application of U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "14/132,312 filed Dec. 18, 2013 that a divisional application of and claims benefit of U.S. Continuation-In-Part Patent application Ser.", "No.", "12/928,827 filed Dec. 20, 2012 (U.S. Pat.", "No.", "8,648,481 issued Feb. 11, 2014), which claims benefit to U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "11/810,401 filed Jun.", "5, 2007 (U.S. Pat.", "No.", "7,880,323 issued Feb. 1, 2011) that claims benefit to U.S.", "Provisional Patent Application Ser.", "No.", "60/812,466 filed Jun.", "10, 2006 and to U.S.", "Provisional Patent Application Ser.", "No.", "60/850,613 filed Oct. 10, 2006, all of which are incorporated herein in their entirety.", "TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention is directed to power generation and, more particularly, to wind generator systems effective for generating and storing electric power.", "Further, the invention includes an environmentally friendly energy storage system that operates to store energy obtained from a wind generator system or other power generating systems.", "BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In recent years the need for alternative sources of electrical energy has grown significantly as a result of increased and uncertainty in oil prices, growing environmental concerns, and the lack of sufficient alternative energy supplies.", "Accordingly, wind generator systems have gained support as an alternate energy source.", "Wind generators have been shown to provide a safe and clean source of electric power.", "Systems, such as large or big wind generators, have been developed having large blades (often more than 18 feet in length) mounted on high towers that can produce more than 35 kilowatts (kW) of power with wind speeds of 20 knots.", "Such systems are typically used in combination with other wind generators, such as along coastal areas for providing electrical power directly to power grids.", "Such systems have also been used in rural areas, such as farms, for providing supplemental power or reducing electrical costs.", "Small wind generators mounted on smaller towers have also been developed for use such as for residential application and have been used a remote or distributed power sources.", "Such systems are often connected to the main electric service to the home thereby allowing sufficient powering of the home and for sending excess power generated by the wind generator back to the power grid.", "Typically, these small wind generators rotate at speeds that vary with wind speed and have a plurality of blades that drive a rotor coupled to a gearbox that operates to increase the rotation speed of a generator for producing electric power.", "In order to reduce maintenance and increase efficiency, systems have been developed having relatively large synchronous ring generators that permit the rotor to be directly coupled to the generator without the need of a gearbox.", "Unfortunately, while such systems have reduced maintenance costs and have increased the efficiency of the systems, wind generator systems continue to suffer from relatively significant maintenance costs.", "Further, forces being exerted to the systems due to wind increase in proportion to the cube of wind speed.", "Accordingly, high wind speeds often encountered by small wind generator systems, even if only occasional or momentary can damage system components.", "This is particularly true for wind generators having relatively large blades such as typically required for small wind generators that depend on the relatively large blades to harvest lower-energy winds.", "Thus, small wind generator systems are typically designed having means for preventing system damage due to such high-speed winds.", "Such means include blade pitching, airfoil spoilers, blade tip breaks, and the like.", "Means such as braking means or means that act upon the entire blade apparatus rather than on individual blades have also been developed.", "Unfortunately, all such means significantly add to the complexity and expense of the wind generator systems and significantly add to their maintenance down time and costs.", "In addition, systems having such means typically require routine maintenance which significantly increases their operating costs.", "This is particularly true when parts or components must be repaired or replaced which often requires significant rebuild or major dismantling of the system to replace a component.", "Further, during operation such means often result in significant power drops or the cessation of power generation during such high wind conditions.", "Another problem associated with small wind generators is that they are often acoustically noisy and are undesirable for many residential applications.", "Further, small or low wind generator systems for mounting to building structures are generally not aesthetically pleasing, often require extensive building modifications, and are prohibited under many building codes.", "Accordingly, due to the complexity of many wind generators used in small wind or distributed power the need for a simple modular and easy to maintain generator is significant in no just reducing cost to the consumer but in the cost of manufacture and maintenance.", "Further, environmentally friendly energy storage is one of the greatest challenges of the 21st century.", "Hundreds of billions of dollars has been invested in fuel cells and chemical batteries.", "While such devices are capable of storing energy, they often are relatively expensive and can cause difficulty in properly disposing such devices.", "Consequently, a need exists for a small wind generating system and energy storage system that has reduced cyclic cost, increased reliability and improved maintenance needs and costs, that is acoustically and aesthetically acceptable for residential operation, and which is relatively inexpensive to manufacture and install.", "SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is a new and novel wind generator system particularly suitable for small wind applications that harnesses low velocity wind effectively.", "In a preferred embodiment of the invention the wind generator system comprises a drive shaft; a plurality of blades attached to the drive shaft and extending radially outwardly therefrom; a generator assembly coupled to the drive shaft and effective for generating electrical power; and a housing having an inner chamber for receiving the plurality of blades and a wind directional apparatus that operates to adjust the speed of the wind and to channel wind along a desired flow pathway towards the plurality of blades.", "In another preferred embodiment of the invention the wind generator system comprises means for sensing the direction and speed of wind at the location of the housing.", "In another preferred embodiment of the invention the wind generator system comprises sensing means for monitoring the electrical power output of the wind generator system.", "In another preferred embodiment of the invention the wind generator system comprises sensing means for monitoring the operational efficiency and condition of the wind generator system.", "In another preferred embodiment of the invention the wind generator system comprise a communication and control means coupled to the sensing means whereby the communication and control means can communicate with an outside monitoring system.", "In another preferred embodiment of the invention the communication and control means of one wind generator system can communicate with the communication and control means of another wind generator system.", "In another preferred embodiment of the invention the blades comprise an aerodynamic adjustment element for adjusting the aerodynamic characteristic of the blades.", "In another preferred embodiment of the invention the aerodynamic element is a thin film material.", "In another preferred embodiment of the invention the aerodynamic element is a metallic composite coating.", "In another preferred embodiment of the invention the aerodynamic element is formed from a shaped memory material or a functional material.", "In another preferred embodiment of the invention the shaped memory alloy is Nitinol.", "In another preferred embodiment of the invention the wind generator includes an energy enhancer element comprising a spindle assembly having a loop coupled to the drive shaft; and means for creating a temperature differential along a portion of the loop; wherein the loop is effective for increasing the rotational speed of the drive shaft when acted upon by the means for creating a temperature differential along a portion of the loop.", "In another preferred embodiment of the invention the energy enhancer element having a loop comprising a wire or band formed from a shaped memory material or a functional material.", "In another preferred embodiment of the invention the loop is formed from a shaped memory alloy.", "In another preferred embodiment of the invention the blades comprise a photovoltaic substrate operable for generating electrical power.", "In another preferred embodiment of the invention the photovoltaic substrate operates in response to infrared light.", "In another preferred embodiment of the invention the wind directional apparatus comprises a plurality of rotatable slats.", "Another preferred embodiment of the invention, a wind generator system comprises at least two stages of blades mounted to a drive shaft; each stage having at least one blade attached thereto and extending radially outwardly therefrom; a generator assembly coupled to the drive shaft and effective for generating electrical power; and a housing having an inner chamber for receiving each stage of at least one blade and a wind directional apparatus that operates to adjust airflow and to channel the wind along a desired flow pathway towards each of at least one blade.", "In another preferred embodiment the wind generator system comprises rotatable slats having images thereon that change when the slats rotate.", "In another preferred embodiment of the invention the housing includes a rotatable base that operates to rotate the wind generator system to optimize power generation.", "In another preferred embodiment of the invention the individual components of the wind generator system are grouped into individual modules that can be easily installed or removed into the wind generator system.", "In another preferred embodiment of the invention the housing of the wind generator system can be incorporated into a structure.", "In another preferred embodiment of the invention the wind generator system comprises a wire or band formed from a shaped memory material or a functional material and effective for increasing the rotational speed of the drive shaft.", "In another preferred embodiment of invention the wind generator system comprise and energy storage system.", "In a preferred embodiment of the invention the energy storage system is a bellows having a multifunctional structure that harvests energy from its environment or from other mechanical or physical systems.", "In another preferred embodiment of the invention the energy storage system is a mechanical bellows energy storage system.", "In another preferred embodiment of the invention the energy storage system is a bellows that is a combined heat and power storage device providing thermal management and power generation.", "In a preferred embodiment of the invention the bellows operates as a radiator and energy storage device.", "In a preferred embodiment of the invention the bellows operates as a radiator and thermal management device for solar concentrator cells.", "In a preferred embodiment of the invention the bellows comprises a fabric embedded or integrated with sensors and other processing devices.", "In a preferred embodiment of the invention the bellows is compressible to reduce volume of a space or satellite deployable radiator and energy storage device.", "In a preferred embodiment of the invention the bellows is a compressible space deployable satellite.", "In a preferred embodiment of the invention the bellows is integrated with a heat pipe acting as a thermal management and power storage and generating system.", "In a preferred embodiment of the invention the bellows is integrated with a heat pipe acting as an engine.", "In a preferred embodiment of the invention the bellows is a power drive device for rotating machinery and electrical generators.", "In a preferred embodiment of the invention the bellows is configured individually or in a bank of bellows to be used for startup of an electrically driven system.", "In a preferred embodiment of the invention the bellows operates to start up an automated device or robotic component.", "In a preferred embodiment of the invention the bellows is an automated device or a robotic component.", "In a preferred embodiment of the invention the bellows is a robotic actuator that controls motion and stores energy by harvesting energy from the environment.", "In a preferred embodiment of the invention the bellows operates to augment an electric motor in the startup of an electric vehicle thereby reducing the load on the motor.", "In a preferred embodiment of the invention the bellows operates in conjunction with an on-demand module Nitinol rotary system to store energy and provide power to a motion control or drive system.", "In a preferred embodiment of the invention the bellows operates to control the startup of an automated device or robotic component.", "In a preferred embodiment of the invention the bellows operates to collect heat from solar concentrator cell and functions as an active coding device or radiator.", "In a preferred embodiment of the invention the bellows opera tea to collect heat from a solar concentrator cell and functions as an active coding device or radiator circulating air over a heat sink.", "In a preferred embodiment of the invention the bellows operates to collect heat from a solar concentrator heat sink to change the bellows for energy storage.", "In a preferred embodiment of the invention the bellows operates to collect heat from a solar concentrator cell that functions as a power drive device.", "In a preferred embodiment of the invention the bellows operates to collect heat from a solar concentrator cell to power an active cooling element.", "In a preferred embodiment of the invention the bellows operates to collect heat from a solar concentrator cell to power an active cooling element using a cooling loop within a heat sink plate.", "In a preferred embodiment of the invention the bellows operates to collect waste heat from a mechanical, electrical or optical system to reconfigure itself for energy storage and power storage.", "In a preferred embodiment of the invention the bellows operates to collect waste heat from a mechanical, electrical or optical system to power another device.", "In a preferred embodiment of the invention the bellows operates to collect waste heat from a mechanical, electrical or optical system to store power.", "In a preferred embodiment of the invention the bellows operates to collect waste heat from a mechanical, electrical or optical system to power a drive train or rotating generator or motor.", "In a preferred embodiment of the invention the bellows operates to collect waste heat from a mechanical, electrical or optical system to augment a power drive system.", "In a preferred embodiment of the invention the bellows operates to collect waste heat from its environment to store as energy or power.", "In a preferred embodiment of the invention the bellows operates to collect heat from its environment to store as energy or power.", "In another preferred embodiment of the invention the energy storage system is a bellows storage system having shaped memory material that operates to enhance the storage of energy of the energy storage system.", "In another preferred embodiment of the invention the energy storage system is a combination of hydraulic and bellows storage systems.", "In another preferred embodiment of the invention mechanical the energy storage system is a combination storage system comprising hydraulic, mechanical bellows and battery storage systems.", "Another preferred embodiment of the invention is an energy storage system comprising a mechanical bellows coupled to a robotic structure for powering the operation of the robotic structure.", "These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with regard to the following description, appended claims, and accompanying drawings.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS To provide a more complete understanding of the present invention and further features and advantages thereof, reference is now made to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: FIG.", "1 is a schematic illustration of a portion of the wind generator system of the subject invention showing an end view of blades mounted to a drive shaft; FIG.", "2 is a perspective schematic partially exploded illustration of the wind generator system showing blades mounted to a drive shaft and enclosed within a housing; FIG.", "3 is a schematic illustration showing wind being directed by the wind directional apparatus that operates to adjust wind speed and to channel wind into the housing through one or more of the openings, along a desired flow pathway to the blades, and out of the housing through one or more of the openings; FIG.", "4 is a schematic illustration showing the wind speed and direction sensor electrically coupled to a control apparatus having a microprocessor for receiving signals from the wind speed and direction sensor that determines and provides signals to a wind directional apparatus for directing airflow along a desired pathway to properly impinge the blades; FIG.", "5 is a top schematic view illustration showing blades having an aerodynamic adjustment element thereon that operates to increase or decrease the camber of the blades; FIG.", "6 is a side view illustration showing a portion of a drive shaft and a blade attached thereto and showing a blade being acted upon by the aerodynamic adjustment element of FIG.", "5; FIG.", "7 is a schematic illustration showing blades having an aerodynamic adjustment element comprising a thin film material applied to a portion of one side of each blade; FIG.", "8 is a schematic illustration showing the interaction between a blade control and a resistant circuit for heating of the film material of FIG.", "7 to cause the bending of the blade to increase or decrease its camber thereby adjusting its aerodynamic characteristic; FIG.", "9 is a schematic illustration showing another preferred embodiment of a blade control unit for properly adjusting of the aerodynamic characteristic of the blades comprising a neural network; FIG.", "10 is a schematic illustration showing blades having a piezo electric material coating applied to one or both sides of the blades; FIG.", "11 is a schematic illustration showing blades having both an aerodynamic adjustment element and a piezo electric material coating applied thereto; FIG.", "12 is a schematic illustration showing a performance monitor for monitoring the performance and efficiency of the wind generator system; FIG.", "13 is a schematic illustration showing a wind generator system attached to a structure, such as the roof of a building; FIG.", "14 is a schematic illustration showing another preferred embodiment of the invention showing the wind generator system comprising a plurality of aligned or stacked blades mounted to a drive shaft; FIG.", "15 is a schematic illustration of the wind generator system of FIG.", "14 showing the blades and shaft within a housing; FIG.", "16 is a schematic illustration showing another preferred embodiment of the invention showing a plurality of aligned or stacked blade stages enclosed within a housing having a wind intake ramp; FIG.", "17 is a schematic illustration showing a top view of the wind generator system of FIG.", "16; FIG.", "18 is a schematic illustration of the wind generator system of FIG.", "16 showing wind exhaust openings; FIG.", "19 is a schematic illustration of another embodiment of the wind generator system having a housing comprising stands, rack mounting structures for equipment, and the like; FIG.", "20 is a schematic illustration of another preferred embodiment of the invention showing an energy enhancer element for increasing the rotation of the drive shaft; FIG.", "21 is a schematic illustration showing the top view of the energy enhancer element of FIG.", "20; FIG.", "22 is a schematic illustration of another preferred embodiment of the wind generator system having an energy storage system comprising a bellows system; FIG.", "23 is a schematic illustration of another preferred embodiment of the wind generator system having another preferred embodiment of an energy storage system comprising a pressurized fluid storage system; FIG.", "24 is a schematic illustration of another embodiment of the energy enhancer element of FIG.", "20, the energy enhancer element is in the form of a canister having a housing with a spindle assembly with a rotating wire or band formed from a memory shaped material adapted to drive a power activated device; FIG.", "25 is a schematic illustration of the energy enhancer element of FIG.", "24 having a plurality of wires or bands creating a continuous loop formed from a memory shaped material; FIG.", "26 is a schematic illustration of an exemplarily illustration showing the energy enhancement element of FIG.", "24 or FIG.", "25 mounted to a wheel assembly adapted to drive a power activated device such as a wheel; FIG.", "27 is a schematic illustration of another exemplarily illustration showing the energy enhancement element of FIG.", "24 or FIG.", "25 adapted to drive a power activated device such as those utilized for satellite operations; FIG.", "28 is a schematic illustration of the energy enhancement element of FIG.", "24 coupled to a servo mechanism for operating a power activated device; FIG.", "29 is a schematic illustration of the energy enhancement element of FIG.", "27 showing a solar radiation heat source; FIG.", "30 is a schematic illustration of e preferred embodiment of the energy storage system in the form of a mechanical bellows (non-pneumatic) having a flexible material casing with support elements and a shaped memory alloy material integrated within the flexible material casing in communication with a heat source; FIG.", "31 is a schematic illustration of a preferred embodiment of the energy storage system in the form of a bellows that operates to harvest energy from a heat source such as a heat pipe; FIG.", "32 is a schematic illustration of another preferred embodiment of the energy storage system in the form of a mechanical bellows that operates to harvest energy from a heat sink heated using a solar cell system; FIG.", "33 is a schematic illustration of another preferred embodiment of the energy storage system in the form of a mechanical bellows that operates to harvest energy from a heat sink heated using a solar cell system with a concentrated solar cell system; FIG.", "33 is a schematic illustration of another preferred embodiment of the energy storage system in the form of a bimodal actuator having a bellows and a heat sink system for powering a nitinol power module; FIG.", "34 is a schematic illustration of another preferred embodiment of the energy storage system having a bellows in the form of an accordion bellows Trevelyan Rocker coupled to a heat sink and heat exchanger; FIG.", "35 is a schematic illustration of the energy storage system of FIG.", "34 showing the bellows in various expanded configuration and compressed configurations; FIG.", "36 is a schematic illustration of anther preferred embodiment of the energy storage system in the form of a bellows coupled to an energy enhancer element coupled to a heat sink with a solar concentrator lens for heating the heat sink; FIG.", "37 is a schematic illustration of another preferred embodiment of the energy storage system having a mechanical bellows coupled to an energy enhancer element at one end and a heat exchanger at the other end, a heat sink is coupled to the heat exchanger at one end and to the energy enhancer element at the other end, a solar lens/prism collector is provided for heating the heat sink; FIG.", "38 is a schematic illustration of another preferred embodiment of the energy storage system having a mechanical bellows for powering a secondary device such as a robotic arm or gripper; and FIG.", "39 is a schematic illustration of another preferred embodiment of the energy storage system for use in providing power to various devices employed in a satellite.", "BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The present invention relates to low or small wind generator systems.", "In describing the preferred embodiments of the invention illustrated in the drawings, specific terminology will be resorted to for the sake of clarity.", "However, the invention is not intended to be limited to the specific terms so selected, and it is to be understood that each specific term includes all technical equivalents that operate in a similar manner to accomplish a similar purpose.", "Referring to FIGS.", "1 and 2, a preferred embodiment of the wind generator system generally referred to as 100, is shown comprising a drive shaft 102 and one or more retreating blades 104a and one or more advancing blades 104b attached to and extending radially outwardly from the drive shaft 102.The drive shaft 102 is operationally coupled to a generator assembly 106 which operates to generate electrical power when actuated by rotation of the drive shaft 102.It should be understood that as used herein the term “generator” includes alternators.", "In a preferred embodiment as shown the drive shaft 102 and blades 104 are enclosed within an inner chamber 108 of a housing 110.The housing 110 comprises a frame 112 having openings 114 wherein preferably each opening 114 has a wind directional apparatus 116 that operates to adjust wind speed and to channel wind W (FIG.", "3) into the housing through one or more of the openings 114, which operate as air intakes that direct wind along a desired flow pathway towards the retreating blades 104a, and out of the housing 110 through one or more of the openings 114 that operate as wind exhausts.", "Preferably, the housing 110 is generally rectangular in shape having a top or roof 118, a base 120, and vertical sides 122.Preferably, at least one opening 112 is provided on each vertical side 122, In a preferred embodiment, as shown in FIG.", "2, the wind directional apparatus 116 comprises a plurality of rotatable slats or louvers 124 that are operationally coupled to control rails 126 that are operated by one or more electric motor and horizontal control units 128 for rotating the slats 124 such as use of conventional bell cranks.", "It should be understood that the housing 110 is not limited to being rectangular in snaps but may have a variety of geometries having various number of vertical sides.", "For an exemplary illustration, the housing can be formed in the shape of a pentagon.", "Mounted to the housing 110 is a wind speed and direction sensor or anemometer 130 that operates to detect and measure wind speed and direction at the location of the wind generator system 100.As illustrated in FIG.", "4, the wind speed and direction sensor 130 electrically coupled, such as by wire or by a wireless transmitter 131 (FIG.", "2) such as shown to a control apparatus 132 having a microprocessor 133 that receives signals from the wind speed and direction sensor 130 which then operates to determine and provide signal to the electric motor and control units 128 to rotate a plurality of the slats 124 into an open position for directing airflow (wind) along a desired pathway to properly impinge the retreating blades 104a and to close a plurality of the slats 124 into a closed position to prevent airflow (wind) from impinging upon advancing blades 104b.", "The control apparatus 132 further operates to provide signals to the electric motor and control units to rotate all of the slats 124 along the opposing vertical side 122 into an open position for allowing the airflow (wind) to exit the housing 110.It should now be apparent that by opening the slats 124 as described allows airflow (wind) to impinge on the retreating blades 104a to rotate the drive shaft 122 while minimizing the counter forces created by the airflow (wind) caused by impingement of the wind on the advancing blades 104b as well as creating a low pressure or suction that further pulls or draws the advancing blades 104b in the desired direction thereby increasing the operation and performance of the wind generator.", "Referring to FIG.", "1, a preferred embodiment of the blades 104a, 104b is shown.", "Preferably each blade has a relatively large surface area A effective for harvesting lower-energy (low wind speed) wind being directed to the blades.", "Referring to FIGS.", "5 and 6, another preferred embodiment of the blades 104a, 104b is shown whereby the blades include an aerodynamic adjustment element 134 (FIGS.", "7 and 8) for adjusting the aerodynamic characteristic of each of the blades.", "In a preferred embodiment, as shown in FIG.", "7 the aerodynamic adjustment element 134 comprises a thin film material or wire 136, such as a shaped memory material or functional material, that operates to increase or decrease the camber of the blades 104a, 104b (as shown in FIGS.", "5 and 6) for adjusting the aerodynamic characteristic of the blade under a variety of wind speeds.", "It is known that simple contraction of certain thin film materials can be accomplished such as by running electrical current through a functional material such as carbon fibers on a polyimide sheet.", "In a preferred embodiment, the thin film material 136 is formed from a shaped memory material, such as Nitinol (NiTi) which is a shaped memory alloy having nearly equivalent amounts of nickel and titanium.", "The physical and mechanical properties of a shaped memory material, such as Nitinol are dependent on its crystalline structure.", "For example, the Nitinol crystal structure is very dynamic and highly heat sensitive and when it is deformed in the martensite phase, the crystalline structure is not damaged.", "Instead the crystal structure transforms moving in a singular crystalline direction.", "When heated the material returns to the memory or austenite phase, to a state of less stress.", "The austenite phase is the phase above transition temperature.", "The transition temperature will vary according to the material composition.", "Most Nitinol alloys, for example, have transition temperatures between 70-130° C. with tensile strength 100,000 psi, melting point of 1,250° C., and resistance 1.25 ohms per inch/0.006-inch wire.", "In a preferred embodiment, the particular Nitinol alloy found to be suitable is known as FLEXINOL, commercially available by Dynalloy Inc. of Costa Mesa, Calif. Preferably, as stated above, the aerodynamic adjustment element 134 may be in the form of an embedded wire, thin film or a metallic coating.", "Referring to FIG.", "7, in a preferred embodiment the aerodynamic adjustment element 134 is shown as a thin film material 136, such as a Nitinol, applied to a portion of one side of each blade 104a, 104b.", "As shown, the blade is in its normal operating configuration.", "Upon heating of the thin film material 136, or an embedded wire, such as by application of electric current through a resistant circuit 140 (FIG.", "8) within or along the thin film material 136, the thin film material 136 contracts as described above, causing the bending of the blade 104a, 104b to increase or decrease its camber thereby adjusting its aerodynamic characteristic (FIGS.", "5 and 6).", "Referring to FIG.", "8, in order to control the amount of current through the resistant circuit 140 for properly adjusting the aerodynamic characteristic of the blade, the wing generator system 100 further comprises a blade control unit 142.In a preferred embodiment, the blade control unit 142 includes a fuzzy logic microprocessor or controller 144 that receives wind speed input from the wind speed and direction sensor or anemometer 130 and uses such information for controlling the amount of electric current, thus heating, or allowing the thin film material 13 (or embedded wire) formed from the shape memory alloy to expand or contract to bend and place the blade 104a, 104b into a desired aerodynamic configuration.", "In another preferred embodiment of the invention, as illustrated in FIG.", "9, the blade control unit 142 for properly adjusting of the aerodynamic characteristic of the blades 104a, 104b is a neural network (or parallel distributed processing elements (often referred to as nodes neurons, processing elements, unites)) that work together to control the proper electric current to the resistant circuit 140.It should be understood that the artificial neural network (functional structure) is deposited or embedded onto the surface of the blades 104a, 104b and operates for information processing and aerodynamic geometry control of the blades.", "Referring to FIG.", "8, the methodology of the blade control unit is shown whereby signals generated by the wind speed and direction sensor 130 are inputted into the blade control unit 142.Referring to FIG.", "10, another preferred embodiment of the invention is shown whereby the blades 104a, 104b have a light activated photovoltaic film or nanofilm 144 applied to one or both sides of the blades.", "In another preferred embodiment of the invention, one or more portions of the housing 110 (FIG.", "2) may be provided with such a light activated photovoltaic film or nanofilm (not shown).", "Preferably, the photovoltaic films or nanofilms are activated by light in the infrared range.", "One such nanofilm has been developed at the University of Toronto having cells of approximately 4 nm and is photoactive in the infrared range of the light spectrum.", "Using films that are activated by infrared light permits higher power output with less solar radiation such as during a cloudy day, than with standard ultraviolet (UV) photovoltaic systems.", "In another preferred embodiment the blades 104a, 104b or housing 110 (FIG.", "2) may comprise piezo electric material coatings to augment power generation of the wind generator system as well as providing wind speed information by measuring the dynamic pressure of the wind against the surface of the blade.", "In another preferred embodiment, as illustrated in FIG.", "11 the blades 104a, 104b comprises both the aerodynamic adjustment element 124 and the photovoltaic film 144, as described above.", "In another preferred embodiment of the invention, as shown in FIG.", "12, the wind generator system 100 comprises a performance monitor 148 for monitoring the performance and efficiency of the wind generator system 100 Preferably, the performance monitor 148 comprises a microprocessor 150 effective for receiving signals from the wind speed and direction sensor 130 as well as receiving signals from other component sensors 149 effective for transmitting information from the components comprising the wind generator system 100.In a preferred embodiment, the performance monitor 148 operates to monitor the electrical power output of the wind generator system 100.In another preferred embodiment the performance monitor 148 comprises a sensor 152 positioned on one or more of the rotatable slats or louvers 124 of housing 110 and operates to sense the actual rotational movement of the slat or louver 124 (FIG.", "2).", "Such information can then be analyzed by the microprocessor 150 to determine if the proper rotational movement of the slat or louver 124 is being performed.", "It should now be understood that other sensors can be utilized for providing signals to the microprocessor 150 that can be utilized by the microprocessor for determining the efficiency or performance of the various operational components comprising the wind generator system 100.In another preferred embodiment, the microprocessor 150 can operate to monitor the total power output of the wind generator system 100 to the rotational speed of the blades to determine the health and operation performance of the system 100.For an exemplary illustration, if the power output being generated by the wind generator system is below the level typically generated for the particular wind speed, the system components can be evaluated to determine which particular component is not operating efficiently and the component can be replaced thereby bringing the system efficiency back to its typical level.", "It should be understood that additional conventional sensors can be incorporated into the wind generator system to monitor the operational efficiency of various components and monitored by the microprocessor.", "Further it should now be understood that the microprocessor can be coupled to a conventional transmitter (such as a wireless radio transmitter, the Internet, or other communication system) for transmitting operational data to a remote monitoring device.", "In this way, individual systems can be monitored as well as for use in obtaining information for use in maintenance and in determining the need for performance enhancement modifications.", "Referring to FIG.", "13, one or more wind generator systems 100 are shown mounted to a structure S, such as a wall, roof, platform, or the like and are can also be incorporated architecturally into the structure S. In addition, as should now be understood, that the wind generator system 100 having a housing 110 described above reduces operational noise levels and reduces the likelihood of injury to wildlife, such as birds.", "As shown, wind W, is blowing in a first direction, the wind speed and direction is monitored and sensed using the wind speed and direct on sensor 130 (FIG.", "2).", "The wind speed and direction sensor 130 transmits a signal to the control apparatus 132 such that the microprocessor 133 (FIG.", "4) receives the signal and determines and provides signals to the electric motor and control units 128 to rotate the slats 124a to the desired position for directing airflow along a desired pathway to properly impinge the retreating blades 104a (FIG.", "2) and for blocking the wind W from impinging upon the advancing blades 104b.", "It should now be apparent that if the wind speed and direction sensor 130 detects wind speed or a wind gust greater than the safe or operational wind speed for the particular wind generator system the system operates such that the slats 124 will rotate to slow down and/or redirect the wind so that the velocity of the wind is within acceptable operating parameters.", "It should also be apparent that in another preferred embodiment of the invention the aerodynamic adjustment element 134 (FIGS.", "7, 8 and 9) can be used to adjust the aerodynamic characteristics of the blades to allow them to accommodate the high wind speed.", "It should be apparent that unlike many prior art systems, the wind generator system of the subject application can operate under a variety of wind conditions from small wind to high wind conditions it out the need of mechanical breaking systems or gearing systems.", "Referring to FIG.", "14, another preferred embodiment of the invention is shown whereby the wind generator system comprises a single drive shaft 202 or series of shafts mounted together such as by couplings 208, as shown, and one or more stages of blades 203, each stage 203 having one or more blades 204 (retreating blades 204a and advancing blades 204b) attached to and extend radially outwardly from the drive shaft 202.It shoul d be understood that the blade stages can be arranged in a horizontal or vertical arrangement.", "The drive shaft 202 is operationally coupled to a generator assembly 208 or a plurality of generator assemblies 208 (as shown) which operate to generate electrical power when actuated by rotation of the drive shaft 202.Preferably, the drive shaft 202 is formed from a light aircraft grade rolled or extruded aluminum and is tubular having an inner channel 203 that provides a chase for allowing a power bus, control cables and the like to travel to the various stages, controls, and actuators and other similar electronic devices.", "The drive shaft 202 is supported by frame 205 and one or more bearing assemblies 207.It should be understood that the individual stages can be modular and assembled together by use of a rotating coupling placed in series of the individual stages, as shown.", "It should also be understood that the individual generators can be mounted in series to the drive shaft or the drive shaft can be coupled to a single generator.", "In another preferred embodiment, as shown in FIGS.", "14 and 15, the drive shaft 202 and blades 204 are enclosed within a housing 210.Referring to FIG.", "15, as shown the housing 210 comprises a frame 212 having openings 214 wherein each opening 214 has a wind directional apparatus 216 that operates to adjust wind speed and to channel the wind W (FIG.", "5) into along a desired flow pathway towards the plurality of advancing blades 204a and for blocking the wind W from impinging on the advancing blades 204b.", "Preferably, the housing 210 is generally rectangular in shape having a top or roof 218 and base 220, and vertical sides 222.Preferably, at least one opening 214 is provided on each vertical side 222.In a preferred embodiment, as shown in FIG.", "2, the wind directional apparatus 216 comprises a plurality of rotatable slats or louvers 224 that are operationally coupled to control rails 226 that are operated by one or more electric motor and control units 228 for rotating the slats 224.It should be understood that the housing 210 is not limited to being rectangular in shape but may have a variety of geometries having various number of vertical sides.", "For an exemplary illustration, the housing can be formed in the shape of a pentagon.", "Mounted to the housing 210 is a wind speed and direction sensor or anemometer 230 that operates to detect and measure wind speed and direction.", "As previously described, the wind speed and direction sensor 230 is electrically coupled to a control apparatus having a microprocessor that receives signals from the wind speed and direction sensor 230 which then determines and provides signals to the electric motor and control units 228 to rotate the slats 224 to the desired position for directing airflow along a desired pathway to properly impinge the retreating blades 204a and to block the wind (airflow) from impinging the advancing blades 204b.", "In another preferred embodiment as illustrated in FIGS.", "16, 17 and 18, plurality of blade stages 203 connected together by a common drive shaft 202 are enclosed within a housing 210 having supports 211 and which is rotatably mounted such that the housing can rotate in response to wind direction to optimize the wind entering through intake opening or ramp 212.In a preferred embodiment the intake opening 212 in the housing 210 operates as a wind intake or scoop and cooperates with one or more exhaust openings 236 that that operate to expel air to optimize air flow through the housing as well as to provide pressure to rotate the wind generator system.", "Preferably, the intake opening 212 can be opened or closed by use of a linear displacement potentiometer 238 that cooperates with the wind speed and direction sensor 230 and a control apparatus, such as that previously described, to increase or decrease the size of the intake opening 212 and to properly direct the wind to the retreating blades and block wind (airflow) from impinging against the advancing blades.", "Referring to FIG.", "19, in a preferred embodiment of the invention the wind generator system can be used to provide electric power for various applications.", "As an exemplary illustration such systems can be mounted to a structure or be portable for emergency and/or remote location use.", "As shown in FIG.", "19, a preferred embodiment of the wind generator system 100 is illustrated whereby the housing 110, 210 includes stand, rack mounting structures 238 for equipment, such as electrical equipment, battery systems and the like.", "In another preferred embodiment, a portion of the exhaust airflow car be diverted, such as by vents or stators, to provide cooling for such equipment.", "Referring to FIGS.", "20 and 21, another preferred embodiment of the invention comprises an energy enhancer element 300 in the form of an endless wire or band 302 making a loop and formed from a shaped memory material, such as Nitinol (NiTi).", "The use of the energy enhancer element 300 provides on-demand power through the use of a shaped memory material (SMM).", "SMM's generally function through some form of electrical stimulation or heating, usually ohmic heating induced by a electric current.", "The heating of a SMM wire such as Nitinol or other shaped memory materials such as memory polymers or functional materials, may also be used to induce rotational motional in the on-demand energy enhancer element wire or bands that causes the wire or band to return to its original geometry through its metallurgical or physical properties.", "In an application NiTi wire or wires or NiTi coated thin film belt, provides rotational motion which then turns a shaft attached at one end of a spindle assembly rotating an electrical generator such as a permanent magnet DC generator, electrical alternator, electrical motor, servo, solenoid or similar device.", "In a preferred embodiment, as shown, a spindle assembly 312 comprising a wire or band 302 forming an endless loop is placed around a first rotating wheel 304, which is electrically coupled to a heating circuit 305, and a second larger wheel 306 coupled to the drive shaft 102.When increased power is required, such as during low wind or no wind conditions, the heating circuit 305 is activated causing the first rotating wheel 304 to heat.", "A portion of the wire or band 302 that is coupled with, such as by direct contact with the first rotating wheel 304 is thereby heated bringing the memory shaped material above its transition temperature thereby creating a temperature differential along the or band 302 thereby shortening the heated side of the wire or band 302 causing rotational force to be applied to the second larger wheel 306 and drive shaft 102.Many types of power activated devices including automated systems rely on individual electric motors, servos and alternators (or generators) to operate.", "The operation of these systems requires the use of electrical power.", "In preferred embodiments of the invention the energy enhancer element 300 operates to provide such on-demand power for a variety of power activated devices 308 such as, but not limited to, small vehicles, construction equipment, space craft, remotely operated vehicles and a variety of other power activated devices 308 that require individual generators, alternators, electric motors, servos and related systems for operation.", "It should be understood that by integrating the energy enhancer element 300 into such applications can provide on-demand power as well as increase power or back-up power to such devices.", "In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the energy enhancer element 300 is used for providing electrical power to power activated devices 308 such as, but not limited to, those used for orthopedic assistive devices and prosthetics, wheel chairs, robotic systems and personal rapid transit systems (PRT) vehicles.", "Such energy enhancer elements 300 provide on-demand power with low-cost, low-power consumption, and reliable consumable component.", "In a preferred embodiment of the invention, as illustrated in FIG.", "24, the energy enhancer element 300 is shown in the form of a cartridge comprising a round, oval or square housing 310 enclosing a spindle assembly 312.Preferably a wire or band 302 forming an endless loop is placed around a first rotating wheel 304, which is electrically or thermally coupled to an electrical circuit or heating device 305, and a second larger wheel 306 coupled to the drive shaft 102 that is coupled to an electrical producing device 314, such as a generator, alternator, electric motor or other similar power producing device.", "It should row be understood that the wire or band 302 can also be used to provide electric current through electrical connectors 307 on the spindle assembly 312 that in turn induces current into the wire or band 302 causing ohmic heating thereby inducing rotational motion of the wire or band 302 and in turn causing rotation of drive shaft 102 which is coupled to the electrical circuit or heating device 305.It should also be understood that the electrical circuit or heating device 305 can ohmic heating created such as by use of a battery or other electric source, such as a wind turbine, micro-hydro generator, solar cell, solar heating systems, or other such electrical source.", "In another preferred embodiment, as shown in FIG.", "25, the energy enhancer element 300 comprises a spindle assembly 312 having a plurality of wires or bands 302 forming one or more endless loops placed around a first rotating wheel 304 which is electrically or thermally coupled to an electrical circuit or heating device 305, and a second wheel 306 coupled to the drive shaft 102 that is coupled to an electric producing device 314, such as a generator, alternator, electric motor or other similar power producing device.", "As shown, the spindle assembly 312 further includes guides 316 that operate to maintain the separation of the plurality of wire or bands 302.It should now be apparent that the use of a plurality of wires or bands 302 can be used to increase the power output of the energy enhancer element 300.It should also be apparent that the electrical circuit or heating device 306 can be controlled, such as by conventional switches, to heat one or more of the wires or bands 302 thereby allowing the amount of power being generated to be adjusted.", "Referring to FIG.", "26 is an exemplary illustration of the energy enhancer element 300 is installed such that it is coupled to an electric motor, servo, or other electric producing device 314 such as by a shaft to provide back-up, increase power, and/or on-demand power to rotate a wheel 317 mounted to a wheel assembly 318 such as that used for a vehicle, instrument, robot, or other device 308.As shown, the spindle assembly 312 of the energy enhancer element 300 comprises one or more wires or bands 302 forming an endless loop rotating around a first rotating wheel 304 and a second wheel 306 as previously described.", "The second rotating wheel 306 is coupled to the drive shaft 102 of the wheel 317.In another exemplarily illustration of the energy enhancer element 300 is shown FIGS.", "27 and 28 whereby the power activated devices 308 comprises various components that may be utilized for a satellite 320 such as used in space.", "As shown, in one preferred embodiment the energy enhancer element 300 is coupled to a servo mechanism 315 that is conventionally coupled to a robotic arm 322.In another embodiment the energy enhancer element 300 is coupled to an activated device 308 such as an antenna 324 mounted to a drive shaft 102a.", "The energy enhancer element 300 is coupled to the drive shaft 102a in a manner as previously described.", "In another preferred embodiment the energy enhancer element 300 is coupled to an activated device 308 such as a solar cell array 326 conventionally mounted to a drive shaft 102b.", "The energy enhancer element 300 is coupled to the drive shaft 102b in a manner as previously described such that rotation of the loop formed by wires or bands 302 operates to rotate drive shaft 102b that operates to perform one or more of the functions of the power activated device 308.It should now be apparent that the energy enhancer element 300 can provide power or enhanced power to operate a variety of power activated devices.", "Referring to FIG.", "29, the energy enhancer element 300 further includes an electrical circuit or heating device 305 comprising a lens 328 thermally coupled to heat sink 330.In a preferred embodiment the lens 328 operates to direct thermal energy such as solar radiation, to heat the heat sink 330.The heat sink is thermally coupled to the spindle assembly 312 to operate the energy enhancer element 300 as previously described.", "Referring to FIG.", "22, in another preferred embodiment of the wind generator system 100 further comprises an energy storage system 400.Preferably, the energy storage system 400 is a mechanical energy storage system that eliminates the need for batteries and increases the efficiency of the system 100 by reducing loss of electricity such as through battery efficiencies and electrical resistance.", "One such energy storage system 400 is shown comprising a mechanical bellows 402 whereby rotational energy, such as that produced by rotation of drive shaft 102 is transferred eh as by a mechanical coupling 404, such as a gearbox or another conventional transfer mechanism that moves a piston 408 to expand the bellows 402 to store the rotational energy as potential energy within the position of the bellows 402.To retrieve the energy, the bellows 402 is allowed to compress or contract thereby moving the piston 408 to transfer the energy back through the mechanical coupling 408 to rotate the generator assembly 106.In another preferred embodiment of the invention as shown in FIG.", "23, the energy storage system 400 is a hydraulic storage system whereby rotational energy, such as that produced by rotation of drive shaft 102 is transferred such as by a mechanical coupling 404 to a hydraulic cylinder 410 such that a piston 408 operates to transfer fluid 412 from a pressurization reservoir 414 to the hydraulic cylinder 410 to store the rotational energy as potential energy.", "To retrieve the energy, the pressurized fluid within the hydraulic cylinder 410 is allowed to compress or contract thereby moving the piston 408 to transfer the energy back through the mechanical coupling 404 to rotate the generator assembly 106.Another preferred embodiment of the energy storage system 400 of the subject invention is shown in FIG.", "30.The energy storage system 400 is shown in the form of a mechanical bellows 402 having an outer flexible material casing 416 having support elements 418, such as pleated rings, positioned longitudinally along and coupled to the flexible material casing 416.Preferably, the support elements 418 alternate between relatively large diameter support elements and relatively small diameter support elements making that operate to improve the ability of the bellows to expand and contract.", "In a preferred embodiment of the invention the outer flexible material casing 416 includes shaped memory materials 420 (as described herein above) in the form of wire or thin film that are attached to or incorporated into the outer flexible material casing 416 and coupled to a heat source 422 that together operate as an actuator for expanding and contracting the bellows 402.In a preferred embodiment the heat source 422 is an electric heat source causing at least a portion of the shaped memory alloy (SMA) material 420 to be heated such that shaped memory alloy material is above its transition temperature thereby creating a temperature differential thereby shortening the SMA material 420 causing the bellows 402 to contract out of its equilibrium condition thereby storing potential energy for later use.", "It should be understood that the SMA material is deposited or embedded in the flexible material casing 416 that operate to improve thermal response from the environment by powering the bellows functions both as a power device and radiator.", "SMA material also can be used as a control mechanism based on their material properties and can respond to both thermal inputs or electrical current inputs.", "Other material processing methods, such as e-beam and laser that modifies a fabric in a particular pattern can also be used to create a differential in the flexible material casing that will enhance the material properties in effect inducing a greater efficiency in the harvesting of energy from the environment.", "In a preferred embodiment the SMA material 420 may be integrated with springs that augment the support elements 418.The support elements 418 may also be formed from shape memory alloy wire or flat ring that maintains a specific geometry for the bellows while operating in high vibration environments.", "Further, in a preferred embodiment the flexible material casing 416 provides a shaped memory capability based on laser, e-beam or thermal modification of the material, casing to create a thermally reactive element within the material casing.", "In another preferred embodiment of the invention the bellows includes a piezo electric and other electricity generating devices or substrates applied to the material casing to generate electricity based on motion or vibration.", "It should also be understood that the mechanical bellows also provides a functional geometry for the shaped memory material (alloy) or polymer to operate a an actuator and/or radiator.", "Another preferred embodiment of the energy storage system 400 of the subject invention is shown in FIG.", "31 whereby the heat source 422 is in the form of a heat pipe system such as one or more heat pipes positioned longitudinally within the bellows 402.By regulating the amount of heat traveling through the heat pipe system, the amount of compression or expansion of the SMA material 420 can be regulated thereby regulating the amount of contraction and expansion of the bellows 402 and the amount of energy stored by the bellows.", "Another preferred embodiment of the energy storage system 400 of the subject invention is shown in FIG.", "32 whereby the heat source 422 is in the form of a solar cell 426 within a heat sink 428 longitudinally coupled to the bellows 402.another preferred embodiment of the invention, as illustrated in FIG.", "31 the heat sink 428 includes a solar concentrator lens 430 that operates to direct and concentrate solar energy to heat the heat sink 428.In a preferred embodiment the bellows operates to collect heat from the solar concentrator to function as an active cooling device or radiator circulating air over the heat sink or collects heat from the solar concentrator and heat sink to charge the bellows for energy storage.", "In another preferred embodiment, the bellows 402 functions as a Trevelyan rocker to generate electricity, harvest energy and power for storage or function as a space propulsion device when integrated with a nozzle or heat pipe.", "Trevelyan rockers utilize the phenomenon of metal devices that vibrate or rock based on a significant temperature difference between them and the surface they contact.", "In a preferred embodiment, the bellows function based on the ring mass supporting the bellows.", "The support elements 418 (rings) are fixed to the flexible material casing 416 such that the bellows 402 can rock back and forth while expanding and contracting (FIGS.", "34 and 35).", "This mechanical method generates electricity using devices resident in the bellows, such as inducing a power cycle in a device, drive a generator external to the bellows, operate a heat pump system, drive an acoustic or thermal acoustic ion engine or other such devices.", "In another preferred embodiment of the invention, as illustrated in FIG.", "36, the energy storage system 400 comprises an energy enhancer element 300, as described above, coupled to a heat sink 438 coupled to a solar concentrator lens 430 which operates to heat the SMA endless wire or band 302 which rotates to drive an electric producing device 314 or battery.", "In another preferred embodiment of the invention, as illustrated in FIG.", "37, the energy storage system 400 comprises a bellows 402 coupled at one end to an energy enhancer element 300, as described above, by a motion/power transfer device 432 and at a second end by an adaptive heat pipe/thermal power transfer coupling 434 to a heat exchanger 436.The heat exchanger 436 is also attached to one end of a heat sink 438 which is coupled at a second end to a second heat exchanger 440 for connecting to the energy enhancer element 300.Preferably the heat sink 438 is provided with a solar lens/prism collector 442 for improved heating of the heat sink 438.As shown, the solar lens/prism collector 442 operates to concentrate solar energy to the cell eliminating the need for a reflector concentrator.", "The integration of the bellows as a primary heat sink and radiator not only increases the area of the radiator based on temperature increases through extension of the SMA materials and other thermally active fibers and films.", "The energy storage system of the subject invention can be integrated into a robotic arm supporting control, power and motion functions.", "Preferably, the robotic arm is designed to function as combined thermal-power storage device and motion control system particularly possessing self-organized control when produced with SMAs as actuator devices.", "In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the energy storage system 400 operates to power a secondary device 444, such as a robotic arm.", "As illustrated in FIG.", "38, a bellows 402 is shown having one end coupled to an SMA rotary actuator 446 (elbow movement) for moving an arm support 448.The other end of the bellows 402 is attached to a SMA rotary actuator (wrist movement) 450 for moving a gripper 451.In another embodiment of the invention, the energy storage system 400 is in the form of a mechanical bellows 402 having an outer flexible material casing 416 having support elements 418, such as pleated rings, positioned longitudinally along and coupled to the flexible material casino 416.Preferably, the support elements 418 alternate between relatively large diameter support elements and relatively small diameter support elements making that operate to improve the ability of the bellows to expand and contract.", "It should be understood that the energy storage system of the subject invention utilizing a Trevelyan rocker bellows system may be used to effect various systems such as orbital torque or transfer changes on small satellites and other spacecraft including natural bodies such as asteroids as the bellows is scalable and can adapt to most any size satellite or vehicle or placed in multiples.", "It should be understood that an advantage to implementing the energy storage system using a bellows in the form of a Trevelyan rocker is the increased mechanical capacity while using energy harvested from the environment, solar energy or heat from the sun or heat from waste heat operations with a vehicle or other device within a very lightweight bellows.", "In a preferred embodiment of the invention, as illustrated in FIG.", "39, the outer flexible material casing 416 of the bellows 402 having support elements 418, such as pleated rings, positioned longitudinally along and coupled to the flexible material casing 416 and shaped memory materials 420 (as described herein above) in the form of wire or thin film that are attached to or incorporated into the outer flexible material casing 416 and coupled to a heat source 422 that together operate as an actuator for expanding and contracting the bellows 402.In a preferred embodiment one end of the bellows 402 is coupled to a communications/computing/control/battery pack which is provided with an antenna 452.The other end of the bellows 402 is coupled to a micro-torque rod 454.It should be understood that other devices, such as sensors 460 and micro-radiometers 462 may be attached to the bellows 402 and receives energy from movement of the bellows 402.It should be understood that the energy storage system of the subject invention may comprise any combination of hydraulic systems, bellows systems, and battery systems.", "Such systems can be used together or in banks whereby conventional mechanical switches between individual storage systems operate to transfer potential energy between systems.", "It should also be understood that the energy storage system of the subject invention can safely store as little as 100 watts to as much as 60 kilowatts of energy and can be used in a wide variety of applications from producing electricity to powering electric vehicles.", "The use of bellows has the advantage of being robust, a reliable structure, lightweight, and deployable as it can be shipped or transported in a contracted geometry reducing volume requirements.", "The energy storage system works by storing energy in a highly efficient and reliable mechanical bellows structure (like pleated rings).", "The system is easily scalable based on the number and size of the rings.", "It should be understood that the mechanical bellows of the subject invention will contract or extend based on environmental inputs (vibration, heat, cold and motion from a machine such as a rotating motion).", "The primary storage functions are therefore based on direct input for storage from machinery like a wind turbine as well as environmental elements like heat, cold, vibration, etc.", "These charge the bellows to extended or contracted positions providing a potential energy system and power storage device.", "It is a power storage device due to its capability to drive a mechanical or electromechanical device or machine from either the contracted or extended position.", "The bellows is made from materials that allow energy to be stored in the bellows and then later transferred to whatever is to be powered without the use of electrolytic or chemical based batteries.", "The bellows may also harvest power from rotating machinery producing or transferring power.", "This is particularly true for wind turbines that produce power only when the wind is blowing.", "The bellows can store excess energy for periods when the wind is not blowing and transfer energy back through the wind turbine generator to produce electricity on demand.", "The bellows is a multifunctional structure comprised of traditional bellows components such as rings and fabric or film type material, but also incorporates shaped memory materials (alloys and/or plastics) that assist in harvesting thermal and light energy and enhances energy storage capacity efficiency.", "The positional storage of energy within the bellows may be both the contracted or extended geometry creating a versatile transfer device for linear and rotational power.", "In this concept the bellows is both an energy storage device and a power storage device.", "The bellows harvests energy as a multifunctional structure from mechanical (rotational, linear and vibratory) energy, heat (hot and cold), and pneumatic and light/electromagnetic (EM) sources.", "Due to the unique multifunctional structure, the bellows may also be charged or energized by traditional electrical current sources producing not only a storage device but a mechanical power driver simultaneously so that it will store energy based on positional geometry and drive other devices while configuring to its new position.", "The bellows as a multifunctional structure is capable of independent operations.", "In other words, no environmental or mechanical input is exclusionary.", "The bellows may operate as a pneumatic device, but is not dependent on air or other gases and may change geometry through other inputs from conventional rotating or liner displacement motion to vibration as well as electrical current, light or electromechanical sources or heat (hot or cold) including a heat differential based upon the materials and/or devices used for the fabric structure and folds.", "It should now be understood that in a preferred embodiment the energy storage system of the subject invention utilizes a bellows to collect heat from a solar concentrator to function as a power drive device and/or to power an active cooling element, such be using a cooling loop within a heat sink plate or to power an active cooling element that is a thermal electric device attached to a heat sink plate.", "It should also be understood that the energy storage system of the subject invention uses a bellows that collects waste heat from a mechanical, electrical or optical system to reconfigure itself for energy storage or power storage or to power another device or to store power or to power a drive train or a rotating generator or motor or to augment a power drive system.", "Further, the bellows collects such waste heat from its environment to store energy or power.", "Accordingly, the mechanical bellows of the energy storage system utilizing the shaped memory material (alloy or polymer) operates as an actuator and/or radiator.", "It should now be understood to those skilled in the art that the wind generator system of the present application is easily constructed in modular form thereby reducing the time and cost needed to make repairs to the system.", "For the use of performance monitors and sensors reduces maintenance requirements and increases efficiency.", "Further, the wind generator system of the present application reduces the likelihood of damage resulting from high wind speeds often encountered by small wind generator systems without the need of relatively complex and expensive blade pitching devices, airfoil spoilers, blade tip breaks, braking means, and the like.", "Further, it should also now be understood to those skilled in the art that the wind generator system of the present application is relatively acoustically quiet and aesthetically pleasing making them desirable for many residential applications.", "It should also be understood to those skilled in the art that the wind, generator system of the present application can be used in a variety of applications.", "Systems can be incorporated into the exterior design of a structure, such as a building, such as along the roof, or as part of its landscaping, such as decorative structures.", "Further systems can be easily placed at locations having natural wind currents, such as between building structures or walls that operate as wind tunnels.", "By artistically or architecturally designing the housing, the wind generator system can be easily incorporated into an existing or future structure designs.", "It should also now be apparent to one skilled in the art that a preferred embodiment of the wind generator system of the subject invention is new and novel and comprises a rotor mounted to a drive shaft, one or more blades attached to the rotor and extending radially outwardly from the rotor, a generator assembly coupled to the drive shaft and effective for generating electrical power, a mechanical energy storage system, wherein said mechanical energy storage system operates to store rotational energy of the drive shaft by converting rotational energy into potential energy stored in the mechanical storage system.", "Preferably, the mechanical energy storage system comprises a mechanical bellows having an outer flexible material casing and support elements positioned longitudinally along and coupled to the flexible material casing and shaped memory materials coupled to a heat source for extending and contracting the mechanical bellows.", "In a preferred embodiment the heat source is heat pipe.", "In another preferred embodiment the heat source includes a heat sink heated by solar energy.", "In another preferred embodiment the heat source includes a heat sink heated by a solar cell and a solar concentrator lens.", "Preferably, the mechanical bellows functions as a Trevelyan rocker.", "It should also be understood that the mechanical energy storage system can be separated from the wind generator system and coupled to one or more secondary devices which are powered by the mechanical energy storage system.", "In a preferred embodiment the one or more secondary devices includes a robotic device or satellite devices.", "Although the foregoing invention has been described in some detail for purposes of clarity of understandings, it will be apparent that certain changes and modifications may be practiced within the scope of any claims.", "It should now be apparent that the various embodiments presented can be easily modified while keeping within the scope and spirit of the subject invention.", "Accordingly, it should be understood that the present disclosure is to be considered as exemplary of the principals of the invention and is not intended to limit the invention to the embodiments and the specific examples illustrated and the invention is not to be limited to the details given herein, but may be modified within the scope and equivalents of the descriptions and examples contained herein." ] ]
Patent_15873155
[ [ "ALERT MANAGEMENT UTILIZING MOBILE DEVICES", "Methods, computer systems, and computer-storage medium are provided for managing patient alerts using a mobile device.", "A mobile device associated with a patient caregiver receives a critical alert related to the patient, and the alert is presented on the mobile device.", "The alert includes important contextual information that enables the caregiver to make a quick assessment of how to effectively address the alert.", "The alert includes options for accepting the alert or rejecting the alert.", "Acceptance of the alert enables the caregiver to communicate the alert to selected caregivers that can assist in managing the alert.", "Rejecting the alert causes the alert to be automatically communicated to additional caregivers associated with the patient." ], [ "1.A computer-implemented method of managing patient alerts, the method comprising: receiving on a first mobile device an alert related to a patient, the first mobile device associated with a first caregiver assigned to the patient; determining one or more additional caregivers; presenting an alert response interface, wherein the alert response interface comprises multiple selectable response options; displaying a list of the one or more additional caregivers, the list comprising one or more selectable graphical representations corresponding to the one or more additional caregivers; receiving a selection of at least one additional caregiver from the list of the one or more additional caregivers; providing a message entry area on the alert response interface for receiving textual input of a message corresponding to the alert; and communicating the message to the selected at least one additional caregiver.", "2.The method of claim 1, wherein the list of the one or more additional caregivers is ordered, at least in part, according to a proximity of the one or more additional caregivers to the patient.", "3.The method of claim 1, further comprising determining an availability status of the one or more additional caregivers.", "4.The method of claim 3, wherein the list of the one or more additional caregivers is ordered, at least in part, according to the availability status of the one or more additional caregivers.", "5.The method of claim 3, wherein the one or more selectable graphical representations includes an indication of the availability status of the one or more additional caregivers.", "6.The method of claim 3, wherein the status comprises one or more of: available, available but busy, and off-line.", "7.The method of claim 1, wherein the message is communicated with alert details and patient information.", "8.A computer-implemented method of managing patient alerts, the method comprising: determining an availability status of one or more caregivers electronically associated with a patient that is a subject of an alert; determining an alert level corresponding to the alert, the alert level comprising a critical alert or a noncritical alert; communicating the alert to a first mobile device associated with a first caregiver of the one or more caregivers, the first caregiver having an availability status of available; and receiving a response to the alert from the first mobile device associated with the first caregiver, the response comprising one or more of: an alert acceptance, an alert rejection, and an alert sharing notification.", "9.The method of claim 8, further comprising determining a proximity of the one or more caregivers to a patient that is a subject of the alert.", "10.The method of claim 9, wherein the first caregiver has the status of available and a closest proximity to the patient.", "11.The method of claim 8, wherein the alert is communicated with an indication of the alert level.", "12.The method of claim 8, wherein the alert sharing notification includes an identity of additional recipients of the alert." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND <EOH>Typical nurse management of patient alerts utilizes stationary computer terminals located at, for example, a nursing station associated with a nursing unit.", "The stationary terminals are manned by unit secretaries who receive alerts or other important information related to patients on the unit.", "The unit secretary then identifies the caregivers assigned to those patients and may attempt to contact the caregivers through a variety of methods such as electronic paging, calling a patient's room to see if the caregiver is in the room, or overhead paging.", "Caregivers then either have to call the unit secretary or return to the nursing station to retrieve the alerting information.", "The result is inefficient communication, unproductive workflows, and time lags between when alerting information is received and when it is acted on by the caregiver.", "In those situations where a patient alert is pushed to a caregiver's mobile device, the alert often lacks important patient-contextual information, such as medical values, images, or device readings associated with the alert, that help the caregiver in deciding how to appropriately respond to the alert.", "The caregiver must then either return to the nursing station to access the information or open up a computer application on the mobile device to access the needed information—both of which consume valuable time resources.", "Further, though the caregiver may receive an alert, the caregiver is generally not given an opportunity to further interact with the alert.", "For instance, the alert generally cannot be communicated to another caregiver that can assist in addressing the alert." ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY <EOH>This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description.", "This Summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.", "The present invention is defined by the claims.", "In brief and at a high level, this disclosure describes, among other things, methods, systems, and computer-storage media for managing patient alerts using mobile devices.", "A patient alert is received and presented on a caregiver's mobile device; the caregiver is part of the patient's care team.", "The alert includes patient-identifying information along with the alert identifier and contextual patient data related to the alert.", "If the alert is a critical alert, the alert must be acknowledged in some manner before the caregiver can resume use of the mobile device.", "Acknowledgment of the alert may comprise rejecting the alert or accepting the alert.", "Rejection of the alert by the caregiver causes the alert to be automatically communicated to another caregiver assigned to the patient.", "Acceptance of the alert by the caregiver enables the caregiver to access members of the patient's care team and to forward the alert on to selected members of the team that can assist the caregiver in addressing the alert." ], [ "CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser.", "No.", "15/684,563, filed Aug. 23, 2017 and entitled “Alert Management Utilizing Mobile Devices,” which is a divisional of U.S. application Ser.", "No.", "15/630,617, filed Jun.", "22, 2017 and entitled “Alert Management Utilizing Mobile Devices,” subsequently issued at U.S. Pat.", "No.", "9,836,940, which is a continuation of pending U.S. application Ser.", "No.", "15/392,926, filed Dec. 28, 2016 and entitled “Alert Management Utilizing Mobile Devices,” which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser.", "No.", "14/877,808, filed Oct. 7, 2015 and entitled “Alert Management Utilizing Mobile Devices,” subsequently issued as U.S. Pat.", "No.", "9,582,978, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser.", "No.", "13/731,191, filed Dec. 31, 2012 and entitled “Alert Management Utilizing Mobile Devices,” subsequently issued as U.S. Pat.", "No.", "9,185,202.The entirety of the aforementioned applications is incorporated by reference herein.", "BACKGROUND Typical nurse management of patient alerts utilizes stationary computer terminals located at, for example, a nursing station associated with a nursing unit.", "The stationary terminals are manned by unit secretaries who receive alerts or other important information related to patients on the unit.", "The unit secretary then identifies the caregivers assigned to those patients and may attempt to contact the caregivers through a variety of methods such as electronic paging, calling a patient's room to see if the caregiver is in the room, or overhead paging.", "Caregivers then either have to call the unit secretary or return to the nursing station to retrieve the alerting information.", "The result is inefficient communication, unproductive workflows, and time lags between when alerting information is received and when it is acted on by the caregiver.", "In those situations where a patient alert is pushed to a caregiver's mobile device, the alert often lacks important patient-contextual information, such as medical values, images, or device readings associated with the alert, that help the caregiver in deciding how to appropriately respond to the alert.", "The caregiver must then either return to the nursing station to access the information or open up a computer application on the mobile device to access the needed information—both of which consume valuable time resources.", "Further, though the caregiver may receive an alert, the caregiver is generally not given an opportunity to further interact with the alert.", "For instance, the alert generally cannot be communicated to another caregiver that can assist in addressing the alert.", "SUMMARY This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description.", "This Summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.", "The present invention is defined by the claims.", "In brief and at a high level, this disclosure describes, among other things, methods, systems, and computer-storage media for managing patient alerts using mobile devices.", "A patient alert is received and presented on a caregiver's mobile device; the caregiver is part of the patient's care team.", "The alert includes patient-identifying information along with the alert identifier and contextual patient data related to the alert.", "If the alert is a critical alert, the alert must be acknowledged in some manner before the caregiver can resume use of the mobile device.", "Acknowledgment of the alert may comprise rejecting the alert or accepting the alert.", "Rejection of the alert by the caregiver causes the alert to be automatically communicated to another caregiver assigned to the patient.", "Acceptance of the alert by the caregiver enables the caregiver to access members of the patient's care team and to forward the alert on to selected members of the team that can assist the caregiver in addressing the alert.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Embodiments are described in detail below with reference to the attached drawing figures, wherein: FIG.", "1 is a block diagram of an exemplary computing environment suitable to implement embodiments of the present invention; FIG.", "2 is a block diagram of an exemplary system for managing patient alerts suitable to implement embodiments of the present invention; FIG.", "3 is a flow diagram of an exemplary method of accepting and managing patient alerts using a mobile device in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; FIG.", "4 is a flow diagram of an exemplary method of managing patient alerts when an alert is rejected in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; FIG.", "5 is a series of exemplary graphical user interfaces illustrating the acceptance and management of patient alerts in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; FIG.", "6 is a series of exemplary graphical user interfaces illustrating the ability to see trending data related to a patient alert in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; FIG.", "7 is a series of exemplary graphical user interfaces illustrating the ability to utilize reminders with non-critical alerts in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; FIG.", "8 is an exemplary graphical user interface illustrating the additional information presented with an alert in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; FIG.", "9 is a series of exemplary graphical user interfaces illustrating the ability of a caregiver to review an alert history in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; and FIG.", "10 is a flow diagram of an exemplary method of receiving an alert that includes patient-contextual information related to the alert using a mobile device in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION The subject matter of the present invention is described with specificity herein to meet statutory requirements.", "However, the description itself is not intended to limit the scope of this patent.", "Rather, the inventors have contemplated that the claimed subject matter might also be embodied in other ways, to include different steps or combinations of steps similar to the ones described in this document, in conjunction with other present or future technologies.", "Moreover, although the terms “step” and/or “block” may be used herein to connote different elements of methods employed, the terms should not be interpreted as implying any particular order among or between various steps herein disclosed unless and except when the order of individual steps is explicitly described.", "Embodiments of the present invention are directed to methods, systems, and computer-storage media for managing patient alerts using mobile devices.", "A patient alert is received and presented on a caregiver' s mobile device; the caregiver is part of the patient's care team.", "The alert includes patient-identifying information along with the alert identifier and contextual medical data related to the alert.", "If the alert is a critical alert, the alert must be acknowledged in some manner before the caregiver can resume use of the mobile device.", "Acknowledgment of the alert may comprise rejecting the alert or accepting the alert.", "Rejection of the alert by the caregiver causes the alert to be automatically communicated to another caregiver assigned to the patient.", "Acceptance of the alert by the caregiver enables the caregiver to access members of the patient's care team and to forward the alert on to selected members of the team that can assist the caregiver in addressing the alert.", "An exemplary computing environment suitable for use in implementing embodiments of the present invention is described below.", "FIG.", "1 is an exemplary computing environment (e.g., medical-information computing-system environment) with which embodiments of the present invention may be implemented.", "The computing environment is illustrated and designated generally as reference numeral 100.The computing environment 100 is merely an example of one suitable computing environment and is not intended to suggest any limitation as to the scope of use or functionality of the invention.", "Neither should the computing environment 100 be interpreted as having any dependency or requirement relating to any single component or combination of components illustrated therein.", "The present invention might be operational with numerous other purpose computing system environments or configurations.", "Examples of well-known computing systems, environments, and/or configurations that might be suitable for use with the present invention include personal computers, server computers, hand-held or laptop devices, multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based systems, set top boxes, programmable consumer electronics, network PCs, minicomputers, mainframe computers, distributed computing environments that include any of the above-mentioned systems or devices, and the like.", "The present invention might be described in the general context of computer-executable instructions, such as program modules, being executed by a computer.", "Exemplary program modules comprise routines, programs, objects, components, and data structures that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types.", "The present invention might be practiced in distributed computing environments where tasks are performed by remote processing devices that are linked through a communications network.", "In a distributed computing environment, program modules might be located in association with local and/or remote computer storage media (e.g., memory storage devices).", "With continued reference to FIG.", "1, the computing environment 100 comprises a computing device in the form of a control server 102.Exemplary components of the control server 102 comprise a processing unit, internal system memory, and a suitable system bus for coupling various system components, including data store 104, with the control server 102.The system bus might be any of several types of bus structures, including a memory bus or memory controller, a peripheral bus, and a local bus, using any of a variety of bus architectures.", "Exemplary architectures comprise Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) bus, Micro Channel Architecture (MCA) bus, Enhanced ISA (EISA) bus, Video Electronic Standards Association (VESA) local bus, and Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus, also known as Mezzanine bus.", "The control server 102 typically includes therein, or has access to, a variety of computer-readable media.", "Computer-readable media can be any available media that might be accessed by control server 102, and includes volatile and nonvolatile media, as well as, removable and nonremovable media.", "By way of example, and not limitation, computer-readable media may comprise computer storage media and communication media.", "Computer storage media includes both volatile and nonvolatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storage of information such as computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data.", "Computer storage media includes, but is not limited to, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memory technology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disks (DVD) or other optical disk storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium which can be used to store the desired information and which can be accessed by control server 102.Communication media typically embodies computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data in a modulated data signal such as a carrier wave or other transport mechanism and includes any information delivery media.", "The term “modulated data signal” means a signal that has one or more of its characteristics set or changed in such a manner as to encode information in the signal.", "By way of example, and not limitation, communication media includes wired media such as a wired network or direct-wired connection, and wireless media such as acoustic, RF, infrared and other wireless media.", "Combinations of any of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.", "The control server 102 might operate in a computer network 106 using logical connections to one or more remote computers 108.Remote computers 108 might be located at a variety of locations in a medical or research environment, including clinical laboratories (e.g., molecular diagnostic laboratories), hospitals and other inpatient settings, veterinary environments, ambulatory settings, medical billing and financial offices, hospital administration settings, home healthcare environments, and clinicians' offices.", "Clinicians may comprise a treating physician or physicians; specialists such as surgeons, radiologists, cardiologists, and oncologists; emergency medical technicians; physicians' assistants; nurse practitioners; nurses; nurses' aides; pharmacists; dieticians; microbiologists; laboratory experts; laboratory technologists; genetic counselors; researchers; veterinarians; students; and the like.", "The remote computers 108 might also be physically located in nontraditional medical care environments so that the entire healthcare community might be capable of integration on the network.", "The remote computers 108 might be personal computers, servers, routers, network PCs, peer devices, other common network nodes, or the like and might comprise some or all of the elements described above in relation to the control server 102.The devices can be personal digital assistants or other like devices.", "Computer networks 106 comprise local area networks (LANs) and/or wide area networks (WANs).", "Such networking environments are commonplace in offices, enterprise-wide computer networks, intranets, and the Internet.", "When utilized in a WAN networking environment, the control server 102 might comprise a modem or other means for establishing communications over the WAN, such as the Internet.", "In a networking environment, program modules or portions thereof might be stored in association with the control server 102, the data store 104, or any of the remote computers 108.For example, various application programs may reside on the memory associated with any one or more of the remote computers 108.It will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that the network connections shown are exemplary and other means of establishing a communications link between the computers (e.g., control server 102 and remote computers 108) might be utilized.", "In operation, an organization might enter commands and information into the control server 102 or convey the commands and information to the control server 102 via one or more of the remote computers 108 through input devices, such as a keyboard, a pointing device (commonly referred to as a mouse), a trackball, or a touch pad.", "Other input devices comprise microphones, satellite dishes, scanners, or the like.", "Commands and information might also be sent directly from a remote healthcare device to the control server 102.In addition to a monitor, the control server 102 and/or remote computers 108 might comprise other peripheral output devices, such as speakers and a printer.", "Although many other internal components of the control server 102 and the remote computers 108 are not shown, such components and their interconnection are well known.", "Accordingly, additional details concerning the internal construction of the control server 102 and the remote computers 108 are not further disclosed herein.", "Turning now to FIG.", "2, an exemplary computing system environment 200 is depicted suitable for use in implementing embodiments of the present invention.", "The computing system environment 200 is merely an example of one suitable computing system environment and is not intended to suggest any limitation as to the scope of use or functionality of embodiments of the present invention.", "Neither should the computing system environment 200 be interpreted as having any dependency or requirement related to any single module/component or combination of modules/components illustrated therein.", "The computing system environment 200 includes an alert service 210, a data store 212, and a mobile device 214 all in communication with one another via a network 216.The network 216 may include, without limitation, one or more secure local area networks (LANs) or wide area networks (WANs).", "The network 216 may be a secure network associated with a facility such as a healthcare facility.", "The secure network 216 may require that a user log in and be authenticated in order to send and/or receive information over the network 216.In some embodiments, one or more of the illustrated components/modules may be implemented as stand-alone applications.", "In other embodiments, one or more of the illustrated components/modules may be integrated directly into the operating system of the alert service 210.The components/modules illustrated in FIG.", "2 are exemplary in nature and in number and should not be construed as limiting.", "Any number of components/modules may be employed to achieve the desired functionality within the scope of embodiments hereof.", "Further, components/modules may be located on any number of servers.", "By way of example only, the alert service 210 might reside on a server, cluster of servers, or a computing device remote from one or more of the remaining components.", "It should be understood that this and other arrangements described herein are set forth only as examples.", "Other arrangements and elements (e.g., machines, interfaces, functions, orders, and groupings of functions, etc.)", "can be used in addition to or instead of those shown, and some elements may be omitted altogether.", "Further, many of the elements described herein are functional entities that may be implemented as discrete or distributed components or in conjunction with other components/modules, and in any suitable combination and location.", "Various functions described herein as being performed by one or more entities may be carried out by hardware, firmware, and/or software.", "For instance, various functions may be carried out by a processor executing instructions stored in memory.", "The data store 212 is configured to store information for use by, for example, the alert service 210 and/or the mobile device 214.The information stored in association with the data store 212 is configured to be searchable for one or more items of information stored in association therewith.", "The information stored in association with the data store 212 may comprise general information used by the alert service 210 and/or the mobile device 214.The data store 212 may store electronic medical records (EMRs) of patients associated with one or more healthcare facilities.", "EMRs may comprise electronic clinical documents such as images, clinical notes, orders, summaries, reports, analyses, or other types of electronic medical documentation relevant to a particular patient's condition and/or treatment.", "Electronic clinical documents contain various types of information relevant to the condition and/or treatment of a particular patient and can include information relating to, for example, patient identification information, images, alert history, culture results, physical examinations, vital signs, past medical histories, surgical histories, family histories, histories of present illnesses, current and past medications, allergies, symptoms, past orders, completed orders, pending orders, tasks, lab results, other test results, patient encounters and/or visits, immunizations, physician comments, nurse comments, other caretaker comments, and a host of other relevant clinical information.", "Additionally, the data store 212 may store information concerning decision-support algorithms, reference materials, standards of care, recommendation protocols, alert protocols, and the like.", "This information may be specific to a healthcare facility, or the information may be promulgated by, for example, nationally-recognized medical organizations or governing bodies.", "Information stored in the data store 212 may also include staffing assignments (e.g., which caregivers are assigned to care for a patient), and availability information for the different caregivers.", "For instance, a caregiver who is logged into the network 216 is flagged as available; a caregiver who is logged into the network 216 but who has indicated that he/she is busy is flagged as available but busy; and a caregiver who is not logged into the network 216 is flagged as offline.", "Staffing and availability information is continually updated.", "As used throughout this application, the term “caregiver” generally means healthcare workers such as registered nurses, aids, respiratory therapists, physical therapists, occupational therapists, and the like.", "Caregivers such as these provide the day-to-day care of patients but normally do not have ordering privileges.", "The content and volume of such information in the data store 212 are not intended to limit the scope of embodiments of the present invention in any way.", "Further, though illustrated as a single, independent component, the data store 212 may, in fact, be a plurality of storage devices, for instance, a database cluster, portions of which may reside on the alert service 210, the mobile device 214, and/or any combination thereof.", "The mobile device 214 may be any type of wireless-telecommunications device.", "Such devices may include any type of mobile and portable devices including cellular telephones, personal digital assistants, tablet PCs, smart phones, and the like.", "The mobile device 214 includes a set of embodied computer-executable instructions 215 that carry out various functional aspects of the invention.", "In one aspect, the mobile device 214 may be associated with or assigned to a caregiver by the healthcare facility.", "In another aspect, the mobile device 214 may be owned by the caregiver and registered with the healthcare facility.", "The mobile device 214 is capable of communicating with other associated or registered mobile devices by utilizing the secure network 216.As shown, the mobile device 214 includes a display screen.", "The display screen is configured to display information to the user of the mobile device 214.The information may include communications initiated by and/or received by the mobile device 214, patient alerts, medical data related to the patient alerts, care lists, availability information, and the like.", "Embodiments are not intended to be limited to visual display but rather may also include audio presentation, combined audio/visual presentation, and the like.", "Components of the alert service 210 and the mobile device 214 may include a processing unit, internal system memory, and a suitable system bus for coupling various system components, including one or more data stores for storing information (e.g., files and metadata associated therewith).", "The alert service 210 and the mobile device 214 typically include, or has access to, a variety of computer-readable media.", "The computing system environment 200 is merely exemplary.", "While the alert service 210 is illustrated as a single unit, it will be appreciated that the alert service 210 is scalable.", "For example, the alert service 210 may in actuality include a plurality of computing devices in communication with one another.", "Moreover, the data store 212, or portions thereof, may be included within, for instance, the alert service 210 and the mobile device 214 as a computer-storage medium.", "The single unit depictions are meant for clarity, not to limit the scope of embodiments in any form.", "As shown in FIG.", "2, the alert service 210 comprises a receiving component 218, an alerting component 220, and a communicating component 222.In some embodiments, one or more of the components 218, 220, and 222 may be implemented as stand-alone applications.", "In other embodiments, one or more of the components 218, 220, and 222 may be integrated directly into the operating system of a computing device such as the remote computer 108 of FIG.", "1 or the mobile device 214.It will be understood that the components 218, 220, and 222 illustrated in FIG.", "2 are exemplary in nature and in number and should not be construed as limiting.", "Any number of components may be employed to achieve the desired functionality within the scope of embodiments hereof.", "The receiving component 218 is configured to receive information related to patient alerts.", "Such information may include data from medical devices electronically associated with a patient.", "Such devices are numerous but representative examples may include respirators, pulse oximeters, blood pressure monitors, blood glucose monitors, heart rate/rhythm monitors, input/output monitors, fetal monitors, and the like.", "Data from medical devices includes values, waveform tracings, images, and the like.", "The receiving component 218 may also receive patient-identifying information from, for example, the data store 212 along with an alert history for the patient and normal value ranges for the patient.", "Continuing, the receiving component 218 is further configured to receive staffing assignments from, for example, the data store 212 or a staffing/scheduling system associated with the healthcare facility caring for the patient.", "Staffing assignments include caregivers assigned to care for the patient during a specified time frame.", "Staffing assignments may depend on the patient's medical condition.", "By way of illustrative example, a patient who is rehabilitating from a serious car accident may be assigned a primary caregiver (e.g., a nurse), a secondary caregiver that cares for the patient when the primary caregiver is busy, a respiratory therapist, a physical therapist, and an occupational therapist.", "The receiving component is additionally configured to receive availability information for each of the patient's assigned caregivers.", "This information may be stored in association with the data store 212 or with the staffing/scheduling system.", "The availability status for any one caregiver may include the status of available, available but busy, and offline.", "The status of available occurs when the caregiver is logged in and authenticated to the secure network 216.The status of available but busy occurs when the caregiver is logged in but has marked himself as busy using, for example, the mobile device 214.The status of offline occurs when the caregiver is logged off of the network 216.The receiving component 218 also receives location information for the caregivers, the patient, and devices associated with the patient from, for example, a real-time location service associated with the healthcare facility.", "Such services use a variety of methods known in the art to track location information including radio-frequency identification (RFId) tags and sensors located throughout the healthcare facility.", "The receiving component additionally receives information from the nurse call system of the healthcare facility.", "The nurse call system enables communication between the patient and caregivers utilizing a number of different devices such as a pillow speaker.", "Some systems enable the patient to enter information concerning the nurse call before it is transmitted to the nurse.", "For instance, the patient may input that he/she would like ice chips, or that he/she is having difficulty breathing or is in pain.", "The alerting component 220 is configured to use the information received by the receiving component 218 to generate alerts.", "The alerting component 220 may utilize the information in association with clinical guidelines, alerting protocols, and/or standardized recommendations to determine if and what type of alert should be generated.", "The alerts can be broadly categorized as critical alerts and non-critical alerts.", "Critical alerts can be generally defined as those alerts that can have a negative impact on a patient's health if not addressed in a timely manner.", "On the other hand, non-critical alerts can be generally defined as those alerts that do not negatively impact the patient's health if not addressed in a timely manner.", "Some representative examples of critical alerts may include a heart arrhythmia, low oxygen saturation, low respiratory rate, elevated blood pressure, presence of sepsis indicators, and the like.", "Some representative examples of non-critical alerts include patient requests for ice chips or toiletry assistance, lab values or device readings that are slightly outside of the normal range, indication that a new patient order has been received, and the like.", "The communicating component 222 is configured to communicate patient alerting information to the mobile device 214.The alerting information includes an alert identifier, status indicators related to the alert, patient-identifying information, lab values related to the alert, medication orders related to the alert, and device readings related to the alert.", "In one aspect, lab values, medication orders, and device readings (e.g., waveform tracings, values, and/or images) are related to the alert if they triggered the alert.", "The waveform tracings, values, and/or images may be time-stamped and may include a predefined time period before the alert was triggered, a time period corresponding to the alert trigger, as well as a predefined time period after the alert was triggered.", "The mobile device 214 then presents this information to the caregiver as more fully described below.", "In one aspect, the communicating component 222 communicates the patient's alerting information initially to the mobile device associated with the patient's primary caregiver.", "If the primary caregiver rejects the alert, the communicating component 222 may next communicate the patient's alerting information to the mobile device associated with the patient's secondary caregiver.", "If the secondary caregiver rejects the alert, the communicating component 222 may communicate the patient's alerting information to the mobile device associated with the charge nurse of the patient's unit.", "If the charge nurse rejects the alert, the communicating component 222 may communicate the alert to mobile devices associated with every member of the patient's care team.", "In another aspect, the communicating component 222 determines the caregiver role best suited to initially address the particular patient alert, and communicates the alerting information to mobile devices associated with caregivers in that role.", "By way of illustrative example, a patient alert indicates that a patient's oxygen saturation levels have dropped below recommended ranges.", "The communicating component 222 determines that a respiratory therapist would be suited to address this alert and communicates the alerting information to the mobile device associated with the respiratory therapist.", "The alerting information may at the same time be communicated to the mobile device associated with the patient's primary caregiver.", "In yet another aspect, the communicating component 222 determines caregivers in close proximity to the patient that is the subject of the alert, determines if the role of those caregivers that are located close to the patient is suited to meet the particular patient alert, and, if so, communicates the initial alert to those caregivers.", "The alerting information may at the same time be communicated to the mobile device associated with the patient's primary caregiver.", "Any and all of such aspects, and any combination thereof, are contemplated as being within the scope of the invention.", "The communicating component 222 is further configured to receive communications from the mobile device 214.Such communications may comprise notifications that the alert has been acknowledged and accepted by the recipient.", "This information is time-stamped and may be stored in association with the patient's electronic medical record.", "Another communication may comprise a notification that the alert was rejected by the recipient.", "Other communications from the mobile device may include indicators that the recipient of the alert has communicated the alert to other members of the care team.", "The indicators may include the identities of the additional recipients, whether the additional recipients acknowledged receipt of the alert, and a time the alert was forwarded.", "Communications from the mobile device 214 may additionally include requests for more information.", "Turning now to FIG.", "3, a flow diagram is depicted of an exemplary method 300 of managing patient alerts on a mobile device.", "At a step 310, a first mobile device such as the mobile device 214 of FIG.", "2 receives an alert related to a patient being cared for at a healthcare facility.", "In one aspect, the alert may be received from a communicating component of an alert service such as the communicating component 222 of the alert service 210.In another aspect, the alert may have been communicated by another mobile device.", "The first mobile device, in one aspect, has previously been registered, associated with or assigned to a member of the patient's care team such as the patient's primary and/or secondary caregiver.", "The receipt of the alert may be accompanied by an auditory sound or a physical action such as a vibration to alert the caregiver that an alert has been received.", "At a step 312, the alert is presented on the first mobile device.", "If the alert is a critical alert, the alert is configured to interrupt or supersede any applications that are currently running on the first mobile device.", "For instance, the alert may be presented as a pop-up that overlies other content on the mobile device.", "The caregiver cannot access other functionalities associated with the first mobile device until the caregiver acknowledges the alert by either accepting or rejecting the alert.", "This helps to ensure that critical alerts are addressed in a timely manner by the caregiver.", "The alert presented on the first mobile device includes patient-identifying information such as the patient's name, room location, and the patient's date of birth.", "The alert also includes an alert identifier and an alert status.", "The alert identifier conveys to the caregiver the nature of the alert.", "For instance, identifiers may include phrases such as “ADE” for an adverse drug event, “HR high” to indicate the heart rate is outside of the normal range, “Low SPO2” to indicate low blood oxygen saturation, “Diastolic High” to indicate that diastolic blood pressure is high, and “SEPSIS: SIRS Criteria Met” to indicate that the patient is possibly becoming septic.", "These are just a few representative examples provided for illustration purposes only.", "Any identifier that provides a brief description of the nature of the alert is contemplated as being within the scope of the invention.", "The alert status may be indicated by textual phrases such as “Critical Alert,” color coding, flashing images, and the like.", "The alert may also comprise a short summary of lab values, medications, images, or device readings that are pertinent to the alert.", "In one aspect, the values, medications, images, or device readings that triggered the alert are presented in the short summary.", "The device readings may include a snippet of a waveform tracing or trending graph that was taken by the monitoring device at the time the alert was triggered.", "The snippet may be time-stamped and may include a time period before the alert, a time period during the alert, and a time period after the alert was triggered.", "For instance, an elevated heart rate alert may include the detected heart rate along with a snippet of a heart rate rhythm waveform tracing captured around the time the alert was triggered.", "This important patient-contextual information is presented in association with the alert to assist the caregiver in making a quick assessment of the alert situation.", "The alert may also include options for accepting the alert or rejecting the alert.", "Exemplary options include an accept icon, button or bar, and a reject icon, button or bar.", "At a step 314, an acceptance of the alert by the caregiver is received by the first mobile device.", "The caregiver may accept the alert by tapping, swiping, or otherwise selecting, for example, the acceptance icon, bar, or button.", "Once selected, at a step 316, a list of one or more additional caregivers assigned to the patient is presented on the first mobile device.", "The list may include the names of the other caregivers, a thumbnail picture of the caregiver, roles associated with each of the caregivers, locations of the caregivers, and/or the availability status of the caregivers.", "The list may be ordered based on caregiver role such that caregivers most suited to meet the alert needs are presented at the top of the list.", "The list may also be ordered based on proximity to the patient location.", "Thus the recipient of the alert can quickly assess which caregivers are located closest to the patient.", "The list may additionally be ordered based on a combination of user role and proximity to the patient.", "Other ways of ordering the list include alphabetical order and availability status.", "Any and all such aspects, and any combination thereof, are contemplated as being within the scope of the invention.", "Caregivers on the list are associated with an availability status indicator.", "These indicators may indicate that the caregiver is available, available but busy, or is not currently logged into the network.", "Availability status indicators may include color-coded indicators such as green for available, white for offline, and red for available but busy.", "Other ways of indicating availability status may include textual descriptions, and other types of visual indicators known in the art.", "At a step 316, a selection of one or more additional caregivers is received by the first mobile device.", "This may occur, for example, when the recipient of the alert selects a caregiver by tapping or swiping on the caregiver's information.", "Once selected, at a step 318, the first mobile device communicates the alert to at least a second mobile device associated with the selected caregiver.", "In one aspect, the original recipient of the alert can simply call a caregiver on the list.", "In another aspect, the alert is communicated as a short message service (SMS) message or a multimedia message service (MMS) message.", "The alert that is communicated to the selected caregiver includes the patient-identifying information, the alert identifier, the alert status, and lab values, device readings, medication orders, images, and/or trending graphs associated with the alert.", "Further, when the alert is communicated as a SMS message or a MMS message, the original recipient may optionally enter a textual message in association with the alert.", "In one aspect, the original recipient receives a notification when the selected caregiver acknowledges the alert.", "Turning now to FIG.", "4, a flow diagram is depicted illustrating an exemplary method 400 of managing patient alerts using a mobile device.", "At a step 410, a patient alert is received on a first mobile device such as the mobile device 214 of FIG.", "2.The patient alert may be communicated to the first mobile device by an alert service such as the alert service 210 of FIG.", "2.The first mobile device is associated with or assigned to a member of the patient's care team, such as the patient's primary or secondary caregiver.", "At a step 412, if the alert is a critical alert, the alert is presented on the first mobile device such that it interrupts or supersedes any currently running applications on the mobile device.", "The alert may be received and presented in association with an audible sound, and/or a physical action such as a vibration.", "If the alert is a non-critical alert, the recipient may be notified of the alert via a pop-up message, or the alert may be briefly presented.", "Non-critical alerts generally do not supersede currently running applications on the mobile device.", "As discussed above, the critical alert includes patient-identifying information, the alert identifier, the alert status, lab values, device readings, images, trending graphs, and/or waveform tracings that are related to the alert, and options for accepting or rejecting the alert.", "At a step 414, a rejection of the alert is received by the first mobile device.", "In one aspect, the rejection may be initiated by the alert recipient affirmatively selecting a rejection button, icon, bar, or the like.", "The recipient caregiver may reject the alert if he or she is currently busy and cannot address the alert in a timely manner.", "At a step 416, the alert is automatically communicated to a second mobile device associated with at least a second caregiver assigned to care for the patient.", "The selection of the second caregiver may be based on an alerting protocol associated with, for example, a data store such as the data store 212 of FIG.", "2.The second caregiver may, in one aspect, comprise the secondary caregiver assigned to the patient.", "The alert may automatically be communicated to more than one additional caregiver.", "The alert that is automatically communicated to the second mobile device at step 416 is substantially identical to the original alert.", "For example, it includes patient-identifying information, alert name, alert status, lab values, device readings, images, waveform tracings, and/or trending graphs, along with options to accept or reject the alert.", "The caregiver associated with the second mobile device can accept the alert which initiates the steps outlined above with respect to FIG.", "3.Alternatively, the caregiver associated with the second mobile device can reject the alert which initiates the steps outlined above with respect to FIG.", "4.In one aspect, failure by the alert recipient to address the alert within a predetermined period of time causes the alert to be automatically communicated to additional mobile devices such as mobile devices associated with the patient's secondary caregiver, the charge nurse, or other caregivers on the patient's care team.", "The predetermined period of time may range from one minute up to five minutes and may be dependent on the criticality of the alert.", "FIG.", "10 is a flow diagram of an exemplary method 1000 of receiving patient-contextual information related to an alert on a mobile device.", "At a step 1010, a patient alert is received on a first mobile device associated with a first caregiver caring for the patient.", "In one aspect, the first caregiver is the patient's primary caregiver.", "At a step 1012, the patient alert is presented on the first mobile device.", "The patient alert may include patient-identifying information such as patient name, age, gender, and room location.", "The alert may also include one or more items of patient information relevant to the alert.", "In one aspect, patient information is relevant to the alert if it triggered the alert.", "For example, a lab value that is outside the normal range may trigger the alert, and the lab value would be presented on the mobile device.", "Patient information relevant to the alert may include lab values, medication orders, and/or device readings.", "Device readings, in turn, may include waveform tracings, trending graphs, images, and the like.", "Turning now to FIG.", "5, a series of exemplary graphical user interfaces (GUIs) 500, 520, 540, and 560 are depicted; the series of GUIs illustrate how patient alerts are managed using a mobile device such as the mobile device 214 of FIG.", "2.GUI 500 is the first in the series and depicts a critical alert 510 presented on the mobile device.", "The alert 510 overlays existing content of the mobile device and is displayed until acted on by the recipient of the alert 510.The alert 510 includes a patient identification area 512 that presents information such as patient name, patient identification number, room number, date of birth, and the like.", "The alert 510 also includes an alert identifier 514 and an alert status 515.The alert identifier 514 (e.g., “ADE ALERT”) provides a brief description of the alert, and the alert status 515 indicates that the alert is critical.", "In one aspect, only critical alerts are presented utilizing the methods described above.", "The alert 510 additionally includes a selectable “reject” bar 516 and a selectable “accept” bar 518.Although bars are depicted, other selectable options are contemplated such as icons or buttons.", "The accept bar 518 has a call option 517 and a message option 519.In one aspect, when the call option 517 is selected, the recipient is automatically presented with a call contact list comprising members of the patient care team.", "The call contact list includes names of the caregivers, pictures of the caregivers, availability indicators, location information, user role, and the like.", "In another aspect, when the call option 517 is selected, a call to the patient room is automatically placed so that the caregiver can speak with the patient.", "When the message option 519 is selected, the recipient is presented with a messaging GUI as shown in the GUI 540.GUI 520 depicts the presentation of additional information 522 associated with the alert 510.The additional information 522 may be presented when the alert recipient selects, for example, the alert identifier 514 or some other portion of the alert 510.The additional information 522 may include such items as medications, lab values, device readings, and the like.", "Medication information may include the dosage amount, the dosage route, and the day and time when the medication was last administered.", "Lab value information and device reading information may include a normal range, a previous value, a current value, a date and time when obtained, and an indicator that indicates whether the current value is greater or lesser than the previous value.", "Each of the items of information 522 provides patient context to the alert 510 and assist the alert recipient to make an informed decision regarding how to effectively address the alert.", "The GUI 520 also includes an acceptance area 524 that indicates the time the alert 510 was accepted by the recipient.", "The GUI 540 may be presented when the recipient selects the message option 519, or when the recipient advances to the next screen utilizing a forward page icon as shown at item 526 on GUI 520.The GUI 540 includes an alert depiction 544 that includes patient-identifying information, the alert identifier, and the alert status.", "The alert depiction 544 also includes a message area 545 where the recipient can input a message.", "The GUI 540 also includes a selectable icon 542, that, when selected, initiates the presentation of a list of caregivers that are on the patient's care team.", "GUI 560 depicts the care team list 562 that is presented upon selection of the selectable icon 542 of GUI 540.The care team list 562 includes all caregivers that are currently assigned to the patient.", "Using caregiver Ashley Gibbs 564 as an illustrative example, information presented in association with Ashley Gibbs 564 includes a picture 571, a role 566 (e.g., “RN”), a location 568 (e.g., “In Room”), and an availability indicator 570.The availability indicator 570 may be color coded to indicate availability.", "For example, the indicator 570 may be colored green if the caregiver 564 is available, red if the caregiver 564 is available but busy, and white if the caregiver 564 is offline.", "Further, for those users who are color-blind, the color coded indicators may be placed in different locations so the user can distinguish between, for example, a red indicator and a green indicator.", "For example, green indicators may be presented on the right side of the screen, and red indicators may be presented on the left side of the screen.", "The list 562 may be categorized by user role, availability status, and/or proximity to the patient.", "Although not shown, the alert recipient can select by, for example, swiping, tapping, or using other gestures known in the art, one or more caregivers on the list and communicate the alert to the selected caregivers.", "The alert information 522 is communicated with the alert so that the selected caregivers can quickly access the needed information.", "FIG.", "6 depicts a series of two exemplary GUIs 600 and 620 illustrating the presentation of waveform tracings associated with a patient alert.", "GUI 600 includes an alert 610 that includes the information already outlined above with respect to, for example, the alert 510 of FIG.", "5.The GUI 600 further includes a display icon 612.Selection of the display icon 612 initiates the presentation of GUI 620.The GUI 620 includes the alert 610 along with a waveform tracing 622.The waveform tracing 622 is captured and time-stamped by the patient's device at the time the alert was triggered and may include segments of time before and after the alert was triggered to provide additional context for the waveform tracing.", "Although a waveform tracing is shown, it is also contemplated that an image captured by a camera or a monitoring device may be presented.", "For instance, a caregiver may take a picture of a patient's wound and this image may be included with the alert 610.The waveform tracing 622, and/or image, is used by the alert recipient to select other caregivers to notify so that the alert can be properly addressed.", "FIG.", "7 depicts a series of exemplary GUIs 700, 720, 740, and 760 that illustrate how reminders can be generated for non-critical alerts.", "GUI 700 depicts an alert review screen 705 on which a non-critical alert 710 has been selected.", "The alert review screen 705 may be accessed from a general menu (not shown).", "Non-critical alerts differ from critical alerts in that they generally do not supersede any currently running applications.", "Non-critical alerts may be presented as a pop-up that persists for a short period of time before fading.", "The pop-up may be dismissed by the user by, for example, selecting a different area of the display screen.", "Non-critical alerts may also be presented to the caregiver on the mobile device as a notification message, and the caregiver can review the alert at his/her discretion.", "Non-critical alerts differ from critical alerts in that reminders may be set for non-critical alerts.", "By contrast, because of the time-sensitive nature of critical alerts, reminders cannot be set for critical alerts.", "The non-critical alert 710 includes an alert identifier 709, an alert status 713, a reject option 711, and an accept option 712.If the caregiver chooses to accept the non-critical alert 710 by tapping, swiping, or otherwise selecting, a set of options 730 is presented as shown on the GUI 720.The GUI 720 includes the alert review screen 705.The set of options 730 includes a reminder option 732 to set a reminder, a call option 734 to call a caregiver or to call the patient's room, and a message option 736 to message a caregiver on the patient's care team.", "The alert review screen 705 in the GUI 720 also depicts new patient alerts 722 and previous patient alerts 724; the new patient alerts 722 and the previous patient alerts 724 include both critical and non-critical alerts.", "Each alert includes an alert identifier, and a time when the alert was triggered.", "GUI 740 depicts the alert review screen 705 and a reminder screen 742 that is initiated upon a user selection of the reminder option 732 in the set of options 730 of GUI 720.The reminder screen 742 enables the caregiver to select from a range of reminder times or to cancel the reminder.", "Reminder times may include 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 15 minutes, and 20 minutes.", "GUI 760 depicts the alert review screen 705 after a reminder time has been selected.", "As shown by alert 762, the non-critical alert for ice chips is now associated with a reminder time of 5 minutes.", "Further, area 764 is a visual indicator that one or more reminders have been initiated for non-critical alerts.", "The area 764 includes the names of alerts that have been associated with a reminder, as well as an indicator to draw the user's attention to the area 764 (e.g., an exclamation point).", "FIG.", "8 depicts an exemplary GUI 800 illustrating additional information that may be associated with a critical alert.", "The GUI 800 includes a critical alert 810.The critical alert 810 includes the same information as outlined above with respect to the alert 510 of FIG.", "5.The alert 810 may further include a number of people that were sent the alert as indicated by element 812.Thus, in this case, the alert 810 was communicated to three caregivers associated with the patient.", "The alert 810 also includes an indication of the number of caregivers who accepted the alert 810; this is shown by element 814.In this case, one caregiver has accepted the alert.", "Additionally, the alert 810 includes an indication of the number of caregivers who have rejected the alert 810 (in this case, zero caregivers have rejected the alert 810).", "FIG.", "9 depicts a series of exemplary GUIs 900, 920, and 940 that illustrate the ability of a caregiver to review an alert history for a patient.", "The GUI 900 depicts a general menu screen 905.The general menu screen includes an alerts review 910 bar by which the caregiver can review alerts related to the patient (e.g., patient Kathleen Wu).", "Upon selection of the alerts review bar 910, the user is taken to an alerts review screen 915 that is similar to the alerts review screen 705 of FIG.", "7.The alerts review screen 915 includes a new alert area 922 and a previous alert area 924 similar to the new alert area 722 and the previous alert area 724 of FIG.", "7.The new alert area 922 includes both a critical alert 926 and a non-critical alert 928.The previous alert area 924 includes three critical alerts 930, 932, and 934.Upon selection of an alert, such as the alert 934, an alert detail screen is presented as shown by alert detail screen 941 of the GUI 940.The GUI 940 includes the alert review screen 915 and the alert detail screen 941.The alert detail screen 941 includes the alert identifier and the alert status.", "The alert detail screen 941 further includes a notification 944 that the alert 934 was accepted and the time it was accepted.", "Additionally, it includes two forwarding indications 946 and 948 that indicate that the alert 934 was forwarded twice and the times when the alert 934 was forwarded.", "The present invention has been described in relation to particular embodiments, which are intended in all respects to be illustrative rather than restrictive.", "Further, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, but variations and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention." ] ]
Patent_15873158
[ [ "Shoes with Interchangeable and Reversible Tops", "Footwear with reversible and moveable tops is presented and includes zippers positioned all around the base of the shoe in order for the top half of the shoe to be changed or reversed.", "The tops are made of various materials and different styles.", "There can be full-covered footwear, sandal-type or any type of strapped shoe for women or men.", "Shoes and boots may include reversible uppers, leg shafts, or other pieces, to be used in conjunction with reversible zippers.", "A reversible slider allows zippers to be used with reversible pieces in each of their orientations." ], [ "1.A shoe comprising: a sole having a zipper portion attached to the top perimeter of the sole and zipper slider attached to the zipper portion; an upper having a lower zipper portion attached to the bottom perimeter of the upper and an upper zipper portion attached to the top perimeter of the upper, the upper zipper portion having a reversible zipper slider; and a leg shaft having a zipper portion attached to the lower perimeter of the leg shaft, wherein the upper's lower zipper portion is oriented to match the sole's zipper portion, and the leg shaft's zipper portion is oriented to match the upper's upper zipper portion, and wherein the leg shaft is configured to extend up a user's calf such that when the sole is attached to the bottom of the upper and the leg shaft is attached to the top of the upper, a wearable shoe is formed.", "2.The shoe of claim 1, further comprising a removable leg shaft extension having a lower zipper portion attached to a lower perimeter of the leg shaft extension and an upper zipper portion attached to the upper perimeter of the leg shaft extension, wherein the lower zipper portion of the leg shaft extension is configured to connect to the upper zipper portion of the upper, and the upper zipper portion of the leg shaft extension is configured to connect to the zipper portion of the leg shaft, thereby extending the leg shaft's length and the shoe's overall height.", "3.The shoe of claim 2, wherein the upper zipper portion of the leg shaft extension further comprises a reversible zipper slider.", "4.The shoe of claim 2, wherein the leg shaft extension further comprises a vertically oriented first lace tab having lace holes and a corresponding vertically oriented second lace tab having lace holes, and wherein the leg shaft extension is configured to allow laces to be laced through the lace holes thereby allowing the leg shaft extension to be tightened around a user's leg.", "5.The shoe of claim 2, wherein the leg shaft extension further comprises a vertical zipper having a reversible zipper slider, the vertical zipper extending from the bottom perimeter to the top perimeter of the leg shaft extension.", "6.The shoe of claim 5, wherein the lower zipper portion of the leg shaft extension and the upper zipper portion of the leg shaft extension start and end at the vertical zipper such that the leg shaft extension lays flat when the vertical zipper is unzipped.", "7.The shoe of claim 2, wherein the leg shaft extension is reversible such that the interior of the leg shaft extension becomes the exterior when the leg shaft extension is reversed.", "8.The shoe of claim 2, wherein the leg shaft extension and the leg shaft are made from the same material.", "9.The shoe of claim 1, further comprising a finishing collar, the finishing collar comprising: a zipper portion attached to the lower perimeter of the finishing collar; and a flap attached to the lower perimeter of the finishing collar and configured to provide a protective layer between the inside surfaces of the zipper portion and a user's skin.", "10.The shoe of claim 9, wherein the finishing collar further comprises lace holes.", "11.The shoe of claim 9, wherein the finishing collar further comprises a pad attached to the top perimeter of the finishing collar.", "12.The shoe of claim 1, wherein the leg shaft further comprises a vertically oriented first lace tab having lace holes and a corresponding vertically oriented second lace tab having lace holes, and wherein the leg shaft is configured to allow laces to be laced through the lace holes thereby allowing the leg shaft to be tightened around a user's leg.", "13.The shoe of claim 1, wherein the leg shaft further comprises a vertical zipper having a zipper slider, the vertical zipper extending from the bottom perimeter to the top perimeter of the leg shaft.", "14.The shoe of claim 13, wherein the zipper slider of the vertical zipper of the leg shaft is a reversible slider.", "15.The shoe of claim 13, wherein the lower zipper portion of the leg shaft and the upper zipper portion of the leg shaft start and end at the vertical zipper such that the leg shaft lays flat when the vertical zipper is unzipped.", "16.The shoe of claim 1, wherein the leg shaft is reversible such that the interior of the leg shaft becomes the exterior when the leg shaft is reversed.", "17.The shoe of claim 1, wherein the sole has a top portion and a heel portion distinct from the top portion.", "18.The shoe of claim 1, wherein the sole is a platform.", "19.The shoe of claim 1, wherein the sole, upper, and leg shaft are made from a material selected from the group consisting of leather, faux leather, canvas, and flexible plastics.", "20.The shoe of claim 1, wherein the upper is reversible such that the interior of the upper becomes the exterior when the upper is reversed." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION <EOH>Shoes have evolved over the years from simple moccasins to more elaborate and sophisticated sneakers and athletic shoes.", "Despite these marvelous advancements in the footwear industry, there is nevertheless a challenge which exists with all footwear.", "Specifically, a shoe, once created, is unchangeable and therefore, presents a limitation to the wardrobe because the colors, styles and materials of the shoes as manufactured are fixed.", "In light of the above, it would be advantageous to provide footwear that can be changed according to the wearer's desired style and wardrobe requirements, such as color and shape." ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION <EOH>The invention is a shoe with reversible and moveable tops.", "There is a zipper all around the base of the shoe in order for the top half of the shoe to be changed.", "In a preferred embodiment, the zipper is a double-sided zipper which allows for convenient reversibility of the top.", "Tops are made of various materials and different styles.", "There can be full-covered footwear, sandal-type or any type of strapped shoe for women or men.", "The footwear of the present invention provides for a wardrobe solution in that the tops of the shoes may be modified as desired in order to change the appearance and structure of the footwear.", "In a preferred embodiment, the upper portion, or top, of the footwear can be removed and interchanged with another top to provide a different appearance.", "Additional embodiments of the present invention include tops with no laces, one or more elastic bands spanning the top to hold the shoe on a wearer's foot, reversible pull zippers, multi-colored zippers, and designs having a high or low top, a high or low heel, and a high or low sole.", "Other embodiments allow multiple tops to be stacked upon one another to create a custom boot." ], [ "RELATED FILINGS This application is a Continuation-In-Part of U.S. Utility patent application Ser.", "No.", "15/044,926 for “Shoes with Interchangeable and Inter-Zippable Tops” filed Feb. 16, 2016, and currently co-pending, which is a Continuation-In-Part of U.S. Utility patent application Ser.", "No.", "10/922,366, entitled “Shoes with interchangeable and inter-zippable tops”, filed on Aug. 20, 2004, and currently co-pending, which in turn claims the benefit of priority to U.S.", "Provisional Patent Applications 60/497,052 filed Aug. 22, 2003, and currently expired, 60/499,647 filed Sep. 3, 2003, and currently expired, and 60/529,952 filed Dec. 16, 2003, and currently expired, with each application fully incorporated herein by this reference.", "This application claims the benefit of priority to U.S.", "Provisional Patent Application Ser.", "No.", "62/447,099 for “Shoes with Interchangeable and Reversible Tops” filed Jan. 17, 2017, and currently co-pending.", "FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention pertains generally to footwear.", "More specifically, the present invention pertains to a shoe with interchangeable and reversible parts.", "BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Shoes have evolved over the years from simple moccasins to more elaborate and sophisticated sneakers and athletic shoes.", "Despite these marvelous advancements in the footwear industry, there is nevertheless a challenge which exists with all footwear.", "Specifically, a shoe, once created, is unchangeable and therefore, presents a limitation to the wardrobe because the colors, styles and materials of the shoes as manufactured are fixed.", "In light of the above, it would be advantageous to provide footwear that can be changed according to the wearer's desired style and wardrobe requirements, such as color and shape.", "SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention is a shoe with reversible and moveable tops.", "There is a zipper all around the base of the shoe in order for the top half of the shoe to be changed.", "In a preferred embodiment, the zipper is a double-sided zipper which allows for convenient reversibility of the top.", "Tops are made of various materials and different styles.", "There can be full-covered footwear, sandal-type or any type of strapped shoe for women or men.", "The footwear of the present invention provides for a wardrobe solution in that the tops of the shoes may be modified as desired in order to change the appearance and structure of the footwear.", "In a preferred embodiment, the upper portion, or top, of the footwear can be removed and interchanged with another top to provide a different appearance.", "Additional embodiments of the present invention include tops with no laces, one or more elastic bands spanning the top to hold the shoe on a wearer's foot, reversible pull zippers, multi-colored zippers, and designs having a high or low top, a high or low heel, and a high or low sole.", "Other embodiments allow multiple tops to be stacked upon one another to create a custom boot.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING The nature, object, and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent to those skilled in the art after considering the following detailed description in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals designate like parts throughout, and wherein: FIG.", "1 is a side view of one embodiment of the shoe of the present invention showing a sole equipped with a pair of zippers to receive corresponding zippers on the top; FIG.", "2 is a view of the embodiment shown in FIG.", "13, with one zipper of the top undone showing the detachable nature of top and shoe; FIG.", "3 is a plan view of a top of the present invention showing the zippers on the sides of the top and with a portion of the top shown turned over to demonstrate the dual-sided tops which provide for a different aesthetic appearance of the shoe of the present invention by unzipping the top, turning it over, and re-attaching it to the sole of the shoe of the present invention; FIG.", "4 is a side view of one embodiment of the present invention showing a full-cover upper having a perimeter zipper extending around the entire shoe sole to provide for the removal of the upper from the sole, and reversal and reattachment of the same upper, or replacement with another upper; FIG.", "5 is an exploded view of the embodiment shown in FIG.", "16, with dashed lines showing the direction of attachment and the zipper separated into two portions; FIG.", "6 is perspective view of the upper of the embodiment of FIGS.", "16 and 17, showing the inside surface of the upper having a different appearance than the outside surface of the upper; FIG.", "7 is another embodiment of the present invention showing a sneaker-type sole having a fully removable and reversible upper attached to the sole with a perimeter zipper; FIG.", "8 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the present invention showing a customizable boot having a sole, an upper, and a leg extension; FIG.", "9 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the present invention showing a customizable boot having a sole, an upper, a middle extension, and a leg extension; FIG.", "10 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the present invention showing a customizable boot having a sole, an upper, an middle extension, and a leg extension where the middle extension and the leg extension further comprise laces and vertical zippers; FIG.", "11 is an exploded perspective view of the present invention showing the combination of elements from the preferred embodiment of the present invention of FIG.", "10; FIG.", "12 is a perspective view of a reversible zipper slider as used in preferred embodiments of the present invention; and FIG.", "13 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of a reversible zipper slider.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring initially to FIG.", "1, an alternative embodiment of the shoe of the present invention showing a shoe sole having a heel is shown and generally designated 300.Shoe 300 has a sole 302 having a heel portion 304 and a toe portion 306, and may be formed with a raised heel 308.A detachable and interchangeable top 310 is attached to sole 302.More specifically, a fixed zipper portion 312 is firmly attached to the sole 302, and is designed to receive a zipper 314 for attaching a removable zipper portion 316 of top 310.FIG.", "13 depicts the shoe 300 of the present invention with a top 310 firmly attached to the sole 302, and ready for use.", "By moving zipper 314 in direction 317, the top 310 may be removed from the sole 302.For instance, referring now to FIG.", "2, top 310 is shown partially detached from sole 302 as zipper 314 was moved in direction 317 such that removable zipper portion 316 is detached, or “unzipped” from fixed zipper portion 312.Conversely, top 310 may be reattached to sole 302 by placing removable zipper portion 316 adjacent fixed zipper portion 314, and urging zipper 314 in direction 318.It is to be appreciated from FIGS.", "1 and 2, that top 310 may be completely detached from sole 302.In fact, shoe 300 of the present invention may be equipped with several, interchangeable tops 310, which can be easily and simply detached, or “unzipped” from sole 302, and changed in a matter of seconds to provide a shoe having a different fashion and aesthetic appearance.", "Referring to FIG.", "3, a top 310 of the present invention is shown having a left and right removable zipper portion 316.In a preferred embodiment, a first panel 320 of top 310 may be of a first material, and a second panel 322 (shown turned over in dashed lines) may be formed of a second material.", "First material and second material may be similar materials, such as with different colors, or different materials altogether, such as cloth and leather.", "The top 310 of the present invention is both interchangeable (changing one top 310 for another top 310), as well as reversible so that a single top 310 may provide two different styles, colors, textures, or imprints.", "Upper edge 324 and lower edge 326 can be contoured to provide a distinct visual appearance, and may have shapes consistent with the other embodiments of the present invention disclosed herein.", "Also, panels 320 and/or 322 may be produced with a design, such as heart-shaped embroidery 328 (shown in dashed lines).", "While several different embodiments of the shoe of the present invention have been shown herein, it is to be appreciated that these embodiments are not exclusive.", "Rather, the present embodiments are exemplary of the preferred embodiments, and that other embodiments of the present invention may be constructed by mixing and combining various aspects of the presently preferred embodiments without departing from the spirit of the present invention.", "Referring now to FIG.", "4, an alternative embodiment of the present invention is shown and generally designated 400.Shoe 400 includes a sole 402 having a heel 404 and equipped with a full-cover upper 406 having a perimeter zipper 408 extending around the entire shoe sole 402 to provide for the removal of the upper 408 from the sole 402.Upper 408 may be removed from sole 402 by advancing zipper 410 in direction 412 around the entire sole 402.Once removed, the upper 406 may be reversed and reattached to sole 402.Alternatively, instead of using the same upper 406, a separate upper (not shown) may be attached to sole 402 to provide an alternative visual effect, or a different style of upper.", "With reference to FIG.", "5, the shoe 400 of FIG.", "4 is shown in an exploded view, with dashed lines 416 showing the direction of attachment of the upper 406 from sole 402, and the zipper 408 separated into two portions 408A and 408B.", "In a preferred embodiment, upper 406 may be made from any materials known in the art, including but not limited to denim, canvas, leather, and terry cloth.", "From FIG.", "6, a perspective view of the upper 406 of the alternative embodiment of FIGS.", "4 and 5, shows the inside surface 420 of the upper 406 having a different appearance, color, texture, and/or material than the outside surface 418 of the upper 406.This provides for the detachment of the upper 406 from sole 402 and reversal of the upper 406 such that outside surface 418 becomes inside surface 420 thereby exposing inside surface 418.Once reversed, the upper 406 may be re-attached to sole 402 with zipper 408 by placing zipper portion 408A adjacent zipper portion 408B and advancing zipper 410 around the sole 402.Laces 414 may be positioned on the upper 406 such that the shoe 400 may be tied upon the wearer's foot simply by reversing the position of the bow.", "This provides for a fully reversible upper.", "Alternatively, instead of laces, a strap of elastic material known in the art may be used to maintain the upper 406 securely on the wearer's foot.", "Referring now to FIG.", "7, another alternative embodiment of the present invention is shown and generally designated 450.Shoe 450 is a sneaker-type shoe having a sole 451 with a slight sneaker-type heel 452 integrally molded into the sole 451.Shoe 450 includes a fully removable and reversible upper 454 attached to the sole 451 with a perimeter zipper 456 with a grip 458.Detaching the upper 454 from sole 451 is achieved by advancing grip 458 in direction 460 around sole 451.As with shoe 400, upper 454 may be fully reversed, or replaced, to provide a shoe 450 having a varying appearance and look.", "A clog-style shoe for the present invention may be created using a wooden sole.", "Referring now to FIG.", "8, an alternative embodiment of the present invention is shown and generally designated 500.Shoe 500 consists of a sole 502 having a first zipper portion 504a permanently attached to perimeter of the sole 502, and an upper having the second zipper portion 504b attached to lower perimeter of the upper and a first zipper portion 508a attached to the upper perimeter of the upper.", "Shoe 500 further comprises a leg extension 510 having a second zipper portion 508b attached to the leg extension's 510 lower perimeter.", "In use, sole 502 mates with upper 506 by zipping together zipper portions 504a and 504b using zipper slider 505.Zipper 504 is a reversible zipper such that zipper portions 504a and 504b may first be mated at either end using zipper slider 505 then joined by sliding zipper slider 505 along the length of zipper 504.Upper 506 is reversible such that a wearer may separate upper 506 from sole 502, reverse upper 506 such that the upper's interior 507 (not shown, see FIG.", "23) becomes a new exterior for upper 506 and the original exterior of upper 506 becomes the new interior 507.The reversible nature of zipper 504 and zipper slider 505 allows upper 506 to mate with sole 502 regardless of the surface of upper 506 used for the exterior.", "It is to be appreciated by one skilled in the art that sole 502 may be of varying thicknesses as well as upper 506 may extend up the wearer's leg to different points on the wearer's leg.", "For example, upper 506 may be designed to fully cover the wearer's ankle where different design may have upper 506 extend up to just below the wearer's ankle.", "Also shown in FIG.", "8 is leg extension 510 attached to upper 506 using zipper 508, which consists of zipper portion 508a located on the top perimeter of upper 506 and zipper portion 508b located on the bottom perimeter of leg shaft 510.Similar to zipper 504, zipper 508 is reversible thereby allowing leg shaft 510 to be turned inside out, such that interior 511 becomes a new exterior for leg shaft 510, and still capable of being attached to upper 506 by using zipper 508.It is to be appreciated by someone skilled in the art that the various portions of shoe 500 may have differing physical dimensions without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention.", "For example, sole 502 may be of a high platform design, as shown in FIG.", "20, or a low platform design.", "Further, leg shaft 510 may be of various heights to allow a wearer to customize boot 500 for the wearer's specific height or leg length.", "Further, sole 502, upper 506, and leg shaft 510 may be constructed from any suitable material known in the industry, such as leather, faux leather, canvas, and flexible plastics, may be any color and texture, and may have a design image or pattern applied to one or more of the shoe's 500 surfaces.", "Referring now to FIG.", "9, a perspective view of another alternative embodiment of the present invention is shown and generally designated 520.shoe 520 comprises sole 502, upper 506, and leg shaft 510.Boot 520 further comprises leg shaft extension 512.A wearer may use leg shaft extension 512 to add extra height to shoe 520.For example, without leg shaft extension 512, shoe 520 may come to the middle of a wearer's calf.", "With leg shaft extension 512, shoe 520 comes to the wearer's knee, thereby creating a different look and feel for shoe 520.To assemble shoe 520, leg shaft extension 512 is connected to upper 506 by mating zipper portion 508a with zipper portion 514a, located along the bottom perimeter of leg shaft extension 512, using slider 509.As discussed above, zipper portions 508a and 514a, along with slider 509, are reversible thereby allowing for leg shaft extension 512 to be turned inside out thereby making original interior 515 the new exterior of leg shaft extension 512.Leg shaft 510 connects to the top of leg shaft extension 512 using zipper portion 508b mated with zipper portion 514b, located along the top perimeter of leg extension 512, using slider 516.The zipper combination of zipper portions 508b and 514 and slider 516 is reversible to allow leg shaft 512 to be turned inside out.", "Moving on now to FIG.", "10, a preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown and generally designated 530.Shoe 530 consists of sole 502 and upper 506 connected using zipper 504 and a slider (not shown).", "Connected to upper 506 is leg shaft extension 532.Leg shaft extension 532 comprises zipper portion 534a attached along the bottom perimeter of leg shaft extension 532 and zipper portion 534b attached along the top perimeter of leg shaft extension 532.Leg shaft extension 532 further comprises a lace portion 537, which comprises first lace tab 537a and second lace tab 537b, both of which run from the bottom perimeter of leg shaft extension 532 proximate zipper portion 534a to the top perimeter of leg shaft extension 532 proximate zipper portion 534b.", "Lace 538 laces together lace tabs 537a and 537b.", "Also running from top to bottom of leg shaft extension 532, and between lace tabs 537a and 537b, is tongue 548.Lastly, leg shaft extension 532 also comprises a zipper 536, which also runs from the top to the bottom of leg shaft extension 532, and zipper slider 539.Lastly, shoe 530 further comprises leg shaft 540.Leg shaft 540 comprises zipper portion 542 located along the bottom perimeter of leg shaft 540.Leg shaft 540 also comprises lace portion 546, which consists of a first lace tab 546a and a second lace tab 546b.", "Lace 544 laces together lace tabs 546a and 546b.", "Located adjacent lace tabs 546a and 546b is tongue 548.Leg shaft 540 also has a zipper 550 and zipper slider 549, which run from the top to the bottom of leg shaft 540.In use, a wearer assembles shoe 530 using sole 502, upper 506, leg shaft 540, and leg shaft extension 532.It is to be appreciated by someone skilled in the art that a sole of one color and material, an upper of a different color and material, a leg shaft extension of a third color and material, and a leg shaft of a fourth color and material may be combined to form a distinctive shoe 530.Zippers 536 and 550 are disengaged by moving sliders 539 and 549 from the top to the bottom of leg shaft extension 532 and leg shaft 540 respectively, thereby allowing a wearer to more easily put on and take off shoe 530.Once the wearer puts on shoe 530, sliders 539 and 549 are moved from the bottom to the top of leg shaft extension 532 and leg shaft 540 respectively, thereby engaging zippers 536 and 550.The wearer then pulls on laces 538 and 544 until the wearer achieves the desired fit.", "After laces 538 and 544 are adjusted to achieve the desired fit, the wearer only needs to use zippers 536 and 550 to more quickly and easily put on and take off shoe 530.Since zippers 536 and 550 are reversible, leg shaft 540 and leg shaft extension 532 may be turned inside out while still allowing the use of zippers 536 and 540.Leg shaft extension 532 is removed from and replaced on upper 506 by mating zipper portion 508a with zipper portion 534a, located along the bottom perimeter of leg shaft extension 532, using slider 509.As discussed above, zipper portions 508a and 534a, along with slider 509, are reversible thereby allowing for leg shaft extension 532 to be turned inside out thereby making original interior the new exterior of leg shaft extension 532.Leg shaft 540 connects to the top of leg shaft extension 532 using zipper portion 534b mated with zipper portion 542, located along the top perimeter of leg extension 532, using slider 535.The zipper combination of zipper portions 534b and 542 and slider 535 is reversible to allow leg shaft 532 to be turned inside out.", "Moving now to FIG.", "11, an exploded view of the embodiment of the present invention described in FIG.", "10 is shown.", "The exploded view demonstrates the modular nature of the present invention.", "FIG.", "11 shows a sole 502 attached to upper 506.Also shown is the interior surface 507 of upper 506.Also shown is leg shaft extension 512.Lastly, FIG.", "23 shows leg shaft 540 complete with lace 544, lace tabs 546a and 546b, as well as zipper 550 with slider 549.In use, a wearer may choose to use leg shaft extension 512 or leg shaft extension 532, or may choose to not use any leg shaft extension.", "If a leg shaft extension is not used, then the wearer attaches the leg shaft directly to the upper.", "Alternatively, the wearer may choose to use leg shaft extension 532 and leg shaft 510, thereby creating another distinctive look from the previous example.", "The wearer may also choose to not use any leg shaft or leg shaft extension, and only wear the sole 502 attached to the upper 506.The wearer also has the option to turn one or both of the leg shaft and the leg shaft extension inside out to expose an alternative feature, such as color, material, or texture.", "FIG.", "11 shows the modular nature of this alternative embodiment of the present invention where a wearer may mix and match various components to create a distinctive look.", "It is to be appreciated by someone skilled in the art that leg shaft 540 and leg shaft extension 532 may have zippers 536 and 550 and not lace tabs 546a and 546b or may have lace tabs 546a and 546b and not zippers 536 and 550.These several designs allow a wearer to mix and match the various components of the present invention to create distinctive looks.", "Also shown in FIG.", "11 is finishing collar 560.Finishing collar 560 is configured to attach to upper 506 and leg shaft extensions 512 and 532 by attaching zipper portion 562 to zipper portion 508a of upper 506, zipper portion 514b of leg shaft extension 512, or zipper portion 534b of leg shaft extension 532.The finishing collar 560 is further configured with an inside flap 564 that provides a protective layer between a user's skin and the interior surface of zipper portion 562.Located around the top of finishing collar 560 is pad 566.Pad 566 may be made from a covered foam material to enhance user comfort.", "Finishing collar 560 provides a finished aesthetic appearance as well as prevents any exposed zipper portions and edges from contacting and irritating a user's leg.", "The finishing collar may be made from any material similar to boot 500, boot 520, and boot 530.It is to be appreciated by someone skilled in the art that zipper portions 508b, 514a, 534a, and 542 may have a flap, similar to flap 564, to also prevent contact between the interior surface of the zipper portion and the user's skin.", "An additional configuration of the leg shaft and the leg shaft extension has the horizontal zippers starting and ending at the vertical zippers.", "This configuration allows the leg shaft or leg shaft extension to be separated and laid flat on a surface by fully unzipping the vertical zippers.", "This allows for easier storage of boot pieces and enhances the ability of a wearer to more easily put on and take off the boot.", "It also makes it easier for a user to turn the leg shafts 510 and 540 or the leg shaft extensions 512 and 532 inside out.", "For example, using FIG.", "22, zipper 550 on leg shaft 540 may be located where lace tabs 546 are located.", "When zipper 550 is fully disengaged, and due to the fact that zipper 542 begins on one side of zipper 550 and ends on the other side of zipper 550, leg shaft 540 opens to lay flat.", "For leg shaft extension 532, zipper 536 may be located where lace tabs 537a and 537b are located.", "Zipper portions 534a and 534b would both start on one side of zipper 536 and end on the other side of zipper 536.As with leg shaft 540, when zipper 536 is fully disengaged, leg shaft extension 532 opens to lay flat.", "It is to be appreciated by someone skilled in the art that flap 564 may be added to the bottom of leg shafts 510 and 540 and leg shaft extensions 512 and 532 to provide a protective layer between the inside surface of a zipper and a user's skin.", "Referring now to FIG.", "12, a reversible zipper slider is shown and generally designated 600.Reversible slider 600 is used in conjunction with reversible zippers in the present invention in order to facilitate use of the zipper with reversible parts in both orientations.", "Examples of where a reversible slider 600 is used are slider 314, 410, 458, 509, 516, 535, 539, and 549, although a reversible slider 600 may be used for any slider in the present invention if desired.", "Reversible slider 600 has a top board 602 and a bottom board 604.A puller 608 is attached to the top board 602 via a lug 606.Unique to reversible slider 600, bottom board 604 also has a lug (not shown), which attaches a second puller 610 to the reversible slider 600.Since one puller 608 is attached to top board 602, and another puller 610 is attached to bottom board 604, the slider 600 may be engaged from either side, allowing use when the shoe part to which it is attached is reversed.", "FIG.", "13 shows an alternate reversible slider 620 which may be used in place of reversible slider 600 anywhere a zipper slider is used in the present invention, but especially in connection with reversible pieces.", "Reversible slider 620 comprises a top board 622 and a bottom board 624, but has only a single lug 626 which extends from top board 622 to bottom board 624.The lug 626 attaches a single puller 628 to the reversible slider 620.However, since the lug 626 extends around both sides of the slider 620, the puller 628 may be pulled from over top board 622 to be placed over bottom board 624 when a part is reversed.", "In this way, zipper slider 620 may be conveniently engaged from whichever side is most appropriate to the orientation of the reversible shoe part.", "The present invention as shown herein by preferred and alternative embodiments is merely exemplary of the variety of embodiments contemplated.", "It is to be appreciated that the features shown herein may be combined in different combinations to provide shoe of the present invention having various appearances and dynamic stylistic features.", "Soles discussed herein may be made from any material known in the art, including but not limited to, wood, rubber, leather, and synthetic materials.", "Styles of the shoes discussed herein may include, but are not limited to, sneakers, tennis shoes, moccasin, slippers, sandals, boots, and other shoe styles known in the art." ] ]
Patent_15873161
[ [ "BANDAGE WITH MICRONEEDLES FOR ANTIMICROBIAL DELIVERY AND FLUID ABSORPTION FROM A WOUND", "A bandage is formed of a film layer, an adhesive applied to the film layer, and an absorbent layer connected to the film layer.", "The absorbent layer comprises a compressed fabric.", "A plurality of microneedles are disposed within the absorbent layer, each microneedle having an end that extends through the absorbent layer and is configured to penetrate a wound when the bandage is applied over the wound.", "An antimicrobial agent disposed within the bandage and in communication some of the microneedles, so that upon application of the bandage to the wound, the antimicrobial agent is transported though said microneedles to the wound.", "The microneedles not in communication with the microbial agent are configured to transport fluid from the wound to the absorbent layer." ], [ "1.A bandage comprising: a film layer having a top surface and a bottom surface; an adhesive applied to the bottom surface; and an absorbent layer connected to the bottom surface, a plurality of microneedles disposed within the absorbent layer, each microneedle having an end that extends through the absorbent layer and is configured to penetrate a wound when the bandage is applied over the wound; an antimicrobial agent disposed within the bandage and in communication with a fraction of said microneedles, so that upon application of the bandage to the wound, the antimicrobial agent is transported though said microneedles to the wound, wherein the microneedles not in communication with the microbial agent are configured to transport fluid from the wound to the absorbent layer.", "2.The bandage according to claim 1, wherein the antimicrobial agent is in communication with approximately half of the microneedles.", "3.The bandage according to claim 1, further comprising a cover layer over the absorbent layer and ends of the microneedles, said cover layer preventing the antimicrobial agent from exiting the microneedles, and wherein removal of the cover layer allows the antimicrobial agent to flow through the fraction of microneedles and into the wound.", "4.The bandage according to claim 3, wherein the antimicrobial agent is disposed inside the fraction of microneedles prior to removal of the cover layer.", "5.The bandage according to claim 1, wherein the fraction of microneedles in communication with the antimicrobial agent is disposed homogeneously on one side of the bandage, while the microneedles with no connection to the antimicrobial agent are disposed on an opposite side of the bandage.", "6.The bandage according to claim 1, wherein the microneedles in communication with the antimicrobial agent are disposed evenly over the entire surface area of the absorbent layer.", "7.The bandage according to claim 1, wherein the film layer extends in at least two directions beyond edges of the absorbent layer.", "8.The bandage according to claim 1, wherein the absorbent layer is a woven fabric or foam.", "9.The bandage according to claim 1, further comprising a non-stick layer connected to a surface of the absorbent layer.", "10.The bandage according to claim 1, wherein the antimicrobial agent is microencapsulated.", "11.The bandage according to claim 10, wherein the microencapsulation is configured so that the antimicrobial agent is released in a time-delayed manner.", "12.The bandage according to claim 1 further comprising a layer of electronic ink disposed on the film layer, a battery connected to the electronic film layer, and a moisture sensor connected to the electronic film layer and the absorbent layer, wherein the electronic film layer displays a message when the moisture sensor senses a predetermined level of moisture in the absorbent layer." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION <EOH>" ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION <EOH>It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a bandage having an antimicrobial agent and which also draws fluid away from the wound to speed healing and allow the agent to reach all areas of the wound.", "This object is accomplished by a bandage comprising a film layer having a top surface and a bottom surface, an adhesive applied to the bottom surface, and an absorbent layer connected to the bottom surface.", "The absorbent layer comprises an absorbent material that is also equipped with a plurality of microneedles that either absorb fluid from the wound, or are filled with antimicrobial agent, which is released into the wound.", "The needles act as conduits both into and out of the wound, so that over time, fluid collecting in the wound area is continually suctioned away and treated, thus decreasing healing time and risk of infection.", "The needles that absorb the fluid from the wound are attached directly to the absorbent material, and capillary action forces the fluid from the wound up the needles, where it is absorbed by the absorbent layer.", "At the same time, the other needles are either filled with the antimicrobial agent, or are connected to a reservoir of the agent, and the same capillary action that pulls the fluid out of the wound forces the agent, which is in liquid form, down the needles and into the wound.", "In addition, due to the principle of chemotaxis, any organisms affected by the microbial agent will be driven up the microneedles to the absorbent layer, in order to avoid contact with the antimicrobial agent.", "In a preferred embodiment, the antimicrobial agent is in communication with approximately half of the microneedles, with the other half being used to absorb the fluid from the wound.", "In order to keep the antimicrobial agent from exiting the microneedles prior to use, a cover layer is placed over the absorbent layer and ends of the microneedles.", "The cover layer is removed immediately prior to use, which then allows the antimicrobial agent to flow through the microneedles and into the wound.", "Any suitable antimicrobial agent can be used in the bandage according to the invention.", "In one embodiment, the antimicrobial agent is pre-loaded into the microneedles.", "The antimicrobial agent can be microencapsulated so that it can be released into the wound in a time-release manner, thus providing long term treatment.", "The microneedles can be disposed in any suitable pattern on the bandage.", "In one embodiment, the fraction of microneedles in communication with the antimicrobial agent is disposed homogeneously on one side of the bandage, while the microneedles with no connection to the antimicrobial agent are disposed on an opposite side of the bandage.", "In another embodiment, the microneedles in communication with the antimicrobial agent are disposed evenly over the entire surface area of the absorbent layer.", "In a preferred embodiment, the absorbent layer is a foam or woven material, such as gauze.", "Upon contact with fluids from a wound, the gauze absorbs the fluid, and further acts to pull the fluid and any infectious microorganisms away from the wound.", "In order to prevent the absorbent layer from sticking to a wound, there can be a non-stick layer connected to a surface of the absorbent layer.", "The non-stick layer can be formed of any suitable material such as silicone or other polymer.", "The non-stick layer is formed to be permeable so that the microneedles can penetrate the layer and fluids from the wound can pass through to the absorbent layer.", "The non-stick layer can be formed a screen or a perforated sheet." ], [ "CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is claims priority from U.S.", "Provisional Application No.", "62/573,042 filed on Oct. 16, 2017.This application is also a continuation in part of U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "14/693,049, which claims priority under 35 USC 119(e) of U.S.", "Provisional Application Ser.", "No.", "62/128,474, filed on Mar.", "4, 2015 and which application is also a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "13/795,055, filed on Mar.", "12, 2013, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "12/752,568, filed on Apr.", "1, 2010 (now U.S. Pat.", "No.", "8,419,668 issued Apr.", "16, 2013), which claims priority under 35 USC 119(e) of U.S.", "Provisional Application Ser.", "No.", "61/310,332, filed on Mar.", "4, 2010.The disclosures of all of these prior applications are herein incorporated by reference.", "BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1.Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a bandage having a layer of absorbent material.", "In particular, the invention relates to a bandage having a layer of containing a plurality of microneedles that are adapted to suction fluid from a wound and also to inject antimicrobial agents in to the wound.", "2.The Prior Art Present bandage strips typically consist of a layer of gauze padding connected to a longer strip of adhesive film or fabric.", "The gauze padding typically has a non-stick layer on its side facing the wound to keep the gauze from sticking to the wound.", "In addition, some bandages are treated with antimicrobial agents to prevent infection of the wound.", "For example, U.S. Pat.", "No.", "6,967,261 to Soerens et al.", "discloses a bandage having a multilayer system connected to an adhesive strip.", "An antimicrobial agent is supplied to the bandage such that the agent can contact the wound.", "While this type of bandage may be useful, some wounds are deep and/or large enough that the antimicrobial agent is insufficient for treating the entire wound.", "The bodily fluids collect in the wound and can cause infection.", "SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a bandage having an antimicrobial agent and which also draws fluid away from the wound to speed healing and allow the agent to reach all areas of the wound.", "This object is accomplished by a bandage comprising a film layer having a top surface and a bottom surface, an adhesive applied to the bottom surface, and an absorbent layer connected to the bottom surface.", "The absorbent layer comprises an absorbent material that is also equipped with a plurality of microneedles that either absorb fluid from the wound, or are filled with antimicrobial agent, which is released into the wound.", "The needles act as conduits both into and out of the wound, so that over time, fluid collecting in the wound area is continually suctioned away and treated, thus decreasing healing time and risk of infection.", "The needles that absorb the fluid from the wound are attached directly to the absorbent material, and capillary action forces the fluid from the wound up the needles, where it is absorbed by the absorbent layer.", "At the same time, the other needles are either filled with the antimicrobial agent, or are connected to a reservoir of the agent, and the same capillary action that pulls the fluid out of the wound forces the agent, which is in liquid form, down the needles and into the wound.", "In addition, due to the principle of chemotaxis, any organisms affected by the microbial agent will be driven up the microneedles to the absorbent layer, in order to avoid contact with the antimicrobial agent.", "In a preferred embodiment, the antimicrobial agent is in communication with approximately half of the microneedles, with the other half being used to absorb the fluid from the wound.", "In order to keep the antimicrobial agent from exiting the microneedles prior to use, a cover layer is placed over the absorbent layer and ends of the microneedles.", "The cover layer is removed immediately prior to use, which then allows the antimicrobial agent to flow through the microneedles and into the wound.", "Any suitable antimicrobial agent can be used in the bandage according to the invention.", "In one embodiment, the antimicrobial agent is pre-loaded into the microneedles.", "The antimicrobial agent can be microencapsulated so that it can be released into the wound in a time-release manner, thus providing long term treatment.", "The microneedles can be disposed in any suitable pattern on the bandage.", "In one embodiment, the fraction of microneedles in communication with the antimicrobial agent is disposed homogeneously on one side of the bandage, while the microneedles with no connection to the antimicrobial agent are disposed on an opposite side of the bandage.", "In another embodiment, the microneedles in communication with the antimicrobial agent are disposed evenly over the entire surface area of the absorbent layer.", "In a preferred embodiment, the absorbent layer is a foam or woven material, such as gauze.", "Upon contact with fluids from a wound, the gauze absorbs the fluid, and further acts to pull the fluid and any infectious microorganisms away from the wound.", "In order to prevent the absorbent layer from sticking to a wound, there can be a non-stick layer connected to a surface of the absorbent layer.", "The non-stick layer can be formed of any suitable material such as silicone or other polymer.", "The non-stick layer is formed to be permeable so that the microneedles can penetrate the layer and fluids from the wound can pass through to the absorbent layer.", "The non-stick layer can be formed a screen or a perforated sheet.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description considered in connection with the accompanying drawings.", "It is to be understood, however, that the drawings are designed as an illustration only and not as a definition of the limits of the invention.", "In the drawings, wherein similar reference characters denote similar elements throughout the several views: FIG.", "1 shows a cross-sectional view of the bandage according to the invention prior to use; FIG.", "2 shows another embodiment of the bandage; FIG.", "3 shows a top view of the bandage; and FIG.", "4 shows the bandage prior to use.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now in detail to the drawings, FIG.", "1 shows a cross-sectional view of the bandage 10 according to the invention after application to a patient's skin 20 for covering a wound 21.Bandage 10 comprises a film layer 11, an adhesive layer 12 extending the length of film layer 11, and an absorbent layer 13 disposed centrally along film layer 11, so that end sections 17 of film layer 11 extend beyond absorbent layer 13.A non-stick layer 14 is applied to the bottom of absorbent layer 13 to prevent absorbent layer 13 from sticking to the wound 21.Non-stick layer 14 is water permeable and can be configured as a screen or with perforations to allow fluid to pass through to absorbent layer 13.Non-stick layer 14 can be configured of any suitable material, such as silicone or polypropylene.", "Film layer 11 can be manufactured from any suitable film material that is commonly used in disposable bandages.", "Common film materials are extruded polymers, but woven materials could also be used instead of a film.", "Embedded within absorbent layer 13 is a microencapsulated antimicrobial agent 17.The antimicrobial agent 17 is configured to be released from microencapsulation upon contact with fluid, so that the agent can mix with the fluid and kill any microoganisms in the fluid.", "Absorbent layer 13 can be formed of any suitable material, such as foam or gauze.", "Antimicrobial agent 17 can be any suitable agent, such as a topical antibiotic (erythromycin, sulfacetamide sodium, bacitracin, neomycin) or antiseptic (sodium hypochlorite, ethanol, iodine, chlorhexidine).", "By pulling the fluid out of the wound, bandage 10 prevents infection in the wound and speeds healing.", "A plurality of microneedles 15, 16, are disposed in the bandage 10, extending between the absorbent layer 13 and the wound 21.Needles 15 act to absorb fluid 18 from wound 21 and store it in absorbent layer 13.Needles 16 are filled with microencapsulated antimicrobial agent 17, which is released through needles 16 and travels into wound 21 to speed healing.", "The combined action of needles 15, 16 acts to decrease inflammation and infection, while keeping the wound dry.", "The needles 15, 16, act as conduits both into and out of the wound 21, so that over time, fluid collecting in the wound area is continually suctioned away and treated, thus decreasing healing time and risk of infection.", "The needles 15 that absorb the fluid from the wound 21 are attached directly to the absorbent material, and capillary action forces the fluid 18 from the wound 21 up the needles 15, where it is absorbed by the absorbent layer 13.At the same time, the same capillary action that pulls the fluid out of the wound forces the antimicrobial agent 17, which is in liquid form, down the needles 16 and into the wound.", "In addition, due to the principle of chemotaxis, any organisms affected by the antimicrobial agent 17 will be driven up the microneedles 15 to the absorbent layer 21, in order to avoid contact with the antimicrobial agent 17.As shown in FIG.", "1, the needles 15, 16 are disposed uniformly throughout the bandage, so that the suction of wound fluid and the dispensing of the antimicrobial agent takes place evenly throughout the area.", "However, other arrangements could also be used, such as the one in FIG.", "2, where all needles 15 are on one side of the bandage 10, and all needles 16 are on the other side, so that suction of the fluid 18 occurs on one side and dispensing of the antimicrobial agent 17 occurs on the other side.", "As shown in FIG.", "3, there can be a layer of electronic ink 23 disposed on the film layer 11, a battery 22 connected to the electronic film layer, and a moisture sensor 24 connected to the electronic film layer and the absorbent layer, wherein the electronic film layer 23 displays a message when the moisture sensor 24 senses a predetermined level of moisture in the absorbent layer 13, thus indicating time to change the bandage.", "As shown in FIG.", "4, a release layer 25 can be placed on the bottom of the bandage to protect adhesive layer 12 as well as prevent antimicrobial agent 17 from leaking out of needles 16 prior to use.", "Accordingly, while only a few embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it is obvious that many changes and modifications may be made thereunto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention." ] ]
Patent_15873162
[ [ "APPARATUS FOR PHOTOTHERAPY OF THE EYE", "A device and method for applying light to the cornea of the eye as, for example, to promote crosslinking of collagen in the cornea for vision correction.", "The device may include a structure having form and size similar to a conventional contact lens.", "The structure may include an optically dispersive element such as a mass of an optically dispersive material that may be contained in a cavity of a reflective element.", "Light applied to the dispersive mass as, for example, by an optical fiber connected to the structure is dispersed in the structure and passes into the cornea.", "The patient may blink or close the eye during the procedure, which increases patient comfort and aids in maintaining hydration of the cornea." ], [ "1.A method of applying light to the eye of a subject comprising directing light in a direction generally parallel to the surface of the cornea of the eye within an optically dispersive element overlying the surface of the cornea so that light dispersed by the element passes out of the element and into the cornea." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION <EOH>The present application relates generally to devices for applying light such as ultraviolet (“UV”) light to the cornea of the eye; to methods of manufacturing such devices; and to methods of applying phototherapy to the eye.", "In humans and other mammals, the eye includes a clear, dome-shaped element referred to as the cornea disposed at the front of the eye.", "Light passes into the eye through the cornea and, after passing through other structures such as the iris and the lens of the eye, ultimately impinging on the retina.", "The light impinging on the retina is converted to neural impulses that are processed to form the visual images.", "The cornea and the lens refract the light passing through them.", "In a healthy eye, the refraction imparted by the cornea and the lens focuses the light on the retina.", "Most of the light refraction required for the primary focusing on the retina is done by the cornea, with the lens making the accommodative changes to move focus from close to distant objects.", "Mismatches between the corneal curvature and the axial length of the eye, imperfections in the shape of the cornea, malpositions of the lens, and error in the vitreous of the eye can all lead to vision errors.", "For example, an eye that has a cornea that focuses the light in front of the retina (an eye with too much curvature relative to the axial length of the eye) suffers from myopia (also referred to as near-sightedness).", "Conversely, a cornea that is not curved enough for the axial length results in hyperopia (also referred to as far-sightedness), where the focal point is behind the retina.", "Astigmatism is an uneven curvature of the cornea with respect to the shape of the retina.", "All three conditions result in an out of focus image formed on the retina.", "Beyond these errors in curvature that affect healthy eyes, pathological conditions such as keratoconus and corneal ectasia result in unstable corneas and impaired vision.", "Eyeglasses and contact lenses can correct conditions such as myopia, hyperopia and astigmatism by adding an artificial refractive element to the system.", "However, these devices impose some inconvenience on the patient.", "Accordingly, refractive surgical therapies such as radial keratotomy and laser ablation of the cornea have been developed.", "These procedures correct vision by reshaping the cornea so as to alter its refractive properties.", "However, these procedures have certain drawbacks and can have undesirable side effects.", "In a technique known as orthokeratolgy, the cornea is mechanically reshaped by applying a rigid contact lens having a shape different from the existing shape of the cornea.", "The lenses are worn overnight.", "However, changes in shape induced by orthokeratology are temporary.", "They typically last only 24-48 hours, after which the cornea reverts to its original shape.", "In yet another technique, the cornea can be reshaped by crosslinking fibers of collagen which form part of the cornea.", "The crosslinking can be performed by applying UV light to the cornea in conjunction with a chemical agent such as riboflavin.", "Typically, the UV light is applied by directing UV light from one or more light emitting diodes (“LEDs”) m into the patient's eye, substantially perpendicular to the surface of the cornea.", "The crosslinking strengthens the cornea and can also cause reshaping of the cornea Procedures of this type require that the patient keep the treated eye open for a prolonged period without blinking.", "This creates discomfort for the patient and also requires close monitoring by trained personnel to assure that the cornea remains hydrated.", "It has also been proposed to apply crosslinking in conjunction with orthokeratology.", "In this approach, the crosslinking is performed after mechanical reshaping or while the cornea is held mechanically in the desired shape.", "The crosslinking acts to set the cornea and prevent reversion of the cornea to its original shape.", "For example, Mrochen et al., U.S.", "Published Patent Application No.", "2008/0208177, proposes a thick, rigid mold equipped with an array of light emitting diodes or “LED's.” While the mold is applied to the cornea, the LED's emit UV light in the direction toward the surface of the cornea.", "The mold may include a diffuser plate interposed between the LED's and the cornea to make the light impinging on the cornea more uniform.", "In another variant, the array of LED's and the diffuser plate is replaced by a branching array of “optical light guides” extending to numerous points on the surface of the cornea.", "Structures of this type still require that the patient keep his or her eye open during the treatment, without blinking.", "Chuck et al., U.S.", "Published Patent Application No.", "2013/0211389, discloses a treatment device which incorporates radiation-emitting elements such as LEDs, along with the circuitry required to drive these elements, into a device having size and shape resembling a conventional contact lens.", "Using this device, the patient can blink or keep his or her eye shut while receiving crosslinking therapy.", "This provides a more comfortable patient experience, greatly reduces the risk of corneal dehydration during the therapy, and also reduces the need for constant monitoring of hydration by medical personnel.", "However, LEDs and circuitry incorporated into the device evolve heat during operation.", "Therefore, the power which can be applied by the device must be restricted." ], [ "<SOH> BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION <EOH>One aspect of the present invention provides a device for applying light to the eye of a human or other mammalian subject.", "A device according to this aspect of the present invention desirably includes a contact lens structure having a first inner surface generally corresponding to the shape of the cornea.", "Optionally, the device may have a second interior surface corresponding to the shape of the sclera.", "The contact lens structure desirably includes an optically dispersive element.", "The optically dispersive element desirably is constructed and arranged so that light passing into the optically dispersive element in a direction generally parallel to the inner surface will be dispersed and at least some of the dispersed light will pass through the inner surface of the contact lens structure into the cornea.", "The optically dispersive element may include an optically dispersive fiber.", "The optically dispersive fiber may be arranged in one or more loops encircling a central axis of the contact lens structure.", "Alternatively or additionally, the optically dispersive element may include an optically dispersive mass, and the mass may have an inner surface having a shape generally conforming to the shape of the cornea.", "In certain embodiments, the structure includes both an optically dispersive fiber and an optically dispersive mass.", "The optically dispersive fiber may be in optical communication with the optically dispersive mass, so that light dispersed by the fiber will pass into the mass, and will be further dispersed by the mass and pass into the cornea.", "Desirably, the structure includes a reflector that defines a cavity encompassing the dispersive mass.", "In one arrangement, a transmission optical fiber has a distal end disposed within the cavity, and the light is dispersed by the dispersive mass and passes out through an aperture in the reflector.", "The entire contact lens structure may be formed as a shell generally conforming to the shape of the eye.", "The thickness of the shell may be similar to that of a conventional contact lens as, for example, less than about 1 mm thick.", "A further aspect of the present invention provides methods of applying phototherapy to the eye of human or other mammalian subject.", "A method according to this aspect of the invention desirably includes directing light into a structure generally in the form of a shell similar in form and size to a contact lens, desirably less than 3 mm thick, overlying the eye and dispersing the light within the structure so that the dispersed light passes out of the structure and into the cornea of the eye.", "For example, the step of directing light into the contact lens structure may include directing light into the structure through a transmission fiber connected to the contact lens structure.", "The light may be UV light, and the method may further include the step of applying a photoactivated cross-linking agent to the eye so that the cross-linking agent is present when the light passes into the eye.", "The method desirably further includes the step of allowing the subject to close his or her eyelids over the contact lens structure while the light is being applied.", "Methods and apparatus according to certain embodiments of the invention can provide effective phototherapy, such as effective cross-linking, without requiring the patient to keep his or her eye open during the procedure, or to lie down facing a light source.", "This greatly enhances the comfort and practicality of the procedure.", "Moreover, the methods and apparatus according to these embodiments of the invention do not require the complex and expensive apparatus used to direct light into the eye heretofore." ], [ "CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "14/314,518, filed Jun.", "25, 2014, which application claims the benefit of the filing date of U.S.", "Provisional Patent Application No.", "61/839,016 filed Jun.", "25, 2013, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference.", "BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present application relates generally to devices for applying light such as ultraviolet (“UV”) light to the cornea of the eye; to methods of manufacturing such devices; and to methods of applying phototherapy to the eye.", "In humans and other mammals, the eye includes a clear, dome-shaped element referred to as the cornea disposed at the front of the eye.", "Light passes into the eye through the cornea and, after passing through other structures such as the iris and the lens of the eye, ultimately impinging on the retina.", "The light impinging on the retina is converted to neural impulses that are processed to form the visual images.", "The cornea and the lens refract the light passing through them.", "In a healthy eye, the refraction imparted by the cornea and the lens focuses the light on the retina.", "Most of the light refraction required for the primary focusing on the retina is done by the cornea, with the lens making the accommodative changes to move focus from close to distant objects.", "Mismatches between the corneal curvature and the axial length of the eye, imperfections in the shape of the cornea, malpositions of the lens, and error in the vitreous of the eye can all lead to vision errors.", "For example, an eye that has a cornea that focuses the light in front of the retina (an eye with too much curvature relative to the axial length of the eye) suffers from myopia (also referred to as near-sightedness).", "Conversely, a cornea that is not curved enough for the axial length results in hyperopia (also referred to as far-sightedness), where the focal point is behind the retina.", "Astigmatism is an uneven curvature of the cornea with respect to the shape of the retina.", "All three conditions result in an out of focus image formed on the retina.", "Beyond these errors in curvature that affect healthy eyes, pathological conditions such as keratoconus and corneal ectasia result in unstable corneas and impaired vision.", "Eyeglasses and contact lenses can correct conditions such as myopia, hyperopia and astigmatism by adding an artificial refractive element to the system.", "However, these devices impose some inconvenience on the patient.", "Accordingly, refractive surgical therapies such as radial keratotomy and laser ablation of the cornea have been developed.", "These procedures correct vision by reshaping the cornea so as to alter its refractive properties.", "However, these procedures have certain drawbacks and can have undesirable side effects.", "In a technique known as orthokeratolgy, the cornea is mechanically reshaped by applying a rigid contact lens having a shape different from the existing shape of the cornea.", "The lenses are worn overnight.", "However, changes in shape induced by orthokeratology are temporary.", "They typically last only 24-48 hours, after which the cornea reverts to its original shape.", "In yet another technique, the cornea can be reshaped by crosslinking fibers of collagen which form part of the cornea.", "The crosslinking can be performed by applying UV light to the cornea in conjunction with a chemical agent such as riboflavin.", "Typically, the UV light is applied by directing UV light from one or more light emitting diodes (“LEDs”) m into the patient's eye, substantially perpendicular to the surface of the cornea.", "The crosslinking strengthens the cornea and can also cause reshaping of the cornea Procedures of this type require that the patient keep the treated eye open for a prolonged period without blinking.", "This creates discomfort for the patient and also requires close monitoring by trained personnel to assure that the cornea remains hydrated.", "It has also been proposed to apply crosslinking in conjunction with orthokeratology.", "In this approach, the crosslinking is performed after mechanical reshaping or while the cornea is held mechanically in the desired shape.", "The crosslinking acts to set the cornea and prevent reversion of the cornea to its original shape.", "For example, Mrochen et al., U.S.", "Published Patent Application No.", "2008/0208177, proposes a thick, rigid mold equipped with an array of light emitting diodes or “LED's.” While the mold is applied to the cornea, the LED's emit UV light in the direction toward the surface of the cornea.", "The mold may include a diffuser plate interposed between the LED's and the cornea to make the light impinging on the cornea more uniform.", "In another variant, the array of LED's and the diffuser plate is replaced by a branching array of “optical light guides” extending to numerous points on the surface of the cornea.", "Structures of this type still require that the patient keep his or her eye open during the treatment, without blinking.", "Chuck et al., U.S.", "Published Patent Application No.", "2013/0211389, discloses a treatment device which incorporates radiation-emitting elements such as LEDs, along with the circuitry required to drive these elements, into a device having size and shape resembling a conventional contact lens.", "Using this device, the patient can blink or keep his or her eye shut while receiving crosslinking therapy.", "This provides a more comfortable patient experience, greatly reduces the risk of corneal dehydration during the therapy, and also reduces the need for constant monitoring of hydration by medical personnel.", "However, LEDs and circuitry incorporated into the device evolve heat during operation.", "Therefore, the power which can be applied by the device must be restricted.", "BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION One aspect of the present invention provides a device for applying light to the eye of a human or other mammalian subject.", "A device according to this aspect of the present invention desirably includes a contact lens structure having a first inner surface generally corresponding to the shape of the cornea.", "Optionally, the device may have a second interior surface corresponding to the shape of the sclera.", "The contact lens structure desirably includes an optically dispersive element.", "The optically dispersive element desirably is constructed and arranged so that light passing into the optically dispersive element in a direction generally parallel to the inner surface will be dispersed and at least some of the dispersed light will pass through the inner surface of the contact lens structure into the cornea.", "The optically dispersive element may include an optically dispersive fiber.", "The optically dispersive fiber may be arranged in one or more loops encircling a central axis of the contact lens structure.", "Alternatively or additionally, the optically dispersive element may include an optically dispersive mass, and the mass may have an inner surface having a shape generally conforming to the shape of the cornea.", "In certain embodiments, the structure includes both an optically dispersive fiber and an optically dispersive mass.", "The optically dispersive fiber may be in optical communication with the optically dispersive mass, so that light dispersed by the fiber will pass into the mass, and will be further dispersed by the mass and pass into the cornea.", "Desirably, the structure includes a reflector that defines a cavity encompassing the dispersive mass.", "In one arrangement, a transmission optical fiber has a distal end disposed within the cavity, and the light is dispersed by the dispersive mass and passes out through an aperture in the reflector.", "The entire contact lens structure may be formed as a shell generally conforming to the shape of the eye.", "The thickness of the shell may be similar to that of a conventional contact lens as, for example, less than about 1 mm thick.", "A further aspect of the present invention provides methods of applying phototherapy to the eye of human or other mammalian subject.", "A method according to this aspect of the invention desirably includes directing light into a structure generally in the form of a shell similar in form and size to a contact lens, desirably less than 3 mm thick, overlying the eye and dispersing the light within the structure so that the dispersed light passes out of the structure and into the cornea of the eye.", "For example, the step of directing light into the contact lens structure may include directing light into the structure through a transmission fiber connected to the contact lens structure.", "The light may be UV light, and the method may further include the step of applying a photoactivated cross-linking agent to the eye so that the cross-linking agent is present when the light passes into the eye.", "The method desirably further includes the step of allowing the subject to close his or her eyelids over the contact lens structure while the light is being applied.", "Methods and apparatus according to certain embodiments of the invention can provide effective phototherapy, such as effective cross-linking, without requiring the patient to keep his or her eye open during the procedure, or to lie down facing a light source.", "This greatly enhances the comfort and practicality of the procedure.", "Moreover, the methods and apparatus according to these embodiments of the invention do not require the complex and expensive apparatus used to direct light into the eye heretofore.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG.", "1 is a diagrammatic perspective view depicting a component of a device in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.", "FIG.", "2 is a further diagrammatic perspective view depicting the component of FIG.", "1 in conjunction with another component.", "FIG.", "3 is a diagrammatic partially sectional perspective view depicting the components of FIGS.", "1 and 2 in conjunction with still further components of the device.", "FIG.", "4 is a fragmentary, diagrammatic sectional view depicting the components of FIGS.", "1-3 in conjunction with still further components of the device.", "FIG.", "5 is a diagrammatic sectional view depicting the device incorporating the components of FIGS.", "1-4.FIG.", "6 is a diagrammatic plan view depicting the device of FIG.", "5.FIG.", "7 is a diagrammatic sectional view depicting the device of FIGS.", "1-5 in conjunction with a human eye.", "FIG.", "8 is a diagrammatic plan view depicting a device in accordance with a further embodiment of the invention.", "FIG.", "9 is a view similar to FIG.", "7, but depicting yet another embodiment of the invention.", "FIG.", "10 is a diagrammatic plan view depicting a device according to yet another embodiment of the invention.", "FIG.", "11 is a diagrammatic plan view of a device in accordance with yet another embodiment of the invention.", "FIGS.", "12 and 13 are diagrammatic, partially schematic block-diagram depictions of devices in accordance with still further embodiments of the invention.", "FIG.", "14 is a schematic diagram of a component used in the device of FIG.", "13.FIG.", "15 is a schematic depiction of a device according to a further embodiment of the invention.", "FIG.", "16 is a circuit diagram of an element used in the device of FIG.", "15.FIGS.", "17 and 18 are diagrammatic plan views of elements used in further embodiments of the invention.", "FIG.", "19 is a diagrammatic, partially sectional view of a device according to a further embodiment of the invention.", "FIGS.", "20 and 21 are fragmentary sectional views of the device shown in FIG.", "19.FIG.", "22 is a view similar to FIG.", "20, but depicting a device according to yet another embodiment of the invention.", "FIG.", "23 is a fragmentary, diagrammatic sectional view depicting a portion of a device according to a further embodiment of the invention.", "FIG.", "24 is a diagrammatic sectional view depicting a device according to a still further embodiment of the invention.", "FIG.", "25 is a diagrammatic sectional view depicting a device according to yet another embodiment of the invention.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION A device according to one embodiment of the invention incorporates a first optically dispersive element in the form of a radially dispersive optical fiber 20 (FIG.", "1).", "As used in this disclosure, the term “optically dispersive element” refers to an element that is adapted to scatter light propagating in a direction of propagation so that an appreciable portion of such light is redirected in directions transverse to the direction of propagation.", "The term “dispersive” is used herein interchangeably with the term “scattering”, and has the same meaning as discussed in the foregoing sentence.", "The term “radially dispersive optical fiber” refers to a fiber, such as fiber 20, which is adapted to allow propagation of light along the length of the fiber while also scattering an appreciable portion of the light propagating along the fiber in directions transverse to the length of the fiber.", "The degree of dispersion in an optical fiber can be stated in terms of its “extinction length.” With respect to a fiber, the extinction length as referred to in this disclosure is the length along the direction of propagation in which light transmitted from a starting point along the length of the fiber loses 90% its power.", "Stated another way, the extinction length of a fiber is the length of fiber over which 90% of the incoming light is dispersed and thus emitted out of the fiber in directions transverse to the length of the fiber.", "Radially dispersive optical fibers having essentially any desired extinction length are available from sources including Corning Glass Works of Corning, N.Y., USA.", "As further discussed below, the desired extinction length depends in part on the length of radially dispersive fiber incorporated into the device.", "However, typical designs incorporate optical fibers having extinction lengths on the order of 0.5-4 meters.", "Fiber 20 is arranged in one or more loops extending around a central axis 22.In the particular embodiment depicted, fiber 20 is arranged in a spiral of approximately two full turns constituting the loops.", "The inner turn 21a has an average diameter slightly larger than the diameter of an area of the cornea to be treated.", "Thus, the total length of fiber incorporated in the turns is about 25 mm.", "Most typically, the ratio of the length of radially dispersive optical fiber incorporated in the one or more loops to the extinction length of the optical fiber is 0.05:1 to 0.3:1, most typically about 0.2:1 to 0.3:1.As further explained below, the ratio is selected in conjunction with other design features to enhance the uniformity of light distribution achieved by the system.", "The end 23 of the inner turn 21a is referred to herein as the termination end of the dispersive fiber.", "Termination end 23 is covered by a coating 25 adapted to absorb UV light.", "The outer end of the outer turn 21b constitutes the input end of the fiber in the loops.", "The radially dispersive optical fiber includes a short stub 24 extending out from the outer end of the outer turn 21b.", "Stub 24, and hence fiber 20, is connected to the distal end of a conventional, substantially non-dispersive transmission optical fiber 26 by a splice 28.For example, splice 28 may be a fusion splice made by fusing the ends of fibers 20 and 26 to one another or a mechanical coupling holding polished ends of the fibers in precise alignment with one another.", "Stub 24, splice 28 and transmission fiber 26 are referred to collectively as the input fiber system.", "The input fiber system may be covered with a conventional jacket or other protective element (not shown), so as to protect it from physical damage.", "However, the distal portion of the input fiber system adjacent the loops, including any jacket covering this portion of the fiber system, desirably is of relatively small diameter as, for example, 0.6 mm or less and more preferably 0.25 mm or less.", "As explained below, this helps to minimize irritation to the patient's eyelids in use of the device.", "The proximal end of transmission fiber 26 is releasably connected to a UV light source 30, as by a conventional connector (not shown).", "Source 30 may be a conventional device such as a UV laser arranged to emit light at the desired wavelength for the therapy to be performed.", "Where the device is to be used in cross-linking of the cornea using riboflavin as a cross-linking agent, the light may be near UV light of 360 nm to 380 nm wavelength or blue light of about 425 nm to 475 nm wavelength.", "The device further includes a fiber carrier 34 (FIGS.", "2, 3) formed from a transparent material, preferably a polymer such as an acrylic.", "The fiber carrier is shown as opaque in FIG.", "2 for illustrative purposes only.", "The transparent material of the fiber carrier will transmit UV light substantially without dispersion.", "Fiber carrier 34 is generally in the form of a shallow dome with a concave interior surface 36, a convex exterior surface 38, and a hole 40 extending between the interior and exterior surfaces at the center of the dome.", "The fiber carrier 34 also defines a generally cylindrical edge surface 42 extending between the interior and exterior surfaces.", "As best seen in FIG.", "4, the juncture between edge surface 42 and exterior surface 38 is provided with a radius 48 so that the edge surface 42 and exterior surface 38 merge gradually into one another.", "The exterior surface 38 of the fiber carrier has a spiral groove defining an inner turn 46a and an outer turn 46b corresponding to the turns 21a and 21b of radially dispersive optical fiber 20.The outer turn 46b of the spiral groove terminates at an opening 48 extending through edge surface 42 of the fiber carrier.", "Turns 21a and 21b of fiber 20 are disposed in the turns 46a and 46b of the spiral groove, respectively.", "Thus, the axis 22 of fiber turns 21a and 21b also forms the central axis of the fiber carrier.", "The stub 24 of fiber 20 extends out of the fiber carrier through opening 48.A transparent filler 49 (FIG.", "4) is disposed within the turns 46a and 46b of the groove.", "The filler defines surfaces that are flush with the exterior surface 38 of the fiber carrier.", "The features of the lens carrier, such as the edge surface 42 and the interior surface of hole 40, are substantially in the form of surfaces of revolution about the central axis 22.The device further includes a mass 50 of an optically dispersive material disposed within the hole 40 in the fiber carrier 34.For example, mass 50 may be formed from a transparent silicone polymer having microscopic particles of an opaque, reflective material such as titanium, titanium dioxide, or zinc dispersed throughout the polymer.", "The dispersive properties of a material of this nature can be controlled by varying parameters such as the particle material, the ratio of particles to polymer, the size of the particles, and the shape of the particles.", "Mass 50 is in the form of a dome-like shell having a concave interior surface 52 and a convex exterior surface 54.These surfaces generally conform to the dome-like configuration of the fiber carrier 34, so that the fiber carrier and shell 50 form a continuous dome-like structure having substantially smooth interior and exterior surfaces.", "Shell 50 also has a generally cylindrical edge surface 56 extending between surfaces 52 and 54 and abutting the inner surface of the fiber carrier 34, which defines hole 40.Shell 50 can be formed by casting it in place in the hole 40 of the fiber carrier while holding the fiber carrier in a mold defining the desired dome shape.", "Shell 50 constitutes a second optically dispersive element.", "Here again, the degree of dispersion in such an element can be characterized by the extinction length of the element.", "This embodiment is intended to produce uniform irradiation intensity across the area of the cornea to be treated.", "In this case, the extinction length of the mass or shell 50 typically is greater than the diameter of the cylindrical edge surface 50.A reflective element in the form of a film 58, best seen in FIG.", "4, covers the interior and exterior surfaces 36 and 38 of the fiber carrier and also covers the edge surface 42 of the fiber carrier and the transition 44 between the edge surface and the exterior surface.", "For example, film 58 may be formed from aluminum or other metals.", "Film 58 also covers the entire exterior surface 54 of dispersive shell 50.Film 58 may extend beyond the edge surface 56 of the shell so that the film may cover a portion of the interior surface 52 of the dispersive shell remote from the central axis 22 of the device.", "However, a portion of the interior surface 52 adjacent the axis is left uncovered by the metallic film 58, so as to define an aperture 60 surrounding axis 22.As best appreciated with reference to FIG.", "4, the reflective element 58 forms a cavity, and the dispersive mass 50 is disposed within this cavity.", "The reflective element 58 includes a reflective circumferential surface overlying the edge surface 42 of the wafer carrier and extending around axis 22.This reflective circumferential surface is in optical communication with the edge surface 56 of mass 50, through the clear fiber carrier 34.The reflective element 58 also includes a surface facing in an inward direction, toward the bottom of the drawing, overlying the outer surface 54 of mass 50, as well as an outwardly facing ledge surface overlying the inner surface 36 of the fiber carrier.", "This embodiment is intended to correct myopia by flattening the cornea.", "For this purpose, the aperture is generally circular and has a radius approximately equal to the radius of a portion of the cornea to be treated.", "The aperture size appropriate for the particular patient is selected by the ophthalmologic professional.", "That is, aperture 60 is sized to cover only a portion of the cornea adjacent the center of the cornea.", "As explained below, this will provide crosslinking near the center of the cornea, so as to treat myopia.", "Film 58 may be on the order of a few microns to a few tens of microns thick.", "Merely by way of example, film 58 may be formed by conventional methods of depositing metals onto polymers as, for example, electroless plating followed by electroplating, vapor deposition, sputtering, or the like.", "Alternatively, the reflective metallic element may be formed by other metalworking methods such as stamping, die casting or machining.", "The assemblage of the fiber carrier, radially dispersive fiber, dispersive shell, and reflective element is embedded in a housing 62.Housing 62 has a dome-like central portion defining a first interior surface 64 with a shape adapted to conform to the shape of the cornea.", "The housing also includes a skirt portion defining a second interior surface 66 surrounding the first interior surface.", "The second interior surface has a shape adapted to conform to the shape of the sclera or opaque portion of the eye surrounding the cornea.", "The assemblage of the fiber carrier 34 and shell 50 is mounted centrally in housing 62 so that the central axis 22 defined by the fiber and fiber carrier is coincident with the central axis of dome-like portion 64 of the housing.", "Housing 62 also has an exterior surface 68 extending generally parallel to the interior surface portions 64 and 66 and covering the exterior surfaces of fiber carrier 34 and shell 50.As best seen in FIG.", "4, housing 68 includes a thin interior film 70 covering the interior surfaces of the fiber carrier 34 and shell 50 and overlying metallic film 58 on the interior surface of the fiber carrier.", "Housing 62, apart from interior film 70, may be formed from essentially any material, but typically is formed from a relatively soft polymer such as silicone.", "Interior film 70 desirably is formed from a material having good compatibility with the tissues of the eye as, for example, a hydrophilic polymer.", "The material of film 70 should also be capable of transmitting the light to be applied.", "As best appreciated with reference to FIG.", "5, the housing 62, fiber carrier 34, and shell 50 cooperatively form a contact lens structure substantially in the form and shape of a conventional scleral fit contact lens.", "Thus, the entire structure forms a relatively thin shell having interior and exterior surfaces generally conforming to the shape of the cornea and sclera.", "The thickness T of the entire contact lens structure desirably is no more than 3 mm, preferably no more than 2 mm, more preferably less than 1 mm, and most preferably less than 800 μm.", "As best seen in FIG.", "6, the fiber system (stub 24, transmission fiber 26 and splice 28) extends out the housing 28 in a direction transverse to the central axis 22.The fiber system exits the housing at an angle A relative to a line tangent to a circle concentric with central axis 22 and passing though the exit point.", "Angle A may have any value, including 0°, such that the fiber system exits parallel to the tangent line, and 90°, such that the fiber system exits perpendicular to the tangent line.", "Typically, an angle between 0° and 90° is chosen to mitigate both manufacturing challenges and contact with the patient's eyelid during the use of the device.", "In a method according to a further embodiment of the invention, a device as discussed above with reference to FIGS.", "1-6 is placed over the front surface of the eye of a human or other mammalian subject as depicted in FIG.", "7.The interior surfaces of the housing 62, fiber carrier 34, and dispersive shell 50 overlie the exterior surfaces of the sclera 72 and cornea 74 of the subject's eye.", "Typically, those portions of the device overlying the cornea are spaced slightly from the cornea so as to provide a small space between the outer surface of the cornea and the inner surface of the device.", "The central axis 22 of the device is substantially aligned with the central axis of the subject's eye.", "The central axis of the subject's eye, as referred to in this disclosure, is the axis extending through the center of the cornea and the center of the lens 76 of the eye, as well as the center of the pupil 78 of the eye.", "In this orientation, the fiber turns 21a, 21b extend generally in planes transverse to the central axis of the eye, as indicated schematically by plane 80 in FIG.", "6.Thus, the turns of the radially dispersive optical fiber extend generally parallel to the surface of the eye.", "Likewise, the interior and exterior surfaces of dispersive shell 50 extend generally parallel to the surface of the eye, and specifically the surface of the cornea.", "Also, the turns of the fiber surround the central axis of the eye, which, again, is substantially coincident with the central axis 22 of the device.", "Before or during the application of the device to the eye, the eye is treated with a photo-reactive crosslinking agent 75 such as riboflavin and the crosslinking agent is allowed to permeate into the cornea 74.As seen in FIG.", "7, the device may be used as a reservoir to trap the agent in contact with the cornea during permeation.", "After a the agent has permeated into the cornea, and before light is applied as discussed below, the agent desirably is removed from the space between the device and the cornea as, for example, by flushing this space with a liquid such as saline solution or the patient's natural tears.", "Alternatively, the agent may be confined in contact with the cornea by another device such as another contact lens shaped shell, which is removed and replaced by the device.", "Optionally the epithelial layer forming the outermost surface of the cornea may be removed or disrupted using conventional techniques so as to enhance permeation of the crosslinking agent into the collagen of the cornea.", "While the crosslinking agent is present in the cornea, the light source 30 (FIG.", "1) is actuated so as to direct light at a wavelength suitable for activating the crosslinking agent through the transmission fiber 26 and into dispersive fiber 20.Where the agent is riboflavin, the light may be near UV light of 360 nm to 380 nm wavelength or blue light of about 425 nm to 475 nm wavelength.", "The light enters through stub 24 of the dispersive fiber 20 and passes lengthwise along the fiber through turns 21a and 21b.", "Thus, the light passing along the dispersive fiber in turns 21a and 21b is directed generally parallel to the surface of the eye.", "As the light passes along the turns of the fiber, a portion of the light is dispersed from the fiber, and the dispersed portion propagates in directions transverse to the length of the fiber, as indicated by arrows 82 (FIG.", "4).", "The light dispersed from the fibers passes through the transparent material of fiber carrier 34 into the dispersive shell 50 through the edge surface 56 of the shell.", "Some of the light dispersed by the fibers passes directly into the shell as indicated by arrow 82a in FIG.", "4.Other light dispersed from by fiber passes into shell 50 by indirect paths, including one or more reflections from reflective film 58, as indicated by arrows 82b and 82c in FIG.", "4.A substantial portion of the light directed into shell 50 through peripheral surface 56 is propagating in directions generally parallel to the interior surface 52 of the shell and thus generally parallel to the surface of the cornea.", "As used in this disclosure, a propagation direction can be considered “generally parallel” to a surface if the propagation direction forms an angle of less than about 45° and preferably less than 30° to the surface.", "The light propagating through dispersive shell 50 is dispersed.", "Some of the light dispersed in the shell is directed in the inward direction, towards the inner surface 52 of the shell.", "This light passes through the aperture 60 (FIG.", "4) and into the cornea 74.Of course, dispersion in shell 50 is omnidirectional, and some of the light dispersed by the material of the shell will travel in directions other than the inward direction.", "Light initially dispersed in the outward direction will be reflected back toward the cornea by the metallic film 58 overlying the outer surface.", "Light dispersed in directions parallel to the inner and outer surfaces of the shell may pass out of the dispersive shell 50, through the edge surface 56, and into the transparent material of the fiber carrier 34, but will be reflected back into the shell by film 58.Likewise, some of the light passing from the fibers into the dispersive shell 50 will travel entirely across the dispersive shell and out into the fiber carrier 34 at another location.", "This light also will be reflected back into the shell by film 58.Film 58 is not perfect, and some light will be lost during internal reflection.", "However, a substantial portion of the light dispersed by the fiber will ultimately pass out of the dispersive mass 50 through aperture 60 and into the cornea.", "The pattern of light travel discussed above is substantially symmetrical around the entire circumference of the device.", "As the light passes from the inlet fiber 26 through the radially dispersive fiber 20, it diminishes in intensity.", "Accordingly, slightly less light will be dispersed from the fiber near the terminal end 23 of the fiber than near the input end and stub 24.However, this difference typically is minor.", "As pointed out above, the extinction length of the fiber is substantially greater than the length of fiber constituting turns 21a and 21b.", "Moreover, this difference is taken up over two full turns, i.e., 720° of travel in the circumferential direction around central axis 22.Thus, the circumferential non-uniformity is minimal.", "Moreover, the effects of the multiple reflections and multiple passes of light through the dispersive shell 50, as discussed above, compensate for any non-uniformity in the light dispersed from the fiber.", "Desirably, the light passing out from aperture 60 (FIG.", "4) is of uniform intensity over the entire surface area of the aperture to within about 20% or less.", "The system is actuated to provide a dose of light to the cornea sufficient to perform the desired crosslinking.", "Merely by way of example, a dose of about 5.4 Joules/cm2 may be delivered over a period of about 30 minutes in a typical procedure.", "While the device is present in the subject's eye, the subject may close his or her eye and blink freely to provide hydration to the eye.", "The thin contact lens-like structure of the device allows the patient to do this without discomfort.", "When the patient closes the eye or blinks, the eyelids close over and around the distal portion of the fiber system.", "The small diameter of the fiber system limits any discomfort caused by the fiber.", "The patient's eyelids desirably are not held open by an ophthalmology speculum or other device.", "Moreover, the patient's head does not have to be retained in a fixed position during the procedure.", "The device and procedure discussed above may be varied in many ways.", "In one such variant, the coating 25 on the termination end 23 of the fiber is reflective rather than light-absorbing.", "In this variant, light which reaches the termination end of the dispersive fiber is reflected back toward the input end.", "The reflected light is also dispersed by the fiber, so that the intensity of the reflected light diminishes as it travels toward the input end of the fiber.", "By contrast, the light originally supplied through to the fiber at its input end diminishes in intensity as it travels toward the termination end.", "These effects counteract one another to reduce non-uniformity in the amount of light dispersed along the length of the fiber.", "The radially dispersive optical fiber used in the embodiments discussed above may incorporate any number of loops as, for example, a single loop or three or more loops.", "The turns 21a and 21b of the spiral dispersive fiber 20 discussed above form loops extending around the central axis of the device.", "In other structures, where multiple loops are desired, these can be provided as separate radially dispersive optical fibers.", "The fiber carrier 34 and filler 49 discussed above with reference to FIGS.", "3 and 4 may be replaced by a unitary mass of a clear material such as an epoxy or an acrylic which secures the dispersive fiber in one or more loops.", "The fiber may be embedded in the clear material as, for example, by casting the material around the fiber.", "In yet another variant, the clear material may serve as an adhesive so as to secure the fiber to another structural element of the device as, for example, the reflective element 58.In yet another variant, the fiber may be embedded in the dispersive mass.", "For example, in the embodiment discussed above, the dispersive mass 50 may include a peripheral portion which occupies the space remote from the central axis occupied by the fiber carrier 34 in FIGS.", "3-5.The dispersive fiber loops may be embedded in this peripheral portion of the dispersive mass, so that a central portion of the dispersive mass is disposed inside the loops.", "The skirt portion of the housing 62 defining the second interior surface 66 depicted in FIG.", "5 may be omitted.", "In this variant, the device has the form and shape of a conventional corneal contact lens.", "The embodiment discussed above with reference to FIGS.", "1-7 is intended to provide substantially uniform light intensity over the entire aperture.", "However, an intensity gradient in radial directions, towards and away from central axis 22, may be provided by adjusting the properties of the dispersive mass.", "For example, the dispersive mass may have properties which vary with location within the mass as, for example, an extinction length which varies in the radial direction.", "In another example, the dispersive mass may be of uniform properties, but these properties may be selected to provide the desired gradient.", "For example, a mass having a short extinction length can produce a radial gradient.", "In the embodiment discussed above, light application and, hence, crosslinking occurs only over a central portion of the cornea.", "This tends to flatten the central portion and thus correct some or all of a patient's myopic error.", "A device according to a further embodiment of the invention (FIG.", "8) has a dispersive shell 150 and other elements (not shown) similar to those discussed above with reference to FIGS.", "1-6.However, the reflective film is patterned so that the aperture 160 is in the form of an annulus surrounding the central axis 122 of the device.", "Thus, the reflective film on the interior surface of the device includes a main portion 158a defining the outside of the annulus and a disc-like central portion 158b overlying a region immediately surrounding axis 122.This device may be used to treat hyperopia.", "Thus, the UV light will be applied to a ring-shaped zone of the cornea, remote from the central axis of the eye, the parameters of which are selected to optimize the corneal shape change, thus tending to increase the curvature of the cornea.", "A device according to yet another embodiment (FIG.", "9) incorporates a dispersive shell 250 and associated fiber (not shown) similar to the corresponding elements of the device discussed above with reference to FIGS.", "1-7.In this embodiment, however, the reflective film 258 is patterned so as to provide an aperture that is non-uniform in the circumferential direction around axis 222.In the particular embodiment shown, the aperture 260 includes two generally triangular, diametrically opposed portions, so that the aperture as a whole defines a “butterfly” shape.", "A structure according to this embodiment can be used to treat astigmatism.", "In this embodiment, the device is positioned on the eye so that the butterfly shape corresponds to a particular region of the eye where UV light application and crosslinking are desired.", "To aid in this process, the exterior surface of the device may have a mark indicating the orientation of the butterfly-shaped aperture.", "Also, the device may have a weight or other element to aid in maintaining the desired orientation during the treatment.", "Alignment also may be controlled by where the on the circumference of the device the fiber exits and the exit angle A discussed above with reference to FIG.", "6.A device according to a further embodiment of the invention (FIG.", "10) includes only one optically dispersive element in the form of a radially dispersive optical fiber 320.The dispersive fiber 320 may be arranged in the form of a spiral extending around the central axis 322 of the housing.", "As in the embodiments discussed above, housing 362 may have the form and size of a scleral contact lens or a corneal contact lens.", "The spiral fiber may be disposed along a generally dome-like or disc-like surface of the housing extending transverse to the central axis 322 of the housing 362 of the device and facing toward the inner side of the housing.", "A reflective element (not shown) may be interposed between the fiber and the housing.", "The fiber may be secured to the housing surface or to the surface of the reflective element by a clear adhesive.", "In this arrangement, light dispersed from the fiber may pass directly into the cornea without passing through another optically dispersive element.", "In another arrangement, one or more optically dispersive layers (not shown) may be provided.", "For example, the adhesive that secures the fiber to the housing or reflective element may be optically dispersive.", "The dispersive adhesive may be disposed between turns of the spiral, and also may form a layer covering the fiber spiral on the side facing toward the eye.", "Alternatively or additionally, one or more other dispersive layers may be provided between the fiber and the eye.", "As depicted in FIG.", "11, a more uniform light distribution can be achieved by reducing the spacing between turns of the spiral 321.The turns of the spiral may touch one another to form a solid fiber mat.", "In these embodiments as well, light propagating along the fiber passes in a direction generally parallel to the surface of the eye, and the light that reaches the eye is light dispersed out of the fiber through the side walls of the fiber.", "The embodiments of FIGS.", "10 and 11 are arranged to treat a circular region around the central axis.", "In a further variant, the spiral dispersive fiber may extend only within an annular region so as to treat an annular region of the cornea.", "In yet another variant, the dispersive fiber may be arranged to provide illumination only within regions of other shapes and sizes as, for example, a “butterfly-shaped” region as discussed above with reference to FIG.", "9.A device according to yet another embodiment of the invention (FIG.", "12) includes an optically dispersive mass or shell 450, similar to the optically dispersive shell 50 discussed above with reference to FIGS.", "3-6.In this embodiment, the edge surface of the dispersive shell is surrounded by an array of LEDs 402 adapted to emit UV light.", "Light emitted by the LEDs passes into the optically dispersive shell 450 through the edge surface 456 of the shell in much the same way as light dispersed by the fiber in the embodiment discussed above with reference to FIGS.", "1-7.Merely by way of example, the LEDs 402 may be mounted within a clear polymer diode carrier 434 generally similar to the fiber carrier 34 discussed above.", "Desirably, the diode carrier 434 and shell are equipped with a reflective element (not shown) similar to that discussed above, covering the outer surface of the shell 450, facing away from the eye, and also covering the periphery and inner and outer surfaces of the diode carrier 434.The diode carrier and shell are mounted in a housing 462 similar to that discussed above.", "The LEDs are powered by a simple electric circuit schematically indicated at 404.Circuit 404 may be connected to power and ground wires 406.In this embodiment as well, the entire structure desirably has shape and dimension similar to that of a conventional contact lens and, thus, desirably has a maximum thickness similar to that discussed above.", "The device may be placed in the eye of the subject with the wires extending out of the subject's eye between the eyelids.", "Here again, the subject may close his or her eye during the procedure.", "Alternatively, the LED's may be powered by wireless power transmission as discussed below.", "A device according to yet another embodiment of the invention (FIG.", "13) includes a housing 562 in the form of a contact lens similar to the housings discussed above.", "The device of FIG.", "13 further includes an antenna 501 on or within housing 562.The antenna, which may be in the form of a coil consisting of wire loops or tin oxide deposition for example, forms a near-field resonant tank circuit.", "For power transfer, the antenna is linked to a rectifier and storage capacitor unit 503, which, in turn, is electrically connected to a power control circuit 505.Power control circuit 505 provides regulated power voltages to other elements of the system.", "The structure further includes an illuminating element 530 adapted to apply light to the cornea as discussed above.", "For example, the illuminating element may include a dispersive structure connected to a source of light external to the housing by a transmission fiber as discussed herein in connection with FIGS.", "1-11 and 19-25, or a dispersive element and an LED array mounted on or in the housing as discussed above in connection with FIG.", "14.A sensing element 532 is in optical communication with the illuminating element so that light from the illuminating element impinges on the sensing element.", "The sensing element is adapted to generate one or more signals which represent the light impinging on the sensing element, and thus represent the light applied by the illuminating element.", "One form of sensing element 532 is depicted in FIG.", "14.This sensing element includes one or more photosensors such as PIN diodes 534 sensitive to UV light mounted in a ring 536.The ring is mounted on the housing 562 so that the ring structure encircles the dispersive mass included in the illuminating element 530.For example, where the illuminating structure incorporates a fiber carrier and reflective element as discussed above with reference to FIGS.", "1-7, the ring structure may be disposed within the reflective element and extend around the fiber carrier or between the fiber carrier and the dispersive mass.", "The ring structure may be integral with the fiber carrier.", "Where the illuminating structure includes a diode carrier and LED array as discussed above with reference to FIG.", "12, the ring structure may encircle the diode carrier, or may be integral with the diode carrier, and some of the LEDs included in the array may be connected to act as the photosensors of the sensing element rather than as light emitters.", "The sensing element may include one or more signal processing circuits 538.In the particular embodiment shown, the signal processing circuits 538 include three current-to-voltage converters, each incorporating an amplifier 540 and feedback resistor 542.Only one of these converters is depicted in FIG.", "14 for clarity of illustration.", "The device further includes an analog drive circuit 513 (FIG.", "13) arranged to supply power to the light source 509 associated with the light emitting element 520.For example, where the light-emitting element includes an LED array, the drive circuit 513 supplies power to the LEDs.", "Where the light-emitting element includes an external light source such as a laser connected to a transmission fiber, the drive circuit supplies power to the laser.", "Drive circuit 513 has a set point value input connected to a control circuit 515.The control circuit has one or more inputs connected to sensing element 511.In some embodiments, all of the foregoing components can be are mounted on housing 562.In other embodiments, the control architecture (circuits 513 and 515) is located remote from the housing 562 and communicates with the photosensor(s) of sensing element 530 either through fine wires the run between the lens and the control system, or wirelessly.", "For wireless communication, a telemetry transmitter (not shown) may be mounted on the housing and connected to antenna 501 or to another antenna mounted on or in housing 562.The device further includes a radiofrequency (“RF”) transmitter 517 separate from housing 562.In operation, RF power as, for example, at about 100 kHz, is supplied by transmitter 517 through near field communication with antenna 501.The power received by antenna 501 is rectified by rectifier 503 and conditioned by power control circuit 505.The power control circuit 505 supplies power to the other electronic elements which are mounted on the housing as discussed above.", "The signal or signals from sensing element 532 will represent a proxy proportional to the amount of light available for UV corneal crosslinking and serves to aid in dosimetry.", "During delivery of the UV, control circuit compares the applied UV intensity represented by this photodetector generated signals to a signal representative of the desired applied intensity.", "The control circuit 515 desirably incorporates a calibration memory incorporating data representing the correlation between the signal or signals from the sensing element 532 and the actual dose applied to the subject's eye.", "The control circuit 515 varies the set point control signal applied to the control unit 513 so as to maintain the applied intensity at the desired level.", "In a further variant, an additional intensity sensor (not shown) is located at a light source such as a laser external to the housing.", "In this variant, the sensing system will not only be able to control the applied intensity, it can also serve as an error or damage detector.", "Unaccounted for differences between launched optical power supplied by the light source and optical power detected by the sensing element are likely due to damage to the fiber system or to a lens or other optical element.", "The concept of monitoring of applied dose discussed above with reference to FIG.", "13 also may be applied to the other embodiments discussed above.", "For example, the embodiment discussed above with reference to FIGS.", "1-6 may be provided with a sensing fiber.", "The sensing fiber may be connected through an output fiber extending parallel with transmission fiber to a diode or other photodetector mounted outside of the device housing as, for example, at the UV light source.", "Control circuitry responsive to the signal from the photodetector also may be mounted outside of the housing.", "A device in accordance with a further embodiment of the invention (FIG.", "15) includes a contact lens-like structure 600, which may be similar to any of the structures discussed herein.", "In addition, the device includes pairs of electrodes 601 adapted to overlie the patient's eye outside of the region to be treated.", "For example, the electrodes 601 may be fastened to the housing of the device so that the electrodes are exposed at the inner surface of the housing which faces toward the eye during use.", "Merely by way of example, the electrodes may be formed from materials such as tin oxide, or noble metals such as gold and silver.", "As discussed below, the electrodes are used as liquid level sensors to help maintain a constant liquid presence in the space between the device and the patient's eye.", "The pairs of electrodes are distributed over the circumference of the contact lens structure.", "In the particular embodiment illustrated, three pairs of electrodes are equally spaced around the circumference.", "The electrodes of each pair desirably have a known conductive surface area presented to the space and are spaced from one another by a calibrated distance DE.", "For example, the electrodes may be 0.03 inches (0.77 mm) diameter with 0.125 inches (3.2 mm) center-to-center spacing.", "In some cases, the inner surface of the housing is coated with a hydrophilic layer to aid the adhesion of the device to the eye.", "This hydrophilic layer can hold a layer of conductive fluid over the surfaces of the electrodes.", "Such layer may be sufficiently thick so that the impedance of the retained layer will approximate the impedance of a liquid present in the space between the housing and the eye.", "To prevent this, the hydrophilic layer may be omitted in areas 602 of the inner surface carrying the electrodes.", "The device according to this embodiment further includes a port 603 communicating with the interior surface of the housing, so that the port is open to the space between the device housing and the patient's eye during use.", "Port 603 is connected to a liquid supply conduit 605, so that the conduit communicates with the interior surface of the contact lens structure.", "Supply conduit 605 may be a small-diameter capillary conduit.", "The supply conduit 605 may extend alongside of the transmission fiber supplying light to the device.", "The supply conduit 605 may be a tubular fiber, such as a pipette or polyimide tube.", "In some embodiments, the conduit may additionally serve as the transmission fiber.", "Supply conduit 605 is connected to a pump 607.Pump 607 is connected to a source 609 of a liquid to be applied prior to and/or during treatment depending on treatment protocol.", "Each pair of electrodes 601 serves as an individual impedance measuring element to acquire individual measurements.", "The pairs of electrodes desirably do not interact with one another through leakage current paths.", "To accomplish this, each pair of electrodes 601 is connected to an individual sensor circuit 610.A single one of the sensor circuits 610 is shown in FIG.", "16.It includes an error amplifier A1, 628 that has one input connected to digital to analog converter (“DAC”) 631.The output of error amplifier 628 is connected through a current sense resistor Rs, 626 to one electrode 601 of a pair.", "The opposite electrode of the pair is connected to ground.", "The impedance between the electrodes is shown schematically at 612.An amplifier A2, 627 has inputs connected on opposite sides of current sense resistor 626.The output of amplifier A2, 627 is connected to the other input of error amplifier A1, 628.A dedicated precision analog amplifier stage A3, 630 is connected to a circuit node between the current sense resistor 626 and the electrode pair.", "In operation, error amplifier 628 receives a current set point signal from DAC 631 and maintains the current passing through the current sense resistor at a constant level such that the output from amplifier A2, 627 is equal to the set point signal.", "The voltage at node 611 and the output signal 632 from amplifier stage A3, 630 thus represent the impedance 612 between the electrodes of the pair.", "As seen in FIG.", "15, the DAC 631 may be common to all of the sensor circuits.", "The output signals 632 from the individual sensor circuits are combined with one another by an analog summing circuit 613, and the combined signal is supplied to a control circuit 614.This combined signal will vary with the degree of hydration of the space between the lens-like structure and the eye.", "The control circuit controls pump 607 so as to maintain the desired hydration.", "The sensor circuits and control circuits may be disposed outside of the contact lens structure, with the sensor circuits connected to the electrodes 601 with a simple multi-wire interface Alternately, the signal processing may be contained “on lens” by utilizing a localized silicon IC or ASIC.", "Other sensing elements may be employed, such as an interdigitated finger array 623 (FIG.", "17) or circular interdigitated arrays 624 (FIG.", "18).", "The element's measurement of impedance may be by means of either a □A (microampere) precision DC current or, alternately, a kilohertz range, AC excitation.", "AC excitation is typically employed in most “wetted” measurement applications.", "In other embodiments, multiple sensing elements such as multiple electrode pairs are placed on the inside surface of the device, exposed to the space between the device and the cornea.", "When this space is filled with a conductive solution, all sensing elements register the same impedance.", "As fluid drains or leaks out of the space, the impedances of various elements will deviate from one another.", "This deviation is used as a control signal to cause the pump to infuse additional fluid until the impedances of the sensors register that each is bathed in fluid.", "In some embodiments, the sensing elements are not electrodes, but mechanically resonant elements.", "A shift in the measured resonant frequency or mechanical impedance can be used as a pump control signal in place of a shift in the electrical impedance discussed previously.", "The feedback control system shown in FIG.", "12 can be varied and, indeed, in some embodiments, can be omitted.", "Thus, liquid can be supplied under pressure through conduit 605 without any feedback control.", "Embodiments of the invention that incorporate a fluid sensing system can be employed in one method of the corneal collagen crosslinking procedure whereby the device is placed on the eye during the preparation phase of the procedure, and a photoactive agent containing solution is pumped into the space between the lens and the cornea to enable corneal saturation with the photoactive agent such as riboflavin.", "The sensing systems ensure the reservoir is full throughout this saturation phase.", "After sufficient time, the pump is activated to deliver a wetting solution without riboflavin to flush the reservoir space, as any riboflavin in this space will prevent some of the UV from reaching the cornea.", "Once flushed, the pump and sensing system then maintains a wet corneal surface throughout the UV delivery phase.", "A device according to a further embodiment of the invention (FIGS.", "19-21) includes an optical structure 700 that incorporates a reflector 702.Reflector 702 includes an inner element 704 that defines a first interior surface 706 in the form of a surface generally corresponding to the shape of the cornea and having a central axis 722.The interior element additionally defines an aperture 710, which, in this instance, is a circular aperture concentric with axis 722.The interior element has a reflective circumferential surface 712 in the form of a cylinder concentric with axis 722.The interior element 704 also has a ledge surface 714 extending from the aperture 710 to the circumferential surface 712.Ledge surface 714 faces in the outward direction (towards the top of the drawing in FIG.", "21), as indicated by the arrow O. Ledge surface 714 desirably also is a reflective surface.", "Reflector 702 further includes an outer element 716 overlying the outward extremity of the inner element 704.Outer element 716 is shown in transparent, phantom view in FIG.", "19 for clarity of illustration.", "The outer element is secured to the inner element as, for example, by interlocking ridges 718 at the periphery of these elements, remote from axis 722.The outer element 716 defines a reflective surface, referred to herein as the “cap surface” 720, extending across axis 722 and spaced apart from ledge surface 714.Reflector 702 thus defines a cavity 724 (FIG.", "21) communicating with aperture 710.The cavity is bounded in part by the circumferential reflective surface 712 and the reflective cap surface 720 and.", "The reflective surfaces 712, 720, and 714 of the reflector may be arranged to provide either specular reflection or diffuse reflection.", "For example, the elements of the reflector may be formed from a metal such as aluminum with polished surfaces to provide specular reflection or with roughened surfaces to provide diffuse reflection.", "Alternatively, the elements of the reflector may be formed form a material such as a polymer coated with a metal such as aluminum.", "In yet another arrangement, the reflective surfaces may be formed by materials that provide a highly efficient diffuse reflection in the wavelengths to be applied.", "For example, films suitable for providing diffuse reflection of ultraviolet and blue light are commercially available from the 3M Company of Minneapolis, Minn. USA.", "An optically dispersive element 726, such as a mass of a dispersive composition as discussed above, is disposed within cavity 724.The dispersive element is generally in the form of a disc concentric with axis 722.It has an outer surface 728 facing outwardly and confronting the cap surface 720 of the reflector and an inner surface 730 facing inwardly.", "The inner surface includes a portion overlying ledge surface 714 of the reflector, as well as a portion extending across aperture 710.This portion of the inner surface projects into the aperture so that it defines a surface region continuous with the first inner surface 706 of the reflector.", "The dispersive element 726 also defines an edge surface 732, which is in the form of a cylinder concentric with axis 722.The diameter of edge surface 732 is slightly smaller than the diameter of circumferential surface 712 of the reflector, so that the dispersive element and reflector cooperatively define an annular gap 734 extending around the dispersive element.", "Gap 734 is filled with a clear material, which may be a solid or gel, a liquid, or a gas such as air.", "The edge surface 732 of the dispersive element is in optical communication with the circumferential surface 712 of the reflector.", "The reflector further defines a bore 740 (FIGS.", "19, 20) extending through the inner and outer elements in a plane transverse to the central axis 722.In the particular embodiment depicted, the bore 740 extends in a plane perpendicular to the axis.", "Bore 740 communicates with the interior of cavity 724 and, in particular, with gap 734.As best seen in FIG.", "20, bore 740 communicates with the cavity and gap at a location near to the reflective circumferential surface 712.A transmission optical fiber 742 extends through the port 740 and is held in place by a coupler 744 in the form of a sleeve that surrounds the fiber.", "The coupler 744 is secured to the fiber and to the internal wall of bore 740 as, for example, by an adhesive.", "Fiber 742 has a distal end 746 and a proximal end (not shown).", "The proximal end is equipped with an appropriate coupler (not shown) for engagement with a light source such as light source 30 (FIG.", "1).", "The distal end 746 extends coaxially with bore 740 and thus extends in a plane transverse to and preferably perpendicular to axis 722.The distal end 746 of the fiber is positioned within gap 734 adjacent the circumferential reflective surface 712.As seen in FIG.", "20, viewing the distal end of the fiber in a plane transverse to the axis, the distal end of the fiber may extend in a direction that is tangential to the circumferential surface 712 or that lies at an angle ADE to such a tangent.", "The optical structure 700, including the reflector and dispersive element, is mounted in a housing 762.As best seen in FIG.", "19, the housing 762 may encompass a portion of the fiber 742 and coupler 744 extending out of the reflector.", "As in the embodiments discussed above, housing 762 is a generally shell-shaped structure, desirably less than 3 mm thick, having an interior surface generally conforming to the shape of a surface of the eye.", "For example, the housing 762 may have a first interior surface portion 764 that constitutes a continuation of the first interior surface 706 defined by the reflector and by the inner surface of dispersive element 726, so as to form a composite first interior surface generally conforming to the shape of the cornea of the eye.", "In the particular embodiment depicted, housing 762 further includes a second interior surface portion 766 corresponding to the shape of the sclera of the eye.", "Here again, the assembly including the optical structure 700 and housing 762 forms a thin shell having an interior surface corresponding to the shape of the eye, so that the entire structure is generally of the form and size of a conventional scleral contact lens.", "As discussed above, the second surface portion 766 may be omitted so that the entire structure will have the form and size of a conventional conical contact lens.", "Here again, the interior surfaces of the housing and of the optical structure may be covered with a film of a hydrophilic material (not shown).", "In operation, the assembly is positioned on the eye with the inner surfaces overlying the corresponding surfaces of the eye in much the same manner as discussed above with reference to FIG.", "7.In this condition, the inward direction of the optical assembly constitutes the direction toward the eye of the patient, whereas the outward direction is the direction away from the eye of the patient.", "Aperture 710 is aligned with the region of the cornea to be treated.", "While the assembly is in this position, light is directed into cavity 724 through the transmission fiber 742.Light passes from the distal end 746 of the fiber, strikes the reflective circumferential surface, and is reflected along a path around the periphery of the dispersive element.", "This path is schematically indicated in part by the path L in FIG.", "20.The light path L depicted in FIG.", "20 is simplified for purposes of illustration.", "For example, the light may be refracted as it passes between the gap 734 and the dispersive element 726.Depending upon the indices of refraction of the medium in gap 734 and the dispersive element, the interface between the dispersive element and the gap may serve to confine the light to within the gap, so that the dispersive element and the circumferential reflective surface 712 serve as an annular light guide to help direct the light around the circumference of the structure.", "As the light propagates around the structure, some of the light will be directed inwardly, toward axis 722.Some of the light will be spread in the inward and outward directions (FIG.", "21) and thus may encounter the reflective cap surface 720 (id.)", "and the reflective ledge surface 714.In general, the light propagates inwardly towards the central axis 722 and thus travels in directions generally parallel to the inner and outer surfaces of the dispersive element.", "As in the embodiments discussed above, the light passing through the dispersive element is dispersed in directions transverse to the inner and outer surfaces of the element, so that some of this light is dispersed in the inward direction and exits through aperture 710 into the eye.", "In the manner discussed above, the light performs the desired therapy as, for example, crosslinking of the collagen in the cornea.", "As in the embodiments discussed above, the eye desirably is treated with a crosslinking agent.", "The embodiment discussed above with reference to FIGS.", "19 and 20 provides several significant advantages.", "It avoids the cost and complexity associated with the dispersive optical fiber.", "There is no need for a splice between the transmission fiber 742 and a dispersive fiber.", "Moreover, because the transmission fiber is optically coupled directly to the interior of the cavity and directly to the dispersive element 726, without passing through any other dispersive element light transmitted along the transmission fiber will be efficiently coupled into dispersive element 726.The structure according to this embodiment also provides advantages in patient comfort and ease of therapeutic applications similar to those discussed above.", "Here again, the patient need not hold his or her eye open during the procedure and desirably may close or blink his or her eye freely.", "An optical structure 800 used in a further embodiment of the invention is schematically depicted in FIG.", "22.This structure is identical to the optical structure 700 discussed above with reference to FIGS.", "19-21.However, in structure 800, the dispersive element 826 has a diameter equal to the diameter of the reflective circumferential surface 812, so that the edge surface 832 of the dispersive element is in contact with the circumferential reflective surface.", "Also, in this embodiment, the distal end 846 of the transmission optical fiber is disposed within the dispersive element, near the edge surface 832 and circumferential surface 812.Placing the distal end of the optical fiber within the dispersive element facilitates efficient optical coupling of the light emanating from the transmission fiber into the dispersive element.", "In the particular embodiment shown, dispersive element 826 has a graded composition.", "It has low dispersion (long extinction length) in a peripheral region 827 disposed remote from axis 822, near the edge surface and near the circumferential surface 812 of the reflector, and has higher dispersion (shorter extinction length) in a central region 829 near axis 822 and thus near the aperture 810 of the reflector.", "As depicted, the gradation is stepwise.", "However, the gradation can be continuous.", "The embodiments discussed above with reference to FIGS.", "19-22 can be varied in numerous other ways.", "For example, the circumferential surface of the reflector, and the edge surface of the dispersive element need not be cylindrical surfaces.", "For example, they may be surfaces of revolution other than cylinders.", "In one embodiment, the circumferential surface of the reflector may be a conical shape so as to direct light reflected from this surface along a path having a component of direction in the inward or outward direction.", "For example, in the embodiment of FIGS.", "19-21, the reflective surface may be arranged to direct the light with a component in the outward direction so that the light encounters the reflective cap surface 720, in the inward direction such that the light encounters the reflective ledge surface 714, or both.", "More complex surfaces of revolution such as a surface defined by a curve of arbitrary shape revolved around the central axis 722 may be employed.", "Indeed, the edge surface of the dispersive element and the circumferential surface of the reflector need not be surfaces of revolution.", "For example, these surfaces may be polygonal or of irregular shape.", "Individual portions of such surfaces may be tilted at arbitrary angles so as to reflect the light along trajectories having inward or outward components.", "Also, the cap surface 720 need not be planar and need not be contiguous with the outer surface of the dispersive element.", "The transmission fiber need not be secured to the optical structure which includes the dispersive element.", "As schematically represented in FIG.", "23, an optical structure 900 as discussed herein may include a feature such as a socket 902, and a transmission fiber 904 may have a distal end 906 arranged to mechanically engage with the socket 902 so as to place the distal end of the fiber in optical communication with the elements in the optical structure 900 that serves to disperse light.", "For example, in the embodiments of FIGS.", "19-22, the socket would be arranged to hold the distal end of the fiber within the cavity of the reflector.", "In other embodiments, where a dispersive fiber is used, the socket and the distal end of the fiber would be arranged so that when the distal end of the fiber is engaged in the socket, the distal end of the fiber will be aligned with the dispersive fiber and in optical communication therewith.", "In the particular structure shown in FIG.", "25, the distal end of the fiber is equipped with a collar 908 having a tapered exterior adapted to fit within a tapered interior defined by the socket 902.However, other mechanical configurations can be employed.", "For example, the distal end of the fiber may be bare, and the feature may define an opening adapted to engage the outside of the fiber directly, without any intervening collar or other structure.", "Other expedients for promoting optical coupling between the transmission fiber and other elements of the system can be used.", "For example, where the transmission fiber is to be coupled to a dispersive fiber, elements such as index-matching gels may be used to provide an optically efficient splice.", "Use of a transmission fiber that is detachable from the optical structure and from the contact lens structure as a whole allows reuse of the transmission fiber with a different contact lens structure.", "For example, the contact lens structure may be used once and discarded so as to avoid the risk of infection, whereas the transmission fiber may be reused.", "The optical structure need not be permanently mounted to a housing that helps in positioning the optical structure on the eye of the patient.", "As schematically depicted in FIG.", "24, an optical structure 1000 is used in conjunction with a separate, detachable housing 1062.The optical structure 1000 may include any of the optical arrangements discussed above.", "Desirably, the optical structure 1000 includes the elements in the optical path between the transmission optical fiber 1002 and the aperture 1004, including one or more optically dispersive elements and, desirably, one or more reflective elements as discussed herein.", "Housing 1062 has one or more inner surfaces 1006 with a shape generally corresponding to the shape of a surface of an eye.", "For example, the inner surface 1006 may include a first surface having a shape generally corresponding to the shape of the cornea and may also include a second surface generally corresponding to the shape of the sclera as discussed above, or may include only the first surface.", "The inner surface 1006 defines an axis 1022, which extends towards and away from the eye when the inner surface 1006 overlies the surface of the eye.", "For example, axis 1022 may be aligned with the optical axis of the eye as discussed above.", "Housing 1062 also includes a wall 1008, which extends across the axis.", "Desirably, wall 1008 is arranged to transmit light at a wavelength to be applied to the eye.", "In the embodiments discussed herein, which are arranged to provide crosslinking, wall 1008 may be arranged to transmit light in the UV or blue wavelength bands.", "The housing further includes a feature 1010 adapted to releasably engage optical structure 1000.In the embodiment depicted in FIG.", "24, feature 1010 is shown as a simple tapered socket arranged to mate with a corresponding tapered wall on the outside of the optical structure 1000.However, feature 1010 may include any other element capable of engaging the optical structure as, for example, other forms of mechanical features capable of mating with corresponding mechanical features on the optical structure.", "Feature 1010 is arranged to hold the optical structure so that the aperture 1004 of the optical structure is aligned with axis 1022 and wall 1008 and so that the optical structure is separated from the eye E by wall 1008.Desirably, housing 1062 is provided as a single-use device, whereas the optical structure 1000 is reusable.", "In a method according to a further embodiment of the invention, plural patients can be treated using the same optical structure.", "First, the optical structure with is assembled with a housing 1062.The assembly is placed over the eye of a first patient, so that the wall of the housing is disposed between the optical structure and the eye and so that the housing engages the eye and maintains the optical structure out of contact with the eye.", "The optical structure is then actuated as discussed above so that light is dispersed within the optical housing and passes out of the aperture 1004 and through the wall 1008 of the housing into the eye of the patient to perform the desired therapy.", "Following this step, the optical structure is disassembled from the housing and the foregoing steps are repeated using a different housing and, typically, a different patient on each repetition.", "The different housings may have different shapes or sizes to accommodate the needs of different patients.", "A structure according to a further embodiment of the invention (FIG.", "25) incorporates a dispersive element 1100 having an inner surface 1102 that faces inwardly toward the eye when the device is in place on the eye and an outer surface 1104 that faces outwardly away from the eye.", "The dispersive element has an axis 1122 extending through these surfaces.", "A transmission optical fiber has a distal end 1106 disposed on axis 1122 and spaced outwardly from the outer surface 1104.An optically transmissive medium 1107 is provided between the distal end of the fiber and the outer surface, so that the distal end of the transmission fiber is in optical communication with the outer surface 1104.The distal end of the fiber is equipped with one or more spreading structures schematically indicated at 1108.The spreading structures may include elements such as a mass of dispersive material, one or more reflectors, refractive elements, and configuration of the cleaved fiber end.", "Alternatively or additionally, the medium 1107 may have dispersive or refracting properties that serve to spread the light.", "The spreading structures are arranged to direct light supplied through the fiber away from axis 1122 so that the light impinges on an outer surface over a substantial region of the outer surface and desirably over the entire outer surface.", "The structure may further include a reflective element defining one or more of a circumferential reflective surface 1112 extending around the axis, an inwardly facing reflective cap surface 1114 disposed outward of the fiber distal end, and an outwardly facing reflective ledge surface 1116 facing the inner surface of the dispersive element.", "As these and other variations and combinations of the features discussed above can be utilized without departing from the present invention as defined by the claims, the foregoing description of the preferred embodiments should be taken by way of illustration rather than by way of limitation of the present invention." ] ]
Patent_15873163
[ [ "PORTABLE READER MODULE, PORTABLE READER, AND METHOD FOR QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS OF AN ASSAY", "A portable reader module includes a housing, a first receptacle configured to removably receive a portable device having an imager, and a second receptacle configured to removably receive a cartridge.", "The first receptacle includes a first optical entrance for the imager to the internal space of the housing.", "The second receptacle includes a second optical entrance to the internal space of the housing.", "A light-deflecting optical element is arranged within the internal space of the housing to define an optical path between the first optical entrance and the second optical entrance.", "An illuminating path for illuminating the cartridge is defined in the housing.", "The housing is configured to allow the internal space to be light-shielded." ], [ "1.A portable reader, comprising: a portable reader module comprising: a housing comprising an internal space, a first receptacle configured to removably receive a portable device comprising an imager, the first receptacle comprising a first optical entrance for the imager to the internal space of the housing, and a second receptacle configured to removably receive a cartridge, the second receptacle comprising a second optical entrance to the internal space of the housing so that the cartridge is visible to and from the internal space; a light-deflecting optical element arranged within the internal space of the housing to define an optical path between the first optical entrance and the second optical entrance; and an illuminating path for illuminating the cartridge defined in the housing; wherein the housing is configured to allow the internal space to be light-shielded; and a portable device received in the first receptacle of the housing, the portable device comprising an imager, a central processing unit, and a display; wherein the portable device is operable to capture an image of a cartridge including at least one test zone when received in the second receptacle of the housing, to process the captured image, and to display a test result.", "2.The portable reader according to claim 1, wherein the second optical entrance is in a field of view of the imager.", "3.The portable reader according to claim 1, further comprising an adapter for holding the cartridge, wherein the adapter for holding the cartridge comprises a cartridge interface which is inserted into the second receptacle, and a cartridge holder for holding the cartridge, wherein the cartridge holder cooperates with the cartridge interface when the cartridge holder is releasably attached to the cartridge interface.", "4.The portable reader according to claim 3, wherein one of the cartridge holder and cartridge interface comprises magnetic bodies and the other one of the cartridge holder and the cartridge interface comprises metal pins or discs which cooperate together with the magnetic bodies to hold the cartridge holder in place relative to the cartridge interface.", "5.The portable reader according to claim 1, further comprising one or more identification marks uniquely identifying at least one individual component or part of the portable reader module.", "6.The portable reader according to claim 1, wherein the portable device comprises a light source, and wherein the illuminating path comprises a reflector for reflecting light from the light source to the cartridge.", "7.The portable reader according to claim 1, wherein the illuminating path comprises a light source arranged within the internal space of the housing.", "8.The portable reader module according to claim 1, further comprising a first optical reference element configured to allow at least one of calibration and self-testing of the portable device, the first optical reference element being arranged in the housing separate to the cartridge.", "9.The portable reader module according to claim 1, further comprising a first optical reference element configured to allow at least one of calibration and self-testing of the portable device, the first optical reference element being arranged inside of the second receptacle.", "10.The portable reader according to claim 9, further comprising a second optical reference element configured to allow at least one of calibration and self-testing of the portable device, the second optical reference element being differing from the first optical reference element in at least one of pattern, greyscale, and colour.", "11.The portable reader according to claim 1, wherein the second receptacle is configured to be placeable, with our without an inserted cartridge, onto a surface so that the portable device is in a substantially upright position relative to the surface.", "12.The portable reader module according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the first receptacle and the second receptacle comprises holders for retaining the portable device in the first receptacle and the cartridge in the second receptacle.", "13.The portable reader according to claim 1, further comprising an adjustment element arranged in the housing, the adjustment element being configured to adjust at least one of the location and orientation of the light-deflecting optical element.", "14.The portable reader according to claim 1, wherein the first receptacle comprises a bottom element which is removably attached to the housing and which comprises a holder to hold the light-deflecting optical element in the internal space.", "15.The portable reader according to claim 1, wherein at least portions of the internal space are provided with a low-reflection surface.", "16.The portable reader according to claim 1, wherein the light-deflecting optical element comprises a mirror or a prism.", "17.The portable reader according to claim 1, wherein the portable device is operable to capture a photo of the cartridge.", "18.The portable reader according to claim 1, wherein the housing further comprises an opening which allows access to the internal space, and wherein the first receptacle comprises a bottom element which is removably attached to the housing, which closes the opening and which comprises a holder to hold the light-deflecting optical element in the internal space.", "19.Using of a portable reader, comprising: a portable reader module comprising a housing comprising an internal space, a first receptacle configured to removably receive a portable device comprising an imager, the first receptacle comprising a first optical entrance for the imager to the internal space of the housing, and a second receptacle configured to removably receive a cartridge, the second receptacle comprising a second optical entrance to the internal space of the housing so that the cartridge is visible to and from the internal space; a light-deflecting optical element arranged within the internal space of the housing to define an optical path between the first optical entrance and the second optical entrance; and an illuminating path for illuminating the cartridge defined in the housing; wherein the housing is configured to allow the internal space to be light-shielded; and a portable device received in the first receptacle of the housing, the portable device comprising an imager, a processing unit, and a display, for capturing with the imager an image of a cartridge including at least one test zone when received in the second receptacle of the housing, for processing the captured image with the processing unit, and for displaying a test result on the display.", "20.A method for quantitative analysis of an assay, comprising: providing a portable reader module which comprises a housing comprising an internal space, a first receptacle configured to removably receive a portable device comprising an imager, and a second receptacle configured to removably receive a cartridge, wherein the first receptacle comprises a first optical entrance for the imager to the internal space of the housing, and wherein the second receptacle comprises a second optical entrance to the internal space of the housing so that the cartridge is visible to and from the internal space; placing a portable device comprising an imager, a central processing unit, a light source and a display unit in the first receptacle of the portable reader module; placing a cartridge comprising at least one test zone with at least one test result region in the second receptacle of the portable reader module; illuminating the cartridge with the light source of the portable device using an illuminating path defined within the housing of the portable reader module between the light source of the portable device and the cartridge; capturing an image of the illuminated cartridge including the test zone by the imager of the portable device; analysing the captured image by the portable device to obtain a test result; and displaying the test result in the display unit of the portable device." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND <EOH>Immunoassays such as lateral flow rapid tests are widely used in in-vitro diagnostics, veterinary medicine and environmental analytic.", "These tests are based on an interaction of antibodies with antigens which brings about a change of a colour or colour or chromatic intensity or saturation of a test result region.", "The change of the colour or of the colour saturation can be assessed either with the naked eye or quantitatively.", "There are known stationary devices and portable devices for evaluating such tests.", "For example, U.S. 2012/0063652A1 describes a smartphone-based method for evaluating colour-based reaction testing of biological materials by capturing a digital image of a test strip together with an adjacently-located reference colour chart in an uncontrolled environment.", "U.S. Pat.", "No.", "7,803,322 B2 describes a test media reader module.", "WO 2009/054729 A1 describes an immunoassay analysis method.", "The above described approaches, however, do not allow a reliable quantitative analysis of assays.", "In view of the above, there is need for improvement." ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY <EOH>According to an embodiment, a portable reader module includes a housing having an internal space, a first receptacle configured to removably receive a portable device having an imager, and a second receptacle configured to removably receive a cartridge.", "The first receptacle includes a first optical entrance for the imager to the internal space of the housing.", "The second receptacle includes a second optical entrance to the internal space of the housing so that the cartridge is visible to and from the internal space.", "A light-deflecting optical element is arranged within the internal space of the housing to define an optical path between the first optical entrance and the second optical entrance.", "An illuminating path for illuminating the cartridge is defined in the housing.", "The housing is configured to allow the internal space to be light-shielded.", "According to an embodiment, a portable reader includes a portable reader module, and a portable device received in the first receptacle of the housing, wherein the portable device includes an imager, a central processing unit, and a display.", "The portable device is configured to capture an image of a cartridge including at least one test zone when the cartridge is received in the second receptacle of the housing, to process the captured image, and to display a test result.", "According to an embodiment, a method for quantitative analysis of an assay includes providing a portable reader module; placing a portable device having an imager, a central processing unit, and a display unit in the first receptacle of the portable reader module; placing a cartridge having at least one test zone with at least one test result region in the second receptacle of the portable reader module; capturing an image of the cartridge including the test zone by the imager of the portable device using the illuminating path of the portable reader module to illuminate the cartridge; analysing the captured image by the portable device to obtain a test result; and displaying the test result in the display unit of the portable device.", "Those skilled in the art will recognise additional features and advantages upon reading the following detailed description, and upon viewing the accompanying drawings." ], [ "CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser.", "No.", "14/222,219, filed Mar.", "21, 2014, which claims priority to EP Patent Application No.", "13160491.0, filed on Mar.", "21, 2013, the entire teachings of which are incorporated herein by reference.", "TECHNICAL FIELD Embodiments described herein relate to a portable reader module and particularly to portable readers which can be used to quantitatively analyse images produced by a detection system, in particular assays such as immunoassays and chromatographic assays, for example lateral flow assays.", "BACKGROUND Immunoassays such as lateral flow rapid tests are widely used in in-vitro diagnostics, veterinary medicine and environmental analytic.", "These tests are based on an interaction of antibodies with antigens which brings about a change of a colour or colour or chromatic intensity or saturation of a test result region.", "The change of the colour or of the colour saturation can be assessed either with the naked eye or quantitatively.", "There are known stationary devices and portable devices for evaluating such tests.", "For example, U.S. 2012/0063652A1 describes a smartphone-based method for evaluating colour-based reaction testing of biological materials by capturing a digital image of a test strip together with an adjacently-located reference colour chart in an uncontrolled environment.", "U.S. Pat.", "No.", "7,803,322 B2 describes a test media reader module.", "WO 2009/054729 A1 describes an immunoassay analysis method.", "The above described approaches, however, do not allow a reliable quantitative analysis of assays.", "In view of the above, there is need for improvement.", "SUMMARY According to an embodiment, a portable reader module includes a housing having an internal space, a first receptacle configured to removably receive a portable device having an imager, and a second receptacle configured to removably receive a cartridge.", "The first receptacle includes a first optical entrance for the imager to the internal space of the housing.", "The second receptacle includes a second optical entrance to the internal space of the housing so that the cartridge is visible to and from the internal space.", "A light-deflecting optical element is arranged within the internal space of the housing to define an optical path between the first optical entrance and the second optical entrance.", "An illuminating path for illuminating the cartridge is defined in the housing.", "The housing is configured to allow the internal space to be light-shielded.", "According to an embodiment, a portable reader includes a portable reader module, and a portable device received in the first receptacle of the housing, wherein the portable device includes an imager, a central processing unit, and a display.", "The portable device is configured to capture an image of a cartridge including at least one test zone when the cartridge is received in the second receptacle of the housing, to process the captured image, and to display a test result.", "According to an embodiment, a method for quantitative analysis of an assay includes providing a portable reader module; placing a portable device having an imager, a central processing unit, and a display unit in the first receptacle of the portable reader module; placing a cartridge having at least one test zone with at least one test result region in the second receptacle of the portable reader module; capturing an image of the cartridge including the test zone by the imager of the portable device using the illuminating path of the portable reader module to illuminate the cartridge; analysing the captured image by the portable device to obtain a test result; and displaying the test result in the display unit of the portable device.", "Those skilled in the art will recognise additional features and advantages upon reading the following detailed description, and upon viewing the accompanying drawings.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The components in the figures are not necessarily to scale, instead emphasis being placed upon illustrating the principles of the invention.", "Moreover, in the figures, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts.", "In the drawings: FIGS.", "1A and 1B illustrate a portable reader module and a portable reader according to an embodiment; FIGS.", "2A and 2B illustrate a portable reader module according to an embodiment; FIG.", "3 illustrates a bottom element of a first receptacle according to an embodiment; FIGS.", "4A and 4B illustrates a bottom element of a first receptacle according to an embodiment; FIG.", "5 illustrates a second receptacle according to an embodiment; FIG.", "6 illustrates a second receptacle according to an embodiment; FIG.", "7 illustrates cross sectional view through a portable reader according to an embodiment; FIG.", "8 illustrates a 3-dimensional view of a portable reader module according to an embodiment; FIG.", "9 illustrates a bottom element for a first receptacle according to an embodiment; FIGS.", "10 and 11 illustrate a bottom element of a first receptacle according to an embodiment; FIG.", "12 illustrates optical reference elements according to an embodiment; FIGS.", "13A to 13C illustrates procedures of the quantitative analysis including calibration and quantitative evaluation according to an embodiment; FIGS.", "14 and 15 illustrates cartridges with multi-spot test result regions; FIGS.", "16 and 17 illustrate a portable reader module having a cartridge adapter having a cartridge interface and a cartridge holder according to an embodiment; FIGS.", "18A and 18B illustrates a cartridge interface according to an embodiment; FIG.", "19 shows a cartridge holder according to an embodiment; and FIG.", "20 illustrates a workflow for calibration procedures according to an embodiment.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION In the following Detailed Description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof, and in which are shown by way of illustration specific embodiments in which the invention may be practised.", "In this regard, directional terminology, such as “top”, “bottom”, “front”, “back”, leading”, “trailing”, vertical”, “lateral” etc., is used with reference to the orientation of the Figure(s) being described.", "Because components of embodiments can be positioned in a number of different orientations, the directional terminology is used for purpose of illustration and is in no way limiting.", "It is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilised and structural or logical changes may be made.", "The following detailed description, therefore, is not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of the present invention is defined by the appended claims.", "The embodiments being described use specific language, which should not be construed as limiting the scope of the appended claims.", "According to an embodiment, a portable reader module includes a housing which includes an internal space, a first receptacle configured to removably receive a portable device, and a second receptacle configured to removably receive a cartridge.", "The portable device includes an imager.", "The first receptacle includes a first optical entrance for the imager to the internal space of the housing, and the second receptacle includes a second optical entrance to the internal space of the housing so that the cartridge is visible to the internal space.", "A light-deflecting optical element is arranged within the internal space of the housing to define an optical path between the first optical entrance and the second optical entrance.", "An illuminating path for illuminating the cartridge is defined in the housing, wherein the housing is configured to allow the internal space to be light-shielded.", "The housing forms a light-shielded environment to provide a light-controlled environment for image acquisition.", "For example, the housing is configured to sufficiently block or reduce interfering ambient light.", "This is beneficial for the quantitative analysis of the assays as ambient light can change and its influence on quantitative evaluation is difficult to control.", "The housing includes two receptacles, one for the mobile device and one for the cartridge.", "Each of the receptacles includes or forms a respective optical entrance to the internal space of the housing.", "Typically, the receptacles are configured such that the optical entrances are covered when the mobile device and the cartridge are placed into the respective receptacles.", "Light-tightness can be increased by suitable sealings or suitable shape of the receptacles so that no ambient light can enter the internal space.", "The optical entrances can be formed or closed by transparent materials such a glass or transparent plastic windows to prevent dust or other foreign particles to enter the internal space.", "The windows can be releasably mounted to allow exchange of broken or damaged windows.", "According to an embodiment, the windows are provided with a coating such as optical filters and/or have structured surfaces to reduce or avoid reflexions.", "The window can also be slightly tilted against the optical axis to remove specular reflections.", "Typically, except for the two optical entrances, the housing does not provide any further opening to maintain the light-blocking capability.", "Hence, the housing is typically closed.", "When the housing is provided with additional openings, for example to allow access to a light source or for adjusting or changing the optical element, covers can be provided which cover those openings during use.", "The light-deflecting optical element arranged in the housing allows the imager of the mobile device, when placed in the first receptacle, to capture an image of the cartridge.", "To this end, the light-deflecting optical element provides a specular deflection such as a reflexion by a mirror or a deflection by a prism.", "The optical path defined by the optical element is bent or flexed within the housing allowing the housing to be provided with a compact size while ensuring a sufficiently long optical distance between the imager and the cartridge.", "This is beneficial for the optical imaging.", "Unlike other approaches, which need to place the mobile device at a given distance from the cartridge or which need extra refraction optics, the mobile device can be placed in close geometrical proximity to the cartridge while maintaining a sufficiently long optical distance.", "Typically, the optical path is bent or reflected at least one time.", "In addition to increasing the optical distance, bending of the optical path by the light-deflecting optical element also provides more freedom for the relative orientation of the portable device to the cartridge.", "For example, the mobile device can be kept in a substantially upright position while the cartridge remains in a horizontal orientation.", "The housing can thus be provided with a compact and user-friendly size.", "For example, according to an embodiment, the second receptacle is configured to be placeable, with our without an inserted cartridge, onto a horizontal surface so that a portable device, when received in the first receptacle, is in a substantially upright position relative to the surface.", "The portable reader can thus be placed, for example, on a table after inserting the cartridge, with the mobile device being held in an upright position to facilitate user interaction and ergonomic handling.", "Furthermore, the housing can have an external shape suitable for gripping with one hand while the other hand of the user is free for, for example, inserting a cartridge or operating the portable device.", "For the purpose of this specification, “substantially upright position” means a vertical position and also an inclined position, which can be, for example inclined with respect to a vertical orientation up to about 10°, in some embodiments up to about 20°.", "A slight inclination is beneficial as it ensure that the centre of gravity of the mobile device is above the second receptacle on which the housing stands so that upright position is stable.", "For further improvement of the optical imaging, the housing includes, according to an embodiment, an adjustment element configured to adjust the location and/or orientation of the optical element.", "Any misalignment between the mobile device, particularly the imager of the mobile device, and the cartridge can be eliminated or reduced by the adjustment element.", "The illuminating path defined within the housing for illuminating the cartridge can be separate to the optical path for capturing images to prevent direct light exposure of the imager.", "According to an embodiment, the portable device includes a light source.", "The illuminating path can include a reflector or any other suitable reflecting means for reflecting light from the light source to the cartridge.", "The reflector can provide a specular reflexion or a diffuse reflexion.", "For example, a portion of the internal walls of the housing can be provided with light-reflecting surface properties to evenly distribute the light emitted from the mobile device's light source.", "Alternatively, a separate reflector such as a mirror or a diffuse reflector can be arranged in proximity to the optical entrance through which the light from the light source enters the internal space.", "When using the mobile device's light source, no extra light sources and extra voltage supplies are needed.", "Furthermore, the intensity of the light source of the mobile device can be directly controlled during capturing of the images so that optimal light conditions can be provided.", "According to an embodiment, the illuminating path includes a light source arranged within the internal space of the housing.", "In addition to or alternatively to the light source of the mobile device, an extra light source can be used which provides more freedom in tailoring the light conditions.", "For example, a light source arranged in the housing can emit light of a different wavelength than the light source of the mobile device.", "Alternatively, when the portable device is not provided with a light source, the light source arranged in the housing ensures optimal light conditions.", "The light source can be arranged between the cartridge and the mobile device.", "Typically, the light source is arranged such that it illuminates the side of the cartridge which faces the light-deflecting optical element to illuminate the cartridge in light-reflected mode different to a light-transmitting illumination.", "The light source and the imager can be arranged to face the same side of the cartridge.", "The light source arranged in the housing can be driven by a separate power supply or by the power supply of the mobile device, such as its battery.", "According to an embodiment, the first and/or the second receptacle include holders for retaining the portable device in the first receptacle and/or the cartridge in the second receptacle.", "The respective holders ensure that the mobile device and the cartridge securely remain in place during use.", "The portable reader therefore does not need to be operated in a stationary environment during measurement but can be kept in hand.", "The holders, together with the receptacles, furthermore keep the mobile device and the cartridge in a given position relative to each other.", "For example, the holders can be elastic brackets snapping behind the mobile device and the cartridges for proper positioning.", "Basically, the holders can be of any type as long as they allow to maintain the portable device and/or the cartridge to securely remain in place.", "“Securely remain in place” means that the typical forces and accelerations generated during normal use are not sufficient to remove the mobile device and/or the cartridge from their respective receptacles.", "Examples for holders are snap-in brackets, for example made integral with the material of the housing or mould onto the housing, or formed of a material different to the material of the housing.", "Examples are metallic clamping springs.", "Other examples are clamping springs with arrestor, fasting collars, flexible, for example, circumferential lips, and combination of the above described examples.", "According to an embodiment, the receptacles are formed to allow lateral sliding or pushing-in of the portable device and/or the cartridge into the respective receptacle.", "This is particularly useful for the cartridge as in this case the second receptacle can be formed as a closed housing defining a bottom surface on which the housing can stand to keep the mobile device in a substantially upright position.", "For example, the second receptacle can have a slit at one of its sides through which the cartridge is inserted.", "According to an embodiment, the housing can stand on the holders of the second receptacle, for example on edges of brackets used to hold the cartridge in the second receptacle.", "According to an embodiment, the first receptacle includes a bottom element which is removably attached to the housing and which includes a holder to hold the light-deflecting optical element in the internal space.", "The holder for the light-deflecting optical element is thus attached to the bottom element of the receptacle and therefore aligned with the receptacle.", "When removing the bottom element, an access to the internal space of the housing can be provided, for example to exchange parts or to clean the internal space.", "Furthermore, the bottom element can be replaced or exchanged with a bottom element for another type of mobile devices.", "The housing is made of non-transparent material such as plastic, for example black plastic material.", "The inner surface portions of the housing, which define the internal space, can be provided with a low-reflexion surface, for example, can have a corrugated surface.", "To facilitate removal of a cartridge which is inserted into the second receptacle, the second receptacle can include recesses or cavities in lateral walls which allow gripping of the cartridge.", "This is also beneficial for inserting the cartridge.", "For example, the recesses can be formed between adjacent brackets for holding the cartridge.", "According to an embodiment, at least portions of the internal space are provided with a low-reflexion surface to minimise unwanted reflexion.", "For example, the internal walls of the housing in proximity to the cartridge can be provided with a low-reflexion surface while the internal walls of the housing in proximity to the light source of the mobile device can be provided with a diffuse reflecting surface to improve light distribution.", "The mobile device can be a smartphone, a mobile phone, a PDA (personal digital assistant), a tablet, or another mobile device which includes an imager suitable to capture photos.", "In addition to the imager, the mobile device typically includes a CPU and a display.", "The mobile device can also include other components such as a light source, which is, when used as illumination source for the imager, placed closed to the imager.", "The mobile device can furthermore include at least one wireless interface allowing the mobile device to connect to a network such as a WLAN and a mobile phone network.", "The cartridge typically includes at least one test zone with at least one test result region responsive to a change of ambient conditions such as the presence of chemical or biological species.", "For example, the test result region can be responsive to the presence of analytes such as drug metabolites, hormones, germs such as anthrax, pH, lactate, and blood glucose.", "According to an embodiment, the cartridge includes at least two test result regions for simultaneously detecting and analysing two different analytes.", "In a specific embodiment, a plurality of test result regions is provided by the cartridge to allow simultaneous detection and analysis of a number of different analytes.", "According to an embodiment, the cartridge can be a carrier adapted to carry one or more separate test strips or other separate test plates.", "The test strips or test plates can be removably attached to the cartridge.", "Typically, the cartridge is configured to keep the test strip or test plate in a predefined location and with a predefined orientation relative to the cartridge so that, when the cartridge bearing the test strip is inserted into the second receptacle, the test strip is aligned with the housing.", "Cartridges adapted for removably holding test strips or test plates are also referred to as carrier cartridges.", "A cartridge can be a carrier adapted to hold any kind of image generating detection system supporting automated analysis like e.g.", "a plate holding a histological sample, or an array of possibly different samples or an electrophoretic device like a 2D gel, A cartridge can be designed to present the results of a multi-parallel sequencing process for further analysis.", "The cartridge can include a housing with an opening to expose the test zone so that the test zone is visible.", "The housing accommodates a test medium which forms the test zone.", "Cartridges can be of different shape and size.", "To accommodate different cartridges, adapters are provided according to an embodiment.", "The adapters are configured to be insertable into the second receptacle while allowing holding the cartridge so that the cartridge remains exposed or visible to the internal space.", "Typically, the cartridges are made of an optically non-transparent material.", "For optically transparent or semi-transparent cartridges, the second receptacle can be provided with a cap or cover which can be slipped over the second receptacle including the inserted cartridge.", "According to an embodiment, the cap or cover is movably connected to the housing, for example by an articulation, so that the cap is movable between a close position to close the second receptacle and an open position allowing the cartridge to be inserted into and removed from the second receptacle.", "Also in this case, the housing together with the cap ensures a light-controlled environment.", "To prevent that a cartridge is incorrectly inserted, the second receptacle can be provided with keying means which ensure that the cartridge can only be inserted with the correct orientation.", "The portable reader module thus allows using a mobile device for the detection and analysis of the assays provided by a cartridge.", "The portable reader module provides the means for mounting and adjusting the mobile device forming a detection device relative to a cartridge to be tested in a specific orientation at a defined distance.", "Together with the mobile device, the portable reader module forms a portable reader which allows quantitatively analysis of the one or more test result regions of the cartridge after inserting a cartridge into the second receptacle.", "Hence, the portable reader enables the quantitative detection of single or multiplexed probes interacting to markers either attached to a solid surface or being in solution.", "The probes might be amplified in the cartridge before detection e.g.", "with PCR or similar methods.", "The interacting molecules are labelled e.g.", "with chemical, enzymatic, colorimetric processes or with the interaction of probes having natural or synthetically attached coloured properties.", "According to an embodiment, the portable reader module further includes an adapter for holding the cartridge.", "Using an adapter allows adaptation of the portable reader module on cartridges having different size and shape.", "The adapter can form a part of the housing and then defines, together with the second receptacle, an accommodation adapted for a specific type of cartridge.", "According to an embodiment, the adapter for holding the cartridge includes a cartridge interface which is inserted into and accommodated by the second receptacle, and a cartridge holder for holding the cartridge.", "The cartridge holder cooperates with the cartridge interface when the cartridge holder is releasably attached to the cartridge interface.", "The cartridge interface typically remains inserted in the second receptacle and allows easy attachment of the cartridge holder which holds the cartridge.", "According to an embodiment, one of the cartridge holder and cartridge interface includes magnetic bodies and the other one of the cartridge holder and the cartridge interface includes metal pins which cooperate together with the magnetic bodies to hold the cartridge holder in place relative to the cartridge interface.", "The magnetic bodies and the metallic pins together form a magnetic holding arrangement.", "According to an embodiment, the cartridge interface includes the magnetic bodies and the cartridge holder includes metal pins or discs of a ferromagnetic metal or metal alloy.", "Ferromagnetic metals and metal alloys include at least one of iron, nickel and cobalt.", "The cartridge holder can be a disposable part, for example for easy handling of the cartridge which is disposed after use.", "The cartridge interface can be designed to enable attachment of different types of cartridge holders.", "For example, the cartridge interface includes the magnetic bodies at predefined locations while the different types of cartridge holder have the pins or discs at corresponding locations.", "The cartridge holders can be designed for holding different types of cartridges.", "The different types of cartridges can differ from each other in size and shape so that the respective cartridge holder needs to be adapted to the given geometry of the cartridge.", "According to an embodiment, the cartridge is pressed by the cartridge holder against the cartridge interface when the cartridge holder is attached to the cartridge interface.", "According to an embodiment, the cartridge interface has a central opening which can be covered by a transparent window.", "The cartridge is placed below the transparent window to be visible from the internal space of the housing.", "According to an embodiment, at least one of the cartridge holder and the cartridge interface includes keying elements for aligning the cartridge holder relative to the cartridge interface.", "In addition to that, the cartridge holder can include keying elements to align the cartridge within the cartridge holder relative to the cartridge holder.", "The cartridge is therefore aligned relative to the second receptacle and the mobile device.", "Alignment between the cartridge holder and the housing can be mediated either through the cartridge interface or through a cooperation of the cartridge interface and the housing.", "For example, a lateral alignment can be brought about by engagement of the cartridge holder with the housing while a vertical alignment, i.e.", "in a direction along which the cartridge holder is placed onto the cartridge interface, is brought about by cooperation between the cartridge holder and the cartridge interface.", "For ensuring light-tightness, the cartridge holder can enclose the outer periphery of the lower end of the housing.", "This engagement can also effect the lateral alignment.", "The cartridge interface can include a large opening defining the second optical entrance.", "According to an embodiment, the portable reader module further includes at least a first optical reference element configured to allow calibration and/or self-testing of the portable device, wherein the first optical reference element is arranged in the housing separate to the cartridge.", "According to an embodiment, the portable reader module further includes at least a first optical reference element configured to allow calibration and/or self-testing of the portable device, wherein the first optical reference element is arranged inside of the second receptacle.", "According to an embodiment, the portable reader module further includes a second optical reference element configured to allow calibration and/or self-testing of the portable device, wherein the second optical reference element differs from the first optical reference element in at least one of pattern, greyscale, and colour.", "The portable reader module can include a first optical reference element or a first optical reference element and a second optical reference element which is different to the first optical reference.", "These optical reference elements are arranged, according to an embodiment, in the housing, typically in close proximity to the optical entrance of the second receptacle.", "For example, a transparent window closing the optical entrance of the second receptacle may be provided with optical references.", "In addition to that or alternatively, a separate film including the optical references can be placed on an internal side of the window.", "Furthermore, optical references can be formed on internal walls such as internal shoulders forming flat surface portions which are substantially perpendicular to the optical path.", "The optical reference elements can be arranged on opposite sides of the test zone to facilitate the positional identification of the test zone.", "For example, once the optical reference elements have been identified, the used algorithm can restrict the field of search for the test zone to a region lying between the optical reference elements.", "In an embodiment, optical reference elements are arranged at four corners around the test zone or around the test zone.", "One or more of the optical reference elements can also be provided by a special test cartridge which is inserted into the second receptacle and used to calibrate the portable reader.", "The added optical reference elements can be, for example, patterns, which in combination with suitable software algorithms allow signal detection, quantification, classification, system self-test, calibration and user interaction with the portable device.", "For example, using two or even three different types of optical reference elements significantly improve the reliability of the detection of the test zone including the test result region, the colorimetric correct detection of the colour change of the test result region, and the quantitative evaluation of the thus obtained test results and their correlation to, for example, other analytes.", "The optical reference elements also allow a self-test of the portable reader even when no cartridge is inserted.", "Such self-tests and self-calibrations are beneficial for verifying the quantitative evaluation.", "Therefore, the mobile reader is equipped with means allowing automatic quantitative processing of calibration references (optical reference elements) and software algorithms for reliable signal quantification and user interaction.", "When in use, the portable reader can first run a self-test and/or a self-calibration using the optical reference elements provided in the housing.", "These tests can be run independently of an inserted cartridge so that the portable reader can be brought into a calibrated state before the first use.", "Self-testing also ensure that changes of illuminating conditions, for example due to malfunctioned optical light sources, can be detected.", "The optical reference element or elements includes suitable markers and references for algorithm-based determination of quantification area and quantification references.", "The optical reference elements can contain positional reference like crosses, lines, checker boards and other patterns, intensity references grey scales or grey step wedges, colour references like colour scales or colour step wedges.", "According to an embodiment, the portable reader module further includes one or more identification marks uniquely identifying at least one individual component or part of the portable reader module.", "A component or part can refer to, for example, the housing, the cartridge interface or a reference element.", "The identification mark can be, for example, arranged within the housing at a location within the inspection range of the imager of the mobile device so that it can be optically recognized.", "The mobile device, automatically or upon a user request, recognizes the identification mark and uses the identification mark to obtain information specific to the component or part.", "The information is then used for adapting the calibration workflow or for the calibration procedure.", "The algorithm for determination of the quantification area can include any combination of the following processes: (a) coarse cutting of the captured camera image which includes images of the optical reference elements, (b) finding the positional optical reference contained in the optical reference, (c) determination of search areas for the test result region (which can be, for example, strips), (e) detection of the strip positions and determination of their quantification area (e.g.", "width) within each search region either independent for each strip or multiple strips at a time, (f) reliable positioning quantification area of no signal/weak strips with respect to strips with clear signal.", "According to an embodiment, the portable reader is capable of analysing not only single strips, which are typically used in lateral flow assays, but also of multiple test result regions such as a plurality of spots which are responsive to different analytes.", "The analysis of more than one test result region is enabled by the portable reader's capabilities for self-testing and self-calibration, and also by dedicated software algorithm for multiple-spot analysis which are presently only available for large test equipment.", "According to an embodiment, a method for quantitative analysis of an assay includes providing a portable reader module; placing a portable device having an imager, a central processing unit, and a display unit in the first receptacle of the portable reader module; placing a cartridge including at least one test zone with at least one test result region in the second receptacle of the portable reader module; capturing an image of the cartridge including the test zone by the imager of the portable device using a light source to illuminate the cartridge; analysing the captured image by the portable device to obtain a test result; and displaying the test result in the display unit of the portable device.", "The test result can be, for example, a quantity of an analyte, such as an absolute or relative quantification value or a derived quantity as a ratio thereof, for which the test zone is specific, or can be merely a decision that a test is positive or negative.", "The method for quantitative analysis can include a calibration procedure and a quantitative evaluation procedure, or only a quantitative evaluation procedure, if the calibration has been done previously.", "According to an embodiment, the method further includes capturing an image of the first optical reference element and/or the second optical reference element; identifying the first optical reference element in the captured image to obtain a positional calibration component; and using the obtained positional calibration component to locate the test zone and/or the test result region in the test zone.", "According to an embodiment, the method further includes identifying the second optical reference element in the captured image to obtain a colorimetric calibration component; and using the obtained colorimetric calibration component to evaluate the colour and/or the chroma of the test result region in the test zone.", "According to an embodiment, wherein the image of the cartridge and the image of the first and/or second optical reference are taken simultaneously.", "According to an embodiment, the method includes displaying the image, or a portion of the captured image with regions identified as regions of interests such as the test zone and regions where the optical reference elements are arranged, and requesting a user-confirmation that the detection of these regions are correct.", "This semi-automatic approach allows the user to verify that the location of the test zone and other regions has been correctly carried out which prevents that quantitative analysis is carried out on incorrect regions.", "The user is prompted to confirm the correct local identification.", "After the confirmation, the method proceeds to the quantitative evaluation.", "According to an embodiment, the method includes prompting the user's confirmation for final detection of the test result regions.", "To this end, the image can be displayed with marked test result regions, for example the highlighted strip region, for example by placing a rectangular around each test strip region or spot region.", "Hence, the method can include two processes which ask for user confirmation.", "This allows for optical verification of the procedures by the user.", "According to an embodiment, after quantitative analysis, the user is prompted to accept or decline the result.", "According to an embodiment, the procedures carried out and the user's confirmations can be logged in a log file to allow later verification of the analysis process and the results.", "According to an embodiment, the cartridge is provided with additional optical reference elements such as bar codes or crosses.", "These additional optical reference elements can be used, in connection with the optical reference elements arranged in the housing, for verification of the localisation procedures.", "Furthermore, the additional optical reference elements can also be used to detect whether are cartridge has been correctly inserted.", "Moreover, the additional optical reference elements can include coded information, for example about the nature of the test provided by the cartridge.", "The coded information can be read and decoded by the mobile device and used for positional and quantitative evaluation.", "According to an embodiment, a method for quantitative analysis of an assay includes providing a portable reader module comprising a housing, the housing including an internal space, a first receptacle for removably receiving a portable device, a second receptacle for removably receiving a cartridge, and at least a first optical reference element in the internal space of the housing; placing a portable device comprising an imager, a central processing unit, and a display unit in the first receptacle of the portable reader module; placing a cartridge including at least one test zone with at least one test result region in the second receptacle of the portable reader module; capturing an image of the cartridge including the test zone and the first optical reference by the imager of the portable device; identifying the first optical reference element in the captured image to obtain a positional calibration component; and using the obtained positional calibration component to locate the test zone and/or the test result region in the test zone.", "According to an embodiment, the portable reader module further comprises a second optical reference element different to the first optical reference element in at least one of pattern, greyscale, and colour, wherein the second optical reference is captured together with the first optical reference element and the cartridge.", "The method further includes identifying the second optical reference element in the captured image to obtain a colorimetric calibration component; and using the obtained colorimetric calibration component to evaluate the colour and/or the colour saturation and/or the chroma of the test result region in the test zone.", "The optical reference elements are typically arranged spaced to the test zone of the cartridge at the periphery of the second optical entrance.", "This enhances the system's capabilities to localise the test zone as test zone is surrounded by the optical reference elements.", "In addition to that, pre-saved information in the mobile device on the geometrical structure of the test result region or regions, such as whether the test result regions have the shape of stripes or of spots and which colour they have, can be used to enhance the localisation of the test zone.", "Furthermore, pre-saved algorithms can be selected based on coded information provided by the cartridge such as bar codes printed on the cartridge.", "In addition to that or alternatively, the algorithms can be parameterised based the pre-saved or coded information.", "According to an embodiment, the method includes identifying the second optical reference element in the captured image to obtain a colorimetric calibration component; and using the obtained colorimetric calibration component to evaluate the colour and/or the chroma of the test result region in the test zone thus allowing parallel monitoring and quantification of several calibrated colour channels.", "According to an embodiment, a portable reader includes a portable reader module; a portable device received in the first receptacle of the housing, the portable device comprising an imager, a central processing unit, a display, and a light source; and a cartridge including at least one test zone received in the second receptacle of the housing, wherein the portable device is configured to capture an image including the test zone of the cartridge, to process the captured image, and to display a test result.", "According to an embodiment, the method further includes capturing, by the imager of the portable device, an image of at least one identification mark which uniquely identifies at least one individual part of the reader module; processing the captured image of the identification mark to obtain an identifier; establishing a connection to a database to obtain information specific to the individual part of the reader module using the obtained identifier as a database key; and adapting a workflow of at least one of a calibration procedure and a quantitative evaluation procedure depending on the obtained information from the database.", "The recognition of the identification mark by the mobile device, and the information obtained from the database, can be used to adapt the workflow for the calibration or the quantitative evaluation procedure.", "This can be done either automatically or in connection with user interaction, for example, when a test or reference cartridge needs to be inserted into the second receptacle or the adapter.", "For example, when the identification mark identifies the specific cartridge interface which is fixed in the second receptacle, the mobile device is capable of identifying whether it has already carried out a calibration together with this particular cartridge interface.", "As the cartridge interfaces can vary due to manufacturing tolerances, for each cartridge interface a separate calibration can be performed to take account of the tolerance.", "The same applies to, for example, the housings which can also vary due to manufacturing tolerances.", "For example, the angle of deflection defined by the holder for the light-deflecting optical element may vary among different housings and thus a respective calibration is performed.", "Depending on the information obtained from the database, the workflow for the calibration and the quantitative evaluation is adapted.", "For example, when the mobile device recognizes that it had already conducted a calibration for this particular housing and/or cartridge interface, no additional calibration is needed or only a calibration verification is conducted.", "The obtained information then includes calibration parameters which are used by the mobile device's software to parameterize the quantitative evaluation procedure for analysis the tests.", "If no calibration was previously performed, a calibration is initiated by the mobile device's software.", "An embodiment is described next with reference to FIGS.", "1A and 1B.", "FIG.", "1A shows a portable reader module having a housing 100 forming an internal space 102.A first receptacle 110 is formed by wall portions of the housing and has the shape of a half-shell with a large outer opening through which a portable device can be pushed into the first receptacle 110.The first receptacle 110 includes a bottom wall portion 111 formed integral with the housing 100.The bottom wall portion 111 includes a large opening 112 which allows access to the internal space 102 of the housing 100.The large opening 112 is shown to assume nearly the complete area of the bottom wall portion 111.The actual size of the opening 112 can be, however, smaller than shown in FIG.", "1A.", "Along the outer periphery of the bottom wall portion 111, lateral wall portions 113 are formed integral with the housing 100.The lateral wall portions 113 are convex in shape, and the inner surface of the lateral wall portions 113 are adapted to correspond to the lateral outer shape of the mobile device.", "Although the present embodiments are not restricted to a particular mobile device, the first receptacle 110 including its bottom wall portion 111 and lateral wall portions 113 is adapted to correspond to the outer shape of a specific mobile device since suitable mobile devices differ in their outer shape and size.", "The lateral wall portions 113 are particularly formed where the corners of the mobile device will rest.", "This is best shown in FIG.", "1B showing the portable reader module with inserted mobile device 300.The mobile device 300 is pushed with its backside ahead into the first receptacle 110 so that each of the four corners of the mobile device 300 is laterally surrounded by respective lateral wall portions 113.As shown in FIGS.", "1A and 1B, the lateral wall portions 113 partially engages behind the front surface of the mobile device 300 to grab the mobile device and to keep it in place.", "To keep the mobile device 300 securely in place, the lateral wall portions 113 define by their upper ends, or free ends, an entry opening which is slightly smaller than the maximum lateral size of the mobile device.", "When pushing the mobile device 300 into the first receptacle 110, the lateral wall portions 113 are slightly laterally deflected and snap back to their original position when the maximal outer cross-section of the mobile device passes the upper ends of the lateral wall portions 113.To facilitates pushing in, and also removing, of the portable device 300, the wall thickness of the lateral wall portions 113 are adapted to provide the lateral wall portions 113 with a given flexibility.", "The lateral wall portions 113 therefore form elastic holders for holding the mobile device in the first receptacle 110.To facilitate insertion and also taking out of the mobile device, recesses 114 are formed between adjacent lateral wall portions 113 to allow grabbing of the mobile device 300 and to allow access to connectors and/or switches which are often arranged on the lateral rim of the mobile device 300.The recesses 114 also allow that the lateral side walls 113 can deflect when the mobile device 300 is pushed into the first receptacle 110.The housing 100 furthermore includes structures to allow a bottom element which closes the large opening 112 to be removably attached with the housing 100.These structures are projections 115 in this particular embodiment which are formed integral with the housing 100 and which include a female thread for a screw to be inserted.", "The bottom element, for example shown in FIGS.", "3, 4A and 4B, rests onto the projections 115 when inserted to flush with the bottom wall portion 111.The first receptacle 110 is then provided with a flat bottom.", "As shown in FIGS.", "1A and 1B, the first receptacle 110 substantially covers or forms one side of the housing 100.Adjacent to a lower side of the first receptacle, which is in FIGS.", "1A and 1B the left side, a second receptacle 120 is formed which is adapted for receiving a cartridge 500 either directly or through an adapter which can include a cartridge interface arranged within the housing 100 and cartridge holder.", "The adapter will be described further below.", "The second receptacle 120 includes a large opening 122 formed in a bottom wall portion 121 which forms an optical entrance to the internal space 102 of the housing 100.The bottom wall portion 121 forms a seating surface for the cartridge when inserted against which the cartridge abuts with its upper surface.", "FIG.", "5 shows an enlarged view of the second receptacle 120.Lateral side walls 123 surround the bottom wall portion 121 and include brackets 125 arranged at several positions which are integrally formed with the lateral side walls 123.In this embodiment, the brackets 125 are bars connected with the housing and extending parallel to the lateral side walls 123.The bars are folded back to the inner side of the second receptacle 120 to provide a free end 126 which presses laterally on the cartridge 500 when inserted so that the cartridge is kept by force-locking in the second receptacle 120.The folding-back structure provides sufficient flexibility and press force for allowing insertion, removal and reliable accommodation of the cartridge.", "At the same time, the cartridge remains pushed with its upper surface against the bottom wall portion 121 of the second receptacle 120.Recesses 124 are formed in the lateral side walls 123 of the second receptacle 120 to allow the user to grab the cartridge for removal.", "Since the free ends 126 of the brackets are laterally to the cartridge, the free ends 126 slide along the lateral surfaces of the cartridge during insertion and removal.", "Slight lateral swinging movement may be used to overcome the frictional force exerted by the bracket 125 during removal.", "The brackets 125 form elastic holders for keeping the cartridge in place.", "The mobile device 300 is typically a smart phone as shown in FIG.", "1B.", "Smartphone 300 includes a body, a touch-sensitive display 310, a camera including an imager, a light source, a CPU and a memory.", "The camera and the light source are formed on the backside of the smart phone and are therefore not visible in FIG.", "1B.", "The smart phone 300 also includes a wireless interface for connecting to and communicating with a wireless network such as a WLAN or a cellular network.", "Further wireless interfaces are Bluetooth interfaces or NFC.", "With respect to FIGS.", "2A, 2B and 6 another embodiment of a housing 101 of a portable reader module is shown.", "FIG.", "6 shows an enlarged view of the second receptacle 120.The housing 101 substantially corresponds to the housing 100 with some modifications made to the first and second receptacles 110, 120, respectively.", "The lateral side walls 113 of the first receptacle 110 do not cover or surround the upper corners of the mobile device but only the top side and upper portions of the lateral side of the mobile device.", "Similar to the housing 100, the lateral side walls 113 surround the lower two corners of the mobile device.", "Furthermore, as best shown in FIG.", "2B, the lateral side walls 113 have a convex form with the convex part facing to the interior of the first receptacle 110.The convex form, as in the embodiment of FIGS.", "1A and 2B, engages around the sides of the mobile device to keep it in place.", "Instead of having a convex shape, when see in cross section, the lateral side walls can be straight with a bulge 117 formed at the free end of the lateral side wall 123 at the upper part (left side in FIG.", "2A) as shown in FIGS.", "2A and 2B.", "As already explained above, the first receptacle 110 is adapted for receiving a specific mobile device.", "Since the arrangement of the buttons, the size and shape are different for different models, the first receptacle 110 including its lateral side walls 113 varies for the different models of mobile devices.", "Furthermore, as the size and shape of the cartridge are vendor-dependent, the second receptacle 120 is typically adapted for a given type of cartridge.", "In FIG.", "2A, the short lateral sides of the second receptacle 120 are straighter in comparison to the lateral sides of the first receptacle as shown in FIGS.", "1A and 1B.", "Alternatively, an adapter can be provided which holds the cartridge 500 and which provides the interface between the second receptacle 120 and the cartridge 500.With reference to FIGS.", "3, 4A and 4B, several embodiments of bottom elements are described.", "FIG.", "3 illustrates a bottom element 400 which is formed as a flat plate.", "The bottom element 400 includes a main opening 420 arranged at a position which corresponds to the location of the camera lens of the mobile device when inserted into the first receptacle 110.Adjacent to the main opening 420, there are formed further openings 430, 431 which are provided for the light source or light sources of the mobile device 300.The bottom element 400 is thus adapted to the specific mobile device for which the first receptacle 110 is adapted.", "The bottom element 400 can be mounted to the housing 100, 101 by screws which are inserted into respective crew holes 435 which are in alignment with the female threads of the projections 115 of the housing 100, 101.Other ways of releasable mounting of the bottom element to the housing are possible such as use of elastic brackets that snaps into recesses.", "When mounted to the housing 100, 101, the bottom element 400 closes the large opening 112 of the first receptacle 110.The openings 420, 430, 431 form the first optical entrance for the imager and the light source and can be covered by a transparent material for dust-prevention.", "The second optical entrance is formed by the large opening 122 of the second receptacle 120.Both the first and/or the second optical entrance can include a transparent material.", "A recess or cavity 421 can be formed around the opening 420 to accommodate the lens of the mobile device when the lens projects from the back side of the mobile device.", "FIG.", "4A shows a further embodiment of a bottom element 410 including only an opening 420 for the camera lens and one opening 430 for the light source.", "While FIGS.", "3 and 4A show the side of the bottom element 400, 410 which faces the mobile device 300, FIG.", "4B shows the side which faces the internal space 102 of the housing 100, 101.As shown in FIG.", "4B, a holder 440 is formed over the opening 420 for the imager for accommodating and holding a light-deflecting element which can be, for example, a mirror or a prism.", "The holder 440 is formed like a housing providing an opening facing to the right in FIG.", "4B.", "The holder 440 also shields the light-deflecting optical element and the opening 420 from light emanating from the light source to minimise blending of the imager.", "The opening 420 together with the holder 440 and the light-deflecting optical element are part of the optical path for capturing images of the cartridge.", "The openings 430, 431 are part of the illumination path for illuminating the cartridge 500 using the mobiles device's optical source.", "As further shown in FIG.", "4B, a circumferentially running step 411 can be formed on the side of the bottom element 410 which faces the internal space 102.The step 411 is for aligning the bottom element 410 with the large opening 112 by engagement of the step 411 with the rim of the large opening 112 of the first receptacle 110.This ensure that the first optical entrance and the holder 440 are aligned with the first receptacle 110 and thus with the mobile device 300 when inserted.", "The holder 440 for the light-deflecting optical element can include adjusting means which allows adjustment of the relative location and/or orientation of the light-deflecting element with respect to the holder 440.For example, screws can be inserted into the threads 441 formed on a rear wall of the housing 440 as shown in FIG.", "4B.", "In the present embodiment, three threads arranged on corners of a triangle allow tilting of the light-deflecting optical element in three dimensions.", "The light-deflecting optical element can be spring-biased accommodated against the internal surface of the rear wall of the housing 440 for this purpose.", "Other options for allowing adjustment of the light-deflecting optical element are also possible, for example using a frame with tiltable elements.", "FIG.", "9 shows the side of the holder 440 facing towards the cartridge 500.An internal wall 444 having an opening 445 is provided in the holder 440 to further minimise direct light incidence from the light source or of unwanted reflected light.", "FIG.", "10 shows another bottom element 415 which includes, besides the holder 440 for the light-reflecting optical element for the optical path, a holder 480 for a reflector which is part of the illuminating path.", "Specifically, the holder 480 is arranged above the opening 431 which provides an optical access for the light of the optical source of the mobile device.", "The reflector is arranged internal of the holder 480.FIG.", "11 illustrate a cross-sectional view of a holder 440 which can also be holder 480.The holder 440, 480 supports and carries the respective optical element such as the light-deflecting optical element 450 or a reflector 481 of the illuminating path.", "FIG.", "7 shows a cross-sectional view through a portable reader arranged in an upright position.", "The cartridge 500 is inserted into the second receptacle 120 and allows the housing 100 to be placed in an upright position so that the mobile device 300 is slightly inclined with respect to the vertical axis.", "As can be gathered from FIG.", "7, the centre of gravity of the mobile device 300 is approximately above the middle of the cartridge 500 to ensure mechanical stability when the portable reader stands on the cartridge 500.The titling angle is about 13 to 16° in this embodiment.", "Other tilting angles are also possible and can be chosen according to specific needs.", "The tilting angle is defined by the relative orientation of the first receptacle 110, defining a first plane, to the second receptacle 120, defining a second plane.", "Typically, the tilting angle can be between 10 and 20°, without wishing to be limited.", "As shown in FIG.", "7, the bottom element 400 holding the holder 400 with the light-deflecting optical element 450 abuts the back side or back surface of the mobile device 300 so that the mobile device 300 has the same orientation as the bottom element 400.The imager including the optical lens of the mobile device are opposite the holder 440 and the light-deflecting optical element 450 which allows the imager to capture an image of the cartridge 500.As can be gathered from FIG.", "7, the holder 440 including the light-deflecting optical element 450 is not arranged centrally above the cartridge 500 due to the inclination of the mobile device 300.Hence, the image captured by the imager can be tilted to some degree.", "This is, however, not critical as the mobile device 300 is equipped with algorithm allowing reliable detection of the regions of interest.", "The optical path for capturing an image is thus bent or flexed allowing the cartridge 500 to be placed under an angle and, for example, at a lower end of the mobile device 300 while keeping the housing 100 compact.", "The illumination path can also be bent similar to the optical path.", "Typically, the illumination path is different to the optical path so that a direct light entrance from the light source of the mobile device into the imager is prevented.", "For example, when the light source is arranged adjacent to the imager, the light striking the inner walls of the housing 100 in close proximity to the light source is reflected partially towards the imager.", "The holder 440, formed as a housing in this embodiment, shields the imager against the reflected light.", "To reflect the light from the light source of the mobile device 300 to the cartridge 500, the upper part of the walls of the internal space 102 can be provided with a highly reflective surface while other parts of the inter space 102 are provided with a low-reflecting surface.", "This is illustrated in FIG.", "8 showing the inner upper part of the internal space 102 provided with a white and highly reflective coating 472.The lower part is provided with a low reflecting coating 474, or the dark coloured material of the housing is provided with a diffuse reflecting finish.", "When using the light source of the mobile device, no externally powered light sources that are powered, for example by the USB port of the mobile device, are needed.", "Thus the handling is simplified significantly.", "Alternatively, or in addition to the light source of the mobile device 300, a light source 460 can be arranged in the internal space 102 of the housing 100, for example above or are laterally adjacent to the holder 440 so that the holder shields the imager against direct light exposure.", "The light source 460 can be powered by the mobile device.", "For example, a connector can be integrated into the first receptacle which provides electrical connection to the mobile device.", "Alternatively, an extra battery can be provided, or a battery holder can be integrated into the housing.", "Typically, the cartridges 500 are made of a non-transparent material so that, when the cartridge 300 is inserted into the second receptacle 120, the second optical entrance is closed.", "When the cartridge 500 is made of a transparent or semi-transparent material, shielding the internal space 102 from ambient light can be ensured by a cover or cap 470 which can be connected to the housing 100 by an articulation or hinge 471 to allow the cap 470 to be slipped over the inserted cartridge 500 and the outer side of the second receptacle 120.FIG.", "7 illustrates a cap 470 which can be swung around a horizontal axis which is parallel to the lateral orientation of the inserted cartridge 300.In order to capture an image with the imager in the closed housing 100, a light source and the light-deflecting optical element 450 is used.", "The light source can be an internal flash light of the mobile device such as a smartphone, an internal torch light of a smartphone, a light source (LED, Bulb, OLED, laser diode .", ".", ". )", "integrated in the housing 100 with power supplied by the smartphone or a smartphone-independent power supply in the housing.", "The light-deflecting optical element can be a mirror, a prism, a concave mirror, a lens system, a reflective coating and or special shaping of the housing interior to obtain the desired deflection and focusing of the light from the light source, or a suitable combination of the above.", "In addition to that, covering or shielding elements for restricting the area of direct illumination, for example shielding the camera lens and light-deflecting optical element can be provided within the housing.", "The arrangement of the light source and of reflecting elements is chosen to achieve sufficiently strong and homogenous illumination of the cartridge including its test zone.", "Direct reflection from the reflecting element into the camera can be avoided by choosing a proper geometry of reflecting or mirror elements and by introducing proper screens for covering the light-deflecting optical element from direct exposure.", "With reference to FIGS.", "12 and 13A to 13C, optical reference elements are described.", "FIG.", "12 shows a set of optical reference elements 600 which differ from each other in shape and/or colour.", "The optical reference elements 600 can be arranged within the housing 100 and particularly in close proximity to the second receptacle 120 and inserted cartridge 500.FIG.", "7 shows that the optical reference elements 600 are arranged on the interior side of the bottom wall portion 121 of the second receptacle 120 which is provided with a window of a transparent material.", "The optical reference elements 600 can be printed onto a foil or sheet and form a passepartout around the region of interest.", "First optical reference elements 601 are provided to allow the analysing algorithms the localisation of test regions.", "The first geometrical element 601 are positional elements includes crosses arranged in the four corners and lines.", "Four different second optical elements 602 are also provided which are used as colour references and which are embodied as colour scales.", "Third optical reference elements 603 are provided as checkerboards used for black and white calibration.", "The above described optical reference elements 601, 602, 603 are used for specific purposes and are thus specifically adapted.", "For example, the test zone of the cartridge is detected in the captured image automatically using robust algorithms.", "Using, for example the positional optical reference elements 601, a reliable detection of the test zone can be ensured.", "The mobile device can also run verification tests to check whether the correct regions have been detected.", "For example, for correct quantitative analysis of the test results, the location and the size of the test results regions are finally detected.", "To ensure this, the above mentioned plural optical reference elements are provided.", "This is different to commonly known approaches which only allow a partial or only semi-quantitative analysis.", "A specific example of an analysis is described in connection with FIG.", "13A to 13C.", "FIG.", "13A shows an image captured by the mobile device without an inserted cartridge.", "The pre-tests and calibration can be run before the actual measurements, but can also be done when capturing an image of an inserted cartridge since the optical reference elements 600 remain visible.", "In a first process, a coarse cut of the captured image is carried out.", "Providing the walls of the internal space 102 with low reflecting surfaces, at least in proximity to the second receptacle, facilitates this coarse cutting as the regions outside the optical reference elements 600 remain black.", "The frame marked at 1 corresponds to the coarse cutting frame.", "The coarse cutting process also takes advantage of the optical reference elements 601, 602, 603 within the image as these elements are known so that their identification is reliable.", "As described above, each image captured by the mobile device includes the optical reference elements 600 as these elements are arranged within the housing and are visible for the imager irrespective whether the cartridge has been removed or not.", "Before the coarse cutting process, image pre-processing can be carried out such as rotation or mirroring of the image as the image, due to the light-deflecting optical element, is upside down.", "Furthermore, the image data can be converted into a format suitable for further processing.", "For example, a suitable image data format is a YUC format such as YUV420 with Y referring to luminance and U/V referring to chrominance.", "Use of other date formats is also possible.", "In a further process, the pre-processed image is subjected to a cropping process to identify the test zone in FIG.", "13B.", "The regions marked at 3 indicate the first optical reference elements 601 which are used for this purpose.", "The positional algorithms are able to identify these optical reference elements and also the crosses in the corners.", "The specific colouring of the first optical reference elements 601, in the present embodiment with cyan colour, further facilitates detection of the first optical reference elements 601 in the image.", "Once these elements have been identified, the algorithm places a reference rectangle, marked at 2, in an inner region of the first optical reference elements 601.The crosses of the first optical reference element 601 in the four corner of the image are used to define the left and right edges of the reference rectangle 2 while the lines of the first optical reference element 601 are used to define the upper and lower edge of the reference rectangle 2.The detection of the edges based on different optical reference elements reduces the identification process to 1-dimensional problems which can be handled faster and more reliable than 2-dimensional problems.", "The cropping process continues using the identified rectangle 2 to search for the test zone indicated at 4.Since the reference rectangle 2 already defines an inner region of the cartridge, test zone 4 can be reliably detected even when the test zone 4 does not significantly differ from surrounding region in colour.", "The first optical reference element 601, once detected, is used as positional calibration component for localising the test zone.", "Coloured optical reference elements, once identified, are used colorimetric calibration component which can also be used for localising structures such as the test zone.", "In a further process, the pre-localised regions are displayed to the user prompting for confirmation whether the regions have been correctly identified.", "For example, the image as shown in FIG.", "13B can be displayed on the display of the mobile device with the localised regions marked by coloured lines and rectangles.", "The search for the test zone 4 can also be based on geometrical entities specific for the test result regions such as the shape and colour of the test result regions.", "Once the test zone 4 has been identified, optionally confirmed by the user, quantitative evaluation of the test result regions starts.", "The embodiment shown in FIG.", "13C includes two test result regions, one marked by T and the other marked by C with C meaning control and T meaning test.", "The process scans along at least one virtual line passing through test result region C and test result region T. The thus obtained 1-dimensional luminescence signal is indicated in FIG.", "13C.", "The quantitative evaluation further includes trend correction of the luminescence signal to eliminate uneven illumination conditions.", "This can be done, for example, by using a high pass filter.", "Furthermore, the standard deviation can be calculated in regions outside the test result region C to allow derivation of a background threshold.", "In a further process, the luminescence signal is smoothed in the test result region C. This also allows detection of the geometrical width of the test result region C. Based on the correct localisation of the test result region C, the other test result region T is identified and processed as above.", "The thus identified and processed luminescence signal is used for quantitative evaluation, for example relative to the test result region T. The chrominance and luminance, if needed, can be accessed against the optical reference elements 602 as these reference elements 602 include chrominance and luminance values.", "For improving the reliability of the quantitative evaluation, two or more line scans can be used.", "FIG.", "13C indicates two line scans shown at 13 and 14, respectively.", "If only one test result region is provided, such as shown in FIG.", "13C, the chrominance evaluation is not needed.", "On the other hand, when multiple test result regions are included by the cartridge, such as illustrated in FIGS.", "14 and 15, not only the saturation of the colour is of interest but also the colour and any change in colour.", "FIG.", "14 shows an embodiment having four reference spots 701 and an array of several test spots 702.FIG.", "15 shows a real image of the test spots 702.In an embodiment, software preloaded to the portable device such as smartphone uses one or several optical references contained in the housing to determine a quantitative or semi-quantitative evaluation of the test areas, perform a self-test or a calibration of the device.", "The optical reference elements are placed inside the housing in such a way that the imager can take an image of them simultaneously with the imaging of the test zone or test result region or separately.", "The optical reference can include any combination of reference structures, scales, patterns, coloured areas, printings, stickers or labels within the housing.", "Using image analysis algorithms the software uses optical references like crosses, lines and checker boards for positional references and determines the precise position of the test area or of further optical references within the image or images taken by the imager.", "Positional references are typically used as the imager does not need to be a integral part of the module reader but rather of the removable portable device and thus be subject to poor positioning within the designed optical path.", "A possible intensity reference is any area with defined reflectivity or transmittance including gray scales and gray step wedges or checker broads, line pattern and noise pattern.", "A possible colour references is any area with defined reflectivity or transmittance such as colour like colour scale, colour step wedge or optical elements like prisms or gratings.", "The evaluation of test result regions includes any combination of the following processes: determination of the position and possibly shape or outline of the test result regions using prior obtained information on positional markers or segmentation algorithms; evaluations of colour or intensity employing one or several methods for pixel wise or area wise colour or intensity characterization like signal, intensity, background, difference to background, noise level, signal to noise ratio; evaluation, pixel, area, shape or size wise comparison with colour or intensity references (in the housing).", "Self-testing of the portable device is achieved by comparing the obtained positions determined for positional references, by evaluations provided for the intensity references as well as colour, colour distribution or colour intensities, evaluations (e.g.", "on RGB, CYMK) provided for the colour references with values or intervals predefined in the software or software configuration.", "Meeting certain values or intervals is used as criterion to determine proper or improper system function.", "If the portable device calibration is not yet achieved, one or several system parameters like lightning, imager position, cartridge position, image processing and image evaluation are changed and then the self-test is repeated until proper/desired system function is achieved or maximum number of repetitions is reached.", "In another embodiment optical, references or additional optical reference especially for system self-test and system calibration can be provided by special reference cartridges.", "A reference cartridge is any cartridge that fits to the second receptacle and has structures, scales, patterns, coloured areas, printings, stickers or labels designed to be used as optical reference by the system.", "In another embodiment, the test cartridge bearing the test zone can include one or more additional optical reference elements for testing a verification such as bar codes and other markers.", "The quantitative analysis can relate to biomarker detection or to medical, biological, chemical environmental and other markers.", "The above described tests can evaluate single or multiple or heterogeneous marker addressing medical chemical environmental life style related or marker used in personalized medicine.", "The above described modular reader especially enables a quantitative evaluation of specified test cartridge.", "By using suitable calibration procedures performed according to specific specifications, a relative or absolute quantification of the test signals can be achieved.", "The analyte test can take place in a commercial cartridge as used for lateral flow assays or in other formats having a suitable viewing window allowing the optical evaluation and using internal or external micro fluidics applications.", "The portable reader is capable of evaluating chemical, enzymatic, colorimetric or natural coloured probes.", "The portable reader is suitable for the detection of single or multiplexed assays.", "The test which can be carried out as described above results in a quantitative determination of one or more similar or different kinds of marker molecules, typically biomarkers (e.g.", "Strep A).", "Further tests refer to the quantitative analysis of histological sections, 2-dimensional gel tests or multi-spot assays.", "A portable reader module according to a further embodiment is illustrated in FIGS.", "16 and 17.FIGS.", "16 and 17 are partially cut-away to allow illustration of the internal structure of the elements.", "The portable reader module includes, in addition to the configuration of the portable reader module shown in FIGS.", "1A and 2B, an adapter 705.The adapter 705 includes a cartridge interface 710 and a cartridge holder 720.The cartridge interface 710 is releasably inserted into and fixed in the second receptacle 120.The cartridge interface 710 has an outer shape that corresponds to the inner size and shape of the second receptacle 120 so that the cartridge interface 710 is firmly held in the second receptacle 120 when inserted.", "The cartridge interface 710 can be fixed in the second receptacle 120 by a press fit or by an adhesive.", "A releasable fixation, for example by elastic elements which engages with the cartridge interface 720, can also be used.", "The cartridge holder 720 has a bottom wall 726 and side walls 725 extending from the bottom wall 726 to define a cavity 721.The cavity 721 is open at a side opposite the bottom wall 726.The cavity 721 is large enough to accommodate the cartridge 750 which can be inserted into the cavity 721 of the cartridge holder 720.The cartridge holder 720 in FIG.", "17 is partially cut away to allow visualisation of the cavity 721.The size and shape of the cavity 721 can at least in sections correspond to the lateral outer size and shape of the cartridge 750 so that the cartridge 750 is held in a given position within the cavity 721 of the cartridge holder 720.In addition to that, or alternatively, adjusting elements which engages with the cartridge 750 when placed into the cartridge holder 720 can be provided in the cavity 721, for example on the inner side of the side walls 725 and the inner side of the bottom wall 726.This inner side refers to the side facing the cartridge 750.As best shown in FIG.", "17, the cartridge interface 710 has a large central opening 711 which allows illumination and observation of the cartridge 750.The cartridge interface 710 can be basically ring-shaped.", "An outer step 716 is provided which forms a stop for the cartridge interface 710 when inserted into the second receptacle 120.Alternatively, the housing 100 can include an internal stop formed e.g.", "by the bottom wall portion 121 as shown in, for example, FIGS.", "5 and 6.In this case, the outer step 716 is not needed and the cartridge interface 710 can be completely inserted into the second receptacle 120 and does not project the lower end of the housing 100.The outer rim of the step 716 also functions as alignment element for aligning the cartridge holder 720 relative to the cartridge interface 710.The upper portion of the inner side of the side wall 725 of the cartridge holder 720 surrounds and cooperates with the step 716 for alignment purposes.", "In addition to that, the cartridge 750 abuts the lower face of the cartridge interface 710.As the cartridge 750 is aligned relative to the cartridge holder 720, the cartridge 750 is also aligned relative to the cartridge interface 710 by cooperation of the cartridge holder 720 with the cartridge interface 710.As illustrated in FIGS.", "16 and 17, the cartridge 750 is smaller than the cartridge holder 720 and can therefore be completely accommodated within the cavity 721 of the cartridge holder 720.The cartridge holder 720 can therefore completely surround the outer periphery of the cartridge interface 710, and portions of the second receptacle 120, to provide a light-tight connection.", "The embodiment of FIGS.", "16 and 17 is suitable for small cartridges.", "As illustrated in FIGS.", "16 and 17, the cartridge interface 710 includes the step 716, which can also be referred to as outer lateral projection, to form a stop when pushing the cartridge interface 710 into the second receptacle 120 and to improve light-tight closure of the second receptacle 120 to prevent that stray light can enter the internal space 102 of the housing 100.The step 716 can also form an alignment element for cooperation with the inner peripheral walls of the cartridge holder 720.When the step 716 does not laterally project the outer periphery of the housing, lateral alignment of the holder 720 relative to the housing 100 is brought about by direct engagement of the outer periphery of the lower end of the housing 100 and the inner periphery walls of the cartridge holder 720.The lateral alignment refers to an alignment in x- and y-direction.", "The x-direction is indicated in FIG.", "16 while the y-direction points into the drawing plane.", "The x- and y-directions are parallel to the plane of the cartridge 750.The vertical alignment refers to the z-direction indicated in FIG.", "16 which is perpendicular to the plane of the cartridge when the cartridge is inserted into the adapter 705 formed by the cartridge holder 720 and the cartridge interface 710.In a variation, step 716 is not provided and the cartridge interface 710 is completely inserted into the second receptacle 120.In this case, lateral alignment is brought about by direct cooperation between the cartridge holder 720 and the housing 100.The vertical alignment of the cartridge holder 720 relative to the cartridge interface 710 can be brought about by direct cooperation between the cartridge holder 720 and the cartridge interface 710, for example.", "For holding the cartridge holder 720 firmly in place, the cartridge interface 710 includes magnetic bodies 712 which cooperate with metallic pins, discs or brads 722 of the cartridge holder 720 for (ferro-) magnetic coupling.", "For example, the cartridge interface 710 can include four magnetic bodies 712 each of which is arranged in one of the four corners of the cartridge interface 710.The magnetic bodies 712 are typically not exposed at the lower side of the cartridge interface 710 for protection.", "When using, for example, neodymium magnets the holding forces are large enough even when the magnetic bodies 712 do not come into direct contact with the pins or discs 722.The pins 722 can be made of a ferromagnetic metal or alloy.", "The magnetic coupling can also bring about the vertical alignment, for example when the pins 722 abut the magnetic bodies 712.The lateral alignment is typically provided by the upper rim of the cartridge holder 720 facing the housing 100 when the inner peripheral wall portions of the upper rim surrounds and partially encompasses the outer periphery of the lower end of the housing 100.This also provides light-shielding of the internal space 102.Both the cartridge interface 710 and the cartridge holder 720 can be made of a plastic material and manufactured by extrusion moulding or by an additive process.", "The pins 722 and the magnetic bodies 712 can be embedded in the material of the cartridge interface 710 and the cartridge holder 720, respectively.", "The second receptacle 120 can therefore be designed to accommodate a separate adapter 705 which includes two separate parts, namely the cartridge interface 710 and the cartridge holder 720.The two parts 710, 720 accommodate the cartridge 750 from above and from below, respectively.", "A modular design of the cartridge interface 710 and the cartridge holder 720 enables accommodation of cartridges 750 of very variable size and geometry.", "The cartridge interface 710 is typically designed to precisely fit into the second receptacle 120 of the portable reader module from below so that dust cannot enter the housing 100 and the internal space 102.Insertion of the cartridge interface 710 into the second receptacle 120 can be permanent or removable, for example for maintenance, but should in either case guarantee a defined and unchanging positioning of the cartridge with respect to the housing 100 and the mobile device.", "An additional sealing can be provided between the cartridge interface 710 and the second receptacle 120, and the cartridge holder 720 and the cartridge interface 710, respectively.", "According to an embodiment, the cartridge interface 710 is permanently coupled to the second receptacle 120, for example by glue or an appropriate home-locking mechanism.", "The cartridge interface 710 allows optical access to the test zone or test zones on the cartridge 750.The opening 711 of the cartridge interface 710 provides such an access which can be covered by a transparent glass panel for dust protection.", "The cartridge interface 710 holds on its upper side, which faces the internal space 102, the optical reference elements used for calibration of the mobile device, so that these reference elements are positioned in proximity to the test zone or measurement area of the cartridge 750 which faces the internal space 102 of the portable reader module.", "For operation, the cartridge 750 is placed into the cavity 721 of the cartridge holder 720 which is then brought into contact with the cartridge interface 710.The magnetic interaction between the magnetic bodies 712 and the metallic pins 722 of the cartridge holder 720 keeps the cartridge holder 720 firmly in place, so that the cartridge 750 is aligned relative to the second receptacle 120 and thus the mobile device.", "After use, the cartridge holder 720 can be removed easily to allow replacement of the cartridge 750.The cartridge holder 720 can be designed to be disposable, for example together with the cartridge 750.According to an embodiment, the cartridge interface 710 can cooperate with different cartridge holders 720 designed for different cartridges 750.This allows using of different cartridges 750 without requiring different housings 100.The cartridge interface 710 can thus be a general interface for all cartridge holders 720 which facilitates use of the portable reader.", "FIGS.", "18A, 18B and 19 illustrate a further embodiment.", "FIG.", "18A shows a cartridge interface 810 from the side facing the cartridge holder 820 of FIG.", "19, while FIG.", "18B shows the cartridge interface 810 from the side which is inserted into the second receptacle 120.The cartridge interface 810 includes a frame 817 having a ring-like wall with an outer periphery that corresponds to the inner periphery of the second receptacle 120 for frictional engagement with the second receptacle 120.To improve the fixation of the cartridge interface 810, an adhesive can be used.", "The cartridge interface 810 further includes a lower wall 813 from which the wall of the frame 817 extends.", "The lower wall 813 slightly projects, in lateral direction, over the outer periphery of the frame 817 to form a step 816 which abuts the lower end of the housing 100 when the cartridge interface 810 is fully inserted.", "The lower wall 813 has a large opening 811 to define the second optical entrance.", "On the inner side of the lower wall 813, a recess 818 is formed by the lower wall 813 and the frame 817 to accommodate an optical window for dust protection and one or more reference elements as described above.", "The reference elements can be directly formed on the optical window or can be on a separate transparent sheet which is placed on and held by the optical window.", "Recesses 814 forming keying elements are formed at the laterally outer rim of the lower wall 813 for engagement with respective keying element 824 of the cartridge holder 820 as shown in FIG.", "19.Magnetic bodies 812 are arranged at each of the four corners of the frame 817.The magnetic bodies are moulded into the material of the cartridge interface 810 and are not exposed at the side of the lower wall 813 to avoid contact with chemical components contained in the cartridge or any other liquid.", "An identification mark 819 can be arranged on the internal side of the cartridge interface 810 which faces into the housing 100 when the cartridge interface 810 is inserted into the second receptacle 120.The identification mark 819 is typically arranged close to the opening 811 and any reference element so that the identification mark 819 is within the field of view of the camera (imager) of the mobile device.", "The identification mark 819 can be barcode, as shown in FIG.", "18B, or any other mark which is optically recognizable by the mobile device.", "Other examples are colour code and an alphanumerical string.", "The identification mark 819 is unique for the particular cartridge interface 810 so that the cartridge interface 810 can be identified.", "In addition to, or alternatively, a housing identification mark can be arranged within the housing 100, and typically close to the second receptacle so that the housing identification mark is within the field of view of the camera.", "The housing identification mark uniquely identifies the housing 100.The cartridge holder 820, as illustrated in FIG.", "19, includes a main body 825 formed by a lateral wall 825a, a top wall 825b and a lower wall opposite the top wall.", "The lower wall is not shown in FIG.", "19.The lateral wall 825a, the lower wall and the top wall 825b enclose a part of a lateral channel extending along a transversal direction of the cartridge holder 820.A first projection 828 is formed at one lateral side of the lateral wall 825a and a second projection 829 is formed on an opposite side of the lateral wall 825a.", "Both projections 828, 829 are hollow and have a cross-section that allows insertion of a cartridge 850 as illustrated in FIG.", "19.The first projection 828 has an entrance opening for the cartridge 850.The cartridge 850 is inserted into the first projection 828 along the direction indicated by the arrow, passes through the main body 825 and extends into the second projection 829 where it finally abuts a wall 829a when the cartridge 850 is fully inserted.", "An opening 829b formed at a laterally outer end of the second projections provides access to the fully inserted cartridge 850 so that the user can push the cartridge 850 back to remove it from the cartridge holder 820.The lateral channel is thus formed by the main body 825, the first projection 828 and the second projection 829.Together they form a cavity 821 for accommodating the cartridge 850.The internal walls of the cavity 821 are formed such that the cartridge 850 is aligned with respect to the cartridge holder 820 and held firmly in place therein.", "At the same time, the cartridge 850 is aligned relative to the cartridge holder 820.The cartridge holder 820 further includes a window 827 which is formed in the top wall 825b of the main body 825.The window 827 basically corresponds to the large opening 811 of the cartridge interface 810 to provide optical access to the test regions or zones of cartridge 850 which are visible in the window 827 when the cartridge 850 is fully inserted into the cartridge holder 820.The measurement regions, i.e.", "the test zones 851, 852, of the cartridge 850 are then optically accessible from the internal space 102 of the housing 100.To keep the cartridge holder 820 firmly in place, pins 822 are embedded in the main body 825 and exposed at the side of the cartridge holder 820 which faces the cartridge interface to allow magnetic coupling with the magnetic bodies 812 of the cartridge interface 810.The lateral wall 825a of the main body 825 vertically projects the top wall 825b to form a ring-like rim which will engage the outer periphery of the housing 100 when the cartridge holder 820 is pushed on the lower end of the housing 100.The keying elements 824 formed within the rim ensure that the cartridge holder 820, and thus the cartridge 850, has the correct orientation.", "The vertical alignment of the cartridge holder 820 relative to the cartridge interface 810 and the housing 100 is effected by the engagement of the top wall 825b of the main body 825 of the cartridge holder 820 and the lower wall 813 of the cartridge interface 810, or by the pins 822 and the lower wall 813 of the cartridge interface 810 when the pins 822 project the top wall 825b of the main body 825.The lateral alignment of the cartridge holder 820 relative to the cartridge interface and the housing 100 is brought about by the cooperation of the ring-like rim of lateral wall 825a of the main body 825 with the outer periphery of the housing 100.The cartridge interface 810 can be the same as in FIGS.", "16 and 17, or can be a cartridge interface specifically adapted for the cartridge holder 820.A process for adapting a workflow for calibration and/or quantitative evaluation is described below.", "The adaptation uses information which is linked with the identification mark, or which can be accessed from a database using the identification mark as database key.", "The portable reader module includes one or more identification marks which uniquely identify at least one individual component or part of the reader module such as the holder for the light-deflecting optical element or cartridge holder.", "The identification mark or marks are arranged so as to be within in field of view of the camera of the mobile device.", "The identification mark is thus also included in the image captured by the camera.", "The identification marks are suitable for automatic localization and interpretation by image analysis algorithms used by the mobile device's software.", "Suitable identification marks are barcodes.", "Examples are 1-dimensional codes such as the typical barcode or 2-dimensional codes of strips or dots such as the QR-code.", "Other examples are color codes or alphanumerical strings.", "The identification mark thus represents a symbolic textual identification string uniquely associated with each reader component encoded by the identification mark and decodable by the image analysis algorithms.", "The unique symbolic textual identification is suitable for processing by further algorithms.", "For example, the unique symbolic textual identification can be a number.", "In an embodiment, the identification mark will be a barcode attached to the reader component, for example inside the housing, and located in a pre-defined geometrical position of the image.", "A database is provided which can either be a database stored in the mobile device or in a computer system external to the mobile device.", "The database can be represented by any entity which is organized to store and retrieve information.", "The database stores information on properties and/or configurations of the different reader components like the mobile device, housing, or cartridge interface.", "The mobile device's software has access to the database, for example by establishing a network socket or any other suitable communication channel.", "The information stored in the database includes information on individual properties of the components which can be obtained during the manufacturing or assembly process for the portable reader module or when performing a comparison to one or more pre-defined references as employed in a calibration procedure.", "For example, manufacturing tolerances specific to each component can be stored in the database to facilitate the calibration procedure.", "This information is also referred to as calibration parameters.", "The information on properties of the components of the portable reader module is stored in a database identifiable by a unique alphanumeric ID, which is associated with the identification mark, to allow processing by an algorithm.", "The unique alphanumeric ID represents a database key.", "The term “database key” is not limited to a key for a relational database but represents any identifier which can be used to retrieve information from the database such as a file system or a single file.", "The mobile device includes an algorithm, for example embodied as software, which is able to (1) determine the identification IDs from the barcode; (2) to access the corresponding information in the database (3); and to use the information for properly parameterizing quantitative evaluation procedures as needed for test evaluation or for initiating a calibration when no parameters are stored.", "Hence, the information obtained from the database is used to adapt the workflow for the calibration and evaluation procedures.", "Adaptation of the workflow includes selection of a workflow which can be specific for the type of cartridge and specific to the actually inserted cartridge interface.", "The adaptation can also include a change of the order of steps, or the omission or inclusion of specific steps.", "For example, when the calibration parameters are available, the calibration steps can be omitted.", "If not, the user can be guided through a calibration test, or automatically.", "The information can also be used for parametrization of the quantitative evaluation procedure which can result in an alteration of the actions of the used algorithms.", "For example, the algorithm can act in different ways e.g.", "by controlling numeric calculations or by altering the control flow of the algorithm which can result in different sequences of user interaction.", "The software and the algorithms may be constructed so as to build up a symbolic self-representation of all assembled reader modules possibly including the mobile device.", "The parameters from the database are used to inform the symbolic representation of the different modules so as to result in an individualized representation of each module.", "According to an embodiment, the mobile device has an own ID which is accessible for the mobile device's software.", "With respect to FIG.", "20 a specific embodiment for a process for adapting a workflow for calibration and/or quantitative evaluation is described.", "The camera of the mobile device, the housing 100 and the holder 440 of the light-deflecting element arranged in the housing can have manufacturing variations which result in a slight deviation from the ideal arrangement and alignment of these components.", "Furthermore, the cartridge holder 710, 810 can also have some tolerances.", "The tolerances can be evaluated, for example, during assembly of the portable reader module, and stored in the database.", "Knowledge of the tolerances facilitates a later calibration procedure.", "For example, when the holder for the light-deflecting element is misaligned, the images captured by the mobile device's camera are shifted relative to an image which would be obtained with a properly aligned light-deflecting element.", "This may cause a problem for the image analysis algorithm to correctly identify the test zone.", "The image analysis algorithm needs more time or is even unable to properly recognize the test zone.", "When the information on this “misalignment” is available, the image analysis algorithm can use the information to “shift the image back” or to search in a shifted area within the image.", "This speeds up the analysis and improves the reliability of the calibration.", "The information is stored in the database and can be accessed by the mobile device's software.", "The process starts at 910 with reading the identification mark such as a barcode and determination of the respective ID, such as the housing ID or the cartridge interface ID.", "For geometric calibration the unique geometric features of the housing 100, which are defined by the actually used components (housing, cartridge interface, holder for the light-deflecting element), are identified by an algorithm during a calibration procedure.", "The information on the geometric features is either stored in the database in advance or is obtained during the calibration procedure, for example by recognizing the four corner marks 601 in FIG.", "12.These marks can be designed as crosses (see FIG.", "11) or alternatively as two or three nested circular elements (similar to a dart board).", "Alternately, the four corners of the opening 711, 811 of the cartridge interface 710, 810 can be used as well.", "For later use, the calibration parameters are stored in a database within the mobile device or in an external database.", "The calibration parameters are accessible through use of the recognized IDs.", "During routine operation the software of the mobile device identifies all components via the identification marks such as barcodes, and optionally also itself by its own identification string, checks at 920 if calibration parameters are available for this given combination of hardware components (housing, cartridge interface, holder for light-deflecting element, mobile device) and proceeds, depending on the availability of the calibration parameters at 930, either by performing a calibration procedure or by requesting the calibration parameters and continuing the quantitative evaluation procedure with the obtained calibration parameters.", "The software on the mobile device may also checks if a given combination of components is suitable and can accordingly notify the user of an uncontrolled or non-admissible combination.", "If calibration parameters for the given combination of hardware components are available in the database, the mobile device proceeds to 940 where the calibration parameters are used to parameterize the quantitative evaluation procedure.", "Parameterization of the quantitative evaluation procedure includes usage of the retrieved calibration parameters to restrict the area within the captured image to locate the test zone.", "The image analysis algorithm is thus provided with a specific input in which area of the captured image the test zone is likely to be located.", "This improves the evaluation process.", "If calibration parameters are not available for the given combination of hardware components, a calibration is carried out at 950 as already described further above in detail.", "The thus obtained calibration parameters are then stored in the database at 960 for later use.", "In an implementation for the calibration procedure, the positions of the given features such as the calibration marks as given in FIG.", "12 or the four corners of the cartridge interface, are employed to parameterize a geometric transformation, for example a perspective transformation, of an image region, which can be, for example, defined by the four corners, to a normalized image with pre-defined size such as a rectangle.", "In an alternative implementation, instead of using an internal database of the mobile device the calibration parameters are stored in a central database.", "All processes described above can be carried out when using an external or central database.", "In this case, the mobile device establishes a network connection to a server to obtain access to the database.", "This access can be additionally controlled by using the ID of the mobile device alone or in combination with the ID of the components.", "In the following, an overview is given of an example for a workflow performed for geometric and colorimetric calibration and for quantitative evaluation of tests.", "Workflow for Geometric and Colorimetric Calibration The workflow includes the following initial state: Setpoints for geometric and colorimetric calibration are stored in the database of mobile device or in an external database.", "General processing parameters are stored in database of mobile device or in an external database.", "The mobile device is positioned in the first receptacle of the portable reader module.", "A calibration cartridge is properly inserted into the second receptacle either directly or through the cartridge adapter.", "Step 01: Image acquisition.", "Step 02: Robust algorithmic identification of unique features for geometric calibration in image possibly employing general processing parameters.", "Step 03: Determination of geometric image calibration employing feature-derived information and target parameters, for example standard dimensions.", "Step 04: Application of geometric image calibration, for example perspective transformation, to the acquired image.", "Step 05: Algorithmic identification of features for colorimetric calibration in designated calibration areas as described above.", "Step 06: Persistent storage of information for geometric and colorimetric calibration in database of mobile device.", "Workflow for Quantitative Evaluation Procedure The workflow includes the following initial state: Mobile device is calibrated.", "Setpoints and control parameters for geometric and colorimetric calibration are stored in the database.", "The mobile device is positioned in first receptacle.", "A cartridge, which encompasses one or more tests, is properly inserted into the second receptacle either directly or through the cartridge adapter.", "Step 01: Select a test type manually from user menu (alternative procedure see step 04).", "Step 02: Enter sample ID.", "This may be done manually or by scanning a sample related barcode provided e.g.", "on a document accompanying the sample which is subject to the quantitative evaluation procedure.", "To achieve barcode scanning: first remove cartridge and holder to open up the window in the second receptacle, then evaluate the barcode e.g.", "by taking an image with the camera (imager) of the mobile device.", "This may require positioning the housing on the document with the barcode, so that the barcode is visible through the window in the second receptacle via the light deflecting optical element to the camera (imager) of the mobile device.", "The barcode is than evaluated automatically by the software.", "After scanning and evaluating the barcode, the cartridge and holder are re-positioned in the housing as required.", "Step 03: Image acquisition by the camera (imager) of the mobile device.", "Step 04 (alternative to step 01): Identification of test type from barcode on cartridge.", "Step 05 (optional): Evaluation of one or more pre-defined barcode regions on housing and cartridge, specifying housing ID and cartridge ID.", "Step 06 (optional): Verification of calibration status for given housing ID (if fail: calibration requested, see above workflow for calibration, else: continue workflow).", "Step 07: Loading of parameters for further processing from database on mobile device employing test-type ID and (potentially) housing ID.", "Step 08: Identification of unique positioning markers in image by template matching employing parameters for geometric calibration.", "Step 09: Transformation of image to standard dimensions employing positioning markers and parameters for geometric calibration.", "Step 10: Identification of reference elements for colorimetric calibration.", "Step 11: Quantitative evaluation of features for colorimetric calibration making use of evaluation parameters.", "Step 12: Algorithmic identification of all test result regions based on evaluation parameters specific for test type.", "Step 13: Quantitative evaluation of the test result regions (for all tests) employing information from colorimetric calibration features and calibration parameters.", "Step 14: Determination of test result (e.g.", "positive/negative/invalid) using test type specific algorithms and parameters (e.g.", "thresholds) employing an appropriately parameterized logical function.", "Step 15: Persistent storage of corrected quantification values and test results in database (for all tests) on mobile device.", "According to an embodiment, a portable reader includes a portable reader module, and a portable device received in the first receptacle of the housing, wherein the portable device includes an imager, a central processing unit, a display, and a light source.", "The portable device is configured to capture an image of a cartridge including at least one test zone when received in the second receptacle of the housing, to process the captured image, and to display a test result.", "According to an embodiment, a method for quantitative analysis of an assay includes providing a portable reader module; placing a portable device having an imager, a central processing unit, a display unit, and a light source in the first receptacle of the portable reader module; placing a cartridge having at least one test zone with at least one test result region in the second receptacle of the portable reader module; capturing an image of the cartridge including the test zone by the imager of the portable device using the light source of the portable device to illuminate the cartridge; analysing the captured image by the portable device to obtain a test result; and displaying the test result in the display unit of the portable device.", "As used herein, the terms “having”, “containing”, “including”, “comprising” and the like are open ended terms that indicate the presence of stated elements or features, but do not preclude additional elements or features.", "The articles “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural as well as the singular, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.", "With the above range of variations and applications in mind, it should be understood that the present invention is not limited by the foregoing description, nor is it limited by the accompanying drawings.", "Instead, the present invention is limited only by the following claims and their legal equivalents." ] ]
Patent_15873164
[ [ "INDUCTOR BOX FOR AN AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENT HAVING COMPRESSION LIMITERS", "An inductor box for an agricultural implement having compression limiters.", "One inductor box includes a housing having a first side configured to receive an agricultural product from a tank.", "The first side has a sealable surface, and the sealable surface has plates attached thereto.", "The inductor box includes a first gasket disposed on the sealable surface and configured to establish a seal between the sealable surface and a corresponding surface of the tank.", "The plates are configured to extend through respective openings in the gasket, and to block compression of the first gasket beyond a desired compression limit." ], [ "1.A method of manufacturing an inductor box, comprising: forming at least a portion of a housing of the inductor box from a single sheet of material; and forming a plurality of tabs on the housing, wherein the plurality of tabs is integrally formed on the single sheet of material; wherein the plurality of tabs is configured to block compression of a first gasket coupled to a first end of the housing beyond a first compression limit, and to block compression of a second gasket coupled to a second end of the housing beyond a second compression limit.", "2.The method of claim 1, comprising attaching the first gasket to the first end of the housing and attaching the second gasket to the second end of the housing.", "3.The method of claim 2, comprising attaching a first cover to the first gasket and attaching a second cover to the second gasket.", "4.The method of claim 1, comprising welding a plurality of plates to a third end of the housing, wherein the plurality of plates is configured to block compression of a third gasket coupled to the third end of the housing beyond a third compression limit.", "5.The method of claim 4, comprising attaching a tank to the third end of the housing.", "6.A method of manufacturing an inductor box, comprising: forming a housing having a first section configured to receive an agricultural product from a tank, wherein the first section includes a first sealable surface; and coupling a plurality of plates directly to the first sealable surface, wherein each plate of the plurality of plates is configured to extend through a respective opening in a first gasket to directly contact a corresponding surface of the tank, and the plurality of plates is configured to block compression of the first gasket beyond a first compression limit.", "7.The method of claim 6, comprising attaching the first gasket to the first sealable surface such that each plate of the plurality of plates extends through the respective opening, wherein the first gasket is configured to engage the corresponding surface of the tank.", "8.The method of claim 6, wherein coupling the plurality of plates directly to the first sealable surface comprises welding or bonding at least one of the plurality of plates to the first sealable surface.", "9.The method of claim 6, wherein the plurality of plates comprises at least four plates.", "10.The method of claim 6, wherein forming the housing comprises forming at least a portion of the housing from a single sheet of material.", "11.The method of claim 10, comprising forming a plurality of tabs on the single sheet of material, wherein the plurality of tabs is configured to block compression of a second gasket coupled to a second section of the housing beyond a second compression limit.", "12.The method of claim 11, comprising attaching the second gasket to the second section of the housing and attaching a first cover to the second gasket.", "13.A method of manufacturing an inductor box, comprising: forming a housing having a first side and a first plurality of tabs, wherein the first side is configured to receive an airflow from an air supply, the first side has a first sealable surface, and the first plurality of tabs extends from the first sealable surface; and disposing a first gasket on the first sealable surface to establish a first seal between the first sealable surface and a corresponding surface of a first cover plate; wherein the first plurality of tabs is configured to abut the corresponding surface of the first cover plate to block compression of the first gasket beyond a first compression limit.", "14.The method of claim 13, comprising coupling the first cover plate to the housing.", "15.The method of claim 13, wherein forming the housing comprises forming at least a portion of the housing from a single sheet of material.", "16.The method of claim 15, wherein the first plurality of tabs is integrally formed on the single sheet of material.", "17.The method of claim 13, wherein the housing has a second side and a second plurality of tabs, the second side has a second sealable surface, and the second plurality of tabs extends from the second sealable surface.", "18.The method of claim 17, comprising disposing a second gasket on the second sealable surface to establish a second seal between the second sealable surface and a corresponding surface of a second cover plate; wherein the second plurality of tabs is configured to abut the corresponding surface of the second cover plate to block compression of the second gasket beyond a second compression limit.", "19.The method of claim 18, comprising coupling the second cover plate to the housing.", "20.The method of claim 17, wherein the second plurality of tabs is integrally formed as part of the housing." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND <EOH>The invention relates generally to ground working equipment, such as agricultural equipment, and more specifically, to an agricultural implement having an inductor box with compression limiters.", "Generally, planting implements (e.g., planters) are towed behind a tractor or other work vehicle via a mounting bracket secured to a rigid frame of the implement.", "These planting implements typically include multiple row units distributed across the width of the implement.", "Each row unit is configured to deposit seeds at a desired depth beneath the soil surface, thereby establishing rows of planted seeds.", "For example, each row unit may include a ground engaging tool or opener (e.g., an opener disc) that forms a seeding path for seed deposition into the soil.", "In certain configurations, a gauge wheel is positioned a vertical distance above the opener to establish a desired trench depth for seed deposition into the soil.", "As the implement travels across a field, the opener excavates a trench into the soil, and seeds are deposited into the trench.", "In certain row units, the opener is followed by a packer wheel that packs the soil on top of the deposited seeds.", "Certain planting implements include a remote seed tank, and a pneumatic distribution system configured to convey seeds from the tank to each row unit.", "For example, the pneumatic distribution system may include an inductor box positioned beneath the seed tank.", "The inductor box is configured to receive seeds from the tank, to fluidize the seeds into an air/seed mixture, and to distribute the air/seed mixture to the row units via a network of pneumatic hoses/conduits.", "Each row unit, in turn, receives the seeds from the pneumatic hoses/conduits, and directs the seeds to a metering system.", "The metering system is configured to provide a flow of seeds to a seed tube for deposition into the soil.", "By operating the metering system at a particular speed, a desired seed spacing may be established as the implement traverses a field.", "The inductor box may include one or more gaskets for sealing a junction between the inductor box and an adjacent structure (e.g., to block airflow through the junction).", "For example, a gasket may be disposed at a junction between the inductor box and the seed tank.", "Unfortunately, the one or more gaskets of the inductor box may not provide an adequate seal when compressed above or below a desired compression range.", "Moreover, over compression of the one or more gaskets may decrease the usable life of such gaskets." ], [ "<SOH> BRIEF DESCRIPTION <EOH>In one embodiment, an inductor box for an agricultural implement includes a housing having a first side configured to receive an agricultural product from a tank.", "The first side has a sealable surface, and the sealable surface has plates attached thereto.", "The inductor box includes a first gasket disposed on the sealable surface and configured to establish a seal between the sealable surface and a corresponding surface of the tank.", "The plates are configured to extend through respective openings in the gasket, and to block compression of the first gasket beyond a desired compression limit.", "In another embodiment, an inductor box for an agricultural implement includes a housing having a first side configured to receive an airflow from an air supply.", "The first side has a sealable surface.", "The housing includes a set of tabs extending from the sealable surface.", "The inductor box also includes a first gasket disposed on the sealable surface and configured to establish a seal between the sealable surface and a first cover plate.", "The set of tabs are configured to block compression of the first gasket beyond a desired compression limit.", "In a further embodiment, a method of manufacturing an inductor box includes forming a housing of the inductor box from a single sheet of metal.", "The method of manufacturing also includes forming a set of tabs on the housing.", "The set of tabs is configured to block compression of a first gasket coupled to a first end of the housing beyond a first desired compression limit, and to block compression of a second gasket coupled to a second end of the housing beyond a second desired compression limit." ], [ "CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "14/882,593, entitled “AN INDUCTOR BOX FOR AN AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENT HAVING COMPRESSION LIMITERS”, filed Oct. 14, 2015, which is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "13/737,657, entitled “AN INDUCTOR BOX FOR AN AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENT HAVING COMPRESSION LIMITERS”, filed Jan. 9, 2013, now U.S. Pat.", "No.", "9,173,338.Each of the above-referenced applications is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.", "BACKGROUND The invention relates generally to ground working equipment, such as agricultural equipment, and more specifically, to an agricultural implement having an inductor box with compression limiters.", "Generally, planting implements (e.g., planters) are towed behind a tractor or other work vehicle via a mounting bracket secured to a rigid frame of the implement.", "These planting implements typically include multiple row units distributed across the width of the implement.", "Each row unit is configured to deposit seeds at a desired depth beneath the soil surface, thereby establishing rows of planted seeds.", "For example, each row unit may include a ground engaging tool or opener (e.g., an opener disc) that forms a seeding path for seed deposition into the soil.", "In certain configurations, a gauge wheel is positioned a vertical distance above the opener to establish a desired trench depth for seed deposition into the soil.", "As the implement travels across a field, the opener excavates a trench into the soil, and seeds are deposited into the trench.", "In certain row units, the opener is followed by a packer wheel that packs the soil on top of the deposited seeds.", "Certain planting implements include a remote seed tank, and a pneumatic distribution system configured to convey seeds from the tank to each row unit.", "For example, the pneumatic distribution system may include an inductor box positioned beneath the seed tank.", "The inductor box is configured to receive seeds from the tank, to fluidize the seeds into an air/seed mixture, and to distribute the air/seed mixture to the row units via a network of pneumatic hoses/conduits.", "Each row unit, in turn, receives the seeds from the pneumatic hoses/conduits, and directs the seeds to a metering system.", "The metering system is configured to provide a flow of seeds to a seed tube for deposition into the soil.", "By operating the metering system at a particular speed, a desired seed spacing may be established as the implement traverses a field.", "The inductor box may include one or more gaskets for sealing a junction between the inductor box and an adjacent structure (e.g., to block airflow through the junction).", "For example, a gasket may be disposed at a junction between the inductor box and the seed tank.", "Unfortunately, the one or more gaskets of the inductor box may not provide an adequate seal when compressed above or below a desired compression range.", "Moreover, over compression of the one or more gaskets may decrease the usable life of such gaskets.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION In one embodiment, an inductor box for an agricultural implement includes a housing having a first side configured to receive an agricultural product from a tank.", "The first side has a sealable surface, and the sealable surface has plates attached thereto.", "The inductor box includes a first gasket disposed on the sealable surface and configured to establish a seal between the sealable surface and a corresponding surface of the tank.", "The plates are configured to extend through respective openings in the gasket, and to block compression of the first gasket beyond a desired compression limit.", "In another embodiment, an inductor box for an agricultural implement includes a housing having a first side configured to receive an airflow from an air supply.", "The first side has a sealable surface.", "The housing includes a set of tabs extending from the sealable surface.", "The inductor box also includes a first gasket disposed on the sealable surface and configured to establish a seal between the sealable surface and a first cover plate.", "The set of tabs are configured to block compression of the first gasket beyond a desired compression limit.", "In a further embodiment, a method of manufacturing an inductor box includes forming a housing of the inductor box from a single sheet of metal.", "The method of manufacturing also includes forming a set of tabs on the housing.", "The set of tabs is configured to block compression of a first gasket coupled to a first end of the housing beyond a first desired compression limit, and to block compression of a second gasket coupled to a second end of the housing beyond a second desired compression limit.", "DRAWINGS These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood when the following detailed description is read with reference to the accompanying drawings in which like characters represent like parts throughout the drawings, wherein: FIG.", "1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of an agricultural implement configured to deposit seeds into a soil surface; FIG.", "2 is a side view of an embodiment of a seed tank of the agricultural implement of FIG.", "1 having an inductor box positioned beneath the seed tank; FIG.", "3 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the inductor box of FIG.", "2 having compression limiters; FIG.", "4 is a cross-sectional view of an embodiment of the inductor box of FIG.", "2 having a compression limiter; FIG.", "5 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a housing of the inductor box of FIG.", "2 having integrated compression limiters; FIG.", "6 is an exploded view of an embodiment of the inductor box of FIG.", "2 having a housing with integrated compression limiters; and FIG.", "7 is an exploded view of an embodiment of the inductor box of FIG.", "2, illustrating compression limiters being attached to the housing of the inductor box.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION FIG.", "1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of an agricultural implement 10 configured to deposit seeds into a soil surface.", "In the illustrated embodiment, the implement 10 is configured to be towed along a direction of travel 12 by a work vehicle, such as a tractor or other prime mover.", "The work vehicle may be coupled to the implement 10 by a hitch assembly 14.As illustrated, the hitch assembly 14 is coupled to a main frame assembly 16 of the implement 10 to facilitate towing of the implement 10 in the direction of travel 12.In the illustrated embodiment, the frame assembly 16 is coupled to a tool bar 18 that supports multiple row units 20.Each row unit 20 is configured to deposit seeds at a desired depth beneath the soil surface, thereby establishing rows of planted seeds.", "The implement 10 also includes seed tanks 22, and a pneumatic distribution system configured to convey seeds from the tanks to the row units 20.In certain embodiments, the pneumatic distribution system includes an inductor box positioned beneath each seed tank 22.Each inductor box is configured to receive seeds from a respective tank, to fluidize the seeds into an air/seed mixture, and to distribute the air/seed mixture to the row units 20 via a network of pneumatic hoses/conduits.", "In certain embodiments, each row unit 20 includes a residue manager, an opening assembly, a seed tube, closing discs, and a press wheel.", "The residue manager includes a rotating wheel having multiple tillage points or fingers that break up crop residue, thereby preparing the soil for seed deposition.", "The opening assembly includes a gauge wheel and an opener disc.", "The gauge wheel may be positioned a vertical distance above the opener disc to establish a desired trench depth for seed deposition into the soil.", "As the row unit travels across a field, the opener disc excavates a trench into the soil for seed deposition.", "The seed tube, which may be positioned behind the opening assembly, directs a seed from a metering system into the excavated trench.", "The closing discs then direct the excavated soil into the trench to cover the planted seed.", "Finally, the press wheel packs the soil on top of the seed with a desired pressure.", "While the illustrated implement 10 includes 24 row units 20, it should be appreciated that alternative implements may include more or fewer row units 20.For example, certain implements 10 may include 6, 8, 12, 16, 24, 32, or 36 row units, or more.", "In addition, the spacing between row units may be particularly selected based on the type of crop being planting.", "For example, the row units may be spaced 30 inches from one another for planting corn, and 15 inches from one another for planting soy beans.", "The inductor box of the pneumatic distribution system may include one or more gaskets for sealing a junction between the inductor box and an adjacent structure (e.g., to block airflow through the junction).", "For example, a gasket may be disposed at a junction between the inductor box and the seed tank 22.Moreover, the inductor box may include compression limiting structures to block compression of the gasket beyond a desired compression limit.", "For example, the inductor box may include metal plates attached (e.g., bonded, welded, etc.)", "to a sealable surface of the inductor box.", "The metal plates may be configured to abut a surface of the seed tank 22 to block compression of the gasket beyond a desired compression limit.", "In another example, a gasket may be disposed at a junction between a side of the inductor box and a cover plate.", "The side of the inductor box may include a set of tabs integrally formed as part of the housing of the inductor box.", "The set of tabs may abut the cover plate to block compression of the gasket beyond a desired compression limit.", "By blocking over compression of gaskets of the inductor box, a suitable seal may be provided at the junctions between the inductor box and an adjacent structure, thereby improving airflow through the inductor box.", "Thus, distribution of agricultural product through the pneumatic distribution system may be performed more efficiently.", "Furthermore, the longevity of the gaskets may be increased.", "FIG.", "2 is a side view of an embodiment of the seed tank 22 of the agricultural implement 10 of FIG.", "1 having an inductor box 24 positioned beneath the seed tank 22.An upper side 26 of the inductor box 24 is attached to the seed tank 22 and configured to receive agricultural product (e.g., seed, fertilizer, etc.)", "from the seed tank 22.Moreover, a side 28 of the inductor box 24 is configured to be coupled to an air supply to receive an airflow for mixing air with the agricultural product.", "The air/agricultural product mixture is directed from the inductor box 24 toward row units 20 through output ports 30.As illustrated, the inductor box 24 includes a side 32 that may be sealed, thereby facilitating air/product flow to the output ports 30.Each of the sides 26, 28, and 32 may include a gasket for sealing the inductor box 24 to an adjacent structure.", "As discussed above, the inductor box 24 may also include compression limiters to block compression of the gaskets, beyond a desired compression limit, thereby improving the seal between the inductor box 24 and the adjacent structure.", "FIG.", "3 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the inductor box 24 of FIG.", "2 having compression limiters.", "The inductor box 24 includes a housing 34 having a sealable surface 35 configured to be sealed to the seed tank 22.As illustrated, a gasket 36 is disposed on the sealable surface 35 and is configured to seal the junction between the sealable surface 35 and a corresponding surface of the seed tank 22.The gasket 36 includes openings 37 that enable compression limiters 38 to pass through and directly contact the seed tank 22.Accordingly, during assembly, the compression limiters 38 are configured to abut the seed tank 22 to block compression of the gasket 36 beyond a desired compression limit.", "The compression limiters 38 are attached to the sealable surface 35, such as by bonding, welding, and so forth.", "Moreover, the compression limiters 38 may be manufactured using any suitable material (e.g., metal, polymer, etc.).", "For example, in certain embodiments, the compression limiters 38 may be metal plates that are welded to the sealable surface 35.In other embodiments, the compression limiters 38 may be polymer plates that are bonded to the sealable surface 35.Although six compression limiters 38 are illustrated with at least one compression limiter 38 on each side of a perimeter of the sealable surface 35, the inductor box 24 may have more or fewer compression limiters 38 disposed at any suitable position on the sealable surface 35.The side 28 of the inductor box 24 includes a gasket 40 that seals a cover plate 42 to the housing 34 of the inductor box 24.Moreover, the side 32 includes a gasket 44 that seals a cover plate 46 to the housing 34 of the inductor box 24.Each side 28 and 32 may include compression limiters to block compression of the gaskets 40 and 44 beyond a desired compression limit.", "By using compression limiters on the inductor box 24, the sealing of junctions may be improved, thereby facilitating improved efficiency of the inductor box 24.FIG.", "4 is a cross-sectional view of an embodiment of the inductor box 24 of FIG.", "2 having the compression limiter 38.As illustrated, the gasket 36 is disposed between the sealable surface 35 of the housing 34 and a corresponding surface 47 of the seed tank 22.The compression limiter 38 is disposed within one of the openings 37 in the gasket 36.In the illustrated embodiment, bolts 48 and nuts 50 are used to secure the inductor box 24 to the seed tank 22.As the bolts 48 are tightened, the gasket 36 is compressed between the sealable surface 35 and the corresponding surface 47 of the seed tank 22.After the gasket 36 is compressed to a desired compression limit, the compression limiter 38 abuts the sealable surface 35 and the corresponding surface 47 of the seed tank 22, thereby blocking further compression of the gasket 36.Thus, the gasket 36 is not over compressed.", "As may be appreciated, a thickness of the compression limiter 38 is selected based on the desired compression limit of the gasket 36.By blocking over compression of the gasket 36, the longevity of the gasket 36 may be increased.", "FIG.", "5 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the housing 34 of the inductor box 24 of FIG.", "2 having integrated compression limiters.", "As illustrated, the housing 34 includes sides 54, 28, and 32.In certain embodiments, the housing 34 may be formed from a single piece of material.", "For example, the housing 34 may be formed from a single sheet of metal by bending the metal to form the sides 54, 28, and 32.The housing 34 includes compression limiters 60 and 62 (e.g., tabs) extending from respective sides 28 and 32.The compression limiters 60 and 62 may be integrally formed as part of the housing 34.For example, the compression limiters 60 and 62 may be formed by cutting the single piece of material used to form the housing 34 into a desired shape.", "Thus, the compression limiters 60 and 62 may be built into the housing 34.FIG.", "6 is an exploded view of an embodiment of the inductor box 24 of FIG.", "2 having the housing 34 with integrated compression limiters 60 and 62.The housing 34 includes a sealable surface 64 on the side 28.The compression limiters 60 extend from the sealable surface 64.During assembly, the cover plate 42 is attached to the side 28 with the gasket 40 disposed between the sealable surface 64 and the cover plate 42.The compression limiters 60 abut the cover plate 42 to block compression of the gasket 40 beyond a desired compression limit.", "Moreover, the housing 34 includes a sealable surface 66 on the side 32.The compression limiters 62 extend from the sealable surface 66.During assembly, the cover plate 46 is attached to the side 32, with the gasket 44 disposed between the sealable surface 66 and the cover plate 46.The compression limiters 62 abut the cover plate 46 to block compression of the gasket 44 beyond a desired compression limit.", "FIG.", "7 is an exploded view of an embodiment of the inductor box 24 of FIG.", "2, illustrating compression limiters 38 being attached to the housing 34 of the inductor box 24.As illustrated, the compression limiters 38 are attached to the sealable surface 35 of the housing 34.For example, the compression limiters 38 may be metal plates that are welded or bonded to the housing 34.The gasket 36 is disposed on the sealable surface 35 such that the compression limiters 38 extend through openings 37 in the gasket 36.Once the gasket 36 is disposed on the sealable surface 35, the inductor box 24 may be attached to the seed tank 22.While the inductor box 24 is being attached to the seed tank 22, the compression limiters 38 are configured to abut the surface 47 of the seed tank 22, and to block compression of the gasket 36 beyond a desired compression limit.", "As described herein, the compression limiters 38, 60, and 62 may enable proper compression of the gaskets 36, 40, and 44, and may block over compression of the gaskets 36, 40, and 44.Thus, the gaskets 36, 40, and 44 may be properly compressed, and may provide a desired seal.", "As such, the longevity of the gaskets may be increased by decreasing wear on the gaskets.", "Moreover, distribution of agricultural product through the pneumatic distribution system may be performed more efficiently due to reduced losses through the junctions.", "The term “desired compression limit” as used herein may refer to a compression ratio, a compression distance, a compression force, etc.", "For example, the compression ratio may refer to an amount the gasket is compressed relative to an amount that the gasket is capable of being compressed.", "Furthermore, the compression ratio may refer to a compressed thickness of the gasket relative to an uncompressed thickness of the gasket.", "As described above, a desired compression ratio may be a thickness of the compression limiters 38 and/or the compression limiters 60 relative to an uncompressed thickness of the gasket that is within a suitable use range for the gasket.", "As another example, a compression distance may be the difference between a compressed thickness of the gasket and an uncompressed thickness of the gasket.", "As described above, a desired compression distance may be a difference between an uncompressed thickness of the gasket and the thickness of the compression limiters 38 and/or the compression limiters 60 that is within a suitable use range for the gasket.", "A compression force may be an amount of force needed to compress a gasket.", "For example, a desired compression force may be an amount of force needed to compress an uncompressed gasket to the thickness of the compression limiters 38 and/or the compression limiters 60 that is within a suitable use range for the gasket.", "As may be appreciated, a data sheet or other specification material for a gasket may define suitable compression ratios, compression distances, and/or compression forces for the gasket.", "While only certain features of the invention have been illustrated and described herein, many modifications and changes will occur to those skilled in the art.", "It is, therefore, to be understood that the appended claims are intended to cover all such modifications and changes as fall within the true spirit of the invention." ] ]
Patent_15873167
[ [ "MESH NETWORK BASED AUTOMATED UPLOAD OF CONTENT TO AIRCRAFT", "The Automated Content Upload System networks a plurality of aircraft together when they are parked at the gates of an airport.", "Communications among the aircraft are guided by a Content Manager, resident at or near the airport, which maintains data representative of InFlight Entertainment Content presently stored on each aircraft and the list of scheduled InFlight Entertainment Content available on each aircraft.", "The Content Manager guides the exchange of InFlight Entertainment Content among the aircraft, as well as from the Content Manager to the aircraft, to automatically distribute InFlight Entertainment Content to the aircraft efficiently and timely.", "This process includes the ability to multicast data from the Content Manager to multiple aircraft in a single transmission, obtaining content delivery efficiency, populating multiple aircraft via a single transmission from the Content Manager.", "Furthermore, the Content Manager can supplement this process via transmissions to the aircraft in flight over the Air-To-Ground link." ], [ "1.A system for transferring content to aircraft, the system comprising: a mobile content delivery node comprising a wireless personal communication device that is temporarily located on-board an aircraft, the wireless personal communication device including: a memory storing a portion of aircraft content data that is to be loaded onto an aircraft content network manager on-board the aircraft, the aircraft content data for distribution to respective devices operated by respective passengers on-board the aircraft; and a device content manager configured to, based on transfer initiation control data, upload the portion of the aircraft content data to the aircraft content network manager while the aircraft is in flight, wherein one or more other portions of the aircraft content data are respectively transferred to the aircraft content network manager from one or more other content delivery nodes, the one or more other content delivery nodes including at least one of: another wireless personal communication device that is temporarily on-board the in-flight aircraft, another aircraft content network manager on-board another aircraft, or a terrestrial content manager.", "2.The system of claim 1, wherein: the aircraft is a first aircraft, the transfer initiation control data is first transfer initiation control data, and the aircraft content network manager is a first aircraft content network manager; and the device content manager of the wireless personal communication device is further configured to, based on second transfer initiation control data, upload the portion of the aircraft content data to a second aircraft content network manager on-board a second aircraft while the wireless personal communication device is temporarily located on-board the second aircraft and the second aircraft is in flight.", "3.The system of claim 1, wherein: the aircraft is a first aircraft, the transfer initiation control data is first transfer initiation control data, and the aircraft content network manager is a first aircraft content network manager; and the device content manager of the wireless personal communication device is further configured to, based on second transfer initiation control data, transfer the portion of the aircraft content data to a second aircraft content network manager on-board a second aircraft while the wireless personal communication device is temporarily located on-board the first aircraft, and the first aircraft and the second aircraft are terrestrially disposed at an airport.", "4.The system of claim 1, wherein the portion of the aircraft content data stored in the memory of the wireless personal communication device and uploaded to the aircraft content network manager while the aircraft is in flight is a first portion of the aircraft content data, and a second portion of the aircraft content data is transferred to the aircraft content network manager while the aircraft is not in flight.", "5.The system of claim 4, wherein the second portion of the aircraft content data is stored in the memory of the user wireless personal communication device and is uploaded to the aircraft content network manager by the device content manager of the wireless personal communication device while the aircraft is not in flight.", "6.The system of claim 4, wherein: the aircraft content manager is a first aircraft content manager; the second portion of the aircraft content data is stored in a memory of the another aircraft content network manager onboard the another aircraft; and the second portion of the aircraft content data is transferred by the another aircraft network content manager to the first aircraft content network manager while the first aircraft and the another aircraft are terrestrially disposed at an airport.", "7.The system of claim 4, wherein: the second portion of the aircraft content data is stored in a memory of the terrestrial content manager; and the second portion of the aircraft content data is transferred by the terrestrial content manager to the aircraft content network manager while the aircraft is terrestrially disposed at an airport.", "8.The system of claim 1, wherein the transfer initiation control data is transmitted by the terrestrial content manager to the wireless personal communication device.", "9.The system of claim 1, wherein the mobile content delivery node and the one or more other content delivery nodes are included in a mesh network, and wherein each of two or more content delivery nodes included in the mesh network stores a respective at least a portion of the aircraft content data.", "10.The system of claim 1, wherein the wireless personal communication device is operated by a crew member of the aircraft.", "11.A method for transferring content to an aircraft, the method comprising: receiving, at a mobile content delivery node that is terrestrially disposed, a portion of aircraft content data that is scheduled to be loaded onto an aircraft content network manager located on-board an aircraft, the mobile content delivery node comprising a wireless personal communication device, and the aircraft content data for distribution by the aircraft content network manager to respective devices operated by respective passengers on-board the aircraft; storing, in a memory of the wireless personal communication device, the portion of the aircraft content data; and uploading, by the wireless personal communication device while the wireless personal communication device is on-board the aircraft and the aircraft is in flight, the portion of the aircraft content data to the aircraft content network manager, wherein one or more other portions of the aircraft content data are respectively transferred to the aircraft content network manager from one or more other content delivery nodes, the one or more other content delivery nodes including at least one of: another wireless personal communication device that is temporarily on-board the in-flight aircraft, another aircraft content network manager on-board another aircraft, or a terrestrial content manager.", "12.The method of claim 11, wherein: the aircraft is a first aircraft and the aircraft content network manager is a first aircraft content network manager; and the method further comprises uploading, by the wireless personal communication device, the portion of the aircraft content data to a second aircraft content network manager on-board a second aircraft while the wireless personal communication device is on-board the second aircraft and the second aircraft is in-flight.", "13.The method of claim 11, wherein: the aircraft is a first aircraft and the aircraft content network manager is a first aircraft content network manager; and the method further comprises transferring, by the wireless personal communication device, the portion of the aircraft content data to a second aircraft content network manager on-board a second aircraft while the wireless personal communication device is on-board the first aircraft, and the first aircraft and the second aircraft are terrestrially disposed at an airport.", "14.The method of claim 11, wherein: the portion of the aircraft content data is a first portion of the aircraft content data; and a second portion of the aircraft content data is transferred to the aircraft content network manager while the aircraft is not in flight.", "15.The method of claim 14, wherein the second portion of the aircraft content data is stored in the memory of the wireless personal communication device; and the method further comprises uploading, by the wireless personal communication device, the second portion of the aircraft content data to the aircraft content network manager while the aircraft is not in flight.", "16.The method of claim 14, wherein the second portion of the aircraft content data is stored in the memory of the another aircraft content network manager onboard the another aircraft and is transferred to the aircraft content network manager by the another aircraft content network manager while the aircraft is terrestrially disposed at an airport.", "17.The method of claim 14, wherein the second portion of the aircraft content data is stored in the memory of the terrestrial content manager and is transferred to the aircraft content manager while the aircraft is terrestrially disposed at an airport.", "18.The method of claim 11, wherein: the terrestrial content manager transmits transfer initiation control data to the wireless personal communication device; and uploading, by the wireless personal communication device, the portion of the aircraft content data comprises uploading, by the wireless personal communication device, the portion of the aircraft content data based upon the transfer initiation control data.", "19.The method of claim 11, wherein the portion of the aircraft content data is scheduled by the terrestrial content manager to be loaded onto the aircraft.", "20.The method of claim 11, further comprising authenticating the wireless personal communication device as a temporary mobile content delivery node of a mesh network via which respective aircraft content data is transferred to respective aircraft." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION <EOH>It is a problem in the field of InFlight Entertainment to provide passengers on all the aircraft of a particular carrier with the most current In-Flight Entertainment Content for delivery either to the passenger's wireless personal communication devices or aircraft-based displays.", "Air-To-Ground communications, such as between an aircraft in flight and Air-To-Ground terrestrial sites, fails to provide sufficient bandwidth to transmit all of the InFlight Entertainment Content from the Air-To-Ground terrestrial sites to the aircraft in flight.", "As a result, InFlight Entertainment Content is typically manually loaded onto the InFlight Entertainment server which is located in each aircraft via portable media (USB sticks) when the aircraft is parked at an airport gate.", "Thus, every InFlight Entertainment Content update requires a visit to an aircraft by maintenance personnel.", "The two weaknesses with this method are the cost to distribute and swap the USB sticks, and the time it takes to accomplish this: the effort to create a new USB stick, ship, and swap the USB stick in all of the aircraft of a carrier takes about 3 to 4 weeks.", "This is an expensive and inefficient process, which is lacking in timeliness of InFlight Entertainment Content delivery.", "In addition, the coordination of these InFlight Entertainment Content deliveries is complex and prone to human error, especially since the aircraft are transient and can be rerouted to meet the needs of the airline or for weather/maintenance events.", "Another method in loading InFlight Entertainment Content on the aircraft is via wireless download (3G Cellular/4G Cellular/WiFi connectivity).", "The issues with wireless connectivity are the data file size of InFlight Entertainment Content (1 GB/movie), the extent of wireless coverage, and the cost of wireless service; it can be very costly to go down this path vs. manually swapping out USB sticks.", "In addition, at a busy airport, the ability to concurrently transmit InFlight Entertainment Content to multiple aircraft while they sit at the gate is inconsistent.", "Therefore, there presently is no reliable, effective, cost-efficient way of delivering InFlight Entertainment Content to aircraft." ], [ "<SOH> BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION <EOH>The above-described problems are solved and a technical advance achieved in the field by the present Mesh Network Based Automated Upload of Content To Aircraft (termed “Automated Content Upload System” herein) which functions to network a plurality of aircraft, and optionally user wireless personal communication devices, together when they are on the ground at an airport, typically when parked at the gates of an airport.", "The communications among the aircraft are guided by a Content Manager, typically resident at or near the airport, which maintains data representative of the InFlight Entertainment Content presently stored on each aircraft, as well as the list of scheduled InFlight Entertainment Content that is to be available on each aircraft.", "The Content Manager guides the exchange of InFlight Entertainment Content data among the aircraft as well as from the Content Manager to the aircraft to automatically distribute InFlight Entertainment Content to the aircraft in an efficient and timely manner.", "Included in this process is the ability to multicast data from the Content Manager to multiple aircraft in a single transmission, thereby obtaining InFlight Entertainment Content delivery efficiency by populating multiple aircraft via a single transmission from the Content Manager.", "Furthermore, the Content Manager can supplement this process via transmissions to the aircraft, when in flight, over the existing Air To Ground link.", "Finally, the users' portable wireless personal communication devices, such as those belonging to aircraft crew, passengers, and the like (collectively termed “users” herein), can be made a temporary node in the mesh network and used to transport content onboard the aircraft or function as a relay point between a source and the next device in the network, as is described below.", "In addition, the term “InFlight Entertainment Content” includes movies, music, WEB pages, catalogs, magazines, and any other data that the aircraft passengers may wish to view on their wireless personal communication devices while in flight on the aircraft." ], [ "CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This present application is a continuation application that claims priority to and the benefit of the filing date of U.S. application Ser.", "No.", "15/014,333, filed Feb. 3, 2016 and entitled “Mesh Network Based Automated Upload of Content to Aircraft”, which claims priority to and the benefit of U.S. application Ser.", "No.", "14/553,641, filed Nov. 25, 2014 and entitled “Mesh Network Based Automated Upload of Content to Aircraft”, which claims priority to and the benefit of the filing date of U.S. application Ser.", "No.", "13/544,742 filed on Jul.", "9, 2012, which is now issued as U.S. Pat.", "No.", "8,934,893 on Jan. 13, 2015 and is entitled “Mesh Network Based Automated Upload of Content to Aircraft”, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein.", "FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to InFlight Entertainment Content which is delivered to passengers on an aircraft and, in particular, to a communication system that provides aircraft with high speed delivery of new InFlight Entertainment Content via a mesh network to enable InFlight Entertainment Content to be populated on the Content Manager which is located on the aircraft by wirelessly transferring InFlight Entertainment Content files from other aircraft or from a central Content Manager.", "BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION It is a problem in the field of InFlight Entertainment to provide passengers on all the aircraft of a particular carrier with the most current In-Flight Entertainment Content for delivery either to the passenger's wireless personal communication devices or aircraft-based displays.", "Air-To-Ground communications, such as between an aircraft in flight and Air-To-Ground terrestrial sites, fails to provide sufficient bandwidth to transmit all of the InFlight Entertainment Content from the Air-To-Ground terrestrial sites to the aircraft in flight.", "As a result, InFlight Entertainment Content is typically manually loaded onto the InFlight Entertainment server which is located in each aircraft via portable media (USB sticks) when the aircraft is parked at an airport gate.", "Thus, every InFlight Entertainment Content update requires a visit to an aircraft by maintenance personnel.", "The two weaknesses with this method are the cost to distribute and swap the USB sticks, and the time it takes to accomplish this: the effort to create a new USB stick, ship, and swap the USB stick in all of the aircraft of a carrier takes about 3 to 4 weeks.", "This is an expensive and inefficient process, which is lacking in timeliness of InFlight Entertainment Content delivery.", "In addition, the coordination of these InFlight Entertainment Content deliveries is complex and prone to human error, especially since the aircraft are transient and can be rerouted to meet the needs of the airline or for weather/maintenance events.", "Another method in loading InFlight Entertainment Content on the aircraft is via wireless download (3G Cellular/4G Cellular/WiFi connectivity).", "The issues with wireless connectivity are the data file size of InFlight Entertainment Content (1 GB/movie), the extent of wireless coverage, and the cost of wireless service; it can be very costly to go down this path vs. manually swapping out USB sticks.", "In addition, at a busy airport, the ability to concurrently transmit InFlight Entertainment Content to multiple aircraft while they sit at the gate is inconsistent.", "Therefore, there presently is no reliable, effective, cost-efficient way of delivering InFlight Entertainment Content to aircraft.", "BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The above-described problems are solved and a technical advance achieved in the field by the present Mesh Network Based Automated Upload of Content To Aircraft (termed “Automated Content Upload System” herein) which functions to network a plurality of aircraft, and optionally user wireless personal communication devices, together when they are on the ground at an airport, typically when parked at the gates of an airport.", "The communications among the aircraft are guided by a Content Manager, typically resident at or near the airport, which maintains data representative of the InFlight Entertainment Content presently stored on each aircraft, as well as the list of scheduled InFlight Entertainment Content that is to be available on each aircraft.", "The Content Manager guides the exchange of InFlight Entertainment Content data among the aircraft as well as from the Content Manager to the aircraft to automatically distribute InFlight Entertainment Content to the aircraft in an efficient and timely manner.", "Included in this process is the ability to multicast data from the Content Manager to multiple aircraft in a single transmission, thereby obtaining InFlight Entertainment Content delivery efficiency by populating multiple aircraft via a single transmission from the Content Manager.", "Furthermore, the Content Manager can supplement this process via transmissions to the aircraft, when in flight, over the existing Air To Ground link.", "Finally, the users' portable wireless personal communication devices, such as those belonging to aircraft crew, passengers, and the like (collectively termed “users” herein), can be made a temporary node in the mesh network and used to transport content onboard the aircraft or function as a relay point between a source and the next device in the network, as is described below.", "In addition, the term “InFlight Entertainment Content” includes movies, music, WEB pages, catalogs, magazines, and any other data that the aircraft passengers may wish to view on their wireless personal communication devices while in flight on the aircraft.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG.", "1 illustrates the Automated Content Upload System in block diagram form; FIG.", "2 illustrates a typical airport configuration with multiple aircraft parked at gates; FIG.", "3 illustrates a map of aircraft interconnections in the network; FIG.", "4 illustrates in flow diagram form the operation of the Automated Content Upload System in defining wireless interconnections among multiple aircraft located at an airport; and FIG.", "5 illustrates, in flow diagram form, the operation of the Automated Content Upload System in loading InFlight Entertainment Content to multiple aircraft located at an airport.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The Automated Content Upload System 100 functions to network a plurality of Aircraft 221-228 together when they are located at an airport and/or parked at the Gates 211G, 212G of an airport.", "FIG.", "1 illustrates the Automated Content Upload System 100 in block diagram form.", "The Automated Content Upload System 100 includes a Content Manager 101, which is the repository of InFlight Entertainment Content, as well as the source of control of the mesh network that is established among the aircraft parked at the airport.", "The Automated Content Upload System 100 also includes one or more Terrestrial Wireless Portals 102, 103 which provide the radio frequency links between the Content Manager 101 and the Aircraft 221-228 (as well as users' Wireless Personal Communication Devices 104, 105).", "The Content Manager 101 guides the exchange of InFlight Entertainment Content data among the Aircraft 221-228 as well as from the Content Manager 101 to the Aircraft 221-228 to automatically distribute InFlight Entertainment Content to the Aircraft 221-228 in an efficient and timely manner.", "The Automated Content Upload System 100 has a plurality of the following attributes: 1.Locate, identify and communicate with all aircraft (network nodes) via Terrestrial Wireless Portals; 2.Perform network registration of each aircraft in an autonomous, automatic manner; 3.Authenticate aircraft (network nodes) on the network to ensure they are legitimate network nodes; 4.Establish regular “all is well” internal communications to verify network health; 5.Establish self-test algorithms in order to verify network functionality; 6.Able to relay data from aircraft to the next; and 7.Able to download content data to multiple aircraft even though data entry into the network is at a single point.", "8.Locate, identify, and authenticate users for qualification as temporary mobile nodes in the network.", "Network Topology A mesh network is a local area network (LAN) that employs one of two connection arrangements: full mesh topology or partial mesh topology.", "In the full mesh topology, each node is connected directly to each of the others.", "In the partial mesh topology, some nodes may be connected to all the others, but some of the nodes are connected only to those other nodes with which they exchange the most data.", "The mesh network topology is a peer-to-peer system where a node can send and receive messages, but each node also functions as a router and can relay messages for its neighbors.", "Through this relaying process, a packet of data finds its way to its ultimate destination, passing through intermediate nodes with reliable communication links.", "If node fails in this network, the messages are automatically routed through alternative paths.", "Physical Orientation Of The Network As shown in FIG.", "1, the Automated Content Upload System 100 includes not only a processor, termed Content Manager 101, but also one or more Terrestrial Wireless Portals 102, 103 which function to wirelessly communicate with the Aircraft 221-228.The Content Manager 101 includes an associated Content Memory 111 which functions to store InFlight Entertainment Content for distribution to Aircraft 221-228 as well as a Network Map 112 which identifies the communication connections among the Aircraft 221-228 and, optionally, users' Wireless Personal Communication Devices 104, 105.The Content Manager 101 also includes an Aircraft Content Schedule Table 113 which lists data that identifies the individual aircraft and the content that is presently scheduled to be resident in this aircraft's Aircraft Content Memory 234.Thus, Content Manager 101 can determine what content needs to be loaded on a particular Aircraft 221 by comparing a list of content presently stored in this aircraft's Aircraft Content Memory 234 and content presently scheduled to be resident in this aircraft's Aircraft Content Memory 234 as noted in Aircraft Content Schedule Table 113.Each Aircraft 221-228 includes an Aircraft Content Network Manager 221A that consists of a server which implements the aircraft-centric portion of the Automated Content Upload System 100.The Aircraft Content Network Manager 221A includes an Aircraft Content Memory 234 that stores the content for distribution to the passengers onboard this aircraft.", "The Aircraft Content Network Manager 221A also includes an Aircraft Query Generator 231 for wirelessly polling nearby aircraft to establish and update the mesh network that is used to exchange content among the Aircraft 221-228 and from Content Manager 101 to identified Aircraft 221-228.Aircraft Network Memory 232 maintains a record of the nearby aircraft in wireless communication range of the Aircraft 221, and Aircraft Node Registration 233 is a process that shares the collected Aircraft Network Memory content and a list of content stored in the Aircraft Content Memory 234 with the Content Manager 101, as described below.", "FIG.", "2 illustrates a typical airport configuration with multiple Aircraft 221-228 parked at Gates 211G, 212G.", "Typically, but not necessarily, a Terrestrial Wireless Portal 102 may be physically installed at a location of an airport terminal building serving a plurality of gates, such as location 211 in the familiar ‘multi-horseshoe’ topography, diagrammatically illustrated in FIG.", "1.Where an airport contains multiple terminals or has a large number of gates distributed over a substantial airport area, the airport may be equipped with one or more additional Terrestrial Wireless Portal 103 locations, shown at 212 in FIG.", "1, in order to ensure complete gate coverage.", "The locations of Terrestrial Wireless Portals 102, 103 are such that, regardless of its location, each of Aircraft 221-228 is assured of having a wireless terrestrial data link with a Terrestrial Wireless Portal 102, 103 of the Automated Content Upload System 100.The spacing between Terrestrial Wireless Portals 102, 103 is such as to provide overlapping terrestrial link communication coverage, as indicated by overlapping circles 214 and 215, whose respective radii encompass the entirety of their associated multi-gate areas 216 and 217.Mesh Network Creation In order to support communication among the Aircraft 221-228 and with the Content Manager 101, the mesh network must be established and periodically updated as aircraft arrive and depart from their respective gates and users flow through the terminals and aircraft.", "As an example, assume that a mesh network among Aircraft 221-226 and Content Manager 101 is established and presently active.", "The process of creation of a network can be understood by describing the process of adding a new node to an existing network and then extrapolating this process to the case where no network is initially active.", "FIG.", "4 illustrates in flow diagram form the operation of the Automated Content Upload System 100 in defining wireless interconnections among multiple Aircraft 221-228 located at an airport, as shown diagrammatically in FIG.", "3.This process of adding a node to the network entails the newly arrived Aircraft 221 at step 401 activating Aircraft Query Generator 231 to transmit one or more messages over a selected frequency band to establish communications with one or more of the Aircraft 222 located at the airport.", "If, at step 402, the newly arrived Aircraft 221 fails to locate any other aircraft, then this is an error condition, since the network must contain two or more nodes.", "Therefore, processing advances to step 403 where an error indication is generated to indicate that the network configuration has failed.", "Otherwise, at step 404, the newly arrived Aircraft 221 receives one or more responses to its transmitted query and stores the identity of the responding Aircraft 222, 223 in its Aircraft Network Memory 232 at step 405.If this responding Aircraft (222, for example) has not previously been detected by the newly arrived Aircraft 221, then the number of primary proximate nodes has changed and processing returns to step 404 where the next responsive response (from Aircraft 223, for example) is received and analyzed as noted above.", "The steps 404-406 are repeated until all of the responses received by newly arrived Aircraft 221 have been processed.", "At this juncture, all of the Aircraft 222, 223 that are proximate to the newly arrived Aircraft 221 are identified and their identities stored in the Aircraft Network Memory 232 of newly arrived Aircraft 221.The identified nodes that are proximate to and communicable with newly arrived Aircraft 221 form the sub-network for the newly arrived Aircraft 221 within the composite mesh network.", "In a like manner, all individual Aircraft 222 to 223 have their own sub-networks of nodes which are respectively communicable to themselves, respectively.", "The newly arrived Aircraft 221 then activates Aircraft Node Registration 233 to establish a communication link at step 407 with the Content Manager 101 via the Terrestrial Wireless Portal 102.The newly arrived Aircraft 221 downloads the data gathered from the above-noted sub-network determination process and stored in Aircraft Network Memory 232 to the Content Manager 101, which stores mapping data in Network Map 112 from each aircraft indicative of the other airport resident aircraft with which each aircraft can communicate.", "The Content Manager 101 maintains a multi-dimensional map which charts the interconnections among the aircraft that support the exchange of data.", "FIG.", "3 illustrates a map of aircraft interconnections in the network as stored in Network Map 112.For the sake of simplicity, the incorporation of users' wireless personal communication devices 104, 105 into the mesh network is not described, although the process is substantially the same as that articulated for aircraft.", "Since crew members can be identified and their respective flight assignments predetermined, it is advantageous to load content onto their wireless personal communication devices and have these devices propagate content as the crew members move among their respective aircraft assignments.", "Thus, the propagation of content is significantly enhanced by the addition of a multitude of crew members to the content propagation process.", "In addition, the crew members' wireless personal communication devices can upload content to the aircraft while the crew member is onboard and the aircraft is in flight.", "Thus, the temporal and spatial extent of the content loading process is expanded, even though the aircraft has left the terminal, since the content load process continues.", "The following description is aircraft-centric for simplicity of description, but the use of the term “aircraft” can include users' wireless personal communication devices as one embodiment of a content delivery node.", "This node is mobile and is not constrained to be located at a particular gate in the terminal; in fact, it is expected to roam throughout the airport and be resident in various aircraft and at various gates during their tenure at this airport.", "Thus, the users' wireless personal communication devices are part of the network in the form of mobile repositories of content, with their physical movement from one aircraft to another or from the airport terminal to an aircraft results in the content being available to load into the content memory of the aircraft on which the user is located.", "Thus, the users' wireless personal communication devices typically do not “store and forward” content via wireless links as the aircraft do; they do store content and manually position themselves inside an aircraft to download the content to the aircraft content memory.", "Content Data Distribution FIG.", "5 illustrates in flow diagram form the operation of the Automated Content Upload System 100 in loading InFlight Entertainment Content to multiple aircraft located at an airport.", "In the Automated Content Upload System 100, as described above, aircraft associate with other aircraft at the gates via aircraft-to-aircraft wireless links.", "Thus, each aircraft has a “thin link” to the Content Manager 101 via the Terrestrial Wireless Portal 102, 103 and a fat WiFi pipe to the aircraft it is meshed with.", "At this point, the Content Manager 101 pushes data to specific aircraft via the Terrestrial Wireless Portal 102, 103; and these aircraft push the received content (or content already stored on the aircraft) to other aircraft, as identified to the aircraft, via the WiFi mesh.", "The Content Manager 101 stores each aircraft's location, mesh connectivity, mesh link performance, Terrestrial Wireless Portal link performance, as well as a list of content that is stored on the aircraft and a list of content that presently should be stored on the aircraft.", "The Content Manager 101 also knows the Terrestrial Wireless Portal 102, 103 data budget remaining for the month.", "Thus, at step 501, Content Processor 106 of the Content Manager 101 identifies an Aircraft 221 which requires delivery of a selected InFlight Entertainment Content file which is stored in Content Manager Memory 111.Content Processor 106 makes this determination by comparing a list of content presently stored in this aircraft's Aircraft Content Memory 234 and content presently scheduled to be resident in this aircraft's Aircraft Content Memory 234 as noted in Aircraft Content Schedule Table 113.Content Manager 101, at step 502, activates a wireless connection to Aircraft 221 via Terrestrial Wireless Portal 103.Content Manager 101 then, at step 503, transfers the selected InFlight Entertainment Content file to Aircraft 221 via Terrestrial Wireless Portal 103.Another file transfer mode is executed airplane-to-airplane when Content Manager 101 at step 511 identifies a first Aircraft 228 which has stored in its content memory a selected InFlight Entertainment Content file.", "At step 512, the Content Manager 101 identifies a second Aircraft 221 which does not have the selected InFlight Entertainment Content file stored in its content memory.", "At step 513, Content Manager 101 reviews the mesh network aircraft interconnection maps, as described above and, at step 514, maps a wireless path through the mesh network from the first Aircraft 228 to the second Aircraft 221, which includes a link through a bridge node (Aircraft 222) to enable the data transfer to take place.", "Content Manager 101, at step 515, transmits control data to Aircraft 221, 222, and 228 to initiate the transfer of the selected InFlight Entertainment Content file from the content memory of the first Aircraft 228 to the bridge node Aircraft 222 at step 516, which forwards the selected InFlight Entertainment Content file to the second Aircraft 221 at step 517, which stores the selected InFlight Entertainment Content file in its Aircraft Content Memory 334 at step 518.Since the bandwidth of the aircraft-to-aircraft WiFi link is greater than the bandwidth of the Terrestrial Wireless Portals 102, 103, the transfer of the selected InFlight Entertainment Content file as described above is effected more quickly.", "In addition, the use of the aircraft as data transfer elements reduces the processing load on the Content Manager 101.Furthermore, Content Manager 101 can use data multicasting to transfer the selected InFlight Entertainment Content file to multiple target aircraft in a single file transfer operation.", "Thus, Content Manager 101 in the transmission of control data to Aircraft 221, 222, and 228 at step 515 defines a data multicast mode, rather than a point-to-point transmission as described above.", "This control data causes the first Aircraft 228 to initiate the transfer of the selected InFlight Entertainment Content file from the content memory of the first Aircraft 228 to the bridge node Aircraft 222 at step 516, which stores the selected InFlight Entertainment Content file in its content memory at step 519 and forwards the selected InFlight Entertainment Content file to the second Aircraft 221 at step 517, which stores the selected InFlight Entertainment Content file in its Aircraft Content Memory 334 at step 518.The Content Manager 101 typically has a plurality of design goals: 1.Minimize the amount of content downloaded over the Terrestrial Wireless Portal; 2.Minimize time to get content on aircraft; 3.Ability to prioritize content distribution (what is high priority, what is low); 4.Each aircraft checks neighboring aircraft inventory and synchronizes/updates content without the need for Content Manager interaction; and 5.File Transfer methods must support frequent breaks in connectivity and file transfer resumption from different sources (servers).", "SUMMARY The Automated Content Upload System networks a plurality of aircraft together when they are on the ground at an airport, typically when parked at the gates of an airport.", "The communications among the aircraft are guided by a Content Manager which maintains data representative of the InFlight Entertainment Content presently stored on each aircraft, as well as the list of scheduled InFlight Entertainment Content that is to be available on each aircraft.", "The Content Manager guides the exchange of InFlight Entertainment Content data among the aircraft, as well as from the Content Manager to the aircraft to automatically distribute InFlight Entertainment Content to the aircraft in an efficient and timely manner." ] ]
Patent_15873179
[ [ "Melanocortin Receptor-Specific Peptide with C-Terminal Naphthylalanine", "Melanocortin receptor-specific peptides with a C-terminal naphthylalanine of the formula: where R4, R7, R9, R11, R18, R20, R21a, R21b, R21c and R22 are as defined in the claims, compositions and formulations including the peptides of the foregoing formula or salts thereof, and methods of preventing, ameliorating or treating melanocortin receptor-mediated or responsive diseases, indications, conditions and syndromes." ], [ "1.A cyclic peptide of the formula: including all enantiomers, stereoisomers or diastereoisomers thereof, or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt of any of the foregoing, wherein: R4 is —(CH2)w—R14; R7 is —(CH2)w—R16; R9 is —(CH2)x—C(═O)—NH—(CH2)y—, —(CH2)x—NH—C(═O)—(CH2)y—, —(CH2)x—C(═O)—(CH2)z—C(═O)—(CH2)y—, —(CH2)x—C(═O)—NH—C(═O)—(CH2)y—, —(CH2)x—NH—C(═O)—NH—(CH2)y—, —(CH2)x—NH—C(═O)—(CH2)z—C(═O)—NH—(CH2)y—, or —(CH2)x—S—S—(CH2)y—; R11 is H or a C1 to C7 acyl group, wherein the C1 to C17 comprises a linear or branched alkyl, cycloalkyl, alkylcycloalkyl, aryl or alkylaryl; R14 is independently in each instance —N(R19a)(R19b), —NH—(CH2)z—N(R19a)(R19b), —NH—C(═NH)—N(R19a)(R19b), —NH—C(═O)—N(R19a)(R19b), —O(R19a), —(R19a)(R19b), —S(═O)2(R19a), —C(═O)—O(R19a), wherein any ring in R14 is optionally substituted with one or more ring substituents, and when one or more substituents are present, are the same or different and independently hydroxyl, halogen, sulfonamide, alkyl, —O-alkyl, aryl, —O-aryl, —C(═O)—OH, or —C(═O)—N(R19a)(R19b); R16 is —H, —N(R19a)(R19b), —NH—(CH2)z—N(R19a)(R19b), —NH—C(═NH)—N(R19a)(R19b), —NH—C(═O)—N(R19a)(R19b), —O(R19a), a linear or branched C1 to C17 alkyl chain, —C(═O)—N(R19a)(R19b), —S(═O)2(R19a), wherein any ring is optionally substituted with one or more optional ring substituents, and when one or more substituents are present, are the same or different and independently hydroxyl, halogen, sulfonamide, alkyl, —O-alkyl, aryl, aralkyl, O-aralkyl, or —O-aryl; R18 is —OH, —N(R19a)(R19b), —N(R19a)(CH2)w (C1-C7)cycloalkyl, or —O—(CH2)w—(C1-C7)cycloalkyl; R19a and R19b are each independently H or a C1 to C4 linear or branched alkyl chain; R20 is naphthyl, optionally substituted with one or more substituents independently selected from halo, (C1-C10)alkyl-halo, (C1-C10)alkyl, (C1-C10)alkoxy, (C1-C10)alkylthio, aryl, aryloxy, nitro, nitrile, sulfonamide, amino, monosubstituted amino, disubstituted amino, hydroxy, carboxy, and alkoxy-carbonyl; R21a, R21b and R21c are independently in each instance hydrogen, halo, (C1-C10)alkyl-halo, (C1-C10)alkyl, (C1-C10)alkoxy, (C1-C10)alkylthio, aryl, aryloxy, nitro, nitrile, sulfonamide, amino, monosubstituted amino, disubstituted amino, hydroxy, carboxy, or alkoxy-carbonyl; R22 is H or a C1 to C9 linear or branched alkyl, cycloalkyl, alkylcycloalkyl, aryl or alkylaryl; w is in each instance independently 0 to 5; x is 1 to 5; y is 1 to 5; and z is in each instance independently 1 to 5.2.The cyclic peptide of claim 1 wherein R4 is R9 is —(CH2)x—C(═O)—NH—(CH2)y— where x is 2 and y is 2, or where x is 2 and y is 1; R7 is R11 is a C1 to C17 acyl group, wherein the C1 to C17 comprises a linear alkyl; R18 is —OH or —NH2; R21a, R21b and R21c are each H; and R22 is a C1 to C9 linear or branched alkyl.", "3.The cyclic peptide of claim 1 of the formula: 4.The cyclic peptide of claim 1 of the formula: 5.The cyclic peptide of claim 3 of the formula: wherein R11 is a C1 to C17 acyl group, wherein the C1 to C17 comprises a linear alkyl; R18 is —OH or —NH2; and R22 is a C1 to C9 linear or branched alkyl.", "6.The cyclic peptide of claim 4 of the formula: wherein R11 is a C1 to C17 acyl group, wherein the C1 to C17 comprises a linear alkyl; R18 is —OH or —NH2; and R22 is a C1 to C9 linear or branched alkyl.", "7.The cyclic peptide of claim 6 of the formula: 8.A cyclic peptide selected from the group consisting of: Ac-Nle-cyclo(Glu-His-D-Phe-Arg-Dab)-D-Nal 1-NH2 (SEQ ID NO:12), Ac-Nle-cyclo(Glu-His-D-Phe-Arg-Dab)-Nal 2-NH2 (SEQ ID NO:13), Ac-Nle-cyclo(Glu-His-D-Phe-Arg-Dab)-D-Nal 2-NH2 (SEQ ID NO:14), and Ac-Nle-cyclo(Glu-His-D-Phe-Arg-Dab)-Nal 1-NH2 (SEQ ID NO:33), or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt of any of the foregoing.", "9.A pharmaceutical composition comprising a cyclic peptide or pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof of claim 1 and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier.", "10.A method for treatment of a melanocortin receptor-mediated disease, indication, condition or syndrome in a human or non-human mammal, comprising the step of administering the pharmaceutical composition of claim 9.11.A method for treating a condition responsive to changes in melanocortin receptor function in a human or non-human mammal, comprising the step of administering the pharmaceutical composition of claim 9.12.A pharmaceutical composition comprising a cyclic peptide or pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof of claim 7 and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier.", "13.A method for treatment of a melanocortin receptor-mediated disease, indication, condition or syndrome in a human or non-human mammal, comprising the step of administering the pharmaceutical composition of claim 12.14.A method for treating a condition responsive to changes in melanocortin receptor function in a human or non-human mammal, comprising the step of administering the pharmaceutical composition of claim 12.15.A pharmaceutical composition comprising a cyclic peptide or pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof of claim 8 and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier.", "16.A method for treatment of a melanocortin receptor-mediated disease, indication, condition or syndrome in a human or non-human mammal, comprising the step of administering the pharmaceutical composition of claim 15.17.A method for treating a condition responsive to changes in melanocortin receptor function in a human or non-human mammal, comprising the step of administering the pharmaceutical composition of claim 15." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION <EOH>" ], [ "<SOH> BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION <EOH>1.In one aspect, the invention provides a cyclic peptide of the formula: including all enantiomers, stereoisomers or diastereoisomers thereof, or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt of any of the foregoing, wherein: R 4 is —(CH 2 ) w —R 14 ; R 7 is —(CH 2 ) w —R 16 ; R 9 is —(CH 2 ) x —C(═O)—NH—(CH 2 ) y —, —(CH 2 ) x —NH—C(═O)—(CH 2 ) y —, —(CH 2 ) x —C(═O)—(CH 2 ) z —C(═O)—(CH 2 ) y —, —(CH 2 ) x —C(═O)—NH—C(═O)—(CH 2 ) y —, —(CH 2 ) x —NH—C(═O)—NH—(CH 2 ) y —, —(CH 2 ) x —NH—C(═O)—(CH 2 ) z —C(═O)—NH—(CH 2 ) y —, or —(CH 2 ) x —S—S—(CH 2 ) y —; R 11 is H or a C 1 to C 17 acyl group, wherein the C 1 to C 17 comprises a linear or branched alkyl, cycloalkyl, alkylcycloalkyl, aryl or alkylaryl; R 14 is independently in each instance —N(R 19a )(R 19b ), —NH—(CH 2 ) z —N(R 19a )(R 19b ), —NH—C(═NH)—N(R 19a )(R 19b ), —NH—C(═O)—N(R 19a )(R 19b ), —O(R 19a ), —(R 19a )(R 19b ), —S(═O) 2 (R 19a ), —C(═O)—O(R 19a ), wherein any ring in R 14 is optionally substituted with one or more ring substituents, and when one or more substituents are present, are the same or different and independently hydroxyl, halogen, sulfonamide, alkyl, —O-alkyl, aryl, —O-aryl, —C(═O)—OH, or —C(═O)—N(R 19a )(R 19b ); R 16 is —H, —N(R 19a )(R 19b ), —NH—(CH 2 ) z —N(R 19a )(R 19b ), —NH—C(═NH)—N(R 19a )(R 19b ), —NH—C(═O)—N(R 19a )(R 19b ), —O(R 19a ), a linear or branched C 1 to C 17 alkyl chain, —C(═O)—N(R 19a )(R 19b ), —S(═O) 2 (R 19a ), wherein any ring is optionally substituted with one or more optional ring substituents, and when one or more substituents are present, are the same or different and independently hydroxyl, halogen, sulfonamide, alkyl, —O-alkyl, aryl, aralkyl, O-aralkyl, or —O-aryl; R 18 is —OH, —N(R 19a )(R 19b ), —N(R 19a )(CH 2 ) w (C 1 -C 7 )cycloalkyl, or —O—(CH 2 ) w —(C 1 -C 7 )cycloalkyl; R 19a and R 19b are each independently H or a C 1 to C 4 linear or branched alkyl chain; R 20 is naphthyl, optionally substituted with one or more substituents independently selected from halo, (C 1 -C 10 )alkyl-halo, (C 1 -C 10 )alkyl, (C 1 -C 10 )alkoxy, (C 1 -C 10 )alkylthio, aryl, aryloxy, nitro, nitrile, sulfonamide, amino, monosubstituted amino, disubstituted amino, hydroxy, carboxy, and alkoxy-carbonyl; R 21a , R 21b and R 21c are independently in each instance hydrogen, halo, (C 1 -C 10 )alkyl-halo, (C 1 -C 10 )alkyl, (C 1 -C 10 )alkoxy, (C 1 -C 10 )alkylthio, aryl, aryloxy, nitro, nitrile, sulfonamide, amino, monosubstituted amino, disubstituted amino, hydroxy, carboxy, or alkoxy-carbonyl; R 22 is H or a C 1 to C 9 linear or branched alkyl, cycloalkyl, alkylcycloalkyl, aryl or alkylaryl; w is in each instance independently 0 to 5; x is 1 to 5; y is 1 to 5; and z is in each instance independently 1 to 5.The foregoing peptide comprises cyclic peptides wherein R 4 is R 9 is —(CH 2 ) x —C(═O)—NH—(CH 2 ) y — where x is 2 and y is 2, or where x is 2 and y is 1 R 7 is R 11 is a C 1 to C 17 acyl group, wherein the C 1 to C 17 comprises a linear alkyl; R 18 is —OH or —NH 2 ; R 21a , R 21b and R 21c are each H; and R 22 is a C 1 to C 9 linear or branched alkyl.", "Thus in one aspect the invention provides a cyclic peptide of the formula: In another aspect the invention provides a cyclic peptide of the formula: In another aspect the invention provides a cyclic peptide of the formula: wherein R 11 is a C 1 to C 17 acyl group, wherein the C 1 to C 17 comprises a linear alkyl; R 18 is —OH or —NH 2 ; and R 22 is a C 1 to C 9 linear or branched alkyl.", "In another aspect, the invention provides a cyclic peptide of the formula: wherein R 11 is a C 1 to C 17 acyl group, wherein the C 1 to C 17 comprises a linear alkyl; R 18 is —OH or —NH 2 ; and R 22 is a C 1 to C 9 linear or branched alkyl.", "In another aspect, the invention provides a cyclic peptide of the formula: The invention further provides a cyclic peptide selected from the group consisting of: Ac-Nle-cyclo(Glu-His-D-Phe-Arg-Dab)-D-Nal 1-NH 2 (SEQ ID NO:12), Ac-Nle-cyclo(Glu-His-D-Phe-Arg-Dab)-Nal 2-NH 2 (SEQ ID NO:13), Ac-Nle-cyclo(Glu-His-D-Phe-Arg-Dab)-D-Nal 2-NH 2 (SEQ ID NO:14), and Ac-Nle-cyclo(Glu-His-D-Phe-Arg-Dab)-Nal 1-NH 2 (SEQ ID NO:33), or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt of any of the foregoing.", "In another aspect, the present invention provides a melanocortin receptor-specific peptide-based pharmaceutical composition for use in treatment of melanocortin receptor-mediated diseases, indications, conditions and syndromes.", "In another aspect, the present invention provides a peptide-based melanocortin receptor-specific pharmaceutical, wherein the peptide is a selective MCR-1 ligand, for use in treatment of MCR-1 associated disorders, diseases, indications, conditions and/or syndromes.", "In another aspect, the present invention provides peptides which are specific for melanocortin receptor MCR-1 and which are agonists.", "In another aspect, the present invention provides a melanocortin receptor-specific pharmaceutical for use in treatment wherein administration of the treatment is via pulmonary administration.", "In another aspect, the present invention provides specific MCR-1 cyclic peptides that are effective over a significant dose range.", "Yet another aspect of the present invention provides specific MCR-1 cyclic peptides which, because of increased efficacy at low doses, may be administered by delivery systems other than art conventional intravenous, subcutaneous or intramuscular injection, including but not limited to oral delivery systems, inhalation delivery systems, pulmonary delivery systems, nasal delivery systems and mucous membrane delivery systems.", "Other aspects and novel features, and the further scope of applicability of the present invention will be set forth in part in the detailed description to follow, and in part will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon examination of the following, or may be learned by practice of the invention.", "The aspects of the invention may be realized and attained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.", "detailed-description description=\"Detailed Description\" end=\"lead\"?" ], [ "CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation application of U.S. Ser.", "No.", "15/268,761, entitled “Melanocortin-1 Receptor-Specific Cyclic Hexapeptides”, filed on Sep. 19, 2016, which in turn is a continuation application of U.S. Ser.", "No.", "14/514,472, entitled “Melanocortin-1 Receptor-Specific Cyclic Peptides,” filed on Oct. 15, 2014, now U.S. Pat.", "No.", "9,447,148, issued Sep. 20, 2016, which in turn is a divisional application of U.S. Ser.", "No.", "13/910,422, entitled “Melanocortin-1 Receptor-Specific Cyclic Peptides,” filed on Jun.", "5, 2013, now U.S. Pat.", "No.", "8,877,890, issued Nov. 4, 2014, which in turn is a continuation application of U.S. Ser.", "No.", "13/472,914, entitled “Melanocortin-1 Receptor-Specific Cyclic Peptides,” filed on May 16, 2012, now U.S. Pat.", "No.", "8,492,517, issued Jul.", "23, 2013.U.S.", "Ser.", "No.", "13/472,914 is a continuation of International Application No.", "PCT/US2010/057699, published as International Publication No.", "WO 2011/063366, entitled “Melanocortin-1 Receptor-Specific Cyclic Peptides”, filed on Nov. 23, 2010, which in turn claimed priority to and the benefit of the filing of U.S.", "Provisional Patent Application Ser.", "No.", "61/263,490 entitled “Melanocortin-1 Receptor-Specific Cyclic Peptides”, filed on Nov. 23, 2009.The specification and claims of each of the foregoing applications are incorporated herein by reference.", "BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention (Technical Field) The present invention relates to melanocortin receptor-specific cyclic peptides, particularly cyclic peptides selective and specific for the melanocortin-1 receptor, which may be used in the treatment of melanocortin-1 receptor-mediated or responsive diseases, indications, conditions and syndromes.", "Description of Related Art The following discussion refers to a number of publications by author(s) and year of publication, and that due to recent publication dates certain publications are not to be considered as prior art vis-a-vis the present invention.", "Discussion of such publications herein is given for more complete background and is not to be construed as an admission that such publications are prior art for patentability determination purposes.", "A family of melanocortin receptor types and subtypes has been identified.", "Receptor types include melanocortin-1 (MC-1) receptor (MCR-1), commonly known to be expressed in normal human melanocytes and on melanoma cells, but which is also reported to be expressed in various other cells, including those involved in immune responses, such as monocytes, neutrophils, lymphocytes, dendritic cells, natural killer (NK) cells and endothelial cells.", "See generally, Kang, L., et al., “A selective small molecule agonist of melanocortin-1 receptor inhibits lipopolysaccharide-induced cytokine accumulation and leukocyte infiltration in mice,” J. Leuk.", "Biol.", "80:897-904 (2006), and references cited therein.", "A variety of human MCR-1 subtypes and variants are known, including those disclosed in U.S. Pat.", "Nos.", "6,693,184 and 7,115,393.In addition to MCR-1, other melanocortin receptor types include melanocortin-2 receptor (MCR-2) for ACTH (adrenocorticotropin), expressed in cells of the adrenal gland, melanocortin-3 and melanocortin-4 (MC-4) receptors (MCR-3 and MCR-4), expressed primarily in cells in the hypothalamus, mid-brain and brainstem, and melanocortin-5 receptor (MCR-5), expressed in a wide distribution of peripheral tissues.", "The primary endogenous melanocortin agonist is the cyclic α-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (“α-MSH”) peptide.", "Melanocortin receptor-specific peptides generally contain the central tetrapeptide sequence of native α-MSH, His6-Phe7-Arg8-Trp9 (SEQ ID NO:1), or a mimetic or variation thereof, including various substitutions at one or more positions (see, e.g., Hruby, V. J., et al., “Alpha-Melanotropin: the minimal active sequence in the frog skin bioassay,” J. Med.", "Chem., 30:2126-2130 (1987); Castrucci, A. M. L., et al., “Alpha-melanotropin: the minimal active sequence in the lizard skin bioassay,” Gen. Comp.", "Endocrinol., 73:157-163 (1989); Haskell-Luevano, C., et al., “Discovery of prototype peptidomimetic agonists at the human melanocortin receptors MC1R and MC4R,” J. Med.", "Chem., 40:2133-2139 (1997); Holder, J. R., et al., “Structure-activity relationships of the melanocortin tetrapeptide Ac-His-DPhe-Arg-Trp-NH2.1.Modifications at the His position,” J. Med.", "Chem., 45:2801-2810 (2002); Abdel-Malek, Z.", "A., et al., “Melanoma prevention strategy based on using tetrapeptide α-MSH analogs that protect human melanocytes from UV-induced DNA damage and cytotoxicity,” FASEB J., 20:E888-E896 (2006); Bednarek, M. A., et al., “Cyclic analogs of α-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (αMSH) with high agonist potency and selectivity at human melanocortin receptor 1b,” Peptides, 29:1010-1017 (2008); Koikov, L. N., et al., “Analogs of subnanomolar hMC1R agonist LK-184 [Ph(CH2)3CO-His-D-Phe-Arg-Trp-NH2].", "An additional binding site with the human melanocortin receptor 1?” Bioorg.", "Med.", "Chem.", "Lett.", "14:3997-4000 (2004); and Abdel-Malek, Z.", "A., et al., “Alpha-MSH tripeptide analogs activate the melanocortin 1 receptor and reduce UV-induced DNA damage in human melanocytes,” Pigment Cell Melanoma Res.", "22:635-44 (2009)).", "Peptides or peptide-like compounds asserted to be specific for one or more melanocortin receptors are disclosed in U.S. Pat.", "Nos.", "5,576,290, 5,674,839, 5,683,981, 5,714,576, 5,731,408, 6,051,555, 6,054,556, 6,284,735, 6,350,430, 6,476,187, 6,534,503, 6,600,015, 6,613,874, 6,693,165, 6,699,873, 6,887,846, 6,951,916, 7,008,925, 7,049,398, 7,084,111, 7,176,279, 7,473,760, and 7,582,610; in U.S. published patent application Publication Nos.", "2001/0056179, 2002/0143141, 2003/0064921, 2003/0105024, 2003/0212002, 2004/0023859, 2005/0130901, 2005/0187164, 2005/0239711, 2006/0105951, 2006/0111281, 2006/0293223, 2007/0027091, 2007/0105759, 2007/0123453, 2007/0244054, 2008/0039387, and 2009/0069242; and in international patent applications nos.", "WO 98/27113, WO 99/21571, WO 00/05263, WO 99/54358, WO 00/35952, WO 00/58361, WO 01/30808, WO 01/52880, WO 01/74844, WO 01/85930, WO 01/90140, WO 02/18437, WO 02/26774, WO 03/006604, WO 2004/046166, WO 2005/000338, WO 2005/000339, WO 2005/000877, WO 2005/030797, WO 2005/060985, WO2006/048449, WO 2006/048450, WO 2006/048451, WO 2006/048452, WO 2006/097526, WO 2007/008684, WO 2007/008704, WO 2007/009894 and WO 2009/061411.Notwithstanding the intense scientific and pharmaceutical interest in melanocortin receptor-specific peptides, there remains a need for highly selective and specific MCR-1 agonist peptides for use in pharmaceutical applications.", "It is against this background that the present invention was made.", "BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 1.In one aspect, the invention provides a cyclic peptide of the formula: including all enantiomers, stereoisomers or diastereoisomers thereof, or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt of any of the foregoing, wherein: R4 is —(CH2)w—R14; R7 is —(CH2)w—R16; R9 is —(CH2)x—C(═O)—NH—(CH2)y—, —(CH2)x—NH—C(═O)—(CH2)y—, —(CH2)x—C(═O)—(CH2)z—C(═O)—(CH2)y—, —(CH2)x—C(═O)—NH—C(═O)—(CH2)y—, —(CH2)x—NH—C(═O)—NH—(CH2)y—, —(CH2)x—NH—C(═O)—(CH2)z—C(═O)—NH—(CH2)y—, or —(CH2)x—S—S—(CH2)y—; R11 is H or a C1 to C17 acyl group, wherein the C1 to C17 comprises a linear or branched alkyl, cycloalkyl, alkylcycloalkyl, aryl or alkylaryl; R14 is independently in each instance —N(R19a)(R19b), —NH—(CH2)z—N(R19a)(R19b), —NH—C(═NH)—N(R19a)(R19b), —NH—C(═O)—N(R19a)(R19b), —O(R19a), —(R19a)(R19b), —S(═O)2(R19a), —C(═O)—O(R19a), wherein any ring in R14 is optionally substituted with one or more ring substituents, and when one or more substituents are present, are the same or different and independently hydroxyl, halogen, sulfonamide, alkyl, —O-alkyl, aryl, —O-aryl, —C(═O)—OH, or —C(═O)—N(R19a)(R19b); R16 is —H, —N(R19a)(R19b), —NH—(CH2)z—N(R19a)(R19b), —NH—C(═NH)—N(R19a)(R19b), —NH—C(═O)—N(R19a)(R19b), —O(R19a), a linear or branched C1 to C17 alkyl chain, —C(═O)—N(R19a)(R19b), —S(═O)2(R19a), wherein any ring is optionally substituted with one or more optional ring substituents, and when one or more substituents are present, are the same or different and independently hydroxyl, halogen, sulfonamide, alkyl, —O-alkyl, aryl, aralkyl, O-aralkyl, or —O-aryl; R18 is —OH, —N(R19a)(R19b), —N(R19a)(CH2)w (C1-C7)cycloalkyl, or —O—(CH2)w—(C1-C7)cycloalkyl; R19a and R19b are each independently H or a C1 to C4 linear or branched alkyl chain; R20 is naphthyl, optionally substituted with one or more substituents independently selected from halo, (C1-C10)alkyl-halo, (C1-C10)alkyl, (C1-C10)alkoxy, (C1-C10)alkylthio, aryl, aryloxy, nitro, nitrile, sulfonamide, amino, monosubstituted amino, disubstituted amino, hydroxy, carboxy, and alkoxy-carbonyl; R21a, R21b and R21c are independently in each instance hydrogen, halo, (C1-C10)alkyl-halo, (C1-C10)alkyl, (C1-C10)alkoxy, (C1-C10)alkylthio, aryl, aryloxy, nitro, nitrile, sulfonamide, amino, monosubstituted amino, disubstituted amino, hydroxy, carboxy, or alkoxy-carbonyl; R22 is H or a C1 to C9 linear or branched alkyl, cycloalkyl, alkylcycloalkyl, aryl or alkylaryl; w is in each instance independently 0 to 5; x is 1 to 5; y is 1 to 5; and z is in each instance independently 1 to 5.The foregoing peptide comprises cyclic peptides wherein R4 is R9 is —(CH2)x—C(═O)—NH—(CH2)y— where x is 2 and y is 2, or where x is 2 and y is 1 R7 is R11 is a C1 to C17 acyl group, wherein the C1 to C17 comprises a linear alkyl; R18 is —OH or —NH2; R21a, R21b and R21c are each H; and R22 is a C1 to C9 linear or branched alkyl.", "Thus in one aspect the invention provides a cyclic peptide of the formula: In another aspect the invention provides a cyclic peptide of the formula: In another aspect the invention provides a cyclic peptide of the formula: wherein R11 is a C1 to C17 acyl group, wherein the C1 to C17 comprises a linear alkyl; R18 is —OH or —NH2; and R22 is a C1 to C9 linear or branched alkyl.", "In another aspect, the invention provides a cyclic peptide of the formula: wherein R11 is a C1 to C17 acyl group, wherein the C1 to C17 comprises a linear alkyl; R18 is —OH or —NH2; and R22 is a C1 to C9 linear or branched alkyl.", "In another aspect, the invention provides a cyclic peptide of the formula: The invention further provides a cyclic peptide selected from the group consisting of: Ac-Nle-cyclo(Glu-His-D-Phe-Arg-Dab)-D-Nal 1-NH2 (SEQ ID NO:12), Ac-Nle-cyclo(Glu-His-D-Phe-Arg-Dab)-Nal 2-NH2 (SEQ ID NO:13), Ac-Nle-cyclo(Glu-His-D-Phe-Arg-Dab)-D-Nal 2-NH2 (SEQ ID NO:14), and Ac-Nle-cyclo(Glu-His-D-Phe-Arg-Dab)-Nal 1-NH2 (SEQ ID NO:33), or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt of any of the foregoing.", "In another aspect, the present invention provides a melanocortin receptor-specific peptide-based pharmaceutical composition for use in treatment of melanocortin receptor-mediated diseases, indications, conditions and syndromes.", "In another aspect, the present invention provides a peptide-based melanocortin receptor-specific pharmaceutical, wherein the peptide is a selective MCR-1 ligand, for use in treatment of MCR-1 associated disorders, diseases, indications, conditions and/or syndromes.", "In another aspect, the present invention provides peptides which are specific for melanocortin receptor MCR-1 and which are agonists.", "In another aspect, the present invention provides a melanocortin receptor-specific pharmaceutical for use in treatment wherein administration of the treatment is via pulmonary administration.", "In another aspect, the present invention provides specific MCR-1 cyclic peptides that are effective over a significant dose range.", "Yet another aspect of the present invention provides specific MCR-1 cyclic peptides which, because of increased efficacy at low doses, may be administered by delivery systems other than art conventional intravenous, subcutaneous or intramuscular injection, including but not limited to oral delivery systems, inhalation delivery systems, pulmonary delivery systems, nasal delivery systems and mucous membrane delivery systems.", "Other aspects and novel features, and the further scope of applicability of the present invention will be set forth in part in the detailed description to follow, and in part will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon examination of the following, or may be learned by practice of the invention.", "The aspects of the invention may be realized and attained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 1.0 Definitions Before proceeding with the description of the invention, certain terms are defined as set forth herein.", "In the sequences given for the peptides according to the present invention, the amino acid residues have their conventional meaning as given in Chapter 2400 of the Manual of Patent Examining Procedure, 8th Ed.", "Thus, “Nle” is norleucine, “Asp” is aspartic acid, “His” is histidine, “Phe” is phenylalanine, “Arg” is arginine, “Trp” is tryptophan, and “Lys” is lysine, and so on.", "It is to be understood that “D” isomers are designated by a “D-” before the three letter code or amino acid name, such that for example D-Phe is D-phenylalanine.", "Amino acid residues not encompassed by the foregoing have the following definitions: Abbreviation Common Name Side Chain or Amino Acid Structure Aib alpha- aminoisobutyric acid Cit citrulline Dab diaminobutyric acid Dap diaminopropionic acid hGlu homoglutamic acid Hyp hydroxyproline Hyp(Bzl) O-benzyl- hydroxyproline Nal 1 3- (1-naphthyl) alanine Nal 2 3- (2-naphthyl) alanine Nle norleucine Orn ornithine Pro(4-Bzl) 4-benzyl- proline Pro(4-NH2) 4-amino- proline Sar sarcosine An “α,α-disubstituted amino acid” means any α-amino acid having a further substituent in the α-position, which substituent may be the same as or different from the side chain moiety of the α-amino acid.", "Suitable substituents, in addition to the side chain moiety of the α-amino acid, include C1 to C6 linear or branched alkyl.", "Aib is an example of an α,α-disubstituted amino acid.", "While α,α-disubstituted amino acids can be referred to using conventional L- and D-isomeric references, it is to be understood that such references are for convenience, and that where the substituents at the α-position are different, such amino acid can interchangeably be referred to as an α,α-disubstituted amino acid derived from the L- or D-isomer, as appropriate, of a residue with the designated amino acid side chain moiety.", "Thus (S)-2-Amino-2-methyl-hexanoic acid can be referred to as either an α,α-disubstituted amino acid derived from L-Nle or as an α,α-disubstituted amino acid derived from D-Ala.", "Similarly, Aib can be referred to as an α,α-disubstituted amino acid derived from Ala.", "Whenever an α,α-disubstituted amino acid is provided, it is to be understood as including all (R) and (S) configurations thereof.", "Whenever a claim or description herein refers to an “amino acid”, such designation includes, but is not limited to, an “α,α-disubstituted amino acid.” An “N-substituted amino acid” means any amino acid wherein an amino acid side chain moiety is covalently bonded to the backbone amino group, including optionally where there are no substituents other than H in the α-carbon position.", "Sarcosine is an example of an N-substituted amino acid.", "By way of example, sarcosine can be referred to as an N-substituted amino acid derivative of Ala, in that the amino acid side chain moiety of sarcosine and Ala is the same, methyl.", "Whenever a claim or description herein refers to an “amino acid”, such designation includes, but is not limited to, an “N-substituted amino acid.” In certain instances groups may be substituted for an amino acid, such as particularly use of a dicarboxylic acid in place of an amino acid.", "One particular dicarboxylic acid utilized herein is succinic acid, abbreviated as “Suc”, which has the structural formula The term “alkane” includes linear or branched saturated hydrocarbons.", "Examples of linear alkane groups include methane, ethane, propane, and the like.", "Examples of branched or substituted alkane groups include methylbutane or dimethylbutane, methylpentane, dimethylpentane or trimethylpentane, and the like.", "In general, any alkyl group may be a substitutent of an alkane.", "The term “alkene” includes unsaturated hydrocarbons that contain one or more double carbon-carbon bonds.", "Examples of such alkene groups include ethylene, propene, and the like.", "The term “alkenyl” includes a linear monovalent hydrocarbon radical of two to six carbon atoms or a branched monovalent hydrocarbon radical of three to six carbon atoms containing at least one double bond; examples thereof include ethenyl, 2-propenyl, and the like.", "The “alkyl” groups specified herein include those alkyl radicals of the designated length in either a straight or branched configuration.", "Examples of such alkyl radicals include methyl, ethyl, propyl, isopropyl, butyl, sec-butyl, tertiary butyl, pentyl, isopentyl, hexyl, isohexyl, and the like.", "The term “alkyne” includes a linear monovalent hydrocarbon radical of two to six carbon atoms or a branched monovalent hydrocarbon radical of three to six carbon atoms containing at least one triple bond; examples thereof include ethyne, propyne, butyne, and the like.", "The term “aryl” includes a monocyclic or bicyclic aromatic hydrocarbon radical of 6 to 12 ring atoms, and optionally substituted independently with one or more substituents selected from alkyl, haloalkyl, cycloalkyl, alkoxy, alkythio, halo, nitro, acyl, cyano, amino, monosubstituted amino, disubstituted amino, hydroxy, carboxy, or alkoxy-carbonyl.", "Examples of an aryl group include phenyl, biphenyl, naphthyl, 1-naphthyl, and 2-naphthyl, derivatives thereof, and the like.", "The term “aralkyl” includes a radical —RaRb where Ra is an alkylene (a bivalent alkyl) group and Rb is an aryl group as defined above.", "Examples of aralkyl groups include benzyl, phenylethyl, 3-(3-chlorophenyl)-2-methylpentyl, and the like.", "The term “aliphatic” includes compounds with hydrocarbon chains, such as for example alkanes, alkenes, alkynes, and derivatives thereof.", "The term “acyl” includes a group R(C═O)—, where R is an organic group.", "An example is the acetyl group CH3—C(═O)—, referred to herein as “Ac”.", "As used herein, R may comprise a C1 to C17 linear or branched alkyl, cycloalkyl, alkylcycloalkyl, aryl or alkylaryl.", "A peptide or aliphatic moiety is “acylated” when an alkyl or substituted alkyl group as defined above is bonded through one or more carbonyl {—(C═O)—} groups.", "A peptide is most usually acylated at the N-terminus.", "An “omega amino aliphatic chain” includes an aliphatic moiety with a terminal amino group.", "Examples of omega amino aliphatic chains include aminoheptanoyl and the amino acid side chain moieties of ornithine and lysine.", "The term “heteroaryl” includes mono- and bicyclic aromatic rings containing from 1 to 4 heteroatoms selected from nitrogen, oxygen and sulfur.", "5- or 6-membered heteroaryl are monocyclic heteroaromatic rings; examples thereof include thiazole, oxazole, thiophene, furan, pyrrole, imidazole, isoxazole, pyrazole, triazole, thiadiazole, tetrazole, oxadiazole, pyridine, pyridazine, pyrimidine, pyrazine, and the like.", "Bicyclic heteroaromatic rings include, but are not limited to, benzothiadiazole, indole, benzothiophene, benzofuran, benzimidazole, benzisoxazole, benzothiazole, quinoline, benzotriazole, benzoxazole, isoquinoline, purine, furopyridine and thienopyridine.", "An “amide” includes compounds that have a trivalent nitrogen attached to a carbonyl group (—C(═O)—NH2), such as for example methylamide, ethylamide, propylamide, and the like.", "An “imide” includes compounds containing an imido group (—C(═O)—NH—C(═O)—).", "An “amine” includes compounds that contain an amino group (—NH2).", "A “nitrile” includes compounds that contain a (—CN) group bound to an organic group.", "The term “halogen” includes the halogen atoms fluorine, chlorine, bromine and iodine, and groups including one or more halogen atoms, such as —CF3 and the like.", "The term “composition”, as in pharmaceutical composition, encompasses a product comprising the active ingredient(s), and the inert ingredient(s) that make up the carrier, as well as any product which results, directly or indirectly, from combination, complexation or aggregation of any two or more of the ingredients, or from dissociation of one or more of the ingredients, or from other types of reactions or interactions of one or more of the ingredients.", "Accordingly, the pharmaceutical compositions utilized in the present invention encompass any composition made by admixing an active ingredient and one or more pharmaceutically acceptable carriers.", "By a melanocortin receptor “agonist” is meant an endogenous substance, drug substance or compound, including a compound such as the peptides of the present invention, which can interact with a melanocortin receptor and initiate a pharmacological response, including but not limited to adenyl cyclase activation, characteristic of the melanocortin receptor.", "For the present invention, a melanocortin receptor agonist which is an agonist at MCR-1 is preferred.", "By “α-MSH” is meant the peptide Ac-Ser-Tyr-Ser-Met-Glu-His-Phe-Arg-Trp-Gly-Lys-Pro-Val-NH2 (SEQ ID NO:2) and analogs and homologs thereof, including without limitation NDP-α-MSH.", "By “NDP-α-MSH” is meant the peptide Ac-Ser-Tyr-Ser-Nle-Glu-His-D-Phe-Arg-Trp-Gly-Lys-Pro-Val-NH2 (SEQ ID NO:3) and analogs and homologs thereof.", "By “EC50” is meant the molar concentration of an agonist, including a partial agonist, which produced 50% of the maximum possible response for that agonist.", "By way of example, a test compound which, at a concentration of 72 nM, produces 50% of the maximum possible response for that compound as determined in a cAMP assay in an MCR-1 cell expression system has an EC50 of 72 nM.", "Unless otherwise specified, the molar concentration associated with an EC50 determination is in nanomoles per liter (nM).", "By “Ki (nM)” is meant the equilibrium inhibitor dissociation constant representing the molar concentration of a competing compound that binds to half the binding sites of a receptor at equilibrium in the absence of radioligand or other competitors.", "In general, the numeric value of the Ki is inversely correlated to the affinity of the compound for the receptor, such that if the Ki is low, the affinity is high.", "Ki may be determined using the equation of Cheng and Prusoff (Cheng Y., Prusoff W. H., Biochem.", "Pharmacol.", "22: 3099-3108, 1973): K i = EC 50 1 + [ ligand ] K D where “ligand” is the concentration of radioligand and KD is an inverse measure of receptor affinity for the radioligand which produces 50% receptor occupancy by the radioligand.", "Unless otherwise specified, the molar concentration associated with a Ki determination is in nM.", "Ki may be expressed in terms of specific receptors (e.g., MCR-1, MCR-3, MCR-4 or MCR-5), specific species (e.g., human or murine), and specific ligands (e.g., α-MSH or NDP-α-MSH).", "By “inhibition” is meant the percent attenuation, or decrease in receptor binding, in a competitive inhibition assay compared to a known standard.", "Thus, by “inhibition at 1 μM (NDP-α-MSH)” is meant the percent decrease in binding of NDP-α-MSH by addition of a determined amount of the compound to be tested, such as 1 μM of a test compound, such as under the assay conditions hereafter described.", "By way of example, a test compound that does not inhibit binding of NDP-α-MSH has a 0% inhibition, and a test compound that completely inhibits binding of NDP-α-MSH has a 100% inhibition.", "Typically, as described hereafter, a radio assay is used for competitive inhibition testing, such as with I125-labeled NDP-α-MSH, or a lanthanide chelate fluorescent assay, such as with Eu-NDP-α-MSH.", "However, other methods of testing competitive inhibition are known, including use of label or tag systems other than radioisotopes, and in general any method known in the art for testing competitive inhibition may be employed in this invention.", "It may thus be seen that “inhibition” is one measure to determine whether a test compound attenuates binding of α-MSH to melanocortin receptors.", "By “binding affinity” is meant the ability of a compound or drug to bind to its biological target, expressed herein as Ki (nM).", "In general, “functional activity” is a measure of the signaling of a receptor, or measure of a change in receptor-associated signaling, such as a melanocortin receptor, and in particular MCR-1 or hMCR-1, upon activation by a compound.", "Melanocortin receptors initiate signal transduction through activation of heterotrimeric G proteins.", "In one aspect, melanocortin receptors signal through Gas, which catalyzes production of cAMP by adenylyl cyclase.", "Thus determination of stimulation of adenylyl cyclase, such as determination of maximal stimulation of adenylyl cyclase, is one measure of functional activity, and is the primary measure exemplified herein.", "However, it is to be understood that alternative measures of functional activity may be employed in the practice of this invention, and are specifically contemplated and included within the scope of this invention.", "Thus, in one example intracellular free calcium may be measured, such as reported by and using the methods disclosed in Mountjoy, K. G., et al., “Melanocortin receptor-medicated mobilization of intracellular free calcium in HEK293 cells,” Physiol.", "Genomics 5:11-19 (2001), or Kassack, M. U., et al., “Functional screening of G protein-coupled receptors by measuring intracellular calcium with a fluorescence microplate reader,” Biomol.", "Screening 7:233-246 (2002).", "It is also possible to measure activation by measurement of the production of inositol triphosphate or diacylglycerol from phosphatidylinositol 4,5-biphosphate, such as by use of radioassays.", "Yet another measure of functional activity is receptor internalization, resulting from activation of regulatory pathways, such as using the methods disclosed in Nickolls, S. A., et al., “Functional selectivity of melanocortin 4 receptor peptide and nonpeptide agonists: evidence for ligand specific conformational states,” J. Pharm.", "Exper.", "Therapeutics 313:1281-1288 (2005).", "Yet another measure of functional activity is the exchange, and exchange rate, of nucleotides associated with activation of a G protein receptor, such as the exchange of GDP (guanosine diphosphate) for GTP (guanosine triphosphase) on the G protein α subunit, which may be measured by any number of means, including a radioassay using guanosine 5′-(γ-[35S]thio)-triphosphate, as disclosed in Manning, D. R., “Measures of efficacy using G proteins as endpoints: differential engagement of G proteins through single receptors,” Mol.", "Pharmacol.", "62:451-452 (2002).", "Various gene-based assays have been developed for measuring activation of G-coupled proteins, such as those disclosed in Chen, W., et al., “A colorimetric assay from measuring activation of Gs- and Gq-coupled signaling pathways,” Anal.", "Biochem.", "226:349-354 (1995); Kent, T. C., et al., “Development of a generic dual-reporter gene assay for screening G-protein-coupled receptors,” Biomol Screening 5:437-446 (2005); or Kotarsky, K., et al., “Improved receptor gene assays used to identify ligands acting on orphan seven-transmembrane receptors,” Pharmacology & Toxicology 93:249-258 (2003).", "The colorimetric assay of Chen et al.", "has been adapted for use in measuring melanocortin receptor activation, as disclosed in Hruby, V. J., et al., “Cyclic lactam α-melanocortin analogues of Ac-Nle4-cyclo[Asp5,D-Phe7,Lys10] α-melanocyte-stimulating hormone-(4-10)-NH2 with bulky aromatic amino acids at position 7 shows high antagonist potency and selectivity at specific melanocortin receptors,” J. Med.", "Chem., 38:3454-3461 (1995).", "In general, functional activity may be measured by any method, including methods of determining activation and/or signaling of a G-coupled receptor, and further including methods which may be hereafter developed or reported.", "Each of the foregoing articles, and the methods disclosed therein, is incorporated here by reference as if set forth in full.", "The terms “treat,” “treating” and “treatment,” as used herein, contemplate an action that occurs while a patient is suffering from the specified disease or disorder, which reduces the severity of the disease or disorder.", "As used herein, the term “therapeutically effective amount” means the amount of a compound including a peptide of the invention that will elicit a biological or medical response in the mammal that is being treated by a medical doctor or other clinician.", "As used herein, the term “prophylactically effective” or “preventive” means the amount of a compound including a peptide of the invention that will prevent or inhibit affliction or mitigate affliction of a mammal with a medical condition that a medical doctor or other clinician is trying to prevent, inhibit, or mitigate before a patient begins to suffer from the specified disease or disorder.", "By “circulatory shock” is meant the general medical condition in which organs and/or tissues of the body of the subject, which subject may be human or animal, are not receiving an adequate flow of blood.", "Circulatory shock includes conditions such as hypovolemic shock, cardiogenic shock, vasodilatory shock and the like.", "These conditions or dysfunctions in circulation can in turn have different causes, such as bacterial blood infection (septic shock or infectious), severe allergic reaction (anaphylactic shock), trauma (traumatic shock), severe bleeding or loss of blood (hemorrhagic shock), neurologic dysfunction causing abnormal opening of blood vessels (neurogenic shock) or endocrine related (endocrine shock).", "Circulatory shock can further result in ischemia and ischemic damage to bodily organs, tissues, cells or parts.", "Upon reperfusion, or restoration of blood flow, ischemia-reperfusion injury can occur, also resulting in damage to bodily organs, tissues, or cells.", "By “inflammatory disease,” also sometimes called an “inflammatory condition,” is meant a disease or condition characterized in part by inflammatory mechanisms, such as specific T lymphocyte reactions or antibody-antigen interactions causing the recruitment of inflammatory cells and endogenous mediator chemicals, including but not limited to cytokines, which mediator chemicals include but are not limited to one or more of increased NF-κB activity, increased TNF-α production, increased IL-1 production and increased IL-6 production.", "2.0 Clinical Indications and Utility The compositions and methods disclosed herein can be used for both medical applications and animal husbandry or veterinary applications.", "Typically, the methods are used in humans, but may also be used in other mammals.", "The term “patient” denotes a mammalian individual, and is so used throughout the specification and in the claims.", "The primary applications of the present invention involve human patients, but the present invention may be applied to laboratory, farm, zoo, wildlife, pet, sport or other animals.", "Clinical indications and specific utilities include the following: 2.1 Inflammatory Diseases, Indications, Conditions and Syndromes Peptides, compositions and methods of the present invention are directed towards the treatment of inflammatory diseases and inflammatory conditions in a subject.", "There are a number of inflammatory diseases and inflammatory conditions which may be so treated.", "In one aspect, the inflammatory condition results from a disease including a form of arthritis, including but not limited to osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, septic arthritis, gout and pseudogout, juvenile idiopathic arthritis, Still's disease and ankylosing spondylitis, as well as arthritis secondary to other diseases, such as arthritis secondary to lupus erythematosus, Henoch-Schönlein purpura, psoriatic arthritis, reactive arthritis, haemochromatosis, hepatitis, Wegener's granulomatosis, vasculitis syndromes, Lyme disease, familial Mediterranean fever, hyperimmunoglobulinemia D with recurrent fever, TNF receptor-associated periodic syndrome and inflammatory bowel disease, including Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis.", "In another aspect, the inflammatory condition results from a disease including a form of inflammatory bowel disease, such as Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, collagenous colitis, lymphocytic colitis, ischemic colitis, diversion colitis, Behçet's syndrome, infective colitis and indeterminate colitis.", "In another aspect, the inflammatory condition results from an autoimmune disease, including but not limited to systemic syndromes such as systemic lupus erythematosus, Sjögren's syndrome, scleroderma, rheumatoid arthritis and polymyositis, or a syndrome affecting only a local body system, such as the endocrine system (diabetes mellitus type 1, Hashimoto's thyroiditis, Addison's disease, etc.", "), dermatologic system (pemphigus vulgaris), hematologic system (autoimmune hemolytic anemia), or neural system (multiple sclerosis).", "Thus autoimmune diseases include, in addition to the general syndromes discussed above, such diseases and conditions as acute disseminated encephalomyelitis, Addison's disease, ankylosing spondylitis, antiphospholipid antibody syndrome, aplastic anemia, autoimmune hepatitis, autoimmune oophoritis, celiac disease, Crohn's disease, gestational pemphigoid, Goodpasture's syndrome, Graves' disease, Guillain-Barré syndrome, Hashimoto's disease, idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura, Kawasaki disease, lupus erythematosus, mixed connective tissue disease, multiple sclerosis, myasthenia gravis, opsoclonus myoclonus syndrome, optic neuritis, Ord's thyroiditis, pemphigus, pernicious anaemia, primary biliary cirrhosis, Reiter's syndrome, Sjögren's syndrome, Takayasu's arteritis, temporal arteritis, autoimmune hemolytic anemia and Wegener's granulomatosis.", "In another aspect, the inflammatory condition results from or is related to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), also known as chronic obstructive airway diseases, including but not limited to diseases characterized by the pathological limitation of airflow in the airway that is not fully reversible, such as for example chronic bronchitis, emphysema, pneumoconiosis, pulmonary neoplasms and other lung disorders.", "Other inflammatory conditions include upper or lower airway diseases and disorders, such as allergic asthma, non-allergic asthma, allergic rhinitis, vasomotor rhinitis, allergic conjunctivitis, non-allergic conjunctivitis, and the like, as well as airway diseases related to external toxins or substances, such as various forms of pneumoconiosis (coalworker's pneumoconiosis, asbestosis, silicosis, bauxite fibrosis, berylliosis, or siderosis), byssinosis or hypersensitivity pneumonitis (farmer's lung or bird fancier's lung).", "Other lung diseases involving an inflammatory condition include acute respiratory distress syndrome.", "The peptides and compositions of the present invention are of particular utility tor treatment of conditions wherein glucocorticoids are either ineffectual or inadequate to bring about the desired pharmacological response, such as COPD, asthma in individuals who smoke, and other conditions characterized, in whole or in part, by eosinophil accumulation in the lung, neutrophil infiltration and activation, alveolar macrophage recruitment and activation, epithelial cell expression of IL-8 or increased expression of TNF-α.", "For airway or lung disorders, in one aspect the peptides of the present invention are delivered systemically; in another aspect the peptides of the present invention are delivered locally, such as by inhalation administration.", "In yet another aspect, the inflammatory condition results from or is related to some form of transplant-related condition or syndrome, such as graft-versus-host disease, hyperacute rejection, acute rejection, or chronic rejection.", "Graft-versus-host disease is a common complication of allogeneic bone marrow transplantation, but can occur with other transplantations, and particularly those with T cells present in the graft, either as contaminants or intentionally introduced.", "Hyperacute, acute or chronic rejection can occur with bodily organs such as kidneys, liver, pancreas, spleen, uterus, heart or lungs, as well as transplantation of bone, cornea, face, hand, penis or skin.", "In one embodiment, a pharmaceutical composition including one or more of the peptides of the present invention is given prophylactically to limit or prevent a transplant-related condition or syndrome, such as immediately before, during or after transplantation of a bodily fluid, organ or part.", "In another embodiment, the bodily fluid, organ or part being transplanted is perfused with a solution of a pharmaceutical composition including one or more of the peptides of the present invention.", "In yet another embodiment, one or more of the peptides of the present invention are administered in conjunction with, combination with or series with one or more other agents for transplant rejection, such as calcineurin inhibitors including cyclosporin or tacrolimus, mTOR inhibitors including sirolimus or everolimus, anti-proliferatives including azathioprine or mycophenolic acid, corticosteroids including prednisolone or hydrocortisone, antibodies such as monoclonal anti-IL-2Rα receptor antibodies, basiliximab or daclizumab, or polyclonal anti-T-cell antibodies such as anti-thymocyte globulin or anti-lymphocyte globulin.", "2.2 Fibrotic and Sclerotic Diseases, Indications, Conditions and Syndromes Peptides, compositions and methods of the present invention are directed towards the treatment of fibrotic and sclerotic diseases, indications, conditions and syndromes in a subject.", "There are a number of fibrotic and sclerotic diseases, indications, conditions and syndromes which may be so treated.", "Fibrotic and sclerotic diseases, indications, conditions and syndromes frequently include an inflammatory component, and thus many may similarly be categorized as an inflammatory disease or condition, and are listed in section 2.1 above.", "Fibrotic and sclerotic diseases and conditions, in addition to including an inflammatory component, may also be idiopathic, toxic, hereditary and/or pharmacologically-induced disorders.", "In general, fibrotic disorders are characterized by excessive production of extracellular matrix, primarily type I collagen, which may result in loss of organ function.", "It is believed, without wishing to be bound by theory, that agonism of MCR-1 can result in suppression of transforming growth factor-β1-induced collagen synthesis by human dermal fibroblasts, thereby providing therapeutic and/or prophylactic benefit for fibrotic and sclerotic diseases, indications, conditions and syndromes.", "Representative fibrotic and sclerotic diseases and conditions that can be so treated include, but are not limited to, localized scleroderma, systemic sclerosis, sclerodermic graft-versus-host disease of the skin, idiopathic lung fibrosis, bleomycin-induced lung fibrosis, cyclosporine-induced nephropathy, cirrhosis of the liver, hypertrophic scars, keloids and the like.", "2.3 Diseases Related to Increased Cytokine Expression and Related Diseases, Indications, Conditions and Syndromes Expression of various cytokines is increased during an inflammatory process, including an inflammatory process secondary to circulatory shock, ischemia, reperfusion injury and the like.", "TNF-α is a pleiotropic cytokine produced mainly by macrophages, and also by other types of cells.", "Other cytokines which increase during an inflammatory process, including an inflammatory process secondary to circulatory shock, ischemia, reperfusion injury and the like, include IL-1 and IL-6.While cytokines such as TNF-α have beneficial effects in many instances, significantly increased levels, such as secondary to circulatory shock, ischemia, reperfusion injury and the like, can have pathological effects.", "In one aspect, reperfusion of hypoxic or ischemic tissues, such as secondary to circulatory shock, results in inflammatory responses, including increased cytokine expression.", "In one embodiment, the invention is directed to methods of using one or more of the peptides of the present invention to decrease pro-inflammatory cytokine production and expression, including decreasing pro-inflammatory cytokine production and expression secondary to circulatory shock, ischemia, reperfusion injury and the like.", "The decrease in pro-inflammatory cytokine production and expression, including without limitation one or more of TNF-α, IL-1 and IL-6, occurs instantaneously or within a short time period following administration of a composition comprising one or more of the peptides of the present invention, preferably within at least about 40 minutes following administration, more preferably within 1-20 minutes, more preferably within 1-15 minutes, and most preferably within about 1-10 minutes.", "In a related embodiment, the invention is directed to methods of using one or more of the peptides of the present invention to increase anti-inflammatory cytokine production and expression.", "The increase in anti-inflammatory cytokine production and expression, including without limitation IL-10, occurs instantaneously or within a short time period following administration of a composition comprising one or more of the peptides of the present invention, preferably within at least about 40 minutes following administration, more preferably within 1-20 minutes, more preferably within 1-15 minutes, and most preferably within about 1-10 minutes.", "2.4 Dermatologic Diseases, Indications, Conditions and Syndromes Peptides, compositions and methods of the present invention are further directed towards the treatment of dermatologic and cosmetic diseases, indications, conditions and syndromes.", "In one aspect, peptides and compositions of the present invention are MCR-1 agonists which stimulate melanocytes and related cells to increase the level of melanin in the skin.", "By increasing the level of melanin in the skin, protection against ultraviolet radiation (UVR) and sunlight is afforded, including protection against phototoxicity and photosensitivity of the skin caused by UVR, sun and light.", "In one aspect, peptides, compositions and methods of the present invention may be utilized for prophylactic and/or therapeutic treatment of dermal diseases, indications, conditions and syndromes such as acne vulgaris (commonly referred to as acne), atopic dermatitis (commonly referred to as atopic eczema or eczema), polymorphous light eruption, psoriasis, rosacea, seborrheic dermatitis, vitiligo, porphyria, porphyria cutanea tarda, erythropoietic protoporphyria, solar urticaria, urticaria pigmentosa or xeroderma pigmentosum.", "In another aspect, peptides, compositions and methods of the present invention may be utilized to prevent, limit or treat photosensitive or photoresponsive viral infections, such as herpes simplex virus (commonly referred to as cold sores and genital herpes depending on the site of infection), human papilloma virus and varicella zoster virus.", "In another aspect, peptides, compositions and methods of the present invention may be utilized to prevent, limit or treat cancers of the skin, including use in pre-cancerous conditions, and including use in actinic keratosis, basal cell carcinoma, melanoma or squamous cell carcinoma.", "In another aspect, peptides, compositions and methods of the present invention may be utilized to prevent or limit adverse effects of various therapies, including phototherapies, such as photodynamic therapy.", "In yet another aspect, peptides, compositions and methods of the present invention may be utilized to induce a tan, to decrease hair graying or for similar and related purposes relating to increased melanin production.", "Peptides of the present invention may be administered by any of a variety of means, including application directly to the skin such as by means of oils, ointments, creams, gels, salves and the like, or by systemic administration, including by means of implants, such as subcutaneous dissolving implants.", "2.5 Cytokine and/or Growth Factor Responsive Cancers Certain cancers, such as mesothelioma, are reported to be very sensitive to growth-promoting influences of cytokines and growth factors, and may be treatable by means of peptides selective for MCR-1.Canania, A., et al., “Autocrine inhibitory influences of α-melanocyte-stimulating hormone in malignant pleural mesothelioma,” J. Leukoc.", "Biol.", "75:253-259 (2004).", "Cancers that may be so treated include pleural mesothelioma, known to express mRHA for MCR-1 and the receptor protein, as well as other tumors that express MCR-1, including but not limited to adenocarcinoma, such as pulmonary adenocarcinoma.", "2.6 Ocular Disease, Indications, Conditions and Syndromes There are a number of ocular diseases, indications, conditions and syndromes characterized by inflammation, including but not limited to increased cytokine production.", "One example is dry eye disease, an ocular disease affecting approximately 10-20% of the population.", "This disease progressively affects larger percentages of the population as it ages, with the majority of these patients being women.", "In addition, almost everyone experiences ocular irritation, or the symptoms and/or signs of dry eye as a condition, from time to time under certain circumstances, such as prolonged visual tasking (e.g., working on a computer), being in a dry environment, using medications that result in ocular drying and so on.", "In individuals suffering from dry eye, the protective layer of tears that normally protects the ocular surface is compromised, a result of insufficient or unhealthy production of one or more tear components.", "This can lead to exposure of the surface of the eye, ultimately promoting desiccation and damage of surface cells.", "Signs and symptoms of dry eye include but are not limited to keratitis, conjunctival and corneal staining, redness, blurry vision, decreased tear film break-up time, decreased tear production, tear volume, and tear flow, increased conjunctival redness, excess debris in the tear film, ocular dryness, ocular grittiness, ocular burning, foreign body sensation in the eye, excess tearing, photophobia, ocular stinging, refractive impairment, ocular sensitivity, and ocular irritation.", "Patients may experience one or more of these symptoms.", "The excess tearing response may seem counterintuitive, but it is a natural reflex response to the irritation and foreign body sensation caused by the dry eye.", "Some patients may also experience ocular itching due to a combination of ocular allergy and dry eye symptoms.", "There are many possible variables that can influence a patient's signs or symptoms of dry eye including levels of circulating hormones, various autoimmune diseases (e.g., Sjogren's syndrome and systemic lupus erythematosus), ocular surgeries including PRK or LASIK, many medications, environmental conditions, visual tasking such as computer use, ocular fatigue, contact lens wear, and mechanical influences such as corneal sensitivity, partial lid closure, surface irregularities (e.g., pterygium), and lid irregularities (e.g., ptosis, entropion/ectropion, pinguecula).", "Environments with low humidity, such as those that cause dehydration, can exacerbate or cause dry eye symptoms, such as sitting in a car with the defroster on or living in a dry climate zone.", "In addition, visual tasking can exacerbate symptoms.", "Tasks that can greatly influence symptoms include watching TV or using a computer for long periods of time where the blink rate is decreased.", "Uveitis is an ocular disease involving inflammation of the middle layer or uvea of the eye, and may also be understood to include any inflammatory process involving the interior of the eye.", "Uveitis includes anterior, intermediate, posterior and panuveitic forms, with the majority of uveitis cases anterior in location, involving inflammation of the iris and anterior chamber.", "This condition can occur as a single episode and subside with proper treatment or may take on a recurrent or chronic nature.", "Symptoms include red eye, injected conjunctiva, pain and decreased vision.", "Signs include dilated ciliary vessels, presence of cells and flare in the anterior chamber, and keratic precipitates on the posterior surface of the cornea.", "Intermediate uveitis includes inflammation and the presence of inflammatory cells in the vitreous cavity, and posterior uveitis include the inflammation of the retina and choroid.", "Uveitis may be secondary to any of a number of diseases and disorders, including acute posterior multifocal placoid pigment epitheliopathy, ankylosing spondylitis, Behçet's disease, birdshot retinochoroidopathy, brucellosis, herpes simplex, herpes zoster, inflammatory bowel disease, juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, Kawasaki disease, leptospirosis, Lyme disease, multiple sclerosis, psoriatic arthritis, Reiter's syndrome, sarcoidosis, syphilis, systemic lupus erythematosus, toxocariasis, toxoplasmosis, tuberculosis, Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada syndrome, Whipple disease or polyarteritis nodosa.", "In one embodiment, the invention is directed to methods of using one or more of the peptides of the present invention for treatment of any of the foregoing ocular diseases, indications, conditions and syndromes.", "Such treatment may include treatment by means of eye drops, ointments, gels, washes, implants, plugs or other means and methods for delivering one or more of the peptides of the present invention to an ocular surface.", "2.7 Ischemia and Related Diseases, Indications, Conditions and Syndromes Ischemia refers to any decrease or stoppage in the blood supply to any bodily organ, tissue, cell, or part, particularly where that decrease or stoppage leads to or would likely lead to ischemic damage to the bodily organ, tissue, cell, or part.", "An “ischemic episode” refers to any transient or permanent period of ischemia.", "Ischemia may result from any constriction or obstruction of the vasculature, or may result from circulatory shock, such as hemorrhagic shock, hypovolemic shock, or the like.", "The decrease or lack of blood flow results in a decrease or lack of oxygen to the affected part of the body, and may also result in an increase of inflammatory disease mediator chemicals such as various cytokines and other substances.", "During certain surgical procedures such as cardiac surgery and organ transplantation, the flow of blood is stopped temporarily and then resumed (reperfusion), resulting in ischemia-reperfusion injury.", "During a heart attack, the blood that supplies the heart is stopped, also resulting in ischemia that can evolve into infarction.", "Current treatment to relieve heart attacks requires reperfusion of the ischemic area of the heart, such as by using thrombolytic drugs or coronary angioplasty.", "The invention has particular application in prevention of injury due to renal ischemia, including lung injury secondary to renal ischemia, preventing or limiting ischemic heart injuries subsequent to a myocardial infarction, preventing or limiting ischemic brain injuries subsequent to a cardiovascular injury, including without limitation myocardial infarction, stroke or the like.", "Neuroprotection is provided by administration of a composition of the invention to a patient with cerebral ischemia or stroke, particularly patients who are concurrently hypotensive.", "The invention has further particular application in preventing or limiting ischemic organ damage in organ transplant, including transplant of the heart, kidney, liver, lungs, pancreas or small intestine.", "In one aspect, the pharmaceutical composition of the present invention may be utilized for perfusion of a transplant organ, which perfusion may be prior to, during or subsequent to transplant of the organ.", "In one embodiment, the invention is directed to methods of using one or more of the peptides of the present invention to protect the heart, brain or other organs of a patient against injury caused by ischemia.", "The protective effect against ischemia occurs instantaneously or within a short time period following administration of a composition comprising one or more of the peptides of the present invention, preferably within at least about 40 minutes following administration, more preferably within 1-20 minutes, more preferably within 1-15 minutes, and most preferably within about 1-10 minutes.", "Ischemia may also results from any of a variety of diseases or conditions, and in one embodiment the invention is directed to methods of using one or more of the peptides of the present invention to protect the organs of a patient against injury resulting from ischemia, which ischemia is caused by a disease or condition.", "Such disease or condition may include, by way of example and not limitation, atherosclerotic diseases such as atheromata with thrombosis, embolism from the heart or from blood vessel from any organ, vasospasm, hypotension due to heart disease, hypotension due to systemic disease including infection or allergic reactions, or hypotension resulting from administration, ingestion or other exposure to one or more toxic compounds or drugs.", "Ischemia may also be secondary ischemia, and in another embodiment the invention is directed to methods of using one or more of the peptides of the present invention to protect the organs of a patient against injury resulting from secondary ischemia.", "Such secondary ischemia may be secondary to a disease or condition such diabetes mellitus, hyperlipidemia, hyperlipoproteinemia, dyslipidemia Buerger's disease, also called thromboangiitis obliterans, Takayasu's arteritis, arteritis temporalis, Kawasaki disease, also called lymph node syndrome, mucocutaneous node disease, infantile polyarteritis, cardiovascular syphilis, and various connective tissue diseases and disorders.", "2.8 Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury and Related Diseases, Indications, Conditions and Syndromes Ischemia-reperfusion is the interruption of blood flow to bodily tissue and the subsequent and often abrupt restoration of blood flow to the tissue.", "While restoration of blood flow following ischemia is essential to preserve functional tissue, the reperfusion itself is known to be harmful to the tissue.", "Both ischemia and reperfusion are known to be important contributors to tissue necrosis.", "Several mechanisms appear to play a causative role in the generation of tissue damage associated with ischemia-reperfusion injury.", "Various methods of limiting reperfusion injury have been described, such as induced hypothermia, controlled reperfusion, and ischemic preconditioning.", "Induced hypothermia is the induction of moderate hypothermia, thought to suppress many of the chemical reactions associated with reperfusion injury.", "Controlled reperfusion refers to controlling the initial period of reperfusion by reperfusing the tissue at a low pressure using blood that has been modified to be hyperosmolar, alkalotic, and substrate-enriched.", "Ischemic preconditioning is the purposeful causing of short ischemic events to have protective effect by slowing cell metabolism during a longer ischemic event.", "Although these treatments may be useful in surgical settings (e.g., before or after planned heart surgery), they are not possible in emergency settings.", "The invention has particular application in preventing or limiting the severity of renal reperfusion injury, including lung injury secondary to renal reperfusion, preventing or limiting reperfusion heart injuries subsequent to a myocardial infarction, preventing or limiting reperfusion brain injuries subsequent to a cardiovascular injury, including without limitation myocardial infarction, stroke or the like.", "The invention has further particular application in preventing or limiting reperfusion organ damage in organ transplant, including transplant of the heart, kidney, liver, lungs, pancreas or small intestine.", "In one aspect, the pharmaceutical composition of the present invention may be utilized for perfusion of a transplant organ, which perfusion may be prior to, during or subsequent to transplant of the organ.", "In one embodiment, the invention is directed to methods of using one or more of the peptides of the present invention to protect the heart, brain or other organs of a patient against injury caused by ischemia-reperfusion injury, including injury caused by or during reperfusion.", "The protective effect against ischemia-reperfusion injury occurs instantaneously or within a short time period following administration of a composition comprising one or more of the peptides of the present invention, preferably within at least about 40 minutes following administration, more preferably within 1-20 minutes, more preferably within 1-15 minutes, and most preferably within about 1-10 minutes.", "2.9 Circulatory Shock and Related Diseases, Indications, Conditions and Syndromes Peptides, compositions and methods of the present invention may be employed for the treatment of circulatory shock in a subject.", "The compositions and methods provided herein may be employed to treat Stage I shock, Stage II shock or Stage III shock.", "In one particular embodiment, the methods of the present invention are used to treat the initial stage of shock, which initial stage of shock is characterized by cardiac output insufficient to meet the body's metabolic needs, but not otherwise low enough to produce significant symptoms.", "The patient may be anxious and alert, with increased respiration.", "By “Stage I shock,” also sometimes called “compensated shock” or “non-progressive shock,” is meant a condition which occurs when the body detects decreased blood flow or perfusion and begins to activate one or more of several reactive mechanisms to restore perfusion or direct blood flow to the most vital body organs.", "Stage I shock can be asymptomatic, but may also include, but is not limited to, symptoms such as low blood flow or perfusion, rapid or increased heart rate, shallow or irregular breathing, hypotension, hypertension, pallor and cyanosis.", "By “Stage II shock,” also sometimes called “decompensated shock” or “progressive shock,” is mean a condition which occurs when the compensatory mechanisms of the body begin to fail and organ perfusion cannot be restored to normal or maintained.", "Symptoms of Stage II shock include, but are not limited to, confusion, anxiety, disorientation and other mental disturbances indicating a lack of oxygen to the brain, chest pains, increased heart rate, oliguria, multiple organ dysfunction, falling blood pressure (hypotension), rapid breathing, weakness and pupil dilation.", "By “Stage III shock,” also sometimes called “irreversible shock,” is meant a condition which occurs after the state of decreased perfusion or blood flow has existed to such an extent that the organs and tissues of the body are permanently affected.", "Such symptoms include, but are not limited to, multiple organ failure, kidney failure, coma, blood pooling in the extremities and death.", "The invention provides compositions for use and methods of treating or preventing hemorrhagic shock in a patient, which include administering a composition including one or more of the peptides of the present invention to a patient diagnosed as suffering from blood loss.", "The blood loss may, but need not, be measured as a percentage of the subject's blood volume, such as, for example, a blood loss of greater than about 15% total blood volume, or greater than 20%, 25%, 30%, 35%, 40%, or 50% of the subject's total volume.", "Alternatively, the blood loss may, but need not, be measured in terms of a drop in blood volume in any amount sufficient to cause hemorrhagic shock in a particular subject, such as, for example, a loss of about 750 mL, 1000 mL, of about 1500 mL, or of about 2000 mL or more in a human subject.", "The blood loss may also be measured in terms of a drop in systolic blood pressure, such as, for example, a drop in systolic blood pressure that is about 20 mm Hg, 30 mm Hg, 40 mm Hg, 50 mm Hg, 60 mm Hg, 70 mm Hg, 80 mm Hg, 90 mm Hg or 100 mm Hg or more than 100 mm Hg lower than the subject's normal systolic blood pressure.", "In particular embodiments, the subject is undergoing or has undergone a medical procedure, such as, but not limited to, surgery, a transfusion or child birth.", "In other particular embodiments, the subject has suffered a traumatic injury, such as, but not limited to, resulting from a motor vehicle accident, from an industrial injury, or from a gunshot wound.", "In additional embodiments of the present invention, the compositions and methods are used to treat cardiogenic shock, hypovolemic shock and vasodilatory shock, each of which can be in any of the aforementioned stages of shock.", "In one particular embodiment of the present invention, the methods are used to treat cardiogenic shock.", "Cardiogenic shock is, generally speaking, low blood flow or perfusion that is caused by heart malfunction where the heart does not pump adequate blood.", "Causes can include any condition that interferes with ventricular filling or emptying, such as, but not limited to, embolism, ischemia, regurgitation and valve malfunction.", "In another particular embodiment of the present invention, the methods are used to treat vasodilatory shock.", "Vasodilatory shock is caused by severe venous or arteriolar dilation, which results in inadequate blood flow.", "Several known causes contribute to vasodilatory shock including, but not limited to, cerebral trauma, drug or poison toxicity, anaphylaxis, liver failure, bacteremia and sepsis.", "In another more particular embodiment of the present invention, the methods are used to treat shock resulting from sepsis or bacteremia.", "In an even more particular embodiment, the compositions and methods are used to treat septic shock or bacteremic shock in Stage I, II or Ill.", "In yet another embodiment, the compositions and methods of the present invention are used to treat hypovolemic shock.", "Hypovolemic shock is, generally speaking, decreased intravascular volume, which decrease in intravascular volume can be relative or absolute.", "Hemorrhage from conditions such as, but not limited to, ulcers, gastrointestinal injury, trauma, accidents, surgery, and aneurysm may cause hypovolemic shock; but loss of other body fluids may also cause hypovolemic shock.", "For instance, renal fluid loss, intravascular fluid loss, water or other peritoneal fluid loss may contribute to hypovolemic shock.", "In one particular embodiment of the present invention, the compositions and methods, including administration of one or more of the peptides of the present invention, are used to treat hypovolemic shock.", "In an even more particular embodiment, the compositions and methods are used to treat hypovolemic shock in Stage I, Stage II or Stage III.", "Circulatory shock, including hemorrhagic shock, may also result from partially controlled or uncontrolled bleeding within one or more internal organs or vessels of a patient.", "Bleeding may result from any cause, including by way of example from a ruptured aneurysm, dissected aorta, an ulcer, trauma or other gastrointestinal bleeding.", "In some instances the patient exhibits signs of circulatory shock or hypovolemia, which may include hypotension, but the source of internal bleeding is unknown.", "In one embodiment, the invention is directed to methods of using one or more of the peptides of the present invention to protect the heart, brain or other organs of a patient against injury caused by circulatory shock.", "The protective effect against circulatory shock occurs instantaneously or within a short time period following administration of a composition comprising one or more of the peptides of the present invention, preferably within at least about 40 minutes following administration, more preferably within 1-20 minutes, more preferably within 1-15 minutes, and most preferably within about 1-10 minutes.", "2.10 Targeted Imaging and Cytotoxic Therapy for Melanoma and Other Indications Peptides, compositions and methods of the present invention may be employed for imaging melanoma and other cancers or diseases or conditions characterized, in part, by relatively high expression of MCR-1, such as by diagnostic imaging using a radionuclide in combination with a peptide of the present invention.", "For diagnostic imaging, typically a peptide of the present invention is conjugated to radionuclide by use of a linker, such as a cross-linking agent that couples the peptide of the present invention to a radionuclide.", "The radionuclide is preferably a gamma emitter that may be imaged using a gamma detector or camera, such as single photon emission computed tomography, or is a positron emitter that may be imaged using positron emission tomography.", "Gamma emitters that may be so employed include 99mTc, 111In, 123I and 67Ga, among others.", "Positron emitters that may be so employed include 11C, 13N, 15O and 18F.", "In a related aspect, peptides, compositions and methods of the present invention may be employed for cytotoxic therapy of melanoma, other cancers or diseases or conditions characterized, in part, by relatively high expression of MCR-1, such as by utilizing a chemotherapeutic agent, including toxins, or radiation therapeutic agent, in combination with a peptide of the present invention.", "Chemotherapeutic agents include any antineoplastic drug or chemical, such as for example alkylating agents, antimetabolites, anthracyclines, plant alkaloids, topoisomerase inhibitors, and other antitumor agents.", "Non-limiting examples of alkylating agents include cisplatin, carboplatin, oxaliplatin, mechlorethamine, cyclophosphamide, chlorambucil and ifosfamide; examples of antimetabolites include azathioprine and mercaptopurine; examples of anthracyclines include daunorubicin, doxorubicin, epirubicin, idarubicin, valrubicin and mitoxantrone; examples of plant alkaloids include vinca alkaloids such as vincristine, vinblastine, vinorelbine and vindesine and taxanes such as paclitaxel and docetaxel; examples of topoisomerase inhibitors include camptothecins such as irinotecan and topotecan and type II topoisomerases such as amsacrine, etoposide, etoposide phosphate and teniposide.", "However, any agent suitable for use in targeted cytotoxic therapy may be so employed.", "Non-limiting examples of radiation therapeutic agents that may be so employed include 131I, 125I, 211At, 186Re, 188Re, 90Y, 153Sm, 212Bi and 32P, among others.", "Diagnostic imaging or cytotoxic therapy agents may be incorporated into a peptide of the present invention, for example such as by use of 11C, 13N, 15O, among others, in place of nonradioactive isotopes; may be linked directly to a peptide of the present invention, such as for example by halogenation or other direct complexation methods; or may be linked indirectly to a peptide of the present invention, such as conjugation by means of a linker or chelation unit.", "Linker units are well known in the art, and include, but are not limited to, chemically-linked conjugates including at least one disulfide bond, thioether bond or covalent bond between free reactive groups.", "Representative cross-linking and conjugating reagents are disclosed in U.S. Pat.", "Nos.", "7,169,603, 7,820,164 and 5,443,816 and US Publication No.", "2009/0297444, among others, incorporated herein by reference.", "3.0 Combination Therapy for Certain Indications The peptides, compositions and methods of the present invention may be used for treatment of any of the foregoing diseases, indications, conditions or syndromes, or any disease, indication, condition or syndrome which is MCR-1 mediated or responsive, by administration in combination with one or more other pharmaceutically active compounds.", "Such combination administration may be by means of a single dosage form which includes both a peptide of the present invention and one more other pharmaceutically active compounds, such single dosage form including a tablet, capsule, spray, inhalation powder, injectable liquid or the like.", "Alternatively, combination administration may be by means of administration of two different dosage forms, with one dosage form containing a peptide of the present invention, and the other dosage form including another pharmaceutically active compound.", "In this instance, the dosage forms may be the same or different.", "The term “coadminister” indicates that each of at least two compounds in the combination therapy are administered during a time frame wherein the respective periods of biological activity or effects overlap.", "Thus the term includes sequential as well as concurrent administration of compounds where one compound is one or more of the peptides of the present invention.", "If more than one compound is coadministered, the routes of administration of the two or more compounds need not be the same.", "Without meaning to limit combination therapies, the following exemplifies certain combination therapies which may be employed.", "3.1 Combination Therapy with Anti-Inflammatory Agents For the treatment of inflammation-related diseases, indications, conditions and syndromes, peptides of the present invention may be used in combination therapy, including by means of coadministration, with one or more anti-inflammatory agents.", "One class of anti-inflammatory agent is glucocorticoids, including but not limited to cortisone, including cortisone acetate, hydrocortisone, prednisone, prednisolone, methylprednisolone, dexamethasone, betamethasone, triamcinolone, beclometasone, prednisone, fludrocortisone acetate, deoxycorticosterone acetate and aldosterone.", "Other anti-inflammatory agents that may be used in combination therapy, including by means of coadministration, include aspirin, non-steroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) (such as ibuprofen and naproxin), TNF-α inhibitors (such as tenidap and rapamycin or derivatives thereof), or TNF-α antagonists (e.g., infliximab, OR1384), cyclooxygenase inhibitors (i.e., COX-1 and/or COX-2 inhibitors such as Naproxen® or Celebrex®), CTLA4-lg agonists/antagonists, CD40 ligand antagonists, IMPDH inhibitors, such as mycophenolate (CellCept®), integrin antagonists, alpha-4 beta-7 integrin antagonists, cell adhesion inhibitors, interferon gamma antagonists, ICAM-1, prostaglandin synthesis inhibitors, budesonide, clofazimine, p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase inhibitors, protein tyrosine kinase (PTK) inhibitors, IKK inhibitors, therapies for the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome (e.g., Zelmac® and Maxi-K® openers such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat.", "No.", "6,184,231), or other NF-κB inhibitors, such as corticosteroids, calphostin, CSAIDs, 4-substituted imidazo [1,2-A]quinoxalines as disclosed in U.S. Pat.", "No.", "4,200,750; Interleukin-10, salicylates, nitric oxide, and other immunosuppressants; and nuclear translocation inhibitors, such as deoxyspergualin (DSG).", "3.2 Combination Therapy with Phosphodiesterase Inhibitors For certain applications and indications, it is desirable to increase production of and maintain levels of cyclic adenoise 3′,5′ monophosphate (cAMP), a nucleotide messenger associated with inflammatory cell activity.", "Peptides of the present invention increase intracellular levels of cAMP, and can be coadministered with compounds or substances that inhibit the degradation of cAMP.", "cAMP is hydrolyzed to an inactive form by phosphodiesterase (PDE); compounds or substances that inhibit PDE may thereby result in maintenance of and/or an increase in available cAMP.", "A class of compounds known as PDE inhibitors has been extensively studied for use in treatment of inflammatory diseases, such as asthma, COPD and acute respiratory distress syndrome.", "Preferred are inhibitors of PDE type 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 10 or 11; in one aspect this includes cAMP-PDE inhibitors that are selective PDE type 4 inhibitors or inhibitors having selectivity for one particular type of PDE 4 isoenzyme, such as, by way of example, rolipram, cilomilast, ibudilast, and piclamilast.", "In general, the methods and compositions of this invention may comprise use of one or more cAMP-PDE inhibitors described in one or more of the following U.S. patents or patent applications, each of which is incorporated herein by reference: U.S. Pat.", "Appl.", "No.", "20090221664, “Pharmaceutical Compositions of Muscarinic Receptor Antagonists”; U.S. Pat.", "Appl.", "No.", "20090054382, “Compositions of Phosphodiesterase Type IV Inhibitors”; U.S. Pat.", "Appl.", "No.", "20090017036, “Pharmaceutical Compositions for Treatment of Respiratory and Gastrointestinal Disorders”; U.S. Pat.", "Appl.", "No.", "20080292562, “Medicaments for Inhalation Comprising PDE IV Inhibitors and Enantiomerically Pure Glycopyrrolate Salts”; U.S. Pat.", "Appl.", "No.", "20080085858, “Pharmaceutical Composition”; U.S. Pat.", "Appl.", "No.", "20080045718, “Process and intermediates for the synthesis of 2-(quinolin-5-yl)-4,5 disubstituted-azole derivatives”; U.S. Pat.", "Appl.", "No.", "20070287689, “Therapeutic and/or Preventive Agents for Chronic Skin Diseases”; U.S. Pat.", "Appl.", "No.", "20060239927, “Drug for airway administration”; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "7,544,675, “Chemical compounds with dual activity, processes for their preparation and pharmaceutical compositions”; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "7,459,451, “Pyrazolopyridine derivatives”; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "7,317,009, “Pyrrolopyridazine derivatives”; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "7,312,328, “Benzoylpyridazines”; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "7,153,854, “Pyrrolopyridazine derivatives”; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "7,115,623, “PDE IV inhibitors”; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "6,924,292, “Furoisoquinoline derivatives, process for producing the same and use thereof”; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "6,872,382, “Use of selective PDE IV inhibitors to treat dry eye disorders”; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "6,765,095, “2,3-disubstituted pyridine derivative, process for the preparation thereof, pharmaceutical composition containing the same, and intermediate therefor”; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "6,740,662, “Naphthyridine derivatives”; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "6,683,186, “2,3-Disubstituted pyridine derivative, process for the preparation thereof, pharmaceutical composition containing the same, and intermediate therefor”; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "6,656,959, “PDE IV inhibiting pyridine derivatives”; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "6,642,250, “1,8-naphthyridin-2(1H)-one derivatives”; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "6,555,557, “2,3-disubstituted pyridine derivatives, process for the preparation thereof, drug compositions containing the same and intermediates for the preparation”; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "6,440,979, “Aryl isoguanines”; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "6,436,965, “PDE IV inhibiting amides, compositions and methods of treatment”; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "6,417,190, “Tricyclic nitrogen heterocycles as PDE IV inhibitors”; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "6,413,975, “Purine derivatives having phosphodiesterase IV inhibition activity”; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "6,403,805, “1,3-dihydro-1-(phenylalkyl)-2H-imidazol-2-one derivatives”; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "6,372,770, “Benzoxazoles”; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "6,365,606, “6,5-fused aromatic ring systems having enhanced phosphodiesterase IV inhibitory activity”; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "6,310,205, “Hypoxathine compounds”; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "6,306,583, “Human brain phosphodiesterase”; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "6,268,373, “Trisubstituted thioxanthines”; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "6,248,769, “Phenyl-triazole compounds for PDE-IV inhibition”; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "6,248,768, “Benzimidazole derivatives and pharmacologically acceptable salts thereof”; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "6,248,746, “3-(arylalkyl) xanthines”; U.S. Pat.", "Nos.", "6,211,222 and 6,127,398, “Substituted indazole derivatives and related compounds”; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "6,211,203, “Benzofuran-4-carboxamides”; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "6,200,993, “Heterosubstituted pyridine derivatives as PDE4 inhibitors”; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "6,191,138, “Phenanthridines”; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "6,180,650, “Heterosubstituted pyridine derivatives as PDE4 inhibitors”; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "6,136,821, “Naphthyridine derivatives”; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "6,054,475, “Substituted dihydrobenzofuran-based phosphodiesterase 4 Inhibitors useful for treating airway disorders”; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "6,043,263, “(2,3-dihydrobenzofuranyl)-thiazoles as phosphodiesterase inhibitors”; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "6,011,037, “Thiazole derivatives with phosphodiesterase-inhibiting action”; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "5,972,927, “Diazepinoindoles as phosphodiesterase 4 inhibitors”; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "5,919,801, “N-substituted piperidines as PDE4 inhibitors”; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "6,204,275, “PDE IV Inhibiting compounds, compositions and methods of treatment”; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "6,143,782, “Anti-inflammatory and anti-asthma treatment with reduced side effects”; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "6,103,749, “Aryl imidazole compounds having phosphodiesterase IV activity”; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "6,096,768, “Compounds containing phenyl linked to aryl or heteroaryl by an aliphatic or heteroatom containing linking group”; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "6,075,016, “6,5-fused aromatic ring systems having enhanced phosphodiesterase IV inhibitory activity”; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "6,040,447, “Purine compounds having PDE IV inhibitory activity and methods of synthesis”; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "6,034,089, “Aryl thiophene derivatives as PDE IV inhibitors”; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "6,020,339, “Aryl furan derivatives as PDE IV inhibitors”; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "5,935,978, “Compounds containing phenyl linked to aryl or heteroaryl by an aliphatic or heteroatom containing linking group”; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "5,935,977, “Substituted vinyl pyridine derivative and drugs containing same”; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "5,840,724, “Compounds containing phenyl linked to aryl or heteroaryl by an aliphatic or heteroatom containing linking group”; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "5,710,170, “Tri-aryl ethane derivatives as PDE IV inhibitors”; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "5,710,160, “Diphenyl pyridyl ethane derivatives as PDE IV inhibitors”; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "5,698,711, “Compounds containing phenyl linked to aryl or heteroaryl by an aliphatic or heteroatom containing linking group”; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "5,691,376, “Substituted biphenyl derivatives”; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "5,679,696, “Compounds containing phenyl linked to aryl or heteroaryl by an aliphatic or heteroatom containing linking group”; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "5,665,737, “Substituted benzoxazoles”; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "5,650,444, “Substituted biphenyl derivatives”; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "5,616,614, “Naphthylalkylamines”; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "5,541,219, “1-Alkoxy-2-(alkoxy or cycloalkoxy)-4-(cyclothio-alkyl or cyclothioalkenyl)benzenes as inhibitors of cyclic AMP phosphodiesterase and tumor necrosis factor”; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "5,502,072, “Substituted oxindoles”; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "5,466,697, “8-phenyl-1,6-naphthyri-dine-5-ones”; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "5,459,151, “N-acyl substituted phenyl piperidines as bronchodilators and anti-inflammatory agents”; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "5,393,788, “Phenylalkyl oxamides”; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "5,356,923, “1-hydroxy-4(3-cyclopentyloxy-4-methoxyphenyl)-2-pyrrolidone and anti-hypertensive use thereof”; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "5,250,700, “Phenyl pyrazolidinones as bronchodilators and anti-inflammatory agents”; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "5,191,084, “Phenyl pyrazolidinones as bronchodilators and anti-inflammatory agents”; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "5,124,455, “Oxime carbamates and oxime carbonates as bronchodilators and anti-inflammatory agents”; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "6,180,791, “Synthesis of 8-substituted xanthines”; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "6,057,369, “Substituted (aryl, heteroaryl, arylmethyl or heteroarylmethyl)hydroxamic acid compounds”; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "5,541,219, “1-Alkoxy-2-(alkoxy or cycloalkoxy)-4-(cyclothioalkyl or cyclothioalkenyl)benzenes as inhibitors of cyclic AMP phosphodiesterase and tumor necrosis factor”; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "5,362,915, “Phenyl substituted cycloalkenyl compounds useful as PDE IV inhibitors”; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "6,040,329, “Substituted indazole analogs”; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "5,958,953, “Substituted indazole derivatives”; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "6,090,817, “Phenylpyridine derivatives useful as phosphodiesterase inhibitors”; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "5,922,740, “Heterocyclylcarbonyl substituted benzofuranylureas”; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "5,866,571, “9-substituted 2-2-n-alkoxyphenyl)-purin-6-ones-”; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "5,861,404, “2,9-disubstituted purin-6-ones”; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "5,861,396, “Purin-6-one derivatives”; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "5,721,238, “2,8-disubstituted quinazolinones”; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "5,723,463, “Pyrido 3,2-Pyrazinones with Anti-asthmatic action and Processes for their Manufacture”; and U.S. Pat.", "No.", "5,596,013, “Dihydro pyrazolopyrroles.” 3.3 Combination Therapy in Ocular Indications For ocular indications, an ophthalmic dosage form may include one or more active ingredients in addition to one or more of the peptides of the present invention, such as for example artificial tear components, topical corticosteroids, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or calcineurin inhibitors such as cyclosporine-A (Restasis®—Allergan).", "It is also possible that coadministration includes administration of one or more additional compounds given separately from a peptide of the present invention, such as separate administration of an ophthalmic dosage form including an artificial tear component, a topical corticosteroid, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, a calcineurin inhibitor such a cyclosporine-A, or a combination of any of the foregoing.", "Combination ophthalmic solutions may be employed, including specifically solutions including more than one active pharmaceutical ingredient.", "In one aspect, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) is employed in combination with a peptide of the present invention.", "NSAIDs suitable for use in combination ophthalmic solutions include agents, their esters and pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof that inhibit the cycloxygenase (COX)-1 and/or -2 enzyme, including but not limited to propionic acid compounds such as naproxen, flurbiprofen, oxaprozin, ibuprofen, ketoprofen, fenoprofen; ketorolac tromethamine; acetic acid derivatives such as sulindac, indomethacin, and etodolac; phenylacetic acids such as diclofenac, bromfenac, and suprofen; arylacetic prodrugs such as nepafenac, and amfenac; salicyclic acids, such as aspirin, salsalate, diflunisal, choline magnesium trisalicylate; para-aminophenol derivatives such as acetaminophen; naphthylalkanones such as nabumetone; enolic acid derivatives such as piroxicam and meloxicam; femanates such as mefenamic acid, meclofenamate and flufenamic acid; pyrroleacetic acids such as tolmetin; and pyrazolones such as phenylbutazone; and COX-2 selective inhibitors such as celecoxib, valdecoxib, parecoxib, etoricoxib, and luaricoxib.", "The ophthalmic solutions may additionally comprise other active ingredients, including, but not limited to, vasoconstrictors, anti-allergenic agents, anti-infectives, steroids, anesthetics, anti-inflammatories, analgesics, dry eye treatment agents (e.g.", "secretagogues, mucomimetics, polymers, lipids, antioxidants), and the like, or be administered in conjunction (simultaneously or sequentially) with pharmaceutical compositions comprising other active ingredients, including, but not limited to, vasoconstrictors, anti-allergenic agents, anti-infectives, steroids, anesthetics, anti-inflammatories, analgesics, dry eye treatment agents (e.g.", "secretagogues, mucomimetics, polymers, lipids, antioxidants), and the like.", "3.4 Combination Therapy in Shock-Related Indications The methods of treating or preventing circulatory shock of the present invention also relate to coadministering one or more substances to the subject in addition to one or more of the peptides of the present invention.", "For example, one or more of the peptides of the present invention may be coadministered with androstenetriol, androstenediol or derivatives thereof, various vasopressin agonists, or other pharmaceutically active substances, such as catecholamines or other a adrenergic agonists, α2 adrenergic agonists, β adrenergic agonists or β2 adrenergic agonists, including but not limited to epinephrine, norepinephrine, dopamine, isoproterenol, vasopressin and dobutamine.", "Alternatively, one or more of the peptides of the present invention may be coadministered with fluids or other substances that are capable of alleviating, attenuating, preventing or removing symptoms in a subject suffering from, exhibiting the symptoms of, or at risk of suffering from hypovolemic shock, vasodilatory shock or cardiogenic shock.", "Types of fluid that can be coadministered with one or more of the peptides of the present invention should be specific to the circumstances surrounding the particular subject that is suffering from, exhibiting the symptoms of, or at risk of suffering from shock.", "For example, fluids that may be coadministered with one or more of the peptides of the present invention include, but are not limited to, salt solutions—such as sodium chloride and sodium bicarbonate—as well as whole blood, synthetic blood substitutes, plasma, serum, serum albumin and colloid solutions.", "Colloid solutions include, but are not limited to, solutions containing hetastarch, albumin or plasma.", "In one particular embodiment of the present invention, fluids such as one or more of salt solutions, colloidal solutions, whole blood, synthetic blood substitutes, plasma or serum are coadministered with one or more of the peptides of the present invention in patients suffering from or exhibiting the symptoms of a hypovolemic shock, such as hemorrhagic shock.", "Particular embodiments of the coadministration methods of the present invention include methods of performing a transfusion in a subject, with the transfusion methods comprising providing blood or synthetic blood substitutes that comprise one or more of the peptides of the present invention to a subject.", "The blood used in the transfusion methods can be whole blood, synthetic blood substitutes, or any fractionated portion of whole blood, such as plasma, serum, or red blood cells.", "4.0 Methods of Administration and Use The method of administration and use varies depending upon the characteristic of specific peptides of the present invention, the disease, indication, condition or syndrome to be treated, and other factors known to those in the art.", "In general, any method of administration and use known in the art or hereafter developed may be employed with the peptides of the present invention.", "Without limiting the foregoing, the following methods of administration and use have specific application.", "4.1 Inhalation Use In one aspect, a composition including one or more peptides of the present invention is formulated for administration to the respiratory tract, such as in the form of an aerosol or solution for a nebulizer, or as a microfine powder for insufflation or inhalation (e.g., topically to the lung and/or airways), alone or in combination with one or more inert carriers or additional active pharmaceutical ingredients, and in the form of a solution, a suspension, an aerosol or a dry powder formulation.", "See generally, Cryan, S.-A., “Carrier-based strategies for targeting protein and peptide drugs to the lungs,” The AAPS Journal 7:E20-41 (2005).", "In general, the peptides of the present invention may be used the devices, formulations, compositions and means described in one or more of the following U.S. patents or patent applications, each of which is incorporated herein by reference: U.S. Pat.", "Appl.", "No.", "20090241949, “Dry powder inhalation system”; U.S. Pat.", "Appl.", "No.", "20080066741, “Methods and systems of delivering medication via inhalation”; U.S. Pat.", "Appl.", "No.", "20070298116, “Amorphous, spray-dried powders having a reduced moisture content and a high long term stability”; U.S. Pat.", "Appl.", "No.", "20070140976, “Aqueous inhalation pharmaceutical composition”; U.S. Pat.", "Appl.", "No.", "20060054166, “Inhalation nebulizer”; U.S. Pat.", "Appl.", "No.", "20050211244, “Dry powder preparations”; U.S. Pat.", "Appl.", "No.", "20050123509.“Modulating charge density to produce improvements in the characteristics of spray-dried proteins”; U.S. Pat.", "Appl.", "No.", "20040241232, “Dry powder medicament formulations”; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "7,582,284, “Particulate materials”; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "7,481,212, “Increased dosage metered dose inhaler”; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "7,387,794, “Preparation of powder agglomerate”; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "7,258,873, “Preservation of bioactive materials by spray drying”; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "7,186,401, “Dry powder for inhalation”; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "7,143,764, “Inhalation device”; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "7,022,311, “Powdery inhalational preparations and process for producing the same”; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "6,962,151, “Inhalation nebulizer”; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "6,907,880, “Inhalation device”; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "6,881,398, “Therapeutic dry powder preparation”; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "6,698,425, “Powder inhaler”; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "6,655,380, “Inhalation device”; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "6,645,466, “Dry powder for inhalation”; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "6,632,456, “Compositions for inhalation”; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "6,610,272, “Medicinal aerosol formulation”; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "6,596,261, “Method of administering a medicinal aerosol formulation”; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "6,585,957, “Medicinal aerosol formulation”; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "6,582,729, “Powered pharmaceutical formulations having improved dispersibility”; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "6,572,893, “Systems and processes for spray drying hydrophobic drugs with hydrophilic excipients”; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "6,551,578, “Modulated release particles for aerosol delivery”; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "6,520,179, “Inhalation device”; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "6,518,239, “Dry powder compositions having improved dispersivity”; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "6,503,481, “Compositions for aerosolization and inhalation”; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "6,358,530, “Powdered pharmaceutical formulations having improved dispersibility”; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "6,325,061, “Inhalation device”; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "6,257,232, “Inhalation device”; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "6,187,344, “Powdered pharmaceutical formulations having improved dispersibility”; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "6,116,237, “Methods of dry powder inhalation”; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "5,934,272, “Device and method of creating aerosolized mist of respiratory drug”; and, U.S. Pat.", "No.", "5,558,085, “Intrapulmonary delivery of peptide drugs”.", "Thus the composition may be a dry powder composition for topical delivery to the lung by inhalation.", "Typically the composition would contain a powder mix for inhalation of a peptide of the present invention and a suitable powder base, diluent or carrier substance such as lactose, glucose, dextran, mannitol or another sugar or starch.", "The composition may be used in any of a variety of dry powder devices, such as a reservoir dry powder inhaler, a multi-dose dry powder inhaler, or a metered dose inhaler.", "The composition may include additional excipients, such as an alcohol, a surfactant, a lubricant, an anti-oxidant or a stabilizing agent.", "Suitable propellants include hydrocarbon, chlorofluorocarbon and hydrofluoroalkane propellants, or mixtures of any such propellants.", "Inhalation solutions also can be formulated in a liquefied propellant for aerosol delivery, such as with a pressurized metered dose inhaler.", "In yet another formulation, solutions may be in the form of a nebulised aqueous suspension or solution, with or without a suitable pH or tonicity adjustment, either as a single dose or multidose device.", "4.2 Subcutaneous Injection Use In one aspect, a composition including one or more peptides of the present invention is formulated for subcutaneous injection, and a subcutaneous injection is given one or more times each day, preferably prior to a meal, more preferably between about one and about three hours prior to a mean.", "In another aspect, the composition is formulated as an injectable sustained release formulation.", "In one embodiment, a peptide of the present invention is formulated with a polyethylene glycol, such as polyethylene glycol 3350, and optionally one or more additional excipients and preservatives, including but not limited to excipients such as salts, polysorbate 80, sodium hydroxide or hydrochloric acid to adjust pH, and the like.", "In another embodiment a peptide of the present invention is formulated with a poly(ortho ester), which may be an auto-catalyzed poly(ortho ester) with any of a variable percentage of lactic acid in the polymeric backbone, and optionally one or more additional excipients.", "In one embodiment poly (D,L-lactide-co-glycolide) polymer (PLGA polymer) is employed, preferably a PLGA polymer with a hydrophilic end group, such as PLGA RG502H from Boehringer Ingelheim, Inc. (Ingelheim, Germany).", "Such formulations may be made, for example, by combining a peptide of the present invention in a suitable solvent, such as methanol, with a solution of PLGA in methylene chloride, and adding thereto a continuous phase solution of polyvinyl alcohol under suitable mixing conditions in a reactor.", "In general, any of a number of injectable and biodegradable polymers, which are preferably also adhesive polymers, may be employed in a sustained release injectable formulation.", "The teachings of U.S. Pat.", "Nos.", "4,938,763, 6,432,438, and 6,673,767, and the biodegradable polymers and methods of formulation disclosed therein, are incorporated here by reference.", "The formulation may be such that an injection is required on a weekly, monthly or other periodic basis, depending on the concentration and amount of peptide, the biodegradation rate of the polymer, and other factors known to those of skill in the art.", "4.3 Methods of Administration and Use for Circulatory Shock and Related Diseases, Indications, Conditions and Syndromes In yet another aspect, the invention includes methods which optionally include monitoring the subject for symptoms of circulatory shock both before and after administration of a pharmaceutical composition including one or more of the peptides of the present invention.", "Thus a subject may be administered one or more of the peptides of the present invention by one of the methods of the invention after suffering an injury likely to induce circulatory shock but prior to the manifestation of overt symptoms of cardiovascular shock, including prior to manifestation of circulatory shock in Stage I, Stage II or Stage III.", "When administration is for the purpose of treatment, one or more of the peptides of the present invention are provided at, or after the onset of, a symptom of shock.", "The therapeutic administration of one or more of the peptides of the present invention may further serve to attenuate any symptom, or prevent additional symptoms from arising.", "When administration is for the purposes of preventing shock (“prophylactic administration”), one or more of the peptides of the present invention are provided in advance of any visible or detectable symptom.", "The prophylactic administration of one or more of the peptides of the present invention serve to attenuate subsequently arising symptoms or prevent symptoms from arising altogether.", "The route of administration of one or more of the peptides of the present invention include, but are not limited to, topical, transdermal, intranasal, pulmonary, vaginal, rectal, oral, subcutaneous, intravenous, intraarterial, intramuscular, intraosseous, intraperitoneal, epidural and intrathecal.", "4.4 Methods of Administration and Use for Prophylactic Therapy The invention also relates to methods of preventing undesired cytokine expression by administering a therapeutically effective amount of one or more of the peptides of the present invention to the subject, prior to or immediately at the onset of the first symptoms.", "As used herein, the term “prevent,” as it relates to shock, indicates that a substance of the present invention is administered to a subject to prohibit one or more symptoms of shock from detectably appearing or to attenuate the effects of one or more symptoms of shock.", "The term “prevent” also encompasses prohibiting or limiting excessive or undesired cytokine expression, such as with a “cytokine storm”.", "Thus a subject may be “pretreated,” such as a subject in a surgical setting, by using the substances of the present invention to prevent undesired cytokine expression or shock from arising.", "The phrase “preventing the progression,” as it relates to shock, is used to mean a procedure designed to prohibit the detectable appearance of one or more additional symptoms of shock in a patient already exhibiting one or more symptoms of shock, and is also used to mean prohibiting the already-present symptoms of shock from worsening in the subject.", "The symptoms of shock that are included in preventative methods of the present invention include, but are not limited to, such symptoms of shock as highlighted herein, such as tachycardia, shallow or erratic breathing and death.", "A subject that is at risk of shock may be recognized based upon the specific circumstances surrounding a subject.", "Similarly, a patient with a bacterial or viral infection and exhibiting a fever or low blood pressure may also be at risk of excessive cytokine expression, shock or an inflammatory disease or condition.", "In additional embodiments of the present invention, the methods are used to prevent cardiogenic shock, hypovolemic shock and vasodilatory shock, each of which can be in any of the three aforementioned stages of shock.", "In one particular embodiment of the present invention, the methods are used to prevent cardiogenic shock.", "In another particular embodiment of the present invention, the methods are used to prevent vasodilatory shock.", "In another more particular embodiment of the present invention, the methods are used to prevent shock resulting from sepsis or bacteremia.", "In an even more particular embodiment, the methods are used to prevent septic shock or bacteremic shock in Stage I, II or III shock.", "In yet another embodiment, the methods of the present invention are used to prevent hypovolemic shock.", "Similar to the methods of treating shock described herein, one embodiment of the methods of preventing shock of the present invention comprises coadministering another substance with one or more of the peptides of the present invention or a derivative thereof.", "The scope of the invention is not limited by the identity of the substance which may be coadministered with one or more of the peptides of the present invention to prevent shock.", "For example, one or more of the peptides of the present invention may be coadministered with androstenetriol, androstenediol or derivatives thereof, various vasopressin agonists, or other pharmaceutically active substances, such as catecholamines or other a adrenergic agonists, α2 adrenergic agonists, β adrenergic agonists or β2 adrenergic agonists, including but not limited to epinephrine, norepinephrine, dopamine, isoproterenol, vasopressin and dobutamine, to prevent shock.", "Alternatively, one or more of the peptides of the present invention may be coadministered with fluids or other substances that are capable of preventing or removing symptoms in a subject at risk of suffering from hypovolemic shock, vasodilatory shock or cardiogenic shock.", "The types of fluid that can be coadministered with one or more of the peptides of the present invention to prevent shock should be specific to the circumstances surrounding the particular subject that is at risk of suffering from shock.", "For example, fluids that may be coadministered with one or more of the peptides of the present invention include, but are not limited to, salt solutions—such as sodium chloride and sodium bicarbonate—as well as whole blood, synthetic blood substitutes, plasma, serum, serum albumin and colloid solutions.", "Colloid solutions include, but are not limited to, solutions containing hetastarch, albumin or plasma.", "In one particular embodiment of the present invention, fluids including one or more of salt solutions, colloidal solutions, whole blood, synthetic blood substitutes, plasma or serum are coadministered with one or more of the peptides of the present invention or a derivative thereof in subjects at risk of suffering a hypovolemic shock, such as hemorrhagic shock.", "4.5 Methods of Administration and Use for Inflammation Related Applications, Diseases, Indications, Conditions and Syndromes In yet another aspect, the invention includes methods which optionally include monitoring the subject for signs or symptoms of inflammation, inflammatory diseases or inflammatory conditions both before and after administration of one or more of the peptides of the present invention.", "Thus a subject may be administered one or more of the peptides of the present invention by one of the methods of the invention after being diagnosed with a condition, disease or syndrome likely to induce an inflammatory response, but prior to the manifestation of overt symptoms of inflammation, inflammatory disease or inflammatory condition.", "Methods of treating or preventing inflammation, inflammatory diseases or inflammatory conditions described herein comprise administering a therapeutically effective amount of one or more of the peptides of the present invention to a subject.", "As used herein, the term “administer” and “administering” are used to mean introducing at least one compound into a subject.", "When administration is for the purpose of treatment, the substance is provided at, or after the onset of, a sign or symptom of inflammation, inflammatory disease or inflammatory condition.", "The therapeutic administration of this substance serves to attenuate any symptom, or prevent additional symptoms from arising.", "When administration is prophylactic administration for the purposes of preventing or limiting inflammation, inflammatory disease or an inflammatory condition, a pharmaceutical composition including one or more of the peptides of the present invention is provided in advance of any visible or detectable symptom.", "The prophylactic administration of one or more of the peptides of the present invention serves to attenuate subsequently arising symptoms or prevent symptoms from arising altogether.", "The route of administration of one or more of the peptides of the present invention include, but are not limited to, topical, transdermal, intranasal, pulmonary, vaginal, rectal, oral, subcutaneous, intravenous, intraarterial, intramuscular, intraosseous, intraperitoneal, epidural and intrathecal.", "4.6 Methods of Administration and Use for Ocular Diseases, Indications, Conditions and Syndromes For ocular applications, in one aspect one or more of the peptides of the present invention are formulated in an ophthalmic dosage form and administered in the form of eye drops, eye washes or by means of other ocular delivery systems.", "Emulsions, ointments, gels, ocular inserts, biodegradable ocular inserts, liposomes, microparticles, nanoparticles, nanospheres or ion pairing formulations may also be employed, which may, in some instances, result in increasing the ocular residence times of a peptide of the present invention.", "In one embodiment, the ophthalmic formulation is a solution that includes between about 0.0000001% and about 5% (w/v) of a peptide of the present invention or a salt thereof, alternatively between about 0.000001% and about 0.2% (w/v) of a peptide of the present invention or a salt thereof, or alternatively between about 0.00001% and about 0.2% (w/v) of a peptide of the present invention or a salt thereof.", "5.0 Methods of Making In general, the peptides of the present invention may be synthesized by solid-phase synthesis and purified according to methods known in the art.", "Any of a number of well-known procedures utilizing a variety of resins and reagents may be used to prepare the peptides of the present invention.", "The cyclic peptides of the present invention may be readily synthesized by known conventional procedures for the formation of a peptide linkage between amino acids.", "Such conventional procedures include, for example, any solution phase procedure permitting a condensation between the free alpha amino group of an amino acid or residue thereof having its carboxyl group and other reactive groups protected and the free primary carboxyl group of another amino acid or residue thereof having its amino group or other reactive groups protected.", "In a preferred conventional procedure, the cyclic peptides of the present invention may be synthesized by solid-phase synthesis and purified according to methods known in the art.", "Any of a number of well-known procedures utilizing a variety of resins and reagents may be used to prepare the peptides of the present invention.", "The process for synthesizing the cyclic peptides may be carried out by a procedure whereby each amino acid in the desired sequence is added one at a time in succession to another amino acid or residue thereof or by a procedure whereby peptide fragments with the desired amino acid sequence are first synthesized conventionally and then condensed to provide the desired peptide.", "The resulting peptide is then cyclized to yield a cyclic peptide of the invention.", "Solid phase peptide synthesis methods are well known and practiced in the art.", "In such methods the synthesis of peptides of the invention can be carried out by sequentially incorporating the desired amino acid residues one at a time into the growing peptide chain according to the general principles of solid phase methods.", "These methods are disclosed in numerous references, including Merrifield, R. B., “Solid phase synthesis (Nobel lecture),” Angew Chem 24:799-810 (1985) and Barany et al., The Peptides, Analysis, Synthesis and Biology, Vol.", "2, Gross, E. and Meienhofer, J., Eds.", "Academic Press 1-284 (1980).", "In chemical syntheses of peptides, reactive side chain groups of the various amino acid residues are protected with suitable protecting groups, which prevent a chemical reaction from occurring at that site until the protecting group is removed.", "Also common is the protection of the alpha amino group of an amino acid residue or fragment while that entity reacts at the carboxyl group, followed by the selective removal of the alpha amino protecting group to allow a subsequent reaction to take place at that site.", "Specific protecting groups have been disclosed and are known in solid phase synthesis methods and solution phase synthesis methods.", "Alpha amino groups may be protected by a suitable protecting group, including a urethane-type protecting group, such as benzyloxycarbonyl (Z) and substituted benzyloxycarbonyl, such as p-chlorobenzyloxycarbonyl, p-nitrobenzyloxycarbonyl, p-bromobenzyloxycarbonyl, p-biphenyl-isopropoxycarbonyl, 9-fluorenylmethoxycarbonyl (Fmoc) and p-methoxybenzyloxycarbonyl (Moz) and aliphatic urethane-type protecting groups, such as t-butyloxycarbonyl (Boc), diisopropylmethoxycarbonyl, isopropoxycarbonyl, and allyloxycarbonyl (Alloc).", "Fmoc is preferred for alpha amino protection.", "Guanidino groups may be protected by a suitable protecting group, such as nitro, p-toluenesulfonyl (Tos), Z, pentamethylchromanesulfonyl (Pmc), adamantyloxycarbonyl, pentamethyldihydrobenzofuran-5-sulfonyl (Pbf) and Boc.", "Pbf and Pmc are preferred protecting groups for Arg.", "The peptides of the invention described herein were prepared using solid phase synthesis, such as by means of a Symphony Multiplex Peptide Synthesizer (Rainin Instrument Company) automated peptide synthesizer, using programming modules as provided by the manufacturer and following the protocols set forth in the manufacturer's manual.", "Solid phase synthesis is commenced from the C-terminal end of the peptide by coupling a protected alpha amino acid to a suitable resin.", "Such starting material is prepared by attaching an alpha amino-protected amino acid by an amide linkage to 9-Fmoc-aminoxanthen-3-yloxy-Merrifield resin (Sieber Amide resin) or to 4-(2′,4′-Dimethoxyphenyl-Fmoc-aminomethyl)phenoxy resin (Rink Amide resin), by an ester linkage to a p-benzyloxybenzyl alcohol (Wang) resin, a 2-chlorotrityl chloride resin or an oxime resin, or by other means well known in the art.", "The resins are carried through repetitive cycles as necessary to add amino acids sequentially.", "The alpha amino Fmoc protecting groups are removed under basic conditions.", "Piperidine, piperazine, diethylamine, or morpholine (20-40% v/v) in N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF) may be used for this purpose.", "Following removal of the alpha amino protecting group, the subsequent protected amino acids are coupled stepwise in the desired order to obtain an intermediate, protected peptide-resin.", "The activating reagents used for coupling of the amino acids in the solid phase synthesis of the peptides are well known in the art.", "After the peptide is synthesized, if desired, the orthogonally protected side chain protecting groups may be removed using methods well known in the art for further derivatization of the peptide.", "Typically, orthogonal protecting groups are used as appropriate.", "For example, the peptides of the invention contain multiple amino acids with an amino group-containing side chain.", "In one aspect, an Allyl-Alloc protection scheme is employed with the amino acids forming a lactam bridge through their side chains, and orthogonal protecting groups, cleavable under different reactive conditions, use for other amino acids with amino group-containing side chains.", "Thus, for example, Fmoc-Lys(Alloc)-OH, Fmoc-Orn(Alloc)-OH, Fmoc-Dap(Alloc)-OH, Fmoc-Dab(Alloc)-OH, Fmoc-Asp(OAII)-OH or Fmoc-Glu(OAII)-OH amino acids can be employed for the positions forming a lactam bridge upon cyclization, while other amino acids with amino group-containing side chains have a different and orthogonal protecting group, such as with Fmoc-Arg(Pbf)-OH, Fmoc-Lys(Boc)-OH, Fmoc-Dab(Boc)-OH or the like.", "Other protecting groups may be similarly employed; by way of example and not limitation, Mtt/OPp (4-methyltrityl/2-phenylisopropyl) can be employed with the side chains forming a lactam bridge upon cyclization, with orthogonal protecting groups being utilized for other positions that are not cleavable using conditions suitable for cleavage of Mtt/OPp.", "Reactive groups in a peptide can be selectively modified, either during solid phase synthesis or after removal from the resin.", "For example, peptides can be modified to obtain N-terminus modifications, such as acetylation, while on resin, or may be removed from the resin by use of a cleaving reagent and then modified.", "Similarly, methods for modifying side chains of amino acids are well known to those skilled in the art of peptide synthesis.", "The choice of modifications made to reactive groups present on the peptide will be determined, in part, by the characteristics that are desired in the peptide.", "In the peptides of the present invention, in one embodiment the N-terminus group is modified by introduction of an N-acetyl group.", "In one aspect, a method is employed wherein after removal of the protecting group at the N-terminal, the resin-bound peptide is reacted with acetic anhydride in N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF) in the presence of an organic base, such as pyridine.", "Other methods of N-terminus acetylation are known in the art, including solution phase acetylation, and may be employed.", "The peptide can, in one embodiment, be cyclized prior to cleavage from the peptide resin.", "For cyclization through reactive side chain moieties, the desired side chains are deprotected, and the peptide suspended in a suitable solvent and a cyclic coupling agent added.", "Suitable solvents include, for example DMF, dichloromethane (DCM) or 1-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP).", "Suitable cyclic coupling reagents include, for example, 2-(1H-benzotriazol-1-yl)-1,1,3,3-tetramethyluronium tetrafluoroborate (TBTU), 2-(1H-benzotriazol-1-yl)-1,1,3,3-tetramethyluronium hexafluorophosphate (HBTU), benzotriazole-1-yl-oxy-tris(dimethylamino)phosphoniumhexafluorophosphate (BOP), benzotriazole-1-yl-oxy-tris(pyrrolidino)phosphoniumhexafluorophosphate (PyBOP), 2-(7-aza-1H-benzotriazol-1-yl)-1,1,3,3-tetramethyluronium tetrafluoroborate (TATU), 2-(2-oxo-1 (2H)-pyridyl)-1,1,3,3-tetramethyluronium tetrafluoroborate (TPTU) or N,N′-dicyclohexylcarbodiimide/1-hydroxybenzotriazole (DCCI/HOBt).", "Coupling is conventionally initiated by use of a suitable base, such as N,N-diisopropylethylamine (DIPEA), sym-collidine or N-methylmorpholine (NMM).", "For peptides with a non-lactam cyclic bridge, such as peptides containing the bridge: —(CH2)x—NH—C(═O)—(CH2)z—C(═O)—NH—(CH2)y—, where x, y and z are each independently 1 to 5, the peptides may be made using solid phase synthesis employing a side-chain protected diamine amino acid for the positions to be cyclized.", "Particularly preferred in such positions are Dap, Dab or Lys, preferably with an amine protecting group such as Alloc, Mtt, Mmt (methoxytrityl), Dde (1-(4,4-dimethyl-2,6-dioxocyclohex-1-ylidene))ethyl), ivDde (1-(4,4-dimethyl-2,6-dioxocyclohex-1-ylidene)-3-methylbutyl) or any other orthogonally cleavable protecting group.", "Typically, one side chain protecting group is removed first, such as removal of Mtt using 2% TFA in dichloromethane.", "Following washing of the resin, the resulting resin-bound unprotected amine is acylated, such as with a 0.5 M solution of a cyclic anhydride such as succinic anhydride or glutaric anhydride in dichloromethane/pyridine 1:1.Following additional wash steps, the orthogonally cleavable protecting group of the second diamino amino acid is cleaved, such as removal of Alloc using tetrakis(triphenylphosphine)palladium(0) and phenyl silane in dichloromethane.", "After washing with dichloromethane and DMF the resin-bound peptide is cyclized using standard coupling reagents such as TBTU and a base.", "Alternatively, an ivDde protected resin-bound diamino amino acid can be deprotected using a solution of 5% of hydrazine in DMF, and after washing with DMF the resulting resin bound amine can either be acylated with a cyclic anhydride or can be cyclized with a resin bound carboxylic acid.", "The cyclized peptides can then be cleaved from solid phase, using any suitable reagent, such as ethylamine in DCM or various combinations of agents, such as trifluoroacetic acid (TFA), tri-isopropylsilane (TIS), dimethoxybenezene (DMB), water and the like.", "The resulting crude peptide is dried and remaining amino acid side chain protecting groups, if any, are cleaved using any suitable reagent, such as (TFA) in the presence of water, TIS, 2-mercaptopethane (ME), and/or 1,2-ethanedithiol (EDT).", "The final product is precipitated by adding cold ether and collected by filtration.", "Final purification is by reverse phase high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC), using a suitable column, such as a C18 column, or other methods of separation or purification, such as methods based on the size or charge of the peptide, can also be employed.", "Once purified, the peptide can be characterized by any number of methods, such as high performance liquid chromatograph (HPLC), amino acid analysis, mass spectrometry, and the like.", "For peptides of the present invention which have a C-terminus substituted amide derivative or N-alkyl group, synthesis may proceed by solid phase synthesis commenced from the C-terminal end of the peptide by coupling a protected alpha amino acid to a suitable resin.", "Such methods for preparing substituted amide derivatives on solid-phase have been described in the art.", "See, for example, Barn, D. R., et al., “Synthesis of an array of amides by aluminum chloride assisted cleavage on resin bound esters,” Tetrahedron Letters, 37:3213-3216 (1996); DeGrado, W. F. and Kaiser E. T., “Solid-phase synthesis of protected peptides on a polymer bound oxime: Preparation of segments comprising the sequences of a cytotoxic 26-peptide analogue,” J. Org.", "Chem., 47:3258-3261 (1982).", "Such a starting material can be prepared by attaching an alpha amino-protected amino acid by an ester linkage to a p-benzyloxybenzyl alcohol (Wang) resin or an oxime resin by well known means.", "The peptide chain is grown with the desired sequence of amino acids, the peptide cyclized and the peptide-resin treated with a solution of appropriate amine (such as methyl amine, dimethyl amine, ethylamine, and so on).", "Peptides employing a p-benzyloxybenzyl alcohol (Wang) resin may be cleaved from resin by aluminum chloride in DCM, and peptides employing an oxime resin may be cleaved by DCM.", "Another method to prepare a peptide with a C-terminus substituted amide is to attach an alkyl amine by reductive amination to a formyl resin, such as 4-(4-Formyl-3-methoxyphenoxy)butyryl-AM resin (FMPB AM resin), and then sequentially incorporate desired amino acid residues utilizing general principles of solid phase synthesis.", "While synthesis has been described primarily with reference to solid phase Fmoc chemistry, it is to be understood that other chemistries and synthetic methods may be employed to make the cyclic peptides of the invention, such as by way of example and not limitation, methods employing Boc chemistry, solution chemistry, and other chemistries and synthetic methods.", "6.0 Formulations Depending on the desired route of administration, the formulation of a composition including one or more cyclic peptides of the present invention may be varied.", "Thus the formulation may be suitable for subcutaneous injection, or intravenous injection, for topical applications, for ocular applications, for nasal spray applications, for inhalation applications, for other transdermal applications and the like.", "6.1 Salt Form of Cyclic Peptides of the Present Invention The cyclic peptides of the present invention may be in the form of any pharmaceutically acceptable salt.", "The term “pharmaceutically acceptable salts” refers to salts prepared from pharmaceutically acceptable non-toxic bases or acids including inorganic or organic bases and inorganic or organic acids.", "Salts derived from inorganic bases include aluminum, ammonium, calcium, copper, ferric, ferrous, lithium, magnesium, manganic salts, manganous, potassium, sodium, zinc, and the like.", "Particularly preferred are the ammonium, calcium, lithium, magnesium, potassium, and sodium salts.", "Salts derived from pharmaceutically acceptable organic non-toxic bases include salts of primary, secondary, and tertiary amines, substituted amines including naturally occurring substituted amines, cyclic amines, and basic ion exchange resins, such as arginine, betaine, caffeine, choline, N,N′-dibenzylethylenediamine, diethylamine, 2-diethylaminoethanol, 2-dimethylaminoethanol, ethanolamine, ethylenediamine, N-ethyl-morpholine, N-ethylpiperidine, glucamine, glucosamine, histidine, hydrabamine, isopropylamine, lysine, methylglucamine, morpholine, piperazine, piperidine, polyamine resins, procaine, purines, theobromine, triethylamine, trimethylamine, tripropylamine, tromethamine, and the like.", "When the cyclic peptide of the present invention is basic, acid addition salts may be prepared from pharmaceutically acceptable non-toxic acids, including inorganic and organic acids.", "Such acids include acetic, benzenesulfonic, benzoic, camphorsulfonic, carboxylic, citric, ethanesulfonic, formic, fumaric, gluconic, glutamic, hydrobromic, hydrochloric, isethionic, lactic, maleic, malic, mandelic, methanesulfonic, malonic, mucic, nitric, pamoic, pantothenic, phosphoric, propionic, succinic, sulfuric, tartaric, p-toluenesulfonic acid, trifluoroacetic acid, and the like.", "Acid addition salts of the peptides of the present invention are prepared in a suitable solvent from the peptide and an excess of an acid, such as hydrochloric, hydrobromic, sulfuric, phosphoric, acetic, trifluoroacetic, citric, tartaric, maleic, succinic or methanesulfonic acid.", "The acetate, ammonium acetate and trifluoracetic acid salt forms are especially useful.", "Where the peptides of the present invention include an acidic moiety, suitable pharmaceutically acceptable salts may include alkali metal salts, such as sodium or potassium salts, or alkaline earth metal salts, such as calcium or magnesium salts.", "6.2 Pharmaceutical Compositions The invention provides a pharmaceutical composition that includes a cyclic peptide of the present invention and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier.", "The carrier may be a liquid formulation, and is preferably a buffered, isotonic, aqueous solution.", "Pharmaceutically acceptable carriers also include excipients, such as diluents, carriers and the like, and additives, such as stabilizing agents, preservatives, solubilizing agents, buffers and the like, as hereafter described.", "The cyclic peptide compositions of the present invention may be formulated or compounded into pharmaceutical compositions that include at least one cyclic peptide of the present invention together with one or more pharmaceutically acceptable carriers, including excipients, such as diluents, carriers and the like, and additives, such as stabilizing agents, preservatives, solubilizing agents, buffers and the like, as may be desired.", "Formulation excipients may include polyvinylpyrrolidone, gelatin, hydroxy cellulose, acacia, polyethylene glycol, manniton, sodium chloride and sodium citrate.", "For injection or other liquid administration formulations, water containing at least one or more buffering constituents is preferred, and stabilizing agents, preservatives and solubilizing agents may also be employed.", "For solid administration formulations, any of a variety of thickening, filler, bulking and carrier additives may be employed, such as starches, sugars, fatty acids and the like.", "For topical administration formulations, any of a variety of creams, ointments, gels, lotions and the like may be employed.", "For most pharmaceutical formulations, non-active ingredients will constitute the greater part, by weight or volume, of the preparation.", "For pharmaceutical formulations, it is also contemplated that any of a variety of measured-release, slow-release or sustained-release formulations and additives may be employed, so that the dosage may be formulated so as to effect delivery of a peptide of the present invention over a period of time.", "In general, the actual quantity of cyclic peptides of the present invention administered to a patient will vary between fairly wide ranges depending on the mode of administration, the formulation used, and the response desired.", "In practical use, the cyclic peptides of the invention can be combined as the active ingredient in an admixture with a pharmaceutical carrier according to conventional pharmaceutical compounding techniques.", "The carrier may take a wide variety of forms depending on the form of preparation desired for administration, for example, oral, parenteral (including intravenous), urethral, vaginal, nasal, buccal, sublingual, or the like.", "In preparing the compositions for oral dosage form, any of the usual pharmaceutical media may be employed, such as, for example, water, glycols, oils, alcohols, flavoring agents, preservatives, coloring agents and the like in the case of oral liquid preparations such as, for example, suspensions, elixirs and solutions; or carriers such as starches, sugars, microcrystalline cellulose, diluents, granulating agents, lubricants, binders, disintegrating agents and the like in the case of oral solid preparations such as, for example, powders, hard and soft capsules and tablets.", "Because of their ease of administration, tablets and capsules represent an advantageous oral dosage unit form.", "If desired, tablets may be coated by standard aqueous or nonaqueous techniques.", "The amount of active peptide in such therapeutically useful compositions is such that an effective dosage will be obtained.", "In another advantageous dosage unit form, sublingual constructs may be employed, such as sheets, wafers, tablets or the like.", "The tablets, pills, capsules, and the like may also contain a binder such as gum tragacanth, acacia, corn starch or gelatin; excipients such as dicalcium phosphate; a disintegrating agent such as corn starch, potato starch or alginic acid; a lubricant such as magnesium stearate; and a sweetening agent such as sucrose, lactose or saccharin.", "When a dosage unit form is a capsule, it may contain, in addition to materials of the above type, a liquid carrier such as fatty oil.", "Various other materials may be utilized as coatings or to modify the physical form of the dosage unit.", "For instance, tablets may be coated with shellac, sugar or both.", "A syrup or elixir may contain, in addition to the active ingredient, sucrose as a sweetening agent, methyl and propylparabens as preservatives, a dye and a flavoring such as cherry or orange flavor.", "Cyclic peptides may also be administered parenterally.", "Solutions or suspensions of these active peptides can be prepared in water suitably mixed with a surfactant such as hydroxy-propylcellulose.", "Dispersions can also be prepared in glycerol, liquid polyethylene glycols and mixtures thereof in oils.", "These preparations may optionally contain a preservative to prevent the growth of microorganisms.", "The pharmaceutical forms suitable for injectable use include sterile aqueous solutions or dispersions and sterile powders for the extemporaneous preparation of sterile injectable solutions or dispersions.", "In all cases, the form must be sterile and must be fluid to the extent that it may be administered by syringe.", "The form must be stable under the conditions of manufacture and storage and must be preserved against the contaminating action of microorganisms such as bacteria and fungi.", "The carrier can be a solvent or dispersion medium containing, for example, water, ethanol, a polyol, for example glycerol, propylene glycol or liquid polyethylene glycol, suitable mixtures thereof, and vegetable oils.", "The cyclic peptides of the present invention may be therapeutically applied by means of nasal administration.", "By “nasal administration” is meant any form of intranasal administration of any of the cyclic peptides of the present invention.", "The peptides may be in an aqueous solution, such as a solution including saline, citrate or other common excipients or preservatives.", "The peptides may also be in a dry or powder formulation.", "The cyclic peptides of the present invention may be formulated with any of a variety of agents that increase effective nasal absorption of drugs, including peptide drugs.", "These agents should increase nasal absorption without unacceptable damage to the mucosal membrane.", "U.S. Pat.", "Nos.", "5,693,608, 5,977,070 and 5,908,825, among others, teach a number of pharmaceutical compositions that may be employed, including absorption enhancers, and the teachings of each of the foregoing, and all references and patents cited therein, are incorporated by reference.", "If in an aqueous solution, the cyclic peptides may be appropriately buffered by means of saline, acetate, phosphate, citrate, acetate or other buffering agents, which may be at any physiologically acceptable pH, generally from about pH 4 to about pH 7.A combination of buffering agents may also be employed, such as phosphate buffered saline, a saline and acetate buffer, and the like.", "In the case of saline, a 0.9% saline solution may be employed.", "In the case of acetate, phosphate, citrate, and the like, a 50 mM solution may be employed.", "In addition to buffering agents, a suitable preservative may be employed, to prevent or limit bacteria and other microbial growth.", "One such preservative that may be employed is 0.05% benzalkonium chloride.", "In an alternative embodiment, cyclic peptides of the present invention may be administered directly into the lung.", "Intrapulmonary administration may be performed by means of a metered dose inhaler, a device allowing self-administration of a metered bolus of a peptide of the present invention when actuated by a patient during inspiration.", "In one aspect of this embodiment, the cyclic peptide may be in a dried and particulate form, for example particles between about 0.5 and 6.0 μm, such that the particles have sufficient mass to settle on the lung surface, and not be exhaled, but are small enough that they are not deposited on surfaces of the air passages prior to reaching the lung.", "Any of a variety of different techniques may be used to make dry powder microparticles, including but not limited to micro-milling, spray drying and a quick freeze aerosol followed by lyophilization.", "With microparticles, the peptides may be deposited to the deep lung, thereby providing quick and efficient absorption into the bloodstream.", "Further, with such approach penetration enhancers are not required, as is sometimes the case in transdermal, nasal or oral mucosal delivery routes.", "Any of a variety of inhalers can be employed, including propellant-based aerosols, nebulizers, single dose dry powder inhalers and multidose dry powder inhalers.", "Common devices in current use include metered dose inhalers, which are used to deliver medications for the treatment of asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and the like.", "Preferred devices include dry powder inhalers, designed to form a cloud or aerosol of fine powder with a particle size that is always less than about 6.0 μm.", "Microparticle size, including mean size distribution, may be controlled by means of the method of making.", "For micro-milling, the size of the milling head, speed of the rotor, time of processing and the like control the microparticle size.", "For spray drying, the nozzle size, flow rate, dryer heat and the like control the microparticle size.", "For making by means of quick freeze aerosol followed by lyophilization, the nozzle size, flow rate, concentration of aerosoled solution and the like control the microparticle size.", "These parameters and others may be employed to control the microparticle size.", "The cyclic peptides of the present invention may be therapeutically administered by means of an injection of a sustained release formulation.", "In one embodiment, a cyclic peptide of the present invention is formulated for a deep intramuscular injection, such as in the gluteal or deltoid muscle, of a formulation with a polyethylene glycol, such as polyethylene glycol 3350, and optionally one or more additional excipients and preservatives, including but not limited to excipients such as salts, polysorbate 80, sodium hydroxide or hydrochloric acid to adjust pH, and the like.", "In another embodiment a cyclic peptide of the present invention is formulated with a poly(ortho ester), which may be an auto-catalyzed poly(ortho ester) with any of a variable percentage of lactic acid in the polymeric backbone, and optionally one or more additional excipients.", "In one embodiment poly (D,L-lactide-co-glycolide) polymer is employed.", "In general, any of a number of injectable and bioerodible polymers, which are preferably also adhesive polymers, may be employed in a sustained release injectable formulation.", "Alternatively other sustained release formulations may be employed, including formulations permitting subcutaneous injection, which other formulations may include one or more of nano/microspheres (such as compositions including PLGA polymers), liposomes, emulsions (such as water-in-oil emulsions), gels, insoluble salts or suspensions in oil.", "The formulation may be such that an injection is required on a daily, weekly, monthly or other periodic basis, depending on the concentration and amount of cyclic peptide, the sustained release rate of the materials employed, and other factors known to those of skill in the art.", "6.3 Oral Formulations of Peptides of the Present Invention In one aspect, the peptides of the present invention are formulated for oral delivery.", "The peptide is preferably formulated and made such that it is encased in an enteric protectant, more preferably such that it is not released until the tablet or capsule has transited the stomach, and optionally has further transited a portion of the small intestine.", "In the context of this application it will be understood that the term enteric coating or material refers to a coating or material that will pass through the stomach essentially intact but will rapidly disintegrate in the small intestine to release the active drug substance.", "One enteric coating solution that may be used includes cellulose acetate phthalate, and optionally other ingredients such as ammonium hydroxide, triacetin, ethyl alcohol, methylene blue, and purified water.", "Cellulose acetate phthalate is a polymer that has been used in the pharmaceutical industry for enterically coating individual dosage forms such as tablets and capsules, and is not soluble in water at a pH of less than about 5.8.Enteric coatings including cellulose acetate phthalate provide protection against the acidic environment of the stomach, but begin to dissolve in environment of the duodenum (pH of about 6-6.5), and are completely dissolved by the time the dosage form reaches the ileum (pH of about 7-8).", "In addition to cellulose acetate phthalate, other enteric coating materials are known and may be used with peptides of the present invention, including without limitation hydroxypropylmethylethylcellulose succinate, hydroxypropylmethylcellulose phthalate, polyvinyl acetate phthalate, and methacrylic acid-methyl methacrylate copolymer.", "The enteric coating employed promotes dissolution of the dosage form primarily at a site outside the stomach, and may be selected such that the enteric coating dissolves at a pH of approximately at least 6.0, more preferable at a pH of from about 6.0 to about 8.0.In one preferred aspect, the enteric coating dissolves and breaks down in the proximity of the ileum.", "Any of a variety of permeation enhancers may be employed, to increase uptake in the intestines upon dissolution of the enteric coating.", "In one aspect, permeation enhancers increase either paracellular or transcellular transport systems.", "An increase in paracellular transport can be achieved by opening the tight junctions of the cells; an increase in transcellular transport can be achieved by increasing the fluidity of the cell membrane.", "Representative, non-limiting examples of such permeation enhancers include calcium chelators, bile salts (such as sodium cholate), and fatty acids.", "The peptides of the present invention may be in an enteric-coated individual dosage form that includes a fatty acid, such as for example oleate, palmitate, stearate, sodium caprate, or conjugated linoleic acid, in an enteric-coated capsule, to increase paracellular transport.", "In one aspect, the individual dosage form, such as a tablet or capsule, optionally further includes common pharmaceutical binders such as povidone, diluents, glidants, fillers such as microcrystalline cellulose, lubricants such as magnesium stearate, disintegrants such as croscarmellose sodium, preservatives, colorants and the like in their usual known sizes and amounts.", "In some embodiments, peptides or polypeptides that act as substrates for intestinal proteases are further added.", "6.4 Ophthalmic Formulations In one embodiment, ocular diseases, indications, conditions and syndromes, such as for example either dry eye disease or uveitis, may be treated with an ophthalmic dosage form including one or more of the peptides of the present invention.", "The ophthalmic dosage form may include one or more active ingredients in addition to one or more of the peptides of the present invention, such as for example artificial tear components, topical corticosteroids, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or calcineurin inhibitors such as cyclosporine-A (Restasis®—Allergan).", "In a related embodiment, one or additional compounds may be given separately from one or more of the peptides of the present invention, such as separate administration of an ophthalmic dosage form including an artificial tear component, a topical corticosteroid, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, a calcineurin inhibitor such a cyclosporine-A, or a combination of any of the foregoing.", "Ophthalmic solutions are preferably maintained in a pH range between about pH 3.5 to 9.0, and preferably about pH 6.5 and pH 7.2, with a suitable buffer.", "The pH may be adjusted by any known means, such as by use of HCl or NaOH.", "Buffers may include acetate, boric acid, sodium borate, potassium citrate, citric acid, sodium bicarbonate, TRIS, various mixed phosphate buffers (such as combinations of Na2HPO4, NaH2PO4 and KH2PO4) and mixtures thereof.", "Generally, buffers will be used in amounts ranging from about 0.05% to 2.5% (w/v), and preferably from about 0.1% to 1.5% percent; buffers should be as close to physiological ion concentrations as possible to minimize potential irritation but still maintain drug product pH over the shelf life of the product.", "The ophthalmic solutions employed in the present invention may be made from purified water, and in one aspect preferably from a physiological saline solution.", "Additional tonicity enhancing agents may be employed, including either ionic or non-ionic tonicity enhancing agents, or both.", "Ionic tonicity enhancing agents include alkali metal or earth metal halides, such as CaCl2, KBr, KCl, LiCl, NaI, NaBr, NaCl, Na2SO4 or boric acid.", "Non-ionic tonicity enhancing agents include urea, glycerol, sorbitol, mannitol, propylene glycol, or dextrose.", "The aqueous solutions of the present invention are typically adjusted with tonicity agents to approximate an osmotic pressure equivalent to a 0.9% (w/v) solution of sodium chloride or a 2.5% solution of glycerol.", "However, tonicity ranges equivalent to between 0.7% and 1.5% NaCl are generally considered to be acceptable.", "The solutions can also contain conventional, pharmaceutically acceptable preservatives, stabilizers, cosolvents and/or penetration enhancers as well as viscoelastic substances included in artificial tear preparations.", "Pharmaceutically acceptable preservatives include quaternary ammonium compounds such as benzalkonium chloride, benzoxonium chloride or the like; alkyl-mercury salts of thiosalicylic acid such as thiomersal, phenylmercuric nitrate, phenylmercuric acetate or phenylmercuric borate; sodium perborate; sodium chlorite; parabens, such asmethylparaben or propylparaben; alcohols such as chlorobutanol, benzyl alcohol or phenyl ethanol; guanidine derivatives such as chlorohexidine or polyhexamethylene biguanide; sorbic acid; boric acid; or peroxide forming preservatives, or combinations of two or more of the foregoing.", "Pharmaceutically acceptable antioxidants and chelating agents may be used including various sulphites (such as sodium metabisulphite, sodium thiosulphate, sodium bisulfite, or sodium sulfite), α-tocopherol, ascorbic acid, acetylcysteine, 8-hydroxyquinolome, antipyrine, butylated hydroxyanisole or butylated hydroxytoluene, EDTA, and others.", "Cosolvents such as alcohols and others may also be used.", "Various substances can also be used to enhance formulation stability, such as cyclodextrins.", "Penetration enhancers may be employed in ophthalmic solutions, including compounds such as surfactants, certain organic solvents such as dimethylsulphoxide and other sulphoxides, dimethylacetamide and pyrrolidine, certain amides of heterocyclic amines, glycols (e.g.", "propylene glycol), propylene carbonate, oleic acid, alkylamines and derivatives, various cationic, anionic and nonionic surfactants, amphoteric surfactants and the like.", "Additional penetration enhancers that may be employed include cetylpyridinium chloride, ionophores such as lasalocid, benzalkonium chloride, polysorbates such as polysorbate 20 (Tween® 20), parabens, saponins, various polyoxyethylene ether compounds such as Brij® 35, Brij® 78 or Brij® 98, ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA), bile salts, and bile acids (such as sodium cholate, sodium taurocholate, sodium glycodeoxycholate, sodium taurodeoxycholate, taurocholic acid, chenodeoxycholic acid and ursodeoxycholic acid), capric acid, azone, fucidic acid, hexamethylene lauramide, saponins, hexamethylene octanamide, and decylmethyl sulfoxide.", "Ion pairing formulations utilizing charged excipients or counter ions to shield/neutralize charged groups on drug molecules may also be employed to lower the lipophilicity of the compound to increase corneal penetration.", "These formulations include but are not limited to ions such as sorbic acid, boric acid and maleic acid, among other charged ion pairing agents.", "Viscosity enhancers or lubricants may be employed as necessary or appropriate.", "In one aspect, the viscosity enhancer includes a water soluble polymer, such as polyols, including polyvinyl alcohol, a polyethylene glycol, or combinations of water soluble polymers.", "In one aspect, polyethylene glycol 300 or 400 is employed.", "The contents of water soluble polymer may be between about 0.25% and about 4.0% (w/v).", "Thus an ophthalmic solution can include, by way of example, 1% of polyvinyl alcohol, 1% of polyethylene glycol 300 or 400, or both.", "Other polyols may be employed, including glycerol, glycerin, polysorbate 80, propylene glycol, ethylene glycol, povidone, and polyvinylpyrrolidone.", "Other lubricants, sometimes also called tear substitutes, may also be employed, including cellulose derivatives such hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose, carboxymethyl cellulose sodium, hydroxypropyl cellulose, hydroxyethyl cellulose, and methyl cellulose; dextrans such as dextran 70; water soluble proteins such as gelatin; carbomers such as carbomer 934P, carbomer 941, carbomer 940 and carbomer 974P; and gums such as HP-guar, xanthan gum or combinations thereof.", "Other viscosity enhancers that can be employed include polysaccharide compounds, such as sulfated or non-sulfated glycosaminoglycan compounds.", "In one aspect, the polysaccharide compound is a non-sulfated glycosaminoglycan such as hyaluronic acid or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, such as sodium hyaluronate.", "Any commercially available molecular weight range of hyaluronic acid or salts thereof may be employed.", "From about 0.05% to about 0.4% (w/v) of hyaluronic acid or a salt thereof may be employed in an ophthalmic solution.", "In another aspect, the polysaccharide compound is a non-sulfated glycosaminoglycan such as dextran.", "In yet another aspect, the polysaccharide is a sulfated glycosaminoglycan such as chondroitin sulfate.", "Semi-solid formulations may be employed for ophthalmic delivery to increase corneal residence times of drug molecules.", "Ointments containing polyethylene glycols, lanolin alcohols, ozokerite, ceresin, microcrystalline wax, surfactants, preservatives, sorbitan monolaurate, white petrolatum and light liquid petrolatum (mineral oil) or other petrolatum like bases may be used.", "Aqueous or non-aqueous suspensions may also be used.", "For hydrophilic peptides, suspensions using pharmaceutically acceptable oils or petrolatum may be used.", "Suspensions may contain microspheres or microparticulates, nanoparticulates, mucoadhesive particles, viscosity increasing agents, surfactants and other agents.", "Mucoadhesive compounds include synthetic polymers, such as polyacrylic acid and polycarbophil; biopolymers such as hyaluronic acid or sodium carboxy methylcellulose (CMC); polyanionic polymers such as polyacrylic acid (PAA); polyacrylic acids such as Carbopol® 934P, polycarbophil, and CMC or PAA with Pluronic® polyoxalkylene ethers; or polycationic polymers such as chitosan.", "Emulsions (oil in water or water in oil), including microemulsions, may also be employed that are composed of pharmaceutically acceptable oils together with one or more of viscosity increasing agents, preservatives, cosolvents, surfactants and other agents.", "Pharmaceutically acceptable oils include mineral oils and organic oils, including oils comprising medium chain or long chain saturated or unsaturated fatty acids or esters thereof.", "Pharmaceutically acceptable oils thus include any of a range of medium chain triglycerides, as well as oils such as almond oil, castor oil, cottonseed oil, glycerin (glycerol), peanut oil, mineral oil, polyethylene glycol, poppyseed oil, propylene glycol, safflower oil, sesame oil, soybean oil, olive oil and vegetable oil.", "A surfactant such as a polyoxyethylene alkyl ether, polyoxyl castor oil, tyloxapol, alkyl aryl ether sulfonate, lecithin, sorbitan esters, glyceryl monostearate, cetyl alcohol, octoxynol-9, nonoxynol-9, polyoxyethylene stearates, polyoxyethylene sorbitan fatty acid esters such as polysorbate 20, 60 and 80 or others may also be employed.", "Aqueous gels, often comprised of polymers such as polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), polyacrylamide, poloxamer, hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC), carbomer, polymethylvinylether maleic anhydride, and hydroxypropyl ethylcellulose may also be used.", "Hydrogels containing swellable, water insoluble polymers may be utilized containing polymers such as poly(acrylic acid), poly(acrylic acids), poly(acrylamide), and ethylene maleic anhydride, and chemically or thermally-treated gelatins.", "Ocular inserts, liposomes, discomes, niosomes, dedrimers, nanosuspensions, nanoparticles and microparticles may also be used to provide a controlled release of the drug.", "Liposomes and other controlled release agents may be positively charged to increase residence times through ionic interactions with the negatively charged corneal surface.", "Nanoparticles may be composed of biodegradable polymers such as polyactides (PLAs), polycyano acrylates, poly (D,L-lactides), and natural polymers such as chitosan, gelatin, sodium alginate, albumin and others.", "6.5 Routes of Administration of Formulations If a formulation including one or more peptides of the present invention is administered by injection, the injection may be intravenous, subcutaneous, intramuscular, intraperitoneal or other means known in the art.", "The peptides of the present invention may be formulated by any means known in the art, including but not limited to formulation as tablets, capsules, caplets, suspensions, powders, lyophilized preparations, suppositories, ocular drops, skin patches, oral soluble formulations, sprays, aerosols and the like, and may be mixed and formulated with buffers, binders, excipients, stabilizers, anti-oxidants and other agents known in the art.", "In general, any route of administration by which the peptides of invention are introduced across an epidermal layer of cells may be employed.", "Administration means may thus include formulations for administration through mucous membranes, buccal administration, oral administration, dermal administration, inhalation administration, nasal administration, urethral administration, vaginal administration, and the like.", "6.6 Therapeutically Effective Amount In general, the actual quantity of cyclic peptide of the present invention administered to a patient will vary between fairly wide ranges depending upon the mode of administration, the formulation used, and the response desired.", "The dosage for treatment is administration, by any of the foregoing means or any other means known in the art, of an amount sufficient to bring about the desired therapeutic effect.", "Thus a therapeutically effective amount includes an amount of a peptide or pharmaceutical composition of the present invention that is sufficient to therapeutically alleviate sexual dysfunction in a patient, or to prevent or delay onset or recurrence of the sexual dysfunction.", "In general, the cyclic peptides of the present invention are highly active.", "For example, the cyclic peptide can be systemically administered at about 0.1, 0.5, 1, 5, 50, 100, 500, 1000 or 5000 μg/kg body weight, depending on the specific peptide selected, the desired therapeutic response, the route of administration, the formulation and other factors known to those of skill in the art.", "7.0 Peptides of the Present Invention In one aspect, the invention provides a cyclic peptide which contains a core sequence derived from His-Phe-Arg within the cyclic portion, but not including Trp within the core portion, and where Trp, or a derivative or mimetic thereof (defined as an amino acid residue with a side chain including at least one aryl or heteroaryl, including but not limited to Nal 1 or Nal 2), is the amino acid residue immediately outside the cyclic portion on the C-terminus side.", "Thus the sequence is derived from His-Phe-Arg-Xaa6-Trp, where Xaa6 is an amino acid wherein the side chain thereof forms a cyclic bridge with either the side chain of another amino acid or the N-terminus group of the peptide.", "The core sequence derived from His-Phe-Arg-Xaa6-Trp may include a number of substitutions.", "The His position may be His, or may be a substituted or unsubstituted Pro or an amino acid with a side chain including at least one primary amine, secondary amine, alkyl, cycloalkyl, cycloheteroalkyl, aryl, heteroaryl, alcohol, ether, sulfide, sulfone, sufoxide, carbomyl or carboxyl.", "Substituted Pro includes, but is not limited to, amino acids such as Hyp, Hyp(Bzl), Pro(4R-Bzl) or Pro(4R—NH2).", "The Phe position may be Phe, but is most typically substituted or unsubstituted D-Phe, D-Nal 1, D-Nal 2 or an amino acid with a side chain including pyridyl.", "The Arg position may be Arg, Lys, Orn, Dab or Dap, or a substituted or unsubstituted Pro, or Cit, or may be an amino acid with a side chain including at least one primary amine, secondary amine, guanidine, urea, alkyl, cycloalkyl, cycloheteroalkyl, aryl, heteroaryl, or ether.", "Xaa6 may be an amino acid with a side chain include a primary amine, such as Lys, Orn, Dab, Dap, an amino acid with a carboxyl group, such as Asp, Glu or hGlu, or an amino acid with a disulfide group, such as Cys or Pen, all depending on the nature of the cyclic bridge.", "The Trp position may be an amino acid with a side chain including at least one substituted or unsubstituted aryl or heteroaryl, such as Trp, Nal 1 or Nal 2.The invention thus provides a cyclic peptide of formula (VII): Z-Xaa1-Xaa2-Xaa3-Xaa4-Xaa5-Xaa6-Xaa7-Y (VII) or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, wherein: Z is H or an N-terminal group; Xaa1 is optionally present, and if present is from one to three L- or D-isomer amino acid residues; Xaa2 and Xaa6 are L- or D-isomer amino acids wherein the side chains thereof comprise a cyclic bridge; Xaa3 is L- or D-Pro, optionally substituted with hydroxyl, halogen, sulfonamide, alkyl, —O-alkyl, aryl, alkyl-aryl, alkyl-O-aryl, alkyl-O-alkyl-aryl, or —O-aryl, or Xaa3 is an L- or D-isomer of an amino acid with a side chain including at least one primary amine, secondary amine, alkyl, cycloalkyl, cycloheteroalkyl, aryl, heteroaryl, ether, sulfide, or carboxyl; Xaa4 is an L- or D-isomer amino acid with a side chain including phenyl, naphthyl or pyridyl, optionally wherein the ring is substituted with one or more substituents independently selected from halo, (C1-C10)alkyl-halo, (C1-C10)alkyl, (C1-C10)alkoxy, (C1-C10)alkylthio, aryl, aryloxy, nitro, nitrile, sulfonamide, amino, monosubstituted amino, disubstituted amino, hydroxy, carboxy, and alkoxy-carbonyl; Xaa5 is L- or D-Pro or Xaa5 is an L- or D-isomer amino acid with a side chain including at least one primary amine, secondary amine, guanidine, urea, alkyl, cycloalkyl, cycloheteroalkyl, aryl, heteroaryl, or ether; Xaa7 is optionally present, and if present is from one to three L- or D-isomer amino acid residues; and Y is a C-terminal group.", "In one aspect, Xaa4 may be D-Phe, optionally substituted with one or more substituents independently selected from halo, (C1-C10)alkyl-halo, (C1-C10)alkyl, (C1-C10)alkoxy, (C1-C10)alkylthio, aryl, aryloxy, nitro, nitrile, sulfonamide, amino, monosubstituted amino, disubstituted amino, hydroxy, carboxy, and alkoxy-carbonyl.", "In another aspect, one of Xaa2 and Xaa6 may be an L- or D-isomer of Asp, hGlu or Glu and the other of Xaa2 and Xaa6 is an L- or D-isomer of Lys, Orn, Dab or Dap.", "In an alternative aspect, each of Xaa2 and Xaa6 may be Cys, D-Cys, Pen or D-Pen.", "In another aspect, Xaa1 may be an amino acid with a side chain including a linear or branched alkyl, cycloalkyl, cycloheteroalkyl, aryl or heteroaryl.", "In another aspect, Xaa7 may be an amino acid with a side chain including at least one aryl or heteroaryl, optionally substituted with one or more ring substituents, and when one or more substituents are present, are the same or different and independently hydroxyl, halogen, sulfonamide, alkyl, —O-alkyl, aryl, or —O-aryl.", "In another aspect, the N-terminal group may be a C1 to C17 acyl group, wherein the C1 to C17 comprises a linear or branched alkyl, cycloalkyl, alkylcycloalkyl, aryl or alkylaryl, a linear or branched C1 to C17 alkyl, aryl, heteroaryl, alkene, alkenyl, or aralkyl chain or an N-acylated linear or branched C1 to C17 alkyl, aryl, heteroaryl, alkene, alkenyl, or aralkyl chain.", "In another aspect, Y may be a hydroxyl, an amide, or an amide substituted with one or two linear or branched C1 to C17 alkyl, cycloalkyl, aryl, alkyl cycloalkyl, aralkyl, heteroaryl, alkene, alkenyl, or aralkyl chains.", "The invention thus provides in another aspect a cyclic peptide of formula (VII) defined as above, but wherein Xaa4 is D-Phe, optionally substituted with one or more substituents independently selected from halo, (C1-C10)alkyl-halo, (C1-C10)alkyl, (C1-C10)alkoxy, (C1-C10)alkylthio, aryl, aryloxy, nitro, nitrile, sulfonamide, amino, monosubstituted amino, disubstituted amino, hydroxy, carboxy, and alkoxy-carbonyl; Xaa5 is an L- or D-isomer of Arg, Lys, Orn, Dab or Dap; and Xaa7 is an L- or D-isomer of Trp, Nal 1 or Nal 2.In the foregoing, in one aspect Xaa3 may be an L- or D-isomer of His, and in another aspect Z may be a C1 to C17 acyl group and Xaa1 may be an L- or D-isomer of Nle.", "In the foregoing, and in formula (I), substituted Pro may be, for example, Hyp, Hyp(Bzl), Pro(4-Bzl), and Pro(4-NH2).", "The peptides encompassed within formulas (I) through (VII) contain one or more asymmetric elements such as stereogenic centers, stereogenic axes and the like, so that the peptides encompassed within formula (I) can exist in different stereoisomeric forms.", "For both specific and generically described peptides, including the peptides encompassed within formulas (I) through (VI), all forms of isomers at all chiral or other isomeric centers, including enantiomers and diastereomers, are intended to be covered herein.", "The peptides of the invention each include multiple chiral centers, and may be used as a racemic mixture or an enantiomerically enriched mixture, in addition to use of the peptides of the invention in enantiopure preparations.", "Typically, the peptides of the invention will be synthesized with the use of chirally pure reagents, such as specified L- or D-amino acids, using reagents, conditions and methods such that enantiomeric purity is maintained, but it is possible and contemplated that racemic mixtures may be made.", "Such racemic mixtures may optionally be separated using well-known techniques and an individual enantiomer may be used alone.", "In cases and under specific conditions of temperature, solvents and pH wherein peptides may exist in tautomeric forms, each tautomeric form is contemplated as being included within this invention whether existing in equilibrium or predominantly in one form.", "Thus a single enantiomer of a peptide of formula (I), which is an optically active form, can be obtained by asymmetric synthesis, synthesis from optically pure precursors, or by resolution of the racemates.", "The invention is further intended to include prodrugs of the present peptides, which on administration undergo chemical conversion by metabolic processes before becoming active pharmacological peptides.", "In general, such prodrugs will be functional derivatives of the present peptides, which are readily convertible in vivo into a peptide of formula (I) through (VII).", "Prodrugs are any covalently bonded compounds, which release the active parent peptide drug of formula (I) through (VII) in vivo.", "Conventional procedures for the selection and preparation of suitable prodrug derivatives are described, for example, in “Design of Prodrugs”, ed.", "H. Bundgaard, Elsevier, 1985.Typical examples of prodrugs have biologically labile protecting groups on a functional moiety, such as for example by esterification of hydroxyl, carboxyl or amino functions.", "Thus by way of example and not limitation, a prodrug includes peptides of formula (I) wherein an ester prodrug form is employed, such as, for example, lower alkyl esters of an R group of formula (I), such as where R is —OH, which lower alkyl esters may include from 1-8 carbons in an alkyl radical or aralkyl esters which have 6-12 carbons in an aralkyl radical.", "Broadly speaking, prodrugs include compounds that can be oxidized, reduced, aminated, deaminated, hydroxylated, dehydroxylated, hydrolyzed, dehydrolyzed, alkylated, dealkylated, acylated, deacylated, phosphorylated or dephosphorylated to produce an active parent peptide drug of formula (I) in vivo.", "The subject invention also includes peptides which are identical to those recited in formula (I) through (VI), but for the fact that one or more atoms depicted in formula (I) through (VI) are replaced by an atom having an atomic mass or mass number different from the atomic mass or mass number usually found in nature.", "Examples of isotopes that can be incorporated into compounds of the invention include isotopes of hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen and oxygen, such as 2H, 3H, 13C, 14C, 15N, 18O and 17O, respectively.", "Peptides of the present invention and pharmaceutically acceptable salts or solvates of said compounds which contain the aforementioned isotopes and/or other isotopes of other atoms are within the scope of this invention.", "Certain isotopically-labeled compounds of the present invention, for example those into which radioactive isotopes such as 3H and 14C are incorporated, may have use in a variety of assays, such as in drug and/or substrate tissue distribution assays.", "Substitution with heavier isotopes, such as substitution of one or more hydrogen atoms with deuterium (2H), can provide pharmacological advantages in some instances, including increased metabolic stability.", "Isotopically labeled peptides of formula (I) through (VI) can generally be prepared by substituting an isotopically labeled reagent for a non-isotopically labeled reagent.", "8.0 Tests and Assays Employed in Evaluation of the Peptides of the Present Invention The melanocortin receptor-specific peptides of the present invention of this invention may be tested by a variety of assay systems and animal models to determine binding, functional status and efficacy.", "8.1 Competitive Inhibition Assay Using [I125]-NDP-α-MSH A competitive inhibition binding assay was performed using membrane homogenates prepared from HEK-293 cells that express recombinant hMCR-la or hMCR-4 (in each instance where the h prefix refers to human), or alternatively membrane homogenates from B16-F10 mouse melanoma cells containing endogenous murine MCR-1.In the examples that follow, all MCR-1 and MCR-4 values are for human recombinant receptors, unless otherwise noted.", "Assays were performed in 96 well polypropylene round-bottom plates (VWR catalog number 12777-030).", "Membrane homogenates were incubated with 0.1 nM [I125]-NDP-α-MSH (Perkin Elmer) and increasing concentrations of test peptides of the present invention in buffer containing 25 mM HEPES buffer (pH 7.5) with 100 mM NaCl, 2 mM CaCl2, 2 mM MgCl2, 0.3 mM 1,10-phenanthroline, and 0.2% bovine serum albumin.", "After incubation for 90 minutes at 37° C., the assay mixture was filtered onto GF/B Unifilter plates (Perkin-Elmer catalog number 6005177) and washed with 3 mL of ice-cold buffer per well.", "Filters were air dried and 35 μL of scintillation cocktail added to each well.", "Plates were counted in a Microbeta counter for bound radioactivity.", "Non-specific binding was measured by inhibition of binding of [I125]-NDP-α-MSH in the presence of 1 μM NDP-α-MSH.", "Maximal specific binding (100%) was defined as the difference in radioactivity (cpm) bound to cell membranes in the absence and presence of 1 μM NDP-α-MSH.", "Each assay was conducted in duplicate and the actual mean values are described, with results less than 0% reported as 0%.", "Ki values for peptides of the present invention were determined using Graph-Pad Prism® curve-fitting software.", "8.2 Assay for Agonist Activity Accumulation of intracellular cAMP was examined as a measure of the ability of the peptides of the present invention to elicit a functional response in a human melanoma cell line, HBL, that express hMCR-1 (see Kang, L., et al., “A selective small molecule agonist of melanocortin-1 receptor inhibits lipopolysaccharide-induced cytokine accumulation and leukocyte infiltration in mice,” J. Leuk.", "Biol.", "80:897-904 (2006)) or HEK-293 cells that express hMCR-4.Confluent HBL cells that express hMCR-1 or HEK-293 cells that express recombinant hMCR-4 were detached from culture plates by incubation in enzyme-free cell dissociation buffer.", "Dispersed cells were suspended in Earle's Balanced Salt Solution containing 10 mM HEPES (pH 7.5), 1 mM MgCl2, 1 mM glutamine, 0.5% albumin and 0.3 mM 3-isobutyl-1-methyl-xanthine (IBMX), a phosphodiesterase inhibitor.", "The cells were plated in 96-well plates at a density of 0.4×105 cells per well for HBL cells and 0.5×105 cells per well for HEK-293 cells and pre-incubated for 10 minutes.", "Cells were exposed for 15 minutes at 37° C. to peptides of the present invention dissolved in DMSO (final DMSO concentration of 1%) at a concentration range of 0.05-5000 nM in a total assay volume of 200 μL.", "NDP-α-MSH was used as the reference agonist.", "cAMP levels were determined by an HTRF® cAMP cell-based assay system from Cisbio Bioassays utilizing cryptate-labeled anti-cAMP and d2-labeled cAMP, with plates read on a Perkin-Elmer Victor plate reader at 665 and 620 nM.", "Data analysis was performed by nonlinear regression analysis with Graph-Pad Prism® software.", "Maximum efficacy (Emax) values were determined for each test peptide of the present invention, compared to that achieved by the reference melanocortin agonist NDP-α-MSH.", "9.0 Examples Peptides of the following structures were synthesized and averaged MCR-1 and MCR-4 Ki values were determined as indicated.", "All Ki values were determined using [I125]-NDP-α-MSH.", "All results are expressed in nM except for Emax values, which are percentage values.", "Peptides with the captioned primary sequence were synthesized and purified as described in Section 5 above, with the resulting peptide having the structure depicted.", "After synthesis and purification, each peptide was tested as described in Section 8 above, with the results as shown.", "9.1 Assay Result MC-4 Ki (average) 45 MC-1 Ki (average) 0.01 MC-1 EC50 (average; cAMP HBL) 0.007 MC-1 Emax (average; cAMP HBL) 97% 9.2 Assay Result MC-4 Ki (average) 110 MC-1 Ki (average) 0.012 MC-1 EC50 (average; cAMP HBL) 0.006 MC-1 Emax (average; cAMP HBL) 95% 9.3 Assay Result MC-4 Ki (average) 358 MC-1 Ki (average) 0.04 MC-1 EC50 (average; cAMP HBL) 0.008 MC-1 Emax (average; cAMP HBL) 91% 9.4 Assay Result MC-4 Ki (average) 1325 MC-1 Ki (average) 2 MC-1 EC50 (average; cAMP HBL) 0.195 MC-1 Emax (average; cAMP HBL) 88% 9.5 Assay Result MC-4 Ki (average) 540 MC-1 Ki (average) 0.35 MC-1 EC50 (average; cAMP HBL) 0.025 MC-1 Emax (average; cAMP HBL) 87% 9.6 Assay Result MC-4 Ki (average) 295 MC-1 Ki (average) 0.07 MC-1 EC50 (average; cAMP HBL) 0.014 MC-1 Emax (average; cAMP HBL) 91% 9.7 Assay Result MC-4 Ki (average) 33 MC-1 Ki (average) 0.55 MC-1 EC50 (average; cAMP HBL) 0.025 MC-1 Emax (average; cAMP HBL) 93% 9.8 Assay Result MC-4 Ki (average) 10000 MC-1 Ki (average) 2 MC-1 EC50 (average; cAMP HBL) 0.052 MC-1 Emax (average; cAMP HBL) 88% 9.9 Assay Result MC-4 Ki (average) 2 MC-1 Ki (average) 0.1 MC-1 EC50 (average; cAMP HBL) 0.008 MC-1 Emax (average; cAMP HBL) 73% 9.10 Assay Result MC-4 Ki (average) 3 MC-1 Ki (average) 0.01 MC-1 EC50 (average; cAMP HBL) 0.004 MC-1 Emax (average; cAMP HBL) 83% 9.11 Assay Result MC-4 Ki (average) 0.095 MC-1 Ki (average) 0.02 MC-1 EC50 (average; cAMP HBL) 0.005 MC-1 Emax (average; cAMP HBL) 69% 9.12 Assay Result MC-4 Ki (average) 535 MC-1 Ki (average) 0.35 MC-1 EC50 (average; cAMP HBL) 0.015 MC-1 Emax (average; cAMP HBL) 75% 9.13 Assay Result MC-4 Ki (average) 510 MC-1 Ki (average) 0.195 MC-1 EC50 (average; cAMP HBL) 0.01 MC-1 Emax (average; cAMP HBL) 75% 9.14 Assay Result MC-4 Ki (average) 10000 MC-1 Ki (average) 310 MC-1 EC50 (average; cAMP HBL) 31 MC-1 Emax (average; cAMP HBL) 80% 9.15 Assay Result MC-4 Ki (average) 890 MC-1 Ki (average) 0.65 MC-1 EC50 (average; cAMP HBL) 0.012 MC-1 Emax (average; cAMP HBL) 91% 9.16 Assay Result MC-4 Ki (average) 365 MC-1 Ki (average) 0.12 MC-1 EC50 (average; cAMP HBL) 0.005 MC-1 Emax (average; cAMP HBL) 89% 9.17 Assay Result MC-4 Ki (average) 110 MC-1 Ki (average) 0.025 MC-1 EC50 (average; cAMP HBL) 0.004 MC-1 Emax (average; cAMP HBL) 90% 9.18 Assay Result MC-4 Ki (average) 100 MC-1 Ki (average) 0.015 MC-1 EC50 (average; cAMP HBL) 0.003 MC-1 Emax (average; cAMP HBL) 87% 9.19 Assay Result MC-4 Ki (average) 640 MC-1 Ki (average) 3 MC-1 EC50 (average; cAMP HBL) 0.031 MC-1 Emax (average; cAMP HBL) 83% 9.20 Assay Result MC-4 Ki (average) 165 MC-1 Ki (average) 0.025 MC-1 EC50 (average; cAMP HBL) 0.004 MC-1 Emax (average; cAMP HBL) 79% 9.21 Assay Result MC-4 Ki (average) 93 MC-1 Ki (average) 0.01 MC-1 EC50 (average; cAMP HBL) 0.004 MC-1 Emax (average; cAMP HBL) 83% 9.22 Assay Result MC-4 Ki (average) 63 MC-1 Ki (average) 0.01 MC-1 EC50 (average; cAMP HBL) 0.004 MC-1 Emax (average; cAMP HBL) 85% 9.23 Assay Result MC-4 Ki (average) 205 MC-1 Ki (average) 0.04 MC-1 EC50 (average; cAMP HBL) 0.007 MC-1 Emax (average; cAMP HBL) 82% 9.24 Assay Result MC-4 Ki (average) 285 MC-1 Ki (average) 0.03 MC-1 EC50 (average; cAMP HBL) 0.006 MC-1 Emax (average; cAMP HBL) 83% 9.25 Assay Result MC-4 Ki (average) 7475 MC-1 Ki (average) 2 MC-1 EC50 (average; cAMP HBL) 0.08 MC-1 Emax (average; cAMP HBL) 97% 9.26 Assay Result MC-4 Ki (average) 4700 MC-1 Ki (average) 1 MC-1 EC50 (average; cAMP HBL) 0.107 MC-1 Emax (average; cAMP HBL) 81% 9.27 Assay Result MC-4 Ki (average) 380 MC-1 Ki (average) 0.015 MC-1 EC50 (average; cAMP HBL) 0.009 MC-1 Emax (average; cAMP HBL) 92% 9.28 Assay Result MC-4 Ki (average) 680 MC-1 Ki (average) 0.03 MC-1 EC50 (average; cAMP HBL) 0.007 MC-1 Emax (average; cAMP HBL) 70% 9.29 Assay Result MC-4 Ki (average) 325 MC-1 Ki (average) 0.025 MC-1 EC50 (average; cAMP HBL) 0.006 MC-1 Emax (average; cAMP HBL) 78% 9.30 Assay Result MC-4 Ki (average) 0.75 MC-1 Ki (average) 0.005 MC-1 EC50 (average; cAMP HBL) 0.002 MC-1 Emax (average; cAMP HBL) 72% 9.31 Assay Result MC-4 Ki (average) 10000 MC-1 Ki (average) 2 MC-1 EC50 (average; cAMP HBL) 0.095 MC-1 Emax (average; cAMP HBL) 79% 9.32 Assay Result MC-4 Ki (average) 10000 MC-1 Ki (average) 7 MC-1 EC50 (average; cAMP HBL) 0.32 MC-1 Emax (average; cAMP HBL) 85% 9.33 Assay Result MC-4 Ki (average) 10000 MC-1 Ki (average) 645 MC-1 EC50 (average; cAMP HBL) 44 MC-1 Emax (average; cAMP HBL) 73% 9.34 Assay Result MC-4 Ki (average) 10000 MC-1 Ki (average) 9 MC-1 EC50 (average; cAMP HBL) 4 MC-1 Emax (average; cAMP HBL) 59% 9.35 Assay Result MC-4 Ki (average) 10000 MC-1 Ki (average) 0.8 MC-1 EC50 (average; cAMP HBL) 0.115 MC-1 Emax (average; cAMP HBL) 72% 9.36 Assay Result MC-4 Ki (average) 455 MC-1 Ki (average) 4 MC-1 EC50 (average; cAMP HBL) 0.21 MC-1 Emax (average; cAMP HBL) 86% 9.37 Assay Result MC-4 Ki (average) 20 MC-1 Ki (average) 0.014 MC-1 EC50 (average; cAMP HBL) 0.003 MC-1 Emax (average; cAMP HBL) 100% 9.38 Assay Result MC-4 Ki (average) 98 MC-1 Ki (average) 0.45 MC-1 EC50 (average; cAMP HBL) 0.065 MC-1 Emax (average; cAMP HBL) 97% 9.39 Assay Result MC-4 Ki (average) 7375 MC-1 Ki (average) 2 MC-1 EC50 (average; cAMP HBL) 0.175 MC-1 Emax (average; cAMP HBL) 91% 9.40 Assay Result MC-4 Ki (average) 95 MC-1 Ki (average) 0.04 MC-1 EC50 (average; cAMP HBL) 0.006 MC-1 Emax (average; cAMP HBL) 108% 9.41 Assay Result MC-4 Ki (average) 98 MC-1 Ki (average) 0.05 MC-1 EC50 (average; cAMP HBL) 0.008 MC-1 Emax (average; cAMP HBL) 108% 9.42 Assay Result MC-4 Ki (average) 45 MC-1 Ki (average) 0.015 MC-1 EC50 (average; cAMP HBL) 0.002 MC-1 Emax (average; cAMP HBL) 109% 9.43 Assay Result MC-4 Ki (average) 860 MC-1 Ki (average) 0.065 MC-1 EC50 (average; cAMP HBL) 0.016 MC-1 Emax (average; cAMP HBL) 85% 9.44 Assay Result MC-4 Ki (average) 10000 MC-1 Ki (average) 7 MC-1 EC50 (average; cAMP HBL) 0.32 MC-1 Emax (average; cAMP HBL) 85% 9.45 Assay Result MC-4 Ki (average) 10000 MC-1 Ki (average) 645 MC-1 EC50 (average; cAMP HBL) 44 MC-1 Emax (average; cAMP HBL) 73% 9.46 Assay Result MC-4 Ki (average) 10000 MC-1 Ki (average) 10000 MC-1 EC50 (average; cAMP HBL) NA MC-1 Emax (average; cAMP HBL) 51% 9.47 Assay Result MC-4 Ki (average) 10000 MC-1 Ki (average) 9 MC-1 EC50 (average; cAMP HBL) 4 MC-1 Emax (average; cAMP HBL) 59% 9.48 Assay Result MC-4 Ki (average) 10000 MC-1 Ki (average) 0.8 MC-1 EC50 (average; cAMP HBL) 0.115 MC-1 Emax (average; cAMP HBL) 72% 9.49 Assay Result MC-4 Ki (average) 455 MC-1 Ki (average) 4 MC-1 EC50 (average; cAMP HBL) 0.21 MC-1 Emax (average; cAMP HBL) 86% 9.50 Assay Result MC-4 Ki (average) 20 MC-1 Ki (average) 0.014 MC-1 EC50 (average; cAMP HBL) 0.003 MC-1 Emax (average; cAMP HBL) 100% 9.51 Assay Result MC-4 Ki (average) 98 MC-1 Ki (average) 0.45 MC-1 EC50 (average; cAMP HBL) 0.065 MC-1 Emax (average; cAMP HBL) 97% 9.52 Assay Result MC-4 Ki (average) 7375 MC-1 Ki (average) 2 MC-1 EC50 (average; cAMP HBL) 0.175 MC-1 Emax (average; cAMP HBL) 91% 9.53 Assay Result MC-4 Ki (average) 95 MC-1 Ki (average) 0.04 MC-1 EC50 (average; cAMP HBL) 0.006 MC-1 Emax (average; cAMP HBL) 108% 9.54 Assay Result MC-4 Ki (average) 98 MC-1 Ki (average) 0.05 MC-1 EC50 (average; cAMP HBL) 0.008 MC-1 Emax (average; cAMP HBL) 108% 9.55 Assay Result MC-4 Ki (average) 45 MC-1 Ki (average) 0.015 MC-1 EC50 (average; cAMP HBL) 0.002 MC-1 Emax (average; cAMP HBL) 109% 9.56 Assay Result MC-4 Ki (average) 3625 MC-1 Ki (average) 4 MC-1 EC50 (average; cAMP HBL) 0.5 MC-1 Emax (average; cAMP HBL) 102% 9.57 Assay Result MC-4 Ki (average) 10000 MC-1 Ki (average) 30 MC-1 EC50 (average; cAMP HBL) 1 MC-1 Emax (average; cAMP HBL) 88% 9.58 Assay Result MC-4 Ki (average) 10000 MC-1 Ki (average) 35 MC-1 EC50 (average; cAMP HBL) 2 MC-1 Emax (average; cAMP HBL) 86% 9.59 Assay Result MC-4 Ki (average) 1235 MC-1 Ki (average) 2 MC-1 EC50 (average; cAMP HBL) 0.1 MC-1 Emax (average; cAMP HBL) 100% 9.60 Assay Result MC-4 Ki (average) 10000 MC-1 Ki (average) 18 MC-1 EC50 (average; cAMP HBL) 0.8 MC-1 Emax (average; cAMP HBL) 95% 9.61 Assay Result MC-4 Ki (average) 10000 MC-1 Ki (average) 20 MC-1 EC50 (average; cAMP HBL) 1 MC-1 Emax (average; cAMP HBL) 102% 9.62 Assay Result MC-4 Ki (average) 10000 MC-1 Ki (average) 40 MC-1 EC50 (average; cAMP HBL) 1 MC-1 Emax (average; cAMP HBL) 97% 9.63 Assay Result MC-4 Ki (average) 10000 MC-1 Ki (average) 3 MC-1 EC50 (average; cAMP HBL) 0.076 MC-1 Emax (average; cAMP HBL) 96% 9.64 Assay Result MC-4 Ki (average) 10000 MC-1 Ki (average) 2 MC-1 EC50 (average; cAMP HBL) 0.12 MC-1 Emax (average; cAMP HBL) 99% 9.65 Assay Result MC-4 Ki (average) 10000 MC-1 Ki (average) 2250 MC-1 EC50 (average; cAMP HBL) 332 MC-1 Emax (average; cAMP HBL) 102% 9.66 Assay Result MC-4 Ki (average) 185 MC-1 Ki (average) 3 MC-1 EC50 (average; cAMP HBL) 0.18 MC-1 Emax (average; cAMP HBL) 97% Although the invention has been described in detail with particular reference to these preferred embodiments, other embodiments can achieve the same results.", "Variations and modifications of the present invention will be obvious to those skilled in the art and it is intended to cover all such modifications and equivalents.", "The entire disclosures of all references, applications, patents, and publications cited above are hereby incorporated by reference." ] ]
Patent_15873180
[ [ "SUPER-JUNCTION STRUCTURE AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING THE SAME AND SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE THEREOF", "The present disclosure relates to a super-junction structure, a method for manufacturing the super-junction structure and a semiconductor device including the super-junction structure.", "The super-junction structure includes an epitaxy layer of a first doping type and a plurality of first pillar regions of a second doping type which are formed in the epitaxy layer and are separated from each other.", "Each of the first pillar regions has a doping concentration that decreases from bottom to top.", "A portion of the epitaxy layer between adjacent ones of the first pillar regions is a second pillar region.", "The first pillar regions and the second pillar region are arranged alternatively to form the super-junction structure.", "The first pillar regions are characterized by the doping concentration that decreases from bottom to top so that the super-junction structure has a relatively high breakdown voltage and a relatively low on resistance.", "Moreover, the super-junction structure changes a path of an avalanche current and thus suppresses an avalanche current so that the device is not easily damaged." ], [ "1.A super-junction structure, comprising: an epitaxy layer of a first doping type; a plurality of first pillar regions of a second doping type, which are formed in said epitaxy layer and separated from each other, extending from a top surface of said epitaxy layer to a surface over a bottom surface of said epitaxy layer; and a plurality of second pillar regions, which are configured as remaining portion of said epitaxy layer between two adjacent first pillar regions and arranged alternatively with said first pillar regions to form said super-junction structure; wherein the doping concentration of a bottom portion of said first pillar regions is higher than that of a top portion of said first pillar regions to provide a path for an avalanche current through said first pillar regions.", "2.The super-junction structure according to claim 1, wherein the dopant amount of said first pillar region is not less than that of said second pillar region.", "3.The super-junction structure according to claim 1, wherein the dopant amount of said first pillar region is 1-1.2 times of that of said second pillar region.", "4.The super-junction structure according to claim 1, wherein said first pillar region comprises a first sub-pillar region and a second sub-pillar region stacked on said first sub-pillar region, and a doping concentration of said second sub-pillar region is less than that of said first sub-pillar region.", "5.The super-junction structure according to claim 4, wherein said second sub-pillar region is aligned to and stacked on said first sub-pillar region, and a width of said second sub-pillar region is not greater than that of said first sub-pillar region.", "6.The super-junction structure according to claim 4, wherein said first sub-pillar region has a doping concentration higher than an average doping concentration of said first pillar region, and said second sub-pillar region has a doping concentration lower than said average doping concentration of said first pillar region; wherein said average doping concentration is determined in accordance with the dopant amount of said second pillar region.", "7.The super-junction structure according to claim 1, wherein said first doping type is an N type and said second doping type is a P type.", "8.A semiconductor device, comprising: a semiconductor substrate; a super-junction structure according to claim 1, being arranged above said semiconductor substrate; well regions of said second doping type, contacting top surfaces of said plurality of first pillar regions and a portion of said top surface of second pillar region; source regions of said first doping type, being arranged at surfaces of said well regions; a gate oxide, being arranged above said second pillar region, portions of said well regions and portions of said source regions; a polysilicon gate, being arranged above said gate oxide; a front-side metal layer contacting said source regions; and a back-side metal layer being arranged below and contacts said semiconductor substrate.", "9.The semiconductor device according to claim 8, further comprising an extension portion arranged between said second pillar region and said gate oxide, and arranged between two adjacent well regions.", "10.The semiconductor device according to claim 9, further comprising contact regions on surfaces of said well regions, wherein said front-side metal layer is contacted to said source regions and said contact regions.", "11.A semiconductor device, comprising: a first semiconductor layer; a super-junction structure according to claim 1, being arranged above said first semiconductor layer; and a second semiconductor layer above said super-junction structure, wherein in a case that said first semiconductor layer is of said first doping type, said second semiconductor layer is of said second doping type, and in a case that said first semiconductor layer is of said second doping type, said second semiconductor layer is of said first doping type.", "12.A method for manufacturing a super-junction structure, comprising: forming an epitaxial layer of a first doping type; forming a plurality of separated first pillar regions of a second doping type in said epitaxy layer extending from a top surface of said epitaxy layer to a surface over a bottom surface of said epitaxy layer; and forming a plurality of second pillar regions configured as remaining portion of said epitaxy layer between two adjacent first pillar regions and arranged alternatively with said first pillar regions to form said super-junction structure; wherein the doping concentration of a bottom portion of said first pillar regions is higher than that of a top portion of said first pillar regions to provide a path for an avalanche current through said first pillar regions.", "13.The method according to claim 12, wherein the formation of said first pillar regions comprises: a) forming a first sub-epitaxy layer of a first dopant type on a substrate; b) forming first pillar regions of a second dopant type in said sub-epitaxy layer extending from a top surface of said sub-epitaxy layer to a surface over a bottom surface of said sub-epitaxy layer by implanting; c) forming a second sub-epitaxy layer on said first sub-epitaxy layer; d) forming second pillar regions of a second dopant type in said second sub-epitaxy layer extending through said second sub-epitaxy layer by implanting, wherein said second pillar regions is aligned with said first columnar regions; e) repeating the steps c) and d) to form said first pillar regions and said second pillar regions.", "14.The method according to claim 12, wherein the formation of said first pillar regions comprises: a) forming an epitaxy layer of a first dopant type on a substrate; b) forming a plurality of trenches in said epitaxy layer extending from a top surface of said epitaxy layer; c) filling dopant of second type on bottom surface of said trenches to fill in part of said trenches; d) repeating the step c) until said trenches is filled up.", "15.The method according to claim 12, wherein the formation of said first pillar regions comprises: a) forming an epitaxy layer of a first dopant type on a substrate; b) forming a plurality of trenches in said epitaxy layer extending from a top surface of said epitaxy layer; c) implanting dopant of second type on bottom surface of said trenches to form first sub-pillar regions with a first doping concentration; d) filling dopant of second type on said first sub-pillar regions to form second sub-pillar regions with a second doping concentration lower than said first doping concentration." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE <EOH>" ], [ "<SOH> BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DISCLOSURE <EOH>In view of this, the present disclosure provides a super-junction structure, a method for manufacturing the same, and a semiconductor device including the same to solve the problem of suppressing an avalanche current over the conventional super-junction.", "In a first embodiment, there is provided a super-junction structure, comprising: an epitaxy layer of a first doping type; a plurality of first pillar regions of a second doping type, which are formed in said epitaxy layer and separated from each other, extending from a top surface of said epitaxy layer to a surface over a bottom surface of said epitaxy layer; and a plurality of second pillar regions, which are configured as remaining portion of said epitaxy layer between two adjacent first pillar regions and arranged alternatively with said first pillar regions to form said super-junction structure; wherein the doping concentration of a bottom portion of said first pillar regions is higher than that of a top portion of said first pillar regions to provide a path for an avalanche current through said first pillar regions.", "Preferably, the dopant amount of said first pillar region is not less than that of said second pillar region.", "Preferably, the dopant amount of said first pillar region is 1-1.2 times of that of said second pillar region.", "Preferably, said first pillar region comprises a first sub-pillar region and a second sub-pillar region stacked on said first sub-pillar region, and a doping concentration of said second sub-pillar region is less than that of said first sub-pillar region.", "Preferably, said second sub-pillar region is aligned to and stacked on said first sub-pillar region, and a width of said second sub-pillar region is not greater than that of said first sub-pillar region.", "6 .", "The super-junction structure according to claim 4 , wherein said first sub-pillar region has a doping concentration higher than an average doping concentration of said first pillar region, and said second sub-pillar region has a doping concentration lower than said average doping concentration of said first pillar region; wherein said average doping concentration is determined in accordance with the dopant amount of said second pillar region.", "Preferably, said first doping type is an N type and said second doping type is a P type.", "In a second embodiment, there is provided a semiconductor device, comprising: a semiconductor substrate; a super-junction structure according to claim 1 , being arranged above said semiconductor substrate; well regions of said second doping type, contacting top surfaces of said plurality of first pillar regions and a portion of said top surface of second pillar region; source regions of said first doping type, being arranged at surfaces of said well regions; a gate oxide, being arranged above said second pillar region, portions of said well regions and portions of said source regions; a polysilicon gate, being arranged above said gate oxide; a front-side metal layer contacting said source regions; and a back-side metal layer being arranged below and contacts said semiconductor substrate.", "Preferably, the semiconductor device further comprises an extension portion arranged between said second pillar region and said gate oxide, and arranged between two adjacent well regions.", "Preferably, the semiconductor device further comprises contact regions on surfaces of said well regions, wherein said front-side metal layer is contacted to said source regions and said contact regions.", "In a third embodiment, there is provided a semiconductor device, comprising: a first semiconductor layer; a super-junction structure according to claim 1 , being arranged above said first semiconductor layer; and a second semiconductor layer above said super-junction structure, wherein in a case that said first semiconductor layer is of said first doping type, said second semiconductor layer is of said second doping type, and in a case that said first semiconductor layer is of said second doping type, said second semiconductor layer is of said first doping type.", "In a fourth embodiment, there is provided a A method for manufacturing a super-junction structure, comprising: forming an epitaxial layer of a first doping type; forming a plurality of separated first pillar regions of a second doping type in said epitaxy layer extending from a top surface of said epitaxy layer to a surface over a bottom surface of said epitaxy layer; and forming a plurality of second pillar regions configured as remaining portion of said epitaxy layer between two adjacent first pillar regions and arranged alternatively with said first pillar regions to form said super-junction structure; wherein the doping concentration of a bottom portion of said first pillar regions is higher than that of a top portion of said first pillar regions to provide a path for an avalanche current through said first pillar regions.", "Preferably, the formation of said first pillar regions comprises: a) forming a first sub-epitaxy layer of a first dopant type on a substrate; b) forming first pillar regions of a second dopant type in said sub-epitaxy layer extending from a top surface of said sub-epitaxy layer to a surface over a bottom surface of said sub-epitaxy layer by implanting; c) forming a second sub-epitaxy layer on said first sub-epitaxy layer; d) forming second pillar regions of a second dopant type in said second sub-epitaxy layer extending through said second sub-epitaxy layer by implanting, wherein said second pillar regions is aligned with said first columnar regions; e) repeating the steps c) and d) to form said first pillar regions and said second pillar regions.", "Preferably, the formation of said first pillar regions comprises: a) forming an epitaxy layer of a first dopant type on a substrate; b) forming a plurality of trenches in said epitaxy layer extending from a top surface of said epitaxy layer; c) filling dopant of second type on bottom surface of said trenches to fill in part of said trenches; d) repeating the step c) until said trenches is filled up.", "Preferably, the formation of said first pillar regions comprises: a) forming an epitaxy layer of a first dopant type on a substrate; b) forming a plurality of trenches in said epitaxy layer extending from a top surface of said epitaxy layer; c) implanting dopant of second type on bottom surface of said trenches to form first sub-pillar regions with a first doping concentration; d) filling dopant of second type on said first sub-pillar regions to form second sub-pillar regions with a second doping concentration lower than said first doping concentration.", "To sum up, the super-junction structure according to the present disclosure includes first pillar regions having first sub-pillar regions with a large doping concentration and second sub-pillar regions with a low doping concentration from bottom to top.", "When a high voltage is applied to the semiconductor device including the super-junction structure, an avalanche current flows into the first pillar regions from the first sub-pillar regions with the high doping concentration.", "Consequently, a path of the current is changed.", "The first pillar regions are characterized by the doping concentration that decreases from bottom to top so that the super-junction structure has a relatively high breakdown voltage and a relatively low on resistance.", "Moreover, the super-junction structure changes a path of an avalanche current and thus suppresses an avalanche current so that the device is not easily damaged." ], [ "CLAIM OF PRIORITY This application is a continuation application of U.S. application Ser.", "No.", "14/841,776, filed on Sep. 1, 2015, published on Mar.", "3, 2016, as U.S.", "Publication No.", "2016-0064478 A1, and claims priority to Chinese Application No.", "201410441028.9, filed Sep. 1, 2014 (published as CN 10421376 A), which are hereby incorporated by reference.", "BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE Field of the Disclosure The present disclosure relates to semiconductor devices, and more particularly, to a super-junction structure, a method for manufacturing the super-junction structure and a semiconductor device including the super-junction structure.", "Description of the Related Art High-power semiconductor devices, such as metal-oxide-semiconductor field effect transistors (MOSFETs), insulated gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs) and the like, typically decreases a doping concentration of a drift region for a high breakdown voltage.", "However, the drift region will have a large on resistance if having a low doping concentration.", "Thus, the conventional approach cannot take into account both a high breakdown voltage and a low on resistance.", "To achieve both a high breakdown voltage and a low resistance in semiconductor devices, a super-junction structure may be used as a drift region, instead of a simple epitaxy layer.", "The super-junction structure is a structure in which N-type pillar regions and P-type pillar regions are arranged alternatively.", "FIG.", "1 is a structural diagram of a super-junction structure as a drift region of a MOSFET according to the prior art.", "As shown in FIG.", "1, a plurality of P-type pillar regions are formed in an N−-type epitaxy layer and are separated from each other.", "An N-type pillar region is located between two adjacent P-type pillar regions.", "The P-type region and the N-type pillar regions are arranged alternatively in the epitaxy layer to form a super-junction structure.", "The super-junction structure achieves both a high breakdown voltage and a low on resistance in the MOSFET.", "When a voltage is applied to a substrate of the MOSFET, an avalanche current occurs and flows from a source region to a drain region.", "The P-type pillar regions are doped uniformly, and the P-type well regions are located at the top surfaces of the P-type pillar regions and have a doping concentration larger than that of the P-type pillar regions.", "Thus, the avalanche current flows into the P-type well regions at one side and passes through a base resistor RB of a parasitic transistor BJT of the MOSFET.", "A large voltage drop occurs across the base resistor RB and turns on the parasitic transistor, which in turn amplifies the avalanche current and damage the device.", "Consequently, the conventional super-junction structure cannot really suppress an avalanche current even in a case that the super-junction structure is used as a drift region of the semiconductor device.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DISCLOSURE In view of this, the present disclosure provides a super-junction structure, a method for manufacturing the same, and a semiconductor device including the same to solve the problem of suppressing an avalanche current over the conventional super-junction.", "In a first embodiment, there is provided a super-junction structure, comprising: an epitaxy layer of a first doping type; a plurality of first pillar regions of a second doping type, which are formed in said epitaxy layer and separated from each other, extending from a top surface of said epitaxy layer to a surface over a bottom surface of said epitaxy layer; and a plurality of second pillar regions, which are configured as remaining portion of said epitaxy layer between two adjacent first pillar regions and arranged alternatively with said first pillar regions to form said super-junction structure; wherein the doping concentration of a bottom portion of said first pillar regions is higher than that of a top portion of said first pillar regions to provide a path for an avalanche current through said first pillar regions.", "Preferably, the dopant amount of said first pillar region is not less than that of said second pillar region.", "Preferably, the dopant amount of said first pillar region is 1-1.2 times of that of said second pillar region.", "Preferably, said first pillar region comprises a first sub-pillar region and a second sub-pillar region stacked on said first sub-pillar region, and a doping concentration of said second sub-pillar region is less than that of said first sub-pillar region.", "Preferably, said second sub-pillar region is aligned to and stacked on said first sub-pillar region, and a width of said second sub-pillar region is not greater than that of said first sub-pillar region.", "6.The super-junction structure according to claim 4, wherein said first sub-pillar region has a doping concentration higher than an average doping concentration of said first pillar region, and said second sub-pillar region has a doping concentration lower than said average doping concentration of said first pillar region; wherein said average doping concentration is determined in accordance with the dopant amount of said second pillar region.", "Preferably, said first doping type is an N type and said second doping type is a P type.", "In a second embodiment, there is provided a semiconductor device, comprising: a semiconductor substrate; a super-junction structure according to claim 1, being arranged above said semiconductor substrate; well regions of said second doping type, contacting top surfaces of said plurality of first pillar regions and a portion of said top surface of second pillar region; source regions of said first doping type, being arranged at surfaces of said well regions; a gate oxide, being arranged above said second pillar region, portions of said well regions and portions of said source regions; a polysilicon gate, being arranged above said gate oxide; a front-side metal layer contacting said source regions; and a back-side metal layer being arranged below and contacts said semiconductor substrate.", "Preferably, the semiconductor device further comprises an extension portion arranged between said second pillar region and said gate oxide, and arranged between two adjacent well regions.", "Preferably, the semiconductor device further comprises contact regions on surfaces of said well regions, wherein said front-side metal layer is contacted to said source regions and said contact regions.", "In a third embodiment, there is provided a semiconductor device, comprising: a first semiconductor layer; a super-junction structure according to claim 1, being arranged above said first semiconductor layer; and a second semiconductor layer above said super-junction structure, wherein in a case that said first semiconductor layer is of said first doping type, said second semiconductor layer is of said second doping type, and in a case that said first semiconductor layer is of said second doping type, said second semiconductor layer is of said first doping type.", "In a fourth embodiment, there is provided a A method for manufacturing a super-junction structure, comprising: forming an epitaxial layer of a first doping type; forming a plurality of separated first pillar regions of a second doping type in said epitaxy layer extending from a top surface of said epitaxy layer to a surface over a bottom surface of said epitaxy layer; and forming a plurality of second pillar regions configured as remaining portion of said epitaxy layer between two adjacent first pillar regions and arranged alternatively with said first pillar regions to form said super-junction structure; wherein the doping concentration of a bottom portion of said first pillar regions is higher than that of a top portion of said first pillar regions to provide a path for an avalanche current through said first pillar regions.", "Preferably, the formation of said first pillar regions comprises: a) forming a first sub-epitaxy layer of a first dopant type on a substrate; b) forming first pillar regions of a second dopant type in said sub-epitaxy layer extending from a top surface of said sub-epitaxy layer to a surface over a bottom surface of said sub-epitaxy layer by implanting; c) forming a second sub-epitaxy layer on said first sub-epitaxy layer; d) forming second pillar regions of a second dopant type in said second sub-epitaxy layer extending through said second sub-epitaxy layer by implanting, wherein said second pillar regions is aligned with said first columnar regions; e) repeating the steps c) and d) to form said first pillar regions and said second pillar regions.", "Preferably, the formation of said first pillar regions comprises: a) forming an epitaxy layer of a first dopant type on a substrate; b) forming a plurality of trenches in said epitaxy layer extending from a top surface of said epitaxy layer; c) filling dopant of second type on bottom surface of said trenches to fill in part of said trenches; d) repeating the step c) until said trenches is filled up.", "Preferably, the formation of said first pillar regions comprises: a) forming an epitaxy layer of a first dopant type on a substrate; b) forming a plurality of trenches in said epitaxy layer extending from a top surface of said epitaxy layer; c) implanting dopant of second type on bottom surface of said trenches to form first sub-pillar regions with a first doping concentration; d) filling dopant of second type on said first sub-pillar regions to form second sub-pillar regions with a second doping concentration lower than said first doping concentration.", "To sum up, the super-junction structure according to the present disclosure includes first pillar regions having first sub-pillar regions with a large doping concentration and second sub-pillar regions with a low doping concentration from bottom to top.", "When a high voltage is applied to the semiconductor device including the super-junction structure, an avalanche current flows into the first pillar regions from the first sub-pillar regions with the high doping concentration.", "Consequently, a path of the current is changed.", "The first pillar regions are characterized by the doping concentration that decreases from bottom to top so that the super-junction structure has a relatively high breakdown voltage and a relatively low on resistance.", "Moreover, the super-junction structure changes a path of an avalanche current and thus suppresses an avalanche current so that the device is not easily damaged.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Those technical solutions according to embodiments of the present disclosure and the prior art will be apparent when they are described in connection with appended drawings which are firstly described briefly hereinbelow.", "It will be obvious to one skilled in the art that the following appended drawings show only some embodiments of the present disclosure.", "Other appended drawings can be obtained from these appended drawings without the need for creative work.", "FIG.", "1 is a structural diagram of a super-junction structure of a MOSFET according to the prior art; FIG.", "2 is a structural diagram of a super-junction structure according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG.", "3 is a structural diagram of a semiconductor device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG.", "4 is a structural diagram of a semiconductor device according to another embodiment of the present disclosure; FIGS.", "5a-5c are cross-sectional views of semiconductor structures at various stages of a method for manufacturing a super-junction structure according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; FIGS.", "6a-6c are cross-sectional views of semiconductor structures at various stages of another method for manufacturing a super-junction structure according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; and FIGS.", "7a-7b are cross-sectional views of semiconductor structures at various stages of a further method for manufacturing a super-junction structure according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION Reference will now be made in detail to particular embodiments of the disclosure in conjunction with appended drawings, so that objectives, features and advantages of the disclosure will become more apparent.", "For the purpose of clarity, some parts in the appended drawings are not drawn to scale.", "Further, for simplicity, a structure may be shown in one drawing while it may be actually obtained after several steps, and some well-known details may be omitted.", "Some particular details will be described for thorough understanding of the present disclosure.", "However, the present disclosure may be practiced with or without these particular details by one skilled person, without departing the principles of the present disclosure.", "Thus, the present disclosure is not limited to the particular embodiments below.", "FIG.", "2 is a structural diagram of a super-junction structure according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.", "Referring to FIG.", "2, an embodiment of the present disclosure is related to a super-junction structure formed on a substrate 21.The super-junction structure includes an epitaxy layer 22 of a first doping type, and a plurality of first pillar regions 23 of a second doping type, which are formed in the epitaxy layer 22 and separated from each other, and a second pillar region 22′, which is a portion of the epitaxy layer 22 between adjacent ones of the plurality of first pillar regions 23 and arranged alternatively with the plurality of first pillar regions 23 to form the super-junction structure.", "Each of the plurality of first pillar regions 23 comprises a first sub-pillar region 23-1, i.e.", "a portion near the substrate 21, with a doping concentration larger than an average doping concentration of the plurality of first pillar regions 23, and a second sub-pillar region 23-2, i.e.", "a portion far away from the substrate 21, with a doping concentration less than an average doping concentration of the plurality of first pillar regions.", "The average doping concentration is a doping concentration of the plurality of first pillar regions 23 in a case that the plurality of first pillar regions 23 have a uniform doping concentration and have a dopant amount equal to that of the second pillar region 22′.", "In the super-junction structure according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the first type is one of an N type and a P type, and the second type is the other of the N type and the P type.", "The first doping type may be obtained by doping or diffusing a dopant of a first type into a semiconductor layer or region, and the second doping type may be obtained by doping or diffusing a dopant of a second type into a semiconductor layer or region.", "The dopant of the first type is that of one of an N type and a P type, and the dopant of the second type is that of the other of an N type and a P type.", "The semiconductor material includes for example group III-V semiconductor, such as GaAs, InP, GaN, and SiC, and group IV semiconductor, such as Si, and Ge.", "The N-type doping region may be of an N−-type or an N+-type, and the P-type doping region may be of a P−-type or a P+-type.", "The N-type or P-type indicates to be lightly doped with a low doping concentration, and the N+-type or P+-type indicates to be heavily doped with a high doping concentration.", "In this and the following embodiments, the first doping type is an N type, and the second doping type is a P type, as an example only.", "It will be understood by one skilled person that the super-junction structure in these embodiments can also be implemented in a case that the first doping type is a P type, and the second doping type is an N type.", "A P-type doping region is formed by implanting or diffusing a P-type dopant in a semiconductor layer or region, for example, a trivalent acceptor impurity such as B, Al, and the like.", "An N-type doping region is formed by implanting or diffusing an N-type dopant in a semiconductor layer or region, for example, a quinquevalent donor impurity such as P, As, and the like.", "In the super-junction structure according to the embodiment of the present disclosure, the first pillar regions 23 are P-type doped semiconductor regions, and the second pillar region 22′ is an N-type doped semiconductor region.", "The first pillar regions 23 and the second pillar region 22′ constitute a super-junction structure, i.e.", "super PN junction structure.", "Different from a conventional super-junction structure, the first pillar regions 23 are P-type doped regions with a non-uniform doping concentration.", "Instead, the first pillar regions 23 has a doping concentration that decreases from bottom to top, including a first sub-pillar region 23-1 of a P-type with a relatively high doping concentration (i.e.", "P+) and a second sub-pillar region 23-3 of an N type with a relatively low doping concentration (i.e.", "P).", "The doping concentration of the first sub-pillar region 23-1 is larger than an average doping concentration of the first pillar regions 23, and the doping concentration of the second sub-pillar region 23-2 is smaller than an average doping concentration of the first pillar regions 23, so that the first pillars have a dopant amount equal to or slightly larger than that of the second pillar region 22′.", "In a case that the super-junction structure with the above structural features is used in a high-power device, such as MOSFET, IGBT and the like, an avalanche current flows in a path excluding a parasitic resistor of well regions, when a high voltage is applied.", "Accordingly, the parasitic transistor will not be turned on to amplify the avalanche current.", "The semiconductor device will have an improve performance for suppressing the avalanche current.", "Thus, the super-junction structure according to the embodiment of the present disclosure has a relatively high breakdown voltage and a relatively low on resistance, and suppresses an avalanche current so that the semiconductor device is not damaged.", "FIG.", "3 is a structural diagram of a semiconductor device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.", "Referring to FIG.", "3, an embodiment of the present disclosure is related to a semiconductor device.", "The semiconductor device includes a semiconductor substrate 31, a super-junction structure as mentioned above, well regions 34 of the second doping type, source regions 35 of the first doping type, a gate oxide 37, a polysilicon gate 38, a front-side metal layer 39 and a back-side metal layer 310.The super-junction structure includes an epitaxy layer 32 of a first doping type, and a plurality of first pillar regions 33 of a second doping type, which are formed in the epitaxy layer 32 and separated from each other, and a second pillar region 32′, which is arranged between adjacent ones of the first pillar regions 33.The first pillar regions 33 include a first sub-pillar region 33-1 and a second sub-pillar region 33-2 from bottom to top.", "The well regions 34 contact top surfaces of the first pillar regions 33 and a portion of the top surface of second pillar region 32′.", "It should be noted that in a case that the above super-junction structure is used in the semiconductor device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the second pillar region 32′ has an extension portion extending upward.", "That is, the semiconductor device further comprises an extension portion 32″ above the second pillar region 32′, below the gate oxide 37, and between adjacent ones of the well regions 34.In a case that the above super-junction structure is used in the semiconductor device according to the present disclosure, it will be understood by one skilled person that the second pillar region should be extended with an extension region 32″ and how to form it.", "The source regions 35 are located above the well regions 34.The gate oxide 37 is located above the second pillar region 32′, portions of the well regions 34 and portions of the source regions 35.The polysilicon gate 38 is located above the gate oxide 37.The front-side metal layer 39 contacts the source regions 35, as source electrodes.", "The back-side metal layer 310 is located below the semiconductor substrate 31 and contacts the semiconductor substrate 31, as drain electrodes.", "In the semiconductor device according to the embodiment of the present disclosure, it further comprises contact regions 36 of the second doping type, at surfaces of the well regions 34.The front-side metal layer 39 contacts the source regions 35 and the contact regions 36, as soured electrodes.", "In the semiconductor device according to the embodiment of the present disclosure, the first pillar regions 33 and the second pillar region 32′ constitute a super-junction structure, in which the first pillar regions have a dopant amount approximately equal to or slightly larger than that of the second pillar region, with a ratio in a range between 1:1 to 1.2:1.Due to such a super-junction structure, the semiconductor device will have both a relatively high breakdown voltage and a relatively low on resistance.", "Moreover, the first sub-pillar regions 33-1 as lower portions of the first pillar regions 33 have a doping concentration larger than that of the second sub-pillar regions 33-2 as upper portions of the first pillar regions 33, and larger than an average doping concentration of the first pillar regions 33.Due to such a structure, a breakdown point will be located at the first sub-pillar regions 33-1 having a relatively high doping concentration when the semiconductor device is applied with a high voltage.", "An avalanche current flows into the first pillar regions at the first sub-pillar regions 33-1 as the low portions of the first pillar region 33, from the drain regions, and then flows into the well regions 34 from the first sub-pillar regions 33-1, and finally flows into the front-side metal layer 39.Thus, the avalanche current IA will not flow into the well regions 34 at one side of the well regions 34.Instead, the avalanche current changes its path, and flows in a path excluding a base resistor RB of the well regions 34.Thus, there is no a voltage drop at the base resistor RB of a parasitic transistor BJT of the well regions 34 for turning on the parasitic transistor BJT and amplifying the avalanche current IA.", "The semiconductor device can suppress the avalanche current.", "In the semiconductor device according to the embodiment of the present disclosure, the substrate 31 may be doped as a P type or an N type.", "The N-type doping region may be of an N−-type or an N+-type, and the P-type doping region may be of a P−-type or a P+-type.", "The N−-type or P+-type indicates to be lightly doped with a low doping concentration, and the N+-type or P+-type indicates to be heavily doped with a high doping concentration.", "Accordingly, the semiconductor device according to the embodiment of the present disclosure has both a relatively high breakdown voltage and a relatively low on resistance, and suppresses an avalanche current so that the device is not easily damaged.", "FIG.", "4 is a structural diagram of a semiconductor device according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.", "Referring to FIG.", "4, another embodiment of the present disclosure is related to another semiconductor device.", "The another semiconductor device includes a first semiconductor layer 41, a super-junction structure as mentioned above, and a second semiconductor layer 44 of the second doping type on the surface of the super-junction structure.", "The first semiconductor layer 41 may be of a first doping type and the second semiconductor layer 44 may be of a second doping type, or vice versa.", "The super-junction structure includes an epitaxy layer 42 of a first doping type, and a plurality of first pillar regions 43 of a second doping type, which are formed in the epitaxy layer 42 and separated from each other, and a second pillar region 42′, which is arranged between adjacent ones of the first pillar regions 43.The first pillar regions 43 include a first sub-pillar region 43-1 and a second sub-pillar region 43-2 from bottom to top.", "The dopant of the first type is that of one of an N type and a P type, and the dopant of the second type is that of the other of an N type and a P type.", "The N-type doping region may be of an N−-type or an N+-type, and the P-type doping region may be of a P−-type or a P+-type.", "The N−-type or P−-type indicates to be lightly doped with a low doping concentration, and the N+-type or P+-type indicates to be heavily doped with a high doping concentration.", "For example, in the present embodiment, the first semiconductor layer may be an N+-type silicon layer, the epitaxial layer 42 may be an N−-type silicon layer, the first sub-pillar regions 43-1 may be a P+-type silicon layer, the second sub-pillar region 43-2 may be a P−-type silicon layer, and the second semiconductor layer may be P+-type silicon layer.", "In the semiconductor device according to the embodiment of the present disclosure, the first pillar regions 43 and the second pillar Regina 42′ are formed in the epitaxial layer 42 to form a super-junction structure.", "Moreover, the first pillar regions 43 have a doping concentration that decreases from bottom to top, so that the semiconductor device improves the performance of suppressing an avalanche current even in a case that the semiconductor device has the same breakdown voltage.", "That is, the semiconductor device has better voltage endurance and can be used in a high-power integrated circuit.", "An embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a method for manufacturing the super-junction structure as shown in FIG.", "2.The super-junction may be formed on a substrate.", "The method for manufacturing the super-junction structure includes: forming an epitaxial layer of a first doping type; forming a plurality of first sub-pillar regions of a second doping type in the epitaxial layer, wherein the plurality of first sub-regions are separated from each other; the first sub-pillar regions have a first doping concentration; forming a plurality of second sub-pillar regions on the plurality of first sub-pillar regions in the epitaxial layer; the second sub-pillar regions have a second doping concentration; each of the plurality of first sub-pillar regions is aligned in a vertical direction to and connected to respective one of the plurality of second sub-pillar regions to form respective one of a plurality of first pillar regions; a portion of the epitaxy layer between adjacent ones of the plurality of first pillar regions forms a second pillar region, the first doping concentration is larger than an average doping concentration of the first pillar regions, and the second doping concentration is less that the average doping concentration; wherein the average doping concentration is a doping concentration of the plurality of first pillar regions in a case that the plurality of first pillar regions have a uniform doping concentration and the plurality of first pillar region has a dopant amount equal to that of the second pillar region.", "The substrate may be one of a P type and an N type.", "The dopant of the first type is that of one of an N type and a P type, and the dopant of the second type is that of the other of an N type and a P type.", "The N-type doping region may be of an N−-type or an N+-type, and the P-type doping region may be of a P−-type or a P+-type.", "The N−-type or P−-type indicates to be lightly doped with a low doping concentration, and the N+-type or P+-type indicates to be heavily doped with a high doping concentration.", "For example, in the present embodiment, the substrate may be an N+-type silicon layer, the epitaxial layer may be an N−-type silicon layer, the first sub-pillar regions may be a P+-type silicon layer, the second sub-pillar region may be a P−-type silicon layer.", "In a case that the N−-type epitaxial layer of the super-junction structure includes a plurality of sub-epitaxial layers, the method for manufacturing the super-junction structure on the N+-type substrate may include the following steps.", "a) forming an N−-type sub-epitaxial layer, such as an N−-type silicon layer, as shown in FIG.", "5a; b) doping the sub-epitaxial layer with a P+-type dopant to form a plurality of P+-type pillar regions which have the first doping concentration and are separated from each other, as shown in FIG.", "5b; c) forming a second N−-type sub-epitaxial layer on a surface of the above structure; d) repeating step b); e) repeating steps c) and d) for a predetermined times; f) repeating step c); g) doping the second sub-epitaxial layer with a P−-type dopant to form a plurality of P−-type pillar regions which are separated from each other and have the second doping concentration less than the first doping concentration; and h) repeating steps f) and g) for a predetermined times, as shown in FIG.", "5c.", "In the above steps, each of the plurality of pillar regions formed in a previous step is aligned in a vertical direction to and connected to respective one of the plurality of pillar regions formed in a subsequent step, to form the plurality of first sub-pillar regions having the same width by connecting the P+-type pillar regions having the first doping concentration, and to form the plurality of second sub-pillar regions by connecting the P−-type pillar regions having the second doping concentration.", "The embodiments of the present disclosure also include two methods for forming trenches, besides the above methods for forming the P+-type first sub-pillar regions and the P−-type second sub-pillar regions.", "A first method for forming the trenches is shown in FIGS.", "6a-6c.", "After forming an N−-type epitaxial layer, a plurality of trenches are formed in the epitaxial layer, which are separated from each other.", "A portion of the epitaxial layer between adjacent ones of the trenches is a second pillar region.", "Then, P+-type first sub-pillar regions and P−-type second sub-pillar regions are formed in the trenches from bottom to top.", "As shown in FIG.", "6b, the P+-type first sub-pillar regions are formed at lower portions of the trenches by filling the lower portions of the trenches with a P+-type layer, such as P+-type silicon layer.", "Finally, as shown in FIG.", "6c, the P−-type second sub-pillar regions are formed at upper portions of the trenches by filling the upper portions of the trenches with a P−-type layer above the P+-type first sub-pillar regions, such as P−-type silicon layer.", "That is, each of the plurality of first pillar regions comprises a first sub-pillar region, i.e.", "a portion near the substrate, and a second sub-pillar region, i.e.", "a portion far away from the substrate, from bottom to top in one of the trenches.", "A second method for forming the trenches is shown in FIGS.", "7a and 7b.", "After forming an N−-type epitaxial layer, a plurality of trenches are formed in the epitaxial layer, which are separated from each other.", "The first sub-pillar regions at bottoms of the trenches by doping the bottoms of the trenches with a P+-type dopant.", "Then, as shown in FIG.", "7b, the P−-type second sub-pillar regions are formed at upper portions of the trenches by filling the upper portions of the trenches with a P−-type layer above the P+-type first sub-pillar regions.", "Thus, the first sub-pillar regions and the second sub-pillar regions constitute the first pillar regions.", "It should be noted that in the present disclosure, a P-type dopant may be a trivalent acceptor impurity such as B, Al, and the like, and an N-type dopant may be a quinquevalent donor impurity such as P, As, and the like.", "It should also be understood that the relational terms such as “first”, “second”, and the like are used in the context merely for distinguishing one element or operation from the other element or operation, instead of meaning or implying any real relationship or order of these elements or operations.", "Although various embodiments of the present disclosure are described above, these embodiments neither present all details, nor imply that the present disclosure is limited to these embodiments.", "Obviously, many modifications and changes may be made in light of the teaching of the above embodiments.", "These embodiments are presented and some details are described herein only for explaining the principle of the disclosure and its actual use, so that one skilled person can practice the present disclosure and introduce some modifications in light of the disclosure.", "The invention is intended to cover alternatives, modifications and equivalents that may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims." ] ]
Patent_15873184
[ [ "MANUFACTURING METHOD FOR PORTABLE DATA CARRIERS", "A method for manufacturing a portable data carrier by means of a continuous manufacturing method, comprises the steps: providing at least one foil as a rolled good, unrolling at least one first foil, with at least a first foil being coated at least partly with an adhesive on at least one side, with at least the first foil being scored on at least one side along at least one creasing edge, with at least the first foil being folded up in precise fit along at least one creasing edge and bonded, with the foil being folded up in the direction of the side which is coated with adhesive, with the side coated with adhesive being arranged on the opposite side of the foil which has at least one scored creasing edge along which it is folded." ], [ "1.A method for manufacturing a portable data carrier by means of a continuous manufacturing method, comprising the steps: providing at least one foil as a rolled good, unrolling at least one first foil, wherein at least the first foil is coated at least partly with an adhesive on at least one side, wherein at least the first foil is scored on at least one side along at least one creasing edge, wherein at least the first foil is folded up in precise fit along at least one creasing edge and bonded, wherein the foil is folded up in the direction of the side which is coated with adhesive, wherein the side coated with adhesive is arranged on the opposite side of the foil which has at least one scored creasing edge along which it is folded, wherein on at least one foil at least a part of a security element and/or at least one security element is arranged on an arbitrary side of the foil; wherein the security element is embossed into at least one foil of the data carrier.", "2.A method for manufacturing a portable data carrier by means of a continuous manufacturing method, comprising the steps: providing at least one foil as a rolled good, unrolling at least one first foil, wherein at least the first foil is coated at least partly with an adhesive on at least one side, wherein at least the first foil is scored on at least one side along at least one creasing edge, wherein at least the first foil is folded up in precise fit along at least one creasing edge and bonded, wherein the foil is folded up in the direction of the side which is coated with adhesive, wherein the side coated with adhesive is arranged on the opposite side of the foil which has at least one scored creasing edge along which it is folded, wherein on at least one foil at least a part of a security element and/or at least one security element is arranged on an arbitrary side of the foil; wherein the security element is arranged on at least one outer side of the data carrier and/or in the interior of the data carrier.", "3.A data carrier which is manufactured according to and having the features of the data carrier in the method of the claim 1." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND <EOH>The invention describes a manufacturing method for portable data carriers.", "Portable data carriers, such as for example SIM cards, credit cards, health cards, identity cards etc.", "are usually manufactured by an injection molding method or a lamination method.", "SIM cards are normally manufactured by an injection molding method which is very expensive and means a high material expenditure.", "The high expenditure is due to the fact that SIM cards are often broken off from cards in ID-1 format.", "Therefore, the largest part of the ID-1 card is thrown away after the breaking off of the SIM card.", "Furthermore, the manufacture of, for example, credit cards is more or less a single-piece production.", "The quasi single-piece production entails a sequential manual processing which is very time-intensive and cost-intensive.", "When portable data carriers are manufactured by means of lamination method, due to high temperatures, e.g.", "between 120 and 160 degrees Celsius, and high pressures, e.g.", "between 100 and 250 bar, the components of the data carrier are subjected to a high load.", "This often leads to a damage of the components, such as for example antenna coils, chips.", "Components sensitive to such loads, such as for example display elements, therefore cannot be processed by means of a lamination method.", "Further, the lamination method takes a relatively long time until the different foil layers have permanently combined under pressure and temperature.", "From the prior art there is known a method for manufacturing a portable data carrier by means of a continuous manufacturing method which as a first step provides at least one foil as a rolled good and unrolls at least one first foil for the method.", "The at least one first foil is coated at least partly with an adhesive on at least one side.", "The adhesive may be liquid or paste-like.", "Further, the adhesive may be processed e.g.", "also in the form of a double-sided adhesive tape or in any other suitable form.", "Then, at least the first foil is scored on at least one side along at least one creasing edge.", "After scoring, at least the first foil is folded up in precise fit along at least one creasing edge and bonded.", "In doing so, the foil is so folded that the foil is folded in the direction of the side which is coated with adhesive.", "The side coated with adhesive here is arranged on the opposite side of the foil which has at least one scored creasing edge along which it is folded.", "In the end, at least one data carrier is detached from the at least one folded and bonded foil, e.g.", "by means of a laser or a punch or a water jet.", "A disadvantage of the prior art is that accordingly manufactured data carriers can be easily forged." ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY <EOH>Starting out from the prior art, it is the object of the invention to find a solution which avoids the disadvantage described above.", "For achieving the object the invention discloses a method for manufacturing a portable data carrier by means of a continuous manufacturing method, comprising the steps: providing at least one foil as a rolled good, unrolling at least one first foil, with at least the first foil being coated at least partly with an adhesive on at least one side, with at least the first foil being scored on at least one side along at least one creasing edge, with at least the first foil being folded up in precise fit along at least one creasing edge and bonded, with the foil is folded up in the direction of the side which is coated with adhesive, with the side coated with adhesive being arranged on the opposite side of the foil which has at least one scored creasing edge along which it is folded, which is characterized by the fact that on at least one foil at least a part of a security element and/or at least one security element is arranged on an arbitrary side of the foil.", "An advantageous embodiment example is that the security element is processed by feeding it from a roll or as a bulk material.", "Another advantageous embodiment example is that the security element is incorporated into an area of the foil, which is coated with adhesive.", "Another advantageous embodiment example is that the security element is embossed into at least one foil of the data carrier.", "Another advantageous embodiment example is that the security element is arranged on at least one outer side of the data carrier and/or in the interior of the data carrier.", "Another advantageous embodiment example is that the security element effects a chemical reaction.", "Another advantageous embodiment example is that a scented lacquer, a color indicator, a catalyst or a test strip is used as a security feature which effects a chemical reaction.", "Another advantageous embodiment example is that the security element effects an optical reaction.", "Another advantageous embodiment example is that a self-luminous ink, a security thread, champs or metal pigments are used as a security feature which effects an optical reaction.", "Another advantageous embodiment example is that the security element effects a haptic reaction.", "Another advantageous embodiment example is that a logo or a Braille character is used as a security feature which effects a haptic reaction.", "Advantageously, the security features effecting a haptic reaction are embossed into a foil.", "Another advantageous embodiment example is that the adhesive itself includes at least a part of a security feature and/or at least one security feature.", "Another advantageous embodiment example is that a foil is used which includes at least a part of a security feature and/or at least one security feature on at least one surface and/or in its interior.", "Further, for achieving the object the invention discloses a data carrier which is manufactured according to the method described above." ], [ "BACKGROUND The invention describes a manufacturing method for portable data carriers.", "Portable data carriers, such as for example SIM cards, credit cards, health cards, identity cards etc.", "are usually manufactured by an injection molding method or a lamination method.", "SIM cards are normally manufactured by an injection molding method which is very expensive and means a high material expenditure.", "The high expenditure is due to the fact that SIM cards are often broken off from cards in ID-1 format.", "Therefore, the largest part of the ID-1 card is thrown away after the breaking off of the SIM card.", "Furthermore, the manufacture of, for example, credit cards is more or less a single-piece production.", "The quasi single-piece production entails a sequential manual processing which is very time-intensive and cost-intensive.", "When portable data carriers are manufactured by means of lamination method, due to high temperatures, e.g.", "between 120 and 160 degrees Celsius, and high pressures, e.g.", "between 100 and 250 bar, the components of the data carrier are subjected to a high load.", "This often leads to a damage of the components, such as for example antenna coils, chips.", "Components sensitive to such loads, such as for example display elements, therefore cannot be processed by means of a lamination method.", "Further, the lamination method takes a relatively long time until the different foil layers have permanently combined under pressure and temperature.", "From the prior art there is known a method for manufacturing a portable data carrier by means of a continuous manufacturing method which as a first step provides at least one foil as a rolled good and unrolls at least one first foil for the method.", "The at least one first foil is coated at least partly with an adhesive on at least one side.", "The adhesive may be liquid or paste-like.", "Further, the adhesive may be processed e.g.", "also in the form of a double-sided adhesive tape or in any other suitable form.", "Then, at least the first foil is scored on at least one side along at least one creasing edge.", "After scoring, at least the first foil is folded up in precise fit along at least one creasing edge and bonded.", "In doing so, the foil is so folded that the foil is folded in the direction of the side which is coated with adhesive.", "The side coated with adhesive here is arranged on the opposite side of the foil which has at least one scored creasing edge along which it is folded.", "In the end, at least one data carrier is detached from the at least one folded and bonded foil, e.g.", "by means of a laser or a punch or a water jet.", "A disadvantage of the prior art is that accordingly manufactured data carriers can be easily forged.", "SUMMARY Starting out from the prior art, it is the object of the invention to find a solution which avoids the disadvantage described above.", "For achieving the object the invention discloses a method for manufacturing a portable data carrier by means of a continuous manufacturing method, comprising the steps: providing at least one foil as a rolled good, unrolling at least one first foil, with at least the first foil being coated at least partly with an adhesive on at least one side, with at least the first foil being scored on at least one side along at least one creasing edge, with at least the first foil being folded up in precise fit along at least one creasing edge and bonded, with the foil is folded up in the direction of the side which is coated with adhesive, with the side coated with adhesive being arranged on the opposite side of the foil which has at least one scored creasing edge along which it is folded, which is characterized by the fact that on at least one foil at least a part of a security element and/or at least one security element is arranged on an arbitrary side of the foil.", "An advantageous embodiment example is that the security element is processed by feeding it from a roll or as a bulk material.", "Another advantageous embodiment example is that the security element is incorporated into an area of the foil, which is coated with adhesive.", "Another advantageous embodiment example is that the security element is embossed into at least one foil of the data carrier.", "Another advantageous embodiment example is that the security element is arranged on at least one outer side of the data carrier and/or in the interior of the data carrier.", "Another advantageous embodiment example is that the security element effects a chemical reaction.", "Another advantageous embodiment example is that a scented lacquer, a color indicator, a catalyst or a test strip is used as a security feature which effects a chemical reaction.", "Another advantageous embodiment example is that the security element effects an optical reaction.", "Another advantageous embodiment example is that a self-luminous ink, a security thread, champs or metal pigments are used as a security feature which effects an optical reaction.", "Another advantageous embodiment example is that the security element effects a haptic reaction.", "Another advantageous embodiment example is that a logo or a Braille character is used as a security feature which effects a haptic reaction.", "Advantageously, the security features effecting a haptic reaction are embossed into a foil.", "Another advantageous embodiment example is that the adhesive itself includes at least a part of a security feature and/or at least one security feature.", "Another advantageous embodiment example is that a foil is used which includes at least a part of a security feature and/or at least one security feature on at least one surface and/or in its interior.", "Further, for achieving the object the invention discloses a data carrier which is manufactured according to the method described above.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Embodiment examples of the invention are hereinafter described in more detail with reference to the attached figure.", "FIG.", "1 in principle shows the procedure of folding a foil according to the invention with reference to a two-step folding for manufacturing a data carrier.", "Although, a single-step or multi-step folding is also possible.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF VARIOUS EMBODIMENTS FIG.", "1 in principle shows the procedure of folding a foil 2 according to the invention with reference to a two-stage folding.", "A foil 2 is transported in the direction of machine operation 4 during the method.", "The foil 2 here has three regions 6, 8 and 10.Each of the regions 6 and 10 has several gaps 12 and 14 which were punched into the foil 2.The gaps 12 and 14 serve for the formation of a gap, into which a module, e.g.", "a chip module, is inserted.", "The regions 6 and 8 are coated with adhesive.", "Before the foil 2 is folded according to the invention, two scored lines 16 and 18 are scored into the foil 2 to facilitate the subsequent folding.", "First, the region 10 is folded in the direction 20 along the scored line 18, so that the region 10 comes to lie in precise fit on the region 8 coated with adhesive and is bonded thereto.", "The resulting region 22 is two-ply and has the gaps 14 at its surface.", "Next, the region 6 is folded in the direction 24 along the scored line 16 in precise fit onto the region 22 and bonded thereto.", "The result is now a three-ply foil in the region 26.The regions 6, 8 and 10 were folded in precise fit onto each other and bonded together, so that, for example, the gaps 12 and 14 have come to lie exactly one above the other.", "Tensions in the resulting card cancel each other out by an odd-numbered folding, e.g.", "single or triple folding in the method according to the invention.", "The orientations possibly present in the at least one foil cancel each other out by folding according to the invention.", "A resulting bulge or a distortion of the product is avoided thereby.", "In addition to the method described above it is possible to introduce in precise fit and to also bond a further foil during the folding.", "Therefore, constructions made of several foil layers and adhesive layers are realizable.", "This is interesting in particular when gaps in different planes, independent of the material thickness of a foil, are necessary.", "At the end of the method at least one data carrier, e.g.", "a SIM card or a credit card is punched out from the at least one folded and bonded foil.", "Alternatively to the punching, any other suitable method can be used for separating data carriers from the folded and bonded foil, e.g.", "separating by means of laser or water jet.", "According to the invention, during the above-described procedure of folding at least one foil 2 at least one security element is arranged on at least one outer side and/or in the interior of the data carrier to be manufactured.", "For reasons of clarity, a representation of a security element in FIG.", "1 has been omitted.", "The security element is supplied to the procedure described above from a roll or as bulk material.", "The security element is supplied such that it is incorporated into an area 6, 8 of the foil 2, which is coated with adhesive.", "Alternatively, the security element may be embossed into at least one foil 2 of the data carrier.", "The security element may effect a chemical, optical or haptic reaction when used.", "As a security feature which effects a chemical reaction there may be used, for example, a scented lacquer, a color indicator, a catalyst or a test strip.", "As a security feature which effects an optical reaction there may be used, for example, a self-luminous ink, a security thread, champs or metal pigments.", "As a security feature which effects a haptic reaction with a user of the data carrier there can be used, for example, a logo or a Braille character." ] ]
Patent_15873186
[ [ "METHOD FOR LOCALIZED ANNEALING OF CHEMICALLY STRENGTHENED GLASS", "A method for making a laminate structure comprising a first glass layer, a second glass layer, and at least one polymer interlayer intermediate the first and second glass layers.", "The first glass layer can be comprised of a strengthened glass having a first portion with a first surface compressive stress and a first depth of layer of compressive stress and a second portion with a second surface compressive stress and a second depth of layer of compressive stress.", "In other embodiments, the second glass layer can be comprised of a strengthened glass having a third portion with a third surface compressive stress and a third depth of layer of compressive stress and a fourth portion with a fourth surface compressive stress and a fourth depth of layer of compressive stress." ], [ "1-43.", "(canceled) 44.A method of providing locally annealed regions for a glass article comprising: (a) providing a strengthened glass article having a first surface compressive stress and a first depth of layer of compressive stress; (b) targeting first portions of the glass article on a first side thereof; (c) annealing the targeted first portions to a second surface compressive stress and a second depth of layer of compressive stress; and (d) repeating steps (b) and (c) to create a pattern of annealed portions of the glass article on the first side thereof.", "45.The method of claim 44, wherein the second surface compressive stress and the second depth of layer of compressive stress are less than the first surface compressive stress and the first depth of layer of compressive stress, respectively.", "46.The method of claim 44, wherein the step of annealing further comprises focusing a laser on the targeted first portions for a predetermined energy density and dwell time to avoid inducing damage to the glass article.", "47.The method of claim 44, wherein the step of annealing further comprises selectively heating the targeted first portions using microwave energy.", "48.The method of claim 44, wherein the step of annealing further comprises selectively heating the targeted first portions using an induction source.", "49.The method of claim 44, further comprising the steps of: (i) targeting third portions of the glass article on a second side thereof; (ii) annealing the targeted third portions to a third surface compressive stress and a third depth of layer of compressive stress; and (iii) repeating steps (i) and (ii) to create a pattern of annealed portions of the glass article on the second side thereof.", "50.The method of claim 49, wherein the second surface compressive stress and the third surface compressive stress are different.", "51.The method of claim 49 wherein the second depth of layer of compressive stress and the third depth of layer of compressive stress are different.", "52.The method of claim 44, wherein the strengthened glass article includes one or more glass layers and an interlayer." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND <EOH>Glass laminates can be used as windows and glazing in architectural and vehicle or transportation applications, including automobiles, rolling stock, locomotive and airplanes.", "Glass laminates can also be used as glass panels in balustrades and stairs, and as decorative panels or coverings for walls, columns, elevator cabs, kitchen appliances and other applications.", "As used herein, a glazing or a laminated glass structure can be a transparent, semi-transparent, translucent or opaque part of a window, panel, wall, enclosure, sign or other structure.", "Common types of glazing that are used in architectural and/or vehicular applications include clear and tinted laminated glass structures.", "Conventional automotive glazing constructions include two plies of 2 mm soda lime glass with a polyvinyl butyral (PVB) interlayer.", "These laminate constructions have certain advantages, including low cost and a sufficient impact resistance for automotive and other applications.", "However, because of their limited impact resistance and higher weight, these laminates exhibit poor performance characteristics, including a higher probability of breakage when struck by roadside debris, vandals and other objects of impact as well as well as lower fuel efficiencies for a respective vehicle.", "In applications where strength is important (such as the above automotive application), the strength of conventional glass can be enhanced by several methods, including coatings, thermal tempering, and chemical strengthening (ion exchange).", "Thermal tempering is conventionally employed in such applications with thick, monolithic glass sheets, and has the advantage of creating a thick compressive layer through the glass surface, typically 20 to 25% of the overall glass thickness.", "The magnitude of the compressive stress is relatively low, however, typically less than 100 MPa.", "Furthermore, thermal tempering becomes increasingly ineffective for relatively thin glass, e.g., less than about 2 mm.", "In contrast, ion exchange (IX) techniques can produce high levels of compressive stress in the treated glass, as high as about 1000 MPa at the surface, and is suitable for very thin glass.", "Ion exchange techniques, however, can be limited to relatively shallow compressive layers, typically on the order of tens of micrometers.", "This high compressive stress can result in very high blunt impact resistance, which might not pass particular safety standards for automotive applications, such as the ECE (UN Economic Commission for Europe) R43 Head Form Impact Test, where glass is required to break at a certain impact load to prevent injury.", "Conventional research and development efforts have been focused on controlled or preferential breakage of vehicular laminates at the expense of the impact resistance thereof.", "For certain automobile glazings or laminates, e.g., windshields and the like, the materials employed therein must pass a number of safety criteria, such as the ECE R43 Head Form Impact Test.", "If a product does not break under the defined conditions of the test, the product would not be acceptable for safety reasons.", "This is one reason why windshields are conventionally made of laminated annealed glass rather than tempered glass.", "Tempered glass (both thermally tempered and chemically tempered) has the advantage of being more resistant to breakage which can be desirable to enhance the reliability of laminated automobile glazing.", "In particular, thin, chemically-tempered glass can be desirable for use in making strong, lighter-weight auto glazing.", "Conventional laminated glass made with such tempered glass, however, does not meet the head-impact safety requirements.", "One method of forming a thin, chemically-tempered glass compliant with head-impact safety requirements can be to perform a thermal annealing process after the glass is chemically-tempered.", "This has the effect of reducing compressive stress of the glass thereby reducing the stress required to cause the glass to break.", "A disadvantage of this method is the reduction of compressive stress occurs in all areas of the glass product rather than in the area of the glass where the head impact is most likely to occur.", "Thus, there is a need to perform localized annealing in controlled areas of the glass whereby a resulting product would retain its strength in critical areas, e.g., near the edges thereof, and be weakened in the areas important to occupant safety." ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY <EOH>The embodiments disclosed herein generally relate to methods for producing ion exchanged glass, e.g., glass having characteristics of moderate compressive stress, high depth of compressive layer, and/or desirable central tension.", "Additional embodiments provide automobile glazings or laminates having laminated, tempered glass.", "In accordance with one or more embodiments herein, methods and apparatus provide for a thin glass article having a layer of surface compression from ion exchange techniques which enables scratch and impact resistance.", "The glass article can also exhibit a relatively high depth of compressive layer (DOL), making it resistant to environmental damage.", "Notably, the compressive stress (CS) at the glass surface in certain areas can be lower than in traditional ion exchanged glass, which allows the glass to pass automotive impact safety standards (such as the ECE R43 head form impact test) and is therefore suitable for automotive glazing applications.", "Additional embodiments provide an exemplary method to cause a directed thermal annealing and thereby local weakening of a thermally-tempered or chemically-tempered glass article.", "One exemplary embodiment utilizes a laser for such directed thermal annealing whereby the laser locally heats the glass sufficiently to cause thermal annealing, but laser exposure is managed to limit cracking or other physical damage to the glass.", "A further exemplary embodiment includes a directed microwave or induction heating to create a desirable localized thermal annealing.", "Some embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method of providing locally annealed regions for a glass article.", "The method includes providing a strengthened glass article having a first surface compressive stress and a first depth of layer of compressive stress and targeting first portions of the glass article on a first side thereof.", "The method also includes annealing the targeted first portions to a second surface compressive stress and a second depth of layer of compressive stress and repeating steps the targeting and annealing to create a pattern of annealed portions of the glass article on the first side thereof.", "Additional embodiments of the present disclosure provide a laminate structure having a first glass layer, a second glass layer, and at least one polymer interlayer intermediate the first and second glass layers.", "The first glass layer can be comprised of a strengthened glass having a first portion with a first surface compressive stress and a first depth of layer of compressive stress and a second portion with a second surface compressive stress and a second depth of layer of compressive stress.", "Further embodiments of the present disclosure provide a laminate structure having a first glass layer, a second glass layer, and at least one polymer interlayer intermediate the first and second glass layers.", "The first glass layer can be comprised of a strengthened glass having a first portion with a first surface compressive stress and a first depth of layer of compressive stress and a second portion with a second surface compressive stress and a second depth of layer of compressive stress.", "The second glass layer can be comprised of a strengthened glass having a third portion with a third surface compressive stress and a third depth of layer of compressive stress and a fourth portion with a fourth surface compressive stress and a fourth depth of layer of compressive stress.", "It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description present embodiments of the present disclosure, and are intended to provide an overview or framework for understanding the nature and character of the claimed subject matter.", "The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the present disclosure, and are incorporated into and constitute a part of this specification.", "The drawings illustrate various embodiments and together with the description serve to explain the principles and operations of the claimed subject matter." ], [ "This application claims the benefit of priority to U.S.", "Provisional Application No.", "61/869,962 filed on Aug. 26, 2013 the content of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.", "BACKGROUND Glass laminates can be used as windows and glazing in architectural and vehicle or transportation applications, including automobiles, rolling stock, locomotive and airplanes.", "Glass laminates can also be used as glass panels in balustrades and stairs, and as decorative panels or coverings for walls, columns, elevator cabs, kitchen appliances and other applications.", "As used herein, a glazing or a laminated glass structure can be a transparent, semi-transparent, translucent or opaque part of a window, panel, wall, enclosure, sign or other structure.", "Common types of glazing that are used in architectural and/or vehicular applications include clear and tinted laminated glass structures.", "Conventional automotive glazing constructions include two plies of 2 mm soda lime glass with a polyvinyl butyral (PVB) interlayer.", "These laminate constructions have certain advantages, including low cost and a sufficient impact resistance for automotive and other applications.", "However, because of their limited impact resistance and higher weight, these laminates exhibit poor performance characteristics, including a higher probability of breakage when struck by roadside debris, vandals and other objects of impact as well as well as lower fuel efficiencies for a respective vehicle.", "In applications where strength is important (such as the above automotive application), the strength of conventional glass can be enhanced by several methods, including coatings, thermal tempering, and chemical strengthening (ion exchange).", "Thermal tempering is conventionally employed in such applications with thick, monolithic glass sheets, and has the advantage of creating a thick compressive layer through the glass surface, typically 20 to 25% of the overall glass thickness.", "The magnitude of the compressive stress is relatively low, however, typically less than 100 MPa.", "Furthermore, thermal tempering becomes increasingly ineffective for relatively thin glass, e.g., less than about 2 mm.", "In contrast, ion exchange (IX) techniques can produce high levels of compressive stress in the treated glass, as high as about 1000 MPa at the surface, and is suitable for very thin glass.", "Ion exchange techniques, however, can be limited to relatively shallow compressive layers, typically on the order of tens of micrometers.", "This high compressive stress can result in very high blunt impact resistance, which might not pass particular safety standards for automotive applications, such as the ECE (UN Economic Commission for Europe) R43 Head Form Impact Test, where glass is required to break at a certain impact load to prevent injury.", "Conventional research and development efforts have been focused on controlled or preferential breakage of vehicular laminates at the expense of the impact resistance thereof.", "For certain automobile glazings or laminates, e.g., windshields and the like, the materials employed therein must pass a number of safety criteria, such as the ECE R43 Head Form Impact Test.", "If a product does not break under the defined conditions of the test, the product would not be acceptable for safety reasons.", "This is one reason why windshields are conventionally made of laminated annealed glass rather than tempered glass.", "Tempered glass (both thermally tempered and chemically tempered) has the advantage of being more resistant to breakage which can be desirable to enhance the reliability of laminated automobile glazing.", "In particular, thin, chemically-tempered glass can be desirable for use in making strong, lighter-weight auto glazing.", "Conventional laminated glass made with such tempered glass, however, does not meet the head-impact safety requirements.", "One method of forming a thin, chemically-tempered glass compliant with head-impact safety requirements can be to perform a thermal annealing process after the glass is chemically-tempered.", "This has the effect of reducing compressive stress of the glass thereby reducing the stress required to cause the glass to break.", "A disadvantage of this method is the reduction of compressive stress occurs in all areas of the glass product rather than in the area of the glass where the head impact is most likely to occur.", "Thus, there is a need to perform localized annealing in controlled areas of the glass whereby a resulting product would retain its strength in critical areas, e.g., near the edges thereof, and be weakened in the areas important to occupant safety.", "SUMMARY The embodiments disclosed herein generally relate to methods for producing ion exchanged glass, e.g., glass having characteristics of moderate compressive stress, high depth of compressive layer, and/or desirable central tension.", "Additional embodiments provide automobile glazings or laminates having laminated, tempered glass.", "In accordance with one or more embodiments herein, methods and apparatus provide for a thin glass article having a layer of surface compression from ion exchange techniques which enables scratch and impact resistance.", "The glass article can also exhibit a relatively high depth of compressive layer (DOL), making it resistant to environmental damage.", "Notably, the compressive stress (CS) at the glass surface in certain areas can be lower than in traditional ion exchanged glass, which allows the glass to pass automotive impact safety standards (such as the ECE R43 head form impact test) and is therefore suitable for automotive glazing applications.", "Additional embodiments provide an exemplary method to cause a directed thermal annealing and thereby local weakening of a thermally-tempered or chemically-tempered glass article.", "One exemplary embodiment utilizes a laser for such directed thermal annealing whereby the laser locally heats the glass sufficiently to cause thermal annealing, but laser exposure is managed to limit cracking or other physical damage to the glass.", "A further exemplary embodiment includes a directed microwave or induction heating to create a desirable localized thermal annealing.", "Some embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method of providing locally annealed regions for a glass article.", "The method includes providing a strengthened glass article having a first surface compressive stress and a first depth of layer of compressive stress and targeting first portions of the glass article on a first side thereof.", "The method also includes annealing the targeted first portions to a second surface compressive stress and a second depth of layer of compressive stress and repeating steps the targeting and annealing to create a pattern of annealed portions of the glass article on the first side thereof.", "Additional embodiments of the present disclosure provide a laminate structure having a first glass layer, a second glass layer, and at least one polymer interlayer intermediate the first and second glass layers.", "The first glass layer can be comprised of a strengthened glass having a first portion with a first surface compressive stress and a first depth of layer of compressive stress and a second portion with a second surface compressive stress and a second depth of layer of compressive stress.", "Further embodiments of the present disclosure provide a laminate structure having a first glass layer, a second glass layer, and at least one polymer interlayer intermediate the first and second glass layers.", "The first glass layer can be comprised of a strengthened glass having a first portion with a first surface compressive stress and a first depth of layer of compressive stress and a second portion with a second surface compressive stress and a second depth of layer of compressive stress.", "The second glass layer can be comprised of a strengthened glass having a third portion with a third surface compressive stress and a third depth of layer of compressive stress and a fourth portion with a fourth surface compressive stress and a fourth depth of layer of compressive stress.", "It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description present embodiments of the present disclosure, and are intended to provide an overview or framework for understanding the nature and character of the claimed subject matter.", "The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the present disclosure, and are incorporated into and constitute a part of this specification.", "The drawings illustrate various embodiments and together with the description serve to explain the principles and operations of the claimed subject matter.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS For the purposes of illustration, there are forms shown in the drawings that are presently preferred, it being understood, however, that the embodiments disclosed and discussed herein are not limited to the precise arrangements and instrumentalities shown.", "FIG.", "1 is a flow diagram illustrating some embodiments of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "2 is a flow diagram illustrating additional embodiments of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "3 is a cross sectional illustration of some embodiments of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "4 is a perspective view of additional embodiments of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "5 is another perspective view of FIGS.", "3 and 4 showing regions where reduced and full strength are desired.", "FIG.", "6 is a perspective view of a glass article with an array of localized annealed portions.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION In the following description, like reference characters designate like or corresponding parts throughout the several views shown in the figures.", "It is also understood that, unless otherwise specified, terms such as “top,” “bottom,” “outward,” “inward,” and the like are words of convenience and are not to be construed as limiting terms.", "In addition, whenever a group is described as comprising at least one of a group of elements and combinations thereof, it is understood that the group may comprise, consist essentially of, or consist of any number of those elements recited, either individually or in combination with each other.", "Similarly, whenever a group is described as consisting of at least one of a group of elements or combinations thereof, it is understood that the group may consist of any number of those elements recited, either individually or in combination with each other.", "Unless otherwise specified, a range of values, when recited, includes both the upper and lower limits of the range.", "As used herein, the indefinite articles “a,” and “an,” and the corresponding definite article “the” mean “at least one” or “one or more,” unless otherwise specified The following description of the present disclosure is provided as an enabling teaching thereof and its best, currently-known embodiment.", "Those skilled in the art will recognize that many changes can be made to the embodiment described herein while still obtaining the beneficial results of the present disclosure.", "It will also be apparent that some of the desired benefits of the present disclosure can be obtained by selecting some of the features of the present disclosure without utilizing other features.", "Accordingly, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that many modifications and adaptations of the present disclosure are possible and can even be desirable in certain circumstances and are part of the present disclosure.", "Thus, the following description is provided as illustrative of the principles of the present disclosure and not in limitation thereof.", "Those skilled in the art will appreciate that many modifications to the exemplary embodiments described herein are possible without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure.", "Thus, the description is not intended and should not be construed to be limited to the examples given but should be granted the full breadth of protection afforded by the appended claims and equivalents thereto.", "In addition, it is possible to use some of the features of the present disclosure without the corresponding use of other features.", "Accordingly, the foregoing description of exemplary or illustrative embodiments is provided for the purpose of illustrating the principles of the present disclosure and not in limitation thereof and can include modification thereto and permutations thereof.", "FIG.", "1 is a flow diagram illustrating some embodiments of the present disclosure.", "With reference to FIG.", "1, some embodiments include the application of one or more processes for producing a relatively thin glass sheet (on the order of about 2 mm or less) having certain characteristics, such as relatively moderate compressive stress (CS), relatively high depth of compressive layer (DOL), and/or moderate central tension (CT).", "The process includes preparing a glass sheet capable of ion exchange (step 100).", "The glass sheet can then be subjected to an ion exchange process (step 102), and thereafter the glass sheet can be subjected to an anneal process (step 104).", "The ion exchange process 102 can involve subjecting the glass sheet to a molten salt bath including KNO3, preferably relatively pure KNO3 for one or more first temperatures within the range of about 400-500° C. and/or for a first time period within the range of about 1-24 hours, such as, but not limited to, about 8 hours.", "It is noted that other salt bath compositions are possible and would be within the skill level of an artisan to consider such alternatives.", "Thus, the disclosure of KNO3 should not limit the scope of the claims appended herewith.", "Such an exemplary ion exchange process can produce an initial compressive stress (iCS) at the surface of the glass sheet, an initial depth of compressive layer (iDOL) into the glass sheet, and an initial central tension (iCT) within the glass sheet.", "In general, after an exemplary ion exchange process, the initial compressive stress (iCS) can exceed a predetermined (or desired) value, such as being at or greater than about 500 MPa, and can typically reach 600 MPa or higher, or even reach 1000 MPa or higher in some glasses and under some processing profiles.", "Alternatively, after an exemplary ion exchange process, initial depth of compressive layer (iDOL) can be below a predetermined (or desired) value, such as being at or less than about 75 μm or even lower in some glasses and under some processing profiles.", "Alternatively, after an exemplary ion exchange process, initial central tension (iCT) can exceed a predetermined (or desired) value, such as above a predetermined frangibility limit of the glass sheet, which can be at or above about 40 MPa, or more particularly at or above about 48 MPa in some glasses.", "If the initial compressive stress (iCS) exceeds a desired value, initial depth of compressive layer (iDOL) is below a desired value, and/or initial central tension (iCT) exceeds a desired value, this can lead to undesirable characteristics in a final product made using the respective glass sheet.", "For example, if the initial compressive stress (iCS) exceeds a desired value (reaching for example, 1000 MPa), then facture of the glass under certain circumstances might not occur.", "Although this may be counter-intuitive, in some circumstances the glass sheet should be able to break, such as in an automotive glass application where the glass must break at a certain impact load to prevent injury.", "Further, if the initial depth of compressive layer (iDOL) is below a desired value, then under certain circumstances the glass sheet can break unexpectedly and under undesirable circumstances.", "Typical ion exchange processes can result in an initial depth of compressive layer (iDOL) being no more than about 40-60 μm, which can be less than the depth of scratches, pits, etc., developed in the glass sheet during use.", "For example, it has been discovered that installed automotive glazing (using ion exchanged glass) can develop external scratches reaching as deep as about 75 μm or more due to exposure to abrasive materials such as silica sand, flying debris, etc., within the environment in which the glass sheet is used.", "This depth can exceed the typical depth of compressive layer, which can lead to the glass unexpectedly fracturing during use.", "Finally, if the initial central tension (iCT) exceeds a desired value, such as reaching or exceeding a chosen frangibility limit of the glass, then the glass sheet can break unexpectedly and under undesirable circumstances.", "For example, it has been discovered that a 4 inch×4 inch×0.7 mm sheet of Corning Gorilla® Glass exhibits performance characteristics in which undesirable fragmentation (energetic failure into a large number of small pieces when broken) occurs when a long single step ion exchange process (8 hours at 475° C.) was performed in pure KNO3.Although a DOL of about 101 μm was achieved, a relatively high CT of 65 MPa resulted, which was higher than the chosen frangibility limit (48 MPa) of the subject glass sheet.", "In accordance with one or more embodiments, however, after the glass sheet has been subject to ion exchange, the glass sheet can be subjected to an annealing process 104 by elevating the glass sheet to one or more second temperatures for a second period of time.", "For example, the annealing process 104 can be carried out in an air environment, can be performed at second temperatures within the range of about 400-500° C., and can be performed in a second time period within the range of about 4-24 hours, such as, but not limited to, about 8 hours.", "The annealing process 104 can thus cause at least one of the initial compressive stress (iCS), the initial depth of compressive layer (iDOL), and the initial central tension (iCT) to be modified.", "For example, after the annealing process 104, the initial compressive stress (iCS) can be reduced to a final compressive stress (fCS) which is at or below a predetermined value.", "By way of example, the initial compressive stress (iCS) can be at or greater than about 500 MPa, but the final compressive stress (fCS) can be at or less than about 400 MPa, 350 MPa, or 300 MPa.", "It is noted that the target for the final compressive stress (fCS) can be a function of glass thickness as in thicker glass a lower fCS can be desirable, and in thinner glass a higher fCS can be tolerable.", "Additionally, after the annealing process 104, the initial depth of compressive layer (iDOL) can be increased to a final depth of compressive layer (IDOL) at or above the predetermined value.", "By way of example, the initial depth of compressive layer (iDOL) can be at or less than about 75 μm, and the final depth of compressive layer (fDOL) can be at or above about 80 μm or 90 μm, such as 100 μm or more.", "Alternatively, after the annealing process 104, the initial central tension (iCT) can be reduced to a final central tension (fCT) at or below the predetermined value.", "By way of example, the initial central tension (iCT) can be at or above a chosen frangibility limit of the glass sheet (such as between about 40-48 MPa), and the final central tension (fCT) can be below the chosen frangibility limit of the glass sheet.", "Additional examples for generating exemplary ion exchangeable glass structures are described in co-pending U.S. application Ser.", "No.", "13/626,958, filed Sep. 26, 2012 and U.S. application Ser.", "No.", "13/926,461, filed Jun.", "25, 2013 the entirety of each being incorporated herein by reference.", "As noted above the conditions of the ion exchange step and the annealing step can be adjusted to achieve a desired compressive stress at the glass surface (CS), depth of compressive layer (DOL), and central tension (CT).", "The ion exchange step can be carried out by immersion of the glass sheet into a molten salt bath for a predetermined period of time, where ions within the glass sheet at or near the surface thereof are exchanged for larger metal ions, for example, from the salt bath.", "By way of example, the molten salt bath can include KNO3, the temperature of the molten salt bath can be within the range of about 400-500° C., and the predetermined time period can be within the range of about 1-24 hours, and preferably between about 2-8 hours.", "The incorporation of the larger ions into the glass strengthens the sheet by creating a compressive stress in a near surface region.", "A corresponding tensile stress can be induced within a central region of the glass sheet to balance the compressive stress.", "By way of further example, sodium ions within the glass sheet can be replaced by potassium ions from the molten salt bath, though other alkali metal ions having a larger atomic radius, such as rubidium or cesium, can also replace smaller alkali metal ions in the glass.", "According to some embodiments, smaller alkali metal ions in the glass sheet can be replaced by Ag+ ions.", "Similarly, other alkali metal salts such as, but not limited to, sulfates, halides, and the like can be used in the ion exchange process.", "The replacement of smaller ions by larger ions at a temperature below that at which the glass network can relax produces a distribution of ions across the surface of the glass sheet resulting in a stress profile.", "The larger volume of the incoming ion produces a compressive stress (CS) on the surface and tension (central tension, or CT) in the center region of the glass.", "The compressive stress is related to the central tension by the following approximate relationship: C   S = C   T  ( t - 2   D   O   L D   O   L ) where t represents the total thickness of the glass sheet and DOL represents the depth of exchange, also referred to as depth of compressive layer.", "Any number of specific glass compositions can be employed in producing the glass sheet.", "For example, ion-exchangeable glasses suitable for use in the embodiments herein include alkali aluminosilicate glasses or alkali aluminoborosilicate glasses, though other glass compositions are contemplated.", "As used herein, “ion exchangeable” means that a glass is capable of exchanging cations located at or near the surface of the glass with cations of the same valence that are either larger or smaller in size.", "For example, a suitable glass composition comprises SiO2, B2O3 and Na2O, where (SiO2+B2O3)≥66 mol.", "%, and Na2O≥9 mol.", "%.", "In an embodiment, the glass sheets include at least 6 wt.", "% aluminum oxide.", "In a further embodiment, a glass sheet includes one or more alkaline earth oxides, such that a content of alkaline earth oxides is at least 5 wt.", "%.", "Suitable glass compositions, in some embodiments, further comprise at least one of K2O, MgO, and CaO.", "In a particular embodiment, the glass can comprise 61-75 mol.", "% SiO2; 7-15 mol.", "% Al2O3; 0-12 mol.", "% B2O3; 9-21 mol.", "% Na2O; 0-4 mol.", "% K2O; 0-7 mol.", "% MgO; and 0-3 mol.", "% CaO.", "A further example glass composition suitable for forming hybrid glass laminates comprises: 60-70 mol.", "% SiO2; 6-14 mol.", "% Al2O3; 0-15 mol.", "% B2O3; 0-15 mol.", "% Li2O; 0-20 mol.", "% Na2O; 0-10 mol.", "% K2O; 0-8 mol.", "% MgO; 0-10 mol.", "% CaO; 0-5 mol.", "% ZrO2; 0-1 mol.", "% SnO2; 0-1 mol.", "% CeO2; less than 50 ppm As2O3; and less than 50 ppm Sb2O3; where 12 mol.", "%≤(Li2O+Na2O+K2O)≤20 mol.", "% and 0 mol.", "%≤(MgO+CaO)≤10 mol.", "%.", "A still further example glass composition comprises: 63.5-66.5 mol.", "% SiO2; 8-12 mol.", "% Al2O3; 0-3 mol.", "% B2O3; 0-5 mol.", "% Li2O; 8-18 mol.", "% Na2O; 0-5 mol.", "% K2O; 1-7 mol.", "% MgO; 0-2.5 mol.", "% CaO; 0-3 mol.", "% ZrO2; 0.05-0.25 mol.", "% SnO2; 0.05-0.5 mol.", "% CeO2; less than 50 ppm As2O3; and less than 50 ppm Sb2O3; where 14 mol.", "%≤(Li2O+Na2O+K2O)≤18 mol.", "% and 2 mol.", "%≤(MgO+CaO)≤7 mol.", "%.", "In another embodiment, an alkali aluminosilicate glass comprises, consists essentially of, or consists of: 61-75 mol.", "% SiO2; 7-15 mol.", "% Al2O3; 0-12 mol.", "% B2O3; 9-21 mol.", "% Na2O; 0-4 mol.", "% K2O; 0-7 mol.", "% MgO; and 0-3 mol.", "% CaO.", "In a particular embodiment, an alkali aluminosilicate glass comprises alumina, at least one alkali metal and, in some embodiments, greater than 50 mol.", "% SiO2, in other embodiments at least 58 mol.", "% SiO2, and in still other embodiments at least 60 mol.", "% SiO2, wherein the ratio Al 2  O 3 + B 2  O 3 ∑ modifiers > 1 , where in the ratio the components are expressed in mol.", "% and the modifiers are alkali metal oxides.", "This glass, in particular embodiments, comprises, consists essentially of, or consists of: 58-72 mol.", "% SiO2; 9-17 mol.", "% Al2O3; 2-12 mol.", "% B2O3; 8-16 mol.", "% Na2O; and 0-4 mol.", "% K2O, wherein the ratio Al 2  O 3 + B 2  O 3 ∑ modifiers > 1.In yet another embodiment, an alkali aluminosilicate glass substrate comprises, consists essentially of, or consists of: 60-70 mol.", "% SiO2; 6-14 mol.", "% Al2O3; 0-15 mol.", "% B2O3; 0-15 mol.", "% Li2O; 0-20 mol.", "% Na2O; 0-10 mol.", "% K2O; 0-8 mol.", "% MgO; 0-10 mol.", "% CaO; 0-5 mol.", "% ZrO2; 0-1 mol.", "% SnO2; 0-1 mol.", "% CeO2; less than 50 ppm As2O3; and less than 50 ppm Sb2O3; wherein 12 mol.", "%≤Li2O+Na2O+K2O≤20 mol.", "% and 0 mol.", "%≤MgO+CaO≤10 mol.", "%.", "In still another embodiment, an alkali aluminosilicate glass comprises, consists essentially of, or consists of: 64-68 mol.", "% SiO2; 12-16 mol.", "% Na2O; 8-12 mol.", "% Al2O3; 0-3 mol.", "% B2O3; 2-5 mol.", "% K2O; 4-6 mol.", "% MgO; and 0-5 mol.", "% CaO, wherein: 66 mol.", "%≤SiO2+B2O3+CaO≤69 mol.", "%; Na2O+K2O+B2O3+MgO+CaO+SrO≥10 mol.", "%; 5 mol.", "%≤MgO+CaO+SrO≤8 mol.", "%; (Na2O+B2O3)≤Al2O3≤2 mol.", "%; 2 mol.", "%≤Na2O≤Al2O3≤6 mol.", "%; and 4 mol.", "%≤(Na2O+K2O)≤Al2O3≤10 mol.", "%.", "Additional compositions of exemplary glass structures are described in co-pending U.S. application Ser.", "No.", "13/626,958, filed Sep. 26, 2012 and U.S. application Ser.", "No.", "13/926,461, filed Jun.", "25, 2013 the entirety of each being incorporated herein by reference.", "FIG.", "2 is a flow diagram illustrating additional embodiments of the present disclosure.", "With reference to FIG.", "2, these embodiments can include in step 200 providing an article of glass that has been chemically strengthened as discussed above.", "The article can then be brought to another work station or kept at the same work status whereby a suitable laser or other system (e.g., microwave, induction, or the like) can be targeted onto predetermined locations of the article by moving the laser or using a lens-array to change the target from one location to the next at step 202.An exemplary laser can thus impart energy to the target on the article, heating the glass and causing the compressive stress to be reduced by an annealing action in the target area.", "In some embodiments, settings of the laser and the respective exposure time can be adjusted to cause a full or partial annealing effect in the target area.", "Once the desired effect is achieved in one target location, the laser can be re-targeted to a new location at step 204 and the process repeated to achieve a patterning of the glass article.", "While one laser has been described herein, the claims appended herewith should not be so limited as an array of lasers can be employed that are individually or independently controlled to produce a desired annealed pattern or provide annealing in a predetermined area on the article.", "Suitable lasers for embodiments of the present disclosure include, but are not limited to, a CO2 laser system, an Nd:YAG system, etc.", "Such lasers possess an advantage that laser energy from the respective CO2 laser can be strongly absorbed by the glass so that the energy of the laser can be concentrated within the surface layer of the glass, i.e., the location where the compressive stresses of tempered glasses are localized.", "A CO2 laser can typically penetrate about 10 or more microns into an exemplary glass surface; however, the power thereof can be controlled to achieve a desired depth of anneal in some embodiments of the present disclosure.", "Such embodiments can provide a surface specific absorption of laser energy whereby annealing can be localized to areas on only one surface of the exemplary tempered glass article, leaving the opposing tempered surface non-annealed.", "In another embodiment of the present disclosure, localized annealing can be achieved on both sides of a glass article or laminate structure to achieve a desired and/or localized annealing on multiple tempered surfaces of the article.", "Exemplary laser technology or equipment can be employed to achieve such localized annealing by, for example, controlling the energy density, the dwell time, and/or the rate of heating of the glass by the laser to avoid inducing damage to the glass surface or portions thereof.", "In additional embodiments, the spot size of the laser can be adjusted to manage the energy density as well as optimize the amount of glass area being affected (i.e., to minimize the process cycle time).", "Embodiments of the present disclosure envision a large variety of annealing patterns.", "For example, some embodiments can employ laser technology to anneal a glass product in a grid pattern of dots or points whereby the points are about 1 cm2 in area with distance between adjacent points being approximately about 1 cm.", "This grid pattern would be effective in meeting safety requirements for head impact while still retaining a significant amount of the original un-annealed strength of the glass in the area of the laser pattern.", "While embodiments of the present disclosure have been described with regard to laser technology, the claims appended herewith should not be so limited as alternative processes can be utilized to create a pattern of annealed glass.", "For example, microwave systems can be employed in alternative embodiments of the present disclosure to enable selective heating of glass.", "Patterned annealing of a glass article with a microwave system, e.g., microwave energy, can be achieved using shielding material having a designed pattern of holes or the like which is placed between the article and the microwave energy source.", "In another embodiment, induction heating can be employed for localized annealing of a glass article.", "Patterned annealing of the article with an induction heating system can be achieved using a printed design pattern (placed or printed) on the glass article surface.", "This printed design pattern can thus preferentially absorb or block energy from an induction source thereby resulting in the glass article being locally annealed in the desired locations.", "Different combinations of time and temperature can be employed in embodiments of the present disclosure to achieve a localized reduction of stress (i.e., annealing) of 50 MPa or more for chemically-tempered Gorilla® Glass as shown in Table 1 below.", "TABLE 1 Time required for a stress reduction of 50 MPa Temperature (Celsius) (min) 250 960 300 150 325 60 350 30 375 15 400 7.5 425 2.5 It should be noted that the values in Table 1 are exemplary only and should not limit the scope of the claims appended herewith as higher and varying temperatures and/or times are also envisioned.", "Further, if localized heating of greater than 425° C. is achieved by the laser energy source, then the time required to anneal each target can be much shorter.", "The processes described herein can be suitable for a range of applications.", "One application of particular interest is for automotive glazing applications, whereby the process enables production of glass which can pass automotive impact safety standards.", "Other applications can be identified by those knowledgeable in the art.", "FIG.", "3 is a cross sectional illustration of some embodiments of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "4 is a perspective view of additional embodiments of the present disclosure.", "With reference to FIGS.", "3 and 4, an exemplary embodiment can include two layers of chemically strengthened glass, e.g., Gorilla® Glass, that have been heat treated, ion exchanged and annealed, as described above.", "Exemplary embodiments can possess a surface compression or compressive stress of approximately 300 MPa and a DOL of greater than about 60 microns.", "In a preferred embodiment, a laminate 10 can be comprised of an outer layer 12 of glass having a thickness of less than or equal to 10 mm and having a residual surface CS level of between about 250 MPa to about 350 MPa with a DOL of greater than 60 microns.", "In another embodiment the CS level of the outer layer 12 is preferably about 300 MPa.", "The laminate 10 also includes a polymeric interlayer 14 and an inner layer of glass 16 also having a thickness of less than or equal to 1.0 mm and having a residual surface CS level of between about 250 MPa to about 350 MPa with a DOL of greater than 60 microns.", "In another embodiment the CS level of the inner layer 16 is preferably about 300 MPa.", "In one embodiment, an interlayer 14 can have a thickness of approximately 0.8 mm Exemplary interlayers 14 can include, but are not limited to poly-vinyl-butyral or other suitable polymeric materials.", "In additional embodiments, any of the surfaces of the outer and/or inner layers 12, 16 can be acid etched to improve durability to external impact events.", "For example, in one embodiment, a first surface 13 of the outer layer 12 is acid etched and/or another surface 17 of the inner layer is acid etched.", "In another embodiment, a first surface 15 of the outer layer is acid etched and/or another surface 19 of the inner layer is acid etched.", "Such embodiments can thus provide a laminate construction that is substantially lighter than conventional laminate structures and which conforms to regulatory impact requirements.", "In another embodiment of the present disclosure, at least one layer of thin but high strength glass can be used to construct an exemplary laminate structure.", "In such an embodiment, chemically strengthened glass, e.g., Gorilla® Glass can be used for the outer layer 12 and/or inner layer 16 of glass for an exemplary laminate 10.In another embodiment, the inner layer 16 of glass can be conventional soda lime glass, annealed glass, or the like.", "Exemplary thicknesses of the outer and/or inner layers 12, 16 can range in thicknesses from 0.55 mm to 1.5 mm to 2.0 mm or more.", "Additionally, the thicknesses of the outer and inner layers 12, 16 can be different in a laminate structure 10.Exemplary glass layers can be made by fusion drawing, as described in U.S. Pat.", "Nos.", "7,666,511, 4,483,700 and 5,674,790, the entirety of each being incorporated herein by reference, and then chemically strengthening such drawn glass.", "Exemplary glass layers 12, 16 can thus possess a deep DOL of CS and can present a high flexural strength, scratch resistance and impact resistance.", "Exemplary embodiments can also include acid etched or flared surfaces to increase the impact resistance and increasing the strength of such surfaces by reducing the size and severity of flaws on these surfaces.", "If etched immediately prior to lamination, the strengthening benefit of etching or flaring can be maintained on surfaces bonded to the inter-layer.", "One embodiment of the present disclosure is directed to a laminate structure having a first glass layer, a second glass layer, and at least one polymer interlayer intermediate the first and second glass layers.", "The first glass layer can be comprised of a thin, chemically strengthened glass having a surface compressive stress of between about 250 MPa and about 350 MPa and a depth of layer (DOL) of CS greater than about 60 μm.", "In another embodiment, the second glass layer can be comprised of a thin, chemically strengthened glass having a surface compressive stress of between about 250 MPa and about 350 MPa and a depth of layer (DOL) of CS greater than about 60 μm.", "Preferable surface compressive stresses of the first and/or second glass layers can be approximately 300 MPa.", "In some embodiments, the thicknesses of the first and/or second glass layers can be a thickness not exceeding 1.5 mm, a thickness not exceeding 1.0 mm, a thickness not exceeding 0.7 mm, a thickness not exceeding 0.5 mm, a thickness within a range from about 0.5 mm to about 1.0 mm, a thickness from about 0.5 mm to about 0.7 mm.", "Of course, the thicknesses and/or compositions of the first and second glass layers can be different from each other.", "Additionally, the surface of the first glass layer opposite the interlayer can be acid etched, and the surface of the second glass layer adjacent the interlayer can be acid etched.", "Exemplary polymer interlayers include materials such as, but not limited to, poly vinyl butyral (PVB), polycarbonate, acoustic PVB, ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA), thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), ionomer, a thermoplastic material, and combinations thereof.", "Another embodiment of the present disclosure is directed to a laminate structure having a first glass layer, a second glass layer, and at least one polymer interlayer intermediate the first and second glass layers.", "The first and second glass layers can be comprised of a thin, chemically strengthened glass having a surface compressive stress of between about 250 MPa and about 350 MPa and a depth of compressive layer (DOL) of greater than about 60 μm.", "Preferable surface compressive stresses of the first and/or second glass layers can be approximately 300 MPa.", "In some embodiments, the thicknesses of the first and/or second glass layers can be a thickness not exceeding 1.5 mm, a thickness not exceeding 1.0 mm, a thickness not exceeding 0.7 mm, a thickness not exceeding 0.5 mm, a thickness within a range from about 0.5 mm to about 1.0 mm, a thickness from about 0.5 mm to about 0.7 mm.", "Of course, the thicknesses of the first and second glass layers can be different from each other.", "Additionally, the surface of the first glass layer opposite the interlayer can be acid etched, and the surface of the second glass layer adjacent the interlayer can be acid etched.", "In another embodiment, the surface of the first glass layer in contact with the interlayer can be acid etched, and the surface of the second glass layer opposite the interlayer can be acid etched.", "Exemplary polymer interlayers include materials such as, but not limited to, poly vinyl butyral (PVB), polycarbonate, acoustic PVB, ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA), thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), ionomer, a thermoplastic material, and combinations thereof.", "The first or second glass layer can have a central tension (CT) that is below a predetermined frangibility limit.", "Concerns related to damage levels of impact injuries to a vehicle occupant has required a relatively easier breakage for automotive glazing products.", "For example, in ECE R43 Revision 2, there is a requirement that, when the laminate is impacted from an internal object (by an occupant's head during a collision), the laminate should fracture so as to dissipate energy during the event and minimize risk of injury to the occupant.", "This requirement has generally prevented direct use of high strength glass as both plies of a laminate structure.", "It has been discovered through extensive headform testing that exemplary laminate structures according to embodiments of the present disclosure having one or more layers of chemically strengthened glass with a residual surface compressive stress level of about 250 MPa to about 350 MPa, and preferably about 300 MPa, and with glass thicknesses of approximately 0.7 mm for each layer, consistently comply with these test requirements.", "With continued reference to FIG.", "4, another exemplary laminate structure 10 embodiment is illustrated having an outer layer 12 of glass with a thickness of less than or equal to 1.0 mm and having a residual surface CS level of between about 250 MPa to about 350 MPa with a DOL of greater than 60 microns, a polymeric interlayer 14, and an inner layer of glass 16 also having a thickness of less than or equal to 1.0 mm and having a residual surface CS level of between about 250 MPa to about 350 MPa with a DOL of greater than 60 microns.", "As illustrated, the laminate structure 10 can be flat or formed to three-dimensional shapes by bending the formed glass into a windshield or other glass structure utilized in vehicles.", "FIG.", "5 is another perspective view of FIGS.", "3 and 4 showing regions where reduced and full strength are desired.", "FIG.", "6 is a perspective view of a glass article with an array of localized annealed portions.", "With reference to FIGS.", "5 and 6, a glass article or laminate structure can be, but is not limited to, a windshield or other suitable glass article as described above.", "A first area 504 of the glass article can be locally annealed to meet head form testing or other criteria whereas a second area 502, e.g., the edge sections of the windshield or other article, can maintain its original strength and characteristics (see, e.g., FIGS.", "3 and 4).", "The first area 504 can be targeted by moving the laser or using a lens-array to change the target from one location to a second location.", "An exemplary laser can be employed to impart energy to the target on the article, heating the glass and causing the compressive stress to be reduced by an annealing action in the target area.", "As noted above, inductive heating and/or microwave heating mechanisms can also be employed thus the claims appended herewith should not be limited solely to localized annealing by laser technology.", "Once the desired full or partial annealing is achieved in one target location, the laser can be re-targeted to a new location and the process repeated to achieve a patterning 604 of the glass article.", "Such embodiments can provide a surface specific absorption of laser energy whereby annealing can be localized to predetermined areas 604 on one surface of the exemplary glass article, leaving the other areas 602 of the glass article (including opposing surfaces, not shown) non-locally annealed.", "Of course, localized annealing can be achieved on both sides of the glass article or laminate structure to achieve a desired and/or localized annealing on multiple tempered surfaces of the article to thereby achieve a plurality of differing surface compressive stresses and depth of layers of compressive stress in a single glass article.", "Furthermore, it is envisioned that the level of annealing imparted by a respective laser(s) (or microwave or induction source) can be modified from successive points or spots in the first area 504 to create plural points or spots, or sets thereof, having different levels of annealing in the first area 504 (and hence differing levels of surface compressive stress and depth of layer of compressive stress between spots or points in the first area 504).", "Exemplary laser technology or equipment can be employed to achieve such localized annealing by, for example, controlling the energy density, the dwell time, and/or the rate of heating of the glass by the laser to avoid inducing damage to the glass surface or portions thereof.", "In additional embodiments, the spot size of the laser can be adjusted to manage the energy density as well as optimize the amount of glass area being affected (i.e., to minimize the process cycle time).", "Embodiments of the present disclosure envision a large variety of annealing patterns thus the depicted array of points or dots in FIG.", "6 should not limit the scope of the claims appended herewith.", "For example, some embodiments can employ laser, microwave or inductive technology to anneal a glass product in a pattern of rows, ovals, points or other geometric figures or arrays with varying distance between individual targeted areas.", "Regardless, the grid pattern formed by such geometries should be effective in meeting safety requirements for head impact while retaining a significant amount of the original un-annealed strength of the glass in the area of the laser pattern.", "Embodiments of the present disclosure provide an ability to reduce the strength of the glass in specific areas of a glass article, to make the article compliant with safety standards (such as head impact) while maintaining the full strength of the glass in other areas of the article (e.g., near the edges of the article).", "In non-limiting embodiments employing lasers, the laser equipment can be programmed to expose certain areas and not expose other areas, thereby eliminating the need for additional tooling to cause the pattern of annealed glass.", "In these embodiments, the amount of annealing can be readily adjusted by changing the laser parameters, such as increasing or decreasing the power of the laser.", "By creating a pattern of annealed glass, instead of annealing a large continuous area of glass, glass articles according to embodiments of the present disclosure can retain more of its original strength while the locally annealed regions can be a failure origin under the stress of an impact event (such as head impact).", "Additional embodiments also provide the advantage of localized annealing on one or both surfaces of a glass article.", "Some embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method of providing locally annealed regions for a glass article.", "The method includes providing a strengthened glass article having a first surface compressive stress and a first depth of layer of compressive stress and targeting first portions of the glass article on a first side thereof.", "The method also includes annealing the targeted first portions to a second surface compressive stress and a second depth of layer of compressive stress and repeating steps the targeting and annealing to create a pattern of annealed portions of the glass article on the first side thereof.", "In additional embodiments, the second surface compressive stress and the second depth of layer of compressive stress are less than the first surface compressive stress and the first depth of layer of compressive stress, respectively.", "The step of annealing can further comprise focusing a laser on the targeted first portions for a predetermined energy density and dwell time to avoid inducing damage to the glass article.", "Exemplary lasers include, but are not limited to, a CO2 laser or an Nd:YAG laser.", "Of course, other methods of localized annealed can be employed such as, but not limited to, selectively heating the targeted first portions using microwave energy or selectively heating the targeted first portions using an induction source.", "Any one of these other methods can also employ shielding non-targeted portions of the glass article with shielding material or preferentially absorbing or blocking energy from the induction source, as applicable.", "In other embodiments, the method includes targeting third portions of the glass article on a second side thereof, annealing the targeted third portions to a third surface compressive stress and a third depth of layer of compressive stress, and repeating these additional targeting and annealing steps to create a pattern of annealed portions of the glass article on the second side thereof.", "In some embodiments, the second surface compressive stress and the third surface compressive stress are different.", "In other embodiments, the second depth of layer of compressive stress and the third depth of layer of compressive stress are different.", "An exemplary strengthened glass article can include one or more glass layers and an interlayer.", "Additionally, an exemplary strengthened glass article can include a chemically strengthened glass layer, a thermally strengthened glass layer, or a combination thereof.", "Additional embodiments of the present disclosure provide a laminate structure having a first glass layer, a second glass layer, and at least one polymer interlayer intermediate the first and second glass layers.", "The first glass layer can be comprised of a strengthened glass having a first portion with a first surface compressive stress and a first depth of layer of compressive stress and a second portion with a second surface compressive stress and a second depth of layer of compressive stress.", "The strengthened glass of the first layer and/or second layer can be chemically strengthened glass or thermally strengthened glass.", "In one embodiment, the first surface compressive stress can be between about 250 MPa and about 350 MPa and the first depth of layer of compressive stress can be greater than about 60 μm.", "In another embodiment, the second surface compressive stress can be less than the first surface compressive stress and the second depth of layer of compressive stress can be less than the first depth of layer of compressive stress.", "In some embodiments, the second glass layer can be comprised of a strengthened glass having a third portion with a third surface compressive stress and a third depth of layer of compressive stress and a fourth portion with a fourth surface compressive stress and a fourth depth of layer of compressive stress.", "In another embodiment, the third surface compressive stress can be between about 250 MPa and about 350 MPa and the third depth of layer of compressive stress can be greater than about 60 μm.", "In additional embodiments, the fourth surface compressive stress can be less than the third surface compressive stress and the fourth depth of layer of compressive stress can be less than the third depth of layer of compressive stress.", "Of course, the first and third surface compressive stresses can be different, and the first and third depth of layer of compressive stresses can be different.", "Exemplary thicknesses of the first and second glass layers can be, but are not limited to, a thickness not exceeding 1.5 mm, a thickness not exceeding 1.0 mm, a thickness not exceeding 0.7 mm, a thickness not exceeding 0.5 mm, a thickness within a range from about 0.5 mm to about 1.0 mm, a thickness from about 0.5 mm to about 0.7 mm.", "In some embodiments, the thicknesses and/or compositions of the first and second glass layers can be different.", "An exemplary polymer interlayer can be, but is not limited to, poly vinyl butyral (PVB), polycarbonate, acoustic PVB, ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA), thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), ionomer, a thermoplastic material, and combinations thereof.", "An exemplary, non-limiting thickness for an interlayer can be approximately 0.8 mm.", "Further embodiments of the present disclosure provide a laminate structure having a first glass layer, a second glass layer, and at least one polymer interlayer intermediate the first and second glass layers.", "The first glass layer can be comprised of a strengthened glass having a first portion with a first surface compressive stress and a first depth of layer of compressive stress and a second portion with a second surface compressive stress and a second depth of layer of compressive stress.", "The second glass layer can be comprised of a strengthened glass having a third portion with a third surface compressive stress and a third depth of layer of compressive stress and a fourth portion with a fourth surface compressive stress and a fourth depth of layer of compressive stress.", "The strengthened glass of the first layer and/or second layer can be chemically strengthened glass or thermally strengthened glass.", "In one embodiment, the first surface compressive stress can be between about 250 MPa and about 350 MPa and the first depth of layer of compressive stress can be greater than about 60 μm.", "In another embodiment, the second surface compressive stress can be less than the first surface compressive stress and the second depth of layer of compressive stress can be less than the first depth of layer of compressive stress.", "In another embodiment, the third surface compressive stress can be between about 250 MPa and about 350 MPa and the third depth of layer of compressive stress can be greater than about 60 μm.", "In additional embodiments, the fourth surface compressive stress can be less than the third surface compressive stress and the fourth depth of layer of compressive stress can be less than the third depth of layer of compressive stress.", "Of course, the first and third surface compressive stresses can be different, and the first and third depth of layer of compressive stresses can be different.", "Exemplary thicknesses of the first and second glass layers can be, but are not limited to, a thickness not exceeding 1.5 mm, a thickness not exceeding 1.0 mm, a thickness not exceeding 0.7 mm, a thickness not exceeding 0.5 mm, a thickness within a range from about 0.5 mm to about 1.0 mm, a thickness from about 0.5 mm to about 0.7 mm.", "In some embodiments, the thicknesses and/or compositions of the first and second glass layers can be different.", "An exemplary polymer interlayer can be, but is not limited to, poly vinyl butyral (PVB), polycarbonate, acoustic PVB, ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA), thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), ionomer, a thermoplastic material, and combinations thereof.", "An exemplary, non-limiting thickness for an interlayer can be approximately 0.8 mm.", "While this description can include many specifics, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope thereof, but rather as descriptions of features that can be specific to particular embodiments.", "Certain features that have been heretofore described in the context of separate embodiments can also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment.", "Conversely, various features that are described in the context of a single embodiment can also be implemented in multiple embodiments separately or in any suitable subcombination.", "Moreover, although features can be described above as acting in certain combinations and can even be initially claimed as such, one or more features from a claimed combination can in some cases be excised from the combination, and the claimed combination can be directed to a subcombination or variation of a subcombination.", "Similarly, while operations are depicted in the drawings or figures in a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring that such operations be performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order, or that all illustrated operations be performed, to achieve desirable results.", "In certain circumstances, multitasking and parallel processing can be advantageous.", "As shown by the various configurations and embodiments illustrated in FIGS.", "1-6, various embodiments for methods for localized annealing of chemically strengthened glass have been described.", "While preferred embodiments of the present disclosure have been described, it is to be understood that the embodiments described are illustrative only and that the scope of the invention is to be defined solely by the appended claims when accorded a full range of equivalence, many variations and modifications naturally occurring to those of skill in the art from a perusal hereof" ] ]
Patent_15873188
[ [ "METHOD OF PROCESSING TARGET OBJECT", "A controllability of a size of a mask can be improved in a multi-patterning method.", "A process of forming a silicon oxide film on a first mask and an antireflection film is performed.", "In this process, plasma of a first gas including a silicon halide gas and plasma of a second gas including an oxygen gas are alternately generated.", "Then, a region of the silicon oxide film is removed such that only a region along a side wall of the first mask is left, and then, the first mask is removed and the antireflection film and an organic film is etched." ], [ "1.A method of processing a target object, the method comprising: placing the target object that includes a film and a first mask formed on the film in a processing space; forming a silicon oxide film on the first mask and the film, the silicon oxide film including a first region formed on a top surface of the first mask, a second region formed on the film, and a third region formed on a side surface of the first mask, removing the first region and the second region with a first plasma generated from a gas containing carbon and fluorine; removing the first mask with a second plasma while leaving the third region, thereby forming a second mask; and etching the film using the second mask with a third plasma different from the second plasma, wherein the forming of the silicon oxide film, the removing of the first region and the second region, the removing of the first mask, and the etching of the film are performed sequentially in the same processing space within a single plasma processing vessel, and a pressure of the processing space is set to each one of a plurality predetermined levels by an exhaust device during the forming of the silicon oxide film, the removing of the first region and the second region, the removing of the first mask, and the etching of the film, wherein the forming the silicon oxide film includes: exposing the target object to a silicon-containing precursor to adsorb the silicon-containing precursor onto the surface of the target object, thereby forming an adsorbed layer of the silicon-containing precursor; purging the processing space to remove unadsorbed silicon-containing precursor; exposing the target object to an oxygen plasma generated from an oxygen containing gas to form the silicon oxide film; and purging the processing space.", "2.The method of claim 1, wherein, in the forming of the silicon oxide film, a sequence including the exposing of the target object to the silicon-containing precursor, the purging of the processing space to remove unadsorbed silicon-containing precursor, the exposing of the target object to the oxygen plasma and the purging of the processing space is repeatedly performed.", "3.The method of claim 1, wherein the exposing of the target object to the silicon-containing precursor is performed under a high-pressure and low-power condition in which a pressure within the plasma processing vessel is 13.33 Pa or more and a power from a power supply for plasma generation is 100 W or less.", "4.The method of claim 1, wherein, in the exposing of the target object to the silicon-containing precursor, a bias power for ion attraction is not applied to a placing table configured to support the target object.", "5.The method of claim 1, wherein the method is performed by a capacitively coupled plasma processing apparatus, and the method further comprises: irradiating secondary electrons to the first mask by generating plasma within the plasma processing vessel and applying a negative DC voltage to an upper electrode of the plasma processing apparatus, before forming the silicon oxide film.", "6.A method of processing a target object, the method comprising: placing the target object that includes a film and a first mask formed on the film in a processing space; forming an ALD(atomic-layer-deposited) film on the first mask and the film, the ALD film including a first region formed on a top surface of the first mask, a second region formed on the film, and a third region formed on a side surface of the first mask, removing the first region and the second region with a first plasma; and removing the first mask with a second plasma that is different from the first plasma while leaving the third region, thereby forming a second mask, wherein the forming of the ALD film, the removing of the first region and the second region, and the removing of the first mask are performed sequentially in the same processing space within a single plasma processing vessel.", "7.The method of claim 6, wherein the first plasma is generated by a gas containing carbon and fluorine.", "8.The method of claim 6, wherein the second plasma is generated by a gas containing oxygen.", "9.The method of claim 6, wherein the first and the second plasma are an inductively coupled plasma." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND <EOH>In a manufacturing process of an electronic device such as a semiconductor device, a mask is formed on an etching target layer and an etching process is performed to transcribe a pattern of the mask onto the etching target layer.", "As the mask, a resist mask is generally used.", "The resist mask is formed by photolithography.", "Therefore, a critical dimension of the pattern formed on the etching target layer is influenced by a resolution limit of the resist mask formed by the photolithography.", "However, in recent years, as electronic devices have been highly integrated, it has been demanded to form a pattern having a smaller dimension than the resolution limit of the resist mask.", "For this reason, as described in Patent Document 1, a multi-patterning method such as a double patterning method or a quadruple patterning method has been used.", "In the double patterning method, a silicon oxide film is formed to cover a resist mask serving as a first mask, and in the entire region of the silicon oxide film, only a region along a side wall of the resist mask remains, and then, the resist mask is removed.", "Thereafter, an organic film is etched using the remaining region made of silicon oxide as a second mask.", "Thus, a third mask for etching an etching target layer is formed.", "In the quadruple patterning method, a silicon oxide film is formed to cover the third mask obtained by the double patterning method, and in the entire region of the silicon oxide film, only a region along a side wall of the third mask remains, and then, the third mask is removed.", "Thus, a fourth mask for etching an etching target layer is formed.", "In the above-described multi-patterning method, a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method using a silane gas is generally used to form the silicon oxide film.", "Patent Document 1: International Publication No.", "WO2009/101878 In the CVD method, a film thickness of a silicon oxide film formed on a top surface of a mask and on a surface of a layer directly under the mask is increased and a film thickness of a silicon oxide film formed along a side surface of the mask is decreased.", "Further, it is difficult to control a film thickness of the silicon oxide film formed along the side surface of the mask with a high accuracy.", "Therefore, in the conventional multi-patterning method, a controllability of a size of a mask, for example, a controllability of a width of the mask and/or a width of an opening of the mask is low.", "Accordingly, it has been demanded to increase the controllability of the size of the mask in the multi-patterning method." ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY <EOH>In one exemplary embodiment, a method of processing a target object is provided.", "The target object has an etching target layer; an organic film prepared on the etching target layer; a silicon-containing antireflection film prepared on the organic film; and a first mask formed of a resist material and prepared on the antireflection film.", "Further, the method includes (a) a process of forming a silicon oxide film on the first mask and the antireflection film within a processing vessel of a plasma processing apparatus in which the target object is accommodated, and the silicon oxide film includes a first region formed on a top surface of the first mask, a second region formed on the antireflection film, and a third region formed on a side surface of the first mask.", "Further, the method includes (b) a process of forming a second mask based on the third region by removing the first region and the second region with plasma generated within the processing vessel; (c) a process of removing the first mask with plasma generated within the processing vessel; (d) a process of etching the antireflection film with plasma generated within the processing vessel; and (e) a process of forming a third mask formed of organic film region by etching the organic film with plasma generated within the processing vessel.", "Moreover, in the process of forming the silicon oxide film, the silicon oxide film is formed by performing a sequence including (a1) a first process of generating plasma of a first gas including a silicon halide gas and forming a reaction precursor within the processing vessel accommodating therein the target object; (a2) a second process of purging a space within the processing vessel; (a3) a third process of generating plasma of a second gas including an oxygen gas and forming the silicon oxide film within the processing vessel; and (a4) a fourth process of purging the space within the processing vessel.", "The silicon halide gas used in the method according to the present exemplary embodiment, for example, a SiCl 4 gas, a SiBr 4 gas, a SiF 4 gas, or a SiH 2 Cl 4 gas, is in a vaporized state at room temperature.", "Therefore, according to the method of the present exemplary embodiment, it is possible to deposit the precursor including silicon on the mask at a low temperature without using a dedicated film forming apparatus provided with a vaporizer.", "Further, according to the method of the present exemplary embodiment, the precursor including silicon is deposited on the first mask and the antireflection film during the first process, and after the purge during the second process, a halogen element in the precursor is substituted with oxygen during the subsequent third process.", "Then, the purge is performed during the fourth process.", "Further, the purge during the second process and the fourth process is performed for the purpose of substituting the gas within the processing vessel in order to suppress the silicon halide gas and the oxygen gas from being provided within the processing vessel at the same time.", "Furthermore, the purge may be performed by a gas purge allowing an inert gas to flow into the processing vessel or an evacuation purge.", "Therefore, in the same manner as an ALD method, a silicon oxide film having a small film thickness can be uniformly formed on the mask by performing the sequence including the first to fourth processes one time.", "That is, it is possible to conformally form the silicon oxide film having the small film thickness by performing the sequence one time.", "In this method, since the second mask is formed by using the silicon oxide film, a controllability of a size of the second mask can be improved.", "Further, a controllability of a size of the third mask formed of the organic film by using the second mask can be also improved.", "Furthermore, the third mask formed by the method according to the exemplary embodiment can be used to etch the etching target layer or can be used to form a fourth mask for a quadruple patterning method.", "In the exemplary embodiment, the above-described sequence may be repeatedly performed.", "In this exemplary embodiment, a film thickness of a silicon oxide film to be formed can be controlled depending on the number of times of repeating the sequence.", "Thus, a controllability of a width of the second mask and/or a width of an opening formed by the second mask can be improved.", "In the exemplary embodiment, the first process may be performed under a high-pressure and low-power condition in which a pressure within the processing vessel is 13.33 Pa or more and a power from the high frequency power supply for plasma generation is 100 W or less.", "By generating plasma under the high-pressure and low-power condition, it is possible to suppress active species of halogen elements from excessively generated.", "Thus, it is possible to suppress damage to the first mask and/or the previously formed silicon oxide film.", "Further, it is possible to reduce a difference in film thickness of the silicon oxide films at the respective regions on the mask.", "Furthermore, in the exemplary embodiment, a bias power for ion attraction may not be applied to a placing table configured to support the target object.", "According to this exemplary embodiment, the uniformity in the film thickness of the silicon oxide films respectively formed on the top surface of the first mask, the surface of the antireflection film, and the side surface of the first mask, i.e., the first region, the second region, and the third region, can be further increased.", "In the exemplary embodiment, the plasma processing apparatus may be a capacitively coupled plasma processing apparatus.", "Further, the method may further include a process of irradiating secondary electrons to the first mask by generating plasma within the processing vessel and applying a negative DC voltage to an upper electrode of the plasma processing apparatus, before performing the process of forming the silicon oxide film.", "According to this exemplary embodiment, it is possible to modify the first mask and suppress damage to the first mask caused by a subsequent process.", "The method according to this exemplary embodiment may further include (f) a process of forming another silicon oxide film on the third mask and the etching target layer within the processing vessel, the another silicon oxide film includes a fourth region formed on a top surface of the third mask, a fifth region formed on the etching target layer, and a sixth region formed on a side surface of the third mask.", "Further (g) a process of forming a fourth mask based on the sixth region by removing the fourth region and the fifth region with the plasma generated within the processing vessel; and (h) a process of removing the third mask with plasma generated within the processing vessel.", "Moreover, in the process of forming the another silicon oxide film, the another silicon oxide film is formed by performing a sequence including (f1) a fifth process of generating plasma of a third gas including a silicon halide gas and forming a reaction precursor within the processing vessel accommodating therein the target object; (f2) a sixth process of purging the space within the processing vessel; (f3) a seventh process of generating plasma of a fourth gas including an oxygen gas and forming the another silicon oxide film within the processing vessel; and (f4) an eighth process of purging the space within the processing vessel.", "In the method according to this exemplary embodiment, the fourth mask is formed by a quadruple patterning method.", "The fourth mask is formed based on the sixth region of the silicon oxide film formed by the fifth to eighth processes which are performed in the same manner as the first to fourth processes.", "Therefore, according to this exemplary embodiment, a controllability of a size of the fourth mask can be improved.", "Further, in the fifth process, it is possible to deposit the precursor including silicon on the mask at a low temperature without using a dedicated film forming apparatus provided with a vaporizer.", "In the exemplary embodiment, the sequence including the fifth to eighth processes may be repeatedly performed.", "Further, the fifth process may be performed under the high-pressure and low-power condition in which the pressure within the processing vessel is 13.33 Pa or more and the power from the high frequency power supply for plasma generation is 100 W or less.", "Moreover, in the fifth process, the bias power for ion attraction may not be applied to a placing table configured to support the target object.", "In the exemplary embodiment, the plasma processing apparatus may be a capacitively coupled plasma processing apparatus, and the method may further include a process of irradiating secondary electrons to the third mask by generating plasma within the processing vessel and applying a negative DC voltage to an upper electrode of the plasma processing apparatus, before performing the process of forming the another silicon oxide film.", "According to this exemplary embodiment, it is possible to modify the third mask and suppress damage to the third mask caused by a subsequent process.", "As described above, in the multi-patterning method, the controllability of the size of the mask can be improved.", "The foregoing summary is illustrative only and is not intended to be in any way limiting.", "In addition to the illustrative aspects, embodiments, and features described above, further aspects, embodiments, and features will become apparent by reference to the drawings and the following detailed description." ], [ "CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This is a continuation application of U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "14/863,863, filed on Sep. 24, 2015 which claims the benefit of Japanese Patent Application No.", "2014-206602 filed on Oct. 7, 2014, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.", "TECHNICAL FIELD The embodiments described herein pertain generally to a method of processing a target object, and more particularly, to a method including forming a mask.", "BACKGROUND In a manufacturing process of an electronic device such as a semiconductor device, a mask is formed on an etching target layer and an etching process is performed to transcribe a pattern of the mask onto the etching target layer.", "As the mask, a resist mask is generally used.", "The resist mask is formed by photolithography.", "Therefore, a critical dimension of the pattern formed on the etching target layer is influenced by a resolution limit of the resist mask formed by the photolithography.", "However, in recent years, as electronic devices have been highly integrated, it has been demanded to form a pattern having a smaller dimension than the resolution limit of the resist mask.", "For this reason, as described in Patent Document 1, a multi-patterning method such as a double patterning method or a quadruple patterning method has been used.", "In the double patterning method, a silicon oxide film is formed to cover a resist mask serving as a first mask, and in the entire region of the silicon oxide film, only a region along a side wall of the resist mask remains, and then, the resist mask is removed.", "Thereafter, an organic film is etched using the remaining region made of silicon oxide as a second mask.", "Thus, a third mask for etching an etching target layer is formed.", "In the quadruple patterning method, a silicon oxide film is formed to cover the third mask obtained by the double patterning method, and in the entire region of the silicon oxide film, only a region along a side wall of the third mask remains, and then, the third mask is removed.", "Thus, a fourth mask for etching an etching target layer is formed.", "In the above-described multi-patterning method, a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method using a silane gas is generally used to form the silicon oxide film.", "Patent Document 1: International Publication No.", "WO2009/101878 In the CVD method, a film thickness of a silicon oxide film formed on a top surface of a mask and on a surface of a layer directly under the mask is increased and a film thickness of a silicon oxide film formed along a side surface of the mask is decreased.", "Further, it is difficult to control a film thickness of the silicon oxide film formed along the side surface of the mask with a high accuracy.", "Therefore, in the conventional multi-patterning method, a controllability of a size of a mask, for example, a controllability of a width of the mask and/or a width of an opening of the mask is low.", "Accordingly, it has been demanded to increase the controllability of the size of the mask in the multi-patterning method.", "SUMMARY In one exemplary embodiment, a method of processing a target object is provided.", "The target object has an etching target layer; an organic film prepared on the etching target layer; a silicon-containing antireflection film prepared on the organic film; and a first mask formed of a resist material and prepared on the antireflection film.", "Further, the method includes (a) a process of forming a silicon oxide film on the first mask and the antireflection film within a processing vessel of a plasma processing apparatus in which the target object is accommodated, and the silicon oxide film includes a first region formed on a top surface of the first mask, a second region formed on the antireflection film, and a third region formed on a side surface of the first mask.", "Further, the method includes (b) a process of forming a second mask based on the third region by removing the first region and the second region with plasma generated within the processing vessel; (c) a process of removing the first mask with plasma generated within the processing vessel; (d) a process of etching the antireflection film with plasma generated within the processing vessel; and (e) a process of forming a third mask formed of organic film region by etching the organic film with plasma generated within the processing vessel.", "Moreover, in the process of forming the silicon oxide film, the silicon oxide film is formed by performing a sequence including (a1) a first process of generating plasma of a first gas including a silicon halide gas and forming a reaction precursor within the processing vessel accommodating therein the target object; (a2) a second process of purging a space within the processing vessel; (a3) a third process of generating plasma of a second gas including an oxygen gas and forming the silicon oxide film within the processing vessel; and (a4) a fourth process of purging the space within the processing vessel.", "The silicon halide gas used in the method according to the present exemplary embodiment, for example, a SiCl4 gas, a SiBr4 gas, a SiF4 gas, or a SiH2Cl4 gas, is in a vaporized state at room temperature.", "Therefore, according to the method of the present exemplary embodiment, it is possible to deposit the precursor including silicon on the mask at a low temperature without using a dedicated film forming apparatus provided with a vaporizer.", "Further, according to the method of the present exemplary embodiment, the precursor including silicon is deposited on the first mask and the antireflection film during the first process, and after the purge during the second process, a halogen element in the precursor is substituted with oxygen during the subsequent third process.", "Then, the purge is performed during the fourth process.", "Further, the purge during the second process and the fourth process is performed for the purpose of substituting the gas within the processing vessel in order to suppress the silicon halide gas and the oxygen gas from being provided within the processing vessel at the same time.", "Furthermore, the purge may be performed by a gas purge allowing an inert gas to flow into the processing vessel or an evacuation purge.", "Therefore, in the same manner as an ALD method, a silicon oxide film having a small film thickness can be uniformly formed on the mask by performing the sequence including the first to fourth processes one time.", "That is, it is possible to conformally form the silicon oxide film having the small film thickness by performing the sequence one time.", "In this method, since the second mask is formed by using the silicon oxide film, a controllability of a size of the second mask can be improved.", "Further, a controllability of a size of the third mask formed of the organic film by using the second mask can be also improved.", "Furthermore, the third mask formed by the method according to the exemplary embodiment can be used to etch the etching target layer or can be used to form a fourth mask for a quadruple patterning method.", "In the exemplary embodiment, the above-described sequence may be repeatedly performed.", "In this exemplary embodiment, a film thickness of a silicon oxide film to be formed can be controlled depending on the number of times of repeating the sequence.", "Thus, a controllability of a width of the second mask and/or a width of an opening formed by the second mask can be improved.", "In the exemplary embodiment, the first process may be performed under a high-pressure and low-power condition in which a pressure within the processing vessel is 13.33 Pa or more and a power from the high frequency power supply for plasma generation is 100 W or less.", "By generating plasma under the high-pressure and low-power condition, it is possible to suppress active species of halogen elements from excessively generated.", "Thus, it is possible to suppress damage to the first mask and/or the previously formed silicon oxide film.", "Further, it is possible to reduce a difference in film thickness of the silicon oxide films at the respective regions on the mask.", "Furthermore, in the exemplary embodiment, a bias power for ion attraction may not be applied to a placing table configured to support the target object.", "According to this exemplary embodiment, the uniformity in the film thickness of the silicon oxide films respectively formed on the top surface of the first mask, the surface of the antireflection film, and the side surface of the first mask, i.e., the first region, the second region, and the third region, can be further increased.", "In the exemplary embodiment, the plasma processing apparatus may be a capacitively coupled plasma processing apparatus.", "Further, the method may further include a process of irradiating secondary electrons to the first mask by generating plasma within the processing vessel and applying a negative DC voltage to an upper electrode of the plasma processing apparatus, before performing the process of forming the silicon oxide film.", "According to this exemplary embodiment, it is possible to modify the first mask and suppress damage to the first mask caused by a subsequent process.", "The method according to this exemplary embodiment may further include (f) a process of forming another silicon oxide film on the third mask and the etching target layer within the processing vessel, the another silicon oxide film includes a fourth region formed on a top surface of the third mask, a fifth region formed on the etching target layer, and a sixth region formed on a side surface of the third mask.", "Further (g) a process of forming a fourth mask based on the sixth region by removing the fourth region and the fifth region with the plasma generated within the processing vessel; and (h) a process of removing the third mask with plasma generated within the processing vessel.", "Moreover, in the process of forming the another silicon oxide film, the another silicon oxide film is formed by performing a sequence including (f1) a fifth process of generating plasma of a third gas including a silicon halide gas and forming a reaction precursor within the processing vessel accommodating therein the target object; (f2) a sixth process of purging the space within the processing vessel; (f3) a seventh process of generating plasma of a fourth gas including an oxygen gas and forming the another silicon oxide film within the processing vessel; and (f4) an eighth process of purging the space within the processing vessel.", "In the method according to this exemplary embodiment, the fourth mask is formed by a quadruple patterning method.", "The fourth mask is formed based on the sixth region of the silicon oxide film formed by the fifth to eighth processes which are performed in the same manner as the first to fourth processes.", "Therefore, according to this exemplary embodiment, a controllability of a size of the fourth mask can be improved.", "Further, in the fifth process, it is possible to deposit the precursor including silicon on the mask at a low temperature without using a dedicated film forming apparatus provided with a vaporizer.", "In the exemplary embodiment, the sequence including the fifth to eighth processes may be repeatedly performed.", "Further, the fifth process may be performed under the high-pressure and low-power condition in which the pressure within the processing vessel is 13.33 Pa or more and the power from the high frequency power supply for plasma generation is 100 W or less.", "Moreover, in the fifth process, the bias power for ion attraction may not be applied to a placing table configured to support the target object.", "In the exemplary embodiment, the plasma processing apparatus may be a capacitively coupled plasma processing apparatus, and the method may further include a process of irradiating secondary electrons to the third mask by generating plasma within the processing vessel and applying a negative DC voltage to an upper electrode of the plasma processing apparatus, before performing the process of forming the another silicon oxide film.", "According to this exemplary embodiment, it is possible to modify the third mask and suppress damage to the third mask caused by a subsequent process.", "As described above, in the multi-patterning method, the controllability of the size of the mask can be improved.", "The foregoing summary is illustrative only and is not intended to be in any way limiting.", "In addition to the illustrative aspects, embodiments, and features described above, further aspects, embodiments, and features will become apparent by reference to the drawings and the following detailed description.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the detailed description that follows, embodiments are described as illustrations only since various changes and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description.", "The use of the same reference numbers in different figures indicates similar or identical items.", "FIG.", "1 is a flowchart illustrating a method of processing a target objet in accordance with an exemplary embodiment; FIG.", "2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a plasma processing apparatus; FIG.", "3A and FIG.", "3B are cross-sectional views each illustrating a status of the target object after performing each process of the method illustrated in FIG.", "1; FIG.", "4A and FIG.", "4B are cross-sectional views each illustrating a status of the target object after performing each process of the method illustrated in FIG.", "1; FIG.", "5A to FIG.", "5C are cross-sectional views each illustrating a status of the target object after performing each process of the method illustrated in FIG.", "1; FIG.", "6A and FIG.", "6B are diagrams explaining a principle of forming a silicon oxide film; FIG.", "7 is a flowchart illustrating a method of processing a target objet in accordance with another exemplary embodiment; FIG.", "8A to FIG.", "8C are cross-sectional views each illustrating a status of the target object after performing each process of the method illustrated in FIG.", "7; FIG.", "9A to FIG.", "9C are cross-sectional views each illustrating a status of the target object after performing each process of the method illustrated in FIG.", "7; FIG.", "10 is a graph illustrating results of experiments; FIG.", "11 is a plane view illustrating a pattern of a mask MK1 used in the experiment; and FIG.", "12 is a graph illustrating results of experiments.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION In the following detailed description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of the description.", "In the drawings, similar symbols typically identify similar components, unless context dictates otherwise.", "Furthermore, unless otherwise noted, the description of each successive drawing may reference features from one or more of the previous drawings to provide clearer context and a more substantive explanation of the current exemplary embodiment.", "Still, the exemplary embodiments described in the detailed description, drawings, and claims are not meant to be limiting.", "Other embodiments may be utilized, and other changes may be made, without departing from the spirit or scope of the subject matter presented herein.", "It will be readily understood that the aspects of the present disclosure, as generally described herein and illustrated in the drawings, may be arranged, substituted, combined, separated, and designed in a wide variety of different configurations, all of which are explicitly contemplated herein.", "FIG.", "1 is a flowchart illustrating a method of processing a target objet in accordance with an exemplary embodiment.", "A method MT1 illustrated in FIG.", "1 is to form a mask by a double patterning method.", "The method MT1 in accordance with the exemplary embodiment is to etch an etching target layer.", "Further, in the method MT1 in accordance with the exemplary embodiment, a series of processes can be performed by using a single plasma processing apparatus.", "FIG.", "2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a plasma processing apparatus.", "FIG.", "2 schematically illustrates a cross-sectional structure of a plasma processing apparatus 10 which can be used in various exemplary embodiments of a method of processing a target object.", "As illustrated in FIG.", "2, the plasma processing apparatus 10 is a capacitively coupled plasma etching apparatus and includes a processing vessel 12.The processing vessel 12 has a substantially cylindrical shape.", "The processing vessel 12 is formed of, for example, aluminum and an inner wall surface thereof is anodically oxidized.", "The processing vessel 12 is frame-grounded.", "A substantially cylindrical support 14 is provided on a bottom of the processing vessel 12.The support 14 is formed of, for example, an insulating material.", "The insulating material constituting the support 14 may include oxygen such as quartz.", "The support 14 is extended within the processing vessel 12 in a vertical direction from the bottom of the processing vessel 12.Further, a placing table PD is provided within the processing vessel 12.The placing table PD is supported by the support 14.The placing table PD holds a wafer W on its top surface.", "The placing table PD includes a lower electrode LE and an electrostatic chuck ESC.", "The lower electrode LE includes a first plate 18a and a second plate 18b.", "The first plate 18a and the second plate 18b are formed of metal such as aluminum and has a substantially disc shape.", "The second plate 18b is provided on the first plate 18a and electrically connected with the first plate 18a.", "The electrostatic chuck ESC is provided on the second plate 18b.", "The electrostatic chuck ESC has a structure in which an electrode formed of a conductive film is interposed between a pair of insulating layers or insulating sheets.", "The electrode of the electrostatic chuck ESC is electrically connected with a DC power supply 22 via a switch 23.The electrostatic chuck ESC is configured to adsorb the wafer W by an electrostatic force such as a Coulomb force generated by a DC voltage from the DC power supply 22.Thus, the electrostatic chuck ESC can hold the wafer W. A focus ring FR is placed on a periphery of the second plate 18b to surround an edge of the wafer W and the electrostatic chuck ESC.", "The focus ring FR is provided to improve etching uniformity.", "The focus ring FR is formed of a material appropriately selected depending on a material for an etching target film, and may be formed of, for example, quartz.", "A coolant path 24 is formed within the second plate 18b.", "The coolant path 24 constitutes a temperature controller.", "A coolant is supplied within the coolant path 24 via a line 26a from a chiller unit provided outside of the processing vessel 12.The coolant supplied through the coolant path 24 is returned back to the chiller unit via a line 26b.", "As such, the coolant is supplied and circulated within the coolant path 24.By controlling a temperature of the coolant, a temperature of the wafer W supported by the electrostatic chuck ESC is controlled.", "Further, a gas supply line 28 is provided in the plasma processing apparatus 10.A heat transfer gas, for example, a He gas, is supplied into a gap between a top surface of the electrostatic chuck ESC and a rear surface of the wafer W via a gas supply line 28 from a heat transfer gas supply device.", "Further, a heater HT as a heating element is provided in the plasma processing apparatus 10.For example, the heater HT is embedded in the second plate 18b.", "The heater HT is connected with a heater power supply HP.", "Since a power is supplied from the heater power supply HP to the heater HT, a temperature of the placing table PD is controlled and a temperature of the wafer W placed on the placing table PD is also controlled.", "Otherwise, the heater HT may be embedded in the electrostatic chuck ESC.", "Furthermore, the plasma processing apparatus 10 includes an upper electrode 30.The upper electrode 30 is provided above the placing table PD to face the placing table PD.", "The lower electrode LE and the upper electrode 30 are arranged to be substantially parallel to each other.", "A processing space S in which a plasma process is performed on the wafer W is formed between the upper electrode 30 and the lower electrode LE.", "The upper electrode 30 is supported at an upper portion of the processing vessel 12 via an insulating shield member 32.The insulating shield member 32 is formed of an insulating material and may include, for example, oxygen such as quartz.", "The upper electrode 30 may include an electrode plate 34 and an electrode supporting body 36.The electrode plate 34 faces the processing space S and includes multiple gas discharge holes 34a.", "In the exemplary embodiment, the electrode plate 34 is formed of silicon.", "The electrode supporting body 36 is configured to detachably support the electrode plate 34 and may be formed of a conductive material such as aluminum.", "The electrode supporting body 36 may have a water-cooling structure.", "A gas diffusion space 36a is formed within the electrode supporting body 36.Multiple gas through holes 36b communicating with the gas discharge holes 34a are downwardly extended from the gas diffusion space 36a.", "Further, a gas inlet opening 36c through which a processing gas is introduced into the gas diffusion space 36a is formed at the electrode supporting body 36, and the gas inlet opening 36c is connected with a gas supply line 38.The gas supply line 38 is connected with a gas source group 40 via a valve group 42 and a flow rate controller group 44.The gas source group 40 includes multiple gas sources.", "The multiple gas sources may include a source for a silicon halide gas, a source for an oxygen gas, a source for a nitrogen gas, a source for a fluorocarbon gas, and a source for a rare gas.", "As the silicon halide gas, for example, a SiCl4 gas may be used.", "Further, as the silicon halide gas, a SiBr4 gas, a SiF4 gas, or a SiH2Cl4 gas may be used.", "Furthermore, as the fluorocarbon gas, a certain fluorocarbon gas such as a CF4 gas, a C4F6 gas, and a C4F8 gas may be used.", "Moreover, as the rare gas, a certain rare gas such as a He gas and an Ar gas may be used.", "In another exemplary embodiment, the multiple gas sources may further include a source for a gas, such as a HBr gas, for etching a polycrystalline silicon layer.", "The valve group 42 includes multiple valves, and the flow rate controller group 44 includes multiple flow rate controllers such as mass flow controllers.", "The multiple gas sources belonging to the gas source group 40 are respectively connected with the gas supply line 38 via the corresponding valves belonging to the valve group 42 and the corresponding flow rate controllers belonging to the flow rate controller group 44.Therefore, the plasma processing apparatus 10 can supply a gas from at least one gas source selected from the multiple gas sources belonging to the gas source group 40 into the processing vessel 12 at a preset flow rate.", "Further, in the plasma processing apparatus 10, a deposition shield 46 is detachably provided along an inner wall of the processing vessel 12.The deposition shield 46 is also provided at an outer periphery of the support 14.The deposition shield 46 is configured to suppress an etching byproduct (deposition) from being attached to the processing vessel 12, and may be formed by coating ceramic such as Y2O3 on an aluminum member.", "The deposition shield may be formed of a material including oxygen such as quartz besides Y2O3.An exhaust plate 48 is provided at a bottom side of the processing vessel 12 and between the support 14 and a side wall of the processing vessel 12.The exhaust plate 48 may be formed by coating ceramic such as Y2O3 on an aluminum member.", "An exhaust port 12e is formed under the exhaust plate 48 and in the processing vessel 12.The exhaust port 12e is connected with an exhaust device 50 via an exhaust line 52.The exhaust device 50 includes a vacuum pump such as a turbo molecular pump and depressurizes a space within the processing vessel 12 to a desired vacuum level.", "Further, a carry-in/out port 12g for the wafer W is formed at the side wall of the processing vessel 12, and the carry-in/out port 12g is opened and closed by a gate valve 54.Further, the plasma processing apparatus 10 further includes a first high frequency power supply 62 and a second high frequency power supply 64.The first high frequency power supply 62 is configured to generate a first high frequency power for plasma generation of a frequency of 27 MHz to 100 MHz, for example, 40 MHz.", "The first high frequency power supply 62 is connected with the upper electrode 30 via a matching unit 66.The matching unit 66 is a circuit for matching an output impedance of the first high frequency power supply 62 with an input impedance on a load side (lower electrode LE's side).", "Otherwise, the first high frequency power supply 62 may be connected with the lower electrode LE via the matching unit 66.The second high frequency power supply 64 is configured to generate a second high frequency power, i.e., a high frequency bias power, for ion attraction onto the wafer W of a frequency of 400 kHz to 13.56 MHz, for example, 13.56 MHz.", "The second high frequency power supply 64 is connected with the lower electrode LE via a matching unit 68.The matching unit 68 is a circuit for matching an output impedance of the second high frequency power supply 64 with an input impedance on the load side (lower electrode LE's side).", "The plasma processing apparatus 10 further includes a power supply 70.The power supply 70 is connected with the upper electrode 30.The power supply 70 applies, to the upper electrode 30, a voltage for attracting cations in the processing space S toward the electrode plate 34.By way of example, the power supply 70 is a DC power supply configured to generate a negative DC voltage.", "When such a voltage is applied to the upper electrode 30 from the power supply 70, the cations in the processing space S collide with the electrode plate 34.Thus, secondary electrons are emitted from the electrode plate 34.Further, in the exemplary embodiment, the plasma processing apparatus 10 may further include a control unit Cnt.", "The control unit Cnt is a computer including a processor, a storage unit, an input device, a display device, and the like, and controls components of the plasma processing apparatus 10.To be specific, the control unit Cnt is connected with the valve group 42, the flow rate controller group 44, the exhaust device 50, the first high frequency power supply 62, the matching unit 66, the second high frequency power supply 64, the matching unit 68, the power supply 70, the heater power supply HP, and the chiller unit.", "The control unit Cnt is operated according to a program based on an input recipe and transmits a control signal.", "In response to the control signal from the control unit Cnt, selection of a gas supplied from the gas source group and a flow rate thereof, exhaust of the exhaust device 50, power supply from the first high frequency power supply 62 and the second high frequency power supply 64, voltage application from the power supply 70, power supply from the heater power supply HP, and a flow rate and a temperature of the coolant from the chiller unit can be controlled.", "Further, processes in the method of processing the target object as described in the present disclosure may be performed by operating the respective components of the plasma processing apparatus 10 under the control of the control unit Cnt.", "Referring to FIG.", "1 again, the method MT1 will be described in detail.", "Hereinafter, an example in which the method MT1 is performed in the plasma processing apparatus 10 will be described.", "Further, the following description will refer to FIG.", "3A and FIG.", "3B, FIG.", "4A and FIG.", "4B, FIG.", "5A to FIG.", "5C, and FIG.", "6A and FIG.", "6B.", "FIG.", "3A and FIG.", "3B, FIG.", "4A and FIG.", "4B, and FIG.", "5A to FIG.", "5C are cross-sectional views each illustrating a status of a target object after performing each process in the method illustrated in FIG.", "1.FIG.", "6A and FIG.", "6B are diagrams explaining a principle of forming a silicon oxide film.", "In the method MT1 illustrated in FIG.", "1, a wafer W is prepared in a process ST1.The wafer W prepared in the process ST1 includes a substrate SB, an etching target layer EL, an organic film OL, an antireflection film AL, and a mask MK1 (first mask) as illustrated in FIG.", "3A.", "The etching target layer EL is provided on the substrate SB.", "The etching target layer EL is formed of a material selectively etched with respect to the organic film OL.", "By way of example, the etching target layer EL may be formed of silicon oxide (SiO2).", "Further, the etching target layer EL may be formed of another material such as polycrystalline silicon.", "The organic film OL is provided on the etching target layer EL.", "The organic film OL is a layer containing carbon, and may be, for example, a SOH (Spin On Hardmask) layer.", "The antireflection film AL is a silicon-containing antireflection film and provided on the organic film OL.", "The mask MK1 is provided on the antireflection film AL.", "The mask MK1 is a resist mask formed of a resist material.", "The mask MK1 is formed by patterning a resist layer by photolithography.", "The mask MK1 partially covers the antireflection film AL.", "Further, the mask MK1 includes an opening through which the antireflection film AL is partially exposed.", "A pattern of the mask MK1 is, for example, a line-and-space pattern.", "In the process ST1, the wafer W as illustrated in FIG.", "3A is prepared, and the wafer W is carried in the processing vessel 12 of the plasma processing apparatus 10 and placed on the placing table PD.", "Then, in the method MT1 according to the exemplary embodiment, a process ST2 is performed.", "In the process ST2, secondary electrons are irradiated to the wafer W. To be specific, a hydrogen gas and a rare gas are supplied into the processing vessel 12 and the high frequency power is supplied from the first high frequency power supply 62, so that plasma is generated.", "Further, the power supply 70 applies the negative DC voltage to the upper electrode 30.Thus, the cations in the processing space S are attracted to the upper electrode 30 to collide with the upper electrode 30.Since the cations collide with the upper electrode 30, the secondary electrons are emitted from the upper electrode 30.The emitted secondary electrons are irradiated to the wafer W, so that the mask MK1 is modified.", "Further, if the negative DC voltage applied to the upper electrode 30 has a large absolute value, silicon as a material of the electrode plate 34 is released together with the secondary electrons when the cations collide with the electrode plate 34.The released silicon is bonded to oxygen released from a component of the plasma processing apparatus 10 exposed to the plasma.", "The oxygen is released from, for example, the support 14, the insulating shield member 32, and the deposition shield 46.Since the silicon is bonded to the oxygen, a silicon oxide compound is produced, and the silicon oxide compound is deposited on the wafer W to cover and protect the mask MK1.Due to such modification and protection effects, damage to the mask MK1 caused by a subsequent process can be suppressed.", "Further, in the process ST2, a bias power from the second high frequency power supply 64 needs to be minimized for the modification by irradiating the secondary electrons or for the formation of the protection film.", "Then, in the method MT1, a sequence SQ1 is performed one or more times.", "The sequence SQ1 includes a process ST3, a process ST4, a process ST5, and a process ST6.In the process ST3, plasma of a first gas including a silicon halide gas is generated within the processing vessel 12.To be specific, a silicon halide gas and a rare gas are supplied into the processing vessel 12 from the gas sources selected from the multiple gas sources belonging to the gas source group 40.Further, the high frequency power is supplied from the first high frequency power supply 62.Furthermore, by operating the exhaust device 50, a pressure of a space within the processing vessel 12 is set to a predetermined level.", "As a result, the plasma of the first gas is generated.", "The first gas includes, for example, a SiCl4 gas as a silicon halide gas.", "The first gas may further include the rare gas such as an Ar gas or a He gas.", "Further, the first gas may include a SiBr4 gas, a SiF4 gas, or a SiH2Cl4 gas as the silicon halide gas.", "As illustrated in FIG.", "6A, plasma P1 of the first gas is generated, a reaction precursor such as dissociation species of the silicon halide gas included in the first gas is generated.", "The generated precursor is attached to the wafer W. Further, FIG.", "6A illustrates an example in which a SiCl4 gas is used as the silicon halide gas, and in FIG.", "6A, a bonding between Si and CI in the plasma P1 represents the precursor.", "In a subsequent process ST4, the space within the processing vessel 12 is purged.", "To be specific, the first gas supplied in the process ST3 is exhausted.", "In the process ST4, as a purge gas, an inert gas such as a nitrogen gas may be supplied into the processing vessel of the plasma processing apparatus.", "That is, a purge in the process ST4 may be either one of a gas purge performed by supplying an inert gas into the processing vessel or a purge performed by the vacuum evacuation.", "In the process ST4, a surplus precursor attached onto the wafer W is also removed.", "Thus, the precursor forms a very thin film on the wafer W. In a subsequent process ST5, plasma of a second gas including an oxygen gas is generated within the processing vessel 12.To be specific, the second gas including an oxygen gas is supplied into the processing vessel 12 from the gas source selected from the multiple gas sources belonging to the gas source group 40.Further, the high frequency power is supplied from the first high frequency power supply 62.Furthermore, by operating the exhaust device 50, a pressure of the space within the processing vessel 12 is set to a predetermined level.", "As described above, the precursor attached to the wafer W by performing the process ST3 includes a bonding between silicon and a halogen element, for example, chlorine.", "A binding energy between silicon and a halogen element is lower than that between silicon and oxygen.", "Therefore, as illustrated in FIG.", "6B, when the plasma P2 of the second gas is generated and active species of oxygen, for example, oxygen radicals, are generated, the halogen element in the precursor is substituted with oxygen.", "Thus, a silicon oxide film is formed on the wafer W. Further, in FIG.", "6B, “O” represents oxygen.", "Returning to FIG.", "1, in a subsequent process ST6, the space within the processing vessel 12 is purged.", "To be specific, the second gas supplied in the process ST5 is exhausted.", "In the process ST6, as a purge gas, an inert gas such as a nitrogen gas may be supplied into the processing vessel of the plasma processing apparatus.", "That is, a purge in the process ST6 may be either one of a gas purge performed by supplying an inert gas into the processing vessel or a purge performed by the vacuum evacuation.", "During the process ST3 in the sequence SQ1, a silicon halide gas is used as a gas for a precursor.", "The silicon halide gas, for example, a SiCl4 gas, a SiBr4 gas, a SiF4 gas, or a SiH2Cl4 gas, is in a vaporized state at room temperature.", "Therefore, in the process ST3, it is possible to deposit the precursor including silicon on the wafer W at a low temperature without using a dedicated film forming apparatus provided with a vaporizer.", "Further, in the sequence SQ1, the purge is performed during the process ST4, and the halogen element in the precursor is substituted with oxygen during the subsequent process ST5.Therefore, in the same manner as an ALD method, a silicon oxide film having a small film thickness can be uniformly formed on the surface of the wafer W by performing the sequence SQ1 one time.", "That is, it is possible to conformally form a silicon oxide film having a small film thickness by performing the sequence SQ1 one time.", "Therefore, the method MT1 including the sequence SQ1 has an excellent controllability in adjusting a width of an opening formed by the mask MK1.Further, the method MT1 has an excellent controllability in adjusting a film thickness of a silicon oxide film formed along a side surface of the mask MK1.Furthermore, the method MT1 has an excellent controllability of a size of a mask MK2 formed of the silicon oxide film and a size of a mask MK3 formed of the organic film OL by using the mask MK2, which will be described later.", "In the method MT1, in a subsequent process ST7, it is determined whether or not to end the sequence SQ1.To be specific, in the process ST7, it is determined whether or not the number of times of performing the sequence SQ1 reaches a predetermined value.", "A film thickness of the silicon oxide film formed on the wafer W is determined depending on the number of times of performing the sequence SQ1.That is, actually, the film thickness of the silicon oxide film finally formed on the wafer W is determined by multiplying the number of times of performing the sequence SQ1 by the film thickness of the silicon oxide film formed by performing the sequence SQ1 just one time.", "Therefore, the number of times of performing the sequence SQ1 is set depending on a desired film thickness of the silicon oxide film formed on the wafer W. In the method MT1, if it is determined that the number of times of performing the sequence SQ1 does not reach the predetermined value in the process ST7, the sequence SQ1 is repeatedly performed.", "Meanwhile, if it is determined that the number of times of performing the sequence SQ1 reaches the predetermined value in the process ST7, the sequence SQ1 is stopped.", "Thus, as shown in FIG.", "3B, a silicon oxide film SX1 is formed on the surface of the wafer W. The silicon oxide film SX1 includes a region R1, a region R2, and a region R3.The region R3 is extended on and along the side surface of the mask MK1.The region R3 is extended from a surface of the antireflection film AL to a lower side of the region R1.The region R1 is extended on a top surface of the mask MK1 and on the region R3.Further, the region R2 is extended between the adjacent regions R3 and on the surface of the antireflection film AL.", "As described above, since the silicon oxide film is formed by performing the sequence SQ1 in the same manner as the ALD method, film thicknesses of the region R1, the region R2, and the region R3 are substantially identical to each other.", "Further, according to the method MT1, the dense silicon oxide film SX1 having a film density of, for example, 2.28 g/cm3 is obtained.", "In the exemplary embodiment, while the process ST3 is performed, a pressure within the processing vessel 12 is set to 13.33 Pa (100 mTorr) or more.", "Further, while the process ST3 is performed, the high frequency power from the first high frequency power supply 62 is set to 100 W or less.", "By generating the plasma in such a high-pressure and low-power condition, it is possible to suppress excessive dissociation of the silicon halide gas.", "That is, it is possible to suppress excessive generation of active species of the halogen element.", "Further, in order to obtain the same plasma state in which the excessive dissociation is suppressed, the second high frequency power supply 64 may be used.", "Thus, it is possible to suppress damage to the mask MK1 and/or the previously formed silicon oxide film.", "Furthermore, it is possible to reduce a difference in the film thickness among the regions R1, R2, and R3.Further, in the exemplary embodiment, while the process ST3 is performed, most of the high frequency bias power from the second high frequency power supply 64 is not applied to the lower electrode LE.", "This is because when the bias power is applied, an anisotropic component is generated.", "By minimizing the bias power as such, it is possible to attach the precursor to the wafer W in an isotropic manner.", "As a result, the uniformity in the film thickness of the silicon oxide films respectively formed on the top surface and the side surface of the mask MK1, and the surface of the layer directly under the mask MK1 is further improved.", "Further, if the plasma is generated by using the second high frequency power supply 64, it is necessary to select a condition for minimizing ion energy in order to attach the precursor in the isotropic manner.", "Furthermore, the process ST5 needs the same isotropic reaction as the above-described process ST3 in order to substitute the precursor attached in the process ST3 with the silicon oxide film.", "Therefore, even in the process ST5, most of the high frequency bias power from the second high frequency power supply 64 is not applied to the lower electrode LE.", "When the above-described sequence SQ1 is ended, a process ST8 of the method MT1 is performed.", "In the process ST8, the silicon oxide film SX1 is etched to remove the region R1 and the region R2.In order to remove the region R1 and the region R2, a condition for the anisotropic etching is needed.", "For this reason, in the process ST8, a processing gas including the fluorocarbon gas is supplied into the processing vessel 12 from the gas source selected from the multiple gas sources belonging to the gas source group 40.Further, the high frequency power is supplied from the first high frequency power supply 62, so that plasma is generated.", "Moreover, the high frequency bias power is supplied from the second high frequency power supply 64.Furthermore, by operating the exhaust device 50, a pressure of the space within the processing vessel 12 is set to a predetermined level.", "As a result, the plasma of the fluorocarbon gas is generated.", "Active species containing fluorine in the generated plasma are attracted in a vertical direction by the high frequency bias power to dominantly etch the region R1 and the region R2.Consequently, as illustrated in FIG.", "4A, the region R1 and the region R2 are selectively removed.", "Thus, the mask MK2 (second mask) based on the region R3 is formed.", "In a subsequent process ST9, the mask MK1 is removed.", "To be specific, a processing gas including an oxygen gas is supplied into the processing vessel 12 from the gas source selected from the multiple gas sources belonging to the gas source group 40.Further, the high frequency power is supplied from the first high frequency power supply 62 and the high frequency bias power is supplied from the second high frequency power supply 64.Furthermore, by operating the exhaust device 50, a pressure of the space within the processing vessel 12 is set to a predetermined level.", "As a result, plasma of the processing gas including an oxygen gas is generated.", "Oxygen active species in the generated plasma etch the mask MK1 as illustrated in FIG.", "4B.", "Thus, the mask MK1 is removed and the mask MK2 remains on the antireflection film AL.", "In a subsequent process ST10, the antireflection film AL is etched.", "To be specific, a processing gas including the fluorocarbon gas is supplied into the processing vessel 12 from the gas source selected from the multiple gas sources belonging to the gas source group 40.Further, the high frequency power is supplied from the first high frequency power supply 62 and the high frequency bias power is supplied from the second high frequency power supply 64.Furthermore, by operating the exhaust device 50, a pressure of the space within the processing vessel 12 is set to a predetermined level.", "As a result, plasma of the fluorocarbon gas is generated.", "Active species containing fluorine in the generated plasma etch a region exposed through the mask MK2 in the entire region of the antireflection film AL as illustrated in FIG.", "5A.", "In a subsequent process ST11, the organic film OL is etched.", "To be specific, a processing gas including an oxygen gas is supplied into the processing vessel 12 from the gas source selected from the multiple gas sources belonging to the gas source group 40.Further, the high frequency power is supplied from the first high frequency power supply 62 and the high frequency bias power is supplied from the second high frequency power supply 64.Furthermore, by operating the exhaust device 50, a pressure of the space within the processing vessel 12 is set to a predetermined level.", "As a result, plasma of the processing gas including an oxygen gas is generated.", "Oxygen active species in the generated plasma etch a region exposed through the mask MK2 in the entire region of the organic film OL.", "Thus, as illustrated in FIG.", "5B, the mask MK3 (third mask) based on the organic film OL is formed.", "Further, as a gas for etching the organic film OL, a processing gas including a nitrogen gas and a hydrogen gas may be used.", "In a subsequent process ST12, the etching target layer EL is etched.", "To be specific, a processing gas is supplied into the processing vessel 12 from the gas source selected from the multiple gas sources belonging to the gas source group 40.The processing gas may be appropriately selected depending on the material of the etching target layer EL.", "By way of example, if the etching target layer EL is formed of silicon oxide, the processing gas may include the fluorocarbon gas.", "Further, the high frequency power is supplied from the first high frequency power supply 62 and the high frequency bias power is supplied from the second high frequency power supply 64.Furthermore, by operating the exhaust device 50, a pressure of the space within the processing vessel 12 is set to a predetermined level.", "As a result, plasma is generated.", "Active species in the generated plasma etch a region exposed through the mask MK3 in the entire region of the etching target layer EL.", "Thus, a pattern of the mask MK3 is transcribed onto the etching target layer EL as illustrated in FIG.", "5C.", "According to the method MT1, the process ST2 to the process ST12, i.e., all the entire processes from forming the mask based on the resist mask to etching the etching target layer, can be performed by using the single plasma processing apparatus 10.In the method MT1, a width W1 (see FIG.", "4B) of the opening formed by the mask MK2 at a region where the mask MK1 was provided is substantially identical to a width (see FIG.", "3A) of the mask MK1.Further, a width W4 (see FIG.", "4B) of the opening formed by the mask MK2 at a region where the opening was formed by the mask MK1 has a relationship specified by the following equation (1).", "W4=W2−2×W3 (1) Herein, W2 is a width (see FIG.", "3A) of the opening formed by the mask MK1, and W3 is the film thickness (see FIG.", "3B) of the region R3, i.e., a width (see FIG.", "4B) of the mask MK2 in a horizontal direction.", "As can be seen from the above equation (1), the width W4 can be adjusted depending on the film thickness of the region R3, and the film thickness of the region R3 can be selectively adjusted depending on the number of times of performing the sequence SQL That is, the width W3 of the mask MK2 can be selectively adjusted depending on the number of times of performing the sequence SQL Therefore, according to the method MT1, it is possible to selectively adjust the width W4.By way of example, according to the method MT1, the widths of all openings formed by the mask MK2 can be substantially identical to each other.", "By way of example, according to the method MT1, it is possible to form the mask MK2 having a line-and-space pattern in which widths of all spaces are substantially identical to each other.", "Further, by adjusting the width of the mask MK1 and the width of the opening formed by the mask MK1 and also adjusting the film thickness of the region R3 depending on the number of times of performing the sequence SQ1, it is possible to form the mask MK2 having a preset value of the mask width and a preset value of the opening width.", "As such, according to the method MT1, it is possible to increase the controllability of the size of the mask MK2.Further, according to the method MT1, since the pattern of the mask MK2 is transcribed onto the organic film OL, the controllability of the size of the mask MK3 based on the organic film OL can be increased in the same manner as the mask MK2.Hereinafter, there will be described a method of processing a target object in accordance with another exemplary embodiment.", "FIG.", "7 is a flowchart illustrating a method of processing a target objet in accordance with another exemplary embodiment.", "A method MT2 illustrated in FIG.", "7 is to form a mask by a quadruple patterning method.", "Hereinafter, there will be described an example in which the method MT2 illustrated in FIG.", "7 is performed in the plasma processing apparatus 10.Further, the following description will refer to FIG.", "8A to FIG.", "8C and FIG.", "9A to FIG.", "9C.", "FIG.", "8A to FIG.", "8C and FIG.", "9A to FIG.", "9C are cross-sectional views each illustrating a status of a target object after performing each process in the method illustrated in FIG.", "7.In the method MT2, the process ST1, the process ST2, the sequence SQ1, and the process ST7 to the process ST11 are performed on the wafer W in the same manner as the method MT1.Thus, the wafer W has a structure as illustrated in FIG.", "5B.", "Then, the mask MK2 and the antireflection film AL may be removed.", "The mask MK2 and the antireflection film AL may be removed by exposing the wafer W to plasma of a processing gas including the fluorocarbon gas in the plasma processing apparatus 10.Thus, the wafer W is in a status as illustrated in FIG.", "8A.", "In the wafer W according to this exemplary embodiment, as illustrated in FIG.", "8A, the etching target layer EL includes a first layer EL1 and a second layer EL2.The second layer EL2 is provided on the substrate SB.", "The first layer EL1 is provided on the second layer EL2.The first layer EL1 is formed of a material which can be selectively etched with respect to the second layer EL2, and the second layer EL2 is formed of a material which can be selectively etched with respect to the first layer ELL By way of example, the first layer EL1 may be formed of polycrystalline silicon and the second layer EL2 may be formed of silicon oxide.", "In the method MT2, during a subsequent process ST22, secondary electrons are irradiated to the wafer W. The process ST22 is the same process as the process ST2.By performing the process ST22, the mask MK3 is modified.", "Further, if the negative DC voltage applied to the upper electrode 30 has a large absolute value, as described with reference to the process ST2, silicon released from the electrode plate 34 by the sputtering of the electrode plate 34 is bonded with oxygen released from a component of the plasma processing apparatus 10 exposed to the plasma, so that a silicon oxide compound is produced.", "The silicon oxide compound may be deposited on the wafer W to protect the mask MK3.Due to such modification of the mask and/or formation of the protective film, damage to the mask MK3 caused by a subsequent process can be suppressed.", "Then, a sequence SQ2 is performed one or more times in the same manner as the sequence SQ1.The sequence SQ2 includes a process ST23, a process ST24, a process ST25, and a process ST26.The process ST23, the process ST24, the process ST25, and the process ST26 are the same processes as the process ST3, the process ST4, the process ST5, and the process ST6, respectively.", "In a subsequent process ST27, it is determined whether or not to end the sequence SQ2.To be specific, in the process ST27, it is determined whether or not the number of times of performing the sequence SQ2 reaches a predetermined value.", "A film thickness of the silicon oxide film formed on the wafer W is determined depending on the number of times of performing the sequence SQ2.That is, actually, the film thickness of the silicon oxide film finally formed on the wafer W is determined by multiplying the number of times of performing the sequence SQ2 by the film thickness of the silicon oxide film formed by performing the sequence SQ2 just one time.", "Therefore, the number of times of performing the sequence SQ2 is set depending on a desired film thickness of the silicon oxide film formed on the wafer W. In the method MT2, if it is determined that the number of times of performing the sequence SQ2 does not reach the predetermined value in the process ST27, the sequence SQ2 is repeatedly performed.", "Meanwhile, if it is determined that the number of times of performing the sequence SQ2 reaches the predetermined value in the process ST27, the sequence SQ2 is stopped.", "Thus, as shown in FIG.", "8B, a silicon oxide film SX2 is formed on the surface of the wafer W. The silicon oxide film SX2 includes a region R4, a region R5, and a region R6.The region R6 is extended on and along the side surface of the mask MK3.The region R6 is extended from a surface of the etching target layer EL to a lower side of the region R4.The region R4 is extended on a top surface of the mask MK3 and on the region R6.Further, the region R5 is extended between the adjacent regions R6 and on the surface of the etching target layer EL.", "Like the sequence SQ1, the silicon oxide film is formed by performing the sequence SQ2 in the same manner as the ALD method, film thicknesses of the region R4, the region R5, and the region R6 are substantially identical to each other.", "In the present exemplary embodiment, in the same manner as the process ST3, while the process ST23 is performed, a pressure within the processing vessel 12 is set to 13.33 Pa (100 mTorr) or more.", "Further, while the process ST23 is performed, the high frequency power from the first high frequency power supply 62 is set to 100 W or less.", "By generating the plasma in such a high-pressure and low-power condition, it is possible to suppress excessive dissociation of the silicon halide gas.", "That is, it is possible to suppress excessive generation of active species of the halogen element.", "Further, in order to obtain the same plasma state in which the excessive dissociation is suppressed, the second high frequency power supply 64 may be used.", "Thus, it is possible to suppress damage to the mask MK3 and/or the previously formed silicon oxide film.", "Furthermore, it is possible to reduce a difference in the film thickness among the regions R4, R5, and R6.Further, in the present exemplary embodiment, while the process ST23 is performed, most of the high frequency bias power from the second high frequency power supply 64 is not applied to the lower electrode LE.", "This is because when the bias power is applied, an anisotropic component is generated.", "By minimizing the bias power as such, it is possible to attach the precursor to the wafer W in an isotropic manner.", "As a result, the uniformity in the film thickness of the silicon oxide films respectively formed on the top surface and the side surface of the mask MK3, and the surface of the layer directly under the mask MK3 is further improved.", "Further, if the plasma is generated by using the second high frequency power supply 64, it is necessary to select a condition for minimizing ion energy in order to attach the precursor in the isotropic manner.", "Furthermore, the process ST25 needs the same isotropic reaction as the above-described process ST23 in order to substitute the precursor attached in the process ST23 with the silicon oxide film.", "Therefore, even in the process ST25, most of the high frequency bias power from the second high frequency power supply 64 is not applied to the lower electrode LE.", "When the above-described sequence SQ2 is ended, a process ST28 of the method MT2 is performed.", "In the process ST28, the silicon oxide film SX2 is etched to remove the region R4 and the region R5.To be specific, a processing gas including the fluorocarbon gas is supplied into the processing vessel 12 from the gas source selected from the multiple gas sources belonging to the gas source group 40.Further, the high frequency power is supplied from the first high frequency power supply 62.Moreover, the high frequency bias power is supplied from the second high frequency power supply 64.Furthermore, by operating the exhaust device 50, a pressure of the space within the processing vessel 12 is set to a predetermined level.", "As a result, the plasma of the fluorocarbon gas is generated.", "Active species containing fluorine in the generated plasma are attracted in a vertical direction by the high frequency bias power to dominantly etch the region R4 and the region R5.Consequently, as illustrated in FIG.", "8C, the region R4 and the region R5 are selectively removed.", "Thus, the mask MK4 (fourth mask) based on the region R6 is formed.", "In a subsequent process ST29, the mask MK3 is removed.", "To be specific, a processing gas including an oxygen gas is supplied into the processing vessel 12 from the gas source selected from the multiple gas sources belonging to the gas source group 40.Further, the high frequency power is supplied from the first high frequency power supply 62 and the high frequency bias power is supplied from the second high frequency power supply 64.Furthermore, by operating the exhaust device 50, a pressure of the space within the processing vessel 12 is set to a predetermined level.", "As a result, plasma of the processing gas including an oxygen gas is generated.", "Oxygen active species in the generated plasma etch the mask MK3 as illustrated in FIG.", "9A.", "Thus, the mask MK3 is removed and the mask MK4 remains on the etching target layer EL.", "Then, in the method MT2, the etching target layer EL is etched.", "In a case where the etching target layer EL includes the first layer EL1 formed of polycrystalline silicon and the second layer EL2 formed of silicon oxide, the first layer EL1 is etched in a process ST30, and then, the second layer EL2 is etched in a process ST31.To be specific, a processing gas including a halogen gas, for example, a Cl2 gas, for etching the polycrystalline silicon is supplied into the processing vessel 12 from the gas source selected from the multiple gas sources belonging to the gas source group 40.Further, the high frequency power is supplied from the first high frequency power supply 62 and the high frequency bias power is supplied from the second high frequency power supply 64.Furthermore, by operating the exhaust device 50, a pressure of the space within the processing vessel 12 is set to a predetermined level.", "As a result, plasma is generated.", "Active species in the generated plasma etch a region exposed through the mask MK4 in the entire region of the first layer EL1 as illustrated in FIG.", "9B.", "As a result, a pattern of the mask MK4 is transcribed onto the first layer ELL In the subsequent process ST31, a processing gas including the fluorocarbon gas is supplied into the processing vessel 12 from the gas source selected from the multiple gas sources belonging to the gas source group 40.Further, the high frequency power is supplied from the first high frequency power supply 62 and the high frequency bias power is supplied from the second high frequency power supply 64.Furthermore, by operating the exhaust device 50, a pressure of the space within the processing vessel 12 is set to a predetermined level.", "As a result, plasma is generated.", "Active species including fluorine in the generated plasma etch a region exposed through the mask MK4 in the entire region of the second layer EL2.Consequently, as illustrated in FIG.", "9C, a pattern of the first layer EL1 reflecting the pattern of the mask MK4 is transcribed onto the second layer EL2.According to the method MT2, the process ST2 to the process ST31, i.e., all the entire processes from forming the mask based on the resist mask to etching the etching target layer, can be performed by using the single plasma processing apparatus 10.Further, according to the method MT2, a film thickness of the region R6, i.e., a width of the mask MK4, can be selectively adjusted depending on the number of times of performing the sequence SQ2.Therefore, a width of the opening formed by the mask MK4 can also be selectively adjusted.", "By way of example, if a width W21 (see FIG.", "8A) of the mask MK3, a width W22 (see FIG.", "8B) of the opening formed by the mask MK3, a width W23 (see FIG.", "8C) of the mask MK4, and a width W24 (see FIG.", "9A) of the opening formed by the mask MK4 at a region where the opening was formed by the mask MK3 are set to satisfy the following equation (2), the widths of all openings formed by the mask MK4 are identical to each other.", "W21=W22−2×W23=W24 (2) Herein, in the method MT2, since the width W23 corresponds to the film thickness of the region R6, it can be set depending on the number of times of performing the sequence SQ2.Therefore, according to the method MT2, it is possible to easily satisfy the above equation (2).", "As such, the method MT2 has the excellent controllability of the size of the mask MK4.Further, since the width W21 of the mask MK3 reflects the width W3 of the mask MK2, it is possible to obtain the following equation (3) from the equation (2).", "W3=W21=W22−2×W23 (3) As can be seen from the equation (3), in order to set the widths of all openings formed by the mask MK4 to be identical to each other, the width W23 of the mask MK4 needs to be smaller than the width of the mask MK2.As such, in the quadruple patterning method, the width of the mask MK2 and the width of the mask MK4, i.e., the film thickness of the silicon oxide film SX1 and the film thickness of the silicon oxide film SX2, may be different from each other due to a design of a mask to be formed.", "According to the method MT2, the film thickness of the silicon oxide film SX1 can be adjusted depending on the number of times of performing the sequence SQ1 and the film thickness of the silicon oxide film SX2 can be adjusted depending on the number of times of performing the sequence SQ2.Therefore, it is possible to control the film thickness depending on the design of the mask formed by the quadruple patterning method.", "Although various exemplary embodiments have been described above, various modifications can be made without being limited to the above-described exemplary embodiments.", "By way of example, in the above-described exemplary embodiments, the capacitively coupled plasma processing apparatus 10 is used.", "However, if the process of emitting the secondary electrons from the upper electrode can be omitted from each of the method MT1 and the method MT2, any plasma processing apparatus including a certain plasma source can be used.", "As the plasma processing apparatus, by way of example, an inductively coupled plasma processing apparatus and a plasma processing apparatus using a surface wave such as a microwave may be used.", "Hereinafter, experiments conducted to evaluate the above-described sequence for forming the silicon oxide film will be described.", "Experimental Examples 1 to 3 In the experimental examples 1 to 3, the process ST2 and the sequence SQ1 are performed on the wafer illustrated in FIG.", "3A by using the plasma processing apparatus 10.Further, in the experimental examples 1 to 3, a pressure within the processing vessel 12 and a high frequency power from the first high frequency power supply 62 during the process ST3 are varied as parameters.", "To be specific, in the experimental example 1, a pressure within the processing vessel 12 and a high frequency power from the first high frequency power supply 62 during the process ST3 are set to 20 mTorr (2.666 Pa) and 500 W, respectively; in the experimental example 2, a pressure within the processing vessel 12 and a high frequency power from the first high frequency power supply 62 during the process ST3 are set to 200 mTorr (26.66 Pa) and 500 W, respectively; and in the experimental example 3, a pressure within the processing vessel 12 and a high frequency power from the first high frequency power supply 62 during the process ST3 are set to 200 mTorr (26.66 Pa) and 100 W, respectively.", "Other conditions for the process ST2 and the sequence SQ1 performed in the experimental examples 1 to 3 are described as follows.", "Further, the number of times of performing the sequence SQ1 is 72.<Conditions for Process ST2> Pressure within the processing vessel: 50 mTorr (6.66 Pa) Hydrogen gas flow rate: 100 sccm Ar gas flow rate: 800 sccm High frequency power (supplied to the upper electrode 30) from the first high frequency power supply 62: 60 MHz, 300 W High frequency bias power from the second high frequency power supply 64: 13 MHz, 0 W Voltage applied from the power supply 70: −1000 V Processing time: 60 seconds <Conditions for Process ST3> Pressure in the processing vessel: 200 mTorr (26.66 Pa) SiCl4 gas flow rate: 20 sccm Ar gas flow rate: 200 sccm High frequency power (supplied to the upper electrode 30) from the first high frequency power supply 62: 60 MHz, 100 W High frequency bias power from the second high frequency power supply 64: 13 MHz, 0 W Processing time: 5 seconds <Conditions for Process ST5> Pressure in the processing vessel: 200 mTorr (26.66 Pa) Oxygen gas flow rate: 200 sccm Ar gas flow rate: 200 sccm High frequency power (supplied to the upper electrode 30) from the first high frequency power supply 62: 60 MHz, 500 W High frequency bias power from the second high frequency power supply 64: 13 MHz, 0 W Processing time: 5 seconds Further, the film thickness (the film thickness T1 of the region R1 illustrated in FIG.", "3B) of the silicon oxide film formed on the top surface of the mask MK1 and the film thickness (the film thickness W3 of the region R3 illustrated in FIG.", "3B) of the silicon oxide film formed on the side surface of the mask MK1 are measured at a region (hereinafter, referred to as a “sparse region”) in which the line patterns of the mask MK1 are sparsely formed and a region (hereinafter, referred to as “dense region”) in which the line patterns of the mask MK1 are densely formed.", "Furthermore, film thickness ratios, i.e., a ratio of the film thickness of the region R1 in the sparse region with respect to the film thickness of the region R1 in the dense region and a ratio of the film thickness of the region R3 in the sparse region with respect to the film thickness of the region R3 in the dense region, are obtained.", "Results thereof are shown in FIG.", "10.Further, in FIG.", "10, a legend “R1” represents the film thickness ratio obtained from the film thicknesses of the region R1, and a legend “R3” represents the film thickness ratio obtained from the film thicknesses of the region R3.As shown in FIG.", "10, as the high frequency power from the first high frequency power supply 62 is decreased, the film thickness ratio becomes closer to 1.That is, a difference in the film thickness between the silicon oxide films formed on the dense region and the sparse region is decreased.", "To be more specific, the film thickness ratio is closer to 1 in the case where the high frequency power from the first high frequency power supply 62 is 100 W than in the case where the high frequency power from the first high frequency power supply 62 is 500 W. Therefore, it is confirmed that it is possible to reduce a difference between the film thickness of the silicon oxide film formed on the dense region and the film thickness of the silicon oxide film formed on the sparse region by setting the high frequency power from the first high frequency power supply 62 to 100 W. Further, as shown in FIG.", "10, it is confirmed that a difference between the film thickness ratio in the region R1 and the film thickness ratio in the region R3 is decreased by performing the process ST3 at a high pressure within the processing vessel 12, i.e., in a high-pressure condition.", "That is, it is confirmed that a difference between the film thickness T1 of the region R1 and the film thickness W3 of the region R3 is decreased by performing the process ST3 in the high-pressure condition.", "Therefore, it is confirmed that the silicon oxide film can be conformally formed according to the above-described sequence SQ1 and sequence SQ2.Experimental Example 4 In the experimental example 4, as shown in FIG.", "11, wafers W as samples 1 to 4 each including a mask MK1 in which multiple elliptical openings OP are arranged in a two-dimensional manner are prepared.", "A width CD1 of the opening OP of each sample in a minor axis direction and a width CD2 thereof in a major axis direction are set to be different from CD1 and CD2 of other samples.", "Further, the process ST2 and the sequence SQ1 are performed on the samples 1 to 4 by using the plasma processing apparatus 10.Furthermore, in the experimental example 4, the number of times of performing the sequence SQ1 is varied as a parameter.", "The conditions for the process ST2 and the sequence SQ1 performed in the experimental example 4 are described as follows.", "<Conditions for Process ST2> Pressure in the processing vessel: 50 mTorr (6.66 Pa) Hydrogen gas flow rate: 100 sccm Ar gas flow rate: 800 sccm High frequency power (supplied to the upper electrode 30) from the first high frequency power supply 62: 60 MHz, 300 W High frequency bias power from the second high frequency power supply 64: 13 MHz, 0 W Voltage applied from the power supply 70: −1000 V Processing time: 60 seconds <Conditions for Process ST3> Pressure in the processing vessel: 200 mTorr (26.66 Pa) SiCl4 gas flow rate: 20 sccm Ar gas flow rate: 200 sccm High frequency power (supplied to the upper electrode 30) from the first high frequency power supply 62: 60 MHz, 100 W High frequency bias power from the second high frequency power supply 64: 13 MHz, 0 W Processing time: 5 seconds <Conditions for Process ST5> Pressure in the processing vessel: 200 mTorr (26.66 Pa) Oxygen gas flow rate: 200 sccm Ar gas flow rate: 200 sccm High frequency power (supplied to the upper electrode 30) from the first high frequency power supply 62: 60 MHz, 500 W High frequency bias power from the second high frequency power supply 64: 13 MHz, 0 W Processing time: 5 seconds Further, with respect to each of the samples 1 to 4, a relationship between the number of times of performing the sequence SQ1 and a variation amount in the width CD1 of the opening OP in the minor axis direction, and a relationship between the number of times of performing the sequence SQ1 and a variation amount in the width CD2 of the opening OP in the major axis direction are obtained.", "Results thereof are shown in FIG.", "12.In FIG.", "12, a horizontal axis represents the number of times of performing the sequence SQ1 and a longitudinal axis represents the variation amount in CD1 and CD2.As shown in FIG.", "12, according to the result of the experimental example 4, the variation amount in the width CD1 of the opening OP in the minor axis direction and the variation amount in the width CD2 of the opening OP in the major axis direction are increased according to the increase in the number of times of performing the sequence SQL Thus, it is confirmed that it is possible to uniformly reduce the width of the elliptical opening in any direction depending on the number of times of performing the sequence SQL From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that various embodiments of the present disclosure have been described herein for purposes of illustration, and that various modifications may be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the present disclosure.", "Accordingly, the various embodiments disclosed herein are not intended to be limiting, with the true scope and spirit being indicated by the following claims.", "The claims of the present application are different and possibly, at least in some aspects, broader in scope than the claims pursued in the parent application.", "To the extent any prior amendments or characterizations of the scope of any claim or cited document made during prosecution of the parent could be construed as a disclaimer of any subject matter supported by the present disclosure, Applicants hereby rescind and retract such disclaimer.", "Accordingly, the references previously presented in the parent applications may need to be revisited." ] ]
Patent_15873189
[ [ "System and Method of Managing and Coordinating a Medical Procedure", "A system and method of managing and coordinating a medical procedure simplifies a desired medical procedure from beginning to end.", "The method includes at least one practitioner account and at least one patient account, both managed by at least one remote server.", "The method allows the practitioner account and the patient account to communicate with each other through a practitioner personal computing (PC) device and a patient PC device, respectively.", "The method begins with the execution of an exploratory process in order to identify a desired medical procedure.", "A distal preparatory process is then executed to gather and manage pre-procedure logistic data.", "A proximal preparatory process is then executed in order to gather and manage pre-procedure checklist data for the desired medical procedure.", "The method is completed with execution of a recovery process in order to gather and manage post-procedure logistic data for the desired medical procedure." ], [ "1.A system and method of managing and coordinating a medical procedure, the method comprises the steps of: A. providing at least one practitioner account managed by at least one remote server, wherein the practitioner account is associated to a practitioner personal computing (PC) device; B. providing at least one patient account managed by the remote server, wherein the patient account is associated to a patient personal computing (PC) device; C. executing an exploratory process between the practitioner account and the patient account with the remote server in order to identify a desired medical procedure for the patient account; D. executing a distal preparatory process between the practitioner account and the patient account in order to gather and manage pre-procedure logistic data for the desired medical procedure; E. executing a proximal preparatory process between the practitioner account and the patient account in order to gather and manage pre-procedure checklist data for the desired medical procedure; and F. executing a recovery process between the practitioner account and the patient account in order to gather and manage post-procedure logistic data for the desired medical procedure.", "2.The system and method of managing and coordinating a medical procedure, the method as claimed in claim 1 comprises the steps of: providing at least one administrator account managed by the remote server, wherein the administrator account is associated to an administrator PC device; providing the practitioner account with an unverified status on the remote server; prompting the practitioner account to enter a set of credentials through the practitioner PC device; relaying the set of credentials from the practitioner PC device, through the remote server, and to the administrator PC device; prompting the administrator account to authenticate or deny the set of credentials with the administrator PC device; and, updating the practitioner account from the unverified status to a verified status on the remote server, if the administrator account authenticates the set of credentials.", "3.The system and method of managing and coordinating a medical procedure, the method as claimed in claim 2 comprises the steps of: prompting the practitioner account to complete a practitioner profile with the practitioner PC device, if the practitioner PC device is updated from the unverified status to the verified status; relaying the practitioner profile from the practitioner PC device to the remote server, if the practitioner account completes the practitioner profile; and, granting access to the patient account to view the practitioner profile with the patient PC device.", "4.The system and method of managing and coordinating a medical procedure, the method as claimed in claim 1 comprises the steps of: prompting the practitioner account to send an engagement invitation to the patient account through the practitioner PC device; relaying the engagement invitation from the practitioner PC device, through the remote server, and to the patient PC device; prompting the patient account to accept or deny the engagement invitation through the patient PC device; and, initiating step (C) with the remote server, if the patient account accepts the engagement invitation.", "5.The system and method of managing and coordinating a medical procedure, the method as claimed in claim 1 comprises the steps of: prompting the practitioner account to confirm or deny a completed status for the desired medical procedure through the practitioner PC device after step (F); and, designating the desired medical procedure as the completed status with the remote server, if the practitioner account confirms the completed status.", "6.The system and method of managing and coordinating a medical procedure, the method as claimed in claim 5 comprises the steps of: compiling collected data during steps (C) through (F) into a case study for the desired medical procedure with the remote server, if the practitioner account confirms the completed status; archiving the case study on the remote server; granting access to the patient account to view the case study with the patient PC device after step (F); and, restricting access to the practitioner account from viewing the case study with the practitioner PC device after step (F).", "7.The system and method of managing and coordinating a medical procedure, the method as claimed in claim 1 comprises the steps of: providing the at least one practitioner account as a plurality of practitioner accounts, wherein each practitioner account is associated to an agency profile; prompting the practitioner account to send an agency recommendation to the patient account through the practitioner PC device during steps (C), (D), and (F), wherein the agency recommendation is associated to another account from the plurality of practitioner accounts; relaying the agency recommendation from the practitioner PC device, through the remote server, and to the patient PC device; displaying the agency profile of the other account through the patient PC device; prompting the patient account to accept or deny the agency recommendation through the patient PC device; and, repeating steps (C) through (F) with the other account as the practitioner account, if the patient account accepts the agency recommendation.", "8.The system and method of managing and coordinating a medical procedure, the method as claimed in claim 1 comprises the steps of: providing at least one task for the distal preparatory process, wherein the task is associated to descriptive information, a specific date and time, and at least one required action; monitoring a current date and time with the remote server; alerting the patient account to the task by displaying the descriptive information with the patient PC device, if the current date and time matches the specific date and time; prompting the patient account to send a task confirmation to the practitioner account through the patient PC device, if the patient account completes the required action; relaying the task confirmation from the patient PC device, through the remote server, and to the practitioner PC device; and, displaying the task confirmation through the practitioner PC device.", "9.The system and method of managing and coordinating a medical procedure, the method as claimed in claim 8 comprises the steps of: prompting the practitioner account to enter a modification to the at least one task through the practitioner PC device before step (D); and, applying the modification to the at least one task with the remote server, if the practitioner account enters the modification.", "10.The system and method of managing and coordinating a medical procedure, the method as claimed in claim 8 comprises the steps of: providing a calendar application managed by the patient PC device; and, synchronizing the specific date and time of the task into the calendar application with the patient PC device.", "11.The system and method of managing and coordinating a medical procedure, the method as claimed in claim 1 comprises the steps of: providing at least one task for the proximal preparatory process, wherein the task is associated to descriptive information, a specific date and time, and at least one required action; monitoring a current date and time with the remote server; alerting the patient account to the task by displaying the descriptive information with the patient PC device, if the current date and time matches the specific date and time; prompting the patient account to send a task confirmation to the practitioner account through the patient PC device, if the patient account completes the required action; relaying the task confirmation from the patient PC device, through the remote server, and to the practitioner PC device; and, displaying the task confirmation through the practitioner PC device.", "12.The system and method of managing and coordinating a medical procedure, the method as claimed in claim 11 comprises the steps of: prompting the practitioner account to enter a modification to the at least one task through the practitioner PC device before step (E); and, applying the modification to the at least one task with the remote server, if the practitioner account enters the modification.", "13.The system and method of managing and coordinating a medical procedure, the method as claimed in claim 11 comprises the steps of: providing a calendar application managed by the patient PC device; and, synchronizing the specific date and time of the task into the calendar application with the patient PC device.", "14.The system and method of managing and coordinating a medical procedure, the method as claimed in claim 1 comprises the steps of: providing at least one task for the recovery process, wherein the task is associated to descriptive information, a specific date and time, and at least one required action; monitoring a current date and time with the remote server; alerting the patient account to the task by displaying the descriptive information with the patient PC device, if the current date and time matches the specific date and time; prompting the patient account to send a task confirmation to the practitioner account through the patient PC device, if the patient account completes the required action; relaying the task confirmation from the patient PC device, through the remote server, and to the practitioner PC device; and, displaying the task confirmation through the practitioner PC device.", "15.The system and method of managing and coordinating a medical procedure, the method as claimed in claim 14 comprises the steps of: prompting the practitioner account to enter a modification to the at least one task through the practitioner PC device before step (F); and, applying the modification to the at least one task with the remote server, if the practitioner account enters the modification.", "16.The system and method of managing and coordinating a medical procedure, the method as claimed in claim 14 comprises the steps of: providing a calendar application managed by the patient PC device; and, synchronizing the specific date and time of the task into the calendar application with the patient PC device.", "17.The system and method of managing and coordinating a medical procedure, the method as claimed in claim 1 comprises the steps of: prompting the practitioner account to enter a message to the patient account through the practitioner PC device; relaying the message from the practitioner PC device, through the remote server, and to the patient account, if the practitioner account enters the message to the patient account; displaying the message through the patient PC device; prompting the patient account to enter a reply to the practitioner account through the patient PC device; relaying the reply from the patient PC device, through the remote server, and to the practitioner PC device, if the patient account enters the relay to the practitioner account; and, displaying the reply through the practitioner PC device.", "18.The system and method of managing and coordinating a medical procedure, the method as claimed in claim 1 comprises the steps of: prompting the patient account to enter a message to the practitioner account through the patient PC device; relaying the message from the patient PC device, through the remote server, and to the practitioner account, if the patient account enters the message to the practitioner account; displaying the message through the practitioner PC device; prompting the practitioner account to enter a reply to the patient account through the practitioner PC device; relaying the reply from the practitioner PC device, through the remote server, and to the patient PC device, if the practitioner account enters the relay to the patient account; and, displaying the reply through the patient PC device.", "19.The system and method of managing and coordinating a medical procedure, the method as claimed in claim 1 comprises the steps of: providing reference material for the exploratory process stored on the remote server; prompting the patient account to select a desired piece of information from the reference material through the patient PC device; relaying the desired piece of information from the remote server to the patient PC device, if the patient account selects the desired piece of information from the reference material; and, displaying the desired piece of information on the patient PC device.", "20.The system and method of managing and coordinating a medical procedure, the method as claimed in claim 1 comprises the steps of: providing reference material for the distal preparatory process stored on the remote server; prompting the patient account to select a desired piece of information from the reference material through the patient PC device; relaying the desired piece of information from the remote server to the patient PC device, if the patient account selects the desired piece of information from the reference material; and, displaying the desired piece of information on the patient PC device.", "21.The system and method of managing and coordinating a medical procedure, the method as claimed in claim 1 comprises the steps of: providing reference material for the proximal preparatory process stored on the remote server; prompting the patient account to select a desired piece of information from the reference material through the patient PC device; relaying the desired piece of information from the remote server to the patient PC device, if the patient account selects the desired piece of information from the reference material; and, displaying the desired piece of information on the patient PC device.", "22.The system and method of managing and coordinating a medical procedure, the method as claimed in claim 1 comprises the steps of: providing reference material for the recovery process stored on the remote server; prompting the patient account to select a desired piece of information from the reference material through the patient PC device; relaying the desired piece of information from the remote server to the patient PC device, if the patient account selects the desired piece of information from the reference material; and, displaying the desired piece of information on the patient PC device.", "23.The system and method of managing and coordinating a medical procedure, the method as claimed in claim 1 comprises the steps of: providing a plurality of patient accounts as the at least one patient account, wherein the patient accounts are associated to a single practitioner account from the at least one practitioner account; executing steps (C) through (F) between each patient account and the single practitioner account; compiling the desired medical procedure between each patient account and the single practitioner account into a practitioner task list with the remote server; prompting the single practitioner account to select an organization filter with the practitioner PC device; applying the organization filter to the practitioner task list with the remote server, if the single practitioner account selects the organization filter; and, displaying the practitioner task list with the practitioner PC device.", "24.The system and method of managing and coordinating a medical procedure, the method as claimed in claim 1 comprises the steps of: providing a recovery log managed by the remote server; prompting the patient account to enter at least one new entry with the patient PC device during step (F); relaying the new entry from the patient PC device to the remote server, if the patient account enters the new entry; appending the new entry into the recovery log; granting access to the patient account to view the recovery log with the patient PC device during step (F); and, granting access to the practitioner account to view the recovery log with the practitioner PC device during step (F).", "25.The system and method of managing and coordinating a medical procedure, the method as claimed in claim 24 comprises the steps of: granting access to the patient account to view the recovery log with the patient PC device after step (F); and, restricting access to the practitioner account from viewing the recovery log with the practitioner PC device after step (F).", "26.The system and method of managing and coordinating a medical procedure, the method as claimed in claim 1 comprises the steps of: prompting the patient account to enter personal healthcare information through the patient PC device; relaying the personal healthcare information from the patient PC device to the remote server, if the patient account enters the personal healthcare information; prompting the practitioner account to enter a set of healthcare requirements through the practitioner PC device; relaying the set of healthcare requirements from the practitioner PC device to the remote server, if the practitioner account enters the set of healthcare requirements; comparing the personal healthcare information to the set of healthcare requirements with the remote server in order to verify financial compatibility between the personal healthcare information and the healthcare requirements; and, sending a healthcare-accepted notification to the patient PC device and the practitioner PC device, if the remote server verifies the financial compatibility between the personal healthcare information and the healthcare requirements.", "27.The system and method of managing and coordinating a medical procedure, the method as claimed in claim 1 comprises the steps of: providing a financial-planning software engine managed by the remote server; providing a remaining balance for the patient account managed by the remote server; prompting the patient account to enter a set of financial constraints through the patient PC device; relaying the set of financial constraints from the patient PC device to the remote server, if the patient account enters the set of financial constraints; generating a financial payment plan for the patient account with remote server by inputting the remaining balance and the set of financial constraints into the financial-planning software engine; and, sending the financial payment plan to the patient PC device." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION <EOH>According to the Center for Diseases Control and Prevention (CDC) more than fifty million surgical procedures are conducted in the United States on an annual basis.", "While there is no exact data for medical procedures on a global scale, it is logical to assume the number is extremely high due to the sheer size of the population.", "Most patients experience anxiety before medical procedures, especially complex procedures that require continuous involvement.", "More than half of surgical errors occur outside the operation room.", "Traditionally, patient checklists are being used in hospitals to monitor the procedural steps before and after a medical procedure.", "Due to the high rate of miscommunication and the ease with which these checklists can be misplaced, improving Patient Activation Measure (PAM) would result in a more effective encounter between the patient and their medical provider.", "PAM is commonly defined as the ability of a patient to monitor their own progress through the rehabilitation process.", "The well-being of a patient does not only depend on the quality of care provided by the medical staff, but also their own ability to keep track of their own condition.", "Often times a patient may not make an appointment due to a variety of issues, such as transportation availability, pain, or other factors.", "The availability of a physician is a very scarce resource, therefore optimizing the process which needs to be conducted before an in-person meeting with a patient, would result in a better quality of care.", "Disorganized and misinformed patients can affect the quality of care they receive.", "For example, a patient might stop the post-procedure check-ups when they start feeling better, thus allowing for critical problems to develop when preventive measures could have been enforced at an earlier stage.", "To overcome the issues shown above, the present invention aims to solve the common challenges faced by surgery patients.", "Multiple healthcare systems have been developed in an effort to address the common issues faced by care providers, patients and their families.", "Furthermore, this problem is amplified in developing countries.", "In places where basic medical supplies are scarce, the lack of support systems and facilities for physicians hinders the patient recovery process.", "Utilizing the available technologies, the present invention aims to maximize the efficiency of the limited time duration of patient visits, reduce the chances for error, and direct the patient towards following a recovery plan through their experience to improve healthcare engagement and outcomes.", "Computing devices, such as laptops, desktop computer, smartphones, and tablets, can provide patients, physicians, pharmaceutical companies, and medical device manufacturers input from the users in a variety of ways.", "The present invention is a mobile application healthcare based process.", "It combines a mobile application and server based communication with a patient's and healthcare provider's mobile devices, allowing for effective communication and data transfer.", "The present invention may include, for example, formulating and rendering post-surgery care management plans, collecting and reporting information from patients and providers, data collection from patient/provider via the mobile device, and other functions pertaining to the visit of the patient, including the patient use of post-surgery data and follow up care, educational materials, and the ability to utilize the system.", "Furthermore, the present invention provides a method of organization which includes reminders, checklist tasks, and procedure specific information integrated into one platform." ], [ "<SOH> BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS <EOH>FIG.", "1 is a diagram illustrating electronic interactions in the present invention.", "FIG.", "2 is a flowchart illustrating the overall process for the present invention.", "FIG.", "3 is a flowchart illustrating the process for updating the practitioner account from an unverified status to a verified status.", "FIG.", "4 is a flowchart illustrating the process for granting access to the patient account to view the practitioner account profile.", "FIG.", "5 is a flowchart illustrating the process for initiating step (C) with the remote server, if the patient accepts an engagement invitation.", "FIG.", "6 is a flowchart illustrating the process for restricting access to the practitioner account from viewing a case study.", "FIG.", "7 is a flowchart illustrating the process for prompting the patient account to accept or deny the agency recommendation and repeating steps (C) through (F) with the other account as the practitioner account.", "FIG.", "8 is a flowchart illustrating the process for prompting the patient account to send a task confirmation to the practitioner account and displaying the task confirmation through the practitioner portable computing (PC) device for the distal preparatory process.", "FIG.", "9 is a flowchart illustrating the process for prompting the patient account to send a task confirmation to the practitioner account and displaying the task confirmation through the practitioner portable computing (PC) device for the proximal preparatory process.", "FIG.", "10 is a flowchart illustrating the process for prompting the patient account to send a task confirmation to the practitioner account and displaying the task confirmation through the practitioner portable computing (PC) device for the recovery preparatory process.", "FIG.", "11 is a flowchart illustrating the process for relaying a message from the practitioner PC device, through the remote server, and to the patient account.", "FIG.", "12 is a flowchart illustrating the process for relaying a message from the patient PC device, through the remote server, and to the practitioner account.", "FIG.", "13 is a flowchart illustrating the process for displaying a desired piece of information for the exploratory process.", "FIG.", "14 is a flowchart illustrating the process for displaying a desired piece of information for the distal preparatory process.", "FIG.", "15 is a flowchart illustrating the process for displaying a desired piece of information for the proximal preparatory process.", "FIG.", "16 is a flowchart illustrating the process for displaying a desired piece of information for the recovery process.", "FIG.", "17 is a flowchart illustrating the process for applying an organization filter to the practitioner task list.", "FIG.", "18 is a flowchart illustrating the process for appending a new entry from the patient PC device into a recovery log that is managed by the remote server.", "FIG.", "19 is a flowchart illustrating the process for sending a healthcare-accepted notification to the patient PC device and the practitioner PC device.", "FIG.", "20 is a flowchart illustrating the process for sending a financial payment plan to the patient PC device.", "detailed-description description=\"Detailed Description\" end=\"lead\"?" ], [ "The current application claims priority to U.S. provisional application serial No.", "62/423,681 filed on Nov. 17, 2016.FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention generally relates to managing and coordinating a medical procedure.", "More specifically, the present invention simplifies the preparation and healing processes of demanding medical procedures using input provided from a computing device.", "BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION According to the Center for Diseases Control and Prevention (CDC) more than fifty million surgical procedures are conducted in the United States on an annual basis.", "While there is no exact data for medical procedures on a global scale, it is logical to assume the number is extremely high due to the sheer size of the population.", "Most patients experience anxiety before medical procedures, especially complex procedures that require continuous involvement.", "More than half of surgical errors occur outside the operation room.", "Traditionally, patient checklists are being used in hospitals to monitor the procedural steps before and after a medical procedure.", "Due to the high rate of miscommunication and the ease with which these checklists can be misplaced, improving Patient Activation Measure (PAM) would result in a more effective encounter between the patient and their medical provider.", "PAM is commonly defined as the ability of a patient to monitor their own progress through the rehabilitation process.", "The well-being of a patient does not only depend on the quality of care provided by the medical staff, but also their own ability to keep track of their own condition.", "Often times a patient may not make an appointment due to a variety of issues, such as transportation availability, pain, or other factors.", "The availability of a physician is a very scarce resource, therefore optimizing the process which needs to be conducted before an in-person meeting with a patient, would result in a better quality of care.", "Disorganized and misinformed patients can affect the quality of care they receive.", "For example, a patient might stop the post-procedure check-ups when they start feeling better, thus allowing for critical problems to develop when preventive measures could have been enforced at an earlier stage.", "To overcome the issues shown above, the present invention aims to solve the common challenges faced by surgery patients.", "Multiple healthcare systems have been developed in an effort to address the common issues faced by care providers, patients and their families.", "Furthermore, this problem is amplified in developing countries.", "In places where basic medical supplies are scarce, the lack of support systems and facilities for physicians hinders the patient recovery process.", "Utilizing the available technologies, the present invention aims to maximize the efficiency of the limited time duration of patient visits, reduce the chances for error, and direct the patient towards following a recovery plan through their experience to improve healthcare engagement and outcomes.", "Computing devices, such as laptops, desktop computer, smartphones, and tablets, can provide patients, physicians, pharmaceutical companies, and medical device manufacturers input from the users in a variety of ways.", "The present invention is a mobile application healthcare based process.", "It combines a mobile application and server based communication with a patient's and healthcare provider's mobile devices, allowing for effective communication and data transfer.", "The present invention may include, for example, formulating and rendering post-surgery care management plans, collecting and reporting information from patients and providers, data collection from patient/provider via the mobile device, and other functions pertaining to the visit of the patient, including the patient use of post-surgery data and follow up care, educational materials, and the ability to utilize the system.", "Furthermore, the present invention provides a method of organization which includes reminders, checklist tasks, and procedure specific information integrated into one platform.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG.", "1 is a diagram illustrating electronic interactions in the present invention.", "FIG.", "2 is a flowchart illustrating the overall process for the present invention.", "FIG.", "3 is a flowchart illustrating the process for updating the practitioner account from an unverified status to a verified status.", "FIG.", "4 is a flowchart illustrating the process for granting access to the patient account to view the practitioner account profile.", "FIG.", "5 is a flowchart illustrating the process for initiating step (C) with the remote server, if the patient accepts an engagement invitation.", "FIG.", "6 is a flowchart illustrating the process for restricting access to the practitioner account from viewing a case study.", "FIG.", "7 is a flowchart illustrating the process for prompting the patient account to accept or deny the agency recommendation and repeating steps (C) through (F) with the other account as the practitioner account.", "FIG.", "8 is a flowchart illustrating the process for prompting the patient account to send a task confirmation to the practitioner account and displaying the task confirmation through the practitioner portable computing (PC) device for the distal preparatory process.", "FIG.", "9 is a flowchart illustrating the process for prompting the patient account to send a task confirmation to the practitioner account and displaying the task confirmation through the practitioner portable computing (PC) device for the proximal preparatory process.", "FIG.", "10 is a flowchart illustrating the process for prompting the patient account to send a task confirmation to the practitioner account and displaying the task confirmation through the practitioner portable computing (PC) device for the recovery preparatory process.", "FIG.", "11 is a flowchart illustrating the process for relaying a message from the practitioner PC device, through the remote server, and to the patient account.", "FIG.", "12 is a flowchart illustrating the process for relaying a message from the patient PC device, through the remote server, and to the practitioner account.", "FIG.", "13 is a flowchart illustrating the process for displaying a desired piece of information for the exploratory process.", "FIG.", "14 is a flowchart illustrating the process for displaying a desired piece of information for the distal preparatory process.", "FIG.", "15 is a flowchart illustrating the process for displaying a desired piece of information for the proximal preparatory process.", "FIG.", "16 is a flowchart illustrating the process for displaying a desired piece of information for the recovery process.", "FIG.", "17 is a flowchart illustrating the process for applying an organization filter to the practitioner task list.", "FIG.", "18 is a flowchart illustrating the process for appending a new entry from the patient PC device into a recovery log that is managed by the remote server.", "FIG.", "19 is a flowchart illustrating the process for sending a healthcare-accepted notification to the patient PC device and the practitioner PC device.", "FIG.", "20 is a flowchart illustrating the process for sending a financial payment plan to the patient PC device.", "DETAIL DESCRIPTIONS OF THE INVENTION All illustrations of the drawings are for the purpose of describing selected versions of the present invention and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention.", "The present invention is a system and method managing and coordinating a medical procedure.", "The present invention is used to simplify the preparation and recovery processes of invasive medical procedures.", "The present invention may also aid in the preparation and recovery processes of non-invasive procedures.", "The present invention aids in the proper and thorough execution of tasks, as well as the accurate recording of information regarding the physical and mental status of a patient.", "Thus, the physical system used to implement the method of the present invention includes at least one remote server, a practitioner personal computing (PC) device 2, and a patient PC device 4, illustrated in FIG.", "1.At least one practitioner account 1 is managed by the at least one remote server, wherein the practitioner account 1 is associated to the practitioner PC device 2 (Step A).", "Any data associated with the at least one practitioner account 1 is stored on the at least one remote server, and any inputs from the practitioner PC device 2 is executed via the at least one remote server.", "Similarly, at least one patient account 3 is managed by the remote server, wherein the patient account 3 is associated to a patient PC device 4 (Step B).", "Any data associated with the at least one patient account 3 is stored on the at least one remote server, and any inputs from the patient PC device 4 is executed via the at least one remote server.", "The patient PC device 4 and the practitioner PC device 2 communicate with each other via the at least one remote server.", "The overall process for the present invention includes the following steps that are implemented with the at least one remote server, the practitioner personal computing (PC) device 2, and the patient PC device 4.As shown in FIG.", "2, the overall process begins with the execution of an exploratory process between the practitioner account 1 and the patient account 3 with the remote server in order to identify a desired medical procedure for the patient account 3 (Step C).", "The exploratory process defines the data associated with the patient account 3 for the following processes.", "A distal preparatory process is executed between the practitioner account 1 and the patient account 3 in order to gather and manage pre-procedure logistic data for the desired medical procedure (Step D).", "The distal preparatory process prepares the patient for the desired medical procedure by ensuring the patient account 3 completes any requests as dictated by the practitioner account 1.Upon the day of the desired medical procedure, a proximal preparatory process is executed between the practitioner account 1 and the patient account 3 in order to gather and manage pre-procedure checklist data for the desired medical procedure (Step E).", "A recovery process is executed between the practitioner account 1 and the patient account 3 in order to gather and manage post-procedure logistic data for the desired medical procedure (Step F).", "The recovery process guides the patient account 3 to accurately record the recovery of the user of the patient account 3 and provides the user of the patient account 3 with motivation in order to facilitate the recovery process.", "In order to verify and register a practitioner account 1, the physical system used to implement the method of the present invention further includes an administrator PC device 6, as seen in FIG.", "3.At least one administrator account 5 is managed by the remote server, wherein the administrator account 5 is associated to the administrator PC device 6.The administrator account 5 requests specific inputs from the practitioner account 1 and verifies the inputs in order to confirm the identity of the practitioner account 1.The administrator account 5 limits unauthorized practitioners from falsely identifying as a licensed practitioner.", "Initially, the practitioner account 1 is provided with an unverified status on the remote server in order to differentiate between practitioner accounts 1.The practitioner account 1 is prompted to enter a set of credentials through the practitioner PC device 2 so that the administrator account 5 receives the corresponding set of credentials for the specific practitioner account 1.The set of credentials may include, but is not limited to, a license number, proof of a degree from an accredited graduate school, proof of an accredited business, and so on.", "The set of credentials from the practitioner PC device 2 is relayed through the remote server and to the administrator PC device 6 for verification by the administrator account 5.The administrator account 5 is prompted to authenticate or deny the set of credentials with the administrator PC device 6.The authentication or denial of the set of credentials prevents an unlicensed practitioner from identifying as a licensed practitioner with the present invention.", "If the administrator account 5 authenticates the set of credentials, the practitioner account 1 is updated from the unverified status to a verified status on the remote server.", "The verified status allows the user to identify as a practitioner and grants the user access to all the functions as a user of a practitioner account 1.The at least one patient account 3 is able to view information regarding the practitioner account 1 via the patient PC device 4, also seen in FIG.", "4, as the practitioner account 1 is prompted to complete a practitioner profile with the practitioner PC device 2, only if the practitioner PC device 2 is updated from the unverified status to the verified status.", "The practitioner profile requests inputs such as name of user, name of practice, email address, office hours, services provided, price of each service, and so on.", "The practitioner profile serves as a reference for the patient account 3 regarding general information of the practitioner account 1.If the practitioner account 1 completes the practitioner profile, the practitioner profile is then relayed from the practitioner PC device 2 to the remote server, thereby corresponding the information inputted through the practitioner PC device 2 to the practitioner profile.", "The patient account 3 is granted access to view the practitioner profile with the PC device, which the patient account 3 may review as needed.", "In order for at least one of the patient account 3 to be granted access to view the practitioner profile of at least one practitioner account 1, the practitioner account 1 is prompted to send an engagement invitation to the patient account 3 through the practitioner PC device 2, as seen in FIG.", "5.The engagement invitation alerts the patient account 3 that the corresponding practitioner account 1 is attempting to establish a connection through the present invention.", "The engagement invitation from the practitioner PC device 2 is relayed through the remote server and to the patient PC device 4 so that the practitioner account 1 connects only with corresponding patient accounts 3 and more specifically, patient accounts 3 with a desired medical procedure that is invasive.", "The patient account 3 is prompted to accept or deny the engagement invitation through the patient PC device 4.If the patient account 3 accepts the engagement invitation, Step C is initiated and the patient account 3 is able to view the practitioner profile via the patient PC device 4 and to communicate with the practitioner account 1.Upon the completion of the desired medical procedure, which includes the completion of the exploratory process, the distal preparatory process, the proximal preparatory process, and the recovery process, the practitioner account 1 is prompted to confirm or deny a completed status for the desired medical procedure through the practitioner PC device 2 after Step F. The desired medical procedure is designated as the completed status with the remote server, if the practitioner account 1 confirms the completed status, thereby preventing both the practitioner account 1 and the patient account 3 from inputting or altering any data corresponding to the desired medical procedure.", "The completed status also disconnects the established connection between the practitioner account 1 and the patient account 3 with respect to the desired medical procedure.", "As seen in FIG.", "6, if the practitioner account 1 confirms the completed status, the patient account 3 is able to view a desired medical procedure with a completed status as the collected data during Steps C through F is compiled into a case study for the desired medical procedure with the remote server.", "More specifically, the case study is archived on the remote server and the patient account 3 is granted access to view the case study with the patient PC device 4 after Step F. The practitioner account 1 is restricted access from viewing the case study with the practitioner PC device 2 after Step F as the present invention does not serve as electronic medical records for the corresponding patient account 3.As seen in FIG.", "7, in the event the patient account 3 needs to establish a connection with another practitioner due to certain medical conditions or medical needs, the at least one practitioner account 1 is provided as a plurality of practitioner accounts 1, wherein each practitioner account 1 is associated to an agency profile.", "The agency profile may include, but is not limited to, various practitioner accounts 1, a physical therapist account, a social worker account, a caretaker account, a dietitian account, a mental health therapist account, and so on.", "The practitioner account 1 provides a patient account 3 with options as the practitioner account 1 is prompted to send an agency recommendation to the patient account 3 through the practitioner PC device 2 during Steps C, D, and F, wherein the agency recommendation is associated to an other account from the plurality of practitioner accounts 1.The agency recommendation is relayed from the practitioner PC device 2, through the remote server, and to the patient PC device 4 so that the patient account 3 is able to view the options as defined by the practitioner account 1 through the patient PC device 4.The agency profile of the other account is displayed through the patient PC device 4 allowing the patient profile to make an educated choice regarding which agency account best suits the medical needs of the patient account 3.The patient account 3 is then prompted to accept or deny the agency recommendation through the patient PC device 4.If the patient account 3 accepts the agency recommendation, Steps C through F are repeated with the other account as the practitioner account 1 thereby establishing a connection with the agency recommendation with the present invention.", "The patient account 3 is able to effectively prepare for the desired medical procedure as at least one task is provided for the distal preparatory process, wherein the task is associated to descriptive information, a specific date and time, and at least one required action, as seen in FIG.", "8.With the amount of stress placed on the user of the patient account 3 from the desired medical procedure alone, any necessary tasks that physically and mentally prepare the user of the patient account 3 may be overwhelming and easily overlooked.", "The distal preparatory process simplifies the preparation of desired medical procedure for the user of the patient account 3 as a current date and time is monitored with the remote server, also seen in FIG.", "8.The patient account 3 is alerted to the task by displaying the descriptive information with the patient PC device 4, if the current date and time matches the specific date and time.", "Furthermore, the patient account 3 is prompted to send a task confirmation to the practitioner account 1 through the patient PC device 4, if the patient account 3 completes the required action.", "The user of the practitioner account 1 reviews the preparation of the patient account 3 through the application and the preparation of the patient account 3 is more extensive upon the task confirmation.", "In order for the user of the practitioner account 1 to review the preparation of the patient account 3, the task confirmation is relayed from the patient PC device 4, through the remote server, and to the practitioner PC device 2.The task confirmation is then displayed through the practitioner PC device 2.As each user corresponding to the patient account 3 has a unique physical and mental condition associated with a given medical condition, the practitioner account 1 may adjust a task to accommodate the unique physical and mental condition of the user of the patient account 3.As shown in FIG.", "8, the practitioner account 1 is prompted to enter a modification to the at least one task through the practitioner PC device 2 before Step D so that the patient account 3 is not requested to fulfill a task that does not help or apply to the user of the patient account 3.Instead, the user of the patient account 3 completes a task that caters to the specific physical and medical condition of the user as the modification is applied to the at least one task with the remote server, if the practitioner account 1 enters the modification.", "In order to efficiently manage the tasks with any other important dates and notification already stored on the patient PC device 4, a calendar application is provided and managed by the patient PC device 4, also shown in FIG.", "8.The calendar application allows the patient account 3 to input important dates and notifications into the patient PC device 4.The specific date and time of the task is synchronized into the calendar application with the patient PC device 4 in order to simplify the planning and notification delivery of the patient PC device 4.The day of the desired medical procedure imparts substantial stress on the user of the patient account 3.As seen in FIG.", "9, the patient account 3 is able to effectively prepare for the desired medical procedure as at least one task is provided for the proximal preparatory process, wherein the task is associated to descriptive information, a specific date and time, and at least one required action.", "Given the desired medical procedure, the patient account 3 may be requested to complete certain tasks the day of the desired medical procedure.", "Any task requested the day of the medical procedure is meant to increase the positive results of the desired medical procedure and lessen any risks of the desired medical procedure.", "Therefore, the tasks requested the day of the desired medical procedure effectively prepare the user physically and mentally without making the user of the patient account 3 feel overwhelming, and consequently easily overlooking the task.", "The proximal preparatory process simplifies the day of the desired medical procedure for the patient account 3 as a current date and time is monitored with the remote server.", "As seen in FIG.", "9, the patient account 3 is alerted to the task by displaying the descriptive information with the patient PC device 4, if the current date and time matches the specific date and time.", "Furthermore, the patient account 3 is prompted to send a task confirmation to the practitioner account 1 through the patient PC device 4, if the patient account 3 completes the required action.", "The user of the practitioner account 1 reviews the preparation of the patient account 3 through the application and the preparation of the patient account 3 is more extensive upon the task confirmation.", "In order for the user of the practitioner account 1 to review the preparation of the patient account 3, the task confirmation is relayed from the patient PC device 4, through the remote server, and to the practitioner PC device 2.The task confirmation is then displayed through the practitioner PC device 2.As each user corresponding to the patient account 3 has a unique physical and mental condition associated with a given medical condition, the practitioner account 1 may adjust a task to accommodate the unique physical and mental condition of the user of the patient account 3, shown in FIG.", "9.The practitioner account 1 is prompted to enter a modification to the at least one task through the practitioner PC device 2 before Step E so that the patient account 3 is not requested to fulfill a task that does not help or apply to the user of the patient account 3.Instead, the user of the patient account 3 completes a task that caters to the specific physical and medical condition of the user as the modification is applied to the at least one task with the remote server, if the practitioner account 1 enters the modification.", "Similar to that of the distal preparatory process, in order to efficiently manage the tasks with any other important dates and notifications already stored on the patient PC device 4, a calendar application is provided and managed by the patient PC device 4, also shown in FIG.", "9.The calendar application allows the patient account 3 to input important dates and notifications into the patient PC device 4.The specific date and time of the task is synchronized into the calendar application with the patient PC device 4 in order to simplify the planning and notification delivery of the patient PC device 4.Upon the completion of the desired medical procedure on behalf of the practitioner account 1, the user of the patient account 3 is not only burdened with physical stress but mental stress.", "The user of the patient account 3 is able to focus solely on healing and resting as at least one task is provided for the recovery process, wherein the task is associated to descriptive information, a specific date and time, and at least one required action, as seen in FIG.", "10.Given the desired medical procedure completed, the patient account 3 may be requested to complete certain tasks in order to ensure a quick and effective recovery.", "Any task requested throughout the recovery process of the medical procedure is meant to facilitate the healing of the user of the patient account 3 and lessen any stress of the user of the patient account 3.The practitioner account 1 is able to better monitor the progress of the user of the patient account 3 through completed tasks by the patient account 3.Therefore, the tasks requested throughout the recovery of the user of the patient account 3 ensures that the user of the patient account 3 reaches a full recovery without the user of the patient account 3 feeling overwhelming.", "If the user of the patient account 3 feels overwhelmed, the user of the patient account 3 may easily neglect a task and set back the recovery process as a result.", "The recovery process facilitates the recovery of the desired medical procedure for the user of the patient account 3 as a current date and time is monitored with the remote server, as seen in FIG.", "10.The patient account 3 is alerted to the task by displaying the descriptive information with the patient PC device 4, if the current date and time matches the specific date and time.", "Furthermore, the patient account 3 is prompted to send a task confirmation to the practitioner account 1 through the patient PC device 4, if the patient account 3 completes the required action.", "The user of the practitioner account 1 reviews the preparation of the patient account 3 through the application and, consequently, the preparation of the patient account 3 is more extensive upon the task confirmation.", "In order for the user of the practitioner account 1 to review the preparation of the patient account 3, the task confirmation is relayed from the patient PC device 4, through the remote server, and to the practitioner PC device 2.The task confirmation is then displayed through the practitioner PC device 2, automatically alerting the practitioner account 1 of the completion of the task.", "As each user corresponding to the patient account 3 has a unique physical and mental condition associated with a given medical condition, the practitioner account 1 may adjust a task to accommodate the unique physical and mental condition of the user of the patient account 3, shown in FIG.", "10.The practitioner account 1 is prompted to enter a modification to the at least one task through the practitioner PC device 2 before Step F so that the patient account 3 is not requested to fulfill a task that does not help or apply to the user of the patient account 3.Instead, the user of the patient account 3 completes a task that caters to the specific physical and medical condition of the user as the modification is applied to the at least one task with the remote server, if the practitioner account 1 enters the modification.", "Similar to that of the distal preparatory process and proximal preparatory process, in order to efficiently manage the tasks with any other important dates and notification already stored on the patient PC device 4, a calendar application is provided and managed by the patient PC device 4, also seen in FIG.", "10.The calendar application allows the patient account 3 to input important dates and notifications into the patient PC device 4.The specific date and time of the task is synchronized into the calendar application with the patient PC device 4 in order to simplify the planning and notification delivery of the patient PC device 4.The practitioner account 1 may communicate with the patient account 3 if the user of the practitioner account 1 notices anything unusual with respect to the completed tasks of the patient account 3.In order for the practitioner account 1 to communicate with the patient account 3, the practitioner account 1 is prompted to enter a message to the patient account 3 through the practitioner PC device 2, as shown in FIG.", "11.So that the user of the practitioner account 1 and the user of the patient account 3 may communicate with each other without physically being in each other's presence, the message is relayed from the practitioner PC device 2, through the remote server, and to the patient account 3, if the practitioner account 1 enters the message to the patient account 3.The message is viewable by the user of the patient account 3 as the message is displayed through the patient PC device 4.The user of the patient account 3 may respond once the patient account 3 is prompted to enter a reply to the practitioner account 1 through the patient PC device 4.Similarly, the reply from the patient PC device 4 is relayed, through the remoter server, and to the practitioner PC device 2, if the patient account 3 enters the relay to the practitioner account 1.The reply is displayed through the practitioner PC device 2, allowing the user of the patient account 3 to communicate with the user of the practitioner without being in each other's presence.", "Likewise, the patient account 3 may communicate with the practitioner account 1 if the user of the patient account 3 would like to ask the user of the practitioner account 1 a question or inform the user of the practitioner account 1 about a task or status.", "In order for the patient account 3 to communicate with the practitioner account 1, the patient account 3 is prompted to enter a message to the practitioner account 1 through the patient PC device 4, seen in FIG.", "12.The message is relayed from the patient PC device 4, through the remote server, and to the practitioner account 1, if the patient account 3 enters the message to the practitioner account 1 so that the user of the patient account 3 and the user of the practitioner account 1 may communicate with each other without physically being in each other's presence.", "The message is viewable by the user of the practitioner account 1 as the message is displayed through the practitioner PC device 2.The user of the practitioner account 1 may respond once the practitioner account 1 is prompted to enter a reply to the patient account 3 through the practitioner PC device 2.Similarly, the reply from the practitioner PC device 2 is relayed, through the remoter server, and to the patient PC device 4, if the practitioner account 1 enters the relay to the patient account 3.The reply is displayed through the patient PC device 4, allowing the user of the practitioner account 1 to communicate with the user of the patient without being in each other's presence.", "The present invention further simplifies the process of a desired medical procedure by providing the patient account 3 with reference material.", "The reference material is contoured to the unique user of the patient account 3.The reference material reduces any stress related to searching and filtering of all the data and information regarding related material for the patient account 3.The reference material is also organized with respect to each step.", "As shown in FIG.", "13, reference material for the exploratory process is provided and stored on the remote server.", "The reference material for the exploratory process allows the user of the patient account 3 to make an informed decision regarding the type of desired medical procedure and if any additional procedures are necessary.", "In order to view specific reference material, the patient account 3 is prompted to select a desired piece of information from the reference material through the patient PC device 4.The desired piece of information is relayed from the remote server to the patient PC device 4, if the patient account 3 selects the desired piece of information from the reference material.", "The user of the patient account 3 may view the desired piece of information as the desired piece of information is then displayed on the patient PC device 4.As seen in FIG.", "14, the reference material for the distal proximal process allows the user of the patient account 3 to learn more about the status of a patient account 3 before the desired medical procedure and answer any questions regarding the preparation before the desired medical procedure.", "In order to view specific reference material, the patient account 3 is prompted to select a desired piece of information from the reference material through the patient PC device 4.The desired piece of information is relayed from the remote server to the patient PC device 4, if the patient account 3 selects the desired piece of information from the reference material.", "The user of the patient account 3 may view the desired piece of information as the desired piece of information is then displayed on the patient PC device 4.The reference material for the proximal process allows the user of the patient account 3 to learn more and answer common questions regarding the desired medical procedure.", "Reference material for the proximal process is provided and stored on the remote server, as seen in FIG.", "15.In order to view specific reference material, the patient account 3 is prompted to select a desired piece of information from the reference material through the patient PC device 4.The desired piece of information is relayed from the remote server to the patient PC device 4, if the patient account 3 selects the desired piece of information from the reference material.", "The user of the patient account 3 may view the desired piece of information as the desired piece of information is then displayed on the patient PC device 4.As seen in FIG.", "16, the reference material for the recovery process allows the user of the patient account 3 to learn more and answer common questions regarding his or her own recovery with respect to the desired medical procedure.", "Reference material for the recovery process is provided and stored on the remote server.", "In order to view specific reference material, the patient account 3 is prompted to select a desired piece of information from the reference material through the patient PC device 4.The desired piece of information is relayed from the remote server to the patient PC device 4, if the patient account 3 selects the desired piece of information from the reference material.", "The user of the patient account 3 may view the desired piece of information as the desired piece of information is then displayed on the patient PC device 4.As the user of the practitioner account 1 treats the users of a plurality of patient accounts 3, the practitioner account 1 organizes each patient account 3 for easy viewing, accurate task adjustments, and effective scheduling.", "More specifically, a plurality of patient accounts 3 is provided as the at least one patient account 3, wherein the patient accounts 3 are associated to a single practitioner account 1 from the at least one practitioner account 1.As seen in FIG.", "17, the single practitioner account 1 accommodates to the medical conditions and physical status of the user of the patient account 3 as Steps C through F are executed between each patient account 3 and the single practitioner account 1.The desired medical procedure is compiled between each patient account 3 and the single practitioner account 1 into a practitioner task list with the remote server.", "The practitioner task list may include, but is not limited to, the date, time, and location of the desired medical procedure of each patient account 3, any scheduled checkups with the user of the patient account 3, and so on.", "The practitioner task list allows the single practitioner account 1 to effectively monitor each patient account 3.The single practitioner account 1 may sort through the practitioner task list as the single practitioner account 1 is prompted to select an organization filter with the practitioner PC device 2.The organization filter may include, but is not limited to, chronological order, type of task, location of task, and so on.", "If the single practitioner account 1 selects the organization filter, the organization filter is applied to the practitioner task list with the remote server.", "The practitioner task list is then displayed according to the organization filter with the practitioner PC device 2.In addition to ensuring the improvement of the physical condition of the user of the patient account 3 via the at least one task for the recovery process, the patient account 3 encourages mental health and strength by holding the user of the patient account 3 accountable for his or her progress.", "In order to hold the user of the patient account 3 accountable, a recovery log is provided and managed by the remote server, shown in FIG.", "18.The patient account 3 is prompted to enter at least one new entry with the patient PC device 4 during Step F. The at least one entry may include details regarding physical improvements, physical difficulties, psychological distress, and so on.", "If the patient account 3 enters the new entry, the new entry is relayed from the patient PC device 4 to the remote server thereby accounting for the progress of the patient account 3 throughout Step F. The new entry is appended into the recovery log for later review by the patient account 3.The patient account 3 is granted access to view the recovery log with the patient PC device 4 during Step F. Likewise, the practitioner account 1 is granted access to view the recovery log with the practitioner PC device 2 during Step F. The patient account 3 is therefore held accountable and the recovery process is further advanced, and the practitioner account 1 may also monitor the entirety of the recovery process.", "Once the recovery process is complete, the patient account 3 may still view the recovery log as the patient account 3 is granted access to view the recovery log with the patient PC device 4 after Step F, also seen in FIG.", "18.The patient account 3 may review the recovery log in order to prevent mistakes based on previous desired medical procedures or improve upon completed tasks and mental conditioning throughout each process.", "The practitioner account 1, however, is restricted access from viewing the recovery log with the practitioner PC device 2 after Step F as the recovery log does not serve as a form of medical records for the patient account 3.Any medical history regarding a patient account 3 is obtained through the traditional means of transferring and sending medical records.", "Another major stress imposed on the user of the patient account 3 in addition to the physical stress of the desired medical procedure itself is the financial strain of the desired medical procedure.", "In order to simplify the financial strain of the desired medical procedure, the patient account 3 is prompted to enter personal healthcare information through the patient PC device 4, seen in FIG.", "19.The personal healthcare information includes all health insurance accounts associated with the patient account 3 as the health insurance accounts of the patient account 3 affects a bill or a balance associated with the patient account 3.If the patient account 3 enters the personal healthcare information, the personal healthcare information is relayed from the patient PC device 4 to the remote server.", "The personal healthcare information is stored on the remote server and is automatically associated with the patient account 3 so that the personal healthcare information is applied to future desired medical procedures.", "Similar to standard office procedures of medical offices, the personal healthcare information, such as health insurance, may not be accepted by all practitioner accounts 1.In order to determine if the personal healthcare information is accepted by the practitioner account 1, the practitioner account 1 is first prompted to enter a set of healthcare requirements through the practitioner PC device 2, also seen in FIG.", "19.If the practitioner account 1 enters the set of healthcare requirements, the set of healthcare requirements is relayed from the practitioner PC device 2 to the remote server.", "The set of healthcare requirements is stored for comparison to multiple personal healthcare information of current and further patient accounts 3 associated with the practitioner account 1.The personal healthcare information is compared to the set of healthcare requirements with the remote server in order to verify financial compatibility between the personal healthcare information and the healthcare requirements.", "If the remote server verifies the financial compatibility between the personal healthcare information and the healthcare requirements, a healthcare-accepted notification is sent to the patient PC device 4 and the practitioner PC device 2.Both the patient account 3 and the practitioner account 1 do not need to process the set of healthcare requirements and the personal healthcare information, respectively, as the remote server compares and verifies the information of patient account 3.The healthcare-accepted notification preferably includes which medical procedures are covered by the health insurance accounts of the patient account 3 and the remaining balance that is charged to the patient account 3.In addition to the comparison and verification of the personal healthcare information of the patient account 3, a financial-planning software engine is provided and managed by the remote server, seen in FIG.", "20.A remaining balance for the patient account 3 is also provided and managed by the remote server.", "The financial-planning software presents the patient account 3 with multiple methods and possibilities of paying the remaining balance of a desired medical procedure.", "The remaining balance alerts the patient account 3 of the financial amount due to the practitioner account 1.In order to effectively and thoroughly analyze and present the patient account 3 with multiple methods and possibilities of paying the remaining balance, the patient account 3 is first prompted to a set of financial constraints through the patient PC device 4.The set of financial constraints may include monthly income, existing debts and bills, and so on.", "If the patient account 3 enters the set of financial constraints, the set of financial constraints is relayed from the patient PC device 4 to the remote server.", "Consequently, a financial plan is generated for the patient account 3 with the remote server by inputting the remaining balance and the set of financial constraints into the financial-planning software engine.", "The financial payment plan is then sent to the patient PC device 4 so that the user of the patient account 3 may view and select the best option given the set of financial constraints.", "Although the invention has been explained in relation to its preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that many other possible modifications and variations can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed." ] ]
Patent_15873191
[ [ "Flexible Multilayer Scattering Substrate Used In OLED", "A flexible multilayer scattering substrate is disclosed.", "Built on a flexible supporting layer, the multilayer contains one or more scattering layers and other functional layers so that it can extract the trapped light in substrate and waveguide of an OLED.", "The processing of each layer is fully compatible with large area, flexible OLED manufactory, and by controlling processing conditions of each incorporated layer, the substrate microstructure can be tuned.", "Topographic features can be created on the top surface of substrate by changing the thickness and properties of the multilayer." ], [ "1.A flexible, multi-layer substrate for an organic light emitting diode (OLED), comprising: a flexible support layer having a thickness of less than 50 μm; a light scattering layer disposed over the support layer, wherein the light scattering layer comprises light scattering particles dispersed in a polymer matrix; and a planarization layer disposed over the light scattering layer.", "2-4.", "(canceled) 5.The flexible substrate of claim 1, wherein the support layer is substantially free of light scattering particles from the light scattering layer at an interface between the support layer and the light scattering layer.", "6.The flexible substrate of claim 1, wherein the support layer comprises at least one of PMMA, polyimide and PDMS.", "7.", "(canceled) 8.The flexible substrate of claim 1, wherein the light scattering particle size is between 100 nm and 600 nm.", "9.", "(canceled) 10.The flexible substrate of claim 1, wherein the scattering particles comprise at least one of titanium oxide, zirconium oxide and zinc oxide.", "11-12.", "(canceled) 13.The flexible substrate of claim 1, wherein the thickness of the light scattering layer is between 0.1 and 10 μm.", "14.The flexible substrate of claim 1, wherein the planarization layer comprises a plurality of layers.", "15-17.", "(canceled) 18.The flexible substrate of claim 1, wherein the light scattering layer is positioned along a neutral plane of the multi-layer substrate.", "19-20.", "(canceled) 21.The flexible substrate of claim 1, wherein the top surface of the planarization layer includes a topographic structure having a thickness of between 10 nm and 2 μm.", "22.The flexible substrate of claim 21, wherein the thickness of the topographic structure is between 10 nm and 200 nm.", "23.", "(canceled) 24.A method of fabricating a flexible substrate for an organic light emitting diode (OLED), comprising: solution processing a support layer having a thickness of less than 50 μm on a rigid plate; curing the support layer; disposing a light scattering layer comprising light scattering particles dispersed in a polymer matrix on the support layer; curing the light scattering layer; disposing a planarization layer on top of the light scattering layer; and curing the planarization layer.", "25.The method of claim 24, further comprising: curing the flexible substrate.", "26.The method of claim 24, wherein curing comprises soft baking.", "27.The method of claim 24, wherein curing comprises room temperature annealing.", "28.The method of claim 24, wherein curing the support layer and curing the light scattering layer creates a support layer substantially free of doped light scattering particles from the light scattering layer at an interface between the support layer and the light scattering layer.", "29.The method of claim 24, wherein curing the support layer and curing the light scattering layer creates a support layer doped with a portion of the light scattering particles from the light scattering layer at an interface between the support layer and the light scattering layer.", "30.", "(canceled) 31.The method of claim 24, wherein curing the flexible substrate comprises high temperature curing at over 150° C. for at least 1 hour.", "32.The method of claim 24, wherein all layers are processed with at least one of doctor blade coating and slot die coating.", "33.The method of claim 24, wherein the planarization layer is processed by at least one of plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD), physical vapor deposition (PVD), and a vacuum method.", "34.", "(canceled) 35.A method of fabricating an OLED comprising the method of claim 24 further comprising: fabricating an OLED on top of the flexible substrate.", "36.", "(canceled)" ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND <EOH>Opto-electronic devices that make use of organic materials are becoming increasingly desirable for a number of reasons.", "Many of the materials used to make such devices are relatively inexpensive, so organic opto-electronic devices have the potential for cost advantages over inorganic devices.", "In addition, the inherent properties of organic materials, such as their flexibility, may make them well suited for particular applications such as fabrication on a flexible substrate.", "Examples of organic opto-electronic devices include organic light emitting devices (OLEDs), organic phototransistors, organic photovoltaic cells, and organic photodetectors.", "For OLEDs, the organic materials may have performance advantages over conventional materials.", "For example, the wavelength at which an organic emissive layer emits light may generally be readily tuned with appropriate dopants.", "OLEDs make use of thin organic films that emit light when voltage is applied across the device.", "OLEDs are becoming an increasingly interesting technology for use in applications such as flat panel displays, illumination, and backlighting.", "Several OLED materials and configurations are described in U.S. Pat.", "Nos.", "5,844,363, 6,303,238, and 5,707,745, which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.", "One application for phosphorescent emissive molecules is a full color display.", "Industry standards for such a display call for pixels adapted to emit particular colors, referred to as “saturated” colors.", "In particular, these standards call for saturated red, green, and blue pixels.", "Color may be measured using CIE coordinates, which are well known to the art.", "One example of a green emissive molecule is tris(2-phenylpyridine) iridium, denoted Ir(ppy) 3 , which has the following structure: In this, and later figures herein, we depict the dative bond from nitrogen to metal (here, Ir) as a straight line.", "As used herein, the term “organic” includes polymeric materials as well as small molecule organic materials that may be used to fabricate organic opto-electronic devices.", "“Small molecule” refers to any organic material that is not a polymer, and “small molecules” may actually be quite large.", "Small molecules may include repeat units in some circumstances.", "For example, using a long chain alkyl group as a substituent does not remove a molecule from the “small molecule” class.", "Small molecules may also be incorporated into polymers, for example as a pendent group on a polymer backbone or as a part of the backbone.", "Small molecules may also serve as the core moiety of a dendrimer, which consists of a series of chemical shells built on the core moiety.", "The core moiety of a dendrimer may be a fluorescent or phosphorescent small molecule emitter.", "A dendrimer may be a “small molecule,” and it is believed that all dendrimers currently used in the field of OLEDs are small molecules.", "As used herein, “top” means furthest away from the substrate, while “bottom” means closest to the substrate.", "Where a first layer is described as “disposed over” a second layer, the first layer is disposed further away from substrate.", "There may be other layers between the first and second layer, unless it is specified that the first layer is “in contact with” the second layer.", "For example, a cathode may be described as “disposed over” an anode, even though there are various organic layers in between.", "As used herein, “solution processible” means capable of being dissolved, dispersed, or transported in and/or deposited from a liquid medium, either in solution or suspension form.", "A ligand may be referred to as “photoactive” when it is believed that the ligand directly contributes to the photoactive properties of an emissive material.", "A ligand may be referred to as “ancillary” when it is believed that the ligand does not contribute to the photoactive properties of an emissive material, although an ancillary ligand may alter the properties of a photoactive ligand.", "As used herein, and as would be generally understood by one skilled in the art, a first “Highest Occupied Molecular Orbital” (HOMO) or “Lowest Unoccupied Molecular Orbital” (LUMO) energy level is “greater than” or “higher than” a second HOMO or LUMO energy level if the first energy level is closer to the vacuum energy level.", "Since ionization potentials (IP) are measured as a negative energy relative to a vacuum level, a higher HOMO energy level corresponds to an IP having a smaller absolute value (an IP that is less negative).", "Similarly, a higher LUMO energy level corresponds to an electron affinity (EA) having a smaller absolute value (an EA that is less negative).", "On a conventional energy level diagram, with the vacuum level at the top, the LUMO energy level of a material is higher than the HOMO energy level of the same material.", "A “higher” HOMO or LUMO energy level appears closer to the top of such a diagram than a “lower” HOMO or LUMO energy level.", "As used herein, and as would be generally understood by one skilled in the art, a first work function is “greater than” or “higher than” a second work function if the first work function has a higher absolute value.", "Because work functions are generally measured as negative numbers relative to vacuum level, this means that a “higher” work function is more negative.", "On a conventional energy level diagram, with the vacuum level at the top, a “higher” work function is illustrated as further away from the vacuum level in the downward direction.", "Thus, the definitions of HOMO and LUMO energy levels follow a different convention than work functions.", "More details on OLEDs, and the definitions described above, can be found in U.S. Pat.", "No.", "7,279,704, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.", "Due to the index mismatching at the interfaces of different index layers of an OLED, internal reflections occur, resulting in large part of light being trapped inside of the device.", "As the result, only 20% of generated light is outcoupled without any extracting method in a bottom emitting OLED.", "By incorporating a scattering layer, the emission angle is shifted and the internal reflection is reduced.", "The method belongs to the so called internal extraction structure (IES).", "One of the most important requirements of the IES is compatibility with lateral OLED fabrication.", "Specifically, the roughness of the top surface which contacts the OLED.", "For example, Hong-Wei Chang et al., demonstrated that by milling the scattering particles for 24 hours, fine top surface can be achieved without a further planarizing layer (Journal of Applied Physics 113, 204502, 2013).", "However, milling and the following filtering processes are not cost efficient.", "Most of the time, scattering alone cannot provide such fine roughness requirement, and a planarizing layer on top can flatten the surface.", "Regarding flexible OLED, another requirement is that the final substrate has to be a stand-alone film.", "Thus the scattering layer must not cause internal stress or crack under external stress.", "Due to the internal stress caused by the nanoparticles blended with polymer, the scattering layer alone usually fails to meet these criteria.", "U.S. Pat.", "No.", "7,579,054 discloses a flexible substrate comprising a resin composition layer containing an inorganic layered compound and a resin matrix.", "While it is a good example of the concept using an inorganic compound blended into a polymer matrix as a scattering layer and applied it to a flexible substrate, in terms of flexible applications, by using the scattering layer alone as the substrate, it is usually not satisfactory for OLED fabrication, even though the concept has been well studied and successfully applied on rigid substrates.", "On the other hand, U.S. Patent Application No.", "20140264316 discloses an outcoupling system containing one or more scattering layers on top of a rigid substrate for OLED application.", "There is therefore a continuing need in the art for OLED multilayer substrates, and in particular flexible multilayer substrates for the next generation flexible display and light applications, wherein the flexible substrate is needed as the first supporting layer.", "There is also a continuing need in the art for addressing issues such as surface roughness, stress and processing conditions.", "The current invention fulfills these needs, by applying more functional layers with the same fabrication process, ensuring not only substrate flexibility, but bringing as well additional outcoupling features to the substrate." ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION <EOH>In one aspect, the invention relates to a flexible, multi-layer substrate for an organic light emitting diode (OLED), comprising: a flexible support layer having a thickness of less than 50 μm; a light scattering layer disposed over the support layer, wherein the light scattering layer comprises light scattering particles dispersed in a polymer matrix; and a planarization layer disposed over the light scattering layer.", "In one embodiment, the flexible support layer has a thickness of less than 10 μm.", "In another embodiment, the flexible support layer has a thickness of less than 5 μm.", "In one embodiment, the support layer is doped with a portion of the light scattering particles from the light scattering layer at an interface between the support layer and the light scattering layer.", "In another embodiment, the support layer is substantially free of light scattering particles from the light scattering layer at an interface between the support layer and the light scattering layer.", "In one embodiment, the support layer comprises at least one of PMMA, polyamide and PDMS.", "In another embodiment, the light scattering layer comprises a substantially uniform blend of scattering particles and polymer matrix.", "In one embodiment, the light scattering particle size is between 100 nm and 600 nm.", "In one embodiment, the scattering particles and polymer matrix are index mismatched.", "In one embodiment, the scattering particles comprise at least one of titanium oxide, zirconium oxide and zinc oxide.", "In one embodiment, the polymer matrix of the light scattering layer and the support layer are composed of the same polymer.", "In one embodiment, the loading ratio of the scattering particles is between 5% and 50%.", "In one embodiment, the thickness of the light scattering layer is between 0.1 and 10 μm.", "In another embodiment, the planarization layer comprises a plurality of layers.", "In one embodiment, the planarization layer and the support layer comprise the same material.", "In one embodiment, the planarization layer comprises at least one of silicon oxide, aluminum oxide, silicon nitride, indium zinc oxide, indium tin oxide and zinc aluminum oxide.", "In one embodiment, scattering centers of the light scattering layer have variable distributions over a normal direction of the flexible substrate.", "In one embodiment, the light scattering layer is positioned along a neutral plane of the multi-layer substrate.", "In another embodiment, normal directional transmission of the substrates is between 10% and 60%.", "In one embodiment, the flexible substrate has a refractive index greater than 1.5.In one embodiment, the top surface of the planarization layer includes a topographic structure having a thickness of between 10 nm and 2 μm.", "In another embodiment, the thickness of the topographic structure is between 10 nm and 200 nm.", "In another aspect, the invention relates to an OLED device, comprising at least one OLED stack disposed over the planarization layer of a flexible substrate of the invention.", "In another aspect, the invention relates to a method of fabricating a flexible substrate for an organic light emitting diode (OLED), comprising: solution processing a support layer having a thickness of less than 50 μm on a rigid plate; curing the support layer; disposing a light scattering layer comprising light scattering particles dispersed in a polymer matrix on the support layer; curing the light scattering layer; disposing a planarization layer on top of the light scattering layer; and curing the planarization layer.", "In one embodiment, the method further comprises: curing the flexible substrate.", "In one embodiment, curing comprises soft baking.", "In another embodiment, curing comprises room temperature annealing.", "In one embodiment, curing the support layer and curing the light scattering layer creates a support layer substantially free of doped light scattering particles from the light scattering layer at an interface between the support layer and the light scattering layer.", "In another embodiment, curing the support layer and curing the light scattering layer creates a support layer doped with a portion of the light scattering particles from the light scattering layer at an interface between the support layer and the light scattering layer.", "In one embodiment, the rigid plate comprises at least one of glass, a silicon wafer, a metal plate, a sapphire plate and a plastic plate.", "In another embodiment, curing the flexible substrate comprises high temperature curing at over 150° C. for at least 1 hour.", "In one embodiment, all layers are processed with at least one of doctor blade coating and slot die coating.", "In one embodiment, the planarization layer is processed by at least one of plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD), physical vapor deposition (PVD), and a vacuum method.", "In one embodiment, the method further comprises: peeling the flexible substrate off of the rigid plate.", "In another aspect, the invention relates to a method of fabricating an OLED comprising a method of the invention for fabricating a flexible substrate of the invention further comprising: fabricating an OLED on top of the flexible substrate.", "In one embodiment, the method further comprises: fabricating an OLED on top of the flexible substrate; and peeling the flexible substrate off of the rigid plate." ], [ "CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "15/200,596, filed Jul.", "1, 2016, which is a non-provisional of U.S. Patent Application Ser.", "No.", "62/189,961, filed Jul.", "8, 2015, both of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.", "PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT The claimed invention was made by, on behalf of, and/or in connection with one or more of the following parties to a joint university corporation research agreement: Regents of the University of Michigan, Princeton University, University of Southern California, and the Universal Display Corporation.", "The agreement was in effect on and before the date the claimed invention was made, and the claimed invention was made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of the agreement.", "FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to flexible multilayer scattering substrates, and devices, such as organic light emitting diodes and other devices, including the same.", "BACKGROUND Opto-electronic devices that make use of organic materials are becoming increasingly desirable for a number of reasons.", "Many of the materials used to make such devices are relatively inexpensive, so organic opto-electronic devices have the potential for cost advantages over inorganic devices.", "In addition, the inherent properties of organic materials, such as their flexibility, may make them well suited for particular applications such as fabrication on a flexible substrate.", "Examples of organic opto-electronic devices include organic light emitting devices (OLEDs), organic phototransistors, organic photovoltaic cells, and organic photodetectors.", "For OLEDs, the organic materials may have performance advantages over conventional materials.", "For example, the wavelength at which an organic emissive layer emits light may generally be readily tuned with appropriate dopants.", "OLEDs make use of thin organic films that emit light when voltage is applied across the device.", "OLEDs are becoming an increasingly interesting technology for use in applications such as flat panel displays, illumination, and backlighting.", "Several OLED materials and configurations are described in U.S. Pat.", "Nos.", "5,844,363, 6,303,238, and 5,707,745, which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.", "One application for phosphorescent emissive molecules is a full color display.", "Industry standards for such a display call for pixels adapted to emit particular colors, referred to as “saturated” colors.", "In particular, these standards call for saturated red, green, and blue pixels.", "Color may be measured using CIE coordinates, which are well known to the art.", "One example of a green emissive molecule is tris(2-phenylpyridine) iridium, denoted Ir(ppy)3, which has the following structure: In this, and later figures herein, we depict the dative bond from nitrogen to metal (here, Ir) as a straight line.", "As used herein, the term “organic” includes polymeric materials as well as small molecule organic materials that may be used to fabricate organic opto-electronic devices.", "“Small molecule” refers to any organic material that is not a polymer, and “small molecules” may actually be quite large.", "Small molecules may include repeat units in some circumstances.", "For example, using a long chain alkyl group as a substituent does not remove a molecule from the “small molecule” class.", "Small molecules may also be incorporated into polymers, for example as a pendent group on a polymer backbone or as a part of the backbone.", "Small molecules may also serve as the core moiety of a dendrimer, which consists of a series of chemical shells built on the core moiety.", "The core moiety of a dendrimer may be a fluorescent or phosphorescent small molecule emitter.", "A dendrimer may be a “small molecule,” and it is believed that all dendrimers currently used in the field of OLEDs are small molecules.", "As used herein, “top” means furthest away from the substrate, while “bottom” means closest to the substrate.", "Where a first layer is described as “disposed over” a second layer, the first layer is disposed further away from substrate.", "There may be other layers between the first and second layer, unless it is specified that the first layer is “in contact with” the second layer.", "For example, a cathode may be described as “disposed over” an anode, even though there are various organic layers in between.", "As used herein, “solution processible” means capable of being dissolved, dispersed, or transported in and/or deposited from a liquid medium, either in solution or suspension form.", "A ligand may be referred to as “photoactive” when it is believed that the ligand directly contributes to the photoactive properties of an emissive material.", "A ligand may be referred to as “ancillary” when it is believed that the ligand does not contribute to the photoactive properties of an emissive material, although an ancillary ligand may alter the properties of a photoactive ligand.", "As used herein, and as would be generally understood by one skilled in the art, a first “Highest Occupied Molecular Orbital” (HOMO) or “Lowest Unoccupied Molecular Orbital” (LUMO) energy level is “greater than” or “higher than” a second HOMO or LUMO energy level if the first energy level is closer to the vacuum energy level.", "Since ionization potentials (IP) are measured as a negative energy relative to a vacuum level, a higher HOMO energy level corresponds to an IP having a smaller absolute value (an IP that is less negative).", "Similarly, a higher LUMO energy level corresponds to an electron affinity (EA) having a smaller absolute value (an EA that is less negative).", "On a conventional energy level diagram, with the vacuum level at the top, the LUMO energy level of a material is higher than the HOMO energy level of the same material.", "A “higher” HOMO or LUMO energy level appears closer to the top of such a diagram than a “lower” HOMO or LUMO energy level.", "As used herein, and as would be generally understood by one skilled in the art, a first work function is “greater than” or “higher than” a second work function if the first work function has a higher absolute value.", "Because work functions are generally measured as negative numbers relative to vacuum level, this means that a “higher” work function is more negative.", "On a conventional energy level diagram, with the vacuum level at the top, a “higher” work function is illustrated as further away from the vacuum level in the downward direction.", "Thus, the definitions of HOMO and LUMO energy levels follow a different convention than work functions.", "More details on OLEDs, and the definitions described above, can be found in U.S. Pat.", "No.", "7,279,704, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.", "Due to the index mismatching at the interfaces of different index layers of an OLED, internal reflections occur, resulting in large part of light being trapped inside of the device.", "As the result, only 20% of generated light is outcoupled without any extracting method in a bottom emitting OLED.", "By incorporating a scattering layer, the emission angle is shifted and the internal reflection is reduced.", "The method belongs to the so called internal extraction structure (IES).", "One of the most important requirements of the IES is compatibility with lateral OLED fabrication.", "Specifically, the roughness of the top surface which contacts the OLED.", "For example, Hong-Wei Chang et al., demonstrated that by milling the scattering particles for 24 hours, fine top surface can be achieved without a further planarizing layer (Journal of Applied Physics 113, 204502, 2013).", "However, milling and the following filtering processes are not cost efficient.", "Most of the time, scattering alone cannot provide such fine roughness requirement, and a planarizing layer on top can flatten the surface.", "Regarding flexible OLED, another requirement is that the final substrate has to be a stand-alone film.", "Thus the scattering layer must not cause internal stress or crack under external stress.", "Due to the internal stress caused by the nanoparticles blended with polymer, the scattering layer alone usually fails to meet these criteria.", "U.S. Pat.", "No.", "7,579,054 discloses a flexible substrate comprising a resin composition layer containing an inorganic layered compound and a resin matrix.", "While it is a good example of the concept using an inorganic compound blended into a polymer matrix as a scattering layer and applied it to a flexible substrate, in terms of flexible applications, by using the scattering layer alone as the substrate, it is usually not satisfactory for OLED fabrication, even though the concept has been well studied and successfully applied on rigid substrates.", "On the other hand, U.S. Patent Application No.", "20140264316 discloses an outcoupling system containing one or more scattering layers on top of a rigid substrate for OLED application.", "There is therefore a continuing need in the art for OLED multilayer substrates, and in particular flexible multilayer substrates for the next generation flexible display and light applications, wherein the flexible substrate is needed as the first supporting layer.", "There is also a continuing need in the art for addressing issues such as surface roughness, stress and processing conditions.", "The current invention fulfills these needs, by applying more functional layers with the same fabrication process, ensuring not only substrate flexibility, but bringing as well additional outcoupling features to the substrate.", "SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In one aspect, the invention relates to a flexible, multi-layer substrate for an organic light emitting diode (OLED), comprising: a flexible support layer having a thickness of less than 50 μm; a light scattering layer disposed over the support layer, wherein the light scattering layer comprises light scattering particles dispersed in a polymer matrix; and a planarization layer disposed over the light scattering layer.", "In one embodiment, the flexible support layer has a thickness of less than 10 μm.", "In another embodiment, the flexible support layer has a thickness of less than 5 μm.", "In one embodiment, the support layer is doped with a portion of the light scattering particles from the light scattering layer at an interface between the support layer and the light scattering layer.", "In another embodiment, the support layer is substantially free of light scattering particles from the light scattering layer at an interface between the support layer and the light scattering layer.", "In one embodiment, the support layer comprises at least one of PMMA, polyamide and PDMS.", "In another embodiment, the light scattering layer comprises a substantially uniform blend of scattering particles and polymer matrix.", "In one embodiment, the light scattering particle size is between 100 nm and 600 nm.", "In one embodiment, the scattering particles and polymer matrix are index mismatched.", "In one embodiment, the scattering particles comprise at least one of titanium oxide, zirconium oxide and zinc oxide.", "In one embodiment, the polymer matrix of the light scattering layer and the support layer are composed of the same polymer.", "In one embodiment, the loading ratio of the scattering particles is between 5% and 50%.", "In one embodiment, the thickness of the light scattering layer is between 0.1 and 10 μm.", "In another embodiment, the planarization layer comprises a plurality of layers.", "In one embodiment, the planarization layer and the support layer comprise the same material.", "In one embodiment, the planarization layer comprises at least one of silicon oxide, aluminum oxide, silicon nitride, indium zinc oxide, indium tin oxide and zinc aluminum oxide.", "In one embodiment, scattering centers of the light scattering layer have variable distributions over a normal direction of the flexible substrate.", "In one embodiment, the light scattering layer is positioned along a neutral plane of the multi-layer substrate.", "In another embodiment, normal directional transmission of the substrates is between 10% and 60%.", "In one embodiment, the flexible substrate has a refractive index greater than 1.5.In one embodiment, the top surface of the planarization layer includes a topographic structure having a thickness of between 10 nm and 2 μm.", "In another embodiment, the thickness of the topographic structure is between 10 nm and 200 nm.", "In another aspect, the invention relates to an OLED device, comprising at least one OLED stack disposed over the planarization layer of a flexible substrate of the invention.", "In another aspect, the invention relates to a method of fabricating a flexible substrate for an organic light emitting diode (OLED), comprising: solution processing a support layer having a thickness of less than 50 μm on a rigid plate; curing the support layer; disposing a light scattering layer comprising light scattering particles dispersed in a polymer matrix on the support layer; curing the light scattering layer; disposing a planarization layer on top of the light scattering layer; and curing the planarization layer.", "In one embodiment, the method further comprises: curing the flexible substrate.", "In one embodiment, curing comprises soft baking.", "In another embodiment, curing comprises room temperature annealing.", "In one embodiment, curing the support layer and curing the light scattering layer creates a support layer substantially free of doped light scattering particles from the light scattering layer at an interface between the support layer and the light scattering layer.", "In another embodiment, curing the support layer and curing the light scattering layer creates a support layer doped with a portion of the light scattering particles from the light scattering layer at an interface between the support layer and the light scattering layer.", "In one embodiment, the rigid plate comprises at least one of glass, a silicon wafer, a metal plate, a sapphire plate and a plastic plate.", "In another embodiment, curing the flexible substrate comprises high temperature curing at over 150° C. for at least 1 hour.", "In one embodiment, all layers are processed with at least one of doctor blade coating and slot die coating.", "In one embodiment, the planarization layer is processed by at least one of plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD), physical vapor deposition (PVD), and a vacuum method.", "In one embodiment, the method further comprises: peeling the flexible substrate off of the rigid plate.", "In another aspect, the invention relates to a method of fabricating an OLED comprising a method of the invention for fabricating a flexible substrate of the invention further comprising: fabricating an OLED on top of the flexible substrate.", "In one embodiment, the method further comprises: fabricating an OLED on top of the flexible substrate; and peeling the flexible substrate off of the rigid plate.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG.", "1 shows an organic light emitting device.", "FIG.", "2 shows an inverted organic light emitting device that does not have a separate electron transport layer.", "FIG.", "3 is a schematic showing the elements of a flexible substrate, including a flexible support layer, a light scattering layer, and a planarization layer, and the resulting different microstructures of the final flexible substrate depending on different processing conditions.", "FIG.", "4 shows a scanning electron microscopy (SEM) cross section image of a stand-alone flexible substrate containing a soft baked supporting layer and scattering layer, where a clean interface is observed between the layers.", "FIG.", "5 shows an SEM cross section image of a stand-alone flexible substrate containing a room temperature baked supporting layer and scattering layer on top, where a well-mixed diffusion zone interface is observed between the layers, instead of a clean interface.", "FIG.", "6 is a chart showing the transmittance of flexible scattering substrates with different loading ratios.", "FIG.", "7 is a chart showing the relation between index change vs. the optical modes distribution of a bottom emission OLED (simulation).", "FIG.", "8 is a chart showing current-voltage-luminance plots.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION It is to be understood that the figures and descriptions of the present invention have been simplified to illustrate elements that are relevant for a more clear comprehension of the present invention, while eliminating, for the purpose of clarity, many other elements found in systems and methods relating to scattering substrates and their application to OLED.", "Those of ordinary skill in the art may recognize that other elements and/or steps are desirable and/or required in implementing the present invention.", "However, because such elements and steps are well known in the art, and because they do not facilitate a better understanding of the present invention, a discussion of such elements and steps is not provided herein.", "The disclosure herein is directed to all such variations and modifications to such elements and methods known to those skilled in the art.", "Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs.", "Although any methods and materials similar or equivalent to those described herein can be used in the practice or testing of the present invention, the preferred methods and materials are described.", "As used herein, each of the following terms has the meaning associated with it in this section.", "The articles “a” and “an” are used herein to refer to one or to more than one (i.e., to at least one) of the grammatical object of the article.", "By way of example, “an element” means one element or more than one element.", "“About” as used herein when referring to a measurable value such as an amount, a temporal duration, and the like, is meant to encompass variations of ±20%, ±10%, ±5%, ±1%, and ±0.1% from the specified value, as such variations are appropriate.", "Ranges: throughout this disclosure, various aspects of the invention can be presented in a range format.", "It should be understood that the description in range format is merely for convenience and brevity and should not be construed as an inflexible limitation on the scope of the invention.", "Where appropriate, the description of a range should be considered to have specifically disclosed all the possible subranges as well as individual numerical values within that range.", "For example, description of a range such as from 1 to 6 should be considered to have specifically disclosed subranges such as from 1 to 3, from 1 to 4, from 1 to 5, from 2 to 4, from 2 to 6, from 3 to 6 etc., as well as individual numbers within that range, for example, 1, 2, 2.7, 3, 4, 5, 5.3, and 6.This applies regardless of the breadth of the range.", "Generally, an OLED comprises at least one organic layer disposed between and electrically connected to an anode and a cathode.", "When a current is applied, the anode injects holes and the cathode injects electrons into the organic layer(s).", "The injected holes and electrons each migrate toward the oppositely charged electrode.", "When an electron and hole localize on the same molecule, an “exciton,” which is a localized electron-hole pair having an excited energy state, is formed.", "Light is emitted when the exciton relaxes via a photoemissive mechanism.", "In some cases, the exciton may be localized on an excimer or an exciplex.", "Non-radiative mechanisms, such as thermal relaxation, may also occur, but are generally considered undesirable.", "The initial OLEDs used emissive molecules that emitted light from their singlet states (“fluorescence”) as disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat.", "No.", "4,769,292, which is incorporated by reference in its entirety.", "Fluorescent emission generally occurs in a time frame of less than 10 nanoseconds.", "More recently, OLEDs having emissive materials that emit light from triplet states (“phosphorescence”) have been demonstrated.", "Baldo et al., “Highly Efficient Phosphorescent Emission from Organic Electroluminescent Devices,” Nature, vol.", "395, 151-154, 1998; (“Baldo-I”) and Baldo et al., “Very high-efficiency green organic light-emitting devices based on electrophosphorescence,” Appl.", "Phys.", "Lett., vol.", "75, No.", "3, 4-6 (1999) (“Baldo-II”), which are incorporated by reference in their entireties.", "Phosphorescence is described in more detail in U.S. Pat.", "No.", "7,279,704 at cols.", "5-6, which are incorporated by reference.", "FIG.", "1 shows an organic light emitting device 100.The figures are not necessarily drawn to scale.", "Device 100 may include a substrate 110, an anode 115, a hole injection layer 120, a hole transport layer 125, an electron blocking layer 130, an emissive layer 135, a hole blocking layer 140, an electron transport layer 145, an electron injection layer 150, a protective layer 155, a cathode 160, and a barrier layer 170.Cathode 160 is a compound cathode having a first conductive layer 162 and a second conductive layer 164.Device 100 may be fabricated by depositing the layers described, in order.", "The properties and functions of these various layers, as well as example materials, are described in more detail in U.S. Pat.", "No.", "7,279,704 at cols.", "6-10, which are incorporated by reference.", "More examples for each of these layers are available.", "For example, a flexible and transparent substrate-anode combination is disclosed in U.S. Pat.", "No.", "5,844,363, which is incorporated by reference in its entirety.", "An example of a p-doped hole transport layer is m-MTDATA doped with F4-TCNQ at a molar ratio of 50:1, as disclosed in U.S. Patent Application Publication No.", "2003/0230980, which is incorporated by reference in its entirety.", "Examples of emissive and host materials are disclosed in U.S. Pat.", "No.", "6,303,238 to Thompson et al., which is incorporated by reference in its entirety.", "An example of an n-doped electron transport layer is BPhen doped with Li at a molar ratio of 1:1, as disclosed in U.S. Patent Application Publication No.", "2003/0230980, which is incorporated by reference in its entirety.", "U.S. Pat.", "Nos.", "5,703,436 and 5,707,745, which are incorporated by reference in their entireties, disclose examples of cathodes including compound cathodes having a thin layer of metal such as Mg:Ag with an overlying transparent, electrically-conductive, sputter-deposited ITO layer.", "The theory and use of blocking layers is described in more detail in U.S. Pat.", "No.", "6,097,147 and U.S. Patent Application Publication No.", "2003/0230980, which are incorporated by reference in their entireties.", "Examples of injection layers are provided in U.S. Patent Application Publication No.", "2004/0174116, which is incorporated by reference in its entirety.", "A description of protective layers may be found in U.S. Patent Application Publication No.", "2004/0174116, which is incorporated by reference in its entirety.", "FIG.", "2 shows an inverted OLED 200.The device includes a substrate 210, a cathode 215, an emissive layer 220, a hole transport layer 225, and an anode 230.Device 200 may be fabricated by depositing the layers described, in order.", "Because the most common OLED configuration has a cathode disposed over the anode, and device 200 has cathode 215 disposed under anode 230, device 200 may be referred to as an “inverted” OLED.", "Materials similar to those described with respect to device 100 may be used in the corresponding layers of device 200.FIG.", "2 provides one example of how some layers may be omitted from the structure of device 100.The simple layered structure illustrated in FIGS.", "1 and 2 is provided by way of non-limiting example, and it is understood that embodiments of the invention may be used in connection with a wide variety of other structures.", "The specific materials and structures described are exemplary in nature, and other materials and structures may be used.", "Functional OLEDs may be achieved by combining the various layers described in different ways, or layers may be omitted entirely, based on design, performance, and cost factors.", "Other layers not specifically described may also be included.", "Materials other than those specifically described may be used.", "Although many of the examples provided herein describe various layers as comprising a single material, it is understood that combinations of materials, such as a mixture of host and dopant, or more generally a mixture, may be used.", "Also, the layers may have various sublayers.", "The names given to the various layers herein are not intended to be strictly limiting.", "For example, in device 200, hole transport layer 225 transports holes and injects holes into emissive layer 220, and may be described as a hole transport layer or a hole injection layer.", "In one embodiment, an OLED may be described as having an “organic layer” disposed between a cathode and an anode.", "This organic layer may comprise a single layer, or may further comprise multiple layers of different organic materials as described, for example, with respect to FIGS.", "1 and 2.Structures and materials not specifically described may also be used, such as OLEDs comprised of polymeric materials (PLEDs) such as disclosed in U.S. Pat.", "No.", "5,247,190 to Friend et al., which is incorporated by reference in its entirety.", "By way of further example, OLEDs having a single organic layer may be used.", "OLEDs may be stacked, for example as described in U.S. Pat.", "No.", "5,707,745 to Forrest et al, which is incorporated by reference in its entirety.", "The OLED structure may deviate from the simple layered structure illustrated in FIGS.", "1 and 2.For example, the substrate may include an angled reflective surface to improve outcoupling, such as a mesa structure as described in U.S. Pat.", "No.", "6,091,195 to Forrest et al., and/or a pit structure as described in U.S. Pat.", "No.", "5,834,893 to Bulovic et al., which are incorporated by reference in their entireties.", "Unless otherwise specified, any of the layers of the various embodiments may be deposited by any suitable method.", "For the organic layers, preferred methods include thermal evaporation, ink-jet, such as described in U.S. Pat.", "Nos.", "6,013,982 and 6,087,196, which are incorporated by reference in their entireties, organic vapor phase deposition (OVPD), such as described in U.S. Pat.", "No.", "6,337,102 to Forrest et al., which is incorporated by reference in its entirety, and deposition by organic vapor jet printing (OVJP), such as described in U.S. Pat.", "No.", "7,431,968, which is incorporated by reference in its entirety.", "Other suitable deposition methods include spin coating and other solution based processes.", "Solution based processes are preferably carried out in nitrogen or an inert atmosphere.", "For the other layers, preferred methods include thermal evaporation.", "Preferred patterning methods include deposition through a mask, cold welding such as described in U.S. Pat.", "Nos.", "6,294,398 and 6,468,819, which are incorporated by reference in their entireties, and patterning associated with some of the deposition methods such as ink-jet and OVJD.", "Other methods may also be used.", "The materials to be deposited may be modified to make them compatible with a particular deposition method.", "For example, substituents such as alkyl and aryl groups, branched or unbranched, and preferably containing at least 3 carbons, may be used in small molecules to enhance their ability to undergo solution processing.", "Substituents having 20 carbons or more may be used, and 3-20 carbons is a preferred range.", "Materials with asymmetric structures may have better solution processibility than those having symmetric structures, because asymmetric materials may have a lower tendency to recrystallize.", "Dendrimer substituents may be used to enhance the ability of small molecules to undergo solution processing.", "Devices fabricated in accordance with embodiments of the present invention may further optionally comprise a barrier layer.", "One purpose of the barrier layer is to protect the electrodes and organic layers from damaging exposure to harmful species in the environment including moisture, vapor and/or gases, etc.", "The barrier layer may be deposited over, under or next to a substrate, an electrode, or over any other parts of a device including an edge.", "The barrier layer may comprise a single layer, or multiple layers.", "The barrier layer may be formed by various known chemical vapor deposition techniques and may include compositions having a single phase as well as compositions having multiple phases.", "Any suitable material or combination of materials may be used for the barrier layer.", "The barrier layer may incorporate an inorganic or an organic compound or both.", "The preferred barrier layer comprises a mixture of a polymeric material and a non-polymeric material as described in U.S. Pat.", "No.", "7,968,146, PCT Pat.", "Application Nos.", "PCT/US2007/023098 and PCT/US2009/042829, which are herein incorporated by reference in their entireties.", "To be considered a “mixture”, the aforesaid polymeric and non-polymeric materials comprising the barrier layer should be deposited under the same reaction conditions and/or at the same time.", "The weight ratio of polymeric to non-polymeric material may be in the range of 95:5 to 5:95.The polymeric material and the non-polymeric material may be created from the same precursor material.", "In one example, the mixture of a polymeric material and a non-polymeric material consists essentially of polymeric silicon and inorganic silicon.", "Devices fabricated in accordance with embodiments of the invention can be incorporated into a wide variety of electronic component modules (or units) that can be incorporated into a variety of electronic products or intermediate components.", "Examples of such electronic products or intermediate components include display screens, lighting devices such as discrete light source devices or lighting panels, etc.", "that can be utilized by the end-user product manufacturers.", "Such electronic component modules can optionally include the driving electronics and/or power source(s).", "Devices fabricated in accordance with embodiments of the invention can be incorporated into a wide variety of consumer products that have one or more of the electronic component modules (or units) incorporated therein.", "Such consumer products would include any kind of products that include one or more light source(s) and/or one or more of some type of visual displays.", "Some examples of such consumer products include flat panel displays, computer monitors, medical monitors, televisions, billboards, lights for interior or exterior illumination and/or signaling, heads-up displays, fully or partially transparent displays, flexible displays, laser printers, telephones, cell phones, tablets, phablets, personal digital assistants (PDAs), laptop computers, digital cameras, camcorders, viewfinders, micro-displays, 3-D displays, vehicles, a large area wall, theater or stadium screen, or a sign.", "Various control mechanisms may be used to control devices fabricated in accordance with the present invention, including passive matrix and active matrix.", "Many of the devices are intended for use in a temperature range comfortable to humans, such as 18° C. to 30° C., and more preferably at room temperature, i.e., 20-25° C., but could be used outside this temperature range, for example, from −40° C. to +80° C. In one aspect, the invention relates to a flexible multilayer scattering substrate for an organic light emitting diode (OLED).", "Referring to FIG.", "3, in some embodiments 340 and 360, the flexible multilayer scattering substrate is a single unit containing at least three sub-layers: the first sub-layer 310 is a flexible supporting sub-layer having a thickness of less than 50 μm, the second sub-layer 320 disposed over the support sub-layer, is a light scattering sub-layer comprising light scattering particles dispersed in a polymer matrix, and the third sub-layer 330 is a planarization sub-layer disposed over the light scattering sub-layer.", "By sandwiching the light scattering sub-layer 320 between the flexible supporting sub-layer 310 and the planarization sub-layer 330, the scattering sub-layer 320 is therefore located at, or close to, the stress neutral plane, which helps improving the flexibility of the flexible multilayer scattering substrate.", "Referring to FIGS.", "3 and 4, owing to processing conditions described elsewhere herein including soft baking curing, in one embodiment 340, the flexible support sub-layer 310 is substantially free of light scattering particles from the light scattering sub-layer 320, at an interface 350 between the flexible support sub-layer 310 and the light scattering sub-layer 320.Referring to FIGS.", "3 and 5, owing to processing conditions described elsewhere herein including room temperature annealing, in one embodiment 360, the flexible support sub-layer 310 is doped with a portion of the light scattering particles from the light scattering sub-layer 320 at a diffusion zone interface 370 between the flexible support sub-layer 310 and the light scattering sub-layer 320.A diffusion zone interface results in advantages such as lower internal stress of the flexible multilayer scattering substrate.", "In some embodiments, the materials used in the first sub-layer 310 can be polymers such as PMMA, polyimide, or PDMS.", "In one embodiment, the thickness of the flexible support sub-layer is less than 2 In other embodiments, the thickness is anywhere between 2 μm and Compared with other flexible substrates such as PEN, PET, or metal foil, the thicknesses of which are usually well over 50 the thickness advantage ensures the flexibility of the final product.", "including the flexible multilayer scattering substrate or an OLED.", "In some embodiments, the scattering sub-layer consists of blended scattering particles in a polymer matrix.", "In one embodiment, the scattering sub-layer requires a refractive index mismatch between the scattering particles and the polymer matrix.", "In another embodiment, the larger this mismatch is, the stronger the scattering will be.", "In one embodiment, the scattering particle size is between 100 to 600 nm.", "In another embodiment, the scattering particle material can be titanium oxide, zirconium oxide, or zinc oxide.", "In another embodiment, the matrix is the polymer used in the first supporting sub-layer.", "In another embodiment, the loading ratio (weight percentage of scattering particles over all solids) is between 5% and 50%.", "In another embodiment, the thickness of the scattering sub-layer is between 1 to 5 In another embodiment, the thickness of the scattering sub-layer is between 0.1 to 10 In another embodiment, the scattering centers have different distributions over the direction normal to the flexible multilayer scattering substrate.", "In another embodiment, by incorporating a scattering sub-layer, the normal directional light transmission of the flexible multilayer scattering substrate is between 10% and 60%.", "In one embodiment, poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) is used as polymer matrix of the scattering sub-layer, and 300 nm titanium oxide (TiOx) nanoparticles (NPs) as scattering particles.", "PMMA has a refractive index of 1.5 and TiOx has a refractive index of 2.2.In one embodiment, 1 g PMMA was dissolved into 10 ml dimethylacetamide (DMAc) as solution A.", "A second solution B was prepared, containing 0.45 g TiOx nanoparticles suspended into 9.5 ml DMAc, with 0.5 ml diethylene glycol monobutyl ether as surfactant.", "Solutions A and B were sonicated for 6 hours before they are mixed, another 6 hour sonication was performed, and the resulting composition was used to fabricate a scattering sub-layer.", "The resulting thin film scattering sub-layer has a loading ratio of 30%.", "Beside the refractive index difference, the scattering effect can be tuned also by varying the particle size, the loading ratio of particles over the total solid weight, and the thickness of the scattering layer.", "In some embodiments, the particle size is better close to scattering wavelength.", "Too small size cannot give any scattering, while too large size will affect the film quality in terms of internal stress and smoothness.", "In some embodiments, a suitable range is between 100 nm to 600 nm.", "For a given scattering layer thickness, the higher the NPs loading ratio, the more scattering is observed, therefore lowering the transmittance of the film.", "FIG.", "6 shows the transmittance of a flexible multilayer scattering substrate of 7.5 μm total thickness, including a 1.25 μm thick scattering sub-layer sandwiched between the flexible supporting sub-layer and the planarization sub-layer, at various scattering particles loading ratios.", "The 300 nm NPs (30% loading ratio) afford a good scattering spectrum, where a relative flat transmission covers the visible range.", "For 550 nm incident light, a 32% transmittance is observed.", "FIG.", "6 also shows the transmission of other loading ratio with 300 nm TiOx in PMMA.", "Too high loading ratio is not desired because of the resulting high internal stress caused by NPs' aggregation.", "In some embodiments, a loading ratio range from 5% to 50% is generally good for scattering and film quality.", "The consideration of scattering sub-layer thickness lays on the overall stress and flexibility of the flexible multilayer scattering substrate.", "A thick scattering sub-layer results in large stress mismatch in the whole stack.", "In some embodiments, the planarization sub-layer contains one or more sub-layers.", "In another embodiment, the material used for the planarization sub-layer is the same as the first flexible supporting sub-layer, or can be an inorganic material such as silicon oxide, aluminum oxide, silicon nitride, indium zinc oxide, indium tin oxide, or zinc aluminum oxide.", "In another embodiment, the index of the substrate contacting OLED is larger than 1.5.In some embodiments, a topographic structure can be created on top of the flexible multilayer scattering substrate, depending on the thickness of the planarization sub-layer and the composition of the scattering sub-layer.", "In one embodiment, the final topographic structure has feature size between 100 nm to 2 μm.", "In another embodiment, the final topographic structure has feature peak to valley between 10 nm to 200 nm.", "In some embodiments, the matrix polymer used is an optically clear material.", "The index of the matrix affects the overall outcoupling enhancement.", "FIG.", "7 shows a simulation of light distribution versus the index of the substrate.", "The outcoupled (I_OC) mode indicates light emitted out of the device without any extracting method.", "Under this condition, only 25% of generated light is in I_OC mode.", "Total internal reflection occurs at the interface of substrate and air, holding 20% of the light in the substrate (I_SG mode).", "Another 20% of that light is trapped in the waveguided (I_GM) mode, due to the higher index of ITO and organic materials than that of the substrate.", "About 30% of the light is eventually evanescent (I_EC_mode) through the surface plasmon loss at the interface of the organic layer and the metal electrode.", "Another small part of light is absorbed by the organic material and metal (I_AL).", "With the index of substrate approaching to ITO/organic, more and more light is converted into I_SG mode.", "The light in I_SG mode is then potentially outcoupled by scattering.", "In some embodiments, the surface of the flexible multilayer scattering substrate can be tuned by varying the thickness of the planarization sub-layer.", "A typical surface of the scattering sub-layer is too rough to support OLED growth.", "Table 1 shows the root mean square (R.M.S) surface roughness of a scattering sub-layer including 300 nm NPs blended with polymer as measured by atomic-force microscopy (AFM).", "With the largest peak to valley at over 200 nm, the R.M.S.", "is 58.6 nm.", "With an increasing in the thicknesses of the planarization layer, the roughness of the surface decreases.", "With the thickness up to 5 the surface topographic feature disappears, showing a smooth surface with 8.4 nm roughness.", "Therefore various surface morphologies can be obtained by changing the thickness of the planarization sub-layer.", "For example, a peak to valley roughness of 100 nm is obtained with the planarization layer thickness of 2 In some embodiments, under this condition, an OLED can be fabricated on top of this rough surface so that the topographic feature can be utilized for outcoupling.", "TABLE 1 roughness of flexible substrate with planarization layer Planarization Thickness (μm) 0 1.0 2.2 4.7 R.M.S.", "Roughness (nm) 58.6 12.8 14.3 8.4 In one aspect, the invention relates to an OLED.", "In some embodiments, the OLED is fabricated on top of a flexible multilayer scattering substrate of the invention.", "In one embodiment, the OLED is a bottom emission OLED.", "In another embodiment, the OLED is a top emission OLED.", "In one embodiment, an OLED was fabricated on the flexible multilayer scattering substrate.", "The substrate has a total thickness of 7.5 μm with a 1.25 μm thick scattering sub-layer sandwiched between the flexible supporting sub-layer and the planarization sub-layer.", "The substrate shows a 32% transmittance at 550 nm incident light, and a roughness of 2.3 nm of the top surface.", "An OLED without the scattering sub-layer was also fabricated for comparison purposes.", "The reference substrate only has the supporting sub-layer and planarization sub-layer.", "The transmittance at 550 nm incident light is 86%, and the roughness is 0.3 nm.", "Due to the smooth surface afforded by the planarization sub-layer, the two devices give nearly the same current-voltage curve as shown in FIG.", "8.In terms of efficiency, the reference device has a current efficiency of 44 cd/A at 1000 nits.", "By including a scattering sub-layer, the efficiency increased to 67 cd/A.", "Due to the broad scattering over the visible range, there is no significant derivation of the scattering device emission spectrum compared to the reference device.", "In one aspect, the invention relates to a process of fabricating a flexible multilayer scattering substrate.", "In one embodiment, the process starts with solution processing the first supporting sub-layer on a rigid plate.", "In one embodiment, the rigid plate could be glass, silicon wafer, metal plate, sapphire plate, plastic plate.", "In another embodiment, the resulting interface between each sub-layer depends on the annealing or curing process after deposition.", "In another embodiment, a soft baking quickly cures the preceding film and creates a clear interface with the subsequent film.", "In another embodiment, a slow curing process takes place under room temperature annealing, which results in blurring of interface between sub-layers, and doping of the underneath preceding sub-layer.", "In another embodiment, the final step for the entire flexible multilayer scattering substrate is a high temperature curing at 150° C. over 1 hour.", "In another embodiment, all sub-layers can be processed by doctor blade coating, slow die coating, and any other large area coating methods of solution processing known in the art.", "In another embodiment, the planarization sub-layer(s) can also be done by PECVD, PVD, and any other vacuum coating methods known in the art.", "In another embodiment, the process of fabricating flexible multilayer scattering substrates of the invention ends up with peeling off the whole flexible film from the rigid plate.", "In some embodiments, a process of the invention starts with coating the first supporting flexible sub-layer on a rigid plate, and ends with peeling the whole flexible multilayer scattering substrate off the rigid plate.", "The flexible supporting sub-layer serves the purpose of flexible base for the following scattering sub-layer.", "It also provides a good contact surface with the underneath rigid plate so that a large area uniform coating can be achieved.", "The materials of this sub-layer are plastic which can be cast from liquid state, such as PMMA, polyimide, PDMS, or any type of resin known in the art.", "Then a scattering sub-layer is coated as an outcoupling sub-layer.", "In some embodiments, the scattering sub-layer covers the full area of the supporting sub-layer.", "In other embodiments, one or more planarization sub-layers are thereafter deposited.", "In some embodiments, after deposition and treatments of all sub-layers, the whole flexible multilayer substrate stack goes through final annealing.", "In one embodiment, final annealing is performed at, or at more than, 150° C. In another embodiment, final annealing is performed for, or for more than, an hour.", "In other embodiments, the temperature used for final annealing is higher than the crosslink or thermal set temperature of the matrix materials.", "In other embodiments, the final step is to release the flexible multilayer substrate from the rigid plate.", "In one embodiment, the annealing of each sub-layer affects the microstructure of the flexible multilayer substrate.", "In one embodiment, the annealing affects the scattering center density distribution over the normal direction of the film.", "In one embodiment, soft baking, e.g., at 90° C. for 3 min, is applied to each sub-layer after coating, as shown for example in FIG.", "3 (top arrow process).", "Soft baking quickly drives out all solvent and solidifies the film, and as a result, the microstructure of each sub-layer is substantially preserved.", "Referring now to FIG.", "4, the SEM cross section image of a stand-alone flexible multilayer film containing soft baked supporting sub-layer and scattering sub-layer, reveals a clear interface 350.The scattering centers are confined in the scattering sub-layer due to the fast drying process.", "In other embodiments, each sub-layer goes under room temperature annealing after deposition, as shown for example in FIG.", "3 (bottom arrow process).", "The curing time is longer than the soft baking.", "In some embodiments, the curing time is about 5 to 10 min longer, depending on the thickness of the sub-layer.", "During the slow solvent evaporation process, there is therefore time for the two sub-layers to penetrate or diffuse into each other.", "Referring now to FIG.", "5, the SEM cross section image of a stand-alone flexible multilayer film containing room temperature baked supporting sub-layer and scattering sub-layer on top, no clear interface can be observed, but rather a diffusion zone 370 can be observed.", "When the scattering center blending sub-layer penetrates into other sub-layers, a self-doping takes place.", "As readily apparent, particles located in the supporting sub-layer illustrate the result of the doping process.", "The penetration depth and doping concentration are depending on the annealing process and the materials of the solvent, matrix, and blending scattering particles.", "The self-doping process advantageously reduces internal stress.", "The disclosures of each and every patent, patent application, and publication cited herein are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.", "While this invention has been disclosed with reference to specific embodiments, it is apparent that other embodiments and variations of this invention may be devised by others skilled in the art without departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention." ] ]
Patent_15873193
[ [ "MASK AND HEADGEAR CONNECTION", "A connector arrangement joining a respiratory mask and headgear is adapted for single-handed disengagement by the patient.", "A first, rigid connector part is formed into the rigid mask frame, with a mating second connector attached to a strap of the headgear.", "The connectors are held away from the patient's face by the connection to the mask frame." ], [ "1-20.", "(canceled) 21.A respiratory mask and headgear combination for the delivery of breathable gases to a patient for the treatment of sleep disordered breathing (SDB), the respiratory mask and headgear combination comprising: a respiratory mask comprising: a mask frame having a gas inlet aperture; a first connector, the first connector and the mask frame integrally molded from a rigid material; and a cushion attached to the mask frame and configured to seal with the patient's face; headgear configured to secure the respiratory mask on the patient's head, the headgear including a strap, and the strap being length-adjustable; an elbow connector pivotably connected to the mask frame at the gas inlet aperture, the elbow connector configured to connect to a gas supply conduit; and a second connector configured to be connected to the strap such that the length of the strap is adjustable relative to the second connector, wherein the second connector is structured to releasably connect to the first connector such that the headgear is detachable from the respiratory mask without the need to detach the strap from the second connector, wherein the second connector is configured to provide snap feedback to the patient when the first connector and the second connector are connected, wherein the first connector is positioned on the mask frame such that when the respiratory mask is worn by the patient and the first connector and the second connector are connected the second connector is held clear of the patient's face.", "22.The respiratory mask and headgear combination of claim 21, wherein the strap extends from a rear portion of the headgear for attachment to the mask frame.", "23.The respiratory mask and headgear combination of claim 21, wherein the strap comprises hook and loop material to facilitate length adjustment.", "24.The respiratory mask and headgear combination of claim 21, wherein the second connector further comprises a cross-bar, and the strap is configured to pass around the cross-bar to connect to the second connector.", "25.The respiratory mask and headgear combination of claim 21, wherein the first connector is positioned on the mask frame such that when the respiratory mask is worn by the patient and the first connector and the second connector are connected the first connector and the second connector are out of the patient's line of vision.", "26.The respiratory mask and headgear combination of claim 21, wherein the second connector includes a first gripping surface and a second gripping surface, the first gripping surface and the second gripping surface positioned for gripping of the second connector between the patient's thumb and finger.", "27.The respiratory mask and headgear combination of claim 21, wherein the first connector is structured to direct the second connector in a downward and rearward direction relative to the patient's face when connected to the first connector.", "28.The respiratory mask and headgear combination of claim 21, wherein the first connector is angled on the mask frame such when connected by the second connector the strap extends in a downward and rearward direction relative to the patient's face.", "29.The respiratory mask and headgear combination of claim 28, wherein the second connector is configured to lie generally parallel to the patient's cheek region when connected to the first connector.", "30.The respiratory mask and headgear combination of claim 29, wherein the strap is configured to lie generally parallel to the patient's cheek region when the second connector is connected to the first connector.", "31.The respiratory mask and headgear combination of claim 21, wherein the second connector is frosted or textured to allow the patient to distinguish the second connector from the first connector by touch.", "32.The respiratory mask and headgear combination of claim 21, wherein the second connector is structured to be attached to and detached from the first connector with one hand.", "33.The respiratory mask and headgear combination of claim 21, wherein the respiratory mask comprises a nasal mask configured to cover the patient's nose or a full-face mask configured to cover the patient's nose and mouth.", "34.The respiratory mask and headgear combination of claim 21, wherein the mask frame further comprises a forehead support.", "35.The respiratory mask and headgear combination of claim 21, wherein the first connector is structured such that when the second connector is connected to the first connector, the second connector is oriented at a predetermined, downward angle relative to the patient's head and the strap extends below the patient's ear.", "36.The respiratory mask and headgear combination of claim 21, wherein the mask frame forms a mask cavity configured to receive at least the patient's nose.", "37.The respiratory mask and headgear combination of claim 21, wherein the second connector further comprises a resiliently biased cantilever member to engage the first connector with a snap-fit.", "38.The respiratory mask and headgear combination of claim 21, wherein the first connector and the second connector are structured to be joined with a male-female connection.", "39.The respiratory mask and headgear combination of claim 21, wherein the first connector is a female connector and the second connector is a male connector.", "40.The respiratory mask and headgear combination of claim 21, wherein the rigid material is polycarbonate.", "41.The respiratory mask and headgear combination of claim 21, wherein: the first connector is structured such that when the second connector is connected to the first connector, the second connector is oriented at a predetermined, downward angle relative to the patient's head and the strap extends below the patient's ear; the rigid material is polycarbonate; the strap extends from a rear portion of the headgear for attachment to the mask frame; the strap comprises hook and loop material to facilitate length adjustment; the second connector further comprises a cross-bar, and the strap is configured to pass around the cross-bar to connect to the second connector; the first connector is positioned on the mask frame such that when the respiratory mask is worn by the patient and the first connector and the second connector are connected the first connector and the second connector are out of the patient's line of vision; the second connector includes a first gripping surface and a second gripping surface, the first gripping surface and the second gripping surface positioned for gripping of the second connector between the patient's thumb and finger; the second connector is structured to be attached to and detached from the first connector with one hand; and the respiratory mask comprises a nasal mask configured to cover the patient's nose or a full-face mask configured to cover the patient's nose and mouth.", "42.The respiratory mask and headgear combination of claim 41, wherein: the first connector is angled on the mask frame such when connected by the second connector the strap extends in a downward and rearward direction relative to the patient's face; the second connector is configured to lie generally parallel to the patient's cheek region when connected to the first connector; and the strap is configured to lie generally parallel to the patient's cheek region when the second connector is connected to the first connector.", "43.The respiratory mask and headgear combination of claim 41, wherein the first connector is structured to direct the second connector in a downward and rearward direction relative to the patient's face when connected to the first connector." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION <EOH>Respiratory masks used in the treatment of SDB may comprise either a nasal mask, designed to fit over a patient's nose, or a full face mask designed to fit over the nose and mouth of the patient.", "Air or other breathable gas is supplied by a blower and passed along a flexible conduit to the mask.", "The mask generally comprises a relatively rigid shell, termed a frame, which defines a rearwardly opening cavity covering the patient's nose and/or mouth and a soft portion, termed a cushion, which spaces the frame away from the face for comfortable contact.", "The masks are typically held in place using headgear, the mask and headgear being joined using some form of connector.", "One known example is the Mirage® Mask (ResMed Limited), shown in FIG.", "1 .", "In this case, the headgear 100 is constructed from fabric and includes a rear portion, which engages the region near the occiput of the patient, and four straps 110 which are secured to a forehead support 120 (2 straps) and nasal mask frame 130 (2 straps).", "The straps include hook and loop material, such as Velcro™ on one side.", "The mask frame and forehead supports include loops 140 through which a strap can pass.", "In order to secure the mask in place on a patient's head, the four straps are passed through the four corresponding loops and held in place at an appropriate length by the hook and loop material.", "The patient can adjust the length of the material in order to secure a good fit of the mask.", "In some cases, it can require considerable adjustment to find the optimal length of straps which is required.", "A difficulty with this connector is that if the patient removes the mask by loosening the straps, they will lose what may have been a good fit of the mask the next time it is being used.", "In this case they will need to repeat the adjustment step.", "Another known manner of connecting the mask and headgear is shown in FIGS.", "2 a , 2 b and 2 c .", "In this headgear, a short strap length 200 is secured to one side of the mask, with a two-part, press-release connector 210 , 220 attaching this to the strap 250 of the headgear.", "One disadvantage of the approach of using this arrangement is that the connector may be difficult to release because the connector is free to move relative to the mask frame.", "A further disadvantage of this arrangement is that the connector may be in contact with the patient's face which may lead to discomfort in use, particularly if they sleep on their side.", "More detailed views of this prior art connector are shown in FIGS.", "2 b and 2 c .", "Each part of the connector includes a bar 230 , 240 behind which a respective one of the straps 200 , 250 may be passed.", "The male portion 220 of the connector includes a resilient cantilever 260 which is captured behind a bar 270 on the female portion 210 .", "The cantilever is depressed to engage and disengage the connector.", "A further disadvantage of this particular connector, best seen in FIG.", "2 b , is that it may be awkward to disengage the connector because of the close positioning of the bar 270 to the cantilever 260 .", "Another known mask and headgear connector is shown in FIG.", "3 a to FIG.", "3 d .", "This comprises a flexible part 310 positioned on the outer surface of a flexible mask frame 300 and a rigid part 320 formed generally as a D-ring with a loop to which the headgear strap is attached.", "The flexible part consists of a base 330 supporting an upper portion 340 (best illustrated in FIG.", "3 a ) which overhangs the base portion 330 and has a narrow central region 350 .", "In order to engage and disengage the connector, the flexible part 310 must be deformed whilst the D-ring of the rigid part is pushed over the upper portion 340 to engage below the overhanging ledge.", "This arrangement is awkward to engage and disengage and typically requires two hands.", "Another known mask and headgear connector consists of hooks on the end of the headgear straps and corresponding holes in the mask frame.", "To engage the mask and headgear connector, the hook is passed through one of the corresponding holes on the headgear.", "This arrangement is also awkward to engage and disengage and typically requires two hands.", "Also, it is possible for the hooks to disengage during sleep as there is no locking means for the connection.", "There is a need for a connector arrangement which is simple and quick to operate." ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION <EOH>The invention provides, in one form, a respiratory mask and headgear combination comprising a respiratory mask having a rigid mask frame, adjustable headgear for securing said mask on a patient, said headgear including at least one attachment strap, said mask frame having rigidly secured thereto a rigid first connector, further comprising a second connector adapted for releasable mating with said first connector, said second connector having means for connection of said attachment strap of the headgear.", "The invention further provides a respiratory mask and headgear combination adopted for single-handed disengagement, comprising a rigid mask frame, adjustable headgear for securing said mask on a patient, said headgear including at least one attachment strap, said mask frame having rigidly secured thereto a rigid first connector, further comprising a second connector connected to said strap of said headgear, said second connector being adapted for releasable mating with the first connector and having first and second gripping surfaces positioned for gripping of said second connector between a thumb and finger of a patient's hand and release means positioned for operation by another finger of the patient's hand." ], [ "CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a is a continuation of U.S. application Ser.", "No.", "14/479,915, filed Sep. 8, 2014, now allowed, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser.", "No.", "13/455,283, filed Apr.", "25, 2012, now U.S. Pat.", "No.", "8,844,532, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser.", "No.", "12/537,663, filed Aug. 7, 2009, now U.S. Pat.", "No.", "8,210,181, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser.", "No.", "10/090,173, filed Mar.", "6, 2002, now U.S. Pat.", "No.", "7,600,513, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser.", "No.", "09/504,220, filed Feb. 15, 2000, now U.S. Pat.", "No.", "6,374,826, which is a Continuation-In-Part of U.S. Design application Ser.", "No.", "29/115,618, filed Dec. 16, 1999, now Design Pat.", "No.", "443,355.This application also claims the benefit of Australian Provisional Application No.", "PQ1040, filed Jun.", "18, 1999, and Australian Design Application No.", "1916/99, filed Jun.", "18, 1999.The specifications and drawings of each of the documents identified above are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.", "FIELD OF THE INVENTION The invention relates to a connector for use with a mask and headgear suitable for the delivery of breathable gases to a patient for the treatment of sleep disordered breathing (SDB).", "BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Respiratory masks used in the treatment of SDB may comprise either a nasal mask, designed to fit over a patient's nose, or a full face mask designed to fit over the nose and mouth of the patient.", "Air or other breathable gas is supplied by a blower and passed along a flexible conduit to the mask.", "The mask generally comprises a relatively rigid shell, termed a frame, which defines a rearwardly opening cavity covering the patient's nose and/or mouth and a soft portion, termed a cushion, which spaces the frame away from the face for comfortable contact.", "The masks are typically held in place using headgear, the mask and headgear being joined using some form of connector.", "One known example is the Mirage® Mask (ResMed Limited), shown in FIG.", "1.In this case, the headgear 100 is constructed from fabric and includes a rear portion, which engages the region near the occiput of the patient, and four straps 110 which are secured to a forehead support 120 (2 straps) and nasal mask frame 130 (2 straps).", "The straps include hook and loop material, such as Velcro™ on one side.", "The mask frame and forehead supports include loops 140 through which a strap can pass.", "In order to secure the mask in place on a patient's head, the four straps are passed through the four corresponding loops and held in place at an appropriate length by the hook and loop material.", "The patient can adjust the length of the material in order to secure a good fit of the mask.", "In some cases, it can require considerable adjustment to find the optimal length of straps which is required.", "A difficulty with this connector is that if the patient removes the mask by loosening the straps, they will lose what may have been a good fit of the mask the next time it is being used.", "In this case they will need to repeat the adjustment step.", "Another known manner of connecting the mask and headgear is shown in FIGS.", "2a, 2b and 2c.", "In this headgear, a short strap length 200 is secured to one side of the mask, with a two-part, press-release connector 210, 220 attaching this to the strap 250 of the headgear.", "One disadvantage of the approach of using this arrangement is that the connector may be difficult to release because the connector is free to move relative to the mask frame.", "A further disadvantage of this arrangement is that the connector may be in contact with the patient's face which may lead to discomfort in use, particularly if they sleep on their side.", "More detailed views of this prior art connector are shown in FIGS.", "2b and 2c.", "Each part of the connector includes a bar 230, 240 behind which a respective one of the straps 200, 250 may be passed.", "The male portion 220 of the connector includes a resilient cantilever 260 which is captured behind a bar 270 on the female portion 210.The cantilever is depressed to engage and disengage the connector.", "A further disadvantage of this particular connector, best seen in FIG.", "2b, is that it may be awkward to disengage the connector because of the close positioning of the bar 270 to the cantilever 260.Another known mask and headgear connector is shown in FIG.", "3a to FIG.", "3d.", "This comprises a flexible part 310 positioned on the outer surface of a flexible mask frame 300 and a rigid part 320 formed generally as a D-ring with a loop to which the headgear strap is attached.", "The flexible part consists of a base 330 supporting an upper portion 340 (best illustrated in FIG.", "3a) which overhangs the base portion 330 and has a narrow central region 350.In order to engage and disengage the connector, the flexible part 310 must be deformed whilst the D-ring of the rigid part is pushed over the upper portion 340 to engage below the overhanging ledge.", "This arrangement is awkward to engage and disengage and typically requires two hands.", "Another known mask and headgear connector consists of hooks on the end of the headgear straps and corresponding holes in the mask frame.", "To engage the mask and headgear connector, the hook is passed through one of the corresponding holes on the headgear.", "This arrangement is also awkward to engage and disengage and typically requires two hands.", "Also, it is possible for the hooks to disengage during sleep as there is no locking means for the connection.", "There is a need for a connector arrangement which is simple and quick to operate.", "SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention provides, in one form, a respiratory mask and headgear combination comprising a respiratory mask having a rigid mask frame, adjustable headgear for securing said mask on a patient, said headgear including at least one attachment strap, said mask frame having rigidly secured thereto a rigid first connector, further comprising a second connector adapted for releasable mating with said first connector, said second connector having means for connection of said attachment strap of the headgear.", "The invention further provides a respiratory mask and headgear combination adopted for single-handed disengagement, comprising a rigid mask frame, adjustable headgear for securing said mask on a patient, said headgear including at least one attachment strap, said mask frame having rigidly secured thereto a rigid first connector, further comprising a second connector connected to said strap of said headgear, said second connector being adapted for releasable mating with the first connector and having first and second gripping surfaces positioned for gripping of said second connector between a thumb and finger of a patient's hand and release means positioned for operation by another finger of the patient's hand.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Further embodiments of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: FIG.", "1 shows the prior art Mirage® mask and headgear assembly.", "FIG.", "2a shows a front view of a prior art mask and headgear assembly.", "FIG.", "2b shows further detail of the prior art mask and headgear connector shown in FIG.", "2a.", "FIG.", "2c shows a cross-sectional view of the prior art mask and headgear connector shown in FIG.", "2b.", "FIG.", "3a shows a side view of another prior art mask and headgear connector where the two parts are not engaged.", "FIG.", "3b shows a top view of the prior art connector shown in FIG.", "3a, where the two parts are engaged.", "FIG.", "3c shows a perspective view of the prior art connector shown in FIG.", "3a, where the two parts are engaged.", "FIG.", "3d shows a side view of the prior art connector shown in FIG.", "3a, where the two parts are engaged.", "FIG.", "4 shows a front view of a mask frame incorporating a female portion of the connector according to one embodiment of the invention.", "FIG.", "5 shows a perspective view of the mask frame of FIG.", "4.FIG.", "6a shows a front view of a male portion of the connector adapted for use with the mask frame of FIGS.", "4 and 5.FIG.", "6b shows a side view of FIG.", "6a.", "FIG.", "6c shows a sectional view along A-A of FIG.", "6a.", "FIG.", "6d shows a perspective view of FIG.", "6a.", "FIGS.", "7a and 7b show an embodiment of the invention where the cross-bar on the male portions of the connectors have different angles.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION FIGS.", "4 and 5 illustrate a mask frame 400 for a nasal mask, formed as a moulded shell of polycarbonate or similar rigid material, which acts as a body onto which the other components of the mask are attached.", "The frame 400 is generally triangular in front view, having a base 410, a pair of inclined side walls 420 extending towards an apex and a front wall 430.The frame defines a mask cavity covering the patient's nose, and is open at its rear.", "A rim 440 at the rear edge of the base 410 and side walls 420 approximates the contours of the patient's face and is adapted for attachment of a soft mask cushion (not shown) to space the frame away from the patient's face for sealing and comfort.", "The apex of the frame has an extension 450 for attachment of a forehead support (not shown).", "In the illustrated mask frame, a gas inlet aperture 460 is formed in the front wall 430, for connection of a gas supply conduit or similar, which may include an elbow connector (not shown) pivotably connected to the frame.", "In other forms of mask, the gas inlet aperture may be formed at the apex of the frame.", "Integrally moulded into the lower corner regions of the rigid mask frame are a pair of female connector parts 470, for receiving the leading portions of the male connector parts 600, 700 illustrated in FIGS.", "6a to 6d, or FIGS.", "7a and 7b.", "These female connector parts open generally to the side of the mask, but are angled slightly downwards and rearwards (relative to the orientation of the mask frame) so that they hold the male connectors approximately parallel to that part of the patient's cheek region which the connectors overlie.", "The connectors are held clear of the patient's face by the rigid mask frame 400.The female connectors 470 each define a recess which opens towards a side of the mask and which approximates a rounded-cornered rectangular in end view, adapted to provide a close fit with the corresponding male connectors 600,700 when engaged.", "These end shapes are preferably slightly asymmetric (keyed) so as to prevent upside-down insertion of the male connector.", "A front wall 480 of the female connector has a pair of sockets 490 at least on its inner surface, for receiving respective lugs 610 of the male connector 600.The end of the front wall may also have a curved cut-out portion 500, as will be described below.", "A corresponding male connector part 600 is illustrated in FIGS.", "6a to 6d.", "The male connector has a leading portion 620 which is received in the recess of the female connector 470, and a trailing portion 630 which remains outside the recess.", "The leading portion includes upper and lower side beams 640 connected by a cross-piece 650 at their leading ends, and a resiliently biased cantilever member 660 depending from the cross-piece 650 and extending back towards the trailing portion.", "The cantilever has on its front surface the lugs 610, and a ridge 670 at its trailing edge.", "The cantilever has on its back surface an arcuate projection 615 at a position between the lugs 610 and the ridge 670.The locating lugs 610 have a rounded wedge profile so as to allow reduce wear and provide smooth engagement.", "The wedge profile does allow insertion of the male connector 600 into the female connector 470 on the mask without depression of the cantilever, although in preferred operation the patient will depress the cantilever by pushing on ridge 670 for both engagement and disengagement.", "Once the male connector has been inserted sufficiently to snap the locating lugs 610 into engagement with corresponding sockets 490 of the female connector, disengagement can occur only by depression of the cantilever.", "The trailing portion 630 of the male connector has a cross-bar 680 forming a loop through which the headgear strap can be passed and adjusted for proper fit.", "Upper and lower sides 690 of the trailing portion have grooves or other formations to make it more easily gripped by the patient's fingers, while the distance between the leading side of the cross-bar 680 and the trailing edge and ridge 670 of the cantilever is preferably at least 5 mm to allow easy connection of the strap and provide sufficient space for a finger to push on the cantilever ridge, even when the strap is attached.", "The arcuate cut-out 500 in the female connector front wall is configured to contact an arcuate ridge 675 of the male connector 660 in the connected state and allows clearance for an end of the finger to overhang the ridge 670 when the ridge is being contacted by the pad of the finger.", "FIGS.", "7a and 7b illustrate a male connector 700 which is a variation on that of FIGS.", "6a to 6d, in that the cross bars 710a, 710b for attachment of the headgear strap are set at an angle.", "The shape, dimensions and position of the connectors may be optimised for most convenient use.", "For example, the male connector may be approximately 20 mm wide, 25 mm long and 10 mm thick.", "The cantilever 660 is approximately 15 mm long.", "The locating lugs 610 are approximately 3 mm long, 2 mm wide and 1 mm high, and the ridge is approximately 14 mm wide and has a length of approximately 5 mm.", "The female connectors 470 are oriented on the mask frame so that in use the straps of the headgear are aligned to be approximately parallel with the sides of the face with which they make contact.", "When viewed from the front of the mask (the view in FIG.", "4), the tops of the left and right hand side male connector's cross-bars 680 are further apart than the bottoms of the cross-bars.", "When viewed from the top the mask, the connectors are aligned to be positioned on an arc of an ellipse.", "An advantage from this arrangement is that when straps are connected and tensioned, the line of force will be more evenly transferred from the mask to the frame.", "Both portions of the connector are preferably constructed from polycarbonate, such as Makrolon 2458 polycarbonate from Bayer, or similar rigid plastics material.", "The female portions of the connectors are clear and desirably are integrally moulded with the mask frame which is formed of the same polycarbonate material, thus ensuring a permanent, rigid attachment of the female connector to the mask frame and minimising the number of separate parts.", "The male portions may be frosted or textured.", "An advantage from using a frosted or slightly textured surface is that the male portion may be easier to distinguish from the female portion by touch.", "This is an advantage in the dark, the typical time when the mask is being used by a patient.", "The configuration thus allows single-hand operation of the connector using, for example, thumb and index finger to grip the grooved sides 690 of the male connector and the middle finger to depress the cantilever.", "The connectors may be located on both the left and right hand side of the mask.", "In this way persons may use which ever side is most convenient to them.", "Alternatively the frame may be formed with only one connector, to reduce manufacturing costs.", "In one unillustrated embodiment, the press release mechanism may be adapted to be operated by pressing the top and/or bottom sides of the male connector.", "By rigidly forming one part of the connector onto the mask frame, the patient does not need to use both hands to disconnect the mask for removal.", "Thus, the arrangement facilitates quick and easy disconnection even though the connector will be out of patient's line of vision and the patient may be less than fully awake or in an anxious state.", "A further advantage of using female portions 470 integrated with the mask frame is that they result in a reduced dead volume of the mask frame.", "While particular embodiments of this invention have been described, it will be evident to those skilled in the art that the present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the essential characteristics thereof.", "The present embodiments and examples are therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than the foregoing description, and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein." ] ]
Patent_15873195
[ [ "Stain Repellent Compositions and Applications Thereof", "The present invention provides fluorinated compounds as well as dispersions of the fluorinated compounds.", "The fluorinated compounds described herein, in some embodiments, can be applied substrates such as textiles, including carpet and other floor coverings." ], [ "1.A fluorinated compound comprising: a reaction product of a polyisocyanate component and a diol component or a diamine component or a mixture thereof, the reaction product further reacted with an organic component comprising molecules of at least one compound having a plurality of fluorinated carbon atoms and at least one isocyanate reactive functionality.", "2.The fluorinated compound of claim 1, wherein the polyisocyanate component comprises molecules of one or more species of polyisocyanates.", "3.The fluorinated compound of claim 1, wherein the polyisocyanate component comprises trifunctional isocyanate molecules.", "4.The fluorinated compound of claim 1, wherein the polyisocyanate component comprises at least one polyisocyanate selected from the group consisting of wherein R7, R8, R9, R13, R14, R15, R16, R17, R18, R19, R20, R21, R22 and R23 are independently selected from the group consisting of alkyl, alkenyl, cycloalkyl, and aryl; and wherein R10, R11 and R12 are independently selected from the group consisting of hydrogen and alkyl; and wherein the alkyl, alkenyl, cycloalkyl and aryl of groups of R7-R23 are optionally independently substituted one or more times with a substituent selected from the group consisting of -alkyl, -alkenyl, -fluoroalkyl, -chloroalkyl, bromoalkyl, -aryl, —O-alkyl, —O-alkenyl, —O-aryl, —O-alkylene-aryl, -carboxyl, -hydroxyl, -halo and -nitro.", "5.The fluorinated compound of claim 1, wherein the diol component comprises molecules of ethylene glycol, diethylene glycol, triethylene glycol, tetraethylene glycol, propylene glycol, dipropylene glycol, tripropylene glycol, 1,3-propanediol, 1,3-butanediol, 1,4-butanediol, neopentyl glycol, 1,6-hexanediol, 1,4-cylcohexanediol, polyethylene glycol, polypropylene glycol, polyester diol, polycarbonate diol, diethanolamine, methyldiethanolamine or phenyldiethanolamine or mixtures thereof.", "6.The fluorinated compound of claim 1, wherein the diamine component comprises molecules of urea, ethanolamine, aminopropanol or mixtures thereof.", "7.The fluorinated compound of claim 1, wherein the at least one compound having a plurality of fluorinated carbon atoms and at least one isocyanate reactive functionality is a compound of Formula (II): Rf—Ra—X—H (II) wherein R is a fluoroalkyl, Ra is a direct bond, alkyl, —CmH2mSO—, —SO2N(R1)—, —CON(R1)—, wherein m ranges from 1 to 20 and R1 is hydrogen or alkyl, and X is —O—, —S— or —N(R2)—, wherein R2 is hydrogen or alkyl.", "8.The fluorinated compound of claim 7, wherein the compound of Formula (II) comprises a fluorinated alcohol of the formula (CqF2q+1)(CH2)uOH, wherein q ranges from 4 to 20 and u ranges from 1 to 20.9.The fluorinated compound of claim 8, wherein the fluorinated alcohol comprises (C4F9)(CH2)uOH, (C6F13)(CH2)uOH, (C8F17)(CH2)uOH, (C10F21)(CH2)uOH, (C12F25)(CH2)uOH, (C14F28)(CH2)uOH, (C16F33)(CH2)uOH, (C18F39)(CH2)uOH or (C20F41)(CH2)uOH or mixtures thereof.", "10.The fluorinated compound of claim 1, wherein the organic component further comprises molecules of at least one non-fluorinated compound having at least one isocyanate reactive functionality.", "11.The fluorinated compound of claim 10, wherein the at least one non-fluorinated compound is a compound of Formula (III): Ro—X—H (III) wherein X is —O—, —S— or —N(R2)—, wherein R2 is hydrogen or alkyl; and Ro is -alkyl, -alkenyl, -cycloalkyl, -chloroalkyl, -chloroalkenyl, -chlorocycloalkyl, —O-alkyl-glycidyl, or —R3—O—R4, —O—R24—O—C(O)—R25, wherein R3, R4, R5, R6, R24 and R25 are independently selected from the group consisting of alkyl and alkenyl and p ranges from 1 to 50 and wherein the alkyl and alkenyl of R3-R6, R24 and R25 are optionally independently substituted one or more times with a substituent selected from the group consisting of alkyl, alkenyl, and halo.", "12.The fluorinated compound of claim 11, wherein the compound of Formula (III) comprises a monoalkyl ether of a polyethylene glycol or a monoalkyl ether or a polypropylene glycol.", "13.The fluorinated compound of claim 11, wherein the compound of Formula (III) comprises a chlorinated alcohol.", "14.The fluorinated compound of claim 13, wherein the chlorinated alcohol comprises 1,3-dichloro-2-propanol, 2,2,2-trichloroethanol or 2,2-dichloroethanol or mixtures thereof.", "15.The fluorinated compound of claim 11, wherein the compound of Formula (III) comprises a glycidyl alcohol.", "16.The fluorinated compound of claim 15, where in the glycidyl alcohol comprises 2,3-epoxy-1-propanol.", "17.The fluorinated compound of claim 11, wherein the compound of Formula (III) comprises a hydroxy functional acrylate.", "18.The fluorinated compound of claim 17, wherein the hydroxy functional acrylate comprises 2-hydroxyethylmethacrylate, 2-hydroxyethylacrylate, 2-hydroxypropylmethacrylate or 2-hydroxypropylacrylate or mixtures thereof.", "19.The fluorinated compound of claim 1, wherein the fluorinated compound is a compound of Formula (I): wherein Z is a trivalent organic group; L is a divalent diol, diamine, urea, dialcohol amine or an aminoalcohol or a mixture thereof; n ranges from 1 to 30; and A1, A2, A3 and A4 are independently selected from the group consisting of Rf—Ra—X— and wherein at least one of A1, A2, A3 and A4 is Rf—Ra—X—; wherein Rf is a fluoroalkyl; Ra is a direct bond, alkyl, —CmH2mSO—, —CmH2mSO2—, —SO2N(R1)—, —CON(R1)—, wherein m ranges from 1 to 20 and R1 is hydrogen or alkyl; and X is —O—, —S— or —N(R2)—, wherein R2 is hydrogen or alkyl; and Ro is -alkyl, -alkenyl, -cycloalkyl, -chloroalkyl, -chloroalkenyl, -chlorocycloalkyl, —O-alkyl-glycidyl, —R3—O—R4, or —O—R24—O—C(O)—R25, wherein R3, R4, R5, R6, R24 and R25 are independently selected from the group consisting of alkyl and alkenyl and p ranges from 1 to 50 and wherein the alkyl and alkenyl of R3-R6, R24 and R25 are optionally independently substituted one or more times with a substituent selected from the group consisting of alkyl, alkenyl, and halo.", "20.The fluorinated compound of claim 19, wherein Z is selected from the group consisting of wherein R7, R8, R9, R13, R14, R15, R16, R17, R18, R19, R20, R21, R22 and R23 are independently selected from the group consisting of alkyl, alkenyl, cycloalkyl, and aryl; and wherein R10, R11 and R12 are independently selected from the group consisting of hydrogen and alkyl; wherein the alkyl, alkenyl, cycloalkyl and aryl of groups of R7-R23 are optionally independently substituted one or more times with a substituent selected from the group consisting of -alkyl, -alkenyl, -fluoroalkyl, -chloroalkyl, bromoalkyl, -aryl, —O-alkyl, —O-alkenyl, —O-aryl, —O-alkylene-aryl, -carboxyl, -hydroxyl, -halo and -nitro; and wherein is a point of attachment of the trivalent organic compound in Formula (I).", "21.An aqueous dispersion comprising: particles of fluorinated compound, wherein the fluorinated compound is a reaction product of a polyisocyanate component and a diol component or a diamine component or a mixture thereof, the reaction product further reacted with an organic component comprising molecules of at least one compound having a plurality of fluorinated carbon atoms and at least one isocyanate reactive functionality.", "22.The aqueous dispersion of claim 21, wherein the particles of the fluorinated compound have an average size ranging from about 10 nm to about 400 nm.", "23.The aqueous dispersion of claim 21, wherein the particles of the fluorinated compound have an average size ranging from about 10 nm to about 120 nm.", "24.The aqueous dispersion of claim 21, wherein the fluorinated compound is present in an amount ranging from about 0.01 weight percent to about 30 weight percent.", "25.The aqueous dispersion of claim 21, wherein the dispersion is substantially free of a dispersing aid.", "26.A method of making a fluorinated compound comprising: reacting a polyisocyanate component with a diol component or a diamine component or a mixture thereof to provide a reaction product; and reacting the reaction product with an organic component comprising molecules of at least one compound having a plurality of fluorinated carbon atoms and at least one isocyanate reactive functionality.", "27.The method of claim 26, wherein the polyisocyanate component comprises molecules of one or more species of polyisocyanates.", "28.The method of claim 26, wherein the polyisocyanate component comprises trifunctional isocyanate molecules.", "29.The method of claim 26, wherein the polyisocyanate component comprises at least one polyisocyanate selected from the group consisting of wherein R7, R8, R9, R13, R14, R15, R16, R17, R18, R19, R20, R21, R22 and R23 are independently selected from the group consisting of alkyl, alkenyl, cycloalkyl, and aryl; and wherein R10, R11, and R12 are independently selected from the group consisting of hydrogen and alkyl; and wherein the alkyl, alkenyl, cycloalkyl and aryl of groups of R7-R23 are optionally independently substituted one or more times with a substituent selected from the group consisting of -alkyl, -alkenyl, -fluoroalkyl, -chloroalkyl, bromoalkyl, -aryl, —O-alkyl, —O-alkenyl, —O-aryl, —O-alkylene-aryl, -carboxyl, -hydroxyl, -halo and -nitro.", "30.The method of claim 26, wherein the diol component comprises molecules of ethylene glycol, diethylene glycol, triethylene glycol, tetraethylene glycol, propylene glycol, dipropylene glycol, tripropylene glycol, 1,3-propanediol, 1,3-butanediol, 1,4-butanediol, neopentyl glycol, 1,6-hexanediol, 1,4-cylcohexanediol, polyethylene glycol, polypropylene glycol, polyester diol, polycarbonate diol, diethanolamine, methyldiethanolamine or phenyldiethanolamine or mixtures thereof.", "31.The method of claim 26, wherein the at least one compound having a plurality of fluorinated carbon atoms and at least one isocyanate reactive functionality is a compound of Formula (II): Rf—Ra—X—H (II) wherein R is a fluoroalkyl, Ra is a direct bond, alkyl, —CmH2mSO—, —CmH2mSO2—, —SO2N(R1)—, —CON(R1)—, wherein m ranges from 1 to 20 and R1 is hydrogen or alkyl, and X is —O—, —S— or —N(R2)—, wherein R2 is hydrogen or alkyl.", "32.The method of claim 31, wherein the compound of Formula (II) comprises a fluorinated alcohol of the formula (CqF2q+1)(CH2)—OH, wherein q ranges from 4 to 20 and u ranges from 1 to 20.33.The method of claim 32, wherein the fluorinated alcohol comprises (C4F9)(CH2)uOH, (C6F13)(CH2)uOH, (C8F17)(CH2)uOH, (C10F21)(CH2)uOH, (C12F25)(CH2)uOH, (C14F28)(CH2)uOH, (C16F33)(CH2)uOH, (C18F39)(CH2)uOH or (C20F41)(CH2)uOH or mixtures thereof.", "34.The method of claim 26, wherein the organic component further comprises molecules of at least one non-fluorinated compound having at least one isocyanate reactive functionality.", "35.The fluorinated compound of claim 34, wherein the at least one non-fluorinated compound is a compound of Formula (III): Ro—X—H (III) wherein X is —O—, —S— or —N(R2)—, wherein R2 is hydrogen or alkyl; and Ro is -alkyl, -alkenyl, -cycloalkyl, -chloroalkyl, -chloroalkenyl, -chlorocycloalkyl, —O-alkyl-glycidyl, —R3—O—R4, or —O—R24—O—C(O)—R25, wherein R3, R4, R5, R6, R24 and R25 are independently selected from the group consisting of alkyl and alkenyl and p ranges from 1 to 50 and wherein the alkyl and alkenyl of R3-R6, R24 and R25 are optionally independently substituted one or more times with a substituent selected from the group consisting of alkyl, alkenyl, and halo.", "36.The method of claim 35, wherein the compound of Formula (III) comprises a monoalkyl ether of a polyethylene glycol or a monoalkyl ether of a polypropylene glycol.", "37.The method of claim 35, wherein the compound of Formula (III) comprises a chlorinated alcohol.", "38.The fluorinated compound of claim 37, wherein the chlorinated alcohol comprises 1,3-dichloro-2-propanol, 2,2,2-trichloroethanol or 2,2-dichloroethanol or mixtures thereof." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION <EOH>Manufactures of textiles are continuously searching for compositions to enhance textile fiber performance and durability.", "In the carpet and floor coverings industry, for example, manufacturers desire compositions operable to render carpet fibers stain resistant.", "Fluorinated compounds have been used extensively to impart water and oil repellency to textile and carpet fibers.", "Fluorocarbon compounds, for example, can provide both oil and water repellency, unlike waxes, silicones, etc., which typically provide water repellency, but are somewhat oleophilic, and thus do not provide good oil repellency.", "Fluorinated compounds, when applied to fibers in sufficient amount, can lower the surface energy of the fiber or fabric below the surface energy of water or oils that might be spilled onto the fabric, thereby allowing removal of these liquids before penetration into the fiber or fabric.", "This is of great benefit for fibers and fabrics used in clothing, residential, commercial, and industrial settings as the useful life of the fibers and fabric is substantially increased.", "The manufacture of fluorinated compounds, nevertheless, generally employs the use of organic solvents presenting several disadvantages.", "Substrates, including textile fibers, treated with organic solutions or dispersions of fluorinated compounds, for example, often require an extraction step to remove the organic solvent.", "An extraction step increases the time and cost of producing a stain repellent substrate.", "Organic solvent extraction from a substrate can be avoided by using aqueous dispersions of fluorinated compounds.", "However, production of aqueous dispersions of fluorinated compounds necessitate stripping of the organic solvent used in the production of the fluorinated compounds.", "Organic solvent stripping from an aqueous dispersion by distillation and other techniques can additionally increase the time and cost of producing a stain repellent substrate.", "Furthermore, providing stable aqueous dispersions of fluorinated compounds can be difficult requiring the use of dispersing aids such as surfactants and organic cosolvents." ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY <EOH>In view of the foregoing, the present invention provides fluorinated compounds as well as solutions and dispersions of the fluorinated compounds.", "In some embodiments, fluorinated compounds of the present invention are produced in the absence of an organic solvent or cosolvent.", "Moreover, in some embodiments, aqueous dispersions of fluorinated compounds of the present invention do not comprise dispersing aids such as surfactants and/or organic cosolvents.", "In some embodiments, fluorinated compounds described herein and solutions or dispersions thereof can be applied substrates such as textiles, including carpet and other floor coverings.", "In one aspect, the present invention provides a fluorinated compound comprising a reaction product of a polyisocyanate component and a diol component or a diamine component or a mixture thereof, the reaction product further reacted with an organic component comprising molecules of at least one compound having a plurality of fluorinated carbon atoms and at least one isocyanate reactive functionality.", "In some embodiments, the organic component further comprises molecules of at least one non-fluorinated compound having at least one isocyanate reactive functionality.", "In some embodiments, a fluorinated compound comprising a reaction product of a polyisocyanate component and a diol component or a diamine component or a mixture thereof, the reaction product further reacted with an organic component is a compound of Formula (I): wherein Z is a trivalent organic group; L is a divalent diol, diamine, urea, dialcohol amine or an aminoalcohol or a mixture thereof; n ranges from 1 to 30; and A 1 , A 2 , A 3 and A 4 are independently selected from the group consisting of R f —R a —X— and R o —X—, wherein at least one of A 1 , A 2 , A 3 and A 4 is R f —R a —X—; wherein R f is a fluoroalkyl; R a is a direct bond, alkyl, —C m H 2m SO—, —C m H 2m SO 2 —, —SO 2 N(R 1 )—, —CON(R 1 )—, wherein m ranges from 1 to 20 and R 1 is hydrogen or alkyl; and X is —O—, —S— or —N(R 2 )—, wherein R 2 is hydrogen or alkyl; and R o is -alkyl, -alkenyl, -cycloalkyl, -chloroalkyl, -chloroalkenyl, -chlorocycloalkyl, —O-alkyl-glycidyl, —R 3 —O—R 4 , or —O—R 24 —O—C(O)—R 25 , wherein R 3 , R 4 , R 5 , R 6 , R 24 and R 25 are independently selected from the group consisting of alkyl and alkenyl and p ranges from 1 to 50 and wherein the alkyl and alkenyl of R 3 -R 6 , R 24 and R 25 are optionally independently substituted one or more times with a substituent selected from the group consisting of alkyl, alkenyl, and halo.", "In some embodiments, A′ is independently selected for each repeating unit in Formula (I).", "In some embodiments of a compound of Formula (I), for example, A 1 is R f —R a —X— in one repeating unit and R o —X— in another repeating unit.", "Moreover, in some embodiments, A 1 is the same in all or substantially all of the repeating units of a compound of Formula (I).", "In some embodiments, Z is selected from the following trivalent organic compounds: wherein R 7 , R 8 , R 9 , R 13 , R 14 , R 15 , R 16 , R 17 , R 18 , R 19 , R 20 , R 21 , R 22 and R 23 are independently selected from the group consisting of alkyl, alkenyl, cycloalkyl, and aryl; and wherein R 10 , R 11 and R 12 are independently selected from the group consisting of hydrogen and alkyl; wherein the alkyl, alkenyl, cycloalkyl and aryl of groups of R 7 -R 23 are optionally independently substituted one or more times with a substituent selected from the group consisting of -alkyl, -alkenyl, -fluoroalkyl, -chloroalkyl, bromoalkyl, -aryl, —O-alkyl, —O— alkenyl, —O-aryl, —O-alkylene-aryl, -carboxyl, -hydroxyl, -halo and -nitro; and wherein is a point of attachment of the trivalent organic compound in Formula (I).", "Moreover, in some embodiments, L can comprise any divalent diol, diamine, urea, dialcohol amine or aminoalcohol not inconsistent with the principles and objectives of the present invention.", "In some embodiments L is selected from the group consisting of ethylene glycol, diethylene glycol, triethylene glycol, tetraethylene glycol, propylene glycol, dipropylene glycol, tripropylene glycol, 1,3-propanediol, 1,3-butanediol, 1,4-butanediol, neopentyl glycol, 1,6-hexanediol, 1,4-cylcohexanediol, ethanolamine, diethanolamine, methyldiethanolamine or phenyldiethanolamine, aminopropanol or mixtures thereof.", "In some embodiments, fluoroalkyl, R f , is selected from the group consisting of C q F 2q+1 and (CF 3 ) 2 CFO(CF 2 CF 2 ) t wherein q ranges from 4 to 20 and t ranges from 1 to 5.In one non-limiting embodiment, for example, q is 6.Additionally, in some embodiments R o is a monoalkyl ether of a polyalkylene glycol having the formula as defined above.", "In some embodiments, R o comprises a monoalkyl ether of a polyethylene glycol, polypropylene glycol or copolymers thereof.", "In some embodiments, R o comprises a chloroalkyl group.", "Fluorinated compounds of the reaction products described herein, including fluorinated compounds of Formula (I), can have any desired molecular weight.", "The molecular weight of a fluorinated compound can be selected according to several parameters including the ability to provide an aqueous dispersion of the fluorinated compound without dispersing agents and/or the ability to exhaust the fluorinated compound onto a substrate.", "In some embodiments, a fluorinated compound, including a compound of Formula (I), comprising a reaction product of a polyisocyanate component and a diol component or a diamine component or a mixture thereof, the reaction product further reacted with an organic component has a molecular weight of at least about 2,000.In some embodiments, a fluorinated compound has a molecular weight of at least about 4,000.In some embodiments, a fluorinated compound has a molecular weight greater than about 8,000.In one embodiment, for example, a fluorinated compound has a molecular weight ranging from about 8,250 to about 20,000.In another embodiment, a fluorinated compound has a molecular weight ranging from about 9,000 to about 15,000.In some embodiments, a fluorinated compound has a molecular weight less than about 2,000 or greater than about 20,000.In another aspect, the present invention provides aqueous dispersions of a fluorinated compound comprising the reaction product of a polyisocyanate component and a diol component or a diamine component or a mixture thereof, the reaction product further reacted with an organic component as described herein.", "In one embodiment, for example, the present invention provides aqueous dispersions of a compound of Formula (I).", "In some embodiments, aqueous dispersions of a fluorinated compound are free or substantially free of dispersing aids including, but not limited to, surfactants and/or organic cosolvents.", "The present invention, in another aspect, provides a substrate at least partially treated or coated with a fluorinated compound comprising the reaction product of a polyisocyanate component and a diol component or a diamine component or a mixture thereof, the reaction product further reacted with an organic component as described herein.", "In some embodiments, a substrate is at least partially treated or coated with a fluorinated compound of Formula (I).", "In some embodiments, a fluorinated compound is applied to substrate as an aqueous dispersion.", "In some embodiments, wherein an aqueous dispersion of a fluorinated compound described herein does not comprise dispersing aids, a substrate treated with such a dispersion is not subjected to subsequent washing or extraction steps to remove residual dispersing aids.", "Substrates, in some embodiments, comprise cellulosic materials, including paper, wood, cellulose acetate fibers, and cotton materials, including, but not limited to, cotton fibers, woven cotton articles, and non-woven cotton articles.", "In other embodiments, a substrate comprises other natural fibers including, but not limited to, wool and silk fibers.", "In another embodiment, a substrate comprises synthetic fibers.", "Synthetic fibers, in some embodiments, comprise nylon (polyamide) fibers, polyester fibers such as PTT, polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polybutylene terephthalate (PBT), polyolefin fibers such as polypropylene, polyurethane fibers, polyacrylonitrile fibers, or combinations or composites thereof.", "In some embodiments, for example, a substrate comprises a mixture or combination of synthetic fibers including PTT fibers combined with any one of polyester fibers such as PET and/or PBT fibers, polyamide fibers, polyolefin fibers such as polypropylene fibers, polyurethane fibers, and/or any combination thereof.", "In some embodiments, for example, a substrate comprises a combination of synthetic fibers including PTT fibers with natural fibers.", "Substrates comprising various combinations of fibers, in some embodiments of the present invention, are considered composite substrates.", "In a further embodiment, a substrate comprises leather, thermoplastics, thermosets, metals, porcelain, carpet, masonry, stones, brick, wood, plastics, painted surfaces, and dyed surfaces.", "In coating or treating a substrate with an aqueous dispersion, a fluorinated compound of the present invention, in some embodiments, is associated with one or more surfaces of the substrate.", "In some embodiments, for example, a fluorinated compound is associated with a surface of the substrate through electrostatic interactions, covalent bonds, dipole-dipole interactions, van der Waals interactions or hydrophobic interactions or combinations thereof.", "In other embodiments, a fluorinated compound is associated with a surface of a substrate by mechanical engagement.", "In one embodiment, for example, a fluorinated compound described herein is trapped between a plurality of filaments in a fiber such as a synthetic fiber.", "In some embodiments, a fluorinated compound is trapped between polymeric chains of one or more fiber filaments.", "Fluorinated compounds of the present invention, in some embodiments, can be applied with other stain resistant species.", "In some embodiments, a substrate treated or coated with a fluorinated compound can demonstrate increased or enhanced repellency of oil and water.", "Moreover, in some embodiments, a substrate treated or coated with a fluorinated compound can demonstrate advantageous soil resistance and/or release properties.", "In another aspect, the present invention provides methods of producing fluorinated compounds.", "In one embodiment, a method of producing a fluorinated compound comprises reacting a polyisocyanate component with a diol component or a diamine component or a mixture thereof to provide a reaction product and reacting the reaction product with an organic component comprising molecules of at least one compound having a plurality of fluorinated carbon atoms and at least one isocyanate reactive functionality.", "In some embodiments, the organic component further comprises molecules of at least one non-fluorinated compound having at least one isocyanate reactive functionality.", "In some embodiments, a method of producing a fluorinated compound of Formula (I), for example, comprises reacting an amount of a bifunctional isocyanate compound of formula: with an amount of a diol or diamine component of formula: in-line-formulae description=\"In-line Formulae\" end=\"lead\"?", "H-L-H in-line-formulae description=\"In-line Formulae\" end=\"tail\"?", "to produce a reaction product of a compound of Formula (IA): wherein Z and L are defined above.", "In some embodiments, a diol of formula H-L-H is selected from the group consisting of ethylene glycol, diethylene glycol, triethylene glycol, tetraethylene glycol, propylene glycol, dipropylene glycol, tripropylene glycol, 1,3-propanediol, 1,3-butanediol, 1,4-butanediol, neopentyl glycol, 1,6-hexanediol, 1,4-cylcohexanediol or mixtures thereof.", "In some embodiments, a diol of formula H-L-H comprises one or more diols having a polymeric structure including, but not limited to, polyalkylene glycols such as polyethylene glycols, polypropylene glycols or mixtures thereof.", "In some embodiments, diols having a polymeric structure comprise polyester-based diols, polycarbonate-based diols or mixtures thereof.", "A diol having a polymeric structure can have any desired molecular weight not inconsistent with the objectives of the present invention.", "In some embodiments, a dialcohol amine of formula H-L-H is diethanolamine, methyldiethanolamine or phenyldiethanolamine or mixtures thereof.", "In some embodiments, an aminoalcohol of formula H-L-H is aminopropanol or ethanolamine or a mixture thereof.", "In some embodiments, a diamine of formula H-L-H comprises ethylene diamine, propylene diamine, butylene diamine or hexamethylene diamine or mixtures thereof.", "A diamine also encompasses diamine derivatives including, but not limited to, diamides such as urea.", "In some embodiments, a reaction product of Formula (IA) can be oligomeric or polymeric.", "Unreacted isocyanate groups of the reaction product of Formula (IA) are independently reacted with an organic component comprising molecules of compounds selected from the group consisting of Formula (II) and Formula (III): in-line-formulae description=\"In-line Formulae\" end=\"lead\"?", "R f —R a —X—H  (II) in-line-formulae description=\"In-line Formulae\" end=\"tail\"?", "in-line-formulae description=\"In-line Formulae\" end=\"lead\"?", "R o —X—H  (III) in-line-formulae description=\"In-line Formulae\" end=\"tail\"?", "such that all or substantially all of the unreacted isocyanate groups of the reaction product of Formula (IA) have been reacted resulting in a compound of Formula (I), wherein R f , R a , R o and X are defined above.", "As provided herein, in some embodiments, the unreacted isocyanate group of each repeating unit of a reaction product of Formula (IA) can react with a compound of Formula (II) or a compound of Formula (III).", "As a result, in some embodiments, an unreacted isocyanate of one repeating unit can react with a compound of Formula (II) while an unreacted isocyanate group on an adjacent repeating unit can react with a compound of Formula (III).", "In other embodiments, unreacted isocyanate groups of adjacent repeating units each react with a compound of Formula (II) or each react with a compound of Formula (III).", "In some embodiments, a compound of Formula (II) comprises a fluorinated alcohol of the formula (C q F 2q+1 )(CH 2 ) u OH, wherein q ranges from 4 to 20 and u ranges from 1 to 20.In one embodiment, for example, a compound of Formula (II) provided for reaction with unreacted isocyanate groups of a reaction product of Formula (IA) is a single species of fluorinated alcohol.", "In some embodiments, a single species of fluorinated alcohol is selected from the group consisting of (C 4 F 9 )(CH 2 ) u OH, (C 6 F 13 )(CH 2 ) u OH, (C 8 F 17 )(CH 2 ) u OH, (C 10 F 21 )(CH 2 ) u OH, (C 12 F 25 )(CH 2 ) u OH, (C 14 F 28 )(CH 2 ) u OH, (C 16 F 33 )(CH 2 ) u OH, (C 18 F 39 )(CH 2 ) u OH and (C 20 F 41 )(CH 2 ) u OH wherein u is defined above.", "In other embodiments, a compound of Formula (II) for reaction with unreacted isocyanate groups of a reaction product of Formula (IA) is provided as a mixture fluoroalcohols.", "In some embodiments, a mixture can comprise any two or more of the following fluoroalcohols: (C 4 F 9 )(CH 2 ) u OH, (C 6 F 13 )(CH 2 ) u OH, (C 8 F 17 )(CH 2 ) u OH, (C 10 F 21 )(CH 2 ) u OH, (C 12 F 25 )(CH 2 ) u OH, (C 14 F 28 )(CH 2 ) u OH, (C 16 F 33 )(CH 2 ) u OH, (C 18 F 39 )(CH 2 ) u OH and (C 20 F 41 )(CH 2 ) u OH, wherein u is defined above.", "Moreover, in some embodiments, a compound of Formula (III) comprises a monoalkyl ether of a polyalkylene glycol having the formula as defined above.", "In some embodiments, a compound of Formula (III) provided for reaction with unreacted isocyanate groups of a reaction product of Formula (IA) is a single species of a monoalkyl ether of a polyalkylene glycol.", "In other embodiments, a compound of Formula (III) provided for reaction with unreacted isocyanate groups of a reaction product of Formula (IA) is provided as a mixture of various monoalkyl ethers of polyalkylene glycols.", "In some embodiments, a compound of Formula (III) comprises a chlorinated alcohol.", "Non-limiting examples of chlorinated alcohols comprise 1,3-dichloro-2-propanol, 2,2,2-trichloroethanol and 2,2-dichloroethanol.", "Moreover, a compound of Formula (III), in some embodiments, comprises epoxy or glycidyl alcohols.", "A non-limiting example of an epoxy alcohol is 2,3-epoxy-1-propanol.", "In some embodiments, a compound of Formula (III) comprises hydroxy functional acrylates and methacrylates including, but not limited to, 2-hydroxyethylmethacrylate, 2-hydroxyethylacrylate, 2-hydroxypropylmethacrylate and 2-hydroxypropylacrylate.", "In some embodiments, a compound of Formula (III) provided for reaction with unreacted isocyanate groups of a reaction product of Formula (IA) comprises a mixture comprising at least two of polyalkylene glycol, a chlorinated alcohol, a glycidyl alcohol and a hydroxy functional acrylate.", "As provided herein, methods of producing fluorinated compounds, in some embodiments, do not employ organic solvents.", "In another aspect, the present invention provides a method of producing an aqueous dispersion of a fluorinated compound comprising the reaction product of a polyisocyanate component and a diol component or a diamine component or a mixture thereof, the reaction product further reacted with an organic component comprising molecules of at least one compound having a plurality of fluorinated carbon atoms and at least one isocyanate reactive functionality.", "In one embodiment, a method of producing a dispersion of a fluorinated compound described herein comprises providing the fluorinated compound and dispersing the fluorinated compound in an aqueous medium without the use of a dispersing aid.", "Fluorinated compounds can be provided according to the methods of synthesis described herein.", "Production of fluorinated compounds described herein in the absence of organic solvents, in some embodiments, can facilitate the production of aqueous dispersions of the fluorinated compounds.", "The absence of an organic solvent, for example, can preclude the requirement to strip or further process the organic solvent during production of the aqueous dispersion.", "As a result, in some embodiments, water can be added directly to the reaction mixture comprising a fluorinated compound to produce an aqueous dispersion of the fluorinated compound.", "In a further aspect, the present provides methods of enhancing the oil and/or water repellency of substrates, including fibers, textiles, carpets and floor coverings.", "In one embodiment, a method of enhancing the oil and/or water repellency of a substrate comprises providing an aqueous dispersion of a fluorinated compound described herein and applying the aqueous dispersion to the substrate.", "In some embodiments, applying the aqueous dispersion to the substrate comprises spray coating, dip coating, foaming, exhausting, passing the substrate through kiss rollers or spreading onto or coating the substrate through a head box, optionally with the aid of a doctor blade or any other application or exhaustion method or technique known to one of skill in the art.", "These and other embodiments are described in greater detail in the detailed description which follows.", "detailed-description description=\"Detailed Description\" end=\"lead\"?" ], [ "CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS The present application claims priority pursuant to 35 U.S.C.", "§ 119(e) to U.S.", "Provisional Patent Application Ser.", "No.", "61/158,282, filed Mar.", "6, 2009 and U.S.", "Provisional Patent Application Ser.", "No.", "61/223,109, filed Jul.", "6, 2009, each of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to fluorinated compounds operable to impart oil, water and/or soil repellency to substrates such as textiles including fabrics, carpets and other floor coverings.", "BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Manufactures of textiles are continuously searching for compositions to enhance textile fiber performance and durability.", "In the carpet and floor coverings industry, for example, manufacturers desire compositions operable to render carpet fibers stain resistant.", "Fluorinated compounds have been used extensively to impart water and oil repellency to textile and carpet fibers.", "Fluorocarbon compounds, for example, can provide both oil and water repellency, unlike waxes, silicones, etc., which typically provide water repellency, but are somewhat oleophilic, and thus do not provide good oil repellency.", "Fluorinated compounds, when applied to fibers in sufficient amount, can lower the surface energy of the fiber or fabric below the surface energy of water or oils that might be spilled onto the fabric, thereby allowing removal of these liquids before penetration into the fiber or fabric.", "This is of great benefit for fibers and fabrics used in clothing, residential, commercial, and industrial settings as the useful life of the fibers and fabric is substantially increased.", "The manufacture of fluorinated compounds, nevertheless, generally employs the use of organic solvents presenting several disadvantages.", "Substrates, including textile fibers, treated with organic solutions or dispersions of fluorinated compounds, for example, often require an extraction step to remove the organic solvent.", "An extraction step increases the time and cost of producing a stain repellent substrate.", "Organic solvent extraction from a substrate can be avoided by using aqueous dispersions of fluorinated compounds.", "However, production of aqueous dispersions of fluorinated compounds necessitate stripping of the organic solvent used in the production of the fluorinated compounds.", "Organic solvent stripping from an aqueous dispersion by distillation and other techniques can additionally increase the time and cost of producing a stain repellent substrate.", "Furthermore, providing stable aqueous dispersions of fluorinated compounds can be difficult requiring the use of dispersing aids such as surfactants and organic cosolvents.", "SUMMARY In view of the foregoing, the present invention provides fluorinated compounds as well as solutions and dispersions of the fluorinated compounds.", "In some embodiments, fluorinated compounds of the present invention are produced in the absence of an organic solvent or cosolvent.", "Moreover, in some embodiments, aqueous dispersions of fluorinated compounds of the present invention do not comprise dispersing aids such as surfactants and/or organic cosolvents.", "In some embodiments, fluorinated compounds described herein and solutions or dispersions thereof can be applied substrates such as textiles, including carpet and other floor coverings.", "In one aspect, the present invention provides a fluorinated compound comprising a reaction product of a polyisocyanate component and a diol component or a diamine component or a mixture thereof, the reaction product further reacted with an organic component comprising molecules of at least one compound having a plurality of fluorinated carbon atoms and at least one isocyanate reactive functionality.", "In some embodiments, the organic component further comprises molecules of at least one non-fluorinated compound having at least one isocyanate reactive functionality.", "In some embodiments, a fluorinated compound comprising a reaction product of a polyisocyanate component and a diol component or a diamine component or a mixture thereof, the reaction product further reacted with an organic component is a compound of Formula (I): wherein Z is a trivalent organic group; L is a divalent diol, diamine, urea, dialcohol amine or an aminoalcohol or a mixture thereof; n ranges from 1 to 30; and A1, A2, A3 and A4 are independently selected from the group consisting of Rf—Ra—X— and Ro—X—, wherein at least one of A1, A2, A3 and A4 is Rf—Ra—X—; wherein Rf is a fluoroalkyl; Ra is a direct bond, alkyl, —CmH2mSO—, —CmH2mSO2—, —SO2N(R1)—, —CON(R1)—, wherein m ranges from 1 to 20 and R1 is hydrogen or alkyl; and X is —O—, —S— or —N(R2)—, wherein R2 is hydrogen or alkyl; and Ro is -alkyl, -alkenyl, -cycloalkyl, -chloroalkyl, -chloroalkenyl, -chlorocycloalkyl, —O-alkyl-glycidyl, —R3—O—R4, or —O—R24—O—C(O)—R25, wherein R3, R4, R5, R6, R24 and R25 are independently selected from the group consisting of alkyl and alkenyl and p ranges from 1 to 50 and wherein the alkyl and alkenyl of R3-R6, R24 and R25 are optionally independently substituted one or more times with a substituent selected from the group consisting of alkyl, alkenyl, and halo.", "In some embodiments, A′ is independently selected for each repeating unit in Formula (I).", "In some embodiments of a compound of Formula (I), for example, A1 is Rf—Ra—X— in one repeating unit and Ro—X— in another repeating unit.", "Moreover, in some embodiments, A1 is the same in all or substantially all of the repeating units of a compound of Formula (I).", "In some embodiments, Z is selected from the following trivalent organic compounds: wherein R7, R8, R9, R13, R14, R15, R16, R17, R18, R19, R20, R21, R22 and R23 are independently selected from the group consisting of alkyl, alkenyl, cycloalkyl, and aryl; and wherein R10, R11 and R12 are independently selected from the group consisting of hydrogen and alkyl; wherein the alkyl, alkenyl, cycloalkyl and aryl of groups of R7-R23 are optionally independently substituted one or more times with a substituent selected from the group consisting of -alkyl, -alkenyl, -fluoroalkyl, -chloroalkyl, bromoalkyl, -aryl, —O-alkyl, —O— alkenyl, —O-aryl, —O-alkylene-aryl, -carboxyl, -hydroxyl, -halo and -nitro; and wherein is a point of attachment of the trivalent organic compound in Formula (I).", "Moreover, in some embodiments, L can comprise any divalent diol, diamine, urea, dialcohol amine or aminoalcohol not inconsistent with the principles and objectives of the present invention.", "In some embodiments L is selected from the group consisting of ethylene glycol, diethylene glycol, triethylene glycol, tetraethylene glycol, propylene glycol, dipropylene glycol, tripropylene glycol, 1,3-propanediol, 1,3-butanediol, 1,4-butanediol, neopentyl glycol, 1,6-hexanediol, 1,4-cylcohexanediol, ethanolamine, diethanolamine, methyldiethanolamine or phenyldiethanolamine, aminopropanol or mixtures thereof.", "In some embodiments, fluoroalkyl, Rf, is selected from the group consisting of CqF2q+1 and (CF3)2CFO(CF2CF2)t wherein q ranges from 4 to 20 and t ranges from 1 to 5.In one non-limiting embodiment, for example, q is 6.Additionally, in some embodiments Ro is a monoalkyl ether of a polyalkylene glycol having the formula as defined above.", "In some embodiments, Ro comprises a monoalkyl ether of a polyethylene glycol, polypropylene glycol or copolymers thereof.", "In some embodiments, Ro comprises a chloroalkyl group.", "Fluorinated compounds of the reaction products described herein, including fluorinated compounds of Formula (I), can have any desired molecular weight.", "The molecular weight of a fluorinated compound can be selected according to several parameters including the ability to provide an aqueous dispersion of the fluorinated compound without dispersing agents and/or the ability to exhaust the fluorinated compound onto a substrate.", "In some embodiments, a fluorinated compound, including a compound of Formula (I), comprising a reaction product of a polyisocyanate component and a diol component or a diamine component or a mixture thereof, the reaction product further reacted with an organic component has a molecular weight of at least about 2,000.In some embodiments, a fluorinated compound has a molecular weight of at least about 4,000.In some embodiments, a fluorinated compound has a molecular weight greater than about 8,000.In one embodiment, for example, a fluorinated compound has a molecular weight ranging from about 8,250 to about 20,000.In another embodiment, a fluorinated compound has a molecular weight ranging from about 9,000 to about 15,000.In some embodiments, a fluorinated compound has a molecular weight less than about 2,000 or greater than about 20,000.In another aspect, the present invention provides aqueous dispersions of a fluorinated compound comprising the reaction product of a polyisocyanate component and a diol component or a diamine component or a mixture thereof, the reaction product further reacted with an organic component as described herein.", "In one embodiment, for example, the present invention provides aqueous dispersions of a compound of Formula (I).", "In some embodiments, aqueous dispersions of a fluorinated compound are free or substantially free of dispersing aids including, but not limited to, surfactants and/or organic cosolvents.", "The present invention, in another aspect, provides a substrate at least partially treated or coated with a fluorinated compound comprising the reaction product of a polyisocyanate component and a diol component or a diamine component or a mixture thereof, the reaction product further reacted with an organic component as described herein.", "In some embodiments, a substrate is at least partially treated or coated with a fluorinated compound of Formula (I).", "In some embodiments, a fluorinated compound is applied to substrate as an aqueous dispersion.", "In some embodiments, wherein an aqueous dispersion of a fluorinated compound described herein does not comprise dispersing aids, a substrate treated with such a dispersion is not subjected to subsequent washing or extraction steps to remove residual dispersing aids.", "Substrates, in some embodiments, comprise cellulosic materials, including paper, wood, cellulose acetate fibers, and cotton materials, including, but not limited to, cotton fibers, woven cotton articles, and non-woven cotton articles.", "In other embodiments, a substrate comprises other natural fibers including, but not limited to, wool and silk fibers.", "In another embodiment, a substrate comprises synthetic fibers.", "Synthetic fibers, in some embodiments, comprise nylon (polyamide) fibers, polyester fibers such as PTT, polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polybutylene terephthalate (PBT), polyolefin fibers such as polypropylene, polyurethane fibers, polyacrylonitrile fibers, or combinations or composites thereof.", "In some embodiments, for example, a substrate comprises a mixture or combination of synthetic fibers including PTT fibers combined with any one of polyester fibers such as PET and/or PBT fibers, polyamide fibers, polyolefin fibers such as polypropylene fibers, polyurethane fibers, and/or any combination thereof.", "In some embodiments, for example, a substrate comprises a combination of synthetic fibers including PTT fibers with natural fibers.", "Substrates comprising various combinations of fibers, in some embodiments of the present invention, are considered composite substrates.", "In a further embodiment, a substrate comprises leather, thermoplastics, thermosets, metals, porcelain, carpet, masonry, stones, brick, wood, plastics, painted surfaces, and dyed surfaces.", "In coating or treating a substrate with an aqueous dispersion, a fluorinated compound of the present invention, in some embodiments, is associated with one or more surfaces of the substrate.", "In some embodiments, for example, a fluorinated compound is associated with a surface of the substrate through electrostatic interactions, covalent bonds, dipole-dipole interactions, van der Waals interactions or hydrophobic interactions or combinations thereof.", "In other embodiments, a fluorinated compound is associated with a surface of a substrate by mechanical engagement.", "In one embodiment, for example, a fluorinated compound described herein is trapped between a plurality of filaments in a fiber such as a synthetic fiber.", "In some embodiments, a fluorinated compound is trapped between polymeric chains of one or more fiber filaments.", "Fluorinated compounds of the present invention, in some embodiments, can be applied with other stain resistant species.", "In some embodiments, a substrate treated or coated with a fluorinated compound can demonstrate increased or enhanced repellency of oil and water.", "Moreover, in some embodiments, a substrate treated or coated with a fluorinated compound can demonstrate advantageous soil resistance and/or release properties.", "In another aspect, the present invention provides methods of producing fluorinated compounds.", "In one embodiment, a method of producing a fluorinated compound comprises reacting a polyisocyanate component with a diol component or a diamine component or a mixture thereof to provide a reaction product and reacting the reaction product with an organic component comprising molecules of at least one compound having a plurality of fluorinated carbon atoms and at least one isocyanate reactive functionality.", "In some embodiments, the organic component further comprises molecules of at least one non-fluorinated compound having at least one isocyanate reactive functionality.", "In some embodiments, a method of producing a fluorinated compound of Formula (I), for example, comprises reacting an amount of a bifunctional isocyanate compound of formula: with an amount of a diol or diamine component of formula: H-L-H to produce a reaction product of a compound of Formula (IA): wherein Z and L are defined above.", "In some embodiments, a diol of formula H-L-H is selected from the group consisting of ethylene glycol, diethylene glycol, triethylene glycol, tetraethylene glycol, propylene glycol, dipropylene glycol, tripropylene glycol, 1,3-propanediol, 1,3-butanediol, 1,4-butanediol, neopentyl glycol, 1,6-hexanediol, 1,4-cylcohexanediol or mixtures thereof.", "In some embodiments, a diol of formula H-L-H comprises one or more diols having a polymeric structure including, but not limited to, polyalkylene glycols such as polyethylene glycols, polypropylene glycols or mixtures thereof.", "In some embodiments, diols having a polymeric structure comprise polyester-based diols, polycarbonate-based diols or mixtures thereof.", "A diol having a polymeric structure can have any desired molecular weight not inconsistent with the objectives of the present invention.", "In some embodiments, a dialcohol amine of formula H-L-H is diethanolamine, methyldiethanolamine or phenyldiethanolamine or mixtures thereof.", "In some embodiments, an aminoalcohol of formula H-L-H is aminopropanol or ethanolamine or a mixture thereof.", "In some embodiments, a diamine of formula H-L-H comprises ethylene diamine, propylene diamine, butylene diamine or hexamethylene diamine or mixtures thereof.", "A diamine also encompasses diamine derivatives including, but not limited to, diamides such as urea.", "In some embodiments, a reaction product of Formula (IA) can be oligomeric or polymeric.", "Unreacted isocyanate groups of the reaction product of Formula (IA) are independently reacted with an organic component comprising molecules of compounds selected from the group consisting of Formula (II) and Formula (III): Rf—Ra—X—H (II) Ro—X—H (III) such that all or substantially all of the unreacted isocyanate groups of the reaction product of Formula (IA) have been reacted resulting in a compound of Formula (I), wherein Rf, Ra, Ro and X are defined above.", "As provided herein, in some embodiments, the unreacted isocyanate group of each repeating unit of a reaction product of Formula (IA) can react with a compound of Formula (II) or a compound of Formula (III).", "As a result, in some embodiments, an unreacted isocyanate of one repeating unit can react with a compound of Formula (II) while an unreacted isocyanate group on an adjacent repeating unit can react with a compound of Formula (III).", "In other embodiments, unreacted isocyanate groups of adjacent repeating units each react with a compound of Formula (II) or each react with a compound of Formula (III).", "In some embodiments, a compound of Formula (II) comprises a fluorinated alcohol of the formula (CqF2q+1)(CH2)uOH, wherein q ranges from 4 to 20 and u ranges from 1 to 20.In one embodiment, for example, a compound of Formula (II) provided for reaction with unreacted isocyanate groups of a reaction product of Formula (IA) is a single species of fluorinated alcohol.", "In some embodiments, a single species of fluorinated alcohol is selected from the group consisting of (C4F9)(CH2)uOH, (C6F13)(CH2)uOH, (C8F17)(CH2)uOH, (C10F21)(CH2)uOH, (C12F25)(CH2)uOH, (C14F28)(CH2)uOH, (C16F33)(CH2)uOH, (C18F39)(CH2)uOH and (C20F41)(CH2)uOH wherein u is defined above.", "In other embodiments, a compound of Formula (II) for reaction with unreacted isocyanate groups of a reaction product of Formula (IA) is provided as a mixture fluoroalcohols.", "In some embodiments, a mixture can comprise any two or more of the following fluoroalcohols: (C4F9)(CH2)uOH, (C6F13)(CH2)uOH, (C8F17)(CH2)uOH, (C10F21)(CH2)uOH, (C12F25)(CH2)uOH, (C14F28)(CH2)uOH, (C16F33)(CH2)uOH, (C18F39)(CH2)uOH and (C20F41)(CH2)uOH, wherein u is defined above.", "Moreover, in some embodiments, a compound of Formula (III) comprises a monoalkyl ether of a polyalkylene glycol having the formula as defined above.", "In some embodiments, a compound of Formula (III) provided for reaction with unreacted isocyanate groups of a reaction product of Formula (IA) is a single species of a monoalkyl ether of a polyalkylene glycol.", "In other embodiments, a compound of Formula (III) provided for reaction with unreacted isocyanate groups of a reaction product of Formula (IA) is provided as a mixture of various monoalkyl ethers of polyalkylene glycols.", "In some embodiments, a compound of Formula (III) comprises a chlorinated alcohol.", "Non-limiting examples of chlorinated alcohols comprise 1,3-dichloro-2-propanol, 2,2,2-trichloroethanol and 2,2-dichloroethanol.", "Moreover, a compound of Formula (III), in some embodiments, comprises epoxy or glycidyl alcohols.", "A non-limiting example of an epoxy alcohol is 2,3-epoxy-1-propanol.", "In some embodiments, a compound of Formula (III) comprises hydroxy functional acrylates and methacrylates including, but not limited to, 2-hydroxyethylmethacrylate, 2-hydroxyethylacrylate, 2-hydroxypropylmethacrylate and 2-hydroxypropylacrylate.", "In some embodiments, a compound of Formula (III) provided for reaction with unreacted isocyanate groups of a reaction product of Formula (IA) comprises a mixture comprising at least two of polyalkylene glycol, a chlorinated alcohol, a glycidyl alcohol and a hydroxy functional acrylate.", "As provided herein, methods of producing fluorinated compounds, in some embodiments, do not employ organic solvents.", "In another aspect, the present invention provides a method of producing an aqueous dispersion of a fluorinated compound comprising the reaction product of a polyisocyanate component and a diol component or a diamine component or a mixture thereof, the reaction product further reacted with an organic component comprising molecules of at least one compound having a plurality of fluorinated carbon atoms and at least one isocyanate reactive functionality.", "In one embodiment, a method of producing a dispersion of a fluorinated compound described herein comprises providing the fluorinated compound and dispersing the fluorinated compound in an aqueous medium without the use of a dispersing aid.", "Fluorinated compounds can be provided according to the methods of synthesis described herein.", "Production of fluorinated compounds described herein in the absence of organic solvents, in some embodiments, can facilitate the production of aqueous dispersions of the fluorinated compounds.", "The absence of an organic solvent, for example, can preclude the requirement to strip or further process the organic solvent during production of the aqueous dispersion.", "As a result, in some embodiments, water can be added directly to the reaction mixture comprising a fluorinated compound to produce an aqueous dispersion of the fluorinated compound.", "In a further aspect, the present provides methods of enhancing the oil and/or water repellency of substrates, including fibers, textiles, carpets and floor coverings.", "In one embodiment, a method of enhancing the oil and/or water repellency of a substrate comprises providing an aqueous dispersion of a fluorinated compound described herein and applying the aqueous dispersion to the substrate.", "In some embodiments, applying the aqueous dispersion to the substrate comprises spray coating, dip coating, foaming, exhausting, passing the substrate through kiss rollers or spreading onto or coating the substrate through a head box, optionally with the aid of a doctor blade or any other application or exhaustion method or technique known to one of skill in the art.", "These and other embodiments are described in greater detail in the detailed description which follows.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION The term “alkyl” as used herein, alone or in combination, refers to a straight or branched chain saturated hydrocarbon radical having from 1 to 20 carbon atoms.", "Non-limiting examples of alkyl groups include C1-8-alkyl or C1-6-alkyl.", "Typical C1-8-alkyl groups and C1-6-alkyl groups include, but are not limited to e.g.", "methyl, ethyl, n-propyl, isopropyl, n-butyl, sec-butyl, isobutyl, tert-butyl, n-pentyl, 2-methylbutyl, 3-methylbutyl, 4-methylpentyl, neopentyl, n-pentyl, n-hexyl, 1,2-dimethylpropyl, 2,2-dimethylpropyl, 1,2,2-trimethylpropyl and the like.", "The term “C1-8-alkyl” as used herein also includes secondary C3-8-alkyl and tertiary C4-8-alkyl.", "The term “C1-6-alkyl” as used herein also includes secondary C3-6-alkyl and tertiary C4-6-alkyl.", "The term “alkenyl” as used herein, alone or in combination, refers to a straight or branched chain hydrocarbon radical containing from 2 to 20 carbon atoms and at least one carbon-carbon double bond.", "Non-limiting examples of alkenyl groups include C2-8-alkenyl or C2-6-alkenyl.", "Typical C2-8-alkenyl groups and C2-6-alkenyl groups include, but are not limited to, vinyl, 1-propenyl, 2-propenyl, iso-propenyl, 1,3-butadienyl, 1-butenyl, 2-butenyl, 3-butenyl, 2-methyl-1-propenyl, 1-pentenyl, 2-pentenyl, 3-pentenyl, 4-pentenyl, 3-methyl-2-butenyl, 1-hexenyl, 2-hexenyl, 3-hexenyl, 2,4-hexadienyl, 5-hexenyl and the like.", "The term “cycloalkyl” as used herein, alone or in combination, refers to a non-aromatic hydrocarbon radical having from three to twelve carbon atoms, and optionally with one or more degrees of unsaturation, for example C3-8-cycloalkyl.", "Such a ring may be optionally fused to one or more benzene rings or to one or more of other cycloalkyl ring(s).", "Typical C3-8-cycloalkyl groups include, but are not limited to, cyclopropyl, cyclobutyl, cyclopentyl, cyclohexyl, cyclohexenyl, cycloheptyl, cycloheptenyl, cyclooctyl and the like.", "The term “aryl” as used herein refers to a carbocyclic aromatic ring radical or to a aromatic ring system radical.", "Aryl is also intended to include the partially hydrogenated derivatives of the carbocyclic systems.", "The term “fluoroalkyl,” as used herein, has the same respective meanings as alkyl and alkenyl above provided that at least one carbon atom of the group is substituted with at least one fluorine atom.", "In some embodiments, more than one carbon atom of the alkyl group is substituted with a plurality fluorine atoms.", "Fluoroalkyl additionally encompasses perfluorinated alkyl and alkenyl groups.", "The term “chloroalkyl,” as used herein, has the same respective meanings as alkyl and alkenyl above provided that at least one carbon atom of the group is substituted with at least one chlorine atom.", "In some embodiments, more than one carbon atom of the alkyl group is substituted with a plurality chlorine atoms.", "Chloroalkyl additionally encompasses perchlorinated alkyl and alkenyl groups.", "The term “isocyanate reactive functionality,” as used herein, refers to a chemical functionality capable of chemically reacting with an isocyanate group.", "Non-limiting examples of a isocyanate reactive functionality include hydroxyl, carboxyl, amine, thiol and several other functional groups containing an active hydrogen moiety.", "The present invention provides fluorinated compounds as well as solutions and dispersions of the fluorinated compounds.", "In some embodiments, fluorinated compounds described herein are produced in the absence of an organic solvent.", "Moreover, in some embodiments, aqueous dispersions of fluorinated compounds of the present invention do not comprise dispersing aids such as surfactants and/or organic cosolvents.", "Fluorinated compounds described herein and solutions or dispersions thereof can be applied substrates such as textiles, including carpet and other floor coverings.", "In one aspect, the present invention provides a fluorinated compound comprising a reaction product of a polyisocyanate component and a diol component or a diamine component or a mixture thereof, the reaction product further reacted with an organic component comprising molecules of at least one compound having a plurality of fluorinated carbon atoms and at least one isocyanate reactive functionality.", "In some embodiments, the organic component further comprises molecules of at least one non-fluorinated compound having at least one isocyanate reactive functionality.", "A polyisocyanate component used in the production of the reaction product can comprise molecules of one or more species of polyisocyanates.", "In some embodiments, a polyisocyanate component comprises molecules having at least three isocyanate groups.", "In some embodiments a polyisocyanate component comprises molecules having at least four or at least five isocyanate groups.", "In some embodiments, a polyisocyanate component comprises molecules of one or more of the following polyisocyanates: wherein R7, R8, R9, R13, R14, R15, R16, R17, R18, R19, R20, R21, R22 and R23 are independently selected from the group consisting of alkyl, alkenyl, cycloalkyl, and aryl; and wherein R10, R11 and R12 are independently selected from the group consisting of hydrogen and alkyl; and wherein the alkyl, alkenyl, cycloalkyl and aryl of groups of R7-R23 are optionally independently substituted one or more times with a substituent selected from the group consisting of -alkyl, -alkenyl, -fluoroalkyl, -chloroalkyl, -bromoalkyl, -aryl, —O-alkyl, —O-alkenyl, —O-aryl, —O-alkylene-aryl, -carboxyl, -hydroxyl, -halo and -nitro.", "In some embodiments, suitable polyisocyanates are commercially available from Bayer Material Science of Pittsburgh, Pa. under the DESMODUR® trade designation including, but not limited to, DESMODUR® N-3300A, DESMODUR® N-3200, DESMODUR® N-3400, DESMODUR® N-3600 and DESMODUR® XP 2410.In some embodiments, suitable polyisocyanates are commercially available from Bayer Material Science of Pittsburgh, Pa. under the BAYHYDUR® trade designation including, but not limited to, BAYHYDUR® XP 2547.In some embodiments, suitable polyisocyanates are commercially available from Perstorp of Toledo, Ohio under the TOLONATE® trade designation including, but not limited to, TOLONATE® HDT, TOLONATE® HDT-LV, TOLONATE® HDT-LV2, TOLONATE® HDB and TOLONATE® HDB-LV.", "A diol component, which in some embodiments is used in conjunction with the polyisocyanate component in the production of a reaction product, can comprise molecules of one or more species of diols.", "In some embodiments, a diol component comprises molecules of ethylene glycol, diethylene glycol, triethylene glycol, tetraethylene glycol, propylene glycol, dipropylene glycol, tripropylene glycol, 1,3-propanediol, 1,3-butanediol, 1,4-butanediol, neopentyl glycol, 1,6-hexanediol, 1,4-cylcohexanediol, diethanolamine, methyldiethanolamine or phenyldiethanolamine or mixtures thereof.", "In some embodiments, a diol component comprises one or more diols having a polymeric structure including, but not limited to, polyalkylene glycols such as polyethylene glycols, polypropylene glycols or mixtures thereof.", "In some embodiments, diols having a polymeric structure comprise ethylene oxide/propylene oxide copolymers.", "In some embodiments, diols having a polymeric structure comprise polyester-based diols, polycarbonate-based diols or mixtures thereof.", "A diol having a polymeric structure can have any desired molecular weight not inconsistent with the objectives of the present invention.", "In some embodiments, a diol component comprises polyethylene glycol (PEG) 300, PEG 400, PEG 600 or mixtures thereof.", "In some embodiments, a diol component comprises polypropylene glycol (PPG) 1000, PPG 2000 or mixtures thereof.", "In some embodiments, a diol component comprises a PEG and/or PPG that is liquid at room temperature.", "A diamine component, which in some embodiments is used in conjunction with the polyisocyanate component in the production of a reaction product, can comprise molecules of one or more species of diamines.", "Amine functionalities of diamines suitable for use in the diamine component comprise at least one hydrogen operable for reaction with an isocyanate functionality.", "In some embodiments, a diamine component comprises molecules of ethylene diamine, propylene diamine, butylene diamine or hexamethylene diamine or mixtures thereof.", "A diamine component also encompasses diamine derivatives including, but not limited to, diamides such as urea.", "A diamine component also encompasses monoalcohol amines such as ethanolamine, aminopropanol or mixtures thereof.", "In some embodiments, a fluorinated compound described herein does not comprise a urea linkage.", "As described herein, the polyisocyanate component is reacted with the diol component or the diamine component or a mixture thereof to provide a reaction product.", "The reaction product is subsequently reacted with an organic component comprising molecules of at least one compound having a plurality of fluorinated carbon atoms and at least one isocyanate reactive functionality.", "In some embodiments, a compound of an organic component having a plurality of fluorinated carbon atoms and at least one isocyanate reactive functionality is a compound of Formula (II): Rf—Ra—X—H (II) wherein Rf, Ra, Ro and X are defined above.", "In some embodiments, a compound of Formula (II) comprises a fluorinated alcohol of the formula (CqF2q+1)(CH2)uOH, wherein q ranges from 4 to 20 and u ranges from 1 to 20.In some embodiments, for example, molecules of a compound of Formula (II) react with unreacted isocyanate groups of the reaction product resulting from the combination of the polyisocyanate component with the diol component and/or diamine component.", "In some embodiments, a single species of fluorinated alcohol is selected from the group consisting of (C4F9)(CH2)uOH, (C6F13)(CH2)uOH, (C8F17)(CH2)uOH, (C10F21)(CH2)uOH, (C12F25)(CH2)uOH, (C14F28)(CH2)uOH, (C16F33)(CH2)uOH, (C18F39)(CH2)uOH and (C20F41)(CH2)uOH wherein u is defined above.", "In other embodiments, a compound of Formula (II) is provided as a mixture fluoroalcohols.", "In some embodiments, a mixture can comprise any two or more of the following fluoroalcohols: (C4F9)(CH2)uOH, (C6F13)(CH2)uOH, (C8F17)(CH2)uOH, (C10F21)(CH2)uOH, (C12F25)(CH2)uOH, (C14F28)(CH2)uOH, (C16F33)(CH2)uOH, (C18F39)(CH2)uOH and (C20F41)(CH2)uOH, wherein u is defined above.", "In some embodiments, the organic component further comprises molecules of at least one non-fluorinated compound having at least one isocyanate reactive functionality.", "In some embodiments, a non-fluorinated compound having at least one isocyanate reactive functionality is a compound of Formula (III): Ro—X—H (III) wherein Ro and X are defined above.", "In some embodiments, a compound of Formula (III) comprises one or more monoalkyl ethers of a polyalkylene glycol having the formula as defined above.", "In some embodiments, for example, molecules of a compound of Formula (III) react with unreacted isocyanate groups of the reaction product resulting from the combination of the polyisocyanate component with the diol component and/or diamine component.", "In some embodiments, a compound of Formula (III) comprises a chlorinated alcohol.", "Non-limiting examples of chlorinated alcohols comprise 1,3-dichloro-2-propanol, 2,2,2-trichloroethanol and 2,2-dichloroethanol.", "Moreover, a compound of Formula (III), in some embodiments, comprises epoxy or glycidyl alcohols.", "A non-limiting example of an epoxy alcohol is 2,3-epoxy-1-propanol.", "In some embodiments, a compound of Formula (III) comprises hydroxy functional acrylates and methacrylates including, but not limited to, 2-hydroxyethylmethacrylate, 2-hydroxyethylacrylate, 2-hydroxypropylmethacrylate and 2-hydroxypropylacrylate.", "In some embodiments, a fluorinated compound comprising a reaction product of a polyisocyanate component and a diol component or a diamine component or a mixture thereof, the reaction product further reacted with an organic component is a compound of Formula (I): wherein Z is a trivalent organic group; L is a divalent diol, diamine, urea, dialcohol amine or an aminoalcohol or a mixture thereof; n ranges from 1 to 30; and A1, A2, A3 and A4 are independently selected from the group consisting of Rf—Ra—X— and Ro—X—, wherein at least one of A1, A2, A3 and A4 is Rf—Ra—X—; wherein Rf is a fluoroalkyl; Ra is a direct bond, alkyl, —CmH2mSO—, —CmH2mSO2—, —SO2N(R1)—, —CON(R1)—, wherein m ranges from 1 to 20 and R1 is hydrogen or alkyl; and X is —O—, —S— or —N(R2)—, wherein R2 is hydrogen or alkyl; and Ro is -alkyl, -alkenyl, -cycloalkyl, -chloroalkyl, -chloroalkenyl, -chlorocycloalkyl, —O-alkyl-glycidyl, —R3—O—R4, or —O—R24—O—C(O)—R25, wherein R3, R4, R5, R6, R24 and R25 are independently selected from the group consisting of alkyl and alkenyl and p ranges from 1 to 50 and wherein the alkyl and alkenyl of R3-R6, R24 and R25 are optionally independently substituted one or more times with a substituent selected from the group consisting of alkyl, alkenyl, and halo.", "In some embodiments, A1 is independently selected for each repeating unit in Formula (I).", "In some embodiments of a compound of Formula (I), for example, A1 is Rf—Ra—X— in one repeating unit and Ro—X— in another repeating unit.", "Moreover, in some embodiments, A1 is the same in all or substantially all of the repeating units of a compound of Formula (I).", "In some embodiments, Z is selected from the following trivalent organic compounds: wherein R7, R8, R9, R13, R14, R15, R16, R17, R18, R19, R20, R21, R22 and R23 are independently selected from the group consisting of alkyl, alkenyl, cycloalkyl, and aryl; and wherein R10, R11 and R12 are independently selected from the group consisting of hydrogen and alkyl; wherein the alkyl, alkenyl, cycloalkyl and aryl of groups of R7-R23 are optionally independently substituted one or more times with a substituent selected from the group consisting of -alkyl, -alkenyl, -fluoroalkyl, -chloroalkyl, bromoalkyl, -aryl, —O-alkyl, —O-alkenyl, —O-aryl, —O-alkylene-aryl, -carboxyl, -hydroxyl, -halo and -nitro; and wherein is a point of attachment of the trivalent organic compound in Formula (I).", "Additionally, in some embodiments Ro is a monoalkyl ether of a polyalkylene glycol having the formula as defined above.", "In some embodiments, Ro comprises a monoalkylether of a polyethylene glycol, polypropylene glycol or copolymers thereof.", "Non-limiting examples of a compounds of Formula (I) are as follows: wherein A1, A2, A3 and A4 are independently selected from the group consisting of (C6F13)(CH2)6O— and and n is defined above.", "As described herein, it is important to note that identity of A1 can be independently selected for each repeating group in the foregoing non-limiting examples.", "In one embodiment, example, A1 of one repeating unit is a flourocompound of formula (C6F13)(CH2)6O— while A1 of another repeating unit is a methyl ether of polyethylene glycol of the formula: In some embodiments, at least one of A1 through A4 comprises a chloroalkyl group.", "As discussed further herein, in some embodiments, chloroalkyl groups can be provided as chloroalcohols in the synthesis of compounds of Formula (I).", "In some embodiments, chloroalkyl groups can enhance the resistance to flammability of dispersions and/or substrates comprising compounds of Formula (I).", "In some embodiments, a fluorinated compound, including a compound of Formula (I), comprising a reaction product of a polyisocyanate component and a diol component or a diamine component or a mixture thereof, the reaction product further reacted with an organic component has a molecular weight of at least about 2,000.In some embodiments, a fluorinated compound has a molecular weight of at least about 4,000.In some embodiments, a fluorinated compound has a molecular weight greater than about 8,000.In one embodiment, for example, a fluorinated compound has a molecular weight ranging from about 8,250 to about 20,000.In another embodiment, a fluorinated compound has a molecular weight ranging from about 9,000 to about 15,000.In some embodiments, a fluorinated compound has a molecular weight less than about 2,000 or greater than about 20,000.In some embodiments, the molecular weight of a fluorinated compound, such as a compound of Formula (I), can be controlled based on the amount of chain extender (e.g., diol, diamine, urea, dialcohol amine or aminoalcohol) used in producing the compound.", "Lower amounts of chain extender, for example, can produce fluorinated compounds having lower molecular weights while higher amounts of chain extender can produce fluorinated compounds having higher molecular weights.", "Moreover, in some embodiments, the molecular weight of fluorinated compounds described herein can be controlled based on the identity of a polyglycol used in the synthesis of the compounds.", "Higher molecular weight polyglycols, in some embodiments, can provide fluorinated compounds with higher molecular weight.", "In another aspect, the present invention provides an aqueous dispersion of a fluorinated compound comprising the reaction product of a polyisocyanate component and a diol component or a diamine component or a mixture thereof, the reaction product further reacted with an organic component as described herein.", "In some embodiments, aqueous dispersions of fluorinated compounds described herein are free or substantially free of dispersing aids including, but not limited to, surfactants, emulsifiers and/or organic cosolvents.", "In some embodiments, an aqueous dispersion comprises particles of a fluorinated compound described herein having an average size ranging from about 1 nm to about 500 nm.", "In other embodiments, an aqueous dispersion comprises particles of a fluorinated compound having an average size ranging from about 10 nm to about 400 nm or from about 50 nm to about 300 nm.", "In another embodiment, an aqueous dispersion comprises particles of a fluorinated compound described having an average size ranging from about 100 nm to about 250 nm.", "In some embodiments, an aqueous dispersion comprises particles of a fluorinated compound having an average size ranging from about 10 nm to about 120 nm or from about 20 nm to about 100 nm.", "In a further embodiment, an aqueous dispersion comprises particles of a fluorinated compound having an average size less than about 1 nm or greater than about 500 nm.", "An aqueous dispersion can comprise any desired amount of a fluorinated compound.", "In some embodiments, an aqueous dispersion comprises particles of a fluorinated compound described herein in an amount ranging from about 0.01 weight percent to about 30 weight percent.", "In some embodiments an aqueous dispersion comprises particles of a fluorinated compound in an amount ranging from about 1 weight percent to about 25 weight percent.", "In another embodiment, an aqueous dispersion comprises particles of a fluorinated compound in an amount ranging from about 5 weight percent to about 20 weight percent.", "In some embodiments, an aqueous dispersion comprises particles of a fluorinated compound in an amount ranging from about 10 weight percent to about 15 weight percent.", "In a further embodiment, an aqueous dispersion of the present invention comprises particles of a fluorinated compound in an amount less than about 0.01 weight percent or in an amount greater than about 30 weight percent.", "In some embodiments, an aqueous dispersion can further comprise other fluorochemical species dispersed in the aqueous phase in addition to a fluorinated compound described herein.", "Additional fluorochemical species, in some embodiments, comprise fluoroalkyl methacrylates, fluoroalkyl acrylates, fluoroalkyl aryl urethanes, fluoroalkyl urethanes, aliphatic fluoroalkyl urethanes, fluoroalkyl allyl urethanes, fluoroalkyl urethane acrylates, fluoroalkyl acrylamides, or fluoroalkyl sulfonamide acrylates or mixtures thereof.", "In some embodiments, additional fluorochemical species comprise polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), fluorinated ethylene-propylene (FEP), perfluoroalkoxy resin (PFA), polychlorotrifluoroethylene (PCTFE), ethylene-tetrafluoroethylene (EPTFE), polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), or polyvinyl fluoride (PVF) or mixtures thereof.", "Additional fluorochemical species, in some embodiments, can have particle sizes consistent with the particles sizes recited for fluorinated compounds described herein.", "The present invention, in another aspect, provides a substrate at least partially treated or coated with a fluorinated compound described herein, including, but not limited to, a compound of Formula (I).", "In some embodiments, a fluorinated compound is applied to substrate as an aqueous dispersion.", "In some embodiments, wherein an aqueous dispersion of a fluorinated compound does not comprise dispersing aids, a substrate treated with such a dispersion is not subjected to subsequent washing or extraction steps to remove residual dispersing aids.", "Substrates, in some embodiments, comprise cellulosic materials, including paper, wood, cellulose acetate fibers, and cotton materials, including, but not limited to, cotton fibers, woven cotton articles, and non-woven cotton articles.", "In other embodiments, a substrate comprises other natural fibers including, but not limited to, wool and silk fibers.", "In some embodiments, a substrate comprises synthetic fibers.", "Synthetic fibers, in some embodiments, comprise nylon (polyamide) fibers, polyester fibers such as PTT, polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polybutylene terephthalate (PBT), polyolefin fibers such as polypropylene, polyurethane fibers, polyacrylonitrile fibers, or combinations or composites thereof.", "In some embodiments, for example, a substrate comprises a mixture or combination of synthetic fibers including PTT fibers combined with any one of polyester fibers such as PET and/or PBT fibers, polyamide fibers, polyolefin fibers such as polypropylene fibers, polyurethane fibers, and/or any combination thereof.", "In some embodiments, for example, a substrate comprises a combination of synthetic fibers, including PTT fibers, with natural fibers.", "Substrates comprising various combinations of fibers, in some embodiments of the present invention, are considered composite substrates.", "In a further embodiment, a substrate comprises leather, thermoplastics, thermosets, metals, porcelain, carpet, masonry, stones, brick, wood, plastics, painted surfaces, and dyed surfaces.", "In coating or treating a substrate with an aqueous dispersion, a fluorinated compound described herein, in some embodiments, is associated with one or more surfaces of the substrate.", "In some embodiments, a fluorinated compound is associated with a surface of the substrate through electrostatic interactions, covalent bonds, dipole-dipole interactions, van der Waals interactions or hydrophobic interactions or combinations thereof.", "In other embodiments, a fluorinated compound is associated with a surface of a substrate by mechanical engagement.", "In one embodiment, for example, a fluorinated compound is trapped between a plurality of filaments in a fiber such as a synthetic fiber.", "In some embodiments, a substrate treated or coated with a fluorinated compound described herein can demonstrate increased repellency of oil and water.", "Moreover, in some embodiments, a substrate treated or coated with a fluorinated compound can demonstrate advantageous soil resistance and/or release properties.", "In some embodiments, a substrate treated with an aqueous dispersion of a fluorinated compound described herein has an oil repellency of at least 5 according to the American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists (AATCC) Test Method 118.In other embodiments, a substrate treated with an aqueous dispersion of a fluorinated compound has an oil repellency of at least 6 according to AATCC 118.In some embodiments, aqueous dispersion of the present invention can be applied to a substrate by spray coating, dip coating, foaming, exhausting, passing the substrate through kiss rollers or spreading onto or coating the substrate through a head box, optionally with the aid of a doctor blade or any other application or exhaustion method or technique known to one of skill in the art.", "Moreover, in some embodiments, a substrate treated with an aqueous dispersion of a fluorinated compound described herein can be further treated with an additional fluorochemical species including, but not limited to, fluoroalkyl methacrylates, fluoroalkyl acrylates, fluoroalkyl aryl urethanes, fluoroalkyl urethanes, aliphatic fluoroalkyl urethanes, fluoroalkyl allyl urethanes, fluoroalkyl urethane acrylates, fluoroalkyl acrylamides, or fluoroalkyl sulfonamide acrylates or mixtures thereof.", "In other embodiments, polymeric particles comprise polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), fluorinated ethylene-propylene (FEP), perfluoroalkoxy resin (PFA), polychlorotrifluoroethylene (PCTFE), ethylene-tetrafluoroethylene (EPTFE), polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), or polyvinyl fluoride (PVF) or mixtures thereof.", "In some embodiments, the additional fluorochemical species is a component of the aqueous dispersion of a fluorinated compound described herein.", "In other embodiments, the additional fluorochemical is not a component of an aqueous dispersion of a fluorinated compound described herein and is applied as a separate and independent composition to a substrate.", "In another aspect, the present invention provides methods of producing fluorinated compounds.", "In one embodiment, a method of producing a fluorinated compound comprises reacting a polyisocyanate component with a diol component or a diamine component or a mixture thereof to provide a reaction product and reacting the reaction product with an organic component comprising molecules of at least one compound having a plurality of fluorinated carbon atoms and at least one isocyanate reactive functionality.", "In some embodiments, the organic component further comprises molecules of at least one non-fluorinated compound having at least one isocyanate reactive functionality.", "In some embodiments, a method of producing a fluorinated compound of Formula (I) comprises reacting an amount of a trifunctional isocyanate compound of formula: with an amount of a diol, diamine, urea, dialcohol amine, or an aminoalcohol or a mixture thereof of formula: H-L-H to produce a reaction product of Formula (IA): wherein Z and L are defined above.", "In some embodiments, a diol of formula H-L-H is selected from the group consisting of ethylene glycol, diethylene glycol, triethylene glycol, tetraethylene glycol, propylene glycol, dipropylene glycol, tripropylene glycol, 1,3-propanediol, 1,3-butanediol, 1,4-butanediol, neopentyl glycol, 1,6-hexanediol, 1,4-cylcohexanediol or mixtures thereof.", "In some embodiments, a diol of formula H-L-H comprises one or more diols having a polymeric structure including, but not limited to, polyalkylene glycols such as polyethylene glycols, polypropylene glycols or mixtures thereof.", "In some embodiments, diols having a polymeric structure comprise polyester-based diols, polycarbonate-based diols or mixtures thereof.", "A diol having a polymeric structure can have any desired molecular weight not inconsistent with the objectives of the present invention.", "In some embodiments, a dialcohol amine of formula H-L-H is diethanolamine, methyldiethanolamine or phenyldiethanolamine or mixtures thereof.", "In some embodiments, an aminoalcohol of formula H-L-H is aminopropanol or ethanolamine or a mixture thereof.", "In some embodiments, a diamine of formula H-L-H comprises ethylene diamine, propylene diamine, butylene diamine or hexamethylene diamine or mixtures thereof.", "A diamine also encompasses diamine derivatives including, but not limited to, diamides such as urea.", "Moreover, in some embodiments, trifunctional isocyanate compounds can be obtained from Bayer Material Science of Pittsburgh, Pa. under the DESMODUR® trade designation.", "In some embodiments, a reaction product of Formula (IA) can be oligomeric or polymeric.", "Trifunctional isocyanate and diol and/or diamine can be provided in any desired amount or ratio to produce a reaction product of Formula (IA).", "As provided herein, increased amounts of diol and/or diamine can increase the molecular weight of a reaction product of Formula (IA) which concomitantly increases the molecular weight of a fluorinated compound of Formula (I).", "In some embodiments, trifunctional isocyanate and diol can be reacted in the presence of a catalyst, such as dibutyltin dilaurate, in a reaction vessel under nitrogen, with agitation and at a temperature ranging from about 65° C. to about 105° C. for a period of two hours to produce a reaction product of Formula (IA).", "Unreacted isocyanate groups of a reaction product of Formula (IA) are independently reacted with a compound selected from the groups consisting of Formula (II) and Formula (III): Rf—Ra—X—H (II) Ro—X—H (III) such that all or substantially all of the unreacted isocyanate groups of the reaction product of Formula (IA) have been reacted resulting in a compound of Formula (I), wherein Rf, Ra, Ro and X are defined above.", "As provided herein, in some embodiments, an unreacted isocyanate group of each repeating unit of a reaction product of Formula (IA) can react with a compound of Formula (II) or a compound of Formula (III).", "As a result, in some embodiments, an unreacted isocyanate of one repeating unit can react with a compound of Formula (II) while an unreacted isocyanate group on an adjacent repeating unit can react with a compound of Formula (III).", "In other embodiments, unreacted isocyanate groups of adjacent repeating units each react with a compound of Formula (II) or each react with a compound of Formula (III).", "Independently reacting unreacted isocyanate groups with a compound selected from the group consisting of Formula (II) and Formula (III), in some embodiments, can be achieved by adding compounds of Formula (II) and Formula (III) to a reaction vessel comprising a reaction product of Formula (IA).", "Once added, the reaction mixture can be held above 95° C. for a period of two hours resulting in the production of a fluorinated compound of Formula (I).", "In some embodiments, a compound of Formula (II) comprises a fluorinated alcohol of the formula (CqF2q+1)(CH2)uOH, wherein q ranges from 4 to 20 and u ranges from 1 to 20.In one embodiment, for example, a compound of Formula (II) provided for reaction with unreacted isocyanate groups of a reaction product of Formula (IA) is a single species of fluorinated alcohol.", "In some embodiments, a single species of fluorinated alcohol is selected from the group consisting of (C4F9)(CH2)uOH, (C6F13)(CH2)uOH, (C8F17)(CH2)uOH, (C10F21)(CH2)uOH, (C12F25)(CH2)uOH, (C14F28)(CH2)uOH, (C16F33)(CH2)uOH, (C18F39)(CH2)uOH and (C20F41)(CH2)uOH, wherein u is defined above.", "In other embodiments, a compound of Formula (II) provided for reaction with unreacted isocyanate groups of a reaction product of Formula (IA) comprises a mixture fluoroalcohols.", "In some embodiments, a mixture can comprise any two or more of the following fluoroalcohols: (C4F9)(CH2)uOH, (C6F13)(CH2)uOH, (C8F17)(CH2)uOH, (C10F21)(CH2)uOH, (C12F25)(CH2)uOH, (C14F28)(CH2)uOH, (C16F33)(CH2)uOH, (C18F39)(CH2)uOH and (C20F41)(CH2)uOH, wherein u is defined above.", "Moreover, in some embodiments, a compound of Formula (III) comprises a monoalkyl ether of a polyalkylene glycol having the formula as defined above.", "In some embodiments, a compound of Formula (III) provided for reaction with unreacted isocyanate groups of a reaction product of Formula (IA) is a single species of a monoalkyl ether of a polyalkylene glycol.", "In other embodiments, a compound of Formula (III) provided for reaction with unreacted isocyanate groups of a reaction product of Formula (IA) comprises a mixture of various monoalkyl ethers of polyalkylene glycols.", "Any monoalkyl ether of a polyalkylene glycol not inconsistent with the objectives of the present invention can be used for reaction with unreacted isocyanate groups of a reaction product of Formula (IA) in the production of a fluorinated compound of Formula (I).", "In some embodiments, monoalkyl ether polyalkylene glycols are selected based on the desired molecular weight of a fluorinated compound of Formula (I).", "In some embodiments, monoalkylether polyalkylene glycols comprise methoxypolyethylene glycols (MPEG) such as MPEG 350, MPEG 550, MPEG 750, MPEG 1000 or MPEG 1450 or mixtures thereof.", "In some embodiments, monoalkylether polyalkylene glycols comprise methoxypropylene glycols.", "In another embodiment, monoalkylether polyalkylene glycols comprise polyethylene and polypropylene glycol copolymers.", "In some embodiments, a compound of Formula (III) comprises a chlorinated alcohol.", "Non-limiting examples of chlorinated alcohols comprise 1,3-dichloro-2-propanol, 2,2,2-trichloroethanol and 2,2-dichloroethanol.", "Moreover, a compound of Formula (III), in some embodiments, comprises epoxy or glycidyl alcohols.", "A non-limiting example of an epoxy alcohol is 2,3-epoxy-1-propanol.", "In some embodiments, a compound of Formula (III) comprises hydroxy functional acrylates and methacrylates including, but not limited to, 2-hydroxyethylmethacrylate, 2-hydroxyethylacrylate, 2-hydroxypropylmethacrylate and 2-hydroxypropylacrylate.", "In some embodiments, a compound of Formula (III) provided for reaction with unreacted isocyanate groups of a reaction product of Formula (IA) comprises a mixture comprising at least two of polyalkylene glycol, a chlorinated alcohol, a glycidyl alcohol and a hydroxy functional acrylate.", "As provided herein, methods of producing fluorinated compounds, in some embodiments, do not employ organic solvents.", "In another aspect, the present invention provides a method of producing an aqueous dispersion of a fluorinated compound comprising the reaction product of a polyisocyanate component and a diol component or a diamine component or a mixture thereof, the reaction product further reacted with an organic component comprising molecules of at least one compound having a plurality of fluorinated carbon atoms and at least one isocyanate reactive functionality.", "In one embodiment, a method of producing a dispersion of a fluorinated compound described herein comprises providing the fluorinated compound and dispersing the fluorinated compound in an aqueous medium without the use of a dispersing aid.", "Fluorinated compounds can be provided according to the methods of synthesis described herein.", "Synthesis of fluorinated compounds described herein in the absence of organic solvents, in some embodiments, can facilitate the production of aqueous dispersions of the fluorinated compounds.", "The absence of an organic solvent, for example, can preclude the requirement to strip or further process the organic solvent during production of the aqueous dispersion.", "As a result, in some embodiments, water can be added directly to the reaction mixture comprising a fluorinated compound to produce an aqueous dispersion of the fluorinated compound.", "In some embodiments, water can be added directly to the reaction mixture comprising a fluorinated compound to produce an aqueous dispersion having any of the weight percents of particles of fluorinated compounds recited herein.", "In a further aspect, the present provides methods of enhancing the oil and/or water repellency of substrates, including fibers, textiles, carpets and floor coverings.", "In one embodiment, a method of enhancing the oil and/or water repellency of a substrate comprises providing an aqueous dispersion of a fluorinated compound described herein and applying the aqueous dispersion to the substrate.", "In some embodiments, applying the aqueous dispersion to the substrate comprises spray coating, dip coating, foaming, exhausting, passing the substrate through kiss rollers or spreading onto or coating the substrate through a head box, optionally with the aid of a doctor blade or any other application or exhaustion method or technique known to one of skill in the art.", "Some exemplary embodiments of the present invention will now be illustrated in the following specific, non-limiting examples.", "Example 1 Synthesis of a Fluorinated Compound A non-limiting embodiment of fluorinated compound of the present invention was produced according to the following method.", "32.25 kg of DESMODUR® N-3300A (165.44 NCO molar equivalent by titration) (Bayer Materials Science of Leverkusen, Germany) and 0.220 kg (2.07 mole) of diethylene glycol were provided to a reaction vessel.", "The agitator of the reaction vessel was set to 30 rpm and 0.018 kg of dibutyltin laurate catalyst was added to the reaction vessel.", "The reaction vessel was closed and heated to a temperature of 95° C. for two hours with the head space in the reaction vessel being swept by nitrogen.", "14.99 kg (19.99 mol) of MPEG 750 and 52.54 kg of 1H,1H,2H,2H-tridecafluoro-1-n-octanol (144.34 mol)(FLUOWET® EA-600 from Clariant GmbH) were added to the reaction mixture in the reaction vessel.", "The reaction vessel was heated to 95° C. for a period of two hours to produce the fluorinated compound.", "The reaction product was analyzed to verify the absence of unreacted isocyanate groups within the limits of detection of the analytical methods used.", "The fluorinated compound produced by the foregoing method had a molecular weight of about 4,600.Example 2 Production of an Aqueous Dispersion of a Fluorinated Compound The reaction mixture comprising the fluorinated compound synthesized in Example 1 was diluted with a sufficient amount of water to produce an aqueous dispersion comprising particles of the fluorinated compound in an amount of about 30 weight percent.", "No dispersing aids were added to assist in producing the dispersion of the fluorinated compound of Example 1.Moreover, as the fluorinated compound of Example 1 was produced without organic solvents, stripping of organic solvent from the aqueous dispersion was precluded.", "Example 3 Synthesis of a Compound of Fluorinated Compound A non-limiting embodiment of a fluorinated compound of the present invention was produced according to the following method.", "9.74 kg of DESMODUR® N-3300A (46.7 NCO molar equivalent by titration) (Bayer Materials Science of Leverkusen, Germany) and 0.066 kg (0.58 mole) of diethylene glycol were provided to a reaction vessel.", "The agitator of the reaction vessel was set to 30 rpm and 0.005 kg of dibutyltin laurate catalyst was added to the reaction vessel.", "The reaction vessel was closed and heated to a temperature of 95° C. for two hours with the head space in the reaction vessel being swept by nitrogen.", "1.6 kg (11.64 mol) of 1,3-dichloro-2-propanol, 4.53 kg (5.64 mol) of MPEG 750 and 11.45 kg of 1H,1H,2H,2H-tridecafluoro-1-n-octanol (29.4 mol) (FLUOWET® EA-600 from Clariant GmbH) were added to the reaction mixture in the reaction vessel.", "The reaction vessel was heated to 95° C. for a period of two hours to produce the fluorinated compound.", "The reaction product was analyzed to verify the absence of unreacted isocyanate groups within the limits of detection of the analytical methods used.", "The fluorinated compound produced by the foregoing method had a molecular weight of about 2,200.Example 4 Production of an Aqueous Dispersion of a Fluorinated Compound The reaction mixture comprising the fluorinated compound synthesized in Example 3 was diluted with a sufficient amount of water to produce an aqueous dispersion comprising particles of the fluorinated compound in an amount of about 27.4 weight percent.", "No dispersing aids were added to assist in producing the dispersion of the compound of Formula (I).", "Moreover, as the fluorinated compound of Example 3 was produced without organic solvents, stripping of organic solvent from the aqueous dispersion was precluded.", "Various embodiments of the invention have been described in fulfillment of the various objectives of the invention.", "It should be recognized that these embodiments are merely illustrative of the principles of the present invention.", "Numerous modifications and adaptations thereof will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.", "Example 5 Synthesis of a Fluorinated Compound A non-limiting embodiment of fluorinated compound of the present invention was produced according to the following method.", "94.73 g of DESMODUR® N-3300A (0.492 NCO molar equivalent by titration) (Bayer Materials Science of Leverkusen, Germany) and 0.05 g of dibutyltin dilaurate catalyst were provided to a reaction glass vessel.", "The agitator of the reaction vessel was set to 30 rpm, the batch was heated to 50° C. and 3.6 g (0.006 mole) of polyethylene glycol (PEG) 600 was added to the reaction vessel.", "The reaction vessel was closed and heated to a temperature of 65° C. for two hours with the head space in the reaction vessel being swept by nitrogen.", "44.1 g (0.0588 mol) of MPEG 750 and 154.34 g of 1H,1H,2H,2H-tridecafluoro-1-n-octanol (0.424 mol) (FLUOWET® EA-600 from Clariant GmbH) were added in three portions over two hours to the reaction mixture in the reaction vessel.", "The reaction vessel was heated to 85° C. for a period of one hour after the last addition to produce the fluorinated compound.", "The reaction product was analyzed to verify the absence of unreacted isocyanate groups within the limits of detection of the analytical methods used.", "The fluorinated compound produced by the foregoing method had a molecular weight of about 3,900.Example 6 Synthesis of a Fluorinated Compound A non-limiting embodiment of fluorinated compound in of the present invention was produced according to the following method.", "94.73 g of DESMODUR® N-3300A (0.492 NCO molar equivalent by titration) (Bayer Materials Science of Leverkusen, Germany) and 0.05 g of dibutyltin dilaurate catalyst were provided to a reaction glass vessel.", "The agitator of the reaction vessel was set to 30 rpm, the batch was heated to 50° C. and 7.2 g (0.012 mole) of polyethylene glycol (PEG) 600 was added to the reaction vessel.", "The reaction vessel was closed and heated to a temperature of 65° C. for two hours with the head space in the reaction vessel being swept by nitrogen.", "39.63 g (0.0528 mol) of MPEG 750 and 152.154 g of 1H,1H,2H,2H-tridecafluoro-1-n-octanol (0.418 mol) (FLUOWET® EA-600 from Clariant GmbH) were added in three portions over two hours to the reaction mixture in the reaction vessel.", "The reaction vessel was heated to 85° C. for a period of one hour after the last addition to produce the fluorinated compound.", "The reaction product was analyzed to verify the absence of unreacted isocyanate groups within the limits of detection of the analytical methods used.", "The fluorinated compound produced by the foregoing method had a molecular weight of about 4,500.Various embodiments of the invention have been described in fulfillment of the various objectives of the invention.", "It should be recognized that these embodiments are merely illustrative of the principles of the present invention.", "Numerous modifications and adaptations thereof will be readily apparent to those of skill in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention." ] ]
Patent_15873199
[ [ "APPARATUS, SYSTEMS, AND METHODS FOR BIOMEDICAL IMAGING AND STIMULATION", "A multi-channel optical imaging and stimulation system includes a light source to deliver light beams into a light guide.", "Different light beams are coupled into different spatial modes supported by the light guide.", "The light guide includes multiple segments, each of which defines a window to couple a specified group of spatial modes out of the light guide to illuminate or stimulate a target.", "Light reflected, scattered, or emitted by the target is also collected by the windows in the light guide.", "The light collected by different windows is detected by different pixels of a detector, thereby creating a correspondence between the pixel location and the spatial location of site at which the light is collected.", "An image of the target is then reconstructed based on this correspondence." ], [ "1.An apparatus for illuminating a target, the apparatus comprising: a light guide to receive and guide a plurality of spatial modes excited by at least one beam of light, the light guide comprising: a first segment defining a first window to transmit a first spatial mode in the plurality of spatial modes into and out of the light guide; and a second segment in optical communication with the first segment, the second segment defining a second window to transmit a second spatial mode in the plurality of spatial modes into and out of the light guide.", "2.The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the target comprises at least one of a cochlea or neural tissue of a human.", "3.The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the light guide comprises at least one of a flexible polymer or an elastomeric material.", "4.The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the light source comprises a first light-emitting diode (LED) to excite the first spatial mode with a first beam and a second LED to excite the second spatial mode with a second beam.", "5.The apparatus of claim 4, further comprising: an input lens, in optical communication with the first LED and the second LED, to transmit the first beam at a first incident angle into the light guide so as to excite the first spatial mode and transmit the second beam at a second incident angle, different than the first incident angle, so as to excite the second spatial mode.", "6.The apparatus of claim 5, further comprising: an output lens in optical communication with the first window, the output lens and the input lens forming a confocal imaging system.", "7.The apparatus of claim 1, wherein: the first segment and the second segment are disposed in series along an optical axis of the light guide, and the second segment has a second height less than a first height of the first segment.", "8.The apparatus of claim 7, wherein at least one of the first height or the second height is about 10 μm to about 500 μm.", "9.The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the second height is about 1 μm to about 3 μm less than the first height.", "10.The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the plurality of spatial modes comprises at least about 100 spatial modes.", "11.The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first window comprises a first facet opposite a base surface of the first segment, the facet and the base surface defining a tilt angle.", "12.The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the tilt angle is about 1 degree to about 5 degrees.", "13.The apparatus of claim 11, further comprising: a first cladding material disposed on the first facet, the first cladding material having a first refractive index; and a second cladding material disposed on the base surface, the second cladding material having a second refractive index less than the first refractive index.", "14.The apparatus of claim 11, further comprising: a reflection coating, disposed on the base surface of the first segment, to reflect the first spatial mode toward the facet.", "15.The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising: a light source to emit the at least one beam of light.", "16.The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising: a detector in optical communication with the light guide, the detector comprising a first pixel to detect light collected by the first window and a second pixel to detect light collected by the second window.", "17.The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising: a focusing element, in optical communication with the first output port, to focus the first spatial mode at a first location on the target.", "18.The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the light guide is a first light guide and the apparatus further comprises a second light guide, disposed in parallel with the first light guide, to acquire a two-dimensional image of the target.", "19.A method of illuminating a target, the method comprising: exciting a plurality of spatial modes in a light waveguide; emitting, at a first segment in the light waveguide, a first spatial mode in the plurality of spatial modes out of the light waveguide so as to illuminate a first location on the target; and emitting, at a second segment in the light waveguide, a second spatial mode in the plurality of spatial modes out of the light waveguide so as to illuminate a second location on the target.", "20.The method of claim 19, wherein illuminating the target comprises inserting the light waveguide into at least one of a cochlea and neural tissue of a human.", "21.The method of claim 19, wherein exciting the plurality of spatial modes comprises coupling light into at least one of a flexible polymer waveguide and an elastomeric waveguide.", "22.The method of claim 19, wherein exciting the plurality of spatial modes comprises: exciting the first spatial mode with a first beam emitted by a first light-emitting diode (LED) in an array of LEDs; and exciting the second spatial mode with a second beam emitted by a second LED in the array of LEDs.", "23.The method of claim 22, wherein exciting the first spatial mode comprises transmitting the first beam into the light waveguide at a first incident angle and exciting the second spatial mode comprises transmitting the second beam into the light waveguide at a second incident angle different than the first incident angle.", "24.The method of claim 19, wherein exciting the plurality of spatial modes comprises exciting at least about 100 spatial modes.", "25.The method of claim 19, wherein emitting the first spatial mode comprises: coupling the first spatial mode out of the light waveguide via a facet in the first segment.", "26.The method of claim 19, further comprising: guiding, via the first segment of the light waveguide, light reflected or emitted by the first location toward a first pixel of a detector; guiding, via the second segment of the light waveguide, light reflected or emitted by the second location toward a second pixel of the detector; and generating an image of at least a portion of the target based at least in part on the light received by the first pixel and the second pixel.", "27.The method of claim 19, wherein illuminating the first location of the target comprises optogenetic neuromodulation of at least one neural cell.", "28.A system for imaging a target, the system comprises: an array of LEDs to emit an array of light beams; a beam splitter, in optical communication with the array of LEDs, to receive the array of light beams; an input lens, in optical communication with the beam splitter; a light waveguide in optical communication with the input lens, the input lens transmitting a first light beam in the array of light beams toward the light waveguide at a first incident angle so as to excite a first spatial mode and transmitting a second light beam in the array of light beams toward the light waveguide at a second incident angle so as to excite a second spatial mode, the light waveguide comprising: a first facet to transmit the first spatial mode out of the light waveguide and to couple light into the first spatial mode from the target; and a second facet to transmit the second spatial mode out of the light waveguide and to couple light into the second spatial mode from the target; and a detector, in optical communication with the beam splitter, to generate an image of at least a portion of the target, the detector comprising: a first pixel to sense light collected by the first facet; and a second pixel to sense light collected by the second facet." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND <EOH>In medical imaging (e.g., imaging body cavities or organs) and optical neuromodulation, it can be desirable to pinpoint the locations of the interactions between light and biological tissues at multiple sites with precise spatial and temporal control.", "Conventional techniques in medical imaging usually rely on scanning confocal microscopy or fiber optics (e.g., in endoscopy).", "In confocal microscopy, the penetration depth can be limited by scattering and absorption in tissues.", "In fiber optics, scaling the number of accessible interaction sites typically involves increasing the number of fibers in a bundle.", "The resulting large footprint and mechanical rigidity of fiber bundles may preclude their applications in delicate tissues such as human inner ear and brain.", "For example, state-of-the-art endoscopes can have relatively large sizes (around 1 mm in diameter or larger) and limited structural flexibility, making it difficult to image delicate organs or tissues.", "Further, most endoscopes have a small field of view since they acquire images through the end opening of the endoscope.", "On the other hand, optical stimulation of biological tissues (e.g.", "neurons) involves the inverse problem of optical imaging.", "At present, optogenetic neuromodulation is predominantly performed using optical fiber probes.", "In general, a single optical fiber probe permits optical stimulation at one spatial site.", "Multi-site stimulation and modulation usually uses fiber bundles or waveguide arrays.", "These solutions can drastically increases the probe size, mechanical rigidity, and hence invasiveness to biological tissues.", "Fiber probes structured with focused ion beams may be employed for spatially addressed optogenetic stimulation, but the approach includes complicated nanofabrication and may not be scalable to high-density neural stimulation.", "In addition, the approach usually suffers from excessive optical loss due to the metal coating and circular symmetry of the fiber.", "Flexible light emitting diode (LED) arrays may be an alternative to fiber optic neural probes.", "However, heat generation from the LED devices can easily lead to thermal damage to fragile neural tissues.", "Consequently, these “active” approaches, which use the integration of active optoelectronic LED devices on the probe, are generally not preferred for optogenetic applications." ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY <EOH>Apparatus, systems, and methods described herein are generally related to multi-channel optical imaging and stimulation based on flexible photonics technologies.", "In one example, an apparatus for illuminating a target includes a light guide to receive and guide a plurality of spatial modes excited by at least one beam of light.", "The light guide includes a first segment defining a first window to transmit a first spatial mode in the plurality of spatial modes into and out of the light guide.", "The light guide also includes a second segment in optical communication with the first segment.", "The second segment defines a second window to transmit a second spatial mode in the plurality of spatial modes into and out of the light guide.", "In another example, a method of illuminating a target includes exciting a plurality of spatial modes in a light waveguide.", "The method also includes emitting, at a first segment in the light waveguide, a first spatial mode in the plurality of spatial modes out of the light waveguide so as to illuminate a first location on the target.", "The method further includes emitting, at a second segment in the light waveguide, a second spatial mode in the plurality of spatial modes out of the light waveguide so as to illuminate a second location on the target.", "In yet another example, a system for imaging a target includes an array of LEDs to emit an array of light beams.", "A beam splitter is in optical communication with the array of LEDs to receive the array of light beams.", "The system also includes an input lens and a light waveguide.", "The input lens is in optical communication with the beam splitter to transmit a first light beam in the array of light beams toward the light waveguide at a first incident angle so as to excite a first spatial mode and transmit a second light beam in the array of light beams toward the light waveguide at a second incident angle so as to excite a second spatial mode.", "The light waveguide further includes a first facet and a second facet.", "The first facet transmits the first spatial mode out of the light waveguide and couples light into the first spatial mode from the target.", "The second facet transmits the second spatial mode out of the light waveguide and couples light into the second spatial mode from the target.", "The system also includes a detector, in optical communication with the beam splitter, to generate an image of at least a portion of the target.", "The detector includes a first pixel to sense light collected by the first facet and a second pixel to sense light collected by the second facet." ], [ "CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a bypass continuation application of International Application No.", "PCT/US2016/043488, filed Jul.", "22, 2016, and entitled “APPARATUS, SYSTEMS, AND METHODS FOR BIOMEDICAL IMAGING AND STIMULATION,” which in turn claims priority to U.S.", "Application No.", "62/196,362, filed Jul.", "24, 2015, and entitled “BIOMEDICAL IMAGING AND OPTICAL STIMULATION DEVICE.” Each of these applications is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.", "BACKGROUND In medical imaging (e.g., imaging body cavities or organs) and optical neuromodulation, it can be desirable to pinpoint the locations of the interactions between light and biological tissues at multiple sites with precise spatial and temporal control.", "Conventional techniques in medical imaging usually rely on scanning confocal microscopy or fiber optics (e.g., in endoscopy).", "In confocal microscopy, the penetration depth can be limited by scattering and absorption in tissues.", "In fiber optics, scaling the number of accessible interaction sites typically involves increasing the number of fibers in a bundle.", "The resulting large footprint and mechanical rigidity of fiber bundles may preclude their applications in delicate tissues such as human inner ear and brain.", "For example, state-of-the-art endoscopes can have relatively large sizes (around 1 mm in diameter or larger) and limited structural flexibility, making it difficult to image delicate organs or tissues.", "Further, most endoscopes have a small field of view since they acquire images through the end opening of the endoscope.", "On the other hand, optical stimulation of biological tissues (e.g.", "neurons) involves the inverse problem of optical imaging.", "At present, optogenetic neuromodulation is predominantly performed using optical fiber probes.", "In general, a single optical fiber probe permits optical stimulation at one spatial site.", "Multi-site stimulation and modulation usually uses fiber bundles or waveguide arrays.", "These solutions can drastically increases the probe size, mechanical rigidity, and hence invasiveness to biological tissues.", "Fiber probes structured with focused ion beams may be employed for spatially addressed optogenetic stimulation, but the approach includes complicated nanofabrication and may not be scalable to high-density neural stimulation.", "In addition, the approach usually suffers from excessive optical loss due to the metal coating and circular symmetry of the fiber.", "Flexible light emitting diode (LED) arrays may be an alternative to fiber optic neural probes.", "However, heat generation from the LED devices can easily lead to thermal damage to fragile neural tissues.", "Consequently, these “active” approaches, which use the integration of active optoelectronic LED devices on the probe, are generally not preferred for optogenetic applications.", "SUMMARY Apparatus, systems, and methods described herein are generally related to multi-channel optical imaging and stimulation based on flexible photonics technologies.", "In one example, an apparatus for illuminating a target includes a light guide to receive and guide a plurality of spatial modes excited by at least one beam of light.", "The light guide includes a first segment defining a first window to transmit a first spatial mode in the plurality of spatial modes into and out of the light guide.", "The light guide also includes a second segment in optical communication with the first segment.", "The second segment defines a second window to transmit a second spatial mode in the plurality of spatial modes into and out of the light guide.", "In another example, a method of illuminating a target includes exciting a plurality of spatial modes in a light waveguide.", "The method also includes emitting, at a first segment in the light waveguide, a first spatial mode in the plurality of spatial modes out of the light waveguide so as to illuminate a first location on the target.", "The method further includes emitting, at a second segment in the light waveguide, a second spatial mode in the plurality of spatial modes out of the light waveguide so as to illuminate a second location on the target.", "In yet another example, a system for imaging a target includes an array of LEDs to emit an array of light beams.", "A beam splitter is in optical communication with the array of LEDs to receive the array of light beams.", "The system also includes an input lens and a light waveguide.", "The input lens is in optical communication with the beam splitter to transmit a first light beam in the array of light beams toward the light waveguide at a first incident angle so as to excite a first spatial mode and transmit a second light beam in the array of light beams toward the light waveguide at a second incident angle so as to excite a second spatial mode.", "The light waveguide further includes a first facet and a second facet.", "The first facet transmits the first spatial mode out of the light waveguide and couples light into the first spatial mode from the target.", "The second facet transmits the second spatial mode out of the light waveguide and couples light into the second spatial mode from the target.", "The system also includes a detector, in optical communication with the beam splitter, to generate an image of at least a portion of the target.", "The detector includes a first pixel to sense light collected by the first facet and a second pixel to sense light collected by the second facet.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The skilled artisan will understand that the drawings primarily are for illustrative purposes and are not intended to limit the scope of the inventive subject matter described herein.", "The drawings are not necessarily to scale; in some instances, various aspects of the inventive subject matter disclosed herein may be shown exaggerated or enlarged in the drawings to facilitate an understanding of different features.", "In the drawings, like reference characters generally refer to like features (e.g., functionally similar and/or structurally similar elements).", "FIGS.", "1A and 1B show a perspective view and a side view, respectively, of an apparatus for illuminating a target using spatial mode division multiplexing.", "FIG.", "1C shows a structure of a human cochlea where the apparatus shown in FIG.", "1A can be used for imaging and/or stimulation.", "FIG.", "2 shows a perspective view of a two-dimensional (2D) array of the apparatus shown in FIGS.", "1A-1B.", "FIGS.", "3A and 3B show a perspective view and a side view, respectively, of an apparatus including tapered sections to couple spatial modes in and out of the apparatus.", "FIG.", "4 shows a perspective view of a 2D array of the apparatus shown in FIGS.", "3A-3B.", "FIGS.", "5A and 5B show a perspective view and a side view, respectively, of an apparatus including micro-wedges to couple spatial modes in and out of the apparatus.", "FIG.", "6 shows a perspective view of a 2D array of the apparatus shown in FIGS.", "5A-6B.", "FIGS.", "7A-7B illustrate operation principles of spatial mode division multiplexing in two examples of light guides.", "FIGS.", "8A-8F show schematics of single segments in light waveguides including beam shaping and redirecting elements.", "FIG.", "9 shows a schematic of a multi-segment light guide including beam shaping and redirecting elements.", "FIGS.", "10A and 10B show schematics of continuously tapering light guides including beam shaping and redirecting elements.", "FIG.", "11 shows a schematic of a generic system for multi-site imaging and stimulation using spatial mode division multiplexing approaches.", "FIG.", "12 shows a schematic of an imaging/stimulating system using a lens for mode multiplexing and demultiplexing.", "FIG.", "13 shows a schematic of an imaging/stimulating system using a micro-prism array and a micro-lens array to redirect and focus light beams toward a target.", "FIG.", "14 shows a schematic of an imaging/stimulating system using a micro-lens array placed on top of a light guide.", "FIG.", "15 shows a schematic of an imaging/stimulating system using tapered waveguide arrays connected via sections of constant-thickness waveguides to provide a defined distribution of extraction sites.", "FIG.", "16 shows a schematic of an imaging/stimulating system including a micro-lens array placed on top of tapered waveguide arrays connected via sections of constant-thickness waveguides.", "FIG.", "17 shows a schematic of an imaging/stimulating system including an integrated lens as mode multiplexer and demultiplexer.", "FIG.", "18 shows a schematic of an imaging/stimulating system including reconfigurable optics as mode multiplexer and demultiplexer.", "FIG.", "19 illustrates a method to reduce cross-talk among different segments in a light guide for multi-site imaging and/or stimulating.", "FIG.", "20 illustrates a method of multi-site imaging and/or stimulation using spatial mode division multiplexing.", "FIGS.", "21A-21H illustrate a method of fabricating light guides for multi-site imaging and/or stimulation.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION Overview To address the challenges toward improved flexibility and multi-site operations in conventional biological imaging and stimulations, apparatus, systems, and methods described herein employ a spatial mode division multiplexing approach that can feed multiple interaction points using a single flexible light guide probe.", "Based on this approach, an optical imaging and stimulation device includes an imaging pixel array, a light source array for optical excitation or illumination, an optical mode demultiplexer, and a segmented light guide (sometimes also referred to as a light waveguide).", "A series of light collection elements are placed at junctions of the segmented light guide.", "Scattered, emitted or reflected light from tissues is coupled into the light guide through these light collection elements.", "The light guide can be configured in such a way that the guided mode into which the light couples is determined solely by the location of the light collection element.", "Upon exiting the light guide, the light enters the optical mode demultiplexer, which spatially or angularly splits the light modes and directs the split light into different imaging pixels mapped to the different optical modes.", "The correspondence between the guided mode number and the spatial location of the light collection sites thus allows reconstruction of a one-dimensional optical image along the light guide.", "A plurality of such light guides can be juxtaposed to collect a two-dimensional image.", "The spatial mode division multiplexing approach can also be employed in optical stimulation probes and optical power delivery buses.", "One such probe can include a light source array for optical excitation or stimulation, an optical mode multiplexer, and a segmented light guide.", "A series of light extraction elements are placed at junctions of the segmented light guide.", "Light from the light source array is coupled into the light guide through the optical mode multiplexer such that each light source (e.g., in LED) in the array selectively excites one or several guided modes in the light guide.", "The light extraction elements are mode specific, i.e., each group of mode(s) exits the light guide or waveguide at a pre-defined light extraction point.", "Therefore, the number of optical stimulation channels or sites can correspond to the number of light extraction elements along the light guide, and each channel can be independently turned on or off by modulating the corresponding LED's driving current.", "A plurality of such light guides can be juxtaposed to allow stimulation across a two-dimensional spot array.", "The light extraction elements can also be coupled with beam shaping elements to redirect, collimate, focus, or defocus the optical output.", "Such an optical fabric can also be used to deliver optical power from one or multiple light sources to a plurality of receiving sites.", "For example, multiple optical modes emitted from a light source (such as a vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser or VCSEL) can be coupled into the light guide which subsequently selectively extracts the modes at different sites.", "Such a compact optical power delivery bus can be used to split and re-distribute light emitted by a light source to multiple channels (such as a waveguide array).", "This technique is far more compact than H-tree structures based on Y-junctions or multimode interferometers traditionally used in guided-wave optics.", "The imaging and stimulation functions can also be integrated into a single probe platform.", "This integrated platform can function as a multi-point confocal microscope with spatially aligned stimulation/excitation and imaging sites.", "Other functional components, such as electrodes or microfluidic channels for drug delivery, can be integrated on the same platform via planar micro-fabrication.", "This spatial mode division multiplexing approach has several advantages compared to conventional methods.", "For example, a device using this approach can achieve near diffraction limit spatial resolution and sub-μs time domain control.", "It is also convenient to scale the device to 2D arrays containing hundreds of imaging/stimulation spots using a set of parallel light guides.", "Confocal microscopy and multi-site optical stimulation can be achieved simultaneously in a single platform by taking advantage of optical reversibility.", "In addition, the resulting system can readily integrate other functionalities such as electrode arrays for recording and microfluidic channels for drug delivery leveraging standard planar microfabrication technologies.", "The resulting systems can also have superior mechanical flexibility by using elastomeric waveguide structure.", "A small form factor (e.g., less than 100 μm in cross section) can be readily achieved, thereby reducing harmful tissue reactions and providing safer access to small body cavities with complex geometries.", "Furthermore, the system is also passive, which can avoid tissue damage caused by heat emanating from “active” LED array probes.", "With the above advantages, apparatus, systems, and methods described herein can be used in various applications.", "For example, the flexible and miniaturized imager can allow direct in-vivo observation of body cavities and delicate tissues that are otherwise not possible with conventional technologies.", "The described technique can also benefit two emerging biomedical applications, including auditory diagnosis/restoration and optogenetic interrogation of neural circuits.", "In auditory diagnosis and restoration, the described technique can advance state-of-the-art treatment in diagnosis and treatment of sensorineural hearing loss, which accounts for about 90% of all hearing loss.", "As understood in the art, sensorineural hearing impairment can be caused by loss of sensory hair cells which function as sound detectors via mechanotransduction.", "These sensory hair cells are linearly distributed along the spiral-shaped cochlear cavity, and the locations of these cells can determine the sound frequency they respond to.", "Currently, most treatments of sensorineural hearing recovery use cochlear implants (CIs), which can bypass the hair cells by stimulating the auditory neurons (spiral ganglion neurons or SGNs) with electrical pulses.", "However, poor frequency discrimination can present a serious obstacle.", "The number of electrodes on the CI (aka the number of frequency channels CI users can perceive) is usually limited to 24 due to current spreading at electrical contacts and resulting inter-channel cross-talk.", "Consequently, CI users may suffer from poor speech comprehension in noisy environments and may not appreciate music.", "Further, the spiral cochlear structure can preclude visual access to cochlea.", "A direct optical imaging technique can be highly desirable for pre- and post-operative diagnosis.", "Optogenetic stimulation of SGNs may address the frequency bottleneck in treatments using CIs.", "In optogenetic simulation, the SGNs are rendered light-sensitive by light-gated channelrhodopsin introduced through gene therapy.", "Conventional methods of optogenetic simulation use micro-LED probes, which may not be a clinically viable pathway due to excessive heat generation and poor beam quality of micro-LEDs.", "Probes based on spatial mode division multiplexing can effectively overcome those issues given the large optical channel number (e.g., greater than 100 channels) they support.", "Further, their small form factor and mechanical flexibility can be fully compatible with cochlea implantation.", "Additional features of the probes, such as reduced or minimal invasiveness and scalable channel number, can also offer unique advantages for optogenetic brain mapping and brain-machine interfacing.", "Light Guides Using Spatial Mode Division Multiplexing FIGS.", "1A and 1B show a perspective view and a side view, respectively, of a light guide 100 using the spatial mode division multiplexing approach to illuminate a target.", "The light guide 100 includes three segments 110, 120, and 130, which are arranged in series along the optical axis of the light guide 100.The three segments 110 to 130 share a common bottom surface 140 (also referred to as a base surface) but have distinct top surfaces.", "The top surface of the first segment 110 includes a flat region 112 (also referred to as a flat surface) substantially parallel to the bottom surface 140 and a tapered region 115 (also referred to as a wedge surface, a facet, or a tapered surface) that has a tilt angle with respect to the flat region 112 and the bottom surface 140.Similarly, the second segment 120 has a flat region 122 and a tapered region 125, and the third segment 130 has a flat region 132 and a tapered region 135.The height of the three segments 110 to 130 decreases monotonically from the first segment 110 to the third segment 130.In operation, the tapered regions 115, 125, and 135 couple light into and out of the corresponding segments 110, 120, and 130, respectively, and therefore are also referred to as windows, input/output ports, or light extraction/collection elements.", "The light guide 100 receive light 101 from a proximal end 150.The light 101 excites multiple spatial modes (also referred to as transverse modes or guided modes) in the light guide 100.Without being bound by any particular theory or mode of operation, the number of spatial modes supported in the light guide 100 scales with the segment height.", "Therefore, as the light guide 100 tapers, high order modes closer to modal cut-off preferentially escape from the windows (115, 125, or 135) at an angle substantially parallel to the bottom surface 140.At the first segment 110, one or several of the spatial modes 101a are coupled out of the light guide 100 via the first window 115.At the second segment 120, one or several different spatial modes 101b are coupled out of the light guide 100 via the second window 125.At the third segment 130, one or several spatial modes 101c, different than the spatial modes coupled out via the first window 115 and the second window 125, are coupled out of the light guide 100 via the third window 135.The light coupled out by the windows 115 to 135 can illuminate and/or stimulate a target 105.In this manner, each segment 110 to 130 effectively functions as a selective mode filter.", "Each window 115, 125, and 135 can also collect light reflected, scattered, or emitted by the target 105.The light collected by the first window 115 is coupled into one or several spatial modes 101a propagating in the light guide 100.The light collected by the second window 125 is coupled into one or several different spatial modes 101b propagating in the light guide 100.The light collected by the third window 135 is again coupled into one or several different modes 101c, different than the spatial modes 101a and 101b.", "As a result, the spatial mode, into which the collected light is coupled, depends on which window (115, 125, or 135) collects the light and therefore depends on the location of the window.", "This correspondence between the spatial mode and the spatial location of the light collection window thus allows reconstruction of a one-dimensional optical image along the light guide 100.The light guide 100 can be made of flexible polymeric materials or flexible elastomeric materials with low stiffness to reduce or minimize damage to tissue surrounding the light guide 100 in operation.", "The flexible light guide 100 can also access curved or spiral body cavities (e.g.", "human cochlea) for imaging and/or stimulation.", "In one example, the light guide 100 can be made of a polymer such as polycarbonate, polyimide, polystyrene, polyethylene, poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), or any other soft polymer material known in the art.", "In another example, the light guide 100 can be made of an elastomer such as polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS).", "In yet another example, the light guide 100 can be made of a hydrogel material such as agarose.", "The light guide 100 can have various lengths to accommodate different applications.", "For example, the light guide 100 can be about 30 mm to about 50 mm long in auditory diagnosis/restoration application to fit the length of human cochlear.", "In another example, the light guide 100 can have a length from about 2 millimeters to about 500 millimeters (e.g., 2 mm, 5 mm, 10 mm, 20 mm, 30 mm, 50 mm, 100 mm, 200 mm, 300 mm, 400 mm, and 500 mm, including any values and sub rages in between).", "The height of the light guide 100 (also referred to as thickness) is one of the parameters that determine the number of spatial modes that can be supported by the light guide.", "In practice, the height of the light guide 100 can be about 10 μm to about 500 μm (e.g., 10 μm, 20 μm, 30 μm, 40 μm, 50 μm, 75 μm, 100 μm, 150 μm, 200 μm, 250 μm, 300 μm, 350 μm, 400 μm, 450 μm, and 500 μm, including any values and sub ranges in between).", "The number of spatial modes supported by the light guide 100 can be greater than 10 (e.g., greater than 10, greater than 20, greater than 30, greater than 40, greater than 50, greater than 75, greater than 100, greater than 150, greater than 200, greater than 250, greater than 300, or more, including any values and sub ranges in between).", "In one example, each segment 110 to 130 couples out one spatial mode.", "In another example, each segment 110 to 130 can couple out multiple modes so as to, for example, increase the illumination of the target 105.The light guide 100 shown in FIGS.", "1A-1B includes three segments 110 to 130 for illustrating purposes.", "In practice, the light guide 100 can include any other number of segments.", "For example, the light guide 100 can include more than 100 segments, each of which couples out a distinct spatial mode or a distinct group of spatial modes.", "In general, a larger number of segments in the light guide 100 can increase the spatial resolution of the resulting image of the target 105.Therefore, it can desirable for the light guide 100 to include multiple segments (e.g., more than 200 segments).", "The windows 115, 125, and 135 are tilted with respect to the bottom surface 140.The tilt angle can be about 0.5 degree to about 10 degrees (e.g., 0.5 degree, 1 degree, 2 degrees, 3 degrees, 4 degrees, 5 degrees, 6 degrees, 7 degrees, 8 degrees, 9 degrees, and 10 degrees, including any values and sub ranges in between).", "In operation, the tilt angle (along with the length of the window) can control the number of modes that can be extracted by the window.", "In one example, the windows 115 to 135 have the same tilt angle.", "In another example, each window 115 to 135 can have a distinct tilt angle.", "The height of the light guide 100 decreases from the proximal end 150 to the distal end of the light guide 100.The height difference between adjacent segments can be about 0.5 μm to about 25 μm (e.g., 0.5 μm, 0.75 μm, 1 μm, 1.2 μm, 1.5 μm, 2 μm, 2.5 μm, 3 μm, 4 μm, 5 μm, 7.5 μm, 10 μm, 15 μm, 20 μm, and 25 μm, including any values and sub ranges in between).", "The cross section of the light guide 100 can have various shapes.", "In one example, the cross section of the light guide can be rectangular or square.", "In this case, the cross section can provide well-defined wave vectors along the x and y directions (orthogonal to the z axis, or light propagation direction).", "In another example, the cross section of the light guide can be round or oval, which may define wave vectors in polar coordinates.", "To facilitate the extraction of light through the windows 115 to 135 and reduce leakage of light through the bottom surface 140, a reflective film 160 can be coated on the base surface 140.In one example, the reflective film 160 can include a metal film.", "In another example, the reflective film 160 can include a multilayer dielectric reflector to reduce undesired light leakage.", "On the top surface of the light guide 100, it can be desirable to reduce reflection.", "In one example, an antireflection coating can be deposited on the top surfaces, including the flat regions 112 to 132 and the windows 115 to 135.In another example, the top surfaces can be coated with a nanostructure (e.g., an array of nano pillars) to reduce reflection.", "The efficiency of light extraction through the windows 115 to 135 can be further improved by an asymmetric cladding configuration as shown in FIG.", "1B.", "A first type of cladding material 170a can be disposed on the windows 115 to 135 and a second type of cladding material 170b can be disposed on the bottom surface 140.The refractive index of the first cladding material 170a is larger than the refractive index of the second cladding material 170b.", "In this case, the spatial mode propagating along the segments 110 to 130 reaches the critical angle on the top surface before reaching the critical angle on the bottom surface 140.Accordingly, the spatial mode can exit the light guide 100 preferentially through the top surface.", "Similarly, only light entering the segments 110 to 130 at a specific angle can couple into the high order guided modes due to optical reversibility, which underlies the utility of the device as a spatially resolved imaging instrument.", "The cladding materials 170a and 170b can include, but are not limited to, hydrogel (e.g., agarose), elastomers (e.g., PDMS), or low index polymers such as PMMA.", "FIG.", "1C shows a structure of a human cochlea that can be used as the target 105.Since the light guide 100 can be made of flexible materials, the light guide 100 can be inserted into the cochlea and have a substantially conformal contact with the spiral shape cochlea so as to effectively image the cochlea for diagnostic purposes, as well as to stimulate the spiral ganglion neurons or SGNs as in optogenetic applications.", "In another example, the target 105 can include neuron tissues.", "FIG.", "2 shows a schematic of a device 200 for two-dimensional (2D) imaging or stimulation.", "The device 200 includes multiple light guides 210(1), 210(2), .", ".", ".", ", and 210(N) arranged parallel to each other to form an array, which is disposed on a substrate 220.Each light guide 210(1) to 210(N) can be substantially similar to the light guide 100 shown in FIGS.", "1A-1B.", "In one example, the number of light guides N can be substantially similar to the number of segments in each light guide 210(1) to 210(N) (e.g., greater than 100, greater than 200, or more) to provide N×N facets for stimulation, imaging, or both.", "In another example, the number of light guides N can be different from the number of segments in each light guide 210(1) to 210(N) so as to, for example, achieve a desired aspect ratio such as 4:3, 16:9, or any other aspect ratio.", "FIGS.", "3A and 3B show a perspective view and a side view, respectively, of a light guide 300 having a constant maximum height along the length.", "The light guide 300 includes three segments 310, 320, and 330 having the same height.", "The top surface of the first segment 310 includes a flat facet 312 and a wedge facet 315 (the facets 312 and 315 are part of the segments 310).", "Similarly, the top surface of the second segment 320 includes a flat facet 322 and a wedge facet 325, and the top surface of the third segment 330 includes a flat facet 332 and a wedge facet 335.The three segments 310 to 330 have the same maximum height.", "Adjacent segments are connected by a tapered region having the corresponding wedge facet (315 to 335), which functions as a window to couple light into and out of the light guide 300.In other words, adjacent segments in the light guide 300 are separated by a gap defined by the wedge facets 315 to 335.In one example, the transition from one wedge facet to the next flat facet (e.g., from 315 to 322, or from 322 to 335) is steep (i.e., defining a right angle) as shown in FIGS.", "3A-3B.", "In another example, the transition from one wedge facet to the next flat facet can be smooth, defining, for example, a smooth slope.", "FIG.", "4 shows a schematic of a device 400 for 2D imaging or stimulation.", "The device 400 includes multiple light guides 410(1), 410(2), .", ".", ".", ", and 410(N) juxtaposed to form a 2D array, which is disposed on a substrate 420.Each light guide 410(1) to 410(N) can be substantially similar to the light guide 300 shown in FIGS.", "3A-3B.", "FIGS.", "5A and 5B show a perspective view and a side view, respectively, of a light guide 500 using micro-prisms as the windows to couple light into and out of the light guide 500.The light guide 500 includes three segments 510, 520, and 530 having the same height.", "The top surface of the first segment 510 includes a flat facet 512 and a wedge facet 515.Similarly, the top surface of the second segment 520 includes a flat facet 522 and a wedge facet 525, and the top surface of the third segment 530 includes a flat facet 532 and a wedge facet 535.Instead of defining gaps as shown in FIGS.", "3A-3B, the wedge facets 515, 525, and 535 define micro-prisms 518, 528, and 538, respectively, which extend above the corresponding flat facet 512, 522, and 532.The transition from the flat facet to the corresponding wedge facet in the same segment (e.g., from 512 to 515, from 522 to 525, or from 532 to 535) can be either steep (as shown in FIGS.", "5A-5B) or smooth.", "FIG.", "6 shows a schematic of a device 600 for 2D imaging or stimulation.", "The device 600 includes multiple light guides 610(1), 610(2), .", ".", ".", ", and 610(N) juxtaposed to form a 2D array, which is disposed on a substrate 620.Each light guide 610(1) to 610(N) can be substantially similar to the light guide 300 shown in FIGS.", "5A-5B.", "Theory of Spatial Mode Division Multiplexing Without being bound to any particular theory, FIGS.", "7A and 7B illustrate the modal selective coupling mechanism according to the ray optics picture and the wave optics picture, respectively.", "The two pictures are physically equivalent.", "The illustration uses a light guide 700 including a flat facet 712 and a wedge facet 715 (also referred to as a tapered waveguide surface).", "According to the ray optics picture as shown in FIG.", "7A, when a light ray with an incident angle α reflects on a tapered waveguide surface 715 tilted at an angle θ with respect to the flat face of 712, its angle of incidence decreases to α−2θ.", "Denoting the length of a taper section length as L and assuming that the taper angle θ is small, the number of bounces or reflections on the tapered surface 715 is given by L/(2d tan α).", "Therefore the light ray angle of incidence at the end of the taper section is α′=α−Lθ/(d tan α).", "Any light ray whose angle of incidence goes below the critical angle θ0 for light to be guided by the light guide 700 is destined to escape from the light guide 700.Therefore, light rays with incident angles falling within the range θ0<α<θ0+Lθ/(d tan α) prior to entering the tapered section can be coupled to free space in the tapered region.", "In the wave optics picture shown in FIG.", "7B, the transverse wave vector kt of the n-th order guided mode is given as k0 cos α, where k0 is the wave vector in the core material of the light guide 700.When n is large, the Goos-Hänchen shift can be neglected and kt can be approximated as nπ/d.", "As the mode propagates through the adiabatic taper region (i.e.", "θ is small), the number of lobes in its field amplitude can remain constant.", "The wave vector scales inversely with the waveguide width and adiabatically transforms to (1+Lθ/d)·nπ/d.", "The corresponding angle of incidence α′ in the ray optics description is related to the transverse wave vector by: k 0  cos   α ′ = n   π d · ( 1 + L   θ d ) = k 0  cos   α · ( 1 + L   θ d ) ( 1 ) which yields: α ′ = α - L   θ d   tan   α ( 2 ) Equation (2) is consistent with the ray optics analysis.", "When the mode enters the next waveguide segment in the light guide 300 shown in FIGS.", "3A-3B, its transverse wave vector can remains constant to maximize the overlap integral between modes at the two waveguide segments.", "Therefore, in the light guide 300 shown in FIGS.", "3A-3B, the tapered sections can transform a mode of the order n to a mode of the order (1+Lθ/d)·n in the next segment.", "The mode order change or transverse wave vector increase is equivalent to the incident angle decrease in the ray optics description.", "The same mechanism also applies to the light guide 500 using micro-prisms as shown in FIGS.", "5A-5B.", "Light Guides Including Beam Reshaping and Redirecting Elements In the light guides shown in FIGS.", "1A-7, the spatial modes that exit from the tilted facets usually emerge at a shallow angle with respect to the surface.", "Therefore, it can be desirable to redirect the exited light beam towards arbitrary pre-defined directions.", "For example, the pre-defined direction can be substantially perpendicular to the base surface of the light guide such that the light beams can illuminate and/or stimulate tissues in close contact with the light guide.", "FIGS.", "8A-8F show schematics of light guides including several types of beam reshaping and/or redirecting elements.", "For illustrative purposes only, each figure in FIGS.", "8A-8F shows one segment of the corresponding light guide.", "FIG.", "8A shows a schematic of a light guide 801 including a tapered guide 811 and a beam turning prism 821 disposed on the top surface of the tapered guide 811.Light beams 81 exit the top surface of the tapered guide 811 at an angle almost parallel to the base surface of the tapered guide 811, which may make it difficult to efficiently illuminate desired regions of the target.", "The beam turning prism 821 can collect the light beams 81 and refract the beams 81 into a direction substantially perpendicular to the base surface of the tapered guide 811.In addition, the output beam direction can be tuned by adjusting the prim apex angle δ.", "In one example, the beam turning prism 821 can be made of the same material as the tapered guide 811.In another example, the beam turning prism 821 can be made of a material different than the material of the tapered guide 811.In this example, changing the refractive index of the beam turning prism 821 can also tune the output direction of the beam 81.In either case, the light beams 81 exit the beam turning prism 821 as collimated beams.", "FIG.", "8B shows a schematic of a light guide 802 including a tapered guide 812 and a redirecting element 822 disposed on the top surface of the tapered guide 812.The redirecting element 822 is a beam turning prism integrated with a micro-lens (in this case, with a convex top surface).", "Therefore, light beam 82 that exit the tapered guide 812 can be redirected and focused by the redirecting element 822.In this case, the directing element 822 can function as a focusing objective lens to define the imaged spot when the light guide 802 is used in an imaging microscope.", "Alternatively, the redirecting element 822 can have a concave top surface to defocus the beam 82 so as to, for example, illuminate a larger area on the target.", "In yet another example, the directing element 822 can include a Fresnel lens to focus the light beams 82.Using a Fresnel lens can provide a planar profile of the light guide 802.FIG.", "8C shows a schematic of a light guide 803 including a tapered guide 813 and a redirecting element 823 disposed on the top surface of the tapered guide 813.The redirecting element 823 includes flat top surface 833 and a sawtooth bottom surface 843.The sawtooth bottom surface 843 provides wedge facets 843a and 843b that can reflect light beams 83 that exit the tapered guide 813.The light beams 83, after reflection by the facets 843a and 843b, then exit the redirecting element 823 via the flat top surface 833.In one example, the redirecting element 823 can include a Bauernfeind prism to redirect light beam by reflection.", "FIG.", "8D shows a schematic of a light guide 804 including a tapered guide 814 and a redirecting element 824 disposed on the top surface of the tapered guide 814.The redirecting element 824 includes convex top surface 834 and a sawtooth bottom surface 844.Light beams 84 that exit the tapered guide 813 are first reflected by the sawtooth bottom surface 844 and then focused by the convex top surface 834.FIG.", "8E shows a schematic of a light guide 805 to output collimated light beams through the bottom surface.", "The light guide 805 includes a tapered guide 815 and a redirecting element 825 disposed on the top surface of the tapered guide 815.A reflective coating 835 is disposed on the top surface of the redirecting element 825.Therefore, light beams 85 that exit the tapered guide 815 are first refracted by the redirecting element 825 and then reflected by the reflective coating 835 toward the bottom of the tapered guide 815, where the light beams 85 are delivered as collimated beams at an angle substantially perpendicular to the bottom of the tapered guide 815.FIG.", "8F shows a schematic of a light guide 806 to output focused light beams through the bottom surface.", "The light guide 806 includes a tapered guide 816 and a redirecting element 826 disposed on the top surface of the tapered guide 816.The directing element 826 has a convex top surface and a reflective coating 836 is disposed on this convex top surface.", "Therefore, light beams 86 that exit the tapered guide 816 are first refracted by the redirecting element 826 and then reflected by the reflective coating 836 toward the bottom of the tapered guide 816.Since the reflective coating 836 is conformal with the convex surface of the directing element 826, light beams 86 are focused after reflection by the reflective coating 836.As a result, the light beams 86 are delivered as focused beams through the bottom of the tapered guide 816.In some examples, the redirecting elements 821 to 826 can be separable from the corresponding tapered guide 811 to 816.When desired, the redirecting elements 821 to 826 can be coupled to the corresponding tapered guide 811 to 816 via, for example, bonding adhesive.", "In another example, the redirecting elements 821 to 826 can be integrated with the corresponding tapered guide 811 to 816 so as to form a single piece of light guide.", "The integration can also be achieved by bonding adhesive, which may simultaneously function as the top cladding layer of the resulting light guide 801 to 806.The gap between the beam redirecting elements 821 to 826 and the corresponding tapered guide 811 to 816 may be filled with air or an optical material.", "Light Guides for Multi-Site Imaging and/or Stimulation As described above, light guides using spatial mode division multiplexing can be employed for multi-site imaging and/or stimulation by simultaneously delivering light to multiple locations on a target.", "In one example, these multiple locations can be discrete locations on the target, in which case the corresponding light guide can include multiple discrete segments and beam focusing elements disposed at the output of each segment.", "In another example, the multiple locations illuminated by the light guide can be a substantially continuous portion of the target.", "This can be achieved by using a continuous tapering light guide.", "FIGS.", "9-10B illustrate these two examples.", "FIG.", "9 shows a schematic of a light guide 900 including multiple discrete segments to image and/or stimulate multiple discrete locations.", "The light guide 900 includes a first segment 910a to couple out light beams 91a and a second segment 910b to couple out light beams 91b.", "The height of the second segment 910b is smaller than the height of the first segment 910a, therefore forming a cascade tapered configuration.", "A micro-lens array 930 is disposed on top of the two segments 910a and 910b via a bonding adhesive 920.The micro-lens array 930 has a first micro-lens 930a disposed on the first segment 910a and a second micro-lens 930b disposed on the second segment 910b.", "The light beams 91a, after exiting the first segment 910a, are focused by the first micro-lens 930a toward a first location 905a on a target.", "Similarly, the light beams 91b, after exiting the second segment 910b, are focused by the second micro-lens 930b toward a second location 905b on the target.", "The two locations 905a and 905b are also referred to as illumination spots, imaging spots, or stimulation spots, depending on the application of the light guide 900.In this case, the two locations 905a and 905b shown in FIG.", "9 are separated from each other.", "The distance between the two locations 905a and 905b can depend on the size of the target to be imaged and/or stimulated.", "In one example, the two locations 905a and 905b can be separated by a distance of about 1 millimeter to about 500 millimeters (e.g., 1 mm, 2 mm, 3 mm, 5 mm, 10 mm, 20 mm, 30 mm, 50 mm, 100 mm, 200 mm, 300 mm, 400 mm, 500 mm, including any values and sub ranges in between).", "In another example, the inter-location distance can be less than 1 millimeter (e.g., less than 1 mm, less than 800 μm, less than 600 μm, less than 500 μm, less than 400 μm, less than 300 μm, less than 200 μm, or less than 100 μm, less than 50 μm, including any values and sub ranges in between) for imaging/stimulating micro-scale objects.", "The locations 905a and 905b could even be next to each other.", "In one example, each location of 905a and 905b is illuminated by one spatial mode.", "In another example, each location of 905a and 905b is illuminated by a group of spatial mode, and each spatial mode in the group of spatial modes can illuminate the location 905a or 905b from a distinct angle.", "Since the locations 905a and 905b are discrete spatial points, the light guide 900 can be suitable for collecting light emitted or scattered by the locations 905a and 905b in a way similar to scanning confocal microscopy.", "However, the light guide 900 can simultaneously image/stimulate the multiple locations 905a and 905b, instead of scanning from one location to another, thereby significantly increasing the efficiency of imaging and/or stimulation.", "FIGS.", "10A and 10B show schematics of two light guides that use continuous tapers (e.g., a single wedge piece) to replace the discrete multiple segments in the light guide 900 shown in FIG.", "9.With continuous tapers, spatial modes can exit the light guide as long as the incident angle on the wedge surface reaches the critical angle.", "Since the light guide can support a large number of spatial modes (e.g., more than 100 modes) and their corresponding critical angles are closely distributed, it is possible to output light continuously along the length of the light guide.", "In addition, a single lens, a Fresnel lens, or micro-prism arrays can be used to focus or direct the output light into a single focal spot.", "The resulting device can be used to provide a continuous image at the lens focal plane.", "The light guides in this manner can resemble wedge optics used in flat panel displays.", "FIG.", "10A shows a schematic of a light guide 1001 including a continuously tapered guide 1011 and a redirecting element 1031 disposed on the continuously tapered guide 1011 via a bonding layer 1021.The redirecting element 1031 can be a single-piece prism with a convex top surface to simultaneously redirect and focus light beams emitted from the continuously tapered guide 1011.FIG.", "10B shows a schematic of a light guide 1002 including a continuously tapered guide 1012 and a redirecting element 1032 disposed on the continuously tapered guide 1012 via a bonding layer 1022.The redirecting element 1032 further includes an array of micro-prisms disposed along the length of the continuously tapered guide 1012.Systems Including Light Guides for Imaging and/or Stimulation Various systems can be constructed using the light guides and redirecting elements described above.", "FIGS.", "11-18 show some examples of systems including light guides for multi-site imaging and/or simulation.", "FIG.", "11 shows a schematic of a generic system 1100 that can simultaneously function as a multi-point confocal imaging microscope and a multi-site stimulation platform.", "The system 1100 includes a light source array 1120 to provide an array of light beams 1101.A beam splitter 1130 transmits part or all of the light beams 1101 to a mode multiplexer 1140 (also functioning as a mode demultiplexer as described below), which directs the light beams 1101 into a light guide 1110 and excites multiple spatial modes in the light guide 1110 using the light beams 1101.The light guide 1110 includes multiple windows 1115(1), 1115(2), .", ".", ".", ", and 1115(N) (collectively referred to as windows 1115, also referred to as light extraction/collection elements 1115).", "Each window 1115(i) couples out a corresponding spatial mode 1101(i) or a corresponding group of spatial modes 1101(i) toward a beam redirecting/shaping element 1160, which directs the light beams 1101(1), 1101(2), .", ".", ".", ", and 1101(N) to illuminate and/or stimulate a target 1105.Light reflected, scattered, or emitted by the target 1105 can propagate along the beam paths of the incident light beams 1101 back to the beam splitter 1130, according to the principle of optical reversibility.", "More specifically, a beam redirecting/shaping element 1160 like those shown in FIGS.", "8A-8F can direct the light into the light guide 1110.Each window 1115(i) (i=1, 2, .", ".", ".", ", and N) can couple the received light into a distinct spatial mode or a distinct group of spatial modes.", "These spatial modes then propagate into the mode demultiplexer 1140, which transmits the spatial modes to the beam splitter 1130.The beam splitter 1130 reflects the received spatial modes into a detector 1150 such as an imaging pixel array.", "The mode demultiplexer 1140 separates the multiple spatial modes and directs each spatial mode or each group of spatial modes to a distinct pixel or groups of pixels in the detector 1150.For example, light received by the first window 1115(1) can be directed to a first pixel and light received by the second window 1115(2) can be directed to a second pixel, thereby generating a correspondence between the pixel receiving the light and the location of the window that collects the light.", "Based on this correspondence, an image of the target 1105 can be reconstructed.", "In one example, the light source array 1120 can include an array of light emitting diodes (LEDs).", "The mode multiplexer 1140 can convert different light beams emitted by different LEDs into different modes or different groups of modes.", "For example, the mode multiplexer 1140 can convert a first beam emitted by a first LED in the light source array 1120 into a first spatial mode 1101(1).", "Similarly, the mode multiplexer 1140 can convert a second beam emitted by a second LED in the light source array 1120 into a second spatial mode 1101(2).", "In other words, the mode multiplexer 1140 converts each individual light source to a specific group of guided modes in the light guide 1110, and each of the window 1115 selectively couples a group of guided modes out of the light guide 1110.Reversely, each of the window 1115 selectively couples a group of guided modes into the light guide 1110 and the mode demultiplexer 1140 converts a specific group of guided modes in the light guide 1110 into each imaging pixel in the detector 1150.This source/pixel location-to-mode mapping provides spatially resolved imaging/stimulation capabilities that allow the system 1100 to function as both an imager and a stimulation probe.", "In one example, the mode multiplexer 1140 can include a focusing concave mirror or a lens.", "As understood in the art, a focusing mirror or a lens can map spatial positions of collimated incident light rays into angles of propagation through its focal spot.", "In a light guide whose dimension is much larger than the wavelength λ of light, the mode excited can be determined by the incident angle of the light upon the light guide end facet.", "Therefore, the mirror or lens can serve as an efficient mode (de)multiplexer.", "In another example, the mode multiplexer 1140 can include multiple lenses configured as a telescope or a beam expander in addition to the single lens/mirror.", "In yet another example, the mode multiplexer 1140 can include a grating coupler, a waveguide taper, or a directional coupler.", "In one example, the light source array 1120 provides continuous wave (CW) light beams.", "In another example, the light source array 1120 provides pulses of light beams (also referred to simply as light pulses).", "Pulses of light beams can allow time-domain control.", "In addition, pulsed light in fluorescent imaging can be useful for time-domain spectroscopic measurements (e.g., to measure excited state lifetime) as well.", "In one example, the light source array 1120 can be a broadband light source, such as one or more LEDs, and the light beams 1101 are accordingly broadband as well.", "In another example, the light source array 1120 can be a narrow-band light source to provide light beams 1101 having a well-defined central wavelength.", "For example, the light source array 1120 can include an array of laser emitters such as an array of vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs).", "Narrow-band light beams can be useful in exciting fluorescence or other stimulating applications.", "FIG.", "12 shows a schematic of a system 1200 for imaging and/or stimulating a target.", "The system 1200 includes an LED array 1220 to emit input light beams toward a beam splitter 1230, which transmits the input light beams to a cylindrical lens 1240.The cylindrical lens 1240 converts the usually collimated input light beams into light rays at different incident angles upon entering a light guide 1210.Different incident angles can excite different spatial modes in the light guide 1210, which then emit the spatial modes at various locations along the light guide 1210.The location of emission depends on the mode number of the spatial modes, thereby creating a correspondence between mode number and spatial location of output.", "A beam redirecting element 1260 is placed on the light guide 1210 to refract and focus the light beam, emitted by the light guide 1210, into different locations 1205a, 1205b, and 1205c on the target.", "For two-dimensional imaging and stimulation, a light guide array can be constructed in a similar manner as shown in FIG.", "2, FIG.", "4, and FIG.", "6.The light guide 1210 can be substantially similar to the light guide 100 shown in FIGS.", "1A-1B and described above.", "The redirecting element 1260 can be substantially similar to the redirecting element 930 shown in FIG.", "9 and described above.", "The light reflected, scattered, or emitted by the locations 1205a to 1205c (also referred to as return light here) propagates through the directing element 1260, the light guide 1210, the cylindrical lens 1240, before reaching the beam splitter 1230, where the return light is reflected by the beam splitter to a detector 1250.As shown in FIG.", "12, the input light and return light are transmitted through different locations on the beam splitter 1230 and the cylindrical lens 1240 so as to reduce interference between the input light and the return light.", "The focal length of the cylindrical lens 1240 can depend on, for example, the cross sectional size of the light guide 1210, the number of modes, or the number of segments in the light guide 1210.In practice, the focal length of the cylindrical lens can be about 10 μm to about 10 mm (e.g., 10 μm, 20 μm, 30 μm, 50 μm, 100 μm, 200 μm, 300 μm, 500 μm, 1 mm, 2 mm, 3 mm, 5 mm, 7.5 mm, and 10 mm, including any values and sub ranges in between).", "The system 1200 can further include recording electrodes or microfluidic channels for drug delivery on the same platform via standard planar microfabrication techniques.", "For example, the recording electrodes can be used to record neural electrical activity, which can be the basis of prostheses and treatments for spinal cord injury, stroke, sensory deficits, and neurological disorders.", "The recording of neural activities allows monitoring of the stimulation effect in a real-time manner, thereby providing feedback and dynamic control of the stimulation.", "In another example, the microfluidic channels can be fabricated nearby the light guide for drug delivery.", "After the target location is determined based on images generated by the system 1200, the microfluidic channels can then accurately deliver the drugs to the desired location.", "FIG.", "13 shows a schematic of an imaging/stimulating system 1300 using a micro-prism array and a micro-lens array to redirect and focus light beams toward a target.", "The system 1300 includes an LED array 1320 to emit input light beams toward a beam splitter 1330, which transmits the input light beams to a cylindrical lens 1340.The cylindrical lens 1340 transmits the input light beams into a light guide 1310, where multiple spatial modes are excited by the input light beam.", "The light guide 1310 includes a plurality of tapered waveguide sections (or a micro-prism array), instead of a continuously tapered waveguide.", "The micro-prisms can be directly connected to each other (e.g., without a constant thickness waveguide in between them) as shown in FIG.", "13.Each group of tapered waveguide sections functions effectively as a selective mode filter and/or mode converter.", "In optical stimulation mode, the tapered waveguide sections convert and/or selectively extract light coupled from the LED array 1320 based on its spatial mode components.", "A plurality of beam redirecting elements 1360 are positioned above the tapered waveguide sections of the light guide 1310, redirecting the extracted light into a desired direction, e.g., perpendicular to the bottom of the light guide 1310.A beam reshaping element array 1370 (e.g., a focusing element array such as a micro-lens array) is positioned on the bottom of the light guide 1310 to focus the extracted beam onto the locations 1305a, 1305b, and 1305c on a target (e.g., a biological tissue).", "The micro-lens structure 1370 shown in FIG.", "13 can also be replaced by a Fresnel lens structure.", "As described above, the same system 1300 can operate in reverse as an imaging instrument using a detector 1350 to detect light collected by the light guide 1310.FIG.", "14 shows a schematic of an imaging/stimulating system 1400 using a micro-lens array placed on top of a light guide 1410.The system 1400 includes an LED array 1420 to emit input light beams toward a beam splitter 1430, which transmits the input light beams to a cylindrical lens 1440.The cylindrical lens 1440 transmits the input light beams into the light guide 1410 so as to excite multiple spatial modes.", "The light guide 1410 is substantially similar to the light guide 1310 shown in FIG.", "13 and includes a plurality of tapered waveguide sections directly connected to each other.", "A micro-lens array 1460 is positioned above the tapered waveguide sections of the light guide 1410, redirecting the extracted light toward locations 1405a, 1405b, and 1405c on a target for illumination or stimulation.", "The system 1400 also includes a detector 1450 to carry out imaging functions of the system 1400.FIG.", "15 shows a schematic of an imaging/stimulating system 1500 using tapered waveguide arrays connected via sections of constant-thickness waveguides to provide a defined distribution of extraction sites.", "The system 1500 includes an LED array 1520 to emit input light beams toward a beam splitter 1530, which transmits the input light beams to a lens 1540.The lens 1540 transmits the input light beams into a light guide 1510 so as to excite multiple spatial modes.", "The light guide 1510, as shown in FIG.", "15, includes three windows 1515 to couple light beams into or out of the light guide 1510.Adjacent windows 1515 are connected via constant-thickness waveguides 1512.Beam redirecting elements 1560 are positioned above the tapered waveguide sections of the light guide 1510, redirecting the extracted light into a direction perpendicularly to the bottom of the light guide 1510 or a desired direction.", "The redirecting elements 1560 also have three micro-prism arrays 1560a, 1560b, and 1560c, each of which is disposed on a corresponding window 1515.Each micro-prism array 1560a to 1560c reflects, via internal surface prisms, the light beams toward the bottom of the light guide 1510.A beam reshaping element array 1570 is positioned on the bottom of the light guide 1510 to focus the extracted beams onto the locations 1505a, 1505b, and 1505c on a target.", "The beam reshaping element array 1570 includes three micro-lenses 1570a, 1570b, and 1570c, each of which receives light beams reflected by a corresponding micro-prism array 1560a, 1560b, and 1560c, respectively.", "The system 1500 also includes a detector 1550 to carry out imaging functions.", "FIG.", "16 shows a schematic of an imaging/stimulating system 1600 using a micro-lens array placed on top of a light guide 1610.The light guide 1610 can be substantially similar to the light guide 1510 shown in FIG.", "15.The system 1600 includes an LED array 1620 to emit input light beams toward a beam splitter 1630, which transmits the input light beams to a cylindrical lens 1640.The cylindrical lens 1640 transmits the input light beams into the light guide 1610 so as to excite multiple spatial modes.", "A micro-lens array 1660 is positioned above the light guide 1410, redirecting the extracted light toward locations 1605a, 1605b, and 1605c on a target for illumination or stimulation.", "The system 1600 also includes a detector 1650 to carry out imaging functions of the system 1600.The micro-lens (or Fresnel lens) and facet structures (such as tapers and beam redirecting elements) in the above examples can also be encapsulated in a planarized low index material so as to achieve a planar physical profile of the stimulation/imaging device.", "FIG.", "17 shows a schematic of an imaging/stimulating system 1700 in which the lens that functions as a mode (de)multiplexer is integrated onto the input facet of a light guide 1710.The system 1700 includes a light source 1720 for stimulation (e.g.", "a micro-LED array), a detector 1750 for imaging (e.g.", "photodetector arrays), a flexible segmented light guide 1710 with micro-prisms, and beam turning/shaping optics 1760 (e.g., a micro-lens array) integrated on the light guide 1710.Light beams 1701 emitted by spatially registered LEDs can be coupled into the light guide 1710 via a cylindrical lens 1740, which maps the off-axis spatial locations of the LED sources to different incident angles of light coupled into the guide.", "The lens 1740 is integrated into the system 1700 via, for example, bonding adhesive.", "An input facet 1730 of the light guide 1710 can reflect the light beams 1701 into the light guide 1710, where different spatial modes are coupled out by different segments.", "A cladding layer 1770 is disposed on the top of the light guide 1710 to create a flat profile, on which the micro-lens array 1760 is placed.", "The planar top profile also helps the integration of the lens 1740.The micro-lens array 1760 focuses a first group of spatial modes 1701a to a first location 1705a, focuses a second group of spatial modes 1701b to a second location 1705b, and focuses a third group of spatial modes 1701c to a third location 1705a.", "FIG.", "18 shows a schematic of an imaging/stimulating system 1800 including reconfigurable optics as a mode multiplexer and demultiplexer.", "The system 1800 includes a light source array 1820 to deliver light beams 1801 toward reconfigurable optics 1840, which can direct the light beams 1801 into a light guide 1810 via an input facet 1830 of the light guide 1810.Light rays at different incident angles on the facet 1830 can be coupled into different spatial modes 1801a, 1801b, and 1801c, which are emitted by the light guide 1810 toward locations 1805a, 1805b, and 1805c, respectively, on a target.", "A cladding layer 1870 is disposed on the top of the light guide 1810 to provide a planar top profile to facilitate integration of, for example, light turning elements (not shown) and the reconfigurable optics.", "The reconfigurable optics 1840 can include an electro-wetting lens or other variable optical element.", "As understood in the art, adjusting a voltage applied on an electro-wetting lens can move the optical axis of the lens, thereby allowing dynamic tuning of the coupling location of the light beams 1801 during operation of the system 1800.More information of electro-wetting lenses can be found in U.S. Patent Application Publication No.", "20080100922 A1, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.", "In the systems 1700 and 1800 shown above, the light sources (1720 and 1820) and detectors (1750 and 1850) are arranged as a linear array on the same plane with the light guide cross-section.", "In this configuration, optical cross talk between the different imaging or stimulation channels can be primarily due to the unequal number of bounces or reflections of the rays on the prisms or tapered sections.", "As described above, the number of bounces or reflections on the tapered surface can be given by either of the two integers closest to L/(2d tan α).", "Therefore, even for light rays with the same incident angle α (which then belong to the same guided mode group), the number of reflections can differ by 1.This can add a difference of incident angle up to 2θ after propagating through each prism/taper section.", "FIG.", "19 illustrates one solution that addresses the cross-talk issues.", "This solution reduces or eliminates this source of cross-talk by selectively exciting a group of modes or light rays, whose projections on the waveguide side walls have the same angle with respect to the light guide's top and bottom surfaces.", "As shown in FIG.", "19, when the prism/taper section length is chosen as L=N·(2d tan α), where N is a positive integer, the group of light rays AO, BO, CO, .", ".", ".", "ZO experience the same number of reflections N on each prism/tapered section.", "However, the incident angles of the group upon the light guide top and bottom surfaces can be different.", "For example, the incident angle of light ray AO is the angle AOH whereas the incident angle of light ray ZO is the angle ZOV.", "Therefore, the rays AO, BO, CO, .", ".", ".", "ZO can still be individually extracted at each prism or taper section with an appropriate taper section design.", "In this manner cross-talk between channels can be reduced.", "Methods of Multi-Site Imaging and/or Stimulation FIG.", "20 illustrates a method 2000 of multi-site imaging and/or stimulation.", "Different rays in a light beam can be transmitted into the light waveguide at different incident angles so as to excite multiple spatial modes supported by the light waveguide, as in step 2020.The light waveguide includes multiple segments, each of which is configured to emit a specified spatial mode or a group of specified spatial modes.", "In this manner, a first segment in the light waveguide emits a first spatial mode to illuminate a first location on the target, as in step 2030.Similarly, a second segment in the light waveguide emits a second spatial mode to illuminate a second location on the target, as in step 2040.The light guide can be made of flexible materials such as flexible polymer or elastomer.", "Therefore, the light guide can be inserted into delicate tissues of humans such as a cochlea or a neural tissue.", "In one example, the light beam can be provided by an array of LEDs, each of which delivers an individual light beam.", "In another example, the light beam can be provided by an array of laser emitters.", "Narrow linewidths of laser light can allow more efficient stimulation in applications such as fluorescence imaging.", "To create an image of the target, segments in the light guide can collect light reflected, scattered, or emitted by the target.", "According to optical reversibility, the first segment can couple received light into a first group of spatial modes and the second segment can couple received light into a second group of spatial modes that are different than the first group of spatial modes.", "These spatial modes can then be detected by a detector including an array of pixels.", "A first pixel in the detector can detect the first group of spatial modes collected by the first segment, and a second pixel in the detector can detect the second group of spatial modes collected by the second segment, thereby creating a correspondence between pixel location and spatial location of the light source on the target.", "An image of the target can be then reconstructed based on this correspondence.", "Methods of Fabricating Light Guides for Multi-Site Imaging and/or Stimulation FIGS.", "21A-21H illustrate a method of fabricating a light guide for multi-site imaging and/or stimulation.", "The method starts from a handler substrate 2110 as shown in FIG.", "21A.", "A mask (such as a layer of photoresist) 2120 is then placed on the handler substrate 2110, as shown in FIG.", "21B.", "Geometric shape and patterns of optical coupling structures are first created on the mask layer 2120 using photolithography (e.g., gray-scale lithography that employs a gray-scale mask during photolithography to create different height on the photoresist).", "The geometric shape of the photoresist 2120 is subsequently transferred to the handler substrate 2110 by, e.g., etching.", "FIG.", "21C shows that the lithography (e.g., gray-scale lithography) transfers the shape and pattern on the mask layer 2120 to the handler substrate 2110 and creates an array of cavities 2130 on the handler substrate 2110.Each cavity 2130 has a wedge bottom surface.", "Another layer of mask (such as thick photoresists) 2140 is then placed on the handler substrate 2110 and patterned.", "Each strip of the thick mask 2140 is placed in between two adjacent columns of the cavities 2130, as shown in FIG.", "21D.", "In other words, the thick masks 2140 do not block the openings of the cavities 2130.Then a molding material 2150 is placed into the gaps defined by the strips of thick masks 2140.The molding material 2150 can also fill the space of the cavities 2130.In this manner, the patterned handler substrate 2110 functions as a mold for replica molding as seen in FIG.", "21E.", "The molding material 2150 can include flexible polymeric materials or flexible elastomeric materials, such as polycarbonate, polyimide, polystyrene, polyethylene, poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), or agarose.", "A delamination step is then performed, shown in FIG.", "21F, to separate the resulting light guide 2160 from the handler substrate 2110.The light guide 2160 is substantially similar to the light guide 600 shown in FIG.", "6 and described above.", "In FIG.", "21G, a cladding layer 2170 is disposed on the top of the light guide 2160 to improve light guiding and also to create a flat top surface of the light guide 2160.An array of micro-lenses 2180 are then molded on the surface of the cladding layer 2170, as shown in FIG.", "21H.", "CONCLUSION While various inventive embodiments have been described and illustrated herein, those of ordinary skill in the art will readily envision a variety of other means and/or structures for performing the function and/or obtaining the results and/or one or more of the advantages described herein, and each of such variations and/or modifications is deemed to be within the scope of the inventive embodiments described herein.", "More generally, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that all parameters, dimensions, materials, and configurations described herein are meant to be exemplary and that the actual parameters, dimensions, materials, and/or configurations will depend upon the specific application or applications for which the inventive teachings is/are used.", "Those skilled in the art will recognize, or be able to ascertain using no more than routine experimentation, many equivalents to the specific inventive embodiments described herein.", "It is, therefore, to be understood that the foregoing embodiments are presented by way of example only and that, within the scope of the appended claims and equivalents thereto, inventive embodiments may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described and claimed.", "Inventive embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to each individual feature, system, article, material, kit, and/or method described herein.", "In addition, any combination of two or more such features, systems, articles, materials, kits, and/or methods, if such features, systems, articles, materials, kits, and/or methods are not mutually inconsistent, is included within the inventive scope of the present disclosure.", "Also, various inventive concepts may be embodied as one or more methods, of which an example has been provided.", "The acts performed as part of the method may be ordered in any suitable way.", "Accordingly, embodiments may be constructed in which acts are performed in an order different than illustrated, which may include performing some acts simultaneously, even though shown as sequential acts in illustrative embodiments.", "All definitions, as defined and used herein, should be understood to control over dictionary definitions, definitions in documents incorporated by reference, and/or ordinary meanings of the defined terms.", "The indefinite articles “a” and “an,” as used herein in the specification and in the claims, unless clearly indicated to the contrary, should be understood to mean “at least one.” The phrase “and/or,” as used herein in the specification and in the claims, should be understood to mean “either or both” of the elements so conjoined, i.e., elements that are conjunctively present in some cases and disjunctively present in other cases.", "Multiple elements listed with “and/or” should be construed in the same fashion, i.e., “one or more” of the elements so conjoined.", "Other elements may optionally be present other than the elements specifically identified by the “and/or” clause, whether related or unrelated to those elements specifically identified.", "Thus, as a non-limiting example, a reference to “A and/or B”, when used in conjunction with open-ended language such as “comprising” can refer, in one embodiment, to A only (optionally including elements other than B); in another embodiment, to B only (optionally including elements other than A); in yet another embodiment, to both A and B (optionally including other elements); etc.", "As used herein in the specification and in the claims, “or” should be understood to have the same meaning as “and/or” as defined above.", "For example, when separating items in a list, “or” or “and/or” shall be interpreted as being inclusive, i.e., the inclusion of at least one, but also including more than one, of a number or list of elements, and, optionally, additional unlisted items.", "Only terms clearly indicated to the contrary, such as “only one of” or “exactly one of,” or, when used in the claims, “consisting of,” will refer to the inclusion of exactly one element of a number or list of elements.", "In general, the term “or” as used herein shall only be interpreted as indicating exclusive alternatives (i.e.", "“one or the other but not both”) when preceded by terms of exclusivity, such as “either,” “one of,” “only one of,” or “exactly one of” “Consisting essentially of,” when used in the claims, shall have its ordinary meaning as used in the field of patent law.", "As used herein in the specification and in the claims, the phrase “at least one,” in reference to a list of one or more elements, should be understood to mean at least one element selected from any one or more of the elements in the list of elements, but not necessarily including at least one of each and every element specifically listed within the list of elements and not excluding any combinations of elements in the list of elements.", "This definition also allows that elements may optionally be present other than the elements specifically identified within the list of elements to which the phrase “at least one” refers, whether related or unrelated to those elements specifically identified.", "Thus, as a non-limiting example, “at least one of A and B” (or, equivalently, “at least one of A or B,” or, equivalently “at least one of A and/or B”) can refer, in one embodiment, to at least one, optionally including more than one, A, with no B present (and optionally including elements other than B); in another embodiment, to at least one, optionally including more than one, B, with no A present (and optionally including elements other than A); in yet another embodiment, to at least one, optionally including more than one, A, and at least one, optionally including more than one, B (and optionally including other elements); etc.", "In the claims, as well as in the specification above, all transitional phrases such as “comprising,” “including,” “carrying,” “having,” “containing,” “involving,” “holding,” “composed of,” and the like are to be understood to be open-ended, i.e., to mean including but not limited to.", "Only the transitional phrases “consisting of” and “consisting essentially of” shall be closed or semi-closed transitional phrases, respectively, as set forth in the United States Patent Office Manual of Patent Examining Procedures, Section 2111.03." ] ]
Patent_15873203
[ [ "Vehicle Turn Detection", "An turn detection system is configured to determine headings or a course of a vehicle over a period of time and evaluate whether the vehicle has registered a turn based on these headings/course.", "In some arrangements, upon detecting a turn, sensor data may be collected to determine one or more characteristics or attributes of the turn.", "Such data may indicate a loss event associated with the turn and be used to calculate a probability or risk of loss given the various characteristics of the turn.", "These probabilities may further be applied to determine various costs and premiums." ], [ "1.A turn detection apparatus comprising: a communication interface; a processor; and memory storing computer readable instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the turn detection apparatus to: detect a plurality of headings of a vehicle, each of the headings corresponding to a different point in time; determine a total turn angle of a turn made by the vehicle based on the plurality of headings; determine a turn direction of the vehicle based on the total turn angle; determine at least one characteristic of the turn of the vehicle based on one or more sensor readings associated with the vehicle; and determine a risk of loss associated with at least one of the vehicle and a driver of the vehicle based on the determined at least one characteristic of the turn.", "2.The turn detection apparatus of claim 1, wherein the communication interface includes a mobile communication device.", "3.The turn detection apparatus of claim 1, wherein the communication interface is configured to be physically connected to the vehicle, and wherein the turn detection apparatus includes at least one sensor from which the one or more sensor readings are obtained.", "4.The turn detection apparatus of claim 1, wherein determining the plurality of headings of the vehicle is performed using signal triangulation.", "5.The turn detection apparatus of claim 1, wherein the turn detection apparatus is further caused to determine that the vehicle has registered the turn based on the total turn angle being above a specified threshold angle.", "6.The turn detection apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one characteristic of the turn of the vehicle includes a speed of the turn.", "7.The turn detection apparatus of claim 6, wherein the at least one characteristic of the turn includes a rate of acceleration.", "8.The turn detection apparatus of claim 3, wherein the at least one sensor includes a camera.", "9.The turn detection apparatus of claim 1, wherein determining the risk of loss includes calculating a probability of loss based on historical loss data associated with turns having the at least one characteristic.", "10.The turn detection apparatus of claim 1, wherein the turn detection apparatus is further caused to: detect a loss event within a predefined amount of time of a turn of the vehicle; and assign a value of the loss event to at least one characteristic of the turn.", "11.The turn detection apparatus of claim 10, wherein detecting the loss event includes determining whether the loss event is within a predefined proximity of a location of the turn.", "12.The turn detection apparatus of claim 11, wherein the loss event corresponds to another vehicle different from the vehicle registering the turn.", "13.A turn detection apparatus comprising: a processor; and memory storing computer readable instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the turn detection apparatus to: determine a relative signal strength between a first position detection device and a second position detection device; upon determining that a signal strength of the first position detection device is higher, obtain, at a data collection rate, first heading information for a vehicle from the first position detection device; determine a first heading based on the received first heading information; determine that a detection strength of the first position detection device has changed; in response to the change in the detection strength, modify the data collection rate from the first position detection device; and receive second heading information for the vehicle based on the modified data collection rate.", "14.The turn detection apparatus of claim 13, wherein the first position detection device is a global positioning system (GPS) receiver.", "15.The turn detection apparatus of claim 14, wherein the second position detection device is a cellular communication device.", "16.The turn detection apparatus of claim 13, wherein modifying the data collection rate includes: increasing a data collection rate of the first position detection device; and decreasing a data collection rate of the second position detection device.", "17.A non-transitory computer readable medium storing computer readable instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause a turn detection apparatus to: detect a plurality of headings of a vehicle, each of the headings corresponding to a different point in time; determine a total turn angle of a turn made by the vehicle based on the plurality of headings; determine a turn direction of the vehicle based on the total turn angle; determine at least one characteristic of the turn of the vehicle based on one or more sensor readings associated with the vehicle; and determine a risk of loss associated with at least one of the vehicle and a driver of the vehicle based on the determined at least one characteristic of the turn.", "18.The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 17, wherein the turn detection apparatus is further caused to determine whether the vehicle has turned based on whether the total turn angle is above a specified threshold angle.", "19.The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 17, wherein the at least one characteristic includes a rate of acceleration.", "20.The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 17, wherein the one or more sensor readings is obtained from a camera." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND <EOH>Current navigation systems generally determine a vehicle's position and plot those positions against a predefined map.", "Accordingly, some existing navigation systems determine when a vehicle turns onto a new path/road based on the position of the vehicle rather than a determination of the vehicle's heading or course or any other characteristics of the turn.", "Moreover, in some instances, certain types of vehicle movements, or particular characteristics thereof, may have a high correlation with other events such as accidents, traffic violations and the like.", "However, current systems do not generate such correlations nor are they configured in a predictive manner." ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY <EOH>The following presents a simplified summary in order to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of the disclosure.", "The summary is not an extensive overview of the disclosure.", "It is neither intended to identify key or critical elements of the disclosure nor to delineate the scope of the disclosure.", "The following summary merely presents some concepts of the disclosure in a simplified form as a prelude to the description below.", "Aspects described herein provide a system, apparatus, method and/or computer-executable instructions for detecting vehicle movements such as turns in a real-time, on-demand or as-you-go manner.", "Additionally, various aspects provide the recordation or other determination of vehicle, driver and vehicle movement characteristics and information.", "Using such characteristics and information, a system may generate correlations between the vehicle movements and other events such as a risk of loss.", "These correlations, in aggregate across multiple vehicles and instances, may lead to the creation of a database, thereby providing a probability or risk of a particular event given a specified vehicle movement.", "Such correlations may be used in a variety of contexts including warning drivers of unsafe maneuvers, calculating insurance premiums (risks), peer monitoring of events and the like.", "Other features and advantages of the disclosure will be apparent from the additional description provided herein." ], [ "CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS The present application is a continuation of co-pending U.S. application Ser.", "No.", "15/496,336, filed Apr.", "25, 2017, which is a continuation of co-pending U.S. application Ser.", "No.", "15/251,556, filed Aug. 30, 2016, issued as U.S. Pat.", "No.", "9,666,067 on May 30, 2017 and entitled “Vehicle Turn Detection,” the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety for all purposes.", "TECHNICAL FIELD Various aspects of the disclosure relate to detection of a vehicle turn.", "More specifically, aspects of the disclosure relate to determining whether a vehicle has made a turn and characteristics of the turn.", "BACKGROUND Current navigation systems generally determine a vehicle's position and plot those positions against a predefined map.", "Accordingly, some existing navigation systems determine when a vehicle turns onto a new path/road based on the position of the vehicle rather than a determination of the vehicle's heading or course or any other characteristics of the turn.", "Moreover, in some instances, certain types of vehicle movements, or particular characteristics thereof, may have a high correlation with other events such as accidents, traffic violations and the like.", "However, current systems do not generate such correlations nor are they configured in a predictive manner.", "SUMMARY The following presents a simplified summary in order to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of the disclosure.", "The summary is not an extensive overview of the disclosure.", "It is neither intended to identify key or critical elements of the disclosure nor to delineate the scope of the disclosure.", "The following summary merely presents some concepts of the disclosure in a simplified form as a prelude to the description below.", "Aspects described herein provide a system, apparatus, method and/or computer-executable instructions for detecting vehicle movements such as turns in a real-time, on-demand or as-you-go manner.", "Additionally, various aspects provide the recordation or other determination of vehicle, driver and vehicle movement characteristics and information.", "Using such characteristics and information, a system may generate correlations between the vehicle movements and other events such as a risk of loss.", "These correlations, in aggregate across multiple vehicles and instances, may lead to the creation of a database, thereby providing a probability or risk of a particular event given a specified vehicle movement.", "Such correlations may be used in a variety of contexts including warning drivers of unsafe maneuvers, calculating insurance premiums (risks), peer monitoring of events and the like.", "Other features and advantages of the disclosure will be apparent from the additional description provided herein.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS A more complete understanding of the present invention and the advantages thereof may be acquired by referring to the following description in consideration of the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numbers indicate like features, and wherein: FIG.", "1 illustrates a system for determining vehicle heading/course and detecting turns according to one or more aspects described herein; FIG.", "2 illustrates an example computing device configured to detect turns, evaluate loss events and risk of loss according to one or more aspects described herein; FIG.", "3 is a flowchart illustrating an example process for detecting a vehicle turn according to one or more aspects described herein; FIG.", "4A illustrates the determination of a vehicle's position and a heading/course vector using the position information according to one or more aspects described herein; FIG.", "4B illustrates a graph of vehicle headings or course according to one or more aspects described herein; FIG.", "5 is a flowchart illustrating an example process for correlating risk with vehicle activity according to one or more aspects described herein; and FIG.", "6 is a flowchart illustrating an example for determining insurance eligibility and premiums according to one or more aspects described herein.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION In the following description of the various embodiments, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration, various embodiments of the disclosure that may be practiced.", "It is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized.", "Various aspects described herein may be embodied as a method, an apparatus, a system, or a computer readable medium.", "Accordingly, those aspects may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects.", "Furthermore, such aspects may take the form of a computer program product stored by one or more computer-readable storage media having computer-readable program code, or instructions, embodied in or on the storage media.", "Any suitable computer-readable storage media may be utilized, including hard disks, CD-ROMs, optical storage devices, magnetic storage devices, and/or any combination thereof.", "In addition, various signals representing data or events as described herein may be transferred between a source and a destination in the form of electromagnetic waves traveling through signal-conducting media such as metal wires, optical fibers, and/or wireless transmission media (e.g., air and/or space).", "FIG.", "1 illustrates a system in which various positioning systems may track a location and heading/course of a vehicle to determine whether the vehicle is executing or has executed a turn as well as to derive other driving characteristics.", "A course, as described herein, may generally relate to a single heading or a series of multiple headings.", "In one example, vehicle 101 may include one or more transceivers that are configured to communicate with a global positioning system (GPS) satellite 103, which may include the receipt of positioning data.", "Through the positioning information received from satellite 103 through the receiver, a computing device of vehicle 101 may determine the location and heading/course of the vehicle 101.In some instances, the vehicle computer (e.g., vehicle on-board computing device) may include pre-stored maps or maps obtained on-demand.", "The position information may then be used to graphically illustrate a position of the vehicle 101 within the maps (e.g., displaying a picture of a vehicle along road 109).", "In some examples, the position information and associated map may be displayed on a display of a mobile device of a user, on a display within a vehicle and associated with an on-board vehicle computing device, and/or other display devices.", "According to other embodiments, a vehicle 101 or vehicle computing device may obtain positioning information through cellular or wireless information.", "In one example, the computing device or vehicle 101 may include a wireless or cellular transceiver configured to communicate with cellular or wireless access points such as access points 105.The wireless or cellular transceiver may include a user's mobile device 107 that is linked to the vehicle's internal communication and computing systems.", "In some arrangements, a mobile device such as device 107 may be integrated as a hardware component of the vehicle (rather than a separable device of a user).", "Using a communication interface such as device 107, vehicle 101 may perform triangulation calculations to determine the vehicle's position based on data received from access points 105 and/or from satellite 103.Triangulation may include measuring the signal strengths between vehicle 101 (or other communication device associated therewith) and each of access points 105 and triangulating those strengths to identify a position of the vehicle 101.In other arrangements, wireless local or wide area networks (WLAN or WAN's) may also be used to determine a vehicle's location.", "For example, if a vehicle is accessing a network through a Wi-Fi access point at a home 109 having a maximum range of 200 feet, the vehicle system 101 may determine the location of the Wi-Fi access point (e.g., by querying the access point or otherwise requesting location data) and subsequently identify its own location as within a radius of 200 feet of the location of home 109.Access points may be provided at a variety of locations not limited to homes, communication towers, and/or satellites.", "GPS, cellular and other wireless network information may be used in combination to further refine or otherwise confirm positioning determinations of the vehicle 101 or of other devices.", "For example, in some areas, a GPS signal may be weak and thus provide a less granular determination of the location of vehicle 101.In such an instance, cellular triangulation may be used to further refine the location determination to provide a more particular position of vehicle 101.In some arrangements, the various types of positioning sources may be ranked such that if a first priority system (e.g., GPS) is unavailable or is providing information with a level of confidence lower than desired (e.g., signal is weaker than a threshold signal strength or resolution is lower than a threshold resolution), a device may go to a second priority system (e.g., cellular towers such as access points 105) and so on.", "In other examples, a turn detection system may increase a data collection rate from the first priority system if the first priority system is demonstrating weaker signal strength or is otherwise providing information with a lower level of confidence.", "The increased data collection rate may help to confirm or verify other pieces of data within the collection stream.", "Even when a turn detection system switches to a second priority system, the turn detection system may continue to monitor (e.g., collect data from) the first priority system to determine whether the resolution or strength of signal has improved.", "The ranking or priority may be designated by the turn detection system, a third party (e.g., an insurance company) and/or by the user.", "Data may be collected from multiple systems including both first and second priority location determination systems.", "The data may then be tagged with a reliability flag or attribute indicating whether the data from a particular system was collected with sufficient confidence.", "Beyond the devices described above that may be associated with vehicle 101, vehicle 101 may further include one or more sensors (not shown) to sense vehicle or driving characteristics.", "Such sensors may include gyroscopes, accelerometers, cameras, motion detectors, light sensors, infrared sensors, impact sensors, thermometers and the like and/or combinations thereof.", "The vehicle 101 or other devices may use these sensors in a variety of manners, including to record images of vehicle events (e.g., traffic light status, turns, rapid acceleration, rapid deceleration, abnormal stops, swerving, hard braking, etc.", "), determine a severity of a crash (e.g., impact force, speed prior to impact, speed of deceleration), determine an external temperature of the area in which the vehicle is traveling, determine a time of day, determine presence and/or type of precipitation, determine a visibility (e.g., based on precipitation detectors and/or light detectors) and the like.", "Moreover, sensors of one vehicle may be used to help determine driving characteristics of another vehicle.", "For example, in the event of a crash of a first vehicle, the sensors, such as a camera, may be activated to help determine characteristics of that crash event, such as a traffic light status.", "The lack or disabling of sensors of the first vehicle may dictate or precipitate the activation and use of the sensors of the second other vehicle.", "In one arrangement, the turn detection system, upon detecting a turn event or loss event, may determine whether the vehicle includes various sensors.", "Different types of events may require different types of sensors.", "If not, the turn detection system may seek another vehicle in the vicinity (e.g., predefined proximity) with the requisite sensors, and activate or otherwise request data from those sensors.", "Aspects described herein may use or implement a variety of other configurations using such sensors.", "FIG.", "2 illustrates a block diagram of a computing device (or system) 201 in a computer system 200 that may be used according to one or more illustrative embodiments of the disclosure.", "In one example, the computing device, sensors, positions systems and/or access points described in FIG.", "1 may include components and configurations of device 201.With continued reference to FIG.", "2, the device 201 may have a processor 203 for controlling overall operation of the device 201 and its associated components, including RAM 205, ROM 207, input/output module 209, and memory 215.The computing device 201 may correspond to any of multiple systems or devices described herein, such as personal mobile devices, satellite, cellular or other wireless access points, ground vehicle-based computing devices including servers and home computing devices and other various devices.", "These various computing systems may be configured individually or in combination, as described herein, for determining a heading or course and/or position of a vehicle to detect turns (or other movements) of the vehicle.", "The systems may further collect vehicle and event data to determine and identify correlations between vehicle events or characteristics such as between certain types of vehicle movements and accidents.", "Input/Output (I/O) 209 may include a microphone, keypad, touch screen, and/or stylus through which a user of the computing device 201 may provide input, and may also include one or more of a speaker for providing audio output and a video display device for providing textual, audiovisual and/or graphical output.", "Software may be stored within memory 215 and/or storage to provide instructions to processor 203 for enabling device 201 to perform various actions.", "For example, memory 215 may store software used by the device 201, such as an operating system 217, application programs 219, and an associated internal database 221.The various hardware memory units in memory 215 may include volatile and nonvolatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storage of information such as computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data.", "Memory 215 also may include one or more physical persistent memory devices and/or one or more non-persistent memory devices.", "Memory 215 may include, but is not limited to, random access memory (RAM) 205, read only memory (ROM) 207, electronically erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM), flash memory or other memory technology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disks (DVD) or other optical disk storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to store the desired information and that can be accessed by processor 203.Processor 203 may include a single central processing unit (CPU), which may be a single-core or multi-core processor (e.g., dual-core, quad-core, etc.", "), or may include multiple CPUs.", "Processor(s) 203 may have various bit sizes (e.g., 16-bit, 32-bit, 64-bit, 96-bit, 128-bit, etc.)", "and various processor speeds (ranging from 100 MHz to 5 Ghz or faster).", "Processor(s) 203 and its associated components may allow the system 201 to execute a series of computer-readable instructions for, for example, processing sensor information, performing triangulation, calculating headings/courses of a vehicle, determining whether a turn has been made, performing network communications, calculating vehicle characteristics (speed, impact, rate of turn, deceleration, acceleration, etc.)", "and the like.", "A computing device such as device 201 (e.g., a personal mobile device, vehicle-based system, insurance server, etc.)", "may operate in a networked environment 200 supporting connections to one or more remote computers or devices (e.g., satellites, remote servers, drones, vehicles, personal devices).", "The network connections depicted in FIG.", "2 include a local area network (LAN) 225 and a wide area network (WAN) 229, and a wireless telecommunications network 233, but may also include other networks.", "When used in a LAN networking environment, the computing device 201 may be connected to the LAN 225 through a network interface or adapter 223.When used in a WAN networking environment, the device 201 may include a modem 227 or other means for establishing communications over the WAN 229, such as network 231 (e.g., the Internet).", "When used in a wireless telecommunications network 233 (e.g., cellular or otherwise), the device 201 may include one or more transceivers (e.g., cellular, digital, etc.", "), digital signal processors, and additional circuitry and software for communicating with wireless computing devices 241 and 251 (e.g., mobile phones, portable customer computing devices, vehicle-based computing devices and systems, etc.)", "via one or more network devices 235 (e.g., base transceiver stations) in the wireless network 233.Also illustrated in FIG.", "2 is a security layer 260, through which communications may be sent and managed between the device 201 and remote devices.", "The security layer 260 may comprise one or more separate computing devices, such as web servers, authentication servers, and/or various networking components (e.g., firewalls, routers, gateways, load balancers, etc.", "), having some or all of the elements described above with respect to the computing device 201.In other examples, security layer 260 may correspond to software or hardware (e.g., encryption) within the device 201.Encryption protocols may also be implemented through security layer 260.Types of encryption may include public/private key pairs, Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) algorithms, Data Encryption Standard (DES) algorithms and other symmetric and asymmetric encryption protocols.", "Additionally or alternatively, security layer 260 may provide virtual private network (VPN) connections (e.g., using SSL or the like) through which certain types of data is sent to and received from other devices in the system.", "Although not shown in FIG.", "2, various elements within memory 215 or other components in system 100, may include one or more caches, for example, CPU caches used by the processing unit 203, page caches used by the operating system 217, disk caches of a hard drive, and/or database caches used to cache content from database 221.For embodiments including a CPU cache, the CPU cache may be used by one or more processors in the processing unit 203 to reduce memory latency and access time.", "In such examples, a processor 203 may retrieve data from or write data to the CPU cache rather than reading/writing to memory 215, which may improve the speed of these operations.", "In some examples, a database cache may be created in which certain data from a database 221 (e.g., a database of property data, user data, user/owner interests or characteristics, etc.)", "is cached in a separate smaller database on an application server separate from the database server (e.g., at a personal mobile device, insurance processing device, or intermediary network device or cache device, etc.).", "For instance, in a multi-tiered application, a database cache on an application server can reduce data retrieval and data manipulation time by not needing to communicate over a network with a back-end database server.", "The network connections shown are illustrative and other means of establishing a communications link between the computers may be used.", "The existence of any of various network protocols such as TCP/IP, Ethernet, FTP, HTTP and the like, and of various wireless communication technologies such as GSM, CDMA, WiFi, and WiMAX, is presumed, and the various computing devices in home maintenance monitoring and reward system components described herein may be configured to communicate using any of these network protocols or technologies.", "In existing systems, GPS and other positioning systems have largely been used to provide navigation guidance.", "Such navigation systems simply recognize movements of the vehicle based on a point position of the vehicle and whether that position matches or maps to a predefined/anticipated route.", "For example, the navigation system will determine whether a vehicle has moved from a North-South road to an East-West road based on the point position changes of the vehicle.", "As such, existing navigation systems generally do not perform real-time, on-demand or as-you-go type detection/differentiation of a turn or other types of vehicle movements.", "However, as described herein, using this movement data (e.g., turn detection or differentiation between types of vehicle movements), a system may identify correlations between other types of attributes, characteristics and the like and the vehicle movements.", "For example, a system may identify correlations between risk of an accident or risk of loss based on the types of movement the vehicle makes, such as turns.", "Once such correlations are determined, a system may analyze a driver's behavior through vehicle movements to determine a risk of loss associated with that driver.", "Various methods may be used to perform real-time or on-demand detection of turns.", "One process includes determining the heading/course of the vehicle at predefined intervals for a specified period of time.", "FIG.", "3 illustrates such an example process.", "In step 300, for instance, a computing device, whether in the vehicle or remote from the vehicle, may initiate a sliding window as an evaluation period to determine whether a particular vehicle movement such as a turn has occurred.", "This initiation of a sliding window may be triggered by a variety of events such as the start of the ignition, a power-up event, user instruction, shifting to a particular gear (e.g., drive), reaching a particular speed threshold and the like and/or combinations thereof.", "The sliding window may be defined to be various lengths.", "In addition, the sliding window may be defined by a data collection rate.", "The data collection rate defines not only the amount of positions that are determined, but also the rate at which each position is determined.", "In one example, the sliding window is 13 seconds long with a data collection rate of 1 second (position is determined every second for 13 seconds).", "Based on empirical evidence, 13 seconds with a 1 second data collection rate provides an optimal time period for evaluating movements of the vehicle to detect turn events.", "Other periods of time or data collection rates may decrease the accuracy of detection applying the method discussed in FIG.", "3, by either collecting too much data or too little data.", "However, other time periods and/or data collection rates may be used for the sliding window (less or greater than 13 seconds, less than or greater than 1 sec, etc.).", "In some instances, a system may compensate for any increase in inaccuracy based on longer or shorter evaluation windows and/or longer or shorter data collection rates.", "In step 305, the system may subsequently start to obtain position information for the vehicle according to the parameters of the sliding window, such as the data collection rate.", "As noted herein, the position information may be obtained from a variety of sources, including from GPS satellites, cell towers, Wi-Fi access points and the like.", "From the position information, the system may determine a heading/course of the vehicle in step 310 for each position determined for the vehicle.", "One method of determining the vehicle heading/course is to determine a vector between an immediately previous position and the currently obtained position.", "In some arrangements, other information from sensors such as gyroscopes and accelerometers may be used to supplement this determination of the heading/course.", "In a particular example, the amount of turning of the steering wheel may also be used to confirm or support a heading/course determination.", "For example, the steering wheel direction may be mapped to a heading/course of the vehicle or an amount of change in heading/course.", "Accordingly, such information may supplement a heading/course determination using GPS or triangulation.", "The heading/course may be defined in a variety of ways, including using magnetic north as a reference vector or using another predefined reference vector, and may be represented as an angle relative to the reference vector.", "In step 315, a difference between each pair of immediately adjacent (time-wise) headings within the sliding window is calculated.", "The system may calculate two differences in heading/course, an unsigned difference (e.g., absolute value) as well as a signed difference.", "An unsigned difference may correspond to a sum of the absolute values of the headings, while an signed different may correspond to a sum of the signed values of the headings.", "Once the differences have been determined for each pair of immediately adjacent headings within the sliding window, the system may then determine both an unsigned sum of the heading differences as well as a signed sum in step 320.Using the unsigned sum, the system may determine whether a turn has occurred based on whether the sum exceeds a predefined threshold angle in step 325.In one example, the threshold angle may be 58°.", "As such, if the unsigned sum is 58° or higher, the system may determine that the vehicle made a turn.", "On the other hand, if the unsigned sum is less than 58°, the system might not identify the movement as a turn.", "According to some empirical studies, use of a 58° threshold provides a high level of accuracy in determining whether a vehicle has registered a turn.", "Of course, other thresholds may be used.", "In some instances, if the unsigned sum is less than the turn threshold, but higher than a second threshold, the system may use other data to confirm whether the movement corresponds to a turn.", "Additionally, the system may further determine whether the turn is a right turn or a left turn based on the signed sum in step 330 if a turn is detected according to step 325.For example, a negative signed sum may indicate a left turn while a positive signed sum may indicate a right turn.", "In some examples, if a turn is not detected, the process may return to step 315 to process a new window of vehicle movement data.", "Note the steps of FIG.", "3 may be constantly performed irrespective of whether a turn has been detected.", "If the system detects a turn, the system may further record data in association with the turn in step 335.The recorded data may include sensor information including speed, rate of turn, deceleration, acceleration, standard deviation of angle change, circular variance, amount or number of direction changes, accuracy of the location (e.g., accuracy of GPS or triangulation), moments of change, derivative of change in sign, whether an airbag deployed, whether a collision occurred, whether a turn signal was used, whether honking was detected and the like and/or combinations thereof.", "The system may constantly (e.g., continuously) or periodically collect sensor data irrespective of whether a turn is detected.", "However, this data might only be stored to long-term storage and/or in association with a turn event when a turn is detected.", "Additionally, only a portion of the collected data may be stored.", "For example, sensor data (or other data) for a predefined period within, overlapping or surrounding the turn event may be placed in long-term storage and/or associated with the turn event.", "Some systems may store a window of data that includes the time window in which the turn was detected as well as a previous and subsequent period (e.g., 5 seconds, 10 seconds, 1 second, 1 minute, etc.).", "Alternatively, the data storage window may correspond to the turn event window as well as a subsequent period (e.g., 5 seconds, 30 seconds, 1 minute, 10 minutes, etc.).", "Other data may also be stored in association with the turn event, including driver characteristics (e.g., age, driving experience, accident history, etc.)", "and vehicle characteristics (e.g., make, model, year, safety features, engine type, horsepower, etc.).", "Turn detection may also be integrated into other vehicle functions such as speed control, turn signaling, headlight aiming and the like.", "In one example, upon detecting a turn, the system may employ speed control to cap the speed with which a vehicle may make a turn.", "Alternatively or additionally, the system may modify headlight direction based on the heading of the vehicle upon detection of a turn.", "Still further, a turn signal may automatically activate if a turn is detected.", "A variety of other controls may be integrated with the turn detection system and process.", "In one or more arrangements, data may be collected from sensors and other devices from other vehicles in a vicinity of the vehicle for which movement is being monitored and evaluated.", "In one example, when a turn is detected for a first vehicle, data from one or more second vehicles in a specified vicinity (e.g., a radius of 500 feet) may be queried for additional data, such as image/video/audio data, environmental information (temperature, weather, road slickness, humidity, etc.", "), traffic conditions, speed (of surrounding traffic or of the vehicle-in-question) and the like and/or combinations thereof.", "While in some systems, the other vehicles may collect driving/movement information at all times or otherwise irrespective of the turn event of the first vehicle, in other systems, the other vehicles may be triggered to begin recording data.", "Moreover, a system may request particular types of data from the other vehicles.", "Accordingly, the other vehicles might only activate sensors or otherwise record the data being requested.", "In systems where the vehicle might be collecting data irrespective of the detected movement event of the first vehicle, the other vehicles might only provide the requested data (e.g., types of data, periods of time for the data, etc.).", "In other instances, the other vehicles might provide all collected data for parsing/filtering by the requesting device or system.", "The data may be requested and sent to either a third party system or to the vehicle (or device associated therewith).", "FIG.", "4A illustrates the manner in which heading/course vectors may be determined based on position information.", "For example, each of points 401a, 401b, 401c, 401d, 401e and 401f may correspond to positions of a vehicle detected at 1 second intervals.", "To determine the vehicle's heading/course at a particular point such as point 401b, the system may draw a vector 403a between an immediately previous position 401a and a current position 401b and determine an angle of this vector 403a relative to a reference line, such as magnetic north 405.The determined angle may thus represent the heading/course of the vehicle at the corresponding point.", "For example, the heading/course at point 401b, as identified by vector 403b, may be determined to be 10° relative to magnetic north 405.This process may be performed for each position 401c, 401d, 401e, and 401f within the sliding window to identify corresponding vectors 403b, 403c, 403d and 403e and headings/course, respectively.", "FIG.", "4B illustrates how the vectors are then processed to evaluate whether the vehicle has registered a turn.", "As discussed, a difference between the headings/courses of each pair of vectors 403a, 403b, 403c, 403d and 40e may be calculated.", "These differences may then be summed in both signed and unsigned manners to generate values for comparison to various thresholds and conditions in determining whether a turn has been made and a direction of the turn.", "In the illustrated example, the unsigned sum of the headings is 90° which is greater than the illustrative turn detection threshold of 58°, while the signed sum of the vehicle headings is −90°, indicating a left turn.", "The detection of vehicle movements such as turns may assist in developing a database of information relating to risks such as risk of loss in an insurance context.", "Accordingly, when evaluating an individual for insurance coverage, a system may consider various characteristics of a user's driving behavior and compare these characteristics against the database associating risk of loss with various types of driving behavior or other characteristics.", "FIG.", "5 is a flowchart illustrating a process for determining correlations between driving behavior and risk of loss.", "In step 500, a system may collect a plurality of turn events registered for one or more vehicles.", "For example, an insurance system may identify multiple turns registered for multiple vehicles insured by that entity.", "In step 505, the system may then filter the turn events down to those that have been associated with a loss event.", "For example, based on the collected data as discussed herein, the system may identify turns where an accident (or other loss event) occurred within the turning period or within a predefined amount of time of the turn event.", "Loss events may be detected using the sensor data collected from the turning vehicle or from one or more vehicles within a specified proximity.", "Moreover, loss events may be filtered based on a distance from the turning vehicle so that accidents or other loss events that are sufficiently remote from the turning vehicle are not associated.", "In one example, only sensor data collected for a particular area (e.g., 300 yard radius) around the vehicle may be used in identifying loss events (or other events).", "A time proximity may also be applied to filter events or data.", "Accordingly, only events occurring or data collected within a specified time period of a vehicle movement (e.g., a turn event) might be evaluated against the movement.", "In step 510, the system may subsequently select a set of one or more characteristics or attributes to compare against the filtered set of turns associated with an accident.", "In some examples, a set of attributes may be pre-determined based on empirical studies showing that, for example, speed, turn rate, rate of acceleration, rate of deceleration, direction of turn and the like may be significant factors in whether a loss event occurs.", "In step 515, the system may, for each attribute, determine a value or range of values of that attribute exhibiting at least a threshold percentage of loss events, e.g., a threshold percentage of the filtered population of turn events.", "In one example, the system may apply a threshold of 75% and determine a range of turn rates that encompasses 75% of the loss-associated turn events.", "In another example, the system may apply a threshold of 80% for determining a rate of deceleration (or range of rates) that covers 80% of the loss-associated turn events.", "The same or different probabilities/percentages may be applied for the different attributes.", "Alternatively or additionally, the system may determine a probability for a set of values of each attribute in step 520.For example, a probability of a loss event may be determined for every 5 mph speed range (e.g.", "1-5 mph, 6-10 mph, 11-15, mph, 16-20 mph, etc.)", "using the filtered data set of turn events.", "In another example, a probability of a loss event may be determined for multiple turn rate ranges.", "In a particular example, a first loss probability for turn rates 1-5 degrees per second may be determined based on the filtered turn data, while a second loss probability for turn rates of 6-10 degrees per second may be determined.", "These probabilities/risks may then be stored in step 525 for future lookup and use.", "Risk of loss may also be calculated based on non-movement attributes including driver attributes, such as age, driving experience, and driving infraction history, as well as geographic variables, such as location, population and the like.", "In one example, a risk of loss may be calculated for various age groups such as 18-21, 22-29, 30-35 and the like.", "Alternatively or additionally, risk of loss may also be calculated for different locations (e.g., cities, jurisdictions, zip codes, etc.).", "Additionally or alternatively, loss events or attributes contributing to a loss event might further be associated with a cost.", "These costs might be determined based on the cost of replacement, cost of repair or the like and/or combinations thereof.", "Such costs might be used in calculating a premium for a driver.", "Once risks of loss have been determined for the desired variables, a system may use this information in a variety of ways, including evaluating insurability of a vehicle or driver, calculating an overall risk for covering a particular vehicle or driver, determining an insurance premium, predicting accidents or other loss events and the like.", "FIG.", "6 illustrates an example process by which loss probability information may be applied.", "In step 600, for example, an insurance system may receive information regarding a vehicle and a driver.", "The information may be received as part of an insurance quote request in one configuration.", "In step 605, the system may determine one or more attributes of the vehicle and/or driver.", "In some examples, the system may retrieve driving behavior information of the driver based on public records or previously recorded driving data if, for instance, the driver or vehicle is currently insured by the same entity.", "Various other vehicle and driver attributes have been described throughout this disclosure.", "In step 610, the system may determine a risk of loss associated with each of the one or more attributes.", "If multiple attributes are used, the system may derive a composite risk of loss in step 615 by combining the risks determined for each of the attributes.", "The risks may be combined by calculating a multiplicative product of the risks, averaging the risks (with or without weighting) and/or other algorithms.", "Based on the determined risk of loss or combined risk of loss, the system may then determine whether the driver or vehicle meets an insurability threshold in step 620.If so, the system may further determine an insurance premium based on the level of risk associated with the vehicle and/or driver in step 625.For example, the premium may increase linearly or multiplicatively based on the associated risk.", "If, on the other hand, the system determines that the driver or vehicle does not meet the insurability threshold, the system may respond to the driver with a notification of the same in step 630.In some examples, the system may provide an explanation or details for the denial of coverage, such as the risk of loss being too high.", "The system may also provide detailed information including various driver characteristics or driver history that negatively impacted the determination.", "While the aspects described herein have been discussed with respect to specific examples including various modes of carrying out aspects of the disclosure, those skilled in the art will appreciate that there are numerous variations and permutations of the above described systems and techniques that fall within the spirit and scope of the invention.", "For example, the processes, systems, apparatuses and other aspects of the present disclosure have been described with respect to insurance processing for buildings.", "However, the same or similar features may be applied to a variety of contexts including product sales, service offerings, real estate and the like." ] ]
Patent_15873211
[ [ "MAGNETIC WATERMARKING OF A PRINTED SUBSTRATE BY METAMERIC RENDERING", "A document may include a non-magnetic substrate, a first colorant mixture printed as a first image upon the substrate, the first colorant mixture including a magnetic ink, and a second colorant mixture printed as a second image upon the substrate in substantially close spatial proximity to the printed first colorant mixture.", "The second colorant mixture may consist essentially of one or more non-magnetic inks and exhibit properties of both low visual contrast and high magnetic contrast against the first colorant mixture, such that the resultant printed substrate does not reveal the first image to the human eye, but will reveal the first image to a magnetic image reader." ], [ "1.A method of printing a mark on a substrate, comprising, by a digital color printing system: printing a first colorant mixture onto a substrate as a first repeating distraction pattern, wherein: the first colorant mixture comprises a first colorant and a second colorant, at least one of which comprises a magnetic ink, and the first repeating distraction pattern comprises the first colorant printed in mosaic combination with the second colorant; and printing a second colorant mixture onto the substrate as a second repeating distraction pattern, wherein: the second colorant mixture comprises a third colorant and a fourth colorant, at least one of which comprises a non-magnetic ink, the second colorant mixture exhibits properties of both low visual contrast and high magnetic contrast with respect to the first colorant mixture, and the second repeating distraction pattern comprises the third colorant printed in mosaic combination with the fourth colorant; wherein: the printing steps print the first and second repeating distraction patterns in substantially close spatial proximity to each other, the first repeating distraction pattern is not visible to the human eye, and the first repeating distraction pattern is detectable by a magnetic sensitive device.", "2.The method of claim 1, further comprising printing a third colorant mixture onto the substrate as a third repeating distraction pattern, wherein: the third colorant mixture comprises a fifth colorant and a sixth colorant, at least one of which comprises a magnetic ink; the third repeating distraction pattern comprises the fifth colorant printed in mosaic combination with the sixth colorant; and the third colorant mixture exhibits a magnetic field strength that differs from a magnetic field strength of the first colorant mixture.", "3.The method of claim 1, wherein the first colorant mixture exhibits a visual color and the second colorant mixture exhibits the same visual color.", "4.The method of claim 1, wherein: the first colorant mixture comprises a black colorant; the second colorant mixture comprises a yellow colorant, a cyan colorant, and a magenta colorant; and the first and second colorant mixtures exhibit substantially similar grayscale values.", "5.The method of claim 4, wherein the black colorant comprises a carbon black toner or ink.", "6.The method of claim 1, wherein the first colorant mixture and the second colorant mixture are a close metameric color match under illumination but differ in their response under magnetic sensing.", "7.The method of claim 1, wherein the substrate is a non-magnetic substrate.", "8.The method of claim 1, wherein: printing the first repeating distraction pattern comprises printing the first colorant and the second colorant in a diamond checkerboard pattern, an orthogonal checkerboard pattern, or a polka-dot pattern; and printing the second repeating distraction pattern comprises printing the third colorant and the fourth colorant in a diamond checkerboard pattern, an orthogonal checkerboard pattern, or a polka-dot pattern.", "9.The method of claim 1, wherein the first repeating distraction pattern and the second repeating distraction pattern are the same.", "10.The method of claim 1, wherein printing the first repeating distraction pattern is performed before printing the second distraction pattern so that the first repeating distraction pattern comprises a background and the second repeating distraction pattern comprises an image.", "11.The method of claim 1, wherein: the first colorant and the third colorant exhibit substantially similar average colors under normal light, and substantially different magnetic responses; and the second colorant and the fourth colorant are identical.", "12.A method of printing a mark on a substrate, comprising, by a digital color printing system: printing a first repeating distraction pattern onto a substrate by printing a first colorant in mosaic combination with a second colorant; and printing a second repeating distraction pattern onto the substrate by printing a third colorant in mosaic combination with a fourth colorant in close spatial proximity to the first repeating distraction pattern; wherein: the colorants of one of the repeating distraction patterns comprises a magnetic ink, none of the colorants of the other repeating distraction pattern comprises a magnetic ink, the colorants of the first repeating distraction pattern exhibit properties of both low visual contrast and high magnetic contrast with respect to the colorants of the second repeating distraction pattern, the first repeating distraction pattern is not visible to the human eye, and the first repeating distraction pattern is detectable by a magnetic sensitive device.", "13.The method of claim 12, wherein the first colorant mixture exhibits a visual color and the second colorant mixture exhibits the same visual color.", "14.The method of claim 12, wherein: the first colorant and the second colorant together provide a first colorant mixture that comprises a black colorant; the third colorant and the fourth colorant together provide a second colorant mixture; and the first and second colorant mixtures exhibit substantially similar grayscale values.", "15.The method of claim 14, wherein the first colorant mixture and the second colorant mixture are a close metameric color match under illumination but differ in their response under magnetic sensing.", "16.The method of claim 12, wherein: printing the first repeating distraction pattern comprises printing the first colorant and the second colorant in a diamond checkerboard pattern, an orthogonal checkerboard pattern, or a polka-dot pattern; and printing the second repeating distraction pattern comprises printing the third colorant and the fourth colorant in a diamond checkerboard pattern, an orthogonal checkerboard pattern, or a polka-dot pattern.", "17.The method of claim 12, wherein: the first colorant and the third colorant exhibit substantially similar average colors under normal ambient light, and substantially different magnetic responses; and the second colorant and the fourth colorant are identical.", "18.A method of printing a mark on a substrate, comprising, by a digital color printing system: printing a first repeating distraction pattern onto a substrate by printing at least one colorant that comprises a magnetic ink on the substrate; and printing a second repeating distraction pattern onto the substrate by printing at least one colorant, each of which is a non-magnetic ink, in close spatial proximity to the first repeating distraction pattern; wherein: the colorants of the first repeating distraction pattern exhibit properties of both low visual contrast and high magnetic contrast with respect to the colorants of the second repeating distraction pattern, the first repeating distraction pattern is not visible to the human eye, and the first repeating distraction pattern is detectable by a magnetic sensitive device.", "19.The method of claim 18, wherein the first repeating distraction pattern exhibits a visual color and the second repeating distraction pattern exhibits the same visual color.", "20.The method of claim 18, wherein: the first repeating distraction pattern comprises a black colorant; and the first and second repeating distraction patterns exhibit substantially similar grayscale values." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND <EOH>This application relates to the useful manipulation of magnetic components found in toners as commonly utilized in various printer and electrostatographic print environments.", "More specifically, the present disclosure relates to at least one realization of magnetic encoding of data elements or magnetic marks in combination with distraction patterns.", "To detect counterfeiting, various document security systems are available.", "For example, watermarking is a common way to ensure security in digital documents.", "Many watermarking approaches exist with different trade-offs in cost, fragility, robustness, etc.", "One prior art approach is to use special ink rendering where the inks are invisible under standard illumination.", "These inks normally respond to light outside the visible range and thereby may be made visible.", "Examples of such extra-spectral techniques are UV (ultra-violet) and IR (infrared).", "This traditional approach is to render the encoded data with special inks that are not visible under normal light, but that have strong distinguishing characteristics under the special spectral illumination.", "Determination of the presence or absence of such encoding may be thereby subsequently performed using an appropriate light source and detector.", "One example of this approach is found in U.S. Pat.", "No.", "7,614,558 to Katsurabayashi et al.", "However, these special inks and materials are often difficult to incorporate into standard electro-photographic or other non-impact printing systems like solid ink printers, either due to cost, availability or physical/chemical properties.", "This in turn discourages their use in variable data printing arrangements, such as for redeemable coupons or other personalized printed media for example.", "Another approach taken is a document where copy control is provided by digital watermarking, as for example in U.S. Pat.", "No.", "5,734,752 to Knox, where there is provided a method for generating data encoding in the form of a watermark in a digitally reproducible document which are substantially invisible including the steps of: (1) producing a first stochastic screen pattern suitable for reproducing a gray image on a document; (2) deriving at least one stochastic screen description that is related to said first pattern; (3) producing a document containing the first stochastic screen; (4) producing a second document containing one or more of the stochastic screens in combination, whereby upon placing the first and second document in superposition relationship to allow viewing of both documents together, correlation between the first stochastic pattern on each document occurs everywhere within the documents where the first screen is used, and correlation does not occur where the area where the derived stochastic screens occur and the image placed therein using the derived stochastic screens becomes visible.", "With each of the above patents and citations, and those mentioned below, the disclosures therein are totally incorporated by reference herein in their entirety for their teachings." ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY <EOH>Before the present systems, devices and methods are described, it is to be understood that this disclosure is not limited to the particular systems, devices and methods described, as these may vary.", "It is also to be understood that the terminology used in the description is for the purpose of describing the particular versions or embodiments only, and is not intended to limit the scope.", "It must also be noted that as used herein and in the appended claims, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural references unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.", "Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meanings as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art.", "Although any methods, materials, and devices similar or equivalent to those described herein can be used in the practice or testing of embodiments, the preferred methods, materials, and devices are now described.", "All publications mentioned herein are incorporated by reference.", "Nothing herein is to be construed as an admission that the embodiments described herein are not entitled to antedate such disclosure by virtue of prior invention.", "As used herein, the term “comprising” means “including, but not limited to.” In an embodiment, a document may include a non-magnetic substrate, a first colorant mixture printed as a first image upon the substrate, the first colorant mixture including a magnetic ink, and a second colorant mixture printed as a second image upon the substrate in substantially close spatial proximity to the printed first colorant mixture.", "The second colorant mixture may consist essentially of one or more non-magnetic inks and exhibit properties of both low visual contrast and high magnetic contrast against the first colorant mixture, such that the resultant printed substrate does not reveal the first image to the human eye, but will reveal the first image to a magnetic image reader.", "In an embodiment, a method for creating a mark on a document may include printing at least one first colorant mixture as a first image upon a non-magnetic substrate, the first colorant mixture having a property of high magnetic contrast in relation to the substrate, and printing at least one second colorant mixture as a second image upon the substrate in substantially close spatial proximity to the printed first colorant mixture, the second colorant mixture having a property of low magnetic contrast in relation to the substrate and a property of low visual contrast in comparison to the first colorant mixture.", "In an embodiment, a document may include a non-magnetic substrate, a first colorant mixture printed as a first image upon the substrate, the first colorant mixture having a property of high magnetic contrast in conjunction with the substrate, and a second colorant mixture printed as a second image upon the substrate in substantially close spatial proximity to the printed first colorant mixture, the second colorant mixture having a property of low magnetic contrast in conjunction with the substrate, and a property of low visual contrast against the first colorant mixture, such that the resultant printed substrate image will yield a discernable pattern evident as a magnetic mark when viewed with a magnetic image reader." ], [ "RELATED APPLICATIONS AND CLAIM OF PRIORITY This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "12/546,848, entitled Magnetic Watermarking of a Printed Substrate by Metameric Rendering, filed on Aug. 25, 2009, the disclosure of which is fully incorporated into this document by reference.", "BACKGROUND This application relates to the useful manipulation of magnetic components found in toners as commonly utilized in various printer and electrostatographic print environments.", "More specifically, the present disclosure relates to at least one realization of magnetic encoding of data elements or magnetic marks in combination with distraction patterns.", "To detect counterfeiting, various document security systems are available.", "For example, watermarking is a common way to ensure security in digital documents.", "Many watermarking approaches exist with different trade-offs in cost, fragility, robustness, etc.", "One prior art approach is to use special ink rendering where the inks are invisible under standard illumination.", "These inks normally respond to light outside the visible range and thereby may be made visible.", "Examples of such extra-spectral techniques are UV (ultra-violet) and IR (infrared).", "This traditional approach is to render the encoded data with special inks that are not visible under normal light, but that have strong distinguishing characteristics under the special spectral illumination.", "Determination of the presence or absence of such encoding may be thereby subsequently performed using an appropriate light source and detector.", "One example of this approach is found in U.S. Pat.", "No.", "7,614,558 to Katsurabayashi et al.", "However, these special inks and materials are often difficult to incorporate into standard electro-photographic or other non-impact printing systems like solid ink printers, either due to cost, availability or physical/chemical properties.", "This in turn discourages their use in variable data printing arrangements, such as for redeemable coupons or other personalized printed media for example.", "Another approach taken is a document where copy control is provided by digital watermarking, as for example in U.S. Pat.", "No.", "5,734,752 to Knox, where there is provided a method for generating data encoding in the form of a watermark in a digitally reproducible document which are substantially invisible including the steps of: (1) producing a first stochastic screen pattern suitable for reproducing a gray image on a document; (2) deriving at least one stochastic screen description that is related to said first pattern; (3) producing a document containing the first stochastic screen; (4) producing a second document containing one or more of the stochastic screens in combination, whereby upon placing the first and second document in superposition relationship to allow viewing of both documents together, correlation between the first stochastic pattern on each document occurs everywhere within the documents where the first screen is used, and correlation does not occur where the area where the derived stochastic screens occur and the image placed therein using the derived stochastic screens becomes visible.", "With each of the above patents and citations, and those mentioned below, the disclosures therein are totally incorporated by reference herein in their entirety for their teachings.", "SUMMARY Before the present systems, devices and methods are described, it is to be understood that this disclosure is not limited to the particular systems, devices and methods described, as these may vary.", "It is also to be understood that the terminology used in the description is for the purpose of describing the particular versions or embodiments only, and is not intended to limit the scope.", "It must also be noted that as used herein and in the appended claims, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural references unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.", "Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meanings as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art.", "Although any methods, materials, and devices similar or equivalent to those described herein can be used in the practice or testing of embodiments, the preferred methods, materials, and devices are now described.", "All publications mentioned herein are incorporated by reference.", "Nothing herein is to be construed as an admission that the embodiments described herein are not entitled to antedate such disclosure by virtue of prior invention.", "As used herein, the term “comprising” means “including, but not limited to.” In an embodiment, a document may include a non-magnetic substrate, a first colorant mixture printed as a first image upon the substrate, the first colorant mixture including a magnetic ink, and a second colorant mixture printed as a second image upon the substrate in substantially close spatial proximity to the printed first colorant mixture.", "The second colorant mixture may consist essentially of one or more non-magnetic inks and exhibit properties of both low visual contrast and high magnetic contrast against the first colorant mixture, such that the resultant printed substrate does not reveal the first image to the human eye, but will reveal the first image to a magnetic image reader.", "In an embodiment, a method for creating a mark on a document may include printing at least one first colorant mixture as a first image upon a non-magnetic substrate, the first colorant mixture having a property of high magnetic contrast in relation to the substrate, and printing at least one second colorant mixture as a second image upon the substrate in substantially close spatial proximity to the printed first colorant mixture, the second colorant mixture having a property of low magnetic contrast in relation to the substrate and a property of low visual contrast in comparison to the first colorant mixture.", "In an embodiment, a document may include a non-magnetic substrate, a first colorant mixture printed as a first image upon the substrate, the first colorant mixture having a property of high magnetic contrast in conjunction with the substrate, and a second colorant mixture printed as a second image upon the substrate in substantially close spatial proximity to the printed first colorant mixture, the second colorant mixture having a property of low magnetic contrast in conjunction with the substrate, and a property of low visual contrast against the first colorant mixture, such that the resultant printed substrate image will yield a discernable pattern evident as a magnetic mark when viewed with a magnetic image reader.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Aspects, features, benefits and advantages of the present application will be apparent with regard to the following description and accompanying drawings, of which: FIG.", "1 schematically depicts metameric situations where different colorant combinations and distributions lead to identical visual impressions under normal illumination according to an embodiment.", "FIG.", "2 schematically depicts in cross-sectional profile two instances where a single visual color black is achieved with different colorant combinations according to an embodiment.", "FIG.", "3 depicts a method of using colorant or colorant mixtures to render an example alphanumeric character according to an embodiment.", "FIG.", "4 depicts a method of creating an example alphanumeric character utilizing colorant mixture patterns including a colorant mixture distraction pattern.", "FIG.", "5 depicts two colorant mixtures that yield identical Lab values, but which have different magnetic response properties according to an embodiment.", "FIG.", "6 depicts a magnetic coding of a magnetic mark in the form of an “X”, where the magnetic mark is formed through the use of MICR black toner according to an embodiment.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION The following terms shall have, for the purposes of this application, the meanings set forth below.", "For the purposes of the discussion below, “data” refers to information in numeric form that can be digitally transmitted or processed.", "An “image”, as a pattern of physical light or a collection of data representing said physical light, may include characters, words, and text as well as other features such as graphics.", "A “digital image”, by extension, is an image represented by a collection of digital data.", "An image may be divided into “segments,” each of which is itself an image.", "A segment of an image may be of any size up to and including the whole image.", "The term “image object” or “object” as used herein is generally equivalent to the term “segment” and will be employed herein interchangeably.", "In the event that one term or the other is deemed to be narrower or broader than the other, the teaching as provided herein and claimed below is directed to the more broadly determined definitional term, unless that term is otherwise specifically limited within the claim itself.", "In a digital image composed of data representing physical light, each element of data may be called a “pixel,” which is common usage in the art and refers to a picture element.", "Each pixel has a location and value.", "Each pixel value may be one or more bits in a binary form, a gray scale value in a gray scale form, or a set of color space coordinates in a color coordinate form.", "The binary form, gray scale form, and color coordinate form may each form a two-dimensional array defining an image.", "An operation performs “image processing” when it operates on an item of data that relates to part of an image.", "“Contrast” is used to denote the visual difference between items, data points, and the like.", "It can be measured as a color difference or as a luminance difference or both.", "A “digital color printing system” is an apparatus arrangement suited to accepting image data and rendering that image data upon a substrate.", "A “colorant” is one of the fundamental subtractive C, M, Y, K primaries (cyan, magenta, yellow, and black) which may be realized in formulation as liquid ink, solid ink, dye, electrostatographic toner, or other printable material.", "A “colorant mixture” is a particular combination of C, M, Y, K colorants.", "“Toner” refers to the wet or dry material that forms an image or text on a substrate.", "The terms ink and toner are used interchangeably to refer to this material.", "“Magnetic ink” may refer to ink that is used in magnetic ink character recognition (“MICR”), a character recognition technology where MICR characters are printed with magnetic ink or toner.", "Positive additives to the magnetic ink or toner may include iron oxide.", "“Non-magnetic ink” may refer to an ink that does not exhibit a magnetic field or only exhibits a nominal magnetic field that is substantially and measurably different from that of magnetic ink.", "“Metameric rendering” or “metameric printing” is the ability to use multiple colorant combinations to render a single visual color, as can be achieved when printing with more than three colorants.", "It is understood, in this context, that an ideal metameric match may only be achieved in non-realistic laboratory viewing conditions and that here, and in the subsequent paragraphs, the term is used to indicate a practical visual match given the viewing environment of the user.", "There is a well established understanding in the printing industry regarding the utilization of magnetic inks in combination with magnetic detection devices as employed for security marks, particularly as a technique to deter counterfeiting or unauthorized copying and to facilitate check processing in banks.", "See for example: U.S. Pat.", "No.", "3,000,000 to Eldredge.", "However, there remains a long standing need for a technique which will provide similar benefits but with lower complexity and cost, particularly in a digital printing environment, and using common consumables.", "FIG.", "1 depicts a conceptualization of metameric printing for a human observer.", "The visual response for a human observer is in most practical applications described sufficiently with a three component system, such as that defined by the International Commission on Illumination (“CIE”).", "In an idealized system with ideal toners, all four areas 10 in FIGS.", "1(a), (b), (c), and (d) will result in the same visual response under normal illumination, which also may be referred to by those skilled in the art as having the same Lab values.", "Inside the predetermined area 10, different amounts of yellow 20, magenta 30, cyan 40 and black 50 colorant are deposited, as in a standard four color printing process.", "Also, dependent on the overlap provided with the different colorants, the mixtures blue 35 and red 45 are created from cyan 40 and magenta 30, or yellow 20 and magenta 30 respectively.", "FIG.", "2 in cross-section conceptually shows different ways in which the visual color black can be achieved either by using a black colorant 50, or in the alternative by the superposition of yellow 20, magenta 30, and cyan 40, colorants as printed onto the substrate print surface 60.An important aspect depicted by FIG.", "2 is that a single color, in this case black, can be achieved by a multitude of metameric colorant combinations, of which but two are shown in this example.", "In general, every system that maps N components to n components with N>n, will have a multitude of ways to accomplish this mapping.", "It is understood by those skilled in the art that singularities might exist in the mapping so that certain visual triplets can only be achieved with a single or a small number of colorant quadruplets.", "Again, as will be understood by those skilled in the art, utilization of more than the standard four colorants is comprehended and contemplated in the claims below, and only omitted for clarity of explanation as being redundant and unnecessary for those skilled in the art.", "As is provided by example in FIG.", "1, the same visual color can be achieved with different amounts and combinations of the respective available colorants.", "From FIGS.", "1(c) and (d) it should be clear from noting the overlap of magenta 30 and cyan 40 in (c), that the same amount of colorants have been used and all that has been changed is the spatial distribution only.", "In examples provided in FIGS.", "1(a) and (b) however, the black colorant 50 provided there could conceptually be replaced by a super imposition of the three colorants yellow 20, magenta 30 and cyan 40 as is indicated in FIG.", "2 without changing the visual perception of the color.", "Under standard illumination, a human observer would not be able during normal observation scenarios to distinguish the way a rendered color was produced from amongst the various achievable colorant combinations.", "This commonly understood effect is often employed to select, as the best colorant combination from amongst the plethora of achievable combinations, that combination which favors some secondary requirement, such as materials use, cost, stability, and the like.", "Indeed, as will be readily noted by those skilled in the art, under-color removal is often employed so as to maximize black, and minimize C, M and Y colorant usage, so as to thereby minimize the cost for rendering a given color page.", "The techniques taught herein work by finding colorant mask patterns that have identical CIE Lab values and so are hard to distinguish from each other under normal light.", "In the disclosed embodiments, the colorant mask patterns may exhibit very dissimilar magnetic responses, and thus display a high magnetic contrast with respect to one another when read by a magnetic reading device.", "This dissimilarity in magnetic responses under magnetic sensing can be easily detected with an image-based magnetic sensor, which may in essence be a magnetic camera.", "One example embodiment employs this difference by toggling between the black visual color caused by using a black colorant that exhibits a first magnetic property, and the black visual color caused by a combination of the cyan, magenta and yellow colorants that exhibits a different magnetic property, alternating the placement of each between either the background or foreground areas in close spatial proximity and complementary counter-opposition.", "FIG.", "3 shows an exemplary application of the teachings enumerated above.", "In FIG.", "3, a document may include a non-magnetic substrate, a first colorant mixture 300, and a second colorant mixture 301.The first colorant mixture 300 may be printed as a first image upon the substrate.", "The first colorant mixture 300 may include magnetic ink.", "Alternatively, the first colorant mixture 300 may have a property of high magnetic contrast in conjunction with the substrate.", "The second colorant mixture 301 may be printed as a second image upon the substrate in substantially close spatial proximity to the printed first colorant mixture 300.As used in this document, substantially close spatial proximity means that the two images have boundaries that abut each other, overlap, or are so close to each other that the boundary is not visually perceptible to a human under ordinary ambient viewing conditions.", "The second colorant mixture 301 may consist essentially of one or more non-magnetic inks and exhibit properties of both low visual contrast and high magnetic contrast against the first colorant mixture 300 such that the resultant printed substrate does not reveal the first image to the human eye but may reveal the first image to a magnetic image reader.", "Alternatively, the second colorant mixture 301 may have a property of low magnetic contrast in conjunction with the substrate, and a property of low visual contrast against the first colorant mixture 300, such that the resultant printed substrate image will yield a discernable pattern evident as a magnetic mark when viewed with a magnetic image reader.", "As used herein, low visual contrast means that a visual comparison of two printed items exhibits no perceptible color change.", "High magnetic contrast means that, when two materials printed on a substrate are compared, one exhibits a significantly greater magnetic response than the other.", "In an embodiment, the first colorant mixture 300 may exhibit a visual color and the second colorant mixture 301 may exhibit the same visual color.", "The first colorant mixture 300 may include predominately black colorant.", "For example, the first colorant mixture may be a carbon black toner or ink.", "The second colorant mixture 301 may include yellow, cyan, and magenta.", "The first and second colorant mixtures 300 and 301 may exhibit substantially similar grayscale values.", "The first colorant mixture 300 and the second colorant mixture 301 may further be a close metameric color match under normal illumination but different in their response under magnetic sensing.", "In an embodiment, the substrate may be paper.", "Alternatively, the substrate may be a transparency, packaging material, plastic, or other medium on which toner may be printed.", "Each colorant mixture 300 or 301 may be either a single CMYK colorant or any mixture of CMYK colorants.", "They will, however, differ in that colorant mixture 301 will be selected so as to provide higher magnetic response than that selected for colorant mixture 300, or vice versa.", "However, in some embodiments, the colorant mixtures 300 and 301 will be selected most optimally to match each other closely in their average color under normal light, while at the same time differing in their average magnetic response.", "Thus, under normal illumination, area 302 would look to a human observer as a constant or quasi constant color or pattern, while under magnetic sensing tool area 302 would separate into two distinct areas represented by colorant mixtures 300 and 301 exhibiting a clear contrast to a magnetic sensitive device such as a magnetic camera or MICR reader device.", "Thus, the magnetic sensitive device would show an image 303 in which the magnetic ink is highlighted, and the image 303 formed by the magnetic ink is revealed.", "In an embodiment, the document may further include a third colorant mixture 304 printed as a third image 305 upon the substrate.", "The third colorant mixture 304 may exhibit a visual color and/or magnetic field strength that differs from that of the first colorant mixture 300 and/or the second colorant mixture 301.As a further example, an approximately 50% grayscale gray colorant mixture may be realized with a halftone of black colorant only.", "This may then be matched against a colorant mixture comprising a high amount of yellow mixed with enough cyan and magenta to yield a similar approximate 50% grayscale gray colorant mixture.", "However, with the given high content of black colorant amount the single colorant halftone case will provide much higher absorption of magnetic ink as compared to the colorant mixture.", "Thus and thereby, two colorant mixtures may be realized which while appearing quite nearly identical under normal viewing illumination, will never-the-less appear quite different to the appropriate device under magnetic sensing conditions.", "Further, as will be understood by those skilled in the art, this may be approached as an intentional exploitation of metamerism to reproduce the same color response from two different colorant mixtures under normal viewing illumination.", "Mixtures which are optimized to vary sufficiently in their average magnetic response and are otherwise a close metameric match under normal room lighting.", "A method for creating a mark on a document may include printing at least one first colorant mixture 300 as a first image 303 upon a non-magnetic substrate, and printing at least one second colorant mixture 301 as a second image upon the substrate in substantially close spatial proximity to the printed first colorant mixture 300.The first colorant mixture 300 may have a property of high magnetic contrast in relation to the substrate, and the second colorant mixture 301 may have a property of low magnetic contrast in relation to the substrate and a property of low visual contrast in comparison to the first colorant mixture 300.In an embodiment, the method may further include printing a third image on the substrate.", "The third image may include at least the first colorant mixture and the second colorant mixture arranged in close spatial proximity to each other.", "The spatial image arrangement of the at least two colorant mixtures may reveal a magnetic mark to a suitable magnetic image reader.", "Alternatively, the method may further include printing a third colorant mixture 304 as a third image 305 upon the substrate.", "The third colorant mixture 304 may exhibit a magnetic field strength that differs from than of the first colorant mixture 300.It is understood that printing of this third colorant mixture is preferably done as an overprint (addition) to the previously deposited colorant mixtures rather than as a replacement of the previously deposited colorant mixtures.", "For FIG.", "3, this means that the colorant mixture 304 will result in two colorant mixtures 304/300 and 304/301 dependent on the previously deposited colorant mixture 300 or 301 at the location.", "The above-described approach, while effective, may sometimes be discernable under normal illumination to those observers consciously aware and on the lookout for, or expecting a magnetic mark based on metameric rendering.", "This can for example be caused by an incorrect match due to printer imprecision/drift, and/or an incorrect match due to inherent calibration limitations, or based on differences in other colorant attributes, such as gloss.", "What is described herein below is a further technique which makes a magnetic mark that is increasingly difficult and even impossible for an unaided eye to discern absent the necessary magnetic sensing, as achieved by the incorporation of a distraction pattern.", "In another embodiment, the two colorant mixtures may be printed onto the substrate in the form of a distraction pattern.", "FIG.", "4 illustrates an example of such an embodiment.", "To make casual observation of a magnetic mark more difficult to discern by the lay observer, a spatial distraction pattern may be introduced with the differing colorant mixture selections described above.", "Each resultant color spatial pattern will on average have some given color appearance when viewed under normal light, and will exhibit, on average, some given level of magnetic response when viewed under magnetic sensing.", "FIG.", "4 depicts where one simple type of magnetic mark is simply a text string comprised of alphanumeric characters.", "The alphanumeric letter 403 selected in this FIG.", "4 is an “O”, and it can be represented as a two-state image—one state for the text image shape and the other state for the background.", "To construct this two-state image, two spatial color patterns 401 and 402 are provided, each corresponding to one of the two states.", "The two spatial colorant patterns are designed to have substantially similar average colors under normal light and yet substantially different magnetic responses.", "In an embodiment, the two spatial colorant patterns 401 and 402 are each provided as a repeating spatial pattern mosaic combination of one or more colors, each color in turn being itself either a single colorant or a CMYK colorant mixture.", "In an exemplary embodiment provided in FIG.", "4, there are contemplated four colorant mixtures, indicated as: CMYK1, CMYK2, CMYK3, and CMYK4.Fewer colorant mixtures may be used as will be discussed below, and as will be obvious to one skilled in the art more colorant mixtures may be employed as well.", "In this embodiment CMYK1 and CMYK2 are used to make up the first spatial colorant pattern 401.In turn CMYK3 and CMYK4 are used to make up the second spatial colorant pattern 402.The distraction pattern actually employed in this embodiment is a diamond checkerboard, but those skilled in the art will recognize the possibility of being able to select any number of other patterns, as for example a simple orthogonal checkerboard, or polka-dots.", "This pattern will act as a distraction to the eye and make it more difficult to discern the swapping between text/image and background.", "The actual distraction pattern granularity size is somewhat variable, flexible and empirical.", "The most optimum results are dependent upon the desired font or image size; the target print system to be employed for rendering; as well as the visual acuity of the target observer.", "Exemplary results will be realized when the spatial pattern used is the same or quite similar for both spatial colorant patterns 401 and 402.Returning to the example provided in FIG.", "4, the second spatial colorant pattern 402 is selected and applied to fill patch area 403, which is arranged in this example as an image depicting the alphanumeric symbol “O”.", "Further, the first spatial colorant pattern 401 is selected and applied to patch area 402 arranged here in substantially close spatial proximity to patch area 403, and thereby effecting a background pattern around patch area 403.Both the spatial colorant patterns 401 and 402 are exemplarily arranged so that the pattern appears to be nearly continuous across patch 402 and patch 403.However, while the two spatial colorant patterns are designed to have substantially similar average colors under normal light and substantially different average magnetic response, they may have at least one CMYK colorant mixture in common.", "For example in FIG.", "4, CMYK2 may be identical with CMYK4.This would mean that CMYK1 and CMYK3 would to have substantially similar average color levels under normal light and substantially different magnetic responses.", "It is understood that the description above also holds for cases where the colorants are magnetic, since in such cases, a strong magnetic coding can be observed.", "However, for cases where the colorants are in themselves magnetic, the order of colorant deposition becomes important and care has to be taken that the order use does not alter the desired properties.", "In some embodiments, common magnetic black colorants may be applied in close spatial proximity with non-magnetic chromatic colorants.", "Thus as discussed and provided above is a watermark embedded in an image that has the property of being nearly indecipherable by the unaided eye under normal light, and yet can easily be detected with a magnetic sensitive device.", "This magnetic mark comprises a magnetic readable substrate, and a first spatial colorant mixture pattern printed as an image upon the substrate.", "The first spatial colorant mixture pattern has the characteristic of low magnetic readability, as well as a property of low color contrast under normal illumination against a second spatial colorant mixture pattern.", "The second spatial colorant mixture pattern has a high magnetic readability, and printed in close spatial proximity to the first colorant mixture pattern, such that the resulting printed image suitably exposed to a magnetic read device, will yield a discernable pattern evident as a magnetic mark to the appropriate magnetic sensing device.", "FIG.", "5 depicts two colorant mixtures 501 and 502 yielding identical visual response, or identical Lab values, but maximally different magnetic response through utilizing non-magnetic ink in one mixture and MICR black toner in the other according to an embodiment.", "As shown in FIG.", "5, the two colorant mixtures 501 and 502 may be two CMYK quadruplets yielding the identical visual response, or Lab values.", "However, these two CMYK quadruplets yield maximally different magnetic response, assuming non-magnetic CMY toners 503 and MICR black toner 504 are utilized.", "In an embodiment, the two colorant mixtures 501 and 502 of FIG.", "5 may follow the general design specifications of U.S.", "Application Publication No.", "2008/0299333 entitled “Substrate Fluorescent Non-Overlapping Dot Patterns for Embedding Information in Printed Documents.” Additional and/or alternate designs of color patches may also be used within the scope of this disclosure.", "FIG.", "6 depicts a magnetic coding of a magnetic mark 601 in the form of an “X”, where the magnetic mark 601 is formed through the use of MICR black toner 504 according to an embodiment.", "For example, the mark 601 in the form of an “X” may be encoded to be detectable by its magnetic response while not being visible in normal viewing conditions.", "In other embodiments, arbitrary magnetic coding that can be read by a magnetic detector may be performed.", "Additional and/or alternate magnetic coding may also be used within the scope of this disclosure.", "It will be appreciated that various of the above-disclosed and other features and functions, or alternatives thereof, may be desirably combined into many other different systems or applications.", "It will also be appreciated that various presently unforeseen or unanticipated alternatives, modifications, variations or improvements therein may be subsequently made by those skilled in the art which are also intended to be encompassed by the disclosed embodiments." ] ]
Patent_15873213
[ [ "NANO SEEDING TOOLS TO GENERATE NANOMETER SIZE CRYSTALLIZATION SEEDS", "A kit and a method for using the kit to generate nanoseeds from protein nanocrystals and aggregates is disclosed.", "The method comprises mixing a plurality of beads with a protein nanocrystal or aggregate, and agitating the mixture to generate the nanoseeds.", "Nanoseeds made by disclosed embodiments may be of a high quality, as evaluated by TEM, and can be used to produce high quality protein crystals.", "Additionally, spectroscopic techniques, such as UV fluorescence and/or brightfield microscopy can be used to identify aggregates suitable to produce nanoseeds." ], [ "1.A kit, comprising: a container selected from a tube or a flask; and a plurality of beads, each bead independently having a bead diameter suitable to be effective to make seed crystals from at least one protein nanocrystal.", "2.The kit of claim 1, wherein each bead independently has a bead diameter of from 0.05 mm to 1.5 mm.", "3.The kit of claim 1, wherein each bead independently has a bead diameter of from 0.1 mm to 1 mm.", "4.The kit of claim 2, wherein each bead independently has a bead diameter of less than 0.5 mm.", "5.The kit of claim 2, wherein each bead independently has a bead diameter selected from 0.1 mm, 0.5 mm, or 1 mm.", "6.The kit of claim 1, wherein the plurality of beads comprises glass beads, metal beads, metal alloy beads, ceramic beads, PTFE beads, or a combination thereof.", "7.The kit of claim 1, wherein the plurality of beads comprises glass beads, stainless steel beads, or a combination thereof.", "8.The kit of claim 1, wherein the plurality of beads comprises beads having a mixtures of diameters.", "9.The kit of claim 1, wherein the plurality of beads comprises beads of the same diameter.", "10.The kit of claim 1, wherein the tube is a microcentrifuge tube.", "11.The kit of claim 10, wherein the microcentrifuge tube has a size of from 0.5 mL to 2 mL.", "12.The kit of claim 11, wherein the microcentrifuge tube is a 1.5 mL microcentrifuge tube.", "13.The kit of claim 1, wherein the plurality of beads comprises from 2 to 1000 beads.", "14.The kit of claim 1, wherein the plurality of beads comprises from 2 to 500 beads.", "15.The kit of claim 1, wherein the plurality of beads comprises from 2 to 100 beads.", "16.A kit, comprising: a microcentrifuge tube; and from 2 to 50 beads, each bead independently having a bead diameter of from 0.1 mm to 1 mm.", "17.The kit of claim 16, wherein the beads are glass beads, stainless steel beads, or a combination thereof.", "18.The kit of claim 16, wherein the bead diameter is selected from 0.1 mm, 0.5 mm, 1 mm or a combination thereof.", "19.The kit of claim 16, wherein the microcentrifuge tube has a size of from 0.5 mL to 2 mL.", "20.A kit, comprising: a microcentrifuge tube having a size of from 0.5 mL to 2 mL; and from 5 to 30 glass and/or stainless steel beads, each bead independently having a bead diameter selected from 0.1 mm, 0.5 mm, 1 mm." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND <EOH>X-ray Crystallography experiments remain the most successful method to obtain structural information from biological targets, comprising 85737 structures out of 97180 (88%) deposited as of Jan. 21, 2014 in the protein database entries.", "Advances in molecular biology and biochemical techniques have allowed expression and purification of a significant number of new protein targets including human and pharmacological relevant proteins.", "Similarly, innovations in synchrotron science including development of micro-focused X-ray beams and advances in detector technologies as well as development of user-friendly crystallography software packages have expedited crystal-to-structure time frames.", "However, notwithstanding the abundance of targets or the increasingly faster crystal-to-structure pipeline, crystallization of protein targets remains the most significant bottleneck in structure determination by X-ray crystallography and continues to have significant negative impact in the field." ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY <EOH>Microseeding is a conventional crystallization technique that uses microseeds from a nucleation step to facilitate growth of crystals in other conditions.", "Disclosed herein are embodiments of a method for generating nanoseeds from protein nanocrystals.", "In some embodiments the method comprises contacting a plurality of beads with an aggregate comprising at least one first protein nanocrystal to form a mixture, and agitating the mixture to produce a nanoseed.", "The aggregate may be a granular aggregate.", "In some embodiments the aggregate is contained within a crystallization drop, and in some examples, the beads are contacted with the aggregate in a microcentrifuge tube.", "In some embodiments each bead independently has a bead size of less than 5 mm, and in certain embodiments the bead size is selected from 0.1 mm, 0.5 mm, 1 mm or a combination thereof.", "In some embodiments the plurality of beads is from 2 to 1000 beads, such as from 2 to 100 beads, 5 to 30 beads or 8 to 10 beads.", "In other embodiments, the plurality of beads has a weight of from 10 mgs to 50 mgs.", "In working embodiments the beads are glass beads or stainless steel beads, or a combination thereof.", "In some embodiments the agitation comprises vortexing the mixture, shaking the mixture, stirring the mixture or any combination thereof.", "The agitation may be for a time of from greater than 0 seconds to 30 seconds, such as from 5 seconds to 15 seconds.", "In certain embodiments the method further comprises selecting the aggregate by brightfield microscopy, screening the aggregate by ultraviolet tryptophan fluorescence, generating a second protein nanocrystal from the nanoseed, or any combination thereof.", "The method may comprise selecting plurality of aggregates by brightfield microscopy, contacting the plurality of aggregates with a plurality of beads having a diameter of from 0.1 mm to 1 mm, to form a mixture, and agitating the mixture for from 5 second to 15 seconds to form a plurality of substantially homogeneous nanoseeds.", "Also disclosed herein are embodiments of a kit comprising a microcentrifuge tube and from 7 to 25 beads, each bead independently having a bead size from 0.1 mm to 1 mm.", "The beads may be glass beads, stainless steel beads or a combination thereof.", "The foregoing will become more apparent from the following detailed description, which proceeds with reference to the accompanying figures." ], [ "CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "14/640,805, filed on Mar.", "6, 2015, which claims the benefit of the earlier filing date of U.S. provisional patent application No.", "61/949,836, filed Mar.", "7, 2014, both of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.", "BACKGROUND X-ray Crystallography experiments remain the most successful method to obtain structural information from biological targets, comprising 85737 structures out of 97180 (88%) deposited as of Jan. 21, 2014 in the protein database entries.", "Advances in molecular biology and biochemical techniques have allowed expression and purification of a significant number of new protein targets including human and pharmacological relevant proteins.", "Similarly, innovations in synchrotron science including development of micro-focused X-ray beams and advances in detector technologies as well as development of user-friendly crystallography software packages have expedited crystal-to-structure time frames.", "However, notwithstanding the abundance of targets or the increasingly faster crystal-to-structure pipeline, crystallization of protein targets remains the most significant bottleneck in structure determination by X-ray crystallography and continues to have significant negative impact in the field.", "SUMMARY Microseeding is a conventional crystallization technique that uses microseeds from a nucleation step to facilitate growth of crystals in other conditions.", "Disclosed herein are embodiments of a method for generating nanoseeds from protein nanocrystals.", "In some embodiments the method comprises contacting a plurality of beads with an aggregate comprising at least one first protein nanocrystal to form a mixture, and agitating the mixture to produce a nanoseed.", "The aggregate may be a granular aggregate.", "In some embodiments the aggregate is contained within a crystallization drop, and in some examples, the beads are contacted with the aggregate in a microcentrifuge tube.", "In some embodiments each bead independently has a bead size of less than 5 mm, and in certain embodiments the bead size is selected from 0.1 mm, 0.5 mm, 1 mm or a combination thereof.", "In some embodiments the plurality of beads is from 2 to 1000 beads, such as from 2 to 100 beads, 5 to 30 beads or 8 to 10 beads.", "In other embodiments, the plurality of beads has a weight of from 10 mgs to 50 mgs.", "In working embodiments the beads are glass beads or stainless steel beads, or a combination thereof.", "In some embodiments the agitation comprises vortexing the mixture, shaking the mixture, stirring the mixture or any combination thereof.", "The agitation may be for a time of from greater than 0 seconds to 30 seconds, such as from 5 seconds to 15 seconds.", "In certain embodiments the method further comprises selecting the aggregate by brightfield microscopy, screening the aggregate by ultraviolet tryptophan fluorescence, generating a second protein nanocrystal from the nanoseed, or any combination thereof.", "The method may comprise selecting plurality of aggregates by brightfield microscopy, contacting the plurality of aggregates with a plurality of beads having a diameter of from 0.1 mm to 1 mm, to form a mixture, and agitating the mixture for from 5 second to 15 seconds to form a plurality of substantially homogeneous nanoseeds.", "Also disclosed herein are embodiments of a kit comprising a microcentrifuge tube and from 7 to 25 beads, each bead independently having a bead size from 0.1 mm to 1 mm.", "The beads may be glass beads, stainless steel beads or a combination thereof.", "The foregoing will become more apparent from the following detailed description, which proceeds with reference to the accompanying figures.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG.", "1 provides representative brightfield microscopy images of A) clear drops, B) granular aggregates and C) denatured protein regularly observed during the process of protein crystallization.", "FIG.", "2 provides a table indicating the occurrences of clear drops, granular aggregates, phase separation and denatured protein during conventional crystallization experiments for the parathyroid hormone receptor (PTHR1) (3 mg/ml) and RNA polymerase II-transcription factor IIB (TFIIB) complex (RPB1I-TFIIB) (8 mg/ml).", "FIG.", "3 provides before and after images of thick crystals processed using existing available seed bead kits.", "FIG.", "4 provides before and after images of thick crystals processed using 0.5 mm beads.", "FIG.", "5 provides a UV microscope image of seed crystals with near uniform size, generated from thick nanocrystals using 0.5 mm beads.", "FIG.", "6 provides additional TEM images of nano seed crystals generated using 0.5 mm glass beads.", "FIG.", "7 provides a TEM image of a crystal crushed by 0.5 mm beads.", "FIG.", "8 provides a TEM image of crystals of various sizes produced by the 0.5 mm beads.", "FIG.", "9 provides a TEM image of a crystal produced by using the 0.5 mm beads, clearly showing the fracture lines of the lattice.", "FIG.", "10 provides images of CD3Delta nanocrystals and resulting CD3Delta crystals, grown from seed crystals generated from the nanocrystals using 0.5 mm seed beads.", "FIG.", "11 provides an image illustrating the size differences between different beads.", "FIG.", "12 provides a TEM image of a crystal embedded in a protein filament.", "FIG.", "13 provides TEM images of different size beads produced by using 0.1 mm beads.", "FIG.", "14 provides an image of the results of a micro seeding experiment performed with seed crystals generated by a 5 mm Teflon bead.", "FIG.", "15 provides an image of the results of a micro seeding experiment performed with seed crystals generated by the 0.5 mm beads, illustrating the higher quality and larger size of the crystals compared to those in FIG.", "14.FIG.", "16 provides images and results from an X-ray diffraction experiment from separate experiments illustrating the quality and size of crystals grown from seed crystals generated using the 0.5 mm beads.", "FIG.", "17 provides images and results from an X-ray diffraction experiment illustrating the overall improvement in resolution of protein crystals grown from seed crystals generated by using the 0.5 mm beads.", "FIG.", "18 provides a table listing the proteins used in nanocrystallography screening, including the SDS-PAGE gel showing the final purified protein, the full name of the protein, expression system and protein yields and protein concentrations used for setting up trays.", "FIG.", "19 provides a series of images illustrating the collections of homogeneous crystal sizes generated in crystal drops with different ratios of volumes of protein: precipitant.", "FIG.", "20 provides a flow chart of the protocol used to identify protein NCs from crystallization drops, and representative images of granular aggregates used for TEM.", "FIG.", "21 provides A) correlograms of commercially available nanospheres used to verify the ability of the Wyatt Dynapro DLS system to detect particles sizes ranging from 50-1000 nm, and B): Example correlograms obtained from measurement of PTHR1 and salt nanocrystals.", "FIG.", "22 provides TEM images of nanocrystals and accompanying lattice and FFT on left side from the same crystallography conditions, and the accompanying diffraction pattern X-FEL diffraction pattern on right.", "FIG.", "23 provides TEM images of PTHR1 nanocrystals and accompanying lattice and FFT on left side from the same crystallography conditions, with the scale bar from top left to larger image: 20 nm and 0.5 μm.", "FIG.", "24 provides representative images of commonly observed salt nanocrystals; A) Calcium chloride NCs coated in protein filaments (scale bar 20 nm), B) Bis-tris pH 6.5 & PEG MME 2000 (scale bar 50 nm), C) Sodium chloride (scale bar 5 μm), and D) Tacsimate (Hampton Research) (scale bar 0.5 μm).", "FIG.", "25 provides TEM images of the high quality lattices of NCs A) Lysozyme (scale bar 50 nm), (B) RPB1I-GFP (scale bar 100 nm), and C) Pol-TFIIF (scale bar 20 nm).", "FIG.", "26 provides UV and brightfield images of wild type Pol II nanocrystals before and after crushing with beads.", "FIG.", "27 provides TEM images of Pol II nano-crystals crushed with 0.5 mm beads.", "FIG.", "28 provides TEM images illustrating an evaluation of nano-seed thickness.", "FIG.", "29 provides TEM images comparing solvent content to calculated values for various proteins.", "FIG.", "30 provides TEM images of Delta47 nanocrystals before and after dehydration experiments with FFT in upper right corner.", "FIG.", "31 provides UV tryptophan fluorescence images used for seed concentration determination.", "FIG.", "32 is a comparison of the effect of varying the precipitant to sample ratio with the effect of quantified seed concentration.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION The following explanations of terms and abbreviations are provided to better describe the present disclosure and to guide those of ordinary skill in the art in the practice of the present disclosure.", "As used herein, “comprising” means “including” and the singular forms “a” or “an” or “the” include plural references unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.", "The term “or” refers to a single element of stated alternative elements or a combination of two or more elements, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.", "Unless explained otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood to one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs.", "Although methods and materials similar or equivalent to those described herein can be used in the practice or testing of the present disclosure, suitable methods and materials are described below.", "The materials, methods, and examples are illustrative only and not intended to be limiting.", "Other features of the disclosure are apparent from the following detailed description and the claims.", "Unless otherwise indicated, all numbers expressing quantities of components, molecular weights, percentages, temperatures, times, and so forth, as used in the specification or claims are to be understood as being modified by the term “about.” Accordingly, unless otherwise indicated, implicitly or explicitly, the numerical parameters set forth are approximations that may depend on the desired properties sought and/or limits of detection under standard test conditions/methods.", "When directly and explicitly distinguishing embodiments from discussed prior art, the embodiment numbers are not approximates unless the word “about” is recited.", "I. Overview X-ray Crystallography experiments remain the most successful method to obtain structural information from biological targets.", "However, crystallization of protein targets remains the most significant bottleneck in structure determination by X-ray crystallography.", "Despite the significant advances in sample modifications to enhance the crystallizability of challenging targets, including novel efforts in protein crystallization involving target manipulations such as alanine-scanning mutagenesis, thermo-stabilization, chimeric proteins favoring crystal contacts or stabilizing Fab and nano-bodies the challenges persist.", "In addition to these developments in target manipulation, seeding is a long-standing optimization tool in the crystallographer's arsenal.", "This technique is utilized in several ways.", "Macroseeding is a technique that traditionally refers to the process of transferring a small crystals or crystal fragments into a series of stabilizing wash solutions.", "After washing, the small crystal is transferred into a pre-equilibrated drop in order to grow the crystal larger.", "Alternatively, microseeding involves removing crystals from a drop, transferring them into a stabilizing solution and then crushing them and performing a dilution series of the crushed crystal seeds.", "Seed solutions are then introduced into new drops using a probe in the hopes of growing larger or more ordered crystals.", "In both instances the aim is to take microcrystals or fragments from larger crystals and seed them into a metastable supersaturated protein drop to provide nucleation sites while controlling growth.", "Microseed matrix screening (MMS) is becoming a more popular technique due to its adaptability to robot crystallization tray setups.", "MMS is performed by pooling crystals that appear after traditional crystallographic screening.", "Pool crystals are homogenized and resultant seeds added to a new set of screening experiments.", "However, this technique requires pre-formed well-identified crystals.", "The challenge is to adequately separate useful seeds from those that will have a deleterious effect on attempts to obtain higher quality crystals or are simply from a salt source that is indistinguishable from protein.", "Furthermore, this technique relies on poorly diffracting crystals—which does not take advantage of precipitates that could otherwise be optimized into larger crystals.", "Disclosed herein are embodiments of a method using sub-millimeter sized glass beads of varying sizes to grind EM-visualized nano-crystals (NCs) from crystallization drops and quantify their size and lattice quality using electron microscopy experiments, such as transmission electron microscopy (TEM).", "TEM has demonstrated that, surprisingly, nanometer sized crystals (nano-crystals, NCs) are frequently observed in most crystallization experiments.", "Crystallization of protein samples using commercially available screens typically yields a spectrum of morphologies including: 1) clear drops (FIG.", "1A); 2) drops with granular aggregates (which can be amorphous or comprised of well-differentiated individual particles) (FIG.", "1B); 3) drops with large solid aggregates (probably associated with sample denaturation) (FIG.", "1C); and 4) drops with phase separation.", "Such morphologies depend on the protein sample and the chemical nature of the precipitant (FIG.", "2).", "Previously, these were all regarded as unusable for crystallography, as high quality crystals could not be grown from them.", "However, surprisingly, as disclosed herein, the solid aggregates have been found to contain nanocrystals which, when suitably crushed, can act as nanoseeds capable of producing high quality protein crystals.", "II.", "Kits Disclosed herein are embodiments of a kit to generate nanometer sized crystallization seeds.", "The kit comprises a container, such as a tube or flask, and from at least 2 beads to greater than 1000 beads, such as from 2 to 500 beads, from 2 to 100 beads, from 2 to 50 beads, from 5 to 30 beads, from 7 to 12 beads, from 18 to 30 beads, or from 23 to 27 beads.", "In some embodiments, the kit comprises a microcentrifuge tube and from at least 2 beads to greater than 50 beads, such as from 5 beads to 30 beads, from 7 to 12 beads, or from 22-27 beads.", "The microcentrifuge tube can be of any suitable size, such as from 0.5 mL to 2 mL, preferably about 1.5 mL.", "The beads may be formed from any suitable material, such as glass, metal or metal alloy, ceramic or PTFE.", "In certain embodiments the beads are glass or stainless steel.", "The beads may be of any size suitable to be effective to make seed crystals.", "The size is from 0.05 mm to 1.5 mm, preferably from 0.1 mm to 1 mm.", "In certain embodiments the bead size is selected from 0.1 mm, 0.5 mm or 1 mm.", "In some embodiments the kit comprises beads of the same size, but in other embodiments the beads have a mixture of sizes.", "In particular embodiments the kit comprises 7 or 25 glass beads, with bead sizes selected from 0.1 mm, 0.5 mm, 1 mm, or any combination thereof.", "In other particular embodiments the kit comprises 7 or 25 stainless steel beads with bead sizes selected from 0.5 mm, 1 mm, or any combination thereof.", "In any of the above embodiments the crystal or crystals used to generate the seed crystal is a nanocrystal, a conventional crystal or a combination thereof.", "III.", "Method of Using the Kit Also disclosed is a method of using the kit to generate seed crystals.", "A general method of using the kit comprises contacting a plurality of beads with an aggregate that comprises at least one protein nanocrystal to form a mixture, and agitating the mixture to produce a nanoseed.", "The method may further comprise generating a new, high quality protein nanocrystal from the nanoseed.", "In some embodiments the mixture is prepared in a microcentrifuge tube.", "Any suitable method of agitation can be used, such as vortexing, shaking, or stirring.", "In certain embodiments the vortexing is the method of agitation.", "The mixture is agitated for an effective amount of time to crush the crystal to a desired size.", "In some embodiments the effective amount of time is from greater than zero seconds to greater than 60 seconds, typically from greater than zero seconds to 30 seconds, more typically from 5 seconds to 15 seconds.", "In particular working embodiments, the effective amount of time was 5 seconds, and in other working embodiments, it was 10 seconds.", "In certain embodiments the agitation is performed more than once, such as twice, three times, four times, five times or more.", "In particular working embodiments, the mixture was vortexed twice.", "In some embodiments the method further comprises removing the beads after crushing the crystal.", "In certain embodiments the beads are glass, and in other embodiments the beads are a magnetic material, such as stainless steel, for easy removal with the use of a magnet applied to the side of the tube.", "Typically, each bead has a bead size of less than 5 mm, such as from 0.1 mm to 3 mm, or from 0.1 mm to 1 mm, and in some embodiments the bead size of each bead is selected from 0.1 mm, 0.5 mm, 1 mm or a combination thereof.", "A person of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the number of beads used will vary depending on the sample volume, with larger sample volumes typically requiring larger numbers of beads.", "In some embodiments, the plurality of beads is from 2 to 1000 beads, such as from 2 to 500 beads, from 2 to 100 beads, from 2 to 50 beads, from 5 to 30 beads, from 7 to 12 beads, from 18 to 30 beads, or from 23 to 27 beads.", "In other embodiments, the plurality of beads is selected by weight, such as from 5 to 2000 mgs, from 5 to 1000 mgs, from 10 to 500 mgs, from 10 to 100 mgs, from 10 mgs to 50 mgs, from 20 mgs to 40 mgs, or from 25 mgs to 30 mgs of beads.", "In some embodiments, the size of the nano-seeds can be selected by selecting the size, number of the beads and/or agitation time.", "Typically, fewer beads and/or larger beads lead to larger nano-seeds, and a greater number of beads and/or smaller beads results in smaller nano-seeds.", "Also, a shorter agitation time leads to larger nano-seeds and a longer agitation time leads to smaller nano-seeds.", "In certain embodiments the aggregate is contained within a crystallization drop.", "In certain examples, the aggregate is a granular aggregate.", "In some examples, crystalline material from a plurality of crystallization drops is used, such as from 2 to 10 drops, or from 2-5 drops.", "This may result in a plurality of crystals or aggregates being used, such as from 2 to 100, from 20 to 80, or from 30-50 crystals or aggregates.", "Optionally, microscopy techniques are used to identify aggregates or precipitates for screening.", "Typical microscopy techniques include brightfield microscopy, ultraviolet (UV) microscopy such as UV tryptophan fluorescent microscopy, and/or TEM.", "UV positive samples undergo visualization by TEM as described in the working examples.", "Optionally, samples that contain protein nanocrystals are then subjected to at least one round of optimization.", "The optimization experiments are performed as traditional larger crystallization experiments.", "The optimization experiments can include any suitable techniques known to a person of ordinary skill in the art, such as improvements in crystal size and/or quality upon treatment with PEG, changes in salt or protein concentrations and the like.", "The optimization may have more than one purpose, such as improving nano-crystal size, improving nano-crystal quality or generating an increased number of nanocrystals for seeding experiments, or any combination thereof.", "After optimization, individual crystallization drops containing NCs are diluted with mother liquor, from a 2-fold to an 8-fold dilution, typically a 4-fold dilution.", "These diluted samples are mixed with beads in microcentrifuge tubes.", "Typically, 5 to 30 beads are mixed with the drops, or alternatively, 20 mgs of beads to 50 mgs of beads, typically 35 mgs of beads were used.", "After mixing, the samples are agitated to make nanoseeds.", "As can be seen in FIG.", "3, when seed crystals are generated from nanocrystals, the conventional 5 mm PTFE bead does not effectively grind the nanocrystals into smaller seed crystals.", "When the smaller beads disclosed herein are used, the nanocrystals are crushed successfully into high quality seed crystals with near uniform size (FIGS.", "4-9).", "Although these seed crystals are small, they are able to successfully seed large crystal growth (FIG.", "10).", "Therefore, disclosed herein is a useful methodology to generate nano-seeds from nanocrystal slurries and/or aggregates, and corroborated their high quality using negative-stain electron microscopy.", "Different size seed beads can be used to produce different sized seeds, and this may have consequences on the growth of crystals by streak microseeding experiments.", "Nanoseeds are visualized directly by TEM.", "In all instances examined, nanoseeds produced by 0.5 mm beads are of high quality, as indicated of the evaluation of the FFT of the lattice.", "Use of such nanoseeds are extraordinary in four applications: 1) to produce improvements in crystal quality that cannot be obtained through crystal condition optimization or traditional seeding.", "This is corroborated by X-ray diffraction data.", "2) Nanoseeding, using nanocrystals not visible by brightfield microscopy, only identifiable by TEM, can be used in seeding experiments to produce visible crystals useful for traditional X-ray crystallography.", "3) To produce higher quality nanocrystals, as in traditional seeding results, improvements of which are observed by TEM.", "4) To produce homogeneous populations of crystals whose size to can be tailored by varying protein: precipitant ratio (heretofore referred as crystal catalogues).", "In order to generate crystal catalogues, crystal drops are seeded with equal amounts of nano-seeds from a seeding stock using a 0.3-0.4 millimeter cryo-loops (Hampton Research).", "Typical sizes of crystal catalogues can range from 0.5 micrometers to 300 micrometers or more.", "Only seeded drops generate crystal catalogues, such growth patterns are absent for non-seeded drops.", "Crystal catalogues are a highly desirable application to be used at new synchrotron facilities that use an X-ray free electron laser.", "These results have not only important and useful applications for traditional and nanocrystallography, but also serve as a probe into the workings of seeding, a technique which though powerful not much is known about what is occurring during the process.", "IV.", "Working Examples Example 1 Conventional crystallization experiments using commercially available crystallization screens (crystal screen I and II, HR) were performed on three samples including two protein targets that did not yield diffraction size crystals and a previously crystallized target as a control to evaluate the quality of crystals obtained with nano-seeds (FIG.", "2).", "Brightfield microscopy was used to detect the presence of NC in selected crystallization drops.", "Detected granular aggregates or distinct precipitate were then screened by ultraviolet (UV) tryptophan fluorescent microscopy.", "UV positive samples underwent visualization by TEM as described below.", "Crystallization conditions bearing NCs were subject to one round of optimization.", "These optimization experiments were performed as traditional, larger crystallization experiments: testing for improvements in crystal size and quality that appear in response to modifications in conditions such as PEG, salt and protein concentration.", "After the initial round of optimization, individual crystallization drops containing NCs were diluted 4-fold with mother liquor and loaded into 500 mL microcentrifuge tubes containing 35 mg of 0.5 mm glass-beads (research Products International Corp., RPI) or 1 Hampton Research (HR) seed bead in a 1.5 mL microcentrifuge tube (FIG.", "11).", "Samples were twice vortexed for 30 seconds and kept on ice until further use.", "Brightfield evaluation of the crushed crystals by the HR Teflon seed bead (FIG.", "3) compared to 0.5 mm beads shows significantly more fragmentation by the 0.5 mm beads (FIG.", "4).", "The seeds produced by the HR bead were too thick to be useful for lattice visualization by TEM.", "However, those crushed with 0.5 mm beads were excellent candidates for the identification and evaluation of lattices (FIGS.", "7-9 and FIG.", "12).", "Nanoseeds containing samples were loaded onto carbon film copper grids (Electron Microscopy Sciences), blotted, negatively stained with 2% uranyl acetate for 2×30 second incubations and dried.", "Sample grids were visualized using a T12 Tecnai electron microscope.", "As the example of crushed Pol II-GFP crystals with 0.5 mm beads shows in FIGS.", "7-9 and FIG.", "12, lattices generated by 0.5 mm beads allow for the distinction of seed features, previously unidentifiable by brightfield microscopy.", "FIG.", "7 and FIG.", "8 show examples of seeds crushed to various sizes.", "The size of the seeds generated could also be controlled by using the slightly larger 1.0 mm beads (FIG.", "13).", "In FIG.", "9 fracture lines of the lattice is clearly evident.", "An example which gives insight into the composition of a seed solution is found in FIG.", "12, in which a seed is embedded in protein filaments, while free Polymerase particles are also present due to their large size (FIG.", "12).", "In addition to comparing the shearing capacity of the Teflon beads versus the 0.5 mm beads by brightfield and TEM, experiments comparing the results of streak microseeding experiments, from the same source of crystals were performed.", "Pol II-GFP low quality crystals were crushed by the Teflon and 0.5 mm beads.", "As shown in FIG.", "14 and FIG.", "15, significantly higher quality and larger size crystals were obtained from the 0.5 mm beads compared to the Teflon bead.", "Based on the high quality crystals produced from 0.5 mm generated seeds a series of microseeding experiments were performed using TEM-validated high quality “nanoseeds”—those generated from 0.5 mm beads—for seeding experiments.", "Nanoseed slurries were prepared as described herein and deposited on crystallization drops using a 0.3 to 0.4 millimeter cryo-loops (Hampton Research).", "Nanoseeded crystal drops generated high quality crystals for all targets selected (FIG.", "16).", "X-ray diffraction experiments showed overall improvement of resolution and crystal mosaicity (FIG.", "17).", "Since all samples in our study yielded large crystals by nanoseeding methods, after initial TEM experiments confirmed the quality of crystal lattices, lysis efficiency, homogeneity and concentration can be evaluated by placing two micro-liters of sample between cover-slides UV-microscopy inspection.", "Electron Microscopy 400 square mesh copper grids with carbon film (Electron Microscopy Sciences) were freshly glow discharged for 1 minute, 25 mVs (EmiTech) at atmospheric conditions before incubation with samples.", "Selected samples were applied to grids by two methods depending on the concentration of nanoparticles.", "When sufficiently high concentration of particles were present (when a sample contains densely visible particles which give good intensity by DLS above 1.25 intensity autocorrelation) 5-8 μL of sample were applied and incubated for 30 seconds on a grid before blotting and staining with 2% uranyl acetate.", "Low density samples were applied to grid by placing a drop of the sample in a parafilm lined petri dish along with at least 300 μL of mother liquor from the sample's origin in close proximity to the sample drop.", "A grid was put on top of the drop of sample, carbon side down, and the petri dish was sealed and sample was allowed to incubate for 10-60 minutes before staining with uranyl acetate.", "EM images were acquired using a FEI Tecnai T12 microscope operating under 120 kV using a single tilt specimen holders.", "Images were collected onto a 2k×2k charge coupled device camera using the User Interface (for EM control and operation).", "Example 2 Example Application Using a Disclosed Kit Background X-ray crystallography is the primary technique used to obtain high-resolution structures of proteins.", "This method relies on diffracting large crystals that are identified by brightfield microscopy and usually optimized from an initial, smaller and lower quality crystalline hit.", "Because of the limits of the optical methods used to visualize and identify these crystals, smaller nanometer crystals (e.g.", "crystals smaller than 5 μm) are excluded from the results of typical evaluations.", "Though these potentially unidentified nanometer sized crystals are not useful for traditional synchrotron based X-ray crystallography, the new field of nanocrystallography, which utilizes a free electron laser to solve structures from nanocrystal slurries, makes these unidentified crystals highly useful.", "A new method, relying on transmission electron microscopy, to identify nanocrystals, determine if they are protein, and evaluate their quality has been devised.", "The emergence of X-ray free electron laser (X-FEL) based serial femtosecond crystallography holds the promise of solving the three-dimensional structure of proteins that can only crystallize as nanocrystals (NCs) or are highly sensitive to radiation damage.", "In addition, because X-FEL NC experiments are performed at room temperature, there is no need for crystal cryo-protection.", "Given the new opportunities that X-FELs offer to the field of crystallography, efficient methodologies to detect and optimize conditions yielding NCs will be essential for future developments in structural biology.", "Current methods to detect the presence of NCs include dynamic light scattering (DLS), bright-field microscopy, birefringence microscopy, and intrinsic tryptophan ultraviolet (UV) fluoresce imaging, as well as technologies that rely upon Second Harmonic Generation such as Second Order Nonlinear Imaging of Chiral Crystals (SONICC).", "However, limitations of these imaging techniques include: 1) ineffective detection of NCs smaller than 5 μm; 2) false positive conditions as a result of interference from precipitate backgrounds; and 3) false negative conditions resulting from the lack of tryptophan residues in the case of UV fluorescence, and from the lack of chiral centers in the case of SONICC.", "Although DLS can accurately measure the size distribution of nanometer sized protein aggregates, it is unable to distinguish between amorphous or crystalline samples.", "Due to limitations on spatial resolution of optical systems, none of these methods in their currently available commercial form can be used for optimization of NCs or to distinguish NCs quality.", "Here a protocol based on UV fluorescence microscopy and dynamic light scattering (DLS) was used to detect crystallization drops containing NCs, followed by TEM to accurately identify protein NCs.", "NC quality was assessed by evaluating the reciprocal lattice reflections in virtual diffraction patterns calculated from TEM images, and promising NC candidates were then screened for diffraction quality at the coherent X-ray imaging (CXI) end-station of the linac coherent light source (LCLS).", "Methods Protein Production and Crystallography Condition Screening Nine proteins were used for nanocrystallography screening, as shown in FIG.", "18 along with the expression system, protein yield and maximal concentration (while maintaining monodispersity) that was used to set up trays.", "The expression and purification of DSZS AT, PTHR, CD3-Delta and RNA Polymerase (RPBII) and complex formation with RPBII were performed by standard, literature techniques known to a person of ordinary skill in the art.", "Thermostabilized PTHR (tPTHR) was purified following the same protocol as described for full length PTHR.", "TFIIF was purified as previously described.", "GFP was expressed and purified by standard methods.", "RPBII-TFIIF and RPBII-GFP complexes were assembled by adding 2.5 molar excess of TFIIF or GFP to RPBII.", "RPBII-TFIIF was purified using calmodulin-affinity chromatography.", "The RPBII-GFP complex was isolated using a Superdex 200 10/300 GL (50 mM Hepes pH 7.5, 100 mM KCl, 4 mM DTT, 2 mM CaCl2 and 10 μM ZnCl2).", "Spt4 and Spt5 were overexpressed in E. coli Rosetta (DE3) competent cells.", "Cells were grown at 37° C. to an optical density of 0.6 at 600 nm, induced with 0.5 mM IPTG for 4 hours at 30° C. and 2 mM IPTG for 2 hours at 37° C., respectively.", "Approximately 30 grams of cells (mixing 15 grams spt4 cell with 15 g spt5 cell) were re-suspended in 150 mL of buffer A containing 250 mM NaCl, 25 mM Tris pH 7.5, 10 μm ZnCl2, 5 mm imidazole, 0.1 mm PMSF, 0.5 mm C13E8, 10% Glycerol, 2 mM β-mercaptoethanol (3-met) and 1×protease inhibitors (PI).", "After sonication for 2 minutes and centrifugation for 45 minutes at 35,000 rpm to separate pellet and supernatant fractions, the supernatant was loaded onto a Ni2+NTA (Sigma) column.", "The column was washed with buffer A with 25 mM imidazole and eluted with 150 mM imidazole in buffer A.", "The protein was desalted into buffer B containing 150 mM NaCl, 25 mM Tris pH 7.5, 10 μM ZnCl2, 0.1 mM PMSF, 0.5 mM C13E8, 10% Glycerol, 2 mM β-met and 1×PI, and then applied to a HiTrap Heparin HP (GE Healthcare, USA) column.", "The elution was performed with a linear gradient up to 1 M NaCl in buffer B.", "The elution fraction at the last peak was collected, concentrated and further purified by gel filtration using Superdex 200 (10/300 GL) column in the buffer B.", "The fractions containing the single peak were pooled, concentrated and stored at −80° C. TFIIB was overexpressed in DE3 cells.", "Cells were grown at 37° C. to an optical density of 0.6 at 600 nm, induced with 0.25 mM IPTG for 6 hours at 30° C. Approximately 20 grams of cells were re-suspended in 100 mL of buffer A containing 500 mm KCl, 25 mm Hepes pH 8.0, 0.1% Triton X-100, and 1×PI.", "After sonication for 2 minutes and centrifugation for 45 minutes at 35,000 g to separate pellet and supernatant fractions, the supernatant was loaded onto chitin beads which were washed with 0.3 M NaOH, H2O and buffer A.", "The column was washed with buffer A (more than 10 column-volumes), and then 50 mM β-met in buffer A (3 columns) was added, rocking in the cold for overnight.", "The protein was desalted into buffer B containing 100 mM KCl, 25 mM Hepes pH 7.0, 2 mM (3-met and 1×PI, and then applied to a HiTrap SP HP (GE Healthcare, USA) column.", "The elution was performed with a linear gradient up to 1 M KCl in buffer B.", "The elution fraction at the first peak was collected, concentrated and further purified by gel filtration using a Superdex 200 (10/300 GL) column buffer B.", "The fractions containing the single peak were pooled, concentrated and stored at −80° C. High concentration of H5N1 protein was obtained by first growing a large SF9 large culture: 3.2-4 L of 2×106/mL infected with H5N1-10x-his baculovirus at a MOI of 2.0 to get 30-40 grams of cells.", "The insect cells were harvested at 48-50 hours post-infection.", "15 grams of cell pellet was washed with PBS and then re-suspended with buffer C (150 mM NaCl, 35 mM Hepes pH 7.5) plus 1×PI.", "Cell lysis was performed by sonication followed by the addition of DNase, a short incubation and ultracentrifugation (40000 rpm for 1 hour).", "The pellet obtained was used for the detergent extraction step.", "To solubilize the H5N1 protein from the membrane pellet 30 mM of Sarcosine plus 10 mm FOS-Choline 12 in buffer D (75 mm NaCl, 35 mm Hepes pH 7.5) were used to homogenize the pellet.", "The homogenized pellet was incubated at 4° C. with continuous rocking overnight.", "After incubation the sample was ultracentrifuged (40000 rpm for 1 hour) to obtain the supernatant containing the solubilized protein, which was then diluted 1:1 with buffer D to reduce the detergent concentration by half.", "The diluted sample was mixed with 15 ml of Ni2+ beads (pre-equilibrated with 15 mM Sarcosine/5 mM Fos-Choline in buffer D) for batch binding overnight.", "A detergent exchange (from 15 mM Sarcosine/5 mM FOS-Choline to 7.5 mM Sarcosine/4 mM Fos-Choline) gradient was performed using an ÄKTAxpress (GE Healthcare Life Sciences).", "After the gradient was completed, the sample-Ni2+ beads were washed with buffer D with the addition of 4 mM Fos-choline.", "Finally, the beads were washed with an astringent buffer of 250 mM NaCl, 35 mM Hepes pH 7.5 and 25 mM imidazole to remove all the unspecific proteins and extra material.", "To elute the protein from the Ni2+ beads, 300 mM imidazole in buffer D were used.", "After elution, the protein sample was concentrated by centrifugation with a 100 kDa MWCO Concentrator (Vivaspin 20, GE Healthcare) and subsequently loaded onto a desalting column (GE Healthcare) to remove imidazole.", "The desalting column flow-through containing the protein was loaded into an anion exchanger column (Resource Q Hi Trap, 1 ml column, GE Healthcare) to remove the unspecific proteins eluted with the 300 mM imidazole elution together with the H5N1.Most of the unspecific proteins passed through the Q column whereas the H5N1 protein remained attached to the column matrix.", "The elution was performed with high salt buffer (300 mM NaCl).", "A variety of commercially available crystallography screens were utilized for nanocrystallography screening including the Hampton Research screens Crystal Screen 1 and 2, Index, PEG/Ion, SaltRx, Silver Bullets and MembFac as well as Qiagen JCSG.", "Both hanging (Hampton Research VDX™ Plates) and sitting drop (Hampton Research Cryschem Plates) methods were used for screening 4 μL drops, they were set up in a 1:1 ratio of protein to mother liquor so as to have sufficient volume for further DLS and TEM experiments.", "350μL of commercial screening solution was used in the well for each condition.", "Generating Crushed Crystals of Thick Nanocrystals using a Kit Disclosed Herein 0.5 mm glass beads (Research Products International) were used to crush NCs too thick for lattice visualization by TEM.", "20-35 mg of beads were placed in a 1.5 mL microcentrifuge with the addition of the NC sample directly from the crystal plate along with 5 μL of reservoir solution.", "Samples were vortexed for 10 seconds, twice, before being used for TEM grid preparation.", "Generating Crushed Crystals of the DSZS AT for X-FEL Analysis using a Commercially Available Kit The DSZS AT was purified and crystallized as previously described by mixing 10 μL well solution with 10 μL of purified protein at 5 mg/mL, and allowing crystals to grow at room temperature for up to one week.", "The crystallization solution contained 18-24% PEG 3350, 100 mM Na-HEPES pH 7.5, and 40 mM ammonium acetate.", "Approximately 900 μL of drops containing crystals were collected.", "When the crystals had settled to the bottom of the tube, it was estimated that the mixture contained approximately 50% crystals.", "The crystals were held at room temperature until crushing and exposure to the LCLS X-FEL.", "The tube was inverted several times to re-suspend the crystals, and the samples were crushed in 90 μL aliquots by vortexing at high speed for 3 minutes with a teflon seed bead (Hampton Research HR2-320).", "Examination of crystal samples under a standard light microscope revealed large crystal fragments (edges >10 μm).", "Therefore, samples were further processed through a 10 μm3 filter prior to exposure with the LCLS using the Coherent X-ray imaging (CXI) instrument.", "Generation of Crystal Catalogues Given the advances provided by X-ray diffraction experiments using free electron lasers, it is very desirable to generate high quality and homogeneous populations of NCs (heretofore referred as crystal catalogues) to be used in coherent X-ray imaging (CX-I) or X-ray pump-probe (X-PP) investigations (>20 micrometers).", "In order to generate crystal catalogues, nano-seed slurries were used to fine-tune crystal size.", "One to two drops with large numbers of crystals with sizes varying from 10-30 μm were diluted about 30 times (depending on the amount of crystals) with mother liquor and loaded into a 1.5 mL Eppendorf tube.", "Approximately 10 stainless steel (magnetic) balls of 1.0 mm diameter were loaded into the tube and the mixture was vortexed twice for 10 seconds, followed by brightfield and UV inspection to corroborate lysis efficiency and size of nanoseeds.", "A 1:3 dilution with mother liquor was performed with the seeding stock.", "Crystal drops were set with different ratios of volumes of protein: precipitant (2.5:1, 2.5:1.5, 1.5:1, 1:1 and 0.5:1) and seeded with equal amounts of nano-seeds from the seeding stock using a 0.3-0.4 millimeter cryo-loops (Hampton Research).", "As expected, all seeded drops generated collections of homogeneous crystal sizes (FIG.", "19), and such patterns were absent for non-seeded drops (not shown).", "X-FEL Analysis of Nanocrystals Diffraction experiments were carried out at the CXI end-station of the LCLS using 10.5 keV X-ray pulses of 40 fs duration for measurements of RPBII-GFP and PTHR and 8.5 keV X-rays pulses of 50 fs duration for DSZS.", "Crystal delivery was performed using the gas dynamic virtual nozzle (GDVN) using an injection rate of 20 μL/minute and a pressure of 750 PSI nitrogen, 300 PSI shield.", "Data were analyzed using the CCTBX.XFEL software package.", "The RPBII-GFP sample yielded a hit rate of approximately 2.5%, and an indexing rate of 0.6%, 25% of hits (using a threshold of 16 spots above 450 ADUs per image).", "Diffraction on the best images was up to 4 Å.", "The DSZS sample yielded a hit rate of approximately 2.7%, and an indexing rate of 0.07%, 29% of hits (using a threshold of 16 spots above 450 ADUs per image).", "Diffraction on the best images was up to 1.8 Å. Nanocrystals Candidate Identification and UV Tryptophan Screening Visual selection using an Olympus SZX16 brightfield microscope and corresponding 2XPFC objective was performed to identify nanocrystal candidates.", "Drops that either had visible precipitation with individual aggregates or a lawn of precipitate were selected for UV-fluorescence imaging, as shown in the examples of FIG.", "20B and FIG.", "1.Candidates selected visually were then subjected to UV fluorescence imaging with UV exposure from 1-5 seconds, using a Jan Scientific Jansi UVEX microscope.", "Images were analyzed using the Jan Scientific CrystalDetect software.", "Once UV-positive conditions were identified, drops were harvested and high quality images were taken of each drop using an Infinity 2-3C camera and Infinity Capture software from Lumenera Scientific.", "Harvested drops were subsequently used for DLS and TEM experiments.", "Dynamic Light Scattering To test the limits of the Wyatt DynaPro plate reader for detecting nanoparticles of various radii, silica spheres (PolySciences, Inc.) experiments were performed in a 384 Corning clear bottom plate using beads diluted 1:1000 with Millipore water with 15 μL of diluted beads deposited in the well.", "DLS data was acquired by performing 20 acquisitions, 6 seconds each acquisition, at 18° C. To determine the uniformity as well as the range of the precipitate size of selected nanocrystal candidates, samples were taken directly from the drop of the crystallization plate and put into a Greiner Sensoplate (glass bottom) 1536 well plate and DLS data was collected for 20 acquisitions, 6 seconds each acquisition, at 18° C. These plates allowed a low working volume for screening (3 μL) as well as enhanced data clarity due to their glass bottoms.", "Samples were diluted with mother liquor up to a volume of 3 μL when necessary.", "If low intensity was observed and sufficient protein was available, additional drops were set up using the same conditions and combined to increase intensity.", "Transmission Electron Microscopy 400 square mesh copper grids with continuous carbon film (Electron Microscopy Sciences) were freshly glow-discharged for 1 minute, 25 mV (EmiTech KX100) before incubation with samples.", "Selected samples were applied to grids by two methods depending on the concentration of nanoparticles.", "When a sufficiently high concentration of particles was present (i.e., when particles were visible, dense and gave a DLS intensity signal above 1.25), 5-8 μL of sample was applied and incubated for 30 seconds on a grid before blotting and staining with 2% uranyl acetate.", "Lower density samples were applied to the grid by placing a drop of the sample in a parafilm-lined petri dish along with at least 300 μL of mother liquor from the sample's origin in close proximity to the sample drop.", "A grid was put on top of the drop of sample, carbon side down, and the petri dish was sealed and the sample was allowed to incubate for 10-60 min before staining with uranyl acetate.", "TEM images were acquired using an FEI Tecnai T12 electron microscope operating at 120 kV using a single-tilt specimen holder.", "Images were collected with a 2 k×2 k Gatan UltraScan 1000 CCD camera.", "Results In order to develop a comprehensive method for identifying NCs, a four-step pathway was devised (FIG.", "20A).", "A variety of targets from three different systems were chosen as test cases, including soluble proteins, membrane proteins, and multi-protein complexes (FIG.", "18).", "Crystallization of protein samples using commercially available screens typically yields a spectrum of morphologies including: 1) clear drops (FIG.", "1A); 2) drops with granular aggregates (which can be amorphous or comprised of well-differentiated individual particles) (FIG.", "1B); 3) drops with large solid aggregates (probably associated with sample denaturation) (FIG.", "1C); and 4) drops with phase separation.", "Such morphologies depend on the protein sample and the chemical nature of the precipitant (FIG.", "2).", "For this study, conditions yielding granular aggregates (FIG.", "20B) and clear drops were selected for further analysis.", "To determine whether granular aggregates were proteinaceous in nature, UV tryptophan fluorescence microscopy was used (Jansi UVEX).", "Drops with UV-positive granular aggregates were selected for direct TEM visualization.", "FIG.", "20C shows the Brightfield and UV Fluorescence of granular aggregates, which can comprise UV-positive, well-differentiated nano-particles (left pair) or UV-positive, diffuse nano-aggregates (right pair).", "Since clear drops have been shown to yield NCs, and UV tryptophan fluorescence microscopy can yield false negatives, UV-negative granular aggregates and clear drops were further processed using DLS to assess the presence of nanoparticles (FIG.", "21).", "DLS measurements were performed using a Wyatt DynaPro Plate Reader Plus in batch mode (ideal for screening large numbers of crystallization conditions).", "In order to accurately assess the size of the primary nano-species of the sample, calibration studies using nanospheres (Polysciences, Inc.) with particle radii of 50, 100 and 1000 nm were compared to the sample's autocorrelation function and decay time (FIG.", "21A).", "DLS measurements of clear drops and UV-negative granular aggregates allowed detection of particles with diameters of 50-1000 nm (FIG.", "21B).", "In order to determine whether these particles were crystalline or merely protein aggregates, further assessment using TEM was performed.", "UV- and DLS-positive samples were applied to a copper grid with continuous carbon film, stained with a 2% solution of uranyl acetate and imaged using an FEI Tecnai T12 transmission electron microscope.", "Samples were taken directly from the crystal tray before transferring to a grid.", "In most circumstances, a single crystal drop containing thick aggregates was of sufficient concentration for imaging.", "For the majority of samples tested, TEM visualization (FIG.", "22 and FIG.", "23) provided an efficient method to reveal whether samples contained NCs or large protein aggregates.", "FIG.", "23 shows A) DSZS AT diffraction up to 1.8 Å resolution, and B) RPB1I-GFP with diffraction up to 4 Å acquired at LCLS, with the scale bar from top left to larger image (A) 20 nm and 1 μm, and (B) 50 nm and 100 nm.", "In addition, the presence of detergents in crystallization buffers did not appear to have a negative impact on visualization, and NCs for three membrane proteins were detected, CD3Delta, thermostabilized PTHR (tPTHR) and H5N1.FIG.", "20D provides the TEM images of all the proteins detected (scale bars: CD3Delta 0.5 μm, tPTHR 0.5 μm, RNA-Pol II-TFIIB-Spt4/5 200 nm, TFIIH 200 nm, DSZS AT 0.5 μm, Spt4/5 200 nm, RNA-Pol II 0.2 μm, H5N1 0.2 μm).", "Since TEM allows visualization of crystal lattices, protein NCs could be discriminated from salt crystals, including those coated with protein aggregates that generated false-positive UV-signals (FIG.", "24A).", "Diffraction experiments at the LCLS were used to check the diffraction quality of promising candidate NCs.", "Of the three samples shown in FIG.", "22 and FIG.", "23, only DSZS AT, the trans-acting acyl transferase from the disorazole synthase, and RBPII-GFP (FIG.", "22) yielded significant diffraction.", "Visual inspection of the TEM lattices shown on the left reveals a qualitatively better lattice for FIG.", "22A and B compared to FIG.", "23, consistent with the X-FEL diffraction findings.", "This suggests that if a lattice appears to be of high quality under negative stain TEM, it is likely to diffract well at a free electron laser.", "While most NCs identified by TEM came from crystallization drops with UV-positive granular aggregates, a few were identified from UV-negative granular drops using DLS.", "Protein NCs were not detected in clear drops that were preselected via DLS—most particles observed by TEM corresponded to large protein aggregates and salt crystals.", "However, thorough evaluation of all conditions should be pursued when UV positive conditions are scarce, because the presence of NCs in clear drops has been previously reported.", "Conclusions Crystallization screening of protein samples involves setting up hundreds and sometimes thousands of crystallization drops often without a single macro-crystal ‘hit’.", "However, the emergence of X-FEL based serial femtosecond crystallography demonstrates that three-dimensional structures of protein samples can be solved from NCs.", "To this end, we have developed an efficient method to detect the presence of protein NCs in UV-positive granular aggregates from crystallization drops using classic negative-stain transmission electron microscopy.", "The investigations detailed here show that crystallization trials of most protein samples can potentially yield NCs even for challenging systems such as MPCs and membrane proteins.", "In addition to NC identification, the use of TEM may provide additional insights including: 1) the possibility of finding NCs with different crystals forms; and 2) the evaluation of NC diffraction quality.", "Since crystalline lattices can be directly visualized with TEM, calculating Fourier transforms from the images allows quantitative evaluation of electron diffraction patterns (Bragg spots).", "Three examples of clear lattices with two or higher order spots are evident in the reciprocal lattice reflections obtained by Fourier transform (FIG.", "25).", "Furthermore, selection of crystals with higher order diffraction spots could potentially yield higher resolution X-ray diffraction data.", "This report establishes a method for pre-screening NCs with no previous large crystal hits for use at an X-FEL.", "In addition to the advantages that TEM brings to the field of nanocrystallography, NC imaging may be beneficial during conventional crystallization trials to improve crystallization conditions and provide useful crystal ‘seeds’ for the production of macro-crystals.", "This work demonstrates the potential of TEM to serve as a fundamental tool for evaluating NCs, as essential as brightfield microscopy is for evaluating and optimizing traditional, large crystals.", "Example 3 Second Example Application using a Disclosed Kit Presented herein is an embodiment of a method to generate homogeneous nanometer-size seeds (nano-seeds) from crystals or nano-crystals (NC).", "Ultraviolet (UV) brightfield microscopy was used for quantitative the seeding experiments, and the nano-seed quality was evaluated by examining crystal lattices using TEM.", "Seeding experiments were then performed using the high quality nano-seeds to obtain large crystals for conventional X-ray diffraction experiments, or crystal catalogues, i.e., homogeneous sets of crystals of varying sizes for conventional X-ray or X-FEL applications.", "Expression and purification of RNA Polymerase (Pol II), Delta 47, TFIIF and Pol II-CD3Delta were performed by standard methods known to a person of ordinary skill in the art.", "To assemble a Pol II, DNA/RNA scaffold, TFIIB complex (PB-25), a 54-nts oligonucleotides containing a single stretch of 25 non-complimentary bases and a 5-mer RNA (complimentary to the template strand) were annealed above their melting temperatures and allowed to cool down slowly to 4° C. over a period of 5 hours.", "For PB-15, a 45-nts oligonucleotides containing a single stretch of 15 non-complimentary bases and a 6-mer RNA was used.", "The resulting DNA/RNA scaffold was incubated with 12-subunit Pol II (3:1 molar ratio) and excess DNA/RNA scaffold was removed using size exclusion chromatography on a superdex 200 column (GE Healthcare).", "TFIIB was purified as described by Stevenson, et al., Proc.", "Natl.", "Acad.", "Sci., U.S.A. 2014, Vol.", "111:8470-8475, and was mixed with a Pol II-DNA-RNA scaffold (3:1 molar ratio (TFIIB:Pol II DNA-RNA scaffold) in high salt buffer.", "Removal of excess TFIIB was carried out using a second size exclusion step in low salt buffer (50-100 mM).", "dGTPase with N-terminal 6× histamine tag using wild type was overexpressed in DE3 cells.", "Cells were grown at 37° C. to an optical density of 0.6 at 600 nm, induced with 0.4 mM IPTG for 16 hours at 18° C. Purification was first performed by Ni-NTA chromatography (GE Healthcare) followed by a gel-filtration chromatography (Hi-Load Superdex 20016/60, GE Healthcare) equilibrated in 25 mM sodium phosphate at pH 7.5.Crystallization conditions for these proteins are as follows: Pol II: 4-7% PEG 6000, 300 mM sodium acetate, 200 mM ammonium acetate, 100 mM Hepes, pH 7.0, 10 mM DTT.", "Delta47: 4-11% PEG 6000, 400 mM ammonium/sodium hydrogen phosphate, 50 mM dioxane, 10 mM DTT.", "TFIIF: 8-12% PEG 400, 100 mM sodium malonate, 50 mM Hepes pH 7.0 and 10 mM DTT.", "Pol II-CD3Delta: 1.4 M sodium malonate, 10 mM DTT, pH 6.0.PB 25 and PB 15: 30-35% tactimate, 10 0 mM Hepes pH 7.0, 15 mM DTT.", "dGTPase: 1.6 M Potassium/Sodium Phosphate pH 8.5.Delta 47 dehydration experiments were performed according to the method disclosed in Cramer et al.", "Science, 2001, Vol.", "292:1863-1876.Brightfield and UV Tryptophan Screening An Olympus SZX16 brightfield microscope fitted with a 2XPFC objective was used to screen crystallization drops for granular aggregates and visible crystals to be used for nano-seeding experiments.", "Granular aggregates and visible crystals that may be used for nano-seeding experiments were screened with a Jansi UVEX microscope to determine if the sample was proteinaceous in nature.", "Image analysis was performed using the Jan Scientific CrystalDetect software.", "Crystal Fragmentation Crystal fragmentation was performed using 1.00, 0.5 mm and 0.1 mm diameter glass beads (Research Products International).", "Approximately 25-30 mg of beads were placed inside a 0.5 mL PCR microfuge tube and washed twice with water and reservoir solution.", "Crystalline material from several (2-5, or more) crystallization drops (with over 30-50 crystals ranging from 20-100 μm) was added to beads on ice, and diluted with precipitant solution sufficient to cover above the glass beads (about 30 μL).", "Beads and sample were vortexed twice for 10 seconds.", "Two microliters of the resulting material were pipetted out an observed under brightfield microscopy.", "The crystalline material (hereafter referred to as nano-seeds) was homogeneous lysed and consisted of a large number of sub-micrometer particles.", "Typically, nano-seeds were made the same day as the crystal optimization experiment was to be performed.", "Fragmentation was reduced if there was not sufficient volume to cover the beads, but over dilution of the nano-seeds was also preferably avoided.", "Nano Crystal Fragmentation To detect the presence of NC in crystallization drops the protocol described by Stevenson et al., 2014 was followed.", "UV positive granular aggregates were selected for TEM imaging to confirm the presence of nanocrystals.", "Crystallization conditions bearing NCs were subject to one round of optimization to generate larger amount of nano-crystals for nano-seeding experiments.", "Material from 12-24 crystallization drops containing nano-crystals was collected.", "Nano crystals were fragmented following the protocol described previously, but with shorter vortexing times (5 seconds).", "To corroborate proper fragmentation and size homogeneity, samples were evaluated with brightfield and UV microscopy (Jansi) before and after lysis.", "Due to the presence of aggregates in the sample, observation of a UV-signal was of paramount importance to allow qualitative estimate of nano-seed concentration.", "Nano Seed Quantification using UV Microscopy Fragmented crystals were diluted with mother liquor in different proportions including, 1:1, 1:2, 1:5, 1:25 and 1:125 in order to determine seed concentration.", "An aliquot (1-2 μL) from each dilution was placed on a haemocytometer (Hausser Scientific) and covered with a 22 mm glass coverslip (Hampton Research).", "Brightfield and UV-microscopy images were acquired for 1-4 sec with a Jansi UVEX microscope.", "Fragmented nano-seeds larger than 10 micrometer were visualized using a 5× objective; nanoseeds smaller than 10 micrometers were visualized using a 15× or 40× objective.", "Image analysis was performed using the Jan Scientific CrystalDetect software.", "Manual nano-seed counting was performed using the Cell Counter ImageJ software plugin and protocol for counting nanoseeds followed standard cell counting procedures.", "Transmission Electron Microscopy Experiments (TEM) Approximately 5 μL of fragmented samples was applied to 400 square mesh copper grids with carbon film (Electron Microscopy Sciences) made hydrophilic in a glow discharge (EmiTech) for 1 minute at 25 mV under atmospheric conditions.", "Sample was incubated on the grid for 30 seconds before blotting and staining with 2% uranyl acetate.", "EM images were acquired using a FEI Tecnai T12 microscope operating under 120 keV using a single tilt specimen holders.", "Images were collected onto a 2k×2k charge coupled device camera using the User Interface (for EM control and operation).", "Results Generation of Nano-Seeds Crystals of two macro molecular complexes refractory to conventional optimization protocols (including precipitant and protein concentration, pH, temperature and additives) were selected for micro-seeding experiments.", "Characteristically, crystals were small (<100 μm for PB-15 and <20 μm for PB-25), lacked defined edges, diffracted to low resolution (below 8 Å) and were highly mosaic.", "FIF.", "26A shows the crystals used in the crushing experiment.", "Brightfield and UV-microscopy analysis of crushed crystals using a 4 mm Teflon ball (Hampton Research) used for micro-seeding experiments revealed minimal and highly irregular crystal fragmentation (FIG.", "26B).", "In order to achieve better fragmentation glass beads with lower diameters (0.1, 0.5 and 1.0 mm) were employed, using the protocol described above.", "Observation of the crystalline material under the UV microscope revealed the presence of homogenous particles “nanoseeds” of low-micrometer and sub-micrometer sizes when fragmented with 0.5 mm glass beads (FIG.", "26C).", "The crystals underwent significantly more shearing when crushed with the glass beads with the smaller diameter.", "Evaluation of Nano-Seed Quality In order to characterize nanoseeds, their size was identified and the presence of ordered lattices using negative-stain TEM.", "Nanoseeds were easily visualized on EM grids.", "Size and thickness of nano-seeds range from 70-2000 nm and from one to several layers (FIG.", "27).", "FIG.", "27A shows an exemplary small nano-seed on top of a background of polymerase particles.", "Individual sheered lattices of Pol II, and a nano-seed with clearly visible fracture lines are shown in FIGS.", "27B and 27C, respectively.", "FIG.", "27D illustrates individual polymerase particles (left), and protein filaments (middle) feeding into a small nano-seed (right).", "In general, nano-seed size varied with bead diameter and number, and with vortexing time.", "Fewer beads with larger diameters and shorter vortexing times yielded larger nano-seeds and vice versa.", "FIG.", "28 illustrates the difference between nano-seeds generated with 0.5 mm beads and those generated by 1.0 mm beads.", "FIG.", "28A is a TEM image of nano-seeds with single planes of lattice generated by 0.5 mm beads, and FIG.", "28B is a TEM image of a nano-seed several layers thick generated by 1 mm beads.", "Since crystalline lattices were clearly visualized with TEM, calculating Fourier transforms from the images allowed qualitative evaluation of crystal lattices (Bragg spots).", "High quality lattices with three or higher order Bragg spots were evident for several samples (FIG.", "27, insets).", "Moreover, lattice visualization allowed corroboration of the crystal's protein nature and qualitative estimation of other crystal parameters such as solvent content (FIG.", "29) and defects in diffraction patterns such as anisotropy (FIG.", "30).", "The TEM images in FIG.", "29 compare the solvent content to calculated values, with wild type Pol II at 78% (FIG.", "29A), TFIIF at 65% (FIG.", "29B), and dGTPase at 55% (FIG.", "29C).", "The images in FIG.", "30 show Delta47 crystals after fragmentation, with FFT suggesting anisotropy (FIG.", "30A), and crystals after undergoing dehydration with an isotropic FFT (FIG.", "30B).", "These results illustrate the potential use of TEM analysis of nano-seeds as a screening method to determine crystal quality.", "Since the protocol described herein for nanoseed generation was highly efficient and reproducible, it constituted an important way to generate nanocrystalline material to perform cryo-electron crystallography.", "Quantification of Nano-Seeds for Seeding Experiments Given the homogeneous size of nanoseeds and the fact that they are easily visualized under the UV microscope, a protocol was developed to quantify the number of nanoseeds per microliter of fragmented crystals.", "FIG.", "31 provides UV tryptophan fluorescence images of seed concentration determination using a hemocytometer of undiluted (FIG.", "31A) and 1-4 dilution of seeds (FIG.", "31B).", "Seeds were injected into the counter chamber covered by a thin UV transparent cover slip and image was acquired for 4 seconds.", "Both counts yield an average of 330 seeds per μL.", "FIG.", "31C shows a lower magnification image of hemocytometer with seeds showing the ImageJ counting overlay.", "The counting protocol used was consistent for each nanoseed dilution tested.", "Given that the ratio of seeds to protein and precipitant could be carefully monitored, nanoseed quantification allowed highly reproducible seeding experiments, since known crystal quantities could be consistently deposited on each crystal drop.", "Interestingly, a threshold number of nano-seeds was necessary to grow visible crystals (FIG.", "32, lower and middle panels).", "Nano-Seeding Experiments Using Large Crystals Once corroborated the high quality nature of the nano-seeds, and the number of nanoseed per microliter of fragmented sample, micro-seeding experiments were performed using a nano-seed stock generated from small visible crystals (FIG.", "8A).", "For nano-seeding experiments, conventional serial dilutions of the nano-seed stock were performed in order to fine-tune crystal size and quality.", "Nano-seeds were deposited on crystallization drops using a 0.3-0.4 millimeter cryo-loops (Hampton Research).", "“Nano-seeded” crystal drops generated high quality crystals (FIG.", "16, bottom row).", "X-ray diffraction experiments showed overall improvement of resolution and crystal mosaicity (FIG.", "16, bottom row, right panels) as expected.", "Moreover crystal optimization using multiple rounds of nano-seeding (sequential nano-seeding) allowed generation of large diffractable crystals, from crystals that were previously to small and low quality for x-ray diffraction.", "(FIG.", "17 A-C).", "Nano-Seeding Experiments using Nano-Crystals Seeding experiments were performed using nano-seeds from fragmented nano-crystals with high quality crystal lattices identified by TEM.", "For these samples, no serial dilutions were made since concentration of nano-seeds was typically low.", "For the examples presented in FIG.", "16, top row, sequential nano-seeded drops generated diffracting crystals from granular precipitates.", "In addition to nano-seeding being a useful initial step for obtaining higher quality crystals or simply optimizing nano-crystals into visible ones, this technique may provide a useful and reliable shortcut for arduous optimization steps for many protein crystallographic targets or at the very least significantly enhance traditional optimization approaches.", "Generation of Crystal Catalogues Given the advances provided by X-ray diffraction experiments using free electron lasers, it is very desirable to generate high quality of homogeneous population of nano-crystals (heretofore referred as crystal catalogues) to be used for experiments at Coherent X-ray Imaging (CXI) or X-ray Pump Probe (XPP) (>20 micrometers) facilities.", "Initially the effects of using quantified seed dilutions on crystal growth, seeded into varying precipitant to sample dilutions, were explored.", "As seen in FIG.", "32, there was a distinct correlation between both the precipitant to sample dilution and the quantity of seeds used dilution.", "With this in mind a protocol to generate crystal catalogues consisting of finely tuned crystal sizes was developed using nano-seeds.", "Once nano-seeds were quantified, crystal drops were set with different ratios of volumes of protein to precipitant and seeded with equal amounts of nano-seeds from the seeding stock using a 0.3-0.4 millimeter cryo-loops (Hampton Research).", "As expected, all seeded drops generated collections of homogeneous crystal sizes (FIG.", "19), such patterns were absent for non-seeded drops (not shown).", "Discussion Crystal seeding has been traditionally part art, part science.", "Low quality crystals were visually identified, crushed and used as a nucleation platform for further crystallization experiments in hopes of growing larger, higher quality crystals.", "However, with no way to probe the quality of these seeds and identify the best starting material, labours testing of conditions and seed dilutions were required to ultimately obtain the desired crystals.", "In the method presented herein, careful pre-screening of seeding material using TEM and UV microscopy allowed for controlled seeding experiments leading to the growth of high quality crystals.", "The protocol used beads 0.5 to 1.0 mm in diameter to generate nano-seeds—fully fragmented crystals or crystalline granular aggregates, pre-selected by TEM.", "Fragmentation was nearly uniform and could be controlled by modifying parameters such as vortexing time and bead diameter or number.", "It was demonstrated that the fragmented crystal seeds could be quantified with a simple protocol using UV-microscopy.", "Seed quantification provided a way to introduce consistent numbers of crystal seeds allowing for full reproducibility of the seeding experiment.", "Also included was a reproducible protocol to visualize fragmented crystals using TEM.", "This method allowed evaluation of critical crystal parameters such as fragment size, lattice quality and crystal solvent content.", "In most experiments, a direct correlation between nano-seed quality and the appearance of high quality crystals on seeded drops was easily established and corroborated by X-ray diffraction data.", "Applications of this fragmentation protocols might also include generation of crystals for cryo-electron crystallography and X-FEL experiments.", "Use of nano-seeds were extraordinary in four applications: 1) to produce improvements in crystal quality that could not be obtained through crystal condition optimization or traditional seeding.", "2) Nano-crystals from granular crystalline aggregates, not visible by brightfield microscopy, only identifiable by TEM, was successfully used in seeding experiments to produce visible crystals useful for traditional x-ray crystallography.", "3) To produce higher quality nano-crystals, as in traditional seeding results, improvements of which were observed by TEM.", "4) Nano-seed slurries of large crystals could be used to produce homogenous sized crystals of differing sizes.", "These results have not only important and useful applications for traditional and nanocrystallography, but also serves as a probe into the workings of seeding, a technique which though powerful not much is known about what is occurring during the process.", "Furthermore, these seeds would be excellent candidates for electron diffraction experiments.", "Electron crystallography of three-dimensional microcrystals is a newly developing field that utilizes a diffraction tilt series on several 500-1000 nm thick crystals to capture a complete data set.", "The seeds produced by the fragmentation protocol described here would provide crystal fragments that would be appropriate for electron diffraction experiments circumventing the need to develop crystal growth protocols for such small crystals.", "The techniques presented here offered an understanding of the working of seeding as well as a means to obtain high quality crystals.", "However, it also provided a way to dictate the size of crystals.", "A significant benefit of this technique is the ability to solve structures of crystals with a low threshold of radiation sensitivity, as the use of nano-crystals with X-FEL to determine protein structure becomes more robust.", "For X-FEL, large crystals often must be “optimized down” to obtain high quality nano-crystals comparable with the current setups as CXI or XPP.", "This can be a tedious and unpredictable process, much like optimizing small crystals into larger ones.", "By applying the nano-seeding method, crystal size can be fine-tuned using a standardized amount of nano-seeds, seeded into varying ratios of protein to precipitant.", "The results presented herein show that these experiments, when combined with nano-seed slurries, produced drops with homogenously sized crystals, which vary in size with the protein to precipitant ratio used.", "In view of the many possible embodiments to which the principles of the disclosed invention may be applied, it should be recognized that the illustrated embodiments are only preferred examples of the invention and should not be taken as limiting the scope of the invention.", "Rather, the scope of the invention is defined by the following claims.", "We therefore claim as our invention all that comes within the scope and spirit of these claims." ] ]
Patent_15873214
[ [ "STERILIZATION DEVICE", "A sterilization device includes: a processing chamber in which a fluid passing through a straightener flows in a first direction, the straightener being provided at an inlet of the processing chamber; a plurality of light emitting devices arranged in an array on a plane facing the straightener in the first direction, sandwiching the processing chamber, and irradiating the fluid in the processing chamber with ultraviolet light; a light source chamber that houses the plurality of light emitting devices inside; and a discharge path provided to the side of the light source chamber and allowing the fluid passing through the processing chamber to flow in the first direction." ], [ "1.A sterilization device comprising: a processing chamber in which a fluid passing through a straightener flows in a first direction, the straightener being provided at an inlet of the processing chamber; a plurality of light emitting devices arranged in an array on a plane facing the straightener in the first direction, sandwiching the processing chamber, and irradiating the fluid in the processing chamber with ultraviolet light; a light source chamber that houses the plurality of light emitting devices inside; and a discharge path provided to the side of the light source chamber and allowing the fluid passing through the processing chamber to flow in the first direction.", "2.The sterilization device according to claim 1, further comprising: an optical element that converts the ultraviolet light emitted by the plurality of light emitting devices into a parallel light that travels in the first direction.", "3.The sterilization device according to claim 2, wherein the optical element is a rod lens that extends in a direction in which the plurality of light emitting devices are arranged.", "4.The sterilization device according to claim 1, further comprising: a cooling path provided opposite to the processing chamber, sandwiching the light source chamber, so as to cool the plurality of light emitting devices, wherein the cooling path communicates with the processing chamber via the discharge path and is configured such that at least a portion of the fluid in the processing chamber is discharged outside via the cooling path.", "5.The sterilization device according to claim 1, wherein an inner surface of the processing chamber is made of a fluororesin material that reflects the ultraviolet light emitted by the plurality of light emitting devices.", "6.The sterilization device according to claim 1, further comprising: a housing in which the processing chamber, the light source chamber, and the discharge path are provided, wherein the housing includes an upstream wall that bounds the processing chamber, an inner wall that bounds the light source chamber, a downstream wall that bounds the discharge path along with the inner wall, and a connection wall that connects the upstream wall and the downstream wall, and a thickness of the connection wall in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction is progressively smaller in a direction from the upstream wall toward the downstream wall.", "7.A sterilization device comprising: a processing chamber in which a fluid passing through an inlet flows in a first direction; a plurality of light emitting devices arranged in an array on a plane facing the processing chamber in the first direction and irradiating the fluid in the processing chamber with ultraviolet light; a light source chamber that houses the plurality of light emitting devices inside; and a discharge path provided to the side of the light source chamber and allowing the fluid passing through the processing chamber to flow in the first direction." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION <EOH>" ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION <EOH>In this background, one illustrative purpose of the present invention is to provide a sterilization device capable of enhancing the sterilization capability with a smaller number of light emitting devices.", "A sterilization device according to an embodiment of the present invention comprises: a processing chamber in which a fluid passing through a straightener flows in a first direction, the straightener being provided at an inlet of the processing chamber; and a plurality of light emitting devices arranged in an array on a plane facing the straightener in the first direction, sandwiching the processing chamber, and irradiating the fluid in the processing chamber with ultraviolet light.", "According to this embodiment, the fluid straightened by the straightener provided at the inlet to flow in the first direction is irradiated with ultraviolet light in the first direction for sterilization.", "As a result, the fluid is exposed to the ultraviolet light from the light emitting devices over a period of time in which the fluid passing through the straightener flows in the first direction as far as the vicinity of the plurality of light emitting devices.", "In essence, the period of time in which the ultraviolet light from a light emitting device exposes the fluid can be extended as compared with a case of arranging a plurality of light emitting devices along the flow path and radiating ultraviolet light perpendicular to the flow of the fluid.", "Thus, according to the embodiment, the cumulative irradiation level of the ultraviolet irradiating the fluid is increased and the sterilization capability is improved even when a relatively small number of light emitting devices are used.", "The sterilization device may further comprise: an optical element that converts the ultraviolet light emitted by the plurality of light emitting devices into a parallel light that travels in the first direction.", "The optical element may be a rod lens that extends in a direction in which the plurality of light emitting devices are arranged.", "The sterilization device may further comprise a cooling path provided opposite to the processing chamber, sandwiching the plurality of light emitting devices, so as to cool the plurality of light emitting devices.", "The cooling path may communicate with the processing chamber and may be configured such that at least a portion of the fluid in the processing chamber is discharged outside via the cooling path.", "An inner surface of the processing chamber may be made of a fluororesin material that reflects the ultraviolet light emitted by the plurality of light emitting devices." ], [ "RELATED APPLICATION Priority is claimed to Japanese Patent Application No.", "2015-176159, filed on Sep. 7, 2015, the entire content of which is incorporated herein by reference.", "BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1.Field of the Invention The present invention relates to sterilization devices and, more particularly, to a device that sterilizes a fluid by irradiating the fluid with ultraviolet light.", "2.Description of the Related Art It is known that ultraviolet light has sterilization capability.", "Devices that radiate ultraviolet light are used for sterilization in medical and food processing fronts.", "Devices that sterilize a fluid such as water continuously by irradiating the fluid with ultraviolet light are also used.", "One example of such a sterilization device is a water sterilizer module including a plurality of ultraviolet light emitting devices arranged along a flow path.", "It is necessary to increase the irradiation level of ultraviolet light irradiating the fluid in order to enhance the sterilization effect of ultraviolet irradiation.", "However, an increase in the number of light emitting devices to obtain a suitable sterilization effect leads to an increase in the cost.", "SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In this background, one illustrative purpose of the present invention is to provide a sterilization device capable of enhancing the sterilization capability with a smaller number of light emitting devices.", "A sterilization device according to an embodiment of the present invention comprises: a processing chamber in which a fluid passing through a straightener flows in a first direction, the straightener being provided at an inlet of the processing chamber; and a plurality of light emitting devices arranged in an array on a plane facing the straightener in the first direction, sandwiching the processing chamber, and irradiating the fluid in the processing chamber with ultraviolet light.", "According to this embodiment, the fluid straightened by the straightener provided at the inlet to flow in the first direction is irradiated with ultraviolet light in the first direction for sterilization.", "As a result, the fluid is exposed to the ultraviolet light from the light emitting devices over a period of time in which the fluid passing through the straightener flows in the first direction as far as the vicinity of the plurality of light emitting devices.", "In essence, the period of time in which the ultraviolet light from a light emitting device exposes the fluid can be extended as compared with a case of arranging a plurality of light emitting devices along the flow path and radiating ultraviolet light perpendicular to the flow of the fluid.", "Thus, according to the embodiment, the cumulative irradiation level of the ultraviolet irradiating the fluid is increased and the sterilization capability is improved even when a relatively small number of light emitting devices are used.", "The sterilization device may further comprise: an optical element that converts the ultraviolet light emitted by the plurality of light emitting devices into a parallel light that travels in the first direction.", "The optical element may be a rod lens that extends in a direction in which the plurality of light emitting devices are arranged.", "The sterilization device may further comprise a cooling path provided opposite to the processing chamber, sandwiching the plurality of light emitting devices, so as to cool the plurality of light emitting devices.", "The cooling path may communicate with the processing chamber and may be configured such that at least a portion of the fluid in the processing chamber is discharged outside via the cooling path.", "An inner surface of the processing chamber may be made of a fluororesin material that reflects the ultraviolet light emitted by the plurality of light emitting devices.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Embodiments will now be described by way of examples only, with reference to the accompanying drawings which are meant to be exemplary, not limiting and wherein like elements are numbered alike in several Figures in which: FIG.", "1 schematically shows a configuration of a sterilization device according to an embodiment; FIG.", "2 is a sectional view schematically showing a configuration of the sterilization device of FIG.", "1; and FIG.", "3 is an outline view schematically showing a configuration of the straightener.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The invention will now be described by reference to the preferred, embodiments.", "This does not intend to limit the scope of the present invention, but to exemplify the invention.", "A detailed description of an embodiment to implement the present invention will be given with reference to the drawings.", "Like numerals are used in the description to denote like elements and the description is omitted as appropriate.", "FIG.", "1 schematically shows a configuration of a sterilization device 10 according to an embodiment and FIG.", "2 shows an A-A cross section of FIG.", "1.The sterilization device 10 is configured such that a fluid such as potable water is caused to flow into a processing chamber 40 via a straightener 36 at an inlet 30, ultraviolet light is radiated toward the fluid inside the processing chamber 4 from a plurality of light emitting devices 12 so as to sterilize the target fluid.", "The sterilization device 10 extends a period of time that the fluid flowing in the processing chamber 40 is exposed to ultraviolet light by irradiating the fluid with a ultraviolet light C along a direction B of the flow of the fluid in the processing chamber 40.The sterilization device 10 includes a plurality of light emitting devices 12, a substrate 14, a rod lens 16, a window part 18, a housing 20, and a straightener 36.Referring to the FIG., x direction and y direction are defined as directions in which the plurality of light emitting devices are arranged, and z direction is defined as a direction perpendicular to both of the x direction and the y direction.", "The x direction is defined as a direction in which the rod lens 16 extends.", "The housing 20 has a shape of a box in which a processing chamber 40, a light source chamber 42, a cooling path 44, a first discharge path 46, and a second discharge path 48 are provided.", "The housing 20 extends in the first direction (z direction) and an inlet 30 and an outlet 32 are provided at respective ends spaced apart in the z direction.", "It is desirable that the inner surface of the housing 20 be formed by a member having a high reflectivity for the ultraviolet light emitted by the light emitting devices 12.Preferably, the inner surface is formed by, for example, fluororesin having a high reflectivity for ultraviolet such as polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE).", "In this case, the housing 20 may be formed by fluororesin such as PTFE, or the inner surface of the housing 20 may be coated with a liner made of PTFE.", "In this specification, the side on which the inlet 30 is provided is referred to as the upstream side and the side on which the outlet 32 is provided is referred to as the downstream side.", "Inside the housing 20, the processing chamber 40 is provided upstream of the light source chamber 42 and the light source chamber 42 is provided downstream of the processing chamber 40.The light source chamber 42 is surrounded by the processing chamber 40, the cooling path 44, the first discharge path 46, and the second discharge path 48.The housing 20 includes an outer wall 22, a flange 24, a bottom wall 26, and an inner wall 28.The outer wall 22 includes an upstream wall 22a, a connection wall 22b, and a downstream wall 22c.", "The upstream wall 22a bounds the circumference of the processing chamber 40 and extends in the z direction along the processing chamber 40.The downstream wall 22c bounds the circumference of the light source chamber 42, the cooling path 44, the first discharge path 46, and the second discharge path 48 and extends in the z direction along the first discharge path 46 or the second discharge path 48.The connection wall 22b is provided between the upstream wall 22a and the downstream wall 22c and bounds the vicinity of the first discharge path 46 and the second discharge path 48.The inner surface of the upstream wall 22a is formed such that the width Wa of the processing chamber 40 in the x direction is substantially equal to or smaller than the width Wb of the light source chamber 42 in the x direction.", "Stated otherwise, the upstream wall 22a is formed to be thicker than the connection wall 22b and the downstream wall 22c so that the width Wa of the processing chamber 40 in the x direction is smaller.", "Meanwhile, inner surface of the downstream wall 22c is formed to be located outward of the light source chamber 42 in the x direction.", "As a result, the downstream wall 22c is formed to have a thickness smaller than that of the upstream wall 22a.", "The connection wall 22b is formed such that the thickness thereof in the x direction is progressively smaller downstream and connects the upstream wall 22a and the downstream wall 22c having different thicknesses in the x direction.", "The flange 24 is provided at the upstream end of the outer wall 22 and is connected to a pipe, etc.", "for supplying a fluid processed by the sterilization device 10 to the processing chamber 40.The bottom wall 26 is provided at the downstream end of the side wall 22 and bounds the cooling path 44 along with the inner wall 28.The inner wall 28 is provided to bound the light source chamber 42 along with the window part 18.The inner wall 28 is formed along the cooling path 44, the first discharge path 46, and the second discharge path 48 and provides a partition between the paths and the light source chamber 42.Inside the light source chamber 42, provided are the plurality of light emitting devices 12, the substrate 14, and the rod lens 16.The light emitting devices 12 are light emitting diodes (LEDs) configured to emit ultraviolet light, and the central wavelength or peak wavelength thereof is included in a range of about 200 nm-350 nm.", "For example, it is preferable that the light emitting devices 12 be LEDs emitting ultraviolet light near a wavelength range of 260 nm-290 nm having a high sterilizing efficiency.", "Such ultraviolet LEDs are exemplified by aluminum gallium nitride (AlGaN) based LEDs.", "The plurality of light emitting devices 12 are mounted on the substrate 14 and provided on a mounting surface 34 of the light source chamber 42 so as to be oriented to radiate ultraviolet light toward the processing chamber 40 in the z direction.", "The plurality of light emitting devices 12 are arranged in an array on the mounting surface 34 facing the straightener 36.For example, the light emitting devices 12 are arranged in an array of four light emitting devices in the x direction and two columns in the y direction.", "The plurality of light emitting devices 12 may be provided to form a linear array including only one column or provided in three or more columns.", "The substrate 14 is made by using a highly heat-conductive member.", "For example, copper (Cu), aluminum (Al), or the like is used as a base material of the substrate 14.The substrate 14 is mounted to the inner wall 28 bounding the cooling path 44 and is cooled by the fluid flowing through the cooling path 44.The rod lens 16 is provided between the plurality of light emitting devices 12 and the window part 18 so as to extend in the x direction in which the plurality of light emitting devices 12 are arranged.", "As shown in FIG.", "2, the rod lens 16 converts the ultraviolet light from the light emitting devices 12 into a parallel light that travels toward the processing chamber 40 in the z direction.", "In place of the rod lens 16, a cylindrical lens may be provided as an optical element that turns the light from the light emitting devices 12 into parallel light.", "Still alternatively, a ball lens or a convex lens associated with each of the light emitting devices 12 may be provided.", "The window part 18 provides a partition between the processing chamber 40 and the light source chamber 42 and transmits the ultraviolet light from the light emitting devices 12.The window part 18 is formed of a material having a high transmissivity for the ultraviolet light from the light emitting devices 12.For example, the window part 18 is made of quartz (SiO2), sapphire (Al2O3), amorphous fluororesin, etc.", "The window part 18 is fitted to the inner wall 28 so as to prevent the fluid flowing in the processing chamber 40 from entering the light source chamber 42.As shown in FIG.", "2, an opening 50 is provided to the side of the light source chamber 42.The opening 50 provides communication between the interior of the light source chamber 42 and a space outside the housing 20.By providing the opening 50, it is easy to mount the plurality of light emitting devices 12 and the rod lens 16 inside the light source chamber 42.In the event of a failure in some of the plurality of light emitting devices 12, the provision facilitates maintenance to replace the relevant light emitting device 12.A removable cover may be attached to the opening 50.FIG.", "3 is an outline view schematically showing a configuration of the straightener 36.The straightener 36 is a porous straightener having a plurality of holes 38 arranged in the x direction and in the y direction.", "The straightener 36 is provided at the inlet 30 of the housing 20 and straightens the flow of the fluid flowing via the inlet 30.The straightener causes the fluid flowing in the processing chamber 40 to flow in a laminar flow in the z direction.", "The straightener 36 may not be limited to a porous straightener but may be a straightener mechanism having another shape capable of turning the flow in the processing chamber 40 into a laminar flow.", "According to the configuration above, the fluid flowing into the sterilization device 10 is straightened by the straightener 36 and travels in the processing chamber 40 in a laminar flow in the direction B along the z direction.", "The ultraviolet light C from the light source chamber 42 is turned into a parallel light along the z direction and irradiates the fluid inside the processing chamber 40.A portion of the fluid passing through the processing chamber 40 is discharged from the outlet 32 via the first discharge path 46 and the cooling path 44, and another portion is discharged from the outlet 32 via the second discharge path 48.The fluid flowing in the cooling path 44 cools the light emitting devices 12 that dissipate heat when lighted.", "According to this embodiment, the ultraviolet light from the plurality of light emitting devices 12 are propagated in the first direction (z direction) so that not only the fluid in the vicinity of the window part 18 from which the ultraviolet light is emitted but also the fluid near the straightener 36 distanced from the window part 18 is irradiated with high-intensity ultraviolet light.", "In particular, the fluid flowing into the processing chamber 40 is turned into a laminar flow by the straightener 36 so that the ultraviolet light is propagated farther than when the fluid is turbulent inside the processing chamber 40.This extends a period of time that the fluid is exposed to the ultraviolet light of a predetermined intensity or higher and increases the cumulative irradiation level of the ultraviolet light irradiating the fluid passing through the processing chamber 40.According to the embodiment, the ultraviolet light from the plurality of light emitting devices 12 is turned into a parallel light so that the ultraviolet light is propagated to the vicinity of the straightener 36 distanced from the window part 18 without attenuating the intensity of the ultraviolet light so much.", "This increases the cumulative irradiation level of the ultraviolet light to which the fluid is exposed and improves the sterilization capability.", "According to the embodiment, the inner surface of the housing 20 is made of a material having a high ultraviolet reflectivity so that the ultraviolet light traveling to the inner surface of the housing 20 is reflected and guided toward the fluid.", "This increases the cumulative irradiation level of the ultraviolet light to which the fluid is exposed and improves the sterilization capability.", "According to the embodiment, by configuring the cross-sectional area of water flow of the processing chamber 40 to be substantially equal to or smaller than the range in which the window part 18 is provided, the entirety of the fluid flowing in the processing chamber 40 is irradiated with the ultraviolet from the plurality of light emitting devices 12.If the width Wa of the processing chamber 40 in the x direction is configured to be larger than the width Wb of the light scarce chamber 42 in the x direction, the fluid flowing along the inner surface of the upstream wall 22a is discharged without being irradiated with ultraviolet light sufficiently.", "Meanwhile, according to the embodiment, the width of the processing chamber 40 is limited to the range irradiated with the parallel light from the plurality of light emitting devices 12 so that the entirety of the fluid flowing in the processing chamber 40 is suitably irradiated with ultraviolet light.", "According to the embodiment, a portion of the fluid flowing in the processing chamber 40 is used to cool the light emitting devices 12 so that the impact such as lower ultraviolet output due to heat dissipation from the light emitting devices 12 or shorter life of the light emitting devices 12 is mitigated.", "Described above is an explanation based on an exemplary embodiment.", "The embodiment is intended to be illustrative only and it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various modifications to constituting elements and processes could be developed and that such modifications are also within the scope of the present invention.", "In one variation, the inventive sterilization device may be used for a purification process that decomposes organic substance included in a fluid by using ultraviolet irradiation.", "In another variation, the straightener 36 may not be provided.", "It should be understood that the invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, but may be modified into various forms on the basis of the spirit of the invention.", "Additionally, the modifications are included in the scope of the invention." ] ]
Patent_15873217
[ [ "MANUFACTURING METHOD FOR PORTABLE DATA CARRIERS", "A method for manufacturing a portable data carrier by means of a continuous manufacturing method, comprises the steps: providing at least one foil as a rolled good, unrolling at least one first foil, with at least a first foil being coated at least partly with an adhesive on at least one side, with at least the first foil being scored on at least one side along at least one creasing edge, with at least the first foil being folded up in precise fit along at least one creasing edge and bonded, with the foil being folded up in the direction of the side which is coated with adhesive, with the side coated with adhesive being arranged on the opposite side of the foil which has at least one scored creasing edge along which it is folded." ], [ "1.A method for manufacturing a portable data carrier by means of a continuous manufacturing method, comprising the steps: providing at least one foil as a rolled good, unrolling at least one first foil, wherein at least the first foil is coated at least partly with an adhesive on at least one side, wherein at least the first foil is scored on at least one side along at least one creasing edge, wherein at least the first foil is folded up in precise fit along at least one creasing edge and bonded, wherein the foil is folded up in the direction of the side which is coated with adhesive, wherein the side coated with adhesive is arranged on the opposite side of the foil which has at least one scored creasing edge along which it is folded, wherein on at least one foil at least a part of a security element and/or at least one security element is arranged on an arbitrary side of the foil; wherein the security element effects a chemical reaction.", "2.A method for manufacturing a portable data carrier by means of a continuous manufacturing method, comprising the steps: providing at least one foil as a rolled good, unrolling at least one first foil, wherein at least the first foil is coated at least partly with an adhesive on at least one side, wherein at least the first foil is scored on at least one side along at least one creasing edge, wherein at least the first foil is folded up in precise fit along at least one creasing edge and bonded, wherein the foil is folded up in the direction of the side which is coated with adhesive, wherein the side coated with adhesive is arranged on the opposite side of the foil which has at least one scored creasing edge along which it is folded, wherein on at least one foil at least a part of a security element and/or at least one security element is arranged on an arbitrary side of the foil; wherein a scented lacquer, a color indicator, a catalyst or a test strip is used as a security feature which effects a chemical reaction.", "3.A data carrier which is manufactured according to and having the features of the data carrier in the method of the claim 1." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND <EOH>The invention describes a manufacturing method for portable data carriers.", "Portable data carriers, such as for example SIM cards, credit cards, health cards, identity cards etc.", "are usually manufactured by an injection molding method or a lamination method.", "SIM cards are normally manufactured by an injection molding method which is very expensive and means a high material expenditure.", "The high expenditure is due to the fact that SIM cards are often broken off from cards in ID-1 format.", "Therefore, the largest part of the ID-1 card is thrown away after the breaking off of the SIM card.", "Furthermore, the manufacture of, for example, credit cards is more or less a single-piece production.", "The quasi single-piece production entails a sequential manual processing which is very time-intensive and cost-intensive.", "When portable data carriers are manufactured by means of lamination method, due to high temperatures, e.g.", "between 120 and 160 degrees Celsius, and high pressures, e.g.", "between 100 and 250 bar, the components of the data carrier are subjected to a high load.", "This often leads to a damage of the components, such as for example antenna coils, chips.", "Components sensitive to such loads, such as for example display elements, therefore cannot be processed by means of a lamination method.", "Further, the lamination method takes a relatively long time until the different foil layers have permanently combined under pressure and temperature.", "From the prior art there is known a method for manufacturing a portable data carrier by means of a continuous manufacturing method which as a first step provides at least one foil as a rolled good and unrolls at least one first foil for the method.", "The at least one first foil is coated at least partly with an adhesive on at least one side.", "The adhesive may be liquid or paste-like.", "Further, the adhesive may be processed e.g.", "also in the form of a double-sided adhesive tape or in any other suitable form.", "Then, at least the first foil is scored on at least one side along at least one creasing edge.", "After scoring, at least the first foil is folded up in precise fit along at least one creasing edge and bonded.", "In doing so, the foil is so folded that the foil is folded in the direction of the side which is coated with adhesive.", "The side coated with adhesive here is arranged on the opposite side of the foil which has at least one scored creasing edge along which it is folded.", "In the end, at least one data carrier is detached from the at least one folded and bonded foil, e.g.", "by means of a laser or a punch or a water jet.", "A disadvantage of the prior art is that accordingly manufactured data carriers can be easily forged." ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY <EOH>Starting out from the prior art, it is the object of the invention to find a solution which avoids the disadvantage described above.", "For achieving the object the invention discloses a method for manufacturing a portable data carrier by means of a continuous manufacturing method, comprising the steps: providing at least one foil as a rolled good, unrolling at least one first foil, with at least the first foil being coated at least partly with an adhesive on at least one side, with at least the first foil being scored on at least one side along at least one creasing edge, with at least the first foil being folded up in precise fit along at least one creasing edge and bonded, with the foil is folded up in the direction of the side which is coated with adhesive, with the side coated with adhesive being arranged on the opposite side of the foil which has at least one scored creasing edge along which it is folded, which is characterized by the fact that on at least one foil at least a part of a security element and/or at least one security element is arranged on an arbitrary side of the foil.", "An advantageous embodiment example is that the security element is processed by feeding it from a roll or as a bulk material.", "Another advantageous embodiment example is that the security element is incorporated into an area of the foil, which is coated with adhesive.", "Another advantageous embodiment example is that the security element is embossed into at least one foil of the data carrier.", "Another advantageous embodiment example is that the security element is arranged on at least one outer side of the data carrier and/or in the interior of the data carrier.", "Another advantageous embodiment example is that the security element effects a chemical reaction.", "Another advantageous embodiment example is that a scented lacquer, a color indicator, a catalyst or a test strip is used as a security feature which effects a chemical reaction.", "Another advantageous embodiment example is that the security element effects an optical reaction.", "Another advantageous embodiment example is that a self-luminous ink, a security thread, champs or metal pigments are used as a security feature which effects an optical reaction.", "Another advantageous embodiment example is that the security element effects a haptic reaction.", "Another advantageous embodiment example is that a logo or a Braille character is used as a security feature which effects a haptic reaction.", "Advantageously, the security features effecting a haptic reaction are embossed into a foil.", "Another advantageous embodiment example is that the adhesive itself includes at least a part of a security feature and/or at least one security feature.", "Another advantageous embodiment example is that a foil is used which includes at least a part of a security feature and/or at least one security feature on at least one surface and/or in its interior.", "Further, for achieving the object the invention discloses a data carrier which is manufactured according to the method described above." ], [ "BACKGROUND The invention describes a manufacturing method for portable data carriers.", "Portable data carriers, such as for example SIM cards, credit cards, health cards, identity cards etc.", "are usually manufactured by an injection molding method or a lamination method.", "SIM cards are normally manufactured by an injection molding method which is very expensive and means a high material expenditure.", "The high expenditure is due to the fact that SIM cards are often broken off from cards in ID-1 format.", "Therefore, the largest part of the ID-1 card is thrown away after the breaking off of the SIM card.", "Furthermore, the manufacture of, for example, credit cards is more or less a single-piece production.", "The quasi single-piece production entails a sequential manual processing which is very time-intensive and cost-intensive.", "When portable data carriers are manufactured by means of lamination method, due to high temperatures, e.g.", "between 120 and 160 degrees Celsius, and high pressures, e.g.", "between 100 and 250 bar, the components of the data carrier are subjected to a high load.", "This often leads to a damage of the components, such as for example antenna coils, chips.", "Components sensitive to such loads, such as for example display elements, therefore cannot be processed by means of a lamination method.", "Further, the lamination method takes a relatively long time until the different foil layers have permanently combined under pressure and temperature.", "From the prior art there is known a method for manufacturing a portable data carrier by means of a continuous manufacturing method which as a first step provides at least one foil as a rolled good and unrolls at least one first foil for the method.", "The at least one first foil is coated at least partly with an adhesive on at least one side.", "The adhesive may be liquid or paste-like.", "Further, the adhesive may be processed e.g.", "also in the form of a double-sided adhesive tape or in any other suitable form.", "Then, at least the first foil is scored on at least one side along at least one creasing edge.", "After scoring, at least the first foil is folded up in precise fit along at least one creasing edge and bonded.", "In doing so, the foil is so folded that the foil is folded in the direction of the side which is coated with adhesive.", "The side coated with adhesive here is arranged on the opposite side of the foil which has at least one scored creasing edge along which it is folded.", "In the end, at least one data carrier is detached from the at least one folded and bonded foil, e.g.", "by means of a laser or a punch or a water jet.", "A disadvantage of the prior art is that accordingly manufactured data carriers can be easily forged.", "SUMMARY Starting out from the prior art, it is the object of the invention to find a solution which avoids the disadvantage described above.", "For achieving the object the invention discloses a method for manufacturing a portable data carrier by means of a continuous manufacturing method, comprising the steps: providing at least one foil as a rolled good, unrolling at least one first foil, with at least the first foil being coated at least partly with an adhesive on at least one side, with at least the first foil being scored on at least one side along at least one creasing edge, with at least the first foil being folded up in precise fit along at least one creasing edge and bonded, with the foil is folded up in the direction of the side which is coated with adhesive, with the side coated with adhesive being arranged on the opposite side of the foil which has at least one scored creasing edge along which it is folded, which is characterized by the fact that on at least one foil at least a part of a security element and/or at least one security element is arranged on an arbitrary side of the foil.", "An advantageous embodiment example is that the security element is processed by feeding it from a roll or as a bulk material.", "Another advantageous embodiment example is that the security element is incorporated into an area of the foil, which is coated with adhesive.", "Another advantageous embodiment example is that the security element is embossed into at least one foil of the data carrier.", "Another advantageous embodiment example is that the security element is arranged on at least one outer side of the data carrier and/or in the interior of the data carrier.", "Another advantageous embodiment example is that the security element effects a chemical reaction.", "Another advantageous embodiment example is that a scented lacquer, a color indicator, a catalyst or a test strip is used as a security feature which effects a chemical reaction.", "Another advantageous embodiment example is that the security element effects an optical reaction.", "Another advantageous embodiment example is that a self-luminous ink, a security thread, champs or metal pigments are used as a security feature which effects an optical reaction.", "Another advantageous embodiment example is that the security element effects a haptic reaction.", "Another advantageous embodiment example is that a logo or a Braille character is used as a security feature which effects a haptic reaction.", "Advantageously, the security features effecting a haptic reaction are embossed into a foil.", "Another advantageous embodiment example is that the adhesive itself includes at least a part of a security feature and/or at least one security feature.", "Another advantageous embodiment example is that a foil is used which includes at least a part of a security feature and/or at least one security feature on at least one surface and/or in its interior.", "Further, for achieving the object the invention discloses a data carrier which is manufactured according to the method described above.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Embodiment examples of the invention are hereinafter described in more detail with reference to the attached figure.", "FIG.", "1 in principle shows the procedure of folding a foil according to the invention with reference to a two-step folding for manufacturing a data carrier.", "Although, a single-step or multi-step folding is also possible.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF VARIOUS EMBODIMENTS FIG.", "1 in principle shows the procedure of folding a foil 2 according to the invention with reference to a two-stage folding.", "A foil 2 is transported in the direction of machine operation 4 during the method.", "The foil 2 here has three regions 6, 8 and 10.Each of the regions 6 and 10 has several gaps 12 and 14 which were punched into the foil 2.The gaps 12 and 14 serve for the formation of a gap, into which a module, e.g.", "a chip module, is inserted.", "The regions 6 and 8 are coated with adhesive.", "Before the foil 2 is folded according to the invention, two scored lines 16 and 18 are scored into the foil 2 to facilitate the subsequent folding.", "First, the region 10 is folded in the direction 20 along the scored line 18, so that the region 10 comes to lie in precise fit on the region 8 coated with adhesive and is bonded thereto.", "The resulting region 22 is two-ply and has the gaps 14 at its surface.", "Next, the region 6 is folded in the direction 24 along the scored line 16 in precise fit onto the region 22 and bonded thereto.", "The result is now a three-ply foil in the region 26.The regions 6, 8 and 10 were folded in precise fit onto each other and bonded together, so that, for example, the gaps 12 and 14 have come to lie exactly one above the other.", "Tensions in the resulting card cancel each other out by an odd-numbered folding, e.g.", "single or triple folding in the method according to the invention.", "The orientations possibly present in the at least one foil cancel each other out by folding according to the invention.", "A resulting bulge or a distortion of the product is avoided thereby.", "In addition to the method described above it is possible to introduce in precise fit and to also bond a further foil during the folding.", "Therefore, constructions made of several foil layers and adhesive layers are realizable.", "This is interesting in particular when gaps in different planes, independent of the material thickness of a foil, are necessary.", "At the end of the method at least one data carrier, e.g.", "a SIM card or a credit card is punched out from the at least one folded and bonded foil.", "Alternatively to the punching, any other suitable method can be used for separating data carriers from the folded and bonded foil, e.g.", "separating by means of laser or water jet.", "According to the invention, during the above-described procedure of folding at least one foil 2 at least one security element is arranged on at least one outer side and/or in the interior of the data carrier to be manufactured.", "For reasons of clarity, a representation of a security element in FIG.", "1 has been omitted.", "The security element is supplied to the procedure described above from a roll or as bulk material.", "The security element is supplied such that it is incorporated into an area 6, 8 of the foil 2, which is coated with adhesive.", "Alternatively, the security element may be embossed into at least one foil 2 of the data carrier.", "The security element may effect a chemical, optical or haptic reaction when used.", "As a security feature which effects a chemical reaction there may be used, for example, a scented lacquer, a color indicator, a catalyst or a test strip.", "As a security feature which effects an optical reaction there may be used, for example, a self-luminous ink, a security thread, champs or metal pigments.", "As a security feature which effects a haptic reaction with a user of the data carrier there can be used, for example, a logo or a Braille character." ] ]
Patent_15873221
[ [ "POWER SUPPLY CIRCUIT AND AC ADAPTOR", "An AC adaptor is provided that includes a piezoelectric transformer, a switching circuit that is connected to an input electrode of the piezoelectric transformer and performs conversion of an input voltage by turning on and turning off switching elements.", "Moreover, a diode bridge and a smoothing capacitor are connected to output electrodes and a parallel circuit is connected between an input electrode and the switching circuit and includes a capacitor and a diode.", "In addition, a rectifying and smoothing circuit is connected in parallel with the parallel circuit and includes a diode and a capacitor.", "Accordingly, a power supply circuit and an AC adaptor are provided that generate an auxiliary power supply without hindering reduction in size." ], [ "1.A power supply circuit comprising: a piezoelectric transformer that includes a pair of voltage input electrodes and a pair of voltage output electrodes; a switching circuit connected to the pair of voltage input electrodes and configured to convert an input voltage into an AC voltage by turning on and off at least one switching element; an output-side rectifying and smoothing circuit connected to the pair of voltage output electrodes; a first reactance element connected between the pair of voltage input electrodes and the switching circuit; and an auxiliary-power-supply-side rectifying and smoothing circuit connected to the first reactance element.", "2.The power supply circuit according to claim 1, wherein the first reactance element is a capacitor configured as an auxiliary power supply, wherein the power supply circuit further comprises a diode that is connected in parallel with the capacitor configured as the auxiliary power supply, and wherein the auxiliary-power-supply-side rectifying and smoothing circuit is connected to a parallel circuit including the capacitor and the diode.", "3.The power supply circuit according to claim 2, wherein the capacitor configured as the auxiliary power supply is connected to the pair of voltage input electrodes.", "4.The power supply circuit according to claim 3, wherein a capacitance of the capacitor is equal to or more than an input capacitance of the piezoelectric transformer.", "5.The power supply circuit according to claim 3, wherein the capacitor configured as the auxiliary power supply is connected in parallel with the pair of voltage input electrodes.", "6.The power supply circuit according to claim 5, further comprising: an inductor connected between the pair of voltage input electrodes and the switching circuit, wherein the capacitor configured as the auxiliary power supply is connected in parallel with a series circuit including the inductor and the pair of voltage input electrodes.", "7.The power supply circuit according to claim 5, further comprising a voltage dividing capacitor connected in series with the parallel circuit.", "8.The power supply circuit according to claim 7, wherein the voltage dividing capacitor has a capacitance that is less than or equal to the capacitance of the capacitor configured as the auxiliary power supply.", "9.The power supply circuit according to claim 2, wherein the parallel circuit comprises a series circuit with a plurality of capacitors configured as the auxiliary power supply capacitors and connected in parallel with the diode.", "10.The power supply circuit according to claim 9, wherein the auxiliary-power-supply-side rectifying and smoothing circuit includes a plurality of auxiliary-power supply-side rectifying and smoothing circuits, and wherein at least one of the auxiliary-power-supply-side rectifying and smoothing circuits is connected to a connection point of the plurality of auxiliary power supply capacitors.", "11.The power supply circuit according to claim 10, further comprising a second reactance element that is connected in parallel with the series circuit including the plurality of auxiliary power supply capacitors.", "12.The power supply circuit according to claim 1, further comprising: an inductive circuit that includes the first reactance element and becomes inductive at a switching frequency of the switching circuit, wherein the auxiliary-power-supply-side rectifying and smoothing circuit is connected to the inductive circuit.", "13.The power supply circuit according to claim 12, wherein the first reactance element is an inductor, and wherein the inductor and a capacitor of the inductive circuit are connected in parallel.", "14.The power supply circuit according to claim 12, wherein the inductive circuit includes a series connection unit having a plurality of inductors connected in series.", "15.The power supply circuit according to claim 14, wherein the auxiliary-power-supply-side rectifying and smoothing circuit includes a plurality of auxiliary-power supply-side rectifying and smoothing circuits, and wherein at least one of the plurality of auxiliary-power-supply-side rectifying and smoothing circuits is connected to a connection point of two of the plurality of inductors of the inductive circuit.", "16.The power supply circuit according to claim 14, further comprising a capacitor that is connected in parallel with the series connection unit.", "17.The power supply circuit according to claim 14, further comprising an inductor connected in parallel with the series connection unit.", "18.The power supply circuit according to claim 12, wherein the first reactance element is an inductor, wherein the inductive circuit comprises another inductor connected in parallel with the inductor and a capacitor connected in series, wherein the auxiliary-power-supply-side rectifying and smoothing circuit includes a plurality of auxiliary-power supply-side rectifying and smoothing circuits, and wherein at least one of the plurality of auxiliary-power-supply-side rectifying and smoothing circuits is connected to a connection point of the capacitor and the inductor that are connected in series.", "19.The power supply circuit according to claim 1, wherein the first reactance element and the switching circuit are connected via ground.", "20.The power supply circuit according to claim 1, further comprising a voltage regulator connected to the auxiliary-power-supply-side rectifying and smoothing circuit.", "21.The power supply circuit according to claim 20, further comprising a driver circuit connected to the voltage regulator and configured to drive the switching element.", "22.The power supply circuit according to claim 20, further comprising a controller connected to the voltage regulator and configured to control the switching element to turn on and off the at least one switching element.", "23.The power supply circuit according to claim 1, further comprising: a detection circuit configured to detect a value based on an input current or input voltage input to the piezoelectric transformer; a circuit constant variable circuit connected to the pair of input electrodes or connected between the pair of input electrodes and the switching circuit and configured change a circuit constant; and a controller configured to change the circuit constant based on the value detected by the detection circuit, wherein the circuit constant variable circuit includes the first reactance element, and wherein the auxiliary-power-supply-side rectifying and smoothing circuit rectifies and smooths a voltage applied to the circuit constant variable circuit and outputs an auxiliary power supply voltage.", "24.The power supply circuit according to claim 23, wherein the circuit constant variable circuit includes a circuit constant fixing circuit.", "25.The power supply circuit according to claim 23, wherein the circuit constant variable circuit includes a switching element, and wherein the controller is configured to change the circuit constant of the circuit constant variable circuit by turning on and turning off the switching element of the circuit constant variable circuit.", "26.The power supply circuit according to claim 23, wherein the circuit constant variable circuit includes a variable capacitance element.", "27.The power supply circuit according to claim 23, wherein the detection circuit is connected to an input side of the switching circuit.", "28.An AC adaptor comprising: an input that is configured to connect to a commercial power supply and to input a voltage received from the commercial power supply; an input-side rectifying and smoothing circuit configured to rectify and smooth the voltage from the input; a piezoelectric transformer that includes a pair of voltage input electrodes and a pair of voltage output electrodes; a switching circuit connected to the pair of voltage input electrodes and configured to convert the voltage rectified and smoothed by the input-side rectifying and smoothing circuit by turning on and turning off at least one switching element; an output-side rectifying and smoothing circuit connected to the pair of voltage output electrodes; an output configured to output the voltage rectified and smoothed by the output-side rectifying and smoothing circuit; a reactance element connected between the pair of voltage input electrodes and the switching circuit; and an auxiliary-power-supply-side rectifying and smoothing circuit connected to the reactance element." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND <EOH>In general, an insulation-type AC-DC converter circuit, for example, an AC adaptor, includes a switching element that performs switching of an input commercial power supply voltage and a driver that causes the switching element to operate.", "There is a large difference between the commercial power supply voltage and a driving voltage of the driver.", "Therefore, some AC adaptors include an auxiliary power supply for generating a driving voltage to be applied to a driver.", "Auxiliary power supplies are available that generate a driving voltage of a driver based on a voltage that is obtained, in a case where an AC adaptor includes a winding transformer, by separately providing an auxiliary winding at the winding transformer.", "In recent years, there has been a demand for reducing the size of such devices.", "In such circumstances, in place of winding transformers, AC-DC converter circuits including a piezoelectric transformer have been suggested (see, for example, Patent Document 1, identified below).", "An AC-DC converter circuit described in Patent Document 1 includes a piezoelectric transformer, and therefore, the auxiliary winding mentioned above cannot be provided at the AC-DC converter circuit.", "Thus, an auxiliary winding is provided at a resonance inductor that is connected in series with the piezoelectric transformer.", "A magnetic flux generated by current flowing through the inductor is coupled to the auxiliary winding, and thereby obtain voltage.", "Patent Document 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No.", "2000-102246.However, in the design of Patent Document 1, even though the use of a piezoelectric transformer may reduce the size of a transformer part, there is a problem in that provision of an auxiliary winding for an auxiliary power supply hinders reduction in size of the entire circuit." ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION <EOH>Thus, according to the present disclosure, a power supply circuit and an AC adaptor are provided that generate an auxiliary power supply without hindering reduction in size.", "Thus, a power supply circuit is disclosed according to an exemplary embodiment that includes a piezoelectric transformer that includes a pair of voltage input electrodes and a pair of voltage output electrodes.", "Moreover, a switching circuit is provided that is connected to the pair of voltage input electrodes and converts an input voltage into an AC voltage by turning on and off a switching element.", "An output-side rectifying and smoothing circuit is provided that is connected to the pair of voltage output electrodes; a first reactance element is provided that is connected between the pair of voltage input electrodes and the switching circuit; and an auxiliary-power-supply-side rectifying and smoothing circuit is provided that is connected to the first reactance element.", "By connecting the first reactance element in series or parallel with the piezoelectric transformer, an output voltage from the auxiliary-power-supply-side rectifying and smoothing circuit may be adjusted by the first reactance element.", "Accordingly, unlike convention technologies, there is no need to configure a winding transformer to generate an auxiliary power supply.", "Therefore, the size of the power supply circuit can be reduced as compared with such conventional devices.", "In an exemplary aspect, the first reactance element may be an auxiliary power supply capacitor.", "The power supply circuit may further include a diode that is connected in parallel with the auxiliary power supply capacitor.", "The auxiliary-power-supply-side rectifying and smoothing circuit may be connected to a parallel circuit including the auxiliary power supply capacitor and the diode.", "With this configuration, an output voltage from the auxiliary-power-supply-side rectifying and smoothing circuit may be adjusted by the auxiliary power supply capacitor.", "Accordingly, unlike convention technologies, there is no need to configure a winding transformer to generate an auxiliary power supply, and, therefore, the size of the power supply circuit can be reduced.", "In one aspect, the auxiliary power supply capacitor may be connected to the pair of voltage input electrodes.", "The piezoelectric transformer is a capacitive device.", "By connecting the auxiliary power supply capacitor to the piezoelectric transformer, it may be considered that a capacitance dividing circuit is connected to the switching circuit.", "Therefore, a voltage to be applied to the switching circuit may be divided and output from the auxiliary-power-supply-side rectifying and smoothing circuit.", "Accordingly, unlike convention technologies, there is no need to configure a winding transformer to generate an auxiliary power supply, and therefore, the size of the power supply circuit can be reduced.", "In one aspect, a capacitance of the auxiliary power supply capacitor may be equal to or more than an input capacitance of the piezoelectric transformer.", "With this configuration, by adjusting the input capacitance of the piezoelectric transformer, an output voltage from the auxiliary-power-supply-side rectifying and smoothing circuit may be adjusted.", "Moreover, the auxiliary power supply capacitor may be connected in parallel with the pair of voltage input electrodes.", "The power supply circuit may further include an inductor that is connected between the pair of voltage input electrodes and the switching circuit.", "The auxiliary power supply capacitor may be connected in parallel with a series circuit including the inductor and the pair of voltage input electrodes.", "With this configuration, a situation in which a plurality of resonance points appear may be prevented.", "In one aspect, the power supply circuit may further include a voltage dividing capacitor that is connected in series with the parallel circuit.", "A capacitance of the voltage dividing capacitor may be less than or equal to the capacitance of the auxiliary power supply capacitor.", "With this configuration, regarding the impedance of the series circuit including the voltage dividing capacitor and the parallel circuit, the voltage dividing capacitor is predominant.", "Therefore, a voltage to be applied to the series circuit may be determined by the voltage dividing capacitor.", "The parallel circuit may be a circuit in which a series circuit including a plurality of auxiliary power supply capacitors and the diode are connected in parallel.", "The auxiliary-power-supply-side rectifying and smoothing circuit may include a plurality of auxiliary-power supply-side rectifying and smoothing circuits.", "At least one of the auxiliary-power-supply-side rectifying and smoothing circuits may be connected to a connection point of the plurality of auxiliary power supply capacitors.", "With this configuration, voltages of different voltage values may be output from the auxiliary-power-supply-side rectifying and smoothing circuit.", "In one aspect, the power supply circuit may further include a second reactance element that is connected in parallel with the series circuit including the plurality of auxiliary power supply capacitors.", "Moreover, the power supply circuit may further include an inductive circuit that includes the first reactance element and becomes inductive at a switching frequency of the switching circuit.", "The auxiliary-power-supply-side rectifying and smoothing circuit may be connected to the inductive circuit.", "The piezoelectric transformer is a capacitive device.", "That is, with this configuration, it may be considered that a capacitive element and an inductive element are connected in series with the switching circuit.", "When a voltage is applied from the switching circuit to the piezoelectric transformer, a voltage applied to the inductive circuit may be obtained from a connection point of the piezoelectric transformer and the inductive circuit.", "Regarding the series circuit including the capacitive element and the inductive element, by increasing the inductance of the inductive element, the voltage applied to the inductive element is increased, and a greater voltage may thus be obtained.", "The power supply circuit may use such a voltage as an auxiliary power supply.", "Accordingly, unlike convention technologies, there is no need to configure a winding transformer to generate an auxiliary power supply, and, therefore, the size of the power supply circuit can be reduced.", "The first reactance element may be an inductor.", "The inductive circuit may be configured such that the inductor and a capacitor are connected in parallel.", "With this configuration, by using resonance of the inductor and the capacitor, noise of a voltage obtained from the connection point of the piezoelectric transformer and the inductive circuit may be reduced.", "Furthermore, by varying the capacitance of the capacitor, an obtained voltage may be adjusted.", "The inductive circuit may include a series connection unit in which a plurality of inductors are connected in series.", "The auxiliary-power-supply-side rectifying and smoothing circuit may include a plurality of auxiliary-power supply-side rectifying and smoothing circuits.", "At least one of the plurality of auxiliary-power-supply-side rectifying and smoothing circuits may be connected to a connection point of two inductors.", "With this configuration, different voltages may be extracted.", "In addition, the power supply circuit may further include a capacitor that is connected in parallel with the series connection unit.", "The power supply circuit may further include an inductor that is connected in parallel with the series connection unit.", "In one aspect, the first reactance element may be an inductor.", "The inductive circuit may be configured such that an inductor is connected in parallel with the inductor and a capacitor that are connected in series.", "The auxiliary-power-supply-side rectifying and smoothing circuit may include a plurality of auxiliary-power supply-side rectifying and smoothing circuits.", "At least one of the plurality of auxiliary-power-supply-side rectifying and smoothing circuits may be connected to a connection point of the capacitor and the inductor that are connected in series.", "With this configuration, different voltages may be extracted.", "The first reactance element and the switching circuit may be connected via ground.", "With this configuration, a simplified circuit configuration may be achieved.", "The power supply circuit may further include a voltage regulator that is connected to the auxiliary-power-supply-side rectifying and smoothing circuit.", "With this configuration, constant voltage output may be achieved.", "The power supply circuit may further include a driver circuit that is connected to the voltage regulator and drives the switching element.", "With this configuration, an auxiliary power supply voltage may be generated without increasing the size of the circuit, and the driver circuit may be driven using the generated voltage.", "The power supply circuit may further include a controller circuit that is connected to the voltage regulator and controls the switching element.", "With this configuration, an auxiliary power supply voltage may be generated without increasing the size of the circuit, and the controller circuit may be driven using the generated voltage.", "The power supply circuit may further include a detection circuit that detects a value based on an input current or input voltage input to the piezoelectric transformer; a circuit constant variable circuit that is connected to the pair of input electrodes or connected between the pair of input electrodes and the switching circuit and is able to change a circuit constant; and a changing unit (e.g., a controller) that changes the circuit constant of the circuit constant variable circuit according to the value detected by the detection circuit.", "The circuit constant variable circuit may include the first reactance element.", "The auxiliary-power-supply-side rectifying and smoothing circuit may rectify and smooth a voltage applied to the circuit constant variable circuit and outputs an auxiliary power supply voltage.", "With this configuration, a voltage division circuit can be provided in which the capacitive element and the circuit constant variable circuit are connected in series with the switching circuit.", "When a voltage is applied to the piezoelectric transformer from the switching circuit, the applied voltage may be extracted by the voltage division circuit.", "When the weight of a load connected to the power supply circuit varies, ripples occurs in the input voltage to the switching circuit.", "Influence of the ripples may cause an output voltage from the auxiliary-power-supply-side rectifying and smoothing circuit to be varied.", "However, by causing the voltage dividing ratio of the voltage division circuit according to voltage variations by changing the circuit constant variable circuit by the detected input current or input voltage, voltage extracted from the voltage division circuit may be stabilized.", "Accordingly, a stable auxiliary power supply voltage may be output from the auxiliary-power-supply-side rectifying and smoothing circuit.", "The circuit constant variable circuit may include a circuit constant fixing circuit.", "With this configuration, detailed adjustment of the voltage dividing ratio may be easily performed, and extracted voltage may be adjusted in a detailed manner.", "The circuit constant variable circuit may include a switching element.", "The changing unit may change the circuit constant of the circuit constant variable circuit by turning on and turning off the switching element.", "With this configuration, the circuit constant variable circuit may have a simplified configuration.", "The circuit constant variable circuit may include a variable capacitance element.", "With this configuration, compared to the case where switching between switching elements is performed, high-frequency noise occurring at the time of switching may be reduced.", "The detection circuit may be connected to an input side of the switching circuit.", "With this configuration, a current voltage input to the switching circuit is a direct current, and therefore, the input voltage or input current may be detected with high accuracy.", "An AC adaptor according to an exemplary aspect includes an input unit that is connected to a commercial power supply and inputs a voltage from the commercial power supply.", "Moreover, an input-side rectifying and smoothing circuit is included that rectifies and smooths the voltage input from the input unit; a piezoelectric transformer is provided that includes a pair of voltage input electrodes and a pair of voltage output electrodes; a switching circuit is included that is connected to the pair of voltage input electrodes and performs conversion of the voltage rectified and smoothed by the input-side rectifying and smoothing circuit by turning on and turning off the switching element; an output-side rectifying and smoothing circuit is provided that is connected to the pair of voltage output electrodes; an output unit is provided that outputs the voltage rectified and smoothed by the output-side rectifying and smoothing circuit; a reactance element is provided that is connected between the pair of voltage input electrodes and the switching circuit; and an auxiliary-power-supply-side rectifying and smoothing circuit is provided that is connected to the reactance element.", "According to the present disclosure, unlike conventional technologies, without requiring a winding transformer to be configured, a power supply circuit and an AC adaptor are provided that generate an auxiliary power supply without hindering reduction in size of the power supply circuit." ], [ "CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS The present application is a continuation of PCT/JP2016/071486 filed Jul.", "22, 2016, which claims priority to Japanese Patent Application No.", "2016-042940, filed Mar.", "7, 2016, Japanese Patent Application No.", "2015-234574, filed Dec. 1, 2015, Japanese Patent Application No.", "2015-224798, filed Nov. 17, 2015, and Japanese Patent Application No.", "2015-148222, filed Jul.", "28, 2015, the entire contents of each of which are incorporated herein by reference.", "TECHNICAL FIELD The present disclosure relates to a power supply circuit and an AC adaptor that use a piezoelectric transformer.", "BACKGROUND In general, an insulation-type AC-DC converter circuit, for example, an AC adaptor, includes a switching element that performs switching of an input commercial power supply voltage and a driver that causes the switching element to operate.", "There is a large difference between the commercial power supply voltage and a driving voltage of the driver.", "Therefore, some AC adaptors include an auxiliary power supply for generating a driving voltage to be applied to a driver.", "Auxiliary power supplies are available that generate a driving voltage of a driver based on a voltage that is obtained, in a case where an AC adaptor includes a winding transformer, by separately providing an auxiliary winding at the winding transformer.", "In recent years, there has been a demand for reducing the size of such devices.", "In such circumstances, in place of winding transformers, AC-DC converter circuits including a piezoelectric transformer have been suggested (see, for example, Patent Document 1, identified below).", "An AC-DC converter circuit described in Patent Document 1 includes a piezoelectric transformer, and therefore, the auxiliary winding mentioned above cannot be provided at the AC-DC converter circuit.", "Thus, an auxiliary winding is provided at a resonance inductor that is connected in series with the piezoelectric transformer.", "A magnetic flux generated by current flowing through the inductor is coupled to the auxiliary winding, and thereby obtain voltage.", "Patent Document 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No.", "2000-102246.However, in the design of Patent Document 1, even though the use of a piezoelectric transformer may reduce the size of a transformer part, there is a problem in that provision of an auxiliary winding for an auxiliary power supply hinders reduction in size of the entire circuit.", "SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Thus, according to the present disclosure, a power supply circuit and an AC adaptor are provided that generate an auxiliary power supply without hindering reduction in size.", "Thus, a power supply circuit is disclosed according to an exemplary embodiment that includes a piezoelectric transformer that includes a pair of voltage input electrodes and a pair of voltage output electrodes.", "Moreover, a switching circuit is provided that is connected to the pair of voltage input electrodes and converts an input voltage into an AC voltage by turning on and off a switching element.", "An output-side rectifying and smoothing circuit is provided that is connected to the pair of voltage output electrodes; a first reactance element is provided that is connected between the pair of voltage input electrodes and the switching circuit; and an auxiliary-power-supply-side rectifying and smoothing circuit is provided that is connected to the first reactance element.", "By connecting the first reactance element in series or parallel with the piezoelectric transformer, an output voltage from the auxiliary-power-supply-side rectifying and smoothing circuit may be adjusted by the first reactance element.", "Accordingly, unlike convention technologies, there is no need to configure a winding transformer to generate an auxiliary power supply.", "Therefore, the size of the power supply circuit can be reduced as compared with such conventional devices.", "In an exemplary aspect, the first reactance element may be an auxiliary power supply capacitor.", "The power supply circuit may further include a diode that is connected in parallel with the auxiliary power supply capacitor.", "The auxiliary-power-supply-side rectifying and smoothing circuit may be connected to a parallel circuit including the auxiliary power supply capacitor and the diode.", "With this configuration, an output voltage from the auxiliary-power-supply-side rectifying and smoothing circuit may be adjusted by the auxiliary power supply capacitor.", "Accordingly, unlike convention technologies, there is no need to configure a winding transformer to generate an auxiliary power supply, and, therefore, the size of the power supply circuit can be reduced.", "In one aspect, the auxiliary power supply capacitor may be connected to the pair of voltage input electrodes.", "The piezoelectric transformer is a capacitive device.", "By connecting the auxiliary power supply capacitor to the piezoelectric transformer, it may be considered that a capacitance dividing circuit is connected to the switching circuit.", "Therefore, a voltage to be applied to the switching circuit may be divided and output from the auxiliary-power-supply-side rectifying and smoothing circuit.", "Accordingly, unlike convention technologies, there is no need to configure a winding transformer to generate an auxiliary power supply, and therefore, the size of the power supply circuit can be reduced.", "In one aspect, a capacitance of the auxiliary power supply capacitor may be equal to or more than an input capacitance of the piezoelectric transformer.", "With this configuration, by adjusting the input capacitance of the piezoelectric transformer, an output voltage from the auxiliary-power-supply-side rectifying and smoothing circuit may be adjusted.", "Moreover, the auxiliary power supply capacitor may be connected in parallel with the pair of voltage input electrodes.", "The power supply circuit may further include an inductor that is connected between the pair of voltage input electrodes and the switching circuit.", "The auxiliary power supply capacitor may be connected in parallel with a series circuit including the inductor and the pair of voltage input electrodes.", "With this configuration, a situation in which a plurality of resonance points appear may be prevented.", "In one aspect, the power supply circuit may further include a voltage dividing capacitor that is connected in series with the parallel circuit.", "A capacitance of the voltage dividing capacitor may be less than or equal to the capacitance of the auxiliary power supply capacitor.", "With this configuration, regarding the impedance of the series circuit including the voltage dividing capacitor and the parallel circuit, the voltage dividing capacitor is predominant.", "Therefore, a voltage to be applied to the series circuit may be determined by the voltage dividing capacitor.", "The parallel circuit may be a circuit in which a series circuit including a plurality of auxiliary power supply capacitors and the diode are connected in parallel.", "The auxiliary-power-supply-side rectifying and smoothing circuit may include a plurality of auxiliary-power supply-side rectifying and smoothing circuits.", "At least one of the auxiliary-power-supply-side rectifying and smoothing circuits may be connected to a connection point of the plurality of auxiliary power supply capacitors.", "With this configuration, voltages of different voltage values may be output from the auxiliary-power-supply-side rectifying and smoothing circuit.", "In one aspect, the power supply circuit may further include a second reactance element that is connected in parallel with the series circuit including the plurality of auxiliary power supply capacitors.", "Moreover, the power supply circuit may further include an inductive circuit that includes the first reactance element and becomes inductive at a switching frequency of the switching circuit.", "The auxiliary-power-supply-side rectifying and smoothing circuit may be connected to the inductive circuit.", "The piezoelectric transformer is a capacitive device.", "That is, with this configuration, it may be considered that a capacitive element and an inductive element are connected in series with the switching circuit.", "When a voltage is applied from the switching circuit to the piezoelectric transformer, a voltage applied to the inductive circuit may be obtained from a connection point of the piezoelectric transformer and the inductive circuit.", "Regarding the series circuit including the capacitive element and the inductive element, by increasing the inductance of the inductive element, the voltage applied to the inductive element is increased, and a greater voltage may thus be obtained.", "The power supply circuit may use such a voltage as an auxiliary power supply.", "Accordingly, unlike convention technologies, there is no need to configure a winding transformer to generate an auxiliary power supply, and, therefore, the size of the power supply circuit can be reduced.", "The first reactance element may be an inductor.", "The inductive circuit may be configured such that the inductor and a capacitor are connected in parallel.", "With this configuration, by using resonance of the inductor and the capacitor, noise of a voltage obtained from the connection point of the piezoelectric transformer and the inductive circuit may be reduced.", "Furthermore, by varying the capacitance of the capacitor, an obtained voltage may be adjusted.", "The inductive circuit may include a series connection unit in which a plurality of inductors are connected in series.", "The auxiliary-power-supply-side rectifying and smoothing circuit may include a plurality of auxiliary-power supply-side rectifying and smoothing circuits.", "At least one of the plurality of auxiliary-power-supply-side rectifying and smoothing circuits may be connected to a connection point of two inductors.", "With this configuration, different voltages may be extracted.", "In addition, the power supply circuit may further include a capacitor that is connected in parallel with the series connection unit.", "The power supply circuit may further include an inductor that is connected in parallel with the series connection unit.", "In one aspect, the first reactance element may be an inductor.", "The inductive circuit may be configured such that an inductor is connected in parallel with the inductor and a capacitor that are connected in series.", "The auxiliary-power-supply-side rectifying and smoothing circuit may include a plurality of auxiliary-power supply-side rectifying and smoothing circuits.", "At least one of the plurality of auxiliary-power-supply-side rectifying and smoothing circuits may be connected to a connection point of the capacitor and the inductor that are connected in series.", "With this configuration, different voltages may be extracted.", "The first reactance element and the switching circuit may be connected via ground.", "With this configuration, a simplified circuit configuration may be achieved.", "The power supply circuit may further include a voltage regulator that is connected to the auxiliary-power-supply-side rectifying and smoothing circuit.", "With this configuration, constant voltage output may be achieved.", "The power supply circuit may further include a driver circuit that is connected to the voltage regulator and drives the switching element.", "With this configuration, an auxiliary power supply voltage may be generated without increasing the size of the circuit, and the driver circuit may be driven using the generated voltage.", "The power supply circuit may further include a controller circuit that is connected to the voltage regulator and controls the switching element.", "With this configuration, an auxiliary power supply voltage may be generated without increasing the size of the circuit, and the controller circuit may be driven using the generated voltage.", "The power supply circuit may further include a detection circuit that detects a value based on an input current or input voltage input to the piezoelectric transformer; a circuit constant variable circuit that is connected to the pair of input electrodes or connected between the pair of input electrodes and the switching circuit and is able to change a circuit constant; and a changing unit (e.g., a controller) that changes the circuit constant of the circuit constant variable circuit according to the value detected by the detection circuit.", "The circuit constant variable circuit may include the first reactance element.", "The auxiliary-power-supply-side rectifying and smoothing circuit may rectify and smooth a voltage applied to the circuit constant variable circuit and outputs an auxiliary power supply voltage.", "With this configuration, a voltage division circuit can be provided in which the capacitive element and the circuit constant variable circuit are connected in series with the switching circuit.", "When a voltage is applied to the piezoelectric transformer from the switching circuit, the applied voltage may be extracted by the voltage division circuit.", "When the weight of a load connected to the power supply circuit varies, ripples occurs in the input voltage to the switching circuit.", "Influence of the ripples may cause an output voltage from the auxiliary-power-supply-side rectifying and smoothing circuit to be varied.", "However, by causing the voltage dividing ratio of the voltage division circuit according to voltage variations by changing the circuit constant variable circuit by the detected input current or input voltage, voltage extracted from the voltage division circuit may be stabilized.", "Accordingly, a stable auxiliary power supply voltage may be output from the auxiliary-power-supply-side rectifying and smoothing circuit.", "The circuit constant variable circuit may include a circuit constant fixing circuit.", "With this configuration, detailed adjustment of the voltage dividing ratio may be easily performed, and extracted voltage may be adjusted in a detailed manner.", "The circuit constant variable circuit may include a switching element.", "The changing unit may change the circuit constant of the circuit constant variable circuit by turning on and turning off the switching element.", "With this configuration, the circuit constant variable circuit may have a simplified configuration.", "The circuit constant variable circuit may include a variable capacitance element.", "With this configuration, compared to the case where switching between switching elements is performed, high-frequency noise occurring at the time of switching may be reduced.", "The detection circuit may be connected to an input side of the switching circuit.", "With this configuration, a current voltage input to the switching circuit is a direct current, and therefore, the input voltage or input current may be detected with high accuracy.", "An AC adaptor according to an exemplary aspect includes an input unit that is connected to a commercial power supply and inputs a voltage from the commercial power supply.", "Moreover, an input-side rectifying and smoothing circuit is included that rectifies and smooths the voltage input from the input unit; a piezoelectric transformer is provided that includes a pair of voltage input electrodes and a pair of voltage output electrodes; a switching circuit is included that is connected to the pair of voltage input electrodes and performs conversion of the voltage rectified and smoothed by the input-side rectifying and smoothing circuit by turning on and turning off the switching element; an output-side rectifying and smoothing circuit is provided that is connected to the pair of voltage output electrodes; an output unit is provided that outputs the voltage rectified and smoothed by the output-side rectifying and smoothing circuit; a reactance element is provided that is connected between the pair of voltage input electrodes and the switching circuit; and an auxiliary-power-supply-side rectifying and smoothing circuit is provided that is connected to the reactance element.", "According to the present disclosure, unlike conventional technologies, without requiring a winding transformer to be configured, a power supply circuit and an AC adaptor are provided that generate an auxiliary power supply without hindering reduction in size of the power supply circuit.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS FIG.", "1 is a circuit diagram of an AC adaptor according to an exemplary embodiment.", "FIG.", "2 is a circuit diagram of an AC adaptor in which a piezoelectric transformer illustrated in FIG.", "1 is represented by an equivalent circuit.", "FIG.", "3 is a waveform chart of a voltage Vdiv at a connection point A1.FIG.", "4 is a circuit diagram of an AC adaptor according to a second exemplary embodiment.", "FIG.", "5 is a circuit diagram of an AC adaptor according to a third exemplary embodiment.", "FIG.", "6 is a circuit diagram of an AC adaptor according to a fourth exemplary embodiment.", "FIG.", "7 is a circuit diagram of another example of the AC adaptor according to the fourth exemplary embodiment.", "FIG.", "8 is a circuit diagram of an AC adaptor according to a fifth exemplary embodiment.", "FIG.", "9 is a circuit diagram of an AC adaptor according to a sixth exemplary embodiment.", "FIG.", "10 is a circuit diagram of an AC adaptor according to a seventh exemplary embodiment.", "FIG.", "11 is a circuit diagram of an AC adaptor in which a piezoelectric transformer illustrated in FIG.", "10 is represented by an equivalent circuit.", "FIG.", "12 is a diagram illustrating a voltage waveform at a connection point of a piezoelectric transformer and an inductor.", "FIG.", "13 is a diagram illustrating an output voltage waveform of a rectifying and smoothing circuit.", "FIG.", "14 is a circuit diagram of an AC adaptor according to an eighth exemplary embodiment.", "FIG.", "15 is a diagram illustrating a voltage waveform at a connection point of a piezoelectric transformer and an inductor.", "FIG.", "16 is a diagram illustrating an output voltage waveform of a rectifying and smoothing circuit.", "FIG.", "17 is a circuit diagram of an AC adaptor according to a ninth exemplary embodiment.", "FIG.", "18 is a circuit diagram of an AC adaptor according to a tenth exemplary embodiment.", "FIG.", "19 is a circuit diagram of an auxiliary power supply circuit according to an exemplary embodiment.", "FIG.", "20 is a circuit diagram of an auxiliary power supply circuit according to an exemplary embodiment.", "FIG.", "21 is a circuit diagram of an auxiliary power supply circuit according to an exemplary embodiment.", "FIG.", "22 is a circuit diagram of another example of the auxiliary power supply circuit.", "FIG.", "23 is a circuit diagram of an AC adaptor according to an eleventh exemplary embodiment.", "FIG.", "24 is a circuit diagram of an AC adaptor in which a piezoelectric transformer illustrated in FIG.", "23 is represented by an equivalent circuit.", "FIG.", "25 is a diagram illustrating part of an internal circuit of a controller.", "FIG.", "26 is a diagram illustrating a waveform of an input voltage input to a voltage regulator.", "FIG.", "27 is a diagram illustrating another example of a circuit for changing a circuit constant.", "FIG.", "28 is a circuit diagram illustrating an auxiliary power supply circuit included in an AC adaptor according to a twelfth exemplary embodiment.", "FIG.", "29 is a circuit diagram illustrating an auxiliary power supply circuit included in an AC adaptor according to the twelfth exemplary embodiment.", "FIG.", "30 is a circuit diagram illustrating an auxiliary power supply circuit included in an AC adaptor according to the twelfth exemplary embodiment.", "FIG.", "31 is a diagram illustrating another example of an auxiliary power supply circuit included in an AC adaptor according to a thirteenth exemplary embodiment.", "FIG.", "32 is a circuit diagram of an AC adaptor according to a fourteenth exemplary embodiment.", "FIG.", "33 is a circuit diagram of an AC adaptor according to a fifteenth exemplary embodiment.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS First Embodiment FIG.", "1 is a circuit diagram of an AC adaptor 1 according to an exemplary embodiment.", "FIG.", "2 is a circuit diagram of the AC adaptor 1 in which a piezoelectric transformer 50 illustrated in FIG.", "1 is represented by an equivalent circuit.", "As shown, the AC adaptor 1 includes input units IN1 and IN2 that are connected to a commercial power supply and input an AC voltage from the commercial power supply and output units OUT1 and OUT2 that are connected to loads and output a DC voltage to the loads.", "The AC adaptor 1 is an example of a “power supply circuit” according to the present disclosure.", "A diode bridge DB11 is connected to the input units IN1 and IN2.A smoothing capacitor C11 is also connected to the diode bridge DB11.AC voltages input from the input units IN1 and IN2 are rectified and smoothed by the diode bridge DB11 and the smoothing capacitor C11.The diode bridge DB11 and the smoothing capacitor C11 are an example of an “input-side rectifying and smoothing circuit” according to the present disclosure.", "Switching elements Q11 and Q12 that are connected in series are connected to the diode bridge DB11 and the smoothing capacitor C11.In FIGS.", "1 and 2, the switching elements Q11 and Q12 are preferably MOS-FETs.", "However, the switching elements Q11 and Q12 may be IGBTs, bipolar transistors, or the like.", "The voltage that has been rectified and smoothed by the diode bridge DB11 and the like is converted into a voltage of a rectangular wave by switching of the switching elements Q11 and Q12.The switching elements Q11 and Q12 that are connected in series are an example of a “switching circuit” according to the present disclosure.", "A driver (DRV) 51 is connected to gates of the switching elements Q11 and Q12.A microcomputer (MCU) 52 is connected to the driver 51.The microcomputer 52 detects, under feedback control, the weight of the loads connected to the output units OUT1 and OUT2, and sets switching frequencies of the switching elements Q11 and Q12 according to the detected weight.", "The driver 51 generates gate voltages in accordance with a control signal from the microcomputer 52, applies the gate voltages to the switching elements Q11 and Q12, and turns on and off the switching elements Q11 and Q12 at cycles set by the microcomputer 52.The driver 51 is an example of a “driver circuit” according to the present disclosure.", "The microcomputer 52 is an example of a “controller circuit” according to the present disclosure.", "In an exemplary aspect, the microcomputer 52 can include a processor or microprocessor with memory and software instructions stored thereon that are configured to execute the algorithms described herein when executed by the processor, as would be appreciated to one skilled in the art.", "The piezoelectric transformer 50 is connected to a connection point of the switching elements Q11 and the switching element Q12.According to the exemplary aspect, the piezoelectric transformer 50 is of an insulation type, and includes input electrodes E11 and E12 and output electrodes E21 and E22.The input electrodes E11 and E12 are an example of a “pair of voltage input electrodes” according to the present disclosure.", "The output electrodes E21 and E22 are an example of a “pair of voltage output electrodes” according to the present disclosure.", "The input electrode E11 of the piezoelectric transformer 50 is connected to the connection point of the switching elements Q11 and the switching element Q12 with an inductor L11 interposed therebetween.", "The input electrode E12 of the piezoelectric transformer 50 is connected to the source of the switching element Q12 via the ground.", "The input electrode E12 and the switching element Q12 are connected via the ground, thereby the circuit being simplified.", "The output electrodes E21 and E22 of the piezoelectric transformer 50 are connected to a diode bridge DB12.A smoothing capacitor C12 is connected to the diode bridge DB12, and is also connected to the output units OUT1 and OUT2.The diode bridge DB12 and the smoothing capacitor C12 are an example of an “output-side rectifying and smoothing circuit” according to an exemplary aspect.", "As illustrated in FIG.", "2, the piezoelectric transformer 50 is equivalently represented by an equivalent input capacitor 50A, a capacitor 50C, an equivalent output capacitor 50F, an inductor 50B, a resistor 50D, and an ideal transformer 50E, for example.", "The inductor 50B, the capacitor 50C are parameters representing electromechanical coupling in this example.", "In the exemplary aspect, a capacitor C13, which will be described below, is connected between the input electrode E12 of the piezoelectric transformer 50 and the ground.", "The equivalent input capacitor 50A of the piezoelectric transformer 50, together with the capacitor C13 and the inductor L11, forms a series resonance circuit.", "A voltage waveform is converted into a rectangular wave by the switching elements Q11 and Q12.However, with this series resonance circuit, a sine wave is always input to the piezoelectric transformer 50.The piezoelectric transformer 50 steps down the voltage input from the input electrodes E11 and E12 and causes the resultant voltage to be output from the output electrodes E21 and E22.The voltage which has been stepped down by the piezoelectric transformer 50 is rectified and smoothed by the diode bridge DB12 and the smoothing capacitor C12 and output from the output units OUT1 and OUT2.An auxiliary power supply circuit is connected to the input electrode E12 of the piezoelectric transformer 50, as illustrated in FIG.", "1.According to the exemplary aspect, driving voltages of the driver 51 and the microcomputer 52 are much lower than the voltage of the commercial power supply input to the AC adaptor 1.Therefore, the voltage of the commercial power supply cannot be used directly as the driving voltage of the driver 51 or the like.", "Thus, an auxiliary power supply circuit is provided separately, and a predetermined voltage is obtained based on the voltage applied to the piezoelectric transformer 50, so that the driving voltages of the driver 51 and the microcomputer 52 can be generated.", "The auxiliary power supply circuit includes the capacitor C13, a diode D11, a diode D12 and a capacitor C14 that form a rectifying and smoothing circuit, voltage regulators (LDOs) 54 and 55, bypass capacitors C15 and C16, and the like.", "In this aspect, one end of the capacitor C13 is connected to the input electrode E12 of the piezoelectric transformer 50, and the other end of the capacitor C13 is connected to the ground.", "A constant is set such that the capacitance of the capacitor C13 is equal to or more than the capacitance of the equivalent input capacitor 50A of the piezoelectric transformer 50.The capacitor C13 is an example of a “first reactance element” and an “auxiliary power supply capacitor” according to the present disclosure.", "The piezoelectric transformer 50 is a capacitive device.", "With a configuration in which the capacitor C13 is connected in series with the piezoelectric transformer 50, it may be considered that the piezoelectric transformer 50 and the capacitor C13 form a capacitance dividing circuit.", "When voltage is applied to the piezoelectric transformer 50 from the switching elements Q11 and Q12, voltage applied to the capacitor C13 may be obtained from a connection point A1 of the piezoelectric transformer 50 and the capacitor C13.The capacitance of the equivalent input capacitor 50A of the piezoelectric transformer 50 is set less than or equal to the capacitance of the capacitor C13.Therefore, a voltage applied to the series circuit including the equivalent input capacitor 50A and the capacitor C13 is determined mainly by the equivalent input capacitor 50A.", "Furthermore, the potential of the connection point A1 is adjusted by the capacitor C13.The diode D11 is an element for causing a positive DC voltage to be output from the rectifying and smoothing circuit including the diode D12 and the capacitor C14.FIG.", "3 is a waveform chart of a voltage Vdiv at the connection point A1.Waveforms of a voltage Vin applied to the piezoelectric transformer 50, currents ID11 and ID12 flowing in the diodes D11 and D12, and a current IC13 flowing in the capacitor C13 are also illustrated in FIG.", "3.A horizontal axis in the chart represents time.", "Only a waveform is illustrated for the voltage Vin, and the scale on the vertical axis in the chart has no meaning for the voltage Vin.", "Furthermore, the same scale is used for the axes for the currents ID11, ID12, and IC13.", "[Zone 1] During a period from rise to peak of the voltage Vin in which the voltage Vin is a positive voltage, the diode D12 is electrically connected and the current ID12 flowing in the diode D12 flows from the capacitor C14 to the ground.", "Therefore, the voltage at the connection point A1 is substantially equal to a forward drop voltage V1 of the diode D12.The current ID12 flowing in the diode D12 decreases immediately after the electrical connection, and reaches 0 mA at the peak of the voltage Vin.", "[Zone 2 and Zone 4] After the positive peak and the voltage Vin starts to drop, the direction of the current IC13 flowing in the capacitor C13 becomes negative (discharging direction), and the voltage Vdiv at the connection point A1 is thus lowered to the negative side.", "In the chart, the current IC13 is represented by a substantially straight line but slightly changes.", "At this time, the current ID11 flows in the forward direction of the diode D11.Therefore, the voltage at the connection point A1 drops only by an amount corresponding to a forward voltage (-V1) of the diode D11.Here, the current ID11 of the diode D11 and the current flowing in the equivalent input capacitor 50A are balanced to each other, and therefore, the current ID12 does not flow in the diode D12.", "[Zone 3] After the negative peak and the voltage Vin starts to increase, the direction of the current IC13 flowing in the capacitor C13 becomes positive (charging direction), and the voltage Vdiv at the connection point A1 is thus raised.", "The voltage Vdiv is the voltage across the capacitor C13.Therefore, when the current IC13 flowing in the capacitor C13 reaches 0 mA from the positive direction, the maximum current IC13 is obtained, and accordingly the maximum voltage Vdiv is obtained.", "Thus, the diode D12 is electrically connected.", "The current ID12 flowing in the diode D12 acts as a charging current of the capacitor C14, and the potential of the capacitor C14 thus increases at every cycle.", "Then, a positive DC voltage is output from the rectifying and smoothing circuit including the diode D12 and the capacitor C14.Referring back to FIGS.", "1 and 2, the diode D12 and the capacitor C14 are connected to the connection point A1.The diode D12 and the capacitor C14 rectify and smooth a voltage applied to the capacitor C13, and output a positive DC voltage, as explained above with reference to FIG.", "3.The diode D12 and the capacitor C14 are an example of an “auxiliary-power-supply-side rectifying and smoothing circuit” according to the present disclosure.", "As further shown, the voltage regulator 54 is connected to an output side of the diode D12 and the capacitor C14.The bypass capacitor C15 and the driver 51 are connected to an output side of the voltage regulator 54.The voltage regulator 54 converts a voltage output from the diode D12 and the capacitor C14 into a constant voltage necessary for the driver 51 in the subsequent stage.", "For example, in the case where a voltage of 18 V is output from the diode D12 and the capacitor C14 and a voltage necessary for driving the driver 51 is 12 V, the voltage regulator 54 steps down the input voltage of 18 V to a voltage of 12 V, and outputs the resultant voltage of 12 V. Accordingly, the driver 51 drives the gates of the switching elements Q11 and Q12.The voltage regulator 55 is also connected to the output side of the voltage regulator 54.The bypass capacitor C16 and the microcomputer 52 are connected to an output side of the voltage regulator 55.During operation, the voltage regulator 55 converts a voltage output from the voltage regulator 54 into a voltage necessary for driving the microcomputer 52 in the subsequent stage.", "For example, in the case where a voltage necessary for operation of the microcomputer 52 is 3.3 V, the voltage regulator 55 steps down the voltage of 12 V, which has been converted and output by the voltage regulator 54, as described above, to a voltage of 3.3 V, and outputs the resultant voltage of 3.3 V. Accordingly, the microcomputer 52 operates.", "As described above, with the provision of the voltage regulators 54 and 55, a constant voltage of a desired value based on an extracted voltage may be output.", "The voltage regulators 54 and 55 are connected in cascade to generate the operating voltage of the microcomputer 52.With this configuration, decrease in the efficiency of the auxiliary power supply circuit may be prevented.", "That is, in the case where the voltage obtained from the connection point A1 is about 18 V and the driving voltage of the microcomputer 52 is 3.3 V, there is a large difference between the voltages.", "Therefore, when one voltage regulator performs conversion from 18 V to 3.3 V, there is a large loss in the auxiliary power supply circuit.", "Thus, in the case where the voltage regulator 54 performs conversion from 18 V to 12 V and the voltage regulator 55 then performs conversion from 12 V to 3.3 V, a loss in the auxiliary power supply circuit may be suppressed, and the efficiency may be increased.", "As described above, the AC adaptor 1 according to this exemplary embodiment achieves reduction in size compared with conventional designs by using the piezoelectric transformer 50.In addition, an auxiliary power supply voltage may be generated by connecting the capacitor C13 to the piezoelectric transformer 50.Therefore, unlike conventional technologies, there is no need to configure a winding transformer, and, therefore, size of the AC adaptor 1 can be reduced.", "Furthermore, the capacitor C13, together with the equivalent input capacitor 50A of the piezoelectric transformer 50 and the inductor L11, forms a resonance circuit.", "Therefore, a situation in which a plurality of resonance points appear may be prevented.", "Second Embodiment FIG.", "4 is a circuit diagram of an AC adaptor 2 according to a second exemplary embodiment.", "In the first embodiment described above, the auxiliary power supply circuit is connected to the piezoelectric transformer 50.However, the second embodiment is different in that an auxiliary power supply circuit is connected between the piezoelectric transformer 50 and the inductor L11.The capacitor C13 is connected between the inductor L11 and the input electrode E11 of the piezoelectric transformer 50 with a capacitor C17 interposed therebetween.", "A series circuit including the capacitors C17 and C13 is configured to be connected in parallel with the equivalent input capacitor 50A (see FIG.", "2) of the piezoelectric transformer 50, and the composite capacitance of the parallel circuit and the inductor L11 form a resonance circuit.", "The capacitor C17 is an example of a “voltage dividing capacitor” according to the present disclosure.", "The capacitance of the capacitor C17 is set less than or equal to the capacitance of the capacitor C13.In this case, regarding the impedance of the series circuit including the capacitors C17 and C13, the capacitor C17 is predominant.", "Therefore, a voltage to be applied to the series circuit including the capacitors C17 and C13 is determined mainly based on the capacitor C17.Furthermore, the potential of a connection point A2 of the capacitors C17 and C13 may be adjusted by the capacitor C13.The other configurations are the same as those in the first embodiment.", "Therefore, explanation for the other configurations will be omitted.", "As described above, the AC adaptor 2 according to this exemplary embodiment may achieve reduction in size by using the piezoelectric transformer 50, as in the first embodiment.", "In addition, an auxiliary power supply may be generated by connecting the capacitor C17 with the capacitor C13.Therefore, unlike conventional technologies, there is no need to configure a winding transformer, and, therefore, the size of the AC adaptor 2 can be reduced.", "Furthermore, the capacitors C17 and C13, together with the equivalent input capacitor 50A (see FIG.", "2) of the piezoelectric transformer 50 and the inductor L11, form a resonance circuit.", "Therefore, a situation in which a plurality of resonance points appear may be prevented.", "Third Embodiment FIG.", "5 is a circuit diagram of an AC adaptor 3 according to a third exemplary embodiment.", "In the second embodiment discussed above, the auxiliary power supply circuit is connected between the piezoelectric transformer 50 and the inductor L11.However, the third exemplary embodiment is different in that an auxiliary power supply circuit is connected between the inductor L11 and a connection point of the switching elements Q11 and Q12.As shown, the capacitor C13 is connected between the inductor L11 and the connection point of the switching elements Q11 and Q12 with the capacitor C17 interposed therebetween.", "With this configuration, the equivalent input capacitor 50A (see FIG.", "2) of the piezoelectric transformer 50 and the inductor L11 form a resonance circuit.", "The capacitance of the capacitor C17 is set less than or equal to the capacitance of the capacitor C13.Furthermore, the capacitance of the equivalent input capacitor 50A of the piezoelectric transformer 50 is set less than or equal to the capacitance of the capacitor C13.A series circuit including the capacitors C17 and C13 is configured to be connected in parallel with the resonance circuit including the inductor L11 and the equivalent input capacitor 50A of the piezoelectric transformer 50.Therefore, due to setting of a constant mentioned above, the series circuit including the capacitors C17 and C13 has less effect on the resonance circuit.", "Furthermore, regarding the impedance of the series circuit including the capacitors C17 and C13, the capacitor C17 is predominant.", "Therefore, a voltage to be applied to the series circuit including the capacitors C17 and C13 is determined by the capacitor C17.Furthermore, the potential of the connection point A2 of the capacitors C17 and C13 may be adjusted by the capacitor C13.The other configurations are the same as those in the first exemplary embodiment.", "Therefore, explanation for the other configurations will be omitted.", "As described above, the AC adaptor 3 according to this embodiment achieves reduction in size by using the piezoelectric transformer 50, as in the first and second exemplary embodiments.", "In addition, an auxiliary power supply may be generated by connecting the capacitor C17 with the capacitor C13.Therefore, there is no need to configure a winding transformer, unlike conventional designs, and reduction in size of the AC adaptor 3 is not hindered.", "Furthermore, the capacitors C17 and C13 have less effect on the resonance circuit formed by the equivalent input capacitor 50A of the piezoelectric transformer 50 and the inductor L11.Therefore, a situation in which a plurality of resonance points appear may be prevented.", "It should be appreciated that an AC adaptor may be configured such that configurations of the auxiliary power supply circuits according to the first, second, and third embodiment are combined.", "The first and second embodiments may be combined, the first and third embodiments may be combined, or the first, second, and third embodiments may be combined.", "Furthermore, the second and third embodiments may be combined.", "Fourth Embodiment FIG.", "6 is a circuit diagram of an AC adaptor 4 according to a fourth embodiment.", "This exemplary embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that an auxiliary power supply circuit is configured to generate voltages of different voltage values.", "The auxiliary power supply circuit according to this embodiment is connected to the input electrode E12 of the piezoelectric transformer 50.A capacitor C20 is connected between the input electrode E12 of the piezoelectric transformer 50 and the ground.", "The equivalent input capacitor 50A (see FIG.", "2) of the piezoelectric transformer 50, together with the capacitor C20 and the inductor L11, form a series resonance circuit.", "Two series circuits each including a rectifying and smoothing circuit and a voltage regulator are connected in parallel at a connection point A3 of the equivalent input capacitor 50A and the capacitor C20, and voltages to be applied to the driver 51 and the microcomputer 52 are output from the corresponding series circuits.", "More particularly, a series circuit including capacitors C21 and C22 is connected in parallel with the capacitor C20.The capacitors C21 and C22 are examples of a “first reactance element” and an “auxiliary power supply capacitor” according to the present disclosure.", "A diode D21 is connected to the connection point A3.Furthermore, a rectifying and smoothing circuit including a diode D23 and a capacitor C23 is connected to the connection point A3.The diode D23 and the capacitor C23 rectify and smooth voltage at the connection point A3, and output the resultant voltage.", "The diode D23 and the capacitor C23 are an example of an “auxiliary-power-supply-side rectifying and smoothing circuit” according to the present disclosure.", "The voltage regulator 54 is connected to an output side of the diode D23 and the capacitor C23.A bypass capacitor C25 and the driver 51 are connected to an output side of the voltage regulator 54.The voltage regulator 54 converts a voltage output from the diode D23 and the capacitor C23 into a voltage necessary for the driver 51 in the subsequent stage.", "As further shown, a diode D22 is connected to a connection point A4 of the capacitors C21 and C22.Furthermore, a rectifying and smoothing circuit including a diode D24 and a capacitor C24 is connected to the connection point A4.The diode D24 and the capacitor C24 rectify and smooth the voltage at the connection point A4, and output the resultant voltage.", "The diode D24 and the capacitor C24 are an example of an “auxiliary-power-supply-side rectifying and smoothing circuit” according to the present disclosure.", "The voltage regulator 55 is connected to an output side of the diode D24 and the capacitor C24.A bypass capacitor C26 and the microcomputer 52 are connected to an output side of the voltage regulator 55.The voltage regulator 55 converts a voltage output from the diode D24 and the capacitor C24 into a voltage necessary for the microcomputer 52 in the subsequent stage.", "With this configuration, the equivalent input capacitor 50A of the piezoelectric transformer 50 is connected in series with a parallel circuit including the capacitor C20 and the series circuit including the capacitors C21 and C22.The capacitance of the capacitor C20 is set less than or equal to the composite capacitance of the series circuit including the capacitors C21 and C22.Therefore, regarding the impedance of the parallel circuit, the capacitor C20 is predominant.", "Furthermore, the capacitance of the equivalent input capacitor 50A of the piezoelectric transformer 50 is set less than or equal to the capacitance of the capacitor C20.Therefore, regarding the impedance of the series circuit including the equivalent input capacitor 50A and the parallel circuit, the equivalent input capacitor 50A is predominant.", "Accordingly, the voltage to be applied to the series circuit including the equivalent input capacitor 50A of the piezoelectric transformer 50 and the parallel circuit is determined by the equivalent input capacitor 50A.", "Furthermore, the potential of the connection point A3 may be adjusted by the capacitor C20.Furthermore, the voltage at the connection point A4 may be adjusted by the capacitors C21 and C22.According to this exemplary aspect, the potential of the connection point A3 is higher than the potential of the connection point A4.For example, let the potential of the connection point A3 be 18 V. In this case, the potential of the connection point A4 is equal to a voltage obtained by dividing the potential (18 V) at the connection point A3 by the capacitors C21 and C22.Let a voltage necessary for driving the driver 51 connected to the connection point A3 be 15 V, and let a voltage necessary for driving the microcomputer 52 connected to the connection point A4 be 3.3 V. In this case, the voltage regulator 54 steps down the voltage of 18 V to the voltage of 15 V. Furthermore, the voltage regulator 55 steps down the divided voltage of the voltage of 18 V to the voltage of 3.3 V. In the auxiliary power supply circuit according to the first embodiment, the voltage regulator at the first stage (the voltage regulator 54 in FIG.", "1) converts the voltage of 18 V into the voltage of 15 V, and the voltage regulator at the second stage (the voltage regulator 55 in FIG.", "1) converts the voltage of 15 V into the voltage of 3.3 V, so that the driving voltage of the microcomputer 52 may be generated.", "In this case, there is a large difference in the voltage between before and after the conversion by the voltage regulator at the second stage, and the voltage difference thus causes a large loss.", "In contrast, the voltage regulator 55 according to this embodiment converts the voltage at the connection point A4 into the voltage of 3.3 V for the microcomputer 52.In this case, the voltage difference between before and after the conversion by the voltage regulator 55 is smaller than the case where voltage regulators are configured as being two stages as in the first embodiment, and there is a smaller loss in the voltage regulator 55.As described above, in this embodiment, loss at the time of stepping down the voltage at the voltage regulators 54 and 55 may be reduced, and driving voltages of the driver 51 and the microcomputer 52 may be generated.", "In this example, the parallel circuit including the capacitor C20 and the series circuit including the capacitors C21 and C22 only needs to be capacitive, and the capacitor C20 may be replaced with a different element.", "FIG.", "7 is a circuit diagram of an AC adaptor 4A according to another example of the fourth embodiment.", "In this example, an inductor L12 is used in place of the capacitor C20 illustrated in FIG.", "6.The inductor L12 corresponds to a “second reactance element” according to the present disclosure.", "In this case, a constant is set such that a parallel circuit including the inductor L12 and the series circuit including the capacitors C21 and C22 becomes capacitive at the switching frequencies of the switching elements Q11 and Q12.Even in this case, voltages of different voltage values may be output from the auxiliary power supply circuit, loss at the time of stepping down the voltage at the voltage regulators 54 and 55 may be reduced, and the driving voltages of the driver 51 and the microcomputer 52 may be generated.", "Furthermore, the capacitor C20 illustrated in FIG.", "6 may be omitted.", "In this case, only the capacitors C21 and C22 are configured to be connected between the input electrode E12 of the piezoelectric transformer 50 and the ground.", "Furthermore, although the diode D21 illustrated in FIGS.", "6 and 7 is provided between the connection point A3 and the ground, the diode D21 may be configured to be connected in parallel with the capacitor C21.Fifth Embodiment FIG.", "8 is a circuit diagram of an AC adaptor 5 according to a fifth embodiment.", "In the fourth embodiment, the auxiliary power supply circuit is connected to the piezoelectric transformer 50.However, the fifth embodiment is different in that an auxiliary power supply circuit is connected between the piezoelectric transformer 50 and the inductor L11.The capacitors C21 and C22 are connected between the inductor L11 and the input electrode E11 of the piezoelectric transformer 50.The series circuit including the capacitors C21 and C22 is configured to be connected in parallel with the equivalent input capacitor 50A (see FIG.", "2) of the piezoelectric transformer 50, and the composite capacitance of the parallel circuit and the inductor L11 form a resonance circuit.", "The capacitance of a capacitor C27 is set less than or equal to the capacitance of each of the capacitors C21 and C22.In this case, regarding the impedance of the series circuit including the capacitors C27, C21, and C22, the capacitor C27 is predominant.", "Therefore, the voltage to be applied to the series circuit is determined by the capacitor C27.Furthermore, the potential of a connection point A5 of the capacitors C27 and C21 and a connection point A6 of the capacitors C21 and C22 may be adjusted by the capacitors C21 and C22.The capacitor C27 is an example of a “voltage dividing capacitor” according to the present disclosure.", "The other configurations are the same as those in the first exemplary embodiment.", "Therefore, explanation for the other configurations will be omitted.", "Even with the above configuration, voltages of different voltage values may be output from the auxiliary power supply circuit, loss at the time of stepping down the voltage at the voltage regulators 54 and 55 may be reduced, and driving voltages of the driver 51 and the microcomputer 52 may be generated.", "Sixth Embodiment FIG.", "9 is a circuit diagram of an AC adaptor 6 according to a sixth exemplary embodiment.", "In the fifth embodiment, the auxiliary power supply circuit is connected between the piezoelectric transformer 50 and the inductor L11.However, the sixth embodiment is different in that an auxiliary power supply circuit is connected between the inductor L11 and the connection point of the switching elements Q11 and Q12.The capacitors C21 and C22 are connected between the inductor L11 and the connection point of the switching elements Q11 and Q12 with the capacitor C27 interposed therebetween.", "With this configuration, the equivalent input capacitor 50A (see FIG.", "2) of the piezoelectric transformer 50 and the inductor L11 form a resonance circuit.", "The capacitance of the capacitor C27 is set less than or equal to the capacitance of each of the capacitors C21 and C22.Furthermore, the capacitance of the equivalent input capacitor 50A of the piezoelectric transformer 50 is set less than or equal to the capacitance of the capacitor C27.The series circuit including the capacitors C27, C21, and C22 is configured to be connected in parallel with the resonance circuit including the inductor L11 and the equivalent input capacitor 50A of the piezoelectric transformer 50.Therefore, due to setting of a constant mentioned above, the series circuit including the capacitors C27, C21, and C22 have less effect on the resonance circuit.", "Furthermore, regarding the impedance of the series circuit including the capacitors C27, C21, and C22, the capacitor C27 is predominant.", "Therefore, the voltage to be applied to the series circuit including the capacitors C27, C21, and C22 is determined by the capacitor C27.Furthermore, the potential of the connection point A5 of the capacitors C27 and C21 and the connection point A6 of the capacitors C21 and C22 may be adjusted by the capacitors C21 and C22.The other configurations are the same as those in the first exemplary embodiment.", "Therefore, explanation for the other configurations will be omitted.", "Even with this configuration, voltages of different voltage values may be output from the auxiliary power supply circuit, loss at the time of stepping down the voltage at the voltage regulators 54 and 55 may be reduced, and driving voltages of the driver 51 and the microcomputer 52 may be generated.", "The AC adaptor may be configured such that configurations of the auxiliary power supply circuits according to the first to sixth embodiments are combined.", "In the first to sixth embodiments, a capacitive circuit including a capacitor is connected to a piezoelectric transformer, so that reduction in size of an AC adaptor may be achieved.", "In contrast, in seventh to tenth embodiments described below, an inductive circuit is connected to a piezoelectric transformer, so that reduction in size of an AC adaptor may be achieved.", "Seventh Embodiment FIG.", "10 is a circuit diagram of an AC adaptor 7 according to a seventh embodiment.", "FIG.", "11 is a circuit diagram of the AC adaptor 7 in which the piezoelectric transformer 50 illustrated in FIG.", "10 is represented by an equivalent circuit.", "The AC adaptor 7 includes the input units IN1 and IN2 that are connected to a commercial power supply and input an AC voltage from the commercial power supply and the output units OUT1 and OUT2 that are connected to loads and output a DC voltage to the loads.", "The AC adaptor 7 is an example of a “power supply circuit” according to the present disclosure.", "The diode bridge DB11 is connected to the input units IN1 and IN2.The smoothing capacitor C11 is also connected to the diode bridge DB11.AC voltages input from the input units IN1 and IN2 are rectified and smoothed by the diode bridge DB11 and the smoothing capacitor C11.The diode bridge DB11 and the smoothing capacitor C11 are an example of an “input-side rectifying and smoothing circuit” according to the present disclosure.", "The switching elements Q11 and Q12 that are connected in series are connected to the diode bridge DB11 and the smoothing capacitor C11.In FIGS.", "10 and 11, the switching elements Q11 and Q12 are n-type MOS-FETs.", "However, the switching elements Q11 and Q12 may be IGBTs, bipolar transistors, or the like.", "The voltage that has been rectified and smoothed by the diode bridge DB11 and the like is converted into a voltage of a rectangular wave by switching of the switching elements Q11 and Q12.The switching elements Q11 and Q12 that are connected in series are an example of a “switching circuit” according to the present disclosure.", "The driver (DRV) 51 is connected to the gates of the switching elements Q11 and Q12.Furthermore, the microcomputer (MCU) 52 is connected to the driver 51.Under feedback control, the microcomputer 52 considers the weight of the loads connected to the output units OUT1 and OUT2, and sets the switching frequencies of the switching elements Q11 and Q12 in accordance with the weight of the loads.", "The driver 51 generates gate voltages in accordance with a control signal from the microcomputer 52, applies the gate voltages to the switching elements Q11 and Q12, and turns on and off the switching elements Q11 and Q12 at cycles set by the microcomputer 52.The driver 51 is an example of a “driver circuit” according to the present disclosure.", "The microcomputer 52 is an example of a “controller circuit” or “controller” according to the present disclosure.", "The piezoelectric transformer 50 is connected to the switching elements Q11 and Q12.The piezoelectric transformer 50 is of an insulation type, and includes the input electrodes E11 and E12 and the output electrodes E21 and E22.The input electrodes E11 and E12 are an example of a “pair of voltage input electrodes” according to the present disclosure.", "The output electrodes E21 and E22 are an example of a “pair of voltage output electrodes” according to the present disclosure.", "The input electrode E11 of the piezoelectric transformer 50 is connected to the connection point of the switching elements Q11 and Q12 with the inductor L11 interposed therebetween.", "The input electrode E12 of the piezoelectric transformer 50 is connected to the source of the switching element Q12 via the ground.", "The input electrode E12 and the switching element Q12 are connected via the ground, thereby the circuit being simplified.", "The output electrodes E21 and E22 of the piezoelectric transformer 50 are connected to the diode bridge DB12.The smoothing capacitor C12 is connected to the diode bridge DB12, and is also connected to the output units OUT1 and OUT2.The diode bridge DB12 and the smoothing capacitor C12 correspond to an “output-side rectifying and smoothing circuit”.", "The piezoelectric transformer 50 is equivalently represented by the capacitors 50A, 50C, and 50F, the inductor 50B, the resistor 50D, the ideal transformer 50E, and the like, as illustrated in FIG.", "11.The capacitor 50A represents an equivalent input capacitance of the piezoelectric transformer 50, and the capacitor 5OF represents an equivalent output capacitance of the piezoelectric transformer 50.Furthermore, the inductor 50B, the capacitor 50C, and the like are parameters representing electromechanical coupling.", "The capacitor 50A, which represents an equivalent input capacitance of the piezoelectric transformer 50, and the inductor L11, which is connected to the input electrode E11, form a series resonance circuit.", "The voltage waveform is converted into a rectangular wave by the switching elements Q11 and Q12.However, with the series resonance circuit, a sine wave is always input to the piezoelectric transformer 50.The piezoelectric transformer 50 steps down the voltage input from the input electrodes E11 and E12 and causes the resultant voltage to be output from the output electrodes E21 and E22.The voltage obtained by stepping down a voltage by the piezoelectric transformer 50 is rectified and smoothed by the diode bridge DB12 and the smoothing capacitor C12, and output from the output units OUT1 and OUT2.An auxiliary power supply circuit is connected to the input electrode E12 of the piezoelectric transformer 50.The driving voltages of the driver 51 and the microcomputer 52 are much lower than the voltage of the commercial power supply input to the AC adaptor 7.Therefore, the voltage of the commercial power supply cannot be used directly as the driving voltage of the driver 51 or the like.", "Thus, an auxiliary power supply circuit is provided separately, and a predetermined voltage is obtained based on the voltage applied to the piezoelectric transformer 50, so that the driving voltages of the driver 51 and the microcomputer 52 can be generated.", "The auxiliary power supply circuit includes an inductor L13, a rectifying and smoothing circuit 53, the voltage regulators (LDOs) 54 and 55, the bypass capacitors C15 and C16, and the like.", "One end of the inductor L13 is connected to the input electrode E12 of the piezoelectric transformer 50, and the other end of the inductor L13 is connected to the ground.", "A constant is set for the inductor L13 to be sufficiently small (for example, 1/10) with respect to the impedance of the capacitor 50A, which represents the equivalent input capacitance of the piezoelectric transformer 50.The inductor L13 is an example of a “first reactance element” and an “inductive circuit” according to the present disclosure.", "The inductor L13 is an inductive element.", "Furthermore, the piezoelectric transformer 50 is a capacitive device.", "That is, it may be considered that a configuration in which a capacitive element and an inductive element are connected in series is provided.", "In the case where a voltage is applied to the piezoelectric transformer 50 from the switching elements Q11 and Q12, a voltage to be applied to the inductor L13 may be obtained from a connection point A7 of the piezoelectric transformer 50 and the inductor L13.In the series circuit including the capacitive element and the inductive element, the bigger the inductance of the inductive element, the higher the voltage applied to the inductive element.", "Therefore, with the use of the inductor L13, which is an inductive element, a larger voltage may be obtained.", "The rectifying and smoothing circuit 53 is connected to the connection point A7.The rectifying and smoothing circuit 53 includes the diode D12 and the capacitor C14.The rectifying and smoothing circuit 53 extracts a voltage applied to the inductor L13, and performs rectification and smoothing of the voltage.", "The rectifying and smoothing circuit 53 is an example of an “auxiliary-power-supply-side rectifying and smoothing circuit” according to the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "12 is a diagram illustrating a voltage waveform at the connection point A7 of the piezoelectric transformer 50 and the inductor L13.The voltage at the connection point A7 is also defined as an input voltage of the rectifying and smoothing circuit 53.FIG.", "13 is a diagram illustrating an output voltage waveform of the rectifying and smoothing circuit 53.In FIGS.", "12 and 13, the horizontal axis represents time [μs] and the vertical axis represents voltage [V].", "As illustrated in FIGS.", "12 and 13, in this embodiment, the inductor L13 having an inductance of 30 μH is provided, and a voltage of about 18 V is obtained from the voltage applied to the piezoelectric transformer 50.The voltage regulator 54 is connected to an output side of the rectifying and smoothing circuit 53.The bypass capacitor C15 for smoothing and the driver 51 are connected to an output side of the voltage regulator 54.The voltage regulator 54 converts the voltage output from the rectifying and smoothing circuit 53 into a voltage necessary for the driver 51 in the subsequent stage.", "For example, as illustrated in FIG.", "13, in a case where a voltage of 18 V is output from the rectifying and smoothing circuit 53 and a voltage necessary for driving the driver 51 is 12 V, the voltage regulator 54 converts the input voltage of 18 V into a voltage of 12 V and outputs the resultant voltage.", "Accordingly, the driver 51 drives the gates of the switching elements Q11 and Q12.Furthermore, the voltage regulator 55 is also connected to the output side of the voltage regulator 54.The bypass capacitor C16 for smoothing and the microcomputer 52 are connected to an output side of the voltage regulator 55.The voltage regulator 55 converts the voltage output from the voltage regulator 54 into a voltage necessary for driving the microcomputer 52 in the subsequent stage.", "For example, in the case where the voltage necessary for operation of the microcomputer 52 is 3.3 V, the voltage regulator 55 converts the voltage of 12 V converted by and output from the voltage regulator 54 into a voltage of 3.3 V and outputs the resultant voltage, as described above.", "Accordingly, the microcomputer 52 operates.", "As described above, with the provision of the voltage regulators 54 and 55, a constant voltage of a desired value may be output based on an extracted voltage.", "The voltage regulators 54 and 55 are connected in cascade to the rectifying and smoothing circuit 53 to generate the operating voltage of the microcomputer 52.With this configuration, a decrease in the efficiency of the auxiliary power supply circuit may be prevented.", "More particularly, in the above example, the voltage obtained from the connection point A7 is about 18 V, the driving voltage of the microcomputer 52 is 3.3 V, and there is a large difference between these voltages.", "Therefore, in the case where one voltage regulator converts the voltage of 18 V into the voltage of 3.3 V, there is a large loss in the auxiliary power supply circuit.", "Thus, by causing the voltage regulator 54 to convert the voltage of 18 V into the voltage of 12 V and then causing the voltage regulator 55 to convert the voltage of 12 V into the voltage of 3.3 V, loss in the auxiliary power supply circuit may be reduced, and efficiency may be increased.", "As described above, the AC adaptor 7 according to this embodiment achieves reduction in size by using the piezoelectric transformer 50.An auxiliary power supply may be generated by connecting the inductor L13 to the piezoelectric transformer 50.As a result, there is no need to configure a winding transformer, and a reduction in size of the AC adaptor 7 can be achieved.", "Furthermore, the inductance of the inductor L13 is sufficiently smaller than the inductance of the inductor L11, and providing the inductor L13 does not affect the resonance characteristics of the resonance circuit including the inductor L11 and the capacitor 50A.", "Therefore, a constant may be set for the inductor L13 alone without being restricted by the resonance characteristics of the resonant circuit.", "Thus, the auxiliary power supply circuit may be designed easily, and versatility of the auxiliary power supply circuit may be increased.", "Although not illustrated in figures, the AC adaptor 7 may include a starting circuit.", "The starting circuit generates the driving voltages of the driver 51 and the microcomputer 52 based on the commercial power supply voltage during a period from activation of the AC adaptor 7 until starting of switching of the switching elements Q11 and Q12.Then, after the microcomputer 52 and the like start and switching of the switching elements Q11 and Q12 starts, the starting circuit stops.", "The auxiliary power supply circuit extracts a voltage from the commercial power supply voltage applied to the piezoelectric transformer 50, and thus generates the driving voltages of the driver 51 and the like.", "Accordingly, during a period from activation of the AC adaptor 7 until driving of the auxiliary power supply circuit, the driver 51 and the like may be driven appropriately.", "Eighth Embodiment FIG.", "14 is a circuit diagram of an AC adaptor 8 according to an eighth embodiment.", "This embodiment is different from the seventh embodiment in the configuration of an auxiliary power supply circuit included in the AC adaptor 8.The difference will be described below.", "In the auxiliary power supply circuit of the AC adaptor 8, the capacitor C17 is connected in parallel with the inductor L13, so that a parallel circuit 56 is formed.", "Constants are set for the inductor L13 and the capacitor C17 such that the parallel circuit 56 becomes inductive at the switching frequencies of the switching elements Q11 and Q12.The parallel circuit 56 is an example of an “inductive circuit” according to the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "15 is a diagram illustrating a voltage waveform at the connection point A7 of the piezoelectric transformer 50 and the inductor L13.FIG.", "16 is a diagram illustrating an output voltage waveform of the rectifying and smoothing circuit 53.In FIGS.", "15 and 16, the horizontal axis represents time [μs] and the vertical axis represents voltage [V].", "Furthermore, in FIGS.", "15 and 16, voltage waveforms for the case where the inductance of the inductor L13 is set to 10 μH and the capacitance of the capacitor C17 is set to 15 nF, 20 nF, and 25 nF.", "As illustrated in FIGS.", "15 and 16, different voltages may be obtained by varying the capacitance of the capacitor C17.For example, in the case where the capacitance of the capacitor C17 is 25 nF, a voltage of about 30 V may be obtained.", "In the case where the capacitance of the capacitor C17 is 20 nF, a voltage of about 18 V may be obtained.", "In the case where the capacitance of the capacitor C17 is 15 nF, a voltage of about 12 V may be obtained.", "As described above, by appropriately varying the capacitance of the capacitor C17 that is connected in parallel with the inductor L13, a voltage to be extracted may be adjusted.", "A constant may be set for the capacitor C17 in accordance with the voltage necessary for driving a subsequent element connected to the rectifying and smoothing circuit 53, for example, the driver 51 or the microcomputer 52.Furthermore, in the case where the capacitor C17 is connected in parallel, noise appearing in the voltage waveform may be reduced compared to the seventh embodiment (see FIG.", "12) in which the capacitor C17 is not provided.", "In the seventh embodiment in which the capacitor C17 is not provided, the inductor L13 resonates with the parasitic capacitance (junction capacitance) of the diode D12, and the resonance causes noise (spikes) in the voltage waveform in FIG.", "12 to appear.", "In contrast, in this embodiment in which the capacitor C17 is provided, the capacitance of the capacitor C17 is sufficiently larger than the parasitic capacitance of the diode D12, and the parasitic capacitance of the diode D12 may be negligible (invisible).", "Then, the inductor L13 resonates with the capacitor C17.The resonant frequency is low enough to approximate the switching frequencies of the switching elements Q11 and Q12.Accordingly, noise (spikes) in the voltage waveform in FIG.", "12 does not appear.", "Furthermore, in the case where noise appears in the voltage waveform at the connection point A7, the diode D12 of the rectifying and smoothing circuit 53 needs to be a high-resistance element for consideration of noise.", "In this embodiment, however, there is no need to use a high-resistance element for the diode D12 because noise does not appear.", "Ninth Embodiment FIG.", "17 is a circuit diagram of an AC adaptor 9 according to a ninth embodiment.", "This embodiment is different from the seventh embodiment in that the AC adaptor 9 includes two piezoelectric transformers 50 that are connected in parallel.", "The difference will be described below.", "The two piezoelectric transformers 50 are connected in parallel.", "The input electrodes E11 of the two piezoelectric transformers 50 are connected to the connection point of the switching elements Q11 and Q12 with the inductor L11 interposed therebetween.", "An auxiliary power supply circuit is connected to the input electrodes E12 of the two piezoelectric transformers 50.The auxiliary power supply circuit has the same configuration as that in the seventh embodiment.", "The output electrodes E21 and E22 of the two piezoelectric transformers 50 are connected to the diode bridge DB12.As described above, the AC adaptor 9 according to this embodiment has a configuration in which two piezoelectric transformers are connected in parallel.", "From the point of view of resonance characteristics and mechanical strength, the size of a piezoelectric transformer is restricted, and the amount of power that can be handled is restricted by the size restriction.", "Thus, by connecting two piezoelectric transformers in parallel as in this exemplary embodiment, the AC adaptor 9 is configured to handle a large amount of power, and there is no need to configure a winding transformer as compared with known technologies.", "Furthermore, as in the seventh embodiment, by connecting the inductor L13 to the piezoelectric transformers 50, an auxiliary power supply may be generated for each of the driver 51 and the microcomputer 52.Therefore, there is no need to provide a winding transformer, and reduction in size of the AC adaptor 9 is not hindered.", "The auxiliary power supply circuit according to this embodiment may have a configuration in which a capacitor is connected in parallel with the inductor L13 of the auxiliary power supply circuit, as explained in the eighth embodiment.", "Tenth Embodiment FIG.", "18 is a circuit diagram of an AC adaptor 10 according to a tenth exemplary embodiment.", "The tenth embodiment is different from the ninth embodiment in the configuration of an auxiliary power supply circuit included in the AC adaptor 10.The difference will be described below.", "In this embodiment, the AC adaptor 10 has a configuration in which two piezoelectric transformers 50 are connected in parallel.", "However, the AC adaptor 10 may be configured to include only one piezoelectric transformer, as in the seventh embodiment.", "The input electrodes E11 of the two piezoelectric transformers 50 that are connected in parallel are connected to the connection point of the switching elements Q11 and Q12 with the inductor L11 interposed therebetween.", "An auxiliary power supply circuit 60 is connected to the input electrodes E12 of the two piezoelectric transformers 50.The output electrodes E21 and E22 of the two piezoelectric transformers 50 are connected to the diode bridge DB12.FIG.", "19 is a circuit diagram of the auxiliary power supply circuit 60 according to this embodiment.", "The auxiliary power supply circuit 60 generates voltages of different voltage values based on voltages applied to the two piezoelectric transformers 50, and applies the generated voltages to the driver 51 and the microcomputer 52.The auxiliary power supply circuit 60 includes parallel circuits 61 and 62.The parallel circuit 61 is formed by the capacitor C21 and an inductor L14 that are connected in parallel.", "The parallel circuit 62 is formed by the capacitor C22 and an inductor L15 that are connected in parallel.", "The inductors L14 and L15 are examples of a “first reactance element” according to the present disclosure.", "The parallel circuits 61 and 62 are connected in series between the input electrode E12 of the piezoelectric transformer 50 and the ground.", "Constants are set such that the parallel circuits 61 and 62 become inductive at the switching frequencies of the switching elements Q11 and Q12.The parallel circuits 61 and 62 are examples of an “inductive circuit” according to the present disclosure.", "The inductors L14 and L15 are examples of a “series connection unit” according to the present disclosure.", "In the explanation provided below, a connection point of the input electrode E12 of the piezoelectric transformer 50 and the parallel circuit 61 will be referred to as a connection point A8.A connection point of the parallel circuits 61 and 62 will be referred to as a connection point A9.The auxiliary power supply circuit 60 includes rectifying and smoothing circuits 63 and 64, voltage regulators (LDOs) 65 and 66, and bypass capacitors C25 and C26.The rectifying and smoothing circuit 63 includes the diode D23 and the capacitor C23.The rectifying and smoothing circuit 63 is connected to the connection point A8.The rectifying and smoothing circuit 64 includes the diode D24 and the capacitor C24.The rectifying and smoothing circuit 64 is connected to the connection point A9.The rectifying and smoothing circuits 63 and 64 extract voltages at the connection points A8 and A9, and rectifies and smooths the extracted voltages.", "The rectifying and smoothing circuits 63 and 64 are examples of an “auxiliary-power-supply-side rectifying and smoothing circuit” according to the present disclosure.", "The potential of the connection point A8 is determined by the composite impedance of the parallel circuits 61 and 62.Furthermore, the potential of the connection point A9 is determined by the ratio of impedances of the parallel circuits 61 and 62.Therefore, the potentials of the connection points A8 and A9 may be adjusted by adjusting the impedances of the parallel circuits 61 and 62.The voltage regulators 65 and 66 are connected to output sides of the rectifying and smoothing circuits 63 and 64.The bypass capacitor C25 for smoothing and the driver 51 are connected to an output side of the voltage regulator 65.The voltage regulator 65 converts the voltage output from the rectifying and smoothing circuit 63 into a voltage necessary for the driver 51 in the subsequent stage.", "The bypass capacitor C26 for smoothing and the microcomputer 52 are connected to an output side of the voltage regulator 66.The voltage regulator 66 converts the voltage output from the rectifying and smoothing circuit 64 into a voltage necessary for the microcomputer 52 in the subsequent stage.", "In this aspect, the potential of the connection point A8 is higher than the potential of the connection point A9.For example, let the potential of the connection point A8 be 18 V. In this case, the potential of the connection point A9 is equal to a voltage obtained by dividing the potential (18 V) of the connection point A8 by the parallel circuits 61 and 62.Moreover, let a voltage necessary for driving the driver 51 that is connected to the connection point A8 with the rectifying and smoothing circuit 63 and the like interposed therebetween be 15 V, and let a voltage necessary for driving the microcomputer 52 that is connected to the connection point A9 with the rectifying and smoothing circuit 64 and the like interposed therebetween be 3.3 V. In this case, the voltage regulator 65 converts the voltage of 18 V into the voltage of 15 V. Furthermore, the voltage regulator 66 converts the voltage of 18 V into the voltage of 3.3 V. In the auxiliary power supply circuit according to the seventh embodiment, the voltage regulator at the first stage (the voltage regulator 54 in FIG.", "10) converts a voltage of 18 V into a voltage of 15 V, the voltage regulator at the second stage (the voltage regulator 55 in FIG.", "10) converts a voltage of 15 V into a voltage of 3.3 V, and the driving voltage of the microcomputer 52 is thus generated.", "In this case, there is a large voltage difference between before and after the conversion at the voltage regulator at the second stage, and the voltage difference causes a large loss.", "In contrast, in this embodiment, the voltage regulator 66 converts the division voltage of the voltage at the connection point A8 into a voltage of 3.3 V for the microcomputer 52.In this case, the voltage difference between before and after the voltage conversion by the voltage regulator 66 is smaller than the case where voltage regulators at two stages are configured as in the seventh embodiment, and loss caused by the voltage difference at the voltage regulator 66 is small.", "As described above, with the configuration in which the parallel circuits 61 and 62 are connected in series and the rectifying and smoothing circuits 63 and 64 are connected to the connection points A8 and A9, loss at the time of stepping down the voltage at the voltage regulators 65 and 66 may be reduced, and driving voltages of the driver 51 and the microcomputer 52 may be generated.", "FIGS.", "20, 21, and 22 are circuit diagrams of other examples of an auxiliary power supply circuit according to various exemplary embodiments.", "As shown, an auxiliary power supply circuit 60A illustrated in FIG.", "20 includes a parallel circuit 67 between the input electrode E12 of the piezoelectric transformer 50 and the ground.", "The parallel circuit 67 is configured such that a series circuit including inductors L16 and L17 and a capacitor C18 are connected in parallel.", "Constants are set for the inductors L16 and L17 and the capacitor C18 such that the parallel circuit 67 becomes inductive at the switching frequencies of the switching elements Q11 and Q12.The parallel circuit 67 is an example of an “inductive circuit” according to the present disclosure.", "The inductors L16 and L17 are examples of a “first reactance element” and a “series connection unit” according to the present disclosure.", "The rectifying and smoothing circuit 63 is connected to a connection point A10 of the input electrode E12 of the piezoelectric transformer 50 and the inductor L16.The rectifying and smoothing circuit 64 is connected to a connection point A11 of the inductors L16 and L17.The potential of the connection point A11 may be adjusted by adjusting the impedance of the parallel circuit 67 and the ratio of impedances of the inductors L16 and L17.Even with this configuration, loss at the time of stepping down the voltage at the voltage regulators 65 and 66 may be reduced, and driving voltages of the driver 51 and the microcomputer 52 may be generated according to the exemplary aspect.", "An auxiliary power supply circuit 60B illustrated in FIG.", "21 further includes an inductor L18 that is connected in parallel with the parallel circuit 67.By further providing the inductor L18, the potential of the connection point A11 may be adjusted.", "Even with this configuration, loss at the time of stepping down the voltage at the voltage regulators 65 and 66 may be reduced, and driving voltages of the driver 51 and the microcomputer 52 may be generated according to the exemplary aspect.", "An auxiliary power supply circuit 60C illustrated in FIG.", "22 includes a parallel circuit 68 between the input electrode E12 of the piezoelectric transformer 50 and the ground.", "The parallel circuit 68 is configured such that a series circuit including a capacitor C19 and the inductor L17 and an inductor L19 are connected in parallel.", "A constant is set such that the parallel circuit 68 becomes inductive at the switching frequencies of the switching elements Q11 and Q12.The parallel circuit 68 is an example of an “inductive circuit” according to the present disclosure.", "The rectifying and smoothing circuit 63 is connected to a connection point A12 of the input electrode E12 of the piezoelectric transformer 50 and the inductor L19.The rectifying and smoothing circuit 64 is connected to a connection point A13 of the capacitor C19 and the inductor L17.The potentials of the connection points A12 and A13 may be adjusted by adjusting the impedance of the parallel circuit 68 and the ratio of impedances of the capacitor C19 and the inductor L17.Even with this configuration, loss at the time of stepping down the voltage at the voltage regulators 65 and 66 may be reduced, and driving voltages of the driver 51 and the microcomputer 52 may be generated according to the exemplary aspect.", "According to the first to tenth exemplary embodiments, reduction in size of an AC adaptor may be achieved as described above.", "In eleventh to fifteenth embodiments described below, configurations of AC adaptors that are capable of stably outputting an auxiliary power supply voltage from an auxiliary power supply circuit will be described.", "In the case where an auxiliary power supply voltage is generated based on an input voltage or an input current, ripples appear in input voltage due to variations in the weight of a load.", "The ripples may affect the auxiliary power supply voltage (voltage for an IC) to be generated.", "For example, in the case where influence of the ripples causes a voltage input to an IC from an auxiliary power supply to be lower than the driving voltage of the IC, there is a possibility that the IC may not be driven normally.", "Furthermore, in the case where the ripples cause a voltage that exceeds the driving voltage of the IC to be output from the auxiliary power supply, the voltage needs to be stepped down by a constant voltage circuit in accordance with the driving voltage of the IC, and a large loss occurs in the constant voltage circuit.", "The auxiliary power supply circuits described below in the eleventh to fifteenth embodiments may output a stable auxiliary power supply voltage.", "Eleventh Embodiment FIG.", "23 is a circuit diagram of an AC adaptor 11 according to the eleventh exemplary embodiment.", "FIG.", "24 is a circuit diagram of the AC adaptor 11 in which the piezoelectric transformer 50 illustrated in FIG.", "23 is represented by an equivalent circuit.", "The AC adaptor 11 is an example of a “power supply circuit” according to the present disclosure.", "The AC adaptor 1 includes the input units IN1 and IN2 and the output units OUT1 and OUT2.The input units IN1 and IN2 are connected to a commercial power supply.", "Loads are connected to the output units OUT1 and OUT2.The diode bridge DB11 is connected to the input units IN1 and IN2.The smoothing capacitor C11 is connected to the diode bridge DB11.The diode bridge DB11 and the smoothing capacitor C11 form a rectifying and smoothing circuit.", "The rectifying and smoothing circuit rectifies and smooths AC voltages input from the input units IN1 and IN2.The diode bridge DB11 and the smoothing capacitor C11 are an example of an “input-side rectifying and smoothing circuit” according to the present disclosure.", "A series circuit including the switching elements Q11 and Q12 is connected to the rectifying and smoothing circuit.", "In FIGS.", "23 and 24, the switching elements Q11 and Q12 are illustrated as MOS-FETs.", "However, the switching elements Q11 and Q12 may be IGBTs, bipolar transistors, or the like.", "The voltage rectified and smoothed by the rectifying and smoothing circuit is converted into a voltage of a rectangular wave by switching of the switching elements Q11 and Q12.The series circuit including the switching elements Q11 and Q12 is an example of a “switching circuit” according to the present disclosure.", "The driver (DRV) 51 is connected to gates of the switching elements Q11 and Q12.The microcomputer (MCU) 52 is connected to the driver 51.The driver 51 controls the duty ratio or switching frequencies of the switching elements Q11 and Q12.The microcomputer 52 obtains detection results of output voltages (or output currents) of the output units OUT1 and OUT2, and controls the driver 51 in accordance with comparison with a specified value.", "A connection point of the switching elements Q11 and Q12 is connected to the piezoelectric transformer 50 with the inductor L11 interposed therebetween.", "More particularly, the piezoelectric transformer 50 includes the input electrodes E11 and E12 and the output electrodes E21 and E22.The connection point of the switching elements Q11 and Q12 is connected to the input electrode E11 of the piezoelectric transformer 50 with the inductor L11 interposed therebetween.", "The input electrode E12 of the piezoelectric transformer 50 is connected to a reference potential with a capacitor C31 and the parallel circuit 57 included in an auxiliary power supply circuit described below interposed therebetween.", "The output electrodes E21 and E22 are connected to a rectifying and smoothing circuit including the diode bridge DB12 and the smoothing capacitor C12.The rectifying and smoothing circuit is connected to the output units OUT1 and OUT2.The input electrodes E11 and E12 are an example of a “pair of input electrodes” according to the present disclosure.", "The output electrodes E21 and E22 are an example of a “pair of output electrodes” according to the present disclosure.", "The diode bridge DB12 and the smoothing capacitor C12 are an example of an “output-side rectifying and smoothing circuit” according to the present disclosure.", "The piezoelectric transformer 50 is equivalently represented by the equivalent input capacitor 50A, the capacitor 50C, the equivalent output capacitor 50F, the inductor 50B, the resistor 50D, the ideal transformer 50E, and the like, as illustrated in FIG.", "24.The inductor 50B, the capacitor 50C, and the like are parameters representing electromechanical coupling.", "AC voltages are applied to the input electrodes E11 and E12 of the piezoelectric transformer 50 by the switching elements Q11 and Q12.As described above, the capacitor C13 and a parallel circuit 57 are connected to the input electrode E12.The equivalent input capacitor 50A of the piezoelectric transformer 50, the capacitor C31, the capacitor C13 of the parallel circuit 57, and the inductor L11 form a series resonance circuit.", "Voltage is converted into a voltage of a rectangular wave by the switching elements Q11 and Q12, and the series resonance circuit applies an AC voltage of a sine wave shape to the input electrodes E11 and E12 of the piezoelectric transformer 50.The piezoelectric transformer 50 transforms the AC voltage of the sine wave shape, and causes the resultant voltage to be output from the output electrodes E21 and E22.The voltage output from the piezoelectric transformer 50 is rectified and smoothed by the diode bridge DB12 and the smoothing capacitor C12, and is caused to be output from the output units OUT1 and OUT2.An AC voltage represents a voltage including an AC component, and also includes a pulsating voltage or the like including a DC component.", "An auxiliary power supply circuit is connected to the input electrode E12 of the piezoelectric transformer 50.The auxiliary power supply circuit generates driving voltages of the driver 51 and the microcomputer 52 based on the voltage applied to the piezoelectric transformer 50, and outputs the generated driving voltages.", "The driving voltages of the driver 51 and the microcomputer 52 are much lower than the voltage of the commercial power supply input to the AC adaptor 11.For example, the driving voltage of the driver 51 is about 12 V. The driving voltage of the microcomputer 52 is about 3.3 V. The auxiliary power supply circuit obtains a predetermined voltage based on the voltage applied to the piezoelectric transformer 50, and generates the driving voltages of the driver 51 and the microcomputer 52.The auxiliary power supply circuit includes the capacitors C14 and C31, the parallel circuit 57, the diodes D11 and D12, a controller 58, the voltage regulators (LDOs) 54 and 55, and the like.", "The capacitor C31 and the parallel circuit 57 that are connected in series are connected in series between the input electrode E12 of the piezoelectric transformer 50 and a reference potential.", "In the parallel circuit 57, the capacitor C13 and a series circuit including a capacitor C4 and a switching element Q2 are connected in parallel.", "The switching element Q2 is turned on and off by the controller 58.When the switching element Q2 is turned on, a configuration in which the capacitor C4 is connected in parallel with the capacitor C13 is obtained.", "That is, the capacitance of the parallel circuit 57 varies by turning on and off the switching element Q2.Control by the controller 58 will be described later.", "The parallel circuit 57 is an example of a “circuit constant variable circuit” according to the present disclosure.", "The capacitor C13 is an example of a “first reactance element” and a “circuit constant fixing circuit” according to the present disclosure.", "The controller 58 is an example of a “changing unit” according to the present disclosure.", "The piezoelectric transformer 50 is a capacitive device.", "Therefore, the piezoelectric transformer 50, the capacitor C31, and the parallel circuit 57 form a capacitance dividing circuit.", "As described above, the capacitance of the parallel circuit 57 varies by turning on and off the switching element Q2.That is, the voltage dividing ratio of the capacitance dividing circuit varies by turning on and off the switching element Q2.The capacitance of the capacitor C31 is set sufficiently larger than the composite capacitance of the equivalent input capacitor 50A and the capacitor C13.Therefore, the potential of a connection point A14 of the capacitor C31 and the parallel circuit 57 is determined mainly by the equivalent input capacitor 50A and the capacitance of the parallel circuit 57.Thus, the potential of the connection point A14 may be adjusted by the parallel circuit 57.When an auxiliary power supply circuit is connected to the input electrode E12 of the piezoelectric transformer 50, the equivalent input capacitor 50A of the piezoelectric transformer 50 is small, and therefore, the capacitor C31 may not be provided.", "In such a case, the auxiliary power supply circuit is connected directly to the input electrode E12 of the piezoelectric transformer 50, and a connection point of the auxiliary power supply circuit and the input electrode E12 of the piezoelectric transformer 50 is defined as the connection point A14.The diode D11 is connected in parallel with the capacitor C13.The diode D11 is provided to extract a positive voltage from the connection point A14.A rectifying and smoothing circuit including the diode D12 and the capacitor C14 is connected to the connection point A14.The rectifying and smoothing circuit extracts a voltage from the connection point A14 of the capacitance dividing circuit, and performs rectification and smoothing of the voltage.", "The voltage regulator 54, which is a series regulator, is connected to an output side of the rectifying and smoothing circuit, and the rectifying and smoothing circuit outputs the rectified and smoothed voltage to the voltage regulator 54.The rectifying and smoothing circuit including the diode D12 and the capacitor C14 is an example of an “auxiliary-power-supply-side rectifying and smoothing circuit” according to the present disclosure.", "A voltage output from the rectifying and smoothing circuit is an example of an “auxiliary power supply voltage” according to the present disclosure.", "The bypass capacitor C15 and the driver 51 are connected to an output side of the voltage regulator 54.The voltage regulator 54 converts the rectified and smoothed voltage at the connection point A14 into a constant voltage necessary for the driver 51.For example, when a voltage of 18 V is input to the voltage regulator 54 and the voltage necessary for driving the driver 51 is 12 V, the voltage regulator 54 steps down the voltage of 18 V to the voltage of 12 V, and outputs the stepped down voltage.", "Accordingly, the driver 51 operates.", "Furthermore, the voltage regulator 55 is also connected to the output side of the voltage regulator 54.The bypass capacitor C16 and the microcomputer 52 are connected to an output side of the voltage regulator 55.The voltage regulator 55 steps down the voltage output from the voltage regulator 54 to a voltage necessary for driving the microcomputer 52.For example, when the voltage necessary for driving the microcomputer 52 is 3.3 V, the voltage regulator 55 steps down the voltage which has been converted into the voltage of 12 V by the voltage regulator 54 to the voltage of 3.3 V, and outputs the stepped down voltage, as described above.", "Accordingly, the microcomputer 52 operates.", "As described above, the auxiliary power supply circuit divides, using the capacitance dividing circuit, the voltage applied to the piezoelectric transformer 50.The auxiliary power supply circuit extracts a voltage from the connection point A14 to generate the driving voltages of the driver 51 and the microcomputer 52.However, the potential of the connection point A14 varies according to the weight of loads connected to the output units OUT1 and OUT2.When the potential of the connection point A14 varies, a voltage generated by the auxiliary power supply circuit accordingly varies.", "More particularly, as described above, the switching elements Q11 and Q12 are subjected to switching control by the driver 51 and the microcomputer 52 in accordance with the weight of loads.", "Therefore, voltages input to the switching elements Q11 and Q12 vary according to the loads.", "In particular, with a heavy load, there is a large swing (ripples) of the voltage at the connection point of the switching elements Q11 and Q12, which affects the potential of the connection point A14.If the influence of the ripples causes the potential of the connection point A14 to be increased and a voltage larger than a specified value (for example, 18 V) is input to the voltage regulator 54, the voltage regulator 54 needs to step down the input voltage with a voltage difference larger than the case where voltage is stepped down from 18 V to 12 V as in the example described above.", "Therefore, loss in the voltage regulator 54 increases.", "Thus, in order to vary the potential of the connection point A14, the capacitance of the parallel circuit 57 is varied by turning on and off the switching element Q2, and the voltage dividing ratio of the capacitance dividing circuit is thus varied.", "The switching element Q2 is an MOS-FET.", "The gate of the switching element Q2 is connected to the controller 58, and is turned on and off by the controller 58.An input voltage detection circuit including voltage dividing resistors R1 and R2 is provided on an input side of the switching elements Q11 and Q12.An input voltage Vd detected by the input voltage detection circuit is input to the controller 58.The controller 58 compares the input voltage Vd with a predetermined reference voltage Vth.", "In the case where a load is heavy and the input voltage Vd is equal to or more than the reference voltage Vth, the controller 58 turns on the switching element Q2.In the case where a load is light and the input voltage Vd is less than the reference voltage Vth, the controller 58 turns off the switching element Q2.When the switching element Q2 is turned off, the capacitance of the parallel circuit 57 is equal to the capacitance of only the capacitor C13.When the switching element Q2 is turned on, the capacitance of the parallel circuit 57 is equal to the composite capacitance of the capacitors C13 and C4 that are connected in parallel.", "That is, by turning on and off the switching element Q2, the voltage dividing ratio of the capacitance dividing circuit may be varied, and the potential of the connection point A14 may thus be varied.", "The potential of the connection point A14 may be varied according to the input voltage Vd.", "Therefore, when the input voltage Vd is high, a low potential may be achieved at the connection point A14.Furthermore, when the input voltage Vd is low, a high potential may be achieved at the connection point A14.As described above, by varying the potential of the connection point A14 according to variations in the input voltage Vd, a stable voltage with less variations may be input to the voltage regulator 54.In this embodiment, when a load is light and the input voltage Vd is less than the reference voltage Vth, that is, in the case where the switching element Q2 is turned off, constants are set for the capacitors C31 and C13 such that the voltage of the connection point A14 exceeds the driving voltage of the driver 51.That is, in the case where the switching element Q2 is turned off, a voltage necessary for driving the driver 51 may be ensured even if the voltage of the connection point A14 is low.", "Therefore, even with a configuration in which the control is performed when a load is heavy, no trouble occurs when the load is light.", "FIG.", "25 is a diagram illustrating part of an internal circuit of the controller 58.In this aspect, the controller 58 includes a comparator 141.The input voltage Vd detected by the voltage dividing resistors R1 and R2 and the reference voltage Vth are input to the comparator 141.The comparator 141 compares the input voltage Vd with the reference voltage Vth, outputs a Hi signal when Vd is equal to or more than Vth, and outputs a Lo signal when Vd is less than Vth.", "Moreover, the controller 58 includes a series circuit including switching elements Q31 and Q32, a series circuit including switching elements Q33 and Q34, and a series circuit including diodes D31 and D32.These series circuits are connected in parallel between the power supply voltage Vcc and a reference potential.", "The switching elements Q31 and Q33 are p-type MOS-FETs.", "The switching elements Q32 and Q34 are n-type MOS-FETs.", "Output of the comparator 141 is connected to gates of the switching elements Q31 and Q32.A connection point of the switching elements Q31 and Q32 is connected to gates of the switching elements Q33 and Q34.A connection point of the switching elements Q33 and Q34 is connected to a connection point of the diodes D31 and D32 and the gate of the switching element Q2.The diodes D31 and D32 are a protection circuit for not causing over-voltage or reverse-voltage to be input to the gate of the switching element Q2.With this configuration, when the comparator 141 outputs a Hi signal, the switching element Q32 is turned on.", "Then, the switching element Q33 is turned on, a voltage is applied to the gate of the switching element Q2 from the power supply voltage Vcc, and the switching element Q2 is thus turned on.", "In contrast, when the comparator 141 outputs a Lo signal, that is, when the input voltage Vd is less than the reference voltage Vth, the switching element Q31 is turned on.", "Then, the switching element Q34 is turned on, and the switching element Q2 is thus turned off.", "As described above, the controller 58 compares the input voltage Vd with the reference voltage Vth, and turns on or turns off the switching element Q2.Accordingly, the potential at the connection point A14 illustrated in FIGS.", "23 and 24 may be varied so that the voltage input to the voltage regulator 54 may be stable.", "FIG.", "26 is a diagram illustrating a waveform of an input voltage VLDO to the voltage regulator 54.In FIG.", "26, “with control” represents a case where switching control for the switching element Q2 is performed, and “without control” represents a case where a circuit including a capacitor C4 and the switching element Q2 is not provided.", "The waveform of the input voltage VLDO illustrated in FIG.", "26 represents only ripples appearing in the input voltage VLDO.", "Furthermore, in FIG.", "26, the input voltage Vd, the reference voltage Vth, and on/off periods of the switching element Q2 are also illustrated.", "When there is a light load and “with control” illustrated in FIG.", "26, the input voltage Vd is not equal to or more than the reference voltage Vth, the switching element Q2 is turned off.", "Regardless of whether a load is heavy or light, when “with control” is compared with “without control”, smaller ripples appear in the input voltage VLDO input to the voltage regulator 54 in the case of “with control”, as illustrated in FIG.", "26.That is, by turning on and off the switching element Q2, ripples in the input voltage VLDO input to the voltage regulator 54 may be suppressed and thus stabilized.", "As a result, loss in the voltage regulator 54 may be reduced.", "As described above, in this embodiment, output voltage of the auxiliary power supply circuit may be stabilized, regardless of the weight of a load connected to the AC adaptor 11.Accordingly, influence of ripples appearing when a load varies may be reduced, and a situation in which the driver 51 and the like are not driven due to voltage shortage or loss in the voltage regulator 54 increases may be suppressed.", "Furthermore, a circuit for varying the capacitance of the parallel circuit 57 may be implemented by a simple circuit configuration including the capacitor C4 and the switching element Q2.With a configuration in which the voltage regulators 54 and 55 are connected in cascade to generate the operating voltage of the microcomputer 52, a decrease in the efficiency of the auxiliary power supply circuit may be prevented.", "That is, when a voltage obtained from the connection point A14 is about 18 V and the driving voltage of the microcomputer 52 is 3.3 V, there is a large difference between the voltages.", "Therefore, when one voltage regulator converts the voltage of 18 V into the voltage of 3.3 V, loss in the auxiliary power supply circuit is large.", "Thus, by causing the voltage regulator 54 to convert the voltage of 18 V into the voltage of 12 V and then causing the voltage regulator 55 to convert the voltage of 12 V into the voltage of 3.3 V, loss in the auxiliary power supply circuit may be reduced, and efficiency may be increased.", "In this embodiment, the series circuit including the capacitor C4 and the switching element Q2 is used as a circuit for varying a circuit constant (capacitance) of the parallel circuit 57.However, a configuration in which a plurality of series circuits including the capacitor C4 and the switching element Q2 are connected in parallel may be provided.", "FIG.", "27 is a diagram illustrating another example of a circuit for varying a circuit constant.", "A parallel circuit 57A in this example has a configuration in which series circuits including capacitors C41, C42, .", ".", ".", ", and C4n and switching elements Q21, Q22, .", ".", ".", ", and Q2n, respectively, are connected in parallel with respect to the capacitor C13.In this case, the capacitance of the parallel circuit 57A may can be set in 2 n ways.", "Thus, the potential of the connection point A14 may be varied in a more detailed manner.", "Therefore, output voltage of the auxiliary power supply circuit may be stabilized with high accuracy.", "In this embodiment, the input voltage detection circuit including the voltage dividing resistors R1 and R2 is provided on an input side of the switching elements Q11 and Q12 so that detection accuracy can be increased by detecting a DC voltage.", "However, the input voltage detection circuit may be provided at a different position.", "For example, the input voltage detection circuit may be provided on an input side of the voltage regulator 54 of the auxiliary power supply circuit.", "Furthermore, in this embodiment, the input voltage Vd is detected.", "However, for example, with the use of a current transformer, input current to the switching elements Q11 and Q12 may be detected.", "In this case, switching control for the switching element Q2 may be performed by comparing the detected input current with a reference value.", "Twelfth Embodiment The twelfth embodiment is different from the eleventh embodiment in the position where an auxiliary power supply circuit included in an AC adaptor is provided.", "FIG.", "28 is a circuit diagram illustrating an auxiliary power supply circuit included in the AC adaptor according to the twelfth embodiment.", "The auxiliary power supply circuit illustrated in FIG.", "28 has the same configuration as that in the eleventh embodiment.", "Therefore, explanation will be provided by using the same signs as those in the eleventh embodiment.", "In this embodiment, the capacitor C31 of the auxiliary power supply circuit is provided between the connection point of the switching elements Q11 and Q12 and the inductor L11.The input electrode E12 of the piezoelectric transformer 50 is directly connected to the reference potential.", "The series circuit including the capacitors C31 and C13 and the equivalent input capacitor 50A (see FIG.", "2) of the piezoelectric transformer 50 are configured to be connected in parallel.", "The composite capacitance of this parallel circuit and the inductor L11 form a resonance circuit.", "The capacitance of the capacitor C31 is set less than or equal to the capacitance of the capacitor C13.In this case, regarding the impedance of the series circuit including the capacitors C31 and C13, the capacitor C31 is predominant.", "Therefore, a voltage to be applied to the series circuit including the capacitors C31 and C13 is determined mainly by the capacitor C31.Furthermore, the potential of the connection point A14 may be adjusted by the parallel circuit 57.Control by the switching element Q2 in the auxiliary power supply circuit is the same as that in the eleventh embodiment.", "The other configurations are the same as those in the eleventh embodiment.", "Therefore, explanation for the other configurations will be omitted.", "As described above, even with the configuration according to this embodiment, regardless of the weight of a load connected to the AC adaptor, an output voltage of the auxiliary power supply circuit may be stabilized.", "Thirteenth Embodiment The thirteenth embodiment is different from the eleventh embodiment in the configuration of a “circuit constant variable circuit” according to the present disclosure.", "FIGS.", "29, 30, and 31 are diagrams each illustrating another example of an auxiliary power supply circuit included in an AC adaptor according to the thirteenth exemplary embodiment.", "As shown, the auxiliary power supply circuit illustrated in FIG.", "29 includes a parallel circuit 57B in which the capacitor C13 and a variable capacitance capacitor Cv are connected in parallel.", "For example, electrostatic capacitance adjustment for the variable capacitance capacitor Cv is performed by the controller 58 illustrated in FIG.", "23.The parallel circuit 57B is connected to the input electrode E12 of the piezoelectric transformer 50.The parallel circuit 57B is an example of a “circuit constant variable circuit” according to the present disclosure.", "Furthermore, the variable capacitance capacitor Cv is an example of a “variable capacitance element” according to the present disclosure.", "An auxiliary power supply circuit illustrated in FIG.", "30 includes a series circuit including the capacitor C13 and the variable capacitance capacitor Cv.", "The series circuit is connected to the input electrode E12 of the piezoelectric transformer 50.The series circuit I an example of a “circuit constant variable circuit” according to the present disclosure.", "Furthermore, the variable capacitance capacitor Cv is an example of a “variable capacitance element” according to the present disclosure.", "An auxiliary power supply circuit illustrated in FIG.", "31 includes the variable capacitance capacitor Cv that is connected to the input electrode E12 of the piezoelectric transformer 50.In this example, the variable capacitance capacitor Cv is an example of a “first reactance element”, a “circuit constant variable circuit”, and a “variable capacitance element” according to the present disclosure.", "Even in any of the cases illustrated in FIGS.", "29, 30, and 31, by varying the capacitance of the variable capacitance capacitor Cv, an output voltage of an auxiliary power supply circuit may be stabilized, regardless of the weight of a load connected to an AC adaptor.", "Furthermore, compared to a case where the voltage dividing ratio is varied by turning on and off the switching element Q2 (see FIG.", "23) as in the eleventh embodiment, high-frequency noise generated at the time of switching may be reduced.", "Fourteenth Embodiment An AC adaptor according to a fourteenth embodiment is different from the first embodiment in the configuration of a “circuit constant variable circuit” according to the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "32 is a circuit diagram of an AC adaptor 12 according to a fourteenth embodiment.", "An auxiliary power supply circuit of the AC adaptor 12 includes a parallel circuit 57C in which an inductor L2, a capacitor C5, and a series circuit including an inductor L3 and a switching element Q3 are connected in parallel.", "The parallel circuit 57C is connected to the input electrode E12 of the piezoelectric transformer 50.The switching element Q3 is turned on and off by the controller 58, as in the eleventh embodiment.", "The parallel circuit 57C is an example of a “circuit constant variable circuit” according to the present disclosure.", "The inductor L2 is an example of a “first reactance element” according to the present disclosure.", "The inductor L2 and the capacitor C5 are an example of a “circuit constant fixing circuit” according to the present disclosure.", "When the switching element Q3 is turned on, the inductor L3 is connected in parallel with the inductor L2.Therefore, the inductance of the parallel circuit 57C varies when the switching element Q3 is turned on and off.", "A constant is set such that the parallel circuit 57C becomes inductive at the switching frequencies of the switching elements Q11 and Q12.The piezoelectric transformer 50 is a capacitive device.", "That is, the piezoelectric transformer 50 and the parallel circuit 57C may be considered to have a configuration in which a capacitive element and an inductive element are connected in series.", "Regarding the series circuit including a capacitive element and an inductive element, a voltage applied to the inductive element increases as the inductance of the inductive element increases.", "Therefore, by varying the impedance of the parallel circuit 57C, which is inductive, the potential of a connection point A1y of the piezoelectric transformer 50 and the parallel circuit 57C may be varied.", "When the switching element Q3 is turned on and the inductor L3 is connected in parallel with the inductor L2, the impedance of the parallel circuit 57C decreases.", "Thus, the potential of the connection point A1y may be lowered.", "Therefore, even in the case where the potential of the connection point A15 is increased by the influence of ripples, the potential of the connection point A15 may be lowered by turning on the switching element Q3.In addition, a situation in which a voltage more than a specified value (for example, 18 V) is input to the voltage regulator 54 may be suppressed.", "As a result, loss in the voltage regulator 54 may be reduced.", "As described above, even with the AC adaptor 12 having the configuration according to this embodiment, an output voltage from the auxiliary power supply circuit may be stabilized even if a load is varied, as in the eleventh to thirteenth embodiments.", "Fifteenth Embodiment An AC adaptor according to the fifteenth embodiment is different from the fourteenth embodiment in that the inductor L3 in the parallel circuit 57C illustrated in FIG.", "32 is replaced with a capacitor.", "FIG.", "33 is a circuit diagram of an AC adaptor 13 according to the fifteenth embodiment.", "An auxiliary power supply circuit of the AC adaptor 13 incudes a parallel circuit 57D in which the inductor L2, the capacitor C5, and a series circuit including a capacitor C51 and a switching element Q4 are connected in parallel.", "The parallel circuit 57D is connected to the input electrode E12 of the piezoelectric transformer 50.The parallel circuit 57D is an example of a “circuit constant variable circuit” according to the present disclosure.", "The inductor L2 and the capacitor C5 are an example of a “circuit constant fixing circuit” according to the present disclosure.", "In this example, the controller 58 turns on the switching element Q4 when the input voltage Vd is less than the reference voltage Vth, and turns off the switching element Q4 when the input voltage Vd is equal to or more than the reference voltage Vth.", "By turning on the switching element Q4, a configuration in which the capacitor C51 is connected in parallel with the capacitor C5 is obtained.", "That is, in the case where the impedance of the parallel circuit 57D is inductive, the impedance of the parallel circuit 57D increases.", "Thus, the potential of the connection point A15 of the piezoelectric transformer 50 and the parallel circuit 57D may be increased.", "Therefore, even in the case where the potential of the connection point A1y is increased by the influence of ripples, the potential of the connection point A1y may be lowered in the case where the impedance of the parallel circuit 57D is inductive, by turning off the switching element Q4.In addition, a situation in which a voltage more than a specified value (for example, 18 V) is input to the voltage regulator 54 may be suppressed.", "As a result, loss in the voltage regulator 54 may be reduced.", "As described above, even with the AC adaptor 13 having the configuration according to this embodiment, an output voltage from the auxiliary power supply circuit may be stabilized even if a load is varied, as in the eleventh to fourteenth embodiments.", "REFERENCE SIGNS LIST A1, A2, A3, A4, A5, A6, A7, A8, A9, A10, A11, A12, A13, A14, and A15: connection point, C11 and C12: smoothing capacitor, C13 and C14: capacitor, C15 and C16: bypass capacitor, C17, C18, and C19: capacitor, C2: capacitor, C20, C21, C22, C23, and C24: capacitor, C25 and C26: bypass capacitor, C27: capacitor, C31: capacitor, C4: capacitor, C41, C44, .", ".", ".", ", and C4n: capacitor, C5 and C51: capacitor, Cv: variable capacitance capacitor, D11 and D12: diode, D21, D22, D23, and D24: diode, D31 and D32: diode, DB11 and DB12: diode bridge, E11 and E12: input electrode, E21 and E22: output electrode, IN1 and IN2: input unit, L11, L12, L13, L14, L15, L16, L17, L18, and L19: inductor, L2: inductor, L3: inductor, OUT1 and OUT2: output unit, Q11 and Q12: switching element, Q2: switching element, Q21, Q22, .", ".", ".", ", and Q2n: switching element, Q3: switching element, Q31, Q32, Q33, and Q34: switching element, Q4: switching element, R1 and R2: voltage dividing resistor, 1, 2, 3, 4, 4A, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12: AC adaptor, 50: piezoelectric transformer, 50A: equivalent input capacitor, 50B: inductor, 50C: capacitor, 50D: resistor, 50E: ideal transformer, 50F: equivalent output capacitor, 51: driver, 52: microcomputer, 53: rectifying and smoothing circuit, 54 and 55: voltage regulator, 56, 57, 57A, 57B, 57C, and 57D: parallel circuit, 58: controller, 60, 60A, 60B, and 60C: auxiliary power supply circuit, 61 and 62: parallel circuit, 63 and 64: rectifying and smoothing circuit, 65 and 66: voltage regulator, 67 and 68: parallel circuit, and 141: comparator" ] ]
Patent_15873223
[ [ "System and Method for Containing an Emission of Sulfur Trioxide", "A system for containing an emission of sulfur trioxide, the system comprising a first pressurized vessel, the first pressurized vessel containing sulfur trioxide, a relief vessel containing a volume of a solvent solution, wherein the solvent solution comprises sulfolane, and a first relief conduit providing a first route of fluid communication between the first pressurized vessel and the relief vessel.", "A method for containing an emission of sulfur trioxide, the method comprising routing a first relief conduit so as to provide a first route of fluid communication between a first pressurized vessel and a relief vessel, wherein the first pressurized vessel contains sulfur trioxide, wherein the relief vessel contains a volume of a solvent solution, and wherein the solvent solution comprises sulfolane." ], [ "1.A system for containing an emission of sulfur trioxide, the system comprising: a first pressurized vessel, the first pressurized vessel containing sulfur trioxide; a relief vessel containing a volume of a solvent solution, wherein the solvent solution comprises sulfolane; and a first relief conduit providing a first route of fluid communication between the first pressurized vessel and the relief vessel.", "2.The system of claim 1, wherein the first pressurized vessel is a storage vessel.", "3.The system of claim 2, wherein the storage vessel includes an internal heating element configured to heat the sulfur trioxide.", "4.The system of claim 2, further comprising: a second pressurized vessel; and a second relief conduit providing a second route of fluid communication between the second pressurized vessel and the relief vessel.", "5.The system of claim 4, wherein the second pressurized vessel is a reactor, wherein the reactor contains a reaction mixture.", "6.The system of claim 5, wherein the reaction mixture comprises asphalt.", "7.The system of claim 1, wherein the first pressurized vessel is a reactor, and wherein the sulfur trioxide within the reactor is a component of a reaction mixture contained within the reactor.", "8.The system of claim 1, wherein the solvent solution further comprises water.", "9.The system of claim 8, wherein the solvent solution further comprises at least 2 wt % water on a basis of the sulfolane.", "10.The system of claim 8, wherein the solvent solution further comprises at least 3 wt % water on a basis of the sulfolane.", "11.The system of claim 1, further comprising a pressure relief valve, wherein the pressure relief valve controls fluid communication via the first route of fluid communication between the first pressurized vessel and the relief vessel.", "12.The system of claim 5, further comprising: a separation unit; and a third relief conduit providing a third route of fluid communication between the separation unit and the relief vessel, wherein an effluent stream conveyed from the reactor is separated into an output conduit and a product conduit by the separation unit, the output conduit comprising the third relief conduit.", "13.The system of claim 12, wherein the effluent stream comprises product and unreacted components.", "14.The system of claim 12, wherein the product conduit comprises at least one of sulfonated asphalt, alcohol sulfuric acid, alkyl benzene sulfonic acid, petroleum sulfonates, or oleum.", "15.The system of claim 12, further comprising: a solvent regeneration system; and a regenerated solvent solution conduit conveying regenerated solvent to the relief vessel from the solvent regeneration system.", "16.A system for containing an emission of sulfur trioxide, the system comprising: a relief vessel comprising a solvent solution; and an input conduit in fluid communication with at least one of a first pressurized vessel, a second pressurized vessel, and an output conduit, wherein the input conduit conveys sulfur trioxide to the relief vessel, forming an emission mixture when the sulfur trioxide contacts the solvent solution.", "17.The system of claim 16, wherein the solvent solution in the relief vessel comprises sulfolane effective to absorb an amount of sulfur trioxide, and wherein the emission mixture formed within the relief vessel comprises the amount of sulfur trioxide absorbed by the sulfolane.", "18.The system of claim 17, wherein for each mole of sulfolane in the solvent solution, the solvent solution is effective to absorb between about 0.30 moles to about 0.35 moles of sulfur trioxide.", "19.The system of claim 16, further comprising a bubbler disposed at a bottom of the relief vessel and configured to disperse the sulfur trioxide into the solvent solution via the input conduit.", "20.A system for containing an emission of sulfur trioxide, the system comprising: a relief vessel comprising a solvent solution; an input conduit in fluid communication with at least one of a first pressurized vessel, a second pressurized vessel, and an output conduit, wherein the input conduit conveys sulfur trioxide to the relief vessel, forming an emission mixture when the sulfur trioxide contacts the solvent solution; and a solvent regeneration system configured to: receive an emission mixture conduit conveyed from the relief vessel, add water to the emission mixture to facilitate a reaction with sulfur trioxide dissolved therein and to form sulfuric acid, regenerate sulfolane via at least one of a distillation, a back-extraction, adsorption, or counter-ion exchange column; and recycle regenerated sulfolane back to the relief vessel via a regenerated solvent solution conduit." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND <EOH>Sulfur trioxide (SO 3 ) is a powerful sulfonating agent used industrially in a variety of processes.", "However, sulfur trioxide is also recognized as being hazardous in nature, for instance, being known to react violently with water; being corrosive to skin, eyes, mucous membranes, and the respiratory tract; being highly caustic; and being known to fume or disperse readily in the air.", "As in any industrial setting where industrial chemicals are used, there is the possibility that sulfur trioxide can be released, either unintentionally (i.e., accidentally or through an unintended event) or occurring from the normal operation of such an industrial use.", "As such, systems and methods for containing an emission of sulfur trioxide from industrial settings where sulfur trioxide can be found or is in use are needed." ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY <EOH>Disclosed herein is a system for containing an emission of sulfur trioxide, the system comprising a first pressurized vessel, the first pressurized vessel containing sulfur trioxide, a relief vessel containing a volume of a solvent solution, wherein the solvent solution comprises sulfolane, and a first relief conduit providing a first route of fluid communication between the first pressurized vessel and the relief vessel.", "Also disclosed herein is a method for containing an emission of sulfur trioxide, the method comprising routing a first relief conduit so as to provide a first route of fluid communication between a first pressurized vessel and a relief vessel, wherein the first pressurized vessel contains sulfur trioxide, wherein the relief vessel contains a volume of a solvent solution, and wherein the solvent solution comprises sulfolane.", "Further disclosed herein is a method for containing an emission of sulfur trioxide, the method comprising directing an emission of sulfur trioxide from a first pressurized vessel to a relief vessel via a first relief conduit, wherein the relief vessel contains a volume of a solvent solution, comprising sulfolane, and forming an emission mixture comprising sulfur trioxide dissolved in sulfolane within the relief vessel." ], [ "CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a divisional of and claims priority to U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "14/963,795 filed Dec. 9, 2015, published as U.S. Patent Application Publication US 2017/0166448 A1 and entitled “System and Method for Containing an Emission of Sulfur Trioxide,” which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.", "BACKGROUND Sulfur trioxide (SO3) is a powerful sulfonating agent used industrially in a variety of processes.", "However, sulfur trioxide is also recognized as being hazardous in nature, for instance, being known to react violently with water; being corrosive to skin, eyes, mucous membranes, and the respiratory tract; being highly caustic; and being known to fume or disperse readily in the air.", "As in any industrial setting where industrial chemicals are used, there is the possibility that sulfur trioxide can be released, either unintentionally (i.e., accidentally or through an unintended event) or occurring from the normal operation of such an industrial use.", "As such, systems and methods for containing an emission of sulfur trioxide from industrial settings where sulfur trioxide can be found or is in use are needed.", "SUMMARY Disclosed herein is a system for containing an emission of sulfur trioxide, the system comprising a first pressurized vessel, the first pressurized vessel containing sulfur trioxide, a relief vessel containing a volume of a solvent solution, wherein the solvent solution comprises sulfolane, and a first relief conduit providing a first route of fluid communication between the first pressurized vessel and the relief vessel.", "Also disclosed herein is a method for containing an emission of sulfur trioxide, the method comprising routing a first relief conduit so as to provide a first route of fluid communication between a first pressurized vessel and a relief vessel, wherein the first pressurized vessel contains sulfur trioxide, wherein the relief vessel contains a volume of a solvent solution, and wherein the solvent solution comprises sulfolane.", "Further disclosed herein is a method for containing an emission of sulfur trioxide, the method comprising directing an emission of sulfur trioxide from a first pressurized vessel to a relief vessel via a first relief conduit, wherein the relief vessel contains a volume of a solvent solution, comprising sulfolane, and forming an emission mixture comprising sulfur trioxide dissolved in sulfolane within the relief vessel.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS For a more complete understanding of the present disclosure and the advantages thereof, reference is now made to the following brief description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings and detailed description, wherein like reference numerals represent like parts.", "FIG.", "1 illustrates an embodiment of a sulfur trioxide emission containment system; FIG.", "2 illustrates an embodiment of a relief vessel; and FIG.", "3 illustrates an embodiment of sulfur trioxide emission containment method.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION Disclosed herein are systems and methods for containing an emission of sulfur trioxide (SO3).", "The disclosed embodiments of a sulfur trioxide emission containment (STEC) system and associated method are useful where sulfur trioxide is employed as an input to an industrial process (for example, as a process reactant); where SO3 is an output from an industrial process (for example, where sulfur trioxide is a process product or where excess, unreacted sulfur trioxide remains); and/or where sulfur trioxide is stored (for example, in a storage facility) or transported (for example, by truck or rail-car).", "Referring to FIG.", "1, an exemplary STEC system 100 in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure is illustrated.", "The STEC system 100 as shown in FIG.", "1 represents an industrial setting, for example, an industrial environment in which sulfur trioxide is present (e.g., used as a reactant) in an industrial process.", "For example, STEC system 100 of FIG.", "1 can be an industrial plant (e.g., a production facility) of the type used to produce a sulfated or sulfonated end-product.", "Examples of such industrial facilities include plants for the production of sulfonated asphalt and plants for the production of surfactant compositions, such as those used in shampoos, detergents, or the like.", "In alternative embodiments, as will be disclosed herein, an otherwise similar STEC system can be similarly employed in any suitable setting or environment where sulfur trioxide is used or is otherwise present.", "Examples of such environments include the production of sulfonic and/or sulfuric acid, the production of catalyst(s), specific refining applications, flue gas emissions produced during the burning of coal or other fossil fuels.", "Generally, in accordance with the instant disclosure, an STEC system comprises a sulfur trioxide source, a relief vessel containing a solvent solution, and a relief conduit providing a route of fluid communication from the sulfur trioxide source to the relief vessel.", "As used herein, a sulfur trioxide source refers to a point at which sulfur trioxide can be stored, input into a system, used within a system, output or withdrawn from a system, or any other point within a system from which sulfur trioxide can be collected or output.", "While one or more of the embodiments disclosed herein can illustrate particular sources of sulfur trioxide, the person of ordinary skill in the art will, upon review of this disclosure, recognize that sulfur trioxide can be similarly collected, contained, or output from any number or combination of sulfur trioxide sources.", "Referring again to the embodiment of FIG.", "1, the STEC system 100 comprises a first sulfur trioxide source that is a storage vessel 120, a second sulfur trioxide source that is a reactor 130, a third sulfur trioxide source that is an output conduit 140, a relief vessel 200 containing a solvent solution, a first relief conduit 160, a second relief conduit 170, and a third relief conduit 180.While the embodiment of FIG.", "1 illustrates a first, second, and third sulfur trioxide sources (e.g., storage vessel 120, reactor 130, and output conduit 140), in additional or alternative embodiments, an otherwise similar STEC system can include any one or additional sulfur trioxide sources.", "In the embodiment of FIG.", "1, the storage vessel 120 (that is, the first sulfur trioxide source) contains a volume of sulfur trioxide.", "The storage vessel 120 can comprise a permanent or semi-permanent fixture at the site of the STEC system 100, for example, a tank or tank battery, or the like.", "Alternatively, the storage vessel 120 can comprise a mobile or movable vessel, for example a rail-car container, a trailer container, a tote, a skid-mounted container, or the like.", "The storage vessel 120 can have any suitable volume, for example and without limitation, about 1,000 gallons (3800 liters), alternatively, about 2,500 gal.", "(9500 liters), alternatively, about 5,000 gal.", "(19,000 liters), alternatively, about 10,000 gal.", "(38,000 liters), alternatively, about 15,000 gal.", "(57,000 liters), alternatively, about 20,000 gal.", "(76,000 liters), alternatively, about 25,000 gal.", "(95,000 liters), alternatively, about 30,000 gal.", "(114,000 liters), alternatively, about 35,000 gal.", "(133,000 liters) (e.g., a rail-car, having a maximum capacity of about 34,500 gal.", "(131,000 liters)), as well as volumes between any two of these suitable volumes, e.g., about 12,500 gal.", "(47,000 liters).", "In the embodiment of FIG.", "1, the storage vessel 120 comprises a heating element 122.Because sulfur trioxide exhibits a freezing/melting temperature of about 62.4° F. (16.9° C.), the heating element 122 can be provided for the purpose of maintaining the sulfur trioxide in liquid or a substantially liquid state, for example, such that the volume of sulfur trioxide stored in the storage vessel 120 remains sufficiently free-flowing.", "The heating element can be conventional, for example, a metallic element, a ceramic element, a composite element, or the like, as well as combinations thereof, and can be sized accordingly to the volume of the storage vessel and/or the desired temperature to be maintained.", "With continued reference to the embodiment of FIG.", "1, the storage vessel 120 further comprises a vent 124.For example, the vent 124 can be provided for the purpose of ensuring that a safe or desired internal pressure is not exceeded (e.g., a pressure relief vent).", "By way of further example, heating the volume of sulfur trioxide stored in the storage vessel and/or changes in environmental conditions can contribute to a rise in the internal pressure of the storage vessel 120.Also, in an embodiment, the vent 124 can include a pressure relief valve 126, for example, configured to allow pressure within the storage vessel to escape when a particular pressure threshold is exceeded.", "In such an embodiment, the pressure relief valve can be configured to actuate (e.g., to allow pressure to be released) at a pressure of at least about 5 pounds per square inch (p.s.i.", "or 34.5 kilopascals), alternatively, about 10 p.s.i.", "(69 kPa), alternatively, about 15 p.s.i.", "(103 kPa), alternatively, about 20 p.s.i.", "(138 kPa), alternatively, about 25 p.s.i.", "(172 kPa), alternatively, about 30 p.s.i.", "(207 kPa), alternatively, about 40 p.s.i.", "(276 kPa), alternatively, about 50 p.s.i (345 kPa).", "In the embodiment of FIG.", "1, the reactor 130, can be any suitable reactor, for example, a chemical reactor generally configured to contain and/control a chemical reaction, for example, a sulfurization reaction.", "The reactor 130 can comprise any suitable type or configuration of chemical reactor, for example, to accommodate two or more reactants, catalysts, solvents, and/or inert materials and to allow for the control of various process variables including residence time, temperature, pressure, concentration of the reactants and/or products, and combinations thereof.", "For example, the reactor 130 can comprise a tank configuration or a pipe/tubular configuration (e.g., a “loop” reactor).", "In various embodiments, the reactor 130 can be operated in accordance with a batch reactor model, a continuous stirred-tank reactor model, or a plug flow reactor model.", "In the embodiment of FIG.", "1, the reactor 130 receives sulfur trioxide from the storage vessel 120 for use as a reactant.", "The reactor 130 can receive additional chemical reactants by way of other or separate reactant and/or reagent transfer lines (not shown) from various other sources (e.g., asphalt, alcohols, ethoxylated alcohols, brightstock, or alkyl benzene), as suitable for the chemical reaction being carried out within the reactor 130.The reactor 130, similar to the storage vessel 120, can comprise a vent 134 for the purpose of ensuring that a safe or desired internal pressure within reactor 130 is not exceeded.", "Also, in an embodiment, the vent 134 can include a pressure relief valve 136 configured to allow pressure within the reactor 130 to escape when a particular pressure threshold is exceeded.", "Following residence within reactor 130, the reactor 130 outputs an effluent or output stream 138 comprising product and various unreacted components (e.g., excess reactants, solvents, inert materials, or catalysts) that is conveyed away from the reactor, for example, for further processing.", "For example, in the embodiment of FIG.", "1, the output stream 138 is directed to a separation unit 139 configured to separate the product (e.g., sulfonated asphalt, alcohol sulfuric acid, alkyl benzene sulfonic acid, petroleum sulfonates, or oleum) from some or all of the unreacted components.", "The separation unit 139 can comprise any suitable type or configuration of one or more separation units dependent upon the product and unreacted components being separated.", "Examples of separation units include, but are not limited to distillation/fractionation columns, settling tanks, cyclonic separators, filtration units, centrifugation systems, electrostatic precipitation units, or the like.", "In the embodiment of FIG.", "1, the separation unit 139 separates the output stream 138 into an unreacted component stream that is conveyed away from the separation unit 139 via the output conduit 140 (e.g., a “top stream” or “side stream”) and a product stream that is conveyed away from the separation unit 139 via a product conduit 145 (e.g., a “bottoms stream”).", "In the embodiment of FIG.", "1, the unreacted component stream within the output conduit 140 comprises sulfur trioxide (e.g., unreacted sulfur trioxide from the reactor 130) and, as such, at least a portion of this stream can be directed to the relief vessel 200, as will be detailed herein.", "In an alternative embodiment, all or a portion of any stream comprising sulfur trioxide can be similarly conveyed to the relief vessel 200 by any number of conveyance means, including fluid transfer lines and the like.", "Also, while the embodiment of FIG.", "1 illustrates only a single separation unit 139, in additional or alternative embodiments, any suitable number and arrangement of separation units can be employed, for example, to separate a particular stream (e.g., a stream output by a reactor or by another separation unit) into two or more substituent components.", "Referring again to the embodiment of FIG.", "1, the first relief conduit 160 provides a route of fluid communication between the vent 124 of the storage vessel 120 and the relief vessel 200.Similarly, in the embodiment of FIG.", "1, the second relief conduit 170 provides a route of fluid communication between the vent 134 of the reactor 130 and the relief vessel 200, and the third relief conduit 180 provides a route of fluid communication between the output conduit 140 and the relief vessel 200.The first relief conduit 160, the second relief conduit 170, and the third relief conduit 180 can each, independently, comprise any suitable type, configuration, and size of conduit generally configured to provide fluid communication, as disclosed herein.", "Examples of suitable conduits include, but are not limited to, pipe or tubing formed from one or more materials such as ceramics, glass, fiberglass, metals and alloys thereof, concrete, and combinations thereof.", "The embodiment of FIG.", "1 illustrates each of the first relief conduit 160, the second relief conduit 170, and the third relief conduit 180 being directed to a single relief vessel (i.e., relief vessel 200); that is relief conduits from multiple sources are directed to a single relief vessel.", "In additional or alternative embodiments, each relief conduit from each single given source of sulfur trioxide can be directed to a designated, counterpart single relief vessel; alternatively, relief conduits from a single particular source of sulfur trioxide can be directed to multiple relief vessels (e.g., two, three, four, or five relief vessels); or combinations thereof.", "Also, and as previously noted, while the embodiment of FIG.", "1 illustrates particular sources of sulfur trioxide (i.e., the storage vessel 120, the reactor 130, and the output conduit 140), any point within a STEC system (e.g., like STEC system 100) from which sulfur trioxide is present can serve as a sulfur trioxide source and, in such an embodiment, one or more additional conduits can be similarly configured to direct a volume of sulfur trioxide to a relief vessel like relief vessel 200.Referring to FIG.", "2, details of an embodiment of an exemplary relief vessel 200 is illustrated.", "In the embodiment of FIG.", "2, the relief vessel 200 generally comprises a permanent or semi-permanent fixture at the site of the STEC system 100, for example, a tank or tank battery, or the like.", "Alternatively, the relief vessel 200 can comprise a mobile or movable vessel, for example a rail-car container, a trailer container, a tote, a skid-mounted container, or the like.", "In the embodiment of FIG.", "2, the relief vessel 200 is fully enclosed.", "Alternatively, the relief vessel 200 is substantially or partially enclosed.", "Additionally, in an embodiment, the relief vessel 200 can comprise one or more vents, for example, for the purpose of regulating pressure within the relief vessel 200.In the embodiment of FIG.", "2, the relief vessel 200 retains a volume of a solvent solution 201 within its wall or walls 202.The relief vessel 200 can be sized to retain both the volume of solvent solution and a volume of sulfur trioxide, for example, a volume of sulfur trioxide as can be anticipated to be collected from one or more of the sources of sulfur trioxide (e.g., the storage vessel 120, the reactor 130, and the output conduit 140).", "In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the solvent solution 201 comprises sulfolane (tetramethylene sulfone; tetrahydrothiophene 1,1-dioxide; or 2,3,4,5-tetrahydrothiophene-1,1-dioxide).", "Sulfolane is an organosulfur compound having formula (CH2)3SO4 and shown below as compound (I): In an embodiment, the solvent solution comprises at least 60%, by weight, sulfolane, alternatively, at least 70 wt.", "%, alternatively, at least 80 wt.", "%, alternatively, at least 90 wt.", "%, alternatively, at least 95 wt.", "%, alternatively, at least 96 wt.", "%, alternatively, at least 97 wt.", "%, alternatively, at least 97.5 wt.", "%, alternatively, at least 98 wt.", "%, alternatively, at least 98.5 wt.", "%, alternatively, at least 99.0 wt.", "%, alternatively, at least 99.1 wt.", "%, alternatively, at least 99.2 wt.", "%, alternatively, at least 99.3 wt.", "%, alternatively, at least 99.4 wt.", "%, alternatively, at least 99.5 wt.", "%, alternatively, at least 99.6 wt.", "%, alternatively, at least 99.7 wt.", "%, alternatively, at least 99.8 wt.", "%, alternatively, at least 99.9 wt.", "%, alternatively, at least 99.95 wt.", "% sulfolane.", "In an embodiment, the sulfolane present within the solvent solution can be effective to absorb a volume of sulfur trioxide introduced into the solvent solution.", "That is, a volume of sulfur trioxide introduced into the sulfolane-containing solvent solution can be sequestered (e.g., absorbed by) without reacting with the sulfolane.", "For example, and again not intending to be bound by theory, sulfolane can be effective to sequester (e.g., absorb) about 30 mol.", "% of sulfur trioxide therein.", "In an embodiment, the solvent solution can further comprise water.", "For example, the solvent solution can comprise about 0.5 wt.", "% water, alternatively, about 1.0 wt.", "% water, alternatively, about 1.5 wt.", "% water, alternatively, about 2.0 wt.", "% water, alternatively, about 2.5 wt.", "% water, alternatively, about 3.0 wt.", "% water.", "Not intending to be bound by theory, inclusion of water (e.g., a relatively small percentage of water) within the sulfolane-containing solvent solution can be effective to improve one or more operational parameters of the solvent solution.", "For example, inclusion of water within the sulfolane-containing solvent solution can be effective to depress the freezing point of the sulfolane and/or to improve the loading capabilities of the sulfolane.", "For instance, a solvent solution containing sulfolane and about 3 wt.", "% of water can exhibit an increase in sulfur trioxide loading capacity (e.g., absorption) of about 5% (e.g., about 35 mol.", "% of sulfur trioxide can be dissolved therein).", "In an embodiment, the solvent solution comprises one or more additives.", "Examples of such additives include but are not limited to linear alkane hydrocarbons preferably in the C10-C14 range or isoparraffins in the C12-C18 range.", "In an embodiment where an additive is present, the additive can be present in an amount sufficient to yield a desired effect, for example, as can be dependent upon the additive and/or its desired effect within the solvent solution.", "In an embodiment, the solvent solution further comprises a dispersed fluid, for example, a volume of a fluid dispersed within the sulfolane.", "In such an embodiment, the dispersed fluid comprises an organic compound, examples of which include linear alkane hydrocarbons preferably in the C10-C14 range or isoparraffins in the C12-C18 range.", "In an embodiment where the solvent solution comprises a dispersed fluid, the dispersed fluid can be present in a quantum sufficient (e.g., q.s.)", "amount to yield a solvent solution comprising sulfolane, water, and/or additives present in a desired percentage (e.g., as disclosed herein).", "For example, the solvent solution can comprise about 30%, by weight, dispersed fluid, alternatively, about 20 wt.", "%, alternatively, about 10 wt.", "%, alternatively, about 5 wt.", "%, alternatively, about 2.5 wt.", "%, alternatively, about 2 wt.", "%, alternatively, about 1 wt.", "%, alternatively, less than 1 wt.", "%.", "Referring again to FIG.", "2, the relief vessel 200 is configured to collect sulfur trioxide from one or more sulfur trioxide sources.", "For example, in the embodiment of FIG.", "2 the first relief conduit 160, the second relief conduit 170, and the third relief conduit 180 are received by the relief vessel 200 via a common input conduit 210 (e.g., a manifold).", "In an embodiment, the relief vessel 200 can be configured to encourage dissipation of a volume of sulfur trioxide in the solvent solution retained therein.", "For example, in the embodiment of FIG.", "2, the sulfur trioxide is introduced into the relief vessel 200 via a bubbler 220, for example, having a plurality of holes 225 to encourage dispersion of the sulfur trioxide in the solvent solution.", "The bubbler 220 can be of any suitable size and shape such as one or more rods, a circular pan, and the like.", "In additional embodiments, the relief vessel can comprise, for example, a circulatory pump (not shown) to encourage dispersion of the sulfur trioxide in the solvent solution.", "Referring again to the embodiment of FIG.", "1, the STEC system 100 can further comprise a solvent regeneration system 190.The solvent regeneration system is generally configured to provide an environment in which a solvent solution having sulfur trioxide dissolved therein (e.g., an “emission mixture”) may be regenerated to form a usable solvent solution.", "The STEC system 100 further comprises an emission mixture conduit 191 and a regenerated solvent solution conduit 192, providing routes of fluid communication from the relief vessel 200 to the solvent regeneration system 190 and from the solvent regeneration system 190 to the relief vessel 200.Also disclosed herein are methods of containing an emission of sulfur trioxide.", "For example, referring to FIG.", "3, an embodiment of STEC method 300 is illustrated graphically.", "In the embodiment of FIG.", "3, the STEC method 300 comprises a step 310 of providing a route of fluid communication from at least one sulfur trioxide source to a relief vessel.", "For example, in the context of the embodiment of FIG.", "1, as previously disclosed herein, a route of fluid communication (e.g., the first relief conduit 160, the second relief conduit 170, and the third relief conduit 180) is provided from each of three sources of sulfur trioxide (e.g., the storage vessel 120, the reactor 130, and the output conduit 140) to the relief vessel 200.In alternative embodiments, and as previously noted, the sulfur trioxide source can comprise any point at which sulfur trioxide is present within a system.", "For example, in the context of a laboratory environment, the sulfur trioxide source can comprise a fume hood.", "Referring again to the embodiment of FIG.", "3, the STEC method 300 also comprises a step 320 of maintaining a volume of the solvent solution within the relief vessel.", "As previously disclosed herein, the solvent solution can comprise sulfolane and, optionally, water.", "As will be further described herein, providing the route of fluid communication from the at least one sulfur trioxide source to the relief vessel and maintaining the volume of the solvent solution within the relief vessel enables an emission of sulfur trioxide to be collected and controlled, as will be disclosed herein.).", "The solvent solution can be maintained at a suitable temperature and pressure.", "In an embodiment, the solvent solution is maintained at about atmospheric pressure and at a temperature that is about the freezing point of the solvent solution (e.g., sulfolane or the water sulfolane mixture, or the parraffin-sulfolane dispersion).", "Additionally, in the embodiment of FIG.", "3, the STEC method 300 comprises the step 330 of operating the system (e.g., the overall system of which the STEC system is a part such as an asphalt sulfonation unit) for its intended purpose.", "For example, in the embodiment of FIG.", "1, the STEC system 100 comprises an industrial setting 102, for example, an industrial environment in which sulfur trioxide is present (e.g., used as a reactant) in an industrial process.", "In such an embodiment, operating the system can comprise transferring the sulfur trioxide from the first storage vessel to the reactor, forming a reaction mixture comprising the sulfur trioxide and a second reactant (e.g., asphalt, in an embodiment where the system is for the purpose of producing sulfonated asphalt), and reacting the sulfur trioxide with the second reactant (e.g., the asphalt) to yield a desired product (e.g., sulfonated asphalt).", "In another embodiment where the STEC system comprises, as an example, a laboratory setting, for example, where sulfur trioxide source can comprise a fume hood, operating the system can comprise operating the fume hood, for example, to evacuate a volume of air having or potentially having sulfur trioxide.", "As will be appreciate by the person of ordinary skill in the art upon viewing this disclosure, the operation of various systems where sulfur trioxide is present can result in various emissions or point sources of sulfur trioxide.", "Some emissions of sulfur trioxide can be expected while others can be unexpected.", "For example, referring to the embodiment of FIG.", "3, an emission of sulfur trioxide from the storage vessel 120 or the reactor 130 can unexpectedly result from the normal operation of STEC system 100.For example, the storage vessel 120 can unexpectedly emit sulfur trioxide (e.g., via vent 124) upon an over-pressuring of the storage vessel 120 or a malfunction of the pressure relief valve 126 or the heating element 122 (e.g., where the heating element causes the sulfur trioxide within the storage vessel 120 to overheat).", "Similarly, the reactor 130 can unexpectedly emit sulfur trioxide upon an over-pressuring or other operating upset of the reactor 130.Alternatively, an emission of sulfur trioxide via the output conduit 140 can be expected.", "For example, in some embodiments where sulfur trioxide is employed as a reactant, at least some excess sulfur trioxide can be emitted from the reactor 130 and, as such, can be collected during the normal operation of the system.", "In such embodiments, the relief vessel 200 can serve as emissions control equipment, such as an off gas scrubber.", "Referring again to the embodiment of FIG.", "3, the STEC method 300 further comprises a step 340 of directing an emission of sulfur trioxide from the sulfur trioxide source to the relief vessel For example, and referring to the embodiment of FIG.", "1, where sulfur trioxide is emitted, whether expectedly or unexpectedly, the emission of sulfur trioxide can be collected from the storage vessel 120 (e.g., via the vent 124) and directed to the relief vessel 200 via the first relief conduit 160, additionally or alternatively, from the reactor 130 (e.g., via the vent 134) and directed to the relief vessel 200 via the second relief conduit 170, additionally or alternatively, from the output conduit 140 and directed to the relief vessel 200 via the third relief conduit 180.With continued reference to FIG.", "3, the STEC method 300 further comprises the step 350 of forming an emission mixture within the relief vessel.", "For example, referring again to the embodiment of FIGS.", "1 and 2, the sulfur trioxide is introduced into the relief vessel 200 (e.g., from the first relief conduit 160, the second relief conduit 170, and/or the third relief conduit 180) via the common input conduit (e.g., a manifold 210) and disperses within the solvent solution 201 retained within the relief vessel 200, thereby forming the emission mixture.", "In an embodiment, the sulfur trioxide is introduced (e.g., dispersed) within the solvent solution via the bubbler 220.The solvent solution can be effective to sequester an amount of sulfur trioxide; for example, the sulfolane can be effective to absorb an amount of sulfur trioxide.", "For example, the emission mixture formed within the relief vessel 200 can comprise sulfur trioxide dissolved in (e.g., absorbed by) sulfolane within the relief vessel.", "In an embodiment, the emission mixture formed within the relief vessel 200 comprises up to about 30 mol.", "% of sulfur trioxide to be dissolved therein, alternatively, up to about 31 mol.", "% of sulfur trioxide, alternatively, up to about 32 mol.", "% of sulfur trioxide, alternatively, up to about 33 mol.", "% of sulfur trioxide, alternatively, up to about 34 mol.", "% of sulfur trioxide, alternatively, up to about 35 mol.", "% of sulfur trioxide.", "For instance, for each mole of sulfolane in the solvent solution, the solvent solution can be effective to absorb about 0.30 moles of sulfur trioxide, alternatively, about 0.31 moles of sulfur trioxide, alternatively, about 0.32 moles of sulfur trioxide, alternatively, about 0.33 moles of sulfur trioxide, alternatively, about 0.34 moles of sulfur trioxide, alternatively, about 0.35 moles of sulfur trioxide.", "The STEC method 300 further comprises a step 360 of reforming the solvent solution.", "In accordance with this process or method, reforming the solvent solution comprises adding water to the emission mixture.", "Referring again to FIG.", "1, the emission mixture can be conveyed to the solvent regeneration system 190, for example, via the emission mixture conduit 191.In an embodiment, water added to the emission mixture can react with the sulfur trioxide dissolved therein to form sulfuric acid.", "The reaction between sulfur trioxide and water can be highly exothermic and, as such, the water added to the emission mixture can be added slowly over an extended period of time and in a controlled manner, for example, to allow the heat produced by the reaction to dissipate.", "The sulfuric acid resulting from the reaction can remain dissolved in the solvent solution (e.g., in the sulfolane).", "The sulfolane can be regenerated at a later point, for example, via a distillation, a back-extraction, adsorption, or counter-ion exchange column.", "The regenerated sulfolane can then be returned or recycled back to the relief vessel 200, for example, via the regenerated solvent solution conduit 192, to further absorb any additional release of sulfur trioxide.", "Additional Embodiments A first embodiment, which is a system for containing an emission of sulfur trioxide, the system comprising a first pressurized vessel, the first pressurized vessel containing sulfur trioxide; a relief vessel containing a volume of a solvent solution, wherein the solvent solution comprises sulfolane; and a first relief conduit providing a first route of fluid communication between the first pressurized vessel and the relief vessel.", "A second embodiment, which is the system of the first embodiment, wherein the first pressurized vessel is a storage vessel.", "A third embodiment, which is the system of one of first through the second embodiments, wherein the storage vessel includes an internal heating element configured to heat the sulfur trioxide.", "A fourth embodiment, which is the system of one of first through the third embodiments, further comprising a second pressurized vessel; and a second relief conduit providing a second route of fluid communication between the second pressurized vessel and the relief vessel.", "A fifth embodiment, which is the system of the fourth embodiment, wherein the second pressurized vessel is a reactor, wherein the reactor contains a reaction mixture.", "A sixth embodiment, which is the system of the fifth embodiment, wherein the reaction mixture comprises sulfur trioxide and asphalt.", "A seventh embodiment, which is the system of one of the first through the sixth embodiments, wherein the first pressurized vessel is a reactor, and wherein the sulfur trioxide within the reactor is a component of a reaction mixture contained within the reactor.", "An eighth embodiment, which is the system of the seventh embodiment, wherein the reaction mixture further comprises asphalt.", "A ninth embodiment, which is the system of one of the first through the eighth embodiments, wherein the solvent solution further comprises water.", "A tenth embodiment, which is the system of the ninth embodiment, wherein the solvent solution further comprises at least 1 weight % water on the basis of the sulfolane.", "An eleventh embodiment, which is the system of the ninth embodiment, wherein the solvent solution further comprises at least 2 weight % water on the basis of the sulfolane.", "A twelfth embodiment, which is the system of the ninth embodiment, wherein the solvent solution further comprises at least 3 weight % water on the basis of the sulfolane.", "A thirteenth embodiment, which is the system of one of the first through the twelfth embodiments, further comprising a pressure relief valve, wherein the pressure relief valve controls fluid communication via the first route of fluid communication between the first pressurized vessel and the relief vessel.", "A fourteenth embodiment, which is a method for containing an emission of sulfur trioxide, the method comprising routing a first relief conduit so as to provide a first route of fluid communication between a first pressurized vessel and a relief vessel, wherein the first pressurized vessel contains sulfur trioxide, wherein the relief vessel contains a volume of a solvent solution, and wherein the solvent solution comprises sulfolane.", "A fifteenth embodiment, which is the method of the fourteenth embodiment, wherein the first pressurized vessel is a storage vessel.", "A sixteenth embodiment, which is the method of the fifteenth embodiment, wherein the storage vessel includes an internal heating element configured to heat the sulfur trioxide.", "A seventeenth embodiment, which is the method of one of the fourteenth through the sixteenth embodiments, further comprising routing a second relief conduit so as to provide a second route of fluid communication between a second pressurized vessel and the relief vessel, wherein the second pressurized vessel contains sulfur trioxide.", "An eighteenth embodiment, which is the method of the seventeenth embodiment, wherein the second pressurized vessel is a reactor, and wherein the method further comprises communicating the sulfur trioxide from the first storage vessel to the reactor.", "A nineteenth embodiment, which is the method of the eighteenth embodiment, further comprising introducing asphalt into the reactor.", "A twentieth embodiment, which is the method of the nineteenth embodiment, further comprising forming a reaction mixture comprising the sulfur trioxide and the asphalt; and reacting the sulfur trioxide with the asphalt to yield a sulfonated asphalt.", "A twenty-first embodiment, which is the method of one of the fourteenth through the twentieth embodiments, wherein the first pressurized vessel is a reactor, and wherein the sulfur trioxide within the reactor is a component of a reaction mixture contained within the reactor.", "A twenty-second embodiment, which is the method of the twenty-first embodiment, wherein the reaction mixture further comprises asphalt.", "A twenty-third embodiment, which is the method of the twenty-second embodiment, further comprising forming a reaction mixture comprising the sulfur trioxide and the asphalt; and reacting the sulfur trioxide with the asphalt to yield a sulfonated asphalt.", "A twenty-fourth embodiment, which is the method of one of the fourteenth through the twenty-third embodiments, wherein the solvent solution further comprises water.", "A twenty-fifth embodiment, which is the method of the twenty-fourth embodiment, wherein the solvent solution further comprises at least 1 weight % water on the basis of the sulfolane.", "A twenty-sixth embodiment, which is the method of the twenty-fourth embodiment, wherein the solvent solution further comprises at least 2 weight % water on the basis of the sulfolane.", "A twenty-seventh embodiment, which is the method of the twenty-fourth embodiment, wherein the solvent solution further comprises at least 3 weight % water on the basis of the sulfolane.", "A twenty-eighth embodiment, which is the method of one of the fourteenth through the twenty-seventh embodiments, further comprising controlling fluid communication via the first route of fluid communication between the first pressurized vessel and the relief vessel via a pressure relief valve.", "A twenty-ninth embodiment, which is a method for containing an emission of sulfur trioxide, the method comprising directing an emission of sulfur trioxide from a first pressurized vessel to a relief vessel via a first relief conduit, wherein the relief vessel contains a volume of a solvent solution, comprising sulfolane; and forming an emission mixture comprising sulfur trioxide dissolved in sulfolane within the relief vessel.", "A thirtieth embodiment, which is the method of the twenty-ninth embodiment, wherein the first pressurized vessel is a storage vessel.", "A thirty-first embodiment, which is the method of the thirtieth embodiment, further comprising heating the sulfur trioxide via an internal heating element within the storage vessel.", "A thirty-second embodiment, which is the method of one of the twenty-ninth through the thirty-first embodiments, wherein the first pressurized vessel is a reactor, wherein the sulfur trioxide within the reactor is a component of a reaction mixture contained within the reactor.", "A thirty-third embodiment, which is the method of the thirty-second embodiment, further comprising introducing asphalt into the reactor.", "A thirty-fourth embodiment, which is the method of the thirty-third embodiment, further comprising forming the reaction mixture, wherein the reaction mixture comprises the sulfur trioxide and the asphalt; and reacting the sulfur trioxide with the asphalt to yield a sulfonated asphalt.", "A thirty-fifth embodiment, which is the method of one of the twenty-ninth through the thirty-fourth embodiments, wherein the solvent solution further comprises water.", "A thirty-sixth embodiment, which is the method of the thirty-fifth embodiment, wherein the solvent solution further comprises at least 1 weight % water on the basis of the sulfolane.", "A thirty-seventh embodiment, which is the method of the thirty-fifth embodiment, wherein the solvent solution further comprises at least 2 weight % water on the basis of the sulfolane.", "A thirty-eighth embodiment, which is the method of the thirty-fifth embodiment, wherein the solvent solution further comprises at least 3 weight % water on the basis of the sulfolane.", "A thirty-ninth embodiment, which is the method of one of the twenty-ninth through the thirty-eighth embodiments, further comprising adding water to the emission mixture.", "A fortieth embodiment, which is the method of one of the twenty-ninth through the thirty-ninth embodiments, wherein the emission of sulfur trioxide from the first pressurized vessel to the relief vessel via the first relief conduit is allowed via operation of a pressure relief valve.", "A forty-first embodiment, which is a method for containing an emission of sulfur trioxide, the method comprising directing an emission comprising sulfur trioxide to a relief vessel, wherein the relief vessel contains a volume of a solvent solution, and wherein the solvent solution comprises sulfolane; and forming an emission mixture comprising sulfur trioxide dissolved in sulfolane within the relief vessel.", "A forty-second embodiment, which is the method of the forty-first embodiment, wherein the emission comprising sulfur trioxide is captured from a first pressurized vessel.", "A forty-third embodiment, which is the method of the forty-second embodiment, wherein the first pressurized vessel is a storage vessel.", "A forty-fourth embodiment, which is the method of the forty-third embodiment, further comprising heating the sulfur trioxide via an internal heating element within the storage vessel.", "A forty-fifth embodiment, which is the method of one of the forty-second through the forty-fourth embodiments, wherein the first pressurized vessel is a reactor, and wherein the sulfur trioxide within the reactor is a component of a reaction mixture contained within the reactor.", "A forty-sixth embodiment, which is the method of one of the forty-first through the forty-fifth embodiments, wherein the solvent solution further comprises water.", "A forty-seventh embodiment, which is the method of the forty-sixth embodiment, wherein the solvent solution further comprises at least 1 weight % water on the basis of the sulfolane.", "A forty-eighth embodiment, which is the method of claim the forty-sixth embodiment, wherein the solvent solution further comprises at least 2 weight % water on the basis of the sulfolane.", "A forty-ninth embodiment, which is the method of the forty-sixth embodiment, wherein the solvent solution further comprises at least 3 weight % water on the basis of the sulfolane.", "A fiftieth embodiment, which is the method of one of the forty-first through the forty-ninth embodiments, further comprising adding water to the emission mixture.", "A fifty-first embodiment, which is the method of fiftieth embodiment, further comprising regenerating the solvent solution from the emission mixture, wherein regenerating the solvent solution comprises removing sulfuric acid from the emission mixture after adding water to the emission mixture.", "A fifty-second embodiment, which is the method of fifty-first embodiment, further comprising retaining the regenerated solvent solution in a relief vessel.", "While embodiments of the disclosure have been shown and described, modifications thereof can be made without departing from the spirit and teachings of the invention.", "The embodiments and examples described herein are exemplary only, and are not intended to be limiting.", "Many variations and modifications of the invention disclosed herein are possible and are within the scope of the invention.", "At least one embodiment is disclosed and variations, combinations, and/or modifications of the embodiment(s) and/or features of the embodiment(s) made by a person having ordinary skill in the art are within the scope of the disclosure.", "Alternative embodiments that result from combining, integrating, and/or omitting features of the embodiment(s) are also within the scope of the disclosure.", "Where numerical ranges or limitations are expressly stated, such express ranges or limitations should be understood to include iterative ranges or limitations of like magnitude falling within the expressly stated ranges or limitations (e.g., includes, for example, from about 1 to about 10 includes, 2, 3, 4 greater than 0.10 includes 0.11, 0.12, 0.13.).", "For example, whenever a numerical range with a lower limit, Rl, and an upper limit, Ru, is disclosed, any number falling within the range is specifically disclosed.", "In particular, the following numbers within the range are specifically disclosed: R=Rl+k*(Ru−Rl), wherein k is a variable ranging from 1 percent to 100 percent with a 1 percent increment, i.e., k is 1 percent, 2 percent, 3 percent, 4 percent, 5 percent, .", ".", ".", "50 percent, 51 percent, 52 percent .", ".", ".", "95 percent, 96 percent, 97 percent, 98 percent, 99 percent, or 100 percent.", "Moreover, any numerical range defined by two R numbers as defined in the above is also specifically disclosed.", "Use of the term “optionally” with respect to any element of a claim means that the element is required, or alternatively, the element is not required, both alternatives being within the scope of the claim.", "Use of broader terms such as comprises, includes, and having should be understood to provide support for narrower terms such as consisting of, consisting essentially of, and comprised substantially of.", "Each and every claim is incorporated into the specification as an embodiment of the present invention.", "Thus, the claims are a further description and are an addition to the detailed description of the present invention." ] ]
Patent_15873227
[ [ "DEVICES INCLUDING METAL LAMINATE WITH METALLURGICAL BONDS AND REDUCED-DENSITY METAL CORE LAYER", "A stiff, lightweight metal laminate includes a first continuous metal layer, a second continuous metal layer, and a reduced density metal core layer disposed between the first and second continuous metal layers.", "The reduced density metal core layer comprises a core metal and has an average density that is less than the density of the core metal.", "Planar metallurgical bonds secure the first and second continuous metal layers to the reduced density metal core layer.", "The metal laminate may be manufactured by press rolling the reduced density metal core layer sandwiched between the two continuous metal layers, after removing or overcoating the native oxide layer on each layer surface that contacts another layer in the metal laminate." ], [ "1.A device comprising a component that is made from a metal laminate, the metal laminate comprising: a first continuous metal sheet; a second continuous metal sheet; a reduced density metal core layer disposed between the first continuous metal sheet and the second continuous metal sheet, the reduced density metal core layer comprising continuous metal matrix formed from a a core metal and having an average density that is less than the density of the core metal; and a planar metallurgical bond securing the first continuous metal sheet to the reduced density metal core layer; and a planar metallurgical bond securing the second continuous metal sheet to the reduced density metal core layer.", "2.The device of claim 1, wherein the core metal is aluminum, copper, titanium, stainless steel, carbon steel, or an alloy thereof.", "3.The device of claim 1, wherein: the first continuous metal sheet comprises aluminum, copper, titanium, carbon steel, stainless steel, or an alloy thereof; and the second continuous metal sheet comprises aluminum, copper, titanium, carbon steel, stainless steel, or an alloy thereof.", "4.The device of claim 1, wherein the core metal is aluminum, the first continuous metal sheet is a stainless steel, and the second continuous metal sheet is a stainless steel.", "5.The device of claim 1, wherein the thickness of the reduced density metal core layer is at least 50% of the total thickness of the metal laminate.", "6.The device of claim 1, wherein the average density of the reduced density metal core layer is between 10% and 75% of the density of the core metal.", "7.The device of claim 1, wherein the reduced density metal core layer comprises a layer of the core metal having through-holes passing through the layer.", "8.The device of claim 7, wherein the through-holes are asymmetric.", "9.The device of claim 7, wherein the through-holes have a size that is at least as large as the thickness of the reduced density metal core layer.", "10.The device of claim 7, wherein the reduced density metal core layer comprises one of (1) a layer of the core metal having through-holes passing through the layer, (2) a woven or welded wire mesh or screen of the core metal, and (3) a porous layer of the core metal.", "11.The device of claim 1, wherein the reduced density metal core layer comprises a stack of two or more reduced density metal core layers.", "12.The device of claim 11, wherein the stack of two or more reduced density metal core layers comprise reduced density metal core layers with different geometries of through-holes, woven or welded meshes or screens, or porosities.", "13.The device of claim 11, wherein the stack of two or more reduced density metal core layers comprise reduced density metal core layers of different core metals.", "14.The device of claim 1, wherein the planar metallurgical bonds do not include a brazing or soldering material.", "15.The device of claim 1, wherein: the planar metallurgical bond securing the first continuous metal sheet to the reduced density metal core layer does not include a native oxide layer of a surface of the first continuous metal sheet and does not include a native oxide layer of a surface of the reduced density metal core layer; and the planar metallurgical bond securing the second continuous metal sheet to the reduced density metal core layer does not include a native oxide layer of a surface of the second continuous metal sheet and does not include a native oxide layer of a surface of the reduced density metal core layer.", "16.The device of claim 1, wherein: the planar metallurgical bond securing the first continuous metal sheet to the reduced density metal core layer is formed by a process including (1) removing or overcoating a native oxide layer on a surface of the first continuous metal sheet and removing or overcoating a native oxide layer on a surface of the reduced density metal core layer and (2) press rolling the first continuous metal sheet and the reduced density metal core layer; and the planar metallurgical bond securing the second continuous metal sheet to the reduced density metal core layer is formed by a process including (1) removing or overcoating a native oxide layer on a surface of the second continuous metal sheet and removing or overcoating a native oxide layer on a surface of the reduced density metal core layer and (2) press rolling the second continuous metal sheet and the reduced density metal core layer.", "17.The device of claim 16, wherein the press rolling the first continuous metal sheet and the reduced density metal core layer and the press rolling the second continuous metal sheet and the reduced density metal core layer is performed simultaneously as a press rolling the first continuous metal sheet and the reduced density metal core layer and the second continuous metal sheet with the reduced density metal core layer sandwiched between the first and second continuous metal sheets.", "18.The device of claim 1, including a pattern formed on an outer surface of the laminate that is embossed or imprinted from a pattern of through-holes of the reduced density metal core layer.", "19.A device component that is made from a metal laminate, the metal laminate comprising: a first continuous metal sheet; a second continuous metal sheet; a reduced density metal core layer disposed between the first continuous metal sheet and the second continuous metal sheet, the reduced density metal core layer comprising continuous metal matrix formed from a a core metal and having an average density that is less than the density of the core metal; and a planar metallurgical bond securing the first continuous metal sheet to the reduced density metal core layer; and a planar metallurgical bond securing the second continuous metal sheet to the reduced density metal core layer.", "20.The device component of claim 19, wherein the device component is a structural panel, an electrical conduit line, an automotive bumper or fender, an electronic enclosure, or a device housing." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND <EOH>The present disclosure relates to stiff sheet materials usable to reduce the weight of stamped metal components, and particularly to a metal laminate sheet material.", "The need for lightweight materials is widespread across many industries.", "In the automotive and aerospace industries, lightweight materials are desired for improved fuel economy.", "In consumer recreational equipment, lightweight sheet material is desired for enhanced performance.", "In consumer electronics and mobile devices, using lightweight sheet material for device housings and other components enhances portability and provides a lighter device.", "More generally, manufacturers in such industries make efforts to reduce the weight and thickness of components, while still selecting materials with high specific strength and specific stiffness values and/or with other desired properties.", "The use of composite materials continues to expand as a pathway toward lightweight materials.", "These may include carbon or glass fiber composites, metal matrix composites, honeycomb core materials or various other common configurations.", "However, composite material solutions typically have a high cost of manufacturing.", "For carbon fiber, this includes the cost of the lay-up and impregnation of the matrix material.", "Manufacture of metal matrix composites typically require powder metal processing in relatively small batches.", "The high cost of manufacturing of these composite materials is an impediment to their large scale adoption.", "Further, conventional, low cost, metal forming processes such as stamping and forming from a metal coil, which are used for many high volume components, are sometimes incompatible with composite materials.", "Thus, there is an ongoing need to provide light, stiff, easily formed sheet materials for use in applications calling for lightweight but stiff sheet materials, and/or which are compatible with existing metalworking infrastructure for stamping and forming of metal components." ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE <EOH>The disclosure of this application is to be considered in its entirety, i.e.", "as a whole, including all text and drawings.", "Disclosed in various embodiments are metal laminates comprising: a first continuous metal sheet; a second continuous metal sheet; and a reduced density metal core layer disposed between the first continuous metal sheet and the second continuous metal sheet, the reduced density metal core layer comprising a core metal and having an average density that is less than the density of the core metal; and a planar metallurgical bond securing the first continuous metal sheet to the reduced density metal core layer; and a planar metallurgical bond securing the second continuous metal sheet to the reduced density metal core layer.", "The core metal may be aluminum, copper, titanium, stainless steel, carbon steel, or an alloy thereof.", "The first continuous metal sheet may comprise aluminum, copper, titanium, carbon steel, stainless steel, or an alloy thereof; and the second continuous metal sheet may comprise aluminum, copper, titanium, carbon steel, stainless steel, or an alloy thereof.", "In specific embodiments, the core metal is aluminum, the first continuous metal sheet is a stainless steel, and the second continuous metal sheet is a stainless steel.", "The thickness of the reduced density metal core layer may be at least 50% of the total thickness of the metal laminate.", "The average density of the reduced density metal core layer may be between 10% and 75% of the density of the core metal.", "In more specific embodiments, the average density of the reduced density metal core layer is 50% or less of the density of the core metal.", "The reduced density metal core layer may comprise a layer of the core metal having through holes passing through the layer.", "The through holes may be asymmetric.", "The through holes can have a size that is at least as large as the thickness of the reduced density metal core layer.", "The through holes may have a size that is at least twice as large as the thickness of the reduced density metal core layer.", "In more particular embodiments, the reduced density metal core layer comprises one of (1) a layer of the core metal having through holes passing through the layer, (2) a woven or welded wire mesh or screen of the core metal, and (3) a porous layer of the core metal.", "The reduced density metal core layer can comprise a stack of two or more reduced density metal core layers.", "The stack of two or more reduced density metal core layers may comprise reduced density metal core layers with different geometries of through holes, woven or welded meshes or screens, or porosities.", "The stack of two or more reduced density metal core layers can comprise reduced density metal core layers of different core metals.", "In specific embodiments, the planar metallurgical bonds of the metal laminate do not include a brazing or soldering material.", "In addition, in even more particular embodiments, the planar metallurgical bond securing the first continuous metal sheet to the reduced density metal core layer does not include a native oxide layer of a surface of the first continuous metal sheet and does not include a native oxide layer of a surface of the reduced density metal core layer; and the planar metallurgical bond securing the second continuous metal sheet to the reduced density metal core layer does not include a native oxide layer of a surface of the second continuous metal sheet and does not include a native oxide layer of a surface of the reduced density metal core layer.", "In some embodiments, the planar metallurgical bond securing the first continuous metal sheet to the reduced density metal core layer is formed by a process including (1) removing or overcoating a native oxide layer on a surface of the first continuous metal sheet and removing or overcoating a native oxide layer on a surface of the reduced density metal core layer and (2) press rolling the first continuous metal sheet and the reduced density metal core layer; and the planar metallurgical bond securing the second continuous metal sheet to the reduced density metal core layer is formed by a process including (1) removing or overcoating a native oxide layer on a surface of the second continuous metal sheet and removing or overcoating a native oxide layer on a surface of the reduced density metal core layer and (2) press rolling the second continuous metal sheet and the reduced density metal core layer.", "The press rolling of the first continuous metal sheet and the reduced density metal core layer and the press rolling the second continuous metal sheet and the reduced density metal core layer may be performed simultaneously as a press rolling the first continuous metal sheet and the reduced density metal core layer and the second continuous metal sheet with the reduced density metal core layer sandwiched between the first and second continuous metal sheets.", "The metal laminate may include a pattern formed on an outer surface of the laminate that is embossed or imprinted from a pattern of through-holes of the reduced density metal core layer.", "The metal laminate may comprise a laminate coil.", "Also disclosed herein are methods of manufacturing a metal laminate, comprising: press rolling a metal laminate including a reduced density metal core layer sandwiched between two outer continuous metal layers wherein the reduced density metal core layer comprises a core metal and has an average density that is less than the density of the core metal; and prior to the press rolling, removing or overcoating the native oxide layer on each surface of the reduced density metal core layer and of the continuous metal sheets that contacts another layer in the metal laminate.", "The press rolling may produce a rolling reduction in the thickness of the metal laminate that is 50% or lower, or that is 25% or lower.", "The press rolling may produce a rolling reduction in the thickness of the reduced density metal core layer that is 60% or lower, or that is 40% or lower.", "The reduced density metal core layer may include through holes providing the reduced density metal core layer with the average density that is less than the density of the core metal.", "The press rolling should not eliminate the through-holes of the reduced density metal core layer.", "The pressure applied in the press rolling may be effective to emboss or imprint a pattern of the through-holes of the reduced density metal core layer onto an exterior surface of the metal laminate.", "The press rolling may metallurgically bond the two outer continuous metal layers to the reduced density metal core layer.", "The operation of removing or overcoating the native oxide layer on each surface of the reduced density metal core layer and of the continuous metal sheets that contacts another layer in the metal laminate may comprise removing the native oxide layer on each said surface.", "This can be done using a sputtering process.", "The methods disclosed herein can be performed in a sealed enclosure that encloses both press rollers used in the press rolling and surface activation devices used in the removing or overcoating of the native oxide layer on each said surface.", "The methods may further comprise taking up the metal laminate on a take-up roll to arrange the metal laminate as a laminate coil.", "The methods do not necessarily include performing soldering or brazing in the manufacture of the metal laminate.", "Also disclosed herein are metal laminates or laminate coils manufactured using the methods disclosed herein." ], [ "CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "14/879,831, filed Oct. 9, 2015, now U.S. Pat.", "No.", "//insert later//, which claims priority to U.S.", "Provisional Patent Application Ser.", "No.", "62/061,824, filed Oct. 9, 2014, and to U.S.", "Provisional Patent Application Ser.", "No.", "62/181,436, filed Jun.", "18, 2015.These applications are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.", "BACKGROUND The present disclosure relates to stiff sheet materials usable to reduce the weight of stamped metal components, and particularly to a metal laminate sheet material.", "The need for lightweight materials is widespread across many industries.", "In the automotive and aerospace industries, lightweight materials are desired for improved fuel economy.", "In consumer recreational equipment, lightweight sheet material is desired for enhanced performance.", "In consumer electronics and mobile devices, using lightweight sheet material for device housings and other components enhances portability and provides a lighter device.", "More generally, manufacturers in such industries make efforts to reduce the weight and thickness of components, while still selecting materials with high specific strength and specific stiffness values and/or with other desired properties.", "The use of composite materials continues to expand as a pathway toward lightweight materials.", "These may include carbon or glass fiber composites, metal matrix composites, honeycomb core materials or various other common configurations.", "However, composite material solutions typically have a high cost of manufacturing.", "For carbon fiber, this includes the cost of the lay-up and impregnation of the matrix material.", "Manufacture of metal matrix composites typically require powder metal processing in relatively small batches.", "The high cost of manufacturing of these composite materials is an impediment to their large scale adoption.", "Further, conventional, low cost, metal forming processes such as stamping and forming from a metal coil, which are used for many high volume components, are sometimes incompatible with composite materials.", "Thus, there is an ongoing need to provide light, stiff, easily formed sheet materials for use in applications calling for lightweight but stiff sheet materials, and/or which are compatible with existing metalworking infrastructure for stamping and forming of metal components.", "SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE The disclosure of this application is to be considered in its entirety, i.e.", "as a whole, including all text and drawings.", "Disclosed in various embodiments are metal laminates comprising: a first continuous metal sheet; a second continuous metal sheet; and a reduced density metal core layer disposed between the first continuous metal sheet and the second continuous metal sheet, the reduced density metal core layer comprising a core metal and having an average density that is less than the density of the core metal; and a planar metallurgical bond securing the first continuous metal sheet to the reduced density metal core layer; and a planar metallurgical bond securing the second continuous metal sheet to the reduced density metal core layer.", "The core metal may be aluminum, copper, titanium, stainless steel, carbon steel, or an alloy thereof.", "The first continuous metal sheet may comprise aluminum, copper, titanium, carbon steel, stainless steel, or an alloy thereof; and the second continuous metal sheet may comprise aluminum, copper, titanium, carbon steel, stainless steel, or an alloy thereof.", "In specific embodiments, the core metal is aluminum, the first continuous metal sheet is a stainless steel, and the second continuous metal sheet is a stainless steel.", "The thickness of the reduced density metal core layer may be at least 50% of the total thickness of the metal laminate.", "The average density of the reduced density metal core layer may be between 10% and 75% of the density of the core metal.", "In more specific embodiments, the average density of the reduced density metal core layer is 50% or less of the density of the core metal.", "The reduced density metal core layer may comprise a layer of the core metal having through holes passing through the layer.", "The through holes may be asymmetric.", "The through holes can have a size that is at least as large as the thickness of the reduced density metal core layer.", "The through holes may have a size that is at least twice as large as the thickness of the reduced density metal core layer.", "In more particular embodiments, the reduced density metal core layer comprises one of (1) a layer of the core metal having through holes passing through the layer, (2) a woven or welded wire mesh or screen of the core metal, and (3) a porous layer of the core metal.", "The reduced density metal core layer can comprise a stack of two or more reduced density metal core layers.", "The stack of two or more reduced density metal core layers may comprise reduced density metal core layers with different geometries of through holes, woven or welded meshes or screens, or porosities.", "The stack of two or more reduced density metal core layers can comprise reduced density metal core layers of different core metals.", "In specific embodiments, the planar metallurgical bonds of the metal laminate do not include a brazing or soldering material.", "In addition, in even more particular embodiments, the planar metallurgical bond securing the first continuous metal sheet to the reduced density metal core layer does not include a native oxide layer of a surface of the first continuous metal sheet and does not include a native oxide layer of a surface of the reduced density metal core layer; and the planar metallurgical bond securing the second continuous metal sheet to the reduced density metal core layer does not include a native oxide layer of a surface of the second continuous metal sheet and does not include a native oxide layer of a surface of the reduced density metal core layer.", "In some embodiments, the planar metallurgical bond securing the first continuous metal sheet to the reduced density metal core layer is formed by a process including (1) removing or overcoating a native oxide layer on a surface of the first continuous metal sheet and removing or overcoating a native oxide layer on a surface of the reduced density metal core layer and (2) press rolling the first continuous metal sheet and the reduced density metal core layer; and the planar metallurgical bond securing the second continuous metal sheet to the reduced density metal core layer is formed by a process including (1) removing or overcoating a native oxide layer on a surface of the second continuous metal sheet and removing or overcoating a native oxide layer on a surface of the reduced density metal core layer and (2) press rolling the second continuous metal sheet and the reduced density metal core layer.", "The press rolling of the first continuous metal sheet and the reduced density metal core layer and the press rolling the second continuous metal sheet and the reduced density metal core layer may be performed simultaneously as a press rolling the first continuous metal sheet and the reduced density metal core layer and the second continuous metal sheet with the reduced density metal core layer sandwiched between the first and second continuous metal sheets.", "The metal laminate may include a pattern formed on an outer surface of the laminate that is embossed or imprinted from a pattern of through-holes of the reduced density metal core layer.", "The metal laminate may comprise a laminate coil.", "Also disclosed herein are methods of manufacturing a metal laminate, comprising: press rolling a metal laminate including a reduced density metal core layer sandwiched between two outer continuous metal layers wherein the reduced density metal core layer comprises a core metal and has an average density that is less than the density of the core metal; and prior to the press rolling, removing or overcoating the native oxide layer on each surface of the reduced density metal core layer and of the continuous metal sheets that contacts another layer in the metal laminate.", "The press rolling may produce a rolling reduction in the thickness of the metal laminate that is 50% or lower, or that is 25% or lower.", "The press rolling may produce a rolling reduction in the thickness of the reduced density metal core layer that is 60% or lower, or that is 40% or lower.", "The reduced density metal core layer may include through holes providing the reduced density metal core layer with the average density that is less than the density of the core metal.", "The press rolling should not eliminate the through-holes of the reduced density metal core layer.", "The pressure applied in the press rolling may be effective to emboss or imprint a pattern of the through-holes of the reduced density metal core layer onto an exterior surface of the metal laminate.", "The press rolling may metallurgically bond the two outer continuous metal layers to the reduced density metal core layer.", "The operation of removing or overcoating the native oxide layer on each surface of the reduced density metal core layer and of the continuous metal sheets that contacts another layer in the metal laminate may comprise removing the native oxide layer on each said surface.", "This can be done using a sputtering process.", "The methods disclosed herein can be performed in a sealed enclosure that encloses both press rollers used in the press rolling and surface activation devices used in the removing or overcoating of the native oxide layer on each said surface.", "The methods may further comprise taking up the metal laminate on a take-up roll to arrange the metal laminate as a laminate coil.", "The methods do not necessarily include performing soldering or brazing in the manufacture of the metal laminate.", "Also disclosed herein are metal laminates or laminate coils manufactured using the methods disclosed herein.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The following is a brief description of the drawings, which are presented for the purposes of illustrating the exemplary embodiments disclosed herein and not for the purposes of limiting the same.", "Unless otherwise indicated, the drawings are diagrammatic and not necessarily drawn to scale.", "FIGS.", "1 and 2 show schematically a top and side view, respectively, of a lightweight metal laminate structure with a reduced-density metal core layer.", "In FIGS.", "1 and 2, layers are removed successively moving from left to right to reveal underlying layers in the top view of FIG.", "1.FIG.", "3 is a detail, shown in top view, of one geometry option for the reduced-density metal core layer of the laminate structure of FIGS.", "1 and 2.FIG.", "4 illustrates a suitable manufacturing system for manufacturing the metal laminate structure of FIGS.", "1 and 2 using illustrative cladding processing to form a metallurgical bond between the layers.", "FIG.", "5 shows a perspective view of a laminate roll of the laminate of FIGS.", "1 and 2, suitably manufactured as a roll using the system of FIG.", "4.FIGS.", "6A-6D show schematic top views of four different through-hole configurations for the reduced-density metal core layer of the laminate of FIGS.", "1, 2, and 5.FIGS.", "7 and 8 are photographs of the surface (FIG.", "7) and cross-section (FIG.", "8) of an actually fabricated laminate as described herein.", "FIGS.", "9 and 10 show top views of illustrative reduced-density metal core layers in which density-reducing openings define a selected pattern.", "FIG.", "11 shows a top view of another illustrative reduced-density metal core layer in which density-reducing openings comprise through-slits oriented to provide anisotropic properties for the metal laminate structure.", "FIG.", "12 presents a Load-Deflection Curve measured as described herein for the perforated core sample of FIGS.", "1 and 2.FIGS.", "13 and 14 schematically show side views of two laminate structures, each of which includes a stack of reduced-density metal core layers.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DISCLOSURE The present disclosure may be understood more readily by reference to the following detailed description of desired embodiments and the examples included therein.", "In the following specification and the claims which follow, reference will be made to a number of terms which shall be defined to have the following meanings.", "Although specific terms are used in the following description for the sake of clarity, these terms are intended to refer only to the particular structure of the embodiments selected for illustration in the drawings, and are not intended to define or limit the scope of the disclosure.", "In the drawings and the following description below, it is to be understood that like numeric designations refer to components of like function.", "The singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.", "The term “comprising” is used herein as requiring the presence of the named component and allowing the presence of other components.", "The term “comprising” should be construed to include the term “consisting of”, which allows the presence of only the named component, along with any impurities that might result from the manufacture of the named component.", "Numerical values should be understood to include numerical values which are the same when reduced to the same number of significant figures and numerical values which differ from the stated value by less than the experimental error of conventional measurement technique of the type described in the present application to determine the value.", "All ranges disclosed herein are inclusive of the recited endpoint and independently combinable (for example, the range of “from 2 grams to 10 grams” is inclusive of the endpoints, 2 grams and 10 grams, and all the intermediate values).", "The endpoints of the ranges and any values disclosed herein are not limited to the precise range or value; they are sufficiently imprecise to include values approximating these ranges and/or values.", "The modifier “about” used in connection with a quantity is inclusive of the stated value and has the meaning dictated by the context.", "When used in the context of a range, the modifier “about” should also be considered as disclosing the range defined by the absolute values of the two endpoints.", "For example, the range of “from about 2 to about 10” also discloses the range “from 2 to 10.” The term “about” may refer to plus or minus 10% of the indicated number.", "For example, “about 10%” may indicate a range of 9% to 11%, and “about 1” may mean from 0.9-1.1.In some embodiments disclosed herein, a multilayer metal structure has a perforated (e.g., porous or expanded) metal core and metal continuous outside sheets.", "More generally, the metal core layer is a reduced-density metal core layer, in which the density is reduced as compared with an equivalent layer of the same metal that does not include the perforations, porosity, or other spaces/vacancies that serve to reduce layer density.", "(In this context, “density” is to be understood as the average density over a volume of the metal core, i.e.", "the ratio of core layer mass divided by core layer volume.)", "The multilayer metal structure provides high strength and stiffness, while reducing component weight.", "A metallurgically bonded metal sheet material comprises a reduced-density metal core layer of substantially uniform thickness, which in some embodiments is less than 3 millimeters although higher thicknesses are contemplated, and two continuous metal sheets metallurgically bound to the major surfaces of the porous metal core.", "In some embodiments, each metal sheet is less than 0.5 millimeters in thickness, although greater thicknesses are contemplated, and moreover the two continuous metal sheets may in general have different thicknesses.", "In such a composite sheet, the continuous metal sheets may be secured to the reduced-density metal core layer by techniques such as brazing, soldering, or using an adhesive.", "However, the bond formed by such techniques includes an intermediate layer (the braze material, solder material, or adhesive) which limits structural integrity—accordingly, the composite sheet formed using brazing, soldering, or adhesive may be incompatible with metalworking techniques such as deep drawing that generate large strain.", "Brazes and adhesives are also have significant thickness, and are usually applied in a liquid or molten state that can be difficult to apply uniformly in a large-scale processes, especially reel-to-reel processes.", "A metallurgical bond, that is, a bond at the atomic level with no intervening bond material and no intervening oxide layer, has good structural integrity and is compatible with metalworking processes that introduce high strain.", "A metallurgical bond is also “dry-formed”, that is, does not involve depositing a liquid or molten material onto the surfaces.", "However, obtaining a metallurgical bond over a planar interface is difficult.", "One technique which can form a planar metallurgical bond is cladding, in which two metal sheets are pressed together under high pressure, usually between rollers.", "Cladding breaks the surface oxide and forms a metallurgical bond between the two sheets.", "However, in order to overcome the intrinsic oxide layers on the metal surfaces a high pressure must be applied, resulting in a high rolling reduction (i.e.", "compressive plastic deformation manifesting as a reduction in layer thickness and elongation transverse to that thickness).", "In the case of a reduced-density metal core layer, the high cladding pressure may compress or deform the reduced-density metal core layer to such an extent that its (average) density is substantially increased, and/or its structural integrity compromised, thereby abrogating its beneficial characteristics.", "In some embodiments disclosed herein, a metallurgically bonded metal sheet comprises a porous metal core, having a multiplicity of thru holes surrounded by a matrix of metal (or, said another way, a metal layer with thru holes), having a substantially uniform thickness of less than 3 millimeters and having the surface area of the matrix on the major surfaces of the core being less than one half of the surface area of a sheet of the same size provides sufficient strength.", "A porous metal core having a substantially uniform pattern of holes surrounded by short segments of continuous metal matrix provides a suitable core for a metallurgically bonded metal sheet material having advantageous mechanical characteristics and reduced weight when thin sheets are metallurgically bound to the core.", "In some embodiments disclosed herein, a laminate including a reduced-density metal core layer cladded by continuous metal sheets is made by the following operations.", "The reduced-density metal core layer is provided, which has a first major surface, a second major surface and a multiplicity of thru holes, pores, or other density-reducing features.", "Two continuous metal sheets are also provided, each having two major surfaces and, in some embodiments, a thickness of less than 0.5 millimeters.", "At least one of the major surfaces of each of the metal sheets is activated.", "Both of the major surfaces of the reduced-density metal core layer are activated.", "The metal sheet activated surfaces are brought into contact with the activated major surfaces of the reduced-density metal core layer and the metal sheets are metallurgically bonded onto the reduced-density metal core layer (i.e., with the reduced-density metal core layer sandwiched between the continuous metal sheets) in a rolling operation with a rolling reduction of from 0.1% to 50% reduction (that is, a reduction of 0.1%-50% in the total thickness of the stack produced by the rolling operation).", "In some preferred embodiments, the rolling reduction is 25% or less reduction in total stack thickness.", "The rolling operation causes the metal sheets and the reduced-density metal core layer to be metallurgically bound together.", "The planar metallurgical bonds thereby formed are free of organic adhesive, brazed metal, or solder (i.e.", "none of these three are present).", "In some illustrative embodiments, the activation of the metal sheet surfaces and the surfaces of the reduced-density metal core layer is preferably achieved by sputtering.", "In general, the activation of the surfaces entails removal of contaminants that are natively present on the metal surfaces due to exposure to air.", "For example, a native surface oxide is present due to air exposure.", "Other contaminants such as various hydrocarbons may also be present on the air-exposed metal surfaces.", "Activation of the metal sheet and reduced-density metal core layer surfaces entails removing these contaminants, especially the native surface oxide.", "Sputtering is one suitable approach, while other contemplated surface activation approaches for producing clean, oxide-free, metal surfaces include thermal removal (heating to a temperature sufficient to expel the surface oxide).", "In other surface activation processes, the surface oxide and/or other surface contamination is not removed, but rather is overcoated with a thin coating of a pristine metal layer with thickness of typically 10 micrometers (μm) or less, and more preferably a thickness of 2 μm or less, using a physical vapor deposition process (e.g.", "sputter deposition, vacuum evaporation, or so forth).", "The overcoated pristine metal layer may be the same type of metal as the metal sheet or may be a different metal.", "For overcoating the surface of a stainless steel sheet, the overcoating pristine metal layer may, by way of non-limiting example, be a nickel, aluminum, iron, copper, or titanium metal layer.", "In addition to being thin, the surface of the overcoated pristine metal layer should not have an oxide layer.", "More generally, the surface activation (whether by removal of the native oxide or overcoating) is performed in a controlled ambient, e.g.", "vacuum or inert gas, in order to prevent rapid re-oxidation of the activated surfaces.", "By performing the cladding of the continuous metal sheets onto the reduced-density metal core layer after surface activation including oxide removal in a controlled atmosphere (e.g.", "inert or vacuum), the cladding pressure can be substantially reduced as compared with conventional cladding processes that must break the oxide layer in order to form the metallurgical planar surface bonds.", "The reduced cladding pressure enables the reduced-density metal core layer to better retain its reduced density by reducing or eliminating compressive plastic deformation of the pores, through-holes, or other density-reducing features.", "A light-weight laminate material with metallurgical bonds is thereby obtained, which is structurally robust and suitable for metalworking processes such as deep drawing that introduce large strains.", "On the other hand, depending upon the applied cladding pressure, the size and shape of the through-holes or other density-reducing features of the reduced-density metal core layer, the thicknesses, stiffness, or other properties of the cladding continuous metal sheets, and possibly other factors, a consequence of the bonding of the reduced-density metal core layer and continuous sheet materials may be that the resulting laminate sheet exhibits a surface pattern corresponding to the pattern of through-holes or other openings of the reduced-density metal core layer.", "Such patterning may be due to slight deformation (i.e.", "slight “bulging”) of the continuous metal sheets into the through-holes of the reduced-density metal core layer, or due to a surface texture change due to differential pressures of the bonding rolls on the laminate surface over a thru-hole vs. over the matrix.", "Without being limited to any particular theory of operation, it is believed that during cladding the pressure exerted over a through-hole is less than the pressure exerted in the area over the “matrix” of the core, due to very small elastic deflections of the surface sheets.", "As a result, texture differences are present on the exposed surfaces of the cladded surface sheets that may emboss or imprint a pattern on the surface, even if the surface is flat after bonding (i.e.", "does not include measurable bulging of the surface sheets into the through-holes).", "It is recognized herein that this effect may be advantageous, for example providing ornamental surface properties intentionally designed into the bonded laminate composite material by choosing an ornamental pattern for the through-holes of the reduced-density metal core layer.", "Such a pattern could, for example, represent the logo of a consumer electronics manufacturer using the composite material for the metal housing of a mobile device.", "In other applications, the surface patterning may provide surface texturing or roughness that may beneficially increase friction or provide other useful surface properties.", "The resulting composite laminate material can be constructed with sufficient strength and stiffness to be used as a cost effective replacement for solid sheet metal structural components.", "The composite laminate material can be light, stiff, formable by conventional metalworking methods, uniform in characteristics, has a low cost of manufacturing, and is free of organic adhesives, brazing compounds, or solder.", "A more complete understanding of the components, processes and apparatuses disclosed herein can be obtained by reference to the accompanying drawings.", "The drawings are provided for the purposes of illustrating preferred implementations of the disclosure only, and not for the purposes of limiting the disclosure.", "FIGS.", "1 and 2 show top (i.e.", "plan) and side views, respectively, of a laminate sheet material 10 having three layers.", "The laminate sheet material 10 has a width W indicated in FIG.", "1, and a long direction indicated by arrow L. In a typical roll-to-roll manufacturing process (illustrative examples of which are described later herein with reference to FIGS.", "4 and 5), the roll has the width W and extends (i.e.", "is “rolled”) in the long direction L. Accordingly, FIGS.", "1 and 2 illustrate a portion or cut length of the laminate sheet that is cut along the direction L. The laminate sheet material 10 includes a top metal layer 12 which is a continuous thin sheet (i.e.", "layer) of metal.", "In one embodiment, the top layer 12 can be in the neighborhood of 0.1 millimeters thick and is a continuous sheet of stainless steel, although greater or lesser thicknesses are contemplated.", "A reduced-density metal core layer 14 is of equal width W to the top metal layer 12 and comprises short interconnected metal segments 20 surrounding through holes 22 (see also detail FIG.", "3).", "As best seen in the detail drawing of FIG.", "3, the illustrative through holes 22 are hexagonal holes so that the reduced-density metal core layer 14 has a honeycomb pattern of through-holes.", "A honeycomb pattern is advantageous because the hexagonal openings 22 can form a highly symmetric regular lattice, but as described herein the reduced-density metal core layer 14 can have a wide variety of density-reducing openings, through-holes, ports, gapped fiber mesh, or so forth.", "The reduced-density metal core layer 14 is fabricated from a metal selected to have desired material properties.", "In one illustrative example, the reduced-density metal core layer 14 is aluminum or an aluminum alloy, and is about 0.5 millimeters thick (although again this is merely an example, and greater or lesser thicknesses are contemplated).", "In other embodiments, the reduced-density metal core layer 14 can have a thickness of up to 3 millimeters (although again higher thicknesses are contemplated).", "In other embodiments, the reduced-density metal core layer 14 comprises another metal, such as titanium, stainless steel, carbon steel, or copper.", "The reduced-density metal core layer 14 can be made by die cutting, stamping or other methods to produce a metal sheet having spaces 22 between metal matrix elements 20.Various processes may be employed to create a perforated metal by punching out spaces 22 to form a repetitive pattern of holes.", "Another suitable process comprises expanding a metal sheet to form the spaces 22 by cutting the metal sheet with short spaced slits and stretching the metal sheet to plastically deform the metal sheet and thereby expand these slits into through holes 22.An advantage of this expanded metal process is that all the metal in the sheet is used and no punched out waste is created.", "(Note that in the expanded metal process the density of the sheet is reduced by enlarging the volume, because the overall length is increased while the mass stays the same so that average density=mass/volume decreases.)", "Instead of employing through-holes, the reduced-density metal core layer can have other density-reducing space configurations.", "For example, the reduced-density metal core layer may be a woven or welded wire mesh or screen, where density reduction is achieved by the large amount of porosity or air spaces surrounding the woven metal fibers.", "Other approaches for fabricating the reduced-density metal core layer with reduced density compared with a continuous metal sheet of the same metal that does not include pores, through-holes, or the like is contemplated.", "In some illustrative examples, the reduced-density metal core layer has a porosity of from about 10% to about 90% by volume, as determined by the amount of open area divided by the total area of the core.", "In other words, in these embodiments the reduced density metal core layer 14 has an average density that is between 10% and 90% inclusive of the density of the core metal (where “density of the core metal” is the density of the core metal, i.e.", "the density of the core metal material, which is an intensive property).", "In more particular embodiments, the porosity is at least 50% (that is, the average density of the reduced density metal core layer 14 is 50% or less of the density of the core metal).", "In some embodiments the porosity of the reduced density metal core layer 14 is between 25% and 90% (that is, the average density of the reduced density metal core layer 14 is between 10% and 75% inclusive of the density of the core metal).", "In some embodiments the porosity of the reduced density metal core layer 14 is between 50% and 90% (that is, the average density of the reduced density metal core layer 14 is between 10% and 50% inclusive of the density of the core metal).", "The laminate sheet material 10 further includes a bottom metal layer 16 which is a thin continuous metal sheet (i.e.", "thin continuous metal layer).", "In an illustrative example, the top layer 12 and the bottom layer 16 are both stainless steel and about 0.1 millimeters thick.", "In the laminate 10, the reduced density metal core layer 14 is sandwiched between the two outer continuous metal sheets or layers 12, 16.The two continuous metal sheets or layers 12, 16 form the outer “skins” of the laminate 10, and accordingly are sometimes referred to herein as (outer) metal skins 12, 16.In other embodiments, the top layer 12 and the bottom layer 16 can have the same or different thicknesses, with a thickness of up to 0.5 mm in some embodiments.", "Again, these are merely illustrative examples, and other thicknesses (e.g.", "greater than 0.5 mm) are also contemplated.", "In some embodiments, the two layers 12, 16 have the same thickness which provides a symmetry that may be advantageous for some applications (e.g., it therefore does not matter which sheet 12, 16 is employed as the “top” sheet in a structure), but this symmetry is not required.", "In an illustrative embodiment with commercial value in various industries, the continuous metal sheets 12, 16 are stainless steel sheets while the reduced-density metal core layer 14 is an aluminum or aluminum alloy metal.", "In other embodiments, the top and bottom metal layers are aluminum, titanium, carbon steel, or copper.", "Again, the two layers 12, 16 may be made of the same material providing possibly advantageous symmetry, but this is not required.", "It should also be noted that it is contemplated for the reduced-density metal core layer 14 to be made of the same material as the continuous metal sheets 12, 16.The reduced-density metal core layer 14 is also relatively thin and, as in preferred embodiments more than half of its mass has been removed in creation of the thru holes or other density-reducing vacancy features.", "The three layers 12, 14, 16 are metallurgically bound together at their contacting surfaces by planar metallurgical bonds 18, i.e.", "the metals of the layers are directly bound to each other without the presence of organic adhesives, brazing compounds or solder.", "The creation of this laminate sheet material 10 employs manufacturing techniques performed in a vacuum, inert gas, or other controlled atmosphere to prevent re-formation of a native surface oxide after activating the contacting metal surfaces.", "(Moreover, many surface activation techniques suitably used to activate the contacting surfaces can only be performed in a certain controlled atmosphere, e.g.", "a vacuum backfilled with a sputtering gas or so forth).", "In various embodiments, the thickness of the core is at least 50% of the total thickness of the laminate material, and in some preferred embodiments is from about 50% to about 95% of the total thickness of the metal laminate.", "As used herein, the term “aluminum” includes pure aluminum and aluminum alloys.", "For example, the reduced-density metal core layer 14 may comprise a core metal such as an aluminum alloy such as 1000 series aluminum alloy (i.e., an alloy containing a minimum aluminum content of 99 wt %), a 2000 series alloy (i.e., an alloy containing copper), a 3000 series alloy (i.e., an alloy containing manganese), a 4000 series alloy (i.e., an alloy containing silicon), a 5000 series alloy (i.e., an alloy containing magnesium), a 6000 series alloy (i.e., an alloy containing magnesium and silicon), a 7000 series alloy (i.e., an alloy containing zinc), or an 8000 series alloy (i.e., an alloy containing other elements not covered by the other series).", "Some specific alloys that may be of particular suitability as the core metal in certain industrial applications include 2024, 5052, 6061 or 7075.Referring now to FIG.", "4, an illustrative method and apparatus for creating the laminate sheet material 10 is described.", "A first feed roll 30 supports a coil of a first continuous metal sheet 32 that in the laminate 10 forms the top continuous metal layer 12.A second feed roll 34 supports a coil of a second continuous metal sheet 36 that in the laminate 10 forms the bottom continuous metal layer 16.A third feed roll 40 supports a coil of a reduced-density metal sheet 42 that in the laminate 10 forms the reduced-density metal core layer 14.The sheet 42 can be pre-perforated before coiling on the feed roll 40 or, alternatively, the sheet 42 can be a continuous metal sheet that is perforated by optional die cutting rolls 44 or the like.", "The first continuous metal sheet 32, the second continuous metal sheet 36, and the reduced-density metal sheet 42 are each drawn from their respective feed rolls 30, 34, 40 into respective activation apparatuses.", "The first continuous metal sheet 32 wraps around a portion of a first electrode roll 52, and a first activation device 54 is supported adjacent the first electrode roll 52.For example, the activation device 52 may be a sputtering device in which a plasma is created between the first electrode roll 52 and the first activation device 54 which activates the surface of the first continuous metal sheet 32 not engaged against the first electrode roller 52.This activation removes (e.g.", "sputters away) impurities, oxides and other impediments to further processing of the first continuous metal sheet 32.Some suitable sputtering devices are described, for example, in Saijo et al., U.S. Pat.", "No.", "6,150,037 and Saijo et al., U.S. Pat.", "No.", "7,175,919, which are.", "incorporated herein by reference.", "In other embodiments, the activation is by way of “burying” the oxide/impurities layer by overcoating with a suitable metal layer.", "Some suitable overcoating approaches are disclosed, for example, in Yano et al., U.S. Pat.", "No.", "6,455,172 and Marancik, U.S. Pat.", "No.", "4,011,982 which are incorporated herein by reference.", "Similarly, the second continuous metal sheet 36 is drawn off the second feed roll 34 and wraps partially around the second electrode roller 56, where a second activation device 58 supported adjacent the second electrode roller 56 activates (e.g.", "sputters) the exposed surface of the second continuous metal sheet 36.The reduced-density metal sheet 42 (after passing through the die cutting rollers 44, if used) is passed between a third activation device 60 and a fourth activation device 62 to activate the opposing sides of the sheet 42, again for example by sputtering.", "In the configuration shown in FIG.", "4, both sides are activated at the same time as the sheet 42 passes between the devices 60, 62; alternatively, this processing may be performed serially (not shown).", "If the third and fourth activation devices 60, 62 are disposed in opposition as shown, electrical contact to the metal sheet 42 can be provided through adjacent support rollers or the like (not shown).", "Following activation, the metal sheets 32, 36, 42 are brought into adjacency and pressed together between press rolls 72, 74.A controlled compression force is applied so as to metallurgically bind them together in a low reduction solid state bonding process to form the laminate 10 of FIGS.", "1 and 2.Because the native oxide is removed or overcoated with a thin metal layer (that is itself free of native oxide) before the press rolling, the metallurgical bonds 18 can be formed at much lower compression force as compared with a conventional cladding process, and the lower compression force enables cladding with reduced deformation of the reduced-density metal core layer 14.The compression force can be usefully quantified in terms of the plastic deformation introduced to the material.", "For example, in some embodiments, the pressing force is limited to provide less than 10% change in length of the laminated sheet material 10 exiting the press rolls 72, 74 when compared to the length of the continuous metal sheets 32, 34 and metal core material 42 fed into the press rolls 72, 74.Additionally or alternatively, the reduction in thickness of the laminate may be used as a metric of the compression force.", "As the resulting laminate 10 is intended to be lightweight (that is, of low overall density), it is desired to limit the amount of plastic compression (i.e.", "thickness reduction) introduced by the press rolling.", "In other words, it is desired to have a low rolling reduction as measured by the reduction in thickness introduced by the press rolling process.", "A low rolling reduction is achieved using the apparatus of FIG.", "4 in part because contacting activated surfaces much more readily form a metallurgical bond during the press rolling as compared with contacting surfaces that have the usual native oxide.", "The “native oxide” is an oxide layer that inherently forms on most uncoated or pristine metal surfaces, including surfaces of steel and aluminum, upon even very brief exposure of a metal surface to air.", "By removing the oxide layers of the surfaces of the layers that contact other layers in the resulting laminate before the press rolling, the force (or pressure) that needs to be applied to form the metallurgical bonds 18 is greatly reduced, which in turn greatly reduces the rolling reduction.", "In some actually performed experiments, a rolling reduction of 25% or lower is achieved for the overall laminate 10.", "(That is, the percentage reduction in thickness of the stack of layers introduced by the press rolling is 25% or less).", "More generally, it is preferable for the rolling reduction to be kept to 50% or lower.", "These values are for the stack as a whole.", "Because the reduced density metal core layer 14 has through-holes, porosity, is constructed as a woven or welded wire mesh or screen of the core metal, or otherwise has low average density as compared with the density of the core metal, it is expected that the rolling reduction of the reduced density metal core layer 14 will be greater than the rolling reduction of the stack as a whole.", "For example, in actually performed experiments for which the stack as a whole exhibited a rolling reduction of 25% or lower, the rolling reduction of the reduced density metal core layer 14 (formed with through-holes) was larger, e.g.", "30%.", "In general, the rolling reduction of the reduced density metal core layer 14 is preferably 60% or lower, and more preferably 40% or lower.", "Moreover, in embodiments in which the reduced density metal core layer 14 includes through-holes, the press rolling preferably does not eliminate the through-holes (although their dimensions may be altered by the press rolling).", "With continuing reference to FIG.", "4 and with further reference to FIG.", "5, the metallurgically bonded laminate sheet material 10 output from the press rollers 72, 74 is suitably spooled onto a take-up roll 80.FIG.", "5 illustrates a rolled laminate or laminate coil 100 comprising a roll of the laminate 10 having width W and including the reduced-density metal core layer 14 clad by outer continuous metal sheets 12, 16 and bound together by the planar metallurgical bonds 18 (which are naturally of a rolled configuration in the laminate coil 100), from which the portion of the laminate sheet 10 shown in FIG.", "1 may be suitably cut.", "Advantageously, the metallurgical bonds 18 are strong bonds which maintain their integrity in the rolled configuration of the laminate coil 100.Optionally, after metallurgically bonding the laminate, a heat treatment may be performed in strand or batch processes to drive diffusion between the contacting layers and improve interfacial adhesion.", "With continuing reference back particularly to FIG.", "4, the entire manufacturing apparatus of FIG.", "4 is contained within a sealed enclosure 82.The sealed enclosure 82 may be a vacuum chamber that is kept at a reduced pressure by operation of a vacuum pump 84.Reduced pressure is useful in the activation process occurring adjacent the activation devices 54, 58, 60, 62.Significantly reduced pressure also aids in preventing oxidation of materials following activation and supports the cladding performed by the press rolls 72, 74.In addition to (or instead of) reduced pressure, the controlled atmosphere contained in the sealed enclosure 82 may be an inert atmosphere, e.g.", "backfilled with an inert gas such as argon.", "With brief reference to FIG.", "6, the reduced-density metal core layer 14 can employ various through-hole configurations.", "FIG.", "6A illustrates again the honeycomb through-hole pattern of the embodiment of FIGS.", "1 and 3 in which hexagonal openings 22 are formed in the sheet such that the reduced-density metal core layer 14 comprises a metal matrix 20 surrounding the hexagonal openings 22.Openings with other geometries are contemplated.", "For example, FIG.", "6B illustrates a honeycomb structure of circular (rather than hexagonal) openings.", "FIG.", "6C shows regular Cartesian array structure of square openings.", "It will also be appreciated that the openings can have varying degrees of anisotropy.", "For example, a structure comprising anisotropic diamond-shaped openings is depicted in FIG.", "6D.", "Employing anisotropic openings can provide the laminate with advantageous anisotropic properties, e.g.", "different amounts of stiffness in different directions.", "With reference now to FIGS.", "7 and 8, sample sheets of the form of laminate 10 were clad as substantially described with reference to FIG.", "4.The reduced-density metal core layer 14 employed circular openings as diagrammatically shown in FIG.", "6B.", "The initial 3-layer sample was 0.035-inch gauge overall with 0.0063-inch Stainless 301 skins (corresponding to continuous metal sheets 12, 16) on both sides of a reduced-density metal core layer comprising a 0.0224-inch perforated 5052 aluminum core with 50% open area.", "The surface of the laminate is shown in FIG.", "7, while FIG.", "8 shows a cross-sectional image of the laminate.", "In the vacuum cladding experiments of FIGS.", "7 and 8, the core gauge (that is, the thickness of the reduced-density metal core layer) decreased from 0.032-inch to 0.0224-inch, corresponding to a 30% reduction in gauge (thickness).", "On the other hand, the outer continuous stainless steel cladding sheets were 0.0063-inch thick and remained measured at that thickness after the vacuum cladding.", "Combining for all three layers, the overall reduction in gauge (thickness) was 21.5%.", "That is, the total rolling reduction caused by the rolling operation in this example was 21.5% reduction in total thickness, and the rolling reduction of the reduced density metal core layer was a 30% reduction in thickness.", "As seen in FIG.", "7, the circular openings in the perforated core created a patterned (i.e.", "“dimpled”) effect on the exterior of the laminate, which is readily perceived visually.", "The cross-sectional view of FIG.", "8 shows that these dimples are due to slight protrusion or bulging of the cladding steel into the through-holes.", "This effect is due to the through-holes being large (relative to the thickness of the continuous metal sheets 12, 16), and this surface effect can be suppressed by using a larger number of smaller through-holes relative to the steel skin thickness so as to maintain the same (average) density for the reduced-density metal core layer.", "The dimpling may also be suppressed by additionally or alternatively reducing the compression force applied by the press rollers 72, 74.It is straightforward to optimize this compression force to minimize the dimpling effect while providing a sufficiently strong planar metallurgical bond 18 for a given application.", "On the other hand, for some applications the imprinting of the pattern of through-holes of the reduced-density metal core layer 14 on the outer surfaces of the continuous metal sheets 12, 16, such as that seen in FIG.", "7, may be desirable for aesthetic reasons, or to increase surface friction, or so forth.", "With reference to FIG.", "9, for example, the through-holes of the reduced-density metal core layer 14 can optionally be formed in a chosen pattern, such as a “sun burst” pattern shown in FIG.", "9, or the logo of a manufacturer, or the brand name of a product, or so forth.", "The openings are still chosen to be of sufficient aggregate area to provide the intended reduction in average density for the reduced-density metal core layer 14, but their specific layout is chosen to imprint a desired pattern on the surface of the resulting laminate 10.With reference to FIG.", "10, in some embodiments the sun burst pattern shown in FIG.", "9 serves as a repeating unit cell of the through-hole pattern of reduced-density metal core layer 14.Here in addition to adjusting the total area of the through-holes of each unit cell, the spacing between adjacent unit cells can be adjusted to achieve the desired average density reduction for the reduced-density metal core layer 14.With reference to FIG.", "11, in an extension of this approach, an asymmetric pattern of through-holes (e.g.", "through-holes of asymmetric cross-section with the long cross-section directions of the through-holes arranged in a generally aligned pattern, and/or through-holes whose spacing along one direction is smaller than along the transverse direction) may be employed to optimize the properties in one direction of the composite laminate 10, while keeping the overall mass to a desired light weight value.", "Illustrative FIG.", "11 employs elongated through-holes (i.e.", "through-slots) all oriented in the same direction.", "Another example of such an anisotropic through-hole pattern, with a lower degree of anisotropy, is shown in FIG.", "6D.", "This approach allows certain material properties of the laminate 10 to be maximized in one direction, while keeping the overall open area at a target value to achieve the desired laminate weight.", "For example, the anisotropic through-slots of FIG.", "11 may provide advantageous anisotropic electrical or thermal sheet conductivity, anisotropic mechanical properties, or so forth.", "TABLE 1 Tested Sample Laminate Structures 110 Skin Strips Core Layer Bonded Example Material Thickness Material % Open Core Thickness No.", "Composition (mm) Composition Area Pattern (mm) 1 304 SS 0.062 Al 1100 62% Diamond 0.37 2 304 SS 0.062 Al 1100 67% Diamond 0.38 3 304 SS 0.12 Al 1100 62% Diamond 0.53 4 304 SS 0.12 Al 1100 67% Diamond 0.53 5 305 SS 0.16 Al 5052 50% Circles 0.90 With reference to Table 1, laminate samples were tested as to their mechanical properties.", "Coils (e.g.", "as in the laminate coil 100 of FIG.", "5) were fabricated using stainless steel for the outer skin (sheet) layers and having various aluminum reduced-density metal core layers with both circular perforations (FIG.", "6B) and diamond perforations (FIG.", "6D) as listed in Table 1.The total bonded thickness varied from 0.37 to 0.90 mm and the percentage open area in the core ranged from 50% to 67%.", "Example No.", "5 corresponds to the sample imaged in FIGS.", "7 and 8.The effective bending modulus for a sample of laminate 10 was characterized experimentally utilizing well-known beam bending equations which link the beam deflection at an applied load to the elastic modulus: E = 4  Pl 3 wt 3  δ where P is a force applied at the distal end of a cantilevered beam, l is the beam length, w is the beam width, t is the beam thickness.", "The maximum deflection of the beam, denoted δmax, is given by: δ max = Pl 3 3  EI where I = wt 3 12 With reference to FIG.", "12, an experimental Load-Deflection Curve is shown for the perforated core sample of FIGS.", "1 and 2.By fitting a trend line to the linear elastic region indicated in FIG.", "12, the effective bending modulus was calculated.", "That is, the linear portion of the Load-Deflection Curve was used to experimentally determine the flexural modulus, E. The effective bending modulus of the composite material of FIGS.", "1 and 2 was found to be 151 GPa.", "In bending, the stiffness of composite beam structures is heavily dominated by the stiffness of the materials on the top and bottom surfaces of the beams.", "This flexural modulus is defined as: E Flexural = 1 I Overall  ∑ n  ( E n × I n ) where En is the elastic modulus of each layer, and In is the moment of inertia for each layer.", "For a three-layer sandwich structure such as that of the laminate 10 of FIGS.", "1 and 2, the moments of inertia for the skin layers (IS) and core (IC) are I s = b 12  ( t 3 - t c 3 )   and   I c = bt c 3 12 where tC is the thickness of the core material, t is the overall composite thickness, and b is the width of the beam.", "However, for a perforated core, the effective width of the core bC can be modeled as being reduced by a factor (1−f) to yield: bC=(1−f)b where f is the fraction of the core material removed by perforations.", "Using these equations, predicted bending modulus values was compared with those experimentally determined from cantilever bend measurements as previously described.", "These results are presented in Table 2 for the Examples of Table 1.TABLE 2 Bending Modulus results Bending Modulus, % Open % Steel E (GPa) Example No Core per Side Meas/Calc 1 62% 15% 141/146 2 67% 15% 135/137 3 62% 24% 179/172 4 67% 24% 174/172 5 50% 18% 151/154 Good agreement in measured and calculated flexural modulus values confirm that the laminate structure 10 including the reduced-density metal core layer 14 provides a stiff, lightweight and formable material.", "For comparison of materials for use as stiff, lightweight beams, a common metric is used that was originally developed by Ashby.", "This metric compares materials by the metric E1/2/ρ where larger values correspond to superior performance as a stiff, lightweight beam.", "Table 3 compares measured values for the example composite materials of Table 1 with published values for common stamped and formed metals such as aluminum, steel and titanium.", "TABLE 3 Ashby metric for Examples of Table 1 compared with literature values Material % Open % Steel Modulus, E Density, ρ System Core per Side (GPa) (g/cm3) E1/2/ρ Example 2 67% 15% 135 3.38 3.44 Example 5 50% 18% 151 3.7 3.32 Example 1 62% 15% 141 3.7 3.21 Aluminum 69 2.7 3.08 Example 4 67% 24% 174 4.55 2.90 Example 3 62% 24% 179 4.7 2.85 Titanium 116 4.5 2.39 Stainless 193 8 1.74 Steel As demonstrated by the E1/2/ρ values presented in Table 3, the laminate 10 of FIGS.", "1 and 2 is able to provide superior performance as a light weight bending material compared to conventional metals.", "Moreover, manufacturing of the composite laminate 10 is economical, using roll-to-roll processing with the resulting laminate being compatible with conventional metalworking such as stamping and forming due to the strong metallurgical bonds.", "The actually fabricated samples of Table 1 comprise steel continuous metal sheets bonded over a perforated aluminum core layer.", "Features of the actually fabricated laminate material include reduced weight (e.g., nominally 60% lighter than steel), increased stiffness (e.g., nominally two times stiffer than aluminum), and being fully formable in high volume stamping processes.", "While steel/aluminum structures have been fabricated as test samples, the disclosed approach is more generally applicable to other metal combinations.", "Table 4 lists some other contemplated laminate structures.", "Table 4 is to be understood as a non-limiting list of some suitable metal combinations for the laminate 10, and it is to be understood that the laminate 10 may comprise other metal combinations.", "TABLE 4 Some suitable materials for the laminate structure Bending Core Skin Modulus, E Density, ρ Skin/Core Metals Porosity Thickness (GPa) (g/cm3) E1/2/ρ Aluminum/ 60% 20% 60 1.73 4.48 Aluminum Steel/Steel 70% 10% 122 3.52 3.14 Steel/Aluminum 85% 5% 59 1.16 6.62 Titanium/ 60% 10% 71 1.77 4.76 Aluminum For each material combination, various alloys and materials tempers are available.", "For instance, the Aluminum/Aluminum composite of Table 4 may be constructed from grades such as 2024, 3003, 6061 or 7075.For heat treatable aluminum grades, precipitation hardening treatments can be included after stamping and forming to increase the strength.", "Various combinations of metals may be used to achieve specific properties for the laminate 10.For example, the Steel/Steel combination of Table 4 may be used to achieve high temperature stability while also reducing component weight.", "In the foregoing examples, the composite laminate structure 10 was employed, which includes three layers: the single reduced-density metal core layer 14; and the two cladding continuous metal sheets 12, 16.However, in order to separate the outer steel skins as far as possible while maintaining a core of very low density, it may be beneficial to layer multiple reduced-density metal core layers.", "Employing a stack of two or more reduced-density metal core layers facilitates keeping the size of the through-holes of each layer small, while keeping the total core thick.", "There is a correlation between the accessible perforation dimension and the thickness—generally the perforation size (e.g., measured as the diameter of through-holes of circular cross-section, or as the largest diameter of through-holes with hexagonal cross-section) should be at least 1-2 times the thickness of the core layer, and preferably even larger.", "But as explained with reference to FIGS.", "7 and 8, through-holes of large size can lead to formation of dimples on the surface of the laminate, which can be undesirable for some applications.", "By contrast, a stack of two or more reduced-density metal core layers with thinner individual gauges would enable small perforations and large fractions of open area while keeping a thick core.", "With reference to FIG.", "13, a laminate is similar to the laminate 10 of FIGS.", "1 and 2 and includes the cladding continuous metal sheets 12, 16; however, the single reduced-density metal core layer 14 of the embodiment of FIGS.", "1 and 2 is replaced in the embodiment of FIG.", "13 by a stack of three reduced-density metal core layers 141, 142, 143.This three-layer core configuration enables wider separation of the high strength continuous clad sheets 12, 16, which maintains a large bending stiffness while (further) reducing density for this separation.", "The stack of three reduced-density metal core layers 141, 142, 143 also enables smaller pore sizes relative to the overall core thickness.", "It will be appreciated that in such a multi-core layer design, the number of reduced-density metal core layers in the stack of three reduced-density metal core layers can be other than the illustrative three layers (e.g.", "may be two layers, three layers, four layers, et cetera.", "Providing a finer pore geometry in such a stack also helps to keep surfaces flat.", "The laminate of FIG.", "13 may be fabricated using the same low reduction bonding process as previously described with reference to FIG.", "4, except that additional source sheet rolls may be needed.", "To achieve multiple layer bonding, two or more passes through the rollers may be utilized to build up the larger stack of layers of FIG.", "13.", "(Indeed, even in the three-layer laminate 10 of FIGS.", "1 and 2, it is contemplated to employ two passes, e.g.", "one to form the metallurgical bond between layers 12, 14 and a second pass to form the metallurgical bond between layers 14, 16).", "By performing surface activation (whether by removal of the native oxide or overcoating) for each surface joining another layer (that is, activating the surface of the continuous clad layer 12 which contacts the reduced-density metal core layer 141, and activating both surfaces of the reduced-density metal core layer 141, and activating both surfaces of the reduced-density metal core layer 142, and activating both surfaces of the reduced-density metal core layer 143, and activating the surface of the continuous clad layer 16 which contacts the reduced-density metal core layer 143) a strong planar metallurgical bond is formed at each of the interfaces (that is between layers 12 and 141, and between layers 141 and 142, and between layers 142 and 143, and between layers 143 and 16).", "With reference to FIG.", "14, another advantage of employing a stack of reduced-density metal core layers is that the different layers of the stack may be made of different materials.", "For example, the illustrative laminate of FIG.", "14 includes a stack of three reduced-density metal core layers, in which the outer two reduced-density metal core layers 14outer are made of one metal and have a common through-hole geometry, and the inner reduced-density metal core layer 14inner is made of a different metal and/or has a different through-hole geometry as compared with the outer layers 14outer.", "For example, the middle core 14inner may be optimized for the lowest density while the outer core layers 14outer are optimized to provide a desired imprint pattern on the surface of the laminate (using the same mechanism as previously described with reference to FIGS.", "7 and 8).", "The desired pattern could be a logo, image or a visually appealing surface finish.", "Multiple layers could also be utilized to tailor the properties of the strip with different stiffness and/or density properties in each layer.", "The metal laminate can be used for diverse applications currently using stamped metals in aerospace, automotive and consumer goods applications.", "Particular applications can include light weight structural panels, electrical conduit lines, bumpers or fenders, electronic enclosures, and the like.", "Other uses of the composite laminate will readily occur to those skilled in the art.", "The natural flame-retardant properties of the metal laminate and the temperature stability of the metallurgical interface between the core and the skin materials are especially advantageous properties for the aerospace and automotive industries.", "The disclosure has been described with respect to preferred implementations.", "Modifications and alterations will occur to others upon a reading and understanding of this specification.", "It is our intention to include all such modifications and alterations insofar as they come within the scope of the appended claims or the equivalence thereof." ] ]
Patent_15873235
[ [ "COAGULATION FACTOR VII POLYPEPTIDES", "The present invention relates to modified coagulation Factor VII polypeptides exhibiting increased resistance to antithrombin inactivation and enhanced proteolytic activity.", "The present invention also relates to polynucleotide constructs encoding such polypeptides, vectors and host cells comprising and expressing such polynucleotides, pharmaceutical compositions, uses and methods of treatment." ], [ "1.A Factor VII polypeptide comprising two or more substitutions relative to the amino acid sequence of human Factor VII (SEQ ID NO: 1), wherein T293 is replaced by Lys (K), Arg (R), Tyr (Y) or Phe (F); and L288 is replaced by Phe (F), Tyr (Y), Asn (N), Ala (A) or Trp W and/or W201 is replaced by Arg (R), Met (M) or Lys (K) and/or K337 is replaced by Ala (A) or Gly (G).", "2.The Factor VII polypeptide according to claim 1 wherein T293 is replaced by Lys (K), Arg (R), Tyr (Y) or Phe (F) and L288 is replaced by Phe (F), Tyr (Y), Asn (N), Ala (A) or Trp (W).", "3.The Factor VII polypeptide according to claim 1, wherein T293 is replaced by Lys (K) and L288 is replaced by Phe (F).", "4.The Factor VII polypeptide according to claim 1, wherein T293 is replaced by Lys (K) and L288 is replaced by Tyr (Y).", "5.The Factor VII polypeptide according to claim 1, wherein T293 is replaced by Arg (R) and L288 is replaced by Phe (F).", "6.The Factor VII polypeptide according to claim 1, wherein T293 is replaced by Arg (R) and L288 is replaced by Tyr (Y).", "7.The Factor VII polypeptide according to claim 1, wherein K337 is replaced by Ala (A).", "8.The Factor VII polypeptide according to claim 1, wherein T293 is replaced by Lys (K), Arg (R), Tyr (Y) or Phe (F) and W201 is replaced by Arg (R), Met (M), or Lys (K).", "9.The Factor VII polypeptide according to claim 8, wherein T293 is replaced by Lys (K) and W201 is replaced by Arg (R).", "10.The Factor VII polypeptide according to claim 1, wherein the Factor VII polypeptide is coupled with at least one half-life extending moiety.", "11.The Factor VII polypeptide according to claim 10, wherein the half-life extending moiety is selected from biocompatible fatty acids and derivatives thereof, Hydroxy Alkyl Starch (HAS) e.g.", "Hydroxy Ethyl Starch (HES), Poly Ethylen Glycol (PEG), Poly (Glyx-Sery)n (HAP), Hyaluronic acid (HA), Heparosan polymers (HEP), Phosphorylcholine-based polymers (PC polymer), Fleximers, Dextran, Poly-sialic acids (PSA), Fc domains, Transferrin, Albumin, Elastin like (ELP) peptides, XTEN polymers, PAS polymers, PA polymers, Albumin binding peptides, CTP peptides, FcRn binding peptides and any combination thereof.", "12.The Factor VII polypeptide according to claim 11, wherein the half-life extending moiety is a heparosan polymer.", "13.The FVII polypeptide according to claim 1, which has a proteolytic activity that is at least 110% that of wild type human Factor VIIa (SEQ ID NO: 1), as measured in an in vitro proteolytic assay, in the absence of soluble tissue factor; and which has less than 20% antithrombin reactivity compared to wild type human Factor VIIa, as measured in an antithrombin inhibition assay, in the presence of low molecular weight heparin and the absence of soluble tissue factor.", "14.A pharmaceutical composition comprising the Factor VII polypeptide of claim 1 and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier.", "15.A method of treating a coagulopathy, comprising administering a therapeutically or prophylactically effective amount of the Factor VII polypeptide of claim 1 to a subject in need thereof." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND OF INVENTION <EOH>An injury to a blood vessel activates the haemostatic system that involves complex interactions between cellular and molecular components.", "The process that eventually causes the bleeding to stop is known as haemostasis.", "An important part of haemostasis is coagulation of the blood and the formation of a clot at the site of the injury.", "The coagulation process is highly dependent on the function of several protein molecules.", "These are known as coagulation factors.", "Some of the coagulation factors are proteases which can exist in an inactive zymogen or an enzymatically active form.", "The zymogen form can be converted to its enzymatically active form by specific cleavage of the polypeptide chain catalyzed by another proteolytically active coagulation factor.", "Factor VII is a vitamin K-dependent plasma protein synthesized in the liver and secreted into the blood as a single-chain glycoprotein.", "The Factor VII zymogen is converted into an activated form (Factor VIIa) by specific proteolytic cleavage at a single site, i.e.", "between R152 and 1153 of SEQ ID NO: 1, resulting in a two chain molecule linked by a single disulfide bond.", "The two polypeptide chains in Factor VIIa are referred to as light and heavy chain, corresponding to residues 1-152 and 153-406, respectively, of SEQ ID NO: 1 (wild type human coagulation Factor VII).", "Factor VII circulates predominantly as zymogen, but a minor fraction is in the activated form (Factor VIIa).", "The blood coagulation process can be divided into three phases: initiation, amplification and propagation.", "The initiation and propagation phases contribute to the formation of thrombin, a coagulation factor with many important functions in haemostasis.", "The coagulation cascade starts if the single-layered barrier of endothelial cells that line the inner surface of blood vessels becomes damaged.", "This exposes subendothelial cells and extravascular matrix proteins to which platelets in the blood will stick to.", "If this happens, Tissue Factor (TF) which is present on the surface of sub-endothelial cells becomes exposed to Factor VIIa circulating in the blood.", "TF is a membrane-bound protein and serves as the receptor for Factor VIIa.", "Factor VIIa is an enzyme, a serine protease, with intrinsically low activity.", "However, when Factor VIIa is bound to TF, its activity increases greatly.", "Factor VIIa interaction with TF also localizes Factor VIIa on the phospholipid surface of the TF bearing cell and positions it optimally for activation of Factor X to Xa.", "When this happens, Factor Xa can combine with Factor Va to form the so-called “prothombinase” complex on the surface of the TF bearing cell.", "The prothrombinase complex then generates thrombin by cleavage of prothrombin.", "The pathway activated by exposing TF to circulating Factor VIIa and leading to the initial generation of thrombin is known as the TF pathway.", "The TF:Factor VIIa complex also catalyzes the activation of Factor IX to Factor IXa.", "Then activated Factor IXa can diffuse to the surface of platelets which are sticking to the site of the injury and have been activated.", "This allows Factor IXa to combine with FVIIIa to form the “tenase” complex on the surface of the activated platelet.", "This complex plays a key role in the propagation phase due to its remarkable efficiency in activating Factor X to Xa.", "The efficient tenase catalyzed generation of Factor Xa activity in turn leads to efficient cleavage of prothrombin to thrombin catalyzed by the prothrombinase complex.", "If there are any deficiencies in either Factor IX or Factor VIII, it compromises the important tenase activity, and reduces the production of the thrombin which is necessary for coagulation.", "Thrombin formed initially by the TF pathway serves as a pro-coagulant signal that encourages recruitment, activation and aggregation of platelets at the injury site.", "This results in the formation of a loose primary plug of platelets.", "However, this primary plug of platelets is unstable and needs reinforcement to sustain haemostasis.", "Stabilization of the plug involves anchoring and entangling the platelets in a web of fibrin fibres.", "The formation of a strong and stable clot is dependent on the generation of a robust burst of local thrombin activity.", "Thus, deficiencies in the processes leading to thrombin generation following a vessel injury can lead to bleeding disorders e.g.", "haemophilia A and B.", "People with haemophilia A and B lack functional Factor Villa or Factor IXa, respectively.", "Thrombin generation in the propagation phase is critically dependent on tenase activity, i.e.", "requires both Factor Villa and FIXa.", "Therefore, in people with haemophilia A or B proper consolidation of the primary platelet plug fails and bleeding continues.", "Replacement therapy is the traditional treatment for hemophilia A and B, and involves intravenous administration of Factor VIII or Factor IX.", "In many cases, however, patients develop antibodies (also known as inhibitors) against the infused proteins, which reduce or negate the efficacy of the treatment.", "Recombinant Factor VIIa (Novoseven®) has been approved for the treatment of hemophilia A or B patients with inhibitors, and also is used to stop bleeding episodes or prevent bleeding associated with trauma and/or surgery.", "Recombinant Factor VIIa has also been approved for the treatment of patients with congenital Factor VII deficiency.", "It has been proposed that recombinant FVIIa operates through a TF-independent mechanism.", "According to this model, recombinant FVIIa is directed to the surface of the activated blood platelets by virtue of its Gla-domain where it then proteolytically activates Factor X to Xa thus by-passing the need for a functional tenase complex.", "The low enzymatic activity of FVIIa in the absence of TF as well as the low affinity of the Gla-domain for membranes could explain the need for supra-physiological levels of circulating FVIIa needed to achieve haemostasis in people with haemophilia.", "Recombinant Factor VIIa has an in vivo functional half-life of 2-3 hours which may necessitate frequent administration to resolve bleedings in patients.", "Further, patients often only receive Factor Vila therapy after a bleed has commenced, rather than as a precautionary measure, which often impinges upon their general quality of life.", "A recombinant Factor VIIa variant with a longer in vivo functional half-life would decrease the number of necessary administrations, support less frequent dosing and thus holds the promise of significantly improving Factor VIIa therapy to the benefit of patients and care-holders.", "WO02/22776 discloses Factor VIIa variants with enhanced proteolytic activity compared to wild-type FVIIa.", "It has been demonstrated in clinical trials that a Factor VII polypeptide comprising substitutions disclosed in WO02/22776 shows a favourable clinical outcome in terms of efficacy of a variant with enhanced proteolytic activity (de Paula et al (2012) J Thromb Haemost, 10:81-89).", "WO2007/031559 discloses Factor VII variants with reduced susceptibility to inhibition by antithrombin.", "WO2009/126307 discloses modified Factor VII polypeptides with altered procoagulant activity.", "In general, there are many unmet medical needs in people with coagulopathies.", "The use of recombinant Factor VIIa to promote clot formation underlines its growing importance as a therapeutic agent.", "However, recombinant Factor VIIa therapy still leaves significant unmet medical needs, a recombinant Factor VIIa polypeptides having improved pharmaceutical properties, for example increased in vivo functional half-life and enhanced or higher activity, would meet some of these needs." ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION <EOH>The present invention provides Factor VII polypeptides that are designed to have improved pharmaceutical properties.", "In one broad aspect, the invention relates to Factor VII polypeptides exhibiting increased in vivo functional half-life as compared to human wild-type Factor VIIa.", "In another broad aspect, the invention relates to Factor VII polypeptides with enhanced activity as compared to human wild-type Factor VIIa.", "In a further broad aspect, the invention relates to Factor VII polypeptides exhibiting increased resistance to inactivation by endogenous plasma inhibitors, particularly antithrombin, as compared to human wild-type Factor VIIa.", "Provided herein are Factor VII polypeptides with increased in vivo functional half-life which comprise a combination of mutations conferring resistance to antithrombin inactivation and enhanced or little or no loss of proteolytic activity.", "In a particularly interesting aspect of the present invention the Factor VII polypeptides are coupled to one or more “half-life extending moieties” to increase the in vivo functional half-life.", "In one aspect, the invention relates to a Factor VII polypeptide comprising two or more substitutions relative to the amino acid sequence of human Factor VII (SEQ ID NO:1), wherein T293 is replaced by Lys (K), Arg (R), Tyr (Y) or Phe (F) and L288 is replaced by Phe (F), Tyr (Y), Asn (N), or Ala (A) and/or W201 is replaced by Arg (R), Met (M) or Lys (K) and/or K337 is replaced by Ala (A) or Gly (G).", "The Factor VII polypeptide of the invention may comprise a substitution of T293 with Lys (K) and a substitution of L288 with Phe (F).", "The Factor VII polypeptide may comprise a substitution of T293 with Lys (K) and a substitution of L288 with Tyr (Y).", "The Factor VII polypeptide may comprise a substitution of T293 with Arg (R) and a substitution of L288 with Phe (F).", "The Factor VII polypeptide may comprise a substitution of T293 with Arg (R) and a substitution of L288 with Tyr (Y).", "The Factor VII polypeptide may comprise, or may further comprise, a substitution of K337 with Ala (A).", "The Factor VII polypeptide may comprise a substitution of T293 with Lys (K) and a substitution of W201 with Arg (R).", "In an interesting embodiment the invention relates to Factor VII polypeptides coupled with at least one half-life extending moiety.", "In another aspect, the invention relates to methods for producing the Factor VII polypeptides of the invention.", "In a further aspect, the invention relates to pharmaceutical compositions comprising a Factor VII polypeptide of the invention.", "The general object of the present invention is to improve currently available treatment options in people with coagulopathies and to obtain Factor VII polypeptides with improved therapeutic utility.", "One object that the present invention has is to obtain Factor VII polypeptides with prolonged in vivo functional half-life while maintaining a pharmaceutically acceptable proteolytic activity.", "To achieve this, the Factor VII polypeptides of the present invention comprise a combination of mutations conferring reduced susceptibility to inactivation by the plasma inhibitor antithrombin while substantially preserving proteolytic activity; in particularly interesting embodiments of the present invention the Factor VII polypeptides are also coupled to one or more “half-life extending moieties”.", "Medical treatment with the modified Factor VII polypeptides of the present invention offers a number of advantages over the currently available treatment regimes, such as longer duration between injections, lower dosage, more convenient administration, and potentially improved haemostatic protection between injections." ], [ "CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser.", "No.", "15/158,060, filed May 18, 2016, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser.", "No.", "14/514,794, filed Oct. 15, 2014 (now U.S. Pat.", "No.", "9,371,370, issued Jun.", "21, 2016), which claims priority under 35 U.S.C.", "§ 119 of U.S.", "Provisional Application 61/895,438, filed Oct. 25, 2013; this application further claims priority of European Application 13188715.0, filed Oct. 15, 2013, and European Application 14154875.0, filed Feb. 12, 2014; the contents of all above-named applications are incorporated herein by reference.", "TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to coagulation Factor VII (Factor VII) polypeptides having pro-coagulant activity.", "It also relates to pharmaceutical compositions comprising such polypeptides, methods of treatment and uses of such polypeptides.", "SEQUENCE LISTING SEQ ID NO.", "1: Wild type human coagulation Factor VII.", "SEQ ID NO.", "2: Protease domain of human coagulation Factor VII.", "SEQ ID NO.", "3: Protease domain of hominin (chimpanzee) coagulation Factor VII.", "SEQ ID NO.", "4: Protease domain of canine (dog) coagulation Factor VII.", "SEQ ID NO.", "5: Protease domain of porcine (pig) coagulation Factor VII.", "SEQ ID NO.", "6: Protease domain of bovine (cattle) coagulation Factor VII.", "SEQ ID NO.", "7: Protease domain of murine (mouse) coagulation Factor VII.", "SEQ ID NO.", "8: Protease domain of murine (rat) coagulation Factor VII.", "SEQ ID NO.", "9: Protease domain of lapine (rabbit) coagulation Factor VII.", "The instant application contains a Sequence Listing which has been submitted in ASCII format via EFS-Web and is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.", "Said ASCII copy, created on Jan. 16, 2018, is named 8719US06_SeqList and is 22 kilobytes in size.", "BACKGROUND OF INVENTION An injury to a blood vessel activates the haemostatic system that involves complex interactions between cellular and molecular components.", "The process that eventually causes the bleeding to stop is known as haemostasis.", "An important part of haemostasis is coagulation of the blood and the formation of a clot at the site of the injury.", "The coagulation process is highly dependent on the function of several protein molecules.", "These are known as coagulation factors.", "Some of the coagulation factors are proteases which can exist in an inactive zymogen or an enzymatically active form.", "The zymogen form can be converted to its enzymatically active form by specific cleavage of the polypeptide chain catalyzed by another proteolytically active coagulation factor.", "Factor VII is a vitamin K-dependent plasma protein synthesized in the liver and secreted into the blood as a single-chain glycoprotein.", "The Factor VII zymogen is converted into an activated form (Factor VIIa) by specific proteolytic cleavage at a single site, i.e.", "between R152 and 1153 of SEQ ID NO: 1, resulting in a two chain molecule linked by a single disulfide bond.", "The two polypeptide chains in Factor VIIa are referred to as light and heavy chain, corresponding to residues 1-152 and 153-406, respectively, of SEQ ID NO: 1 (wild type human coagulation Factor VII).", "Factor VII circulates predominantly as zymogen, but a minor fraction is in the activated form (Factor VIIa).", "The blood coagulation process can be divided into three phases: initiation, amplification and propagation.", "The initiation and propagation phases contribute to the formation of thrombin, a coagulation factor with many important functions in haemostasis.", "The coagulation cascade starts if the single-layered barrier of endothelial cells that line the inner surface of blood vessels becomes damaged.", "This exposes subendothelial cells and extravascular matrix proteins to which platelets in the blood will stick to.", "If this happens, Tissue Factor (TF) which is present on the surface of sub-endothelial cells becomes exposed to Factor VIIa circulating in the blood.", "TF is a membrane-bound protein and serves as the receptor for Factor VIIa.", "Factor VIIa is an enzyme, a serine protease, with intrinsically low activity.", "However, when Factor VIIa is bound to TF, its activity increases greatly.", "Factor VIIa interaction with TF also localizes Factor VIIa on the phospholipid surface of the TF bearing cell and positions it optimally for activation of Factor X to Xa.", "When this happens, Factor Xa can combine with Factor Va to form the so-called “prothombinase” complex on the surface of the TF bearing cell.", "The prothrombinase complex then generates thrombin by cleavage of prothrombin.", "The pathway activated by exposing TF to circulating Factor VIIa and leading to the initial generation of thrombin is known as the TF pathway.", "The TF:Factor VIIa complex also catalyzes the activation of Factor IX to Factor IXa.", "Then activated Factor IXa can diffuse to the surface of platelets which are sticking to the site of the injury and have been activated.", "This allows Factor IXa to combine with FVIIIa to form the “tenase” complex on the surface of the activated platelet.", "This complex plays a key role in the propagation phase due to its remarkable efficiency in activating Factor X to Xa.", "The efficient tenase catalyzed generation of Factor Xa activity in turn leads to efficient cleavage of prothrombin to thrombin catalyzed by the prothrombinase complex.", "If there are any deficiencies in either Factor IX or Factor VIII, it compromises the important tenase activity, and reduces the production of the thrombin which is necessary for coagulation.", "Thrombin formed initially by the TF pathway serves as a pro-coagulant signal that encourages recruitment, activation and aggregation of platelets at the injury site.", "This results in the formation of a loose primary plug of platelets.", "However, this primary plug of platelets is unstable and needs reinforcement to sustain haemostasis.", "Stabilization of the plug involves anchoring and entangling the platelets in a web of fibrin fibres.", "The formation of a strong and stable clot is dependent on the generation of a robust burst of local thrombin activity.", "Thus, deficiencies in the processes leading to thrombin generation following a vessel injury can lead to bleeding disorders e.g.", "haemophilia A and B.", "People with haemophilia A and B lack functional Factor Villa or Factor IXa, respectively.", "Thrombin generation in the propagation phase is critically dependent on tenase activity, i.e.", "requires both Factor Villa and FIXa.", "Therefore, in people with haemophilia A or B proper consolidation of the primary platelet plug fails and bleeding continues.", "Replacement therapy is the traditional treatment for hemophilia A and B, and involves intravenous administration of Factor VIII or Factor IX.", "In many cases, however, patients develop antibodies (also known as inhibitors) against the infused proteins, which reduce or negate the efficacy of the treatment.", "Recombinant Factor VIIa (Novoseven®) has been approved for the treatment of hemophilia A or B patients with inhibitors, and also is used to stop bleeding episodes or prevent bleeding associated with trauma and/or surgery.", "Recombinant Factor VIIa has also been approved for the treatment of patients with congenital Factor VII deficiency.", "It has been proposed that recombinant FVIIa operates through a TF-independent mechanism.", "According to this model, recombinant FVIIa is directed to the surface of the activated blood platelets by virtue of its Gla-domain where it then proteolytically activates Factor X to Xa thus by-passing the need for a functional tenase complex.", "The low enzymatic activity of FVIIa in the absence of TF as well as the low affinity of the Gla-domain for membranes could explain the need for supra-physiological levels of circulating FVIIa needed to achieve haemostasis in people with haemophilia.", "Recombinant Factor VIIa has an in vivo functional half-life of 2-3 hours which may necessitate frequent administration to resolve bleedings in patients.", "Further, patients often only receive Factor Vila therapy after a bleed has commenced, rather than as a precautionary measure, which often impinges upon their general quality of life.", "A recombinant Factor VIIa variant with a longer in vivo functional half-life would decrease the number of necessary administrations, support less frequent dosing and thus holds the promise of significantly improving Factor VIIa therapy to the benefit of patients and care-holders.", "WO02/22776 discloses Factor VIIa variants with enhanced proteolytic activity compared to wild-type FVIIa.", "It has been demonstrated in clinical trials that a Factor VII polypeptide comprising substitutions disclosed in WO02/22776 shows a favourable clinical outcome in terms of efficacy of a variant with enhanced proteolytic activity (de Paula et al (2012) J Thromb Haemost, 10:81-89).", "WO2007/031559 discloses Factor VII variants with reduced susceptibility to inhibition by antithrombin.", "WO2009/126307 discloses modified Factor VII polypeptides with altered procoagulant activity.", "In general, there are many unmet medical needs in people with coagulopathies.", "The use of recombinant Factor VIIa to promote clot formation underlines its growing importance as a therapeutic agent.", "However, recombinant Factor VIIa therapy still leaves significant unmet medical needs, a recombinant Factor VIIa polypeptides having improved pharmaceutical properties, for example increased in vivo functional half-life and enhanced or higher activity, would meet some of these needs.", "SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides Factor VII polypeptides that are designed to have improved pharmaceutical properties.", "In one broad aspect, the invention relates to Factor VII polypeptides exhibiting increased in vivo functional half-life as compared to human wild-type Factor VIIa.", "In another broad aspect, the invention relates to Factor VII polypeptides with enhanced activity as compared to human wild-type Factor VIIa.", "In a further broad aspect, the invention relates to Factor VII polypeptides exhibiting increased resistance to inactivation by endogenous plasma inhibitors, particularly antithrombin, as compared to human wild-type Factor VIIa.", "Provided herein are Factor VII polypeptides with increased in vivo functional half-life which comprise a combination of mutations conferring resistance to antithrombin inactivation and enhanced or little or no loss of proteolytic activity.", "In a particularly interesting aspect of the present invention the Factor VII polypeptides are coupled to one or more “half-life extending moieties” to increase the in vivo functional half-life.", "In one aspect, the invention relates to a Factor VII polypeptide comprising two or more substitutions relative to the amino acid sequence of human Factor VII (SEQ ID NO:1), wherein T293 is replaced by Lys (K), Arg (R), Tyr (Y) or Phe (F) and L288 is replaced by Phe (F), Tyr (Y), Asn (N), or Ala (A) and/or W201 is replaced by Arg (R), Met (M) or Lys (K) and/or K337 is replaced by Ala (A) or Gly (G).", "The Factor VII polypeptide of the invention may comprise a substitution of T293 with Lys (K) and a substitution of L288 with Phe (F).", "The Factor VII polypeptide may comprise a substitution of T293 with Lys (K) and a substitution of L288 with Tyr (Y).", "The Factor VII polypeptide may comprise a substitution of T293 with Arg (R) and a substitution of L288 with Phe (F).", "The Factor VII polypeptide may comprise a substitution of T293 with Arg (R) and a substitution of L288 with Tyr (Y).", "The Factor VII polypeptide may comprise, or may further comprise, a substitution of K337 with Ala (A).", "The Factor VII polypeptide may comprise a substitution of T293 with Lys (K) and a substitution of W201 with Arg (R).", "In an interesting embodiment the invention relates to Factor VII polypeptides coupled with at least one half-life extending moiety.", "In another aspect, the invention relates to methods for producing the Factor VII polypeptides of the invention.", "In a further aspect, the invention relates to pharmaceutical compositions comprising a Factor VII polypeptide of the invention.", "The general object of the present invention is to improve currently available treatment options in people with coagulopathies and to obtain Factor VII polypeptides with improved therapeutic utility.", "One object that the present invention has is to obtain Factor VII polypeptides with prolonged in vivo functional half-life while maintaining a pharmaceutically acceptable proteolytic activity.", "To achieve this, the Factor VII polypeptides of the present invention comprise a combination of mutations conferring reduced susceptibility to inactivation by the plasma inhibitor antithrombin while substantially preserving proteolytic activity; in particularly interesting embodiments of the present invention the Factor VII polypeptides are also coupled to one or more “half-life extending moieties”.", "Medical treatment with the modified Factor VII polypeptides of the present invention offers a number of advantages over the currently available treatment regimes, such as longer duration between injections, lower dosage, more convenient administration, and potentially improved haemostatic protection between injections.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG.", "1 shows amino acid sequence alignment of the FVIIa protease domain from different species.", "FIG.", "2 shows the correlation between in vitro antithrombin reactivity with the in vivo accumulation of FVIIIa-antithrombin complexes.", "FIG.", "3 shows the conformation of arginine at position 201 in the FVIIIa variant W201R T293Y double mutant compared to the conformation of tryptophan at position 201 in FVIIa WT.", "FIG.", "4 shows a hypothetical model of interaction between tyrosine at position 293 from the FVIIIa variant W201R T293Y double mutant with the antithrombin.", "This is based on a theoretical model of a complex between antithrombin and the FVIIIa variant W201R T293Y double mutant shown in stick representation.", "Antithrombin amino acids are depicted with a prefix “AT”; while, the FVIIIa amino acids are depicted with a prefix “FVIIIa”.", "FIG.", "5A shows structure of heparosan.", "FIG.", "5B shows structure of a heparosan polymer with maleimide functionality at its reducing end.", "FIG.", "6A and FIG.", "6B show assessment of conjugate purity by SDS-PAGE.", "FIG.", "6A shows SDS-PAGE analysis of final FVIIIa conjugates.", "Gel was loaded with HiMark HMW standard (lane 1); FVIIIa (lane 2); 13k-HEP-[C]-FVIIIa (lane 3); 27k-HEP-[C]-FVIIIa (lane 4); 40k-HEP-[C]-FVIIIa (lane 5); 52k-HEP-[C]-FVIIIa (lane 6); 60k-HEP-[C]-FVIIIa (lane 7); 65k-HEP-[C]-FVIIIa (lane 8); 108k-HEP-[C]-FVIIIa (lane 9) and 157k-HEP-[C]-FVIIIa407C (lane 10).", "FIG.", "6B shows_SDS-PAGE of glycoconjugated 52k-HEP-[N]-FVIIIa.", "Gel was loaded with HiMark HMW standard (lane 1), ST3Gal3 (lane 2), FVIIa (lane 3), asialo FVIIa (lane 4), and 52k-HEP-[N]-FVIIIa (lane 5).", "[N]-denotes Factor conjugates where HEParosan is attached to the N-glycan.", "[C]-Denotes Factor conjugates where Heparosan is attached to a cystein residue.", "FIG.", "7: Analysis of FVIIIa clotting activity levels of heparosan conjugates and glycoPEGylated FVIIa references.", "FIG.", "8: Proteolytic activity of heparosan conjugates and glycoPEGylated FVIIa references.", "FIG.", "9: PK results (LOCI) in Sprague Dawley rats.", "Comparison of unmodified FVIIa (2 studies), 13k-HEP-[C]-FVIIa407C, 27k-HEP-[C]-FVIIa407C, 40k-HEP-[C]-FVIIa407C, 52k-HEP-[C]-FVIIIa407C, 65k-HEP-[C]-FVIIIa407C, 108k-HEP-[C]-FVIIIa407C and 157k-HEP-[C]-FVIIIa407C, glycoconjugated 52k-HEP-[N]-FVIIIa and reference molecules (40 kDa-PEG-[N]-FVIIIa (2 studies) and 40 kDa-PEG-[C]-FVIIIa407C).", "Data are shown as mean±SD (n=3-6) in a semilogarithmic plot.", "[N]-denotes Factor conjugates where HEParosan is attached to the N-glycan.", "[C]-Denotes Factor conjugates where Heparosan is attached to a cystein residue.", "FIG.", "10: PK results (Clot Activity) in Sprague Dawley rats.", "Comparison of unmodified FVIIa (2 studies), 13k-HEP-[C]-FVIIa407C, 27k-HEP-[C]-FVIIa407C, 40k-HEP-[C]-FVIIa407C, 52k-HEP-[C]-FVIIa407C, 65k-HEP-[C]-FVIIa407C, 108k-HEP-[C]-FVIIa407C and 157k-HEP-[C]-FVIIa407C, glycoconjugated 52k-HEP-[N]-FVIIa and reference molecules (40 kDa-PEG-[N]-FVIIa (2 studies) and 40 kDa-PEG-[C]-FVIIa407C).", "Data are shown in a semilogarithmic plot.", "[N]-denotes Factor conjugates where HEParosan is attached to the N-glycan.", "[C]-Denotes Factor conjugates where Heparosan is attached to a cystein residue.", "FIG.", "11: Relationship between HEP-size and mean residence time (MRT) for a number of HEP-[C]-FVIIa407C conjugates.", "MRT values from PK studies are plotted against heparosan polymer size of conjugates.", "The plot represent values for non-conjugated FVIIa, 13k-HEP-[C]-FVIIa407C, 27k-HEP-[C]-FVIIa407C, 40k-HEP-[C]-FVIIa407C, 52k-HEP-[C]-FVIIa407C, 65k-HEP-[C]-FVIIa407C, 108k-HEP-[C]-FVIIa407C and 157k-HEP-[C]-FVIIa407C.", "MRT (LOCI) was calculated by non-compartmental methods using Phoenix WinNonlin 6.0 (Pharsight Corporation).", "[N]-denotes Factor conjugates where HEParosan is attached to the N-glycan.", "[C]-Denotes Factor conjugates where Heparosan is attached to a cystein residue.", "FIG.", "12 Functionalization of glycylsialic acid cytidine monophosphate (GSC) with a benzaldehyde group.", "GSC is acylated with 4-formylbenzoic acid and subsequently reacted with heparosan (HEP)-amine by a reductive aminination reaction.", "FIG.", "13: Functionalization of heparosan (HEP) polymer with a benzaldehyde group and subsequent reaction with glycylsialic acid cytidine monophosphate (GSC) in a reductive amination reaction.", "FIG.", "14: Functionalization of glycylsialic acid cytidine monophosphate (GSC) with a thio group and subsequent reaction with a maleimide functionalized heparosan (HEP) polymer.", "FIG.", "15: Heparosan (HEP)—glycylsialic acid cytidine monophosphate (GSC).", "FIG.", "16: PK results (LOCI) in Sprague Dawley rats.", "Comparison of 2×20K-HEP-[N]-FVIIa; 1×40K-HEP-[N]-FVIIa and 1×40k-PEG-[N]-FVIIa in a semilogarithmic plot.", "Data are shown as mean±SD (n=3-6).", "FIG.", "17: PK results (Clot Activity) in Sprague Dawley rats.", "Comparison of 2×20K-HEP-[N]-FVIIa; 1×40K-HEP-[N]-FVIIa and 1×40k-PEG-[N]-FVIIa in a semilogarithmic plot.", "FIG.", "18: Reaction scheme wherein an asialoFVIIa glycoprotein is reacted with HEP-GSC in the presence of a ST3GalIII sialyltransferase.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION The present invention relates to the design and use of Factor VII polypeptides exhibiting improved pharmaceutical properties.", "In one aspect, the present invention relates to the design and use of Factor VII polypeptides exhibiting increased in vivo functional half-life, reduced susceptibility to inactivation by the plasma inhibitor antithrombin and enhanced or preserved proteolytic activity.", "It has been found by the inventors of the present invention that specific combinations of mutations in human Factor VII in combination with conjugation to half-life extending moieties confer the above mentioned properties.", "The Factor VII polypeptides of the invention have an extended functional half-life in blood which is therapeutically useful in situations where a longer lasting pro-coagulant activity is wanted.", "Such Factor VII polypeptides comprise a substitution of T293 with Lys (K), Arg (R), Tyr (Y) or Phe (F).", "In this aspect, the invention relates to a Factor VII polypeptide comprising two or more substitutions relative to the amino acid sequence of human Factor VII (SEQ ID NO:1), wherein T293 is replaced by Lys (K), Arg (R), Tyr (Y) or Phe (F) and L288 is replaced by Phe (F), Tyr (Y), Asn (N), Ala (A), or Trp (W).", "The invention also relates to a Factor VII polypeptide comprising two or more substitutions relative to the amino acid sequence of human Factor VII (SEQ ID NO:1), wherein T293 is replaced by Lys (K), Arg (R), Tyr (Y) or Phe (F) and W201 is replaced by Arg (R), Met (M), or Lys (K).", "Furthermore, the invention relates to a Factor VII polypeptide comprising two or more substitutions relative to the amino acid sequence of human Factor VII (SEQ ID NO:1), wherein T293 is replaced by Lys (K), Arg (R), Tyr (Y) or Phe (F) and K337 is replaced by Ala (A) or Gly (G).", "Optionally, Factor VII polypeptides of the invention may further comprise substitution of Q176 with Lys (K), Arg (R) or Asn (N).", "Optionally, Factor VII polypeptides of the invention may further comprise substitution of Q286 with Asn (N).", "In another aspect, the present invention relates to the design and use of Factor VII polypeptides exhibiting enhanced proteolytic activity.", "It has been found by the inventors of the present invention that specific mutations in human Factor VII at positions L288 and/or W201 confer enhanced proteolytic activity to Factor VII polypeptides.", "In this aspect, the invention relates to a Factor VII polypeptide comprising one or more substitutions relative to the amino acid sequence of human Factor VII (SEQ ID NO: 1), wherein L288 is replaced by Phe (F), Tyr(Y), Asn (N), Ala (A) or Trp (W), with the proviso that the polypeptide does not have the following pair of substitutions: L288N/R290S or L288N/R290T.", "Further according to this aspect, the invention relates to a Factor VII polypeptide comprising one or more substitutions relative to the amino acid sequence of human Factor VII (SEQ ID NO:1), characterized in that one substitution is where W201 is replaced by Arg (R), Met (M) or Lys (K).", "Factor VII Coagulation Factor VII (Factor VII) is a glycoprotein primarily produced in the liver.", "The mature protein consists of 406 amino acid residues defined by SEQ ID NO: 1 (also disclosed in, for example, in U.S. Pat.", "No.", "4,784,950) and is composed of four domains.", "There is an N-terminal gamma-carboxyglutamic acid (Gla) rich domain followed by two epidermal growth factor (EGF)-like domains and a C-terminal trypsin-like serine protease domain.", "Factor VII circulates in plasma, predominantly as a single-chain molecule.", "Factor VII is activated to Factor VIIa by cleavage between residues Arg152 and Ile153, resulting in a two-chain protein held together by a disulphide bond.", "The light chain contains the Gla and EGF-like domains, while the heavy chain is the protease domain.", "Specific Glu (E) residues, i.e.", "E6, E7, E14, E16, E19, E20, E25, E26, E29 and E35, according to SEQ ID NO: 1 in Factor VII may be post-translationally gamma-carboxylated.", "The gamma-carboxyglutamic acid residues in the Gla domain are required for coordination of a number of calcium ions, which maintain the Gla domain in a conformation mediating interaction with phospholipid membranes.", "The terms FVII and “Factor VII” herein refers to the uncleaved single-chain zymogen, Factor VII, as well as the cleaved, two-chain and thus activated protease, Factor VIIa.", "“Factor VII” includes natural allelic variants of Factor VII that may exist and differ from one individual to another.", "A human wild-type Factor VII sequence is provided in SEQ ID NO: 1.The term “Factor VII polypeptide” herein refers to the uncleaved single chain zymogen polypeptide variant of Factor VII (as described herein), as well as the cleaved, two chain and thus activated protease.", "Factor VII and Factor VII polypeptides may be plasma-derived or recombinantly produced, using well known methods of production and purification.", "The degree and location of glycosylation, gamma-carboxylation and other post-translational modifications may vary depending on the chosen host cell and its growth conditions.", "Factor VII Polypeptides The terms “Factor VII” or “FVII” denote Factor VII polypeptides.", "The term “Factor VII polypeptide” encompasses wild type Factor VII molecules as well as Factor VII variants, Factor VII conjugates and Factor VII that has been chemically modified.", "Such, variants, conjugates and chemically modified Factor VII may exhibit substantially the same, or improved, activity relative to wild-type human Factor VIIa.", "The term “activity” of a Factor VII polypeptide, as used herein, refers to any activity exhibited by wild-type human Factor VII, and includes, but is not limited to, coagulation or coagulant activity, pro-coagulant activity, proteolytic or catalytic activity such as to effect Factor X activation or Factor IX activation; ability to bind TF, Factor X or Factor IX; and/or ability to bind to phospholipids.", "These activities can be assessed in vitro or in vivo using recognized assays, for example, by measuring coagulation in vitro or in vivo.", "The results of such assays indicate that a polypeptide exhibits an activity that can be correlated to activity of the polypeptide in vivo, in which in vivo activity can be referred to as biological activity.", "Assays to determine activity of a Factor VII polypeptide are known to those of skill in the art.", "Exemplary assays to assess the activity of a FVII polypeptide include in vitro proteolysis assays, such as those described in the Examples, below.", "The terms “enhanced, or preserved activity”, as used herein, refer to Factor VIIa polypeptides that exhibit substantially the same or increased activity compared to wild type human Factor VIIa, for example i) substantially the same or increased proteolytic activity compared to recombinant wild type human Factor VIIa in the presence and/or absence of TF; ii) to Factor VII polypeptides with substantially the same or increased TF affinity compared to recombinant wild type human Factor VIIa; iii) to Factor VII polypeptides with substantially the same or increased affinity for the activated platelet; or iv) Factor VII polypeptides with substantially the same or increased affinity/ability to bind to Factor X or Factor IX compared to recombinant wild type human Factor VIIa.", "For example preserved activity means that the amount of activity that is retained is or is about 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, 90%, 100% or more of the activity compared to wild type human Factor VIIa.", "For example enhanced activity means that the amount of activity that is retained is or is about 110%, 120%, 130%, 140%, 150%, 160%, 170%, 180%, 190%, 200%, 300%, 400%, 500%, 1000%, 3000%, 5000%, 10 000%, 30 000% or more of the activity compared to wild type human Factor VIIa.", "The term “Factor VII variant”, as used herein, is intended to designate a Factor VII having the sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1, wherein one or more amino acids of the parent protein have been substituted by another naturally occurring amino acid and/or wherein one or more amino acids of the parent protein have been deleted and/or wherein one or more amino acids have been inserted in the protein and/or wherein one or more amino acids have been added to the parent protein.", "Such addition can take place either at the N- or at the C-terminus of the parent protein or both.", "In one embodiment a variant is at least 95% identical with the sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1.In another embodiment a variant is at least 80, 85, 90, 95, 96, 97, 98 or 99% identical with the sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1.As used herein, any reference to a specific position refers to the corresponding position in SEQ ID NO: 1.In some embodiments, the Factor VII variants of this invention have an enhanced or preserved activity compared to wild type human Factor VIIa.", "The terminology for amino acid substitutions used in this description is as follows.", "The first letter represents the amino acid naturally present at a position of SEQ ID NO:1.The following number represent the position in SEQ ID NO:1.The second letter represents the different amino acid substituting the natural amino acid.", "An example is K197A-Factor VII, wherein the Lysine at position 197 of SEQ ID NO:1 is replaced by a Alanine.", "In the present context the three-letter or one-letter abbreviations of the amino acids have been used in their conventional meaning as indicated in below.", "Unless indicated explicitly, the amino acids mentioned herein are L-amino acids.", "Abbreviations for Amino Acids Amino acid Three-letter code One-letter code Glycine Gly G Proline Pro P Alanine Ala A Valine Val V Leucine Leu L Isoleucine Ile I Methionine Met M Cysteine Cys C Phenylalanine Phe F Tyrosine Tyr Y Tryptophan Trp W Histidine His H Lysine Lys K Arginine Arg R Glutamine Gln Q Asparagine Asn N Glutamic Acid Glu E Aspartic Acid Asp D Serine Ser S Threonine Thr T The term “Factor VII conjugates” as used herein, is intended to designate a Factor VII polypeptide, in which one or more of the amino acids and/or one or more of the attached glycan moieties have been chemically and/or enzymatically modified, such as by alkylation, glycosylation, acylation, ester formation, disulfide bond formation, or amide formation.", "In some embodiments, the Factor VII conjugates of the invention exhibit substantially the same or enhanced biological activity relative to wild-type Factor VII.", "Enhanced Proteolytic Activity Factor VII polypeptides with certain mutations of residues L288 and W201 have, surprisingly, been shown by the inventors to exhibit enhanced proteolytic activity.", "The Factor VII variant K337A, as described in WO02/22776, has been described to have enhanced proteolytic activity.", "The Factor VII variants L305V and L3051, as described in WO03/027147, have also been described to have higher intrinsic activity.", "The proteolytic activity may be determined by any suitable method known in the art as further discussed below.", "For example enhanced proteolytic activity means that the amount of activity that is retained is or is about 110%, 120%, 130%, 140%, 150%, 160%, 170%, 180%, 190%, 200%, 300%, 400%, 500%, 1000%, 3000%, 5000%, 10 000%, 30 000% or more of the activity compared to wild type human Factor VIIa.", "Half-Life—Resistance to Inactivation by Plasma Inhibitors Besides in vivo clearance, in vivo functional half-life is of importance to the period of time during which the compound is “therapeutically available” in the body.", "The circulating half-life of recombinant human wild type Factor VIIa is about 2.3 hours (“Summary Basis for Approval for NovoSeven©”, FDA reference number 96 0597).", "The term “in vivo functional half-life” is used in its normal meaning, i.e., the time required for reducing the biological activity of the Factor VII polypeptide remaining in the body/target organ with 50% in the terminal phase, or the time at which the activity of the Factor VII polypeptide is 50% of its initial value.", "Alternative terms to in vivo half-life include terminal half-life, plasma half-life, circulating half-life, circulatory half-life, and clearance half-life.", "Half-life may be determined by suitable methods known in the art, such as that described in Example 17 and those described in Introduction to Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics: The Quantitative Basis of Drug Therapy (Thomas N. Tozer, Malcolm Rowland).", "The term “increased” as used about the in vivo functional half-life or plasma half-life is used to indicate that the relevant half-life of the polypeptide is increased relative to that of a reference molecule, such as wild-type human Factor VIIa as determined under comparable conditions.", "In some embodiments, the Factor VII polypeptides of the invention exhibit increased in vivo functional half-life relative to wild-type human Factor VIIa.", "For instance the relevant half-life may be increased by at least about 25%, such as by at least about 50%, e.g., by at least about 100%, 150%, 200%, 500%, 1000%, 3000%, 5000%, 10 000%, 30 000% or more.", "Despite the detailed understanding of the biochemistry and pathophysiology of the coagulation cascade, the mechanistic basis for the clearance of the individual coagulation factors from circulation remains largely unknown.", "The marked differences in the circulating half-lives of Factor VII and its activated form Factor VIIa compared with zymogen and enzyme forms of other vitamin K-dependent proteins suggest the existence of specific and distinct clearance mechanisms for Factor VIIa.", "Two types of pathways appear to be operable in the clearance of Factor VIIa—one resulting in elimination of the intact protein, the other mediated by plasma inhibitors and leading to proteolytic inactivation.", "Antithrombin III (antithrombin, AT) is an abundant plasma inhibitor and targets most proteases of the coagulation system, including Factor VIIa.", "It is present at micromolar concentrations in plasma and belongs to the serpin family of serine protease inhibitors that irreversibly bind and inactivate target proteases by a suicide substrate mechanism.", "The inhibition by antithrombin appears to constitute the predominant clearance pathway of recombinant Factor VIIa in vivo following intravenous administration.", "In a recent study of the pharmacokinetics of recombinant Factor VIIa in haemophilia patients, about 60% of the total clearance could be attributed to this pathway (Agerso et al.", "(2011) J Thromb Haemost, 9, 333-338).", "In some embodiments, the Factor VII polypeptides of the invention exhibit increased resistance to inactivation by the endogenous plasma inhibitors, particularly antithrombin, relative to wild-type human Factor VIIa.", "It has been found by the inventors of the present invention that by combining the two groups of mutations mentioned above, i.e.", "mutations conferring increased AT resistance and mutations conferring enhanced proteolytic activity, an increased or preserved activity is achieved while maintaining high resistance to inhibitor inactivation.", "That is, the Factor VII polypeptides of the present invention comprising a combination of mutations exhibit increased resistance to antithrombin inactivation as well as substantially preserved proteolytic activity.", "When the Factor VII polypeptides of the invention are conjugated with one or more half-life extending moieties a surprisingly improved effect on half-life extension is achieved.", "Given these properties, such conjugated Factor VII polypeptides of the invention exhibit increased circulatory half-life while maintaining a pharmaceutically acceptable proteolytic activity.", "Consequently, a lower dose of such conjugated Factor VII polypeptide may be required to obtain a functionally adequate concentration at the site of action and thus it will be possible to administer a lower dose and/or with lower frequency to the subject having bleeding episodes or needing enhancement of the normal haemostatic system.", "Additional Modifications The Factor VII polypeptides of the invention may comprise further modifications, in particular further modifications which confer additional advantageous properties to the Factor VII polypeptide.", "Thus, in addition to the amino acid substitutions mentioned above, the Factor VII polypeptides of the invention may for example comprise further amino acid modification, e.g.", "one further amino acid substitution.", "In one such embodiment, the Factor VII polypeptide of the invention has an additional mutation or addition selected from the group R396C, Q250C, and 407C, as described e.g.", "in WO2002077218.The Factor VII polypeptides of the invention may comprise additional modifications that are or are not in the primary sequence of the Factor VII polypeptide.", "Additional modifications include, but are not limited to, the addition of a carbohydrate moiety, the addition of a half-life extending moiety, e.g.", "the addition of a, PEG moiety, an Fc domain, etc.", "For example, such additional modifications can be made to increase the stability or half-life of the Factor VII polypeptide.", "Half-Life Extending Moieties or Groups The term “half-life extending moieties” are herein used interchangeably and understood to refer to one or more chemical groups attached to one or more amino acid site chain functionalities such as —SH, —OH, —COOH, —CONH2, —NH2, and/or one or more N- and/or O-glycan structures and that can increase in vivo functional half-life of proteins/polypeptides when conjugated/coupled to these proteins/polypeptides.", "The in vivo functional half-life may be determined by any suitable method known in the art as further discussed below (Example 17).", "Examples of half-life extending moieties include: Biocompatible fatty acids and derivatives thereof, Hydroxy Alkyl Starch (HAS) e.g.", "Hydroxy Ethyl Starch (HES), Poly Ethylen Glycol (PEG), Poly (Glyx-Sery)n (HAP), Hyaluronic acid (HA), Heparosan polymers (HEP), Phosphorylcholine-based polymers (PC polymer), Fleximers, Dextran, Poly-sialic acids (PSA), Fc domains, Transferrin, Albumin, Elastin like (ELP) peptides, XTEN polymers, PAS polymers, PA polymers, Albumin binding peptides, CTP peptides, FcRn binding peptides and any combination thereof.", "In a particularly interesting embodiment, the Factor VII polypeptide of the invention is coupled with one or more half-life extending moieties.", "In one embodiment, a cysteine-conjugated Factor VII polypeptide of the invention have one or more hydrophobic half-life extending moieties conjugated to a sulfhydryl group of a cysteine introduced in the Factor VII polypeptide.", "It is furthermore possible to link half-life extending moieties to other amino acid residues.", "In one embodiment, the Factor VII polypeptide of the invention is disulfide linked to tissue factor, as described e.g.", "in WO2007115953.In another embodiment, the Factor VII polypeptide of the invention is a Factor VIIa variant with increased platelet affinity.", "Heparosan Conjugates Factor VII polypeptide heparosan conjugates according to the present invention may have one or more Heparosan polymer (HEP) molecules attached to any part of the FVIII polypeptide including any amino acid residue or carbohydrate moiety of the Factor VII polypeptide.", "Examples of such conjugates are provided in WO2014/060397, which is herein incorporated by reference.", "Chemical and/or enzymatic methods can be employed for conjugating HEP to a glycan on the Factor VII polypeptide.", "An example of an enzymatic conjugation process is described e.g.", "in WO03031464.The glycan may be naturally occurring or it may be engineered in, e.g.", "by introduction of an N-glycosylation motif (NXT/S where X is any naturally occurring amino acid) in the amino acid sequence of Factor VII using methods well known in the art.", "“Cysteine-HEP Factor VII polypeptide conjugates” according to the present invention have one or more HEP molecules conjugated to a sulfhydryl group of a cysteine residue present or introduced in the FVII polypeptide.", "In one interesting embodiment of the invention, the Factor VII polypeptide is coupled to a HEP polymer.", "In one embodiment the HEP polymer coupled to the Factor VII polypeptide has a molecular weight in a range selected from 13-65 kDa, 13-55 kDa, 25-55 kDa, 25-50 kDa, 25-45 kDa, 30-45 kDa, 36-44 kDa and 38-42 kDa, or a molecular weight of 40 kDa.", "In one interesting embodiment of the invention, the Factor VII polypeptide is coupled to a HEP polymer on an N-glycan of the Factor VII polypeptide.", "In a further embodiment of the invention, two HEP polymers are coupled to the same Factor VII polypeptide via N-glycans.", "In this embodiment each of the HEP polymer coupled to the Factor VII polypeptide has a molecular weight in a range selected from 13-65 kDa, 13-55 kDa, 25-55 kDa, 25-50 kDa, 25-45 kDa, 30-45 kDa, 36-44 kDa and 38-42 kDa, or a molecular weight of 40 kDa.", "Preferably, the polymers have identical molecular weight.", "In a specific embodiment two 20 kDa-HEP polymers are coupled to the same Factor VII polypeptide via its N-glycans.", "In a specific embodiment two 30 kDa-HEP polymers are coupled to the same Factor VII polypeptide via its N-glycans.", "In a specific embodiment two 40 kDa-HEP polymers are coupled to the same Factor VII polypeptide via its N-glycans.", "Heparosan Polymers Heparosan (HEP) is a natural sugar polymer comprising (-GlcUA-beta1,4-GlcNAc-alpha1,4-) repeats (see FIG.", "5A).", "It belongs to the glycosaminoglycan polysaccharide family and is a negatively charged polymer at physiological pH.", "It can be found in the capsule of certain bacteria but it is also found in higher vertebrates, where it serves as precursor for the natural polymers heparin and heparan sulphate.", "Although not proven in detail, heparosan is believed to be degraded in the lysosomes.", "An injection of a 100 kDa heparosan polymer labelled with Bolton-Hunter reagents has shown that heparosan is secreted as smaller fragments in body fluids/waste (US 2010/0036001).", "Heparosan polymers and methods of making such polymers are described in US 2010/0036001, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference.", "In accordance with the present invention, the heparosan polymer may be any heparosan polymer described or disclosed in US 2010/0036001.For use in the present invention, heparosan polymers can be produced by any suitable method, such as any of the methods described in US 2010/0036001 or US 2008/0109236.Heparosan can be produced using bacterial-derived enzymes.", "For example, the heparosan synthase PmHS1 of Pasteurella multocida Type D polymerises the heparosan sugar chain by transferring both GlcUA and GlcNAc.", "The Escherichia coli K5 enzymes KfiA (alpha GlcNAc transferase) and KfiC (beta GlcUA transferase) can together also form the disaccharide repeat of heparosan.", "A heparosan polymer for use in the present invention is typically a polymer of the formula (-GlcUA-beta1,4-GlcNAc-alpha1,4-)n. The size of the heparosan polymer may be defined by the number of repeats n in this formula.", "The number of said repeats n may be, for example, from 2 to about 5000.The number of repeats may be, for example 50 to 2000 units, 100 to 1000 units or 200 to 700 units.", "The number of repeats may be 200 to 250 units, 500 to 550 units or 350 to 400 units.", "Any of the lower limits of these ranges may be combined with any higher upper limit of these ranges to form a suitable range of numbers of units in the heparosan polymer.", "The size of the heparosan polymer may be defined by its molecular weight.", "The molecular weight may be the average molecular weight for a population of heparosan polymer molecules, such as the weight average molecular mass.", "Molecular weight values as described herein in relation to size of the heparosan polymer may not, in practise, exactly be the size listed.", "Due to batch to batch variation during heparosan polymer production, some variation is to be expected.", "To encompass batch to batch variation, it is therefore to be understood, that a variation around +/−10%, 9%, 8%, 7%, 6%, 5%, 4%, 3%, 2% or 1% around target HEP polymer size should be expected.", "For example HEP polymer size of 40 kDa denotes 40 kDa+/−10%, e.g.", "40 kDa could for example in practise mean 38.8 kDa, 41.5 kDa or 43.8 kDa The heparosan polymer may have a molecular weight of, for example, 500 Da to 1,000 kDa.", "The molecular weight of the polymer may be 500 Da to 650 kDa, 5 kDa to 750 kDa, 10 kDa to 500 kDa, 15 kDa to 550 kDa or 25 kDa to 250 kDa.", "The molecular weight may be selected at particular levels within these ranges in order to achieve a suitable balance between activity of the Factor VII polypeptide and half-life or mean residence time of the conjugate.", "For example, the molecular weight of the polymer may be in a range selected from 15-25 kDa, 25-35 kDa, 35-45 kDa, 45-55 kDa, 55-65 kDa or 65-75 kDa.", "More specific ranges of molecular weight may be selected.", "For example, the molecular weight may be 20 kDa to 35 kDa, such as 22 kDa to 32 kDa such as 25 kDa to 30 kDa, such as about 27 kDa.", "The molecular weight may be 35 to 65 kDa, such as 40 kDa to 60 kDa, such as 47 kDa to 57 kDa, such as 50 kDa to 55 kDa such as about 52 kDa.", "The molecular weight may be 50 to 75 kDa such as 60 to 70 kDa, such as 63 to 67 kDa such as about 65 kDa.", "In particularly interesting embodiments, the heparosan polymer of the Factor VII conjugate, of the invention, has a size in a range selected from 13-65 kDa, 13-55 kDa, 25-55 kDa, 25-50 kDa, 25-45 kDa, 30-45 kDa and 38-42 kDa.", "Any of the lower limits of these ranges of molecular weight may be combined with any higher upper limit from these ranges to form a suitable range for the molecular weight of the heparosan polymer in accordance with the invention.", "The heparosan polymer may have a narrow size distribution (i.e.", "be monodisperse) or a broad size distribution (i.e.", "be polydisperse).", "The level of polydispersity (PDI) may be represented numerically based on the formula Mw/Mn, where Mw=weight average molecular mass and Mn=number average molecular weight.", "The polydispersity value using this equation for an ideal monodisperse polymer is 1.Preferably, a heparosan polymer for use in the present invention is monodisperse.", "The polymer may therefore have a polydispersity that is about 1, the polydispersity may be less than 1.25, preferably less than 1.20, preferably less than 1.15, preferably less than 1.10, preferably less than 1.09, preferably less than 1.08, preferably less than 1.07, preferably less than 1.06, preferably less than 1.05.The molecular weight size distribution of the heparosan may be measured by comparison with monodisperse size standards (HA Lo-Ladder, Hyalose LLC) which may be run on agarose gels.", "Alternatively, the size distribution of heparosan polymers may be determined by high performance size exclusion chromatography-multi angle laser light scattering (SEC-MALLS).", "Such a method can be used to assess the molecular weight and polydispersity of a heparosan polymer.", "Polymer size may be regulated in enzymatic methods of production.", "By controlling the molar ratio of heparosan acceptor chains to UDP sugar, it is possible to select a final heparosan polymer size that is desired The heparosan polymer may further comprise a reactive group to allow its attachment to a Factor VII polypeptide.", "A suitable reactive group may be, for example, an aldehyde, alkyne, ketone, maleimide, thiol, azide, amino, hydrazide, hydroxylamine, carbonate ester, chelator or a combination of any thereof.", "For example, FIG.", "5B illustrates a heparosan polymer comprising a maleimide group.", "As set out in the Examples, maleimide or aldehyde functionalized heparosan polymers of defined size may be prepared by an enzymatic (PmHS1) polymerization reaction using the two sugar nucleotides UDP-GlcNAc and UDP-GlcUA in equimolar amount.", "A priming trisaccharide (GlcUA-GlcNAc-GlcUA)NH2 may be used for initiating the reaction, and polymerization run until depletion of sugar nucleotide building blocks.", "Terminal amine (originating from the primer) may then be functionalized with suitable reactive groups such as a reactive group as described above, such as a maleimide functionality for conjugation to free cysteines or aldehydes for reductive amination to amino groups.", "The size of the heparosan polymers can be pre-determined by variation in sugar nucleotide: primer stoichiometry.", "The technique is described in detail in US 2010/0036001.The reactive group may be present at the reducing or non-reducing termini or throughout the sugar chain.", "The presence of only one such reactive group is preferred when conjugating the heparosan polymer to the polypeptide.", "Methods for Preparing FVII-HEP Conjugates For example, WO 03/031464 describes methods for remodelling the glycan structure of a polypeptide, such as a Factor VII or Factor VIIa polypeptide and methods for the addition of a modifying group such as a water soluble polymer to such a polypeptide.", "Such methods may be used to attach a heparosan polymer to a Factor VII polypeptide in accordance with the present invention.", "As set out in the Examples, a Factor VII polypeptide may be conjugated to its glycan moieties using sialyltransferase.", "For enablement of this approach, a HEP polymer first need to be linked to a sialic acid cytidine monophosphate.", "Glycylsialic acid cytidine monophosphate (GSC) is a suitable starting point for such chemistry, but other sialic acid cytidine monophosphate or fragments of such can be used.", "Examples set out methods for covalent linking HEP polymers to GSC molecules.", "By covalent attachment, a HEP-GSC (HEP conjugated glycylsialic acid cytidine monophosphate) molecule is created that can be transferred to glycan moieties of FVIIa.", "Factor VII-heparosan conjugates may be purified once they have been produced.", "For example, purification may comprise affinity chromatography using immobilised mAb directed towards the Factor VII polypeptide, such as mAb directed against the calcified gla-domain on FVIIa.", "In such an affinity chromatography method, unconjugated HEP-polymer may be removed by extensive washing of the column.", "FVII may be released from the column by releasing the FVII from the antibody.", "For example, where the antibody is specific to the calcified gla-domain, release from the column may be achieved by washing with a buffer comprising EDTA.", "Size exclusion chromatography may be used to separate Factor VII-heparosan conjugates from unconjugated Factor VII.", "Pure conjugate may be concentrated by ultrafiltration.", "Final concentrations of Factor VII-heparosan conjugate resulting from a process of production may be determined by, for example, HPLC quantification, such as HPLC quantification of the FVII light chain.", "In connection with the present invention, it is shown that it is possible to link a carbohydrate polymer such as HEP via a maleimido group to a thio-modified GSC molecule and transfer the reagent to an intact glycosyl group on a glycoprotein by means of a sialyltransferase, thereby creating a linkage that contains a cyclic succinimide group.", "Succinimide based linkages, however, may undergo hydrolytic ring opening when the conjugate is stored in aqueous solution for extended time periods (Bioconjugation Techniques, G. T. Hermanson, Academic Press, 3rd edition 2013 p. 309) and while the linkage may remain intact, the ring opening reaction will add undesirable heterogeneity in form of regio- and stereo-isomers to the final conjugate.", "It follows from the above that it is preferable to link the half-life extending moiety to the glycoprotein in such a way that 1) the glycan residue of the glycoprotein is preserved in intact form, and 2) no heterogenicity is present in the linker part between the intact glycosyl residue and the half-life extending moiety.", "There is a need in the art for methods of conjugating two compounds, such as a half-life extending moiety such as HEP to a protein or protein glycan, wherein the compounds are linked such that a stable and isomer free conjugate is obtained.", "In one aspect the present invention provides a stable and isomer free linker for use in glycylsialic acid cytidine monophosphate (GSC) based conjugation of HEP to FVII.", "The GSC starting material used in the current invention can be synthesised chemically (Dufner, G. Eur.", "J. Org.", "Chem.", "2000, 1467-1482) or it can be obtained by chemoenzymatic routes as described in WO07056191.The GSC structure is shown below: In one embodiment conjugates according to the present invention comprise a linker comprising the following structure: hereinafter also referred to as sublinker or sublinkage—that connects a HEP-amine and GSC in one of the following ways: The highlighted 4-methylbenzoyl sublinker thus makes up part of the full linking structure linking the half-life extending moiety to a target protein.", "The sublinker is as such a stable structure compared to alternatives, such as succinimide based linkers (prepared from maleimide reactions with sulfhydryl groups) since the latter type of cyclic linkage has a tendency to undergo hydrolytic ring opening when the conjugate is stored in aqueous solution for extended time periods (Bioconjugation Techniques, G. T. Hermanson, Academic Press, 3rd edition 2013 p. 309).", "Even though the linkage in this case (e.g.", "between HEP and sialic acid on a glycoprotein) may remain intact, the ring opening reaction will add heterogeneity in form of regio- and stereo-isomers to the final conjugate composition.", "One advantage associated with conjugates according to the present invention is thus that a homogenous composition is obtained, i.e.", "that the tendency of isomer formation due to linker structure and stability is significantly reduced.", "Another advantage is that the linker and conjugates according to the invention can be produced in a simple process, preferably a one-step process.", "Isomers are undesirable since these can lead to a heterogeneous product and increase the risk for unwanted immune responses in humans.", "The 4-methylbenzoyl sublinkage as used in the present invention between HEP and GSC is not able to form sterio- or regio isomers.", "HEP polymers can as mentioned earlier be prepared by a synchronised enzymatic polymerisation reaction (US 20100036001).", "This method use heparan synthetase I from Pasteurella multocida (PmHS1) which can be expressed in E. coli as a maltose binding protein fusion constructs.", "Purified MBP-PmHS1 is able to produce monodisperse polymers in a synchronized, stoichiometrically controlled reaction, when it is added to an equimolar mixture of sugar nucleotides (GlcNAc-UDP and GlcUA-UDP).", "A trisaccharide initiator (GlcUA-GlcNAc-GlcUA) is used to prime the reaction, and polymer length is determined by the primer:sugar nucleotide ratios.", "The polymerization reaction will run until about 90% of the sugar nucleotides are consumed.", "Polymers are isolated from the reaction mixture by anion exchange chromatography, and subsequently freeze-dried into stable powder.", "Processes for preparation of functional HEP polymers are described in US 20100036001 which for example lists aldehyde-, amine- and maleimide functionalized HEP reagents.", "US 20100036001 is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety as if fully set forth herein.", "A range of other functionally modified HEP derivatives are available using similar chemistry.", "HEP polymers used in certain embodiments of the present invention are initially produced with a primary amine handle at the reducing terminal according to methods described in US20100036001.Amine functionalized HEP polymers (i.e.", "HEP having an amine-handle) prepared according US20100036001 can be converted into a HEP-benzaldehyde by reaction with N-succinimidyl 4-formylbenzoate and subsequently coupled to the glycylamino group of GSC by a reductive amination reaction.", "The resulting HEP-GSC product can subsequently be enzymatically conjugated to a glycoprotein using a sialyltransferase.", "For example, said amine handle on HEP can be converted into a benzaldehyde functionality by reaction with N-succinimidyl 4-formylbenzoate according to the below scheme: The conversion of HEP amine (1) to the 4-formylbenzamide compound (2) in the above scheme may be carried out by reaction with acyl activated forms of 4-formylbenzoic acid.", "N-succinimidyl may be chosen as acyl activation group but a number of other acyl activation groups are known to the skilled person.", "Non-limited examples include 1-hydroxy-7-azabenzotriazole-, 1-hydroxy-benzotriazole-, pentafluorophenyl-esters as know from peptide chemistry.", "HEP reagents modified with a benzaldehyde functionality can be kept stable for extended time periods when stored frozen (−80° C.) in dry form.", "Alternatively, a benzaldehyde moiety can be attached to the GSC compound, thereby resulting in a GSC-benzaldehyde compound suitable for conjugation to an amine functionalized half-life extending moiety.", "This route of synthesis is depicted in FIG.", "12.For example, GSC can be reacted under pH neutral conditions with N-succinimidyl 4-formylbenzoate to provide a GSC compound that contains a reactive aldehyde group (see for example WO2011101267).", "The aldehyde derivatized GSC compound (GSC-benzaldehyde) can then be reacted with HEP-amine and reducing agent to form a HEP-GSC reagent.", "The above mentioned reaction may be reversed, so that the HEP-amine is first reacted with N-succinimidyl 4-formylbenzoate to form an aldehyde derivatized HEP-polymer, which subsequently is reacted directly with GSC in the presence of a reducing agent.", "In practice this eliminates the tedious chromatographic handling of GSC-CHO.", "This route of synthesis is depicted in FIG.", "13.Thus, in one embodiment of the present invention HEP-benzaldehyde is coupled to GSC by reductive amination.", "Reductive amination is a two-step reaction which proceeds as follows: Initially an imine (also known as Schiff-base) is formed between the aldehyde component and the amine component (in the present embodiment the glycyl amino group of GSC).", "The imine is then reduced to an amine in the second step.", "The reducing agent is chosen so that it selectively reduces the formed imine to an amine derivative.", "A number of suitable reducing reagents are available to the skilled person.", "Non-limiting examples include sodium cyanoborohydride (NaBH3CN), sodium borohydride (NaBH4), pyridin boran complex (BH3:Py), dimethylsulfide boran complex (Me2S:BH3) and picoline boran complex.", "Although reductive amination to the reducing end of carbohydrates (for example to the reducing termini of HEP polymers) is possible, it has generally been described as a slow and inefficient reaction (J C. Gildersleeve, Bioconjug Chem.", "2008 July; 19(7): 1485-1490).", "Side reactions, such as the Amadori reaction, where the initially formed imine rearrange to a keto amine are also possible, and will lead to heterogenicity which as previously discussed is undesirable in the present context.", "Aromatic aldehydes such as benzaldehydes derivatives are not able to form such rearrangement reactions as the imine is unable to enolize and also lack the required neighbouring hydroxy group typically found in carbohydrate derived imines.", "Aromatic aldehydes such as benzaldehydes derivatives are therefore particular useful in reductive amination reactions for generating isomer free HEP-GSC reagent.", "A surplus of GSC and reducing reagent is optionally used in order to drive reductive amination chemistry fast to completion.", "When the reaction is completed, the excess (non-reacted) GSC reagent and other small molecular components such as excess reducing reagent can subsequently be removed by dialysis, tangential flow filtration or size exclusion chromatography.", "Both the natural substrate for sialyltransferases, Sia-CMP, and the GSC derivatives are multifunctional molecules that are charged and highly hydrophilic.", "In addition, they are not stable in solution for extended time periods especially if pH is below 6.0.At such low pH, the CMP activation group necessary for substrate transfer is lost due to acid catalyzed phosphate diester hydrolysis.", "Selective modification and isolation of GSC and Sia-CMP derivatives thus require careful control of pH, as well as fast and efficient isolation methods, in order to avoid CMP-hydrolysis.", "In the present invention, large half-life extending moieties are conjugated to GSC using reductive amination chemistry.", "Arylaldehydes, such as benzaldhyde modified half-life extending moieties have been found optimal for this type of modification, as they efficiently can react with GSC under reductive amination conditions.", "As GSC may undergo hydrolysis in acid media, it is important to maintain a near neutral or slightly basic environment during the coupling to HEP-benzaldehydes.", "HEP polymers and GSC are both highly water soluble and aqueous buffer systems are therefore preferable for maintaining pH at a near neutral level.", "A number of both organic and inorganic buffers may be used, however, the buffer components should preferably not be reactive under reductive amination conditions.", "This exclude for instance organic buffer systems containing primary and—to lesser extend—secondary amino groups.", "The skilled person will know which buffers are suitable and which are not.", "Some examples of suitable buffers are shown in table 1 below: TABLE 1 Buffers Common pKa at Buffer Name 25° C. Range Full Compound Name Bicine 8.35 7.6-9.0 N,N-bis(2-hydroxyethyl)glycine Hepes 7.48 6.8-8.2 4-2-hydroxyethyl-1- piperazineethanesulfonic acid TES 7.40 6.8-8.2 2-{[tris(hydroxymethyl)methyl] amino}ethanesulfonic acid MOPS 7.20 6.5-7.9 3-(N-morpholino)propanesulfonic acid PIPES 6.76 6.1-7.5 piperazine-N,N′-bis(2-ethanesulfonic acid) MES 6.15 5.5-6.7 2-(N-morpholino)ethanesulfonic acid By applying this method, GSC reagents modified with half-life extending moieties, having isomer free stable linkages can efficient be prepared, and isolated in a simple process that minimize the chance for hydrolysis of the CMP activation group.", "By reacting either of said compounds with each other a HEP-GSC conjugate comprising a 4-methylbenzoyl sublinker moiety may be created.", "GSC may also be reacted with thiobutyrolactone, thereby creating a thiol modified GSC molecule (GSC-SH).", "As demonstrated in the present invention, such reagents may be reacted with maleimide functionalized HEP polymers to form HEP-GSC reagents.", "This synthesis route is depicted in FIG.", "15.The resulting product has a linkage structure comprising succinimide.", "However, succinimide based (sub)linkages may undergo hydrolytic ring opening inter alia when the modified GSC reagent is stored in aqueous solution for extended time periods and while the linkage may remain intact, the ring opening reaction will add undesirable heterogeneity in form of regio- and stereo-isomers.", "Methods of Glycoconjugation Conjugation of a HEP-GSC conjugate with a (poly)-peptide may be carried out via a glycan present on residues in the (poly)-peptide backbone.", "This form of conjugation is also referred to as glycoconjugation.", "Methods based on sialyltransferase have over the years proven to be mild and highly selective for modifying N-glycans or O-glycans on blood coagulation factors, such as coagulation factor FVII.", "In contrast to conjugation methods based on cysteine alkylations, lysine acylations and similar conjugations involving amino acids in the protein backbone, conjugation via glycans is an appealing way of attaching larger structures such as polymers of protein/peptide fragments to bioactive proteins with less disturbance of bioactivity.", "This is because glycans being highly hydrophilic generally tend to be oriented away from the protein surface and out in solution, leaving the binding surfaces that are important for the proteins activity free.", "The glycan may be naturally occurring or it may be inserted via e.g.", "insertion of an N-linked glycan using methods well known in the art.", "GSC is a sialic acid derivative that can be transferred to glycoproteins by the use of sialyltransferases.", "It can be selectively modified with substituents such as PEG on the glycyl amino group and still be enzymatically transferred to glycoproteins by use of sialyltransferases.", "GSC can be efficiently prepared by an enzymatic process in large scale (WO07056191).", "Sialyltransferases Sialyltransferases are a class of glycosyltransferases that transfer sialic acid from naturally activated sialic acid (Sia)—CMP (cytidine monophosphate) compounds to galactosyl-moieties on e.g.", "proteins.", "Many sialyltransferases (ST3GalII, ST3GalI, ST6GalNAcl) are capable of transfer of sialic acid—CMP (Sia-CMP) derivatives that have been modified on the C5 acetamido group inter alia with large groups such as 40 kDa PEG (WO03031464).", "An extensive, but non-limited list of relevant sialyltransferases that can be used with the current invention is disclosed in WO2006094810, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.", "In one aspect of the present invention, terminal sialic acids on glycoproteins can be removed by sialidase treatment to provide asialo glycoproteins.", "Asialo glycoproteins and GSC modified with the half-life extending moiety together will act as substrates for sialyltransferases.", "The product of the reaction is a glycoprotein conjugate having the half-life extending moiety linked via an intact glycosyl linking group—in this case an intact sialic acid linker group.", "A reaction scheme wherein an asialo FVIIa glycoprotein is reacted with HEP-GSC in the presence of sialyltransferase is shown in FIG.", "18.The term “sialic acid” refers to any member of a family of nine-carbon carboxylated sugars.", "The most common member of the sialic acid family is N-acetylneuraminic acid (2-keto-5-acetamido-3,5-dideoxy-D-glycero-D-galactononulopyranos-1-onic acid (often abbreviated as Neu5Ac, NeuAc, NeuNAc, or NANA).", "A second member of the family is N-glycolyl-neuraminic acid (Neu5Gc or NeuGc), in which the N-acetyl group of NeuNAc is hydroxylated.", "A third sialic acid family member is 2-keto-3-deoxy-nonulosonic acid (KDN) (Nadano et al.", "(1986) J. Biol.", "Chem.", "261: 11550-11557; Kanamori et al., J. Biol.", "Chem.", "265: 21811-21819 (1990)).", "Also included are 9-substituted sialic acids such as a 9-O-C1-C6 acyl-Neu5Ac like 9-O-lactylNeu5Ac or 9-O-acetyl-Neu5Ac.", "The synthesis and use of sialic acid compounds in a sialylation procedure is disclosed in international application WO92/16640, published Oct. 1, 1992.The term “sialic acid derivative” refers to sialic acids as defined above that are modified with one or more chemical moieties.", "The modifying group may for example be alkyl groups such as methyl groups, azido- and fluoro groups, or functional groups such as amino or thiol groups that can function as handles for attaching other chemical moieties.", "Examples include 9-deoxy-9-fluoro-Neu5Ac and 9-azido-9-deoxy-Neu5Ac.", "The term also encompasses sialic acids that lack one of more functional groups such as the carboxyl group or one or more of the hydroxyl groups.", "Derivatives where the carboxyl group is replaced with a carboxamide group or an ester group are also encompassed by the term.", "The term also refers to sialic acids where one or more hydroxyl groups have been oxidized to carbonyl groups.", "Furthermore the term refers to sialic acids that lack the C9 carbon atom or both the C9-C8 carbon chain for example after oxidative treatment with periodate.", "Glycyl sialic acid is a sialic acid derivative according to the definition above, where the N-acetyl group of NeuNAc is replaced with a glycyl group also known as an amino acetyl group.", "Glycyl sialic acid may be represented with the following structure: The term “CMP-activated” sialic acid or sialic acid derivatives refer to a sugar nucleotide containing a sialic acid moiety and a cytidine monophosphate (CMP).", "In the present description, the term “glycyl sialic acid cytidine monophosphate” is used for describing GSC, and is a synonym for alternative naming of same CMP activated glycyl sialic acid.", "Alternative naming include CMP-5′-glycyl sialic acid, cytidine-5′-monophospho-N-glycylneuraminic acid, cytidine-5′-monophospho-N-glycyl sialic acid.", "The term “intact glycosyl linking group” refers to a linking group that is derived from a glycosyl moiety in which the saccharide monomer interposed between and covalently attached to the polypeptide and the HEP moiety is not degraded, e.g., oxidized, e.g., by sodium metaperiodate during conjugate formation.", "“Intact glycosyl linking groups” may be derived from a naturally occurring oligosaccharide by addition of glycosyl unites or removal of one or more glycosyl unit from a parent saccharide structure.", "The term “asialo glycoprotein” is intended to include glycoproteins wherein one or more terminal sialic acid residues have been removed, e.g., by treatment with a sialidase or by chemical treatment, exposing at least one galactose or N-acetylgalactosamine residue from the underlying “layer” of galactose or N-acetylgalactosamine (“exposed galactose residue”).", "Dotted lines in structure formulas denotes open valence bond (i.e.", "bonds that connect the structures to other chemical moieties).", "PEGylated Derivatives “PEGylated Factor VII polypeptide variants/derivatives” according to the present invention may have one or more polyethylene glycol (PEG) molecules attached to any part of the FVII polypeptide including any amino acid residue or carbohydrate moiety of the Factor VII polypeptide.", "Chemical and/or enzymatic methods can be employed for conjugating PEG or other half-life extending moieties to a glycan on the Factor VII polypeptide.", "An example of an enzymatic conjugation process is described e.g.", "in WO03031464.The glycan may be naturally occurring or it may be engineered as described above for HEP conjugates.", "“Cysteine-PEGylated Factor VII polypeptide variants” according to the present invention have one or more PEG molecules conjugated to a sulfhydryl group of a cysteine residue present or introduced in the FVII polypeptide.", "Fusion Proteins Fusion proteins are proteins created through the in-frame joining of two or more DNA sequences which originally encode separate proteins or peptides or fragments thereof.", "Translation of the fusion protein DNA sequence will result in a single protein sequence which may have functional properties derived from each of the original proteins or peptides.", "DNA sequences encoding fusion proteins may be created artificially by standard molecular biology methods such as overlapping PCR or DNA ligation and the assembly is performed excluding the stop codon in the first 5′-end DNA sequence while retaining the stop codon in the 3′-end DNA sequence.", "The resulting fusion protein DNA sequence may be inserted into an appropriate expression vector that supports the heterologous fusion protein expression in standard host organisms such as bacteria, yeast, fungi, insect cells or mammalian cells.", "Fusion proteins may contain a linker or spacer peptide sequence that separates the protein or peptide parts which define the fusion protein.", "In one interesting embodiment of the invention, the Factor VII polypeptide is a fusion protein comprising a Factor VII polypeptide and a fusion partner protein/peptide, for example an Fc domain or an albumin.", "Fc Fusion Protein The term “Fc fusion protein” is herein meant to encompass Factor VII polypeptides of this invention fused to an Fc domain that can be derived from any antibody isotype.", "An IgG Fc domain will often be preferred due to the relatively long circulatory half-life of IgG antibodies.", "The Fc domain may furthermore be modified in order to modulate certain effector functions such as e.g.", "complement binding and/or binding to certain Fc receptors.", "Fusion of FVII polypeptides with an Fc domain, which has the capacity to bind to FcRn receptors, will generally result in a prolonged circulatory half-life of the fusion protein compared to the half-life of the wt FVII polypeptides.", "Mutations in positions 234, 235 and 237 in an IgG Fc domain will generally result in reduced binding to the FcγRI receptor and possibly also the FcγRIIa and the FcγRII receptors.", "These mutations do not alter binding to the FcRn receptor, which promotes a long circulatory half-life by an endocytic recycling pathway.", "Preferably, a modified IgG Fc domain of a fusion protein according to the invention comprises one or more of the following mutations that will result in decreased affinity to certain Fc receptors (L234A, L235E, and G237A) and in reduced C1q-mediated complement fixation (A330S and P331S), respectively.", "Alternatively, the Fc domain may be an IgG4 Fc domain, preferably comprising the S241P/S228P mutation.", "Production of Factor VII Polypeptides Factor VII polypeptides, of the current invention, may be recombinantly produced using well known methods of production and purification; some examples of these methods are described below; yet further examples of methods of production and purification are, inter alia, described in WO2007/031559.In one aspect, the invention relates to a method for producing Factor VII polypeptides.", "The Factor VII polypeptides described herein may be produced by means of recombinant nucleic acid techniques.", "In general, a cloned human wild-type Factor VII nucleic acid sequence is modified to encode the desired protein.", "This modified sequence is then inserted into an expression vector, which is in turn transformed or transfected into host cells.", "Higher eukaryotic cells, in particular cultured mammalian cells, are preferred as host cells.", "In a further aspect, the invention relates to a transgenic animal containing and expressing the polynucleotide construct.", "The complete nucleotide and amino acid sequences for human wild-type Factor VII are known (see U.S. Pat.", "No.", "4,784,950, where the cloning and expression of recombinant human Factor VII is described).", "The amino acid sequence alterations may be accomplished by a variety of know techniques.", "Modification of the nucleic acid sequence may be by site-specific mutagenesis.", "Techniques for site-specific mutagenesis are well known in the art and are described in, for example, Zoller and Smith (DNA 3:479-488, 1984) or “Splicing by extension overlap”, Horton et al., Gene 77, 1989, pp.", "61-68.Thus, using the nucleotide and amino acid sequences of Factor VII, one may introduce the alteration(s) of choice.", "Likewise, procedures for preparing a DNA construct using polymerase chain reaction using specific primers are well known to persons skilled in the art (cf.", "PCR Protocols, 1990, Academic Press, San Diego, Calif., USA).", "The nucleic acid construct encoding the Factor VII polypeptide of the invention may suitably be of genomic or cDNA origin, The nucleic acid construct encoding the Factor VII polypeptide may also be prepared synthetically by established standard methods, e.g.", "the phosphoamidite method described by Beaucage and Caruthers, Tetrahedron Letters 22 (1981), 1859-1869, The DNA sequences encoding the human Factor VII polypeptides may also be prepared by polymerase chain reaction using specific primers, for instance as described in U.S. Pat.", "No.", "4,683,202, Saiki et al., Science 239 (1988), 487-491, or Sambrook et al., supra.", "Furthermore, the nucleic acid construct may be of mixed synthetic and genomic, mixed synthetic and cDNA or mixed genomic and cDNA origin prepared by ligating fragments of synthetic, genomic or cDNA origin (as appropriate), the fragments corresponding to various parts of the entire nucleic acid construct, in accordance with standard techniques.", "The nucleic acid construct is preferably a DNA construct.", "DNA sequences for use in producing Factor VII polypeptides according to the present invention will typically encode a pre-pro polypeptide at the amino-terminus of Factor VII to obtain proper posttranslational processing (e.g.", "gamma-carboxylation of glutamic acid residues) and secretion from the host cell.", "The pre-pro polypeptide may be that of Factor VII or another vitamin K-dependent plasma protein, such as Factor IX, Factor X, prothrombin, protein C or protein S. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, additional modifications can be made in the amino acid sequence of the Factor VII polypeptides where those modifications do not significantly impair the ability of the protein to act as a coagulant.", "The DNA sequences encoding the human Factor VII polypeptides are usually inserted into a recombinant vector which may be any vector, which may conveniently be subjected to recombinant DNA procedures, and the choice of vector will often depend on the host cell into which it is to be introduced.", "Thus, the vector may be an autonomously replicating vector, i.e.", "a vector, which exists as an extrachromosomal entity, the replication of which is independent of chromosomal replication, e.g.", "a plasmid.", "Alternatively, the vector may be one which, when introduced into a host cell, is integrated into the host cell genome and replicated together with the chromosome(s) into which it has been integrated.", "The vector is preferably an expression vector in which the DNA sequence encoding the human Factor VII polypeptides is operably linked to additional segments required for transcription of the DNA.", "In general, the expression vector is derived from plasmid or viral DNA, or may contain elements of both.", "The term, “operably linked” indicates that the segments are arranged so that they function in concert for their intended purposes, e.g.", "transcription initiates in a promoter and proceeds through the DNA sequence coding for the polypeptide.", "Expression vectors for use in expressing Factor VIIa polypeptide variants will comprise a promoter capable of directing the transcription of a cloned gene or cDNA.", "The promoter may be any DNA sequence, which shows transcriptional activity in the host cell of choice and may be derived from genes encoding proteins either homologous or heterologous to the host cell.", "Examples of suitable promoters for directing the transcription of the DNA encoding the human Factor VII polypeptide in mammalian cells are the SV40 promoter (Subramani et al., Mol.", "Cell Biol.", "1 (1981), 854-864), the MT-1 (metallothionein gene) promoter (Palmiter et al., Science 222 (1983), 809-814), the CMV promoter (Boshart et al., Cell 41:521-530, 1985) or the adenovirus 2 major late promoter (Kaufman and Sharp, Mol.", "Cell.", "Biol, 2:1304-1319, 1982).", "The DNA sequences encoding the Factor VII polypeptides may also, if necessary, be operably connected to a suitable terminator, such as the human growth hormone terminator (Palmiter et al., Science 222, 1983, pp.", "809-814) or the TPI1 (Alber and Kawasaki, J. Mol.", "Appl.", "Gen. 1, 1982, pp.", "419-434) or ADH3 (McKnight et al., The EMBO J.", "4, 1985, pp.", "2093-2099) terminators.", "Expression vectors may also contain a set of RNA splice sites located downstream from the promoter and upstream from the insertion site for the Factor VII sequence itself.", "Preferred RNA splice sites may be obtained from adenovirus and/or immunoglobulin genes.", "Also contained in the expression vectors is a polyadenylation signal located downstream of the insertion site.", "Particularly preferred polyadenylation signals include the early or late polyadenylation signal from SV40 (Kaufman and Sharp, ibid.", "), the polyadenylation signal from the adenovirus 5 Elb region, the human growth hormone gene terminator (DeNoto et al.", "Nucl.", "Acids Res.", "9:3719-3730, 1981) or the polyadenylation signal from the human Factor VII gene or the bovine Factor VII gene.", "The expression vectors may also include a noncoding viral leader sequence, such as the adenovirus 2 tripartite leader, located between the promoter and the RNA splice sites; and enhancer sequences, such as the SV40 enhancer.", "To direct the Factor VII polypeptides of the present invention into the secretory pathway of the host cells, a secretory signal sequence (also known as a leader sequence, prepro sequence or pre sequence) may be provided in the recombinant vector.", "The secretory signal sequence is joined to the DNA sequences encoding the human Factor VII polypeptides in the correct reading frame.", "Secretory signal sequences are commonly positioned 5′ to the DNA sequence encoding the peptide.", "The secretory signal sequence may be that, normally associated with the protein or may be from a gene encoding another secreted protein.", "The procedures used to ligate the DNA sequences coding for the Factor VII polypeptides, the promoter and optionally the terminator and/or secretory signal sequence, respectively, and to insert them into suitable vectors containing the information necessary for replication, are well known to persons skilled in the art (cf., for instance, Sambrook et al., Molecular Cloning: A Laboratory Manual, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y., 1989).", "Methods of transfecting mammalian cells and expressing DNA sequences introduced in the cells are described in e.g.", "Kaufman and Sharp, J. Mol.", "Biol.", "159 (1982), 601-621; Southern and Berg, J. Mol.", "Appl.", "Genet.", "1 (1982), 327-341; Loyter et al., Proc.", "Natl.", "Acad.", "Sci.", "USA 79 (1982), 422-426; Wigler et al., Cell 14 (1978), 725; Corsaro and Pearson, Somatic Cell Genetics 7 (1981), 603, Graham and van der Eb, Virology 52 (1973), 456; and Neumann et al., EMBO J.", "1 (1982), 841-845.Cloned DNA sequences are introduced into cultured mammalian cells by, for example, calcium phosphate-mediated transfection (Wigler et al., Cell 14:725-732, 1978; Corsaro and Pearson, Somatic Cell Genetics 7:603-616, 1981; Graham and Van der Eb, Virology 52d:456-467, 1973) or electroporation (Neumann et al., EMBO J.", "1:841-845, 1982).", "To identify and select cells that express the exogenous DNA, a gene that confers a selectable phenotype (a selectable marker) is generally introduced into cells along with the gene or cDNA of interest.", "Preferred selectable markers include genes that confer resistance to drugs such as neomycin, hygromycin, and methotrexate.", "The selectable marker may be an amplifiable selectable marker.", "A preferred amplifiable selectable marker is a dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) sequence.", "Selectable markers may be introduced into the cell on a separate plasmid at the same time as the gene of interest, or they may be introduced on the same plasmid.", "If, on the same plasmid, the selectable marker and the gene of interest may be under the control of different promoters or the same promoter, the latter arrangement producing a dicistronic message.", "Constructs of this type are known in the art (for example, Levinson and Simonsen, U.S. Pat.", "No.", "4,713,339).", "It may also be advantageous to add additional DNA, known as “carrier DNA,” to the mixture that is introduced into the cells.", "After the cells have taken up the DNA, they are grown in an appropriate growth medium, typically 1-2 days, to begin expressing the gene of interest.", "As used herein the term “appropriate growth medium” means a medium containing nutrients and other components required for the growth of cells and the expression of the Factor VII polypeptides of interest.", "Media generally include a carbon source, a nitrogen source, essential amino acids, essential sugars, vitamins, salts, phospholipids, protein and growth factors.", "For production of gamma-carboxylated proteins, the medium will contain vitamin K, preferably at a concentration of about 0.1 μg/ml to about 5 μg/ml.", "Drug selection is then applied to select for the growth of cells that are expressing the selectable marker in a stable fashion.", "For cells that have been transfected with an amplifiable selectable marker the drug concentration may be increased to select for an increased copy number of the cloned sequences, thereby increasing expression levels.", "Clones of stably transfected cells are then screened for expression of the human Factor VII polypeptide of interest.", "The host cell into which the DNA sequences encoding the Factor VII polypeptides is introduced may be any cell, which is capable of producing the posttranslational modified human Factor VII polypeptides and includes yeast, fungi and higher eucaryotic cells.", "Examples of mammalian cell lines for use in the present invention are the Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cells (e.g.", "ATCC CCL 61), CHO DUKX cells (Urlaub and Chasin, Proc.", "Natl.", "Acad.", "Sci.", "USA 77:4216-4220, 1980).", "), baby hamster kidney (BHK) and 293 (ATCC CRL 1573; Graham et al., J. Gen. Virol.", "36:59-72, 1977) cell lines.", "The transformed or transfected host cell described above is then cultured in a suitable nutrient medium under conditions permitting expression of the Factor VII polypeptide after which all or part of the resulting peptide may be recovered from the culture.", "The medium used to culture the cells may be any conventional medium suitable for growing the host cells, such as minimal or complex media containing appropriate supplements.", "Suitable media are available from commercial suppliers or may be prepared according to published recipes (e.g.", "in catalogues of the American Type Culture Collection).", "The Factor VII polypeptide produced by the cells may then be recovered from the culture medium by conventional procedures including separating the host cells from the medium by centrifugation or filtration, precipitating the proteinaqueous components of the supernatant or filtrate by means of a salt, e.g.", "ammonium sulphate, purification by a variety of chromatographic procedures, e.g.", "ion exchange chromatography, gelfiltration chromatography, affinity chromatography, or the like, dependent on the type of polypeptide in question.", "Transgenic animal technology may be employed to produce the Factor VII polypeptides of the invention.", "It is preferred to produce the proteins within the mammary glands of a host female mammal.", "Expression in the mammary gland and subsequent secretion of the protein of interest into the milk overcomes many difficulties encountered in isolating proteins from other sources.", "Milk is readily collected, available in large quantities, and biochemically well characterized.", "Furthermore, the major milk proteins are present in milk at high concentrations (typically from about 1 to 15 g/l).", "From a commercial point of view, it is clearly preferable to use as the host a species that has a large milk yield.", "While smaller animals such as mice and rats can be used (and are preferred at the proof of principle stage), it is preferred to use livestock mammals including, but not limited to, pigs, goats, sheep and cattle.", "Sheep are particularly preferred due to such factors as the previous history of transgenesis in this species, milk yield, cost and the ready availability of equipment for collecting sheep milk (see, for example, WO 88/00239 for a comparison of factors influencing the choice of host species).", "It is generally desirable to select a breed of host animal that has been bred for dairy use, such as East Friesland sheep, or to introduce dairy stock by breeding of the transgenic line at a later date.", "In any event, animals of known, good health status should be used.", "To obtain expression in the mammary gland, a transcription promoter from a milk protein gene is used.", "Milk protein genes include those genes encoding caseins (see U.S. Pat.", "No.", "5,304,489), beta-lactoglobulin, a-lactalbumin, and whey acidic protein.", "The beta-lactoglobulin (BLG) promoter is preferred.", "In the case of the ovine beta-lactoglobulin gene, a region of at least the proximal 406 bp of 5′ flanking sequence of the gene will generally be used, although larger portions of the 5′ flanking sequence, up to about 5 kbp, are preferred, such as a ˜4.25 kbp DNA segment encompassing the 5′ flanking promoter and non-coding portion of the beta-lactoglobulin gene (see Whitelaw et al., Biochem.", "J.", "286: 31-39 (1992)).", "Similar fragments of promoter DNA from other species are also suitable.", "Other regions of the beta-lactoglobulin gene may also be incorporated in constructs, as may genomic regions of the gene to be expressed.", "It is generally accepted in the art that constructs lacking introns, for example, express poorly in comparison with those that contain such DNA sequences (see Brinster et al., Proc.", "Natl.", "Acad.", "Sci.", "USA 85: 836-840 (1988); Palmiter et al., Proc.", "Natl.", "Acad.", "Sci.", "USA 88: 478-482 (1991); Whitelaw et al., Transgenic Res.", "1: 3-13 (1991); WO 89/01343; and WO 91/02318, each of which is incorporated herein by reference).", "In this regard, it is generally preferred, where possible, to use genomic sequences containing all or some of the native introns of a gene encoding the protein or polypeptide of interest, thus the further inclusion of at least some introns from, e.g, the beta-lactoglobulin gene, is preferred.", "One such region is a DNA segment that provides for intron splicing and RNA polyadenylation from the 3′ non-coding region of the ovine beta-lactoglobulin gene.", "When substituted for the natural 3′ non-coding sequences of a gene, this ovine beta-lactoglobulin segment can both enhance and stabilize expression levels of the protein or polypeptide of interest.", "Within other embodiments, the region surrounding the initiation ATG of the variant Factor VII sequence is replaced with corresponding sequences from a milk specific protein gene.", "Such replacement provides a putative tissue-specific initiation environment to enhance expression.", "It is convenient to replace the entire variant Factor VII pre-pro and 5′ non-coding sequences with those of, for example, the BLG gene, although smaller regions may be replaced.", "For expression of Factor VII polypeptides in transgenic animals, a DNA segment encoding variant Factor VII is operably linked to additional DNA segments required for its expression to produce expression units.", "Such additional segments include the above-mentioned promoter, as well as sequences that provide for termination of transcription and polyadenylation of mRNA.", "The expression units will further include a DNA segment encoding a secretory signal sequence operably linked to the segment encoding modified Factor VII.", "The secretory signal sequence may be a native Factor VII secretory signal sequence or may be that of another protein, such as a milk protein (see, for example, von Heijne, Nucl.", "Acids Res.", "14: 4683-4690 (1986); and Meade et al., U.S. Pat.", "No.", "4,873,316, which are incorporated herein by reference).", "Construction of expression units for use in transgenic animals is conveniently carried out by inserting a variant Factor VII sequence into a plasmid or phage vector containing the additional DNA segments, although the expression unit may be constructed by essentially any sequence of ligations.", "It is particularly convenient to provide a vector containing a DNA segment encoding a milk protein and to replace the coding sequence for the milk protein with that of a Factor VII variant; thereby creating a gene fusion that includes the expression control sequences of the milk protein gene.", "In any event, cloning of the expression units in plasmids or other vectors facilitates the amplification of the variant Factor VII sequence.", "Amplification is conveniently carried out in bacterial (e.g.", "E. coli) host cells, thus the vectors will typically include an origin of replication and a selectable marker functional in bacterial host cells.", "The expression unit is then introduced into fertilized eggs (including early-stage embryos) of the chosen host species.", "Introduction of heterologous DNA can be accomplished by one of several routes, including microinjection (e.g.", "U.S. Pat.", "No.", "4,873,191), retroviral infection (Jaenisch, Science 240: 1468-1474 (1988)) or site-directed integration using embryonic stem (ES) cells (reviewed by Bradley et al., Bio/Technology 10: 534-539 (1992)).", "The eggs are then implanted into the oviducts or uteri of pseudopregnant females and allowed to develop to term.", "Offspring carrying the introduced DNA in their germ line can pass the DNA on to their progeny in the normal, Mendelian fashion, allowing the development of transgenic herds.", "General procedures for producing transgenic animals are known in the art (see, for example, Hogan et al., Manipulating the Mouse Embryo: A Laboratory Manual, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, 1986; Simons et al., Bio/Technology 6: 179-183 (1988); Wall et al., Biol.", "Reprod.", "32: 645-651 (1985); Buhler et al., Bio/Technology 8: 140-143 (1990); Ebert et al., Bio/Technology 9: 835-838 (1991); Krimpenfort et al., Bio/Technology 9: 844-847 (1991); Wall et al., J.", "Cell.", "Biochem.", "49: 113-120 (1992); U.S. Pat.", "No.", "4,873,191; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "4,873,316; WO 88/00239, WO 90/05188, WO 92/11757; and GB 87/00458).", "Techniques for introducing foreign DNA sequences into mammals and their germ cells were originally developed in the mouse (see, e.g., Gordon et al., Proc.", "Natl.", "Acad.", "Sci.", "USA 77: 7380-7384 (1980); Gordon and Ruddle, Science 214: 1244-1246 (1981); Palmiter and Brinster, Cell 41: 343-345 (1985); Brinster et al., Proc.", "Natl.", "Acad.", "Sci.", "USA 82: 4438-4442 (1985); and Hogan et al.", "(ibid.)).", "These techniques were subsequently adapted for use with larger animals, including livestock species (see, e.g., WO 88/00239, WO 90/05188, and WO 92/11757; and Simons et al., Bio/Technology 6: 179-183 (1988)).", "To summarise, in the most efficient route used to date in the generation of transgenic mice or livestock, several hundred linear molecules of the DNA of interest are injected into one of the pro-nuclei of a fertilized egg according to established techniques.", "Injection of DNA into the cytoplasm of a zygote can also be employed.", "Purification The Factor VII polypeptides of the invention are recovered from cell culture medium.", "The Factor VII polypeptides of the present invention may be purified by a variety of procedures known in the art including, but not limited to, chromatography (e.g., ion exchange, affinity, hydrophobic, chromatofocusing, and size exclusion), electrophoretic procedures (e.g., preparative isoelectric focusing (IEF), differential solubility (e.g., ammonium sulfate precipitation), or extraction (see, e.g., Protein Purification, J.-C. Janson and Lars Ryden, editors, VCH Publishers, New York, 1989).", "Preferably, Factor VII polypeptides may be purified by affinity chromatography on an anti-Factor VII antibody column.", "The use of calcium-dependent monoclonal antibodies, as described by Wakabayashi et al., J. Biol.", "Chem.", "261:11097-11108, (1986) and Thim et al., Biochemistry 27: 7785-7793, (1988), is particularly preferred.", "Additional purification may be achieved by conventional chemical purification means, such as high performance liquid chromatography.", "Other methods of purification, including barium citrate precipitation, are known in the art, and may be applied to the purification of the novel Factor VII polypeptides described herein (see, for example, Scopes, R., Protein Purification, Springer-Verlag, N.Y., 1982).", "For therapeutic purposes it is preferred that the Factor VII polypeptides of the invention are substantially pure.", "Thus, in a preferred embodiment of the invention the Factor VII polypeptides of the invention are purified to at least about 90 to 95% homogeneity, preferably to at least about 98% homogeneity.", "Purity may be assessed by several methods known in the art e.g.", "HPLC, gel electrophoresis and amino-terminal amino acid sequencing.", "The Factor VII polypeptide is cleaved at its activation site in order to convert it to its two-chain form.", "Activation may be carried out according to procedures known in the art, such as those disclosed by Osterud, et al., Biochemistry 11:2853-2857 (1972); Thomas, U.S. Pat.", "No.", "4,456,591; Hedner and Kisiel, J. Clin.", "Invest.", "71:1836-1841 (1983); or Kisiel and Fujikawa, Behring Inst.", "Mitt.", "73:29-42 (1983).", "Alternatively, as described by Bjoern et al.", "(Research Disclosure, 269 September 1986, pp.", "564-565), Factor VII may be activated by passing it through an ion-exchange chromatography column, such as Mono Q® (Pharmacia fine Chemicals) or the like.", "The resulting activated Factor VII variant may then be formulated and administered as described below.", "Assays Provided herein are suitable in vitro proteolytic and antithrombin reactivity assays for selecting preferred Factor VII polypeptides according to the invention.", "Such assays are described in detail in Example 5.Briefly, the assays can be performed as simple preliminary in vitro tests, as follows: The proteolytic activity of FVIIa polypeptides can be measured using the physiological substrate plasma-derived factor X (X) as substrate at physiological pH and in the presence of calcium and vesicles composed of phosphatidyl choline (PC) and phosphatidyl serine (PS) to support the reaction.", "The assay is performed by incubating FVIIa with FX at a substrate concentration below Km for the reaction and for a period sufficient long to allow for the generation of measurable amounts of FXa while keeping the conversion of FX below 20%.", "The generated FXa is quantified after the addition of a suitable chromogenic substrate such as S-2765 and reported relative to that of wild-type FVIIa following normalisation according to the concentration of the FVIIa variant tested.", "The antithrombin reactivity of the FVIIa polypeptides can be measured at physiological pH under pseudo-first order conditions in the presence of excess plasma-derived antithrombin, low molecular weight (LMW) heparin and calcium.", "Residual FVIIa activity is measured discontinuously throughout the time course of the inhibition reaction using a chromogenic substrate such as S-2288.The rate of inhibition is obtained by non-linear least-squares fitting of data to a single exponential decay function and reported relative to that of wild-type FVIIa following normalisation of inhibition rates according to the antithrombin concentration used.", "The kinetic characterisation of heparin-catalyzed and uncatalyzed inhibition of blood coagulation proteinases by antithrombinis is described in Olson et al.", "(1993), Methods Enzymol.", "222, 525-559.Pharmaceutical Compositions In one aspect, the present invention relates to compositions and formulations comprising a Factor VII polypeptide of the invention.", "For example, the invention provides a pharmaceutical composition that comprises a Factor VII polypeptide of the invention, formulated together with a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier.", "Accordingly, one object of the invention is to provide a pharmaceutical formulation comprising a Factor VII polypeptide which is present in a concentration from 0.25 mg/ml to 100 mg/ml, and wherein said formulation has a pH from 2.0 to 10.0.The formulation may further comprise one or more of a buffer system, a preservative, a tonicity agent, a chelating agent, a stabilizer, an antioxidant or a surfactant, as well as various combinations thereof.", "The use of preservatives, isotonic agents, chelating agents, stabilizers, antioxidant and surfactants in pharmaceutical compositions is well-known to the skilled person.", "Reference may be made to Remington: The Science and Practice of Pharmacy, 19th edition, 1995.In one embodiment, the pharmaceutical formulation is an aqueous formulation.", "Such a formulation is typically a solution or a suspension, but may also include colloids, dispersions, emulsions, and multi-phase materials.", "The term “aqueous formulation” is defined as a formulation comprising at least 50% w/w water.", "Likewise, the term “aqueous solution” is defined as a solution comprising at least 50% w/w water, and the term “aqueous suspension” is defined as a suspension comprising at least 50% w/w water.", "In another embodiment, the pharmaceutical formulation is a freeze-dried formulation, to which the physician or the patient adds solvents and/or diluents prior to use.", "In a further aspect, the pharmaceutical formulation comprises an aqueous solution of a Factor VII polypeptide, and a buffer, wherein the polypeptide is present in a concentration from 1 mg/ml or above, and wherein said formulation has a pH from about 2.0 to about 10.0.In a further aspect, the pharmaceutical formulation may be any one of those disclosed in WO2014/057069, which is herein incorporated by reference; or it may be the formulation described in Example 18.A Factor VII polypeptide of the invention may be administered parenterally, such as intravenously, such as intramuscularly, such as subcutaneously.", "Alternatively, a FVII polypeptide of the invention may be administered via a non-parenteral route, such as perorally or topically.", "An polypeptide of the invention may be administered prophylactically.", "An polypeptide of the invention may be administered therapeutically (on demand).", "Therapeutic Uses In a broad aspect, a Factor VII polypeptide of the present invention or a pharmaceutical formulation comprising said polypeptide, may be used as a medicament.", "In one aspect, a Factor VII polypeptide of the present invention or a pharmaceutical formulation comprising said polypeptide, may be used to treat a subject with a coagulopathy.", "In another aspect, a Factor VII polypeptide of the present invention or a pharmaceutical formulation comprising said polypeptide may be used for the preparation of a medicament for the treatment of bleeding disorders or bleeding episodes or for the enhancement of the normal haemostatic system.", "In a further aspect, a Factor VII polypeptide of the present invention or a pharmaceutical formulation comprising said polypeptide may be used for the treatment of haemophilia A, haemophilia B or haemophilia A or B with acquired inhibitors.", "In another aspect, a Factor VII polypeptide of the present invention or a pharmaceutical formulation comprising said polypeptide may be used in a method for the treatment of bleeding disorders or bleeding episodes in a subject or for the enhancement of the normal haemostatic system, the method comprising administering a therapeutically or prophylactically effective amount of a Factor VII polypeptide of the present invention to a subject in need thereof.", "The term “subject”, as used herein, includes any human patient, or non-human vertebrates.", "The term “treatment”, as used herein, refers to the medical therapy of any human or other vertebrate subject in need thereof.", "Said subject is expected to have undergone physical examination by a medical practitioner, or a veterinary medical practitioner, who has given a tentative or definitive diagnosis which would indicate that the use of said specific treatment is beneficial to the health of said human or other vertebrate.", "The timing and purpose of said treatment may vary from one individual to another, according to the status quo of the subject's health.", "Thus, said treatment may be prophylactic, palliative, symptomatic and/or curative.", "In terms of the present invention, prophylactic, palliative, symptomatic and/or curative treatments may represent separate aspects of the invention.", "The term “coagulopathy”, as used herein, refers to an increased haemorrhagic tendency which may be caused by any qualitative or quantitative deficiency of any pro-coagulative component of the normal coagulation cascade, or any upregulation of fibrinolysis.", "Such coagulopathies may be congenital and/or acquired and/or iatrogenic and are identified by a person skilled in the art.", "Non-limiting examples of congenital hypocoagulopathies are haemophilia A, haemophilia B, Factor VII deficiency, Factor X deficiency, Factor XI deficiency, von Willebrand's disease and thrombocytopenias such as Glanzmann's thombasthenia and Bernard-Soulier syndrome.", "The clinical severity of haemophilia A or B is determined by the concentration of functional units of FIX/Factor VIII in the blood and is classified as mild, moderate, or severe.", "Severe haemophilia is defined by a clotting factor level of <0.01 U/ml corresponding to <1% of the normal level, while people with moderate and mild haemophilia have levels from 1-5% and >5%, respectively.", "Haemophilia A with “inhibitors” (that is, allo-antibodies against factor VIII) and haemophilia B with “inhibitors” (that is, allo-antibodies against factor IX) are non-limiting examples of coagulopathies that are partly congenital and partly acquired.", "A non-limiting example of an acquired coagulopathy is serine protease deficiency caused by vitamin K deficiency; such vitamin K-deficiency may be caused by administration of a vitamin K antagonist, such as warfarin.", "Acquired coagulopathy may also occur following extensive trauma.", "In this case otherwise known as the “bloody vicious cycle”, it is characterised by haemodilution (dilutional thrombocytopaenia and dilution of clotting factors), hypothermia, consumption of clotting factors and metabolic derangements (acidosis).", "Fluid therapy and increased fibrinolysis may exacerbate this situation.", "Said haemorrhage may be from any part of the body.", "A non-limiting example of an iatrogenic coagulopathy is an overdosage of anticoagulant medication—such as heparin, aspirin, warfarin and other platelet aggregation inhibitors—that may be prescribed to treat thromboembolic disease.", "A second, non-limiting example of iatrogenic coagulopathy is that which is induced by excessive and/or inappropriate fluid therapy, such as that which may be induced by a blood transfusion.", "In one embodiment of the current invention, haemorrhage is associated with haemophilia A or B.", "In another embodiment, haemorrhage is associated with haemophilia A or B with acquired inhibitors.", "In another embodiment, haemorrhage is associated with thrombocytopenia.", "In another embodiment, haemorrhage is associated with von Willebrand's disease.", "In another embodiment, haemorrhage is associated with severe tissue damage.", "In another embodiment, haemorrhage is associated with severe trauma.", "In another embodiment, haemorrhage is associated with surgery.", "In another embodiment, haemorrhage is associated with haemorrhagic gastritis and/or enteritis.", "In another embodiment, the haemorrhage is profuse uterine bleeding, such as in placental abruption.", "In another embodiment, haemorrhage occurs in organs with a limited possibility for mechanical haemostasis, such as intracranially, intraaurally or intraocularly.", "In another embodiment, haemorrhage is associated with anticoagulant therapy.", "The invention is further described by the following non-limiting list of embodiments: Embodiment 1 Factor VII polypeptide comprising two or more substitutions relative to the amino acid sequence of human Factor VII (SEQ ID NO: 1), wherein T293 is replaced by Lys (K), Arg (R), Tyr (Y) or Phe (F) and L288 is replaced by Phe (F), Tyr (Y), Asn (N), Ala (A) or Trp (W) and/or W201 is replaced by Arg (R), Met (M), or Lys (K) and/or K337 is replaced by Ala (A) or Gly (G); optionally, where Q176 is replaced by Lys (K), Arg (R) or Asn (N); or Q286 is replaced by Asn (N).", "Embodiment 1(i) Factor VII polypeptide according to embodiment 1, wherein T293 is replaced by Lys (K), Arg (R), Tyr (Y) or Phe (F); and L288 is replaced by Phe (F), Tyr (Y), Asn (N), Ala (A) or Trp (W) and/or W201 is replaced by Arg (R), Met (M) or Lys (K) and/or K337 is replaced by Ala (A) or Gly (G).", "Embodiment 1(ii) Factor VII polypeptide according to embodiment 1, wherein L288 is replaced by Phe (F), Tyr (Y), Asn (N) or Ala (A).", "Embodiment 1(iii) Factor VII polypeptide according to embodiment 1, wherein W201 is replaced by Arg (R), Met (M) or Lys (K).", "Embodiment 1(iv) Factor VII polypeptide according to embodiment 1, wherein K337 is replaced by Ala (A) or Gly (G).", "Embodiment 2 Factor VII polypeptide according to embodiment 1, wherein T293 is replaced by Lys (K), Arg (R), Tyr (Y) or Phe (F).", "Embodiment 2(i) Factor VII polypeptide according to any one of embodiments 1-2, wherein T293 is replaced by Lys (K), Arg (R), Tyr (Y) or Phe (F) and L288 is replaced by Phe (F), Tyr (Y), Asn (N), Ala (A) or Trp (W).", "Embodiment 2(ii) Factor VII polypeptide according to any one of embodiments 1-2, wherein T293 is replaced by Lys (K) and L288 is replaced by Phe (F).", "Embodiment 2(iii) Factor VII polypeptide according to any one of embodiments 1-2, wherein T293 is replaced by Lys (K) and L288 is replaced by Tyr (Y).", "Embodiment 2(iv) Factor VII polypeptide according to any one of embodiments 1-2, wherein T293 is replaced by Lys (K) and L288 is replaced by Asn (N).", "Embodiment 2(v) Factor VII polypeptide according to any one of embodiments 1-2, wherein T293 is replaced by Lys (K) and L288 is replaced by Ala (A).", "Embodiment 2(vi) Factor VII polypeptide according to any one of embodiments 1-2, wherein T293 is replaced by Lys (K) and L288 is replaced by Trp (VV).", "Embodiment 2(vii) Factor VII polypeptide according to any one of embodiments 1-2, wherein T293 is replaced by Arg (R) and L288 is replaced by Phe (F).", "Embodiment 2(viii) Factor VII polypeptide according to any one of embodiments 1-2, wherein T293 is replaced by Arg (R) and L288 is replaced by Tyr (Y).", "Embodiment 2(ix) Factor VII polypeptide according to any one of embodiments 1-2, wherein T293 is replaced by Arg (R) and L288 is replaced by Asn (N).", "Embodiment 2(x) Factor VII polypeptide according to any one of embodiments 1-2, wherein T293 is replaced by Arg (R) and L288 is replaced by Ala (A).", "Embodiment 2(xi) Factor VII polypeptide according to any one of embodiments 1-2, wherein T293 is replaced by Arg (R) and L288 is replaced by Trp (W).", "Embodiment 2(xii) Factor VII polypeptide according to any one of embodiments 1-2, wherein T293 is replaced by Tyr (Y); and L288 is replaced by Phe (F).", "Embodiment 2(xiii) Factor VII polypeptide according to any one of embodiments 1-2, wherein T293 is replaced by Tyr (Y); and L288 is replaced by Tyr (Y).", "Embodiment 2(xiv) Factor VII polypeptide according to any one of embodiments 1-2, wherein T293 is replaced by Tyr (Y) and L288 is replaced by Asn (N).", "Embodiment 2(xv) Factor VII polypeptide according to any one of embodiments 1-2, wherein T293 is replaced by Tyr (Y) and L288 is replaced by Ala (A).", "Embodiment 2(xvi) Factor VII polypeptide according to any one of embodiments 1-2, wherein T293 is replaced by Tyr (Y) and L288 is replaced by Trp (VV).", "Embodiment 2(xvii) Factor VII polypeptide according to any one of embodiments 1-2, wherein T293 is replaced by Phe (F) and L288 is replaced by Phe (F).", "Embodiment 2(xviii) Factor VII polypeptide according to any one of embodiments 1-2, wherein T293 is replaced by Phe (F) and L288 is replaced by Tyr (Y).", "Embodiment 2(xix) Factor VII polypeptide according to any one of embodiments 1-2, wherein T293 is replaced by Phe (F) and L288 is replaced by Asn (N).", "Embodiment 2(xx) Factor VII polypeptide according to any one of embodiments 1-2, wherein T293 is replaced by Phe (F) and L288 is replaced by Ala (A).", "Embodiment 2(xxi) Factor VII polypeptide according to any one of embodiments 1-2, wherein T293 is replaced by Phe (F) and L288 is replaced by Trp (VV).", "Embodiment 2(xxii) Factor VII polypeptide according to any one of embodiments 1-2, wherein T293 is replaced by Lys (K) and K337 is replaced by Ala (A).", "Embodiment 2(xxiii) Factor VII polypeptide according to any one of embodiments 1-2, wherein T293 is replaced by Arg (R) and K337 is replaced by Ala (A).", "Embodiment 2(xxiv) Factor VII polypeptide according to any one of embodiments 1-2, wherein T293 is replaced by Tyr (Y) and K337 is replaced by Ala (A).", "Embodiment 2(xxv) Factor VII polypeptide according to any one of embodiments 1-2, wherein T293 is replaced by Phe (F) and K337 is replaced by Ala (A).", "Embodiment 2(xxvi) Factor VII polypeptide according to any one of embodiments 1-2, wherein T293 is replaced by Lys (K) and K337 is replaced by Gly (G).", "Embodiment 2(xxvii) Factor VII polypeptide according to any one of embodiments 1-2, wherein T293 is replaced by Arg (R) and K337 is replaced by Gly (G).", "Embodiment 2(xxviii) Factor VII polypeptide according to any one of embodiments 1-2, wherein T293 is replaced by Tyr (Y) and K337 is replaced by Gly (G).", "Embodiment 2(xxix) Factor VII polypeptide according to any one of embodiments 1-2, wherein T293 is replaced by Phe (F) and K337 is replaced by Gly (G).", "Embodiment 2(xxx) Factor VII polypeptide according to any one of embodiments 2(ii)-2(xxii) wherein K337 is replaced by Ala (A).", "Embodiment 3 Factor VII polypeptide according to embodiment 2, wherein the polypeptide comprises one of the following groups of substitutions: L288F/T293K, L288F/T293K/K337A, L288F/T293K/L305V, L288F/T293K/L3051, L288F/T293R, L288F/T293R/K337A, L288F/T293R/L305V, L288F/T293R/L3051, L288F/T293Y, L288F/T293Y/K337A, L288F/T293Y/L305V, L288F/T293Y/L3051, L288F/T293F, L288F/T293F/K337A, L288F/T293F/L305V, L288F/T293F/L3051, L288Y/T293K, L288Y/T293K/K337A, L288Y/T293K/L305V, L288Y/T293K/L3051, L288Y/T293R, L288Y/T293R/K337A, L288Y/T293R/L305V, L288Y/T293R/L3051, L288Y/T293Y, L288Y/T293Y/K337A, L288Y/T293Y/L305V, L288Y/T293Y/L3051, L288Y/T293F, L288Y/T293F/K337A, L288Y/T293F/L305V, L288Y/T293F/L3051, L288N/T293K, L288N/T293K/K337A, L288N/T293K/L305V, L288N/T293K/L3051, L288N/T293R, L288N/T293R/K337A, L288N/T293R/L305V, L288N/T293R/L3051, L288N/T293Y, L288N/T293Y/K337A, L288N/T293Y/L305V, L288N/T293Y/L3051, L288N/T293F, L288N/T293F/K337A, L288N/T293F/L305V, L288N/T293F/L3051, L288A/T293K, L288A/T293K/K337A, L288A/T293K/L305V, L288A/T293K/L3051, L288A/T293R, L288A/T293R/K337A, L288A/T293R/L305V, L288A/T293R/L3051, L288A/T293Y, L288A/T293Y/K337A, L288A/T293Y/L305V, L288A/T293Y/L3051, L288A/T293F, L288A/T293F/K337A, L288A/T293F/L305V or L288A/T293F/L3051.Embodiment 4 Factor VII polypeptide according to embodiment 2, wherein the polypeptide has the following substitutions: L288F/T293K, L288F/T293K/K337A, L288F/T293R, L288F/T293R/K337A, L288Y/T293K, L288Y/T293K/K337A, L288Y/T293R, L288Y/T293R/K337A, L288N/T293K, L288N/T293K/K337A, L288N/T293R or L288N/T293R/K337A.", "Embodiment 5 Factor VII polypeptide according to embodiment 1, wherein Q176 is replaced by Lys (K), Arg (R), or Asn (N).", "Embodiment 6 Factor VII polypeptide according to embodiment 5, wherein the polypeptide comprises one of the following groups of substitutions: L288F/Q176K/K337A, L288Y/Q176K/K337A, L288N/Q176K/K337A or L288A/Q176K/K337A.", "Embodiment 7 Factor VII polypeptide according to embodiment 1, wherein Q286 is replaced by Asn (N).", "Embodiment 8 Factor VII polypeptide comprising one or more substitutions relative to the amino acid sequence of human Factor VII (SEQ ID NO:1), characterized in that one substitution is where L288 is replaced by Phe (F), Tyr (Y), Asn (N) or Ala (A), with the proviso that the polypeptide does not have the following pair of substitutions L288N/R290S or L288N/R290T.", "Embodiment 9 Factor VII polypeptide according to any one of embodiments 1-2(xxx), 5 and 7-8, wherein the Factor VII polypeptide further comprises one or more of the following substitutions L3051, L305V or K337A.", "Embodiment 10 Factor VII polypeptide comprising two or more substitutions relative to the amino acid sequence of human Factor VII (SEQ ID NO:1), wherein W201 is replaced by Arg (R), Met (M), or Lys (K) and wherein T293 is replaced by Lys (K), Arg (R), Tyr (Y) or Phe (F); wherein Q176 is replaced by Lys (K), Arg (R) or Asn (N); or Q286 is replaced by Asn (N).", "Embodiment 10(i) Factor VII polypeptide according to any one of embodiments 1-1(ii) or 10, wherein T293 is replaced by Lys (K), Arg (R), Tyr (Y) or Phe (F) and wherein W201 is replaced by Arg (R), Met (M) or Lys (K).", "Embodiment 11 Factor VII polypeptide according to embodiment 10, wherein T293 is replaced by Lys (K), Arg (R), Tyr (Y) or Phe (F).", "Embodiment 11(i) Factor VII polypeptide according to any one of embodiments 1-2, 10 or 11, wherein T293 is replaced by Lys (K), Arg (R), Tyr (Y) or Phe (F) and W201 is replaced by Arg (R), Met (M) or Lys (K).", "Embodiment 11(ii) Factor VII polypeptide according to any one of embodiments 1-2, 10 or 11, wherein T293 is replaced by Lys (K) and W201 is replaced by Arg (R).", "Embodiment 11(iii) Factor VII polypeptide according to any one of embodiments 1-2, 10 or 11, wherein T293 is replaced by Lys (K) and W201 is replaced by Met (M).", "Embodiment 11(iv) Factor VII polypeptide according to any one of embodiments 1-2, 10 or 11, wherein T293 is replaced by Lys (K) and W201 is replaced by Lys (K).", "Embodiment 11(v) Factor VII polypeptide according to any one of embodiments 1-2, 10 or 11, wherein T293 is replaced by Arg (R) and W201 is replaced by Arg (R).", "Embodiment 11(vi) Factor VII polypeptide according to any one of embodiments 1-2, 10 or 11, wherein T293 is replaced by Arg (R) and W201 is replaced by Met (M).", "Embodiment 11(vii) Factor VII polypeptide according to any one of embodiments 1-2, 10 or 11, wherein T293 is replaced by Arg (R) and W201 is replaced by Lys (K).", "Embodiment 11 (viii) Factor VII polypeptide according to any one of embodiments 1-2, 10 or 11, wherein T293 is replaced by Tyr (Y) and W201 is replaced by Arg (R).", "Embodiment 11(ix) Factor VII polypeptide according to any one of embodiments 1-2, 10 or 11, wherein T293 is replaced by Tyr (Y) and W201 is replaced by Met (M).", "Embodiment 11(x) Factor VII polypeptide according to any one of embodiments 1-2, 10 or 11, wherein T293 is replaced by Tyr (Y) and W201 is replaced by Lys (K).", "Embodiment 11(xi) Factor VII polypeptide according to any one of embodiments 1-2, 10 or 11, wherein T293 is replaced by Phe (F) and W201 is replaced by Arg (R).", "Embodiment 11(xii) Factor VII polypeptide according to any one of embodiments 1-2, 10 or 11, wherein T293 is replaced by Phe (F) and W201 is replaced by Met (M).", "Embodiment 11(xiii) Factor VII polypeptide according to any one of embodiments 1-2, 10 or 11, wherein T293 is replaced by Phe (F) and W201 is replaced by Lys (K).", "Embodiment 12 Factor VII polypeptide according to embodiment 11, wherein the polypeptide comprises one of the following groups of substitutions: W201R/T293K, W201R/T293K/K337A, W201R/T293K/L305V, W201R/T293K/L3051, W201R/T293R, W201R/T293R/K337A, W201R/T293R/L305V, W201R/T293R/L3051, W201R/T293Y, W201R/T293Y/K337A, W201R/T293Y/L305V, W201R/T293Y/L3051, W201R/T293F, W201R/T293F/K337A, W201R/T293F/L305V, W201R/T293F/L3051, W201K/T293K, W201K/T293K/K337A, W201K/T293K/L305V, W201K/T293K/L3051, W201K/T293R, W201K/T293R/K337A, W201K/T293R/L305V, W201K/T293R/L3051, W201K/T293Y, W201K/T293Y/K337A, W201K/T293Y/L305V, W201K/T293Y/L3051, W201K/T293F, W201K/T293F/K337A, W201K/T293F/L305V, W201K/T293F/L3051, W201M/T293K, W201M/T293K/K337A, W201M/T293K/L305V, W201M/T293K/L3051, W201M/T293R, W201M/T293R/K337A, W201M/T293R/L305V, W201M/T293R/L3051, W201M/T293Y, W201M/T293Y/K337A, W201M/T293Y/L305V, W201M/T293Y/L3051, W201M/T293F, W201M/T293F/K337A, W201M/T293F/L305V or W201M/T293F/L3051.Embodiment 13 Factor VII polypeptide according to embodiment 11, wherein the polypeptide has the following substitutions: W201R/T293K, W201R/T293K/K337A, W201R/T293R, W201R/T293R/K337A, W201R/T293Y, W201R/T293F, W201K/T293K or W201M/T293K.", "Embodiment 14 Factor VII polypeptide according to embodiment 10, wherein Q176 is replaced by Lys (K), Arg (R), or Asn (N).", "Embodiment 15 Factor VII polypeptide according to embodiment 14, wherein the polypeptide comprises one of the following groups of substitutions W201R/Q176K, W201R/Q176R, W201K/Q176K, W201K/Q176R, W201M/Q176K, or W201M/Q176R.", "Embodiment 16 Factor VII polypeptide according to embodiment 10, wherein Q286 is replaced by Asn (N).", "Embodiment 17 Factor VII polypeptide according to any one of embodiments 10-11, 14, and 16, wherein the Factor VII polypeptide further comprises one or more of the following substitutions L3051, L305V or K337A.", "Embodiment 18 Factor VII polypeptide comprising one or more substitutions relative to the amino acid sequence of human Factor VII (SEQ ID NO:1), characterized in that one substitution is where W201 is replaced by Arg (R), Met (M), or Lys (K).", "Embodiment 19 Factor VII polypeptide comprising two or more substitutions relative to the amino acid sequence of human Factor VII (SEQ ID NO:1), wherein L288 is replaced by Phe (F), Tyr (Y), Asn (N), or Ala (A); wherein W201 is replaced by Arg (R), Met (M), or Lys (K) and, optionally, wherein T293 is replaced by Lys (K), Arg (R), Tyr (Y) or Phe (F); Q176 is replaced by Lys (K), Arg (R) or Asn (N); or Q286 is replaced by Asn (N).", "Embodiment 20 Factor VII polypeptide according to embodiment 19, wherein the polypeptide comprises one of the following groups of substitutions L288F/W201K, L288F/W201R, L288F/W201M, L288N/W201K, L288N/W201R, L288N/W201M, L288Y/W201K, L288Y/W201R, L288Y/W201M, L288A/W201K, L288A/W201R, L288A/W201M, L288F/W201K/T293K, L288F/W201K/T293Y, L288F/W201R/T293K, L288F/W201R/T293Y, L288F/W201M/T293K, L288F/W201M/T293Y, L288N/W201K/T293K, L288N/W201K/T293Y, L288N/W201R/T293K, L288N/W201R/T293Y, L288N/W201M/T293K, L288N/W201M/T293Y, L288A/W201K/T293K, L288A/W201K/T293Y, L288A/W201R/T293K, L288A/W201R/T293Y, L288A/W201M/T293K, L288A/W201M/T293Y, L288Y/W201K/T293K, L288Y/W201K/T293Y, L288Y/W201R/T293K, L288Y/W201R/T293Y, L288Y/W201M/T293K or L288Y/W201M/T293Y.", "Embodiment 21 Factor VII polypeptide according to any one of the preceding embodiments, wherein the Factor VII polypeptide further comprises one or more of the following substitutions R396C, Q250C, or 407C.", "Embodiment 22 Factor VII polypeptide according to any one of the previous embodiments, wherein said Factor VII polypeptide is a cleaved, two-chain Factor VIIa polypeptide.", "Embodiment 22(i) Factor VII polypeptide according to any one of the preceding embodiments comprising two amino acid substitutions relative to the amino acid sequence of human Factor VII (SEQ ID NO:1).", "Embodiment 22(ii) Factor VII polypeptide according to any one of the preceding embodiments comprising three amino acid substitutions relative to the amino acid sequence of human Factor VII (SEQ ID NO:1).", "Embodiment 22(iii) Factor VII polypeptide according to any one of the preceding embodiments comprising four amino acid substitutions relative to the amino acid sequence of human Factor VII (SEQ ID NO:1).", "Embodiment 22(iv) Factor VII polypeptide according to any one of the preceding embodiments comprising five amino acid substitutions relative to the amino acid sequence of human Factor VII (SEQ ID NO:1).", "Embodiment 22(v) Factor VII polypeptide according to any one embodiments 22(i)-(iv) comprising at the most ten amino acid substitutions relative to the amino acid sequence of human Factor VII (SEQ ID NO:1).", "Embodiment 22(vi) Factor VII polypeptide according to any one of the preceding embodiments, which has a proteolytic activity that is at least 110%, such as at least 120%, such as at least 130%, such as at least 140%, such as at least 150%, such as at least 160%, such as at least 170%, such as at least 180%, such as at least 190%, such as at least 200%, such as at least 300%, such as at least 400%, such as at least 500%, such as at least 1000%, such as at least 3000%, such as at least 5000%, such as at least 10 000%, such as at least 30 000% that of wild type human Factor VIIa, as measured in an in vitro proteolytic assay, in the absence of soluble tissue factor.", "Embodiment 22(vii) Factor VII polypeptide according to any one of the preceding embodiments, which has less than 20%, such as less than 19%, such as less than 18%, such as less than 17%, such as less than 16%, such as less than 15%, such as less than 14%, such as less than 13%, such as less than 12%, such as less than 11%, such as less than 10%, such as less than 9%, such as less than 8%, such as less than 7%, such as less than 6%, such as less than 5% antithrombin reactivity compared to that of wild type human Factor VIIa (SEQ ID NO: 1), as measured in an antithrombin inhibition assay, in the presence of low molecular weight heparin and the absence of soluble tissue factor.", "Embodiment 23 Factor VII polypeptide according to any of the preceding embodiments, wherein the Factor VII polypeptide is coupled with at least one half-life extending moiety.", "Embodiment 24 Factor VII polypeptide according to embodiment 23, wherein the half-life extending moiety is selected from biocompatible fatty acids and derivatives thereof, Hydroxy Alkyl Starch (HAS) e.g.", "Hydroxy Ethyl Starch (HES), Poly Ethylen Glycol (PEG), Poly (Glyx-Sery)n (HAP), Hyaluronic acid (HA), Heparosan polymers (HEP), Phosphorylcholine-based polymers (PC polymer), Fleximers, Dextran, Poly-sialic acids (PSA), Fc domains, Transferrin, Albumin, Elastin like (ELP) peptides, XTEN polymers, PAS polymers, PA polymers, Albumin binding peptides, CTP peptides, FcRn binding peptides and any combination thereof.", "Embodiment 25 Factor VII polypeptide according to embodiment 24, wherein the half-life extending moiety is a heparosan polymer.", "Embodiment 26 Factor VII polypeptide according to embodiment 25, wherein the heparosan polymer has a molecular weight in a range selected from 13-65 kDa, 13-55 kDa, 25-55 kDa, 25-50 kDa, 25-45 kDa, 30-45 kDa and 38-42 kDa, or a molecular weight of 40 kDa.", "Embodiment 26(i) FVII polypeptide according to any one of embodiments 25-26, comprising the structural fragment shown in Formula I, wherein n is an integer from 95-115.Embodiment 26(ii) Factor VII polypeptide according to any one of the preceding embodiments, which has a half-life that is increased by at least 100% compared to wild type human Factor VIIa (SEQ ID NO: 1).", "Embodiment 27 Factor VII polypeptide according to any of the preceding embodiments, wherein said Factor VII polypeptide is disulfide linked to tissue factor.", "Embodiment 28 Factor VII polypeptide according to any of the preceding embodiments, wherein said polypeptide has additional amino acid modifications that increase platelet affinity of the polypeptide.", "Embodiment 29 Factor VII polypeptide according to any one of embodiments 1-22, wherein said polypeptide is a fusion protein comprising a Factor VII polypeptide according to any one of embodiments 1-22 and a fusion partner protein/peptide, for example an Fc domain or an albumin.", "Embodiment 30 Polynucleotide that encodes a Factor VII polypeptide defined in any one of embodiments 1-22 and 28-29.Embodiment 31 Recombinant host cell comprising the polynucleotide according to embodiment 30.Embodiment 32 Method for producing the Factor VII polypeptide defined in any of embodiments 1-22 and 28-29, the method comprising cultivating a cell in an appropriate medium under conditions allowing expression of the polynucleotide construct and recovering the resulting polypeptide from the medium.", "Embodiment 33 Pharmaceutical composition comprising a Factor VII polypeptide as defined in any of embodiments 1-29 and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier.", "Embodiment 34 Method for the treatment of bleeding disorders or bleeding episodes in a subject or for the enhancement of the normal haemostatic system, the method comprising administering a therapeutically or prophylactically effective amount of a Factor VII polypeptide as defined in any of embodiments 1-29 to a subject in need thereof.", "Embodiment 35 Factor VII polypeptide as defined in any of embodiments 1-26 for use as a medicament.", "Embodiment 35(i) Factor VII polypeptide as defined in any one of embodiments 1-26 for use in the treatment of a coagulopathy.", "Embodiment 36 Factor VII polypeptide according to embodiment 35(i) for use as a medicament in the treatment of haemophilia A or B.", "The present invention is further illustrated by the following examples which, however, are not to be construed as limiting the scope of protection.", "The features disclosed in the foregoing description and in the following examples may, both separately and in any combination thereof, be material for realising the invention in diverse forms thereof.", "EXAMPLES Proteins Human plasma-derived Factor X (FX) and Factor Xa (FXa) were obtained from Enzyme Research Laboratories Inc. (South Bend, Ind.).", "Soluble tissue factor 1-219 (sTF) or 1-209 were prepared according to published procedures (Freskgard et al., 1996).", "Expression and purification of recombinant wild-type FVIIa was performed as described previously (Thim et al., 1988; Persson and Nielsen, 1996).", "Human plasma-derived antithrombin (Baxter) was repurified by heparin sepharose chromatography (GE Healthcare) according to published procedures (Olson et al., 1993).", "Bovine serum albumin (BSA) was obtained from Sigma Aldrich (St. Louis, Mo.).", "Example 1—FVIIa Variant Design To design FVIIa variants with higher proteolytic activity towards FX as a substrate, a two-pronged strategy was employed.", "FVIIa loops and single amino acids, around the active-site area, were selected for swapping and for point mutagenesis, respectively, with corresponding FVII amino acids from different species (FIG.", "1).", "FVIIa proteolytic activity was measured as outlined in example 5.Proteolytic activities for three loop-swapped FVIIa variants are shown in Table 1 where residues at positions 287 and 289 are mutated to threonine and glutamic acid respectively while changing the amino acid at position 288.It was observed that changes at position 288, while maintaining the same amino acids at positions 287 and 289, dramatically affected the proteolytic activity.", "It was also observed that substituting the amino acid at position 201 for either a leucine, carried by rat and rabbit FVII, or an arginine, carried by bovine FVII, affected the proteolytic activity.", "Furthermore, it was observed that substituting the amino acid at position 337 for either a glutamine carried by horse or a less bulky amino acid such as alanine affected the proteolytic activity (Table 1).", "These observations suggested that the amino acids at position 288 and 201 could be involved in FX recognition and activation.", "Therefore, positions 288 and 201 were further investigated by saturation mutagenesis and the representative results are outlined in Table 2.TABLE 1 Proteolytic activity of selected FVIIa variants.", "Results are shown in percent (%) of wild-type FVIIa.", "Proteolytic Proteolytic activity + activity + PS:PC sTF + PS:PC FVIIa variant (%) (%) FVIIa 100 100 FVIIa L287T L288F D289E 100 22.1 FVIIa L287T L288H D289E 27.3 4.5 FVIIa L287T L288R D289E 3.2 0.7 FVIIa W201L 66.5 72.8 FVIIa W201R 404.5 177.7 FVIIa K337Q 29.8 63.5 FVIIa K337A 347.3 97.7 FVIIa K337G 317.2 126.1 Example 2—Cloning of FVIIa Variants Mutations were introduced into a mammalian expression vector encoding FVII cDNA using a site directed mutagenesis PCR-based method using KOD Xtreme™ Hot Start DNA Polymerase from Novagen or QuickChange® Site-Directed Mutagenesis kit from Stratagene.", "The pQMCF expression vector and CHOEBNALT85 from Icosagen Cell Factory (Estonia) was used as expression system.", "Introduction of the desired mutations was verified by DNA sequencing (MWG Biotech.", "Germany).", "Example 3—FVIIa Expression The FVII variants were expressed in CHOEBNALT85 cells from Icosagen Cell Factory (Estonia).", "Briefly, CHOEBNALT85 suspension cells were transiently transfected by electroporation (Gene Pulse Xcell, Biorad, Copenhagen, DK).", "Transfected cells were selected with 700 μg/l Geneticin® (Gibco by Life Technologies), and expanded to give a total of 300 ml to 10 litre supernatant.", "Cells were cultured in medium according to manufacturer's instructions supplemented with 5 mg/l Vitamin K1 (Sigma-Aldrich).", "Depending on scale, cells were cultured in shake flasks (37° C. 5-8% C02 and 85-125 rpm) or rocking cultivation bags (37° C. 5% C02 and 30 rpm).", "Small scale supernatants were harvested by centrifugation followed by filtration through a 0.22 μm PES filter (Corning; Fischer Scientific Biotech, Slangerup, DK) and larger volumes were harvested by depth filtration followed by 0.22 μm absolute filtration (3 μm Clarigard, Opticap XL10; 0.22 μm Durapore, Opticap XL10, Merck Millipore, Hellerup, DK).", "Example 4—FVIIa Purification and Concentration Determination FVII variants were purified by Gla-domain directed antibody affinity chromatography essentially as described elsewhere (Thim et al.", "1988).", "Briefly, the protocol comprised of 3 steps.", "In step 1, 5 mM CaCl2 was added to the conditioned medium and the sample was loaded onto the affinity column.", "After extensive wash with 10 mM His, 2 M NaCl, 5 mM CaCl2, 0.005% Tween 80, pH 6.0, bound protein was eluted with 50 mM His, 15 mM EDTA, 0.005% Tween80, pH 6.0 onto (step 2) an anion exchange column (Source 15Q, GE Healthcare).", "After wash with 20 mM HEPES, 20 mM NaCl, 0.005% Tween80, pH 8.0, bound protein was eluted with 20 mM HEPES, 135 mM NaCl, 10 mM CaCl2, 0.005% Tween80, pH 8.0 onto (step 3) a CNBr-Sepharose Fast Flow column (GE Healthcare) to which human plasma-derived FXa had been coupled at a density of 1 mg/ml according to manufacturer's instructions.", "The flow rate was optimized to ensure essentially complete activation of the purified zymogen variants to the activated form.", "For FVIIa variants with enhanced activity, capable of auto-activation in the conditioned medium or on the anion exchange column, step 2 and/or step 3 were omitted to prevent proteolytic degradation.", "Purified proteins were stored at −80° C. Protein quality was assessed by SDS-PAGE analysis and the concentration of functional molecules measured by active site titration or quantification of the light chain content by rpHPLC as described below.", "Measurement of FVIIa Variant Concentration by Active Site Titration The concentration of functional molecules in the purified preparations was determined by active site titration from the irreversible loss of amidolytic activity upon titration with sub-stoichiometric levels of d-Phe-Phe-Arg-chloromethyl ketone (FFR-cmk; Bachem) essentially as described elsewhere (Bock P. E., 1992.J.", "Biol.", "Chem.", "267.14963-14973).", "Briefly, all proteins were diluted in assay buffer (50 mM HEPES, pH 7.4, 100 mM NaCl, 10 mM CaCl2.1 mg/mL BSA, and 0.1% w/v PEG8000).", "A final concentration of 150 nM FVIIa variant was preincubated with 500 nM of soluble tissue factor (sTF) for 10 min followed by the addition of FFR-cmk at final concentrations of 0-300 nM (n=2) in a total reaction volume of 100 μL in a 96-well plate.", "The reactions were incubated over night at room temperature.", "In an another 96-well plate, 20 μL of each reaction was diluted 10 times in assay buffer containing 1 mM S-2288 (Chromogenix, Milano, Italy).", "The absorbance increase was measured continuously for 10 min at 405 nM in a Spectramax 190 microplate spectrophotometer equipped with SOFTmax PRO software.", "Amidolytic activity was reported as the slope of the linear progress curves after blank subtraction.", "Active site concentrations were determined by extrapolation, as the minimal concentration of FFR-cmk needed to completely abolish the amidolytic activity.", "Measurement of FVIIa Variant Concentration from the Light-Chain Content Using Reversed-Phase HPLC— In an alternative approach, the concentration of functional FVIIa molecules in purified preparations were determined by quantification of the FVIIa light chain (LC) content by reversed-phase HPLC (rpHPLC).", "A calibration curve with wild-type FVIIa was prepared using FVIIa concentrations in the range from 0 to 3 μM, while samples of unknown concentration were prepared in estimated concentrations of 1.5 μM (n=2).", "All samples were reduced using a 1:1 mixture of 0.5 M tris(2-carboxyethyl)phosphine (TCEP; Calbiochem/Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany) and formic acid added to the samples to a concentration of 20% (v/v) followed by heating of samples at 70° C. for 10 min.", "The reduced FVIIa variants were loaded onto a C4 column (Vydac.", "300 Å, particle size 5 μM, 4.6 mm, 250 mm) maintained at 30° C. Mobile phases consisted of 0.09% TFA in water (solvent A) and 0.085% TFA in acetonitrile (solvent B).", "Following injection of 80 μL sample, the system was run isocratically at 25% solvent B for 4 min followed by a linear gradient from 25-46% B over 10 min.", "Peaks were detected by fluorescence using excitation and emission wavelengths of 280 and 348 nm, respectively.", "Light chain quantification was performed by peak integration and relative amounts of FVIIIa variants were calculated on basis of the wild-type FVIIa standard curve.", "Example 5—Screen for Mutations Conferring Increased Activity As outlined in example 1, Table 1, and to evaluate the role of FVIIa amino acids at positions 201 and 288; these positions were subjected to rigorous site-directed saturation mutagenesis.", "In order to further identify FVIIIa variants having enhanced proteolytic activity other amino acid positions, 305 and 337, were also selected for saturation mutagenesis.", "Briefly, activity was measured as the ability of each variant to proteolytically activate the macromolecular substrate Factor X in the presence of phospholipid vesicles (In vitro proteolysis assay).", "Each reaction was performed in the presence or absence of the co-factor tissue factor (sTF) to mimic the possible TF dependent and independent mechanisms of action of recombinant FVIIIa.", "Furthermore, to understand the role of these substitutions towards FVIIIa inhibition by antithrombin; antithrombin inhibition was quantified under pseudo-first order conditions in the presence of low molecular weight heparin to mimic the ability of endogenous heparin-like glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) to accelerate the reaction in vivo.", "These results are summarized in Table 2.As shown in FIG.", "2, the measured in vitro antithrombin reactivities were found to correlate with the in vivo accumulation of FVIIa-antithrombin complexes thus validating the predictiveness of the in vitro screening procedure.", "TABLE 2 Saturation mutagenesis of selected amino acid positions.", "Results are shown in percent (%) of wild-type FVIIa Proteolytic Proteolytic activity + activity + sTF + AT reactivity + AT reactivity + PS:PC PS:PC LMWH sTF FVIIa variant (%) (%) (%) (%) FVIIa W201A 99.1 110.9 98.7 73 FVIIa W201D 78 84.2 72.5 72.7 FVIIa W201E 68.4 55.9 70.6 52.1 FVIIa W201F 55 55.5 113.1 152.5 FVIIa W201H 88.8 85.8 111.4 118.9 FVIIa W201I 83.5 85.1 79.3 104.5 FVIIa W201K 149 120.2 160.4 95.6 FVIIa W201L 66.5 72.8 96 32.7 FVIIa W201M 135.3 151.4 114.3 155.8 FVIIa W201N 79.1 56.5 82.9 64 FVIIa W201P 65.5 84.4 104.8 121.6 FVIIa W201Q 115.7 93.3 79.4 62.9 FVIIa W201R 404.5 177.7 160 59.6 FVIIa W201S 120.5 91.5 82.3 74.7 FVIIa W201T 89.5 74.8 71 72 FVIIa W201V 86.1 74.3 81 86.1 FVIIa W201Y 125.7 107.8 115 122.3 FVIIa L288A 206.3 75.1 112.7 87.9 FVIIa L288D 25.9 10.3 FVIIa L288E 91.4 37.7 77.8 91.5 FVIIa L288F 574.6 90.7 156.8 78.6 FVIIa L288G 98.4 44.8 11.6 37.7 FVIIa L288K 10.3 6.2 151.4 69 FVIIa L288M 59.9 47.1 151 91.8 FVIIa L288N 279.6 44.4 85.9 21.7 FVIIa L288Q 62.1 28.9 177.6 67.6 FVIIa L288S 151.2 57.4 214.7 91.7 FVIIa L288T 51.9 29.4 145.7 74.2 FVIIa L288V 35.2 30.8 98.9 71.5 FVIIa L288W 251.3 41.5 221.1 74.5 FVIIa L288Y 530.4 73.4 152.6 89.9 FVIIa L305A 26 18.8 31 28.8 FVIIa L305I 327.5 92.3 201.5 76.6 FVIIa L305T 34.8 85.9 42.5 46.1 FVIIa L305V 164.4 133.2 215.1 56.1 FVIIa K337A 347.3 97.7 157.4 128.7 FVIIa K337D 0 4.2 FVIIa K337E 20.3 39.2 3.8 29.9 FVIIa K337G 317.2 126.1 183.7 208.2 FVIIa K337I 12.3 34 1.8 9.5 FVIIa K337L 8.1 15.8 1.6 13.3 FVIIa K337N 1.5 12.9 FVIIa K337Q 29.8 63.5 30.3 78.2 FVIIa K337S 49.8 112.3 40.4 144.3 FVIIa K337T 3.9 16 FVIIa K337V 12.4 29.9 7.9 15.5 FVIIa K337Y 8.3 40.7 Amino acids including glutamine, tyrosine, methionine, lysine, and arginine at position 201 are required for gaining proteolytic activity towards FX as substrate in presence of phospholipids.", "W201R provides the most gain in the proteolytic activity in presence of phospholipids and in either absence or presence of sTF.", "On the other hand, amino acids including phenylalanine, leucine, and asparagine decrease the proteolytic activity compared to FVIIa WT.", "In case of position 288, alanine, asparagine, serine, tryptophan, phenylalanine, and tyrosine provide gain in the proteolytic activity towards FX as substrate in presence of phospholipids.", "L288F and L288Y provide the most gain in the proteolytic activity in presence of phospholipids.", "Data presented in Table 2 demonstrates the challenges in predicting the proteolytic activity and antithrombin reactivity a priori.", "Our approach of using saturation mutagenesis is, therefore, justified in order to explore the full repertoire of influence in activity that different amino acids bring about in FVIIa variants.", "Measurement of Proteolytic Activity Using Factor X as Substrate (In Vitro Proteolysis Assay)— The proteolytic activity of the FVIIa variants was estimated using plasma-derived factor X (FX) as substrate.", "All proteins were diluted in 50 mM HEPES pH 7.4, 100 mM NaCl, 10 mM CaCl2, 1 mg/mL BSA, and 0.1% w/v PEG8000.Relative proteolytic activities were determined by incubating 1 to 10 nM of each FVIIa conjugate with 40 nM FX in the presence of 25 μM 75:25 phosphatidyl choline:phosphatidyl serine (PC:PS) phospholipids (Haematologic technologies, Vermont, USA) for 30 min at room temperature in a total reaction volume of 100 μL in a 96-well plate (n=2).", "FX activation in the presence of sTF was determined by incubating 5 μM of each FVIIa conjugate with 30 nM FX in the presence of 25 μM PC:PS phospholipids for 20 min at room temperature in a total reaction volume of 100 μL (n=2).", "After incubation, reactions were quenched by adding 100 μL of 1 mM S-2765 (Chromogenix, Milano, Italy) in stop buffer (50 mM HEPES pH 7.4, 100 mM NaCl, 80 mM EDTA).", "Immediately after quenching, the absorbance increase was measured continuously at 405 nM in an Envision microplate reader (PerkinElmer, Waltham, Mass.).", "All additions, incubations and plate movements were performed by a Hamilton Microlab Star robot robot (Hamilton, Bonaduz, Switzeland) on line coupled to an Envision microplate reader.", "Apparent catalytic rate values (kcat/Km) were estimated by fitting the data to a simplified form of the Michaelis Menten equation (v=kcat*[S]*[E]/Km) using linear regression since the FX substrate concentration ([S]) was below Km for the activation reaction.", "The amount of FXa generated was estimated from a standard curve prepared with human plasma-derived FXa under identical conditions.", "Estimated kcat/Km values were reported relative to that of wild-type FVIIa following normalisation of the measured rate of FXa generation according to the concentration of the FVIIa variant used.", "Results are given in Table 1, Table 2, Table 3 and Table 7.Measurement of FVIIa Inhibition by Antithrombin— A discontinuous method was used to measure the in vitro rate of inhibition by human plasma-derived antithrombin (AT) under pseudo-first order conditions in the presence of low molecular weight (LMW) heparin (Calbiochem/Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany).", "The assay was performed in a 96-well plate using a buffer containing 50 mM HEPES pH 7.4, 100 mM NaCl, 10 mM CaCl2, 1 mg/mL BSA, and 0.1% w/v PEG8000 in a total reaction volume of 200 μL.", "To a mixture of 200 nM FVIIa and 12 μM LMW heparin was added 5 μM antithrombin in a final reaction volume of 100 μL.", "At different times, the reaction was quenched by transferring 20 μL of the reaction mixture to another microtiter plate containing 180 μL of sTF (200 nM), polybrene (0.5 mg/mL; Hexadimethrine bromide, Sigma-Aldrich) and S-2288 (1 mM).", "Immediately after transfer at the different times, substrate cleavage was monitored at 405 nm for 10 min in an Envision microplate reader.", "Pseudo-first order rate constants (kobs) were obtained by non-linear least-squares fitting of data to an exponential decay function, and the second-order rate constant (k) was obtained from the following relationship k=kobs/[AT].", "All additions, incubations and plate movements were performed by a Hamilton Microlab Star robot (Hamilton, Bonaduz, Switzerland) on line coupled to an Envision microplate reader (PerkinElmer, Waltham, Mass.).", "Rates of inhibition were reported relative to that of wild-type FVIIa.", "Results are given in Table 2, Table 3 and Table 7.Example 6—Combining FVIIa Mutations Conferring Increased Activity and Antithrombin Resistance In order to design FVIIa variants with high proteolytic activity and antithrombin resistance, a selection of the identified FVIIa proteolytic activity enhancing variants were combined with the FVIIa variants that confer antithrombin resistance.", "Specifically, FVIIa combination variants were made with substitutions at positions 293 and 201, 288, 305, 337, 176 and/or 286.Characterization of the combination FVIIa purified protein preparations using the in vitro proteolysis and antithrombin inhibition assays described in Example 5 are summarized in Table 3.Table 3 demonstrates that some combinations resulted in FVIIa variants exhibiting a desirable high activity while at the same time having a desirable low antithrombin reactivity.", "For example, FVIIa variant L288F T293K displayed 600% proteolytic activity in presence of phospholipids and just 6% antithrombin reactivity in presence of low-molecular weight heparin compared to wild-type FVIIa.", "Similarly, FVIIa variant L288Y T293K displays 447.8% proteolytic activity in presence of phospholipids and just 5.8% antithrombin reactivity in presence of low-molecular weight heparin compared to wild-type FVIIa.", "Furthermore, the W201R T293K displayed 609% proteolytic activity in presence of phospholipids and just 9% antithrombin reactivity in presence of low-molecular weight heparin compared to wild-type FVIIa.", "Interestingly, combining the two FVIIa mutations L288F and K337A provides greatly enhanced activity with a measured 2646% increase in proteolytic activity compared to wild-type FVIIa.", "Upon further co-introduction of the mutation T293K, enhanced activity is retained while a low antithrombin reactivity is achieved.", "This variant displays 1310% proteolytic activity in presence of phospholipids and just 17% antithrombin reactivity in presence of low-molecular weight heparin compared to wild-type FVIIa.", "Altogether, it can be concluded that the T293K, T293R, and T293Y mutations when combined with W201R or L288F effectively reduce the antithrombin reactivity compared to wild-type FVIIa while providing higher proteolytic activity compared to wild-type FVIIa.", "TABLE 3 Proteolytic activities and antithrombin reactivities of FVIIa combination variants.", "Results are shown in percent (%) of wild-type FVIIa.", "Proteolytic Proteolytic AT activity + activity + sTF + reactivity + AT reactivity + PS:PC PS:PC LMWH sTF FVIIa variant (%) (%) (%) (%) FVIIa W201R T293Y 1026.9 202.6 11.1 2.3 FVIIa W201R T293R L305I 1573.6 411.3 46.6 8.9 FVIIa W201R T293R 217.2 375.5 7.1 9.1 FVIIa W201R T293K L305I 1734.6 446.4 82.5 3.4 FVIIa W201R T293K 590.6 272.2 7.9 7.7 FVIIa W201R L288F 2542.8 427.2 40.4 33.2 T293R FVIIa W201R L288F 1476 307.2 16.7 18.2 T293K FVIIa W201M T293Y 599.7 145.4 11.6 1.7 FVIIa W201M T293R 179.2 201.7 3 6.7 FVIIa W201M T293K 146.1 173.5 3.8 5.2 FVIIa W201K T293Y 617.7 176.7 15.4 2.6 FVIIa W201K T293R 553.5 8.8 11.6 FVIIa W201K T293K 217.2 214.6 6.3 7.3 FVIIa T293Y L305V K337A 1194.6 121 62.4 3.3 FVIIa T293Y K337A 213 162.9 26.5 2 FVIIa T293R L305V K337A 2552.5 427 37.4 6.9 FVIIa T293R L305V 1325.8 356.1 19.1 4.2 FVIIa T293R L305I 711 229.7 22.1 2.6 FVIIa T293R K337A 690.2 279 10.4 13.4 FVIIa T293K L305V K337A 956.8 170.1 34.2 5.7 FVIIa T293K L305I 524 152.2 17.9 1.7 FVIIa T293K K337A 773.1 264.9 7.2 6.9 FVIIa L305V T293Y 669.5 110.4 30.4 1.3 FVIIa L305V T293K 792.4 166.6 13.8 1.9 FVIIa L288Y T293R K337A 2530.2 323.8 19.1 10.1 FVIIa L288Y T293R 1059.7 298.4 7.5 4.8 FVIIa L288Y T293K 676.5 233.7 5.4 4.5 FVIIa L288N T293Y 783.2 116.2 10.6 0.8 FVIIa L288N T293R 209.5 78.7 20.7 3.5 FVIIa L288N T293K 168 69 4.4 0.9 FVIIa L288F T293Y 523.9 48.1 12.2 2 FVIIa L288F T293R L305V 1784.5 101.3 48.6 9.1 FVIIa L288F T293R L305I 1456.4 158.2 41.4 3.5 FVIIa L288F T293R K337A 2001.9 305 21.5 20.7 FVIIa L288F T293R 259.7 110 8.3 6.7 FVIIa L288F T293K L305V 466.3 181.4 8.2 10.2 FVIIa L288F T293K L305I 2147.7 147.6 33 2.8 FVIIa L288F T293K K337A 1310.7 133.6 17.1 9 FVIIa L288F T293K 600.6 210.2 6.1 4.3 Example 7—Estimation of FVIIa Potency and Plasma Level Potencies were estimated using a commercial FVIIa specific clotting assay; STACLOT® VIIa-rTF from Diagnostica Stago.", "The assay is based on the method published by J. H. Morrissey et al.", "Blood.", "81:734-744 (1993).", "It measures sTF initiated FVIIa activity-dependent time to fibrin clot formation in FVII deficient plasma in the presence of phospholipids.", "Clotting times were measured on an ACL9000 (ILS) coagulation instrument and results calculated using linear regression on a bilogarithmic scale based on a FVIIa calibration curve.", "The same assay was used for measurements of FVIIa clotting activity in plasma samples from animal PK studies.", "The lower limit of quantification (LLOQ) in plasma was estimated to 0.25 U/ml.", "Plasma activity levels were converted to nM using the specific activity.", "Example 8—Crystallographic Analysis of FVIIa Variants To explore the mechanism by which the identified substitutions affect proteolytic activity and antithrombin recognition, crystal structures of the representative FVIIa variants L288Y T293K, L288F T293K, W201R T293K, W201R T293Y and L288F T293K K337A were determined.", "When comparing structures on the 3-dimensional level the 1DAN structure of wild-type (WT) FVIIa, in complex with soluble Tissue Factor, [Banner, D. W. et al, Nature, (1996), Vol.", "380, 41-46] have had its heavy chain residues of FVIIa renumbered according to the numbering scheme of SEQ ID NO: 1.Purified H-D-Phe-Phe-Arg chloromethyl ketone (FFR-cmk; Bachem, Switzerland) active-site inhibited FVIIa variants in complex with soluble Tissue Factor (fragment 1-219) were crystallized using the hanging drop method in accordance with [Kirchhofer, D. et al, Proteins Structure Function and Genetics, (1995), Vol.", "22, pages 419-425].", "The protein buffer solution was a mix of 10 mM Tris pH 7.5 at 25 C.°, 100 mM NaCl, 15 mM CaCl2.Protein concentrations together with precipitant solutions and mixing conditions for the FVIIa variants are shown in Table 4.The hanging drop method using 24-well VDX-plates and well solution of 1.0 ml was utilized.", "The drops were set up with a mix of 1.5 μl of the protein solution and 0.5 μl of the well solution.", "Streak seeding was used to initialize nucleation.", "The cryo conditions are shown in Table 4.The crystal was let to soak in the cryo solution for about 30 seconds after which the crystal was transferred to, and flash frozen in, liquid nitrogen.", "Crystallographic data were processed by the XDS data reduction software [Kabsch, W., Acta Crystallographica Section D Biological Crystallography, (2010), Vol.", "66, pages 125-132] using resolution cut-off as described by Karplus et al.", "[Karplus, P. A. et al, Science (New York, N.Y.), (2012), Vol.", "336, pages 1030-1033].", "TABLE 4 Crystallization and freezing conditions for the FVIIa variants.", "Mixing ratio FVIIa Protein protein:precipitant variant conc.", "Precipitant solution solution Cryo condition L288Y 2.5 mg/ml 0.1M Cacodylate 3:1 100% TMAO T293K pH 5.1, 13% Peg (trimethylamine 8000 N-oxide) L288F 2.14 mg/ml 0.1M Na-citrate 3:1 100% TMAO T293K pH 5.6, 17% Peg 3350 and 12% 1- propanol W201R 1.0 mg/ml 0.1M Cacodylate 3:1 As precipitant T293K pH 5.1, 13% Peg solution but with 8000 35% PEG 8000 W201R 2.93 mg/ml 0.1M Cacodylate 3:1 As precipitant T293Y pH 5.1, 12% Peg solution but with 8000 35% PEG 8000 L288F 1.0 mg/ml 0.1M Na-citrate 3:1 As precipitant T293K pH 5.6, 16% Peg solution but with K337A 3350 and 12% 1- 35% PEG3350.propanol In-house generated coordinates (unpublished) based on the crystallographic coordinates of the 1DAN entry [Banner, D. W. et al, Nature, (1996), Vol.", "380, pages 41-46] from the Protein Data Bank (PDB) [Berman, H. M. et al, Nucleic Acids Res., (2000), Vol.", "28, pages 235-242], were used as starting model for either molecular replacement calculations in phenix.phaser [Mccoy, A. J. et al, J. Appl.", "Crystallogr., (2007), Vol.", "40, pages 658-674] or straight into refinements with the phenix.refine software [Afonine, P. V. et al, Acta Crystallogr.", "Sect.", "D-Biol.", "Crystallogr., (2012), Vol.", "68, pages 352-367] of the PHENIX software package [Adams, P. D. et al, Acta Cryst.", "D, (2010), Vol.", "66, pages 213-221].", "Refinements were followed by interactive model corrections in the computer graphics software COOT [Emsley, P. et al, Acta Crystallogr.", "Sect.", "D-Biol.", "Crystallogr., (2010), Vol.", "66, pages 486-501].", "Crystallographic data, refinement and model statistics for the 5 FVIIa variants are shown in Table 5.TABLE 5 Data collection, refinement and model statistics.", "Statistics for the highest-resolution shell are shown in parentheses.", "FVIIa variant L288F L288Y L288F W201R W201R T293K T293K T293K T293K T293Y K337A Data collection BLI911-3, BLI911-3, BLI911-3, BLI911-3, X10SA, beamline MAX-lab MAX-lab MAX-lab MAX-lab SLS Wavelength [Å] 1.0000 1.0000 1.0000 1.0000 0.9999 Resolution range [Å] 35.7-2.01 29.25-2.37 29.5-1.71 29.16-2.5 49.75-2.216 (2.082-2.01) (2.455-2.37) (1.772-1.71) (2.589-2.5) (2.295-2.216) Space group P 21 21 21 P 21 21 21 P 21 21 21 P 21 21 21 P 21 21 21 Unit cell [Å] 71.34 69.34 68.77 68.86 68.919 82.46 81.57 78.2 81.42 81.545 123.3 125.88 172.21 125.39 125.57 Total reflections 321033 (9043) 103617 (6525) 501348 (14728) 91616 (9007) 234709 (20365) Unique reflections 48292 (4010) 28995 (2424) 96329 (6505) 24966 (2433) 35724 (3412) Multiplicity 6.6 (2.3) 3.6 (2.7) 5.2 (2.3) 3.7 (3.7) 6.6 (6.0) Completeness [%] 98.31 (83.26) 97.71 (83.50) 95.43 (63.97) 99.70 (99.43) 99.60 (96.82) Mean I/sigma(I) 9.33 (0.68) 9.45 (0.79) 11.73 (0.42) 5.09 (0.54) 7.39 (0.53) Wilson B-factor [Å] 22.18 40.30 24.56 25.91 45.71 R-merge 0.2439 (1.316) 0.145 (1.431) 0.1141 (1.968) 0.3456 (2.778) 0.2599 (3.739) R-meas 0.2647 0.1698 0.1266 0.4047 0.2822 CC1/2 0.987 (0.277) 0.992 (0.322) 0.997 (0.219) 0.951 (0.11) 0.992 (0.174) CC* 0.997 (0.659) 0.998 (0.698) 0.999 (0.599) 0.987 (0.446) 0.998 (0.545) Reflections used in 48286 28991 96323 24966 35721 refinement Reflections used for R- 2497 1465 4773 1260 1853 free R-work 0.2122 (0.3487) 0.2199 (0.3698) 0.2170 (0.5007) 0.2568 (0.3940) 0.2077 (0.4038) R-free 0.2561 (0.3880) 0.2755 (0.3826) 0.2556 (0.5132) 0.3102 (0.4015) 0.2556 (0.4045) Number of non- 5446 4969 5382 4981 4566 hydrogen atoms: Total In Macromolecules 4769 4700 4836 4679 4355 In Ligands 81 51 87 36 39 In Waters 596 218 459 266 172 Protein residues 607 618 622 607 561 RMS(bonds) [Å] 0.007 0.004 0.008 0.002 0.005 RMS(angles) [°] 0.88 0.64 1.05 2.73 0.75 Ramachandran 97 94 94 94 95 favoured [%] Ramachandran outliers 0 0 0.99 0.51 0 [%] Clashscore 1.69 1.41 3.60 2.19 1.74 Average B-factor [Å2]: 30.70 51.70 60.40 43.70 61.80 Total For macromolecules 29.70 51.90 61.50 44.80 61.80 For Ligands 56.10 65.60 68.50 43.60 109.30 For Solvent 35.30 44.70 46.70 23.60 50.10 3-Dimensional Structure Analyses Generally there are no major differences between the wild type (WT) FVIIa molecule 1DAN structure [Banner, D. W. et al, Nature, (1996), Vol.", "380, pages 41-46] and those of the FVIIa variants.", "The overall root-mean-square deviation (RMSD), calculated by gesamt [Krissinel, E., Journal of Molecular Biochemistry, (2012), Vol.", "1, pages 76-85] between the 1DAN FVIIa heavy chain and the L288Y T293K, L288F T293K, W201R T293K, W201R T293Y and L288F T293K K337A FVIIa variants are 0.424, 0.365, 0.451, 0.342 and 0.289 Å, respectively.", "The number of Cα-atom pairs used in the calculations were 254, 254, 251, 254 and 254, respectively.", "The W201R T293Y FVIIa variant Mutation FVIIa W201R: On the detailed level the heavy chain FVIIa Arg 201 residue of the double mutant is situated in the “60-loop” (chymotrypsin numbering).", "In the likelihood-weighted 2mFo-DFc electron density map, at 1.0 σ cut-off, there are indications of the main chain loop stretch while that cannot be seen for the side chains of the Arg 201 residue (a Trp residue in the wild type FVIIa), together with the side chain of the residues before and after (Asn and Arg residues, respectively).", "This indicates high flexibility of those side chains.", "To aid in the structure interpretation a difference electron density map was calculated between observed structure factors from the in-house wild type protein crystals and the observed structure factors from the FVIIa double mutant [Fobs(WT FVIIa/sTF)-Fobs(FVIIa W201R T293Y/sTF)], using software from the CCP4 software program package [Collaborative Computational Project, N. Acta crystallographica, Section D, Biological crystallography, 1994, 50, 760-763].", "Using phases from the wild type data or the double mutant data resulted in similar difference maps.", "On the positive side of the difference map the side chain of the Trp residue from the wild type FVIIa can be clearly seen (maximum peak at 5.6 σ levels using phases from wild type data) while there is no clear indication of the Arg side chain on the negative side of the difference map.", "This also argues for that the Arg residue is more flexible than the Trp residue of the wild type protein.", "It should be noted, however, that neither the side chains before nor after the Trp residue can be clearly observed in the 1DAN structure, using a likelihood-weighted 2mFo-DFc electron density map, which is similar to the results from the FVIIa W201R T293Y/sTF crystal structure, while the position of the Trp 201 is unmistakably seen in the FVIIa WT structure.", "Regarding the main chain orientation of the loop studied, the likelihood-weighted 2mFo-DFc electron density map and phenix.refine refinements places the 200, 201 and 202 residues closer towards the position of the replaced Trp side chain residue, relatively to the published 1DAN structure [Banner.", "D. W., et al., Nature, 1996, 380, 41-46].", "In particular residue Asn 200 has moved and its Cα position is 3.1 Å away from its position in the wild type structure FIG.", "3.Also, in the described [Fobs(WT FVIIa/sTF)-Fobs(FVIIa W201R T293Y/sTF)] difference map there are peaks indicating such a movement of residue Asn 200.One 5.7 a positive peak close to the position of the wild type loop conformation and another 4.3 a negative peak slightly on the inside of the refined double mutant conformation.", "This supports that the main chain has moved closer towards the position of the WT Trp side chain and relatively more towards the center of the FVIIa heavy chain.", "The structural difference seen between the wild type structure and the double mutated protein for the residues 200, 201 and 202 of the heavy chain FVIIa probably depends on stabilization by the inward pointing Trp 201 residue side chain in the WT structure that fills out a primarily hydrophobic volume in the FVIIa protein and thereby anchors the loop in the wild type structure.", "The side chain of the corresponding residue Arg in FVIIa W201R T293Y does not form the same rigid structure, with a tightly bound side chain, but is more flexible, and therefore not anchoring the loop in the same way as in the WT FVIIa structure.", "FIG.", "3 shows a stick representation of a comparison of the two crystal structures: 1) with light-colored carbon atoms.", "FVIIa wild type protein in complex with Tissue Factor, using an in-house data set from crystals of the same type as the PDB structure 1 DAN [Banner.", "D. W., et al., Nature, 1996, 380, 41-46], and 2) with dark-colored carbon atoms, the FVIIa double mutant W201R T293Y in complex with Tissue Factor.", "Some of the residues are labeled with amino acid one-letter code and ending with “-wt” or “-m” for 1) and 2), respectively.", "Several side chains have been truncated (atoms outside of Cβ have been removed) as likelihood-weighted 2mFo-DFc electron density maps did not show any electron density for those side chains.", "For example the residues N200, R201 and R202 of the FVIIa double mutant W201R T293Y are all truncated for that reason.", "The figure was prepared by the molecular graphics software PyMOL [The PyMOL Molecular Graphics System.", "Version 1.6.0.0 Schrödinger, LLC].", "Mutation FVIIa T293Y: The heavy chain FVIIa Tyr 293 residue is situated in the activation loop 1.The likelihood-weighted 2mFo-DFc electron density map, at 1.0 a cut-off, clearly show the main chain and side chain of the Tyr residue in the refined structure.", "The Tyr side chain atom Cβ-Cγ follows the same direction as for the Cβ-Cγ2 atoms in the wild type Thr residue.", "The C-Cα-Cβ-Cγ and C-Cα-Cβ-Cγ2 dihedral angles are 165 and 173° for FVIIa residue 293 of the double mutant and WT form, respectively.", "Thereby, the Tyr 293 residue of the double mutant directs its side chain in the direction of the catalytic domain and towards the binding site of the FFR-cmk bound inhibitor.", "The calculated [Fobs(WT FVIIa/sTF)-Fobs(FVIIa W201R T293Y/sTF)] difference map confirms the orientation of the Tyr side chain with a negative peak (4.7 a height) at the Tyr ring system and a positive peak (4.2 σ height) at the missing Thr Oyi atom.", "To study the possible interactions between antithrombin and a FVIIa mutated T293Y molecule a superimposition of the Factor Xa molecular complex with antithrombin, PDB-code 2GD4 [Johnson.", "D. J. D., et al., Embo J., 2006, 25, 2029-2037], was made on the FVIIa double mutant.", "The molecular graphics software PyMOL [The PyMOL Molecular Graphics System, Version 1.6.0.0 Schrödinger, LLC] was used for the superimposition of the FXa and FVIIa molecules and resulted in an RMSD of 0.769 Å for 1194 atoms.", "From the riding antithrombin molecule model it is then clear that the Tyr 293 residue of the FVIIa W201R T293Y mutant in the theoretically molecular complex produced (FVIIa W201R T293Y/antithrombin III) forms spatial overlap with, in particular, residue Leu 395 but also Arg 399 of the antithrombin molecule FIG.", "4.This is confirmed by distance calculations, performed in the contacts software of the CCP4 program suite, between Tyr 293 of the FVIIa double mutant and the riding antithrombin molecule.", "A cut-off distance of 3.5 Å was used between the Tyr 293 residue in the mutant FVIIa molecule and the antithrombin molecule and the results are shown in Table 6.All distances, 3.5 Å or shorter, between the residue Tyr 293 of the FVIIa W201R T293Y double mutant and antithrombin from the Antithrombin-S195A FXa-pentasaccharide complex, PDB:2GD4, [Johnson.", "D. J. D., et al., Embo J., 2006, 25, 2029-2037] after the FXa complex has been superimposed on the FVIIa mutant (W201R T293Y)/sTF structure, using the FVIIa (W201R T293Y) and the FXa as common molecules are summarized in Table 6.The spatial overlap will most probably negatively influence on the possibility for antithrombin to place its reactive center loop (RCL) into the active site of FVIIa.", "Thereby a T293Y mutated FVIIa molecule will be less susceptible to inhibition by antithrombin.", "This is in agreement with, and gives an explanation to, what is observed experimentally showing increased resistance to inactivation by antithrombin and prolonged half-life.", "FIG.", "4 is a stick representation of a theoretical model of a complex between antithrombin (indicated with light carbon atoms) and the FVIIa W201R T293Y double mutant (indicated with dark carbon atoms).", "The relative positions of the residues Tyr 293, Gin 255, Lys 341, Gin 286 of the FVIIa mutant W201R T293Y, and for the antithrombin molecule residues Leu 395, Arg 399, Glu 295, Tyr 253 and V317 are shown and labeled.", "The model was constructed based on the structures of the antithrombin/FXa complex [Johnson.", "D. J. D., et al., Embo J., 2006, 25, 2029-2037], PDB code 2GD4, where the FXa molecule, with the antithrombin let riding, has been superimposed on the heavy chain of FVIIa W201R T293Y variant molecule.", "Residues of FVIIa W201R T293Y and antithrombin have a prefix of “FVIIa” and “AT” respectively, followed by one-letter amino acid code and residue number.", "The figure was prepared by the molecular graphics software PyMOL [The PyMOL Molecular Graphics System, Version 1.6.0.0 Schrödinger, LLC].", "TABLE 6 All distances.", "3.5 Å or shorter between the residue Tyr 293 of the FVIIa (W201R T293Y) double mutant and antithrombin amino acids in the described theoretical model between the two molecules.", "FVIIa W201R T293Y Antithrombin Res.", "# Res.", "# and Atom Res.", "and Atom Distance Res.", "Type Chain name Type Chain name [Å] Tyr 293H N Tyr 253A OH 3.41 Tyr 293H CD1 Leu 395A CD1 3.07 Tyr 293H CD2 Tyr 253A OH 3.50 Arg 399A NH2 2.54 Arg 399A CZ 3.40 Tyr 293H CE1 Leu 395A CG 2.88 Leu 395A CD1 1.89 Leu 395A CD2 3.40 Tyr 293H CE2 Glu 255A OE2 3.11 Arg 399A NH2 2.24 Leu 395A CD1 2.72 Arg 399A CZ 2.90 Tyr 293H CZ Arg 399A NH2 3.26 Leu 395A CG 2.51 Leu 395A CD1 1.60 Arg 399A CZ 3.43 Leu 395A CD2 2.59 Tyr 293H OH Leu 395A CB 2.78 Leu 395A CG 1.53 Leu 395A CD1 1.54 Leu 395A CD2 1.26 The W201R T293K FVIIa Variant The region around residue 201 of FVIIa: On a detailed level the heavy chain FVIIa Arg 201 residue of the double mutant is situated in the “60-loop” (chymotrypsin numbering).", "In the likelihood-weighted 2mFo-DFc electron density map, at 1.0 σ cut-off, the main chain loop stretch is clearly seen.", "The side chain of the Arg 201 residue (a Trp residue in the wild type FVIIa) is also clearly observed.", "The outer part, the guanidinium group, of the Arg 202 residue has, however, missing electron density in the likelihood-weighted 2mFo-DFc electron density map and at the chosen cut-off, indicating a higher mobility or disorder.", "Regarding the main chain orientation of the loop studied (the “60-loop”) it show transformations between the W201R T293K and the 1DAN structure [Banner, D. W. et al, Nature, (1996), Vol.", "380, pages 41-46].", "After superimposing the two structures it is seen that when moving along the polypeptide from residue 197 towards 203 there are differences in equivalent Cα positions by 0.64, 2.48, 3.63, 6.41, 4.15 and 0.81 Å, respectively.", "The main chain of the loop has moved closer towards the position of the in 1 DAN WT Trp side chain position [Banner, D. W. et al, Nature, (1996), Vol.", "380, pages 41-46] and has also moved towards the center of the FVIIa heavy chain, the catalytic domain.", "The Arg 201 residue of W201R T293K FVIIa is in the superimposed structure placed towards the position of the replaced WT Trp side chain residue of the published 1DAN structure.", "The structural difference seen between the wild type structure and the W201R T293K FVIIa variant of the heavy chain “60-loop” probably depends on stabilization by the inward pointing Trp 201 residue side chain in the WT structure that fills out a primarily hydrophobic volume in the FVIIa protein and thereby anchors the loop in the wild type structure.", "The side chain of the corresponding, smaller, residue Arg in FVIIa W201R T293K does not anchor the loop in the same way as the Trp in the WT FVIIa structure.", "The Region Around Residue 293 of FVIIa: The heavy chain FVIIa Lys 293 residue is situated in the activation loop 1.The likelihood-weighted 2mFo-DFc electron density map, at 1.0 a cut-off, clearly show the main chain and side chain of the Lys residue in the refined structure.", "The Lys side chain atom Cβ-Cγ follows the same direction as for the Cβ-Cγ2 atoms in the wild type Thr residue.", "The C-Cα-Cα-Cγ and C-Cα-Cβ-Cγ2 dihedral angles are 169 and 173° for FVIIa residue 293 of the double mutant and WT form, respectively.", "The Lys 293 show a “mttt” rotamer orientation, the most common rotamer orientation for Lys [Lovell, S. C. et al, Proteins, (2000), Vol.", "40, pages 389-408] as seen by the computer graphics software COOT [Emsley, P. et al, Acta Crystallogr.", "Sect.", "D-Biol.", "Crystallogr., (2010), Vol.", "66, pages 486-501].", "Moreover, the Lys 293 residue Nζ atom of the W201R T293K FVIIa variant makes a strong, with a distance of 2.68 Å, hydrogen bond with the residue Gin 176 Oϵ1 atom thereby stabilizing the two side chains.", "Compared to the WT FVIIa 1DAN structure the Gin 176 residue has therefore altered its side chain conformation to optimize the hydrogen bond it makes with the Lys 293 residue in the W201R T293K FVIIa variant.", "The rotamer goes from the “tt0°” conformation of the WT structure to a rotamer conformation which is not among the standard conformations described in [Lovell, S. C. et al, Proteins, (2000), Vol.", "40, pages 389-408].", "Thereby, the Lys 293 residue of the double mutant directs its side chain in the direction of the catalytic domain and towards the binding site of the FFR-cmk bound inhibitor and is filling out a prime site of the FVIIa active site cleft.", "The L288Y T293K FVIIa Variant The Region Around Residue 288 of FVIIa: The region is clearly seen in the crystal structure likelihood-weighted 2mFo-DFc electron density map, at a 1.0 a cut-off.", "The residues in the loop following the Tyr 288 residue, residues 289 to 292 in the heavy chain of the FVIIa L288Y T293K FVIIa variant shows a change in main chain conformation with a maximum difference at residue Arg 290 where the Cα atoms differs 2.87 Å between the a superimposed molecules of the FVIIa L288Y T293K FVIIa variant and the WT structure of FVIIa, 1DAN [Banner, D. W. et al, Nature, (1996), Vol.", "380, pages 41-46].", "The Cα atom of the Tyr 288 residue shows a 0.80 Å difference to the equivalent atom of the Leu 288 residue in the superimposed WT FVIIa.", "The side chain rotamer of Tyr 288 in the FVIIa L288Y T293K FVIIa variant is “p90°” while that of the Ley side chain rotamer of the WT FVIIa 1DAN structure show a “mt” rotamer [Lovell, S. C. et al, Proteins, (2000), Vol.", "40, pages 389-408].", "That results in that the two equivalent side chains points in different directions, seen in the difference in the C-Cα-Cβ-Cγ dihedral angle, −69° and 157° for the L288Y T293K FVIIa variant and WT FVIIa, respectively.", "The hydroxyl group of the Tyr 288 side chain in the L288Y T293K FVIIa variant interacts favorably with surrounding water molecules, which are ordered in the crystal structure and the side chain folds over the loop following the Tyr 288 of the FVIIa L288Y T293K variant.", "The structural main chain alteration of the loop following residue 288, and the mutation of residue 288 itself, might at least partly explain the activity improvements seen of this FVIIa variant.", "The Region Around Residue 293 of FVIIa: The 3D structure of this residue and other residues in contact with it highly similar to what is described for the W201R T293K FVIIa variant.", "Therefore all conclusions drawn for the T293K mutation of that variant also applies to the of T293K mutation of the L288Y T293K FVIIa variant.", "The L288F T293K FVIIa Variant The Region Around Residue 288 of FVIIa: The region is clearly seen in the crystal structure likelihood-weighted 2mFo-DFc electron density map, at a 1.0 a cut-off.", "The 3D structure of this region is highly similar to the L288F T293K FVIIa variant.", "The two variants share same main chain orientation for example.", "One thing that differs between the two FVIIa variants is that the Phe 288 side chain has another preferred rotamer (“m-85°”) for its side chain, actually pointing in the same orientation as the Leu 288 side chain of the WT FVIIa.", "An unusual property of the Phe 288 side chain of the L288F T293K FVIIa variant is that for Phe residues it is unusually exposed (145 Å2 according to calculations by AREAIMOL of the CCP4 crystallographic program suite [Bailey, S., Acta Crystallogr.", "Sect.", "D-Biol.", "Crystallogr., (1994), Vol.", "50, pages 760-763]) to the surrounding solvent.", "The Region Around Residue 293 of FVIIa: The 3D structure of this residue and other residues in contact with it is highly similar to what is described for the W201R T293K FVIIa variant.", "Therefore all conclusions drawn for the T293K mutation of that variant also applies to the of T293K mutation of the L288F T293K FVIIa variant.", "The L288F T293K K337A FVIIa Variant The Region Around Residue 288 of FVIIa: The region is clearly seen in the crystal structure likelihood-weighted 2mFo-DFc electron density map, at a 1.0 a cut-off.", "The 3D structure of this region is highly similar to the L288F T293K FVIIa variant.", "The two variants share same main chain orientation for example.", "One thing that differs between the two FVIIa variants is that the Phe 288 side chain has another preferred rotamer (“m-85°”) for its side chain, actually pointing in the same orientation as the Leu 288 side chain of the WT FVIIa and the L288F T293K FVIIa variant.", "Therefore all conclusions drawn for the L288F mutation of that variant also applies to the of L288F mutation of the L288F T293K K337A FVIIa variant.", "The Region Around Residue 293 of FVIIa: The 3D structure of this residue and other residues in contact with it highly similar to what is described for the W201R T293K FVIIa variant.", "Therefore all conclusions drawn for the T293K mutation of that variant also applies to the of T293K mutation of the L288F T293K K337A FVIIa variant.", "The Region Around Residue 337 of FVIIa: The region is clearly observed in the crystal structure likelihood-weighted 2mFo-DFc electron density map, at a 1.0 a cut-off.", "The 3D structure of this region is similar to the WT structure of FVIIa, 1DAN [Banner, D. W. et al, Nature, (1996), Vol.", "380, pages 41-46], and to the other FVIIa variants of this Example.", "The overall main- and side-chain orientations are close to the WT FVIIa 1DAN structure and the other FVIIa variant structures there are, however, small differences, slightly larger than the by phenix.refine maximum-likelihood based calculation of the coordinate error of 0.40 Å of the crystal structure.", "The equivalent Ca atoms of residue 337 are 0.8 Å apart in WT structure of FVIIa, 1DAN, and the L288F T293K K337A FVIIa variant.", "The Cα atoms of the same residues are 0.4 Å apart.", "The equivalent Cα atoms of residue 336 are 0.6 Å apart in the superimposed WT structure of FVIIa, 1 DAN, and the L288F T293K K337A FVIIa variant.", "For the Phe 332 residue the side chain in shifted approximately 0.5 Å towards the Ala 337 residue of the L288F T293K K337A FVIIa variant compared to the WT structure of FVIIa, 1DAN [Banner, D. W. et al, Nature, (1996), Vol.", "380, pages 41-46].", "It can also be concluded that the other FVIIa variants of this Example show approximately the same deviation to the L288F T293K K337A FVIIa variant as the WT structure of FVIIa 1 DAN does.", "Moreover the other FVIIa variants cluster much closer to the WT FVIIa 1DAN structure than the L288F T293K K337A FVIIa variant does.", "This might explain at least in part the altered properties of this variant.", "Examples 9-14—Chemical Modification of FVIIa Variants Abbreviations Used in Examples 9-14 AUS: Arthrobacter ureafaciens Sialidase CMP-NAN: Cytidine-5′-monophosphate-N-acetyl neuraminic acid CV: Column volume GlcUA: Glucuronic acid GlcNAc: N-Acetylglucosamine GSC: 5′-Glycylsialic acid cytidine monophosphate GSC-SH: 5′-[(4-Mercaptobutanoyl)glycyl]sialic acid cytidine monophosphate HEP: HEParosan polymer HEP-GSC: GSC-functionalized heparosan polymer HEP-[N]-FVIIa: HEParosan conjugated via N-glycan to FVIIa.", "HEPES: 2-[4-(2-hydroxyethyl)piperazin-1-yl]ethanesulfonic acid His: Histidine PABA: p-Aminobenzamidine ST3GalIII N-glycan specific a2,3-sialyltransferase TCEP: tris(2-carboxyethyl)phosphine UDP: Uridine diphosphate Quantification Method Used in Examples 9-14: The conjugates of the invention were analysed for purity by HPLC.", "HPLC was also used to quantify amount of isolated conjugate based on a FVIIa reference molecule.", "Samples were analysed either in non-reduced or reduced form.", "A Zorbax 300SB-C3 column (4.6×50 mm; 3.5 μm Agilent, Cat.", "No.", ": 865973-909) was used.", "Column was operated at 30° C. 5 μg sample was injected, and column eluted with a water (A)—acetonitrile (B) solvent system containing 0.1% trifluoroacetic acid.", "The gradient program was as follows: 0 min (25% B); 4 min (25% B); 14 min (46% B); 35 min (52% B); 40 min (90% B); 40.1 min (25% B).", "Reduced samples were prepared by adding 10 μl TCEP/formic acid solution (70 mM tris(2-carboxyethyl)phosphine and 10% formic acid in water) to 25 μl/30 μg FVIIa (or conjugate).", "Reactions were left for 10 minutes at 70° C., before they were analysed on HPLC (5 μl injection).", "Starting Materials Used in Examples 9-14: HEP-Maleimide and HEP-Benzaldehyde Polymers Maleimide and aldehyde functionalized HEP polymers of defined size is prepared by an enzymatic polymerization reaction as described in US 2010/0036001.Two sugar nucleotides (UDP-GlcNAc and UDP-GlcUA) and a priming trisaccharide (GlcUA-GlcNAc-GlcUA)NH2 for initiating the reaction is used, and polymerization is run until depletion of sugar nucleotide building blocks.", "The process produced HEP polymers with a single terminal amino group.", "The size of HEP polymer is determined by the sugar nucleotide to primer ratio.", "The terminal amine (originating from the primer) is then functionalized with either a maleimide functionality for conjugation to GSC-SH, or a benzaldehyde functionality for reductive amination chemistry to the glycyl terminal of GSC.", "HEP-benzaldehydes can be prepared by reacting amine functionalized HEP polymers with a surplus of N-succinimidyl-4-formylbenzoic acid (Nano Letters (2007), 7(8), 2207-2210) in aqueous neutral solution.", "The benzaldehyde functionalized polymers may be isolated by ion-exchange chromatography, size exclusion chromatography, or HPLC.", "HEP-maleimides can be prepared by reacting amine functionalized HEP polymers with a surplus of N-maleimidobutyryl-oxysuccinimide ester (GMBS; Fujiwara, K., et al.", "(1988), J. Immunol.", "Meth.", "112, 77-83).", "The benzaldehyde or maleimide functionalized polymers may be isolated by ion-exchange chromatography, size exclusion chromatography, or HPLC.", "Any HEP polymer functionalized with a terminal primary amine functionality (HEP-NH2) may be used in the present examples.", "Two options are shown below: The terminal sugar residue in the non-reducing end of the polysaccharide can be either N-acetylglucosamine or glucuronic acid (glucuronic acid is drawn above).", "Typically a mixture of both sugar residues are to be expected in the non-reducing end, if equimolar amount of UDP-GlcNAc and UDP-GlcUA has been used in the polymerization reaction.", "5′-Glycylsialic Acid Cytidine Monophosphate (GSC): The GSC starting material used in the current invention can be synthesised chemically (Dufner, G. Eur.", "J. Org.", "Chem.", "2000, 1467-1482) or it can be obtained by chemoenzymatic routes as described in WO07056191.The GSC structure is shown below: Example 9—Preparation of 38.8k-HEP-[N]-FVIIa L288F T293K Step 1: Synthesis of [(4-mercaptobutanoyl)glycyl]sialic acid cytidine monophosphate (GSC-SH) Glycyl sialic acid cytidine monophosphate (200 mg; 0.318 mmol) was dissolved in water (2 ml), and thiobutyrolactone (325 mg; 3.18 mmol) was added.", "The two phase solution was gently mixed for 21 h at room temperature.", "The reaction mixture was then diluted with water (10 ml) and applied to a reverse phase HPLC column (C18, 50 mm×200 mm).", "Column was eluted at a flow rate of 50 ml/min with a gradient system of water (A), acetonitrile (B) and 250 mM ammonium hydrogen carbonate (C) as follows: 0 min (A: 90%, B: 0%, C:10%); 12 min (A: 90%, B: 0%, C:10%); 48 min (A: 70%, B: 20%, C:10%).", "Fractions (20 ml size) were collected and analysed by LC-MS.", "Pure fractions were pooled, and passed slowly through a short pad of Dowex 50W×2 (100-200 mesh) resin in sodium form, before lyophilized into dry powder.", "Content of title material in freeze dried powder was then determined by HPLC using absorbance at 260 nm, and glycyl sialic acid cytidine monophosphate as reference material.", "For the HPLC analysis, a Waters X-Bridge phenyl column (5 μm 4.6 mm×250 mm) and a water acetonitrile system (linear gradient from 0-85% acetonitrile over 30 min containing 0.1% phosphoric acid) was used.", "Yield: 61.6 mg (26%).", "LCMS: 732.18 (MH+); 427.14 (MH+-CMP).", "Compound was stable for extended periods (>12 months) when stored at −80° C. Step 2: Synthesis of 38.8 kDa HEP-GSC Reagent with Succinimide Linkage The HEP-GSC reagent was prepared by coupling GSC-SH ([(4-mercaptobutanoyl)glycyl]sialic acid cytidine monophosphate) from step 1 with HEP-maleimide in a 1:1 molar ratio as follows: GSC-SH (0.68 mg) dissolved in 50 mM Hepes, 100 mM NaCl, pH 7.0 (50 μl) was added 35 mg of the 38.8k-HEP-maleimide dissolved in 50 mM Hepes, 100 mM NaCl, pH 7.0 (1.35 ml).", "The clear solution was left for 2 hours at 25° C. Unreacted GSC-SH was removed by dialysis using a Slide-A-Lyzer cassette (Thermo Scientific) with a cut-off of 10 kD.", "The dialysis buffer was 50 mM Hepes, 100 mM NaCl, 10 mM CaCl2, pH 7.0.The reaction mixture was dialyzed twice for 2.5 hours.", "The recovered material was used as such in step 4 below, assuming a quantitative reaction between GSC-SH and HEP-maleimide.", "The HEP-GSC reagent made by this procedure will contain a HEP polymer attached to sialic acid cytidine monophosphate via a succinimide linkage.", "Step 3: Desialylation of FVIIa L288F T293K FVIIa L288F T293K (30 mg) was added sialidase (AUS, 100 ul, 20 U) in 10 mM His, 100 mM NaCl, 60 mM CaCl2, 10 mM PABA pH 5.9 (10 ml), and left for 1 hour at room temperature.", "The reaction mixture was then diluted with 50 mM HEPES, 100 mM NaCl, 1 mM EDTA, pH 7.0 (30 ml), and cooled on ice.", "250 mM EDTA solution (2.6 ml) was added in small portions, keeping pH at neutral by sodium hydroxide addition.", "The EDTA treated sample was then applied to a 2×5 ml HiTrap Q FF ion-exchange columns (Amersham Biosciences, GE Healthcare) equilibrated with 50 mM HEPES, 100 mM NaCl, 1 mM EDTA, pH 7.0.Unbound protein was eluted with 50 mM HEPES, 100 mM NaCl, 1 mM EDTA, pH 7.0 (4 CV), followed by 50 mM HEPES, 150 mM NaCl, pH 7.0 (8 CV), before eluting asialo FVIIa L288F T293K with 50 mM HEPES, 100 mM NaCl, 10 mM CaCl2, pH 7.0 (20 CV).", "Asialo FVIIa L288F T293K was isolated in 50 mM Hepes, 150 mM NaCl, 10 mM CaCl2, pH 7.0.Yield (19.15 mg) was determined by quantifying the FVIIa L288F T293K light chain content against a FVIIa standard after tris(2-carboxyethyl)phosphine reduction using reverse phase HPLC.", "Step 4: Synthesis of 38.8 kDa HEP-[N]-FVIIa L288F T293K with Succinimide Linkage To asialo FVIIa L288F T293K (19.2 mg) in 50 mM Hepes, 100 mM NaCl, 10 mM CaCl2, 10 mM PABA, pH 7.0 (18.0 ml) was added 38.8 kDa-HEP-GSC (35 mg from step 2) in 50 mM Hepes, 100 mM NaCl, 10 mM CaCl2, pH 7.0 (2.3 ml), and rat ST3GalIII enzyme (5 mg; 1.1 unit/mg) in 20 mM Hepes, 120 mM NaCl, 50% glycerol, pH 7.0 (7.2 ml).", "The reaction mixture was incubated over night at 32° C. under slow rotation.", "The reaction mixture was then applied to a FVIIa specific affinity column (CV=24 ml) modified with a Gla-domain specific antibody and step eluted first with 2 column volumes of buffer A (50 mM Hepes, 100 mM NaCl, 10 mM CaCl2, pH 7.4) then 2 column volumes of buffer B (50 mM Hepes, 100 mM NaCl, 10 mM EDTA, pH 7.4).", "The method essentially follows the principle described by Thim, L et al.", "Biochemistry (1988) 27, 7785-779.The product with unfolded Gla-domain was collected and directly applied to a 2×5 ml HiTrap Q FF ion-exchange columns (Amersham Biosciences, GE Healthcare).", "Column was washed with 10 mM His, 100 mM NaCl, 0.01% Tween80, pH 7.5 (3 column volumes), and 10 mM His, 100 mM NaCl, 10 mM CaCl2, 0.01% Tween80, pH 7.5 (for 3.5 column volume).", "The pH was then lowered to 6.0 with 10 mM His, 100 mM NaCl, 10 mM CaCl2, 0.01% Tween80, pH 6.0 (3 column volumes), and the HEPylated material eluted with 5 column volumes of a buffer mixture composed of 60% buffer A (10 mM His, 100 mM NaCl, 10 mM CaCl2, 0.01% Tween80, pH 6.0) and 40% buffer B (10 mM His, 1 M NaCl, 10 mM CaCl2, 0.01% Tween80, pH 6.0).", "The recovered asialo FVIIa L288F T293K (unmodified) was recycled, ie.", "was HEPylated once more as described in step 4 and purified in the same way as just described.", "The combined fractions from two hepylation runs were pooled and concentrated by ultrafiltration (Millipore Amicon Ultra, cut off 10 kD).", "Step 5: Capping of Mono Glycoconjugated Heparosan 38.8k-HEP-[N]-FVIIa L288F T293K Non-sialylated N-glycanes of 38.8k-HEP-[N]-FVIIa L288F T293K were finally capped (i.e.", "sialylated) with ST3GalIII enzyme and CMP-NAN as follows: 38.8k-HEP-[N]-FVIIa L288F T293K (5.85 mg) was incubated with ST3GalIII (0.18 mg/ml); CMP-NAN (4.98 mM) in 8.4 ml of 10 mM His, 100 mM NaCl, 10 mM CaCl2, 0.01% Tween80, pH 6.0 for 1 h at 32° C. The reaction mixture was then applied to a FVIIa specific affinity column modified with a Gla-domain specific antibody and step eluted first with 2 column volumes of buffer A (50 mM Hepes, 100 mM NaCl, 10 mM CaCl2, pH 7.4) then 2 column volumes of buffer B (50 mM Hepes, 100 mM NaCl, 10 mM EDTA, pH 7.4).", "The pooled fractions containing 38.8k-HEP-[N]-FVIIa L288F T293K were combined and dialyzed using a Slide-A-Lyzer cassette (Thermo Scientific) with a cut-off of 10 kD.", "The dialysis buffer was 10 mM His, 100 mM NaCl, 10 mM CaCl2, 0.01% Tween80, pH 6.0.The protein concentration was determined by light-chain HPLC analysis after TCEP reduction.", "The overall yield of 38.8k-HEP-[N]-FVIIa L288F T293K was 2.46 mg (13%).", "Example 10—Preparation of 41.5 kDa-HEP-[N]-FVIIa L288F T293K K337A Step 1: Synthesis of 41.5 kDa HEP-GSC Reagent with 4-Methylbenzoyl Linkage Glycyl sialic acid cytidine monophosphate (GSC) (20 mg; 32 μmol) in 5.0 ml 50 mM Hepes, 100 mM NaCl, 10 mM CaCl2 buffer, pH 7.0 was added 41.5 kDa HEP-benzaldehyde (99.7 mg; 2.5 μmol).", "The mixture was gently rotated until all HEP-benzaldehyde had dissolved.", "During the following 2 hours, a 1M solution of sodium cyanoborohydride in MilliQ water was added in portions (5×50 p1), to reach a final concentration of 48 mM.", "Reaction mixture was left at room temperature overnight.", "Excess of GSC was then removed by dialysis as follows: the total reaction volume (5250 p1) was transferred to a dialysis cassette (Slide-A-Lyzer Dialysis Cassette, Thermo Scientific Prod No.", "66810 with cut-off 10 kDa capacity: 3-12 ml).", "Solution was dialysed for 2 hours against 2000 ml of 25 mM Hepes buffer (pH 7.2) and once more for 17h against 2000 ml of 25 mM Hepes buffer (pH 7.2).", "Complete removal of excess GSC from inner chamber was verified by HPLC on Waters X-Bridge phenyl column (4.6 mm×250 mm, 5 μm) and a water acetonitrile system (linear gradient from 0-85% acetonitrile over 30 min containing 0.1% phosphoric acid) using GSC as reference.", "Inner chamber material was collected and freeze dried to give 41.5 kDa HEP-GSC as white powder.", "The HEP-GSC reagent was analysed by NMR and on SEC chromatography.", "The HEP-GSC reagent made by this procedure contains a HEP polymer attached to sialic acid cytidine monophosphate via a 4-methylbenzoyl linkage.", "Step 2: Desialylation of FVIIa L288F T293K K337A To a solution of FVIIa L288F T293K K337A (43.5 mg) in 21 ml of 10 mM His, 100 mM NaCl, 60 mM CaCl2, 10 mM PABA, pH 6.7 buffer was added sialidase (Arthrobacter ureafaciens, 9 units/ml).", "The reaction mixture was incubated for 1 hour at room temperature.", "The reaction mixture was then cooled on ice and added 14 ml of 10 mM His, 100 mM NaCl pH 7.7.50 ml of a 100 mM EDTA solution was then added while maintaining neutral pH.", "The reaction mixture was then diluted with 50 ml of MilliQ water, and applied to 4×5 ml interconnected HiTrap Q FF ion-exchange columns (Amersham Biosciences, GE Healthcare) equilibrated in 50 mM HEPES, 50 mM NaCl, pH 7.0.Unbound protein including sialidase was eluted with 5 CV of 50 mM HEPES, 150 mM NaCl, pH 7.0.Desialylated protein was eluted with 12 CV of 50 mM HEPES, 150 mM NaCl, 30 mM CaCl2, pH 7.0.Fractions containing protein were combined and added 0.5M PABA to reach a final concentration of 10 mM.", "Protein yield was determined by quantifying the FVIIa L288F T293K K337A light chain against a FVIIa standard after tris(2-carboxyethyl)phosphine reduction using reverse phase HPLC as described above.", "32.5 mg asialo FVIIa L288F T293K K337A (2.83 mg/ml) was in this way isolated in 11.5 ml of 50 mM Hepes, 150 mM NaCl, 30 mM CaCl2, 10 mM PABA, pH 7.0.To asialo FVIIa L288F T293K K337A (16.3 mg) in 5.75 ml of 50 mM Hepes, 150 mM NaCl, 30 mM CaCl2, 10 mM PABA, pH 7.0 was added 41.5 kDa HEP-GSC (3 equivalents, 41.5 mg) and rat ST3GalIII enzyme (2.93 mg; 1.1 unit/mg) in 4.2 ml of 20 mM Hepes, 120 mM NaCl, 50% glycerol, pH 7.0.PABA concentration was then adjusted to 10 mM with a 0.5M aqueous PABA solution, and pH was adjusted to 6.7 with 1N NaOH.", "The reaction mixture was incubated overnight at 32° C. under slow stirring.", "A solution 157 mM CMP-NAN in 50 mM Hepes, 150 mM NaCl, 10 mM CaCl2, pH 7.0 (356 p1) was then added, and the reaction was incubated at 32° C. for an additional hour.", "HPLC analysis showed a product distribution containing un-reacted FVIIa L288F T293K K337A (68%), mono HEPylated FVIIa (25%) and various polyHEPylated forms (7%).", "The entire reaction mixture was then applied to a FVIIa specific affinity column (CV=24 ml) modified with a Gla-domain specific antibody and step eluted first with 2 column volumes of buffer A (50 mM Hepes, 100 mM NaCl, 10 mM CaCl2, pH 7.4) then 2 column volumes of buffer B (50 mM Hepes, 100 mM NaCl, 10 mM EDTA, pH 7.4).", "The method essentially follows the principle described by Thim, L et al.", "Biochemistry (1988) 27, 7785-779.The products with unfolded Gla-domain was collected and directly applied to 3×5 ml interconnected HiTrap Q FF ion-exchange columns (Amersham Biosciences, GE Healthcare) equilibrated with a buffer containing 10 mM His, 100 mM NaCl, pH 6.0.The column was washed with 4 column volumes of 10 mM His, 100 mM NaCl, pH 6.0.Unmodified FVIIa L288F T293K K337A was eluted with 12 CV of 10 mM His, 100 mM NaCl, 10 mM CaCl2, pH 6.0 (elution buffer A).", "41.5 kDa-HEP-[N]-FVIIa L288F T293K K337A was then eluted with 15 CV of 10 mM His, 325 mM NaCl, 10 mM CaCl2, pH 6.0.Pure fractions were combined, and protein concentration was determined by HPLC quantification method previously described.", "3.42 mg (21%) pure 41.5 kDa-HEP-[N]-FVIIa L288F T293K K337A was isolated.", "The combined fractions containing 41.5 kDa-HEP-[N]-FVIIa L288F T293K K337A was finally dialyzed against 10 mM His, 100 mM NaCl, 10 mM CaCl2, pH 6.0 using a Slide-A-Lyzer cassette (Thermo Scientific) with a cut-off of 10 kD, and concentration adjusted to (0.40 mg/ml) by adding dialysis buffer.", "Example 11—Preparation of 41.5 kDa HEP-[N]-FVIIa W201 T293K This material was prepared essentially as described in example 10.FVIIa W201R T293K (40 mg) was initially desialylated and asialo FVIIa W201R T293K (27.2 mg) was isolated by the Gla-specific ion-exchange method.", "The desialylated analogue was then incubated with 41.5 kDa HEP-GSC (produced as described in example 10) and ST3GalIII.", "The conjugation product was then isolated by ion-exchange chromatography.", "Final buffer exchange afforded 2.9 mg (7.5%) of 41.5 kDa HEP-[N]-FVIIa W201 T293K in 10 mM His, 100 mM NaCl, 10 mM CaCl2, pH 6.0.Example 12—Preparation of 41.5 kDa HEP-[N]-FVIIa L288Y T293K This material was prepared essentially as described in example 10.FVIIa L288Y T293K (19.9 mg) was initially desialylated and asialo FVIIa L288Y T293K (16.9 mg) was isolated by the Gla-specific ion-exchange method.", "The desialylated analogue was then incubated with 41.5 kDa HEP-GSC (produced as described in example 10) and ST3GalIII.", "The conjugation product was then isolated by ion-exchange chromatography.", "Final buffer exchange afforded 1.95 mg (11.5%) of 41.5 kDa HEP-[N]-FVIIa L288Y T293K in 10 mM His, 100 mM NaCl, 10 mM CaCl2, pH 6.0.Example 13—Preparation of 41.5 kDa HEP-[N]-FVIIa L288Y T293R This material was prepared essentially as described in example 10.After desialylation asialo FVIIa L288Y T293R (30 mg) was reacted with 41.5 kDa HEP-GSC (produced as described in example 10) and ST3GalIII.", "The conjugation product was then isolated by ion-exchange chromatography.", "Final buffer exchange afforded 4.33 mg (14.4%) of 41.5 kDa HEP-[N]-FVIIa L288Y T293R was obtained in 10 mM His, 100 mM NaCl, 10 mM CaCl2, pH 6.0.Example 14—Preparation of 41.5 kDa HEP-[N]-FVIIa T293K K337A This material was prepared essentially as described in example 10.After desialylation asialo FVIIa L288Y T293R (8 mg) was reacted with 41.5 kDa HEP-GSC (produced as described in example 10) and ST3GalIII.", "The conjugation product was isolated by ion-exchange chromatography.", "Final buffer exchange afforded 1.72 mg (15%) of 41.5 kDa HEP-[N]-FVIIa T293K K337A in 10 mM His, 100 mM NaCl, 10 mM CaCl2, pH 6.0.Example 15—Functional Properties of Modified Combination FVIIa Variants FVIIa combination variants glycoconjugated to either PEG or heparosan (HEP), as described in examples 9-14, were characterized for proteolytic activity and antithrombin reactivity as described in example 5.Results are summarized in Table 7.These data show that chemical modifications of FVIIa, in the cases with PEG or HEP, decreases FVIIa variant proteolytic activity but for some variants allows to retain higher than wild-type FVIIa proteolytic activity and further allows to retain antithrombin resistance.", "TABLE 7 Functional properties of modified FVIIa variants.", "Results are shown in percent (%) of wild-type FVIIa.", "Proteolytic Proteolytic activity + ATIII ATIII activity + sTF + Inhibition + Inhibition + PS:PC PS:PC LMWH sTF IUPAC name (% WT) (% WT) (% WT) (% WT) 40k-PEG-[N]-FVIIa W201R T293Y 266.9 88.8 5.9 1.9 40k-HEP-[N]-FVIIa W201R T293K 155.3 236.7 0.2 1.2 40k-HEP-[N]-FVIIa L288Y T293R 407 200.3 5.2 4.4 40k-HEP-[N]-FVIIa L288Y T293K 264.9 147.4 3.7 2.9 40k-HEP-[N]-FVIIa L288F T293K 555.5 115 K337A 40K-HEP-[N]-FVIIa L288F T293K 279.3 116.4 4.4 3.6 Example 16—Evaluation in Haemophilia A-Like Whole Blood Thrombelastography Thrombelastography (TEG) assay was chosen to evaluate activity of FVIIa variants in a heamophilia A-like whole blood by comparison to FVIIa.", "TEG assay provides a profile of the entire coagulation process—initiation, propagation and final clot strength measurements.", "Apart from the possible influence of shear forces in flowing blood and the vasculature, TEG assay mimics the in vivo conditions of coagulation as the method measures the visco elastic properties of clotting whole blood (Viuff, E. et al, Thrombosis Research, (2010), Vol.", "126, pages 144-149).", "Each TEG assay was initiated by using kaolin and TEG parameters clotting time (R) and maximum thrombus generation rate (MTG) were recorded and reported in Table 8.The clotting time (R) denotes the latency time from placing blood in the sample cup until the clot starts to form (2 mm amplitude); whereas, the maximum thrombus generation (MTG) denotes the velocity of clot formation.", "The clotting time (R) in seconds is determined using standard TEG software; whereas, MTG is calculated as the first derivative of the TEG track multiplied with 100 (100×mm/second).", "Blood samples were obtained from normal, healthy donors who were members of the Danish National Corps of Voluntary Blood Donors and met the criteria for blood donation.", "Blood was sampled in 3.2% citrate vacutainers (Vacuette ref.", "455322, Greiner bio-one, Lot A020601 2007-02) and assayed within 60 minutes.", "Haemophilia A-like blood was prepared from normal human whole blood by addition of anti-human FVIII (Sheep anti-human FVIII, Lot AA11-01, Haematologic Technologies, VT, USA) antibody to a final concentration of 10 Bethesda Units (BU) per ml (final 0.1 mg/ml) and rotated gently at 2 rpm/min for 30 min at room temperature.", "The test compounds were added at 0.1, 1, 10 and 25 nM final concentrations besides FVIIa L288Y T293K that was tested in 0.069, 0.69, 6.9, 17.3 nM and FVIIa W201R T293K that was tested in 0.076, 0.76, 7.6, 19.1 nM.", "Data from the kaolin-induced TEG showed that all compounds dose-dependently decreased clotting time (R-time) and increases maximum thrombus generation (MTG) in haemophilia A-like blood ( Table 8).", "All 40k-HEP-[N]-FVIIa-variants showed shorter or similar clot time compared with FVIIa when evaluated in the highest test concentration.", "Also maximum thrombus generation of the variants was as similar or increased relative to FVIIa.", "Moreover, the data showed that 40k-HEPylation of FVIIa variants reduced the activity of the 40k-HEPylated compounds when compared to their corresponding FVIIa variants (with no 40k-EPylation).", "Table 8 shows the R-time (clot time) and MTG (maximum thrombus generation) of test compounds in kaolin-induced TEG in Haemophila A-like whole blood.", "The highest concentration of test compound was 25 nM besides FVIIa L288Y T293K that was tested in 17.3 nM and FVIIa W201R T293K that was tested in 19.1 nM.", "FVIIa, 40k-PEG-[N]-FVIIa and 40k-HEP-[N]-FVIIa was tested in four individual donors (n=4) whereas the remaining compounds were tested in two individual donors (n=2).", "Data in square brackets indicate the range for the parameter from the four individual donors.", "TABLE 8 Thromboelastography parameters for selected FVIIa variants in Haemophilia A-like whole blood.", "R-time Test compound mean MTG (at highest concentration) (sec) (×100 mm/sec) FVIIa 526 21.6 [480; 580] [19.4; 26.1] 40k-PEG-[N]-FVIIa 753 17.9 [680; 835] [16.1; 19.9] 40k-HEP-[N]-FVIIa 668 19.0 [580; 835] [15.8; 22.4] FVIIa L288Y T293K 345 24.5 [320; 370] [24.1; 24.8] 40k-HEP-[N]-FVIIa L288Y T293K 485 21.5 [465; 505] [20.3; 22.7] FVIIa L288Y T293R 313 25.5 [305; 320] [24.3; 26.8] 40k-HEP-[N]-FVIIa L288Y T293R 398 23.4 [370; 425] [23.1; 23.7] FVIIa L288F T293K 400 25.9 [375; 425] [23.3; 28.5] 40k-HEP-[N]-FVIIa L288F T293K 498 21.6 [425; 570] [19.0; 24.1] FVIIa L288F T293K K337A 280 27.2 [255; 305] [26.9; 27.6] 40k-HEP-[N]-FVIIa L288F T293K 348 25.7 K337A [335; 360] [23.4; 28.0] FVIIa W201R T293K 390 25.2 [335; 445] [22.4; 28.1] 40k-HEP-[N]-FVIIa W201R T293K 345 25.7 [295; 395] [23.7; 27; 7] FVIIa T293K K337A 355 25.5 [350-360] [24.3; 26.6] 40k-HEP-[N]-FVIIa T293K K337A 423 22.2 [420; 425] [21.7; 22.8] Example 17—Assessment of PK in Rat A pharmacokinetic analysis of identified FVIIa variants in an unmodified form or glycoconjugated with either PEG or heparosan (HEP) was performed in rats to assess their effect on the in vivo survival of FVIIIa.", "Sprague Dawley rats (three per group) were dosed intravenously.", "Stabylite™ (TriniLize Stabylite Tubes; Tcoag Ireland Ltd, Ireland) stabilized plasma samples were collected as full profiles at appropriate time points and frozen until further analysis.", "Plasma samples were analysed for clot activity (as described in Example 7) and by an ELISA quantifying FVIIa-antithrombin complexes.", "Pharmacokinetic analysis was carried out by non-compartmental methods using Phoenix WinNonlin 6.0 (Pharsight Corporation).", "The following parameters were estimated: Cmax (maximum concentration) of FVIIa-antithrombin complex, T½ (the functional terminal half-life) and MRT (the functional mean residence time) for clot activity.", "Briefly, FVIIa-antithrombin complexes were measured by use of an enzyme immunoassay (EIA).", "A monoclonal anti-FVIIa antibody that binds to the N-terminal of the EGF-domain and does not block antithrombin binding is used for capture of the complex (Dako Denmark A/S, Glostrup; product code 09572).", "A polyclonal anti-human AT antibody peroxidase conjugate was used for detection (Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics ApS, Ballerup/Denmark; product code OWMG15).", "A preformed purified complex of human wild-type or variant FVIIa and plasma-derived human antithrombin was used as standard to construct EIA calibration curves.", "Plasma samples were diluted and analysed and mean concentration of duplicate measurements calculated.", "The intra-assay precision of the EIA was between 1-8%.", "Pharmacokinetic estimated parameters are listed in Table 9.Relative to wild-type FVIIa, the tested variants exhibited reduced accumulation of FVIIa-antithrombin complexes (Rat AT complex) with plasma levels approaching the detection level.", "Furthermore, a significantly prolonged functional half-life of 40k-HEP-[N]-FVIIa L288F T293K (18.4 hrs in rat) was observed compared to 40k-PEG-[N]-FVIIa (7.4 hrs in rat).", "In conclusion, the presence of Lys at position 293 increases the T % in rat and reduces the FVIIa-antithrombin complex formation.", "Furthermore, introduction of glycoconjugated heparason substantially improves the T % in rat.", "TABLE 9 Pharmacokinetic estimated parameters for selected FVIIa variants in rat.", "Rat AT complex T½ in rat MRT in rat Cmax/dose FVIIa variant (hrs) (hrs) (kg/l) FVIIa 0.8 ± 0.01 1.1 ± 0.03 0.6 ± 0.08 40k-PEG-[N]-FVIIa 7.4 ± 0.20 8.3 ± 0.30 0.7 ± 0.05 40k-HEP-[N]-FVIIa L288Y 15.9 ± 0.5 20.6 ± 1.0 0.04 ± 0.004 T293K 40k-HEP-[N]-FVIIa L288Y 11.5 ± 0.5 13.9 ± 0.6 0.05 ± 0.004 T293R FVIIa L288F T293K 1.2 ± 0.02 1.6 ± 0.30 0.07 ± 0.01 40k-HEP-[N]-FVIIa L288F 18.4 ± 3.4 20.5 ± .6 0.04 ± 0.000 T293K 40k-HEP-[N]-FVIIa W201R 21.1 ± 0.5 24.8 ± 0.8 Not T293K measured 40k-HEP-[N]-FVIIa L288F 11.0 ± 1.6 11.5 ± 0.8 0.14 ± 0.01 T293K K337A 40k-HEP-[N]-FVIIa T293K 12.4 ± 0.1 15.4 ± 0.3 0.05 ± 0.004 K337A T½: Terminal half-life of the active molecule following IV administration MRT: Mean residence time of the active molecule following IV administration.", "AT complex Cmax/dose: Maximum measured level of compound-antithrombin complex divided by the dose.", "Example 18—Liquid Formulation of FVIIa L288Y T293K Through Active Site Stabilization The stability of FVIIIa in solution is limited by a number of modifications to the polypeptide chain occurring as a result of autoproteolysis, oxidation, deamidation, isomerization, etc.", "Previous studies have identified three sites on the heavy chain that are susceptible to autoproteolytic attack; these are Arg290-Gly291, Arg315-Lys316, and Lys316-Val317 (Nicolaisen et al., FEBS, 1993, 317:245-249).", "Calcium-free conditions further promote proteolytic release of the first 38 residues of the light chain encompassing the γ-carboxyglutamic acid (Gla) domain.", "Here we have used the small molecule, PCI-27483-S(2-{2-[5-(6-Carbamimidoyl-1H-benzoimidazol-2-yl)-6,2′-dihydroxy-5′-sulfamoyl-biphenyl-3-yl]-acetylamino}-succinic acid), which stabilize the active site of FVIIIa through non-covalent interactions and to prevent autoproteolysis of the heavy chain in a liquid formulation (See WO2014/057069 for further details on PCI-27483-S).", "Quantification of heavy chain cleavage has been assessed by analysis of reduced FVIIa L288Y T293K with reversed phase HPLC (RP-HPLC).", "The assay solution was reduced in 127 mM dithiothreitol (DTT) and 3M guanidinium hydrochloride, which were incubated for 60° C. in 15 min, followed by the addition of 1 μL concentrated acetic acid (per 50 μL of original assay solution) and cooling to 25° C. 25 μg reduced FVIIa L288Y T293K were then injected on a ACE 3 μM C4 column (300A, 4.6×100 mm; Advanced Chromatography Technologies LTD, Scotland) which were temperature equilibrated at 40° C. The protein fragments were separated with a linear gradient having a mobile phase A consisting of 0.05% trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) in water and going from 35-80% of mobile phase B consisting of 0.045% TFA in 80% acetonitrile.", "The gradient time was 30 min with a flow rate of 0.7 mL/min and peak elution were detected with absorbance at 215 nm.", "The formulation of FVIIIa L288Y T293K were made up by 1.47 mg/mL CaCl2, 7.5 mg/mL NaCl, 1.55 mg/mL L-Histidine, 1.32 mg/mL Glycylglycine, 0.5 mg/mL L-Methionine, 0.07 mg/mL Polysorbate 80, 0.021 mg/ml PCI-27483-S, a protein concentration of 1 mg/ml (ie.", "a protein inhibitor mole ratio of 1:1.75) and a final pH of 6.8.The solution was incubated for 1 month at 30° C. under quiescent conditions and away from light.", "As seen in TABLE 10 the presence of PCI-27483-S, led to near-complete inhibition of heavy chain cleavage of FVIIa L288Y T293K; whereas, no addition of PCI-27483-S led to a prominent increase in the cleavage at the positions 315-316 and 290-291.Cleavage site With PCI-27483-S Without PCI-27483-S 315-316 20% 287% 290-291 17% 675% Table 10 Percentage increase of the peak areas relative to day zero of heavy chain fragments corresponding to two different cleavage sites as determined in the RP-HPLC chromatograms upon 28 days of incubation with and without PCI-27483-S inhibitor.", "Example 19—in Silico Assessment of Immunogenicity Risk The in-silico study investigated whether the novel peptides sequences that results from protein engineering to generate FVIIa analogues could result in peptide sequences capable of binding to major histocompatibility complex class II (MHC-II), also known as HLA-II in humans.", "Such binding is pre-requisite for the presence of T-cell epitopes.", "The peptide/HLA-II binding prediction software used in this study was based on two algorithms, NetMHCIIpan 2.1 (Nielsen et al.", "2010), performing HLA-DR predictions, and NetMHCII 2.2 (Nielsen et al.", "2009) performing HLA-DP/DQ predictions.", "An Immunogenicity Risk Score (IRS) was calculated in order to be able to compare the different FVIIa analogues with regard to immunogenicity risk potential.", "The calculation was performed as follows: FVIIa wild-type was used as reference and only predicted 15mers not in the reference (FVIIa wild-type) which had a predicted Rank of 10 or less were included in the analysis.", "The HLA-II alleles were classified into three classes: Class 1 (Rank<=1) with weight of 2.Class 2 (1>Rank<=3) with weight of 0.5 and Class 3 (3>Rank<=10) with weight of 0.2.The class weight (2.0.5 or 0.2) was multiplied by the allele frequency (for each population) to give the IRS.", "The sum of IRS was calculated for each population and each HLA-II (DRB1, DP and DQ).", "The calculated risk scores for select single and combination variants are given in Table 11.Particularly favourable combinations include L288F/T293K, L288F/T293K/K337A, L288Y/T293K and L288Y/T293K/K337A which at the same time exhibit a high proteolytic activity as well as reduced susceptibility to inhibition by antithrombin.", "TABLE 11 Calculated risk scores for select single and combination FVIIa variants FVIIa variant Risk score FVIIa L288F T293K 0.10 FVIIa L288F T293K K337A 0.10 FVIIa L288F T293K L305I 0.40 FVIIa L288F T293K L305V 0.35 FVIIa L288F T293R 0.12 FVIIa L288F T293R K337A 0.12 FVIIa L288F T293R L305I 0.42 FVIIa L288F T293R L305V 0.37 FVIIa L288F T293Y 0.32 FVIIa L288F T293Y K337A 0.32 FVIIa L288N T293K 0.06 FVIIa L288N T293R 0.08 FVIIa L288N T293Y 0.26 FVIIa L288Y T293K 0.06 FVIIa L288Y T293K K337A 0.06 FVIIa L288Y T293R 0.09 FVIIa L288Y T293R K337A 0.09 FVIIa L305V T293K 0.28 FVIIa L305V T293Y 0.49 FVIIa T293K K337A 0.02 FVIIa T293K L305I 0.32 FVIIa T293K L305V K337A 0.28 FVIIa T293R K337A 0.06 FVIIa T293R L305I 0.36 FVIIa T293R L305V 0.32 FVIIa T293R L305V K337A 0.32 FVIIa T293Y K337A 0.23 FVIIa T293Y L305V K337A 0.49 FVIIa W201K T293K 0.19 FVIIa W201K T293R 0.23 FVIIa W201K T293Y 0.39 FVIIa W201M T293K 1.03 FVIIa W201M T293R 1.06 FVIIa W201M T293Y 1.23 FVIIa W201R L288F T293K 0.32 FVIIa W201R L288F T293R 0.34 FVIIa W201R T293K 0.25 FVIIa W201R T293K L305I 0.55 FVIIa W201R T293R 0.29 FVIIa W201R T293R L305I 0.58 FVIIa W201R T293Y 0.45" ] ]
Patent_15873236
[ [ "SOLID-STATE IMAGING DEVICE", "A solid-state imaging device includes n first photoelectric conversion elements configured to photoelectrically convert incident light, n first reading circuits configured to output corresponding first pixel signals, m second photoelectric conversion elements configured to photoelectrically convert incident light, m second reading circuits configured to sequentially output corresponding second pixel signals, and a reading control circuit, wherein each of the second reading circuits includes a detection circuit configured to output an event signal when a change in a second charge signal is detected and a pixel signal generation circuit configured to add address information to an event signal, and the reading control circuit causes the first pixel signal to be output by determining a reading region corresponding to address information, and n and m are natural numbers greater than or equal to 2." ], [ "1.A solid-state imaging device comprising: n first photoelectric conversion elements configured to photoelectrically convert incident light and generate first charge signals; n first reading circuits corresponding to the n first photoelectric conversion elements and configured to output signal voltages as first pixel signals, according to the first charge signals generated by the corresponding first photoelectric conversion elements; m second photoelectric conversion elements configured to photoelectrically convert incident light and generate second charge signals; m second reading circuits corresponding to the m second photoelectric conversion elements and configured to sequentially output second pixel signals according to changes in the second charge signals generated by the corresponding second photoelectric conversion elements, and a reading control circuit configured to control reading of the first pixel signals corresponding to the first photoelectric conversion elements arranged in predetermined reading regions within the first photoelectric conversion elements, wherein each of the m second reading circuits includes a detection circuit configured to detect a change over time in the second charge signal generated by the corresponding second photoelectric conversion element and output an event signal indicating the change when the change exceeding a predetermined threshold value is detected; and a pixel signal generation circuit configured to output the second pixel signal which is made by adding address information indicating a position at which the corresponding second photoelectric conversion element is arranged to the event signal, wherein the reading control circuit determines a region according to a position at which the second photoelectric conversion element corresponding to the address information included in the second pixel signal is arranged as the reading region for reading the first pixel signal, and causes each of the first reading circuits corresponding to each of the first photoelectric conversion elements arranged in the determined reading region to output the first pixel signal, wherein n is a natural number greater than or equal to 2, and wherein m is a natural number greater than or equal to 2.2.The solid-state imaging device according to claim 1, wherein the reading control circuit determines, a rectangular region generated on the basis of a position at which the second photoelectric conversion elements corresponding to the address information included in the second pixel signals output in the same period are distributed, as the reading region.", "3.The solid-state imaging device according to claim 1, wherein the reading control circuit determines, a rectangular region including a region in which the second photoelectric conversion elements corresponding to the address information included in the second pixel signals output in the same period are distributed, as the reading region.", "4.The solid-state imaging device according to claim 1, wherein the reading control circuit determines a rectangular region according to a magnitude of a distribution of the second photoelectric conversion elements as the reading region if the magnitude of the distribution of the second photoelectric conversion elements corresponding to the address information included in the second pixel signals output in the same period is greater than a predetermined threshold value, and wherein the reading control circuit does not determine the reading region if the magnitude of the distribution of the second photoelectric conversion elements corresponding to the address information included in the second pixel signals output in the same period is less than or equal to the threshold value.", "5.The solid-state imaging device according to claim 1, wherein the reading control circuit determines the reading region corresponding to the second photoelectric conversion elements corresponding to the address information if the number of second photoelectric conversion elements corresponding to the address information included in the second pixel signals output in the same period is greater than a predetermined threshold value, and wherein the reading control circuit does not determine the reading region if the number of second photoelectric conversion elements corresponding to the address information included in the second pixel signals output in the same period is less than or equal to the threshold value.", "6.The solid-state imaging device according to claim 4, wherein the reading control circuit divides an entire region in which the n first photoelectric conversion elements are arranged into a plurality of blocks segmented in a predetermined size and determines the reading region for each division block.", "7.The solid-state imaging device according to claim 1, wherein each of the n first photoelectric conversion elements and each of the m second photoelectric conversion elements are periodically arranged in a region of the same plane of a first semiconductor substrate.", "8.The solid-state imaging device according to claim 7, wherein the pixel signal generation circuit is arranged in a second semiconductor substrate stacked on a surface of the first semiconductor substrate, the surface being opposite to a side on which light is incident.", "9.The solid-state imaging device according to claim 8, further comprising: a connection section formed between the first semiconductor substrate and the second semiconductor substrate and configured to electrically connect a circuit element of the first semiconductor substrate and a circuit element of the second semiconductor substrate, wherein the connection section electrically connects the detection circuit provided in each of the m second reading circuits and the corresponding second photoelectric conversion element.", "10.The solid-state imaging device according to claim 9, wherein a charge signal in which s first charge signals generated by s first photoelectric conversion elements are designated as one unit is also used as the second charge signal generated by the second photoelectric conversion element, wherein s is a natural number greater than or equal to 1, and wherein the total number of the first photoelectric conversion elements configured to output the first charge signals also used as the second charge signals is a natural number greater than or equal to 1 and less than or equal to n. 11.The solid-state imaging device according to claim 10, wherein m is less than n, wherein s is a natural number greater than or equal to 2, wherein each of the m second reading circuits further includes an addition circuit configured to sum the s first charge signals generated by the s first photoelectric conversion elements corresponding thereto as one unit, and wherein the detection circuit detects a change in the first charge signal after summation by the addition circuit.", "12.The solid-state imaging device according to claim 1, wherein each of the n first photoelectric conversion elements is periodically arranged on a first semiconductor substrate on which light is incident, wherein each of the m second photoelectric conversion elements is periodically arranged on a second semiconductor substrate stacked on a surface of the first semiconductor substrate, the surface being opposite to a side on which light is incident, and wherein each of the m second photoelectric conversion elements generates the second charge signal obtained by photoelectrically converting light passing through the first semiconductor substrate.", "13.The solid-state imaging device according to claim 9, wherein each of the second reading circuits further includes an addition circuit configured to designate t second photoelectric conversion elements as one unit and sum second charge signals generated by the t second photoelectric conversion elements, wherein the detection circuit detects a change in the second charge signal after summation by the addition circuit, and wherein t is a natural number greater than or equal to 2." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND ART <EOH>Conventionally, there is technology for motion detection for detecting the motion of an object.", "In conventional motion detection, moving objects are captured by taking differences between images captured at predetermined frame intervals.", "Thus, the motion of the object can be detected only at intervals of flames in conventional motion detection.", "In other words, it is not possible to sequentially detect the motion of the object.", "Therefore, in recent years, for example, as disclosed in “A 240×180 10 mW 12 us latency sparse-output vision sensor for mobile applications,” VLSI Circuits (VLSIC), 2013 Symposium on, Publication Year: 2013, Page(s): C186-C187 (hereinafter referred to as “Document 1”), technology of a solid-state imaging device configured to achieve both motion detection for sequentially detecting motion of an object and normal photographing, by detecting a change in a signal according to the motion of the object has been proposed.", "In the solid-state imaging device proposed in Document 1, each pixel includes one photoelectric conversion element (photodiode) configured to photoelectrically convert incident light and it is possible to asynchronously perform active pixel sensor (APS) reading for reading a charge signal in the normal photographing and address event representation (AER) reading for reading a charge signal for motion detection.", "In the solid-state imaging device proposed in Document 1, a change over time in the charge signal photoelectrically converted by the photodiode is detected at the time of motion detection, and a pulse signal indicating the direction in which the charge signal changes is output only from a pixel in which the magnitude of the charge signal exceeds a predetermined threshold value through AER reading.", "In other words, in the solid-state imaging device proposed in Document 1, a pulse signal indicating an increase/decrease of the magnitude of the charge signal is output through the AER reading.", "At this time, address information indicating the position of the pixel configured to output the pulse signal is also added to the pulse signal output through the AER reading.", "In other words, address information indicating a pixel position at which motion of the object is detected is also added to the pulse signal output through the AER reading.", "Thereby, in the solid-state imaging device proposed in Document 1, the pixel position at which the motion of the object is detected can be extracted at an asynchronous timing irrespective of a timing of a frame from which the charge signal is read in the normal photographing.", "Thereby, in the solid-state imaging device proposed in Document 1, it is possible to acquire a moving object at a rate higher than a frame rate in the normal photographing." ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY OF INVENTION <EOH>According to a first aspect of the present invention, a solid-state imaging device includes n first photoelectric conversion elements configured to photoelectrically convert incident light and generate first charge signals: n first reading circuits corresponding to the n first photoelectric conversion elements and configured to output signal voltages as first pixel signals, according to the first charge signals generated by the corresponding first photoelectric conversion elements; m second photoelectric conversion elements configured to photoelectrically convert incident light and generate second charge signals; m second reading circuits corresponding to the m second photoelectric conversion elements and configured to sequentially output second pixel signals according to changes in the second charge signals generated by the corresponding second photoelectric conversion elements; and a reading control circuit configured to control reading of the first pixel signals corresponding to the first photoelectric conversion elements arranged in predetermined reading regions within the first photoelectric conversion elements, wherein each of the m second reading circuits includes a detection circuit configured to detect a change over time in the second charge signal generated by the corresponding second photoelectric conversion element and output an event signal indicating the change when the change exceeding a predetermined threshold value is detected; and a pixel signal generation circuit configured to output the second pixel signal which is made by adding address information indicating a position at which the corresponding second photoelectric conversion element is arranged to the event signal, wherein the reading control circuit determines a region according to a position at which the second photoelectric conversion element corresponding to the address information included in the second pixel signal is arranged as the reading region for reading the first pixel signal, and causes each of the first reading circuits corresponding to each of the first photoelectric conversion elements arranged in the determined reading region to output the first pixel signal, wherein n is a natural number greater than or equal to 2, and wherein m is a natural number greater than or equal to 2.According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the solid-state imaging device of the above-described first aspect, the reading control circuit may determine, a rectangular region generated on the basis of a position at which the second photoelectric conversion elements corresponding to the address information included in the second pixel signals output in the same period are distributed, as the reading region.", "According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the solid-state imaging device of the above-described first aspect, the reading control circuit may determine, a rectangular region including a region in which the second photoelectric conversion elements corresponding to the address information included in the second pixel signals output in the same period are distributed, as the reading region.", "According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the solid-state imaging device of the above-described first aspect, the reading control circuit may determine a rectangular region according to a magnitude of a distribution of the second photoelectric conversion elements as the reading region if the magnitude of the distribution of the second photoelectric conversion elements corresponding to the address information included in the second pixel signals output in the same period is greater than a predetermined threshold value, and the reading control circuit may not determine the reading region if the magnitude of the distribution of the second photoelectric conversion elements corresponding to the address information included in the second pixel signals output in the same period is less than or equal to the threshold value.", "According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the solid-state imaging device of the above-described first aspect, the reading control circuit may determine the reading region corresponding to the second photoelectric conversion elements corresponding to the address information if the number of second photoelectric conversion elements corresponding to the address information included in the second pixel signals output in the same period is greater than a predetermined threshold value, and the reading control circuit may not determine the reading region if the number of second photoelectric conversion elements corresponding to the address information included in the second pixel signals output in the same period is less than or equal to the threshold value.", "According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the solid-state imaging device of the above-described fourth aspect, the reading control circuit may divide an entire region in which the n first photoelectric conversion elements are arranged into a plurality of blocks segmented in a predetermined size and determine the reading region for each division block.", "According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the solid-state imaging device of the above-described first aspect, each of the n first photoelectric conversion elements and each of the m second photoelectric conversion elements may be periodically arranged in a region of the same plane of a first semiconductor substrate.", "According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the solid-state imaging device of the above-described seventh aspect, the pixel signal generation circuit may be arranged in a second semiconductor substrate stacked on a surface of the first semiconductor substrate, the surface being opposite to a side on which light is incident.", "According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, the solid-state imaging device of the above-described eighth aspect may further include: a connection section formed between the first semiconductor substrate and the second semiconductor substrate and configured to electrically connect a circuit element of the first semiconductor substrate and a circuit element of the second semiconductor substrate, wherein the connection section electrically connects the detection circuit provided in each of the m second reading circuits and the corresponding second photoelectric conversion element.", "According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in the solid-state imaging device of the above-described ninth aspect, a charge signal in which s first charge signals generated by s first photoelectric conversion elements are designated as one unit may be also used as the second charge signal generated by the second photoelectric conversion element, s may be a natural number greater than or equal to 1, and the total number of the first photoelectric conversion elements configured to output the first charge signals also used as the second charge signals may be a natural number greater than or equal to 1 and less than or equal to n. According to an eleventh aspect of the present invention, in the solid-state imaging device of the above-described tenth aspect, m may be less than n, s may be a natural number greater than or equal to 2, each of the m second reading circuits may further include an addition circuit configured to sum the s first charge signals generated by the s first photoelectric conversion elements corresponding thereto as one unit, and the detection circuit may detect a change in the first charge signal after summation by the addition circuit.", "According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, in the solid-state imaging device of the above-described first aspect, each of the n first photoelectric conversion elements may be periodically arranged on a first semiconductor substrate on which light is incident, each of the m second photoelectric conversion elements may be periodically arranged on a second semiconductor substrate stacked on a surface of the first semiconductor substrate, the surface being opposite to a side on which light is incident, and each of the m second photoelectric conversion elements may generate the second charge signal obtained by photoelectrically converting light passing through the first semiconductor substrate.", "According to a thirteenth aspect of the present invention, in the solid-state imaging device of the above-described ninth aspect, each of the second reading circuits may further include an addition circuit configured to designate t second photoelectric conversion elements as one unit and sum second charge signals generated by the t second photoelectric conversion elements, the detection circuit may detect a change in the second charge signal after summation by the addition circuit, and t may be a natural number greater than or equal to 2." ], [ "This application is a continuation application based on PCT Patent Application No.", "PCT/JP2015/071038 filed on Jul.", "23, 2015.TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a solid-state imaging device.", "BACKGROUND ART Conventionally, there is technology for motion detection for detecting the motion of an object.", "In conventional motion detection, moving objects are captured by taking differences between images captured at predetermined frame intervals.", "Thus, the motion of the object can be detected only at intervals of flames in conventional motion detection.", "In other words, it is not possible to sequentially detect the motion of the object.", "Therefore, in recent years, for example, as disclosed in “A 240×180 10 mW 12 us latency sparse-output vision sensor for mobile applications,” VLSI Circuits (VLSIC), 2013 Symposium on, Publication Year: 2013, Page(s): C186-C187 (hereinafter referred to as “Document 1”), technology of a solid-state imaging device configured to achieve both motion detection for sequentially detecting motion of an object and normal photographing, by detecting a change in a signal according to the motion of the object has been proposed.", "In the solid-state imaging device proposed in Document 1, each pixel includes one photoelectric conversion element (photodiode) configured to photoelectrically convert incident light and it is possible to asynchronously perform active pixel sensor (APS) reading for reading a charge signal in the normal photographing and address event representation (AER) reading for reading a charge signal for motion detection.", "In the solid-state imaging device proposed in Document 1, a change over time in the charge signal photoelectrically converted by the photodiode is detected at the time of motion detection, and a pulse signal indicating the direction in which the charge signal changes is output only from a pixel in which the magnitude of the charge signal exceeds a predetermined threshold value through AER reading.", "In other words, in the solid-state imaging device proposed in Document 1, a pulse signal indicating an increase/decrease of the magnitude of the charge signal is output through the AER reading.", "At this time, address information indicating the position of the pixel configured to output the pulse signal is also added to the pulse signal output through the AER reading.", "In other words, address information indicating a pixel position at which motion of the object is detected is also added to the pulse signal output through the AER reading.", "Thereby, in the solid-state imaging device proposed in Document 1, the pixel position at which the motion of the object is detected can be extracted at an asynchronous timing irrespective of a timing of a frame from which the charge signal is read in the normal photographing.", "Thereby, in the solid-state imaging device proposed in Document 1, it is possible to acquire a moving object at a rate higher than a frame rate in the normal photographing.", "SUMMARY OF INVENTION According to a first aspect of the present invention, a solid-state imaging device includes n first photoelectric conversion elements configured to photoelectrically convert incident light and generate first charge signals: n first reading circuits corresponding to the n first photoelectric conversion elements and configured to output signal voltages as first pixel signals, according to the first charge signals generated by the corresponding first photoelectric conversion elements; m second photoelectric conversion elements configured to photoelectrically convert incident light and generate second charge signals; m second reading circuits corresponding to the m second photoelectric conversion elements and configured to sequentially output second pixel signals according to changes in the second charge signals generated by the corresponding second photoelectric conversion elements; and a reading control circuit configured to control reading of the first pixel signals corresponding to the first photoelectric conversion elements arranged in predetermined reading regions within the first photoelectric conversion elements, wherein each of the m second reading circuits includes a detection circuit configured to detect a change over time in the second charge signal generated by the corresponding second photoelectric conversion element and output an event signal indicating the change when the change exceeding a predetermined threshold value is detected; and a pixel signal generation circuit configured to output the second pixel signal which is made by adding address information indicating a position at which the corresponding second photoelectric conversion element is arranged to the event signal, wherein the reading control circuit determines a region according to a position at which the second photoelectric conversion element corresponding to the address information included in the second pixel signal is arranged as the reading region for reading the first pixel signal, and causes each of the first reading circuits corresponding to each of the first photoelectric conversion elements arranged in the determined reading region to output the first pixel signal, wherein n is a natural number greater than or equal to 2, and wherein m is a natural number greater than or equal to 2.According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the solid-state imaging device of the above-described first aspect, the reading control circuit may determine, a rectangular region generated on the basis of a position at which the second photoelectric conversion elements corresponding to the address information included in the second pixel signals output in the same period are distributed, as the reading region.", "According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the solid-state imaging device of the above-described first aspect, the reading control circuit may determine, a rectangular region including a region in which the second photoelectric conversion elements corresponding to the address information included in the second pixel signals output in the same period are distributed, as the reading region.", "According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the solid-state imaging device of the above-described first aspect, the reading control circuit may determine a rectangular region according to a magnitude of a distribution of the second photoelectric conversion elements as the reading region if the magnitude of the distribution of the second photoelectric conversion elements corresponding to the address information included in the second pixel signals output in the same period is greater than a predetermined threshold value, and the reading control circuit may not determine the reading region if the magnitude of the distribution of the second photoelectric conversion elements corresponding to the address information included in the second pixel signals output in the same period is less than or equal to the threshold value.", "According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the solid-state imaging device of the above-described first aspect, the reading control circuit may determine the reading region corresponding to the second photoelectric conversion elements corresponding to the address information if the number of second photoelectric conversion elements corresponding to the address information included in the second pixel signals output in the same period is greater than a predetermined threshold value, and the reading control circuit may not determine the reading region if the number of second photoelectric conversion elements corresponding to the address information included in the second pixel signals output in the same period is less than or equal to the threshold value.", "According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the solid-state imaging device of the above-described fourth aspect, the reading control circuit may divide an entire region in which the n first photoelectric conversion elements are arranged into a plurality of blocks segmented in a predetermined size and determine the reading region for each division block.", "According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the solid-state imaging device of the above-described first aspect, each of the n first photoelectric conversion elements and each of the m second photoelectric conversion elements may be periodically arranged in a region of the same plane of a first semiconductor substrate.", "According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the solid-state imaging device of the above-described seventh aspect, the pixel signal generation circuit may be arranged in a second semiconductor substrate stacked on a surface of the first semiconductor substrate, the surface being opposite to a side on which light is incident.", "According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, the solid-state imaging device of the above-described eighth aspect may further include: a connection section formed between the first semiconductor substrate and the second semiconductor substrate and configured to electrically connect a circuit element of the first semiconductor substrate and a circuit element of the second semiconductor substrate, wherein the connection section electrically connects the detection circuit provided in each of the m second reading circuits and the corresponding second photoelectric conversion element.", "According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in the solid-state imaging device of the above-described ninth aspect, a charge signal in which s first charge signals generated by s first photoelectric conversion elements are designated as one unit may be also used as the second charge signal generated by the second photoelectric conversion element, s may be a natural number greater than or equal to 1, and the total number of the first photoelectric conversion elements configured to output the first charge signals also used as the second charge signals may be a natural number greater than or equal to 1 and less than or equal to n. According to an eleventh aspect of the present invention, in the solid-state imaging device of the above-described tenth aspect, m may be less than n, s may be a natural number greater than or equal to 2, each of the m second reading circuits may further include an addition circuit configured to sum the s first charge signals generated by the s first photoelectric conversion elements corresponding thereto as one unit, and the detection circuit may detect a change in the first charge signal after summation by the addition circuit.", "According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, in the solid-state imaging device of the above-described first aspect, each of the n first photoelectric conversion elements may be periodically arranged on a first semiconductor substrate on which light is incident, each of the m second photoelectric conversion elements may be periodically arranged on a second semiconductor substrate stacked on a surface of the first semiconductor substrate, the surface being opposite to a side on which light is incident, and each of the m second photoelectric conversion elements may generate the second charge signal obtained by photoelectrically converting light passing through the first semiconductor substrate.", "According to a thirteenth aspect of the present invention, in the solid-state imaging device of the above-described ninth aspect, each of the second reading circuits may further include an addition circuit configured to designate t second photoelectric conversion elements as one unit and sum second charge signals generated by the t second photoelectric conversion elements, the detection circuit may detect a change in the second charge signal after summation by the addition circuit, and t may be a natural number greater than or equal to 2.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS FIG.", "1 is a schematic diagram showing a schematic configuration of a solid-state imaging device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.", "FIG.", "2 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the solid-state imaging device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.", "FIG.", "3A is a circuit diagram showing an example of a configuration of a pixel in the solid-state imaging device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.", "FIG.", "3B is a circuit diagram showing an example of a configuration of a pixel in the solid-state imaging device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.", "FIG.", "4 is a diagram schematically showing an example of an arrangement of pixels and a region in which a pixel configured to output a pixel signal is designated in the solid-state imaging device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.", "FIG.", "5 is a diagram showing a configuration in which pixel signals are output in the solid-state imaging device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.", "FIG.", "6 is a diagram schematically showing an example of a region in which a pixel configured to output a pixel signal is designated in the solid-state imaging device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.", "FIG.", "7 is a diagram schematically showing another example of a region in which a pixel configured to output a pixel signal is designated in the solid-state imaging device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.", "FIG.", "8 is a diagram schematically showing still another example of a region in which a pixel configured to output a pixel signal is designated in the solid-state imaging device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.", "FIG.", "9 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of a process of determining a region in which a pixel configured to output a pixel signal is designated in the solid-state imaging device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.", "FIG.", "10 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of another process of determining a region in which a pixel configured to output a pixel signal is designated in the solid-state imaging device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.", "FIG.", "11 is a circuit diagram showing an example of another configuration of a pixel in the solid-state imaging device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.", "FIG.", "12 is a timing chart showing an example of a timing at which a pixel is driven in the solid-state imaging device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.", "FIG.", "13 is a circuit diagram showing an example of a configuration of a pixel in a solid-state imaging device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.", "FIG.", "14 is a diagram showing a configuration in which pixel signals are output in the solid-state imaging device according to the second embodiment of the present invention.", "FIG.", "15 is a timing chart showing a reading sequence of pixel signals in the solid-state imaging device according to the second embodiment of the present invention.", "FIG.", "16 is a circuit diagram showing an example of a configuration of a pixel in a solid-state imaging device according to a third embodiment of the present invention.", "FIG.", "17 is a diagram showing a configuration in which pixel signals are output in the solid-state imaging device according to the third embodiment of the present invention.", "FIG.", "18 is a diagram schematically showing an example of an arrangement of pixels in the solid-state imaging device according to the third embodiment of the present invention.", "FIG.", "19 is a diagram showing another configuration in which pixel signals are output in the solid-state imaging device according to the third embodiment of the present invention.", "FIG.", "20 is a diagram showing a configuration in which pixel signals are output in the solid-state imaging device according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.", "DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS First Embodiment Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.", "FIG.", "1 is a schematic diagram showing a schematic configuration of a solid-state imaging device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.", "A solid-state imaging device 1 of the first embodiment is configured by stacking (bonding) a plurality of semiconductor substrates.", "In FIG.", "1, in the solid-state imaging device 1, a first semiconductor substrate 11 and a second semiconductor substrate 12 are bonded by a chip connection section 13.In the solid-state imaging device 1, a circuit for implementing the function of the solid-state imaging device 1 is formed on one of the first semiconductor substrate 11 and the second semiconductor substrate 12.A circuit for implementing the function of the solid-state imaging device 1 includes a pixel array section in which a plurality of pixels, each of which includes a photoelectric conversion element such as a photodiode configured to photoelectrically convert incident light (a light beam) and a reading circuit configured to read a charge signal generated by the photoelectric conversion element, are arranged in a two-dimensional matrix, a driving circuit for driving the pixels within the pixel array section, and the like.", "Also, each circuit for implementing the function of the solid-state imaging device 1 may be a configuration formed on both a first semiconductor substrate 11 and a second semiconductor substrate 12 as well as a configuration formed on one of the first semiconductor substrate 11 and the second semiconductor substrate 12.Circuits for implementing the function of the solid-state imaging device 1 formed on the semiconductor substrates are electrically connected by the chip connection section 13.The circuit formed on the first semiconductor substrate 11 and the circuit formed on the second semiconductor substrate 12 performs signal transmission and reception via the chip connection section 13.As the chip connection section 13, for example, a micro bump or the like manufactured by a vapor deposition method, a plating method, or the like is used.", "A method of connecting the circuits for implementing the function of the solid-state imaging device 1 formed on each semiconductor substrate is not limited to the method using a micro bump, and may be, for example, a method using a silicon through electrode (through-silicon-via (TSV)).", "Next, an example of the configuration of the solid-state imaging device 1 according to the first embodiment will be described.", "FIG.", "2 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the solid-state imaging device 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.", "In FIG.", "2, the solid-state imaging device 1 includes a control circuit 10, a vertical scanning circuit 20, a horizontal scanning circuit 30, and a pixel array section 40 in which a plurality of pixels 50 are arranged.", "Also, the control circuit 10 includes a reading address control circuit 100.Also, in the solid-state imaging device 1 shown in FIG.", "1, an example of the pixel array section 40 in which the plurality of pixels 50 are two-dimensionally arranged in 7 rows and 8 columns is shown.", "Each pixel 50 arranged within the pixel array section 40 generates a charge signal obtained by photoelectric conversion of incident light (a light beam).", "The pixels 50 arranged within the pixel array section 40 include a pixel 50 configured to generate a charge signal in normal photographing and a pixel 50 configured to generate a charge signal for motion detection.", "The pixel 50 configured to generate a charge signal in the normal photographing outputs a pixel signal according to the generated charge signal to a vertical signal line 60 for each row through active pixel sensor (APS) reading (hereinafter, referred to as “normal reading”) according to a control signal input from the vertical scanning circuit 20.Pixel signals of rows output to the vertical signal line 60 are output outside the solid-state imaging device 1 in accordance with control by the horizontal scanning circuit 30.In other words, the pixel signal of the pixel 50 configured to generate a charge signal in the normal photographing is output outside the solid-state imaging device 1 for each frame in the normal photographing.", "In the following description, the pixel 50 configured to generate a charge signal in the normal photographing (i.e., the pixel 50 configured to output a pixel signal of the normal photographing) is referred to as a “normal pixel 51”.", "Also, in addition to sequentially outputting the pixel signals outside the solid-state imaging device 1 for each frame, the normal pixel 51 can output the pixel signal from the designated normal pixel 51 outside the solid-state imaging device 1.Also, designation of the normal pixel 51 configured to output the pixel signal is performed by the control circuit 10 controlling the vertical scanning circuit 20 and the horizontal scanning circuit 30.Also, at this time, the method of designating the normal pixel 51 configured to output the pixel signal may be either a method of directly designating each normal pixel 51 or a method of designating a region in which the normal pixel 51 is arranged.", "The pixel 50 configured to generate a charge signal for motion detection outputs a pulse signal representing a change over time in a charge signal and a change direction without being synchronous with the driving of the normal pixel 51 by the vertical scanning circuit 20 according to address event representation (AER) reading (hereinafter referred to as “motion detection reading”).", "In other words, the pixel 50 configured to generate a charge signal for motion detection asynchronously outputs a pulse signal indicating a change over time in the charge signal and a change direction.", "At this time, the pixel 50 configured to generate a charge signal for motion detection adds address information indicating a position of the pixel 50 itself to the pulse signal and outputs the pulse signal with the address information as a pixel signal.", "In the following description, the pixel 50 configured to generate a charge signal for motion detection (i.e., the pixel 50 configured to output a pixel signal of motion detection) is referred to as a “motion detection pixel 52”.", "In the solid-state imaging device 1, the motion detection pixel 52 outputs a pixel signal of motion detection to the control circuit 10.A circuit element constituting each of the normal pixel 51 and the motion detection pixel 52 is formed on either one or both of the first semiconductor substrate 11 and the second semiconductor substrate 12 and is connected within the pixel array section 40 by the chip connection section 13.The control circuit 10 controls the vertical scanning circuit 20 and the horizontal scanning circuit 30.When the control circuit 10 outputs (reads) the pixel signal of one frame from each normal pixel 51 through normal reading, the vertical scanning circuit 20 and the horizontal scanning circuit 30 perform control so that the normal pixels 51 are sequentially driven.", "Also, when the control circuit 10 designates the normal pixel 51 and outputs (reads) the pixel signal, the vertical scanning circuit 20 and the horizontal scanning circuit 30 perform control so that the normal pixel 51 arranged at the designated position in the pixel array section 40 is driven.", "Also, in the control circuit 10, the reading address control circuit 100 controls designation of the normal pixel 51 when the normal pixel 51 is designated and the pixel signal is output (read).", "The reading address control circuit 100 designates the normal pixel 51 configured to output (read) pixel signals of the normal photographing on the basis of the address information included in pixel signals of the motion detection output from motion detection pixels 52 arranged within the pixel array section 40.At this time, the reading address control circuit 100 designates the normal pixel 51 arranged in a predetermined region (hereinafter referred to as a “reading region”) around a position at which the motion detection pixel 52 indicated by the address information is arranged.", "Also, a detailed description of a method of designating the normal pixel 51 when the pixel signal of the normal photographing by the reading address control circuit 100 is output will be described below.", "The vertical scanning circuit 20 is a driving circuit configured to control each normal pixel 51 within the pixel array section 40 and output a pixel signal of each normal pixel 51 to the vertical signal line 60 in accordance with control from the control circuit 10.When the control circuit 10 performs control so that normal pixels 51 are sequentially driven to output (read) pixel signals of one frame, the vertical scanning circuit 20 outputs a control signal for driving the normal pixels 51 for each row of the normal pixels 51 provided in the pixel array section 40.When the normal pixel 51 to be driven by the control circuit 10 (i.e., the reading address control circuit 100) is designated, the vertical scanning circuit 20 outputs a control signal for driving the normal pixel 51 to the row of the pixel array section 40 in which the designated normal pixel 51 is arranged.", "The horizontal scanning circuit 30 is a driving circuit configured to output the pixel signals of the rows output from the normal pixels 51 provided in the pixel array section 40 outside the solid-state imaging device 1.When the control circuit 10 performs control so that the normal pixels 51 are sequentially driven by the control circuit 10 to output (read) the pixel signals of one frame, the horizontal scanning circuit 30 sequentially outputs the pixel signals, which have been output from the normal pixels 51 for each row, for each column of the normal pixels 51 provided in the pixel array section 40.Also, when the normal pixel 51 to be driven by the control circuit 10 (i.e., the reading address control circuit 100) is designated, the horizontal scanning circuit 30 outputs the pixel signal of the column of the pixel array section 40 where the designated normal pixel 51 is arranged.", "Next, the configurations of the normal pixel 51 and the motion detection pixel 52 arranged within the pixel array section 40 in the solid-state imaging device 1 of the first embodiment will be described.", "FIG.", "3A and FIG.", "3B are circuit diagrams showing an example of the configurations of the pixels 50 (the normal pixel 51 and the motion detection pixel 52) in the solid-state imaging device 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.", "An example of the configuration of the normal pixel 51 arranged in the pixel array section 40 of the solid-state imaging device 1 is shown in FIG.", "3A.", "An example of the configuration of the motion detection pixel 52 arranged within the pixel array section 40 of the solid-state imaging device 1 is shown in FIG.", "3B.", "First, the configuration of the normal pixel 51 will be described with reference to FIG.", "3A.", "In FIG.", "3A, a normal pixel 51 includes a photoelectric conversion element PD1, a charge transfer transistor 511, a pixel reset transistor 512, an amplification transistor 513, and a selection transistor 514.In FIG.", "3A, a node capacitor FD1, which is a capacitor associated with a node connected to a gate terminal of the amplification transistor 513 provided in the normal pixel 51, is indicated by a symbol of a capacitor serving as a circuit element of the normal pixel 51.In the normal pixel 51, the charge transfer transistor 511, the pixel reset transistor 512, the amplification transistor 513, the selection transistor 514, and the node capacitor FD1 constitute a reading circuit configured to read a pixel signal according to the charge signal generated by the photoelectric conversion element PD1.In the solid-state imaging device 1, the photoelectric conversion element PD1 and the reading circuit are formed on the first semiconductor substrate 11.The photoelectric conversion element PD1 is a photodiode configured to photoelectrically convert incident light (a light beam), generate a charge signal, and store the generated charge signal.", "The charge transfer transistor 511 transfers the charge signal generated and accumulated by the photoelectric conversion element PD1 to the gate terminal of the amplification transistor 513 in accordance with a control signal TX input from the vertical scanning circuit 20.Thereby, the charge signal transferred by the charge transfer transistor 511 is stored in the node capacitor FD1.The amplification transistor 513 outputs a signal voltage corresponding to the charge signal transferred to the gate terminal (i.e., the charge signal stored in the node capacitor FD1) to the selection transistor 514.The pixel reset transistor 512 resets the charge signal within the normal pixel 51 to a power supply voltage VDD in accordance with a control signal RST input from the vertical scanning circuit 20.The selection transistor 514 outputs a signal voltage output from the amplification transistor 513 to the vertical signal line 60 as a pixel signal of the normal pixel 51 in accordance with a control signal SEL input from the vertical scanning circuit 20.Thereby, the pixel signal corresponding to the charge signal generated by the photoelectric conversion element PD1 included in the normal pixel 51 is read to the vertical signal line 60.According to such a configuration, in the normal pixel 51, each signal voltage according to the charge signal obtained through photoelectric conversion of the light incident on the photoelectric conversion element PD1 is read as a pixel signal to the vertical signal line 60.Subsequently, the configuration of the motion detection pixel 52 will be described with reference to FIG.", "3B.", "In FIG.", "3B, the motion detection pixel 52 includes a photoelectric conversion element PD2, an amplifier 521, a bias transistor 522, a switched capacitor amplifier circuit 523, a threshold amplifier 524, a threshold amplifier 525, and an AER circuit 526.Also, the switched capacitor amplifier circuit 523 includes a capacitor 5231, an amplifier 5232, a capacitor 5233, and a switch 5234.In the motion detection pixel 52, the amplifier 521 and the bias transistor 522 constitute an output circuit configured to output the charge signal generated by the photoelectric conversion element PD2.Also, in the motion detection pixel 52, the switched capacitor amplifier circuit 523, the threshold amplifier 524, the threshold amplifier 525, and the AER circuit 526 constitute a reading circuit configured to read the charge signal generated by the photoelectric conversion element PD2.In the solid-state imaging device 1, the photoelectric conversion element PD2 and the output circuit are formed on the first semiconductor substrate 11 and the reading circuit is formed on the second semiconductor substrate 12.Similar to the photoelectric conversion element PD1 provided in the normal pixel 51, the photoelectric conversion element PD2 is a photodiode configured to photoelectrically convert incident light (a light beam) to generate a charge signal and store the generated charge signal.", "The photoelectric conversion element PD2 sequentially outputs the generated charge signal to the amplifier 521.The amplifier 521 amplifies the charge signal generated and output by the photoelectric conversion element PD2.The amplifier 521 outputs the amplified charge signal to the switched capacitor amplifier circuit 523 via the chip connection section 13.Thereby, the change in the charge signal generated by the photoelectric conversion element PD2 is input to the switched capacitor amplifier circuit 523.Also, the amplifier 521 transfers the amplified charge signal to the gate terminal of the bias transistor 522.The bias transistor 522 performs control so that a current flowing through the photoelectric conversion element PD2 becomes a constant current in accordance with the charge signal transferred to the gate terminal thereof.", "Thereby, if the charge signal generated by the photoelectric conversion element PD2 changes, the magnitude of the charge signal is stabilized at a magnitude after the change is sequentially made.", "In other words, an output of the photoelectric conversion element PD2 is clipped.", "The switched capacitor amplifier circuit 523 converts a change in the charge signal input from the amplifier 521 via the chip connection section 13 into a voltage signal in a predetermined voltage range and outputs the voltage signal to each of the threshold amplifier 524 and the threshold amplifier 525.In other words, the switched capacitor amplifier circuit 523 converts an increase/decrease of the charge signal generated by the photoelectric conversion element PD2 into a voltage signal of a predetermined voltage range, and outputs the voltage signal to each of the threshold amplifier 524 and the threshold amplifier 525.Also, the operation of the switched capacitor amplifier circuit 523 is reset by the AER circuit 526.More specifically, the charge signal input from the amplifier 521 via the chip connection section 13 is input to a first terminal of the capacitor 5231 and stored.", "Thereby, a voltage signal having a voltage according to the stored charge signal is output from a second terminal of the capacitor 5231 and output to the amplifier 5232.The amplifier 5232 amplifies the voltage of the input voltage signal and outputs the amplified voltage signal as an output of the switched capacitor amplifier circuit 523 through the threshold amplifier 524 and the threshold amplifier 525.Also, the voltage signal output from the amplifier 5232 is input to a first terminal of the capacitor 5233 and stored.", "Thereby, a signal of a voltage according to the stored voltage signal is output as a feedback signal from a second terminal of the capacitor 5233 to the amplifier 5232.Then, the amplifier 5232 continuously outputs a voltage signal of a constant voltage according to the voltage of the feedback signal.", "In other words, the amplifier 5232 continuously outputs a voltage signal of a voltage according to the charge signal input from the amplifier 521 to the switched capacitor amplifier circuit 523 via the chip connection section 13 to the threshold amplifier 524 and the threshold amplifier 525.Here, the voltage signal output by the amplifier 5232 to each of the threshold amplifier 524 and the threshold amplifier 525 is a signal of a voltage indicating an increased/decreased magnitude of the charge signal generated by the photoelectric conversion element PD2.Also, the output terminal of the amplifier 5232 (which is also the first terminal of the capacitor 5233) is connected to a first terminal of the switch 5234 and the input terminal of the amplifier 5232 (which is also the second terminal of the capacitor 5233) is connected to a second terminal of the switch 5234.A short circuit and an open circuit of the switch 5234 are controlled by a reset signal output from the AER circuit 526 and input to a control terminal.", "When the switch 5234 is controlled so that it is short-circuited by the reset signal output from the AER circuit 526, the switch 5234 short-circuits the first terminal and the second terminal.", "Thereby, both the terminals of the capacitor 5233 are short-circuited, the voltages of both terminals of the capacitor 5233 are reset to the same voltage and an operation in which the amplifier 5232 amplifies the voltage signal is also reset.", "Also, although the switched capacitor amplifier circuit 523 including the capacitor 5231, the amplifier 5232, the capacitor 5233, and the switch 5234 is shown in FIG.", "3B, the configuration of the switched capacitor amplifier circuit 523 is not limited to the configuration shown in FIG.", "3B.", "Each of the threshold amplifier 524 and the threshold amplifier 525 detects a change in the voltage of the voltage signal input from the amplifier 5232 within the switched capacitor amplifier circuit 523 and a change direction.", "More specifically, each of the threshold amplifier 524 and the threshold amplifier 525 compares the voltage of the voltage signal input from the amplifier 5232 within the switched capacitor amplifier circuit 523 with a predetermined threshold voltage (a threshold voltage).", "Each of the threshold amplifier 524 and the threshold amplifier 525 outputs an event signal indicating that there is a change exceeding the threshold voltage to the AER circuit 526 if the voltage of the input voltage signal exceeds the threshold voltage.", "Also, in each of the threshold amplifier 524 and the threshold amplifier 525, either one of a predetermined positive voltage and a predetermined negative voltage is set as the threshold voltage.", "In the configuration shown in FIG.", "3B, a voltage in the positive direction of a predetermined voltage value is set as the threshold voltage in the threshold amplifier 524 and a voltage in the negative direction of a predetermined voltage value is set as a threshold voltage in the threshold amplifier 525.Thus, the threshold amplifier 524 detects whether or not the voltage of the voltage signal input from the amplifier 5232 has changed in the positive direction (an increasing direction) more than the threshold voltage in the positive direction.", "Also, the threshold amplifier 525 detects whether or not the voltage of the voltage signal input from the amplifier 5232 has changed in the negative direction (a decreasing direction) more than the threshold voltage in the negative direction.", "In this manner, a change exceeding the threshold voltage of the voltage signal converted into the predetermined voltage range by the switched capacitor amplifier circuit 523 and a change direction are detected according to the configurations of the threshold amplifier 524 and the threshold amplifier 525.This corresponds to detecting the change in the charge signal generated by the photoelectric conversion element PD2 exceeding the predetermined threshold value and the change direction.", "The event signal output by each of the threshold amplifier 524 and the threshold amplifier 525 to the AER circuit 526 indicates the change in the charge signal generated by the photoelectric conversion element PD2 and the change direction (the positive direction or the negative direction).", "In other words, when the threshold amplifier 524 outputs the event signal, this means that the charge signal generated by the photoelectric conversion element PD2 has changed beyond a predetermined threshold value in the positive direction.", "On the other hand, if the threshold amplifier 525 outputs the event signal, this means that the charge signal generated by the photoelectric conversion element PD2 has changed beyond a predetermined threshold value in the negative direction.", "Also, in the configuration shown in FIG.", "3B, a change over time in the charge signal generated by the photoelectric conversion element PD2 is detected by the configurations of the switched capacitor amplifier circuit 523, the threshold amplifier 524, and the threshold amplifier 525.However, the configuration in which the change over time in the charge signal generated by the photoelectric conversion element PD2 is detected is not limited to the configuration shown in FIG.", "3B.", "For example, the threshold amplifier 524 and the threshold amplifier 525 may be configured to detect the change over time in the charge signal generated by the photoelectric conversion element PD2.On the basis of the event signal input from each of the threshold amplifier 524 and the threshold amplifier 525, the AER circuit 526 determines the positive direction or the negative direction in which the charge signal generated by the photoelectric conversion element PD2 has changed.", "In other words, the AER circuit 526 determines the increase/decrease in the magnitude of the charge signal on the basis of the event signal input from each of the threshold amplifier 524 and the threshold amplifier 525.Then, the AER circuit 526 generates a pulse signal indicating a determination result.", "For example, the AER circuit 526 generates a pulse signal of the positive direction if the charge signal generated by the photoelectric conversion element PD2 changes in the positive direction (the increasing direction) and generates a pulse signal of the negative direction if the charge signal generated by the photoelectric conversion element PD2 changes in the negative direction (the decreasing direction).", "Then, the AER circuit 526 adds address information indicating the position of the motion detection pixel 52 itself to the generated pulse signal and outputs the pulse signal with the address information as a pixel signal.", "In the following description, the pixel signal output from the AER circuit 526 (i.e., the motion detection pixel 52) is referred to as an “event pixel signal” in order to distinguish the event pixel signal from the pixel signal output by the normal pixel 51.According to such a configuration, in the motion detection pixel 52, the photoelectric conversion element PD2 detects a change in the charge signal obtained by photoelectrically converting incident light and a change direction and outputs detected information and address information indicating a position of the motion detection pixel 52 for each motion detection pixel 52.Then, in the solid-state imaging device 1, the reading address control circuit 100 outputs (reads) a pixel signal from the normal pixel 51 arranged in a predetermined reading region around a position at which the motion detection pixel 52 indicated by the address information (i.e., the motion detection pixel 52 detecting the motion of the object) is arranged on the basis of the address information included in the event pixel signal output from the motion detection pixel 52.Also, although the motion detection pixel 52 outputs the event pixel signal for each motion detection pixel 52 to the reading address control circuit 100 as described above, a configuration in which each motion detection pixel 52 outputs the event pixel signal to the reading address control circuit 100 is not limited.", "For example, each motion detection pixel 52 may be configured to output the event pixel signal via the horizontal scanning circuit 30.Also, although a configuration in which the AER circuit 526 outputs the pulse signal as the event pixel signal by adding the address information to the generated pulse signal is shown in the motion detection pixel 52, a configuration in which the address information is added to the pulse signal is not limited to the AER circuit 526.For example, a component (not shown) included in the solid-state imaging device 1 may be configured to add address information indicating a position of the motion detection pixel 52 having output the pulse signal to the pulse signal output by the AER circuit 526 provided in each motion detection pixel 52 and output the pulse signal with the address information as an event pixel signal.", "Also, in the motion detection pixel 52, a configuration in which the switched capacitor amplifier circuit 523 converts the charge signal generated by the photoelectric conversion element PD2 into a voltage signal in a predetermined voltage range after amplifying the charge signal is shown.", "However, in the motion detection pixel 52, the configuration in which the charge signal generated by the photoelectric conversion element PD2 is converted into the voltage signal in the predetermined voltage range is not limited to the configuration according to the switched capacitor amplifier circuit 523.For example, the motion detection pixel 52 may be replaced with a configuration in which the amplifier 5232 provided in the switched capacitor amplifier circuit 523 is not provided, i.e., a configuration in which a so-called switched capacitor circuit converts the charge signal generated by the photoelectric conversion element PD2 into a voltage signal of a predetermined voltage range.", "In this case, the motion detection pixel 52 may detect a change over time in the charge signal generated by the photoelectric conversion element PD2 according to the configurations of the switched capacitor circuit, the threshold amplifier 524, and the threshold amplifier 525.Next, an example of the arrangement of the normal pixels 51 and the motion detection pixels 52 within the pixel array section 40 in the solid-state imaging device 1 of the first embodiment and a method of designating the normal pixels 51 configured to output pixel signals will be described.", "FIG.", "4 is a diagram schematically showing an example of an arrangement of the pixels 50 (normal pixels 51 and motion detection pixels 52) and a region (a reading region) in which the pixels 50 (normal pixels 51) configured to output pixel signals are designated in the solid-state imaging device 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.", "An example in which the pixels 50 (the normal pixels 51 and the motion detection pixels 52) are arranged in the region of the pixel array section 40 of the first semiconductor substrate 11 constituting the solid-state imaging device 1 is shown in FIG.", "4.In the solid-state imaging device 1, the pixels 50, i.e., the normal pixels 51 and the motion detection pixels 52, are arranged on a planar form.", "At this time, in the solid-state imaging device 1, as described above, the normal pixels 51 are formed on the first semiconductor substrate 11 and the motion detection pixels 52 are divided and formed on the first semiconductor substrate 11 and the second semiconductor substrate 12.More specifically, as shown in FIG.", "4, in a plane region of the pixel array section 40 of the first semiconductor substrate 11, the normal pixels 51 (the photoelectric conversion elements PD1 and the reading circuits) and the photoelectric conversion elements PD2 and the output circuits of the motion detection pixels 52 are periodically arranged in a row direction and a column direction.", "At this time, as shown in FIG.", "4, more normal pixels 51 are arranged than the motion detection pixels 52.In FIG.", "4, the normal pixels 51 are uniformly arranged in the entire plane region of the pixel array section 40 and the normal pixels 51 arranged at predetermined intervals (every four normal pixels 51 in FIG.", "4) are replaced with the photoelectric conversion element PD2 and the output circuit of the motion detection pixel 52.Also, in the plane region of the pixel array section 40 of the second semiconductor substrate 12, the reading circuits of the motion detection pixels 52 corresponding to the photoelectric conversion elements PD2 and the reading circuits of the motion detection pixels 52 arranged on the first semiconductor substrate 11 are uniformly arranged in the entire plane region of the pixel array section 40.At this time, the reading circuits of the motion detection pixels 52 are formed to include the plane region of the pixel array section 40 of the second semiconductor substrate 12 corresponding to the normal pixels 51 arranged on the first semiconductor substrate 11.In other words, because the solid-state imaging device 1 includes circuit elements greater in number than the normal pixels 51 in the solid-state imaging device 1, the motion detection pixels 52 that require a large region during formation are formed using a region of the second semiconductor substrate 12 unused to form the normal pixels 51.More specifically, in the second semiconductor substrate 12 stacked on an opposite surface a surface on which light is incident on the normal pixel 51, the reading circuit of the motion detection pixel 52 is formed to include a region overlapping that of the normal pixel 51 formed on the first semiconductor substrate 11.Then, the output circuit formed on the first semiconductor substrate 11 and the reading circuit formed on the second semiconductor substrate 12 is electrically connected by the chip connection section 13.As shown in FIG.", "4, in the solid-state imaging device 1, normal pixels 51 greater in number than motion detection pixels 52 are arranged.", "In other words, in the solid-state imaging device 1, the number of motion detection pixels 52 arranged within the pixel array section 40 is less than the number of normal pixels 51.However, in the detection of the motion of the object, a resolution, i.e., the quality of an image, as high as in an image generated in the normal photographing is not required.", "Rather, in motion detection in which the motion of the object is sequentially detected, it is desirable for the photoelectric conversion element PD2 of the motion detection pixel 52 to generate a charge signal and perform motion detection for a short time.", "On the other hand, in the solid-state imaging device 1, it is desirable to increase the number of pixels in the normal photographing by increasing the number of normal pixels 51 provided within the pixel array section 40.In the solid-state imaging device 1, by further increasing the number of the normal pixels 51 arranged within the pixel array section 40, it is possible to adopt a configuration in which the quality of an image generated in the normal photographing can be improved, i.e., a high-definition output can be obtained.", "More specifically, in order to form each of the normal pixel 51 specialized for outputting a pixel signal in the normal photographing and the motion detection pixel 52 specialized for outputting an event pixel signal in the motion detection within the pixel array section 40 in the solid-state imaging device 1, a configuration in which the normal pixels 51 may be formed with higher definition and more normal pixels 51 than in the example of the arrangement shown in FIG.", "4 are arranged may be adopted.", "When an event pixel signal is input from any one motion detection pixel 52 arranged as shown in FIG.", "4 to the reading address control circuit 100 in the control circuit 10 in the solid-state imaging device 1, the reading address control circuit 100 outputs (reads) a pixel signal from the normal pixel 51 arranged in a predetermined neighboring region (reading region) around the position of the motion detection pixel 52 having output the event pixel signal on the basis of the address information included in the event pixel signal.", "For example, in an example of the arrangement of the pixels 50 (the normal pixel 51 and the motion detection pixel 52) shown in FIG.", "4, a case in which the event pixel signal is input from the motion detection pixel 52a arranged in a 7th column of a 6th row to the reading address control circuit 100 is conceivable.", "In this case, the reading address control circuit 100 outputs (reads) the pixel signal from the normal pixel 51 arranged in a predetermined rectangular reading region ar1 of 5 rows and 5 columns around the position of the motion detection pixel 52a.", "Also, in the solid-state imaging device 1, the normal pixels 51 perform exposure for the normal photographing at a predetermined cycle (frame rate).", "In other words, in the normal pixel 51, the photoelectric conversion of incident light (a light beam) by the photoelectric conversion element PD1, the transfer of the charge signal generated by the photoelectric conversion element PD1 by the charge transfer transistor 511 to the node capacitor FD1, and the resetting of the charge signal stored in the node capacitor FD1 by the pixel reset transistor 512 are periodically iterated.", "Accordingly, if the reading address control circuit 100 designates the normal pixel 51 in the reading region ar1 as the normal pixel 51 configured to output (read) the pixel signal, the designated normal pixel 51 outputs (reads) a signal voltage according to the charge signal obtained by the most recent exposure which is periodically performed as a pixel signal.", "Also, the most recent exposure may be an immediately previous exposure already completed when the normal pixel 51 is designated by the reading address control circuit 100 or an exposure immediately after the designation by the reading address control circuit 100 ends.", "Accordingly, in the following description, an exposure timing for obtaining the pixel signal output by the designated normal pixel 51 is not particularly specified.", "(First Pixel Designation Method) Next, a method of designating the normal pixels 51 in the solid-state imaging device 1 of the first embodiment will be described.", "FIG.", "5 is a diagram showing a configuration in which pixel signals are output in the solid-state imaging device 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.", "A vertical structure of a part of the pixel array section 40 when the normal pixels 51 and the motion detection pixels 52 are arranged as shown in FIG.", "4 in the solid-state imaging device 1 and the reading address control circuit 100 provided in the control circuit 10 are shown in FIG.", "5.More specifically, signals exchanged between the normal pixels 51 formed on the first semiconductor substrate 11, the motion detection pixels 52 formed on the first semiconductor substrate 11 and the second semiconductor substrate 12, and the reading address control circuit 100 are shown.", "As described above, in the solid-state imaging device 1, the photoelectric conversion element PD1 and the reading circuit of the normal pixel 51 are formed on the first semiconductor substrate 11.In FIG.", "5, a state in which the photoelectric conversion element PD1 of the normal pixel 51 and the selection transistor 514 provided in the reading circuit of the normal pixel 51 are formed on the first semiconductor substrate 11 is shown.", "Also, as described above, in the solid-state imaging device 1, the photoelectric conversion element PD2 and the output circuit of the motion detection pixel 52 are formed on the first semiconductor substrate 11, and the reading circuit is formed on the second semiconductor substrate 12.In FIG.", "5, a state in which the photoelectric conversion element PD2 of the motion detection pixel 52 and the amplifier 521 provided in the output circuit are formed on the first semiconductor substrate 11, and the switched capacitor amplifier circuit 523 and the AER circuit 526 provided in the reading circuit of the motion detection pixel 52 are formed on the second semiconductor substrate 12 is shown.", "At this time, in the solid-state imaging device 1, the reading circuit of the motion detection pixel 52 is formed in a region of the second semiconductor substrate 12 including a region overlapping that of the normal pixel 51 formed on the first semiconductor substrate 11.In FIG.", "5, a state in which the switched capacitor amplifier circuit 523 and the AER circuit 526 provided in the reading circuit of the motion detection pixel 52 are formed in a region of the second semiconductor substrate 12 including a region overlapping that of the normal pixel 51 formed on the first semiconductor substrate 11 is shown.", "As described above, in the solid-state imaging device 1, the output circuit of the motion detection pixel 52 and the reading circuit of the motion detection pixel 52 corresponding thereto are electrically connected by the chip connection section 13 formed between the first semiconductor substrate 11 and the second semiconductor substrate 12.In FIG.", "5, a state in which the amplifier 521 provided in the output circuit of the motion detection pixel 52 formed on the first semiconductor substrate 11 and the switched capacitor amplifier circuit 523 provided in the reading circuit of the motion detection pixel 52 formed on the second semiconductor substrate 12 are connected by the chip connection section 13 is shown.", "As described above, when the AER circuit 526 of the motion detection pixel 52 formed on the second semiconductor substrate 12 detects a change over time in the charge signal generated by the photoelectric conversion element PD2 in the solid-state imaging device 1, an event pixel signal is output to the reading address control circuit 100.When the event pixel signal is input, the reading address control circuit 100 detects (confirms) a position of the motion detection pixel 52 having output the event pixel signal from the address information included in the input event pixel signal.", "For example, when the event pixel signal is input from the motion detection pixel 52a shown in FIG.", "4, the reading address control circuit 100 detects (confirms) that the motion detection pixel 52 having output the event pixel signal is a motion detection pixel 52a arranged in a 7th column of a 6th row from the address information included in the event pixel signal.", "Then, the reading address control circuit 100 determines the region of the normal pixel 51 arranged in a predetermined region around the position of the detected (confirmed) motion detection pixel 52 as the reading region.", "Then, the reading address control circuit 100 outputs a control signal for designating the normal pixel 51 arranged within the determined reading region to the vertical scanning circuit 20 and the horizontal scanning circuit 30.For example, the reading address control circuit 100 determines a rectangular reading region ar1 of 5 rows and 5 columns around the position of the motion detection pixel 52a shown in FIG.", "4 as a reading region for outputting (reading) pixel signals from the normal pixel 51.Then, the reading address control circuit 100 outputs a control signal for designating the normal pixel 51 arranged in the determined reading region ar1 to the vertical scanning circuit 20 and the horizontal scanning circuit 30.Thereby, each of the vertical scanning circuit 20 and the horizontal scanning circuit 30 sequentially drives the designated normal pixels 51 and outputs (reads) pixel signals from the normal pixels 51 designated by the reading address control circuit 100.For example, when a control signal for designating the normal pixel 51 arranged within the reading region ar1 shown in FIG.", "4 is input, each of the vertical scanning circuit 20 and the horizontal scanning circuit 30 outputs (reads) a pixel signal from each normal pixel 51 arranged within the reading region ar1 by sequentially driving the normal pixels 51 arranged within the reading region ar1.As described above, in the solid-state imaging device 1, both the motion detection for sequentially detecting the motion of the object and the normal photographing are achieved by arranging each of the normal pixel 51 specialized for outputting a pixel signal in the normal photographing and the motion detection pixel 52 specialized for outputting an event pixel signal in the motion detection within the pixel array section 40.At this time, in the solid-state imaging device 1, the motion detection for sequentially detecting the motion of the object can be performed at an asynchronous timing irrespective of the normal reading in which pixel signals are sequentially read frame by frame in the normal photographing.", "In other words, in the solid-state imaging device 1, the normal reading and motion detection reading can be performed in the same period.", "In the solid-state imaging device 1, as in the example of the arrangement of the normal pixels 51 and the motion detection pixels 52 shown in FIG.", "4, the number of normal pixels 51 arranged within the pixel array section 40 is set to be greater than the number of motion detection pixels 52.In other words, in the solid-state imaging device 1, the number of the normal pixels 51 to be arranged within the pixel array section 40 is increased by dividing and forming the motion detection pixels 52 arranged within the pixel array section 40 on the first semiconductor substrate 11 and the second semiconductor substrate 12.Thus, in the imaging system equipped with the solid-state imaging device 1, an image processing section configured to generate an image on the basis of the pixel signals in the normal photographing output from the solid-state imaging device 1 can generate higher-resolution images, i.e., higher-quality images.", "Also, when an image according to each pixel signal is generated, the image processing section provided in the imaging system equipped with the solid-state imaging device 1 may generate an image including pixel signals of all pixels by interpolating a pixel signal (i.e., a pixel signal of a pixel which is deficient) of a position at which the motion detection pixel 52 is arranged in the solid-state imaging device 1.More specifically, when an image is generated from the pixel signal read from the normal pixel 51 through the normal reading, the pixel signal of the normal pixel 51 corresponding to the position at which the motion detection pixel 52 is arranged is interpolated on the basis of the pixel signal of the neighboring normal pixel 51.Also, in the present invention, a method in which the image processing section interpolates a pixel signal of each normal pixel 51 corresponding to the position at which the motion detection pixel 52 is arranged (an image interpolation calculation method) is not particularly defined.", "Also, when an event pixel signal is output from the motion detection pixel 52 in the solid-state imaging device 1, a pixel signal is output (read) from the normal pixel 51 arranged within a predetermined reading region around the position of the motion detection pixel 52 having output the event pixel signal as in a first pixel designation method.", "In other words, in the solid-state imaging device 1, pixel signals of the normal photographing are output (read) from only the normal pixels 51 arranged in a predetermined small reading region around a position at which the motion detection pixel 52 having detected the motion of the object is arranged.", "Thereby, in the solid-state imaging device 1, it is possible to reduce power consumption as compared with reading all the pixel signals obtained through the normal photographing to generate an image reflecting the motion of the object as in the conventional solid-state imaging device.", "Also, the image processing section provided in the imaging system equipped with the solid-state imaging device 1 generates an image reflecting the motion of the object on the basis of a pixel signal of a small reading region in which the motion of the object output (read) in the first pixel designation method is detected.", "In other words, the image processing section generates an image reflecting the motion of the object by generating an image by replacing a small number of pixel signals corresponding to a small reading region in which motion is detected within pixel signals of one frame already acquired from the solid-state imaging device 1.Also, in the first pixel designation method, when one motion detection pixel 52 outputs an event pixel signal, a method of designating the normal pixel 51 configured to read the pixel signal on the basis of a position at which the motion detection pixel 52 having output the event pixel signal is arranged is shown.", "However, as described above, in the solid-state imaging device 1, it is possible to sequentially perform motion detection in which the motion of the object is detected.", "Therefore, it is conceivable that a plurality of motion detection pixels 52 detect motion of an object in the same period.", "Here, a method of determining a reading region in which the reading address control circuit 100 outputs (reads) the pixel signal when the event pixel signal is output from a plurality of motion detection pixels 52 in the same period will be described.", "FIG.", "6 is a diagram schematically showing an example of a region (reading region) in which the pixel 50 (a normal pixel 51) configured to output a pixel signal is designated in the solid-state imaging device 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.", "In FIG.", "6, if pixels 50 (normal pixels 51 and motion detection pixels 52) are arranged within the region of the pixel array section 40 of the first semiconductor substrate 11 constituting the solid-state imaging device 1 as shown in FIG.", "4, an example of a method of determining a reading region in which normal pixels 51 configured to output pixel signals are arranged when event pixel signals are output from a plurality of motion detection pixels 52 in the same period is shown.", "In an example of the arrangement of the pixels 50 (normal pixels 51 and motion detection pixels 52) shown in FIG.", "6, a case in which the event pixel signals are output in the same period from a motion detection pixel 52a arranged in a 7th column of a 6th row, a motion detection pixel 52b arranged in a 7th column of a 2nd row, a motion detection pixel 52c arranged in an 11th column of the 2nd row, and a motion detection pixel 52d arranged in the 11th column of the 6th row is conceivable.", "In this case, the reading address control circuit 100 determines reading regions of a predetermined rectangular reading region ar1 of 5 rows and 5 columns around a position of the motion detection pixel 52a, a predetermined rectangular reading region ar2 of 5 rows and 5 columns around a position of the motion detection pixel 52b, a predetermined rectangular reading region ar3 of 5 rows and 5 columns around a position of the motion detection pixel 52c, and a predetermined rectangular reading region ar4 of 5 rows and 5 columns around a position of the motion detection pixel 52d.", "However, as shown in FIG.", "6, in the reading regions of the reading region ar1, the reading region ar2, the reading region ar3, and the reading region ar4, the same normal pixel 51 is included in adjacent reading regions.", "In other words, the normal pixels 51 arranged in the reading region overlap each other.", "In such a case, the reading address control circuit 100 determines a reading region in which pixel signals are read so that pixel signals are not redundantly read from the normal pixels 51 overlapping each other in the reading region.", "More specifically, as shown in FIG.", "6, a rectangular reading region ar5 including all the rectangular reading regions (reading regions ar1 to ar4) corresponding to all the motion detection pixels 52 having output the event pixel signal is determined as a reading region in which the pixel signal is output (read) from the normal pixel 51.Then, the reading address control circuit 100 outputs a control signal for designating the normal pixel 51 arranged within the reading region ar5 to the vertical scanning circuit 20 and the horizontal scanning circuit 30.Thereby, each of the vertical scanning circuit 20 and the horizontal scanning circuit 30 sequentially drives the normal pixels 51 within the designated reading region ar5 to sequentially output (read) pixel signals from the normal pixels 51 arranged within the reading region ar5.As described above, if event pixel signals are output from a plurality of motion detection pixels 52 in the same period in the solid-state imaging device 1, the reading address control circuit 100 determines a reading region for designating the normal pixel 51 from which a pixel signal is read in accordance with a position at which each motion detection pixel 52 having output the event pixel signal is arranged in the first pixel designation method.", "Thereby, it is possible to reduce the power consumption without outputting (reading) pixel signals from overlapping normal pixels 51 a plurality of times in the solid-state imaging device 1.A case in which a predetermined reading region in which the pixel signal is output (read) from the normal pixel 51 is a rectangular reading region of 5 rows and 5 columns around a position of the motion detection pixel 52a having output the event pixel signal has been described in the first pixel designation method.", "However, the size of the predetermined reading region in which the pixel signal is output (read) from the normal pixel 51 is not limited to the above-described 5 rows and 5 columns and various sizes (numbers of rows/columns) are conceivable in accordance with an arrangement of the normal pixels 51 and the motion detection pixels 52 within the pixel array section 40 or the like.", "Also, each reading region is not limited to a reading region in which adjacent reading regions overlap, i.e., a reading region including the same normal pixel 51.Also, a case in which the reading address control circuit 100 determines a rectangular reading region for designating a normal pixel 51 from which a pixel signal is read on the basis of a position at which the motion detection pixel 52 having output the event pixel signal is arranged when one motion detection pixel 52 or a plurality of motion detection pixels 52 output an event pixel signal(s) in the first pixel designation method has been described.", "However, the position at which the motion detection pixel 52 having output the event pixel signal is arranged is not always arranged at a position at which the rectangular reading region can be constantly easily detected.", "Particularly, if event pixel signals are output from a plurality of motion detection pixels 52 in the same period, the reading address control circuit 100 is not always arranged at a position at which a rectangular reading region can be determined as shown in FIG.", "6 according to a position at which the motion detection pixel 52 having output the event pixel signal is arranged.", "Therefore, the reading address control circuit 100 may be configured to change the method of determining the reading region for designating the normal pixel 51 from which the pixel signal is read in accordance with a position at which the motion detection pixel 52 having output the event pixel signal are arranged.", "(Second Pixel Designation Method) Next, another method of designating the normal pixel 51 in the solid-state imaging device 1 of the first embodiment will be described.", "FIG.", "7 is a diagram schematically showing another example of a region (a reading region) in which the pixel 50 (a normal pixel 51) configured to output a pixel signal is designated in the solid-state imaging device 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.", "In FIG.", "7, an example of a method of determining a reading region in which the normal pixel 51 configured to output the pixel signal is arranged if event pixel signals are output from a plurality of motion detection pixels 52 in the same period when the pixels 50 (the normal pixels 51 and the motion detection pixels 52) are arranged within the region of the pixel array section 40 of the first semiconductor substrate 11 constituting the solid-state imaging device 1.Also, in FIG.", "7, a motion detection pixel distribution D1 shows a range in which the motion detection pixels 52 having output the event pixel signals in the same period among the plurality of motion detection pixels 52 arranged in the entire region of the pixel array section 40 are distributed.", "Accordingly, the region of the motion detection pixel distribution D1 corresponds to the minimum reading region for designating the normal pixel 51 from which the reading address control circuit 100 reads the pixel signal.", "As in the motion detection pixel distribution D1 shown in FIG.", "7, a case in which a normal pixel 51 from which a pixel signal is read can be designated by combining a plurality of rectangular reading regions corresponding to motion detection pixels 52 having output event pixel signals (referred to as a “reading region ar” when rectangular reading regions corresponding to motion detection pixels 52) are indicated without distinguishing there between is conceivable.", "In this case, the designation method in which the reading address control circuit 100 designates the normal pixels 51 arranged in the region of the motion detection pixel distribution D1 becomes complicated even if the reading address control circuit 100 determines the region excluding the overlapping normal pixels 51 in each reading region ar as the reading region on the basis of a concept of the first pixel designation method.", "In other words, it is necessary to perform control in consideration of a timing of outputting a control signal for designating the normal pixels 51 arranged in the reading regions ar in order to efficiently read the pixel signals from the normal pixels 51.For example, it is also necessary for the reading address control circuit 100 to consider a timing at which a control signal for designating the normal pixels 51 arranged within the reading regions ar is output to read the pixel signals from the normal pixels 51.Thus, a case in which it is impossible to efficiently read the pixel signals from the normal pixels 51 arranged within the reading region ar corresponding to the motion detection pixels 52 distributed in a complicated shape as in the motion detection pixel distribution D1 is also conceivable.", "Therefore, in the second pixel designation method in the reading address control circuit 100, a rectangular region including the motion detection pixel distribution D1 is determined as a reading region in which the pixel signal is output (read) from the normal pixel 51.More specifically, in the second pixel designation method, a rectangular reading region ar6 including all the rectangular reading regions ar corresponding to all the motion detection pixels 52 having output the event pixel signals is determined as a reading region in which pixel signals are output (read) from the normal pixels 51.In this case, for example, the reading address control circuit 100 obtains a position of an upper left normal pixel 51 and a position of a lower right normal pixel 51 between which all rectangular reading regions ar are included from the rectangular reading regions ar corresponding to motion detection pixels 52.Then, the reading address control circuit 100 determines the rectangular reading region ar6 indicated by the obtained positions of the upper left normal pixel 51 and the lower right normal pixel 51 as the reading region of the normal pixel 51 from which the pixel signal corresponding to the motion detection pixel distribution D1 is read.", "Thereby, although the pixel signals are read from the normal pixels 51 arranged in the reading region which is larger than a minimum reading region for designating the normal pixel 51 from which the pixel signal is read, a process of outputting a control signal for designating the normal pixel 51 is simplified.", "Then, the reading address control circuit 100 outputs a control signal for designating the normal pixel 51 arranged within the reading region ar6 to the vertical scanning circuit 20 and the horizontal scanning circuit 30.Each of the vertical scanning circuit 20 and the horizontal scanning circuit 30 sequentially drives the pixels from the normal pixel 51 of the upper left position (a start position) to the normal pixel 51 of the lower right position (an end position) and outputs (reads) the pixel signal from each normal pixel 51 arranged within the reading region ar6.Also, a method of outputting (reading) a pixel signal from a normal pixel 51 on the basis of the start position and the end position is a method that generally matches a pixel signal reading method capable of being generally performed in many solid-state imaging devices.", "In this manner, when event pixel signals are output from a plurality of motion detection pixels 52 distributed in a complicated shape in the same period in the solid-state imaging device 1, the reading address control circuit 100 determines a rectangular region in which a process of outputting a control signal for designating a normal pixel 51 is simplified as a reading region for designating the normal pixel 51 from which a pixel signal is read in the second pixel designation method.", "Thereby, it is also possible to simplify a process when the image processing section provided in the imaging system equipped with the solid-state imaging device 1 is mounted generates an image reflecting the motion of the object.", "Also, a case in which the motion detection pixel 52 configured to output the event pixel signal is one position in the entire region of the pixel array section 40 has been described in the first pixel designation method and the second pixel designation method.", "However, it is also conceivable that the motion detection pixels 52 configured to output the event pixel signals exist at a plurality of positions within the entire region of the pixel array section 40.Here, a method of determining a reading region in which the reading address control circuit 100 outputs (reads) pixel signals when event pixel signals are output in the same period from the motion detection pixels 52 existing at a plurality of positions within the entire region of the pixel array section 40 will be described.", "FIG.", "8 is a diagram schematically showing still another example of a region (a reading region) in which the pixel 50 (a normal pixel 51) configured to output a pixel signal is designated in the solid-state imaging device 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.", "In FIG.", "8, an example of a method of determining a reading region in which normal pixels 51 from which pixel signals are output is arranged when distributions of a plurality of motion detection pixels 52 configured to output event pixel signals in the same period are present at a plurality of positions if the pixels 50 (the normal pixels 51 and the motion detection pixels 52) are arranged within the region of the pixel array section 40 of the first semiconductor substrate 11 constituting the solid-state imaging device 1 as shown in FIG.", "7 is shown.", "Also, each of the motion detection pixel distribution D1, a motion detection pixel distribution D2, and a motion detection pixel distribution D3 shown in FIG.", "8 indicates the distribution of the motion detection pixels 52 having output the event pixel signal in the same period.", "Accordingly, the regions of the motion detection pixel distribution D1, the motion detection pixel distribution D2, and the motion detection pixel distribution D3 correspond to smallest reading regions in which the normal pixels 51 from which the reading address control circuit 100 reads pixel signals are designated.", "As shown in FIG.", "8, if distributions of a plurality of motion detection pixels 52 configured to output event pixel signals in the same period are present at a plurality of positions, the reading address control circuit 100 determines the reading regions from which the pixel signals are read from the normal pixels 51 corresponding to the motion detection pixel distributions on the basis of the concept of the second pixel designation method.", "More specifically, each reading region of a rectangular reading region ar6 corresponding to the motion detection pixel distribution D1, a rectangular reading region ar7 corresponding to the motion detection pixel distribution D2, a rectangular reading region ar8 corresponding to the motion detection pixel distribution D3 is determined.", "However, it is also conceivable that pixel signals cannot be efficiently read from normal pixels 51 when the pixel signals are read from the normal pixel 51 in the reading region ar6 and the normal pixel 51 in the reading region ar7 if the reading region ar6 and the reading region ar7 exist at positions close to each other as shown in FIG.", "8.In other words, it is also conceivable that reading pixel signals from normal pixels 51 within a reading region obtained by combining the reading region ar6 and the reading region ar7 is more efficient than reading pixel signals from normal pixels 51 within each reading region by separately forming the reading region ar6 and the reading region ar7 if the reading region ar6 and the reading region ar7 are close to each other.", "In such a case, the reading address control circuit 100 determines a region including a plurality of adjacent reading regions as a reading region in which pixel signals are read.", "More specifically, as shown in FIG.", "8, a rectangular reading region ar9 including the reading region ar6 and the reading region ar7 is determined as a reading region in which the pixel signal is output (read) from the normal pixel 51.On the other hand, as shown in FIG.", "8, the reading region ar8 is not close to either the reading region ar6 or the reading region ar7.In this case, when the reading address control circuit 100 determines a rectangular reading region ar10 including the reading region ar8, the reading region ar6, and the reading region ar7 as the reading region in which the pixel signal is output (read) from the normal pixel 51, reading of pixel signals from normal pixels 51 within the reading region ar10 increases.", "In such a case, the reading address control circuit 100 does not determine the reading region ar10 as a reading region in which the pixel signal is output (read) from the normal pixel 51, and may be configured to separately set the reading region ar9 and the reading region ar8 as a reading region in which the pixel signal is output (read) from the normal pixel 51 or read the pixel signal from the normal pixel 51 within each reading region.", "However, as shown in FIG.", "8, if it can be determined that the reading region ar10 is substantially the entire region of the pixel array section 40, the entire region of the pixel array section 40 may be determined to be a reading region in which pixel signals are output (read) from normal pixels 51.In other words, pixel signals for one frame may be read.", "Also, a determination of whether or not to determine a reading region, which is a combination of a plurality of reading regions, as the reading region in which the pixel signals are read is performed according to whether or not a process for outputting a control signal for designating the normal pixel 51 is simplified as described above.", "In this case, in a state before a plurality of reading regions are combined, a result of comparing a sum of a data output time when pixel signals are read from the normal pixels 51 within each reading region and a processing time of a process of switching the reading region in which the pixel signals are read with a data output time at the time of reading the pixel signal from the normal pixel 51 in the reading region obtained by combining the plurality of reading regions may also be used as a determination material.", "Also, the material for determining whether or not to combine a plurality of reading regions as a reading region in which pixel signals are read is not limited to the above-described time comparison result and various types of determination materials such as differences between processing loads when a plurality of reading regions are combined and processed and when the reading regions are separately processed are conceivable.", "In this manner, if distributions of a plurality of motion detection pixels 52 configured to output event pixel signals in the same period are present at a plurality of positions in the solid-state imaging device 1, the reading address control circuit 100 determines a reading region obtained by combining a plurality of reading regions corresponding to distributions as one reading region in which normal pixels 51 from which pixel signals are read are designated in accordance with a position at which a distribution of each motion detection pixel 52 is present in the second pixel designation method.", "Thereby, in the solid-state imaging device 1, a process of outputting a control signal for designating the normal pixel 51 can be more simplified.", "Also, a predetermined rectangular reading region around a position of the motion detection pixel 52 having output an event pixel signal is designated as a reading region in which pixel signals are read from normal pixels 51 when the motion detection pixel 52 outputs the event pixel signal in the first and second pixel designation methods has been described.", "However, for example, as in a case in which the distribution of the motion detection pixels 52 having outputting the event pixel signals is only the motion detection pixel distribution D3 shown in FIG.", "8, a configuration in which motion of an object is determined to be little according to the number of motion detection pixels 52 having outputting the event pixel signals and a magnitude of a range in which motion detection pixels 52 are distributed and a reading region is not designated as a reading region in which pixel signals are read from the normal pixels 51 may be adopted.", "(Third Pixel Designation Method) Next, still another method of designating normal pixels 51 in the solid-state imaging device 1 of the first embodiment will be described.", "FIG.", "9 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of a process of determining a region (a reading region) in which pixels 50 (normal pixels 51) configured to output pixel signals are designated in the solid-state imaging device 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.", "When an event pixel signal is input from any one of the motion detection pixels 52 arranged in the pixel array section 40, the reading address control circuit 100 acquires the input event pixel signal (step S100).", "Subsequently, the reading address control circuit 100 detects (confirms) a position of the motion detection pixel 52 having output the event pixel signal from address information included in the acquired event pixel signal (step S101).", "Then, the reading address control circuit 100 calculates a distribution of positions of motion detection pixels 52 having output detected (confirmed) event pixel signals (step S102).", "Subsequently, the reading address control circuit 100 determines whether or not a magnitude of the calculated distribution of the positions of the motion detection pixels 52 is larger than a threshold value of a predetermined distribution size (step S103).", "Here, the threshold value of the predetermined distribution magnitude is a value indicating a magnitude of a predetermined distribution serving as a magnitude of a minimum distribution for setting a reading region of a normal pixel 51 from which a pixel signal is read according to, for example, an area or a ratio of an area to the entire region of the pixel array section 40.As a result of the determination in step S103, if it is determined that the calculated magnitude of the distribution of the positions of the motion detection pixels 52 is larger than the predetermined threshold value of the distribution magnitude (“YES” in step S103), the reading address control circuit 100 determines a reading region (for example, the reading region ar shown in FIG.", "7) of the normal pixels 51 from which the pixel signals are read according to the calculated magnitude of the distribution of the positions of the motion detection pixels 52 (step S104).", "Subsequently, the reading address control circuit 100 outputs control signals for designating the normal pixels 51 arranged within the determined reading region to the vertical scanning circuit 20 and the horizontal scanning circuit 30.Thereby, each of the vertical scanning circuit 20 and the horizontal scanning circuit 30 sequentially drives the designated normal pixels 51 in accordance with the control signal output from the reading address control circuit 100 and reads pixel signals (step S105).", "Then, the reading address control circuit 100 completes a process of determining a reading region in which normal pixels 51 configured to output pixel signals are designated.", "On the other hand, as a result of the determination in step S103, if it is determined that the calculated magnitude of the distribution of the positions of the motion detection pixels 52 is not larger than the predetermined threshold value of the magnitude of the distribution, i.e., less than or equal to the predetermined threshold value of the magnitude of the distribution (“NO” in step S103), the reading address control circuit 100 completes the process of determining a reading region in which normal pixels 51 from which pixel signals are read is designated.", "In other words, the reading address control circuit 100 completes the process without determining the reading region of the normal pixels 51 from which the pixel signals are read (without reading the pixel signals from the normal pixels 51).", "The reading address control circuit 100 performs the processing procedure of the flowchart shown in FIG.", "9 every time an event pixel signal is input from the motion detection pixel 52.Thereby, if the range of the motion detection pixel 52 having detected the motion of the object becomes a range larger than the magnitude of the distribution defined by the threshold value, the reading address control circuit 100 can determine a reading region of normal pixels 51 from which pixel signals are read.", "More specifically, for example, when the distribution of the motion detection pixels 52 having output the event pixel signals is as large as the motion detection pixel distribution D1 shown in FIG.", "8, a process of determining the rectangular reading region ar6 as a reading region in which pixel signals are output (read) from normal pixels 51 is completed.", "On the other hand, for example, when the distribution of the motion detection pixels 52 having output the event pixel signals is as large as the motion detection pixel distribution D3 shown in FIG.", "8, the process is completed without determining the rectangular reading region ar8 as a reading region in which pixel signals are output (read) from normal pixels 51.Thereby, when the motion of the object is little in the solid-state imaging device 1, it is possible to reduce power consumption without reading pixel signals from the normal pixels 51.It is also conceivable that, even when a plurality of motion detection pixels 52 detect motion of an object and output event pixel signals in the same period, the event pixel signals are not input to the reading address control circuit 100 at the same time.", "Thus, if the reading address control circuit 100 calculates the distribution of the positions of the motion detection pixels 52 having output the event pixel signals in step S102, it is desirable to calculate the distribution on the basis of positions of a plurality of motion detection pixels 52 having output the event pixel signals within a predetermined period.", "In other words, it is desirable to perform the determination in step S103 after a state in which the magnitude of the distribution of the positions of the motion detection pixels 52 having output the event pixel signals is established by iterating the processing of steps S100 to S102 in the flowchart shown in FIG.", "9 during a predetermined period.", "Also, the process of determining the reading region of the normal pixels 51 having output the pixel signals is not limited to a process according to the distribution of the motion detection pixels 52 as shown in the flowchart of FIG.", "9, and may be a process according to the number of motion detection pixels 52 having output the event pixel signals as described above.", "Here, a process of determining a reading region of normal pixels 51 configured to output pixel signals on the basis of the number of motion detection pixels 52 having output event pixel signals will be described.", "FIG.", "10 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of another process of determining a region (a reading region) in which pixels 50 (normal pixels 51) configured to output pixel signals are designated in the solid-state imaging device 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.", "When an event pixel signal is input from any one motion detection pixel 52 arranged within the pixel array section 40, the reading address control circuit 100 acquires the input event pixel signal as in the step S100 in the flowchart shown in FIG.", "9 (step S110).", "Subsequently, the reading address control circuit 100 detects the position of the motion detection pixel 52 having output the event pixel signal from address information included in the acquired event pixel signal as in step S101 in the flowchart shown in FIG.", "9 (step S111).", "Then, the reading address control circuit 100 calculates the number of motion detection pixels 52 having output the detected (confirmed) event pixel signal (step S112).", "Subsequently, the reading address control circuit 100 determines whether or not the calculated number of motion detection pixels 52 is larger than the predetermined number of threshold values (step S113).", "Here, the predetermined number of threshold values is a value indicating a minimum value for motion detection pixels 52 for setting the reading region of the normal pixels 51 from which the pixel signals are read according to, for example, the number of motion detection pixels 52, the ratio of the number of motion detection pixels 52 to the total number of motion detection pixels 52 arranged in the pixel array section 40, or the like.", "As a result of the determination in the step S113, if it is determined that the calculated number of motion detection pixels 52 is larger than the predetermined number of threshold values (“YES” in step S113), the reading address control circuit 100 determines a reading region of normal pixels 51 from which pixel signals are read according to a position of each detected (confirmed) motion detection pixel 52 (for example, the reading region ar shown in FIG.", "7) (step S114).", "Subsequently, the reading address control circuit 100 outputs a control signal for designating the normal pixels 51 arranged in the determined reading region to the vertical scanning circuit 20 and the horizontal scanning circuit 30.Thereby, each of the vertical scanning circuit 20 and the horizontal scanning circuit 30 sequentially drives the designated normal pixels 51 according to the control signal output from the reading address control circuit 100, and reads the pixel signals (step S115).", "Then, the reading address control circuit 100 completes a process of determining a region in which normal pixels 51 configured to output pixel signals (a reading region) are designated.", "On the other hand, as a result of the determination in step S113, if it is determined that the calculated number of motion detection pixels 52 is not larger than the predetermined number of threshold values, i.e., smaller than or equal to the predetermined number of threshold values (“NO” in step S113), the reading address control circuit 100 completes the process of determining a reading region in which normal pixels 51 configured to output pixel signals are designated.", "In other words, the reading address control circuit 100 completes the process without determining the reading region of the normal pixels 51 from which pixel signals are read (without reading the pixel signals from the normal pixels 51), as in step S103 in the flowchart shown in FIG.", "9.The reading address control circuit 100 performs the processing procedure of the flowchart shown in FIG.", "10 every time an event pixel signal is input from the motion detection pixel 52 as in the processing procedure shown in FIG.", "9.Thereby, the reading address control circuit 100 can determine the reading region of the normal pixels 51 from which the pixel signals are read when the number of motion detection pixels 52 having detected the motion of the object is larger than the number determined by the threshold value.", "More specifically, for example, if the number of motion detection pixels 52 having output the event pixel signals is greater than or equal to 100, the process is completed by determining a reading region obtained by combining predetermined rectangular reading regions around positions of the motion detection pixels 52 as a reading region in which pixel signals are output (read) from normal pixels 51.On the other hand, if the number of motion detection pixels 52 having output the event pixel signals is less than 100, the process is completed without determining the reading region in which pixel signals are output (read) from normal pixels 51.Thereby, in the solid-state imaging device 1, as in the processing procedure shown in FIG.", "9, when the motion of the object is little, it is possible to reduce power consumption without reading pixel signals from the normal pixels 51.Also, it is also conceivable that, even when the reading region of the normal pixels 51 having output the pixel signals are determined on the basis of the number of motion detection pixels 52 having output the event pixel signals, the motion detection pixels 52 do not simultaneously output the event pixel signals.", "In other words, it is also conceivable that pluralities of event pixel signals are input from each of the plurality of motion detection pixels 52 in the same period, but the event pixel signals are not input to the reading address control circuit 100 at the same time.", "Thus, as in the processing procedure shown in FIG.", "9, it is desirable to calculate the number of motion detection pixels 52 having output event pixel signals within a predetermined period if the reading address control circuit 100 calculates the number of motion detection pixels 52 having output the event pixel signals in step S112.Accordingly, as in the processing procedure shown in FIG.", "9, it is desirable to perform the determination in step S113 after a state in which the number of motion detection pixels 52 having output the event pixel signals is established by iterating the processing of steps S110 to S112 in the flowchart shown in FIG.", "10 for a predetermined period.", "In the above description, the first to third pixel designation methods have been described as different methods.", "However, the first to third pixel designation methods may be combined and applied.", "In other words, a configuration in which whether to determine a reading region of the normal pixels 51 from which pixel signals are read using any one method of the first to third pixel designation methods is switched in accordance with a situation in which the event pixel signal is output from the motion detection pixel 52 may be adopted.", "Also, in the first to third pixel designation methods, a case in which a reading region of normal pixels 51 from which the pixel signals corresponding to motion detection pixels 52 having output event pixel signals are read is determined by applying the concept of each of the first to third pixel designation methods is applied to the entire region of the pixel array section 40 has been described.", "However, a region to be determined when a reading region of normal pixels 51 from which pixel signals are read is not limited to the entire region of the pixel array section 40 as described above.", "For example, the entire region of the pixel array section 40 is divided into a plurality of blocks segmented according to the predetermined number of rows and the predetermined number of columns.", "Then, the reading address control circuit 100 may determine a reading region of normal pixels 51 from which pixel signals are read for each block by applying the concept of any one of the first to third pixel designation methods to a division region of each block.", "In this case, for example, a reading region of normal pixels 51 from which the pixel signals are read corresponding to motion detection pixels 52 having output event pixel signals may be determined in consideration of a region of division regions as the entire region of the above-described pixel array section 40.Also, for example, the threshold value in step S113 of the process of determining the reading region of the normal pixels 51 having output the pixel signals on the basis of the number of motion detection pixels 52 having output the event pixel signals shown in FIG.", "10 may be processed as the number of blocks including the motion detection pixels 52 having output the event pixel signals in place of the number of motion detection pixels 52.Also, in the solid-state imaging device 1 of the first embodiment, as the configurations of the pixels 50 (the normal pixels 51 and the motion detection pixels 52) arranged within the region of the pixel array section 40, the configurations of the normal pixel 51 shown in FIG.", "3A and the pixel the motion detection pixel 52 shown in FIG.", "3B are shown.", "However, the configurations of the pixels 50 arranged within the region of the pixel array section 40 are not limited to the configurations shown in FIG.", "3A and FIG.", "3B.", "For example, the normal pixel 51 shown in FIG.", "3A does not have a circuit element configured to store a charge signal generated by a photoelectric conversion element PD1.Then, the motion detection pixel 52 shown in FIG.", "3B outputs an event pixel signal at timing asynchronous with an operation of the normal pixel 51.Thus, it is also conceivable that the motion detection pixel 52 outputs an event pixel signal during a period in which the normal pixel 51 is performing exposure for the normal photographing at a predetermined cycle (frame rate) (i.e., during the exposure period of the normal pixel 51).", "In this case, it is also conceivable that it is impossible to read a pixel signal in the normal photographing obtained by immediately previous exposure, i.e., a pixel signal for generating a high-quality image reflecting the motion of the object if the normal pixel 51 is during an exposure period even if an attempt is made to read the pixel signal from the normal pixel 51 in accordance with the event pixel signal output from the motion detection pixel 52.In this case, it is necessary to await reading the pixel signal from the normal pixel 51 until exposure currently being performed is completed.", "Therefore, by changing the configuration of the normal pixel 51 to a configuration including a circuit element for storing the charge signal generated by the photoelectric conversion element PD1, a pixel signal according to the stored signal charge, i.e., a pixel signal in the normal photographing obtained by immediately previous exposure, can be read in accordance with the event pixel signal output from the motion detection pixel 52.Modified Example of First Embodiment Next, another configuration of the normal pixel 51 arranged within the pixel array section 40 in the solid-state imaging device 1 of the first embodiment will be described.", "FIG.", "11 is a circuit diagram showing an example of another configuration of the pixel 50 (the normal pixel 51) in the solid-state imaging device 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.", "In the following description, the normal pixel 51 having the other configuration is referred to as a “normal pixel 53”.", "The circuit elements constituting the normal pixel 53 include circuit elements similar to the circuit elements constituting the normal pixel 51.Therefore, in the following description, in the circuit elements constituting the normal pixel 53, the same reference signs are assigned to circuit elements similar to the circuit elements constituting the normal pixel 51 and a detailed description thereof will be omitted.", "In FIG.", "11, the normal pixel 53 includes a photoelectric conversion element PD1, a charge transfer transistor 511, a pixel reset transistor 512, an amplification transistor 513, a noise suppression element 534, a sample-hold transistor 531, a charge storage capacitor 530, a clamp transistor 532, a second amplification transistor 533, and a selection transistor 514.In FIG.", "11, the node capacitor FD1, which is a capacitor associated with a node connected to a gate terminal of the amplification transistor 513 provided in the normal pixel 53, is indicated by a symbol of a capacitor serving as the circuit element of the normal pixel 53.In the normal pixel 53, the charge transfer transistor 511, the pixel reset transistor 512, the amplification transistor 513, the noise suppression element 534, the sample-hold transistor 531, the charge storage capacitor 530, the clamp transistor 532, the second amplification transistor 533, the selection transistor 514, and the node capacitor FD1 constitute a reading circuit configured to store and read a pixel signal according to the charge signal generated by the photoelectric conversion element PD1.In the solid-state imaging device 1, the photoelectric conversion element PD1 and the reading circuit of the normal pixel 53 are formed on the first semiconductor substrate 11.The charge transfer transistor 511 transfers the charge signal generated and stored by the photoelectric conversion element PD1 to the gate terminal of the amplification transistor 513 in accordance with a control signal TX1 input from the vertical scanning circuit 20.Thereby, the charge signal transferred by the charge transfer transistor 511 is stored in the node capacitor FD1.The amplification transistor 513 outputs a signal voltage according to the charge signal transferred to the gate terminal (i.e., the charge signal stored in the node capacitor FD1) to a first terminal of the noise suppression element 534.The pixel reset transistor 512 resets a charge signal within the normal pixel 53 to a power supply voltage VDD in accordance with a control signal RST1 input from the vertical scanning circuit 20.The noise suppression element 534 is a capacitor configured to store a signal voltage input from the amplification transistor 513 to the first terminal thereof.", "The clamp transistor 532 clamps each of the charge storage capacitor 530 and the noise suppression element 534 to a fixed potential VREF in accordance with a control signal RST2 input from the vertical scanning circuit 20.Thereby, each of the charge storage capacitor 530 and the noise suppression element 534 holds (stores) the clamped fixed potential VREF.", "The sample-hold transistor 531 stores the signal voltage output from a second terminal of the noise suppression element 534 in the charge storage capacitor 530 in accordance with a control signal TX2 input from the vertical scanning circuit 20.The charge storage capacitor 530 is a capacitor configured to store a signal voltage (a signal subjected to a noise removal process) output from the second terminal of the noise suppression element 534 input via the sample-hold transistor 531.The noise removal process due to a leakage current (a dark current) is performed on a signal voltage output from the amplification transistor 513 (i.e., a signal voltage according to the charge signal generated by the photoelectric conversion element PD1) according to the configurations of the clamp transistor 532, the sample-hold transistor 531, the charge storage capacitor 530, and the noise suppression element 534.The charge storage capacitor 530 stores a signal voltage subjected to the noise removal process.", "Also, as the charge storage capacitor 530, it is more preferable to use a metal insulator metal (MIM) capacitor or a metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) capacitor which has a small leakage current (dark current) per unit area.", "Thereby, resistance to noise is improved and a high-quality signal can be obtained.", "The second amplification transistor 533 outputs a signal voltage corresponding to the voltage of the gate terminal (i.e., the signal voltage stored in the charge storage capacitor 530 subjected to the noise removal process) to the selection transistor 514.The selection transistor 514 outputs a signal voltage output from the second amplification transistor 533 to the vertical signal line 60 as the pixel signal of the normal pixel 53 in accordance with a control signal SEL input from the vertical scanning circuit 20.Thereby, the pixel signal corresponding to the charge signal generated by the photoelectric conversion element PD1 provided in the normal pixel 53 is read to the vertical signal line 60.According to such a configuration, in the normal pixel 53, each signal voltage according to a charge signal obtained through photoelectric conversion of the light incident on the photoelectric conversion element PD1 is temporarily stored in the charge storage capacitor 530.Then, in the normal pixel 53, the stored signal voltage is read as a pixel signal to the vertical signal line 60 in accordance with control from the vertical scanning circuit 20.Here, a drive timing of the normal pixel 53 shown in FIG.", "11 will be described.", "FIG.", "12 is a timing chart showing an example of a timing at which the normal pixel 53 is driven in the solid-state imaging device 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.", "The timing chart shown in FIG.", "12 indicates a control timing of the vertical scanning circuit 20 for controlling the normal pixel 53 so that a stored signal voltage is output as a pixel signal to the vertical signal line 60 after a signal voltage according to a charge signal obtained through the normal photographing is temporarily stored.", "When or in a case the normal photographing is performed, all the normal pixels 53 within the pixel array section 40 are first reset at time t1.More specifically, at time t1, the vertical scanning circuit 20 sets the control signal RST1 and the control signal TX1 to a “High” level at the same time and sets the pixel reset transistor 512 and the charge transfer transistor 511 to an ON state.", "Thereby, photoelectric conversion elements PD1 and node capacitors FD1 provided in all the normal pixels 53 within the pixel array section 40 are reset.", "Thereafter, the vertical scanning circuit 20 sets the control signal RST1 and the control signal TX1 to a “Low” level at the same time, sets the pixel reset transistor 512 and the charge transfer transistor 511 to an OFF state, and releases the resetting of all the normal pixels 53 within the pixel array section 40.Thereby, all the normal pixels 53 within the pixel array section 40 start exposure at the same time.", "In other words, the photoelectric conversion element PD1 provided in all the normal pixels 53 within the pixel array section 40 starts generation and storage of a charge signal obtained by photoelectrically converting incident light.", "Subsequently, after a fixed period elapses (i.e., after any exposure time in normal photographing elapses), a signal voltage of a reset level of the photoelectric conversion element PD1 and a signal voltage generated by exposure (hereinafter referred to as a “signal voltage of an exposure level”) are read to the noise suppression element 534 from time t2.Then, the noise removal process is performed to obtain a difference between the signal voltage of the reset level of the photoelectric conversion element PD1 in the normal pixel 53 and the signal voltage of the exposure level.", "More specifically, at time 12, the vertical scanning circuit 20 sets the control signal RST1 to the “High” level, sets the pixel reset transistor 512 to an ON state, and resets the node capacitor FD1.Thereby, the signal voltage of the reset level of the photoelectric conversion element PD1 from the amplification transistor 513 is output to the first terminal of the noise suppression element 534.Also, the vertical scanning circuit 20 sets the control signal RST2 and the control signal TX2 to the “High” level and sets the clamp transistor 532 and the sample-hold transistor 531 to an ON state.", "Thereby, each of the charge storage capacitor 530 and the noise suppression element 534 is clamped to the fixed potential VREF.", "Thereafter, the vertical scanning circuit 20 sets the control signal RST1 to the “Low” level, sets the pixel reset transistor 512 to an OFF state, and releases the resetting of the node capacitor FD1.Subsequently, at time t3, the vertical scanning circuit 20 sets the control signal RST2 to the “Low” level and releases the clamping of the charge storage capacitor 530.Subsequently, at time t4, the vertical scanning circuit 20 sets the control signal TX1 to the “High” level, sets the charge transfer transistor 511 to an ON state, and transfers a charge signal stored in the photoelectric conversion element PD1 to the gate terminal of the amplification transistor 513.At this time, the charge signal transferred by the charge transfer transistor 511 is stored in the node capacitor FD1.Thereby, the charge signal generated by the photoelectric conversion element PD1 from the amplification transistor 513, i.e., a signal voltage according to the charge signal stored in the node capacitor FD1 (a signal voltage of the exposure level), is output to the first terminal of the noise suppression element 534.Then, the noise suppression element 534 outputs a voltage of a difference between the signal voltage of the reset level of the photoelectric conversion element PD1 and the signal voltage of the exposure level, i.e., a signal voltage subjected to the noise removal process, from the second terminal thereof.", "Thereafter, the vertical scanning circuit 20 sets the control signal TX1 to the “Low” level, sets the charge transfer transistor 511 to an OFF state, and stops the transfer of the charge signal stored in the photoelectric conversion element PD1 to the gate terminal of the amplification transistor 513.Subsequently, at time t5, the vertical scanning circuit 20 sets the control signal TX2 to the “Low” level, sets the sample-hold transistor 531 to an OFF state, and stops a sample-hold operation of the charge storage capacitor 530.Thereby, the charge storage capacitor 530 stores the signal voltage output by the noise suppression element 534 subjected to the noise removal process.", "Heretofore, the charge signal generated by the photoelectric conversion element PD1 provided in the normal pixel 53 is subjected to the noise removal process and stored in the charge storage capacitor 530.Also, in the solid-state imaging device 1, by controlling all the normal pixels 53 arranged within the pixel array section 40 at the same time, normal photographing is performed on the normal pixels 53 in a so-called global shutter function.", "Accordingly, if the signal voltage according to the charge signal generated by the photoelectric conversion element PD1 is subjected to the noise removal process and stored in the charge storage capacitor 530, the normal pixel 53 can continuously start exposure for the next normal photographing.", "Thereafter, when a control signal for designating normal pixels 53 from which pixel signals are read is input from the reading address control circuit 100, the vertical scanning circuit 20 sequentially controls control signals SEL of the designated normal pixels 53 and causes signal voltages subjected to the noise removal process stored in the charge storage capacitors 530 provided in the normal pixels 53 to be sequentially output as pixel signals of the normal pixels 53 to the vertical signal line 60.In this manner, in the solid-state imaging device 1, the reading address control circuit 100 reads a signal voltage temporarily stored in the normal pixel 53 corresponding to the motion detection pixel 52 in which the motion of the object has been detected as a pixel signal obtained by the normal pixel 53 according to exposure for the normal photographing.", "When the exposure for the next normal photographing is completed, the normal pixel 53 from which the pixel signal according to the signal charge stored in the charge storage capacitor 530 is not read discards the signal charge stored in the charge storage capacitor 530.More specifically, at time t2, the vertical scanning circuit 20 sets the control signal RST2 to the “High” level and clamps the charge storage capacitor 530 to the fixed potential VREF, whereby the signal charge stored in the charge storage capacitor 530 is discarded.", "Then, according to control of the vertical scanning circuit 20 from time t3 to time t5, the charge signal generated by the photoelectric conversion element PD1 in the next exposure for the normal photographing is subjected to the noise removal process and stored in the charge storage capacitor 530.As described above, in the solid-state imaging device 1 of the first embodiment, a pixel signal obtained through exposure for the normal photographing is temporarily stored within each normal pixel 53 by arranging normal pixels 53 having a configuration including a circuit element configured to store a charge signal generated by the photoelectric conversion element PD1 in place of the normal pixels 51 arranged within a region of the pixel array section 40.Thereby, even when the motion detection pixel 52 outputs the event pixel signal by detecting the motion of the object during the exposure period in which the normal pixel 53 performs the exposure for the normal photographing at the predetermined cycle (frame rate) in the solid-state imaging device 1, the reading address control circuit 100 can read the pixel signal from the normal pixel 53 in accordance with the event pixel signal.", "Thereby, the image processing section provided in the imaging system equipped with the solid-state imaging device 1 can generate a high-quality image reflecting the motion of the object with a short time lag when the motion of the object is detected.", "According to the first embodiment, a solid-state imaging device (the solid-state imaging device 1) includes: n first photoelectric conversion elements (the photoelectric conversion elements PD1) configured to photoelectrically convert incident light and generate first charge signals; n first reading circuits (reading circuits of the normal pixels 51: the charge transfer transistor 511, the pixel reset transistor 512, the amplification transistor 513, the selection transistor 514, and the node capacitor FD1) corresponding to the n photoelectric conversion elements PD1 and configured to output signal voltages as first pixel signals (pixel signals output by the normal pixels 51), according to the first charge signals generated by the corresponding photoelectric conversion elements PD1; m second photoelectric conversion elements (the photoelectric conversion elements PD2) configured to photoelectrically convert incident light and generate second charge signals; m second reading circuits (reading circuits of the motion detection pixels 52) corresponding to the m photoelectric conversion elements PD2 and configured to sequentially output second pixel signals (event pixel signals) according to changes in the second charge signals generated by the corresponding photoelectric conversion elements PD2; and a reading control circuit (the reading address control circuit 100) configured to control reading of the first pixel signals (pixel signals output by normal pixels 51) corresponding to the photoelectric conversion elements PD1 arranged in predetermined reading regions (reading regions ar) within the photoelectric conversion elements PD1, wherein each of the reading circuits of the m motion detection pixels 52 includes a detection circuit (the threshold amplifier 524 and the threshold amplifier 525) configured to detect a change over time in the second charge signal generated by the corresponding photoelectric conversion element PD2 and output an event signal indicating the change when the change exceeding a predetermined threshold value is detected; and a pixel signal generation circuit (the AER circuit 526) configured to output the event pixel signal which is made by adding address information indicating a position at which the corresponding photoelectric conversion element PD2 is arranged to the event signal, wherein the reading address control circuit 100 determines a region (for example, the reading region ar1) according to a position at which the photoelectric conversion element PD2 corresponding to the address information included in the event pixel signal is arranged as the reading region ar for reading the first pixel signal (a pixel signal output by the normal pixel 51), and causes each of the first reading circuits corresponding to each of the photoelectric conversion elements PD1 arranged in the determined reading region ar to output the first pixel signal (the pixel signal output by the normal pixel 51), wherein n is a natural number greater than or equal to 2, and wherein m is a natural number greater than or equal to 2.Also, according to the first embodiment, the solid-state imaging device 1 in which the reading address control circuit 100 determines, a rectangular region (for example, a predetermined rectangular reading region ar1 of 5 rows and 5 columns) generated on the basis of a position at which the photoelectric conversion elements PD2 corresponding to the address information included in the event pixel signals output in the same period are distributed, as the reading region ar is configured.", "Also, according to the first embodiment, the solid-state imaging device 1 in which the reading address control circuit 100 determines, a rectangular region (for example, the reading region ar6) including a region (for example, the motion detection pixel distribution D1) in which the photoelectric conversion elements PD2 corresponding to the address information included in the event pixel signals output in the same period are distributed, as the reading region ar is configured.", "Also, according to the first embodiment, the solid-state imaging device 1 in which the reading address control circuit 100 determines a rectangular region according to a magnitude of a distribution of the photoelectric conversion elements PD2 as the reading region ar if the magnitude of the distribution of the photoelectric conversion elements PD2 corresponding to the address information included in the second pixel signals output in the same period is greater than a predetermined threshold value, and does not determine the reading region ar if the magnitude of the distribution of the photoelectric conversion elements PD2 corresponding to the address information included in the second pixel signals output in the same period is less than or equal to the threshold value is configured.", "Also, according to the first embodiment, the solid-state imaging device 1 in which the reading address control circuit 100 determines the reading region ar corresponding to the photoelectric conversion elements PD2 if the number of photoelectric conversion elements PD2 corresponding to the address information included in the event pixel signals output in the same period is greater than the predetermined threshold value, and does not determine the reading region ar if the number of photoelectric conversion elements PD2 corresponding to the address information included in the event pixel signals output in the same period is less than or equal to the threshold value is configured.", "Also, according to the first embodiment, the solid-state imaging device 1 in which the reading address control circuit 100 divides an entire region in which the n photoelectric conversion elements PD1 are arranged into a plurality of blocks segmented in a predetermined size and determines the reading region ar for each division block is configured.", "Also, according to the first embodiment, the solid-state imaging device 1 in which each of the n photoelectric conversion elements PD1 and each of the m photoelectric conversion elements PD2 are periodically arranged in a region of the same plane (a region of the pixel array section 40) of a first semiconductor substrate (the first semiconductor substrate 11) is configured.", "Also, according to the first embodiment, the solid-state imaging device 1 in which the AER circuit 526 is arranged in a second semiconductor substrate (the second semiconductor substrate 12) stacked on a surface of the first semiconductor substrate 11, the surface being opposite to a side on which light is incident is configured.", "Also, according to the first embodiment, the solid-state imaging device 1 father includes: a connection section (the chip connection section 13) formed between the first semiconductor substrate 11 and the second semiconductor substrate 12 and configured to electrically connect a circuit element of the first semiconductor substrate 11 and a circuit element of the second semiconductor substrate 12 and in which the chip connection section 13 electrically connects the threshold amplifier 524 and the threshold amplifier 525 provided in each of the reading circuits of the m motion detection pixels 52 and the corresponding photoelectric conversion element PD2 is configured.", "As described above, in the solid-state imaging device 1 of the first embodiment, the normal pixels 51 (or the normal pixels 53) specialized for outputting the pixel signals in the normal photographing and the motion detection pixels 52 specialized for outputting the event pixel signals in the motion detection are arranged in a row direction and a column direction in the pixel array section 40 periodically (in a planar form).", "Thereby, in the solid-state imaging device 1 of the first embodiment, both the normal photographing and the motion detection for sequentially detecting motion of the object can be achieved.", "In the solid-state imaging device 1 of the first embodiment, when an event pixel signal is output from the motion detection pixel 52, pixel signals are output (read) from normal pixels 51 (or normal pixels 53) arranged within a predetermined reading region corresponding to a position of the motion detection pixel 52 having output the event pixel signal.", "In other words, in the solid-state imaging device 1 of the first embodiment, pixel signals of the normal photographing are output (read) from only normal pixels 51 (or normal pixels 53 arranged in a predetermined small reading region corresponding to a position at which the motion detection pixels 52 having detected the motion of the object are arranged).", "Thereby, in the solid-state imaging device 1 of the first embodiment, it is possible to further reduce power consumption than when all pixel signals obtained through the normal photographing are read to generate an image reflecting the motion of the object as in a conventional solid-state imaging device.", "Also, the image processing section provided in the imaging system equipped with the solid-state imaging device 1 of the first embodiment can generate an image reflecting the motion of the object on the basis of a small number of pixel signals output (read) from only normal pixels 51 (or normal pixels 53) arranged in a small reading region in which the motion of the object is detected.", "Thereby, in the image processing section provided in the imaging system equipped with the solid-state imaging device 1 of the first embodiment, a time lag when the motion of the object is detected is short and it is possible to generate a high-quality image reflecting the motion of the object.", "In the example of the arrangement of the normal pixels 51 and the motion detection pixels 52 shown in FIG.", "4, the number of motion detection pixels 52 arranged in the pixel array section 40 is smaller than the number of normal pixels 51.However, in the detection of the motion of the object, resolution, i.e., image quality, as high as in an image generated in the normal photographing is not required.", "On the other hand, in the normal photographing, it is desirable to increase the number of pixels by increasing the number of normal pixels 51 provided in the pixel array section 40.In the solid-state imaging device 1 of the first embodiment, a configuration in which the quality of an image generated in the normal photographing is improved, i.e., in which a highly precise output is obtained, by further increasing the number of the normal pixels 51 arranged within the pixel array section 40 can be adopted.", "Second Embodiment Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described.", "An overview and schematic configuration of a solid-state imaging device (hereinafter referred to as a “solid-state imaging device 2”) in the second embodiment of the present invention are similar to those of the solid-state imaging device 1 in the first embodiment shown in FIG.", "1 and FIG.", "2.Accordingly, in the following description, the same reference signs are used for components of the solid-state imaging device 2 similar to those of the solid-state imaging device 1 of the first embodiment and a detailed description of each component or operation will be omitted.", "Here, the configuration of the pixel 50 arranged in the pixel array section 40 in the solid-state imaging device 2 of the second embodiment will be described.", "As in the solid-state imaging device 1 of the first embodiment, pixels 50 arranged in the pixel array section 40 in the solid-state imaging device 2 also output pixel signals of normal photographing by normal reading and event pixel signals of motion detection by motion detection reading.", "However, the pixels 50 configured to output the event pixel signals of motion detection arranged within the pixel array section 40 in the solid-state imaging device 2 have a configuration in which pixel signals of the normal photographing can be output.", "In other words, the pixels 50 are pixels having a configuration including both functions of the normal pixels 51 and the motion detection pixels 52 arranged in the pixel array section 40 in the solid-state imaging device 1 of the first embodiment.", "In the following description, the pixel 50 arranged in the pixel array section 40 of the solid-state imaging device 2 and configured to output pixel signals of the normal photographing by the normal reading and output event pixel signals of the motion detection by the motion detection reading is referred to as a “multi-use pixel 54”.", "The multi-use pixel 54 uses both the photoelectric conversion element PD1 provided in the normal pixel 51 and the photoelectric conversion element PD2 provided in the motion detection pixel 52 and outputs each of the pixel signal of the normal photographing and the event pixel signal of the motion detection on the basis of a charge signal generated by the same photoelectric conversion element.", "FIG.", "13 is a circuit diagram showing an example of the configuration of the multi-use pixel 54 in the solid-state imaging device 2 according to the second embodiment of the present invention.", "The multi-use pixel 54 shown in FIG.", "13 is a pixel in which both the photoelectric conversion element PD1 provided in the normal pixel 51 and the photoelectric conversion element PD2 provided in the motion detection pixel 52 arranged within the pixel array section 40 are used in the solid-state imaging device 1 of the first embodiment.", "The circuit elements constituting the multi-use pixel 54 include circuit elements similar to the circuit elements constituting the normal pixel 51 or the motion detection pixel 52 arranged in the solid-state imaging device 1 of the first embodiment.", "Accordingly, in the following description, the same reference signs are assigned to circuit elements constituting the multi-use pixel 54 similar to the circuit elements constituting the normal pixel 51 or the motion detection pixel 52 and a detailed description thereof will be omitted.", "In FIG.", "13, the multi-use pixel 54 includes a photoelectric conversion element PD12, a charge transfer transistor 511, a pixel reset transistor 512, an amplification transistor 513, a selection transistor 514, an amplifier 521, a bias transistor 522, a switched capacitor amplifier circuit 523, a threshold amplifier 524, a threshold amplifier 525, and an AER circuit 526.Also, the switched capacitor amplifier circuit 523 includes a capacitor 5231, an amplifier 5232, a capacitor 5233, and a switch 5234.Also, in FIG.", "13, a node capacitor FD1, which is a capacitor associated with a node connected to a gate terminal of the amplification transistor 513 provided in the multi-use pixel 54, is indicated by a symbol of a capacitor as a circuit element of the multi-use pixel 54.In the multi-use pixel 54, a pixel configured to generate a charge signal in the normal photographing according to configurations of the photoelectric conversion element PD12, the charge transfer transistor 511, the pixel reset transistor 512, the amplification transistor 513, the selection transistor 514, and the node capacitor FD1, i.e., a pixel similar to a normal pixel 51 in the solid-state imaging device 1 of the first embodiment, is configured.", "Also, in the following description, the multi-use pixel 54 configured to generate a charge signal in the normal photographing is referred to as a “normal multi-use pixel 541”.", "In the normal multi-use pixel 541, the charge transfer transistor 511, the pixel reset transistor 512, the amplification transistor 513, the selection transistor 514, and the node capacitor FD1 constitute a reading circuit configured to read a pixel signal according to a charge signal generated by the photoelectric conversion element PD12 in the normal photographing.", "Also, in the multi-use pixel 54, a pixel configured to generate a charge signal for motion detection, i.e., a pixel similar to a motion detection pixel 52 in the solid-state imaging device 1 of the first embodiment, is configured according to the configurations of the photoelectric conversion element PD12, the amplifier 521, the bias transistor 522, the switched capacitor amplifier circuit 523, the threshold amplifier 524, the threshold amplifier 525, and the AER circuit 526.In the following description, the multi-use pixel 54 configured to generate a charge signal for motion detection is referred to as a “motion detection multi-use pixel 542”.", "In the motion detection multi-use pixel 542, the amplifier 521 and the bias transistor 522 constitute an output circuit configured to output the charge signal generated by the photoelectric conversion element PD12 for the motion detection.", "Also, in the motion detection multi-use pixel 542, a reading circuit for reading the charge signal generated by the photoelectric conversion element PD12 for the motion detection in the switched capacitor amplifier circuit 523, the threshold amplifier 524, the threshold amplifier 525, and the AER circuit 526 is configured.", "In the solid-state imaging device 2, the multi-use pixels 54 are arranged instead of the motion detection pixels 52 arranged in the pixel array section 40 in the solid-state imaging device 1 of the first embodiment.", "At this time, in the solid-state imaging device 2, the photoelectric conversion element PD12, the reading circuit of the normal multi-use pixel 541, and the output circuit of the motion detection multi-use pixel 542 are formed on the first semiconductor substrate 11.Also, in the solid-state imaging device 2, a reading circuit of the motion detection multi-use pixel 542 is formed on the second semiconductor substrate 12.Similar to the photoelectric conversion element PD1 provided in the normal pixel 51 and the photoelectric conversion element PD2 provided in the motion detection pixel 52 in the solid-state imaging device 1 of the first embodiment, the photoelectric conversion element PD12 is a photodiode configured to photoelectrically convert incident light (a light beam) to generate a charge signal and store the generated charge signal.", "The photoelectric conversion element PD12 sequentially outputs generated charge signals to the amplifier 521.If the multi-use pixel 54 operates as a pixel configured to output a pixel signal in the normal photographing, i.e., if a pixel signal is output from the normal multi-use pixel 541 to the vertical signal line 60 by normal reading, the amplifier 521 outputs a voltage signal Vp of a voltage to a gate terminal of the bias transistor 522 so that the bias transistor 522 is always in an ON state in accordance with bias control.", "In other words, if a pixel signal is output in the normal photographing in the multi-use pixel 54, the bias transistor 522 transmits the charge signal generated by the photoelectric conversion element PD12 to the charge transfer transistor 511 as it is.", "Thereby, the charge transfer transistor 511 transfers a charge signal, which is generated and stored by the photoelectric conversion element PD12 and input via the bias transistor 522 in accordance with the control signal TX input from the vertical scanning circuit 20, to the gate terminal of the amplification transistor 513.Thereby, the charge signal transferred by the charge transfer transistor 511 is stored in the node capacitor FD1.According to such an operation, in the multi-use pixel 54 (the normal multi-use pixel 541), each signal voltage according to the charge signal obtained through photoelectric conversion of the light incident on the photoelectric conversion element PD12 is read as a pixel signal to the vertical signal line 60.On the other hand, when or in a case the multi-use pixel 54 operates as a pixel for generating a charge signal for motion detection.", "i.e., if the motion detection multi-use pixel 542 outputs an event pixel signal of motion detection by motion detection reading, the vertical scanning circuit 20 controls the control signal RST so that the pixel reset transistor 512 is always in an ON state.", "In addition, the vertical scanning circuit 20 controls the control signal TX to a fixed bias voltage.", "Thereby a fixed voltage according to a fixed bias voltage is supplied to the bias transistor 522 by the pixel reset transistor 512 and the charge transfer transistor 511.According to this operation, the photoelectric conversion element PD12 generates a charge signal having a magnitude corresponding to the motion of the object in the multi-use pixel 54 (the motion detection multi-use pixel 542) and outputs an event pixel signal according to a change in the charge signal and a change direction thereof.", "According to such a configuration and operation, the multi-use pixel 54 can output the pixel signal of the normal photographing by normal reading and the event pixel signal of motion detection by motion detection reading.", "In the configuration of the multi-use pixel 54 shown in FIG.", "13, a configuration in which the photoelectric conversion element PD1 provided in the normal pixel 51 and the photoelectric conversion element PD2 provided in the motion detection pixel 52 arranged within the pixel array section 40 are shown in the solid-state imaging device 1 of the first embodiment.", "However, the multi-use pixel 54 can be configured to include a photoelectric conversion element PD12 used as the photoelectric conversion element PD1 provided in the normal pixel 53 and the photoelectric conversion element PD2 provided in the motion detection pixel 52 shown in the modified example of the first embodiment.", "More specifically, as in the multi-use pixel 54 shown in FIG.", "13, one terminal of a source terminal and a drain terminal of the charge transfer transistor 511 provided in the normal pixel 53 to which the photoelectric conversion element PD1 is connected is connected to one terminal of a source terminal and a drain terminal of the bias transistor 522 provided in the motion detection pixel 52 to which the photoelectric conversion element PD2 is not connected.", "Thereby, a configuration in which the photoelectric conversion element PD1 provided in the normal pixel 53 and the photoelectric conversion element PD2 provided in the motion detection pixel 52 are used can be adopted.", "Also, in the multi-use pixel 54, as described above, the photoelectric conversion element PD12 is shared in the normal multi-use pixel 541 corresponding to the normal pixel 51 (or the normal pixel 53) and the motion detection multi-use pixel 542 corresponding to the motion detection pixel 52.Thus, the solid-state imaging device 2 exclusively performs the normal reading for reading a pixel signal from the normal multi-use pixel 541 and the motion detection reading for reading a motion detection pixel signal (an event pixel signal) from the motion detection multi-use pixel 542.", "(Pixel Designation Method of Second Embodiment) Next, a method of designating the pixel 50 (a normal pixel 51 or a normal pixel 53) in the solid-state imaging device 2 of the second embodiment will be described.", "Also, a method in which the reading address control circuit 100 determines a reading region of a normal pixel 53 from which a pixel signal is output (read) in the solid-state imaging device 2 is similar to the first to third pixel designation methods in the solid-state imaging device 1 of the first embodiment.", "Accordingly, a detailed description of the method in which the reading address control circuit 100 determines a reading region of a normal pixel 53 from which a pixel signal is output (read) in the solid-state imaging device 2 will be omitted.", "In the following description, a configuration in which a normal pixel 51 (or a normal pixel 53) from which a pixel signal is output is designated in the solid-state imaging device 2 will be described.", "In the following description, a normal pixel 53 serving as the pixel 50 for reading a pixel signal of the normal photographing and a multi-use pixel 54 serving as the pixel 50 for reading a pixel signal of the normal photographing and an event pixel signal are assumed to be arranged within the pixel array section 40 of the solid-state imaging device 2.Also, an arrangement of normal pixels 53 and multi-use pixels 54 in the pixel array section 40 is assumed to be similar to an arrangement of pixels 50 in the solid-state imaging device 1 of the first embodiment shown in FIG.", "4.More specifically, in the pixel array section 40 of the solid-state imaging device 2, it is assumed that normal pixels 53 are arranged in place of normal pixels 51 arranged within the pixel array section 40 of the solid-state imaging device 1 of the first embodiment shown in FIG.", "4 and multi-use pixels 54 are arranged instead of the motion detection pixels 52.FIG.", "14 is a diagram showing a configuration in which a pixel signal is output in the solid-state imaging device 2 according to the second embodiment of the present invention.", "FIG.", "14 shows a vertical structure of a part of the pixel array section 40 in which the normal pixels 53 and the multi-use pixels 54 are arranged in the solid-state imaging device 2 and the reading address control circuit 100 provided in the control circuit 10.More specifically, signals exchanged between the normal pixels 53 formed on the first semiconductor substrate 11, the multi-use pixels 54 formed on the first semiconductor substrate 11 and the second semiconductor substrate 12, and the reading address control circuit 100 are shown.", "As described above, in the solid-state imaging device 2, the photoelectric conversion element PD1 and the reading circuit of the normal pixel 53 are formed on the first semiconductor substrate 11.In FIG.", "14, a state in which the photoelectric conversion element PD1 of the normal pixel 53 and the selection transistor 514 provided in the reading circuit of the normal pixel 53 are formed on the first semiconductor substrate 11 is shown.", "Also, as described above, in the solid-state imaging device 2, the photoelectric conversion element PD12 of the multi-use pixel 54, the reading circuit of the normal multi-use pixel 541 configured within the multi-use pixel 54, and the output circuit of the motion detection multi-use pixel 542 configured within the multi-use pixel 54 are formed on the first semiconductor substrate 11.Also, as described above, in the solid-state imaging device 2, the reading circuit of the motion detection multi-use pixel 542 configured within the multi-use pixel 54 is formed on the second semiconductor substrate 12.In FIG.", "14, a state in which the photoelectric conversion element PD12 of the multi-use pixel 54 and the selection transistor 514 provided in the reading circuit of the normal multi-use pixel 541 are formed on the first semiconductor substrate 11, and the switched capacitor amplifier circuit 523 and the AER circuit 526 provided in the reading circuit of the motion detection multi-use pixel 542 are formed on the second semiconductor substrate 12 is shown.", "At this time, in the solid-state imaging device 2, the reading circuit of the motion detection multi-use pixel 542 is formed on the second semiconductor substrate 12 including a region overlapping that of the normal pixels 53 formed on the first semiconductor substrate 11.In FIG.", "14, a state in which the switched capacitor amplifier circuit 523 and the AER circuit 526 provided in the reading circuit of the motion detection multi-use pixel 542 are formed in a region of the second semiconductor substrate 12 including the region overlapping that of the normal pixels 53 formed on the first semiconductor substrate 11 is shown.", "Then, in the solid-state imaging device 2, the output circuit of the motion detection multi-use pixel 542 and the reading circuit of the motion detection multi-use pixel 542 corresponding thereto are electrically connected by the chip connection section 13 formed between the first semiconductor substrate 11 and the second semiconductor substrate 12.In FIG.", "14, a state in which an amplifier 521 (not shown) provided in an output circuit of the motion detection multi-use pixel 542 formed on the first semiconductor substrate 11 and the switched capacitor amplifier circuit 523 provided in the reading circuit of the motion detection multi-use pixel 542 formed on the second semiconductor substrate 12 are connected by the chip connection section 13 is shown.", "Also, in the solid-state imaging device 2, as in the solid-state imaging device 1 of the first embodiment, the AER circuit 526 of the motion detection multi-use pixel 542 formed on the second semiconductor substrate 12 outputs the event pixel signal to the reading address control circuit 100 when a change over time in the charge signal generated by the photoelectric conversion element PD12 is detected.", "If the event pixel signal is input, the reading address control circuit 100 detects (confirms) a position of a multi-use pixel 54 having output an event pixel signal from address information included in the input event pixel signal.", "Then, the reading address control circuit 100 determines a region of the normal pixel 53 arranged in a predetermined reading region around the detected (confirmed) position of the multi-use pixel 54 as a reading region in which a pixel signal is output from the normal pixel 53.Then, the reading address control circuit 100 outputs a control signal for designating the normal pixel 53 arranged in the determined reading region to the vertical scanning circuit 20 and the horizontal scanning circuit 30.Thereby, each of the vertical scanning circuit 20 and the horizontal scanning circuit 30 sequentially drives the designated normal pixels 53 and outputs (reads) pixel signals from the normal pixels 53 designated by the reading address control circuit 100.In the solid-state imaging device 2, multi-use pixels 54 from which pixel signals of normal photographing and event pixel signals are read are arranged within the pixel array section 40.Thus, in the solid-state imaging device 2, it is possible to read a pixel signal in the normal photographing from the normal multi-use pixel 541 configured within the multi-use pixel 54 as well as a pixel signal in the normal photographing read from a normal pixel 53 as a pixel signal read in accordance with the event pixel signal output by the motion detection multi-use pixel 542 configured within the multi-use pixel 54.In other words, although a position within the pixel array section 40 in which the motion detection pixel 52 is arranged in the pixel array section 40 becomes a position at which a normal pixel 51 from which a pixel signal of the normal photographing is read is deficient in the solid-state imaging device 1 of the first embodiment, it is also possible to read a pixel signal in the normal photographing at a position at which the motion detection pixel 52 is arranged in the solid-state imaging device 1 in the solid-state imaging device 2.In other words, there is no position at which a pixel signal is deficient in normal photographing.", "Thus, when an image according to each pixel signal is generated, the image processing section configured to generate an image on the basis of a pixel signal in the normal photographing output from the solid-state imaging device 2 does not need to perform an arithmetic operation of interpolating a pixel signal of a pixel which is deficient.", "However, as described above, in the solid-state imaging device 2, the normal reading in which a pixel signal is read from the normal multi-use pixel 541 configured within the multi-use pixel 54 and the motion detection reading in which a motion detection pixel signal (an event pixel signal) is read from the motion detection multi-use pixel 542 configured within the multi-use pixel 54 are performed in a time division manner.", "Here, an operation of reading pixel signals (a pixel signal and an event pixel signal in the normal photographing) from the normal multi-use pixel 541 and the motion detection multi-use pixel 542 configured within the multi-use pixel 54 will be described.", "In the following description, the multi-use pixel 54 will be described as a multi-use pixel 54 having a configuration that also serves as the photoelectric conversion element PD1 provided in the normal pixel 53 and the photoelectric conversion element PD2 provided in the motion detection pixel 52.In other words, it will be described that the normal multi-use pixel 541 configured within the multi-use pixel 54 performs an operation of temporarily storing a signal voltage according to the charge signal generated by the photoelectric conversion element PD12 in the charge storage capacitor 530 as in the normal pixel 53 and the motion detection multi-use pixel 542 included in the multi-use pixel 54 performs a motion detection operation of sequentially detecting the motion of the object as in the motion detection pixel 52.FIG.", "15 is a timing chart showing a reading sequence of a pixel signal (a pixel signal and an event pixel signal in the normal photographing) in the solid-state imaging device 2 according to the second embodiment of the present invention.", "Also, in the solid-state imaging device 2, each of the vertical scanning circuit 20 and the horizontal scanning circuit 30 drives a normal pixel 53 or a multi-use pixel 54 in accordance with a control signal output by the control circuit 10 or the reading address control circuit 100 provided in the control circuit 10.However, in the following description, the reading address control circuit 100 will be described as a reading address control circuit configured to drive a normal pixel 53 and a multi-use pixel 54 for ease of description.", "Because the operation of the normal pixel 53 is similar to the operation of the normal multi-use pixel 541 configured in the multi-use pixel 54, the operation of the normal pixel 53 will be described as the operation of the normal multi-use pixel 541 in the following description.", "The operation of the motion detection pixel 52 will be described as the operation of the motion detection multi-use pixel 542 provided in the multi-use pixel 54.In FIG.", "15, the photoelectric conversion element PD12 provided in the multi-use pixel 54, the charge storage capacitor 530 for indicating the operation of the normal multi-use pixel 541, and the AER circuit 526 for indicating the operation of the motion detection multi-use pixel 542 are shown.", "The reading address control circuit 100 causes the normal multi-use pixel 541 (including the normal pixel 53) to perform exposure for the normal photographing at a predetermined frame rate cycle.", "Then, after any exposure time in the normal photographing elapses, the reading address control circuit 100 causes the charge storage capacitor 530 to store a signal voltage according to a charge signal generated by the photoelectric conversion element PD12 of every normal multi-use pixel 541 (also including the photoelectric conversion element PD1 of the normal pixel 53) by transferring the signal voltage according to an operation of a global shutter function to the charge storage capacitor 530.Thereafter, the reading address control circuit 100 causes the motion detection multi-use pixel 542 to continue exposure for motion detection.", "Thereby, the motion detection multi-use pixel 542 sequentially detects the motion of the object.", "Also, in FIG.", "15, a case in which the exposure for motion detection is divided into any predetermined exposure times and performed a plurality number of times in consideration of a case in which the charge signal generated by the photoelectric conversion element PD12 is saturated is shown.", "When an event pixel signal is input from any motion detection multi-use pixel 542, the reading address control circuit 100 determines a reading region of a normal pixel 53 from which a pixel signal is read on the basis of address information included in the input event pixel signal and reads a pixel signal from the normal pixel 53 arranged within the determined reading region.", "At this time, the reading address control circuit 100 also reads a pixel signal from the normal multi-use pixel 541 used as the motion detection multi-use pixel 542 having output the event pixel signal and the photoelectric conversion element PD12.More specifically, pixel signals corresponding to stored signal voltages are read from the charge storage capacitors 530 provided in the normal pixel 53 and the normal multi-use pixel 541 arranged within the determined reading region.", "As described above, in the solid-state imaging device 2, exposure for motion detection is performed for a time between exposures for the normal photographing.", "Then, a pixel signal is also read from the normal multi-use pixel 541 configured within the multi-use pixel 54 having the motion detection multi-use pixel 542 having detected the motion of the object.", "At this time, in the solid-state imaging device 2, as in the solid-state imaging device 1 of the first embodiment, a small number of pixel signals among already acquired pixel signals of one frame are read from a small reading region in which motion is detected.", "Thereby, in the solid-state imaging device 2, as in the solid-state imaging device 1 of the first embodiment, it is also possible to reduce power consumption when a pixel signal according to the detected motion of the object is read.", "Moreover, in the solid-state imaging device 2, the pixel signal in the normal photographing at the position at which the motion detection multi-use pixel 542 having detected the motion of the object is arranged can also be read as the pixel signal in the reading region in which the pixel signal is read.", "Thus, when an image according to each pixel signal is generated, the image processing section provided in the imaging system equipped with the solid-state imaging device 2 does not need to perform an arithmetic operation of interpolating a pixel signal of a pixel which is deficient.", "According to the second embodiment, the solid-state imaging device (the solid-state imaging device 2) in which a charge signal in which s first charge signals generated by s first photoelectric conversion elements (photoelectric conversion elements PD1) are designated as one unit is also used as the second charge signal generated by the second photoelectric conversion element (the photoelectric conversion element PD2), s is a natural number greater than or equal to 1, and the total number of the photoelectric conversion elements PD1 configured to output the first charge signals also used as the second charge signals is a natural number greater than or equal to 1 and less than or equal to n is configured.", "As described above, in the solid-state imaging device 2 of the second embodiment, a normal pixel 51 (or a normal pixel 53) specialized for outputting the pixel signal in the normal photographing and a multi-use pixel 54 configured to output a pixel signal in the normal photographing and output an event pixel signal in the motion detection on the basis of a charge signal generated by the same photoelectric conversion element PD12 are arranged in a row direction and a column direction in the pixel array section 40 periodically (in a planar form).", "Thereby, in the solid-state imaging device 2 of the second embodiment, as in the solid-state imaging device 1 of the first embodiment, it is also possible to achieve both the normal photographing and the motion detection for sequentially detecting motion of the object.", "Also, in the solid-state imaging device 2 of the second embodiment, as in the solid-state imaging device 1 of the first embodiment, when an event pixel signal is output from the motion detection multi-use pixel 542 configured within the multi-use pixel 54, a pixel signal is output (read) from a normal pixel 51 (or a normal pixel 53) arranged within a predetermined reading region corresponding to the position of the motion detection multi-use pixel 542 having output the event pixel signal.", "In other words, in the solid-state imaging device 2 of the second embodiment, as in the solid-state imaging device 1 of the first embodiment, pixel signals of the normal photographing are also output (read) from only a normal pixel 51 (or a normal pixel 53) arranged in a predetermined small reading region corresponding to a position at which a multi-use pixel 54 (a motion detection multi-use pixel 542) having detecting the motion of the object is arranged and a normal multi-use pixel 541 configured within the multi-use pixel 54 having output an event pixel signal.", "Thereby, in the solid-state imaging device 2 of the second embodiment, as in the solid-state imaging device 1 of the first embodiment, it is also possible to reduce the power consumption as compared with reading all the pixel signals obtained through the normal photographing to generate an image reflecting the motion of the object as in a conventional solid-state imaging device.", "Also, the image processing section provided in the imaging system equipped with the solid-state imaging device 2 of the second embodiment can generate an image reflecting motion of an object on the basis of a small number of pixel signals output (read) from only normal pixels 51 (or normal pixels 53) arranged in a small reading region in which the motion of the object is detected and multi-use pixels 54 (normal multi-use pixels 541) as in the image processing section provided in the imaging system equipped with the solid-state imaging device 1 of the first embodiment.", "At this time, the image processing section provided in the imaging system equipped with the solid-state imaging device 2 according to the second embodiment can generate an image reflecting the motion of the object without performing an arithmetic operation of interpolating a pixel signal of a pixel which is deficient.", "Thereby, the image processing section provided in the imaging system equipped with the solid-state imaging device 2 of the second embodiment can generate a high-quality image reflecting the motion of the object with a short time lag when the motion of the object is detected in processing load which is less than that of the image processing section provided in the imaging system equipped with the solid-state imaging device 1 of the first embodiment.", "The normal pixels 51 (or the normal pixels 53) and the multi-use pixels 54 have been described as having been arranged as in the arrangement of the pixels 50 in the solid-state imaging device 1 of the first embodiment shown in FIG.", "4 in the solid-state imaging device 2 of the second embodiment.", "In other words, the normal pixels 53 in the pixel array section 40 of the solid-state imaging device 2 of the second embodiment have been described as being arranged in place of the normal pixels 51 arranged within the pixel array section 40 of the solid-state imaging device 1 of the first embodiment shown in FIG.", "4 and the multi-use pixels 54 therein have been described as being arranged in place of the motion detection pixels 52.However, the arrangements of the normal pixels 51 (or the normal pixels 53) and the multi-use pixels 54 within the pixel array section 40 in the solid-state imaging device 2 of the second embodiment are not limited to an arrangement similar to that of the pixels 50 within the pixel array section 40 in the solid-state imaging device 1 of the first embodiment described above.", "For example, the multi-use pixels 54 may be uniformly arranged in the entire plane region of the pixel array section 40 in the solid-state imaging device 2 of the second embodiment.", "This is because the multi-use pixel 54 is the pixel 50 having a configuration in which the normal multi-use pixel 541 can output a pixel signal of the normal photographing through normal reading as in the normal pixel 51 (or the normal pixel 53).", "As described above, it is also desirable to increase the number of pixels in the normal photographing by increasing the number of normal pixels 51 (or normal pixels 53) and the number of normal multi-use pixels 541 provided in the pixel array section 40 in the solid-state imaging device 2 of the second embodiment.", "In the solid-state imaging device 2 of the second embodiment, it is also possible to adopt a configuration in which the quality of an image generated in the normal photographing is improved, i.e., in which a high-definition output is obtained, by implementing higher definition for normal pixels 51 (or normal pixels 53) and normal multi-use pixels 541 arranged in the pixel array section 40 and further increasing the number thereof to be arranged within the pixel array section 40.However, as described above, in the solid-state imaging device 2 of the second embodiment, it is also desirable that the photoelectric conversion element PD12 generate a charge signal for a short time and the motion detection multi-use pixel 542 detect motion of the object in motion detection for sequentially the motion of the object.", "Meanwhile, if the normal multi-use pixel 541 has higher definition, an area of the photoelectric conversion element PD12 shared with the motion detection multi-use pixel 542 is reduced and a level of a charge signal generated through photoelectric conversion is lowered.", "This means that the level of the charge signal for detecting a change over time in the motion detection by the motion detection multi-use pixel 542 is also lowered and the accuracy of motion detection is lowered.", "Therefore, by changing the configuration of the multi-use pixel 54 in the solid-state imaging device 2 of the second embodiment, it is possible to improve the quality of an image generated in the normal photographing, i.e., it is possible to adopt a configuration in which the number of pixels increases and reduce the accuracy of motion detection.", "Third Embodiment Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described.", "An overview and schematic configuration of a solid-state imaging device according to the third embodiment of the present invention (hereinafter referred to as a “solid-state imaging device 3”) are similar to an overview and schematic configuration of the solid-state imaging device 2 according to the second embodiment, i.e., the overview and schematic configuration of the solid-state imaging device 1 according to the first embodiment shown in FIG.", "1 and FIG.", "2.Accordingly, in the following description, the same reference signs are assigned to components of the solid-state imaging device 3 similar to those of the solid-state imaging device 1 of the first embodiment and the solid-state imaging device 2 of the second embodiment and a detailed description of the components and operations will be omitted.", "Here, a configuration of the pixel 50 arranged within the pixel array section 40 in the solid-state imaging device 3 of the third embodiment will be described.", "The pixel 50 arranged within the pixel array section 40 in the solid-state imaging device 3 also outputs a pixel signal of normal photographing by normal reading and an event pixel signal of motion detection by motion detection reading as in the multi-use pixel 54 arranged within the pixel array section 40 in the solid-state imaging device 2 of the second embodiment.", "In other words, similar to the multi-use pixel 54, the pixel 50 is also a pixel having a configuration in which both a photoelectric conversion element PD1 provided in a normal pixel 51 (or a normal pixel 53) and a photoelectric conversion element PD2 provided in a motion detection pixel 52 are used.", "Here, the pixel 50 arranged in the pixel array section 40 in the solid-state imaging device 3 detects the motion of an object on the basis of charge signals generated by a plurality of photoelectric conversion elements PD1 and output an event pixel signal.", "In the following description, the pixel 50 arranged in the pixel array section 40 of the solid-state imaging device 3 and configured to output a pixel signal of the normal photographing by the normal reading and output an event pixel signal of the motion detection by the motion detection reading is referred to as a “multi-use pixel 55”.", "The multi-use pixel 55 is a pixel configured to include a function of a plurality of normal pixels 51 (or normal pixels 53) and a function of one motion detection pixel 52.In other words, the multi-use pixel 55 is a pixel configured to improve the quality of an image generated in the normal photographing by implementing high definition for the normal multi-use pixel 541 for generating the charge signal in the normal photographing in the multi-use pixel 54 shown in FIG.", "13 and minimizing deterioration in the accuracy of motion detection by increasing the number of photoelectric conversion elements PD12 also used by the motion detection multi-use pixel 542 for generating a charge signal for motion detection.", "FIG.", "16 is a circuit diagram showing an example of the configuration of the multi-use pixel 55 in the solid-state imaging device 3 according to the third embodiment of the present invention.", "In FIG.", "16, a multi-use pixel 55 configured to include two high-definition normal multi-use pixels 541 and one motion detection multi-use pixel 552 is shown.", "Circuit elements constituting the multi-use pixel 55 include circuit elements similar to circuit elements constituting the multi-use pixel 54 arranged within the pixel array section 40 in the solid-state imaging device 2 of the second embodiment.", "Accordingly, in the following description, among the circuit elements constituting the multi-use pixel 55, circuit elements similar to the circuit elements constituting the multi-use pixel 54 arranged within the pixel array section 40 in the solid-state imaging device 2 of the second embodiment are denoted by the same reference signs, and a detailed description thereof will be omitted.", "Each of the two normal multi-use pixels 541 provided for the multi-use pixel 55 is configured to be similar to the normal multi-use pixel 541 configured in the multi-use pixel 54.In FIG.", "16, the two normal multi-use pixels 541 are distinguished as a normal multi-use pixel 541a and a normal multi-use pixel 541b.", "In FIG.", "16, a reference sign assigned to distinguish each normal multi-use pixel 541, i.e., “a” or “b,” is attached subsequently to the reference sign of each circuit element to distinguish the circuit elements within each normal multi-use pixel 541.More specifically, a normal multi-use pixel 541a includes a photoelectric conversion element PD12a, a charge transfer transistor 511a, a pixel reset transistor 512a, an amplification transistor 513a, a selection transistor 514a, and a node capacitor FD1a.", "Also, a normal multi-use pixel 541b includes a photoelectric conversion element PD12b, a charge transfer transistor 511b, a pixel reset transistor 512b, an amplification transistor 513b, a selection transistor 514b, and a node capacitor FD1b.", "Because operations of the normal multi-use pixel 541a and the normal multi-use pixel 541b and a control timing by the vertical scanning circuit 20 are similar to those of the normal multi-use pixel 541 configured in the multi-use pixel 54, a detailed description thereof will be omitted.", "Also, one motion detection multi-use pixel 552 provided for the multi-use pixel 55 is configured to be similar to the motion detection multi-use pixel 542 configured in the multi-use pixel 54.However, in the motion detection multi-use pixel 552, one motion detection multi-use pixel 552 uses the plurality of normal multi-use pixels 541 and the photoelectric conversion element PD12 together.", "In FIG.", "16, one motion detection multi-use pixel 552 shares the photoelectric conversion element PD12 with each of the high-definition normal multi-use pixel 541a and the normal multi-use pixel 541b.", "In other words, the motion detection multi-use pixel 552 detects the motion of the object on the basis of charge signals generated by the plurality of photoelectric conversion elements PD12.Thus, in the motion detection multi-use pixel 552, the configuration of the circuit element corresponding to each photoelectric conversion element PD12 is changed.", "More specifically, the motion detection multi-use pixel 552 has a configuration in which each of the amplifier 521, the bias transistor 522, and the capacitor 5231, provided in the switched capacitor amplifier circuit 523, provided in the motion detection multi-use pixel 542 configured within the multi-use pixel 54 corresponds to each shared photoelectric conversion element PD12.In FIG.", "16, the photoelectric conversion element PD12 to which each circuit element corresponds is distinguished by attaching a reference sign (“a” or “b”) assigned to the photoelectric conversion element PD12 to a circuit element corresponding to any one photoelectric conversion element PD12 among circuit elements within the motion detection multi-use pixel 552 subsequently to the reference sign of each circuit element.", "More specifically, the motion detection multi-use pixel 552 includes an amplifier 521a, an amplifier 521b, a bias transistor 522a, a bias transistor 522b, a switched capacitor amplifier circuit 553, a threshold amplifier 524, a threshold amplifier 525, and an AER circuit 526.Also, the switched capacitor amplifier circuit 553 includes a capacitor 5231a, a capacitor 5231b, an amplifier 5232, a capacitor 5233, and a switch 5234.The amplifier 521a amplifies a charge signal generated and output by a corresponding photoelectric conversion element PD12a and outputs the amplified charge signal to the capacitor 5231a within the switched capacitor amplifier circuit 553 via the chip connection section 13a.", "Also, the amplifier 521a transfers the amplified charge signal as a voltage signal Vpa to a gate terminal of the bias transistor 522a.", "The amplifier 521b amplifies a charge signal generated and output by a corresponding photoelectric conversion element PD12b and outputs the amplified charge signal to the capacitor 5231b within the switched capacitor amplifier circuit 553 via the chip connection section 13b.", "Also, the amplifier 521b transfers the amplified charge signal as a voltage signal Vpb to a gate terminal of the bias transistor 522b.", "The bias transistor 522a performs control so that a current flowing through the photoelectric conversion element PD12a becomes a constant current in accordance with the voltage signal Vpa transferred to the gate terminal thereof i.e., so that the magnitude of the charge signal is sequentially stable in a magnitude after a change even when the charge signal generated by the photoelectric conversion element PD12a changes.", "In other words, an output of the photoelectric conversion element PD12a is clipped.", "The bias transistor 522b performs control so that a current flowing through the photoelectric conversion element PD12b becomes a constant current in accordance with the voltage signal Vpb transferred to the gate terminal thereof, i.e., so that the magnitude of the charge signal is sequentially stable in a magnitude after a change even when the charge signal generated by the photoelectric conversion element PD12b changes.", "In other words, an output of the photoelectric conversion element PD12b is clipped.", "The switched capacitor amplifier circuit 553 adds a charge signal input from each of the amplifiers 521a and 521b via the corresponding chip connection section 13a or chip connection section 13b.", "More specifically, the capacitor 5231a stores the charge signal input from the corresponding amplifier 521a to a first terminal thereof, and outputs a voltage signal of a voltage corresponding to the stored charge signal from a second terminal thereof.", "Also, the capacitor 5231b stores a charge signal input from the corresponding amplifier 521b to a first terminal thereof and outputs a voltage signal of a voltage corresponding to the stored charge signal from a second terminal thereof.", "At this time, because the second terminal of the capacitor 5231a and the second terminal of the capacitor 5231b are connected as shown in FIG.", "16, the voltage signal output from the second terminal of the capacitor 5231a and the voltage signal output from the second terminal of the capacitor 5231b are summed and a sum of the voltage signals is output to the amplifier 5232.Then, similar to the switched capacitor amplifier circuit 523 provided in the motion detection multi-use pixel 542 configured within the multi-use pixel 54, the switched capacitor amplifier circuit 553 converts a change in the sum of the charge signals into a voltage signal of a predetermined voltage range and outputs the voltage signal to each of the threshold amplifier 524 and the threshold amplifier 525.In other words, similar to the switched capacitor amplifier circuit 523 provided in the motion detection multi-use pixel 542 configured within the multi-use pixel 54, the switched capacitor amplifier circuit 553 converts an increase/decrease of a charge signal obtained by summing charge signals generated by the photoelectric conversion element PD12a and the photoelectric conversion element PD12b into a voltage signal of a predetermined voltage range and outputs the voltage signal to each of the threshold amplifier 524 and the threshold amplifier 525.According to such a configuration, in the motion detection multi-use pixel 552, even when an area of the photoelectric conversion element PD12 provided in each normal multi-use pixel 541 decreases with the high definition of the normal multi-use pixel 541, it is possible to detect motion of the object on the basis of a larger charge signal by summing charge signals generated by a plurality of photoelectric conversion elements PD12.Thus, in the motion detection multi-use pixel 552, it is possible to minimize deterioration in the accuracy of motion detection.", "Because the operation of the motion detection multi-use pixel 552 and the control timing of the vertical scanning circuit 20 are similar to those of the motion detection multi-use pixel 542 configured within the multi-use pixel 54, except that the motion detection multi-use pixel 552 operates on the basis of the summed charge signals, a detailed description thereof will be omitted.", "According to such a configuration, in the multi-use pixel 55, it is possible to improve the quality of an image generated in the normal photographing by the high-definition normal multi-use pixel 541 and minimize deterioration in the accuracy of motion detection by increasing the number of photoelectric conversion elements PD12 which are also used by the motion detection multi-use pixel 552.In the solid-state imaging device 3, the multi-use pixels 55 are uniformly arranged in the entire plane region of the pixel array section 40.At this time, in the solid-state imaging device 3, the photoelectric conversion elements PD12, reading circuits of the normal multi-use pixels 541, and output circuits of the motion detection multi-use pixels 552 are formed on the first semiconductor substrate 11 and reading circuits of the motion detection multi-use pixels 552 is formed on the second semiconductor substrate 12.In the configuration of the multi-use pixel 55 shown in FIG.", "16, as in the configuration of the multi-use pixel 54 shown in FIG.", "13, a configuration in which both the photoelectric conversion element PD1 provided in the normal pixel 51 shown in FIG.", "3A in the first embodiment and the photoelectric conversion element PD2 provided in the motion detection pixel 52 shown in FIG.", "3B in the first embodiment are used is shown.", "In other words, a configuration in which a plurality of normal multi-use pixels 541 having no circuit element for storing a charge signal generated by each photoelectric conversion element PD12 and a motion detection multi-use pixel 542 are combined is shown.", "However, similar to the multi-use pixel 54, the multi-use pixel 55 can also be configured to include a photoelectric conversion element PD12 used as the photoelectric conversion element PD1 provided in the normal pixel 53 shown in FIG.", "11 in the modified example of the first embodiment and the photoelectric conversion element PD2 provided in the motion detection pixel 52 shown in FIG.", "3B in the first embodiment.", "Also, in this case, a connection of each circuit element is similar to a concept in the multi-use pixel 54.More specifically, as in the multi-use pixel 55 shown in FIG.", "16, one terminal of a source terminal and a drain terminal to which the photoelectric conversion element PD1 is connected in the charge transfer transistor 511 provided in the normal pixel 53 and one terminal of a source terminal and a drain terminal to which the photoelectric conversion element PD2 is not connected in the bias transistor 522 provided in the motion detection pixel 52 are connected for each normal pixel 53.Thereby, the photoelectric conversion element PD2 provided for one motion detection pixel 52 can be constituted of the photoelectric conversion element PD1 provided in the plurality of normal pixels 53.In the multi-use pixel 55, as described above, the photoelectric conversion element PD12 is shared between the normal multi-use pixel 541 corresponding to the plurality of normal pixels 51 (or normal pixels 53) and the motion detection multi-use pixel 552 corresponding to the motion detection pixel 52.Thus, similar to the solid-state imaging device 2 of the second embodiment, the solid-state imaging device 3 can also exclusively perform normal reading in which a pixel signal are read from the normal multi-use pixel 541 and motion detection reading in which a motion detection pixel signal (an event pixel signal) is read from the motion detection multi-use pixel 552.", "(Pixel Designation Method of Third Embodiment) Next, a method of designating a normal multi-use pixel 541 in the solid-state imaging device 3 of the third embodiment will be described.", "Also, a method of determining a reading region of a multi-use pixel 55 (a normal multi-use pixel 541) from which the reading address control circuit 100 outputs (reads) a pixel signal in the solid-state imaging device 3 is similar to the first to third pixel designation methods in the solid-state imaging device 1 of the first embodiment.", "Accordingly, a detailed description of the method of determining the reading region of the multi-use pixel 55 (the normal multi-use pixel 541) from which the reading address control circuit 100 outputs (reads) the pixel signal in the solid-state imaging device 3 will be omitted.", "In the following description, a configuration in which a multi-use pixel 55 (a normal multi-use pixel 541), which outputs a pixel signal in the solid-state imaging device 3, is designated will be described.", "In the following description, as described above, multi-use pixels 55 will be described as being uniformly arranged in the entire plane region of the pixel array section 40 of the solid-state imaging device 3.FIG.", "17 is a diagram showing a configuration in which a pixel signal is output in the solid-state imaging device 3 according to the third embodiment of the present invention.", "In FIG.", "17, a vertical structure of a part of the pixel array section 40 in which the multi-use pixels 55 are uniformly arranged in the solid-state imaging device 3 and a reading address control circuit 100 provided in the control circuit 10 are shown.", "More specifically, signals exchanged between the multi-use pixels 55 formed on the first semiconductor substrate 11 and the second semiconductor substrate 12 and the reading address control circuit 100 are shown.", "In FIG.", "17, a multi-use pixel 55 having a configuration in which the photoelectric conversion element PD12 is shared by a normal multi-use pixel 541 corresponding to three normal pixels 51 (or normal pixels 53) and a motion detection multi-use pixel 552 corresponding to the motion detection pixel 52 is shown.", "In other words, the multi-use pixel 55 is a multi-use pixel configured to detect motion of an object on the basis of a charge signal generated by each of three photoelectric conversion elements PD12 (photoelectric conversion elements PD12a to PD12c).", "In FIG.", "17, “a,” “b,” or “c” is attached subsequently to the reference signs of the circuit elements in order to distinguish the circuit elements in the normal multi-use pixels 541.As described above, in the solid-state imaging device 3, the photoelectric conversion element PD12 of each of the multi-use pixels 55, the reading circuit of each normal multi-use pixel 541 configured within the multi-use pixel 55, and the output circuit of the motion detection multi-use pixel 552 configured within the multi-use pixel 55 are formed on the first semiconductor substrate 11.Also, as described above, in the solid-state imaging device 3, a reading circuit of the motion detection multi-use pixel 552 configured within the multi-use pixel 55 is formed on the second semiconductor substrate 12.In FIG.", "17, a state in which three photoelectric conversion elements PD12a to PD12c of the multi-use pixel 55 and selection transistors 514 (selection transistors 514a to 514c) provided in the reading circuit of the normal multi-use pixel 541 are formed on the first semiconductor substrate 11 is shown.", "Also, in FIG.", "17, a state in which the switched capacitor amplifier circuit 553 provided in the reading circuit of the motion detection multi-use pixel 552 is formed on the second semiconductor substrate 12 is shown.", "At this time, in the solid-state imaging device 3, the reading circuit of the motion detection multi-use pixel 552 is formed in a region of the second semiconductor substrate 12 including a region overlapping that of an output circuit of the normal multi-use pixel 541 and the motion detection multi-use pixel 552 formed on the first semiconductor substrate 11.In FIG.", "17, a state in which the switched capacitor amplifier circuit 553 provided in the reading circuit of the motion detection multi-use pixel 552 is formed in a region of the second semiconductor substrate 12 including the region overlapping that of the output circuit of the normal pixel 53 and the motion detection multi-use pixel 552 formed on the first semiconductor substrate 11 is shown.", "In the solid-state imaging device 3, the reading circuit of the motion detection multi-use pixel 552 and the output circuit of the motion detection multi-use pixel 552 corresponding thereto are electrically connected by a chip connection section 13 formed between the first semiconductor substrate 11 and the second semiconductor substrate 12.In FIG.", "17, an example in which amplifiers 521a to 521c (not shown) provided in the output circuit of each motion detection multi-use pixel 552 formed on the first semiconductor substrate 11 and the switched capacitor amplifier circuit 553 provided in the reading circuit of the motion detection multi-use pixel 552 formed on the second semiconductor substrate 12 are connected by the corresponding chip connection section 13 is shown.", "Also in the solid-state imaging device 3, as in the solid-state imaging device 2 of the second embodiment, the AER circuit 526 (not shown) of the motion detection multi-use pixel 552 formed on the second semiconductor substrate 12 outputs an event pixel signal to the reading address control circuit 100 when a change over time in a charge signal generated by each of the photoelectric conversion elements PD12a to PD12c is detected.", "When the event pixel signal is input, the reading address control circuit 100 detects (confirms) the position of the multi-use pixel 55 having output the event pixel signal from the address information included in the input event pixel signal.", "Here, the position of the multi-use pixel 55 detected (confirmed) by the reading address control circuit 100 is a region in which a plurality of normal multi-use pixels 541 configured within the multi-use pixel 55 are arranged.", "However, the reading address control circuit 100 may detect (confirm) a center position in the region of the multi-use pixel 55 as the position of the multi-use pixel 55 having output the event pixel signal.", "Then, the reading address control circuit 100 determines the region of the normal multi-use pixel 541 arranged in the predetermined reading region around the detected (confirmed) multi-use pixel 55 as a reading region in which the pixel signal is output (read) from the normal multi-use pixel 541.Then, the reading address control circuit 100 outputs a control signal for designating the normal multi-use pixel 541 arranged within the determined reading region to the vertical scanning circuit 20 and the horizontal scanning circuit 30.Thereby, each of the vertical scanning circuit 20 and the horizontal scanning circuit 30 sequentially drives the designated normal multi-use pixel 541 and outputs (reads) a pixel signal from the normal multi-use pixel 541 designated by the reading address control circuit 100.In the solid-state imaging device 3, multi-use pixels 55 from which a pixel signal of the normal photographing and an event pixel signal are read are uniformly arranged within the pixel array section 40.Thus, when the event pixel signal output by the motion detection multi-use pixel 552 configured within the multi-use pixel 55 is output in the solid-state imaging device 3, it is possible to read pixel signals of one frame of the normal photographing from normal multi-use pixels 541 configured within the multi-use pixel 55 is switched to the normal photographing.", "In other words, in the solid-state imaging device 3, as in the solid-state imaging device 2 of the second embodiment, there is also no pixel signal deficient in the normal photographing.", "Thus, when an image according to pixel signals is generated, the image processing section configured to generate the image according to the pixel signals in the normal photographing output from the solid-state imaging device 3 also does not need to perform an arithmetic operation of interpolating a pixel signal of a pixel which is deficient.", "However, in the solid-state imaging device 3, as in the solid-state imaging device 2 of the second embodiment, normal reading in which a pixel signal is read from the normal multi-use pixel 541 configured within the multi-use pixel 55 and motion detection reading in which a motion detection pixel signal (an event pixel signal) is read from the motion detection multi-use pixel 552 configured within the multi-use pixel 55 are also performed in a time division manner.", "In the configuration of the multi-use pixel 55 shown in FIG.", "16, a configuration in which one motion detection multi-use pixel 552 shares photoelectric conversion elements PD12 (a photoelectric conversion element PD12a and a photoelectric conversion element PD12b) with two normal multi-use pixels 541 (a normal multi-use pixel 541a and a normal multi-use pixel 541b) is shown.", "However, the configuration of the multi-use pixel 55 is not limited to the configuration shown in FIG.", "16.In other words, the number of photoelectric conversion elements PD12 used in one motion detection multi-use pixel 552 in the multi-use pixel 55 is not limited to two as shown in FIG.", "16.For example, in the multi-use pixel 55, one motion detection multi-use pixel 552 may have a configuration in which four normal multi-use pixels 541 and four photoelectric conversion element PD12 are used together, i.e., the motion detection multi-use pixels 552 may have a configuration in which are motion of an object is detected on the basis of a charge signal obtained by summing charge signals generated by the four photoelectric conversion elements PD12.A case in which multi-use pixels 55 from which a pixel signal of normal photographing and an event pixel signal are read are uniformly arranged within the pixel array section 40 in the solid-state imaging device 3 has been described.", "However, the arrangement of the multi-use pixels 55 within the pixel array section 40 in the solid-state imaging device 3 is not limited to the uniform arrangement in the entire region of the pixel array section 40.For example, even if the normal multi-use pixels 541 including the photoelectric conversion elements PD12 also used in the motion detection multi-use pixel 552 configured within the multi-use pixel 55 are arranged periodically in the row direction and the column direction of the pixel array section 40.In this case, a high-definition normal pixel 51 (or normal pixel 53) may be arranged at a position of a photoelectric conversion element which is not shared with the motion detection multi-use pixel 552 configured within the multi-use pixel 55.Modified Example of Third Embodiment Here, an example of an arrangement of normal pixels 51 (or normal pixels 53) and multi-use pixels 55 within the pixel array section 40 in the solid-state imaging device 3 of the third embodiment will be described.", "FIG.", "18 is a diagram schematically showing an example of an arrangement of pixels 50 (the normal pixels 51 (or the normal pixels 53) and the multi-use pixels 55) in the solid-state imaging device 3 according to the third embodiment of the present invention.", "In FIG.", "18, an example of an arrangement of the normal pixels 53 and the multi-use pixels 55 within the pixel array section 40 of the first semiconductor substrate 11 constituting the solid-state imaging device 3 in which color filters corresponding to light of wavelength bands of red (R), green (G), and blue (B) are attached to a side on which light is incident on each of the normal pixels 51 (or the normal pixels 53) and the multi-use pixels 55 in a Bayer array is shown.", "In the arrangement example of the pixels 50 in the solid-state imaging device 3 shown in FIG.", "18, the multi-use pixels 55 are arranged so that the normal pixels 53 are uniformly arranged in the entire plane region of the pixel array section 40 and the photoelectric conversion element PD1 provided in the normal pixel 53 arranged at a predetermined position is also used in the motion detection multi-use pixel 552 configured within the multi-use pixel 55.In other words, the normal pixels 53 arranged in the pixel array section 40 are arranged to be periodically replaced with the multi-use pixels 55 in the row direction and the column direction.", "More specifically, the photoelectric conversion element PD1 provided in the normal pixel 53 arranged at a position at which a color filter corresponding to light of a wavelength band of green (G) of a row to which a color filter corresponding to light of the wavelength band of red (R) is attached in the pixel array section 40 is attached is arranged to be also used in the motion detection multi-use pixel 552 configured within the multi-use pixel 55.Thereby, the motion detection multi-use pixel 552 can detect the motion of the object with light of the wavelength band of green (G) capable of being regarded as representing luminance in an image generated in normal photographing.", "As described above, the reading circuit of the motion detection multi-use pixel 552 formed on the second semiconductor substrate 12 is formed to include a region overlapping that of the normal pixel 53 formed on the first semiconductor substrate 11.Accordingly, in the arrangement example of the pixels 50 in the solid-state imaging device 3 shown in FIG.", "18, the reading circuit of the motion detection multi-use pixel 552 is formed on the second semiconductor substrate 12 corresponding to each of rectangular regions d1 to d6 of 6 rows and 6 columns.", "(Pixel Designation Method of Modified Example of Third Embodiment) Next, a method of designating a normal multi-use pixel 541 in the solid-state imaging device 3 according to a modified example of the third embodiment will be described.", "Also, a method of determining a reading region of a multi-use pixel 55 (a normal multi-use pixel 541) from which the reading address control circuit 100 outputs (reads) a pixel signal in the solid-state imaging device 3 of the modified example is also similar to the first to third pixel designation methods in the solid-state imaging device 1 of the first embodiment.", "Accordingly, a detailed description of the method of determining the reading region of the multi-use pixel 55 (the normal multi-use pixel 541) from which the reading address control circuit 100 outputs (reads) the pixel signal in the solid-state imaging device 3 of the modified example will be omitted.", "In the following description, a configuration in which a multi-use pixel 55 (a normal multi-use pixel 541) from which a pixel signal is output in the solid-state imaging device 3 according to the modified example will be described.", "In the following description, a case in which the normal pixel 53 and the multi-use pixel 55 are arranged in the plane region of the pixel array section 40 of the solid-state imaging device 3 as shown in FIG.", "18 will be described.", "FIG.", "19 is a diagram showing another configuration in which pixel signals are output in the solid-state imaging device 3 according to the modified example of the third embodiment of the present invention.", "In FIG.", "19, a vertical structure of a part of the pixel array section 40 in which normal pixels 53 and multi-use pixels 55 are arranged in the solid-state imaging device 3 of the modified example and the reading address control circuit 100 provided in the control circuit 10 are shown.", "More specifically, signals exchanged between the normal pixels 53 formed on the first semiconductor substrate 11, the multi-use pixels 55 formed on the first semiconductor substrate 11 and the second semiconductor substrate 12, and the reading address control circuit 100 are shown.", "Also, in FIG.", "19, a multi-use pixel 55 having a configuration in which both photoelectric conversion elements PD12 (the photoelectric conversion element PD12a and the photoelectric conversion element PD12b) are used in normal multi-use pixels 541 corresponding to two normal pixels 53 and the motion detection multi-use pixel 552 is shown.", "Accordingly, the multi-use pixel 55 is a multi-use pixel configured to detect the motion of the object on the basis of a charge signal generated by each of the photoelectric conversion element PD12a and the photoelectric conversion element PD12b.", "In the solid-state imaging device 3 of the modified example, the photoelectric conversion element PD1 and the reading circuit of the normal pixel 53 are formed on the first semiconductor substrate 11.In FIG.", "19, a state in which the photoelectric conversion element PD1 of the normal pixel 53 and a selection transistor 514 provided in the reading circuit of the normal pixel 53 are formed on the first semiconductor substrate 11 is shown.", "Also, in the solid-state imaging device 3 of the modified example, the photoelectric conversion elements PD12 of the multi-use pixel 55, the reading circuits of the normal multi-use pixels 541 configured within the multi-use pixel 55, and the output circuit of the motion detection multi-use pixel 552 configured within the multi-use pixel 55 are formed on the first semiconductor substrate 11.Also, as described above, in the solid-state imaging device 3 of the modified example, the reading circuit of the motion detection multi-use pixel 552 configured within the multi-use pixel 55 is formed on the second semiconductor substrate 12.In FIG.", "19, a state in which the two photoelectric conversion elements PD12a and PD12b of the multi-use pixel 55 and the selection transistors 514 (the selection transistors 514a and 514b) provided in the reading circuit of each normal multi-use pixel 541 are formed on the first semiconductor substrate 11 is shown.", "Also, in FIG.", "19, a state in which the switched capacitor amplifier circuit 553 and the AER circuit 526 provided in the reading circuit of the motion detection multi-use pixel 552 are formed on the second semiconductor substrate 12 is shown.", "At this time, in the solid-state imaging device 3 of the modified example, the reading circuit of the motion detection multi-use pixel 552 is formed in a region of the second semiconductor substrate 12 including a region overlapping that of the output circuit of the normal multi-use pixel 541 and the motion detection multi-use pixel 552 formed on the first semiconductor substrate 11.In FIG.", "19, a state in which the switched capacitor amplifier circuit 553 and the AER circuit 526 provided in the reading circuit of the motion detection multi-use pixel 552 are formed in a region of the second semiconductor substrate 12 including a region overlapping that of the output circuit of the normal pixel 53 and the motion detection multi-use pixel 552 formed on the first semiconductor substrate 11 is shown.", "In the solid-state imaging device 3 of the modified example, the reading circuit of the motion detection multi-use pixel 552 and the output circuit of each motion detection multi-use pixel 552 corresponding thereto are electrically connected by the chip connection section 13 formed between the first semiconductor substrate 11 and the second semiconductor substrate 12.In FIG.", "19, a state in which an amplifier 521a (not shown) and an amplifier 521b (not shown) provided in the output circuit of each motion detection multi-use pixel 552 formed on the first semiconductor substrate 11 and the switched capacitor amplifier circuit 553 provided in the reading circuit of the motion detection multi-use pixel 552 formed on the second semiconductor substrate 12 are connected by the corresponding chip connection section 13 is shown.", "In the solid-state imaging device 3 of the modified example, as in a case in which the multi-use pixels 55 are uniformly arranged in the entire plane region of the pixel array section 40, the AER circuit 526 of the motion detection multi-use pixel 552 formed on the second semiconductor substrate 12 also outputs an event pixel signal to the reading address control circuit 100 when a change over time in a charge signal generated by each of the photoelectric conversion element PD12a and the photoelectric conversion element PD12b is detected.", "When the event pixel signal is input, the reading address control circuit 100 detects (confirms) a position of the multi-use pixel 55 having output the event pixel signal from the address information included in the input event pixel signal.", "Also, a concept when the reading address control circuit 100 detects (confirms) the position of the multi-use pixel 55 having output the event pixel signal is similar to a concept when the multi-use pixels 55 are uniformly arranged in the entire plane region of the pixel array section 40.For example, when an event pixel signal is input from the motion detection multi-use pixel 552 arranged in the region dl shown in FIG.", "18, the reading address control circuit 100 detects (confirms) a position of the normal multi-use pixel 541 arranged in a 4th column of a 3rd row corresponding to a region dl in which the motion detection multi-use pixel 552 having output the event pixel signal is arranged or a center position of the region dl as a position of the multi-use pixel 55 having output the event pixel signal.", "Then, the reading address control circuit 100 determines a region of the normal multi-use pixel 541 arranged in a predetermined reading region around the detected (confirmed) position of the multi-use pixel 55 as a reading region in which a pixel signal is output (read) from the normal multi-use pixel 541 and outputs (reads) a pixel signal from the normal multi-use pixel 541 arranged within the determined reading region.", "Thereby, the image processing section configured to generate an image on the basis of pixel signals in the normal photographing output from the solid-state imaging device 3 of the modified example can generate an image according to the pixel signals without performing an arithmetic operation of interpolating a pixel signal of a pixel which is deficient.", "As described above, in the solid-state imaging device 3, as in the solid-state imaging device 2 of the second embodiment, a pixel signal of the normal photographing is output (read) from only a normal multi-use pixel 541 or a normal pixel 51 (or a normal pixel 53) arranged in a predetermined small reading region corresponding to a position at which the multi-use pixel 55 having detected the motion of the object is arranged.", "Thereby, in the solid-state imaging device 3, as in the solid-state imaging device 2 of the second embodiment, it is also possible to reduce power consumption when a pixel signal according to the detected motion of the object is read.", "In the solid-state imaging device 3, as in the configuration of the multi-use pixel 55 shown in FIG.", "16, a configuration in which one motion detection multi-use pixel 552 shares photoelectric conversion elements PD12 with a plurality of (two in FIG.", "16) normal multi-use pixels 541 is shown.", "In other words, a case in which the motion detection multi-use pixel 552 configured within the multi-use pixel 55 is a pixel configured to implement an object motion detection function to be performed by one motion detection pixel 52 on the basis of charge signals generated by a plurality of (two in FIG.", "16) photoelectric conversion elements PD12 corresponding to the photoelectric conversion element PD2 has been described.", "However, a configuration in which charge signals generated by the plurality of photoelectric conversion elements are used when the function of one motion detection pixel 52 is implemented is not limited to the configuration shown in FIG.", "16.For example, one motion detection pixel 52 may be configured to detect the motion of an object on the basis of a charge signal obtained by summing charge signals generated by a plurality of photoelectric conversion elements PD2.In the case of this configuration, the motion detection pixel 52 can detect the motion of the object on the basis of a larger charge signal and improve the accuracy of motion detection without increasing the area of one photoelectric conversion element PD2.The vertical structure of the pixel array section 40 in this configuration is conceivable as being similar to a structure in which the motion detection pixel 52 configured to detect the motion of the object on the basis of the above-described charge signal obtained by summing the charge signals generated by the plurality of photoelectric conversion elements PD2 is formed in place of the multi-use pixel 55 formed on the first semiconductor substrate 11 and the second semiconductor substrate 12 in the vertical structure of the solid-state imaging device 3 of the modified example shown in FIG.", "19.Accordingly, the photoelectric conversion elements PD12 (the photoelectric conversion element PD12a and the photoelectric conversion element PD12b) shown in FIG.", "19 serve as photoelectric conversion elements PD2 configured to generate charge signals to be used to detect the motion of the object in one motion detection pixel 52 configured to detect the motion of the object on the basis of the above-described charge signal obtained by summing the charge signals generated by the plurality of photoelectric conversion elements PD2.According to the third embodiment, the solid-state imaging device (the solid-state imaging device 3) in which m is less than n, s is a natural number greater than or equal to 2, each of the m second reading circuits (reading circuits of the motion detection pixels 52) further includes an addition circuit (a capacitor 5231a and a capacitor 5231b) configured to sum s first charge signals generated by s corresponding first photoelectric conversion elements (photoelectric conversion elements PD1) as one unit, and a detection circuit (a threshold amplifier 524 and a threshold amplifier 525) detects a change in a first charge signal after summation by the capacitor 5231a and the capacitor 5231b is configured.", "Also, according to the third embodiment, the solid-state imaging device 3 in which each of the reading circuits of the motion detection pixels 52 further includes the addition circuit (the capacitor 5231a and the capacitor 5231b) configured to sum second charge signals generated by t second photoelectric conversion elements by using the t second photoelectric conversion elements (photoelectric conversion elements PD2) as one unit, the detection circuit (the threshold amplifier 524 and the threshold amplifier 525) detects a change in the second charge signal after summation by the capacitor 5231a and the capacitor 5231b, and t is a natural number greater than or equal to 2 is configured.", "As described above, in the solid-state imaging device 3 of the third embodiment, as in the solid-state imaging device 2 of the second embodiment, both the normal photographing and the motion detection for sequentially detecting the motion of the object can also be achieved.", "In the solid-state imaging device 3 of the third embodiment, it is also possible to obtain effects similar to those of the solid-state imaging device 2 of the second embodiment by outputting (reading) a pixel signal from the normal multi-use pixel 541 or the normal pixel 51 (or the normal pixel 53) arranged within a predetermined small reading region corresponding to the position of the motion detection multi-use pixel 552 having output the event pixel signal.", "A photoelectric conversion element PD1 provided in a normal pixel 51 (or a normal pixel 53) arranged at a position of the pixel array section 40 to which a color filter corresponding to light of a wavelength band of green (G) of a Bayer array is attached is also used in the motion detection multi-use pixel 552 configured within the multi-use pixel 55 in the solid-state imaging device 3 of the third embodiment has been described with reference to FIG.", "18.However, colors of the color filters attached to the solid-state imaging device 3 or an array thereof are not particularly specified in the present invention.", "For example, color filters corresponding to light of wavelength bands of red (R), green (G), blue (B), and white (W) may be attached to a side on which light is incident on each of the normal pixel 51 (or the normal pixel 53) and the multi-use pixel 55.Then, the photoelectric conversion element PD1 provided in the normal pixel 51 (or the normal pixel 53) arranged at the position of the pixel array section 40 to which the color filter corresponding to the light of the wavelength band of white (W) is attached may be configured to be also used in the motion detection multi-use pixel 552 configured within the multi-use pixel 55.In this case, the motion detection multi-use pixel 552 can detect motion of the object without light of a specific wavelength band.", "Also, for example, a configuration in which color filters corresponding to light of wavelength bands of red (R), green (G), blue (B), and near infrared (Ir) are attached to a side on which light is incident on each of the normal pixels 51 (or the normal pixels 53) and the multi-use pixels 55 and the photoelectric conversion element PD1 provided in the normal pixel 51 (or the normal pixel 53) arranged at the position of the pixel array section 40 to which a color filter corresponding to light of a wavelength band of near infrared (Ir) is attached is also used in the motion detection multi-use pixel 552 may be adopted.", "In this case, for example, it is also possible to adopt a configuration in which the accuracy of motion detection is improved by providing a light source configured to emit infrared light in an imaging system equipped with the solid-state imaging device 3 and radiating infrared light when the motion of the object is detected.", "A configuration in which an arithmetic operation of interpolating a pixel signal of a pixel which is deficient in the normal photographing is not performed by adopting a configuration in which the photoelectric conversion element PD1 provided in the normal pixel 51 (or the normal pixel 53) is also used in the motion detection multi-use pixel 542 (the motion detection multi-use pixel 552) in the solid-state imaging device 2 of the second embodiment and the solid-state imaging device 3 of the third embodiment has been described.", "However, a configuration in which an arithmetic operation of interpolating a pixel signal of a pixel which is deficient in the normal photographing is not performed may be adopted in a configuration other than a configuration in which the photoelectric conversion element PD1 is also used in the motion detection multi-use pixel 542 (or the motion detection multi-use pixel 552).", "Fourth Embodiment Next, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described.", "A solid-state imaging device according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention (hereinafter referred to as a “solid-state imaging device 4”) is a solid-state imaging device having a configuration in which an arithmetic operation of interpolating a pixel signal of a pixel which is deficient in the normal photographing is not performed if a configuration of the pixel 50 is the normal pixel 51 shown in FIG.", "3A and the motion detection pixel 52 shown in FIG.", "3B in the first embodiment.", "In other words, similar to the solid-state imaging device 2 of the second embodiment and the solid-state imaging device 3 of the third embodiment, the solid-state imaging device 4 has a configuration in which the configuration of the pixel 50 is not changed and an arithmetic operation of interpolating a pixel signal of a pixel which is deficient in the normal photographing is not performed.", "The overview and schematic configuration of the solid-state imaging device 4 are similar to those of the solid-state imaging device 1 according to the first embodiment shown in FIG.", "1 and FIG.", "2.Accordingly, in the following description, the same reference signs are used for components of the solid-state imaging device 4 similar to those of the solid-state imaging device 1 of the first embodiment and a detailed description of the components and operations will be omitted.", "In the solid-state imaging device 4, normal pixels 51 are uniformly arranged (formed) in the entire plane region of a pixel array section 40 of a first semiconductor substrate 11 and motion detection pixels 52 are uniformly arranged (formed) in the entire plane region of a pixel array section 40 of a second semiconductor substrate 12.In other words, the solid-state imaging device 4 has a configuration in which two solid-state imaging devices, i.e., a solid-state imaging device in which normal pixels 51 are arranged and a solid-state imaging device in which the motion detection pixels 52 are arranged, are stacked (bonded).", "Also, a configuration of the normal pixel 51 is similar to that of the normal pixel 51 shown in FIG.", "3A.", "Accordingly, a detailed description of the configuration and operation of the normal pixel 51 will be omitted.", "Also, because a configuration of the motion detection pixel 52 is similar to that of the motion detection pixel 52 shown in FIG.", "3B, and the motion detection pixel 52 is formed on the second semiconductor substrate 12, only a difference is that the chip connection section 13 is deleted.", "Accordingly, a detailed description of the configuration and operation of the motion detection pixel 52 will be omitted.", "In the solid-state imaging device 4, instead of the normal pixels 51 formed on the first semiconductor substrate 11, the normal pixels 53 shown in FIG.", "11 may be formed on the first semiconductor substrate 11.", "(Pixel Designation Method of Fourth Embodiment) Next, a method of designating the pixel 50 (a normal pixel 51 or a normal pixel 53) in the solid-state imaging device 4 of the fourth embodiment will be described.", "A method in which a reading address control circuit 100 determines a reading region in which the normal pixel 51 outputs (reads) a pixel signal in the solid-state imaging device 4 is similar to the first to third pixel designation methods in the solid-state imaging device 1 of the first embodiment.", "Accordingly, a detailed description of the method in which the reading address control circuit 100 determines the reading region in which the normal pixel 53 outputs (reads) the pixel signal in the solid-state imaging device 4 will be omitted.", "In the following description, a configuration in which the normal pixel 51 (or the normal pixel 53) configured to output the pixel signal in the solid-state imaging device 4 is designated will be described.", "FIG.", "20 is a diagram showing a configuration in which pixel signals are output in the solid-state imaging device 4 according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention.", "In FIG.", "20, a vertical structure of a part of the pixel array section 40 in which the normal pixels 51 and the motion detection pixels 52 are uniformly arranged in the solid-state imaging device 4 and the reading address control circuit 100 provided in the control circuit 10 are shown.", "More specifically, signals exchanged between the normal pixels 51 formed on the first semiconductor substrate 11 and the motion detection pixels 52 formed on the second semiconductor substrate 12 and the reading address control circuit 100 are shown.", "In the solid-state imaging device 4, a photoelectric conversion element PD1 and a reading circuit of the normal pixel 51 are formed on the first semiconductor substrate 11.In FIG.", "20, a state in which the photoelectric conversion element PD1 of the normal pixel 51 and a selection transistor 514 provided in the reading circuit of the normal pixel 51 are formed on the first semiconductor substrate 11 is shown.", "Also, in the solid-state imaging device 4, a photoelectric conversion element PD2, an output circuit, and a reading circuit of the motion detection pixel 52 are formed on the second semiconductor substrate 12.In FIG.", "20, a state in which the photoelectric conversion element PD2 of the motion detection pixel 52 and a switched capacitor amplifier circuit 523 and an AER circuit 526 provided in the reading circuit of the motion detection pixel 52 are formed on the second semiconductor substrate 12 is shown.", "At this time, in the solid-state imaging device 4, the motion detection pixels 52 are formed in the region of the second semiconductor substrate 12 overlapping the region of the normal pixels 51 formed on the first semiconductor substrate 11.In FIG.", "20, a state in which the motion detection pixel 52 is formed in the region of the second semiconductor substrate 12 overlapping a region of four normal pixels 51 formed on the first semiconductor substrate 11 is shown.", "In the solid-state imaging device 4, the photoelectric conversion element PD2 of each motion detection pixel 52 arranged on the second semiconductor substrate 12 generates a charge signal obtained by photoelectrically converting light (a light beam) passing through a region of the photoelectric conversion element PD1 of the normal pixel 51 arranged on the first semiconductor substrate 11.Thus, the photoelectric conversion element PD2 generates a larger charge signal with respect to more light having a long wavelength that passes through the first semiconductor substrate 11.In consideration of this fact, for example, it is desirable to form the photoelectric conversion element PD2 of the motion detection pixel 52 formed on the second semiconductor substrate 12 at a position corresponding to a normal pixel 51 to which a color filter corresponding to more light of a wavelength band of red (R) passing through the normal pixel 51 is attached because the wavelength length is long in the solid-state imaging device 4.However, colors and arrays of color filters to be attached to the solid-state imaging device 4 are not particularly specified in the present invention.", "If the photoelectric conversion element PD2 of the motion detection pixel 52 formed on the second semiconductor substrate 12 in the solid-state imaging device 4 is formed at a position corresponding to the normal pixel 51 to which the color filter corresponding to the light of the wavelength band of red (R) is attached, it is also possible to adopt, for example, a configuration in which the accuracy of motion detection is improved by operating a light source configured to emit infrared light in an imaging system equipped with the solid-state imaging device 4 as auxiliary light when a motion of an object is detected.", "In the solid-state imaging device 4, as in the solid-state imaging device 1 of the first embodiment, when the AER circuit 526 of the motion detection pixel 52 formed on the second semiconductor substrate 12 detects a change over time in the charge signal generated by the photoelectric conversion element PD2, an event pixel signal is output to the reading address control circuit 100.When the event pixel signal is input, the reading address control circuit 100 detects (confirms) a position of the motion detection pixel 52 having output the event pixel signal from the address information included in the input event pixel signal as in the solid-state imaging device 1 of the first embodiment.", "Then, the reading address control circuit 100 determines the region of the normal pixel 51 arranged in a predetermined reading region around the position of the detected (confirmed) motion detection pixel 52 as the reading region in which the pixel signal is output (read) from the normal pixel 51.As in the solid-state imaging device 1 of the first embodiment, the reading address control circuit 100 outputs a control signal for designating the normal pixel 51 arranged in the determined reading region to a vertical scanning circuit 20 and a horizontal scanning circuit 30 and outputs (reads) the pixel signal from the normal pixel 51 arranged in the determined reading region.", "In the solid-state imaging device 4, the normal pixels 51 (or the normal pixels 53) are uniformly arranged in the pixel array section 40 of the first semiconductor substrate 11 and the motion detection pixels 52 are uniformly arranged in the pixel array section 40 of the second semiconductor substrate 12.Thus, in the solid-state imaging device 4, as in the solid-state imaging device 2 of the second embodiment and the solid-state imaging device 3 of the third embodiment, there is no deficient pixel signal in the normal photographing.", "Thereby, the image processing section configured to generate an image on the basis of pixel signals in the normal photographing output from the solid-state imaging device 4 can generate an image according to the pixel signals without performing an arithmetic operation of interpolating a pixel signal of a pixel which is deficient.", "Moreover, in the solid-state imaging device 4, the normal pixel 51 (or the normal pixel 53) and the motion detection pixel 52 do not share the photoelectric conversion element.", "Thus, in the solid-state imaging device 4, it is not necessary to exclusively perform normal reading for reading a pixel signal from the normal pixel 51 (or the normal pixel 53) and motion detection reading for reading a motion detection pixel signal (an event pixel signal) from the motion detection pixel 52.Accordingly, in the solid-state imaging device 4, as in the solid-state imaging device 2 of the second embodiment and the solid-state imaging device 3 of the third embodiment, normal reading in which a pixel signal is read from the normal pixel 51 (or the normal pixel 53) and motion detection reading in which a motion detection pixel signal (an event pixel signal) is read from the motion detection pixel 52 can be simultaneously performed without being performed in a time division manner.", "Also in the solid-state imaging device 4, as in the solid-state imaging device 3 of the third embodiment, one motion detection pixel 52 can be configured to detect the motion of the object on the basis of a charge signal obtained by summing charge signals generated by the plurality of photoelectric conversion elements PD2.With this configuration, the motion detection pixel 52 can generate a charge signal obtained by photoelectrically converting light (a light beam) passing through a region of photoelectric conversion elements PD1 of a plurality of normal pixels 51 arranged in the first semiconductor substrate 11.Thereby, in the solid-state imaging device 4, as in the solid-state imaging device 3 of the third embodiment, the motion detection pixel 52 can also detect the motion of the object on the basis of a larger charge signal and improve the accuracy of motion detection without increasing the area of one photoelectric conversion element PD2.According to the fourth embodiment, the solid-state imaging device (the solid-state imaging device 4) in which each of the n first photoelectric conversion elements (the photoelectric conversion elements PD1) is periodically arranged on a first semiconductor substrate (the first semiconductor substrate 11) on which light is incident, each of the in second photoelectric conversion elements (the photoelectric conversion elements PD2) is periodically arranged on a second semiconductor substrate (the second semiconductor substrate 12) stacked on a surface of the first semiconductor substrate 11, the surface being opposite to a side on which light is incident and generates the second charge signal obtained by photoelectrically converting light passing through the first semiconductor substrate 11 is configured.", "As described above, in the solid-state imaging device 4 of the fourth embodiment, as in the solid-state imaging device 1 of the first embodiment, each of the normal pixel 51 (or the normal pixel 53) specialized for outputting a pixel signal in the normal photographing and the motion detection pixel 52 specialized for outputting an event pixel signal in the motion detection is arranged within the pixel array section 40.At this time, in the solid-state imaging device 4 of the fourth embodiment, the normal pixels 51 (or the normal pixels 53) are uniformly arranged in the entire plane region of the pixel array section 40 of the first semiconductor substrate 11.Also, in the solid-state imaging device 4 of the fourth embodiment, the motion detection pixels 52 are uniformly arranged in the entire plane region of the pixel array section 40 of the second semiconductor substrate 12.Thereby, in the solid-state imaging device 4 of the fourth embodiment, as in the solid-state imaging device 1 of the first embodiment, it is also possible to achieve both the normal photographing and the motion detection for sequentially detecting motion of the object.", "In the solid-state imaging device 4 of the fourth embodiment, the normal reading and the motion detection reading can be performed in the same period.", "Also, in the solid-state imaging device 4 of the fourth embodiment, it is possible to obtain effects similar to those of the solid-state imaging device 1 of the first embodiment by outputting (reading) a pixel signal from a normal pixel 51 (or a normal pixel 53) arranged within a predetermined small reading region corresponding to the position of the motion detection pixel 52 having output the event pixel signal.", "Also, in the solid-state imaging device 4 of the fourth embodiment, a deficient pixel signal in the normal photographing is eliminated by forming normal pixels 51 (or normal pixels 53) specialized for outputting the pixel signals in the normal photographing on the first semiconductor substrate 11 and forming motion detection pixels 52 specialized for outputting event pixel signals in the motion detection on the second semiconductor substrate 12.Thereby, as in the solid-state imaging device 2 of the second embodiment and the solid-state imaging device 3 of the third embodiment, the image processing section provided in the imaging system equipped with the solid-state imaging device 4 of the fourth embodiment can generate a high-quality image reflecting the motion of the object with a short time lag when the motion of the object is detected with a small processing load.", "As described above, according to the embodiments of the present invention, a normal pixel configured to output a pixel signal of the normal photographing and a motion detection pixel configured to output an event pixel signal of motion detection are arranged as pixels provided in the solid-state imaging device in the pixel array section.", "In each embodiment of the present invention, the number of normal pixels arranged in the pixel array section is more than the number of motion detection pixels.", "Thereby, in each embodiment of the present invention, both the normal photographing and the motion detection for sequentially detecting the motion of the object can be achieved and the quality of images generated in the normal photographing can be improved.", "In each embodiment of the present invention, when an event pixel signal is output from a motion detection pixel, a pixel signal obtained in the normal photographing is read from a normal pixel having output an event pixel signal.", "i.e., arranged within a predetermined reading region around a position within a pixel array section in which a motion detection pixel having detecting the motion of the object is arranged.", "In other words, when the motion of the object is detected in each embodiment of the present invention, pixel signals are not read from all the normal pixels arranged in the pixel array section, but pixel signals are read from a small number of normal pixels within a predetermined reading region.", "In other words, in each embodiment of the present invention, a pixel signal is read from only a predetermined neighboring region (reading region) of a normal pixel changed by detecting the motion of the object.", "Thereby, in the solid-state imaging device according to each embodiment of the present invention, power consumption when the pixel signal obtained through the normal photographing is read to generate an image reflecting the motion of the object can be reduced more than in that of the conventional solid-state imaging device.", "Also, in each embodiment of the present invention, because pixel signals are read from normal pixels arranged within the small reading region where the motion of the object is detected, the number of pixel signals to be read to generate an image reflecting the motion of the object is small.", "Thus, in the imaging system equipped with the solid-state imaging device according to each embodiment of the present invention, it is necessary to reduce pressure on a data transmission band required for transmitting the pixel signal read in accordance with the motion of the object, i.e., a so-called bus band.", "The image processing section provided in the imaging system equipped with the solid-state imaging device according to each embodiment of the present invention mounted thereon performs image processing by replacing some pixel signals (a small number of pixel signals) corresponding to a position at which the motion of the object is detected among pixel signals of one frame.", "Thereby, the image processing section provided in the imaging system mounting the solid-state imaging device according to each embodiment of the present invention can generate a high-quality image reflecting the motion of the object with a short time lag when the motion of the object is detected with small processing load.", "In each embodiment of the present invention, a configuration in which the reading address control circuit 100 is provided in the control circuit 10 has been described.", "However, a configuration including the reading address control circuit 100 is not limited to the configuration of each embodiment of the present invention.", "For example, the reading address control circuit 100 may be provided outside the control circuit 10, i.e., in parallel to the control circuit 10 and/or the vertical scanning circuit 20.Also, for example, the reading address control circuit 100 may be configured to be provided outside the solid-state imaging device, i.e., as a component of the imaging system.", "While preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described and shown above, it should be understood that these are exemplary of the invention and the present invention is not limited to these embodiments and modified examples thereof.", "Within a range not departing from the gist or spirit of the present invention, additions, omissions, substitutions, and other modifications to the configuration can be made.", "Also, the present invention is not to be considered as being limited by the foregoing description, and is limited only by the scope of the appended claims.", "Also, in the solid-state imaging device according to each embodiment of the present invention, two semiconductor substrates may be connected by a chip connection section, or three or more semiconductor substrates may be connected by a chip connection section.", "In the case of a solid-state imaging device in which three or more semiconductor substrates are connected by a chip connection section, two semiconductor substrates among them correspond to the first semiconductor substrate and the second semiconductor substrate according to the claims." ] ]
Patent_15873240
[ [ "ADJUSTABLE OVER-CURRENT DETECTOR CIRCUIT FOR UNIVERSAL SERIAL BUS (USB) DEVICES", "In an example embodiment, a device comprises a gate driver and a current detector circuit.", "The gate driver is configured to be coupled to a power switch on the VBUS line of a USB connector.", "The current detector circuit is configured to be coupled to the VBUS line and comprises a current sense amplifier, a reference voltage generator circuit, and a comparator.", "The current sense amplifier is configured to receive a pair of input voltages and to output an indicator signal responsive to the input voltage difference.", "The reference voltage generator circuit comprises a digital-to-analog converter configured to generate a reference voltage signal based on a received voltage selector signal that is a binary input signal comprising multiple bit values.", "The comparator is configured to receive the indicator signal and the reference voltage signal and to output an interrupt signal responsive to the indicator signal exceeding the reference voltage signal." ], [ "1-20.", "(canceled) 21.A device comprising: a gate driver configured to control a power switch on a voltage bus (VBUS) line of a universal serial bus (USB) connector; and a current detector circuit configured to couple to the VBUS line, the current detector circuit comprising: a current sense amplifier configured to receive a pair of input voltages and to output an indicator signal responsive to an input voltage difference that is sensed based on the pair of input voltages; a reference voltage generator circuit comprising a digital-to-analog converter and configured to receive a voltage selector signal, wherein the digital-to-analog converter is configured to generate a reference voltage signal based on the voltage selector signal, and wherein the voltage selector signal is a binary input signal comprising multiple bit values; and a comparator coupled to the current sense amplifier and to the reference voltage generator circuit, wherein the comparator is configured to receive the indicator signal and the reference voltage signal and to output an interrupt signal responsive to the indicator signal exceeding the reference voltage signal.", "22.The device of claim 21, wherein the digital-to-analog converter is configured to generate the reference voltage signal to correspond to any of a plurality of reference voltages indicated by the voltage selector signal.", "23.The device of claim 21, wherein the digital-to-analog converter comprises a bank of multiple voltage dividers, wherein the multiple voltage dividers are respectively activated based on the multiple bit values of the binary input signal.", "24.The device of claim 21, wherein the digital-to-analog converter comprises a bank of multiple resistors of varying resistance, wherein the multiple resistors are respectively selected based on the multiple bit values of the binary input signal.", "25.The device of claim 21, wherein the digital-to-analog converter comprises a decoder, a series of resistors, an analog output, and a buffer coupled between the analog output and the series of resistors; and wherein the decoder is configured to select any number of resistors from the series of resistors based on the multiple bit values of the binary input signal, and the buffer is configured to generate the reference voltage signal at the analog output as a sum of voltage drops across the selected number of resistors.", "26.The device of claim 21, further comprising a controller coupled to the current detector circuit and to the gate driver, the controller configured to receive the interrupt signal from the current detector circuit and to trigger the gate driver.", "27.The device of claim 21, wherein in a continuous mode of operation, the comparator is configured to continuously track the input voltage difference versus a voltage of the reference voltage signal.", "28.The device of claim 21, wherein in a latched mode of operation, the comparator is configured to reset itself after the interrupt signal is output.", "29.The device of claim 21, wherein the voltage selector signal is received from a configuration channel line of the USB connector.", "30.The device of claim 29, wherein the current sense amplifier is configured to receive a programmable trim signal from the USB connector.", "31.A system comprising: a universal serial bus (USB) connector comprising a voltage bus (VBUS) line; a power switch coupled inline on the VBUS line and configured to turn off in response to an interrupt signal; a sense resistor coupled in series with the power switch on the VBUS line; and a current detector circuit coupled to the VBUS line, the current detector circuit comprising: a current sense amplifier configured to sense an input voltage difference across the sense resistor and to output an indicator signal responsive to the input voltage difference; a reference voltage generator circuit comprising a digital-to-analog converter and configured to receive a voltage selector signal, wherein the digital-to-analog converter is configured to generate a reference voltage signal based on the voltage selector signal, and wherein the voltage selector signal is a binary input signal comprising multiple bit values; and a comparator coupled to the current sense amplifier and to the reference voltage generator circuit, wherein the comparator is configured to receive the indicator signal and the reference voltage signal and to output the interrupt signal responsive to the indicator signal exceeding the reference voltage signal.", "32.The system of claim 31, wherein the digital-to-analog converter is configured to generate the reference voltage signal to correspond to any of a plurality of reference voltages indicated by the voltage selector signal.", "33.The system of claim 31, wherein the digital-to-analog converter comprises a bank of multiple voltage dividers, wherein the multiple voltage dividers are respectively activated based on the multiple bit values of the binary input signal.", "34.The system of claim 31, wherein the digital-to-analog converter comprises a bank of multiple resistors of varying resistance, wherein the multiple resistors are respectively selected based on the multiple bit values of the binary input signal.", "35.The system of claim 31, wherein the digital-to-analog converter comprises a decoder, a series of resistors, an analog output, and a buffer coupled between the analog output and the series of resistors; and wherein the decoder is configured to select any number of resistors from the series of resistors based on the multiple bit values of the binary input signal, and the buffer is configured to generate the reference voltage signal at the analog output as a sum of voltage drops across the selected number of resistors.", "36.The system of claim 31, further comprising: a gate driver coupled to drive the power switch; and a controller coupled to the current detector circuit and to the gate driver, the controller configured to receive the interrupt signal from the current detector circuit and to trigger the gate driver.", "37.The system of claim 31, wherein in a continuous mode of operation, the comparator is configured to continuously track the input voltage difference versus a voltage of the reference voltage signal.", "38.The system of claim 31, wherein in a latched mode of operation, the comparator is configured to reset itself after the interrupt signal is output.", "39.The system of claim 31, wherein the USB connector comprises a configuration channel line, and wherein the voltage selector signal is received from the configuration channel line.", "40.The system of claim 31, further comprising an AC adapter and an electronic device, wherein the electronic device is coupled to the AC adapter over the USB connector." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND <EOH>Circuitry connected to sources of power may sometimes be protected from over-current or over-voltage supply of that power with an over-current detector circuit.", "The over-current detector circuit may detect an over-current condition and issue an interrupt signal to disconnect the power source from the circuitry." ], [ "<SOH> BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS <EOH>The present disclosure is illustrated by way of example, and not by way of limitation, in the figures of the accompanying drawings.", "FIG.", "1 is a block diagram illustrating an over-current detector circuit, according to one embodiment.", "FIG.", "2A illustrates a first stage of the over-current detector circuit of FIG.", "1 , according to one embodiment.", "FIG.", "2B illustrates the first stage of the over-current detector circuit of FIG.", "1 , according to another embodiment.", "FIG.", "3 illustrates a second stage of the over-current detector circuit of FIG.", "1 , according to one embodiment.", "FIGS.", "4A, 4B, 4C, 4D, 4E illustrate a digital-to-analog converter (DAC) included as implementation of at least the reference voltage generator circuit of FIGS.", "1 and 3 , according to various embodiments.", "FIG.", "5 is a data sheet of analog test access and control parameters of the an analog design for test pin (ADFT) circuit of the system of FIGS.", "1 and 3 , according to one embodiment.", "FIG.", "6 illustrates a set of waveforms indicative of a percentage of trim error when ideal is compared with the present design, according to one embodiment.", "FIG.", "7 illustrates a data sheet of stage one and stage two accuracies according to input accuracy, according to one embodiment.", "FIG.", "8 is a block diagram of a system in which a current-sense detector circuit is employed in context of a Universal Serial Bus (USB) connector device, according to one embodiment.", "FIG.", "9A is a flow diagram illustrating a method of post-production selection of a reference voltage from a plurality of reference voltages, according to one embodiment.", "FIG.", "9B is a flow diagram illustrating a method of post-production trim of the reference voltage selected as in FIG.", "9A , according to one embodiment.", "FIG.", "9C is a flow diagram illustrating a method of post-production trim of the reference voltage updated as in FIG.", "9B , to account for additional operation conditions, according to another embodiment.", "detailed-description description=\"Detailed Description\" end=\"lead\"?" ], [ "RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a Continuation of U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "15/280,729, filed on Sep. 29, 2016, which claims the benefit of U.S.", "Provisional Application No.", "62/337,189 filed on May 16, 2016, and of U.S.", "Provisional Application No.", "62/351,789 filed on Jun.", "17, 2016, all of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein in their entirety.", "TECHNICAL FIELD This disclosure relates to the field of over-current detection and, in particular, to a post-production, adjustable over-current detector circuit.", "BACKGROUND Circuitry connected to sources of power may sometimes be protected from over-current or over-voltage supply of that power with an over-current detector circuit.", "The over-current detector circuit may detect an over-current condition and issue an interrupt signal to disconnect the power source from the circuitry.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The present disclosure is illustrated by way of example, and not by way of limitation, in the figures of the accompanying drawings.", "FIG.", "1 is a block diagram illustrating an over-current detector circuit, according to one embodiment.", "FIG.", "2A illustrates a first stage of the over-current detector circuit of FIG.", "1, according to one embodiment.", "FIG.", "2B illustrates the first stage of the over-current detector circuit of FIG.", "1, according to another embodiment.", "FIG.", "3 illustrates a second stage of the over-current detector circuit of FIG.", "1, according to one embodiment.", "FIGS.", "4A, 4B, 4C, 4D, 4E illustrate a digital-to-analog converter (DAC) included as implementation of at least the reference voltage generator circuit of FIGS.", "1 and 3, according to various embodiments.", "FIG.", "5 is a data sheet of analog test access and control parameters of the an analog design for test pin (ADFT) circuit of the system of FIGS.", "1 and 3, according to one embodiment.", "FIG.", "6 illustrates a set of waveforms indicative of a percentage of trim error when ideal is compared with the present design, according to one embodiment.", "FIG.", "7 illustrates a data sheet of stage one and stage two accuracies according to input accuracy, according to one embodiment.", "FIG.", "8 is a block diagram of a system in which a current-sense detector circuit is employed in context of a Universal Serial Bus (USB) connector device, according to one embodiment.", "FIG.", "9A is a flow diagram illustrating a method of post-production selection of a reference voltage from a plurality of reference voltages, according to one embodiment.", "FIG.", "9B is a flow diagram illustrating a method of post-production trim of the reference voltage selected as in FIG.", "9A, according to one embodiment.", "FIG.", "9C is a flow diagram illustrating a method of post-production trim of the reference voltage updated as in FIG.", "9B, to account for additional operation conditions, according to another embodiment.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION Electronic devices, such as processing devices, consume electrical power.", "So do electrical components that may be a part of or interface with such processing devices, sometimes consuming power from a common voltage source.", "Such electrical components may include Universal Serial Bus (USB™) connector devices using technology developed by the USB Implementers Forum, Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI)-based or PCI Express (PCIe®)-based connectors or interfaces employing technology of the PCI Special Interest Group, Power Programmable System-on-a-Chip (PowerPSoC™) made by Cypress Semiconductor of San Jose, Calif., and similar such components that may employ standards-based communication protocols.", "To protect sensitive circuitry connected by these electrical components from over-current conditions, an over-current detector circuit (OCD) may be employed, which itself may be a part of an over-current protection (OCP) device.", "Because of a wide range of current limits needed for connected devices in a variety of applications, desired is a post-production means for adjusting current limits that govern current levels the OCD detects, among other parameters.", "In various embodiments, the OCD may employ a current sense amplifier (CSA) for power control and protection application.", "The CSA may be, in various embodiments, any current measuring or current detecting circuit.", "The CSA may be deployed to sense a current level and generate a voltage output to be compared with a reference voltage signal (Vref) that may trigger an interrupt signal to disconnect a voltage source.", "Accordingly, the reference voltage signal is sometimes referred to as a trigger voltage (Vtrig) in the art.", "CSAs are typically programmable mainly through external analog means.", "Discrete CSAs may offer high accuracy and low frequency performance while integrated CSAs (such as in LED applications) may offer high frequency and little-to-no accuracy or bandwidth adjustment capability.", "The disclosed OCD, however, may allow programming via external digital means and provide to customers the ability to make, post-production, power loss versus accuracy trade-offs in current protection detection.", "In one embodiment, the disclosed OCD includes a current sense amplifier (CSA) to receive a pair of input voltages (e.g., from across a sense resistor) and to output a first indicator signal responsive to a sensed input voltage difference produced from an incoming current level across a sense resistor.", "The OCD may further include a comparator coupled to the current sense amplifier.", "The comparator may compare the first indicator signal to a reference voltage signal (Vref) and output an interrupt signal responsive to the first indicator signal exceeding the reference voltage signal.", "The OCD may further include a reference voltage generator circuit coupled to the comparator.", "The reference voltage generator circuit may select the reference voltage signal from a plurality of reference voltages according to a reference voltage selector signal received from a configuration channel of a USB (or other type of) connector device.", "In one embodiment, the reference voltage generator circuit includes a digital-to-analog converter (DAC) to convert, from the plurality of reference voltages, the first selector signal to the reference voltage signal.", "In an embodiment, the reference voltage generator circuit is further to generate the plurality of reference voltages based on an input reference signal that chooses between multiple source voltages.", "Accordingly, the OCD may further include an input reference circuit coupled to the reference voltage generator.", "The input reference circuit may select between multiple input reference signals, which correspond to multiple input source voltages, responsive to an input reference selector signal, to generate an input reference signal.", "The multiple input reference signals may include at least a low-power input voltage and a high-power input voltage, for example.", "The reference voltage selector signal and the input reference selector signal may, in one embodiment, be sent by an electrical device over the configuration channel during or post production for purposes of calibrating the OCD for a certain application and/or expected input current levels, among other operation conditions as will be explained in more detail.", "The present OCD may provide flexibility in choice of the reference voltage signal (Vref), which can range, for example, between about 1.3V and 1.9V, selectable post-production from up to 64 different reference voltages with a 10 mV step size, although additional or fewer reference voltage signal choices are envisioned.", "The combination of CSA gain and reference voltage adjustability provides a useable reference voltage signal that may trigger responsive to a sensed voltage (VSENSE) between about 13 mV and 190 mV, for example.", "The functionality of the present OCD is not constrained to specific values provided herein, which are disclosed for explanatory purposes only.", "Furthermore, the disclosed OCD may provide two modes of operation, including continuous and latched modes.", "For example, in a continuous mode, the CSA may measure a sensed voltage difference across the sense resistor, and the comparator may provide an output signal to continuously track the sensed voltage difference versus a voltage of the reference voltage signal.", "And, in the latched mode of operation, the comparator may activate a high level of hysteresis after the interrupt signal is output, to reset the comparator, upon detection that the sensed voltage exceeds a voltage of the reference voltage signal.", "In the continuous mode, the reference to the comparator, Vref, may be fixed at all times.", "In the one latched mode, however, Vref may be changed to a lower voltage value once the output of the comparator goes high.", "The original voltage of Vref can then be re-instated when the input voltage is below this lower Vref voltage.", "In this way, Vref is switched to provide different trigger thresholds for rising and falling transitions of the input signal.", "In one embodiment, the OCD may also include an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) to record VSENSE at the moment the comparator outputs the interrupt signal, and thus provide the sensed voltage as a digital output.", "The ADC may also be used as an over-protection detector implemented at chip or system level, with the addition of software control as will be explained in more detail.", "FIG.", "1 is a block diagram illustrating an over-current detector circuit (OCD) 100, according to one embodiment.", "The OCD 100 of FIG.", "1 may include a first stage 110, an analog-to-digital (ADC) converter, an analog design for test pin (ADFT) circuit 120 coupled to the first stage 110, a second stage 140 coupled to the first stage 110, and an input reference current generator 160 coupled to the first stage 110 and the second stage 140.In one embodiment, the first stage 110 further includes a current sense amplifier (CSA) 114 coupled to a metal-oxide semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) 116 (or the like), to which an output resistor (RL) is coupled.", "The CSA 114 may be, in various embodiments, any current measuring or current detecting circuit.", "The current to be sensed (Isense) passes through a sense resistor (Rsense), and a voltage difference on either side of the sense resistor is sensed across the sense resistor as VSENSE.", "The CSA 114 translates an elevated differential signal across input signals pad_inp and pad_inn (taken on either side of Rsense) to a grounded, first indicator signal (Out1).", "The first stage 110 operates by reproducing the VSENSE voltage as V′sense across resistor RP, and sending the resulting current, IL, across resistor RL.", "The DC output gain may be expressed as the ratio of RL/RP and the first indicator signal at Out1 may be expressed as follows: V out   1 = ( R L R P )  V sense = ( R L R P )  ( V inp - V i   nn ) Equation   ( 1 ) The CSA 114 may further include a first stage input offset voltage (Vios1) (at an input of the CSA 114), e.g., near the positive pad input voltage (pad_inn).", "The first stage input offset voltage will be discussed later on with reference to FIGS.", "9B and 9C.", "In one embodiment, the second stage 140 further includes a comparator 150 and a reference voltage generator circuit (Vrefgen) 144.The comparator 150 may compare a voltage of the first indicator signal (VOut1) to a reference voltage signal (Vref), also known in the art as a trigger voltage, and output an interrupt signal (Out_d) when the first indicator signal exceeds the reference voltage signal.", "Although the first indicator signal is not a primary output signal, a value of VOut1 may be accessible through the ADFT circuit 120 interface.", "Furthermore, the comparator 150 may provide a second stage input offset voltage (Vios2), e.g., at a positive input to the comparator 150.The second stage input offset voltage will be discussed later with reference to FIGS.", "9B and 9C.", "In one embodiment, the reference voltage generator circuit 144 may be coupled to the comparator 150 and may select the reference voltage signal from a plurality of reference voltages according to a reference voltage selector (Vref_sel) signal received from a communication channel of an electrical component such as from a configuration channel of a USB connector device (FIG.", "8).", "In an embodiment, the input reference current generator 160 may be coupled to the first stage 110, to receive an on-chip system reference current (Iref) and produce a first bias current (iref_s1) used to activate the first stage 110 and produce a second bias current (iref_s2) to activate the second stage 140.The OCD 100 may further provide two modes of operation, including continuous and latched modes.", "For example, in a continuous mode, the CSA 114 may measure VSENSE across the sense resistor, and the comparator may provide an output signal to continuously track the sensed voltage versus a voltage of the Vref signal.", "Additionally, in the latched mode of operation, the comparator 150 may activate a high level of hysteresis after the interrupt signal is output, to reset the comparator, upon detection that the VSENSE exceeds a voltage of Vref.", "In the continuous mode, the reference to the comparator, Vref, may be fixed at all times.", "In the one shot mode, however, Vref is changed to a lower voltage value once the output of the comparator goes high.", "The original voltage of Vref can then be re-instated when the input voltage is below this lower Vref voltage.", "In this way, Vref is switched to provide different trigger thresholds for rising and falling transitions of the input signal.", "In one embodiment, the OCD 100 may also include the analog-to-digital converter (ADC) 119 to record VSENSE at the moment the comparator 150 outputs the interrupt signal, and thus provide the VSENSE as a digital output.", "More specifically, the ADC 119 may be coupled to the ADFT 120 through which to receive the Out1 of the CSA 114, which is also the input to the comparator 150.The ADC 119 may provide a digital indicator of an analog output signal to track the sensed voltage difference (VSENSE).", "The ADC may also be used as an over-protection detector implemented at chip or system level, with the addition of software control as will be explained in more detail.", "FIG.", "2A illustrates a first stage 110A of the over-current detector circuit 100 of FIG.", "1 with additional detail, according to one embodiment.", "The features already discussed with reference to FIG.", "1 will not be repeated here.", "In one embodiment, the CSA 114 is a current difference amplifier that performs amplification at the pg signal, where the CSA 114 is biased by ground reference current sources 215A, 215B, 215C, to enforce that I1=Iinn, and via a feedback connection from the source of MOSFET 116 to the resistor (Rp), to enforce that V+ is equal to V_.", "In one embodiment, the first ground reference current source 215A and the second ground reference current source 215B are adjustable.", "When the VSENSE is greater than zero, the additional current needed to maintain V+ equal to V− is delivered to the RL as IRL.", "As IRL passes through both RP and RL, the output voltage gain is defined by Equation (1).", "The first stage 110A may further include three power MOSFETs 217A, 217B, and 217C through which the biased ground reference current sources 215A, 215B, and 215C may draw their respective currents.", "The first stage 110 may further provide trim capability in at least a pair of programmable signals.", "One of the programmable signals may be an elevated input offset trim signal (os_el), which adjusts the stage one input offset voltage (Vios1).", "The elevated input offset trim signal may adjust one or both of the biased ground reference current sources 215A and 215B, to provide variable selection of the stage one input offset voltage, Vios1, which is shown in FIG.", "1.When activated, the elevated offset trim may function in a binary-weighted fashion, where bit zero (“0”) represents a single step and bit one (“1”) is twice as large.", "Table 1 below summarizes the elevated input offset voltage (os_el) functionality.", "TABLE 1 os_el [3] [2:0] Result 0 0 Trim is not activated 0 N −N*Vios1_Trim_Step 1 0 Trim is not activated 1 N +N*Vios1_Trim_Step The first stage 110A may further provide trim capability with the ability to set a nominal gain through an input control bus, av1, which may carry a gain trim signal (av1_tr), another of the at least two programmable signals.", "The gain trim signal may adjust the resistance of resistor RL, thus adjusting the gain (RL/RP) of the CSA 114.The gain trim signal (av1_tr) may be controlled as show in Table 2 below.", "TABLE 2 av1_tr [3] [2:0] Result 0 0 Trim is not activated 0 N −N*Av_Trim_Step 1 0 Trim is not activated 1 N +N*Av_Trim_Step In one embodiment, the first stage 110A may include an AND gate 219 to set an enable signal (en_hv) at gates of the MOSFETs 217A, 217B, 217C in response to an input enable signal (enable_hv) and the absence of an input power down (pd) signal.", "The power down (pd) signal serves to disable the circuit when set to a logic HIGH value.", "FIG.", "2B illustrates a first stage 110B of the over-current detector circuit 100 of FIG.", "1, according to another embodiment.", "The features already discussed with reference to FIGS.", "1 and 2A will not be repeated here.", "The first stage 110B may further use an elevated power supply defined by INP and an elevated-above-ground signal (el_agnd).", "The elevated power may be provided across a resistor (R6V) that can drop 4V to 6V six volts.", "The R6V resistor may be coupled between the CSA 114 and a first of two additional MOSFETS, MB.", "The second of the two additional MOSFETs, MC, may be serially connected to MOSFET MB to ground, and be driven by a first stage enable signal.", "The first stage 110B embodiment of FIG.", "2B may also provide trim capability with an input current trim (REF_TR) to adjust the amount of current (Iref_s1) passing through the R6V resistor.", "The first stage 110B may also provide the input offset trim signal (os_el) as a variable input offset voltage, similarly as provided in the first stage 110A of FIG.", "2A.", "FIG.", "3 illustrates a second stage 140 of the over-current detector circuit 100 of FIG.", "1, according to one embodiment.", "The features already discussed with reference to FIG.", "1 may not be fully repeated here.", "As discussed, when the stage one output (Out1) exceeds the reference voltage signal (Vref), the comparator 150 triggers an output, Out2.The second stage 140 may further include an AND gate 154 coupled to an output of the comparator 150.The AND gate 154 may combine the output of the comparator 150 (out2) to an input isolation signal (iso_n) to generate the interrupt signal (Out_d).", "The iso_n signal serves to prevent a floating signal from being delivered to the chip core circuitry when the OCD circuit power supplies are not valid.", "In one embodiment, the second stage 140 also provides programmability features in which external digital signals may trigger changes in input source voltage and the input reference voltage (Vref), among other parameters, for purposes of post-production trim and calibration.", "For example, the second stage 140 may further include an adjustable capacitor 156 coupled to the output of the CSA 114.The adjustable capacitor 156 may adjust an input capacitance in response to a bandwidth trim signal (bw), to selectively remove high frequency power supply noise.", "This bandwidth trim signal will be discussed in more detail below.", "Furthermore, the input offset voltage (Vios2) may be selectably adjusted using a low input offset trim signal (os_lv).", "Furthermore, the second stage 140 may include an input reference circuit 148 (e.g., a multiplexer, for example) coupled to the reference voltage generator circuit (Vrefgen) 144.The input reference circuit 148 may select between multiple input reference signals that correspond to multiple input source voltages in response to an input reference selector signal (vrefin_sel).", "The input reference selector signal may also be sent over a configuration channel of a connector device such as a USB connector device in one embodiment.", "The multiple input source voltages may include at least a high voltage (vrefin_high) and at least a low voltage (vrefin_low).", "For example, in one embodiment, the high voltage is 1.2V and the low voltage is 0.74V.", "Additional or different input source voltages are envisioned.", "Accordingly, the selected input reference signal that the input reference circuit 148 may select is sent as a reference voltage generator input (vref_gen_in) to the reference voltage generator circuit 144.The selected input reference signal may be a high or low source voltage.", "In one embodiment, the reference voltage generator circuit 144 may use the selected high or low reference voltage to generate up to a particular number of different reference voltages (such as 64 or 256, for example) for selection as the reference voltage signal (Vref).", "In one embodiment, a voltage trim signal (Vref_tr), when activated, may perform a voltage trim on the plurality of reference voltages available for selection by the reference voltage generator circuit 144, to perform further calibration in obtaining a high level of accuracy in the reference voltage signal that is sent as a voltage trigger to the comparator 150.A summary of the voltage trim signal (Vref_tr) functionality is included in Table 3 below.", "TABLE 3 vref_tr [3] [2:0] Result 0 0 Trim is not activated 0 N −N*Vref_Trim_Step 1 0 Trim is not activated 1 N +N*Vref_Trim_Step The reference voltage generator circuit 144 may further include a multiplexer 146 to receive as inputs the plurality of reference voltages, and select one of the reference voltages in response to the reference voltage selector signal (Vref_sel).", "The reference voltage selection signal may be, for example, a 6-bit signal (for 64 reference voltages) or an 8-bit signal (for 256 reference voltages), depending on the number of reference voltages available.", "With 64 steps, the Vref range may be between 1.3V to 1.93V with 10 mV steps sizes as shown in Table 4.Different voltage steps sizes are envisioned, and these particular values are provided by way of example only.", "TABLE 4 vref_tr Result 0 1.3 V N 1.3 V + N*10 mV The reference voltage generator circuit 144 and the multiplexer 146 may also be implemented with a digital-to-analog converter (DAC), which may generate the reference voltage signal (Vref) at an output of the DAC based on the reference voltage selector signal (Vref_sel), where Vref_sel is a binary input signal.", "The DAC may be designed in a number of ways.", "For example, FIGS.", "4A, 4B, 4C, 4D, 4E illustrate a DAC included as implementation of the reference voltage generator circuit 144 and the multiplexer 146 of FIG.", "3, according to various embodiments.", "According to a first embodiment, illustrated in FIG.", "4A, a DAC 404 may include a binary input, which in this example is the reference voltage selector signal (Vref_sel), and may generate an analog signal output (Vref).", "The DAC 404 may generate the reference voltage signal (Vref) to correspond to any of a plurality of possible reference voltages in response the reference voltage selector signal, which acts as an input to the DAC 404.This is the general functioning of each DAC, which are described below in more detail.", "According to a second embodiment, illustrated in FIG.", "4B, a DAC 414 may include a bank of voltage dividers 416, each connected to a binary signal (a0, a1, a2, .", ".", ".", "an-2, an-1).", "The binary signals that are asserted based on the incoming reference voltage selector signal may dictate which voltage dividers are activated and produce a combination of voltage drops that add up to the reference voltage signal (Vref).", "According to a third embodiment, illustrated in FIGS.", "4C and 4D, a DAC 424 may include a bank of resistors 426 of varying resistance.", "The DAC 424 may select resistors from the bank of resistors 426 based on incoming bits of the reference voltage selector signal (Vref_sel).", "The DAC 424 may further include an amplifier 428 coupled to the bank of resistors 426.The amplifier 428 may amplify a sum of voltage drops across the asserted resistors of the bank of resistors 426, to output the reference voltage signal (Vref).", "FIG.", "4D is an illustration of how Vref is calculated when the DAC 424 of FIG.", "4C includes a first voltage (V1) at Bit 3, a second voltage (V2) at Bit 2, a third voltage (V3) at bit 1, and no voltage at Bit 0, corresponding to the incoming bits of the reference voltage selector signal.", "In one embodiment, the voltages V1, V2, and V3 may correspond to different input source voltages.", "According to a fourth embodiment, illustrated in FIG.", "4D, a DAC 444 may include a series of resistors 452 to provide an increasing number of voltage drops that may be added by way of a decoder 448.The decoder 448 may receive a digital input, which in this example may be the reference voltage selector signal (Vref_sel), and output a further signal to close any number of switches 458, which add in corresponding voltage drops of the series of resistors 452.The sum of these voltage drops may then be buffered in a buffer 456 coupled between switches of the series of resistors 452 and an analog output, e.g., the reference voltage signal, Vref.", "With further reference to FIG.", "1, the analog design for test pin (ADFT) circuit 120 may include a two-wire analog bus connected to pins and internal circuit nodes that are labeled in FIGS.", "1, 2A, 2B, and 3.Accordingly, the ADFT circuit 120 may facilitate performing measurements and obtaining voltage and gain values of the OCD 100 at various locations so that adjustments and trim operations may be performed.", "For example, the ADFT circuit 120 may measure the first stage voltage offset (Vios1), the second stage voltage offset (Vios2), and the gain value (AV) for the CSA 114 of the first stage 110.These values may be used in determining how to change the reference voltage selector signal (Vref_sel) to adjust the reference voltage signal for further calibrations as will be discussed in more detail with reference to FIGS.", "9B and 9C.", "Relatedly, the ADFT circuit 120 may connect the voltage output (vref_top) of the reference voltage generator circuit 144.The vref_tr can be used to adjust vref_top, which helps to ensure accuracy of the reference voltage, Vref.", "Furthermore, Vref_sel can be used also to ensure Vref selections are accurate.", "FIG.", "5 is a data sheet 500 of analog test access and control parameters of the OCD 100 of FIGS.", "1 and 3, showing the connectivity of the ADFT circuit 120 according to one embodiment.", "Not all entries of the data sheet 500 are pertinent to the present discussion.", "The analog test configuration signal, atstcfg, which is the first set of four columns starting from the left of the data sheet, is a 4-bit control word within a system register (not shown) that directs ADFT circuit connectivity according to different operating states and measuring modes.", "This 4-bit control word controls an analog test I/O signal (atstio[1:0]).", "The analog test signal, a second set of four columns, includes the two ADFT circuit pin names, e.g., atstio[1] and atstio[0].", "These analog test signal pins, which are independent chip-level pins, may be mapped to a chip system analog bus (not shown) as atstio[1] corresponding to amuxbus_a and atstio[0] corresponding to amuxbus_b.", "Note also that a few of the analog test signal states may deactivate the first stage 110 and/or the second stage 140 of the OCD 100, or put these stages into a power-down state when not in operation.", "Entries of the “Direction” columns state whether the pin is used as an input or output for that atstcfg setting.", "Entries of the “Node/State” columns indicate either the node that the analog test signal pin is connected to or a state of the pin if the pin is not connected or is in a high impedance state, e.g., high-Z.", "The next column indicates a “Purpose” of the particular mode if selected using the atstcfg bits.", "The subsequent columns indicate whether features exist or not depending on the selected mode.", "For example, the term “mission-mode” means that the CSA 114 is operational in normal function (e.g., not in a test mode).", "In the “Modifies Mission Mode” column, a “No” means that the atstcfg setting does nothing to interrupt the mission-mode operation of the CSA circuit.", "When atstcfg is 0, 1, 6, or 8-15, the mission mode is allowed to operate.", "When atstcfg=1, the output of the first stage 110 (stg2_in) can be routed to a chip analog bus during mission-mode, where this signal can be picked up by a system ADC circuit (not shown) for use in comparison.", "A combination of the bandwidth trim signal (bw) illustrated in FIG.", "3 and the input control bus signal (av1) illustrated in FIG.", "2A may be used to provide bandwidth adjustment capability and a nominal gain setting control.", "The bandwidth adjustment capability allows trade-offs in bandwidth, time delay, and power supply rejection ratio (PSRR).", "This adjustment uses two bits to choose between four possible bandwidth settings.", "Depending on the selection, capacitance is added or removed from the analog output of first stage 110, thereby increasing or decreasing the propagation delay.", "The higher the capacitance, the better the PSRR.", "The PSRR of the OCD 100 may be a measure of rejection of oscillation of a power supply signal.", "The bandwidth trim signal may control the capacitance load at stag2_in.", "Because the bandwidth trim signal is associated with the output of the first stage, the bandwidth trim signal may affect both of the output selection modes (sel_out_d=0, 1), where sel_out_d is to disable or enable the stage two output (Out_d).", "The bandwidth trim signal (bw) and the input control bus signal (av1) may be set as a pair to effect gain and bandwidth control as show in Table 5.TABLE 5 av1[2] av1[1] av1[0] bw[1:0] Nominal Gain 0 0 0 0 10 (default) 0 0 1 0 15 0 1 0 1 20 0 1 1 1 30 1 0 0 2 40 1 0 1 2 50 1 1 0 3 70 1 1 1 3 100 With further reference to FIGS.", "1, 2A, 2B, and 3, the over-current detection of the OCD 100 provides the capability to adjust the VSENSE target to match an application's requirements, post production.", "A customer may do so by manipulating the OCP circuit DC gain, AV, and the reference voltage, Vref, used to trigger a system interrupt, e.g., to generate the interrupt signal (Out_d).", "The input Vsense signal may be amplified linearly to produce Vout1 as expressed in Equation (2).", "VOUT1=AVVSENSE=AV(VINP−VINN) Equation (2) To select an optimum trigger point, the following may be considered.", "For example, for a valid gain, AV options may include 10, 15, 20, 30, 40, 50, 70, and 100, among other possible values.", "Furthermore, valid VREF values may range from 1.3V to 1.93V in steps of 10 mV.", "To select a particular VREF, a customer may round VOUT1 to the nearest tens of millivolts (mV).", "For instance, if a VSENSE target is 25.2 mV and a gain of 60 is selected, then VOUT1=60(25.2)=1.512V and VREF=1.51V.", "With the combination of gain and reference voltage choices, the VSENSE covered range may be from 13 mV to 193 mV (i.e.", "1.3/100=13 mV, 1.93/10=193 mV).", "There may exist gaps in the coverage.", "Accuracy of a selected VREF value based on a corresponding VSENSE may be expressed as an error percentage as shown in Equation (3): %   Error = 100  ( ( Vios1_E  _Trim V SENSE ) + ( 0.005 + ( A V - 65 ) 2 250  ,  000 ) + ( Vios2_E  _Native A V  V SENSE ) ) + Vref_E  _Trim Equation   ( 3 ) The percentage error may depend on the values of the parameters of Equation (3).", "For example, higher values of VSENSE may produce lower sense error values.", "Furthermore, the gain value (AV) may be at an optimum point in the middle of the gain selection range.", "FIG.", "6 illustrates a set of waveforms 600 indicative of a percentage of trim error when ideal is compared with the present design, according to one embodiment.", "In FIG.", "6, for ideal trim capability, the maximum error possible using trim under ideal conditions is represented by curve 604.The curve 608, however, represents a production test limit for post-production gain trim.", "The expression for the curve 608 is shown in Equation (3) as the second term.", "Example error rates for the first stage 110, the second stage 140, and for the overall total error of the OCD 100, according to Equation (3), is displayed in the data sheet 700 of FIG.", "7 according to one embodiment.", "FIG.", "8 is a block diagram of a system 800 in which the current-sense detector circuit 100 is employed in the context of a Universal Serial Bus (USB) connector device 810, according to one embodiment.", "The USB connector device 810 may be coupled to an electrical device 812 that includes a processor 814, for executing software instructions, and a memory 816, for storing the instructions and other data.", "The electrical device 812 may be a host system or a powered electrical device connected to such a host system.", "In one embodiment, the system 800 may further include an AC adapter 820 to provide primary side AC-to-DC power conversion.", "A voltage bus (VBUS) is coupled between the USB connector device 810 and the AC adapter 820.The system 800 may further include a sense resistor (RSENSE) and a pair of serially-connected power switches such as FETs 824A and 824B attached inline to the voltage bus.", "Inputs (inp, inn) of the OCD 100 circuit may be coupled to either side of the sense resistor to sense a current.", "In one embodiment, The OCD 100 may be a part of a CCG (USB Type-C Controller Generation #) controller 830, a highly integrated USB™ Type-C controller that complies with the latest USB Type-C and Power Delivery (PD) standards, and is made by Cypress Semiconductor of San Jose, Calif.", "The CCG controller 830 (which may be a CCG3 or CCG4 controller, for example) may provide a complete USB Type-C and USB-Power Delivery port control solution for notebooks, dongles, monitors, docking stations, power adapters, and the like.", "The CCG controller 830 may further include a controller 834 coupled between the OCD 100 and a gate driver 836.The gate driver 836 may be coupled to and for driving the power FETs 824A and 824B.", "In one embodiment, the controller 834 may receive an interrupt signal from the OCD 100, and in response, decide to turn off the power FETs 824A and 824B, followed by triggering the gate driver 836 to turn off the power FETs.", "In an alternative embodiment, the interrupt signal from the OCD 100 directly triggers the gate driver 836 to turn off the power FETs.", "The USB connector device 810 may further include a configuration channel (CC) 801 that communicates with the CCG controller 830 as will be explained.", "The USB™ Power Delivery Specification is an industry standard added to the existing USB™ definition that is used to establish Vbus power delivery contracts between hosts and devices.", "This PD Specification specifies Vbus power supply options that include a 5V to 20V voltage range and a configurable current source capability that supports a range of 500 mA to 5 A.", "For USB™ Type-C, current limits of 1.5 A and 3 A are defined.", "There may be no discrete limits defined for the level of current delivered between 3 A and 5 A.", "To protect against over-current draw, the sense resistor (Rsense) is installed at the Vbus highside (e.g., the power supply source connection within a host or hub) to allow the CSA 114 and the comparator 150 (FIGS.", "1, 2A, 2B, and 3) to produce a system interrupt.", "In one embodiment, the gate driver 836 may drive the system interrupt to disconnect the power supply source (from the AC adapter 820) at the power FETs 824A and 824B, to protect USB™ system circuitry and cable connections, where cables are rated at 500 mA, 3 A and 5 A.", "The control block 834 may add a layer of control to processing of the system interrupt before the system interrupt is sent to the gate driver 836 to execute the disconnect from the power supply source.", "With the multiple current limits and the configurable nature of the high current range, a single USB Type-C connector device used for any application would need to be flexible so that the detected current limit corresponds to the appropriate limit defined by the application of the USB Type-C connector device.", "With additional reference to FIGS.", "1, 2A, 2B, and 3, during a production test process, a testing device may use software to cancel effects from the input offset voltages, Vios1 and Vios2, of the CSA 114 and the comparator 150, respectively.", "In one embodiment, during the test process, the ADFT circuit 120 may measure these offset voltages (Vios1 and Vios2).", "Also, the ADFT circuit 120 may facilitate an accurate measurement of the gain values of the CSA 114 in the first stage 110, as previously discussed.", "Now suppose a need to detect a particular value for VSENSE, which will be called Vdet.", "Given this known Vdet, then the CSA 114 may be accurately measured to determine a gain, AV.", "Further assuming a zero offset voltage for both the input offset voltages (Vios1, Vios2), then the first stage output may be expressed as Vout1=AV*Vdet.", "A value of the reference voltage (Vref) may also be set to the same value, e.g., Vref=AV*Vdet.", "In this case, when the sense voltage increases slightly, say to VSENSE=(AV*Vdet+Δ), then the output of the comparator 150 in the second stage 140 may go from low to high, and an over-voltage, corresponding to an over-current condition, is detected.", "Further, consider a situation where there is non-zero input offset voltages, Vios1 and Vios2.When VSENSE=Vdet, then Vout1=AV(Vdet+Vios1).", "If the software sets the reference to the previous value of Vref=AV*Vdet, then Vout1>Vref, and hence, the OCD 100 may erroneously detect an over-current condition because of the AVVios1 offset factor on Vout1.There may also be an added factor of Vios2 from the input offset voltage of the comparator 150.Using a software-based method, the testing device may execute instructions to reduce the value of these effects, in which an updated value for Vref may be communicated to the OCD 100 by way the reference voltage selector signal (Vref_sel).", "In one embodiment, the testing device may first calculate a change in reference voltage as the sum of the gain of the CSA times the first input offset voltage and the second input offset voltage, or ΔVref=AVVios1+Vios2.For the reference voltage generator circuitry 144 in which 10 mV is the difference between successive bits, the testing device may determine the number of bits to add to the initial Vref value, which may be expressed as ΔBits=int[(AVVios1+Vios2)/10 mV], Equation (4) where “int” represents the rounded integer value for the result.", "Thus, Vref_sel may be expressed as: Vref_sel=Vref_sel+ΔBits.", "Equation (5) After the production tests have been carried out and product distributed to a customer, the customer may carry out post-production trim to adjust for sources of errors not accounted for in the above testing-based adjustments.", "The main source of error accounted for is the inaccuracy of the sense resistor, or RP in FIGS.", "1, 2A, and 2B.", "For the different gain values, the OCD 100 can be calibrated to select the Vref value that triggers the comparator 150 in the second stage 140.An array may be created for Vref values mapped to particular gain values.", "Other factors that affect the accuracy of the CSA 114, for example, such as temperature variation, may be added as discussed with reference to FIG.", "9C.", "Finally, the electrical device 812 may create a lookup table that can be referenced to determine Vref_sel, in order to update Vref appropriately for each of the operating condition.", "FIG.", "9A is a flow diagram illustrating a method 900 of post-production selection of a reference voltage from a plurality of reference voltages, according to one embodiment.", "The method may be performed by the over-current detector (OCD) circuit 100 of FIG.", "1, for example.", "The method 900 may begin by the CSA 114 generating a first indicator signal based on a current level sensed flowing through a sense resistor of a voltage bus (904).", "The method 900 may continue by a comparator comparing the first indicator signal to a reference voltage signal (Vref) (908).", "The method 900 may continue by the comparator outputting an interrupt signal responsive to the first indicator signal exceeding the reference voltage signal (912).", "The method 900 may continue with a voltage generator circuit selecting the reference voltage signal from a plurality of reference voltages according to a reference voltage selector signal received from a configuration channel of a USB connector device or other type of electrical connector (916).", "FIG.", "9B is a flow diagram illustrating a method 920 of post-production trim of the reference voltage selected as in FIG.", "9A, according to one embodiment.", "The method may be performed by a testing device, which may be the electrical device 812 in one embodiment.", "The method 920 may begin with determining the input offset voltages, Vios1 and Vios2, after trim bits have been included in the OCD design (922).", "The method 920 may continue by determining a first stage output voltage (Vout1) based on the output gain of the CSA 114 and the first input offset voltage, e.g., Vout1=AV(Vdet+Vios1) (926).", "In one embodiment, the AFDT 120 may be used to measure the input offset voltages and gain values.", "The method 920 may continue by determining a set of offset cancellation bits with which to adjust the reference voltage signal (Vref), e.g., calculating Equation (4) (930).", "The method 920 may continue by adding the cancellation bits to the reference voltage selector signal (Vref_sel), e.g., by calculating Equation (5), to generate an updated reference voltage selector signal (block 934).", "FIG.", "9C is a flow diagram illustrating a method 940 of post-production trim of the reference voltage updated as in FIG.", "9B, to account for additional operation conditions, according to another embodiment.", "The method may be performed by instructions executed by the electrical device 812 in conjunction with measurements obtained from the ADFT circuit 120 (FIG.", "1), and operating conditions detected by way of sensors and/or a variation of operation parameters detected in operating characteristics of the OCD 100.Accordingly, in one embodiment, the method 940 may begin by selecting a resistance of the sense resistor, RP (FIGS.", "1, 2A, 2B), which may be provided by a variable resistor for example (block 942).", "The method 940 may continue by using the ADFT circuit 120 to determine a gain value, AV, of the CSA 114 corresponding to the selected resistance (946).", "The method 942 may continue by storing a voltage code that generates the updated reference selector signal (determined in block 934 of FIG.", "9B) corresponding to the determined gain value (950).", "In one embodiment, the updated reference selector signal corresponding to the voltage code may put the Vref value within the middle of a reference voltage range for the OCD 100 triggering an interrupt signal for a particular application of the OCD 100 or the CCG controller 830.The method 940 may continue by determining whether an operating condition of the CSA 114 is detected (952).", "If the answer is no, the method 940 may continue by generating a lookup table with gain values mapped to voltage codes that may be used by the electrical device 812 to determine the reference voltage selector signal based on a measured gain value (AV) (980).", "If the answer is yes to the inquiry of block 952, the method 940 may continue with the ADFT circuit 120 measuring an operating condition (e.g., a temperature of the CSA 114) (960).", "The method 940 may continue by adjusting a gain value of the CSA 114 corresponding to the operating condition, to generate an adjusted gain value of the CSA 114 (964).", "The method 940 by continue by storing a second voltage code corresponding to the adjusted gain value in an array in memory, where the second voltage code is stored in relation to the adjusted gain value (968).", "The method 940 may continue by detecting another operating condition of the CSA 114 or of the comparator 150 of the OCD 100 (970).", "If no additional operating condition is detected, the method 940 may continue by generating a lookup table mapping a plurality of corresponding operating conditions, gain values, and voltage codes that may be used by the electrical device 812 to determine the reference voltage selector signal based on a measured gain value (AV) (980).", "If an additional operating condition is detected, the method 940 may continue to block 960 to repeat blocks 960, 964, and 968 for the additional operating condition.", "In various embodiments, the CCG controller 830 may reside on a common carrier substrate such as, for example, an integrated circuit (“IC”) die substrate, a multi-chip module substrate, or the like.", "Alternatively, the components of the CCG controller 830 may be one or more separate integrated circuits and or discrete components.", "In one exemplary embodiment, the CCG controller 830 is the Programmable System on a Chip (PSoC®) processing device, developed by Cypress Semiconductor Corporation, San Jose, Calif. Alternatively, CCG controller 830 may be one or more other processing devices known by those of ordinary skill in the art, such as a microprocessor or central processing unit, a controller, special-purpose processor, digital signal processor (“DSP”), an application specific integrated circuit (“ASIC”), a field programmable gate array (“FPGA”), or the like.", "It should also be noted that the embodiments described herein are not limited to having a configuration of a processing device coupled to an application processor, but may include a system that measures a signal indicative of the capacitance on the sensing device and sends the raw data to a host computer where it is analyzed by an application.", "In effect, the processing that is done by CCG controller 830 may also be done in the application processor.", "The OCD 100 may be integrated into the IC of the CCG controller 830, or alternatively, in a separate IC.", "Alternatively, descriptions of the OCD 100 may be generated and compiled for incorporation into other integrated circuits.", "For example, behavioral level code describing the OCD 100, or portions thereof, may be generated using a hardware descriptive language, such as VHDL or Verilog, and stored to a machine-accessible medium (e.g., CD-ROM, hard disk, floppy disk, etc.).", "Furthermore, the behavioral level code may be compiled into register transfer level (“RTL”) code, a netlist, or even a circuit layout and stored to a machine-accessible medium.", "The behavioral level code, the RTL code, the netlist, and the circuit layout may represent various levels of abstraction to describe the OCD 100.It should be noted that the components of the system 800 may include all the components described above.", "Alternatively, the system 800 may include some of the components described above.", "In one embodiment, the system 800 is used in a tablet computer.", "Alternatively, the electronic device may be used in other applications, such as a notebook computer, a mobile handset, a personal data assistant (“PDA”), a keyboard, a television, a remote control, a monitor, a handheld multi-media device, a handheld media (audio and or video) player, a handheld gaming device, a signature input device for point of sale transactions, an eBook reader, global position system (“GPS”) or a control panel.", "Certain embodiments may be implemented as a computer program product that may include instructions stored on a machine-readable medium.", "These instructions may be used to program a general-purpose or special-purpose processor to perform the described operations.", "A machine-readable medium includes any mechanism for storing or transmitting information in a form (e.g., software, processing application) readable by a machine (e.g., a computer).", "The machine-readable medium may include, but is not limited to, magnetic storage medium (e.g., floppy diskette); optical storage medium (e.g., CD-ROM); magneto-optical storage medium; read-only memory (ROM); random-access memory (RAM); erasable programmable memory (e.g., EPROM and EEPROM); flash memory; or another type of medium suitable for storing electronic instructions.", "Additionally, some embodiments may be practiced in distributed computing environments where the machine-readable medium is stored on and or executed by more than one computer system.", "In addition, the information transferred between computer systems may either be pulled or pushed across the communication medium connecting the computer systems.", "Although the operations of the methods herein are shown and described in a particular order, the order of the operations of each method may be altered so that certain operations may be performed in an inverse order or so that certain operation may be performed, at least in part, concurrently with other operations.", "In another embodiment, instructions or sub-operations of distinct operations may be in an intermittent and or alternating manner.", "The terms “first,” “second,” “third,” “fourth,” etc.", "as used herein are meant as labels to distinguish among different elements and may not necessarily have an ordinal meaning according to their numerical designation.", "As used herein, the term “coupled” may mean connected directly or indirectly through one or more intervening components.", "Any of the signals provided over various buses described herein may be time multiplexed with other signals and provided over one or more common on-die buses.", "Additionally, the interconnection and interfaces between circuit components or blocks may be shown as buses or as single signal lines.", "Each of the buses may alternatively be one or more single signal lines and each of the single signal lines may alternatively be buses.", "The above description sets forth numerous specific details such as examples of specific systems, components, methods, and so forth, in order to provide an understanding of several embodiments of the present invention.", "It may be apparent to one skilled in the art, however, that at least some embodiments of the present invention may be practiced without these specific details.", "In other instances, well-known components or methods are not described in detail or are presented in simple block diagram format in order to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the present invention.", "Thus, the specific details set forth are merely exemplary.", "Particular implementations may vary from these exemplary details and still be contemplated to be within the scope of the present invention." ] ]
Patent_15873248